Hitman

:: Dragon Heart ::

Minor Things

Bat Flight

A dollar a day keeps the authorities away.

Bat Flight's reputation comes not from sheer Magic power or size (for the group has neither). What Bat Fight lacks in militaristic leverage, however, they make up for in economic leverage. Bat Flight's Guild Master, a man named Keslar Magnate, was a rich tycoon whose company, Magnate Solutions, was dissolved after he was found to have been creating and selling illegal substances to various groups, including pre-Helga-ized World Serpent. Keslar managed to take his wealth underground, though, and formed Bat Flight, a group dedicated to maximizing profits at any cost.

Bat Flight has very few Mages in the group- however, they do have a group of well-trained users of Magic Items that are more than capable of defending their honor.

Keslar Magnate
A rich man in his late 40's with Elvis-style black hair and always wearing sunglasses, Keslar lacks magic, but he does not lack wealth and imagination, having a whole arsenal of Magic Weapons in his storage depots.

Johnny "Tiger" Skinner
A young man with a solid build and always seen in a tiger-print robe, Johnny Skinner, more commonly known as "Tiger," is Bat Flight's only S-Class mage and their ace. Though he holds both titles, Tiger is not as capable of S-Classes from other guilds, ranking at only A+ or A class if compared to other Guilds's ranking systems. Tiger uses Teleportation Magic and hand-to-hand combat to defeat his foes.

"Snaggins"
A very short individual, Snaggins stands at the meager height of 4 feet and is always seen wearing green robes and a tall conical hat of matching color. Snaggins is the head designer of Bat Flight's arsenal of weapons, and uses (fitting to his nickname) Net Magic to ensare those that oppose him (or make fun of his stature).

:: Dragon Heart ::

Sara Hepburn

---

---

Jean sighed. The Lady in Black hit the money on that one point- these Mages were going to go down fighting. As the young lady with the hammer ran towards him, Jean pressed his finger on his neck. ”Prepare yourselves. This battle is about to get ugly. At least try to keep one of them alive- good leverage.”

Hammer Girl leaped up and swung straight down at him. Had they not been fighting, Jean would have criticized her. Such a basic attack would serve no purpose. Jean extended his sword, and then, with a single strike, slashed at the shaft of the hammer, his Corrosion Magic on the sword more than capable of bisecting the hammer, before leaping aside with grace.

What happened next was a bit of a surprise. Four massive blasts of green gas suddenly appeared behind him, the wind blowing what appeared to be poison gas into his two colleagues, followed by a large explosion as the gas ignited into a fiery explosion. Then another shot came towards him. He perhaps could have sliced the bullet, but that would be far too risky, so Jean simply contented with dodging again. He then readied himself again. ”Fools to fight, you are. Prepare yourselves.”

Meanwhile, behind Jean, as the fiery mess began to simmer down, so did two spheres of rock, retreating back into the Earth. The tanned woman, Piedra, looked towards the clown as the two approached Jean. "Believe me when I say I won't save you again."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, got it," the other man, the clown, said. "Let's play, hmm?"

Sara grabbed another Gold Key from her chain. "Open, Gate of the Scorpion, Scorpio!”

The same shimmering light show occured, this time a tanned man with short red-white hair and a long metal scorpion tail appearing after the glow faded. "What's up, my wicked lady?" he said with a glint that be described as nothing other than wicked.

"Stand by. This is about to get...insane."

@Esran @Raijinslayer @Quincy @pkken

---

---

To the door approached a young lady with a pale blue dress and perfectly-done hair. She gave the group a shaky smile. "You must be the mages. Do come in." She guided the group to an exquisite sitting room, complete with large red sofas and a glass table in the center. The woman sat down.

"Now, I’ve hired a tracker to find poor little Angel," the woman said solemnly. ”He’s at the headquarters of a bandit guild called Bat Flight. They’re a small group overall, and a majority of their members lack magic, but they make up for it in wealth. Most of them possess magic items that give them an edge over even some of the strongest Mages. They’re holed up in the abandoned magic item factory just outside of town," she said, unrolling a map with their location and that of the factory, not a far walk away, marked down. "Local authorities refuse to act on them. They’re a tough group of cookies. But I’m confident you’ll do well. Hurry, before he’s sold off."

