It is the shadows that betray Rook.

Even as he bounds onwards, claws outstretched - the ground blurring beneath him - the shadows pooling beneath the great crystalline monoliths of the *ooze*...And *surge*, lashing out in barbed lines of void-hard darkness, obscene tendrils that snatch at him, that latch *onto* him in living, riling chains-

Jagged bone spurs punch into him. They punch *through* him, sinking barbed hooks into his flaring pinions, rattling rust-colored lengths snaring Rook's form mid-leap as his screaming pulsejets fight the pull that *wrenches* him off-course, restlessly malevolent as they coil around his limbs, and tighten like a garrote around the condemned's neck.

A̳̦̼̦̻̝̪̱̙̜̟̲̍̄́̆̈́̀͘L̴̫͓͔͙͈̖̲̤̮̮̗̯̻͖̜͐̆ͭͦ̀̽ͮͧ̇̎ͥ͡͝Uͭ̈́̈́ͤͯ̋ͫ̽͢҉͉̥̜̖̳͙̯̯͠Rͣ̔̃ͣ͑ͦ̇̌ͥ͂̓̈́͛̈́ͬͫ̑ͫ҉̣͇̥̘͈̝͈̲͓̯͚͓̮͚̜̺̦͚A̴̵͕̻͙̗͙̲̞͇̭͉͍̺̙͎͔̰͍̳ͨ́̒ͬͣ̃̚

He makes the name a curse, and he makes the curse a hideous raptor-shriek of raw frustration from his helm's vocalisers that blisters the air - His claws lashing out, rending them apart; But there are *more* of them erupting from the sudden mire beneath his feet, a mire that snatches at Rook with coal-black and rust-red chains that come from everywhere and nowhere at once-

And Alura merely smiles. It's deliberate, the way tiny filaments in her exquisitely rendered form shape the facsimile of amusement, lips of black onyx curving beneath the elaborate filgree of her half-mask; But it is somehow a thousand times more mocking than the real thing.

"-Less than an animal," she sighs, the black lace of her skirts whispering as they gather around her.

(Continued)

>>41744315

"You filthy *bitch*-" Haze reels out into the open, bringing his arm up - His Plague-Gun raised, ready to unleash a ragged burst of toxin needles as his finger clamps down on the trigger-

"I'll-"

Alura does...*something*. A half-turn, an absent glance, but the absence of Cybele's Emblem *aches*, fiercely, as the world seems to draw in upon itself - like a hushed inhalation, a sudden wrenching force-

Haze's snarl becomes a choked cry, and he stumbles back, retching - Convulsions wracking his form, a man tormented by invisible demons. The triangular eyeslits of his helm have darkened from green to pure black, without whites or irises - Wisps of black vapor coiling outwards from the lightless lenses.

Blind.

A negligent flick of Alura's wrist - the ghostly echo of wires fanning from her shoulders - spins a trailing leash of starlight and quicksilver from thin air. The strands of the shimmering, twisting length branch outwards, spreading like circuits on a circuitboard - fanning out into a fractal labyrinth, tiny blotches of unutterable blackness unfolding before her. Each is connected to that silver cord, a cord that pulses with a life of it's own - resolving into the blurred smear of three separate forms, becoming more distinct, more *defined* with each passing second-

She laughs. She laughs like a child, that lilting sound communicating delight - Admiring the superimposed twists and lattices of adamant, of orichalcum, of jade and onyx that pulse within the memory-metal of her form, faintly visible beneath her quicksilver skin.

"-How could Hecate have given this up?" Alura marvels; there's a heady wonder to her voice, utterly intoxicated by the mere sensation of *being*.

(Continued)

>>41744326

Rook snarls, thinly, as he *twists* against the barbed tendrils, his corded frame crackling at the unpleasant contortions, still struggling, still *straining*, his eyes smoking with killing heat-

The plosive *thump* of a mortar detonation kicks up a gritty plume of dust, the shockwave punching Rook from his feet; the pillars on either side of him puff into vapor, impact-craters stippling their surfaces as if the walls are being sand-blasted. Shattered pieces break away from Rook's armor - his chestplate cracks, his armor hacked and chipped by the airburst of flaying shrapnel. And then the barbed coils tighten, wrenching him *down* - one twisting spine punching through the weakened joint where fleshmetal meets machine innards...

And all of this - All of it - happens in the frozen moment as the Sinistral's humming field clashes with Inox Fang's hissing klaive blades; the ghost steel fracturing, infinitesimal cracks flawing across the surface as Fang's swords begin to chew through the shield, as you hold her at bay with a one-handed bind-

-the flicker of a blue pilot light, through the churning fog-

Your Abruption Jets flare, static thrusters flinging you back, *back* as a long howling spear of blue flame boils past you - plumes of fire rippling across the ground, a deep sear of charred slag bisecting the narrow distance; Inox Fang mirrors your motion as she springs back, sparks skidding from her heels as she lands, her image distorted and monstrous through the rippling wake of flame.

(Continued)

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>>41744341

"-Good step," Enfer growls. Layer after layer of densely-packed ablative armor girds his chest and limbs, articulated plates sliding into place; his oversized arm smolders with sullen whorls of radioactive flame, neon lines limning his stark silhouette. He rotates his weaponized hands, rolling his bulky shoulders, shifting his immense weight; testing every point of locomotion one last time, generators humming beneath his ceramite plate as a flip-down targeter beams a permanent, thin beam of red-dot aiming light from his scarred eye.

