File: dunnottar_castle.jpg (237 KB, 810x539)

237 KB JPG

>>3992534
As the only warrior who has ever been shot, you also have the pleasure of teaching your company how to avoid getting shot, and how to heal themselves afterwards if they mange to fail at avoidance. Parrying a predicted ballistic trajectory, short-bursts of yōki to the muscles of the legs, hardening the skin for a moment using yōki… all these little tricks should give you the best chance of surviving an encounter with firearm-wielding enemies.

The second main focus of the last two years has been making use of the other assets that have fallen into your proverbial lap: starting with Castle Scaithag’s dramatic walls.

The walls of the castle are now adorned with the famous blackthorns which gave the keep its old name, and iron nails across the tops of the walls complete the planned defenses against lone intruders. The more difficult task was laying out defenses against a protracted siege, a situation where you’re definitely not at an advantage.

Step one is to lay out ranging markers for the breech-loading guns, both for solid shot to counter likely spots for artillery and for grapeshot to counter infantry approaches. This is an intricate science only made possible by the ability to secure more powder and shot through the auspices of the Hazari merchants’ guild. But with only ten guns, managing the ability to shift focus onto pre-defined ranges will be key in countering any real siege attempts. To that end you’ve had the garrison’s men train relentlessly in hauling full-weight charges and moving the guns from one emplacement to the next.

‘Wooden horses’ with spikes capped in folded patinated copper have been ordered and emplaced to restrict cavalry movements, with crops of blackthorn serving to dissuade and entangle anyone foolish enough to try and remove those defenses. Stones have been laid out along the beach the way they once were to serve as massive anti-horse caltrops, with careful cultivation of the landscape to remove any cover along the approach.
>2/7

File: 65080127_p0.jpg (1.81 MB, 4960x3507)

1.81 MB JPG

>>3992536
From the lower faussibrae your troops will have sweeping fields of fire, from behind improved wooden structures. The curtain wall above that faussibrae has been reinforced as well with split rails to absorb the initial impact of any cannon shots from artillery that anyone manages to set up despite the other rings of defenses and the natural geographic limitations which made this location such a stellar spot for a small castle. Underneath the fortifications are updated and expanded storage spaces, with a centralized furnace, ceramic piping for hot and cold water, and an improved piping system for wastewater. Down here you’ve also had some experiments with illumination: foxfire for example gives some very slight illumination simply from growing the appropriate species of mushroom. As an alternative to wood or coal-burning fires or clarified butter lamps however they leave much to be desired. The experimental gas systems you noticed in Anren still aren’t practical where that resource isn’t naturally available.

The third broad category of preparations has more to do with planning than infrastructure or resources. There are a few things that even with the castle and a tighter-knit group of warriors you just don’t have here, advantages you grew used to in the Organization.

Twelve red cloaks and matching sets of lightweight, almost ceremonial blued armor came in from the merchants’ guild in time for the first winter at Scaithag, marking your faction of ‘red cloaks’ out as something different from the Organization or the regular Hazari forces. What makes you a true ‘organization’ is the replication of your Handlers’ role in the training and dispersal of field agents.
>3/7

File: Map-Hazaran-Jan-2020.png (391 KB, 584x546)

391 KB PNG

>>3992542
It’s taken almost the full two years to get it down, but it was well worth doing. You now have contacts and horsemen in Rysa, Nairn, Rosemarkie, Norwick, Shieldaig, and Daria along the Dari Pass… along with Norwick, Aith, Dean, Applecross, Wustkirk, Caith, Drumbeg, and Bladnock along the western and southern defense lines of Hazaran. Along the border with Cuilan there are stations in Balloch, Caan, and Acerrae, with Voi marking the last node along the borders. Within Hazaran itself there are agents in Baiko, Dean, the Capital, Ostkirk, and Ballardine, meaning that riders can carry specially-prepared red letters from anywhere in the kingdom straight to you in Scaithness.

There’s only one real gap around the ruins of Anren, where messages to Scaithness would be delayed by a few days until they can reach Balloch, Baiko, or Dean to be conveyed further along the main roads… but the lack of any such trade arteries there made a gap almost impossible to avoid.

Emergency plans have also been established: in the case that Scaithness falls your retreat options are Baiko and Daria, which are the best-defended fallbacks. Safehouses also exist in each of the twenty-one settlements where you have trained operatives, so that a warrior who runs into trouble has someplace to stay with low visibility until they can be properly supported.

Then, there’s the more personal development.

While your yōki reserves have not changed significantly your skills have been sharpened: you’re quicker and stronger than you were as the Number Seven, and your sensing ability has even improved as well. In many ways you’ve returned to the basics, the basic three techniques you were taught at Lavinia by Zoe. The forward ‘Thrust’ and the sweeping parries meant to defeat it; the diagonal or horizontal ‘Slash’ and the full block meant to defeat each variation; and the downward ‘Strike’ and the short dodging steps meant to evade it.

In your hands, they become something slightly different.
>5/7

File: __helen_claymore_drawn_by(...).jpg (262 KB, 1000x1000)

262 KB JPG

>>3992544
Instead of a static blocking motion you adopt more sweeping movements meant to redirect and preserve momentum, and encourage your companions to do the same. But with your new sensing baseline and your speed, it’s entirely possible to use these basics to deal with even the most powerful specialized techniques on an even footing.

Which isn’t to say you’ve been lax about your own specialty while all your half-awakened sisters have grown far more proficient in their own usage of yōki augmented special techniques. It’s the now-completed “Unstained Blade Style” that has become your greatest asset.

By using the same technique as your White Fist, you’ve learned to slash past heavy defensive plates and armor… it would be like a knight bisecting their opponent without even denting his armor, except with an awakened being as the victim. It’s easier to heal than a blow from your fists or your feet would be, but more effective at temporarily disabling a limb or causing fatal damage.

Unlike the White Fist, the Unstained Blade requires you to be using about a quarter of your theoretical maximum yōki to even attempt… just enough to start to change your facial features, but not enough to turn you as hideously inhuman as most warriors tend to get at a third of their maximum. To use the Unstained Blade itself, you actually expend even more yōki in quick bursts, exceeding what would otherwise be your own limits and using that force to wrap around your patchwork sword in an invisible corona of sharpened yōki.

And beyond that… the semi-awakened form you have chosen not to revisit since using it to survive the intended purge at Rila.
>6/7

>>3992548
Noel's New Statblock:
Yōki: B+
Agility: A
Strength: B+
Mental: B
Sensing: A+
Leadership: A
Techniques: Versatility, Unstained Blade, Half-Awakened Form

>6.5/7

>>3992552
You’ve taken to sitting in your father’s seat, here in the castle on Loch Scaithag. It gives you an air of authority when speaking to the local folk, and to the soldiers of the garrison, though it still feels strange. So you don’t do it often… only when you expect a meeting. So it’s not on this throne but in the kitchen that Valentina finds you.

“News from the northern border!” she chimes in, handing you a red envelope, almost the color of dried blood. Into the wax seal are pressed two deep grooves, indicating that this message was in transit for two nights. A means of time-keeping used by the messengers you’ve been training over the many months.

You unseal the letter and read its contents.

“We have work,” you frown, tossing the letter aside. “This time it’s personal… it sounds like an awakened being.”

“You’re positive?” Valentina asks worriedly.

You and Helen have been very careful to tell your observers what sort of language to use when they contact you, what sorts of details to collect from their interviews with witnesses, and so forth. They don’t always get it right and so you can’t trust them implicitly, but there were definitely some phrases and key details that raise alarm.

