Inertia

Just Another Hero

@Stern Algorithm

I'll do a quick one; Haze is pretty unassuming and polite in general interactions. Her quirk's the type of quirk that'd pique his interests so he may bother her about that but otherwise I don't see them interacting much outside of joint class activities.

That said, if they did ever match together in say, the Sports Festival, she might remember him for how insane and crazily he fights and with alot of glee.

Just Another Hero

Haze

_{𝐀𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐠𝐨}

Haze

_{𝐀𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧}

Paige

_{𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐤}

Steam Machine – Mutant type quirk.

Haze's skin is separated into pentagonal-shaped scales. The 'scales' in question are closer to a metallic textures like steel or iron than a scale. The colour resembles normal human skin, allowing him to pass off as 'normal' when seen. When Haze activates their quirk, his body becomes tougher, stronger, faster. Haze starts generating enough body heat to harm others through physical attacks.

When Haze is in use of his quirk it begin to consumes water his body, the only way to 'deactivate' his quirk is to purposefully expel steam from his body to bring it back to equilibrium, otherwise known as his 'neutral' state. In his neutral state, he is nothing more than an average human.

In addition, by closing the scales on his whole body and selectively opening them in certain sections, the user can shoot high-pressure steam at high speeds to attack or direct it to the ground to make big leaps from those openings. The steam can also be used to increase the speed of his attacks via acceleration (e.g. Expelling steam from behind his leg to speed up a kick). This comes with the caveat of bringing him closer to equilibrium, hence weakening his quirk's overall power.

Haze's quirk is battle against time; the longer his quirk is activated, the faster the water in his body is consumed. Though he can slightly control the rate at which his body burns through water. He has to keep the scales closed to prevent the steam from escaping to conserve his power- at the risk of overheating. Additionally, he still gets tired and can become dehydrated if used for prolonged periods of time. This coupled with the risk of overheating can prove to be very dangerous.

_{𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧}

Haze, otherwise known as Matsushima Keiji, in stark contrast to his renowned family's coldness and stoic demeanor(s) is a very amiable and friendly hero. He is usually found with a smile on his face with a joyful bearing on life as a hero and is the most approachable of the Matsushima. It doesn't take much asking for him to do someone else a favour, seeming glad to just be able to help out. This happy and genuine approach to life seems to earn him a bit of a good reputation with others while somewhat alienating him from his business-oriented and strict family.

Keiji is naturally inquisitive and curious, whenever he founds someone or something that piques his curiosity he tends to cling to that particular 'thing' until his curiosity is sated. It's rather difficult for him to switch rails when this happens and he becomes almost obsessive to sate his curiosity.

An odd quirk of Haze's personality is that he likes fighting quite a bit, bordering on a sick enjoyment. Something about the feel, feel, and atmosphere of an unrestrained battle feels invigorating to him. His personality even shifts drastically, turning into a bit of a blood knight; he uncharacteristically becomes more foul mouthed to goad his opponents into attacking and (when safe) he holds back and tempers his abilities to prolong the battle for his enjoyment. This has earned him an unofficial appendage to his Hero name; 'Crazed' or 'Bloody' Haze.

_{𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝}

Matsushima Keiji born to the Matsushima family, one of the most renowned and well established Hero agency in Japan. Born as the second son to a large family dynasty, he really wasn't expected to inherit and learn anything that's necessary to keep the family business running. He was mostly there to serve as a 'backup' just in-case anything happened to his older brother. As such, he was mostly allowed free-reign on whatever he wanted to do or pursue.

During his youth, his found his quirk was extremely hard to control and regulate properly and Keiji would spend most of his time in a sick bed in a grueling effort to control his power. It wasn't until his parents hired a quirk user, with similar capabilities, to help with simply controlling his quirk. It was a long and hard few years before he was able to enjoy a childhood.

It was only by chance that his brother had mentioned graduating from Eirei Academy in passing that he became interested. With a slight chuckle (an abnormality from his relative), his brother slapped his back and wrote a recommendation to the academy to appease his younger brother's insatiable curiosity.

