The battle of NetCastle D-119.

(( Lets set the mood. ))

Lucia rose from her prone position and stretched slowly, admiring her work upon the battlefield with a devilish smile. Soon she rounded on the fallen candles, looking upon them with a slight twinkling in those pink eyes.

"Oh look at you, big bad candle, you broke my bubble again. Little ass."" Lucia perked faintly when she heard her comrade give the go ahead, rolling shoulders as she steps closer to those fallen lights. Giving her faintly glowing knife a carefree flip as she exchanged hands with it. "Right then, sorry little fire thingies. Might have been cute, until you laughed at me.."

With dark scowl Lucia gave merciless slashes against those defenseless little viruses, hoping to at least put them under quickly considering how pathetic they looked, laying there defenseless with no means to even act anymore.

Summary:
1. Fluff RP
2. Aquaknife [Battlechip] 60 Aqua Damage[2x due to element] + Slashing @ HauntedCandle A [4/6 uses Remaining]
3. Aquaknife [Battlechip] 60 Aqua Damage[x2 due to element] + Slashing @ HauntedCandle B [3/6 uses remaining]

Status:
Lucia.EXE: 100HP
Fire's Embrace: Ready
Aquaknife: 3 of 6 Uses Remaining

While SINNBAD healed himself, Lucia dispatched the two helpless viruses. And that was that. Trouble is, it's not really dark in here and neither of the Navis can see very much. There was too little light to acclimate to the darkness without some serious time investment. Their own equipment wasn't enough to light more than a very tiny fraction of the vast entry hall, no matter what they might want.

The storm seemed to have dissipated somewhat, as the rumbling had died down. Perhaps they were in the eye of the storm. Or the storm had moved on and they had just fought through the tail end of it.

Regardless, all SINNBAD could do was listen to the death screams of the candles. His vision was so obscured that it was hard to make out Lucia's silhouette on the other side of the room. And if they didn't make light, they would end up stumbling around in the dark.

Thankfully, there were numerous torches. He groped around for two of the torches. A well-placed HeatShot battlechip later and SINN had two flaming torches. He then walked over to Lucia and held out one of the torches to her.

Actions:
1. Find two torches.
2. Light torches with HeatShot.
3. Give one torch to Lucia.

SINNBAD
HP: 150/150
[FloatShoes]

With the last of their foes no more, Lucia watched as both candles before her slowly fade away, the one leaving behind raw data which she quickly sent up to her operator beyond the net for analysis. Soft toss was given of her knife, letting it to fade into digital particles as it was no longer needed.

Giving faint frown the fiery navi started to peek and step closer to the blocked off doorway. Giving a light huff to set her flames burning brilliantly, at least until she realized it made no real difference in what she could see. With a faint sigh she leaned down to poke and pick at the rubble while her various flames returned to their more casual blaze.

"Master, I can't really see anything, though looks like there were stairs here at one time. Do you think most of the castle's network has collapsed like this?"

"It's possible, but I doubt it or they'd not have sent us. Search for a doorway that's not blocked off and we'll begin there. Believe I caught sight of one on the east side of the hall when you were dealing with the viruses."

Lucia rose back on once more, turning around only to find SINNBAD there before her with torch in hand, ahhing softly. "Ah, I'm my own nightlight, thanks though. Oh hey wait a minute! Earlier while we were outside! I saw someone on the rooftops fighting off viruses!" Last came out in a rush, and she scowled at herself as gaze lowered and cheeks heated slightly, continuing in a much more proper manner. "Er, I mean, I saw someone, but I thought the place was abandon, do you think someone else was sent here too besides us? Like that stinky old guy from outside."

SINNBAD blew out the second torch and hung it up on one of the empty candle racks after Lucia refused it. He then turned towards her as she referred to another mysterious navi. He lifted the visor on his helmet and let his eyes adjust to the torchlight.

"One can assume that we are not the only ones who know about this place."

The knight solemnly stated.

