[] Plan Eye On The Sky
-[] Hunt medium-sized critters
--[] Keep your eye on the sky. If Bazelgeuse flies by, abandon your current hunt and show the explosive beast not even resurrection can save him.
-[] Practice x2
"We should be good for a few more weeks at least. I can get a lot out of that Naga."
You nod to your friend while chewing on the tender meat. Naga tastes a lot like chicken, which is kind of weird. "I know, but we should have a little more. I'm not sure the Naga alone will be enough with how slow my progress is."
She grabs for another steak and picks it up with her bare hands, motioning for you thoughfully. "That is a good point. What exactly slows you down at the moment?"
"The repetition," you tell her immediately. She cocks an eyebrow while tearing off a strip of meat and starts chewing; you use the pause to elaborate: "It's not just that I need to practice, I need to learn how to, uh, calculate a completely new kind of values or something like that. I can't even call it numbers or letters, and working with these things is somewhere between writing prose and doing math."
You bite down on another chunk of meat yourself and grumble. There really is no good explanation for what you are doing. Your instincts help and make it more difficult at the same time, seeing that you just can not properly put into words the mental gymnastics you do.
"Anyway, there's patterns in everything. I think I already found some for how time actually flows." Lu motions for you to go on while you sip from your water, which you do right after. "So once I know the patterns, I can go from there and test how well they hold. I can kind of sense the feeling of the current moment in time if I focus, too. But I am still getting used to this and it's slow."
You pause to think and heave a sigh. "That aside, it's boring. I can't do this for more than an hour without needing a break."
Even with how used you are to repetition and practice at this point, you can not meditate, you have to stay alert while casting. Though without actually moving, which makes you antsy.
But that is enough of you complaining. You make a dismissive motion. "Anyway, that's why we're going out hunting tomorrow. I'll watch the sky in case that Bazel comes back for more."
"Fair enough." Lu huffs quietly and reaches for the meat again. "They can turn invisible and often end fights before they even begin, but I doubt this is a problem for you. For several reasons."
You just snort in turn and let the conversation end there.
Aetheric Tide: +320 Base Damage, +431 dice, +1200 600 Arcane Slash, +107 dice = 1,458 Total Damage
Echo: 1; No Echo
Attacks spread!
Grassrunner A-C: +50 Base Resilience, no dice, +25 Fleeing Fast, -1200 Critical Existence Failure = 1,125 Extra Damage
Each Grassrunner takes over 2,500 damage; at 1,200 Health, they are all dead.)
You pause and almost stumble when it registers what just happened.
Despite many attempts before this point, this is the first time you actually managed to keep the corrosive property up in the middle of a fight. Three sour streams of magic sizzle along and pierce through the same number of deer-like creatures you were following. You actually see them flinch in shock once they are hit, even before your spear and the magical shroud cut through their necks. They were already falling before that point, the actual wound is just the final nail in the coffin.
That's a really nasty thing, even more so to see it on a living being. Your choice to refuse testing this on Lu when she offered once again reveals itself to have been right.
That woman is far too uncaring with her own safety.
With a shake of your head, you turn around and get back to the hunt. Following their traces is actually really easy due to your magically enhanced senses. Not to mention that you finally get to try that thing you read before.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
"Is there a reason you went so slowly? We could have wrapped this up today already."
Dinner has a content atmosphere in general, though Lu does have a point. You still shrug and motion for the four creatures you hunted down; due to your experiment, you only caught one more of the moss-coloured critters before it was time to wrap up and head back. "Aren't those enough?"
She just shakes her head. "Three of those have rather big holes and Grassrunners in general have quite a few inedible parts."
"Ah." Well, so much for that. Either way, Lu asked you a question and you have no problem sharing your thoughts: "Anyway, the thing is I read some time ago that humans are originally pursuit predators. You know what that is?"
The question receives a moment of thought before Lu shakes her head. "Is that any different from a hunter?"
Well, so much for that. Makes sense, though. "It's a kind of hunter. I'm pretty sure you noticed that I'm really frail in comparison to basically anyone and anything out here in the LDC? Well, it's similar at home on Earth. Tons of critters that are faster, stronger, and plainly more dangerous. What humans always had were tools and endurance." You point at her wings for emphasis. "None of us were born with neat things like those, but the thing is? As long as we can follow, we can keep up a chase far longer than basically anything else on Earth."
You were always curious whether it was really true, and here you got your answer. Kind of, at least. So you point back to the not-deers. "These guys there are a lot faster than me and just run off whenever they hear or see or smell me coming. You saw it, too. I could just walk after that one for, what, four hours and barely broke a sweat when it keeled over from exhaustion. That's a pursuit predator, though most other races overtake their prey quickly instead of running after them for so long."
Quite honestly, you are surprised that Lu actually let you do that. You figured she would try to intervene at some point, considering that these Grassrunners do not make for good training. But she let you, perhaps curious about what you were trying to do.
The woman herself is musing over what you told her while considering the last and most intact of the four critters. "Fascinating," is what you hear her mutter before she continues to eat.
Everyone is different after all. You get on with your own meal and figure that sating your curiousity was probably worth losing one day of practice. Hunting a few more of those Grassrunners should be enough for your purposes.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
Sadly, your breakthrough from the previous day does not repeat itself just yet. Which is why you go right back to practicing how to keep Arcane Slash corrosive; pushing half of the spell's power into its usually inert property does do the trick, but actually pulling that off consistently in combat is still more of a distant dream.
At least there was not even a peep from Bazelgeuse before and there is none now.
So the days of repetition continue, interspersed with some other practice both for your spellwork and weaponry. You notice that the same weapons grew a little stronger still, and that Argent Star made a neat leap. You now get five spheres in a single casting instead of four. The tricks you can do with that spell still work the same way, though. It is a nice change of pace to poke your powers for a little while as you practice.
Still, somehow, you have a feeling the quiet days are not going to last. They never did ever since you left home. Then again, you leaving home counts as the quiet days ending, too, right?
Alas, such is life. You will just have to make the time you have count; you even got used to your uncomfortable bed by now. Your shelter got upgraded with some Brand Craft and Magic Binary whenever you had some time to kill as well and is starting to look like a proper base instead of a makeshift treehouse without a tree.
You could even use the opportunity to teach Lu the basics of Magic Binary, which was a journey of its own already; your friend took a while to grasp how to write code like one would do on a computer. At least you did not have to stress how important every single bracket, brace, semicolon, and other such things are. She already knows the principle from using Brand Craft, after all.
It is nothing particularly big, but you are still proud. Both of her for learning the basics and actually managing a small ring barrier that protects you from nightly visitors, and of yourself for having successfully taught another.
Teaching is kind of fun with a dedicated student. You felt similarly with Paoras, but the times where you could teach her anything were shorter and further apart. Perhaps you could consider that for later, become a combat instructor or Brand Craft teacher. Something like this sounds really nice to you right now.
Or perhaps that is your sleepy brain being silly. You decide to put some thought into it later and actually get to sleep soon after.
-------------
Food: 22 Completed Practice: 37 / 60
[] Plan for the week
-[] Action 1
-[] Action 2
-[] Action 3
Hunt small critters
(secures food for 3 days, auto-success)
Foraging
(secures food for 3 days, auto-success)
Hunt medium-sized critters
(secures food for 7 days, may turn into a combat encounter)
Hunt large beasts
(secures food for 14 days, combat encounter)
Hunt the biggest and baddest
(secures food for 30 days, boss encounter)
Practice
(adds between 2 and 3 days to the training counter; 7 days if all actions are this)
[] EXP-Plan
-[] Write-in what to buy
-[] Save it
=====
+70xp Hunted Seven Grassrunners
+5xp Thoughts of the Future
[] Plan for the week
-[] Practice
-[] Practice
-[] Practice
Practice. Practice, practice, practice.
Practice.
That is basically your week. And even though it kind of sucks in its own way, you keep at it because there definitely is progress. Slow progress, mind, but it is there. You become more adept at predicting the pattern of time ahead, though it is still not a good speed. If you are already training this, you decided, you will make it combat-capable. The faces of anyone who thought they had you will be worth it, and this future amusement is part of what keeps you going.
Another part is that, well, Arcane Slash is doing good. You become more and more able to flick on its corrosion at will, although it is kind of sluggish. Weird thing that, but it prefers to stay inert unless there is a job to do, so you do have to keep folding the spell down the middle, metaphysically speaking, in order to get it to become active. Half of its regular power needs to be pushed into the inactive layer of corrosion to force it active.. Figuring that out took a while, but there is only some practice left to make sure it goes smoothly in repetition and with larger numbers of echoes.
You want to start on that final step by the end of the week, but Lu stops you from doing so as she walks over; no meat remains at this point and you can tell she is getting antsy from having nothing to do.
"We will spar today," is what she tells you calmly, cross out. You blink and produce your own weapon without hesitation.
Still, you do have to ask, both out of curiousity and because this could impede your schedule: "Will this be a regular thing with your... you know?"
Thankfully, Lu shakes her head and gets into position. "No. I do feel restless, but I can contain myself well enough. I am more curious to test your limits today, friend. No spells from either of us, no flight from me, and no sealing your weapons. Skill and speed will be the only deciding factors. Five bouts, first blood ends the bout."
She is serious about this, which makes it clear you have to be as well. The Handle shifts under your mental command to produce Aetheric Tide, its gleam immediately gaining a flick of Lu's gaze. "The spear? Interesting. I expected that lightsaber of yours."
Her comment does tick you off a bit, but you keep it down and grin at her. "I've had a good teacher. You said speed, not brute force. This here is my dueling weapon and you know it."
It seems you answered correctly; Lu begins to grin and readies herself. "Quite. And a duel this is."
You move before she can, making the few steps to reach your friend; she is already moving to intercept your first strike, so you let her. This fight will not be won with the first one anyway.
Aetheric Tide: +320 Base Damage, +712 dice = 1,032 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +320 Base Damage, +712 dice = 1,032 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +320 Base Damage, +712 dice = 1,032 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +320 Base Damage, +665 dice = 985 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +320 Base Damage, +665 dice = 985 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +320 Base Damage, +665 dice = 985 Total Damage
6,051 Unified Damage
Lucifer: +50 Base Resilience, +10798 dice, -500 Outmaneuvered = 10,348 Total Damage Reduction
Attack Ineffective)
She is serious this time, you can tell. Slow steps make your stabs either miss their mark or slide off her weapon's handle, with one even being pushed aside with her wing. It feels faintly familiar, probably something she did this way before; except that this time, you are better and faster.
With each attempt Lu makes to counter, you deflect her just as effortlessly while immediately countering her in turn. It becomes a game of minds where you are already a strike ahead and predict how her next counter will look like.
That is, until one of your wider swings sends her cross out of the way and you quickly impart enough force to get an opening; Lu's eyes grow wider by a fraction and her magic instinctively floods out to protect her. Just as fast, you pull every bit of speed and make a step forward to stab into her belly six times. It would not kill her even if it passed through.
But it does not and you are forced to leave her guard before she can use your overextension against you.
No words are spoken in that moment, as both of you gather breath for the next exchange. But you know this will continue; today, you have the edge in speed and she knows it.
Aetheric Tide: +320 Base Damage, +222 dice = 542 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +320 Base Damage, +222 dice = 542 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +320 Base Damage, +222 dice = 542 Total Damage
Stygian Tempest: +350 Base Damage, +403 dice = 753 Total Damage
2,379 Unified Damage
Lucifer: +50 Base Resilience, +2472 dice, -12 Armor Pierce, -500 Outmaneuvered = 1,910 Total Damage Reduction
469 Final End Damage
Lucifer Health: 39,600 - 469 = 39,131)
The dance continues much like your first clash; you stab for her belly and have that slapped aside, then do the same to Lu's cross with the butt of your spear when she retaliates. She in turn steps sideways when your weapon finishes its twirl around your wrist and lashes right for her again, slashing past the Angel.
You then have to abort and step aside when Lu brings her cross down like a guillotine; that does give you an opening to go for her midsection again, smaller a target she may be. Before her weapon even passes where you were, she already has to step aside again and hip-check your spear away once it rushes past.
A single flick of her wrist is all the warning you get for her next counter, forcing you to duck below her sweeping motion. She aimed too high, probably too used to fighting Angels. You ignore her frown and go for center mass again, except this time you feint your first stab and pull back before the counter you expected hits, hoping it passes by.
But she sees it and holds back momentarily, waiting for your second strike, which you aim lower out of spite; not that it does much, being pushed aside on the handle of her cross like all the rest. This time she actually flicks its butt your way as a surprise, but your senses already tell you it is coming before your eyes do. A single step aside so it passes you and a little push on the side makes her weapon flick upward and gives you another opening to exploit.
This time, there is much less mana protecting her; you quickly temper your response but find your first two stabs are insufficient to break past the shell of mana. The third will hit the same spot and get close. Another three would be overkill, so you quickly have the weapon switch right after the third strike, turning longer still and right into Lu's guard. The scythe's sharper blade quickly tears a bloody gouge over her left side as it passes through the weakened layer of mana.
Both of you stop, tension falling away. Lu takes deep breaths and returns to her basic stance while you pull back and do the same.
"First point goes to me."
You can not help but grin while your teacher nods quietly.
In this moment, it hits you just how far you really came. Even just this much would have been unthinkable when you started learning under Lucifer, but now you are capable of getting to her. She still has enough means to beat you in an actual fight, but there is not much of a gap between you in speed anymore. Skill, too.
"Indeed. Again."
She does not even react to the fact she is wounded; her power will probably heal her in a moment anyway. You just nod and switch your weapon back to the spear while already charging at her again. Striking first is always good, even if she will deflect it.
(Aetheric Tide: Negated
Riposte! Lu heals back to full!
Blood Soaked Cross: Negated
Riposte!
Aetheric Tide: Negated...? !!!
Blood Soaked Cross: Negated, no Riposte
Blood Soaked Cross: +5000 Base Damage, dice suppressed, -4000 Hit With The Pole = 1,000 Total Damage
Defiance: +100 Base Resilience, +94 dice, -90 Completely Outplayed = 104 Total Damage Reduction
896 Final End Damage
Defiance Health: 900 - 896 = 4
Ouch!)
Your grin is pretty wide now as the dance begins anew, pretty much the same way as before. Your first stab for her midsection is slapped aside and right in turn, her attempt to behead you is pushed over your head while you bring your weapon back.
Then however, Lu changes strategies and wraps her winged arm around your spear's pole as it moves toward her; she pulls and lifts you off the ground, not letting go even then. Neither do you, a quick kick being the only thing that prevents the cross from skewering you.
Unfortunately, she does not wait to turn it back as you realise while pulling yourself up. The butt of her weapon already races for your side with the momentum you gave it, there is no time- and then your side explodes with pain.
Your breathing hitches for a moment and you let go of the weapon in Lu's grasp, falling to the ground in a heap and with her blade aimed at you the moment you impact. You clamp down on the waves of fire pulsing from your side and force yourself up, only to find Lu grinning at you in turn. "Overconfidence," she tells you curtly, "is a slow and insidious killer. I ended an Archangel and a Selector who thought they could take me due to their positions."
(Blood Soaked Cross: Defiance is back to full Health)
The pain vanishes as her power courses through your system, cooling your side and clearing your head from the minor distraction.
Maybe you were a little quick on the skill. You bridged the gap by giving physics the finger, not by actually being better than her. And you forgot how flexible that wing is... probably because it is technically still an arm.
"I see you understand what I was meaning to impart there."
You just roll your eyes and receive your weapon. "Yeah. If this wasn't victory on first blood, you would just stall me out and hit me once I overextend. Like with the Naga." You may be hotheaded, but you are not dumb. Having so much power does make it easier to forget how experienced Lu actually is, though.
And going by the genuine smile on her face, your assessment was correct. "Just so, Adelheid. The lack of my wings is less of a restriction on me than the first blood is. Now, carry on."
And so it continues, but this time you swear to pay more attention.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
By the end of it, you are both sweaty despite only having fought for a short while. A quick slash thrown Lu's way heals the last and final gash you left on her and leaves the two of you eyeing each other. You with content, Lu apparently thoughtful.
It ended three to two in your favour. Lu managed to trip you up again in the fourth bout, but you managed to get out of any pattern she could exploit for the other two.
What this reinforced once again is that fighting an intelligent being is different from fighting beasts. You feinted, weaved through attempts to trip you up and tripped up your opponent in turn. Non-sapient beings mostly have slugging matches where only one side stands in the end, but people have so much more to it.
It will take more experience, a lot more, for you to come even close to Lu in terms of ability.
But today, you won.
"Good work." Lu offers a nod to you before dismissing her cross. "You grew a lot since the last time we sparred. I actually had to get serious with you today."
You just shrug and grin at her. "It's because I had a great teacher. Any tips you have?"
Lu pauses to ponder your question while you dismiss your own weapon as well. She eyes you from top to bottom once, then shakes her head lightly. "Your basics are good and you react well to new developments. The mind game is mostly a matter of experience and the rest of my practices would not translate well for you. I hit harder and can take more than you, so you need to find your own style to accomodate for it.
Nods are exchanged and she steps back to leave you to your practice, which you get back to after letting the sweat dry a little.
The look on her face kind of bothers you, though.
