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

[GuyYouMetOnline]

I doubt we'll be able to purify this one until we've severed all the connections. I say we cover Doubles, and either give him time to shot again, or if he's out, grab the gun ourselves.

>Get between Doubles and the youma and bring up a shield.

[Oldmansour]

>Get between Doubles and the youma and bring up a shield.

>Did you intend to place your body in front of the beam, or remain to the side of it?

[Hello Purvis]

>Make a shield, then get behind it.

[Oldmansour]

>Make a shield, then get behind it.

>As in, create a barrier where you are, which would materialize in front of you, and then put both it, and you, in front of the beam?

[Hello Purvis]

>Yes, but let's do it while we're moving to interpose between them.

[Oldmansour]

>Yes, but let's do it while we're moving to interpose between them.

>We understand. Time to save the old man with the arsenal!
>Waving your scepter in front of you, you summon forth your defensive screen of light once more. It remains in front of you as you sprint forward towards the energy beam assaulting Doubles. You can see his face contorted in agony, but he does not scream. He's made of pretty stern stuff.
>Your barrier securely in place, you jump in front of the beam! You hear the old oni's breath leave him as he slides down the wall. The veil of light holds, but this attack is much stronger than the last two it blocked. After several seconds, you can see cracks and faults form. With a triumphant snarl from the youma, your shield shatters, and the youma's energy blast takes you full in the chest. But your shield obviously absorbed a fair amount of the attack, as this blast didn't hurt as much as the first time it blasted you. Still, if feels like getting punched in the chest by a pro boxer, and you stagger backwards a few steps under the impact.
>It's attack over, the youma levels a malicious sneer your way. You can feel the utter contempt possessed by the one who corrupted this thing.

[Hello Purvis]

>It'll be okay, this is a temporary setback, at best.
>If we can still talk, say, "Where did we leave off?"

[Oldmansour]

>It'll be okay, this is a temporary setback, at best.
>If we can still talk, say, "Where did we leave off?"

>You've weathered worse, and can handle much more, if need be. At least, you tell yourself.
>You take a breath then attempt to pick off where you left off before Doubles froze the thing.
>"About here." the youma screeches, discharging another energy beam.

[Hello Purvis]

>Block it, then move out of the way if we don't think it's going to hit the oni once we move.

[Oldmansour]

>Block it, then move out of the way if we don't think it's going to hit the oni once we move.

>You generate another light veil, but this one doesn't even last as long as the first one did. Fortunately, you are prepared for this this time around, and are prepared to evade the worst of the blast. The impact of the last shot carried you out of direct line with Doubles, so he should be just fine if you dodge this one. So you do just that. The barrier you put up did fail a bit sooner than expected, so the energy beam still manages to graze your shoulder slightly. Not enough to do any harm, but it leaves a very uncomfortable sensation of heat behind.
>Ceasing its assault on you, the youma turns its attention to Ran. It fires off a volley of nails at the kitsune. Somewhat alarmingly, the nails go right through Ran's body and out the other side. And yet... do no visible damage at all? What?
>Ran's figure shimmers and vanishes.

[Hello Purvis]

>Take a moment to recuperate, and see if anything happens where Ran was, or elsewhere in the store.

[Oldmansour]

>Take a moment to recuperate, and see if anything happens where Ran was, or elsewhere in the store.

>Rotating your shoulder to ensure there was no harm done to your arm (there is none you can detect), you catch your breath and also turn your attention to where Ran was standing. She does not appear in evidence there, or anywhere else.
>"Fleeing while you can, youkai?" the youma mocks her, calling out to the open air. Then it turns its head back towards you. "One left..."
>The youma starts to raise its arm again, but doesn't finish the gesture before the air next to it ripples and Ran seemingly materializes out of thin air, IN mid air. She delivers a swift, solid kick to the youma's jaw, sending it staggering sideways.
>Kitsune got some tricks!

[Hello Purvis]

>Do we feel up to purifying this thing?
>How is doing in the wake of being frozen and having connections severed and such?

[Oldmansour]

>Do we feel up to purifying this thing?
>How is doing in the wake of being frozen and having connections severed and such?

