Critical Mission I: The Demonic Bodhisattva

Bastion stood by the gates of Chadea with Komori beside him.

"It's a bit unusual, isn't it? Sending a group this large?" Bastion asked.

Komori nodded. "It's a big village, and an important one to Chaldea, too. They don't want to take any chances."

"In that case, why send us?" Bastion frowned, brows furrowed. "Surely, some more senior Vanguard..."

"Are all out on missions," Komori interjected, jaw clenched. "Demon activity has been picking up lately, it seems."

Bastion studied Komori intently. His shoulders were tensed, and his expression distant. What could be bothering him?

"Is there something wrong?"

Komori glanced at him, then sighed. "Disappearances. We've had multiple reports cropping up recently. Whole villages just vanishing."

Bastion grimaced. "Demons?"

Komori nodded. "Plenty found in the areas where the disappearances occur. But demons eating entire villages? It's just not normal."

Bastion's stomach squirmed. "Do you think this village...?"

Komori didn't reply. Then, after a moment, he put a hand on Bastion's shoulder and squeezed.

"You'll be fine," he told him. "Don't worry. I've told all of you before. Work together, and you'll manage anything that comes along."

Work together... That might be prove difficult.

Komori seemed to read his expression. "I heard about your mission. About what happened with Gad."

Bastion looked away. He knew where this was going. "You think I was wrong to get angry with him."

"No."

Bastion looked up, surprised.

"I think you were perfectly within your rights to feel angry. What Gad did was incredibly reckless. But there are constructive and destructive ways to communicate your feelings."

Bastion sighed. Lecture confirmed.

"You're exceptionally intelligent and gifted, Bastion," Komori said. "The others will-"

"Don't say they'll look up to me," Bastion interjected, frowning. "We both know that's not true."

Komori smiled. "Maybe not right now. It takes time to built up respect. But you have what it takes to be a leader. Strategy, planning, and tactics... you have those in spades. But you also need to learn how to manage others, how to motivate them, to keep them together. And yes, to order them when needed."

Bastion glanced and saw the others approaching the gate. Komori nodded at them, then turned back to Bastion.

"With this many of you together, you're going to need a strong leader to hold them all together. You can do this. And if you need help... it's never a weakness to ask for it."

Bastion nodded as Komori gave his shoulder one last pat, then walked away, waving to the others as he went. His eyes lingered on Cleo a moment, hesitating, before he smiled and headed back up to the barracks.

Bastion took a deep breath and drew himself up. "Is this all of us? Then let's move out."

Zephyr Arc

Zephyr woke from the hazy dream to an alarm going off. "Hey! We've got summons!" Cherry called out, overing beside his bed. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he got up surpsiringly easily considering the time of day, and found he felt strangely... lighter. He quickly went about his morning routine and headed out to the meeting point, Cherry comfortably on his shoulder.

While his memories of the dream because rapidly less coherent, as he walked out, he recalled one thing.

"I’m sure we’ll meet again. And I’ll see how brave you are then.”

A smile blossomed on his face. "I don't really remember much, but let's tussle again." He whispered under his breath as he made his way.

Gates of Chaldea - Amira

Amira waited by the gate for departure. As usual, she was pretty early. The moment she was called, she got ready and left.

However, her expression wasn't as neutral as it usually is. She had dark circles under her eyes and was looking restless as she tapped her finger on the staff she brought. The staff was also comically larger than she was. But it couldn't be helped, her sword broke in the last mission so she was burrowing Haita's staff.

As for her nervous state, she wasn't sure herself, she woke up crying and panicking. Haita informed her that someone had meddled in her sleep and that only worsened her state. Just thinking that there was someone who could disrupt her in her most vulnerable state was...

Amira's mind seemed to drift...

Chaldea – Gate
- Vayu -

As Komori left, Vayu just lead his horse towards the gate. He gave Komori a nod in passing. For a second, he stood at the gate, looking around the group of Vanguards. It hadn’t actually been that long since their last mission, but he’d been so busy that he only now had the chance to see all his fellow classmates again.

