Mana Academy (IC) (Open, Fantasy)

[Rhomaia]

He slowly looked up, his eyes still dripping with tears. Through the misty eyes, he could see Ruta's figure. His grave, scarred face looked down at him, not with disappointment but with kindness. He had come to find him. He had come to protect him. He did love him. Katelyn had lied to him. Ruta did love him. "...P-Professor..." he whispered, both relieved and full of love for his teacher. It was still fresh in his mind, the memory of how he had told that horrible Jaegar-hunter, in the bar in Paris, that Ruta was his father and that Soleil's mother had sent him to bring Ruta home. As much of a lie it had been, Soleil had wanted that lie to be true. He felt sick, however, from lying and stealing so much from this person whom he wanted so desperately to be his father.

"...Y-You're okay...you're okay...I thought you would never...come back..." He cried and grabbed onto Ruta, hugging him tightly. Hugging his teacher, he finally felt safe. The burning cross in the sky could launch whatever dark forces it wanted, and Soleil would not care now. He just sobbed into his teacher's shoulder, hoping that everything that had happened around him was just a bad dream. "...I-I wanted to tell you...I-I know it's going to sound silly...but...I-I missed you...I w-was scared that...what I had done had...made you leave...which I never...would have intended...I-I...wish you were my father..."

He clutched Ruta's back more tightly, while speaking. "...I-I told those people...in that bar...that you were my father, b-because I didn't want you...to get in trouble...b-but when I said it...I-I wanted it to be true...I-I'm sorry...I'm so sorry for everything...I put you in so much trouble...th-that's not how a son is supposed to be..." His words melted away, and all he could do was shiver with regret and sadness.

Antonius Ruta

For that one moment in the shadowed forest, the old hunter found himself in the first state of respite that he had known for a long while. The night was painfully cold and dreary as it had been for weeks since autumn's arrival, and the looming search for Katelyn was far from over, yet still Ruta found himself at peace with the world. Soleil was safe and sound in his arms, if a little shaken from the events that were currently unfolding skywards. He was crying still, but all that said to Ruta was that it was the same Soleil he had grown to care for here. There was nothing controlling him, as he feared was the case with Katelyn. And so in the beginning he said nothing, merely smiling and returning the embrace as the boy wept into his tattered cloak.

Yet as the boy spoke to him, his words partially muffled by his own tears, Ruta stayed silent for what he heard. For a moment he believed he was again hearing things incorrectly, or perhaps that Soleil's voice was cracking under stress, but in the seconds to follow he heard the same words again.

The boy revealed his thoughts to the old hunter once more, though this revelation was far less disturbing and soul wrenching than the boy's aspirations to become a demon hunter. In his arms, Soleil gave his quiet declaration that he, like Katelyn once had in her moment of gentleness and vulnerability, saw Ruta as the father that he had never had before. Those few words, quiet and meek as the boy himself, hit him harder than anything else could ever possibly hope to. He knew he should have been happy then, knowing that his students felt such love for him, but it was also guilt that lingered in his heart. Soleil had admired him for so long, even gone to the point of wanting to become a Jaegar himself, but most of what Ruta had done in that time was only to push him away, not just from the hunter's path, but away from himself most of all. At this point, Ruta understood that made the boy very desperate, even to the point of stealing his letters and going out from safety to look for him, and that was what had led to the barfight in the first place. That was what had lead to this...

"...You shouldn't be the one saying sorry. I wasn't there for you when you needed it...That makes me a bad father far more than it makes you a bad son."

"Oh, that's so sweet, I think I'm getting cavities. Just shut up already, this is why I hate you humans," she declared, and in the next moment, a large spike of pure blackness shot out from the shadows and towards Soleil's heart. "Just go and die already, you're so disgusting."

For a moment, Ruta had found himself in a state of respite, away from the desperation and utter insanity of the outside world that corrupted and destroyed everything it touched. There had been a peace in that moment, but as the seconds soon proved, that peace was nothing if not fragile. So much so, that all it took was a simple, familiar voice to finally break it. Katelyn's own voice, whispering death and hatred to the two Jaegars before finally making her move and sending a spear of darkness their way...

So it was that Ruta had leapt to his feet and quickly unsheathed the half-blade, the true namesake of Grunwald, hidden beneath his cloak, metal moving against sheath with a sound that had been heard so many times on this night, but not here alone. With force and a will to match, the hunter brought the sword against the spike, and from it's blade erupted a pure azure light to crush the blackness.

It had worked, yet the Jaegar had not been alone in making it so. Soleil's own butterfly constructs had also served to destroy Katelyn's projectile, and just as efficiently. From there the two talked in low tones, with the red haired girl, half blind now from her confrontation with Saturninus, continued to insult and threaten the boy like he was beneath her. Not only that, but she proclaimed Hikari, previously under her control, was already dead. Whether or not that was truth or another lie produced from the depths of her clouded mind, Ruta could not tell, but it did tell him something he already knew. Katelyn was most definitely not herself here, even rejecting her own name when Soleil called her by it. Ruta simply stayed silent, refusing to dignify the demon possessing her with a response in words.

Through all of their talk, he kept his blade at the ready, and at the end Soleil had created his own wolf construct, prepared for the moment that Katelyn would attempt to strike again.

Yet she did not, merely fading into the shadows as a creature of the night, leaving only two would be hunters and an lightwolf standing in the middle of a forest. Lost though they were, and though still fearful of what still lurked in the night, they were safe for now.

The voice faded, and Soleil sighed his momentary relief. He knew that he would have to fight Katelyn sooner or later, but she was not going to fight him here. He shook his head and then turned back toward Ruta. "...Professor...are you okay?...Sh-She was lying, so...you don't have to be scared...A-And...I'm here with you too...I won't let her hurt you..." he assured him innocently, even as he knew Ruta was far stronger and far steadier than he was. His knees had been shaking the entire time he had faced Katelyn, though he tried hard to hold his ground. However, his wolf seemed hardly scared at all. It turned away, from where Katelyn had been speaking, and it approached Ruta, looking over him and sniffing him for wounds. When it had thoroughly examined him, it then sat in front of him and wagged its tail like a normal dog. Soleil turned and giggled at this. He then became calm, and stared up at the burning cross. This time, it was with determination, a desire to free his classmates and teachers from Katelyn's lies. "...Nobody will hurt us ever again...I'll make sure of it..." he added.

"...I'm alright, Soleil, you don't need to worry about me." the Jaegar replied, sheathing his blade once more and putting a hand on the boy's shoulder to help steady him. It seemed almost out of place at this point in time, but there was a small smile on his face as he looked to Soleil now. The frightened, timid boy who had for so long been unable to fight for himself stood tall in the face of fear, undaunted by Katelyn's threats. In those tired azure eyes, there was pride, as a father would feel for his own son for overcoming so great an obstacle, and yet there was also fear in his eyes now, knowing just how badly Katelyn had changed in his absence, and what he would soon need to do in order to free her from her own mind...

But as for the present, Ruta only had Soleil to worry about. He knew the events to come would not be easy or painless, and so decided to stay with the boy for now. He patted the azure wolf on the head as it sat before him, though the wolf likely would feel little comfort from the leather gloved hand against it's fur.

"...I'm just glad you're safe. When I saw you running after Mirai, you had me scared for a second...But, now that we're both here, we can keep each other safe. How does that sound?"

[Luminesa]

He slowly looked up, his eyes still dripping with tears. Through the misty eyes, he could see Ruta's figure. His grave, scarred face looked down at him, not with disappointment but with kindness. He had come to find him. He had come to protect him. He did love him. Katelyn had lied to him. Ruta did love him. "...P-Professor..." he whispered, both relieved and full of love for his teacher. It was still fresh in his mind, the memory of how he had told that horrible Jaegar-hunter, in the bar in Paris, that Ruta was his father and that Soleil's mother had sent him to bring Ruta home. As much of a lie it had been, Soleil had wanted that lie to be true. He felt sick, however, from lying and stealing so much from this person whom he wanted so desperately to be his father.

"...Y-You're okay...you're okay...I thought you would never...come back..." He cried and grabbed onto Ruta, hugging him tightly. Hugging his teacher, he finally felt safe. The burning cross in the sky could launch whatever dark forces it wanted, and Soleil would not care now. He just sobbed into his teacher's shoulder, hoping that everything that had happened around him was just a bad dream. "...I-I wanted to tell you...I-I know it's going to sound silly...but...I-I missed you...I w-was scared that...what I had done had...made you leave...which I never...would have intended...I-I...wish you were my father..."

