[BitPR²] Mortal World V

[KnightDisciple]

[Tokyo, Japan]
[Von Geister Manor - 25th Floor, ???]

[Tokyo, Japan]
(Von Geister Manor - Chapel?)

Felicia sputters as the bolts of lightning shoot through her form, and she just... falls apart.

...Chuck gets a sense that it can't possibly be that easy. He might see a flash of black and yellow as Shinji approaches Atsuko. He might even have enough time to warn him.

But probably not, as a bee-like hollow speeds towards Shinji, stabbing forth with a wide lance-stinger attached to it's forearm. And yet... something seems wrong about Hell Wasp, there's no light in her eyes. The sockets are black, a bit of black ichor leaking out.

Meanwhile, Katsuo has another great glob lobbed at him, composed of black and curiously, a earthy translucent gold. The source of the glob appears to be... yet another bee hollow. Honey Bee wavers similarly, with blank eyes and a... puppet-like stance.

"Shinji!"

Fast enough to warn, not fast enough to help. Chuck is amped up on a lot of power right now, and is constantly drawing in more thanks to Sklaverei. He is contested by the will of the house itself, as well as its masters, but even still, he is a powerful and trained Quincy; some spiritual matter is still drawn in and converted.

He pointed one hand at Honey Bee, and the other at a wall.

"BURN."

Once more, black lightning streaks out.

[Dorizzit]

"I expected to get a power boost. That's what happens when you drink it. This isn't rocket science."

[Kuroimaken]

"I expected to get a power boost. That's what happens when you drink it. This isn't rocket science."

"You're right, this is spiritual medicinal science. Scads more complicated." Tobioka replied. "You're already off-the-charts powerful Quincy power-wise, what do you think that got you?"

_________________________

[Geister Manor]

"...!!!"

Chuck's warning comes just early enough to do some good and just late enough that anyone looking from the outside might get the impression that it didn't. Hell Wasp, however, can tell she didn't strike flesh - a hastily-erected barrier at the last second saves the Kuzunoha leader from being skewered.

"Tenji no Ippou: METSU!"

Holding up an ofuda in front of him, Shinji's fingers spew a cascade of violently bright silvery fire aimed at Hell Wasp's face. It doesn't burn as hot as one might expect - but the brightness of it all is like holding up a miniature sun in front of someone's face.

[Dorizzit]

Naito smiles. It's not a pleasant expression.

"This."

Clenching their fists, Naito releases another (much lighter) surge of power. Where Naito's reiatsu once felt like a mixture of Quincy and Hollow energy, it now feels like something different. Unique.

"There's always been this...instability, I guess, in my power. Aside from combining two contradictory power sources, this body was intended to be used by a soul totally different from mine. I mentioned earlier that it was designed to direct specific power inputs down certain pathways, but because of how different I am from the intended soul it was pushing my development in two different directions. You can think of this as a kind of smelting process. Reconciling both the reiryoku divide and the physical/spiritual pathway conflict."

[Kuroimaken]

"That makes sense as far as you are concerned. But what about her? The reiryoku in the cross is the source for Quincy powers. How does that serve to stabilize them both?" Tobioka was genuinely interested. He also sounded a bit worried.

[Dorizzit]

"The hollow piece was always intended to be more of an alternate power supply, an extra weapon. I treated it more like a muscle, and trained it up until it was even and better incorporated. For her, the cross's reiryoku acts as a centerpiece for her powers and keeps the hollow parts in check. She already had a letter innately, but I guess drinking the blood directly combined with the changes to her spiritual anatomy altered it."

Naito is talking pretty rapidly in an attempt to speed things up.

[Kuroimaken]

"Fine, kid. You convinced me you know what you're doing up to this point. So I'm going to scan your vitals for anomalies or the possibility of a power surge gone horribly wrong. If nothing pops up I'll let you go on one condition.

One last question while I'm scanning. Are you two still connected somehow? The letter didn't show up on either of you until YOU drank that blood."

[Dorizzit]

The vital scan doesn't turn up anything of note.

