|
Post by Vapovile on Jan 25, 2022 6:47:51 GMT
Scarlet noticed the sigh when she finished speaking. Was Lucy doing something important in there? A determined smile spread across Scarlet's face as she took a step forward.
"Oh, you are going to get plenty out of this, Lucy. Remember who Schwarzweiss is. She was the dark sorceress who experimented with genetically combining Windigos and void demons, resulting in a being that absorbs the life of anything it's nearby. Her dark experiments were so volatile, records say she kept an all-consuming black void on her laboratory floor, ready to swallow up any abomination that got out of control."
Scarlet grinned wider and stepped forward, putting her arm against the door frame.
"Weiss was one of the most demonic mages in history, to the point much of her research had to be hidden away. Now, wouldn't it be just an amazing opportunity for a demon summoner like yourself to meet this woman and learn some of her secrets? Perhaps YOU would start opening some of the doors that society wanted to close after Weiss died?!" Scarlet said in a slightly maniacal tone.
Taking a breath, Scarlet backed off the door and took a step toward the stairs, craning her head back to look at the mage. "So, ready to take that leap, Lucy?" Scarlet taunted.
|
|
|
Post by HungryHunter on Jan 25, 2022 7:36:44 GMT
Lucy listened intently as Scarlet talked Schwarzweiss up. She of course knew all this, but being reminded now, it felt more real. She could really bring back somebody so powerful? It would be tricky, but it was hard not to think about it now… “I heard she once combined void demons with wendigos… terrible idea, but brilliant. …meet me at 11 PM in the Ikkuma common room. I will need you to get some things.” Lucy scribbled down some notes and handed over the paper, a list of spell components. “I’ll handle the rest. Don’t buy them all in one place, it’ll be suspicious.” Lucy gave a final order before closing the door. She had preparations to make. Hopefully Scarlet could get what she needed in time. This was tricky enough with everything she needed.
|
|
|
Post by Vapovile on Jan 26, 2022 6:42:36 GMT
Taking the list, Scarlet waved Lucy goodbye as she practically skipped down the stairs. Not only were they doing this, but they needed to be stealthy about it too?! Arriving in the commons area, Scarlet came up behind Aiden and rested her forearm upon his head.
"Got it. We gotta do some shopping first though, rich boy. Follow me." She said. With a nod, Aiden jumped out of his seat and led the way for both of them to exit.
---
It was now the dead of night, with most of the students and faculty already asleep. A few security guards roamed the hallways, making sure everything was safe and students weren't wandering around after hours.
Aiden had the easiest path to the meeting spot, being in his own house's commons room. He casually flipped through a book as he waited for the other two to arrive.
He then stopped when the door was tapped 3 times. He rushed over and checked the eyeglass, seeing it was the girl he was looking for. Aiden softly opened the door to let Scarlet in, dressed in a black shirt and jeans to blend in better.
"Hah, snuck past easily. Lucy down here yet?" Scarlet asked. Aiden glanced at his watch, then toward the door that led to the girl's dorm stairs. "Not yet. Aaaaaaaany time now, heheh." Aiden chuckled. They were going to break SO many rules doing this, it was going to be awesome!
|
|
|
Post by HungryHunter on Jan 27, 2022 6:55:06 GMT
It was just a minute later, 11 PM on the dot, that Lucy appeared. Her look had none of the subtlety of Aiden’s. Emerald green flowed around her body, contrasted by a rosey purse at her side. The hood over her head didn’t hide the skull makeup she had coated her face in, perhaps a bit too thick where it crinkled at the motions of her mouth. “Welcome. The witching hour is upon us, is it not? We should be on our way.” Lucy was putting on a voice or accent of some sort, thick and unconvincing. She took the bags from Scarlet and put them in her purse. “Augustus will lead our way. He knows the gates of hell… also he can turn invisible and scout for guards.” She waved her hands and a man appeared in their midst. He was short and rough, with a tattered vest over a ripped long-sleeve shirt. His face was long and sallow, a mustache leaning diagonally inwards above his lips.
