While Itori most likely had seen more of the world than anyone else still alive and present on Earthland she usually didn't get too involved in international affairs. During her years as a wanderer she might have helped out small and big settlements where she happened to encounter them but she never developed a desire to become something like a guardian of peace in Earthland, rooting out global troubles wherever she could.

Of course now that she was an Ace of Sabertooth that was technically the kind of role she'd accepted, even if her focus was on extradimensional and extraplanar threats rather than problems created by nations and civilizations within Earthland's boundaries. The long and the short of it was that Itori would rather avoid politics if she could, as these were affairs between entire communities of people which were of no concern of hers as long as they didn't go overboard in bringing misery and suffering to the underprivileged and the oppressed. If things spiralled out of control to that point it was no longer a political but an ethical issue.

The reason Itori was pondering this was because recently she'd been hearing about trouble flaring up between Pergrande and Bellum. Of course both nations were constantly bickering and trying to make life difficult for the other: their past history made it impossible for them to get along. But the recent developments were worse than normal: what usually didn't go beyond trade wars and threatening statements appeared to now be escalating into skirmishes and military action. So far both sides had done their best to maintain deniability and claim that their behaviour was at worst defensive while the other side was being defensive, but the tenko was too old to be fooled by that kind of rhetoric. Neither side wanted to be seen as the one to break the tenuous peace which had existed throughout Ishgar but they certainly wanted an opportunity to bloody the other's nose if they could.

"You've been staring into the distance for a while now. What's on your mind?" Next to Itori walked her companion Nenet, the phoenix as usual having her palms resting on the back of her head as she walked, a quirk which made her chest stand out. Given that she did this regardless of whether they were alone or not Itori suspected that, as provocative as it might look, the phoenix was not actually doing it to entice others. Even if she probably wouldn't be opposed to any advances either. Nenet was a very free spirit, so free that the nine-tailed fox sometimes wondered which one of them was following the other around.

"It appears that the peace we have been fortunate enough to reside in for the recent past is about to be interrupted." While her expression remained mostly calm there was a furrow in her brow to subtly convey sadness, concern and disappointment. "The world as a whole might be moving steadily towards a brighter future but we shall be forced to face a setback and overcome it."

"Eh? What are you talking about?" Nenet looked mostly confused, although she could tell that Itori was being serious. The tenko wasn't above jokes and frivolous statements, but she wouldn't mess around when it came to something like this. The phoenix for her part hadn't really been paying attention to international politics, as she was much happier spending her time getting drunk, whether alone or with others.

"Are you aware of the history between the nations of Pergrande and Bellum, and their current situation?" Luckily for the two of them Itori was patient enough that she would always patiently explain to Nenet what the fire-winged bird might have failed to pick up on. It might be considered a lopsided relationship by others but Itori didn't mind and Nenet had her own contributions as well.

"That's that place up north that hates magic, right?" Nenet made a face as she shrugged dismissively. "Too cold for me. And the other place... bunch of people worshipping the magic god or something, right?"

"You are correct regarding the broad strokes of their culture. Pergrande is a strictly military nation which has condemned magic in all its forms ever since past attempts to conquer the continent were foiled by magical disasters. They do not tolerate magic of any kind, and as a consequence they have developed highly sophisticated technology to compensate for their lack of magic. Bellum, on the other hand, is a theological state devoted to Arcanos, the most commonly revered god of magic. A nation formed by former citizens of Pergrande who either were born with innate magical capabilities, forcing them into exile, or sympathized with those who were hunted by Pergrande." It wasn't an unusual story: many countries throughout history had been formed by rebellious groups or outcasts refusing to lay down and die.

"For as long as Bellum has existed Pergrande has denounced it and treated it as a rebellious province rather than an independent country, while Bellum has condemned the ruthless approach Pergrande takes towards magic in all its form. Recently, however, it appears that the situation has deteriorated into open hostility. While there have been no confirmed instances of conflict between official military groups from either nation skirmishes have been reported around their shared borders." Itori's brow had furrowed even further as she explained the situation. "If we compare this development with historical events there is a high likelihood that skirmishes will eventually turn into an actual war, unless substantial effort is poured into preventing such a disaster."

"That is pretty bad yes. On the other hand, it's got nothing to do with us, right?" Nenet could understand why Itori might not be happy with this news, but Fiore was on the other side of the continent. It wasn't like they were planning to go to Pergrande or Bellum anytime soon.

"As the world progresses relationships and connections between nations become stronger. The consequences of this impending conflict can affect the entirety of Ishgar. As for us, personally... we might become involved very soon." Before Itori could elaborate she heard approaching. Once the other Ace rounded the corner the tenko inclined her head and gave the blue-haired mage her usual polite, but friendly, smile.

"A good day to you, Miss Sabin. I believe I can be of service to you, yes." She'd already spotted the letters Gaia was holding, and it didn't take long before the tarot mage explained that she wished to go and help Bellum in the fight against Pergrande. The tenko didn't take very long to make up her mind. "I would rather that we could resolve this issue without conflict, but I understand that currently our priority is the safety of the innocent."

"...You knew this was going to happen, didn't you?" Nenet didn't look very annoyed despite those words. Maybe a tad exasperated that Itori always acted like she knew everything, even things which hadn't happened yet.

"Miss Sabin was originally a citizen of Bellum. It is hardly surprising that she would find herself unable to remain here after hearing of current developments." Itori turned back towards Gaia. "We shall gladly accompany you to minimize the damage those skirmishes might inflict upon the inhabitants of Bellum. Still, even with the three of us together we might not be sufficient if the situation deteriorates even further. Might I suggest that we seek out the aid of Mister Uchuuken and Miss Mira? Mister Uchuuken should be well-suited for engaging the adversaries we might face, and it would be difficult to overstate the value of Miss Mira if we encounter anyone in dire need of medical assistance." Itori herself was also a potent healer, but it never hurts to have more than one medic.

WC: 1,297
PWC: 1,297/4,000
TWC: 1,935/20,000

@Gaia@Imai-chi@Luceam@Mai Stormschild

"Tensions along the Pergrande and Bellum borders have finally exploded into yet another confrontation. War has broken out among the two polar opposite nations once again and the conflicts appear to be escalating and this could break out into a full scale war. Earliest speculation puts expected death tolls in the thousands within the week. In order to combat the disadvantage, Bellum officials have been reaching out to allied nations and the Magic Council for assistance, and in response many of Fiore's guilds have been urged to send any aid they can, and it has been reported that many mages of the highest caliber have been offered incentive packages to join in the conflict. Rumors have been circluating that Pergrande has even violated it's own rule by offering the same to Dark mages and soldiers of fortune for their assistance. This is speculated to be the opening stages of the biggest disaster-" 

Luna pulled out the ear bud connected to her ilac as she had enough of listening to the news broadcast. She sighed sitting down, leaning against a wall as she had the opened remains of letters under her ilac. Letters from the Magic Council, Bellum, and a few friends she had in various places asking for her to join them against Pergrande. Luna knew how this was going to go and she wanted no place in this war, as was expected of her faith. Luna was always riding close to the edge of her religious faith when it came to working guild work, however she always tried to remain vigilant to never end a life unnecessarily and never to hurt others more then what was needed to get the goal done which allowed her to make peace with herself and her goddess, however this time, the world was asking too much of her.

