AThousandCurses

Iris Ascendis

Chunji didn't flinch as the crossbow bolt introduced itself to the wall beside him. His snakes were viciously consumed by the reptiles that were made into the man's coat. The magical darkness didn't serve to obscure but to transport instead. The leylines within the Iris Record must have been utilized for such a process. This was the first time he had seen such a wide-scale teleportation, making him question its type. Was it fueled by Ethos or crafted by magic? Chunji had assumed the latter due to the wide-scale use of Leylines, but he would need more information to confirm.

He shot Davil a glare at his witty response before looking back at the Umbralist. "I am afraid that is not possible," Was all Chunji got out before immediately rolling out of the attack. His eyes darted towards the second crossbow that was aimed towards Davil. He needed to protect Davil before he got skewered by that bolt. Chunji couldn't close the distance in time nor cast a spell to protect it to block it from this range.

However, the Chunji had already made the first move in the battle. One should never commit a primordial sin against a follower of the Lotus Serpent.

Thinking quickly, Chunji chanted a spell to rectify the situation. If he couldn't protect Davil in time, Chunji would have to make due eliminating the need to protect him. "那双贪婪的眼睛过度沉溺于欲望" (Those greedy eyes are overindulging in desire). Chunji's eyes snapped back open, revealing bloodied eyes and surging with essence. One of many curses of the Great Lotus Serpents was bestowed upon its followers. The conditions were simple. Chunji and his target must be aware of other's presence. As long as Chunji's eyes were 'perceived,' the effect would occur. Chunji must sacrifice 10% of his blood to cast this curse.

What did the curse do? It was simple, really.

The man cloaked in reptiles would feel the overwhelming urge to attack Chunji, to consume the student's flesh. Any thought of attacking Davil was secondary, as the Umbralist's eyes were flooded with stimuli to attack Chunji instead. That meant Chunji faced the problem of taking on the full brunt of an Umbralist assault.

Chunji's Personal Barrier went up as he narrowly dodged another bolt aimed at his head. After that, Chunji found it hard to dodge the next bolts. Drawing out his sword, he'd try his best to minimize the damage inflicted upon him. Deflecting bolts with his sword, maneuvering himself out of harm's way, and taking hits to his Personal Barrier was the best he could do at the moment.

Now, all he needed was for Ciara to come in quickly while the man was under his curse and rescue Davil.

Iris Ascendis

Woah! Boss fight! Let's see how hard we get our asses kicked in.

Edit: Time to dip into some blood bank savings :pensive:

Can Chunji detect anything of notice? If there's some sort of ritual going on in the room? It is time to draw aggro away from Davil.

Iris Ascendis

The darkness is getting thicker. It was a thought Chunji had as he waded through the darkness that became like the sea. He had the benefit of peering through the darkness, which was not the same for Ciara. If he had to imagine, it would be like holding onto a plank of wood in the middle of the vast sea. A horizon of darkness with no land in sight. Though Chunji could see it, they were nearing the destination.

Off to the distance, he could hear the distant sound of similar to a drill driving itself through a wall. Chunji didn't want to turn his head around. It was only an eventuality that the arresting force would come for the both of them. The mental pings of his Adapa, from Otis was assumed, were echoed in his head. Whatever the case, all of it did matter. He shared the same goal as Ciara. They must rescue Davil no matter what.

"Ciara. We are nearing the source of the darkness." Chunji notified the student-criminal. "I will say this once: the enemy may be unlike any we have fought before. If there is a scenario where I can rescue Davil, I will take him and abandon you at that moment." Then, without a pause, he continued. "You should do the same. As long as one of us rescues Davil, I would count that as a success."

The circumstances and logic were quite simple. Chunji was low on essence, and Ciara had expended a lot of energy during her fight with Alto and Iraleth and her getaway. The chances of them taking down the potential Umbralist were, to begin with, and the limitation of facing the faculty of the Iris Record was bad enough as is. Some mental calculations were made as they made it near the center.

