Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 4, Part 4

[Oldmansour]

>Hatate went chasing after the Champion of Fire of her own volition. I doubt a tiger is as frightening, unless you actually attacked them.
>"This has nothing to do with them. It isn't even about you, but about the entity that has taken hold of you."
>Let's keep our guard up. We don't know what kind of power Motormaster can muster on short notice, and we know they're in a bad mood

>Do not underestimate me, Lotus. the tiger youkai drawls. She wouldn't be the first journalist I've frightened away.
>"Wonderful." Motormaster snarls sarcastically. "A mage and a lunatic. If you want to get out of my face before I get really pissed, this is your only chance."

[DracoOmega]

>I think I'd rather we stick together. The stronger we are, the sooner we can end this, and the less likely anyone gets hurt. On that note: hurry.
>"Are you not aware of it yourself?"

[Oldmansour]

>I think I'd rather we stick together. The stronger we are, the sooner we can end this, and the less likely anyone gets hurt. On that note: hurry.
>"Are you not aware of it yourself?"

>"That you're both crazy?" the helmeted biker sneers.

[DracoOmega]

>"I am sure it must seem that way."

[Oldmansour]

>"I am sure it must seem that way."

>The big biker unfolds their arms and reaches down to the gleaming chain around their waist. "Don't say I didn't warn you." he grumbles as they unwrap the weapon from around their waist.
>Poppy raises her sword in response, but neither one of them moves before the air is shattered by the sound of a thunderous feline roar. Kiku, in her tiger form, bursts out of the crypt, with Lily flying along beside her. Motormaster seems unfazed. "Your pet?"

[DracoOmega]

>"A friend."
>Let's start gathering power for a particularly potent Violet Lotus. Maybe if we blast the deathbringer inside Motormaster hard enough to start with, it won't be as fiesty when it emerges. Well, assuming this works the same way as Satori's did.

[Oldmansour]

>"A friend."
>Let's start gathering power for a particularly potent Violet Lotus. Maybe if we blast the deathbringer inside Motormaster hard enough to start with, it won't be as fiesty when it emerges. Well, assuming this works the same way as Satori's did.

>"Touching. I'll bury his bones next to yours." And then the biker charges, raising his chain over its head. He moves much faster than a human should, but as fast as he is, Poppy and White Rose are just as quick. The rabbit dashes forward to intercept Motormaster while Rin raises her hands and employs her usual attack, "White Retainer's Fire!" The stream of white and red flames flies from her hands over the shoulder of Poppy, who doesn't even flinch at the incendiary blast that flies past her.
>Motormaster's spinning chain starts to crackle in the air, and the biker surrounds his weapon with dark purple and black lightning. He lashes out with the chain and strikes White Rose's flame, dissipating the attack harmlessly. Poppy, hoping to take advantage of the distraction provided by White Rose, feints right and slashes at Motormaster with her blade. But the biker reacts faster than she had anticipated, and with his free hand, he lashes out and catches Poppy's magical blade. You swear you can hear the malicious grin on their face when Motormaster says, "You beat the Grey. But you won't beat the Black." And with a vicious snarl, Motormaster kicks Poppy in the stomach, sending the rabbit hurtling backwards like she'd been hit by a car.

[DracoOmega]

>Caught the blade with his hand? Any signs of damage from that stunt?
>Does this power Motormaster is using feel separate from the corruption we sensed in them earlier, or could it be that this is it - not a deathbringer at all, but a black jewel?

[Oldmansour]

>Caught the blade with his hand? Any signs of damage from that stunt?
>Does this power Motormaster is using feel separate from the corruption we sensed in them earlier, or could it be that this is it - not a deathbringer at all, but a black jewel?

>Yes, actually. There is a bit of blood dripping down from his gloved hand, so he's not completely sword-proof. Just very sword-resistant.
>No, it's definately not a Black Jewel, you'd sense the similarity between it and Breakdown's Jewels. For Motormaster to claim they were wearing a Black Jewel, that could mean they were lying about it for some reason, or that they truly believe they ARE wielding a Black Jewel. That could be how this splinter has concealed itself, by masquerading as another kind of evil power. Or Motormaster could simply be either delusional or insane.

