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Post by topiltzin on Nov 2, 2015 2:13:41 GMT
Ce Atl laughs at Brynhild’s “encouragement.” That was truly the answer he needed. Something, though not quite with intention, that cut at him, stripping him down to what he needed. “I hope that shall not happen, or I will feel very poorly about myself. It should not be something to consider, though.” He was not going to be a hindrance. He had let down enough people already, he wasn’t going to add these great heroes to that list.
Gilgamesh’s remarks, though rude, had a point. They were in enemy territory, such introductions and enjoyments were better off saved for more safe circumstances. As much as he wanted to make things as safe in any situation for those relying on him, in the end, they were weapons that were meant to be put to war. There was no sense delaying it.
At his Master’s order, he takes up the rearguard position supporting her. Such a formation had worked well with Anton, allowing him to take offensive action that his code denied him. Hopefully that would not be necessary in this case, as he didn’t know what the capabilities of his Master were at all. Worst come to worst, he could always strengthen himself and fight, but he trusted the other Heroic Spirits to hold the line effectively. “Well reasoned, Master. Let’s do our best.”
As the other Heroic Spirits make their own ways, Ce Atl tries to support them as best he can with any healing or protections required for the situation. They were few and far between, so mostly his job was simply making sure Ai didn’t fall too far behind as they cut down the enemies and continued to ascend.
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Post by Brynhild on Nov 2, 2015 16:03:35 GMT
Oh boy... her companions surely were a number of... interesting individuals. The golden man did not even attempt to hide his malcontent with their introductions, seemingly viewing them as a waste of time. Alas, she could not well say that he was wrong. It was a matter of manners, so not having any was indeed a possibility and not necessarily a horrible one. At least the Saber appeared to be friendly enough, although his remark did not quite manage to find her understanding. She had merely ascertained that nobody would be bothered or insulted by her being here, for whichever reason might have been appropriate for them.
In the end it did not matter, so Brynhild merely presented him with a short tilting of her head, before throwing a crooked smile into Caster's direction. At least he could read the mood of her words properly, his answer too was reassuring that he would, in fact, not be useless. Then their master began shouting orders, perhaps not the best course of action with... some of the people present, but alas it was good to know she could at least take the initiative. So without any further delay, Brynhild nodded to confirm the orders, before synchronizing her movement with that of Arturia, branching off to the left simultaniously to her, wherein her massive spear claimed two ghoul's unlifes the moment she entered the hallway. The incredibly large blade of her spear, along with its range prooved to be ideal in these hallways, when aiming to clear out larger numbers of these ghouls.
Needless to say, Brynhild merely surged forward, piercing a ghoul, before swinging the impaled creature, along with her lance, to the left, crushing two more ghouls between the corpse of their fellow undead, before finally cutting through them with the spear blade. Her expression remained completely unchanged, seeming calm and almost indifferent, with a hint of resignation, as she slaughtered the ghouls with mechanical precision. She did however take note of Arturia's awe inspiring presence... it made her movements much lighter and encouraged her to push on, speeding up her own movements considerably, as the giant spear claimed unlife, after unlife that slipped through the cracks of the building's structure, as well as the vanguard's onslaught.
Noticing a clearly visible 'crack' in the wall to their left that kept birthing vermin into the 10th floor, from the other levels, Brynhild closed in to the spot with a quick step, prana surging through her body, into her lance... before accumulating the burning crack's own fire, to practically seal the crack, as a thrust with her spear, sent a flood of pale fire through the crack, into the level below, as it melted down the opening, leaving nothing but ashes of any ghoul that had tried to crawl up it at the time, before she cooled down the smoldering piece of wall, with a slight gesture of her lance, that caused a rune to gleam up on her armour for a second.
This should at least prevent large numbers in their back for now. Without wasting time, she then continued on with the rest of her companions... until they finally reached a surprisingly large room, pitchblack, only ever lit up by ghoustly, red fires that flared up in its corners. Brynhild herself just kept her lance ready, she she could clearly hear the presence of ghouls in the area, yet the wet sounds of their bodies hinted at them writhing across the ground like maggots. Without any delay she turned her assumption into words, loudly stating:"To your feet! They are crawling." it did not matter whether they had noticed it already, it was at least a warning worthy of being said aloud for any that followed or had not noticed so far. Better save than sorry after all...
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Post by AU-O on Nov 4, 2015 1:16:25 GMT
Vermin.
