Scene #8274: The Silenced Cathedral

Owner	Pose
Raziel	''Once a testament to mankind's defiance of Kain's empire, this towering cathedral now stood derelict, the humans who worshipped here centuries dead. Its architects conceived this tower as a holy weapon against the vampire menace, a colossal instrument of brass and stone. The cathedral's pipes once turned to blast a deadly hymn, now stood silent, and these vacant spaces whistled their impotence. Worse, my brother came to inhabit these halls, turning this place of holy faith into a perverse source of more of the human's vampire menace. Thankfully, I had silenced Zephon's insect cries, though the songs of his children still ring here, chittering in hunger, and for revenge.'' The outside of the Cathedral was impressive. For something this large to be built to rival the vampires at the height of their power was no trivial feat of engineering. Between buttresses stood the ends of large pipes, though silent now, were once intended to blast a hymn so loud it could destroy every vampire on Nosgoth. It also stretched into the sky, designed in such a way as to use the very upper-level winds of the planet to sound the hymn that would destroy the vampires. Though decay has started to set in, and worse...webbing can be seen throughout the Cathedral itself. Raziel would lead the group through one of the open pipes, "Here, this should lead us to the central chamber. If Ariel is right, a new path should have been opened up to go through, but I think we'll have our hands full. My brother's kin still occupies these holes, and any new entrance might have disturbed them into action." Just as predicted, a swarm of spider-like vampires is moving around a crack in the foundation, a hole large enough that seems to lead to a cave system. That would be the way out, but right now the insect-minded vampires seemed to focus on trying to seal the hole closed. Fortunately, this means you have the drop on them. "I must warn you, these creatures are barely sentient, and move mostly on instinct. They are vastly reduced from the height of the Empire. Do not waste mercy on them, because they will not return in kind. Vampire weaknesses remain constant. Running water is like acid to them, impaling will stop them completely, and sunlight will cause them to combust into flames...but they are weakest to open flames. It seems that my brother's 'evolution' has given them a much weaker constitution to fire."
Trudy Grimm	"Barely sentient, husks of their former selves," Trudy repeats and then adds her own determination to Raziel's explanation. She turns her eyes up the wall of the cathedral itself with a thoughtful noise, her gaze lowering back to the insectly creatures doing their busy work. The witch lifts a hand, producing the Death Rune Eiwaz over her palm, "I'll introduce them to one of my cute friends. There's only one person whose expertise I can think would be helpful here..." One of the spider creatures' shadows grows deeper and extends behind it, outside its field of view. An arm reaches out, gripping the edge, hauling the undead forth-- A soldier from some modern war, clad in a long olive-drab coat that reaches his knees, his feet clad in knee-high boots of scuffed black leather. Heavy gloves, a hood, and-- a gas mask with a single filter canister, ruptured on one side. There are holes in his coat from which green crystals protrude. Faint green points of light shine through the lenses of his face covering. Most impotantly is the device on his back, a heavy tank with a hose and nozzle affixed to it. As he hauls himself from the shadows projected by Trudy's witchery, the Soldier reaches back and unfastenes the nozzle wand. As he brings it forth, the first noise made by this entire occurrence is the distinct, sharp click, click, click of a pilot flame igniting on the end of the flamethrower. The undead flame trooper wastes little time depressing the trigger, sweeping his weapon from side to side. When one has the element of Surprise, it pays to be Surprising. And there is only one acceptable solution to unwanted spiders.
Hellwarming Trio	"Weak to open flames, huh? Works for me." "This'll be cake! Oh, make sure you got your noseplugs on if you need 'em." "Do be careful, girls. Even if they're weak to it, some of us aren't so fireproof." Unable (or unwilling) to curb Utsuho's andRin's enthusiasm when it comes to fighting things that are weak to fire, Satori seems content to stick near Trudy today as she floats nearby the witch, eyeing the soldier coming out of the ground curiously while tapping a finger against her chin. "How convenient... Someone that isn't afraid of his own flames nor bothered by his own mortality. That's..." She taps her chin again, then nods firmly. "Cute." The animal youkai, meanwhile, cheer on the flaming soldier before remembering to get in on the ambushing action themselves, floating on each side of the flame spewer to blast out some of their own. Utsuho's control rod glows faintly as she sprays lasers across the ground towards the spider-vampires, calling up pillars of flame from beneath them moments after those lasers pass by. Rin opts for more direct bombardment, launching a multitude of small sparks into the air that descend onto the vampires before bursting into much larger flames on contact.
