Main Event Brand of the Hawk

[Raptor Jesus]

"..."

Puck fell silent as Grace showed the brand to him, an almost crestfallen expression evident on his face as he saw it. "So... you were marked too? Is that why you wanted to help him? To think that there were others out there with that... Does everyone else here also have it too?" He asked, before the group then went on to try to smooth things over with the guard.

The guard gave a tired look at everyone, barely able to raise an eyebrow at all of them. "... Huh? You're all from the church? You don't look like you're from around here..." He said, idly scratching his head (or at least, trying to through his helmet), as though mildly perplexed, "If you're here for the prisoner, he's right in there. But... Why didn't you take the front instead? Unless..." He began, holding his chin as his eyes narrowed almost suspiciously, and then...

"Ugh, whatever. I can understand wanting to avoid that kind of crowd. Go talk to him if you want, I don't give a rat's ass. The sooner you get it over with, the sooner we can get rid of him either way, whether he's exorcised or not. Haha, imagine me, being able to say I slew a guy as big as that! Of course, if you can't exorcise him..." He laughed, discarding his earlier thought and just letting them in. They probably didn't pay him enough to care more than he usually did anyway.

The inside of the building was dark and dirty, the smell of rot and waste permeating the air, all the while maggots and other bugs crawled about. Most of the guards seemed to be lounging around in the front of the building, not noticing the group. Their attention was drawn when another guard walked through the front door, looking to the others. "Civilians are reporting disturbances in both the market and the town center! Outsiders have come to interrupt the execution, and are causing discord in the market! Let's go, troops!"

With that, most of them hustled out, while about one or two stayed behind to guard the front entrance. Not seeming to care about what was going on outside, muttering to himself, the guard the group came in with took his key from his belt and led them to the cell that held the branded man, who was chained to the walls and propped up. Unlocking the cell, he opened the door, allowing everyone to walk in.

"I'll give you a few minutes. Don't take too long now."

And then, he turned his back on everyone from there.

Inside the cell, the branded man kept his head down, his body beaten and bruised. In place of where one of his arms should have been was a completely mechanical arm, made of metal. He barely seemed to acknowledge the group, but it was evident he was conscious, his eyes staring intently at the ground.

@Yun Lee @Raptor Jesus @Takumi @Lucky @Jeremi @Khan of the Mardu @Penitentiary

---

"America? Never heard of that kingdom before. You sure you got your head on right?" The boy only said in response to Ben, before turning toward Sumia and Morte, giving a confident grin to the former of the two, "Ohoho, you wanna meet him too, huh? Don't worry about him for now! I sent uh... a friend of his to help him out, and I trust him with my life! I sorta have to because a very slim chance of living is better than no chance of all..."

He cleared his throat, before continuing again. "These rotten foods are good for nothin' but hurtin'! And that's exactly what I plan on doing to the people who wanna lay a hand on an innocent lady! Tell you what, if you guys are lookin' for ol' Guts, the Black Swordsman himself, then I'll take ya to him after you help me save the girl! Name's Isidro, and I--"

"Hey, you outsiders! Stay right there!" The voice of a guard called out from behind, pointing menacingly at them, sticking out well amidst a group of unsettlingly apathetic (or entranced) civilians, "A local shopkeeper gave a tip that you people are causing a ruckus!"

"--am outta here! Follow me if you're serious about this! We need to get there fast, or we're toast!" The boy who introduced himself as Isidro exclaimed, making a break for it with the box of rotten fruits in his hands, running toward the town center.

"W-Wait a minute, running only makes us look guilty! Oh... This is a bad ideaaaa!" Miki exclaimed, taking Yuki's hand and running after him.

@Atomic Knight @Crow @Jeremi @Kaykay @Yun Lee @Market -> Town Center​

"Ah, you must be our prisoner." Sebastian said with a grin as he approached the chained up man. "My associates and I have a couple of questions for you. I do hope you can provide the answers for us, as we're running on a bit of a short time-frame." Sebastian said almost too calmly as he stood over their prisoner.

@Ver @Lucky @Takumi @Heremi @Yun Lee @Alex Azure @Khan of the Mardu​

 

[Macy Moretti]

"..."

Puck fell silent as Grace showed the brand to him, an almost crestfallen expression evident on his face as he saw it. "So... you were marked too? Is that why you wanted to help him? To think that there were others out there with that... Does everyone else here also have it too?" He asked, before the group then went on to try to smooth things over with the guard.

The guard gave a tired look at everyone, barely able to raise an eyebrow at all of them. "... Huh? You're all from the church? You don't look like you're from around here..." He said, idly scratching his head (or at least, trying to through his helmet), as though mildly perplexed, "If you're here for the prisoner, he's right in there. But... Why didn't you take the front instead? Unless..." He began, holding his chin as his eyes narrowed almost suspiciously, and then...

"Ugh, whatever. I can understand wanting to avoid that kind of crowd. Go talk to him if you want, I don't give a rat's ass. The sooner you get it over with, the sooner we can get rid of him either way, whether he's exorcised or not. Haha, imagine me, being able to say I slew a guy as big as that! Of course, if you can't exorcise him..." He laughed, discarding his earlier thought and just letting them in. They probably didn't pay him enough to care more than he usually did anyway.

The inside of the building was dark and dirty, the smell of rot and waste permeating the air, all the while maggots and other bugs crawled about. Most of the guards seemed to be lounging around in the front of the building, not noticing the group. Their attention was drawn when another guard walked through the front door, looking to the others. "Civilians are reporting disturbances in both the market and the town center! Outsiders have come to interrupt the execution, and are causing discord in the market! Let's go, troops!"

With that, most of them hustled out, while about one or two stayed behind to guard the front entrance. Not seeming to care about what was going on outside, muttering to himself, the guard the group came in with took his key from his belt and led them to the cell that held the branded man, who was chained to the walls and propped up. Unlocking the cell, he opened the door, allowing everyone to walk in.

"I'll give you a few minutes. Don't take too long now."

And then, he turned his back on everyone from there.

Inside the cell, the branded man kept his head down, his body beaten and bruised. In place of where one of his arms should have been was a completely mechanical arm, made of metal. He barely seemed to acknowledge the group, but it was evident he was conscious, his eyes staring intently at the ground.

@Yun Lee @Raptor Jesus @Takumi @Lucky @Jeremi @Khan of the Mardu @Penitentiary

Kokichi whispered to the group around him, soft enough that the guards couldn't hear, "Wow, I'm really impressed with that lie you pulled off. I didn't even need to step in."

Still whispering, he added, "It sounds like our 'friends' are causing a bit of mischief. I say it's time we caused our own. I can free this guy. Just keep those guards busy if they start looking."

Kokichi reached into his pocket and produced two pieces of metal. Reaching up as high as he could on his tippy toes, he stuck the pieces of metal into the locks on the shackles that held the branded man. Within minutes, he could pick the locks and set Guts free.

@Ver @Khan of the Mardu @Jeremi @Raptor Jesus @Alex Azure @Yun Lee @Takumi @Penitentiary​

 

[Raptor Jesus]

Kokichi whispered to the group around him, soft enough that the guards couldn't hear, "Wow, I'm really impressed with that lie you pulled off. I didn't even need to step in."

Still whispering, he added, "It sounds like our 'friends' are causing a bit of mischief. I say it's time we caused our own. I can free this guy. Just keep those guards busy if they start looking."

Kokichi reached into his pocket and produced two pieces of metal. Reaching up as high as he could on his tippy toes, he stuck the pieces of metal into the locks on the shackles that held the branded man. Within minutes, he could pick the locks and set Guts free.

@Ver @Khan of the Mardu @Jeremi @Raptor Jesus @Alex Azure @Yun Lee @Takumi @Penitentiary​

Before Kokichi could pick the locks, however, his wrist would be caught by none other than Sebastian.

"Perhaps it's best we interrogate first, hmm?" Sebastian suggested, though it probably came off as more of a command than anything else.

@Alex Azure @Ver @Yun Lee @Lucky @Jeremi @Takumi @Khan of the Mardu​

 

[Archmage Jeremiah]

"U-Uh, how'd you... know that?" The pixie blinked in response to Virginia and Kokichi, wondering if he had been that obvious before. Of course, if he didn't expect to even be noticed at all, considering that the crowd from back there didn't, maybe he just didn't think about it before. His expression, stiffened as it was despite how he tried to hide it, loosened up a bit to Grace's words as well. It seemed that he believed their words easily enough.

Speaking of Grace, when she cast her spell, there didn't seem to be anything in the immediate area that would be out to harm them. Aside from the group and the pixie-looking entity, as well as the flies and maggots atop the corpses, there didn't seem to be anything even living back here.

When Sebastian asked for the creature's name, a smile crept on his lips as he haughtily placed his hands on his hips.

"Name's Puck! Short and simple, so don't go forgetting it! I'm an elf, y'see. Well, specifically a pisky, but... details, details!" He exclaimed, dismissively waving his hand at the air, before continuing, "Normally, I can only be seen by people with open minds! In essence, the only people who can see me are the kind of people who would wanna see me! Thus, all the religious nuts in here can't see me."

Puck's expression, after a while, melted from a haughty smile into a state of puzzlement though, as he raised an eyebrow. "In any case... Not that I have that much time to spend bein' wishy-washy or don't appreciate the thought, but why do you wanna help me? You don't look like you're from around here with that get-up, and here you are, talking to an elf like me talking about freeing a prisoner! What's up with that?!"

@Khan of the Mardu @Jeremi @Raptor Jesus @Alex Azure @Yun Lee @Takumi @Penitentiary

Having finally arrived at a place of interest after haphazardly skipping about the town, Zoe's whistling tongue was stilled as she peered down the alleyway. With urgency in her step where it previously wasn't, even in the depths of Hell, the young aspect dashed and bounded over everyone's heads to meet Puck face-to-face.

"I know right? Just as we went out looking for this "black swordsman" person, too!" Zoe laughed an uncanny laugh, not quite forced, not quite nervous, and not quite both, "Awesome stuff just happens to me - it's like a superpower! Well, that, and the ability to warp time and space, but even that doesn't compare to-...whatsit called..."plaw d'armour"? Eh," Zoe shrugged, "names are just complicated sounds we make up to refer to complicated things anyway. Ooh, speaking of names of complicated things, mine's Zoe!" she introduced herself with a wave, the speed of her train of thought surpassing that of a bullet train, "Herald of the Aspects, and an aspect myself! That's why I'm here, actually - see, when the whole world's going a little kookoo, I-" The creaking of the backdoor opening, and the guardsman stepping out scared the breath right out of Zoe, and she couldn't help but stare right at him the whole time he was present like a deer in headlights. She was powerless to do anything but frantically nod in response to every question he posed the group, only to answer himself. "I told you awesome stuff happens to me," she whispered aside to Puck after breathing a sigh of relief as the guard welcomed everyone inside.

