Asshole Magus Convention 2016

[The Out Of World]

The flames were effective at stopping her familiars, temporarily. From the ashes new creatures spawned, more resilient. Even as corpses they seemed to be strangling the barriers of fire like the angry grip of a giant, trapping them in an oxygen-less cocoon. If there were any gaps, they pushed through. Chitinous teeth snapping like dinnerware.

The electrified fist and mighty halberd tore through her larger familiars like bean bags. These methods were even less effective than the flames. As long as they weren't totally crippled, her familiars pulled themselves up like zombies reaching for the ambrosia of human flesh. The insects crawling into their clothes were barely slowed.

The little charm didn't even give her goosebumps. She stared the girl holding the necklace right in the eyes. If the charm was comparable to a subtle perfume meant to warp Aaliyah's feelings, the Muslim magus' killing intent was like bathing one's body in a thousand rusted knives.

"You're in my house. You've harmed people under my care. You all deserve a dog's death!" Her words started out calm, but they grew more feverish with each word and her grin more shark-like. Aaliyah wove stronger bounded fields around the area. It looked like she wouldn't be able to stop herself from getting creative with these people.

Pzzt, boss lady. Cassim said over her earpiece. Make sure to keep one or two alive. You wanna know who they're connected to.

His words pierced through Aaliyah's haze of madness like a revelation from the devil. That was true. If there were more people involved, they deserved their dues as well. Besides, death was too good for these intruders. She wouldn't let them die until they suffered a thousand deaths and begged her for release! Humans didn't need their limbs and eyes to live did they?

Click to shrink...

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, a pair of figures were patrolling the streets in heavy white trenchcoats. Nothing to see here, no sirree! One of the duo stopped in his tracks suddenly, prompting an inquisitive look from his compatriot.

"Oh? Did your familiars spot something, Fairchild?"

"No." A grizzled voice growled out from beneath a tattered, bloodstained hat. "I've no need of mah birdies to recognize this fuckin' smell." He sniffed the air like a beast tracking its prey through the wilderness. "The smell of..." Why did he pause for dramatic effect? His partner always found himself asking these questions about the man's odd behaviors.

"Heresy."

"I suppose I'll radio command to bring the big guns, then." The second pursuer sighed in exasperation. This was going to be a long day.

Melanie Almery was not having a good day.

When the Dead Apostle heard that the Bristol Antiquity Convention would be presenting a relic she'd spent thirty years looking for in one of its exhibits, she'd been overjoyed. Everything else she needed for the ritual had been ready for a good two decades, and while the rest of her research hadn't exactly been stalled, it was a bit hard to really get into it with that little failure lurking in the back of her head. So when she heard the little talon was going to be so close she set off that very moment.

In retrospect, she probably could've procured a vessel and sailed straight to Britain instead of trekking all the way across Scandinavia before doing the exact same thing. If she'd done that she'd have arrived weeks earlier and would've been able to actually set up a little food depot for herself. Instead, she'd just have to settle for subsisting off homeless bums and rodents, regardless of how bitter their blood always was.


Then again, it wasn't like she'd be staying on this accursed island for that long. Either she'd grab the relic and leave, flee without it...or she'd die.

Either way, she would only have to deal with the local restrictions on her eating habits for a few more days at most.


So with that mildly pleasant thought running through her head, the dark haired woman continued on her stroll through the inner portions of the convention center.

She may have wanted to find the witch's talon as soon as possible, but she wasn't idiotic enough to walk into a sunlit room in a complex full of magi. Even if she couldn't find the dealer she was looking for, having a good grasp of the building's layout would be worth it should she run into someone who'd want her head.

Click to shrink...

During the course of her adventure, Melanie did not find what she had come looking for. Not yet, anyways. As she continued to peruse the assorted vendors in search of further leads on her quarry, a green-haired man rather rudely bumped into her. How thoughtless; people really ought to watch where they were going.

"Oh, ah, terribly sorry about that." He apologized with a nervous, bashful tone. "Please forgive my carelessness, miss. Goddamn shitty vampires..." She could've sworn she heard him murmur something as he scurried away, but he was soon out of sight and the Belgian woman returned her focus to the task at hand. So close, oh so tantalizingly close it was! She could all but feel the presence of her ordained target within the convention center, almost as if fate were guiding her.

 

[Mortifer]

Cassim was busy looking after the Pennyworths after Aaliyah's swarm had skirted them to safety. Good news was the Pennyworths looked like they would live. Bad news was someone was stealing Cassim's wheels. He considered it his baby; there was no way he was letting someone else drive it. The boss lady might've forked over most (all) of the cash, but he'd put untold hours into the limo, modding it out.

"Hey!" Cassim shouted as he pulled his SIG from his vest and started unloading his magazine at the runner. "Get the fuck away from Jessica, asshole!"

Click to shrink...

Jove kept walking as the bullets hit him, making sure to flick one away from his eyes as he did so, and grabbed Cassim by the neck.

"I need to borrow this." He said simply, before bashing the man's head into the ground and throwing him to the familiars. Hopefully, they were mindless enough to go for the easy meal.

Tapping the car with his knuckles, Jove started reinforcing it.

"Surrender and you'll live." It wasn't a threat, merely a fact. Aaliyah still wanted to kill them, but it wasn't an immediate priority.

Click to shrink...

Leysritt tilted her head.

"I don't see how that relates to my question." She noted.

Guinevere, meanwhile, quickly got down to her knees and put her hands behind her head. "I'm surrendering, I'm harmless, please don't eat me I'm full of poisons, I-"

Despite fighting five different people, it didn't seem as if she was troubled keeping track of them. As one, her insectile swarm crawled into the orifices of any enemy who wasn't hermetically sealed. Creepy critters crawled down throats, ears, and unmentionable places. Once they were in position, they bit down on flesh, flooding their victims with drugs, including tranquilizers.

The one called Isaac seemed to be decently covered, so she was unable to sink her fangs into him. That was part of why Aaliyah was stomping towards him like a Terminator.

Click to shrink...

Guinevere gagged as the insects crawled down her throat, and suddenly stood.

The drugs being flooded into her weren't too bad. The mix was new, but she had enough antidotes in her to keep going for a moment. Standing up, she ran, trying to get out and get away.

Nalini suddenly fell down, and her flames were extinguished, whilst Leysritt realized too late she had been talking to her opponent.