She gave them a sweet wave. "Godspeed to you, Dragon Heart."

@Valor @Aeolian @Lmpkio @MarsAdept

:: Dragon Heart ::

Sara Hepburn

---

---

Sara studied the bandits as the team got into their positions- Vali climbing atop her carriage, while the other 3 prepared to fight. Sara nodded as they spoke. ”I got perfect frontliner for you guys,” she said with a mischievous glint, removing a Golden Key with an axe-like design at the tip.

”Open, Gate of the Golden Bull!” Sara chanted, not loud enough to be heard all the way down the hill, but enough to be audible to her nearby guildmates. ”Taurus!”

The light shimmered as Taurus appeared. Taurus was a massive humanoid figure, standing at nearly 7 feet in height, and incredibly muscular at that, while also sharing meany features with a the spotted black-and-white cow. He was only wearing several pieces of clothing- a black Speedo, a pair of leather boots, a cowbell around his neck, and a devious grin. In his arms was his signature labrys.

”Ah, Ms. Sara,” Taurus said, staring his Mage down. ”Looking just as beau~tiful this fine afternoo~n!” The Celestial Spirit even spoke following the cow motif, with great emphasis upon his “oos.”

”Uh...” Sara seemed mildly uncomfortable at the Spirit’s words. ”Can you...uh...help us out here? We need to remove those bandits to recover the medicine inside the carriages.”” She pointed towards the downed vehicles.

”Absolu~tely!” Taurus twirled his labrys. He looked towards Damien, then Argus, and then (for quite a bit longer) at Trixie. ”You guys just moo~ve on in behind me. Those bandits are easy pickings,” he said confidently, walking towards the robed men.

---

---

Meters away, the three individuals watched as the Dragon Heart mages prepared themselves. The one in the center, a slim young man covered in a black robe, reached to his neck, pressing down on a circular glyph ”M’lady. They’re here.”

A voice spoke back into his head. ”As expected. Use the Lacrima. And be careful.”

The man snorted. ”Careful? These mages aren’t even their top combatants. A warm-up, that’s all they are.”

The clown got into the telepathic conversation as well, pressing on his own glyph. ”Ain’t that right? Where’s the robot girl you told us ‘bout? I’m looking forward to that fight.”

The voice scoffed. ”Believe me when I say they’re resilient. I knew my dearest brother, and my nephew, and the new Guild Master, the old fool. Those mages will put up a fight. If you expect otherwise, you may face greater danger than you anticipated.”

The middle man relented. ”As you wish. Preparing offense.”

He removed a small detonator from his pocket, and after a brief pause, pressed the red button atop it.

---

---

The men in the black robes, meanwhile, were laughing and playing a game of cards when they noticed a group of people. They then began to go haywire, screaming and panicking. They expected a few Council Knights, perhaps, not an entourage of talented mages. Their panic was only interrupted a shrill beep.

“Huh?” one of the bandits said, before an explosion emerged from the carts, loud as could be, blue energy wrapping around the bandits. Needless to say, the medicine was screwed, and all the bandits were as well, caught in the explosive blast. Smoke rose from the smoldering remains of the shipments.

The Cow Spirit and his summoner alike were both bewildered. What had happened?

---

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The man in the distance laughed, unclipping his dark robes and drawing his blade, Venom Fang’s polished metal glistening in the distance. He sat back into a stance. Their distraction was his opportunity.

”Frappe Rapide!”

---

---

Sara, still standing in the distance, noticed something. One of the figures in the distance removed their cloak and drew a sword. But before she could call out to anybody, or even blink, really, the figure vanished, crossing a great amount of distance in a single movement, and slashed. The Golden Bull stood motionless for a moment, before dropping backwards, giving a pained “MOO!” before returning to the spirit world in a myriad of golden light.

