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243 - Return to Fort 57 Pt. 6 [Sturmblitz]
🕑 Added 2023-06-02 20:07:34 +0000 UTC“See, Omniudex would’ve marked these pussies for punishment too, just something lighter to satisfy their guilt, like some light scarification or what have you. Iusticia is soft like that,” the smoke cultivator commented.
“Very well, let us hear what the people of Fort 57 think and we can make the final decision.”
That didn’t take long thanks to the fact a number of the bandits were known by people in the fort, and in the end, the judgments would turn out very close to those rendered by Iusticia’s Phantom.
However, while these brief deliberations took place, a battle raged in the forest nearby… And Victor quietly snuck around, watching it from a distance. Despite its size and fiery provenance Dawnwolf possessed the countenance of a predatory beast, and its controlling servitor, Gamma, was based on a hunting dog. It also possessed a steadiness and smoothness of movement impossible to a normal living thing, especially in this low-output mode of operation. As such, the sizable monstrosity had no issue sneaking through the Ikesian woodland, and at the distance which Victor could maintain thanks to his eyes, the two of them barely even had to be stealthy to stay out of the combatants’ notice.
“Mistress Zelsys doubtlessly picked out this Lydia woman as a future disciple when we last came by here, I should take care that she survives without serious injuries,” he thought. Though he knew that Jorfr wouldn’t like him doing this, Victor judged the situation to be low-level enough that he could afford to use it as a live test for a new method of forming his Devil’s Teeth. He created a shape from devilbone, a pentagon squished inward until it had roughly the same proportions as a rectangular talisman - thrice as long as it was wide, and about a centimeter thick. This was one of the shapes prescribed in the Itrian Scroll. He made it taper down to as sharp an edge as possible, and twisted it around its central lengthwise axis until it resembled his normal Devil’s Teeth. The empty spaces within the twisted spiral were also the space where he placed the fuel mixture, forming hair-thin bone membranes to keep it from combusting prematurely. This design didn’t have many advantages over his normal Devil’s Teeth, but it was a work in progress, designed to eventually let him merge Itrian talisman magic with the far superior maneuverability, durability, and direct attack power of Devil’s Teeth.
Only months ago, the construct would have been unstable, but as he was now, Victor could just let it sit unattended and it wouldn’t go off on its own for hours. While he had it with him and maintained its structure, it was completely stable. As he snuck around in observation of his target, Victor gradually built up several dozen of these Devil’s Teeth, having Dawnwolf eat them.
Lydia’s battle with Idda continued, with the latter fleeing in a manner which was an all too obvious attempt to draw Lydia deeper into the woods for an ambush. Their path was marked by scars upon the forest wrought both by their blades as well as crescent-shaped blades of swordlight and gusts of cherry petals made of lightning. Inevitably, Victor bore witness to the individuals who had previously acted from beyond the treeline. He knew it was them because of the particular manner in which their presence disturbed their immediate surroundings, their spiritual footprints in a manner of speaking. Five of them - three with bows, two with swords. They spread out to cover multiple firing angles as Lydia and Idda’s battle carried into an open area
He continued drawing in closer, preparing to ambush those who thought themselves the ambushers.
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Lydia’s aggression had reason beyond simple animosity for her foe. If she had fought more conservatively, Idda would’ve been able to outlast her. Even now, she was walking a razor-thin margin of energy expenditure and combat power. She hoped that she would be able to finish things before Vysaga’s power ran dry.
Just as she leapt over one of Idda’s crescent blades, bringing Vysaga point-down to deliver the final blow, an arrow came ripping out from the underbrush. She just barely managed to pull her blade back in defense, instead landing a flying kick against Idda’s defensively-raised blade while Vysaga spun in place to her left. Several ambushers revealed themselves, fulfilling her fear from earlier. They hadn’t retreated after all. She wasn’t surprised, just annoyed at herself for giving into her own wrath and overcommitting. She sought means of escape, wholly willing to turn tail and run, but before she could do such a thing, a strange beast made itself known. The air grew warm as the stomping form stormed through the forest, causing Idda’s reinforcements to draw nearer in panic.
Lydia glimpsed it, a beast the size of a False Drake, sprinting along with a man grasped in its claw-ended tail, whipping him back and forth like a ragdoll. A red-haired young man with a strange staff rode atop it, grinning ear to ear. It skidded along the forest floor, darting into the immediate vicinity… And spewing bullets.
At least, that was what she thought them to be. The “bullets” left trails of white-black flame and tore through trees as if they were butter. The beast threw its victim over Lydia’s head, and nailed two fleeing others where they stood, riddling each with holes. It directed several more in Idda’s direction, tearing chunks out of her arms and legs just with grazing hits.
Before the bone-beast and its master could wipe out every single one of Idda’s allies, one of the archers drew back his bow and launched an arrow skyward, which exploded in a burst of red smoke.
Lydia, knowing better than to let slip an opportunity like this, closed in and ran Idda through from behind, skewering her with a downward stab. The raider forced herself to turn even as she was pinned to the ground by the giant sword, fury and hatred in her eyes rising as she hacked up blood and raised her sword in a final act of defiance. Ere she could act, she was torn apart from within by a swirling outpouring of chittering petals, the last of Vysaga's power spent all at once.
