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''Shereen, could you or Ama impersonate Zerase voice? Baiting those scorpions into charging us is the best way for us to get our hands on that wand!'' With your large shield covering the upper half of your little sun body, your enemies couldn't see you talking.

There was no verbal answer to your question, Shereen nodded.

Deruella looked satisfied with the change on the ground. What was previously a slick, clean, and uniform floor of stones had changed into a pale dark, almost gray spongy soil that almost felt swampy to walk on. Short structures like overgrown ruins had been erected to give your party good cover and while the fight had been stable, the arrival of the abominations was changing the situation.

They had busted through Elina shield and wounded Ambrus who needed to be covered by the three onis against the remaining swarm of ghosts while the fairy inside him worked to regenerate him (his grave wound still wasn't enough to make him stop fighting), your angel had raised another golden protection but the two heavily deformed, necromantic spewing monstrosities were battering it with such intensity that she needed to feed magic directly into it, creating an unsustainable tug-of-war.
Elina is at 60% reserves!

''Olga!'' The good mage was surrounded by spirals of fire that coiled around her like living snakes and, whenever she deemed it good, one of them would split off to land into a ghost, lightning it on fire. ''Come here! My magic can help you get rid of these freaks!''

''Hear me now you failures!'' It was not Shereen voice that boomed out of her, everyone but the undead paused in sheer disbelief. ''Only a single existence can spill the blood of your betters, circumstances matters not!''

''What's that now!?'' Olga had run up to you, you can't pay attention to Shereen now. She has to stand forward to at least sell the illusion...

''Listen, my nature can reinforce your magic. I can amplify any of your strong spell, all we need...'' You extended your blue-covered hand. Your fusion with Gardy body made Magitek a near-seamless part of your existence. ''...is to join flow. Take from my reserves and unleash your rage on those undead, just don't go overboard: the feeling of invincibi-''

''Iyaaah!?'' Shereen screamed in Zerase voice.

Pain radiated out of Sieglinde in an overwhelming wave of sensation, concentrated on the left side of your belly. ''Ugh...?'' There was nothing there, Elina, Klesiah, and Hao also felt a similar sensation but, thankfully, at a much more tolerable intensity.

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''Lies, lies, lies!'' The Red Scorpion yelled, straightening her stance. She had thrown her javelin... right at Sieglinde. ''Her holiness is on the pyramid, we saw her ourselves, Ensan is the one who sent us to deal with these heretics!'' She waved her halberd toward your party. ''Follow us! The enemy army is still being contained, these agents are the biggest danger to our Blood!'' Any hesitations your enemy could have had was dispelled when Red charged, soon enough the soldiers followed, jumping over and shoving away all of the agonizing Moons.

''Siggy!'' Elina abandoned her position, the abominations finally broke through her shield. Your beloved demoness had focused on keeping Shereen safe and was thus unprepared for defending herself, she had been quick enough to dodge the mortal throw of that damnable javelin. Despite the grievous wound, she still stood.

''Get a grip!'' Olga shook you, the heat radiating out of her was painful, like stepping next to a burning oven. ''Cmon, join flows!'' You felt the witch warm, intense existence filter into you through your joined hands. It was a warmth unlike anything else you ever felt, the inside of your body itself was feeling feverish yet you weren't feeling sick or weak.

A golden trail exited Mina bow, aimed at one of the scorpions. The woman bent her body to let the projectile sink into her shoulder, she didn't flinch or slow down.

''Everyone! Move closer!'' Teruko screamed at your furthest combatants (Ambrus, the three onis, and Hildegarde), she had been keeping close attention on your conversation. ''Enemy charge! Tight formation!''

Another golden arrow flew toward the Red leader and she hefted her polearm, deflecting it away from her face with eery precision.

''Walk back! Not the middle, here!'' Deruella screamed after running into a peculiar back spot of her corrupted territory. A shade suddenly latched onto her, its skeletal claw sank into her flesh yet the wound only cause a small hemorrhage, its long fingers were sinking into her flesh. ''...Anytime, Hild!'' Deruella stood still without panicking despite the soul-sucking parasite deadly embrace.

Anais stalwart bodyguard was the perfect weapon against these blood-soaked wraiths. She entered your field of view before you could move your eyes and clapped her hands together on the head of the wrestling wraith, breaking it like a glass bauble.

A river, your magic is a river, Olga pathways are the organic path for the water of your existence to flow into... She's a friend, she's welcoming your power and nature, magic has to flow, you need to make it flow...faster, embrace, join...! You won't establish the link before contact!

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And the cold, analytic side of Gardy body revealed one undeniable truth. The scorpion's charge will claim lives. Their weapons are solid, held high with deadly reach, they're battering away projectiles and summoned beasts. Contact will be deadly. The best thing you can do is protect Shereen under the Zipangu great aegis.

''SUCKERS!'' Deruella cackled, her hands stabbed into the swampy ground.

Six spires suddenly stabbed upward into the scorpions at the edges of the line, fumbling their direction and momentum whilst the ground itself rose into a great blob of corruption that launched itself into your enemy leader, completely holding her down in some kind of sticky muck. A dozen eyes and mouths opened all over the creature's body, vomiting out globs and tendrils that found their marks through sheer mass of projectiles... and pulled all the closest Girtabliblu in one great mass of sticky mucus and creaking metal. From atop this mess of warrior-species, (already working to claw themselves out with sheer muscle strength alone) Francine human body grew out like a malign tumor and jumped into Deruella corrupted terrain as if it was a lake and remerged as a deformed, bulbous mass, absorbing huge chunks of Deruella work. A halberd plunged into it, displacing its cohesion.

The enemy infantry reinforcement was going to enter the fray, a strong zap of thunder and a gust of wind landed in their line, preventing a cohesive charge, the fine equilibrium of the melee was going to tip dangerously while behind you...

''It's hot...!'' The soft fever was making it hard to concentrate. Your entire party needed to contain the Girtarblilu, leaving the undead free progress. You hefted your shield over Shereen, Olga fell on her knees.

Your joined flow, her magical nature of heat... your mind was racing, almost hallucinating; it felt like your inside was going to explode and no amount of cold logic could dispel that distraction.

''Graaaaaaaaaaaaah!?'' Fire erupted out of Olga eyes and mouth, magic unleashed behind her in an invisible wave that sent writhing ghost crashing down and stopped the abominable mess of corpses from moving.

35% magical reserves left.

''Mother's Mercy!'' An unfamiliar voice... no, it was Hildegarde. She was screaming.

Everything behind the ranger witch was melting. It was no figure of speech: all the shades caught on fire, fell on the floor, and died. The necrotic abominations spewed out a few necromantic oppositions in futile defiance and stopped moving, the walls bent and started to crumble, the support for the roof failed, becoming a sludge of molten material. Pieces of roofs fell behind your party, melting in mid-air, magic attacked the floor, melting holes at random, turning stone into scorched blackness.

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''Kreeeeeeeeee-'' An unceasing noise of agony kept escaping Olga burning mouth, your hand clutched hers, unable to let go. You've never felt such authority over your soul, not even Ama could trample your will so thoroughly; you and Olga magical nature had melded together instead of the natural mixture you've done with Shereen.

It was as if your entire soul was burning, hotter than any flames.

33% magical reserves left

''Gather close!'' Elina blue-clad body landed in front of you and extended her arms upward, creating a big rectangular protection above her that quickly proved itself useful as you heard the magma of the roof land across its surface.

Even your enemies retreated before this out-of-control magical maelstrom even if it was concentrated behind you... somehow the heat remained tolerable for your friends, despite all the terrain behind your party becoming a volcanic mess, people could still breathe.

''Arawn!''
''Stop! Don't touch him! You have to-''
''EeeeeeaaaghaaAGH!''
30% magical reserve left

Something exploded far behind you, launching magmatic projectiles... and then everything ended. Your connection to Olga was severed as if you decided to hold your breath. The fever was gone, leaving behind a brief feeling of vertigo and weakness, Olga slumped forward and fell on Shereen.

''Sh-She's still breathing!'' Your little sun announced.

Hao had grabbed Olga hand and placed it upon the exterior of your shield, breaking the magical phenomenon due to its anti-magic properties. Besides her, Sieglinde kept you upright with one hand, the other held the wound on her side out of which a constant dark liquid oozed out.

''Now's not the time to worry about me!'' The redhead demoness chided you.

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The entire surface of the palace behind you -perhaps one-fourth of its entire surface- had been erased from existence, reduced to cooled rubble, dust, and a ground of obsidian: the out of control magical nature of Olga had infused everything and, thankfully had been dispelled quickly, allowing reality to reaffirm itself. With the fog gone, this gave you a good line of sight on the battlefield... and how thin the balance of power was.

Zipangu army had managed to establish an equilibrium. On their right flank was the remain of the manor covered in misshapen flesh and tumor. A constant stream of abomination -some still fell from the sky- poured out of this into a line of braced spearmen while a certain giant of metal charged forward and outright trampled a few creatures. The tall armored presence of the antler-wearing paladin was amongst the spearmen, keeping them from faltering. The left flank of the army was handling the necromantic reinforcement and here, the battle was hard-fought between ghosts, skeletons, and these sewn-together mass of fleshes. The majority of the onis were slowly but surely carving themselves into these monstrosities, a dozen tengus were contending with a horde of ghosts in the sky and... hold on. The specters were infighting!

The second half of Zerase army was assaulting the captured fortifications from the outside. Yet... all this pressure hadn't prevented your allies from trying to send reinforcement your way. A small detachment had been completely bogged down by the necromantic enemies. Siegfried, his bodyguard, the glass-wearing exorcist, another man you've never seen before, a dozen Ushi-onis and three shards of Mother Earth were slowly but surely making their way toward the palace.

This hopeful sight didn't escape your enemies.

''What are you people waiting for!? Go! Fight!'' The red scorpion-woman yelled. with her voice priming them onward, the twelves Girtarblilu and their twenty infantry allies surged forward into a new melee.

This is going to get violent...!

>Keep yourself on the defensive, concentrate on shielding Shereen and Olga to keep your party fully concentrated on the battle.
>You've still got some magic left. Join the battle, put your enhanced body to good use, Sieglinde can handle keeping defending Shereen and Olga!
>Free

>>5017857
Ok, so Deru sprung a trap with Francine and it did absolutely nothing? Didn't even significantly wound any of the accursed scorpions? How!?

What does the current battlefield look like? Where are our allies in relation to us and what is their status? Are we free and clear in the rear? Any way we could reinvigorate Olga and wake her up? She didn't burn her eyeballs out and become blind did she? Do we still have a bead on the bitch with the scepter that's currently killing the other moons? Did Francine manage to nick it off the ho? How much longer until they're all dead? How fast could Teruko or Elina heal Siggy? How far away are our reinforcements and about how long will it take them to get here?

Also, the shades are infighting? As in the shades are also attacking each other as well as attacking everyone else? Is this Doom?

>>5017965
>Ok, so Deru sprung a trap with Francine and it did absolutely nothing? Didn't even significantly wound any of the accursed scorpions? How!?
Oh no no, you are wrong here. It not only stopped the enemy's charge but wounded them all over, thousand cut style. Arawn couldn't pay attention due to what happened with Olga, however, the Girtarblilu are sturdy as hell so Francine couldn't kill them before they got out of her grasp.
>What does the current battlefield look like?
Clear space. The magical anomaly obliterated everything behind you, killing all the opposition there. The palace ground remain flat and even.
>Where are our allies in relation to us and what is their status?
The party has gotten into a tight formation to be protected by Elina's shield. Overall, people are healthy. The three Ushi-Onis have had their armor battered here, Hildegarde doesn't<T have much clothes due to her activated limbs, Ambrus wound has closed so Teruko is concentrating on rejuvenating everyone stamina. The real ugliness is going to start next post.
>Any way we could reinvigorate Olga and wake her up?
Not that you know. You've never seen that kind of reaction to a mixture of flow and magical nature. Maybe Holy can help, maybe not.
>She didn't burn her eyeballs out and become blind did she?
Shereen looked and her eyes do seem to be gone...
>Do we still have a bead on the bitch with the scepter that's currently killing the other moons?
Yup, she's next to Red.
>Did Francine manage to nick it off the ho?
Unfortunately not. She had to handle 6 of them at once, those lady have a strong grip.
>How much longer until they're all dead?
Despite having suffered a batch of Francine erosion, the scorpions are looking ready to fight, pain is merely a motivator.
>How fast could Teruko or Elina heal Siggy?
Teruko healing fairy would need a few minutes to see any effect. Elina has tried to heal Sieglinde, but the wound hasn't closed for some reason, it -did- severely lessen the hemorrhage at least.
>How far away are our reinforcements and about how long will it take them to get here?
They've only made it through 1/3 of the field before being swallowed by a necromantic detachment. Without that, they'd need roughly 2-3 minutes to make it up to you if they all ran.
>Also, the shades are infighting? As in the shades are also attacking each other as well as attacking everyone else?
The huge swarm of shades attacking Zipangu army are starting to infight, yes. They've started to run amok for some reason, attacking friends and foes.

>>5017975
Can holy regenerate eyes if administered quickly enough? If Olga's now blind she's combat ineffective unless we become a "Hawkeye" to her Mustang if ya catch my meaning. We can be thanks to this fusion, but only if she's also capable of precise aiming if given clock positions and elevations.

Can Elina raise a shield and heal someone at the same time? Could we source a healing spell and trigger a resonance? Is it even safe to source spells with our fusion active? I have to say I did not see Olga getting fucked over this badly...

I'd say stay on the defensive with the added order to focus on the bitch with the scepter and get it to Shereen so she can deactivate the effect that's killing the moons. The ones that get up get an offer. Help us kill these whores and they get their freedom. Refuse and they can go back to dying. Not nice, but we don't got any time to be nice now. If Holy can help Olga she gets healed by Elina if she can both do that and raise a shield. Actually, if we have to choose we need her to heal Olga. We are currently down a very powerful combatant and we cannot afford that right now.

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>>5017988
>Can holy regenerate eyes if administered quickly enough?
In theory, yes but the amount needed could be... beyond what Elina has now.
>Can Elina raise a shield and heal someone at the same time?
No. Those are two distinctive employ of Holy.
>Could we source a healing spell and trigger a resonance?
You can try.
>Is it even safe to source spells with our fusion active?
Given what just happened right now... Probably not. However, Elina is linked to you so that's a huge safety net.
>Actually, if we have to choose we need her to heal Olga.
Defensive + healing Olga is a valid choice. I'd like to know if you guys would also try to trigger a resonance through healing or let Elina do her thing.
I'd like to wait for another anon input, as always. While I really want to progress quickly, making sure we're all in agreement is more important.

>>5017994
Can she start healing and then request we try to trigger a resonance if she doesn't have nearly enough to heal her eyes? We can't afford for her to become fully drained right now. Damnit, we should have sourced Klesiah instead. At least then Olga wouldn't be perma-blind.

Well, unless Alarune's can regenerate them or magitek optics are a thing.

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>>5017999
>Can she start healing and then request we try to trigger a resonance if she doesn't have nearly enough to heal her eyes?
Doing that is inefficient. You've experienced plenty of time how quickly Holy healing happens, it drains magic super fast to rejuvenate and reconstruct the body. If she were to stop midway, her hard work will evaporate.
>Alarune's can regenerate them
This is possible. A few months in an Alraune healing pod can regrow limbs but that's not a solution you can afford now. The process for that is incredibly energy-intensive for the Alraune and never happens without significant help, of course. You'll never see it happen in a poor village.

>>5018003
Ok, about how much holy would it take to heal one eye? If we go with resonance will there be dice involved? Can we break the fueling process if it feels like it too will go out of control? We don't want to risk killing her after all.

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>>5018006
>Ok, about how much holy would it take to heal one eye?
Hm, Elina would need to roll for precision because Holy healing is broad, it's not easy to make it do a surgery like that. One eye would cost her around 15% mana, but that's not counting the potential internal damage Olga could have suffered. Also, her work could be interrupted, resulting in wasted mana.
>If we go with resonance will there be dice involved?
No.
>Can we break the fueling process if it feels like it too will go out of control?
Since you are linked, yes.

>>5018009
15 percent of her mana or ours? You are correct that she might already be dying on us thanks to that.

Can we prioritize what gets healed first? Like, go for healing internal damages first before going for ocular regeneration? Kind of leaning for a resonance here given all this. If Holy and Soul merge together into a single nature that's a good thing right?