Sara stared at the attacker in utter shock, watching him twirl his blade. He was a young man, not much older than Sara herself, with a mane of blonde hair and piercing green eyes, lean and pale. He’d be considered good-looking, perhaps, if it wasn’t for that bleak, emotionless face, and of course, the sword.
The man looked up at the mages. ”Greetings. My name is Jean Vali, Mage of the Spider Legs guild. I’ve been tasked with your apprehension and, if you fail to complain, your extermination. Now, unlike my colleagues-” He nodded towards the two approaching figures. ”-I’m not bloodthristy in any way. Killing is only necessary when it’s just that. So please, do me a favor…”

He twirled the blade and pointed the tip at the Mages. ”...and surrender while you’re alive, before things get ugly.”

@Esran @Raijinslayer @Quincy @pkken

:: Dragon Heart ::

Sara Hepburn

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---

Sara watched with a sort of warmth inside her as Juno and Argus interacted. Clearly, Argus wasn’t all stone cold to the rest of the world. Sara gave Juno a smile. ”Sara. Hepburn. Don’t worry, he won’t die, I promise,” she said in a joking way to the Trickster mage’s sister.

Little did she know, her promise would be harder to uphold than she thought.

Sara looked over at their little crew. They weren’t the strongest in the Guild, true, but she was confident they would be able to tackle anything that was thrown at them.

”Alright,” she said spunkily. ”The four-wheeler is out front. I’ll use the SE plug,” she stated as she led the quintet out of the Guild Hall. Right there, not far from the mouth of the dragon, parked aside a small building, was a burgundy four-wheeler. Much like a carriage, the driver’s seat was out in the open, a comfortable seat located in the midst of a variety of handles and levers as well as a steering wheel, while the passenger seats were located inside the body of the vehicle. To call the insides anything short of luxurious was simply untrue- comfortable velvet seats lined the insides of the carriage, a small cooler full of exquisite beverages and magic ice (courtesy of Ursa Major) sat in the middle, and a tray of freshly-baked cookies (the work of Fornax) sat next to the drinks. Sara took the driver’s seat, looking back through the window that connected driver and passenger.

”Make yourself at home,” she called out as her foot found the driver’s pedal. ”It’s a bit of a ride.”

---

---

After a long, painful drive, Sara’s four-wheeler pulled up in the areas outside Mill Valley, where Sara’s high-speed driving slowed to a crawl. Piloting the vehicle through the fields of wheat (she’d make it up to them later), Sara gave a joyful ”a-ha” upon spotting what appeared to be the target- several large carriages, all off the road and surrounded by men in black robes. Sara pulled the brakes, stepping out of the vehicle. ”That has to be it,” she said to the assorted crew, grabbing her keys and thinking about which one to summon. ”You guys go ahead. I’ll back you up.”

Little did she know, not far away, a group of three individuals were waiting. The trap was set, the bait in place.

It was about to become a massacre.

:: Dragon Heart ::

Spider Legs

Spider Legs

Spider Legs is a Dark Guild operating under the banner of World Serpent. Spider Legs has a bunch of Dark Mages, most of whom are low-level bandits and rogues, but their top 3 mages, working as a team called “Black Widow,” are very capable Mages, recognized by Helga Zanthrax as major assets for her cause. Combined, they’re capable of taking down even S-Class mages of various guilds.

Jean Vali
A young man in his late 20s with a mess of blonde hair, piercing green eyes, and intimidating demeanor, Jean is the “leader” of Black Widow. Jean’s magic is titled Corrosion Magic, which he imbues into his longsword Venom Fang. Jean’s magic is potent enough to allow him to slice through steel effortlessly, and easily tear through human flesh if his sword touches skin.

Attacks

Frappe Rapide- Jean strikes at lightning-fast speeds, moving as if teleporting and striking down his target.
Frappe Double- Jean strikes twice at his target.
Grève Meurtrière- Jean increases the corrosiveness of his sword, allowing it to cut even more swiftly through targets.
Épée Diabolique- Jean maximizes the corrosiveness of his blade before striking with all his might, allowing him to literally cut through multiple targets in a single swing. This technique has been described as capable of defeating an entire fleet of 100 Council Knights, all of which are approximately B- to C class mages in strength.

”Smiley”
An older, heavy man in his late 40s, perhaps, Smiley looks exactly like a clown, with whiteface always on, and he’s constantly seen wearing a clown costume and a party hat. Smiley (whose real name currently remains unknown) uses a Holder Magic titled Magic Orbs, which allows him to throw explosive Magic Orbs for a variety of effects.

