No Title Set

There's been an influx of yaoma in King Penguin Park as of late. And rather organized ones at that: lamia-like creatures of dark magic that have been draining late-night passers-by, bums, and your occasional criminal or police officer out on the beat.

Tonight is no different. A teenage couple had been walking through the park, enjoying their time together, looking forward to a lovely date! They stop at the big penguin-shaped slide, talking about the past before a trio of lamia fade into existance. Soon enough, one of them is wrapped up, screaming as his girlfiend is being drained, only to pass out himself!

In the trees nearby, a blue-cloaked figure crouches. A cowl pulled over her face, serpent-like eyes peer down at the youma below. The silent figure spins a single knife in her hand, frowning as she looks over the day's capture. Another day, another /not/ being her targets. Frustration is a dull throb against the ache of not knowing vengeance. The girl in the shadows can only sense the faintest hints of discomfort, but it's enough for the corners of her lips to fall.

For now, she can only wait.

Despite the hour, Rune has thought to go to the park. Her reason is perhaps misguided; "I just think it'd be nice for us to try stargazing here in town together," was the excuse. There was going to be a picnic blanket - and conventional blankets and lights - set up with snacks, too.

Unfortunately, she has forgotten the park tends to be a magnet for trouble. Especially at night. So while there may have been some time to enjoy the original plan, it does not last. Not when a pair of people in the distance are screaming, over by playground equipment. "What was that?!" Jolting to her feet, the princess looks in the direction of the noise...

...and while she can't /clearly/ see what's going on from this far away, it's weird enough that it bears investigation. Not transformed yet, Runealy jogs toward the noise and looks over-shoulder to anyone who has joined her this evening, hoping to see whether they're keeping up.

Hinote Kagari thinks this was a good idea. He had some concerns to air, some information to talk about. Things with Seishi and this Sachiko situation. A nice sit out in the park could be fun to go with that-- sitting with friends in the warm spring evening sounded relaxing. Surely the park can't be trouble city twenty four seven-three six five, right?

...Right?

A yell. Runealy is bolting ahead. He looks around and frowns heavily. Coming along- he runs on ahead to catch up with Runealy as he looks to the others and frowns. "I hope this isn't a monster." he mutters. He has his relic braclet on already though. He's been more accustomed to wearing it recently than keeping it in his pocket.

With all that's been going on recently... well.

That makes more sense.

    Solomon knows what it is like to be a frustrated hunter. Things have settled down for him somewhat, as his duties have demanded that he put aside the matter for now. But somewhere out there is a demon that he very much wants, or needs, to kill.

    But that's not here. Here there are penguins. Real ones in the zoo, and fake decorations in the park. Solomon does not approve of penguins: they seem entirely too silly for his tastes. But he DOES enjoy stargazing, and spending time with his comrades isn't a bad thing.

    "Your optimism is beyond me." Not a scolding, so much as a genuine admission of his lack of comprehension to Hinote. "That was clearly the scream of somebody unexpectedly finding something dreadful and terrifying."

    And so off he goes after/with Rune.

    Stargazing does seem like a fun group activity, especially when everything about the stars on this world are new and different. If any of them are the same ones as seen in the skies above Waldia Valeria certainly can't tell.

    She's just about to sit down and see what snacks are available when the scream is heard. A frown shows on her lips briefly, followed by a look of mild concern as Runealy hops up and rushes off towards what may well be trouble.

    "Tonight may well hold more labor for us than leisure," she comments to her fellow Guardian Knights, hurrying off after Runealy as best she can in her long dress. Unlike the armored boots of her henshin the heeled shoes she wears are not meant for combat or quick movements!

    At least she somehow manages to look refined while only lagging mildly behind her allies, thumb brushing over the old signet ring upon which she made her Oath. With a scream like that she unfortunately has to agree with Solomon's conclusion.

