Standard Mission: What Lies at the Finish Line

Western Shrine

- Vayu -

Vayu watched Nilo march off and made no move to stop him. This guy suddenly acted like a child throwing a temper tantrum. What would make his attitude turn around by 180 degrees like that? Did something happen during the night?

Samael in turn tried to stop Nilo, but to no avail. Instead Nilo decidedly kept walking off with Samael following behind.

”You know this is not natural, right? Catequil’s voice was in his head.

With a sigh, Vayu moved from the shrine to follow Samael and Nilo and arrived just in time to see the scene with Kuda unfolding.

“****!” he muttered under his breath and took off after Samael. With a snap of his hand, the Empusa demon appeared.

“Kindly assist Samael and his demon in subduing our runner,” he asked her. Swiftly the demon took off looking for the right moment to unleash her sleep spell

Spoiler:

Vayu stopped next to Samael. “How the f**k did this happen?”

Western Shrine Path

- Nilo/Vayu/Samael/Zephyr -

Nilo - or whatever controlled him - snarled and swore as Tulip’s binding spell froze him in place. The only motion he could make was to widen his eyes as Kuda barreled into him, knocking him flat onto his back.

“Feeble human body…” Nilo muttered, straining to get up.

Vayu’s Empusa demon bounded forward, and Nilo squeaked as he realized he couldn’t escape the sleep spell. Not in this body anyway.

His mouth opened, and something like a horrible black bubble seemed to swell up out of his mouth before popping loose and shooting up into the air as the sleep spell washed over Nilo. The young man’s head flopped back to the ground in a dead sleep as the demon floated up high above him, cursing.



“How luck for you that flying weasel showed up when it did,” he sneered. “Or you baboons would still be back there scratching your heads. Oh well. If she hasn’t finished by now, she probably never will.”

Samael

Samael cursed under his breath.  He felt his face turn red at the demon's mocking words as his body tensed heavily on the sword he held up to the demon's face.  But, his eyes narrowed at the last comment, him shifting his gaze quickly back towards the shrine where Zeyphr still stood.

"I don't know!  Someone should of been on shift, even if we fell asleep the demons would of notified us unless he wandered off on his own for some reason!" Samael responded to Vayu, as he cautiously eyed the demon worried that it had another trick in hand, so Samael began to carefully comment with his words getting quieter near the end "Regardless, don't let that demon get away, it might have info and I don't want to deal with another surprise, I'll try something so follow my lead if possible."

Samael weighed his options quickly, using the same alignment spell might be too obvious and this demon seemed smart. He didn't know enough about this 'she' to mimic her.  So, for now, maybe....

Samael held out his hand for a moment, signaling the others to wait for just a second so they wouldn't get caught up in his spell but to the demon it might appear to be him stalling the combat for just a moment.

"So what now?  It looks like she just left you to die after you did all the hard work, and you're just going to accept that?" Samael stated as he rose his hand towards the creature as a wave of quick and suppressed dark energy shot from his finger tips.  The dark energy seemed to be weakened and less visible so that the damage would only feel like a light prick... but damage wasn't his goal.

"If what you're saying is true and she already did what you needed, you might as well rat her out.  That way you can survive and she can pay for leaving you to be the one facing off against all these vanguards and demons. Think about it, why would you take the risk?"

Spoiler:

Western Shrine Path

- Nilo/Vayu/Samael/Zephyr -

The demon cackled at the Vanguard's confusion. "The silly little human had to relieve himself as you disgusting mammals are liable to do. Possessing him was child's play. And deceiving you just as much so."

Bobbing along, he seemed content to let the Vanguards talk among themselves until Samael finally spoke up again.

"Left me to die?" The demon's already high-pitched voice seemed to rise another octave. "Fool, this was my idea. I'm Cyak! I'm the one in control here. She may have had the idea to interfere with the ritual for this pathetic little village, but it was my idea to corrupt the boars in the area and have the harass the town. And you. My idea to possess your little errand boy and delay you-"

Cyak stopped short as Samael let loose his spell and quickly shot up further into the air to avoid it. Mostly. The spell nicked the tail-end of its body, and it let loose a tiny shiver.

"I could rat her out. After all, it wouldn't matter. You won't get to the second shrine in time. Though..." Its golden eyes narrowed. "She's not managed to bring it down yet. I should probably see to that myself..."