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>>5018016
>15 percent of her mana or ours?
Hers. Resonance will amplify her healing capability tremendously, but doing that will take from your own reserves. Impossible to tell how much you'll need until Olga is inspected.
>Can we prioritize what gets healed first? Like, go for healing internal damages first before going for ocular regeneration?
Holy work broadly, it really does work on an all-or-nothing kind of deal (making Sieglinde wound really odd). However, you can try and find out with resonance if you want to prioritize how to heal Olga.
>If Holy and Soul merge together into a single nature that's a good thing right?
Should be. You've found out that Heat and Soul go out of control reeeeal fast. Poor firewitch...

>>5018022
Poor dumb us for thinking it was a great idea to fuel Olga. We basically traded the life/usefulness of a party member just to clear our rear. At least tell us there aren't any more shades heading towards us...

>>5018024
Thankfully, your rear is clear. Everything melted.

>>5018024
Oh, also, how fast would resonance healing work? We kind of need Olga to get back up by the round after this one or else we're likely going to lose someone as the scorpion bitches won't have to worry about Elina going for a DFA (which I bet would be remarkably effective against them).

>>5018028
>Oh, also, how fast would resonance healing work?
You've never tried so you can only base it on holy usual speed: 1-2 rounds depending on wounds.

>>5018030
Time is of the essence then. Go for resonance. We need to make up for the terrible thing we did to Olga.

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>>5018032
Firewitch seems to be an appreciated companion already?

>>5018037
Our little experiment cost her her eyes and possibly has her dying due to literally frying her insides and boiling her blood! Her own nature turned against her within as it melted all opposition without.

We are a lot of things, but pragmatic to the point of heartless cruelty such that we'd sacrifice someone we don't know in such a horrific way ain't one of them!

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>>5018045
She knew the risks

>>5018054
Errr, just to be sure our party will be aware that Elina will be healing Olga right? After that little display I'm rather certain she has put the fear of God into our enemies.

That is, they may panic and get desperate in a bid to prevent Elina from healing Olga the instant they see her going for it. That may help us though as desperate people doing everything they can to reach us won't exactly be putting too much thought into defense and our allies may be able to capitalize on that.

How good is Francine at separating heads from shoulders? Did the enemy retreat back far enough to be able to truly charge us or are they just closing into melee from a relatively short distance? Since we are linked to Elina can we still move around while sourcing her healing magic for the resonance bonus?

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>>5018067
>Errr, just to be sure our party will be aware that Elina will be healing Olga right?
Yeah.
>How good is Francine at separating heads from shoulders?
Very good but she'll need to adopt an adequate form for that. As she is now, she's working to pressure all of your enemies and will be very mobile, very violent and disruptive to keep the enemy party off balance. You're outnumbered after all.
>Did the enemy retreat back far enough to be able to truly charge us or are they just closing into melee from a relatively short distance?
They only made a short retreat, there won't be another charge.
>Since we are linked to Elina can we still move around while sourcing her healing magic for the resonance bonus?
Yes.

>>5018072
So right now Francine is in "Arakune" mode? That's still going to be quite unpleasant especially if someone panics or gets desperate to stop us from bringing Olga back online. After all, a quick little munch on the back of the head is just about as good as a decapitation. Hope Francine is hungry...

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>>5018082
You'll see. She's been kept in reserve until now but I can at least assure you that when I described her skills, I didn't lie.

So one vote for.
>Stay on the defensive. Let your friends fight the enemy.
>Establish a resonance with Elina to heal Olga as quickly as you can.

>>5018088
Pretty much, but we also tell the party about the scepter, the bitch who has it, and how, if they can manage the feat without dying themselves, we'd like to get it into Shereen's hands.

How long do those moons have left before they're all dead anyway?

>>5018098
Hard to say, the collars send a constant electrical current but they aren't built for doing it too long and Mamonos are naturally sturdy. Some appear to be dead, others are still writhing around, trying to break the thing. It'll be case by case for time limit.

>>5018099
Are *most* of them still writhing on the ground? If we can get the thing into Shereen's hands in the next few rounds she can deactivate them and make the offer I talked about above. I'm rather certain they'll oblige us if given those options and getting charged from the rear while engaged in the front is pretty much a death sentence. Turn to face the charge? Get backstabbed. Stay focused on what's in front of you? Get a charging backstab? Try to disengage? Good luck you're caught in a pincer movement.

If such a thing happens to your unit the military grunts among your friends would term it a FUBAR situation. We would very much like our enemies to be in one.

>>5018104
>Are *most* of them still writhing on the ground?
Yup.

>>5018106
Good, then getting that wand might help us still. Wait, I just thought of this. Zazawu went to the red world but these bitches told us both Zerase and Ensan are in the pyramid. I don't think they could just insta-nuke him dead nor beat him so quickly so the more likely answer is they had a waypoint set up and basically teleported there upon entering the red world and thus evaded his blades or some other BS.

If the physical structure getting melted down is mirrored in the red world he and Daiyu would have noticed and I'm pretty sure you can see people on the other side in the red world. They burn brightly from the perspective of that world.

It would be such a shame (for the scorpions) for him to go "Surprise Motherfucka" on their asses now that the way is open for him or others there on our side to do so...

Irl interruptions are starting a whole lot sooner than I anticipated. Gonna try my best to post soon, but no promises.

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Yeah, I'll have to update tomorrow. Sorry about that, thankfully the next two days are looking good for questing.

>>5019011
It's cool dude.

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''Elina...!'' The pain in your throat took you by surprise, you could barely yell above the cacophony! Your joined souls transferred your intention and the good angel didn't rush forward to fight, she pulled back to remain near you while Shereen tried to nurse Olga.

''...it'll be safe this time, don't worry.'' The angel was the one to grab your hand. ''I trust you, I trust your magic too.'' And she read you like an open book. No matter how hard you tried to bury your feelings, they did not escape your girls.

The battle erupted with a violence reminiscent of the cultists tearing into their Myrtidal tormentors. The Girtarblilu quickly lived up to their reputation: two pincers, a halberd, and a stinger filled with paralytic venom forced anyone to be careful in melee, defense over offense became a necessity. Fortunately, the ground itself was an enemy for your foes and it was a living, angry thing. Francine melded with it and her will seemed joined with Deruella whose hands fused with the swampy corruption. Spires erupted out of the ground, dark bulbous mass pumped upward like tumor only to be skewered by spears or halberds on the far end of the melee, the diminutive slimegirl seemed to be everywhere. Mouths within the soil opened to bite onto the scorpions legs or the recently joined infantry and sometimes Francine human presence jumped out of its nest to splash onto your enemies, vomiting corrosive fluids despite getting skewered by dozens of weapons, her body was impossible to pin down.

Pain radiated out of Hao. She was having to contend against two scorpions and three soldiers on the left flank and it was a harsh fight, the Girtarblilu thick pincers gave them reach dangerous reach and combined with the long spears of their supporting soldiers... Your beloved knight simply ignored all the spears skewering into her flesh or battering her armor to smash her sword into her enemies limbs, cracking carapaces after carapaces, batting away stabbing pincers, and deflecting swinging halberds... Thankfully Klesiah joined the fray. A jolt of lightning snapped into a warrior's head and a golden arrow skewered a soldier's throat, giving Hao vital breathing room.

Sonja, Deruella manticore maiden, was contending with four scorpions! The totemic ghost floating above her body swung its claws independently with her summoner, the girl was a violent, bestial mess of rage whose effectiveness was proven by the corpses of five soldiers that tried to rush past her. Yet profuse bleeding tainted her armor and clothes, four halberds had skewered or sliced wounds across her back and arms, and the chainmail covering her torso was visibly worn down. ''I'm!'' She grabbed a spear and yanked it out of a palace guard's hands. ''Just!'' She tried to throw it but a coordinate strikes from her enemies -one downward slice, two sideways slices, and a forward thrust- forced her to back off. Good instincts alone saved her from a grievous injury.

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''Urgh!'' Teruko vomited a patch of dark tar and a second later a creature stepped out of her. One of those multi-armed mannequins with swords for hands you remember from Throne Town immediately set to work and not a second too soon, it deflected Red halberd that nearly skewered Sieglinde head, the redhead couldn't stop a pincer from landing in her guts and forcing her to back off. Deruella timely raise of a corrupted wall fumbled her pursuer, the wand-wearing scorpion. This was the intensity of the fight, a razor-thin equilibrium: your party had talent, equipment, and magic, your enemy had a biological advantage, numbers, and momentum.

Gods damn it all! Stop looking Arawn, gotta act!

''It's okay Arawn, we'll all pull through!''

Elina... Joining magical flow with her did not need any physical contact, a transition so smooth that comparing it with Olga was impossible. The magical nature of your angel, this mixture of holy and wind that should normally be impossible made you feel keenly aware of the simple majesty that was an angel. A being of soul, strong when you are weak, whose simple will trampled reality itself...
20% magical reserve left

This resonance was still unknown territory. You've only done it once in a moment of desperation; this moment was equally frantic. Absorbing the details of your mingled flow and its expansion, how soul and holy came together in harmony because of your joined souls was something you could not afford to observe now.

''Back off!'' A downward swing of a halberd smashed against your shield and you immediately moved to endure one of the pincers attempting to ram your side. The sheer force of the collision would have hurt your bones had you been merely reinforced but, thankfully, Gardy body was a sturdy one. You smashed your mace against the second arm of the scorpion, cracking the carapace, eliciting a grunt of pain. You stepped dangerously too close to your foe to avoid a stinger aimed at your back.
18% magical reserve left

You felt the gauntlet vibrate, its gem turns a familiar orange-red. Fire belched out of it, engulfing your mace, slamming into your foe armored belly and by angling your arm upward you set the exhale of fire on her face. ''Aaah! Fuck!'' There was no grunting through being set on fire, nor was there any discipline in the way she pushed you away with two of her armored legs.

''Firehand!'' She yelled. ''Bastard male got a firehand, careful! He-agk!'' A stell point exited her head from behind and promptly retracting, leaving behind a disgusting gaping hole and the firm reality this warrior was dead before falling. Deruella lamia maiden, Meruse, slithered away without words, looking for another deadly opportunity.

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Except... the scorpion-woman twitched and rose once more to her full height. Despite the horrific, gaping, bleeding wound splattering blood all over herself. Her eyes had turned a milky white and ominous dark purples lines trailed her body like the highlights of Focus.

''Hells!'' Ama familiar voice resonated with enhanced vigor. ''Scorpions have been blessed with Undying! An old blessing... they'll need to be killed twice!''

The fox ghostly form hovered above Shereen once more, your little sun cut a deep line on her furred arm, and, with her embrace of Focus, red droplets began to hover around her.

Elina healing process was unlike anything you've seen. Ten colored lines extended out of her fingers and danced across Olga body, two had entered the witch eyesockets, two more went into her nostrils and one last had slid inside her mouth. Whatever this was, Elina felt confident and that was all you needed to know.

Shereen yelped in surprise when the ground rose to cover her, the angel and Olga inside a cocoon, another one rose to stop the undead scorpion from advancing.

''Arawn, go join the fight!'' Deruella had snuck behind you. ''I'll-guh!'' She vomited out a patch of darkness. ''My walls are shitty, flimsy trash but I can at least keep our girls safe!''

''Aaaauuuugh!''

One of Red pincers had managed to clamp onto Teruko left arm and the good professor had directed her summoned entity to slice her arm clean off, saving herself from an outright decapitation when the monster halberd swung for her head. Francine emerged out of the ground a second later, dozens of tendrils peeling off her bulbous body to attach on Red and the surrounding ground, yet nearby soldiers already hacked away her attempt to engulf the big scorpion who, thankfully, was forced to back off.

''Okay, it's okay!'' Teruko lifeblood gushed forward endlessly, the entire front of her body was coated red. Her brilliant fairy came rushing into her. ''No! Little one, my husband needs you more!''

''Back off you bloody overgrown bugs!'' Her husband enraged yell was quickly followed by a loud crash of metal as he rammed himself with desperate rage into one of the forward scorpions who had maneuvered around Francine. The man weight and momentum sent the big warrior on the grown, bowling into a squad of five soldiers, resulting in a pile of limbs and metals. During this chaos, Mina landing in the enemy backlines of soldiers, already killing an unfortunate soul and tying up a dozen people, stopping them from collectively skewering Teruko husband!

Life and death were razor-thin, your situation is far more dangerous than your battle against Myrtidal paladins.

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Information flows into you from your resonance with your good angel. Olga life isn't in danger anymore but Elina will need between three to five minutes to rejuvenate the good witch enough to make her combat-ready again.

...You've got to pull through. There's still the pharaoh and her daughter to fight against!

>Join the battle in the center, where Red is mauling her way through your comrades. Francine is barely able to contain her, you've got to give the good slime some breathing room!
>A: Direct all of your links (beside Elina) to join you. This will shift the momentum of the battle and, hopefully, your enemies will try to protect their leader instead of harming Shereen!
>The left side is being held by the three onis and the manticore. If you join them, your presence might just be enough to crumble it entirely and give your warriors the chance to encircle the enemies!
>Hao, Hildegarde, Klesiah, and Meruse have been holding the right flank admirably. Like the left, if you join them, your presence could give your party good momentum!
>Free.

One additional choice
How loose will you be with the use of your magic?
>Use as much as you need to rebalance the melee! (10%)
>Be conservative (5% to 7% usage)
>Use only the bare minimum. (3% to 5% usage)
You will need to break your Resonance with Elina to establish a new one.
18% magical reserve left.

>>5019900
Fuck. Not even a headshot will stop the bugs. It's either full on decapitation or they simply rise again as undead.

What is everyone's situation and how badly are they wounded? We're basically an A.I. right now so we should be able to have that data at a glance and we've been more than just glancing. Also, where's the bitch with the wand and are those moons still writhing? How long did it take for the dead bitch to rise again and does she look out of it? That is, will she be able to act next turn?

You also said that we had reinforcements incoming. How far away are they from here? Any way to set off a distress beacon that could be seen in the red world?

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>>5019914
>What is everyone's situation and how badly are they wounded?
Teruko is in a very bad stop, the center is heavily pressured. Sieglinde has been isolated by one scorpion supported by two other soldiers.

Overall, people's wounds remain superficial for now. The left flank is in the best shape and if the enemy doesn't reinforce it quickly, it's looking ready to crumble.

> Also, where's the bitch with the wand, and are those moons still writhing?
Sieglinde is fighting the wand scorpion and is having a mighty struggle. Most of the moons are still moving around.
>How long did it take for the dead bitch to rise again and does she look out of it?
A few seconds and yes, she's looking absentminded. Deruella simple obstruction slowed her down but she seem to be regaining her mind as time goes on.
>How far away are they from here?
They haven't made good progress due to a significant number of shades and a few abominations slowing them down.
>Any way to set off a distress beacon that could be seen in the red world?
Yes. Zazawu Red Guard managed to craft several rings that can send a signal in the Red World and a few key figures (Siegfried, Tsukiyomi, and yourself) have been given one. Activating it is easy and can be done as a free action.
Oh, also, your magitek belt has fully recovered and can be used again.

>>5019923
Where is Sieg's position? Close to the left, right, or center? Are we close to this newly risen undead scorpion bitch and could we deliver a nice hard smack to the dome to crush her skull and kill her dead for sure this time as we move on past her to wherever our destination is?

>>5019927
>Where is Sieg's position?
Close to the center. She's being pulled within the enemy party though.
>Are we close to this newly risen undead scorpion bitch
Yeah.
>and could we deliver a nice hard smack to the dome to crush her skull and kill her dead for sure this time as we move on past her to wherever our destination is?
You can try. It'll be a full action and I'll start rolling momentum for the melee.

>>5019929
Oh man. So lets see if I got this. Sieg is in the center (I assume also with Teruko and her hubby) and of all the groups it is these folks that are closest to the edge of dying if the momentum doesn't shift in our direction soon? Who is in the center anyway?

Instead of going for a kill could we smash a leg or a pincer as we pass? Going for a headshot would take a full action as we'd have to maneuver to actually take the shot as this bitch is way taller than us but those are on our level and should be easy enough to swing at as we run past. Who would remain to oppose her if we don't take her out now? That is, is it a safe bet that whoever is left to keep her busy can do so and thus prevent them from interrupting Elina and Shereen?

Are you going to start rolling for momentum no matter what next turn?

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>>5019933
>Who is in the center anyway?
Sieglinde, Ambrus, Teruko summon (she's retreating because of her wound), Francine and Mina (in the far back of the enemy party, she's tying up their infantry).
>Instead of going for a kill could we smash a leg or a pincer as we pass?
No, you'll need to go into melee with the zombie.
>Who would remain to oppose her if we don't take her out now?
Deruella.
>That is, is it a safe bet that whoever is left to keep her busy can do so and thus prevent them from interrupting Elina and Shereen?
Do you have faith?
Yes.

