Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 2, part 2

[Oldmansour]

>Reminder: Do we have a wand or scepter?

>You had a scepter during your first encounter. One that ended in a stylized lotus. The exact same lotus that is your hairpin. And it is putting out the same energy aura that the scepter was.

[Hello Purvis]

>Take off the hairpin, and see if we can manifest a sceptre out of it.
>If so, jam it right into that trail of energy linking the coffin to the Youma.

[Oldmansour]

>Take off the hairpin, and see if we can manifest a sceptre out of it.
>If so, jam it right into that trail of energy linking the coffin to the Youma.

>You reach up and take the hairpin off your head. It doesn't take more than a stray thought to make the thing start glowing, transforming it into the scepter you held before.
>The violet baton firmly in your hand, you stab it forward into the wispy energy trail linking the youma's pendant with the coffin. The trail dissapears with an audible SNAP.

[Hello Purvis]

>Does this seem to have affected the coffin or the youma?

[Oldmansour]

>Does this seem to have affected the coffin or the youma?

>The gauge on the coffin is no longer going down.
>The youma, however, has a more vocal reaction. It fixes its orange eyes on you. "How did you do that, human?"
>Doubles, loading a blue cartridge into his pistol, has a similar reaction. "How'd ye do that, lass?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"I told you to get out of here!"
>Dash for the next closest one.

[Oldmansour]

>"I told you to get out of here!"
>Dash for the next closest one.

>"And I told you, I'm goin' nowhere, girlie." He gets back to one knee. "'s only one girl in this world younger than me gives me orders, and you ain't her."
>The next nearest coffin is at the top of the stairs in front of you, and you make a beeline for it. The youma, however, isn't about to let you disrupt its efforts again, and points its hands at you. Its nails detach from its fingers and fire towards you.

[Hello Purvis]

>Are we in the position to determine if they are aimed at where we are now, or where we are going to do? That is, if we keep moving forward, will they pass behind us?
>If not, are the close enough together to bat out of the air with our scepter? If so, proceed with that.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>When we fought the first youma, we somehow knew how to transform, and how to use our purification ability. Is anything like that happening now?

[Hello Purvis]

Ooo, good one.

[Oldmansour]

>When we fought the first youma, we somehow knew how to transform, and how to use our purification ability. Is anything like that happening now?

>You retain the knowledge of how to use the abilities you demonstrated during your first battle. Although with the incoming projectiles, a thought IS coming into your mind...

>Are we in the position to determine if they are aimed at where we are now, or where we are going to do? That is, if we keep moving forward, will they pass behind us?
>If not, are the close enough together to bat out of the air with our scepter? If so, proceed with that.

>You would guess that the youma is shooting where you are now, rather than where you are going to be. However, the projectiles are moving rather quickly, so you will have to either duck or dive to evade them with certainty.
>Deflecting them with your scepter is also and option, and this thought brings one of those aforementioned insights to your mind: If you can use the light within you to purify, why not to defend as well?
>In response to this thought, the scepter glows with a pale blue light, and as you stop and swing it forward, a thin, translucent 'veil' of blue light shimmers into being before you. The nails hit this screen and dissipate against it harmlessly.

[Hello Purvis]

>Keep moving for that casket!

[Oldmansour]

>Keep moving for that casket!

>The youma's attack thwarted, you continue up the stairs towards the next closest casket. This one's gauge is approximately 75% full, now that you can see it.
>Doubles looks at you with only a small amount of surprise on his face. "Ye be a sorceress?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Close enough!"
>Sceptre that energy!

[Oldmansour]

>"Close enough!"
>Sceptre that energy!

>With a witty retort to the aging oni, you swipe this energy trail with your scepter. Like the one before, this one snaps and vanishes, stopping the drop of the gauge.
>This time, however, the youma's response is not with words, but with action. A blast of energy from the beast catches you full in the side, sending you tumbling back down the stairs you climbed head over heels. OW!
>""That's enough of THAT, little human." the youma screeches.

