[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/h6OCm6X.png[/img] [color=a187be]Level 8 - EXP 30/80[/color] The Midnight Walk - Spire 04 [b]Word Count:[/b]2825 +4EXP [/center] [hr] [hr] [center][h3]Vs Democrawler, Embittered Egrogore[/h3] Sandalphon, Eve, Sectonia’s [@Archmage MC], Ramattra’s [@XoXKieroBombXoX] [b]Word Count: 2825[/b] Ramattra was one of the few to join Sandaphlon and the group up the elevator, having sat the equipment he borrowed from Mokou outside of the Armory, so that after their fight, he could wear it back down to the safety of the Stagecoach. Of course, since Ramattra was robotic, breathing in the vacuum of space was of no concern, but the Space Suit gave him that added protection of returning. Ramattra was unsure of Sandaphlon’s immediate plans, but figured sustaining damage for her would expedite the process. With a simple flick of his arm, a one-way barrier appeared in the distance, directly in front of Sandaphlon, giving her a moment to strategize, attack, or whatever she felt was essential. [color=bc8dbf]“The barrier will not be up forever. If you need a clean shot, shout for my attention and I’ll give you another.”[/color] Ramattra hoped his offer to strategize would not go unmet, especially since he expected himself to be taking a lot of the blows this fight. Sectonia likewise didn’t need a space suit. On the contrary, those that live on Popstar seemed to be able to breathe in space. Although the infinite darkness that it brought wasn’t something she was interested in herself so she barely dabbled with such things instead learning how to cast perpetual moonlight. Regardless, there was some horrible creature in front of them and they had to get rid of it. [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxaFZqjhOfY[/youtube][/center] While Lily and Adam fell back in search of relative safety, Sandalphon had other plans. Even with a much smaller team and safety net than normal, she would endeavor to support the frontliners from afar, which meant finding a new perch to shoot from. Still, it was not lost on her that Eve wasn’t linked to her Angel of Information network, so she wouldn’t be able to warp to the swordswoman’s side to heal her. Worse still, since these three didn’t consider her their leader, so thanks to Azure’s weakness she wouldn’t be able to snipe without a blue tile beneath her. Sandalphon quickly identified a spot to summon and dispel a Cerulean Mirage, creating a blue tile, then whirled around to set her sights on her abominable new foe. By then, Eve’s fight against the Democrawler had already begun. She had jogged forward, then closed the distance in a blurry dash to kick things off with a flurry of deft slashes. At first, the Naytiba attempted to swat her with its humanoid arm, but Eve managed to parry all three flailing blows. It skittered backward slightly on its tentacled trunk, and Eve pressed her advantage with a flipping combination, only to receive a heavier clawed swipe in mid-air. She recovered from the blow as she landed, then brought up her guard to try and parry an overhead slam, but being slightly too early resulted in a normal block that induced chip damage. It seemed like Eve’s sword, long and sharp-edged though it was, couldn’t stagger this thing with her normal attacks, so she needed to adapt to its rhythms. When the Democrawler wound up for a grab, the pommel of her sword lit up electric blue, prompting Eve to perform a lightspeed dash behind the creature to start off a new combo with a spin slash. Sandalphon joined in with a barrage of hexagun spell bullets to the Naytiba’s many faces. She ran a quick scan to get a sense of how much damage the Democrawler was taking so far, and as expected, it would be a tough nut to crack. More than anything, Ramattra was more curious to see the creature’s capabilities so that the crew knew what they were dealing with, and being the most physically resistant of the group, he took it upon himself to act recklessly in an effort to force the monster to reveal its cards. Holstering his staff, Ramattra configured into Nemesis form and immediately consumed the last vial of Alchemist Cocktail he had before exhausting them. The Omnic charged head-on into the cowardly mass of grey flesh, grabbing any limb or exposed tendril of flesh to begin violently pulling it with his stacks of superhuman strength being given to him by the Cocktail, hoping to force the creature into a position where it felt threatened by the Omnic’s Temporary strength, making it react. Sectonia herself started with her opening move as she did in most fights by summoning some Antlers to support the group by damage or soaking hits. This time just outright summoning 2 golden antlers to deal with the creature to assist Ramattra while Sectonia herself kept herself at mid range to keep the Democrawler within her heartstopper aura. At almost twelve feet tall, the Democrawler was no slouch when it came to strength, but with the extra chemical stimulants coursing through his systems, Ramattra’s grip on its arm and one tentacle did not relent. Its many tormented faces howled as it struggled for a moment in futility, before the Naytiba began to batter its attacker with one brutal, heavy headbutt after another. Eve jumped in to lend Ramattra a hand, expending Beta Energy to launch a radiant sword thrust. After the first blow, she stabbed three more times with the strength and regularity of a jackhammer. That final hit staggered it, leaving it at Ramattra’s mercy. Before he could get enough of a grip to throw it down or rip something off, however, the monster’s