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Hero, Don't Kill The Demon King! Chapter 1: Lives Not Yet Thrown Away


Nanami Touko
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Marina turned to see the oncoming skeletons on their tail, hearing Bladen send out the warning. She nodded to him before seeing the fallen quickly subdue the magic-throwing zombie in front of them. She took a moment to think, noticing what looked like a large, former building. She'd bet her bottom dollar that's where the monster's source was. That's when she made a split second decision.

"We gotta keep pushing forward. We might be the closest to whatever's causing this. If we stop it before those skeletons attack, we hopefully won't have to worry about them." It was a hunch, a potentially dumb hunch, but she stuck to it, moving and positioning herself ahead of Bladen.

Marina moves to 21,5.

"Good eye Bladen, and nice work," There wasn't any particular soundĀ of full-on positivity coming from Marina's voice, but she gave a light thumbs-up. She didn't know what his reaction would be, but she wanted to acknowledge her allies if she could.

Edited by Silver Gallade
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Activate fairy healing!
+15 HP, Xalrei is healed to full!

Roll: 83,80
16 damage!
-4 to Xalrei
The ghoul is kaput!
Xalrei gains +67 EXP!

Gabriela splashes light at a mage!
Roll: 61,45(73)
Devastating
17 damage takes him out!
Gabriela gains +34 EXP, +4 Light WEXP!
Gabriela levels up!
Level 10
41Ā Ā  Ā 41Ā Ā  Ā 56Ā Ā  Ā 56Ā Ā  Ā 76Ā Ā  Ā 69Ā Ā  Ā 13Ā Ā  Ā 67
+HP/Def

Marina moves!

"And here I thought I was going to get away without any heavy lifting... Fine~"
Asami moves to 5,14 and lights the ghoul up!
Roll: 12,95
Splat
"Such a mess, ew..."
Asami gains +80 EXP, +2 light WEXP!
Asami levels up!
Level 8
89Ā Ā  Ā 55Ā Ā  Ā 88Ā Ā  Ā 23Ā Ā  Ā 36Ā Ā  Ā 2Ā Ā  Ā 25Ā Ā  Ā 74
+Lck
"All that effort for nothing~"

Aithlin does ZERO HEAD TRICKS and follows after her now fellow undead, to 5,16

Edited by SnakeMomMelissa
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While it seemed the horde was mostly dealt with... the remaining monsters ahead of them looked far more formidable individually than what they had been facing until now. It seemed prudent to scout a bit ahead, at any rate. Coming near to one of the tangled walls of flesh, Nessraya quickly fired off a spell at a nearby undead, before beginning to examine the spawn in front of her.

"Hmm..."Ā 

Nessraya to 21,18 and Nos Zamboni mage 1

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Nessraya turns a zombie mage into dried meat
Roll: 53,52
Slorp
Nessraya gains +16 EXP
Nessraya levels!
Level 7
39Ā Ā  Ā 86Ā Ā  Ā 12Ā Ā  Ā 33Ā Ā  Ā 24Ā Ā  Ā 90Ā Ā  Ā 32Ā Ā  Ā 91
+HP/Mag/Skl/Spd
Nessraya learns Dark Thunder

Edited by SnakeMomMelissa
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Fighting in an army like this was good, she doubt she could have handled all the undead alone. Ayane had to admit she was impressed by her group, especially a certain angel before her. She walked ahead cautiously to continue the clearing, but not before a quick glance at Bladen and a slight nod. "You're quite skilled. I'd like to test such strength myself one day...but not today." With that gesture, she kept on her path.

Ā 

Ayane moves toward 22-4 (and no she isn't flirting)

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IgnoringĀ the foreign demon for now, Bridgit observes the battlefield with focused precision.Ā  Moving away slightly from the group instead of staying still, she wants to get a clearer view of the enemy...although...

She couldn't help but side eye the hero, feeling a chill run up her spine on how mundane and simple she looks.Ā  Nothing screams HERO at her about this girl, and yet...