Isaac looked over to the fading flames, and shook his head. He remembered this training exercise with his dear Master.

Before the flames faded, he streteched out his arms, and allowed the mercury in his veins to take the form of blades between them. Spiralling blades manifested, like some sort of woodchipper. And, as the swarm descended on him, he turned his eyes to the air currents around them.

Flow.

The air flowed suddenly, taking the propulsion behind their wings, and forcing them down into his woodchipper. All the miniscule blades tore the insects apart, decimating the swarm around Isaac. Enough for him to see the terminator-mode Magus walking at him.

Ha! The woman thought she could be more intimidating then Master? Keeping up his flow and Mercury blades, Isaac ran at the woman, seeking to put his arms around her and let his Mercury tear her in half.

It was at this point that Aaliyah heard a crash, giving her just enough time to turn and see Jove driving her car through the wall, straight at her.

 

[Wizard_Marshall]

Jove kept walking as the bullets hit him, making sure to flick one away from his eyes as he did so, and grabbed Cassim by the neck.

"I need to borrow this." He said simply, before bashing the man's head into the ground and throwing him to the familiars. Hopefully, they were mindless enough to go for the easy meal.

Tapping the car with his knuckles, Jove started reinforcing it.

Click to shrink...

"Fucker.." Cassim said with labored breath as he futilely shot at Jessica. He'd made her tires bulletproof a month ago. If he couldn't have his baby no one could!

Leysritt tilted her head.

"I don't see how that relates to my question." She noted.

Guinevere, meanwhile, quickly got down to her knees and put her hands behind her head. "I'm surrendering, I'm harmless, please don't eat me I'm full of poisons, I-"



Guinevere gagged as the insects crawled down her throat, and suddenly stood.

The drugs being flooded into her weren't too bad. The mix was new, but she had enough antidotes in her to keep going for a moment. Standing up, she ran, trying to get out and get away.

Click to shrink...

She made it a short bit. When the familiars figured out their tranqs didn't work, they decided to be less subtle and began eating her from the inside out. She could counteract their poison, but they could do the same to hers. Many died at first, but the swarm adapted. In addition, they used the flesh they ate to mature their forms, blocking her airway with their bulk. From the outside, chimeric freaks with the face of kittens bit into Guinevere's Achilles tendons. Their bodies had pincers like hedgehogs that they used to hug her body.

Nalini suddenly fell down, and her flames were extinguished, whilst Leysritt realized too late she had been talking to her opponent.

Isaac looked over to the fading flames, and shook his head. He remembered this training exercise with his dear Master.

Before the flames faded, he streteched out his arms, and allowed the mercury in his veins to take the form of blades between them. Spiralling blades manifested, like some sort of woodchipper. And, as the swarm descended on him, he turned his eyes to the air currents around them.

Flow.

The air flowed suddenly, taking the propulsion behind their wings, and forcing them down into his woodchipper. All the miniscule blades tore the insects apart, decimating the swarm around Isaac. Enough for him to see the terminator-mode Magus walking at him.

Click to shrink...

That stopped her flyers but not the crawlers. Many were killed, but many more kept trying to breach his defenses. He needed thousands of blades to get all of them. The fire had been better, indiscriminate, covering his whole body.

Ha! The woman thought she could be more intimidating then Master? Keeping up his flow and Mercury blades, Isaac ran at the woman, seeking to put his arms around her and let his Mercury tear her in half.

Click to shrink...

Then the Master came. If he had ambushed her with mercury blades, he might've gotten the first strike off, surprised her. But the moment she saw it, Aaliyah was already adapting her body. The flying critters rained down on her, hardening around her body like organic armor. The blades cut into the first layer of flesh but stopped as if stuck in a gelatinous diamond. The armor rippled like it was alive and creeped along the blades as if sucking them in.

But Isaac's real mistake was letting her touch him in the first place. It was becoming hard to breathe or keep his eyes open. She was invading his body. The only way to defend was to focus on flushing his circuits, but then he couldn't concentrate on his blades. Which would he choose, offense or defense?

It was at this point that Aaliyah heard a crash, giving her just enough time to turn and see Jove driving her car through the wall, straight at her.

Click to shrink...

Aaliyah grabbed Isaac by the throat, despite his impotent flailing like a chicken, and turned towards the car, using him as a shield as she leaped forward.

A normal person would've been surprised, but Aaliyah had a fearless expression on her face as she stared down Jove. The reason was because she could see her familiars swarming him from behind. Rather than escape, he had trapped himself inside a hive. Did he really think she hadn't left any behind in the car? He must have been in a rush and overlooked the backseat. Those were the quality critters. Not this instant crap she had just summoned.

 

[Khawy]

He'd found it.

Finally.

Its lacquered wood was itself exquisite: Said to be carved from a branch of Yggdrasil, stolen during the waning days of the Age of God, it had Nordic runes carved into it, old enough to draw even the Sea of Estray's eyes upon. The iron bane wrapped around it was no less hallowed, said to have been forged from the shards of a meteorite that shattered over the Baltic Sea in 1563.

But neither of those truly mattered to the red clad man whose eyes were pressed against the glass separating him from his treasure. What mattered was the smell. Rich. Heavy. Impossibly divine.

If he held his breath and cowed the crowd around him to silence with a glare, he could even hear the faintest whisper as the contents within the wood shifted just so.

It had been a long road for the barrel to this convention center: It had been born in the palace of Ivan IV - Ivan the Terrible. Carefully crafted by his court wizards and blessed by his most pious priests, it had been meant to be presented his son, Ivan Ivanovich, on his birthday in 1582. But four months before the promised day, Ivan's father Ivan beat Ivan to death with his sceptor, and said birthday never came.

From there, the trophy before him vanished from history and into legend.

The next report claimed that the Knights of Malta had recovered it from the hold of a Barbary privateer sponsored by the Ottomans some twenty eight years later, where they sold it to Henry the IV of France, eight days before his assassination. His wife, Marie de' Medici, stricken with grief, had it cast into the Seine when it arrived in Paris.

It disappeared then for nearly two centuries, before a crew of scavengers claimed to have pulled it from the bay of Boston on December 17, 1773. Within three days, a team from the Clocktower, recognizing its runes, stole it and sent it back across the sea to London. There, it bounced between the departments for nearly a century, before it was stolen and sold by an undergraduate to cover his gambling debts. Eventually, bouncing between black market dealers and antiquity collectors across Europe for another fifty years, it was bought by the German Thule Society in 1931. Some rumors claimed the bulk of their understanding about the runic language came from the marks upon its surface, but Kintoki doubted that.