Just remember that momentum isn't a YOU ARE FUCKED mechanic, nor is it close to the consequence of making a choice, it'll just give your party or enemy an advantage.

>>5019938
Could we shoot her with a spell as we passed? Would that be included in the go all out and blow 10 percent of our reserves option? Given what you said about our gauntlet I recall our fight with porky and how we could "amplify" what little magic we had to manage big spells despite not technically having the reserves to pull them off. Is this a similar situation and us going big means going well and truly big? As in, multiple explosions, big ice lances, or deafening thunder blasts? Can we rapidly switch elements at will now with the gauntlet effectively fused to our body and now a part of it?

Say we set off the distress beacon and someone sees it. If they're nearby how long would it take them to shift back into realspace and is that even possible for most of the people over there to manage all by themselves?

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>>5019946
>Could we shoot her with a spell as we passed?
A weak fireball (1%) is the only thing that'd be quick enough to let you join the center fight.
>Would that be included in the go all out and blow 10 percent of our reserves option?
No, it'll be in addition to it.
>I recall our fight with porky and how we could "amplify" what little magic we had to manage big spells despite not technically having the reserves to pull them off.
That was because of Gardy body essentially projecting the magic over its entire self
>Is this a similar situation and us going big means going well and truly big?
Yes but with one complication. Your fusion will only amplify Magitek that enchant your body. You can't make a giga-fireball but trying to vomit a dragon breath is possible. You need to use your own body as a weapon.
>Can we rapidly switch elements at will now with the gauntlet effectively fused to our body and now a part of it?
Yes. There's still the usual potential malfunction if you switch too many times of course. You don't need to press the usual button anymore. Your magical belt is also enhancing your durability.
> If they're nearby how long would it take them to shift back into realspace and is that even possible for most of the people over there to manage all by themselves?
If someone is close enough they'll come back at the end of the next post. Everyone sent out there were people trained in shifting in and out of the Red World.

>>5019956
Ok, so we can get away with bigger spells than we have any right to use, but that only applies if we use our own body as their origin point somehow. Are there electric dragons who have thunder breath? If they don't could we contain a cataclysmic charge within our body and then touch our poor unfortunate victim to fry their insides in an instant? Is that wand particularly vulnerable to electricity? As in, would getting a huge amount of current run through it break it? Could we breathe a bit of fire in the direction of the zombie bug as we pass, breathe some more fire at other foes, then build up that charge?

I'm leaning towards using the beacon now no matter what. It won't be much use during the Zerase fight (she can and would just end them as they spawned in and I doubt anyone is inside the pyramid right now on our side on either side) and if we lose people now we're at that much more of a disadvantage going into that one.

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>>5019969
>that only applies if we use our own body as their origin point somehow.
That mostly means that projectiles or any type of magical force must come out of your body. You've already operated like that with your gauntlet.
>Are there electric dragons who have thunder breath
Such lizards have been known to exist.
>If they don't could we contain a cataclysmic charge within our body and then touch our poor unfortunate victim to fry their insides in an instant?
It will manifest as a huge concentrated jolt of lightning force that would likely send them flying instead. You can also amplify a change with lightning.

Don't worry about the minutia. If you say to me ''switch to lightning, make free use of your magic, and concentrate on going in the melee'' I'll handle it and you won't get any malus.

>Is that wand particularly vulnerable to electricity? As in, would getting a huge amount of current run through it break it?
Impossible to tell.
>Could we breathe a bit of fire in the direction of the zombie bug as we pass, breathe some more fire at other foes, then build up that charge?
No.

>>5019972
>You can also amplify a change with lightning.
charge*

>>5019974
Ok then, this center. How many enemies are there and what direction are Red and the Wand bitch facing in relation to us? What of the forces on the other flanks? Y'know how I said that getting charged from behind while engaged in the front means you're fucked? I'm kind of wanting to do that to someone right about now.

Also, us going into lightning mode is going to make a ton of noise yes? That would be beneficial as something that might distract an enemy for a fraction of a second and that might cost them.

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>>5020000
>How many enemies are there
Red supported by three scorpions comrades and three soldiers. A few yards behind is the Wand Carrier fighting (and winning) against Sieglinde, helped by another pair of spear wielders. further back is Mina tying up around 10 soldiers in cqc.
> direction are Red and the Wand bitch facing in relation to us?
Both are pretty much right in front of you. Ambrus's sudden entrance sent two scorpions on the ground.
>What of the forces on the other flanks
Bulk of the enemy scorpions are on the left, struggling against the Manticore and the three onis. Most of the enemy soldiers (what's left of the palace guards) are on the right fighting Hao, Klesiah and Hildegarde with 3 scorpions holding them back.
>Also, us going into lightning mode is going to make a ton of noise yes?
Yup.

>>5020013
I was more interested in which direction they are facing in regards to us. Yeah, they're right in front of us, but are they facing us head on, have their back to us, or are we on their right or left side? Same with the enemies on the flanks. They facing us directly and, if not, which side is to us or are they just itching to have a cybernetically enhanced elf charge into their backside?

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>>5020019
>Yeah, they're right in front of us, but are they facing us head on, have their back to us, or are we on their right or left side?
Oh, well Red is on the ground but otherwise facing you, so are her comrades. Sieglinde enemy is facing her directly, so she's only got her left-side facing you.
The facing of your enemies on the left and right flank is irrelevant because there's enough distance for them to turn around and face you no matter what you do, they ain't battlemech, those big girls got speed.

>>5020024
I think I'll have to sleep on this one but if we do take down wand bitch we can nab the wand before she resurrects right? Actually, would a quick "double tap" kill them permanently? Y'know, like, if we flash fried their insides with lightning and then Sieg pierced he skull with her claws would that make sure she stays down? Does Gardy's body's databanks know how that wand works and could we use it the instant we nab it?

Basically, charge wand bitch with lightning enhancement, use the ring, and go all out. The goal is to nab the wand and then use it to release the moons from the kill order and then make em' an offer they can't refuse. Charge the scorpions and palace guards or go back to dying. Those that live through this fight get their freedom as we'll fully deactivate/disable their collars! Those that run get to die. This would drastically shift the fight into our favor.

As for Olga, has Elina regenerated at least one of her eyes? Her condition is now stabilized so if at least one eye is good to go she could just break off the healing, fight the zombie bitch, kill her, and then go back to healing right?

>>5020040
>we can nab the wand before she resurrects right?
Assuming your enemies let you, yes.
>Actually, would a quick "double tap" kill them permanently?
Hard to say. Zombie scorpion got her head pierced by a goddamn spear, that's one hell of a killing blow.
>Does Gardy's body's databanks know how that wand works and could we use it the instant we nab it?
It's a new invention so now, but it shouldn't be difficult to use because it looks to be a magitek item.
>Basically, charge wand bitch with lightning enhancement, use the ring, and go all out.
Doable. I'll lock this in 30 minutes. Probably too late for another post but I'll try.
>As for Olga, has Elina regenerated at least one of her eyes?
Not yet. Olga had some extensive internal damage, She had to repair that.
>Her condition is now stabilized so if at least one eye is good to go she could just break off the healing, fight the zombie bitch, kill her, and then go back to healing right?
She can break off the healing and continue yes. As long as you maintain your resonance with her, she can put her spell on ''hold''. (Unlike regular Holy)

>>5020053
We'll have this intention transmitted to Sieg and get a bonus for fighting with her yes? Is Elina aware of the situation and able to drop the healing at a moment's notice? How far away are our enemies from the wand bitch/Sieg?

Also, does the chunky salsa rule still apply to the scorpions? That is, if Sieg gets the chance and pulps her head she won't recover right?

Rolled 16, 10 = 26 (2d20)

Aaand forgot momentum. First roll for your party, enemy is second.

Calling reinforcement, switching gauntlet to lightning, use up to 10% of your magical reserves, and then joining the center fight to get that wand it is...

>>5020065
>Sieg and get a bonus for fighting with her yes?
Yup
>Is Elina aware of the situation and able to drop the healing at a moment's notice?
Yup. You're the nexus of the soul link, all information you know is transferred to your links.
>How far away are our enemies from the wand bitch/Sieg?
A few feet, far too close honestly.
>Also, does the chunky salsa rule still apply to the scorpions? That is, if Sieg gets the chance and pulps her head she won't recover right?
Should work! Undying is an old, old blessing...

>>5020067
16 vs. 10 in our favor. That's a decent margin. Does the size of that margin matter here?

Also, will the healing continually drain us of mana as the fight goes on?

>>5020090
>Does the size of that margin matter here?
Only if the numbers were close. In this case, it's a simple success.
>Also, will the healing continually drain us of mana as the fight goes on?
Nope. Elina took 10% out of you and that's what she's working with now. If she needs more, then she can drain it. However, Resonance/fueling someone you are linked it carries none of the disadvantages you've been used to so you can cut the link if you have to.

>>5020093
Oh, just thought of this. Since the magitek on us is now a part of us and that belt seems to have been fused with us as well could we use it to throw up a shield to buy us a second or two to nab the wand despite our enemy's proximity?

If the wand is magitek we don't need to understand it at all. We just assimilate it and use it as if we, well, were the wand. Still gonna have to tell Shereen to bark out the order as our pipes were damaged by the Olga incident. Shereen's the only one who can yell loud enough to carry over to them now unless our self-repair protocols are pretty damn good and get better if fed electricity.

Just out of curiosity. Had we not decided to immediately try to heal Olga would she have died?

>>5020360
>Since the magitek on us is now a part of us and that belt seems to have been fused with us as well could we use it to throw up a shield to buy us a second or two to nab the wand despite our enemy's proximity?
Maybe next turn when you're in the melee. You can use its capabilities as written on your sheet as a free action
Not immediately, without healing her agony would last around 2-3 minutes

>>5020367
Out of curiosity how much time is each round/turn going to encompass?

>>5020381
Depend on the situation but I'll say that one round = 1 minute on average now that you're joining the melee. Hanging back and being on the defensive was around 5 minutes of wait time for example. Gonna try to keep posts shorts to get a good momentum going tomorrow.

>>5020386
I hope the others are OK with my decisions. As things are I think we're about to activate "dragon install" as Ky Kiske if ya catch my meaning.

That is, we're about to eat if not have already eaten big damage. So by going all out we're going to reveal to both friend and foe alike that we ain't exactly a "fully organic" lifeform anymore. Don't know what repercussions that's gonna have but we do know two things. We *need* to nab that wand and anyone who wants to kill Sieg has to go through us first!

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With a flick of your wrist, the machine wrapped around your arm activate, needing only a fraction of its usual cost because of your enhanced body.
15% magical reserve left.
The special ruby ring on your left hand (the one holding your shield) activated whenever you willed it due to its contact with your flesh. You had no idea how it worked or how it manifested itself. Help should come soon enough.

''Do what you can to keep my little sun safe. Just don't get yourself killed.'' You whispered to Deruella as electrical energy surged throughout your body, the gauntlet exhaled raw magical might as it vibrated slightly while emanating a soft buzzing noise. There was a tiny flicker of guilt lingering inside Elina... but now wasn't the time to worry about that.

Your enemies in the center were going to breakthrough. Ambrus is a valiant warrior but only the truly exceptional can hold back several warrior species by themselves. One of the scorpions he rammed into nearly decapitated him with a pincer, forcing him to roll away and stand back up, giving Red and her small posse enough time to ready their stances.

Teruko was doing her best not to appear worried but all the blood falling from her wound made her pale complexion look dangerous. At least her fairy was staunching the red flow and would soon stop it altogether... Once the good professor summon is destroyed, she won't be combat-ready anymore. No matter how tough she pretends to be, losing an arm is far too debilitating.

Sieglinde wasn't doing well. Her modified body and tail were dangerous appendages and she carved many wounds on the carapace of her foe but the wand-wielder was no slouch. She coordinated with her infantry allies to pressure your redhead hard enough to-
One spear grazed her face, another plunged into her shoulder!

Lightning is energy, lightning is speed: two undeniable facts accepted by reality.

One breath: Sieglinde steps back, her foes advance.
Two breaths: She deflects her main enemy halberd with her tail, from the corner of your eye you see Ambrus axe lodge itself into a soldier. The man ignores a halberd smashing against his armor, he lifted the poor soul on his weapon and threw it on Red, destabilizing her thrust.
One breath: You bring your shield forward, your ears are hurting from the incessant crackling of thunders. Sieglinde foe surges forward, pincer smashing against her flank. Experience had taught them that using these limbs like clubs was more efficient than trying to grab people.
One second: Sieglinde understands to step back and plant her feet on the ground.
...Impact!

Your world change in a dizzying meld of colors and noise, the magical electricity discharge out of you in a barely controlled cacophony! The only thing you can do is aim it toward your enemies with your mace as you reaffirm your stance.

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One moment you were in the back of the fight and the next instant you felt the full weight of the Girtarblilu you aimed for when you smashed your shielded side against her, completely surprising her. The force and momentum sent her sprawling toward the soldiers in the back locked in hand-to-hand fighting with Mina who promptly winked out of existence (returning inside her anchor) once the big scorpion bowled over and injured the packed soldiers.

You heard movement to your left and heaved your shield, the blow connected with the kind of vicious strength that might even crack a reinforced bone but Gardy body wasn't so fragile.
Something blurred above you, your shield absorbed another blow, this one easier to endure. Halberd?
A pincer went to your unprotected right side and you quickly thirst your mace forward, forcing you to endure a harsh and undeniably painful connection if your body was in its normal state.

''Your miserable existence won't bother my ladies anymore!'' Red grunted while stepping back.
14%magical reserve left.
The blue gauntlet infused lightning within your body, the energy coalesced within your open mouth, unleashing a bubble of lightning that struck your enemy metal plate.

The sudden stinger aimed at your spine proved that simple spell only use was to make the Girtularblilu grit her teeth in pain.
''Fuck you! I'll-ah!?'' A dark tendril latched onto her polearm and yanked it out of her grasp.

A few feet to your left, Ambrus was contending with a pair of scorpions, locked in a duel of deflection and dodging. the women had to respect his great weapon, forcing them to use their halberds instead of their pincers to avoid losing limbs, your presence had undeniably given him the breathing room he needed to fight instead of surviving the melee.

On your right, Sieglinde had jumped into the pile of enemies to try and find the wand... Her window of opportunity was incredibly narrow.

>Support Ambrus, this is where the main battle is. By working together, you should be able to give him offensive opportunities!
>Move to the right, assist Sieglinde against the enemy rear guard. Find that wind, free the agonizing Moons!
>Free

How will you operate with your magic?
14%magical reserve left.
>Consertive (No more than 3-4%)
>Unrestrained (Use as much as you need)
Because of your fusion state, the chance of malfunction for your gauntlet is reduced. You can chain spells together next turn without worrying.

>>5021468
How far away are our two allies? What's the current state of our allies and enemies and did we see the wand fly off onto the ground or does that bitch still have it? Who just got disarmed by Francine?

Also, if Mina just returned to Klesiah how long until she's back out again? Losing even one party member, even if temporarily, can really hurt us collectively.

>>5021534
>How far away are our two allies?
The distance between Ambrus and Sieglinde is around 4 meters.
>What's the current state of our allies and enemies
You can't get an accurate assessment from your position. The girls are having a harsh fight but nobody has been grievously wounded for now.
>did we see the wand fly off onto the ground or does that bitch still have it?
She still has it.
>Who just got disarmed by Francine?
Red, Ensan new herald. She's the one fighting you directly now.
>Also, if Mina just returned to Klesiah how long until she's back out again?
She'll be helping Klesiah next round. She hasn't been wounded and she wasn't far, her reaction was purely reactive due to seeing some unknown big mass of metal trampling through soldiers to reach her

>>5021545
So red only has her pincers and her tail as weapons now? I presume any attempt to aid our allies will have us trying to get around her first and she's not going to just let us go unless Francine goes for a killing blow or otherwise ties her down for us. At least this means her human half is vulnerable now yes?

If we must deal with her to help an ally how effective is fire and what (if any) stat bonus does that give us once infused upon our body? It seemed even a small gout of it served to scare the shit out of the zombie so are bug types instinctually afraid of fire?

