(DH) Strange Exhibiton: The Barbarous Blade Burdened Beast

An errant rumor, a few drinks too many, a traumatized boy who had seen his entire family get slaughtered by some odd creature and a bucket of tears later, Stelluna knew what she was hunting. The Dark Harvest was coming up soon and the Strange Exhibition needed new attractions. She'd heard of the job offer and accepted it with haste. Not only would it be a chance to earn a bit of coin, she would also get an opportunity to fight a rare and probably dangerous beast. She wouldn't be able to kill it, sure, but the act of battle in and of itself was a reward. She'd manage to coax out a drawing from another explorer who had claimed to see the same beast. She was sure that the no one would notice that an old napkin had gone missing. It was definitely worthy of being put on a show called 'Strange Exhibition', with its bladed limbs and hand standing. Yet, some of the parts of the blades looked a bit like fins. Whatever it was, it didn't look very friendly and from the stories she heard, it was actively out and hunting people for whatever reason. Some people say that it's the result of a mad mage's blood magic experiments, who knows at this point?

Hidden: Explorer's Sketch

The explorer wouldn't give any more details, wanting nothing more to do with the beast. Although the sketch was quite rough due to the impromptu nature of the request, it was better than nothing. The drawing had told her a lot at the least, she would be looking more towards the trees and flatter ground rather than any mountainous terrain. Right now, she was seated at an inn famed for being close enough to use as a staging point for explorations into Norfova. It was under heavy guard, due to the nature of its location, and the construction was heavily reinforced. It was practically a mini castle with how all out the architect had gone with design. She let out a small sigh and sipped at her tea, she had made sure to keep her hood drawn to avoid any unwanted attention. If her party didn't recognize her, she would let her hood down and make her way to them. With any due luck, they should be arriving soon. She didn't relish the idea of hauling back the beast all the way back to Falderan, while it was still alive, but if the show would wait for nothing.

@Aria
@Magi Heart
@Stampede

 

A Dark Harvest....

So what? A festival, in the fall.... Halloween? Tenebris had mixed feelings about that. All she remembered about it was costumes and candy. Candy.... ewwwww no. The bitter tooth she had acquired would absolutely not tolerate that nasty stuff ever again! As for costumes? Silly fantasies for kids that did not know what the real world was like.... the real world was pain. Tenebris had no more need for fantasy.

Not to say it was entirely irrelevant to the Dark Heart. The general doom and gloom was very welcome. Tenebris felt that a celebration of just how dark people really were was pretty telling of how 'right' her current mindset was. It just was not quite enough though. The fun Tenebris wanted was for real, not imaginary. Regardless she decided to wander around some and see if there was any happenings she could have some fun with. The girl still needed to grind and help all of these lost poor people persons after all. Staying cooped up in some big red house was not going to get her job done. Her dre... no no no... no more dreaming, Mission!

Norfova was where her wanderings took her. The barren and cursed terrain was a source of sorrow and grief. So much agony this land had suffered! Magi Heart really was hopeless to think she could do anything about this, she just should have enjoyed the atmosphere! Oh right... she was too scared to even come here back then, what a joke! Tenebris touched the rose on her chest in thought as she came upon a large.... seriously? Castle Inn or something dumb like that. Did people fear death that much? Was everyone like her old self inside? Noobs!

The girl muttered as she put away Gertrud and made her way inside. It had a lot of people who were looking to explore Norfova in here! Oh boy more victims! Tenebris saw a lot of potential for grief in this place! Why, Norfova in general was like a big grief playground! She strolled around and eventually saw someone she recognized... kinda sorta. Who was this again?

There was a red hooded woman alone and drinking tea.... oh kewl, was it bitter? The much shorter girl stopped with zero fear and looked right into her face under the hood. Hmmm she was familiar. Did Tenebris know her from somewhere?

"Magi Heart... hello there!"