Just Another Hero

Tell me if something's off or the quirk's too much. Also I hope this is still open.

Haze

_{𝐀𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐠𝐨}

Haze

_{𝐀𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧}

Paige

_{𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐤}

Steam Machine – Mutant type quirk.

Haze's skin is separated into pentagonal-shaped scales. The 'scales' in question are closer to a metallic textures like steel or iron than a scale. The colour resembles normal human skin, allowing him to pass off as 'normal' when seen. When Haze activates their quirk, his body becomes tougher, stronger, faster. Haze starts generating enough body heat to harm others through physical attacks.

When Haze is in use of his quirk it begin to consumes water his body, the only way to 'deactivate' his quirk is to purposefully expel steam from his body to bring it back to equilibrium, otherwise known as his 'neutral' state. In his neutral state, he is nothing more than an average human.

In addition, by closing the scales on his whole body and selectively opening them in certain sections, the user can shoot high-pressure steam at high speeds to attack or direct it to the ground to make big leaps from those openings. The steam can also be used to increase the speed of his attacks via acceleration (e.g. Expelling steam from behind his leg to speed up a kick). This comes with the caveat of bringing him closer to equilibrium, hence weakening his quirk's overall power.

Haze's quirk is battle against time; the longer his quirk is activated, the faster the water in his body is consumed. Though he can slightly control the rate at which his body burns through water. He has to keep the scales closed to prevent the steam from escaping to conserve his power- at the risk of overheating. Additionally, he still gets tired and can become dehydrated if used for prolonged periods of time. This coupled with the risk of overheating can prove to be very dangerous.

_{𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧}

Haze, otherwise known as Matsushima Keiji, in stark contrast to his renowned family's coldness and stoic demeanor(s) is a very amiable and friendly hero. He is usually found with a smile on his face with a joyful bearing on life as a hero and is the most approachable of the Keiji. It doesn't take much asking for him to do someone else a favour, seeming glad to just be able to help out. This happy and genuine approach to life seems to earn him a bit of a good reputation with others while somewhat alienating him from his business-oriented and strict family.

Matsushima is naturally inquisitive and curious, whenever he founds someone or something that piques his curiosity he tends to cling to that particular 'thing' until his curiosity is sated. It's rather difficult for him to switch rails when this happens and he becomes almost obsessive to sate his curiosity.

An odd quirk of Haze's personality is that he likes fighting quite a bit, bordering on a sick enjoyment. Something about the feel, feel, and atmosphere of an unrestrained battle feels invigorating to him. His personality even shifts drastically, turning into a bit of a blood knight; he uncharacteristically becomes more foul mouthed to goad his opponents into attacking and (when safe) he holds back and tempers his abilities to prolong the battle for his enjoyment. This has earned him an unofficial appendage to his Hero name; 'Crazed' or 'Bloody' Haze.

_{𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝}

Matsushima Keiji born to the Keiji family, one of the most renowned and well established Hero agency in Japan. Born as the second son to a large family dynasty, he really wasn't expected to inherit and learn anything that's necessary to keep the family business running. He was mostly there to serve as a 'backup' just in-case anything happened to his older brother. As such, he was mostly allowed free-reign on whatever he wanted to do or pursue.

During his youth, his found his quirk was extremely hard to control and regulate properly and Matsushima would spend most of his time in a sick bed in a grueling effort to control his power. It wasn't until his parents hired a quirk user, with similar capabilities, to help with simply controlling his quirk. It was a long and hard few years before he was able to enjoy a childhood.

It was only by chance that his brother had mentioned graduating from Eirei Academy in passing that he became interested. With a slight chuckle (an abnormality from his relative), his brother slapped his back and wrote a recommendation to the academy to appease his younger brother's insatiable curiosity.

Hoseforn’s Academy for Gifted Adventurers

Tag(s): Everyone

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Ixius had woken up relatively earlier than his peers; two hours before the sun creeped over the horizon. It would be a stretch to call him a morning person, however, he was noticeably more irritable in the early morning than later. Still, it was a habit drilled into him by his teacher in the Librarium. "An early mind is the sharpest." was what they parroted repeatedly, to the point where the saying grated on Ixius' nerves.

