TheWendil

The Devil Hunter Agency

@Unlucky0013, looking to join?

The Devil Hunter Agency

So far they seem good to me. Wait for @KoL‘s opinion.

The Devil Hunter Agency

“Well, well~” With each passing moment, by choice or chance, Shika gre to impress the Envoy. Selfies aside, the eye-patched girl watched from her portal as her distended arm was used as a model for a complete doppelganger in her image courtesy of Shika herself. It was nearly identical in appearance, though it lacked the Envoy’s voice and overall charm. While it smiled and waved when needed to, it didn’t do much aside from follow Shika around. “Overall, not bad. Color me amused~” the Envoy chuckled before Rufus’ portal dissipated at last.

Alone with her, her, and herself, Shika’s plan would yield itself into action. While the Envoy doppelganger moved off to do as it was told and collect the black rocks, the temple’s area was soon surrounded and filled with more of Shika’s spawn. Indeed, it wouldn’t be long before her plan would attract both the DHA’s attention and, in theory, whatever had left their scales laying around the holy shrine. Eventually there was movement, spurning the hunters to act, though Maria’s approach was no doubt something crasser and blunter than what Shika expected. At least the rocks were easy enough to spot, littering the place.

Over at the park, the antics of battle were underway as well. Drawn in by the black stones, the bug Youkai buzzed and swarmed where they could. Invisible to humans as most of all Youkai were, some were drawn in to feast upon the park’s residents though most were headed towards a direction that could only be assumed to be where the black stones were. If nothing else, it was supported by Hanako’s assistance, her directions aligning where the bugs were scampering to. Being attacked of course also sent some bugs to retaliate towards the hunters.

The efforts of Kaze and Beniha swiftly made short work of those few bugs who lashed out. Even Da-Xia was following to order, albeit in her own strange and unorthodox ways. With the bugs invisible to the humans, being yelled and chased at by a foreigner on a bike was enough to send them fleeing. Strange, but it accomplished her goal of clearing the area of bystanders. The air chittered and chattered harshly as the swarm of bugs continued making their way to the stones, acting as unintentional guides for the hunters and for Rufus and Limen.

Tower of Fable

The dark snakes that remained in Victoire’s theater room saw purchase in restraining their targets. However, where they bit and hissed at the trio, only one actually launched itself with clear intent and meaning. The snake was undeterred by Clair’s cries as glinted fangs met soft flesh, biting through and latching onto her throat. Immediately venom that burned her insides and scrambled her sight would take over, though it was short-lived. The snake hissed just as the foxy thief was about to counter attack. Sensing her building magic, it gave her one final squeeze before unlooping around her, uncaring if she fell to her knees before slithering away.

It made a hasty escape through the smashed door left behind by its other spawn with good reason. The remainder of its kind were being devoured by manifested bugs that crawled out of Rose’s form like a mound of ants. The snakes hissed even as they were consumed, each one eaten so fast it was as if their flesh and scales were disintegrating. Curious enough, neither left bone in their wake, only dissolving in the same dark glow as from which they spawned. Thomas responded in similar fashion, the greenish glow of his Serei summon blowing back the snakes holding him before a platoon of arrows embedded themselves into their heads.

As for Caprice, some of her movements found results in stumbling the snakes. Most however, simply enlarged their jaws and gorged upon the pastry treats, though this too served to slow them as the pies created great lumps in their bodies. Luckily for her, they broke off pursuit once she exited their line of sight. No, now they turned their heads and bodies towards the sounds of battle, slithering as one great mass that was headed straight for Victoire’s chambers. It was there where the air was filled with smoldering ice and fresh smoke from gunfire.

Grinning lowly and name-called, Annabel met Kanbaru blow for blow. Unholstering a pistol of her own, she quickly dispatched of the shots heading for her with her own. The air clang with sparks and heat with the two deadlocked, Kanbaru’s bullets blown away by Annabel’s. Unfortunately, her intent was meant for her perching spot more than anything else. With a grip on her hat, Annabel leapt off from her leverage spot, only to casually balance atop a broom that defied gravity that may or may not have been there from the start. “Hey hey, easy there hotshot. Don’t wanna ruin my hat, you know? From huntress to huntress,” she snarked at the whale, noting Kanbaru’s own hat.

In one swift moment, she unlatched several orbs from her pocket and hurled them right at Kanbaru. Upon impact with the ground, they spewed out more and more heated smoke that hissed and dissolved away Kanbaru’s ice nearly immediately. “Red Riding Hood! We’ll talk about payment for my help later, yeah?” she called out to Riku’s tussle with Ami before finally turning towards the elephant in the room. "Yo, Victoire. Whasup?” Her grin got even wider as the vampire saw right through her. She innocently put her hands behind her head and leaned back on her broom. She would have fell had the fronts of her boots not caught its length, displaying the huntress lazily hanging upside down from her broom.