"Maybe. Not in any significant way. Or if it is, I haven't found it yet. And I've been thorough, trust me."

[strawberryman]

[Tokyo, Japan]
(Von Geister Manor - Chapel?)

A snickering comes from the walls in every direction, even as lightning tears apart the walls. "Do you play many video games? Because congrats, you got to phase 2. But this is the real fight."

Honey Bee lobs a thick ball of honey and ichor at Chuck, the lightning not dealing with that terribly well. It appears to have been partly a distraction, though, as the hollow takes evasive measures. It looks like the lightning did tear off one of the bees' forearms, but... it doesn't seem terribly concerned.

Simultaneously, Chuck might fight his lightning's path disrupted as waves of sonic energy cascade through the room, the source being yet another black-eyed hollow near the back, one that looks part moth and is beating its wings furiously. Each of the kids begins to feel a little ill as the sound builds...

Hell Wasp is momentarily inconvenienced by the barrier, but in the face of the blinding flash... she just stabs at Shinji again mercilessly.

"Heheh... stupid Kuzunoha, did you really think that would work?"

[Kuroimaken]

The vital scan doesn't turn up anything of note.

"Maybe. Not in any significant way. Or if it is, I haven't found it yet. And I've been thorough, trust me."

"Alright. If you can take it easy on the self-modification of your spiritual structure and you promise to come back alive, you're free to go."

______________________

As Hell Wasp stabs at Shinji again, she realizes she seems to be... off-balance? It causes her to miss.

"Mostly, in case it didn't, I expected her lack of pain response to keep her from noticing how persistent the flames were."

Indeed, the fire burned very bright, but perhaps more to the point, the flames didn't seem to go out on their own like so many instantaneous flame assaults when they failed to inflict real damage.

"Tenji henkai, shihou: METSU."

Did the flames suddenly turn to very sharp, very heavy spikes?

[Dorizzit]

"F***ing finally."

Naito rushes past, speeding out of the complex entirely before blurring into the sky.

[Kuroimaken]

"F***ing finally."

Naito rushes past, speeding out of the complex entirely before blurring into the sky.

Tobioka does not begrudge the boy his impatience.

"Did you tell him where to go?"

"Only that it was in Tokyo. You?"

"Nope. Then again, it's probably just a matter of finding the biggest source of Hollow Reiryoku."

[KnightDisciple]

[Tokyo, Japan]
[Von Geister Manor - 25th Floor, ???]

[Tokyo, Japan]
(Von Geister Manor - Chapel?)

A snickering comes from the walls in every direction, even as lightning tears apart the walls. "Do you play many video games? Because congrats, you got to phase 2. But this is the real fight."

Honey Bee lobs a thick ball of honey and ichor at Chuck, the lightning not dealing with that terribly well. It appears to have been partly a distraction, though, as the hollow takes evasive measures. It looks like the lightning did tear off one of the bees' forearms, but... it doesn't seem terribly concerned.

Simultaneously, Chuck might fight his lightning's path disrupted as waves of sonic energy cascade through the room, the source being yet another black-eyed hollow near the back, one that looks part moth and is beating its wings furiously. Each of the kids begins to feel a little ill as the sound builds...

Hell Wasp is momentarily inconvenienced by the barrier, but in the face of the blinding flash... she just stabs at Shinji again mercilessly.

"Heheh... stupid Kuzunoha, did you really think that would work?"

Chuck dodges the ball of honey-ichor, not trusting it to not have terrible side effects even with his armor. The lightning finally dies off, the black energy swirling about him for a moment before coalescing into Dunkelklinge. The black-bladed spear sings a terrible song as he spins it about himself for a moment. He cringes at the sonic assault from the moth-Hollow.

"I get that you're ticked looking like what's left in my toilet after a bad burrito night, but this is getting ridiculous."

A blade of energy flies toward Honey Bee, while Chuck himself blazes a path through the air toward Moth, the shining dark blade of Dunkelklinge manifesting just in time to (hopefully) strike the disorienting Hollow.

