"Shall we dance?" It's said, it's mouth leaking and frothing a black liquid that to many would be known as 'Liquid despair'. Without hesitation, Emily threw a dozen of explosive tags alongside with a literal Yellow rank Mana core strapped to it. Seeing the danger and the absolutely stupidity of using such a tactic in a closed area, the party ran for their lives. Jake on the other hand quickly grabbed Emily, and bolted before the ground floor collapsed from the explosives.
"Shit!"
Absolute shit.
His ass puckered from the thrown explosives. He wanted to scold her but noticing that she wasn't reacting to it, something was wrong. Terribly terribly wrong. A gunshot echoed through the area.
"Dud." The corrupted soul laughs as he seemed to elude the bullet.
Emily sighs in disappointment as her plan didn't work. It hinged that they would react the way that they did but Jake had cared a little too much now her plan didn't work and she missed because Jake was a tad bit concerned of her. It made her feel a bit flushed but it was quickly over shadowed by the want to scold him but she knew it was a bit irrational for her to do so. A long bang was heard, the echo sounding like a .50E had been shot.
"Damnit. I missed." She cursed again under her breath as the party stopped as they had realized the explosives were inert. The group quickly started to go back to the fighting. In their huds a couple of pings and quick chats were being sent to each other.
Deacon: 'Move him here?'
The waypoint map showed a ping area that was a closed corridor with a thick wall on the other side of the hallway. No exits unless the corrupted soul decides to break one of the doors or god forbid the wall and hits a support pillar.
William: U sure?
Tristan: Optimal but it doesn't mean he could just break through
Whilst reading he narrowly dodged a punch from the clearly mentally unstable man. The smell of the liquid leaking off his mouth and eyes were disgusting but par of the course with someone falling into this kind of despair. With a swift counter he tried to punch the man in the spinal column to quickly kill or incapacitate him for the kill but was swiftly halted by a gunshot and a fist hitting his fist albeit the man's fist didn't hit the daggers, unfortunately a sickening crunch was heard, and Jake quickly retreated. His fists were terribly mangled but with a quick fix of a yellow class restorative potion, the problem was quickly fixed.
Tristan quickly followed up with a flurry of attacks, causing 'it' to try and dodge to both attacks. Deacon tried to put on some pressure before his shield was punched, and a sickening crack echoed through the battlefield. Then blood spilt on the ground. Deacon slightly winced at the pain but quickly backed off. With a swift gesture, the equivalent of hotbar switching and a restoration potion appeared on his right hand.
The Onryou looked upon the bottle on his hands, regarding it with manic smile as the thing seemed to remember something. It's smile morphed to something akin to that of a broken man as it gazed down at the bottle.
"HAHAHAHA. Isn't that a a yellow class restorative potion? Well isn't that Privileged! That's gotta cost around $3000! For just a restoration of the state of your body from 3 hours ago. This is why I dislike the corpos. Always making everything so expensive at the cost of the PEOPLE! YOU SHITTY BASTARDS! WORKING FOR THESE SCUMBAGS!" Shouted the Onryou. His mouth twisting into clear distain and letting the madness consume him. His utter loathing of everything about the dregs of society regarding consumerism, and corporatism. The exploitation, the poor work hours, shotty insurance, expensive medicine, and expensive housing. It was unfair. Utterly unfair. Why should he respect people like these? People who lived in luxury whilst many people who didn't join combat jobs lived in poor living conditions.
The Onryou didn't even realize how lucky he was.
Did he fought for his life every second he got down in the catacombs? Did he know what it was like in the dungeons? The dankness of the hallways? The fear of losing your life in one mistake or lapse in judgement. The sickening smell of stale blood in the air, the decaying bodies, the injuries from diving into the dungeons.
