No.4853
>The Great Expanse
>Earth-1865
>The sun sets over the dusty terrain of the Great Expanse, dipping below the mesas that dot the landscape.
>In the shadows of one of these mesas, a lone mine entrance sits, a pair of men loading up a minecart that sits on tracks leading into the tunnel.
“Good haul today.”
“Yup.”
“Tell y’ what, the boss sure knows how to pick ‘em.”
“Yup.”
“. . .yup, sure does, good haul and barely any fightin’”
“Yup.”
“C’mon man, gimme somethin’. . .”
>The man raises a finger to say something, then falls over as a bullet flies through his leg, taking it out.
“Huh. . .”
>The more talkative of the two looks around, only to see the briefest of glints before a bullet hits him right in the head, taking him out instantly.
—————————————————-
>Within the mines, several other people drink and cheer as they enjoy their ill-gotten gains, their cheers echoing through the tunnels
>At the head of a makeshift table, a woman with ashen-white hair wearing a wide-brimmed hat sits with her feet up on the table, constantly loading and unloading a gun rhythmically. As she does, one of the gang members around her notices.
“Summit wrong, boss?”
>The woman looks up from under her hat, then looks over at the door.
“Those two should of been back by now, wasn’t that much to load. . .”
>As she finishes her sentence, the door bursts open with a loud crack.
No.4854
>>4853>With the sound of the door bursting having interrupted their partying, the people within the room turn their attention to it, and the person who caused it - a red-headed woman wearing a gold accented and feathered hat.
>Their reaction times a little dulled by the alcohol in their systems, the people in the room nevertheless manage to scramble and pull out their weapons, all of them pointing at the woman, who seems unfazed by the situation.
>With a chuckle, the white-haired woman looks up, loading her gun once again.“Well well well, ain’t you a brave one. . . what can I do y’for?”
>The red-haired woman moves a hand down to by her belt, the movement causing the people in the room to nervously shuffle, several weapons clicking as bullets are chambered within them.“I’m just a simple hunter, making her way in the world. . .”
>The red-haired woman looks up, staring down the white-haired woman.“. . .and I’ve been hunting you since Broken Hill, Rowena ‘Two-Face’ McGowall.”
“That so? You certainly know how to pick your battles. . .”
>The white-haired woman leans back, using the momentum to help her stand up.“. . .I mean, I got twenty men here, and I only see one six-shooter on you. . .”
“‘S all I need.”
“I suppose target practice is good for the boys. . . get her. . .”
>The white-haired woman waves dismissively, and her men start to squeeze the triggers of their guns, only for six gunshots to ring out from the red-haired woman.
>After a few seconds, the white-haired woman’s men fall to the ground, leaving only her and the red-haired woman in the room, who stands in place with a smoking gun.“You’ve got a choice, I can bring you in dead or alive. . .”
>The white-haired woman looks around at the thugs on the ground, and starts to pull her gun up.“Well. . .”
>As she brings her gun up, the red-haired woman starts moving closer, closing the gap between the two, and the white-haired woman closes her eyes.
>. . .only to open them again after a few moments and see no sign of the red-haired woman.“Huh. . .”
No.4855
>>4854>Sanctuary City, Earth-0
>November 14th, 2017
>In one of the many alleyways of the city, a small, weaselly looking woman stands cornered by two men and another woman, her eyes rapidly darting about as she tries to find a way out of her predicament.“L-look guys, I hate it as much as you. . . more even. . . but the boss said no more shipments to Sanctuary until your boss sorts out the situation he’s having with the-”
>The woman yelps as one of the men, the larger of the two, slams his fist against the wall.“We don’t care about that, we know you’re holding out on us, Weasel.”
“Whaaaaat?
Me hold out o-on y-you. . . I would never!”
>As she finishes the sentence, the woman instinctively ducks, avoiding the man’s fist, and dives through his legs, narrowly managing to get through.“But if it’s all the same, guys, I’m gonna run, ok?”
>The woman starts scrambling to the end of the alleyway, using all four limbs to run as fast as she can. Before she can reach the end, however, a ray of ice flies over her head and expands out at the entrance of the alley, blocking off her way of escape.“We just wanna talk. . .”
>A panicked look in her eyes, the woman looks around, then scrambles to one of the walls of the alley, scratching at it for a few seconds before kicking it, producing a small gap that she disappears through. No.4856
>>4855>With a wall between herself and her pursuers, the woman falls down, leaning against the wall and breathing a sigh of relief, before jumping up in shock as the wall crumbles behind her, a giant hand reaching through it.“Jesus-!”
>Slipping through the fingers of the hand, the woman starts scrambling again, using the momentum to burst through a door into a kitchen, which erupts into further chaos as she rushes through it, jumping up and down from floor to worksurface, knocking pots and pans everywhere.
>Reaching the end of the kitchen, the woman leaps through into the main area of the business, just in time to duck down as a fireball flies through, smashing through the glass on the other side and igniting the awning of the shop on the street beyond.
>Peaking her head up, the woman looks back to see her pursuers beyond the now-broken wall.“Hey, what the hell guys, I thought we were friends!”
>The woman ducks down again as another fireball hoots through, then scrambles towards the broken window, keeping as low as she can in hopes of avoiding detection. . . No.4857
>>4856>The repeating sound of quick, reverberating footsteps begins to ripple through the streets, as a hooded and masked figure in black clothing rushes onto the scene. "Where'd they go?! Ugh. This is the
second time today that I've lost-"
>Feeling his voice trail off, Demiurge looks off to the side and sees the shattered glass and the fireball fly through the air - immolating the parallel store.
>Instinctively, Demiurge holds out one of his gloved black hands and draws a symbol, producing a fire hydrant - which them manifests itself in the air - hovering as he pulls off the side valve and watches as the pressurized water jet douses the flame.
>Turning his attention back towards the three figures approaching, he then says:"Oh it's you idiots. I figured arson was beneath you, but I guess we're not all winners today."
>Muttering to himself, Demiurge notices the woman at the broken window, hesitating as he looks back at the trio."So who's pulling your strings today? Crimson Tide? Autonauts? Or are you big boy criminals going out on your own now instead?"
>Demiurge gestures with his hand, causing the pressurized water of the materialized fire hydrant to expand into a large flowing construct of 5 high pressure water prongs, like a large water-based hand, which immediately move towards the criminals. No.4859
>>4857>The larger man shrugs as Demiurge's extinguisher puts out the flames."Thanks."
"Yeah, thanks."
>The smaller man holds out a hand, and the water freezes in place."We wouldn't want any trouble, we're just handling some business."
>The larger man nudges his head, and the woman with the pair steps away, a giant foot appearing behind the two before disappearing again as something, or rather someone, huge walks past the building.>>4858>As Orion steps up, the woman keeps on quietly crawling along, trying to avoid anyone noticing her. . . No.4860
>>4859>Demiurge narrows his eyes behind his mask, muttering to himself."….The people in this city, I swear….."
>Turning around, Demiurge then notices the woman crawling along the ground and slowly walks towards her, once the others have left his line of sight."Hey, Miss. I'm assuming you were hiding from them?"
>Crossing his arms, Demiurge then asks:"Care to explain why? Because I generally don't see hiding from criminals as a great sign."
No.4861
>>4860>Thinking she's unseen, the woman grabs a sandwich from one of the tables, taking a bite from it and looking up as she's addressed by Demiurge."Nah nah. . . I'm runnin', not hidin'. . . thanks for the help though!"