-------------
Food: 15 Completed Practice: 44 / 60
[] Plan for the week
-[] Action 1
-[] Action 2
-[] Action 3
Hunt small critters
(secures food for 3 days, auto-success)
Foraging
(secures food for 3 days, auto-success)
Hunt medium-sized critters
(secures food for 7 days, may turn into a combat encounter)
Hunt large beasts
(secures food for 14 days, combat encounter)
Hunt the biggest and baddest
(secures food for 30 days, boss encounter)
Practice
(adds between 2 and 3 days to the training counter; 7 days if all actions are this)
[] EXP-Plan
-[] Write-in what to buy
-[] Save it
=====
+5xp Slow And Steady
+200xp Defeated Lucifer (With Advantage)
[] Stretching the legs
-[] Hunt large beasts
-[] Practice 1
-[] Practice 2
You are still thinking about that face she made earlier, going through the motions on automatic for a while as you think. After everything you know, she might be putting up a strong front by saying she can hold out without fighting for a while.
Well, better safe than sorry. But you will wait a day or two first, see if Lu stops acting weird.
Over these days however, you realise something: that practice you put in for Arcane Slash? It is done. With some more repetition in-between time traveling, you finally got the corrosive property down pat. The spell lets itself be folded and becomes lethal for anything existentially weak without any problem once you figured out how to affect it as you cast.
Of course this is not going to work against things like Archangels and you are unsure if it would do anything to other Magical Girls, but if another big monster comes your way? Those are going to regret their life choices.
During those days however, you catch Lu making that same face she made after your spars. Whatever is going on in her head bothers her, that much is clear.
Which is why you suggest to hunt again that evening; she does not mind, obviously. Something suitably big for you and her to fight, though she does not know the latter yet. You plan to wait with telling her she will join until you found a good opponent. Plus, well, stocking up on food is always good. You can not yet say how long you will be at this. At least another week, so provisions might get scarce again.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
The next day comes as they always do, thank Brand Craft and Magic Binary for protecting you from bugs and mosquitos and curious critters of any kind. You wake up in your bed, push off a leathery blanket Lu made in her free time, and hop up. Your friend wakes from you rustling around and once she sits up, you are already washing your face.
A quick breakfast is had and you throw Lu a winning smile. "Ready to hunt?"
She just huffs and picks the last berry on your improvised plate of hardened clay. "Someone is eager, I see. We are looking for critters the size of Glibbles and Mimic Stalks again, I take it?"
"Correct."
You grin and get up to wash your hands. Lu follows right after, spreading her wings and stretching them a few times.
Your enthusiasm, however, does not hold.
Even with Lucifer's incredible flight speed, a full circling of 'your' territory provides nothing in close proximity; you only find small critters and something too big for your current liking. Lu pushes further outward, but nothing presents itself in the suitable size. Only smaller and thus unfitting.
When you do find something, another group of Mimic Stalks, Lu turns it down immediately. "They are too far out and too massive to bring back if we kill them here. We would be busy for days at the least, and a lot of them would go bad."
Which is, basically, the same response you get on the other two potential opponents you find in other directions.
At the end of the day, Lu figures you should give up on getting another fight with this size of opponent and you sulk contemplate the matter for the rest of the evening.
(New Mechanic revealed: None of the food-options can be taken more than twice. The number of large critters in reach is fairly limited due to their territory sizes, while small critters will be chased away if hunted too often.)
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
You are still unhappy during the next breakfast, but it is mostly over. Still, you opt to train the aggression away before even thinking of fighting something really big.
Once the meal is over however, Lu takes a hold of your arm before you can leave the 'house'. "I wanted to ask you something. Please sit." She gives you a calm look but the force she holds your arm with is notably higher than normal; you might get a bruise if she squeezes any harder.
So you sit. "Sure. What's up?" She thankfully lets go of you.
Lu stays quiet for a long moment and once more slips into that worried face you saw her make over the last few days. Her hand takes hold of her ashen hair and thoughtlessly plays with it, but the more important observation is that she averts her gaze. Lu hardly ever does that. "You, you are mastering time. It will be done soon, a few more weeks if you keep improving as you have." She then sighs and looks straight at you: "Does that mean you will be leaving for your own time soon?"
Oh.
You did not even think of that. It completely slipped your mind that with Voyage under control, you can actually go home. There is no need to stay back at Sharon's Keep at that point; you began your stay there in the first place because you were too afraid of messing up the leap back.
Any words you could have spoken catch in your throat. Lu waits patiently but has her gaze averted again and suddenly it makes sense. She made that face because she realised it some time ago.
"I...."
You trail off immediately after, unsure what to say. Papa, Anna, Sara, Steffie, they are all back home and wait for you to return. But you made good friends in the past as well, friends you just do not want to leave behind just yet. "I don't know," is what you finally get out.
At this point, your own gaze is somewhere on the ground as well; Lu certainly got you good with that question. Silence reins for a long, long minute as you figure out what to say and fail.
Lu sighs in the end and takes it upon herself to break that silence: "I do not want you to leave. I doubt any of your other friends wants to see you go just yet, either."
"And I don't want to go," you admit. Funny how things can change; if you had heard yourself say that half a year ago, you probably would have slapped the older you. At least that train of thought offers a proper answer you can give. "I think I will stay a little longer after bringing you back. Doesn't matter if they make me fight a few more people, I want to spend some more time with everyone."
Lu does not answer, but you can see her smile. Moments later, you do too.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
How could you forget that you can go home whenever you want soon? That thought goes through your head quite a lot while you practice.
Sadly, it does not do anything against the monotony. Now however, you have nothing to practice in the interim. Arcane Slash's corrosion is well and truly done aside from a little bit of practice to keep it up. You could think of something new to do now, but that would take too much attention from what you are supposed to do. Lu is doing some practice of her own, blowing magically binding feathers around with a surprising amount of control.
You eye the Handle and have it switch forms a few times. Lightsaber, spear, scythe, sword... sword. Hm.
Stardust Striker has a calming effect on your magic. Perhaps it can help you with Voyage, too. Something like controlling the portal into staying instead of gobbling you up immediately?
Or maybe....
Your cheeks hurt a little from how wide you are grinning. Mana begins to surge from your body into the blade, making it gleam. "Voyage!"
The portal opens and swallows you just as always, though you felt some kind of hold you might have been able to take. Maybe in the future, you decide. Right now, the only thing that matters is the faint, turquoise shine giving this realm between colour for the first time since you started to access it.
Sadly, the weirdness of countless eons passing by in an instant and vice versa makes your grasp slip and the mana dissipate. An endless moment later, you stand back where you were, a few seconds having passed and with your blade's glow extinguished.
Yet you are still grinning, to the point even Lu picks up on it; she interrupts her practice and has the feathers hover in place before throwing you a look; you wave your sword up and down in response, then make it glow again and repeat the process.
You slip up again because you failed to adjust to the different conditions once more, but the moment you get back, you see your friend's eyebrows raised. Then she just laughs, a bit shrill but still far nicer sounding than her huffs or chuckles, and gets back to her own practice.
So you go back to work as well, this time with renewed vigor.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
By the end of the week, you are proficient at it. The mana-charge can be held active even through traveling with Voyage. You tested it with greater power as well, but wisely left the craters of those discharges a good bit away from your hideout.
Another bit of progress to mastery. Even if you are not going to go home immediately, you are still giddy about finishing; seeing your friends again sounds wonderful after these two months. You might be stuck here for another one before getting to see them again, even.
But that is later. For now, you are perfectly happy and will hopefully not be halfway to insanity from having only Lu for company for too long. She is a good friend, but she does not make for long or diverse conversations most of the time. At least you can still teach her more things to pass the time.
-------------
Food: 8 Completed Practice: 50 / 60
[] Plan for the week
-[] Action 1
-[] Action 2
-[] Action 3
[] [BONUS] Write-in what to practice additionally
Hunt small critters
(secures food for 3 days, auto-success)
Foraging
(secures food for 3 days, auto-success)
Hunt medium-sized critters
(secures food for 7 days, may turn into a combat encounter)
Hunt large beasts None left to hunt
(secures food for 14 days, combat encounter)
Hunt the biggest and baddest
(secures food for 30 days, boss encounter)
Practice
(adds between 2 and 3 days to the training counter; 7 days if all actions are this)
[] EXP-Plan
-[] Write-in what to buy
-[] Save it
=====
+10xp I Don't Want To Go
+5xp Training Successes
EXP gained: 15 Total EXP: 76
=====
Unlocked Soft Exploits:
-put more force into Trans Smasher's corrosion; halves damage, but anything of a lesser Existence than Heidi eats a malus to defense: -100% Max Health "Critical Existence Failure" [Arcane Slash] [4/4]
-Hold Laser-charges active while traveling with Voyage
[] Plan Unbore Us
-[] Hunt the biggest and baddest
-[] Practice x1
-[] Practice x2
[] [BONUS] Write-in what to practice additionally
-[] Journey comes with a weak teleportation-effect; used correctly, the Spell allows Heidi to close into melee-range against distant opponents [Voyage] [1 Training Action]
The next week starts simply enough and goes simply enough for a few days. No interruptions, just practice. You even make a good bit of progress, both on your main goal and on your new side project. Lu was not amused the first time you popped up right behind her. Who would have thought she can shriek like that?
That is not to say it always works perfectly just yet; even just that initial attempt you jumpscared Lu with was more a comical bit of luck than talent. You keep overshooting or reappearing too far away from your target area; it is steady progress though, mainly practice and careful aiming. Likewise, your grasp over time keeps getting better and the end is likely in sight.
However, you have the feeling it is too early to do a final push. Something might come up and take a lot of time, your progress might suddenly diminish on the last stretch. It is unlikely, but it might happen and your supplies are running low at this point. So you decide to go on one last hunt. That other big critter you saw last week will do and definitely provide enough meat to last through any potential complications.
You never assumed Lu would have a problem with the matter and are proven right on that. She accepts your logic without any complaint, maybe because she is itching for a fight as well. Or maybe because she was getting bored and can get to see some more bloodsports from you, either or.
"I do not think the Duramboros will be problematic in general," she tells you on the flight there; it is only half an hour away from your shelter, remaining mostly in place. "This one is not yet fully grown, though it is no longer a cub either." And now you feel kind of anxious about it. The little forest you think you saw on your last venture to these parts looks noticeably smaller, with the area closest to your mark featuring several dozen stumps.
Lu sets you down a good distance away from the creature and folds her wings with a thoughtful look. "They are peaceful unless attacked and project peace around themselves. Their hide is tougher than anything you ever encountered. And take heed, they might look sluggish but are surprisingly nimble for their size." You are still hung up on how this giant is a small one, trying to imagine what a fully grown Duramboros will look like. "I can not aid you within this one's aura of serenity, and would not do so even if I could or your own manages to overpower it. You are on your own."
You just nod and decide to bite the lemon. Step by step you close in, soon noticing the flickering of earthy brown mana in the air. It slides over your entire being but finds no hold as the aura held within yourself makes it fizzle out. What you see on the approach is a weird mix of a bull due to the big stone horns, a camel due to the humps on its back, and an ankylosaur due to the giant club on the tip of its tail.
The Duramboros' skin is as stone, with moss growing over most of it in something that resembles fur. With actual fur only growing on its belly, throat, and the underside of its tail. The creature eyes you curiously but does nothing else, easily accepting your presence this close while it enjoys the sunlight, lying on its side.
You consider tearing into it immediately, but this feels kind of... wrong. Sure, you killed enough critters during your stay to have grown familiar with it, but this big guy has not even shown any aggression yet where everything else charged you unless it was smaller than you. And the Mimic Stalks, technically. But those guys just waited for you to get closer, they still attacked first.
Instead, you step forward and poke its nose, or rather the tip of its upper lip. Your finger hits solid stone, rough as it always is. Its magic is quiet and serene, similar to the chirping of birds. Breaths of titanic lungs make your skirt and ribbons flutter back and forth, a head almost as big as you sliding sideways so it can look you over like you do to it.
You stare into its big eye for a short while, then step back. Still no hostility, it just closes the eye and makes itself more comfortable.
Huh.
-------------
[] Fight it
-[] How (Write-in)
[] Leave it alone and go back. Maybe this is some of its aura seeping in, but you don't want to disturb this one.
[] EXP-Plan
-[] Write-in what to buy
-[] Save it
=====
+15xp The First Big Guy Not Out For Blood
EXP gained: 15 Total EXP: 91
=====
Duramboros
Stats
Health: 150,000
Base Damage: 300
Base Resilience: 9,000
Magic Modifier: 6
Affinity: Mountain
Weapon
Giant Body
Level 10
Attacks Per Turn: 2
Affinities: Mountain
Ability: ??? | Hit by Modifier
Well, this is kind of awkward. There are things happening this chapter, things that I really do not want to preface or finish with this big boy's sheet. So you get that right now.
It is not threadmarked under Informational because all the other sheets are also in actual chapters and not bonus content.
And no, you are not going to get another chance to fight him later. With your vote, Heidi refuses to fight a Duramboros.
Duramboros
Stats
Health: 150,000
Base Damage: 300
Base Resilience: 9,000
Magic Modifier: 6
Affinity: Mountain
Weapon
Giant Body
Level 10
Attacks Per Turn: 2
Affinities: Mountain
Ability: Batter | Hit by Modifier
Eye of the Storm
Level 5
Base Damage: N/A
Magic Modifer: N/A
Affinities: Mountain
Ability: Vacuum
Abilities
Large Enemy
-Duramboros' take 50% less damage from smaller enemies.
Serenity
-All beings within 50m of a Duramboros lose any and all violent urges for as long as they remain within reach.
Nutrient Storage
Level 10
-Duramboros' possess a second Health pool of 10,000 points that regenerates 10% of its content each turn. They may transfer any amount of Health from there to the regular pool to heal.
Inhuman Agility
-Any Duramboros can perform feats of agility that beggar belief.
The Juggernaut
-Beings smaller than a Duramboros require twice as many actions as they normally do to interfere with its actions in any way.
[] Leave it alone and go back. Maybe this is some of its aura seeping in, but you don't want to disturb this one.
You deliberate about this for a while. Try to find a reason to summon your weapon and lash out; this guy is not going to force you on the defensive, he just accepts your presence and minutely shifts around in the sunlight. Foul breath rolls over you as you think, little more than spikes of discomfort.
In the end, it is clear that you do not want to. All the others were attacking you in some way, fighting, defending their own turf, and so on. Or they were going to, if you had not struck first.
This one does not.
It just lives here, minding no one and nothing.
Another breath ruffles your clothes. You sigh and turn around, head shaking and shoulders almost slumped; the Duramboros does not react to your retreat.
Your gaze sweeps the ground, undisturbed instead of torn apart as it would have been with any other opponent. It feels weird to just walk away after so much time spent fighting to the last. You trudge along, feet barely leaving the grassy earth, back to where you figure Lu is waiting. A quick glance up confirms it, but you just do not feel you can meet her gaze.
It takes a while until the faint crackling of her burning mana comes to your ears, barely disturbed by background noise. She does not speak for long, heavy moments, casting what feels like silent judgement. The bright light really does not fit in, casting wide shadows onto the ground.
"I can't do it," you finally admit. "And I won't do it."
Another moment passes until you hear a quiet sigh and a hand comes to rest on your shoulder. Looking up, you find Lu holding her usual calm expression. "It is alright, I understand. The choice is yours to make for now, but if we are delayed as you assume, we might have to get back to this later."
Your throat feels dry and you swallow before answering with a soft nod. The big guy will be left alone unless you have absolutely no other choice. Lu lets go to look you over, then glances back at the giant in the distance. "You should be immune to its peace-inducing aura. What changed your mind?"
The first response she gets is a shrug and a huff. "I'm not sure, it just feels... wrong to attack something that won't ever attack me first." It is not even particularly cute or anything, this does not feel like kicking a puppy to you. "Maybe it's because this is the first thing bigger than me that doesn't try to put me five foot under."
Your suggestion prompts a weak smile and it is almost like a bell rings. You are not entirely sure why you expected her to be mad at you, but she thankfully is not.
Wait, a bell?
"Halt!", a voice shouts from some ways away and both of you turn your heads with rising dread. With how focussed you were, you forgot to pay attention to the sky.
Two Angels are in fast approach; not fast enough to rival Lu's speed, but enough to reach you soon. A glance flicks to Lu and you reach out, ready to be picked up and carried away. But your friend stands motionless, wide eyes focussed on the approaching pair. Perhaps she knows them.
Your attention turns back to the other Angels. Both of their hairs are white with an azure tint where light illuminates them. A man and a woman, the latter in the lead and... wearing a miniskirt. Her breastplate and probably magically imbued clothes aside, she wears a miniskirt.
And for some reason, her face looks kind of familiar.
The boyish one behind her appears quite similar, with the same snowy white wings and hair colour. He follows the other one and is partly hidden from view, but you think they share their facial structure. Might be siblings, so if there is a fight you can use one as a hostage to keep the other at bay.
You jab Lu's hip with your elbow, eliciting a twitch and little else. Aside from flight being out of the question, you are starting to get concerned about her. Who are these two?
Glancing back, you find that the approaching Angels are still on their route... and then the woman's eyes widen once she notices Lu's third wing. A gaudy cross materialises in her hand, golden tip gleaming in the sunlight. Red rubies glint as she shifts her path, now directly aiming at your friend. Your eyes narrow and you bring out Aetheric Tide. Lu still makes no motion to act, shuddering. Something is really wrong, but you can not say what.
The ringing of bells grows louder and soon enough, the charging Angel reaches. She says nothing, tip of her own cross aimed at Lu's chest. Your eyes meet hers when she almost passes you, adopting a weirdly familiar expression of surprise when your spear rises to push her off-course. Just a little push, but enough to make her shoot wide. The following kick you deliver to her side makes her sail over Lu's shoulder, clipping her black wings, and hitting the ground with a squeak. Lu does not react to the impact or her ruffled feathers.