"Soar like stars, O god of the moon, huntress, I beseech a blessing in exchange of an offering of Mana, and the boons of the hunt, I call upon a power not mine. A ritual, I sacrifice something of worth to the god of the hunt. Soar, o arrow, soar akin to the comets! Strike true against my enemies, Atalanta!" In William's HUD blared with warnings.
"Y!"
When the arrow was released, a streak of lunar ash appeared.
When the arrow is released, therefore the arrow has striked the body.
Arrow of the hunt, Atalanta
Spell Type: Aria Prayer
Rank: A
Attribute: Causal-Probability
The Onryou noticing the the shout, and deducing it might be a spell, quickly tried dodging only for its right arm to be severed cleanly from his shoulder. The vengeful spirit could only grunt in pain but quickly recovered as he let himself be consumed by the trade off of his enhanced abilities. With rage, he quickly decide to rush towards the weakest of the ground, the mage.
"Shit he's aiming for Hellen!" Deacon quickly rushed in to cover or atleast defend her. He switched the shield to his right arm to steadily hold and defend her. Jake quickly started doing handseals for a pure manipulation type spell.
Rat -> Dog -> Ox -> Rabbit
"[Dual factor Boost]" The spell activated and was casted on deacon to make him faster, and restore his stamina. Jumping into the fray, Tristan aimed for the spine as to sever it and stop him from moving. A clang was heard and another sickening crunch echoed on the room whilst the corrupted dodged the sword strike from behind. Tristan clicked his tongue as he noticed deacon is temporarily out of commission as his right arm was mangled from the devastating punch.
As Tristan put on some pressure, Emily pulled out and threw some protection charms, creating a four cornered barrier around Hellen. Throwing in another two pairs of ofuda's, the barrier was reinforced with lightning coursing all over it.
The Onryou could only click his tongue and decided to aim for Emily but it was quickly stifled with the combine effort of Tristan and William putting on pressure. Each arrow narrowly grazed the thing's body as the mana sharpened coated arrows narrowly nicked body parts causing only mild superficial injuries, the arrows only grazing due to the hitbox of the arrow caused by mana sharpening and reinforcement.
Jake quickly did some handseals to try and sneak against it.
Snake -> Boar -> Rat
"[Cunning rat.]" He murmured as his presence was turned akin to a rat, and his body shimmered, turning into a mirage like invisibility. Weaker than the invisibility buff with it's visual invisibility and mana signature, it makes up with it by masking the mana signature, and the presence of someone buffed by this spell. Whereas [invisibility] Masks presence and visual visibility completely, it can still be felt by those who can feel wind dispersion, be heard via footsteps, and feel the physical void of mana in an area. Anyone magically sensitive could sense the walking blob of empty Mana space. The [Cunning rat] however would make everyone else think there's just a rat moving around somewhere, it makes them unconsciously think a rat was just slinking around with the sound of footsteps being converted of that with rats moving around and not think about the shimmer of light bending, reinforcing that was probably just a rat. The mana signature was still there sure but the mana signature was that of a rat so it reinforces the mind that it was just a rat. Any guard worth their salt wouldn't bat an eye with rats considering they were there to guard against humans, plus it would make their superiors cuss them out if they were to try and catch a 'rat' only to literally catch a rat. They would just call their superiors for a fumigation or rat removal and report that the building was probably infested rats. They weren't paid to catch rats, they were paid to catch human intruders, abandoning their posts would cost either a disciplinary action, demotion, or firing. They wouldn't risk losing their jobs for some rats.
Must've been the wind ass reaction is the usual reaction to this kind of spell, it doesn't work on people with paranoid schizophrenia though or people dubbed as NSS.
Quickly slinking past the fight, he quickly sharpened the blade of his gloves with Mana, but unfortunately for him, that shot his detectability up to something akin to a rat picking up a knife and everyone noticing how peculiar it was that they felt a rat managing to grab a knife and feel that the rat wanted to kill them. The downside was with this spell that if you were to reinforce anything with Mana and shape that reinforcement, that would overwrite [Cunning rat] that was masking the weapon. Sure it was handy in infils but when you put Mana and used a spell, anyone with a spell capable of sensing killing or harming intent would detect you.
