Find the first keystone piece(Plot Mission: Naraku + Frederik)

Before Naraku had become a guildmaster or a kugeki king she had been a member of savage skull. Whilst a member of that guild she had teamed up with two other members, one who now served her in her own guild and one who had become the guildmaster of Savage Skull. It was on that mission that the man known as Frederik had found certain documents detailing the location of a portal to other dimensions. However, the information was quite sparse. It told of the location of the portal, within the mystic tower, and mentioned the need for two keystone pieces which had been hidden away. It did not however mention where these keystone pieces were hidden. Information regarding that was very difficult to obtain and would take time and resources. She had intended to begin the quest of liberating the realm of Envy, or conquering if you prefer, when she was still in Savage Skull, but finding the pieces had been impossible with what resources she had.

Fortunately, after becoming a Kugeki King, and a high king at that, as well as gaining the title of guild master Naraku had gained many more resources than she had before thus she was able to find out more information. It also helped that Frederik was after the same information and had too become a guildmaster and now lead the Kugeki. Between the two of them it hadn't take TOO long before the locations were found. However, it seemed from what she had heard that the haunted castle had been taken over. It had always been a place of spooks and spirits, but her spies had told her that new, more powerful ones had moved in. These were far stronger than the previous ones and seemed demonic in nature. She was told that they reminded her of Naraku's demonic objects, from the realm of Envy, but slightly different. Naraku had to assume it was the work of one of the five remaining elder demons. Five because Envy had been killed reverting Naraku to a child, and wrath had already been defeated by her when she served under Lust. However, the wrath realm had been taken over by Lust increasing his power. It was certainly an irritating obstacle, but one she knew she would have to deal with.

Naraku waited outside the haunted castle, near its gate, and she waited for the other guild master, Lord Frederik as he liked to be known. He would be a useful ally for this job and one highly suited to working with her because of his own dark magic. A casual sniff and a bit of focus confirmed the presence she had expected. Demons from a demonic plan of sin were here and by the smell of it they were none other than the servants of Anastacia demon of avarice and greed, the very demon she aimed to regain the realm of envy from. The task would be tough, but Naraku had spent time refining and redefining her magic using memories and hints her choker, which contained a fragment of Mania(her mother and elder demon of envy)'s spirit. It had allowed her to make her magic into much more of her own and not it was one she felt needed to be feared, even more so then her previous magic.

"Its been a while since I played with a minion of Anastacia." she said to herself remembering the time she had fought and lost against one of them, who had possessed the principal of a school. It was shortly after that moment that she became guildess because Leviathan was disbanded. "I wonder how long they will last before they break."

The Haunted Castle, a place of that housed the horrors of the death. Souls that had never found rest and were killed in some of the most gruesome ways. And they still roamed those very halls. Few dared to enter through these doors and even fewer of those ever returned. But be that as it may those were not like Frederick. A mage who represented the purity of darkness itself. But he was not here for an adventure or to thread in the footsteps of those who survived this place. No he was here to retrieve something very important, a keystone as it may. That would open the gate to another realm. Or for this instance the realm of the demons, not that he had any particular interested in that realm but that stone may give him some clue about the keystone he was looking for. But then it was still one part of opening the gate. He and Naraku still had to find the stone that represented the gate itself.
You see after months of studying Frederick found out one crucial part of opening the gate. It requires two stone, one that represented the portal itself and another for the destination. But these keystones were all hidden within Fiore's rich history. And it would be a rather impossible task to find if you don't have the resources. But luckily for him he was the King of the Kugeki and Master of Savage Skull and together with an ally of some sort he had enough resources to locate at least one of the keystones for now.