She raised her two fingers to her head in her new much less enthusiastic magical girl salute. Her voice a strange mix of the old Magi with a tinge of irresistible bitterness. She hated using the old name, even if the new one was pretty dumb too, but it helped her 'get along'. Especially if it was someone she knew once before. Tenebris loved meeting the old people she had met. It meant she could eventually help them get on the right track! This world was so cruddy after all. They all needed to go somewhere better and she could take them on the train of pain!

@Aria @Stampede @Stelluna

 

The season of fall and the first things that come to mind was the nightmare before Christmas, an old and yet popular film adored and loved by millions to this day. So what exactly does he had in mind apart from preparing the candy for the trick or treaters? That’s quite simple, he’d make a trick instead of giving out treats instead.

To sum it up, this cruel boy here wants to apply his knowledge of traps in Terrasphere to real life and give kids a definite scare.

As if his parents and siblings would allow that so the next thing for him was just to spend and waste yet hours of his life in Terrasphere just to brush off the disappointment. After logging in, he received noticed that Terrasphere will be celebrating the season of autumn with spook and scares, basically their version of Halloween. It gave him more reason to take the time and make his traps more “festive” looking but not in a way that he’d go by means of decorating them, oh no.

He isn’t that blind and stupid to turn his traps into noticeable props just for this season.

As he scrolled down the projected window on the event details, he would see the numerous quests made available just for this occasion. Like the typical hunter, he’d of course choose a quest fitting for his talents. The only thing left was to find a party trying to queue for that and fortunately he found one, a request put up by a woman named Stelluna.

Now where did he heard that name before?

It was indicated that the quest is to be done outside of Astorea but would he really go that far just for the sake of the hunt? He probably might, for as long as there’s a forestland and a target that needs to be captured or killed, he’d feel right at home. Though he heard a lot about Norfova, there were rumors of dark sorcery lurking about, something that Stampede himself would avoid becoming a victim off but what’s the harm? Its not like he’d die in real life anyways.

Life wouldn’t so much fun if there’s no thrill to it? Besides Stampede had always sought the danger zones, sometimes he would just sit on top of a tree where some of Astorea’s monsters lurk by while at the time it would mean protection from other players entering such zones. The feeling of whether you live or die is not uncommon to him but rather it was because of that feeling that he remained sharp and vigilant.

Thing is he was expecting to be the last of his party to come in but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Taking off his green hood and putting it away to his inventory, he entered the castle like inn and scanned the area for his party. When he saw Stelluna, the memory came back to him.

“Oh its her… “ He was sure of it, he recognized this person and boy was she quite scary when angry or when she built enough momentum in a battle. Fortunately they never had met “directly.”

“Hello? Are you the guys that put up that request? I’m here so… is everybody present?”

 

Now, which was the edgy 15-year old who named this particular Festival? Dark Harvest, seriously? Couldn't they pick a name that didn't sound as if it was pulled out of an awful self-fulfilling fantasy story? Whichever Game Master who managed this particular event for the players needed to keep his 8th Grader son out of his work. "Haa..." Still, Aria could get past the poor name and just consider the festival as Terrasphere's version of Halloween, the major difference being this virtual world had actual monsters. So was it better or worse? Up to debate really.

Right now, she had accepted a quest from Earnesto Munster, a famed ex-hunter, to capture - not kill - a specific monster in Norforva. Oh neat, sounds like it was up to her alley, she was a Ranger after all. To say she didn't have qualms about the quest would be a lie, her last foray into Norforva didn't bear fond memories. Dogs are great, loyal animals but the Blood Hounds were obviously an exception. She still had nightmares when she remembered their horrifying eyes, saw-like teeth, and gaunt built. However, she was better than back then, gained some experience, it was time to try her hand at the tainted region once more.

"Hmm..." The quest giver picked a rather peculiar rendezvous point, it was an inn modeled after a fortress, sturdy frames and stone, actually a wise decision considering where it was built. Clad in her usual leaf-colored hide armor, her bow and quiver stored in her digital inventory, the Felis entered the inn. "Now then..." Her eyes immediately scanned her surroundings, two fingers on her temple in Investigation Mode, they should be among the patro-... "Oh no..."