Never before had Gilgamesh felt so truly like an exterminator. Continuing forward, it was practically child's play to dispatch the hordes of ghouls in front of him. They seemed to pour out of the walls and hallways as the golden hero advanced, drawn to his "immaculate presence", as he would put it. They may as well have been water crashing upon a rock for all the good their numbers did them, as the rear-guard behind him would find little more than the faint remnants of corpses. His blade flicked left and right in a thoroughly bored manner, as Gilgamesh's excitement quickly simmered into nothing more than a foul boredom.
This was so unworthy of his time it could not even be called a joke. An insult.
Looking down at the single blade he had drawn, he almost roared in disgust. His immaculate blade, the pinnacle representation of his bond with Enkidu, beautiful beyond all measure, was sullied with the blood and flesh of these beings. These worthless maggots. His companions might notice that his advance all but stopped as he entered the pitch-black room, completely ignoring the obvious presence of ghouls within.
"Worthless, insufficient! This does not make my blood boil, this does not pose challenge! And they dare sully my sword with their filth? I shall not have it!"
Gilgamesh dismissed his blade, thoroughly agitated by this point. It would not due to tarnish the blade. It was meant for only worthy foes, he should have realized this from the start. He had expected too much from these mongrels. His bare hands would suffice for these worthless, trifling things. But even that would dirty his hands. The thought of having to touch these shambling corpses practically made his blood boil on the thought alone. Perhaps his Axe would suffice; Still far too good a weapon for such a simple purpose, but it was the best of his options.
Before he had a chance to act on his decision, he felt something paw at his leg. Eyes turning downward towards the source of contact, what he witnessed was one of the crawling ghouls grasping his leg, failing to inflict any true damage besides establishing a grip on him. The shock of the audacity of the act made the world seemed to stand still around him, before he practically screamed his rage.
"...You DARE!?"
Those familiar with his attitude could probably guess exactly what was about to happen.
In one swift motion, Gilgamesh materialized his axe Humbaba and swung down at the ground. Hard. The impact would not only pulverize the offending ghoul, but also send a shockwave throughout the entire floor beneath them. The floor of the room that he at least occupied was almost completely destroyed, blasted downwards with the obliterated smithereens of the ghoul that had dared lay hands on the Berserker. And with no where left to stand, Gilgamesh did the only thing that made sense to him at the time: He went up. Smashing through the floor above them, he leap into the next level without regard for his compatriots, so filled with irritation that he was. He practically forgot they existed, his only concern was venting his frustration on any of these shambling corpses that dared enter his presence.
Which was unfortunate for his allies, as his Noble Phantasm came with the unfortunate side-effect of spreading fear and terror in a massive area around it. In his irritation he quite forgot to exempt them from it's curse, and so, while they could not see him, everything in Gilgamesh's floor and the floors directly surrounding would find themselves struck by an intense feeling of dread, fear and terror that could not be accurately placed. Unfortunately, the massive horde of corpses and spirits were so mentally handicapped that the curse would have virtually no effect on them. Even less fortunately, his allies were basically the only sentient things that were around. It was not in it's active state so it was not an unconquerable aura, but it was a nagging dread that could not be brushed aside simply through thinking happy thoughts.
And until someone managed to catch up to Gilgamesh and tell him, he wouldn't even spare a thought to sparing his comrades from it. They were, as it were, the least of his concerns right now. He cut a swath deeper into his own path, all but abandoning his team-mates in his selfish swath of destruction.
Well, shit happens.
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Post by ai on Nov 5, 2015 0:10:07 GMT
Everything seemed to be going just fine, just as in the last missions Ai was involved in. The servants except from Gilgamesh followed her orders and she learned right away that you don't try to tame berserkers, but to actually work with them in order to get things right. The small battle that took place in the 10th floor was going smoothly, Saber and Lancer to the sides killed the ghouls in their way at ease, Muramasa had his own unique style of killing which didn't stop Ai from getting surprised but such smoothness got quickly damped by what seemed to be an earthquake.
“W-wha---”
Before she could finish, it was right in front of her. Berserker, smashing down a ghoul with an Axe that he had materialized in his hand but that was not it, even the earthquake she felt was not something real at most, it was the powerful effect from the axe getting at her head and taking her deepest fears out. Ai couldn't move, her legs were shaking and in seconds she collapsed to the ground. Her hands holding her head and her eyes widening, tears falling down and the fear inflicted by the axe quickly taking control of her. In less than a minute after Berserker killed the ghoul and leaped upstairs, she had already succumbed to the side-effect of the weapon, leaving her completely useless and in a mental state of no return unless someone helped her immediately.