"But then again - You always were a slippery little bastard, Joker."

His left leg - segments rotated outwards to reveal the wide-barrel muzzle of his flamer - whirrs, as it cycles back into position; Wisps of solid-core fuel coiling up around him in strands of acrid smoke.

At your side, the Thief makes a low hiss of pain - moving with careful deliberation, filaments of Lachryma stitching the still-glowing wounds, pulling the ragged gashes left by Inox Fang's klaives shut...

-But slowly.

The Thief's hurt. Worse than he shows.

"Stay right there, *Silencer*," Enfer growls - but his killing gaze is centered, squarely, on you.

"Wouldn't want you to miss this..."

"-Isn't that right, Joker?"

HP: 94.2%
COBALT BOOSTER: 63%
ASSAULT SHROUD: 141%
METER: 24%
ENCROACHMENT: 13%

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>41744361
How far charged is our Fusion Annihilator?

Does the NIHL Sphere still have charge?

>>41744361

(Gentlemen, a quick note; You have a Fusion Annihilator with three charges on your right hand. Some things to note, in the interests of full disclosure.

i) With the Dirac System, you can communicate with any of your allied Players - Enough to get off one free message a round. For instance, you could easily contact Armaros, Haze, Rook or Daegal, despite not being adjacent to them.

ii) You can fire at any target on the field, though that's part of your actions for the turn.

iii) As you might have guessed, the Nihl Sphere - effectively - allows you to cast empowered versions of Codebursts. It still retains substantial charge, but you don't have an accurate indication of how much charge is retained, apart from the color. Also, utilizing the Nihl Sphere to cast a Codeburst means that the Burst is automatically empowered.

That should cover all the mechanical details, I think. Keep in mind that a new round will follow this one, so this is an important opportunity to alter the course of combat - though the same could be said for every turn.)

We had a bit of a discussion about our next course of action.

Trying to remember, we were trying to save Haze/Rook and Daegal at the same time, while giving Thief some backing.

EXEC_SWARM on Arrow. This should give Daegal an edge. If possible, tell some parts of the swarm to attack the arrows that are currently creating a special effect on him.

Fire a Fusion Annihilator charge at Inox Fang and the rest at Alura.

Then...

>>41744418
Ok, this changes things.

A NIHL SMITE should be able to overpower any defenses that our enemies might have. We have one shot to take out an enemy in this round.
Then again, Alura might have higher system access due to being a Chalice Queen.

Also, the taunting of Enfer implies that he most likely will have a defense against the Fusion Annihilator.
Also, we need to discharge the Annihilator to get our hands free.

Haze and Rook are most likely in far more danger than Daegal. We can help the guy in the next round.
Soooooooo....

Fire the Fusion Annihilator at Alura.
NIHL SMITE Enfer.
Throw a Shroud Spear at Calcite Arrow, then equip Rubicante and Cagnazzo to fight Inox Fang. Use Booster to augment our defenses.

I bet I'm making grave mistakes here.

>>41744361
Dirac message to Thief: "I'll give you an opening. Help Kazuya. Tell him to summon Caliban if things go south."

Activate the Auspex. Shoot Enfer with the Tau. The moment Inox Fang attacks either Joker or Thief - detonate Harrow. Follow up with our remaining Axel Grip and a Crisis Arm or FA blast. Activate Level 2 Sinistral against Enfer's attack and have EXEC_BARRIER ready for an incoming Codeburst.

>>41744465
Also, if Fang gets us into melee, switch to Crisis Arm and boosted Sinistral.

>>41744484
Thanks, anon. I felt very alone for a moment.

Yeah, Auspex needs to be active. We need to know if any enemy here is a copy.

>Follow up with our remaining Axel Grip
Not sure that this is possible.

Also, wouldn't DISRUPT be better than BARRIER, considering that Enfer is a gadget user?

>>41744512

Relying on Codebursts might not be a good idea, White Joker has shrugged off DISRUPT to the face before.

>>41744465
>We can help the guy in the next round.
Daegal is getting petrified. He might out of the game if we don't save him now.
>NIHL SMITE Enfer.
Enfer is also versed in Codebursts, so he is likely to be able to simply evade SMITE by noticing the distortion.

>>41744520

Fire the Fusion Annihilator at Calcite. Let's get at least one kill, or help Kazuya first.

>>41744512
>Not sure that this is possible.
One was damaged, but the other one was fine. We should be capable of using it.
>Also, wouldn't DISRUPT be better than BARRIER, considering that Enfer is a gadget user?
We already used DISRUPT on Enfer before. We shouldn't expect the same trick to work twice.

Just as a note of caution I'd spoiler everything that we do.
A few false steps and we're off the edge of the cliff, is what it feels like.

>>41744520
>Enfer is also versed in Codebursts, so he is likely to be able to simply evade SMITE by noticing the distortion.
Ok, good hint.

Yeah, SMITE is out of the question for Alura and Enfer.

>>41744537
>We already used DISRUPT on Enfer before. We shouldn't expect the same trick to work twice.
True.

And yeah, we definitely need to take out at least one enemy in this round. We need the numbers advantage.

>>41744536
I don't mind, but he's far away and even one charge lasts several seconds. We'd be exposing to attacks from Enfer and Fang.

>>41744548
Good idea.