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>>5021563
>So red only has her pincers and her tail as weapons now?
Yes.
>At least this means her human half is vulnerable now yes?
A girtablilu human half is always vulnerable but right now she's in a bit of a pickle without her halberd, yes.
>If we must deal with her to help an ally how effective is fire
You don't have enough data, the scorpion wh oretreated against your firepalm seems to prove that fire is more effective than lightning.
>(if any) stat bonus does that give us once infused upon our body?
You don't get any stat boost, it's an enhancement.
>It seemed even a small gout of it served to scare the shit out of the zombie so are bug types instinctually afraid of fire?
It does seem like a good conclusion.

>>5021570
Well, Ambrus seems to have things covered with those 2 scorpions but that might change if he gets charged or his foe is reinforced. That summon from Teruko still around to help him out right?

I'm leaning towards helping Sieg and barbequing a scorpion bitch or two. If we get the wand we save the moons and that can help in several ways. If help is coming from the red world I'm guessing they will materialize either during or at the end of this round yes? That shield didn't block it right?

>>5021581
>That summon from Teruko still around to help him out right?
Yeah, now that she had some breathing room to not bleed out.
>If help is coming from the red world I'm guessing they will materialize either during or at the end of this round yes?
They haven't shown up now, the longer it take, the better chances you have.
>That shield didn't block it right?
No. Sylphis shield magical dampening only function on the outside.

>>5021586
Ok. If we switch to fire and use "fire dragon breath" on Red how much will that cost us in reserves? How much does it cost us to switch period? What would Ice enable us to do and would it be of any actual use?

>>5021589
>Ok. If we switch to fire and use "fire dragon breath" on Red how much will that cost us in reserves?
An effective spell will cost around 3% but that will be the only one you'll use this round.
>How much does it cost us to switch period?
2% because of your body. So you could switch element and do an effective fire spell for 3%
>What would Ice enable us to do and would it be of any actual use?
Ice is particularly useful on the defensive and can also cause deadly wounds really quickly due to being a solid element compared to the other two.

>>5021596
>That will be the only one you'll use this round
As in we won't be able to use more than one spell if we switch? I was thinking of giving Red's human part/face a bit of a roast to set her off balance (to give Francine a chance to kill her so hard she won't come back) and then rush to Sieg's aid to hopefully nab the wand. She is drastically outnumbered right now. Once those soldiers the wand bitch knocked over get back up... How many of them are there now? Either way scorpion+soldiers=Dead Sieg and we don't want that.

>>5021600
Oh, and switching still means "Use a Heavy Spell of that element upon doing it" to solidify the switch right?

>>5021600
>As in we won't be able to use more than one spell if we switch?
If you want to stay conservative with your use of magic, yes.
>>5021600
>How many of them are there now?
8 in various states of injuries
>>5021603
Yes but the cost is greatly reduced due to your fusion state.

>>5021605
I have someplace to be so it'll be awhile before I can post again. If we go all out again could we breathe fire to harm/rattle Red then help Sieg by switching back to lightning and raking the enemy soldiers with a big blast to paralyze them for a round and otherwise keep them from helping out wand bitch? Could we stay in fire mode and do fire breath on her too to likewise harm and scare the shit out of her?

>>5021609
I'd really like to pump out another update tonight but if waiting is the name of the game, that's okay.
>If we go all out again could we breathe fire to harm/rattle Red then help Sieg by switching back to lightning and raking the enemy soldiers with a big blast to paralyze them for a round and otherwise keep them from helping out wand bitch?
No, switching elements that quickly (in the middle of an action) won't work. Your gauntlet can't handle it (yet).
>Could we stay in fire mode and do fire breath on her too to likewise harm and scare the shit out of her?
That's possible.

>>5021613
Alright, after some thought we go with fire mode, flame Red, go join Sieg, and then do a more sweeping flame blast. The intent isn't really so much to hurt the enemy but rather scare them, cause them to hesitate, or otherwise frustrate their efforts to aid Wand Bitch. If it hurts them badly anyway hey, bonus.

We just need one round alone with an off balance/frightened wand bitch to nab the wand and turn this whole friggin' situation around!

Rolled 11, 17 = 28 (2d20)

>>5021809
Alright, that'll be an unrestrained use of magic since you'll do two spells this round.
Usual rule for momentum. It's possible that I might not post tomorrow, I'll do my best to get a session going.

>>5021815
Shit, looks like our enemy won the momentum roll this round. One of ours is gonna eat big damage. Wonderful...

>>5021827
Hm, it shouldn't be that bad...

>>5021832
You say that, but we know you. We're basically down a healer with Teruko's injury and the other one is currently tied up either with healing Olga or keeping the zombie from killing Deru and Shereen.

It looked like 2 turns ago Shereen was doing magic with Ama. I hope the cast time was 3 turns and it goes off right about now to hopefully undo the enemy's gain in momentum.

>>5021837
Oh, a consideration that might come up very soon. We're about to run out of mana and I'm betting our linked mages are as well.

I wonder if Gardy's database has instances where he cannibalized parts of his body or soul for more mana and would thus enable us to do likewise. Because even if we don't get pushed that far here I'm betting Zerase and Ensan are going to push us to that point if we want to maintain our no party death streak.

>>5021999
>I wonder if Gardy's database has instances where he cannibalized parts of his body or soul for more mana and would thus enable us to do likewise.
There's no such thing. Unfortunately.

Thread to restart later tonight. I'll probably post around 7 pm

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I ended up making a big update again, I just can't bloody stop. Posting soon.

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Another flick of the wrist, the machine covering your skin groaned in protest, sending a painful jolt throughout your limb. A simple sensation, easy to ignore, your grip on your mace won't lessen. Muribel royal armory holds truly well-made weapons.

12% magical reserve left.
The energy coursed throughout the efficient pathway of your modified body. Fire was uncomfortable, it nested in a painful, feverish nexus inside your chest that burned its way up your throat.

''I'll erase my lady's mistake, you should have been reeducated the day you woke up!'' Your red enemy loss of weapon wasn't intimidating her, the big limb coming for your head was nearly thick enough to rival a tree.

Zipangu magical aegis remained an unpenetrable wall and while you dearly wanted to help your good demoness, standing your ground against this upcoming onslaught was the only thing you could do.

The red pincer that tried to squash your head traced a crescent for your left flank, you hefted your shield above your head to endure the brutal connection. Steel bones held on.
Your mace met with the enemy open pincer coming on your right, eliciting a grunt when it cracked a softer inner part. She tried to close her grip but your weapon slipped past.
Two back steps, you felt the stinger bounce off Athena precious shield.

Your magic coalesces inside your throat. Hold your breath, Arawn!

''The fuck!? Did you keep your strength hidden all this time!? Not even Muribel observers... Bah!''

Red pincers were big enough to grip your entire shield and she managed to do just that, yet she could not overpower you. It was an insane pull fitting for a two meters tall scorpion woman whose monstrous limbs could shatter stones, yet Gardy body was of the finest steel and, of course, a living, breathing anomaly. Breathing wasn't needed in your state, it was only something you did to fool reality, nothing more than mimicry. You held your ground.

She tried to swipe your legs from under you but your mace crashed into her wounded pincer and the second you needed to straighten your knees was enough for you to swing your mace upward and deflect the stinger aimed at your spine in a painful connection. Metal struggled against chitin and one side won.

Sparks of pain radiated throughout your body, a painful cramp twisted the muscles of your belly. Sieglinde has been hurt again.

''Not enough I got-Fuuu!?''

When you crossed eyes with your foe, the flames that erupted out of your mouth caught her unaware. She reeled back, protecting herself with her limbs, saving herself from your spell. Four legs rushed at you haphazardly yet the strength behind them was nearly enough to rival a horse kick. Only one connected on your shoulder when you fully retreated and ran toward Sieglinde.

Endurable pain. No major damages, your chainmail has been damaged.

8% magical reserve left.

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The machine covering your right arm protested, the logic behind its construction normally prevented so many successive spells. The orange gem shone with reinvigorated luster, changing your magic and returning it into your body, feeling foreign, heating yourself all over instead of finding a nexus.

''Stop him!'' One of the soldiers waved at you. All of your steps created a short-lived flame.

Sieglinde was in danger. Your beloved benefactor had jumped on the scorpion you've sent on the floor but the woman had already gotten up and was trying to shake off the redhead like a wild horse. Sieglinde was holding the pincers that tried decapitating her with her modified hands, her long prehensile tail was wrapped around the scorpion stinger to keep herself safe. Her feet were slowly but surely carving a deadly wound on the Girtablilu human back, having sliced through plates and chainmail to find flesh...

However, one of the lamia palace guards had slithered on top of the scorpion and plunged her spear into Sieglinde side, dark-red blood splurted out as the redhead endure and, with nothing else, forced her enemy back with a shapeshifted mouth and modified horns.

The soldiers made a line to stop you, seven spears spread forward like a nest of deadly thorns, you answered by letting your spell lose. Fire exploded out of your body as you brought your shield forward to clash with the enemy line, washing over them in a wave of fiery vengeance, cooking flesh, lighting hair on fire... but your enemy held on. Most of them anyway. You felt metal grace your flesh, most scratched and damaged your chainmail even more but two well-made steel tips of Muribel royal armory gouged into your less protected right shoulder and side: you simply batted them away with your mace.

Fire and steel bore through the line and you didn't stop even as you felt an opportune blow on your back. You charged right into your scorpion enemy with your shield whilst smashing one of her legs, giving Sieglinde an opportunity.

You couldn't see what she did, yet the knowledge reached you instinctively.

Her tail nearly skewered the throat of the lamia aggressively, forcing the woman to deflect and in doing so, lose her balance. Sieglinde let go of the pincers to push the woman off to be trampled by her ally, she grabbed the wand in the same movement and jumped off, sending the confused scorpion-woman on the ground.

She landed a few feet next to you. ''I'm fine!'' She grunted breathlessly to hand you the small metal rod buzzing with power.

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Two deep penetrations on her belly, countless scratches across her shapeshifted arms, one deep graze on her back, a few scratches on her face... All testament to your benefactor's brave endurance and skill at manipulating her Corruption: this combination of wounds was only causing a small hemorrhage instead of inevitable exsanguination. Half of her lower face was a slick cover of darkness without jaws, a process that not only prevented blood from choking her throat but allowed a constant stream of oxygen, her chest wasn't heaving, the self-regenerative process of her Corruption worked flawlessly.

A sudden stream of extreme worry forced you to examine Hao and Klesiah situation as you harnessed your mace and deactivated the Moons agony.

Hildegarde was on the ground, separated from your links who had to contend with not only a pair of scorpions but three lamias weaving stabs in between sweeping strikes from the warrior species. Her Girtablilu foe suddenly smashed a pincer on the good maid raised arms.

Again.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Again!

The blows rained and thundered, trampling through her resistance. Mina ramming herself against the enemy human half put this deadliness to a stop. Francine arrival burst right through the enemies pressuring Hao and Klesiah, so concentrated were they on their battle they didn't see the Red World Princess send deadly tendrils toward the snakes... and she rammed into a scorpion, vomiting another wave of corrosive fluid on her battered armor.

Klesiah reached the motionless naked maid and, ignoring the pain of her extremely hot limbs, placed her on Hao awaiting arm to retreat toward the center, abandoning your party right flank.

The left flank had been joined by an unlikely ally. The salamander who broke rank during the beginning of the battle had joined the battle with the onis (having grabbed one of the soldier's polearm), forcing five -half of your entire enemy force- scorpions to fight. Two corpses revealed the Ushi-Onis effectiveness, they and Ambrus had made a fearsome combination when the battle started. Now, the Manticore was slowly but surely making sure these warriors were contained and hopefully dealt with.

''Teruko!'' Sieglinde knew she wouldn't be able to reach the good professor. The soldiers you've burned had already reformed their line.

Red, who you fully expected to follow you, had defied your expectations. Ambrus was being contained by a pair of scorpions and three soldiers, he couldn't do anything to stop her from rushing into the open space of the battlefield center, straight toward Teruko who could only run back: her summon had been supporting her husband and wasn't quick enough to intercept the enemy!

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One of your allied Onis finished granting the risen scorpion true death with the help of Meruse, her stiff, janky movement made it obvious the poor demon spider had suffered several paralytics stings. Shereen had helped her, your little sun was outside Deruella protective cocoon and, directed by Ama, had supported the combattants and was now in the process of washing away the toxins affecting the big warrior.

You only caught the end of Deruella movement. Her arms had been modified into nests of tendrils linked with the ground. Corruption leaked out of her nose and mouth as she raised a thick glob of soil behind Teruko-

Red pulverized through the effort with her pincer and simply kept on running with enhanced speed... only to smash herself against a completely unexpected golden obstruction. A wide thick holy shield had saved Teruko life, the scorpion didn't wait to assess: she turned to face the enemy behind her, stabbing with her halberd... Only to be rammed by the new combatant that had just appeared in the air.

Hadraniel was the one who answered your call for aid. With a body clad in peerless blue plates while holding onto a halberd of similar material, the galant angel flew and stabbed into Red thick, armored back and flew off, dematerializing the weapon stuck on the warrior back, channeling Holy magic to block the stinger that would have stabbed into one of her white wings.

An explosion of wind above her forced the general melee into a brief stop. Weapons flew off, carried by the momentum, people planted their feet on the ground to keep their footing (Teruko, alas, fell but Deruella managed to raise the ground to keep her from rolling off too far). The angel rammed herself into the stubborn red scorpion with deadly momentum. Armor bent and broke, carapaces and limbs cracked... Teruko deadly summon rushed toward the struggling scorpion-woman and sliced clean through its tail!

During this tumult, you inspected the Moons. The only ones who stood back up were the three warrior-species, the majority of the unfortunate souls were writhing on the ground, alive but unfit for combat.

''Hey, hey listen to me!'' Ama magically enhanced voice boomed across your side of the battlefield. ''Anais and Mimiru protective petrification is going to disappear soon!''

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...That is one of the worst-case scenarios.

''Zaza and Waltier are in the throne room!'' Hadraniel suddenly yelled, flying away from her foe. ''That mountain prince moved there, too. Listen if you can re-''

One of Red princers suddenly snapped around her torso and dragged her to the ground in a cavernous boom. She... made an impossible jump to grab the good Hero!

''Don't be afraid to give your lives, my braves acolyte! Our dear goddess and her loyal Blood will see us onto a new world!'' Red voice was unnaturally amplified, fumes exited he body, dark blood oozed out of her wounds and boiled unnaturally.

When stress reaches a paroxysm and belief remains strong, sometimes the soul is unable to cope and starts to burns to provide raw power. You've almost experienced that phenomenon...

''When-'' Red left pincer snapped. Hadraniel pushed herself free and flew at her enemy, landing a bone-shattering punch in the middle of her face.

One does not tame a Hero so easily.

''Hey, they're fighting too!'' Sieglinde pointed toward the closest enemy scorpion.

The three Warrior Moons (Two Minotaurs and a red-skinned Oni) had tackled the closest Girtarblilu, their suffering had enraged them into an uncontrollable frenzy, providing a valuable opportunity: the way deeper into the palace was open.

That would mean leaving the rest of your party behind. You can bring Shereen and your links, nobody else will be able to organize quickly enough to forge on into the enemy fortress.
Gods, let Hildegarde still be alive..!

>Direct your links to proceed deeper inside the palace. You have to leave this fight, if Adam and Zazawu are in the throne room... helping them deal with Zerase is the one way to bring victory!
>You can't abandon your comrades now! Stay and fight damn it! Olga will be able to use her magic again, just a few more minutes!
>Free

>>5023030
It shouldn't be that bad my ass. We lose this next momentum roll and we're gonna lose multiple party members.

Ok if we go with the abandon option all we'll have is our links and Shereen? We'll abandon the party and leave Olga only half healed and unconscious? Is she fully healed and just needing a round to "wake up" or something? How much longer do Mimiru and Anais have? I thought they were in the pyramid not the throne room.

What is the current state of the battlefield? Where is everyone relative to us and what are they currently dealing with? How much reserves do our linked girls have remaining? What condition is everyone in? If we get Teruko to the other moons somehow could she heal them up to combat capacity in a turn? How many scorpions remain and which ones look like they've lost their "extra life" already? What are we personally having to deal with?

>>5023067
Oh, and is Hadraniel now a combatant on our side? That's pretty darn major if so.

