Grim Odyssey: Live/Die/I

[ERode]

It started with a group of fifty starry-eyed applicants who applied for membership in their respective Guilds, searching for a life outside the safety of the walls of Hexxenacht.

Three days later, after consecutive sets of gruelling trials that challenged them mentally, physically, and emotionally, what remained were ten different individuals, exhausted but still solid, unbroken by the tests that they have been put through. What stood before them was the final trial, the only team exercise that they will be partaking in.

One last obstacle, before the gates opened.

One last stretch to sprint towards.

One last battle before the war was won.

The sun beat down harshly on the pits of the Hexxenacht Coliseum, as the remnants, the cream-of-the-crop, were lead through steel-braced gates onto the scathing sands.

There were only five present. The Priestess, the Imperial, the Machinist, the Zheihand, and the Fortress. An inconsistent party, all things considered, highly dependent on temporary resources. From the audience's seats, a bald man rose up, his thick fingers running through his curly beard. Dressed in a heavy suit of armor despite the high temperatures, he took in a deep breath, before letting out a booming voice.

"Congratulations, maggots! You've upgraded from trash to baby flies with this step! This is the last hurdle for you brats to crawl over, understand?!"

His gauntleted hand rose up, fingers splayed. "The five of you will survive against monsters captured from the Wilderness. You have one minute to plan! You will receive no outside help! I will not monitor this fight! If you die here, you will die in the Wilderness!"

As if on cue, the gate that they had just walked through closed, heavy iron bars slotting themselves in afterwards. Growls and shrieks resounded on the opposing gate, muted but savage. The armored man stared at each of them, locking his hard, red eyes onto each, before lifting up five scrolls from an adjacent seat.

"These are the wills that you've all submitted when you applied! Never forget that your lives are at stake here!"

With that, the man turned, exiting the arena.

Now, there were only five youths in this circular battlefield, high walls caging them in with the monsters that they will soon face.

 

[Jakers]

A-Ah, crap... one minute?! That's barely anything to prepare. They weren't kidding when they said these tests were brutal...

The Zheihand nervously stroked his goatee, a needle being flicked inbetween his fingers, and the heavy orange cloak and robes gently flowing in what little wind beat around the arena-like area. Drips of sweat coated his forehead from both the intense heat and pressure. It figured that this final exam made all the other very hard tests look like a cakewalk. He could just be maimed like trash right here, right now, and then where would his dream go?

...Yes. As nervous and off-guard as the man looked, determination still glinted strongly in Siyu's deep orange eyes. There was one real reason why he was here. There was one real reason why he'd wanted to become an adventurer.

And after all he'd done to get here, he wasn't going to let it end here.

Wiping his forehead, Siyu exhaled a deep breath, before getting straight to work on making a vial each of Poison, Stimulant and Soporfic Fluid, hurriedly mixing various plants together with a deft but rushed hand. He was going to need these if he was going to contribute somehow other than chucking a few bits of sharp metal into fuming beasts.

As he mixed, Siyu blinked, figuring he should introduce himself a little bit to his partners. He really wasn't that good with new people, but... if there was ever a time to try and interact, now was the time.
"Erm... I, I suppose we should get a feel for what eachother can do, then?" He muttered, before extending his palm into a brief wave in greeting. His voice was low-pitched, and had some sort of graceful awkwardness to it as he spoke. "Hello. Name's Siyu. I'm, um, a combat doctor of sorts." Quickly putting his hand back down from his wave, Siyu continued to mix.

"I can fix you all up after this if you get hurt, and I'm mixing up here some poisons that'll hopefully make those monsters easier pickings. With my skillset, I, I-I'm confident that I can support you all to the best of my ability."

Siyu licked his lips, before nervously adding. "Though, um... I hate to ask this, but, could you keep them off me when we get to it? I, I-I don't mean it selfishly when I say that, I'm just not very suited for close quarters or direct confrontation. Not compared to powerhouse weaponry such as those, at least..." Siyu chuckled with a nervous smile, pointing in particular another male's intricate Imperial weapon, and a white haired girl's strange box-arm... thing? Regardless, Siyu stopped talking to listen to what the others could do.