The crimson eyed-magus had just finished his morning ritual- basic Cardio to keep in shape and improve his stamina. Though nothing too strenuous for swordsmen, it did make him work up a bit of a sweat. He made his way back to his room to freshen up with a shower before classes started. After twenty minutes he would step out of the bathroom and wear his uniform adorned with his robes and sat on his study desk to read and await for classes to start.

---

Ixius closed his book and was out of his dorm as soon as Athena sounded an alarm. He leisurely sauntered over to the Hall of Combat. The hall was more grandiose than he initially thought it would be. It seemed endlessly large in scale, moreso than anything he's seen within the Librarium.

The magus stood in line with his fellow students; his feet were shoulder-width apart and his hands were behind him, thumbs interlaced. It was the 'at ease' position, once again taught to him by his teacher, when in presence of those higher in rank than him. However, unbeknownst to him, this stance wasn't mandatory at all. In short, his teacher was messing with him and it was entirely unnecessary. Ixius, being as serious as he is, stands in this position whenever in a class setting.

Even if Ixius found combat classes entirely unnecessary and undoubtedly (atleast in his mind) inferior to magic, he wouldn't go against the classes tailored by the academy. Would he voice his displeasure to anyone standing by, sure. To the Teachers, likely not. He listened closely to Vermont's words and took them in. He groaned internally at two things; the fact that no magic was allowed and that failing this, in his words, unnecessary class could lead to expulsion.

Ixius did a double take as the teacher did an impromptu run to finish off his speech. The students near him scrambled into a sprint to catch up to the instructor. The red-eyed boy clumsily followed suit, not having any time to take off his robes. As he managed to get his head right, he thought it would be unnecessary to sprint and run out of stamina quickly. It doesn't seem like there's a penalty for being las-

As he thought those words, an arrow cut through the air and hit a larger student right behind him on the side causing him to keel over in pain.

"Oh." Ixius unconsciously said.

It seemed that being near the back of the pack or last was asking to be knocked over by what appeared to be a blunt arrow. Ixius eyed a boy going over to help the downed student, only to be rewarded with getting pushed down himself as the douchebag caught up with the pack. Valencia shoved the bully as he merged back into the pack, earning a stifled chuckle from Ixius and a few other students near him. He even shot him a mirthful, evil smirk as their eyes met.

Ixius focused back on the matter at hand- the best position possible while avoiding being pelted the Instructor Dex's arrow. He had no real illusions of being able to take even one of Dex's arrows, especially without magic. To make up for his relatively lacking stamina, he had to run at a steady pace while meandering towards the back of the herd. It seemed that the benevolent student was the one that was being focused by the Instructor.

Ixius' breath began to catch in the back of his throat as more beads of sweat formed on his forehead. Hopefully his strategy of staying at pace with the back half of the pack would work.

DIVINE INTERVENTION

Jin opened his mouth to reply to Ryan but was abruptly stopped by a figure barging into the dining room. The man sounded Russian; Jin looked towards Ekaterine, "Is he speaking Russian?" He asked, keeping an eye on the stranger whilst simultaneously studying him. The man was draped in the garments of a priest- a cassock etched with familiar Latin writing. Jin studied and is relatively fluent in Latin due to the nature of his work- Latin chants and verses proved effective in fighting The Serpent and his unholy cohorts.

Jin took one more deep look at the man's features; the man seemed in dire need of rest. This lends credence to a theory brewing in his head- this man was likely an exorcist. Still, it's not unheard of for priests to be possessed. He has dealt with more than a few non-exorcist priests succumbing to demonic possession. An unknown variable like this man was risky. Jin's clergy had mentioned three other priests that he would work with and was even given their personal dossier, though it wasn't like they weren't well-known in the exorcist circle. He didn't know if this man was backup or a potential 'trick'; it was certainly a trick that Satanists would enjoy employing.