While she oversaw the negotiations for the end of a small, two guild war, that was because the fighting had already reached its end and she was asked to govern a civil discussion, not fight in the war. When she and Serilda Sinclair went to go stop a war, Luna nearly violated her own faith but due to a crisis she was benched keeping her on  the sidelines. Luck and circumstance had always kept Luna's hands clean and her conscience clear. As a Nature Fae of the Vishda faith, Luna's attitude naturally was going with the flow of the world and not imposing will, so that usually meant to avoid forcing one's own will or to interfere with the natural order if she could, even if she disagrees at times. This idea has always had many interpretations but to Luna it meant just because one disagrees with another, doesn't make it right for one to force the other to conform values, but others are free to follow that if they choose. 

Ultimately Luna didn't see it as her place to interfere in the actual conflict of Bellum and Pergrande since their conflict was not unnatural, and it did not threaten her in any way so she declined to interfere. At the same time she relished the thought of being in a mobile surgical hospital, healing soldiers of all ages, restoring them to health only to watch them be forced back out to fight again to get hurt, experience traumatic events. She did not want to prolong anybody's suffering.

"Pergrande has enough land as it is, they don't need to expand or die. Fact of the matter is a border wall and a treaty would do everyone a hell of a lot more good then just a conquer all attitude." She said complaining seemingly to no one until she blinked, a hallucination came into existence of a elderly man. "Greed is a powerful thing, everyone wants more, but few of the many can actually sustain much. A smaller number realizes they don't need to keep expanding to thrive." He said before Luna stood up, began to walk through the halls. "Just it's insane at times that humans have created such wonders, but it still takes a great sacrifice to realize 'okay, we need to sit down and talk this out and reach a civil agreement'. It's confusing at times. But no use complaining about it if I don't intend to get involved. I'll just have to watch from the sidelines and hope that this fire burns out quickly." Luna said as she was calming herself down, managing to balance herself again as the hallucination walked beside her. "Though us talking does make me look a bit crazy to my peers. So yeah." Luna said as she was walking through the halls towards the job board, wondering if there would be anything she could handle within a day. She didn't need the money immediately at this time, she was mostly doing jobs to pass time but she stopped when she smelled a familiar scent.

If trying to deal with Yggdrasil's voice was not enough, adapting to daily life with her enhanced slayer senses was another, as she could easily and intuitively know what's around. "Wait is that Gaia?" Luna said as she was walking down the corridor, and what further she could sense the other ace and her avian companion. As Luna got closer she could overhear Gaia mentioning the conflicts between her homeland and Pergrande before she soon realized why Yggdrasil was so willing to discuss the conflict earlier. "You rotten Ash tree- you knew this was going to happen." She said turning to the side and the hallucination had already vanished, she looked around frantic for the moment. "So it's like that... Here I thought we understood each other Yggdrasil." She sighed before shrugging off the tree. Luna walked over towards the three ladies as she would try to calm down and see the papers Gaia was holding.

"Gaia, are you seriously considering fighting for Bellum? A land and not to mention a family that treated you like a second class citizen for no good reason, I understand there might be a few good eggs there that you value, but wouldn't you rather just help them escape? I mean seriously, Pergrande and Bellum have been playing this game for years and everyone knew it was gonna turn hot, everyone had time to make a life far away from that place." Luna said although she felt as though she was stating the obvious. Luna sighed as she thought that she wouldn't be the one to advocate to Gaia the risks of going to war. "Not to mention you have a life here, even a Wizard Saint going in there with a team has a good chance of leaving in a body bag, look in all honesty we'd be best off to stay clear. This isn't as dangerous as a normal job or even a ten year, a full army of desperate supremacist's, what are you thinking? You have kids for Shirain's sake, is a few old friends worth risking your life over? What are we supposed to tell your widowed husband?"

Luna sighed, rubbing her eyes as she had a feeling that she was going to regret waking up today. She closed her eyes rubbing her face for a moment as she was going to try and weigh her stance on the matter at hand. After all now there was was a personal stake for her involved, she never personally met Gaia's children, however she knew all too well from experience the pain of growing up without parents before letting out an exasperated groan. "Alright, fine, no need to talk me into it. If you are so intent of walking into a suicide mission I'm following, no complaints. Someone needs to be able to drag you from the blood fest and make sure you return, alive.

She said as she looked over towards Itori, since she can't overhear the telepath she could only assume what the Kitsune thought. She always felt that she and Itori had similar values with some differences. "Need I assume you already agreed to follow her into this storm and recommended Victoria, Imai, and Kenna as well?" She explained as she had a feeling as to what was happening. She knew that something like this would be too risky for any newer members or those that cannot handle themselves in an intense situation. "Other then those not many who I'd recommend, Mai is too inexperienced and not mentally capable for this so yeah, which leaves a big problem of finding a sitter for her so she doesn't follow... Also Neptuna but Zina can handle her. Anyways I can go any time, just need to grab my car, it's parked in the arena at the moment... I had Mai cleaning my car as punishment for spitting on Imai."

WC 1465
PWC 1465/4000
TWC 3400/20,000

It was getting messy in his bedroom lately. All his papers were just laying about on his desk, and there were even stacks of books piled on his chairs. In the middle of the room located in his place in Ace of Spades, threads held up a roughly shaped crossbow of bluish colors with a steel wire string and other mechanical attachments. The wildcard of a mage had been working on this weapon for what felt like eons but had actually just been a couple months; ever since his visit back at Shirotsume WW High, he made splendid use of the scrap materials he brought back home from that annoying place, including LED lights, metal wires, blocks of Damascus steel, paint and chargeable pygmies Lacrima. He also had a quiver with several sets of arrows next to the crossbow, and it was pretty clear to see where he was going with all of this.

A swiss army knife of a crossbow was his goal, in which he started this little project of his. The arrows all held special heads with either one of the shining, blue Lacrimas or a trap device attached. A batch held a Lacrima that released a force field made out of emerging, blue, plasmatic energy that would form a dome around the arrow and guard those inside of it from outside attacks. Another batch of arrows held a round metal orb on the tip that would burst into thousands of tiny needles upon impact. Those were good for either blinding the opponents or just rendering their senses low, given that a thousand needles spread all over our body sure would hurt like hell.

It was kind of bloody… but that was one of the specifics on this blueprint that Imai had in his possession, and while it was an old one, he intended to follow it through to the end. Sometimes, extreme means could save lives.

Another batch of arrows functioned as grappling lines, being tied by a titanium wire. The wielder could tie the other end around the crossbow itself and then shoot an arrow out like a grappling hook, allowing the wielder with no power of flight to enter cutaway areas and even tie up opponents. Another batch of arrows had unlit sticks of dynamite tied to them - he had a few accidents with those during his tinkering - and then there was his AP Drill Arrow, which spun during flight and drilled through almost all defenses with its titanium drill tip.

These were all built and tinkered with in Imai’s bedroom, being dealt with during his free time. It was taxing, for he didn’t give himself time to unwind or tug the oak bat in times of rest, but still- this weapon could prove helpful to him. His magic was all about powering through and to deal devastating damage to his opponents, but this crossbow could give him some dexterity. He decided to dub it ‘KT-113 Azurewrath’, coding a name into it via Shirotsume WW High standards.

“… Wait, don’t I have an offi- FFFFFF-“

A sudden, profane cry escaped his mouth and echoed across the saffron-colored street in Ace of Spades where he had his room, a result of a random bat to the head that gifted him the painful realization that he could’ve built this in his office in the guild hall - there was so much more room there than in his bedroom, damn. This was almost as humiliating as when Mai spat on his face earlier, when he was heading back home with blue paint for his crossbow. Damn, little devil held zero respect and regard for him and his life, his duty as an Ace and his efforts in keeping the guild - ergo, people like herself - safe, and at times, it grew too much for him… but he stayed patient, solid and hopeful that she would grow out of this phase of hers. Kids were to change drastically when they grew up, and maybe Mai would regret her old ways when she became of age… either that, or she would actually, accidently kill him someday…

… Nah, he could take her down. God Slayer or not, she had obvious weaknesses that he was more than willing to exploit for her own safety - just like many other guildmates had done to calm her down up until now.

