Flower of Life [Akira/Mission]

[Luka Kurokawa]

The city outskirts were as dreary as usual. It was dark, cold, and generally just a depressing site to behold. Luka stopped to take a good look at it for a moment. This place used to be so pretty. She spoke her thoughts out loud as she began to walk once again. She wasn't alone of course, so no, she wasn't talking to herself. Akira was with her for another mission request by the strange blonde woman. Apparently this one was extremely dangerous, hence it was recommended for the two of them. Luka wondered why that could have been. Their mission was a simple one, after all. They needed to find the flower that the fields of the Mosaic Outskirts used to be famous for and bring it back. She didn't have a particularly good feeling about this, but decided to keep cool for now. She was probably over-thinking things again.

I think this is the place. The two of them came upon a place not unlike the rest of the outskirts. But going by the map, and a bit of Luka's memory, this was definitely the place. I wonder if this place will ever be able to go back to what it once was. The whole countryside, I mean. She had a sad expression on her face as she continued onward. The city outskirts were something that Luka visited frequently prior to the circle. Needless to say, she was rather fond of the countryside. To see it in such a state, specifically when trying to find something that held a bit of sentimental value to her, it wasn't odd that she was a bit down. Ironically, Luka has now been spending more time here now that it's been contaminated by shadows.

She remembered the green fields that used to be here, specifically. Of course, she remembered the flowers as well. She could even picture the two kids (now adults) playing in those very fields almost effortlessly. A lovely site. But now, there were no green fields, nor beautiful flowers. All that was left was shadow. I hope there's still flowers here. Taking her mind off things that weren't important, Luka returned to the task at hand. She began to look around the area in which the flowers were to be found.

[Akira Nakajima]

Akira was all about the money when it came to these missions. Frankly, he wasn't sure what the blonde really used the items they gathered for. Sure, there was a pretty story on each of the listings, but these fetch quests were still altogether suspicious and just a bit weird. Why was a strange blonde woman in the middle of a hellhole playing cupid? Actually, he needed to take a look around the shrine the next time he made a donation. Needed to see if that gem ever actually made its way to the maiden. If it did, then that was a curious thing. Maybe he'd need to stalk the blonde for a bit, just for the sake of getting some information on her?

It was a bad idea, sure, but it might have been a good means of killing time.

Regardless, he was working on a mission alongside his seemingly primary partner for most group-oriented Shadow-nanigans. Luka was with him on that last mission, too. Hopefully, there'd be no ambush or suicide attempts this time. He wanted a clean A-to-B-to-C run, C being the cash in. The boy in drag had simple desires for the mission. Luka seemed to be concerned about the fields. While the fields recovering was not something he had any interest in, he would admit that the place was a bit too bleak as it was. But, then again, they were in the Shadowlands. It was going to be bleak until they fixed everything.

”I don't think the blonde would've sent us out here if it was a hopeless endeavor. Just keep your eyes peeled- for the flowers and the Shadows. Once we finish this- the Shadows as a whole, I mean- places like this will have a chance to recover. Right now, we can only do what's available for us and get stronger. Focus on the present and hope for the best.” While he didn't really doubt the girl, he didn't want her worrying over nothing. Especially not when there was a threat of an ambush. . . basically everywhere he looked. Before long, there'd be scorpion Shadows popping out of the ground to attack them.

Because Murphy sucked.

[ChromaticTruthsayer]

You make your way over to the field in which the flowers were supposedly located. The place itself was just within eye distance of a nearby village. Well, what remained of it anyway.

The field itself is quite open, but nearly completely barren. Small traces of dead grass still lingers here and there, but other than that, nothing. But in the corner of your eye, you notice something off in the distance. A small white light coming out from the ground. Upon focusing on it further, you undoubtedly make it out to be a flower. Specifically, the one you're looking for. The flower itself is small and pure white, though the "glowing" part isn't something natural to the flower.

As you begin to approach the flower, you feel trembling in the earth. You notice it getting closer until a few "appendages" come out from the ground.