He could see Naraku already standing in front gates that lead towards the castle, waiting patiently for his arrival. He didn't always like to work together with people especially when it was something important to himself but he and Naraku shared a similar goal and that made her to be trusted for now. And in the past working with her proved to be beneficial as well. It was some sort of silent arrangement they had.
Frederick approached her while he pulled back the hood that usually covered his face.
'Tortures Queen' he stated only one of her many titles as a way of greeting. And as with most of the dark mages with these high rank they would skip the daily chatter and would go straight to the point. Besides it was rather unnecessary to ask how either of them was doing. They were both masters now.
'So the located keystone is in here, how bothersome. Anyway let's skip the formalities and get straight to it. We are off course in our element here. Or is there something we have to keep an eye out for in there'

"I have told you of the seven realms of sin before. The keystones we are after will lead us to where I was raised, but that realm is under the command of Anastacia." Naraku replied deciding not to hide the truth. He would find out anyway eventually so she might as well get it over with now so they could focus on the mission at hand. "It seems she is aware of the stones and sees them as a threat so has sent some of her minions to bolster up the natural defences." Naraku reached into her haori and without hesitation pulled out her scythe Ripper. It was not her best weapon, but it was her favoured one and recently it only came out when she truly felt it neccessary, which meant she was slightly worried"You've met an embodiment of sin once, the Leviathan we faced. That was a focused embodiment so nothing should be as tough as that, but with two realms at her command...we cannot take her minions lightly. Be prepared for anything"

With those words, strange words from her, she stepped through the door and took a deep inhale. "Its been a while since I was here...when I first returned to the human world this was where I arrived." Naraku said idly to pass the time a little bit. Normally she wasn't one for pointless chatter, but it made her look off guard this time and if she looked off guard it was likely that an enemy would launch a surprise attack falling right into her trap. It was rather quiet, but that quietness would not last long. A piercing scream broke the silence and five strange shambling zombies started advancing towards them. A casual sniff confirmed what she'd thought. "As I thought...they stink of greed." She'd been certain outside, because the place just had that smell. However, it was nice to get some confirmation now she was in here. However, it did mean that any opponent they faced would be trickier than it should be. She twirled Ripper in her hand and assumed a ready stance. "Its been a while zombies....but now its playtime." Naraku had lived here, surviving off what Fluffy(who had not been a wolf at that point but been in a larval state for his race) and herself could find, which had included the flesh of such things. Not very nice, but better than eating nothing at all.

enemies remaining:

The member 'Torturess Naraku' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

'Monster Dice' :

Frederick listened to Naraku, and was a little bit surprised. Normally she wasn't one that shared her personal history like that. A strange occurrence indeed. And coming to this world and then end up in a place like this right away isn't what you could call the best of luck. No the haunted palace was one of the most dangerous places in Fiore even for the higher ranked mages.

Naraku took a small sniff and stated that the she could smell the greed from the creatures dwelling in the castle. Frederick didn't know how you could smell greed or any of the seven sins that is, but it was probably one of those slayer attributes. The another stench filled the air that even a non slayer mage could smell, a smell he was but all too familiar with. Because of his own research he encountered these kind of creatures while scavenging old ruins and forbidden places for clues. The living dead, zombies, ghouls or revenants however you may call them. He had seen them and he knew that even if they were slow they weren't less dangerous.
'Well I guess we can't avoid them...'
At the end of that sentence a darkness from underneath Frederick spread out all over the ground trapping the five zombies in it. This was the most ideal way to handle these monster. They weren't agile so they were easy targets in Frederick's dark pit. A spell that he quite loved, spreading his darkness all over the floor to trap his enemies in it, and from out that darkness he could attack them with raw forms.