"The root of this corruption is now straight ahead. I will go in first to survey the situation." Withdrawing his hand from Ciara, Chunji produced a scalpel from his pocket. A straight red line was cut from his arm as he ran the scalpel down his dominant arm. "I assume you know what to do, Ventura." The blood began to coagulate and harden.

"来自花的深谷..." (From The Deep Valley of Flowers) Chunji began saying foreign language. He breached the center and assessed the situation quickly. The moment he identified a threat, Chunji thrust his hand out. Seemingly, hundreds of snakes burst out of his arm, blood splattering around his surroundings. They all hissed and darted towards Chunji's potential target.

Iris Ascendis

It's all good Sifr. From the whirlwind of events you often tell us, I think you desperately need it.

Iris Ascendis

@Nanaya

Within the next 24 Hours, I will post, if that is alright.

EDIT: I will wait until tomorrow in case Sifr is working on their post now.

Iris Ascendis

@Sifr Rain check?

Iris Ascendis

@Nanaya

I might make a second post. Is there any new intro that Chunji would perceive as he travels through the magical darkness.

Iris Ascendis

Does the Adapa work like a telepathic link? As far as I'm aware, it works similarly to a phone. Since Dayin, Chunji's Adapa, isn't with him, he isn't receiving Otis's text messages.

Iris Ascendis

Traveling as a rat was difficult in many cases. Condensing the body and essence of a person into the shape of a rat took precision and good essence control to achieve, though that did not change the fact the original form was human. Regardless, Chunji was adaptable to changes and made his way up the staircase. However, However, there was a slight delay when an intruding presence arrived.

Ciara.

But on all accounts, the berserked student should have headed outside based on what he had seen with his Ethos. Now, she was running past him and heading up to the third floor. Was she being guided by something? How did she instinctively know that something was occurring on the third floor? She wasn't an occultist; Chunji could tell just by judging her behaviors and essences from previous encounters. Was Otis guiding her? Chunji couldn't contemplate as he realized the implications of her appearance. There was no doubt that every soldier and Iraleth was heading in this direction right now. Chunji highly doubted he could maintain his transformation while being stampeded on.

However, that left him with a conundrum. Should he associate with Ciara now? Based on a rampage in the Iris Record, their spat during orientation, and arguments during the exercise with Alto, Chunji was hesitant to involve himself with her. It was practically a curse to walk up and speak to her. Or was it a hidden blessing instead?

"Ciara." Chunji would emerge as if he had been following Ciara this entire time. Coming around the corner and up the stairs, Chunji looked up to his wounded peer. Chunji didn't close the distance as he wasn't aware the mental state the Ciara was currently in. "Seeing that you are here, I'm assuming that you have come to rescue Davil. I will assist you." With that, he took a few steps forward. His expression was ever expressionless even in the midst of the storm.

"You will be needing my sight as I can see past this veil of darkness. Additionally, I will heal the wounds you have accumulated that you have received on your journey here." Chunji slowly ascended the steps with the intention of reaching the third floor. "If you refuse, I will proceed without you, even if it means dealing with the potential Umbralist by myself. They are of no mere foe as they can control multiple leylines and teleported themselves into the Iris Record." With that, Chunji stopped on the step that Ciara was on. He turned to regard her.

"Will you accept my help?" He offered out his hand to the wounded girl. If she were, Chunji would cast the 'Heal' spell he had learned from the library. It was a rudimentary spell but efficient on the current essence amount he had. The spell would heal her wounds, pushing out the bullet that lodged in her. Oddly enough, this process wouldn't hurt as she would heal. Chunji would then take her hand and guide her through the darkness to the other side of the floor. If not, he would proceed without her and head down to reach the Southwestern Hallway to cover the entire floor.

His eyes could reach through the north and east of him. Account of the rooms within this field of vision meant that the room that may contain Davil would be in the Southwestern hallway. That was his current best bet at the moment as he made his way through the darkness.

Iris Ascendis

Yeah, Chunji is a rat right now.