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>>5023067
Hildegarde got an ouchie. That's all
>Ok if we go with the abandon option all we'll have is our links and Shereen?
Deruella will be tagging along.
>We'll abandon the party and leave Olga only half healed and unconscious?
No. Olga will be good to stand up and fight -not at her full strength mind you- next turn.
>How much longer do Mimiru and Anais have?
Impossible to tell.
>I thought they were in the pyramid not the throne room.
Hadraniel just misidentified the pyramid room as the throne room.
>What is the current state of the battlefield?
A big mess. Your right flank has collapsed but Francine is tying them all in melee to prevent them reinforcing Red. Ambrus is holding in the center now that he instinctively knows Teruko is alive. Hadraniel is fighting against Red, who's eating her own soul for power so the fight is honestly 50-50.
The left flank is doing good. Two Onis, Meruse, Manticore and Salamander are winning, it's a grueling process though and some bad luck will reverse that advantage.
You have a good chance to make a breakthrough with your links since the enemy doesn't have a cohesive line anymore.
>Where is everyone relative to us and what are they currently dealing with?
Klesiah and Hao have retreated near Elina with the unconscious Hildegarde. Elina, Shereen, one allied Oni and Deruella are in the back. Ambrus and Hadraniel in the center. Francine single-handedly holding the remainder of your right flank. Meruse, Sonja, two onis, and one new ally with the salamander on your left.

There's 7 enemies in the center. 2 scorpions and 4 soldiers on Ambrus. Red against Hadraniel.
Francine is on the right against 8 enemies. 2 scorpions, 6 soldiers.
Left has 12 enemies. 4 scorpions, the rest are soldiers.
The line of 8 soldiers you busted through haven't decided on where to go yet.
One scorpion is having to handle three very angry Warrior-Moons in an isolated spot of the room.

>>5023072
>Oh, and is Hadraniel now a combatant on our side?
Red World is also a battlefield but she came to help you, yes.

>>5023103
So red has activated the 8th inner gate and is going out in a blaze of glory to contain Haddy... Wonderful. Say, if we charge through these asshats (hopefully killing a few of them as we do so ) with Sieg and dogpile red do we stand a good chance of killing her dead with Haddy?

Will we have to roll for a malfunction if we use more magic or switch elements again here? I have ideas but I don't want to risk malfunction as we are now. We'd eat damage to our actual body not just our arm.

>>5023118
>Say, if we charge through these asshats (hopefully killing a few of them as we do so ) with Sieg and dogpile red do we stand a good chance of killing her dead with Haddy?
It'll help her but calling it a ''good chance'' from this action alone would be arrogant. Ama told you something quite important, gotta make good use of your time.
>Will we have to roll for a malfunction if we use more magic or switch elements again here?
Yes.

>>5023123
If we let the magic rest for this round we'll be free and clear the next right? Would the abandon option necessitate a roll to see if we successfully break through? I am currently of the opinion that if we could eliminate Red it'd be much safer to abandon as well as more likely to succeed. Seeing your badass/charismatic leader die right before your eyes is quite demoralizing.

How is Teruko? I really don't want Ambrus to hate us if we do take that option and it leads to her death. It's clear he really and truly loves her and yeah. If a man thinks your actions lead to the death of his love? Yeah, God forgives, they don't.

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>>5023127
>If we let the magic rest for this round we'll be free and clear the next right?
Yup.
>Would the abandon option necessitate a roll to see if we successfully break through?
Not in your current circumstances.
>How is Teruko?
She has safely retreated near your friend in the backline. Her fairy stopped her wound from killing her, but she's not looking good that's for sure. Ambrus isn't seeing red anymore so he's back to fighting intelligently.
Also, the reinforcement is still tied up but... the exorcist broke through the enemies and left Siegfried party behind, he is running toward your fight, he should make it by the end of next turn.
I totally forgot to add that info. Olga out of control magic melted the palace s you have a clear view of the battlefield, too.

>>5023134
Ok, say I want us to fucking *end* red here and now ASAP. What are my options?

Also, that exorcist. He's a total fanatic that's only here because Mana, his literal god, is telling him to be right? If he's charging towards us and abandoning her own *son* than I'm of the opinion that he'll probably be a HUGE help against Zerase. May want to delay a bit and pick him up before charging the pyramid.

I like the character design of that pic. What manga did ya get it from?

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>>5023138
>He's a total fanatic that's only here because Mana, his literal god, is telling him to be right?
You have absolutely zero information about him.
>Ok, say I want us to fucking *end* red here and now ASAP. What are my options?
Switch to lightning, channel all of your remaining mana, and roll well. Even then, it won't be enough to remove her as a threat.
Tokyo Ghoul. Good art, that's about it.

>>5023143
As expected given how she's essentially activated the 8 inner gates formation. I'm sure you know the context but Red is now on par with a fucking embodiment and cares not about the fact that she's going to die now no matter what happens. Poor deluded fool. I'd make a wager that... Well, wouldn't be the first time me and the others weren't suspecting yuri being a thing here.

How are Hao and Klesiah? They up for jumping Red's bones in a most violent and hateful of way? Could we and Sieg just leap over the fools before us? Does Sieg's corruption do bad things to people it lands on if she wants it to? Tui's is a biohazard, is Sieg's if she lets it?

>>5023154
>How are Hao and Klesiah?
No serious wounds. They endured their fair share of pincers punches and halberd strikes but their damaged armor is a testament to their endurance.
>They up for jumping Red's bones in a most violent and hateful of way?
Coordinating like that is possible.
>Could we and Sieg just leap over the fools before us?
Siggy can by using you as a footstool. You'll need to charge through.
>Does Sieg's corruption do bad things to people it lands on if she wants it to?
It has the potential to do this, yes. Remain a big if though, she's keeping it under control.
>Tui's is a biohazard, is Sieg's if she lets it?
Yes. Siggy doesn't have Tui talent though, and their circumstances are quite different.

>>5023160
Say we both charged as one instead. What are our odds of breaking through? We've already established that our strength stat is pretty much equal to if not in excess of the scorpions. They got way more bulk than we do yet Red struggled to match it despite a massive weight/mass and even height advantage.

Given how we have perfect synchronization due to our link I'd think we'd have a damn near perfect chance of breaking through if we put all our effort into it. Might even get a bit fancy given how we'll both be swinging/slamming/ramming one motherfucker into another motherfucker by intention. Plus they're all already injured by what happened with our charge. Maybe the could have just shrugged it off and joined the fight somehow. But after getting a giant plate mail clad scorpion bitch rolled over them like a steamroller and then getting a lamia or lizardgirl slamming into them like a club?

Yeah, that probably fully broke that cracked rib, foot, and arm. Good luck fighting with those injuries!

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>>5023175
>What are our odds of breaking through?
Good enough not to need a roll since the soldiers haven't formed a good line yet.
Whether you charge in the fight to get at Red or separate your party to reach the pyramid asap, for now, your enemies can't stop a charge.

>>5023181
As tempting as bypassing this BS is I do believe it'd be out of character for us especially given our fusion state.

As it stands, we're basically Gardy's incarnation. We are the embodiment of protection and as things stand there is still the very real chance of protecting everyone and losing no one. Red gets charged with all our links in tow. Almost. How bad off is Hilde? We won't ditch her and thus open her up to a Coup de Gras if that's what that means. She's a close friend equivalent now. She's given up so much for our side. Hell, if she were conscious she'd probably insist we abandon them and charge Zerase because Anais is that damned important to her...

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>>5023193
>How bad off is Hilde?
Unconscious but in safe hands in the back line
>We are the embodiment of protection and as things stand there is still the very real chance of protecting everyone and losing no one.
Anais deserves protection too...
>Hell, if she were conscious she'd probably insist we abandon them and charge Zerase because Anais is that damned important to her...
Yup. I rolled in the background and unfortunately, Hild messed up in the fight...

>>5023197
Who is currently in the back line, who among them can fight, and would us all bum rushing Red stand a good chance of killing her dead within 2 rounds even if the dice gods side with her?

Again, while I'm rather partial towards the abandon option so long as Red remains a threat/factor it will mean the dice gods select whom among those we ditch get to die. I don't want to roll dice to see if we keep our current "flawless run" intact!

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>>5023205
>Who is currently in the back line, who among them can fight,
Elina, Klesiah, Hao, Olga, Deruella, Shereen, allied Ushi-Oni, Teruko, Hildegarde.
Amongst them, Shereen and Teruko can be considered non-combatants and of course, Hild is out of the fight.
Olga will be able to fight and provide support soon. The allied Ushi-Onis has been poisoned and she's sporting some serious wounds, so she can't fight at her best. You'll get one additional friendly coming to help by the end of the next turn.
>Would us all bum rushing Red stand a good chance of killing her dead within 2 rounds even if the dice gods side with her?
You'll have to be the judge of that.

>>5023208
I won't be able to post in length before tomorrow evening but as things stand I vote to attempt to waste Red.

Her end will help everyone and harm nobody we particularly care about. If we are to leave this theater of battle the least we can do for those we leave behind is to decapitate their command structure.

Hardly a grunt will complain if in the process of abandoning them you did a drive by execution of a Rommel or Patton...

>>5023215
I'll leave things open for a little while tomorrow.
I'd like to know if you'd like to commit all of your reserve on this endeavor or not but I suppose that can wait until I get a final answer.

>>5023218
I didn't think we could use more magic without making a roll unless we decide to do the equivalent of what Red has done and invoke our basic nature as the Embodiment of Protection.

We may stand a chance of not dying by doing so but you said that he only did that once when he took on both ME and FK in a last ditch effort to protect/save Devona. That is, if this situation is anything less than that fucking dire we've just triggered a "die in a blaze of glory" mechanic...

>>5023219
>I didn't think we could use more magic without making a roll unless we decide to do the equivalent of what Red has done and invoke our basic nature as the Embodiment of Protection.
Nothing so elaborate. You'll run the risk of malfunction with your gauntlet, that's all. You still have about 8% mana left.
>We may stand a chance of not dying by doing so but you said that he only did that once when he took on both ME and FK in a last ditch effort to protect/save Devona.
Oh, yes... well that was a different situation to be sure.

>>5023226
Ok, so we're pretty much guaranteed to break through with Sieg if we charge as one magic or not right? Red is fully engaged with Haddy, has her back to us, has no halberd, and has lost her stinger right? I've said it once and I'll say it again, if you are engaged in the front and get charged from the rear you are pretty much fucked regardless of other considerations.

I don't suppose we can get the reserve numbers on Klesiah and Elina. A resonance spell might be enough to either take out Red, instantly allow Olga to join the fray this round, or something else majorly advantageous for us this round. That would be a more intelligent use of our remaining reserves given how that doesn't involve a malfunction roll.

>>5023482
Oh, and Haddy got cut off by red. Could we in any way determine what she was trying to say? "If you can re-" could lead to a lot of places. Reinforce a flank? Herself? Zazawu and Waltier?

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>>5023482
>Ok, so we're pretty much guaranteed to break through with Sieg if we charge as one magic or not right?
Yes.
>Red is fully engaged with Haddy, has her back to us, has no halberd, and has lost her stinger right?
She's engaged with Haddy and lost her stinger. The other two observations aren't true.
>I don't suppose we can get the reserve numbers on Klesiah and Elina.
You can't assess their internal reserves that quickly, unfortunately.
>>5023484
You'll need to literally ask her what she meant.
I'll be updating tomorrow, my brain need a little rest.

>>5023854
Ok, the biggest problem we have right now is Red. As Ensan's herald she is literally an incarnation of their "god's" will. If that were to, say, die horribly next round that would turn the tide of this melee in our favor.

We have 4 links, an embodiment, and ourselves. 6 people in total 5 of which are in perfect sync.

Provided Hilde isn't in a position where a bad momentum roll will get her coup de gras'd we can pull off a nasty trick favored by a certain counter guardian. An omnidirectional assault that will ensure at least one fully lethal blow cannot fail to land. Once she's dead we pulp and mince her as best we can to make sure she doesn't just get back up.

One more query however. Can Klesiah enchant her glaive or sword with a resonant thunder spell? Would that be effective against Red?

>>5023970
>Can Klesiah enchant her glaive or sword with a resonant thunder spell?
Should be possible. Elina healing is done so you can charge another resonance, though the price is always around 5-10% mana.
>Would that be effective against Red?
Gotta try and find out.

>>5023978
Ok, is Hilde safe to be totally abandoned and has Red procured another halberd?

Also, do any of the scorpions look like they're now undead/lost their extra life? Because if they are methinks I know why they sent the exorcist forward. Undeads are probably very vulnerable to exorcism rites. He might be able to just kill em' outright easy if they're already undead.

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>>5024004
>Ok, is Hilde safe to be totally abandoned
Hao and Klesiah brought her somewhere safe in the backline yeah.
>has Red procured another halberd?
Yeah, there's plenty of plearms o the ground due to the fallen soldiers.
>Also, do any of the scorpions look like they're now undead/lost their extra life?
Three of them have fallen, the rest seem to still be ''alive''. Wounds varie greatly amongst them.

>>5024014
One more question. Where are each of our linked girls in relation to red and what's their distance from her. Gotta know that before I make my plan to decapitate the enemy leadership. Literally.

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>>5024241
>Where are each of our linked girls in relation to red and what's their distance from her.
Klesiah, Elina and Hao are around 3 meters away from her, near the far back
You and Sieglinde are far enough away that reaching her will need full commitment (ie, can't do anything else)

>>5024257
So we're far enough away for a charge action is what I'm hearing. What are everyone's positionals? That is, are they (and we) to her left, right, or rear?

>>5024266
>What are everyone's positionals?
Irrelevent. Red is locked in combat with Hadraniel, she's moving around too much.

>>5024274
Still, this means Red is very close to our most vulnerable people and those 8 troops we bowled through will likely go and try to help her out or otherwise coup de gras our most injured party members (plus Teruko is back there and everyone knows you kill the healer first). Haddy can't contain them all alone.

I'll sleep on this one. I have the beginnings of a plan that might work. Say, Red's basically all alone right now right? Is it possible to coordinate a simultaneous strike with our linked girls? Y'know, we and Sieg charge the bitch and right as we're about to hit they jump her?

>>5024299
>Red's basically all alone right now right?
for now, though the enemies fighting with Ambrus might be able to help her.
> Is it possible to coordinate a simultaneous strike with our linked girls?
It cannot be elaborate. All they'll be able to know is you intent. ''Strike together'' is the best info you can give.

>>5024314
One more consideration. The legs on Red. They armored? If they are has said armor been damaged significantly? She kinda needs all Six to maneuver effectively. There like the RCS thrusters on spaceships. If we take out 2-3 of them in the right order (eg. two on one side and the middle one on the other) she's a sitting duck and Haddy can easily finish her off. Twice.

How badly do you need to damage a leg on a bug type who has opened the Gate of Death to truly disable it though? That's another major concern.

>>5024334
>They armored? If they are has said armor been damaged significantly?
You can't get a good look at the state of her legs from your position. They don't look overly damaged.

>>5024338
We would have gotten a better gander during our tussle with her before she tried to gank our off-healer/summoner. What did they look like then?

>>5024344
Speaking of which that summon cut off her stinger. What's it doing right now?

>>5024344
>What did they look like then?
The armor looked firm and solid, part of the reason why her kick hurt quite a bit.
>>5024346
Well, for now, it remains near Red back, can't be moving away until next turn. Its attack was Teruko taking an opportunity.

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>>5024351
Well, for now I have a plan then. It revolves heavily upon the trust, intelligence, and experience of our girls both linked and unlinked.

Does everyone trust us? Really and truly? Do we trust them in turn? If so, this should work.

We and Sieg charge Red and tell our links to strike as one. She is far, far too close to the rear line to be allowed to live before we abandon everyone else to their fate and charge towards Zerase despite the presence of another Embodiment on the field. Hilde... if she dies here poor Anais will be nigh on inconsolable. She may care enough about her charge to die but Anais would never accept that option. She is her protector, her friend. She loves her in a most pure and chaste fashion.

Wait a minute. Embodiments can invoke their nature if the stars align right? Can Haddy invoke her nature as the embodiment of love? Shereen, herself, us and our girls, Hilde, Ambrus, Teruko, other Siggy's currently bogged down by horrors trying to reach us and by extension his waifu Haddy... there's more than enough "love" to go around on our side and precious little on the other for it to matter over much.

I get the feeling she could invoke it if we charged in with the intention of fulfilling our own nature as protection and it would benefit us way more than our enemies.

>>5024359
>Embodiments can invoke their nature if the stars align right?
Yup.
>Can Haddy invoke her nature as the embodiment of love?
Well... The situation doesn't allow that. Unfortunately. Those manifestations aren't something that can be triggered at will like a regular spell or ability.

Coordinating with your links to strike at Red is possible.

>>5024362
Ok, so she can't just activate it on a whim. Does it stand a chance of happening because of how and why things are ending up as they are?

