FOR THOSE WE HAVE LOST | FRAY'S PALACE

[bloodweapon]

Welcome to the Vault. Let your judgment begin.
♫

Comments

[bloodweapon]

[Ganging up on Haurchefant is definitely the right call here, as Richard's attack on Alphinaud instead redirects to Haurchefant. That barrier certainly could have been a problem, but most of you guys bypassed it simply by going all in on hitting the tank. Haurchefant is certainly weakening fast - and even with Alphinau's Diarama he's not going to be recovering all that easily. Still, he's not down and out entirely just yet, and he uses his shield on V'rhas this time.

The Dragoon yet again jumps into the air, attempting to land on Celeste, Richard and Aerith (4, 9, 19). The damage he deals will hurt very badly for Aerith, as he's dealing Curse damage.

Yet again it seems V'rhas has another trick up his sleeve, as this turn elemental damage did very little, with physical damage doing more. F in the chat for Richard's crit, I am so sorry. His eyes glow red again as he readies the next attack - this time Evil Touch on Kainé, Argenti, and Aaron. Enjoy that Fear, guys!]

[beathollow]

( mafuyu rushes and casts amrita shower, clearing kaine's, argenti's and aaron's fear!

she then casts diarama on aerith. )

[beautifulknight]

[ Argenti grants Mafuyu a grateful nod!

He appreciates the quick actions of the spell, considering the effects and everything there... ]

[gardenful]

[ Yeah, that spell really hurts, and she's wincing even after Mafuyu heals her.

However... she can manage a little smile. ]

Thanks.

[strawsandals]

[ He might have a very soft spot for Aerith getting hurt - he runs over to her and quickly casts Diarama. ]

Hang in there, Aerith...!

[ He will also use Media to top her, Celeste, and Richard off. ]

[gardenful]

Thanks, Yoon.

[ Between those two spells and Mafuyu's, she's starting to feel a hell of a lot better. Still a bit winded, but much better. ]

[cirquedesang]

[...Interesting. So targeting the one the tank is shielding just redirects the attack, huh? Then it stands to reason an AoE would, maybe, hit him twice, Avrae permitting.

So, after neatly stepping back and away from the aerial attack, he'll fire a Maeiga on the enemy party, with... middling success. Again. Alphinaud (19) and V'rhas (17) are hit, and Haurchefant (10) and Estinien (8) are missed. Time to test that redirect theory...!]

[beautifulknight]

...!

[ Damn, Haurchefant is annoying because he exists, so Argenti will target him with a Psycho Force with that severe psy element first, missing completely (4), hitting Alphinaud because healers are an annoyance (13), missing Mister Dragoon™ because Argenti aimed when he was leaping or something but he tried really hard noticing who he aimed for (8), and Argenti is simply incapable of hitting Fray (1) for some ~mysterious~ reason.

Mafuyu's cleanse has fortunately washed over in time so he could hit, but honestly Argenti can't explain the terrible aim for the last hit...maybe he is still feeling too soft for his one and only. But he will get it together next time for sure! ]

[supherb]

[These copies of V'rhas's friends are proving to be a huge nuisance. And as much as it pains Arven to do it considering the memory he experienced, he knows they have to take Haurchefant and the others out of the picture.

As heals begin to go out, he decides to focus on offense this turn.]

Hestia!

[The fiery Persona appears, afflicting Alphinaud with Rakunda- his defense is lowered! Going for the healer is a valid strat, too. She follows up with Maragi on Alphinaud, Estinien and Haurchefant, though only Alphinaud and Haurchefant are hit (14, 4, 18).]

[moonshaded]

[The fear hits her like a sickening stomach ache, but Kainé fights through the fear the way she has before (1 = heads). There's no barrier around Alphinaud anymore? For whatever reason. she still has a vendetta against this little pointy-eared guy. If no one keeps him busy, he might run around and heal uninhibited. Uh-uh.

After using her skills pretty liberally, Kainé's energy is depleted a bit - so she goes for a straight physical slash with her sword this time (15)]

[imperiosity]

[Well, it does feel like they're making progress here, so he's about to continue the offensive... up until that Fear hits. He's still about to make some kind of attempt to attack, but even Mafuyu's quick clear can't stop him from making a misstep into a conveniently placed rock and then lurching into something you could call a lunge if you're feeling really generous, maybe (1),

Don't mind the loud swear coming from his direction, it's fine!!!!]

[ledbythewind]

[Hmm... hey, what happens if you Tarunda the tank to lower defenses? Inquiring minds want to know, and by that I mean Richard wants to know.

He's also getting very tired of this, and since his attempt at Mazio missed the last time, he's now going to slash at Haurchefant with his rapier (20). If they take him out, then maybe their attacks on the others will be more successful.]