Frederick's spread out his hands like he was directing an orchestra, and moved his arms in a diligent way around. The field reacted immediately to his movements, which wasn't that surprising. The field was just like an extension of himself. And it knew exactly what Frederick wants it to do. So when he moved his hands, the field created ten black spikes shot out of the ground impaling the first two zombies. Piercing straight through them, but they weren't called the living death for nothing. So even when they were impaled their reanimated bodies still tried to move forwards. To the only two living beings that could seize their eternal hunger for flesh.


zombies:
(1/1) dead
(0,5/1)
(0/1)
(0/1)
(0/1)

I targeted two zombies

Duration:
Pits of Darkness: 7 posts

The member 'Lord Frederik' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

#1 'Damage Dice' :


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

#2 'Block Dice' :


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

#3 'Damage Dice' :


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

#4 'Block Dice' :

The ability that Frederik had used had been quite powerful and it wasn't one she had seen before. Quite a powerful technique that seemed almost reminiscent of her Inferno Tortura, but it seemed he could make multiple shapes and it seemed the zombies couldn't move outside of the dark field that Frederik had made. Quite impressive. He'd already felled one, but she could see by looking at them that they were getting close to preparing for their famous technique, the scream. The more of them the stronger this technique would be. It wasn't good. She had a way to take them all out at once, but the attack would hit Frederik as well and right now she felt that she needed him, though she hated to admit it. That meant she would have to use Inferno Tortura then. She threw a needle of shadow into the dark field that Frederik had made. "Inferno Tortura" she said as four tendrils 30ft long extended from the dark field that Frederik had made. As they were an extension of Frederik's darkness he should logically be able to extend his shapes from them, giving him more versatility.

The tendrils surged forward, one at each of the zombies, but the zombies were quite quick, which she hadn't anticipated. She'd thought the shadow field would of slowed them, but it appeared not. However, she was successful in destroying one of the zombies slicing it cleanly in two with one of the tendrils. The zombies saw this and charged at her, but she made a wall with the tendrils preventing them getting close. The tendrils were very versatile, which was why they were one of her favoured techniques.

"Three more to go, the fewer there are the safer we are" Naraku said to Frederik. "They are famed for their scream which is stronger if more do it." This was all the warning she would give and in truth it was all the warning she could give. These were clearly, to her anyway, enhanced by Greed so their power was something she could not judge readily. They were MUCH faster than she had expected. A B rank mage should of been able to deal with them easily, but these were giving them trouble. She should of been able to wipe them out in an instant, but even their durability was higher. "Anasatacia...thanks for the practise."

(They will scream on your post fred. If all three remain we will be largely disoriented.)

magic:

dice:

enemies left:

The member 'Torturess Naraku' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

#1 'Damage Dice' :


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

#2 'Block Dice' :


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

#3 'Damage Dice' :


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

#4 'Block Dice' :

'What is this?'
Uttered Frederick when he saw that the zombies dashed forwards to evade Naraku's Tendrils. Normally they came in groups but these were just with the five of them. Making Frederick intrigued about what they still got up their in sleeves. The answer to this was provided by Naraku.
"Three more to go, the fewer there are the safer we are. They are famed for their scream which is stronger if more do it."
'Screams, I never heard about the undead even possessing such a skill. At least not the regular zombies and ghouls.'
Then Frederick realized that he was on the doorstep of an entire new world. These zombies were not natural they were infused with the power from a realm which he couldn't even comprehend. The realms of the demons, an entire new world with power which he didn't knew the context of. Sure Frederick had heard and read about that realm, but he never even realized how powerful that realm was. He had traveled the world and had studied many things about the ancients civilizations of this world. He knew probably even more about legends, myths artifacts then most people. But never did he had a direct encounter with the demon realms. Not like this up close. Not but some small mentioning on some stone wall. But seeing that the power of that world could even cross the barriers between his own and their realm was astonishing.'

'So this is the power from the demon realm..quite frightening really. Our world means nothing to them does it. We are just merely there.'
Frederick knew that the zombies were easily beatable it was just the realization about where Naraku truly came from what was putting him off. But he knew that there was no time for him to fret over this. If what Naraku said was true then those zombies could become quite a nuisance if not dealt with properly. He raised his hands once again to create new forms from out his field. But this time not like spike raising from the ground. But like explosion from dark magic, right under the feet of the zombies.