Orbs

Burn Orb- His most common orb, the Burn Orb causes a medium-sized fiery explosion upon contact.
Freeze Orb- The Freeze Orb freezes everything near it upon contact.
Lightning Orb- The Lightning Orb delivers a powerful blast of electricity upon contact.
Acid Orb- The Acid Orb releases acid everywhere upon contact, lathering everything near it with corrosive acids.
Wind Orb- The Wind Orb causes a whirlwind upon contact.
Darkness Orb- The Darkness Orb surrounds the immediate vicinity in absolute darkness upon contact.
Purgatory Orb- A particularly powerful orb, the Purgatory Orb creates a large explosion of intense heat upon contact.
Total Orb Attack: Major Elemental Explosion- Using telekinesis, Smiley launches all his orbs at one target, creating a massive rainbow-color explosion. This single attack was able to defeat an entire fleet of 100 Council Knights, all of which are approximately B- to C class mages in strength.

Piedra Fria
A young woman in her mid 20’s with messy brown hair and tan skin, Piedra’s the third part of Black Widow and is known for her cold demeanor. Piedra uses Rock Magic to assail her foes with stone.

Spells

Crepitus Petram- Piedra launches several rocks into her target at high speed, causing a massive explosion.
Murum Petram- Piedra creates a massive wall of rocks, capable of blocking powerful attacks.
Statuam Petram- Piedra creates life-like statues out of stone that immediately begin to fight for her.
Imperium Petram- One of her signature spells, Piedra surrounds herself in magical rock armor, granting immense strength and durability.
Vindicta Terrum- Her other signature spell and her most powerful, Piedra releases a massive pillar of pure energy from the Earth, engulfing her target. This attack is capable of defeating an entire fleet of 100 Council Knights, all of which are approximately B- to C class mages in strength.

:: Dragon Heart ::

Sara Hepburn

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Trixie’s response was a welcome one- an energized shout that any bandits they encountered would find themselves squished underneath her signature hammer, a fearsome weapon further enhanced by the Mage’s magic.

Under that hammer is not a place that I want to be, Sara thought to herself.

Trixie then piped up about somebody else being a creep, causing Sara to turn her attention in the general direction that Trixie was facing. Looking at the two was a Mage with long, crimson hair, some of his locks covering his right eye. After a second, Sara identified this nosy individual as Argus. He used some sort of Requip magic involving trickery and pranks, but as far as Sara knew, he was a capable Mage, at least on her level in terms of magic. He looked bored, and the bounty was enough that Sara was willing to split a fifth way, so she did something that some others in the group might disagree with.

”Hey! Arg! You want to come with us? We’re doing a big job to rescue some medicine from a group of bandits. We have room for one more!"

I don’t even know if my four-wheeler has room for one more, but that’s besides the point.

Sara shrugged those trivial thoughts aside and waved the other mage over.”It’ll be fun! Maybe!” the Celestial Spirit mage shouted to her younger peer, giving him a flashy smile. Outside of the aid a 5th member would bring, and the fact that Sara liked company, the Celestial Spirit Mage also viewed the red-haired member as a detached and cold. And while Sara had no Caster Magic of her own, she did have a specialty- warming people up to the stoking flames of Dragon Heart.

:: Dragon Heart ::

Sara Hepburn

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Before Trixie responded, another man approached, calling out her name. Sara immediately turned her head towards the source of the noise, noticing the masked sniper, Vali. Vali was a (typically) masked sniper in the Guild that, to Sara's knowledge, used some sort of gun-based requip magic. What she did know for sure was that he was loyal and protective to the various members of Dragon Heart. While Sara hadn't necessarily looked for him to join the crew from before, he was definitely a more than welcome addition to their small party in their quest to get medicine.

Trixie then piped up in response, asking about what she was needed for. That was two more Mages into the crew, certainly enough to deal with any bandits that they ran into, no matter how tough they were.

"I just thought you'd be a good addition, is all," Sara responded to the hammer mage. "I don't like fighting all too much, but most bandits don't just keel over when you walk up to them. If reason won't work..." She wrapped a hand around her Gold Keys. "...I'm willing to beat some sense into them. If I have to."