Corrupted Vine

• Deadly Fury
• Life Drain
• Garudyne

Absorb: Repel: Wind Null: Rs: Wk: Fire

Corrupted Vine

• Deadly Fury
• Life Drain
• Garudyne

Absorb: Repel: Wind Null: Rs: Wk: Fire

Corrupted Tentacle

• Rainy Death
• Spirit Drain
• Garudyne

Absorb: Repel: Ice Null: Rs: Wk: Elec

Corrupted Tentacle

• Rainy Death
• Spirit Drain
• Garudyne

Absorb: Repel: Ice Null: Rs: Wk: Elec

[Luka Kurokawa]

Looking off into the distance, Luka spotted something. It was small and shiny. Squinting her eyes a bit, the girl made the small object out to be a flower. There was no doubt about it. The thing that they were looking for was within their vision already. As she slowly began to approach the flower absentmindedly, she felt a tremble in the earth. Shortly after, the girl watched as strange appendages popped out from the earth. Luka was beginning to realize that this really wouldn't be a walk in the park.

There was four "enemies" that the two of them had to fight. Looking back at Akira, she gave him her plan of action. I'll take the tentacles, you get the vines. And with that, the girl pulled out her evoker and summoned her persona. Hel! Luka opened with Tarukaja to boost both her attack and Akira's. Moving her focus on the enemies now, the two tentacles seemed ready to attack already. The first sent out a wind attack that Luka managed to narrowly dodge. The other one lunged straight at her, also missing. Luka was already breathing heavily from the movement she was forced to do.

She decided to focus one down at a time to make things easy. The girl opened up with mind charge to prepare a more powerful attack. She had hoped to dodge the next attack as well, only to fall short. Not being fast enough, one of the tentacles managed to get a good grip on her as it slowly began to squeeze her. Ah! Luka felt her energy being drained by the tentacle. Too. . . tight. Luka began to struggle helplessly out of the tentacle. Regaining her focus, she sent out a charged dark attack at the tentacle that had bound her. The force of such a close hit managed to completely destroy the tentacle, causing it to shrivel up and dissolve like any other shadow.

Returning her attention to the other tentacle, the girl dashed to the side as she saw it go in for another lunge attack. This wasn't good. Her mental and physical strength were being drained too fast. And she needed to take down this tentacle. Stopping for a moment, Luka began to charge her next attack again. She was vulnerable, and she knew it. She would be conserving stamina in return for possibly getting hit hard.

She saw the tentacle lunge at her again. Time seemed to slow as it all happened. In her head, she felt herself charge up until she reached maximum power. At that moment, she stopped standing still and jumped to the side, just short of being hit. Hel who jumped to the side with her, caught her before falling and sent out her Mudoon attack in the process. The attack connected to the center of the tentacle from the side, dealing quite a blow to it. Enough to reduce it to a slow slither. Quickly getting up, Luka mentally ordered another Mudoon to finish the dying tentacle off.

Breathing heavily, the girl watched as the tentacle shriveled up and disappeared. Getting bound and drained like that certainly wasn't fun. She would probably be feeling it in the morning. She went over to where Akira was to assist him if he needed it. Though, it was possible he had already won his fight as well.

[Akira Nakajima]

Fuck you too, Murphy.

The boy looked over their four enemies. Or perhaps one enemy's four arms. The truth to the matter was ultimately up to the future to reveal. Before the boy really had a chance to comment on the fact that they were fighting what seemed to be plant-like Shadows- because what the hell else would they fight there?- Luka spewed out decisions regarding who was going to do what. The boy sighed and pulled the trigger against his head, releasing the succubus from his head and letting her wrap her arms around his neck. The reason that neither she nor he attacked was that the boy was distracted. His mind flickered for a moment. Luka was going to take the tentacles? Shit, that was more dangerous than the tentacles themselves.

”Is this a jab about my secondary weapon, by any chance?” He finally asked as he leveled his scissors, willing for Alma Elma to use Rakukaja on them. Then, shrugging, he readied his scissors as one of the vines shot at him. Side-stepping and thrusting the scissors at the vine all at once, he used the target's momentum to literally snip the tip of the vine, causing it to rear back and squirt blackness from the severed end. Then, Alma Elma fired off an Agilao, which set the full length on fire. It whipped and flailed in the air, the flames extending all the way to the base that suck from the ground, before finally liquifying into blackness and fading.

