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Post by Natasha on Nov 1, 2015 19:17:07 GMT
Deciding it best to leave her Servants to their own business, Natasha just continued to hurry on – she could faintly feel her contracts to them anyway, so she at least knew they were still alive… err, that was how that stuff worked, wasn’t it? Oh well, too late to worry now; she had to get this mission done… she’d have to really worry about their lifespans if she left her work too long, so best to just focus on that for now. Hurrying further along the murky river’s edge, the lady often slipped and staggered in her haste – but she was intent on getting this done… in retrospect, this was perhaps not for the best.
While she could at least hear the scuffle around her, Natasha’s focus on the sound of the water beside her and the texture beneath her shoes and cane left her even more blind than usual to the groups adversaries – there were no ghouls nearby, but the waters still stirred… even she could sense that something was going to go wrong. Or perhaps, it was better to say that even she could sense that something was going to drag her back; a feeling egging her on in her mind to stay by that corrupting influence. She didn’t want to touch it ever again, that was for sure; but… it was as if she already had.
Crouching in order to take the last sample, the inevitable seemed to happen – albeit via the unexpected. The blonde magus could certainly sense the ghouls in the mud; but only further downstream. Indeed, the beings were only present towards where the Servants were making their predominant stand… instead; the ground itself groaned; spewing a spray of mud out behind Natasha as the water breached the concrete walkway along this section of the river. A ghoul ruptured forth, but it was already falling apart from the effort; seeming to have been forced upwards with the near-sentient torrent. With a sharp squeak of surprise, Natasha found herself falling over yet again… albeit into a far more bitter end this time.
”Oh.”
It didn’t hurt this time. It didn’t even make her feel uncomfortable. She wasn’t even scared.
No, this was – quite pleasant.
Merlin and Brynhildr’s support had certainly helped defend Natasha from the water’s effects before, but it seemed that something had changed… their magic was still working, but it seemed another factor was at work – the curses just seemed to give way. To her, it was a complicated feeling… it was a bit like being a droplet in a pond of water. It was overwhelming, but… homely. She could get used to this… ahahaha.
Err… it wasn’t easy to swim in, even if she wasn’t drowning in any hurry… calling for help seemed like a bad idea, so hopefully someone had noticed her fall…? Oh dear… she should probably be panicking right now, shouldn’t she…?
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Post by Mordred on Nov 2, 2015 16:05:26 GMT
Continuing to slice up the ghouls, Mordred feels impatience begin to well up inside her uncontrollably. Why were they even attempting to live? They didn’t serve a purpose, their existences were empty shells, simply prolonged by the unholy nature of this place to exist for the sake of existing. That meager life meant that they were easy to cut down, they were worse than beasts in that regard.
As body after body hit the ground, Mordred was distracted from slaying the beasts by an eruption from the ground. Seeing the water spray out and Natasha lurch into the water, Mordred moves out to try and get to her again. This time, however, it seemed she wasn’t fast enough to make a difference, by the time she’d arrived, Natasha was submerged.
Every desire in her mind said “reach in and save her.” It would normally be an effortless task, simply reach a hand into the water, and pull her out. But...just as every desire propelled her to do it, every instinct rebelled against the order. Deep down, she knew that touching that water would be her death, the curses present in the water were all but anathema to Heroic Spirits.
She didn’t have time to be wracked by indecision, though. Not when her Master was trapped like she was. She wasn’t going to fail again. “Does anyone else have this?!” She barks out quickly. If she didn’t get an immediate response, she’d go in. It was a point of duty, and she understood if it ended up requiring sacrifice. It would be a disgusting happening...but between the jester and the mad animal, someone else was likely better equipped for wading in muck.
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Post by Frankenmoe on Nov 3, 2015 1:13:57 GMT
Berserker mindless slaughter the Ghouls that moved near him, the aftershock of his attacks continued doing far more damage.