Seras Victoria	Seras Victoria has made good on time before this next leg of the journey. After learning that running water is like acid to the vampiric monsters of Nosgoth, she's decided to leave the Harkonnen and her other heavy weaponry back at Hellsing. Instead, she's comissioned something special - yet remarkably simple and cheap - from Paladin engineering. And so, for this leg of the journey, Seras Victoria shows up wearing a mighty set of water tanks strapped to her back, easily carting around hundreds of gallons of what is, no doubt, water blessed by Hellsing's resident priests. The tanks are hooked by a reinforced flexible hose to what looks like the world's most D.I.Y. Garage hand-pumped (who needs complex motor power when you have vampiric strength, after all?) water rifle, assembled out of whatever industrial pipes, pumps, grips and tubes happened to be on hand, and fitted with a variety of different nozzles. All in all, it looks Mythbusters as hell, and far too heavy for the girl lugging it around. Seras doesn't seem to have gotten that memo though, far too engaged in looking all over at the Cathedral, eyes wide in complete dumbfounded amazement and growing dread at the sight of the huge spider-webbing... "Nothing about your world does anything in halves, Mister Raziel." She remarks in a dry mixture of sarcasm and wonder as soon as the spider-pires start emerging. "Even the spiders are vampires." This is so ridiculous, she doesn't know where to start. "It's going to be an awful lot of work to bring some life back to Nosgoth after all this is over." She is very inclined to take advantage of having the drop, and switches to 'direct spray' nozzle... Takes aim... And starts working the pump by hand. Despite this whole thing seeming ridiculous, a TORRENTIAL outpouring of water results, coming out in a strong, laser-like jet that starts to disperse and lose cohesion halfway through the arc but will no doubt drench a good helping of those critters!
Timespace Riders	Sougo stares up in silent awe of the decaying cathedral's foreboding majesty, shading his eyes more out of habit than necessity. A stiff breeze flaps the lapels of his navy peacoat, seeming to penetrate to the oversized pastel yellow button-up beneath. Woz, dressed as always in his apocalyptic, double-breasted snap-button overcoat, surveys the horizon instead, with pursed lips. When Raziel moves to lead the group into the structure proper, both the Demon King and his retainer venture in. Through long-disused pipes, the two travel with Raziel at the lead, voices hushed for the reverberations which might carry further in. "Fire, water... and impalement? Okay. I think I can do at least one of those. But it's going to be noisy, so..." Sougo smiles apologetically at Raziel, before offering a pitying frown towards the as-yet unaware insectoid vampires. He procures the bulky white belt he uses to transform, the Timespace Driver--as his retainer Woz procures the sleek, silver-and-green Beyondriver. "Henshin!" Sougo's hands grasp the Timespace Driver and spin it. RIDER TIME! Large pink gears envelop him completely before fading to reveal-- o/` Ka-meeen Rider! o/` ZI-O. . . But the pink-and-silver armor is soon replaced-- ARMOR TIME! The replacement stands empty and disembodied, snapping into place over him. It's a compact suit of silver with red trim. The hands on the clockface of his helmet move to the same position, an imitation of the Greek character Phi--while two bulky cell-phone pauldrons fly in to snap into place. Faaaiz-u!! A bulky cell-phone buttoned blaster is in his right hand, and a straight sword is in the left, a slim blade that glows bright red with a handle like a motorcycle's handlebar. The energy blasts from the gun penetrate like lances, the sword's edge burning hotly with each cut. He corrals them into Woz, who has armored up into a silver-and-greensmartwatch-themed armor. The retainer wields a spear with a sharp green edge, and a touchscreen below the head. Hands spaced far apart on the haft for extra force, he puts his shoulders and hips into every thrust, attemping to pierce them for the others, especially Zi-O, to capitalize on.