Jin turned to address the stranger before Ryan spoke and teleported away. The Satanist's quick exit surprised the Priest, instantaneous teleportation was far from common. In-fact, this was the first time Jin's been able to see it first hand. it first-hand; he didn't like the feeling that the magick gave him... It felt sinister and inhuman. A dozen-or-so unnamed Satanists clad in thick plate armour took his place. It didn't take a detective to guess that their party was expected. Jin readied his tonfas in a reverse grip.

Two Satanists charged the Korean Priest; one wielding a towering greatshield and an even larger spear. The other, from what Jin could tell, seemed more particularly skilled than his 'friend'. His movement, his steps specifically, denoted one seasoned in the usage of dual weaponry. Their rush seemed faster than expected. Jin noticed that Yu was in the way as he lit his censer, the Korean Priest apologized to Yu in his head before roughly shoving him out of the path of the shielded Satanist. Right before the two could collide, Jin spun to the shielded side of the Satanist to barely dodge the charge. Using the momentum of the spin, he hit the man on the back of the helmet with the long end of his tonfa. The concussive force of the weapon caused the shielded Satanist to tumble forward and lose his footing.

The dual-wielding Satanist barely stopped to acknowledge his fallen comrade and immediately attacked. Jin locked tonfas with his blades for a moment before he bashed it aside. He spun his tonfa around into a normal grip, and aimed for the opening between his helmet and chest- the throat. The hit landed squarely on the intended target as the man was pushed backwards, letting out a sharp exhale of air.

Jin retreated inwards into the room, keeping both men within view. The dual-wielding Satanist was on one knee, catching his breath. The shielded Satanist was already up and if looks could kill... Luckily, with the weight of the spear, shield and even the full plate armour, the range of motion of the man's spear was limited. They were still human, after all. The thrusts were fairly simple to deflect and bash way or sidestep and short end.

Jin tried to concoct a plan, he had little time before the dual-wielding Satanist would be up again. This time he stood on the spear side of the man. He waited for a slower and lower thrust than normal as he deflected each stroke. The next one seemed aimed at his feet, it was now or never. He used the bare minimum amount of motion to turn sideways to dodge the thrust. The spear lost it's momentum as it missed Jin. He flipped the tonfas into the special grip, as he tried to trap the weapon between the Soko and Tsuka- the opening between the handle.

Jin clicked his tongue as his tonfas narrowly missed, he misjudged the timing. The spear tore his side open as it was harshly retracted by the Satanist. Through God's grace, the wound wasn't very deep, it stung but that was the end of it. He noticed that the dual-wielding Satanist had almost recovered- there was no third chance. He stepped back as he deflected each thrust and waited for an opening. It came soon with another relatively low thrust. This time, he did it as he planned in his head. The thrust lost momentum after he dodged by a hair's breadth. His tonfa came down quicker than normal as he trapped the thrust even lower, low enough for him to stomp the spear into the wooden floor.

In the same moment, he flipped his right Tonfa turned into a reverse grip as he aimed an upward hit under the helmet, towards the Satanist's chin. Next, he flipped his left Tonfa into a normal grip and raised it high to brutally bash it downwards, on the man's helmet. The force of both concussive attacks caused the man to slump onto him. Jin quickly brushed him aside as the dual-wielding Satanist was already up and recovered. A clean, solid hit to the throat and the man had recovered in less than a minute. On Jin's side, he had suffered more than a few nicks and scratches here and there in the fight so far, the most prominent being the gash on his side.

"Please," Jin pleaded with the man, knowing it would fall on deaf ears, "Drop your arms, this isn't necessary."

DIVINE INTERVENTION

Ekaterine's energetic kick forced the door open, practically breaking the expensive hinges and wooden decor. The room beyond that door was just as impeccable as the rest of the mansion. It seems that the rumors of Satanist's had a penchant for the grandiose were true. The whole room set the scene. Jin's eyes scanned across the room and landed on a painting- a painting depicting 'the Last Supper'. However, it was The Serpent that has taken the place of Jesus, and his unholy servants surrounded him. The Priest's smile wavered ever so slightly; to have such blatant blasphemy on full display was unforgivable.