>The woman starts scrambling away again, being less cautious about where she's going, only to be forced to jump out of the way as a foot comes down where she was planning on heading."This city not got any meta-wranglers?! I swear to-!"
>The woman jumps out of the way again as a hand sweeps down to grab her.
>Before either Demiurge or Orion can react to the sight of the woman playing cat and mouse with someone much larger than her, however, their surroundings suddenly switch from the city to a small, metallic room with one entrance - the path through it blocked by a field of some kind of energy.
>On the other side of the energy, a bug-like creature of some kind manages an odd-looking machine, and a humanoid figure stands by it, looking at a read-out."Two in one scoop? Good work, Drone 1982."
>The bug chitters in response.
>Despite the sudden nature of their arrival, the room has an odd aura of calmness for them, as if cutting out any thoughts of violence, or desires to use their powers. No.4862
>>4861>Startled by the sudden and unexpected shift, Orion takes a step back."What the fuck..?"
>He looks around the room quickly, and then focuses his attention on the figure. The room's effects take hold, although maybe not quite to the degree desired, as Orion is still visibly upset."Who the fuck are you? Where is this?"
No.4863
>>4862>The figure turns their head as Orion talks, then steps towards the cell."Drone 1999, increase the field effect for cell 12. . ."
>The desire to be calm grows stronger in response to the request, and the figure steps through the field."Greetings, I am Omega, and you are truly honoured. Out of all the myriad souls in the multiverse, you have been selected for great purpose, for this is The Arena, the great battle world of the cosmos, where the mighty prove their mettle in the great Tourney of Triumphs."
>Omega bows.". . .and the upcoming one is a special one, for it marks the anniversary of the ascension of a Great One. You should feel even more honoured than usual."
No.4865
>>4863>Blinking for a moment in complete surprise, Demiurge then shakes his head in confusion as he reacts:"….I'm sorry what? Multiverse? Arena? Is this a prank or something?"
>Looking between Orion and Omega, Demiurge then points at Orion and says:"….Wait a minute. Aren't you….Yeah you're one of Grayson's C-Suite guys. What exactly does this guy want with you?"
>Turning his attention back towards Omega, Demiurge then states:"No offense, but this is probably some normal guy. I doubt he's some crazy warrior champion or whatever you're asking for - and I'm not either. Despite the getup, I'm more of a good samaritan than an outright warrior."
No.4866
>>4864"No."
>>4865"The only way for you to return home is for you to survive the arena and win alongside the rest of my team - who you will meet shortly, once you've properly acclimatised."
>Omega steps back, the energy field starting to engulf her."But rest assured, you were selected with good reason, unlike my boorish brother, I can properly strategise."
>Omega finishes stepping through the energy field and the cell starts moving downwards. No.4868
>>4867>Demiurge sighs as he places a hand on his mask, muttering to himself."Sorry, I just didn't expect this today."
>Looking at Orion, Demiurge then says:"I'll do what I can to help us win this thing, and I might have a way to get us back - but it's going to take a lot of time and a lot of concentration."
>Looking down at his hands, Demiurge watches as bright white fires begin to appear in his palms. "I can make whatever I can think of, for the most part. I'm not sure where we are, but if you know somebody who can get us out of here, or at least follow you here, I can probably make a device that can signal to them."
No.4870
>>4869>Demiurge focuses as energy pulses through his body, before it suddenly fizzles out, dispersing in a flash of white light."Ack! Damnit…."
>Looking at Orion, Demiurge then says:"Whoever this woman is, she's got some kind of dampening or nullification technology in here. My powers aren't fully working."
>Pulling inside of his outfit's inner lining, Demiurge pulls out a long, sleek hilt in obsidian black coloring - holding it in his hand, while carefully examining its weight."Well, if we've gotta fight, then we fight. I really wish your boss were here instead of me though - for reasons that might be hard to explain."
No.4872
>>4871>Demiurge walks into the living area, taking in the scene. His apprehension remains clear in how he walks, as his muscles are tensed, almost expecting a firefight."…….I'm guessing that you're our 'teammate' in this competition? How'd you get involved in this, if I may ask?"
>Demiurge looks at Orion, saying:"Given how relatively calm you've been about this, I'm going to assume that you've seen your fair share of action, despite my initial doubt. If so, that's good. It means we've got a shot to handle this properly."
No.4873
>>4871>Orion looks around, taking a few moments before noticing the woman waving. Like before, he appears visibly annoyed. "Yeah, hi."
>Orion steps out from the now open cell and into the larger room. After looking around some more he looks back towards the woman."How long have you been here? Cow…girl person."
No.4874
>>4872>>4873"Probably the same as you fellas, I was mindin' my own business when I just up and appeared here."
>The woman shrugs."For how long ago that was, I dunno, my watch just spins around like crazy when I check it, the sword lady might know."
>Standing up, the woman walks over to a room off to the side and knocks on the wall by it."Hey, sword lady! You up? We got newcomers."
>From within the room, a woman who Orion recognises walks out, a sword slung across her back."Newcomers? What're you-"
>The woman looks over at Orion and Demiurge."Oh, there are, handy, more people to throw into the fire first."
"Now now, the purple lady said we're a team."
"For now."
"Also do you know how long it's been?"
"What? No, how would I know that?"
No.4875
>>4874>Demiurge looks at them both and asks:"Wait, so neither of you know who this 'Omega' is? Why she picked you? That's actually telling us a lot more than I thought."
>Thinking to himself for a moment, Demiurge then looks up at them and says:"Well, either way - we know that she needs us for this 'Arena' of hers. She also mentioned her brother, so I'm going to assume this is some sort of family bickering."
>Looking back up at the large living area around him, Demiurge concludes by stating:"….Just bickering on a cosmic scale."
No.4876
>>4874>>4875"Whatever, I guess."
>Orion shrugs."I don't really care why it's happening. I have better things to do, and I want to leave."
>He looks around, not noticing any comfortable seating. Annoyed, he moves towards the wall and sits down on the floor while leaning against it. He looks at Demiurge and both the girls."So… are you guys Meta-Humans or like wizards or what? Surely you're not just someone with a gun and someone with a sword."
No.4877
>>4874>A loud ringing noise jolts Demiurge as he immediately turns and looks towards the other side of the room, blinking behind his mask in confusion as a woman slowly walks out of another room, a laziness carrying in her posture."Can you all keep it down? I was trying to get a few minutes of sleep in….."
>The woman is tall and statuesque, around. six feet in height. She has stylish light green hair and piercing amber eyes. Her outfit is sleek and somewhat impractical, mixing traditional biker clothing with more improvised black fabrics.
>On her back, she has a large black shield with golden bolts and rivets fastened onto the side, and an equally large black sword with golden trimmings that is also holstered on her back. Both weapons appear to glow with a faint ethereal light."Huh? Wait who are you?"
>The woman looks up and down at Demiurge and Orion, as her mundane and muted facial expression slowly changes into one of wonder. Her face and other features belie a supernatural attractiveness which takes Demiurge by surprise."Newbies?! Perfect! Now we can try more fun attack formations!"
>Demiurge, still not sure how to respond to the woman's appearance, simply waves his hand as he says:"Uh… Hi. I'm Demiurge. This is…."
>Gesturing to Orion, Demiurge then says:"….Actually I don't know what his name is, so we'll table that for now."
>Looking back at the woman, Demiurge then says:"Who are you?"
>The woman, her eyes glistening with anticipation, just laughs as she says:"Oh right. My name's Victoria! But people call me Warrior Woman for some reason, and the name stuck!"
