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31-15

"Why, want me all for yourself? We can save that for later, when we're all alone, you know~

And if Kouta doesn't learn that it's healthy to like girls now, he'll end up like one of those anime protagonists who panics when a girl so much as touches him."

Minato meekly waves back, trying (desperately) to keep his eyes on bands and faces only.

"Huh. Well, this must be a nice taste of home, right? Sunny beaches, crystal-clear water, magical fortresses......hot girls in swimsuits...."
Minato's eyes are very pointedly on Faith for that last comment, a mischievous smirk dancing on his lips.

As Amelie and Ai approach Doctor Matou, his breathing seems to cease for a moment.

Then his eyes fly open as he gasps for air loudly, his breathing rapid, then settling into a panicked rhythm as he continues lying on the ground, his arms and legs spread wide as if trying to move away.
"D-don't touch me! Get away! Security!"

It doesn't seem he's directing this at either of you, as he does not seem quite aware of his current condition, or where he is at the present movement. Indeed, it seems as if he still believes he's at the hospital.

---

Turn 4, Aranea Zoanthrope
[Now Playing: ~Pray Me Revive~]
Several things happen, extremely quickly, in the next few seconds.

The spider charges at Maki and Kiyo. From the way its charges, the glint in its eyes, this isn't an animal, like the others; this thing can think. It can feel. What it feels right now is hatred, hatred for being so badly beaten, hatred for being cornered, but most of all, the kind of hatred a serial killer feels when his prey is taken from him, his lies exposed and the prospect of capture at hand. No, he doesn't just want to fight off his attackers, he wants to prey on you. Kiyo can get away, Kiyo can still move, plasma shots raining from her weapons (but hardly enough to hold it back, but Maki is still there, her body still wracked with pain from earlier. She'd over-extended, she'd overdone it now; landing that many blows on the creature had taken a toll on her body, as supernaturally powered as it was, and she needed a moment to breathe, but it wasn't going to be fast enough to get out of the way.

Ragnar, Ito, you two aren't fast enough. Maki gets lunged into by the creature, the talons smashing into her hard and smashing her into a nearby car, Maki yelping in pain as the blows land on her, her shields unable to keep up against the barrage of stabs.

Ragnar gets there first, however. Or rather, one of him.

One Ragnar smashes the spider away from Maki, shield raised, while the other crouches in front of Kiyo, acting as cover for her to be firing onto the Zoanthrope. The constructs making up the second Ragnar finish stabilising as he takes his place, both of them protecting Kiyo and Maki as the latter pulls herself to her feet. Indeed, Ragnar's appearance is fortitious, because it catches the thing off guard, sending it stumbling back right into Ito's range.

A single smash to one of its legs sends it sprawling, as Ito bats his blade into its leg, the crunching noise telling Ito he's broken something. Soulmetal was tough, heavy; most non-Makai Knights couldn't even carry it, and this spider was no exception. Again, his sword smashes into its leg, breaking it further. The beast lashes out at Ito, but he manages to swerve aside to dodge it, receiving only a small cut on his hand for his troubles. One more smash sends the thing onto its knees.

[Now Playing: Enraged Zoanthrope Theme ~Brachydios Battle Theme~]
But it is not done yet. With four of its arms, it stops Ito's next strike dead in its tracks, yanking itself up slowly, its leg beginning to set back in place as if Ito's efforts had never wounded it. A hateful glare in all of its eyes as they regrow, you know this should be impossible; no normal human could normally lift or counter Soulmetal so easily.

But then this wasn't a normal human. Nor was it a Horror.

But you could break it. No, you need to retreat; whatever it has planned, you know it's for you, to break your body as hard as you've tried to break it.

The sounds of screaming and the distinct smell of burning soars overhead, as Sato and Haruko fly- well, more crash- into the fight. Perhaps you could use this to your advantage.

---

"If we had one, they never sent me. You forget, the main branch of the Kumon family didn't have much to do with supernaturals after my grandmother."

Minato looks around the area, his mouth slightly agape in measured awe. Contrary to his usual semi-formal attire, he's in full swing casual attire, shorts, shirt, sunglasses and all, though his Driver is still on him, as usual.
"Oof. I've never actually SEEN Aethertide before.....I've heard about it, in the past, before. But actually being here...."

Turn 5, Draco Zoanthrope Group
[Now Playing: Enraged Zoanthrope Theme ~Atal-Ka Phase 3 Theme~]
The Zoanthrope's inexorable advance continues, its body smoking, eyes flaring with atavistic hate. This wasn't the directed, loathing hatred that was with the spider yesterday; no, this was pure, fearful hate, the kind of hate a rat has while cornered, bleeding out from its side, its killer staring it down with animalistic hunger, the kind of hate that a boar has for a hunter with a spear as it springs forward to try to gore them, taking you down with them even as its flailings drive the spear deeper and deeper into its mortal wound.