You can still not put your finger on just what is wrong. And there comes the boy Angel, ignoring both of you to fly to his friend. "Lu!"
His shout has your mind grind to a halt, fitting all those pieces together. All those familiar pieces, the almost-same expressions, weapon, facial structure.
She lied.
Both of you slowly turn to the two pristine Angels, watch the woman be helped to her feet and insisting she was only surprised, not injured.
Lu lied.
Your friend has her eyes on them still, hand balled to a fist and wings shifting erratically now. She opens her mouth a few times to say something, but only garbled noises come out. You feel similar, at a loss for what to do or say.
When you asked her if her younger self is on Milidia, she said no. She lied. That very self is now right in front of you.
"We can't deal with a fallen one, sis. Let's fall back and get everyone!"
"Don't worry so much, she's not even moving. See? We will be fine. Hey, you! Surrender yourself now!"
Lu does not respond, she just stares, still shivering. You have the urge to shake her or hug her or call her name, anything that might elicit a response, but crush it under a metaphorical heel in favour of keeping your guard up. If these two attack her, you need to be ready. She can't defend herself right now. You can't fight those two down either, killing this woman would create a paradox.
This is a conundrum. Maybe you can... "How about you two get lost before I kick your asses?"
That might have been a little harsh, but it does draw their attention to you; as unimpressive as a woman half their size stepping up probably is on its own, you interpose yourself between them and Lu. No more words are spoken and you finally let your own aura free, rolling over everyone present and making the two flinch. Past Lu's gaze hardens as she focuses on you, but then she scoffs. "And you think we're scared of a little Elf?"
Ah, right. One Elf isn't going to scare anyone.
"What if she's one of those adventurers?"
"..."
Or maybe they do? Whatever those are. You take it, considering that his interruption makes the younger Lu's posture falter a little. Although she stays poised to attack, cross held in both hands much like you hold your spear. Her form is actually kind of sloppy in comparison, but she can not be that old yet.
Your mind is still running a mile a minute, trying to figure out a way to get them to leave so you can take care of Lu. Your Lu.
That is when her younger version casts a single glance back and grins. "We'll be fine, Michael. I will-" "NO!"
All of you flinch when Lu shouts over herself, hand reaching out for the younger one feebly. "Don't say it!"
She shouldn't whimper like that. You have a really bad feeling. When the other Lucifer narrows her eyes and tenses up in a display of defiance, you immediately twist your body and throw your spear at her throat with the blunt side forward.
(Aetheric Tide: Attack Negated)
But she catches it on her own cross with little difficulty and still so many wasted movements. Aetheric Tide shoots past her and quickly flicks over the ground a few times before coming to lie. You can not reach her before she speaks: "I will protect you, no matter what. Always!"
A choked noise comes from Lu and darkness rolls over the world, much like your own aura before. It snuffs out the light in the air and makes both Angels freeze to the ground as if God himself stood before them. Lu shudders, mouth opening and closing but not speaking. her wings roil and writhe, unseen flames crack and burn as if someone spilled gasoline over them.
Blood leaves your face to go wherever, leaving you deathly pale as yet another realisation sinks in. Something horrible, something you so dearly hope is not true. But you need those two gone, now!
"Leave."
Your voice is toneless, any inflection stolen by the numbing horror lying heavy in your gut. You say no more, but it is enough to snap both out of their shock. The other Lu looks a lot more unsure and lets herself be pulled away. Both Angels take flight, prompting your friend to reach out for them with a garbled noise, her wings only producing puffs of air that could hardly lift anything bigger than a feather.
You only watch their receding backs a moment longer, then you have to catch Lu when she drops to her knees. Fat tears glisten in her eyes and leave red tracks on her ashen skin, choked sobs working their way out of her throat. Still she tries to speak, eyes unfocussed, before they grow wide as saucers and bloody dots appear within from how wide she opens them.
A blood-curdling scream follows, a shrill noise that almost bursts your eardrums and tears deep into your chest. Lu slams her hand against her head, tearing at hair and skin and bloodying herself without ever stopping to scream.
You hold her as best as you can, but it is to no avail. She does not even seem to realise you are there, caught up in all of this and continuing to scratch at her face. You can't hold her still even with two hands to her one, she is too strong and you have no leverage. "Lu, listen to me! You need to calm down!"
Unfortunately, your cries yield no response. Lu is completely out of it.
A brother. Lu had a little brother. She continues to wail while you hold her, startling the nearby wildlife that has not already fled.
Then something changes right behind you, a kind-of presence settles over your mind that is dispersed by your magic almost as quickly. You almost do not notice in your attempts to comfort Lu, only throw a quick glance behind... and stop.
Right behind you floats a robe with only shadows visible beneath its hood, a faint but familiar pressure on your forehead making it clear this is the same being you met months ago and have not seen in almost as long.
Neverwas, the Lesser Nightmare, or Fear as they call themselves. You just stare right at them for a long moment while they stare right back, the hood shifting minutely as they behold your wailing friend.
Then the wail shorts out and Lu whimpers. "C-come back, hic", she gets out before taking a breath. "Michael, come back!" Following that, she continues to scream. Scream for a brother that is long gone.
The only reason you can make out Neverwas is because each word feels like it stings in your ears as it passes them. Um... should I, should I come back later? C-Can I help you?
The robe fidgets awkwardly when you glance back. Lu is unlikely to calm down anytime soon, but you really do not want to leave her alone. "I'm sorry!" you shout over her, "Can we talk later?!"
Neverwas nods with a weird amount of enthusiasm and dashes away to the giant creature in the distance, which is the last you see of them before you return to Lu.
The transition your friend makes is gradual, going from a near-constant wailing interspersed with whimpers and calls for her brother to mostly whimpering and sobbing. She still calls for Michael, but begins to hug you like an oversized teddybear. You ache from how tight her embrace is but bear it, tears of your own only barely held back. Your front is being soaked by tears and blood from where she scratched open her head, with more being smeared onto your back from her one hand.
You bear with it, endure it, refuse to shrink back.
This is your fault in the first place. You and your thrice-damned powers. If comfort is the only thing you can give right now, then that is what you will do even if your bones break.
A curtain of light appears on the horizon while you stroke the back of Lu's head and murmuring to her calmly; your eyes narrow at the sight, especially when they come closer and their auras begin to fade except for one that makes its way into the darkness and lights it up. Lu falls quiet for a long moment, croaking out another sob and then wailing once more. Your murmurs are drowned out by the shrill noise.
Moments after she is done screaming however, all the pinpricks of light stop in the air; your vision is blurry and you have no hand free to see, but all except one turned around by the time you blinked the tears away. The undisturbed aura of light recedes as well while another, mostly extinguished one comes closer, revealing another familiar face. A face you know and that makes your heart beat faster in fright.
You remember how easily she destroyed Argus. Every moment you spent right in front of her on Valhalla is burned into your memory.
But you crush that feeling, too. It is Gabriel without doubt, but a much younger one. If she fights, you will take her on and beat her. Lu can not defend herself, so you have to.
A mane of light, greyish blue hair flutters in the wind, only partly bound into a braid. She has her sword drawn and eyes focussed on where you are. Her armour is a dark brown instead of the ocean blue she will later wear, far less decorated, almost plain. But that does not bely her gaze or her facial features. It is her without doubt. Once she closes however, her eyes narrow and she dismisses her blade. The thrust from her wings begins to weaken, and War Angel Gabriel slows down as she approaches the two of you.
Lu is back to whimpering, shuddering sobs wrecking her body that still clings to you like a lifeline. Her mumbled pleas have become unintelligible and her tears have mostly dried, but more might follow soon. You soothingly rub the back of her head while keeping your eyes on Gabriel, who lands after another minute. Your tense form is taken in by an unreadable gaze, then her eyes fall into the wrecked Lu.
She raises her hands immediately, empty palms open. "Peace. Just what happened here?" Her voice is soft, yet cuts the miserable silence like a knife. Her features soften when Lu sobs again, but the gaze she gives you remains resolute. She will have an answer.
That puts you into a tight spot; the true extent of your failings only becomes apparent once your power over time is revealed, and various shows and stories taught you not to flaunt that status. On the other hand, she is Gabriel.
You avert your gaze for a long moment and press Lu's face against your chest, spending what comfort you can. Her hand weakly paws at your back to hold on. "No one can know about what I will tell you, for any reason." Your eyes meet hers again and you make up your mind entirely. Gabriel actually takes a step back from the intensity you convey. "She and I both aren't from this time. Everything comes back to that and I don't know what will happen if someone tries to change the future with what I tell you."
She is silent, expression hardening. Yet a single flick of her eyes to the blubbering mess spread over the ground and clinging to you lessens the tension again. She twitches, hands rising minutely before being forced back under control.
Gabriel closes her eyes before nodding at you. "I see. While I can not give you my word on anything beyond this matter... I solemnly swear to protect the secrets you divulge here with my life, and pass them to no one except any that are themselves aware already."
Her words stun you. A promise made like this sounds incredible. A promise made by Gabriel herself. To you. And yet you also notice the loophole she left herself so she can actually talk to people about it if they are in the know. Angels probably learn to word their promises carefully.
"Thank you." It is a lot to ask of a stranger and you are grateful that Gabriel is willing to give you the chance. But this is the difficult part, so you motion into the distance. "The woman I chased off earlier, that was Lucifer, right?" Gabriel frowns but nods, confirming what you already knew.
You do not like to say what you have to, your chest aches just at the thought of what you did. A sad glance goes down to your friend. "And with me is the same Lucifer, a few thousand years older."
The quiet hangs over all three of you, all noise overshadowed by an ominous choir picking up, Lu's magic continuing to coil around in her anguish. You let Gabriel find the link on her own before continuing: "I, I didn't know, I promise. Lu said her past self isn't here but there she was. It's, I don't know why she lied." You bumble through your explanation, unsure what to say or how.
Thankfully, Gabriel does not accuse you of anything. She merely nods and steps closer, slowly reaching out to caress Lu's face before embracing her as well. "I see. So she became like this after meeting herself?"
You shake your head and nudge Lu a little, making her lean a little more into the other Angel. Her grasp on you slackens, but a fresh batch of tears spills out together with a pitiful whine. "No, only after the younger one... she promised her brother to always protect him."
Gabriel's expression softened as she started to tend to your friend, but now it falls slack and pale. "After that? Such a promise is dangerous. Are you implying what I think you are?"
"Yes." You can not look at her anymore, it would be another stake through your chest. A few tears squeeze their way out of your burning eyes. "It's my fault she ended up like this." You brought her here, you did not push about her past self, did not relocate elsewhere. You could have done so many things to prevent this.
But then again, if Lu had never made that promise in the past, you would have changed the course of history. You were always set up to cause her fall.
A large, warm hand on your head pulls you out of your thoughts and to meet a gentle smile. "Please do not be so unkind to yourself. This, all of this if it is true, is a tragedy, but you could not have known."
"You don't believe me?"
She pulls Lucifer closer to her chest and holds her tight, then gives you another, more uncertain look interspersed with breaking eye contact. "I, well, it's a lot to take in at once. I don't think you're lying to me, but I can't say for sure. Right now...." She trails off and squeezes Lu, who whimpers. The message is clear, she gives you the benefit of the doubt for your friend's sake.
"I guess that makes sense." You take a step away and rub your aching sides. That will probably leave a few nasty bruises. Angels are crazy strong. "Thank you, again. This is more than most would do for two strangers."
Gabriel's lips twitch into a weak smile and she shakes her head. "I always do whatever I can. How can we expect kindness of others if we are not willing to give it freely ourselves?" This draws a weak smile from you in turn, but shifting your weight makes you wince and gets Gabriel's attention. "Are you alright?"
You do not even need to think. "Yeah, I'm fine." While it is true, you also do not feel like complaining about such a small thing after everything. And everything you inflicted on one of your dearest friends.
Then something pricks at the edge of your senses and Gabriel perks up, scanning the countryside where Neverwas is hovering closer again. "There is something there, but I can not say where," she warns you while holding onto Lu.
Right, you probably should resolve that. "I can see him and it's fine. He won't attack us." Gabriel throws you a curious look but you shrug. "Can you take care of her until I'm back?"
"Of course."
You thank the Angel again and jog over to the Child of Nightmare, who waits for you patiently once it is clear you are coming their way. The matter of Lu still pushes down on your mood, but you put it aside for now as best as you can. This is technically the first time Neverwas met you... wait.
Some other matters become rather clear now, making you grit your teeth at the shenanigans. That's how they knew you could see them immediately the first time you met them.
"I am no expert on the behaviour of Angels, but I do believe your friend is unwell. Will she be alright?" Neverwas' voice slightly grates on your temples just as it always did before. You kind of missed it but didn't, really.
"No idea," you answer while your shoulders slump in defeat. "I'm not sure she will ever be okay again, I don't think she has been okay in ages." You let out a groan and drop to the ground, trying to get a hold of all those dark thoughts and shoving them away. "Did she really feel enough fear to bring you here?"
Neverwas folds themself somewhat and imitates your posture, if more upright while mist coils around them comfortably. "Yes, although not for long. I was meaning to travel either way. We meet in unfortunate circumstances... but it is a great joy to finally meet one who is neither a Wish nor a powerful Fear but still capable of perceiving me properly." Their robe flutters excitedly and they lean closer, unseen face looking you over. "Your powers are quite impressive but please, tell me your name. I am so curious, I have never seen a being quite like you before."
You make an understanding noise and get comfortable. Lu is safe with Gabriel, so you need to focus on getting this just right. Neverwas is not a bad guy after all.
"It's Adelheid, or Heidi if you want." You pause for a moment before adding a quick "What's yours?" Then something else jumps out at you. "And what do you mean with my powers?"
There is a strange chittering sound while the darkness below their hood writhes; it might be laughter, if not for how eery it is. You get goosebumps just from hearing it. "I am Neverwas, born of the fear of the unknown. I have always been able to perceive the full extent of other's powers, including their working and application. One of my powers is based on it, allowing me to develop immunities to specific powers of my choosing."
The mist coils excitedly and you do not manage to get a word in before they continue; you put aside the fact they never mentioned that power before. "It is such a joy to finally meet one I can speak with. The flow of your mana is odd, so unlike the Elves you so resemble. Your powers are far beyond them, too. I have never seen Affinities like yours before either, oh, and what is a Story Maker?"
You can not help but giggle about how eager they are, making a placating wave with your hand to calm them down a little. "I need a chance to actually answer your questions, you know?" They immediately stop talking and lean forward, so you do as you said you would. "It's true I'm no Elf, I'm human. It's just a few thousand years too early for my race to be out here. You know that area where there's no magic a few dimensions away?" A nod of the hood. "That's where we live. It will get magic in, uh, a long, long while."
"I am not sure I understand. How do you have... oh. Mastery over time itself. You are not from this time then? How long are you staying? Are all humans powerful like you? Do you think I could visit your home once it becomes accessible?
This is kind of cute, you have to admit. An actual smile worms its way onto your face. "I don't mind you visiting, but it'll be a while. Others might be a bit scared of you, so be careful. Magical Girls like me are kinda rare, though. One in a million, basically." You absently play with a strand of your disheveled hair as you consider the last question. "And I was planning to leave soon, in a few days. I'm sorry, but I need to bring my friend back to her time and I don't belong here."
Neverwas stills for a moment, then deflates before copying your dismissive motion. "No, I understand. As glad as it makes me to have found you, keeping you here where you are unhappy would not make me any happier. I am used to being alone, and you will emerge again in the future. I merely need to find you." Whatever kind of organ or practice they use to speak, you can hear how listless their tone became. On a whim, you lean forward and wrap the shade into your arms.
Neverwas makes a sound comparable to a falling tree, the whispy cloth almost parting under your fingers. You never touched them before, feel something as fleeting as mist compress as you hold their robe close. Maybe mist is all they are after all. "It's okay," you tell them quietly. "I'm sure there will be others. We are going to meet again at least once, I can promise you that. In about three thousand years. But I need to ask you a favour. The me you're going to meet there will be younger, weaker. I already met you there and learned a lot about you, but please don't tell me anything about that then. Can you do that?"
The words fell from your mouth without thought, but now they are out. You refuse to let this friend of yours stew in misery if you can prevent it. Neverwas envelops you in more mist, squeezing as gently as they can in an imitation of your embrace. "I will burn it into my memory. I promise."
Relief floods through you, the burden on your shoulders eased a little. "Thank you," you murmur to your renewed friend.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
When you return with Neverwas in tow, Lu has fallen asleep. Gabriel is cradling her, gently rocking back and forth while quietly singing a lullaby. She sees you but does not interrupt her song, so you quietly move over to her side and watch Lu. Her face has already been cleaned and is pristine except for a few specks of blood and reddened teartracks. A crude bandage covers her forehead where she scratched it open.
You barely notice that she is significantly taller than Gabriel, being face to face with her despite sitting while the other Angel is standing on her knees.
It would be looking kind of funny if the situation were not what it is.
Once the last note fills the air and Gabriel falls silent, you offer her a quiet nod. "Really, thank you for doing this." You are not sure if you could have done that much. Gabriel just smiles, so you continue to whisper to her: "What was that song?"
Her smile droops a little and she glances at the sleeping Lu. "Lucifer's favourite lullaby. I heard her friend sing it for her and her brother a few times." A deep breath, then Gabriel eyes you again. "She calmed down and fell asleep when I sung it. It might have been a coincidence, but this is one of her personal quirks. Few Angels calm down that quickly with a single song."