“Now come on Victoire, you really think I’d steal something as lame as books? Nah, I got something better for my money~”

---

Tower of Fable

The scene that Caprice and Thomas walked into in the theater room could be described simply as chaos. Since the appearance of the snake, the surroundings had either been smashed or outright destroyed by the efforts of the fight happening. Indeed, it seemed no matter which way the dark serpent moved, its crushing weight bent and sent debris flying with the stalwart force of gravity by its mass. Clair’s efforts only further annoyed the reptile, the water and icy gusts dissipating like dissolved mist in the presence and heat of the snake’s charging attack.

Its scales, where once black and dark as coal, lit up with a vibrant purple hue as the orb gathered crushing energy in its maw. However, it didn’t expect Clair’s strike to fully commit and soon, the spinning blade was hurled before it could react. Catching the snake by its chin, the orb was fired prematurely at the two girls. The air itself bent and twisted as the orb flew in the air before crashing into Rose’s newfound shield. Indeed, the power of Suparna’s card was more than enough to not only deadlock the projectile, but send it barreling right back at the serpent as well. The snake hissed as its own energy was sent towards its face and the entire room rippled harshly.

Items suddenly flew up and outwards before being violently ripped backwards to their original position as gravity distorted momentarily. The snake was sent crashing backwards in a flopped daze of a bundle. No sooner could it recover did cards suddenly manifest around the snake’s eyes, blinding it by merit of Caprice’s magic. Perhaps it was choice or chance, but the three of them, now made four, had successfully coordinated and executed an attack of their joint efforts, concluding with the snake’s hisses cutting sharply short by Thomas’ blade.

The boy fell the great beast with his strike, his attack cutting clean through the serpent. But where a creature of Victoire’s making may have fallen by now, the snake did not do so kindly. The serpent near-exploded in streaks of shadow that slithered in piles along the floor, racing at breakneck speeds. Some were slowly growing back to full size, launching themselves at the team of four to coil and wind around, scaled muscles working to crush bone, organs, and armor. While the majority of snakes slithered out the door, the one holding Clair with its body bared its fangs before snapping its maw around her throat, piercing through.

Back in Victoire’s chamber, the tide of battle swiftly fell back on Riku. While Akiko bided her time in smooth talking the mistress of the manor, Kanbaru and Ami took it upon themselves to take the princess by force of reason. Perhaps it too then was choice or chance, enacted at the same time but in rooms apart; no one could say for sure. But as Kanbaru lifted Riku up high to claim her prize, freezing the princess where she was dangled, Akiko and her Castle would notice the slight gleam in the air that dashed quicker than the human eye could perceive.

Trailing off its streak was hesitation and only on closer inspection could anyone realize it was a bullet. It headed right for Kanbaru’s arm, only to be knocked out the air by her own invisible protection. But where one came down, more rained as well, and this time they lacked the instinct of doubt Akiko could sense. This time they aimed for Riku. Instead of piercing her body directly, they embedded themselves precisely in the thin-iced layer around her clothing, sending cracks spindling and chinks forming enough for her to break free of her own.

Because the one firing off each round was certainly not going to approach on her own merit. No, she was quite fine with staying high up in her peeking position, perched somewhere in Victoire’s rafters. “Aww, hell, now don’t tell me I just gave away my position for some gawking girl. Hey you, with the cloak. Start moving cause I don’t save people for squat or for free~” said the huntress with confidence.

---

The Devil Hunter Agency

Limen was only half correct in his observations, because it wasn’t like the Envoy had a choice in the matter of transportation. For the first time that night-or day perhaps since Rufus’ portals revealed the early morning light-the Envoy’s confident smirk faltered with some confusion in her single eye. So surprised was she that she didn’t have much time to say anything to the one dragging her; such was the confidence now put in Shika’s stride. This persisted for some time before eventually the hand Shika was holding seemed to flop dead and lifeless.

That was because, just before hopping the gate, the Envoy had long since disappeared; or rather, most of her had. The nature of Rufus’ portals was strange indeed but it seemed to have enough sense to follow Shika around until she realized she was only carrying the Envoy’s arm in her grip. Behind the portal, back in the bar, was the Envoy herself, waving with her remaining arm. “You’re a very eager girl when you want to be, huh,” the Envoy observed a bit of her smile returning back to her face. “Sorry but you’ll have to carry on alone. You see…”

Deigning that it was better to just show Shika rather than explain, the Envoy placed her free hand against the portal, only to be batted back by some invisible force. “Seems I can’t move around too freely outside this place. What a strange world we live in! But don’t worry, I’m still with you in spirit.” She gave Shika a thumbs up and in turn, the arm in her hand mirrored the motion. “A piece of me can remain with you outside these walls; I’ll need that back eventually though.” Thankfully, by choice or chance, it didn’t seem the waiting time for that notion would be very long because soon enough the familiar distorted melody of the black rocks rang in their heads.