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Post by muramasa on Nov 5, 2015 0:45:11 GMT
hmm, if not the the sheer number of these creatures, this could have been the easiest mission yet. Or could have been, who knew, maybe they would lose their master this time too. From time to time, Muramasa still wondered what had happened to Naho. Had she picked up the sword and fought? Had she survived or was she dead and had become a ghoul with his weapon in her hand. Which could be an interesting challenge in itself. The other mission had been with Ai too, but it had been a bit more difficult... due to reasons. Kicking a ghoul out of a window, he saw it plummet down and grinned. Slowly but surely he was starting to enjoy fighting, he had never thought so before, but maybe he was born for this after all? His grin widened as he stuck his sword in another ghoul without taking too much notice. He felt his blood boil and grown colder at the same time and his grin vanished just as it had appeared.
Shaking his head, he breathed in and found the chains again, wrapping them tight around his bloodlust that was not only his own. Creating another sword, he slashed another ghoul in half. Feeling no joy or anything about it, just killing things that were in his way. Cutting apart another wall, he looked around and saw goldie a bit back. When had he overtaken the man? Well, not that it mattered, he doubted that he would have gone faster than he wanted to. While Muramasa basically had gone a straight line through walls. Not very elegant, but it got the job done, able to place himself advantageous by merely not using doors the ghouls were lurking behind. But really, what the damn heck was that guy even doing? Putting away his sword, was he going to fight barehanded? Sheesh, all the gold in the world could not help a fool from tarnishing it. And there we were, by raging about something the guy had apparently not noticed some ghouls creeping up on him.
Muramasa just looked at him in mild amusement until Goldie suddenly pulled out a huge axe and basically broke through the floor just to kill some ghoul. Why not? Use a damn hammer to smash an ant. Sheesh. This way the building would really come down sooner rather than later. Creating two more swords, he jammed them in approaching ghouls and raised his eyebrow as he saw Goldie vanish through the ceiling. Most likely the whole floor would come down on them this way since he definitely would draw attention from every ghoul there was in that floor and ten above. Muramasa wondered when he had become the lesser troublemaker here. Anyway, there was nothing really he could do about it and since he was the vanguard, he would do exactly that. Time for caster to get to work and do his stuff, same with the so called knights, they could put their words of protecting Ai to the test.
If Muramasa noticed the aura of the weapon, he did not show it as he took the stairs and stabbed and sliced at feet and then heads. But since he was in total disagreement with how Goldie was and his mind did not really process fear the same way as most others. It was highly likely that the effect of the weapon just went through him without leaving any changes. But really, just imagining they still had twentyfour floors to go... Sheesh, maybe it would be easier to just really take Ai and carry her up by himself. If they went with this speed, it would come down to a crawl once they met with stronger stuff. Slashing another ghoul in half with a swing, he stepped aside to let the halves fall down the stairs and not get any more blood or whatever they spewed on his clothes. He only hoped that the ghouls did not think about raining down from a floor above through the hole and on top of caster and master.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 7, 2015 4:50:06 GMT
"To your feet! They are crawling."
"...You DARE!?"
And then everything went to proverbial hell. Arturia felt the entire building shake beneath her as the King of Egos proceeded to set everything back. She felt the dread begin creeping over, but shook it off for a moment to analyze the situation. The first thing to catch her eye was the now collapsed pile that was their master. "Master!" she couldn't help exclaiming as she ran to her side. Ai wasn't physically hurt, but she was suffering immensely. The creeping dread was coming back, but she shook her head once more to ward it off. This was not a frightening situation for her, so there was some kind of supernatural force at work. It wasn't a spell, and if it was, it was an incredibly powerful one to bypass her Magic Resistance. However, to have such a minimal effect on her right now, it was likely something else.
The only thing to happen was Gilgamesh doing...something. Somehow, she had a feeling that whatever it was had something to do with the current state of their Master. The swordsmith did not seem to notice, or was not intending to do anything about this current situation. She could not knowingly send Caster to try and dissuade the golden haired brute from continuing whatever it was he was doing. As for Lancer...she wasn't sure. She could possibly do it...but Arturia did not know how strong her force of personality was to even get through to him. There really wasn't much choice as to what could be done.
"Caster, Lancer, remain with our Master! Guard her while I rein in our ally." Arturia spoke, almost naturally taking control of the situation. It was a battlefield, with ever-changing circumstances, and it was her domain. The undefeated king on the battlefield would not let anything keep her down, and when allies were on the line, she had to do what was necessary to ensure their survival and success. Taking a few steps away from Ai, she launched herself down the hall at blinding speeds. Her eyes faintly perceived the missing floor in the light from Excalibur's blade, using that split second to redirect her momentum upwards to fling herself through the hole in the ceiling left by Gilgamesh.