[gardenful]

[ It's a miracle she doesn't crumple to the ground with that, but she's certainly using her staff to keep herself upright.

...Until Mafuyu and Yoon come in clutch to heal her.

She's back at it again with another Bless spell, sending out Makouha towards the four them yet again (7, 13, 4, 19). She misses V'rhas and Huarchefant, but lands hits on Alphinaud and Estinien. ]

[bloodweapon]

[Celeste is right about the redirect theory - all damage done to V'rhas this turn was redirected to Haurchefant. Which means that things are really not going well for the poor guy at this point. Between the spells and the stabs, Haurchefant collapses to the snow, and the dark fire consumes him whole until nothing is left.]

Haurchefant!

[V'rhas's eyes glow red again, and boy does he look pissed! Sure, it wasn't the real version of him, but you all just killed Haurchefant (again). Of course he's mad. Alphinaud also isn't doing so great, so he casts a Diarama on himself while Estinien takes a step back to cast Rakukaja on Alphinaud. V'rhas foregoes the status ailments this time to inflict Maziodyne on Yoon, Argenti, Celeste, Mafuyu, and Kainé (10, 5, 1, 15, 15). The Electric damage is bound to sting for those latter two!]

[beautifulknight]

[ Damn that sure is...happening, isn't it?

Argenti can hear the anguish in that tone and having witnessed Fray's - well, V'rhas'? - memories, he knows why he would sound like that.

But, honestly?

Good riddance. He's just somebody who is in the way of returning his beloved to him.

Argenti then turns towards Alphinaud and tosses a rose at him...only for that one rose to become many, entrapping the healer temporarily in a cage of psionic roses, thorns piercing into him mercilessly. After all, Every Rose Has Its Thorns (19), no? ]

[cirquedesang]

[Hm. With his eyes shifting color...]

Watch his eyes! Use magic when they're red!

[He's taking his own advice... with moderate success. The Maeiga only manages to land on V'rhas (14) and misses the others entirely.

After which, he'll cast a Dia on Mafuyu, because how dare?]

[beathollow]

Thank you, Dad!

[supherb]

[Arven closes his eyes tightly as Haurchefant falls and V'rhas calls out to him. It hurts, having seen what he saw...but he also knows that wasn't really Haurchefant. One down, two to go until V'rhas is alone.

He doesn't have too long to think about this though, because--]

Mafuyu!!

[He rushes to cast Diaharan on her, bringing her to full health. He's a concerned boyfriend, okay... But he does follow it up with Diarama for Kaine.]

[gardenful]

[ It's time to go full Utility!

Aerith will cast Media on Yoon, Mafuyu, and Kainé first, and then cast Marakunda to lower the defenses of V'rhas, Haurchefant, Alphinaud, and Estinien. ]

[imperiosity]

[One down, three more to go!! Even if V'rhas doesn't react well, they're only in the way and couldn't even be called a Shadow of the real thing.

After that spill from before, he's ready to make up for it by setting his sights on Alphinaud because that healing is a nuisance. Charging forward, Aaron steps into a pair of heavy slashes with his swords (18) in the hopes of at least stunning him if he can't actually finish the healer off.]

[beathollow]

( mafuyu lets out a short but pained shriek at the attack, but-

thank god for a a good friend, good dad and a good boyfriend, honestly. it fades just as quickly, even if she feels the emotional toll.

with an inhale, she casts mapsio again, for medium psy damage to all enemies; it hits v'rhas (19) and estinien (17) but completely misses alphinaud (5). she then casts matarunda again, lowering the attack of all enemies. )

[ledbythewind]

[It's probably a good thing everyone else has the heals covered given how drained Richard is right now. Still, when he hears Celeste's words, he pulls himself together enough to try another Mazio on Alphinaud (18), Estinien (3), and V'rhas (10).

Time to target the healer now...]

[idealitas]

[ Oh... hm. That's rough, buddy. But it is a fight, and one of them has to fall first.

Yi Sang will cast Matarunda on the enemies, then follow up with a Maeiga that lands on all three (19, 16, 16). ]

[strawsandals]

[ God, that hurts, but it's worse for others - he casts Media on Argenti, Celeste, and Mafuyu- ]

Kaine!!

[ Oh, that won't do. Diarama for his injured friend. ]

[destage]

[Sayaka's practically shaking at all of this. She doesn't want to hurt her brother, nor make him watch his friends die...but...

She swallows it down. This is to save him, because this isn't him entirely, is it?

...She doesn't know, but she has to strike.

Sayaka casts Maragidyne (18, 18, 16), taking aim at Estinein and Alphinaud. She can't attack V'rhas, she just can't--]