Board 8 > Labyrinth of Ishiene, Topic 2 [CYOA/Forum Game] [ITD8]

(+) Yeah! (+)

"I thought I smelled it. The rotten stench of a foul Demon.

But no matter...

The Light shall purge it."


---

Fool senses.... something... but has no idea what....

He will continue with his actions though.
---

Pirateking2000 posted...

btw what material is the badge made of?

paper and laminate, I guess?
---

Quovadis will take a breather, and ask Short what he meant by the world being split in two. (at least I don't think anyone did this yet?)
---

Darn there goes one of my ideas for it then and my original thought when picking it up probably isn't gonna do much seeing as how things have progressed (also nobody seems to be focusing on other assistant so I'll just wait until the floodlights are investigated before rushing)

So

Y shall work with the workbench to somehow transmogrify the Assistant Badge into something actually useful...Something like a temporal manipulation device to mimic the power that those darn time guys (that he knew nothing about) were doing...BUT WITH SCIENCE and stuff!
---

Joe waits.
---

Gill will use his crackling mana source to repair Stunt.
He infuses the creature with electrical energy to try and get a current running again.
A magnetic pulse is used to repair any broken seals.
This way he's able to hold the Junkbot together while trying to reboot it.
From that point Stunt will probably be fine, as long as he manages to get up at all.

Stunt is repaired to his normal state [2]!

IG-59, after severely confusing its own actions, decides to go and help John and Remulel.
Yes. This was the altruistic duty of a combat druid.
To assist those in danger.
This is what he was built for!
He'll activate the Bubble Shield and defend the choke point in the hallway!
With this... with this... John and Remulel would be safe!

IG-59 scans the area.
John and Remulel are both gone.
Whoops.
They must have taken the chance to use the cover he provided and run off.
Well, such is the life of a combat droid.
The enemy fires a deadly salvo of attacks [1],
But the Bubble Shield protects IG-59 from taking any damage!

Sylvester takes his Pick Axe and places it on the Enchanting Stone.
"Let's see... does this thing have a manual?"
While he's looking for some kind of operator's guide,
The Enchanting Stone activates on its own!
The Pick Axe is blessed with a standard enchantment [2],
And gains a magical bonus to its attack rate and hit rate.
It has become a Pick Axe +1!

John dashes out from behind the cover of the Bubble and puts his arms in front of his face.
He squints into the bright light and runs in a zig zag formation,
trying to stop the opponent from getting a clear shot at him while he's exposed.
There's a zip and zapping sound as the stones around him are blasted.
The opponents seems to be aiming for his feet to try and stop him.
However, John is able to run past the enemy and get to where the Flood Lights are.

As long as these are active, it will be difficult to fight this enemy.
John runs with all of his force, tackling the mechanical rack which the flood lights are placed on.
The lights are knocked over,
And the cord connecting to them is ripped out of the wall.
This causes the 'back up power generator' to reset!

The Red Pilot Light Has Turned ON

However... John... is bleeding badly.
Bleeding to death, even.
After exerting himself so much... all he can do... is collapse to the ground.

The Assistant turns around and looks down at John.
"Keh... keh heheh..."
Its wings flap rapidly a few times, making a buzzing noise.
Then it raises the prototype ray guns and points them at John.

Remulel goes to where Sylvester is and sees him activating a strange magical stone.
He'll also notice something interesting that the Sea-Clops has picked up.
"Um, hey. What is that thing?" Remulel will ask.
It looked like some kind of magical amulet, but...
There was clearly a small creature of light swirling around inside of it.

"This?" Sylvester holds it up. "I have no idea."
"I'm not familiar with such things. We don't have them in Sea Quartz."

Remulel wasn't sure it was all that common here either.
He lets out a sigh and looks again.
The creature inside of the amulet looked like a tiny person.
She was tapping on the inside of the glass.
Now it was hard to tell if she was a little blue girl or if she only looked blue because of the tint of the aquamarine.
"People trapped inside of gemstones."
"... What is this world coming to?"

Sylvester turns the amulet and squints. "Oh. There is a little person stuck in there!"
---

... Had he really not noticed?
Remulel takes the amulet for a moment and taps it.
The girl inside bounces around.
"Um..."
Maybe that was a mistake.
She might get hurt if they weren't careful.
Still, freeing her was probably better than not freeing her.
If only there was a safe way to do i-

"No, you have to hit it harder," Sylvester chimes in.
He takes the amulet without hesitation, places it on the magical stone, and raises his pick axe.

"Wait!" Remulel cries out.
The damn guy was going to crush her.
Probably she'd be smashed to pieces by that magical pick axe.
Could he get there in time to stop Sylvester?
Probably not.
The pick axe was already falling.
All he could do was close his eyes and look away.

CRUNCH!

".... Uru....."

Sylvester lowered his weapon and looked at the gem shards which had scattered all over the floor.
Even after being shattered the amulet was probably an item of immense value.
People would pay for even small gems such as this.
But before that, there was...

"Yaaa~aaawwwnnn!"
The Nymph was now sitting on the Enchanting Stone, with one leg crossed over the other.
She stretched her arms out and bent her back while letting out a loud sound.
"Uru! Th-Thank you for freeing me!"
Her voice was high, loud, and cheerful.

Remulel opened his eyes, looking back that way.
The first thing he was surprised to see was that the Nymph had grown in size.

"Hello, uru!"
"My name is Nery!"
"(^.^)**~"

"..." Remulel stared at her with a blank expression.
Sylvester leaned toward him and whispered something. "What is that she is doing with her voice?"
"I have no idea." Remulel answered.

"(T_T)"
"What's the matter? You don't like Nery?"
The Nymph seemed sad.
Well it was more like her expressions and body language were way over the top.