What she says is that what evidence she has indicates you told her the truth, while also not saying that she still does not believe you entirely. Being around Demons and learning how people say and not say things really pays off.
"I never knew that." You sit and give your friend a longing look, unsure what to do even now but wanting to do something to help her. "She doesn't like talking about the past."
"I can imagine why." Gabriel's voice is devoid of humour, expression somewhere between a sigh and a frown. "She should be good for a little while." She does not stop stroking Lu's head though, even when her eyes scan the surrounding area again. "Um, is this robed person still here?"
Neverwas tenses a little by your side, but you just poke their robe to distract them. "Yeah, he is. You only parse what Neverwas actually did when you can't see or hear him anymore. He's a Child of Nightmare" Gabriel pauses about the last part, fidgets a little, and then glances back down at Lu.
"You certainly keep odd friends." Then her eyes widen to a comical extent and she snapes back to look at you. "Oh no, I, I haven't even introduced myself. I'm so sorry." The apology gives you pause, especially because she keeps fidgeting. "I am War Angel Gabriel, currently second-in-command of the Ninth Host. Who would you be?"
She is still holding an Angel taller than herself up and quickly adopts a deer-in-headlights look when you have to pause to take it all in. Then you crack, giggling; even the hand you press on your mouth does not stop it from spilling out. Now is not the time to laugh, but you just can not stop. It is just too silly.
By the time you can finally clamp down on it, Gabriel has her head lowered and Neverwas looks back and forth between you. After one last huff, you take a breath and work up a smile for the blushing Angel. "I'm Adelheid, or Heidi if you want. Nice to meet you... well, as nice as it can be under these circumstances."
"The same, it is a pleasure.
Gabriel gradually calmed as you spoke and her lips curl into a faint smile of her own while Neverwas adjusts their position by floating around.
Then comes a moment of awkward silence, with neither of you having a clear idea of how to proceed. Lu can not fly right now, so getting back to your shelter will be a bit of an issue... or a long walk.
A loud boom in the distance makes you whirl around, finding the Duramboros getting to its feet. It sneezes once more, noise levels similar to a cannon being fired. Then it begins to trot off toward the already mutilated piece of forest nearby. Probably in search of food.
"Perhaps we should leave," Gabriel suggests from behind you. "A Duramboros is not dangerous unless attacked, but there might be other critters nearby. Nothing shies away from them." You turn back to find her eyeing the gentle giant, a weak smile on her face. "Then again, we can be certain that nothing will attack us while near one of these."
"I concur with Gabriel. These Duramboros are a peaceful species."
You figure you should not mention why you were here in the first place. Still, Lu should not stay out in the open or near where you were caught by a patrol. You doubt Gabriel will tell anyone where your shelter is, even if you let her know. "I'd rather bring her back to the place we built up. Don't worry about her safety, I can beat anything that tries to get at her."
A chittery chuckle comes from Neverwas, who obviously knows why you are so sure of that. Gabriel appraises you again with a curiously raised eyebrow. "Are you certain? I can defeat most creatures found on Milidia, but some of my previous fights ended by a hair's breadth."
You just give her an unimpressed look and cross your arms. "Look, I killed almost everything bigger than myself in at least ten kilometres around the place we stay and turned it into food. The big guy over there is the only one left."
Her eyes bulge a little and flit over your form again, but she nods quickly and vigorously. "P-Pretend-I-didn't-say-anything!" It comes out so fast you almost do not parse it, but when you do you can not help but giggle again.
"Heh, it's fine. Can you carry Lu?"
"Of course."
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
The walk back is kind of weird, and quiet for a good while. Neverwas teleported ahead to scout, leaving you 'alone' with Gabriel. Lu has not woken up yet despite the bumpy ride.
"Now that we have a little time," she starts while throwing you cautious glances, "I was wondering what brought you here. You must have been on Milidia for a while if you needed this much food. Could you not have brought provisions from the time you hail from?" She has a point and you find yourself becoming sheepish. That is something you are a little embarassed to admit.
"Well, uh, I would. But I sucked at time travel when we got here. The only reason I used it at all is that we'd be dead if I hadn't. But now we were stuck here, so I spent the last... two? I think two months training to get better at it." You fold your hands behind your back with a grin. "And I'm almost good to go, just a few more days. Then, uh, this happened." You motion for the sleeping Angel Gabriel carries and she nods before glancing down at Lu.
"I see, so you are stranded and on your way home." The short Angel chews on her lip while looking between you and Lu. "I, well, I don't know much about time or how it works, so I will trust your judgement. We have to capture fallen Angels normally, but this one, this Lucifer, she needs to return to her own time first. I leave it to the Host there." She speaks slowly, a note of displeasure clear even to you. Yet the words themselves bother you.
After a moment, you throw her a searching look. It needs to be asked, you have to know. "So you are on board with locking them up until they go insane?"
Gabriel grimaces immediately. "No, no I'm not." She shakes her head but does not meet your gaze. "But we are just a handful who want to lift the heavy sanctions, without the pull or manpower to do anything about them. I am already stretching myself thin with my own duties, but I wish I could do more." The last part comes out softly, almost too quiet for you to hear.
She will be the most influential woman in the LDC. Hearing a lack of influence as her reason is extremely jarring, but you get it. "Okay, I can understand that." You need to get back to this in some other time, see if anything comes of it.
Silence falls again and you keep wandering; it is still late Summer, meaning that the sun continues to toast you from above. Sweat glistens on your skin as it does basically every day; at least your outfit is breezy.
On the other hand, you tanned like crazy over these months. To the point you considered chucking off pieces of clothing so you at least tan everywhere, but it is probably far too late for that. You always wanted to tan properly, but not on a sunbed like you heard people do. There was just rarely a chance to sunbathe long enough, or you did not manage to stay still when you had one.
Now you got your wish. Partly because you did something else, partly because Lu drilled patience and discipline into you.
Your friend murmurs in her sleep but does not wake, prompting Gabriel to adjust her grip; she holds Lu in a princess carry, delicately avoiding her wings. Ashen hair almost drags over the ground with how long it is.
Once it is clear the fallen Angel will stay asleep, you both focus back on the path; it is different from the ground, but you can soon see the bit of forest your shelter sits at appear in the distance. Except that your destination is on its other side.
Some walking is still to be done. Or maybe....
Gabriel interrupts your train of thought: "I guess that explains the signs of combat and parts of creatures we found in the area. I didn't think of that before now." You make an agreeing noise while she glances at you again, then sigh about the following question: "Could you, uh, tell me what race you are from? At first I thought of an elven adventurer, but your ears are round. And you're far too big for a Fairy, and, um." She blinks, then sweeps you with her eyes again and falters a little. "You're not... a Demon, right?"
It had to come up eventually, but it still sucks that you keep having to explain who and what you are. "No, I'm human. Won't meet anyone else from my race for a few thousand years, we're currently building our first civilisations in the dimension that has no mana." This time however, before she can be shocked or ask more question, you change the subject: "This is the second time I hear about these adventurers. Who are they?"
Gabriel purses her lips for a moment, but then hangs her shoulders and apparently accepts that it is her turn to answer questions. "You will find a handful of adventuring parties on each elven world, especially on the newly colonised ones. They explore the wilderness and take down the more vicious creatures, or do any other worthwhile tasks that might come up out there."
She hums and smiles at you. "I met a few over the years. Most of them are odd in some way, but they are as good as everyone thinks. Any Elf who takes up adventuring stands head and shoulders above the average legionnaire."
That is kind of odd. You never heard about something like that before. You never heard about any outstanding Elves period; where are they in your time?
You mull this over for a moment, but decide to shelve it until later. For now, you have something else to do. "Hey, Gabriel? Come here for a moment, I'm going to try something."
"Um, okay?" She actually steps closer while you start to grin and reach out to hug her waist as best as you can, the unconcious Lu trapped between her chest and your head. "W-What are you going to do?"
Her slightly wobbly question is kind of cute; you just squeeze her side while imagining your shelter, five seconds into the future. "Don't worry. Voyage!"
A portal opens right in front of you as always, only quite a bit bigger this time. It crashes into you before Gabriel can ask and you hear her faint gasp before the moment in eternity swallows all sound. Light and darkness flicker all around before you fall through another portal, once again holding onto her and Lu.
Your shelter is just a few hundred metres away now. Still not accurate, but you are getting there. Success!
Gabriel looks around with her mouth hanging open while you pump your fist, then whines at you: "P-Please give me a warning next time! Just what is that place?"
You shrug in response, though your grin can not be disturbed by anything right now. "No idea what it is. I don't actually call it anything, either. I just pass through there each time I time travel, but it works for teleporting to places too. It's just, uh, still a lot less accurate than I want it to be."
You motion for the shelter in the distance and receive a thoughtful nod from Gabriel, who then looks Lu over curiously. "She just slept through it. I thought I was drowning except there was no crushing weight on my chest. No light, no darkness, just vague shapes."
"Huh. I had both light and darkness, but no real shapes. Maybe it looks differently for each of us." That is interesting; Lu never said anything when you took her along, now you are wondering what she sees. Chances are she will not tell you either way, though.
"Maybe." Gabriel sighs and adjusts her hold on Lu again, then gets moving. "Your place looks... cozy?" It's a ramshackle hut in the middle of nowhere. You just snort but say nothing, she was only trying to be polite after all.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
It is a weird mood taking hold of you all; you chat a little bit with Neverwas, but the thoughts you had pushed away earlier return to take root. Gabriel is obviously bothered by something as well.
Your time traveling is the reason War Angel Lucifer made the promise that led to her fall. It is your fault she fell. Every moment of agony she had to live through for so long is because of you.
Gabriel does not blame you, and Neverwas does not do so either. You hope Lu sees it similarly, but also hope she does not and actually screams at you or something like that. You feel you deserve it, even if the others tell you it was an accident. You know it was, but that does not change your feelings.
When Lu does wake up hours later, night has fallen. You are sitting at her bedside and watch over her when she stirs; her eyes slide open without any other sign of waking. She simply stares at you, through you, and ignores you. Just quietly sits up on her bed and wanders outside without a word.
Neverwas remains in the corner they lowered themselves to hold watch, watching you follow her outside.
She does not go far, merely slumps down under the moonlight and stares at the sky.
"Lu?"
Your quiet call yields a flick of her eyes but no other reaction. She just stays like this and watches the sky. Not a word leaves her lips.
You stay with her for a while but soon grow too tired, but you bidding her a good night receives no reaction either. She is still there when you wake up, now guarded by Neverwas. She does not take food, even if you push it against her lips.
By the time Gabriel lands later in the morning, Lu at least got up and brought out her cross to do her stances. She still does not speak, not even when the shorter Angel goes to talk to her quietly.
At least you can be absolutely sure now, Gabriel is tiny for her species; maybe two and a half metres, where Lu is already short at around three. You might have teased her at any other time, but right now you do not feel like it at all.
The mood stays somber and all of you do not speak much that day, only keep an eye on Lu. You can not really bring up the motivation to practice with Voyage.
Gabriel told her team that she is doing some sweeps of her own in this area to ensure the Fallen she 'chased away' is not returning, so they adjusted their patrol routes. She will keep you company and free you of prying eyes for the rest of your stay. It is a blessing to have her, awkward as she is without some kind of clear goal to put herself toward.
Sadly, Lu keeps up her silence for the rest of the day, spends the entirety of it practicing and then falls asleep under the stars. She still does not eat, does not do much at all beside interrupting her practice whenever one of you comes close.
You dearly hope that she will break her silence and stop fasting soon. But you can not do more than hope.
-------------
Food: 3
(Gabriel brings her own food)
(two units saved; Lu did not eat for a while) Completed Practice: 55 / 60
[] Plan for the week
-[] Action 1
-[] Action 2
-[] Action 3
Hunt small critters
(secures food for 3 days, auto-success)
Foraging
(secures food for 3 days, auto-success)
Hunt medium-sized critters
(secures food for 7 days, may turn into a combat encounter)
Hunt large beasts None left to hunt
(secures food for 14 days, combat encounter)
Hunt the biggest and baddest Heidi refuses
(secures food for 30 days, boss encounter)
Practice
(adds between 2 and 3 days to the training counter; 7 days if all actions are this)
[] EXP-Plan
-[] Write-in what to buy
-[] Save it
=====
+25xp Genocide Route Aborted
+30xp Met The Untarnished Lucifer And Her Brother
+1,000xp Established a Stable Time Loop
+20xp Met Neverwas (Again)
+20xp Met Gabriel (Again)
+150xp A Bleeding Heart
Level 17: Unlocked Telepathy (A mind-link exists; this Ability normally allows to exchange thoughts with another being, but on a weapon like this one, it provides telekinesis)
Level 18: Unlocked Levitate (Allows to provide a certain amount of motive force to the weapon without touching it)
Note: Levitate is required for motive force, Telepathy for directability.
Modifier Save upgrades to Auto Max Charge (Adds the full Magic Modifier on top of the modifier roll made for any given action.)
The Weapon's Secret auto-upgrades!
Ability Upgrade
The Weapon's Secret
-[...]
-Defiance may seal one of her weapons for the remainder of combat to reset her ApT and max out the next attack's modifier roll.
----->
-[...]
-Defiance may seal one of her weapons for the remainder of combat to reset her ApT and increase MM by 100%.
Weapon Upgrade
Stygian Tempest
Level 10 -----> 11
Base Damage: 350 -----> 385
Magic Modifier: 990 -----> 1,005
Affinities: Defiance
Ability: Ray | Armor Pierce | Sudden Death
Armor Pierce upgrades to Juggernaut (reduces target Resilience by 75%)
Level 17: Unlocked Telepathy (A mind-link exists; this Ability normally allows to exchange thoughts with another being, but on a weapon like this one, it provides telekinesis)
Level 18: Unlocked Levitate (Allows to provide a certain amount of motive force to the weapon without touching it)
Note: Levitate is required for motive force, Telepathy for directability.
770 EXP spent
566 remain
[] Plan Hope That's Five
-[] Hunt medium-sized critters
-[] Practice
-[] Practice*2
"I knew it"
These are the first words she speaks, the moment you step out into the morning light. Neverwas eyes her curiously, as do you after a moment of surprise. Lu looks straight at you, unblinking and elaborating in little more than a dull monotone: "I knew I remembered you from somewhere, the first time I saw you transform. I just could not tell where or why."
Her gaze breaks and she turns back to watching the sky, even when you crouch next to her. You just have to know, though. "Why didn't you say anything? B-Back then, and, and this?" One hand carelessly waves at Milidia, your meaning clear
Lu does not look at you again. "I...."
She trails off several times after starting, then sighs. "I don't know."
"Why did you lie?"
"...I don't know."
She sounds so small, gaze averted and body slumped even as she lies on the ground. You carefully grasp her hand and squeeze it, receiving a weak squeeze in response. "Is it really okay for me to stay? I brought this on you in the first place. Without my powers-"
A painful squeeze cuts you off, almost crushing your hand; Lu is looking at you again, wide-eyed. "Don't. Please." Her despair cuts deep into your aching chest. "Without you, without meeting you, I'd not even have this little piece of respite and joy." She shudders, then squeezes your hand again and preempts you from talking bad of yourself: "Part of me wants to tear you to shreds, yes. But I would not be me anymore if I let the anger consume me. You should know that. I know you did not mean to."
She falls silent again at the sight far distant, a nearing War Angel. Gabriel. "I just, I need time. Give me time to find my center."
"Okay." It is all you can say, eyes stinging with unshed tears that you wipe away before they leave tracks. "But you need to eat. Or I will mouthfeed you."
"Fine."
You can not help but sigh over the easy agreement. Lu as she was before probably would have made some kind of comment at least. So you leave her be and get up to say hello to Gabriel once she lands; a moment later, you also decide to go hunting today. Provisions are running low and you really need to get some more.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
The change is obvious the moment you draw your blade, having sat at the back of your mind already. Mana roils around it, far more of it than before. Its main property grew, calming the flow of your mana to the point it can draw out a good bit more.
(Stardust Striker: +1500 Base Damage, +1137 Auto Max Charge, +1000 Horrific Speed Gap = 3,637 Total Damage
Yeah, that is dead)
You test it and find that it easily cleaves through a boar-like critter.
A beat.
You quickly dash for the next of the fleeing family, weapon reforming as you chase them. Lightsaber is unchanged, spear is unchanged, scythe... scythe is different. The cutting field around its blades is sharper, thicker. You swing again.
(Not dead by Base Damage, but the head was severed.)
Its head rolls away and the body falls to the ground, neatly bisected by the more powerful field. That is an interesting little thing.
Only then do you realise something else and blink. A property of your weapon that you really should have noticed immediately. Bringing it back to Stardust Striker, you softly stab the blade into the ground and consider the fleeing group, then calculate a second into the future. "Voyage."
You slip through time and land in front of them, scaring the creatures into scattering. Not too efficient, but it will do. One even does as you hoped and turns around, back toward where your weapon awaits. The weapon you can feel being stuck in soft and cool earth. Strands of magic singing a rock song connect you and the weapon.
Standing still and focussing on your blade's handle, the only part belonging to the base weapon, you have it pull up and out of the ground. Then turn it horizontal with your mind's grasp, slower than you yourself could have turned it. The strands gleam as mana flows through them. Your fleeing target sees it and tries to bank around, but boars are bad at that. You adjust and score a hit at the flank.
(Stardust Striker: +1500 Base Damage, +1471 Auto Max Charge, -500 Remote Control = 2,471 Total Damage
They don't have that much Health, bye bye bacon.)