Jin shook his head to clear his mind- he needed to focus on the two figures in the room. One 'man' in a suit of armour was playing the beautiful music. Another, who had introduced himself as Ryan Chambers, was strikingly handsome and endlessly cordial. Satanists were like that, charming and approachable so they can reel you in with lies and deception to turn one against God.

The Priest waited for Alistair to finish before he spoke up, "I'm Jin Dak-Ho, a simple protestant from South Korea." Jin could see Ekaterine's antsy fingers, "Please, Ryan Chambers, turn away from The Deceiver and walks the righteous path once more. It is the only way without bloodshed." It was unlikely that his words would have an effect, however. Satanists have convictions just as strong, if not more reverent, as priests. In his life he's never seen a Satanist change their ways. It always rends his heart to have to kill a fellow human being.

Though Jin looked towards Ryan Chambers, he kept the man in the suit of armor within his peripheral. He wasn't quite as tense as Father Alistair was, but he was ready to jump into action as quickly as possible if need-be. The Priest also eyed the food that was offered, it seemed unlikely to be poisoned. However, accept a meal from the servants of The Deceiver is the same as accepting a meal from him.

DIVINE INTERVENTION

The rest of the ride went smoothly- well, as smooth as it can get being chased by demons. Father Alistair swiftly dispatched of the two remaining demons, it was apparent that the pastor had some experience with guns despite specializing in swordplay. It made sense, in a way, an exorcist has to consistently adapt to the situation that their church sends them to.

It also compounded Jin's thoughts about his fellow exorcists- they were definitely experienced and well trained. Jin, being the among the first and few exorcists in South Korea, lacked their technical know-how and rigid experience. South Korea had only just began developing a protestant presence in the newly seceded nation. The clergy and pastors were mostly off-hands with exorcists as they're busy establishing their presence. Most South Korean exorcists are self-trained and only bother their church for supplies. It'd nearly taken a year for Jin to be even supplied with and allowed a concealed carry.

Jin has heard, from the grape vine, that exorcists across the globe are stretched thin. Often times exorcists deal with cases alone. In rare cases they have a partner with them. So being sent in with three other exorcists- notable ones even, was a rarity amongst rarities. It meant that the situation was dire, or atleast that's how Jin viewed it. As god's servants, and through his divine providence, they would see it through. Jin had the utmost faith that it would work out. The driver's abrupt speech cut through his thoughts. The massive mansion had indicated that they arrived.

The priest had imagined that the house would be more... smaller in scale and dilapidated. The pristine and spotless condition betrayed that notion. It stood out against its surroundings, but in a reversed, odd way- the perfection of it contrasted the other buildings and house they had passed. Jin exited the beat up Chevelle and followed the driver to the trunk. He offered to help but the driver seemed insistent on opening it himself.

The rain seemed to pour harder as the driver went through the plan and described the interior of the mansion. Jin thought it was more of more of a labyrinth as the driver spoke of the plan. The map was then handed to him, "God bless you." The man had done far more than enough; Jin shot him an earnest smile to the driver as he slipped the map into one of his inner pockets."Leave the rest to us."

Jin stared at the pristine entrance of the mansion. The door was beautifully and impossibly ornate and gave off an almost ethereal feeling. The priest swallowed his disgust as he couldn't help but wonder how expensive the mansion is- how that money could have been used for those in actual need. Instead it's boasted in such a distasteful manner, one through needless pride and avaricious greed.

The priest was, once again, snapped out of his rumination. He figured since he had the map he should lead, not that he would need to use the map as he remembered the instructions clearly. "Shall we?"

The group followed the directions well enough. The door was odd and seemed to shift and change whenever Jin blinked. Still, Ektarine had her way with it and they soon entered. He had to stop himself from silently staring at the interior as they walked past- it was just as ornate inside as it was outside. Expensive, gaudy paintings, fanciful and beautifully carved chairs, silky rugs and more. It helped drive home the point of how rich the owner of this mansion truly is.

Jin recognized the music that played- Nocturne op.9 No.2. It was the most beautiful rendition of the piece he's ever heard. The music turned the mood sombre and oddly ominous. The music emanated from the dining room which helped in locating it. He stopped himself in-front of it and turned to his compatriots. "Are you all ready?" Jin asked as he gripped the cross on his neck, unsure of what exactly to expect on the other side.