“Never,” you admit. “But it’s never about being certain...”

“It’s about credibility,” Valentina sighs, repeating the mantra Helen drove into her skull over the last two years. “And this one sounds like you think it’s credible.”

You nod. “I do.”

“So who’s going?”

>We all are. This one is all hands on deck.
>A standard hunting team of four.
>One with a team of four for backup.
>Other?

>>3992591
>a team of five
It's a bit of option 2 and 3, I want to give everyone a better chance of success

>>3992591
>>A standard hunting team of four.

>>3992591
>>3992604
This

>>3992604
>>3992591

>>3992591
Let's go with >>3992604

>>3992591
>>A standard hunting team of four.

>>3992591
>>One with a team of four for backup.

>>3992591
>Other?
team of six 2 act as reserve.

shame we couldn't pick any options in that time skip.

File: __alicia_beth_ermita_rimu(...).png (1.19 MB, 610x1808)

1.19 MB PNG

>>3992591
We'll update once per day for a while, since my schedule is EXTRA screwy at the moment.

>>3993030
I considered a series of votes, but that'd take a LONG time to plod through votes at the pace I'd have to do it. So I asked at the end of the last thread and wrote a list of things that people wanted to see addressed, and addressed them in ways that it would make sense in my head for not just for Noel, but all the other lead Claymores.

>>3993317
I should have thrown in a date with our future husband.

File: 27798708_p0.jpg (220 KB, 1020x1509)

220 KB JPG

>>3992591
“I’m going,” you declare on the spot. “A team of four will accompany me.”

You seek out Helen upstairs in the common area at the landing, and sit across from her. You quickly explain the situation to her, and ask who she thinks should be on the team.

“Five in the field, six here...” she muses quietly. “No, three here at the castle, three as backup in Rysa in case the situation goes poorly. It’s the nearest town.”

“So any survivors can regroup at Rysa, but the group there is large enough not to become an easy target itself,” you realize her thought process. “Good thinking. Now we need to determine the team compositions. One single-digit each?”

Helen nods in agreement. “You will take point, I will lead the forward team, Serana will lead the reserve team, Laura will remain here to defend the fortifications.”

You agree with those assignments: Laura has ranged attacks which make it easy to attack from the tops of the battlements to defend any approaches, meaning that if you were to look for a mistress for the Blackthorn Keep she’s the ideal choice. Serana is a strong, canny warrior with the ability to lead a small group in a pinch, but Helen’s ability to call out orders aloud makes her a more natural choice to lead the forward team.

“I’d like Jenna and Lucia for the forward team,” you suggest, “With you, me, and another strong warrior along it may give them an extra little push towards learning their own specialty techniques.”

“Agreed,” Helen nods. “The fourth member of my team will be Justina.”

“A good choice,” you agree. “Nessa as the second member of the reserve team for her sensing, along with Sabrina.”

“Leaving Valentina and Alexandra with Laura,” Helen muses thoughtfully. “A solid team.”

“Then we’re in agreement,” you nod. “I’ll tell the other two teams, you gather up your three?”

“Of course.”
>1/2

>>3994016
You and Helen’s team head out as soon as you’re assembled, with Jenna, Lucia, and Justina having joined you.

“So… you want us to come along so that we can learn specialties?” Lucia muses, her tone somewhat skeptical.

“Your skills are fairly sharp, considering how recently you were rookies,” Helen reminds her, and Jenna by extension.

“I get what the thinking behind this is,” Jenna smirks. “This oughta be good!”

“Don’t get cocky,” Justina sighs.

>Justina is right. Your primary reason for being here is to do the job.
>You’ll be relying on the three of us… so be careful.
>Follow Helen’s instructions, and give it everything you have.
>Other?

>>3994049
>You’ll be relying on the three of us… so be careful.

Rolled 3, 1 = 4 (2d6)

>>3994049
>You’ll be relying on the three of us… so be careful

>>3994049
>We are all here to do a job, but also watch those of us who did this before and learn and adapt. You can do this.

>>3994049
>>Follow Helen’s instructions, and give it everything you have.

>>3994049
>Follow Helen’s instructions, and give it everything you have.

>>3994049
“Be careful, and follow Helen’s instructions,” you admonish the two newest warriors among your number. “You’ll be relying on the three of us with more experience every bit as much as we’ll be relying on you to help.”

“It won’t be easy, it will be dangerous… but you can do this.”

It doesn’t take long to reach the northern border of Hazaran, where you turn westward towards the target specified in the letter. It isn’t long after that when you find your first complication: in Rysa, you find that the arrival of a warrior still with the Organization has caused a stir. You can sense her yōki from outside the town, but only just. When you find her you can understand why.

>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2KLi-X-yng

Her face is badly bloodied, and she’s missing her left eye, but it’s her torso that you can’t ignore. The entire left side has been macerated, bits of shattered rib and torn internals clearly visible through great rends through her muscles. Her left arm is gone as well, torn off at the elbow, though her right hand still grasps her sword despite the fact that she’s nearly dead on her feet.

“Here,” you insist, taking her into your arms. The gesture of kindness takes the strength from her legs and she collapses, sword still clasped in her hand with the last of her ability. “You need to rest...”

“No,” she coughs. “I’ve… I’ve had it. But you can still… my teammates are still...”

“That’s enough,” you tell her quietly, hating to admit that she’s probably right. Her sword’s hilt is red, not just covered in blood, meaning that she probably lacks the regenerative ability to recover from wounds this severe. Whatever did this to her knows that most offensive-types can’t heal such deep, ragged wounds. “What is your name?”

“Kate,” she coughs. “My name… was Kate.”

“I will do what I can for your team, Kate,” you promise her. “At worst… I will avenge them for you.”

“Thanks...” she replies faintly. “I think… I’m gonna… take you up on that… and rest...”

Then she’s gone.

You lay her head gently on the cobbles.

>Helen, we’re changing the plan. Your team will extract any survivors… I’m going to let loose.
>We’ll move in as a team and exterminate the monster that did this. The plan hasn’t changed.
>I don’t want you to see what I do to this awakened being.
>Other?

>>3995599
>Helen, we’re changing the plan. Your team will extract any survivors… I’m going to let loose.

>>3995599
>>Helen, we’re changing the plan. Your team will extract any survivors… I’m going to let loose.

>>3995599
>We’ll move in as a team and exterminate the monster that did this. The plan hasn’t changed.

>>3995599
>>Helen, we’re changing the plan. Your team will extract any survivors… I’m going to let loose.

>>3995599
>Helen, we’re changing the plan. Your team will extract any survivors… I’m going to let loose.
PURGE

>>3995599
>>Helen, we’re changing the plan. Your team will extract any survivors… I’m going to let loose.
ZENRYOKU ZENKAI!

>>3995701
We're not gonna destroy the planet, man. Yet.

File: Spoiler Image (302 KB, 750x420)

302 KB JPG

>>3995722

>>3995599
>We move in as a team and exterminate this monster. The plan hasn't changed.

>>3995599
Select One and ONLY One:
>Suppressed Yoki Assassination
>Unstained Blade from the start
>Half-Awakened Form from the start
>Other?

>>3996243
>FISTS OF FURY

>>3996243
>unstained blade

>>3996243
>>Suppressed Yoki Assassination

>>3996243
>>Unstained Blade from the start

>>3996243
>Suppressed Yoki Assassination

>>3996243
>Other?
YOKI SUPER SAYIAN FORM WITH KAMAHAMAHA HANDCANNON BALL BEAM!

