Fantasy Hunter's Moon: The Sin & Sentence [IC] [CLOSED]

[Infab]

Azgon's Territory - 'The Battlefield' - Shadow Demon Battle - TURN 5
Hudson attempts to bind Shadow Jakob. D6 used. Chance Roll = 1. Chance Failed. Shadow Jakob counter-attacks, and does 4 DMG to Hudson. Hudson HP = 6.
Venextos = 10. CH Roll = 8. Does 5 DMG (Sorcerer Supreme) to Shadow Jakob. Shadow Jakob HP = 21.
Takato attempts to revive Inari. D6 used. Chance Roll = 6. Chance successful. Inari has been revived to full HP.
Senya attempts to distract Shadow Jakob. D6 used. Chance Roll = 3. Chance Failed.
Loque = 5. Does 1 DMG to Shadow Jakob. Shadow Jakob HP = 20.
Henderson attempts to grab Shadow Jakob. D6 used. Chance Roll = 2. Chance Failed.
Jakob = 10. CH Roll = 9. Does 18 DMG (With Badge & Gun, Only a Copy) to Shadow Jakob. Shadow Jakob HP = 2. Chance for Execution. Rolls = 5, 2. Chance Successful. Shadow Jakob dead.

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​

As Takato revived Inari, the rest of the group attempted to finish off the shadow demon. Hudson's tried once more to bind the shadow demon to once spot, and once again failed as the demon simply disappeared and reappeared outside of the twirling flails before firing a shot from his shotgun at Hudson. The shot connected with the point of Hudson's mask, putting a large hole through it and spinning Hudson about. The shadow demon wouldn't avoid Venextos' disk of magic, however, which hit him square in the chest and forced him to stumble. Senya would then attempt to distort the demon's field of vision with fire magic. The shadow let out a laugh, as he used his own magic to force the fire to dissipate. As the fire circle rapidly disappeared, he was caught in the shoulder with a bullet from Loque's rifle.

Henderson then moved in, attempting to grab the demon and stop him from moving everywhere. He'd end up missing, as the demon quickly moved aside to avoid the large individual's hands. Right in to Jakob's grip. After a prompt fist fight, and the sudden stripping of his weapon, Jakob would then shove the long iron bayonet deep into the demon's abdomen.

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​

The demon grunted, as it felt the iron knife going through its guts. A dark smoke flowed forth from its wounds, as a dark substance leaked from underneath the shadows mask. "O-oh... that's the... stuff! T-The killer's here! H-Hah..." The shadow struggled, but then grabbed Jakob's arm, pulling him a bit closer. "H-Heh...How does it feel... huh? I... I bet you... wanted to do this to Wallace... or your superior o-officers." The shadow choked a bit on the dark substance oozing from its face, the smoke coming from his wounds becoming more intense. "I d-die... knowing that no matter how hard you try, y...you will never fix what you've done. William... Mariette... Abraham... Cecil... Valeria." The shadow leaned a bit closer. "...All dead."

 

[EdwardDewey98]

The demons words hit the detective hard once more. What he was saying was the truth. That no matter how hard he tried to do the right things, they always ended in failure. He failed everyone he loved and cared about. His platoon, his family, the inquiry. Without saying anything else, Jakob just pulled the trigger. Blowing the demons shadowy insides out. The detective looked down at the creature at his feet, as his eyes began to go back to his natural color. He turned to look at the group behind him. "I... I... really..." Jakob tried to speak to the others. He was trying to reassure them that what just happened, his wild behavior, wasn't going to happen again. But as he tried to continue, he just broke. "I... I tried my best... I really did. This thing... this gods damned thing, it didn't lie. I... betrayed my friend, I failed everyone I loved... I... really tried." Jakob couldn't bottle those emotions anymore, or hide them under a smile. He began crying while looking down at the dead shadow, and all those poor hollowed souls that ended up in the Abyss.

 

[joshuadim]

Venextos walked up to Jakob and placed a hand on his shoulder for reassurance. "The shadow spoke true. Yet you defeated him. You overcame your sins and your literal demon. That is something to be proud of monsieur."

 

[Dmaster]

Hudson sputtered and gasped after the shotgun blast grazed him, his helmet protecting him as the pellets hit his chest. He grasped the wound, groaning angrily as he slowly forced himself to get up from the mud of the swampland. Just then Jakob's own shot rang out, and the shadow demon had been slain.