She (and we) cannot just invoke our natures at will it seems. However, say everything just happened to line up. In that event it's not a case of us invoking our nature but rather the whole nature of the situation invoking us to become what we truly are. She is Love, we are Protection. Particulars matter but if either of them are necessary to ensure a brighter tomorrow...

>>5024364
>Does it stand a chance of happening because of how and why things are ending up as they are?
Not right now.
For such an invocation to happen, things need to get desperate. You gotta feel it. That's the only hint I`ll give.

>>5024369
So we gotta roll a 1 twice or something eh? Hehe, at least you seem to allow some small measure of mercy then.

We need to kill red before abandoning the field. That much is clear in my book both for the benefit of the morale of our side and the detriment of the morale of the other side. Again, everyone is a diehard fanatic right up until the incarnation of your false god's will gets wasted without much fanfare.

Charge. Anyone who gets in our way eats big damage and fuck them anyway. Our linked girls get the message and strike in unison hopefully. Mina will tell Klesiah if she ought to request a resonance here. If she does she gets it. If not we save the mana. Sadly cannot cast more elemental magic as it would mean a malfunction roll.

Speaking of which, how much would a cast of "soul arms" cost us and would that help us and our poor dice pool?

>>5024384
>So we gotta roll a 1 twice or something eh? Hehe
Not really. It is something that can happen without any measure of chances. Embodiments can be counted on one hand, that manifestation is not something that can be willfully invoked whenever they want.
>Speaking of which, how much would a cast of "soul arms" cost us and would that help us and our poor dice pool?
Around 4% for something effective. If it help... well No. Might help the melee afterward.
>Charge. Anyone who gets in our way eats big damage and fuck them anyway. Our linked girls get the message and strike in unison hopefully.
Noted
>Mina will tell Klesiah if she ought to request a resonance here.
Can't be happening during the charge.
I'll try my best to update tomorrow but no promise I'm afraid.

I'll aim to restart thread tomorrow. I'm too distracted today, can't focus.

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Rolled 9, 14 = 23 (2d20)

Sorry about that delay, I'll try to update today or tomorrow.
Here's our usual momentum rolls. I won't ask for rolls due to a lack of general players.

>>5026900
Well fuck, there goes flawless. I wonder who we just lost...

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>>5026966
Naaah, as I said, momentum doesn't carry such harsh consequences.

>>5026971
It's still not good that we keep losing consecutive momentum rolls. Someone's going to eat significant damage then.

Based on the pic looks like Teruko's hubby is getting hurt. Damn. I was hoping we could bro it up with him after this. We have a critical lack of bros in our social circle. He and Zazawu would have been a great start.

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>>5026975
I just posted him because I feel like it's been a while since I posted a reminder of what he looks like. Choices often trump bad rolls, don't get so worried.
I have been sobbing males far to severely in this quest that's for sure.

>>5026979
snobbing*
Yeesh, I'll write slowly today.

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I'll be archiving the thread later tonight. I have a situation that prevent me from writing, QM curse struck me this year. I'll keep updating twitter with my schedule, nothing to worry there.

>>5028130
So you cannot complete the update? We can always wait for quality but you're alright physically right?

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>>5028134
Yeah don't worry. It's family-related, all of my attention has to be directed there.

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Alright, my problems have calmed down. I'll try to get back into things and start updating again, I want to at least end the Red boss fight if I can even if my schedule is gonna be real busy since we've entered the latter half of the month. Not making this a promise yet.

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The magical protection of Anais is starting to diminish, you have a chance to go and accomplish one of the objectives of this little war. However, Hadraniel mentioned Zazawu and Waltier, surely they can slow down the princess's upcoming tragedy... But there's no telling what's happening with them, they've gone to confront the Pharaoh by themselves.

That red scorpion is a bigger immediate menace. Teruko is barely able to keep herself from bleeding out while keeping her only weapon functional, her husband can't find an opportunity to land a killing blow against his enemies. They are slowly but surely whittling him down, denying him the one solid strike he needs with his greataxe to end them, their battle was an unending series of deflections.

If one of the spouses in your party were to perish, the other would surely light their soul... Such was the intensity of the battlefield. A razor-thin line of madness.

''I won't object to pulling out that red bitch spine, even if I think it's better to leave her to Hadraniel. Ready, Arawn?'' Sieglinde didn't have any mouth yet still spoke effortlessly. Darkish red fluid slowly stopped oozing out of wounds, her inward manipulation of Corruption covered these injuries with dark scabs, regenerating them.

The longer she fights, the more that organic tar is produced, increasing its absorption inside her body but also further healing her wounds... Worry about it later, Arawn. For now, the boons of her altered Corruption are needed.

''The snake will wait.'' You replied firmly. On this battlefield, stress, fear, rage, and desperation mingled into one of those unique, special mindsets that significantly stimulated your soul links after Hao treatment. Your -and your linked companions- perspectives was shared instinctively. Under normal circumstances, such a flow of information would be overwhelming... but Gardy body was a marvelous thing indeed, allowing you to absorb all of this information without strain.

You didn't need to speak. In this messy, chaotic, confusing battlefield, you and Sieglinde ran in one mind, one sharpened will. You cut through the open area like an arrow as the noise of murderous steel echoed from the clashes between the angelic Hero and her monstrous opponent. Each blow telling enough to shake a Demon Lord resolve, yet both women were locked in an ephemeral equilibrium.

Sieglinde made a sudden sharp turn to the right to help Ambrus. The man had lost his footing and fell on the ground. You can't protect everyone alone; you need to go forward!

''We will be reboooorn!'' The red-painted scorpion woman voice was beyond yelling, it was booming. Fumes wafted out of her large body without magical manifestation, one potential aspect of soul consumption. ''In this form or the next, our holiness promised a fitting reward for our faith! Sisters! Don-guh!''

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Your shield collided with her left side, the impact made you grit your teeth in pain despite your modified bones. Your innards were gears animated by magic, stimulated by your will, yet the damnable creature kept her footing! Her big, deadly left claw swung toward you, you spotted the luminescence of a golden shield, Teruko puppet summons jumped into the pincer that would have gripped your shoulder.
Snap
The entity that claimed Red stinger died. You couldn't see Hao swinging her blade, you felt her intention and the results showed: your knight greatsword cleaved through two plated legs and Klesiah glaive stabbed into the offending pincer attempting to trample your short lizard. Then lightning traveled out of your knight's body, up her weapon, and locked the giant scorpion in place.

''This is good night!'' The Embodiment of Love didn't thrust her halberd, she swung it sideway into a clean decapitation. One golden shield was preventing her enemy from raising her polearm to deflect, another locked her human half in place, the big warrior-woman couldn't handle such overwhelming coordination. Without its nexus, Zerase necromantic blessing couldn't animate her body, Red fell in a cacophony of metal.

Further behind, Deruella with the help of the Oni crippled by Girtarblilu venoms granted their risen adversary final death.

''Let me down! I'm fine!'' Ambrus gruff voice yelled. ''Watcher's balls, you came like thunder!''

Sieglinde had thrown the bigger, taller, metal-clad, greataxe wielding man over her shoulders and ran toward the newfound safety of the backline. ''You okay Teruko!?'' She yelled at the pale lizard woman while letting her husband down.

His armor was a trashed mess. The black painted metal covering him was bent, scratched, and outright broken all over his body, blood slowly seeped out of countless small wounds, the right horn of his helmet gone... Yet his eyes burned with naked fury, his grip on his massive weapon wasn't weakening.

''Y-yes you needn't worry overmuch I...'' Her left arm was gone, the wound was a gaping, deadly opening yet only a finite trickle of blood flowed out of what was an undeniably deadly injury. ''...Do not have much energy left.''

''They're moving toward our warriors!'' Klesiah pointed at the enemies with her glaive. Francine, Deruella good maid-slime, was standing behind you silently with Mina floating above her, both had abandoned their flank: the enemies were moving toward your group of allies cut off from your main party... but your friends were far from hopeless.

Sonja, Meruse, and the two Onis had been reinforced by the Salamander and two Minotaur moons.Together they made for a significant fighting force that, while forced on the defensive, was going to hold out against the coming onslaught. The enemies were far more focused on your group instead of trampling through your allies.

For now.

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''Friendly from the back!'' Elina suddenly yelled. At her side, Shereen was helping the now conscious Olga stay on her feet. the good witch was having a difficult time with her balance and she kept taking small sips from a canteen. Gods, so many things happening at once!

''Friendly indeed, my name is Matthaeus, let's not linger on pleasantry. I come bearing a gift of Mother Earth tempered by the flames of the fox queen and sharpened with the wisdom of the crow.'' A soft, masculine voice announced itself. Siegfried group meant to reinforce yours had unfortunately been contained by a detachment of the enemy army but a singular person amongst them had slipped past that group.

The Exorcist was an odd sight on this battlefield. Wearing nothing more than a long leather coat, pants reinforced with metals and chainmail gloves, the only sign of weaponry on him was the odd item he held onto, a trinket that looked to be a cross? There was barely any sign of dirtiness on him even his glass didn't show damage, yet his physique was eerie to behold. He didn't seem a day past thirty but his pale skin, completely white hairs, and equally pale eyes reminded you of Hildegarde's body.

''You're a Scarbrand?'' Hadraniel asked him as she closed Teruko wound with a long puff of vapor coming out of her outstretched hand. Elina silently began healing Hildegarde

''Indeed. I am unable to employ my weapon while conserving the Good Mother gift.'' He cleared his throat. ''I can rejuvenate a portion of everyone's magic or a bigger portion of up to three mages.''

''How are things going in the Red?'' Deruella asked the good Hero. The angel winced.

''The winged titan is a coward so we managed to make him flee, the Mountain is another problem.'' She nodded at Teruko once she was finally out of danger, the little fairy promptly exited her body. ''Zerase must have some influence on it, the creature moved toward the pyramid.'' Her blue-metal-covered hand pointed forward. ''Daiyu's been chipping away at it... still, it's a mess and-''

The earth rumbled for a second and a monstrous, unbelievably loud uproar erupted from the direction the good Hero was pointing at. Like thousands of voices all screaming from shared pain, the phenomenon managed to pause the fighting you could see. A bright red bridge extended in the sky, the Pharaoh burning magical web snaked its way into it like oversized fractures.

''This thing is going toward Marleon...'' Shereen commented.

Bodies -no creatures- detached themselves from this unbelievable pathway and began falling... everywhere. It was the same overgrown slugs Zipangu army was contending against, freak of natures full of muscles, eyes, pus, and teeth, creatures more aptly described as ''surviving'' instead of alive. Some of these began to fall toward your area of the palace...

''We've gotta go!'' Ama screamed, her ghostly existence floated above Shereen (thankfully the Exorcist didn't react). ''Now! We can't stay and fight! Get me near her pyramid, her nexus! Things are about to get a whole lot worse! She's draining Marleon, she might shift this entire area in the Red World, and let me remind you.There's almost no air to breathe in there. Anybody without a trained shell or standing outside a protected area will suffocate and die!''

''Francine will cut us a path forward than converge back with helping our party.'' Deruella added.

''This is it!'' One of the scorpions yelled. ''This is the sign! Her Holiness will begin to ascend! In this life or the next, we can serve! Sisters, if we can't kill these heretics then at least contain them! Sacrifice your blood for our shared ambitions!'' Vapors exited her body, across the surviving Girtarblilus, purple sigil began to glow on their forehead, slowly but surely causing an all too familiar ignition.

''Magically induced consumption!?'' Hadraniel could only state in disbelief.

''Heresy is an understatement.'' Matthaeus calmly said. ''Now's the time to take fate by the horns and do what mankind does best: wrestle till death.''

>A Tale of Monsters - The Witch Game (21)- End.

Should you and your links separate from your main party and run toward Zerase nexus of magic?
Perhaps you should leave a few warriors behind to strengthen your friends who now have to fight against the wounded, self-sacrificing scorpion women?
And finally, there is Matthaeus gift.
He can either regenerate 30% magic of everyone in your party or regenerate 50% magic of three mages.
Your magical reserves are spent, only 8% is left.
Elina is at 20%. Healing Olga and Hildegarde took out everything she had.
Klesiah is at 50%. She's good at keeping handling her small reserves.

Hadraniel is low on magic, Teruko is almost spent, Olga also has no reserve left, everything inside her ignited after your joined spell. She only has the tiniest spark to keep her from Overcasting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6el6BIKUk

>>5055908
Ok, who counts as in our party right now in regards to mages? How many scorpions remain, where are they, and who are they currently engaged with?

The exorcist sounds promising. Scarbrand? Does Gardy's databanks have anything pertinent to say about that? What's he good at killing?

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>>5055933
>Ok, who counts as in our party right now in regards to mages?
Your links.
Klesiah and Elina.
The entire party mages are
Hadraniel, Klesiah, Elina, Olga, Teruko, Shereen, and of course yourself.
>How many scorpions remain, where are they, and who are they currently engaged with?
7 out of 12, they've all converged on your right flank where the manticore, lamia, two allied Onis, and three Warrior-Moons are making a common front against them.
>Scarbrand? Does Gardy's databanks have anything pertinent to say about that?
Unfortunately, Gardy was imprisoned before the church really started to get its power, Exorcists were still a project in infancy.

There are several philosophies amongst Exorcists and Scarbrand is one of them, the little Arawn know is that they've forged their bodies into weapons.
>What's he good at killing?
Anything beyond human. Exorcists are the church's final answers against abominations. Anything the gods deemed as ''nonhuman deserving a purging'' are what Exorcists train to kill. Killing Mamonos isn't part of their repertoire since Monsters have been part of human existence, what they do is hunt down eldritch abominations and anyone they infect with the authority of the church and the blessing of the gods, the church answer against Outsiders. They wield advanced miracles, channel Father Sky and/or Mother Earth many gifts and often carry them outside the influence of the gods.

They're essentially trained to do what every single expert branch of the church does. The common saying is that Exorcists are born, not trained since there's only a handful each generation.

Sorta proto-rangers really. They're exceptional when it comes to killing abominations since they are ones of the very few people trained -and allowed- to use offensive Holy. Matthaeus here will do exceptionally well against the slugs but not too well against the scorpions until their humanities fully burn out. However, he is extremely good at being on the defensive against ''humans''

>>5055945
So we can pick 3 out of that list to restore 50 percent or we can just blanket restore 30 percent to everyone?

Also, burning out of their humanity? I thought they were just doing what Red did and start a process of burning her own soul that would undeniably and irrevocably kill her in a few minutes in exchange for the strength to actually stand up to and possibly even beat an Embodiment. You're saying what's happening to the scorpions now is them getting twisted into outsiders?

As for the general plan I hate to agree with Ama but Zerase is probably planning on shifting the whole city into the red world (or at least, this battlefield). That's pretty much her win right there if it goes off. We need to not allow that to happen. Anais is still OK right? We just need her to remain invulnerable for the few rounds it'll take us to break through and get to the pyramid.

Can only our links join us or has killing Red given us the chance to make a quick decision as to who else we may want to bring or leave behind here? How far away is other Siggy's party and do they have any hope of getting to those we leave behind in time to actually make any kind of difference?

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>>5055951
>So we can pick 3 out of that list to restore 50 percent or we can just blanket restore 30 percent to everyone?
Yup.
>Also, burning out of their humanity? I thought they were just doing what Red did and start a process of burning her own soul that would undeniably and irrevocably kill her in a few minutes in exchange for the strength to actually stand up to and possibly even beat an Embodiment.
Yeah and if they burn out completely, they'll rise again as undeads. Those forms are what I was referring to.
>Anais is still OK right?
For now.
>Can only our links join us or has killing Red given us the chance to make a quick decision as to who else we may want to bring or leave behind here?
Your links and Deruella is the default party since everyone will be able to easily keep up and coordinate but you're able to bring more if you feel the need. This is your last opportunity to coordinate.
>How far away is other Siggy's party and do they have any hope of getting to those we leave behind in time to actually make any kind of difference?
Roughly five minutes away, they're getting closer by the moment. A horde of shades and now some sky raining abominable slugs are slowing his party down but they're handling themselves well. It'd be possible to have your friends retreat toward his position depending on who's left behind.

>>5055955
So once they're "undead" the exorcist and use his rites or whatever else he has on them and that'll really dish out the damage but until they rise again he's only as good as a damn good normal human fighter eh?

So where is everyone right now in relation to us and those 7 bitches? Any other enemies remain or is it down to those 7? How is everyone else holding up? We haven't lost people yet have we?