It worked, well at least on one of them undead. The other two were still moving even though they did miss some part of their body. Humps of flesh that were blown off by the explosions.
But still being alive gave them the chance to use their infamous scream that Naraku warned him about. They stopped moving and for a second their bodies were shaking, as if they were synchronizing with each other. And then it came, a high pitching sound that deafened the ears. And Frederick grabbed the sides of his head with his hands. Not that it helped against their scream, but it was just nothing more then a reflex response to their attack.

The member 'Lord Frederik' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

#1 'Damage Dice' :


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

#2 'Block Dice' :


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

#3 'Damage Dice' :


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

#4 'Block Dice' :


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

#5 'Damage Dice' :


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

#6 'Block Dice' :

Fortunately, Frederik had managed to take down another of the zombies before they had performed the scream so the effect was not as bad as it could of been. However, what surprised her was how powerful the scream still was. The zombies had always had this scream ability, it was a product of the dark magic that permeated this place, but their screams had never been this strong. To Frederik it was probably just a mild annoyance, but Naraku was a slayer and her ears were sharp so it caused her to recoil entirely. She hissed angrily and struck out once more with the four tendrils. Her aim now was to end them so they could continue on their way. She suspected Anastacia had far worse planned. She normally did the greedy bitch.

The tendrils surged out and one was too slow being instantly skewered by the darkness, its body falling in two. The other seemed smarter or at least faster and managed to dodge past the other three somehow. It was amazing in itself that it could do such a thing. Perhaps though it was an after effect of the scream. She could still hear it ringing in her ears. "Only a small amount of Greed is embodied within these. I suspect we will face far worse on our path." Naraku said with a grim little smile on her face. "But...if it wasn't a challenge it would be boring...plus i'll be glad to piss her off."

The zombie lunged forward, but Naraku was far too skilled to allow it anywhere near her. She smiled as the four tendrils dropped into the darkness and then rose up in front of her like a wall. Knowing that Frederik's field could not last forever she placed her hand on the ground and the tendrils receded. They were not gone. Merely hiding in darkness and now that the shadow caused by the inside of her sleeve was touching the floor...the tendrils now had residence in her clothing. Of course, they didn't have a physical presence right now, more a metaphysical one.

magic:

enemies remaining:

dice:

The member 'Torturess Naraku' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

#1 'Damage Dice' :


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

#2 'Block Dice' :


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

#3 'Damage Dice' :


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

#4 'Block Dice' :

With the destruction of one more zombie the power of the scream was reduced significantly. Reduced to such an extent that Frederick could withstand the high pitching sounds for now and could even form a new attack from out his field.
'It's time to finish this hindrance'
This time Frederick spread his arms and then rapidly moved them in front of his body. Crossing over each other. And from that exact same moment new spikes were shot out from the ground at each side of the undead. Piercing through him from both sides and even splitting a leg from the hip.
The spikes retracted as fast as they sprung out of the ground, leaving nothing more then a helpless reanimated body that couldn't do any more harm. Nothing more then just moaning and grunting towards the two mages. But the moaning stopped when Frederick stamped with his foot on it's head, that easily splattered apart.
'Pathetic to end up like that. Anyway let's move on shall we. If it's true that there lay even far more dangerous creatures infused with Greed's power then we better get moving.'
Frederick stepped forwards and with it the black field quickly retracted all the way back to him. As if it was sucked up under the mage's feet. Revealing the floor from the castle its self again.

After ten minutes of walking through the tremendous hallway that appeared to be going in one straight line the finally reached an intersection. Leaving them with three ways to go, four if you counted the one behind them. But returning was no option. Not for these two, so Frederick immediately tried to look for clues around him. But there was nothing to be found on the symmetrical walls of the castle. He then looked at Naraku if she had some idea on what way the should be going.
'Well Tortures, does your keen sense of smell tell us what way to go.'
It was probably their best bet, the slayer mages were known to have a incredible sense of smell. And Naraku had proven before that she even could smell something that normal mages couldn't. Although he actually doubted that she could smell which way they had to go. Then again, he himself had no idea.