Entering the chained man's cell, Zoe quirked a brow at his appearance, and narrowed her eyes as she approached him further. Tapping her chin, she leaned in to inspect the prisoner's features closely, and circled him in silence, only to break it with a long groan as she flopped over before him, looking straight up at him from the floor. "You look just like someone! I just...ugh, it's on the tip of my tongue!" she complained to herself, but as she snapped her fingers and pointed at him, the brief frustration appeared to leave her entirely, "But! What I do know, is that the universe really reaaally does not like the fact you're chained up right now. I mean, why else would it have brought me, Puck, and seven other able-bodied people into a guardhouse guarded by one measly guard? Not to rescue you? It literally unlocked your cell for us!" Zoe giggled, "But why? Hmmm...ooh! You wouldn't happen to know a swordsman, would you? A swordsman who wears black? In other words...a black swordsman?" questioned the quirky girl, sly as the wind with her words.

@Ver @Alex Azure @Khan of the Mardu @Jeremi @Raptor Jesus @Alex Azure @Yun Lee @Takumi @Penitentiary​

 

[Macy Moretti]

Before Kokichi could pick the locks, however, his wrist would be caught by none other than Sebastian.

"Perhaps it's best we interrogate first, hmm?" Sebastian suggested, though it probably came off as more of a command than anything else.

@Alex Azure @Ver @Yun Lee @Lucky @Jeremi @Takumi @Khan of the Mardu​

"Alright, alright, I'll wait," Kokichi replied, yanking his arm out of Sebastian's hand.​

 

[Crunch]

Hm.

How odd.

Yes, it's - it's odd. Strange. Bizarre. Not as it should be. Going against what is 'normal'.

View attachment 2091

The Knight had no way to respond to the greater knight's words before watching him go away to some other place. The hollow one recognized the other knight as 'greater' to itself, somehow. It was neither king or God, nor did he have anything that denoted him as being any stronger or of greater power than that of the small, diminutive child. Yet, that very concept was odd to the Knight. . .it had just learned what that word meant. Odd.

Another spark of thought briefly appearing and vanishing into the great void that like within the vessel's form. The electric feeling of thinking something - having thoughts - was something that the Hollow Knight had only a brief taste of since it was taken to this place. It would take in information - words, images, noises - and process them. It would think about it, doting upon them and considering what they meant. That is what it was doing with the Skull Knight's words since the sun had peaked over the horizon and the herd of - humans.

Yes, they were 'humans'. Hollow Knight didn't follow any particular group for the longest time, opting to stay in the center of town and think. It had plenty of time to think. It did not sleep the night before. It couldn't, for it did not know how to.

Hollow Knight would, in the meantime, sit in the town center for the duration of the commotion. It was still, silent, and seemed uncaring of the squabbles and conflict surrounding it. It didn't register what was going on behind it, because it was lost in it's own train of thought.

@York @Tutski19 @Otto @Minerva @Ver @Town Center​

 

[Kaykay]

Sera's expression changed for the awkward at the boy's creepy expression, but fortunately it seemed to pass soon enough. She glanced at the guards that were suddenly chasing them. Yeah, they were pretty angry, To be fair they weren't exactly wrong about them causing a ruckus, but Sera didn't fancy being thrown in jail any time soon.

"Yup, let's move!"

She had sort of wanted to attempt to analyze what was wrong with the apathetic civilians, or perhaps they really were just that nonchalant about things, but there wasn't much time for that. And when she got to the town center with the others, it was quite a mess. Similarly to when Ben had transformed, it seemed like things were getting past the point of subtlety, and this crowd was much more enthused at the idea of taking their group of outsiders down. Though truth be told, she still didn't really want to hurt any of them if they could help it. And really, the mere appearance of the group seemed like more of a distraction than rotten fruits could ever hope to be.

"L-let's hold off on the fruit throwing and alien attacks for a moment, shall we?"

She raised one arm, and once again making use of her Cancel dream, this time she used it for analysis. Cancel out the lack of transparency in the situation, and attempt to read how the crowd was feeling. In other words, she attempted to read from the crowd if there was something that would make them believe they weren't "witches" or, perhaps, a way to trick them into thinking the group was composed of messengers of god instead.

@Atomic Knight @Crow @Jeremi @Yun Lee @Market -> Town Center

@Otto @Tutski19 @Minerva @Ver @Town Center​

 

[York]

Spoiler: Replies

In Soraka's perspective, time seemed to have went so fast. First, they were at a bloody place battling against waved of monsters. Second, they appeared in a dark forest and talked with each other. Lastly, they were in this town, listening to Constantine and Skull Knight.

She listened to Constantine, telling them to split up and cover more ground. She heard that there might be a public execution in the town center. Her interest piqued, she walked towards the town center.

The town center was packed and it was very loud. Soraka moved through the crowd, curious of what may have garnered a large amount of attention. She quickened her pace and arrived at a sight that greatly troubled her. Someone tied a young girl to a wooden post. She noticed that the girl also had the same mark branded on her hand.

Immediately, feelings of pain and sadness seemingly pierced her soul. Soraka's face was curled into a sad frown. She wanted to help. Without any second thoughts, she started, "Stop thi-"



She turned towards the knight, shock evident in her face. She was glad that somebody else wanted the girl to live. She agreed and started again, "Yea-"



She looked again at another knight in awe. They were really willing to help, huh? She thought. She walked beside both of them in a graceful manner and stopped besides them. "I shall lend my aid, young knights." She inspected both of them. They looked like they were willing to fight for this girl's life.

@Minerva @Otto @Ver @Town Center​

As Virginia, Lindel, Kokichi, Libra, and others followed the strange light outside the penitentiary, the voice gradually became louder again as they grew closer to him. Around the corner, behind the building, normally completely out of sight and mind of the normal citizens of the town, the light became visible again, floating around the area as though looking for something. The alley itself was a rather unappetizing display, with two corpses of handcuffed men dressed only in rags thrown on the floor unceremoniously, their bodies surrounded by flies and maggots. They had likely been there for days. More than likely, one could guess that they died in captivity and then were thrown out by one of the guards like garbage. To the side, there was a door -- a backdoor, even -- that led inside, but it was easy to assume that the door was locked.

Meanwhile, the glow slowly began to fade around the source of light, as though everyone's eyes were getting used to the appearance of such a strange entity. Before long, the figure took the shape of a tiny male humanoid figure, roughly six inches in height, sporting long ears and wings. His back was turned to everyone, and he began to talk to himself again.

"Eugh... Yeesh. Can't wait to get outta here... If I can even find a way through. I wonder... if I can fit through the keyhole! Could I?!"

...

"No. Dang it!"

It didn't seem that he noticed the group at first, until he happened to look behind him, coming face to face with everyone. And from there, the little pixie-like creature stopped, eyes wide in surprise as he froze.

"Uh... Hey. You can... uh, you can see me, can't you?"

He was clearly startled by their presence. The creature maintained his pause for another moment, before braving to speak again.

"Uh... How's it goin'?"

This was a bit awkward, even if it might have only been one-sidedly.

@Khan of the Mardu @Yun Lee @Raptor Jesus @Alex Azure @Takumi @Jeremi @Penitentiary

---

At the market, the man sneered as he looked over at Ben, raising an eyebrow more at his clothes than his attitude. "And just who are you supposed ta' be? Listen, you, don't butt into situations that don't concern you! That brat over there tried to steal my food! But oh, I caught him! I have ears like a hawk, and eyes like a rodent," he said, putting on an intimidating face, as if to try to make himself look animalistic to demonstrate such qualities.

"Oh, please. It's not like that shit you got there actually counts as food. May as well just be carrying around lumps of your own shit, that food's so rotten!" The boy exclaimed, rubbing the side of his face where a small bruise was apparent, "So don't worry if you thought I was just a homeless kid tryin' to fill his belly. I was sooner thinkin' I'd assassinate someone with those toxic looking tomatoes! They look good to throw if nothing else!"

"Keep that up and by the time I'm done with you, you'll bruise as easily as a tomato!" The man exclaimed, as though he already forgot Ben was there. Before the boy could even respond, the man suddenly drew a knife from his stand, walking over to the boy and holding the weapon in a less than friendly manner.

"Actually, in fact... I think I know just what to do with you!" He said, reaching down to grab the boy by his collar, to which he tried in vain to resist. Gasping in shock as all she could think to do was watch in the back with Sumia, Miki shielded Yuki's eyes, not wanting her to see this violent display, even if her mind might have... interpreted it a different way.

To say the least, the situation elevated rather quickly.

All the while, the people at the market just kept coming and going, barely even giving nervous glances at the situation as they passed by in the meantime.

@Crow @Atomic Knight @Yun Lee @Jeremi @Market

---

"Wh--?!" The man at the middle of the crowd exclaimed, stopping in surprise as Siegward stepped in, followed by Astolfo, Soraka, and Lucatiel's following interventions. The crowd also quickly died down as they appeared, murmuring in confusion and concern as they wondered just what was going on now, all the while Constantine stood to the side, uncomfortably scratching his head.

"Ah, bollocks... And I was just jokin' about the public execution thing. Wanted to have a damned giggle, but... hard cheese," the blonde mumbled to himself. He started to get weird looks as well, as his clothes and cigarette started to stick out, not that he seemed to visibly care.

"What is the meaning of this heresy?! Who are you people, and what right have you to determine this mindless wench's fate?!" He yelled upon recovering from the shock of their appearance, pointing a bony finger at Siegward and Astolfo, "You are no royal knight! Why are you dressed like that? Are you here to make a mockery of the kingdom?!" He barked, before shaking his head at their words.

"Doesn't need to die? Take a gander upon her! If you would refute death as a means of salvation for this cursed wench, then let her defend herself!" He continued, pointing next to the woman herself. As the group took a better look at the woman herself, it soon became clear that... she was not capable of defending herself.

Her eyes were wide and curious, like a wild animal or an infant, and her gaze was aimless, uncomfortably looking around, all the while sputtering and moaning in confusion, as though she did not know what was going on. She held enough intelligence at the very least to know that hers was an undesirable situation, subtly squirming against her binds that kept her tied to the post, but she held little more in her mind that could be called "intelligence," as it seemed she couldn't even speak coherent words.

"Buh... N-Nngh... Uhh..."

In short, she truly had lost her mind. But the question was how she truly lost it. It couldn't have been the brand by itself, after all, not that the man and the rest of the crowd were very aware of that.

Looking to Lucatiel, the man glowered. "By ending her, we are releasing her soul from the grasp of black magic! There is no life left for her! Only an abyss of suffering! Suffering that is bound to spread, like an infected seed! And you will not get in the way of this!"

From there, people in the crowd began to walk forward, attempting to grab everyone and pull them away from the scene, hoping to keep them from further interrupting the show, as the man defiantly raised his torch once again and touched the bundle of sticks with it, setting it on fire and watching it slowly make its way up to the woman, who began squirming harder and helplessly screamed in fear.

"Go on, then! Save her, if you dare stand in the way of justice!!" He yelled, as though practically daring them to make a move.

@York @Tutski19 @Otto @Minerva @Town Center​

Siegward of Catarina
@York @Ver @Tutski19 @Minerva @Town Center

This... this was not how it was supposed to happen. The poor jolly knight was hoping to defuse the situation with reason, not escalate it further! He would have stood there and pondered about what to do next, but there was no time. No time at all. The townsfolk were nudging him away, and the fire was spreading quickly. Why did it have to come to this? "No! This isn't-- what have you...?" he stammered, clearly struggling to keep his composure.