With the Waldians and co. coming onto the scene, they get noticed fairly quickly. The poor girlfriend being energy drained is finally tossed away like a rag doll, her body thudding and rolling before coming to a standstill. The youma turn their scaley selves, hissing as they sense the presence of others. A quick communication between mistress and minions, and they're slithering out towards the gathering group!

The trio of snakes stop, and let out a wild hiss!

"Ahhh, more prey for us tonight! Give ussss your deliciousss energy!"

These snake-kin are merciless, and immediate go for the magical persons gathered.

One snake sucks in a breath, and spits out a horrible glob towards Rune! It sizzles in the air! Another rushes for Solomon, tail lashing out to try to slap him aside! Hinote is met with a snake rushing for him, razor-sharp fingernails trying to cut him apart in a series of slashes! For now, Valeria is left alone due to simple numbers.

The figure in the trees, however, flits from shadow to shadow as the battle begins, trying to get a better look at what prey her little pets have found now. She'll end up behind another tree, not too far away from Valeria, silent as a mouse.

"It might well be one, so we have to find out," Rune calls back to Hinote. She /agrees/, she hopes it's not one, but she silently suspects Solomon is more correct on this. Then it proves to be so. "...Definitely more 'labor'," Runealy opts to go with Valeria's choice of words as she stares at the monsters up ahead.

They just tossed someone... Rune can only hope their victim is still alive. "Prey!? It's a fight...!" That's probably pretty obvious, but she doesn't get a chance to elaborate on the idea as... acid? Venom? Something along those lines is flying at her.

Rune dive-rolls aside from it, crying out in alarm as it sails past! Pushing herself back up, Rune hurriedly looks back to see whether the others are okay or not even as she calls out: "Summoning Princess' Tiara!"

Jeweled headwear appears in one hand, energy-hum emitting from it. "The Line of Succession..." It's passed to her other hand, which brings it to her forehead in the same motion. "Transform!" A flash of red light engulfs Rune, and when it fades she is in magical dress with wand in hand.

"What would you even need energy for? It doesn't help much," she calls out in confusion to the lamia monsters. Well, it doesn't help legitimate ventures; it might be quite handy for /their/ plans.

Unaware of the individual observing them, she focuses on the fight at hand. Wand aimed at the one moving on Sol, she attacks with a trio of thin red beams. No single shot will be particularly powerful, but she's hoping they'll add up and give him a little assistance. "Be careful, everyone! If you've seen anything like these before, now's the time to share what you know!"

Hinote Kagari looks to the others and blinks once, then says with that sly, coy smile. "A boy can hope, can't he?" he asks. Then they come across the sight and---

He follows Runealy's lead in that transformation shortly after! "To protect justice, I am Guardian Hino."

There's a transformation! Armor, sword, cape. He grips the hilt of his sword and begins to walk towards the one with it's claws outstreched---- he meets claw with sword as he swings it out- no words, no warning, just--- if you attack him, you'll getting attached back. He isn't lighting it, or himself, on fire yet it seems at least.

"Don't know what these are about, sorry!" he calls out towards the Princess and the others.

He turns around to see if he needs to lean into the same beast again, or trying to prepare for another one. It's important to keep aware in these things, as best as possible.

If he's seen anything in the trees, he hasn't said anything about it yet.

    Solomon has no issues with Valeria's combat ability, but he finds the idea of high heels to be quite absurd. Really, why all women seem to want to be taller is something he has yet to understand. A person's vision is hardly improved by an extra inch or two - it's not worth wearing miniature stilts for.

    But that is a matter for another time. At the moment, he must take what satisfaction he can from his pessimism proving accurate. "Clearly, you can," Solomon dryly agrees with the other boy, then it is time to transform.

    "To preserve the light - Guardian Sol!"

    His armor and sword shimmer from nothingness into light into solid form around him, ready for use. It is used to parry the lamia's attack, catching and redirecting the majority of the tail's impact to the side. "No," he states in a clear voice, simultaneously verbally denying his attacker and answering his princess in the negative. He had been hoping Hino might know. Regardless, with Runealy using her powers against his own opponent, it's rather easy for him to add a counterattack of his own, swinging the sword down in a cleaving strike.