Of course, it was two-on-one prior to one going down. So, while the first burned, the second whipped down at the crossdresser, eventually slashing Alma Elma as she intercepted the attack. Pain ran through the boy's head, but he held his ground. It fired off a burst of wind at them. The boy shifted to the left, the succubus floated to the right. It whipped down at the boy again, but was immediately counted by a burst of fire from the succubus, causing the length to flail and burn. And then it waved into the boy's snipping radius. With a forceful snap, he closed the scissors, effectively severing the tip of the vine and causing it to “bleed out” before finally dissolving. With that, his half was done. Luka came running up, and he willed for a Mediarama to wash over them both.

”You look fine. That's good. Keep your guard up.” He calmly noted, honestly slightly disappointed that there was nothing scandalous about the sight.

[ChromaticTruthsayer]

You manage to take down the strange appendages that flew out form the ground. Once again, you make your way over to the flower not too far off. But just before you think everything is over, you're attacked by even more corrupted foliage!

Killer Ivy

• Poisma
• Star Tarantella
• Life Drain
• Garudyne

Absorb: Wind Repel: Phys Null: Rs: Wk: Fire
Killer Ivy

• Poisma
• Star Tarantella
• Life Drain
• Garudyne

Absorb: Wind Repel: Phys Null: Rs: Wk: Fire
Corrupted Root

• Death Chill
• Spirit Drain
• Garudyne
• Auto-Raku

Absorb: Wind Repel: Dark Null: Rs: Wk: Ice
Corrupted Root

• Death Chill
• Spirit Drain
• Garudyne
• Auto-Taru

Absorb: Wind Repel: Dark Null: Rs: Wk: Ice

[Luka Kurokawa]

Breathing heavily, Luka turned to Akira and nodded. Y-You too. Taking just a moment to catch her breath, Luka slowly began to move towards the flower again. And as it would seem, she would be getting no breaks today judging by the next wave of enemies that began to spring out of the ground again. With a look that was half annoyed, half broken, the girl prepared herself for another fight. I'll take down these guys! She looked over towards the two root shadows to the one side. Hopefully they won't bind me again. She spoke with a morbid expression.

She started off with another Tarukaja bringing the two of them to two attack buffs. Akira had also boosted their defense during that round as she recalled. Now, Luka began to prepare her mind charge despite the imminent danger of being attacked. She didn't have the physical strength left to dodge much more and there was no telling how much longer they would be fighting. So when the two attacks came at her, she braced herself, only to ease up shortly after. The attacks they had used were quite strong, yet, they had absolutely no effect on her. Seeing this as an opportunity, the girl attacked one of the roots with an ice attack. The attack seemed more than effective against the enemy, putting aside the fact that the attack was super charged. The root shriveled up as it froze, until it shattered completely.

Now there was only one left it seemed, and it was looking cautious. seeing the only option as using mind charge again, Luka began to charge up. When that became apparent, the shadow lunged at her, grappling her once more. A tiring gasp escaped her as she felt her body slowly tightened under the root's grasp. Her energy was slowly being drained again. At this rate, she wouldn't be able to use another spell. Easing herself from her tense state, the girl allowed the appendage to wrap around her further. But in return, she managed to concentrate long enough to have Hel drop a powerful ice attack on the enemy. It froze over, still holding Luka in her grasp. She could not move, but neither could it.

And so, Luka was stuck in a rather embarrassing position as her body was bound in several ways by the strange enemy. Thankfully the fight was won, but she was a bit stuck. Umm. . . Akira? When you're done could I get some help? She really didn't want to ask for his help, but it seemed like the only option. This was rather embarrassing, after all. They might be fighting something again soon at this rate, and being bound inside a defeated enemy doesn't really help.

[Akira Nakajima]

And it seemed that Murphy was still being an asshole.

Luka, again, decided what her opponents would be. Well, it was nice that she was showing initiative, he figured. She buffed their offense for a second time. With a slight gesture, the boy had Alma Elma do the same. That was two buffs of both offense and defense. Frankly, the boy wasn't too-too worried about the outcome of the fight. Both of the floral extensions attempted to do. . . something to him. The sensations that came over the boy felt as though. . . no, they were just like the effects that the Grim Squeaker had utilized on the group. However, unlike that battle, the poison had absolutely no effect on the boy. Moreover, he recalled the first wave and how badly they had done against his buffed flames.

