Private/Closed Devil hunter's Mayhem

[Schrift]

As long as there have been humans, there have been devils and gods. Devils ravaged the lands, hunting humans as their main food source. During the early times of humanity, their only defence against Devils were their large numbers and primitive weapons. Though as time moved, a group of humans decided to get help against the Devils. They travelled the lands looking for the gods. This band of humans were the ones who managed to change the course of human history. After decades of travelling it is said only a few humans returned from the great journey and with them they brought the power of the gods. This was the first ever guild. With this new found power, they managed to help fight back the devils and help protect humanity. However, as time moved on more and more people started to be born with a natural link with the gods. This allowed these humans to access borrowed power from the gods and give them inhuman abilities. Though it was only a fraction of the human race who naturally inherited these abilities. Well that's the story told to the little kids of Faselei.


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six hour earlier
"So, you're all probably confused to why I called for you. I know you all have rarely done missions together, some of you probably haven't done any at all. But this Special job will take more than just one devil hunter on their own", the guild master's tone was soft and warm. Almost like the sun. It had some comfort in the way she spoke. Her hair was a soft blond while her eyes were a nice amber colour. She had chosen to sit in the largest table as she had gathered the most random selection of guild members, it was almost as if she had put their names in a hat and pulled out a random handful. The inside of the guild hall was particularly quiet around this time of day where most of the guild members had gone out for their missions. The guild hall's lower floor seemed to look more like a bar or tavern than a guildhall, the only real thing that made it seem like a guildhall would probably be the banners hanging near the entrance and the large job board in the far corner of the room.

"The job is simple but tough, you're all going to be hunting down the snake devil. There have been reports of the devil appearing in the small town of Tabohebi, I want you all to slay it. A fair bit of warning, this devil is not one to die easily so I suggest that you all be cautious. From what I have gathered, this devil is a large one and the longer it stays at Tabohebi the stronger it will become", the guild master spoke again, smiling warmly this time. "I suggest you pack your bags, the carts are waiting outside for you". The guild master made her way back to her office, leaving the guild members together in silence. Ikus looked around, these were going to be his guildmates. Two devils, some lazy dog and some people he'd never spoken too. He let out a sigh as he went to pack his bags and get ready for this mission.




Current time
It was almost six hours until the carts had arrived at the inn. God was that a long ride, and to make it worse the three carts carrying them seemed to always target the potholes on the paths. Ikus' legs felt numb, that ride was uncomfortable on a new level he never knew was possible. As he took off his large bag from the back of the cart he looked up to the inn. Man did it look massive with its daunting brick structure. Outside the inn, stood a group of people. All of them ranging in ages from 13 to maybe the late 50s. The younger of the groups began to take the bags from the carts with one taking Ikus' bag straight from his hand. My god there must've been twelve of them as they all started to take the bags from the cart. The oldest of the group walked up to the gang, his face small and rat like while his hair seemed to be thinning. "Thank goodness you all came! My wife and I were getting worried your guild master simply left us to deal with the devil ourselves", he said. Ikus simply stood there as he watched the man speak, "heh, no worries sir! It's just a simple devil, how hard can it be?", he smiled. The sun was beginning to set, as Ikus entered the building.

Ikus sat atop one of the many stools that were inside the Hebi Inn. It was easy to spot him sitting by the barista as he ordered a simple high top beer. This mission would be his first one yet, sure he's been in this guild since he was eight years old but he was never really allowed to do missions until now. He hoped his first mission was something exciting and not some chicken devil or a fork devil. He dressed in his usual clothing, only difference being he had covered up the guild mark on his arm. He didn't want people to see him with devils, he didn't want them to see him working with them. Those fiends. He disliked them, but so far it seemed that working with them was his only choice if he wanted to partake in this mission. He sipped from his drink as he looked out the window to see the light of the sun dim. The drink tasted bitter, slightly disgusting but Ikus continued to drink it. "I wonder how strong the snake devil is... a lot of people are afraid of snakes which could mean it's a very powerful devil...", he mumbled to himself as he kept to the barista. Looking around the place had a nice warm feeling of the guild hall, the tables were all adorned in red table clothes while lamps hung from the ceiling as it illuminated the place. Near the entrance was a weapon rack for anyone willing to leave their weapons there. Just past the barista where Ikus sat was a flight of stairs that led up to the bedrooms, Ikus would most likely find his one later as for now he just wanted to relax. From its wooden floors to the small glass paned windows, this place was like a large cottage. In the middle of the inn stood a large four sided pillar, each side having an opening for a large fire to spread its warmth to anyone close by. Some people dressed in simple tunics were giving food to those who ordered it while others were simply cleaning some tables or replacing the table cloth, maybe sweeping the floor.


pings: @Clite of Dragonbow @=Nightshade= @Gamingfan @Spoiled Bread @Astrial @Psymallard @Bumbletime

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Rokka

Rokka jumped down from the cart, then stretched her body to relief at least some of her aching muscle after that bumpy trip they just did. She spun her torso around until she heard those satisfying cracking sound coming from her backbone. However, when she watched one of the kids approached her enthusiastly with extended hand reaching towards her tool bag she slapped the kid's hand away instinctively. Rokka's eyes widen as she was also surprised at her own reaction.