[Draken]

[Von Geister Manor]

Part of a pew breaks off as Chuck absorbs reishi to feed his power.

"Please, sir, refrain from absorbing the walls and the furniture."

And then the bees dodge, the projectile blasting a hole in a column.

"And ideally be careful about shooting shoot them. I may be beyond your power to destroy, but you have enough firepower to collapse the room."

Xavier repairs the hole and reabsorbs the debris.

------

There is one large hollow entity in Tokyo. Very large. A few acres in size, really, but not particularly... Dense. Resembles a building haunted by a jibakurei, but... What is the word...

Purer.

Impurer if you want to be subjective about it.

But it is just the one, Von Geister manor is surely infested with hollows, and inhabited by no small number of live mortal servants. And host to a variety of other guests, willing or not. But there is just the one major power, a thousand, thousand tiny others, going about daily, mundane mortal lives. Buying bread, drinking coffee, reading the newspaper. Off duty minions of the Ghost King, companions of his spawn.

[Dorizzit]

[Tokyo]
Von Geister Manor

The ground outside the manor craters under the impact of a very angry, very fast Naito. Rising from a kneeling landing, the hybrid stalks towards the front door of the manor. Just outside, Naito winds up, pauses, then un-clenches their fist, takes a deep breath, and knocks on the door. Loudly, of course, but it's still uncharacteristically restrained.

[TherianTheorist]

[Sanctuary: Warded Room]

Torahiko gave up on waiting for the others early on, deciding that anything it would achieve could be done much faster later on. Staying quiet and fading into the background was still natural to the boy. Extravagant name aside, he never cared to be the center of attention, so it had been a natural skill to cultivate. And something he'd taken the discretion to practice here. He forced himself into the spotlight for unpleasantness nonstop after the few hours of war he participated in. But this is what he had to fall back on his old defense mechanisms over. Funny actually, or possibly sad.

Well, he had another reason, the sudden sensation that something happened to the cross, not explicitly telling him to check in on the artifact, but certainly a signal of some sort. It was hard not paying attention, similar to how it would be hard to lose track of a part of oneself. The Hollow parts of his soul remember its touch, as do the Quincy parts of his body, as does the unnatural metal in his veins. And they will always know how to return to it.

...Or at least, that's what he tells himself. In practice, the sanctuary complex was a bit harder to navigate than he thought, and he'd missed the opportunity t witness whatever it was from. "Always arriving late." The annoyed tone was for himself, since he'd clearly missed the interesting part of whatever had been going on.

He let his eyes slide over Tobioka, fixating on the artifact, and its newest scratch. "Ugh, so that's what it was? Another piece of you missing." He hurried closed, checking it up close. "Just a minor scratch, but there's definitely a difference from before."

[Draken]

[Tokyo]
Von Geister Manor

The ground outside the manor craters under the impact of a very angry, very fast Naito. Rising from a kneeling landing, the hybrid stalks towards the front door of the manor. Just outside, Naito winds up, pauses, then un-clenches their fist, takes a deep breath, and knocks on the door. Loudly, of course, but it's still uncharacteristically restrained.

Something is off about this place.

The door opens slightly, and a man who is clearly a butler looks comes out of it, measuring Naito.

"Is something the matter, miss? I am afraid that the Ghost King is not home, if you have any questions about your health."

[Dorizzit]

Naito takes another deep breath, closing their eyes in an effort to maintain composure.

"Felicia Von Geister kidnapped my friend's aunt. He and two others recently went after her. I was told they were here. I'm...I would much rather end this as peacefully as possible. I'm giving you...your group, your family, your court, whatever you want to call it, one chance to back off and give her back, or get out of our way when we take her back."

[Draken]

Xavier blinks twice.

"Oh. You are with them, this is very odd, I honestly did not expect delayed arrivals. Battle between the young mistress and your friends has already begun, I'm afraid."

Xavier brings a hand to his chin.

"This is rather irregular... What to do... I suppose the young mistress could handle four of you, but yo do bear the mark of the Ghost King. Hmm..."

