Author Topic: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 5, Part 3  (Read 69683 times)

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 5, Part 3
« Reply #30 on: February 13, 2018, 10:59:28 AM »
>"It's true. I felt it myself, when I struck him with my Violet Lotus. There is no soul within him to purify, and I fear that if I excise what dark power is keeping his body animate, there may be nothing left within it to keep him alive at all. Semitur must have... taken it somehow. Maybe taken all of theirs."
>Can we spot the plane she arrived on?

>"Yes." the Champion whispers, nodding slightly. "That explains why I can't hear her clearly. The connection has been stolen."
>Lily shudders at the thought.
>Yes. It is sitting on the tarmac a few hundred feet away from you. The roof of it is in pieces.

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 5, Part 3
« Reply #31 on: February 13, 2018, 11:04:48 AM »
>No one has seen Semitur leave the plane, correct? Or anyone she might plausibly have been disguised as?

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 5, Part 3
« Reply #32 on: February 13, 2018, 11:18:41 AM »
>No one has seen Semitur leave the plane, correct? Or anyone she might plausibly have been disguised as?

>The four members of your group that you left here all report negative. We've been busy. Kiku adds grimly.
>We can handle these guys easily enough. says Reisen. It's not hurting them in the process that makes it hard.
>Can't Dancer them into submission? Lily asks.
>No. says Reisen, sounding just a little embarrassed. I mean, I don't think it would work, not with Semitur controlling them.

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 5, Part 3
« Reply #33 on: February 13, 2018, 11:26:03 AM »
>Will the technique we used to bind this person still hold if we get far enough away to apply it to the others?
>For that matter, how hard would it be to hold all of them at once? And how long do we think it might last?

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 5, Part 3
« Reply #34 on: February 13, 2018, 12:33:25 PM »
>Will the technique we used to bind this person still hold if we get far enough away to apply it to the others?
>For that matter, how hard would it be to hold all of them at once? And how long do we think it might last?

>Yes.
>It depends on how strong the others are, and how much power they exert upon your swords. Your spell is strong, but not impenetrable. As for duration, there's no time limit on it. They will last until you dismiss the spell, you lose consciousness or are otherwise unable to maintain the spell, or until your captive breaks free.

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 5, Part 3
« Reply #35 on: February 13, 2018, 06:49:20 PM »
>I can bind them in place without harming them. Then we can go after Semitur together.
>To Fire: "I am going to go gather the rest of my nearby allies and then we will deal with Semitur and get these souls back."

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 5, Part 3
« Reply #36 on: February 14, 2018, 06:23:27 AM »
>I can bind them in place without harming them. Then we can go after Semitur together.
>To Fire: "I am going to go gather the rest of my nearby allies and then we will deal with Semitur and get these souls back."

>I have a suggestion. says Kiku. Between us and Sawashiro-sama, we can handle these five. Well, four now. I suggest you focus on locating Semitur, we can keep her slaves occupied in the meantime.

>The Champion doesn't reply right away. Its head is casting about, searching for something. "Do not take long." the Champion cautions you.

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 5, Part 3
« Reply #37 on: February 14, 2018, 07:37:17 AM »
>Do you have any reason to suspect she isn't simply on the plane still?

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 5, Part 3
« Reply #38 on: February 14, 2018, 08:03:49 AM »
>Do you have any reason to suspect she isn't simply on the plane still?

>Yes. I am IN the plane right now, fighting her canine slave. There are only two other bodies on board. Everyone that was mobile fled the plane after the first corrupted person blew the roof out.

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 5, Part 3
« Reply #39 on: February 14, 2018, 08:14:44 AM »
>And do you still believe that attempting to seek her out with our supernatural senses would endanger us?

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 5, Part 3
« Reply #40 on: February 14, 2018, 08:36:05 AM »
>And do you still believe that attempting to seek her out with our supernatural senses would endanger us?

>There's- Hold. Kiku interrupts herself, giving you a moment to take in the scene around you. White Rose, now minus her foe, is floating over towards you. Haruka is engaged in a spellcasting duel with a floating woman, the corrupted woman apparently weaving black magic through a trumpet. Poppy and a second women are fighting a melee duel, Poppy in her Saber Spectrum, her foe swinging a hammer that appears to be too big for her to wield comfortably, but she isn't having any obvious trouble. Kiku and her opponent are accounted for, and there is no sign of either Subala, Carnation, or the fifth member of Flandre's band.
>There is still danger. Kiku says at last, as new bodies start to emerge from the terminal building. They appear to be a mixture of airport security and officers of a different sort, all of them carrying blaster weapons of various sizes. But I believe your senses are keen enough to find her more easily than the rest of us, and your mental defenses are strong enough to resist Semitur's power better than the rest of us.

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 5, Part 3
« Reply #41 on: February 14, 2018, 08:41:53 AM »
>Then I will try.
>Take a moment to steel ourselves, then reach out very cautiously and sense our surroundings for any sign of Semitur.

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 5, Part 3
« Reply #42 on: February 14, 2018, 09:45:03 AM »
>Then I will try.
>Take a moment to steel ourselves, then reach out very cautiously and sense our surroundings for any sign of Semitur.