This time, it is mainly thanks to the pumping mana that it is cut open to its center and drops to the ground, bleeding heavily. You dash over and have the blade rotate so you can grasp it at the handle immediately, then follow your instincts and consume Reaper's Will.
(Reaper's Will sealed, ApT reset. Magic Modifier increased by 100%, now 2,010)
It is as if floodgates open within you, mana beginning to flow faster and stronger than before. "Voyage!" Another leap, right in front of another boar that squeeks in surprise but has no time to react. Power far greater than you ever held sings in your strike.
(Stardust Striker: +1500 Base Damage, +3356 Auto Max Charge, +1000 Horrific Speed Gap = 5,856 Total Damage
Okay, this is starting to get extreme)
You cleave it in two with hardly any effort. Your mana alone saws through bone and sinew and muscle, splattering the ground behind the creature in greenish blood. But in difference to before, your mana keeps flowing so strongly. It is not a quick burst this time, but rather an increase to your capacity for a while.
You make for a new target. Only one boar left, already quite a bit away. Once your magic settles, you consume Aetheric Tide and Stygian Tempest in rapid succession to test this further, then teleport in front of it.
(Aside from wastefully sealing weapons, MM increases by another 200%. It is now 4,020)
Your power does double again, but only with two consumed weapons. This tells you it still bases your increased capacity on the regular one. Mana roils around and you feel almost sorry for the overkill. At least it will be quick.
(Stardust Striker: +1500 Base Damage, +6057 Auto Max Charge, +1000 Horrific Speed Gap = 8,557 Total Damage
Splotch: The Reckoning!)
Aside from being rent asunder however, the force of your mana ruptures its body where the blade cuts and makes it... explode in the direction of your swing. Some gore sprinkles on your top and a few nearby flowers are beheaded by the small shockwave your mana generates. Whoops?
You blink down at your handiwork, then at your weapon that still has coiling tendrils of mana around it. This is an interesting little thing. The light around shifts a little as you take it in, the choir growing louder.
"Was that, um, necessary?"
Gabriel steps up to look at the mess you left of the last boar hesitantly, then at you. She receives a shake of your head and your weapon disappears. "Not exactly, I was just testing something. Remember what I told you about Magical Girls growing quickly?"
"I do. Ahh! So your powers grew again?"
"Pretty much, yeah. I need to take a closer look at that later."
Her mumbled "amazing" almost escapes your ears, but you do hear it. Gabriel examines the dead and probably useless body. Too gored to turn into rations properly. You still have the rest, though. They will do.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
After loading everything up and tying it to Gabriel's back, the two of you take to the skies. The greater capacity for mana you got from consuming your weapons slinks away as they become available again. A temporary matter after all, but a useful one.
It is a little weird with Gabriel now that you got used to Lu, being carried in two arms instead of one and a wing. You keep your mouth shut about that, though. Something else is more interesting. "I'm kind of surprised they just let you stay out for entire days without asking questions. Are you that big a deal already?"
The Angel carrying you fidgets a little, blushing. "Uh, well. It's, um, it is less that and more that I am on vacation. Technically." Your incredulous look only makes her cheeks turn redder, but her flight remains smooth even while she elaborates softly: "I usually work really hard, so my superiors wanted me to take a three-year break back in False Heaven to catch up on the leave I passed on before. I, uh, haggled them down to taking this post instead." She shrugs weakly, smiling. "I'm not the kind to just sit around and do nothing back home."
You just look at her for a long moment, then dislodge one of your hands from her neck to slap your forehead with. The wet sound echoes through your skull from the force of it and leaves a weak, red imprint. Gabriel just stutters and averts her gaze, which is difficult without letting go of you.
"So yes, I think they are just happy I don't... wait." Her embarassed mumble stops and she turns back to you with a slight tilt of her head. "What do you mean am I that big a deal 'already'?"
...oops.
You take a deep breath and think about it for a moment. Gabriel is your friend at this point, no getting around it. She promised to take your secrets to the grave and honestly, she deserves a bit of a warning of what is ahead of her. Not because of the danger, but because she would probably squeak her last in embarassment once she becomes a big deal. Still, telling someone about her future....
Thankfully, you can at least push it off a little. Your shelter is coming in sight, so you point at it. "Let's say you will be a big deal. I'll tell you later, okay?"
"...okay." And now you feel bad, as if you just kicked a puppy. Nothing outside of Gabriel's tone even conveys her disappointment, but it still has that effect on you.
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
That day and the next pass more quietly, with Lu getting to work on your final rations and you practicing. Gabriel watches and actually joins with a few sequences of her own, the style she shows you quite different from how you wield your sword.
Either way, you finally manage to give the teleportation with Voyage some final polish and become proficient with it, even when aiming your new position. The time travel aspect becomes more smooth and more of a reflex, too. Just a little more and you are done. Before that however, you promised a friend some answers. Even if you pushed that up for days, you will not continue without explaining it to her.
While Lu butchers away in the background, with Neverwas helping her after a bout of curiousity on the subject, you sit Gabriel down. She eyes you curiously, hands folded over her knees; you sit in front of her, sighing. "Sorry for waiting so long. I'm, honestly, still not sure how to explain it. So I'll just say it: 'last' time I saw you? You were an Archangel."
You can see the exact moment she processes your words. Her body tenses for an instant, then grows slack, eyes widening. She points at herself. "M-Me?"
"Yes."
"An Archangel?"
"Yes."
"Are, are you sure?"
"Yes."
She blinks a few times and lowers her finger, jaw working soundlessly. Gabriel then turns her gaze away and stares into the distance, eyes unfocussed. "Me, an Archangel."
Her lips curl upward into a raptured smile, though it slowly falls away into a frown mixed with a pink hue on her cheeks. "Me, an Archangel. I...." She trails off and focusses on you again, hands clenching weakly. "I can't even imagine it. Or, I guess I can but it feels so weird and-"
She continues babbling for a little while, trying to explain the complexity of her feelings. She fails, but you kind of get it anyway; if a time traveler told your ten-year-old self how you would become a Magical Girl and meet people like Lu, Elisabeth, Argus, Gabriel, you would probably feel similarly.
Once the stream of words subsides and your newest friends calms herself down a little, she glances back at you curiously. "I'm still a bit confused." She fidgets, then points a finger at you. "I mean, I guess it's all a coincidence you landed here of all places and times, but what were you fleeing from? Are the things in your time really that dangerous?"
Your eyes wander to Lu, then back to Gabriel, and a sigh rolls out of you. "You." She blinks, but you do not give her the time: "I don't understand why you didn't pursue us any further when you could have, but you didn't. It was a big fight, I guess. We're, uh, on opposite sides."
She lowers her head and taps her fingers against her knee a few times, wings flattening. "So you are with Thirteenth Hell then? Lucifer, too?" Her questions draws a glance from Lu that you notice, but your friend goes back to her work right after.
You take a moment to think of a good answer, but find none. "Kind of. I didn't really have a choice because me being dumb with Voyage was what landed me in the past in the first place. Those guys were nice enough, so I didn't want to risk leaping elsewhere and getting myself killed."
"And then you got to know them?" The question draws a nod from you; Gabriel hums before letting out a sigh of her own. "I, well, I understand." She ducks her shoulders a little, but continues unprompted: "I know there are kind flowers blooming even in Hell. I just can't spare them if they are right in front of me, threatening everything I care about."
A moment passes in silence, then she giggles softly and grins at you. "And for why I did not pursue you? You just told me I wouldn't, and I will commit that to memory. The order of events has to be maintained, no?"
Your hand meets your forehead again, this time for your own stupidity. Of course that is the explanation, you even gave her a similar scenario just the day before to explain why time travel is dangerous. How did you not notice that?
Gabriel just continues to giggle, but soon falls quiet. "Not to mention," she continues softly, "I... would rather not have to kill you. So if I can chase you away instead, that's enough for me."
"Same here," you tell her with a brighter smile and a lighter heart. "You're my friend now, so it would suck if we had to fight to the death." And you would break the timeline, you do not say. Knowing she will become an Archangel is already plenty, but you have the feeling Gabriel will collapse if you tell her how far she is going to rise over time.
Somehow, the shy girl in front of you really does not feel like the woman who will one day become the commander of the entire Unified Light.
Gabriel herself is smiling dumbly, looking down at her hands and whispering "Friend" to herself. You can not help but huff. Who could have thought she used to be so cute?
. . .
IDENTIFIED BREAK LINE . . .
Days pass and you finally reach a level of proficiency that feels appropriate. Casting Voyage becomes almost second nature; the calculations, if they can be called that, are easy now that you finally internalised the various patterns. You have a sense for the current moment in time and the next few.
And you found something interesting: if you focus your mind on a specific period of time, you get a sense of familiarity with points you already jumped to or from. Not a perfect index, but enough of an idea to prevent a meeting with yourself. And to catch back up with whatever time you left, if you want.
You could go home, right now. But it is not time yet; you miss your father, your friends there, but if you return you doubt you will go back in time again. Not like this.
So you stay and find the moment in time you left Valhalla. Two hours forward should be enough as a safety margin.
"Lu?" Your friend looks up from where she is being chatted at by Gabriel, the younger Angel trying her best to keep a conversation going. Now she falls silent too, the same as Neverwas who enjoyed themself listening to the other two. You take a deep breath: "I'm done. It's time."
She blinks and nods, getting up. So do Gabriel and Neverwas, both of them fidgeting. Before either can say anything, you hug Gabriel close, face buried in her tunic. She grows still and you just squeeze a little tighter. "We'll meet again, and I won't stop being your friend no matter how much time passes. No matter how we meet again. Okay?"
She murmurs softly and hugs you back at last. "Okay. I will not forget, never. Friend."
You both squeeze once more and let go, then Neverwas receives the same treatment. It looks probably silly for the Angels, as if you are hugging empty air. "You too. We're going to see each other again."
"As time permits," they joke while doing their best to squeeze back with a non-corporeal body. "I will miss you, friend. But one day, my journey will bring us back together. Take care."
"I will. You do the same."
There is no response except a hollow whistle like wind making its way through an old house.
You separate from Neverwas as well and turn toward your shelter of the last two months and a bit. Gabriel waves at it with a smile. "I will take care of taking this down, worry not. Goodbye, Heidi."
That's it, then. You grin back at Gabriel and take Lu's hand, then nod at the other two. It's sad to see them off like this, but you will meet them again. "Goodbye, for now. Voyage!"
The last you see of Gabriel is a bright smile accompanied by brimming tears, then time claims you once again.
A moment later, you land on the mountainside overlooking Charon's Keep, Lu's hand still in yours. The place was correct. But what you see in front of you makes you freeze.
The Keep is burning. A town set alight, with holy choirs singing above as Angels wade through Demons of incredible numbers in the sky, backed by lyrical hymns where rows upon rows of Fairy mages prepare their volleys.
The sky is bright as day from their mana, despite it being the midst of night. Where once four spires stood around the main one, only two remain. Spellfire rises to the heavens from both, unable to make a noticeable difference.
As you watch, a starry monster balloons into the sky. It's body is a mix of the most beautiful colours you have ever seen, the amount of mana in its form singing loud enough even for you to hear. An aria of harmony and dissonance, of spite and battle. Fairy Slayers by the dozens surround the giant body, with hundreds of Dark Stars more backing them up.
A bloated claw tears into the sky and ends four Fairies in a single swing, their crystallising corpses absorbed into the large mass before they can fall. It grows bigger, convulses, and continues.
The light is held back by powerful wards over the Keep, but even that is barely enough to contain its apex that rampages through the burning town. Lu shakes the surprise off first, grabbing around your waist and taking up speed.
You understand it, too. This is the counterattack. The First Host is pressing against Sheol, and Gabriel is in the lead.
You just said goodbye and now you are going to meet the Archangel again. Killing the people you fought with.
Demons and Dark Stars are fighting everywhere, outnumbering their angelic opponents ten to one and yet falling dead. The spires are holding, but it is only a matter of time. You need to do something, but you are only one person, one girl.
Except there is one thing you can do. One, dangerous, thing.
Lu probably understood it already; she is aiming for the barely suppressed light at high speed. Gabriel soon becomes visible in the mess, armour gleaming in the moonlight, demonic blood sizzling and burning away on her form. She dances amidst an entire company of soldiers, holy blade taking heads and cleaving through bodies without fail.
You can see Elisabeth marching the Archangel's way, but Lu reaches first. You tap her hand to let go of you and she does it, swinging you just right so you careen toward the fighting Angel.
Gabriel pulls back for another strike, not even bothering to hide how telegraphed it is, but pauses when you land right on top of her blade. She turns while the soldiers howl in joy, and you give everyone your best grin. "Hi." Your legs are shaking, but you hope nobody notices.
An Angel dives for you from above, but Lu gets them first and only a corpse slams into the ground. Your auras lash out, hers extinguishing the light totally. Elisabeth stops and beholds you, then turns to leave, helping elsewhere.
You hop down from Gabriel's weapon and walk around her, the Archangel's eyes never leaving your form. Once you stand in front of the demonic soldiers, you shoo them away with a wave. "Get going, you're in the splash zone."
The stamping of feet on the ground is all you can hear over the crackling flames. Gabriel stands unmoving, but you can see tears brimming in her eyes. She slowly draws her blade into a defensive posture, readying for battle. You do the same but smile. "What's with the long face? I told you we're staying friends, but I still need to kick your ass now."
You do not feel anywhere near as confident as you sound. This is probably the worst idea you ever had, but you are not going to stop. You need to do this, no matter what.
Another dead Angel drops to the ground next to you, drawing your attention to Lu. Blood trails down from her cross and she eyes Gabriel calmly before looking at you. "I will keep the First Host off your back." She ascends with that, meeting the broken light that bears down on you to aid their leader.
Gabriel herself is smiling now, tense for battle but with a heart at ease. She grew in instants for you, but her smile is still the same. "Have at you then."
-------------
[] Plan? Meep!
[] EXP-Plan
-[] Write-in what to buy
-[] Save it
=====
Allied Forces:
Confirmed Enemies:
-Archangel Gabriel
Active Effects:
-Sanctuary (All allies; deal doubled damage and take halved damage)
Objectives:
-Defeat Archangel Gabriel
-Do NOT kill Archangel Gabriel
=====
+20xp Friend
+300xp Did you Seriously Just Challenge Gabriel?
+350xp Sole Hope of Charon's Keep
EXP gained: 670 Total EXP: 1,236
=====
-Soft Mechanics updated
-Soft Exploits unlocked:
--Journey comes with a weak teleportation-effect; used correctly, the Spell allows Heidi to close into melee-range against distant opponents [1/1]
--The 'feeling' of specific moments follows a pattern that Heidi can work out and follow; once she knows it, she can predict how a specific time in the future will feel and send herself there with Voyage to dodge an incoming attack, even some that have Undodgeable or Unblockable.
-Orux, Dragul, Maya, and Paoras spent EXP. Changes are available on their sheets now.
=====
The Avatar of Light Not at her full power yet, but hey.
(Unified Light / False Heaven) Archangel Gabriel
Commander of the First Host's Fourth Batallion
Stats
Health: 360,000
Base Damage: 4,000
Base Resilience: 3,000
Magic Modifier: 400
Blinding Light
Level 30
Base Damage: N/A
Magic Modifier: 3,000
Affinity: Light
Ability: Blind | Target by Modifier
Abilities
Flight
Level 41
-Archangel Gabriel is capable of flying at 400mph.
High Speed Combat (LVL 5)
-Archangel Gabriel is capable of tracking objects moving up to 450mph.
Flash of Light
-When Blinding Light is cast, reset Gabriel's health to max.
Titan Felling Blows
-Each consecutive strike against an enemy has twice as much base damage as the last attack.
Presence of Light
Level 30
-Heals all Allies for 3,000 Health per turn. Damage all Enemies for 3,000 per turn.
Supremacy of the Light All it takes to hold back the darkness, is a single spark of light...
-Spell-based damage heals Archangel Gabriel instead of damaging her. Any Class 3 or lesser demon that enters the same combat zone as Archangel Gabriel is automatically killed.
Unlocked Return (Weapon can be called back to the user's hand at will)
1,200 EXP spent
36 remain
[] Between Light And Darkness: Crystalwatcher's Peerless Defiant Star
-[] Whip out Reaper's Will and take standard Jedi Stance -Force Jokes Optional.
--[] Go full bullshit Jedi Kung Fu stalling tactics, be as flashy as Gabriel will let you get away with. Or in other words, Dodge like a mother fucker using Inhuman Agility, and negate everything you can't dodge.
---[] Stall for an opening. The instant she's open for an attack, go for Gabriel's Wings (She should be able to recover those). Keep this fight on the ground: though it's unlikely she'll do it, if Gabriel just fucks off to the sky she can bomb us freely with non-sheet stuff at will.
----[] Seal weapons as sparingly as possible to keep up the stall. Our focus should be on taking and holding the initiative so Gabriel can't build up momentum. Once that happens we're probably fucked.
-----[] Once we got a rhythm, grind away like our lives depend on it until either a general retreat is called by either our side or Gabriel's side. Or we do enough damage Gabriel retreats. That works too.
A momentary silence engulfs the both of you, measuring stares taking the other in. Before you stands one of the greatest combatants of the Unified Light. Even if she is your friend, you can not afford to hold back. You can not afford to hesitate.
On your first step, Gabriel begins to move into a guard stance. Nothing pings your senses, so you know this is no feint. On the second step, your magic convulses and grows further as if in response to this insanity. On the third, your speed adjusted and the Handle shrinks on your command. The blue blade buzzes on your fourth step, and with the fifth you kick off to gather more speed.