The fat judicator had insulted his knighthood, refused to listen to reason, and performed several acts of aggression. This could not stand. Siegward's lightheartedness vanished abruptly, as though it were a mask. He wrenched himself free from the grasp of the naive bystanders and proclaimed, "By the honour of the Knights of Catarina, I shan't allow you to murder a helpless woman!"

He charged toward the executioner with his Zweihander held high, hoping to make him back away. He would then change directions suddenly, moving towards the woman. In order to reach into one of his pouches to withdraw a small throwing dagger, he held the sword in his right hand and rested it on his shoulder. He wasted no time in cutting off her bindings.

He immediately turned toward the dissent that his actions would cause.

"Well, I'm certainly not backing down!" he shouted, "If you all do, then... there won't be a fight." In spite of his dead serious demeanor, he sounded more sad than anything, and his breathing was audible. "Please, friends. Nobody deserves to get hurt today..."
​

The knight's bold actions impressed Soraka. She liked the knight a little better now, when she saw how he bolted into action without any second thoughts.

Soraka easily broke off from the crowd's hold over her and gracefully walked over the knight and the young girl.

She looked at the knight with a soft smile, "Be at peace, young knight, They will go no further." She watched the crowd suspiciously, prepared for anything they might do against them. "Their violence will not go unanswered," she prepared her staff and started to gather mana from the stars.

@Otto @York @Minerva @Ver @Town Center​

@Tutski19 @Otto @Lucky
"W-Wait! I'm Astolfo, a Paladin of Charlema-" He said before he was cut off. He sighed and decided that they would have to perform Crowd Control. He didn't want to kill anyone, just put the crowd back, or disarm them long enough to escape. "LA BLACK LUNA!" He shouted.

The horn formed into a larger instrument around him. He blew into it, causing a shockwave that would be able to push people back and disorient them. It sounded somewhat like the roar of a dragon.

Astolfo would then whistle for his Hippogriff.

Josh

Josh quickly caught onto to what the others were doing and covered his own brand by placing his hands in his pocket. " Yes, that is exactly what my priest wants to do. I'm his altar boy... he's been very good to me and we love to help any poor souls inflicted by the horrible brand," he said, holding the lie and hoping they couldn't question all of them.

@Ver @Khan of the Mardu @Jeremi @Yun Lee @Alex Azure @Raptor Jesus @Takumi @Penitentiary

Mike

Mike groaned, hoping that he didn't have to harm them, but gently went for his gun just in case. He hoped that Astfolo's attack would be enough to damage them or send them back and not make them angrier. He knew non-fatal shoots, but he preferred to not hurt living things.... for now.

@Otto @Tutski19 @Minerva @Ver @Town Center

Hm.

How odd.

Yes, it's - it's odd. Strange. Bizarre. Not as it should be. Going against what is 'normal'.

View attachment 2091

The Knight had no way to respond to the greater knight's words before watching him go away to some other place. The hollow one recognized the other knight as 'greater' to itself, somehow. It was neither king or God, nor did he have anything that denoted him as being any stronger or of greater power than that of the small, diminutive child. Yet, that very concept was odd to the Knight. . .it had just learned what that word meant. Odd.

Another spark of thought briefly appearing and vanishing into the great void that like within the vessel's form. The electric feeling of thinking something - having thoughts - was something that the Hollow Knight had only a brief taste of since it was taken to this place. It would take in information - words, images, noises - and process them. It would think about it, doting upon them and considering what they meant. That is what it was doing with the Skull Knight's words since the sun had peaked over the horizon and the herd of - humans.

Yes, they were 'humans'. Hollow Knight didn't follow any particular group for the longest time, opting to stay in the center of town and think. It had plenty of time to think. It did not sleep the night before. It couldn't, for it did not know how to.

Hollow Knight would, in the meantime, sit in the town center for the duration of the commotion. It was still, silent, and seemed uncaring of the squabbles and conflict surrounding it. It didn't register what was going on behind it, because it was lost in it's own train of thought.

@York @Tutski19 @Otto @Minerva @Ver @Town Center​

Lucatiel of Mirrah
@Otto @Ver @Tutski19 @Minerva
@Town Center

Lucatiel seemed to pause for a moment, taking some time to register the sheer absurdity of the situation; there was a mute, clearly somewhat insane woman about to be burned at the stake. Somehow, the man holding the torch believed that her soul would be "freed" in death, but... Lucatiel begged to differ, instead... Throwing her head back, and... Beginning to laugh a little, before she caught herself and spoke again.

"A life is a life. Even if she is truly infected, as you say, perhaps even death... Will not save her... Or you." She yelled, though there was almost a wistful tone in her voice, somewhere...

Granted she was not so familiar with this new brand as she was with her darksign, but... All the same, it was pretty obvious burning someone who was branded was not the answer, otherwise that skull knight would have said something about that, or so she believed anyways.

Lucatiel was about to continue, hoping to at least stall the execution of that Woman a bit longer... But when the crowd started to pull her, and the others away from the scene, seeming to WANT to enjoy the show, Lucatiel wrenched herself free, drawing her blade.

"Unhand me! I will not have this act of cowardice go unpunished!" She cried.

It was then that she realized the man had already set the hay beneath the woman on fire. Siegward, like a true knight, was quick to rush in to save her... But she wasnt so sure that executioner would give things up without a fight. So, instead of saying anything more, especially since another member of their group was also going on the offensive (other than Siegward), Lucatiel decided to keep her gaze on the executioner, practically staring daggers at him... Amplified by the rather unsettling mask she wore, as if she was daring him to make a move... For she was ready to intercept him the moment he did...​

 

[Yun Lee]

How was it that things seemed to keep getting worse?! Sumia took off behind the girls, prsying she didn't trip or cause some other hindrance to their escape. If only that great evil would just show up easy-peasy! Nothing was ever easy!

@Ver @Kaykay @Atomic Knight @Crow @Jeremi @Yun Lee @Market -> Town Center​

 

[Ver]

The man whom Puck called Guts barely moved initially, stirring only slightly as the group began to speak to him, all the while the guard had his back turned to the door, looking away from them and allowing them to do their business. As Kokichi tried to pick the lock, only to be pulled away from Sebastian, his head slowly brought itself up, only one eye open as he looked dead straight at the butler, an expression of contempt and hate at him as he... sniffed at the air. He sniffed for a few moments, not saying a single thing in that brief time, before finally speaking.

"... You smell just like one of them."

He knew. He knew that Sebastian was a demon. And yet...

"But the rest of you... are human. Or at least, most of you," he said lowly, proceeding to eye Grace as well briefly, furrowing his brow slightly as he groaned softly, before looking back to Sebastian, "Not here to kill me, huh... A monster like you is gonna regret that some day... But here you are, dicking around with humans."

It was amazing how deeply just the gaze of one eye could pierce like Guts did at the group, sighing softly. "What the fuck do you people want? If you say you're here to help, sorry, but I don't believe in charity work. But if you want something from me, I'm not fucking selling anything..."

"Guts! It's okay, they mean well! I can sense it in them, they wanna help you!" Puck exclaimed, floating in front of the man, to which he grunted.

"And just why the fuck would they want to do that..." He clicked his tongue, before looking at Sebastian again, "You have questions? Make it quick. And get me out of here while you're at it. I have things to do and places to be."

A very talkative fellow.

When Zoe appeared and dropped the golden title, he turned to her, expression hardly changing except for his gaze hardening even more. "Hmph... The Black Swordsman, huh... Not a very creative name, but I let them call me that. That's me alright... I'm me. All there is to it."

@Khan of the Mardu @Raptor Jesus @Alex Azure @Takumi @Yun Lee @Jeremi @Lucky @Archmage Jeremiah @Penitentiary

---

"Bloody hell! Never a spawny outcome when I go out with people... I never should have trusted that damned skullface! If I knew this is what it's like to get conned in turn...!" Constantine exclaimed as the crowd began to converge on them. They kept going... and then suddenly, in the distance, the group there would all be able to see Ben, Sera, Sumia, Morte, and the girls appear, along with an unfamiliar boy with orange hair.

When Sera would attempt to read into the situation and the psyches of the crowd, she'd find something... off about it all. Just like how everyone was strangely apathetic to a disturbing degree at the market, there was just... nothing in the air. No hesitation, no wavering... but at the same time, no absolution, no certainty. Just blank space. It was as though there were no conscious thought in there, aside from the group had the center of it all.

"What are ya talkin' about?! We need to get their attention!" Isidro exclaimed to Sera, grabbing a tomato and throwing it right at the back of one of the civilian's heads! "Take that! How do ya like that?!"

And yet... The civilian didn't respond. Despite the rotten tomato smashing into the back of his head and splattering all over his clothes as well, he acted like nothing had happened. Isidro threw more tomatoes at a few more citizens before stopping, eventually realizing that they weren't responding at all to him. Like he wasn't even there, or the others for that matter.

"What the...?! What the hell is with them?!"

It wasn't until Astolfo unleashed his Noble Phantasm that something notable happened, the entire crowd screaming as they were pushed back, but more than that... Despite La Black Luna not being targeted to seriously injure them, their screams were more from shock. Their screams were genuinely pained... as though it was somehow hurting them. Constantine instinctively put a hand on the Heroic Spirit's shoulder, thinking he were doing it intentionally, but even he knew something was wrong here, all the while the dark-skinned woman with the brand on her body continued blubbering aimlessly like an infant, still frightened and confused.

The ringleader of the group looked at the group in a pained expression, which then shifted to... pure hatred. Not the same kind that fueled a misguided zealot, but rather, a monstrous gaze. And then, just as quickly, it contorted into a sick, mad grin.

"I was hoping to enjoy a nice meal to myself in peace, along with the others, but if you want to add to that... Be my guest."

And then... a truly grotesque sight befell everyone.

Spoiler

Opening his mouth to an impossible width, a hideous giant slug-like monster crawled out of the orifice, dropping onto the floor with sickening sounds as it did so. Following that, the same thing began to happen with everyone in the crowd, countless amounts of the same kind of slug monster appearing from the people's mouths, laughing maniacally.

"What in Hell's seven bells?!" Constantine exclaimed, stepping back and rearing in disgust at the grotesque sight in front of everyone.

"You'll wish you were in Hell soon enough!~" The slug that had appeared from the ringleader's mouth laughed, before the army of monsters leapt into the air, with the intent of attacking the entire group, even those who had just arrived from the market!

@York @Kaykay @Crow @Jeremi @Tutski19 @Otto @Minerva @Lucky @Town Center​

 

[Yun Lee]

Libra showed Guts the brand on his hand. "I trust this mark is familiar to you? We were chosen to be a sacrifice to those demons you mentioned. We were told to locate a black swordsman as well, in the hopes that he could help us find a greater evil to satisfy the demons' appetite."

---

Not another slug creature! Sumia took her place in front of Yuki and Miki. "Stay back, girls!" She cried, before shooting arrows at as many monsters as possible, hoping to lessen the amount who landed.

@Everyone @CantTagBcAtWork​

 

[Crow]

"Bloody hell! Never a spawny outcome when I go out with people... I never should have trusted that damned skullface! If I knew this is what it's like to get conned in turn...!" Constantine exclaimed as the crowd began to converge on them. They kept going... and then suddenly, in the distance, the group there would all be able to see Ben, Sera, Sumia, Morte, and the girls appear, along with an unfamiliar boy with orange hair.