Brrrz!

His iLac vibrated enough to almost fall over the desk while Imai finished the painting of his Crossbow. He turned around and pulled off his goggles before picking it up, spotting that Gaia had sent him a message.

…

It turned out that a war had broken out between Pergrande and Bellum - something always felt odd between those two countries, what, with their sharply clashing ideologies on the topic of magic. ‘Magic for life’ contra ‘To hell with magic’, which simply painted the relationship between these two governments as beautifully as the painting of his crossbow.

He didn’t know that Gaia herself was from Bellum, though… he rarely cared about people’s backgrounds before they joined the guild, but as an Ace, maybe he should learn more. What mattered now, however, was that Gaia wanted assistance in aiding her relatives and friends who were caught in the crossfires, which invited just the right circumstances to test out his crossbow.

While war was grim and unforgiving, bloody and reluctant in favoring any side, Imai took most aspects of grim life and faced them head-on with his own ideals. He wouldn’t let war scare him… besides, what was the worst that could happen?

. . .

A faint, hissing sound of wind would travel towards the four ladies gathered in Yggdrasil, and if they looked up, they would see a bluish entity committing too many frontal flips, spinning like a car wheel on a highway. Only when his feet clapped the solid, smooth floor of their head base did his characteristics appear; donning his blue-themed clothes, his headband, the plaster on his nose and with his Azurewrath strapped onto his back. Sei hung onto his back and shyly poked its head out to face the others, a little dizzy from Imai’s previous stunt.

“I-I got the message… ‘sup, pretties,” Imai greeted the bunch; he got to meet the famous Luna, at last, the mother figure of that… demon. Itori and Gaia were hood siblings to him, but who was the orange bird chick? Imai kept shifting his glances between all of them, wanting to embrace Itori’s soft, floofy tails once again, to clap Gaia on the shoulder and assure her that he would assist her, to greet Luna and establish an actual connection, and flirt with the bird girl a little…

So many beauties, but only one Imai… a cruel but alluring situation.

WC: 1134
PWC: 1134/4000
TWC: 4534/20,000

I'm rolling my 10 monsters now (aside from the monsters in ST)

The member 'Gaia' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Monster Dice' :

Rolling for victi-monsters.

The member 'Itori' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Monster Dice' :

Itori nodded and smiled back as Gaia expressed her gratitude. Even if Gaia had left Bellum behind due to unpleasant circumstances it was difficult to completely forget your family or your origins. "Do not mind it too much Mrs. Sabin. Leaving aside your personal connections to the situation, the truth is that the conflict between Bellum and Pergrande is one which could affect many innocent souls. It is only prudent for us to intervene and make an attempt in minimizing the impact this regrettable situation will have on those who did not wish for it." Sabertooth might primarily protect against otherworldly threats but at the end of the day they were protectors. The tenko personally simply would rather not sit idle while people suffered.

"I guess we'll be kicking some ass then." Nenet stated more bluntly, wearing her usual grin. She knew that Gaia and Itori were more concerned about keeping people safe but she knew that in a warzone there would be fighting. Despite her being a phoenix she was more suited for combat than healing, and quite frankly she had a lot more fun when brawling than when she was applying bandages or something. "How long to gather the others?"

"You will not have to wait long."

"Ito I swear if you don't stop-"

It was that moment that Luna arrived and began her attempt to persuade Gaia away from interfering with the war. Nenet watched with raised eyebrows while Itori observed eyebrows. Clearly the nature fairy had a strong opposition towards the idea of getting involved, but the nine-tailed fox already knew that her words would change little. Gaia wasn't someone who would just run off to a war without having thought about it beforehand, so Luna's arguments weren't anything the blue-haired mage hadn't already considered.

Neither tenko nor phoenix initially got involved in the argument between the two other women. Itori waited until Gaia had given Luna a piece of her mind before she stepped forward, both in response to the pink-haired woman's words and to give her own input. "A good day to you, Miss Mira. I have already agreed to help Mrs Sabin, as you have correctly surmised. I also believe that the situation is not as black and white as you have portrayed it." She gave a small bow as she said this, then straightened up before continuing. "For individuals, especially individuals similar to ourselves, it would indeed be within the realm of realism to simply leave Bellum and Pergrande behind. However there are many complications which would make a similar act impossible for the entire population of a nation, not even mentioning the artificial restrictions Mrs. Sabin mentioned. Logistically speaking such an undertaking would be grander than any which is still remembered by the world." Excluding herself.

"Beyond that, Pergrande is a military nation which in ages past acted fervently upon the ambition to conquer all known lands. An ambition which was only halted by the same disaster which bore a hole in Ishgar and rendered the country of Sin uninhabitable. Their response to our attempts to evacuate all who wish to not be involved in the current events would be to capitalize upon the opportunity and advance. I have a strong distaste for violence, and wish to prioritize protecting those who cannot reasonably be expected to protect themselves, but there is also merit in sending a clear message to Pergrande that if they attempt to resume their conquest from ages past they will face opposition from the entirety of Ishgar, not merely the country which happens to be between them and the rest of the continent." Itori's voice was calm and level, but she wanted to make it clear to Luna that the situation was serious.

"Miss Mira, I understand and respect your desire to not get involved in worldly matters whenever possible, but sometimes we must act for this world to remain one we wish to reside in." Those with power should be careful when they act, but there were times where you did have to act. "We are not planning to answer violence with violence. We shall go there to help the unfortunate and the innocent, and only use force when needed to achieve that objective."

"Also it's kind of easy to say 'let's not get involved' when you're living on the other side of the continent and the ones feeling the consequences are the people you decided not to help." Nenet chipped in once Itori was finished. The nine-tailed fox shot Nenet an annoyed look for that, as she didn't want Luna to feel like she was being guilt-tripped into helping. "Miss Mira is under no distinct obligation to aid these people. Please refrain from twisting her arm like that." Nenet just shrugged and looked the other way.

"As for the possibility of Mrs. Sabin dying... rest assured I shall do my utmost best to prevent that. A task which I may be better suited for than most." Itori had never competed directly with Luna but she was pretty confident that the nature fairy was the better healer of the two of them. That said Itori was a divine entity who served as a link between the world of the living and the world of the dead. Even if she wasn't as good at curing illnesses and healing wounds she was highly specialized in keeping people alive even under dire circumstances.

With all of that said Imai arrived. Itori and Nenet both watched as he made his entrance, Nenet giving him a small applause while Itori merely bowed and smiled. "A good day to you as well, Mister Uchuuken. It is good to see you in good health, and willing to aid us in our mission."

"You'll be helping me knock some heads around." Nenet chimed in.

---

During the trip to the border of Bellum and Pergrande Itori would be largely silent, her attention on an orb of spirit and life essence which swirled between her hands. Nenet on the other hand would be quite lively, but then again, Nenet was always lively. The phoenix would be energetic and passionate until her very last breath.

When they arrived Itori would disappear into a tent, taking several minutes before stepping out again. Gone were her usual clothes, replaced by a sensible suit of red armour in the traditional style of Midi warriors. Her vulpine features were also nowhere to be seen, making her almost look like an entirely different person even though her long silver-white hair and her vermilion eyes were the same.