"N-... No, sorry. We just..." Remulel had no idea what to say.
"I didn't mean to be rude," Sylvester answered. "I don't know how things are done here."
Well, he was from another dimension, after all.
Just what was Rem's excuse?

Nery stood up, on top of the Enchanting Stone.
Then, she hopped down from it.
"Wella, you're the one who freed me, uru!"
"So I guess that means (O o O) !!"
"I should follow you around :^3~...."

Sylvester somehow had no idea if he should be happy about this or not.

Nery heals Remulel (^_~)*

Upstairs, Fool looks at the door.
Still only two of the Pilot Lights have turned on.
In the old days he had heard of a thing called 'Sequence Breaking.'
Perhaps it was time to attempt that.
After all... it might even be possible!

Fool takes the Ice Hammer and readies it to strike...!!

...--thud.

CRASH!

With two powerful swings he first dents the door,
and then slams it down, knocking the entire right side off the hinges [3].

The door to the SECRET LAB collapses inward, leaving a jutting metal framework through which one could easily proceed.
Fool sticks his head inside and looks around.

Inside, Fool sees a room with Power Pylons and Beta Fiend Tanks.
At the opposite end is a mechanical sliding door.

The Red Pilot Light falls onto the floor, but somehow remains lit.
Magical...?

Quovadis basically gives no shits about the fact that the door was just smashed down.
He turns to Short. "So, um, Short... a moment ago you mentioned the world being split in half?"
"Just what happened in this Dimension? That sounds... frankly... it sounds insane."
---

"Well, I've been trapped here for 2,000 years so I've only heard stories the others have told me,"
Short will explain. "But from what I understand the shape of Pangaia is no longer the same as when I was captured."

"Originally there was one continent with four great countries."
"You could say there was an East, a West, a North, and a South country."
"Each one was different in their own way."
"After a while Humans actually formed a pretty amazing Kingdom as well."
"This was known as Ganthia, and it sat right in the middle of everything."
"I wasn't around to see that, though."
"But Jefferson told me about it when we were talking earlier."
Short thought about Jefferson for a moment.
Was it possible he actually cared about some of the humans who had died here..?

"One great land... wow." Quovadis seems pretty impressed.
"In Sea Quartz most of the world has already sunk below the ocean."
"There's a lot of islands and not much else."
"Heck, that was BEFORE the Fairies came and ruined what was left."
"Now, it's just..."
"Well, nevermind. About the splitting part? That sounds interesting."

Short will continue:
"Apparently during one of the Fairy invasions of this Dimension,"
"There was a woman named Miracle Girl Vera."
"She went around collecting magical swords."
"One of them, Moses, was said to have the power to cut the world in half."
"And... well..."
Short left the rest unsaid. "You get the picture."

Quo didn't say anything for a moment.
Then, he had to blurt out,
"Wait, a weapon that actually cut an entire continent in half?"
"You seriously expect me to believe that such a thing exists?!"

Short chuckled.
"I suppose we'll know once we return to the surface."
"I haven't seen it myself, but they say there's Esland in the East and Arland in the West now."
"I've heard you can even visit the sunken remains of Ganthia in the great ocean between them."

Quo tried to imagine it but that was just impossible.
This place was... definitely... nothing like the world he came from.

Y uses the Work Bench to try and modify the Assistant's Badge.
He always thought time manipulation was a cool concept,
and while had access to a high tech lab he wanted to try it out.
However, there's not much he can do with the Assistant's Badge [1].
He's forced to trash it and take what is left from the remaining materials.

Y obtained the Garage Pet.
It chatters happily, like a small mechanical mole,
Shows off its sharp teeth (which resemble a bear trap),
and then climbs onto Y's shoulder and rests there.

Well, a pet was better than nothing, he supposed.
And it was kind of cute.
In an odd way.

Mara runs into the room with John and targets him with the Healing Wand.
She'll use the remaining charge to prevent him from dying.
"You idiot..."
"Don't push yourself so hard!"


---

[Player List]

Joe, Lvl 13 Young HERO [Fire Chain Whip]
Quovadis, Lvl 12 Sureshot [Z Gun, Grandma Sweater]
Y, Lvl 12 Neonite [Gold Knife, Garage Pet]
Stunt, Lvl 10 Junkbot [Neural Inhibitor, Bottled Djinn]
Gl'thaggga, Lvl 13 Traveler [Crackling Mana Source]
Fool, Lvl 12 Tarot [Ice Hammer]

Remulel, Lvl 16 Fighter [Seeker's Sword]
John, Lvl 14 Rebel [Dusty Broom]
Sylvester, Lvl 13 Sea-Clops [Pick Axe+1, Nery(^.^)]
IG-59, Lvl 12 SPAM

Mara Raiev: Decided to take charge of the Quest after all of the Knights died.
Short: A Demon who collected a fellow Demon's Soul to bring back home. Has the power of Combustion.
Cloaked Man: A Merchant who is inexplicably still alive even after all of this.

DEATH LIST (3):
1. Carwen. Smashed to pieces by the Proto Fiend. Fast!



Joe stands around waiting to see what might happen next.
The lighting in the room suddenly... changes.
The Red Pilot Light seems to grow brighter.
While the rest of the room blends into darkness.
Then the red light expands... growing... enveloping the entire room.
Till Joe feels as if he is entirely lost in a red haze.
He feels sick.
This isn't normal.
This isn't natural.
Something was clearly going on here.
It was bad.