When Sera would attempt to read into the situation and the psyches of the crowd, she'd find something... off about it all. Just like how everyone was strangely apathetic to a disturbing degree at the market, there was just... nothing in the air. No hesitation, no wavering... but at the same time, no absolution, no certainty. Just blank space. It was as though there were no conscious thought in there, aside from the group had the center of it all.

"What are ya talkin' about?! We need to get their attention!" Isidro exclaimed to Sera, grabbing a tomato and throwing it right at the back of one of the civilian's heads! "Take that! How do ya like that?!"

And yet... The civilian didn't respond. Despite the rotten tomato smashing into the back of his head and splattering all over his clothes as well, he acted like nothing had happened. Isidro threw more tomatoes at a few more citizens before stopping, eventually realizing that they weren't responding at all to him. Like he wasn't even there, or the others for that matter.

"What the...?! What the hell is with them?!"

It wasn't until Astolfo unleashed his Noble Phantasm that something notable happened, the entire crowd screaming as they were pushed back, but more than that... Despite La Black Luna not being targeted to seriously injure them, their screams were more from shock. Their screams were genuinely pained... as though it was somehow hurting them. Constantine instinctively put a hand on the Heroic Spirit's shoulder, thinking he were doing it intentionally, but even he knew something was wrong here, all the while the dark-skinned woman with the brand on her body continued blubbering aimlessly like an infant, still frightened and confused.

The ringleader of the group looked at the group in a pained expression, which then shifted to... pure hatred. Not the same kind that fueled a misguided zealot, but rather, a monstrous gaze. And then, just as quickly, it contorted into a sick, mad grin.

"I was hoping to enjoy a nice meal to myself in peace, along with the others, but if you want to add to that... Be my guest."

And then... a truly grotesque sight befell everyone.

Spoiler

Opening his mouth to an impossible width, a hideous giant slug-like monster crawled out of the orifice, dropping onto the floor with sickening sounds as it did so. Following that, the same thing began to happen with everyone in the crowd, countless amounts of the same kind of slug monster appearing from the people's mouths, laughing maniacally.

"What in Hell's seven bells?!" Constantine exclaimed, stepping back and rearing in disgust at the grotesque sight in front of everyone.

"You'll wish you were in Hell soon enough!~" The slug that had appeared from the ringleader's mouth laughed, before the army of monsters leapt into the air, with the intent of attacking the entire group, even those who had just arrived from the market!

@York @Kaykay @Crow @Jeremi @Tutski19 @Otto @Minerva @Lucky @Town Center​

"Alright Omnitrix, give me something to fight all those uglies at once..."

As Ben selected his form, he transformed into...

"Laservision! That is more like it. Thank you, Omnitrix."

Constantine might get a slightly familiar vibe from this transformation of Ben's. Did he give a damn? Maybe, maybe not.

For an alien, it looked very human.

Laservision, as it was called, began to fire green blasts at the slugs, melting them, and for some of the others, freezing them with a simple breath.

Melted, sliced slugs and freeze-dried escargots rained upon the battlefield before they could smack the School Living Club girls. Not a pretty sight, to be honest.

"I would unleash a gigatonne punch in their faces, however, I have a hunch that none of us should touch them directly," Laservision says as his body levitates off the ground without the aid of any wings, or jetpacks.

He proceeds to grab a huge chunk of the floor to use as a melee weapon against the slugs during this assault.

"Why do I feel that I am currently cheating?"

@Ver @York @Kaykay @Crow @Jeremi @Tutski19 @Otto @Minerva @Lucky @Town Center​

 

[Raptor Jesus]

The man whom Puck called Guts barely moved initially, stirring only slightly as the group began to speak to him, all the while the guard had his back turned to the door, looking away from them and allowing them to do their business. As Kokichi tried to pick the lock, only to be pulled away from Sebastian, his head slowly brought itself up, only one eye open as he looked dead straight at the butler, an expression of contempt and hate at him as he... sniffed at the air. He sniffed for a few moments, not saying a single thing in that brief time, before finally speaking.

"... You smell just like one of them."

He knew. He knew that Sebastian was a demon. And yet...

"But the rest of you... are human. Or at least, most of you," he said lowly, proceeding to eye Grace as well briefly, furrowing his brow slightly as he groaned softly, before looking back to Sebastian, "Not here to kill me, huh... A monster like you is gonna regret that some day... But here you are, dicking around with humans."

It was amazing how deeply just the gaze of one eye could pierce like Guts did at the group, sighing softly. "What the fuck do you people want? If you say you're here to help, sorry, but I don't believe in charity work. But if you want something from me, I'm not fucking selling anything..."

"Guts! It's okay, they mean well! I can sense it in them, they wanna help you!" Puck exclaimed, floating in front of the man, to which he grunted.

"And just why the fuck would they want to do that..." He clicked his tongue, before looking at Sebastian again, "You have questions? Make it quick. And get me out of here while you're at it. I have things to do and places to be."

A very talkative fellow.

When Zoe appeared and dropped the golden title, he turned to her, expression hardly changing except for his gaze hardening even more. "Hmph... The Black Swordsman, huh... Not a very creative name, but I let them call me that. That's me alright... I'm me. All there is to it."

@Khan of the Mardu @Raptor Jesus @Alex Azure @Takumi @Yun Lee @Jeremi @Lucky @Archmage Jeremiah @Penitentiary

---

"Bloody hell! Never a spawny outcome when I go out with people... I never should have trusted that damned skullface! If I knew this is what it's like to get conned in turn...!" Constantine exclaimed as the crowd began to converge on them. They kept going... and then suddenly, in the distance, the group there would all be able to see Ben, Sera, Sumia, Morte, and the girls appear, along with an unfamiliar boy with orange hair.

When Sera would attempt to read into the situation and the psyches of the crowd, she'd find something... off about it all. Just like how everyone was strangely apathetic to a disturbing degree at the market, there was just... nothing in the air. No hesitation, no wavering... but at the same time, no absolution, no certainty. Just blank space. It was as though there were no conscious thought in there, aside from the group had the center of it all.

"What are ya talkin' about?! We need to get their attention!" Isidro exclaimed to Sera, grabbing a tomato and throwing it right at the back of one of the civilian's heads! "Take that! How do ya like that?!"

And yet... The civilian didn't respond. Despite the rotten tomato smashing into the back of his head and splattering all over his clothes as well, he acted like nothing had happened. Isidro threw more tomatoes at a few more citizens before stopping, eventually realizing that they weren't responding at all to him. Like he wasn't even there, or the others for that matter.

"What the...?! What the hell is with them?!"

It wasn't until Astolfo unleashed his Noble Phantasm that something notable happened, the entire crowd screaming as they were pushed back, but more than that... Despite La Black Luna not being targeted to seriously injure them, their screams were more from shock. Their screams were genuinely pained... as though it was somehow hurting them. Constantine instinctively put a hand on the Heroic Spirit's shoulder, thinking he were doing it intentionally, but even he knew something was wrong here, all the while the dark-skinned woman with the brand on her body continued blubbering aimlessly like an infant, still frightened and confused.

The ringleader of the group looked at the group in a pained expression, which then shifted to... pure hatred. Not the same kind that fueled a misguided zealot, but rather, a monstrous gaze. And then, just as quickly, it contorted into a sick, mad grin.

"I was hoping to enjoy a nice meal to myself in peace, along with the others, but if you want to add to that... Be my guest."

And then... a truly grotesque sight befell everyone.

Spoiler

Opening his mouth to an impossible width, a hideous giant slug-like monster crawled out of the orifice, dropping onto the floor with sickening sounds as it did so. Following that, the same thing began to happen with everyone in the crowd, countless amounts of the same kind of slug monster appearing from the people's mouths, laughing maniacally.

"What in Hell's seven bells?!" Constantine exclaimed, stepping back and rearing in disgust at the grotesque sight in front of everyone.

"You'll wish you were in Hell soon enough!~" The slug that had appeared from the ringleader's mouth laughed, before the army of monsters leapt into the air, with the intent of attacking the entire group, even those who had just arrived from the market!

@York @Kaykay @Crow @Jeremi @Tutski19 @Otto @Minerva @Lucky @Town Center​

"Ah, so you are the Black Swordsman?" Ciel asked, ignoring the fact that Guts knew that Sebastian was a demon. They had more important things to worry about, after all.

"Well, I suppose that wraps everything up in a neat little bow, doesn't it?" Sebastian commented with a smirk.

Ignoring Sebastian's comment, Ciel continued to speak with Guts. "You see... a skeleton-man whom was clad in knight's armor and rode a horse told us to find you." Facing Libra, Ciel stared as he revealed the brand to him, before abruptly looking back to Guts.

"As this one said, we've all been inflicted with the same brand. And, whether you like it or not, we require your assistance. In exchange for your help, we are prepared to grant you your freedom."

@Ver @Yun Lee @Khan of the Mardu @Alex Azure @Jeremi @Takumi @Lucky​

 

[Minerva]

The man whom Puck called Guts barely moved initially, stirring only slightly as the group began to speak to him, all the while the guard had his back turned to the door, looking away from them and allowing them to do their business. As Kokichi tried to pick the lock, only to be pulled away from Sebastian, his head slowly brought itself up, only one eye open as he looked dead straight at the butler, an expression of contempt and hate at him as he... sniffed at the air. He sniffed for a few moments, not saying a single thing in that brief time, before finally speaking.

"... You smell just like one of them."

He knew. He knew that Sebastian was a demon. And yet...

"But the rest of you... are human. Or at least, most of you," he said lowly, proceeding to eye Grace as well briefly, furrowing his brow slightly as he groaned softly, before looking back to Sebastian, "Not here to kill me, huh... A monster like you is gonna regret that some day... But here you are, dicking around with humans."

It was amazing how deeply just the gaze of one eye could pierce like Guts did at the group, sighing softly. "What the fuck do you people want? If you say you're here to help, sorry, but I don't believe in charity work. But if you want something from me, I'm not fucking selling anything..."

"Guts! It's okay, they mean well! I can sense it in them, they wanna help you!" Puck exclaimed, floating in front of the man, to which he grunted.

"And just why the fuck would they want to do that..." He clicked his tongue, before looking at Sebastian again, "You have questions? Make it quick. And get me out of here while you're at it. I have things to do and places to be."

A very talkative fellow.

When Zoe appeared and dropped the golden title, he turned to her, expression hardly changing except for his gaze hardening even more. "Hmph... The Black Swordsman, huh... Not a very creative name, but I let them call me that. That's me alright... I'm me. All there is to it."

@Khan of the Mardu @Raptor Jesus @Alex Azure @Takumi @Yun Lee @Jeremi @Lucky @Archmage Jeremiah @Penitentiary

---

"Bloody hell! Never a spawny outcome when I go out with people... I never should have trusted that damned skullface! If I knew this is what it's like to get conned in turn...!" Constantine exclaimed as the crowd began to converge on them. They kept going... and then suddenly, in the distance, the group there would all be able to see Ben, Sera, Sumia, Morte, and the girls appear, along with an unfamiliar boy with orange hair.

When Sera would attempt to read into the situation and the psyches of the crowd, she'd find something... off about it all. Just like how everyone was strangely apathetic to a disturbing degree at the market, there was just... nothing in the air. No hesitation, no wavering... but at the same time, no absolution, no certainty. Just blank space. It was as though there were no conscious thought in there, aside from the group had the center of it all.