He clutched Ruta's back more tightly, while speaking. "...I-I told those people...in that bar...that you were my father, b-because I didn't want you...to get in trouble...b-but when I said it...I-I wanted it to be true...I-I'm sorry...I'm so sorry for everything...I put you in so much trouble...th-that's not how a son is supposed to be..." His words melted away, and all he could do was shiver with regret and sadness.

Antonius Ruta

For that one moment in the shadowed forest, the old hunter found himself in the first state of respite that he had known for a long while. The night was painfully cold and dreary as it had been for weeks since autumn's arrival, and the looming search for Katelyn was far from over, yet still Ruta found himself at peace with the world. Soleil was safe and sound in his arms, if a little shaken from the events that were currently unfolding skywards. He was crying still, but all that said to Ruta was that it was the same Soleil he had grown to care for here. There was nothing controlling him, as he feared was the case with Katelyn. And so in the beginning he said nothing, merely smiling and returning the embrace as the boy wept into his tattered cloak.

Yet as the boy spoke to him, his words partially muffled by his own tears, Ruta stayed silent for what he heard. For a moment he believed he was again hearing things incorrectly, or perhaps that Soleil's voice was cracking under stress, but in the seconds to follow he heard the same words again.

The boy revealed his thoughts to the old hunter once more, though this revelation was far less disturbing and soul wrenching than the boy's aspirations to become a demon hunter. In his arms, Soleil gave his quiet declaration that he, like Katelyn once had in her moment of gentleness and vulnerability, saw Ruta as the father that he had never had before. Those few words, quiet and meek as the boy himself, hit him harder than anything else could ever possibly hope to. He knew he should have been happy then, knowing that his students felt such love for him, but it was also guilt that lingered in his heart. Soleil had admired him for so long, even gone to the point of wanting to become a Jaegar himself, but most of what Ruta had done in that time was only to push him away, not just from the hunter's path, but away from himself most of all. At this point, Ruta understood that made the boy very desperate, even to the point of stealing his letters and going out from safety to look for him, and that was what had led to the barfight in the first place. That was what had lead to this...

"...You shouldn't be the one saying sorry. I wasn't there for you when you needed it...That makes me a bad father far more than it makes you a bad son."

"Oh, that's so sweet, I think I'm getting cavities. Just shut up already, this is why I hate you humans," she declared, and in the next moment, a large spike of pure blackness shot out from the shadows and towards Soleil's heart. "Just go and die already, you're so disgusting."

For a moment, Ruta had found himself in a state of respite, away from the desperation and utter insanity of the outside world that corrupted and destroyed everything it touched. There had been a peace in that moment, but as the seconds soon proved, that peace was nothing if not fragile. So much so, that all it took was a simple, familiar voice to finally break it. Katelyn's own voice, whispering death and hatred to the two Jaegars before finally making her move and sending a spear of darkness their way...

So it was that Ruta had leapt to his feet and quickly unsheathed the half-blade, the true namesake of Grunwald, hidden beneath his cloak, metal moving against sheath with a sound that had been heard so many times on this night, but not here alone. With force and a will to match, the hunter brought the sword against the spike, and from it's blade erupted a pure azure light to crush the blackness.

It had worked, yet the Jaegar had not been alone in making it so. Soleil's own butterfly constructs had also served to destroy Katelyn's projectile, and just as efficiently. From there the two talked in low tones, with the red haired girl, half blind now from her confrontation with Saturninus, continued to insult and threaten the boy like he was beneath her. Not only that, but she proclaimed Hikari, previously under her control, was already dead. Whether or not that was truth or another lie produced from the depths of her clouded mind, Ruta could not tell, but it did tell him something he already knew. Katelyn was most definitely not herself here, even rejecting her own name when Soleil called her by it. Ruta simply stayed silent, refusing to dignify the demon possessing her with a response in words.

Through all of their talk, he kept his blade at the ready, and at the end Soleil had created his own wolf construct, prepared for the moment that Katelyn would attempt to strike again.

Yet she did not, merely fading into the shadows as a creature of the night, leaving only two would be hunters and an lightwolf standing in the middle of a forest. Lost though they were, and though still fearful of what still lurked in the night, they were safe for now.

The voice faded, and Soleil sighed his momentary relief. He knew that he would have to fight Katelyn sooner or later, but she was not going to fight him here. He shook his head and then turned back toward Ruta. "...Professor...are you okay?...Sh-She was lying, so...you don't have to be scared...A-And...I'm here with you too...I won't let her hurt you..." he assured him innocently, even as he knew Ruta was far stronger and far steadier than he was. His knees had been shaking the entire time he had faced Katelyn, though he tried hard to hold his ground. However, his wolf seemed hardly scared at all. It turned away, from where Katelyn had been speaking, and it approached Ruta, looking over him and sniffing him for wounds. When it had thoroughly examined him, it then sat in front of him and wagged its tail like a normal dog. Soleil turned and giggled at this. He then became calm, and stared up at the burning cross. This time, it was with determination, a desire to free his classmates and teachers from Katelyn's lies. "...Nobody will hurt us ever again...I'll make sure of it..." he added.

"...I'm alright, Soleil, you don't need to worry about me." the Jaegar replied, sheathing his blade once more and putting a hand on the boy's shoulder to help steady him. It seemed almost out of place at this point in time, but there was a small smile on his face as he looked to Soleil now. The frightened, timid boy who had for so long been unable to fight for himself stood tall in the face of fear, undaunted by Katelyn's threats. In those tired azure eyes, there was pride, as a father would feel for his own son for overcoming so great an obstacle, and yet there was also fear in his eyes now, knowing just how badly Katelyn had changed in his absence, and what he would soon need to do in order to free her from her own mind...

But as for the present, Ruta only had Soleil to worry about. He knew the events to come would not be easy or painless, and so decided to stay with the boy for now. He patted the azure wolf on the head as it sat before him, though the wolf likely would feel little comfort from the leather gloved hand against it's fur.

"...I'm just glad you're safe. When I saw you running after Mirai, you had me scared for a second...But, now that we're both here, we can keep each other safe. How does that sound?"

Soleil nodded, and looked up at Ruta as he stood next to him. He had stared in awe at Ruta's sword, as he had drawn it and slashed at the black stake that had threatened to kill both of them. The Half-Blade had danced and then exploded into light next to him, as he had summoned his own butterflies to protect the two of them. Now, he looked back up at his teacher...his father-figure...and he stared up at his eyes.

They were the same color as the light that had exploded from the sword, though much dimmer and much more wrought with pain. Even when Ruta smiled, he could see it. It was as though the pain from the sword clashing against a force of pure darkness reflected back in them. He wondered how many other times such a reaction had occurred, when he had fought demons and monsters, when that dazzling-blue light had struck all of them down like the hand of God. How much was that pain magnified, by having his sword cut through so many creatures? Did Ruta constantly walk around in excruciating pain, not even finding solace in sleep?

And yet, he remembered now, walking to Ruta's room at the hotel, to bring him his breakfast. He recalled walking over to his bedside and seeing the man sleeping peacefully. Even then, however, the pain showed in every drawn wrinkle on his face. He found no peace, not even when he actually tried to rest. When he was awake as well, he recalled the many nights when Ruta had gone out to patrol the grounds, how other had told him to rest, but how he had ignored their advice and had marched into the night anyway. His eyes had shown a slight, dark glint, just as a sword might as it peers out of its sheath at a demon in the night. As it had done with Lynefleur. He remembered watching that light burn softly, as Ruta had spoken to that witch. He was preparing his weapon to experience more pain...

...His weapon...experiences pain...

Soleil's eyes widened, and then he looked from Grunwald to Ruta again.

...And...he experiences that pain, too...

...Because he and his sword...they are one...and the same...

A Jaegar was sworn to their sword. That sounded like the typical oath any soldier took, to take up their arms and to make their weapons a part of them. However, Soleil realized now just how far-reaching a Jaegar's oath was. Their weapon was not just a part of them. It was their soul. Every attack, every stroke of the sword, literally resonated inside the body like a mallet against a large gong. An earth-shattering pain that could never be manifest and that could never be hidden. There lie the curse.

Soleil continued to think, in the darkness, and his expression showed both wonder and compassion. How much had his teacher suffered to keep him safe? How much pain did he feel, when he came and joined the rest of the teachers in fighting the Jaegar-Hunter and her assistant? When Soleil had hugged him, he recalled putting his head against him and hearing his heart pounding painfully. Ruta had almost been shivering from pain, ready to collapse. Now, as he stood next to Ruta, who smiled gently down at him, he wondered if he still felt that way. Yet he said nothing as to what he knew. He did not want his teacher to suffer any more, knowing that Soleil had discovered one of the sources of his suffering. "...No...y-you're not bad at all...You have always been there to save me...and now...w-we can protect each other...just like you said we could..." he answered, softly.