"Sorry, kid. No touchie for this bag, it might suddenly explode, hahaha.... I'm serious." Rokka's expression soften after she warned the kid, she gave him a pat on the head before shifting her attention to the town they're in. She definitely wanted to walk around to familiarize herself with the terrain but unfortunately the sun was setting so she ended up entering the inn and ate a few bowls of soup to warm herself. She then sat next to the old man who welcomed them, he seemed like the leader here.

"So, what's the deal with this devil? We're abruptly notified about this mission so we don't have much information either. And like those philosophers said: the devil is in the details. Hehe." Rokka was amused by her own joke and slapped her own thigh while laughing.

 

[=Nightshade=]

Six Hours Prior

Midori nodded intently at the Guild Master’s words as she just as intently popped a candy in her mouth from the bag in her hand. “M’kay, sounds like fun!” She hopped down from the table she had been sitting cross-legged on and ran upstairs to pack—not that she had much to, just a few changes of clothes and a lot of candy. It was all stuffed into a sack that cinched at the top with strings.

Kaihaku had nothing to say, nodding wordlessly before making her own way upstairs. For her, it was less to pack, and more to gather her thoughts.

Current Time

“Are we there yet?” Midori asked the same question she’d been repeating precisely every five minutes for the last half hour. She kicked her legs idly where she sat atop a mountain of bags. Her own small sack was on backwards to rest against her stomach, to leave the scythes on her back free. Absentmindedly, the girl unwrapped a stick of gum and chewed, quiet for a little while. “Are we there— hey, look, we are there!” As the inn in the distance became more visible, Midori shifted to kneel on the pile for a better view. “Look, look, it’s right over there!” She began humming to herself, shifting to a song no one else could hear.

Kaihaku sat in silence in the corner of the cart she was in. She had purposely stayed far from the carts that held Ikus and Midori, as both of them were extremely annoying. She had been in the guild for almost as far back as she could remember, and she couldn’t recall a single person in that time who got on her nerves more. Well, Midori wasn’t too bad in her older forms, but still. Not for the first time, she wished that her invisible barrier would be more flexible and repel objects as well as people if she wanted; the bumping and rattling of the cart was beginning to irk her. She was quite relieved when the cart came to a stop.

Kaihaku landed lightly on the ground after she leapt out of the cart. Her bag was held in one hand, and a bag labeled Danger—Explosives was in the other. A man, maybe in his thirties, held out his hands to try and take her bag for her, but was stopped around four feet from her body. He pushed against the barrier experimentally before giving an apologetic shrug. “Sorry,” he called sheepishly. “There’s like a force field or something blocking my way. I can’t get to you.”

“That’s alright,” Kaihaku murmured in her lifeless, yet melodic voice. “You aren’t the first, and you won’t be the last.”

Upon getting out of the cart, Midori handed her small bag of clothes and sweets to the nearest person offering to help, before grabbing another bag, this one quite heavyweight and bulky, raising it over her head, and running towards the door, giggling. She caught the sound of Rokka’s joke, and her giggles turned to laughter. “That was a good one!” she said with a wide grin. “Hehe, devil in the details.” She began to sing it. “Devil’s in the de-tails, devil’s in the de-tails…”

 

[Clite of Dragonbow]

Faust Galladia was simply taking a nap in a cart as they were on the way to their inn, If not counting the Guild Master, he usually uses a fake name around the others. He also isn't eager to tell devil co-workers that his weapon is a litteral Devil Bane as he tries to be in good terms with them.
He didn't get it.. He didn't really get why he have to do mission with others, so far no one cared to talk with him, not even mentioning work, but oh well..order is an order.

After a while he left his cart, he smiled seeing the way they were greeted, a kid ran up to him and asked many questions. Espesially where he get that cool white cloak and his sword, although for most he tried to avoid topic, opportunity to talk with someone cheered Lucian a lot.

He snickered on a joke as well and Midori singing, then he accepted a soup as to eat something and as he took a sip whispered "Delicious..." and continued to eat, while staying somewhat close to the rest of the group.

 

[Psymallard]

Six hours earlier
Dirt Cheap leaned on a wall in the background as he listened to Boss's instruction. As she finished, Dirt strut forward to the rest of the group. "You can count on us, Boss," he assured before he tripped over his own feet and fell onto his face.

Here and Now
Ow... Dirt felt like he was spanked by a brick from how long he's been sitting. He eagerly hopped off the cart as they got there. He did a few quick stretches before trotting up to the others. From there, he casually walked into the inn having no bag of his own. He walked up to the counter, not sitting, as his stinging rear forbade it. Instead, he leaned against the counter and ordered a salad. This counter didn't seem to compliment Dirt's height too well. So, while no one was looking, Dirt stood on his toes and remained that way until his salad came. By then, his butt had ceased to hurt as much as it did a couple minutes ago, and he hopped on the stool. The salad looked... alright, but Dirt was starving. He tore into the salad that cost him most of his money that he had on the trip, he wasn't in his favorite financial situation at the moment, but the vanquishing of the Devil here would earn him some more money he hoped. His teammates would just have to pull their own weight.

 

[Astrial]

6 Hours earlier
Mizu listened intently to the guild masters orders for her mission. While she preferred to work alone, a pack of hunters would get the job done faster. At least there was one other devil in the group, and the wolf boy seemed beastly enough. When the master was done talking, she quickly excused herself and went off the pack the few things she didn’t keep on her.

Now
Mizu hopped out of the cart, stretching languidly on all fours, before standing back up and eyeing the boy fidgeting nervously in front of her. He looked pretty terrified, but she was used to that by now. Terror was better than scorn, anyway. She walked up to him and dropped the extra bag she’d been carrying in his arms, before walking past him and into the inn, catching a quick sigh of relief from the boy when he thought she was out of earshot.

