Lord of Azure Flame Final Chapter: Victory or Death

[Phoenix]

Useful Information

"It may be necessary in this case unless the situation unfolding here goes completely in our favor," Ixion noted regarding negotiations. "As for useful information, I can only offer this: Miranda here has been trying to sense what kind of opposition we'll be facing at the tomb from here, a relatively safe distance. She's not just sensing demons, but a spirit as well."

"Ah hell, not again," Lev mumbled. He suspected it was Mana, come to make things a little more silly, though at a really bad time. If it wasn't her then ...

"Can you sense anything else?" Ixion asked his companion. "About the spirit, of course."

As she gazed at the distant tomb she said, "Light ... searing light ..."

(She hasn't been the same ... something's wrong. She's passive, quiet, distant, nothing like the Miranda I knew. Dammit, what exactly happened the other day?!) Iso struggled to make sense of it while keeping his face covered. Eventually, the glowing had to stop, right? "Ixion, what's wrong with her? Why isn't she acting like she used to? I know she and ... I know what happened the other day was something like a fusion but ..."

"That's exactly what it was," Ixion explained. "She carries the memories of a person who cared for you, and a demon who despised you, and it has only been a couple of days. Give her time to reconcile these conflicting feelings. Perhaps then something familiar will start to emerge."

Until Ixion confirmed it, it really hadn't even begun to sink in all that well. Miranda and Shanice were now combined, and she had both of their memories; the journey with Miranda, and the battles with Shanice. Combined, they probably were enough to leave her an introverted, passive mess. He supposed he would just give her time, then, and hope she didn't decide that Shanice had the right idea after all.

[-Cynthia-]

Information

Charlotte cocked her head at the interaction between Isotov and Miranda. Part of her felt like she should feel hate and fear for the terrible creature that was once Shanice, but all she could really manage was pity for Miranda who seemed a shell of what she once was. And Ixion did this all for some artifact?

"A spirit of light is here then? An odd choice of ally for the Lord of Azure Flame, but one we must be prepared for," Morgan said, frowning at the news.

Charlotte sighed. "Morgan, light spirits are sent down from the Lady to watch over humanity. They would be fighting the demons, not against us."

"If they fight against the demons, then their timing is extraordinarily fortuitous. I shall reserve judgment on such an entity before we reach the tomb however," the druidess retorted.

[Balcerzak]

Tessa hadn't been exactly sure the best thing for her to be doing at the moment. Often she'd have previously been hanging around with Morgan, and helping her out, or attempting, but lately the healer had noticed the woman spending quite a bit more private counsel with Lev, and well... she hadn't for some time really been feeling keen on intruding on that. It might have been fine today, though, as they'd been joined by Conrad, but that just brought other issues she'd be of no use dealing with. Strategy and military matters were not particularly her fortes, as it were. Feeling a bit sad, the troubadour almost second-guessed herself at having pushed hard for Morgan to take the position of Crimson leader, back when things were up for a vote. That had been quite the impediment to the time they'd used to spend together... though by no means the only one, Tessa realized with a blush, recalling what (and more importantly who) had recently been occupying her own affections. Drifting apart was a two-way street after all it seemed...

And so, for awhile she'd contented herself with this and that. When Tessa saw Charlotte praying, that seemed a good idea, and so she had closed her eyes and beseeched The Lady in her own ways. When she'd opened them again, her friend had wandered off over to where Isotov, Ixion, and the demon lady demon were, so she followed along. She caught some of the conversation, as she'd arrived, one in which Ixion seemed bent on slandering The Lady, despite Charlotte's best efforts to educate him. Soon Morgan and Lev showed up and got caught up in the conversation, and the healer found her train of thought slightly distracted. Determined to chime in and help out though, she finally threaded together the right sequence of thoughts, and now was just waiting on an opportunity. It... would probably not come as cleanly as she could hope, as Ixion had clearly viewed the conversational battle as over and won when Charlotte had no longer felt like arguing with the brick wall mentality he was fronting. But even if it seemed a bit tangential, as long as there was some way to fit it in...

