Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 5, Part 2

[Oldmansour]

>Is Rin still actively blocking that sapphire barrage from Kenyu or is that already over?
>If not, take hold of her hand: Together!
>Deploy a Sapphire Lotus to shield us from the onrushing fire, together with Rin's own defensive arts

>She is free.
>Gripping your hand tightly, you and White Rose cast simultaneously, you your Sapphire Lotus, she employing her Guarding Ring once again. The combined spell takes the form of a dome of brilliant blue-white energy, surrounding you on all sides.
>The sound the fire makes when it strikes your shield is scarily similar to the sound the Death Titan made when it struck your shield with its fist. And the roaring sound of the flames is even worse, screaming and howling as they they were alive. The fire feels as though it has real weight pressing down upon your protective dome. And yet despite all this, your defenses hold, weathering the tidal wave of flame without flickering or wavering. The combined strength of you and your girlfriend is something you have great faith in, but all the same, this experience is an unnerving one, and you are grateful to be having it in a safe environment.
>When the sound of the flames abates a bit, you hear the sounds of combat continuing around you, and from more sources than just Kenyu and Reisen. Hiyori must have rejoined the battle.

[DracoOmega]

>Has the flame passed enough to actually see what's happening?

[Oldmansour]

>Has the flame passed enough to actually see what's happening?

>You think so, but the dome you generated is pretty opaque.

[DracoOmega]

>Well, if we're confident we're out of immediate harm's way, let's drop the barrier and get back into the fight
>Or if not, at least relax the front of it enough to see for sure

[Oldmansour]

>Well, if we're confident we're out of immediate harm's way, let's drop the barrier and get back into the fight
>Or if not, at least relax the front of it enough to see for sure

>You do indeed appear to be safe. Kenyu's attack was impressive, but you have bested him this time.
>Dismissing your dual tech dome, your vision of the battlefield reveals Kenyu on the attack again. Drawing upon both of his Jewels he is discharging staggered blasts of energy of various shapes. Emanating out from him in a radial pattern are stars, circles, fireballs and triangular bursts of energy. It's actually quite pretty, though you wish it wasn't employed against you and your allies.

[DracoOmega]

>Well, if his focus isn't directly on us for the moment, let's hit him with another double-Scarlet Lotus

[Oldmansour]

>Well, if his focus isn't directly on us for the moment, let's hit him with another double-Scarlet Lotus

>It doesn't appear to be, so you and White Rose pool your power again, matching his firing pattern with one of your own. Spheres and stars of red, white and orange energy spray from your scepter at the stationary firefighter. The fact that he is using both of his Jewels means his projectiles are extremely powerful and are able to absorb or deflect even your dual tech shots. However, he has to diffuse his efforts among three distinct target zones, while you and White Rose are able to focus your attack on a single stationary target. Each one of Kenyu's shots your attack penetrates drains some its energy away, but enough of it remains to slam into Kenyu's body, ceasing his production of energy projectiles and knocking him backwards.
>The channel you cut through his attack allows you to see the effect of your blast. His shirt is in tatters, and his pants are little more than a few slim rags attached to a tattered waistband. Kenyu looks around the roof, then turns to his side and fires a blast into the roof, diving through the hole he creates.

[DracoOmega]

>That wasn't quite enough damage for him to be outright eliminated, right?
>Let's gather up our allies and assess any battle-damage they might have

[Oldmansour]

>That wasn't quite enough damage for him to be outright eliminated, right?
>Let's gather up our allies and assess any battle-damage they might have

>Close. You don't think he can weather even one more of your normal shots, let alone a dual tech.
>You and White Rose have thus far escaped the battle with very little damage at all. There's a tear in your stocking, but that's it between the two of you. Poppy and Hiyori, however, are both more damaged, and still threatened. The remainder of Kenyu's spread of fire is still active, still threatening the two of them

[DracoOmega]

>Then let's toss out a Sapphire Lotus to guard them. We can catch Kenyu afterward.

[Oldmansour]

>Then let's toss out a Sapphire Lotus to guard them. We can catch Kenyu afterward.

>There is too much distance between the two women to use one Sapphire Lotus to shield them both. Your light would be too spread out to handle an attack of that magnitude.