She than quickly turned to address Vali, who she had ignored for a solid 10 seconds. "And it's great that you're coming to! I haven't really seen you do much with that gun of yours yet, but I'm sure you can work wonders! And those healing bullet sound like they'll be useful!"

She addressed the group as a whole. "It'll take almost half a day to get there, so maybe you guys should go get ready or whatever? I'll meet you out in front of the Guild Hall."

---

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Kukan sat in his office contemplating. His office certainly reflected the mood, filled wall-to-wall with books and tomes and anything with words on it. His desk was covered in papers, manuscripts, letters, all sorts, with a dusty old book titled "Worlde Serpentes" lying open in the center of it all. Kukan stared at the book, reading through every page. The book was a collection of recipes from years prior, but Kukan had hoped that if would contain some sort of hint.

Just recently, the World Serpent guild, previously thought extinct, had resurfaced, and took the entire country by storm. Just one murder of a Council Guard captain had sparked a series of revelations. World Serpent was no longer a small dark guild- they were a threat controlling crime rings and dark guilds across the country. Their Five Serpent Heads were at least on par with the S-Class mages of Dragon Heart, and their Guild Master- only known to the public as Helga- was a mage of unrivaled power. With the council not doing anything, it was up to Dragon Heart to do what they did not.

But of course, those two knuckleheads- Vega and Muko- had to go at it again. Both were incredible mages, no doubt, but they needed something. And Kukan figured he had the cure.

The door creaked, and as Kukan expected, the two of them quickly walked in. Master Teki clasped his hands. "Hello there you two." He waved his hand. "I have a job for you, so listen up. It's important."

"There's been a series of attacks on a legal guild titled Sea Dragon's Tooth by a mysterious mage. All reports indicate he's working solo, but even on his own he's just as strong as either of you. So I figured that a solid exercise would be for you to work together and defeat him. The reward is handsome, in any case."

Kukan snapped his fingers, a Magic Seal forming underneath the two mages's feet. "Good luck, of course. And now..."

"Space Shift!"

Brilliant green light overflowed the room, and the two mages found themselves immediately stranded in a beautiful spring field, a small Guild Hall unlike the Dragon Heart one in the near distance.

Kukan smiled, stretching his arms. The whole mission was claptrap, entirely falsified- Sea Dragon's Tooth, the Dark Mage, and the entire area was simply a creation of his Personal Space. He had designed it to make the two solo mages work together to accomplish something.

"Now, for the real mission."

Mis and her motley crew should be there any second now.

@Quincy @pkken @Sho Minazuki @Esran @Reflection

:: Dragon Heart ::

Sara Hepburn

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Sara gave an amiable smile as Dame spoke, accepting her offer to work together with a sweet response.”Awe, thanks, you,” she said with a brief giggle. The young man, around a year her senior, was such a charmer. The fellow blonde followed Damian as the two made their way over to the request board, where Kukan, using his magic, had tacked on several new additions. Sara glossed over them. Most of them seemed to appeal to the C-rank mages of the guild, with basic quests such as teaching magic to small children (a task that, while enjoyable to Sara, did not pay rent) and working at various venues for security (a task so utterly boring Sara could not think to do it again.) There was one quest in particular that caught her eye.

”How about this one?” Sara reached for a piece of paper on the board, pulling the parchment down to read more closely. ”I hate to even think about those poor people, without medicine and all. Let’s do this one, OK?”

She noticed the typos, of course, but thought little of them. He was a doctor in a rush; she didn’t really care all too much for the grammar in the letter.

A resolute look in her eyes, she began to speak quicker now, determination filling her voice. ”We ought to get a move on. Mill Valley shouldn’t be too far from here, anyway, so we can get a move on pretty quickly.” Her eyes looked around the room, from masked sniper perched up near the balcony to the hammer girl pinned down by the bar.

”A team couldn’t hurt as well.”

Sara walked over to Trixie first, who was now free from Mis’s tackle. ”Trix! Me and Dame are going out on a job. Want to come? It’s a nice reward, and I don’t mind splitting.” She glanced back at her companion. ”You?”