Failing that
>Half-Awakened Form from the start
So we have a more stable and controllable final form.

>>3996243
>Unstained Blade from the start

>>3996243
>Unstained Blade from the start
Might as well try out the new toy.

>>3996243
>3d10, best of three

Rolled 4, 4, 1 = 9 (3d10)

>>3996570

Rolled 1, 7, 9 = 17 (3d10)

>>3996570

Rolled 2, 10, 9 = 21 (3d10)

>>3996570
Do you think our dc lowered a bit?

>>3996614
It's gonna be fine with that 21 either way.

File: 62670791_p0.jpg (502 KB, 2000x1240)

502 KB JPG

>>3996570
You elect to begin with enough of your yōki released to make use of the Unstained Blade from the start, and so when you approach the target’s yōki signature sheltered in a castle built into the side of a stone crag, you do so at sufficient speed to crash the rotted gate with your shoulder.

“Welcome!” the awakened being greets you with a sly smile, only for that smile to vanish as you crash into her as well, bull-rushing her out of the entry hall and into a dimly-lit throne room.

“Go!” you roar over your shoulder as Helen leads her team down into the dungeon where there are two warriors… no, one warrior and something else.

“My, what gusto!” the awakened being crows as she dislocates her arm and uses it to grab you by the neck from behind and squeeze tight. “Unfortunately for you, I know my own keep better than that!”

Then she lifts you into the air and slams you through the flagstone floor… which as it turns out were tiles laid over a wooden support structure anchored to the stonework. You free yourself with a slash that bites through the tough armor of her forearm, separating the tendons that hold you in her grip so that you can kick yourself away from her to get a little room and reorient yourself.

What greets you almost makes you wish you hadn’t.

“You were torturing them,” you observe, “trying to make them awaken.”

One warrior lies limp, her empty eyes staring at the ceiling, with all her joints having clearly been broken or dislocated before the awakened being finished her off. Like a broken, lifeless doll cast aside by a careless toddler. A second warrior is in the process of awakening, already far gone enough that you doubt she can hear anything going on around her. It’s safer to categorize her as an enemy now rather than an ally.

The last warrior is the single-digit, the poor warrior having been just about flayed alive while nailed to the wall with heavy iron spikes, each spike having been bent over so that she cannot simply pull them through her limbs to escape.

“You like my handiwork? The fourth of this team escaped that way, so I had to make certain modifications.”

>Demand to know who she serves. Take some time so that your teammates can rescue the survivor.
>Take out the mostly-awakened warrior first, before she becomes a problem.
>You don’t care who this bitch is. You promised vengeance, and that’s precisely what you’ll deliver.
>Other?

>>3997599
>>You don’t care who this bitch is. You promised vengeance, and that’s precisely what you’ll deliver.

>>3997599
>>You don’t care who this bitch is. You promised vengeance, and that’s precisely what you’ll deliver.
Full power, maximum destruction.

>>3997599
>>Take out the mostly-awakened warrior first, before she becomes a problem.

>>3997599
>You don’t care who this bitch is. You promised vengeance, and that’s precisely what you’ll deliver.

>>3997599
>You don’t care who this bitch is. You promised vengeance, and that’s precisely what you’ll deliver.

>>3997599
>Other?
Who told you this was a good idea? Don't tell me it was your own because this is a reoccurring thing I've seen with other awakened.

>>3997599
>>Demand to know who she serves. Take some time so that your teammates can rescue the survivor.

>>3997599
>>Demand to know who she serves. Take some time so that your teammates can rescue the survivor.

>>3997599
>3d10, best of three

Rolled 3, 6, 2 = 11 (3d10)

>>3998283

Rolled 8, 2, 3 = 13 (3d10)

>>3998283

Rolled 5, 7, 2 = 14 (3d10)

>>3998283

>>3998283
You can’t say that you even really care who this monster serves. At this point, having seen the things she’s done to your fellow warriors, you’re beyond caring. Instead you deliver a series of blows to her arms and legs, trying to weaken her so that you can get a clean shot at something vital that she can’t just heal from.

“You clever little bitch~!” she trills, having shed her formerly human-like appearance entirely by this point, indulgence in the memories of when this used to be her true form having become too much of a hindrance. “You’ve learned to cut past my armored shell… that’s a tremendously advanced technique!”

“In fact...”

With speed that still somehow manages to exceed even your own the awakened being extends her arm, which you now notice to have far more than the average number of limb segments which unfold in sequence. Her claws penetrate into your torso, slamming you into a stone wall.

“… I don’t see why I was wasting my time on those other girls, when I could have had a warrior!”

“Sorry to disappoint,” you grunt, slamming a closed fist down onto her wrist and pulping the tendons there, “but torturing me isn’t going to work the way you think!”

Her hand disabled, you’re free to slash at her arm next and wrench your body free. Then you run the length of her arm, slashing at the joints before they can retract, but you can’t quite get to her head before her other arm smacks you out of the air and sends you crashing towards Helen’s group.

“You’re making things complicated!” Helen protests as she vaults past you.

You roll your eyes. “Take it up with her!”

>Give Helen and her team cover as an escort, so that they can get to the last survivor and pull her out.
>Draw the awakened being over towards the recently-awakened warrior, get them to fight each other.
>Just get as close to the awakened being as you can and stay there, try not to let her push you around anymore.
>Other?

>>3998462
>>Draw the awakened being over towards the recently-awakened warrior, get them to fight each other.

>>3998462
>>Draw the awakened being over towards the recently-awakened warrior, get them to fight each other.

>>3998462
>Other
Throw the sword at her head and go in with the White Fist.

>>3998462
>Give Helen and her team cover as an escort, so that they can get to the last survivor and pull her out.

>>3998462
>Draw the awakened being over towards the recently-awakened warrior, get them to fight each other.

>>3998462
>Give Helen and her team cover

>>3998462
>3d10, best of three

Rolled 2, 8, 2 = 12 (3d10)

>>3999360

Rolled 4, 4, 1 = 9 (3d10)

>>3999360

Rolled 5, 9, 4 = 18 (3d10)

>>3999360

>>3999360
Your newly-updated plan is simple: put yourself between the two awakened beings, the one who is active and the one who has remained to this point inactive, and dodge an attack. This should mean that when the attack misses it will draw the attention of the inactive awakened being, giving you an unwitting ally for just long enough to let Helen and her team escape together with the surviving Organization warrior.

Actually executing that plan in reality is a bit trickier.

“Who the hell are you?” you demand of the awakened being, slowly circling away from Helen’s group as they move towards the downed single-digit.

“Ah, so we can finally introduce ourselves!” she claps her clawed hands. “My name is Liudmila, formerly ranked number Eight. And you are?”

“Noel,” you frown. “Formerly the number Seven… but then again you already know that, don’t you?”

“The pink hair is a little bit of a giveaway,” Liudmila admits.

“Normally I might be flattered,” you grumble. “But when an awakened being knows me by name, that’s a bit off-putting!”

You charge her, taking her right flank to draw her attacks away from Helen’s team, who have just managed to reach the downed single-digit, then pass her by to circle around her back. The rescue attempt continues as you turn full circle, then attack from Liudmila’s left.

Then you see your opportunity: instead of continuing to turn the circle, which would be easy, you backpedal to let Liudmila’s attack lash out towards the other awakened being. The claw hits her in the shoulder.

There’s a moment when Liudmila makes eye contact with you.

“You cheeky bitch.”

The awakened being lets loose a shriek.