Eventually, it returned to Russia by way of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. But before Stalin could even claim its contents, World War 2 began in earnest and the Nazis invaded his homeland, and he died well before he could recall its existence.

Most of this came from rumors he'd cobbled together over the last three years, but he could confirm that it had been claimed by a Dead Apostle Ancestor in 1959 and hidden away in her castle in the Russian interior. After all, its supposed presence there had been one of the reasons he'd joined the Association's operation against the fiend.

He'd meant to claim it then, but an Enforcer had marked it as his loot and sold it to a professor back at the Clocktower before he had the chance.

But none of that mattered.

Because said professor had put it up for sale at this convention.

And, after its centuries long journey, it had finally found its way to the man who'd appreciate it the most, and he wouldn't let it escape him again.

Because Kintoki Tohsaka stood before the oldest, most infamous cask of wine to ever grace the face of The World, and he intended for it be in his stomach before the midnight bell tolled.

Regardless of who or what got in his way.

Click to shrink...

There.

As expected the target of her wrath was ogling the most divine casket of wine she'd ever laid eyes on. A sense of familiarity tingled the back of her mind, trying to dig up relevant memories at hand. Russia...Cold....Basement....Professor....Dead Apostle Ancestor....Kintoki...

Kintoki!

That's right. It was the casket that she and her cohorts had uncovered along with many priceless artifacts on the raid. Of course, that jackass also joined up just to get his grubby paws all over it. But unfortunately for him, a professor managed to swipe it away from him and claimed it as loot.

But looked like that didn't last long, as said wine casket was now on sale in the convention. With her nemesis currently unaware of her presence and so preoccupied with trying to sniff the thing, there was only one logical course of action here. There was no hesitation in her steps, there was only one thing on her mind right now.

To buy the casket right in front of Kintoki.

Berenike coughed into one hand, getting the attention of the stall keeper.

"Excuse me, but how much for that casket of wine?" She asked, hoping that would rile up the man next to her in action.

It had been so long since they saw one another, she wanted nothing less for their reunion.

 

[Mortifer]

Then the Master came. If he had ambushed her with mercury blades, he might've gotten the first strike off, surprised her. But the moment she saw it, Aaliyah was already adapting her body. The flying critters rained down on her, hardening around her body like organic armor. The blades cut into the first layer of flesh but stopped as if stuck in a gelatinous diamond. The armor rippled like it was alive and creeped along the blades as if sucking them in.

But Isaac's real mistake was letting her touch him in the first place. It was becoming hard to breathe or keep his eyes open. She was invading his body. The only way to defend was to focus on flushing his circuits, but then he couldn't concentrate on his blades. Which would he choose, offense or defense?

Click to shrink...

Isaac grinned, until using that facial muscle became too difficult. Just needed to wait for the right moment, now.

Aaliyah grabbed Isaac by the throat, despite his impotent flailing like a chicken, and turned towards the car, using him as a shield as she leaped forward.

A normal person would've been surprised, but Aaliyah had a fearless expression on her face as she stared down Jove. The reason was because she could see her familiars swarming him from behind. Rather than escape, he had trapped himself inside a hive. Did he really think she hadn't left any behind in the car? He must have been in a rush and overlooked the backseat. Those were the quality critters. Not this instant crap she had just summoned.

Click to shrink...

As his Master's student, Isaac had become acquainted to being manhandled, and having to fight a mandhandler in close range while being unable to pay full attention to the fight due to... Various reasons. His Master had taught him well, and right now, he was recalling a lesson regarding Dead Apostles.

The hard layer of armour underneath her basic flesh was annoying, but no matter. Isaac had a plan.

He was going to bleed on her.

Jove's car continued forward, as lightning rippled around him to keep insects away, and Isaac was glad that he seemed to know exactly what the junior Enforcer was planning. He wasn't slowing down in the slightest upon seeing the apparent hostage, and even had a grin of glee on his face as he saw Isaac in the way of his moving vehicle. It was simple enough.

It only took a moment, for the car to collide with the two. Naturally, a car hit much softer than one of Master's fists, even with Jove's reinforcements. But it was still enough to send two human-shaped objects into the air. With that, the evil Magus' grip should surely lessen.

And with that, and the extra Mercury that had flowed due to his earlier chicken flailing, Isaac had the perfect opportunity. All his mercury flowed through the blades already inside her, and spread through her body, moving like a chainsaw to hack away at her. That harder layer would be hard to break, but it wasn't needed. The outer layer was torn to shreds, and the woman's eyes were still visible. More and more blades of mercury tore through flesh, stabbing and cutting and turning this bitch into puree.

He didn't need to be able to open his eyes to do what came naturally to him, and his Master had told him often that his brain not getting any oxygen for a while wouldn't change too much in the end. All that was needed was the final touch.

At several points within her flesh, Isaac formed minor runes with his mercury. Nothing much. Just a dozen of delayed explosion spells, which should hopefully give him time to pull away and flush his prana before they detonated. Anything more was beyond him, as it had gotten harder to think.

Hopefully, Jove would be there to help him if he lost consciousness. He had come back, so surely he intended to help, rather than just get one last spiteful shot at the bitch who had attacked them. That second crash and fading engine noise surely meant that he was getting a run-up to have more momentum when he hit her again, not that he was leaving.

Surely.

 

[God and the Snake]

He needed something extravagantly excessive to compliment the Ivanovich Cask. An A5 steak marinade could be acquired quickly, but he couldn't just have that alone. Perhaps a rice dish. What was that one Mother always coo-

There.

As expected the target of her wrath was ogling the most divine casket of wine she'd ever laid eyes on. A sense of familiarity tingled the back of her mind, trying to dig up relevant memories at hand. Russia...Cold....Basement....Professor....Dead Apostle Ancestor....Kintoki...

Kintoki!

That's right. It was the casket that she and her cohorts had uncovered along with many priceless artifacts on the raid. Of course, that jackass also joined up just to get his grubby paws all over it. But unfortunately for him, a professor managed to swipe it away from him and claimed it as loot.

But looked like that didn't last long, as said beer casket was now on sale in the convention. With her nemesis currently unaware of her presence and so preoccupied with trying to sniff the thing, there was only one logical course of action here. There was no hesitation in her steps, there was only one thing on her mind right now.