Gabriel waits with a saint's patience even in these split seconds, accepting your charge with a fluid grace as she glides backward to trip you up. Then her blade shifts and you know she is going to strike at you, right as you enter the space she just occupied. Holy steel swings down and misses the mark as you lean aside, taking a foot of your hair off in passing.
She already reverses her momentum, slowing and stopping with uncanny speed in the same way your own spear makes you faster. Mana gathers in her wings and your eyes widen as her plan becomes clear. You are almost right next to her now, too far away to get at the wings in time. So you duck, an instant before the flat side of her blade rushes over your head, the thrust of her wings letting her turn at ludicrous speeds.
Gabriel immediately tries to reverse again, but has no time to stop the thrust before her back gets into your reach from the other side. You leap two metres high and swing Reaper's Will right into her movement.
(Reaper's Will: +500 Base Damage, +390 dice, +3750 Superslayer, +1500 Unstoppable (False), +2500 Defiant Against the Light = 8,640 Total Damage
Archangel Gabriel: +3000 Base Resilience, +137 dice, -500 Running Into The Blade, +1500 Sturdy Wings = 4,137 Total Damage Reduction
4,503 Total End Damage Sanctuary (x2): 9,006 Final End Damage
Gabriel Health: 360,000 - 9,006 = 350,994
Beware, Gabriel is now a One Winged Angel
Abrade reduces BR by 1%)
There is nary a sound when your blade slices through the soft down; feathers holding some kind of Brand Craft are cut apart just as easily, offering no real resistance. Even if their wings are the sturdiest parts of an Angel, Gabriel's own momentum only drives the cut deeper and allows you to separate her wing almost at the base.
She does not scream, does not curse, does not cry, merely builds up thrust to swing herself back around in an instant. Against anyone else, anyone slower than you, it would have been enough. Turn back and slam them out of the air. Against you, though?
You grab her remaining wing with your free hand, barely reaching and clawing into it; the following turn slams your side into hers painfully and almost tears your arm off.
(Defiance takes 800 - 500 strain damage.
Defiance Health: 900 - 300 = 600)
You can feel something in your body snap, but clench your teeth and ignore it in favour of pulling yourself forward before Gabriel can grab your leg. Her sword did not find its mark once again, having been aimed at where you were before. A sheen of light covers it now, almost gentle in appearance despite its lethal power.
You can feel more thrust building already, this time definitely meant to shake you off. A pair of dead Angels slams into the ground a few metres away, light and darkness dancing in the sky. You swing forward on your damaged arm, hanging off the giant woman. Then she flicks her wing, almost throwing you off and sending another jolt of pain through your arm. But you hold on, nails digging into the soft down as you are turned upside down, now above Gabriel. You can not help but call out to her: "Thanks!"
(Reaper's Will: +500 Base Damage, +293 dice, +3750 Superslayer, +2500 Defiant Against the Light = 7,043 Total Damage
Archangel Gabriel: +3000 2970 Base Resilience, +241 dice, -1000 Attack From Behind, +1500 Sturdy Wings = 3,711 Total Damage Reduction
3,332 Total End Damage Sanctuary (x2): 6,664 Final End Damage
Gabriel Health: 350,994 - 6,664 = 344,330
Now Gabriel is a None Winged Angel
Abrade Reduction at 2% total)
You pull on her remaining wing once more to assist gravity, cutting through it like cardboard. Halfway down however, the thrust finally emits and whirls her around erratically. Two thirds down, her wing tears off and you are sent flying with the cut portion in your grasp.
Muscles tempered by exertion and magic pull your body upright before you can hit the ground, finally letting go of the wing just as your feet touch down. You immediately hop back up and turn over backward in a flip, land on your hand and do it again to get back to your feet.
By that time, Gabriel already charged half the distance she just made between you, expression still calm despite the pain you caused her. Her blade gleams and she holds it easily in both hands, just as before. Another three steps carry her closer still while you consider your options. A moment later, she is upon you with an almost careful stab.
(Blade of Salvation: +16000 Base Damage, +70 dice, +4000 Ramming Speed = 20,070 Total Damage
Attack Negated)
She tries to exploit the extended reach her lightblade gives her, but you surge forward instead of back. The reaction is immediate and her sword changes direction to bisect you, but is redirected with a flick of your weapon grip. Just enough to impart upward momentum, making her swing go wide and race over your head where she can not recover it from.
The opening is clear and you both know it. She takes a single step back for time and lets go of her sword with one hand. You can see her eyes narrow as she makes to intercept the mana blade with her bare hand, mouth opening. "Blinding Light!"
You can see the mana surging through that very hand before it actually fires, already bright enough to burn spots into your eyes. They immediately snap closed and you lower your head, but even then it shines through your eyelids. Your sixth sense lets you duck below the hand grasping for your arm; right after, you jump through the gap between Gabriel's legs to escape her blade slamming down like a guillotine where you would have been rolling otherwise. You even manage to lash out for her leg as you pass, but meet resistance.
(Flash of Light: Gabriel heals back to full. Damage from most recent attack is regenerated as well. Wings restored.
Abrade Reduction at 3%)
It slides off as you leave her reach with a tumble turned roll, blinking your eyes even while you rise back to your feet and turn around to find... a pristine Gabriel.
Her expression is still the same calm it was before, two new wings writhing behind her back and erratically spewing motes of mana that are not really thrust yet. Her leg is uninjured aside from the scorched cut in her boots.
You stand for a moment and stare, all the effort to weaken her thrown away just like that. Gabriel stands with nary a blemish, a titan to walk the earth and crush any and all opposition under her boot. You understand it, now more than ever. Why this woman has risen higher than any other. Battling her is like screaming against a storm, challenging the inevitable despite knowing the final result.
A moment of tranquility fills the field as you understand this, the Avatar of Light waiting for you to back down and flee, like many surely have done before and many more will do in the ages yet to come.
But you don't.
You right yourself and adjust the grip on your weapon, the unspoken understanding clear. A spark of anger flickers when Gabriel nods sadly, having expected you to leave it at that.
Another wet sound of dead Angel hitting the ground signals the end of the momentary break; your battle begins anew with another charge of yours before Gabriel manages to take the first step. She immediately recoils and turns her stance defensive, so you decide on a feint. A quick step aside to make it look like you want to pass around her side again.
She does not fall for it. Her hand lashes out for your weapon and she yanks it away, too strong for you to stop her. The following bash with her own sword takes a slice out of your heel when you jump over it. Your undamaged shoe immediately lashes back down to balance yourself on her weapon's crossguard, yours having been discarded, thrown away. But what she does not know....
You kick her in the face at the same time as you recall your lightsaber. It reacts in mid-air and surges right back at you; a few mental flicks are all it takes to adjust the weapon so it bites into Gabriel's right wing on the way back, her attempted grab slowed by your kick.
(Reaper's Will: +500 Base Damage, +754 dice, +3750 Superslayer, x8 Backstab (False) = 40,032 Total Damage
Archangel Gabriel: +3000 2910 Base Resilience, +149 dice, -1500 holyshitwtf, +1500 Sturdy Wings = 3,059 Total Damage Reduction
36,973 Total End Damage Sanctuary (x2): 73,946 Final End Damage
Gabriel Health: 360,000 - 73,946 = 287,054
One Winged Angel once more
Abrade Reduction at 4%)
Gabriel's hand spasms when your blade bisects the wing and cuts through her shoulder in a fluid motion, the handle flipping around so it lands back in your hand; a pained gasp coming out of the surprised Angel. You hop off her sword before she can actually grab you, using her head as a stepping stone and throwing yourself back down the other side, taking off her other wing before kicking off her back.
(Reaper's Will: +500 Base Damage, +415 dice, +3750 Superslayer, +2500 Defiant Against the Light = 7,165 Total Damage
Archangel Gabriel: +3000 2880 Base Resilience, +299 dice, -1000 In Shock At What Happened, +1500 Sturdy Wings = 3,679 Total Damage Reduction
3,486 Total End Damage Sanctuary (x2): 6,972 Final End Damage
Gabriel Health: 287,054 - 6,972 = 280,082
No Wings left.
Abrade Reduction at 5%)
The moment you kick off is when she shudders and turns at normal speed, a quiet "Not again" almost being drowned out by the battle raging around you. Her whine is ignored as you flick twice to right yourself, distant from her again. You could have taken her head there, but you must not kill her. But something is not right.
You charge back in a moment later, almost matching Gabriel's timing as she does the same. Your feet draw lines into the solid earth and hers rupture it entirely, one arm hanging limply over her bloodsoaked side where you cut everything from her shoulder to her ribcage. Her remaining hand holds the weapon steady, none the worse for the horrible injury. It grew longer still, shrouded in golden light that snaps for your leg long before you can get at her.
(Blade of Salvation: 128000 Base Damage, +32 dice = 128,032 Total Damage
Blade of Salvation: 128000 Base Damage, +32 dice = 128,032 Total Damage
Blade of Salvation: 128000 Base Damage, +32 dice = 128,032 Total Damage
Blade of Salvation: 128000 Base Damage, +32 dice = 128,032 Total Damage
Blade of Salvation: 128000 Base Damage, +32 dice = 128,032 Total Damage
640,160 Total End Damage
Be happy that did not hit.)
You hop and already turn yourself sideways in expectance of the follow-up, feeling the surging light take off one of your bangs as it passes. Your foot hits the ground the moment Gabriel's blade reaches equilibrium and you drop to the ground a moment before it takes your head off, then roll sideways to dodge the fourth swipe. For the last one, you quickly push with your feet until you stand on your hands, then jump over it while pushing yourself forward.
The momentum carries you closer to Gabriel, whose blade keeps growing longer and firmer still. Something is wrong, but you have no time to think of what.
Gabriel steps back once more to maintain her advantage in reach, but can not swing again before you reach her. You stay on her maimed side so she has to turn, giving you enough time to dive below her swing arc and make ready to leap at her good hand. Then she opens her mouth, the slightest bit of a pained grimace having found its way onto her face.
Knowing what's coming, you immediately close your eyes and use your full strength to jump above her instead.
A half-second after you left the ground, you hear it: "Blinding Light!" And again you see stars despite your eyes being closed and your head turned away. Her blade swings but your arc is too steep for her to catch immediately, the weapon passing by to your left. Then it comes back and you quickly turn to meet it with the blade of your lightsaber, redirecting its momentum skyward at an almost right angle.
(Gabriel's Health was reset. All body damage removed)
(Blade of Salvation: +512000 Base Damage, +102 dice = 512,102 Total Damage
Attack Negated.)
Your eyes blink rapidly once the light subsides while Gabriel's swing goes up high, followed by shouts. She thrusts herself out from under your jump so you can not get at her wings again, twirling around with inhuman grace while her blade becomes a wall of light. She turns for another strike, drawing a vortex after the blade of light by this point. The angle is too steep, you can not deflect it this time. So that leaves only one choice. You quickly aim, looking down at Gabriel.
"Voyage!" Your portal forms and races against the nearing blade, swallowing you a moment before you are cut in two. Timeless instants rush past and then you are back, having appeared right where you wanted: behind Gabriel.
The glow of her sword is in the process of fizzling out while she stares at the sky where you just were.
(Reaper's Will: +500 Base Damage, +395 dice, +3750 Superslayer, +2000 Back Attack +2500 Defiant Against the Light = 9,145 Total Damage
Reaper's Will: +500 Base Damage, +800 dice, +3750 Superslayer, +2000 Back Attack +2500 Defiant Against the Light = 9,550 Total Damage
18,695 Unified Damage
Archangel Gabriel: +3000 2850 Base Resilience, +289 dice, -350 Didn't See It Coming = 2,789 Total Damage Reduction
15,906 Total End Damage Sanctuary (x2): 31,812 Final End Damage
Archangel Gabriel Health: 360,000 - 31,812 = 328,188
...Heidi can stuff a lot of pillows with all those feathers
Abrade Reduction at 7%)
She starts moving almost immediately, attempting to turn around when she hears the buzz of your blade, but by that time it is too late. As fast as they regrew, you chop off both of her wings with a flourish, making the Angel cry out in distress. "Leave my wings alone already!"
It sounds even more like a whine than before and there are actual tears in her eyes when she finally makes her turn, a swing of her blade missing because you step back and out of her reach, just when several bodies hit the ground in a straight line behind her. Light gathers once more and forms around the metal. That happened faster with Argus.
So she is keeping that super speed in... reserve.
Your thoughts grind to a halt and Gabriel takes the opportunity to get back into a guard stance. Then she falters when she sees your narrow-eyed glare, awkwardly fidgeting and blinking her tears away. That little spark of anger is back, tightening your chest and quickly growing into a blaze.
"You're holding back."
The accusation makes the Angel blink and confusion fill her expression, any sense of tranquility broken entirely. "B-But of course. I do not want to pluck your life, how could I...." Her voice peters out when she sees your snarl. Light blossoms from your eyes, your weapon, your body as you simmer in quiet rage. The magic that already bubbled out with every strike by your hand before, now so strong it becomes visible to even her. Your nature made manifest.
Friend or not. Archangel or not.
This. Will. Not. Stand.
"...I'm sorry?" You growl over her apology and the magic explodes, tearing away at your surroundings. The shockwave ruffles her hair and feathers, your friend taking a step back in confusion before steadying.
"Don't you dare treat me like that," you force out before dashing forward. Anger and reason war in your heart, but your body acts at its peak.
Gabriel's expression calms again and a single tear rolls down her cheek, then she straightens up and takes a earth-shattering step while you take three. "Judgement," her voice comes with renewed calm, almost a whisper. No blinding light this time, but holy flame that coats her blade and then grows to engulf Gabriel entirely. A sun to cast away the darkness wherever it falls, Light incarnate. Hope.
You charge her all the same, beyond caring for who or what. And she does the same. Sidestep the stab, duck below the horizontal swing, but she just keeps getting faster.
(Blade of Salvation: +32000 Base Damage, +373 dice, +7500 Judgement, +979 dice, +16000 Blender Initiated = 56,852 Total Damage
Blade of Salvation: +64000 Base Damage, +314 dice, +7500 Judgement, +1122 dice, +64000 Blender Ongoing = 136,936 Total Damage
Blade of Salvation: +128000 Base Damage, +400 dice, +7500 Judgement, +216 dice, +256000 Blender Full Swing = 392,116 Total Damage
Blade of Salvation: +256000 Base Damage, +188 dice, +7500 Judgement, +63 dice, +768000 Unstoppable Blender = 1,031,751 Total Damage
One action each to negate, seal Stygian Tempest to reset ApT. Defiance's MM is now 2,280
Blade of Salvation: +512000 Base Damage, +236 dice, +7500 Judgement, +660 dice, +1536000 Unstoppable Blender = 2,056,396 Total Damage
Blade of Salvation: +1024000 Base Damage, +377 dice, +7500 Judgement, +772 dice, +3072000 Unstoppable Blender = 4,104,649 Total Damage
Blade of Salvation: +2048000 Base Damage, +88 dice, +7500 Judgement, +215 dice, +6144000 Unstoppable Blender = 8,199,803 Total Damage
Blade of Salvation: +4096000 Base Damage, +292 dice, +7500 Judgement, +1249 dice, +12288000 Unstoppable Blender = 16,393,041 Total Damage
Another four actions to negate those four attacks, sequence interrupted by indestructible object.)
Your lightsaber flicks forward faster than you can think, deflecting the light over your head. A step and it comes back while Gabriel reaches her peak speed, only for you to duck and push the pane slightly over your head a second time. It grows rapidly and tears into the ground, reversing to come back and take your knees, sacrificing a better angle for speed. You hop and pull your legs up, making it pass below you, then have to swing hard to direct it into the sky again when it comes back.
At this point you watch Gabriel instead of her weapon, seeing her already adjust her stance and stop the swing almost in a straight line up, little more than a blur. You are in the air and your arm is near the ground, too slow to get your blade up to deflect. You know it, she knows it, and you faintly see a second tear slide down her cheek, untouched by the armour of flame she wears.
You consume your scythe the moment the sword comes down, a surge of speed letting you snap your arm up with a quiet crack. Her blade of light runs down and tears the ground apart, the shock of its impact driving a new channel into the earth. You land a moment later, pushed to the ground by the force of her swing and going to your knees. Your weapon switches form and turns to your spear, you need more speed than the lightsaber can give you.
The blade comes flying back, so you drop prone and have it whistle overhead, then push yourself off to close the gap. the blade cleaves through one of the remaining spires and takes it apart, then cuts off another chunk on the way back. That gives you an idea.
Using your spear like a pole, you vault up and over the next swing; the blade hammers it out of the ground a heartbeat later, making you feel like someone rang a bell around your head from the feedback. The force of it makes you spin rapidly as you sail toward the flaming Angel. She stopped and reverses her momentum again, the executioner's final strike.
Except that you reach her before the blade can snap around. The butt of your spear slams against her wrist and lowers the swing arc, sending it careening into the Keep's main spire. That is indestructible as long as the last outer one stands.
An ear-shattering gong rings out as her might attempts to overcome the structure, almost tearing it out of the ground instead of giving. But the Keep holds. Gabriel is stopped cold, her momentum suddenly arrested and her weapon shattering. She stares at your upside-down grin with widening eyes.
Then the speed that built up with your last few high-speed parries unleashes itself, allowing you to strike back while spinning into her. You ignore the flames even as they scorch your flesh and use your momentum to add even more strikes into the mix after your boost runs out.