The only indications that he was anything other than a normal person were the rope around his neck and the fact he was see-through, red in tint. “Yeah. Invisible. Or I could strangle them.” He grumbled, summoning a bottle and shaking it upside down, scowling when nothing came out. “You aren’t strangling anybody, and if you even mention it again you’re fired.” Lucy prodded the ghost, her finger going through him. “Alright, bitch, I’m doing it. Follow my lead.” Augustus faded from view and the door opened. “Don’t worry about him, he’s not actually capable of attacking anybody without my strict go-ahead. He’ll shut up when we get to the graveyard and I give him his booze.” Lucy seemed totally nonplussed by her ghastly summon’s disposition. It seemed that he was always like this and it was no great surprise to her.
|
|
|
Post by Vapovile on Jan 30, 2022 3:10:56 GMT
Both Aiden and Scarlet stared at the strange ghost that appeared to be Lucy's summon. "Uuuuuh..." Aiden started, looking at the strange outfit Lucy was wearing next. "If you say so...I don't want that weirdo actually hurting anyone." He agreed. Scarlet shrugged her shoulders and followed the ghost outside, checking both directions before venturing out.
Aiden strolled out behind her, taking another look back at Lucy with confusion. "Hey uh, rad outfit, but that really sticks out you know?" Aiden tried to say, but knew it was already too late to turn back. Scarlet hushed them as they came around a corner.
The path to the graveyard was down a long hallway out out a door to the right. The hall was dimly lit, but enough people walking around at night could see. Scarlet groaned when she saw someone sitting on a bench near the middle of the hall. To their right was a window that seemed to be unlocked, but perhaps they could distract him somehow and sneak past?
|
|
|
Post by HungryHunter on Jan 30, 2022 4:33:42 GMT
“Doesn’t matter how much I stand out with Augustus scouting. Nobody can even get close.” Lucy led the way, occasionally making them pause or change directions when her ghost whispered silently in her ear. She paused when they reached the end of the hallway. “Hold up. Augustus has this.” She pushed them back behind a corner and peeked around. Nothing happened for a second, then nearly a full minute. Just when even Lucy thought Augustus might have just wandered off, a thump came from a door down another branching hallway. Another came seconds later, louder and so violent it seemed the door would fall from his hinges. Blood began to leak out from under the door and Lucy facepalmed. “He’s overdoing it…” Still, a distraction was a distraction. It was just going to draw more attention later, always a pain.
|
|
|
Post by Vapovile on Feb 4, 2022 5:36:36 GMT
The person on the bench heard the knocking, and thought nothing of it. But the second knock made them leap up, now within the group's sight. It wasn't a security guard...but was professor Kurome herself, now just in her pajamas without the business coat she wore for class. She floated over to the door and looked at it with curiosity.
"How interesting..." Iris muttered to herself. Aiden saw the professor, his eyes bulging. He hastily made motions for them to move so she wouldn't see them. Eventually, the group made it outside, Aiden breathing a sigh of relief.
"Of all the freaking people, and it was the professor?!" He complained. Scarlet rolled her eyes. "What are you so scared of? She's like, a kid." She responded.
"I bet she's way older than she looks!" Aiden fired back. The group soon found themselves at the graveyard, Scarlet grinning.
"So, ready to do this, voodoo girl?" Scarlet asked, grinning. Aiden was also smiling, ready to see what amazing things came out of the ground.
|
|
|
Post by HungryHunter on Feb 5, 2022 4:28:26 GMT
Lucy had a moment of terror and doubt when she saw who they were trying to get past. “A kid? No… she’s several great demons all placed in the body of a child! Or at least, that is what I’ve heard…” She knew at the very least she wasn’t a normal kid. Lucy knew she had been teaching here for years without aging. “Yes, let us begin.” Lucy took her supplies from her bag and got to setting up. She tested the soil above the grave with the edge of her knife, nodding when she found it soft enough to carve. She began to make careful lines in the earth, arcane symbols of incredible intricacy. She filled the outer circle with the salts she had asked Scarlet to pick up, then set her candles around the outside.
