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treave

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Codex 2012
If Shinoseki can safely restrain someone possessed by the malice we are in full Anime territory.

We aren't? :desu:
 

Kz3r0

Arcane
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May 28, 2008
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If Shinoseki can safely restrain someone possessed by the malice we are in full Anime territory.

We aren't? :desu:
In this case with LUVA POWAH we subdue the Malice inside us and wipe our ass with the Juunimon Tree, happy ending, and everyone is resurrected thanks to the Dragon Spheres us ending the curse.:M
 

treave

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Not resorting to killing as your first resort would be a good start. :M
 

Nevill

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Messages
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Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Nonsense. By killing the ones that do not deserve love we better its quality and ultimately increase its share in the world. We are sanitars of love. Like wolves, or something.
 
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Kz3r0

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A man who sees his beloved ones in danger and is more concerned with being compassionate and kind with the aggressor than the well being of the intended victims is not a man but a lyberal, is this what you want treave, to make Shinoseki a lyberal, do you want for him such terrible and shameful fate?:M
 

treave

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Codex 2012
True love does not discriminate between victim and victimizer, but is open to all. If you are not a true lover, then you cannot tap into the power of love. Simple as that.
 

Akkudakku

Arbiter
Joined
Mar 17, 2014
Messages
1,125
Fuck you guys, just... fuck you. A man has one tight week in job and you do... this. How many times before have you witnessed that killing some one equals in malice taking over? Multiple times. And you do it again.

Id vote for restraining ourself and just letting him die on his own.

But as that is impossible id say break his neck, its the fastest and we can say he broke it in the fall...
F.
 

Kz3r0

Arcane
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Messages
27,012
How many times before have you witnessed that killing some one equals in malice taking over?
Only once, when Tokigawa killed Usui, and even then that required Sawada direct intervention.
Taketatsu stabbed maeda numerous time without 'darkening', we killed him without 'darkening' as well even if we have been tainted by the touch of the dead.
Seiji made a massacre without troubles.
This era/setting is very different from the previous ones, maybe is real or maybe is governed by different forces.
 

Kz3r0

Arcane
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Messages
27,012
Here all the Darkening events:
Tokigawa, imbued with the malice by Sawada.
Mori, by confronting his niece/daughter's ghost.
Us being touched by the dead.
Taketatsu, reason unknown, touched by the dead probably.
Us again, maybe the Witch.
The Guard, the Maid, Uehara's friends, by being bitten by something or due to Seiji's actions, must be noted that they were probably dead in the real world.
Long story short unless there is something unknown at work here we got tainted because we touched Sakaguchi Maruo, intent could have played a role but is not the major factor, on a side note, we didn't touch Mori when he was under the influx of the malice.
treave can you confirm or deny that we get tainted by the malice by touching Sakaguchi Maruo?
 

Nevill

Arcane
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Messages
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Shadorwun: Hong Kong
I think the example relevant to our experience is this:
Tokigawa, imbued with the malice by Sawada.
It isn't mortally dangerous for us, and we serve as a willing (?) conduit for the malice rather than being tainted by it.

I also suspect that there is a significance to the method that we use to dispose of Maruo, but I don't know what it is.
 

Kz3r0

Arcane
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Messages
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I also suspect that there is a significance to the method that we use to dispose of Maruo, but I don't know what it is.
All the methods unnecessarily cruel or resembling the ritual should be avoided of course, maybe anything involving bloodshed, and the fire option is asking for troubles.
Probably F is the 'safest'.
Edit:
Confirmed.:M
 
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treave

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Codex 2012
The Ritual Commences

You kneel over the fallen man. Gently, as if cradling a baby, you take his head in your arms from behind, stretching his spine upwards. “I’m sorry,” you say. "I have to kill you to save Maeda."

His fingers fumble for the sword. “Michiru…” he mumbles the name again. That is the last word that passes his lips. You tighten your hold. With a swift twist, you break his neck. There is a rather satisfying snap, and then his head hangs limply, the darkness passing from his eyes. You let go of the man, allowing him to slump to the floor of his mansion. He lies there, still. Unmoving. Dead.

You wonder if you should take his clothes. You probably should.

Stripping him of his clothes, you find that they somehow fit you perfectly. You feel warm. Comfortable. Really, going naked all this while was a pretty silly thing to do.

You should probably take the sword too. You need to defend yourself after all. Who knows what other madmen may be lurking in these halls, trying to stop you from finding Nami.

That’s right. Nami. You came here for her. You remember that… you definitely remember that. You came to save her. To protect her. She is in danger from… well, the person you just murdered, but is he the only danger left in these halls?

“Of course not.”

A cynical laughter rings out across the great hall. You look up towards the source of the laughter. There, at the spot where you had threw the man over. A woman stands there now. A beautiful woman that looks like Nami but is clearly not Nami, attired in an ornate Western gown, with a cruel yet gleeful look on her exquisite face.