And there it came. The demon woman demon had just finished relaying some sort of mystic reconnaissance, which had prompted Isotov to as some questions regarding her current state, and the lack of her usual displays of personality. The response appears to somber the Fire Mage up, and the conversation had sort of settled into that quiet zone, when everyone's waiting for someone to make the next move. It might have been logical for Tessa to try to shoe-horn in there, using the new information about spirits as a springboard, but frankly there just wasn't anything there for her to work with. The teachings at the monastery had always said that, though like everything else, they had been created in accordance with Her designs, like the humans, the dragons, and the animals, they too had been set free to embark on their own designs. If anything, Tessa's experiences with Mana had only solidified that viewpoint, as the flighty headmaster seemed without any particular respect or reverence.

So she just went in full throttle by returning to conversation past, storming over to him, and missing what Charlotte said to Morgan in the process. "Okay, listen you," shaking a finger at Ixion and turning down the corner of her lips in a light frown. "It took me awhile to try and find my words, but it just made me sick to hear you talking bad about The Lady like that. 'No sense on relying on her for anything other than healing,' was it? Do you even have any idea of how taxing that alone might be to Her? Do you really think she 'Doesn't even bat her eye' at this conflict. You're wrong, you're dead wrong. I know it, I just know it, I can feel that She wants to do more, but something's wrong. Even the healing magic, her 'free gift to mankind' isn't going off without a hitch these days, not all the time. Something's clearly interfering with Her will, it's the only explanation. None of the lore of the past records incidents of healers reaching for her power and it being there one moment and gone the next. When Helenos and the 'heroes' sealed the Lord, I wouldn't be surprised if they did something to The Lady as well, intentional or not. Though on that dirty dragon's part, I'm sure it would've been part of her purpose. But even still, even as burdened as She is, She still provides, She still gives health, life, and hope. Miracles too, even. How else do you explain what happened to Eric? And yet you still have the nerve to disrespect Her 'favors' and Her 'judgements'. How dare you. You who work in mockery of all that She stands for, with your demonic research and your tampering with the dead. You, who haven't a selfless bone in your body, have the gall to suggest that The Lady is skimping out on Her duties? You sicken me."

OOC: I'm just gonna posit the perfectly reasonable option that the monks who taught her might have taught her different things that what Charlotte's superiors taught her about light spirits. I probably should have eagerly jumped on the bandwagon as another example of the Lady trying her hardest, but I dunno why it didn't feel right to me.

[Phoenix]

Stunted Intervention

"Another human being calling me selfish is ridiculous," Ixion scowled at Tessa. "I don't know for certain if the goddess is interested in doing more for humanity or not. Frankly, I don't care at the moment. Whether or not she can is irrelevant for the time being because we're not in a position to change that, and the result is still the same; the only thing at our disposal is her magic. The rest comes down to humanity and the crimson weapons," he coolly explained.

Ixion was handling Tessa's outrage well enough, but Lev was shocked by the whole thing. So was Iso, but less so, since he knew full well that Ixion had 'a way with people.'

[-Cynthia-]

"I've felt that there's something wrong with the Goddess as well- if the sealing of the Lord is the cause of it then breaking the seal should allow her to intervene more directly," Charlotte said in agreement with Tessa.

"What the Goddess can or cannot do is not especially relevant as we can neither control nor predict her actions. Let us focus on what we can accomplish," Morgan said, finding this discussion increasingly pointless.

[Phoenix]

Beacon of Light

"I suppose we should be getting started, then," Ixion said, sounding about ready to get a move on as well. He then felt a light tug on his cloak--Miranda obviously. He looked to see what she was pointing at and saw a light off in the distance zipping around almost like a fly. From this distance, the light could have been several meters across even though it looked as small as a firefly from where he was standing. He wasn't sure what the light was or what it was doing until one of the old tomb structures, something resembling a large pillar, collapsed and created a plume of dust. "Looks like the fighting's already started. That spirit probably isn't on their side," Ixion noted. "Best to take advantage of the distraction and head inside. Take a route that has a lot of cover, and make certain you attune your senses. You don't want any stragglers sneaking up on you now."

"This isn't our first day dealing with demons, Ixion," Lev said, giving Ixion a mocking/reassuring pat on the shoulder. "We'll be alright, at least until we reach the tomb." (We haven't come this far just to get taken out on the demon king's doorstep.)