Even though he seemed to be breaking down in front of him, the hunter dropped the arm holding his wound to his side while only looking at Jakob. Hudson had no idea what to say, and instead began to shuffle forward now that the threat was dealt with, pulling his chains back onto his person along the way. Even if he could console him, Hudson had his own problems to face. And he was fairly certain they would be his end.

 

[Doomevil]

“We should be grateful we’re still standing here. You’ve done well Detective Jakob.” Senya stated as the battle came to a close, with no deaths on their side. The shadow demon is dead. One down, many more to go. A problem they will have to face for this entire contract.

Senya sighed a load of relief, turning around to see if others were okay from the fight. She holstered her shield, scanning if the other shadows were still there but it seemed like they were gone. Why they didn’t support their lone ally was a mystery but perhaps it was for the best.

 

[Infab]

Riberta remained where she was, gazing at the corpse of the shadow demon that had been mimicking Jakob. She only looked away when she felt the solid shotgun slug that had hit her in the chest pop out and fall into the mud. "It lied to you, Jakob." she said, before walking over and picking up her claymore from where it had fallen off the shadow demon during teleportation. "We wouldn't be down here, doing what we're doing, if Valeria was dead." she added, once she straightened up. "Suck it up. Deal in the here and now. You will get through this. You will save Valeria. We will kill the rest of these shadow demons, as well as Sazak and any other Icons that get in our way. We will get the artifacts too." she stated, glancing over towards Jakob. Her tone was serious, but the look on her face was one of sadness. "And you will go home to your daughter."

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Inari's bright blue eyes fluttered open after a moment, a low groan escaping from her as she tested her breathing ability. She clearly wasn't dead, or so she thought, though there was a pretty fair pain in her chest. It felt like someone had place a stone on top of her. One hand brushed the now magically healed wound. She was filthy from having collapsed in the mud, and the front of her clothes were nearly in tatters from the shot. Fortunately the cloth on the shoulders was still together to keep her kimono up. Guns. Just as bad as magic, but there was no denying the effectiveness. It would be a terrible day when the sword gave way to the rifle. The artistry of old warfare would be gone, to be replaced with something else. Something without the right spirit.

With her consciousness fading back in properly, she quickly bolted up. "[Where the fuck is my sword!?]" It took her a second to see it beside Takato, who was beside her, enveloped in some magical containment. She pawed at it and tried to pull it away so she could hold it in her arms. ["Kyoshi doesn't belong in a cage, damnit. Not while I'm awake. No one touched him, did they? I figure since more people aren't dead, that didn't happen."]

Her gaze drifted over the others and the now concluded battle. Jakob had killed his shadow, finally. She'd have been pissed otherwise. ["And who threw that damn sword? Was it the other warlord? Spirits damn that woman, that was foolish. Nearly got me killed. Its one thing to die from a better enemy, but that... that fucking... that damned shit, I'd reincarnate or something and take her head for that. Hmph. I've had worse, though. I think. Broke my back, took a tanto to the neck. All sorts of... shit...."] She trailed off as she realized what was different. Her voice was not her human voice, but instead, her far deeper and huskier kitsune tone. Inari looked down at her hands and realized that she had lost the focus and the illusion was up. Damn.

["...not that it matters. It'll take me hours to change this appearance again."] Now that she was sitting up, Takato and anyone nearby would be able to note the damage to her five mangled tails. Two had been cut off near entirely, one burned, and the other two cut and slashed severely. There was barely any fluff to the ones that remained. The white fur was greyed, if not further darkened from the damage, and the longest barely exceeded two feet in length.

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

With that noxious gas slowly but surely dissipating in the air, Loque hastily removes the raggedy mess of a cloth mask she had wrapped around her mouth to stop it from gagging her to death. Immediately she starts gasping for clear air like a fish out of water.

"Real... gas..." she repeats what Hudson said earlier in between breaths. "...What in all the hells did you mean by 'real gas'?!"

 

[Dmaster]

Hudson gave a few ragged coughs before stopping in place for a moment, caked in his own blood and the mud from the fall. He was stopped from hearing Loque's complaints, and he waved his hand about to help clear the air better from the slowly dissipating fog.

"The real gas used in the war made your skin boil on contact." he shouted back simply. As he continued to walk down the path he finally passed Jakob, prompting him to stop as he breathed raggedly from his wound.

"You're still alive. That's what counts most." was all Hudson could manage before he kept trudging through the mud.