Nenet, on the other hand, didn't bother with changing her attire at all. The phoenix just sat down and waited for the others to be ready to head out, playing with some fire as she hummed a tune to herself. When Itori appeared in her armour the phoenix woman grinned. "For someone who wants to avoid violence you're awfully well-prepared for it."

"The best way to minimize the harm caused by conflict is to be prepared for it." Itori replied smoothly. On her hip was a white sword which, similar to her armour, was in the traditional style of Midi. The only thing slightly out of place was the essence orb hovering above her shoulder which she'd been focused on during the journey, brimming with mana and life force.

Walking up to Gaia Itori would give her a small bow. "I see you have prepared yourself Mrs. Sabin. However, before we proceed it might be prudent to address our uninvited companion." She wasn't sure whether Gaia was aware of it, but it was difficult for stowaways to hide from someone who could practically hear your thoughts from the way the neurons buzzed in your brain.

WC: 1,289
PWC: 2,586/4,000
TWC: 6,810/20,000

@Gaia @Luceam @Imai-chi @Mai Stormschild

Post for rolling

The member 'Luceam' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Monster Dice' :

Luna listened to Gaia as she pleaded for her case before Luna had already cracked and gave into the request of the woman. However Luna found the comments of Itori's companion to be less then tolerable, while Itori herself was at least managing a form of logic. However before Luna could say something that odds are she would regret later Itori did step in to defend her position and she was grateful. "Thanks Itori. My tribe has had a bad history with human wars so we try to stay clear of them. It's easy for humans to say they won't do sick things in peace, but in war, well cages and being forced to be used is a common theme in the tales of my tribe for a reason. You are right that beings like us tend to lack a more, personal stake at times but at the same time this has all the makings of a new Sin." She said before she followed Gaia's advice and headed towards the arena, passing Imai by as she did so. "This is not going to end well even with all the healers in the world there, there is no winning or truly saving anything left there anymore," She commented as she had a feeling there was going to be hell to pay.

Once she arrived at the arena, she knew she didn't have muc to worry about preparations as she approached her JM2 Harlem looking around. Mai was no where to be seen at the moment and Luna proceeded to grab her iLac to text her mother to pick up Mai, assuming that Mai just ran off to Ace of Spades. Considering time is of the essence Luna would make haste and would the watch forty two times quickly while holding onto the car, teleporting away into the space station before she would return back to the guild hall as her preparations were complete to leave.


Later on once the group got to the battlefield, Luna had retrieved her car from her space station before opening up the front and pulling out a briefcase from underneath the driver seat storage and made herself a small impromptu shelter out of moving earth and creating vines for privacy as she would prepare herself. She held onto an outfit for just the occasion that she acquired from Olga to help play to her strengths. She didn't opt for any armor as she had prefer a more free motion style. Once she gotten changed she through her old clothes back in the car before she would slowly begin to reattach the sheathed wooden sword back to her side as she looked around the group.

Luna never really explained the Elifa Von, it just happened to be in her possession one day and she often had it on her person when she visited the guild hall, she was hesitant to explain the blade was a piece of yggdrasil itself. The World Tree bestowed it under dubious circumstances and she did not wish to reveal why immediately. If asked she would explain it's a rare artifact that can heal and channel destructive elements through it, but she would refrain from more for fear of raising the levels of guilt within herself.

She looked concerned as Itori's vulpine attributes were no longer visible, which made Luna concerned in case that would negatively impact the Kitsune's balance. Luna noted Gaia's attire finding it quite cute yet functional as the summoner seemed to truly prepare herself for the task at hand. However a disturbing thing happened once Luna heard Itori's telepathic voice a she was starting to get concerned."Stowaway? Where?" Luna asked concerned before she closed her eyes and focused on sensing around her until she sensed a rather familiar Life Force, faint but it was coming from her trunk. Grabbing the keys from her pocket she would proceed to unlock the trunk of her car as she was in a state of disbelief. She never thought to check the trunk as she believed she had locked the car beforehand, though she could be rock. Opening the trunk door she had a look of disbelief. "How?! I locked the car doors before I left you to wash it! Darn Dagger Corp, making a shielded trunk and less then stellar locks..." She cursed as she saw her adopted child in her car.

WC 730
PWC 2195
TWC 7540

Outfit:

Spoiler:

@Mai Stormschild @Imai-chi @Gaia @Itori

I'll also roll my 10 now

The member 'Mai Stormschild' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Monster Dice' :

Rolling my 10 now

The member 'Imai-chi' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Monster Dice' :

Imai felt carelessly ready to walk straight into a warzone. It wasn’t that he looked down on the wizards and warriors taking each other’s lives over there, but he just had a lot of confidence in Sabertooth’s capabilities – the small group of them did consist of experienced mages. Although, he didn’t spot Kenna-nee or Vic or Salami with them… but maybe, they had already went out before them. Given how impulsive Kenna-nee could be, he could believe that. It would be totally within her ability to already arrive at the border between Bellum and Pergrande as they spoke, unwinding her opinions of the mage-haters. Really, if wizards at times had demeaning looks at the term ‘demon’, then what would literal anti-mages feel?

Oh hey, he even got a round of applause from the bird girl. He winked back in gratitude and replied: “Guess that ain’t new to you, is it?” Obviously hiding a flirt in that sentence, he gazed at Itori and looked just as composed and confident as back when they infiltrated a small ninja camp.

Kinda doubting that I’ll be needed, they equal like four Etherium Cannons…

“Gaia’s fam is Saber Fam, no more to it,” he solidified, wanting to rush to their aid just as if his own, biological family were in danger. It was easy for him to imagine such a scenario, and the reaction it would bring out in him… helped him fathom the weight that Gaia was holding. What kind of half-assed, shitty Ace would abandon a fellow guildmate, anyway? Pretty sure that hadn’t happened before in Sabertooth, for they were all utter, fucking champions in their own right.

Although, he did widen his eyes at the wooden sword that Luna carried. That had to be explained verbally to him, for he was a guy who favored weapons of modern tech shenanigans, so he didn’t immediately connect the sword’s ties to Yggdrasil or any other, magical tree… was Yggdrasil even a real tree? No, really, was Yggdrasil just a tree – that was a better question. Yggdrasil surely looked like one, but maybe it was just an avatar that it took for symbolic reasons – the tree was sentient, too, so that was a possibility. And with things that you knew very little of, any possibility was likely to be its case of being.

However, even when channeling that essay of a speculation through one’s skull, one had to agree that Yggdrasil made for a pretty sweet portal. Imai had been to some ridiculous places through it – lands and biomes so unlike any Ishgar landmark… as if- as if he had travelled to another dimension. The black void? The gigantic pyramid that would shit goat orbees and call them whatever they called those grave places in Desierto? Just to name a few, damn…

Anyway, right now, his focus would be on their upcoming journey to the Bellia-Pergranti border – Imai could only imagine how things looked over there as of now. Despite the others wearing armors and suits for the occasion, Imai was more than satisfied with his usual wear and new crossbow. He seemed much more relaxed and composed, almost frighteningly so, than Gaia and the other gals… perhaps besides Itori, who likely didn’t fear death even if it glared straight into her eyes from an inch away in some eldritch, nightmare-fueling avatar.

Luna made it apparent that she had issues with Gaia’s plan to venture straight into the heart of the ongoing war between Bellum and Pergrande. She did make it sound very futile, their attempt to defend… but they never had a chance to figure out just how efficient their results would be if they never tried, right? Life was full of surprises – maybe something spectacular would happen.