“So, everybody pay heed. This ritual weakens the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead. The salt ring keeps spirits from the other side contained, so absolutely do not touch it. Do you understand?” She glared past Scarlet and Aiden. “I can’t move it, it blocks me too, you tawdry bitch.” Augustus invisibly grumbled. “I’m not tawdry.” Scarlet grumbled and snapped her fingers. The candles all flickered to life and she began. She threw out more ingredients and cast spells on them, making the ground ripple like water. “The gates are weak… now to make an offering to call forth spirits…” Scarlet took a bottle from her purse, a bottle of wine she had marked off the labels on for some reason. She poured half into the ground, turning the grass inside the circle a deep purple-red, then tossed the rest to Augustus. “Alright… now she will come.”
|
|
|
Post by Vapovile on Feb 10, 2022 4:43:31 GMT
Both Aiden and Scarlet took a step back to let Lucy work her ritual, Scarlet folding her arms when Lucy mentioned the salt.
“Soooo…salt is going to keep the spirit of a mage like Weiss back?” She asked incredulously. Aiden thought about this for a moment. He didn’t know anything about summoning magic, but Lucy was the expert here…right? It took a while for anything to happen. Lucy sweated and strained, but it seemed like she wasn’t actually doing anything until the earth shuddered. Starting from the center and spreading outwards, the ground within the circle began falling into the earth, leaving behind… nothing. A void, darkness only lit by faint flickerings. The grass and earth fell away into this abyss and they found themselves staring into nothing. Lucy continued chanting and crackling lightning poured out, clinging to the arbitrary barriers made by the salt. “Omnex culos varda nixu omnex culos varda nixu…” Gasses lit by unholy light funneled upwards, screaming faces appearing within. Lucy pushed forth, rejecting these beings, pushing away the inhuman figures that flicked into view. Finally, humanoid figures began to appear, palms pressed to the barrier, unearthly howls drowning out speech and thought. “None of these are her…”
“The hell?” Scarlet asked, stepping forward to get a better look at the spirits. Aiden cocked his head in confusion. “Wait, what? But that’s her gravestone!” He said, pointing at the monolith in front of them. His eyes were then drawn to the area just behind Scarlet.
A tiny white weasel was trotting along, and stopped dead in its tracks when Aiden locked eyes with it. His eyes widened when he noticed the salt circle nearby. “Don’t you freaking d-” Before he could finish, the weasel darted for the bushes, scampering between Lucy’s legs and running across the salt circle, banking left and disappearing into the forest.
The area then began to shift. The barrier lost its strength, and a white flash of light sent several spirits whirling into the air. Aiden stared in disbelief, but Scarlet immediately sprang into action. “What the FUCK?! Was that a rat?!” Scarlet asked in fury, bringing out her chainsaw and revving it, letting the blade whirl to life as she leaped up and slashed at one of the escaping ghosts, cleaving it in half and making it disappear into a cloud of mist.
“Uuuuugh…yes, my chainsaw can release spirits if I cleave them with this thing.” Scarlet explained. Aiden watched as the spirits began to scatter. “Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap!” Aiden said, panicking. “We HAVE to get these guys back into the ground before someone finds out! I’m sure this is like, MEGA against the rules!” He said, glancing back and forth. Scarlet rolled her eyes and hefted the chainsaw on her shoulder.
“All because you lost a rat. Loser.” “Hey, you didn’t help either!” Aiden fired back. He then turned to Lucy.