Professor...you hurt so much...You...swore yourself to a life of pain, so others...can sleep at night...and yet...you still try so hard to smile...You still...want to be happy...So...I'm going to help you to be happy...I want to...bear your pain with you...

Yet Soleil's wolf-construct seemingly gave away his thoughts and emotions, as his constructs often did. The wolf had stared quietly up at Ruta, wagging his tail quietly as Soleil had spoken to Ruta. Yet as the realization settled inside the wolf's master, it also settled inside the wolf. The wagging stopped, and it walked directly in front of him and began to lick the hand that held the half-blade, as though it knew that was where the pain came from. It then stopped and sat in front of him, whining softly as though it was a typical, grown husky, and not a magical wolf made from Wind and Light Magic and a child's will.

Meanwhile, the butterflies continued to float around, though now they did so rhythmically. They seemed to do so in a soothing manner, as though they were trying to calm both of the human Mages below them. They made no noise, as the wolf did, but even they seemed to sense the overwhelming pain and love that connected below, and they never strayed from their given task. Overall, their appearance around the group gave this side of the forest, which was otherwise chaotic, a very otherworldly feel, as though this part of the woods was separate from the rest of the forest around them.

"...W-We must save Katelyn...and...we're going to do it together...S-So...you don't have to feel alone when you do it...and so...she doesn't feel alone, either...Wh-When she's safe again, all of us will be together with her..." Soleil added, remembering the task at hand. Maybe once she was saved from...whatever was controlling her-as he just realized that she was indeed being controlled by some dark force-once she was happy again, she could experience some sort of peace...the peace that Soleil hopped he could bring Ruta, somehow.

[Charlia]

Dead but alive. At least... alive somewhere in the deepest recesses of her mind. The fear was overwhelming, as if it had actually taken physical form and become boiling black waves, she'd melted and become a part of it all. And the confusion... Nothing made sense to her.

All that was, was darkness. A void so deep and so empty that what was left of her life was sucked into the abyss of anguish. And she could do nothing, nothing except scream, long bloodcurdling cries of agony, begging for relief, for help. In complete silence.

Help me.

"Pathetic, pathetic, pathetic," she hummed, tracing the outline of a tree into the ground, with fire, of course. Black fire. Burning and sucking in light.

Stop screaming, no one can hear you.

Katelyn didn't stop.

Well, I suppose it's your choice if you want to keep going. No one will ever hear you, though. Not unless I want them to. And even if they did hear, do you really think they'd care? They hate you, remember? You're the little psychopath who wanted to kill their precious Rabbit. It's not like they know that was me. And remember when you got your eye knocked out? How many people cared? How many people? Not even that little brat Soleil, who supposedly cares about everyone. He's more pathetic than you, you know? And yet whenever there's trouble he supposedly gets all brave and strong. Ha, ha, ha. As if he could ever be a Jaegar. Your precious Ruta probably just feels sorry for him... and for you, too, you know? Because you're pathetic, in your own way. All of you stupid humans are so pathetic. I'm going to have fun cleansing this place with fire, and then I'm going to find somewhere else and do it again, and again, and again, until everyone on this pathetic planet is dead. Be honored, Katelyn Starling, if you even deserve a name anymore. You're just the first of many.

She settled back down, flames licking at the grass around her, and waited for them to come.

[Luminesa]

Dead but alive. At least... alive somewhere in the deepest recesses of her mind. The fear was overwhelming, as if it had actually taken physical form and become boiling black waves, she'd melted and become a part of it all. And the confusion... Nothing made sense to her.

All that was, was darkness. A void so deep and so empty that what was left of her life was sucked into the abyss of anguish. And she could do nothing, nothing except scream, long bloodcurdling cries of agony, begging for relief, for help. In complete silence.

Help me.

"Pathetic, pathetic, pathetic," she hummed, tracing the outline of a tree into the ground, with fire, of course. Black fire. Burning and sucking in light.

Stop screaming, no one can hear you.

Katelyn didn't stop.

Well, I suppose it's your choice if you want to keep going. No one will ever hear you, though. Not unless I want them to. And even if they did hear, do you really think they'd care? They hate you, remember? You're the little psychopath who wanted to kill their precious Rabbit. It's not like they know that was me. And remember when you got your eye knocked out? How many people cared? How many people? Not even that little brat Soleil, who supposedly cares about everyone. He's more pathetic than you, you know? And yet whenever there's trouble he supposedly gets all brave and strong. Ha, ha, ha. As if he could ever be a Jaegar. Your precious Ruta probably just feels sorry for him... and for you, too, you know? Because you're pathetic, in your own way. All of you stupid humans are so pathetic. I'm going to have fun cleansing this place with fire, and then I'm going to find somewhere else and do it again, and again, and again, until everyone on this pathetic planet is dead. Be honored, Katelyn Starling, if you even deserve a name anymore. You're just the first of many.

She settled back down, flames licking at the grass around her, and waited for them to come.

The fire continued to burn. Rabbit smelled it, the black fire that marked a demon. The smoke rose in the distance, and he turned toward it, anxious at the sight. He then nodded, as though he understood something esoteric. "...Katelyn has moved to another location in the forest. We must move quickly to stop the fire, before it spreads. Everyone, hurry!" he ordered. He then rushed away, leading his students toward the fire, toward where he was certain Katelyn was waiting. Toward where the demon would finally reveal itself to everyone, from beneath her skin. Katelyn...don't go anywhere, we're coming...we won't leave you...I promise, we won't leave you again... he thought, determinedly, this time, we will save you... He summoned multiple orbs of water, as he ran, knowing he would have to put the fires out as soon as possible, when he and his students and colleagues arrived.

[Serah]

Dead but alive. At least... alive somewhere in the deepest recesses of her mind. The fear was overwhelming, as if it had actually taken physical form and become boiling black waves, she'd melted and become a part of it all. And the confusion... Nothing made sense to her.

All that was, was darkness. A void so deep and so empty that what was left of her life was sucked into the abyss of anguish. And she could do nothing, nothing except scream, long bloodcurdling cries of agony, begging for relief, for help. In complete silence.

Help me.

"Pathetic, pathetic, pathetic," she hummed, tracing the outline of a tree into the ground, with fire, of course. Black fire. Burning and sucking in light.

Stop screaming, no one can hear you.

Katelyn didn't stop.

Well, I suppose it's your choice if you want to keep going. No one will ever hear you, though. Not unless I want them to. And even if they did hear, do you really think they'd care? They hate you, remember? You're the little psychopath who wanted to kill their precious Rabbit. It's not like they know that was me. And remember when you got your eye knocked out? How many people cared? How many people? Not even that little brat Soleil, who supposedly cares about everyone. He's more pathetic than you, you know? And yet whenever there's trouble he supposedly gets all brave and strong. Ha, ha, ha. As if he could ever be a Jaegar. Your precious Ruta probably just feels sorry for him... and for you, too, you know? Because you're pathetic, in your own way. All of you stupid humans are so pathetic. I'm going to have fun cleansing this place with fire, and then I'm going to find somewhere else and do it again, and again, and again, until everyone on this pathetic planet is dead. Be honored, Katelyn Starling, if you even deserve a name anymore. You're just the first of many.

She settled back down, flames licking at the grass around her, and waited for them to come.

The fire continued to burn. Rabbit smelled it, the black fire that marked a demon. The smoke rose in the distance, and he turned toward it, anxious at the sight. He then nodded, as though he understood something esoteric. "...Katelyn has moved to another location in the forest. We must move quickly to stop the fire, before it spreads. Everyone, hurry!" he ordered. He then rushed away, leading his students toward the fire, toward where he was certain Katelyn was waiting. Toward where the demon would finally reveal itself to everyone, from beneath her skin. Katelyn...don't go anywhere, we're coming...we won't leave you...I promise, we won't leave you again... he thought, determinedly, this time, we will save you... He summoned multiple orbs of water, as he ran, knowing he would have to put the fires out as soon as possible, when he and his students and colleagues arrived.

While being in Catherine's field, Oliver didn't hear much of what was going on outside, but his few glances back and forth between his allies and the fire gave him more than enough information.
Poking his head out to few and far between intervals, he managed to partially hear was Rabbit was saying and barely managed to understand.

Either he was speaking about a cake that was about to burn in a really hot oven, or he was talking about Katelyn.
Normally, he would've interpreted the first answer for comic relief, but as of now, comic relief wasn't necessary.
So his mind simply jumped to the second one.