"And if he was fighting the viruses that inhabited here, then we should keep an eye out for this mysterious stranger. We could use the assistance of a skilled fighter."

SINN then pointed the torch's light at the unbroken door opposite them on the right side of the room.

"I suggest we head this way."

Lucia just watched SINNBAD curiously, starting to say something before just dropping it with a faint nod, reaching up to flick and sooth finger tips through her fiery flowing hair. "Ah, yeah I guess that's true. Maybe it could be a friend.."

Following the path of that torch she'd give a soft nod of her head, smile returning now as she started to softly skip on bare feet over towards the doorway. Finally the thrill of exploring an old castle was starting to sink in. "This place is so cool, do you think there is treasure, ooo and a dungeon too! I want to see that!"

Still her little chatter aside she'd stop at the door and peek around those broken hinges to peer into the dark room in hopes of seeing what was inside before just leaping into the darkness.

"As long as you do not end up trapped in that dungeon."

SINN said as he followed her, his torch bleeding away the darkness with every step.

Lucia peered around the empty door frame, and found the space beyond to be an unlit corridor. There wasn't enough light to see more than a couple of dozen feet into the darkness, but from what little of it she could see, the hall had once been lavishly furnished. There was what remained of a red with gold trim carpet on the floor that stretched off into the shadows ahead. There were broken and unbroken candle holders mounted upon the walls, none of which held candles any longer. There was a distorted image file plastered upon the wall, corrupted beyond recognition into a smudged and pixelated nothing. And....

A flash of lightning from what appeared to be an opened door further down the hall illuminated the darkness ahead for a very brief moment. It revealed the carpet did indeed extend far down the hallway, and perhaps all the way to the end of it, wherever that may be. There were more candle holders mounted upon the walls, a fallen image display, and a smashed model sitting upon a stone pedestal to one side. Just beyond the pedestal, there appeared to be a split in the hallway, with what looked like stairs leading up on the right side of the wall while the hall continued onwards towards the left. No doubt there was more there, but neither Navi could see any of it.

As Lucia and SINNBAD stepped cautiously into the hallway just beyond the archway of the missing door, the pair heard the clicking of booted footsteps upon stone echoing in the unlit darkness of the entry hall behind them. A scuff and a moment of silence followed by the thud of something landing solidly on the carpeted floor... A brassy rattle followed by the very un-stealthy rapid tapping of someone running full tilt preceded the arrival of someone... or something? Turning about to look, the pair caught a faint and fleeting glimpse of a curtain of fabric fluttering blurredly through the air as the shadowy runner bolted out from behind one of the stone columns and quickly disappeared behind another.

The sounds of heraldic trumpeting suddenly resounded through the halls as flaming wolves leaped from the second story doorways down to the first floor. The lead virus snarled as it streaked forward, followed closely by the second Spikey, to run down the fleeing phantom. The prey in question, just now dashing into view between the two pillars flanking the crosswalk from this archway to the next, whirled around to face its pursuers as a flash of lightning illuminated the hall.

Then something strange happened....

The light from the storm bled visibly off of the walls as the photons of every light source in the room converged visibly upon the hunted mark. Even some of the light from SINNBAD's torch bent and flowed towards the figure. The phantom absorbed the incoming light like a sponge, and began to glow in a ghost-like manner of its own accord as it faded back away from the advancing hounds.

The lead Spikey leaped into the air, pressing the attack with great speed. The Ghost fell back as the flaming hound pounced, and stuffed a brass candle stand into and across the virus' open maw. The Ghost rolled back and kicked upwards, sending the Spikey flying off before the fire virus could belch flames at it. The second rushed forward to capitalize on the mark's disadvantageous position only to collide bodily with and recoil off of the monolithic form of a Dominerd that had interposed itself between the attacking dog and the apparition behind it.