Her, not again. Why, oh why she must meet with the Emo Bitch here out of all places? "Guh..." Groaning, Aria realized the event totally fit her, Dark Festival for a 'dark' goth-loli magical girl wannabe, of fucking course. She was already there, greeting the leader of her would-be party. A heavy groan reverberated from her throat as she made her way to the redheaded Yladian while seeing if anyone else would be joining them, please let it be Cain the fabulous Muse, hell, a stranger or anyone that wasn't on her shit list!

Of course, it was too much of a wish as her deadpan eyes took in the fellow forest archer's form. Stampede or 'Wannabe Robin Hood' as aptly put by Eileen. Emo Bitch and Faux Casanova This meant Aria was going to party with them, oh the horror! Truly a story more terrifying than the bogeyman. Holy fucking shit, this Dark Festival was real dark alright.

She had two choices here, either be wise and back away or push through and hope for the best. It should be easy, anyone could see that. Just walk away and save yourself the pain...

"Fuck it."

She strode forward, giving a small smile full of facial twitches at her 'teammates'. "Hello, I'm Aria, I'll be joining the capture quest tonight. Why~ fancy seeing you here, Magi Heart~" The very same venom that coated her words back during their last meeting in Rocky Road returned, she'd expect no less from the bitch, "And you too, Stamp." She giggled, once, "So, party leader, how should I call you?" The Yladian spearwoman was her last bastion of sanity unless she was a psycho like Magi too... please don't let it be so.

@Stelluna
@Magi Heart
@Stampede

 

Stelluna gave a flat look at the girl who introduced herself as Magi Heart. She vaguely remembered the name, but couldn't quite remember exactly where she heard it from. Ah, right, the Gold Dust business. Well, she certainly looked different, acted much different too. It wasn't quite world weariness that changed her, like it seemed to do with Eldhi, it was something much more drastic. Still, she was here to do a job, not babysit or socialize. She was about to say something when a man's voice cut her off.

Good. At least one person had seen her request and responded. The man seemed like the shadier sort but the type of job and season tended to attract those types. Just as she was about to reply to him, a very... green Felis interrupted. It was another person who had responded, and was quite helpful given that she just told her the both her name and the name of the person before her. She also seemed to be a bit disturbed, from the little twitches on her face. Well, it was that season anyways and considering the place, everyone here was at least a little disturbed. If she didn't start trying to kill everyone, Stelluna would have no problem with her.

"I am Stelluna. I assume you two are here about the Dark Harvest?"

If they confirmed, she would show them the sketch of the beast and share what little she knew about the creature. Which wasn't much, but some information was better than nothing. She was eager to get out and start hunting, there wasn't much time left but she was also quite sure that part of her party might want to get something to eat or drink before setting off. It wasn't exactly a short journey. She ignored Magi Heart, just because she didn't seem to be involved in the business but wouldn't object to her joining. The beast was attracted to activity rather than scared off by it, more people would lead to an easier time luring it out. And youth wasn't always a sign of inexperience... she would know after all.

 

The returning indifferent stare of Stelluna, yeah that was her name, was fine with Tenebris. If she had shown her a ton of affection and hugs she would have been sick. So yay for that. Tenebris turned as others arrived. First was a hooded guy in green. Wowzers! It was... pfft, adult Peter Pan or something? It looked like him and the Miss Cat Got Her Tongue... had a quest. The Dark Heart was uncertain if she really wanted to be involved in this. Unless it was going to help her spread her special brand of love. What was the point? Did any of them have Prism Shards? If they did, should she care really?

The dark girl sat in a empty seat nearby and put her chin in her hands, making a look of mild interest to see what the quest was, if only so she could make it a fun time for them and herself. It was funny how before, everyone else seemed to be having more fun doing those supposed horrible things, and now they all seemed to be dull and not doing enough. There needs to be more wars and stuff. Those were the best! Lots of grief and people persons to help then!

Oh.... Kewl....