Then all of his left over instincts screamed at once. He saw Natasha disappear from his sight and into the muck. Death.Death.Certain.Death. He knew that, even in his maddened state he knew that being submerged into that body of curses would be death. But his Life.Link was there, it already meant that he risked death.
Had he been sane, Kullervo would have never jumped in to save another person. He was selfish and cold toward others lives at his core. He didn't trust anyone and he wholeheartedly believed that everyone was by their selves. Family was a lie, friendships were a lie, mentors were a lie. He was alone. The only thing that was clear to him was that everyone deep down was his enemy.
Had he been sane, he wouldn't have jumped.
But he was a Berserker, and on this opportunity his base and selfish instincts saved another's person life. Berserker legs were wounded, he wasn't receiving backup from his master and he had squandered a great deal of energy. He couldn't trust his companions, even if they were linked to her as well, they were strangers. They were threats. He could only save himself, for he was always by himself.
Prana built up around his body just as soon as the anonymous swordman approached the bank of the river. He didn't hear what they said, he didn't care. Then mirroring his previous attack, Berseker blew off the ground. Another crater was left in his wake and like a rocket he flew through the skies and into the water.
Ukonvasara complained, it called him an idiot and that he would die. It laughed and lamented simultaneously. For it was a blade and it would follow it's wielder down any path, even one of certain doom.
Berserker plummeted and dived into the water. It all burned, all of his body burned. Outside a rain of foul water splashed, a"nd a current would have dragged Natasha closer to the ground, then farther as the water sucked back in from the hole Kullervo's dive had caused.
Still he swammed, he felt his skin being eaten at. Still it didn't take more than two seconds for his strength to get at the his Life.Link
He firmly grabbed his Life.Link and raised up, up where there was air. Where it didn't burn, where his spirit core didn't scream. Where Death was Certain. Then he sank again with Natasha, he wanted to jump out but his already weakened legs didn't give.
"▅▅▅▅▅"
Kullervo heaved and rose the surface again, then with one arm shoved his fragile Life.Link into the coast, to safety. Where Natasha wouldn't drown, where she wouldn't fall to the curses. Then he forced himself to the coast.
Or so he thought.
His strength waned, he tried to push himself out of the water. But he had no strength.
His form was blackening. He struggled but he could not get the strength to reach the coast, he was close, so close. He reached out, his hand trying one more desperate attempt to reach safety.
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Post by Brynhild on Nov 3, 2015 14:14:56 GMT
Every single alarm clock rang at once, when Brynhild saw Natasha fall into the stream. To them it would be incredibly difficult to get her out unless- Oh god damn you Berserker! Her face as straight as always, Brynhild screamed in frustration internally as the Berserker bolted into the black mass seemingly without hesitation. At the same time, her entire body seemed to flare up, as she activated almost every rune at once, to boost not only her physical abilities, but especially her resistance to curses and other invasive influences on her body. Covered in as many layers of protection she could muster and with her speed practically doubled, she razed over the ground, sore across the surface of the river, only to notice Kullervo heaving Natasha to the shore.
Then he drifted off into the dark himself. Without halting her movement, Brynhild slightly altered her course, now fully delving into the black muck that sought to invade and tarnish her, while being kept just barely at bay by her protections. It would not last long, that much she knew... so without wasting any more time, Brynhild dematerialized her spear, grabbed Berserker with both hands and threw him to the shore with an exhasperated grunt. Watching the incredibly tall man fly through the air, before hitting the shore's ground with a thud, Brynhild's own protections broke down one by one... soon her pained screams filled the air, as the muck attacked her body like an acid. Yet so far it was only pain... so with a huge burst of strength and speed, Brynhild jumped out of the muck, landing a few meters away from Natasha on her feet, before unwillingly breaking down on one knee.