The hounds had done their jobs, however. The two fugitive viruses had been kept in one place long enough for the main pursuing party to arrive. The group of red Swordies swiftly jumped into the room from the upper story as a strange looking trumpet like virus followed them into the room. The virus positioned itself in front of the collapsed door between the piles of ruffle that were once stairs, and began playing a bugle's charge tune. The Swordies formed up in a loose skirmish line, and charged forward with unnatural aggressiveness as the music played out. The Ghost got up from the floor and turned quickly to face the charging pursuers as the Dominerd loomed over the nearby Spikeys.

Everyone completely ignored both of the Navigators standing in the doorway as the start of a very ugly battle in the making played out before them....

Lucia gave faint breath of awe as the lightning flashed outside, giving the pair a good look of it, even if it was brief. She started to step inside and take a step or more in.

At least until she heard a thud from the previous room, quickly turning around to hop back over to the door and peer inside once more. Her head tilted at first until she gave a quiet squeak of surprise as the appearance of virus and their target appeared. "Ooo, a battle? Hey wait, that's the guy I saw cutting down those swordies outside."

Stepping fully into view in that doorway, navi rose up on her toes and started to wave her fiery arm about, calling out. "Hey! Hey! I saw you before, hey are you a good guy like us!? Hey!" With calling navi took another step forward, only to stop suddenly as her operator gave her a stern "Stop."

"But I want to say hi to him master!"

"Look closely, he's in a fight, leave him be or go help him."

"Battle? Ooo, well I still haven't gotten to see if this place has a dungeon, or any treasure yet, and he is keeping the viruses busy.." Lucia started to ease back into the doorway, peeking over to her knightly partner. "Should we help him?"

Summary:
-Turn Splice-
1. Fluff RP: wave to Ghost virus and converse.

Status:
Lucia.EXE: 100hp

[x1] [x1] vs. [x2] [x4] [x1]

The torch clattered on the hard, cold ground.

Lucia turned around to ask her partner a question just as SINN barreled passed her. His form had become slightly hazy. A semi-transparent bubble had seemingly wrapped around him while Lucia was distracted. His skin was obsidian and gravely inside his helmet, visor drawn down low over his face. The visage of a dragon terrifying to behold. He carried forth an impressive kite shield, which was held in front of him to ward off blows as he charged.

He made little sound as he scrambled over the ruined terrain, beyond the labored breathing of someone running while wearing a lot of armor. He other arm was trailing behind him like a limp noodle. A much smaller blade shone itself grasped in his hand. The dagger-like weapon left a wispy trail in the warrior's wake, a path to follow in the darkness. As SINN approached, his arm flexed and bulged as he prepared the blade to strike.

The wispy glow flowed over the blade as if containing it in a sheath of steam. He tried to run right into the midst of the enemy before he attacked. Brightly did the small sword bloom just before the knight attacked. He whirled around, hopefully in the midst of the enemy, like a child's top. His blade was extended and his shield acted as a counterbalance. He broke the silence at that point with a high-pitched yell.

"Yeeeeeaaaaa!"

He cried as the energy from his blade discharged. The forceful slash rippled outward from him as he spun, striking at everything within a sizable reach. The energy searing and tearing at the material world. The ground and pillars would all get scars from the wave, and any unlucky virus caught in it would most likely be struck down.

Winding down from the considerably deadly spin-slash, the warrior brought up his blade. It glowed a brilliant white, casting a pale visage across SINN's form. Now at full sword length, he prepared himself to receive the counter blows with sword and shield. His hands trembling from adrenaline as he shouted his challenge.

"Your fight is with me now! Hear the name of SINNBAD and tremble."

Lucia had at least tried to converse with her partner, until he went zipping by her before her words could leave opened mouth. With a huff and stomp the navi puffed up a little as she glares after him. "Well fine, didn't want to talk to you anyway!"

"But you do want to talk to the ghost, get to work."

Fiery navi grumbled softly as he stepped back around the doorway in time to see SINNBAD trying to slice down his foes. Rolling her shoulders lightly. "They seem to be doing just fine on their own."