@Quincy @pkken

:: Dragon Heart ::

@Raijinslayer Alright, I've had time to look at the form now, and I have a few critiques.

Scarlet(or Asura) God Slayer

All slayer magics are elemental. Scarlet's not really an element, so that wouldn't precisely work out.

This leads to it being able good at not only tearing through most defenses, as each attack weakens the structural integrity of the target and thus that much easier to break down, but it also means that it can interact with other magic as well, breaking down the inner formulas and structures that hold every spell together.

This is fundamentally broken. It's Gildart's Crash, but a God Slayer magic capable of being thrown around with bellow and blasts. Crash is already an insanely overpowered magic, so I personally feel that this magic is too much.

If he were to ever focus more on his skill as a slayer, however, it is possible that he could refine the transference of energy in the future to make it a more viable means of regaining magical power akin to that of other slayers, if not better given the lack of restriction.

In essence, by the time we hit Page 100 in the RP, we will have a self-healing Gildarts. O_O

I do think necessary revisions should be made in order for this to suffice in the RP. Certainly other characters do have their issues in terms of balance, but this seems a bit over the bar I'd set for right now.

I will accept a strong case for your magic as well, but after several read throughs, I don't see any way that this Magic is not a shade OP.

---

@Crimson Raven Thank you for your concern and input, but could you lay off a bit on the character critiquing? Thanks.

:: Dragon Heart ::

Sara Hepburn

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As the fight between Muko and Vega raged on, a looming figure appeared on the balcony, pushing his way through Glory and Lorn. He raised his right hand, extending his index and middle fingers, a look of annoyance behind his bespectacled eyes. A large, shimmering green Magic Seal appeared at the tip of his fingers, a bright light emanating across the Guild Hall.

"Frozen Space!"

Immediately, a wave of grey shot through the room, draining the color out of every surface, person, animal, anything in the room, except for Kukan himself. Sara immediately felt her joints stiffen and her body lock into place as it turned into the desolate shades of grey and black and white, monochrome. The only function in her body (other than breathing) that still worked was her eyes, which turned towards the angry-looking Guild Master.

"This," he began slowly, after a brief period of silent concentration, "is a family. We are a family. We don't fight in these sacred halls, built out of the foundations of respect and honor." His glare intensified on Muko and Vega. "You knuckleheads- all of you- should truly take time to reflect on the words and actions of our predecessors, of our peers, and try to exemplify their lives." With a wave of his hand, the spell was dissipated- the grey hues all vanished, replaced once again by color and life. Sara stretched her arms eagerly. Kukan didn't showcase his magic often, but when he did, it was bound to be intense.

Master Teki, with a wave of his hand, opened a dark green portal, from which a fountain of letters, stamped "MAGIC COUNCIL," flowed out from, like a river of paper. "These are the complaints we receive for our lack of behavior while out on missions. Constant denunciations, grievances, warnings, and more. How many times we've been threatened with disbandment is uncountable." Kukan, who realized the exorbitant amount of complaints had now flooded the Guild Hall floor knee-deep, quickly reversed the spell, the papers disappearing in a quick flash and a loud snap. "You guys know as well as I do that I could care less about the Magic Council, but the next time you go out on a job, at least consider the consequences your actions will have on your peers, your surroundings, and your Guild."

Turning with a quick motion and giving a curt nod to Lorn and Glory, he finished with a quick statement. "A few new jobs are now up, by the way, if you're not busy. Nothing too dangerous, but the people look like they need your help, and even through the shenanigans, help is what we do best as Mages. And plus, there's some nice Emeralds behind it, so I'd consider it if I were you." He quickly glanced over his shoulder at Muko and Vega. "I'll see you two in a bit."

And with those last words, he vanished back up to his office as quickly as he came.

Sara glanced at the request board from the bar stool, before turning to the person next to her, Damian. She never liked going on jobs alone, and she never really associated all too much with the moderately new Great Tree Arc mage outside of polite introductions, waves, and the occasional meeting at the hall and about the country. "Hey. Would you be up for a job together? I've never really worked with you before, so I see it as a fun opportunity." She smiled with that sweet-as-honey smile that she constantly had on. "What do ya say?"

@pkken