bitpartgod
in
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Nightshift 41: Entry Room
[From here]
Kibitoshin stepped into the room, hope renewed. It looked like some kind of reception area if the two desks on either side of him were anything to go on, both absolutely pristine as though everything had been tidied away only seconds before he'd stepped into the room. On top of that there were enough doors here to keep him busy for hours ( Read more... )
Any hope Haseo had about being mistaken was destroyed the moment he came through the doorway, that sense of uneasiness solidly validated and quickly increasing. He was completely ignoring the woman and other men present, eyes going right to the one conspicuously glowing and floating and lacking in a grey uniform. It was-- It was that guy! Of all the ... Why him?!
The Adept Rogue gritted his teeth, and although he wasn't entirely in his full offensive or defensive posture yet, every line in his body was full of obvious tension as he stood mostly frozen, grip tightening on his wooden pole and flashlight. This was bad. Almost embarrassingly so, without access to his weapons. But all the same... after several seconds the fact that the other patients seemed to be actually threatened by the being sunk in. He took a step forward, then another, until he was quickly approaching the AI, not sure what to expect at all.
"Hey!" he snapped, trying to catch its attention.
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"K-Kite...?" He stammered out the name, clearly taken aback. "What...what did they..." He shook his head, brushing his bangs out of his eyes so he could get a full view of the AI. There was no question that the -- person? program? being? -- was based on his old friend's appearance, with the way he looked. Only...it was like looking at a caricature. No. Not a caricature, a...a bad parody. This isn't Kite, this is...
He was forcibly snapped out of his thoughts by that sharp yell. "Haseo, be careful!" I don't want to hurt you, Kite, but I've got someone more important to protect. I'm sorry, but this is how it has to be. With that, he moved into a defensive stance, ready to jump in if and when he was needed. He briefly ( ... )
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He nodded in acknowledgement of Endrance's look, moving back a few paces and preparing himself to cast a spell if need be. Assuming he could even cast spells. He didn't have a staff and these wasn't exactly a normal situation.
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The young mage gave an exasperated growl. He knew even as he gave the warning that they weren't going to listen to him at all. Not all of them, at least. They hadn't been here long enough to understand.
Well, if they were going to get him involved... "Haseo!" he cried out, tossing the short sword he'd been carrying right in the young man's direction. It would only get in the way of spellcasting anyway.
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Up until that, the state of his companions had remained pushed to the side, their warnings and exclamations of familiarity just barely acknowledged beyond what was important right then. Fortunately, when Haseo's name was called by itself, in a voice he was not yet used to, he looked back- just in time to process Leon tossing that short sword. Haseo was forced to make an emergency decision, reaching out his free hand automatically and catching the weapon. The blade was facing the opposite direction than it had probably been intended, but it wasn't like that mattered, considering the way Haseo as a ' ( ... )
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Eyes wide and glowing with fury at whoever had cracked his face-display, he jerked his head around to see who had interrupted his attack pattern. Before he could even see who it was, his visual display was filled with three large red circles and urgent messages:
ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK
ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK
ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK
It wasn't in his nature to question why--just to do what his program told him.
With a feral, unintelligible yell, he charged forward, fangs bearing down on Haseo with unflinching ferocity. He wasn't just aiming to get them out of the room--it looked like he was attacking to kill.
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Tsukasa pressed back against the wall, keeping out of the way and ready to cast a spell if it became needed, but he'd just get in the way of physical combat.
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Like Tsukasa, Leon also fell back. He was a spellcaster too, and he came prepared. His book was open in an instant, and the mage prepared to cast an offensive spell whenever he saw an opening. For the moment, the patient's(?) attention wasn't on him.
"You know this guy?" he called to the others. "What are his weaknesses?"
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Azure Kite was fast, and although the thought of fighting him again under what might be another mistaken premise was unappealing, there wasn't any leeway to reminisce on those occasions he or someone he knew had faced off against the being, and what it meant to find it here. When you'd managed to attract and enrage something like that, context was an unnecessary detail. With that kind of reaction, Haseo had only a moment, filled with that bizarre clarity typically present the instant before something truly terrible happened. If he kills me they'll never get Endrance to come out from under the bed and if Atoli comes back she'll have to annoy some other guy goddamn it...!
Fortunately, instincts and the drive for self-preservation were things not easily ignored. Defend! Defend yourself! something far more visceral screamed, and even if really so much should have been different between now and the times battles were fought in-game, all the same Haseo was already trying to move to one side and that blade was up in a flash, ( ... )
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"Try anything," he said firmly in response, and then the order from Haseo came and it was easy to pretend that this was just a normal party event like the time with Bear and Mimiru. This was just another monster and this was still The World.
"Rai Rom!" Tsukasa called out, calling out the spell name and waiting for it to take effect. He wasn't prepared for the feeling of it being dragged out of him, actual strength and energy, as opposed to SP. The lightning formed, coiling around the target, and Tsukasa squeezed his eyes shut, willing it to work.
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Haseo's proximity to Kite wasn't a problem, as Leon's spells were designed to hit only those he wanted them to hit. It was a couple moments before he could decide what spell to use, however. Black Saber was the most powerful one he could cast right now, but it would leave him with nothing else. He might be better off casting something weaker and relying on the others to back him up.
"WOUNDS," he decided at last. Dark energy appeared in his hand before moving to encompass their opponent. It wasn't a strong spell, but it should cause some pain - hopefully enough to be a distraction.
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But if nothing else, this definitely proved that "Tri-Edge" wasn't anything like them, Haseo and Endrance and Tsukasa, somehow changed from digital to flesh and blood. That crack.... The trick seemed to be getting in strikes around the weapons. But the question was how? Once more Haseo started to move, this time to the side opposite Endrance, and to the same as his wooden pole still mostly caught up with one of those strange dual swords. When the block to Endrance's attack was initiated, Haseo struck with the freed sword... just as the spells hit ( ... )
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With that, he took a deep breath, drawing himself back up to his full height and watching Haseo and Azure Kite's movements just long enough to get the gist of the pattern. It was something he had gotten very good at doing in the Arena, and it was - to mild surprise - just as easy as it had been before. Endrance nodded at Haseo's words. Even though he didn't particularly like the idea of the Adept Rogue taking most of the aggression, if that was the plan, this was no time to argue it.
He then moved back to striking distance with steps that were almost like a dance. If you're going right, then I'll take the opposite side... That was what he ( ... )
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