>Flank Liudmila together with the awakened being, keep her surrounded.
>Back off, give Helen’s team some close support until the wounded is evacuated.
>Focus your efforts entirely on Liudmila. You stand the best chance of bringing her down.
>Other?

>>3999737
>>Flank Liudmila together with the awakened being, keep her surrounded.

>>3999737
>>Flank Liudmila together with the awakened being, keep her surrounded.

>>3999737
>back off

>>3999737
>Back off, give Helen’s team some close support until the wounded is evacuated.

>>3999737
>Flank Liudmila together with the awakened being, keep her surrounded.

>>3999737
>>Back off, give Helen’s team some close support until the wounded is evacuated.

>>3999737
>Flank Liudmila together with the awakened being, keep her surrounded.

>>3999737
>Back off

>>3999737
>3d10, best of three

Rolled 4, 7, 5 = 16 (3d10)

>>4001050

Rolled 10, 10, 8 = 28 (3d10)

>>4001050

Rolled 2, 3, 6 = 11 (3d10)

>>4001050
rollan

>>4001093
not that we need it

>>4001050
You make use of your new unintentional ally by taking the opposite flank from her, forcing Liudmila to split her focus in two directions: without extra eyes even an awakened being will have trouble keeping up.

Sure enough she focuses more of her attention on you, which means she’s completely shocked when you abruptly back off, leaving the other awakened being to make the attack. Liudmila can easily deal with it, planting her foot in the neophyte’s gut after she misses before attacking you.

Planting your back foot you raise your patchwork blade and put the hardened tip of the quillon into a gap in Liudmila’s wrist, penetrating deep into the tendons. When she wrenches herself free and charges with another attack you parry with the blade, before pulling another new trick: you instantly pivot on your lead foot and follow with your arm, tucked in closer to your body. At first you speed up your movement without generating much power… then you begin a swing with your right arm.

The effect is that you generate both speed and power almost instantly, all the raw power of a charging attack without having to commit to a charge… produced solely through control over how your body turns and accelerates.

In practical terms you target one of Liudmila’s arms, with both the steel of the blade and your your sharpened yōki contributing. The force of the blow cracks her armored hide, and blood spurts from the joints and cracks as the force of the yōki actually seems to rupture the already damaged blood vessels.

Liudmila howls in pain… so it seems like combining specialized techniques with the Unstained Blade enhances the potency of both? But then again, you know that anything much beyond purely physical tricks like that twirl you just did will push your overall yōki draw dangerously high.

Just a little more and you’ll have bought Helen time to escape… she’s already on her way out of the castle with her team and the surviving single-digit.

>Execute the newly-awakened being while Liudmila is regenerating her arm.
>Try to combine more exotic techniques with your Unstained Blade.
>Dial it down. Focus on using Unstained Blade with your simple and powerful Versatility.
>Other?

>>4001165
>>Try to combine more exotic techniques with your Unstained Blade.

>>4001165
>Dial it down. Focus on using Unstained Blade with your simple and powerful Versatility.

>>4001165
>dial it down

>>4001165
>Try to combine more exotic techniques with your Unstained Blade.

>>4001165
>>Dial it down. Focus on using Unstained Blade with your simple and powerful Versatility.

>>4001165
>Dial it down. Focus on using Unstained Blade with your simple and powerful Versatility.

>>4001165
>Try to combine more exotic techniques with your Unstained Blade.

>>4001165
>>Try to combine more exotic techniques with your Unstained Blade.

>>4001165
>3d10, best of three

Rolled 4, 8, 3 = 15 (3d10)

>>4002898

Rolled 1, 2, 2 = 5 (3d10)

>>4002898

Rolled 9, 4, 1 = 14 (3d10)

>>4002898

>>4002922
>>4002910
>>4002900
holy fucking shit why is dice rolling so shit?

>>4002898
Initially you decide to see what other sorts of ‘exotic’ techniques you can use with your Unstained Blade… which turns out to be a mistake. You try for an Earthbreaker, but between the way you need to force your yōki to flow through your muscles and through your blade it’s nearly qualifiable as a disaster.

When the yōki has to flow out into your sword and build tension in the muscles of your arm at the same time, the result is that you tear all the ligaments in your right arm at once, and can actually see your arm start to deform.

“Damn, my arm!” you hiss as the second awakened being makes her move, your arm still in the process of regenerating its destroyed muscular connections while Liudmila does the same.

“I don’t wanna hear it from you!” Liudmila snaps.

Thinking quickly you switch the blade to your left hand, using a sweeping parry to push the awakened being’s arm up and over you and opening her ribs for a clean shot. You then land a solid blow to her side with your knee, crushing the left lung and sending her bouncing off the ceiling.

That buys you a few seconds to continue regenerating your arm, and you’re ready to switch your blade back to your dominant hand just in time to re-engage with Liudmila. While Helen and the others have gotten clear to safety, your own fight has hardly advanced at all. But with your versatile, basic sword style and your speed you quickly regain control over the situation. Not ‘dominance’ to be certain, but you’ve recovered from the mishap incurred by trying to use too many special techniques at the same time.

>Continue with a delaying action. Once the wounded single-digit is safe the others will return.
>Take the second awakened being’s head as swiftly as possible… that’s gone on long enough.
>Try to cripple Liudmila with a decisive strike that ignores the second awakened being.
>Other?

>>4003075
>>Continue with a delaying action. Once the wounded single-digit is safe the others will return.

>>4003075
>Try to cripple Liudmila

>>4003075
>Continue with a delaying action. Once the wounded single-digit is safe the others will return.

>>4003075
>>Take the second awakened being’s head as swiftly as possible… that’s gone on long enough.

>>4003075
>Take the second awakened being’s head as swiftly as possible… that’s gone on long enough.
Can't pull a Claire and turn her back after awakening like back in the comics?

>>4003075
>Try to cripple Liudmila with a decisive strike that ignores the second awakened being.

>>4003075
>>Try to cripple Liudmila with a decisive strike that ignores the second awakened being.

>>4003895
That would require the victim to have an otherwise human mind.

>>4003075
>3d10, best of three

Rolled 9, 10, 7 = 26 (3d10)

>>4004790
>>4004790
AND HERE COMES THE SHITTY DICE.

Rolled 10, 10, 3 = 23 (3d10)

>>4004790

Rolled 5, 2, 10 = 17 (3d10)

>>4004790

>>4004797
Heh.

>>4004790
You’re sure that Helen and the others can take on a single awakened being with little trouble, but a former single-digit would be a risk even for Helen to fight. Helen is after all an offensive type, where despite all your physical prowess you’re actually a defensive type. So even if Liudmila tore out a lung or two, you’d probably survive.

So you charge.

An easy sweeping parry, a sidestep, another sweep… each of the basic defenses expertly employed and perfectly timed. And when you get closer, you begin to turn to the offense. A pommel strike between the hardest armor on Liudmila’s arm, a sweeping circular stroke, a powerful downward blow.

You trade blows with Liudmila for seconds, then minutes, both you and Liudmila taking it in turns to smack the more recently awakened former warrior around just hard enough to keep her out of the way.

“Come on!” Liudmila taunts you. “Why not try another special technique? You can’t possibly believe you can win with just the three basic moves?”

“I don’t,” you admit, now close enough to finish things.

You lead with a thrust that digs into her chest, the yōki lacerating her organs on the inside. Then you step aside and strike at her right arm to create an opening on that side. Finally, with a well-timed-leap, you land a powerful, tumbling blow to the crown of her head.

Landing behind Liudmila, you quickly turn to watch the results.