“Do you know of a way we can get these guys back?! Or do we just have to rely on Scarlet here?” He asked, practically jogging in place now.
|
|
|
Post by HungryHunter on Feb 12, 2022 5:18:49 GMT
“Other spirits can trickle through the gate, so there’s no need to worry. Surely she will come…” Lucy watched, but she couldn’t get a read on any of them. These weren’t her! Where was she!? She didn’t even notice the weasel, full focus on the spirits before her. Even when it ran under her legs, her attention only shifted when she saw white flecks scatter. “Oh fuckballs!” Spirits streamed through, undeterred when she tried to wave them back. It wouldn’t work! “Mor ka! Veré vos mososka!” She chanted, and earth shook once more.
The earth within the portal returned, flipping back up out of nowhere to plug the hole. Within seconds, the portal was gone, but the ghosts who had escaped remained, slipping away. “There’s rituals for exorcism, but if Scarlet can just slash them, go with that!” Lucy was paler than usual. Augustus laughed in the distance. “Oh, you’re in for it now, girlie.” He chortled, fading into view behind her. “Shut up and help me look. If I get my necromancy license revoked, you’re going right back where I got you, you know.” She pointed out, making the ghost frown. “Fucking whatever. I want more booze when this is over.” He faded away again. “He doesn’t have any special abilities for finding them… but unlike us, he can move like a ghost does, so he’s our best bet to start with.” Lucy sighed to the others.
|
|
|
Post by Vapovile on Feb 14, 2022 5:03:30 GMT
The trio made their way across the courtyard, keeping an eye out for wandering spirits. They soon came upon a particularly broad-chested spirit with short black hair, and a pair of spectral spectacles. He was looking at a statue of Azur, crossing his arms in annoyance.
"Hey, there's one! Go get him!" Aiden prompted, Scarlet nodding. She silently stepped up, attempting to get under the spirit...but froze when its booming voice rang out.
"Now what do we have here?! Trying to sneak up on me?!" The ghost floated up, glaring at the girl before him. Scarlet put the chainsaw down casually. "Nope, just hanging out here. What's up with the statue?" She asked.
The ghost frowned in annoyance, then glanced back at the statue. "This statue is of Azur! Some self-important Polynesian lady, but more importantly..." He adjusted his glasses. "They are French, and thus catholic! God damn heathens! Standing in the way of the righteous protestant English, and their westward expansion! I hate those sons of bitches!" He boomed.
Scarlet's eyes widened. Oh this guy was mad about stuff that's long been settled. "Uuuuuuh, yeah. Right. Hey uh, I got someone who you should totally talk to. A real red-blooded English guy." Scarlet motioned for Aiden to walk out, which he did.
The spirit's eyes narrowed. "And just who are you, kid? You English?" He asked. Aiden chuckled. "Uh, well...I'm actually Canadian. B-but my parents came from the UK!" Aiden said. The spirit cocked his head.
"The fuck's a Canada?! You playing with me, boy?!" The spirit glared right in Aiden's eyes. He shook his head. "N-nonono. The uh, British northern region became Canada. Right, Scarlet?" Aiden meekly asked, Scarlet chuckling. "Yea, pretty much."
The spirit snorted. "Believable story. I swear, I died far too early! Those god damn Catholics still revere have their damn representative symbolized by these statues! You know how many Catholics I killed in my time fighting for the crown?! I crushed their heads under my arms!" He boasted. Aiden let out a chuckle.
"Uh, yeah. Cool. So uh...can we get you to go back to the dead?" He asked. The spirit paused, glaring once again. "And why would I want to do that, hm?" He asked, squinting his eyes at Aiden. He glanced over at Lucy, trying to get her to send her summon out to try and restrain the spirit so Scarlet could fire up her chainsaw.
|
|
|
Post by HungryHunter on Feb 19, 2022 3:28:35 GMT
Why oh why did their anti-spirit weapon have to be a chainsaw? Of course they couldn’t stealthily get this guy! Fine, they were going to have to do this the proper way. Find out what he wanted and sever his ties to send him back where he came from. Of course, that wasn’t going to be easy. “Shit.” She spoke under her breath. She was French Canadian, and he wished she was Catholic. She had the candles and chanting down at the very least. “There’s nothing for you to do here. Catholicism has been totally expelled from all of her majesty’s lands, you know.” She already had to lie, might as well go all in on the whopper.