Raziel	The shadows part, as the man in the mask, rises from it. The pilot flame ignites, and that is the only warning the Zephonium gets. The spider creatures turn, eyes widening in brief terror before flames consume the nearest one. The ones nearest are caught, burning to a crisp while those just outside of the initial victims are burned. Running around with their bodies on fire. More scatter, aiming to get away from the fire, and dart to safety. They skitter like insects, screeching at the attacker. They are confused by it because they do not sense blood in it. More fire comes thanks to the Hellwarming Trio. An explosion of fire tears through their numbers, leaving next to none alive in the area it affected, and even more burning to a crisp in the aftermath. The Bois of time and space release spikes into the mass of retreating vampires. Raziel guides them on where to aim so that it impales their hearts. Successful hits happen, as a small green ball of energy seems to escape. However, Raziel is there, his jaw extending as he sucks in the balls of energy released...which causes the impaled bodies to crumble to dust, their souls released back to the wheel of fate. Seras's spay of water is far less effective than fire. The water pressure isn't nearly enough to take limbs or torrentially drench or submerge the vampires in water. It /DOES/ however, panic a few, who all dance back away from her, hissing at her. However, the holy water doesn't react with them as it should. In fact, it doesn't at all...just water. No holy flames, no purifying smoke...nothing. The Spider-like vampires come back swinging terribly. All of them are deathly afraid of being killed, and more recognize Raziel despite his appearance change. They swarm people, trying to flank them, trying to drive their claws into their flesh, trying to lap up at the blood they might drink. However, Raziel dives for Utsuho and Rin, using telekinetic blasts to try and throw off attackers, and using the Soul Reaver to stab ay oncoming attackers. "If only I had you at my side when I first faced down my brothers!"
Trudy Grimm	The Soldier sweeps his flamethrower to the left, then to the right, incinerating a cone in front of him. When the spider-vampires scatter, he swings his weapon up slightly. He does not smell like living flesh, but of dust and bone and the vague tones of dry rot, the mustiness of his uniform, and the sharp chemical odor of petroleum. It's not even napalm-- he predates that particular horror by several decades. Despite the Soldier's obviously Dead status, though, there's the hissing of breaths escaping from the rupture in his gas mask's filter canister as he advances with slow, steady steps, leading with the business end of his weapon. Trudy follows along at a relatively safe distance, only showing in the dark due to those luminous green eyes of hers. The Soldier is attacked from the side, bowled over by spider-vampires, unleashing a jet of flames ceiling-wards as his legs are taken out from under him. It's quite clear that he's poor in close combat due to the length of the projector wand. But-- one who has died is no longer afraid of it. Struggling with attackers, he grips something hanging off his jacket and wrenches downward, then holds it aloft-- mostly so others can see: It's a Poppenberg grenade, held by the stick end. There's just enough time for people to recognize what it is before the device explodes. The contents of the Soldier's backpack detonate a quarter-second later, engulfing everything within a few yards of himself in flaming petrol while scattering wreckage much further than that. Trudy, having darted back several paces, shields her face from the blast. Quickly extinguishing some sparks trying to catch on her sleeves, she calls up the Eiwaz rune and opens Malice; already preparing to replace her fallen trooper.
Seras Victoria	When the vampires start hissing, Seras grimaces fiercely, her eyes narrowing and shifting from a kind blue to a glowing, hellish crimson. She, too, is a vampire, of much different lineage. When swarmed and jumped though, she hisses in return. A few get in nasty claw strikes at arms used to protect her face and vitals, drawing blood which flows very lazily and languidly from the wound before ceasing to flow at all, but she responds by lashing out with a few kicks and elbows to drive a few of them off and takes more opportunistic spray shots at them should she knock them off-balance at all!
Hellwarming Trio	"Noisy...? Oh! Yeah, do it!" Utsuho cheers Sougo and Woz on as the former takes on his armored form, squinting briefly to try and figure out what she's looking at. Thankfully, Satori helps her out by shouting "Phone!" before it clicks together for her, and not a moment too soon. The swarm of vampires, flammable as they might be, also prove to be far more numerous than Utsuho and Rin had expected. Thanks to Raziel covering them with his telekinetic blasts, though, they're able to focus more on firing back and creating a literal wall of flames to help stem the tide of bodies. "Well, you've got us helpin' ya now. Let's take this all the way to Kain!" "Once we find him, anyway. I don't think it'll be that easy, though, if we still haven't seen him yet." "Th... That's why we're... Yes, good thinking." Enthused by their master's definitely-not-tired statement, the two redouble their efforts in fighting off the vampire swarm. With the Riders facing them up close, the yokai focus on blasting at more distant targets and denser concentrations with their explosive flames. Satori shouts out a warning to them when the Soldier brings out his grenade, and they back off to give him some distance as Rin starts leaving trails of wisps behind her which, as expected, burst into brighter flashes of light and flame when anything comes too close to it. Utsuho opts for the more direct approach, of course, bathing herself in flames and tarts charging through the ranks of the spider-like vampires head on as jet-like flames burn behind her in her wake. She's totally not just doing it to show off alongside the Riders. Satori, meanwhile, seems rather content to just direct her pets for now. She does keep her gaze focused on the cathedral itself, though, watching possible entrances and eventually floating higher and closer to it to see if she can detect any interesting thoughts from the inside through all the literal and figurative noise.