It seemed distrust had indeed set in, though not quite the way Samael expected it. With one last sneer, Lemur shot through the air like a black blur down the path, aiming for the second shrine.

As it vanished from sight, Nilo sat up and rubbed his head, wincing. "Ugh, I feel awful..."

Samael

Samael's mind quickly snapped to the situation.  His head processing through what the Cyak had just stated.  His eyes glancing back towards where they had originally come from with the boars and then towards the direction of the final shrine, a look of panic setting in as he realized the limited amount of time they would have left.

"We need to move to the next shrine Nilo, we can talk about the situation while we're moving."  Samael reached out his hand to grab the runner before stopping short for a few seconds, as a look of worry washed out over the vanguard's face before he flicked her finger up towards the air in an attempt to gesture the runner to get up and stated in a concerned tone, "Right, you're not going to get mad if I 'manhandle' you now right?"

Samael watched carefully to make sure Nilo was okay, as his eyes scanned the runner's body top to bottom with quick precision almost like a judge inspecting a applicants prized entry.  His eyes not only focusing on the cuts and bruises from the scuffle but also Nilo's complexion and color.

"Zeyphr, you're the fastest can you take the lead and check out the shrine ahead of us?  If you can hold them off from damaging it or destroying it that will help." Samael commented, as he glanced over to Vayu making sure the other Vanguard approved of this before they began moving again.

Western Shrine Path

- Nilo/Vayu/Samael/Zephyr -

Nilo blinked up at Samael. "'Manhandle'?" he asked. "No, but-" He cut off with a blush as Samael drew in close to inspect him thoroughly. "Wh-what's going on, anyway?"

"Get moving. Catch up later," Kuda said, hovering above them.

Zephyr nodded to Samael and took off down the path. Kuda flew off behind him to report back to Erice, leaving Samael and Vayu to bring Nilo up to speed.

"Wow, I can't believe I screwed up that badly," he muttered, staring down at the torch in his hand. As he did, a fire seemed to light behind his eyes. "Those bastards. It's one thing if we decide not to use the shrines, but who the hell are they to make that decision for us! No way I'm taking that lying down!"

He started off in a run, turning around to face the other two.

"You guys are with me, right? Then let's finish this thing!"

Path to the Eastern Shrine

- Vayu -

Vayu watched in surprise as something emerged from Nilo’s now sleeping figure. While his thoughts likewise wondered about this “she” and the danger the demon spoke of, he nodded towards Samael, signaling that he let him take the lead.

Samael’s idea seemed to work for a moment as the demon spewed information that seemed plausible and explained a lot the things that were happening. It quickly turned south when the demon dashed off towards the second shrine.

“This day just keeps getting worse and worse,” Vayu muttered under his breath and watched Zephyr speed away.

“Let’s go,” he confirmed and fell into a jog behind Nilo and Samael. The Empusa demon flew around him, keeping up easily.

Western Shrine Path

- Nilo/Vayu/Samael/Zephyr -

The return journey down the path went faster than expected - not just because they were running but because no demon boars appeared to impede their path. That should have been a relief, but given Lemur’s words, their absence hung ominously over the group.

At their current pace, they should’ve burned themselves out long before reaching the other shrine, but thanks to some potions the village had prepared for Nilo, they were able to regain their strength by the time they reached the other shrine near sundown.

Which was just as well, because they realized they had quite the endurance test before them.

A large pack of demon boars had completely surrounded the shrine, all stewing in miasma as they fidgeted and paced, waiting for some signal. At the foot of the shrine, Lemur hovered, his blobby frame obscuring the person he talked to.

Zephyr, who’d arrived earlier, beckoned them into the shadow of a tree and caught them up to speed. “I count at least a few dozen camped out here. They obviously don’t want us getting near. In the meantime, they’d been hammering away at the field but still haven’t gotten through.”

“We have to get past them! If we don’t light the pyre before the sun disappears over the horizon, the barrier will break,” Nilo explained.

Easier said than done, of course.

“Fool, you still haven’t managed it!” Lemur shrieked.

“That shrine goddess knew what she was doing,” a familiar voice replied. “It seems like until the time is up, nothing will affect it.”

Cyak flew higher up into the air, surveying the sun. “Well, no matter. Their time’s just about up. Even if they arrived right now, there’s no way they’d get past all our defenses.”

