Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 5, Part 2

[Oldmansour]

>Well, not right now, at least. But I feel like I might owe it as a gesture of trust to Haruka, at least.
>The issue, of course, is that my own identity might give away the identities of several of our companions, and I'm not sure those are my secrets to tell.

>Speaking for myself, I would prefer to keep my identity concealed from my Sisters. There would be conveniences in revealing myself, but keeping my identity secret is still the preferable option for me. Not the least reason being there are members of my own temple I would not trust with this sort of secret.
>"Lotus?" Haruka asks, interrupting your reverie. "How should we proceed?"

[DracoOmega]

>"I doubt they can have had time to established meaningful frontal defenses this quickly, so I say we just enter the front door and test out the effectiveness of this jamming field of theirs you mentioned. If I can ignore it or bypass it, that will give us better information on how to spread our forces."

[Oldmansour]

>"I doubt they can have had time to established meaningful frontal defenses this quickly, so I say we just enter the front door and test out the effectiveness of this jamming field of theirs you mentioned. If I can ignore it or bypass it, that will give us better information on how to spread our forces."

>"I would recommend against all of us going through the front door. Too many of us in one place would make us too easy a target. And there are many entrances and exits to this place. I would prefer some more coverage in the event they try to flee."

[DracoOmega]

>"Then whoever has the most confidence in moving without being detected should take a side entrance. If anything, the bulk of us approaching from the front might make it easier for them to be overlooked."

[Oldmansour]

>"Then whoever has the most confidence in moving without being detected should take a side entrance. If anything, the bulk of us approaching from the front might make it easier for them to be overlooked."

>"Which entrance? This building has more than half a dozen ways into it. We can't cover every entrance, but we do have enough people to send at least one team to each side of the terminal and cover one entrance."
>"But don't forget." Carnation says to her partner. "We wanted to see if our power could break up the Defender's jamming. And we have a better chance of doing that together."
>Hiyori suggests, "And we could disperse once we're inside rather than out here. To get the coverage you wanted."
>Haruka considers that. "How many of your people do you think you'll need?" she asks.

[DracoOmega]

>"More is always better, but I can't predict the difficulty of the task without first encountering it. I'll want at least White Rose and perhaps one other."

[Oldmansour]

>"More is always better, but I can't predict the difficulty of the task without first encountering it. I'll want at least White Rose and perhaps one other."

>"I'll go with you." Lily volunteers. "Uh, we'll go with you." she corrects herself, looking at her partner Linia. "If you want to."
>Linia replies to Lily by looking at Haruka. The eagle shakes her head. "I don't want both defensive specialists in one group. With Hiyori accompanying White Rose, I'd rather have you two, Lily and Linia, take another area of the building."
>"Then I will accompany Lotus." says Chrysanthemum. "No doubt Subala will employ her invisibility magic before entering the building. If they see five of us rather than the sex they'd expect, they might underestimate us. And even if they know about Subala's tactic, they won't know her exact location, thus giving us the advantage."
>"A good plan. Does that satisfy you, Lotus?"

[DracoOmega]

>Nod
>"Sounds good to me."

[Oldmansour]

>Nod
>"Sounds good to me."

>"All right. Cinnamon, Magical Poppy, I want you two to enter from the rear. Linia, Magical Lily, take one of the entrances to the west. Carnation, you and I will remain here for the moment. If Lotus needs more help inside, we can enter to assist her. If not, we will enter from the roof and make our way towards the main thoroughfare."
>"Hang on a second, boss." Sen objects. "Kenyu's on their side. Won't he go to the roof? He likes fighting his own fights, and that's probably the best place for it."
>"I agree. Which is another reason why I want myself and Carnation up there. If Kenyu is up there, then Carnation and I can engage him or withdraw and force him to chase us. If we have to fight him, then we might not win, but we can give him a very good fight. Long enough for the rest of you to engage and defeat the other five members of his group. With their biggest threat occupied, the others should prove easier to handle."
>"Besides," she adds, placing a hand on Carnation's shoulder. "I have no intention of losing to Kenyu with a capable ally at my side. Perhaps I might not be able to defeat him, but we might just surprise him. Remember, people, Kenyu is very powerful and very talented, but he is not unbeatable. Lotus was able to stand up to him by herself, and Poppy was able to defeat him."
>"He underestimated the rabbit." Sen points out.
>"And if he does the same to Carnation, then he will regret it again." Haruka replies confidently.

[DracoOmega]

>"I am in full agreement."
>To Minoriko; And while you may still be new at this, don't underestimate the power you have. Determination counts for a lot.

[Oldmansour]

>"I am in full agreement."
>To Minoriko; And while you may still be new at this, don't underestimate the power you have. Determination counts for a lot.

>I won't let you down. Minoriko replies firmly.

[DracoOmega]

>I wouldn't doubt it for a moment.
>Let's get going

[Oldmansour]

>I wouldn't doubt it for a moment.
>Let's get going

>"Okay, ladies." Sen barks. "After me." The red-winged youkai smacks her fists together, causing an eruption of sparks from the impact as her arms start to glow red. She brooks no argument about being the first one through the door. Which she opens with her foot, despite it being a sliding door. About as subtle as a chainsaw, this one. She is, however, stopped before she can kick down the inner door, this building having an inner entryway. Chrysanthemum puts a firm hand on her shoulder.
>"Let's scan it first, Sen." she advises. "Unless you're in a hurry to trip a trap."
>"You sound like Haruka." Sen gripes. She does, however, stop.