"What are ya talkin' about?! We need to get their attention!" Isidro exclaimed to Sera, grabbing a tomato and throwing it right at the back of one of the civilian's heads! "Take that! How do ya like that?!"

And yet... The civilian didn't respond. Despite the rotten tomato smashing into the back of his head and splattering all over his clothes as well, he acted like nothing had happened. Isidro threw more tomatoes at a few more citizens before stopping, eventually realizing that they weren't responding at all to him. Like he wasn't even there, or the others for that matter.

"What the...?! What the hell is with them?!"

It wasn't until Astolfo unleashed his Noble Phantasm that something notable happened, the entire crowd screaming as they were pushed back, but more than that... Despite La Black Luna not being targeted to seriously injure them, their screams were more from shock. Their screams were genuinely pained... as though it was somehow hurting them. Constantine instinctively put a hand on the Heroic Spirit's shoulder, thinking he were doing it intentionally, but even he knew something was wrong here, all the while the dark-skinned woman with the brand on her body continued blubbering aimlessly like an infant, still frightened and confused.

The ringleader of the group looked at the group in a pained expression, which then shifted to... pure hatred. Not the same kind that fueled a misguided zealot, but rather, a monstrous gaze. And then, just as quickly, it contorted into a sick, mad grin.

"I was hoping to enjoy a nice meal to myself in peace, along with the others, but if you want to add to that... Be my guest."

And then... a truly grotesque sight befell everyone.

Spoiler

Opening his mouth to an impossible width, a hideous giant slug-like monster crawled out of the orifice, dropping onto the floor with sickening sounds as it did so. Following that, the same thing began to happen with everyone in the crowd, countless amounts of the same kind of slug monster appearing from the people's mouths, laughing maniacally.

"What in Hell's seven bells?!" Constantine exclaimed, stepping back and rearing in disgust at the grotesque sight in front of everyone.

"You'll wish you were in Hell soon enough!~" The slug that had appeared from the ringleader's mouth laughed, before the army of monsters leapt into the air, with the intent of attacking the entire group, even those who had just arrived from the market!

@York @Kaykay @Crow @Jeremi @Tutski19 @Otto @Minerva @Lucky @Town Center​

The man whom Puck called Guts barely moved initially, stirring only slightly as the group began to speak to him, all the while the guard had his back turned to the door, looking away from them and allowing them to do their business. As Kokichi tried to pick the lock, only to be pulled away from Sebastian, his head slowly brought itself up, only one eye open as he looked dead straight at the butler, an expression of contempt and hate at him as he... sniffed at the air. He sniffed for a few moments, not saying a single thing in that brief time, before finally speaking.

"... You smell just like one of them."

He knew. He knew that Sebastian was a demon. And yet...

"But the rest of you... are human. Or at least, most of you," he said lowly, proceeding to eye Grace as well briefly, furrowing his brow slightly as he groaned softly, before looking back to Sebastian, "Not here to kill me, huh... A monster like you is gonna regret that some day... But here you are, dicking around with humans."

It was amazing how deeply just the gaze of one eye could pierce like Guts did at the group, sighing softly. "What the fuck do you people want? If you say you're here to help, sorry, but I don't believe in charity work. But if you want something from me, I'm not fucking selling anything..."

"Guts! It's okay, they mean well! I can sense it in them, they wanna help you!" Puck exclaimed, floating in front of the man, to which he grunted.

"And just why the fuck would they want to do that..." He clicked his tongue, before looking at Sebastian again, "You have questions? Make it quick. And get me out of here while you're at it. I have things to do and places to be."

A very talkative fellow.

When Zoe appeared and dropped the golden title, he turned to her, expression hardly changing except for his gaze hardening even more. "Hmph... The Black Swordsman, huh... Not a very creative name, but I let them call me that. That's me alright... I'm me. All there is to it."

@Khan of the Mardu @Raptor Jesus @Alex Azure @Takumi @Yun Lee @Jeremi @Lucky @Archmage Jeremiah @Penitentiary

---

"Bloody hell! Never a spawny outcome when I go out with people... I never should have trusted that damned skullface! If I knew this is what it's like to get conned in turn...!" Constantine exclaimed as the crowd began to converge on them. They kept going... and then suddenly, in the distance, the group there would all be able to see Ben, Sera, Sumia, Morte, and the girls appear, along with an unfamiliar boy with orange hair.

When Sera would attempt to read into the situation and the psyches of the crowd, she'd find something... off about it all. Just like how everyone was strangely apathetic to a disturbing degree at the market, there was just... nothing in the air. No hesitation, no wavering... but at the same time, no absolution, no certainty. Just blank space. It was as though there were no conscious thought in there, aside from the group had the center of it all.

"What are ya talkin' about?! We need to get their attention!" Isidro exclaimed to Sera, grabbing a tomato and throwing it right at the back of one of the civilian's heads! "Take that! How do ya like that?!"

And yet... The civilian didn't respond. Despite the rotten tomato smashing into the back of his head and splattering all over his clothes as well, he acted like nothing had happened. Isidro threw more tomatoes at a few more citizens before stopping, eventually realizing that they weren't responding at all to him. Like he wasn't even there, or the others for that matter.

"What the...?! What the hell is with them?!"

It wasn't until Astolfo unleashed his Noble Phantasm that something notable happened, the entire crowd screaming as they were pushed back, but more than that... Despite La Black Luna not being targeted to seriously injure them, their screams were more from shock. Their screams were genuinely pained... as though it was somehow hurting them. Constantine instinctively put a hand on the Heroic Spirit's shoulder, thinking he were doing it intentionally, but even he knew something was wrong here, all the while the dark-skinned woman with the brand on her body continued blubbering aimlessly like an infant, still frightened and confused.

The ringleader of the group looked at the group in a pained expression, which then shifted to... pure hatred. Not the same kind that fueled a misguided zealot, but rather, a monstrous gaze. And then, just as quickly, it contorted into a sick, mad grin.

"I was hoping to enjoy a nice meal to myself in peace, along with the others, but if you want to add to that... Be my guest."

And then... a truly grotesque sight befell everyone.

Spoiler

Opening his mouth to an impossible width, a hideous giant slug-like monster crawled out of the orifice, dropping onto the floor with sickening sounds as it did so. Following that, the same thing began to happen with everyone in the crowd, countless amounts of the same kind of slug monster appearing from the people's mouths, laughing maniacally.

"What in Hell's seven bells?!" Constantine exclaimed, stepping back and rearing in disgust at the grotesque sight in front of everyone.

"You'll wish you were in Hell soon enough!~" The slug that had appeared from the ringleader's mouth laughed, before the army of monsters leapt into the air, with the intent of attacking the entire group, even those who had just arrived from the market!

@York @Kaykay @Crow @Jeremi @Tutski19 @Otto @Minerva @Lucky @Town Center​

As soon as he saw the pained screams of people, Astolfo stopped playing his Noble Phantasm. The instrument turned back into a standard horn. He didn't mean to hurt anyone!

Astolfo panicked for a second and protested. "I-I didn't mean to hurt anyone!" He shouted. However, the ringleader turning into a monster changed his perspective.

He put the horn away on his belt. "Trap of Argalia!" He shouted. The lance appeared in his hand again. He thrust it at nearby enemies to knock them down.

 

[Takumi]

"..."

Puck fell silent as Grace showed the brand to him, an almost crestfallen expression evident on his face as he saw it. "So... you were marked too? Is that why you wanted to help him? To think that there were others out there with that... Does everyone else here also have it too?" He asked, before the group then went on to try to smooth things over with the guard.

The guard gave a tired look at everyone, barely able to raise an eyebrow at all of them. "... Huh? You're all from the church? You don't look like you're from around here..." He said, idly scratching his head (or at least, trying to through his helmet), as though mildly perplexed, "If you're here for the prisoner, he's right in there. But... Why didn't you take the front instead? Unless..." He began, holding his chin as his eyes narrowed almost suspiciously, and then...

"Ugh, whatever. I can understand wanting to avoid that kind of crowd. Go talk to him if you want, I don't give a rat's ass. The sooner you get it over with, the sooner we can get rid of him either way, whether he's exorcised or not. Haha, imagine me, being able to say I slew a guy as big as that! Of course, if you can't exorcise him..." He laughed, discarding his earlier thought and just letting them in. They probably didn't pay him enough to care more than he usually did anyway.

The inside of the building was dark and dirty, the smell of rot and waste permeating the air, all the while maggots and other bugs crawled about. Most of the guards seemed to be lounging around in the front of the building, not noticing the group. Their attention was drawn when another guard walked through the front door, looking to the others. "Civilians are reporting disturbances in both the market and the town center! Outsiders have come to interrupt the execution, and are causing discord in the market! Let's go, troops!"

With that, most of them hustled out, while about one or two stayed behind to guard the front entrance. Not seeming to care about what was going on outside, muttering to himself, the guard the group came in with took his key from his belt and led them to the cell that held the branded man, who was chained to the walls and propped up. Unlocking the cell, he opened the door, allowing everyone to walk in.

"I'll give you a few minutes. Don't take too long now."

And then, he turned his back on everyone from there.

Inside the cell, the branded man kept his head down, his body beaten and bruised. In place of where one of his arms should have been was a completely mechanical arm, made of metal. He barely seemed to acknowledge the group, but it was evident he was conscious, his eyes staring intently at the ground.

@Yun Lee @Raptor Jesus @Takumi @Lucky @Jeremi @Khan of the Mardu @Penitentiary

---

"America? Never heard of that kingdom before. You sure you got your head on right?" The boy only said in response to Ben, before turning toward Sumia and Morte, giving a confident grin to the former of the two, "Ohoho, you wanna meet him too, huh? Don't worry about him for now! I sent uh... a friend of his to help him out, and I trust him with my life! I sorta have to because a very slim chance of living is better than no chance of all..."

He cleared his throat, before continuing again. "These rotten foods are good for nothin' but hurtin'! And that's exactly what I plan on doing to the people who wanna lay a hand on an innocent lady! Tell you what, if you guys are lookin' for ol' Guts, the Black Swordsman himself, then I'll take ya to him after you help me save the girl! Name's Isidro, and I--"

"Hey, you outsiders! Stay right there!" The voice of a guard called out from behind, pointing menacingly at them, sticking out well amidst a group of unsettlingly apathetic (or entranced) civilians, "A local shopkeeper gave a tip that you people are causing a ruckus!"

"--am outta here! Follow me if you're serious about this! We need to get there fast, or we're toast!" The boy who introduced himself as Isidro exclaimed, making a break for it with the box of rotten fruits in his hands, running toward the town center.

"W-Wait a minute, running only makes us look guilty! Oh... This is a bad ideaaaa!" Miki exclaimed, taking Yuki's hand and running after him.

@Atomic Knight @Crow @Jeremi @Kaykay @Yun Lee @Market -> Town Center​

Things were going smoothly so far, which made Lindel relieved, though overhearing about the trouble at the market and in the town square he resisted the urge to sigh or pinch the bridge of his nose. Well, he just hoped the rest of the group was alright.