“My technique is called the Unstained Blade,” you tell her. “I can use it with any strike, any thrust, any slash, all targeting your internal organs… such as your brain.”

“I… see...” Liudmila muses, having largely collapsed from the direct damage against her nervous system. “Then… you win.”

“Goodbye, Noel.”

“Goodbye, Liudmila.”

The last stroke of your sword takes her head off, and extinguishes her yōki signature.
>1/2

File: __helen_claymore_drawn_by(...).jpg (175 KB, 665x1000)

175 KB JPG

>>4004863
But the other awakened being doesn’t respect the moment, attacking you from behind just as your strike lands.

Even at the same time, a sword lances past your head and embeds itself into the awakened being’s shoulder. It pulls away as the newcomer grins at you.

“Good timing?” Helen asks cheerfully.

“Great timing!” you agree. “I’m wiped out.”

“We’ll take care of this then,” she nods.
>3d10, best of three

Rolled 2, 4, 1 = 7 (3d10)

>>4004876

Rolled 3, 10, 7 = 20 (3d10)

>>4004876
AND AGAIN SHITTY DICE REARS ITS HEAD.
>>4004894
CALLED IT /K/RIPPLE. shitty dice is here.

Rolled 8, 6, 2 = 16 (3d10)

>>4004876
>>4004899
Well done dude

>>4004899
:(

>>4004876
Helen is a good girl.

It's confusing having a quest character share a name with one from canon. What's the difference between them? All I can imagine now is the pic related.

>>4005003
Good girls get headpats and bananas.

>>4004876
The result is something of a foregone conclusion.

Helen, Justina, Jenna, and Lucia encircle the minutes-old awakened being, with Helen and Justina taking the front left and right while Jenna and Lucia take her back. From there the two older warriors take the lead, drawing the awakened being’s attention as she babbles incoherently, leaving her open for Jenna and Lucia to attack. At first the duo struggle to make any headway, until Lucia pulls a familiar maneuver.

She turns rapidly in the air above the awakened being, swinging her blade to add speed and power just at the peak acceleration to carry it through. The blow leaves her target’s arm hanging by just a few strands of sinew.

As the awakened being lashes out with the limp but still dangerous limb Jenna steps between the two, slamming one of her quillons into the dangling stump and slamming her palm into the hilt, essentially prying against the limb using the other quillon and the grip. This force rends the arm the rest of the way off with a sickening noise, sending it bouncing across the stone floor with a chaotic spatter of purple blood.

They’re copying your impromptu techniques to enhance their combat abilities: they’ve decided on their specialties.

“Accel Turn,” you name Lucia’s ability. “And Hewing Blade.”

The latter of course is named for the ‘murderous hew’ found in many old fencing techniques, which is essentially what you used that Jenna is now copying.

>Let Helen’s team finish things here.
>Encourage Helen to let Lucia and Jenna step up.
>Throw your own sword into the fray.
>Other?

File: dust_eater.jpg (364 KB, 789x523)

364 KB JPG

>>4005219
Quest Helen looks more like 'Dust Eater' Cassandra, of whom there are far too few images.

>>4005414
>>Encourage Helen to let Lucia and Jenna step up.
let everyone get blooded.

>>4005414
>Encourage Helen to let Lucia and Jenna step up.

>>4005414
>Encourage Helen to let Lucia and Jenna step up

>>4005414
>>Encourage Helen to let Lucia and Jenna step up.

>>4005414
>Encourage Helen to let Lucia and Jenna step up.

>>4005414
>>Encourage Helen to let Lucia and Jenna step up.

File: __galatea_claymore_drawn_(...).jpg (166 KB, 584x900)

166 KB JPG

>>4005414
“Helen,” you gesture quickly, waving for her to back off. “Give those two some room.”

Helen does as you suggest, and allows Jenna and Lucia to take center stage against the newly awakened being. Instead she and Justina take on supporting roles… or rather Justina does, as the sole defensive type of the four. Instead Helen begins subtly directing Justina, with the goal of setting up scenarios which will afford Jenna and Lucia a little breathing room as well as openings to try out their new offensive techniques.

Lucia begins to experiment with the timing and balance to her Accel Turn… both important factors that she’ll have to get a better feel for before using this technique without extensive backup in place. It inherently involves turning her back on an opponent, if only for an instant, and the shorter that instant is the harder it will be for the user to maintain her balance and orientation due to the speed of the turn. So until she develops those skills fully, it’s even more important than it would be otherwise that she time her use of the technique to avoid a catastrophic counterattack. She’ll also need to be careful not to lose her balance at the end of the attack, otherwise she’ll leave herself vulnerable.

As for Jenna, the problems are a little easier to surmount but require her to develop in the one area where she’s lagged behind her fellow ducklings. Hewing Blade requires an instinctive feel for the balance and movability of her weapon, not just the edge and the point but all the possible surfaces she could attack with. It also requires careful observation of weak points and a determined focus on attacking those with whatever means is most readily available, whether that be edge, point, pommel, or quillon. She’ll have to double down on her studies, particularly of old fencing folios, to truly get a grasp of the whole constellation of movements that are available once you open your mind up to the possibilities of how a ‘sword’ can be used.

She’ll also need to have her sword modified, similarly to your own, with hard powder-steel tips on the three other striking surfaces. That means a trip to see old Brutus, the only man outside of the Organization you’d trust to work with the material.

Now you turn your attention back to the fight in front of you in time to see Jenna impale the awakened being’s remaining limb with her hilt then stab the tip of her blade into the ground. Having thoroughly tied up her target, she’s left Lucia with the perfect opening. As part of a charge across the flat ground, Lucia completes a swift Accel Turn to land a blow just below the awakened beings skull, taking the head clean off.
>1/2

File: 1449646_p0.jpg (31 KB, 480x640)

31 KB JPG

>>4007107
Helen lifts the head and places it carefully next to the body. “Now comes the grim duty we bear.”

Any elation at the victorious hunt dissipates as you bury the dead. Two half-blooded warriors, a warrior who didn’t get to end her life as a human, and the awakened being Liudmila. Two have swords to mark their stony graves, the other two are marked only by raised stone cairns themselves.

>Take the time to try and break off some of one of the now-spare swords.
>Focus on the single-digit and her condition.
>Other?

>>4007123
>>Focus on the single-digit and her condition.

>>4007123
>Focus on the single-digit and her condition.

>>4007123
>Focus on the single-digit and her condition.

>>4007123
>Focus on the single-digit and her condition.

>>4007123
>Focus on the single-digit and her condition

I wonder if those 3 realize they are stuck being known as "the ducklings" forever.

>>4007463
Not if the team takes casualties and new recruits appear. Then they will wonder if they were ever that young.

>>4007123
>>Focus on the single-digit and her condition.

I wonder, if the Organization thinks this mission failed, will they send another killteam?

>>4007123
>>Focus on the single-digit and her condition.

>>4007123

>Focus on the single-digit and her condition.

>update in the next couple of hours

>>4007123
You have Helen take you straight to the spot outside the castle gates where they left the single-digit warrior who was wounded. Now that you get a good look at her… straight hair, average features, and several horrific wounds to her abdomen and limbs. Nothing potentially fatal, Liudmila deliberately missed anything vital or that would bleed too much. Instead she focused on pain hotspots: the stigma, the fingertips, the gums, the soles of the feet, the lips, even the forehead.

That’s how she was trying to work it, to inflict such pain and suffering on her as to cause her to awaken from the trauma. And if at first the pain didn’t work, those spots would be easy enough to heal so that she could do it all over again. As many times as it took.