Joe looks right and then left in a lazy stupor... then he sees it.
Hot metal ripping through the air. Cleaving through stone.
Eating time and reality itself.
The Gold Plated Bastard Sword emerges from somewhere inside of the cracks in his mind.
And it wraps around his memory and begins to race around the room in a circular motion.
He can see it moving but he can't act. Can't move.
He's totally frozen in time.
It dances like a pen across a sheet of paper.
Yes, this weapon, it was writing a story.
And the very final entry... the final chapter...
Was the one where Joe and all of his companions would be killed.

Where was Mara Raiev?
Maybe if it was Mara she could do something.
But... no, she was gone. She went downstairs.
Even if it was Mara she probably couldn't do anything.
Orange liquid dripped out as a perfect line was cleaved through the Proto Fiend's tank.
Then all at once the glass above broke from the weight and pressure,
And an eruption of fluids exploded outward.
He was next.
Who was next?
Maybe it wasn't him.
But his time was coming.
His eye moved to the side, he could follow it at least.
Then it wrapped around behind him, cleaving across the back wall, and he lost sight of it.
There was a grinding sound across the ceiling.

The blade was above him now.
He could smell his own death.

It was here, and at the same time it was everywhere.
It had exited from the restraints of time.
Such a stupid, weak, fickle concept had no power over the one who wielded that weapon.
Corrin was ready to strike.
All at once it would be over.
It was already over. It had already happened.

They were already dead.

Gil extended what passed for a hand, helping Stunt up off the ground.
But at that time a series of blades was rising from the floor to impale them both.
Joe was already fixed in position as his execution dropped on his head from above.
The entire room behind the one way glass suddenly erupted in fire as the machines were all slashed to pieces.
And like a spiral the sword swept inward,
Through a tornado of flame,
Ready to cut down Y and the newly born Garage Pet.
It had known life for only a few seconds and it would be ended just like that.

And Fool, who had poked his head through the door, might as well have put his head through a guillotine.
Once the gold plating dropped it would remove his head from his body.
---

Quo and Short were there, nearby, talking about something.
But it didn't matter.
Conversation, language, those were meant for people to transfer ideas between one another.
But something like an 'idea' or a 'conversation' didn't have any meaning when you were dead.
They were sitting here talking when they should have been running for their lives.
The point of a blade was at his eye now.
Only just like that, once it moved forward, it would hit him right in the brain.
At that point he would no longer know language.
He wouldn't know anything.

And then it was over.
The red glow subsided.
It all stopped.

Short's eye moved ever so slightly.
He was the only one here powerful enough to keep up with Corrin's movements.
His hand twitched.
Like, that was all he was capable of doing, but it was something.
He reacted, reflexively, just a moment before he'd be cut down.
But it was over. It had ended.
The sword stopped.

There was an eruption of blood as Corrin was thrown backwards.
His body broke first, but his bones were ripped right out of his body from the force of the attack.
"Invocation of Mercy."
His magic rose inside of his eyes, they were burning red now.
All of the light had been sucked out of the room.
The Red Pilot Light exploded into shards, which hung freely in the air.
Whatever was happening now all happened within the span of a millisecond.
But for the two who were doing battle it seemed like an eternity.
His body had already been obliterated but Corrin let out a savage, primal cry.
His mouth opened and light flooded from inside of it.

"A pale, poor imitation."

"Do not interrupt me."

Qslvl, hand extended, slowly contracted his fingers inward, squeezing the soul and the life out of the pathetic Wizard he had captured.
Whether it was an Initiate of the Tenth Order or a Grand Master... it made no difference.
This thing he had found was nothing more than a pathetic mortal.
It could have been the father of all magic for all that Qslvl cared.
Red Magic was weak. It was disgusting. It was the weakest magic of all, without a doubt.
Memory? Time? Who cared about such things...?
The plane of time stretched on in such an infinite scope,
What seemed like an eternity to Corrin was but the blink of an eye to Qslvl.
Without a doubt, this is one arena where the human Wizard had no chance to compete.
Yet it was his area of expertise and so it was where he chose to fight.
Foolishly, foolishly, he prepared his best weapon... and he never realized it was a weapon that would have no effect here.
And what of Memory? Who cared for such things?
For a human, perhaps, nostalgia might hold some value.
There was the pain of loss. Among other things.
But for one who had witnessed it all,
For a being who had retreated at the First Contact,
Someone who had HELD THE GATE and come back alive.

Just what was he going to see, what could he possibly relive, that would ever cause him pain again?

"Let me break you upon your own sword."

"I repeat myself at last;"

"Invocation of Mercy!"

"...--Deliverance!"

Corrin's body, which was already being ripped to pieces, bent inwards and cracked upon itself.
His legs folded beneath him and the last bit of blood and entrails squirted out from below.
His eyes grew large and then popped!
The red light within them flooded the corridor, but it was all to no effect.
How could such a heretical light, the light of red magic, ever hope to stand up.
It was a pale imitation.
If one could choose an imitation or the real thing they'd always choose the real thing.
---

His hand was closed now.
He held it within his grasp.
Qslvl was wielding the true power, the power of creation.
Something that could not ever truly be imitated.
He had brought with him... The Light.

Corrin's last memory was one of hardship, endurance, and futility.
A left spent in the pursuit of something great,
Only to find, at the end, he had been nothing but an ant.
If he still had eyes he would be weeping now.

"... Sad. So sad."

Qslvl was actually crying for him as he walked across the threshold.
He entered the room where those Mortals had gathered here.
Heretics, all of them.
Outsiders and those who consorted with Demons.
There was nothing good here.
This place, the moment it had been unsealed, he had smelled something rotten.
Now he found two Gates that led to other Dimensions.
And, it bears repeated, he found the lowest of all scum that could possibly exist.
His wings opened up around him and they shined with a brilliant Light.