    As the yaoma come into view Valeria slows to a halt. Each of her allies is attacked but she is not, which gives her time to transform without having to defend herself. "To protect our future, I am Guardian Vale," she announces, holding her hand into the air. Purple magic surrounds and obscures her before flaring brightly and fading, leaving her standing there in her armored dress, sword and shield drawn.

    She moves in quickly towards the lamia that attacked Runealy, shield raised and interposed between it and herself in case it tries to spit whatever awful liquid was in that sizzling glob. She doesn't intend to slow down, either, picking up speed as she nears and trying to slam the shield into it's face before stabbing forward with her sword towards it's serpentine midsection.

    If the creature thinks it can attack her Princess without repercussions it's going to quickly learn otherwise!

Fffzzzzzt! There's the sizzling sound of cooked snake as tiny red laserbeams strike the creature that's going after Sol! "Hisssss! Foolish girl! Your energy is so delicious, we'll drain you into husks!"

Shira in fact chose the less intelligent of youma for her work. She needed /mooks/.

While Sol's attacker is grabbing its forehead, the one going for Hinote as claws and sword cause sparks as they clash! The lamia pushes her bulk forward, and her tail tries to wrap around from behind to attempt to wrap Hinote up!

"Give up boy, and become my prey!"

Sol's own blade catches the first distracted lamia, and she ends up sliced in half! She fades away into magic from the sudden strike!

Rune's attacker ends up pushing against Valeria's shield! Slammed into its face, the creature rises up in its coils, only to get a stab through tis body! The dual-attack causes this lamia too to fade away into nothingness.

Meanwhile, the hidden figure's eyes are wide as plates. Something close to elation courses through her veins as she realizes just /who/ has shown up tonight. The final lamia, seeing her companions slain, drops her attacks and starts to flee! Shira flicks her wrist, and a number of slender knives, glowing with magic appear. Then her slender hand makes a single, deft motion.

The fleeing lamia gets a knife in the back of the skull, dying instantly. One horrible, poisonous dagger is aimed for the backs of each magical person here. And yet, they're all aimed for non-lethal points. Shira doesn't want them dead. Not yet.

"...I really didn't think I'd find you so quickly, Princess. This was just a small gamble. I'm lucky."

Dressed in dark blue, almost black clothing, festooned in daggers and with a cloak covering her in all but her serpent-like eyes, the odd figure practically glows with evil magic.

"Princess Runealy, I am going to enjoy hearing your screams as you and your knights die tonight. For all the suffering you caused..I will have no mercy for any of you."

"Then we'll just have to figure it out real fast!" Runealy's conclusion is simple enough, relieved as Sol follows up on her efforts... and doubly so as Valeria moves ahead to shield her; it's not a role the princess is /happy/ for, but she is grateful for it and appreciates the risk it entails. Especially when these monsters speak of reducing them all to mere 'husks'... something Rune can envision, something that makes her shake a little in worry.

Worry that is briefly alleviated when the fight winds down very quickly. This only lasts for a split-second though, as a knife is heading her way too! "Wha!?" She heard it, and starts to pivot aside...

...but this only turns it into a less precise hit. It digs in low to her, not as on center as Shira meant... but it still goes in, still sends a spark of silvery pain through Runealy's vision, and still has some effect that may not be immediately apparent as it will take time for venom to take hold.

She turns to face the newcomer, trying to figure out who this even is. Recognition fails her, and she shudders at the very basic clues given. "Suffering...?"

There are a few possible conclusions. With knives being used, this might be someone related to the White Flower's followers; one of them used similar weapons, and was out to kill Rune... but as far as the princess knows, her attacker /might/ have died in a later battle. Is that it?