|
|
|
Post by Vapovile on Feb 21, 2022 2:31:05 GMT
Lucy's statement made the spirit pause. "Has it now?" He asked with incredulity, squinting at the girl in strange clothing and makeup. "All right...you want me gone so bad? Fine. Show me proof of the destruction of that filthy Catholic Quebec region on the east! Scum never wanted to integrate with the true Protestant majority of this country, so they are the first cancer that should have been cut out!" He boasted. Aiden scratched the back of his head.
"Uh...sure. Let us get you evidence right away." Aiden said, jogging off, before turning back. "By the way, what's your name?" He called back.
The spirit puffed out his chest in confidence. "Who am I?! Boy, I am the former MP of this very region! Tucker Lawson, at your service." He answered. Aiden nodded, jogging away again with Scarlet following behind.
Once they got sufficiently away, Aiden sighed. "Welp, guess we have to make some proof. If I had access to a computer, I could just photoshop something real quick...but the closest one of those is in the library..." Aiden pondered. Scarlet shrugged her shoulders.
"Then let's go there. Unless you have a better idea, Lucy?" Scarlet asked.
|
|
|
Post by HungryHunter on Feb 21, 2022 5:13:55 GMT
Lucy’s eye twitched. This guy’s delusions were really something else. What a pain in the ass. “That’ll take too long.” Lucy whispered. “We have the ghost of a dead Catholic right here to testify.” She called out, waving for Augustus. “What? Uh, yeah, love the pope. Yeah, we’re all dead. Not a one of us left in Canada land.” He reluctantly grumbled. “You’d best get me some sacred wine for that, girlie.” He hissed to her.
|
|
|
Post by Vapovile on Feb 21, 2022 7:44:32 GMT
Tucker looked at Lucy, an unamused expression on his face. "Girl, you're talking to a politician. You think I can't smell bullshit from a mile away?!" The MP boomed, thrusting a muscular arm for Augustus's throat. "This wretch couldn't tell a convincing story if you burned it into his wreched brain." Tucker threw Augustus out of his grip, floating away.
Aiden watched, blinking. "Well, guess that's uh...out." Scarlet rolled her eyes. "You totally should have stabbed him." Scarlet said to the ghost, strolling forward. "Why the heck do you have a human for a summon, anyway?" Scarlet asked casually, following Aiden.
|
|
|
Post by HungryHunter on Feb 22, 2022 20:20:45 GMT
“I’ll stab this fuck so much he dies again! You think you’re better than me you poncy bitch!?” Augustus yelled. Lucy angrily waved him away, sending him back to invisibility instead. “Stupid ghost. It wouldn’t do anything anyway.” She sighed. “It’s a work-release program. Augustus earned himself a pretty hefty sentence in hell when he was alive. Working for me, he’s earning some time away from hell and I’m taking him off the hands of the devils for a bit. Unfortunately I think I’m getting the short end of the stick here.” She glared into Augustus’ empty space. “Whatever.” A disembodied voice grumbled back.
|
|
|
Post by Vapovile on Feb 26, 2022 5:51:28 GMT
Scarlet stared at Lucy as she answered, a mixture of emotion on her face. "I mean...sure, it's cool you have a crazy hobo as a summon and all...but it's also a bit weird having a summon who can argue back." Scarlet said casually. "But hey, if you don't like him wanna trade powers? Sure as heck haaaaaate mine." She asked.
Aiden snickered. "Aw, but they're so cute." He said jokingly, Scarlet glaring at him. "Shut it, Primrose. Before I knock you out with the flat of this thing." Scarlet motioned toward the miniature chainsaw keychain attached to her shirt.