Vincent gave a light shake of his head as he watched the holo screen. tugging out their newest asset to draw it down to sent the data to his navi, making her stand up straight as the battle info was sent into her systems. "Why don't you show those fire pups who the real fire user is here.."

Giving a sly little smile the navi clapped her hands together as she stared down those wolves to get a good bead on them. "Ok, now that sounds like fun! Oh Wolfies! Get out of here!!" With her choice words navi's right arm rose and bring hand out and face them with open palm.

The effects would start almost immediately as beneath the two fire dogs, a large, very faint swirl started to form itself and spread wider. Thin wisps starting to trace along the floor, it would be the only real warning they got as with a tight clench of her hand, the earth erupted in a roar of flames, hoping to engulf those creatures in her hellish fire.

Summary:
-End Turn Splice-
2. Take Aim
3. BurnSquare1 [Battlechip] 60 Fire[+5 from element] + Blast 2 + Fear + Ground Attack @ Spikey A & B

Lucia's call was met with a quick turn of the faintly glowing Ghost's hooded mantle in her direction. There was only shadow within the hood, and that shadow had a mere second to regard her before turning back to face the oncoming Swordy troop. A necessity, as the Ghost was forced to reflexively parry a long sword strike that leaped suddenly from the advancing ranks; a feat it somehow managed with a blurry flourish of glowing cloak and a discharge of sparks when blade met light wall.

SINNBAD rushed forward; his armor and defenses activating as he drew steel. Within moments, the knightly Navi, Ghost, and Swordies converged upon one another. It was now a race: He who struck first lived. A race SINNBAD won as his spinning slash cleaved through the surprised line of Swordies. The attack deleted all but one of them as the glowing blade left a Saturnine light ring glowing brightly around the knight in the poorly lit entry hall.

The Ghost had dropped out of contention for this race, literally, as it now stood up from the crouch it had fallen into to evade the knight's blade. It absorbed the ring of light as it did so. The Ghost quickly shuffled away from SINNBAD as an ethereal blade, formed from the leftover photons of SINNBAD's sword attack, grew from the tip of the spectre's arm. The Ghost pointed the tip of the light blade at SINNBAD as he made his declaration while it continued to back away slowly from the knight.

Before anything could come of the tension, Lucia, having carefully marked her targets, nuked the Spikeys with a single king-sized fire tower as the nearby Dominerd faded into invisibility. The pillar of fire startled the Ghost, causing it to jump back reflexively as the flames exploded from the ground and rose to light several of the torches hanging above. The sole remaining Swordy took this opportunity to rush towards the distracted Ghost for a quick slashing attack.

Unfortunately for the hasted Swordy, this rush carried it directly into the outer edge of a large globe of light that wasn't there a moment before. A globe centered upon the now brilliantly glowing Ghost that encompassed a decently sized area around the phantom, but one SINNBAD was standing just outside of. The light acted like some sort of acid as it quickly corroded away the virus' HP in increments of five. The flaming Swordy disintegrated into deletion long before it was a threat to anyone. The globe of light blinked out of existence when the light from the pillar of fire died. The shine from the Ghost similarly dimmed back a faint glow.

With the fall of its troops, the remaining virus trumpeted a heraldic tune. The Ghost, upon hearing this, turned to flee towards the entrance. However, before the apparition could reach the gate and vanish into the raging thunderstorm beyond, it ran into a little problem... As if summoned by the Harbinger's call, a pair of Aqua Swordies burst through the very door the Ghost was running towards. To compound matters, a lone Pulsebat swooped down from down from the darkness above towards Lucia with a crazed "Skreeeeeeeeeeeee!", while the ghostly forms of a pair of Spooky viruses appeared near SINNBAD. One of them met its end immediately as the Dominerd appeared and crushed it like a trash compactor before disappearing again. Unfortunately, two more Spooky viruses replaced their fallen comrade as they appeared between SINNBAD and the virus summoning Harbinger....

On the bright side, the room was a little better lit now.