To buy the casket right in front of Kintoki.

Berenike coughed into one hand, getting the attention of the stall keeper.

"Excuse me, but how much for that casket of wine?" She asked, hoping that would rile up the man next to her in action.

It had been so long since they saw one another, she wanted nothing less for their reunion.

Click to shrink...

A spiderweb of cracks spread across the glass case, flowing from his finger tips. The Edelfelt bitch was here.

The crude, egotistical brute.

The odds of her appearing here must've been astronomically low, but for some reason her presence gave him no shock. That she would try to steal from him again on his moment of triumph seemed like a cosmological certainty.

Kintoki looked towards Berenike and snorted. "If you have to ask, you probably can't afford it... or have no right to it to begin with."

He looked towards the clerk then."Please, pay no heed to this charlatan. You could take a Armand de Brignac bottle and fill it with Heineken, and she would not be able to see through your ruse if she drank three fingers." He nodded in respect. "I am Kintoki Tohsaka, and I will have this cask. Name your price."

Money was no object to one such as himself.

 

[Wizard_Marshall]

Isaac grinned, until using that facial muscle became too difficult. Just needed to wait for the right moment, now.



As his Master's student, Isaac had become acquainted to being manhandled, and having to fight a mandhandler in close range while being unable to pay full attention to the fight due to... Various reasons. His Master had taught him well, and right now, he was recalling a lesson regarding Dead Apostles.

The hard layer of armour underneath her basic flesh was annoying, but no matter. Isaac had a plan.

He was going to bleed on her.

Jove's car continued forward, as lightning rippled around him to keep vehicles away, and Isaac was glad that he seemed to know exactly what the junior Enforcer was planning. He wasn't slowing down in the slightest upon seeing the apparent hostage, and even had a grin of glee on his face as he saw Isaac in the way of his moving vehicle. It was simple enough.

It only took a moment, for the car to collide with the two. Naturally, a car hit much softer than one of Master's fists, even with Jove's reinforcements. But it was still enough to send two human-shaped objects into the air. With that, the evil Magus' grip should surely lessen.

Click to shrink...

As Aaliyah rode Isaac like a human surf board, she lost her grip on his throat. Three of his allies were down, and soon so would he. Either by her hand or her familiars that were loading him up with enough drugs to take out an elephant.

And with that, and the extra Mercury that had flowed due to his earlier chicken flailing, Isaac had the perfect opportunity. All his mercury flowed through the blades already inside her, and spread through her body, moving like a chainsaw to hack away at her. That harder layer would be hard to break, but it wasn't needed. The outer layer was torn to shreds, and the woman's eyes were still visible. More and more blades of mercury tore through flesh, stabbing and cutting and turning this bitch into puree.

Click to shrink...

Then she felt his mercury move. He was trying to shred her from the inside. She immediately disengaged her armor, pulling the tendrils of mercury out before they got too deep.

At several points within her flesh, Isaac formed minor runes with his mercury. Nothing much. Just a dozen of delayed explosion spells, which should hopefully give him time to pull away and flush his prana before they detonated. Anything more was beyond him, as it had gotten harder to think.

Click to shrink...

She ripped out the tendrils by ejecting her armor like a cicada molting its shell, but she was just a little slow. Chunks of flesh were gouged from her body, leaving a series of open wounds. Strangely enough, despite the size of her wounds, few of them seemed to be bleeding.

As the last piece left her, she felt one of the mercury tendrils carve something into her arm. It was a rune! Without hesitation, Aaliyah ripped off the patch of marked skin and toss it away. Seconds after the flesh parted from her it exploded. If Isaac had been willing to die with her, he might've claimed her life. His choosing a delayed spell was her fortune. Doubly so when one of her shards of armor exploded near Isaac, throwing his unconscious body onto Guinevere who had been trying to crawl away.

Hopefully, Jove would be there to help him if he lost consciousness. He had come back, so surely he intended to help, rather than just get one last spiteful shot at the bitch who had attacked them. That second crash and fading engine noise surely meant that he was getting a run-up to have more momentum when he hit her again, not that he was leaving.

Surely.

Click to shrink...

At the same time, Jove should've been receiving a full body examination by her familiars, but his lightning was keeping them at bay.

She thought he'd try to ambush her again, but he was... driving away? He was abandoning his ally? She wasn't sure why she was surprised, but that gave Jove precious time to accelerate away from the battlefield.


She tried slowing him down, but he was too fast. No matter. As long as he was in her car with her familiars, she could track him.

"JESSICA!" screamed a crazed Cassim. Manly tears trailed down his eyes as he looked at the limo driving away. You'd think someone was kidnapping his baby from his anguish.

While he desperately crawled towards his ride like the star-crossed lover of some drama, Aaliyah contemplated if she needed to tranq him too.

Now, she turned to face the aftermath. The house was no longer burning, but she was left with seven...

"UOHHH! JESS..."

Thunk.

"Zzz..."

Make that eight people she needed to carry inside for now. No mundane should've caught wind of what was going on, but she was more worried about the moonlit side of things.

The Atlas Director should've smoothed things out with the Church and Association before her arrival, but you never could tell with crazies, especially the religious nuts.

 

[Khawy]

He needed something extravagantly excessive to compliment the Ivanovich Cask. An A5 steak marinade could be acquired quickly, but he couldn't just have that alone. Perhaps a rice dish. What was that one Mother always coo-



A spiderweb of cracks spread across the glass case, flowing from his finger tips. The Edelfelt bitch was here.

The crude, egotistical brute.

The odds of her appearing here must've been astronomically low, but for some reason her presence gave him no shock. That she would try to steal from him again on his moment of triumph seemed cosmological certainty.

Kintoki looked towards Berenike and snorted. "If you have to ask, you probably can't afford it... or have no right to it to begin with."

He looked towards the clerk then."Please, pay no heed to this charlatan. You could take a Armand de Brignac bottle and fill it with Heineken, and she would not be able to see through your ruse if she drank three fingers." He nodded in respect. "I am Kintoki Tohsaka, and I will have this cask. Name your price."

Money was no object to one such as himself.

Click to shrink...

Hook, line, and sinker.

The rude, selfish idiot was always an easy target to rile up. But at the same time, the saying 'Don't poke the bear' really was applicable in this situation. However, it's not like she hadn't any metaphorical bear traps to ensnare him when his casket will blow.