Rampaging through the halls of the next floor was the golden bastard himself. "Gilgamesh!" she shouted, a small shudder running down her spine. It was a mix of the curse striking again, and the fact she was voluntarily approaching this man for any reason. But she had to, for the sake of their single common point of interest, "You have to stop whatever curse or aura it is you've unleashed! It's affecting our Master! If you keep this up she could die!" Excalibur was held before her in facing this man, not knowing what to expect. How similar and how different was he from the Gilgamesh she met in Fuyuki before?
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Post by topiltzin on Nov 7, 2015 6:02:06 GMT
If there was one thing that Ce Atl could truly bring himself to disdain, it was curses. Mired muck, with no useful purpose that only served to hurt others. Even a sword, a weapon, could be used to defend what was holy and beautiful, but what could a curse do? Perhaps it could be used similarly, but it was about as ineffective a weapon as possible for that. Instead, they tended to be like this: indiscriminate causers of pain and suffering. Fortunately, he was skilled enough that one such as this was not something to worry about.
“May the Serpent’s wingbeats send this curse to the four winds…” a simple incantation backed a powerful spell, though the result was but a light breeze in the world, in the spiritual realm, it broke completed chains of prana that tethered the curse together, dispersing it. Hopefully, it had ended before the damage it could cause was too great.
Once the curse was successfully dispersed, he turns to his Master. It was clear the mental damage was more extensive than he assumed, and immediately he began to channel healing magic. “Please, stay with me, Ai. Do not give in to despair, when you are a beacon of hope. You are better than that, I know it.” He smiles softly. “I have been told that I am a decent judge of people.” Calming and comforting was one of his true talents. He was not a warrior by choice, though he could be an effective combatant, he much preferred to work as a healer and a counselor. Hopefully, his skill could be of service to his Master.
Looking up, he sees Arturia confront Berserker, and instinctively bolsters Arturia further and allows his magic to fade from Gilgamesh. He had a bad feeling that their confrontation could lead to inter-group violence, and if he was not strong enough to intervene as a party in such a conflict, at least he could do his best to ensure the more rational partner succeeded. At the very least, she did not seem to need help dealing with the mental aspect of the curse once it’s origin had been dispelled. Though he could not make a similar judgment for Brynhild offhand, he sends bolstering, healing magic to her preemptively. Better safe than sorry, even if her own magical powers were considerable.
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Post by Brynhild on Nov 8, 2015 15:45:03 GMT
Perhaps warning him had not been such a good course of action after all..., was roughly what was going through Brynhild's head as the golden servant crushed the entire floor over something as feeble as a ghoul. He certainly was not a very efficient warrior. His effectiveness was yet up to debate however, seeing the collateral damage he had caused. However, when the curses started flooding the room it was her armour that gleamed up, as the defensive runes sought to ward off the curses. What inevitably managed to get past her protection, filled Brynhild with a sense of dread that would have almost made her worry about her own well-being... yet as it was, she put it in the same box as all other feelings when they appeared to be getting in the way, tensing up into a more mechanical, almost machine-like posture.
When Saber urged them to remain with their master, Brynhild gave an affirmative nod merely stating:"Understood." before taking a combat ready position next to their master that was, while still cowering on the ground, being treated by Caster. She did feel the slight urge to bring herself in, yet considering Ce Atl's class... it would have likely been a redundant effort. When he finally turned to the rest of them, Brynhild could feel as the marks of the curses deriving from Gilgamesh's Noble Phantasm, were washed away in something that felt like a gentle breeze to her senses.
Seeing Muramasa just go ahead of them left Brynhild with a slightly disconcerted feeling, as splitting up like this could be naught but detrimental to their goal. There were supposedly larger numbers of shades within the area, so a servant on his own could be pressed into an unfavourable situation if not careful. Even so, they could not let their master be... she would most certainly die if not protected. In that sense Brynhild turned to Topiltzkin with a strict, cool tone:"Caster... I would ask you to pick up our Master, I would rather not have her lying around on a floor that could end up breaking or bursting any second. We should wait shortly for our comrades... yet if they do not show up, we will follow. In that case I would like you to carry our master, considering I am more suited to close combat than yourself." Throwing him a gaze, seeking confirmation from him, Brynhild then turned to the hallways.