Executing a deserter under orders isn't failure. It wasn't your choice to make. Guilt should be on the coward that forced you to pull the trigger. he thought to himself. When it came to matters like that, it all hinged on that initial choice...

 

[Damian0358]

Takato seemed to have a small smile on his face after seeing Inari wake up and breath. That smile faded as her consciousness faded back in, as she quickly bolted up. Takato could see her quickly spot her sword, as she pawed for it.

["Kyoshi doesn't belong in a cage, damnit. Not while I'm awake. No one touched him, did they? I figure since more people aren't dead, that didn't happen."]

"[Thankfully none,]" Takato said in a stern voice, "[carrying a blade with such a spirit, you should be thankful that it has been contained for now.]"

In the background, the noises from the others made it clear that they had won, beaten the shadow. Though they may have beaten him, the shadow left one final blow to Jakob, and he felt saddened. He was glad to hear the others console him, however. He heard Inari bemoan whomever threw that sword, before she seemed to notice that she had lost her illusion.

["...not that it matters. It'll take me hours to change this appearance again."]

Takato turned to face her once more: "[Rest up as best as you can. Healed you are, but the shock hasn't subsided. Stamina and concentration will be key... especially as we're not even close to done here.]

Takato noted that, with her standing up, he could see her tails, or at least, what remained of them. Though she is horrid, he still understood not why they chose to just deal with her tails and leave her alive. Did they wish to parade their enemy? Knowing how dangerous she is, it still only made sense to have just quickly executed her and dumped her into the river - now, they had an even more vengeful enemy, were she to return. But she's ultimately an unfortunate product of the Kowareta lands...

"[As you rest, however, let me say this,]" Takato began, "[why is it that you have a Gashadokuro in your katana?! Do you not realize how dangerous this blade is to carry around?!]"

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

"The real gas used in the war made your skin boil on contact."

The mental image of this made Loque just a little more nauseous than she was already. All the wars she'd read about were either fought with standard guns, cannons, or even simple swords and shields. Never did it cross her mind that these people would become so good at killing each other and wanting each other dead so much that they're now devising weapons like these to use against one another. There's no time to ponder this though. They have a job to do. She turns to Vincent to talk to him.

"...What now, patron?"

 

[Breadman]

"No wonder she smelled like a forest, she is a bloody woodland critter." Henderson said now that he had a good look at Inari after she got blasted back by the shotgun. He then turned his attention back to the rest of the group. "Is he done mopping about? We still have work to do here."

 

[Emperor Sagan]

"[Rest? Shock? Nonsense. I feel like shit, but I'm fine. This isn't the type of campaign for rest. Rest comes later, on that train,]" she said, stretching her arms and legs and testing the rest of her body limits for now. It seemed the shot was the worst of it, though she felt a little out of breath. Weighed down, still, by that imaginary stone placed upon her. Breathing too deeply caused a little more pain, on top of the disgusting bite that lingered in the air and seared the throat.

Then Takato spoke about Kyoshi, and she fixed him with a graveyard grin. A smile was not an appealing expression on her visage normally, and on a face so damaged from war, it looked more like something from an evil kami.

["Kyoshi,]" she corrected him, rather than calling it by its other name, ["needed a home. And so, I granted him a home. We look after each other. I had returned one time to an old battlefield of mine, and he was there, wandering and searching for blood. Nearly killed me a few times but I managed. Eventually, I rounded up enough hogs and chickens to coax him to a nearby shrine to contain him before seeing the kitsune smiths in Kyokomori. Kyoshi is my...]" Inari hesitated suddenly, biting her tongue. She was speaking too loosely. ["... like a close friend. We understand each other."]

She let out a little sigh. What sort of opinion would they form of her if she said her sword was like a son to her? They could never comprehend the bond.

Henderson made a quip nearby and she shrugged. "Better than smelly city critter."

 

[joshuadim]

"Now we go for the factories as we were before being intercepted." Venextos replied to Loque as he walked away from Jakob. "I will take to the sky to make sure we don't have any other interruptions on our path."

And soon enough, the wizard transformed into his raven form once more and flew off to take a view of the land.

 

[Damian0358]

Takato's disapproving look stayed unchanged as Inari stared at him with a vile grin.

"[Even if there is a shared understanding with Kioshi,]" making sure to use the spirit's name, as it would be rude otherwise, "[having such a blade in the presence of others and not telling anyone else about it is such a gross risk, it is surprising something didn't happen sooner! Think, what if someone from the group grabbed Kioshi whilst you were unconscious? What if the enemy, or even a shadow, grabbed Kioshi? It would be on your head,]" Takato lectured the warlord.