"... Wh-.... What.... what.... what the..... wh-.... the..." Quo was muttering but he couldn't even form a complete sentence.

Y, hidden behind the one way glass, somehow felt like the creature could still look right at him.
Even the fire which had just erupted all around him had not frightened him.
Not in comparison to what was standing there now.
His mouth opened wide.
His eyes stared straight ahead.
".... what is that thing...?"

Short who had just moved to react to Corrin's attack, had inadvertently been saved by it.
He'd have to thank the one who had just saved his life, but...
Well, he had a feeling that person was here to kill him after all.

Short flexed his claws and took a step forward.
He had no chance whatsoever to win this battle.
But, damn, at least he was gonna look cool in front of his new friends.
"... Hello, Angel." He smiled a pointy smile.
He was ready for The End of this story.

"Heretic, silence yourself."

"You are not allowed the mercy of last words."
---

The Merciless Savior begins playing
---

Stunt will investigate Angel, in hopes of learning whether he can use Neural Inhibitor on it.
---

Ah angels. Come to think of it, Carwen's soul would've gone to heaven with the gate open. I had a character make it back to Purgatory from that once, haha
---

Joe books it to 9.
---

Joe is using "Super Run Away"!
---

JeffreyRaze posted...

Ah angels. Come to think of it, Carwen's soul would've gone to heaven with the gate open. I had a character make it back to Purgatory from that once, haha

are you going to try and input some actions while in Heaven
---

Now may be the time to use items since Angel man is about to go ham on us

unless he negates items in which case "shit!"

Maybe a cripple debuff from gun will help?
---

After meeting the, uh, rather interesting creature from the amulet, Remulel returns to where he had been, having heard a noise just before the encounter. Seeing the floodlights taken care of, he rushes in to take on the assistant.
---

Fool feels the presence behind him and immediately goes to investigate the beta fiend tanks.

Fool knows that they have no chance of beating this thing, not at this moment and it hasn't just opened fire on us either. This may be our last chance.
---

Joe investigates the Power Pylons when he arrives.
---

Pirateking2000 posted...

Maybe a cripple debuff from gun will help?

I'm up for that if someone's going to back me up.
---

I'll help / attack with it
---

John will form a battle plan with IG-59 and Remulel, cooperating with them to take down the assistant.
---

IG-59 will cooperate with John, and Remuel if he is interested in cooperation, to defeat the assistant.
---

MariaTaylor posted...

JeffreyRaze posted...

Ah angels. Come to think of it, Carwen's soul would've gone to heaven with the gate open. I had a character make it back to Purgatory from that once, haha

are you going to try and input some actions while in Heaven

For Carwen, death is not when your heart ceases to beat. It is when your mind ceases to question. Carwen will investigate Heaven
---

With a glance at Y, Quovadis sets his Z-Gun to Cripple and fires at Qslvl.

(maybe this way we can save Short too? I can hope)

(also man it sucks to be a Red Wizard. half of them get punked by a dog, and then the rest get destroyed by bigger bosses.)
---

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mTxzXMx52s

Working in tandem with Quo's debilitating move, Y (with knife at the ready) will assist Short as he and X (his new pet) shall perform an ALL OUT ATTACK from all angles on the angel
---

His time in this dimension seemed to be on an ever increasing vector. Mysterious threats, a fiendish foe, and now this Angel appearing before him...Gl'thaggga would probably be afraid for his existence if he'd been given any chance to process emotions. Now, perhaps more than any other time, was the time to break out and overperform. Yet, a being like this angel would surely be expecting that. It had such a mantle of righteousness that it very well might prevail through sheer weight of stubbornness.

Rather than let loose with some hyper beam, or some fleeting burst of this or that, Gl'thaggga opts instead to cast Doubt on Qslvl. Doubt of purpose, doubt of success, or doubt of self...if this being was so perfect as to be immune to any of this, then all hope was lost regardless of what actions were taken here, but it was Gl'thaggga's hope that a weakness could be coaxed into being exposed before it was too late.
---

If there is anyone else left who wants to get in on boss, Gil could probably use an assist or join bigger team attack

(unless there is shenanigans)
---

everyone has acted already

I'm actually processing the update right now
---

Stunt drags himself across the ground and then manages to get his gears set against the floor.
From this position he's able to roll his treads and get into an upright position.
He'd have to remember to thank Gil later for saving him.
He'll look to Short, and then at the Qslvl which had entered this place.
"Just what is that thing?" Stunt inquires.

Now, something odd has happened.
Stunt was definitely not capable of speech before.
However, because he was repaired by magical means,
there seemed to be magic flowing through his entire being!
It could be said that he was not a mere robot anymore.
But he was also a magical being.
As for why he was able to talk now when he couldn't talk before?
Well, a simple explanation is usually best.
Because of Magic!
That's the only explanation needed when magic is involved, after all.

"Hm? You don't recognize it?" Short seemed pretty surprised.

"There's nothing like that in Sea Quartz," Quovadis will add. He looks at Stunt.
Stunt can tell that Quovadis is pretty scared, but he's quickly composing himself.
Stunt will add; "We don't seem to be dead yet."
"Why don't you give us some idea of what is going on here?"

"Well, Sea Quartz might not have different Realms so I guess I should start explaining there."
Short thinks of the best way to explain it.
"Within this Dimension there are three Realms. Purgatory is where we reside now."
"There's Heaven above and Hell underneath us. In a manner of thinking."
"But it's not literally beneath the planet or anything like that."

"Traveling between Dimensions was confusing enough," Quo admits.
"I'll just have to take your word for it and accept what you're saying."