Her body was covered in something that looked like burns, smoldering black, having burnt even through her armour like it was nothing. So Brynhild did the only thing she could think of in such an 'invasive' situation... she surged her own prana through her body with wild abondon, lighting up like a pyre in the process as she spiked it in a burst of blue-whitish flames. The burst was short enough not to give Natasha more than a light sunburn, yet the ground around Brynhild practically melted, being almost white glowing in colour for a second, before Brynhild ceased that action and cooled it down with a dismissive gesture.
"Merlin! See to Natasha, I will try to purge the curses in Kullervo's body!" unsure whether she would actually have to tell the Caster to do just that, she merely did it for having said it. She did not know what influence curses like these could have on a flesh and blood human, however if she did not get the invading curses out of Kullervo's body he would most certainly be consumed by them in one form or another. So with a look at Mordred she merely said:"I might need your personal prana reserves Sir Mordred..." before dematerializing her armour, slicing her own wrist with her rematerlized spear and pressing it against Kullervo's mouth, while at the same time directly aiming to invade him with her own prana. To support this action she wrote several Ansuz runes onto Kullervo with her own blood, as to enhance the power of her prana surge into the Berserker.
It was improvised, yet purging him of the foreign influence by replacing it with comparatively neutral prana should work... but she was lacking the necessary amount to do so, now that their master was unconscious and she herself had expended a considerable amount to protect and then finally purge the curses out of her own system. She really would need either Merlin or Mordred to help her prevent the complete blackening of Berserker, through the invading curses. "Sir Mordred, please... be quick." Her voice urgent, yet strict with a faint breeze of exhaustion, she threw her knight a pleading gaze, before continuing with her work... to for all intents and purposes, save Berserker.
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Post by Merlin on Nov 4, 2015 1:45:35 GMT
"...Huh?"
The tiny floating Caster had hardly even noticed his master getting plunged into the curse-filled water of the River. Perhaps he should have been paying attention to what he was doing after all. He'd even seen the torrent of water flooding through the ground. Had he forgotten to warn Natasha? Whoops. Live and learn, he supposed. That wasn't even what really concerned him. What concerned him was the fact that Mordred seemed to be the only other Servant on his team with any sense in their brains. Which he guess he couldn't really fault Berserker for, in the grand scheme of things...
Still, seeing two Servants plunge themselves entirely into the stained river in an attempt to rescue their master was slightly troubling, if only because he wasn't sure why they didn't just let him do it. Sure, he hadn't done much so far, but did they really think him so useless that he couldn't retrieve a little girl from a puddle of curses on his own? Have some faith, people.
"What a mess."
Shifting back into his human form, he took Natasha from Brynhild with barely a roll of his eyes. Ofcourse he'd see to Natasha, it's not like anyone here knew any actual restorative magics. At least not really knew. Setting the blind master down on the shore, he spoke to her gently before beginning the process of purifying her. Or at least, removing all the cursed water and their influence from her body and soul. He wasn't sure exactly what effect being immersed in the water would have on her, but it was a good place to start.
"You may wish to hold your breath Master. Also, this may hurt. It may not. Who knows?"
With no further warning, Merlin swept his hand through the air above her, a tiny cup of water materializing in his hand. Chanting something in latin for a brief moment, he then overturned the cup above her; And something akin to a bath-tub amount of holy water sprang out from the tiny cup, pouring itself over Natasha and thoroughly soaking her in the baptismal waters. Fight water with water, right? The purifying effects of the spell should at least wash away the tainted water and set to work purifying her body of any physical taint left over for from it; While Christian invocations were not Merlin's favorite form of spell, it seemed most appropriate for purifying curses made of human sin and taint from a body.
A magical circle would practically draw itself, appearing in the dirt around her almost spontaneously as Merlin uttered a second chant, this one in an old celtic dialect. The circle crafted a bounded field around Natasha, cutting her off from any outside spiritual influences and setting to work an old "banishing" ritual Merlin had once come across, meant to expel foul demons, spirits and spells from an individual within. More of a "deep cleanse" spell, it would attempt to shove any remnants of a spirit or presence within Natasha forcibly out of her soul. This was the part that might hurt, if the River had actually infected her soul on a meaningful level.