>>5055963
>So where is everyone right now in relation to us and those 7 bitches?
Your group is a fair distance away from your isolated pocket of allies on the left, the minutia about where exactly people are doesn't matter here.
>Any other enemies remain or is it down to those 7?
There are around 12 soldiers left helping their bigger sisters with their polearms
> How is everyone else holding up? We haven't lost people yet have we?
No. Hildegarde will need some time to awaken despite the Holy healing (and thus can't be brought along) and Olga will need some protection until she regains a second wind, otherwise, Teruko and Ambrus were the two big danger spots. Stamina across the board is getting pretty low for your non-linked allies aside from Francine, Deruella, Hadraniel and now Matthaeus

>>5055975
Teruko can heal stamina if she has mana right? Also, who's right next to us? If we're gonna coordinate they're our options for making a plan. Who gets sent where is likely going to determine if we maintain our flawless streak.

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>>5055982
>Teruko can heal stamina if she has mana right?
She's the only one who can.
>Also, who's right next to us?
Your links who need no mention, Shereen and Deruella.
Rest of the party is -
Hadraniel (Angel)
Matthaeus (Exorcist)
Teruko (Summoner/Healer)
Ambrus (Warrior)
Hildegarde (Has t stay behind until the healing is done)
Olga (Excellent fire mage)
Francine (Monstrously powerful slime. Held off 5+ scorpions by herself for a long time. Still perfectly healthy and fresh)
One Ushi-Oni, now fresh and ready to battle with the paralytic venom gone from her system.

Your cut off allies are -
Meruse (Deruella lamia maiden. Rogue/summoner spear user)
Sonja (Barbarian Manticore who channel totemic spirit)
Two Ushi-Onis (equipment looking pretty beat up but the girls are still going wild)
Newly allied Salamander (The one you fought shortly after awakening.)
Two Minotaurs (Mostly support since they have no armor or natural protection, they're pretty handy with the glaives they've salvaged)

>>5055991
OK, I got places to be now and won't be able to post until tonight but for now I think I almost got a game plan.

We let the exorcist do the group restoration. If there's travel time between us getting out of here and to the pyramid we can drain whatever we can from Klesiah to further bolster our own reserves. The whole party needs some mana and hell, if the enemy gets an 11th hour power boost so should we. Suddenly giving our healers 30 percent more mana and especially re-upping Haddy will really do something in regards for our party's collective survival odds.

Our enemy is focused on containment and has elected to go out in a blaze of glory by igniting their souls for power beyond their own already significant capacity. That means they won't just let us charge on by and will go for us as we try to get to the pyramid. Can Francine join the fight right now with our enemy to distract them? Will Deru's Corruption Field remain for a bit after she leaves with us? How will that impact Francine's combat effectiveness?

That last part is sadly quite important in finalizing my plans. Also, worst case scenario, how much mana do we need to go from medium to full fusion activation if we get dragged into the red world? We're gonna want to walk into the final boss encounter with that much in our reserves. It also sounds like we need the equivalent of heavy artillery bombardments to deal with the Mountain. If we are in full fusion how much mana does a "big" boom cost? Y'know, plasma beam/volcano cannon/Tesla cannon/etc. I mean a big, fuck you and die cataclysmic blast like what we blocked with our shield from that thing.

Also, we're bringing Shereen as well right? We did promise her a confrontation with her mother and she's probably pivotal to stopping this final phase of the apotheosis ritual along with Ama. How are her reserves holding out?

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>>5056303
>Can Francine join the fight right now with our enemy to distract them?
No, she'll help your group get out without complications and return to help your friend afterward.
>Will Deru's Corruption Field remain for a bit after she leaves with us?
Yeah but the fight will continue outside of it.
>How will that impact Francine's combat effectiveness?
Her mobility and regeneration will be affected but it won't be a dramatic shift.
>Also, worst case scenario, how much mana do we need to go from medium to full fusion activation if we get dragged into the red world?
Since you are already in medium, the cost is reduced, and being in the Red is another big reduction. You'll need around 20% mana.
>If we are in full fusion how much mana does a "big" boom cost?
More than you have. 30%+
>Also, we're bringing Shereen as well right?
Of course. I may not have mentioned her but bringing her is non-negotiable.
>How are her reserves holding out?
She's good.

>>5056625
How far away are we from the pyramid? We may be able to skim more mana from Klesiah as there shouldn't be anything between us and the pyramid once we're past the damned Scorpions.

Could a few people flank the scorpions and charge them from there? That should do something positive. Also, what's Haddy gonna do if we don't put any ideas into her head? I'm kind of torn about who to leave and face Zerase and Ensan vs. who to leave to fight the scorpions. Zazawu and Waltier will immediately ally with us upon our arrival at the pyramid yes?

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>>5056713
>How far away are we from the pyramid?
A fair distance but if you're quick enough, your enemies shouldn't catch up. Unless they've got reserves further back of course, but the Scorpions -did- emerge from the palace inner area.
You'll have plenty of time to absorb some Mana from your blue knight.
>Could a few people flank the scorpions and charge them from there? That should do something positive.
Francine and Hadraniel are the best placed for that but honestly, the tactics of your friends will be outside your influence.
>Also, what's Haddy gonna do if we don't put any ideas into her head?
Not sure what you mean here. Haddy is a Hero and an Embodiment to boot, her bread and butter is to summon two shields in combat which is the big threshold between masterful employ of Holy and everyone else. You asked for reinforcement from the Red World and while she might not be Zazawu, don't go underestimating her.
>Zazawu and Waltier will immediately ally with us upon our arrival at the pyramid yes?
If they're still in fighting shape, of course. Not even a 9th level Dominate Person spell can work in changing allegiance here.

>>5056733
What I meant was what's she planning on doing. Is she going to follow us or is she going to attack the scorpions if we don't say anything to her?

Also, everyone including her and us get a 30 percent refill with the restore all option right? That'll put our blueberry at 80 and it draws 1 to 1 (i.e. 10 percent out of her translates into 10 percent in us and vice-versa).

If it's like when we first ran in here and everything goes according to plan we'd be walking into the encounter with 48 percent and our blueberry with 70. Not bad. Not optimal, but not bad.

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>>5056752
>What I meant was what's she planning on doing.
Oh. Given the situation with the self-consuming scorpions, she's staying here to help the second party.
>Also, everyone including her and us get a 30 percent refill with the restore all option right?
Yup.
>That'll put our blueberry at 80 and it draws 1 to 1 (i.e. 10 percent out of her translates into 10 percent in us and vice-versa).
Yup. Soul links are overpowered!

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Unless specifically told otherwise, your party to go confront Zerase won't have any additional combatants.

>>5057408
Ok, you said we can't bring Hilde I believe and that means our current confrontation party lacks an anti-abomination expert. Who do we got to work with that could fill that role? We're going to get abominations thrown at us and we need someone who knows how or is otherwise able to deal with them quickly and effectively.

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>>5057449
>Who do we got to work with that could fill that role?
Olga, Francine, Hadraniel, and Matthaeus.
Mina is in your default party, while she's not an expert, she's still pretty damn good in that area due to being a shard of Mother Earth

>>5057454
The seven remaining scorpions are burning their souls for power and Red doing that managed to hold a candle to Haddy. Matthaeus can Kyrie Eleison the bitches to basically insta-kill em' once they become undead so we probably want them to stay here and hasten the demise of these vile cultists.

Given how this is about to become a melee clusterfuck I'm not sure Olga will be of much help unless she's an expert at firing into melee and not hitting friendly units. As for that other Oni, would her hitting a scorpion eat into the timer on them burning out their soul completely and becoming undead and thus vulnerable to exorcism rites? That halberd still got that buff and would it also do a number on abominations besides shades? Do Ushi-Oni recover stamina quickly and if so could we swap a "tired" one for this fresh one? Have we lost one yet?

>>5057463
Oh, and can Ama fight yet as an independent unit or is she currently stuck as Shereen's "Stand" for now?

>>5057463
>Given how this is about to become a melee clusterfuck I'm not sure Olga will be of much help unless she's an expert at firing into melee and not hitting friendly units.
She's one of the oldest Rangers, melee casting is actually something she had to get good at out of necessity.
>As for that other Oni, would her hitting a scorpion eat into the timer on them burning out their soul completely and becoming undead and thus vulnerable to exorcism rites?
Anyone landing a hit sorta eat into that ''timer''. Zerase blessing activates once the scorpions die.
>That halberd still got that buff and would it also do a number on abominations besides shades?
Yes. Ame fiery enchantment is still working on all of the Onis weapons throughout the entire army.
>Do Ushi-Oni recover stamina quickly and if so could we swap a "tired" one for this fresh one?
Ushi-Onis have some of the best natural regeneration in the entire world. They recover wounds and stamina quicker than the vast majority of monsters.
>Have we lost one yet?
No.
>>5057465
Still stuck, she'll be able to act semi-independently now that it's afternoon but walking outside of Shereen is only a one-minute affair at best.

>>5057468
Drat, Ama being a combatant would really help right now.

Also, casting in melee is one thing. Firing/casting *into* melee is another. As in, taking a shot at an enemy who is engaged in melee combat with one of your own. They both move around a bunch and keep switching positions because of that you see. This is why doing that usually entails a roll to see who you hit. Roll well and you hit the enemy regardless. Roll poorly and, well, friendly fire isn't very friendly. Basically, can she land hits on enemies engaged in melee with friendlies without an appeal to the dice gods?

>>5057483
Oh, and can we swap the fresh Oni for a tired one without risk to either? I would kind of like us to have one in the event a "big" abomination gets thrown at us. Massive enemies need equally massive tanks to stop them from trampling a party of small to medium sized humanoids.

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>>5057483
>Basically, can she land hits on enemies engaged in melee with friendlies without an appeal to the dice gods?
Yes, she can accurately launch precise rays of fire out of hands because the Scorpions are pretty big, her chances of hitting a friend are in the ballpark of a critfail. She can't do a big spell without potentially hitting a friend in melee of course, but her projectiles are even more dangerous than arrows.
>>5057485
>Oh, and can we swap the fresh Oni for a tired one without risk to either?
Impossible. Your fresh Oni is in the backline with everyone else, the other two are locked in combat with your isolated pocket of friends. Switcheroo is impossible since everyone will be locked in melee soon.

>>5057488
Damn, so many variables and everyone's lives are hanging on a razor's edge. How long until votes are locked? I need to think on this a bit more.

>>5057494
I'll give it until tomorrow. I'm not so sure if I'll be able to start the new thread this weekend but I'll try.

>>5057497
Ok, as for knowledge about abominations. Is Ama pretty good in that area. Knowing what's being thrown at us and how to deal with it is very important and it seems that only Hilde, Olga, and Matt were experts in that department.

>>5057503
She does have a good wealth of knowledge in that area, especially since abominations can be necromantic instead of eldritch or mutants. As for handling them, well, that's not happening for her until nightfall.

>>5057513
Ok then, I still think we need a designated abomination handler besides Mina here. Olga will only have 30 percent after the restoration and we now know that fueling her is a *bad* idea so no dice there right?

How much does her standard "fire arrow" attack spell cost her and how effective is it vs. a Scorpion or vs. an abomination? How about a big fireball or a pyro lance? Basically, I'm trying to decide on whether we take the Oni or Olga. Olga sounds like she'd do better damage but she's running low on ammo and is basically useless once that happens. The Oni isn't as powerful but is another tank and can just keep swingin' that enchanted halberd of hers all day.

>>5057567
Oh, and in regards to worst case scenario. If we all get dragged into the red world would who would be able to breathe or otherwise survive in there? Is anyone in our party (even party at large if the true FUBAR scenario happens) particularly fucked if that happens?

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>>5057567
>Olga will only have 30 percent after the restoration and we now know that fueling her is a *bad* idea so no dice there right?
You were fueling a big spell, not actually refueling her reserve, maybe that's safe... care to find out?
>How much does her standard "fire arrow" attack spell cost her
She can throw 3 in a round and that's only 1%. It's her most basic of spells, Olga will alternate what she can do during the fight if she get an opportunity.
>how effective is it vs. a Scorpion or vs. an abomination?
About the same, depending on the type of entity. Remember that she is heat, not fire persay. A small but very important distinction.
>How about a big fireball or a pyro lance?
Those would be 3% to 5% but all of them can be charged to become exponentially more dangerous. Olga uses her own body as a nexus and sorta start overheating after chain casting, so once she gets going, she becomes very dangerous.
>>5057570
>If we all get dragged into the red world would who would be able to breathe or otherwise survive in there?
Your links should be able to survive due to the connection with you. Alternatively, Mina should be able to protect them. Hadraniel, Olga, Hildegarde, Matthaeus... Maybe Teruko. Shereen(because of Ama). Deruella, Francine.
>Is anyone in our party (even party at large if the true FUBAR scenario happens) particularly fucked if that happens?
Your Onis allies, Ambrus, all the Moons, majority of Zipangu army. Princess Anais. Deruella manticore and lamia friends.

>>5057574
So the more spells Olga casts the cheaper and/or hotter they get? Like, she "warms up" as it were?

As for a "fresh" Oni charging into the flanks of the scorpions would that particularly screw em' over? If there are smaller enemies backing up the scorpions how bad would it be for them to face an additional Ushi-Oni? I'd think leaving Olga will screw the scorpions and leaving the Oni screws over the remaining small enemies if there are any.

>>5057577
>So the more spells Olga casts the cheaper and/or hotter they get? Like, she "warms up" as it were?
Yup.
>As for a "fresh" Oni charging into the flanks of the scorpions would that particularly screw em' over?
Not really, the scorpions are on guard.
>If there are smaller enemies backing up the scorpions how bad would it be for them to face an additional Ushi-Oni?
If the soldiers are caught in the open instead of supporting their bigger sisters, they're proper fucked.

>>5057580
Ok, I'll have to sleep on this but given that Olga can breathe in the Red World and the Oni can't the safer bet is to sic our last Oni on the bitches and taking Olga with us. Matt and Haddy are needed here to keep these hypermode Scorpions from outright killing the allies we leave behind. Plus the Scorpions know what she can do and the instant they see her up and about again they're gonna go full "Geek the Mage First!" mode. That might be good for allies, but I'm pretty sure that will spell Olga's doom.

Would it be a good idea for them to start "giving ground" towards other Siggy's party or would it be better for them to stand their ground and try to "win" before they get to them?

>>5057584
>Would it be a good idea for them to start "giving ground" towards other Siggy's party or would it be better for them to stand their ground and try to "win" before they get to them?
Hadraniel will become the new leader of this party and that'll be her call, from Arawn point of view, both have their advantages but you don't have the time to sit and agonize about that.

>>5057588
Oh, errr, as we drain mana from Klesiah during our run to the pyramid can Olga start warming up without spending too much mana? You said she can "charge up" so could she hold a full X-Buster shot as it were and fire it when Zerase inevitably tells Shereen to stop being such a dissapointment and help mommy dearest deal with these heathen fools? I mean, what's a few million innocent lives in the face of achieving godhood?

Also, Haddy's a good commander who knows what our party, or at least those we leave behind, is capable of right?

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>>5057670
>Oh, errr, as we drain mana from Klesiah during our run to the pyramid can Olga start warming up without spending too much mana?
Nah, she has to cast actual spells. Her magical heating allows her to leech mana off her spells and ''build-up'' to something big. Can't go smashing magical flints for some sparks here
>Also, Haddy's a good commander who knows what our party, or at least those we leave behind, is capable of right?
She was one of the 13 Heroes who fought throughout the Great Crusade. She'll be real quick to know how people functions... Her 13 years old sleep just made her hungry for a fight.

>>5057681
So it's like in a fighting game where you build "tension" or the like as you do normal moves and combos until you hit the necessary threshold to do cancels and supers.

Only in this case I can imagine it being like she's in golden/unlimited mode where said supers also build up the next super and thus are part of a positive feedback loop where when you use a super you immediately get half of it back and are thus already halfway back towards doing it again.

Fuck, we basically blew her potential by forcing her to use her Instant-Kill right out of the gate like a total newb. It did have positive effects but fucking hell she could have really helped us out so much more if we didn't make her literally melt the stage right off the bat...

Still, she can breathe in Red World Space. We're taking her with us because of that. Whatever else may happen Zerase probably wants to try again with the mountain's totally not "Excalibur Morgan" attack. This time within the red world so that the caveat of it needing an "element" can be bypassed.

Errr, if we're full fusion mode without that shield could we somehow redirect that power ourselves? Straight up said we'd have to choose if we did go that route. We either get access to elemental bombardment ability or get to be like Gardy in his heyday but with the added benefit of total immunity to magic... With the tradeoff being we can't do ranged combat for shit.

