Somehow, as the illusion takes form, the first thing that hits you is the stink of necrotic flesh. Putrid black caverns shape themselves around you, lined with runic stones that jut out from the ground, glowing violet in the low light. An uncountable number of skeletons are mired in the hardened sludge that make up the floor beneath you, crunching with every step.
From where you stand, you can see Raven hiding among the rocks as a demon stalks towards his location. It looks like a rotting bird fetus, dripping with black ooze, with pointed spines where feather pinions would be - but on top rides three witches fused into one, her body and cauldron merged with the bird's spine.
She beckons to her hidden prey with all three arms, three voices as one: "I'm coming..."
The noise attracts her attention immediately, all three (four?) heads turning to glare at him. Her voice has a nails on chalkboard quality as she crows,
The bullet pierces the rotting bird's chest as it rears up and screeches - a sonic assault that is truly ear-splitting. It's hard to tell if the threefold witch feels the bird's pain as her own, but she's certainly pissed.
"I WILL HAVE YOUR BONES STREWN ACROSS THE UNDERWORLD FOR THIS!"
That beak rears back, as though to strike from the front-- but a dark, purple portal opens up, one in front of the demon and another right behind you. It jabs its beak viciously into your back, spilling blood over the rotten ground.
the bad news is he still pulled red, blue, and so when he pulls out his kris to stab the fucking thing in the eye, and then wrenches up with a flourish
That gets him a hellish squeal of pain as the bird retracts his head through the portal - putrid jelly leaking out of its face where his dagger had sunk in.
Another portal opens to his side where the demon rakes his talons across Jason's torso. The witch gloats, despite her steed's wounds.
[With a perfectly synced shot, his bullet finds its mark and ices her - literally. The weapon glows bright blue - freezing her solid a split second before the bullet pierces her brain. Frosty chunks of her skull fall away as the other two heads start to wail.
"NO! HOW COULD A MERE HUMAN HAVE SUCH POWER?!"
The chicken staggers and falls to one knee, struggling. Its aborted wings flap desperately, splattering ooze and gunk all around.
Raven... looks worse off than Jason's ever seen him. He's pale, cracks all over his skin and flaking into dust. No wonder he didn't run, it looks like he barely has the strength to stand. He staggers out of his hiding spot to shout a warning at Jason,
"You must finish her! Do not underestimate her magic...!"
Aaaand the rest of her rotten mass comes crashing down in a wet, thunderous crash. With a few more weak twitches, she finally goes still - and her body begins to dissolve into black ash.
Raven finally limps out from his hiding place, still weary but - relieved. “I see I was right to entrust my life to you."
You hear the gratitude in his weakened voice, but if anything, it’s you that feels grateful. That you were able to actually protect something precious to you. If you could’ve been sure that there was a God to hear it, you might have even thanked him - that you were here in time, that you had the strength.
Without strength, you can’t protect anything.
(That’s what strength is for.)
(and why you need,)
(power, strength,)
(you need it)
But he’s safe, he’s safe - you comfort yourself with those words, that they could be true for at least a little longer. And that’s enough for now.
The illusion around you shatters - and you are returned to the floating platform.
Raven’s statue dissolves into red energy, which your weapon once again absorbs. The base becomes another pillar of light, spilling out from a portal to the next level.
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Re: LEVEL 3B
From where you stand, you can see Raven hiding among the rocks as a demon stalks towards his location. It looks like a rotting bird fetus, dripping with black ooze, with pointed spines where feather pinions would be - but on top rides three witches fused into one, her body and cauldron merged with the bird's spine.
She beckons to her hidden prey with all three arms, three voices as one: "I'm coming..."
Raven is helpless. If left alone, he will die.
Re: LEVEL 3B
time to do something stupid, and call out,]
Woah, I've seen some fucked up lookin' broads in my life, but this takes the cake.
[he pulls a red for the warning shot he fires to punctuate his point.]
Re: LEVEL 3B
"Insolent human... you DARE mock me?!"
Re: LEVEL 3B
You know you're ugly, right?
[and then, this time, he fires for real. pulling a blue and a red.]
Re: LEVEL 3B
"I WILL HAVE YOUR BONES STREWN ACROSS THE UNDERWORLD FOR THIS!"
That beak rears back, as though to strike from the front-- but a dark, purple portal opens up, one in front of the demon and another right behind you. It jabs its beak viciously into your back, spilling blood over the rotten ground.
Re: LEVEL 3B
the bad news is he still pulled red, blue, and so when he pulls out his kris to stab the fucking thing in the eye, and then wrenches up with a flourish
he's still pretty open to attack.
discarding a red.]
Re: LEVEL 3B
Another portal opens to his side where the demon rakes his talons across Jason's torso. The witch gloats, despite her steed's wounds.
"NO MERE HUMAN CAN OVERCOME MY SORCERY!"
Re: LEVEL 3B
but also, despite the pain
he's aiming a shot straight to one her heads' forehead. and he finally pulls a red, red]
What-- did they call you?
[immmediately after firing, he jumps back from the portal]
"Ugly chicken?"
Re: LEVEL 3B
"NO! HOW COULD A MERE HUMAN HAVE SUCH POWER?!"
The chicken staggers and falls to one knee, struggling. Its aborted wings flap desperately, splattering ooze and gunk all around.
Re: LEVEL 3B
that's nice.
especially since he's now pretty covered in his own blood, and his clothes are toast.
he pulls at his shirt to create some separation, and to assess how bad the wounds are, before he goes looking for Raven, or the exit
he does her the final indignity of ignoring her]
You hear something?
Re: LEVEL 3B
"You must finish her! Do not underestimate her magic...!"
Re: LEVEL 3B
fine.
he'll look at the flailing corpse-- and take one last shot at it. firing with a red, blue]
Re: LEVEL 3B
Raven finally limps out from his hiding place, still weary but - relieved. “I see I was right to entrust my life to you."
Re: LEVEL 3B
You didn't entrust your life to me. You entrusted it to Nero.
Re: LEVEL 3B
You hear the gratitude in his weakened voice, but if anything, it’s you that feels grateful. That you were able to actually protect something precious to you. If you could’ve been sure that there was a God to hear it, you might have even thanked him - that you were here in time, that you had the strength.
Without strength, you can’t protect anything.
(That’s what strength is for.)
(and why you need,)
(power, strength,)
(you need it)
But he’s safe, he’s safe - you comfort yourself with those words, that they could be true for at least a little longer. And that’s enough for now.
The illusion around you shatters - and you are returned to the floating platform.
Raven’s statue dissolves into red energy, which your weapon once again absorbs. The base becomes another pillar of light, spilling out from a portal to the next level.
Time for a mirror match