[DracoOmega]

>"Fight, men! They are not invincible!"
>If Reisen looks like she's going to careen into something solid before stopping or gaining control of herself, and we can reach her with it in time to stop this, try to catch her with a Sapphire Lotus and cushion/redirect her fall.
>Barring that (or after that, if time permits), hit Motormaster with a Violet Lotus

[Oldmansour]

>"Fight, men! They are not invincible!"
>If Reisen looks like she's going to careen into something solid before stopping or gaining control of herself, and we can reach her with it in time to stop this, try to catch her with a Sapphire Lotus and cushion/redirect her fall.
>Barring that (or after that, if time permits), hit Motormaster with a Violet Lotus

>Your viking flunkies roar their battle cries and charge onward!
>The runaway rabbit is currently headed in the general direction of the tree Hatate and her big-breasted tengu friend were hiding in. For a number of reasons, you don't want Reisen anywhere near that area, so you put your Violet light on hold for the moment to fire off your Sapphire light in the shape of a lasso, encircling Reisen and bringing her to a much less sudden stop than she might have managed otherwise.
>"White Rose Guarding Ring!" Rin screams as you sense a burst of energy come from Motormaster. Your kasha's protective wheel absorbs the ugly black energy and then sinks to the ground where she flung it, leaving a faint white ring on the ground.

[DracoOmega]

>Okay, now go for the Violet Lotus

[Oldmansour]

>Okay, now go for the Violet Lotus

>Releasing Reisen, you point your scepter back at Motormaster and blast at him with your Violet light. The biker spins his chain in front of his body like a shield, halting your beam before it can reach his body.
>Kiku, having circled around you and Rin, bounds towards Motormaster, hoping to take advantage of his distraction and catch him on his right flank. But the biker refuses to be fooled, and he holds his left hand, palm up, across his body and manifests another chain, two of them, from his palm. These black and purple chains fly out and entangle Kiku's neck and legs, bringing her to the ground with a crash. "I killed a lion before." the biker crows. "You think a tiger scares me? NOTHING scares me!"

[DracoOmega]

>Try hitting those chains he just manifested with an Amber Lotus

[Oldmansour]

>Try hitting those chains he just manifested with an Amber Lotus

>You hear Reisen shift into her Caster spectrum as you unleash your Amber light upon Motormaster. The big biker swings his silver chain and intercepts your beam once again. This time, though, things don't go as he'd planned. The silver chain in his right hand flies out of his grip in a burst of amber energy, and the chains holding Kiku dissolve into thin air. Motormaster starts to say something, but the Fire Bolt spell Reisen casts cuts the biker off when it strikes him in the head. The fiery projectile splashes off of Motormaster's helmet, which glows a dull blue in response, and while the biker reels to the side, the spell does not take him from his feet.
>"Why you runt!" the black-clad biker screams, shaking their fist at Reisen. Motormaster flexes his arms and surrounds his body with a field of thick, intense grey energy, the power aura taking the shape of what can only be described as wheels under his feet. The biker barrels forward on those wheels, heading towards Reisen.

[DracoOmega]

>If our Amber Lotus could dispel the previous projections, maybe it can work on this one, too. Hit Motormaster again!

[Oldmansour]

>If our Amber Lotus could dispel the previous projections, maybe it can work on this one, too. Hit Motormaster again!

>This time, your Amber light strikes Motormaster directly, despite his great rate of speed. Unlike with his chains, though, this time your light doesn't seem to have any noticable effect on the biker. Rin sends out another burst of flame, but this shot has no more effect than yours did. "Nothing stops Motormaster!" the biker leader roars in defiance of your attacks.
>Seeing your attacks fail to penetrate Motormaster's kinetic field, Reisen changes spectrums once again, this time changing to Glider. She launches herself into the air, but Motormaster has closed the gap more quickly than Poppy had anticipated. "Where do ya think you're goin?" he sneers. The biker jumps up with his arm outstretched, catching Poppy by the ankle before she can make her escape. When Motormaster lands, he bodily slams Poppy into the ground.
>Rin calls in one of her flying discs and mounts it, charging after Motormaster. Lily, her leaf shield active, flies in that way as well.

[DracoOmega]

>Okay, switch back to Violet Lotus again

[Oldmansour]

>Okay, switch back to Violet Lotus again

>Motormaster raises his foot, clearly about to bring it down on Poppy's back. But rabbit's reflexes save her from that painful fate, and rolls to the side with little room to spare. Motormaster growls and starts to correct his aim when your Violet light strikes him in the shoulder. The beam makes him flinch backwards, giving Reisen time enough to get back to her feet and put some distance between her and the biker.
>"I feel a tingle." Motormaster growls out. "Is this supposed to hurt?"