The trio finally made their way to the library, slowly opening the door and slipping inside. The lights were still on inside the massive room of books, ornate archways holding up the 2nd story of the library. "Ok, the computer lab is just down the hall..." Aiden whispered, creeping along the rows of tables that normally housed people studying. He then paused in disbelief.
"Crap..." He mumbled. Sitting at one of the tables in the 2nd to left row was a short blond-haired woman in a black blouse and blue skirt, adjusting her glasses as she flipped through an old tomb and types notes on her laptop nearby.
"That's Mrs. Anderson, leader of the Azur house! Why is she still here so late?!" Aiden whispered. Scarlet frowned. "Got any bright ideas, Lucy? Or should we just hold our breaths as we sneak by?" Scarlet asked. Carol didn't seem to notice the trio as she took a sip of bottled coffee...the nearby trashcan revealing it wasn't her first of the night.
|
|
|
Post by HungryHunter on Feb 28, 2022 2:42:36 GMT
“Hm, no, I think that I will retain my demonic might and leave you with… whatever it is you do.” Lucy smirked at Scarlet. “Crap.” She ducked back behind the bookshelves with her compatriots. A teacher, at this hour!? “They tell us to get plenty of sleep, the hypocrites…” She glowered around the corner. “I would use a sleep spell, but I don’t have any… and Augustus is already grouchy, so another diversion would be risky… I say we sneak.” She lowered herself nearly to the ground and hovered swiftly, rocketing nearly-silently across the ground.
|
|
|
Post by Vapovile on Mar 13, 2022 23:34:40 GMT
"Wait, you can float?!" Aiden whispered in surprise, watching Lucy drift away. Scarlet silently groaned. "Uuuuuugh, try not to hit the tables, loser." Scarlet joked, keeping her head down as she sneaked through the library. Aiden followed, stopping when he heard Carol yawn loudly and stretch in her chair. Scarlet was the first to peer over a desk to see her leaning over the table she was working at.
"Uuuuuuugh...why is all this information written in dead languages...each word needs to be referenced..." She groaned aloud. Scarlet gave a smug expression and ducked back down.
"Heh...sounds boring." Scarlet shrugged her shoulders and kept going. Aiden peered over as well, then ducked down. "Someone's gotta do it I guess..." Aiden commented. Soon, the group would find themselves in the computer lab in the back, all of the computers turned off for the night.
Aiden picked one of the stations in the back and whipped the monitor around so it was facing the wall as he turned on the power. "Alright, watch me work my photoshop magic..." Aiden said confidently, sitting in the chair and clicking through the windows. Scarlet kept watch from the shadows, making sure nobody was around.
"Hurry it up..." Scarlet motioned, Aiden nodding. "Look, this had to at least be a little convincing! Give me 5 minutes!" He waved back. Scarlet huffed and turned to Lucy...when they heard a sound to their immediate right, Scarlet ducking down and trying to see what was going on.
|
|
|
Post by HungryHunter on Mar 15, 2022 2:55:37 GMT
“Oh, she’s working with dead languages? Jealous.” Lucy whispered, peeking around the corner. “Dead languages have all the good forbidden lore.” When the noise came, she had to suppress a yelp, clapping a hand over her mouth. The noise came again, a flutter and a thud. Falling books. “Whoever’s doing that is going to get us caught!” Lucy hissed, waving for Scarlet to follow her while Aiden finished his work. They tracked the culprit by the sound of more books being dropped, or by the increased volume, tossed aside in anger. They rounded a corner and there he was just a few feet away. The ghost grabbed books in skeletal hands, checked their covers, and threw them aside. He was enormous, maybe 8 feet standing straight, but thoroughly hunched, as if weighed down by the bear skin on his back. It seemed to meld smoothly with his quilted garment, just like his helmet fused tightly with his bare skull. He stared through owl-like eyeholes in the helmet, floating green eyes rattling about with his jerky movements. In his frenzied search, he seemed to take no notice of the teenagers watching him.
|
|