Stunt processes what he has heard so far, as well as previous conversations.
"And so your race, the Demons, are associated with the Realm of Hell. Correct?"

"Absolutely." Short will look somewhat proud of himself at that.
"The ones from Heaven are called Angels. And now we get into the main problem..."

"Problem?" Stunt inquired.

"Well, Angels absolutely HATE Demons as well as all Outsiders," Short will tell him.
"And in case you're wondering, an Outsider describes a thing that came from another Dimension."
"So... I'm talking about you. He hates you just as much as he hates me."

"So he's yet another enemy," Stunt concludes.
"Just like the hostile creatures we've faced up to now."

Quovadis, however, did not look as relaxed as Stunt sounded.
Rather, Quo seemed to understand this situation.
"Yeah, but, Stunt.... I get the impression this is not a normal enemy we're fighting."

"Bingo, kid." Short's look of confidence would waver at that moment.
He looked sad. "That's because Angels are specially designed to kill Demons."
"They excel at that... above all other things."

In that case, Stunt was just concluding, that meant Short was at a huge disadvantage here.
What about the rest of them? Just how strong was this thing?
Figuring that kind of thing out was just too difficult.
And it certainly didn't seem like he'd have time to think it over.

Short smiled again, however.
He took a step forward.
"But at least I have... my new friends... to back me up."
There was a cool expression on his face.
He really though, in that instant, he could take on anything.
Even an Angel.
As long as his allies were here with him.

Joe let out a terrified scream and ran away, through the door which Fool had just knocked down.

(Set up done. I'll post the rest once I finish all the rolls and writing flavor text.)
---

( I moved Remulel's action with the other fighters so the story would flow better)

Fool let out an alarmed beep as Joe ran past him and into the next room.
"You should probably not rush in without caution. You-... Oh, nevermind."
Fool decided to go in there, after Joe, and join him in exploring the room.
Nothing seemed to eat, melt, eviscerate, or flatten Joe.
That meant it was probably safe.
The complex Tarot robot looked over the room a second time.
"Perhaps we can find something in here to help us defeat that Angel out there."

Angel, huh? What the hell was going on here.
Joe had never seen a creature like that before.
Heck, growing up underground, he barely ever saw anything other than darkness.
His entire dimension, Sea Quartz, was filled with Darkness to begin with.
To think that in other dimensions like Purgatory there were beings of Light such as Angels.
"To be honest," Joe said, "as scary as it is..."
"I think that thing out there is pretty... amazing.."

Fool went over to the Beta Fiend Tanks and placed his hand on one of them.
"Yeah," he quietly admitted, but only to himself.
He didn't think even Joe heard his reply.

There were research notes on the tablets here in the SECRET LAB.
They elucidated a lot of information regarding the development of different classes of Fiends.
The Proto Fiend seemed to be the origination of all Fiends.
Although the one they had just fought out there was really just... a replication.
It wasn't a real Proto Fiend.
The original generation seems to have been about 5 to 10 times stronger.
Just thinking about, and thinking there were likely dozens or hundreds of them,
Made it easy to imagine how the human society from back then had been so easily wiped out.

From this lineage two weaker classes of Fiends naturally developed through 'evolution.'
Alpha Fiends are known as the great monsters of this world.
They are genetic mutations of original Proto Fiends, who traded raw strength for special abilities.
Examples would be like the Kraken who excels at underwater adaptability and has many limbs to crush its foes with.
Or a monster like Fire Drake which can cover the ground with flame while soaring high through the skies.
Interestingly, there seemed to have been humans who were warped by magic.
This created things like Undeath and Hybrids.
A Lich or a Vampire was also called a Fiend, but they did not come from the Proto Fiend lineage.
The Beta Fiends are the weak descendants of the Proto Fiends.
They are the common Fiends which can be found all over the world now.
Orcs, Goblins, Kobolds, and other such creatures.
They can be deadly in packs but they do not have the strength of their ancient counterparts.
It was really like the difference between a dinosaur and a gecko.
That being said...
Inside these tanks, a select few Beta Fiends had been captured and experimented on.
Rather, it seemed more like they had been cultured in the lab.

Was the Head Researcher growing... Beta Fiends...?
And for what purpose? If they were so weak, there didn't seem to be any obvious point.

Maybe it was something Fool, who was not from this Dimension, could not understand.
However!
He was thinking about it.
These Beta Fiends might be useful for something if they were woken up.

Meanwhile, behind him, Joe was investigating the Power Pylons.
So far he had discovered that he could shock and burn himself by touching them.
"Ow! They're hot!"

Fool glanced over his shoulder at the young HERO. "Don't touch that, you..."
---

Joe shrugged.
There seemed to be immense energy flowing through the power pylons.
But, probably...
There wasn't much of anything he could do with it.
If he was going to make use of this kind of power source he'd have to at least get very creative.

Just at that moment the door ahead slid open for a moment.
A great cockroach in a lab coat was staring at them.
It adjusted its glasses.
Then, a second later, it pushed the button and slammed the door shut.
"Lockdown!" a voice cried out from inside the next room.
"Put everything on lockdown! We've got intruders in the Beta Fiend Lab!"

Joe glanced at the Security Door again. Huh...
What a strange guy. It made him wonder just who that was!

With the Flood Lights out, it was a perfect set up for combat against the Assistant.
Remulel was thinking it was time to get involved again.
Before that bug could shoot John, he wanted to run in there and try to save him.

Remulel swung his Seeker's Sword in a slanted arc.
From bottom to top, he wanted to cleave from under the tough shell of the opponent.
By attacking beneath the armor he could bypass the defenses of this kind of foe.
It was smart thinking, after all.
Just swinging your sword like a moron wouldn't get you anywhere.
However, tactics were just one thing.
They didn't do you any good... if you missed [1]!