[-Cynthia-]

"All right, let us be off then. If we come across any demons, engage them, but we should attempt to avoid them if possible," Morgan instructed, focusing on any possible demons as she directed the crimson wielders and their allies in the direction of the tomb.

[Phoenix]

The Long March

There were a few fearful goodbyes among the Elyisimians as the crimson brigade began its march to the tomb. Viveka had to ensure Jasmine that she would be alright and that she would look after the General while they were gone. Likewise, there were quite a few soldiers worried about the young Duke and his extremely light escort. Nonetheless, Reese made sure the troops focused on their current task, securing the area. If things got too ridiculous during the fighting, it may very well fall to them to keep a path back out of the tomb open to the crimsons. On the flipside, they might also have to venture into the tomb at some point to back them up or carry out the survivors. It wasn't a pretty prospect for them, but stuffing the whole battalion in there behind them could only complicate matters now.

The march itself was rather short, especially in comparison to the trek through the Halton desert, but never had it felt like there was so much time to think about what was happening. Iso was no longer distracted by thoughts of what would come after the final battle, not with that battle being nearly upon him. Instead, he was trying to figure out what to expect and how he could protect the people he cared about. He was also worried that his inability to remember Miranda's warning from before was about to come back to bite them if he didn't figure it out soon.

Irina's thoughts were preoccupied with the fighting in the distance. There was little to see other than that initial flying light, but every so often, something big and rocky would come crashing down, sending tremors throughout the area. The closer they drew to the tomb, the louder it became. Ixion said it was the light spirit his demon companion had sensed earlier, but Irina felt it was odd for such a being to show up now, and out of nowhere, if only because it was leaping right into the action. If it really wanted to help them, it could have at least coordinated with them, couldn't it? Since they weren't interested in talking, she concluded that they were either handling something really important and couldn't meet with them right now, or had no interest in meeting up at all. That was a real shame in either case, since she thought it might be interesting to talk with them. They might have even gained some new insight into this situation.

Viveka spent most of the march going over the worst case scenarios in her head, and all of them involved retreating without losing every last person. She didn't see herself surviving as many of these contingency plans as she'd have liked, and she looked quite depressed by the time they reached the tomb. How did the crimson weapons factor into them defeating the demon king? How did they make the difference? It was what she desperately wanted to know, if only so she could stop focusing on what to do if they failed. Unlike Morgan, Viveka had no intention of just fighting it out until the bitter end in this awful place. She wanted someone to make it out of this and to carry on the fight. Win or lose, this couldn't be the end of the crimson brigade's struggle. Not here ...

Unlike Viveka, Lev wasn't planning exit strategies, he was thinking of ways to stall for time so they could figure out exactly how to use the crimson weapons. Otherwise they were just walking into a one sided deathmatch and closing the gate behind them. Maybe the Lord would be in a chatty mood and explain some things about their weapons that would give them a clue ... if not outright tell them how to kill him. Either way, he was considering killing any and all tension by asking about the demons they had faced up to this point. They had acquired the crimson weapons on multiple occasions and though they never got the full set, nothing ever came of their successes. That was one thing he was too curious about to let slip by.

Conrad was keeping his eye on the path behind them, feeling somewhat good about the fact that they weren't being ambushed. Aside from whatever fighting was going on on the other side of the complex, the place was abandoned. They had plenty of room to maneuver going in and coming back out. He wasn't sure what to expect of the tomb's interior but if it was anything like this, their chances weren't looking too bad; they just needed that winning tactic for defeating the Lord of Azure Flame, and they needed it soon. Going this far in blind was a terrible idea, and without some luck, they were going to pay for it with their lives ....

Inner Sanctum

It was dark, but cracks and crevices let in the sun's rays on every so often. The Inner Sanctum's main feature, however, was its eerie--though extremely faint-blue ambient glow. The source was inexplicable, almost as if the walls and floors themselves gave off the faint light that did originate in this place. Unlit torches lined the hallways, and just about everything was carved from stone. There was nothing here for ordinary humans to get excited about, but the demonic presence was strong here. It hadn't been stronger anywhere else they had ever traveled before, and as a result some of the animals began to become extremely uncomfortable.