[DracoOmega]

>Shield whichever woman is more threatened and instruct Rin to shield the other

[Oldmansour]

>Shield whichever woman is more threatened and instruct Rin to shield the other

>The threat level is fairly even, but a quick assessment of the situation shows Poppy sporting more damage than Hiyori, and thus more in need of defense. So you turn your Sapphire Lotus in her direction while White Rose goes to the defense of her partner in this exercise. But while you are forced to divide your powers, Kenyu's attack remains undiluted, and neither you nor Rin are quite able to handle that much power on your own. Your Sapphire barriers are enough to absorb some of the energy of Kenyu's projectiles but not all of it. But this is enough to allow Poppy enough breathing room to cast safely, which she does with a cry of "Caster: Flame Wall!" The combined effort of her barrier and yours is enough to defeat the remnants of Kenyu's barrage. Though only just, by the state of her clothes. She's wearing less than Kenyu was.

[DracoOmega]

>Well, Caster was never wearing very much to begin with.
>If she's out of danger and Hiyori still isn't, turn our defensive efforts towards her.
>Otherwise, let's gather up our allies and pursue Kenyu - but cautiously

[Oldmansour]

>Well, Caster was never wearing very much to begin with.
>If she's out of danger and Hiyori still isn't, turn our defensive efforts towards her.
>Otherwise, let's gather up our allies and pursue Kenyu - but cautiously

>You say that like it's a bad thing.
>She is out of danger, and Hiyori is as well. White Rose took enough pressure off her to enable her to cast defensively as well, just as you did for Poppy. Her clothing's in bad shape, but not as bad as Poppy's.
>The four of you take a moment to lick your wounds, metaphorically speaking, then examine the hole Kenyu blasted in the roof to escape. He's left an energy barrier behind filling in the hole. You'll either have to blast through it or use another hole. Or blast your own, whichever you're in the mood for.

[DracoOmega]

>Can we tell which way Kenyu's gone? And more particularly - where he is now?
>Kiku is presumably still nowhere near us?

[Oldmansour]

>Can we tell which way Kenyu's gone? And more particularly - where he is now?
>Kiku is presumably still nowhere near us?

>The sensation of his Jewel indicates that he is headed the way you came to reach the arrival room.
>Not 'near', exactly, but she does appear to be headed back in your direction.

[DracoOmega]

>Will Kenyu cross Kiku's general direction, the way they're currently travelling?
>Let's go pick some hole he didn't barricade and go down that way. There ought to still be plenty of them, right?

[Oldmansour]

>Will Kenyu cross Kiku's general direction, the way they're currently travelling?
>Let's go pick some hole he didn't barricade and go down that way. There ought to still be plenty of them, right?

>Assuming both stay on the same course, no. Kenyu is currently traveling southwest while Kiku is traveling west and slightly north. Assuming they maintain ballistic trajectories, they won't cross paths.
>By mutual consent, Poppy and Hiyori agree to let you and White Rose take the vanguard positions. It's a bit strange that of the 18 people involved in this exercise, Rin's the only one that's escape damage of any sort. Ordinarily she's putting herself in the line of fire far more than you like to see. And her eyes are the first to first the nearest open hole, which she is the first one through.

>Lotus, are you still active? Kiku asks as you follow White Rose back inside.

[DracoOmega]

>I am. We inflicted significant damage on Kenyu and forced him to retreat. The remaining four of us here are pursuing.

[Oldmansour]

>I am. We inflicted significant damage on Kenyu and forced him to retreat. The remaining four of us here are pursuing.

>We have had success as well. Subala and I have been reinforced by Linia, who forced a confrontation with Camille. Camille was able to eliminate Subala and inflicted damage upon Linia and myself, but Camille has been eliminated. Kenyu is the last Protector remaining.

[DracoOmega]

>Glad to hear it; he's been a difficult enough opponent on his own. Rendezvous with us if you can - we're headed [insert directions here] - but I don't want to give Kenyu a chance to recover, if I can help it.
>Keep pressing forward, though don't disregard the possibility he still has something up his sleeve.

[Oldmansour]

>Glad to hear it; he's been a difficult enough opponent on his own. Rendezvous with us if you can - we're headed [insert directions here] - but I don't want to give Kenyu a chance to recover, if I can help it.
>Keep pressing forward, though don't disregard the possibility he still has something up his sleeve.