Not if, but when. It's a certainty when it's come to Kintoki.

"Oh please, that was just one time." She rolled her eyes in response. "Besides, it's not like you have anymore claim on the Ivanovich Cask than I do. Let our money do the talking, if all you are going to do is blowing hot air."

She turned her attention to the clerk, nodding in turn. "I am Berenike Edelfelt, and this cask shall be mine. Give me a figure."

No price was too high to rub one in on Tohsaka.

 

[The Fourth Monado]

"Yes, yes, very good." Khalid nodded as he exchanged the shitty mace for sweet dosh. Joseph could've sworn he mumbled something about 'stupid tourist Americans' under his breath, but that was probably just his ears playing tricks on him.

Click to shrink...

"Alright then," Jogo said as he picked up the mace and on a whim pulsed a burst of prana through it. Whatever it was... definitely reacted, but not in a way he could easily read. Shrugging, he placed it in his bag, zipped it closed, and walked away.

Hook, line, and sinker.

The rude, selfish idiot was always an easy target to rile up. But at the same time, the saying 'Don't poke the bear' really was applicable in this situation. However, it's not like she hadn't any metaphorical bear traps to ensnare him when his casket will blow.

Not if, but when. It's a certainty when it's come to Kintoki.

"Oh please, that was just one time." She rolled her eyes in response. "Besides, it's not like you have anymore claim on the Ivanovich Cask than I do. Let our money do the talking, if all you are going to do is blowing hot air."

She turned her attention to the clerk, nodding in turn. "I am Berenike Edelfelt, and this cask shall be mine. Give me a figure."

No price was too high to rub one in on Tohsaka.

Click to shrink...

As he continued to wander, he saw two people, one an incredibly buch.... female, he guessed, and a relatively normal person... arguing over a caske of booze? Okay then.

Jogo carefully stepped back out of the way of traffic and began watching the two, a slight grin growing on his face. This would be entertaining to watch, and hey! They might get so bad security would be called, and he's have a chance to jack a revolver.

 

[Nanimani]

So with that mildly pleasant thought running through her head, the dark haired woman continued on her stroll through the inner portions of the convention center.

She may have wanted to find the witch's talon as soon as possible, but she wasn't idiotic enough to walk into a sunlit room in a complex full of magi. Even if she couldn't find the dealer she was looking for, having a good grasp of the building's layout would be worth it should she run into someone who'd want her head.

Click to shrink...

Astrid watched as a Dead Apostle walked around the building a bit away from her. Eh. If the undead wanted to look for magical artifacts with the rest of the magi, who was she to say no? Also, why bother? Not like it was causing trouble. If she was a more principled woman, she'd probably think eating people would be enough, but they were going to die anyways so who cares?

 

[The Out Of World]

As Aaliyah rode Isaac like a human surf board, she lost her grip on his throat. Three of his allies were down, and soon so would he. Either by her hand or her familiars that were loading him up with enough drugs to take out an elephant.



Then she felt his mercury move. He was trying to shred her from the inside. She immediately disengaged her armor, pulling the tendrils of mercury out before they got too deep.



She ripped out the tendrils by ejecting her armor like a cicada molting its shell, but she was just a little slow. Chunks of flesh were gouged from her body, leaving a series of open wounds. Strangely enough, despite the size of her wounds, few of them seemed to be bleeding.

As the last piece left her, she felt one of the mercury tendrils carve something into her arm. It was a rune! Without hesitation, Aaliyah ripped off the patch of marked skin and toss it away. Seconds after the flesh parted from her it exploded. If Isaac had been willing to die with her, he might've claimed her life. His choosing a delayed spell was her fortune. Doubly so when one of her shards of armor exploded near Isaac, throwing his unconscious body onto Guinevere who had been trying to crawl away.



At the same time, Jove should've been receiving a full body examination by her familiars, but his lightning was keeping them at bay.

She thought he'd try to ambush her again, but he was... driving away? He was abandoning his ally? She wasn't sure why she was surprised, but that gave Jove precious time to accelerate away from the battlefield.


She tried slowing him down, but he was too fast. No matter. As long as he was in her car with her familiars, she could track him.

"JESSICA!" screamed a crazed Cassim. Manly tears trailed down his eyes as he looked at the limo driving away. You'd think someone was kidnapping his baby from his anguish.

While he desperately crawled towards his ride like the star-crossed lover of some drama, Aaliyah contemplated if she needed to tranq him too.

Now, she turned to face the aftermath. The house was no longer burning, but she was left with seven...

"UOHHH! JESS..."

Thunk.

"Zzz..."

Make that eight people she needed to carry inside for now. No mundane should've caught wind of what was going on, but she was more worried about the moonlit side of things.

The Atlas Director should've smoothed things out with the Church and Association before her arrival, but you never could tell with crazies, especially the religious nuts.

Click to shrink...

And then the birds came.

They converged from every direction, countless starlings, crows, woodpigeons, sparrows and avians of similar stock, all flying and mingling in a massive horde of angry black and brown specks that amassed in the sky directly over Aaliyah's property like a pissed-off stormcloud. The creatures assembled into a churning vortex feathered terror and charged into the house with wild abandon, throwing themselves at windows and every possible aperture of the building. The glass hardly even stood a second under their combined assault as the damnable pests flooded the interior and all converged on a single target: Aaliyah.

The tide of flying fiends filled the place until one could hardly even see three feet in front of themselves, and the deluge of birds continued to draw more and more members from across Bristol without any sign of stopping their assault. And the noise, ye gods, the noise! Chirping and squawking and cawing and whistling worse than any awful din a band of lowly teenagers practicing in their mother's garage could ever hope to accomplish!

 

[Mortifer]

At the same time, Jove should've been receiving a full body examination by her familiars, but his lightning was keeping them at bay.

She thought he'd try to ambush her again, but he was... driving away? He was abandoning his ally? She wasn't sure why she was surprised, but that gave Jove precious time to accelerate away from the battlefield.

Click to shrink...

Jove pushed one hand into the back seat and let lose a stream of lightning at the beasts in the back, resisting the urge to go full Palpatine and laugh while he did so. He could indulge that urge later.

For now, he had to get away. It was a shame about the rest of the Alliance, but he'd just need to recruit replacements and ambush Aaron Gentles some other time. He, unlike some people, wasn't on a time limit.

