Fandom Claymore: Warmongers

[InsaneAsylum]

Act 1: Attitude Adjustment
Location: Western Grimillin
Time: Early Morning
​

In Grimillin, it isn’t uncommon for groups of Yoma to prowl the swamps and forests, feasting upon an unwary traveler. But, it is uncommon for these bands of Yoma to attack a village directly. In the village of Hirin, the people have experienced this only a week ago. Nearly half of the villagers were killed, their corpses left torn open, missing their innards.

The village had had sent out a request for a Claymore not long before the attack had occurred. However, by the time one arrived, the deed had already been done. The Organization believes the Yoma will return to the village to finish what they started. To protect the remaining townsfolk, reinforcements have been sent to Hirin. With little information available about the Yoma pack, the Organization has sent in the 'expendable' warriors.

——————————

The sun had begun to rise, giving the village an orange morning glow. There was a gentle breeze, helping the air stay cool and comfortable. At the village entrance, leaning against the stone archway, was a man dressed in all black robes that covered him from head to toe, revealing only his dark lifeless eyes. He was waiting for the Claymore so he could lead them to the meeting place, the food storage shed. The shed was nearly empty. A long winter had taken its toll on the village’s storage, and being early spring, not enough had been grown or hunted yet to have excess.

When each Claymore arrived, they would be escorted by the dark robed man to the storage shed, where they would enter to find whoever had already arrived. The first Claymore there, however, was a tall woman with brown skin and white hair. She looked strong, and perhaps slightly intimidating, but had a welcoming air about her. She didn’t speak as each warrior entered. She only looked at them and gave a slight nod and a smile. When everyone finally arrived, she rose to her feet and began the briefing.

“Good morning, warriors. I hope your journey here didn’t cause you too much trouble. I am #30, Melody. You can all introduce yourselves to one another once I’m done with the briefing,” Melody spoke, her was voice low, smooth, and unwavering. The woman was comfortable in front of others, and confident enough to speak to and give commands to strangers.

“When I first arrived here, many corpses were strewn across the village. The Yoma group we are here to eliminate had already attacked the village. Now only about half the villagers remain. The Organization thinks that the Yoma will strike again soon. We don’t know how many Yoma we’re dealing with, so forming a strategy will be difficult. I’d like to hear your name, rank, and your specialties so we can form a proper strategy to handle things.”

As she finished speaking, Melody‘s gaze bounced from one warrior to the next, waiting to see who would speak up first. This wasn’t the first time Melody had worked with a group of Claymore, but this was the first time she didn’t recognize any of her comrades. Hopefully they didn’t mind her taking charge, since there was a chance they may be of a higher ranking than her. First impressions were important.

 

[MocaPoka]

Number 39
​

“What a nice day.” A small figure wearing the infamous armor of the dreaded silver-eyed witches said to herself happily. Few would believe the short woman currently smiling and humming a happy tune was a half-breed monster capable of slaying creatures they could scarcely imagine. However, after a few double takes, any human would recognize this was truly one of the dreaded Claymore, and not some poor blonde village girl carrying out the punishment for some lost bet. The blonde hair, large silver eyes, and fearsome sword practically the same size as the one carrying it, was enough proof to keep most away on her travels. Currently she was enjoying a lovely, peaceful, and isolated morning of walking while headed to her newest assignment in the village of Hirin.

She had been told a band of Yoma had attack the village directly and openly, a rare event. A group of Warriors was to be assembled and slay the creatures on their next attack against the village. She was surprised when her Handler had told her about the gathering and her participation. She was a new and low ranked number, and this seemed a rather rare and important mission. Perhaps they intended to have her gain more experience with her higher ranked sisters? She would likely be one of the lowest numbers there, but that was quite alright. It would be nice to be around her Sisters again for a little while. Her only interactions for quite a while now was with her Handler. On rare occasion brave curious humans too... those interactions were always a terrible struggle.

The small Warrior stopped her happy tune as the village came into sight, her smile fading and giving a heavy sigh. Hopefully the people in the village would be too concerned about the large number of Claymore stalking their village, and the next impending Yoma attack to be interested in talking with her. At the village entrance the morning sun revealed a black cloaked man, obviously with the Organization. The Warrior followed the man into a storage shed where two figures were already waiting inside. One Warrior was brown skinned and white haired. She gave off a strong presence and the newest arrival couldn't help admire the Warrior; she was almost like a burning fireplace. Warm and comforting, but strong enough so that a grateful family would know that the flames wouldn't dim or cool in the impeding winter.

The smaller Warrior returned the smile and nod from the much larger one, and continued walking inside. She stopped and took a single step back at the sight of the other Warrior. He was a He! Worst his hair was dark and eyes barely silver. A mud head... a failed creation... practically a human. She remembered the stories about failed experiments and male Warriors from her training days in End Land... she had never put much stock in them. Everyone had made up stories and tales to pass the time there with each other... it seems some were in fact true.

The smallest Claymore retreated to the opening threshold of the shed. Putting the tallest Warrior between herself and the male mud head. He barely even had a Yoki and it was nearly impossible to tell him apart from another human by his scent. His modified outfit, sword, and barely noticeable Warrior traits were not enough to put her mind at ease. She hoped he wouldn't interact or get too close to her.

After the other Warriors had gather the now know number 30 made her introduction and briefing. She seemed a good leader and the smallest Claymore hoped no number in the group was higher than 30, as she smiled up at the charismatic woman. The male mud head gave his introduction, taking the floor with embellishment. He came off as cocking to her considering his ranking, situation, and reliance on a single ability “making up for all that.” She was only surprised he wasn't ranked number 47. It was likely because of the paralysis ability; it would be undeniably useful, especially in a group battle.

Once he was finished she took a hesitant step forward and took a deep calming breath, pretending the mud head wasn't in the room and spoke directly to number 30. “Good morning I am number 39, Asteria. Defensive type. I am weaker strength wise compared to most Warriors near my ranking. My speed is decent. My Yoki perception, control, and swordsmanship are slightly above average for my ranking. However I do have a sword style and Yoki technique I have been p-praised for... Uhh... Hazy Sword it's called. I j-just get better defensively. I've never had anything hit me when I'm using the Hazy Sword. But I can only do it for around thirty seconds at a time. A minute if a truly push myself, but after that I risk reaching my limit without resting first.”

After her introduction number 39 took a step back into place, happy that her speech was finished.

Syvvaris Sir Les Paul InsaneAsylum

 

[Syvvaris]

A happy tune passed through Alexandria's thin lips while her hands held the leather reigns of an old donkey. She was riding an old man and woman's cart she helped fix on her way to Hirin. The old man, Tanner, was kind enough to allow her to ride with him to Hirin; and he was even kinder to teach her how to drive the cart. "I'm really glad you let me hitchhike. My sword is really heavy." She said with a bright smile and a head tilt to the kind old man. He gave her a soft smile and for the rest of their trip they talked about his life and how he met his wife.

When they were on the border of Hirin, the old man took the reigns back. Alexandria pulled out a small block of wood that she tended to keep on her. Though their ride to the old man's inteded location took only twenty minutes, Alexandria had whittled the small wood into a small idol of a donkey. "In my village, the I saw a bunch of farmers with these idols in there houses when my parents and I went to fix their wagons. For your kindness, I wish for you to have this." She presented the old man the idol and he gave her a heartfelt thank you.

Alexandria tried her best not to wonder off in the crowd of the small village. There were many people out and about, and many things she wanted to ask them. However, she could see how the people tried to avoid eye contact with her. The children pointed and show interest in her, but were quickly ushered away from her by their parents. She didn't mind today, since she needed to get to the meeting spot.

It took a while for her to find the spot, where the man in black ignored her dozen or so questions about himself. She was led to a small shed that needed a lot of work, especially the roof. It would need repair or replacement after the next winter comes around. When she entered into the small shack and saw the small and quaint inside; she noticed the strong independant woman in the back. There were to other people, a young small woman who looked more like a child than a claymore. Then there was the butler of the shack, no he wielded a claymore but didn't have any of the traits of typical claymore!

