A Bone to Pick – Killer Kaiju

No matter how big I made these rocks, the skeleton seemed to just not care. Dammit! I could feel agitation creeping up in the back of my mind, something I rarely handled well. It ruined the mood. After the third rock at the skeleton's joint seemed not at all to deserve it's attention, it seemed more of those -- what should I call these armor dudes? I'll just say Oni, for the sake of ease. Well, those jerks got behind me. How'd I know?

"OW!"

Another of those big iron clubs hit my side, and my right arm was definitely broken. It hung limply at my side as I pushed myself up from the ground. There was that agitation again, as I looked up at him. Creeping into the back of my mind. A chain would wrap around the Oni and throw it away with substantial force. It was probably fine. Mostly. Then I'd look to the skeleton in time to see giant black chains wrapping around it. My own signature move?! Then suddenly the things head came crashing down.

"Of course, their magics work. Tch. Fine, then! A true actress can play a supporting role every once in a while..."

My arm would be useless for a bit longer, but I didn't care. I was more concerned with that creeping irritation that was now threatening to take over my mind as I leapt towards the building with the girl casting the spell that actually worked. I'd cover for her, a chain wrapping around a fire escape as I swung over to the other building. A large cleaver would tear into the side of the building, pushing some of the monsters scaling the side down to the pavement, then I'd jump to the edge of the roof Raven was on, looking down.

"I'll cover you, then, I guess. Make sure to remember the favor, though!"

I'd try my best to keep Raven clear while she did that spell thing.

Back on the ground, Robin and an unlikely ally would be either just trying to stay alive- both from the fourteen foot demons that could probably kill him with one good overhead swing, and now the fire from the giant skeleton. Fortunately either by sheer accident or by her own volition, The Hanya girl (AKA: Ally) gave him some breathing room after throwing her opponent into their midst, sending the two ganging up on Robin toppling into a storefront. That gave Robin barely enough time to use his cape and wrap himself up, gritting his teeth as the flames managed to catch him for just a second before he got his cape into position. And he was stuck like that, for the time being...

Ally on the other hand did not have a fireproof cape, and so was caught in the fiery destruction of Gashadokuro. She let out a terrible, inhuman howl before the flames started to quickly recede toward the original target of the attack; Inferno.


Inferno would probably feeling kind of worn out if he had a physical body, and was still forced to defend his "territory" from the boneheaded invader. Melting another steel club with his body, he stretched and launched his fiery fist into the side of another oni just as Gashadokuro loomed over him. "This isn't going to be good," he thought dryly before the world soon erupted into flames around the area. That was... not what he had been expecting but would have time to consider the fact Gashadokuro had no brain later. Paying the screeches of agony no mind, Inferno simply started to draw ALL fire toward him- trying to limit the harm or damage it could do to anyone unfortunate enough to get caught in the crossfire.

The end result was him absorbing the flames, melding them with his body until he grew much larger. Unfortunately this meant his body would grow around his clothes, which at this point was a small price to pay to ensure this intruder was put down. The blackout was still a moot point at the towering Inferno illuminating the area, using his newly gained mass to stretch one arm out toward the building with the Oni trying to get to the titans' mystic, he managed to knock a few off and drove them into the ground as Rapture decapitated Gashadokuro.


The titans would've dispersed or tried to protect anyone they could from the flames, for better or for worse until Inferno had absorbed the roaring flames. Once the coast was clear they would start to rally and get ready to try and break up Gashadokuro while Raven continued to cast her spell. This however would be easier if not for the fact that while headless, Gashadokuro was still mobile and still very aware/ He wrestled against the chains, lashing out as he was pelted by a flying Oni from a crispy half-demon. Robin would likewise notice some of the remaining oni trying to get up after Isabel and Raven, using the last of his explosives and hurling them into the backs of a couple of the stragglers.


Ally had a very high pain tolerance, to the point of simply... enjoying it. Fire fell into a complicated place on that spectrum because on one hand, it still satisfies the criteria. On the other hand, it also kills the cells and skin making it harder or impossible to keep feeling anything afterward. So it's a good thing her regeneration would make up for that, more or less repeating the agonizing burning sensation as her skin and everything else burned started to heal. "HAAAAAAAHTARUSH!" Ally slurred, panting heavily as another Oni came after her, catching his fist and twisting his arm with an unpleasant "snap" sound that was followed up by her fist crashing into the dead center of his face. Ally would then pull, starting to spin and swing the Oni around a few times before letting him go flying in the general direction of the giant skeleton.

Then she saw someone lying unconscious- probably had to do with the skull fragments and stuff laying around but that's not what she was currently seeing. The Beast was thrilled with the pain and violence on the oni, yet it craved more. She felt it gnawing away in the back of her mind and was starting to panic- time to leave! It was nice to actually get out and let loose once in awhile. So Ally took off! The titans would be able to hopefully deal with this thing now.

Finally, Inferno with his increased size would try to restrain and or break off what limbs he could to help the other titans. Gashadokuro was however physically stronger and so this was much harder than you would think, yet he could likewise not really harm Inferno due to his body lacking any internal organs, or bones to break.

Raven could hear the fight getting closer and closer to herself.