His group certainly was a strange bunch. As already noted, the purple-haired boy and white-haired girl certainly seemed like they'd give these beasts a run for their money with those powerful weapons. There was a brown-haired lady, who looked strong and steadfast with her shield, mace, and chain armour. She looked tough - much tougher than himself, Siyu supposed. And finally, there was a blonde-haired beauty wearing... ram horns? That was likely for some reason Siyu likely didn't understand; she seemed to have some sort of spirtiual and graceful aura about her.

Though, Siyu knew he was just as strange as these people. He was dressed like a tangerine, basically unarmoured, preparing to throw needles at terrifying beasts.

This test was a way of seeing if all of his training as a Zheihand could be put to use. In this test, he would either be made or broken. And after all he'd gone through, the first option was oh-so much more preferred.

 

[Skyswimsky]

This was it. Her final hurdle. A last exam. A real fight. Soon, she could go out there and prove everybody wrong, wrong about her father's dead, wrong about this burden being too much for her age. Sure, going after Karl's plan she would have spend another 20 years inside the safety of Hexxenacht before becoming going out on such endeavours herself, but sometimes, things didn't go as planned. Yes, Eizl would make sure to shove that stupid Last Will of her dad down his damn throat once he found him. Regardless, there was no use in thinking about the past or her uncertain future. This was serious business, Eizl knew it, yet something annoyed her greatly.

Being in a great coliseum like this it could have been the perfect opportunity to show off her technological miracle to the world. Sure, the Beam Arm was far from a version where Eizl would be willing to simply mass produce it - not to mention it would come with the annoying luxury of another Guild being spawned - but making publicity for her Atelier was always a good thing. Alas, the stage was empty of any spectators, leaving the main actors to their own fate.

Planning and being cooperative was indeed a smart thing to do, there was no need to become best friends with anybody of these people, but for now they were a team. It was truly a strange bunch, and apart from the Imperial whose face she recognized enough to actually know she had seen him a bunch of times the rest were simple strangers. At least it seemed like they had a solid front-line, meaning her own chance of survival was probably about 100% unless the guild had gone totally crazy about the foes they were to face. Still, Eizl couldn't deny she`d be happy for at least the Imperial to survive, after all, he was a paying customer. Following the example of the bit awkward sounding guy she continued the introduction.

"The name is Eizl, I shoot things to death from afar." That was pretty much it, there was no need, or time, to go into any technical talk about what exactly she was doing, though, the possibility of being confused with a gunner having a really weird gun was actually a possibility, making the white-hair add. "I don't care what you think about how my weapon looks like but in very simple terms it is a long-ranged Bomb Arm... without such strong AoE capabilities, yet." Yeah, that last part was important to mention before anybody would make wrong assumptions.

Apart from that, there wasn't really anything to add anymore and Eizl simply prepared herself. Equipping the Beam Arm and slotting in a Amp.- and Fire Vial the girl also made sure to be far away enough from the opposing gate, it should have been clear enough by now she was not meant for the front-line.

 

[Zombehs]

While the armored man barked insults and instructions out at the five of them that had gathered, Luhki paid barely any attention as he took the time to properly load Laventin and Vysa with a Ice, Fire, and Amplifying Vials. He finished just as the gate slammed down behind him, and looked up just in time to meet the armored man's eyes. "Huh." It was a soft sound, but expressed the hint of surprise at the sight of his will. Then again it wasn't like fifty documents was that hard to keep track of.

Luhki turned to look at the four he'd rely on to pass this test, and smiled slightly at the familiar face of the shop's clerk. The other three were not familiar faces, but Siyu seemed skilled enough given how he had begun to mix up some concoctions on the spot. Why that hadn't been done beforehand when there wasn't a time limit running down was questionable, but maybe they were only good for a certain amount of time? It wasn't his speciality or even a subject of interest, nor did he particularly care all that much. So long as the other man was ready by the time the opposing gates opened then everything would be fine.

Luhki waited until Eizl was finished so he didn't speak over her before he bowed slightly to all those present. "Luhki Qeiy," he introduced himself calmly before he rested a hand on the handle of Laventin and continued, "as you can probably tell by my weapon and armor, I'm an front-line Imperial. Hopefully this will be a pleasure."