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>>5057728
>Fuck, we basically blew her potential by forcing her to use her Instant-Kill right out of the gate like a total newb.
She didn't warn her, meaning her line of thoughts was similar to yours when you needed a big spell. Olga is an excellent single-target killer but doesn't do so well against swarms, which is what you were facing before the scorpions.
>Errr, if we're full fusion mode without that shield could we somehow redirect that power ourselves?
No. The shield magical dampening abilities will affect all of your outward magic (besides soul links stuff) once it's absorbed into Gardy body, you -might- be able to extend that blessing to someone else with a physical touch but that is a big maybe.

>>5057739
That brings up another interesting possibility. Fueling Deru's blood magic. I'd imagine she'd get some inspiration/unique insight into it's modern nature/potential upon beholding the pyramid and Zerase's attempt to use it while engaged in combat.

I'm guessing you need to do more than just knife Anais to make her death actually do what you'd intend if you were the type to mercilessly sacrifice innocents like Zerase and Ensan clearly are.

Zerase is basically trying to pull an Amestris here. Too bad for her Big ME, Shereen, Daiyu, and ourselves (and so many others) are doing their best to make her regret that. The Serpentine Dwarfs in the Flask shall fail if we all have anything to say about it!

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>>5057747
>Fueling Deru's blood magic.
Deru is an expert in all things Blood Magic, especially the ritual, but she can't exactly employ ''direct'' blood magic without significant protection, only Shereen here can and her being a natural blood mage is totally unknown territory. Don't forget that Blood Magic is primarily a ritual, time-consuming type of magic. Lots of prep is needed to employ unless you happen to be Shereen who's a living rule breaker.
>The Serpentine Dwarfs in the Flask shall fail if we all have anything to say about it!
Better hurry. Abominations are literally raining from the sky now!

>>5057753
We already are. Final party split: Olga comes with our links. Everyone else deals with the Scorpions who have opened the 8th inner gate with a caveat that wasn't exactly mentioned before they did that.

That is, they get one or two awesome moves before they all of sudden get Kyrie Elesion'd out of existence by some scrawny exorcist the instant they are "reborn" in accordance with their daemonic and vile faith. How very fitting that a meek servant of the true Goddess she sought to rebel against and likely ultimately kill make her own chosen eat shit and die so effortlessly...

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>>5057765
Oh, I gotta go do IRL things now but in regards to Olga you said she has to cast spells and that she gets to leech the excess heat to build towards a bigger spell at massively reduced cost. Who says she can't just build heat and store it for later by "casting" a heat spell that does absolutely nothing offensively?

I'm not sure you're fan of fighting games but the playstyle of Order-Sol/Tsubaki comes to mind here. That is, if you can knock the enemy back/down and got a free moment you can "charge up" for a *big* combo later over just going in for a standard one. Like, being able to chain special moves and the like if you have the "gauge" built up. They can build said gauge up really friggin' quick if given a free moment (as the "charge up" animation makes them stationary and very open to punishment otherwise). Getting said free moments are built into their moveset/toolkit. They can snowball really fast if they get those moments to build their gauge and players who main them know exactly how and when to build gauge over going for more pressure/damage.

If it's anything at all like that Olga can walk into the Zerase encounter with a full gauge ready to chain big spells and/or come out of the gates swinging with a barrage of fire arrows. Spends her gauge but hey that's why she built it up beforehand.

>>5057943
Ah, in case I was misunderstood I meant that our default "confrontation" party gets Olga added to it and everyone not in that stays to deal with the scorpion bitches.

Hopefully it all plays out like in Myrtidal and we get a big damn heroes moment right when we'd otherwise have been well and truly fucked/lost a party member. Why must the scorpion bitches be so damned hard to kill? Zerase isn't even a "god" yet!

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>>5057943
>Who says she can't just build heat and store it for later by "casting" a heat spell that does absolutely nothing offensively?
Possible but the stored heat is fleeting and the spells themselves must at least be of the weak variety (1-2%), it'll be useless to do it outside of combat.
I don't play fighting games but I think I get your comparison. I prefer to look at it like this: think of a card game, each spells Olga cast give free mana for bigger cards within the same turn while building a ''hard'' flow of mana. She can't quite go walking into Zerase pyramid in full overheat because it will dissipate quickly.

>>5057958
>Why must the scorpion bitches be so damned hard to kill?
Warrior-Monsters have always been the bane of mankind...

>>5058145
I see, an apt analogy. Damn, she really is kinda overpowered. And we damn near killed her by accident. Hope 30 percent is enough for her to build up to a "tactical nuke" as we're probably gonna need one.

Still, warrior monsters. Decapitation puts em' out instantly but what about snapping their necks or piercing/pulping their heart (assuming they have only one)? That a mortal blow or will they somehow recover if you don't follow that up with massive head trauma and the like?

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>>5058298
>what about snapping their necks or piercing/pulping their heart (assuming they have only one)?
All of them can keep fighting despite these mortal wounds but will quickly die afterward without magical healing. Neck snapping a minotaur is far, far easier said than done.

The only saving grace is that Warrior species are rarely magical, otherwise, mankind would have gotten rolled over during the Great Crusade, if not earlier.

>>5058305
I'm guessing human mages are relatively common by comparison to most monstergirls. Obviously there's "always a mage" types but their origin/element seems locked (e.g. Yuki Onna and Liches are always ice and necromancy respectively). Need the walking talking artillery piece that is a powerful mage to deal with massed warrior formations. That or a really, really pissed off human warrior of peerless skill. If Guts or Doomguy was involved...

Though this may have changed with what Daiyu did as it did make them all more "human" in most all the ways that count. We still gotta fix that all female births problem and complete her goal of truly fusing the races of humanity with the races of monstergirls so everyone can be happily married with lots of children. Hope she doesn't die on us here.

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>>5058343
>I'm guessing human mages are relatively common by comparison to most monstergirls.
You'd be right, the gift is widespread enough that all academies and schools throughout all the human countries have classes for people with the gift. 1 person out of 100 is the average number for someone with at least a weak talent and an elemental nature, someone on the level of Klesiah (something like c- reserves, so under the average) would be like 1:500 for mankind.
Those numbers ain't so kind for Mamonos, but there are species inherently magical like Kitsune, Tengus, some variants of slimes, Elementals etc.
>Though this may have changed with what Daiyu did as it did make them all more "human" in most all the ways that count.
It did. Previously, magical monsters were hard classed into their species with very rare exceptions (usually the result of experiments), things ain't so obvious now. Shereen nature proves that, Ensan necromantic abilities and capacity for manipulating pearls also prove that.
It might not be possible, anon...

>>5058360
>that spoiler
You never know until you try. I've said it previously that Daiyu could only trust herself and her direct family with any aspect of that project and the burdens of command/the crown for her and the stuff her daughters were dealing with in their lives were and are more pressing.

Thus, any progress is glacially slow. Provided we live through this we might be able to get to work on it with teams under our supervision to keep it all ethical and lacking any ulterior motive save that all good mamonos deserve a good husband but currently can't get one because the math is quite harsh. Complete Daiyu's grand project and peace and love shall reign.

The main issue Daiyu faces in completing her project is a lack of trustworthy individuals to delegate R&D to (as this likely involves fucking with the throne and who knows what you could do to all the monstergirls, Daiyu included, if you went in there with ulterior motives and nabbed sysadmin status from her). Once this mess is over and we restore Gardy's ego we won't have much else going on. We'll be free to choose how to spend our time. A lazy elf dedicating a full day or two a week to this project would be way better than the likely scant few hours a year currently being spent on it and would get final results in decades or centuries over the millennia it's currently tracking.

Hell, even Gardy would probably admit that, while the current situation is better than it was in regards to the monsters, it's far from ideal and really quite sad. Good, beautiful, loving monstergirls ending up as spinsters because of mathematics. Such a cruel world!

>>5058368
Well, the peace and love thing is relative. They'll be essentially human in *all* the ways that count and we know humanity and human nature.

Even in that happy world where every mamono could possibly get into a monogamous marriage there will still be nations, factions, and all that other stuff that makes conflict and war inevitable. So long as humanity exists in any form, with exotic bits or not, there will always be sadness, tragedy, and conflict.

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>>5058368
>We'll be free to choose how to spend our time.
Indeed. I'm planning act 3 to be much more open, while there are still pressing matters (finding Hecate, the incredibly high tension of the Allied Kingdoms, clearing things up with Gwendolyn being your sister...) it won't be one continuous, exhausting series of event like act 2 here.
Provided you do live through this. I've had more than enough time to actually plan that alternative.
>but currently can't get one because the math is quite harsh.
Life finds a way! It's not that bad.
>>5058372
Changing from parasite to actual coexistence would be a fine start...

>>5058383
That it would and, gods willing, it will be. Provided Mana's incarnation survives this we'll be able to ask pertinent questions on this front.

First question is where's the rest of Gardy's soul so we can get him back. Second question is how would one maybe, possibly unlock male births in monstergirls.

The only question there is how willing she is to cough up those answers if she even has them. God's are bound by rules and Mana has desires and schemes separate from everyone else after all.

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>>5058425
Surely you can trust the Good Mother

>>5058430
We can trust that she's a good person and means well. That doesn't mean her interests and ours cannot conflict. I hope they don't but if they do, well, she holds all the advantages and there ain't much we can do about it.

At the very least so long as unlocking male births in mamonos won't involve ripping apart the veil of reality and flooding this world with Lovecraftian horrors she won't try and stop us. Doesn't mean she even knows where to begin herself of course.

She isn't Omniscient (else she'd have known about Zerase, Soemnval, and this whole mess and would have stopped it all centuries ago). It's legit possible she may not know the answer to both those questions. Though the first one I doubt given how she basically dropped having an extended conversation with him in this era and that it convinced her that Francine was totally cool despite being a thing she usually exterminates with extreme prejudice.

>>5058430
Also, good pic given what I think you're going for. Can't tell if it's meant to be sinister or not. A real coin flip on that one. Hats off to the artist.

My opinion remains unchanged however. Good person, but once more can still want and desire things diametrically opposed to our own. You're a fan of Yoko Taro if memory serves. You know the line Devola and Popola delivered to Nier about motives and desires...

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>>5058433
Do remember that you've only interacted with a human incarnation of Mother Earth, meaning that all of her knowledge, purpose, perspective as a goddess was filtered by a human personality and mindset. The ''goddess'' form of Mother Earth is... well, let's say there's a reason why she employs Shards as proxies, since those girls do keep a human core.
You had to sacrifice a pearl to incarnate her, it was a pretty big deal.
>it convinced her that Francine was totally cool despite being a thing she usually exterminates with extreme prejudice.
The Red is a messy world that is pretty much inherently evil but even that place can create a little bit of good. The way Francine and Deru met was quite the incident, too. Our pale genius does have some attachment to her slime. Also, creatures born from that alternate world can still be considered as ''belonging'' in this reality, unlike swamp freaks and everything else.
>>5058436
>You're a fan of Yoko Taro if memory serves. You know the line Devola and Popola delivered to Nier about motives and desires...
Quite, but hey maybe the Good Mother is reasonable. Hard to say what Father Sky/The Watcher think of this mess.

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>>5058440
Ah, so an inversion of something else I've encountered. An automaton that'd rather act through a meatbag rather than the other way around for the reasons why the meatbag preferred the automaton do all the hard work. They both rather like the arrangement as it allowed the "original" to do what they thought they always wanted on several levels.

"True Goddess" ME is thus a benevolent yet utterly emotionless and harsh deity. It recognized its defects and came up with a novel solution however. To best govern/rule/understand your creation (from the perspective of a god), you could always just become it yourself. Nobody (especially you Kami-sama) ever said you couldn't. Once it did, well, it could just serve as a background anti-virus software that would act to utterly annihilate any insipid, subtle, or cataclysmic tears upon the veil and let the "human" version of herself do everything else.

Objectively it does a damned good job. So damned a good job it even reproduced, and thus even indulged in the ultimate and most primal drive of any organic being. A most truly human desire...

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>>5058451
Cute
You're putting it in a way that'd make any priest smile.

>>5058460
Maybe. I just hope that if we somehow need to negotiate with the "True Goddess" it actually understands and allows us to "corrupt" that bit of base layer/kernel code and allow the mamonos to have "human" male children.

It'd be like arguing with an A.I. that is programmed to not see monsters as human but if its human incarnations/forks could just directly merge with it to get their point across like the shards seem to have to every now and again we may have a ghost of a chance of making it all work out!

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>>5058469
we'll see won't we? For now there's a snake to stop.

>>5058475
Indeed. I doubt Shereen will like it but I'm sure Zerase and Ensan are about to demonstrate their moral bankruptcy in no uncertain terms even with her heartfelt tears begging them to stop this madness.

Say Shereen goes full on suicidal/blind with rage in response to that. Could she possibly launch into a summoning incantation that'd bring Ama's true self/body onto the field if only for the next hour? Can she, especially if she has next to full reserves and she's getting 30 percent back as well I take it, summon Ama using us, Ama's shard, and herself as the catalyst?

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>>5058485
>Say Shereen goes full on suicidal/blind with rage in response to that. Could she possibly launch into a summoning incantation that'd bring Ama's true self/body onto the field if only for the next hour?
Technically possible, however she cannot do anything like that with her poor mastery of her magic.
>Can she, especially if she has next to full reserves and she's getting 30 percent back as well I take it, summon Ama using us, Ama's shard, and herself as the catalyst?
No. She'd do something far worse than anything you've seen so far.

>>5058495
Ooof. Worse than this? Let's hope she doesn't try it then. I don't want our wonderful doggo and waifus to end up as a Chaos Spawn and/or the meat puppets of the outer gods.

>>5058676
Oh, just thought of this, we have the fork ability and can source two people for spells. That means we can potentially drain from two different people provided they're linked to us.

Well, fueling Shereen basically makes it like we're linked to her as well. If we could sap 10 percent from her as well that'd give us 58 percent walking into the Zerase encounter. Though I am a bit fearful about Ama pulling something if we did that. She would take advantage of this situation if she could and I'm betting Shereen has already "deepened" bad fluffy's influence over herself in a gambit for knowledge and power...

>>5059220
Oh, and whatever song you wanted to post at the end of that last story post didn't link properly. What was it supposed to be?

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>>5059220
>Well, fueling Shereen basically makes it like we're linked to her as well.
You'd need to establish an actual pathway between your souls to get some magic from her and that's not going to happen while moving to your destination.
I'll list everyone mana reserve tomorrow, I'm too lazy to count tonight.
>>5059224
I wasn't paying attention and literally copy pasted the wrong link. My intention was for good old Umineko ost, never fails.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dG3MJpnt1gA

>>5059228
Drat, was hoping to get as big an advantage as possible. Still, how much does Klesiah trust us and does/will that affect the mana transfer rate?

I mean, if she's hopelessly devoted to us to the point she'd place her very existence in our hands the mana transfer might be on the level of "how much do you need" as it were.

Though this would also likely coincide with Mina getting sacrificed and/or our Blueberry igniting her own soul. This "sign" of Zerase's divinity cannot be ignored. Like I said, Ama's likely right. Staying and fighting is dumb. Break through, introduce Ensan and Zerase to an unaccounted for variable. If we can even delay that FUBAR scenario for a round or two it might make all the difference.

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>>5059249
>Still, how much does Klesiah trust us
She's in love my man.
>does/will that affect the mana transfer rate?
Not really. What matters here is the soul link.
>the mana transfer might be on the level of "how much do you need" as it were.
Just about, yeah.

>>5059256
So we could potentially drain her for 20+ percent safely if the dice gods side with us.

Not a risk I want to take personally but if our blueberry is *that* down bad for us why not try eh?

that'd mean she goes in with only 50 percent but us with 70 percent plus!

Sounds dumb as fuck but everyone has now seen the wonders of our fuel center. Well, save or Olga as us fueling her damn near killed her and would have had we not been such absolute softies and told Elina to heal her with Soul resonance spells...

>>5059259
Let's hope the firewitch doesn't have a grudge!

>>5059277
A grudge? It's not like we knew that would happen! Surely she can see how bad we feel about that. Even dumped a big chunk of mana to save her and regen her eyes and tongue! She's probably married though.

We'll need to consult Ambrus after all this. After all, though unintentional, we did nearly kill someone else's waifu. There has to be a way you apologize for that that also opens up the path for yet more broship. After all, we need more bros. Ambrus, Gardy, and Zazawu are just the beginning.