Remulel found himself grappling with the opponent.
But it had more arms and the strength of a giant insect.
Needles to say he was pushed to the ground.
The prototype ray gun was aimed right at his face.
It was all he could do to grab the barrel and yank it away from his face.
But the bolt still punctured him in the shoulder and burned his flesh deeply.
"Agh!" Damn it all. He'd just been healed again, too.
Why was Remulel always the one getting hit with these attacks?!
Couldn't he just succeed at doing something cool for once...?

As for Joe and IG-59, well...
The two of them were fighting again together at last.
And even though [2] neither of them excelled particularly [2]...
It was their combined efforts that made a difference!
John used his tactics, developing a strategy to distract the enemy and leave it exposed.
While IG-59 would use that opportunity to lay down suppressing fire!

Even Remulel, even he-... well, no, he wasn't helping that much.
He was just sort of squirming underneath the enemy.

However, between all of their combined efforts they laid the groundwork for the 'perfect opportunity.'
For the person who would only strike when she knew she could surely kill the opponent.
Carapace? Armor? Those things didn't really mean much in this situation.
Attacking from below? Why? Why even bother?
All that mattered... was that she needed to connect!

Mara Raiev slammed the Diamond Edge into the bug from behind.
Its outer shell snapped and broke easily as the blade ate right through it.
Then the thorax was punctured from behind.
Fluids leaked out of it and it twitched before collapsing to the ground.
Mara took one of the Prototype Ray Guns to replace her other, which had died.
Then she kicked the enemy off of Remulel.
"... Jeez."

Hey, it was messy, but they had gotten the job done.
They were all still alive. That was something, too.
Heh. Yes! It was just like that.
This was that kind of dungeon.
It might have seemed difficult at first, but...
Man, just looking at each other, they could almost weep with joy.
Because it really seemed like everyone could come back from this place alive.

"E---ug-----aaa......AAGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"
The horrifying scream of Short echoed through the entire lower labyrinth.
And it filled every single corridor with an oppressive dread that killed the mood of victory.
---

Now to explain something which was only touched upon before.
'An Angel excels at killing Demons above all other things.'
And why was that exactly?
Because of narrative expectations? Because the story demanded it?
The Narrator of this tale would be pretty pathetic if it was really that simple.
No, there's an actual explanation for why this is.
Angels and Demons are actually pretty close to equal in strength.
If you picked an Angel and a Demon at random,
And pitted them both against the same human Hero.
That Hero would probably have roughly the same odds of success.
But when you pit them against each other, the Angel would win against the Demon.
Every. Single. Time.

That's because Angels can interact with their environment.
They have the unique ability to suppress, nullify, or warp other powers and abilities.
When you think about the ways than an Angel tends to fight, it's usually something like this:
The Angel employs an ability that breaks physics or the natural flow of reality in some way.
While a Demon has a special power that manipulates the existing reality.
A Demon could have a power that takes a flame and makes it grow large.
But an Angel could have an ability that erases the concept of Fire from existence,
Or some kind of entropy reversing aura that prevents the reaction from moving forward.

To put it another way... it must be stated again:
Angels can suppress, nullify, or warp other powers and abilities.
This is unfortunate for Demons.
Because, without exception,
Every Demon has a power or ability that they rely heavily on.

"Combustion!"

Short took a step forward and began to expand his power.
He didn't give a shit anymore.
He'd fill this entire room, this entire dungeon, with explosive pressure.
He would-

"--Deliverance!"

What does it mean exactly? To 'deliver' something?
Well, first it must be taken. Then it has to go somewhere else.
Qslvl, among the Demon Hunters who emerged from beyond the Heaven Gate, was a particular pain for Demons to deal with.
Wizards, Psychics, and other human prodigies would lament his coming as well.
That's because Qslvl had the power of Deliverance.
That meant he would first 'Seize.'
Then he would claim what he had taken, and 'Deliver' it somewhere else.

Before Combustion could erupt from within Short, it was simply stolen.
That power was taken from him, seized completely, and he was left totally helpless.
Actually, the situation was much worse than that.
His power was forcefully ripped out of him.
From the core all the way to the edges.
Corrupted from within. An acorn that had popped.
There was a loud CRUNCH as explosive force came out of Short's core.
His stomach, that is, exploded from within. His ribs shattered and tore his guts to pieces.
And then his body simply vaporized into chunks that splattered all over the room.

Energy, fire, erupting pressure, they tried to GROW,
But instead, they were 'Seized' within the palm of Deliverance.
And they became SMALL instead. They shrunk, fitting into the palm of Qslvl's hand.
Qslvl was just thinking these Demons get more profane and ugly every time he ventured back to Purgatory.
---

"... Hm."

He glances at the others for a moment.
They all stare on, wide-eyed and motionless.
Not a single one among them was a threat.
Pathetic creatures.
He'd deal with them later.

The Angel goes over to the Gate which leads to Est, and peers through it.

"H-Hey... What are you-...?" Gil mutters.
But he doesn't know if he has the strength to speak out against such a powerful creature.
He was now beginning to understand how dangerous Qslvl was.

The Angel is looking through the Gate now, and he does not like what he sees.
Another Dimension that could freely make passage into this one.
Reaching Purgatory was only one step away from reaching the Heaven Gate.
And after nearly dying to defend the Gate once, he could not allow that.
No, the DARKNESS or something worse could come in through here.
This way through... this place... must be closed off.
Rather than that... it had to be...

"--Destroyed."