He gestured at the brown-haired lady who seemed to be even better armored than himself, and then towards the opposite gate that held back who knew how many creatures. "Let's try and not let them spread out through the arena, alright?" While the entrance was far too wide for the two of them to cover effectively, there was a chance that engaging there would cause the monsters to pile up against one another.

With that said he turned to do just as he spoke, but actually spun further and walked towards Eizl instead. "It's good to see you." An innocent enough greeting until he reached out to ruffle her hair, but this time she was quick enough to bring her Beam Arm up and block his arm by the wrist. "Oh? Good job, good job." It was hard to tell if he was genuine from tone alone, and the slight grin made it seem about 50-50. He retracted his hand, turned around, and began to walk towards the opposite gate.

 

[Renose]

This was it. Her test to see if she could survive. The way back is blocked and there is no turning back now, not that she is planning to. As the armored man says, if they all die here then there is no way they could survive out in the Wilds in the first place. Bastiel is here in order to make show that she can survive, to show that she can be strong, and to show that she can change this world for the sake of humanity's survival. After all, if she becomes an adventurer, she can begin her journey to survive.

Monsters were gated off opposite of them, and according to the armored man they only had a minute to plan. "A minute huh? That's rather generous, given how we'll probably be getting next to nothing in the future." Still, no need to look the gift horse in the mouth. She is going to take advantage of what time they do have to plan, and it is a good idea to know what everyone in the group can do. After all, they need to work together properly to fight these monsters and ensure their survival.

This group of applicants was indeed quite varied. One man was some sort of medic, very useful since wounds easily and obviously equal death. One was a girl who wielded some sort of modified Bomb Arm. There was another, an Imperial, who is always good to see since he looked quite sturdy. She felt like they could do this... no... they have to do this. If they don't do this, then they will die, simple as that. Success is mandatory. Time is also limited, so introductions need to be very short.

"I am Bastiel." Knowing each other's names is useful, since it made calling out to one another in combat easier. "With the Bastion, I can use various protective magics to protect both an individual or the space around me." She also adjusts her shield on her arm and makes sure her mace is balanced in her grasp. "I am also pretty handy in a close up fight as well. Probably not as handy as you two" she gestures towards the Imperial and the girl with the modified Bomb Arm, "but still hardy and handy enough."

She is simply being honest. No sense in trying to preserve pride or be boastful. After all, this is life and death here. Doing such things will only lead to death, and she would rather not do such a thing.​

 

[Asuras]

Even as the moans and growls of unseen beasts sounded threateningly behind their cages, Tokudome's proud and unbent personage was unfettered. Her hands were planted firmly on her hips, chest held high, and mouth curled into an eager smile. The golden-haired girl gave a sweep of her gaze side to side, scanning over the others that had made it. A good-looking bunch, she thought. Surely if they made it this far they were capable enough! As soon as one of them opened their mouth for introduction, Tokudome jumped in at the opportunity. She, literally, did jump, bouncing on her feet.

"Oh! Oh! Tokudome Tokie, at your service! Let's make this an excellent trial, right?" The eager girl tilted her hips and put a hand over her collar in gesture. "I can offer protection to you all, plus a little bit of luck thanks to the spirits around us. I'll do my best to keep you safe, right?" Tokudome gave a few vigorous nods and flared her nostrils in anticipation, taking in a big breath. She looked again to the cages beyond and began to think, already determined to nail the final exam.

"Hm hm," she hummed, eyes darting to and fro. She threw a finger towards one of the cages to the far end of the arena. "We should stall as many as possible to minimize numbers! Eizl!" She had clearly already memorized names. With fervor she gestured to the tanned girl as if cheering. "Think you can throw a cannon shot to that one and keep it at bay for a little while? It might help us fend off the rest of them more easily, right?"

Tokudome dropped the butt of her halberd on the dirt and thumped her chest. "I'll keep an eye out for whoever's going to take on the others, right? I'll keep you shielded!" She once again took a valiant stance, eyes forward and ready for the gates to open. Her heart was in it all the way.

