linkingup | FOR THOSE WE HAVE LOST

So we'll have to go through them first, will we?

[Richard frowns, his gaze sweeping around at the eleven remaining knights. He's debating which one to target when Aaron goes for it, and although the strike misses, he's going to use the distraction as a chance to launch his own attack, aiming to run that same knight clean through (14).

It's an unusually vicious move, but... it's fine, surely.]

[Poor Aaron. He's doing his best but the knights are not going to sit around and just let you smack them. It's almost like they're usually untargetable—

Anyway, Richard's attack works - the kneeling knight is run through and his image flickers for a moment before simply disappearing. The other knights and the King do not react to this.

They do launch their own attacks, however. The King brings his sword down on Richard once more, this time landing a hit (11). Two of the knights gang up on Aaron - though if he manages to dodge them, the first knight pierces the second (10, 1)! He drops to a knee, leaving ten knights remaining.]

[he's doing his best but he seems to have absorbed fray's dice luck,

He is able to dive into a somersault out of the way of the knight's attacks, and you know what, that's good enough for him if they start stabbing each other by accident. Richard's words also get Aaron to pause and make some attempt at clearing his head so maybe he can think this through a little more.

Hm.]

I'll get the ones standing by!

[no he won't, because Magarula fails to land on any of them (10, 7, 9)]

[That blow hurts, but it's not bad enough for him to want to waste the time healing himself just yet. He doesn't wait to see whether or not Aaron's attack will connect-- he's aiming a Tiger's Prowl (4) at one of the other knights.

But, much like Aaron, he whiffs it this time. Sad trombone.]

[fray's dice luck comes for you both... but it doesn't come for me??

Anyway, the King's sword comes down on Richard again (14), followed by a knight's spear missing (9). Aaron gets hit by a fireball flung by one of the other knights (17).]

[insert hot??????? sticker here

But yeah no, that burns!! Appropriately, this is a guy who has a buff that increases damage the less HP he has so maybe getting scorched was what he needed as a wake up call???

So there's another Magarula (19, 6, 10) but he actually gets a hit on one of the knights this time. One whole hit!!!!]

[Okay, that one is harder to just shake off, and with Aaron getting hit too, Richard can't just keep trying to pretend he's a Fighter and not a Utility.]

Lambda!

[The creature appears behind him in a swirl of black and red shadow as he proceeds to cast Media on himself and Aaron for a bit of healing.]

[One whole hit still means the knight goes down, leaving nine left! In fact, that seems to have caught Thordan's interest, as the King turns from Richard and his heal to storm over to Aaron with a sword slash (19). It seems like the knights are aware that their King is Not Happy, because they also choose to focus on Aaron, with another spell hitting (12) and a spear thrust missing (7).]

Shit!

[Okay hm, keeping up the offense is starting to become untenable to him, even with Richard's heal. He tosses out another Media for the both of them because that's really the best he can do with healing!!

With that dinky bit of HP restored, he tries to attack again!! but misses (4) rip]

Aaron!

[Good thing Richard has Diarahan, which is getting cast on Aaron immediately because yikes, bud.

... and then he's turning back to the knights for a Mazio, which hits two but misses one (18, 16, 5). Hopefully that will take those two out and even out the numbers a bit because ten on two isn't exactly fair here...]

[Poor Aaron does not deserve this. Unfortunately for him, King Thordan does not care. He's also really not happy with Richard's full heal over there, and turns his attention back to the other king.

His massive overhead swing misses (3), and his knights follow after him with a spear thrust (19) and a sword slash that also misses (6). With Richard's attack, there are now eight knights remaining.]

[The full heal is appreciated but the knights deciding to go after the only utility is??? bad?????]

Damn, you guys are seriously pissing me off!

[So there's a Dia at Richard for all the good that will do, and then another Magarula (11, 14, 19) that finally lands on each of the knights he's targeting. They're getting there... slowly......]

[ Tmw you enter the mirror you think you saw your roomie and friend enter only to walk in on see said roomie eat a spear thrust.

Sunrise immediately calls for Ushas to cast Magarudyne, though it hits only one of the knights (2, 1, 12). ]

Thank you...

[Wait, is that Sunrise--

He can ponder that once he isn't bleeding everywhere, though, because while that Dia definitely helped, that was still a 19 he just ate. Diarahan for himself this time around, and then another Tiger's Prowl (17) on one of the remaining knights.

Progress is being made...]

Edited 2024-10-14 19:23 (UTC)

[Progress is indeed being made now that the dice are cooperating! Between all of those attacks, there are now three knights remaining.

The King is certainly not happy with that full heal. So instead, he casts Makouga, aiming to deal Bless damage to all three of you - he completely misses Richard, lands a crit on Sunrise, and hits Aaron for decent damage (1, 20, 17).

The three remaining knights try for their spells and spears, but all three miss. Good riddance. (5, 6, 4)]

[He's briefly blinded by the hit, so he doesn't quite register that someone was crit in the meantime, but he's quick to blink the stars out of his vision and look around once the onslaught is done.]