>You feel fully capable of unleashing your purifying light upon this creature.
>It's offensive power doesn't appear to have been hampered at all, that's for sure. But Ran was able to catch it completely off guard, and it doesn't seem to be recovering its footing as fast as you might have thought it capable of. Its possible some its senses have been dulled by its entombing. Or perhaps your efforts to stem the flow of energy its receiving is having an effect. It's hard to say.

[Hello Purvis]

>If we can do it without catching Ran in it, unleashing Realization of the Wandering on this thing.

[Oldmansour]

>If we can do it without catching Ran in it, unleashing Realization of the Wandering on this thing.

>Electing to nip this thing's spree of damage in the bud, rather than risk furthur harm to those present (including yourself) you give your scepter a twirl, sending a burst of color off. Ran, catching your act, dashes backwards in midair. Man, flying must be nice.
>As the youma gets its footing back underneath it, you unleash the light of purification until this corrupted creature. Something seems... different, this time, though. Your othersight affords you a view of the creatures' core, as well as the black energy surrounding it. The last youma, your light penetrated the thin barrier between you and the core, and removed the seed of evil from the ring that it had been attached to. This time, however, whatever object lies at the core of this one, the curtain of darkness seems to resist. Swirling like dark water.... Then the youma completely disappears beneath the light of your attack, and you can see it no more.

>When the light fades... The youma remains.

[Hello Purvis]

>Does it seem to be affected at all?

[Oldmansour]

>Does it seem to be affected at all?

>Outwardly, there is no visible change upon the youma.
>Inwardly, the black energy surrounding the core seems agitated, but in no way diminished.
>The youma pulls back its thin lips into a hideous sneer. "Can't destroy this one so easily, human."
>"What happened?" Ran calls out to you.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>"It's resisting more than the last one did."
>Go for more energy connections, making sure to block or evade any incomming attacks.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Don't focus on it! Disrupt the tethers!"

[Oldmansour]

>"It's resisting more than the last one did."

>"Told you I made this one better, human." the youma sneers at you.
>"Got any other tricks up your sleeve?" Ran asks you as she settles back down on the sales floor.

>Go for more energy connections, making sure to block or evade any incomming attacks.

>"Don't focus on it! Disrupt the tethers!"

>No one said this would ever be easy...
>The youma proving resistant to your attempt to fix it, you return your attention to the matter of its energy feeds. You separate one stream as you move towards the south wall, having to take more stock of the display tables, now that you have something you need to focus on dodging. Another falls victim to your scepter, but with three streams left, the remaining streams elevate out of your melee reach, save where they emerge from the coffins themselves.
>The youma sounds like it's starting to taunt you again, but it gets cut off by Ran hitting it in the face with a blast of energy.

[Hello Purvis]

>Time to make a run for those other coffins!
>Keep an eye out for attacks from the youma.

[Oldmansour]

>Time to make a run for those other coffins!
>Keep an eye out for attacks from the youma.

>If the youma will alter her tactics, then you too shall alter yours. If cut the streams off at the source is what you must do, then do it you shall.
>As you approach the nearest coffin to you, you ponder for a moment if jumping atop the display cases would help your cause. It would give you the height you need to sever the streams without running across the store. But on the other hand, you can't be certain the glass cases would support your weight.
>As you break the tether between that coffin and the youma, it fires off another volley of spikes in your direction, but Ran levels another kick at its arm, throwing off its aim and sending the nails into the floor a few feet behind you. With a frustrated snarl, the youma grabs Ran by the leg and slams her violently into the floor. It then spins and throws the businesswoman towards the north wall. She impacts a few feet from where the youma tossed Doubles, who still has shown no signs of movement.

>Its second distraction dealt with, the youma turns its burning orange eyes on you. "Still think you can win, human?" it screeches, sending a short blast of energy at you. You erect another veil of light to block it, and this time, the veil shatters upon impact, and though it fully prevents the energy from reaching you, the force of the impact makes you stagger back a step. You notice a strain upon your body as this barrier shatters. Your defensive veil may be sufficient to block the youmas nails and lighter physical attacks, but you're going to need a better barrier to handle its energy attacks.
>Two energy streams remain, both attached to coffins in front of the display case along the south wall, about 15 feet away from you, standing next to each other.