>A riot of sensations touch your mind as you stretch out with your mystic senses. The senses coming from the Fire Champion would be enough to muddle some, you're sure. The loss of their Avatar's soul has befuddled even the aura of the Champion, and it takes you a moment to block out that sensation. And then another moment to block out the volatile instability you sense from them as well. They really are making your job harder, aren't they? You also find yourself distracted by the empty sensations coming from Semitur's victims. The hollowness of those five people is an evil the likes of which you've never sensed before. To corrupt a soul is one thing, to excise a soul is another. What is she doing with those souls? Is this simply a consequence of what she is? What must it feel like, to draw the living soul out of a person? You've done a lot of things yourself, but nothing like that. You wonder if you even could, if your power-
>Quickly you banish that line of thought. This must be what Kiku warned you about, the corruptive presence of Semitur, leading people astray from who they really are. She is a lot more subtle than Satori was, and much more devious. And at least as subtle. The whole area is covered with an aura of darkness, each of her victims not only feeling disturbingly empty, but they seem to be generating fields of dark power, making it difficult to scan the area. The plane, too, is a huge blot of blackness, and your senses instinctively shy away from it. Something truly terrible happened in there. The emanations of your friends and allies isn't helping matters any. The overall effect yields a limiting effect on your sensing ability, reducing your effective range to less than it ought to be.

>And through it all, you hear things like echoes of sounds. The sound of crying, of screaming, of liquid dripping into a puddle, of a fire spreading, of glass shattering. They just keep getting louder.

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 5, Part 3
« Reply #43 on: February 14, 2018, 09:51:22 AM »
>Focus. Remember why we're doing this. Can we localize anything that might be Semitur herself? Remember the dragon heart that Razorclaw told us she carried with her - maybe it's power might stand out among all this darkness?

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 5, Part 3
« Reply #44 on: February 14, 2018, 10:34:38 AM »
>Focus. Remember why we're doing this. Can we localize anything that might be Semitur herself? Remember the dragon heart that Razorclaw told us she carried with her - maybe it's power might stand out among all this darkness?

>That's a clever idea. You toy with the idea of studying this blanketing darkness more, to see if you can glean some information about Semitur from it, but you dismiss that idea almost as quickly as it forms. You're wise to Semitur's tricks, and you have the fortitude and the wherewithal to work your way around them. It would help if you could put some distance between yourself and the Fire Champion, but let's see what you can come up with first.

>You hear the sound of wings beating, and fire crackling.

>Turning your mind down again, you focus your attention on the terminal, near the closest entrance to the plane. If everyone that could flee the plane did, Semitur's almost certainly slipped into that crowd, as Razorclaw and Kenyu said she's done in the past. And you do sense a surge of magic from just near the door, but it is the sensation of magic you associate with the mikos. A large globe of magic hurls itself through the door and up into the air. At a point in the air about 20 feet above you and 40 feet away from you, the globe erupts in a burst of power, revealing a massive bird that is of no species native to earth. It is easily eight foot tall, the feathers on its chest resemble body armor, and its long trailing tail ends in a pair of barbed hooks. It also has three stones embedded in its head, each of which flashes with magical power.

>You hear the sound of a child crying.

>Something about that sight gives you pause, puts you on your guard. Its stance in the air is one of aggression. Thus, you are surprised, but not caught unawares when the monstrous bird opens its beak and discharges a narrow beam of brilliant energy at you and Lily.

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 5, Part 3
« Reply #45 on: February 14, 2018, 10:41:54 AM »
>Get out of the way!
>And we're sure this came from one of the mikos? Ascertain its source; have they been affected by Semitur?

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 5, Part 3
« Reply #46 on: February 14, 2018, 10:52:52 AM »
>Get out of the way!

>Very quickly, you and Lily split up, she going left while you go right. The brilliant beam sizzles in the air between you.

>You hear the sound of fire growing growing louder.

>Even before the two of you finish your evasive maneuvers, White Rose is on the counter attack, sending a wave of white flame against the giant bird.

>And we're sure this came from one of the mikos? Ascertain its source; have they been affected by Semitur?

>Most certainly. The magic, and the bird, bears their signature. And the door is too far away for you to make out the figure standing in the doorway, but they appear to be holding something in their hands. You guess it to be about the same size and shape as the gohei Yuna brought with her. If it is her, her aura is normal, at least at first blush, but she wouldn't have attacked you without provocation, not without some external force acting upon her.
>And you would guess that the same is true for airport security. The assembled officers, those you can see on the ground, have raised their blasters and opened fire on Haruka and Poppy. A detachment of troops is heading towards the wreck of the plane, you guess to attack Chrysanthemum.