Turning his attention towards Brynhild and Kullervo, he all but pushed Brynhild aside. Investing more Prana into him was a good stop-gap measure, but in Merlin's eyes it was nothing more than stalling. Saving Berserker would be a far trickier matter than saving Natasha. Due to his status as a servant, if he was tainted too deeply then doing to Kullervo what he had done to Natasha would end up just killing Kullervo rather than removing the infection of curses. No, he needed a more thorough, precise cleansing. And the Magus of Flowers couldn't perform such an operation with people in the way.
"Mordred, Brynhild, go make sure no other threats approach. I'll handle these two."
It was the first serious thing Merlin had said the entire mission. His playful tone still carried through the words, speaking the life-and-death remark the same way one might tell the punchline to a rather bad joke. But his words left little room for debate. If he was going to actually save this foolish Berserker he needed to pay attention to do it. Putting his other two companions aside in his thoughts, he wracked his brain for the proper spells to use. The closer the spell to Berserker's homeland, Finland, the better. How did Merlin know he was from Finland? Well for one, the sword said his name earlier, even though nobody seemed to pick up or note anything about it at the time. Probably because most were out of ear-shot or not paying attention. But on another note, taking a look at Berserker it was hard to deduce he was from anywhere else; His brands and the certain latent magical powers he had were distinctly of a finnish pagan origin.
Right then, Finnish Spells. Seems like Merlin would need to take a peak back into some of his shamanic spells for this doozy.
Murmuring to himself, Merlin quickly formed another magical circle around himself and Kullervo, placing one hand on the all-but Paralyzed Berserkers chest and another on his forehead.
"Oh, and do make sure Natasha's alright. Hopefully she didn't have too adverse of a reaction."
With that final afterthought out of the way, he went to work purifying the Berserker's spirit of the curses aimed specifically at his defilement as a Heroic Spirit. Chant after chant haunted his breath as Merlin's eyes seemed to glaze over, falling into a trance aimed at purging Berserker's spirit and removing any taint the water might have left in him.
And through it all, Merlin still lamented that this distraction now brought him even further away from finding the answer he'd come here to discover. What a drag.
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Post by Natasha on Nov 4, 2015 3:35:01 GMT
Lost in this alien bliss, Natasha just felt a bit cheated to be grabbed by whatever beast was holding her now – err, hopefully that wasn’t a ghoul. Ah, but then she was shove upwards and upon the shore; dripping with the unholy substance. There was screaming, there was shouting, there was a lot of fire too; but in the midst of it all the lady just sat up, looking a bit confused. What was all this fuss about? She felt – fine. Good, great! Something had tickled at her soul, and she felt all the better for it… in fact… ”Hah… Ahahahah…~”
Wearing a relieved smile, the Russian just seemed satisfied in the midst of the chaos; laughing idly to herself. This was all just so crazy! Everyone was making such a fuss, and yet she felt fine! Was this what it meant to go insane? Or maybe she was just different due to being human? Regardless, she sat idly as Merlin hurried her aside, giving her such a strange warning – ‘hold your breath’? ‘Who knows’? This all seemed like some sort of joke. Oh well, at least it seemed to be in relatively good taste. Hopefully all that screaming was just kidding around too; else she might have a headache once they got back to base. Well, she already had one… her clothes were certainly ruined at this point.
Assuming Merlin’s intent; Natasha was wise enough to toss the sample-holding cubes she’d filled aside – well, they certainly had a deep sample now courtesy of her little dunk, now that she thought of it – for the sake of saving the mission in amongst all this bizarre panic. As she sighed in relief over the mission’s unlikely success, she was suddenly met with a torrent of water; looking like a very upset soaked cat for a moment as the holy water splashed down on her. Well, she was definitely clean now… but…!