“The Witch of Yomiki, I presume?” you say coldly. Yes, those are the right words to say.

“That I am. So, you are the latest challenger to my realm?” she smirks.

“That I am.”

“And the prize of your challenge would be… her?” She stretches her arm out to the side, palm upwards, as if presenting said prize. From the shadows, Nami emerges, bound and gagged and naked. Her eyes are blank. Unsightly drool leaks from the corners of her gagged mouth.

“I demand that you return her to me, witch, or I will have your head!” you shout.

“You? You are a powerless worm, with no authority to demand anything of me,” taunts the witch, safe on her high perch. Oh, if only she would come down here.

“But he does have the authority... or rather, he will have the authority.” Upon hearing another voice, you realize that there is a woman standing behind you. how did she sneak up on you? Or has she always been there, watching? You turn and see a face identical to the witch’s in beauty, except that this face is as gentle as hers is cruel.

“The Maiden,” you murmur, and you go to one knee in obeisance.

“It is good that you recognize me, my chosen,” smiles the Maiden that looks like Nami. It is a wonderful smile that warms your soul through and through, making you feel that all is right in the world. “You cannot reach the Witch, not with your mortal hands. But with my power, I can assist you.”

“Thank you, my Maiden!”

Her smile becomes sad, and upon seeing her sorrow you begin to feel like there is a storm in your own heart. “However, the evil witch has sealed my powers away. It is a seal that can be undone only by you. That is what this trial is about. Together, we can perform the ritual to break the seal, revive me, defeat the witch, and rescue your heart’s true desire.” She stretches out her hand, beckoning for you to take it.

That is right. This is your trial. You will revive the Maiden, and the Maiden will assist you in getting Nami back. And once you do that, you can…

And once you do that…

You can…

What can you do?

“Complete the ritual, of course. That is what you can do,” says the Maiden.

“Is that… so?”

“That is so.”

That is right. You have to complete the ritual first, or else you will not get what you want. You need to open the gate. It is shut but not locked, and every now and then it comes ajar slightly before closing again soon after, and so you need to open it wide. Open it all the way. When you do that, yes, piece by piece, the Maiden will become the Witch will become the Maiden will become Nami and come back to life and she will return to you.

“Is that… so?” you ask again.

There is no response. The hall of the hospital is empty. There is no Witch and no Maiden, not even the dead body of the man you just killed. Yet you are clothed, and there is a sword in your hand. You look down the long corridor of the shrine, and wonder if the mansion’s dining room at its end will have anything to help you accomplish the ritual.

The leaves of the Juunimon rustle as the wind picks up. You lean against the large tree, looking up at the full moon. It was on a night like this that you first came to Ikei, wasn't it?

“Is that… so?” you wonder a third time.

Is this right?

Nothing is right. It is wrong. All of it, Shinoseki Adachi.

A sudden burst of pain wracks the inside of your skull. Clutching the side of your head, you stagger, shouting. Your knees give way and you sink to the marble floor of the great hall. You are in the Sakaguchi mansion. That is where you are.

Wet footsteps approach you. “Shinoseki-sama. Are you all right?” You see the Maiden approaching you, this time wearing Yukina’s face. Or is it Yukina herself? You cannot tell.

You blink.

“Shinoseki-san. Are you all right?” Sawada looks at you with concern, silhouetted against the harsh white lights of the hospital. “Hey, are you okay? The cops just opened the doors for us, we’re free to go. Man, what a night, huh?”

“Are you… okay?” she asks, approaching you nervously.

“Can’t believe we got locked in with a serial killer… but you did good stopping him, man,” laughs Sawada, visibly relieved.

“Shinoseki-sama?”

“Shinoseki-san?”

***

A. “I’m alright,” you say to the maiden that looks like Yukina. “I’m… okay.”

B. “Nah, I didn’t do much,” you say to Sawada. “In the end it was a team effort.”

C. This is not right. None of this is real. You will tear the world apart to find out what lies beneath… starting with the phantoms in front of you.
 
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Nevill

Arcane
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11,211
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
So, we slaughtered the whole mansion, then? :salute:

They don't care whose life they promise so long as people are ready to kill for that person, huh? But has anyone ever saw the dead returned to life?

A.
 

treave

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Messages
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Codex 2012
They don't care whose life they promise so long as people are ready to kill for that person, huh? But has anyone ever saw the dead returned to life?
It's just an attack of Hinamizawa Yomiki Syndrome.:M
 

Nevill

Arcane
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Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Will there be a happy ending and Hau-au~? Please let there be at least one of those. :M
 

treave

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Codex 2012
I can make Ei go 'Au~au~', but we shot past the happy ending some months ago. :M
 

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