Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 3, Part 6 [COMPLETED]

[DracoOmega]

>Let's try to zap her with a Violet Lotus before she has time to react to the change in her surroundings.
>But be prepared to get the heck out of the way if she rushes us before we can fire.

[Oldmansour]

>Let's try to zap her with a Violet Lotus before she has time to react to the change in her surroundings.
>But be prepared to get the heck out of the way if she rushes us before we can fire.

>The green-haired jack has just enough time to emerge from the hole she'd punched in the metal cage when you unleash your Violet light. She raises her arm to try and ward off your attack, but it has no visible effect of the impact of your light. Unlike with White Rose, however, the jack seems to resist your efforts to purge her of the influence on her mind. She strains under the assault, and even takes a step towards you, albeit with visible effort.

>Hero. the voice of the Purpose comes to you as you increase the power to your attack. The Champion of Fire is moving. It is heading in your direction.

>Its voice concludes as your Realizations of the Wanderings overpowers the jack, her knees buckling from the force of the attack before being bowled over by it, rolling for a moment or two before coming to rest against the cave wall, sitting and slumped over.

[DracoOmega]

>Does she seem unconscious again or just a little stunned by this process?

[Oldmansour]

>Does she seem unconscious again or just a little stunned by this process?

>Moreso the former than the latter.

[DracoOmega]

>Convenient; there's already too many things going on at once.
>To the Purpose: This is a terrible time for it. But can you tell me anything about that... thing which just manifested here?

[Oldmansour]

>Convenient; there's already too many things going on at once.
>To the Purpose: This is a terrible time for it. But can you tell me anything about that... thing which just manifested here?

>At least this seems to have gone your way.
>Only that whatever it is did not come from beyond the barrier.

[DracoOmega]

>Well, I supposed that is something.
>To Rin: "We should go after Kiku. I will try to explain what I can, but too much is happening at once and I still don't know half of it myself."
>Let's start off in the direction Kiku went, and step on it.
>To Kiku: Is Lily here? I don't know what happened outside after I was captured.

[Oldmansour]

>Well, I supposed that is something.
>To Rin: "We should go after Kiku. I will try to explain what I can, but too much is happening at once and I still don't know half of it myself."
>Let's start off in the direction Kiku went, and step on it.

>Back to her normal, loyal self, White Rose simply nods, follows and says, "Jus' point me at the enemy."

>To Kiku: Is Lily here? I don't know what happened outside after I was captured.

>Yes. Kiku's voice sounds a bit strained. That's why... Never mind, just get up here, I need your help.

[DracoOmega]

>We are coming.
>Keep moving. Follow any obvious signs of Kiku or hostile presences, be they via magical sensations or simply the noise of battle.
>Though while we're at it, can we get a sense of how far away Fire is?

>"We were captured by Satori. Kiku came to rescue us; I believe Lily is here also, and maybe others. There was a deep corruption inside Satori. I attempted to excise it with Violet Lotus, but it seems to have a will of its own and has manifested separated from her - or at least partially so. I do not know what it is, but it is powerful and feels like the essence of death itself. It has reached out for the minds of those Satori's mind had touched, changing them - like that woman back there. And probably Lily also. Maybe many, many others. This is a very serious situation."

[Oldmansour]

>We are coming.
>Though while we're at it, can we get a sense of how far away Fire is?

>The demon is closing fast. It will be at the shrine in a matter of minutes, at most.

>Keep moving. Follow any obvious signs of Kiku or hostile presences, be they via magical sensations or simply the noise of battle.
>"We were captured by Satori. Kiku came to rescue us; I believe Lily is here also, and maybe others. There was a deep corruption inside Satori. I attempted to excise it with Violet Lotus, but it seems to have a will of its own and has manifested separated from her - or at least partially so. I do not know what it is, but it is powerful and feels like the essence of death itself. It has reached out for the minds of those Satori's mind had touched, changing them - like that woman back there. And probably Lily also. Maybe many, many others. This is a very serious situation."

>You can sense Kiku's magical aura right away, as well as at least two other power sources on her left and right. Based on what you're sensing, you would guess that the other two are attacking Kiku. And judging from the sounds, whatever they're shooting is impacting against thick metal beams.
>White Rose takes in the reader's digest version of the events that have transpired here tonight. And somewhat to your surprise, her initial reaction is one of regret. "I'm sorry, Lotus, I couldn't stop Satori."

>Your pet's apology takes you to the top of the stairs. Whatever Kiku used to blow the door open blew the doorframe to bits as well, plus it took a few chunks out of the rocks surrounding the opening. The gap in the rock opens into what appears to be someone's room, and someone important in the shrine, based on the size of the room. But you'll have time to admire the decor later. Right now there are more important things to worry about. Magical Lily stands just inside the door, her shoulder scratched and bleeding. Kiku stands in the hallway outside, her arms outstretched, a talisman in each hand glowing with power.
>Lily turns to see you as you arrive, and you note the ugly bruise under her right eye. Unperturbed by this, she smiles her big smile. "You're okay!" she cries joyously.
>"Celebrate later." Kiku growls. Without glancing over her shoulder, she says something you never dreamed you'd ever hear her say. "Lotus, shoot me, now."