However, before she could begin properly sulking; Natasha recognised the magical circle being formed around her. What was going on?! This had better be a healing spell or something, because she could feel the power building up around her… it made her gag; something in her wanted to just struggle away from it all; she wanted to drag herself out – but her own sense of self-preservation argued that interrupting a Servant’s spell would be a terrible, terrible idea. As the magic took effect, she felt her form being cleansed; not a pleasant sensation, but merely a comforting one… until something broke open.
She opened her mouth to scream in pain – but it wasn’t that sort of pain. It was something like a syringe; a tiny, very penetrative pain that just shot straight through one’s nerves rather than something that’d make you grunt or shout. But, it hurt; and it kept hurting; leaving the lady shuddering on her side on the rugged ground; her chest heaving as her body tried to deal with this alien sensation. ”W-What’d you… d-do…?!” she gasped blindly (well, more than usual); even her other senses cut off in the midst of her suffering. This thing had just sawn straight through her, and dragged something out – something important, something writhing… she wanted it back so dearly; more than anything in the world…!
And then it was over.
Sitting up once more, the lady seemed right as rain all over again. Something had just snapped back into place, or maybe something hadn’t been wrong to begin with. What a strange day she was having. But, the mission was done; so they could head home… err, speaking of which, her compatriots didn’t seem so well… as she stood up, she finally got to survey the situation a little bit. A lot of unpleasant noises and unhappy voices. Oh dear. And she was drenched with water… Natasha just gave a heavy sigh. Served her right for wearing a white shirt on a mission, didn’t it…? ”Well… we’re free to go, at least…”
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Post by Mordred on Nov 7, 2015 5:31:53 GMT
Mordred couldn’t help but be surprised as both Brynhild and Berserker jumped into the water, one after the other. They were certainly...she didn’t want to say stupid...selfless? She eventually decided that was appropriate, but was unable to affect the situation herself. Being powerless was frustrating, and something she didn’t take well. “Hurry up and get her out of there!” Her shouting doesn’t really help anything, but hopefully it at least gives them some encouragement.
When Brynhild successfully pulls the both of them out, she can’t help but be impressed. Magnificent. Though weakened by the powerful curses that gave her pause, she accomplished such a feat of strength? Just another reminder of what an impressive person this was...and that she was far, far more than what was easy to think about her from how she tended to act when not in a mission.
At Merlin’s order, she grabs Brynhild’s shoulder, radiating prana. She wasn’t sure if that would help, but it was some attempt to bolster her. “If you need to lie down, that is fine. I will protect the perimeter myself in the meantime. With a squeeze, she looks around them, trying to see where the ghouls were encroaching from. Hopefully this would not last too much longer, something that Natasha’s statement of affiirmation confirms.
“Truly? I was afraid we’d have to deal with more of this garbage.” Mordred charges outwards, cleaving a ghoul in half. “Take us home already. Wasting time here is even worse than wasting time back in Chalda.”
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Post by Frankenmoe on Nov 10, 2015 2:53:57 GMT
Berserker lost what little sense of being and time he had. All he knew was that the world burned, he kept seeing images of his Sister. The sister he defiled, the parents who left him behind, the man who abused of him, the family that owned him. The torture, the hunger, the solitude, the cold, the rage.
The screams.
The screams.
His screams.
He was angry, angry at the world who shunned him. Why did they shun him? What did he do?
"You did nothing."
A voice spoke to him, amidst the sea of screams. The sights of everyone he'd ever met on his feet and dead.
"It is only human what you lived."
"So it is only natural that you take revenge."
He held the corpse of his sister, who he defiled and in turn made her take her life.
"So Fall it is only natural."
"No matter what you choose, how wretched you become, I will spill all the blood you wish, that is our contract."
Yes, yes. They had to pay, they should pay. He'd make them pay.