halo created a downward, ring-shaped pulse around it. The Naytiba vanished, reappearing at the other side of the room as its halo rose up again from the floor. Then the Democrawler reached into its undercarriage with its arm, dug around amidst the cybernetic augmentations, and yanked out a [url=https://i.imgur.com/rhUPH85.png]big organic scimitar[/url] with nasty barbs alight with a teal glow. As Sandalphon zeroed in on its new position to take advantage of the clear shot, sparks of cosmic light went off within the ring of its halo. After a brief moment, miniature shooting stars went flying at the Democrawlers’ enemies, each arcing through the air to hunt down its target. Ramattra tumbled to the ground at the sudden teleportation of the Alpha Naytiba, quickly returning to his feet and brushing himself off as he now stood in Omnic Form, having depleted his reserves of Cocktail, he was now physically exhausted, a sensation he had never been familiar with because of his inorganic nature. But with the fight raging on, he couldn’t let up easily. Sectonia conjured her Chaos Shield to block the projectiles coming for her, while also blocking any projectiles for anyone who used Sectonia as cover for the moment. She did this so that she could concentrate on charging up a reality shatter on this creature that moved very, very little besides the teleporting to cause some significant damage to it. [color=bc8dbf]“Oh good, you’ve brought your own defenses. Then…”[/color] Ramattra traced the arc of the stars and was able to make a quick trajectory in his head of which projectile could hit who, and where they were coming from. There was no possible way to protect every teammate in his shield, however, with Eve nearby in the fray, a quick shout for cover was his best bet. [color=bc8dbf]“Quick! To me, my friend.”[/color] The Omnic deployed a barrier perpendicular to the barrage of stars and whoever would huddle behind the safety of his shield. While the beast was exposed during its attack, he would also hurl a Vortex at the feet of the Democrawler, dragging its gravity to the floor. Adam, alongside Lily, was far enough from the fight to not be a target for the Democrawler, but Eve sprinted to Ramattra’s side. Her own ability to dodge -if not just to strafe faster than the stars could home- would probably have been enough, but it never hurt to be sure. Sandalphon, meanwhile, did not want to use up a warp or lose her position, but with no defensive abilities she had little choice. Sectonia was near enough to use as cover, but not close enough to run to, so she needed to get creative. The archangel used Vault to spring upward, then engaged Heavensent to slow her fall. From there she shot out ergo strings from her left-hand fingertips, attaching to a machine by Sectonia, then pulled herself over. Her makeshift grapple got her away from the Democrawler’s stars, with the rest chipping away at the wasp queen’s Chaos Shield. Of course, the Naytiba did not sit idle. It let out a multitudinous shriek as it raised its strange sword, before teleporting via its halo once more. It reappeared in front of Eve and Ramattra, which gave them only a split second to react before the blade crashed down in a blast of teal sparks. Eve was no stranger to split-second decision making, though. She nimbly flipped to the side just in the nick of time, with the world seeming to slow down to her as her WB pump rate spiked. Her monofilament blade shone as she dealt the monster a biting repartee . That charged up enough Burst energy for red power to suffuse her, followed by a windmill slash that flipped her upside down as the Democrawler stumbled backward, deep furrows carved across its many faces. With a howl, it raised its a tentacle to grapple her, which prompted a purple glow from her sword’s hilt. Eve cried out as she performed a backward flip kick, and where she struck, a bulbous yellow vulnerability bulged out from between the faces. “Shoot it!” she yelled, summoning Adam’s drone to her side to convert into firing mode. By then, Sandalphon had stepped out from behind Sectonia and created another blue tile, just in time to take aim. She hammered the weak point with sniper shots, though she paced herself so as to not attract too much attention–having the Democrawler teleport to her was the last thing she needed. Once this window closed, she planned to attach ergo strings to Ramattra to lend him her aid. Ramattra held his staff tightly as it vibrated from the nanites that swarmed from its tip toward the weak spot as well. The precision of his staff made up for the lack of “oomph” behind the initial attack. The Omnic’s Nemesis form was often where most of his power was; however, the streamlined attack pressure pointed the weak spot much harder. His tricks were limited, since he had only recently been freed from Galeem. While it took her a bit to charge, the Democrawler was in a good spot as it teleported again to engage with Eve and Ramattra. With a snap of Sectonia’s fingers firing off the spark of void energy, the area around the Democrawler cracked and split as reality around it shattered like glass. This did no damage to Eve or Ramattra, but they too would be blinded by the initial pitch darkness. This darkness would clear soon though, leaving a vague sketch outline of the area that had been shattered that would have its color and detail slowly restored as reality stitched itself back together. The Reality Shatter was new to Sandalphon, and over the course of her years as a combat coordinator in the World of Light, the number one thing she always tried to