Tenebris raised her head and snickered under her hand as the green haired fleabag, Aria, entered. Wait green? Was this some new dumb fad or something? Fit them though. All three of them look like they needed a wake up call in their own way. At least the Dark Heart could give Aria the credit for one thing... she was obviously distressed with all that twitching! Good she was understanding a bit more how it all worked! Grieve, go for it! Be saved!

"Oooh. Hi Aria❤! You look bothered? Is it because you lost your... pfft, boyfriend?"

The grief addicted girl might actually be liking her, it was really easy to help her out! Look at that stress! She rose from the chair and looked up at her with a innocently cocked head. Tenebris would whisper mischievously into her ear.

"Does the distaste here feel goooood? If you get how dumb this is, maybe we can still be friends❤... 'snicker'."

She turned away from Aria when Stelluna, gasp, actually said something! The Dark Harvest? Gee whiz everyone was doing stuff with that weren't they? Urgh.... stop...having... that kind...of .... fun! She needed to find a way to 'enjoy' this too then, but it won't be in the deluded lame way these noobs did!

"Magi Heart will help you!"

Suffer.

@Stelluna @Stampede @Aria

 

But now come to think of it, if Stampede were to look at her up close, Stelluna would actually be cute if she just either smile or pout. The problem is that she always wore that poker face or acts too formal for her own good. Then again she doesn't look like much of the talkative type either but if this were a hunt for hearts, Stelluna might be his biggest challenge yet.

Speaking of hearts there was this small chested girl who introduced herself as Magi Heart. She looked so happy and excited to be here while others were so wary of this entire place, her smile brightened at the sight of both Stelluna and Aria and would seem to look as if she was enjoying her misery. She was a strange girl with strange tastes but that’s nothing new for him. People at Gungale online have even stranger tastes, some would even use an actual handgun to eat ramen.

On the other end Aria looked quite disturbed at the sight of her party, he knew nothing of her history with either Stelluna or Magi Heart but it seemed the flat chested girl was more closely affiliated with the felis as she mentioned that she lost her boyfriend. Is that true? Well he wouldn’t have receive much news from other players because of the fact that he had spent most of his time in the Adecus forest, creating his own hideouts and setting traps everywhere. In fact he was fixated with that place because it was a massive forest biome, while others would get lost, Stampede wouldn’t as the forest lands were more of a home to him than his actual home in real life.

Plus the loot he has received daily just by having his traps kill npcs and fauna really did him good. A nice way to gather resources and gain enough currency to allow him to sharpen his skills.

As he sat there like a spectator while Magi heart engaged in a conversation with the two of them, he felt as if he stumbled into a party that held grudges against each other. Make no mistake that Stampede hasn’t made enemies out of these three young ladies in front of him but he’d refrain from becoming part of his catfight and stick to the objective at hand.

He would only nod at Stelluna while giving a confused look to aria.

Business comes first as he paid close attention to detail on the creature they were hunting. If that were the case then it be easy to lure it out.

“When do we start?”

 

Thank the Gods that at least one of her party members was a sane individual. "Hi, Stelluna." Aria smiled at her, a smile that practically begged the spearwoman to protect her from the pink-haired psycho and Robin Hood wannabe. "Yeah, I'm here to join along with uhm... well..." She shrugged, sighing heavily, "Let's just get this over with." Her green eyes looked over the... creature.

"Oh..." it looked like a mad alchemist just replaced an armor suit's limbs with blades then brought it to life. Maybe also put in a little circus talents to it. "A... handstanding blade armor... thingy, alright." Aria wasn't sure how her arrows would be useful if that thing was made of metal. Well, she still had her Hunting and Beast Taming talents, they could play a part.

Ugh..." Rolling her eyes at Magi's attempt at ruining her mood, good thing this wasn't the first time met. The Felis had developed an antibody for 'Magi Heart's' emo-plague. "Whatever, kid. He's not my boyfriend." They were just hanging out together and besides, Aria wasn't the type to limit herself to just one partner, I mean, what's wrong with going to cafes and having fun together? She wasn't sleeping with each and every men she found if that's what the girl meant. Kids these days, seriously. "Since when we were friends? Get a grip, girl." The Felis slurred in her stereotypical 'valley girl' accent.

