Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 3, Part 3

[DracoOmega]

>Form and hold a barrier in place beneath us. It doesn't have to be strong enough to outright block the attack, but enough to delay and give warning for us to leap clear if the owl tries it again.

>Address it: "If your quarrel is with us, Champion of Ice, then leave the others alone."

[Oldmansour]

>Form and hold a barrier in place beneath us. It doesn't have to be strong enough to outright block the attack, but enough to delay and give warning for us to leap clear if the owl tries it again.

>Address it: "If your quarrel is with us, Champion of Ice, then leave the others alone."

>A thin shield of blue light appears beneath your feet.
>It is the Champion of Fire that answers you, in the form of more laughter. "You recognized her right way." it crows, impressed at your deduction. "I just wanted her to clear the field, get the others out of the way." With a small snarl, the fiery fox continues, "I might have known she'd fail on the first shot."

[DracoOmega]

>"You sound unimpressed with her capabilities."

>Ready ourselves and keep a close eye on Ice. If she seems to be preparing to unleash another (perhaps stronger) attack, and there is enough of a window to potentially intercept it, fire an Indigo Lotus at her.

[Oldmansour]

>"You sound unimpressed with her capabilities."

>Ready ourselves and keep a close eye on Ice. If she seems to be preparing to unleash another (perhaps stronger) attack, and there is enough of a window to potentially intercept it, fire an Indigo Lotus at her.

>"I'm familiar with her shortcomings."

>The Ice Champion absorbs another trio of pistol blasts before replying to the fire, sending a wide barrage of thick icicles forward at the two officers.

[DracoOmega]

>Presumably this attack left no window of opportunity?
>Quickly throw a Sapphire Lotus barrier inbetween the path of the icicles and the officers they're aimed at. We don't need to stop all of them - just the ones most likely to hit

[Oldmansour]

>Presumably this attack left no window of opportunity?
>Quickly throw a Sapphire Lotus barrier inbetween the path of the icicles and the officers they're aimed at. We don't need to stop all of them - just the ones most likely to hit

>It came with no charge nor outward sign of a buildup- just a barrage of ice between one flap of her wings and the next. It would be impressive, if it weren't coming from the other team's side.
>The two officers take evasive rolls to their left and right as your blue light takes form once more. The officer farther away from you, the one with the short green puffy tail, seems to have gotten herself out of the line of fire on her own, but the seemingly human closer to you is still threatened, so you focus your energy on shielding her. Your barrier of blue light stops the icicles dead in their tracks, each breaking with the sound of shattering ice. And while the impact of those few shots you need to block does not create a great strain or consume much power, you feel a chill creep up your arm with each shot.

>"Not bad." the Fire Champion praises you. "But I wonder how that wall can handle stronger attacks."
>"What are you, afraid to try your own?" Rin taunts, glaring at the fox.
>"The one thing Ice is good for is for going first."

>The two officers pick themselves off the floor as Komachi looks between them, then at you. "You sure you can take two of 'em?"

[DracoOmega]

>"We will if we have to. Just get your people and the others to safety."
>Dispel the chill from our arm

>To Rin: Don't try to provoke him to action. The longer he watches, the more we can concentrate on a single threat at once.

[Oldmansour]

>"We will if we have to. Just get your people and the others to safety."
>Dispel the chill from our arm

>To Rin: Don't try to provoke him to action. The longer he watches, the more we can concentrate on a single threat at once.

>Rin glares at the fox again. He'll pounce. she theorizes. He had his buddy sneak attack once, he'll do it again if we give him a chance, I'd bet my tails. If he does, I'd sooner see him coming.

>While you wave your arm and use a brief surge of energy to take care of the minor cold left over from the icicle barrage, Komachi starts issuing orders. "Mari, Suen, help the others up and get out of here, all of you."
>"Lieutenant-"
>"But Komachi-"
>She cuts them off with a simple statement, "It's more important that we keep everyone outside outside." She then adds something in another language, which you recognize as Luyang but don't speak. But whatever it is seems to satisfy the two officers, as they nod and start to walk wide, obviously hoping to give the owl a wide berth as they go around it. "Since it's not us you want to have this big bird fight, right?" Komachi calls up to the fox.
>"Not unless you're hiding a power like theirs."
>Komachi shrugs, a surprisingly casual gesture. "'fraid not."
>A glance behind her shows the winged form of Lily White ranging up from the direction of the main gate. Kiku's on her way. she reports. She has to run, so we're on our own for a bit.

[DracoOmega]

>Is Lily actually inside the school wall at this point?
>Do either of the two demons have line of sight to where she is at the moment?
>How far away is she, for that matter?

[Oldmansour]

>Is Lily actually inside the school wall at this point?
>Do either of the two demons have line of sight to where she is at the moment?
>How far away is she, for that matter?

>Yes.
>Yes. Both of them do.
>Fourty feet or so, discounting the vertical distance accounting for her flight.

[DracoOmega]

>Oh. Well, so much for that idea.