There was a silence in the shack that Alexandria could cut with one of her five dirk-like throwing daggers that were strapped to the small of her back. She drifted towards the dark haired male and sat in front of him. Her hands clapsed in her lap, a soft smile with an inquisitive look in her eyes. She didn't want to break the silence so she sat there, smiling at him. It wasn't long before the independant one stood up and introduced herself as number 30, Melody. Her stature seemed strong, her voice filled with confidence and kindness. Alexandria didn't meet many Claymores who exuded such qualities and almost forgot about the abnormality in the room.

Melody wanted each of the Claymores in the room to introduce themselves and without proper manners the man stood up in the room. His name was Somnus and when he mentioned his rank her head tilted. He was stronger than her? It must have been because of his yoki technique called 'Somnolence' and his ability to help others heal faster. Though he did admit to the others that he was not much in the physical realm. Though there was not a whole lot more to him, but after he sat down the small woman stood up. She was Asteria and ranked 39, and even though she looked small she must be powerful! She explained her cool technique called Hazy Sword. It seemed that she was similar to herself, focusing more on sword technique and physical attributes.

Asteria seemed shy but ended her speech without answering half of Alexandria's never asked questions. She guessed the girl was shy, but it was her turn to introduce herself. She stood up and went to the center of the shack. "Hello, I am Alexandria Seras Schneider. A poor girl from a carpentry background. That's why I carry these extra five blades." She introduced herself and grabbed two of her dirks and spun them in her fingers flawlessly. "Unlike Asteria and Somnus. I do not have any special techniques, I just throw knives and I'm really good with my sword. Though they're not the only things I use when I fight. Fists, feet, carts, trees, rocks, and anything I can get my hands on." She explained and with a quick flash of her hands, the dirks flew towards the two claymores that had just introduced themselves. Purposefully missing each by a mere inch and embedded into the wall. "Oh, and I'm ranked number 44." She gave an arrogant smile and looked directly at the male.

She walked over to Asteria and leaned over her to grab the dirk in the wall, "We should duel sometime, cutie." She whispered to her and walked over towards Somnus. "We should talk later, m'kay?" She whispered to him before sitting down.

Sir Les Paul InsaneAsylum MocaPoka

 

[InsaneAsylum]

Melody
#30​

Melody listened intently as each of the Claymore spoke, her eyes gazing into their intently as they spoke, before examinating the rest of their features.

They all seemed flimsy, and not exactly fitting the bill of what a Claymore should strive to be mentally. Oddly enough, they didn’t seem to lack ability from what Melody could tell from their Yoki. Unfortunately, their ranks didn’t say much for their abilities. Today was sure to test their abilities, either way.

The small girl seemed far too hesitant and spineless to have survived past training. Her hazy sword technique must be quite a technique to keep her alive. She was cute, but cuteness didn’t keep your bones from breaking.

The other girl, who seemed all too happy to be alive, was fond of these silly little knives. The fact that the organization even allowed her to use them was beyond her. Whatever the case was, she seemed capable enough to hold her own for now. She didn’t quite catch what she was whispering to the others, but she found it odd, sonce she had just thrown a blade at them.

The male on the other hand, made her worry, she didn’t want to worry about this boy who stated he was subpar in everything but this somno-something ability. Melody didn’t doubt his skill would be useful, but she didn’t want to have to worry about putting one more Yoma down if he began to awaken. The organization had better have a good reason for letting him exist. It wouldn’t be the first time she had to help put down an awakening comrade.

Despite it being a smaller group than Melody had expected, it would have to suffice. Even with her less than acceptable Yoki Perception, Melody could sense several Yoma beginning to approach the outskirts of the village. They were making no attempt to mask their presence by how easy it was to sense them. It was time to wrap up the meeting with the plan.

“Ah, so we have two defense oriented warriors with us today. I myself am a defensive type, but I will be playing a more aggressive role. Alexandria and I shall each cover half of the village, engaging and eliminating each Yoma that comes swiftly and efficiently. We can’t afford to allow too many inside the village at one time. If we slay enough of them, then they should retreat if the monsters have any sense. Of course, Aria and the boy will have a use as well. You’ll cover my and Alexandria’s back as we fight, and pick off the Yoma we fail to slay. If even one Yoma manages to slip by unnoticed, that could mean the death of several humans. Do you all understand? There is no room for error here. You must give your all to keep these helpless people safe and alive,” Melody stated, finally finishing her battle plan. It was rough and basic, but fortunately the village was small enough for it to work with their numbers. There were only about eight buildings that had to be covered.

Melody stood up, inhaling deeply. “Now, as you can see, our enemies have arrived. Let us take our positions. Alexandria and I will take to the rooftops. Aria and the boy will stay on the ground and provide support where needed. Good luck.”

Melody strode to the shed door, pushing it open. She then leapt atop the storage shed, whose roof, groaned dangerously, before leaping atop one of the taller buildings. From there, she had a great view of the grassy area surrounding the village Surrounding that grassy area was a thick grouping of trees, makig for a great hiding spot. A gentle breeze swam across her face. There were at least ten Yoma surrounding the village now, hiding within the surrounding treeline, but they hadn’t made a move yet. What were they waiting for? Hopefully the others found her plan acceptable. It was made quite swiftly, and she had never seen them all fight yet. As long as they could all kill Yoma without much trouble, this mission would be a breeze. Even so, something about the situation seemed off.

Villagers peeked from their windows at the Claymore, or peered from part opened doors. They were completely aware of what was about to happen, but they still risked exposing themselves to take a peek at the action. Whatever their goal was, Melody didn’t care. A simple stone wall or wooden door wouldn’t protect them from a Yoma. Poor helpless vermin.

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Claymore #42​

Somnus​

ACT I​

Location Western Grimlin, Hirin
Time Early Morning
Tags InsaneAsylum MocaPoka Syvvaris

Melody wasn't the only one to sense the Yoma approaching. Somnus felt their approach as well and would have spoke up had she not in time. Their numbers were eerie. Two. Four. Eight. Before he knew it, there were a dozen or more Yoma presences around them and the number kept growing. Most Yoma were unpredictable. Wild, even. These were still. In the mind of Somnus, this meant one thing: they had a leader. A roaming pack of Yoma were just viscous beasts until a stronger one became their alpha. This was a worrisome thought. If Somnolence didn't work, he truly was nothing but a support for these three women. That was never a pleasant feeling.

He was pleased with this placement, though. The girl with the Hazy Sword Technique likely meant he could learn more about it, analyze it, and perhaps learn to either assist her with it or utilize it. It all depended on how things proceeded past this point. He had seen several techniques already, but most of them were used by high-ranking Claymore. He needed considerably less complex techniques that utilized far less power to develop his own skills. Alexandria and her knives were totally uninteresting and Melody didn't entirely embellish on what she could do. Regardless, they were part of his team, and his first action here was to lock onto their unique Yoma signatures. Each one of them were preparing for this upcoming conflict and he could sense their Yoki spiking. It was the perfect time to memorize the energy of his new comrades.

"Asteria," Somnus said, approaching her quickly. The situation was getting intense quick, so whatever he had to say, he made it just as quick. "My focus will be the villagers. I can project Somnolence in an area about the size of two of these sheds. I'm going to keep far enough back to prevent any Yoma from getting through but close enough that you'll be near my aura. Villagers aren't normally scared of me, so I may be able to corral anyone in danger under Somnolence," he explained to her, breaking down his intentions on as to following Melody's plan. He was planning to be the last safety net for the group as well as back-up if anyone needed it. If anything, he knew his role.

With that came the activation of Somnolence. His still Yoki burned like a fire for a short moment... before it sent out a wave of cold silence. Like a cold winter breeze on a bare backbone, it was means for a deep shiver. This was the first time since meeting the three of them that his Yoki even remotely felt like that of a normal Claymore, but that was a far stretch. If a Yoki was akin to a spark, his was refined like a jetstream instead of a flickering flame. He was in absolute control.

With his ability active came another slight shift in attitude. He darted past Asteria straight to Melody and his silvery-blue eyes locked onto her for a moment. "Villagers are priority, but what if there's a bigger threat? Do we stick to the plan or do we group up to fight it?" he asked her, standing some ways off and behind her while she was atop the roof. His tone was entirely unlike the one he used with Asteria. This one was more demanding. If Melody was going to be their impromptu leader or even rightfully so due to rank, he wanted this answer. Something he couldn't use Somnolence on was effectively the worst case scenario for him and he wanted the plan if that scenario occurred. Lives would be lost regardless, so they needed to focus on winning the fight. This is when he demanded, if anything, Melody truly be his leader.