…

…

…

The ride to the border, though, triggered Imai’s magical senses at all times. There was a lot of mana emitting from random people nearby them, and it almost sent him into a dizzy state of nausea. Henceforth, he didn’t notice the one signature of a person that he didn’t want to face right now…

The blind passenger on Luna’s ride who, for some odd reason, had decided to hide in the back of the vehicle and surprise Luna and the others with confetti and shrubbery. Mai… of all entropies, she was the very antithesis of himself.

… What the fuck-knuckling, crap-basking, shit-staining bucket of hell goo-, he thought like one diagnosed with Tourette’s before opening his mouth, “Eh? Mai, you little creature, you made Miss Luna worried now.”

She would immediately blame him for Dagger Corps shenanigans that, probably, weren’t a defect as much as Mai being such an unpredictable force of nature with little to no sensible limit of reason. To sum up her argument:

She spat at him out of nowhere – no provocation was sent to her by himself leading up to that bad, bad behavior.
Because of said action, she was scolded and disciplined by Luna.
Now, she blamed him for making everyone disappointed in her.

Mai’s irrational actions = Imai’s fault entirely, apparently.

He quickly grabbed the figurine of Gaia that Mai hurled at him, glaring at how chewed up it was. This wasn’t even candy… Mai, what the shit? “M-Mai – for fuck’s sake – we’re in the middle of a very important mission, so can you behave for like 5 minutes?” he begged her with a vein popping up on his forehead. 8-year old or not, Mai was so mean to him… usually, Imai dismissed her mean actions, but they were going to help-

“Hey, Mai!” Imai called her up loudly to catch her attention, even though she only glared at him for the moment, “Good people, very good people we’re going to see. People who…hmh… people who are friends with Miss Luna and Space Lady, yes. You’re going to say hello to them, and you will protect them from meanies who bully Miss Luna when you’re not around – meanies with masks and helmets and stuff, meanies who don’t like candy and that weird music you listen to. If they don’t like that, then they don’t like you, got it?”

Man, he was waffling so wildly… he always doubted if his psychological approaches towards Mai would work.

WC: 1038
PWC: 2172/4000
TWC: 9628/20,000

As Itori has suspected, once Mai's presence was revealed it quickly led to quite a bit of shouting and frustration. Luna obviously was mad that Mai had managed to sneak along without her knowing, including breaking into her strange vehicle despite its supposed protection against such intrusions. Imai was irritated because every time he and Mai were in the same area the small god slayer would immediately start harassing him. While the red-haired man was quite the amiable fellow he didn't have unlimited patience, so it was no surprise that after having to put up with Mai time and time again eventually he'd begin to develop a rather short fuse when it came to the child's antics.

And Gaia was upset because she didn't want a child involved in this situation, especially one as volatile as Mai. The tenko watched as the three adults and the child bickered a bit. Well, more like Luna tried to think of what to do with Mai, Imai tried to persuade Mai into helping out, and Gaia did her best to get Mai to just sit still and be quiet. Itori mused to herself whether it had been a good idea to stay quiet about the slayer's presence or if she should have revealed the stowaway before they departed. On one hand, it was better to keep Mai away from the warzone, where even her innate power couldn't guarantee her safety against some of the enemies they would be facing. Aside from Mai being just as likely to attack Imai as the hostile forces nobody actually wanted Mai to get hurt, both because it could cause her to lash out randomly and because, well, most decent people had strong inhibitions against letting children get seriously hurt.

On the other, Luna was about the only one who Mai listened to without any complaints. Gaia and Victoria also could manage it from time to time, but one of those was here with the rest of them and the other was almost definitely attending this war in another location. So that left nobody back home who could safely contain Mai. Given that the storm slayer was known for wreaking havoc when left unattended that was a rather risky move to take. And there was no denying that, child or not, Mai's firepower could be a valuable asset in the war if she was pointed in the right directed and guided by some people with functional brains.

At the end of the day the reason why Itori had remained quiet about Mai was because, as they left Yggdrasil and were about to depart to the battlefront using Luna's vehicle, she'd seen a triplet of branches which had fallen into an uncannily precise arrow pointing in the direction of Bellum. While not very informative the message was very straightforward: no hesitating or holding back. Keep moving onwards. Itori's fortune-telling wasn't so advanced that she could always get all the exact details out of omens, but in these circumstances she was pretty confident that the sign referred to Mai's situation.

So here they were. Nenet was mostly confused, watching Mai first throw something at Imai and yell strange accusations at him before sitting down in a sulk. "So now we have to watch a kid during all of this?" While she didn't exactly dislike children Nenet would rather not be distracted by one while she was in the middle of a fight. Especially since she'd heard from Itori just how much trouble Mai could be, a combination of power and childish irrationality. The phoenix folded her arms as she looked from Imai to Gaia with a puzzled frown before finally turning to Itori. "Should've mentioned that earlier Ito."

"I have reason to believe that alerting the others of her presence at an earlier time would have resulted in a less optimal outcome of this expedition." Itori said this softly to avoid the others overhearing unless they were specifically paying attention to her. "As long as Miss Mira is present she should be capable of guiding the actions of our stowaway into productive ends." Itori didn't exactly disagree with Gaia that sending children into a war was a suboptimal option almost every time, but Mai wasn't your average child. And there had been that omen. No holding back or hesitating. "But I shall be more thoughtful next time."

"That's not helping us a lot right now though." Nenet sighed and placed a hand against her forehead. "Never mind, let's just focus on our jobs. I imagine you and Luna will want to focus on healing the wounded while the rest of us try to keep any enemies from doing any more harm."

"Healing of the wounded will have to wait. We have already been targeted by hostile forces."

"Blood and ashes Ito! Can't you-"

It was at that point that Gaia's first spirit summoned itself to announce the presence of Pergrande forces to everyone else. Nenet whirled around to face the direction the summoner was pointing towards with her staff. Itori giving Mai and Luna one last glance before turning around as well, one hand resting on the hilt of her sword. She found it mildly amusing and ironic that she, the spirit fox, would be the most heavily armed of the Sabertooth mages present for this encounter.

Perhaps this was a difference in culture?

"All right, let's do this then." Slamming her fists together Nenet grinned, her earlier annoyance forgotten as she charged straight towards their enemies. The firewall put up by Gaia's dragon summon didn't bother her, the phoenix dashing straight through and into the bullet hell that the enemy soldiers were trying to unleash upon Bellum's forces and their allies. "Take this!" Quickly closing the gap she punched one of the soldiers in the face, fire swirling around her fist and sending the soldier flying backward. However, the fiery woman frowned as she noticed that, rather than falling down, the soldier caught himself and pushed himself up. Seems like that armour they wore was not just for show. "What the?!" Before she could get much further she was hit by several bullets. Staggering backward Nenet stood still for a moment before the wounds inflicted on her healed and she dashed forward again, grabbing the nearest soldier with a hand engulfed in flames and throwing him like a bowling ball towards several other soldiers. "You'll need more than those pea shooters for me!"

Itori, meanwhile, took a more cautious approach. Nenet would be all right: phoenixes were difficult to injure in the first place, and Nenet was at home on the battlefield. Although she hoped her companion would quickly realize that she'd be better off throwing fire around than her fists. Placing her hands together Itori focused on the Bellum soldiers around them which had been hit by the rain of bullets. Some of them were only grazed, but others were already in a bad condition. That angel summons Gaia had brought forth was helping, but the more soldiers were up and capable of putting up a fight the faster this engagement would come to an end in their favour.