Giving away no other emotion other than visible disgust, she looks away as her real emotions hide underneath the mask.Ā  No need to show just how afraid she really was.

The smol lass goes to 23-2


"Now now Ayane, let the poor man breathe!" her dear cousin calls out, placing a hand against his mouth so his voice carried over.Ā  That being said, she was right; the Fallen was quite skilled, and while he didn't voice his own desires, he too would like to spar against Bladen.Ā Ā 

The innocent oni moves next to his cousin [22-5] and gives her a knowing smirk. (she is totally flirting)

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"Oh, so the cursed weapon is suddenly all yours? I'll let the others know, because I sure was notĀ aware of that!" Ridiculous conjecture, but Agni was too lightheaded to bother fighting with the dragonewt over it.

In fact, AgniĀ felt awful even without a scratch on his person.Ā XalreiĀ could keep the damned thing.

"We're almost cut off from. everybody else, we need to clear a path." Sighing, Agni pressed onward with his old tome in hand. A clearing in the thickets housed another monster, and that one wouldn't get the jump on them.

Agni to (12,11), attack Zombie mage #2 with flux.

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Agni plays with his LIFE!
Roll1: 53,27(97)
9 damage!
The mage counters!
Roll: 95,92
So wide!
Agni doublecasts!
Roll2: 12,77(18)
10 damage!
Agni gains +10 EXP, +2 dark WEXP!

Enemy Phase/Turn 7!

The mage attempts Agni's life again!
Roll: 60,96
Nothing doing!
Agni counters!
Roll1: 64,26(22)
10 damage!
Roll2: 74,57(96)
10 damage!
The mage goes down!
Agni gains +27 EXP, +3 dark WEXP!

A mass of flesh swings at Nessraya!
Roll: 46,93
Flesh torn! 19 damage!
Nessraya Nosferatus back!
Roll: 82,47
33 damage!
Nessraya heals for 16!
Nessraya gains +5 EXP!

A cloaked figure at the back of the ruins steps forward... "Distractions... My minions, to me. To me!"

Several of the larger monsters start to move towards her!

A Cerberus is blocked by Agni, who is barked at menacingly! It would be best to deal with it, or step out of the way...

Player Phase/Turn 8!

A ritual is being chanted!

S1kTdNI.png

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"Just because it's not yours to use, doesn't mean it's all mine! Why the Hel should you get to use the Demon King's weapon!?" Xalrei yelled back atĀ Agni, keepingĀ a firm grip on RequiemĀ lest heĀ try to snatch it away again. "It's not like we're in trouble anymore, and they probably aren't either, if we're fine." Xalrei replied, brushing off whatever had caused Agni's sense of urgency. Probably fretting over the Hero again.Ā Once he was further away, and out of earshot, she grumbledĀ to herself. "Stupid human."

Focusing her attentionĀ back towards Agni as she heard spells being flung, she witnessed himself more or less throwing himself at the undead in his way. The Hel's his issue? Isn't he supposed to be 'calm and calculating'?Ā He'd felled his opponent nonetheless, but another was heading his way, yet anotherĀ one of the larger creatures. She didn't know why it was moving now, but she had never been one to back down from a challenge, especially with a healer right over head.

Xal to 11,12, Requiem dog.

Edited by Ursali
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A heavy charge!
Roll: 12,17
ImPALED!
-4 HP to Xalrei
Xalrei gains +74 EXP!
Requiem grows in power!
Xalrei levels up!
Level 12!
95Ā Ā  Ā 63Ā Ā  Ā 44Ā Ā  Ā 19Ā Ā  Ā 20Ā Ā  Ā 78Ā Ā  Ā 23Ā Ā  Ā 51
+Skl/Spd/Def

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The race was on! It was no mad dash toward an ordinary goal, but rather, Requiem's intense desire to absorb as many hostiles as possible before they were felled by other weapons. This was a rare opportunity and the cursed blade wouldn't waste it. That did make the sword's role in this battle an oddly passive one. These odd people were surprisingly conscientious about their actions. Spurring them to kill their enemies might have the opposite effect on some, for whatever reason. These enemies were truly hostile, but Requiem was still feeling cautious; this feast was too important to risk distracting and unnerving the 'help.'