 

[MocaPoka]

#39 Asteria
​

Asteria's eyes widened as the dirk flew past her cheek. Taken more by surprised that a Warrior would use or even be allowed to use such small weapons. The thrower of the weapons revealed themselves to be #44 and walked towards her saying they should duel sometime... she also called her cutie. Asteria sighed at the challenge, #44 likely wanted to improve her own ranking and was aiming to claim her rank of #39. She gave an even greater sigh at the undying nickname... it had followed her outside of End Land it seemed.

#30 outlined her plan as Asteria felt a dozen or so Yoma approach the village. She blushed at Melody's nickname for her; she had only ever been called Aestria, #39, cutie or shorty before... never Aria. After receiving their orders #30 took off onto the roof tops in order to serve as the first line of engagement. Asteria worried that the plan seemed a little to simple, however she didn't raise any objections or concerns.... it wasn't her place to. #39 moved to leave the shack when the male mud head... spoke to her. She truly didn't wish to work with him, regardless of his ability. She gave a simple, stiff, mute nod at his words and continued walking, eager to just focus on the approaching Yoma. The male Warrior's Yoki suddenly changed, stronger but eerie and cold. She turned to look back at the male, but he darted past her towards #30.

#39 walked to the center of the village choosing to stand “guard” of the building with the most humans inside. She was confused at #30's efforts to protect the humans. Most Warriors barely payed them any mind; treating most like an annoying rodent or bug. Asteria told herself she wasn't guarding the building because she was concerned about the humans inside; she was simply reasoning the larger number would make the most enticing targets for the creatures. Asteria closed her eyes, partially so she could ignore the stares from the “hiding” villagers, but mostly so she could better focus on the locations of the Yoma. She pulled back her Yoki, not in an attempted to hide herself from the Yoma, but to make herself seem weaker than the other Warriors. She wanted the building with the most humans, guarded by the weakest Warrior, to be seen as the best target for the flesh eating beasts.

Asteria drew her blade; the moment four or more of the Yoma entered the area she would flood the surroundings with Yoki mist. If only two or three of the creatures came she would deal with them without wasting her Yoki. If Melody was worried about any villagers outside Asteria's chosen building she would have to rely on the male Warrior. He seemed concerned for them, likely because he practically was one. #39 wouldn't leave her post for the sake of a single human, and as far as she was concerned, if protecting the humans was apart of the mission, then defending everything defended nothing. If the Yoma took the bait, then this building and it's immediate surrounding area would be the most important thing to defend.

Syvvaris Sir Les Paul InsaneAsylum

 

[Syvvaris]

Shortly after her flashy introduction, the leader Melody, began briefing her plan. It seemed Alexandria was the only offensive type, even though she was the only one without a special technique. Melody wanted to split up the party with herself and Alexandria as the two focal points. Alexandria ignored the lack of interest in her, but enjoyed seeing the sub-human try and talk to Asteria about his yoki technique and pester Melody. It was amusing to watch someone try so hard to fit in, when he should know the discrimination then entire organization will aim at him.

Everyone had left the shack before Alexandria left and mirrored Melody by jumping onto the nearest buildings roof. In the shack she hadn't felt any Yoma presences, but she now felt the faint presence of them. Honestly, her perception of yoki was awful. She only relied on it to sense a yoma sneaking up behind her or their location in close proximity on the battlefield. Otherwise her quick reflexes and additional weapons kept her from being blindsided.

The claymore sang a quiet tune as it was pulled from its holster and stopped once Alexandria rested it on her shoulder. She could only sense two... maybe three Yoma in front of her, but from her vantage point she would see others emerge from the treeline should these wild beast try to hunt in a pack. Though it seemed that they were not acting on their own accord, since one of them surely would have attacked them by now; the beasts were waiting on something.

"Yooo whoooooo! Yoma dears! Can you come out now? I'm going to die of boredom!" Alexandria yelled out into the forest, hoping to rile one of the beasts up.

Sir Les Paul InsaneAsylum MocaPoka

 

[InsaneAsylum]

Melody
#30​

“It’s simple. We take down the Yoma as they come. Should whatever it is your talking about show itself, then we will deal with it when it becomes a threat.”

Some of the Yoma began to approach, slowly increasing their speed as they charged. The first wave let out an ear piercing bsttle cry, polluting the sir with their screeches. Their golden eyes, darted around, looking for a Claymore to tear apart so they could focus on the meal hiding within the buildings.

“Focus on the task in front of you and get back to you position. Many other warriors wouldn’t take your tone of voice so lightly.”

With that said, Melody dashed forward to intercept the Yoma coming her way. She couldn’t dwell on the boy’s worries. Just handling all of these Yoma would be tough enough on its own. If she allowed herself to get caught up in what might happen, she might fail to keep these damned humans safe.

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Claymore #42​

Somnus​

ACT I​

Location Western Grimlin, Hirin
Time Early Morning
Tags InsaneAsylum MocaPoka Syvvaris

“It’s simple. We take down the Yoma as they come. Should whatever it is your talking about show itself, then we will deal with it when it becomes a threat.”​

...'that's not a plan' was his first thought. That was rolling with the punches. There was no real contingency in place. As it appeared, Melody set up the lines of defense with a simple hope it would work. Somnus was unimpressed, to put it mildly. Perhaps it was attributed to the incredibly short debriefing time they had. Or, perhaps, it was more in line with their universally low ranks. In any case, it left a sour taste in his mouth and absolutely no real faith in Melody as their leader.

“Focus on the task in front of you and get back to you position. Many other warriors wouldn’t take your tone of voice so lightly.”​

This statement was one Somnus took more issue with. To rebuke him after a valid question even more so after giving such a diluted response. He watched as she clashed with a Yoma. The only thing she was right about in this instance was that there was a battle coming, regardless of how ill-prepared they were for it. He had a snide remark loaded for her. A reply along the lines of 'most decent warriors would have had a better answer', but he saved it. This was neither the time nor place.

As far back as he was, Somnus still had the advantage of distance on the encroaching Yoma. Still sour, Somnus darted back to his position on the ground away from Asteria guarding one of the buildings. Somnus stood directly out in the open, still underneath the buildings Melody stood on but within the range of a few more--just in case. He could tell by sensing alone that a good half of the Yoma directed their attention to the Claymore on rooftop. What he did, however, was make himself a target. A dark-haired male on the ground? Unless the Yoma could sense his Yoki spike from a distance, most of them likely saw him as nothing more than a snack in steel armor.

Asteria had a good, albeit morally questionable, idea in using bait. Without really intending to, Somnus made that idea come to fruition as four rabid Yoma darted through the alleys at him. A good six or seven were about to preoccupy the women in the front line. These four were faster stragglers getting through. This is where positioning came into place. While it may have seemed semi-suicidal to place himself out in the open, what it also did was utilize the fullest range of Somnolence. He was a target, sure, but once the Yoma got close enough to pounce, they froze in spot. No tremors. No muscle twitches. Not even the faintest flicker in their eye. Four flanked him from the alleys nearest Melody and Alexandria, but it didn't matter when they couldn't move.

He could sense two outside of his range taking the long way around. They were aiming for stray villagers, seemingly scavengers or just ravenous for entrails. Those two, Somnus could do nothing about; and likely, the two atop the rooftop couldn't either. Somnus drew his sword from his back for the first time, wielding it in both hands. It was slightly more slender than the average sword used by a Claymore: a request he made to emphasize speed and precision over raw force. He looked back to Asteria, not knowing if she was paying him any attention. Her closed eyes indicated such. As he recalled, she stated her sensory skills were decent. Telling her about what he sensed seemed like a redundant task.

Instead, he made the first move. The first bloodshed of the encounter, really. He darted off to the furthest Yoma from the pack of four and cut it straight down, cleaving directly through its torso with a downward, diagonal swing. Even when cut apart, the Yoma remained frozen for a few moments until the life, and Yoki, drained out of its body alongside the blood that spilled into the ground and sprayed into the air. With this, the circle of Yoma shrank, and he could move on to the next one. At the very least, he proved the capabilities of Somnolence--and his ability to hit a stationary target.