He could clearly see that Zephyr was still missing and smile played around his lips. It seemed punctuality wasn’t in his vocabulary.

Vayu gave the horse a gentle pat on the neck and then swung himself in the saddle. The light-brown mare snorted and her ears turned back to Vayu. Using his weight, he gave her the signal to move.

“C’mon Brioche,” Vayu said and encouraged her to trot up to the others. More than one Vanguard of the group looked like they had had a crappy night, Amira and Cleo especially. His eyes lingered on Amira for a few seconds. Thankfully they’d been able to heal all her injuries after all her reckless actions during their last mission.

For a few seconds he wondered how much Bastion and the rest had heard about the outcome of their mission.

“I could’ve used another day of rest,” he grumbled, not really upset that they had been summoned again so soon. "It's like they have no other Vanguards..."

~~
~~~~
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Nihility|Shoggoth|Tyrian|Minke
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~~~~
~~

As the wave broke, the cold water splashed onto the young woman's bare feet and drenched the ankle length dress that hung loosely under her legs, which she was hugging. Tyrian's hooves stopped beside her. His strong sandalwood scented chaos breath fell upon her hands, it had a slightly chilled effect. A few feet away. Minke was carelessly flapping her wings to stay airborne over the water, waiting for her chance to dive and snipe away at the small, yellow, ball shaped, sea creatures swimming about under.

Icy cold water at her feet, Chilly breath on her hand, Nihility was freezing all over, yet she couldn't make herself stand up and simply walk away from this kind of drain, for she was rooted down into the surface she was seated upon.

Purple tubes? No, they were more slippery and flexible to be any kind of plastic. Tentacles, deep purple in hue; these appendages seemed to be emerging out from Nihility's spinal cord, travelling all the way to the ground around her. These things, seemed to be alive. They appeared to be pulsing with energy or pumping into the ground. The pale skinned, motionless female continued to have her head covered by her knees; some might have taken her for Dead Meat.


"That should be enough Shoggoth. It's not only the two of you now. You can't keep hogging her all for yourself." The Demonic beast spoke as it continued to monitor Minke.

The Imp on the other hand, simply ignored its surroundings as it continued to play with the water.

"Hmph" a growl bellowed from under their feet.

The strong tone, it sent a shock wave to travel throughout the region. The water started to bubble and turn dark and murky. Minke shrieked and quickly flew higher. One after the other, yellow orbs began blinking open all over the ground Tyrian was standing and Nihility was seated on.

The slimy tentacles spread open from the curved state to elongate even further, raising the sleeping girl up into the air. Her limbs fell to her side, soullessly dangling like a marionette.


Tyrian raised his head to look upon the dead face of a young woman. He had seen husks before, and this was closely heading into the path of turning into one.

"It is time for her to wake up. It seems like she is being called upon by her community members."

Tyrian stood firm and unshaken as he addressed the being who he knew was much ancient and stronger than it. But he had made a contract with the Vanguard, and he would defend her till he took his final breath.


"Gurrrrgh"

Shoggoth produced a huge gurgling sound and then everything began to collapse and seep into Nihility. Like as if a Black Hole had opened up; the entire mind·scape was getting sucked into Nihility's back. Lastly her body twisted and bent backwards as it too was sucked into itself, leaving nothing but the empty dark and cold space.


"Haaaaaaah"
Nihility woke up taking a huge breath, as if it was her very first. Her arched back relaxed, and she fell back onto her bed in response. Cold sweats and shivers ran throughout. The bedsheets were drenched, and she felt weak and sore all over her body.

The low humming emitting from her left side made her turn her head sideways. It took a few tries, but she finally managed to lift her arm and view the call-to-arms alert blinking away in her Vanguard Gauntlet.

"Errrgggh"
Nihility let out a low moan as she dropped her arm back onto the bed and shut her eyes. All three of them.