... and so Requiem waited in utter silence.

For some insane reason, the battle still found a way to get off to a bad start, as Xalrei chose her pathetic lance over Requiem for her initial foray into the enemy. Was the lizard truly a coward or simply mocking it? She wasn't even able to secure a kill with that measly stick. Others in the group were much faster and more prepared than Xalrei was, and Requiem longed to leap over to one of them even briefly. Surely someone would understand how much easier these encounters would become if they continued to rely on Requiem's power ...

Suddenly, Xalrei took up Requiem in the place of her lance and began to focus on a single enemy. The demonic weaponĀ pondered their chances given the seconds that were racing by. Surely someone else would swoop in and steal this meal from Requiem just like before. Or perhaps Xalrei wouldn't have the stamina to outlast the fiend and would fall herself, leaving Requiem to observe the battle from the agonizing discomfort of the ground. The eye, to the surprise of no one and nothing, attacked them first--as you do--but thankfully Xalrei evaded the attack. Enough was enough, already! 'Kill it!' Requiem demanded.

And Xalrei killed the monstrous optic, filling the cursed blade with its life force and an all too brief feeling of relief. Requiem could sense Xalrei overcoming her own weakness, as well. Maybe that would make things easier for the both of them going forward. Otherwise, Requiem wouldn't have much hope for its own future. It was difficult to conserve its energy while fighting, and the less it was relied on, the longer that situation would linger on. 'Do not be afraid, Xalrei. Use this power. Your weapon of iron will not become stronger; it will only grow dull and frail. This power will only grow stronger. Use it. Rely upon it.'

For a moment, Requiem thought Xalrei was taking those words to heart. Another creature attacked her, and without taking up that useless rod of iron, she cut it down with the cursed sword, granting it even more power. Requiem even rewarded her with what it thought was some much desired silence, instead opting to bask in the new energy pouring into it. The situation didn't last long, however. The energy was absorbed near instantaneously, and Xalrei pulled up her lance once she had taken in some sort of liquid comfort. Even a deep ethereal groan couldn't convey Requiem's frustration, now. The silence continued.

Soon, the swift one appeared ... and quite literally at that, as Requiem's external senses changed with the wielder, Xalrei suddenly becoming an indistinct blob of energy as Agni came into sharp focus, another wielder. The cursed blade was taken aback, but not at all disappointed with the familiar maneuver. No one would suddenly come up and take Requiem unless they intended to use it. This was a good sign.

It was straight into the chaos from there, with an undead monster attempting to take Agni down. Its attack missed and Requiem's current wielder shot back with magic. Requiem could afford to use magic attacks, but would certainly have preferred not to at such an early stage in the battle. More over, Agni wasn't strong enough to kill his enemy outright this way. Swift, but weak, even compared to the lizard. A comparison wasn't something the soul devouring swordĀ was used to making, but it seemed important now, as there were clearly costs as well as benefits depending on who was using Requiem.

Noting all of that, Agni had a more important benefit than his speed, an appreciation for the power on offer. The cheeky commentary certainly wasn't welcome--Requiem couldn't fail, only its wielders could do something that heinous--but Agni's follow up attack was most certainly welcome. The wight was food now, nothing more. Despite the obvious danger, the enemies continued to attack. For that reason alone, Requiem actually felt a certain fondness toward its approaching victims. The normal and the living would flee and and make this more difficult, if not outright impossible.

Agni continued to fight, and try as it did, Requiem couldn't handle the burden of repeatedly casting on its own. The wielder was quickly running out of stamina, just like the last wielder ... Requiem feared that with Agni in this state, the fighting couldn't continue, and the buffet it had lined up would be reduced to a cruel appetizer. That was when another life form, a very familiar one, came rushing in, and took Requiem for herself. Xalrei? This time, it was Agni who became indistinct, and rejoined the clusters of souls and magic in the din of the battle. Wasting no time at all, Xalrei impaled their next victim through its skull, feeding Requiem even more power. That was oddly refreshing, and not simply because of the energy flowing into the cursed blade. Xalrei had taken the initiative this time. Her grip on RequiemĀ grew even tighter, more possessive. Good. Excellent. RequiemĀ was tempted not to say anything at all and simply observe what she did next.