[Hello Purvis]

>Do we feel up to speaking? If so:
>"I'm not interested in winning, I'm interested in talking with you! Unfortunately, you're leaving me little option toward the latter at the moment!"
>Keep moving. Can we put the display case between us and the youma, and still reach those caskets?

[Oldmansour]

>Do we feel up to speaking? If so:
>"I'm not interested in winning, I'm interested in talking with you! Unfortunately, you're leaving me little option toward the latter at the moment!"
>Keep moving. Can we put the display case between us and the youma, and still reach those caskets?

>You do, and do so. The youma, however, still does not seem entirely receptive of your efforts towards a peaceful resolution. "The only words you could say to interest me, human, are 'I give up.'"
>You press one towards the two final coffins. The display cases between you and it are staggered, not layed out in a straight line to each other, but the path to the coffins is not cut off by them. It is possible to keep them between you and it.
>The youma raises its hand again and you close to within five feet of the caskets, and you prepare to evade. But a burst of flame appears in front of the youma's face, and it's energy blast flies high, splashing against the roof. Ran has come back to one knee, grimacing, but still active. "If that woman has a chance to change what you took back to normal," she declares through gritted teeth. "then I won't let you harm her!"

[Hello Purvis]

>Keep moving, and put those display cases between the youma and us. Duck behind them as needs be.
>Should we get to another coffin, make with the severing.

[Oldmansour]

>Keep moving, and put those display cases between the youma and us. Duck behind them as needs be.
>Should we get to another coffin, make with the severing.

>With the youma distracted, you pick your way around the jewelery cases towards the final two coffins with active energy streams flowing towards the youma's ugly black pendant.
>"You can slow me, but you can't stop me, youkai." the youma screeches, punctuated by the sound of another energy blast, and a glance backwards reveals the youma fired at Ran. The kitsune doesn't answer, but she does launch herself into the air again, neatly evading the attack. She holds back on counterattacking, however, her face an expression of determination, but conflicted as well.
>The youma seems to pick up on this, and sneers at her. "You reek of fear, youkai. You actually have power enough that you might have destroyed this youma. But you are crippled by your affection for the tool I used to make it. Your fear of destroying it. And your hope that that human can return that object to normal is as pointless as all hope is. She will fail, just as you will fail."
>As if to dispute the youma's declaration, Ran raises her hands over her head, a large fireball forming between her hands, which she unleashes upon her enemy. The youma lets loose an energy beam of its own, and the two attacks collide in midair, both exploding, the shockwave of force blowing your hair and rattling the glass cases around you.

>While the kitsune's attack was unable to damage the youma, it was sufficient to keep it distracted long enough for you to make your way, unmolested, to the final two coffins. With a flourish of your scepter, the final two streams of energy are severed.

[Hello Purvis]

>How does it react?
>If it's not obviously crippled and/or reeling, introduce it to Samsara and purification once more.

[Oldmansour]

>How does it react?
>If it's not obviously crippled and/or reeling, introduce it to Samsara and purification once more.

>The ugly black pendant-thing around its neck had been pulsing with a black energy. Now that its energy leads have been cut, it is no longer pulsing. And the darkness swirling within the youma, while not diminished, does not seem to be as agitated as it was. Whether this is a result of Ran's attacks against it, your breaking of its energy streams, or the time since your last attack, is unclear.
>Outwardly, though, it shows no obvious ill effects, other than battle damage inflicted by the store's owner and her employee. Whoever's controlling that thing wasn't kidding, it's built a lot better than the ring-youma.
>But its attention is still diverted, and with its energy feeds gone, perhaps it will be more susceptible to your attempt to purify it. Calling forth the light of purity within, you unleash your light once more. This time, however, a coffin dislodges itself from the floor and flies across the room, intercepting your Realization of the Wandering. The coffin absorbs the light and dissipates into nothingness, revealing the seemingly unconscious form of a teenaged girl with blonde hair, who falls to the floor.

>Another coffin flies across the room, this one towards Ran, and the kitsune is forced to dodge the massive projectile, which she does only barely. She is unable, however, to dodge the energy blast the youma sends at her in response, with strikes her and stuns her for a moment. Long enough for the still-airborne coffin to fly back the way it came, body-checking the tailed woman and knocking her to the floor again.

[Hello Purvis]

>Move away from the coffins, and try to catch them both in a purification. Be wary of any others coming toward us.