That was... when she could see, slowly, creeping up from the dark below... a number of shadows. Three... maybe four... creatures, completely comprised of shadow, reminiscent of dog like beasts. It was as she had feared... the shades had been attracted by the ruckus the golden servant had caused. How utterly displeasing... Seeing the strange creatures, Brynhild readied her spear, promptly informing Ce Atl, just in case, of the approaching threat:"Shades. Right ahead of us, coming from the hole." Then she darted forward, her spear little more than a blurr as it severed one of the creature's arms, just as it tried to get a hold of the last ledge. Afterwards... her movements just turned into a blurr, as she sought to keep away three of the shades, whilst being engaged in melee combat with them. She definitely was holding the advantage, as one of the shades was practically torn apart, when her prana burst flared up in one of her thrusts, yet... there were more coming. She would not be able to keep this up without letting one, or more, of these creatures pass her.
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Post by AU-O on Nov 9, 2015 22:26:39 GMT
By the time Arturia would chase the golden Berserker up to the next floor, he would be surrounded by a veritable field of corpses. Rotten body parts lay strewn about the hallways and across the walls, coagulated blood painting the entire area a dark crimson. However, Gilgamesh himself seemed entirely unphased, with not a speck of blood nor the faintest sign of a mess adorning his figure. The first hero simply stood amid the carnage, a thoroughly bored look on his face. The only hole in his facade was the axe radiating terror from his grasp. The axe itself was a fine weapon, crafted in gold and diamond and seeming inherently beautiful itself. But it dripped crimson, a foul black-red substance that could only be called a curse in liquid form, from a kill long past that had permanently stained the blade and earned it it's name.
Upon hearing his name called, Gilgamesh looked over his shoulder, momentarily pausing his slaughter to address the Saber whom had followed him. His rage had burned out like a flash of fire, filling him once again with just simmering irritation, a complete frustration at the utter mediocrity of his task.
"...And?"
The only reason Gilgamesh gave even the faintest thought to his master was because she alone was the only one Gilgamesh actually needed to survive. Even with all his might, the infernal system of Chaldea required he had a master to supply him with Prana, or eventually he would fade away in this broken wilderness of altered past. His tone with the "King of Knights" or some such trivial nonsense seemed perfectly flippant and careless. Still, he supposed she had a point. The worthless warriors whom called themselves heroes should be able to protect even a completely incapacitated human, but if she had a heart attack out of shock and died, it would cause trouble for him.
With a roll of his eyes and a begrudging sigh, he re-ordered his Noble Phantasm to consider all those he came with as "not enemies." The curse would still prevail throughout the area, but it would wash over his allies without effecting them now. It was probably for the best Gilgamesh did not notice Ce Atl attempting to wash away the curse of his weapon, or the irritable berserker would have perceived it as an insult, which would have led to rather unfortunate situations. Instead, he completely brushed the rest of his allies from his mind.
"The others can protect our master on the tenth floor while I proceed. Follow me if you wish, or stay with the rest of them, it makes no difference to me."
He spat the word "master" like an insult, a cosmic joke played upon him by the universe. And with that, Gilgamesh turned his head and moved onwards, continuing his slaughter through the next floor. Most threats in the immediate vicinity had come running at him within seconds of his flashy entrance onto the floor, and had been dispatched with relative triviality. After all, this was not even among the floors they were actually here for; That was still 15 floors up, and the rate of their movement was horrendously slow for his tastes. Until they reached a floor with actual challenge it took no more than a single servant for any one floor, and even that was overkill.
Figuring he should probably not just continuing making holes to travel upwards, Gilgamesh began his search for a way up further still, towards the next floor.
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Post by ai on Nov 13, 2015 16:42:15 GMT
The fear, despair and mental agony that Ai suffered was the first bad experience she had in her whole life. She bursted into tears, her body was shaking and she was already accepting a delusional fact of dying. If it was not by Ce Atl's healing spells there wouldn't be a point of return for her.
“s....s....” Although cured from the curse, her body was still shaking and tears kept running down her cheeks “S...SORRY!” Then again, she couldn't help but close her eyes and cry but this time, in shame and for being a burden to the team.
Although there was no time for rest, the team was already splitting up. Arturia followed Berserker and Lancer was ahead of them fighting, not even by looking around on the floor she could find Muramasa and Ce Atl was just standing there by her side. She tried her best to stand up but all she could manage to do was to kneel down with her hands on the floor, she was feeling mentally exhausted.
“P-please move on without me... I'll catch up later so I won't hold any of you back...”
And even with all the pain she suffered, she let out a soft smile that could easily express despair and calm. From that point on she lowered her head again and didn't want to face any of the present servants at that moment.
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