“It’s a wonder she survived this long,” you frown in disgust. “Carry her.”

You may not be able to heal her like Olivia could, but you can at least get her back to town.

“We have a survivor,” you inform Valentina and Serana. “Valentina, get some medical supplies from the locals. Bandages, styptics, antiseptics, everything you can get your hands on. I’ll also need needles and thread.”

It takes literal hours to do your work… sterilize an open wound, stitch it up, pack it off. Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

The point isn’t to heal her, it’s to keep her from bleeding to death before her own healing abilities can finish the job. From that point it takes two days before she wakes up, and by then you’ve already sent most of your companions back to the castle. So when her eyes open it’s just you and Serana waiting for her.

Serana taps you on the shoulder, since you’ve been reading to pass the time.

“Who… who are you… you people?”

“I could ask you the same question,” you frown. “Please start with your name and rank, and those of your team. That information will allow us to determine our next move.”

“This is non-negotiable.”

After a few seconds, the young woman replies with some difficulty. “Nadia, Eight. Rachel, Seventeen, and Marie, Twenty-Six, are dead.”

“Kate… Twenty-Nine...” she struggles to continue. “Where is she...”

“She’s the one who sent us to you,” you explain quietly. “She passed away shortly after accomplishing her mission.”
>1/2

>>4008900
While you give Nadia a chance to mourn, you quickly sign to Serana.

[She’s in mourning. We need to give her that time first and foremost.]

Serana nods. [Agreed. But then what?]

You’re not entirely sure. [It partly depends on her.]

[I hope you don’t end up regretting saving her life.]

You shake your head. [Never.]

[That’s what I’d expect. But I still hope fate doesn’t punish you for it.]

>We’ll leave as soon as her insides are done healing.
>We’ll leave immediately. No awkward questions, no awkward answers.
>She lost her comrades. She deserves some answers.
>Other?

>>4008931
>>We’ll leave as soon as her insides are done healing.
>She lost her comrades. She deserves some answers.

>>4008931
>We’ll leave as soon as her insides are done healing.
>She lost her comrades. She deserves some answers.

>>4008931
>>We’ll leave as soon as her insides are done healing.
>>She lost her comrades. She deserves some answers.

>>4008931
>>She lost her comrades. She deserves some answers.

>>4008931
>We’ll leave as soon as her insides are done healing.
>She lost her comrades. She deserves some answers.

>>4008931
>We’ll leave immediately. No awkward questions, no awkward answers.

After a certain point, you have to wonder if the quality of the newer ranks will drop to the point where a mid number single digit will be more comparable to a lower number double digit or worse.

Also did we test out that dagger Brutus "loaned" us?

>>4008931
>She lost her comrades. She deserves some answers.

>>4008931
>tell her what happened to her comrades. Ask where her friends loyalties in the organisation lies. Then, if the answer is good, tell her more.

>>4009335
Oh, don't sell The Org short. They are in the business of making stronger, more controllable warriors, and always looking for ways of doing so more efficiently. And while the quality of warriors rises and falls from a whole bunch of factors, their goal remains the same: the warriors they make will continue to tend towards being stronger while also being easier to mass produce.

It's not possible for a group of humans to simply train themselves to be a match for even a single Claymore, and by that same token: given enough time they WILL produce a warrior so powerful that no amount of training or experience will allow our merry band to stop them from wiping us out.

If they seem to be fielding weaker warriors, it could be due to their current runs being focused on stability and yield, not a sign that they are losing their edge.

Besides, I am all but certain they keep a few "silver bullets" hidden away if they really get tired of someone giving them problems.

So while training up is going to always be important, intelligence gathering is going to be how we stay alive.

tl;dr: They have been doing this for a powerful long time. Don't take them lightly.

File: 36455187_p0.png (207 KB, 800x1131)

207 KB PNG

>>4008931
[We’ll leave when her insides are through healing, but until then some answers wouldn’t hurt.]

Serana nods in agreement. [If you would like, we could confer on our responses.]

You nod curtly. [Please and thank you.]

“Your insides are still messed up from the torture,” you finally tell Nadia quietly. “We’ll stay until we’re sure that you will survive.”

“I have questions,” she tells you.

“I imagined so,” you sigh. “You may ask.”
[Here we go.]

Serana crosses her fingers and raises her eyebrow.

“Who are you people?” Nadia asks.

Your eyes meet Serana’s. [How much should we tell her?]

[Not much, Noel. We don’t even know whether she knows about us or not.]

“We’re not with the Organization,” you inform Nadia.
[Please don’t ask anything else.]

“But you use our weapons,” Nadia points out.

You nod. “The Organization aren’t the only ones capable of fighting yōma.”

Serana shakes her head. [She’s not buying it.]

“Your hair...” Nadia frowns. “Are you a failed hybrid?”

If you were still in the Organization you’d be sorely tempted to smack her in the mouth for the insult. But you’re not in the Organization… and you’re trying to bluff her into thinking you never were, which would be ideal. The Organization isn’t known for looking kindly on defectors, even defectors of their own making.

You glance briefly back to Serana. [Well?]

She shrugs. [Use your discretion.]

[Some help you are.]

>I am, yes.
>What’s that?
>I can’t answer.
>Other?

>>4010600
I thought we would try to recruit her?
How can we expect to bluff her into thinking we're not Claymores with our silver eyes?

>I am pretty successful by my count.

>>4010600
>What’s that?
What is her definition of failure?

>>4009598
>It's not possible for a group of humans to simply train themselves to be a match for even a single Claymore
This premise has always annoyed me. They can basically just take over everything and train brainwashed girls from birth to become their enforcers and make super humans out of the elite ruling class, while taxing everyone else, and making them do their labor.

The idea than even any group no matter how big or small, or how well trained their armies are, shouldn't even be able to resist or be independent of the Org.

I also have not seen such trends that lend any credence into mass production, and the technology they have just doesn't work towards that. Maybe more like mass guilds of craftsman making custom warriors to client specifications.

Besides, they look more like they trying to make "wonder weapons" more consistently.

Frankly, why they haven't make a weaker awakened being their obedient slave and under their control given the orgs habits and regular attempts is beyond me. It just seems like such a obvious route the would go.

Just to clarify I mean an awakened being in its permanent state, not like how in the manga, they had one who could transform and revert and had twins, but rather a claymore that was already completely awakened or started off in an awakened state.

Post failed....

>>4010600
>What’s that?

>>4010694
Yeah

>>4010600
>What’s that?

>>4010600
Backing
>>4010694

>>4010600
>>4010694
This.
We have silver eyes and a distinctive hair color word will get out we escaped and anyone who’s seen us once will know.

>>4010600
>3d10, best of three

Rolled 9, 2, 4 = 15 (3d10)

>>4011573

Rolled 7, 2, 10 = 19 (3d10)

>>4011573

Rolled 5, 3, 2 = 10 (3d10)

>>4011573

>>4011573
[I guess I can try to bluff?]

Serana shrugs. [I guess?]

"I have no idea what you're talking about," you lie blatantly.

[Too much!]

"You're a [i]former[/i] warrior?" Nadia quickly realizes. "Criminals who betrayed the Organization?"

"If we were traitors we would have finished you off when you were already half dead," you quickly observe. "So I'd really appreciate it if you would taste your words next time before spitting them out."

"Anyone who's a [i]former[/i] warrior is a traitor by definition," Nadia counters.

"That depends solely on what you're loyal to," you shake your head at Nadia's lack of perspective.

[Are warriors this unobservant now considered single digit material?]