She ignored the other guild members and sat down at a table in the corner, far from the central fires. She drew her large hood off her head, letting her mane of hair fly out as she pulled a map of the area from a small fold in her cloak. She began scouting where this reptilian devil that they were hunting could be. After a few minutes of work, she realized she was pretty hungry, but a few other people were already up at the counter, and she didn’t want to go through her whole ‘yes, I’m a devil, and yes, I speak, and yes, I’m in a guild’ thing that she had to do pretty much every time she spoke with someone. She decided to just go hunting later, and went back to her map.

 

[Schrift]

Ikus' face soured as he saw Kaihaku enter the room. A devil, a disgusting one at it. Ikus had been part of this guild ever since he was six, and sure he didn't do any missions he did run a lot of errands for the guild. He knew Kaihaku from the day she joined, sure he never went near her nor talked to her but what was there to talk about? She was a devil, a disgusting devil. Ikus looked down at Dirt, man did his short height not help him next to the counter. Ikus ordered another high top drink, as he downed it in an instance, moving next to Dirt. "You're only going to eat a salad? We're facing a big devil, you sure you don't want anything else? I'll happily pay for you", he smiled, as he tapped the small pouch of coins on his waist. He ordered another two drinks, sliding one beer to Dirt. "I'm excited for this mission, are you?"
@Psymallard


Meanwhile with Rocca, the man looked down at her. She was really part of the guild that were going to be slaying such a devil, well big things do come in small packages. "this devil... it's hard to even believe its a devil with how strong it is", he said as he shivered slightly to his own words. He didn't even take into account the joke Rokka had made. "We've asked for help from other guilds but either our town can't afford what they're charging or they ignore our request, your guild was the first to come", he said, as he began to calm down slightly. Though he was still seeming nervous, his shaky breath and sweating had seemed to stop. In the light of the room it was much easier to see this man's features. His face was dirty, with an unkept beard and his face seeming dried and wrinkled.He was either in his late thirties or mid forties. "The serpent devil, it's a large devil. It's said that its body has arms that help carry it like some sort of centipede, while having a head of a man. If it doesn't crush you to death, then the snakes sticking out its body will finish you off. Nobody knows when it comes out, it's been out at random times and we don't know if it has a certain time it comes out but you'll know when it comes", he said, going back to seeming frightened.

@Spoiled Bread

 

[Psymallard]

Dirt looked up with a couple lettuce leaves sticking out of his mouth as Ikus scoot over, before slurping them up and swallowing. Dirt just joined the guild a couple days ago, but he'd seen this kid around. He really didn't know anyone that well yet, and this seemed like it might be a good time to make allies. He stared as Ikus slid the alcohol over. "What is this?" He squinted at it, and then dipped his finger in it, and then smelled that finger. It smelled bitter, and Dirt turned away his head. "Bleh, no thanks. A salad's all I need. That and my Devil-fighting experience." In truth, he had no 'Devil-fighting experience', and didn't have much combat experience in general. But, when Dirt was able to use his ability, it was very easy to use effectively. "Excited? It's my job to kill Devils. So I'm gonna kill a Devil." He flourished his hand upwards, hitting his hair on the way up. "I am, after all, Dirt Cheap." With the revealing of his name, he opened one eye ever so slightly to look at Ikus to see his reaction. Most people laugh at him, he hoped this person wouldn't add to that number.
@Schrift

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Rokka

"Wow, that sounds... disturbingly gross." Rokka wasn't sure how to describe the weird feeling she felts when hearing the description, but disturbingly gross sounds the most fitting. What kind of human centipede was this supposedly 'serpent' devil anyway?

"Don't worry, we have experience killing some devils. The next time that devil come out will also be their last." She tried to reassure the villagers by being positive. Rokka was a new member of Himawari, only joined a few days ago but she did killed a devil before she joined. Though she felts like the one she defeated was a weak one. She looked out of the window at the sun setting in the distance.

"They said smart devils will attack at night. Using the darkness to help them sneaking around and amplify their fear aspect. So anyone who want to go outside please be very careful." She then walked to the inn's door, her oversized glasses reflected the last sliver of sunlight before it completely disappear in the horizon. "And I want some fresh air. Anyone wants to accompany me?"

The last question was addressed to her fellow guildmates. She wasn't familiar with any of these people yet, but she's willing to try. Besides, she wanted to check around the village and having someone to watch her back would be much safer. She pulled a small cage-like object from her tool bag, which turns out to be a lantern once she canceled her minimizing magic and returned it to the original size.

 

[Clite of Dragonbow]

At the same time when Rokka asked if someone could go with her, Lucian finished his bowl, walked up to someone and handed it to them saying "Thank you for the meal" with the small smile. Then he headed over to his guildmate.

