009 | Where Your Demons Hide

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Emergency demon fighting
When: Late May 5-Early May 6
Where: Just outside of Tokyo
Summary: The demon from the school has reared its ugly head again and needs to be taken down.



On the evening of May 5, the Heavens suddenly receive an influx of prayers from people in and around a certain town just outside of Tokyo. There seem to be a lot of people in the area that have suddenly stopped responding normally (or at all). The situation continues to spread as the night goes on until not only is the whole town suffering from this malady, but the neighboring towns are starting to become affected as well.

With so many gods and shinki on hand - including new ones that have just appeared - the Heavens have issued a request for any available gods and shinki to go investigate what might be happening down on the Near Shore. New gods and shinki will be given the low-down on what's happening, but not much more than that.

The situation will continue to expand until just a little before dawn, when the demon finally has enough power to revive.



Drained Humans

Many humans in the affected areas are walking around despondently. Oftentimes, they are just walking into things or getting hit by things. There have been a few car-related incidents as well. Anyone who was present for the high school incident will recognize these symptoms as something that was happening to people in the school. The glazed looks, the spiritless responses and reactions. So this should be fairly familiar to some.

No One's Safe

Unfortunately, being in the town will start to wear on anyone who is there. Gods and shinki alike will find themselves growing more despondent the longer they spend in the town. All of their energy will be slowly sapped from their bodies, and shinki in particular will feel almost like their existence is draining away.

Hellish Circle

There is a large park in the center of the town. Drawn all around this park is a magic circle, large enough to encompass the whole park. There are candles around the edges of the circle, and in the center there is a cup filled with blood covered by a mask with a swirling eye pattern on it. Stepping into this circle will not only make you extremely tired and suddenly drained, but it will also bring bat-like ayakashi bearing down on you.

The Demon

The Demon itself rears its ugly head just a little before dawn, springing out from the center of the magic circle and looking right pleased with itself. It stands about 5'8" tall, so it is largely unimposing, but there is an aura about it that makes it undeniable that it is powerful. The demon will gladly fight anyone who comes at it, though most he will just shove out of the way without a second thought.



In Summary:

• Help the drained people
• Try not to get drained yourself
• Be careful about being corrupted
• Fight the demon
• Have fun~

Comments

[revolutionfalcon]

[Something with a name like the Mandate of Hell already sounds dangerous enough, and the description of what it does puts a grim frown on Shun's face. The idea of something like that in the hands of their enemies isn't a pleasant one to think about, but he only takes a moment to digest the notion. There's at least one advantage to having dealt with a constant, overwhelming enemy for the last few years.]

If they really do have something like that, then what's stopping them from an all-out assault? An item that powerful, if they've figured out how to control ayakashi with it, could do us a hell of a lot of damage even in untrained hands. And if this has anything to do with whoever started that fire, they're not untrained. They left no trace except the notes, and you never mentioned finding any leads on it.

[Since she did say she'd keep in contact if information came up, he has to assume that she has as little idea of who did it as they do.]

But if nobody knows where it is, assuming the worst is safer than assuming they don't have it.

[dominatriarch]

I don't know. Assuming the worst, they might be biding their time and building an army. Seeing how many of us there are to begin with, even with an artifact that powerful, the sorcerer would be easily overwhelmed.

[ She can't help but keep focus on that mask. Its presence looms like a sign of possible doom and portent. Whatever this portal is, whatever they're summoning, it can't be good. ]

You didn't see anything else, did you? Anyone else near here?

[revolutionfalcon]

But they're inviting our wrath by attacking us like this. Either they have an ace we don't know about, or they're relying completely on the fact that we'll never find them. And if they're that convinced of that fact, then it raises even more questions about who it could be.

[Nobody should be that confident they're never going to be found that they'd lay their life on the line on that assumption. In a strange way, it's unsettling, because if the fire is any sign, it's not necessarly overconfidence.

At Bishamon's question, Shun gives a frustrated sigh and shakes his head.]

Only other people investigating. I'd guess whoever's responsible for this didn't hang around.

[dominatriarch]

Whoever was responsible probably felt confident enough that we wouldn't be able to disrupt whatever it is they were doing.

[ Her arms are crossed over her chest, still scrutinizing the mask before turning her attention back to Shun. ]

Either way, it probably wouldn't be wise for us to stay any longer than necessary. I'm going to continue my patrol. It'll be best if I search the area for anything that could have resulted from this. If I find anything, I'll let you know.

[revolutionfalcon]

[Shun can't say she's wrong about that, and with a bitter hiss through his teeth, he glances over at the circle again.]

It doesn't look like they're wrong this time. If we can't find a way to break this thing's power, there's nothing else we can do but wait for the result and fight then.

[There's a faint note of frustration in his tone at that, and for a moment, he bends his head to squeeze the bridge of his nose, trying to focus himself more. He's still exhausted, and he knows that if they have to wait for something to come of this to battle, there's a good chance his consciousness won't last the whole thing.]

Right. I'll keep looking as well. The more eyes we have out, the better.