[Hello Purvis]

>How screwed up are we by that?
>How often have we been knocked down and had to get back up again?

[Oldmansour]

>How screwed up are we by that?
>How often have we been knocked down and had to get back up again?

>Getting an energy blast to the side was certainly no picnic, and neither was that little tumble. But, surprisingly, neither one seems to have caused any detectible damage, in terms of broken bones, at least. Your side is throbbing like you just ate a dropkick from the entire wrestling team, but you don't think anything's broken. Your movement will likely not be impeded, but you really don't want to absorb any more of those attacks any time soon. You also bumped your head a time or two, but this actually hasn't seemed to result in anything more than a mild headache, and the cobwebs are already clearing.
>Prior to today, the only other major physical conflict you'd ever been involved in was that scrap you had with the first youma.

[Hello Purvis]

>Try to get back up, keep an eye on the youma.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>Do we have any means of attack other than the purity beam?

[Oldmansour]

>Do we have any means of attack other than the purity beam?

>At the moment, that is the only form of ranged combat you have a sense of. Your scepter has proven to be effective at severing the ties between the youma and the coffins, so it's possible it would be effective against the youma itself, as well.

>Try to get back up, keep an eye on the youma.

>With your free hand pressed to your side, you return to your feet, admitting only to a short grunt of effort.
>"Now I recognize you." the youma screeches, as it descends from the air to land near the top of stairs. Doubles, you note, scrabbles around the counter, keeping it between him and the youma. "You're that human that destroyed the first youma I created."

[Hello Purvis]

>Contemplate saying not quite and that's she's still around, in a sense, then decide against it. No need to make Marigold a target.
>"That was your work? How did you do it?"
>Stay ready to dodge, or toss up another shield. Analyze how the youma and the others are doing.

[Oldmansour]

>Contemplate saying not quite and that's she's still around, in a sense, then decide against it. No need to make Marigold a target.
>"That was your work? How did you do it?"
>Stay ready to dodge, or toss up another shield. Analyze how the youma and the others are doing.

>Keeping Marigold's existence to yourself, you pose a question to the being before you.
>"The same way I created this one."
>Keeping one eye focused on the youma above you, you glance around to check on the other two humanoids present, that being Doubles and Ran. Doubles has dissapeared around the counter. Given his attitude, you wouldn't be surprised if he was getting in position to launch a sneak attack against the youma. Ran has also halted her attack, and has descended to the store's floor, some distance behind the youma. Her suit is torn, burned, but her face expresses a profound sense of worry. The youma, on the other hand, shows almost no damage at all, though you know there's at least some damage to its back, from where Doubles shot it with that explosive bullet of his.
>"The items in this world are much softer than ours. Much easier to manipulate." the youma continues, her voice almost as painful to listen to as getting blasted was. "Soon I'll have no restrictions in making my weapons. Not that I'll need many more. You defeated the last one, human, but not this time. This one is better made."

[Hello Purvis]

>We can endure a voice, talking means she is not killing.
>"Why do you do this thing?"

[Oldmansour]

>We can endure a voice, talking means she is not killing.
>"Why do you do this thing?"

>It's hard to read the expression on the youma's face, but you think your question amuses it. "You are human. You couldn't understand."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Does this imply the opposite is true?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Does this imply the opposite is true?"

>The youkai takes a solid few seconds to reply. "Speak plainly, human."

[Hello Purvis]

>"If I cannot understand you, does this mean that you cannot understand me?"

[Oldmansour]

>"If I cannot understand you, does this mean that you cannot understand me?"

>"You are human. I am demon." it states, as though that explains everything.
>"You make no sense, human. Futile though your resistance is, you have power enough to fight my weapons. Why do you bother with this? I have my purpose, you have yours."

[Hello Purvis]

>"And what is my purpose?"

[Oldmansour]

>"And what is my purpose?"

>"You are here. Your purpose is to destroy me, and save your own world."