Or perhaps this is a consequence of her attacks on Tokyo's heroes, early on in their time in this massive city. A consequence only now brought to light.

With no true conclusion reached, the Princess opts to put herself in a red 'forcefield bubble', sparkling energy shielding her for now. "What? Who are you!? Why are you attacking us!?"

    Having more substantial armoring than the average Guardian Knight, the dagger aimed for Sol fails to inflict a proper injury - instead wedging itself between one of the joints behind his shoulder. A small nick is the extent of the wound, though that is enough to deliver a hint of the poison. Vale and Hino seem to be doing well enough, so it is time for the tankiest Guardian Knight to move across the field with haste upon hearing the ambusher's words.

    "We have committed crimes, and there is still penance to be made," the boy states in a cold, matter of fact voice that is loud enough to carry across to everyone involved. "But I highly doubt that the Princess herself has done anything to warrant the rage you have." This latter part is aimed more specifically at the attacker, even as he digs out the dagger from behind him and holds it in one hand. He comes to a stop directly between the barriered Princess and the shadowy attacker.

    "Whose death do you believe she is responsible for?" The golden knight does not seem inclined to attack - just speak. And play the part of an extremely thick headed human wall.

Guardian Hino is getting kind of tired of random creatures and people showing up and declaring that Runealy is 'exactly the WORST person'. This happened once before- that strange dead demon girl that was chasing Sachiko. Now this strange girl. Is she someone the Knights hurt in thier energy draining quest? Maybe she knew someone precious to her that they did? That's as best a bet that he can figure, so when the creature insists for him to give up and become her prey- nope, that isn't happening, not as long as he can still draw breath. He lights his sword on fire, finally and leans into the creature on another strike----as that tail comes back for him--it wraps around-- before he can even call out the attack and tugs him down to the ground. Damn!

He attempts to get himself up and then---- sneck. Dagger. Dagger right in the back. Great, that's what he needs. More poison. Posined by nightmares and now.. poisoned by just plain poison. Well. This is pleasent.

Wait no it isn't--- at least as far as all he can figure out is something stabbed him in the back. He swings his sword downwards in an attempt to cut into this beasts tail so he can get free. Right now, getting free is the important part here.

"N-nrg.. another one..." he mutters. "This is getting old. Stop talking cryptically!" he demands as coherently as he can right now.

    Guardian Vale prepares to step back as the evil snakelike creature pushes back against her shield, only to find it unnecessary as her sword thrust seems to be enough to destroy it. A quick glance around shows another quickly dispatched and the final one fleeing into the night. She watches it go and adjusts the grip on her sword, holding it hold it more like a wand, in preparation to attack.

    A second surprise is in store for her as the dagger skillfully lodges in the base of it's neck, killing it outright. Her lavender eyes look perplexed as she half turns to look towards the others, "Hino, Sol, did one of you learn to throw your swo- ghhhhkk!"

    Her words are cut off abruptly as the thrown dagger buries itself into her side, her third and nastiest surprise. A muffled scream of pain follows and she drops to her knees, dropping her sword and reaching over and feeling at the weapon embedded in her with widened eyes, her gauntlets coming back red as she looks at them.

    Gritting her teeth she grabs the hilt of the dagger and pulls it free, very grateful for the protection provided by her henshin. It's only a moment later that the sharp stabbing pain of the wound itself gives way to the burning agony of the poison, the dagger slipping from her grasp and falling to the ground beside her sword. "Careful-" she hisses out, vision blurring, "poison!"

    Effective poison at that, judging by the way she's slumping down rather than recovering and getting back to her feet.

First, the woman narrows her eyes are Rune. "...Are you deaf? My name is Nightshade Serpent."

The venom in those knives burns like fire down one's veins once it starts circulating, making one weak and tired.

Her eyes turn to Solomon, and his scorn only has her tilting her head.

"What do you know? Mmm. Maybe the Princess fed you lies or something. Maybe I should tell you just how many that family's killed. Have you ever looked into their history? Or do you just not care about people like us?"