(Judgement: Heidi takes 7500 +1d1250 (748) damage from flames; 8,248 Total Damage Defiance: +100 Base Resilience, +1773 dice, -100 Into the Jaws of Death = 1773 Total Damage Reduction Unstoppable
8,248 Total End Damage
Sanctuary (50%): 4,124 Final End Damage
Defiance Health: 600 - 4,124 = -3,524
Rage Against Fate: Death averted, Defiance is on borrowed time.)
(
Riposte! Riposte! Riposte!
Aetheric Tide: +560 Base Damage, +290 dice, +280 RAGE, +560 Ramming Speed, +2800 Defiant Against the Light = 4,490 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +560 Base Damage, +290 dice, +280 RAGE, +560 Ramming Speed, +2800 Defiant Against the Light = 4,490 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +560 Base Damage, +290 dice, +280 RAGE, +560 Ramming Speed, +2800 Defiant Against the Light = 4,490 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +560 Base Damage, +290 dice, +280 RAGE, +560 Ramming Speed, +2800 Defiant Against the Light = 4,490 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +560 Base Damage, +290 dice, +280 RAGE, +560 Ramming Speed, +2800 Defiant Against the Light = 4,490 Total Damage
22,450 Unified Damage
Aetheric Tide: +560 Base Damage, +1293 dice, +280 RAGE, +520 Ramming Speed, +2800 Defiant Against the Light = 5,453 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +560 Base Damage, +1293 dice, +280 RAGE, +520 Ramming Speed, +2800 Defiant Against the Light = 5,453 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +560 Base Damage, +1293 dice, +280 RAGE, +520 Ramming Speed, +2800 Defiant Against the Light = 5,453 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +560 Base Damage, +1293 dice, +280 RAGE, +520 Ramming Speed, +2800 Defiant Against the Light = 5,453 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +560 Base Damage, +1293 dice, +280 RAGE, +520 Ramming Speed, +2800 Defiant Against the Light = 5,453 Total Damage
27,265 Unified Damage
Aetheric Tide: +560 Base Damage, +2277 dice, +280 RAGE, +480 Ramming Speed, +2800 Defiant Against the Light = 6,397 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +560 Base Damage, +2277 dice, +280 RAGE, +480 Ramming Speed, +2800 Defiant Against the Light = 6,397 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +560 Base Damage, +2277 dice, +280 RAGE, +480 Ramming Speed, +2800 Defiant Against the Light = 6,397 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +560 Base Damage, +2277 dice, +280 RAGE, +480 Ramming Speed, +2800 Defiant Against the Light = 6,397 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +560 Base Damage, +2277 dice, +280 RAGE, +480 Ramming Speed, +2800 Defiant Against the Light = 6,397 Total Damage
31,985 Unified Damage
(Riposte over)
Aetheric Tide: +560 Base Damage, +1097 dice, +280 RAGE, +440 Ramming Speed, +2800 Defiant Against the Light = 5,177 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +560 Base Damage, +1097 dice, +280 RAGE, +440 Ramming Speed, +2800 Defiant Against the Light = 5,177 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +560 Base Damage, +1097 dice, +280 RAGE, +440 Ramming Speed, +2800 Defiant Against the Light = 5,177 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +560 Base Damage, +1097 dice, +280 RAGE, +440 Ramming Speed, +2800 Defiant Against the Light = 5,177 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +560 Base Damage, +1097 dice, +280 RAGE, +440 Ramming Speed, +2800 Defiant Against the Light = 5,177 Total Damage
25,885 Unified Damage
Aetheric Tide: +560 Base Damage, +91 dice, +280 RAGE, +400 Ramming Speed, +2800 Defiant Against the Light = 4,131 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +560 Base Damage, +91 dice, +280 RAGE, +400 Ramming Speed, +2800 Defiant Against the Light = 4,131 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +560 Base Damage, +91 dice, +280 RAGE, +400 Ramming Speed, +2800 Defiant Against the Light = 4,131 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +560 Base Damage, +91 dice, +280 RAGE, +400 Ramming Speed, +2800 Defiant Against the Light = 4,131 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +560 Base Damage, +91 dice, +280 RAGE, +400 Ramming Speed, +2800 Defiant Against the Light = 4,131 Total Damage
20,655 Unified Damage
Aetheric Tide: +560 Base Damage, +2248 dice, +280 RAGE, +360 Ramming Speed, +2800 Defiant Against the Light = 6,248 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +560 Base Damage, +2248 dice, +280 RAGE, +360 Ramming Speed, +2800 Defiant Against the Light = 6,248 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +560 Base Damage, +2248 dice, +280 RAGE, +360 Ramming Speed, +2800 Defiant Against the Light = 6,248 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +560 Base Damage, +2248 dice, +280 RAGE, +360 Ramming Speed, +2800 Defiant Against the Light = 6,248 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +560 Base Damage, +2248 dice, +280 RAGE, +360 Ramming Speed, +2800 Defiant Against the Light = 6,248 Total Damage
31,240 Unified Damage
Defiance heals for... enough. Death averted, Heidi is full again.
159,480 Unified Damage
Archangel Gabriel: +3000 2790 Base Resilience, +302 dice, -1500 holyshitwtf = 1,592 Total Damage Reduction
157,888 Total Damage Sanctuary (x2): 315,776 Final End Damage
Archangel Gabriel Health: 328,188 - 315,776 = 12,412
Gabriel learned a lesson today. Be less obvious when holding back against Heidi. Also, do not provoke Heidi, ever.)
You can barely see it yourself, a flurry of strikes fueled by magic, anger, and the momentum Gabriel herself gave you. A gleaming speartip lashes out again and again, tearing bloody gouges into her armour and taking off chunks of flesh. Blood splatters over the ground, but her only reaction is a muffled gasp and an attempt to leave the staccato of steel. She leans out of the way of your lunge, but that still gives you time to place another dozen blows in her side and back before getting out of reach.
Then her blade comes down.
"Voyage!"
(Blade of Salvation: +8192000 Base Damage, +64 dice, +7500 Judgement, +141 dice, +24576000 Unstoppable Blender = 8,199,705 Total Damage
Target is not there)
And you are gone. A moment later you return, finding Gabriel's blade sizzling away again before falling into a metres-deep crater that reaches into the distance and until the cracked mountainside. Another beheaded Angel hits the ground and you turn fully to find the battle having stalled for a moment. Anyone and everyone is looking your way. It has been seconds since you abused the Keep's spire as a stopper and everyone saw that strike almost reform the face of Sheol.
Gabriel is breathing heavily, clothes torn and tattered and slick with her own blood. Her sword broken and vanishing in motes of light. Your own clothes are singed and charred, black in places, but your skin is pristine even though you still hurt in places. Your own heart beats just as hard as hers, adrenaline surging through your veins.
"Blinding Light."
(Gabriel is back to full. Wings restored.)
You avert your gaze immediately until the light fades; that is why you see everyone else returning to the battle they just seemed to have remembered. Gabriel's shine pushes the Unified Light back into action and the dance in the sky begins anew. Lu is almost right above you, far up and swelling with excess life force. She will be fine.
You turn back to Gabriel with a grin while her sword reforms whole, your opponent just as pristine as you are. Except for her clothes; even the Avatar of Light can not pretend to be untouchable forever.
The gap is not insurmountable.
You can do this!
-------------
[] New Plan?
[] EXP-Plan
-[] Write-in what to buy
-[] Save it
=====
Current Status:
-Gabriel: 360,000 / 360,000; Pristine, clothes tattered; Base Resilience reduced by 7%; spell limit reached for current turn; 6/7 ApT remaining for current turn
--Judgement's holy flame is active and spread over Gabriel's entire form; attacking her in melee combat incurs damage.
-Defiance: 900 / 900; strained ligaments in right arm (can be ignored), clothes scorched, angry; 8/8 ApT remaining for current turn
--Stygian Tempest is sealed; current MM is 2,280
Allied Forces:
Confirmed Enemies:
-Archangel Gabriel
Active Effects:
-Sanctuary (All allies; deal doubled damage and take halved damage)
Objectives:
-Defeat Archangel Gabriel
-Do NOT kill Archangel Gabriel
=====
+500xp Not Dead Yet
+500xp Story Maker Magical Girl in Over her Head
+250xp Made Gabriel Accidentally Five Of Her Buddies
EXP gained: 1,250 Total EXP: 1,286
=====
-Soft Mechanics updated
-Soft Exploit unlocked:
--When wielding Aetheric Tide, use additional actions to negate each attack in a multi-hit for a Riposte-trigger each; the counterattacks fold into each other
=====
The Avatar of Light Not at her full power yet, but hey.
(Unified Light / False Heaven) Archangel Gabriel
Commander of the First Host's Fourth Batallion
Stats
Health: 360,000
Base Damage: 4,000
Base Resilience: 3,000
Magic Modifier: 400
Blinding Light
Level 30
Base Damage: N/A
Magic Modifier: 3,000
Affinity: Light
Ability: Blind | Target by Modifier
Abilities
Flight
Level 41
-Archangel Gabriel is capable of flying at 400mph.
High Speed Combat (LVL 5)
-Archangel Gabriel is capable of tracking objects moving up to 450mph.
Flash of Light
-When Blinding Light is cast, reset Gabriel's health to max.
Titan Felling Blows
-Each consecutive strike against an enemy has twice as much base damage as the last attack.
Presence of Light
Level 30
-Heals all Allies for 3,000 Health per turn. Damage all Enemies for 3,000 per turn.
Supremacy of the Light All it takes to hold back the darkness, is a single spark of light...
-Spell-based damage heals Archangel Gabriel instead of damaging her. Any Class 3 or lesser demon that enters the same combat zone as Archangel Gabriel is automatically killed.
[] Crystalwatcher's Bulli Defiant Star
-[] Just drop weapon attachments, we're going to need them intact for sealing.
--[] Jedi the fuck out of the Handle. Throw it at Gabriel, then use Telepathy and Levitate to have it start beating the future AVATAR OF LIGHT over the head until she either leaves or we knock her out. Use any trick we can think of to build up momentum as necessary.
---[] Also remember to use it to negate her attacks, keep focused on not letting her build up her blender because if that thing hits us as full tilt we're dead.
----[] While everything above is going on, try to keep our distance so we don't learn what it feels like to be a rotisserie chicken. Slap the Handle with Arcane Slash where appropriate, but otherwise focus on firing Argent Star into the inevitable mess as a distraction. Use Voyage to dodge like a motherfucker if necessary.
-----[] If at any point Gabriel gives us an opening, hit her with Voyage! Send her back to Milidia as of yesterday or something. Remove her from the fight completely. If we get sucked in with her, be a cheeky ass: wave at her as we're falling/as we land then Voyage our way back to the fight while leaving her behind. She'd Gabriel. She'll be fine.
(MM adjusted and increased, is now 2,460)
Your power grows noticeably just like before, speed and mana both increasing in response to what you are about to do. Gabriel is powerful without doubt, but she is not invincible. And you are going to show that today!
Instead of allowing her to swing first, you push your right foot forward and throw back your arm, which immediately prompts a defensive reaction. Grinning, you let the speartip fade so only the Handle remains, then throw it with all your might... past her head.
Gabriel already begins to approach by the time it passes her, having seen the bad angle ahead of time. You flex your fingers for a moment while stepping back as she steps forward to keep your distance, preparing for the next part of the plan. Then Gabriel swings her blade for no reason... at first. No giant lightblade, no charge, but the flames covering her sing and detach from the blade, racing at you in a wave that turns the earth to ash where it passes.
Even with one foot in mid-air to step backward, you immediately rotate on the grounded one and push yourself off to the side. The flames pass by almost close enough to scorch your clothes further and you sail over the ground in a low arc. Gabriel already has her blade raised for a follow-up that will hit you, flames having grown back over the weapon from what was left, which is when your returning weapon whacks the back of her head!
(The Handle: +320 Base Damage, +1168 dice, +640 Ramming Speed, +1600 Defiant Against the Light, x8 Backstab (False) = 29,824 Total Damage
Archangel Gabriel: +3000 2790 Base Resilience, +373 dice, -2000 Blunt Force to Head = 1,163 Total Damage
28,661 Total End Damage Santuary (x2): 57,322 Final End Damage
Archangel Gabriel Health: 360,000 - 57,322 = 302,678
That's a fractured skull)
It slams home with an audible crack that pushes her forward a step, almost making her stumble and giving you an entire second. A second you use to land in a roll and get back to your feet, taking distance again while your Handle rotates under mental commands, ready to continue the assault. Gabriel blinks once before it whacks her head again
(The Handle: +320 Base Damage, +950 dice, -80 Less Momentum, +1600 Defiant Against the Light = 2,790 Total Damage
Archangel Gabriel: +3000 2790 Base Resilience, +130 dice, -500 Dazed = 2,420 Total Damage
370 Total End Damage Santuary (x2): 740 Final End Damage
Archangel Gabriel Health: 302,678 - 740 = 301,938)
The indestructible metal once again hammers against her head, but this time it is hardly more than a love tap. Gabriel regains her focus and goes on to swing her blade, this time not at you and just with a single hand. Divine steel, the flames, the growing blade of light, all of it impacts your weapon with the force of a freight train and breaks your hold; The Handle surges off like a rocket, far into the distance.
In the same motion, Gabriel begins to pick up speed again and starts throwing waves of flame at you in rapid succession; you quickly sidestep the first and second, pushing yourself off to avoid the third and bend over backward to let the fourth pass overhead
She already picked up so much momentum when you finally have the tiniest moment to breathe, think of a way to stop her again and maybe strike back.
Except that your weapon is still somewhere up high, hers already grew in size to hit you where you stand anyway, she is on fire, and- dodge!
You can feel the angle she is going to attack at, you need to jump. So you do and make to catch your weapon that finally made it back, only for Gabriel's follow up to make it careen away again, this time high into the sky
Her blade comes back long before your Handle could return and you are in mid-air, not a chance you will try to parry that with your hands. Only one thing you can do. Aim and "Voyage"!
(Reaper's Will sealed, ApT reset. MM increased to 3,690)
Everything fades away for an instant that you use to consume Reaper's Will, feeling your mana flow even stronger and your body grow faster still for a little bit of time. You come back out right behind the flaming Gabriel, but she turns before you can jump onto her back; this time you catch her blade and push it off with a finger, but can not prevent the flames from catching on.
(Judgement: +7500 Base Damage, +545 dice = 8,045 Total Damage Defiance: +100 Base Resilience, +1330 dice = 1,430 Total Damage Reduction Unstoppable
8,045 Total End Damage Sanctuary (50%): 4,023 Final End Damage
Defiance Health: 900 - 4,023 = -3,123 Rage Against Fate: Heidi is on borrowed time)
Pain rushes through your every fibre as the skin on your hands is burnt away and your entire body goes through shock for a heartbeat. Unstable life force fills you from within, keeping yourself stable, and you exchange a grim look with Gabriel.
Her strike goes into the earth before coming back out in a fluid motion that you lean below; instead of reversing her momentum, Gabriel pirouettes around with her wings' thrust for another flurry that you have trouble getting out of, but you manage with your superior speed. Each strike tears up the countryside and removes more of what Charon's Keep once was, tearing deep trenches and extinguishing fires with the shockwaves.
Then the Handle finally lands in your hands and you bring it around to redirect the next strike without having to touch the flames. And again. And seal your sword, and push three more aside.
(Stardust Striker sealed, ApT reset. MM increased to 4,920)
At this point her blade is long enough to rend the distant mountains, but you keep on. A quick idea and thought transform the Handle into Aetheric Tide to build up speed. Holy fire crackles but your instincts scream to not get hit by that blade. It is death and you do your best to avoid it once more while Gabriel's dance continues, long since having left you behind.
A strike goes past you into the ground and is deflected as it comes back up, then a sideway blow is sent into the ground and upearths the remaining spires while tearing a crater a hundred metres wide, when it comes back you are already there to poke Gabriel's hand and send it back into the ground, but she steps back before you can follow, arm moving up.
Speed continues to surge in your body, just one more and-
(Blade of Salvation: +524288000 Base Damage, +370 dice, +7500 Judgement, +380 dice, +1572864000 Unstoppable Blender = 2,097,160,250 Total Damage
Attack can not be negated.
Defiance: +100 Base Resilience, -3596 Smited, -50 holyshitwtf = 3,596 Extra Damage
2,097,163,846 Total End Damage Sanctuary (50%): 1,048,563,923 Final End Damage
Defiance Health: Ouch
Taking off at the speed of light!)
It happens so fast you do not even become aware of the feeling until a moment later. Titanic force presses past your attempted parry without care. It crushes into your thigh and then slides up to your crotch, tries to rent you apart but still fails against your protective power. But it still impacts, hammering into you like the fist of an angry god and sending you skyward with a comet trail. Your mana catches fire and burns from within, ever more powerful and more devastating upon yourself through your own actions.
You leave behind Gabriel, Charon's Keep, Lu, the First Host, the clouds, then the sky and the very air that the force long since pressed out of your lungs. The heat falls away and only cold remains, bitter, bitter cold.
Your chest constricts and begins to contort under the lack of external pressure, held inside merely by your magic. A surge of life force struggling to maintain your body.
You need to get back, need to finish the fight, need to save your friends. Your lips quiver and move, but no words come. Voyage. Voyage. Voyage. Voyage.
Nothing. There is no air to breathe.