"I wouldn't mind to get some fresh air so I will tag alone if you won't mind that, we may also learn about how area outside looks like" He said stating his reasons, although he didn't hide the fact that some contact between people would be a nice thing and he definitly cheered people company.
(I know.. Its short)
@Spoiled Bread

 

[Gamingfan]

Volk groaned in annoyance as the carts stopped, the sudden jerk waking him up. His eyes flashed as a few kids tried to take his luggage, scaring them off. He didn't have luggage anyway, so Volk simply jumped off the cart and walking inside the building without much fanfare. The wolf paid no attention to his surroundings (though he did give a glance at the food being served), making a beeline towards the open flame and curling up near it, giving occasonal glares at people that walked too close.
As he laid, he cursed that he was supposed to work with these people. He hadn't really paid much attention to the mission, as he was busy nodding off and waking himself continuously, but he knew there was a demon in needs of killing. Should be an easy job. Find the demon, immobilize the demon, decapitate the demon. Badda-Bing Badda-Boom, he could go back and relax for the rest of his days...until the guild gets irritated with his inactivity.

 

[=Nightshade=]

“Ooh, sounds nasty,” Midori commented as she listened in on the devil’s description. She chewed her third candy bar in the last hour thoughtfully. “I wonder if it’ll be slimy or dry. Like Turp!” She mentioned the snake devil who was also in the guild. “If it’s a serpent then it might be slimy like a worm or dry like a snake… if it’s slimy that might be a little gross, hehe!”

Meanwhile, Kaihaku sat a little detached from the rest of the group, absentmindedly sipping from a cup of warm, sweet liquid. It tasted a bit like peaches and had a slightly spiced taste to it. It was only listed as the “House Special,” so she wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but it was delicious.

“Outside? I wanna go outside!” Midori’s attention was grabbed yet again by the door opening. She raced out, pausing to turn back and say, “I’ll be quiet, promise!” before running again and attempting to haul herself up a tree. When that approach didn’t work and she slid back down to the base of the trunk, she gave up on traditional climbing and took out her kusarigama. Using the chain and sickles as leverage, she was able to swing up the tree in ten seconds flat. Straddling a branch near the top, she kicked her legs in the air beneath her, looking up at the sky.

The ghostly girl didn’t have much of an appetite; the spirits in the area were agitated, constantly flitting in and out of visibilty, and the demons lurking behind her were arguing with each other, hissing and spitting in voices only she could hear. Let’s get this over with quickly, Kaihaku thought to herself, closing her eyes and letting out a soft huff through her nose. I don’t want to be here any longer than I have to. Although she’d never admit it, not even to herself, she was almost enjoying the company of her guildmates, even if none of them could get within a few feet of her. She took another sip of her drink, allowing herself an almost-smile as the spiced mixture warmed her from the inside.

 

[Astrial]

Mizu’s ears twitched slightly as she listened in on the information about the devil. She was a little worried about the fact that the thing probably had scales, and wouldn’t even be bothered by her arrows, but she had her strength and claws, and she knew a least a few people in their party were swordsman.

She yawned, her maw splitting to reveal her fangs. She didn’t need to look around to tell that nearly the whole in was looking at her, some in fear, others in hate. “I should get out for a minute,” she mentally sighed. “Before I go berserk, or some idiot gets brave.” While she could stop herself from adsorbing fear from humans for a short while, this was getting to be too much. Besides, she couldn’t really do anything to stop somebody deciding to be a hero and attack her.

She took her chance when one of the humans in her hunting party said she was going to scout a bit. From what she’d gauged from passing the girl—and the people now joining her—in the hallway a few times, they didn’t necessarily hate her, and if they did tell her to bug off, she’d just play the ‘devil wants to sulk in the woods alone’ card, and go scout on her own.

Mizu got up and began walking towards the door. She stared disgustedly at the wolf boy sitting in front of the fire as she passed. Dog boy, more likely. What kind of natural animal doesn’t fear fire.” She growled low in her thought, causing someone at the table near her to choke slightly on their drink. She ignored them and walked out the door, taking a moment to admire the soft moonlight on her mane, before turning to watch what looked to be a child scramble up a tree with the help of what looked to be kusarigama blades. She reminded Mizu of the young pups of her former clan so much, it almost hurt to watch, and she had to turn away, pretending to look at the surrounding area instead.

 

[Schrift]

"it's called a beer, it's nice. Well guess not everyone likes it", he chuckled as he finished both his and Dirt's drink. He most probably shouldn't have been drinking, especially when he was in the middle of his first mission. "You're Dirt Cheap? Is that a nickname... or are you uhhh referring to yourself as dirt? I- uhhh", hearing that statement made Ikus confused. Could someone really name their child Dirt? It was a slightly weird name, it made Ikus wonder what it would be like to have such a name. Although he found the name odd, he didn't laugh but instead gave a warm smile back. A smile that gave a similar feeling that the guild master's smile gave. "Ikus Shinmon, before you ask, yes I'm the younger brother of the guild master. Am I as strong? Nope, not by a long shot", he smiled, before looking down at the counter. He tapped his foot on the leg of the chair as he waited for any sign that the devil was near, though knowing Ikus it's not like he could sense it or anything.As he was about to order his fifth drink in the last 15 minutes, Ikus reached into his pouch to pull out his payment for his drink. Though as he did that, he noticed something slither out of the cracks from the counter. A crimson snake, horns adorning its head and a single golden eye embedded into its skull. There was no doubt this was a devil, but it seemed so weak. How could it be so weak, unless... Ikus pulled out his cutlass from his belt as he stomped on the mid of the snake as it forced the serpent to rear up. With one quick slice, he had decapitated the devil in an instant. Though, unlike a normal devil that would've instantly decomposed, the serpent simply writhed on the floor like a loose limb. That wasn't the devil, that was only part of it... wait, does this mean that this devil can release parts of itself around? he stayed looking down before looking at the guildmates that were left in the room. "Hey guys, I don't think it was such a good idea for us to start to explore", he said as he looked to the guildmates at the door.