Serana shrugs. [Perhaps degree of indoctrination has grown more important after our defections?]

Nadia clears her throat. "Care to involve me?"

"Think about it," you encourage her. "Two claymores with blue handles which don't belong to current single digit warriors. What could account for that?"

"Well, there were a bunch of warriors who got killed a few years ago by some awakened being..."

You and Serana both stare at her expectantly as she puts it together in her head.

"... bullshit."

>Rumors of our deaths have been greatly exaggerated.
>Who knows? Many things are possible in this world.
>Our only "failure" was refusing to die when the Organization expected us to.
>Other?

>>4011647
>Word to the wise, take anything the organization say to you with a grain of salt. They have their own interests in mind, not the interests of their warriors, or even humanity in general. If you're wise you'll say you never met us.

>>4011647
>>Our only "failure" was refusing to die when the Organization expected us to.

>>4011647
>Other?
If you're ever asked to be relived of your sword, check to see if your black card has removed for you.

>>4011647
>Our only "failure" was refusing to die when the Organization expected us to.

>>4011647
>Now you know too much

>>4011647
>Our only "failure" was refusing to die when the Organization expected us to.

Also bring up the issues with black cards either going missing, or not being delivered. (Possibly by asking her to check if she still has hers, and advising her to recheck any time the Organization handles her weapon.)

>>4010823

Potential canon Claymore manga spoilers ahead.


The Organization is focused on R&D. They could take over the place, but they haven't. Ergo, they don't want to. Things like their access to an arbitrary number of swords no one knows how to make tells of a supporting infrastructure that we can only guess the full extent of.

And they definitely aren't doing mass Claymore production, not anywhere nearby at least. Probably not anywhere at all, yet, given how unpredictable and hard to make their warriors are at the moment. They are just doing research to figure out how they could, if they ever achieve something they want to try to make on that scale.

After all: before you go into mass production you have to not only come up with the prototype, you have to figure out the best way to repeat it efficiently and consistently.

And they are surely trying very hard to make a sane, stable awakened warrior; they are getting close too if mother dearest is any indicator.

>>4012278
I mean noel might be it.

>>4012278
Maybe, maybe its just some oversight and us reading into or overthinking the manga backstory too much.

>>4012460
I won't completely dismiss the possibility that the author flaked, but one of the reasons Claymore stands above so many other similar works is because it has a surprising amount of depth and planning to the writing.

Makes me tend to think the author had a plan for all this.

>>4011647
>Who knows? Many things are possible in this world.

>>4011647
“Our only ‘failure’ was not dying when the Organization intended for us to.”

A look of clear nervousness spreads across Nadia’s features as she begins to process the implicit accusation in your words. At very best you’re implying that the torture and deaths suffered by its own warriors may sometimes be deliberate. Further extrapolated, it raises the possibility that her own team has suffered the same fate.

“No way...” she mutters weakly. “There’s just no way...”

“Nadia...”

“No!” she protests as you try to reassure her, pulling herself away and losing some blood with a sharp cough

[Wait!] you call Serana’s attention before she can pin Nadia by her shoulders.

She seems to understand, and backs off.

“Calm down,” you insist. “You’re still not fully-healed… any exertion could open your wounds.”

“You expect me to stay calm?” she demands.

You shake your head. “I didn’t expect, but I had hoped.”

[She’s not buying it.]

“Hoped for what?”

“That we could come to an understanding,” you continue.

>You don’t have to like us… just don’t talk about what you’ve seen.
>Feel free to report this… but be sure to report the WHOLE truth.
>The Organization will say what serves it. You should tell the truth to its warriors.
>Other?

>>4013689
>>The Organization will say what serves it. You should tell the truth to its warriors.

>>4013689
>>The Organization will say what serves it. You should tell the truth to its warriors.

>>4013754
wrong threat?

>>4013689
>You don’t have to like us… just don’t talk about what you’ve seen.

>>4013689
>The Organization will say what serves it. You should tell the truth to its warriors.

>>4013689
>If you report this you might be silenced.
>So I advise you not to do it. But if you will anyway, please tell everything to the warriors first.
>Tell her about missing black letters and faulty intelligence

File: 29206447_p0.jpg (1.62 MB, 1728x2385)

1.62 MB JPG

>>4013689
You can’t help but sigh… you’ve been told you do that too often of course, but given how exasperating every little aspect of your life tends to be should it be surprising that you sigh so often? Sometimes that’s the only appropriate response to a situation, or perhaps a sigh while holding your head, or rolling your eyes depending on the context. But this time it’s a sigh in its pure form, wistful and honest.

“The Organization will say whatever it wants...”

[Whatever serves it.]

“… whatever serves it,” you amend yourself slightly. “That has always been and always will be true. But you know what is inescapably true about our meeting.”

“That truth being… what, that you saved my life?”

You nod curtly. “And that we killed Liudmila… and that we’re strong.”

“You want me to tell that to the Organization?” Nadia asks.

“Hell no,” you snort. “In fact it’s best that you say as little about us as possible to the Organization, and only if asked directly. You’ll be safer that way.”

“You talk about the Organization as if they’re the enemy.”

[She’s not wrong,] you sign to Serana.

She shrugs. [Neither are we for thinking the same.]

But how to phrase that…

“They certainly haven’t treated us the way an ally should,” you settle on your choice of words. “Not even on the level of ‘assets’, in fact. Even that would imply some degree of value placed on our continued existence.”

>Mention the missing black cards
>Mention the quality of your intelligence briefings
>Mention both
>Mention neither

>>4015007
>Mention both

>>4015007
>>Mention the missing black cards

>>4015007
Mention both
The black cards would probably get her blood pumping

>>4015007
>Mention both

>>4015007
>Mention the missing black cards

File: EOAZGb9UcAA7JkV.jpg large.jpg (208 KB, 1248x2048)

208 KB JPG

>>4015007
Will update this evening. Until then have a Teresa.

>>4015007
“Give me one example,” Nadia challenges you.

[Black cards?]

Serana nods. [Black cards.]

“They removed the black cards from our hilts,” you inform Nadia.

She freezes, staring at you for several long seconds as she wraps her head around what you just told her. “What? Are you sure?”

You nod curtly. “Positive. It was the last time I returned to Lavinia, when they asked me to submit my blade for security purposes.”

“You’re certain it was then?” Nadia presses.

“It was there when I had my hilt worked on shortly prior to the disastrous mission we were all sent on,” you explain. “There was no other possibility. It left my possession exactly once in all that time, and it was in the Organization’s hands.”

Nadia is completely aghast. “What would they even stand to gain from that?”

How much to tell her…

[Should I tell her that we’re nothing more than experiments to them?]

[It’s the truth, Noel. Maybe phrase it more gently.]

[And my own status?]

[Absolutely not.]

[That’s the direction I was leaning.]

[Good. Beyond that, it’s at your discretion.]

[Very trusting, aren’t we?]

[Only with some people.]

>The Organization does things like that specifically to put stress on their warriors.
>The Organization stands more to learn from spectacular failures than reliable but unremarkable successes.
>The Organization wants to harness awakening as an asset… some of us were key subjects for study, like me.
>Other?

>>4016196
>>The Organization does things like that specifically to put stress on their warriors.
>>The Organization stands more to learn from spectacular failures than reliable but unremarkable successes.

>>4016196
>The Organization wants to harness awakening as an asset… some of us were key subjects for study, like me.
That's the only reason to remove the black cards. The oher options don't account for it.

>>4016196
>>The Organization wants to harness awakening as an asset… some of us were key subjects for study, like me.