>Do you know where he was going?
>As you start to answer, Kenyu changes his course. He now appears to be heading in Kiku's direction, information which to relay to the tiger. You resist the urge to ignore caution and speed up to catch him, since Kiku and Linia alone would be no match for Kenyu, even though he is damaged. Even though he is an Oni, he's still more than capable of laying down the kind of traps Cynthia and Wataru employed, and his traps would be more potent than any of theirs.
>Sure enough, as White Rose, still in the lead, rounds the corner of a corridor, she stops abruptly. Kenyu has left a deterrent behind, though nothing as treacherous as a trap. Three more humanoind constructs block the hallway, each forged from a different element. Water, Fire and Cold, from left to right. Each one, after seeing White Rose, start to charge the kasha.

[DracoOmega]

>Let's hit the fire one with a Cerulean Lotus. Rin can presumably handle the Cold one herself and Reisen's surely got enough tricks up those very skimpy Caster sleeves for the third. Hopefully.

[Oldmansour]

>Let's hit the fire one with a Cerulean Lotus. Rin can presumably handle the Cold one herself and Reisen's surely got enough tricks up those very skimpy Caster sleeves for the third. Hopefully.

>Almost simultaneously, you and White Rose employ your own elemental attacks, White Rose striking the cold construct with her white flame, you blasting the fire construct with your freezing attack. Both elementals explode with an extreme amount of force, going off like bombs. Blast waves of hot and cold energy strike you and Rin, blowing the both of you clear off your feet. It's sheer luck that Poppy and Hiyori hadn't come around the corner yet, else one or both of them would have been eliminated from the competition.
>The two women move past you after the explosions subside, to deal with the still oncoming watery construct, which has been unaffected by the detonation of the other two constructs. Hiyori holds a talisman before her and deploys a barrier shield, while Poppy discharges one of her Lightning Beams through it. The electric laser makes the construct detonate just like the other two, but Hiyori's shield proves equal to the task of deflecting the damage away from your group.

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, that's good to know for the next time."
>Let's pull ourselves back up. How bad's the damage?

[Oldmansour]

>"Well, that's good to know for the next time."
>Let's pull ourselves back up. How bad's the damage?

>"Kinda sneaky for an Oni, wasn't it?" White Rose asks as Hiyori helps her back to her feet.
>"He doesn't usually do that sort of thing, but I suppose since he's playing the villain this time, he bent his tactics." Hiyori speculates. "Especially since he's alone now."
>"Thought he liked being outnumbered."
>"He does, but he also knows how bad we hurt him. He doesn't have a chance against the six of us left."
>"Then we'd better hurry before he gets to Chrys."
>"There's a problem with that." Poppy says to White Rose, pointing down to where the constructs were. The roof of the corridor has collapsed, blocking the hallway almost completely.

>The damage is noticable, for sure. You and White Rose have both lost somewhere between 25-30% of your clothing. It was fortunate that you and she shot the constructs before they got any closer.

[DracoOmega]

>Is there no obvious alternate way around?
>If not, is there a point we can tunnel through with Amber Lotus without collapsing the whole thing even further?
>If not to that too, then let's try getting Hiyori to reinforce the air above the space we tunnel through with some kind of barrier, and make a little 'tunnel' we can hurry through

[Oldmansour]

>Is there no obvious alternate way around?
>If not, is there a point we can tunnel through with Amber Lotus without collapsing the whole thing even further?
>If not to that too, then let's try getting Hiyori to reinforce the air above the space we tunnel through with some kind of barrier, and make a little 'tunnel' we can hurry through

>The hallway does branch to the south, but you aren't familiar enough with this building to know how much of a delay taking that route would necessitate, or even if it would get you to the right place.
>Possibly, but you're not entirely sure.
>That, Hiyori says, can be done. Using the ceiling as a base, Hiyori sends a platform of magic along the ceiling, separating debris from roof, leaving you free to employ your Amber Light. But as you start to cut your way through the fallen rubble, Kenyu's energy signature stops moving. No longer moving towards Kiku and Linia, he instead starts to move straight up, his aura growing in intensity.

[DracoOmega]

>Straight up as in 'through the roof' and not 'up some stairs, probably'?
>About how far away from him are we?