Outside of the inn, a deep rumble could be heard as the ground beneath them began to shake. The villagers inside seemed terrified, some hiding under tables while others ran upstairs to hide. It was only a few streets away, but the serpent devil was up and it sounded pissed. The large devil's scales shone a dull grey under the lamp filled streets. The devil had a body of a snake, propped up on hundreds of human arms like some sort of grotesque human centipede. It seemed to enjoy thrashing through the street as its body crashed against buildings and ran rampant. The back of the snake was adorned in hundred, if not thousands of smaller snakes simply rearing up as if its entire body was a gorgon's head. Though what made it most disturbing was the fact its head was no snake head, no, it was a large woman's head. Its hair receding as long strains and knots of hair tangled infront of its face. Though looking inside its mouth it did seem to have only a few teeth, the most notable being its fangs. And to make it seem worse, it only had one eye adorned to its forehead as it had many smaller eyes under it. It thrashed in the streets, sure it was far from the inn but it was starting to head towards it.


Ikus looked to his guild mates, then to the door. Who was going to make the first move and confront this devil?

 

[Psymallard]

Dirt let out a quiet breath he'd been holding in as Ikus didn't immediately ridicule him. Instead, he responded with his own name, and mentioned that he had a shared last name with the guild master. Dirt did not know the last name of the guild master, but he quickly forgot it again as a snake emerged from the floorboards. It was funny looking, and as Dirt admired it, Ikus decapitated it. But before he could express his disdain for the slaughter of such an interesting creature, Cheap noticed that the creature didn't die. He looked up to his guildmate, who seemed to be worried. The question of why he would be concerned arose in Dirt's head, but was soon answered by the rumbling outside. A flash of concern flashed across his face as well, but was remasked by a look confidence once again. Dirt scooped up the wooden bowl of his half-eaten salad first, than strut his way to the door. Looking outside, there was a grotesque monster of a Devil headed their way. Oh shit. Well, he couldn't let this confidence be a mere facade. He would have to live up to this show he was putting on. Fate wanted him to have to prove it against a giant creature like this? So be it.
Dirt walked towards the Serpentine Devil as it rampaged ever closer. He held up the salad and tipped it into his mouth, pouring the leaves into the mouth. He did this whilst walking forth, until he swallowed the last bit. When that was done, with still quite some distance between he and the Devil, Dirt threw down the bowl. He licked his lips and threw up a fist, and a single giant skeletal arm tore out of the ground. Then the arm's master threw a punch forward, and the stack of bones followed suit. The Devil now had a giant fist hurtling at its face, and its speed probably wouldn't help its case either. Dirt guessed that wouldn't be enough to automatically down the beast, and hoped some of his allies would help him out.

 

[=Nightshade=]

A cold wind blew, rustling the leaves around Midori, and she shivered, though not with chills. Rather, something had changed in the air, and an ominous feeling had descended. Something wasn’t right. The girl spun around to face the other direction on her tree branch as she stood, balancing like a tightrope walker as she made her way back to the trunk, sickles held aloft for balance. When she reached the trunk of the tree, she hooked the curved end of one sickle around it, allowing it to bear her weight as she leaned forward, looking down for a better view. Once her eyes fell on the insectile monstrosity, she let out a breath in a raspberry. “Looks slimy,” she muttered. “Gross.”

Kaihaku’s wandering gaze fell on the small snakelike creature that slithered by the bar, observing its decapitation with robotic detachment. She knew what it meant— the serpent devil was near. The demons writhing over her shoulder could feel its presence, and we’re growing more incessant in their attempts to take over, eager for a fight. The ghost devil emerged from the room, waiting for Ikus to pass by before her to avoid the sour looks he constantly threw her way, hair and cloak swaying in a breeze no one else could feel. “Hitan,” she breathed, the single word lingering on a G, hanging in the air for a moment longer than it should have. The world through Kaihaku’s gaze took on a bluish tinge, as her senses, agility, and perception were heightened. She would be able to dodge nearly any attack that came her way in this state, and would be able to pinpoint weak spots for her to send crossbow bolts into.

Midori didn’t waste much time unwinding the chain from where it was looped around her waist several times. She swung one of the scythes around her head to gain momentum before releasing it at the far point of its arc, sending it to lodge in the soft bark of a tree. The pink-haired girl didn’t even need to check its security as she leaped from her perch and careened towards the ground, before the chain pulled her up short, swinging her back into the air. The next sickle was stuck in the next tree before she reached her highest point. Three more trees and she’d be all set to launch herself on a crash-course with the nasty centipede-looking-thing’s back, theoretical guns blazing. Her red ribbon streamed out behind her, almost in warning.

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Rokka

Rokka was happy that several of her guildmates were willing to join her. With this much people they should be able to cover more grounds and made their job easier. However the ground trembled and the devil emerged from the ground. Looking even more disgusting and angry than she imagined it would be. It was understadable when the villagers scattered away from the devil. Rokka felts nauseus looking at the devil but she must not falter. She took her gun out, load a bullet into the chamber and aimed.

"Lure the devil away from the villagers!!" She yelled at the other hunters. She honestly didn't know much about how to properly engage a devil with a team, but she knew that they shouldn't let their client be targeted. Their job might only be to eliminate the devil, but the lifes of the villagers would be their responsibility. Her glasses briefly let out a flash of light as Rokka activated the magic inside it to sharpen her sight. Her hands hold the gun steady and she pulled the trigger. She took advantage of Dirt's giant skeleton arm attack to occupy the devil's attention while she shoot the devil right on the eye.