~~~~~~~~

The rebound Maga recovery had already kicked in and was filling up Nihility. Her basic strength was returning every second she lay in bed motionless. Soon, the young woman was able to bring her legs to touch the ground and push herself up onto her feet. As she went about freshening herself up and moving about, the colour in her body began to re-emerge. She was naturally very pale skinned, but at least she stopped looking like a lifeless corpse. The extracurricular activities slowed down the recovery speed but it was alright, for she could regain all her quota and the extra of the day as she went about the day. She just had to keep her Maga consumption from her spell usage in check, just for a while.

~~~~

Nihility left her dorm and headed out into the grounds. Summoning Tyrian, the Vanguard climbed up onto his back and strode over to the gates. She spotted the earlier Vanguards she had met during her last mission already waiting, and among them, were a few other faces.

Nihility gave a weak smile to the vanguards as she approached them, fighting and trying to hide the pain caused by Shoggoth's extensive Energy draining session that her body was still not completely recovered from.

"Hi, we meet again. I'm Nihility, from the Void-Star Tribe." Nihility gave a small wave before clasping her hands back into each other and resting over Tyrian's neck.

"With each other's mutual cooperation, hopefully we can have another successful mission."

Zephyr Arc

Zephyr went into the stables and grabbed a horse he'd become aqcuainted with. He rubbed the stallion's face gently, then quickly saddled up and took off to the meeting point.

He found some other Vanguard had beaten him there, finding a familiar face he hadn't seen in a while. "Hey there, uh... Vayu? I heard you guys had an exciting quest." He called out as he approached.

Chaldea – Gate
- Vayu -

Vayu lifted his hand in a greeting when Zephyr approached.

“Hey Zephyr,” he replied. “Always so punctual,” he said amused. Actually, he had to give him credit. Today he wasn’t the last one to arrive.

“Yes, it was exciting,” he agreed and continued without sugar-coating anything. “I learned a lot about my teammates. And that Amira is very reckless,” he concluded with brows furrowed.

He wanted to ask how Zephyr’s mission had gone but just then Nihility arrived, riding her demon.

Vayu gestured towards Nihility. “And we also met another Vanguard. She graduated one class before us. Her main demon takes some time to get used to though…” Vayu shuddered at the memory.

- Cleo -

Cleo emerged from the stable, leading a horse of his own, just in time to catch Komori's glance in his direction. The old man didn't know when to let well enough alone. Last night had been rough, but despite his lack of sleep, Cleo was feeling oddly energized.

His eyes roamed over the rest of the team before coming to rest on Amira, who looked even more tired than he probably did. Strange, but it offered him an opportunity. With a grin, he approached her.

"Sweet Amira, you look like you could use a few more hours of sleep." Cleo said, reaching up to pat his horse's side, just in front of the saddle. "If you'd like, you could ride with me and rest your head on my shoulder again. It would be absolutely no trouble to me."

It was unlikely that the woman would have any memory of the ride back to Chaldea, since she'd only stirred once during the journey, and Cleo had been informed that she slept for several more hours after their arrival.

Gates of Chaldea - Amira

Amira turns her head towards Cleo... It's a horse... Why is he on a horse?!

"If you'd like, you could ride with me and rest your head on my shoulder again. It would be absolutely no trouble to me."

Amira tilted her head. Again?... Oh, so Cleo was the one who carried her. Amira bowed her head.

"Thank you for bringing me back and sorry for the trouble."

Samael (Night Before)

"Here how about this?"  Samael stated, pridefully holding up an outfit that mirrored his own as Goki simply tilted his head at the outfit and shook his head that caused Samael expression to change from a look of glee to confusion.

"Uniform is nice, but it would get in the way when I'm fighting.  How could I run if a 'Ryoko' shows up?"  Goki muttered while holding his hand under his chin like he was thinking about something profound as Samel turned back around to examine the outfit.

"Alright here's my next model since I figured you said that."  Samael disappointingly hummed as he held a more standard buttoned military uniform with some armor.  It was light-weight and easy to move in, and had a navy color to it.

Goki tried on the outfit, his body now covered in the fabric as he began to rustle and tear at bits that caused Samael to flinch.  Some of his arm and legs were now exposed, but he seemed happy about it but he still had a strange ponderous look on his face.