The man whom Puck called Guts barely moved initially, stirring only slightly as the group began to speak to him, all the while the guard had his back turned to the door, looking away from them and allowing them to do their business. As Kokichi tried to pick the lock, only to be pulled away from Sebastian, his head slowly brought itself up, only one eye open as he looked dead straight at the butler, an expression of contempt and hate at him as he... sniffed at the air. He sniffed for a few moments, not saying a single thing in that brief time, before finally speaking.

"... You smell just like one of them."

He knew. He knew that Sebastian was a demon. And yet...

"But the rest of you... are human. Or at least, most of you," he said lowly, proceeding to eye Grace as well briefly, furrowing his brow slightly as he groaned softly, before looking back to Sebastian, "Not here to kill me, huh... A monster like you is gonna regret that some day... But here you are, dicking around with humans."

It was amazing how deeply just the gaze of one eye could pierce like Guts did at the group, sighing softly. "What the fuck do you people want? If you say you're here to help, sorry, but I don't believe in charity work. But if you want something from me, I'm not fucking selling anything..."

"Guts! It's okay, they mean well! I can sense it in them, they wanna help you!" Puck exclaimed, floating in front of the man, to which he grunted.

"And just why the fuck would they want to do that..." He clicked his tongue, before looking at Sebastian again, "You have questions? Make it quick. And get me out of here while you're at it. I have things to do and places to be."

A very talkative fellow.

When Zoe appeared and dropped the golden title, he turned to her, expression hardly changing except for his gaze hardening even more. "Hmph... The Black Swordsman, huh... Not a very creative name, but I let them call me that. That's me alright... I'm me. All there is to it."

@Khan of the Mardu @Raptor Jesus @Alex Azure @Takumi @Yun Lee @Jeremi @Lucky @Archmage Jeremiah @Penitentiary

---

"Bloody hell! Never a spawny outcome when I go out with people... I never should have trusted that damned skullface! If I knew this is what it's like to get conned in turn...!" Constantine exclaimed as the crowd began to converge on them. They kept going... and then suddenly, in the distance, the group there would all be able to see Ben, Sera, Sumia, Morte, and the girls appear, along with an unfamiliar boy with orange hair.

When Sera would attempt to read into the situation and the psyches of the crowd, she'd find something... off about it all. Just like how everyone was strangely apathetic to a disturbing degree at the market, there was just... nothing in the air. No hesitation, no wavering... but at the same time, no absolution, no certainty. Just blank space. It was as though there were no conscious thought in there, aside from the group had the center of it all.

"What are ya talkin' about?! We need to get their attention!" Isidro exclaimed to Sera, grabbing a tomato and throwing it right at the back of one of the civilian's heads! "Take that! How do ya like that?!"

And yet... The civilian didn't respond. Despite the rotten tomato smashing into the back of his head and splattering all over his clothes as well, he acted like nothing had happened. Isidro threw more tomatoes at a few more citizens before stopping, eventually realizing that they weren't responding at all to him. Like he wasn't even there, or the others for that matter.

"What the...?! What the hell is with them?!"

It wasn't until Astolfo unleashed his Noble Phantasm that something notable happened, the entire crowd screaming as they were pushed back, but more than that... Despite La Black Luna not being targeted to seriously injure them, their screams were more from shock. Their screams were genuinely pained... as though it was somehow hurting them. Constantine instinctively put a hand on the Heroic Spirit's shoulder, thinking he were doing it intentionally, but even he knew something was wrong here, all the while the dark-skinned woman with the brand on her body continued blubbering aimlessly like an infant, still frightened and confused.

The ringleader of the group looked at the group in a pained expression, which then shifted to... pure hatred. Not the same kind that fueled a misguided zealot, but rather, a monstrous gaze. And then, just as quickly, it contorted into a sick, mad grin.

"I was hoping to enjoy a nice meal to myself in peace, along with the others, but if you want to add to that... Be my guest."

And then... a truly grotesque sight befell everyone.

Spoiler

Opening his mouth to an impossible width, a hideous giant slug-like monster crawled out of the orifice, dropping onto the floor with sickening sounds as it did so. Following that, the same thing began to happen with everyone in the crowd, countless amounts of the same kind of slug monster appearing from the people's mouths, laughing maniacally.

"What in Hell's seven bells?!" Constantine exclaimed, stepping back and rearing in disgust at the grotesque sight in front of everyone.

"You'll wish you were in Hell soon enough!~" The slug that had appeared from the ringleader's mouth laughed, before the army of monsters leapt into the air, with the intent of attacking the entire group, even those who had just arrived from the market!

@York @Kaykay @Crow @Jeremi @Tutski19 @Otto @Minerva @Lucky @Town Center​

"Well, this whole ordeal has gone pretty well so far, though we only have a few minutes after all." Lindel reminded the rest of the group, keeping an eye on the guard in the meantime while the others convinced Guts of their reasoning and such.

@Ver @Khan of the Mardu @Jeremi @Yun Lee @Lucky @Alex Azure @Raptor Jesus @Penitentiary

 

[0ttonomous]

Siegward of Catarina
@York @Kaykay @Crow @Jeremi @Tutski19 @Ver @Minerva @Lucky @Town Center​

The man whom Puck called Guts barely moved initially, stirring only slightly as the group began to speak to him, all the while the guard had his back turned to the door, looking away from them and allowing them to do their business. As Kokichi tried to pick the lock, only to be pulled away from Sebastian, his head slowly brought itself up, only one eye open as he looked dead straight at the butler, an expression of contempt and hate at him as he... sniffed at the air. He sniffed for a few moments, not saying a single thing in that brief time, before finally speaking.

"... You smell just like one of them."

He knew. He knew that Sebastian was a demon. And yet...

"But the rest of you... are human. Or at least, most of you," he said lowly, proceeding to eye Grace as well briefly, furrowing his brow slightly as he groaned softly, before looking back to Sebastian, "Not here to kill me, huh... A monster like you is gonna regret that some day... But here you are, dicking around with humans."

It was amazing how deeply just the gaze of one eye could pierce like Guts did at the group, sighing softly. "What the fuck do you people want? If you say you're here to help, sorry, but I don't believe in charity work. But if you want something from me, I'm not fucking selling anything..."

"Guts! It's okay, they mean well! I can sense it in them, they wanna help you!" Puck exclaimed, floating in front of the man, to which he grunted.

"And just why the fuck would they want to do that..." He clicked his tongue, before looking at Sebastian again, "You have questions? Make it quick. And get me out of here while you're at it. I have things to do and places to be."

A very talkative fellow.

When Zoe appeared and dropped the golden title, he turned to her, expression hardly changing except for his gaze hardening even more. "Hmph... The Black Swordsman, huh... Not a very creative name, but I let them call me that. That's me alright... I'm me. All there is to it."

@Khan of the Mardu @Raptor Jesus @Alex Azure @Takumi @Yun Lee @Jeremi @Lucky @Archmage Jeremiah @Penitentiary

---

"Bloody hell! Never a spawny outcome when I go out with people... I never should have trusted that damned skullface! If I knew this is what it's like to get conned in turn...!" Constantine exclaimed as the crowd began to converge on them. They kept going... and then suddenly, in the distance, the group there would all be able to see Ben, Sera, Sumia, Morte, and the girls appear, along with an unfamiliar boy with orange hair.

When Sera would attempt to read into the situation and the psyches of the crowd, she'd find something... off about it all. Just like how everyone was strangely apathetic to a disturbing degree at the market, there was just... nothing in the air. No hesitation, no wavering... but at the same time, no absolution, no certainty. Just blank space. It was as though there were no conscious thought in there, aside from the group had the center of it all.

"What are ya talkin' about?! We need to get their attention!" Isidro exclaimed to Sera, grabbing a tomato and throwing it right at the back of one of the civilian's heads! "Take that! How do ya like that?!"

And yet... The civilian didn't respond. Despite the rotten tomato smashing into the back of his head and splattering all over his clothes as well, he acted like nothing had happened. Isidro threw more tomatoes at a few more citizens before stopping, eventually realizing that they weren't responding at all to him. Like he wasn't even there, or the others for that matter.

"What the...?! What the hell is with them?!"

It wasn't until Astolfo unleashed his Noble Phantasm that something notable happened, the entire crowd screaming as they were pushed back, but more than that... Despite La Black Luna not being targeted to seriously injure them, their screams were more from shock. Their screams were genuinely pained... as though it was somehow hurting them. Constantine instinctively put a hand on the Heroic Spirit's shoulder, thinking he were doing it intentionally, but even he knew something was wrong here, all the while the dark-skinned woman with the brand on her body continued blubbering aimlessly like an infant, still frightened and confused.

The ringleader of the group looked at the group in a pained expression, which then shifted to... pure hatred. Not the same kind that fueled a misguided zealot, but rather, a monstrous gaze. And then, just as quickly, it contorted into a sick, mad grin.

"I was hoping to enjoy a nice meal to myself in peace, along with the others, but if you want to add to that... Be my guest."

And then... a truly grotesque sight befell everyone.

Spoiler

Opening his mouth to an impossible width, a hideous giant slug-like monster crawled out of the orifice, dropping onto the floor with sickening sounds as it did so. Following that, the same thing began to happen with everyone in the crowd, countless amounts of the same kind of slug monster appearing from the people's mouths, laughing maniacally.

"What in Hell's seven bells?!" Constantine exclaimed, stepping back and rearing in disgust at the grotesque sight in front of everyone.

"You'll wish you were in Hell soon enough!~" The slug that had appeared from the ringleader's mouth laughed, before the army of monsters leapt into the air, with the intent of attacking the entire group, even those who had just arrived from the market!

@York @Kaykay @Crow @Jeremi @Tutski19 @Otto @Minerva @Lucky @Town Center​

Well, that made more sense. Of course the ones behind all of his weren't human. This calmed Siegward since he hated fighting with people, but he was also shocked by the abominations that had spawned from these poor townsfolk. His grip on his Zweihander tightened as his serious demeanor returned, but this time he was no longer sad. Instead, he gained the determination to purge these creatures from the earth, lest they cause any more harm to the village!

"That's your game, is it? Fine, then. Perish, foul creatures!"

Wielding his Zweihander in his right hand and his Pierce Shield in his left, he swung relentlessly at the creatures with intent to kill. He would raise his Pierce Shield and block/impale any slug that tried to jump at him.

Despite his resolve, it was clear that he was getting quite fatigued after a long while of fighting. He couldn't wait to have a toast after this.​

 

[pdshwbwwiwwjebdfucxbsa]

The man whom Puck called Guts barely moved initially, stirring only slightly as the group began to speak to him, all the while the guard had his back turned to the door, looking away from them and allowing them to do their business. As Kokichi tried to pick the lock, only to be pulled away from Sebastian, his head slowly brought itself up, only one eye open as he looked dead straight at the butler, an expression of contempt and hate at him as he... sniffed at the air. He sniffed for a few moments, not saying a single thing in that brief time, before finally speaking.

"... You smell just like one of them."

He knew. He knew that Sebastian was a demon. And yet...

"But the rest of you... are human. Or at least, most of you," he said lowly, proceeding to eye Grace as well briefly, furrowing his brow slightly as he groaned softly, before looking back to Sebastian, "Not here to kill me, huh... A monster like you is gonna regret that some day... But here you are, dicking around with humans."

