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[color=#736AFF][b][h1]Ranbu no Izayoi[/h1][/b][/color]
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[b][i]"Urgh!"[/i][/b] Reisa's voice came across, pained. It seemed at least one of Esben's shots had made contact and penetrated her armor. [b][i]"Worthless wretch!"[/i][/b] In an instant, the Ruby Weapon's left hand claw came up to seize Esben, clutching the SEED in its grip. It slammed Esben down into the platform hard, leaving him laid out flat. The talon rose, Reisa intent on finishing the job, only for a sonic boom to crash into the Ruby Weapon's chest. Twice. 

Galahad's blows left it reeling, and Eliane's follow-up barrage left miniaturized explosions across the warmachina's shattered form, barely holding together at this point. Damage reports clogged Reisa's display within the Ruby Weapon's cockpit, the Valheimr captain clutching a gunshot wound in her side with one hand. Her remaining hand slammed down on her console in frustration before pressing a button on the side and reaching for a gunsaber. At this point, it was undeniable that the machine was done for. From here, it was a matter of seeing if the Ruby Weapon had weakened the Kirins enough for her to finish the job-

Movement in her peripheral vision as the cockpit opened. Reisa whirled around, her gunsaber coming up just in time to parry Chisato's blow, crimson aether welling around her. She snarled, forcing the shinobi back with a shove, and turned to face the others-

-Just in time for a magically-enhanced Izayoi to come surging in, screaming bloody murder in her berserk state as her blade planted itself into Reisa's stomach, her enhanced speed and strength giving her enough momentum to carve through Reisa's aether and armor. An object in motion didn't stop immediately, however, and Izayoi's charge took both of them off of the Ruby Weapon and the platform completely, the samurai furiously throttling Reisa with her bare hands in midair as they plummetted down to the unforgiving ground below...

[color=659EC7]"Izayoi!"[/color] Neve screamed, eyes wide as Eve cursed. [color=d3d3d3][b]"Damn it!"[/b][/color] 

Black and white mage looked to each other, and the platform's rate of acceleration increased, the Kirins' stomachs lurching as the mages attempted to descend as quickly as possible without completely unbalancing everyone. Meanwhile, bereft of propulsion and control, the wreckage of the Ruby Weapon went tumbling to the ground in the opposite direction.

[color=d3d3d3][b]"We can't speed up any more without getting everyone killed! You have to save her!"[/b][/color] A expectant stare towards Galahad especially.

___

Down in Brightlam, Valon panted for breath with a devil's grin as he faced Zacharias down. The traitor dragoon looked worse for wear, to be certain, and the majority of his men were laid out across the bough, dead or dying. But Zacharias was barely standing, leaning on his staff as he bled from half a dozen wounds. 

The Ruby Weapon crashing down from the sky drew both of their attention, however, and it was impossible for anyone in the battle to ignore when it detonated in midair, a shimmer of gold well away from its trajectory.

[b]"One job, and she couldn't even get that right...!"[/b] Valon swore in frustration, taking a moment to survey the battlefield. No matter how much he had Zacharias dead to rights at the moment, most of the invasion was either stalled or routing, with Zacharias having diverted the majority of his personal guard to shore up the defenses. That alone had decided a few crucial chokepoints, and Valon hadn't been able to kill him quickly enough to mitigate the damage. As it stood, there was no point in killing the Grovemaster if it drove the defenders into a frenzy to slay him in response. Especially not with most of his men dead or fleeing. 

[b]"You win this round, old man. Tell you what: we both know I can still kill you out of spite, even if your boys will skewer me after. So let me and what's left of the assault force withdraw in good order, and I'll let you live another...oh, I'll give it three years. Decrepit bastard. Win-win, eh?"[/b]

Zacharias lifted his head weakly, a baleful glare fixed on Valon...and nodded.