-Bump In The Night- Penny started with an angry visage as she stared at Makoto, about to ask her questions when she also noticed the monsters. She then pointed at her.
”Look, don't think I'll ignore you because I like it, but these dogs have to go first. I don't need a spotter. But the instant I see you try anything funny, I'll throw you off the deck.” With her intentions fully made, she turned towards the east side of the ship, gave one last glare, and then took hold of the railing with both hands. She opened her mouth, and an electric charge began arcing across her body as she gathered up energy for a Gauss discharge, a faint light beginning to glow brighter and brighter from her throat. As she did so, she seemed to grumble something, but it came off as incomprehensible.
The Gorelions proved to be more than simple minions in combat capability, possessing high strength in their bulging limbs, cheetah-like agility as they swiftly closed the distance to Earth Bastion, as well as frighteningly high intelligence; they clearly understood group tactics, as they came in two groups of four from the sides, and a pair coming from the north. They also actively dodged while running, and used maneuvers like feints and running in zigzags to throw off the aim of long-range combatants. Even for magical monsters, such cleverness seemed absurd for these roaring, feline predators, with the only logical explanation being that they were somehow directly controlled by a higher power.
Alicia's attack proved successful despite these shortcoming, as she showered the beasts with a rain of arrows from her magic circle; the battlefield was littered with faintly shimmering needles in the darkness around the ship, as if the Beacon girl was planting phosphorous grass all over. She was joined by Scout, who up till now had quietly marveled at the strange world they arrived in. With the combined firepower of the former's Star Seraph and the latter's Soprono's Cipher further enhanced by her Focused Assault, the two were able to take down a Gorelion, causing it to skid and roll, bouncing a single time on the checkerboard field before finally stopping moving.
"Ugh! These things are tough as nails!" She exclaimed, panting from how much power she depleted in charging her bullets, and quickly swept her arm, scattering several illusory images of herself in the hopes of distracting the monsters. To her dismay, it seemed to fail, and the Gorelions simply rushed past them.
"They're smart too! This is bad!"On the east side, one of the Gorelions would soon reach the ship. Suwako's attempt to trip the running monster turned out to be the right call, even if the monster attempted evading the attack; it jumped the arrow, but the vine reached up and wrapped around the monster's leg, pulling it down and causing the earth to rumble as the incredible mass impacted against the ground. As a result, the monster staggered, and stopped running. The Beacon girl also received assistance, this time from Anaya, as silent as always. She summoned her army of possessed dolls, and they formed a defensive wall to deter the advance of the beasts. Unlike Scout, she succeeded in her move, and another Gorelion was caught as it attempted to barrel right through them and slowed down. However, the dolls broke down from the impact, their pieces floating in the air.
"These are beyond anything I have faced in my travels," she commented with a low voice, and brought her pistols to bear, and began shooting at another one, the bullets not causing much damage.
"As if they also possess souls in them."And at the center of it all, standing with her eyes closed to the horror, was Mariette. When she relocated the pool of blood that formed from the purple crystal, and sent it far into the distance, it instantly caused a strange effect; the Gorelions' heads twitched, and they roared loudly, as if driven mad. Now in a berserk state, they lost all modicum of intelligence, and ran straight forward with all their might, blinded by rage and hunger; one even slammed into another as it competed for food.
Justine bared her fangs, and threw the small crystal she crushed in her hand at a wall, causing sparkles in the air. She watched as the shards embedded in her palm were swiftly ejected out. The gashes also sewed themselves shut, restoring her skin to perfection once more, as it has always been.
"You might have scored a victory with that move, Mariette..." She spoke in a cold tone, and simply stared at the moon now that she could no longer see through her control crystal.
"But I still have one ace in the hole...No, a Joker. You're soon nothing but a doll in her hands..."
Olesya stepped through the portal, and arrived at the deck of the ship just in time to see the carnage that ensued from the Gorelions turning feral, including a particularly impressive sonic boom that caused a northern Gorelion to fall on its side. The one who performed this blow, Shade, did not have much time to celebrate, as the beast was not slain; even when it was prone, the monster roared with hungry intent, and shot out a red, three-pronged tongue from the abyss of its face. It pierced through the skin of her leg at the thigh and wrapped around it with the smaller tentacles. With terrifying speed, it began retracting back; like a hooked trout reeled back by a fishing pole, she was dragged closer and closer to to the monster's gaping orifice. Also, while this was happening, Shade felt how her blood was being drained through the sharp tip of the tongue, like a mosquito's proboscis, at an alarming rate; soon she would lose too much blood to be able to cast magic.
"Whoah! That's a strong punch" Helga exclaimed, and cheered for Shade, only to shriek as she was harpooned by the monster. "Mariette, portal!" She shouted, and the moment one opened one before her she began swiping her claws at the beast; as the portal was planted on the immobile beast and was unable to destroy it, Helga had free reins to strike and claw multiple times at the monster's armor-like hide. But even after taking such rending blows, the monster still kept reeling Shade in, writhing from the blows. "Let her go, you bitch!" She screamed, her expression quickly turning one of pure rage. The other Gorelion coming from the north ended up tripping due to slamming it's shoulder and head down on the ground; one of it's legs attempted to lift the beast, but ended up scraping at empty air due to a portal, and the beast was stunned as a result.
Penny finally released his railgun shot, and it pierced through a jumping Gorelion at the west, causing it to fall over as it was knocked back, unmoving. The robotic girl doubled down over the railing as a result, having put a lot of charge into the move; she had not managed to collect much electricity since her hard work on the ship, and so ended up being unprepared for the trip. It was at that moment of weakness that she was also targeted by a Gorelion tongue that shot out like a slimy spear, this time on her chest where her armor was thinnest. It did not pierce her thanks to Alexander's barrier that broke, but the three-pronged end nonetheless wrapped around her waist with the smaller tendrils, binding her arms, and pulled her off the railing.
”Ahh crap!” She screamed, flipping midair as she was reeled fast towards the Gorelion. However, just before she reached the beast, she managed to anchor her feet to the ground, and grappled the tentacle-like appendage with her own, four sprouting from the back to fight back at the tongue as her teeth were grit.
”Off of me, pervert!” The fourth Gorelion from the west ran right at Earth Bastion and tackled it, causing it to sway from the collision, like a ship in a storm. Fortunately, it did not incur any damage whatsoever, no small thanks to Alexander's wards.
On the east side, two Gorelions were halted, but two advanced; one stayed back and shot a tongue harpoon at Earth Bastion, bouncing ineffectually as it ran beside the ship. The other jumped on the deck of the ship, and roared. It saw Mariette standing there, and reared up, about to slam its paws on her. However, it suddenly stopped, and a strange, guttural growl came from the abomination, its head leaning down, seeming confused if not outright afraid. It turned out that Libby Bibby was right there, sleeping on the deck with a popped collar. She woke up, and an angry scowl flashed on her face before it turned into blinking, and then a gasp at seeing the Gorelion. "Mumbo jumbo!" She screamed, staring straight at the monster; in that moment, her expression wasn't so much fright as it was a blank stare. In response, the Gorelion roared, and reared up once more, clearly intending to slam down on Libby Bibby, and the Magical Girl braced for impact with her arms, her legs together. "Eeep!"
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