"It's a real bad time for this," Lev snarled, seeing Viveka's pegasus fidget in place, nearly panicked. He knew Viveka couldn't do much about it, but it was still annoying. Frankly, he was surprised at how brave Susann really was. She was the easily intimidated one, but even she stood fast where Elyisimian warhorses had bolted. Still, it might have been a better idea to leave the mounts outside, even though there was more than enough room for them.

Conrad didn't have too much trouble getting Thunderbolt to calm down. The horse was extremely nervous about venturing closer to the source of that terrible feeling, but had faith that his caretaker knew what he was doing, or at least had the foggiest idea ... or something that didn't make this utter suicide. "This isn't the place," Conrad noted. "There should be something here ... an altar perhaps."

"We're not looking for a body?" Iso inquired, cocking his head slightly. Admittedly, he didn't know enough details to have any idea what to expect at this point, he just figured that defeating the demon king would mean using the crimson weapons and tearing his--conscious or otherwise--body to shreds before he decided to tear them to shreds.

Edited March 15, 2014 by Phoenix

[-Cynthia-]

Bellerophon began to shake his nose as he entered the tomb. He had no fear of enemies he could see...but this wasn't something he could charge at, just a strange presence. Tristan tried to pat the pegasus to calm him down but it was doing little good.

Chase felt himself tense up. It's almost time, us versus the demon king. I really hope I don't die here in this horrible place...

Goddess guide us, Goddess preserve us. Goddess guide us, Goddess preserve us. "Goddess guide us, Goddess preserve us!" Charlotte called out, her nerves causing her thoughts to become vocalized.

"The demonic presence is so strong, it must be the Lord of Azure Flame. Let us keep searching, I doubt we will miss him," Morgan suggested, clutching Midnight tightly.

[scorri]

Tiria glanced to make sure that Tas was still near her and then started to follow the group. She gripped the sword tightly as she followed, hoping above all hope she wouldn't lose control again.

Adena had decided to leave Snips behind. He was a good horse, but she didn't feel like there was a need to bring him down here. And seeing how the pegasi were reacting, she decided that she had made the right decision. Nodding to Alex, she followed the group.

Reika rolled her eyes at all the talking that was going on. She just wanted to get this over with so she could ditch this dumb group.

[Mercakete]

Though Beau felt some relief at the fuss made over him, he didn't let it show. Instead, he assured the Elyisimian soldiers who made their concerns known to him that he was confidant that mistakes in the past had been learned from and that no demon was going to take him down this time. Unfortunately for him, that did bring back very unpleasant memories. Thankfully, Raemond took over from there and Beau was able to keep an impassive countenance while the monk gave some parting reassurances. Raemond himself was worried for Beau, but knew that he couldn't do anything but his best to protect him. The trouble was, he was a demonslayer. He was trained in casting powerful light magic to eradicate dangerous demons. In short, he was a striker, not a defender. Perhaps his magic could harm the demon king, perhaps it couldn't, but he really didn't know which action would doom the boy more: his active attention to defense or offense. As they entered the tomb, those were his primary concerns. Beau was trying to put the hellhound's attack he'd suffered out of his mind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tas was having only a little less trouble with the environment than Namid. The wyvern would only glide so far before landing, rounding his features and looking about nervously, observing things far and near with every sense he had available to him. So his travel consisted of short, low glides while Tas tried to reassure both the wyvern and himself. It helped that they were all traveling as a group. Though the environment around them was beautiful, the sense of dread ruined it. The courier himself kept his eyes, ears, and even his nose continually observing the tomb for any unexpected changes. He was also conscious of the stagnant air against his face, feeling through that for any disturbances nearby or further away. Namid used his sense of touch a little more thoroughly, feeling for motion in the ground when he landed. Neither wyvern nor rider dared to make a sound.

As they'd ventured further in, Raemond found his sensing ability backfiring terribly. He'd been getting used to the crimson weapons well enough to identify which was which, but now he had a splitting migraine from the demon stench about him. As such, he kept a hand on Beau's shoulder as he walked with closed eyes to try to keep his head from spinning. Though from the outside, it may have looked like he was searching for the source of all this, it was actually quite the opposite: his focused demeanor was the result of his trying to push the heavy demonic sense out. It was just too overwhelming, like being trapped in a perfume shop after someone decided to take a mallot to every bottle there. The only difference was that Raemond could still breathe properly and didn't really have a way to shut out the odor.