Lucia couldn't help give a soft whistle and shielded her face with lifted hand from the powerful fire tower she'd just created. Not to mention the second glowing light that seemed to surround her ghostly friend. "Ooo, I like that chip Master!"
Though celebration was short lived when that haunting call brought her back into focus and she scowled after the giant trumpet-thing. "So what do we do about that?" Though despite the question navi sort of eased more against the wall as the backup troops started to storm the entry hall, groaning quietly.

"We need something a little stronger than your knife for this one. How many swords does your friend have?"

"Oh lots! Hey, SINNie! Can I barrow your sword real fast!"

Navi let out a squeak in surprise at the 'Skreee' from over head, her gaze rose up before quickly looking back to SINNBAD with a slightly more pleading look. "Make it quick knighty!!"

[x1] [x1] vs. [x2] [x4] [x1] [x1]

SINNBAD raised his shield as the ghosts appeared before him. Then Lucia called out for his sword. He glanced over his shoulder before weighing the difference in space between them. Deeming it acceptable...

"Catch!"

The knight called out as he turned almost completely around so he could toss his sword toward Lucia. He heaved the blade with the strength of a warrior and sent it sailing through the air. The way he handled it kept its blade pointing upward, barely tipping towards Lucia as it sailed. SINN then spun back into his defensive posture in case the apparitions decided to give him a licking. His shield arm waving in front of him to keep the creatures back.

Lucia's hand went up just slightly to early in prep for the catch, and when she saw that blade coming her way she let out a quiet squeak. Still it didn't put her off as delicate fingers curled around the great sword of her ally, giving a firm tug as it came down to thunk blade against the floor. Scowling and grunting to herself the fiery navi took hold of the weapon in both hands and crouched low.

Sealing herself within a fiery blaze as she turned gaze skyward at the diving creature of the night, she couldn't help but give it a smile. A soft breeze started to swirl around the navi before she squeezed down on the weapon's hilt and shot up like a rocket towards the bat. Letting out a loud "Heee-yaa!" mostly to give herself the boost to take to the air and fling the sword in broad cleaving arc, trying to catch the bat with the blade's uppercut.

Summary:
--Turn Splice--
*Blaze Aura [Passive] 20HP Barrier
1. Airstep [Ability] + Sword [Battlechip] 80 Null Damage + Slashing @ PulseBat [5/6 Uses Remaining]

Status:
Lucia.EXE: 100HP [20HP Barrier]
Sword: 5 of 6 Uses Remain

SINNBAD raises his shield to ward off attacks from the Spookies as he turns around and tosses his sword to Lucia. Doing so gives the knightly Navi a glimpse of the of the fight between the Ghost and the newly arrived Aqua Swordies. The one closest to the Navi was in the middle of having its wide slashing attack deflected by the in-stepping apparition's arm. A sphere of light sprang into being around the spectre and began eating away at the virii's HP at an alarming rate. This lasted only a fraction of a second, as the Ghost dispatched the Swordy with an under-arm lateral slash of some sort of light blade. The blade and the deadly sphere both faded into nothing as SINNBAD turned back to face his own adversaries....

Lucia, meanwhile, caught the thrown sword as her defenses came online. Both occurred not a moment too soon as the Pulsebat screeched, sending a Pulsar blast crashing into it. The barrier disintegrated upon impact, but managed to ward off the attack entirely. The Pulsebat wasn't as lucky. Lucia's return leap slash cleaved the bat in two, deleting it instantly.

SINNBAD slowly shifted from side to side as he kept his eyes on the three Spooky viruses. His shield arm was raised and tracking the middle of the group as he moved, in order to more capably block any of the three. He glanced behind him every now and again in order to head off one of them if they tried getting behind him. He ducked a little in case one of them tried to lick his helmet off. He only gave up ground slightly, baiting his enemy to attack. It was his clumsy effort to force his opponents to cluster.