Distracted and curious at the feeling, Jake took advantage of the lapse in judgement and grabbed the torn off shoulder, and tried to stab the Onryou on the spine to severe the spinal column only for the corrupted to pivot and narrowly dodged the fatal stabbing. Forcing Jake to stab into the right kidney, but unfortunately for him, the Onryou was still moving after that despite the black liquid pouring off the large wound. A swift elbow tried to break his hip bone.
'Oh crap....'
Pivoting his left leg, and using a burst of Mana on to uplift him, Jake quickly did a combat roll as if the elbow hit, it would shatter his bones. Deacon had his arm bone shattered when this corrupt bulk of a man hit him. He'd be damned if he let that. The wasted resources of using potions would be expensive, even the cheapest of restorative potions would cost thousands. Whilst the high grade ones could cost millions. Healing potions would be cheaper but the healing wouldn't fix the deformity caused by the healing when bones are not properly fixed. It would just heal around the problem whilst never addressing the problem. It would be more expensive to rebreak the bones and drinking another healing potion via a supervised medical procedure by an orthopedist.
Tristan quickly followed up with a flurry of slashes but the man... No monster continued pushing.
'Does this guy have some kind of Battle Extension attribute? Fuck. It's like fighting the minotaur all over again.... The only way to kill him is to blow him up to kingdom come or burn the entire body.'
Jake did not infact know everything about Onryou, everything he knew is coming from training briefings, and some rumors and reports from the media. Rolling away he quickly repositioned himself far away to wait for a perfect avenue of attack. He watched as slightly, an arrow whizzed by him. Looking back he saw William shoot another arrow at 'it'. 'It' could only glare at him as Tristan distracted it with repeated sword slashes and fought back only for Tristan to just evade from the one headed punches that caused the cement on the ground to crack.
Tristan clicked his tongue as he fought 'it', he was frustrated. Frustrated at why 'it' is still alive. For all its effects, he should've been dead or bleeding in the ground to death. Yet here he was, fighting someone with a soul utterly filled with hate strong enough that he survived something that would kill most things his size. At best he should be bleeding on the ground right now, unable to move as blood left his body in hundreds of ml per second from the wound. Worst case, this thing would be dead on the ground from the same reason.
"Get out of the way!" Tristan looks back only to see Hellen pull out a sword from her inventory. He recognized the sword. A magic sword she had brought from the money they had gotten from a dungeon in oak island, Canada. Tristan's eyes widened as he knew this properties. A lesser magic blade blessed by an angel. Worth millions after they had retrieved the money from the tunnels of the oak island dungeon.
"O wrath of the heavens"
"[Uriel]" Tristan used a burst of Mana to roll away quickly and let the sword bathe that direction in particular to burn all impurities. A burst of fire lanced towards the Onryou. A hot white flame quickly tried to burn the impure soul only for said soul to jump away off the fire. Looking at the man turned spiteful soul, he was scorched, it's wounds cauterized by the flames but the body was still moving. Although the thing breathed heavily judging from how it was breathing out some visible water vapor through its mouth. Hellen after releasing the spell, spat out some of her breakfast on the floor, and her eyesight turned foggy as the mana cost was too much. A side effect of depleting their mana. Mana often known as the energy of life, if depleted, the body suffers something akin vertigo mixed with a cold. Dangerous if the mana is too low, may cause shock and coma. It can be restored by eating food, or by resting, thus being known sometimes as the energy of life.
[Wrath of heaven, Uriel]
Spell type: Aria/Prayer
Rank: B
Type: Conceptual advantage to anything with a corrupted attribute.
It's eyes furious glared at them only to recie-
Bang.
The thing was shot in the head by a .50 AE. It's left eye spewing a black viscous liquid that seemingly steamed. Then another.