No.4878
>>4875>The red-haired woman shrugs."Never met the woman before, she just said she'd brought us here for a reason and that was it. Never even met this brother of hers, if he really exists."
>>4876>Both women answer at the same time, giving two very different answers."Meta-Humans?"
"Of course."
>>4877>The red-haired woman looks over at Victoria."Ah yeah, names, the name's Lisa."
>Lisa offers out a hand for the others to shake."And this is-"
"Conquest. That's all you need to know."
>Conquest turns around, heading back into her alcove to exit the conversation."Y'know, I'd never met someone called Conquest before her, but it takes all sorts of folks, right?"
No.4879
>>4878>Victoria looks at Conquest as she leaves, pouting slightly all the while."Aww, I wish she was a lot more friendly… Her name's awesome though!"
>Perking up immediately, Victoria turns her attention back to Lisa and the others, saying:"I was fighting some supervillains in Paradise City a few days ago. The Wreckers or something like that, I dunno - they weren't strong or anything. Then out of nowhere I ended up here!"
>Waving her hands around for dramatic effect, Victoria continues speaking:"It was crazy! One moment I was minding my own business, and the next moment, I ended up here in……wherever this place is! Can you believe that?"
>Demiurge looks at Orion for a moment, and then Lisa, before turning his attention back to Victoria, stating:"….Yeah. About that…..I'm starting to think we weren't picked for our great decision making skills - no offense."
>Looking back up at the ceiling of the living area, Demiurge says:"….I think she picked us because she knew that we'd have no real option
but to fight. For whatever it is she's clearly bet the house on."
>Victoria narrows her eyes and pouts once more as she quickly places her hands on her hips."Oh don't be a drama queen, Demi! We're tough! We can beat up whoever's in our way! After all, we're the champions right?! She chose us because she knew we could win!"
>Victoria says with smug satisfaction on her face as Demiurge sighs. No.4880
>>4878>>4879>Orion wears a sour expression as he watches Conquest leave. He continues staring in her direction until she's out of sight. "Hm."
>Not paying much attention to Demiurge and Victoria, he looks at Lisa. "You don't know what a Meta-Human is? So are you some kind of sheltered wizard then? I heard some of you don't get out much."
No.4881
>>4879>>4880"Wizard? I ain't no wizard, just a bounty hunter. . ."
>Lisa looks over at Victoria as she mentions Paradise City."I ain't never heard of no Paradise City either. All I got is my special gun and my instincts."
No.4883
>>4881>Victoria looks blankly at Lisa for a moment, and then cheers up as she says:"Perfect! A ranged weapon can pick off enemies from a distance!"
>Turning to look at Orion, Victoria sizes him up with a blank stare as she states:"……I'm not sure what you do….."
>Her eyes then light up as she cheers and says:"But you can probably punch real good! Same with Demi!"
>Demiurge looks down at the black hilt in his hand and focuses, not pressing a button, but instead willing the weapon's supernatural properties to activate.
>In that moment, a large, unstable crackling of red light flows through the weapon. It has a glowing white interior, as the weapon manifests three blades - a large long front facing blade, and two smaller pronged blades, perpendicular to the main blade; forming an impromptu energy guard cross hilt."This is one of the few weapons that I had on me before getting transported here. I'm not sure if I can make more, but this should help."
>Victoria's mouth reflexively waters at the edges as her eyes widen, staring at the shining star-sword."……Gimmegimmegimmegimmegimme!"
>Victoria immediately moves to Demiurge in an instant, demonstrating speed faster than Demiurge's eyes could track, as she begs for the sword."Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease! I need it!"
>Demiurge sheepishly lowers the blade and says:"If we win this contest, no problem."
>Victoria immediately turns to Lisa and Orion with an eye-piercing glare in her eyes. Her voice drops to an uncharacteristically low tone of voice as she says:"You hear that everyone? Losing is non-negotiable."
>She then cheers up again immediately, smiling as she jumps up in the air in excitement, jubilant to a substantially higher degree than immediately shown prior/"So let's win this thing! Woohoo! Yeah!"
No.4884
>>4882>>4883>Lisa shrugs."I mean, I wasn't exactly plannin' on losin'. . ."
>Lisa nudges her head to the alcove.". . .doubt she was plannin' on it either."
No.4886
>>4884>>4885>Victoria jumps up again in jubilation as she cheers once more. "Alright! Team Argonaut's ready to kick some ass!"
>Demiurge looks off to the side, still taken aback by Victoria's high energy behavior. Doing a double take, he turns to Victoria and says:"Wait, Argonauts? Like Jason and the Argonauts?"
>Victoria nods as she crosses her arms, looking smug as she says:"Yup! One of the most famous hero teams in classic mythology! I only wish we had someone named Jason…."
>Demiurge sighs as he shakes his head, stating:"….Don't count yourself short on that just yet."
>Victoria is silent for a moment, before her eyes widen as twinkles of light appear in her eyes. Excitement builds up in her body through rapid muscle contractions as she then cheers even more loudly."YOUR NAME IS JASON?! OMIGOD THAT'S PERFECT!"
>Victoria continues cheering and jumping around as Demiurge turns to the others and slowly removes his mask, stating:"Well, even if I don't make it out of here alive, at least you know. My name's Jason, and I guess we're Victoria's Argonauts."
>Jason then allows his white hair to flow down, partially covering his eyes to hide his embarrassment at revealing his identity. He's also hoping that none of them recognize him as a public figure. No.4888
>>4886>Lisa looks between the pair."Now, I don't think we need a name. . ."
>>4887>From behind Orion, a gauntleted hand rests on his shoulder, and Conquest kneels down, quietly talking into his ear."They're undisciplined, they'll get you killed, if they keep up like this I
will kill them when we get into a fight and I'll have little choice in the matter."
>Conquest goes silent, letting Orion think on it."Just a warning, in case you decide to join me in that. I'm telling you because you're carrying yourself with more discipline than the others."
>Conquest looks over at Jason for a moment."Also, I'm surprised you don't recognize Mr Khyber, Mr Thompson, I thought you executive types all socialized."
No.4889
>>4888>Orion stares at Conquest, ruminating on her words. He almost misses her question."I… er…"
>He takes a moment to compose himself, and stands up from the floor."I don't really partake in the 'executive lifestyle'."
>His eyes remain locked on Conquest. No.4890
>>4889>Conquest shrugs, moving away from Orion."Consider it, or it might be you dying out there. . ."
>As her voice trails off, Lisa gives Orion a glance, not having caught the conversation, but still curious, only to shift her attention as a projection of Omega's head appears in the centre of the room."You've acquainted yourselves with each other, good, while bonds forged over years cannot be replicated, it's important that you at least have
some rapport, or else you'll end up dead before even a single round of combat."
"As I previously mentioned, I have selected you to fight because I know of your abilities, and believe that you have the best odds of beating the team my brother has put together - once again, I must impress upon you that this is an
honour, there are many among the myriad cosmoses who would kill untold worlds to be where you are, especially for a games like this."
"Before you are sent up to the hypogeum, I will explain the format to you: once the match begins, you will be sent into an arena, a specifically crafted environment for these games, where you will each be contained in a specific starting tube and have your powers, physical abilities, and equipment synchronised to the level of the lowest competitor. . ."
>The projection of Omega sighs."Given that there is an individual with no specific abilities, this means that you will be at a level that is typical for your race, but worry not, there is a simple way around this - you just have to kill the weakest one, at which point you will be synchronised to the new weakest competitor."
"A simple proposition, but not so simple in practice, I can assure you."