As the figure turned, Milo gasped. “Don’t be so sure,” Kagetora replied. “Those Vanguards supposedly took down Mithras and his whole citadel on their own. They may eschew our values, but they clearly value strength just as much as we do.”

“And the villagers…” Cyak floated about, its wide smile mocking. “Do you think they’ll really value strength once their pitiful defense is gone?”

“Yes.” Her hands balled into fists. “I believe in them. In every humans’ potential to find their strength. They just need their comforts and securities stripped away to reach it.”

“I suppose we’ll find out soon enough.” Cyak turned his bright, wicked eyes toward the sunset, greedily watching the last dying rays of light on the horizon.

Eastern Shrine

- Vayu -

They arrived at the Easten shrine, only to find a horde of wild demon boars and the cyak waiting already. Vayu glanced at the sky. The sun was already setting and they were running out of time.

"Our goals should be to get the boars scattered to stop them from attacking the barrier and then to get Nilo into the shrine, so he can light the fire with the torch," Vayu stated, aware that it was obvious to the others as well.

He turned to Samael. "I can try on either goal. Which are your spells better suited to?" He gave a side glance at Zephyr. "I think we all know what you're better at, right?" suggesting Zephyr to help with stopping the boars.

Samael

Samael's eyes were locked on the boars, scanning each detail and aspect about them like a artist who was getting ready to paint a canvas of someone.  His eyes slowly drifted over to Vayu a moment after the vanguard spoke to them.

"Vayu we can get the boars to scatter like we did before.  I'll conjure up a boar illusion to get us close." Samael stated as he flicked his risk conjuring up a small boar in front of them that was walking to the barrier, his finger poking gesturing at the mini faceless vanguards and runners inside of it.

"But with the miasma... it'll cause problems.  The boars are all around it, so I'll casting my alignment boosting spell and then someone else who's got strong aliments come with me to blast it at the same time.  That should scatter them enough to get Nilo in." Samael commented as he showed a paralyzing blast coming out of the boar and scattering them.

Samael nodded to the rest confirming they were okay with the plan as he conjured a boar with miasma emitting from its fur as he walked inside it obscuring himself from view.

Western Shrine
- Vayu -

Vayu nodded along to Samael's plan.

"Got it," he finally said. "My main focus is not ailments, so I have some spells I can work with. Just give me a signal when to cast them, first for the distraction to scatter the boars and then later after you cast your alignment spell."

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "I don't like the idea that all of use are in your illusion. You focus on getting Nilo through the barrier. I'll cast my spells from the side. If it looks like your illusion is failing, I can always create a distraction from the side. And it means the miamsa won't affect me as much."

Vayu waited until Samael agreed with the plan as well. "Good luck my friend," he said and squeezed his should. Then he moved backwards until he was blended into the forest. Now that he was out of sight, he needed to hurry to circle around.

What exactly is your "distraction" going to be? he heared Catequil's voice in his head.
Vayu shrugged. He hadn't exactly figured that part out yet.
And what about the ailment spells? the demon continued questioning.
"Don't worry so much, I'll be working with Empusa and her sleep spell. Together with my confusion spell it should at least get their attention" he replied in his head while he snuck through the forest.
That's not the part of the plan I'm worried about... then his voice faded.

Vayu swallowed. Yeah, that wasn't the part he was worried about either.

Samael

Samael nodded at Vayu's words, as the boar's tail flicked sharply to the side, indicating the signal.  He pulled Nilo in the body of the illusion demonic boar and miasma the runner fading through the protruding tusks that came out of its face that were close to impaling Nilo if it wasn't for the fact they weren't real.

"Alright stay close to me Nilo, if the Miasma is too much just say the word." Samael commented carefully, as he began to move forward using noise manipulation to mimic the sounds the hordes of demonic boars were making as he moved closer to the shield where the horde was.

"Stagnant air....." Samael, muttered as the noxious air blended seamlessly in the boar's miasma in both smell and appearance like two stroke of paint blending into each other to create a beautiful work of art.... if it wasn't so rancid.

Spoiler:

Samael's body shivered at the sight of his work being so... revolting. Tulip's noise twitched as they grew closer to the foul smelling boars her face growing more and more revolted by the moment.  Her face turning towards Samael, shooting daggers at the Vanguard like she was going to strangle him any moment.

But they were close enough, the boars might notice after too long, so Samael simply nodded at Tulip, as the tail of the illusionary boar flicked given the signal to the other vanguards to proceed with the aliments.