 

[Gamingfan]

Volk's ear twitched as he heard the commotion. He turn away, hoping he was assuming wrong. The ground rumbling and his team leaving, however, meant it was impossible to ignore it anymore.
Volk groaned audiably, rising on two legs and walking out. He streched, the fear from the nearby humans bumping his height somewhat, and shook the grogginess away. With that, his pupils shrank, his muscles tightened, and the wolf dashed towards the serpentine devil head-on, planning on slamming against it. And if that didn't work...
He'd do it again.

 

[Astrial]

Mizu’s gaze snapped to her to where the huge devil had emerged from the ground, spreading her paw-like feet out to keep her balance. She crinkled her nose at the smell of the disgusting beast, something akin to old skin and rot, and a smell that every beast knew easily. Hunger. This thing was really, really hungry.

“Find any weak spots you can!” She slung her bow off her back and tapped her claws lightly on her quiver. Poison arrows probably won’t work, with the amount of venom that thing already has in it’s system, and it probably has a sense of smell that could put mine to shame, so no smoke arrows. Serrated will probably do the most damage, so let’s stick with those. She transferred a bit of the pent up energy she’d been gathering into the quiver, and pulled out one of about ten arrows that had materialized, knocking it into her bow.

“Oi, snakes-for-skin, look over here!” She roared, unleashing an arrow straight for the devils eye and letting off several other rounds aimed for it’s smaller eyes. “I’ve seen garden snakes with more fight than you!” Once she ran out of arrows, she reasoned that she’d done her ranged damage, slung her bow on her back, and leapt towards the devil on all fours at twice her bipedal speed. She powered onto it’s back, claws digging into it’s slimy skin.

 

[Schrift]

Ikus ran out of the building, not wanting to be left behind by his team mates. Looking at the size of the creature and how his team went straight for the attack made him smile. This was gonna be one hell of a fight. Ikus dropped down his shield and his sword, holding his sword tightly as he ran headfirst into battle. Though something seemed off with this devil. When Dirt's attack went into the devil's head, it struck the devil between the eyes. This left it open to Rokka's shot to its eye, and Volk's charge. It managed to avoid Midori's attempt to mount it but it thrashed around from Mizu's arrow to its eyes. All of this seemed to have been enough to take it down as the devil let out a loud hissing roar before it slumped down presumably dead.

"Is that all there is to it?", he asked as he looked at the devil, that was slightly disappointing. All those attacks all for it to fall down dead like this. But even then, Ikus had some doubts. None of them seemed to have hit its heart or decapitated it, so why was it dead already? This short thought was cut off, when the devil's body jerked to one side. Then to the other side. The skin on its back seemed to split as the snakes atop it began to fall off. Was this devil, shedding its skin? Ikus held up his shield as he watched the back of this monster burst. From the rear end of the devil, a new devil spawned from it as it slithered out from the serpent devil. It looked much more different to the original devil. For one it seemed that the top half seemed to have a male humanoid shape, while its bottom that of a snake. It possessed multiple eyes like the former serpent devil, while also having long silvery hair that reached down to its supposed waist. What made it so much different to the serpent devil was the fact that it had a large sickle blade attached to a bone like structure. It towered upright, almost matching the height of some of the houses. Jesus this thing was a Goliath of a devil. Though this devil seemed to be running away, not wanting to face the devil hunters. Maybe this was a trap? Whatever it was, it was best not to let this devil escape.

However that wasn't all that this devil produced as two more devils spawned from its body. One from the head of its body, jumped onto the nearby rooftops. It clearly was the smallest of the trio. with the head detaching from the serpent devil, it seemed to look similar to an octopus. Only possessing a single pair of snakes that probably acted like tentacles to support the head of he grizzly creature. This devil was probably the most agile of the trio, it hissed at the group as it jumped away onto other roof tops. "Fuck, this mission is going to shambles", he muttered as he watched the devils split off. Ikus wasn't wrong, this mission was becoming a mess as multiple devils were starting to escape. Ikus' eyes opened wider as he took in the monstrosity. No wonder other guilds didn't take up this devil.

Though while Ikus was distracted, the final part of the body appeared. The largest of the three. It let out a blood chilling scream as it reared upwards. It looked exactly like an elongated stag beetle, definitely something that was nightmare fuel. It seemed to still possess the human arm centipede legs, while its pincers looked like two large snake fangs. Along its body was a large set of spines, while the tail had a second head that resembled a large leach. Man this devil was an unpleasant one. Ikus stared up as he smiled at the challenge, three devils that had to be killed or else this devil could become something much much worse. The third devil seemed, to be the only one of the three willing to stay and fight. The most aggressive of the three, maybe it was buying time for the others or it was simply stupid. "We're gonna have to split up, if we let those devils loose they're gonna tear down this town... some of you have to go after that tail devil with its scythe, I'm gonna go after that head devil anyone can come with me but we can't let them get too far", he said, loud enough for the entire group to hear.