"Before I continue, I will allow each person a single question, should they chose to use it."
No.4891
>>4890>Victora places her hands on her hips, looking up at the masked woman's projection with annoyance. She blows a strand of hair out of her face as she says:"Hey! Evil genius megalomaniac superwoman! Why are you and your brother even doing this anyways? Why can't you throw hands with each other?"
>Jason, standing beside Victoria, slowly puts his helmet back on, and then puts his hood on for good measure, becoming Demiurge once more."For the record, I have a similar question. How is it that
we, out of everyone in the entire universe, are the most suited for your
contest? I've seen a lot of things in Sanctuary City, but I'm certain that I'm nowhere near up at the top of the food chain. Not compared to someone like Speedrunner or Mosaic."
>Demiurge then assumes a thinking position as he says:"….Or Omnius. But we weren't lucky enough to strike gold and get him here, it seems."
>Demiurge then ignites his obsidian black hilt, as the red energy flares out through the barrels, lighting up the area around him."I always liked that golden energy saber he had. Gave me inspiration to make my own."
No.4893
>>4891"The answer to that is simple, entertainment. All beings have a purpose, ours is to provide entertainment for beings far beyond you, and as such we have the contest. That should be an easy enough concept for ones from a world like yours to understand, you have entertainment centred around collecting little creatures to fight, or those dining establishments that host duels for diners to watch."
>Conquest scoffs at the final comment."As for why you, the calculations required to understand my reasoning are beyond your mortal mind, just be assured that you were
all specifically selected."
>>4892"Even you, Orion Thompson, with your impudence, it does little to change things - you either win in the arena, or you don't leave."
>Lisa raises her hand to ask a question."I got a question, do we got any details on what our opponents are gonna be like? I don' like goin' into bounties blind."
"
I do, but the rules of the games prevent me from telling you without forfeiting, it's for entertainment value, you see - similar goes for attempting to extract knowledge on abilities with the likes of telepathy before a certain point. . ."
>Omega glances at Orion.". . .but I can assure you that you have been chosen because you are complimentary to your opponents, whether that is through ability, or thematically, it makes for a poor show otherwise."
No.4895
>>4893>Demiurge mutters under his breath:"Yeah somehow I get the feeling that's not really a great answer."
>Out loud, Victoria groans loudly as she then says:"Can I hit something now?!"
>Victoria then pulls her large blade and shield combination from her back, fastening the weapons to her hands as she looks at Demiurge, winking at him."Relax, Snow White! Maybe she knew what she was doing, or maybe she just spun the wheel and threw some darts on it! We're the best there ever was either way!"
>Victoria's smug expression returns on her face as she says this. No.4896
>>4894"Very mature."
>The action and the comment earns a chuckle from Conquest.>>4895"You will get to hit someone soon, I just need to clarify some last things for you."
"Although you will be placed all together in the initial arena, you will only have a brief moment of time to collect any of the extra equipment that will be provided to you in the central area, please be aware that you will not be able to take this from the arena, after the time is up, any participants still within the central area will be at a higher risk of death, as an adjudication field will be raised - anyone who touches it will be killed."
"Finally, it is important to realise that this is for
entertainment, so please ensure that you are entertaining, lest we be forced to 'spice up' the games."
>With the final comment, Omega's image disappears, and the floor starts to rumble as the entire room moves. No.4898
>>4896>Victoria looks at the others as she says:"If I see anything shiny, I'll take it! You guys do the same!"
>Demiurge sighs and places a gloved hand to his mask, murmuring:"That's not the point Victoria….never mind."
No.4900
>>4899>Victoria and Demiurge look at each other."Tubes?"
>Demiurge sighs and says:"….Sure, why not? It's not like we have much of a choice anyways."
>Victoria cheers and runs towards the tubes as Demiurge deactivates his energy blade and holds the hilt in his hand as he begins walking towards the tubes as well. No.4901
>>4900>As each person steps into their tube, it seals up around them, whatever material it's made of rapidly growing to fill the gap and sealing them within them perfectly - blocking out sounds from outside of the tube, effectively leaving each of them alone with their thoughts.
>Once each tube is sealed up, the world in front of them begins moving rapidly downwards as they're transported up, the surroundings quickly turning to simple inky darkness as they're transported through the ground.
>The darkness seems to continue for an agonising amount of time, and then the tubes break up to the surface, placing everyone in a semi-circle formation in an arena, at the centre of which is a large hatch.
>Opposite the semi-circle, another set of tubes is spread about to form a complete circle, within which the enemy team can be seen, their forms somewhat obscure by the material of the tubes, although some details can be made out, one is a shifting mass of red and black, another one contains a well-built man a red, yellow, and blue costume. Another pair have someone holding an impressively large sword, and some kind of figure with a large tail - with the last tube containing what looks like a regular man.
>With the tubes settled, a platform floats down from above, on which is Omega, as well a man with a similar physique to her, each of them flanking a woman in a pink coat wearing an ornamental headpiece. As the platform lowers, the woman in the centre snaps her fingers, and sound begins to travel through the tubes."Welcome! Welcome! Both to our contestants. . ."
>The woman gestures up to the sky above.". . .and to our observers, to our Arena! I am the Entertainer, your host for today's proceedings! Now. . ."
>The woman "taps" the air in front of her, causing the sound to cut out for some time as she speaks, then snaps her fingers again.". . .as for our contestants, the Twin Elder Myth of Balance ensures all are equal in the Arena, in all matters save pure ability, including. . ."
>The tubes suddenly disappear, leaving everyone free to move."-beginnings."
>The platform begins to rapidly rise, and the hatch in the centre begins to rumble as it starts opening. . . No.4902
>>4901>Orion looks even more annoyed than earlier. His eyes narrow towards the hatch, and he holds out his hand."Nrg.."
>He seems to strain for a few moments, before letting out a sigh of frustration."Damn it."
——————————————————————————————-
>Across the arena, a humanoid mass of shifting black and red tendrils with an almost shark-like maw crouches down. "Weak. Crippled almost."
>The creature turns it's gaze towards the normal looking man on it's side of the arena. "Maybe a little early game sacrifice would do us all some good."
>The creature licks it's teeth and "lips", and digs it's fingers turned claws into the ground. It then lunges towards it's own teammate. No.4903
>>4902>Noticing Orion's straining, and where he's holding out his hand to, Lisa pulls out the gun from her belt, spins the barrel with her thumb, then points it the hatch."Here, this'll help."
>Lisa pulls the trigger of the gun, and a bullet explodes from it, a trail of lightning following it as it flies towards the hatch, hitting it with an impressive bang but still failing to do much besides help it move up slightly faster."Huh. . . was expectin' more oomph. . . there's usually more oomph. . ."
——————————————————————————————-
>The normal looking man reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small talisman, brandishing it at the creature."The power of-!"
>Before he can finish his sentence, the figure with a tail intercepts the creature, jumping backwards as soon as she's confirmed its trajectory is no longer heading towards the man."Sorry~ but I'm taking this one, it'd be boring otherwise~ Feel free to try and find us out in the wastes though - if you get the chance to explore."
>The tailed woman grabs onto the man and pushes him down, the pair disappearing into thin air.
>On the platform above, the man, Alpha, narrows his eyes, but otherwise says nothing before walking away from the edge.
>Watching the actions from a distance, Conquest turns away, her armour floating down to form a metallic horse, and starts heading to the exit of the arena. . .——————————————————————————————-
>One of the other contestants, a woman with an impressively sized sword, notices Lisa, grins, then notices Victoria."You!"