Beau ignored Raemond's hand on his shoulder. He was a little fascinated with the faint, blue glow everything seemed to have. He would've been more curious and excited about it had he not been stalwartly fending off that sense of dread. He really didn't want to be bitten and clawed again and he was a little worried for Arrin. This was an important phase in the mage's life and the results were so uncertain...

[eclipse]

Lovely decor, Arlene thought to herself. The various mounts looked nervous, and she took extra care not to move suddenly. It would be really bad if one of them spooked.

---

Midori looked around, partially in awe, and partially in fear. Perhaps one day, when all of this was over, she'd come back with a proper exploration team. Castle walls were boring, but this. . .this was something different!

[Phoenix]

Double Edged Crimson

"Calm down, Charlotte! You're going to give me a heart attack," Viveka nervously but quietly scolded the Jerdon heiress.

Iso, his question having gone unanswered as a whole, wasn't sure whether to ask again or just hope that Morgan was right and they would indeed find their target easily enough. There was still the matter of what they were going to be fighting. Based on what Conrad had said, they were looking for an altar, but he had been under the impression that they were going to be hacking away at a massive vegetable, and so now he was confused, and uncertain of how to mentally prepare himself for the upcoming battle.

"Let's try and find the center of this demonic presence," Lev suggested. He expected Morgan or Iso to take the lead, but when he glanced at Iso, he noticed the mage's eyes weren't glowing like they usually did when a demon was nearby. That was ... unexpected, but he supposed it wasn't the first time. Earlier, it seemed to require eye contact that demon that used to be Miranda in order to get the usual reaction. Maybe Proxima was becoming more stable surrounded by this madness? That seemed unlikely, but now wasn't the time to ask.

As the group moved on to the next area, passing through a slightly narrow passage as they did, an enormous room opened up in front of them. They entered from the left end, and it appeared almost like a great hall, with something like an altar toward the center far far in the back. That was something that definitely caught Conrad's eye. "Morgan," he rode up beside her and Lev. "Do you know how we should go about this if the seal isn't yet broken?"

Immediately after Conrad voiced the question, a tremor shook the area, and then a beam of light pierced through a newly formed hole in the ceiling as a man fell through. He landed gracefully between the crimson brigade and the altar while debris rained down around him. He himself was fully clad in white, sported short blonde hair and an intense white aura.

He stood up and faced them with a deeply concerned look on his face, well, as concerned as a near emotionless entity could manage. Holding up his hand to urge them back, he said, "You must leave. The guardian of this tomb has been dispatched, but if you do not depart immediately, you may still come face to face with Lord of Azure Flame. This is what he wants."

"Didn't know he was that eager to die," Lev very quietly remarked.

Still Raphael heard him. "You do not understand. The crimson weapons, if devoured by him, will remove his one remaining weakness, the light of the goddess. He will become unstoppable if you fall here. Turn back."

"I thought the crimson weapons were his weakness," Iso mused aloud.

"What are the crimson weapons but the perfect balance of divine and demonic energies? This mingling of opposites may yet kill him, but it may also make him more like a god than ever before. You cannot ensure that the latter does not come to pass, and so you must turn back, while the world still has hope."

Edited March 15, 2014 by Phoenix

[scorri]

Tiria gripped the sword and frowned at the man in front of them. "Right. Leave and let things continue on like they have been. With demons running wild and killing innocents. Clearly the attempts to seal his power have not worked. He is still able to touch the world, move his demons. If we can destroy him, then innocents will be saved. The demons will all be destroyed." I will have revenge for my uncle. As she was speaking, growing louder with each sentence, she failed to notice the red glow forming around the sword and slowly spreading up her arm as her anger grew and woke the sword.

[-Cynthia-]

"Sorry," Charlotte responded quietly to Viveka, embarrassed at her outburst in this situation.

The man's sudden appearance nearly triggered an arrow from Chase, but he managed to stop himself when he realized the man wasn't a demon. Tristan blinked several times. First time I've seen something like that...

"We will need to break the seal ourselves once we are ready," Morgan replied to Conrad before turning her attention to the light spirit. "If we do not stop the Lord of Azure Flame, there is no hope regardless if he becomes stronger or not. Not fighting is tantamount to surrender."

