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[color=#736AFF][b][h1]Ranbu no Izayoi[/h1][/b][/color]
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[b]"Nobody likes a heckler, child!"[/b] Ferdiad jeered right back at Rudolf's provocations as it bore down on him with its scythe, pressing harder in an attempt to break through the lock. As Rudolf wrenched the scythe aside and slammed a boot into Ferdiad's gut, the demon found itself narrowly evading the following retaliatory blows, even as its gaze honed in on its opponent. 

[b]"And yet...why does your presence feel ever so familiar?"[/b] It mused, finally bringing the haft of its scythe around to parry a pair of strikes, its gaze narrowing. [b]"You seem a relatively dull fellow, but still..."[/b] Its eyes gleamed a predatory gold, face breaking out into a smile. [b]"Something about you makes me want to cajole you along, ever so much-"[/b]

[i]"Fira!"[/i]

Miina's cast blindsided Ferdiad, who found itself engulfed in a blaze of flame for a moment. A twirl of its scythe dissipated the embers as its gaze turned back towards the caster. [b]"Ah, yes, yes! How could I forget what I'd originally dove into your ranks to do? Here, kitty, kittyyy~"[/b] It reached out, but before Ferdiad could wring Miina's neck, Galahad's halberd toss pierced into the dome of shadow, embedding itself into the artificial ceiling as cracks began to show, rays of light falling directly on Ferdiad. 

[b]"GAH! How dare-"[/b] Chisato's flaming kunai detonated on impact with its chest, followed by Esben and Eliane's pincer attack with their blades. Wounded and very likely weakened, Ferdiad staggered back, spluttering in disbelief as it started to right itself...

[color=#736AFF][b]"Ei!"[/b][/color] Izayoi screamed a kiai to center herself as she barreled into Ferdiad from the side, a whirling slash carving a deep gash across its chest as the samurai planted a hand into the ground to slow her slide, rejoining the rest of the party. 

[b]"Very well, then!"[/b] No longer did Ferdiad have any trace of amusement in its tone. Batlike wings erupted from its back as it waved its hand, the dome of shadow repairing itself and dislodging Galahad's polearm down to the ground. [b]"If you so wish to [i]hurry up the show[/i], then who am I to deny mine audience?"[/b] The gloom within the dome intensified, the shadows growing ever more foreboding. Additional spikes emerged from Ferdiad's body as its scythe grew in length. [b]"Welcome all, to curtain call-"[/b]

And then, all of a sudden, Ferdiad froze, the demon's head tilting as if listening to a call unheard. For a brief moment, the situation remained in deadlock, until the demon snapped its fingers, the dome dissipating as Ferdiad itself began to melt down into the shadows cast by the ruins of Lunaris, its transformation reverting in an instant. 

[b]"What luck, what [i]joyous fortune[/i] for you!"[/b] The threatening joviality had returned to Ferdiad's tone, the jongleur giving a devil's grin as it sunk into the earth. [b]"None among us shall be ejected from this mortal coil today, for my [i]patron[/i] calls! Farewell, my audience, adieu! I've yet more pliant targets to terrorize!"[/b] And with a final laugh, Ferdiad sunk into the shadows completely, disappearing from anyone's senses and leaving the Warriors of Light alone in the fading afternoon sun.

___

That evening, they'd gotten well clear of Lunaris's ruins by the time they'd made camp in a clearing, a pot of vegetable soup and a pan of flatbread heating over a fire. With dinner on the way, Izayoi turned her eyes upon Rudolf, in a moment he had to have been sure was coming.

[color=#736AFF][b]"Now that we've settled in, perhaps you'd like to begin what you were going to say during the day before we were interrupted by the bloody clown?"[/b][/color]