More knives seem to appear in her hand as she glares at the tankiest Guardian. She flicks them into the air, causing a shower of knives to descend like bolts of really stabby lightning towards him. For now, Rune remains untouched.

Then, she's over to Vale, dissappearing in a flash. A booted foot is aimed for her face, trying to knock her down into the dirt!

"But that all doesn't involve me, I suppose. Simple. Thanks to her, my mother and father are dead."

"Poison? How do you know? Wh..." ...Oh. Vale is collapsing. /That/ would certainly be one good way to know, Rune realizes. And that same sort of attack hit her too; is the princess moments away from similar weakening? This uncertainty on its own is a form of 'damage', hurting her focus in this fight.

Even as her friends defend her, Runealy voices doubt: "No, maybe I did do something. She shouldn't be attacking any of /you/, though!" That much she's firm on; Sol, Hino, and Vale are totally 'in the clear' as far as the princess is concerned.

Then Shira delivers an answer that cuts through Rune far better than any dagger did. Nightshade Serpent speaks of losing family, and this immediately hits an important nerve with the princess. Sympathy mixes with confusion, eyes fluttering wide. "What!? When... how!?" Now she's really lost. For all the things Runealy tears into herself for, all the sharp inner critiques she uses to dismiss herself as inadequate and an unworthy successor to her mother... Rune simply cannot recall doing anything that would cut someone's family apart.

Nonetheless, as their foe tries to make it 'blade rain' upon Sol, Rune lowers her forcefield and takes aim. She tries to shoot an orb at the descending weaponry, one meant to split apart in mid-air to become a spray of magic sparkles... but a sudden wince and hiss come out as the poison finally makes its first pangs known to the princess. "Ahn!?" Her attempt to 'counter-shoot' the knives may still proceed, but even if it does it won't be as effective as normal.

Realizing this same problem may well be affecting some, or /all/, of her friends here is enough to spook Rune into serious caution. "We're leaving! Everyone, just get out of here for now! We'll figure this out later!" Unwilling to risk their lives on poison of unknown strength, she begins to backpedal away from the fight.

Rune isn't outright abandoning them, though. If anyone needs some kind of 'cover fire' to help get to their feet, or get to someone to help them up in turn, she plans to be there to offer that kind of support. She's just working on putting some distance from the fight, intending to leave as soon as everyone else is underway.

Guardian Hino slices through tail---it lets go--- Hinote calls out.. "F--"

"FIRE BRAND!" he calls out as he swings his blazing sword forward into the Lamia and--- well slicing with fire pretty much seems to either kill it OR make it reconsider fighting him further which is good because he managed to fight this things effects juuuuust long enough to get that attack off.

'We're leaving'. There's nothing to save here. The people are drained-- and put to the side. They'll be okay, right? Right. He finds energy drain is just that. Energy drain. They'll wake up.. or.. someone else will come upon them.

Can't always hero the way you want~

He grabs his cape and runs toward's Runealy. Gotta make sure she gets out of here. Escp. if this girl has a chip on her shoulder the size of a small planet out for Runealy like that.

Hinote doesn't belive that accusation of course. They never KILLED anyone heck. The closest they came to that- well. It was /Hino/ that did that. Not Runealy. Right? Right.

"Right, let's get you out of here first, Rune." he mutters lowly.

He's moving sluggish. Yeah. The poison.

Also, yeah he's making sure Vale can get up and run with them, else he'll make a grab for her on the way out if no one else acts. Never leave a friend a behind. Not ever.

    Boy did Nightshade pick the wrong person to say that to. "Me? My parents were scholars in the city, up until they were brutally murdered before my very eyes," he tells her with matching amounts of scorn. He can start to feel the poison burning away in his own back, but it is nothing compared to the anger so easily resurrected by the mention of his family. "The Princess has told me little of her family history - I know more about it than she does, because I spent over a decade RESEARCHING it." Granted, this is largely because it's impossible to trace the history of conflict with demons without tracing the royal family, but it is still things he picked up.