>>4016196
>>The Organization stands more to learn from spectacular failures than reliable but unremarkable successes.
>So
>The Organization does things like that specifically to put stress on their warriors.

>>4016196
>The Organization stands more to learn from spectacular failures than reliable but unremarkable successes.
>The Organization wants to harness awakening as an asset… some of us were key subjects for study, like me.

>>4016196
>>The Organization stands more to learn from spectacular failures than reliable but unremarkable successes.

>>4016196
>The Organization wants to harness awakening as an asset… some of us were key subjects for study, like me.
"How would you go about making an unbeatable warrior?"

>>4016196
>The Organization does things like that specifically to put stress on their warriors.
>The Organization stands more to learn from spectacular failures than reliable but unremarkable successes.
>The Organization wants to harness awakening as an asset… some of us were key subjects for study, like me.
>Other?

Why not all of the above.

>The Organization does things like that specifically to put stress on their warriors in order to awaken us. They stand to learn more from spectacular failures than reliable but unremarkable successes of just regular warriors.

>We believe the Organization wants to harness awakened beings into a controllable asset for their own ends. Some of us where key subjects for study like me.

>They would send us against awakened beings either uninformed and prepared or over matched, to be tormented and tortured into awakening.

File: Alicia_awakened.png (662 KB, 1746x1400)

662 KB PNG

>>4016196
“The Organization wants to use yōki as a practical weapon,” you explain.
[Awakening too?]

Serana nods.

“And part of that means utilizing more of it than just four-fifths, it means using all of that potential power without losing control.”

“That’s impossible,” Nadia shakes her head. “No, using all your yōki just means… it means awakening?”

She seems to realize what you mean even as she’s denying her belief in it.

You nod. “Precisely. The Organization takes a keen interest in warriors who push the boundaries, but keener interest in those who have found ways to go beyond them and come back.”

“So they’re studying us?” Nadia realizes. “God, they’re actually studying us...”

[Hold off just now?]
[You’re right, Serana.]

“That’s right,” you reply, hoping that your calm, unsurprised tone will start to calm her in turn. “And those of us who have reached the status of single-digits are the most keenly studied.”

You give Nadia several long seconds to grapple with the new information, to reshape her worldview to take it into account.

“So they took your black card in hopes that you’d actually awaken? To become exactly the sort of evil they trained us to fight? Why? Why would they do such a thing?”

>That’s a bit beyond our proverbial paygrade, Nadia.
>We don’t know. And that’s what should really make you nervous.
>We don’t have enough information, but we can guess that it’s something worse than even an awakened being.
>Other?

>>4019772
>>We don’t have enough information, but we can guess that it’s something worse than even an awakened being.
weapons, chemicals, items, warriors, hell it could be they try to make magic happen, we don't know

>>4019772
>We don’t know. And that’s what should really make you nervous.

>>4019772
>>We don’t have enough information, but we can guess that it’s something worse than even an awakened being.

>>4019772
>We don’t know. And that’s what should really make you nervous.

>>4019772
>We don’t know. And that’s what should really make you nervous.

>>4019772
>>We don’t know. And that’s what should really make you nervous.

>>4019772
>We don't know, and that's what should really make you nervous.

>>4019772
“The fact that we don’t know is what gives us the most pause,” you admit. “But it has to be something that’s worse than another handful of awakened beings running around.”

“That makes sense,” Nadia admits. “Hard as it is to imagine, that’s the only thing that can explain it.”

“We can’t prove it of course. It’s difficult to verify any of our suspicions from the outside of the Organization, so anything else we could say would be pure speculation."

[She’s going to volunteer.]

“Maybe I could...”

“No,” you interrupt.

[Called it.]

“Why not?”

“Because I won’t ask you to put yourself in any more risk,” you explain. “If you subtly spread word about who and what we really are, to counter whatever narrative the Organization constructs about us, that would be more than enough to make a difference. But either way the lives of our sisters, even those still in the Organization who may consider us enemies, are important to us.”

“We may not be able to treat each other as allies, the next time we meet,” Nadia observes. “You know that, right?”

>Write-in

>>4022146
That may be the case, but we will find a way. Give us a sign if you think you are observed, maybe we can talk.

>>4022146
Yes, yes I do. It’s something I’ve been aware of since I was cast out. I’m ready for it.

>>4022146
>Then we need to do everything to avoid such a situation.

>>4022146
“We should try to avoid such a situation if possible,” you reply wearily. “And if you think you’re being observed or that you may need help, we have a communications network in Hazaran. Help is only a few days away at worst.”

“I’ll… keep that in mind,” Nadia sighs. “You’ve both given me a lot to think about.”

“I can only apologize for that,” you admit. “But you had the right to some answers, and I wanted to make sure your insides fully healed. So you were bound to start asking questions at some point.”

[Better to get out ahead of a potential problem?]

“Something like that, yeah,” you shrug, conceding the point to Serana.

“How?” Nadia asks, gesturing between the two of you.

“Monastic sign language,” you explain, jerking your thumb towards Serana. “My friend here isn’t exactly talkative since the mission that was supposed to kill her.”

“What do you mean?”

Serana slowly draws her finger across her throat, right at the level of the scar, with a wicked grin.

“… I see. Well.”

“It’s not always that bad,” you reassure her.

[Sometimes it’s worse.]

“I’m not translating that.”
>1/2, will continue tomorrow

>>4022485
Just then, things take a dramatic turn as a man in black opens the door behind you and invites himself into the room.

“Dae?” Nadia recognizes her handler immediately. “This is unexpected.”

“How would this be unexpected?” the man, both of whose eyes are covered by a cloth wrap, asks curiously. “Of course we were observing your team at a distance… and were surprised to find some familiar faces making an appearance.”

“Welcome back to the light of day, former Number Seven and Number Nine: Noel and Serana.”

“What gives you the right to sneak in here like a thief and call us by our names?” you snarl, glaring sharply at the newcomer.

Serana can’t even snarl, so instead she places the edge of her blade at the base of ‘Dae’s’ neck.

“You and I both know that’s an empty threat,” Dae spares Serana an unimpressed glance.

After a second, Serana lowers her blade and rolls her eyes.

“That’s a good girl.”

You almost instantly backhand Dae, the blow immensely restrained on your part but still enough to send its victim reeling… both from the force of the impact and the abject shock that you would DARE to do something like that.

“How dare you?” he demands, rubbing his now-tender jawline.

“You insulted someone I think very highly of,” you continue to glare at him, “because you thought you could get away with it without repercussions. The Organization has always suffered from that problem, that fundamental arrogance.”

“I’ll be sure to convey your discontent,” Dae grumbles. “You may be interested to know that based on your fight against the awakened being Liudmila we will be re-calculating your baselines.”

>Explain. What do you mean by ‘my baselines’, and how did you calculate them?
>We have a possibility here for at least limited cooperation… we need information.
>The less we interact with the Organization the better things go for everyone.
>Other?

>>4024291
>Explain, now! Interacting with you is trying my patience.

>>4024291
>Explain. What do you mean by ‘my baselines’, and how did you calculate them?

>>4024291
>"Are you happy your experiment is going well?"

>>4024393
>>4024291
this

>>4024291
>You may be interested to know I'm going to squish you like a bug right here. Claymores can't kill humans, but you don't count.

>>4024291
>>Explain. What do you mean by ‘my baselines’, and how did you calculate them?

>>4024291
>The less we interact with the Organization the better things go for everyone.

>>4024291
>How is Tomas nowadays?

>>4024430
Nah