Hm... Maybe he could frame Gentles for Isaac's death, and recruit that Master of his? Even accounting for Isaac's bias on the subject, she sounded pretty strong.

And then the birds came.

They converged from every direction, countless starlings, crows, woodpigeons, sparrows and avians of similar stock, all flying and mingling in a massive horde of angry black and brown specks that amassed in the sky directly over Aaliyah's property like a pissed-off stormcloud. The creatures assembled into a churning vortex feathered terror and charged into the house with wild abandon, throwing themselves at windows and every possible aperture of the building. The glass hardly even stood a second under their combined assault as the damnable pests flooded the interior and all converged on a single target: Aaliyah.

The tide of flying fiends filled the place until one could hardly even see three feet in front of themselves, and the deluge of birds continued to draw more and more members from across Bristol without any sign of stopping their assault. And the noise, ye gods, the noise! Chirping and squawking and cawing and whistling worse than any awful din a band of lowly teenagers practicing in their mother's garage could ever hope to accomplish!

Click to shrink...

Seeing the birds descend on the woman in the rear-view mirror, Jove cheered. That bitch was certainly getting what she deserved now!

...Hm. If someone else had that many familiars on them, it might be possible to grab a few members of the Alliance while whatshername was distracted. Then, maybe Jove could recruit whatever Magus was responsible for the birds to help against Aaron Gentles, since there was a roughly 50/50 chance that Gentles had pissed them off before.

Yeah, that could work. He'd need to prioritize who to grab, though. Leysritt first, since she's the least annoying and is pretty strong. After that...

...On second thought, maybe Jove would leave the rest to die.

Turning the car around again, Jove kept an eye on the birds to ensure they were doing their distracting well, and tried to head to where he thought he saw Leysritt last.

 

[Wizard_Marshall]

And then the birds came.

They converged from every direction, countless starlings, crows, woodpigeons, sparrows and avians of similar stock, all flying and mingling in a massive horde of angry black and brown specks that amassed in the sky directly over Aaliyah's property like a pissed-off stormcloud. The creatures assembled into a churning vortex feathered terror and charged into the house with wild abandon, throwing themselves at windows and every possible aperture of the building. The glass hardly even stood a second under their combined assault as the damnable pests flooded the interior and all converged on a single target: Aaliyah.

The tide of flying fiends filled the place until one could hardly even see three feet in front of themselves, and the deluge of birds continued to draw more and more members from across Bristol without any sign of stopping their assault. And the noise, ye gods, the noise! Chirping and squawking and cawing and whistling worse than any awful din a band of lowly teenagers practicing in their mother's garage could ever hope to accomplish!

Click to shrink...

Aaliyah fought back with her own familiars, but she was quickly overrun. She dove out of the house to draw the avian menace away from her subordinates and few captives. As a last resort, she released her Etherlite. Countless micro-filament threads shredded dozens of birds in the sky, but hundreds more filled their ranks.

Did that bird just shit on me?

Plop. Plop. Plop.

Son. Of. A. Bitch!

An inhuman cry like the roar of a prehistoric dinosaur gave the birds pause for a moment before hunger overrode their meager survival instincts. In response to their continued assault, Aaliyah's Etherlite transmuted any birds it could touch into bio-bombs, turning their numbers against them. A crow exploded, spreading a corrosive fluid that infected his nearby brethren. Aaliyah was no longer holding back; she couldn't afford to.

They were eating her. She was eating them. It was like a never ending cycle. Could a human mind really endure this torturous physical pain of having her intestines devoured and replaced? Could a magus handle the mental stress of casting magecraft over an extended period of time? Could she still be considered a human magus?

The maniacal magus smiled. Even if the rest of her body was being destroyed, even if she the muscles in her jaw were missing, she was still somehow able to give off a shark-like grin.

Seeing the birds descend on the woman in the rear-view mirror, Jove cheered. That bitch was certainly getting what she deserved now!

...Hm. If someone else had that many familiars on them, it might be possible to grab a few members of the Alliance while whatshername was distracted. Then, maybe Jove could recruit whatever Magus was responsible for the birds to help against Aaron Gentles, since there was a roughly 50/50 chance that Gentles had pissed them off before.

Yeah, that could work. He'd need to prioritize who to grab, though. Leysritt first, since she's the least annoying and is pretty strong. After that...

...On second thought, maybe Jove would leave the rest to die.

Turning the car around again, Jove kept an eye on the birds to ensure they were doing their distracting well, and tried to head to where he thought he saw Leysritt last.

Click to shrink...

Out of the corner of her senses, Aaliyah perceived Jove returning for the halberd-wielder. The rest of his comrades were already inside the house, but Aaliyah hadn't had time to transfer the last one.

Etherlite lanced towards him, but a mass of birds got in the way. Aaliyah roared in frustration, the corpses on the ground shuddered as if they were an extension of her. Slowly, they began merging together into an pool of bubbling flesh. Every now and then, a tendril would snatched more birds out of the sky and drag them in, expanding the pool.

 

[Mortifer]

Out of the corner of her senses, Aaliyah perceived Jove returning for the halberd-wielder. The rest of his comrades were already inside the house, but Aaliyah hadn't had time to transfer the last one.

Etherlite lanced towards him, but a mass of birds got in the way. Aaliyah roared in frustration, the corpses on the ground shuddered as if they were an extension of her. Slowly, they began merging together into an pool of bubbling flesh. Every now and then, a tendril would snatched more birds out of the sky and drag them in, expanding the pool.

Click to shrink...

Okay she wasn't distracted after all, bail bail bail.

Jove turned the wheel, turning the car around before he got too close. Then, to maintain an illusion he knew what he was doing, he stuck his head out the window and shouted.

"Thanks for the car!" He called. "I could make a fortune tearing it apart and selling the scrap!"

Maybe not true, but that guy on the ground seemed fond of the car, so if he heard Jove shout out his intent to destroy it-

Never mind, the guy on the ground was out of it.

Fuck.

Okay, he can still make it look like he planned this.

Putting his hand out the window and flipping the female Magus off, Jove shot a bolt of lightning as one final act of spite, and then drove away.

 

[Wizard_Marshall]

Okay she wasn't distracted after all, bail bail bail.

Jove turned the wheel, turning the car around before he got too close. Then, to maintain an illusion he knew what he was doing, he stuck his head out the window and shouted.

Click to shrink...