Spoilers it is.

>>41744512

(You've already expended your Axel Grips - the problem with one-shot weapons is that they don't recharge while you're still in the Red World, unless you have the relevant upgrade.)

>>41744465
>>41744484
>>41744512
>>41744518
>>41744520
>>41744536
>>41744537
>>41744550
>>41744559

(Gentlemen, just to clarify your actions for the round. You're going to:

- Activate the Auspex.
- Order the Thief to support Kazuya.
- Fire the Fusion Annihilator at Alura.
- Shoot Enfer with the Tau Gun. (A single shor, since you're already using your other arm for the Annihilator.)
- Detonate Harrow, if Inox Fang attacks you or the Thief.

Is that right? I would include EXEC_SWARM, but that is a massive allotment of actions for the round, already.)

>>41744614
Sounds good to me.

>>41744614

(My apologies, I forgot; You're also intending a defensive activation of EXEC_BARRIER, in case you're the target of a Codeburst?)

Nice to know:
- Chain mines cost 20% but are perfect against singular targets and track life with boosting
- We can do a single Scrander bolt
- Booster can augment either our strength or our speed or our defenses, according to the description

>>41744614
>- Fire the Fusion Annihilator at Alura.
It's likely to be a waste and attract Alura's attention (no, I don't want to risk getting our sensors cut off right now).
Use it either on Inox Fang or Calcite Arrow.

>>41744614
I'm fine with it.

>>41744636
We need to distract her. She's already occupied fighting two of our allies and she's murdering them right now.

>>41744614
Yeah, that sounds alright.

Do Muleta attacks count as an action? I want to use them to keep Inox and Enfer at bay while shooting the Annihilator.

>>41744630
I feel that, no matter what we do, we will regret it in regards to BARRIER.

Personally, I'm against using more booster.

>>41744633

(I'll point out that you've been using Cobalt Booster to boost your strength/speed regularly. Generally, the description 'Your limbs sting with cold strength' is when you use the Booster to supplement an action.

Also, I'll add the caveat that using the Scrander Bolt will disable your Tempest Scrander until you leave and re-enter the Red World. In this situation, that might be quite a while.)

>>41744636

(Right, you're targeting Inox Fang or Calcite Arrow, then? Which one?)

>>41744673

> Do Muleta attacks count as an action?

(Yes, but attacks from your Interceptor System or SLAKE don't count as actions. They're relatively expensive, because they greatly increase your action economy.)

>>41744677
>I'll point out that you've been using Cobalt Booster to boost your strength/speed regularly. Generally, the description 'Your limbs sting with cold strength' is when you use the Booster to supplement an action.
The really surprising part to me was that it can augment defenses.

>>41744700
So, guys, how about getting some Interceptors out?

If >>41744636 is correct, we can use them to attack Alura's vines to occupy her for a little bit.

>>41744700
Oh if that's the case, have the remaining Interceptors distract Alura and have Scylla (use booster) to restrain Inox while we shoot him with the FA.

>>41744712
Maybe if we gain a shitload of meter next round, there's probably better things to spend it on.
>>41744725
Let's just stick to our current plan.

>>41744736
>Let's just stick to our current plan.
Scylla is only 10% per round for 2 free actions. I'd say it's worth it.

>>41744614

> "I'll give you an opening. Help Kazuya. Tell him to summon Caliban if things go south."

The thread of the wordless communication - It flickers between you and the Thief. He nods; the slightest inclination of his head, as the Fatal Abyss turns in his hand - Held reversed, like a long knife. The peerless edge gleams dully in the flame-light, as Daegal convulses, thrashing as crystalline protrusions erupt across his form - an awful monotone howl of agony pulsing across the channels in a blurt of furious static...

> Activate the Auspex.

-As the world shifts into killing red.

And you see-

Your vision cuts through the churning smoke. Through the haze. Through the buzzing, buzzing discharge of hideous energies - showing not just the actinic glow of Essence, the nimbus of power...But how the patterns of these vectors warp and stretch, torque and shear. It shows you how they intersect, to form the matrix of reality.

Inox Fang's Essence core - Illuminated by the searing light of EXEC_HARROW - both exists and *does not*; like an ember from a greater fire, linked by twisting strands that connect her to Alura, that connect her to Calcite Arrow, her form vibrating so fast her own shadow blurs.

And Alura-

Alura is not alone. The black cables, the wires, only briefly glimpsed - running from the shoulders of her embroided gown, like stray threads trailing off into infinity - they *connect* her to...

-A vast shape. A roiling blur of smoke and shadow. A shape that fades in and out of visibility - A shape even your altered vision can barely encompass, except for the twists of boiling energy that surge through the ever-shifting surface; Energy that is somehow Alura herself, like an infection, a plague-

(Continued)

>>41744897
Yeah, fuck.

The Auspex was one of the best upgrades we ever could have gotten.

So, can we just fire Haze's missile at Alura's core?

>>41744897
I wonder if we can at least temporarily counter her ability with the Harmonia. Or find some other interesting use for it.

>>41744897
Well, uh, the obvious plan is to cut those wires or tie them up somehow.
That's probably gonna be hard, though.

>>41744991
Maybe we can use Scylla to CONSUME them.