>The woman points at Victoria."Think you can give me a good fight?! Or are you a coward like your bounty hunter friend there?!"
>The woman points at Lisa. No.4905
>>4903>Victoria's eyes light up intensely as she says:"Let's see if you're as tough with a sword as you say! Woohoo!"
>Victoria then rushes forward, jumping into the air with a perfectly timed double-somersault, drawing her large sword and her spiked shield in each hand with a clean, uniform synchronicity.
>The overhead strike the prepares is charged by something, seemingly magical in nature - as her sword immediately self-immolates, turning into a controlled maelstrom of hungry ethereal flames - gold and red in color.
>As she presumably collides swords with her newfound opponent, a dangerous glint of satisfaction crosses the irises of her eyes, as her mouth slowly contorts into an expressive grin. There's a partial hunger in her facial expression - demonstrative of a woman who has been waiting hours for her next fight.>>4904>Meanwhile, Demiurge rushes over towards Lisa and Orion."I'm guessing ranged is a better option then?"
>Igniting his plasma based saber, the ruby red glare of his weapon glistens, contrasting sharply with the deep obsidian of his mask and hooded robes. The contrast seems almost deliberate - given the similar color palette of the feral creature.
>Instinctively, Demiurge takes his other free hand, wrapped in obsidian material as well, and quickly traces a glowing orange diagram in front of him. The diagram turns into a bright orange circular glyph or rune with a circular background - as he then grabs it and tosses it towards the floor surrounding the monster."I'd say the best thing about my powers is that I'm sort of a glass cannon. I can't punch a continent into pieces, nor fly at hypersonic speeds. But I
can change things, no matter how small the area, nor how limited the effect may be."
>At that moment, the creature's surrounding area immediately transforms into a relatively high yield explosive barrage of combustible materials - primarily charged hydrogen and oxygen - with a good bit of enthalpic heat to trigger the effects of mine detonation and fire blasts. No.4906
>>4905>The creature stops dead in it's tracks, shielding it's face with it's arms. It less out a shrill hissing noise."Damn fools!"
>The creature remains in place, crouching down as if to concentrate. Suddenly part of it's mass ejects from the body, sending a large lump of writhing tendrils onto the flames.
>The flames are quickly smothered, and the creature stands upright. Thanks to the fresh made hole from their mass ejection, the partial form of what seems to be a human man can be seen within."You!"
>The creature glares at Demiurge, it's maw twisting into an uncanny snarl."We will return for you!"
>Turning away, the creature barrels off once again. No.4907
>>4905>Meanwhile Orion curses to himself. He looks unbothered by the fighting beginning around him, focused more on his lack of power. {"This is bullshit!"}
>He looks up, and starts yelling up at the platform high in the air. "I'm coming for you when this is over!"
>Orion then looks down at his wrist, where his gear is placed in the form of a watch. He presses down on it, engulfing himself in a flash of light that dies down and reveals his armor.
>Frustrated, he clenches his fist. {"Barely a difference. Fine."}
>He holds out his hand, and a gun-like handle flies from his belt and to his hand. Just a moment later a glowing blade fires into existence, similar but different to Demiurge's own. He takes a moment to feel the weight in his hand, doing a few simple spins and twists with it in his hand.
>Satisfied, he cranes his head towards Demiurge."I hope you actually know how to use that thing."
>His eyes shift towards Demiurge's blade."Otherwise you're just going to be a shiny target."
No.4908
>>4907>Demiurge scoffs at Omnius, saying:"Could've told us earlier who you were, man. Would've saved me the trouble of looking like an idiot."
>Demiurge holds the blade carefully with both hands as he steadies the weight of the hilt, holding back the slight muscle tremors that have manifested in his hands - along with his rising heart rate. "I'm not exactly a gladiator, sure. But I know my way around a weapon. Kind of had to growing up where I did."
>Not wanting to elaborate further, Demiurge then says:"I hope that TK of yours is still useful. The further away we keep our distance, the better - hence the large laser sword with the laser guard hilt."
>Demiurge says, gesturing to the hilt of his multi-foot long laser blade. No.4909
>>4905"Well, we weren't really aimin' for the red freak. . ."
>Lisa looks over her shoulder to address Demiurge, before loading another shot, aiming at the last opponent, who hasn't moved from where he started out yet.". . .we wanted to open the hatch up, get at those weapons Omega mentioned. . ."
>>4907>Lisa fires a shot at the man, hitting him squarely in the chest, causing him to look down at it for a second and sighs, floating up into the air, a pained look on his face as the wound heals up, providing Lisa, Orion, and Demiurge a glimpse through his body for a moment before the last bits of flesh and bone sew themselves together.
>With another sigh, the man addresses the trio with a thick Russian accent."Comrades, I have no wish to fight. . . I just wish to be left in peace. . ."
>>4905>A loud clang reverberates through the swords as they clash."Ever heard of Hegelian dialectics? Thesis and Antithesis coming together to make Synthesis?"
>The woman takes one of her hands off her sword and goes to punch Victoria."It's an elegant concept, but personally, I prefer sorting things out like this? Much more thrilling, right?"
>Whether the punch connects or not, the woman jumps backwards, pulling her sword out of the way and swinging it at Victoria. No.4910
>>4909>Demiurge looks up at the hovering man, stating:"I don't want to fight you either, 'comrade'. But it looks like we don't really have a choice."
>Turning to Lisa, Demiurge says:"Get the weapons if you have to. I'll just act as cover."
>Meanwhile, Victoria feels the punch - connecting with her chest. She exhales a breath as she stumbles back, coughing briefly as she then gives a hearty laugh."No idea who dialed Hegel, but he sounds like a popular guy! I'm gonna try and synthesize something of my own too!"
>Holding her sword to her shield, the flames of the sword slowly wreathe the shield in a protective wrapping of mystical fire. Aiming the shield, she then throws it with all of her strength - not aiming at the woman, but at the area around her - quickly creating a small pit of flames to surround the woman as the shield comes back to Victoria's open hand."I'm not much of a strategizer or anything like that, but I do know how to do a mean shield throw!"
>Looking back at Demiurge, Victoria winks and gives him a thumbs up with her sword hand.
>Demiurge groans as he turns back to Orion, saying:"Can you just ragdolls these guys or something?"
No.4911
>>4910"Just one."
>Omnius focuses on the woman on the opposite team with a sword. A force suddenly sweeps at the back of her legs, as well as pushing her upper half to try and throw her to the floor.
>Afterwards Omnius's feet leave the ground, and he begins to raise into the air. "You just… do whatever. I'm going to follow that red thing to try and make sure it or that woman from earlier don't try to eat that guy."
>Omnius begins to fly off, letting out an audible sigh as he's unable to go much faster than a car in a school zone. No.4912
>>4910>>4911>The woman stumbles as the telekinetic force pushes her forward, but manages to regain her balance before falling flat."Fire. . . not bad, but I was forged in fire, it obeys me, letting me burn a path across-"
>The woman suddenly shuts up as a bullet sails through her head, and drops to the ground, dead.". . .should've done that years ago."
>Lisa looks at the floating man."Sorry."
>The floating man looks at the corpse, then at Lisa and Demiurge."I did not know her."
>Lisa shifts slightly to get closer to the hatch, gauging if the man will try to stop her, then takes another step towards it when it becomes clear he isn't going to."Well, looks like we can-"
>A loud thud comes from the hatch as something slams into it from below. No.4913
>>4912>Somewhere else in the Arena. . .