Timespace Riders	Zi-O and Woz both seem to handle approaching the vampires differently--Zi-O uses the length of the sword or the bulk of his pauldrons to intersect or sap momentum from incoming spikes. Woz, meanwhile, uses the reach of his weapon and his patient, almost theatric fighting style to place himself in the perfect position for opportunistic, punishing strikes, while making retaliation that much more difficult for the vampires. Zi-O nods in acknowledgement of Satori's warning. His boot crashes into one of the arachnid vampires, sending it flying towards Woz, who clubs it from the air with the butt of his spear, following up with a decisive stab for the heart as indicated by Raziel. The weapon's edge creates aftershocks of crackling, explosive green energy in its wake. Freed up from engagement, Zi-O leaps through the air, enhanced physicality carrying him across the battle to Trudy's side, feathering the blaster as he flies. Upon landing, he sheathes the sword through a loop on his side, the blade going dark. His fingers punch in a hasty code on the phone-shoulderpads. A text-to-speech voice announces: SCATTER MODE The phone-blaster shoots out suppressive fire, a wide spread of low-power shots meant to harass and keep them back long enough for Trudy to get another 'friend' up. As he fights, the clock hands on his helmet wind backwards when he glances towards Raziel. His posture flickers, as if he were very briefly gone and back again. A small story plays out, visible only to Sougo Tokiwa. Long lost brothers reunite, but it's far from joyful. Even countless years later, in the picked-over bones of a dying world, Zephon is still jealously resentful of Raziel. Raziel looked different, back then--emaciated and withered. In the present, Zi-O asks: "Raziel... did they really call you a traitor just for being the first to change?"
Raziel	The vampires pile on the undead soldier. Unfortunately for them, this world does not know the weapons he wields or the significance of the final weapon he prepares. However, blind instinct happens. They all, together, start aiming to use spider thread to wrap up the undead... When the explosion goes off, it does little more than incarnate the silk, but enough to contain the explosion. Though disoriented, the vampires are not dead or on fire. Heavy punches and kicks send them flying back, but the damage from those blows starts to heal in real time, causing them to shake it off. The follow-up blasts of water slow this down, but once more not enough pressure and no submersion in water do little to kill them. Soon enough, they're moving towards her again. Vampires are caught in the flame wall and go up immediately. Others caught in Utsuho's dive down are incarcerated, but this time they've learned to keep their distance from the pair, hissing and clicking their claws in both fear and anger. The scatter blast does a lot to protect Trudy, and it also gets Raziel's attention. He flings a caught vampire into a nearby one, aiming to toss the pair into some nearby fire. He stands near Trudy and Z-io, ready to protect the Necromancer, and back up Zi-O. "...Yes, they considered me a traitor, all on the world of that degenerate. His jealousy remained law in this land, even at this time," Raziel states bitterly.
Trudy Grimm	Kamen Rider Zi-O comes to Trudy's defense as she expands her shadow, and she acknowledges him with some cheerful gratitude. The expanded darkness around her feet grows just enough for an armored hand to reach out, covered in chipped, corroded black metal. The companion who crawls onto the field at the witch's behest now is a tall, brawny knight in full plate armor, pierced and punctured in places with shards of green crystal protruding. The faint green glow of his eyes lurks behind the visor of his helm as he draws forth the two-handed sword resting across his back. As the Black Knight charges into the fight alongside Zi-O, Trudy-- isn't done. Already rising out of her shadow is a pair of samurai in full ashigeru, their faces hidden behind grotesque ogre masks. The first plants his feet, drawing up a yumi and a fistful of arrows, targeting skittering vampires across the ceiling. The second, his armor stained red in places, draws up a kanabo from the shadow at his feet; an iron-reinforced war club. Swinging this up onto his shoulder, the second samurai charges in after the Black Knight to support Zi-O from the other side.