”Continue with the flames. Weeds should be burned to ash! Agilao!” Regardless of whether or not he liked flowers, the boy knew for certain that he hated weeds- in the literal and figurative definitions both- and adding in the whole part where they attempted to kill humans? Nah, he had no degree of love or concern for such filth. That was why, as Alma Elma unleashed the twice-boosted Agilao, he only smiled as one of his targets burned, flailed, and eventually dissolved. That was pleasing to the eyes and the ears. Meanwhile, the second target spread open some flap of leafy “flesh” before firing out a huge number of needle-like thorns. He raised an arm to defend himself. The piercing thorns, though powerful, did not hurt him enough to be a nuisance. He was glad he could resist the attribute then.

With a forceful wave, the next Agilao fired, setting the enemy aflame. Unlike the first of that batch, though, it was still ready to continue. The leafy flaps opened once more before firing out a massive gust, blowing the boy into the air. For a moment, he was disoriented. Seldom did he ever find himself airborne, and even less was he genuinely in a “defenseless” state in a battle. While the world drifted, he decided one thing- it was not an unpleasant sensation, minus the pain. Twisting in the air, he landed on all fours, the scissors bouncing across the ground as a second Agilao was fired, burning the second enemy down. Slowly standing, he took in the sight and readied his weapon before hearing the request come from Luka.

And when he looked, he saw something amazing. Was something like that even legal? Like, in its entirety? There he was with a girl bound by a frozen plant tentacle. Why the hell did it have to be in the middle of a Shadow-infested field? He could have enjoyed himself so very much teasing her otherwise! Murphy was a bastard, through and through. Then again, it was perhaps because of him that Akira even had the chance to see Luka like that. Was he to condemn the man and his law, or was he to wholeheartedly accept that gracious rule? Whatever the case, the boy stepped closer and willed for another Mediarama. Even if Luka didn't need it, he did.

”Quite a predicament you've managed to get yourself in, Damsel in Distress Runa-Ruka.” He observed before smiling impishly. ”Don't squirm. Sit still and relax.” Like any sane person in this situation, he readied his scissors and proceed to jab and snip at the coiled, frozen tentacle goodness. Each act could have been a threat to the girl, but each one was also a careful and calculated act. He was not a fool.

It was part of the reason he avoided using his hands to free her.

[ChromaticTruthsayer]

And again, you managed to take down the enemies that chose to ambush you. Noticing everything seems safe, you decide to finally continue over to the flower to claim it as your victory spoils. Only, when you look over towards where the flower is, you notice that it isn't there anymore.

Not a moment later, you hear a rumbling noise not unlike the two previously; this time much louder. Two large branch-like appendages pop out from the earth, adorned with large dark-shaded leaves. The branches and the leaves themselves seem rather sickly and corrupted with thorns and vines covering the majority of them. But that didn't seem to be the only thing coming out of the ground.

A bright light, much like before. No. This one was bigger. The small flower from before popped out of the ground slowly. But the flower itself seemed to be connected to something much larger, like an angler fish and its bauble. A larger, more impressive looking white flower began to churn out of the ground slowly, pushing up large quantities of dirt in the process. The flower seemed more akin to a large tree with a blossom on top and was about ten feet tall. If you want that flower, it seems that you'll need to beat these guys first.


The Flower of Life

• Heaven's Judgement
• Panta Rhei
• Life Drain
• Heat Riser
• Re-Flowering (Enduring Soul)

Absorb: Wind, Light Repel: Null: Rs: Phys Wk: Dark, Fire



Grand Corruption Branch

• God's Hand
• Delibate
• Garudyne
• Wind Amp

Absorb: Dark, Wind Repel: Null: Rs: Wk: Ice, Light


Grand Corruption Branch

• God's Hand
• Delibate
• Garudyne
• Wind Amp

Absorb: Dark, Wind Repel: Null: Rs: Wk: Ice, Light

[Luka Kurokawa]

