ᴇᴍʙᴇʀꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴀ ᴅʏɪɴɢ ꜱᴋʏ | ᴛᴇɴᴢᴀɪ & ᴄᴀʀᴘᴇ ᴅɪᴇᴍ

[Carpe Diem]

◤━*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓ ┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━✧༺♥༻∞━◢ ✬ Ophelia ✬ ❝ You paint a picture in my mind, you wanna leave it all behind In a world that's turning all the time, nothing could stop me longing for your eyes ❞​ While Ophelia wholeheartedly threw herself into battle with the statues, she had been oblivious to Shiro's countdown, and pretty much everything around her. It was all she could do to fight off the waves of enemies that came at them, her fighting style most suited for one-on-one battles rather than multiple enemies at once. She could clear the field of enemies if she only used her magic, but given its explosive nature, she could not guarantee that Shiro wouldn't be caught in the splash zone. Small-scale spells were all she could afford to do, using her uninjured hand to parry and block attack with her rapier while her other channeled her magic, chipping off parts of the statues. It didn't help that they were made out of stone that was known for resisting magic, either. "Wha--!" Of course, that was interrupted the moment Shiro grabbed her and forcefully pushed her to the ground. She was about to protest when she heard the whirling of something from outside the walls, a familiar silhouette right outside the painted windows overlooking the throne room. The gunfire was deafening, her hands immediately going to her ears to protect them from the myriad bullets that decimated the room and a good portion of the statues still standing. She instinctively closed her eyes too, the flash of bullets firing even more blinding than the sun itself. She wasn't sure if her ears still worked when she heard a thunderous roar come from within meters of her, a familiar sound that she'd only heard once or twice in her life. It came from exactly where she thought it would come from, her eyes darting up to the figure of the man who had exiled her as a villain to their kingdom, and her own father, standing regally as he shot the blast of pure magic energy at the ship. "MEDINA...!" She screeched in horror, standing up in half a second as the ship wobbled. Her heart nearly leapt out of her chest for an instant as she wasn't sure whether or not the ship would crash, only to breathe a sigh of relief when the pilot made the strategic decision to retreat, a soft muttering of gratitude escaping from between her lips when she did. If she'd been hot-headed like Neon, she feared she'd be stubborn enough to try and destroy the barrier her father's statue had erected to protect them from the bullet hell. "Looks like it'll just be us for now." Ophelia looked back to Shiro, Medina's support fire giving them a moment's breather to catch up and fill their lungs with oxygen. The enemy was wary to proceed for at least a few moments, unsure if another ship would come to replace the one that had just wreaked havoc upon them. "Yeah... it's fine. We can do this." She muttered, gripping her rapier tightly. She had to believe they would get through this. That she could keep Shiro safe, at least. That she wouldn't fuck this up, at the very least. "Stay behind me. Once the opportunity arises, take your father out. Other than that bitch on the throne and her pet bodyguard, he's our biggest issue." "Shiro, please don't be reckless. It's fine, I'll..." "Heh. Praying already? Is it that bad?" As if sensing the peril they were in, Neon's voice cut through the air like a blade. Ophelia's eyes went wide, immediately whipping around to see her with her own two eyes. Beside her was the witch she'd become so fond of as well. "The broken floor should keep them back for now but... I don't know how many spells I have left to cast." "Neon! Gust! Oh heavens above, I'm so glad you two are safe...!" Or rather, alive. Safety was not exactly how she would describe their current situation. Still, she could not help the smile on her lips as she ran for them, only to sense a growing surge of magic that she'd almost completely forgotten. "The crown! That's what's controlling them!" "How very perceptive of you. Too bad it's going to be your last realization!" A powerful sonic blast hit the floor between Ophelia and the others, sending the princess in the opposite direction and effectively separating the squad from her. Ophelia's body flew several meters before crashing against a pillar, the force of the impact sending the already crumbling marble crashing down onto the floor. She got up, coughing up dust and blood, just in time to see yet another barrier rising from the ground. Except this time, it was rising around her. Her eyes landed on a pair of statues. One of them was his father, and the other was... "... Ughhhh..." ... her mother. They alone had survived the hellfire that Medina had put on them, before even more statues came crashing through the door. It seemed that their showdown was fated after all. Pushing back against the discomfort in the back of her mind, Ophelia straightened up and raised her rapier, her eyes resolute. "... So in the end, you would put me in the grave again, father? King Aurelius, of the Lamprosian Kingdom. And... Lucina Lampros, heroine of the Battle of Ulz." She smiled bitterly, barely parrying the female statue's jab as she moved with comparable speed as her own. No, even as a statue, Ophelia's mother was still faster than her. ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ​ "Careful, asshole. These blades don't look like they go for cheap. One wrong move and they'll shatter... Just like you." "Heh, I wouldn't know." Arashi nonchalantly let go of the blade she bent, paying her back for destroying it with a boot to her gut in order to put some distance between them and reassess his approach. Three-on-one was hardly fair, after all. "I take my blades from my fallen foes. Spoils go to the victor, after all. Besides, if they were so precious, they wouldn't have lost to me, huh? I'll just take yours as payback for that one. I'll take pleasure prying it from cold, dead hands!" The hilt of his main blade opened up, revealing five chambers within it. The swordsman stuck his hand into his pocket, pulling out five shotgun shells and swiftly filling the empty chambers with one each. He pulled the trigger on his katana, letting an explosion from the bottom of the hilt propel him forward with speed beyond the sound barrier, his blade clashing against Neon's and pushing them both back. "Hey, tell me...!" With a laugh, the swordsman pulled the trigger again, this time staying on his feet as he instead allowed the explosive speed to propel his blade alone. "Do you trust each other with your lives? Cuz' I can't get enough of the faces people make when they lose their loved ones! It's the whole reason I do this kind of shit! I can't wait to see what kind of face your friends will make when I take your head...!" "Haa... this is the kind of help I get." While Arashi focused on his fellow warrior, the crowned woman finally got up from the throne. But just as her feet touched the floor, she was gone, only a shadow left behind. The next instant, she was in front of Shiro, brandishing her own knife to clash with the angel's. "By the way, I resent being called a bitch. You better take that back, or I'll take my time cutting off your fingers one by one." With her other hand, she released another sonic boom to push the gunslinger away. "My name is Serena Lampros, 354th Princess of the fallen Kingdom of Lampros. The kingdom your friend destroyed." She stood up straight, her form dignified despite the title holding no prestige. "... Or did she not tell you, of the thousands of lives she took? Of how she decimated our planet out of some petty revenge being exiled? After she was the one to consort with a being beyond comprehension? Or maybe she did, and you just didn't care. It would make sense for the ones that took my family from me." Serena scoffed, channeling a spell with the power that her crown granted her. The rubble that had gathered around them rose from the ground, merging together into stone drills, which she sent flying at Shiro and August with the flick of her wrist. "... No matter. I shall be the one to kill you all. Even if the Lamprosian Kingdom is no more, this is my providence! I will not let this castle fall to you outsiders!" ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ: Skin-Deep Comedy | (Mili) ver. eili ↻ ◁ || ▷ ↺​ "Would you accept me if I asked for forgiveness?" Pushing back her mother, Ophelia pulled out her gun and got off a shot on her father as he was channeling a spell, effectively cutting him off. If there was one thing Ophelia had always had over her father, it was the speed with which she could cast spells. "I know you wouldn't. And I'm sure you know... I wouldn't either. Because... I never once regretted taking that deal. I did what I had to." She spoke to an expressionless statue, her smile bitter and wistful as she was besieged by her mother's wordless barrage of jabs. It took all that was herself to parry them and push her back in time to avoid a lightning blast from her father. If it was just one of them, Ophelia could easily overpower them, but together... Together, they had always been unbeatable. At least, that was what the stories always said. Unfortunately, Ophelia had never been able to see them fight together until today. Lucina, the lightning fencer, fast enough to stab her foes a hundred times before King Aurelius was done charging up his spell. King Aurelius had been caught up in an ambush that fateful day. When the fort city of Ulz was besieged by three-thousand soldiers, he had taken the fastest horse to reach his wife, Queen Lucina, who was stationed there. It was supposed to be an easy defense job, so the queen had been left with only a small force of two-hundred soldiers. The battle raged on for seven days and nights, but by the end of it, it was said that the queen alone had slain half the enemy's forces on her own before dying on her feet. In his rage, the king had decimated the city that had been