Hellwarming Trio	"They turned on you that fast? Yeesh. Sounds like you're better off without 'em, then." "Seriously. I already didn't bad about blowing them up before, but now...!" Utsuho slides across the ground as she touches down following one of her charges, hopping forward on one foot and slamming her control rod into the ground to keep herself from faceplanting while Rin covers her landing with another spray of flames and sending more around the group to help provide more cover from the snapping swarm. They group up with Zi-O, Trudy, and Raziel afterwards, with Rin swinging entire 'chains' of those flaming whips around the group in wide arcs. When Raziel tosses a vampire, she follows it up with more flames that spread outwards, and she even helps light up the weapons of Trudy's summoned soldiers to give them a little extra push. Zi-O's shots are aided with more flames getting blasted out sideways, covering any gaps in his offense to make it even harder to approach! Utsuho, meanwhile, stabs her control rod back into the ground as it starts glowing brighter, clearly pulling more energy into it while biding her time. "Keep me covered for a sec! I've got something real big for these guys coming up!" She boasts, grinning just a bit wildly as the air around her starts to get distorted with how much heat starts coming out of her. It's liable to be overkill, but she's definitely got something dumb planned. Satori, meanwhile, glides back to the groupd, keeping a fair distance away from Utsuho while addressing Seras. "They truly do fear the flames, don't they? Miss Officer, do you have anything a little more flammable?" Taking note of all the water, she taps her chin lightly before pantomiming a thrusting motion, as if she was holding a spear and gesturing at Zi-O. "Or... Pointy, like Mister Sougo's? You're supposed to be strong, aren't you? Use that instead of wasting time with water sports."
Seras Victoria	Hearing a conversation at all about how Raziel was deemed a traitor brings back flashes of the awful sight of what used to be his home in Seras's mind's eye. So many skeletons. So much destruction! Seras snaps out of that brief vision to see her targets recovering far more readily than she was hoping for. Once again she is set upon by the beastly things, clawing and biting. It's the bites that offend Seras the most for some reason, every time those fangs make it into her flesh she freaks out in near panic and rips them free, grabbing by the head or smashing them against the ground if she must. Still, it's adding up. The pain, the bloodloss, and even having some of the drenched ones passing some of that holy water back onto her, making her skin sizzle and smoke. It's all too much. A bestial sound escapes Seras's throat, something like a wildcat's warning yowl, as she lashes out with previously-undisplayed ferocity. Moving with an incredible blur of motion, the DIY water cannon is used as a bludgeon and also jamemed straight down throats to pump the holy water into stomachs. She spins around in the next moment, a knife-hand blow aimed at an enemy who thought it could catch her blind spot. SOMEHOW, she turns that around on them, and they face a knife-hand chop that has the power to tear clean through flesh, blood, and bone of any ordinary foe like it was wet tissue paper. With ferocious yowls, the draculina moves like a wounded and cornered beast, no longer bound by human mores in a bid to survive and escape.. or survive and dominate, it's quite unclear which. Every weapon at her disposal comes to bear, from brute unarmed strikes to her water cannon to several pistols loaded with incendiary rounds. It is not a sight for kids! And, sickeningly enough, if anyone gets a good enough look they'd see a bit of a sadistic grin beginning to show on her face. She's having FUN cutting loose. And at the end of it, she's left doubled over, gasping awkwardly for breath every few seconds, since she doesn't actually need it, but reflexes die hard.
Timespace Riders	The scattershots blaze even brighter than they had, and Zi-O briefly looks over his shoulder at Utsuho. "Thanks!" When Trudy calls in reinforcements, he holsters the blaster, drawing the sword once more. The motorcycle brake is squeezed and the dull red blade glows with new life, as Zi-O fights shoulder to shoulder with Trudy's Black Knight. Wielded like a one handed, single-edged sword, he makes broad, slashing motions from the hips, rolling after staggering strikes to give the Black Knight both opportunity and room to fully swing the greatsword. Woz, meanwhile, fights with his usual aggressive spacing, taking full advantage of the reaction the vampires have to the flaming whips to leap in after they crack with jabs and swipes from the spear, mixing in superhumanly strong kicks to bait out overconfident responses following the inevitable regenertion. "Very well," says Woz to Utsuho, upon her request for cover. He makes a backflip over the lashing crack of a fiery whip, reaching for a pocketwatch with a questionmarked rider featured on its face. He slots it into his Beyondriver, and the screen reveals a 3D model of the armor, moments before concentric, holographic rings of golden light flash-print it onto his body. Action! Touei! Future Time! Fashion! Passion! Question! Futurering Quiz! QUIZ! A red-blue question mark appears at the top of his helmet, matched by similar symbols on the red-blue cuirass and pauldrons overlaid upon his silver armor. A pleasant 'correct answer' ding sounds, and his spear's tip becomes bent, like a question mark. "True or false," he asks the horde of vampires. "Your patriarch will return to drive us from this place and guide you." "The correct answer is false." A pauldron swivels out, revealing a blue X as a loud incorrect buzzer plays. Thunderclouds materialize over the horde, bolts of lightning striking violently into any who stray too close to Woz and Utsuho.
