Winds of War [AfriCatastrophe Act IV]

"Reißen!"

Multiple shots from an extended finger beat and tore into the mask of a grisly hollow descending upon combatants, rendering it a bloody hunk of shattered bone and muscle atop it's lumbering shoulders, it's body crushing the earth with an effortless thud. Unlike the wild-eyed faces suddenly turning her direction, Liltotto was completely calm in an otherwise tumultuous ocean of conflict. She felt it with this day's sunrise - the eventuality that those monsters would crawl to the surface to wreak havoc, neither a shock nor surprise to the Sternritter.

"Quit gawking, go help!" She'd snap to the assortment of uniforms below her who spent a second or two too long in one place, the lot of them moving on in a series of blurs. Communications blared endlessly as she went about, responding to calls for help or assistance where ever possible for the past several inches of sunlight, moving and fighting through the dust and confusion. They were the first line of defense for the world, they screwed up last time; a second time likely wouldn't be so forgiving as a simple forced widening of the perimeter.

If the reports were true, of a hollow enslaving and commandeering their wills, taking out the leader would likely cause the rest of them to dissolve into confusion, but for her to go after that? Likely a death sentence if other reports were correct; the best she could do was fan out and keep the nasties away from creating too many casualties too fast, or destroying outposts. Everyone needed to keep it up as long as possible.

The flurry of calls rung her ear, but in the cacophony one particular call demanded her attention - a post was having mechanical issues and needed support.

Shit! The thought quickly struck her mind. That took priority, she'd just have to assume everyone else could get responses in a timely manner.

Reishi structured and twisted to her will below her feet, the swift dance of Steigen carrying her to the post in need. An impending hollow lurched in her direction, pounding behind her as she approached. With collected ferocity and speed, a bubbling sword of acid formed in her hand, a mere blink of time would find it embedded in the creature's head, a tremendous burst of Reiryoku rendering it naught but a headless husk crashing to the ground.

"Sternritter Lamperd, reporting!" She'd call from atop it's corpse, hopping down and immediately working to prepare for other approaching threats, a pointed finger gestured to the readied combatants, "Careful stepping about forty feet from there, laying traps on the outer bounds!"

With little hesitance, she'd immediately work with considerate speed to seed the area with a minefield of traps for any approaching beasts.

Ah, what a day to feast.

The Dragon's talons gouged out the earth beneath her with every nonchalant step she took. Screams echoed out and fell silent in time for new ones to take their place. It was like a walking doomsday had simply strut into their war to feast on whatever was unfortunate enough to be around. But who was even around? Were this Shinigami? Quincy? The Dragon had been here for a while now and she swore that both were present. She could taste the distinct kinds of reishi on her blood bathed, reptilian tongue.

There wasn't anything in particular that drew her to where she was going. After all, she was here just to feast. It wasn't very often there was so much food in one place. It was in such high abundance that all the beast had to do was extend her miasma outwards, covering a mile's worth of ground all at once and decomposing anything that come in contact with it. Eventually, the area Calliope and Liltotto were occupying would fall into that realm. They'd see it coming from a while away, but it would only creep closer, closer, yet closer, until it was practically on top of them.

The Dragon could sense strong spiritual energies here, but whether or not it was those two or something else, she didn't really care to think about. A thick grey mist would fall upon the locale and begin to rot at the dirt, any plants, any rocks, people, Hollows, anything around. It would all turn to mush in her presence, and the only indications that she was even there was the powerful spiritual presence, and the two glowing eyes peering from within the fog.

She had seen Liltotto lay those traps, felt the placement of some reishi-thing displace her rotten smog, and so she stopped just outside their range. Golden orbs peered through the mist and right at the quincies within. The Dragon had nothing to say to them, only waited for them to rot away so she could eat their decayed remains.

The hook of flattery wasn't so much as acknowledged as a simple nod was given in acknowledgement, focusing on making the approach to the post a potential death sentence for most opponents. But, her attention wasn't fully absorbed in her task - a sixth sense kicking up alarm in her mind as a peculiar scent hit her before her spine chilled with the sensation of a dangerous presence, they weren't anything like the ancient creatures being loosely coordinated to escape, a malevolent hungry will glowering from... There.

She knew this scent, an overpowering stink that'd make one retch and shrivel with sickness.

"That's no dust cloud," A calm corrective response came from the soldier to the maroon-headed superior's comment as she readied herself, recollection hitting her - this was a presence she recognized, "Don't touch that stuff, you'll rot."

It was probably intent on letting that cloud come over here and eat them away til they were nothing. Surprisingly lackadaisical of an enemy for the environment they're currently in. There was no need to hold back either way, feeling a rise in her chest; she was the one who had to catch this thing off guard. Aggressive was the play.

"Hey," She'd call out to the cloud, "I know you can understand me, not the first time i've seen ya. We're not playing your stupid hide-and-seek game."

A hand came close to her mouth; she'd practiced an extent of this realized power of her's to death in isolation, the question was only if it would be enough. No, it will be enough, she had to persevere this time.