"I want a mask!  Like Ryoko!  She was always scary in it."  Goki highly squealed in a sort of ah ha moment, but Goki soon began rubbing his eyes as he said in a now more weary voice, "Well.  My oni guide is complete!  You work, I rest."  

Samael let out a heavy sigh and turned about to his table, as Goki vanished into Samael's gauntlet with Samael beginning to slowly gather materials to build this 'mask' Goki wanted.

---

Next Day

Samael wearily rubbed his eyes as he walked over to the rest of the group, as he glanced around to see that others appeared to be somewhat tired as well.  Were they pulling all nighters as well?  That was hardly good for their health, but whatever he wasn't one to talk.

"Seems like we both have someone reckless in our group."  Samael muttered in response to Vayu, as he climbed onto a horse of his own.

Though, speaking of which he hadn't seen Gad arrive yet.  They were a bit harsh on him, but it needed to be done.... Well, if that was enough to make him not come to the mission then he wasn't vanguard material anyways.

"Still, I heard you guys got a positive review from your employers, so you did something right."  Samael stated with a respectful nod towards the others as he shifted his head towards Cleo his face turning somewhat into a scowl.

"Keep it professional you two, at least until the mission is over."  Samael sternly demanded, shifting his gaze between the two of them.

- Bastion -

One by one, the group finally filled out. Vayu introduced Bastion, Zephyr, and Samael to a new Vanguard named Nihility. Bastion nodded, but couldn’t bring himself to smile. The girl looked unnaturally pale and eerie, like some kind of ghoul.

Bastion glanced past her to where Cleo was painfully flirting with Amira, who seemed rather out of sorts. Discarding any awkward memories of Amira - because there weren’t any - Bastion focused instead on Cleo, fixing him with a disapproving scowl.

“We can catch up more on the road,” he said. “Let’s get moving.”

Everyone hitched up their horses and road through the gate into the wilderness beyond Chaldea. Bastion guided his horse beside Samael and Vayu, nodding at the latter.

“Glad to see you’re all right,” he said. “I hope your mission went better than ours.

They traded stories - with Samael supplying some details from nearby - about the oni group[ controlling the bridge and the imp attack on the caravan. Bastion was particularly interested in Vayu’s recounting of Icarus. Did he really hear from God? What his goal?

They rode on for some time until a large village began to loom in the distance. Picking up speed, they rode their forces to the edge of the village as the gate loomed above them.

“Hold!” Bastion said abruptly, bringing his horse short. What was this?

As though an invisible wall were in front of the gate, a layer of mist seemed to lap at the edges of the gate, though it could not reach beyond. Peering further in, it would appear the entirety of the village was blanketed in this mist.

Dismounting, they tied up their horses and approached the gates cautiously. Bastion reached out his spear and stuck it past the gateway into the mist.

Nothing happened.

Bastion withdrew his spear. Well, that didn’t necessarily mean it wasn’t harmful. Perhaps-

A scream sounded from nearby. A woman’s scream. In the mist, Bastion could see shapes moving toward the sound of the scream.

Demons.

Someone was in trouble. They would need to act quickly. But... was it safe to enter in without knowing what this mist was?

[A: Test the mist further
B: Rush toward the scream to help]

Gates of Chaldea - Amira

One by one, more Vanguards arrived... Were there no more vanguards? She can't remember all of their faces. She at least knows the people who were with her in the last mission and Bastion... The rest she could vaguely remember their faces. Not a single new face...

That's odd, right? It has to be odd or is that how Vanguards work?

Also, they were getting on horses. Oh, Amira must have been out of it to not notice the horses. Hurring, she moved to her horse and also mounted it. The horse was not too happy with Amira's presence but quickly behaved when her eyes turn gold and she started whispering to its ears.

__________

Amira was getting a headache, Haita had been giving her orders ever since they got in sight range of the village. No, it wasn't the village that Haita had seen... It was the mist.

Leave this place if you value your life.

Amira couldn't understand, Haita should be fully aware of her stance on that topic, so why even use it?

"It's fine Haita, I'm sure with all of us, we'll make it out."