 

[MocaPoka]

#39 Asteria
​

Asteria felt the flow of Yoki swirl in ravenous rage around the invading Yoma. The bulk attacking #30 and #44. Two Yoma circled around the Warriors and were on the outer edges of the village, likely searching for easy prey. Four Yoma darted past the line held by #30 and #44 and surrounded the male Warrior, however they froze in place when his Yoki hit them. She opened her eyes, and seeing the affects against the Yoma, Asteria decided the mud head had value... however his swordsmanship was atrocious. Slow, wasted movements, and awkward swings. Luckily frozen targets didn't require much technique. Regardless three Warriors were attacking now, and the Yoma surely didn't stand a chance against numbers 30, 44, or even 42.

Not wanting to be seen as a “bad” Warrior for not doing anything of value during the battle, #39 took off for the two Yoma searching for easy prey. Their Yoki was easy to follow and track; moving inhumanly fast through the small village she quickly spotted the first Yoma. It had just broken through the flimsy wooden door of a home echoing with the wailing cries of the humans inside. Excited and distracted with the feast before its eyes the monster didn't even turn it's head towards the Claymore as she swiftly severed it from its body. The severed head fell and rolled into the broken household, the body stood frozen for a few moments before it toppled and fell on its back. Asetrai was forced to a hop back a few feet to avoid being crushed by the monstrous body.

A roar echoed behind her and the smaller Warrior would have been sent flying from the hidden Yoma's claws if she hadn't know it's location before hand. As small as she was, she barely had to duck underneath the swinging limb. Twirling to face the monster, she swung her sword at the outstretched limb, severing it easily with the combined force of her own movement and the beast's own. The limb went flying into the air and the Yoma howled in pain before it was silenced by another twisting twirl from the small Warrior. A flash of steel from the swinging sword and soon another head fell to the ground.

As the Yoma's body fell, Aestria stepped out of its timbering descent and closed her eyes to sense the Yoki of the remaining Yoma and fellow Warriors. She focused on trying to understand the current situation and placement of the battle... and not on the crying and whimpering from the humans inside their broken home.

InsaneAsylum Syvvaris Sir Les Paul

 

[Syvvaris]

A small hoard of hideous monsters charged out of the treeline towards the village. The high pitch shriek of the pack displeased Alexandria and with a flip of her wrist the battle cry ceased for one of the beast. One of her dirks had traveld the distance between Alexandria and the closest to her and lodged itself in it's throat. It fell to the ground and writhed in pain from the sudden long range attack from the traditional melee warriors. The other Yoma paid no heed towards the fallen yoma and continued to charge.

The roof of the building Alexandria shuddered from a powerful leap towards the monsters. She didn't miss a step and landed in her own charge towards the hoard. Afterall, it would be safer for the village to fight them out in the open instead of the village itself. Her sword was still held on her shoulders during her charge, and the lead Yoma changed it's charged towards her. With it only twenty feet in front of her, Alexandria picked up the pace to a full sprint and sliped on of her dirks out of the sheath and flicked the blade into it's chest. The beast didn't have a chance to react accordingly besides a slight hesitation from the sudden attack. Her sword left her shoulders and rotated away from her back and in a tight arc around herself and seperated the hesitant beast's torso and legs in a fell swoop. The soft sound of metal passing through flesh pleased Alexandria, but did not let her sword thirst for long. Alexandria swung her sword the opposite way and severed the beast's head from it's shoulder.

This Yoma death will be the first of many to fall to Alexandria. She pulled the dirk from the still falling body and braced for the attack that came before the head of the deceased yoma had hit the ground. A set of claws raked across her claymore, and instead of challenging the beasts strength with only one hand on her claymore. Alexandria parried the hands away towards her opposing side with the dirk and cut deeply into the soft tissue of the Yoma's arm. It's arm hung by small strands of muscle fiber after an additional three slashes is quick cessation of the first. She stepped past the monster and drew her sword straight back and pushed it towards its spine. The large tip of the sword pierced the monster, yet she instinctive threw the dirk in the opposite way. Two beasts screeched in pain almost in tandum. Though her yoki perception is sub par, she knew her immediate surroundings and knew the first yoma to have a taste of her blades had attempted a sneak attack on her. This time her blade hand lodged in its snout. Sadly dirk's weren't long enough to pierce its skull from that angle. Alexandria twisted the claymore still inside the Yoma's body, pulled the blade out and swung at the other yoma's legs. One of it's legs was cleanly severed and the other received a large gash. With two hands on her claymore, Alexandria changed targets and cleaved the previous yoma in upper and lower halves. She carried the momentum into a spin, and changed the direction into a vertical seperation of the other Yoma.

"Oooooh god... yes." Alexandria exhaled in excitement from the battle. Her yellow beast eyes gazed over the plains and saw six had ignored her and went to the village. The thought of going after them tempted her, but the male warrior was in most of their paths. If he was of higher rank than her, he should be able to take care of them. After all, six of these lowly beasts were easy for her to slay and it should be easy for him. However, from the opposite direction a straggler had emerged from the treeline and headed towards the village. "Good." She whispered to herself and ran after it.

InsaneAsylum MocaPoka Sir Les Paul

 

[Ganryu]

#37, Amelia, the Scorpion​

From the swamp, about three of the Yoma seemed hesitant to join the fight. Seeing a group of claymore was more a detriment to them than anything else. They seemed less hesitant as one lost its head from behind, and a claymore walked out of the swamp, getting her feet stuck inside the muck.

"Yeck, getting muck in my boots really offsets my day. Hey, how's it going?" She waved merrily to the other two yoma. Angrily one turned to with a swipe of its claws. Despite the earlier beheading, the young claymore had difficulty keeping up with the claw attacks, being forced to take a step back, her boots making a 'plop' sound as they pulled up from the ground to take the step back. She seemed to have difficulty moving as well. The barrage of swipes didn't let up, occasionally scratching the girl. The wounds, while minor, didn't heal right way, identifying her type: Offensive. She still couldn't keep up with a single yoma, however.

The other yoma, noting her difficulty, began to strife behind her. Its large frame let it move much easier through the muck. It managed to get behind her.

"Not very smart, Claymore!"

The first yoma pressed down its claws, locking the girl's claymore in place. The second raised its claws up to finish her off from behind. An unnatural smirk came from the claymore, and she opened her eyes wide; they were yellow, and her teeth had become monstrous.

A splatter of blood coated the water, with the sound of a body hitting the floor. The claymore still faced the first yoma, with the yoma behind having a hole straight through its eye socket. The claymores hair was covered in blood, with it dripping from a small knife.

"Do you know how long I'm going to have to wait to get new boots? And the organization frowns on me requesting shampoo, as it's not necessary for survival. I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

The yoma hesitated, despite still winning the strength contest. That hesitation was all the time the claymore needed to slap its arms out the way and deliver a one-handed slash to its torso.

It backed away, still very much alive from the weak slash. Looking around, it started to bolt through the swamp, heavy plops signifying its path.

"Come on, I suck at sensing yoki if I don't kill you now, when am I ever going to add your life to my collection?"

Drawing her sword back, she threw it at the yoma, piercing its leg and causing it to fall into the murk. With a groan, she unstuck her boot from the muck again, leaping at the yoma. It started to stand again, before a claymore landed on its head, smashing its head back under the water. Grabbing her claymore, she took heavy breathes as she started to calm herself, repressing the yoki energy even as the yoma flailed under her foot. Her face was back to normal by about the time the yoma went stiff. Trying again to flick the muck out of her boot, she began the walk back towards the village.

She passed closest to Asteria, leaning against a fence like it was a break time, letting her claymore rest as well. Despite her calm appearance, she was panting.

" 'sup? So, just so I know, how much of a fit you figure the leader here's going to throw that I didn't show up at the meeting? Who is the leader anyway? Kinda want to know how I should watch out for. Hope it's not you, that would be embarrassing. How about a present?"

The claymore reached to her hair and plucked out a hairpin from a portion that wasn't tied into a braid, which wasn't much. She attached the blood-soaked ornament to the other claymore's hair.

"Oh, I'm Amelia by the way. I'd give my numbers, but those are always annoying. Well, break time's over I guess."

Amelia grabbed her claymore and headed off. Amelia sucked at finding Yoma, so any that were visible were priority targets. Stopping, she turned to Asteria again.

"So... I kinda suck at finding Yoma. Could you, uh... point me to the right direction?"