"Seiki Saiden"

A wave rippled out from Itori's position, nine ethereal tails taking shape behind her for a moment before fading away again. The wave extended to cover nearly the entirety of the battlefield, forming a spherical area with Itori in the middle. This dome-like structure, extending to nearly a hundred meters in every direction, was filled with a weak silver mist, weak enough that it barely affected one's vision, and tiny pale lights that floated through the air like fireflies. Any living entity within Itori's Spirit Shrine would also show a multi-coloured glow, with every movement resulting in a short-lasting auric afterimage.

The effects of Itori's magic were immediate: the wounded Bellum soldiers would quickly find their wounds healing, with those suffering the most grievous injuries experiencing the uncanny situation of returning to full consciousness even as their wounds weren't fully closed yet. The Pergrande soldiers, on the other hand, appeared to collectively stumble, some of that etheric glow that radiated from them being drawn into the air.

Within Itori's Spirit Shrine her enemies would have their life-force slowly drained and used to bolster the Shrine's healing effects for her allies.

With her Shrine in place Itori separated her hands, gripping the hilt of her sword with one hand as she slowly walked forward. "Try to remain within the boundaries of my domain if possible." With a healing zone established they wouldn't have to waste as much time healing everyone individually while also staving off death if things got dire.

Nenet, being familiar with the spell, didn't falter even as her body began to glow. Instead her grin widened as she run towards the Pergrande soldiers who weren't looking as confident as before, the armoured bunch slowly retreating even as they shot at the advancing phoenix. "It's no use!" Jumping up into the air Nenet used her wings to increase the speed and distance of her flight, landing in the midst of the soldiers and slamming both of her hands against the ground. "Now burn!"

Waves of fire extended from Nenet's hands, enveloping her and quickly consuming the soldiers directly around her as well. Around ten of the poor sods didn't last very long before they fell to the earth, several others managing to get out of range before they suffered more than superficial burns.

Nenet would most likely have continued like this, burning her way through the poor infantry, if it weren't for a hail of bullets suddenly raining down on her from outside of both her range and Itori's Shrine. Even with the phoenix's innate healing and the augmentation from Itori's magic the bombardment forced Nenet to stop her pyrokinetic assault as she put up her arms to protect her more vulnerable parts, the flesh on her arms being torn apart and knit together at a disturbing pace as bullet and magic fought against each other to either destroy or repair the fiery woman. "You sons of-!"

It looked like the Pergrande infantry had received reinforcements. Or maybe the people in charge of the squad had simply deigned to show themselves. About a dozen soldiers wearing higher quality gear were standing a good distance away, six of them suppressing Nenet with their guns while the other six aimed at the other fiery lady who'd been tearing into the ranks of the lesser soldiers with her burning sword.

WC: 1,751
PWC: 4,337/4,000
TWC: 12,462/20,000

Imperial Army Recruit (weak): 12/30
Imperial Army Officer (normal): 48/48
Imperial Guard (strong): 10/10
Imperial Paladin - Private (boss): 6/6

Luna could sense the frustration in her fellow peers, though in truth Luna was silently angry at Itori for not speaking up sooner. Putting aside her issues with the kitsune's silence, she would listen intently on the dialogue she could hear. She put off any confrontation with Itori, mostly due to the immediate situation, but also due to the slight distance she's been trying to keep until she was ready to explain the Elifa Von to the other members of Sabertooth. However she knew at the very least Gaia and Itori shared her opinions on what to do next, but when it came to Imai, Luna was almost ready to break his neck when he tried to manipulate Mai to get involved in the war. She almost saw red, but if Gaia didn't speak up Luna didn't know what she would have done next. Luna was astonished by Gaia's assertive, parental voice as she called out Imai and Mai, but she knew she needed to get her priorities straight. As Gaia's focus was dragged off to the battlefield, Luna knew she had to lay down the law when it comes to encouraging Mai, so she walked up to Imai with a rather menacing aura and a cold look in her eyes.


Luna would lean in, whispering into Imai's ear while having a firm grip on his shoulder. Her tone instead of warm and supportive tone and gentle demeanor, was one rather cold and serious.  "You ever, ever, try to encourage my impressionable and young child into a war again, I don't care what status you hold, you will never be able to carry on the Uchūken bloodline as long as you live, and no matter what pain is along the way, you will live after I'm done, most likely to your chagrin..." Luna tightened her grip intensely to let Imai know she was serious, before her hand glew a soft pink light to heal any damage or sign of what she did before she leaned back and simply patted Imai on the shoulder as her normal demeanor was restored instantly. "Got it buddy?" She said casually before turning to Mai as she kneeled down and put her hands on Mai's shoulders, looking carefully into the other slayer's eyes. "Mai, this is serious. This isn't a normal job, people are going to get hurt, badly. You shouldn't have come here and I am very, very, sad you did. However, I want you to stay back and by Miss Gaia, and whatever you do don't run off, kill anyone, or try to hurt anyone unless they are coming at you." She explained as she was incredibly concerned Mai would not be able to distinguish Bellum soldiers for Pergrande, and she was worried that if she would be hit by Oblivion bullets, death would be imminent.

Luna could feel like she was against a wall as she sensed the approaching soldiers and now the stakes only seemed to get higher and higher by every moment. She would stand up as a pink droplet oozed out of her finger before she would flick it away, letting the droplet ooze into the ground before a twisted root rose from the ground before quickly untwisting with the points folding up as a magic circle appeared. "I call forth from the forest beyond the horizon, the tempered flame that pierce through the night! The centauress archer, Savi!" She called as the white haired centauress carrying a bow made of fire sprung forth from the magical circle before it disappeared and the root withered.

Sparks shot off the hooves before igniting into flames as the centauress was able to run through the sky. Luna ran forward before jumping, terrakinetically pushing herself as she did allowing her to land on the horseback of Savi. "What am I? A taxi?" She said in a joking tone as Luna landed, grabbing a hold of Savi's waist with one hand. "A damn fine one, middle of the battlefield please, charge it to my tab." She replied as Savi started to gallop through the sky on her flaming hooves, taking shots with flaming arrows to lay down cover fire. However the erection of the spirit shrine did throw off the centauress for a moment before she was able to regain balance and composure. Luna's plan was to issue a surrender threat, but when she sensed Nenet's life force she had to change her mind as she saw Nenet start to fall back against a metaphorical wall. "Savi lay down cover fire, I'll take care of the phoenix and summon Zixcor." She explained as she would explain which invoked a shocked reaction from the Centauress. "Zixcor?" She asked in disbelief. "Look, I don't like calling my attempted murderer for help either, but we are in the midst of a warzone, drastic measures." She explained, understanding why Savi was reluctant to work with an embodiment of chaos. "Alright fine..."

Luna knew time was off the essence as she manipulated the ground around Nenet, creating a rather dense and thick barrier around the phoenix to shield her from the barrage of bullets as Savi started to fire flaming arrows rapidly towards the source of the barrage as she galloped about the sky in a random pattern. Luna would jump off the Centauress, hoping that Savi provided a strong distraction so Luna could reach Nenet. However there were a few shots her way, three connecting in her shoulder, hip, and leg before she landed on her foot and knee inside the improptu barricade. "Sorry Nenet, no rebirth for you today, you're going to stay in this life." She said as a pink liquid oozed out of her finger tip before she threw the seed as far out of the barricade as she could. "First... Time for Itori to hate me as I bring forth the necessary evil..." She uttered as the seed burrowed into the ground before the summoning root manifested before shaking, cracking, then exploding into a green beam of light that reached into the sky as a dark storm cloud gathered.