Raziel	Trudy's shadow produces backups, and the swords of her new allies cut through vampires. However, even she can tell this is a temporary measure at most. The clubbed entity does not fair much better, but it DOES keep them at bay. However, the arrows are true, each vampire they hit falls to the ground, and their soul is released. Raziel quickly devours destroying that Vampire for good. Utsuho prepares something big, but in the meantime, Rin covers for her. Fire flings out, helping her allies and burning her enemies with an extreme burn. Though it does more to keep them on the backfoot than actually setting them on fire. The flames cause fear but sadly don't hit as often as desired. Meanwhile, Seras proceeds to do a variety of brutal QTE takedowns and brutal finishers, leaving the vampires around her devastated and split into parts. While it's unconventional, it's possible with enough force. Seras finds out that if you separate a vampire's head from its body, it does work as well as anything else...just...requiring a lot of force. Around Utsuho, they seem to know she's doing something dangerous, but Woz stands in their way. A quiz!? That can't stop them, they likely think. Worse, they're taunted, growling like feral beasts as they dive forward, trying to strike at the obvious threat...and are obliterated by lightning bolts. The rest, scattered, try to run away. Some into the higher parts of the Cathedral, some out the door nearby. "Well...that still leaves the web in the way.." Raziel says as the Soul Reaver fades away from his hand. "It'll probably take some complicated puzzel to figure out a way forward.."
Hellwarming Trio	The vampires are brought down, and Rin lets out an excited whooping noise as she showboats a bit in taunting the fleeing survivors. "And tell your boss we're coming for him!" She shouts after them, brushing off her shoulders with an overly smug grin on her face as she turns back to her companions. "Sure made it easy for us, huh? If we can keep this going the whole time, it'll be a... Uhh." Utsuho, meanwhile, is looking incredibly annoyed right about now. She's got all that energy gathered up in and around her, but the battle's already over. Inhaling sharply, Satori looks toward the rest of the group before gesturing towards the tower and that web. "I'm sure it would be quite complicated, indeed. Thesae sorts of places always do." She comments, perhaps a bit too loudly, definitely on purpose as she hurries over to be somewhere behind Utsuho and not directly between her and the web. Looking towards her allies once she's no longer in front of the hell raven, she gestures at everyone to not stand in that spot. The reason why, of course, is because Utsuho's just going to let all that energy and fire out into that web, the wall of the tower in front of her, and everything in between with a frustrated shout. She really wanted to blow things up, and she's taking it out on the architecture itself with that stone-meltingly hot beam.
Seras Victoria	As soon as the foul creatures scatter, Seras drops down to one knee, her strength failing her. She lost a fair amount of blood to those awful things, after all. It takes a good fifteen seconds for her to regain her composure and stand up again, then rejoin the others. "I need to rethink the weapons I bring to Nosgoth. This thing wasn't that great of an idea after all. Maybe if I had some height and there was a horde of those things down below, but it's not great up close." She's just... not going to talk about that freaking-out berserker moment there at all, it seems. Nope, nope, that didn't happen. "...Impalement suggests a bow of some kind... but I don't know a thing about archery." The draw weight she could theoretically handle, though, is off the charts on anyone who DOES consider archery valid. "Some kind of stake launcher? Are those a thing? Oh, crossbow. Crossbow might work. Weren't those so easy to use compared to actual bows that someone wanted to ban them as unsportsmanlike in war?" Completely avoiding the topic that just ripping heads off is working beautifully. She briefly looks towards Raziel, clearly pondering just what to say at his weariness about long-drawn out puzzles... when Utsuho just opens up with everything she's got. Cue Seras just... jaw-dropping, fangs on display.