It was amazing how deeply just the gaze of one eye could pierce like Guts did at the group, sighing softly. "What the fuck do you people want? If you say you're here to help, sorry, but I don't believe in charity work. But if you want something from me, I'm not fucking selling anything..."

"Guts! It's okay, they mean well! I can sense it in them, they wanna help you!" Puck exclaimed, floating in front of the man, to which he grunted.

"And just why the fuck would they want to do that..." He clicked his tongue, before looking at Sebastian again, "You have questions? Make it quick. And get me out of here while you're at it. I have things to do and places to be."

A very talkative fellow.

When Zoe appeared and dropped the golden title, he turned to her, expression hardly changing except for his gaze hardening even more. "Hmph... The Black Swordsman, huh... Not a very creative name, but I let them call me that. That's me alright... I'm me. All there is to it."

@Khan of the Mardu @Raptor Jesus @Alex Azure @Takumi @Yun Lee @Jeremi @Lucky @Archmage Jeremiah @Penitentiary

---

"Bloody hell! Never a spawny outcome when I go out with people... I never should have trusted that damned skullface! If I knew this is what it's like to get conned in turn...!" Constantine exclaimed as the crowd began to converge on them. They kept going... and then suddenly, in the distance, the group there would all be able to see Ben, Sera, Sumia, Morte, and the girls appear, along with an unfamiliar boy with orange hair.

When Sera would attempt to read into the situation and the psyches of the crowd, she'd find something... off about it all. Just like how everyone was strangely apathetic to a disturbing degree at the market, there was just... nothing in the air. No hesitation, no wavering... but at the same time, no absolution, no certainty. Just blank space. It was as though there were no conscious thought in there, aside from the group had the center of it all.

"What are ya talkin' about?! We need to get their attention!" Isidro exclaimed to Sera, grabbing a tomato and throwing it right at the back of one of the civilian's heads! "Take that! How do ya like that?!"

And yet... The civilian didn't respond. Despite the rotten tomato smashing into the back of his head and splattering all over his clothes as well, he acted like nothing had happened. Isidro threw more tomatoes at a few more citizens before stopping, eventually realizing that they weren't responding at all to him. Like he wasn't even there, or the others for that matter.

"What the...?! What the hell is with them?!"

It wasn't until Astolfo unleashed his Noble Phantasm that something notable happened, the entire crowd screaming as they were pushed back, but more than that... Despite La Black Luna not being targeted to seriously injure them, their screams were more from shock. Their screams were genuinely pained... as though it was somehow hurting them. Constantine instinctively put a hand on the Heroic Spirit's shoulder, thinking he were doing it intentionally, but even he knew something was wrong here, all the while the dark-skinned woman with the brand on her body continued blubbering aimlessly like an infant, still frightened and confused.

The ringleader of the group looked at the group in a pained expression, which then shifted to... pure hatred. Not the same kind that fueled a misguided zealot, but rather, a monstrous gaze. And then, just as quickly, it contorted into a sick, mad grin.

"I was hoping to enjoy a nice meal to myself in peace, along with the others, but if you want to add to that... Be my guest."

And then... a truly grotesque sight befell everyone.

Spoiler

Opening his mouth to an impossible width, a hideous giant slug-like monster crawled out of the orifice, dropping onto the floor with sickening sounds as it did so. Following that, the same thing began to happen with everyone in the crowd, countless amounts of the same kind of slug monster appearing from the people's mouths, laughing maniacally.

"What in Hell's seven bells?!" Constantine exclaimed, stepping back and rearing in disgust at the grotesque sight in front of everyone.

"You'll wish you were in Hell soon enough!~" The slug that had appeared from the ringleader's mouth laughed, before the army of monsters leapt into the air, with the intent of attacking the entire group, even those who had just arrived from the market!

@York @Kaykay @Crow @Jeremi @Tutski19 @Otto @Minerva @Lucky @Town Center​

Soraka looked at the screaming crowd with a pained expression. She knew that they were in large amounts of pain, judging from the intensity of their shrill screams. She couldn't understand why a strong gust of wind might cause them such pain. That wasn't until she witnessed the gruesome transformation of the crowd's ringleader.

Her feelings of compassion and sadness turned to confusion. The ringleader had a horrifying, giant slug-like monster crawl out of his mouth. 'That's impossible,' she thought. Then she noticed that the same thing happened to everyone in the crowd. Hundreds of the same hideous, slug-like monster came out of their mouths while laughing maniacally.

After coming out of the bodies, the monsters leapt into the air, with the intent of attacking everyone from her group. She knew she couldn't use crowd control at this point, these monsters could hurt them. She used up the mana she gathered earlier from the stars and shouted, "By the power of the stars! I smite thee!"

Multiple stars came from the heavens, aiming to hit the monsters surrounding her and her group.

@Ver @Otto @York @Minerva @Kaykay @Crow @Jeremi @Lucky @Town Center​

 

[Kaykay]

The man whom Puck called Guts barely moved initially, stirring only slightly as the group began to speak to him, all the while the guard had his back turned to the door, looking away from them and allowing them to do their business. As Kokichi tried to pick the lock, only to be pulled away from Sebastian, his head slowly brought itself up, only one eye open as he looked dead straight at the butler, an expression of contempt and hate at him as he... sniffed at the air. He sniffed for a few moments, not saying a single thing in that brief time, before finally speaking.

"... You smell just like one of them."

He knew. He knew that Sebastian was a demon. And yet...

"But the rest of you... are human. Or at least, most of you," he said lowly, proceeding to eye Grace as well briefly, furrowing his brow slightly as he groaned softly, before looking back to Sebastian, "Not here to kill me, huh... A monster like you is gonna regret that some day... But here you are, dicking around with humans."

It was amazing how deeply just the gaze of one eye could pierce like Guts did at the group, sighing softly. "What the fuck do you people want? If you say you're here to help, sorry, but I don't believe in charity work. But if you want something from me, I'm not fucking selling anything..."

"Guts! It's okay, they mean well! I can sense it in them, they wanna help you!" Puck exclaimed, floating in front of the man, to which he grunted.

"And just why the fuck would they want to do that..." He clicked his tongue, before looking at Sebastian again, "You have questions? Make it quick. And get me out of here while you're at it. I have things to do and places to be."

A very talkative fellow.

When Zoe appeared and dropped the golden title, he turned to her, expression hardly changing except for his gaze hardening even more. "Hmph... The Black Swordsman, huh... Not a very creative name, but I let them call me that. That's me alright... I'm me. All there is to it."

@Khan of the Mardu @Raptor Jesus @Alex Azure @Takumi @Yun Lee @Jeremi @Lucky @Archmage Jeremiah @Penitentiary

---

"Bloody hell! Never a spawny outcome when I go out with people... I never should have trusted that damned skullface! If I knew this is what it's like to get conned in turn...!" Constantine exclaimed as the crowd began to converge on them. They kept going... and then suddenly, in the distance, the group there would all be able to see Ben, Sera, Sumia, Morte, and the girls appear, along with an unfamiliar boy with orange hair.

When Sera would attempt to read into the situation and the psyches of the crowd, she'd find something... off about it all. Just like how everyone was strangely apathetic to a disturbing degree at the market, there was just... nothing in the air. No hesitation, no wavering... but at the same time, no absolution, no certainty. Just blank space. It was as though there were no conscious thought in there, aside from the group had the center of it all.

"What are ya talkin' about?! We need to get their attention!" Isidro exclaimed to Sera, grabbing a tomato and throwing it right at the back of one of the civilian's heads! "Take that! How do ya like that?!"

And yet... The civilian didn't respond. Despite the rotten tomato smashing into the back of his head and splattering all over his clothes as well, he acted like nothing had happened. Isidro threw more tomatoes at a few more citizens before stopping, eventually realizing that they weren't responding at all to him. Like he wasn't even there, or the others for that matter.

"What the...?! What the hell is with them?!"

It wasn't until Astolfo unleashed his Noble Phantasm that something notable happened, the entire crowd screaming as they were pushed back, but more than that... Despite La Black Luna not being targeted to seriously injure them, their screams were more from shock. Their screams were genuinely pained... as though it was somehow hurting them. Constantine instinctively put a hand on the Heroic Spirit's shoulder, thinking he were doing it intentionally, but even he knew something was wrong here, all the while the dark-skinned woman with the brand on her body continued blubbering aimlessly like an infant, still frightened and confused.

The ringleader of the group looked at the group in a pained expression, which then shifted to... pure hatred. Not the same kind that fueled a misguided zealot, but rather, a monstrous gaze. And then, just as quickly, it contorted into a sick, mad grin.

"I was hoping to enjoy a nice meal to myself in peace, along with the others, but if you want to add to that... Be my guest."

And then... a truly grotesque sight befell everyone.

Spoiler

Opening his mouth to an impossible width, a hideous giant slug-like monster crawled out of the orifice, dropping onto the floor with sickening sounds as it did so. Following that, the same thing began to happen with everyone in the crowd, countless amounts of the same kind of slug monster appearing from the people's mouths, laughing maniacally.

"What in Hell's seven bells?!" Constantine exclaimed, stepping back and rearing in disgust at the grotesque sight in front of everyone.

"You'll wish you were in Hell soon enough!~" The slug that had appeared from the ringleader's mouth laughed, before the army of monsters leapt into the air, with the intent of attacking the entire group, even those who had just arrived from the market!

@York @Kaykay @Crow @Jeremi @Tutski19 @Otto @Minerva @Lucky @Town Center​

"That explains a lot...I think?"

Sera had initially been quite surprised that she couldn't read the crowd whatsoever despite their apparent malevolence, but when they seemed to be nothing but carriers for these slug monsters it began to make a sort of sense. Of course, slug monsters bursting out of people would probably never make sense normally, but sometimes life was like that.

On the bright side, this made her a lot more willing to attack them.

"If you desire a meal so badly, eat this!"

Forming her sword once again through the Creation dream, Sera took to the air and attempted to cleave one of them in two.

@Ver @Otto @York @Minerva @Tutski19 @Crow @Jeremi @Lucky @Town Center​

 

[York]

Spoiler: Replies

The man whom Puck called Guts barely moved initially, stirring only slightly as the group began to speak to him, all the while the guard had his back turned to the door, looking away from them and allowing them to do their business. As Kokichi tried to pick the lock, only to be pulled away from Sebastian, his head slowly brought itself up, only one eye open as he looked dead straight at the butler, an expression of contempt and hate at him as he... sniffed at the air. He sniffed for a few moments, not saying a single thing in that brief time, before finally speaking.

"... You smell just like one of them."

He knew. He knew that Sebastian was a demon. And yet...

"But the rest of you... are human. Or at least, most of you," he said lowly, proceeding to eye Grace as well briefly, furrowing his brow slightly as he groaned softly, before looking back to Sebastian, "Not here to kill me, huh... A monster like you is gonna regret that some day... But here you are, dicking around with humans."

It was amazing how deeply just the gaze of one eye could pierce like Guts did at the group, sighing softly. "What the fuck do you people want? If you say you're here to help, sorry, but I don't believe in charity work. But if you want something from me, I'm not fucking selling anything..."

"Guts! It's okay, they mean well! I can sense it in them, they wanna help you!" Puck exclaimed, floating in front of the man, to which he grunted.