>We'll just have to manage.
>And I agree, Rin - I wouldn't take my eyes off him. But the longer he waits, the better for us, I think.

>Keep an eye on the demons as the other people file out, and make sure they don't try to attack them again.

[Oldmansour]

>Oh. Well, so much for that idea.

>We'll just have to manage.
>And I agree, Rin - I wouldn't take my eyes off him. But the longer he waits, the better for us, I think.

>Keep an eye on the demons as the other people file out, and make sure they don't try to attack them again.

>"Of course, that doesn't mean your being here is meaningless." the demon continues, leering down upon you evilly. "Let's see how much area you can cover."
>Between the last two words of his sentence, the Ice Champion strikes again, launching a quartet of icy comets into the air, trailing white energy and ice behind them. Two of them arc in your direction, one arcs behind the Ice champion towards the trio of police only now back on their feet after the initial strike, while the last arcs in Komachi's direction.

[DracoOmega]

>Given the speed of the ones are traveling towards us, do we think we could simply dash out of their way?
>Which is Lily closest to?
>How fast/far from herself have we seen her able to throw her shield?

[Oldmansour]

>Given the speed of the ones are traveling towards us, do we think we could simply dash out of their way?
>Which is Lily closest to?
>How fast/far from herself have we seen her able to throw her shield?

>If their course remains unchanged, then you would be able to evade them by moving quickly to your left.
>Lily is currently closest to the ice ball heading towards Komachi.
>She was able to strike the Champion of Water from about twenty or so feet away. And its speed was comparable to your own Scarlet Lotus, if perhaps a touch slower.

[DracoOmega]

>Does it seem plausible that it could intercept the one headed towards Komachi before it reached her?
>Or are we still closer?

[Oldmansour]

>Does it seem plausible that it could intercept the one headed towards Komachi before it reached her?
>Or are we still closer?

>It's certainly plausable. The only catch would be, in both times you've seen her use her shield offensively, it was 'charged' first. It had absorbed some kind of attack. You're not sure if her uncharged shield can be used offensively.
>At the moment, you are closer to that comet, but Lily is in flight and can move fairly quickly.

[DracoOmega]

>Dash to the left to evade the icicles headed our way
>At the same time, send out two Sapphire Lotus barriers, one to intercept each of the other icicles heading towards the police. If we can, try to intercept them from as close range to ourself as possible, and angle the barrier to partially deflect the projectiles aside instead of absorbing the full brunt of their impact head-on. Hopefully this might mitigate energy consumption.

>Rin, shoot the owl! We can delay no longer.

[Oldmansour]

>Dash to the left to evade the icicles headed our way
>At the same time, send out two Sapphire Lotus barriers, one to intercept each of the other icicles heading towards the police. If we can, try to intercept them from as close range to ourself as possible, and angle the barrier to partially deflect the projectiles aside instead of absorbing the full brunt of their impact head-on. Hopefully this might mitigate energy consumption.

>Rin, shoot the owl! We can delay no longer.

>Raising your scepter again, you strafe left as you send out two streams of blue light, splitting them to the left and right. At the same time, Rin pulls her flying disc back slightly, then flips it over backwards, sending the thing flying out at the Ice Champion. Lily activates her shield as well, and the two officers open fire on the icy comet menacing the trio with their blaster pistols. Conner also starts firing at the projectile with his rifle.
>Your expanding sapphire light catches the fire from the officers, but the strain the blaster fire translates through into your body is rather light, compared to some of the other things you've absorbed. They feel like sharp slaps, but nothing you can't handle, and they stop after only four. Now, the impact of the icy meteors upon your sapphire shield is a fair bit more dramatic. For a moment, you feel as though you've caught a boulder in either hand, and then the two projectiles explode, the eruption of cold energy sending shockwaves of pain and shocking cold through your body, but you have the wherewithall to think about the fact that, if those two attacks went off like bombs, then so too will the two you've dodged.
>As you think that, a transparent veil of shimmering water appears, encircling you like a bubble. You think you hear the miko speak a word or two, possibly a spell, but her voice was muffled by the sound and the force of the first two explosions. And then the other two missiles, the two headed your way, hit the ground and explode. The watery veil around you absorbs some of the force of the paired explosion, but not all of it. The force of the blast wave sends you staggering sideways, and you hit the wall of the school with your left side leading.

[DracoOmega]

>No time to be cold or injured here. If she did it once, she can do it again, and probably worse.
>Steady ourselves on our feet, and quickly assess our surroundings. Did the others seem to make out alright?
>Approximately what was the blast radius on those comets, as best we could estimate?

[Oldmansour]

>No time to be cold or injured here. If she did it once, she can do it again, and probably worse.
>Steady ourselves on our feet, and quickly assess our surroundings. Did the others seem to make out alright?
>Approximately what was the blast radius on those comets, as best we could estimate?