Eastern Shrine

- Vayu -

From his hideout across from the boars, he could see the illusion boar that Samael made. It was just hovering under the canopy and suddenly flicked its tail sharpy.

Vayu inhaled deeply.

Do your thing he thought and flicked his wrist.

High above them in the air, Catequil appeared brandishing his spear. Dark clouds appeared overhead as he rushed down into the midst of the boars. Thunder rumbled across the sky.

"Dark Vortex," he whispered, seemingly unaffected by the threatening aura of the miasma.

Catequil:

Lightning crashed down into the group of boars with a huge explosion. At the same time before anyone else could react, Catequil's form already faded as he returned to Vayu's gauntlet.

Impressive he acknowledged the demon and could feel his feral smile.

His eyes never left Samael's illusion as he watched the boar mingle with the rest during the chaos. Then his tail flicked again.

"Time for part two," Vayu whispered and jumped down from his tree. "Empusa, help me out." His other demon appeared, floating around him.

Without breaking cover of the tree canopy, he moved to the side while Empusa moved along the other side in a half circle. They both unleashed their ailments spells, trying to get in as many as possible before they were detected.

Empusa:

Vayu:

Western Shrine Path

- Nilo/Vayu/Samael/Zephyr -

Nilo drew in close to Samael as they approached the demon boars, his fingers trembling against the torch clasped in his hand. He held his breath as they reached the edge of the herd, partly to avoid the smell and partly to stifle his anxious panting.

The miasma began to creep in on them, and Nilo cast a frantic look back at Vayu just as Catequil struck down into the middle of the boars. They scattered with a squeal of shock, knocking into each other to escape the static licking at their hooves, and before they could recover or retaliate, Catequil was gone.

"What's going on?" Kagetora asked, whirling around.

Cyak's eyes flashed. "The Vanguards!"

In Catequil's place, a wave of sleeping and confusion washed over the herd. Boars drooped in place, snoring, or fell into each other unconscious. Others flew into a blind frenzy, bowling into each other or breaking loose from the ground.

In the chaos, Samael held close to Nilo and charged through the mass, narrowly avoiding colliding into the boars or being gored by tusks, until they broke free at the edge of the shrine. Just as the Gaian's and the demon's eyes fell on them, Samael gave Nilo a shove and thrust him through the boundary.

"No!" Lemur flew toward Nilo but smacked into the barrier and bounced aside.

Forcing himself to keep his attention fully on the pyre, Nilo ignored the demon's indignant howls and scrambled up the stairs.

Only for something to catch around his ankle.

With a cry, his leg flew out from beneath him, and he dropped down the steps as Kagetora yanked hard on her whip, reeling him in like a fish on a hook.

"Oh no, you don't," she panted.

"Kagetora, stop!" Nilo shook his leg and scrambled with his free hand to disentangle himself as she continued to drag him closer. "You were a part of this village, part of us! Why are you doing this?"

"Because I was part of this village!" Her jaw clenched. "Because I've seen its weakness, its stagnation! Because I want to see it flourish!"

Cyak scoffed, even as he flew to intercept Samael before he could reach Kagetora. "All right, Vanguard. It looks like we're going to have to take the more direct approach."

Back in the treeline, Zephyr brandished his weapon and nodded to Vayu. "You backup Samael. I'll drive off the board herd to keep them from trampling you guys."

Zephyr Arc - Western Shrine Path

With that said, Zephyr fired a volley of three rapidly growing bolts of ice in Lemur's direction before leaping up from his position, using his spear to vault himself higher.

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Once he achieved the proper altitude, he unleashed a second volley of smaller yet still rapidly growing shots from his cross bow, aiming for the downed and confused boars.

Spoiler:

Then, he swept his spear at the top of the treeline, launching himself forward into the chaotic, self-devouring stampede. Driving down directly ontop of a boar locked in combat with one of its kin, he throw the point of his spear into the back of the defenceless beast's neck, using the feedback to bounch off and stab the spike of his shield into the neck of its opponent.

Using his heavily enhanced physique from Boost and Overdrive, combined with the spike it its neck in place of reigns, he then forces the confused boar into charging into its brethren, his spear pointed outwards like a lance.

With his shield enlarged and up in front of him being used to steer his new mount, Zephyr became a charging fortress ripping through as many boars as he could reach.