Atleast she kept the fourth captive. That was something to be thankful...

"Thanks for the car!" He called. "I could make a fortune tearing it apart and selling the scrap!"

Maybe not true, but that guy on the ground seemed fond of the car, so if he heard Jove shout out his intent to destroy it-

Never mind, the guy on the ground was out of it.

Fuck.

Okay, he can still make it look like he planned this.

Click to shrink...

Cassim twitched inside the house, as if he psychically perceived someone starting a blood feud.

As for Aaliyah, she was just pissed at being made a fool out of by these vermin.

Putting his hand out the window and flipping the female Magus off, Jove shot a bolt of lightning as one final act of spite, and then drove away.

Click to shrink...

Then he shocked her while she was distracted with the feathered swarm. It didn't harm Aaliyah, but it did frazzle her nerves for a moment. Long enough for a bird to fly down her throat, and another one to gouge out her eye. Now she couldn't even scream obscenities at Jove. All she could do was glare hatefully with her one eye blazing with prana.

Well, she wasn't totally helpless. Before he finished rolling up the window, a bird flew in and hit his face. The moment Jove's electric defense activated, the bird loss control of its bodily functions and shat on him.

---

Later...

After Aaliyah finished dealing with the birds, she dragged her captives to her Workshop. Cassim was escorting the Pennyworths to the hospital after Aaliyah used her magecraft to fix and make sure they were alright.

Now she was sitting in the decontamination chamber that she normally used to cleanse bio-hazards. In the aftermath of her battle with the entire avian population of Bristol, she was naked and covered in bird shit. Last time she was felt this filthy she went drinking with Van Fem. When she woke up the next morning she was lying on the beach filled with college co-eds covered in, well, not bird shit.

The only good to come out of this was she had an abundance of biomass to work with.

"Surgery complete."

The automated device in her workshop notified her that the "modifications" to her captives was done. She might as well interrogate them. For practical reasons of course. Never petty vindictiveness.

After Aaliyah finished dressing, she entered a well-lit, white room resembling a modern operating suite. Guinevere was lying on the operating table, her limbs strapped down. Not that it mattered if she was restrained or not at this point. She looked to be in full health, as if Aaliyah hadn't been trying to kill her earlier. Not a hair was out of place. The only real difference was her clothes. Guinevere was wearing a hospital gown, stripped of anything that could be construed as a mystic code, especially that necklace of hers. Out of arms reach were medical equipment and hanging from overhead were several benign-looking mechanical arms.

"Good morning, Guinevere."

 

[Mortifer]

Well, she wasn't totally helpless. Before he finished rolling up the window, a bird flew in and hit his face. The moment Jove's electric defense activated, the bird loss control of its bodily functions and shat on him.

Click to shrink...

Jove punched the bird to death and wiped it's shit off of his face, swearing as he did so.

At least he got away. Thank Jupiter for that. Now he can go recruit more people an-

...Fuck, he left his wallet back in the house. He'd left his notes on Aaron Gentles and his abilities in that thing.

Sighing, Jove resigned himself to having to go back and save his... Allies? At some point. First things first, find more Magu to recruit. He was not fighting whatsherface on his own.

"Good morning, Guinevere."

Click to shrink...

Guinevere opened her eyes. Guinevere then immediately closed her eyes.

"Just a bad dream..." She muttered. "Just need to concentrate and I can wake up and tell my Lancelot hugpillow all about it and feel much better and I'll never leave the house ever again and just stay inside forever and ever and ever. And waking up... Now."

She opened her eyes again. "Oh. I'm not dreaming."

A moment passed, before she started screaming.

 

[Silvan Eldar]

During the course of her adventure, Melanie did not find what she had come looking for. Not yet, anyways. As she continued to peruse the assorted vendors in search of further leads on her quarry, a green-haired man rather rudely bumped into her. How thoughtless; people really ought to watch where they were going.

"Oh, ah, terribly sorry about that." He apologized with a nervous, bashful tone. "Please forgive my carelessness, miss. Goddamn shitty vampires..." She could've sworn she heard him murmur something as he scurried away, but he was soon out of sight and the Belgian woman returned her focus to the task at hand. So close, oh so tantalizingly close it was! She could all but feel the presence of her ordained target within the convention center, almost as if fate were guiding her.

Click to shrink...

Melanie had never been particularly prone to anger, the acts that would enrage others only serving to further reinforce her melancholy. Given the situation though, she had a different response.

Namely, she shrugged her shoulders and continued on her way, a slight grin upon her lips.

It had always been her research that allowed her to endure all these years, and now she was only a short conversation away from being able to test decade's worth of it. She'd have to have been insane if she didn't feel some amount of excitement at the prospect.

Now if only she could just get rid of that feeling of being watched, then everything would just be fantastic.

 

[TehChron]

And then the birds came.

They converged from every direction, countless starlings, crows, woodpigeons, sparrows and avians of similar stock, all flying and mingling in a massive horde of angry black and brown specks that amassed in the sky directly over Aaliyah's property like a pissed-off stormcloud. The creatures assembled into a churning vortex feathered terror and charged into the house with wild abandon, throwing themselves at windows and every possible aperture of the building. The glass hardly even stood a second under their combined assault as the damnable pests flooded the interior and all converged on a single target: Aaliyah.

The tide of flying fiends filled the place until one could hardly even see three feet in front of themselves, and the deluge of birds continued to draw more and more members from across Bristol without any sign of stopping their assault. And the noise, ye gods, the noise! Chirping and squawking and cawing and whistling worse than any awful din a band of lowly teenagers practicing in their mother's garage could ever hope to accomplish!

Click to shrink...

The blonde woman simply watched the mass of birds converging with a vapid, empty smile on her face.

With soulless, unblinking eyes.

 

[Wizard_Marshall]

Guinevere opened her eyes. Guinevere then immediately closed her eyes.

"Just a bad dream..." She muttered. "Just need to concentrate and I can wake up and tell my Lancelot hugpillow all about it and feel much better and I'll never leave the house ever again and just stay inside forever and ever and ever. And waking up... Now."

She opened her eyes again. "Oh. I'm not dreaming."

A moment passed, before she started screaming.

Click to shrink...

After making sure she was indeed recording this, Aaliyah flashed a penlight down Guinevere's throat as she screamed.

"Your throat is looking better." Compared to when she savaged it with insects.