But there is no dread, either. You look down at the planet turning below, so far up you can see it in its entirety. So much more green and brown than Earth, and blue and white sprinkled in. Then a single ray of sunlight breaks past from behind, your course still pushing you further away. You dropped the Handle somewhere on the way up, your body numb and broken and burned out. Fingers grasp feebly for nothing.
You should be scared. But you are not. Below you is such beauty. You never stopped to truly appreciate it.
Your eyelids freeze in place from the first tears, wide open so as to not miss a single moment. Maybe it is because you are so broken that you can only feel tranquil. All your limbs are there, but every bone in your body is mush, every organ pulped, you are bleeding everywhere.
It does not hurt. That's at least something, right?
. . .
Failure States: 1 -----> 2
Death via Gabriel
Resetting Scene . . .
You turn back to Gabriel with a grin while her sword reforms whole, your opponent just as pristine as you are. Except for her clothes; even the Avatar of Light can not pretend to be untouchable forever.
The gap is not insurmountable.
You can do this!
-------------
[] New Plan?
[] EXP-Plan
-[] Write-in what to buy
-[] Save it
=====
Current Status:
-Gabriel: 360,000 / 360,000; Pristine, clothes tattered; Base Resilience reduced by 7%; spell limit reached for current turn; 6/7 ApT remaining for current turn
--Judgement's holy flame is active and spread over Gabriel's entire form; attacking her in melee combat incurs damage.
-Defiance: 900 / 900; strained ligaments in right arm (can be ignored), clothes scorched, angry; 9/9 ApT remaining for current turn
--Stygian Tempest is sealed; current MM is 2,460
Allied Forces:
Confirmed Enemies:
-Archangel Gabriel
Active Effects:
-Sanctuary (All allies; deal doubled damage and take halved damage)
Objectives:
-Defeat Archangel Gabriel
-Do NOT kill Archangel Gabriel
=====
+100xp First Human to Space
+25xp Died to Gabriel
EXP gained: 125 Total EXP: 221
=====
-New mechanic discovered
--The Skilled-line can be bypassed with significant enough damage. Higher tiers of Skill require more to be bypassed. Unmatched Skill as possessed by Defiance can negate attacks of up to 1.2 billion damage, but no more.
=====
The Avatar of Light Not at her full power yet, but hey.
(Unified Light / False Heaven) Archangel Gabriel
Commander of the First Host's Fourth Batallion
Stats
Health: 360,000
Base Damage: 4,000
Base Resilience: 3,000
Magic Modifier: 400
Blinding Light
Level 30
Base Damage: N/A
Magic Modifier: 3,000
Affinity: Light
Ability: Blind | Target by Modifier
Abilities
Flight
Level 41
-Archangel Gabriel is capable of flying at 400mph.
High Speed Combat (LVL 5)
-Archangel Gabriel is capable of tracking objects moving up to 450mph.
Flash of Light
-When Blinding Light is cast, reset Gabriel's health to max.
Titan Felling Blows
-Each consecutive strike against an enemy has twice as much base damage as the last attack.
Presence of Light
Level 30
-Heals all Allies for 3,000 Health per turn. Damage all Enemies for 3,000 per turn.
Supremacy of the Light All it takes to hold back the darkness, is a single spark of light...
-Spell-based damage heals Archangel Gabriel instead of damaging her. Any Class 3 or lesser demon that enters the same combat zone as Archangel Gabriel is automatically killed.
[] Defiantly hugging Gabriel
-[] Attempt to dazzle her with conundrum.
--[] Remove her arms while she is dazzled.
--[] Try to get too close for Gabriel to easily swing her sword at you while Gabriel is dazzled.
---[] Switch to reaper's will and remove her sword arm
---[] Grab her and voyage to that clearing.
---[] Hit Gabriel with Aetheric Tide to heal, then apologize.
----[] Voyage back
-[] Seal order: Stardust Striker, Reaper's will, Aetheric Tide.
You charge back at her immediately, weapon shifting for an instant. Mana swirls around you as Stardust Striker comes forth and Gabriel raises her own sword in response, flames moving. A shouted "Conundrum!" sets your mana alight and forms it into a defensive barrier the moment she swings.
(Conundrum: +1125 Base Boost, +1760 Auto Max Charge = 2,885 Total Boost
Damage Block active, Damage Barrier active)
The shroud forms fully while her swing carries a wave of holy fire your way, sizzling past your head as you pull it back. You continue to run, returning your weapon to Aetheric Tide for the time being. Gabriel's flames hiss as they char the soft earth behind while your feet carry you up on the wall of her trench. She stands where it concludes, already swerving around with some thrust from her wings; an unmovable juggernaut, preparing to strike once more.
You do not reach her before the motion completes, one foot in the air as you run; so you push yourself off and to the side, dodging the first strike of her next flurry. The second follows as Gabriel takes up speed, but you levitate the handle upward and pull yourself along, making it pass below. For the third you drop down again and finally reach the ground from your sideway leap; Gabriel makes a full turn instead of reverting her swing, momentum now fully built up.
The fourth swing you duck under while holding up your speartip; Gabriel's blade scratches over it at an angle and rockets into the sky, where she has to stop or risk hitting her allies again. A bloody heap of flesh and feathers drops into your field of vision while she does, halfway to the ground by the time you reach her and the sword comes back. This time you poke her wrist to send it off-course, drawing another, much smaller trench into the ground.
But instead of letting her continue to build this up, you grasp for the bits of speed built up in you and strike back, even if that means her flaming armour can scorch you.
(Judgement: +7500 Base Damage, +1027 dice = 8,527 Total Damage Defiance: +100 Base Resilience, +1759 dice, +2885 Conundrum = 4,744 Total Damage Reduction Unstoppable
8,527 Total End Damage Conundrum (-2,885): 5,642 Total End Damage Sanctuary (50%): 2,821 Final End Damage
Defiance Health: 900 - 2,821 = -1921
Technically below 0, but will be healed back to full immediately anyway)
(Riposte! Riposte!
Aetheric Tide: +680 Base Damage, +2099 dice, +3400 Defiant Against the Light = 6,179 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +680 Base Damage, +2099 dice, +3400 Defiant Against the Light = 6,179 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +680 Base Damage, +2099 dice, +3400 Defiant Against the Light = 6,179 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +680 Base Damage, +2099 dice, +3400 Defiant Against the Light = 6,179 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +680 Base Damage, +2099 dice, +3400 Defiant Against the Light = 6,179 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +680 Base Damage, +737 dice, +3400 Defiant Against the Light = 4,817 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +680 Base Damage, +737 dice, +3400 Defiant Against the Light = 4,817 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +680 Base Damage, +737 dice, +3400 Defiant Against the Light = 4,817 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +680 Base Damage, +737 dice, +3400 Defiant Against the Light = 4,817 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +680 Base Damage, +737 dice, +3400 Defiant Against the Light = 4,817 Total Damage
54,980 Unified Damage
Archangel Gabriel: +3000 2790 Base Resilience, +77 dice = 2,867 Total Damage Reduction
52,113 Total End Damage Sanctuary (x2): 104,226 Final End Damage
Archangel Gabriel Health: 360,000 - 104,226 = 256,774
Gabriel disarmed. In the literal and figurative sense.
Defiance healed back to full)
Everything feels slow yet fast with the far improved speed your spear grants you. Gabriel does not manage to do more than keep her wings out of your assault while her flames burn your skin and flesh. But that was not what you were aiming for.
Aetheric Tide bites into her shoulder once, twice, thrice, more, each successive strike driven deeper by your roaring magic until the bone and muscle give. The grasp on her sword weakens and you drive the weapon out of her hand while the life force you stole heals you back up, closing the burns her flames left.
The final strike of your sequence severs her arm fully, makes it hit the ground with a wet noise, but even then Gabriel does not falter, does not step back. Just like you want her to.
Under your direct influence, Conundrum's shroud brightens in a flash; nothing like her own holy light, not even close, but enough to draw a surprised "eep" while you rotate on your foot and leap forward, arms stretching to grab onto her. Just a little more.
But even with her momentum broken and blinded, Gabriel is not defeated easily. You can feel the attack without seeing it, her remaining arm sliding around and then rushing toward you as her wings boost the turn. Her angle is off, she went by ear from how heavy you pushed yourself off. You levitate Aetheric Tide higher, but her arm still clips your knees and flame roars once more.
(Fist of the Archangel: +1000 Base Damage, +44 dice, +7500 Judgement, +987 dice = 9,531 Total Damage Defiance: +100 Base Resilience, +1364 dice, +500 Resistance to Blunt Force, +2885 Conundrum = 4,849 Unstoppable
9,531 Total End Damage
+5000 Kiss the Ground = 14,531 Total End Damage Conundrum (-2,885): 11,646 Total End Damage Santuary: 5,823 Final End Damage
Defiance Health: 900 - 5,823 = -4,923 Rage Against Fate: Defiance is on borrowed time.)
The flames smash through your protective shell and this time it is your legs being burnt to a crisp, the impact of Gabriel's arm barely registering next to the fire it carries. But you can deal with it, move past the pain.
Then however, she does something worse for your plan, grabbing onto your leg right below the knee, fingers closing like a vice, and pulling you into her twirl at high speed. Your trajectory for her body is gone and you are swung around for a heartbeat, then slammed into the ground chest-first, to a sickening crunch and burning pain. A quick stab backward at least gets her to let go of your shin, where an ugly bruise forms already.
Your leg is unresponsive for a single moment and you roll over in expectation of a follow-up, but none comes. Once on your back, you see the flaming form of Gabriel walking measuredly to pick up her sword; even with an arm missing and blood spurting from the stump, she gives no indication of being pressed. Still keeping up her image of absolute supremacy.
Your anger from earlier is mostly gone now, replaced with awe at the sight of your opponent and wariness from this battle. You never took that much punishment before in such rapid succession, were never pushed beyond your limits in such a way. Adrenaline pumps through your veins, heartbeat racing.
You grin and pull your waist back, legs in the air, then push off with your entire body and hop to your feet while Gabriel eyes you again. She does not cast her healing spell immediately, waiting for you with her blade held low. Even one-handed her posture leaves nary an opening; the sheen of light surrounding it is as clear as before, too. Her reach is far beyond your own, but she still gives you the first strike, to react. You remember she tried to grab your weapon earlier, twice actually.
You only need to get into her guard one more time. That should be enough to take her away with Voyage and declare 'victory'. But you doubt she will let you, and your first attempt failed. Now she knows you can blind her for a moment.
Nothing to it then, you decide while charging forward. Gabriel is scarily adaptable whenever you reveal a new trick, but two can play that game. You learned more about her powers as well during that exchange.
Her blade stabs forward, to slide off your spear's handle and go high up while you push closer, but returns with a burst of speed and at an angle. This time you slam the flat side of your spear's blade against it and send it further off-course, into the trench you fell in earlier. The distance is not that far and you reach before she can bring it around again, momentum not yet built up fully.
Gabriel tries to push herself back with her wings, but the erratic thrust is not yet enough to escape your lightning fast counter.
(Riposte! Riposte!
Aetheric Tide: +680 Base Damage, +484 dice, +3400 Defiant Against the Light = 4,564 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +680 Base Damage, +484 dice, +3400 Defiant Against the Light = 4,564 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +680 Base Damage, +484 dice, +3400 Defiant Against the Light = 4,564 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +680 Base Damage, +484 dice, +3400 Defiant Against the Light = 4,564 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +680 Base Damage, +484 dice, +3400 Defiant Against the Light = 4,564 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +680 Base Damage, +2400 dice, +3400 Defiant Against the Light = 6,480 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +680 Base Damage, +2400 dice, +3400 Defiant Against the Light = 6,480 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +680 Base Damage, +2400 dice, +3400 Defiant Against the Light = 6,480 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +680 Base Damage, +2400 dice, +3400 Defiant Against the Light = 6,480 Total Damage
Aetheric Tide: +680 Base Damage, +2400 dice, +3400 Defiant Against the Light = 6,480 Total Damage
55,220 Unified Damage
Archangel Gabriel: +3000 2790 Base Resilience, +283 dice, +500 Dodge Attempt = 3,573 Total Damage Reduction
51,647 Total End Damage Sanctuary (x2): 103,294 Final End Damage
Archangel Gabriel Health: 256,774 - 103,294 = 153,480
Defiance is back to full via Vampire)
Another ten strikes slam into her front and side while she swerves away, finally leaving your reach on the last one. Your magic roars and you almost follow as the burns and bruises fade, your opponent's momentum broken. Bloody gouges run over her entire body, an arm is missing, and you broke her momentum early. This is good, you are almost there.
When she opens her mouth to speak however, you know what is going to happen in a moment. Everything will go back to the start and you have to try subduing her again. Her blade is held ready for an interruption and you are too far away to get your arms around her before she gets the spell out.
But there is one thing you can do. Your shroud flashes brightly and Gabriel reacts instinctively, raising her sword to guard herself while speaking... but not fully, not what you are aiming for. You flip Aetheric Tide over in your hand, turning it into a fishing spear, then throw.
"Blinding L-urgh".
She does not get to finish the spell, blinking her wide eyes to find Aetheric Tide rammed into her throat. It hit deep enough to separate both her trachea and esophagus, making her unable to speak. The mana that had welled up on her command fades away again while her mouth opens and closes dumbly like a fish.
She lets go of her sword to pull the offending weapon out of her throat, which you use to charge back at her and jump, only for Gabriel to swing Aetheric Tide at you. You have no way to dodge it, having thought her completely open. You levitate the handle upward a little, but that is not enough to get out of the way entirely.
9,992 Total End Damage Conundrum (-2,885): 7,107 Total End Damage Santuary: 3,554 Final End Damage
Defiance Health: 900 - 3,554 = -2,654 Rage Against Fate: Defiance is on borrowed time.
Vampire heals Gabriel for 1,777
Archangel Gabriel Health: 153,480 + 1,777 = 155,257)
The flames burn through Conundrum once again and scorch your midsection, then the force that made it through reverts your momentum and sends you flying. A moment after Gabriel batted you aside, the blade of light sprouts from your spear. She has your weapon, and it even heals her with life force it stole from you!
But, in mid-air as you are, you spot something in your reach and snatch it before flying back a few metres and rolling to your feet. Synthetic life force makes you rise still, muscles protesting under the heavier blade. Gabriel hesitates with her eyes on you, holding your own spear that is far too small for her. Likewise, you heft up her Blade of Salvation that is almost the length of you. It looked shorter when she held it.
You size each other up calmly, time against you both now. Blood gurgles from her throat and you can feel the power keeping you alive surging. Without Aetheric Tide, you can not heal yourself anymore. This has to end soon.
You move first, decision made. Gabriel follows right after but now, with each carrying an unfamiliar weapon, the gap is a different one. You know your spear and she knows her sword, both of you familiar with either type of weapon. But where she became overwhelming on a neverending growth of force, you had no such thing. You had to get better instead.
She stabs for your mid-section, an attack you practiced with Lu many times. As if on cue while you make a single step aside, another dead Angel drops behind Gabriel. Your leg rises up and her eyes widen, unable to adjust her swing fast enough to escape. One foot pushes down, directing her forward stab into the ground. You push yourself up from the shaft and use both of your momentum to ram her own blade into her.
(Blade of Salvation: +3170 Base Damage, +1297 dice, -500 Too Large Weapon, +18000 Center Mass, +15850 Defiant Against the Light = 37,817 Total Damage Archangel Gabriel: +3000 2790 Base Resilience, +229 dice = 3,573 Total Damage Reduction Unstoppable
37,817 Total End Damage Sanctuary (x2): 75,634 Final End Damage
Archangel Gabriel Health: 155,257 - 75,634 = 79,623)
You run her through even while the flames burn your body further, the blade itself pushing forward and through Gabriel's armour like so much paper. Then you let go of the sword and push her back, landing in a crouch yourself. A hissing gasp comes out of Gabriel's throat when she drops to the ground, eyes wide and directed at the sword hilt sticking out from her abdomen. You pick up your spear carefully and look over your work; you missed her heart on purpose, aiming far enough below the lungs for her to most definitely make it. "I think this-"
You interrupt yourself to push another sword off-course, only for a bleeding Angel man to rush past you, Lu hot on his heels. He slams into Gabriel and grabs her, then rushes back into the sky while three others engage your friend and prevent her from pursuing. Two corpses later, the third one retreats as well while horns sound over the field of battle.
The noise hammers into your mind like hot iron, pain suddenly reaffirming itself as your focus fades.
(Blood Soaked Cross: Defiance's Health reset to full)
And then it is gone, washed away by soothing darkness. Lu lands by your side while the First Host sounds the retreat, thousands of surviving Fairies following their allies into the opening portals
The juggernaut Dark Star in the distance roars as it pursues, before bloating up further and then exploding violently in a surge of rainbow light. It passes over the entire area and soaks it in overabundant mana for a few seconds, the heady sensation elating the defenders. Spellfire begins to cease and roars of triumph follow the fleeing invaders.
Glancing around, you find the area littered with dead Angels; Lu tore down at least two dozen on her killing spree in the sky, all of the First Host. Corpses litter the ground and what parts of the village were not obliterated by Gabriel's battle are mostly ash. Only one of the four outer spires still stands, barely keeping itself upright. The central spire stands pristine, if coated in blood and crystal shards.
The Light is gone and night finally falls over you. An hour or two until sunrise, perhaps.
Charon's Keep is safe. But the price was steep.
-------------
+1,500xp Defeated Gabriel
+125xp Saved Charon's Keep
EXP gained: 1,625 Total EXP: 1,686
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Technically, I could have continued the chapter with what follows, but that is better off in its own Threadmark. Stay tuned.