>The normal man and the tailed woman materialise in a cave, a few foot in the air, the pair both falling to the ground after a brief moment, albeit with the woman taking it with more elegance than the man.
>Picking himself up from the ground and dusting himself off, the man looks at the woman, who focuses on a set of talons on her hand."How did you. . ."
"This isn't my first time that Alpha's dragged me into these games honey, you learn a few tricks~."
>The woman walks behind the man, lowering herself so she's speaking into his ear."So, tell me more about this 'Tenebrous' of yours."
"It's Lord
Tenebrae, and you would do well not to take His name in vain."
"Yes yes, but you said he can lend strength, that he's beyond the makers of this place, yes?"
"Lord
Tenebrae is beyond anything that the meager creators of this place could ever imagine."
>The woman grins, her smile filled with poison."So, how would we go about getting some of that power here?"
—————————————————-
>Some time later.
>Several talismans and items sit scattered around the room, arranged in an eldritch pattern of some kind. Happy with how they're arranged, the man lights up a candle and looks at the woman."And last, we need a blood sacrifice. . ."
>The woman looks over the pattern, then one of the wings on her head perks up for a moment as she notices something."Oh, I think that can be arranged. . ."
No.4914
>>4913>A pair of large, blank eyes peer down at the pair from the ceiling. They shift, as their owner begins to flip around and descend from the ceiling on a long strand of writhing mass. "There you are."
>The creature eyes the pair, standing up on two legs. By now the hole in it's body has closed up. "Hiding in a cave won't make this end any quicker."
>It's eyes shift towards the items scattered on the floor in a pattern."Oh wonderful. You're superstitious. You really must lack intelligence."
No.4915
>>4914"Where else do the weak have to turn but superstition?"
>The woman starts pacing, her movement leaving an open path from the creature to the man."Still, his 'god' is powerful enough that his name forces you to say it a certain way, it's impressive, listen:
Tenebrae. I didn't even try to say it like that, it just
forced itself to."
>The woman shrugs as she continues walking, not blocking the path off."But I can tell you're a. . . man? Of science. I was like you too - until I was summoned here for the first time, that is."
>The man slowly takes out a ritualistic looking dagger of some kind, holding it ready as if to stab the creature. No.4916
>>4915"Your fascination with your own ability to speak doesn't matter."
>The creature begins to approach the man."We will kill the boy. Then, we will kill you too. Your god is not real. It cannot save you."
>The creature suddenly lunges at the man, extending not just it's arms but several tendrils stretching from it's mass towards him. It's maw enlarges and even juts forward like that of a shark. No.4917
>>4916"Well, I won't stop you."
>The woman steps back, making the line to the man even clearer, then disappears, leaving him to fight the creature by himself.
>The man brings up his knife and swings it wildly at the creature, managing to cut away at some of the mass, but not all of it."I'll kill you, and then use my master's power to break this world in His name!"
No.4920
>>4919"Ah. Some of our strength has returned."
>The creature suddenly takes notice of the shadows. "What?"
>Before anything else can happen, a blur slams into the monster and sends it flying across the cave and into the nearest wall.
>Omnius stops mid-air, and floats in place."Fuck! You killed him, didn't you!?"
>He clenches his fist in frustration, as the monster begins to pick itself up from the floor. It shakes it's head, causing some dust and rubble to fall. It frowns."You dumb ape! We-"
>The creature stops, and suddenly begins to sniff at the air. It narrows it's eyes at Omnius, sniffing in his direction. After a few moments it cranes it's head to the side and begins to grin wickedly."…Orion? Yes. It is you. What an interesting surprise."
No.4921
>>4920>On the other side of the cave, Conquest down through an entrance, her eyes almost glazed over as she stares at the forming shadows and the pair fighting.
>Slowly blinking, she takes a step forward, her movements making her look as if possessed, only to be stopped by a hand on her shoulder."Ah ah ah, I want to see where the entertainment goes first. . ."
—————————————————-
>Back in the central area.
>The hatch thuds once again as whatever slammed against it before slams against another time, and Lisa takes a step back."I'm feelin' less positive about these 'weapons' right now. . ."
>As she trails off, everyone in the area feels a rush of energy as some of their previous power returns to them. No.4922
>>4911>Demiurge looks at his hands, hesitant to try anything for a moment, before he then speaks:"Hey wait a minute. Do you feel a bit different?"
>Victoria runs over to him, nodding enthusiastically as she spins her shield around her hand."Yep! Feelin' a bit stronger Demi! What about you?"
>Demiurge nods as he says:"A bit, yeah. But we need to pay attention to what's going on."
>Looking at Lisa, Demiurge then says:"Do you feel a bit different right now? I think something's happened."
No.4923
>>4922"How peculiar. To think we'd run into you here. No doubt this was intentional."
>Omnius furrows his brow. "What the fuck are you talking about?"
>Surprised, the creature steps closer."You don't recognize us? Interesting. Maybe this would help."
>The monster's "flesh" begins to peel away from it's face, the slimy biomass retracting to reveal a familiar - albeit disheveled face to Orion."Ken!?"
"I would prefer you address me as 'father'."
"Fuck you!"
>Omnius forces his palm towards Ken, throwing him back with remote force. Ken is slammed into the cave wall, before crashing into the ground. After a few moments he picks himself back up, wiping some blood from his mouth.{"How interesting."}
>Ken begins to grin, as the tendrils begin to slowly climb across his face, returning him to a monstrous appearance. They cock their head to the side."You're so… interesting. Compared to our Orion. So many similarities, but so many differences."
"Shut the fuck up!"
>Holocaust is thrown back against the cave wall, being pinned by the throat. He lets out a beast-like scream, firing several massive pointed tendrils at Omnius. Orion avoids them the best he can, even using his glowing beam sword to cut away at the projectiles.
>Annoyed, Holocaust stops squirming and begins to concentrate. After a few moments it begins to inhale, it's maw enlarging and peeling away revealing even more rows of sharp teeth. A blue glow begins to form in the back of it's throat, only for it to suddenly fire a concentrated beam of super hot plasma towards Omnius.
>Omnius brings up his blade again, using it to block the blast. He begins being pushed backwards, as Holocaust drops from the wall to their feet and begins to advance towards him. No.4924
>>4922>Lisa shakes her head."Naw."
>The hovering man opens and closes his fist, feeling the strength in his grip, then shoots up into the air, disappearing into the horizon."Guess he did though."
>Before anyone else can comment, the hatch flies up into the sky, having been broken free of its hinges by whatever was colling with it from below, and giant, jet black limb slams against the ground, its size easily dwarfing everyone within the arena, the muscles within it shifting and tensing as it starts to pull the rest of its body up from below.—————————————————-
>>4923>From their vantage point, the tailed-woman and Conquest watch the clash between Omnius and Holocaust."So, which one do you think will win?"
>Conquest narrows her eyes as she watches the fight, looking annoyed at the questions from the other woman."I do not engage in gambling. . ."
"It's not gambling, I just want a fair assessment."
>Conquest sighs."I have fought him before, he is an effective fighter, but quick to anger, his recognition of whoever is within that creature can end up killing him."
"Then, the creature?"
"That, I did not say."
". . .you're no fun~"
>The water within the cave begins to bubble as the shadows spread towards it."Oh~? But this is, it looks like we got contact~ Perhaps this will liven things up."
No.4925
>>4924>Looking at each other, Demiurge and Victoria then turn to Lisa."Hey, you wanna go first or should I?"
>Victoria says, almost fidgeting with interest as she begins hopping from side to side.