His right hand, now empty, began to slowly smolder. It gave off a light crackling sound as a thin trail of steam came off of the gauntleted hand. As his plan started to take shape, either for good or ill, he was getting ready to strike. When he thought he had the best chance, his hand burst into flame. The fire danced across his fist moments before he heaved his weight forward. The air wavered as the flaming fist struck, the flames taking on the shape of a great bird with its wings and talons outstretched. The area in front of the warrior was set aflame as the bird of fire flew forward to strike at the unwitting. Whether he actually struck anything was another matter entirely.

Lucia gave out a groaned breath when her beloved barrier was gone near moments after drawing, though in the heat of battle such a groan turned to a raged strike as her new weapon cleaved through the bat like a hot knife through butter.

With form adrift for brief moment in the sky the fiery navi took moment to survey the battle, "It's too dark, I can't see the music thingy!" In her decent the navi let out a long calming breath, bursting into a warming flame that quickly overtook her form and brought a quiet coo from her as it restored her strength.

Upon landing her sudden joy was abandon as sword was leaned against the wall and bow quickly formed as she took hold of arrow and brought both together in a flurry of gathering fire. Her goal was not the beast that lie waiting in the darkness, instead her aim was given to the pillars leading into the darkness. Releasing the burning bolt she sent it sailing through the air, it's goal to fly across as many torches across those pillars until it struck the wall that she knew had to be at the end. Hoping to shed some light on the situation.

Summary:
--End Turn Splice--
2. Fire's Embrace [Signature] 30HP Heal @ Self
3. Sol's Needle [Signature] 40 Fire Damage @ Torches in straight line to the far wall by Harbringer

Status:
Lucia.EXE: 100HP[+30Hp Heal]
Fire's Embrace: 1TCD
Sol's Needle: 1TCD
Sword Chip: 5 of 6 Uses Remaining

SINNBAD raised his shield, expecting to have to defend himself. He was not disappointed, as the Spooky viruses vanished one after the other. The first reappeared directly in front of him, and tried to lick at him with its acid tongue. SINNBAD blocked the blow easily, and then began to look around wearily for the next attack. He was in the process of turning his head to glance backwards for a sneak attack when he wound up staring face to face with a Spooky attacking from the left. He quickly brought his shield arm around and managed to fend off the attack. The shield, however, was ruined by the repeated acid attacks, and would do little or nothing to ward off further attacks at this point.

Meanwhile, after cleaving the Pulsebat in half, Lucia burst into flame as she fell back to the ground, healing herself in the process. As she landed, she summoned her bow to her hand, and drew a flaming arrow. She aimed high at the torch mounted to side of the pillar next to her, and fired the arrow in an arc that managed to catch two of the three torches as it passed. The flaming arrow struck the ground near the trumpet virus, but she wasn't able to take advantage of the momentary light source....

A Spooky appeared before Lucia, most likely drawn by the flames of her healing spell like a moth. The semi-transparent virus began laughing crazily.... And it was probably the Spooky's mad laughter that caught the attention of the Dominerd, because it appeared silently behind the cackling virus. The monolithic virus uncrossed its arms, and opened the gate that served as its mouth. It silently rushed forward, the gateway overtaking the Spooky. The Dominerd's paper-thin arms wrapped themselves back around its face just as the Spooky tried to lick at Lucia. The arms blocked the attack, and the Spooky found itself trapped within the Dominerd's maw. The sudden metallic trash-compactor-esque crunch that followed coincided with disappearance of the Spooky's HP reading. The slab-like virus phased quickly back into transparency immediately after.

SINNBAD, having glanced back to see the Dominerd finish off the remaining Spooky he'd expected to attack him instead of Lucia, now turned his attention back to the two ghostly viruses floating around him. The Navi pulled back his fist, and falcon punched unleashed his Phoenix Shot towards the space between the two Spookies. As the firebird leaped from his gauntleted hand and spread its wings, it incinerated both viruses instantly and struck the nearby pillar. The torches on this side of the pillar lit up... ironically enough, this included the middle torch Lucia had failed to light with her own attack.