 

[ERode]

One minute passed as the party introduced themselves, slotted their alchemical formulae, prepared their spellcasting abilities, repositioned themselves, and focused. With Eizl in the back, Siyu in the center, and the rest of them at the front, they prepared for the inevitable onslaught of monsters from the opposing side of the arena. Tokudome's bravado shone like the sun as she stood as the center of the frontline, her halberd glistening in light of day. The party of strangers may have no cohesion, but at the same time, their confidence in their individual skills could definitely make up for it.

And soon, the gate was raised. With well-oiled hinges and gears, it barely made a squeak as it lifted up two feet off the ground. And then, from that small gap, three mud-green, scrawny forms rushed out. Not from in front, but from behind. With concentration focused solely at the threat before them, none of the party realized the battle had already begun until the first of the trio rushed up from behind Eizl, chittering out a foreign warcry.

Launching itself up in the air, it swung a rusty short sword at the brown-skinned girl, a deathstroke towards her neck…that was deflected almost by accident when she turned around. The Beam Arm smacked into the small monster, flinging it onto the sand. A stroke of luck, but one that was short lived. Pressed on both sides by two other snarling monsters, Eizl was forced back, unable to parry properly when taken by surprise. Two strikes carved into her calves, spilling blood, before the duo took positions on both sides of her, a fanged grin on their oblong faces.

Small, with tough green skin and little care for modesty, these three monsters were male goblins, the lowest of the low. One licked the blood off his blade, while the other prepared for another strike. The third laid on the ground, slowly getting up.

The final trial had now begun.

 

[Renose]

The monsters were attacking from behind. That was not good at all, but it made sense as to why they would. This is a trial of survival. Survival calls for an adventurer to always expect the unexpected. The enemy won't play fair, so why should the Guild itself play fair? They were given a minute of prep time, which is many times more than what any sensible enemy would give them. All in all, this is just the sort of thing that Bastiel was expecting from a final trial. It wouldn't be much of a final trial if the enemy plays fair, after all, when no monster would ever play fair.

Deciding to dull the strikes of the enemies rather than counter, Bastiel prepares her Bastion spell: Protection. She envisions a circle, expanding outward, shielding all allies within from damage and harm. Her body begins to glow, before a magical circle forms beneath Bastiel's feet, then expands outwards. Opening her eyes after the quick and sudden output of magical energy she chants aloud "Protection!", now a glowing light purple is what the group is standing in, its outline plain as day, as she casts her magical spell to protect her allies from the blades of the enemies.​

 

[Jakers]

Siyu licked his lips nervously as the gates opened, though it hadn't been the gates they were expecting. Of course. They'd unleashed them from behind to completely break their formation. The monsters of choice were goblins; disgusting things. But just because they were small, that didn't make them easy to fight. Especially when they were ganking the backline.

Spinning around, Siyu winced, instantly moving his hand to draw a needle as he watched the blood spill out of Eizl's legs in disgust. He was only disgusted because the goblins seemed to be enjoying every second of it.
"Horrid little bastards... g... gotta get her out of there. Can't let anyone die straight away. Not like that." Siyu hissed under his breath. It was a brutal strike from the creatures - perhaps one that would cripple her movement - but that was why he was here. He could fix those wounds up with ease if they lived to get through this fight, and for now, he could hopefully give her the energy she needed to get out of the predicament.

With a swift motion, Siyu dipped his needle into the Stimulant he'd been working on, before aiming the needle straight for Eizl's shoulder. The way he threw the needle wasn't in an aggressive manner, and the sharp piece of metal gently sailed through the air with a delicate whistle to inject her with the concoction from a range.

"Here - that'll dull the pain in your legs and give you the energy to get out of there - come and fall back with me!" Siyu called out to Eizl. It didn't take a genius to figure out she'd be better suited to sniping with the beam arm from a range, not doing point blank shots. With that, Siyu fell back to the Mid-Range position he'd been standing in originally before the goblins had come from behind.

With Bastiel's aura of protection invigorating the group, and with the original frontline members starting to make their way back to their original positions, the gank from the monsters looked like it could be worked around. The orange cape of the Zheihand floated behind him as his eyes narrowed in concentration.