"And just why the fuck would they want to do that..." He clicked his tongue, before looking at Sebastian again, "You have questions? Make it quick. And get me out of here while you're at it. I have things to do and places to be."

A very talkative fellow.

When Zoe appeared and dropped the golden title, he turned to her, expression hardly changing except for his gaze hardening even more. "Hmph... The Black Swordsman, huh... Not a very creative name, but I let them call me that. That's me alright... I'm me. All there is to it."

@Khan of the Mardu @Raptor Jesus @Alex Azure @Takumi @Yun Lee @Jeremi @Lucky @Archmage Jeremiah @Penitentiary

---

"Bloody hell! Never a spawny outcome when I go out with people... I never should have trusted that damned skullface! If I knew this is what it's like to get conned in turn...!" Constantine exclaimed as the crowd began to converge on them. They kept going... and then suddenly, in the distance, the group there would all be able to see Ben, Sera, Sumia, Morte, and the girls appear, along with an unfamiliar boy with orange hair.

When Sera would attempt to read into the situation and the psyches of the crowd, she'd find something... off about it all. Just like how everyone was strangely apathetic to a disturbing degree at the market, there was just... nothing in the air. No hesitation, no wavering... but at the same time, no absolution, no certainty. Just blank space. It was as though there were no conscious thought in there, aside from the group had the center of it all.

"What are ya talkin' about?! We need to get their attention!" Isidro exclaimed to Sera, grabbing a tomato and throwing it right at the back of one of the civilian's heads! "Take that! How do ya like that?!"

And yet... The civilian didn't respond. Despite the rotten tomato smashing into the back of his head and splattering all over his clothes as well, he acted like nothing had happened. Isidro threw more tomatoes at a few more citizens before stopping, eventually realizing that they weren't responding at all to him. Like he wasn't even there, or the others for that matter.

"What the...?! What the hell is with them?!"

It wasn't until Astolfo unleashed his Noble Phantasm that something notable happened, the entire crowd screaming as they were pushed back, but more than that... Despite La Black Luna not being targeted to seriously injure them, their screams were more from shock. Their screams were genuinely pained... as though it was somehow hurting them. Constantine instinctively put a hand on the Heroic Spirit's shoulder, thinking he were doing it intentionally, but even he knew something was wrong here, all the while the dark-skinned woman with the brand on her body continued blubbering aimlessly like an infant, still frightened and confused.

The ringleader of the group looked at the group in a pained expression, which then shifted to... pure hatred. Not the same kind that fueled a misguided zealot, but rather, a monstrous gaze. And then, just as quickly, it contorted into a sick, mad grin.

"I was hoping to enjoy a nice meal to myself in peace, along with the others, but if you want to add to that... Be my guest."

And then... a truly grotesque sight befell everyone.

Spoiler

Opening his mouth to an impossible width, a hideous giant slug-like monster crawled out of the orifice, dropping onto the floor with sickening sounds as it did so. Following that, the same thing began to happen with everyone in the crowd, countless amounts of the same kind of slug monster appearing from the people's mouths, laughing maniacally.

"What in Hell's seven bells?!" Constantine exclaimed, stepping back and rearing in disgust at the grotesque sight in front of everyone.

"You'll wish you were in Hell soon enough!~" The slug that had appeared from the ringleader's mouth laughed, before the army of monsters leapt into the air, with the intent of attacking the entire group, even those who had just arrived from the market!

@York @Kaykay @Crow @Jeremi @Tutski19 @Otto @Minerva @Lucky @Town Center​

"Alright Omnitrix, give me something to fight all those uglies at once..."

As Ben selected his form, he transformed into...

"Laservision! That is more like it. Thank you, Omnitrix."

Constantine might get a slightly familiar vibe from this transformation of Ben's. Did he give a damn? Maybe, maybe not.

For an alien, it looked very human.

Laservision, as it was called, began to fire green blasts at the slugs, melting them, and for some of the others, freezing them with a simple breath.

Melted, sliced slugs and freeze-dried escargots rained upon the battlefield before they could smack the School Living Club girls. Not a pretty sight, to be honest.

"I would unleash a gigatonne punch in their faces, however, I have a hunch that none of us should touch them directly," Laservision says as his body levitates off the ground without the aid of any wings, or jetpacks.

He proceeds to grab a huge chunk of the floor to use as a melee weapon against the slugs during this assault.

"Why do I feel that I am currently cheating?"

@Ver @York @Kaykay @Crow @Jeremi @Tutski19 @Otto @Minerva @Lucky @Town Center​

As soon as he saw the pained screams of people, Astolfo stopped playing his Noble Phantasm. The instrument turned back into a standard horn. He didn't mean to hurt anyone!

Astolfo panicked for a second and protested. "I-I didn't mean to hurt anyone!" He shouted. However, the ringleader turning into a monster changed his perspective.

He put the horn away on his belt. "Trap of Argalia!" He shouted. The lance appeared in his hand again. He thrust it at nearby enemies to knock them down.

Siegward of Catarina
@York @Kaykay @Crow @Jeremi @Tutski19 @Ver @Minerva @Lucky @Town Center​

Well, that made more sense. Of course the ones behind all of his weren't human. This calmed Siegward since he hated fighting with people, but he was also shocked by the abominations that had spawned from these poor townsfolk. His grip on his Zweihander tightened as his serious demeanor returned, but this time he was no longer sad. Instead, he gained the determination to purge these creatures from the earth, lest they cause any more harm to the village!

"That's your game, is it? Fine, then. Perish, foul creatures!"

Wielding his Zweihander in his right hand and his Pierce Shield in his left, he swung relentlessly at the creatures with intent to kill. He would raise his Pierce Shield and block/impale any slug that tried to jump at him.

Despite his resolve, it was clear that he was getting quite fatigued after a long while of fighting. He couldn't wait to have a toast after this.​

Soraka looked at the screaming crowd with a pained expression. She knew that they were in large amounts of pain, judging from the intensity of their shrill screams. She couldn't understand why a strong gust of wind might cause them such pain. That wasn't until she witnessed the gruesome transformation of the crowd's ringleader.

Her feelings of compassion and sadness turned to confusion. The ringleader had a horrifying, giant slug-like monster crawl out of his mouth. 'That's impossible,' she thought. Then she noticed that the same thing happened to everyone in the crowd. Hundreds of the same hideous, slug-like monster came out of their mouths while laughing maniacally.

After coming out of the bodies, the monsters leapt into the air, with the intent of attacking everyone from her group. She knew she couldn't use crowd control at this point, these monsters could hurt them. She used up the mana she gathered earlier from the stars and shouted, "By the power of the stars! I smite thee!"

Multiple stars came from the heavens, aiming to hit the monsters surrounding her and her group.

@Ver @Otto @York @Minerva @Kaykay @Crow @Jeremi @Lucky @Town Center​

Lucatiel of Mirrah
@Ver @Kaykay @Crow @Jeremi @Tutski19 @Otto @Minerva @Lucky
@Town Center

With the true form of the citizens revealed, it quickly became obvious why the citizens were so "eager" to watch the execution. Neither the executor, or in fact, the audience it seemed were human at all, or at least if they were, they were only shells of their former selves now... Infested by the foul slugs that they expelled from their mouths.

As the creatures leapt at her, Lucatiel let out a battlecry as she rushed the creatures, using her blade to slice up as many as possible in the fray... Though she no longer had her shield with her, as it had been lost sometime before she arrived here, she was far from rusty with her blade, and for the better or worse...

"Foul beasts! I will not yield!" She roared.

It looks like Lucatiel was truly lost in the heat of battle, but yet... She looked alive for a change, filled to the brim with an amount of vigor that seemed to defy her more distant behavior when she first arrived here.​

 

[Ver]

Guts remained silent when Libra presented the brand to him, narrowing his eye at it while the man spoke. He said nothing, even after Ciel took over from there, further explaining their circumstances and their run-in with the Skull Knight, able to recognize him from the boy's description. The imposing man sneered slightly at the boy's attitude, looking down upon him despite his restrained state.

"Like it or not, huh... Ain't that the case," he grunted, letting out a humorless laugh as he straightened his posture slightly, "Sorry, kid. Your knight in shining armor made a wrong judgment; I'm not the man you're looking for. If you wanna redirect your curse on someone else, then by all means. Do it on your worst enemies or your best friends for all I fucking care," Guts said dismissively, turning to look away, as though becoming disinterested in the conversation, before Puck piped up.

"Guts, what are you talking about?! Casca's in great danger, you know! You can't turn away any potential help! If they don't get you out of here, then she might--!"

"I know. Shut up, Puck," the man replied with a sudden firm edge in his tone, "I know I don't have a choice though... I don't know what that Skull Knight was thinking sending a bunch of branded my way, or whether or not he knew I'd be put in this kind of situation, but right now, I guess I really can't afford to be picky about things. But let's get some things straight," Guts said, eyeing everyone seriously, "I'm not gonna be your friend. If you die, or your life becomes an inconvenience, then that'll be that. If you wanna get together, then fine, so long as it's temporary. I work better alone. Since it sounds like you people have your own objectives, then I trust that won't be a problem."

He wondered for a second how there even came to be more branded. Guts wondered in the back of his head if this was some sort of setup, but... Loath as he was to admit it, he'd have to just put faith in this miracle. It disgusted him to lay his fate in the hands of something like a "miracle," but if it was to do what he needed, then so be it.

"Also, if you expect me to lead you right to the doorstep to some evil that I happened to know about, then guess again. I've put down every monster I've come across, but I don't have the convenient solution of being able to put my curse on someone else, nor would I want to. The only evil I'll be putting down are those fucking devils that call themselves God... One by one. But if where I go opens the pathway to a new road that's convenient for you, then be my damned guest."

He didn't know what they were going on about when it was said that he'd be able to lead them to the evil that they wanted to seek, but he didn't care right now. If it was going to be an accident, a coincidence even, or because of the evil that his brand attracted, but it didn't matter right now. There was only one thing that mattered to him right now.

Tilting his head a bit, he eyed everyone again.

"Now then... Are you just gonna stand there, or are you gonna make yourself useful and get me out of here?"

The guard was still in visible range, everyone's whispers and low voices managing to evade his ears, but hopefully it wouldn't matter all that much, especially if all the guards were off in what sounded like disturbances in the other areas.

@Yun Lee @Jeremi @Raptor Jesus @Khan of the Mardu @Takumi @Lucky @Alex Azure @Penitentiary

---

The slug monsters individually died easily enough, even if their size might have made them a challenge to pin down. But even so, their numbers continued, not seeming to relent no matter what, as more monsters began to crawl from around the corner from the market, leading one to believe that an entire town's worth of these monsters were present. Due to their sheer, continuing presence, it was difficult to make a hasty escape or retreat anywhere, essentially trapping everyone around.

"Come back."

"Return to nothingness."

"Give in to the sacrifice."

"Atone for your sins."

The same, sickening, raspy voice echoed throughout the different, identical slug monsters, taunting the fighters as they gradually became more and more aggressive and vicious, eager for a meal. Some of them even attempted to leap at their mouths, hoping to possess them if not devour them as well. Things were not looking good at the moment, but one's options were limited here, especially with the unconscious bodies still in the crossfire.

@Kaykay @Crow @Otto @York @Tutski19 @Minerva @Jeremi @Yun Lee @Town Center​