Amira whispered something that was unnecessary since Haita could just read her mind. No, that's because these words weren't for Haita. They were for Amira herself.

As they stood in front of the gate. A scream sounded from nearby. A woman’s scream. Amira did not hesitate. She couldn't hesitate. This was all she could do.

She rushed headfirst into the fog.

[B: Rush toward the scream to help]

~~
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Nihility|Shoggoth|Tyrian|Minke
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~~

After a mostly silent journey, eventually they reached their first destination, but to her surprise, it was all shrouded in mist.

One of the Vanguards tested their environment by plunging his sword deep into the thick fog. Thankfully it did not seem to be toxic. Following the plunge, Amira, took it upon herself to go with human trials by rushing through this misty barrier.

The scream that was heard from within the grounds sounded desperate and Nihility couldn't fully disapprove Amira's reaction, but with them being in the blind, this was still a reckless action. Though it is for situations like these, why the Vanguards wield shields at all times.


"Tyrian, stay close to Amira and send a signal if something hostile is afoot."

Nihility slid off her mount and commanded her demon to rush into the mist.


The Bicorn gritted his teeth, not wanting to leave his partner's side as he would not be able to defend her while away from her, but a command from her, he could not refuse.

"As you wish, my lady, but summon me back if any danger befalls on you."

Scarlet - Pre-mission

Scarlet made her way towards the mission meeting point, having rested after the tiring events of the last one. A nervous glance at her Gauntlet reminded her of what the imp had said after returning to Chaldea... she could only hope that whatever inhabited her could be kept suppressed for now, until she could find a way to remove it.

It seemed that she was the last to join the party, almost missing the briefing. Wordlessly, she followed Bastion as he led the group of Vanguards towards their destination.

Scarlet - Village

Scarlet was lost in thought when a shout from Bastion brought the group to a halt. She gasped as she beheld the blanket of mist enveloping the village. The village reminded her of her home, albeit this village looked larger.

"What is this..." she wondered out loud, as she nervously played with her bow on her back. That fog didn't look natural...

A scream had Scarlet's head snap towards the village. Someone was in danger!

"We have to help them!" she shouted, as she spurred her horse forward into the mist, following Amira. She kept a careful grip on the saddle with her left hand while unholstering her bow with her right.

[B: Rush toward the scream to help]

Village in distress

- Vayu -

[A: Test the mist further?]

Vayu nodded towards Samael. He wanted to say something positive about their final conversation with Aesop and Allison but couldn’t find anything.

“We may have accomplished the mission, but I think having two people tell you what to do, with different opinions by the way, is counterproductive to the overall success.” Vayu shrugged. In the end they had gotten it done. How, didn’t really matter, at least not to him.

Bastion joined him and Samael as they rode off towards the village. Curious as always, Bastion was most interested in their encounter with Icarus. Even though Vayu told him what he knew and observed, his deep distrust of the angel still colored his voice.

-------------------

Suddenly they stopped, arriving at the edge of the village. Vayu dismounted and followed the others to the edge of the mist.

It looked …eerie. Then a scream.

Vayu thought about their options for a moment. Clearly that woman was inside the village and their goal was to safe the village. On the other hand, they didn’t know what this mystery fog would do to them since it clearly hovered around the edge of the village. What if it trapped them inside?

Rushing in without any information would be too reckless. Just as he finished that thought, both Amira and Scarlet rushed in, followed by Nihility’s Bicorn.

Well so much for that.

With the snap of his fingers, he summoned Ferox. The demon appeared and instantly grasped Vayu’s plan when it saw the misty village.

It pouted. “You’re sending me out to scout again?” Ferox asked, clearly unhappy with the idea. “When do I get to see some action?”

“Stop complaining. Go follow them, stay high above so I see where you are and let me know if they need help,” Vayu replied. “The sooner you get going, the sooner you might find some action.”

Hissing angrily, the Zhen took flight and headed off towards Amira and Scarlet.

“Now, let’s figure this out before the situation becomes dire,” Vayu said. He took a deep breath and braced himself. Then he took a slow, deliberate step beyond the gate and into the mist. He turned back around to Bastion and Samael.