Eastern Shrine

- Vayu -

Their distraction had acutall worked for a moment. The boards scattered, allowing Samael und Nilo to pass throug the barrier. They could still make it in time! His triumphant feeling was cut short when Kagetora appeared to stop Nilo.

Vayu nodded at Zephyr and took off quickly, hoping Zephyr could hold them at bay for long enough as the sunlight was steadily fading.

Making his way around the forest, he perched on a branch at the outskirts of the herd of boars. With a high leap and assisted by his demon and her Fleet Foot Spell, he made it behind the barrier.

Fleet Foot:

"Empusa! Use your frost spell to free Nilo," he commanded. The demon quickly dashed towards the pair unleashing sharp icicles towards Kagetora and her whip in an attempt to sever the connection.

Frolic Frost:

Meanwhile Vayu skidded to a halt between Samael and Cyak and slashed at the demon with his ninjato sword.

"You foul creature have interfered enough!"

Their position was unfavorable. Their two enemies were between them and Nilo and behind them loomed the threat of a herd of demon boars. They needed to find a way to re-group, preferably with the shrine at their back. If Nilo could make it inside, they could defend the entrance much better...

Eastern Shrine

- Nilo/Vayu/Samael/Zephyr -

The sacred torch clattered out of Nilo’s grip as Kagetora yanked her whip this way and that, making him toss and roll about the hard stone ground.

“Why, Nilo?” she demanded. “You don’t think I’ve noticed you? That I’ve seen you listening to my words in town? You see it, too. I know you do! We have to break our people free of this stasis!”

She gave a tremendous tug and pulled him free of the barrier as a hail of ice needles shot toward her and her whip. With a curse, she released her hold on Nilo and leaped back, but he had already tumbled back across the ground and come to a stop outside the shrine.

“Y-you’re right.” His arms shook as he pushed himself halfway up, glaring at her. “Something should be done. But this… this isn’t the way. There has to be a middle ground.”

“You don’t think I tried middle-ground!” She scowled. “You don’t think before I left the village that I tried to make them see reason? To-”

“You quit, Kagetora!”

She clammed up, eyes wide.

“It got hard. You met resistance. So you gave up and left to do your own thing.” Nilo pushed himself to his feet. “Well… I’m not you. I’m not a quitter. I’m going to keep trying until I see change. So get out of my way!”

She took a step back, lips parting but lost for words.

Cyak, who dodged back from Vayu’s strike, glowered at them all. “I can see I’ll have to take things into my own hands.” His eyes moved to Zephyr, fighting off the demon boars, and his smile widened. “That’ll do nicely.”

His body grew transparent as he shot through the air toward Zephyr, whose back remained to them as he caught a boar’s tusks with his spear and smacked it away with the butt end. As Cyak slammed into the Vanguard, his back arched, an agonized groan escaping his lips, before he turned to face the others.

“Yes, this’ll do nicely,” Zephyr said, Cyak’s voice pouring from between his lips, as his eyes flashed a wicked yellow.

Cherry - Eastern Shrine

Zephyr locked himself in combat to buy his allies time and keep the boar horde occupied, unaware of the enemy's designs. Cherry had been hovering beside him, observing the statua of the fight on the other side. She saw Cyak set his sights on Zephyr, but was unaware what he was about to do and couldn't react fast enough to interfere...

As Zephyr suddenly spoke in Cyak's voice, what just occurred dawned on her; he'd been possessed. Seeing as it went by without any hitches, it implied the demon was also a level above them as well... however, a plan quickly formed in the pixie's mind seeing this turn of events. A plan the enemy definitely wasn't going to like.

"SAMAEL, VAYU! quick! Spectral Steed and Fleet Foot on Zephyr! Quickly! And stay back!" She exclaimed, addressing both men for the first time ever as she rushed rapidly into the air. Turning on her heel in mid-air, she cast High Protection of the Fae on him. A grin bloomed on her lips. The demon liked controlling people... so let's see how he likes losing control himself. With him having possessed Zephyr, the madness would spread to the demon as well once triggered.

She then zipped off to the distant duo, grabbing onto Vayu's shoulder. "Samael, I need you to make us vanish!"

Samael

Samael dramatically rose his sword in front of him focusing on Cyak as the demon launched turning his gaze away from Nilo and Kagetora who were fighting.  But it seems he didn't have to worry, as Vayu jumped in the way pushing the demon back for just a moment with Samael turning his gaze back towards Kagetora.

