thenearshore | Who prays to Angra Mainyu, honestly?

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Who prays to Angra Mainyu, honestly?

Who: Zetta and Ross; Zetta and Hibiki?!
When: December 23 & 24
Where: The Near Shore
What: Zetta answers prayers. Ross comes along for one. Hibiki shows up for the other. Hilarity Ensues.

December 23.

What is it with forests, anyway?

[Zetta's divine power transports the pair of them -- or rather the three of them, if one counts the unfortunate minion on book-carrying detail -- down to the Near Shore in a flash of malign black energy that practically screams 'evil!'. As much as getting named a god is an incredible step down for him, Zetta has to appreciate that this particular divinity has a little style.]

[Find the blighted tree and investigate. Simple enough. Finding themselves deposited on the outskirts of a park, maybe less simple.]

...Okay, never mind. Not forests. Super. [Zetta scowls at the faint patch of winter-worn green, addressing Ross without looking his way.] This sounds way too easy to be easy, huh?

December 24.

Hyaaaha ha ha ha ha!

[Who is Zetta talking to? Because it isn't the minion that's lugging him up the walk to the neat little townhouse from which a heartfelt prayer had come. And there's no one else around to hear... But as an Overlord and protagonist, Zetta has a heartfelt obligation to narrate his life.]

This is perfect! A prayer to watch TV? I'll sit back, do nothing, and have another devoted follower spreading the good word... uh, bad word... without needing to so much as flip a page.

I sure hope it's some decent show, though... [A brief expression of worry crossed his face as the minion shifted the Sacred Tome to one arm, the better to access the bell. But hey, what's the worst that could happen on this prayer?]

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[It wasn't a forest, but that didn't mean Ross wasn't on edge, even if his expression wasn't betraying him in this case.]

Don't say that. If you do, then it definitely won't be.

No, that would be if I said it was going to be easy! That's why I said it was too easy to be easy. [Perfectly sound logic in Zetta's mind, as so much somehow is.] Still, no sense waiting for trouble to come to us. Let's find the blighted tree.

... [He was not in the mood for pointing out all the things he thought was wrong with that.]

I'm pretty sure I can move faster than you and your minion can. [Whether he meant that as a challenge or no, he was still going to use that helpful lightness he had as a shinki to leap to the top of one of the nearby trees. He already had his hand in the shape of a halberd too.]

Yeah, probaba --[Aaand there he goes. Oh well. He can continue to gloat about his clever awesomeness later. For now, the Overlord and minion simply set off further into the park on foot, eyes peeled for trouble.]

[It isn't hard to find. One tree stands out among the rest even from a distance. The others may look tired and withdrawn in the depths of cold winter... but this one seems outright malicious, its branches curled into claws and its limbs seeming to tremble with dark energy.]

[Subtle this ain't.]

[Yeah, no, he wasn't liking the look of that at all. He leapt down maybe a bit closer than was safe, though he drew a borderline for himself not long afterwards.

Him? Putting down a first line of defence between the ayakashi and Zetta? Perish the thought!]

This one is trying too hard to be evil.

[Minion and book come skidding up a moment later, boots sliding in the muddy ground. Comedy does not yet result, fortunately, though Zetta looks a bit shaken at how close he came to a front coverplant.]

Appearances are important, I've told you that. But I think this is our target. Or whatever might live in it... so to speak.

[Comedy might have resulted if he'd had the idea to trip the minion just a little sooner. But that was neither here nor there.]

Are you going to set the tree on fire first to draw it out? Or target the tree as is?

[There wasn't much he could do as he was right then outside of keeping his boundary active.]

Hmm. Good question. If we burn the tree, we might burn... uh, everything else, and I'm pretty sure that's not going to win me any followers. On the other hand, if we let it stay there, we've probably got a Whomping Willow situation on our hand. I'm good with that, but how do you feel about dodging flailing branches and stuff?

[Neither of them really want to turn Ross into his vessel form till the last moment, right?]

[He really could not keep up with these pop culture references, but he let that one go. At least he could infer the general meaning this time.]

I can handle that. Can I use you as a shield?

[He said that as he equipped his Mana Maker-kun. Even if he couldn't defeat the ayakashi with magic, he could at least more easily defend himself with it.]

No! Unless you don't want the aid of my minion army! And even then, no! Look, the point is, no!

[Has he made his position clear?]

So maybe then. [Clarity was no use against his ability to be deliberately obtuse.]

I'll go first. [He walked toward the tree maybe a little too casually considering the circumstances. However, when the tree took a first swipe at him, he dodged with a practiced movement that even surprised him a bit.]

[Oh hey, good speed stat.]

[Remembering he's actually supposed to be in this battle, the Overlord concentrates for just a momnent -- then ten minions crash down out of the sky almost simultaneously, each of them drawing a weapon the moment they recover from their landing. He can't fight directly, but Ross won't be alone in this!]

[He whipped around at the sound of the minions' landing. It was like he had an entourage over here, albeit an entourage that he had no experience working with before. So he did what came to mind first; he went off and did his own thing.

He...wasn't exactly great at this whole teamwork thing, though it wasn't for antisocial reasons.