Ikus turned around as he threw his dagger up to the rooftops, as it got near he suddenly vanished and appeared ontop of the roof as he held the dagger in his hand. He didn't wait for his partner to follow him, instead he went straight for the head of this devil. He jumped between the roofs, climbed up the taller roofs and slid down to get to some of the lower roofs. Damn it sucked not having borrowed power to help him, but even without it he seemed to be gaining on the devil. As he approached it, Ikus got a full look of this head. Looking at it he gagged a bit at the sight. The head was aiming downwards with its hair hanging at its side. And it seemed that these snake tentacles were coming from out of its mouth. Ikus held his stomach, as the devil turned to him. Guess it realised that running wasn't going to help it in this situation. As it sent one of the snake limbs at Ikus, the head of the snake opened to show a set of fangs coming straight for Ikus' head. Ikus didn't find it too hard to weave under the tentacle, as he sent his blade upwards. The sword easily sliced off the limb, as Ikus went straight for the kill. Though he as caught off guard as the limb grew back at a surprising speed, it was almost instant. What made it more surprising was the fact that two heads came back to replace the one that Ikus chopped off. Jesus it's just like a hydra, he thought as the tentacle struck him on the side and sent him down the roof to the lower half. Let the carnage ensue.

 

[=Nightshade=]

Midori blinked, surprised for a second as her sickles bit dirt. She pulled one out of the ground with little difficulty, swinging it forwards to scythe around eight of the human arm-legs down to stumps, aiding in the devil’s fall, then pulled the other out, using it to swing to higher ground. Suddenly, the devil started writhing as it began to split—the pink-haired girl watched with bated breath as it became three. “Well, isn’t this perfect,” she muttered to herself. She couldn’t allow herself to keep up the mentality of a child in this situation, and she brought her older head back into the game. She didn’t want to release her power just yet; she’d save that for if she had to.

Eyes darting between the three segments, Midori assessed their likely strengths, comparing them to her own. Weird head thing. It’s fast, but it doesn’t look like it packs much of a punch. Of course, if you can’t hit it yourself then that doesn’t really matter, it’ll kill you eventually. Ikus is on it already. Not much for me to do there, my sickles will get tangled in its hair. Stag beetle thing. Aggressive. Won’t pull any punches and stays rather low to the ground. Might rear up like a cobra, though. Venom is a likely prospect. Hard for me to build up momentum with altitude like usual since it’s low. Snakey grim reaper. Big as all get-out. But its size means it’s probably slow. Although, if it hits you, you might break a good number of bones. Probably my best bet, the thing is literally a walking jungle gym. Alright. Let’s do this. She crouched on the tree branch she had retreated to, preparing to launch herself towards the huge silver-haired beast.

It wasn’t long before Midori caught up with the devil’s counterpart, her speed in swinging between buildings completely unmatched by the slithering gait of the snake-centaur. Of course, she had to be fast to avoid being swept away by the sidewinding motion of its tail. “Hey, ugly!” she yelled, high-pitched seven-year-old voice cracking with the adrenaline-forced volume. “Yeah, you! I’m talking to you!” Her goal wasnt to provoke, but to slow down the creature. It wasn’t in the thick of the village yet; if she could get it to stop, or better yet follow her, collateral damage would be kept to a minimum. “Yeah! Hey! Yoo-hoo, dummy! Jeez, what even are you? A snake, a centaur, or just a really ugly guy? Sheesh, I had no idea Medusa was all friendly with Chiron! I’d say you had a face only a mother could love but if your mother looked at you she’d turn you to stone, then die of shock when she saw the horrifying statue she’d created!”

Maybe that was a little far, but Midori was having too much fun to care. Besides, it worked at least a little; the thing turned back for a second, long enough for Midori, mid-jump, to hurl a sickle that lodged in its shoulder and hurling her other to stick firmly in the ground. Now she was holding onto the kusarigama chain that was very nearly taut, in mid-air, struggling to hold the towering monstrosity back from the rest of the village. Wow, that was realllllyyyyy well thought-out. What the hell do you do now, Midorigo?

Kaihaku stayed where she was. The decision of which devil to go after was made for her, as the part resembling a stag beetle made a stab for the closest person. Gee, I wonder who? Of course, to the girl’s vastly enhanced reflexes, the beetle’s fanglike horns seemed to be moving in slow motion, and it was simple for her to put a hand on the horn coming at her and flip over it, her barrier bending slightly to bounce her away. While it was true that the devil’s body parts, including the horn, couldn’t touch her, the same couldn’t be said for the venom she suspected might lie dormant in the beast’s body. Besides, she wasn’t immune to blunt force trauma; if the tail or horns hit her barrier hard enough, they could send her flying—and the barrier wouldn’t protect her from hitting a wall at a hundred miles per hour. Which was where Hitan came into play: by keeping her grief demon at the top of the proverbial pyramid, her depth perception and reaction time were on point, and it was far easier to pinpoint weak points, her eyes naturally drawn to chinks in her opponent’s armor. Literally, in this case. Halfway through her flip, Kaihaku brought her crossbow to bear, mounting it with incendiary bolts and aiming for a crack in its shell. She knew it wouldn’t be enough to kill the thing as she landed on her feet, body sinking back into a ready stance and expression completely blank, but it would at least slow it down, and dull its senses of smell and sight with smoke.

 

[Astrial]

Mizu leapt off the apparently dying devil, rolling onto the ground and into a standing position. "No damn way this thing is done already." She murmured, her mane bristling with tension, and tail swishing back and forth as she waited for the devil's next move. Her words were answered as the devil split into three parts, all which looked equally challenging. "Okay, not done. Fuck."