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.
Click.
"I'm out of bullets." Emily mutters as she decides to make a barrier trap.
"Everyone! Get away!" She shouted as she pulled out some talismans with kanji written on them for 'To close off', 'To Cordon', 'Barricade', and lastly 'To electrocute anything trapped inside'. She quickly typed what she was going to do using one hand via the quickly chat system.
'Guys I'm going to erect a trap barrier, move, im pinging the dimensions in the map telemetry.'
Guardian sends a thumbs up emoji
Deacon quickly gulps down a restoration potion, and pulled Hellen away from the fighting as her. The spiteful soul watched with barely contained contempt aimed at Emily as 'it' instinctively felt the danger but was more concerned with Tristan as he was ready to decapitate it without hesitation if 'it' wasn't careful. A blade of mana nearly nicked his only arm left, only making a superficial injury. He dodged as another arrow nearly nicked his neck,
Clang.
Tristan deflected the arrow that was meant for 'it' with a coat of mana defending the blade from breaking as he noticed that the arrows were being reinforced with mana to make them heavier but also aerodynamic. The mana shell was like glass, it was sharp, but depending on the amount of mana, it would either be lightweight, allowing them to fly much faster and have more piercing ability but with lesser stopping power than putting more Mana and turning it heavier. The latter was for larger, more armored targets like large golems.
'I'll corner the thing I to the location. Is that okay?'
Maiden: Sure but be careful.
'Got it.'
He swiftly swung his sword, over and over, his sword stances and fighting style becoming more aggressive, landing more nicks and deeper wounds. The thing glared at him with hate, eyes turning into a deeper shade of darkness, and crying even more of the dark liquid.
Jake noticing that this was going to be more dangerous quickly did some handseals.
Rat -> Hare -> Bird
"[Dance of the rabbit and bird]" The invisibility given by
"Damn you..."
"Damn all of you!"
The spiteful soul could only growl in hatred, mouth spewing curses at the world despite what's probably one of the most painful things a man could feel. It was like this guy was high off meth.
"I hate this place, i hate how everything is! I hate how unfair it is all! All i did was live normally and this is how i die! Alone, wife left me because i was busy with work for us to live in, my kid hating me, my name slandered by my colleagues, and my life ruined with everyone i ever loved leaving me. I only wanted to live normally... DAMN THIS WORLD, AND DAMN EVERYONE WHO LIVES IN IT!" It shouted with all the rage a man could have, a man who lost everything and had nothing to lose. His eyes bled tears of inky black, it looked at them with rage a man could have.
"I only wanted to make everyone who ruined my life pay! Why can't i make those who wronged me pay!" It shouted.
Mage; Poor bastard.
Swordsman: I understand the sentiment, but that is no reason to involve the innocent.
Rogue: Now Emily.
But the rant was quickly made short when a pack of wolves bit the spiteful soul down. The wolves biting the calves, the stomach, the back, and one even bit the neck. It screamed and tainted the wolves with liquid despair. The wolves whimpered and quickly disengaged. It tried to curse only to be bisected vertically via a halberd but halfway through, a blade pierced the head, and the head made a sickening crunch when it was kicked and bent in a way that would certainly kill someone, and barely hang on with muscle fibers. Tristan grimaced as the head barely clung into the head.
The one holding the halberd looked at the side only to see Jake, his gloves stained with blood and the blade with some viscera and sinew look at the quickly cooling corpse without remorse, eyes filled only pity for the man. The one currently holding the halberd was Emily whose eyes looked at the dead man and getting reminded of the old man of the dungeon from oak island.
"I hope you can live a good life. Promise me this, enjoy it and don't go down my path of seeking power, now kill me. Please, i've lived a long life already." He said as the transfigured man forced a pointed halberd's tip to his chest, looking at a girl crying over an old man guarding a trove of treasures and cursed objects.