Ross went on the attack next, parrying another swipe only to counter with a magic boosted kick that left a trail of gold light in its wake. That was one branch, but there were still many others that were eager to get him at that moment.]

[But lucky for Ross, the minions enter the fray! A brawler lunges forward, hurling himself onto a wavering branch before it could bean Ross in the back. Two more wade in with sword and axe, while another one pitches a large comical bomb into the tree's crown. A few spells flew in turn, as the battle rapidly dissolves into a frenzy just one large cloud short of being cartoonish.]

[This was another one of those situations where it didn't seem like he was going to need to do much. Plus, he did like being lazy. But...well, he'd already been bailed out once. It wasn't the only time either.

The minions were doing a number on the parts of the tree that were above ground, but what if he attacked the roots in the meantime? He could choose what to cut with his borderline, so wasn't it possible to just ignore the dirt below his feet? Ross let out a breath, forming the halberd with his hand, and drew with a flick of his wrist.]

Line!

[Despite his best attempt to ignore the ground, the nearby snow, grass, and most importantly, the root, wasn't as lucky.]

[He might say that he could be lazy -- but his Borderline is far more effective than the minions, simply by virtue of how the Far Shore works. The tree shudders -- and then a black copy of it seems to tear its way free, shuddering into a parody of the tree with far too many eyes.]

...Huh. So that happened.

Gross. [He looked over his shoulder at Zetta.]

So with my help you can beat this thing in one shot, right? I already don't want to look at it anymore. [Nothing should have that many eyes.]

What? Can't you recognize a two-phase boss battle when you see it?! You should count yourself lucky if it doesn't start bragging about how many transformation it has left! We'd be here for 75 episodes! Keep swinging!

We don't have the budget for 75 episodes anyway. [And 12 episode cours are all the rage!

The fact that he could make jokes like that with the ayakashi coming straight for him showed just how much respect he had for his assailant. Of course, his next borderline was precisely aimed to target as many eyes at once as possible. The otherworldly screech told him that it worked, but at the same time that meant the tree was now particularly interested in coming after him.]

I think I made it mad.

That's how you know you're doing the job.

[A knot that used to be tree limbs, but now is more like writhing tentacles, lashes out at Ross -- only to burst outwards like a net, reaching to engulf him.]

[Straight tree limbs he could anticipate. A net made of them was another story. Ross sidestepped to avoid the limbs, but the net opened to catch him while he was mid-pivot, sending him crashing into the edges of the wooden net. His clothes mostly saved him from being blighted immediately, but one of his forearms was unlucky enough to hit the web first. Ross felt the pain of the blight seemingly ages before he heard the sizzle of his bare skin against the bark of the tree ayakashi. He didn't cry out, but the wince was obvious as the net began to close around him with zeal.]

sMeLlS gOoD...

[A second tree knot opened up, revealing a gaping maw and rows upon rows of teeth. He couldn't swing his arm for a borderline while being confined like this. Just as the ayakashi was about to bite his head clean off he disappeared, only to reappear in a relatively safe spot.]

Why is it always trees lately...

Huh. Didn't know you could do that.

[If it looks like the Overlord doesn't care, it's because he hadn't been worried... much. After all, he could have just said Ross's vessel name at any time and popped his shinki out of there through the magic of transformation and whatnot. And he hadn't even had to! Embarrassment saved by all!]

[A minion with an axe lunges forward to hack at that netlike tangle now that it's empty.] This thing is too damn resilient! I don't appreciate it one bit!

Then next time, pick an easier ayakashi to fight.

[He staggered back up to his feet only to let loose with another borderline aimed at the net. If any of the minions got too close to that net of bark, it really wouldn't turn out well. So, the obvious answer was to go back into the fray, putting himself between the ayakashi and some of the minions (oh, and Zetta too).

He didn't have a sword. In that case, he just had to use his borderline like one, and that meant swings more focused on power rather than speed.]

[The clump of ayakashi essence that formed the net sloughs off as the borderline severs it, dissolving into so much loose energy that vanishes like mist.]

[But the creature isn't done yet. The more they assault it, the more it spreads it attention, more tendrils and more limbs forming to lash out weaker but more numerous attacks against the crowd. It isn't relying on physical injury any more -- every strike that lands, even the weak ones, spreads a little more blight into whoever it touches, and that sum total of blight is transmitted back to Zetta as surely as if the ayakashi had touched him itself.]

[Zetta, for his own purposes, doesn't seem to notice. One of the minions turns and lobs a Braveheart spell onto Ross and the minions he is nearest, sending power surging through them.]

[He grit his teeth. The power boost helped, but he could only cut down so much at a time. Maybe the minions weren't shinki like he was, but he was still compelled to rush to their sides and let loose a borderline to confront the limbs that threatened them, even as the limbs dissolved only to multiply. He was running himself ragged for little objective gain. He knew that, but not why. Not only that, but he was too preoccupied to notice that the blight had been spreading to Zetta as well.

It was only a matter of time before he stumbled to one knee, breathing hard, and yelled out the words he'd been stubbornly avoiding since the beginning.]

Call my name!

[He had to swallow his pride to keep the blight from spreading any further.]

December 23

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