Hoseforn’s Academy for Gifted Adventurers

Tag(s): Everyone at the table

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Ixius placed the cutlery neatly to the side of his finished plate. He wondered if it was necessary to bring the plate anywhere, but followed the other students who had messily left their plates on the table. The magus listened to the comings and goings of his own table with disinterest. He did notice that Anise looked as downtrodden as Selena was but chose to say nothing. The conversation, at the very least, veered into a different direction. It devolved into a life as an adventurer and its glamour, Ixius couldn't help but frown at the rose-tinted discussion.

The talking ground into a halt as the same brute practically bulldozed into Selena. Finn, Arn, Lorelei and Karya practically jumped into action. Finn even shook the table as he stepped over it and to where Selena and the brute-of-a-student was. Ixius thanked his lucky stars that his book nor plate was stepped on. His eyes trained onto the situation unfolding- the monkey-like agility of Finn and the raw physicality of the brute... To Ixius, it was like observing two apes beating their chests. Even if he did think that Finn was more justified.

Luckily, Lorelei stepped in before the situation devolved into the a physical altercation and breaking the rules right after it was clearly stated to them and in-front of those same teachers. A deep voice rumbled right behind the two soon after, it was one of the teachers- Vermont. Even his voice was enough to make Ixius come to a halt, and he wasn't even directly involved. The situation that threatened to engulf Finn and the Brute blew over with the teacher's arrival. This group stands out in more ways than one. Ixius had even caught a few of the teachers staring in their general direction. He began preparing to leave. Ixius had even caught a few of the teachers staring in their general direction.

"I'd say it's been a pleasure... but," Ixius stopped himself and turned to leave, waving at whoever cared to see it, ... Ta." The red-eyed magus looked for an Athena crystal-ball to find the location of the 'Library' of Hoseforn seeing as he had free time. The location was imprinted onto his map and he began heading there. A few students openly gawked and whispered as they swiveled their head to follow Ixius. He had to stop his eyes from rolling out of his head at how 'inconspicuous' they thought they appeared. To be already subject to such infamy by proxy was something new. It didn't help that his robes laid on-top of the school uniform made him stand out quite easily.

Ixius took in the familiar smell of a library- The Hall of Mysteries. It felt like home for him, even if it didn't quite compare to the vast, nigh-endless libraries of the Librarium, it was something. There were barely any students present, as most likely would just spend their last bit of free time to do something more 'fun', but this was 'fun' for Ixius. The magus silently commended the students who were present however, most seemed to be third year students and had an intense look about them. Like Ixius, it seemed that it was best not to bother them, and he preferred it that way.

Ixius ran his fingers through the spine of each book, each bump triggered a calm, nostalgic feeling. He had a feeling that most of his time would likely be spent here, and he was probably right. After enough wistful meanderings he picked out a book- another one related to the basic simple principles of matter teleportation. It was the full version of the same, abridged, book he has. With the book in the crook of his arm, he found an empty seats among a sea of empty seats. He opened the book and quietly began reading, as he's always done.

"Now that I think about it, that grimoire that that mage had was odd..." The red-eyed mage mused to nobody in particular as he turned another page.

DIVINE INTERVENTION

A warm, comfortable silence blanketed the car after each person (sans the driver) had spoken their piece. It nestled itself softly into the background amidst the music playing on the radio and the soft clanging of inspected weaponry. However, all good things must come to pass. An inhuman, demonic screech sounded through the lonesome street and soon a rhythmic thumping got closer and closer. Jin and his fellow exorcists all snapped to attention, honing in on the sounds.

The priest's eyes landed on the horse-like demonic beings following after their vehicle. Jin's never seen demons such as those, only various myths and and hushed rumours that travel around follow exorcists. What he did know, however, was that demons came in all shapes and forms. Jin, under normal conditions, would have formulated some sort of plan with backups but it seemed that The Serpent would not give him nor his fellow priests the luxury.