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>>41744897

But the first thing you see are the monstrous hands. Hands that are at once spectral and shadowy, delicate and pale, hands cut from the corpse of a rotting titan - All of them at *once*, as they enfold Alura like great wings, a gesture that makes the absence of Cybele's Emblem ache so fiercely it feels your non-existent nerves have ignited to fire-

And a name.

ANIMA

It sees you. It *sees* you, and it *hisses* - a sound like a death rattle, bypassing your senses to impart the meaning directly to your brain. The sight is so repugnant, so *foul*, you swing the Fusion Annihilator up, the weapon humming with chained energies, the revolving chamber cycling, furious motes of light fuming in the air-

Inox Fang ploughs through the flame. She ploughs through the smoke. Her klaives make the air bleed, as they carve through it - liquid kali flurries that transform them into flaming arcs, the steel blurring to near-invisibility. Actinic blue flame licks at her armor, finding purchase in a dozen spontaneous fires that ignite across her form-

-Fast. She moves with all the speed of hatred, her blades lancing for your side as the Tau Gun shimmers into existence - the crimson hypersphere disgorging the great bulk of the weapon, gravimetric suspensors humming to life as the charging lights flick to green-

But not quite fast enough, as you bring your fingers together in a single point-

-and *snap.*

(Continued)

>>41745094

Fire - vile violet flame, like a searing wall of acid - erupts from the very core of her being. She *shrieks*, convulsing in the heart of it - shuddering, reduced to a wailing human torch in the hell-light - as the mark you branded her with ignites into a personal holocaust-

Just for a moment. Just long enough for you to tilt the barrel of the Fusion Annihilator, arched shoulder guard pivoting smoothly - and before Shizuka can lurch aside, before she can do more than cross her blades in futile defense...

The light hits her head-on, and - for a moment - she gazes into the eye of the sun. It is a ray of raw annihilation, a fusion-eyeblink that widens into a false dawn; a blazing bar that spans the narrow distance, the most singularly destructive weapon ever discharged within the Diadem's confines. Ducts fracture and burst - burning hell rips through the crystalline rows of processing towers, searing through them, razing them - luminous streamers of fire lashing out in wild arcs of destruction-

-Bell Zephyr flinches aside as the annihilation ray carves a molten, searing furrow - racing ripples of heat churning the ground to slag - mere meters in front of her, as she sprints to cover the distance to Rust Kaiser and Armaros-

-Rust Kaiser convulses as Armaros's optic fluids ooze from the spined knuckles of one wrecking fist, the bloody calligraphy of EXEC_CASTIGATE spreading in ten thousand filaments of corroding code, scribing the winding erratic verses of Imago's spite across him, *through* him, until the air is choked with a miasma of unwords-

(Continued)

>>41745218
And it wasn't even fully charged.

>>41745218
>holocaust-
Man, JQOP. You're pretty fond of that word, I think you use it every other action sequence.
Don't think she's dead just yet, though.

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>>41745218

With a great, grinding groan, memory towers topple: Internal lights going out, as complex mechanisms fail - they shatter, coming down in a deafening cascade of glass, the air filling with a blizzard of mirrored shards that reflect the seething light of that titanic blast-

As Inox Fang is *unmade*, the hailing light swallowing her whole. The glare of the Fusion Annihilator bleaches all colour, for one vivid moment, to nothing - the motes of her oblivated form swirling around you, inhaled through the Leech Module in a swirl of black specks that gather, that coalesce against your scarred and battered crimson plate. Your HUD lights up, systems recohering, a surge of charge through your sensors as the word snaps back into sharp relief - hydraulics whirring, steam hissing from the Annihilator's vents-

-Except for the one bright spark, a furious azoic radiance that fights the forces that wrench at it, drawn to a greater source-

As Alura turns her head, idly - a hint of a frown on her lips, as she murmurs - "Ara~?"

The Thief *moves*. Glare-shields momentary darken his vision to opacity - a blur of black wind, and he is *past* you - the Fatal Abyss the only solid line of his form.

Enfer hasn't moved. Around him, layers of images dance - there, then gone. A glimpse of a burning city - of hands burned black from fingertip to elbow -

As you level the Tau Gun squarely at him, in the same fluid motion, and wrench both triggers. His arm comes up - the limb bulky with overlapping layers of ablative plating, interposed as a shield - as the tracking laser slashes a narrow line across his armor, the half-cohered distortion of the antimatter round blurring across the distance...

Enfer's limb bulges. A fist-sized chunk of his armor begins to glow with the hazy unlight of a matter-antimatter distortion-

(Continued)

>>41745424
The damage is going to be reflected on us, isn't it?

>>41745296
>Don't think she's dead just yet, though.
>>41745424
>- the motes of her oblivated form swirling around you,
Guess I was wrong!

>>41745424
Ablative armor?

I wonder if Inox is getting revived or feeding Alura's monster.

My guess is that it restores her body.

>>41745478
>Guess I was wrong!
Read the spoiler
>-Except for the one bright spark, a furious azoic radiance that fights the forces that wrench at it, drawn to a greater source-
We absorbed most of her essence, but there's still a big enough chunk for Alura to revive her if it escapes the suction of our Leech Module.
Should've CONSUMED the bitch.

>>41745495
We're probably going to aim Haze at Anima. I suspect attack Alura directly won't have much of an effect.

>>41745525
>Should've CONSUMED the bitch.
I want Scylla to eat that remaining piece.