"Apparently, they pinpointed her position. I'll go on alone from here.
Thank you for your protection." He spoke calmly before bolting out of the field to join the others.

The woods were scorching, still. But now that he knew exactly where she was, he didn't have to worry nearly as much.
He followed Rabbit closely. For one because he noticed something odd about the man, and for the fact that he was putting out the fires around.

"Sir. Again, I'm just giving a warning. As I've said, my style is one that is used to kill, there is hardly as mercy involved.
If the fight ends up in my favor, even if I'm still lucid and may manage to hold back a lethal blow... Be ready to stabilize her at least, or if you don't have enough energy to do that, ask someone that can.
As you also know, she may be a lost cause. In which case, let me bring the finishing blow. The demon will be dealt on my own terms then." After that, he fell silent for a moment.

"Let's just hope it doesn't come to that."

[Imperial--japan]

Dead but alive. At least... alive somewhere in the deepest recesses of her mind. The fear was overwhelming, as if it had actually taken physical form and become boiling black waves, she'd melted and become a part of it all. And the confusion... Nothing made sense to her.

All that was, was darkness. A void so deep and so empty that what was left of her life was sucked into the abyss of anguish. And she could do nothing, nothing except scream, long bloodcurdling cries of agony, begging for relief, for help. In complete silence.

Help me.

"Pathetic, pathetic, pathetic," she hummed, tracing the outline of a tree into the ground, with fire, of course. Black fire. Burning and sucking in light.

Stop screaming, no one can hear you.

Katelyn didn't stop.

Well, I suppose it's your choice if you want to keep going. No one will ever hear you, though. Not unless I want them to. And even if they did hear, do you really think they'd care? They hate you, remember? You're the little psychopath who wanted to kill their precious Rabbit. It's not like they know that was me. And remember when you got your eye knocked out? How many people cared? How many people? Not even that little brat Soleil, who supposedly cares about everyone. He's more pathetic than you, you know? And yet whenever there's trouble he supposedly gets all brave and strong. Ha, ha, ha. As if he could ever be a Jaegar. Your precious Ruta probably just feels sorry for him... and for you, too, you know? Because you're pathetic, in your own way. All of you stupid humans are so pathetic. I'm going to have fun cleansing this place with fire, and then I'm going to find somewhere else and do it again, and again, and again, until everyone on this pathetic planet is dead. Be honored, Katelyn Starling, if you even deserve a name anymore. You're just the first of many.

She settled back down, flames licking at the grass around her, and waited for them to come.

The fire continued to burn. Rabbit smelled it, the black fire that marked a demon. The smoke rose in the distance, and he turned toward it, anxious at the sight. He then nodded, as though he understood something esoteric. "...Katelyn has moved to another location in the forest. We must move quickly to stop the fire, before it spreads. Everyone, hurry!" he ordered. He then rushed away, leading his students toward the fire, toward where he was certain Katelyn was waiting. Toward where the demon would finally reveal itself to everyone, from beneath her skin. Katelyn...don't go anywhere, we're coming...we won't leave you...I promise, we won't leave you again... he thought, determinedly, this time, we will save you... He summoned multiple orbs of water, as he ran, knowing he would have to put the fires out as soon as possible, when he and his students and colleagues arrived.

Hestia frowned at the damage being done to the schools surrounding woodland, as she knew she would have to request groundskeepers to repair the damage, and they often complained in excess whenever students damaged their precious landscape. As unfortunate as it was, the well being of the groundskeepers was not the priority here. Containing the existing fires and handling the 'problem student' was the focus. With Rabbit's orders clear, Hestia readied her own Fire Magic to contain the burning woodland. The key was knowing that this Fire was her own, generated by her own mana, and that if she could smother the opposing Fire, should could then dismiss her own flames. It would work, but although she was a teacher and technically versed in multiple elements, her main and favored was still Fire. Hestia readied an 'Enchantment of Haste' to keep up with Rabbit with greater ease. One could clearly see the Flames eloquently circling around her hands, as Hestia readied her magic to use against the Demon's fires.

[Kingdom of Irhk]

Dead but alive. At least... alive somewhere in the deepest recesses of her mind. The fear was overwhelming, as if it had actually taken physical form and become boiling black waves, she'd melted and become a part of it all. And the confusion... Nothing made sense to her.

All that was, was darkness. A void so deep and so empty that what was left of her life was sucked into the abyss of anguish. And she could do nothing, nothing except scream, long bloodcurdling cries of agony, begging for relief, for help. In complete silence.

Help me.

"Pathetic, pathetic, pathetic," she hummed, tracing the outline of a tree into the ground, with fire, of course. Black fire. Burning and sucking in light.

Stop screaming, no one can hear you.

Katelyn didn't stop.

Well, I suppose it's your choice if you want to keep going. No one will ever hear you, though. Not unless I want them to. And even if they did hear, do you really think they'd care? They hate you, remember? You're the little psychopath who wanted to kill their precious Rabbit. It's not like they know that was me. And remember when you got your eye knocked out? How many people cared? How many people? Not even that little brat Soleil, who supposedly cares about everyone. He's more pathetic than you, you know? And yet whenever there's trouble he supposedly gets all brave and strong. Ha, ha, ha. As if he could ever be a Jaegar. Your precious Ruta probably just feels sorry for him... and for you, too, you know? Because you're pathetic, in your own way. All of you stupid humans are so pathetic. I'm going to have fun cleansing this place with fire, and then I'm going to find somewhere else and do it again, and again, and again, until everyone on this pathetic planet is dead. Be honored, Katelyn Starling, if you even deserve a name anymore. You're just the first of many.

She settled back down, flames licking at the grass around her, and waited for them to come.

The fire continued to burn. Rabbit smelled it, the black fire that marked a demon. The smoke rose in the distance, and he turned toward it, anxious at the sight. He then nodded, as though he understood something esoteric. "...Katelyn has moved to another location in the forest. We must move quickly to stop the fire, before it spreads. Everyone, hurry!" he ordered. He then rushed away, leading his students toward the fire, toward where he was certain Katelyn was waiting. Toward where the demon would finally reveal itself to everyone, from beneath her skin. Katelyn...don't go anywhere, we're coming...we won't leave you...I promise, we won't leave you again... he thought, determinedly, this time, we will save you... He summoned multiple orbs of water, as he ran, knowing he would have to put the fires out as soon as possible, when he and his students and colleagues arrived.

Henry Von Kressel

Running to his teacher's side, Henry followed Rabbit's senses among the fire. However, it was clear that the fire was a distraction: Katelyn, or better saying, the demon that possessed Katelyn was using it to distract and work its way around the group of students, hiding among the smoke and using it as an advantage against the army that was surrounding her.

"Rabbit, we won't be able to stop this fire without taking out the source first. We need to find Katelyn first before she extends this fire to the whole island, and if that happens, it's her perfect distraction. Let's focus on finding her, together, and then we can work on countermeasures against this big fire. I'm sure Basil and the new teacher can handle this in a question of minutes, but it will be an endless effort if we don't find her."

[Luminesa]

The fire continued to burn. Rabbit smelled it, the black fire that marked a demon. The smoke rose in the distance, and he turned toward it, anxious at the sight. He then nodded, as though he understood something esoteric. "...Katelyn has moved to another location in the forest. We must move quickly to stop the fire, before it spreads. Everyone, hurry!" he ordered. He then rushed away, leading his students toward the fire, toward where he was certain Katelyn was waiting. Toward where the demon would finally reveal itself to everyone, from beneath her skin. Katelyn...don't go anywhere, we're coming...we won't leave you...I promise, we won't leave you again... he thought, determinedly, this time, we will save you... He summoned multiple orbs of water, as he ran, knowing he would have to put the fires out as soon as possible, when he and his students and colleagues arrived.

Henry Von Kressel

Running to his teacher's side, Henry followed Rabbit's senses among the fire. However, it was clear that the fire was a distraction: Katelyn, or better saying, the demon that possessed Katelyn was using it to distract and work its way around the group of students, hiding among the smoke and using it as an advantage against the army that was surrounding her.

"Rabbit, we won't be able to stop this fire without taking out the source first. We need to find Katelyn first before she extends this fire to the whole island, and if that happens, it's her perfect distraction. Let's focus on finding her, together, and then we can work on countermeasures against this big fire. I'm sure Basil and the new teacher can handle this in a question of minutes, but it will be an endless effort if we don't find her."