From Shika to Rufus and Limen, the strange music from before echoed and rung in their ears as a guide to draw them closer. For Limen and Rufus, it directed them deeper into the forested portions of the park. For Shika, the Envoy’s arm simply tapped her towards the long stairway leading to the massive shrine that was their destination. And with the call of the haunted, so too would come the eventual trace of demons and Youkai as well.

It was only a matter of time before they’d crawl and fester towards both locations like locusts. Even Hanako would hear some variation of the noise in her head, though whether anyone on Da-Xia’s team would believe her or the problematic knight’s stories remained to be seen. In Hoshio’s team, Mai’s bell would ring suddenly in response to the sudden change in the air, but only once. Perhaps it was the black rocks or a wandering Youkai. Perhaps something greater.

The Devil Hunter Agency

"Oh? But that... means.." Da-Xia is deep in thought at the Envoy's words. She ponders, her eyes gaze back and forth. She rises and strides over to the Envoy. And then, she goes for a hug.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY! It is not everyday you achieve your big Zero!" After the hug, whether successful or not, she will begin clapping. "Ooooh oooh, what's the equivalent of the happy birthday song in Japanese?"

"Can you make cakes too?" Da-Xia asks Shika, overflowing with enthusiasm. It seemed that now that Da-Xia had jumped to the conclusion that "newly born" meant "today", nothing could stop Da-Xia for wanting to throw them a proper birthday.

"Tragic? You think so? I never really thought of it that way," said the Envoy to Hanako. She crossed her legs and propped her cheek into her knuckles with some expression of amusement or reflection. "I am but two hours old, so stuff like that's never crossed my mind, let alone those I speak for-ooof." And just like that she was grabbed, hugged by the Devil Hunter's living enthusiasm before Da-Xia settled back into some form of civilry. "Well, well, please take these treats from Shika as a toast then, for both our new member and my arrival," she mused, taking the one offered to her and "eating". Held in her hand, the tomato rapidly tore down into smaller and smaller pieces at an unnatural speed, as if it was being rewinded on an old tape. The Envoy didn't open her mouth at all, but did hum when the tomato sped itself into nothingness.

"The black rocks are the beginnings of a new demon," the Envoy said to the ghost girl. "In Japan I think you call it a...Youkai? The ones I speak for are frail and weak. It will take some time for them to manifest. They called out to you because you are the same, something not quite right with this world of humans. We're all strange, aren't we? I guess you can say, the ones I speak for called you all here because it wanted to reach out to those like them." The Envoy smiled and shrugged. "There are many of them, many rocks scattered in this city. Personally, I'd rather they be found by us then destroyed by someone like the DHA."

"Well," Shika laughed, "Making a cake from scratch would take a while, especially if it was a big one. Really though, Envoy, you should have told us ahead of time that you were having a baby."

That probably was not the case though. The curly-haired human leaned against the counter of the bar, sipping at their definitely-not-alcohol again as they toyed with the latest bits of news coming from the eyepatch-wearing devil. "So, these black rocks, are they like eggs that would burst into a bunch of little critters? Or do you need to collect them together to make a god-demon of obliteration?"

The delightful broth and noodles Limen had been treated to earlier — courtesy of Da-Xia — were still churning in his stomach. As such, the sight and scent of what was surely a delicious homemade dish did not quite cause hunger pangs from him. But it was still good manners to try some, so he took one or two tomatoes and plopped them in his mouth. Sweet and savoury; not bad.

Having fulfilled his obligation to the chef, Limen turned his attention back to the Envoy’s discussion. “Ah, that reminds me. I brought some of the rocks along. Doesn’t count as kidnapping, I hope? They’ve been a lot more docile now than back in the warehouse, so I think they’ve taken a liking to me.” A wave and a tug of his hand swiftly manoeuvred his backpack, still enclosed in its protective shielding, through the doorway. Setting it on the floor and at last doing away with the (perhaps excessive but still totally justifiable) barriers, he carefully slid out the chunk of demonic rock onto the bar top. “I saw a DHA fellow make off with some too, so they’re probably vivisecting it without anaesthesia as we speak.”

The bartender had the good grace to turn aside and cough, swallowing his resentment towards the rocks with the advent of their new residency in this lower dimension. Far be it from him not to empathize with the growing pains of struggling to this...confining, plane of existence. A subtle manipulation had the jars emptying their murky liquids into the bar's nearest sink, the faucet directly replacing hobo piss with cleaner water.