When Xalrei acted next, Requiem was not disappointed. Another simple, easy, and well deserved kill. Another life absorbed in an instant. Another stepĀ ... 'What ...?' The surface of the cursed weapon's metal began to shimmer, and the damage to its center began to shrink. Cracks on the outer fringes began to recede and vanish, until only the main breach remained. Requiem knew that it could heal itself over time if it obtained a certain amount of energy, but it had no idea the process would be automatic, nor did it realize that it had been so close to such an important threshold. Requiem wasn't completely healed, but progress was immense, and with less damage came more control. The energy at the cursed blade's disposal flowed more easily, more quickly. True to its word, Requiem's wielder wouldn't carry as much of a burden going forward. Hopefully now they would see. Hopefully now they would truly understand and take full advantage of what this nexus of power had to offer.

'Behold, Xalrei! This power has increased! Do not hesitate! Bask in this new power! Unleash it upon your enemies!'

Edited by Phoenix
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"Not much to see yet, no enemies in sight, but the path veers off to the right here though," Jade called back to the core of their little group. If Aithlin had any information, she'd likely have spoken up. But with the elf dullahan more than shaken by her sudden transformation, and probably not knowing all that much to begin with based on what she'd already mentioned, the right choice for the merchant was clearly to continue scouting ahead. Deep Vermillion meant she travelled faster than anyone, and her surprise victory in the arena had given her confidence she previously didn't know she had.

"Going to keep pressing on. You guys can choose whether to stay there and wait for Gabriela or I to report back if we find anything, to follow me at a slower pace, or some combination of both." Lavinia was a competent knight, leaving that decision in her hands was the right call. Having said her piece, Jade lightly used her heels to signal DV to take off again, trotting down the path. Even without going to canter, much less gallop, the merchant would be making fine progress, with no particular deadline to speak of.

After a fair distance, the densest thickets surrounding the path had begun to ease up, but it was still heavily wooded. Still no sign of mons--wait...

There was a tail, and beyond that the hindquarters and body of a wolf. Much like the ones that had swarmed them earlier, though this specimen was clearly bigger and healthier. She couldn't see its head yet, obscured by the trees but... it seemed to be all alone, and this time, none of their more fragile party members were around. Smiling a little to herself, gently, Jade pulled back on the reins, signalling DV to stop, then patted her on the flank as she dismounted. The zombie readied her shield again, just in case, then walked along quietly, leading the nightmare behind her. If she could make friends with a nightmare, surely a wolf could also be a friend? And if it didn't end up working out, what was the worst that could happen, right?

As she came around, its head came into view, facing the other way snarling at something. Jade paused, a frown forming. If it were in a bad mood to start with, that would surely make things more challenging. But! Nevertheless, she was determined. Striding forward with purpose, the merchant only realized her mistake when the line of perspective shifted, when the other two heads came out from behind the profile of the first--one snarling back, and the other almost seeming aloof, bored of its siblings' quarrels and wishing to keep out of things.

Not a wolf then, a Cerberus. It was too late to turn back now though. Jade coughed, announcing her presence, and stepped forward, lowering her hand slowly and steadily as she did, bringing it in for a pat. While she might have initially planned to aim for the head, with that choice now becoming more difficult, the shoulder seemed a better bet. Heads could come after, if her hand was still intact. If not, she did still have her guns, in the worst case scenario.

Jade to 9, 20
Jade opens convoy:
Deposits Dragonspear
Withdraws Rifle
Withdraws Iron Shield
Equips Iron Shield

Pets the Dog

Edited by Balcerzak
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A violent gust, turns flesh into chunks!
Roll: 43,3
24 damage!
The undead spawn is totaled!
Taiyute gains +44 EXP, +2 anima WEXP!
A rabbit's foot falls out of the pile of flesh!