"[More reasons exist for me to not return Kioshi to you, however,]" Takato paused, looking at the blade, "[my beliefs concern only me, and you truly are the only one here who can wield Kioshi. Reveal to the others your blade's true nature, and then you will be reunited with your, ehm, close friend.]"

Takato overheard Venextos, and looked over to see him transform into his raven form. Seems the Grand Magus didn't need help this time, he thought, before turning his gaze back at Inari.

 

[Breadman]

"I've been to the Crowder region and have seen the rats living in the sewers there, so you have a point." Henderson replied to Inari "Nobody pays the noble rat catcher his due till they find his corpse floating face down in the piss and shit with half of it missing."

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

"Now we go for the factories as we were before being intercepted."

"Monsieur Venextos, je parlai-" Without warning, he turned into a bird and flew off right before Loque could finish her statement. Well he answered her at least, and she should probably get a move on too.

She rises to her feet and starts marching onward before she sees something... out of place.

"What the-" She points at Inari while looking at the others. "Did someone lose their dog?!"

 

[Dmaster]

Hudson turned on his heel, facing his body at a slight angle so as to look over her shoulder to see what Loque was shouting about. Squinting, he managed to make out that Inari wasn't the human that she claimed to be back in the dungeon. That wasn't all that surprising, and he just shook his head before he kept on walking onward. His steps were somewhat labored due to taking all that shot from the shadow's shotgun, but he figured he could manage as the wounds were not so deep.

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Inari's gaze darkened as Takato spoke of not returning the sword unless she revealed the nature of the spirit within to the others. She angled one pointed claw at him. "[You can hand him back, or I will take him back. How dare you think you can kidnap him from me,"] she started to growl, her breath quickening slightly. "[Free him, damn you!]"

She heard Henderson say something, but it was cut off by Loque's remark. Inari glanced around at the demon woman, still snarling. "[I'm a kitsune fox you idiot demon whore, not a filthy mutt!]" She huffed slightly, before switching language. "Kitsune, idiot. Fox not dog."

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

"Kitsune, idiot. Fox not dog."

Slowly, Loque walks up to this fox-thing in tattered robes, not trying to be menacing but rather very curious and intrigued.

"...Inari!? I didn't think you were a wizard too!"

 

[Damian0358]

Takato remained steadfast as Inari grew more angry, even snarling at Loque.

"[What if this repeats then? What if you get struck down once more, and someone completely unaware of Kioshi wields him? What if your own shadow takes him from you, and truly threatens to never return him? And you know you can't tell me that isn't going to happen, because you cannot be sure of that,]" Takato responded.

"[The group knowing about Kioshi's true nature is not only good for him, but also good for you. Please, I beg you. Not a moment longer will it take for you two to reunite. You can even be as brief as possible about it. For the sake of everyone, Inari...]"

 

[Emperor Sagan]

"Not wizard, kitsune. Kitsune. Fox-woman. Change appearance," she said irritably, glancing back at Takato as he made his plea to her.

"[Fine! Then tell them, I do not care, give me back my s-... sword. You are upsetting him.]"

 

[Damian0358]

"[Thank you, Inari,]" Takato said, as he lowered the blade down and had it float towards Inari. She can now just easily grab the blade from the aura containing it.

"A kitsune is a type of, ehm," Takato began responding to Loque, before remembering yokai being a term most of them wouldn't be familiar with, "supernatural being that come from foxes, that have the ability to shapeshift, create illusions, and possess greater powers as they grow older."

"And this kitsune in particular," continuing onwards, "wields a blade which contains the spirit of a giant, bloodthirsty skeleton, one she contained herself and had put into it. Grabbing her blade would overpower one's senses, as the bloodthirst of the spirit envelopes you. Please, don't wield her blade, and get it away from any potential foes."

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

"Please, don't wield her blade, and get it away from any potential foes."

Loque lifts a stern finger at Takato, displeased at having this withheld from the group. "You know, it would've been nice to have known this earlier, but I suppose we're all just full of fucking surprises today..." She saunters off towards the direction Hudson and Venextos went.

 

[Damian0358]

Takato sighed, before looking towards the others;

"Admittedly, unaware was I until just earlier during the battle," he commented, before getting up and stretching.