>>41745424

Explosive bolts detonate, the fragmented discharge hailing shrapnel through the air - splintering off the ground with clanking thumps, with hollow *bangs*, as smoking chunks of armor riochet from the crystalline towers on all sides. Some of them clatter from your armor, hailing down in a rain of fragmented steel - Pistons ratcheting as *new* rows of reactive armor ratchet into place-

And Enfer growls-

"-Not enough *gun*."

Shoulder modules open, and the air fills with a micromunition barrage. You wrench the Sinistral up, as his launchers disgorge hundreds - thousands - of spheres into the air; vomiting forth a dizzying barrage, all the tiny pellets erupting into raw flame. It is an incendiary cloud, a hailstorm of overlapping explosions; Some shells strike the floor, and excavate sprays of pulverized stone. Some strike the memory towers, and punch holes through - each blast tearing terrible bites from the gleaming pillars, joining the rotating hail of shrapnel.

Your Assault Shroud stiffens around you, nanomaterial hardening to form a protective shell as the barrage chews it to nothing; flaws splintering across the ghost steel as-

-Wait-

Enfer's oversized hand comes up. There is a splintering *flash*, as the pulse induction field built into the monstrous limb flares - In the heartbeat before your Sinistral's fizzing field expands, explosively, burning with the cold light of your Cobalt Booster - a vast gout of plasma vomiting forth-

At full power, the weapon sounds like the death scream of a sun.

(Continued)

>>41745575
>"-Not enough *gun*."
Just wait until until we whip out the Rubicate.

>>41745649
Rubicante is love.
Rubicante is life.

> the death scream of a sun
oh no

>>41745679
So it sounds like nothing.

>>41745663
Wonder if we'll get the chance to use the HP-boosted mode.

>>41745679
We have a Cobalt-boosted Lvl2 Sinistral right now. If we survive, we'll get a strong resistance against further plasma attacks.

>>41745725
>We have a Cobalt-boosted Lvl2 Sinistral right now.
Reminds me.

We can spend Booster to instantly regenerate the shield. I would suggest that it would be the correct course of action right now.

>>41745575

The roar is too much, too *big*, to be a sound. It is a primoridal sensation, the feeling of being violently *compressed*, of having the parts of your body rearranged so that you are no longer three-dimensional. Then comes the sound, but by then, the heat is already all-consuming - red warnings flare in your limbs, blank spots of static flickering across your vision as the impact hurls your armored form *through* a crystalline tower and utterly scrambles your sense of time-

That was then. This is now. The world is blurred, distorted by energy discharge - an actinic buzz flickering at the corners of your vision - as you haul yourself upright. The Sinistral's field flickers, and is gone; Momentarily burnt-out, fighting to recohere, a barely-visible distortion in the air.

"Damn." Enfer draws the word out in a smoker's rasp. His footfalls make the ground tremble, momentarily eclipsing the internal warnings of the incremental damage done to your armor - the breaches to your torso armor, the severed conduit lines. Damage to the left-arm joints. Right Interceptor hanger compromised. Assault Shroud depleted.

"-You really are one ornery bastard, Joker."

You pull yourself to your feet. Your armored fingers send stress-fractures flawing across the crystalline surface of the memory tower.

"You think I don't know what I am?" he says - his armor hissing, his fingers closing into a fist as coolant conduits bleed the heat away into steam. "After all this, you still don't get it. You still think you're better than all of us."

"Today-"

"-We settle *up*."

HP: 123.8%
COBALT BOOSTER: 37%
ASSAULT SHROUD: 71%
METER: 46%
ENCROACHMENT: 7%

YOU HAVE CONTROL

>>41745751

(My apologies, but the Sinistral has been damaged by Enfer's attack. There's a chance that it no longer automatically activates itself - using Meter or Cobalt Booster still works, however.)

>>41745751
Rubicante and Cagnazzo. Entropic shot.

If a mote remains of him again, use Scylla to try and consume it.
Use Booster to power an interceptor to distract him and Abruption Jets to close the distance.

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>>41745751
Send Out regular Rockets
Cobalt Boost our speed and strength
Abrubption Jets
Scrander
Become Speed
Tackle the fucker and lay Into him with Scylla and The Fist
Become death

>>41745751
>Assault Shroud depleted.
>ASSAULT SHROUD: 71%
OP, this doesn't seem right.

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>>41745882
Are you trying to get us killed?

>>41745751
>>41745811
I like this plan. Though I'd also suggest burning some more of our Booster to ready the Sinistral.

>>41745751
"Tell me something I don't know, Enfer. I'm not really doing this because I think I have the moral high-ground."
"It's just that, on that night, I drew a completely different conclusion."

Dirac Message to Armaros: "Kaiser should be down for a while. Keep an eye out for Arrow and protect Haze. He's going to be crucial later."

Use Ausepex to check on the remains of the connection Alura has to Fang's essence and have the Scylla consume it if it's there (use the Nihil Sphere's power if necessary). Maybe see if it can be drawn with the Orthrus Crest

Shoot Rubicanto and have KURA on the ready if he tries to close the distance. Check for traps and keep moving.

>>41745882

I don't think that's a good idea. I think our best chance against him is attacking him at long range with our more penetrative weapons.

>>41745883

(My apologies, I meant 'depleted' as in 'greatly reduced'. My mistaken - it's an accidental turn of phrase.)

>>41745751
"Better than you?

I'm certainly better than Alura or Naoya. And I really don't care beyond that.