 

[MocaPoka]

#39 Asteria
​

As Asteria focused her Yoki perception on the surrounding area, she felt new flows of Yoki from four entities. Three Yoma and a new Warrior. She was worried as the Warrior seemed to be struggling in a drawn out conflict between two of the Yoma after slaying the first. She wasn't sure what had happened, but a quick spike in the Warrior's Yoki had turned the conflict in their favor. As the new Warrior headed towards Asteria's direction she decided to wait to meet the new arrival and explain the situation.

#39's eyes widened slightly at the sight of the Warrior, she had her hair in a long bloody braid. While it certainly wasn't strange for a Claymore to be soaked in Yoma blood on occasion, the fact that this Warrior's hair was literally dripping with it was unusual. The new Warrior was panting and covered in small cuts on her outfit, luckily they seemed mostly healed already. The Warrior casually leaned against a fence, in great contrasted to their hazard appearance and heavy breathing. Asteria was then suddenly bombarded with the braided haired Warrior's introduction, questions, and gift.

“Ahh... t-thank you!” She stuttered, taken completely off guard. She hadn't been given a “present” since she was a little girl. She softly touched the hairpin in slight wonderment... it was bloody. She decided she didn't mind too much. “Oh... um, I'm Asteria... uh break time?” The strange Warrior suddenly moved to find more Yoma but stopped and turned back. Apparently she was a dismal sensor if she couldn't feel the spikes of Yoki energy, both Warrior and Yoma, near numbers 44, 42, and 3O.

“I can show you where the other Warriors are. They should be finishing up the main horde of Yoma. Follow me... um... please? Oh don't worry, I don't think number 30 will be mad. Or I mean Melody, she's the leader. She's very tall and can seem intimidating a little... but she's reasonable.” Asteria made sure to take a moment to safely secure her new hairpin before taking off with speed equivalent to a human's sprint towards the front-line Warrior group. Amelia seemed tired and she didn't want to further strain her new... companion?

Ganryu

 

[InsaneAsylum]

Melody
#30​

Melody was silent, as she slammed the hilt of her blade into the skull of a Yoma. She had leapt into a cluster of Yoma trying to stick together, stunning the one she had struck. She turned, swinging her blade with as much force as she could muster, slicing straight through two of the Yoma behind her. Blood splattered on her face, and her golden eyes flickered to the claws swiping for her.
Melody ducked down beneath their swipes, and with a burst of Yoki, slammed her shoulder up into one of the Yoma, knocking it back a few meters onto its behind.

Before continuing the fight, Melody leapt up onto a building looking down on the three Yoma. She grunted, veins bulging out of her face and arms. The Yoma turned, and started running back towards the treeline. Melody’s brief disolay of strength scaring them off for now. Melody didn’t give chase. She had to lower her Yoki levels. “Too aggressive... I’ll be more careful,” Melody said to herself, her eyes finally returning to normal. It wasn’t uncommon for Melody to go a little overboard with Yoki in her battles.

She took a deep breathe, getting ready to keap back into the brawl, before several Yoma’s yoki began to appear within the village. They hadn’t been there before, and were making an effort to make their presence known.

“Seems these Yoma have more tricks up their sleeves than I thought...” Melody grumbled.

Screams could be heard within some of the houses, as some of the villagers revealed themselves to be Yoma in disguise.

Melody cursed herself. She hadn’t suspected any of the villagers because normally she could tell a Yoma apart from a human, and she had bet on the fact that her allies had sudficient ability to know quite easily. How were thwse Yoma able to hide their Yoki so adeptly? Had they been prepared to deal with an attack from the Organization?

Questions blazed through Melody’s brain, but she pushed them away. Thinking didn’t slay Yoma. Melody dropped to the ground. More Yoma would come from the woods soon, she had to take down as many as possible. With the idea of protecting the humans gone from her mind, Melody leapt back into the fray, too preoccupied to notice the tardy warrior looking for her.

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Claymore #42​

Somnus​

ACT I​

Location Western Grimlin, Hirin
Time Early Morning
Tags InsaneAsylum MocaPoka Syvvaris

The battlefield was getting interesting. Somnus could feel the Yoki spike inside each warrior, even if only when they swung their blades. Melody was perhaps the best at this particular feat; he could sense just how much she could augment her strength with her Yoki. It exceeded anything he and likely even the others could do at this point. Alexandria was an entirely different fighter on the front lines. By no means as powerful as Melody, but her finesse with a sword thus far was the best of the entire group. The two made a solid combination of strength and skill, although they were somewhat bland in terms of technique. Admirable nonetheless in his mind, but there were greater interests elsewhere.

For instance, the six Yoma heading from the direction of the aforementioned Claymore. Four others in total crept around him through the alleys as well, likely all ravenous scavengers or scouts like the ones he felt Asteria chase. Somnus realized that he alone was against thirteen of the creatures and in that missed the fine control debuted by the newest warrior, although he did not miss her. He was just a little busy. In the time he chopped down two more Yoma with virtually identical slashes to his first, he was surrounded yet again by Yoma frozen in spot. The treeline and streets birthed more. Cut down to eleven, back up to sixteen surrounding him--and now they were at the edges of Somnolence. This was becoming problematic, especially given the screams of villagers. Even as bait--and he definitely was--he wasn't doing enough.

As much as he wanted to hold out, he couldn't. Somnus had to push further. His Yoki spiked once again and coursed through his body. Empowering him much the same, albeit to a far lesser extent, as Melody empowered herself. His eyes didn't gloss over gold like the others, at least not yet. That was reserved for ten percent of his power. Instead, they lost their blue tint and shone the bright silver that most Claymore had. He released roughly half of his usable Yoki to make himself that much more effective. It increased the range of Somnolence and more importantly made him faster. This was his last real option before forfeiting Somnolence; he didn't yet possess the ability to actively empower himself and use his other abilities. As small as it may have been, the difference it made was important.

Somnus' rigid and sloppy slashes soon smoothed out to more quick, clean cuts, allowing him to chop through the Yoma while continuing to move. This eliminated the need to stop and re-position himself in front of each Yoma. Soon enough, in the time it would have took him to chop down two stationary Yoma, he cut down five. The problem past this point was that his math was wrong. If his Yoki sensing was correct, then he should have only had eleven left. Yet, somehow, three extra popped into his field of vision and were skewed from his sensory perception. He only now picked them up with the release of his own Yoki. Something was off. Yoma hiding their Yoki even remotely wasn't a phenomenon he had heard of, and while they still seemed affected by Somnolence, keeping them in his range was next to impossible if he didn't know their positions.

Almost confirming the suspicions Melody had, Somnus shouted, "Somethin' is screwy with these Yoma, ladies," before continuing his blind assault at chopping down the bloody statues his technique turned Yoma into. Still far from as impressive as either Melody or Alexandria, Somnus picked up the pace in cutting through Yoma. It didn't entirely matter, though. It felt like for each one he cut down, two more took its place. The batch of Yoma surrounding him alone was the largest he had ever seen in person, let alone the amount on the battlefield and likely the amount still hiding. This wasn't the run-of-the-mill defense mission he thought it would be.

 

[Syvvaris]

'Stupid, stupid, stupid.' Alexandria thought to herself, she had almost forgotten to retrieve her dirks before giving chase. Due to her mistake the beast was given a lead to large for her to close the distance before it reached the village. The thought of using more yoki to increase her speed crossed her mind, but she didn't have the greatest control over it. There was another downside she was trying to avoid, her unpleasant tendancy to get gruesome with yoma's corpses. In her past there were a few times that she and other persons have noticed the more yoki she used and the longer combat went; the more she acts like a butcher rather than a swordswoman.

Alexandria wasn't going to let the yoma get far into the village as she urged herself to sprint as fast as she could. She was close to it when the beast vanished behind a building into an alleyway. With a powerful leap her slender form easily cleared the building's roof and Alexandria regained vision on her target. Instead of a dirk, her claymore flew through the air and embedded itself into the dirt just before the yoma. To her calculations the beast stumbled into her sword, sadly not decapitating itself, and she landed with a oomph just behind the beast. "Where are you going?" She said before he lunged at the beast with two of her dirks in hand. The yoma's flesh was easy to cut into during her shortlived frenzy of slashes and stabs into key areas of the Yoman. Its thighs, ankles, shoulders, stomach and in between the ribs the shorter blades seperated in her unrelenting attack. Bones were a problem from her dirk in furries like this one, but the yoma slumped lifeless to the ground nonetheless.