Luka narrowed her eyes and puffed her cheeks as the boy smiled while making a light-hearted comment. Pretty sure I can't move anyway. I'm wrapped up pretty tightly. She was blushing from the embarrassing situation she was in, no doubt. This was twice now that the enemy had grabbed her and tried to drain her. When the boy managed to free her completely, Luka took a breathe of relief having more passage to her lungs. Thanks. Now let's grab that flower and ge-. . . Huh? Looking over to where the flower was, Luka saw nothing. It was gone. That was when she felt another rumble in the earth. Akira. She nodded at the boy, hoping he knew what she was gesturing for. Luka placed up a third and final Tarukaja to complete the set of attack buffs that they had. They were as prepared as they could be now.

And just as they prepared, what she assumed to be the final foe appeared. A rather large, bright flower complete with two large branches. They were quite intimidating, in Luka's opinion, but they had handled worse remembering back to a certain few other enemies. Which ones do you want? Taking up a stance to dodge anything that came at her, Luka gave Akira dibs on who to fight. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like Akira would be getting that liberty as the two appendages scrambled after Luka. Not again. . . I'm leaving the big one to you! Jumping to the side to avoid another enemy's attack, Luka used Mind Charge again to prepare for another attack. The last few enemies seemed weak to ice, so why not try it again? The second enemy sent out a wind attack that narrowly whizzed by Luka. It was insanely strong. She wouldn't be able to last more than a few of those, she thought.

Aiming for the closer one, Luka sent out an ice attack that hit the branch directly, causing it to twist and crack slightly. It was quite effective, but not enough yet. The branch retaliated by raising itself in the air and bringing itself down at Luka. The girl just barely managed to jump off to the side to avoid it, leaving her prone. As she scrambled to her feet and moved further, she felt another wind attack go right by her. She was cutting it close. Again, she began to charge up her next attack to take down the enemy. Her mental capacity was waning, sadly. She wasn't going to be able to manage a charge pretty soon. Nonetheless, she pulled this one off and aimed for the same target. The attack landed just short of it being able to attack again, causing it to shrivel up even further. But it wasn't down yet. Dammit. Turning to the side again, Luka watched as the second branch launched another wind attack. It hit her directly, sending her a good distance back. And just as she expected, it hurt.

Slowly getting up, she knew her priority was taking down the weakened one. But she also needed to keep in mind that her mental fortitude waning. For this, she opted a normal ice attack at the dying enemy, sending it to rest pretty easily. now all that was left was the other branch. This time, she went for another mind charge. And as she finished it up, she knew this would likely be the last one she could manage. She was ready to take another attack form the enemy, but instead, the branch remained still as it began to glow an odd color. Suddenly, Luka felt herself weaken all over. This was new.

Knowing she couldn't dwell on thoughts, Luka sent out the ice attack she had prepared at the remaining branch. As expected, a powerful blow, but not enough. Now this was simply a battle of exchanging blows. Another wind attack came at her, which she managed to dodge using quite a bit of her remaining energy. She was reaching her limit here. Deep down, she was wishing that this was the last enemy. Another ice attack as she dashed towards the enemy; another direct hit. The branch retaliated with that deadly wind attack, hitting her in the side. It didn't knock her over, but the force was enough to make her stop in her tracks and wobble slightly. Of course it also hurt, a lot.

Again, the girl dashed at the enemy willing her persona to use another ice attack. The branch flew back as it was hit, but then began to swing back down at the girl. Luka's eyes widened as the branch swinging down at her, did so. Instinctively, the girl issued an ice attack at the branch causing it to fling backward again. And then she did it again before it could return upward. And again. And then a slight pause as she caught her breathe. And then, once more for good measure. By then, it had stopped moving completely. The girl simply stared at it for a moment, breathing rather heavily. The chain of fights was over right? She had hoped, finding herself unable to do much more than a few more attacks. Realizing Akira was fighting as well, the girl looked over to find him once again.