I wouldn't care if you didn't infect my private life and aren't in the process of blowing up this city."

>>41745990
Thank god.

I was almost afraid that the entire stat sheet was a typo or something.

>>41745751
"If anything, I think you're better than me, Ren. Megumi and Kou too. If not for the circumstances, I think we would have hit it off pretty well."
"Not anymore, though."

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>>41746019

> "Better than you?
> I'm certainly better than Alura or Naoya. And I really don't care beyond that.
> I wouldn't care if you didn't infect my private life and aren't in the process of blowing up this city."

To live a normal life, powerless and small.

A lifetime - All anyone could ever want.

But here, now - At the end of all things - you know: It was never to be.

Enfer laughs. It is a hoarse sound, a brittle bark of laughter - a sound utterly without humor.

"-the fuck you say, Joker?" Pistons ratchet, magnetic clamps releasing; the one-shot micromunition pods disengage from his armor - falling away, smoke still hissing from the chambers. Emerald light burns in Enfer's scarred eyeslit, black and yellow chevrons slashing across his greaves. "Oh, how you've wasted your time, Joker. Living for nothing - *believing* in nothing - chasing shadows and seducing stupid girls."

He shakes his head, with a screech of servoes.

"The greatest power in the Red, and you've *squandered* it-"

>>41745926

> "Tell me something I don't know, Enfer. I'm not really doing this because I think I have the moral high-ground."
> "It's just that, on that night, I drew a completely different conclusion."

He doesn't know anything. He never did.

Only someone like Enfer could ever - *ever* - think being the Red Joker-

-to be the Red Joker, and everything that comes with it-

...could be a gift.

(Continued)

>>41746239
>seducing stupid girls
HE INSULTED THE WAIFU
Murder the heretic!

>>41746377
But there are no waifus left, anon.

>>41746401
Even worse.

Do not desecrate the dead.

Imagine if he bitched about Ogre.

>>41746401
Hecate isn't that dead yet. Or Mio somehow.

>>41746431
Ogre best girl.

>>41746444
Hecate might as well be if we die here. I'm not sure Mio can be considered "alive"after being combined with a ghost and an eldrich abomination.

>>41746470
Eh, Mio's not dead dead. She's still on this mortal coil somewhere.

>>41746236

> "If anything, I think you're better than me, Ren. Megumi and Kou too. If not for the circumstances, I think we would have hit it off pretty well."
> "Not anymore, though."

He stiffens - hesitates, just for an instant -

Sometimes, the truth is the cruellest thing of all.

Your Triskelion launchers spew death. Four warheads, banging off all at once, across the narrow distance - the streaking, curling heat washes trailing away across your sensors, becoming four abrupt flashes, squalls of heat that show up as volcanoes of flame on the graduated darkness of your HUD-

Enfer comes for you. Through the smoke. Through the flame. He wades through the blasts as if they are nothing at all, as the hurricane of combusion belches back from his armor - washed in flames and impacts as the inferno envelops his carapace; ablative shielding clustered so thickly around his helmet, only his burning eyes are visible through his helm. Servo-driven joints snarl as he moves - the fingers of his left hand gripping a cluster of stick grenades...

With a grunt, he pitches them at you. As they leave his hand, vector thrusters ignite - propelled on twisting trajectories, trailing streamers of choking smoke. The hollow plunk of his launchers spew forth whirring discs in an expanding spray - each one glowing with internal heat, bleeding greenish-black fumes...

Your Abruption Jets hurl you into the air, your Tempest Scrander kicking in an heartbeat later as the first rocket grenade lands where you *were* standing; the concussive blast nearly claws you from the air, your twisting ascent taking you out of reach - the crimson blur of the hypersphere resolving into the mismatched guns of RUBICANTE and CAGNAZZO-

(Continued)

>>41746603
>CAGNAZZO
Thinking about it, isn't this gun the very best for taking down stuff like guided missiles and interceptors?

>>41746603

A spray of glowing rounds rip through the air. CAGNAZZO's hailing shots meet Enfer's munitions head-on, the bright tracers jagging to intercept the grenades, turning them into blossoms of flame - You bank hard, as Enfer swings to track you, mere steps ahead of the chasing explosions; each disc detonates with a plosive bang, a coiling blast of coruscating atomic flame that chews through the scarred walls like acid-

"-Nowhere to *run*, Joker-"

You fire - fire again - the screaming rounds ripping Enfer's grenades from the air, your finger convulsing on RUBICANTE's trigger as thought and action become one-

RUBICANTE's first round takes him in the head.

Enfer's armor shrugs off impacts. It laughs at flame.

When the entropic round hits him, his faceplate buckles - gouged pits spreading across the layered armor, even as CAGNAZZO's shots riochet from his plate; Gouged pits spreading across the bare metal, the stark, viciously flickering light of decay flaring in the blackened arena. It eats *into* his helmet - chews *through* it, like acid-

And Enfer makes a guttural snarl of effort, fingers gouging into the buckled metal, as he *rips it away*-

(Continued)

>>41746747
Boom! Headshot!
I love those guns.

>*rips it away*
doesn't that hurt like a bitch?

>>41746747
>And Enfer makes a guttural snarl of effort, fingers gouging into the buckled metal, as he *rips it away*-
Man, that helmet must be hardcore if it allowed him to survive an entropic headshot.