Yet she did not allow herself to lose concentration, not even to look around for a bit. The energies she was channeling were so powerful that a momentary distraction would cause it to fly out of control, and let her dark energy consume the building and all in the vicinity. But Raven knew she had help. And she was grateful. But... the time for that would come later, not now! The magical words helped control and focus the magic into a specific point - her book, which she pointed at Gashadokuro, as she finished the spell. And so it went on

... Vosolen Lirus-nor!

Raven's cloak flared behind her, as she released a stream of gleaming energy at Gashadokuro's body! It would hit square in the chest and start wrapping around his body, encapsulating it whole, and even spreading across the ground, catching some of the demons and the skull. The magic girl needed to make sure all the body parts would be sealed, and so she poured more and more of her energy into the stream.

C'mon, just a little more...

Raven's vision was becoming blurry, and her footing was starting to waver as well. The thing was just too large! And there was resistance still! The encroaching of the energy around the creature would slow down, and it might not be enough to encompass him fully!

Defending the mage was about as easy as I expected it to be. Not very. These guys were big! And strong! And they were immune to having their arms cut off! That's not fair that was my thing. I'd fight a few off, finding it easiest to kick them off the roof. I glanced back a few times to admire the spell, wondering if I'd seen it before. It looked like it took a lot of magic, so she probably had a whole bunch. Strong mages were hard to come by!

"Hey, uh, purple, fire that thing into overdrive, right?!"

I'd ask, backflipping off an Oni and landing a little bit in front of her. That's when she started to lose her footing. Uh oh! This spell was really taking a toll. Oh it was definitely time to use that agitation I'd felt building earlier. The cute boy in red threw explosives at the backs of the Oni on their way. That bought us time! Good!

"Listen, I'm gonna help alright?"

I wasn't sure she could hear me. She was stumbling and her vision was probably blurring. I'd touch the book and just send some magical energy at it for Raven to mold. For her, it would suddenly feel like the spell was hooked up to an incredible and endless magic supply that would never run out. To me it felt like a slight pull. The spell would be able to double down, probably enough to seal the beast away with the damage the others had done to it.

"I suck at forging spells, but I got lotsa magic, so just take what you need right?"

Suddenly, Raven's sight started to clear, as she felt someone getting their energy into the spell.

Her eyes widened, a momentary thought about how dangerous it was, but right now, she could not really complain. Most of the energy given was already her own, and the stranger's was just a fraction of what was already committed to this spell. With Gashadokuro weakened by others and unable to fight or escape it, Raven's magic worked. It sucked the creature into the pages of the book, transforming it into an image of a large skeleton trying to consume a city, but only an image of its former self.

"Uhh... uhhh... hah..."

Raven panted a little as she tumbled back from the edge of the fell on her rear, letting out a squeak of discomfort, and wrapping the arms around the book, as if afraid that whatever she tried to seal inside of it would break out. She then looked up at the girl who gave her that much energy to finish the spell with, and nodded.

"That was reckless and dangerous... But thank you."

She then looked around to see if any of the smaller creatures were still there. The big one was dealt with, but unless the rest were tied to it... there was still a whole lot of battle to fight. And Raven didn't feel that she would last long, either way.

With Gashadokuro being pulled into the book, the headless skeleton tried one final failed attempt at possibly dragging Ryuu in with him, only for his fingers to grab nothing but air as he was pulled away and trapped within Raven's book. There was that brief, awkward silence of victory before everyone turned their attention to any stragglers around. Inferno simply turned in their direction, still a towering giant of fire out of Norse Mythology. "Leave. Now," Inferno said clearly enough that the message could be understood by all. Did they listen? Well, their big bad boss had just been taken down by a bunch of "insects" with one big bad towering Inferno. And bloodthirsty or not, even demons had a shred of self-preservation. So they did end up running back into the aether where they came from. Once they were gone, Inferno had a complicated matter to deal with. How to shed off some "weight." To which he'd visibly start letting off some "crackles" of fire that seemed to jump from his body little by little, quickly dying out before actually landing on anything.


Robin meanwhile looked around trying to see if he could spot where that Hannya girl went- he wanted to question her at the very least, among other things but she slipped away while they were busy trying to wrap everything up. It only made him feel worse after all of the damage and people getting hurt. Why did she help them? She had fought them last time. For now there was still one person he needed to talk to. "Hey, Spikes," Robin said walking up to Rapture. "You alright? Wanted to thank you for all the help," Robin said grimly, the aftermath weighing heavily on his mind. The only consolation was that it would have been so much worse had they not been around to stop it.

I was pretty sure Raven was about to shrug off my help, which would have irritated me for sure, but she interrupted her lecture with a thank you. This made me smile and bow a bit. I WAS owed a thank you, really. I helped a lot! Distractions are helpful, right?

"Reckless and dangerous are like... my signature moves!"

I'd say, summoning a death magic chain and striking a pose. If Raven was well versed in other types of magic, she'd probably realize that this was my signature taboo magic. When normal people used it, it drained their life force and slowly killed them. I wasn't normal, but Raven probably didn't know that.

"We should probably get with the others though. There's still work to do I imagine."

Like search and rescue or something. I don't know the procedures. There had to be some, though, right?