[Akira Nakajima]

Akira freed the girl, and then, once again, Murphy extended the middle finger to them in the form of a quest boss. Luka finished buffing their offensive capabilities. The boy finished their defensive capabilities. It actually seemed, for a brief moment, that the boy would as least have some degree of say in who his opponent would be. This delusional consideration quickly shattered, however, as the girl decided he would fight the main body. Once again, his match-up was decided for him. What the hell? Seriously. That was some bullshit. He at least wanted to say he'd fight it before being expected to do so. With a slight shrug and a sigh, the boy leveled his scissors over his shoulder and stared forward. Shaking his head, he began to advance towards the “flower”, Alma Elma floating behind him with her hands on his shoulders.

Opening up, the boy had Alma Elma fire off a burst of fire. So far, fire had proven to be extremely effective. He could only hope that the trend continued on into the final stretch. And, with the flames so desperately crackling around the petals of the large flower. Seemed he was in luck! Of course, when the blast of pure light came in response, the boy only clicked his tongue. Standing his ground, he took the blast. Between the Rakukaja buffs and his armor, he could take a few of those with only minor issues. With another mental signal, he had Alma Elma fire Agilao off again. Again, the blow connected and singed the petals, causing some of them to burn off. The flower retaliated by charging up a powerful move. In response, the boy offered his waist to his succubus. Just before the huge burst of wind fired, the two went airborne. Beneath them, a massive torrent of wind shredded the ground, like a tempest of blades.

The two landed, only for a few vines to fire at the boy, constricting his arm. It felt like the vines were trying to absorb his energy. What an asshole. It should have gotten its own life energy. Or thought twice about engaging them. Another Agilao was fired, but the flower was not quite dead. No, it held on by a thin string. No doubt the very energy it drained from the boy had sustained it. The boy yanked his arm free of the withering vines, only to watch as the thing empowered itself. That was that ability- the comprehensive buff a Shadow had used in front of him before. Oh, the flower really was an asshole. That was just wrong. That was fine. He could play that way. With a fourth Agilao, the boy put the plant down. That was nice. Good match. He nodded to himself, pleased with the result.

And then Murphy laughed.

The flower stirred back to life, its petals quickly regaining their color as the flower seemed to revert to a fresh state. It didn't attack just yet. That was cool, even if the fact that he was re-fighting the flower pissed him off. He willed for a Mediarama. It wasn't just for him, though. He did it for his partner, as well. He couldn't pay attention to her plight, given the circumstances, but he'd like to think that he could still assist her. The flower sent out another light-based cannon at him. This time, he dodged. Alma Elma fired off a blast of fire in response. The cycle continued on, it seemed. Hopefully, after this phase, the flower would be good and sun-dried.

And then the flower sent out the burst of wind again. This time, Akira had the great joy of receiving the burst of violent wind. Now, he had good armor and maxed buffs, so it wasn't as strong as it could have been, but the fact of the matter was that it was a pretty powerful spell. Thus, he was blown back and rolling. His sleeves were also mildly shredded. Now, most would be annoyed that they had taken the hit and the damage. Not Akira. No, no, no. He was pissed that the sleeves of his jacket were damaged. Alma Elma immediately fired off an Agilao as the boy regained his footing. The vines shot at him. He sidestepped and ordered another Agilao. By this time, the flower was quickly withering. It was probably already past the “dying” state and just shifting into the posture more appropriate of a dead thing. Still, the boy took a few good moments to stomp at it, completely ignoring Luka's situation. He was pretty annoyed.

But it seemed the flower was dead! Probably.

[ChromaticTruthsayer]

You manage to defeat the corrupted flower (and all of its seemingly independent appendages) after a long string of battles. The field in which you battled it has been covered in its scorched/frozen appendages. The now wilted flower remains so; wilted. There don't appeared to be any other flowers nearby, nor in the distance, no matter how hard you look. It would seem that you had killed the only one left. Mission failure?

After a few moments of realizing that this was the only flower left, you notice the corpse of the flower begin to emit a very faint glow. Slowly, it increases in intensity until it becomes much brighter than it originally was. Could it be coming back to life? You suddenly feel a large surge of power come from its light, only for it to begin dispersing immediately. The flower begins to partially dissolve much like a normal shadow, only with a much brighter light. . .