If he added the contents of an entire bottle of soap and overtly did a little flourish behind the bar to shake the concealed worried anyone, well, he was just giving the kids a bubble bath. Kids loved baths!

"Yeah, I've got some my own left over. Squeaky clean at no extra charge, as any good barman should." He nodded his congratulations to the Envoy, smirk broadening at Da-Xia's antics and a feigned attempt at Sleight of Hand seeing the rocks emerge from his sleeve and be tossed in an arc to land on the Envoy's couch. His other hand pocketed a tomato, keen to save a snack for later when he was alone with naight but the cold and corpses for company, and munched the other with a verbal pur of relish.

"Ahah, well, something like that. If that's the correct term for birth, then yes, I guess it would be the case," the Envoy said happily to Shika's question. "But it's the latter, not the former. For now, the rocks will just reside where they are so long as no one interacts with them. They seem to attract others of your kind though, so it's best to take them out of sight and out of mind." No doubt thoughts of the ghost-infested warehouse came to mind as well as the rocks' influence on supernatural creatures. Speaking of which, the Envoy was given such rocks by Limen and Rufus. "Nice~" Scooping up the ones Rufus tossed at her, she noted, as anyone else could, the glinted glow sheening the rocks as two of their kind were close now, the ones in her hand and the ones Limen deposited on the bar top.

"Well, I'm glad everything worked out. I got to joust a tree and it's somebody's birthday." Da-Xia seems fine with the situation.

Hanako wondered briefly what 'tragedy' was to a Demon if not Demon babies being hunted down and potentially killed in infancy, but it seemed a futile effort. Demons simply worked differently than Humans, physically, mentally, and emotionally. She wasn’t certain a demon was capable of empathizing as fully as she could. Or, for that matter, hating as thoroughly as she could hate.

She reached a short tangent about if Demons were philosophically even capable of being as monstrous as Humans due entirely to the fact that demons generally killed Humans out of necessity whereas Humans would kill other Humans for more disgusting and base reasons. This, however, was a dangerous line of thought because Hanako’s dual nature made her essentially the worst of both. Fueled by flesh, blood, hate, and fear.

Was she the most disgusting monster in the whole room? What, if not man itself, was-

“Oh! Japanese birthday songs,” Hanako piped up, looking to Da-Xia, “yeah, it’s the exact same as the one they sing in America except you have to use broken English. It sounds like ‘happi basudei to yuu’. It’s not super traditional, but it’s what everyone does so…”

Hanako shrugged before looking back to the Envoy.

“I guess it makes sense if they’re basically a baby demon. When a Human baby cries, their mother goes to help them. That’s how their brain is wired. Although nowadays, that ends up pretty counter-intuitive. In the information age, there can’t be a gathering of demons without someone finding out about it and investigating. They’re just lucky the DHA didn’t know what they were or how to handle them, otherwise that congregation would have been a straight death sentence.”

Hanako watched curiously as the rocks were gathered together. She always was curious about what went into a demon. Or at least, a non-ghost kind of demon. Basically what it amounted to was…

“You get enough stones together for a pull, and hope it’s a 5-star super rare,” Hanako concluded, nodding sagely, “gotcha. Or rather, Gacha.”

Her wisdom imparted, Hanako floated over to the bar to retrieve her Piano Woman, which was a fake drink from a video game. She just wanted to see what the bartender would do.

"Mmm, thank you for the hospitality, Bartender! I think that's all for me, I'd better head home before temptation takes me and I can't drive safely." Da-Xia was an unsafe enough driver when not drunk, what with driving through doors an all that, so her being even less safe probably wasn't good for anyone, mortal or devil. She sent her glass sliding back across the bar back to Rufus before making for the exit. She paused in the threshold to look back, "Do you two need a lift or do you have your own ways home?" She asked to Hana and Limen.

The older demon gave his hunter friend a parting wave. "I'll be all right. Thank you for the meal. See you tomorrow, and try not to run anyone over." Tomorrow? Limen wasn't really sure that would be the case. But Siracha wasn't exactly a sprawling city, and the DHA was sure to be out and about as soon as daybreak came. Perhaps they would indeed see her again soon.

"Hm."

Shika’s eyes settled on the Envoy, before sweeping around to the rest of the demons present. Whether by natural intuition or something else, Da Xia had avoided eating a single tomato despite being eager enough to accept drinks. Curious little hunter. A bit unfortunate too.

"So," they said, their customer service smile stretching their facsimile of a face apart. "Not one of us after all, huh."

"Seems like it," the Envoy said smoothly, catching Shika's eye. An empty glass was placed on the couch arm where she sat while she herself leaned forward now, resting her chin on her hands. "That's fine though. Better to root out anyone not fully committed now instead of later, you know? But man can it be a real bummer sometimes...." The Envoy slid her one-eyed gaze over to Shika, who seemed to be the most competent of the bunch. "Shame indeed. Not one of us."