“Please tell me you can still see me,” he said, feeling tense. He reached out to see if he could exit the mist again.

Samael (Test the mist further)

As they approached the mist the sense of anxiety inside Samael, he wasn't sure how he would be able to approach this place stealthily when he couldn't see anything inside.  They weren't sure what they were dealing with either, so running in and alerting their presence could be a death sentence.

Until everyone ran in because of a scream and Samael's eyes widened, as he quickly turned his gaze towards Bastion.  He placed his hand on the vanguard's shoulder in an attempt to calm him down from everyone rushing in.

"Don't worry, we'll cover them.  I'll send Goki in and he'll test the mist, he's quick to run away  so he should be able to avoid any enemies if he gets suck.  Vayu's Zhen can keep us updated on the situation."  Samael quickly muttered to Bastion, as he rose his Gauntlet and Goki popped out, wearing a blue navy army outfit with a vanguard symbol and an red oni mask.

"Private Goki, reporting!" Goki stated, as he gave a quick salute as he began to walk part way into the mist, and test if he would be able to leave the mist once he entered.

Samael's face turned pitch red from the ridiculousness of how Goki looked now that the oni was out in the open, but he tried to remain focused on the mist and situation at the same time.

Zephyr Arc - B: Test the Mist Further

Zephyr chatted with Vayu as they set off, taking a glance at Nihility as he introduced her. "Eh, so do I." He shrugged. She certainly seemed... not quite all there, but really, who was he to talk?

As they came up to the village, they found it covered in some strange mist. It seemed strangely familiar... but, with the dream all but forgotten, he couldn't put his finger on it.

Then they heard a scream, and several members of the party rushed after it. Zephyr wasn't similarly inclined. Rushing headlong never ended well, he should know. He'd done so last time as he'd judged it his best course of action in that situation, but things were different here.

"I can still see you well enough, Vayu. Looks like this stuff won't try to kill us. Not directly at least. I'd say we should stick together as much as possible though. Anyone have rope? We might get seperated in the mist without some sort of tether..."

He then held a laugh as the ridiculously dressed Goki marched over to the mist after Vayu.

- Bastion -

Bastion gritted his teeth as Amira and Scarlet recklessly bounded off into the mist without a moment’s hesitation. Not again. These people just...

He took a deep breath, digging his fingers into his palms. No, getting upset would do him no good. Like Komori said, if he wanted to be a leader someday, he’d have to learn how to manage and look after people.

He blinked. Wait, where did that come from? Did he want to be a leader? He’d never really formed such thoughts into a concrete idea.

Bastion shook his head. No time for that now. He’d have to make a decision then.

“We can see you,” he confirmed to Vayu. There were no immediate signs of trouble, so the effects, if any, weren’t acute. Chronic, perhaps, but... there was no way to test that with imminent distress from the villagers.

Samael summoned his demon, and Bastion had to do a double take at the sight. Was that... Goki? The oni from their first mission? Goki waddled into the mist, then turned around to come back. As he did, he stopped abruptly as though his body had seized up, unable to take another step forward.

“What’s wrong?” Bastion asked.

Goki shook his head. When he stepped back from the boundary, however, he could move freely.

“As long as the mist is there, getting out might be a problem...” he murmured. “But that can’t be helped. The villagers need our help, and Amira and Scarlet need backup. Let’s move out.”

Joining Vayu and Goki in the mist, he signaled to the others and headed in after the two girls.

———————————————————————————-

- Amira and Scarlet -

Blindly rushing through the mist, Amira and Scarlet took the straight path from the gate until they came out into an open plaza. There stood a lone figure, a woman dressed in a nun’s habit and robes. She clasped her hands before her in prayer as demons slithered out of the mist on the far side of the plaza, moving to encircle her as they stalked closer.

Spoiler:

The woman turned at their footsteps, taking in their appearances, before she cried out. “Oh, please, help me!”

Amira and Scarlet took positions on either side of her, trying to shield her as the demons slithered closer.

———————————————————————————-

- Bastion