"So, do you still think this village stale and rotten? Because Nilo seems plenty strong to me without removing the barrier." Samael nimbly pulled a disc out of his sleeve that began to light up with a hint of maga and tossed in front of Kagetora.  An illusionary white light emitted from the top of the disk the collected into an image above it.  It showed various still scenes of all Nilo had to go through throughout this trial and the boars he faced along the way.

Samael's gaze laid on her for a few moments before saying, "You are strong to try to go against what you would consider stale.  But you'd be even stronger to think for yourself and try to think of a new path that'll help both sides.  It doesn't have to be one way or the other every time."

Samael was interrupted though when Cyak jumped in and possessed Zeyphr.... Samael's eyes widened as he turned away from Kagetora and held out his shaking hand heading Cherry's warnings as two spells shot out of his hand.

"I'm not good at making us invisible perfectly, but I can provide some obstruction.  Can you handle the fleet foot spell Vayu?" Samael muttered as his arm rose directly above him like he was showing off something but it was only a ordinary large rock that laid in his hand!  With a tap of Samael's finger, the normal rock vanished replaced with illusionary thick black fog suddenly erupted from Samael's hand like the beginning of a wild magician's trick causing all three of them to disappear!  (From Zeyphr's view at least)

In the darkness of the fog, Samael tossed the rock slightly towards Zeyphr causing the eerie fog to suddenly drift towards him.  The fog began to encroach but not consume Zeyphr, only menacingly reside in the distance, as the fog began to quickly expand but grow smaller and smaller the further from the source it got with only covering the vanguard's feet and ground once it reached him.

Suddenly, ghastly tentacles ruptured from the fog as a equally ghastly horse covered with a green glow came with it, appearing under the vanguard causing him to be sitting directly on the horse as if to ride it.  The tentacles connected with his skin, as he felt a surge of power enter his muscles and the hooves of the horse move like it was apart of him.

Spoiler:

Eastern Shrine

- Vayu -

Vayu tried to follow the demon with his eyes, but it turned transparent and with its quick movement, he lost it within seconds.

Only Cherry’s shouting alerted him to the situation. With a quick nod towards Samael he shouted to his demon, that was still hovering near Kagetora and Nilo.

“Empusa, Fleet Foot on Zephyr! Quick!” the demon gave him a quizzical look. “Trust me!” he added and quick as the wind, the demon cast its spell on Zephyr.

Meanwhile, Vayu with Cherry on his shoulder had moved closer to Samael as he conjured up the fog illusion.

“We don’t have much time left,” he called out to Nilo. “Hurry and light that shrine.”

Eastern Shrine

- Nilo/Samael -

As Kagetora watched the illusion play out before her, recapping all that Nilo had gone through to get to this point, a smile touched at her lips.

"Do you know why he seems strong to you?" she said as the illusion faded. "Because he's had to struggle. Because being thrown into this situation has forced him to move beyond subsisting and actually see what he's capable of! Don't you see that this is exactly what I want for all of them? I could've just sought my own power and left them to their own devices. But I came back here to give them all a chance, to break free of the chains they've bound themselves in."

"Not everyone can be strong in the same way," Nilo replied. "Not everyone can become strong at the same rate. Why should there be only one way? Why can't we be strong enough to forge the path we want?"

Before she could say anything, if she even knew what to say, Vayu shouted to him to get to the shrine. Nilo nodded and marched toward his fallen torch, refusing to even look Kagetora's way. Perhaps that was why he didn't see the whip until it struck him across the chest, toppling him down.

And yet, wincing and clutching the score it left behind, he forced himself to his feet and strode toward it again. The lash fell across his back this time, dropping him to his knees.

He staggered up, back bowed against the pain. But he continued to walk toward the torch.

Pain scorched across the back of his legs, dropping him to his hands and knees. He tried to stand, hobble a few feet, but he fell back down.

So this time, he crawled, closer and closer. The torch came into reach, and he put out his hand for it.

The whip struck across the back, and he cried out, drawing it back and clutching it to his stomach. Only for a moment, though. Clenching his teeth, he reached out again and seized the torch.

When the whip fell this time, he refused to let go and continued to half-crawl, half-hobble his way up the steps toward the shrine and the brazier awaiting him. As the last rays of the sun bled over the horizon, he forced himself onward, harder and harder, unaware of Kagetora or even his own pain. His thoughts, his reality, had narrowed down to that pyre and the torch in his hand.