Hanako looked over her shoulder at her new hunter friend, a little saddened that she wouldn’t be continuing the party. Hanako stretched out, let out a fake yawn, and replied.

“Sure, I could use a lift. As interested as I am in what’s going on here, I can hang with demons any time. Hunters, on the other hand…”

Hanako’s curiosity was what saved her from becoming a real monster. With enough distractions, undeath could remain interesting enough to occupy her time without going into the darker places in her psyche. In this case, learning about how the hunters operated was a once in a deathtime opportunity that she just couldn’t pass up! She hoped it would be fun enough to occupy her for a few months at least, like when she was a hardboiled detective in Kabukicho in the ‘60s. Good times.

“Just lemme use the facilities and I’ll be right out.”

Hanako quickly tagged the bathroom so that she could come to more of these weird meetings in the future, and floated outside with Da-Xia. She got on the woman’s motorcycle, and smiled.

“I’m a helpless, homeless little ghost. Could you take me home with you, brave hunter? I’ve always wanted to see what the DHA looked like on the inside~”

Shika blinked at the declaration of the ghost, then placed their hand on the countertop. That complicated things, for sure. They tracked the movements of the incorporeal being to the bathroom, before letting their senses spread further, slipping through the wood, past the foundations, into the dirt, and finally outside.

A dandelion cracked open on the sidewalk, its fluffy seeds dispersing moments later.

Back in the bar, Shika waited for the human and their ghost-pet to leave, before turning their smile to the others. "So, just to clarify real fast, but that was an incredibly atypical encounter with a Hunter, yes? The rest of you would usually, under most circumstances, put in an effort to kill them? Like, everybody here’s not a pacifist vegetarian soyboy, right?"

They let out a baffled chuckle.

"Cause damn, that was fucking weird."

"Ahah, no less weirder than the usual antics of humans," the Envoy commented once Da-Xia and Hanako finally left them in peace. By choice or chance, only those who truly responded to the rocks' call remained in their abode. "I think it's pretty obvious what needs to be done. Or rather, what's being asked of you all tonight. If it is still night. I'd appreciate it if you helped bring the ones I speak for back to a complete state. Speed up the birthing process, yeah? I'm sure I don't need to elaborate what's in it for you." The Envoy smirked softly at each and every one of them.

"But just in case~ The DHA. Those kinds of people...well, they've not left a good impression on my employers, especially if that Da-Xia is a template. I'm sure we can all agree we'd be much happier without them breathing down your necks, yeah? Help my employers and bring back more of the black rocks, and we can find the answer to exterminating them together~ Well, that might be too harsh of a term, but I think we can settle on linguistics as we go along." The Envoy settled back in her couch, splaying her arms out to with a recline. "I can hear them, sense them, and I know you can too. Screaming out for you to find them. Follow that instinct and you'll find our target~ Some in a lakeside trail of an old park, and some in a shrine just uphill from that park. Let's work together to make these streets a happier place for us Youkai~" She suddenly paused.

"Oh, and if anyone gets in your way...yeah, do what Shika said. Kill them. Especially the ones who've witnessed us tonight."

My Hero Academia: Raw Potential

Just as Donny was about to start tunneling back towards tunnel to start digging, Junko threw the briefcase at him. "Huh? Wha-" Before Donny could fully process what was happening Junko dashed towards the darkness. Before he could shine his light at the thing Junko lunged at, a stone smashed right into his phone and something slammed against the briefcase with enough force that he was actually staggared backwards. "Oh shit!" Everything went dark. Donny couldnt see a thing but he could hear that Junko was fighting something and rocks were being tossed around. His eyes were not adapted to the dark yet and he feared getting in Junkos way if he just charges in literally blindly.

There wasnt any time for Donny to hestitate but he had no idea what to do. So all Donny could do was follow Junko, but every time he got closer he got pelted by rocks. Hes been hit by a rock before so he was used to the pain, but this was different. These rocks were being thrown with such force they really hurt, and Donny couldnt see where the rocks were coming from. So what Donny did was produce a shield of bone in front of him and make his way forward, blocking the stones as best as he could while trying to catch up to Junko. "Hold on, Im coming to help ya!"

"Owwww. Now that's not very nice..." Junko huffed at Dulga, the initial spray of rock and debris hitting its mark and temporarily blinding her. However she was no reckless fool as much as her nerves screamed at her to be. Wiping at sediment from her eyes with a sleeve, she rooted herself in place against her better nature, smirk never fading in the darkness; a darkness that was deeper than before now that she had her eyes closed. "Running away? That's really the style of a villain, haha." Both hands on her makeshift club, Junko swung around blindly without moving. She didn't need to see the hits connect, hearing the rocks smash against her blunt weapon as she defended herself.

