Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 4, Part 2

[DracoOmega]

>Okay, same plan as before, but both of us at once.
>Get in position beside Reisen

[Kilgamayan]

>Get in position beside Reisen

> :winky:

[Oldmansour]

>Okay, same plan as before, but both of us at once.
>Get in position beside Reisen

>I'm ready. the rabbit replies as the four of you take up posistions, you and Poppy side by side, White Rose and Lily a couple of feet in front you, bringing their defenses online.
>Despite her words, though, Reisen utters a short groan as she raises her arm, her free hand pressing against her head once again.

> :winky:

>Don't get ahead of yourself.

[DracoOmega]

>Concerned frown
>Are you alright?

[Oldmansour]

>Concerned frown
>Are you alright?

>I can be alright when this is over.

[DracoOmega]

>Very well. Let's go!
>Fire!

[Oldmansour]

>Very well. Let's go!
>Fire!

>"Vermillion Lotus!"/"Caster: Lightning Beam!" Once again, the dual cries ring out across the blasted wreck of the Knowledge's front lawn, but this time, the two spells merge as they emerge from their casters, creating a lance of brilliant red light surrounded by glowing white lightning that passes between the glowing white ring and spinning leaves of White Rose and Lily. The dualtech attack proves even more effective than you'd hoped, as the beam cuts straight through the tangle of thorny vines. From within, you hear the Avatar of Water emit a yell of pain and surprise, and then a sizable tearing sound, which can only be the sound of a body being ejected through the back of the vine coccoon. Moments later, the vines rapidly shrivel and droop like the dead plants they are now, wilting away as Patchouli's magic no longer infuses them. The Avatar herself seems to have been carried quite a ways by yours and Poppy's beam, coming to rest on her hands and knees several dozen feet away, just in front of a still-intact portion of the iron fence surrounding the manor.
>As your attack concludes, you nearly double over from a surge of enhaustion that hits you. You're not sure how much longer you can keep up this rapid fire battle, and by the looks of your companions, you're not alone in that either.

[DracoOmega]

>Hopefully Patchouli is looking worse-off than we are?
>Do we have any sense of how much charge our Orange Lotus has gathered?
>And would drawing upon that essentially be non-exhausting, as the energy isn't coming from us at this point?

[Oldmansour]

>Hopefully Patchouli is looking worse-off than we are?
>Do we have any sense of how much charge our Orange Lotus has gathered?
>And would drawing upon that essentially be non-exhausting, as the energy isn't coming from us at this point?

>Well, the four of you are still on your feet, and she is not, although Rin's leg is looking very shaky. More, there is smoke coming from Patchouli's chest where your beam struck her. Given how many times you've struck her, and how much energy you've seen her expel, she has to be worse off than you four. At least, that's what you tell yourself.
>A pretty decent amount of energy, though perhaps not quite as much as you might have hoped. Patchouli may be more resistant to the effect of your Orange light than the centaur youma was.
>You would need to use a little energy to activate the Orange charge you've acquired, but using the Orange energy wouldn't be tiring at all. The effect would be similar to opening a bottle and turning it upside down. Once you take the top off, the power flows freely.

[DracoOmega]

>Do we think she's weakened enough for our Violet Lotus to have an effect on her, if it's ever going to?

[Oldmansour]

>Do we think she's weakened enough for our Violet Lotus to have an effect on her, if it's ever going to?

>Honestly, you're not sure. Although she certainly looks vulnerable, she also appears stable, and while you can't see her whole face, the part that you can see seems to show an expression of rage rather than pain.

[DracoOmega]

>We can afford to rest later. For now, we have to press on.
>Quickly! Before she can rally her defenses again, let's hit with all of our powers together as one. Whatever you can still muster.
>Ready and fire another combination attack, as we did against Elis, leading off with Scarlet Lotus instead of Vermillion this time. Let's make this count.

[Oldmansour]

>We can afford to rest later. For now, we have to press on.
>Quickly! Before she can rally her defenses again, let's hit with all of our powers together as one. Whatever you can still muster.
>Ready and fire another combination attack, as we did against Elis, leading off with Scarlet Lotus instead of Vermillion this time. Let's make this count.

>Fight's not over yet.
>All four of us? Lily asks.
>No choice. White Rose replies. Have to hit her while we can.
>And so, as one, the four of you raise your hands and weapons for one more strike. "Vermillion Lotus!"/"Spring Lily Petal Cyclone."/"White Retainer's Fire!"/"Caster: Lightning Orb."

>The resulting attack is as bright as it is devastating in its power, an irresistable force of red and white power aimed at the Avatar of Water. Patchy's head snaps up, and she has time enough to yell "No!" and hastily erect a barrier of aquatic energy. Which does hold, but only for a moment. No quick spell of defense would be enough to hold off that kind of attack. Screaming her outrage, Patchouli can only watch as her shield cracks, then fails, and your massive attack strikes home, the explosion of energy kicking up a sizeable cloud of dust and dirt, the blast wave blowing past the four of you.