"지친 이들을 위한 휴식 없음." Jin mumbled to himself, unconsciously slipping back to his mother tongue. The priest offered a short prayer of deliverance for him and his colleagues.

The horse-like demons would soon catch up and each exorcist played their part. The driver was fiercer than Jin had initially given him credit for- as the one demon laid wayside on the road can attest to. The car shook as he flicked his eyes to the demons ramming the right side of the car. Alistair, through sheer brawn, pulled one of the demons into the car and continuously stabbed downwards until it limped, dead on his lap. The young, disgusted priest chucked the demon out of the window.

At the same time, Ekaterine shouted out words to invigorate the rest into action. Her excellent control of her weapons and concentration surprised even Jin. Her reputation far preceded her- her handling, aim and odd calmness in the face of danger were signs of a seasoned expert. Before long three of the demons lives were extinguished with each resounding gunfire. If anything, her zeal was much more intense than anyone else in the car.

Yu pushed upwards onto the roof and stabbed the demon off it, it careening and crashing behind the five demons chasing them. The cold priest would light his censer, smoking out the demons right on their trail. It had an effect, it seemed to weaken and slightly slow down the demons.

As these situations happened, Jin fished the vials of clear, holy liquid out of his pouch. He holstered his pistol to the side of his chest. Next he rolled the window downwards (property damage, after all) and, while grabbing the rear interior handle, pushed himself out of the window. The scarred-priest faced the five horse-like demons chasing them and took a moment to adjust his aim. Three vials flew out of his hand and broke on one of the demons head; the liquid made its flesh to sizzle and smoke as its flesh sloughed off its form. The pain caused it to writhe and fall into agony and to tumble backwards.

In what Jin would call divine intervention, the demon rolled over and crashed into one of his fellow demons. The momentum essentially bludgeoned the other demon into the floor, tripping the other and grinding them onto the thorny asphalt. Both demons slid through the roads and turned into a fine, red misty meat-paste.

This was no time to celebrate, however. Jin clasped the colt into his hands and aimed, "God, guide this unworthy servant's hand." He cocked the gun and aimed at the demon in the middle of the pack. The colt cracked as a bullet careened out of the barrel as it harshly recoiled upwards. The bullet pierced through the air and punched into, what Jin assumed, its brain. The single shot caused it to fall limp and tumble violently onto the road, unluckily it didn't take anyone else with it.

A bump on the road caused Jin to slink back into the car to steady himself and catch his breath. He wasn't alone in this hunt, however, and he entrusted the task to his fellow exorcists- he was unsure if he could get another shot like that without wasting limited ammunition.

The Prince's Royal Guard

Even Acrius could tell more eyes were on him as he walked to the plaza, the assassins unconscious, freshly seared body in tow. Each step seemed to stupefy a portion of the festivities, as more turned to gape at him. The men, naturally bewildered, the women... with looks that he was unfamiliar yet familiar with. The swordsman couldn't tell why, however. Perhaps it was the semi-dead body on his shoulder. As he ruminated in his thoughts a decorated guardsman approached him, similar in garb to Rudolph. Likely a captain. After a brief conversation, he had turned him over to Helt and ascertained where Leonidas was.

"Shit, shit, shit," Acrius' pace quickened. This likely meant that the prince was still gobbling away at the food brought to him. If that 'servant' didn't listen, if they even were a servant, then there would be hell to pay. His eyes scanned the plaza and it spotted the prince still eating merrily under his tent.

Acrius did feel it was his fault that he chased the assassin instead of making sure the Prince was safe, a dumb and hasty decision on his end. He approached the prince at a near running speed as a few heads turned his way.

"Leonidas- Prince Leonidas," Acrius grabbed Leonidas' hand and threw the leg of chicken to the floor, "The food's been poisoned. I believe that assassins have paraded as some of the servants. How much have you eaten?"

"Either way, it is unsafe in the open like this," Acrius practically hoisted the Prince out of his chair, "We need to head back to the barracks for your safety and call for a healer."

Acrius recognized one of the observers in the crowd gawking at them. "PETYR!" The orange-eyed boy shouted through the stirs of the crowd, "Help me escort his highness back to the Barracks, quickly."