Of course, some got through, pelting her in nuisance but hearing Donny's call she knew all she needed to do was stay in place and wait for him. Speeding up the process, she slowly backed away, still swiping at the air in front of her to crush and deflect Dulga's barrage. "Heeeey, partner, long time no see. Maybe we should make a beat retreat?" she asked, grinning at Donny with closed eyes.

Dulga jumped back a few more times, her ears picking up Junko's voice getting further and further away. Was she not going to pursue? "Works for me. There are other briefcases to claim." While it was bitter that Dulga would have to give up on this one she at least knew where it was at and more importantly knew where Junko and Donny were at. She knew their plan was to safeguard the briefcase themselves which would mean that they would need to return to the podiums when the test was nearly over in order to score.

With that thought in mind Dulga stopped for a moment. The tunnel was straight forward however she was too far aware for even her dark vision to see where Junko and Donny were. Fortunately, where they were shouldn't matter too much. Raising four fists in the air Dulga slammed them into the ground, causing the ground to shake as she lifted up a sizable chunk of the subway floor. Hefting the concrete slab with only two arms, she hurled it with great speed and force. However she wasn't aiming for the other two students, thought she wouldn't mind if they got struck by the rock too. No, she was aiming for the podium: With it destroyed even if the heroes could keep the briefcases away from Dulga and her team the heroes would lose by default since they couldn't return the briefcases to their original spots.

"If I can't win I'll have to make sure they lose." Dulga thought to herself as she turned around and ran as quickly as she could out from the tunnels. She already found one briefcase, and she was certain that the rest of her team had found one on their own as well, so Dulga would just need keep her mind on the mission. And this time, to ensure complete victory she'll destroy the podiums after claiming a briefcase.

As Donny approached, his eyes ever so slowly adapting to the darkness, he responded to Junko. "Y-Yeah, we got the briefcase so it should be s-s-safe enou- OH FUCK!" In the dimmly light darkness, Donny couldnt see the rocks being thrown at him. But the boulder that Dulga threw was easy enough for even Donny to see as he threw himself to the wall and got as flat as he could to avoid getting struck by the boulder. If he had organs Donny mightve had a heart attack from seeing such a huge stone being flung towards him. Hes only ever seen that sort of thing happen in video games. He consideres himself lucky that he had the reaction time to even take cover.

He heard the stone crash in behind them, and when he tried to look via the dim emergency lights, he could see that the podium where the briefcase shouldve been was now reduced to rubble. "Cheezus. I dunno if she m-m-missed or meant to do t-t-that..." Donny gulped, fearful of what could happen if he had been down here alone. Even he doubts he could survive getting flatten by such a large stone, and Donny is the type of person who can and would crawl through pipes. "She... She must be trying to break the podiums, like h-h-h-how Im gunna smash up their b-b-b-base! I... We... Uh, you gotta stop her, Kurowai-san! I... I cant keep up with her, but y-y-you can! I gotta go do my job s-s-so we can win this!"

Donny wasnt sure if he was being smart or cowardly sending Junko off on her own to deal with Dulga. He knew their odds would be better if they both fought her together, but frankly speaking Donny had no confidence in his ability to fight someone like Dulga, who seemed much more vicious than him. All of his experience came from playing around and video games, he didnt have the guts for a real fight or even a practice one like this.

"Eh?" Curious as to why Donny stopped mid-sentence, Junko felt free to open her eyes to the dark light. It wasn't like Dulga was still tossing rocks after all-wait no. It's just she was tossing bigger, badder ones. "Woah!" Junko instantly dropped to the ground to avoid being flattened or crushed, not too keen on testing if her Quirk's strength could outmatch the coming projectile with so little time. But it seemed they weren't Dulga's targets anyway if the loud crunching noise behind them was any indication. "Sooo she's wrecking the place. Was that part of the rules?" Truthfully, Junko couldn't remember if they were supposed to keep the podiums safe or just keep the briefcases in one piece. Technically it should have really been the latter but who knew when the exercise had been running as long as it had. With a shrug, she nodded all too eagerly under Donny's suggestion.

"Hey don't sweat about it parttttner," she said, feeling her Quirk get a surge of energy from Donny's fright. The irony of the sludge monster feeling fear was almost hilarious were they not in a fight. "What matters if you got the brief case, yeah? It'll be fun making a heroic sacrifice cause isn't that what heroes do? Eheh..." Whether or not she was just using it as an excuse to mess with Dulga was unsaid because soon enough Junko was charging at her with full force, the ground beneath her shoes cracking from her Quirk-enhanced leap and a swing ready to hit. This time she was flat out aiming for Dulga, though only her arms.