Those goblins... monsters like those only reminded Siyu why he absolutely couldn't fail today.

 

[Zombehs]

Hindsight made the trick pretty obvious, but that didn't do Luhki much good at the moment. They should have considered that the threat might come from any direction, as it would in the Wilderness. Partially his fault he supposed for directing the placement of their frontliners. Regardless of his mistakes, Eizl was in need of help and he was about to rush in to assist.

A magical glow made Luhki squint before he felt Bastiel's magic wash over him. It seemed to form a film of sorts around him, and he nodded in thanks towards the Fortress before he refocused his attention on the three goblins. Quick steps brought him past Siyu, but the man's thrown needles flicked ahead of him to strike Eizl and deliver the formulae. As he closed the last few meters, he decided to shift his course slightly and make a beeline for the goblin that hadn't picked itself up just yet.

His finger itched over the trigger built into Vysa, but the loaded cartridge remained unused as he simply drew the longsword out quickly in a powerful slash. Unfortunately his aim was quite off, even on the goblin who recoiled from his attack, and the tip bit into sand rather than green flesh. Already off-balance, the abrupt halt caused Luhki to stumble forward and he managed to twist out of the way, receiving a minor scratch rather than any serious injury. Not too good of a start, and probably fairly bad in the eyes of potential "teammates".

Regardless, he wrenched his weapon free of the sand and moved it into position against the Goblin. They did not look like much, rather irritating and ugly in fact, but one of their group was already injured quite badly. It wasn't just a fight against these creatures, but as much their own inexperience. Luhki believed himself well trained, to an extent, but what had just happened shook that notion fairly well.

 

[Asuras]

Though her focus had been trained forward and the sudden attack and cry from behind was surprising, it was only that to Tokudome; a surprise. The priestess quickly whipped around, just as resolute as when she had expected the gates before her to open, and rushed for Eizl's side. For a moment she thought it wise to unleash a soothing aura, but as Siyu's needle found its way into the girl's shoulder and heard his words, she figured it was better to pursue Luhki instead. The boy was charging straight into the battle, where she was likely needed most. Tokudome readied her polearm and chased after the imperial, prepping a shielding spell for him. A brief, wisp-like flash of light spun around him before settling into an unseen state.

She stopped just short of Luhki behind him, spearhead held outwards for the creatures. "I'm here with you. I'll keep you protected as long as I can," she said firmly.

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

[Chaperone cast on Luhki]
[8 MP spent]
[4 Health shield placed on Luhki]
[Luhki gains effect of Fortune's Favor (19,20 roll for Crit)]

MP: 32/40

 

[ERode]

Fire Bolt roared out from Eizl's Cannon, red flames scorching the sands as the goblin to her left side danced away, snickering at how obvious the attack was. Nevertheless, the recoil of that burst sent the dark-skinned machinist flying through the air, onto her flat ass. As the two goblins prepared to give chase, one of them stopped the other, screeching at the slightly fatter one and swinging a sword at the purple aura that they were now in.

Leaping back out of the protective field, the green-skinned critters turned their attention towards Lukhi instead. The purple-haired Imperial had his back turned to them, facing off with their friend, and the malnourished monsters dove towards them, two strikes with their chipped swords landing onto the Imperial before he could parry or dodge. The blades bounced off his iron breastplate, thankfully, but as Lukhi took a step back, he noticed something.

The second strike had cut into his bandolier, slicing through it. The belt fell onto the ground, and with it, his valuable alchemical vials.

That bit of surprise was sufficient in drawing his attention away from the goblin that was still prone. Picking itself off from the ground, it flashed a rotten smile at its friends before driving its blade into the back of Lukhi's knee.

Pang.

The imperial's leg buckled under the weight of the blow, but didn't feel pain. A magical barrier had formed in the last moment, divine blessings absorbing the impact of the blow, before forcing the goblin back. He had managed to avoid any injuries at all, but his current state was still dangerous, being surrounded by three monsters.