As you look up, you notice the dissolved particles start to fill the vicinity. Slowly, the particles begin to take up more and more space, spreading outward. The particles become so dense that it seems as though there's more particles in the air than there was in the flower originally. The sky seems to brighten a bit from its normal dark presence. In fact, you think you may be able to see a bit of the true sky. Maybe.

Looking back at the defeated flower, it continues to emit particles, but remains present. The particles themselves begin to slowly drift around until a few of them hit the ground. As you watch one in particular, you notice something begin to sprout from the ground as the particle touches it. A bright white flower.

All around you, particles begin to fall to the ground, releasing small white buds that rapidly grow into fully sized flowers like the one you saw originally. As for the large flower that you defeated, you noticed it begin to stir as it slowly returns to its former height and strength. Though, you sense no negative energy from it. Now before you is an impressive field of white flowers with small particles of light dancing about. Perhaps the blonde woman knew this would happen?

You aren't sure how long the field will remain like this though. What will you do?

[ ] Gather some flowers.

[Akira Nakajima]

After satiating his rage on the wilted devil flower, the boy stretched his arms up over his head and sighed. That was greatly annoying. Giving the area a good look over, he saw that Luka was fine. He also noticed that there was not a single good thing around, only the remains of their enemy. Enemies? Was it technically one or more? He wasn't sure. They all sucked, though. Was the blonde woman finally full of crap? He wasn't sure. And then the devil flower started to glow. It wasn't done yet? He raised his arm, having Alma Elma prepare an Agilao, just in case. Instead, the flower dissolved somewhat, lights flickering above them. The lights clustered in the air. Sky seemed a bit brighter. What a twisted play on hopes. If only breaking through the borders would be that simple.

Looking back, he kept his hand raised, ready to order a barrage. The flower did finally stir, but it did not seem to be hostile. Meanwhile, the drifting particles of light seemed to heal the ground, allowing for flowers to sprout from the diseased land. He was a little surprised. Slowly, he stepped away from the bulky flower, gradually lowering his arm. The succubus relaxed, eventually fading from view. Seemed that all was well, if only for the time being. Rolling his head around his shoulders, he sighed. His jacket was going to be altered by the end of the day. At the very least, he was getting some good pay after the chore of dealing with the weeds. Taking a moment to pick a good bundle of the flowers, the boy drifted closer to Luka. Straight-faced, he took one from his bunch and stuck it in her hair, smiling slightly.

”A pretty flower for a pretty girl. That's the way it should be.” He had to do something to lighten his mood. Thinking of how the girl would react would be the means of him forgetting his annoyances with the mission. She did well, outside of barking orders at him for which enemies to fight. Still, it would maybe serve as good experience. Maybe she'd find herself in a position of leadership at some point during the battles they'd face? He chose to think about it like that. It at least made the experience worthwhile. He'd groom her into a fine successor, even if she could never succeed him.

”Get yours and lets head back. Gonna get paid and do things.” His voice developed a pleasant, almost happy, tone towards the end. He was pleased to be done. If that one spot was a little better off for what they did, then he supposed having to alter a jacket to a vest was an okay exchange. Just okay, though.

[Luka Kurokawa]

It would seem that they had defeated the flower. Looking at its remains, there didn't seem to be any traces of the flower anymore. Had they failed the mission? Luka's heart sank a bit when she considered this the possibility. But when the flower began to mysteriously glow and let off particles of light, she found herself unable to do anything but watch. This was something new, certainly. Most shadows simply dissolved into nothing. This one seemed to be emitting particles that remained after separating.

The light began to scatter through the air, until bits began to land back on the ground. From there, Luka noticed small flowers begin to sprout out from the ground as a result. There was no doubt about it; these were the flowers that they needed. Oddly enough, Luka felt exceptionally happy now. After such a long and hard battle, she got to see something wonderful. Before she could even think about going to pick some, she felt something get pushed into her hair. She reached to feel it, to see what it was. A flower? She blinked in confusion as she listened to what Akira said. It took her a moment to put it together after that. When she finally did though, the first thing she did was crouch down and out of view where she slowly began to collect flowers. Little could be said about her expression seeing as she was going to such great efforts to hide it.

Gonna get paid, indeed.

[ChromaticTruthsayer]

Mission accomplished!

You received your reward: 4,000 FP