>Demiurge deactivates his saber and draws a crude bow and arrow diagram in front of him - manifesting a somewhat complex technical bow. As he pulls back on the bowstring, he produces a glowing red light arrow as he then fires it off at the limb."Just taking a shot to see what we're up against."
No.4926
>>4924>>4925>Omnius continues being pushed back further and further until his feet have nearly reached the water's edge. At first he's too focused to notice the shadows, until the water begins to bubble."Huh?"
>He turns his attention back towards the beam, gritting his teeth. Quickly, he jumps around it and out of the way. Before Holocaust can react, Omnius flies around the beam and swings his sword - chopping his head clean off.
>He turns his beam sword off and then extends his palm, sending Holocaust's body and severed head flying back and across the other side of the cavern. With his opponent now dealt with, Omnius turns his attention back towards the bubbling water."What's happening?!"
No.4927
>>4925>The shot briefly manages to penetrate the limb, before it hardens in response to the trauma, forming plating that dissipates the rest of the energy of the arrow."I. . . don't think we can really fight that."
>A second limb emerges from the gap, slamming down with enough force to cause a small shockwave.—————————————————-
>>4926"Oh, that's my cue~."
>The snake-like woman jumps down to the same level as Orion and Holocaust's headless body."You see, your friend. . ."
>The woman points at Holocaust.". . .killed someone, except the man he killed was doing a ritual to contact his god. . . well, not a god, I think, technically, still, it needed a blood sacrifice and I guess he counted. . ."
>The woman gives Orion a grin."You see, I've done these games before, too many times, really. . ."
>The woman sighs."So I figured I'd make them interesting for once."
No.4928
>>4927>Demiurge stumbles onto the ground, not able to catch himself as he instinctively reaches for the ground with his hands. "Ack! I hate this already, ugh."
>Demiurge then slowly rises to his feet as he then groans, shaking his head as he groggily raises himself up. "Well I'm entirely out of ideas then. It's hardening its skin - so piercing attacks won't work, and I'm not at full power either. I can still feel something blocking it."
>Victoria casually throws her sword at the second giant black limb - watching with satisfaction as the weapon arcs through the air like a supersonic boomerang towards the limb. It strikes it, but then bounces off - leaving a small mark as the sword automatically boomerangs back to Victoria's waiting hand."Yep, definitely stab proof! That means we can just punch it instead right? Right?"
>Victoria says, her eyes lighting up like firecrackers as she excitedly laughs to herself.
>Demiurge picks up his bow and looks at Lisa, saying:"….Well if we can't fight it, then what?"
No.4929
>>4927>>4928"You gotta be fucking kidding me."
>Omnius sneers at the woman from behind his helmet, before turning his attention back towards the shadows."Well, what the hell is it? How do I get rid of it?"
——————————————–
>Having hit the wall with a wet thud, Holocaust's head and body fall to the floor, his head rolling quite a distance away. Moments pass with nothing happening, only for several tendrils to shoot out from the bottom of his head and connect with the hole on his torso.
>His head begins being dragged back towards his body, before reconnecting. Suddenly capable of moving his face and body again, he sits back up. He moves his jaw around, and moves his eyes back and forth as if to get the hang of having facial motion again."{
Bastard. We'll consume him!}"
>Holocaust scurries to his feet and races towards Omnius, taking the opportunity to attack him while his back is turned. He leaps forward and tackles him to the ground, trying to bite into his armor to no success."What the fuck!?"
>Realizing Holocaust is back, forces him off with his psychokinesis, throwing him into the bubbling water. Holocaust tumbles towards it, sinking a tendril into the ground to stop him from falling in."We'll consume you, boy!"
>The creature's face hardens, taking on an almost rock and metal-like appearance. His teeth sharpen dramatically, and so do the claws on his fingers and toes. No.4930
>>4928"Well. . ."
>The creature's flesh shifts again as it takes the hit from Victoria, its armour changing to protect against blunt force instead.". . .I tend to find, when you can't fight somethin' it's better to run."
>A roar comes from below and the muscles within the limbs tense up as the creature pulls itself up, its head becoming visible."I guess life threatening situations like that aren't as common for you?"
—————————————————-
>>4929"Stop it? Why would I tell you that?
Where's the fun in that?"
>The woman laughs."Besides, I don't know how, I never-"
>The woman is interrupted by Holocaust's attack on Omnius, and shrugs."I guess beheading is non-lethal for this one, handy."
>As Holocaust finishes his hardening move, the water suddenly bubbles up, and then a column of shadow bursts from it, breaking through the ceiling of the cave and into the sky above, sending out a wave of force with it.—————————————————-
>From the arena, the burst of darkness is visible, the force of it managing to reach even Demiurge, Victoria, and Lisa, and managing to knock the creature emerging from the hole back slightly."I don't suppose you know anything about. . . uh. . ."
>Lisa indicates to the new feature on the horizon, which has started spreading out across the sky."That?"
No.4931
>>4930>Demiurge blinks behind his mask and catches his breath as he views the face of the creature. Out loud, he then turns slightly towards Lisa and says:"Unfortunately, we've got our fair share of those. Problem is, the other guy in our group and the others tend to handle that for us. I'm usually more of the support guy."
>Victoria pouts at Lisa's suggestion to run, but she sighs and then turns around, starting to run off while gesturing behind her."Well, come on guys! Legs ain't gonna move themselves!"
>Demiurge looks at Lisa once more."Couldn't hurt, right?"
>Demiurge then begins running away as well. No.4932
>>4930>>4931>Holocaust is knocked off his feet from the rising shadow. He lets out a hiss, hyper focused on Omnius. He leaps at him again, opening his mouth and sending several tendrils towards him with the intent of grappling his head. "Tch!"
>Omnius grunts and blocks the tendrils with an invisible wall of force. He grits his teeth hard."I've had enough of this!"
>He ignites his beam sword once again, and then throws it towards Holocaust. The hardened exterior spreads further across Holocaust's body, blocking the weapon. It recoils back and into Omnius's hand, and he rushes towards Holocaust - tackling him to the ground and wrapping his hands around his neck.
>Holocaust screeches and opens his maw further, grappling Orion's helmet with his mass and bringing his teeth towards him."Die you piece of shit!"
>Purple flames erupt from Omnius's arms and into Holocaust's mouth. He begins to screech, recoiling in pain while still holding onto Orion. The flames continue to spread, engulfing him. Psionic energy crackles around Omnius like lightning before striking Holocaust and causing him to explode from the inside out.
>His body erupts, sending charred meat and the occasional puddles of slimified biomass across the floor. Some of the pieces crawl towards Omnius, reaching towards him only to fall still - melting into an unusuable puddle.
>Omnius huffs as he catches his breath, kneeling on the ground over the scorched cave bottom. He slowly picks himself up, taking a moment to collect himself before suddenly grabbing the woman by the hair."You helped do this. You're going to help me stop it."
>He then throws her into the air towards the surface, and then flies after her. No.4933
>>4931"Not much chances to rely on someone for that out on the range. . ."
>Lisa starts running away as well, still looking up at the spreading darkness in the sky."I dunno, I think the dark beam of. . . whatever could do a lot of things to hurt us, it certain'y don't look
good. . ."
—————————————————-
>>4932"Watch the wings. . . watch the wings. . ."
>The woman scans around as she flies into the sky, trying to work something out."What're you going to offer for that?!"
>Down below, Conquest looks up at the beam heading into the sky, her eyes glazing over once again, and holds out her hand, a collection of metal flying into it and forming a sword.