 

[Skyswimsky]

The hell was his problem? Protecting the purity of her head, Eizl literally parried her customer's attempts to do something dirty and ultimately didn't decide to press this issue any further as he simply played it off. Instead, the girl now concentrated on the opposing gate that the monsters were supposed to get out from, wondering what just what kind of beasts they would actually fight against.

Waiting and waiting, the front gate never opened, and by the time Eizl heard some strange noises behind her, it was nearly too late. Turning around in confussion to the sound, it was sheer luck as the giant apparatus on her arm deflected a killing blow. "What th-" There was no time, Eizl got ambushed. Trying to make the best out of this terrible situation, Eizl tried to defend herself against two more advisors but ultimately got struck in the leg area - were they trying to hinder her movement? "AAAAHHH!" Crying out in pain Eizl cursed her naivety. This was nobody's fault but her own, though, she didn't plan to go down just like that. Gritting her teeth, she prepared for a counter-attack.

Cursing her pain silently anew, it was then that some sort of needle hitting her made it go away. Heh. "Thanks." Hopefully, there were no strange substances in that stuff. Regardless, with a grin of her face she pointed her cannon right towards one of the goblins. "Die." Flicking a switch with the arm that was inside the Beam Arm followed by the short-press of a button, the construct lighted up as a condensed beam of flames shot forth, easily knocking herself out of engaged range followed by a rough landing. Standing up again however, it looked like the Goblin had an easy time dodging her attack.

"Tzch..." Seeing how the goblin's quickly decided to leave Eizl alone, most likely because she shot herself into some sort of protective barrier, the girl quickly reloaded another fire-round before taking aim again. This time, Eizl would show everybody just how strong her weapon was! Just as Eizl fired another attack however, her view became a bit dizzy thanks to the blood-loss, easily making her miss! Fuck. This wasn't supposed to go like that. This time, at least, however, the Beam seemed a lot more stable as it simply continued to keep firing.

 

[Jakers]

"Phew." Wiping his forehead in relief that Eizl had managed to get out of the thick of things, Siyu gave a brief nod back to the beam-arm user when she thanked him. "You're quite welcome. I can tend to those leg wounds afterwards, but you've still lost quite a bit of blood; be cautious. For now, let's try and actually land a hit on those bastards, eh?"

Siyu hurriedly drew another needle inbetween his fingers, licking his lips in thought about the situation. Luhki had managed to get right into the thick of the fight, and now he was being engaged by all 3 goblins. However, with Tokudome casting protective spells on him, and the fact that Luhki certainly looked the sturdiest and had the beast armor out of the five, that was probably a good thing. So long as the Imperial could keep the three goblins distracted, Eizl could hopefully pick them off one-by-one, and Siyu could patch up Luhki afterwards.

If there was one thing he was learning from this exercise, it was that goblins truly were one of the many plagues on this world.

Running his needle through his Soporfic Fluid, Siyu hurled a needle coated in a powerful muscle-slacking agent for one of the goblins. He considered his aim true, but these goblins had already proved themselves skilled - if not, lucky - at dodging attacks. When he threw his needle, Siyu was mortified to find that he missed completely, the needle burying itself in the sand near Luhki and not even coming close to hitting a goblin. It was almost as if he'd forgot all of his training for that one moment and thrown it like an absolute fool.

"What..." Siyu mumbled under his breath, unable to believe how much he'd scuffed the throw by. "...Boy oh boy. I'm sure the spectators think we're real professionals." He sarcastically commented with gritted teeth, reaching for another needle. Hopefully Luhki would notice the soporfic needle and not tread on it, and the goblins would end up falling on it instead. That way he could say something along the lines of: 'I meant to do that.'

 

[Zombehs]

"Fuck." A small weight slipped from his shoulders, and his bandolier hit the sand with a muffled thump. He ignored the urge to reach for his fallen vials, but fell to a knee anyways when a blade stabbed into the back of his knee. No pain though, so Tokie's magic was working its… well magic he supposed. All three of the bastards on him, huh. Well at least that meant Eizl was free to put some distance now. He stood back up onto his feet with a sharp huff before the three could do anything to stop him, and brought his modified longsword around in a swing against the goblin that had forced him to the ground.