[DracoOmega]

>"You?!"
>Wait, questions later. Just do it!

[Oldmansour]

>"You?!"
>Wait, questions later. Just do it!

>First you're forced to fire upon White Rose, and now Kiku? What a night...
>Brief hesitation over, you unleash your Violet light once again, this time upon the tiger miko. Unlike all your other targets tonight, Kiku seems to absorb your light, throwing her head back and growling like the cat she is. "More power!" she roars.

[DracoOmega]

>Give it more power! We will not let this cloud of death claim anyone tonight - not a single one, and least of all our friends. Whatever strength this requires, we will find it.

[Oldmansour]

>Give it more power! We will not let this cloud of death claim anyone tonight - not a single one, and least of all our friends. Whatever strength this requires, we will find it.

>Kiku howls to the night as you pour on the juice, her body positively glowing with purple energy. But her cry is not one of pain, but of strength, of a will that echoes your own. Drawing her arms slowly in, as though to contain the power coursing through her body, Kiku howls once more then yells, "Violet Steel Wave!" thrusting her arms out from her dramatically. To her left and right, you see two tall objects glow purple even through the walls of the room, then you sense them discharge, sending waves of violet light cascading down the outside corridor.
>The attacks on Kiku's spells stop in the wake of this wave, and the tiger miko lets out an explosive breath and falls to one knee, gasping for air.

[DracoOmega]

>"Was that... did you channel my Violet Lotus into one of your own spells? To cleanse, um, whoever that was on the other side of the walls?"

>Assess battle damage
>Do we detect any other signs of active combat?
>Where does the malevolence that emerged from Satori seem to be relative to our own position now? Does it seem to be moving, or doing anything else we can detect?

[Oldmansour]

>"Was that... did you channel my Violet Lotus into one of your own spells? To cleanse, um, whoever that was on the other side of the walls?"

>Assess battle damage
>Do we detect any other signs of active combat?
>Where does the malevolence that emerged from Satori seem to be relative to our own position now? Does it seem to be moving, or doing anything else we can detect?

>The shrine maiden looks back over her shoulder, a feral grin on her face. "It worked." she gasps out, sounding almost as surprised as you are.
>"How'd you do that?" White Rose asks her.
>Kiku's head droops. "With difficulty." Straining, her hauls herself to her feet. "And I wouldn't want to do it again."

>Among your group, Lily is sporting the aforementioned damage, but seems unharmed beyond that, nor especially fatigued. Kiku seems rather winded but none the worse for wear. Despite being shot by you and controlled by both Satori and that malign force that came from her, Rin appears fully functional. As for yourself, after discharging four Violet lotuses in very short order, you'd be lying if you said you felt perfect, but you're still up for the challenge ahead. Or rather, challengeS, considering the other power en route.
>Negative. All you hear outside this room is a fair amount of moaning and groaning, more than a dozen very shook up voices.
>It is above you and behind you. You believe it is hovering outside, above the shrine. Though considering the speed with which it took off, why it stopped there you can't say.

[DracoOmega]

>Does this sound like the kind of moaning Rin and the other woman below were doing about the inexorable approach of death, or more like you would expect from an injured, but otherwise normal, person?

>"I'm afraid we have another problem - as though the one that emerged from Satori was not quite enough for one night. The Champion of Fire is approaching, and quickly; we have minutes at most before he gets here. I would like to hope he will not be our enemy at this moment, but it would far too optimistic to assume as much."

[Oldmansour]

>Does this sound like the kind of moaning Rin and the other woman below were doing about the inexorable approach of death, or more like you would expect from an injured, but otherwise normal, person?

>"I'm afraid we have another problem - as though the one that emerged from Satori was not quite enough for one night. The Champion of Fire is approaching, and quickly; we have minutes at most before he gets here. I would like to hope he will not be our enemy at this moment, but it would far too optimistic to assume as much."

>The latter. They sound like the moans of people who've spent a bit too long for their own good on a carnival ride. Kiku's power wave knocked them all for a loop.

>"Aw, come on!" Lily wails.
>"It doesn't matter right now." Kiku growls. "That thing up there is a more immediate threat to my sisters and us. First we kill that, then we'll deal with the demons." She looks you dead in the eye then points down the hallway to her right. "The exit is that way. Go. I'll be with you once I make sure my spell didn't hurt my sisters."

[DracoOmega]

>Nod
>"Very well. Join us when you can."
>Let's head off after this thing

>While we are on the move: "I am glad to see you, Lily, but if you are here then more time must have passed than I realized. Is there anything I should know about what transpired while I was incapacitated?"