The net result of their combined actions was the improvement of the lighting in the immediate area by a noticeable amount. If one squinted hard, there appeared to be the remains of a stone terrace above the trumpet virus, but it was hard to tell. It was most likely what remained of the second story terrace that the collapsed stairways were supposed to lead up to. If it was indeed there, then the virus was protected against attacks falling from above, as well as flanking attacks to either side by the piles of rubble and the collapsed doorway to its back. There would be no way to launch a sudden indirect attack, as it appeared only the space directly before it was open. The virus was apparently smarter than it's ridiculously silly appearance made it look.

This was probably a good thing, as the trumpet virus was repeating its rallying call once again... And sure enough, just as the Ghost felled the remaining Swordy, another group of viruses poured in from the courtyard. A lot of viruses.... Led by a quartet of golden armored Swordies, a pair of Raingear hovered their way through the door with swarm of crystalline Maru spheres flying in overhead. Their appearance and subsequent rapid advance put the Ghost within attack range before it could turn to run. It clearly realized this, as the faintly glowing apparition didn't even try to turn and run.

Instead, something very weird happened....

Somehow, the torches that had been lit by Lucia's BurnSquare attack stopped giving off any ambient light. If one glanced at them, they were very obviously still lit, as their flames were still burning. However, the lighting they used to be providing to the area around them simply went away as if someone had flipped a switch and turned them off. The photons they should have been giving off were inexplicably drawn in rays of soft light to the Ghost, and it appeared to be storing it as the Specter's glow began to increase with each passing moment.

Notably, the torches more than a dozen or so panels away from the Ghost were not affected, as Lucia and the pillar she was standing next to were still givijg off light normally. The pillar across from it was dark, as was the one in line with it closer to the entrance. The viruses seemed to be affected as well, as their weapons were not casting any light.

[x1] [x1] vs. [x4] [x2] [x4] [x1]

The flames from SINN's last attack scoured the hallway clean of the apparitions. As a side effect that benefited the navis, several candles sat in a hazy glow after the resulting purge. The light they gave off pushed back the lingering darkness another notch. Though not for long, as the Ghost began to draw upon them again. The knight let out a heavy breath as his body smoldered in the afterglow. Steam issuing from the red-hot gauntlet.

It immediately started to cool moments later. The bright crimson glove began to dull at an alarming rate, taking on a purplish-magenta within minutes. The area around SINN turned into a sauna, cooking the warrior in his armor. He broke out into a sweat as the heat finished dissipating. For another time this day, his face dripped with water.

On his other arm, the knight had a melted buckler. The corrosive spittle of the ghosts no longer a threat, SINN cast the degraded shield from his arm. It bounced awkwardly across the carpet and clattered onto the cold ground, dissolving away into a puddle of corrupted data.

SINN was quick to replace the destroyed bulwark, however. His left arm took on a golden hue as the datum around him began to collect, drawn to his arm like a vacuum gathering dust. The building blocks of code fit together like puzzle pieces, assembling into a mighty escutcheon. The large, round ward prominently displayed the emerald cross of the Metool, hardiest of viruses. SINN would be well protected by its power.

With his hand cooled, SINN summoned a potent shotgun. Wielding it with one hand, he quickly pointed the weapon towards the incoming, shrouded horde. A blast of concussive force and a vigorous spray of metallic fragments burst forth from the barrel of the firearm, lancing through the black to strike indiscriminately at the enemy.

He spun the weighty shotgun in his hand as if it were nothing but a pistol. His newfound skill surprising. The ca-chunk of the hammer re-cocking resounded before another thunderous eruption spat forth another stream of projectiles.

Again and again the warrior fired his shotgun into the swarm. Bolts of light spearing through the darkness like a thousand mosquitoes. Peppering the entrance with deadly fire in an effort to keep the tide back from the Ghost, trying to give some time to the one collecting a strange power.