"Help... you'll just be... ugh..." Too bad she wasn't the party leader here or Magi would definitely be out. Stampede... hmm, eh, she could tolerate him to a degree. Speaking about the blonde man, he seemed to tire over all the catfight bullshit and got straight to the point. Good, agreed, enough dallying. "Right, Stelluna, lead the way. Let's get that blade-armor thingy."

@Stelluna
@Magi Heart
@Stampede

 

Stelluna and the group was trying to track down the beast. She wasn't having that much success, given that she was used to tracking more human targets. The leaves often obscured most of the tracks, and even the ones that were found had almost no indication of direction. She could feel that they were on the right path though, if they were actually getting closer? She had no idea. The weather wasn't doing them any favors either, when it rained, most of the tracks would be wiped out.

Honestly, it was a frustrating time. They wouldn't even be able to kill the creature by the end of it, which was something that annoyed her even more than the lack of progress. They were getting nowhere, so she decided to pick out somewhere they could sit on without getting hundreds of whatever diseases the ground or the rain carried. No doubt, sit on the wrong patch of dirt and you start vomiting blood and spewing pus from your eyes. Norfova was a nasty place, and she wanted to get out as soon as the job was done. A cut here would be almost certain death, but she had the foresight to bring a doctor's kit. Not that she could use it all that well but it would be useful if any of them got nicked by the creature's bladed limbs.

"We're getting nowhere with me in front, someone else lead. This isn't my area of expertise."

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So stuff happened. Noobs banded together to go do some quest or something.

After that, Tenebris found herself on the road with the group. Everyone here was totally unfit for each other and that was absolutely fine with the Dark Heart! Conflict brought everyone more grief after all. Why was she herself here now? The monster they were hunting was... really 'cute' and just looking at the picture made the young girl want to see more. It looked really, really super painful to be stabbed by those arms and legs! Also, hunting in general was a good grind so why not? Tenebris still had aspirations to have power. Power needed to properly back up her grief spreading desires. Unlike before, when the act of training and hurting anything was hampered by...well Tenebris was not even sure how to comprehend her previous self anymore. It was so dumb that she did not even care to anymore.

So here she was traveling with these people persons. It took, seriously, maybe a hour? Tenebris did not check but who cares? Leader lady Stelluna gave up pretty quick with her role. Asking for others to take charge.... gee whiz, was this real life right now? Oh yeah it was! Poor lady, she was not enjoying the tainted region at all! It was a very nasty and grief filled place... that was the point though! She needed to support!

"Awww c'mon. You're going to put someone else in charge? Is this place too much for you? Probably too much for all of you noobs. I was scared of this place once, and couldn't even step foot here... buuut! "

She ran ahead of the group and spun around to face them with her hands behind her back and a weird smile on her face.

"Look at this place! Isn't it great ❤!? All this...? It's what this game is about. Especially with Dark Harvest right? Where's your holiday grief?! Hehehe....This land feels so much love... it's heart wrenching❤ !"

Tenebris placed her hands to the rose to her chest and closed her eyes before turning back ahead and walking slower in thought. It was so awesome, Norfova! It was so proving of the grief filled reality that they all lived in. Whether a game or not! Disease, famine, death, it was normal! It was more than normal! Heaven must feel like this too! Soooooo good!

"If you want freedom from grief here... You have to be saved by a hero ❤. Let me know when you want that... I am here to help take you to a better place whenever you're ready! Okies?"

Tenebris looked back at them and made a Magi salute with a murderous smirk. Then she turned away again and said with a strange foreboding that was not audible.

"That's if I wait to save you that is❤....."

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Stampede grew apathetic but was attentive, he did not like norfova even if it has its own forests and acres of trees. He trusted the Adecus forests more than these dreaded woods, it’s almost as if trying to enter someone’s house without having the layout of what it is. Perhaps it was wise for Stelluna to hire hunters as well, give or take, he and Aria were all she’s got as specialized experts of this field. He chugged his box of cigars and lit it up with a match before puffing a smoke. He stayed with the group making sure to watch every corner around the party.