"Nodo, Touitsu." The air grew heavy with her spiritual pressure as she spoke that phrase, hand reaching into her mouth to grasp what answered her call, a distinct slice of sound produced as a sword seemingly woven from dark bone and light ribbons was pulled from her throat, hardly even a moment to process the sight was given as her blood ran cold and her body moved before her mind could, the sword splitting into two and swung in a rapid flurry, tearing a way through the smog as she advanced to the scent's strongest source.

"Come.." Her hands collided together, the swords neatly recombining into their previous form, a two-handed overhead strike readied as she'd shout, "OUT!"

The tip tapped the earth with considerable might, the energy within the blade roaring to life into a controlled wave that barrelled toward the Hollow in the cloud, tearing and screaming through the dirt. But that wasn't the only effect; the traps laid hidden within the section she disturbed were triggered by the upheaval, projectiles flying alongside the attack to make simply dodging a difficult task for most.

There was no reason not to be casual about it all. Her mere presence was death to most of those on the battlefield this day. Uncompromising, impartial death. And these few fools were going to fall victim to exactly that. Both of the quincies' words fell on deaf ears. Liltotto launched that attack and begun the battle, that was all that mattered to the beast now. The moment the Dragon saw that weapon was raised, she reared back onto her hind legs and roared an ear splitting shriek to the heavens. It was hoarse, shrill, and chilling to the bone. Fitting for a beast of prey who had found its next meal.

The acid that Liltotto flung at the Dragon was somewhat avoided as she leapt into the air, most of it missing but some of it landing on the beast's scaly hide. It would melt her scales, but only for a few seconds in the few spots that it hit. By the time she was a few hundred feet into the air, the acid had been eroded by the continuous production of rotten effluvia from beneath her scales. The two similar forces were a match for each other, but the Beast could keep producing more to defeat it, and she would do so with a concentrated effort.

Her hole-filled wings flared out and from her body suddenly erupted more of her effluvia. There was enough to cover half a mile's worth of ground, but the Beast would instead direct it towards both Calliope and Liltotto. Like twisting tornadoes of grey mist, it would barrel through the air directly at them to give chase, turning and speeding towards them wherever they go. It took focus from the Dragon, and so she stood in place, watching her prey and calculating her next move should this one not pan out.

A horrid roar that would strike fear into most was only registered as intent to strike by the Sternritter, even through the stinking smog she kept at bay with her weapon's swings she did not lose focus on her target - it was a further call to end this beast, swiftly. Calliope's calls were pushed to the lowest priority in her thoughts, following the dragon into the sky with a blur of speed upon a Reishi foundation, hot on the creature's heels with burning eyes. There wasn't any time for information exchange, this thing had to die right quick before it melted everyone below: that was her focus, her mission.

Then that pesky thing launched a twisting cascade of the stuff her way, the grip on the handle tightening as she ceased her climb, allowing herself to fall at a precise angle - one that put the tornado following her descent between her and her target. With a directing swing, she would point the bright blade at the exact point she wished, concentration directed to it's tip, as energies formed and coalesced at that point in the form of a dark sphere initially, but grew and grew in density, that darkness eventually being crushed inward by a white outline.

"Zerstörungsblitz!"

The conjuring of a Reishi platform suddenly broke her fall as the force of the blast crashed her into it, arms outstretched with a brilliant flash lighting the darkening atmosphere as a cero-like beam branched into the sky, tearing through the dark cloud rushing for her, a distinct swirl of force violently pulling the malevolent energy into the dissolving light as it went higher and higher with incredible speed and force, wishing to strike the beast above her through the torso, or at least even a wing from her current angle, the light bearing no immediate pressure yet brought in and devoured anything within it's swirl, her hair whipping as squinted eyes tried to keep track of what was before her.

The Dragon would not back down despite the sudden onslaught against her. Calliope's bullets did little more than chip away at the creature's dense scales. Without sufficient piercing power or proper force, there was little the woman could actively do to wound her opponent. That wasn't to say the beast's every inch was covered in scales, but there was very little that wasn't. Her insides, namely, as well as her eyes, the flesh of her wings, and a small patch on her underbelly. Those were the only true weak spots the Dragon had. Otherwise, anything with a lack of power would simply be shrugged off.

It was a marvel the redhead dispersed her miasma like that, and for a moment the Dragon lost control of it. That was enough to keep it at bay from coming at Calliope even further, and Liltotto's sudden attack would distract the beast long enough to stop her from just engulfing Calliope whole with the mist that was still so close to her. From the corner of the beast's eye she caught a glimpse of that charging attack, and without thinking, began to charge one of her own.

"Two can play at that game!" She cackled like a rotten witch, a gray glow forming in her closed maw, shining through her teeth, until she opened it up to reveal the Effluvial Cero that she unleashed at roughly the same time Liltotto released her Zerstörungsblitz. The Dragon's special cero would let out a shrill screech as it flew through the air until contact was made with Liltotto's attack, at which point the two energies would clash in a swirling mass of black and gray. Both powers were designed to eat at whatever they touched, and in an attempt to feast upon each other, both beams would rot and eat and practically melt the other, until there was simply an explosion and both attacks were left neutralized.

As surprising as this outcome was, the Dragon was content with it for an entirely different reason. "The last time I met a Quincy who could match me was centuries ago. You surprise me, little one." She taunted with smugness dripping in her tone, totally focused on Liltotto and not at all thinking about Calliope for the time being.