The beast was covered in red liquid underneath an out of breath Alexandria. In either hand she held blood soaked dirks; there was a smile on her exhausted face with a gloss of fascination of her kill. Truly it was enjoyable to stab, cut, and dice these beasts with blades so small. It was soothing to her soul like whittling idols, but far much more exhilarating. Though the time for her to soak in the accomplishment of her kill was short lived. A presence came suddenly from her left and smashed through a wooden door at her. Impulsively she turned and faced the sudden enemy with her blades at the ready. A clawed hand emerged from the splintered wood, and her steel claws answered its calling. Palm... wrist... forearm... tricept... flank.. thigh... calf... Her dirks eviscerated each of those muscles down one side of the yoma. The yoma didn't know what had happened before it landed on the ground in pain for the short second it took for Alexandria to launch both blades into the back of it's head.

(sorry it's short, I have to go to work in 10 minutes and don't have time to continue.)

 

[Ganryu]

Amelia, the Scorpion, #37​

"Hm, well thank you, Asteria. Always so nice to meet reasonable warriors, those are always a rare find, I think I like you. Well, let's go."

Amelia kept pace, a bit grateful for the slowed pace as they made their way towards the rest of the fighters. It was then Amelia heard running and saw three yoma running away. Her smile became very strained.

"So... What sort of warrior lets yoma run? We are hired to kill ♪every. last.one.♪ Glad I was late, I would hate to lose one."

Amelia changed course, leaping ontop of the roofs as fast as she could go, which Asteria might note, for a claymore, wasn't THAT fast. It was at least fast enough to quickly catch up to the three yoma. Leaping on them, she planted a sword straight through one's torso, and rolling off to face the three. The one she'd impaled groaned on the ground.

"You lot are so screwed. Mind helping me, dear? I'm not exactly a combat specialist."

Screams could be heard in the distance. Humans who needed help. Amelia ignored them, her only concern in life was the slaughtering of Yoma. If the Yoma were busy, then that just meant they couldn't run away. Asteria might have a bigger dilemma in helping them, who knew? All Amelia knew where there were three yoma some halfassed warrior had let escape, and she was not about to let them go.

Amelia's smile changed to slightly psychotic as she attacked the three yoma, again, barely able to keep up with them individually. For every one cut she gave a yoma, she took two. Still, nothing serious had happened on either side. She held off on using her braid until she was forced to, such as if her companion left her. If not, no point in using it, her particular technique took alot of yoki power, and Amelia had already let lose today. While she cared less about awakening than most other warriors, still no reason to do it carelessly. The human's cries grew louder.

 

[MocaPoka]

#39 Asteria
​

Several Yoki flows appeared out of nowhere within the village. Asteria was momentarily stunned in disbelief at the development. She had never heard of so many Yoma, within a single village, having the ability to hide their Yoki with such skill. Screams erupted within the human homes as the families discovered they were not as untouched by the Yoma attacks as they had once believed.

Amelia took off towards the roof tops after three Yoma, #39 was surprised when the Warrior asked for her help. Most Warriors wanted to keep as many kills to themselves as they could claim. And not a “combat specialist?”, she certainly wasn't a sensor specialist either. Amelia didn't give off the aura of a weak Warrior with so few skills, perhaps she had fought through several Yoma just to get to the village beforehand and was simply exhausted?

Asteria noted the rising screams from the humans within the village and moved to engage the Yoma terrorizing them. She stopped when she saw Amelia struggling against the three Yoma. She appeared to be at a stand still with the beasts, but was taking more damage than she was inflicting. Perhaps Amelia was an extremely low number, 46 or even 47... it was strange, the Warrior just seemed stronger than that. Regardless of her circumstances she needed help.

Putting the cries of the humans to the back of her mind Aestria slipped behind the Yoma attacking Amelia and added her blade to the battle. She swung and took the head off of a single Yoma from behind. She made the mistake of trying to end the fight right then and there by desperately swinging at the other Yuma attacking Amelia. Asteria was able to swing low and cut the achilles of one of the Yoma, bringing her sword up to finish it off. She wasn't quite fast enough, one of the Yoma (an injured one she had disregarded) swung it's arm backwards at her, as if trying to simply swat her away from its fellow beast. It worked, #39 focusing on her lackluster offense forgot her trademark defense, and the small Warrior was sent flying into a home, shattering through a wooden door.

Ganryu

 

[Orikanyo]

#45 Nellia

​

Nellia was average in alot of things, hell she even has the name "milestone" just for the sake that if somebody is better than Nellia, they were better than average. Which was fine by her, being average in most things means you don't really have a weakness! And having no weaknesses was great! Though it did mean she wasn't AS great as others, but hey, she was a claymore, she already was leagues better than most humans. Except dad of course, he could take on anything.

But what she wasn't very average at, was navigation.

And oh boy, was she late for this party.

The marsh around the village just looked so similar anywhere you looked! She could've sworn she passed the same tree 15 times(it was in fact 19 times)! But she never gave up hope that she would get to her destination, especially after she found that one very helpful Yoma. Interrogation wasn't her strong suit, but being the milestone, she was fast enough, strong enough, and perceptive enough, to catch the little bastard. Once she had directions, it was simple enough to get to the village.

But once there, it was most certainly a mess! Just way to many Yoma around, weren't there suppoused to be others here!? What the heck! Were they dead? Were they even trying? How could they beat her here if this is the mess that they were letting happen.

Good job ladies, you really know how to get to work.

Speaking of, she figured it was time to start clearing out buildings, spotting a Yoma looming over a man in a nearby window, she quickly began setting to work. A quick leap, a broken window and a slash of a sword later she stood over a fresh yoma corpse, and a man wetting his pants. She however didn't have time to bask in the glory of it, for just beyond another window outside, and into another, she saw another yoma eatting away at someone's innards.

Classy as always Yoma, at least wait until the third date.

Two more broken windows later, another Yoma lay dead.

Though there was still a lot more screaming out there.. The boyish woman let out a small sigh to calm herself, taking in the surroundings to more accurately pin point where these Yoma were... One... Two... three... Four... Hmm... there were more than a good few... Just how bad are her partners? Jeeze, could they even reach the milestone? Guess thats why they sent her in, atleast she could sense that they were in the very least working out there.

Her perception however also told her of a threat, she whirled around to clash her blade against the claw of a Yoma who tried to get a sneaky strike in from the window.

"Man, I hope theres nothing big that I've missed around here..." She grumbled abit before the Yoma swiped once more causing her to take a leap back to clear room as faint thing streams of blood were left in the wake of the bloodied claw. "Big eh? Who needs to be big when you got numbers!?" the yoma barked with a laugh. "All these villagers are ours to slaughter!! Their innards will taste nicely upon my tongue!" Ugh... Nellia hated when they talked about guts... gross... "Sure I guess, but a higher number of you just means I have to put abit more work in. it'd be better if you guys just lined up and took extermination nicely."

The yoma, finished talking, lunged at nellia like the feral monster it was. The claymore, still cool and collected in this moment, took the time to lay a slice along it's right shoulder, and using the space from the dismembered appendage to to spin with the momentum of her sword swing to slice the leaping yoma across the stomache, splitting it in two.

With a quick plunge into the head for good measure.

"Man... This is gonna be a long day..."

 

[InsaneAsylum]

Melody
#30​

“Oi! Sounds like we’re winning!” A yoma boasted as it hurried down an alley. Blood dripped from its lips.

“Ehehe, I don’t think there are too many snacks left. The hider group went and got the most to eat. Being in the second group sucks!” Another yoma responded, keeping pace with the first.

Before the first yoma could speak up again, Melody once again, leapt down from a building. She came down with a strong slice, killing the first Yoma instantly. The second one hesitated for a moment, before lashing out with one of its claws. With her free hand, Melody swiftly reach out and grabbed the Yoma’s outstretched wrist, halting the slash. With a small burst of Yoki, the warrior pulled the Yoma in close and shoved her claymore right into its neck.

After shoving the limp creature to the ground, Melody took a moment to read the Yoki around her. Two new warriors. It annoyed her that they were late, but it was better late than never at this point. No amount of planning could have prepared them for this trick.