Getting close to the exit Dulga was confident that she could escape the duo during the panic and confusion. But when she heard a crack behind her she barely had enough time to raise her guard as Junko swung right into Dulga's arms. There was a notable crack as Dulga was sent flying towards the wall in a momentary daze. "Tch..." Though not out of the tunnel, there was enough light for Dulga to clearly see Junko and her strange weapon. Where did she get a severed human spine and skull? Did Donny get her that or did Junko somehow smuggle it in? Perhaps it was a manifestation of her quirk? Questions Dulga would have to ask later because she needed to focus on the fight right now.

Gripping her hands into fists she could feel an intense pain in her lower right two arms. Not broken but definately bruised and Junko struck much harder than Dulga expected. While this won't prevent Dulga from using them in a fight she knew they'll have some difficulty with her usual sleights of hand. "Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to throw that boulder. At least it looks like Junko is alone." With Dulga's body still low to the ground and her cloak covering her body and arms she gripped a few pebbles she had on hand and flicked two of them right at Junko using her good hands. Despite being so tiny though, they would strike hard and fast like a low calibur bullet. Dulga aimed for the center of Junko's mass to maximize her accuracy as well as the surprise factor. "Bit by bit. Like hunting a stag you wear them down and then go for the kill." Dulga expects Junko to try and dodge, maybe even counter, but this time Dulga would be ready for her.

It was almost satisfying for Junko to hear her hit clearly connect even amongst the lowlight of the tunnels. But while most others would have retreated or fell back, Dulga persisted in no doubt an effort to turn her away, or even take her down. Regardless of her intentions, it manifested as more rocks being tossed at her, this time in smaller dosages that hit hard. "Ooof. Hey, that's no fair. You really play like a villain huh. I'm almost jealous, ehe-oww...." Rather than dodge or even counter, Junko remained in place and fell back to her prior strategy of batting aside the pelted rocks raining at her. Some of them made their mark, her club smashing them on impact. Some of them made their mark for Dulga too, hitting Junko in what was probably a war of attrition, though Junko was sure no one else knew about her Quirk's actual time limit. All the same, it didn't matter if she went down here, so long as Donny escaped with the brief case. "Sounds like a win to me, ehehe," she spoke to herself, pinned down by Dulga's barrage.

Junko was standing her ground. Maybe she wasn't as fast as Dulga thought she was, or maybe Junko already knew that Dulga had a counter ready for her. Either way this would work for Dulga as she doesn't plan to stay here for very much longer. She increased the amount of rocks being thrown at Junko to overwhelm her and in the midst of her barrage Dulga flicked a shard of glass right to Junko's thigh. This would certain hurt, likely cut deep, and should put Junko out of commision for a while. Dulga could imagine Mako getting on her case about this later but she didn't hestitate, and as soon as Junko reacted to the glass Dulga would already be beating another retreat. This time aiming for the surface and possibly into one of the taller buildings. This way if Junko was just stalling to let Donny ambush her, Dulga could foil that and reposition herself somewhere where such tactics would be more noticeable.

The air began to get more and more misty with pulverized debris and rocks both on front from Dulga's attack and Junko's tactics. Not only did it became harder to breathe but more importantly, harder to see as well. There was only the forewarning of a glint in the gloomy darkness before pain struck Junko's thigh. "Guugh, that's not fun..." She instantly wobbled and landed on her butt, noting the stinging pain and wetness forming from the glass pierced in her flesh. It wasn't a deep enough wound to be completely wounded but still enough to immobolize her. Panic was strewn across her features as she raised her club to bat away any attack Dulga might have used to take advantage; but the other girl was already gone, no doubt taking the time to retreat. That was fine by Junko, guessing Donny was fast enough to outmanuever Dulga anyway. "Eheh, well I did my part. Just gonna lie back and maybe pass out....hey Alice, if you can hear me down here, I could use a medic...."

While Junko and Dulga was duking it out, Donny had already been continuing his dig. He continued onwards faster this time as he could create smaller tunnels that arent as safe as he ones he made for Junko. "She'll be fine... She's strong. I got to keep going!" Donny had also stashed the briefcase somewhere underground in the path he was taking. Considering his tunnel was so narrow, he doubts anyone could get to it. And even if they could they'd need to be as good of a digger as him to get it out. But there was no word about what happened with the others. He hasn't heard anything from the others yet. That could be a good thing. "Focus Donny. Eyes on the prize!"

