animus_network | [Voice]

Entry tags:

[ou] aleph

[Voice]

Your rooms are still the safest place to stay during the night. I would suggest getting the door shut as soon as night hits and not opening it until day.

As far as boogeymen go - yes, I saw the writing on the wall - I'll be limiting my patrols to the dormitory levels and patrolling them throughout the entire night. Don't be afraid to scream for help or to start running.

Please be cautious. Thank you.

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Oh? [The demons only received a cursory look from Barnaby before he shot a sharp, swift roundhouse at the orc that stood before him.] Good. That's a handy device to have around.

[Curiosity aside, he narrowed his focus and delivered another kick. There would be time for questions later.]

It is. [Aleph dodges another of the orc's attacks and drives his sword through an opening in the creature's armor and into his flesh.]

[Barnaby leapt up out of the orc's reach when it lashed out at him again, dodging it's reach just enough to use the wall as a springboard to strike at its head with another kick. All he had was his agility and his melee techniques-- and his preference for kicks always won out over direct punches. So far, it didn't seem to be a hinderance.]

[The other orcs aren't standing up very well to the demons - they're trying, certainly, but the demons' strong magical attacks or overwhelming force is beating them out. Aleph too seems stronger than most humans (it's that artificial human thing) and has managed to pierce his orc completely through the stomach.]

[...the lack of a weapon would prove to be a hinderance at this rate. Hands and feet could only do so much damage, and Barnaby had never actually killed anyone or anything no matter what his intentions were. He lashed out with another kick, denting the armor, but he was quickly realizing that he needed to reassess his choices and decisions in this Tower.]

Want any help?

[Aleph doesn't mean to belittle him, but he doesn't mean to get him hurt either.]

[Barnaby was stubborn, not stupid. There had to be a trick...

Or he really did need to take on a weapon.]

I've never fought a monster before.

[The H-01 didn't count. That was different.]

They're going to be more resilient than humans. I don't think these have weak spots, just brute force - and you're on a timer.

...Honestly.

[Conscious of his time limit, Barnaby launched another kick at the orc's head. Heads were always nasty places to hit, no matter what was involved.]

[The orc stumbled backwards, dazed but not defeated by the attack.]

[This was a problem.

He didn't have time or the resources to solve it.]

Aleph. If you don't mind?

Alright.

[Calmly, Aleph stabs Barnaby's orc in the neck. It promptly stops moving.]

[Barnaby stopped and stared. For the few years that he was a practicing Hero, he never once killed anything.

That was going to need to change. Quickly.

He didn't pull his gaze away. There was no point in trying to hide from it.]

Well. That was simple.

[Unless it was hiding behind snark. :| ]

There are three options when you meet a monster. Run, kill it, or die. I only like the first two of them, and that's my best advice.

That's reasonable.

[But he was on a timelimit, and without a watch. Barnaby knew that he didn't have long left.]

Let's go, Aleph. There's still more places to go, right?

Right.

[It's further down the hallway that Aleph feels the air start to get colder... is he imagining it or is there really a chill? No, he should ~~hide~~ hide now deal with Barnaby's safety.]

[~~That's what his Handsome Escape is for.~~

Barnaby glanced around the hallway, on higher alert for any potential threat as the temperature dropped. He wondered if he was imagining it himself, but it was too unsettling for him to ignore.

Especially since it seemed that Aleph was also on alert.]

This isn't normal, is it?

No. [Aleph's debating the possible reasons as he hears... slowly... a shuffling of cloth that isn't coming from their clothing. Something is moving. Coming closer.

They're right outside a dorm room, so Aleph can at least whisper.] Get inside, I'll handle this.

[Barnaby, well aware of the rustling movement from an unknown source, knew that he was in no position to argue. He cast Aleph a look before he opened the door.]

Be careful.

I will.

[When Barnaby is inside, he'll shut the door on him. His sword is drawn, his remaining demons are summoned. He's far better equipped to deal with whatever's coming.]

[That was why he didn't ask any questions-- and why he pressed his ear against the door so he could at least keep an idea of what was going on. He didn't like being kept in the dark about anything, and he'd be lying if he said that he wasn't concerned.]

[What Barnaby will hear-

-the soft sound of cloth being cut, and the harsher sound of flesh being torn into-
-the crash of magic, lightning and fire, being thrown more rabidly as time passes-
-a sudden stop of all movement-
-then a thud like a hammer driving a nail into the door Barnaby has his ear pressed against, over and over.]

[It's the stop and the repeated weight of the dull, heavy thud reverberating in his ears that made Barnaby freeze. He wanted-- needed-- to go out there and help Aleph in some way, but it was clear that he was outclassed in everyway. With his time limit and without his armor, his options for taking action were limited.

Instead he stayed next do the door, barely breathing as he waited for the sound to stop. He couldn't tell if it was the sounds of Aleph's battle or the deafening beat of his own heart any longer.]

[Eventually, the banging on the door stops, and the chill and unnatural presence will fade. When Barnaby opens the door, he will find Aleph crucified to it, clearly dead from the wounds covering every unarmored area of his body.

A retrieval unit will fetch him shortly after, but something had to just dig in an extra inch.]

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