It was not a bad swing this time, but the goblin was just a bit too quick on its feet for Luhki to hit. The edge cut through empty air as he grumbled in annoyance, and he brought Laventin close to prepare for the goblins' attacks.

 

[Renose]

This isn't good. The Imperial has not only dropped his vials, but he is also being ganged upon by multiple enemies. Bastiel knew that he is a capable fighter, and thus they would need to save him if they wanted to keep their party's strength intact. So she moves forward, maintaining her Protection Spell. After moving forward a few yards (1 space) to ensure that The Imperial receives the blessing of protection her magic grants, she then prepares to cast another spell to help continue to protect the Imperial.

She focuses, tapping into the reserves of energy within her. Once she has it, she imagines it as a wall, surrounding her ally. Once she has the wall constructed, she quickly shrinks the wall down to surround just the body of her ally, to protect him from all harm. Once she has the image created, her body glows for a moment as she chants her magical spell. "Shield!"

Suddenly, around Lukhi, a magical shield would appear, which would help protect him a bit more from damage, along with the protection from her Protection Spell. Hopefully this helps him break free from the Goblin assault on him. Well... he is standing now. Which is good. The shield will help him better fight now that he is standing back up.​

 

[Asuras]

She couldn't simply cast shields alone, especially considering there was another supportive teammate just behind. As far as she could tell, their combined forces had rendered the Imperial untouchable, affording her a moment to attack herself! Tokudome's shield held against the second goblin's attack, putting a smile on her face as she charged in to Luhki's side, just enough to get within range to strike at a goblin with her halberd. With a courageous yell, she spun the weapon in both hands over her head, swinging out into a horizontal sweep for the green gremlin that had harmed her teammate! As she took a forward step to gain momentum, however, her foot found its way right onto the needle laid out by Siyu.

The pain was negligible and the effects failed to take hold, but it nevertheless startled her enough to cause her sweep to wildly miss, soaring over the goblin's head several inches. Tokudome cried out if only to signal she'd been hurt. Little help was needed, in the end, though she was feeling quite clumsy about it.

 

[ERode]

As more and more magical boons were placed upon Lukhi, the purple-haired Imperial became an impenetrable wall, glowing resplendently from the mixture of arcane and divine protection placed upon him. The goblins, seeing their advantage quickly fade as the backliners continued to empower the heavily armored knight, screeched out. As Tokudome's halberd swing went wide, one of them dove in between the Imperial's legs, claws outstretched to hook the alchemical bandolier that laid in the sand. Then, suddenly, its clawed foot fell onto the unstable sands in an awkward position, and the goblin tumbled face-first.

It was an opportunity that Lukhi would not miss. With a quick backstep, he thrust downwards with his longsword, seizing the opportunity to finally smite one of those green-skinned critters.

Blood splattered onto the hot sands. Laventin was tainted with the ichor of monsters. But the goblin laid unharmed. His comrade had taken the hit for him, choosing to protect his friend instead of watch him fall. With a vicious, pained screech, the injured goblin snapped his friend out of his momentary shock, and the goblin seized that moment to grab the bandolier. Clutching it with his offhand, the monster threw it to the third member of the party, as it pushed itself up with one hand.

"NEJREEECH!!"

The third goblin hesitated, turning from one of his comrades to the other, before rushing off. Though Lukhi prepared to pursue, the Imperial suddenly realized that he couldn't pull his sword out of the goblin's back. It had pierced through bone, and, somehow, despite the incredible pain, the goblin was grabbing onto the blade with his remaining hand, displaying a herculean strength that did not match its small stature.

On the other hand, the goblin with the twisted foot hand taken up his comrade's short sword, brandishing both and facing down Lukhi, its beady eyes narrowed like pits of pitch. They will not let him leave and chase after their friend.

Abandoning the short sword, the goblin with the bandolier dashed on all fours, the oversized bandolier fluttering against his neck. Skirting around the Arena, he dashed towards the opposing gate now, a loud war cry on his lungs.

A war cry that was followed by the cacophony of beasts that laid before that gate.