Combustion was then delivered to the place where it was meant to go.
Hot fire and white light ripped through the Gate, collapsing it.
And the inside, that other Dimension contained within, was made of a unique composition.
Gil knew it well, because he had come from there.
Mostly there were gaseous particles and vapor trails.
And the chemical composition there was largely... flammable... and combustible.
It was the absolute worst place to release the Combustion power.
Well, at least, for those within the Dimension of Est, it was not about to be a happy ending.

Beams of hot light were shining out of the Gate, reflecting out this way.
And Qslvl had no look of shame or regret for what he was doing.
It wasn't just a 'genocide' in the most pure sense.
He was actually destroying their entire Dimension by unleashing all of Short's power in there.
And as long as his aim was true, it would-

But the Z Gun was already raised.
And Qslvl was soon about to learn.
He should absolutely never.
Ever.
Ever. Not again.
Make the same mistake.
Of turning his back or ignoring Quovadis.

There was a soft mechanical whirr and two of the lights on the Z Gun light up.
Just then a wave of psionic energy burst forward from the chamber and struck the foe right in the back of the head.

"Kgahhh!" Qslvl cried out.
His hand turned aside.
And though he scorched the wall with hot flame,
And succeeded in destroying the Gate of Est,
It seemed likely that he had at least failed in completely destroying the Dimension.

Gil saw through the collapsing Gate the wreckage of his home.
It looked like the planted Earth after a meteor had struck it.
That had been enough to wipe out the Dinosaurs, yes,
But even after a mass extinction some life had remained.
And it had flourished anew.
It was better to remain positive and think of it that way.
Est was not completely destroyed.
There was hope for the future generation.

As for Qslvl?
He was holding his head in both hands and his entire body wriggled.
He could barely stay on his feet or maintain his balance.
In fact, his foot shot out, and his knee bent,
And he almost fell and just barely managed to catch himself upright.
---

Now, when Qslvl had scanned the room a moment ago, there was something else he had missed.
Yes, all of the people who he looked upon were 'scared' and 'motionless.'
Of course, Quovadis had been slowly overcoming his fear.
And he found the courage to act when it was most needed.
But... there was something else he had totally overlooked.
That metal plate over there... was a window. It was a one-way mirror, to be exact.
He had never looked at the person standing on the other side of it.
And that guy, even at that time, back then, was not 'scared' or 'motionless.'
Y had actually been ready to attack.
And he was only waiting for the right moment.

And as soon as the Z Gun fired, that moment had arrived.

So before Qslvl ever had a chance to recover, he'd find that the Neonite had charged out of the security room.
It was an enemy he wasn't even aware of. The ultimate surprise attack.
First, the Garage Pet slammed into his face and slashed his eye.
It was actually ripped clean out of the socket.
He managed to wriggle his body to the side and throw Garage Pet off of him,
But blood was seeping from his mutilated eye socket as he jerked his body away.
And, in that new blind spot, Y emerged, Gold Plated Knife at the ready.

There's something, one thing, that not even an Angel can really deal with.
These Angels who were very specific and very perfect at their primary function,
They were so well suited to killing Demons.
They were fantastic. It couldn't be denied.
The thing they could do best was cancel, nullify, diminish, bypass, or ignore special powers.
When it came to special powers there was nothing better to have than an Angel.
And for Qslvl especially he could 'Seize' just about any special power and make it his own.
But, hell, that all was nice, but... still...

CRUNCH! [3]

The bite of a cold, hard knife was something you couldn't so easily nullify with special powers.

"Ack!"
The Gold Plated Knife had been aimed for his neck, but it buried deep inside of his collar bone.
Even with his body weak, his mind being assaulted by psionic waves,
His eye having been ripped out, and the knife buried nearly in his neck,
This was still a damn strong opponent.
Qslvl grabbed both of Y's arms with his own arms and allowed himself to fall.
He swung his body, spinning it through the air, and sent the Neonite sliding across the ground away from him.

Y was tumbled and a bit bruised, but not really hurt.
While the enemy managed to wriggle onto his stomach and begin pushing himself to his feet.
Despite the blood flowing freely from his eye socket, he fixed an intense stare at the one before him.
"Outsiders... I will not let this pass!"
He had been careless and let himself get ambushed by truly despicable beings.
But now he'd do his duty and make sure they were eradicated!

Qslvl pushed himself half up, rising to his feet. His eye burned with intense energy.
It was... oh... it was a red glow!
It was the magic he had 'Seized' earlier from Corrin!

Gil dashed in front of Y, blocking the path forward.
He had his own magic to unleash in return.
Maybe it was something that could compete with the Red Magic!

Qslvl and Gil both unleashed their powers at once.

Amazingly, not only did the Spell of Doubt nullify the incoming wave of Red Magic,
But it actually mentally damaged the Angel and drove him back [3]!
So much that Qslvl actually retreated until his back was up against the far wall.
His form was quivering now.
Blood was seeping from every pore.
Least of all his eye which had been ripped clean out.
---

Had it been the Crippling effect that had made him susceptible to this magic?
No, actually. It seemed as if Gil was just that strong.
The Cripple had left him open to the melee surprise attack,
But this was just a matter of him taking additional damage.
Being an Angel his body was durable, but... even that had its limits.

He spread his wings.

The only thing he could do now was take a mad dash.
He was going to R-...
R...

"No."

He was going to... to...

"No, I'm not going to do that."

His wings began to glow. Hot and gold.
The Light was one with him now.
He was NOT going to retreat.

"I'll cut through every single one of them now."

"EVERYTHING IN THIS ROOM WILL DIE."