avoid was friendly fire. When Eve and Ramattra disappeared into the abyssal rift in the middle of their assault, the archangel feared the worst. With stress marks in her eyes, she acted fast, casting ergo strings into the stygian well in the dim hope that she might latch onto Ramattra and pull him to safety. To her surprise, the desperate ploy actually worked, as a moment later she yanked the omnic from the danger zone. Even more to her surprise, she reeled in Eve alongside him, the swordswoman attached to two of her strings. Sandalphon stared for a brief moment as her pupils became loading rings, using her assumption that the ergo strings could only attach to machines to quickly reach a likely conclusion. Without a word, she dispelled the ergo strings to minimize her allies confusion; her team had bigger fish to fry. When Sandalphon could actually make out the Democrawler in the wake of Sectonia’s magic, she realized that the Reality Shatter hadn’t been purely visual. The Naytiba bore extreme damage, its body frayed and unstable as if thrown into a cosmic centrifuge. That strange, teal halo still glimmered above its head, though, and when the Democrawler held up its broken sword, its halo expanded massively, becoming countless rings revolving in and around one another. Miniature comets began to rise from the floor beneath all four opponents, each shooting upward for a brief window before detonating in a cylinder of plasma, with another comet appearing only a second after the first. Then, as this chaos unfolded around the Democrawler, the little star in the center of its halo flared, and lasers of teal plasma blasted out to sweep across the Core Chamber in a dazzling and deadly light show. This, Sandalphon realized as she got moving, must be the Naytiba’s last resort. In a sudden last-minute move of thinking, Ramattra activated his transformation into Nemesis Form, now hulking over the crew as he grabbed whoever was closest standing to him with his mountain-moving strength. A purple ray of armor coated the Omnic, his nanites fusing a protective barrier against his blocking formation as he protected any allies he could from the maelstrom of projectiles in a clutching embrace. With how hazardous the battlefield had become, there was little time to strategize. Ramattra hoped by taking the bulk of the attack, he could allow his teammates a moment to collect themselves as explosions wavered his blocking formation around them. His allies were safe for now, but the longer he stayed in harms way, the more damage he would need to sustain. [color=bc8dbf]“Let’s hope this attack gives out! Otherwise, we need to end this now!” [/color] By now his ultimate ability was ready. Like a beast now only restrained by its leash, the Omnic surged with energy and power. [color=bc8dbf]“I’m ready to unleash Annihilation. I need only to close the distance.”[/color] Luckily, that was something Sandalphon could help with. She nodded, her expression serious. “Affirmative. Sending you in three…” “I’ll follow behind!” Eve added. When her count reached zero, the archangel performed a whipping motion with her ergo strings, executive a forced move that launched Ramattra toward the Democrawler. He would need to make an effort himself, as well as survive the starlight bombardment in his way, but the extra burst of movement would help him get close. True to her word, Eve dashed along behind him, using the omnic as mobile cover. Even when the Democrawler’s strange energy got around Ramattra’s defense, the swordswoman was ready with a quick dodge. Now unprotected, Sandalphon took cover as best she could, ready to cast a healing miracle before it was too late. Ramattra used the free momentum from Sandaphlon’s Ergo String whip shot to rapidly configure himself back into Nemesis Form, the titanic Omnic now winding up a nasty right hook as his mechanical steps hardened the launch off further. The connection between metal and twisted flesh reverberated throughout the entire space center as the devastating blow not only held so much force it knocked the large abomination back a meter or two. While the beast was winded, it attempted to flail its tentacle-like arm to crush Ramattra, only for the Omnic to angrily parry the forceful blow with a green absorbing energy from his Buckler. Immediately using the stored kinetic energy, he pointed toward the ground to release a powerful wave that only pushed the beast backward further, comboing into Ramattra’s Ultimate ability. The purple glint surrounding Ramattra exploded into a violent haze, causing the nanites to harm the creature as it stood too close to the Omnic, who charged the Democrawler immediately to begin pummeling its disgusting faces with blistering force behind each punch. His allies were safe within the radius, unlike the monster; however, it seemed that Ram was in a blind fury. [color=bc8dbf]“Ha! Look at what happens when humanity tries to play god!”[/color] Eve, seeing Ramattra in a new and dangerous light, decided to end things immediately. “I’ll finish this!” In a flash of golden light she assumed a [url=https://i.imgur.com/x79v2XE.jpeg]new outfit[/url] of black and yellow, a single metallic wing stretching out from her back as a futuristic nodachi replaced her saber. Quickly circling around, Eve launched herself through the Naytiba’s halo in a corkscrew dive into the top of its mass, then ended with a single great slash to put the monster out of its misery. She flipped backward, landed, then canceled Tachy Mode to return to normal as the Democrawler’s body began to crumble to ash under Ramattra’s weight.