The member 'Lord Frederik' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

#1 'Damage Dice' :


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

#2 'Block Dice' :

The destruction of the final zombie brought a sense of relief to her, which in itself was strange. It was a feeling she rarely experience because she rarely felt the need for any relief at all. However, this task had put her on edge. Her first failure had been at the hand's of a minion of greed and she didn't want to repeat it. Frederik had done well with his field of darkness, enough that she actually doubted whether she had even needed to make a move. He would probably of succeeded by himself. Yet the battle was won regardless and the two began to walk.

The long hallways was familiar to her, as was the entire place. She had lived here for a while after all. However, the intersection caused her to raise an eyebrow. She was certain she'd explored everywhere in the castle before, but this intersection did not look familiar at all. "I have no memory of this place." she said and then walked a few feet in each passage sniffing the air. Eventually she pointed to the left. "Yes, the air smells of strong Greed here." She turned around and grinned at Frederik. "If in doubt, Frederik, always follow your nose."

With that she began to head down the corridor. Yes, the air smelled of very strong greed this way. In truth all three passage ways did, but this smelt the strongest. Now, a person might wonder why she was going towards what was probably the biggest threat. Surely, as she was trying to find a item and didn't need to kill everything it would be wisest to stay away from threats. However, Naraku was wiser than this. She knew Greed well enough to know that if there was a rare object, like a keystone, than it would be within the strongest presence. Fortunately, Greed's influence on the mortal world wasn't strong enough, even with two realms, to move the keystone from the location. Which was fortunate otherwise they might never find it. Besides, Greed wanted her head and what better way to lure out the Hell Demon Slayer than with a prize like a keystone. "If Anastacia only had her realm...this would be a lot easier." she mumbled

magic:

enemies remaining:

dice:

'Follow your nose, that is a rather odd expression...Anyway that is our best lead right now.'
Following Naraku's suggestion the two masters of darkness headed left and deeper into the bowels of the Haunted Castle. But even now that they were deeper in the walls gave no indication that they were even near something that could be of some importance. The boring symmetric walls with the torches on it that shimmered a faint blue light. But Frederick knew that this meant nothing, the Haunted Castle was still as treacherous as it always have been, even though the walls were dreadfully boring.

After some time had passed yet again, the two mages finally approached an oddity in the long halls of the castle. In front of them appeared to be a pitch black opening that lead to an unknown room. Even for Frederick this blackness appeared to be hard to see through, only being able to distinguish what to be pillars at the side of the large room. And that were only the few at the front. He had no idea how deep this space was.
So while giving Naraku a look for that they had to be careful he slowly stepped inside, carefully looking around him. Being on guard for whatever would come for them.
But nothing came for them surprisingly. Which got a little on Frederick's nerves, somehow he was sure that there was something. And that it would come straight for them.
'Tch, did I sensed it wrong. I was sure that there was something lurking in here. But there is nothing to be seen nor do I hear anything. Yet I do feel if we are being watched'
Unknowingly Frederick said exactly what was going on. Hidden high up on the ceiling in the darkness which even Frederick's eyes couldn't fully penetrate through, was something watching them with it's crimson red eyes.

'Can you smell anything Tortures, or am I truly mistaken here. And did this forsaken place got the better of me'

The member 'Lord Frederik' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

'Monster Dice' :

The eyes on the ceiling were not the threat at least not at this moment. The true threat were the lines of armor that were hidden in the shadows. "This darkness is not natural." she said to herself inhaling a small amount of it causing a slight flash of light. All of the armor looked perfectly natural, but her keen sense of smell knew otherwise. With a slight gesture she sent out the tendrils. All of them smelled of demon and all of them smelled of greed. Also, for some reason they smelled of reptile, lizard in fact.