>After a few more seconds of staring up, Conquest's eyes darken over, as if the shadows from the beam are growing within them, and kneels slightly to wind up before jumping, her path intercepting Omnius before he can reach the woman.—————————————————-
>Somewhere within the sky.
>Located within the clouds, Alpha and Omega stand in a chamber with the platform from the arena located within it, a faint wall of shifting force providing both protection and various views of the land below, with particularly focus on all of the "You've always been a fool, Alpha, but this-!"
>Omega gestures to the beam of darkness."We
don't challenge the Children of the Overlord, things are perfectly fine without them knowing of us, so why would you bring a follower of one
here?!"
>Of in a corner, the pink-clothed woman talks quietly into an orb of some kind."It's just some. . . some. . . technical difficulties. . . I-I promise we'll be right back briefly, greatness."
>The woman crosses the room in no time at all, towering over the pair of siblings."Enough. Squabbling. We will assign blame
later. I just need solutions
now or our whole existence is at risk."
>Alpha speaks up for the first time."First, we need to establish which child is intervening. Ones like The Bard or The Wounded King are benign. . ."
"Does this
look benign to you, brother?"
>Omega indicates to the observation screen again."He's right that we need more information, though, Omega."
>Omega sighs."Bring the contestants in, remove the limiters, explain the situation, we use them for cannon fodder, or we all die - unless you have any more stupid ideas, brother?"
>Alpha says nothing in response."Then I will do it."
>Omega walks over and holds her hand out, causing all of the still alive contestants to feel the same sensation as when they were pulled into the arena in the first place, before being transported into the room as well, where they're met with the three figures.
>As before, their powers appear to be temporarily deactivated.
>Notably absent from the proceedings, however, is Conquest, which earns a sigh from Omega. No.4934
>>4933>As Demiurge and Victoria are transported into the room, they each feel a moment of disorientation and confusion as they look around."Weren't we just running-"
>Looking at the three figures standing before him, Demiurge instinctively aims his bow at them before lowering it."What the hell? Aren't you two responsible for this? Why the sudden change of heart?"
>Victoria points her sword at Alpha and Omega, stating:"So are we fighting somebody here or what? I can't keep waiting any longer! I need something to hit!"
>Victoria shouts in frustration as she waves her sword around erratically, causing Demiurge to quickly jump backwards in a blind panic."Hey! Watch where you swing that thing!"
>Victoria then turns her attention towards Demiurge with a smug expression on her face, saying:"Oh? You scared, Demi? Too tough for you huh?"
No.4936
>>4934>>4935>The pink-clothed woman looks at Alpha for a moment."Alpha."
>Alpha waves his hand and bands of energy form out of the ground, restraining Victoria so she can't swing her sword around."Good, we don't want them dying before they even get a chance to fight."
>Lisa lets out a sigh, murmuring to herself.". . .guess that means they ain't lettin' us out then."
>Walking over to the group, the woman kneels down slightly so that she's at Orion's eye level."I appreciate your candor, but this is not a matter of
want, but
need. . ."
>Standing back up so that she towers over the group again, the woman starts pacing as she talks."To put it simply, that little ritual that was done summoned something from beyond, something that will leave this place destroyed - with all of you in it. So we want to offer a deal, we will restore you to full strength, and you help us fight back this. . . being for long enough for us to move our operation away."
>The woman scans over the group."Wait, one is missing."
"That one likely switched sides the moment the Child established contact, her ability ensures she will not lose in a fight - including causing her to betray the losing side."
". . .understood."
>The woman sighs."I would ask if you accept the deal, but I must remind you, if you do now, you
will die, if you're lucky, if you're unlucky. . . we need not talk of that."
No.4937
>>4936>Demiurge groans as he mutters to himself, saying:"Yeah fine, whatever. As long as that's the end of it."
>Victoria, still restrained, has a look of pure wonder on her face as her shock gradually turns to pure jubilation. Unable to contain her excitement, she begins laughing loudly."Really? That's all you need? We've just gonna punch somebody real hard?! YES!"
>Victoria begins shaking her head back and forward while still laughing:"LET ME FIGHT THEM FIRST PLEAAAAASEEEEE!!!"
No.4938
>>4936>>4937>Omnius stares at Victoria, then looks at Demiurge."Your girlfriend is weird, man."
>He turns his attention back to the woman standing over the group."Fine, sure. Whatever. I've fought a god before. I can do it again."
No.4939
>>4937>Lisa nods at Demiurge's comment."I think we've earned our freedom with this."
>The flying man who flew away earlier thinks over the offer, then comments:"I do not wish to fight, but is better to fight together, no?"
>The pink woman looks over the group, noting their responses, glancing at the tailed-woman for a moment."What, you know what I'm like~"
>The woman sighs, then looks at Alpha."Alpha, prepare to move as much as you can, Omega, coordinate on the ground as much as you can - as for me. . ."
>The woman begins walking away, heading to an area that's relatively clear.". . .I'm going to have to beg for audience participation."
>The woman disappears in a flash of light.
>With the woman gone, Omega looks at Alpha."Well? You heard her, get to moving what you can, and as for you. . ."
>Omega waves her hand in the direction of the contestants, all of their powers being restored with the gesture."Get ready, quickly, I can feel something coming."
No.4940
>>4938>Demiurge quickly turns towards Omnius and surprisingly snaps at him in embarrassment."She's not my girlfriend! She's-"
>Looking at Demiurge with an amused look on her face, Victoria says:"Oh? I'm what, Demy?"
>>4939>Groaning, Demiurge then turns back to the others as the full scale of his powers are returned."Well, that's appreciated."
>Making a gesture with his hand, Demiurge traces a large energy rifle into one hand, and picks up his saber with the other hand - as the bow is now holstered over his back."I'm not sure what we're up against, so we're going to have to be careful."
>Victoria, now removed from her physical restraints, and the metaphysical restraints of her true powers, she flexes her muscles as she exhales - looking up at the sky with a calm expression on her face.
>In a moment, she then immediately exhales, generating a hurricane force wind as she says:"Ohhhh that feels
GREAT! Can't wait to beat up some more bad guys with Hyperia later!"
>In an instant, Victoria appears beside Demiurge, leaning on his shoulder faster than his brain can even register the motion."What the-"
>Demiurge stumbles backward as Victoria still looks smug, stifling a laugh as she says:"Oh I forgot to mention. I'm pretty fast too."
>Trying very hard to look away from the attractive Amazonian-built woman, Demiurge mumbles out loud:"….I hadn't noticed."
>Victoria then turns to the others and says:"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go beat someone up!"
>Victoria is about to start moving, until she stops. Looking at her dull sword and shield for a moment, she has a reminder that appears in her head as she says:"Actually hold on a minute."
>She then raises her sword and her shield. Both weapons shift and gleam with a magical light, as they change form slightly."Marmiadoise! Aegis!"
>Her eyes begin to glow with a golden light that cover her sclera, irises and pupils completely as her voice distorts with supernatural energy and power:"GIVE ME THE POWER!"
>Shouting the names of her weapons, they glow with power. A large bolt of golden energy then begins to rain down from above onto Victoria as she seemingly absorbs its energy.
>As the storm of electrical energy and magic subsides, Victoria's sword and shield are both charged as she fixes her hair with a single head movement, smiling (mostly at Demiurge)."OK,
now let's go beat someone up!"
>Demiurge is silent for a moment as he turns to look at Omnius, saying:"…On second thought, yeah she's my girlfriend."