Melody could hear screams in the house beside them. Fortunately there was a window a few feet away, which see proceeded to peek through. Two yoma had a few humans cornered in their kitchen. There were already two corpses lying empty and blood across the floor.

#30 took a deep breathe, then burst through the window.

——————————

There were no more Yoma left in the trees. Every Yoma that intended to tisk their lives for a meal was in the village at this point. The witches inside the village were outnumbered about four to one still, even after all they had killed. They broke into buildings through windows, searching for a meal before leaping back out of them. They streaked across the dirt and between houses, tracking down the humans forcd to flee their homes.

It was chaos.

Some the yoma who witnessed Somnus’s odd ability to halt yoma in their tracks made the decision to avoid him. They would rather take their chances with the ability to move.

After witnessing Alexandria’s bloody killing spree, only the stronger and braver (or dumber) yoma stayed to take her on.

The sight of Amelia and Asteria’s struggles against their oppnents had drawn the attention of a few more yoma. The opprotunity to slice open a claymore was too tempting to pass up.

Nellia was so average the yoma hardly noticed her.

Overall, the yoma were still as aggressive as ever, but their numbers were in fact beginning to drop. It may not be too noticeable. If the Claymore could keep on slaying them without getting too fatigued, they may be able to drive them off and save some of the villagers while they were at it.

A perceptive warrior that had a moment to take in their surroundings might notice a fuzzy yoki signature barely present within the larger building in the center of the town...

 

[Ganryu]

Amelia smiled as Asteria joined in the fight. It almost meant something, and it would certainly take much less time to murder these Yoma. Asteria instantly made the battle easier, decapitating one, and drawing the attention of the other one. She took down its Achilles heel. Amelia was almost worried she'd have nothing to do before the downed one slapped her new friend into a build. Rolling her eyes, Amelia stabbed both at the same time. The one with a cut heel took her braid to his skull, and the one of the floor took her claymore to the neck. It took less than a second with an opening given her, quick enough to hopefully hide her technique. Less from the other claymores, and more the other Yoma. The dripping blood on her hair might be a slight hint, however. She looked around for Asteria.

"You alive? Hope you're a defensive type, I was just starting to get fond of my new friend."

Looking around, Amelia noted the Yoma starting to move in on her. She lifted her claymore up, and rested it against her shoulder. Amelia wasn't the best fighter, but she had a few more uses of her scorpion tail left... if she could build up the Yoki power in her braids again. Despite it not being exactly favorable, a slasher smile started to form. At first, just her lips curling slightly, but by the end, it was full grown slasher style.

"Today's a good day. I should add a trophy for today..."

Looking at the amount of Yoma rushing towards the 'weak prey', it was probably not best to fight them in the open. She spied one house in particular that seemed perfect. Seeing the door Asteria had recently hugged, Amelia lept through it, rolling on the floor to catch herself, looking for her friend.

"Oh good! I was so worried! Don't worry, I won't let a single one through the door!"

Amelia then immediately seemed to develop a limp, swaying forward and grabbing her claymore with one hand, holding some invisible injury on her torso with the other. She held the claymore pointedly towards the door, it shaking heavily.

" Hear that Yoma! We might be two claymores on death's door, but we'll fight to take out as many as we can before we fall! I might be hardly able to breathe or defend myself, but don't think you'll have your way in this city! Even if you kill us, our friends will avenge us!"

Amelia turned to Asteria and gave her a small wink. Sure, Amelia felt a bit tired, but it wasn't as if she was going to actually fall over any second now. And she had the deepest suspicion her friend had much more left in the tank than Amelia did. But these Yoma digged the damsel in distress cliche, so might as well ham it up. Get as many focused on her and Asteria as possible. It wasn't often she got to play with her food. She whispered to Asteria.

"Try to be injured. They'll eat that up. How do you want to do this? Epic last stand where our strength is magically enough. Hold out until the other claymore rescue us? I saw a basement, and your perceptions pretty damn good, you could stab their feet from there. Honestly, I'm up for anything."

Despite being surrounded by Yoma, actually injured, and having drawn all their attention towards an area, Amelia's only emotion could be described as excitement. She was killing Yoma, her job. So many warriors had it wrong. They were afraid of death and just wanted to survive. That was impossible for them. The warriors were already dead. They had signed away their lives to fight evil. If their corpses killed several Yoma, it was a plus. If their corpses had fun, that was a plus. But survive? A corpse was a corpse, surviving was already impossible. Thankfully, Amelia was already having fun.

"Huh, I might have to use my scorpion tail a bit more. I'm definitely stealing some soap and shampoo from his house when we're done. Stabbing things with my hair is so bad for my follicles. Bit of a forewarning it uses Yoki power, so if I use it a bit too much, you might want to, uh, back away slightly. If that does happen, I'd say kill me while I'm still human, but I don't care about that. If I turn, at least let me take out the nearby Yoma before you do anything. Man, today is fun."

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Claymore #42​

Somnus​

ACT I​

Location Western Grimlin, Hirin
Time Early Morning
Tags InsaneAsylum MocaPoka Syvvaris Ganryu Orikanyo

Somnus found himself in a strategical predicament following his burst of Yoki, but not before making a few other observations. The energy coursed through him and for a few swings; he experimented with the same release of it he saw with Melody, albeit to an obviously lesser extent. She became nearly bestial--he felt it made him at best average. The technique was not one he would pick up in a single battle. At that, it seemed to be something that itself required a considerable amount of practice and benefited greatly from higher levels of Yoki. His levels were nowhere near close. He dropped it almost immediately after its first application regardless: he felt his Somnolence waver. The stronger of his paralyzed targets were able to twitch and groan for a brief moment.

That was coupled with an entirely new problem. The final wave of the assault flooded into the village soon after. Somnus found himself in the heart of a mob of twenty or more--easily the most outnumbered Claymore there--and Somnolence was finally being pushed to its limits. He had considered it 'mastered', but he had also never attempted to halt this many Yoma simultaneously. Reality soon hit him that mastery of his technique was something he would have to reconsider--he found himself wrong on many counts this battle. First trying to imitate an Offense Type, now overestimating his own capabilities.

While his initial kill count may have been impressive, it came to a dead stop. His entire area of effect was stretched so wide that moving more than a few feet would release Yoma in any one direction and he couldn't reach a Yoma to kill. Despite his efforts to keep placement in mind earlier, he was forced to remain stationary. With this in mind, the next best thing he could do was focus. Allowing himself to breath, remaining still, holding and controlling each muscle in his body while he held his sword out in front of him. His now-Silver Eyes closed. He could feel each flare of Yoki around him. The two new warriors. The brilliance of one using her Yoki. The other with no outstanding trait. He could nearly taste the bloodlust inside of Alexandria--that was some type of frightening he didn't have time for.

His focus was rewarding. That slight falter from earlier faded. The surplus of Yoma that surrounded him remained absolutely still. It didn't matter that he couldn't do anything about it. At five percent of his power and in absolute control of the technique, he could maintain this stationary form for quite some time. At the rate they were going, he predicted he could likely outlast most of the others if they continued at their rate. The only advantage of his restricted Yoki use was obviously how slow he was to use it. Unfortunately, none of his allies seemed to take advantage of the mob of Yoma around him. He wasn't sure if they intended to clear out the others before helping him or if they just weren't paying attention to the battlefield, but in either case, most of them had their hands full.

He wouldn't have minded that particular plan had not one factor changed: a new, albeit unsure sense. His increased focus on his perception and Yoki and his decreased presence in the field resulted in him picking up a hazy signature. A different one. It was difficult to describe, but it was different from the rest. Was it a veil? Static? Or, perhaps a blur, like light? Yoma was an energy and sensing it was an entirely new sensation that couldn't easily be equated to another sense. What Somnus noticed here was a discernible inability to clearly sense whatever this was, much like the signatures that caused him to miscount earlier.

He let out a sigh. He had held back information once with Asteria, but this time, he was fairly sure that would be a poor decision. He wasn't sure what the extent of her sensory abilities were; and, besides, he didn't even pick up on this until he became stationary to focus. It was time to bring the others together and Somnus could only think of one way. It required swallowing what ego he did have, but he was going to follow through with it: he intended to become a damsel in distress.

"LADIES, FUCKING HELP ME. I CAN'T MOVE!!!" he shouted loudly, making absolutely sure that the Claymore, the villagers, and even the unparalyzed Yoma heard his distress call.