The butler looks thoughtful.

[Dorizzit]

Naito recoils, ever so slightly.

"Mark of the what?"

[Draken]

The butler pulls out a monocle and eyes Naito through its lens for a moment.

"The Ghost King tracks his works with a singular mark. One the shinigami have come to call a malady, if you only ever heard of it from them. La Plaga Blanca."

"You most certainly carry it, and not one of the beta strains received from another."

[Dorizzit]

Naoto's mouth purses into a thin line.

"That's a long story that makes basically no sense. Someone I know owes him because of it, which is why I even tried to solve this peacefully. Given that my friends are already fighting, I'm going out on a limb and assume I was wasting my time."

[strawberryman]

[Tokyo, Japan]
(Von Geister Manor - Chapel)

While Shinji and Chuck have been dealing with the bee squad, Katsuo has been struggling with a concentrated assault against Felicia. Every time he breaks out, the black mass assaults him anew, doing no real damage, but serving to keep him constantly struggling. His strength seems to be wavering... "Heheh... you really are the strongest of them, aren't you? It's just a shame you're so weak otherwise. But maybe I can push your buttons enough to make you loosen up?"

There's a bit of an involuntary shriek as Shinji's spikes pierce into Hell Wasp, but then... its chest cavity just splits in two and opens up all the way to her mask, mocking some kind of sick maw with teeth made of black ichor.

And it vomits at Shinji. Ew.

Chuck cuts through Rumblebee quite easily, cleaving one of its wings and chest and sending it to the ground. The black mass oozes forth from it and starts swallowing it. "She's useless... eh. So what about you, cowboy? Do you want to know what it's like to have me sloshing around in your br-"

Katsuo breaks free again and screams out. "Just stop this! If you wanted me, just take me! Let them leave!"

The blackness stops assaulting him for a moment, then sinks into the floor, along with the mass that swallowed Rumblebee. Chuck finds himself beset upon by Honeybee, striking at him with iron-hard amber-coated claws.

"...you're making me angry. Are you serious? How can you not get this?"

Katsuo stands a moment, thinking on a response. Felicia cuts in before he can.

"You're right, this is ridiculous. It's gone on long enough."

Long black spikes shoot from the walls at Atsuko. Katsuo realizes what's happening and takes a leap.

[Kuroimaken]

Too much going on at once. Shinji has to try getting away from Hell Wasp's projectile vomiting and try to get to Atsuko. He hastily attempts to construct a barrier to shield her, but there's no telling if he was fast enough to succeed...

[KnightDisciple]

[Tokyo, Japan]
[Von Geister Manor - Chapel]

[Tokyo, Japan]
(Von Geister Manor - Chapel)

While Shinji and Chuck have been dealing with the bee squad, Katsuo has been struggling with a concentrated assault against Felicia. Every time he breaks out, the black mass assaults him anew, doing no real damage, but serving to keep him constantly struggling. His strength seems to be wavering... "Heheh... you really are the strongest of them, aren't you? It's just a shame you're so weak otherwise. But maybe I can push your buttons enough to make you loosen up?"

There's a bit of an involuntary shriek as Shinji's spikes pierce into Hell Wasp, but then... its chest cavity just splits in two and opens up all the way to her mask, mocking some kind of sick maw with teeth made of black ichor.

And it vomits at Shinji. Ew.

Chuck cuts through Rumblebee quite easily, cleaving one of its wings and chest and sending it to the ground. The black mass oozes forth from it and starts swallowing it. "She's useless... eh. So what about you, cowboy? Do you want to know what it's like to have me sloshing around in your br-"

Katsuo breaks free again and screams out. "Just stop this! If you wanted me, just take me! Let them leave!"

The blackness stops assaulting him for a moment, then sinks into the floor, along with the mass that swallowed Rumblebee. Chuck finds himself beset upon by Honeybee, striking at him with iron-hard amber-coated claws.

"...you're making me angry. Are you serious? How can you not get this?"