"If you-"
"Shut it, i want her to do it. It will be her first human kill, better i taint it for her rather than having her develop the want to dominate and kill like i had."
"Now Emily, kill me. Let an old man rest now." She hesitated but one look at the transfigured human who now barely looks human and ore akin to that of an amalgam of flesh, and tendrils. She sighs and plunges a blade through the transfigured human's chest and getting bisected. After doing so, Hellen burned the body, when doing so, it finally hit her, he's gone... The girl bawled her heart off. Thus, Emily had grieved for the first time for someone truly close to her, an old man who guided her to her party when they were separated, taught her things to help her survive alone in a dungeon, and showed her so much kindness that only a few truly gave at her genuinely. Despite it being just for a few days, the old man truly wormed its way to her heart. As the body burned, her party comforted her in silence.
"You okay?" A voice broke her from her thoughts, looking towards the noise, she could only see the only guy who she knows only wants to help her without any strings.
"It's nothing. It's just flashbacks of that day." She mutters. Jake sighs and gives her a pat on the back. He smiles slightly, and gives her a hug.
"Its fine now." He mutters and she sighs, releasing all the tension in her body. On the side Deacon, and a nauseous Hellen walked towards the dead body. Hellen still clutching the blade she bought off the vatican and the faction of heaven, weakly raised the sword and tried to cast a weaker spell that would burn the corpse only to pass out in Deacon's hands. He sighs, and decides to grab it and use his mana to burn the body.
"[Wrath of the heavens, Uriel]" Deacon coughed out some bile but swung the blade. Jake grabs Emily, and gets away from the fire. The fire burned brightly, and burnt the corpse, but despite that, the fire felt warm, it didn't feel scorching but like a hot cup of chocolate milk in winter, giving off the aura that you will be safe. The wolves who bit the spiteful soul earlier came close to the fire and felt the warmth of the fire. On Deacon's HUD, he saw his pets status effects being cured by the warmth. He smiled before throwing up again, and passing out on the floor.
Then suddenly, the windows broke, and armed men wearing BDU's and strange patches the party hadn't seen before entered the building.
"Get down, United states Paranormal Activities Bureau. You are all under arrest and will be interrogated, Surrender and nobody will get hurt. I promise that." A man wearing some stereotypical spec ops uniform said only to be laughed at by one of his colleagues, a woman wearing a Fed suit walked towards the party of six. A woman with ruby red eyes with irises akin to that of a mismerising kalaidoscope looked at them but when they looked back, they couldn't move.
'Mystic eyes of bewitchment.' Jake thought, he had encountered mystic eyes before, an unfortunate encounter where they were subjected to the whims of a child like monster in the dungeons, a floor boss. The only reason they made it out was him managing to break out when he accidentally stumbled and hurt himself. When the monster tried to help, he stabbed it on the neck without hesitation. The only way to break out of these kinds of suggestions is pain but she might know that.
Mission complete!
All participants will be rewarded
You have received mail.
"This is like what? 34th this month except one tried to kill a school, three their work places, and seven killing their families?" Asked the woman only to hear a sharp inhale behind her. A rather tall, lean man wearing the same suit holding a rather big cigar.
"Yup. we are understaffed for this stuff, honestly i wish they'd send us some of the reformed ones, rather than sending them to die in the frontlines. The situation about manpower is bad enough as it is." The man lamented only for the woman to brush him off, and laugh.
"They'd sooner send normal people or NSS's to secure more onryou than sending onryou to help or kill other onryou. Plus, it's cheaper to do so than the government losing someone capable of killing 4 to six companies alone."
"I guess you're right." He sighed, and looked at the party and shrugs.
"Another concerned party. Good, more men to send to the home front." The man grins.
"How about i give you new jobs? Ah who am i kidding, i'm impressed. You guys are skilled enough to be a hunter for our org. Anyways, come with us and let us interrogate you and get this over with." He said as the soldiers with unknown patches knocked Jake's party out.