    Unlike the verbal assault, he can't simply deflect the blades. Well, only a couple, mainly those swept aside with his sword or striking at shallow angles off the thicker armor. Yet despite the obvious wounds and grunts of pain, he doesn't go down. Poison and lacerations, these are things that he can endure - for a little while, at least. Hopefully long enough to reach the girl.

    "Whatever you /think/ her family might have done, Runealy herself does not deserve what you aim to deliver."

    Attempts at conversation stall when a poisoned Vale is attacked. "ENOUGH! SOLAR BEAM!" The beam is aimed deliberately to encourage Nightshade to back away from Vale, giving Hinote cover to grab her.

    The poisoned dagger he flings at her, on the other hand? That he flings right at where he expects her to dodge backwards to. Maybe she's immune, but hopefully she just has an antedote with her, which means she'll have to break off to apply it.

    As the venom courses through her body Guardian Vale's hands drop to the ground in order to keep herself from completely collapsing, the mere weight of her body making her poisoned muscles tremble and shake. As Nightshade Serpent accuses the Royal Family of murder she lifts her head.

    "It's true..." she manages to get out from between her still clenched teeth, looking towards the darkly clothed figure. "The Queens of Waldia have killed many." After a brief moment of wincing she finishes her thought, "Many demons, demons that would have killed every family had they had their way." Whether or not these words seem to have any effect she finds a boot swinging towards her face.

    She's in no position to defend herself against teleporting attacks, and the kick hits her hard enough to knock her up and over onto her back, gasping as the impact jars her wound.

    As Runeally calls them off she realizes she's in trouble; she's going to have a hard time keeping up in her condition. Her hand glows with a soft purple light and she presses it to her side over the wound, suffusing it with healing energy. It's helps to mask some of the pain and reduce the shock of the wound, but in reality it's little more than a band-aid; stopping the bleeding and counteracting the poison.

    She stays down, however, quietly hoping their new enemy will be content with stabbing her, poisoning her, and bruising her face and instead focus on more dangerous targets. When Hinote comes for her she with a, "Thank you..!" getting up quickly and suddenly before breaking into a sprint, running as quickly as her legs can carry her before leaping into the air, translucent purple wings appearing and helping her maintain speed while slowly losing altitude.

    It may look like an amazing recovery but she's fleeing as fast as she can; already she can feel the healing magic wearing off, the searing damage of the poison in her veins starting to take back it's hold on her, the red stain on her dress slowly growing larger.

Shira's mouth turns into a line beneath the cloak, as Runealy answers. She goes silent, concentration wavering. How /DARE/ she? How /DARE/ this royal mock her parents and her suffering!?

"Y...You would mock their deaths with feigned ignorance!?" Comes the girl, that deadpan voice finally roaring out in anger.

Thankfully, the lack of concentration makes those knives easier to blast away.

This all gives Hinote a good opportunity to help Rune away!

But it's Solomon that then gets her attention. "Then you know exactly what it feels like. Get out of the way, and maybe I'll let you live. Throw away your title 'Guardian', and I won't have any reason to slay you."

Her eyes narrow. "But history gets written by the winners. Think. What about the people who everyone abandons? Human trash that history never cares about. It's all about your royalists. The rest of us are scum to you."

And then, a beam of light! The massive beam seems to go through her, only for her to reappear atop a tree, Vale freed!

"Can you all really be that ignorant?" She offers to Vale with a sneer.

She pauses, and raises one more dagger for Rune!

Then, her hand falls. She can't do it. Her hand is too tight, her anger too burning. Worst of all? She can see the faces of her parents in her mind.

"Mark my words, Guardians, Princess! This world will know our suffering! Of everyone that you and your family ever crushed beneath their heels! I am your vengeance, come to cut your throats as you sleep!"