Trudy Grimm	The witch lets out a sigh when the remaining spider-vampires scatter for their lives. During the fight, the Black Knight learned early on that thrusting is the only thing that has the desired effect, though the kanabo-wielding samurai has no such option and settled instead for knocking victims into the Black Knight and Zi-O's killing arcs. Once the creatures are gone, though, the Knight sweeps his sword up immediately and rests it over his shoulder. The Samurai plants his kanabo near his feet. The second samurai keep shis bow readied, arrows hanging between his fingers as he scans the ceiling. Once it becomes clear that vampires are not returning, he relaxes. She trots across dessicated bodies and charred remains. After some poking around with her foot, a skeletal hand lurches up out of the ashes and corpses. With some effort, the partially burned Soldier pries himself free, the back-tank of his flamethrower ruptured and still burning. Parts of his body are visible through the ruined jacket now. He offers Trudy a thumbs-up, then sinks into her shadow. The Black Knight and the two Samurai soon follow suit. She wasn't watching what Utsuho was doing-- and so when the hell raven fires her sunlaser into the obstruction, the witch jumps with a squeak of surprise, whirling around where she stands.
Timespace Riders	When the smoke clears from Utsuho's attack, Woz and Zi-O remain in their armor. Who knows what else could be lurking here? In the brief respite everyone has earned, Woz turns to Raziel, following his assertion that the web would be complex. "Hardly," says Woz, with a flourishing hand gesture towards Utsuho, evidently on the same track as Satori. He and his king both stand clear, knowing full well what's coming. Zi-O's sword and blaster disappear in pink light, disintegrating quickly. "Good job, everybody," he says, with an emphatic thumbs-up. He then does a poor imitation of Faiz's wrist-flick. It just looks like he smashed his fingers in a door, and that Rider always does it before fighting, besides. "I saw Zephon," says Zi-O to Raziel. "In your history. He didn't always look that way, did he? It's kind of sad. He changed so much, but he was so jealous of you that it was all he could think about."
Raziel	The massive release of NUCLEAR RADIOACTIVE FIRE burns a hole through the web. Also most of the door, and the vampires behind it, and through a part of the stone in front of them. The rock sizzles and some of it is even on fire... Raziel whistles, "I really wish I had you back then.." he says, placing a hand on her shoulder in camaraderie. He takes a step forward, though he waits for a bit for the heat to ease up. He turns his head to Zi-O and Raziel sighs slightly. "No...whatever devolution is happening to his children had affected him too. He was jealous of me because I was Kain's firstborn, while he was next to last...as such his was the second weakest of Kain's gifts. Worse than that, he always tried to deal in secrets and assassinations to get one over on the others..." "I on the other hand, often revealed his schemes before they could be completed," Raziel says, sighing. "Well, the path is clear now...the sooner we put this place behind us, the better," Raziel finally says, walking forward. "Beware, the earth has released its secrets, thanks to your friend...and the world trying to shrug off Kain's parasitic empire. Here you may earn knowledge you can not unlearn...tread very carefully," The voice of the Elder God speaks, offering a warning.
Trudy Grimm	"Sounds like one of my brothers," Trudy speaks up as she closes in on Raziel and Sougo. With a thump, she closes the Grimoire, then lets it dangle by its strap while examining the hole Utsuho bored through the webbing and other obstacles, "Always scheming for more power and status. It's honestly so exhausting." She pauses only when the Hub of the Wheel's voice rings once again, tilting her head and glancing towards the ceiling with a thoughtful expression on her face. After a moment, she discards the being's commentary. The witch carries a cursed grimoire filled with forbidden knowledge already, what's a little more?
Hellwarming Trio	Utsuho is still steaming even after she blasts that hole through the doorway, air still mildly warped around her control rod even after she lowers it to her side. Thankfully, it's more of a literal steam at this point, so Raziel's safe to pat her shoulder! "Huuuu... Well, you got us now. So make sure I get something bigger to blow up next time, and we'll be fine." She 'warns' in a joking tone, grinning confidently after the fact. Satori, having looked away from the blast, joins Zi-O in congratulating the group with a slow raise of her hand and a thumbs up. "Good job indeed. Shall we go on, then? The path towards..." Zi-O mentioning Zephon's name gets a curious eyebrow raise. "You saw him as well? It... Did seem rather one-sided, yes. Perhaps it was his own twisted way of showing respect for Raziel's abilities, however strange it might have been with Kain's influence. Being one of the lowest in the hierarchy could certainly do that, though..." With the path clear, the three continue onwards, only pausing briefly when the Elder speaks again. "Uh. Which friend?" "Is it one of us?" "I don't believe he means that in the literal sense."