The ground was blight, the autumn forest was eternal, its been nearly half an hour and there was still no sign of the beast they were after. However after the stroll, he decided to speak up at last and started to discuss a few things that should have been asked in the first place.

“I’m not too familiar with the creature nor alone can divine its behavior but I must know a few things. When was the creature’s last attack? Time of day? Conditions perhaps? Did it act upon stimuli caused by the people or was in its nature to come out and hunt for score? I know this sounds a lot but if the thing’s a carnivore then it be easy to lure out, plus if its attack was just recent right before we began this hunt, we may not expect it appearing anytime soon until it feels like it. Perhaps it was disturbed? While it may look like an ideal creature for this… “Festival” I would like more information about it, cause right now the only thing we can go by as far as I know is its appearance, the location and how hostile it is. I doubt that just by having more people to the group will attract it” The point he’s getting at is knowing other possible stimuli that can cause it to come out of its hiding place. Basically they’re on a blind hunt, whether the area is just a mile long or not, it’s not very easy to find.

“If all else fails we’ll have to stick to the classical methods of drawing it out” and that method was using live bait. Using one of the party members as a decoy while the rest would stand by and watch from the shadows. Then pin it down where it stands.

Stamp has paralysis darts on him as a result of his alchemic mastery but it would serve no purpose unless they find a way to draw it out.

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Despite the obviously vitriolic relations between most of the party members, the quest went ahead but the first signs of trouble were already apparent the moment they arrived at the supposed location where the blade-limbed creature was last sighted. Their party leader, Stelluna, decided to relinquish her position, to whom? She didn't make it clear. Oh bother... the most dependable person on the party too. Who else could take the role? She remembered how swimmingly the Gold Dust Quest went with Stampede in charge, while pink-haired Emo-bitch was out of the question, she'd so much as lead them to fall off a cliff for her amusement. That left... only Aria herself.

"..." Could she do it? Sure she was the only one among the four to possess the Hunting mastery, however, she never led a party before, let alone with this kind of 'allies'. "Haa..." Regardless of what she thought, the group needed a leader and with Stelluna resigning her role, someone must replace her. Considering her thoughts so far, no one else was more qualified than her and that was saying something considering she could still be considered a newbie. Okay, she could do this, just try, try and stop worrying damn it!

The green-haired Felis ignored Magi's insane rants and listened to what Stampede had to say instead, taking everything he said. "We don't have much time... and drawing it out is dangerous but we can try." She put up two fingers against her temple, her emerald irises lighting up as the Ranger activated her enhanced Investigation Mode.

Phorcides' Gaze

The world opened up to her, revealing information hidden to the untrained eye. She could see them, highlighted lines etched on the ground as if someone dragged swords on the ground. As if... their limbs were made of one. "There..." Aria walked over to the peculiar tracks, whisking away the brown dead leaves covering it for her non-hunter party members to see. "See it... it's been here recently."

Her glowing eyes traced the tracks, leading deeper into the woods. "Come on... follow me." Thus they went.

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Moments later...

As the party of four ventured deeper into the Norforvan tainted forest, they could hear odd scratching sounds of metal against dirt and wood. Stelluna and Aria would hear them first due to their keener senses as a Yladian and Felis respectively but it grew louder and louder, enabling Magi and Stampede to notice them as well. "..." Aria had mixed feelings about this, on one hand, this was definitely the creature they were looking for while on the other hand, she couldn't see it anywhere despite the noise it made.

Then, out from the darkness, it struck, bladed limbs of bio-metal charging straight at the Yladian Dragoon, aiming to skewer her like shish-kebab!