She eyed each of the three parts before they ran off. The head was most likely too fast for her, and she needed to use her strength where it was needed. She couldn't do much damage to the human-snake goliath, with it's humanoid form that could easily shake her off, so that left the largest of the three, whom one of the other devil's in their hunting party was already attacking. Kaihaku, if she remembered correctly.

She roared and charged, leaping for the weak point Kaihaku's arrow had pierced and began tearing away at the beasts body. It roared back and tried to throw her off, but she dug her claws in further, fed by the fear of the people terrified people who's morbid curiosity led them to stay and watch devil's fighting devil's. When she knew that she couldn't hold on any longer, she opened her maw and dug her fangs into the beasts side and leapt away, ripping a chunk of skin away in the process. "Ugh, scales and exoskeleton. Gross." She spat out a chunk of the devil and geared up to pounce again.

 

[Psymallard]

Dirt observed as the demon split into three. He had helped to kill the first beast very quickly, and as the smaller Devils did their thing he decided on slaying the bulkiest. He would have been hard countered by the agile one, and the middle one seemed averagely agile, so the toughest and least agile target would be his piece of cake. More people decided to stay than going after the escaping ones apparently. They just shouldn't get in his way. Dirt thrust his other fist into the air and summoned the second skeletal appendage. This Devil seemed to have wanted to still fight. Dirt would make it regret this decision. Then, the giant arms turned on the Devil. Cracking his knuckles first, he rained down powerful punches on the beast. Some punches were aimed at the body, whilst others were aimed to break the fangs or arms.

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Rokka

"Is it finished??" Rokka was surprised when the devil suddenly collapsed from their attacks. Looking at its size she expected something tougher, but of course she was right. The devil simply split itself into three equally disgusting abomination. Rokka stepped back and reloaded her gun. The smaller one must be stopped first, for it had the biggest chance to run away and regenerate. Fortunately what she had prepared would be the exact counter for it.

As she followed Ikus in chasing the small devil, she opted to chase from the ground so she could keep her distance. She zigzaged between buildings, jumped through empty stalls and even broke in and out of a house to keep up with Ikus and the devil's movement. Finally it seemed the devil decided to confront Iku on the rooftop. Her chance.

"Iku, finish it!" Rokka aimed her gun towards the devil, but instead of shooting right away she muttered something else.

Cancel minimize.

Rokka's bullet might looks like a normal one, however, it wasn't. After careful calculation with repeated trial and error, she found the formula of giant bullets that she could minimize using her power and fit into the chamber of her gun, and when she cancel the magic...

The bullet that still lodged inside the devil's forehead suddenly burst in size. From the size of a finger to the size of an apple. Tearing veins and breaking the skull around it. The devil let out a terrified screech as it didn't expect an attack from the inside and Rokka shoot another round into its brain, which immediately expand in size.

@Schrift

 

[Gamingfan]

Volk took pride in managing to effectively hurt the demon. Sure he was kiiiiinda helped, but he still did most of the heavy lifting.
Besides, who else but him could kill a demon without taking off it's head?
Speaking of, said demon proceeded to split into very much alive parts.
"Oh fuck you."
Volk snarled, preparing to attack the braver one before it screee'd, assaulting his ears. The sound was horrible to his sensitive hearing, giving Volk no choice but to back off. When it stopped, it was already attacked by a fair number of people and the other, octopus lookin' one was chased by two.
Dammit, too many people.
Volk indignantly roared, not one to howl like "pansies", turning tail and following the scent of the humanoid-snake demon. Unfortunately, they were already in combat with some girl. It was just one, though, so she shouldn't be that concerning.
With his own flash of anger and mess of emotions coming from demons/"allies", Volk now stood a decent height of 20 feet in a bipedal stance, growing a moderate pace.
He took advantage of his height and leapt past Midori, latching onto the Snake-humanoid (or was it Humanoid-snake?), and attacking. Specifically, clawing at its flesh and biting at its neck, which he would try and snap or chew through. Whatever was more convenient.

 

[=Nightshade=]

Midori let out an almost imperceptible sigh of relief that may or may not have been tinged with annoyance. On the plus side, she wouldn’t have to fight the thing alone, score. But on the other hand, Volk wasn’t exactly known for conservative and non-destructive fighting techniques. Either way, it was plainly obvious she wouldn’t be able to stay in the position she was—her chain was already practically taut, and the tighter the chain was, the harder it would be to yank the scythes out. And she didn’t want to be stuck between the monster and the ground for any longer than she had to be.

The pink-haired girl sighed again, resigning herself to the fact that a little destruction was unavoidable. With a deft motion of her right arm, Midori wrenched the sickle that had been stuck in the ground out of it, freeing the beast as she began to fall, still attached to it by the other scythe. As she fell, her arm never stopped its motion, winding and unwinding the chain in a fluid, almost snakelike form. At the bottom of her arc, she cut a meter-long slice into the creature’s scaly hide, scythe now in her hand and chain looped behind her.

Acid-green blood hissed out of the wound as Midori’s momentum took her past it and swung her back up like a pendulum. At the height of her path, just slightly above the shoulder of the thing, she removed her other sickle, tearing another gash in it. If it made any sound of pain, Midori didn’t hear it over Volk’s snarling as he mauled its neck. She flicked the green blood off her blades as she began to fall again, this time throwing a spinning blow towards its lower back, aiming to sever its spine at the base—wherever that was—even as the monstrosity used the hand that wasn’t currently trying to get Volk off of it to reach for the girl mid-air.