>>41746802
Probably only took off the outer layer.

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>>41746747

B̻̩ͣ̒̈͡Ȧ͍̮̖̬ͥ͠S̷̪̻͔͑̿̾̋̀T̝͚͍̎̎̎͆͊ͣ̅͞ͅÃ̹̠̟̮̳̫͈̀R͕͍̯̹̟̓̀̑̊D̬̠̩ͬ͐̓͌

His right hand opens. You *feel* the surge of power, the effort it costs him - even as organic cabling sparks and sizzles beneath the gouting wound, around the bare lens of a scarred optic sensor-

It is not fire, or energy, or a bomb.

It is *gravity*.

The effect radiates forth from him, and you smash down into the floor. There is no fighting the effect, or the immense damage it does to the area around him - cracks skitter across the ceiling, as the memory towers crumple, buckle under their own weight - there is a *crunch* of space warping, as you're punched *down*; the floor rearing up to smash you in the face. You can *feel* metal distorting, servoes and joints shearing under the pressure as your armor begins to crush you - As Enfer lurches forward, lumbering towards you as acid flame spirals and vents from his form, moving like a man leaning into a gale...

As flaws spiderweb across your arm, your Cobalt Booster's cold strength surges through you - the red iron of RUBICANTE glowing as if fresh from the forge-

And you shoot him again.

(Continued)

>>41746911
He's well and truly pissed now. Good.

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(Gentlemen; It's hard to describe exactly how entropic shots affect armor, but here's the best analogy - When you throw a stone into a pond, the water ripples. The same is happening here, except with solid matter.)

>>41746911

This time - a swirling vortex of crimson-streaked distortion erupts from the weapon. It tears into Enfer, rips across his armor like scrabbling claws; the entropic wake punches into his torso plating, sending spiderlike fissures scuttling across the brass surface - it churns *through* his armor, warping it into a twisted nightmare of shards as it chews its way towards his heart-

And the rippling white light of Enfer's gravity generator flares, as he rears up, one great boot coming down to crush your head like an insect-

Ĵ̛̮̬̗̜̮ͧ̂̓̾̏ͬU̥͕̖͠S̝̪̙̠̬̳̻ͧT̜̩͖̎̐ͨ̐̀̒́ ̞ͬ́̀͌̚
̣̦̜̯̱͓ͤ̚
̧͙̝̼̃̀̑ͨͬ̑ͥF̧̟̯̞̫͇̃ͨ̚Uͮ͒̉̄̓͝Ć͙̫͕̪͍̃̽͒̌̚̕K͚̦̱̳̈́̀͜I̭̮̊̎̽ͣ͞N͆ͭ̽͐҉̝̮̗͕̣̮̜G̬̪̞̩̈̾ͦ̅̆ ̼̱͉͉͚
̩̣̜̌͐̆
̤̘͙͍͈̣ͮ̈́͂̈͒̌̀D̗͙̼̫͚̊͑Î̦͕͉͆̿̊Ẽ̷̬̮͓̝̗̌̔̓͋ͬͬͅ

Somehow, somehow - with an effort that burns out conduits in your Cobalt Booster - you wrench aside-

When Enfer *stomps* down, his boot rips through your Tempest Scrander instead. There is a squeal of dying machinery, smashing through the nullers, through the mechanisms - the turbines crunching inwards upon themselves. He misses the reactor, misses Argent Prominence's last masterpiece by a hair's-breadth - the pinions rip right off, the thrusters crumpling into crimped-shut knots of metal-

(Continued)

>>41747143
>The same is happening here, except with solid matter.)
Oh. Oh jeez.

>his boot rips through your Tempest Scrander instead.
Shit. That's a large part of our mobility gone, and we never used the bolt.

>>41747143
Well, looks like we've got a one-shot lightning attack now installed on our back.

I wonder if Daegal's ability works with equipment like the Scrander.

...We should have installed that second module.

>>41747219
>Shit. That's a large part of our mobility gone, and we never used the bolt.
The reactor still works.

>>41747219
True, but the reactor still works. Doest this mean we can still use the scrander crash?

>>41747219
The reactor is still fine so we can still use the bolt. The Scrander will also possibly regenerate if we kill Enfer.

>>41747265
>The Scrander will also possibly regenerate if we kill Enfer.
I think not. Relic damage seems to be permanent, unless Cybele heals it. Which she obviously can't do anymore.

>>41747265
>The Scrander will also possibly regenerate if we kill Enfer.
If that's the case, we should try to hold out on using the bolt unless necessary and see if it regenerates. And if it does not, we can use it on someone else.

>>41747350
The Scrander has been damaged beyond functionality before we met Cybele. As long the reactor is intact,is should still be usable.

>>41747219

(The bolt's still available. Note that your Tempest Scrander is unusable, but it's not destroyed - The damage is too great to be automatically renewed, however. If you can find someone to repair it, it'll be back at full capacity.)

>>41747143

But then - vile, seething smoke boils out from the pulse generator, and the terrible, vicing force releases you. Your Abruption Jets flare, as you cross the ground on your back; It drags you across the ground, sparks showering as the fragments of your Tempest Scrander splinter off and trail in your wake - Until the static thrusters in your elbows and knees flare, forcing you to your feet-

-a hellish buzz, a shriek of revving chain-teeth-

Oiled metal, a splutter of pneumatic hisses-

The crimson light of the Vector Trap's hypersphere swells to swallow RUBICANTE, in a kaleidoscopic blur - a heartbeat before Enfer's chainfist carves through the thumb and first finger of your right hand. Drilled chips of crimson alloy and endosteel tumble aside, as the buzzing weapon wrenches away-

You get the Sinistral up - the field flickering, uncertain - as Enfer stamps a kick into the shield. Myomer muscles tear in your shoulder - the shrieking teeth of his chainfist carve through the field...