Seras Victoria	"Well, that's a reason to bear a grudge I've ever heard one. Both ways." Seras remarks about Raziel's musings regarding Zephon. The more and more she's hearing about matters in Nosgoth, the worse it seems overall. Is there ANYTHING nice that one can say about this gloomy place? Can it even be put right again...? Once again though, a voice she wasn't expecting speaks and she steps forwards. "I've already pledged my support for this cause. I-I'm not about to back down now. We've got a job to do here... if there's any hope of making anything about this gloomy world right again."
Timespace Riders	Both Riders step through the passage created by the burnt-away web. Woz, question-mark spear in one hand, throws both arms wide at the god's words of caution, his helmet tipped back in a grandiloquent manner. "Knowledge is power, old one," says Woz, no doubt smiling his catlike grin beneath the black visor of the helmet. "'Unlearning' it would be foolish even if it were possible." "How long has it been since you were thrown into the vortex, Raziel?" Zi-O asks. "The Hub makes it sound like this passage was sealed up a really long time ago."
Raziel	"Centuries had passed when I dragged myself out of the abyss," Raziel answers Sougo. When they come upon the entry to the catacombs, Raziel takes a moment to look at the stonework and architecture. He frowns, trying to puzzel out how old it was. To the others, the Elder God speaks, "Knowledge can be powerful, but power can destroy if handled poorly, Woz. The secrets that lie beneath, I am not warning you of them...but Raziel," Before the voice fades away. "Older than the empire.." Raziel says, "Sarafan...why is the old one concerned about what we may find out here..." he frowns, and starts walking farther in. "We will still have to find our way through..." "As far as Zephon, who knows if it was respect or hatred...he's gone now, and we'll never know."
Trudy Grimm	The witch shrugs, her eyes closed for a moment, "Probably for the best, if these children of his are anything to go by. What a truly abomidable existence." Pausing, she rummages in her sleeves until she removes a square lamp, clicking it on and raising it to get a better look at the carvings on the entry frame to the catacomb that Ariel had told them about. "Serafan. An enemy kingdom that you faced? Or one that perhaps predates your group?" She shines the light over the stonework with a little frown. Her free hand taps her chin in thought, "Maybe they were Kain's enemies, way back then." She keeps her light out, venturing in after Raziel with an eye out for frescoes or murals, relief carvings, or anything that might shed some more figurative light.
Hellwarming Trio	"Centuries? Whoa... You're real old, then." "Even older than Master?" "Just how old...?" Minor annoyance at Rin aside, Satori leads the yokai onwards while listening to the Elder God's warnings to Woz... No. To Raziel? "That sort of warning won't stop anyone. Please understand, I've tried before." Utsuho and Rin both nod at the air. "Do they still exist anymore?" "Or did they get wrecked by Kain after Razzy got put under for that whole time?" "I'm sure we'll find out sooner rather than later, if the warning is any indication."
Raziel	The Crypt was empty, deep into the earth it goes. It appears to be some sort of ruined citadel. Walking through it are faded murals of the Sarafan, lionizing themselves in pictures of slaying monstrous creatures that look like a hyperbole of vampires. Debris needs to be pushed out of the way, in some places the walkway has crumbled and parkour is needed to get to new sections. Raziel pauses, hand resting on a block. "Here...I can feel air moving through here. This must have the path through," he comments, and with great effort pulls the block in the way of the passage out. This room was circular, a sort of chapel or sight of honor. On each side of the walls, except for where you entered from, and a single space directly across from you were murals. Below each mural were caskets, and above those caskets were names engraved in stone. Melchiah, Sephon, Rahab, Dumah, Turel... ...and Raziel. These names, are the names of Raziel's brothers, and himself. Placed here in the tombs of Sarafan saints. `These crypts, defiled caskets of Sarafan saints. Bearing my brother's names...and my own. The irony of Kain's blasphemous act rushed in on me with the crushing force of revelation. Were my hands not as bloody as these? Worse, I had spilled the blood of my brothers. These very comrades whose tombs were buried before me.' Raziel recoils once he comes to his tomb, recoiling at the sight. It seems...the truth of Raziel's time as a human is revealed. Kain revived saints of the Sarafan, defiling their corpses and using them as lieutenants in his conquest of Nosgoth.