Haruko is the hunter. The Zoanthrope the boar.

The Zoanthrope plans to take Haruko with it.

It's coming in fast, far too quickly to dodge, far too quickly to avoid....

[Now Playing: Amelie Override ~Gravity Rush 2 Boss Theme~]

But Amelie is faster.

Rushing past Yamato and healing his wounds with a touch of her hand, you run across the roofs, adrenaline pumping right through your veins. The blue lines criss-cross your skin, gravity magic taking you soaring across the tiles. This thing could fly, this thing could breathe air hotter than most fires, yes.

Against Haruko, it was a candle going up against the Sun. Against you, it's a sparrow fighting against an eagle.

The air is your domain. Yes, Maki could punch harder, throw people through buildings, bring skyscrapers down with a single punch and zap her enemies with lightning. Yes, Haruko could shoot out superheated beams of plasma and burn down the entire city if she so desired. The two of them were flashier, more destructive. But they didn't have finesse.

In the air, you are superior. In the air, nobody could match you. The sheer amount of acrobatics necessary alone would make it impossible. And this creature didn't have it. In the air, you alone here can really keep up.

The Zoanthrope attempts to blast you with scorching winds, but you're fast enough to dodge. Your skin feels the heat, a stark comparison against the cold of the night breeze, as you tumble over it, the wind blowing your hair back. This was your moment. This was where you belonged; the sky. Nobody could touch you here. You land against another roof, trying to build up as much momentum as possible, but you don't have time, not enough. You have to make do with what you got.

Somersaulting once more into the sky, you direct all your weight, all your strength and all your power into one point on the Zoanthrope's back. You land your foot squarely onto the jet engine embedded in its back.

The jet engine practically explodes with all the force, sending the beast screeching towards the roof where Ai is on as fire erupts from its back. Ai being Ai, it doesn't take very much effort at all for her to flick her hand aside, throwing the beast away from the roof (and the very flammable gas station) and into the nearby road, the sheer force knocking over a nearby street light as Amelie lands next to Ai, her job done. The beast lets out a pained, low groan, the hole where there was once a jet engine in its back set ablaze, and the rest of its body smoking.

The other swarms of smaller Zoanthropes were seemingly only there for the larger Zoanthrope, for once Amelie sends it packing, the swarms seem to disperse, flying away from the battlefield and leaving behind the defeated body of the enemy, smoking on the asphalt nearby. Nearby, the sounds of fighting at the hospital can still be heard; the others must have encountered another Zoanthrope.

The Draco Zoanthrope has been defeated.

---

Turn 3, Aranea Zoanthrope
[Now Playing: ~Pray Me Revive~]
Ito continues honing hs mind, focusing all his energies on his sword.

There was one opponent. In a group situation, you aren't great; you have to stay back, let the others handle it. Maki, Kiyo, Haruko, they were better at dealing with groups of monsters. You are better in a single, one-on-one duel; after all, that's how it normally is with a Horror. Zoanthropes, you've learned, are a little different; they come in packs, far larger than the typical Horror, to the extent that one person would be hard pressed to fight the things.

But this creatue could be handled exactly like a Horror.

The Zoanthrope lunges at you suddenly, but the earlier blows it took from Maki and Ragnar are taking their toll. Its earlier elegance is disappearing, its movements unwieldy. The lunge falls wide; it's faster than you, but you were already moving to avoid it earlier.

Ragnar sits at the sidelines, waiting for a moment to strike.

Then the mother of all tag-team attacks hits it.

A blur of silver and red collides into it repeatedly, lightning sparking over its body as Maki lands crushing blow after crushing blow into its body, each punch landing with the force of a small truck, sending it skittering and tumbling aside with each blow. The final blow sends it tumbling backwards as Maki staggers away, groaning in pain as electricity wracks her body. As it staggers aside, however, a series of expertly aimed shots sink into each spot Maki's blows landed on, and two hit it in the eyes, causing it to recoil in pain as the plasma burns out its eyes, even as they rapidly regrow, as Kiyo takes aim, concentrating on each shot to ensure they cause as much damage as possible.

The spider glares at Kiyo and Maki with immense hatred, its wounds already rapidly closing, though you can sense it's close to falling over. It stalks towards you, ready to pounce, ready to lash out, do whatever it must to destroy that which has already massively wounded it; between Maki being crippled from her own attack and Kiyo being overly exposed, this doesn't look good for either of them.