Hey, you still with us, Sunrise!?

[There's a Media for the three of them and man his SP is probably getting kind of low at this point. He's used to relying on physical attacks, but with so many knights to take down, AOE attacks really are the better option. So there's one more Magarula (7, 17, 14) for the road, and hopefully they can clear out the rest of the knights with these next few attacks!!!]

[ The first thing Sunrise thinks is, "oh, so this how holy(???) power feels like", which is to say, it hurts like hell. It knocks her off her feet and she lands on the case she carries her weapon around, which isn't an improvement over falling on her back on the ground.]

I...I am here.

[ And because Sunrise doesn't know how to stop attacking, Ushas comes forth and uses Vicious Strike, slamming into two of the knights (15, 18, 7). She is either immensely lucky or determined to make them eat shit to do this when she can't see for sure where they are. ]

Sunrise!

[That's his third Diarahan in short order (sorry Aaron, he'll get you next) and he too is really starting to run low on SP... this might be Very Bad if this fight doesn't end soon, because he can only keep this amount of healing up for so long.

Rather than trying to attack again, he'll just take a momentary breather to try to gather himself. As the only Utility here, if he runs himself down, they're all in trouble and he knows it.]

[The last three knights are taken down, leaving only the King behind.]

Impossible... You have defeated my knights...

[He seems surprised by this, as if such a thing truly couldn't be foreseen. Still, he readies his blade and casts another Makouga, dealing heavy damage to Sunrise (again), as well as clipping Aaron (again), and missing Richard (again).

Your rage builds. This is the man who killed your friend. He has underestimated you. He has hurt your friends. He is still standing.

Roll with advantage on all attacks from here on.]

[With all the knights downed, there's only one person left to take down. This fight doesn't have to do with his own friends, or the mafia and all of their atrocities, but all that doesn't matter right now when he's pissed at this fucker for existing.]

You're gonna pay for that!

[He has just enough sense to Media everyone again before he rushes off to aim a thrust (19, 2) at the King, aiming at whatever gap he can find in the armor.]

[ Some of this is very familiar to Sunrise, even if it doesn't map perfectly to her own experiences and feelings. It is worryingly easy to let this anger fuel her, because in the depths of her soul lies a righteous fury that wants to burn and consume.

(This is the man who killed this girl. He will not face justice except by your hand. Some atrocities must never, ever be condoned.

Unforgivable. Unforgivable. Unforgivable.)

She casts Phanta Rei on the King (18, 13) for maximum damage. She has the SP to spare and she would like him eat shit and die, thank you. ]

[This is what it all comes down to, isn't it? Humans inevitably hurt each other and cause suffering. Here, back in Ephinea, it's all the same no matter where you go. Human nature will not change-- cannot be changed. And that's exactly why...

The Tiger's Prowl (14, 3) that he lashes out at Thordan with is just a small taste of the suffering he's felt, and he plans to pay it all back in spades. It's only fair. It's only right. Everyone should be able to understand just how he feels, just how much suffering has been wrought upon him in the name of individual selfish desires.]

[Together, the three of them are able to put an end to King Thordan. He drops to a knee like the knights before him, looking up at the three of you with a look akin to horror.]

Who - what are you?

[He doesn't get an answer, instead vanishing in a flash of light. Silence follows, only broken by a familiar-yet-unfamiliar voice. It sounds like those you cherish, while never sounding exactly like one person.]

Will you kill those that have wronged you, or can you stay your hand?

[Do you answer truthfully?]

[It's almost anticlimactic how easily he goes down, considering how much trouble they were having with all those knights. There's a brief feeling of accomplishment at having bested this foe, but not much more than that -- even if it had felt personal in the heat of the moment, it ultimately wasn't, not really.

But he's not given much time to contemplate this further when that voice rings out with that question, sounding of both those who are still alive, and those who aren't. And maybe the answer should be simple, but it is true that with time, he's had more time to reflect on the nuances.

Even so, there's no point overcomplicating it -- if it's anything like Kirumi's palace, this is just so the owner of this place can hear their honest opinions.]

If it's 'cause they screwed over my friends or my city, then yeah, I would. Some bastards won't stop until you put 'em down, and if no one else is gonna avenge them, then I will.

Edited 2024-10-14 21:31 (UTC)

[ For a long moment, Sunrise stares at the spot where the King previously was, coming down from how tense she felt from the earlier anger.

It also takes her a long moment to answer, because even if she's asked for her honest opinion about this, it is also honestly complicated for her. She hadn't until relatively recently even begun to conceive the notion that she had ever been wronged. The only wrongs she understands are the ones she's witnessed being done to others. ]

I...Did not think I had been wronged until people told me the things that have happened to me were. I only know that seeing other people be wronged makes me angry.

But that is why I would not kill who have wronged me. Because I would have to kill people who are frightened by me and someone who has hurt me because she was hurt herself. ...I am tied to her as well, so it would be the same as killing myself.

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bloodweapon - 2024-10-14 22:02 (UTC) - Expand

FOR THOSE WE HAVE LOST | FRAY'S PALACE

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