Rabbit nodded, and looked through the fire. He seemed to be searching for Katelyn through it, by sensing her Mana. Given the fire around them, this indeed made his work somewhat difficult, and he had to directly focus on her Mana. "...Basil, Hestia, Allistor, stay here and put out the rest of the fire...We must find Katelyn, and quickly. You may follow when you can..." he explained, even as the flames rose around the group. He was wary about leaving anyone behind, but he trusted his colleagues and Allistor, one of the most skilled Ice Mages on campus, to handle the secondary problem. In the meantime, Katelyn had to be saved, both for her own sake and in order to make everyone elses' jobs easier. Thus he turned from them toward the darkness of the woods.

As Oliver caught-up to him, however, he added yet another concern. What if Katelyn was not possessed, and she was truly gone? What if they could not stop her, and exorcise the demon? This was a horrifying suggestion, but Rabbit knew that it was all too possible. Turning to Oliver, he explained gently, "...We will see what we need to do for her, first, and seek other options. I believe I have just enough Mana left to restrain her, but the demon will still have to be exorcised. If something unforeseen happens, of course, I am unable to stop the ritual, and Katelyn is truly irredeemable...then we will do what we must..."

Putting down a student like a wounded animal seemed almost inhumane to Rabbit, and he did not want to think about it. However, his personal wishes did not change the situation, as much as he wished they could. They had to find Katelyn and to control her, or else they might have no other choice...

[Saldinado]

Dominique Corleone

The sight of the forest set aflame angered the young mage to such degrees. The wildlife and environment that lived and thrived here could all be consumed by flames, as well as the island itself, if this wasn't going to be put to a stop. He was more closer to the fire than anyone, and as a result, he faced the flames more head on and beads of sweat began to drip over his forehead and face from the heat. He'd been around enough fires to be closed to them without having a great amount of affect onto his body. Looking at the grass as a small flame crept up towards him, he sighed deeply and stepped onto the flames as he lifted his hand up before the sight of a small golden-brown orb slowly grew in his hand. It started off as a pea shape but soon it grew larger and larger.
On the inside of the orb, a swirling motion was happening, showing a pattern of streaks and swirls similar to that of the sight that one might say the planet Jupiter might have. And soon, the orb grew to the size of a baseball and soon, he threw the orb into the fire in front of him.

As the fire got closer, the heat around the orb began to grow hotter and hotter, increasing the swirling of the orb even more faster and more violent. The fire itself began to grow a little more brighter as if it was golden before suddenly, the sound of what appeared to be glass breaking filled the air, before it was followed by rather large explosion that overpowered the grass breaking. Suddenly, the sight of a golden-brown cloud of "smoke" surrounded the fire around them and engulfed the flames. A chemical reaction between the smoke and the fire created a pale white color around the fire as the smoke act as an extinguish and absorbed and depleted the oxygen from the fire and lowered its flames, causing the light itself to slowly become dimmer before the fire itself died down and soon disappear, revealing only pale blue smoke and any residual heat.

"Well, there goes that section, but there's still more for us to do." He said to no one in particular. The heat was starting to get to him and as a result, he removed his jacket, wearing only a blue tank top. Wrapping the jacket around his waist, he turned to the ones that were still there and grunted. As be once again began creating another one of the golden-brown orbs for another time. "If you need one of these, just tell me and I'll provide you some. They're a mixture of Earth along with mana that when placed on heat or fire, creates a chemical reaction between them to remove the oxygen from the flames that extinguish the heat source and prevents the area from becoming ignited once again for at least ten minutes. It has a range of about a meter and a half as well depending on its size so it can cover a rather large amount of land if needed. Family trade passed down for years. Well, on my mother's side." He explained nonchalantly towards them as the orb in his hand grew to the same baseball-shape ready for the next time. He then turned towards Rabbit and Henry and gingerly smiled at them.

"If you would like, I could make some for the few of you so that you can easily create a path towards Katelyn without worrying too much about the fire."

[Chrome Legion]

Catherine de Sanguine Vivere


Catherine just nodded to her temporary companion as he made his way off, they were close enough now that it wouldn't really matter. Infact, he barely made it out of her entropic shroud before coming upon the others. Catherine looked at the black flames that the demon had conjured with little more than a sneer. What a cheap imitation. Sure, there was black fire, but then there was Blackfire. Maybe this was some false arrogance on her part, the same kind of thing that had gotten her in trouble before. Well, at least this time she had meat shield.

"As... unfavorably as Oliver here may have phrased that, I can't disagree with him. I will do what it takes to protect myself, if Katelyn has to die for our safety, then our course of action is clear. I'm not willing to take any more risks... I'll do what needs to be done this time."

[Kingdom of Irhk]

Dominique Corleone

The sight of the forest set aflame angered the young mage to such degrees. The wildlife and environment that lived and thrived here could all be consumed by flames, as well as the island itself, if this wasn't going to be put to a stop. He was more closer to the fire than anyone, and as a result, he faced the flames more head on and beads of sweat began to drip over his forehead and face from the heat. He'd been around enough fires to be closed to them without having a great amount of affect onto his body. Looking at the grass as a small flame crept up towards him, he sighed deeply and stepped onto the flames as he lifted his hand up before the sight of a small golden-brown orb slowly grew in his hand. It started off as a pea shape but soon it grew larger and larger.
On the inside of the orb, a swirling motion was happening, showing a pattern of streaks and swirls similar to that of the sight that one might say the planet Jupiter might have. And soon, the orb grew to the size of a baseball and soon, he threw the orb into the fire in front of him.

As the fire got closer, the heat around the orb began to grow hotter and hotter, increasing the swirling of the orb even more faster and more violent. The fire itself began to grow a little more brighter as if it was golden before suddenly, the sound of what appeared to be glass breaking filled the air, before it was followed by rather large explosion that overpowered the grass breaking. Suddenly, the sight of a golden-brown cloud of "smoke" surrounded the fire around them and engulfed the flames. A chemical reaction between the smoke and the fire created a pale white color around the fire as the smoke act as an extinguish and absorbed and depleted the oxygen from the fire and lowered its flames, causing the light itself to slowly become dimmer before the fire itself died down and soon disappear, revealing only pale blue smoke and any residual heat.

"Well, there goes that section, but there's still more for us to do." He said to no one in particular. The heat was starting to get to him and as a result, he removed his jacket, wearing only a blue tank top. Wrapping the jacket around his waist, he turned to the ones that were still there and grunted. As be once again began creating another one of the golden-brown orbs for another time. "If you need one of these, just tell me and I'll provide you some. They're a mixture of Earth along with mana that when placed on heat or fire, creates a chemical reaction between them to remove the oxygen from the flames that extinguish the heat source and prevents the area from becoming ignited once again for at least ten minutes. It has a range of about a meter and a half as well depending on its size so it can cover a rather large amount of land if needed. Family trade passed down for years. Well, on my mother's side." He explained nonchalantly towards them as the orb in his hand grew to the same baseball-shape ready for the next time. He then turned towards Rabbit and Henry and gingerly smiled at them.

"If you would like, I could make some for the few of you so that you can easily create a path towards Katelyn without worrying too much about the fire."

Catherine de Sanguine Vivere


Catherine just nodded to her temporary companion as he made his way off, they were close enough now that it wouldn't really matter. Infact, he barely made it out of her entropic shroud before coming upon the others. Catherine looked at the black flames that the demon had conjured with little more than a sneer. What a cheap imitation. Sure, there was black fire, but then there was Blackfire. Maybe this was some false arrogance on her part, the same kind of thing that had gotten her in trouble before. Well, at least this time she had meat shield.

"As... unfavorably as Oliver here may have phrased that, I can't disagree with him. I will do what it takes to protect myself, if Katelyn has to die for our safety, then our course of action is clear. I'm not willing to take any more risks... I'll do what needs to be done this time."

Henry Von Kressel

He heard both of them speaking. First, Dominique giving them a solution regarding the fires on the way. Of course, this was helpful, specially given the demon's advantage of controlling the fires around them.

"That would be helpful, Dominique. Thank you for your help, we certainly are going to need a few of them. I'd say that maybe you can help the others to control it as well, as we might need more support when we start to confront her. And as Oliver and Catherine stated, unfortunately we passed the point of discarding the lethal option.

We all hope to not get to such points, but we can't hesitate if it gets to such points."

I only hope that her friends understand...