 

[Jakers]

"O-Oh, c-crap! Sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry...!" Siyu called out to Tokudome when she accidentally stood on his needle. "My fault, my fault..." Shame on him for losing focus and doing such a poor throw. Siyu's expression remained guilty for a moment, as if he'd accidentally trodden on a puppy, before he took a deep breath and regained focus. He could make it up to her later; he was just an apologetic wimp at heart, and it didn't look like the relaxant had gotten into the cheerful girl's system anyway.

Siyu watched as a solid hit had finally been laid onto one of the goblins by Luhki, but his original target had been protected by another. The goblins, as wretched as they were, had a sense of camaraderie and tactics. One of the goblins had pilfered Luhki's precious vials and was retreating like a green, mean, running machine - but it wasn't doing this out of cowardice. That goblin had a plan to turn the tides as things were starting to look hairy for them. Siyu's eyes widened as he drew a needle in the blink of an eye; he couldn't let that goblin get to the gate.

Siyu hurled a standard needle for the leg of the goblin; though the throw still wasn't great, it was passable at least, whizzing through the air with a unique hum that sounded both graceful and dangerous at the same time. The retreating goblin managed to duck, the needle grazing against its head and drawing little-to-no blood. Another useless attack by himself. Siyu knew his skills were better suited for out of combat, but right now he was feeling like a deadweight. He didn't want to be in the way for his team in combat... he didn't want to get anybody killed. Whilst Siyu was starting to get disheartened and embarrassed, he knew he couldn't give up.

Hurriedly, Siyu slightly cocked his head in the direction of Eizl.
"Eizl! Hey, um..." Siyu seemed to have trouble speaking for a moment. "We, we've got to stop that one from getting to the gate... think you can go for a shot on its legs?" He asked hurriedly. He looked around himself nervously, before deciding that it'd be better for everyone if he pursued the goblin, just in case. He wanted to be in arm's reach of his team, but the fleeing goblin couldn't be allowed to go forth with its plan. It was going to just scamper out of his range with ease if he didn't at least try to pursue it.

"...I... I'm gonna go after it - I don't want him to run out of my throwing range if you manage to weaken him but not finish him." Siyu said, shaking his head. He was going to be in trouble if the goblin unleashed whatever was behind the gate was on him, but... he had to do something. He'd wasted most of his time trying to hit the on-fours goblin with his needle, but Siyu ran a space towards the fleeing goblin nonetheless, his hand unsure whether to go for his hand axe or another needle.

 

[Skyswimsky]

For a second, Eizl was surprised at the display of teamwork the goblins made, she wouldn't have expected them to go that far. As for Lukhi himself, the girl knew he wouldn't probably not die just like that. After all, it was his job to get hurt in the first place. Regardless, it still left the question what plan the goblins actually had in the first place? Surely such an act wouldn't be without reason, after all, they apparently used two of their own kind to keep one of them down and her own group already had the numerical advantage.

The question was, for how long however, as the growling from the still closed gate and the sprint of the goblin quickly made clear what its plan was: Did he want to blow the gate up? Eizl's eyes widened. There was no way they could let that happen. The girl had to stop him, they had to stop him. Hearing Siyu speaking to her, still troubled even in that situation, she gave a small sigh before replying: "You don't have to tell me twice!" That much, after all, was obvious.

About to readjust her beam to actually, hopefully, hit one of the green devil's and redeem herself, the unexpected happened. Well, as a after-thought, Eizl should have realized, alas, never having been in a real combat situation she now had to learn the hard way. Against her will, the beam dissolved. Sure, from anybody's else perspective it would have just been a matter of firing again, alas, it wasn't that simple. "Fuck..." Cursing herself, her thoughts already raced towards a solution how to make this weapon more stable, but she quickly disregarded it upon realizing there was no time to 'fix it later' if she would die here.

With Siyu's words still lingering in her mind, it was pretty obvious what the cannon wielding girl had to do. It was stupid, dumb, retarded and would maybe cost her life BUT if she let the stupid monster do what it was planning to do they would probably all die regardless. Without anymore words, Eizl began to move, she had to get closer, way closer. Attacking the goblin from range was out of question. Now, she had to throw her own body in-front of him.