occupied by the remaining soldiers, leaving nothing but a crater in the wake of his grief. "I never was quite the daughter you wished for, was I? I never wanted the crown, after all. Even so, there were only two times I saw you shed tears." Even if they could not answer her, she knew that the part of them that was stuck in the statues could hear her. There was a half-second's hesitation in her father's statue at those words, enough for Ophelia to blast him back with a shot of frigid ice that covered him completely. It gave her enough time to parry her mother, and then follow up with an empowered jab to her shoulder. The stone crackled, but didn't break off. "Once... when Mother was buried. You shed a single tear for her. What more could you offer her, when you were The Invincible King Aurelius? That crown... it was heavier than its own weight, was it not?" Her mother was not so easily shaken, her soul hardened from the moment she was born. Or perhaps, she was resolute to give her own daughter the best fight she could. The lightning jabs only got quicker, leaving Ophelia in the dust as she was left defenseless to allow some of them through, puncturing through her armor and bleeding through various holes. The pain only steadied her, however, and she returned with power what she could not compare in speed. All it took was one powerful stab to break off her shoulder, her arm falling to the ground and shattering. "... And the second, when you pushed me down that chasm. I still remember tears that were not my own touching my skin. To this da, I still dream of falling endlessly. The dreadful pain of hitting the floor. But... I don't blame you for any of it." The ice that encased her father crackled as he forced himself to move, channeling magic to heat himself up. But it was too late. As Lucina crouched down to grab her rapier from the ground with her remaining arm, she looked up to find herself staring down the barrel of Ophelia's gun. It happened in an instant; a powerful blast of black lightning completely enveloped the fierce warrior's body, and when the darkness dissipated, she was gone. Though the statues could not speak, Ophelia swore she could hear a guttural scream of anguish, following by a giant ball of fire headed her way. The princess followed with her own, the ensuing explosion causing the barrier to shatter and an aftershock to shake the throne room. "... After all, we both did what we had to do. I only regret that we were fated to oppose one another. Rest now, Father." And when the smoke cleared, she stood still, while King Aurelius' statue laid shattered on the floor. A lump caught on her throat as she bit back a sob and the tears that pricked at the corners of her eyes. There was no time for grief. In the time that it had taken her to defeat both of her parents, it seemed things had started to look dire on the other side of the barrier. Serena had been throwing spell after spell with the power of the royal crown, giving no quarter to the already exhausted party. It was a miracle they were still alive at this point. Meanwhile, Neon and Arashi seemed to be evenly matched. And while the constant stream of statues had slowed due to Serena focusing her magic on fighting, there were still at least a dozen more statues to take care of. Ophelia hadn't run out of steam just yet, though. She pointed her gun at her fellow princess and shot a beam of fire in her direction, throwing her off as she was getting ready to cast a powerful spell, apparently fed up with Shiro and August's persistence. "You..." Clearly not expecting their fight to be interrupted so soon, Serena stared at the rubble Ophelia had left behind. In her eyes, she had just callously destroyed the remnants of her own family. "... you truly do not care about your own blood, do you? Family holds no meaning to you." "I've... found a new family. But that doesn't mean I intend to disregard the past. Lay down the crown, Serena. We don't have to kill each other." She reached out her arm, stepping forward to offer it to Serena in a peace offering. "NO!" Instead, she was answered with a fire blast that sent her barreling through the rubble, her body flying and crashing limply against the floor that cracked under the force of her landing. "You don't GET to ask for peace after what you did! When my family had to leave this planet and drift through space for thousands of years! After we were enslaved, and broke free! It was YOU who caused it all! And after finally becoming free... my family was taken from me! You don't know any of my pain!" The crown responded to her emotions, blasting off rays of fire and lightning in every direction. She turned to the others, pointing her finger at them. "NONE of you do! You don't understand a fraction of what I've lost! You don't know how I, how MY people toiled away, all for freedom from people like you! People who would take my loved ones away from me!" "But I'll make you suffer all the same!"​

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[Tenzai]

ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ: ʟᴏᴏᴋ ᴛᴏ ᴡɪɴᴅᴡᴀʀᴅ | ꜱʟᴇᴇᴘ ᴛᴏᴋᴇɴ ↻ ◁ || ▷ ↺ I've got eyelids heavy enough to break diamonds You pray for sound and I pray for silence Damn right faithless, I can't deny You'll find me with half a mind to get violent Oh, it isn't over 'til I say it's over And oh, my little angel sitting on my shoulder So give me the edge of a blade and a time and a place And I'll leave them cold and pushing up boulders​ "How very perceptive of you. Too bad it's going to be your last realization!" A sudden blast of a powerful spell had split the team apart. With the magical wards August had placed on her outfit, she was the only one save for Neon who was able to sustain the force while the others were sent flying towards the walls and pillars. "Ophelia!" Her words were not reaching her friend, still disoriented from the explosion. With Shiro recovering and Neon dealing with Arashi himself, she was forced to act in defense of her family. Regardless of how traumatic combat could be, they needed her. Channeling her magic, she began to upcast her spells to the highest level she could, unafraid of the consequences that would inevitably come with doing so. If her friends were to die, what would be the point in holding back? "You're gonna pay for that!" Instead of responding with a massive elemental flurry that would rattle the entire castle itself, a runic circle had surrounded the other girls, filling them with renewed vigor, enhanced strength, and courage. August cast heroic intervention, a divine spell capable of buffing allies with the same ferocity that the heroes would often fight with when accomplishing feats across the galaxy. As a statue attempted to surprise the witch from the side by swinging its blade into her flank, the witch's reactions were made quick, affording her the chance to respond with a swing of a fist of her own, shattering the statue's head and sending it to the floor. Given the potency of her spell, she was aware of her strength, but likewise, she was aware of its limits. They had a certain amount of time where they could fight at their best before the spell would exact its toll on her body. Realizing just what August had cast, Neon crumpled the sword that Arashi had left behind, only to feel herself being sent to the floor with a mighty kick. "Heh, I wouldn't know." Even with the buff, it didn't stop the pain from his attacks from hurting, sending her reeling as he reloaded his blade to take advantage of her opening. "I take my blades from my fallen foes. Spoils go to the victor, after all. Besides, if they were so precious, they wouldn't have lost to me, huh? I'll just take yours as payback for that one. I'll take pleasure prying it from cold, dead hands!" "Hey, tell me...!" Once he dashed faster than sound however, Neon got up quickly to meet his steel, rising to the occasion due to the added buff enhancing her speed. Her life would not be taken away so easily. "Do you trust each other with your lives? Cuz' I can't get enough of the faces people make when they lose their loved ones! It's the whole reason I do this kind of shit! I can't wait to see what kind of face your friends will make when I take your head...!" "Is that your way of flirting with me, you smug fuck?" The vampire taunted, quite excited now that her blood was running hot. Unlike the opponents she fought before serving as a perfect warmup, this one was worthy of taking pride in defeating. He was someone that fought her like an equal, not as a mutt. "Of course, I do. These people are mine. Their lives are mine to protect. So fuck off and die already!" Throwing his weapon back, she kicked towards his block, creating some distance in between the two before withdrawing her pistol to fire several shots at the swordsman. Dumping its battery into her enemy, while he deflected, she aimed her blade towards his neck, wielding the jet on its hilt to deny him a chance to breathe. "I can't wait to do the galaxy a favor and shut you up. You're almost as bad as your little prideful bitch of a princess, dog." While their blades were clutched in melee, stuck against each other's, Neon noticed her sister in battle drawing her weapon towards him. With swift footwork, she adjusted their bodies for her to get an open shot, just for her round to graze her enemy's cheek right before drawing her knife to parry the incoming blow. The windows of opportunity were small and rare. These enemies were capable, straying from the ranks of most rebels they had faced so far. "By the way, I resent being called a bitch. You better take that back, or I'll take my time cutting off your fingers one by one." The catgirl refused. "Make me." The sudden blast at point blank had spilled all the oxygen she once had in her body, flinging her to the ground. If not for the fact that she had been buffed beforehand, Shiro was sure that she would've ended up another casualty, similar to their leader before. "My name is Serena Lampros, 354th Princess of the fallen Kingdom of Lampros. The kingdom your friend destroyed." Holding her bruised stomach as she got up