Suggestion [Mod]

[Kaitou Nagano]

Exploration START

Kaitou entered the car factory with his sword already drawn, slowly creeping along the path. This was new territory for the brunette, so he had to express utmost caution. Until recently, the car factory was one of the places on Kaitou's list to steer clear from-- the Shadows were more powerful than those he was used to fighting. However, the day after the battle with the Corrupt God and Boreal Hound, he'd encountered the girl who revived him again. Her name... Ran, right? Yeah, something like that.

She recognized him rather easily, and out of the blue, offered a strange ring to him for a price. Apparently, it was enchanted to grant the wearer great defensive capabilities... He was a bit leery of her pitch, but anything would help, and she did not seem to be trying to milk him for money. Probably didn't know who he was anyway, y'know? After that, she suggested he try tackling some stronger Shadows, as if she was aware of just how weak he was. That ticked him off, but again, she'd healed him for free and was offering a nice piece of armor for a low, low price. How could he complain?

Now he was standing in the center of the workplace, blade held aloft at his waist as he waited. It would not take long-- Shadows were always quick to jump at the prospect of fresh food.

[Erithania]

I'll clean up afterward. 'cause you won't be able to.

Red Devil Turret

Skills
Rainy Death
Viper Smash
Fatal End

Null: Pierce
Weakness: Lightning

[Kaitou Nagano]

whirrrrrrrr

The sound of an approaching vehicle caught Kaitou off guard, and he began to turn towards the source of the noise. 'Odd. This factory's defunct, isn't it? None of these cars should be... wor... king...'

They weren't. Upon turning around, the man found himself face to turret with a giant crimson tank. Bolts of lightning crackled across the surface of its form, bringing up unwanted flashbacks of the battle at the shrine. This was a Turret-class Shadow, right? He'd seen one in the past while accompanying his cousins, but it wasn't painted such a vivid shade of red... nor did it emit those sparks. Maybe it was out of order?

As the thought passed, the Devil Turret flashed and energy gathered at the base of its cannon before a piercing round was fired at Kaitou's torso. From just a few feet away, the blast ripped into him, sending him flying into the far wall like a speeding bullet. When the dust settled, there was a clear imprint of Kaitou's body on the wall, while the man himself was lying atop a pile of rubble, gasping for breath. A loud ringing drilled at his head from his proximity to the shot, and it felt like he'd been run over by a truck. Over the haze, a girl's voice rang out in his mind-- it was Hanako, his younger cousin.

"Hey, Kaitou! If you ever run into a Shadow that's sparking with red electricity, you should turn tail and flee! Those Shadows are so powerful that Brother and I have a really hard time taking them down together. So make sure to run, okay?"

'Right. Now you fucking remind me... ugh... I wonder how bad I'm bleeding...' With a muffled groan, Kaitou pulled himself to his feet, staggering backwards before finding the wall for support. Luckily, he was still holding onto his katana-- he'd hate to have lost it in the blast. When he looked down expecting the worst, he was confounded to find that his body was still intact. In fact, while he was feeling sore and rattled, the near point-blank shot had only gone so far as to tear his shirt off and give him a nasty bruise on his stomach. '...The ring. Ran wasn't kidding about this.'

Thank the fates, yeah? He thought for sure he'd be bloodstains on a wall after taking an attack like that. Now, it was time to get the fuck out of this place. Or so he thought-- when Kaitou attempted to dash towards the exit, the Devil Turret was already there, waiting almost patiently for him. Upon detecting his presence, it charged up another piercing shot and fired. This time, however, Kaitou was prepared and dove out of the way, rolling behind a pillar. Once line of sight was lost, the Shadow cooled down and made no further movements.

'Well, shit. That's the only exit. I can't just sit here either. More Shadows will come, and the last thing I want is to be outnumbered when that tank is around. Sorry, Hanako, but it seems like I don't have a choice in the matter...' Sighing, Kaitou tore off the remains of his shirt before tossing it aside. Almost immediately, the cloth became Swiss cheese. However, he'd expected as much, and used the moment to rush over to the Shadow. He passed by the creature, sliding under its cannon. Easy enough. All he had to do now was hop over it and he could get the hell out of dodge.

"Well then. Looks like you're not so hot after al--!" Displeased by the current turn of events, the tank suddenly turned its entire body towards Kaitou and shot forward, ramming him in the side and sending him crashing into a rack of steel rods. "Ugh... I take it back..." he muttered, slipping on a few fallen rods before recomposing himself. Just in time, too-- the tank was charging towards him once more, but this time several sharp blades jutted out of its underside. It was planning to skewer him now?! "Christ--!"