[Player List]

Joe, Lvl 13 Young HERO [Fire Chain Whip]
Quovadis, Lvl 14 Sureshot [Z Gun, Grandma Sweater]
Y, Lvl 14 Neonite [Gold Knife, Garage Pet]
Stunt, Lvl 11 Junkbot [Neural Inhibitor, Bottled Djinn]
Gl'thaggga, Lvl 14 Traveler [Crackling Mana Source]
Fool, Lvl 12 Tarot [Ice Hammer]
Remulel, Lvl 17 Fighter [Injury, Seeker's Sword]
John, Lvl 15 Rebel [Dusty Broom]
Sylvester, Lvl 13 Sea-Clops [Pick Axe+1, Nery(^.^)]
IG-59, Lvl 14 SPAM

Mara Raiev: Decided to take charge of the Quest after all of the Knights died.
Short: A Demon who collected a fellow Demon's Soul to bring back home. Has the power of Combustion.
Cloaked Man: A Merchant who is inexplicably still alive even after all of this.

DEATH LIST (3):
1. Carwen. Smashed to pieces by the Proto Fiend. Fast!




---

Stunt will wonder if "Everything in this room" includes the angel itself as he tries to use the Neural Inhibitor (That he's already failed to use once...!) on the Angel.
---

Joe investigates the security door. Maybe he'll knock 3 times.
---

Hah!

@Drakeryn

Up for another XYZ combo?

Although I am worried it might interfere with @Reg action since he is acting first unless we can inverse order? Personally I had another idea for the neural thing for the future but its up to Reg (and I can definitely see the perks in that we don't outright kill the angel so he can buff later (unless gate shut). If we can inverse Stun into neural move (have Reg act after Z cripple) I can assist him while someone keeps Short covered for more efficiency?
---

IG-59 in desperate need of some gear will loot the treasure hoard that Sylvester found earlier.
---

(I doubt it'll interfere. He'll be inhibited AND crippled sounds good to me. The only possible inefficiency is overkill, but I'm not going to presume how much HP this guy has left)

Quovadis fires another crippling shot at the Angel.
---

okay now just for mechanic safety

@Reg

apply the inhibitor now while working with Quo
---

(I don't think it works like that - my cripple goes with an attack)

(also I want this dude dead we are going to AVENGE SHORT)
---

True but I was just thinking the inhibitor action was considered an "attack" technically

Its fine to want him dead I am just thinking of the possibility of him just going back to Heaven

besides capturing him would be a bigger insult (assuming we even can given his shenanigans) and open up more possibilities if we choose to go that route (maybe we can somehow sneak him out of heaven before he gets rekt)
---

[A Short Epilogue]

"---..... gasp...."

He was still alive?
Oh.
No, no he wasn't.
In front of him was the Heaven Gate.
"Well shit."

There was nothing else to do now.
Nothing except-!!
Short looked around for the best escape route.
Oh.
There was no were to run.
"... Well... shit."

So there was really nowhere else to go.
The best he could do was proceed forward.
There were two Angels here.
Alright! Short was thinking 'lets do this!'
But the moment he even thought about trying to fight,
They grabbed his arms and pinned him to the ground.
They even roughly slammed him down, face first.
He was totally powerless here.
"Fine, fine. Lemme go."
"I'm not gonna resist."

The let Short go.
He resisted.
Kicking and biting and clawing and punching.
Finally, bruised and beaten, he was knocked down and lay there on the steps.
"What happens... (pant).... once I go inside?"

The Angels explained that he would be Purged, naturally.
Or was it Smited?
Actually, they started arguing about what would be done with him.
"Well, whatever it is," Angel B said at last, "It's not gonna be pretty."

Short blinked.
"Fine, fine. Whatever."
"But I have one more question."

"How many questions are you going to ask?!" Angel A was annoyed.

"Hey, I'm a curious young man," Short replied.

Angel B sighed. "Go ahead."

"When a Demon is sent here, they have to be brought inside, right?"
Short assumed that was the case. "What if there was a way... to let that Demon go,"
"But you still get to bring a Demon Soul inside and Purge it?"

"Purify it," Angel B corrected.
"I thought you said it was Smite!" Angel A yelped.

"Whatever." Short shrugged. "So what happens in that case?"

The two Angels shared a sadistic look.
"Are you saying... you want to betray your own comrades for the chance to return home?"
"How Demonic."
Angel A looked at his friend. "What do you think about this?"
Angel B looked amused. "He's a disgusting creature after all."
"Maybe we should let him do it. Just so we can look upon his foul nature in scorn."

Aye, that was how they viewed Demons.
Demons were just creatures without any love or honor.
Nasty beings who would even betray their own comrade.
Short removed the Demon Soul he had been carrying.
It was like an orb in his palms now.
He looked at it, deep into it.
And at that time even he didn't know what he'd do.
Honestly, back in Hell, it was considered cool if you were kinda mean or nasty.
Someone who would cheat and betray their own friends was pretty popular.
"Pearl... I guess this is it..."

"Alright then. Exchange the Demon Soul with is," Angel A said.
"And we'll let you go," Angel B carried on.

Short lowered his head. "Okay," he whispered.
He turned around and he placed Pearl on the ground.
"I have your word?"

"Yes, yes. Let's get on with it already."
Angel A was nursing a black eye from earlier.
"You gave us enough trouble as is."

Short could feel something inside of him... changing.
Pearl was already there.
Then the others he had recovered along the way.
"Slip. Quietly. Tender."

He turned around and smiled at the Angels.
4 for 1 was quite a bargain.
Being Purged was probably not as bad as rotting in prison for 2,000 years anyway.
He could handle it.

"Looks like you'll all be going home."
---

;__;
---

Short T_T



C'mon there's gotta be somethin we could do. We got a genie n' stuff

(if we manage to capture angel we could use him as a bargaining chip!)
---