again, the angel squinted at Serena's accusation. "... Or did she not tell you, of the thousands of lives she took? Of how she decimated our planet out of some petty revenge being exiled? After she was the one to consort with a being beyond comprehension? Or maybe she did, and you just didn't care. It would make sense for the ones that took my family from me." "... It takes more than one life to bring a kingdom worth its weight down, let alone a planet." The angel stood resilient in her faith, uncaring of the past drama or history her family may have had. All that mattered to her now was the future and the people they would become. "How about you blame yourself for some of its ruination. Its only right as a ruler of a broken kingdom to claim responsibility." Speaking both as a noble and as someone who had seen the rise and fall of other empires before, the eternal being wasn't afraid of sharing what she thought given her experience over her long lifetime. "... No matter. I shall be the one to kill you all. Even if the Lamprosian Kingdom is no more, this is my providence! I will not let this castle fall to you outsiders!" "Shiro! Get behind my shield!" Rushing to her side once she found the drills being prepared as ammo to be embedded in her friend, she cast a barrier that took the brunt of the attack. However, with the statues joining in the barrage, there was only so much she could do after casting a spell that strong. With enough pressure, it shattered, sending her and Shiro flying back, leaving the two on their final legs. Trembling, they persisted. Their friends were still in the thick of the action, still alive and fighting for their right to survive. Upon hearing the sounds of pods breaking through the castle roof nearby, they knew that they would be saved, as long as the survived long enough for reinforcements to arrive. They just needed time. Though before anyone else could respond to what was to happen, a mighty quake had shook the castle to its foundations. A massive fireball was thrown within the throne room, only to have met its match from their princess companion, dispersing smoke after the sound of a shot that put an end to her mother. With the smoke slowly dispersing and the eyes of the two duelists glancing over in the midst of their strikes in between, her friends were met with the sight of the sad victor that came after the end of it all: Of the magician that was forced to kill her parents last semblance of existence. Another shot rang through the room, this time, towards Serena herself, preventing her from finishing off Ophelia's comrades. "You... you truly do not care about your own blood, do you? Family holds no meaning to you." They needed her just like she needed them. "I've... found a new family. But that doesn't mean I intend to disregard the past. Lay down the crown, Serena. We don't have to kill each other." And they weren't given a moment to doubt. As Ophelia offered an olive branch to the current reigning princess of her dynasty, the sudden harshness in her response caused the other girls in the room to keep up their guard. She was just like the other princess they unfortunately had attracted the ire of for so long, though instead of changing when she had the chance, this one was too deep in her own legacy to see her opportunity to live a good life fade. She was going to die over her ego. "NONE of you do! You don't understand a fraction of what I've lost! You don't know how I, how MY people toiled away, all for freedom from people like you! People who would take my loved ones away from me!" "But I'll make you suffer all the same!" Am I walking with gods or merely stumbling forth? Until there's fire at the gates, until I fall to the floor You know I live by the feather and die by the sword And I will sunder the earth, only to burn the rewards Even in this garden of gardens, I am the god of the gaps I am the demon of Sodom, I am the blood of an angel The fate of the fallen, nobody knows where I came from Even I have forgotten​ While she gave her emotional spiel, the witch took this opportunity to save her wounded angel and pulled her out of the room to cast her healing magic, watching what had happened from the doorway. Despite what they could say about her and what she did to their family, down to her core, she understood the pain that welled within the princess' heart. "Shiro, stay still. You're not looking too hot, but I think I could save you." The blast to her gut had caused blood to trickle down her lips. Shiro's internal wounds were great, but they weren't fatal. With time, rest, and a bit of magic, she was bound to heal, though it seemed that Serana had yet to let them go. Just by being in eye sight, they were in range of her erratic spells, forced to take cover behind furniture to avoid getting struck by lightning and fire. Neon on the other hand had seen Arashi pull away from the conflict the moment his princess was a danger to him. Using the same opportunity to pull back, as the magic hit the statues that marched nearby, reducing all that existed close to her to dust, she returned back to Ophelia's side, content that her other sisters were hidden in safety from the caster that had nothing left to lose. "Miss me? Don't worry, it'll take more than some handsome asshole with a gun sword to do me in." Sweat dripped from her brow while wounds decorated her exterior. Though thanks to the plasteel mesh she had incorporated inside of her skin, none of the attacks were deep enough to be concerned about. She was physically near-impervious to slash damage, however it wouldn't mean the same should she get hit by lightning again. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. With every footstep came a shaking of the ground. Behind the two girls that hid outside the room, they heard the sound of boots from a mecha knight approaching their position. "You called?" As they turned to the source of the sound, in front of them stood a human donning a suit that made him stand up to ten feet tall. His massive blade in one hand and his heavy caliber gun in the other was a source of relief, especially given all they endured on the way here and doubly so with their desperate fight within the throne room. "I'm grateful I managed to come in time. Don't worry." Heavy footsteps had followed him, of other knights that acted in concert with their leader. "You'll be safe now. Promise." "Treat them well." Waving over their medic to the wounded's side, for the rest of them that were meant to act as a hammer to all that acted as a barrier to peace, he called them to attention. "As for the rest of you, lets show these rebels what our galaxy is capable of. Charge!" Raising his weapon, he commanded a charge against the enemies of the empire, causing a massive rush of machinery to take the throne room by storm. Immediately, a blur of jets and steel had entered the room through walls as well as the door, striking at the statues that remained. These large knights used their momentum to catch magic casters by surprise, swinging at those who got within range of their melee weapons while blasting with enchanted cannons at all else. Their reinforced carapaces adapt to the situation at hand, regardless of element. Similar to the knights of old, these ones were walking tanks. "Speak of the devil. Took you all long enough." Neon stood in between Ophelia and their enemy, acting as a shield. If she broke, she could be repaired with a visit to the engineer. If Ophelia got hit on the other hand, the process to recovery would most likely be a more complicated one. "You're not the only front we've been deployed to, but that doesn't make you any less important." Given the fact that they were deployed here, it meant that most likely, the other teams deployed here were also calling in for reinforcements as well. With their enemy now surrounded and their numbers cut down to few, the knights had turned their attention to the pinnacle of magic in the room: The crown itself. "Surrender the crown and drop your weapons. I promise you will be judged fairly!" The vampire samurai was quick to understand that their words wouldn't dismantle Serena's stubbornness. Instead, it would act like a catalyst for something more audacious and potentially calamitic. Noticing the sudden rise in power in the room, the knights had reinforced their shields, digging their heels into the ground to prevent themselves from being knocked back. Neon on the other hand had taken Ophelia and shielded her with her body. Casting whatever reserves of energy she had left to protect the two, she encased themselves in an energy bubble, strengthened to the best of her abilities. "Hey, Lia." With arms wrapped around her princess, the knight whispered through the ensuing chaos that would befall her. Choosing to protect her instead of keeping herself safe, she had faith that the princess would carry the others through the rest of combat in her place. "Make sure to win for me. Okay?" With a smile befitting that of a warrior that risked death, Serena's attack had irradiated through the room, causing a bright light to overtake all who could see, summoning a force of wind that broke apart the very throne Serena once sat upon. After a couple minutes of it did it finally come to an end, and only then, did her knight finally fall atop Ophelia's shoulder, succumbing to her wounds. Smoke came out of her back as her body had overheated. The clothes of her back were burned off, revealing a metallic undercoat underneath her flesh that was damaged. Lights flickered for a moment before coming to a stop as her internal components turned off. Though before Serena could attack Ophelia directly, a shield had blocked her next attack. "Save your tears for later. Your companion isn't dead yet." The knight's eyes were similar to Neon's herself. The man she spoke to was an android. "But we need to hurry and get that crown off that mage's head. Don't hold back." Will you halt this eclipse in me? Will you halt this eclipse in me? Will you halt this eclipse in me? Will you halt this eclipse in me? Will you halt this eclipse in me? Will you halt this eclipse in me?​