Kagetora trailed behind him, but the whip hung limply at her side as she watched him. He wouldn't make it in time. He couldn't.

Nilo realized that as well. But he didn't stop. No, he forced himself upright and strode, then ran those last few feet.

She should stop him. She knew that. But Kagetora could find no strength to move or even speak as he gave a cry and dove the last remaining feet, plunging the torch into the brazier as the sun disappeared over the horizon.

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

- Vayu/Samael/Zephyr -

Cyak twirled Zephyr's weapons in his hand, grinning as he strode toward the two Vanguards. His smile faltered, however, when he found himself lifted into the air by a horse-like apparition forming beneath him. Then another enhancement fell upon him, and he could feel his reactions speeding up.

"Fools. Are you trying to help me end you faster? Hope it'll be less painful that way?" he mocked. "Too bad. I assure you I'll make it as painful as possible no matter how quick!"

He leaped toward them, extending his weapon as he swung it. Even as he did, though, something nagged at the back of his mind. Something odd. Why was it getting so hard to focus, to think properly?

Did it matter, though? He just needed to kill. Kill kill kill kill kill!

Samael

Samael watched the crazed Zeyphr dash head first into the smoke with his weapon prepped to end them in an instant with all the buffs they gave him.  However, the plan seemed to be working? He was rampaging, swinging left and right, as the illusionary smoke would sway around in reaction to the fierce swings of the deranged and possessed vanguard.

Samael jumped back away from the incoming crazed strike, trying to obscure where he was in the smog by shifting positions left and right as he bobbed in and out of the black cloud that had formed.  Leaving the direct combat to Vayu, as he formulated the best way to help in the meantime.

"That demon said it corrupted the boars, now that we cleared out a good chunk of them we should focus on wearing it down.  Maybe we can undo the corruption if we take him out?" Samael whispered for Cherry and Vayu to barely hear as he held out his hand preparing for another spell.  His body beginning to feel numb from the amount of maga he's used but, he should be able to manage for a bit longer....

"Noise manipulation." Samael muttered, as noises of hostile foes and movement began to echo behind the enraged Zeyphr like something was about to stab him right in the back, while silencing his, cherry's, and Vayu's own movements to give them more of an edge in the smoke.

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"Hmmm, you know I always thought Samael spiel of everyone being strong in their own way was rubbish too.... I just liked them at first for their absolutely gorgeous design work.  However, I must say, I might be starting to believe both of you." Tulip muttered to herself in an almost sing-song voice, as she jumped out slipped out from behind Kagetora dashing to Nilo's side, as she tipped her flower like she was wearing some kind of garnished hat.

She eyed the boy's wounds, her eyebrow raising as she examined the state of the boy top to bottom.  The various gashes, and bleeding spots, the grunting and pained noises he made on the way up here?  She wouldn't feel very beautiful if she let such a scene end in such an unsightly way.

"And here I said I would never use this, on a human no less, but the others seem to be busy so my hands are tied and I can't have you killing him." Tulip muttered as she placed her hand on her chest and emitted not a loud and agony filled scream disguised as a song but a peaceful and soothing melody.  The fragrance of her flower seemed to gather and grow with the sound of her voice, as it gently gathered around Nilo's wounded body.

"Forlorn flower." Tulip stated with no hint of fineness, as she gingerly fell to the ground with her vine like hand covering her eyes.... vanishing as the maga residue dashed back towards where Samael's gauntlet was.

Eastern Shrine

- Vayu -

“It’s worth a try,” Vayu nodded at Samael and took a combat stance.

“I’ll focus on wearing it down and keeping the boars away,” he added “You should also get behind the barrier and support from there. I can see you’re exhausted and I don’t want you collapsing outside the shrine.”

His eyes looked at Samael. They were kind, but firm. Even though his words had been very direct, he only wanted the best for them.

“Empusa!” Vayu shouted and the demon floated down towards him. “Crowd control, any stray demon boar, use your Frolic Frost and Sweet Sleep to scatter them away from the shrine.”

Without comment, the demon once again floated upwards and drifted towards the sky. From there it began to target the scattered boars that had recovered from the earlier assault.

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The demon had only a handful of attacks left before she would run out of mana and would return back to his gauntlet.

Vayu on the other hand, turned his back to the shrine and dodged another blind swing from Zephyr.