Bastion and the other Vanguards made their way down the streets, trying to keep a healthy pace while also maintaining a watchful eye. Up ahead, they could hear what sounded like voices and the noise of battle.

“Hurry!” Bastion told everyone, picking up the pace.

They emerged in the plaza and found Amira and Scarlet trying to keep a horde of demons at bay, protecting the woman between them.

“Nagas and Lamias,” Bastion murmured. “Be careful, everyone. Protect the woman and take out any demons you can!”

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

~~
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Nihility|Shoggoth|Tyrian|Minke
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~~~~
~~

There wasn't much to gain by simply idling outside the gate. At the very least, Nihility, with the remaining vanguards, moved inside the village by keeping a watchful and slower pace than the previous party members. Thankfully, all their caution gave them was a chance to attack the enemies from behind. A pincer attack of sorts.

Nihility quickly assessed the situation and reacted accordingly.

"Tyrian, knock them back!!" Nihility commanded her Bicorn to push away the incoming snake-men close to it and the other two vanguards who were protecting the civilian.

Tyrian gave out a savage neigh and raised itself to stand on his hind legs. With a strong impact, he brought down his forelegs. The stomp on the ground with his hooves, unleashed a shock wave of Curse magic to travel through the ground and attack the Naga and Lamias.


At the exact moment the Stampede was released, Nihility, de-summoned her Bicorn and released Minke into the field.
"Minke, it's your turn! Fire your Lullaby at me and then at those demons." The Vanguard pointed at the snake-clan demons who were being hit by Tyrian's Chaos Wave.


The imp looked over at Nihility with their naturally mischievous eyes. Happy to play along.

"Lalala~" Minke began her chant.


Nihility was ready and activated her Spell Absorb to instantly cancel the spell and learn it. Her experience of using the spell in her earlier mission might have helped speed up things.

The spell stealer wasted no time as well in firing off the spell at the enemy targets in a wide area.

"Lalala~"

The spell union between Minke's and Nihility's Spellception, would have doubled the potency of the Lullaby. If another imp would be to join with it's own Lullaby, then they would have an even stronger spell.

Village in distress

- Vayu -

When Vayu tried to leave, it felt like his body seized up. Even if he wanted, he couldn’t forward. Exhaling, he stepped back. This could mean trouble.

“Let’s hope it doesn’t try to kill us slowly,” he replied to Zephyr. “As far as I can tell, everything else feels normal.”

For a moment he was taken aback by Samael’s new demon. The lesser Oni had a somewhat ridiculous outfit on, and Vayu was pretty sure it was handmade. His eyes wandered over to Samael, who was trying very hard to look focused. While he didn’t say anything, the humor of the situation didn’t go unnoticed by him.

However, for now, he agreed with Bastion. They shouldn’t separate and they villagers still needed their help. Eventually they arrived at an open plaza.

Nihility and her Imp started to use lullaby on the Nagas and Lamias. Vayu used the moment to command his Zhen, that was still circling above them.

“Ferox, use Wing Buffet,” he called out.

Zhen rushed down and swept outward from the Vanguards and the nun towards a group of enemy demons and then unleashed its spell.

“We’re way too exposed here,” he said to the others, gesturing at the open space of the plaza.

Zephyr Arc

Zephyr stood by as some of the others leapt into action. Observing the scene, he agreed with Vayu while firing enlarging arrows into the oncoming enemies. "You're right there, but we'll need to somehow move the civilian first if we wanna lure anything."

Next, it appeared he'd thought of something as his eyes went wide. "Let's have Cleo switch her into safety, then lure these things into a more advantageous battlefield." He looked between Bastion and Vayu. "Thoughts?" He asked as he reloaded his crossbow.

Village - Amira

As Amira rushed through village, her senses became dumb, was it the mist? The lack of clear vision was confusing her, all she had was a sense of where the scream came from.

Then the path opened up. A plaza of the sort with a woman in the middle, begging for her life. Amira sprinted forward and positioned herself in front of the woman, making herself an obstacle for the demons.

But now what? Amira didn't think this through, to begin with, Amira isn't good as defending and she's supposed to protect someone else?

Why did she even run in?

No answer found.

Luckily the rest followed and arrived just in time. That left her a bit more relaxed, with their numbers she was sure that they could handle the demons.