(Continued)

I wonder if the Crisis Arm has any interaction with Enfer's gravity attack.
And what the fuck happened to the second half of the Orthus Crest.


Also, doesn't the Scrander have a chance to continue working after the bolt? Would that apply if even only the reactor remains?

>>41747372
Might as well just use the bolt now.

>>41747355
We can probably fire it to intervene in someone else's fight, I guess. No idea who, though.

>>41747372
>If you can find someone to repair it, it'll be back at full capacity.)
Possible people who could do that: Armaros, Totenaz, or Daegal (unlikely).

>>41747403
Let's see how the fight progresse first.

>>41747403
i can't remember, but have we ever used the bolt?

>>41747471
Loads of times.

>>41747471
Against Inox Fang, Adamant Aegis and Iron ogre.

>>41747493
Kraken too. Don't forget that one.

>>41747372

The concussive *bang* that follows is hardly the largest explosion of the day. But the rippling bow-wave buffets Enfer, checks him a step...

-As the battering ram of your Crisis Arm smashes him in the face.

It catches him full on the left temple, right across the bare metal of his faceplate. His internal gyros spool, frenetically; suspensors flooding the air with white noise-

He doesn't fall down. The impact is pretty spectacular, nonetheless.

A wet ripping crunch splinters Enfer's optic socket, fanning coolant spray into mist - the impact turns his head, and sends your fist on past, taking most of the side of his face with it. He staggers, his left lens dangling out of the shattered socket by the optic nerve, flopping against the jagged horror of black-smeared struts left exposed as shreds of his helmet clings to your knuckles-

He staggers back, almost drops to one knee as a buckled plate of metal - the one right above left optic sensor - clatters to the ground.

J̢̠͈̝̫͉̲͙̳̭̣̙͔̔̏͌ͤ̇͌̀́ͅO̸͍̹̱͇̣̳̣͙̜̙̭̫̳̯̻̼̘͓ͤ͒ͧ͌̉͆̋͑͛͂͌͊́͡ͅK̶̞͈͍͙̮͙̼̥̳̬͖͇̞͍͔̣̰͍͙ͬͭ̽ͨͨ͌ͨ̓ͭ̿̓̽͢͠Ę̨̗̤̝͚͕̞̞͉͉͚͂͆̅ͬ̽͊ͬ̌̈̽̂ͯ̿̃͝ͅRͯ̏ͥ͆́͌͂̿̿̃ͧ̔ͧͪͭ̊̈́̓͏͍̼̥̘̬̯̣̹̮̳̰̫͕͔̖

Scar for scar, Enfer.

Third time pays for all.

(Continued)

>>41747584
Might wanna reduce the zalgo in length a little, JQOP. It makes above/under kinda hard to read.

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>>41747584
Man, the climatic fist fights are always fun.

looks like i gotta go try not to get us killed everyone!

>>41747584

"HAZE-"

Rook's howl is distant, tinny, like the echo of someone else's war. He is drowning, sinking into the mire - dragged down, down, to the pain below. But he still fights, lashing out as he's snared-

Haze - blind, stumbling - turning his head-

"DON'T LET HER WIN-!"

B̦̻̟̱̫RI̵͓͍̠̰N̵̙G̥̮̥͉͇̣ ͓͢I̶̻̺̯̟T͍̠̠̗ ̝̻͇̦A̷͍̣L̰L͎͓ ̼͓D͚͔͓̗̠͙O͕̰͇̼W̟̲̪̳̦͙Ǹ̻̘͉̳͚

He reaches up, and tears the protectors off his knuckles.

Beneath are spikes.

When Haze drives his fist into the ground, there is a plosive *bang*. A vast, foul amber-threaded fog roils out from him, in every direction at once - it boils outwards in every direction, a hungry, expanding cloud-

It washes over you, like a dust storm, the howling particles swirling in eddies and gusts as you lever yourself upright - As Enfer, staggering, pushes himself to the feet. His chainfist chugs, growling as it chews the air.

To the death, then.

JOKER QUEST

EPISODE 139

TO BE CONTINUED

>>41747738
The proper way to do climatic fist fights is without armour, but this is pretty good too.

>>41747765
What the hell did he just do?

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>>41747765
Goddamn, this is awesome. I love you, JQOP.

>>41747839

(Gentlemen; I would love to continue, but it's extremely late. Fortunately, I'll be able to continue tomorrow. Good night and god bless; you've been a wonderful audience, and I hope to see you again soon.)

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>>41747765
>B̦̻̟̱̫RI̵͓͍̠̰N̵̙G̥̮̥͉͇̣ ͓͢I̶̻̺̯̟T͍̠̠̗ ̝̻͇̦A̷͍̣L̰L͎͓ ̼͓D͚͔͓̗̠͙O͕̰͇̼W̟̲̪̳̦͙Ǹ̻̘͉̳͚

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>>41747584
>Scar for scar, Enfer.
>Third time pays for all.