The tendrils did not come out of her. No there was no need with the room so dark, though to her it was as clear as day. The tendrils rose up from the ground and attempted to crush four suits of armor. Two fell to pieces. They were empty, but two leapt up out of the way and lunged at her the helmet's opening to reveal a lizard face. Lizard knights. The spirits of demonic lizards possessing armor or so she guessed. How very odd. Each of them was wielding a sword and looked quite fearsome. Well, fearsome to normal people anyway. To Naraku they reminded her of home. The first one stumbled and missed her entirely and the second she brought up her scythe to block parrying it out of the way and then dodged around and into the room. Three others creaked into life at that point and leapt at her. Two she blocked with ease and the third's path was blocked by its comrade. The blows that had been swung at her had a surprising amount of force and the ringing sensation had made her arms ache slightly. Quite strong swordsman and quite fast too.

"There might be more so keep your eyes open." Naraku said. That would be her only warning for this battle. The tendrils had retracted once more. She knew they wouldn't last much longer, but she would use them well. She always used them well. It was just a shame she hadn't been quicker and crushed two of the lizards before they had a chance to move. They probably knew her fighting style from watching other battles involving her. It would be surprising if Anastacia hadn't extracted information from the demons she'd fought near the hunting village. Or been watching other battles. Yes, that would be it. Still, it was weird she'd chosen such a dark room. This was her domain. In a way it was Frederik's as well, but he had merely adopted it. She'd been born in it, molded it by it. It leant itself to him, but it was her ally in truth. Could he survive on nothing, but darkness? No he couldn't, at least not to her knowledge, but she could.

Magic:

enemies remaining:

dice:

The member 'Torturess Naraku' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

#1 'Damage Dice' :


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

#2 'Block Dice' :


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

#3 'Damage Dice' :


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

#4 'Block Dice' :

Unknowingly the new threat that appeared were some gruesome creatures that fought with a sword as well. Lizards warriors, hidden inside the armor along the hall. Watching them every step they took and waiting for a chance to strike. Not only did they posses the skill in melee combat with their weapons but they were also deadly enough without them. Agile, strong, sharp claws and a jaw that could easily bite through one of your limbs. That made these creatures into a good adversary that couldn't be underestimated.

But Frederick's wasn't nearly planning on any form of close combat, and just like Naraku's tendrils that always hid in the darkness he had his own form of darkness magic that resembled that a bit. So as it's aura thickened and his eyes turned black, ten featureless tentacles shot out from the black aura clinging to Frederick. As if they were an extension from himself.
As usual the black tentacles each moved differently to their targets, some of them twirling over the ground while other shot directly at them through the air. Trying to slam into their opponents to wrap around them or phasing straight through them. But one of the lizards Frederick targeted managed evade the tentacles easily. And in the same moment it escaped the life force draining attack the lizard threw his sword at Frederick that scraped his shoulder.

Two other lizard knights on the other hand weren't so lucky, one of them had a tentacle that was phased straight through it's chest. And was pinned to the ground but that. While an other one was trapped in a tentacle that had wrapped around him with such speed that the tentacle smashed the lizard knight with significant force in ground. Dealing the creature another blow.
'Pitiful creatures, now let's see if you guys are enough to satisfy my needs'
Frederick could feel the usual energy flowing through his tentacles towards him, while it was draining his opponents of their life force. Or at least for what you could call life force, because what Frederick was draining from his victims was a bit different then that of normal living beings from the human realm.

Lizards
(0.5/2)
(1/2)
(0/2)
(0/2)
(0/2)


Duration:
Thorns of Demise 3 posts

dice:

The member 'Lord Frederik' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

#1 'Damage Dice' :


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

#2 'Block Dice' :


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

#3 'Damage Dice' :


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

#4 'Block Dice' :


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

#5 'Damage Dice' :


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

#6 'Block Dice' :