 

[MocaPoka]

#39 Asteria
​

“Oww... I'm ok.” #39 groaned as she got back up on her clanking sabatons. The blow had bruised her up a little along her left side almost breaking a rib, but a quick spike in Yoki and a brief flash of yellow eyes healed the minor pain and inconvenience. As Asteria healed her wounds she blushed when she realized Amelia called her a new friend. She was happy that she made the choice to help her fellow Warrior. Amelia leaped through the broken door that #39 had crashed into and proceeded to... fake being hurt?

She was flabbergasted at her (new friend's?) actions and words of distress. Until Amelia winked and explained her plan. Uncontrollable giggles erupted from #39... it was just so silly and funny. They we're both fighting monsters to the death and now they were play acting? “*giggle* ooohhh… oowwww… *giggle* I'm so hurt, that last blow really hurt! I think my arm is broken *giggle*”

Asteria brought her sword up with a smile and released her Yoki, her eyes changing to a glowing gold and veins distorting her face slightly. A light mist surrounded the pair of Claymores as they made there “last stand.” “This mist improves my senses and reaction speed Amelia. Don't worry about hitting me, just strike as if I'm not there. I'll dodge it even if I cant see it. And your not turning today! I-I wouldn't want to lose a f-friend so soon...” #39 couldn't remember the last time she had this much fun.

As a horde of Yoma flooded the small entry way Asteria took front, standing between Amelia and the Yoma with her unintimidating stature. The Yoma ravenous and eager to kill the “helpless” Claymore before them attempted to tear the smaller Warrior apart with there claws and fangs. The smaller Warrior appeared to dance and twist around the storm of claws, taking with her fingers, hands, and one or two heads from the particularly careless and eager of the Yoma. The small area was not to Asteria's advantage and for the first time she was struck while using the Misty Sword. She received several small cuts on her arms and torso. She also couldn't employ her large weapon fully in the small space with her trade mark large sweeping strikes, for fear of hitting Amelia or having the weapon get lodged into the walls.

She was able to successfully distract several Yoma as they become increasingly frustrated at the Warrior escaping just inches from there grasps. Asteria felt herself start to pant from the constant precise movements in avoiding the lethal strikes. She couldn't keep this up for long and wasn't doing the needed damage on her own against the Yoma. A claw grazed her cheek, she took the offending hand from the Yoma. She was starting to have issues processing all the sensations the mist was transmitting to her... her head was starting to hurt.

Ganryu

 

[Orikanyo]

#45 Nellia, the Milestone
​

Hmm... had she been in this building before?

No no, she just killed that Yoma, or... Was it one she had killed before? Was it before or after she kicked in the door of that one house? Man... Fighting Yoma just got Nellia all twisted around at times. She had gotten a couple of those Yoma that snuck into houses their just deserts, a cut here, a stab there a boot to the arse everywhere, it was simple enough work, while there was alot of em around she's so far gotten the drop on one at a time~! Plus, who really cares about kill counts anyways, not like she gets much pay...

Hey! Maybe she'll get a promotion for this!? Then people are gonna need to work harder to beat her! And.. more work... Bittersweet.

"SOMEBODY HELP ME!" screamed a human woman who was pressing against a wall away from nellia, whom she promptly ignored due to being more focused on various other screams and... That... that was the worst acting shes ever heard... Was.. that her teammate? What WAS that screeching!? Does she think thats acting? And now theres another scream going on, ugh, can't ANYBODY do their job but her!?

Wait, no, acting wasn't her job... So... uhh... Hmm...

her instinct told her of another ambush, two more came lunging at her like a pair of rabid animals! Slashing at her with their claws. The claws hit, their ferocious slashing impacting the woman with little effect as the claws bounced off her now silvery skin. "Ohohoh~! thought you were clever eh?' she swept her blade across their legs, felling the two to the ground before splattering one's head to pulp with a heel, her new weight made by her wrought iron skin made the act also as natural as breathing. For the other, she planted her sword into it's head, before taking a moment to let herself come back down from that heady show of force.

So bittersweet the power within her, felt so nice... But... Well, bets not to go over board.

Her armor was dinged up to... Damn...

her face coming down to a normal boyish smile, she gazed around for yoki again... Hmmm......? Something in the building? Thats... odd... What could be in there.... Oh well.. best she see to it first that her allies don't get themselves beat up to bad... or eatten.

Which one... Hmm...... The actress!

Takeing up her blade again she began stomping off to hunt down the source of the horrendous acting. Wait... Which... Way did it come from again? Oh bugger. Using her perception she was about to rush ehadlong to where she found a group that might be her actress... But... Something caught her attention... in the middle of the town.. something... faint... Well, no time like the present to check it out right? Can't have any lurking around in that big ol' building!

Makeing trails, she rushed ahead towards the building, looking like a dashing knight rushing head on to save the princess! When there she would kick open the door to try and find just exactly this yoki was coming from.

InsaneAsylum

 

[Syvvaris]

It took a few moments for the sheer fright of the ambush to subside and Alexandria to breathe normally again. So far, that was the closest a Yoma had gotten to her before she realized it was there and it there were a few scratches on her from the Yoma's achievement. Though the scratches were from the the splintered door and not directly from the yoma, but it was the yoma's doing. Her yoki perception was not all that great to start with, but she should have noticed this Yoma well before it had broken the door. If a single yoma was able to do this, this meant other Yoma could do this and must be in this village. Today would be a major defeat if the majority of the villagers were slaughtered because Alexandria and the others were routed by a smart yomas.

After Alexandria had pried her dirks out of the yoma's skull and sheathed them, two yoma's exited other buildings in the same alleyway. Both had spotted her and their deceased brethren. They howled and charged at her, but she had grabbed her claymore and dispatched both easily with her excellent swordsmanship. She wiped the sweat that had built up off her brow, "There sure are a lot of yoma here. I wonder how the others are doing?" She spoke before a large roar sounded behind her. Non chalantly, she turned around and saw a sizable beast breathing heavily and giving her a death stare. "Oh... look at you big boy." She mocked while touching her lips with her free hand.

Simultaneously it seemed they both charged at each other. Alexandria with her sword carried low, brought it up in a diagonal slash and clashed with the yoma's claws. Much to her surprise, the yoma had not lost any extremities in it's contest with her which meant this one was stronger than the others. 'Perfect.' She thought to herself and jumped back to evade a strike from the yoma's other arm. Not wanting to give much ground, she jumped back into the fray and launched a series of strikes with her claymore. All of which were dodged, blocked and/or countered; which in turn she did the same. It seemed the two were evenly matched if she kept at her usual pace, so it seemed she needed to work harder against this foe.

She charged with her face distorted and caught the beast off-guard with her sudden burst in speed. With a swing of her sword she cut into the thick thighs of the yoma. With the flat end of the sword she swung again and sent the yoma into the next alleyway. She gave chase towards her enemy and before it could completely heal its deep wounds, she managed to lop off one of it's feet. It screamed in pain and almost made words that resembled human language, but every time it tried to talk the blonde woman would chop off a little more of its body.

Alexandria giggled uncontrollably with a limbless yoma staring in pure fear of her. Her disfigured smile and face a sight of horror for these apex predators, "Now, why don't you tell me how a bunch of you learned how to hide your yoki?" She asked, before a sudden scream from a certain male caught her attention. Alexandria turned her head and down the road, surrounded by Yoma was the mud-blood, the male claymore, a failed experiment attempted again and he was pleading for help. "You know, predators like to pick of the weak off first." She commented to the terrified yoma in front of her; then she raised her sword with both hands above her one shoulder and swung as hard as she could at 33% yoki release with the flat side of her sword. The sound was like a cloth ripping and the sight of it's head soaring through the air was magical. It had even hit one of the Yoma in the back without a response.

"This is fun, so fun." Alexandria commented to herself and started to lazily walk towards Somnus. She started to swing her sword in a circular motion with one of her hands. It made a low whooshing sound as it passed her ear, and after each swing she picked up the rotation speed. At its fastest Alexandria threw the blade parallel to the ground very much like a saw disc towards Somnus's group, then gave chase with her dirks. Surely the claymore would slice some of the immovable ones in half, and once she arrived there to help the mud-head her dirks would attempt to finish the rest off.

Sir Les Paul