An ominous energy was manifesting within as thunder and lightning came forth striking down on the battlefield, creating a eerie of unease as the summoning took place. "I call forth from the Forest Beyond the horizon, he who has been sealed, the one of chaos, the predator of all. Come forth, Zixcor!" Not long after, the energy beam disappeared and the clouds dispersed as the dragon of life and chaos spread his wings roaring out to all that would hear his cry as he descended on the battlefield. "Freedom! and a feast!" He called out with joy before noting the soldiers of Pergrande as he dived towards the dozen who were aiming at the Phoenix and the Fairy before taking in a deep breath. Green energy began to seep out of the Pergrande soldiers and into the mouth of the dragon as it slowly sucked out the life force of the soldiers, coupled with the field of the kitsune, the men slowly lost the ability to stand before they fell to their knees then over, lacking the strength to stand before Zixcor fired a green blast of energy at the bodies. Of the dozen, four were dead, while the rest were in critical condition.

Meanwhile Luna returned her focus to Nenet as a pink liquid began oozing out of  Luna's right fingers and a yellow liquid oozed out of her left fingers before dropping down to the ground, causing a white flower to sprout forth before unfolding, revealing a multicolored tear drop shaped like fruit. Luna quickly kneeled down and picked up the droplet and would hold it up to Nenet's mouth. "Eat this, it'll taste like lemon. Given your own healing abilities, this field, and the fact that my healing spells are incredibly potent this should bring you back up to speed... Also you may want to look at me." She said as the pink liquid had buried into the ground before a large colony of brown and green beetles came sprouting forth before they would try to climb Nenet, scattering as they would try to each reach for the bullet wounds. "Don't fight the Soul Parasites, they are much better at dealing with bullets then me. Cleaner too, as the alternative is I use sharp rocks to dig each and every one out, however these bugs dissolve as they absorb your DNA and become flesh for you." She explained as one by one any Oblivion bullets stuck inside the phoenix would be pushed out as Soul parasites entered the wounds, dissolving as they turn into flesh and blood, pushing out the bullets. Given a few minutes, aside from some discomfort and pain, the Phoenix would be restored to a relatively undamaged state.

Zixcor the life dragon however, would continue his rampage as more reinforcements arrived and he pressed forward against them as he crashed into the ground. Roaring as the bullets tried to pierce his scales, but he continued to absorb the life force and launch it as destructive energy back at the soldiers, thrashing about as he soon found himself surrounded by ten soldiers. He merely laughed as he raised his head, breathing in as green energy left the men as they kept firing, even drawing blood of the dragon before he would extend his neck and tail, before spinning about knocking the ten men back. 

Zixcor would hear a chuckle as out from the destruction came  a man dressed in better armor then the rest as he addressed the dragon. "A legendary dragon... I wonder, if I win this here and now... will I become the first Dragon Slayer of Pergrande in ages?" The cloaked man said as he stared down at Zixcor, with a snap of his fingers all the weapons of the twenty two men Zixcor personally harmed as they began to float, circling Zixcor as they fired right into his neck. Zixcor began to roar. Sensing his slight distress, Savi turned around to see Zixcor facing down the Imperial Paladin. "Zixcor's in trouble... shit...." She muttered to herself before carefully aiming at the paladin. She would fire her arrow but miss as a gun got hit, Zixcor turned to Savi offended with a hostile expressipn. "DO NOT INTERFERE!" He shouted before shooting a green burst at Savi, knocking her out of the sky and into range of Pergrande soldiers who unleashed a barrage into the spirit who screamed in pain before disappearing into a green energy, dissipating in the wind.

Luna could sense Savi's forced recall as she turned towards Zixcor, feeling incredibly anxious as Zixcor was becoming a loose cannon. "We're screwed...." Luna muttered.

"Striking your own allies? You truly are a beast..." The Imperial paladin said looking at Zixcor who's glare returned to the paladin. "I have no allies, my enemy is the world..." He decreased before shooting a continues beam at the guns surrounding him, before lunging forward at the paladin in a attempt to slash him with his claws, but the man jumped back in response. "All there is, is this fight! Nothing else matters... especially when I finally feel alive..." Zixcor said as his tone was excited, for once the summoned spirit was sounding almost at peace as he enjoyed the fight.


WC 1890
PWC 4085
TWC 14352


Imperial Army Recruit (weak) 9/30
Imperial Army Officer (normal) 26/48
Imperial Guard (strong) 10/10
Imperial Paladin - Private (boss) 6/6

Enemies Remaining:

Imperial Army Recruit (weak) 6/30
Imperial Army Officer (normal) 25/48
Imperial Guard (strong) 9/10
Imperial Paladin - Private (boss) 6/6

… Safe to say, his little mind game wasn’t received well. It was pretty obvious that Mai was a very impressionable child, and that leading any children into open warfare was nothing short of braindead. He was likely the only one who saw Mai as more of an anomalous entity than a child, and while he thought ‘hey, who could blame me after all the shit I’ve had to deal with’, he kept his mouth shut and his face sweating with regret… he hadn’t been scolded this harshly ever since his mum found that ‘femdom category’ box behind his drawer with certain themes not suitable for the reader of this post to witness in any way or fashion.

Now, he too would’ve aimed his focus at the battlefield if not for the chilling grip on his shoulder and the infuriated look on Luna’s face and voice, which drained away all color from the star mage’s face. Being Mai’s mother figure, he too figured that she would be mad, but fucking hell, her threat was inhuman. “O-Okay, okay, okay, I got it, I got it! Hell, Luna, sleep is overrated, anyway,” he almost sobbed out in fear. She was hitting on one of his phobias, really… it felt like being marked by glowing iron on his shoulder, head and groin. With vibrating skin, he nodded back and watched as Luna rebuked Mai for having snuck on the car with them all the way to the border, to which he then found himself drowning in his own thoughts.

I guess that joke wasn’t worth it, not one bit, he thought as he slowly lowered his face to glance at his groin, protectively guarding it with his hands while the three women just ventured out with their summons to meet Pergrande’s forces. Gaia’s gimmick with summoning cards did remind him of their first mission together… Luna’s way of Summoning Magic as well as Itori’s were new to him. He didn’t have any Summoning Spells himself, so he sufficed with his own body as a weapon as he leapt off the car while eyeing Mai off the corner of his eyes. Good, she stayed at the car… for now, at least. She would most likely try to shoot him in the back with one of her GOD SLAYER SPELLS- c-clearly, he wasn’t the only person in the area who acknowledged the destructive level of strength that Mai possessed to the fullest, regardless of her being a literal minor or not?! He didn’t just have to watch for his nuts to meet the sharp edges of Luna’s scissors – he now also had to watch for his fucking life! This was maddening!

The arcane muscles in his legs pumped wider with the channeling of magic, allowing him to dash forward at mach speed to catch up with the others. Maybe, if he just darted away as quickly as possible, then Mai would forget about him and stay put in the distance, away from the roaring battlefield. His magic was too simple compared to everyone else; Luna’s Nature Magic was, in his vision, an all-you-can-eat buffet of primordial spells for all categories of combat, while Itori was just too bloody awesome to be limited to kitsunebi. Gaia’s summons were versatile – and the one with the ram skull made him feel weird, for she gave off the same vibes as Itsu. Ahh, lovely Itsu…

Well, he had a beating to lay out! The wall of fire did melt a couple bullets that were meant for Imai’s skull, in which he poured more mana into his muscles until the bluish auras burst out of his skin.