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 5, Part 3
« Reply #47 on: February 14, 2018, 11:04:00 AM »
>Can we tell if these have also lost their souls? Or are they tainted in a way we might be able to actually fix right here and now?
>If the latter, then let's get closer and hit the group of security on the ground with a wide-angle Violet Lotus

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 5, Part 3
« Reply #48 on: February 14, 2018, 01:59:14 PM »
>Can we tell if these have also lost their souls? Or are they tainted in a way we might be able to actually fix right here and now?
>If the latter, then let's get closer and hit the group of security on the ground with a wide-angle Violet Lotus

>They do not have the same hollow feeling that Semitur's victims from the plane do. But nor do they appear to have been afflicted with any malign energy. As near as you can tell, they still feel like ordinary sapients. If Semitur has done something to them as you believe she has, either it's something you can't detect, or it's something far less invasive or corruptive than she did with the others. She may possess more simple forms of mind controlling techniques. In which case, Amber Lotus might work just as well, if not better, than your Violet light.

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 5, Part 3
« Reply #49 on: February 14, 2018, 06:54:13 PM »
>Okay, then let's give that a try instead.

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 5, Part 3
« Reply #50 on: February 16, 2018, 09:42:38 AM »
>Okay, then let's give that a try instead.

>Pointing your scepter down, you fire off a very wide beam of Amber light. With none of the officers looking up, none of them react to your attack until your light washes over them. Straight away, every one of them drops the weapon in their hands. It would be an impressive sound, were it not blanketed by the chaos around you. Although their reaction is not universal, you get the impression that they are all confused about something.
>Another burst of summoning magic grabs your attention, Yuna unleashing another fantastical beast. It appears to be a horse, albeit one twice the size of a Clydesdale, and it has a pair of wings sprouting from its torso. These wings spark with electricity, as does the blue-skinned creatures' barbed tail. As the bird before it, this one makes a beeline for you, its beating wings leaving twin trails of lightning in their wake.

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 5, Part 3
« Reply #51 on: February 16, 2018, 09:53:05 AM »
>Let's bank away from its charge and fire a second Amber Lotus at Yuna. Let's make sure this one has some punch to it, since she might employ actual defensive magics.

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 5, Part 3
« Reply #52 on: February 16, 2018, 09:54:44 AM »
>Let's bank away from its charge and fire a second Amber Lotus at Yuna. Let's make sure this one has some punch to it, since she might employ actual defensive magics.

>Yuna is concealing herself just inside the door to the terminal. You cannot see enough of her to draw a bead on her, not from the angle and height you are at.

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 5, Part 3
« Reply #53 on: February 16, 2018, 09:58:03 AM »
>Then can we unsummon this creature directly? With means other than 'pulverizing it sufficiently'?
>Could we get line of sight on her if we dropped altitude quickly? Would this let us possibly get that shot before the summon closes on us?

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 5, Part 3
« Reply #54 on: February 16, 2018, 10:10:52 AM »
>Then can we unsummon this creature directly? With means other than 'pulverizing it sufficiently'?
>Could we get line of sight on her if we dropped altitude quickly? Would this let us possibly get that shot before the summon closes on us?

>Amber Lotus is the only technique you currently have that might work as an unsummoning spell on these creatures. And you're not certain it would work, since you're not certain if these creatures are conjured from Yuna's imagination or living beings she pulled from another world.
>Assuming she doesn't move in the meantime, yes, though you'd have to drop a lot of altitude fairly quickly, that horse is moving.

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 5, Part 3
« Reply #55 on: February 16, 2018, 10:13:41 AM »
>Then let's drop altitude as quickly as we think is at all safe, and see if we can tag Yuna with Amber Lotus before the horse reaches us

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 5, Part 3
« Reply #56 on: February 16, 2018, 11:43:50 AM »
>Then let's drop altitude as quickly as we think is at all safe, and see if we can tag Yuna with Amber Lotus before the horse reaches us

>Hoping to take the summoner out of the fight before she can conjure anything else to throw at you, you plummet from the sky, hoping to get a better angle at the shrine maiden.
>Her conjured creature has other ideas, however, and like his avian brethren, he unleashes a ranged attack at you. A column of lightning aimed at you emerges from the equines' mouth.

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 5, Part 3
« Reply #57 on: February 16, 2018, 06:28:42 PM »
>If we feel we can bank away from this, do so.
>Otherwise, put a Sapphire Lotus between the two of us and keep descending

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 5, Part 3
« Reply #58 on: February 17, 2018, 03:38:31 PM »
>If we feel we can bank away from this, do so.
>Otherwise, put a Sapphire Lotus between the two of us and keep descending

>The breath is coming in a fairly wide cone, but you're faster and more agile than you were when you started this adventure. Adjusting the angle of your flying disc, you bank to the right rapidly, taking you away from the angle you want to fire on Yuna, but successfully evading the horses' breath weapon.
>After the lightning passes by you, you hear Lily cast, "Spring Lily Petal Cyclone!", and out of the corner of your eye you spy the electric-hurling horse contained by Lily's twisting barrier of flower petals. With that threat dealt with, you return your attention to Yuna, correcting your course yet again and lining up to take a shot at the summoner. But as you drop from the air, you see Yuna fall through the exit of the airport. The summoner is enmeshed in a tangle of thick vines, struggling vainly against their green grasp.

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 5, Part 3
« Reply #59 on: February 17, 2018, 06:03:02 PM »
>Wait, where'd this come from?