[Luminesa]

Dominique Corleone

The sight of the forest set aflame angered the young mage to such degrees. The wildlife and environment that lived and thrived here could all be consumed by flames, as well as the island itself, if this wasn't going to be put to a stop. He was more closer to the fire than anyone, and as a result, he faced the flames more head on and beads of sweat began to drip over his forehead and face from the heat. He'd been around enough fires to be closed to them without having a great amount of affect onto his body. Looking at the grass as a small flame crept up towards him, he sighed deeply and stepped onto the flames as he lifted his hand up before the sight of a small golden-brown orb slowly grew in his hand. It started off as a pea shape but soon it grew larger and larger.
On the inside of the orb, a swirling motion was happening, showing a pattern of streaks and swirls similar to that of the sight that one might say the planet Jupiter might have. And soon, the orb grew to the size of a baseball and soon, he threw the orb into the fire in front of him.

As the fire got closer, the heat around the orb began to grow hotter and hotter, increasing the swirling of the orb even more faster and more violent. The fire itself began to grow a little more brighter as if it was golden before suddenly, the sound of what appeared to be glass breaking filled the air, before it was followed by rather large explosion that overpowered the grass breaking. Suddenly, the sight of a golden-brown cloud of "smoke" surrounded the fire around them and engulfed the flames. A chemical reaction between the smoke and the fire created a pale white color around the fire as the smoke act as an extinguish and absorbed and depleted the oxygen from the fire and lowered its flames, causing the light itself to slowly become dimmer before the fire itself died down and soon disappear, revealing only pale blue smoke and any residual heat.

"Well, there goes that section, but there's still more for us to do." He said to no one in particular. The heat was starting to get to him and as a result, he removed his jacket, wearing only a blue tank top. Wrapping the jacket around his waist, he turned to the ones that were still there and grunted. As be once again began creating another one of the golden-brown orbs for another time. "If you need one of these, just tell me and I'll provide you some. They're a mixture of Earth along with mana that when placed on heat or fire, creates a chemical reaction between them to remove the oxygen from the flames that extinguish the heat source and prevents the area from becoming ignited once again for at least ten minutes. It has a range of about a meter and a half as well depending on its size so it can cover a rather large amount of land if needed. Family trade passed down for years. Well, on my mother's side." He explained nonchalantly towards them as the orb in his hand grew to the same baseball-shape ready for the next time. He then turned towards Rabbit and Henry and gingerly smiled at them.

"If you would like, I could make some for the few of you so that you can easily create a path towards Katelyn without worrying too much about the fire."

Catherine de Sanguine Vivere


Catherine just nodded to her temporary companion as he made his way off, they were close enough now that it wouldn't really matter. Infact, he barely made it out of her entropic shroud before coming upon the others. Catherine looked at the black flames that the demon had conjured with little more than a sneer. What a cheap imitation. Sure, there was black fire, but then there was Blackfire. Maybe this was some false arrogance on her part, the same kind of thing that had gotten her in trouble before. Well, at least this time she had meat shield.

"As... unfavorably as Oliver here may have phrased that, I can't disagree with him. I will do what it takes to protect myself, if Katelyn has to die for our safety, then our course of action is clear. I'm not willing to take any more risks... I'll do what needs to be done this time."

Henry Von Kressel

He heard both of them speaking. First, Dominique giving them a solution regarding the fires on the way. Of course, this was helpful, specially given the demon's advantage of controlling the fires around them.

"That would be helpful, Dominique. Thank you for your help, we certainly are going to need a few of them. I'd say that maybe you can help the others to control it as well, as we might need more support when we start to confront her. And as Oliver and Catherine stated, unfortunately we passed the point of discarding the lethal option.

We all hope to not get to such points, but we can't hesitate if it gets to such points."

I only hope that her friends understand...

Rabbit nodded, agreeing with Henry as he spoke to Dominique and spoke his response for him. These quick "mudbombs" were perfect tools for keeping the fire out of their way, in their search for Katelyn. Considering the flames were growing around them as well, they would need a quick solution, so they would not be sidetracked. "...Yes, excellent work. Make us more of them, and we can carry them through the forest and stop the flames without losing too much time. So while the other teachers and I are searching for Katelyn's Mana, we need you to use those orbs in order to put the flames out. Understood? We must hurry," he ordered, while keeping a calm voice despite the fact that they were nearly surrounded by flames. He took an orb of ice and doused a flame next to him with it, and then he nodded to Dominque again. "We're going to need you to use some here, however, before we move on. Quickly."

[Saldinado]

Dominique Corleone

Dominique smiled and nodded as he turned his attention towards the orb in his had which was similar to the one before. He now needed to create multiple ones to extinguish the fire around them first. The swirling spirals inside of the orb began to become a little more erratic as it was eager to be released into the fire and to do it's job. But not yet; there were some things that needed to be done before it can be released. Looking at it, Dominique concentrated onto the single orb and directed a channel of mana into it, causing it to slowly levitate out of his hand and right above his face. Suddenly, the orb grew bigger and bigger until it was the size of what looked like a rather large circular shape similar to a watermelon before Dom snapped his fingers and the entire structure in front of him deformed and split off into several smaller balls similar to the baseball-sized ones before and floated gracefully in the air. There were a total of ten to twelve in all of them; hopefully this will probably be a good amount to start with.

He used his hand to send about three of them into the raging inferno in front and around them, only to have the air fill with the sound of glass breaking and soon several small explosions and the same process be repeated over once again as the area around them was extinguished and only leaving the usual pale blue smoke in the wake of the fires. The smoke dissipated to reveal an empty and dry path in front of them towards the flames further in the back that were recently started by Katelyn. Their black flames roaring in the distance.

Turning towards Henry and Rabbit, he used a single flick of his wrist to send the remaining orbs towards them and wiped the sweat off of his forehead from the heat. "There you go. I've made them more concentrated so that they can do more and longer damage compared to the usual ones. Just throw them towards where you need them to go and continue on your pursue. Do you need any more of these, or will these be enough for you to continue on? I don't mind."

[Kingdom of Irhk]

Dominique Corleone

Dominique smiled and nodded as he turned his attention towards the orb in his had which was similar to the one before. He now needed to create multiple ones to extinguish the fire around them first. The swirling spirals inside of the orb began to become a little more erratic as it was eager to be released into the fire and to do it's job. But not yet; there were some things that needed to be done before it can be released. Looking at it, Dominique concentrated onto the single orb and directed a channel of mana into it, causing it to slowly levitate out of his hand and right above his face. Suddenly, the orb grew bigger and bigger until it was the size of what looked like a rather large circular shape similar to a watermelon before Dom snapped his fingers and the entire structure in front of him deformed and split off into several smaller balls similar to the baseball-sized ones before and floated gracefully in the air. There were a total of ten to twelve in all of them; hopefully this will probably be a good amount to start with.

He used his hand to send about three of them into the raging inferno in front and around them, only to have the air fill with the sound of glass breaking and soon several small explosions and the same process be repeated over once again as the area around them was extinguished and only leaving the usual pale blue smoke in the wake of the fires. The smoke dissipated to reveal an empty and dry path in front of them towards the flames further in the back that were recently started by Katelyn. Their black flames roaring in the distance.

Turning towards Henry and Rabbit, he used a single flick of his wrist to send the remaining orbs towards them and wiped the sweat off of his forehead from the heat. "There you go. I've made them more concentrated so that they can do more and longer damage compared to the usual ones. Just throw them towards where you need them to go and continue on your pursue. Do you need any more of these, or will these be enough for you to continue on? I don't mind."

Henry Von Kressel

The fire was put out, and with that, part of the smoke cleared. It was all a question of following the trail now. Readying his spear, Henry tried to prepare himself to fight a colleague: One that he never had much intimacy with, but a colleague anyways.

"That will be enough, Dominique. We've got a breakthrough to her now thanks to your bombs, and this is exactly what we needed now. Rabbit, we must move now. Each second we waste here gives Katelyn a bigger advantage over us, and this is the last thing we need, despite the fact that we are in bigger numbers, and at least 4 people here are effective monster hunters, so we can't lose time throwing their energy around. We need to focus on her."

[Luminesa]

Dominique Corleone

Dominique smiled and nodded as he turned his attention towards the orb in his had which was similar to the one before. He now needed to create multiple ones to extinguish the fire around them first. The swirling spirals inside of the orb began to become a little more erratic as it was eager to be released into the fire and to do it's job. But not yet; there were some things that needed to be done before it can be released. Looking at it, Dominique concentrated onto the single orb and directed a channel of mana into it, causing it to slowly levitate out of his hand and right above his face. Suddenly, the orb grew bigger and bigger until it was the size of what looked like a rather large circular shape similar to a watermelon before Dom snapped his fingers and the entire structure in front of him deformed and split off into several smaller balls similar to the baseball-sized ones before and floated gracefully in the air. There were a total of ten to twelve in all of them; hopefully this will probably be a good amount to start with.