Amira turned to the woman. She should try to calm down the woman. Even if they were still fighting, it would be troublesome if the woman ran off in fear. "Please don't worry, as we're here to help."

- Cleo -

Cleo had followed along with the group (unfortunately alone on his horse). Apparently, the direct approach was hit or miss with Amira. He'd have to remember that.

Without anything differet to focus on, he scanned the horrizon, looking for anything that might hinder their efforts along the way. Bastion and Vayu seemed to be having a discussion about their previous missions, but Cleo preferred to focus on the here and now.

He'd noticed a strange, swirling, effect around the village from a distance, but it was only at the gates that Cleo realized it was a barrier of some kind. Bastion, apparently coming to the same realization a moment sooner, called out for the group to stop.

Cleo dismounted and began to tethered his horse, only to hear a woman's scream a moment later. Muttering a curse, he turned towards the gate, where both Amira and Scarlet were already rushing into the mist. Decision made. Pumping his legs, Cleo dashed after them. His horse wouldn't be helpful in the tight quarters of the village streets, and he didn't see a reason to subject the creature to whatever may lie within.

With horses of their own, Amira and Scarlet pulled ahead, but Cleo had little trouble determining the path they had taken. All the shadows within the village seemed to lead to the same place, and as he arrived on the scene, the demons had only just begun to surround them. This wasn't a number that they were prepared to deal with though. They needed to funnel the demons somehow, reduce the amount of them that could come at the Vanguards directly.

The other came in behind him as Cleo reached for his sword, and Zephyr said something that actually made sense. The only problem was the he probably couldn't get the woman completely out of danger by pulling her out with a switch.

"Zephyr, with me." Cleo motioned for the other Vanguard to follow him as he made his way towards the enclosing circle of demons. He glanced briefly over his shoulder to make sure the other man had complied before continuing to speak. "I'll bring Scarlet to you so that I can get into the middle of the circle. From there, Amira and I should be able to cut open a hole big enough to escape. Once you have Scarlet with you, get back to the others and find a defensible position. I'll make sure we get to you."

A moment later, Cleo broke from what little cover the wall provided. One of the demons turned towards him with an angry hiss. It raised an ice javelin over its head, preparing to strike. Just as it released the weapon, Cleo switched with the demon, and he was rewarded with a hiss of pain behind him. Now that he was close enough, Cleo switched places with Scarlet. The wounded demon would be between her and Zephyr. So, they should be able to handle it.

From where he now stood with his back to the women, Cleo drew his katana. "Ladies, I'll be covering your rear for the next few minutes. If you'd like an extension, we can talk about it later."

"Sweet Amira, if you would be so kind as to cut us a opening in the direction of the group, I've got this."

Samael

Samael turned his eyes to Goki who appeared to be slightly trembling in fear at the sight of the snakes.  This wasn't good, that means they were strong and they would need to proceed with caution when dealing with them.  Though, the others were already making their moves, and he agreed with Vayu. They needed to find a better position for now.

"Goki, we're going going with bash and run.  Draw the demons attention, and clear a path."  Goki gave a quick but nervous nod as he jumped into the air.

"Spectral Steed!" Samael called out as he pointed his finger at Goki, as a translucent horse appeared below him.  Goki let out a surprised squeal as tendrils from the horse dug into his legs, but soon felt more invigorated and powerful.  

The spectral steed quickly dashed over to a few of the nearest demons while Goki bashed each them on the head with his club that made a loud clonk. The snake's heads reeled slightly towards the ground from the impact while they were focused on the other vanguards, emitting an annoyed hiss.

"I didn't realize Naga were so weak!  Just slither back home, you're not worth our time!"  Goki taunted as he followed the statement with an overdone cackling laugh.

When the snakes he bashed with a club turned around with irritation he quickly chanted another spell on himself, "Fight Flight."

Goki suddenly bolted away from the snakes hurling continuous insults at them in an attempt to redirect their attention and give time to the others to escape or give them an opening to attack.