>First mentally, then physically, you shake out the cobwebs, try to put the pain and chill wracking your body out of your mind, and refocus on the world around you.
>Apart from you, you see no injuries on any of the other people around you. Rin is standing on the ground, about a foot back from where she was hovering, but she shows no signs of icy injury, nor do any of the officers. In fact, Conner raises his blaster rifle and gives you a salute in thanks. The Ice demon is also a bit farther back than it was, though it too shows no outward sign of injury.
>At least six feet, considering how far you were from the ones that detonated near you.

[DracoOmega]

>Are our limbs and such still noticeably impaired by cold?
>Did it take appreciable time to clear the prior chills, when we did so?
>Can we conceive of a way to use our power to detonate these ice balls prematurely, or to divert or deflect them without suffering feedback for doing so? Does is seem possible we could project the warmth we used to drive it out of ourselves and 'fire' it at them, if not actually dissipating it then at least causing it to destabilize somehow?

[Oldmansour]

>Are our limbs and such still noticeably impaired by cold?
>Did it take appreciable time to clear the prior chills, when we did so?
>Can we conceive of a way to use our power to detonate these ice balls prematurely, or to divert or deflect them without suffering feedback for doing so? Does is seem possible we could project the warmth we used to drive it out of ourselves and 'fire' it at them, if not actually dissipating it then at least causing it to destabilize somehow?

>They don't seem to have suffered any mobility damage. They do have that sharp needling pain that comes when ones limbs have been numbed and are now thawing.
>Only a few seconds.

>Considering how your power reacted to demonic power before, Violet Lotus could conceivable negate the ice balls in midflight. Scarlet Lotus also could work, sort of like one missile striking another in mid-flight.
>A externalization of that sort of power would need to take the form of a Lotus technique. But it is possible.

[DracoOmega]

>Move towards the owl, adjusting position to try and put ourselves between it and any of the police officers still nearby, if possible
>Fire a Scarlet Lotus at it, ideally aimed to drive it further back from the others
>Make sure not to lose sight of the Fire Champion out of the corner of our eye

[Oldmansour]

>Move towards the owl, adjusting position to try and put ourselves between it and any of the police officers still nearby, if possible
>Fire a Scarlet Lotus at it, ideally aimed to drive it further back from the others
>Make sure not to lose sight of the Fire Champion out of the corner of our eye

>Wincing against the pain in you left leg and ribs, you go on the offensive, advancing on the Icy owl.
>The Ice champion does not react to your approach, her attention fixed on Rin before her. Komachi, you note, doesn't follow her own orders, and is casually walking towards Rin. You're not sure why, but you'll worry about that later. For now, you raise your scepter and unleash a hail of white and red orbs of energy at the hovering demon. You aim your shot towards the lower half of its body, hopefully to push it further up into the air and away from the rest of the people present.
>The owl makes no effort to evade your attack at first and your Scarlet light strikes home, peppering the Ice Champion with shots that seem to detonate on impact, a crimson and white shower of light. After enduring your assault for several seconds, the demon beats its great wings and elevates itself further. It makes no effort to retaliate, either, allowing the two moving officers to rendezvous with their colleagues, moving to assist the third, who seems to be a bit out of sorts. You hear the miko starting to chant again, sensing the quiet buildup of magical energy around her.

>The Fire Champion made no move during your attack, seemingly content to merely observe the goings on. After Ice evades the latter portion of your attack, however, it stirs, scowling faintly. "Was that your best shot?" he asks, his simple curiousity belying the scowl on his canine face.

[DracoOmega]

>Did our attack seem to be having any effect at all before the owl deigned to move aside from it?
>Was that as much power as we could reasonably throw behind it?

[Oldmansour]

>Did our attack seem to be having any effect at all before the owl deigned to move aside from it?
>Was that as much power as we could reasonably throw behind it?

>You couldn't read any changes in the owl's expression, but the blue glowing lines on it dimmed a bit while you were bombarding it. They seem to be back to their normal pattern of fading between dull and bright now. What effect that signifies, if any, you're not sure.
>You suspect you could create a more powerful Scarlet Lotus if you threw more power into it.

[DracoOmega]

>Could we take that feeling of warmth and light that we held within ourselves to push out the cold and infuse it into our Scarlet Lotus? Make each orb glow with the radiance of a tiny sun whose sheltering warmth brooks no chill upon either flesh or soul?

[Oldmansour]

>Could we take that feeling of warmth and light that we held within ourselves to push out the cold and infuse it into our Scarlet Lotus? Make each orb glow with the radiance of a tiny sun whose sheltering warmth brooks no chill upon either flesh or soul?

>Past experience tells you that such a thing should be possible. However, modifying existing techniques tends to put an additional strain on your body, and consumes more energy than a 'standard' execution of your power. It may be easier on your body to create a new technique to externalize that intent.

If you wish to take the second option, a tentative name for such an attack would be "Vermillion Lotus: Warmth of the Pure Soul". Of course, feel free to modify this as you see fit.

[DracoOmega]

>Rin, how well can you control your ring in flight? Do you think you could try to push the owl towards the ground?

[Oldmansour]

>Rin, how well can you control your ring in flight? Do you think you could try to push the owl towards the ground?

>Ya mean like ramming it?