[Oldmansour]

>Nod
>"Very well. Join us when you can."
>Let's head off after this thing

>While we are on the move: "I am glad to see you, Lily, but if you are here then more time must have passed than I realized. Is there anything I should know about what transpired while I was incapacitated?"

>Stepping out into the hallway, you find numerous shrine maidens splayed out on the floor in both directions. Most of them seem dazed and confused, while others seems asleep. You have to take care not to step on any appendages on your way towards the exit.
>Not Lily of course, she flies alongside you. "I did kinda hurry here." she explains. "I heard you calling. Well, actually it was more like...." Her smiling face scrunches in concentration for a moment. "I just knew you were in trouble, both of you. So I flew here as fast I could." She frowns a little then. "Sorry we couldn't get to you sooner, but Kiku needed the time to write some sleep charms."

[DracoOmega]

>"I still don't know how Satori knew of our incursion immediately - she was supposed to have been otherwise engaged. I feared this meant Kiku had also been compromised, but I am deeply glad this was not the case. Though I may have underestimated what we would find here, we will see this night end well if I have but an ounce of strength left in me. There has been too much suffering already."

[Oldmansour]

>"I still don't know how Satori knew of our incursion immediately - she was supposed to have been otherwise engaged. I feared this meant Kiku had also been compromised, but I am deeply glad this was not the case. Though I may have underestimated what we would find here, we will see this night end well if I have but an ounce of strength left in me. There has been too much suffering already."

>"Kiku actually kept me from kicking down doors until I found you." Lily admits, her tongue protruding from her mouth. "She had the idea that Satori might be able to turn the other shrine maidens against us, so we had to wait until we had a way to deal with them without hurting them before we came after you two."
>"Is that what you were doing up here?" White Rose asks her.
>"Yup. Kiku's talismans only worked for a while, and I used my new spell to hold the others off."
>"And got hurt doing it." Rin points out, pointing her tails at Lily's battle damage.
>The winged woman shrugs it off. "I'm okay. You two okay?"

[DracoOmega]

>"I am fine now."
>Glance at Rin. How okay does she seem?

[Oldmansour]

>"I am fine now."
>Glance at Rin. How okay does she seem?

>"No problems here." White Rose replies.
>The kasha indeed seems her normal self. In fact, she actually moves out ahead of you and Lily as you approach the front door of the temple. White Rose thrusts the door open while at point, and the sight outside makes you stop dead in your track. A gauzy black shape looms outside in the yard, looking very much like a leg, albeit one that belongs to some kind of otherworldly giant. The form ends in a quartet of claw-like protrusions, one on each side, and the limb exudes a malignant aura of darkness. It appears your early impression about the dark force wasn't entirely accurate. It doesn't seem to be hovering above the temple so much as it is straddling it.

[DracoOmega]

>Can we see what is above that leg?
>Can we see (or at least sense?) Satori?
>Does it seem to be standing still at present?

[Oldmansour]

>Can we see what is above that leg?
>Can we see (or at least sense?) Satori?
>Does it seem to be standing still at present?

>Not from inside the building.
>You can neither see nor sense Satori from where you are.
>It does.

[DracoOmega]

>Cautiously exit the building. Let's try to get a better look at this thing.

[Oldmansour]

>Cautiously exit the building. Let's try to get a better look at this thing.

>Cautiously indeed. Even from here, you can sense that getting too near that limb would be a bad idea. So you and your troop give the thing a wide berth, stepping down the veranda before hopping out into the shrine's yard, and looking up the limb. And up. And up some more. This thing is enormous. It has to be somewhere around 80 feet tall, humanoid in shape. It has one leg on either side of the shrine, and two long arms that end in a quartet of clawed digits. Drops of visible darkness drip from its claws and waft off its body, fading away in the air. It doesn't seem to have a discernible head, but where the neck would be on a human, there hangs the form of Satori Komeji, her lower body and half her arms sunk into the blackness of the titanic body behind her.
>Is... this what come out of Satori? White Rose asks silently.
>Lily, however, is not as silent when she blurts, "What in the world's THAT?!"

[DracoOmega]

>Does Satori seem to be conscious or reacting in any way?
>Does the overall creature seem to be doing anything that we can detect, with either mundane or mystic senses?

>I am not certain exactly, but it seems to be a manifestation of the corruption that was dwelling within Satori's body. How it could manifest so tangibly outside of it, I do not yet know.

[Oldmansour]

>Does Satori seem to be conscious or reacting in any way?
>Does the overall creature seem to be doing anything that we can detect, with either mundane or mystic senses?

>I am not certain exactly, but it seems to be a manifestation of the corruption that was dwelling within Satori's body. How it could manifest so tangibly outside of it, I do not yet know.

>Not as far as you can tell.
>It is. Despite the fact that it has neither face nor eyes, you can tell, somehow, that it is looking at you.

>"So, what do we do now?" Lily asks.
>Standing close to you, White Rose holds her left palm up, and a ball of flame bursts into life above her hand. That seems to be her answer.