He used his hand to send about three of them into the raging inferno in front and around them, only to have the air fill with the sound of glass breaking and soon several small explosions and the same process be repeated over once again as the area around them was extinguished and only leaving the usual pale blue smoke in the wake of the fires. The smoke dissipated to reveal an empty and dry path in front of them towards the flames further in the back that were recently started by Katelyn. Their black flames roaring in the distance.

Turning towards Henry and Rabbit, he used a single flick of his wrist to send the remaining orbs towards them and wiped the sweat off of his forehead from the heat. "There you go. I've made them more concentrated so that they can do more and longer damage compared to the usual ones. Just throw them towards where you need them to go and continue on your pursue. Do you need any more of these, or will these be enough for you to continue on? I don't mind."

Henry Von Kressel

The fire was put out, and with that, part of the smoke cleared. It was all a question of following the trail now. Readying his spear, Henry tried to prepare himself to fight a colleague: One that he never had much intimacy with, but a colleague anyways.

"That will be enough, Dominique. We've got a breakthrough to her now thanks to your bombs, and this is exactly what we needed now. Rabbit, we must move now. Each second we waste here gives Katelyn a bigger advantage over us, and this is the last thing we need, despite the fact that we are in bigger numbers, and at least 4 people here are effective monster hunters, so we can't lose time throwing their energy around. We need to focus on her."

"Correct," Rabbit answered, softly, while turning to the others. "We will run straight for Katelyn now. I believe I have found traces of her Mana. Everyone follow me. We will finish this nightmare as quickly as possible. And if worst comes to worst...do not be afraid. All of you are a team. I believe in all of you. Now let's hurry!" Following the traces of hope he had spotted across the campus, he headed for the source, hoping his Mana-supply would carry him to the end...

[Charlia]

Hmm.

How would I describe them?


...Obnoxious. That's the word. Did they really just spend all that time chattering? I didn't come here to watch them talk. I came here for a fight, for fun, and they keep me waiting.


And I really wish they'd stop confusing me with you, dear. It's driving me absolutely mad. Let's give them a message, shall we?


A snap of the fingers, a brief smile, and four words of shadow in the air in front of the would-be 'heroes'.


That's not my name.


Then the letters stretched, contorted, and shot towards each of them in three spikes--one heading for their heart, and two on either side in case they felt like dodging.


It's a bit of a petty thing to attack them for, but I'm so bored. And besides, they seem to want a fight, yet they won't bring it to me... making me do all the work. Well, that's fine by me. I'll do the work. And I'll make them suffer.

After all, that's what this whole thing is about, isn't it?

[Luminesa]

Hmm.

How would I describe them?


...Obnoxious. That's the word. Did they really just spend all that time chattering? I didn't come here to watch them talk. I came here for a fight, for fun, and they keep me waiting.


And I really wish they'd stop confusing me with you, dear. It's driving me absolutely mad. Let's give them a message, shall we?


A snap of the fingers, a brief smile, and four words of shadow in the air in front of the would-be 'heroes'.


That's not my name.


Then the letters stretched, contorted, and shot towards each of them in three spikes--one heading for their heart, and two on either side in case they felt like dodging.


It's a bit of a petty thing to attack them for, but I'm so bored. And besides, they seem to want a fight, yet they won't bring it to me... making me do all the work. Well, that's fine by me. I'll do the work. And I'll make them suffer.

After all, that's what this whole thing is about, isn't it?

That's not my name. Rabbit saw the words, and he halted in front of the group. He sensed a massive amount of Dark Mana, and he narrowed his focus onto the presence in front of him. So they were indeed facing a demon. He clenched his fists, and spoke to the others, "...I think our opponent has come to see us. Keep back!" As he was speaking this, however, his body was wide-open for an attack. As soon as he turned around, a stake drove itself into his chest, and two others shot into his left side and his right shoulder. He gasped loudly, stepping back as he was hit. One was even sharp enough to pierce his heart, though it did not drive directly through him. Staring down at his chest, he shuddered. "...Ngh...well, I see I have been received...whole-heartedly..." he breathed, chuckling painfully. Even as the stake was made of Dark Mana, it still stung, and the tiny cracks around the hole became just slightly larger. "...Henry...Oliver...Dominique...everyone...remain focused..." he ordered, as he placed a hand around the wound to stop the bleeding.

[Chrome Legion]

Catherine de Sanguine Vivere


Catherine's replacement arm reached forward with inhuman speed, seemingly acting on it's own, intercepting the missile well before it would have struck home. What ever the projectile was made out of, some demonic matter or pure mana, it started to disolve in Catherine's ebon grip. Even before the projectile was gone Catherine's arm started to unweave itself from her shoulder, threads of night and crimson parting. An obsidian speck whispered songs of oblivion nestled in the palm of Catherine unnatural arm as it floated out away from her body. There was one advantage to losing the limb, with this one she could focus Erebus's granted powers at a range from herself. And the arm had grown strong drinking in the heat from the flames around her. Catherine could rely on her power for defense, and use Erebus to deliver the touch of nothing for offence.

[Serah]

Hmm.

How would I describe them?


...Obnoxious. That's the word. Did they really just spend all that time chattering? I didn't come here to watch them talk. I came here for a fight, for fun, and they keep me waiting.


And I really wish they'd stop confusing me with you, dear. It's driving me absolutely mad. Let's give them a message, shall we?


A snap of the fingers, a brief smile, and four words of shadow in the air in front of the would-be 'heroes'.


That's not my name.


Then the letters stretched, contorted, and shot towards each of them in three spikes--one heading for their heart, and two on either side in case they felt like dodging.


It's a bit of a petty thing to attack them for, but I'm so bored. And besides, they seem to want a fight, yet they won't bring it to me... making me do all the work. Well, that's fine by me. I'll do the work. And I'll make them suffer.

After all, that's what this whole thing is about, isn't it?

With the whole gang chattering away, Oliver kind of phased out from the conversation, not really caring about whatever would happen next and simply bracing himself for what would come next.
And he was right to do so.
As the letters formed their words, Oliver chuckled.

"No, indeed that's not your name. Names are for useful things." He retorted before the spikes formed and shot forward.
At that point, the effect of his oath was almost complete, it was almost time for the actual fight to begin.
However, he needed a little more time, just a little more.

When the spikes closed in on him, Oliver hardly thought of anything and reflexively swatted the one in front of him with his spear, disintegrating it upon contact, the other two then collided with each other as he did a quickstep forward.

"Paenitet de peccatis vestris! DEUS VULT!" He shouted.

As soon as he did, however, the aura he was exhibiting became much stronger one could say it almost exploded, should one be able to see his mana, they would see it was basically going into overdrive. The power was centered on him, for the most part. The excess that he could not take simply manifested as his aura. It would gauge his remaining time in this fight, but seeing as he hadn't used much mana in months, he would hold on for a while.

She aims to kill. If that's the case, then no holds barred. I'm going all out.

With that, he gathered the wind around him, noticeably quicker than usual and made it burst into a circular wind blade in the general direction that the words had appeared from.
She may be wanting a fight, but she was rather cowardly, she didn't even show herself, and preferred to remain in the shadows, where she could attack peacefully.

I'll find you. And once I do, I will kill you.

[Imperial--japan]

Hestia had previously halted and listened as Rabbit suggested she stay behind and aid in putting out the flames. Though she would like to be there to apprehend the source of this discord and chaos, she knew that he had a point. Collateral and environmental damage needed to be contained to as small an area as possible, and with herself excelling in the Fire element, not having her aid in containment would be a waste. Using her own Fire, the idea was to smother the demons Fire with the sheer amount of mana she produced in her element. As the volatile fire was extinguished or melded with her own, she would 'Will' her Mana to cease manifestation under its current element, and allow the fire to wither away.

Hestia raised her arms and waves of flames erupted from her hands, the horde of flame heading for the already burning fires surrounding them. As her own fire made contact with the demons, she frowned in disgust at the feeling of her own Mana brushing against the Mana of such a disgusting being. Though luckily, the Mana was external, so any threat to herself was negligible. In time, the Flames she conjured began to merge with the demons, smothering it as Hestia willed her flames to disappear once their tasks were completed.

By this point in time, Hestia had fallen back from Rabbit as he continued on, and she stayed put to handle the fires with some of the others.

"I trust we've done a good job at containing the worst of the fire. However, I fear we've only delayed the destruction until the source of this mess is handled accordingly. Let us rejoin Rabbit and the others who have gone on ahead." Hestia spoke to those around her, and began to head off in the direction rabbit went off in, casting an enchantment of 'Haste' on herself and the others. Eventually she would arrive, but Hestia would continue to smother whatever flames she encountered along the way.