“What’s the best best way here, Cherry?” he addressed the pixie on his shoulder. “I don’t want to seriously hurt him.”

Eastern Shrine

- Nilo/Kagetora -

Kagetora stared, motionless, as the sacred barrier flared to life at the last moment, radiant and dazzling in the darkness. But her eyes weren't focus on that. They were locked onto something far more amazing.

Nilo slumped against the altar, the now useless torch clattering out of his reach. He'd done it. He'd really done it.

"Hmmm, you know I always thought Samael spiel of everyone being strong in their own way was rubbish too... I just liked them at first for their absolutely gorgeous design work. However, I must say, I might be starting to believe both of you."

Kagetora stirred slightly as the a mandrake ran past her, tittering in its little sing-song voice, and poured out all her maga onto the young man. He looked up, lips parted, as her lovely song washed over him, and he reached out toward her as she fell to the ground and dispersed.

"Thank you..." he said softly, getting to his feet as her essence returned to Vayu's gauntlet.

Kagetora stared at the place the mandrake had vanished, reeling yet again. This simple little demon, a weak and forgettable thing, had given all of itself and completely restored Nilo.

"Are you going to fight me?" he asked. "Even though it's over?"

She met his eyes, then slowly shook her head. "No. I'm... not sure I could beat you, anyway."

Not in the way that mattered.

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- Vayu/Samael/Zephyr -

Something was wrong.

Cyak swung his spear blindly every way, his host's breath going ragged. He couldn't focus his thoughts well, couldn't seem to even find his targets. He heard noises that weren't there, didn't see things that should be. And still, he swung and swung and swung and-

Ah! For a moment, a ray of clarity pierced through the fog. Berserk! He was going berserk! What was wrong with this human? How had this happened?

As quickly as the realization came, it began to slip away. No, no! He couldn't let this happen.

Cyak forcibly tore himself out of Zephyr's body, surging up into the air in a towering fury that had nothing to do with that crazed human. "You humans think you can make a fool of me? I shouldn't dirty myself with touching you, anyw-!"

Before he could finish, the barrier around the shrine burst with new life, radiating a comforting aura that caused Cyak to shrink back in disgust.

"You idiot! You couldn't even manage one boy!" he screamed at Kagetora, who ignored him. "I won't go back to Mother Harlot empty-handed! If I can't squash that pathetic little village, then I'll have to make do with these insects!"

He turned his horrid, lamp-like eyes on the demon boars, who'd scattered under Empusa's frost spell or otherwise fallen asleep on their feet, and began to fly about in a circle, herding them in toward each other. As he did, the miasma began to pour from its body and build up from the boars themselves until they seemed to be swimming - no, drowning - in it.

Cyak cackled and flew directly into the center of it, and as he did, the miasma swelled up and formed a singular demon boar. It towered over them, its body crackling with power.

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"Are you ready, Chaldeans? I can't wait to offer Mother Harlot your corpses - if there's anything left to scrape off the ground!"

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Eastern Shrine

- Vayu -

Just as his Empusa demon expanded her last mana to keep the demon boars scattered, the Cyak demon extracted himself from Zephyr.

“Well that problem resolved itself,” he replied to Cherry.

With a light swoosh, Vayu’s demon re-entered the gauntlet. “Thanks,” he murmured and watched as the Cyak demon turned the group of boars into one giant demon boar.

“****.”

He took a few moments to dodge Zephyr’s crazed swing, the fog illusion from Samael thankfully still obscuring him a little.

“Stay behind the barrier, I’ll try to get Zephyr to attack that huge boar,” he called out to Samael. “Catequil, I need your help!” With a thunderous roar the demon appeared. “Use Hanan Pacha on yourself to keep out the effect of the miasma.”

The demon nodded and a light blue hue appeared around him as the defensive spell activated, making him nearly immune to the miasma.

Meanwhile Vayu had cast Synchro Gift on himself, hoping to ward off the effects of the miasma for as long as possible.

“Confusion Wave,” he cast at the Demon King Boar, ignoring its taunts.

Determined he stepped out of the fog and right into Zephyr’s vision.

“Hey, I got a target for you!” he yelled at Zephyr and waved his arms. Slowly Vayu circled around until he was between Zephyr and the demon boar. It was risky turning his back to the possessed creature, but he trusted Catequil to watch his back so he could jump out of the way in the last possible moment of Zephyr’s attack.

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