[DracoOmega]

>I'm going to need you all to strike with me.
>Let's go for a Violet Lotus combination attack with everyone that's available, and see if he can feel this one.

[Oldmansour]

>I'm going to need you all to strike with me.
>Let's go for a Violet Lotus combination attack with everyone that's available, and see if he can feel this one.

>Rin flicks a bit of fire over at Lily, charging her shield with elemental fire. Lily hurls her charged forward as Rin casts her White Retainer's Flame, coinciding with your launching of Violet Light. Motormaster makes no motion to even try to dodge the three-fold blast of energy, which strikes the biker in the center of his chest. Your Violet light blows the biker off his feet.
>That is still an impressive trick. Kiku remarks as she pads up to stand next to you.
>Motormaster leans up from his now prone position, their purple visor glowing with power. Black smoke boils out from the corners of the plexiglass.

[DracoOmega]

>Does he seem weakened at all, aside from being off his feet? Like, do we feel this is getting through to the corruption inside him?

[Oldmansour]

>Does he seem weakened at all, aside from being off his feet? Like, do we feel this is getting through to the corruption inside him?

>Difficult to say. The corrpution within Motormaster doesn't seem to have lessened any, but there does seem to be movement within the biker's body.
>"No...." he hisses. His voice has changed. It's higher pitched now, and slightly distorted, almost seeming to echo itself. "Your power, it threatens us. How can you do this?"

[DracoOmega]

>"We are the light to your darkness."

[Oldmansour]

>"We are the light to your darkness."

>The prone biker does not climb back to his feet. He levitates up from his prone position. "We have killed those who knew the truth of us before. And in the presence of us, even light can die."

[DracoOmega]

>"Perhaps. But not this time."
>Gather power and brace ourselves

[Oldmansour]

>"Perhaps. But not this time."
>Gather power and brace ourselves

>The biker's leather clothes crackle and shift, visibly stiffening into something resembling into black wood.
>As before, Reisen is the first one to charge at Motormaster, once again in her Saber spectrum. That's her fourth change in a very short space of time. You have to wonder if that might start to take a toll on her body. If it is, though, it doesn't show right now, as the rabbit's charge is not a drop slower than her first one.
>Motormaster doesn't meet her sword with his hand this time. As Reisen draws near, the biker manifests another weapon from his wounded hand, this time a massive two-handed sword that dwarfs Poppys' Saber Blade. The two weapons meet with a wildly different sound from each one. Poppy's sword rings like struck steel, but Motormaster's long silver sword emits a dense *thunk*, like someone had struck a block of wood rather than a metal weapon.

[DracoOmega]

>Wood burns
>Hit them with a Vermillion Lotus.

[Oldmansour]

>Wood burns
>Hit them with a Vermillion Lotus.

>Applying simple logic to the biker's choice of apparent choice in armor, you aim your fiery light at Motormaster, still jousting with Poppy. It's hard to tell which one of them has the edge in skill, but Motormaster definitely has the edge in strength. Parrying a crosswise slash from Poppy, the biker thrusts her sword back, forcing Reisen off balance long enough for the biker to catch the rabbit in the stomach with another one of his powerful kicks. This time Poppy doesn't fly backwards, but she does stagger, folded over and holding her gut.
>With some distance between him and Poppy, Motormaster turns his attention to your attack. Given his reaction time displayed so far, he does have enough time to get his sword in the way of the beam, but he doesn't even try to raise his weapon. He simply takes your shot in the solar plexus and his armor immediately catches fire. And Motormaster laughs as he burns, a greasy pall of sick-looking smoke rising from his burning body, vile-looking black ash being thrown out from the flames. You know you did at least some damage to the biker, but something about that smoke and those ashes gives you a very bad feeling.
>Lily and Rin, who had been flying in towards Motormaster, instantly change course and bank away from that smoke. "It's poison!" Lily cries out, pressing her hand over her mouth and nose. "Poison!"
>"The air withers at our touch." Motormaster intones in that echoing midnight voice. "We poison the clouds and split the sky." The big biker raises his silver sword over his head, lightning dancing on the blade. Motormaster swings his sword, and a circular ring of electricity blasts out from him.

[DracoOmega]

>Let's get to the air quickly and get over that lightning ring. Shield ourselves if we don't think we'll be able to make it in time
>Then see if a Violet Lotus at the cloud of poison itself can purify it