Another roll saved Kaitou's life and put some distance between him and the Shadow. Noticing this, it charged a third shot and fired away, prompting a swift backflip from the brunette in response. 'I can't keep running from this thing... It's way faster than a tank should be... Even for a Shadow, how is that possible?'

An idea popped up in his head, but it was stupid. Absolutely moronic. ...But perhaps outrageous enough to be sound. There was only one way to put that idea to the test, though, and it involved another tango with the Devil Turret. Gripping his sword, Kaitou inhaled sharply and then began to run towards the Shadow, dodging a few more shots on the way. When he got close, the tank began to charge towards him, blades ready to impale the brunette. As they were about to clash, Kaitou jumped to the side, holding his sword out to strike the passing tank. To an outsider, it seemed foolish to try and cut open a war machine with a mere katana...

TURNING POINT

But the desperation attack proved to be a huge success! A large gash was torn in the side of the Shadow from Kaitou's sword. and its movements became slightly stilted as it turned around to face the man. His eyes widened for a moment at the realization-- 'Its hide is tough, and definitely feels metallic... but it's vulnerable to my sword! Thank fucking God-- I still have a chance!'

Suddenly, this fight didn't seem like a downward spiral to Kaitou's demise. He had a way to fight back, risky as it was. With renewed vigor, he charged the tank again, veering to the side right before being run over to slash at its treads and hull. The process repeated several times until the tank was collapsed on itself, unable to move. Smoke was wafting in the air from numerous places, and it looked as if Kaitou was about to grasp victory.

At that moment, however, the magnitude of the red lightning around the tank intensified, and light gathered in front of its cannon. A massive beam of pure energy suddenly exploded from the cannon at Kaitou, giving him no time to escape. He crossed his arms in front of his face as the blast connected, knocking him back against the wall once more. The heat of the attack ate at his skin, and he thought he was being melted to the bone. When the attack settled, Kaitou lowered his severely burned arms to see that his skin had been torched from the waist up-- he'd only been spared from turning into the next Two-Face by his quick reaction. But that wasn't the most terrifying part.

The section of the wall he'd been pushed against was almost completely blown away by the Shadow's attack. No, rather... it had melted away from the intensity of the blast. Though adrenaline had been doing a good job of dulling the ache of his wounds before, scorching pain shot all over Kaitou's body now, causing him to drop his blade as he staggered. On the other side of the warehouse, the Shadow seemed to be motionless save for faint crimson sparks. It looked like it was just about out of energy itself...

Maybe not. The tank began to gather energy in its cannon once again, its entire form glowing with destructive ruby light. It was preparing for one final, decisive attack, and in the state Kaitou was in, it was highly unlikely he'd be able to survive the next attack. Panic began to fester in the back of his mind, but now was not the time to be paralyzed by fear. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he began to consider his options.

'Shit. Shit. My whole upper body feels like it's going to fall apart from the pain. At best, I could pick up my sword and try to hobble over to it and finish the damn thing off... but if I get close, it'll just fire early and kill me. Running's not an option, either-- the exit is still behind it. Shit... Shit! What can I do?!' In frustration, Kaitou stomped the ground and almost fell over. Looking down, he discovered that he had actually stepped on one of the fallen steel rods and nearly slipped on it. 'Kuh... Wait. Wait! That's it!'

Moving was agony, but if he didn't he'd die, so Kaitou stooped down to pick up the rod. It was roughly four inches thick-- just enough to jam an M1 Abrams' cannon if lodged into the shaft. Hopefully this thing had similar dimensions on its cannon. Kaitou's body moved in slow motion to right itself up again as he hefted the rod. The Shadow was nearly charged up, and there was no time left to lose. Even as his body screeched at him, even as hot blood began to pour down from his open wounds, the man lifted his right arm and twisted his body back, With a guttural roar, Kaitou threw his body forward and hurled the iron rod at the tank's cannon. Light flooded the factory as the makeshift javelin flew forward, and a blindingly bright explosion overtook the entire building.

When the light died down and the smoke finally cleared, Kaitou was left on his knees, panting heavily as blood continued to flow from his open injuries. At the opposite end of the factory, a smoldering pile of black ooze and rubble lay where the tank once was. That was it. He'd won.

By whatever stupid stroke of luck, he'd managed to defeat the Red Shadow.

Fucking hell.

Using the last vestiges of his energy, Kaitou grabbed his sword and pushed himself up. Pain shot through his body once more, but by now exhaustion dulled the sensation to a throb in his mind. With weary steps, he stumbled out of the car factory and made his way back to the outer boundaries of the Gap before collapsing. It was okay to pass the fuck out there. Someone would find him before too long.

Hopefully.

[ChromaticTruthsayer]

Success!

You defeated the enemy!
You also found: Lv3 Katana