"Are you saying that the light of the Goddess can defeat the demon king without need of the Crimson Weapons?" Charlotte asked the spirit, intrigued by what he was implying.

[Phoenix]

Underleveled

"He is far too powerful to be struck down by anyone but the goddess herself," the man answered all three of them at the same time, "This was true until the crimson weapons were forged. The Lord's power flows through him, without restraint and without resistance. Mingled with the light of the goddess, this is like a deadly poison to him, bypassing even his strongest defenses. Even mortals can strike him down with the aid of the crimson weapons, but if he is able to dictate the manner in which he is exposed to them, he will not be destroyed, but empowered ... and you are not yet strong enough to win by force alone. Turn back and use what time remains to grow stronger. The world can hold on a little longer if your victory can be assured."

[-Cynthia-]

"Going back now means that we will likely be attacked by other various demons. If some of us die in the process that makes us weaker, not stronger. It also makes more sense to strike before the Lord of Azure Flame regains his full power," Morgan argued.

"Do you think that the Goddess would strike down the demon king?" Charlotte asked. There usually wasn't much doubt for her regarding the Lady...but if she had the power to strike down the demon king why had she waited so long this time and in the time of the 'Heroes'? It just didn't make sense.

Tristan paused to consider the situation. Maybe there's something we overlooked in all of this. Forging weapons out of hellfire to kill demons always did strike me as odd.

[Phoenix]

Do Or Die

"The Goddess is not without mercy, the situation has changed, however. The Lord intends to completely destroy humanity, once and for all. The Goddess would have intervened directly long ago if she could, however, she was also affected by the great war decades ago. The task falls to you," the spirit explained. "That is why you must not fail. That is why you must endure a while longer until you are strong enough to withstand him."

"We leave now, and he'll come to us anyway, which would normally be an advantage, but our whole distraction ploy goes right out the window," Lev explained. "These is our one chance to beat him down without having to plow through an army first. We can't count on the various countries still having a large enough force to help us out when the time comes. Believe me, if I thought we had a chance past these fight, I'd be suggesting we head back the way we came and prepare, too ... but we don't. We never fully recovered from the last demon war, after all. It's not going to take long for the demons to overrun us."

The spirit remained silent for a moment, looking the group over, sparing each person a glance, considering the situation once more.

[scorri]

Tiria shifted on the spot and glared at the man in front of them. "How do we even know we can trust you? How do you know what's best and that we can't win? What if you're wrong? What if we leave and everything goes wrong and we lose? We're here now. We've been preparing for this. Just let us do our job."

[Mercakete]

When the light spirit burst into the room, Tas loosed a little cry of surprise and Namid bellowed, rearing his neck back and fanning his wings in fear of the sudden light. They managed to clam themselves fairly quickly, though, at least in respect to the glowing individual. Beau stared wide-eyed. He'd never seen a light being like this before.

"What's happening?" Raemond quietly asked, daring to squint his eyes open. It was difficult to focus, but his magic sensing was working fine, as it turned out, as before them was a brightly glowing person-shaped thing (his sight wasn't the best at the moment.) "A light spirit..."

Tiria's voice sounded and a glance her way showed a red light. Oh dear. Then, Morgan began to try to deal with the light spirit, explaining how he was wrong. Double oh dear. Then, Charlotte asked a good question.

And then the crimson weapons were explained. As it turned out, both sides were right: both the crimson wielders and the Reformist Templars. The crimson weapons would either doom or save them if the goddess didn't strike the lord down. Raemond was inclined to listen to the light spirit. He was about to ask him a question, though, when Morgan talked to him again...or rather, decided that arguing with a light spirit was somehow a wise thing to do.

The spirit's reply was that the goddess was too tired from the previous war to do anything now and that was why they had to get stronger: as they were, they were not yet strong enough to face him. Lev explained the tactics they had in place and the spirit was quiet again. Raemond closed his eyes again. Then, Tiria's temper seemed to flare some. She was very eager to face the lord of azure flame.

"Tiria," Raemond spoke up strongly and warningly -- something he regretted as it worsened his headache. More quietly, but no less firm, he informed, "We are in the presence of a vassal of the origin of light herself: a light spirit. He knows far more than we do about this situation. There is wisdom in listening to what he has to say."