"Perhaps you need more fluids in your system," Aaliyah said as she withdrew an IV bag from a drawer and began preparing a pole and line.

Aaliyah's attitude was calm, almost affable if you strained your eyes and disregarded her actions. Still, it was a far cry from the raving woman she had been earlier. Taking a shower in the decon room had done wonders, not enough to erase the actions of her prisoners though.

 

[Mortifer]

After making sure she was indeed recording this, Aaliyah flashed a penlight down Guinevere's throat as she screamed.

"Your throat is looking better." Compared to when she savaged it with insects.

"Perhaps you need more fluids in your system," Aaliyah said as she withdrew an IV bag from a drawer and began preparing a pole and line.

Aaliyah's attitude was calm, almost affable if you strained your eyes and disregarded her actions. Still, it was a far cry from the raving woman she had been earlier. Taking a shower in the decon room had done wonders, not enough to erase the actions of her prisoners though.

Click to shrink...

Guinevere didn't stop screaming, and tried to withdraw as she saw the IV Bag.

After a moment of screaming while her lungs were empty, the lack of oxygen caused her to pass out.

Meanwhile, nearby, Nalini started sleep-talking.

"First the fame... Then the planet... All hail God-Empress Nalini... Above Aphrodite and Ishtar..."

 

[Wizard_Marshall]

Guinevere didn't stop screaming, and tried to withdraw as she saw the IV Bag.

After a moment of screaming while her lungs were empty, the lack of oxygen caused her to pass out.

Click to shrink...

Aaliyah paused her preparation of the IV and moved over to one of her many devices to double check her patient's status. Guinevere shouldn't have passed out like that. The surgery was a success. The modifications shouldn't have been an issue either. She'd grafted Etherlite into people's nerves hundreds of times before.

Nothing seemed wrong except for a spike in endorphins... Was Guinevere terrified of her? Aaliyah had barely done anything. It would've been more satisfying if she could've evoked that reaction from Isaac or Jove.

Meanwhile, nearby, Nalini started sleep-talking.

"First the fame... Then the planet... All hail God-Empress Nalini... Above Aphrodite and Ishtar..."

Click to shrink...

It was from her control panel that she saw Nalini mumbling. Her Workshop hardly resembled the rustic Luddites of her peers. Instead of writing presses, Aaliyah had a plasma touch screen coordinating the tools in her Workshop. Perhaps, she should try a different patient?

She left Guinevere's room and entered Nalini's. It was the same as Guinevere's except for the occupant.

"Let's try this again. Wake up, Nalini." This time Aaliyah made sure Nalini couldn't escape into dreams like Guinevere did. She pushed a series of dials on her screen to also make Nalini more compliant. With Etherlite and more drugs than the local pharmacy, it was child's play.

 

[Mortifer]

"Let's try this again. Wake up, Nalini." This time Aaliyah made sure Nalini couldn't escape into dreams like Guinevere did. She pushed a series of dials on her screen to also make Nalini more compliant. With Etherlite and more drugs than the local pharmacy, it was child's play.

Click to shrink...

Groaning as she opened her eyes, Nalini started growling.

"It's too early, grandpa..." She whimpered. "Stars need their beauty slee-"

She stopped when she saw Aaliyah's face.

"...Oh." She noted. "Is it okay with you if I start screaming now? I'm going to start screaming now."

And then Nalini started screaming.

 

[Wizard_Marshall]

Groaning as she opened her eyes, Nalini started growling.

"It's too early, grandpa..." She whimpered. "Stars need their beauty slee-"

She stopped when she saw Aaliyah's face.

"...Oh." She noted. "Is it okay with you if I start screaming now? I'm going to start screaming now."

And then Nalini started screaming.

Click to shrink...

This was getting old... Okay, that was partially a lie. It was satisfying watching them squirm without touching them. This made her wonder how they'd handle the hardcore torture.

She silently enjoyed Nalini's screaming until her captive stopped to breathe. Aaliyah made sure not to let her amusement show. Nalini didn't need to know how close she was to the dungeon option, so Aaliyah moved out of Nalini's view to operate the console. For now she wanted to try the soft approach. Aaliyah adjusted Nalini's neurons to calm her down. From the real-time scan of her brain activity, it should be working. Aaliyah briefly considered adjusting Nalini's astrocytes, but they weren't at that stage yet.

"Are you calm enough to talk yet, God-Empress Nalini?"

Hacking their brains was still on the table, but it was messy.

 

[Mortifer]

This was getting old... Okay, that was partially a lie. It was satisfying watching them squirm without touching them. This made her wonder how they'd handle the hardcore torture.

She silently enjoyed Nalini's screaming until her captive stopped to breathe. Aaliyah made sure not to let her amusement show. Nalini didn't need to know how close she was to the dungeon option, so Aaliyah moved out of Nalini's view to operate the console. For now she wanted to try the soft approach. Aaliyah adjusted Nalini's neurons to calm her down. From the real-time scan of her brain activity, it should be working. Aaliyah briefly considered adjusting Nalini's astrocytes, but they weren't at that stage yet.

"Are you calm enough to talk yet?"

Hacking their brains was still on the table, but it was messy.

Click to shrink...

"How dare you!" Nalini screamed. "I- I am a Star! Let me go!"

She struggled, but couldn't escape.

"I- How much is Gentles paying you?" Nalini asked, desperate. "I- I'll pay you double! When I get famous! And until then, I'll let you keep anything in Gentles collection that doesn't belong to me! Uh, don't tell Guinevere or Leysritt I said that, they want that cloak and spear back..."

 

[Wizard_Marshall]

"How dare you!" Nalini screamed. "I- I am a Star! Let me go!"

She struggled, but couldn't escape.

"I- How much is Gentles paying you?" Nalini asked, desperate. "I- I'll pay you double! When I get famous! And until then, I'll let you keep anything in Gentles collection that doesn't belong to me! Uh, don't tell Guinevere or Leysritt I said that, they want that cloak and spear back..."

Click to shrink...

Looks like the neuron manipulation worked.

"I don't know anyone by the name Gentles. I am the owner of the estate your group burglarized and the employer of the family you assaulted," Aaliyah said, trying to keep her voice level. She always did get emotional when children were involved, and Nalini's group hadn't painted a pretty picture when Aaliyah arrived.

"I have no interest in your status or money, God-Empress Nalini. I only want my questions answered. Who is Gentles and what is this collection?"