@Stelluna
@Magi Heart
@Stampede

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Stelluna quickly ducked back as the beast charged at her, blades glistening with whatever taint had built up in the forest. She just barely managed to raise her spear in time to parry the follow up strike before sending a quick bash to its arm. Her weapon bounced off like it was nothing, the beast was covered in hard, metallic chitin. They would need some sort of better fire power to take it down and even more control to do it non lethally. While she knew that the job wouldn't be easy, it got much more complicated considering its hardiness. She didn't really have a plan considering the conflicting reports and stories but knew that it wouldn't be all that easy to bring it down without accidentally breaking something important. After all, despite all appearances, it's blades could function as a brain for all she knew.

Icebreaker

Well, if it was one thing she could do well, it was keep things occupied in a duel. Of course, it wasn't like the beast was sentient but most things could understand a challenge. Upon her declaration, the creature started to attack more viciously and Stelluna could just barely keep up with the barrage of blows. Her luck would run out soon and in the jungle air, she wasn't fancying her chances of making it out without an infection or five. She had a habit of surviving these sort of things though, doubly so when she was prepared. Because of her not being able to go on the offensive, there was little else she could do except continue defending and hope that the others had a plan.

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When the monster with bladed appendages finally attacked. Tenebris covered her mouth with a hand and opened her eyes wide. It was... really... kewl! Those blades did indeedy look painful! Tenebris backed up some as the others would get to work on it surely... they would get cut and bleed and stuff, right? Please? The disturbed magical girl was going to actually get to have fun now? About time! This trip was so bland without anything screaming in agony. Hopefully there will be a lot of that now!

Tenebris lifted her bow in front of her. She pulled a single black arrow perfectly matching the obsidian design. Yet she did not fire. She just watched and enjoyed the painful shocks running up her arms from touching the cursed weapon. Maybe if they suffered enough here... they would wake up and see how good it felt? No way was she going to end this quick. Not when Fleabag had the chance of getting gutted! Ooooh how nice! It would be almost like how Magi 'died'!

"Hehehe...don't die. That goes for you too Mr. Blademan thing❤. Grief needs to be enjoyed in long doses to be at it's best! I'm going to be a heroine❤ now... and let you all heal from this experience!"

Her arrow fired... and passed by Aria's head by a few inches.

"Oopsies! Soooorrrry! *Snicker*"

She pulled another arrow nonchalantly, her eyes slowly becoming more tense and insane as her heart pains accelerated. Battle did this to her all the time. The antagonism and harmful intent. It was something that brought her into a frenzy overtime, sometimes quickly, other times slowly. Always a total blast!
@Stampede @Stelluna @Aria

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When Aria stepped forward and used her investigation ability, she was able to find evidence of its presence here in the forests. Aria would then lead the party off through the forests with stampede preparing non-lethal paralysis bolts. When they found the creature they sought, Stampede went into hiding and concealed himself from the entire scene and watch the battle unfold. That as much as certain, he isn’t the confrontational type man.

It looked just as if it was drawn, engaging Stelluna in quick battle as its pre-emptive strike failed thanks to Aria’s keen senses. He had to fire the paralysis bolt but not at this angle nor risk paralyzing his own team mates. He drew his hookshot and fired upward, dragging himself up to the top of the trees. The angle was perfect, now all that he needs is the shot and the timing of the shot. A single bolt won’t be enough to paralyze it, three would have been good as a start.

“A little more…. “ he was waiting for the creature to press against Stelluna to that certain spot. He prepared the capture net as well, heavy enough to keep it down but the problem is that it might cut through the chains and fiber with those limbs, that is why paralyzing it is priority.

A moment ago, before they encountered their hunt, Stampede gave her a set of arrows, rigged to paralyze targets, a product and result of both his archery skills and alchemy.

“I’ll trust you to use these… you know what to do.”


On one hand, was a ball that would be need to throw up in order to expand into the mentioned net but such cannot be used until the creature was in full paralysis. If he throws that up now it will only tear right through it. Everything would fall to how Aria performs in this hunt, she is the key to the party’s success. He believe in her abilities to grow into the field of hunting, him giving those assets were a testament of that.

Now he’ll see what the cat ranger was truly capable off.

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