Taliyah moves to 8,15
"Whew... You've been doing a lot of good work, Gabriela! Thanks for being so strong."
Taliyah's tail takes the chest keys while she's talking!

"Jade!?" Lavinia chases after the zombie, concerned about her running off on her own!
"Whoa, boss lady, wait up!" Aithlin follows as well!

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''Aww, thanks Tally. Are you sure you're okay as well? It has been quite a long battle, after all. Here, hop on, i'll protect you!''

Gabriela rescues Taliyah.

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'Now, Tally, let's fly!'' She flies around a bit with Taliyah on her back, making sure not to go too fast. ''Ah, I see Xalrei. She will be a much better guard than me, that's for sure.''

Gabriela flies to 11,13 and gives Taliyah to Xalrei.

''Hey, Xalrei. Would you please take care of Taliyah for the time being?''

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The hulking behemoth certainly packed a wallop, but it wasn't anything she couldn't mostly recover from by sucking the life force out of the thing. Still, it had managed to stay standing despite that... durable thing. Nessraya had been about to finish it off, but before she had managed to do so, the genasi had come to assist, felling the beast.

"We need to remove these things if we want to clear a path proper... do be careful, they are rather formidable." Nessraya noted, taking aim at the remaining abomination, loosing a torrent of black arrows.

Ness to 21,9 and attack Undead Spawn 3 with Black Arrow

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Well, that took care of that. With the coast clear of any sort of abominations, Sollowy deemed it fit enough to fly forward andĀ heal the exhausted human. Though he didn't have any outward wounds, he was clearly worse for wear after using that peculiar weapon. Hopefully her magic would be enough to keep him on his feet...

13,11 heal Agni.

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"Sorry, can't hear you over trying to find a way out of this dead end, Xalrei." If she was just going to bark, Agni was fine being condescending, to a degree. "Good job on felling the dog, either ways." It was one problem he wasn't looking forward to deal with, so that was, for once, worthy of his gratitude in his mind.

All of a sudden, some fairy-thing poured healing magic onto him, leaving the man absolutely confused. "Who are you? Actually, that shouldn't matter. Take care, these woods are too tainted." Probably one of Nessraya's forces providing backup, no time to think about it if she wasn't raising a weapon at them.

"Taliyah? Pulling a stunt, aren't we? Good job not getting harmed out there." That siren was quick to drop the lizard girl's (admittedly modest) weight onto Xalrei... for her sake, Agni was quick to join and get her down on her feet. "The others should be further south, so I'll give them a hand soon. Was it rough over there?"

Agni moves onto (12,12) gallantly takes Taliyah and drops her to his side at (12,13).

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Nessraya plays target practice!
Roll: 58,33
31 damage!
Nessraya's MP is exhausted, takes 4 damage!
She gains +5 EXP!

Sollowy heals Agni!
+15 exp

"Whoa, A-Agni..." Taliyah is helped down... While her tail helps itself to something shiny. "Uhm... Th... Th-Thanks... I'll, uh, that chest. G-Go deal with it." With a fidget, she shakes her head. "N-Not, after they got the Dullahan's, head back, on... It was p-pretty barren over, there."

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Ren didn't have to say much for Ayane to know he was smirking at him. Earning him a slight annoyed snarl in response. She had no interest in Bladen like that, but of course he always has his thoughts. Nevertheless, she continued onward.

Aya moves towardĀ 21,6 with her sword firmly on her blade's handle.

Ren moves toward 21,5 with his knowing smirk.

Bridgit moves towardĀ 23,5.

Edited by TheRoon
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Marina rushes in and swings!
Roll1: 93,45
OH NO!
The fiend swings back!
Roll: 24,67
16 damage!
Marina swings again!
Roll2: 54,87
7 damage!
Marina gains +17 EXP, +1 sword WEXP!

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