Falling Star!

His Heavenly Body Magic was activated, turning his entire form into a blue meteor that darted across the land like a laser. His sprint dug up earth with every step that he took, running to unpredictable trajectories with lines of dust and falling rocks in his way. The bullets now coming his way were fired from slightly confused recruits who couldn’t see exactly where Imai’s body was in that huge blink of light that blinked everywhere. Despite the physical track that Imai’s charge left, they didn’t predict his approach towards them until it was already too late and he found himself right in front of them with a clenched fist ready to plant straight through their helmets. He quickly assumed those headgear to be weak spots on their sturdy armors, and with his speed, he could knock out and fill the six recruits’ eyes and face with shards from the wind shields of their own helmets before dashing off. His own fists were bleeding a little as well, but when rushing himself up this much, he barely noticed the pain and felt even more ready to face the other Pergrande soldiers.

… Shit, a lot was happening in the field. Firstly, Imai glared at his hands as it looked like 3D effects were coating him. He touched his hands to see what the visual effect was about, noticing that they weren’t bleeding anymore. His small distraction led to a face-off with an Army Officer who approached him up front, to which Imai leapt out of the way of his bullets that never even reached him in the first place, all because of a sudden induction of electric forces bending the metal away with its new, magnetic force followed by dots in the air from the electric bolts that Imai could’ve sworn he saw just a moment ago. His eyes widened in utter, fucking disbelief – Itori hadn’t used Lightning Magic before, had she? W-What about Luna, did she- NO! NOOOOO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

He mentally screamed at the top of his lungs, turning to the right and pushing his mobility to the upmost goddamn limit, heeding to the blonde, little P E S T who ignored Luna’s warnings and approached the enemies all on her own. What was she thinking?! What was he thinking?!? He was panicking wildly, sweating, almost gasping in fear and worry at the mere sight that was quickly blocked away by incoming Officers aiming their rifles at him.

“MaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

His roar could almost be heard all over the battlefield, his voice cracking mid-roaring during his stampede. The Officers were taken aback by the fury visualized in his face, but they emptied their ammo on him anyway. He used his advance to lower his body and slide on his sneakers to dodge most of the bullets, leaping up in the air and flipping about to dodge some aimed for both his feet and head, and that was when he closed the distance between him and the ten Officers who drew their knives at him at full force.

Most of the knives actually did stab deep into his shoulders, belly and chest. For a brief nanosecond, the frontal Officers could consider him executed, but Imai’s furious gaze was far from dead.

”B A S T A R D S!”

He swung both fists at them all. With about a couple hundred punches per second, he pulverized most of their bones and sent all ten of them flying each of his sides. Some landed near the other women as well, either out of commission or expired, and Imai finally caught up to a charging Mai which instinctively caused him to jolt his hip to the side to side-jump as a means of evasion. “M-Mai! MAI! Go back to Gaia immediately-“

The scene in front of him told lots of Mai’s own accomplishments against Pergrande’s Imperial Guards – one of them lied unconscious on the ground, while Officers swarmed Imai and cut him away from Mai. This wasn’t funny; his crown jewels were on the line! “I will turn your bones to dust if you don’t leave-“

A deafening bellow travelled through most of the other Officers, catching the attention of the others while Mai pouted at her only ally in what looked like a mile’s radius – significantly closer to the other Sabertooth Mages than he thought, but it still felt as if they were locked off from the rest of the world by these soldiers.

If Mai looked closer at Imai, she would notice that he was… somewhat transparent on round spots on his chest, belly and shoulders. It looked like he was made of glass, and that someone had shot cannon holes through him, but he didn’t notice it himself.

“Damn it, Mai, I’m taking you back to Gaia – even if I have to die a hundred times on the way-“

He almost choked in his own words and spit as another Paladin appeared behind Mai in less than the blink of an eye. The sword was lifted, aiming down at her head – instead, the Paladin met a sudden surprise as his chest was hit by an arrow with a huge drill at the tip. This non-magical attack caught them by surprise as the Paladin fell to the ground in shock, alerting the other Paladins and Officers nearby of the wizards’ use of non-magical weapons.

Unfortunately, it didn’t do the Paladin in just yet. Imai would have to make use of his fists, but the Paladin looked fatigued already… ohhhhhhhhhh! This spell, this aura that surrounded all of them – that was Itori’s spell! This could give him an opening to pick up Mai by her waist and charge straight back at Gaia’s location, finding himself pursued by enemies still…

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! Gaia does not need marksmen on her ass right now! I’m glad that they’re focusing solely on us who can defend ourselves, but you fuckers are making everything so goddamn difficult for me to protect my right to reproduce!!! I got a cursed future and a little kid to defend- why are you even shooting and aiming your weaponry at an 8-year old?!?! This is utter shit cramps, I gotta shake them off of me before I reach Gaia…

Ooooooooooooh, why, Mai, why’d you ignore Luna’s command and jump into battle? Now you were with Imai, and Luna would likely witness that and single him out as the black sheep-

Fucking hell, he had no future! He was holding an illegal weapon in his arms, and Officers kept shooting at him. He shook his furious fist towards them, smashing away five Officers and getting shot even more on his torso and legs, keeping Mai from harm’s way at all cost and ignoring his own wounds in hope that Itori’s spell brought his vitality and regeneration up to date, when he noticed that parts of his body were invisible!

“HUWAAAH! What’s happening to me?!” he panicked with only Mai around to actually listen to his panicking voice, “Is this Itori’s magic? It looks like… wait, the bullets did this to me?! How?!”

It was lucky of him to take down the remaining Officers, for their bullets appeared to make him invisible. Who knew, maybe it was a bi-product of their bullets reacting to Itori’s over-arching magic and her Spirit Shrine… magic often worked like chemicals, no? Like causing solid waste on the bottom of a tube to dissolve in the solution via a chemical complex formation.

A hiss in the wind alerted him of an attack from behind when he felt the sharp pain of a sword cutting his back up! The sword, however, was unmanned, but two, cloaked figures had approached them behind two swordsmen. The sword that hit Imai, though, came from the defeated Paladin earlier – the one who got humiliated by a little child.

He gritted his teeth, not wanting to grunt in pain in front of a child. Yeah, the invisible effects on his body were worrying, but at least he didn’t bleed?

“D-Damn it, stand still, Mai…” he whispered to her as he put her down right behind him, before he moved both arms up to point at the sky. The approaching soldiers halted, spotting nothing up in the air to react to. That was his opening! Right next to his foot, a purplish orb of light had manifested – he kicked that orb at the group like a professional football player, hoping to keep the element of surprise…

The orb dissolved, however. Right as it made contact with one of the cloaked, hooded pair.

T-This must be that anti-magic shit they were on about, he hunched. He still had no clue about his own condition, but even in the face of such levels of danger, he figured that another spell could do the trick. It didn’t look like they had any armor on their heads, those two hoodies…

Pointing at the ground, he summoned eight blue magic circles that stretched out to form the constellation of Orion. Nothing artistic happened, however, but a flash of light crashing down from above, coating the enemies in powerful Heavenly Body Magic of Imai’s most offensive fashion. He used this opportunity to pick up Mai once more and regroup with Gaia…

WC: 2152
PWC: 4324/4000
TWC: 17,358

Imperial Army Recruit (weak) 0/30
Imperial Army Officer (normal) 10/48
Imperial Guard (strong) 7/10
Imperial Paladin - Private (boss) 6/6