Soon Donny would pop out from the ground. He looked around the area. It looked... Like everywhere else. The only incidcator that it might be the enemy's base is that it was almost at the edge of the testing area. Wasn't any sign that this place was their base. Though there was one thing that Donny noticed. Cracks in the ground, like something big landed here. Or... Something big jumped from here. While most of the area looked in different states of abandoned and ruined no spot looked like this. "Someone moved from here, or maybe dropped something here? Either way I think this is where I ought to begin." Donny dug back underground but this time he began to circle around. It should not take him too long before this whole area is nothing but a big gravel pit.

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@Melpaws

The Devil Hunter Agency

It was pleasant to see everyone getting along as much as they could. To the Envoy, it brought her low smirk into just a creak higher on her features, sipping at her drink all the while. Her head bobbed and she closed her single eye, a snappy motion brought on by her fingers as if she heard a tune only she could find. Bobbing and swaying, it was only when people started to ask her questions did she open her eye again, lost out of her trance with the music fading off and away.

“There’s no need to be shy around here new girl. Our members make the finest deserts that can quench even the most demonic of sweet tooths,” the Envoy said to Da-Xia, already nodding for Shika to go ahead and prepare her dish. She gave the girl a short thumbs up too before directing her full attention in answering the most curious of questions. The night was still young after all, and with it came the chill of tales to be told and curious ears ready to listen here and well. “The Hand of Manos is our logo of sorts. A nice little trademark gimmick you know. Every club needs a symbol people can recognize,”the Envoy said smoothly.

“You know, rumor has it that slapping the hand gives you good fortune. But learning about our silly rituals isn’t why you’re here huh?” She chuckled under the human’s declarations of war towards the user of the black rocks, a notion soon followed by keeping Limen and Rufus in the Envoy’s gaze. “Well, war crimes or not, you too might resort to underhanded tactics if you felt threatened. Humans so often do such things when cornered, don’t they? But that’s not for me to say. Or maybe it is.” Another chuckle.

“You can guess pretty well of whose service I speak for. The tidings I bring hail from the black rocks that drew you here,” the Envoy said, answering Limen and Rufus’ questions at the same time. “I speak for the rocks, just as some humans speak for the trees~ An apology can be made in order for your missing hand though. My masters, so to speak, are newly born into this exciting new world. Would you not react violently if strange men and women attacked you upon your first breath?” The Envoy had since finished her drink and this time made no secret in looking over Da-Xia. “My masters sought life before the Devil Hunters taught them fear. It was only a reactionary state. Just an observation, but maybe Shika’s right about this DHA being rooted in tradition.”

Tower of Fable

The words and movements of everyone else in the room were gone, dulled, deemed unnecessary and not important by the buzzing virus leaking in Kanbaru’s head. The vampire was just as proud as ever and the others held no clue. No, who was the most interesting person right now? The girl with her scythe and cloak as red as blood. Of this the JSTR made special note of in Kanbaru’s head, reminding her of the description Garou gave the party of the thief. There was no better suspect than the girl trying to smooth talk and negotiate her way out of being cornered.

And if they were wrong? It didn’t matter. From how the JSTR was buzzing, it seemed there would be more benefit than cost in taking the girl with them, be it through forceful assimilation into their merry band or something more. The JSTR flashed its thoughts and Kanbaru’s attention over to Ami. The girl, so young, so full of fire, and itching to spark a fight. It wouldn’t be difficult coercing her to strike first and, if needed, act as backup in taking Riku the suspect. The JSTR assured Akiko would follow suit, for it was more likely she would against a stranger.

The last factor was Victoire but the vampire, full of pride, would do nothing if it meant gaining an audience of bloodbath and sport. So caught up in her amusement was she that the events of the theater room were well beyond her sight. The pieces for a devising solution were there; all that needed to be taken was the first step, the gentle push in Kanbaru’s mind to act and play the card of rallying her allies against the red-cloaked suspect or attack outright. The odds were in their favor either way, just as they were for something else in the other side of the manor.

The noises heard by Thomas and Caprice became louder and more rampant as the dark serpent continued its assault on Claire and Rose. The snake let out a resounding hiss strong enough to shake bones once the foxy thief made her move with a blast from her star blade. Momentarily blinded, the snake’s eyes sheathed themselves with a dark iris layer to keep from being stunned again, swiveling and swerving away from Claire’s shots. Lined up for another attack at Clair, the snake’s movements suddenly darted to the side from the knife tossed its way.

Now it faced Rose, another predatory hiss filling the room once the pirate manifested with a shield and a slimy layer coating her body. Suparna’s Card seemed to have its uses after all, especially when Rose’s shield made sure the snake, now charging at Rose, would keep it at bay. Coiling back on the ground, the dark serpent’s scales lit up suddenly in a bristling burst of power and energy. Heat built up around its jaws and the snake opened its maw wide with dislocated muscles before firing an orb of purple right at Rose’s shield, testing how easy it was to bend and break.

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