Raemond didn't see it, but Beau cast the monk a glare. What did he think he was doing, ordering his attendant around? The duke's attention returned to the light spirit, though. Here was an embodiment of light magic itself... There were so many things he wanted to ask him about light magic theory -- so much he could benefit from... Now was certainly not the time, however.

The monk was the next one to address the spirit. "Spirit, have you a name? I am Raemond, a demonslayer of the Reformist Templars. I assume you know of our order's movements and efforts...and current state... I am a wielder of the light that destroys, as you are, though given your being you are far more advanced in it than I could hope to be. What is your counsel, given the knowledge you have attained? Is there some tactic you can aid us in to defeat the origin of darkness?"

Edited March 17, 2014 by Mercakete

[Phoenix]

The Solution

The spirit stared at Raemond for a moment, considering how he would respond. "I am known as Raphael," he introduced himself. "Listen, and listen well," he urged. If he was going to be offering counsel to the group, they had best consider it this time. "There was once a powerful demon guarding the this tomb. That demon has been dealt with for the moment, however the Lord can create droves of new demons by using his own body and the energy that lingers on these unholy grounds. You will not face the Lord in isolation; you will face him while enduring attacks from all sides, all directions. You will have a very short window in which to defeat him, or you will be overwhelmed."

"Well, how do we defeat him using the crimson weapons?" Lev asked, beating Conrad to the punch. "If there's a small window of opportunity we can't just sit there guessing and risk empowering him by mistake."

"Even I do not know how to best utilize the crimson weapons in this situation, which is why I do not believe you can defeat him yet. You must be strong enough to endure until the answer presents itself, which you are not."

Irina had been listening from the start and was a little surprised that they actually did get to speak to the spirit, and he actually was on their side from the sound of things, or at the very least concerned for humanity as a whole. Something was off, though. She couldn't help but feel like the solution to this problem was obvious. From the get-go they had relied on light magic to heal and maintain themselves during protracted battles. Couldn't Raphael offer his aid as well? That would certainly buy them enough time to figure out how to defeat the demon king. "Could you help us in the battle? You use light magic, right? If so then you can help us survive until we figure this out," she pleaded, getting a surprised look from Iso. Lev kept his eyes on Raphael, though, waiting for the spirit's answer.

"If you cannot be dissuaded from this confrontation ... then I will assist you, and we will pray that it is enough."

Edited March 18, 2014 by Phoenix

[-Cynthia-]

"And what do you know of our strength, spirit? We have endured through humans and demons alike, through severings and betrayals and death itself. What is it about the Lord of Azure Flame that we cannot defeat?" Morgan asked, the spirit's all-knowing demeanor raising her ire.

While Raphael's lack of confidence was not especially encouraging, the assistance of a servant of the Goddess made Charlotte feel more at ease than before. This is a sign of victory this day, she told herself.

"So I suppose the rest of us should focus on holding off these 'droves' of demons to allow the Crimson Wielders to do whatever they need to do?" Tristan asked no one in particular. Sounds like a suicide mission- but I don't think anyone came this far to turn back right before the end.

[Mercakete]

"It is not Raphael who is lacking in knowledge...or wisdom," Raemond pointedly noted to Morgan without opening his eyes or turning his head, "That aside, scorning one who patiently offers aid is hardly becoming. You would do well to act more kindly towards this spirit -- or at least show a bit of gratitude."

Following his own advice, Raemond informed, "Thank you for your offer, Raphael. In spite of the arrogance and disrespect displayed, we do appreciate it" grimacing, he added a bit more disapprovingly "...or will, in some cases, I'm sure."

[eclipse]

Arlene resisted the urge to slap Morgan. This thing seems to know what we're up against, and your brilliant solution is to risk getting it angry?!

Midori examined the spirit in wordless awe. I wonder what ELSE it knows, besides all this doom and gloom stuff?

[-Cynthia-]

"Should I ask for your gratitude as well? Your order would have us killed before we came here if they had it their way," Morgan said with a disdainful look towards Raemond. "If he wishes to aid us then so be it, but I will not have our strength judged by someone who was not even present for all our endeavors."