[DracoOmega]

>Let's see how our mystic senses function until this potential jamming field

[Oldmansour]

>Let's see how our mystic senses function until this potential jamming field

>No sooner than when you start to push your mystic senses out are they assailed by a burst of static and white noise. The Protectors are indeed jamming; at least you assume that's what this power is. A moment's probing indicates Blood magic rather than anything else, confirming your theory.
>White Rose has a similar experience. "That's nasty." she remarks, wincing slightly.
>"But not perfect." Chrysanthemum remarks. "I am still able to scan out to a short range effectively. 12... 15 feet. Anything beyond that is obscured by a sensation of static."
>You have a bit more luck yourself. Despite the interference, your own mystic senses appear to be accurate out to a range of around 20 feet before they are rendered ineffective.

[DracoOmega]

>"My senses can reach about 20 feet away, but it's a distinctly unpleasant sensation."
>The immediate vicinity does not appear trapped though, right?
>Assuming not, let's cautiously enter the premises and look around for any other obvious threats

[Oldmansour]

>"My senses can reach about 20 feet away, but it's a distinctly unpleasant sensation."
>The immediate vicinity does not appear trapped though, right?
>Assuming not, let's cautiously enter the premises and look around for any other obvious threats

>"I can't even scan that far." says White Rose.
>The door itself is not, as far as you can determine. You do sense a localized spot of Blood magic about five feet in front of the door at ground level. You can't determine its purpose, but you can't imagine it's anything good for you or your people.

[DracoOmega]

>Point at it
>"There's Blood magic right there. I can't tell what it does, but it's probably best not to just saunter over it."
>Is there a wide enough path that we could move around the magic without potentially triggering it? Or actively disarming it.

[Oldmansour]

>Point at it
>"There's Blood magic right there. I can't tell what it does, but it's probably best not to just saunter over it."
>Is there a wide enough path that we could move around the magic without potentially triggering it? Or actively disarming it.

>"No kiddin'." grunts Sen.
>Yes. There is enough open ground around the magic to accommodate your group.

[DracoOmega]

>"I could try disarming it, but it might alert them less if we simply move around it. There should be room."
>"I'll go first. Follow close behind me."
>Assuming there are no objections, let's give the magic a wide berth and ensure that the others do likewise

[Oldmansour]

>"I could try disarming it, but it might alert them less if we simply move around it. There should be room."
>"I'll go first. Follow close behind me."
>Assuming there are no objections, let's give the magic a wide berth and ensure that the others do likewise

>As a matter of fact, Sen objects. "Whoa there, girl. When I said 'after me', I meant all the time."
>"You would prefer to go ahead of the woman who knows where the trap is?" Chrysanthemum asks.
>"She already told us where it's at." Sen counters.
>"Then you know exactly where the trap is?"
>"Enough not to strut across it. Now shut up and leave me alone, we've got work to do." the winged miko says with finality, moving towards the closed sliding door.

[DracoOmega]

>Let's give her the lead if she wants it that much, but stick close behind and be prepared to yell a course correction or even outright grab her if she's actually NOT giving it a wide enough birth

[Oldmansour]

>Let's give her the lead if she wants it that much, but stick close behind and be prepared to yell a course correction or even outright grab her if she's actually NOT giving it a wide enough birth

>Giving Sen her leave to lead the way, as you expect she does frequently, you allow her to open the door, giving you a less obstructed view of the inside of the airport terminal, a building you yourself have never been inside before. For want of a better word, it's really frigging big in there, but you don't have to register too many details before you hear something from the left side of the door click, and a cloud of thick smoke explodes out from a small canister that you had appeared to be just a normal part of the door. Sen reels backwards, falling into you, coughing and choking, her eyes watering.
>Crediting her reflexes, Hiyori produces an ofuda and casts a spell, bringing forth a gust of wind to blow the smoke away from the door.

[DracoOmega]

>Any sign of a threat more dangerous than smoke?

[Oldmansour]

>Any sign of a threat more dangerous than smoke?

>Not yet.

[DracoOmega]

>Then wait for the smoke to clear (while keeping an eye out for any further danger) and if nothing else seems to happen, carefully proceed inside

[Oldmansour]

>Then wait for the smoke to clear (while keeping an eye out for any further danger) and if nothing else seems to happen, carefully proceed inside

>The others not caught in that smoke are not idle. Chrysanthemum helps disentangle Sen from you, tears streaming from the taller miko's eyes. She obviously won't be of much use to anyone for a while. "Tear gas."
>"Wataru's doing." Hiyori says. "Be ready to shield if you can, they're probably going to shoot soon."
>As though beckoned by her words, you hear the sound of at least one weapon discharging, and a red blaster bolt flies through the dissipating cloud. But Subala and White Rose are ready, the miko raising a talisman and conjuring a wall of liquid into being, the liquid diffusing the energy of the blaster shot and rendering it harmless. White Rose adds to your defenses by conjuring forth one of her Guarding Rings, but, demonstrating a new ability, she doesn't launch it automatically. The disc floats above her shoulder, ready to launch at her command should Subala's wall fail.

>A second shooter joins their shots to the first's fire as the rest of the smoke fades. The first shooter you see is crouching behind a long row of seats to the northeast, discharging a blaster rifle into Subala's wall. The second shooter is located on a high walkway to the northwest, employing a smaller weapon, a pistol of some make, in a great position to create a crossfire. Had your group decided to charge through that smoke or all enter at the same time, the two of them, Wataru and Cynthia, would have been able to pick you off like sitting ducks.
>"Why are they using guns?" White Rose asks over the sound of blasters.
>"Saving their Jewels for clear targets." Subala replies.

[DracoOmega]

>Could we snake a Sapphire Lotus along the ground and use it to knock aside the seats Wataru is using for cover?

[Oldmansour]

>Could we snake a Sapphire Lotus along the ground and use it to knock aside the seats Wataru is using for cover?

>You'd have to either go around Subala's wall or get her to drop it, but yes you can.

[DracoOmega]

>Then let's go around the wall and take down his cover. And try to make it quick.