Katsuo stands a moment, thinking on a response. Felicia cuts in before he can.

"You're right, this is ridiculous. It's gone on long enough."

Long black spikes shoot from the walls at Atsuko. Katsuo realizes what's happening and takes a leap.

Chuck does not even respond to Felicia's taunting, instead working to defend himself from Honeybee's strikes. He's doing rather well....then he sees the attack headed for Atsuko.

Chuck doesn't take the time to curse or taunt. He ceases attempts to defend himself, likely letting a couple of attacks hit, though admittedly with his armor the wounds will be minor at worst, most likely.

Instead, he simply blurs from sight and reappears almost next to Atsuko, still striding with every ounce of his strength, his hands flinging Ginto forward even as his voice desperately begins to utter the incantation to try and shield Katsuo's beloved aunt with metal barriers.
Then again, he's pretty clearly going to try and use his own body as a shield for her, too.

[strawberryman]

There's a convergence of black spines as long as spears, mystic barriers, shields of iron and energy and both Chuck and Katsuo jumping into the fray.

It's only when Chuck is within touching distance of the chandelier that he notices the oozing blackness on it, creeping down onto Atsuko's wrists. The entire chandelier becomes akin to a gaping maw of black spiny teeth, snapping down on Atsuko, the chain she's hanging by as the tongue. Even as Chuck dives in to shield her, arms around her...

Well, Katsuo crashes into the iron-hard barrier of gritz, then through it, then into Chuck and Atsuko, sending them all spiraling towards the ground. Chuck likely has the good sense to turn such that he'd be the one hitting the ground with the unconscious Atsuko in hand. There's a crunch as all of them hit the ground. Then everything falls quiet. Hell Wasp has broken apart by now, melting into the floor as its body, unable to handle the stress of being eaten from the inside and torn in half. Honey bee actually followed the tustle, and is nowhere to be found. The chandelier, monstrous mouth that it is, is gone, retreated to the ceiling. Felicia is silent, yet there's still an underlying squirming noise in the room.

Katsuo rushes over almost immediately, looking down in a panic. "C-Chuck? Atsuko oba-san...?"

Even as he holds Atsuko... something seems wrong to Chuck. She's extremely limp. And there's no feeling of her heart beating.

[KnightDisciple]

[Tokyo, Japan]
[Von Geister Manor - Chapel]

Chuck had given several grunts of pain as they skidded along the ground and he was the point of contact. He was strong and tough right now, but still, it wasn't fun. When things settled, he cradled Atsuko in his arms, trying still to shield her, even as he reached out with his senses and a couple of feather-light Ransotengai to try and detect her condition...

And then his tendril-wings flared in panic, and he looked over to their Kitsune friend.

"Shinji! Get over here! Now!"

That's not a good thing to hear.

[Kuroimaken]

Shinji... actually takes a moment longer to respond than he probably should. He seems, for a moment, distracted. Looking elsewhere.

His hand reaches out, and a greenish-blue flame collapses into it before it forms into a large gem of the same color, which he tucks away into his robe.

He then follows his friends' call, rushing to their side.

"We have to get out of here. Now."

[Draken]

Naoto's mouth purses into a thin line.

"That's a long story that makes basically no sense. Someone I know owes him because of it, which is why I even tried to solve this peacefully. Given that my friends are already fighting, I'm going out on a limb and assume I was wasting my time."

"Long stories that make no sense are par the course for the master. I could spend all week telling you the original versions of a number of nowadays' favorite epics of the ancient world. Most are much wilder, I assure you."

The butler opens the door wider.

"At any rate, do come in. The battle in the cathedral is reaching its climax, since you came all the way here I see no reason for you to miss it."

Naito still can't really feel the other spiritual energies anywhere inside the building, its vicinity or, well, anywhere.

-----

[The Cathedral]

Somber organ music plays in the room.

[Dorizzit]

"I'm sure."

Naito pinches the bridge of their nose in irritation, but eventually does step inside.

"Yeah, fine. Whatever. Breaking things is a waste of time, I'm sure."