[DracoOmega]

>Let's hope that did it
>Take a moment to catch our breath and let the dust settle

[Oldmansour]

>Let's hope that did it
>Take a moment to catch our breath and let the dust settle

>That HAD to have done it. Even the Champions weren't immune to that kind of firepower, and Patchy was a lot beaten to bushed than Elis was when you blasted her. That had to have done it.
>But whether it did or not, you've certainly got a moment to recover at least a little. And boy, do you need it. As do your companions, and none of them even try to hide it.
>And then Rin's leg gives out on her, and the kasha collapses.
>Lily shouts, "Rose!"
>"My leg's numb. So's me tail." Rin pulls her leg forward and sniffs the area near the wound. "Those thorns were poison."

[DracoOmega]

>Can we get a sense of the strength of Patchouli's presence, even without being able to see her at the moment?
>Do we think we could apply our magic to neutralize poison?

[Oldmansour]

>Can we get a sense of the strength of Patchouli's presence, even without being able to see her at the moment?
>Do we think we could apply our magic to neutralize poison?

>The sense of Patchouli's power cannot be sensed. However, you do detect an aura of pure rage coming from the direction you blasted Patchy.
>The poison was a product of Patchouli's dark power, so it has to be at least partly supernatural in nature. A dose of Violet light might do it.

[DracoOmega]

>Is that that we used to be able to sense Patchouli's magical aura, but no longer can? Or could we never do so all that well in the first place?
>Is this 'aura of rage' new, also? Like, obviously she was angry before, but does this feel different than that in some fundamental way?

[Oldmansour]

>Is that that we used to be able to sense Patchouli's magical aura, but no longer can? Or could we never do so all that well in the first place?
>Is this 'aura of rage' new, also? Like, obviously she was angry before, but does this feel different than that in some fundamental way?

>Patchy always had an aura of power about her, but now it appears to be gone, replaced by that sense of evil rage.
>Angry though she was, the sense of her power was somewhat close to that of Louise's. This is different, this feels... Actually, it feels like the sensation you got from that oily sword Patchy's been wielding. Only far stronger.

[DracoOmega]

>Stronger? The last thing we need right now is 'stronger'
>Patchouli's aura has changed. I no longer detect the same sense of her magic, but instead something far darker, angrier... like the energy of the sword she was wielding.
>Quickly dose Rose's injured areas with a Violet Lotus. Hopefully we don't need to pour too much power into this one for it to be effective; we have to be running pretty low by now.

[Oldmansour]

>Stronger? The last thing we need right now is 'stronger'

>No kidding. But it's not that this aura is stronger than Patchy's was, it's that it is stronger than the sensation you got from the sword. So that's something.

>Patchouli's aura has changed. I no longer detect the same sense of her magic, but instead something far darker, angrier... like the energy of the sword she was wielding.
>Quickly dose Rose's injured areas with a Violet Lotus. Hopefully we don't need to pour too much power into this one for it to be effective; we have to be running pretty low by now.

>You mean, like, the sword's taken over? Lily asks.
>How can that be, it's just a sword. It's no different than my Saber Blade.
>"I think you're wrong about that, Poppy." Rin says aloud as you give her lower body a very quick shot of your violet light. "I think- Ohhh, that feels funny."

[DracoOmega]

>"Does that help a little, anyway?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Does that help a little, anyway?"

>"Yeah, it did." your Rin replies, stretching out her leg experimentally. "That was smart of ya."

[DracoOmega]

>Anyway, you were saying?

[Oldmansour]

>Anyway, you were saying?

>"Right, sorry. The power's different. I think the sword's more like our power. Came from the heart. The element stuff was more like magic. I think."

[DracoOmega]

>Does that feel consistent with what we've sensed ourselves?

[Oldmansour]

>Does that feel consistent with what we've sensed ourselves?

>Quite consistant. You probably would have described it in more detail, but Rin's right.

[DracoOmega]

>"I think you're right."
>But for her aura to have changed so much, so quickly... I wonder what it means,
>Can we actually see anything yet? Or get a magical sense of whether she's doing anything?

[Oldmansour]

>But for her aura to have changed so much, so quickly... I wonder what it means,
>Can we actually see anything yet? Or get a magical sense of whether she's doing anything?

>She doesn't seem to be doing anything, not even moving. And the dust cloud is still pretty thick, but you can start to make out a black and purple aura coming from somewhere on the other side of it.

>"I think you're right."

>"How did figure that part, Rose?" Lily asks her.
>"I just got this feeling."
>Reisen looks in the direction of the Avatar's last location. "Okay. But what are we supposed to do now?"
>"You have to destroy the sword."

[DracoOmega]

>Wait, who said that?