The blood closed in, the rage flared, he could feel power overflowing his very core. A dark power, he craved it.
Then light filled his core, it irked him. He resisted, the darkness resisted it. Kullervo denied that light, he struggled and screamed at it, he did not like the warmth it gave. It made him see his family smiling, beckoning to him.
No
No
He had no place among them, they cast him out! But why did they try to embrace him...
Outside, Berserker was barely conscious. His mouth muttered words unintelligibly from time to time, he had no outward resistance. The curses regressed from his form but he'd need further treatment to return to normal form.
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Post by Merlin on Nov 21, 2015 0:16:41 GMT
Well, that was one crisis averted. For now, at least. Kullervo clearly was going to need more help than what had just been provided, but at the very least he wasn't going to succumb to whatever curses the water had inflicted upon him. Probably. His psych was rather questionable to begin with as a berserker, so it was hard to say exactly what long term effects the substance might have on him. At the very least, Merlin would make sure to keep an eye on him; Not that he had much choice.
"Ah, yes. I suppose we should leave then, Master. Berserker here is going to need some further attention at Chaldea's facilities."
At least Natasha seemed relatively free of the curses effects. Unlike Berserker here she wasn't still writhing in agony or covered in the physical manifestation of the damn stuff, so that was a bonus. However, he still kept a mental note to keep an eye on her as well; If only to keep track of any... unintended side effects her exposure might have given her. After all, Merlin was as unfamiliar with this stuff as Chaldea was. Which reminded him...
"Now then, off we go?"
He spoke to his other companions from his sitting position, crouched over Kullervo as he still was. To them it would seem like he was probably still hard at work delving into the soul of Berserker, but his work was already done for the most part. The spells working at exorcising had taken on a life of their own. No, Merlin was focused on a different, more mischievous matter. In his right hand sat the same vial he had dumped a veritable bath tub of holy water on Natasha from, now emptied of it's contents.
Or rather, was empty.
The now inert cursed water, intermingled with the holy water he had used in combat against it, now flowed into the vial at Merlin's behest. Chaldea had their researches, but Merlin was of a curious sort. He couldn't help but take some to examine for himself later. The entire process would happen virtually invisibly, in the muck of spellcraft around Kullervo, and would take someone looking exactly for it to spot what the magician was doing. And even if they did notice, he wasn't ashamed of his actions. After all, nobody said he couldn't take his own sample.
"That is, if we'd like Berserker to keep his head only as dislodged as the usual~."
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Post by Natasha on Dec 1, 2015 17:28:37 GMT
Huffing as she fussed over her current state, Natasha pointedly folded her arms over her shirt; looking all too displeased as she dripped with water – and casting a rather definite glare at the source of Merlin’s surly voice for his efforts. ”You could at least warn me…” grumbled the blonde, before turning her attention to the rest of the group – they’d certainly made their majority vote quite clear. No reason to stick around, then… unless Merlin wanted to take a dive in the river himself. ”Yes yes, let’s move out. I’d rather not deal with any more of this fuss… oof, I want a hot shower…”
”Um, Chaldea! Commence Ray Shift! Again! Err, please?” asked Natasha over her communicator with as much professionalism as usual; having pretty much given up at this point – she just wanted to go home! A nice dinner, a warm shower, a long nap… and a little less time around all these shouty people, harrumph! Now she was in an awful mood. Being met with no response, the blonde got a bit worried – “Do you copy? We’re done with the mission! Come on!” huffed the lady, only to be met with a unique sensation – oh, this again…
The world spun – no, the world stretched; she could feel it even through her blind gaze. The world felt uneasy, and she certainly felt even more uneasy. Her stomach spun as well… she’d gotten a bit more thin courtesy of her magic use during the mission, not to mention her previous… example of nausea, but at this rate she was going to do that all over again – except, it was like she was spinning around her stomach? Ah, that more she thought about it, the worse she felt… best to just give in and drown in the light already…
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