[Kingdom of Irhk]

Hmm.

How would I describe them?


...Obnoxious. That's the word. Did they really just spend all that time chattering? I didn't come here to watch them talk. I came here for a fight, for fun, and they keep me waiting.


And I really wish they'd stop confusing me with you, dear. It's driving me absolutely mad. Let's give them a message, shall we?


A snap of the fingers, a brief smile, and four words of shadow in the air in front of the would-be 'heroes'.


That's not my name.


Then the letters stretched, contorted, and shot towards each of them in three spikes--one heading for their heart, and two on either side in case they felt like dodging.


It's a bit of a petty thing to attack them for, but I'm so bored. And besides, they seem to want a fight, yet they won't bring it to me... making me do all the work. Well, that's fine by me. I'll do the work. And I'll make them suffer.

After all, that's what this whole thing is about, isn't it?

Henry Von Kressel

The spikes went into Henry's direction quick, but not quick enough to catch the mage without notice. There wasn't a way to dodge to the sides, so Henry tried the remaining option: Upwards. He awaited the spike to come closer, before raising a pillar below himself that elevated him, which made the spike directed for his heart to stuck. Before the two at his sides could do the turn, Henry shot two spikes of his own at them, restraining them to ground and descending from the pillar in a motion that cut the stuck one, before breaking the pillar.

However, what troubled Henry now was the fact that one spike actually hit Rabbit. As powerful as he was, he was also fragile, and while Oliver seemed to be bursting in mana, Henry raised a barrier in front of his professor, before he got closer to a wounded Rabbit.

"Rabbit! You must stay away from the tougher fight now, you are in no condition to fight. I'll cover Oliver while he moves around, but you need to stay here. I'll draw the attention of the other students here, so they can cover you as well."

Extending his hand upwards, Henry shot a second flare, but this time he had to make sure it was recognizable: The fireball quickly took the form of the dragon that was present in his crest, and stood brightly in the sky, denoting the urgency.

[Luminesa]

Hmm.

How would I describe them?


...Obnoxious. That's the word. Did they really just spend all that time chattering? I didn't come here to watch them talk. I came here for a fight, for fun, and they keep me waiting.


And I really wish they'd stop confusing me with you, dear. It's driving me absolutely mad. Let's give them a message, shall we?


A snap of the fingers, a brief smile, and four words of shadow in the air in front of the would-be 'heroes'.


That's not my name.


Then the letters stretched, contorted, and shot towards each of them in three spikes--one heading for their heart, and two on either side in case they felt like dodging.


It's a bit of a petty thing to attack them for, but I'm so bored. And besides, they seem to want a fight, yet they won't bring it to me... making me do all the work. Well, that's fine by me. I'll do the work. And I'll make them suffer.

After all, that's what this whole thing is about, isn't it?

Henry Von Kressel

The spikes went into Henry's direction quick, but not quick enough to catch the mage without notice. There wasn't a way to dodge to the sides, so Henry tried the remaining option: Upwards. He awaited the spike to come closer, before raising a pillar below himself that elevated him, which made the spike directed for his heart to stuck. Before the two at his sides could do the turn, Henry shot two spikes of his own at them, restraining them to ground and descending from the pillar in a motion that cut the stuck one, before breaking the pillar.

However, what troubled Henry now was the fact that one spike actually hit Rabbit. As powerful as he was, he was also fragile, and while Oliver seemed to be bursting in mana, Henry raised a barrier in front of his professor, before he got closer to a wounded Rabbit.

"Rabbit! You must stay away from the tougher fight now, you are in no condition to fight. I'll cover Oliver while he moves around, but you need to stay here. I'll draw the attention of the other students here, so they can cover you as well."

Extending his hand upwards, Henry shot a second flare, but this time he had to make sure it was recognizable: The fireball quickly took the form of the dragon that was present in his crest, and stood brightly in the sky, denoting the urgency.

"No...no...please don't..." Rabbit spoke painfully, as each breath put pressure on his pierced heart. He put his free hand on Henry's shoulder, as he spoke to him, trying to remain steady. "...Do not force them to be shields for me...I will carry my weight if I must...or I will move away from the fight..." He bled steadily from all three of his wounds, but he fought the pain and looked ahead. Katelyn was out there waiting for them. He breathed shakily, and then whispered, "...We are so close...we cannot give up now...Protect Oliver, and...I will do as I must...Just...augh..."

Moving too much did cause the stake to move deeper into his heart, and he stood still and shuddered, tightening his grip on Henry's shoulder as he spoke. "...I should have...enough Mana...to finish the fight...Go cover Oliver...I will be fine..." He knew, secretly, that he would not be able to move as he fought now, and that this put him in danger. However, he wanted to remain among his students. He grit his teeth, and stood straight. "...Katelyn! If that is not your name...then show us what your real name is!...Come out now!...We are through playing!" he shouted into the darkness.

[Charlia]

"You're done playing?" she called back, smirking. "Well, I'm not, and I don't think I want to give you any say. But what should you call me... hmm, what's a good name for me? Something you humans can understand. I suppose you can call me a 'demon' if you want to, that's suitably ironic, but I need a name... Oh!" She giggled. "That's perfect. Original sin. You can call me Eve, then. I like that." Something fell out of the darkness, hitting Rabbit in the head. A shiny, almost-spherical red fruit.

"Want to try one of my apples?"

[Serah]

"You're done playing?" she called back, smirking. "Well, I'm not, and I don't think I want to give you any say. But what should you call me... hmm, what's a good name for me? Something you humans can understand. I suppose you can call me a 'demon' if you want to, that's suitably ironic, but I need a name... Oh!" She giggled. "That's perfect. Original sin. You can call me Eve, then. I like that." Something fell out of the darkness, hitting Rabbit in the head. A shiny, almost-spherical red fruit.

"Want to try one of my apples?"

"Oh. That's rich... You think you have a say in anything here." Oliver responded, his grip tightening around his spear.

"No. You're not Eve, nor the original sin. You're just a low sphere demon that just so happened to stumble upon someone of weak will. You're absolutely pathetic.
Nothing to it, hardly even showing yourself to allow for the fight you're so desperate for, to think you want to exterminate us all... The only people you were able to hit is someone that barely had any energy left.
Anyone here could take you on and win." He spat out, raising his hand up progressively.

"What you are, is afraid. You know what the people here can do, and you're damn right to be afraid of it. You can't win here, this is not an anime. Curb stomping doesn't exist here." As soon as he finished, he brought down his hand.
Dozens of wind blades suddenly appeared around the group, creating a rather powerful hurricane that then crashed down, cutting dozens of trees in mere seconds, pretty much razing the area in a twenty meter radius.

"CALEDFWLCH!" He shouted again, however he wasn't done. Following that rather powerful attack to clear the way, he infused his spear with a part of the wind he had used and some bit of his aura.

After a few seconds the blade of the spear split in two, revealing an inner blade that seethed holy magic, as if it was made of the stuff.
Getting into a guarding position, Oliver waited for the impending next attack. As soon as it would come, he would be ready, and she'd be in for a surprise.

Come on you bloody heathen. I'll exterminate you.

[Luminesa]

"You're done playing?" she called back, smirking. "Well, I'm not, and I don't think I want to give you any say. But what should you call me... hmm, what's a good name for me? Something you humans can understand. I suppose you can call me a 'demon' if you want to, that's suitably ironic, but I need a name... Oh!" She giggled. "That's perfect. Original sin. You can call me Eve, then. I like that." Something fell out of the darkness, hitting Rabbit in the head. A shiny, almost-spherical red fruit.

"Want to try one of my apples?"

Rabbit stared into the darkness, as the demon spoke, and then as she gave a name-"Eve"-something hard and small fell on his head. He lifted it using his telekinesis, and he stared at it. "...I see...Unfortunately, love, I am quite far from Snow White," he whispered. He then threw the apple away toward the woods, toward the sound of Katelyn's voice. Meanwhile, as Oliver gave a booming battle-cry, and summoned a massive sword to boot, he turned and looked around. A powerful wind sliced through the air and cut multiple trees down, clearing a massive amount of land on this side of the forest. This was good. Katelyn-and "Eve"-would have to come out, now, or else she would be crushed under a falling tree. Knowing "Eve" would want to keep her body, Oliver's attack would force her into the open, and then everyone could attack. Thus, he summoned his ice broadsword, and prepared himself. "...Let's finish this, shall we?"