Waaahm.
A vibration sounded as the step began to rumble slightly, neon light phasing into life as he stepped upon it. Soon, the rotating steps formed a set of stairs that gradually finished the closer down Vere went.
Fwoom…fwip!
His feet alighted the ground as the steps stopped, his body still a few meters above the ground. Then, with a front flip, he approached the ground, his feet landing squarely and precisely on the prairie land. The grass had a faint, silver luster to it.
It attracted Vere's attention, but he didn't pick it up. Instead, the clear magpie on his looked aggrieved as he ignored the treasures below, unable to take them with a squawk as it collected some of them.
Our detective shrugged. Sure, [Magpie] belong to him…but he wasn't interested in suppressing their wills without reason. Besides, he figured that since it was made within his thought nexus, it pertained to his thoughts in one way or another.
>Gained special materials: Selvircre Grass (Complete)(x38).
"38? Man…what are you planning to do with so much of it? Got anything in mind?" He offered the back of his hand to the magpie as it perched on it instead of his shoulder. Then, fixing their gaze to be eye-level, he cocked his head to the side with an even smile.
Vere's tired eyes with faint hints of black underneath his lower eyelashes were reflected in the magpie's beady eyes. It shook its head, words beginning to outline its figure.
-No clue, but it felt important.
Well then. Vere smoothed back some of his loose and messy strands of hair. Whatever reason the magpie had, it would occasionally retrieve things every now and then. Some of the Suspects began to show signs of unrest.
They were errant Inciteds and Invitees—those that generally had no effective form of sentience without coming into contact with significant energy. This was what allowed the former to be manipulated by puppeteers and the latter to quickly go along with the fluctuations of the B-Side.
Of course, their sentience would change their affiliation. That was…unless someone stronger was keeping them under wraps. Usually, an Incited couldn't be stronger than their Inciter no matter how far apart they were. It was only due to the consistent form of various rich energies that would muddle the link between the two and allow them to become an Individual of some sort.
If they were lucky, they'd be reborn as Desire Demons. Of course, they would still have the innate DDs present in every sentient being's mind in this plane…but that very possibility—that weakness—allowed them to grasp nigh multiplicative factors of power.
Simply put, it was the difference between a bike and a motorcycle. No matter how good the rider is, the vehicle has to have the potential to maximize the driver's efforts.
Speaking of Inciteds, multiple Suspects grew aware of Vere as he walked about. The weaker ones had the motif of mechanics, their heads mashed by various tools into a whitish and crimson pulp. Nails bolted out of their skin, and their legs bent backward as their arms hung down low. The luckier ones wore welder masks.
>Suspects identified. Inciter Grade II—Warped and Mashed Mechanists.
There were a bit stronger ones…they didn't seem to fit with the overall theme of the half prairie, half junkyard. As if they came from a Desire Crevice…
Which is what they were. These kinds were odd in the way that they were technically two different types of Suspect at once. The Invitee permitted them to wander about the B-Side, but they will rarely use their classification of Denizens.
The first noticeable detail of this Suspect was the large, twin draconic heads. Upon closer look, they seemed to be artificial, revealing a soft silvery grey glint underneath the lavender moonlight…they were much closer to masks.
Their long necks disappeared into the depths of billowing black cloaks—and there were no legs to speak of. Instead, large, gangly pale white arms that ended in silver claws raked at the ground, their edges lined with viscous liquid that fell down from their cloak.
>Suspects Identified: Invitee/Denizen Grade III-Twin Dracoons in Cloake.
The Mechanist Suspects were much slower—their grease-stained bodies struggling to slide out from under the cars they were working on. A few grabbed the robotic limbs scattered around the place, hefting them around as a weapon as they dragged themselves forward.
Two Twin Dracoons In Cloake rapidly bounded forward, however. Their glinting maws flashed with a silver purple gleam as their hands sought out rapid advancement.
"Huh…interesting. You, little guys, are quite thirsty for blood, huh? C'mon then. [Magpie]!"
The magpie delved within the thought nexus and retrieved the Bastard Stick Greatsword and The Brick, dropping them off in Vere's outstretched hands. The man smiled, his lips faintly upending as his pupils shook—their apathetic look replaced by interest and intensity!
'At least I have a chance to experiment with my new abilities now. So let's see…which one should I do first….'
He bent low, half crouching before he kicked off! His back leaned forward and carried the weight of the heavy bastard sword across his shoulder as his thought power circulated.
[Streetlight] was his first try—inadvertently. It wasn't an ability that had to be called on since it had both a passive and active side to it. A red glow emerged from his body—coming from the sternum more than anything else. An auric streetlight materialized around his neck, and one of the lights lit up…fading into nothingness as the light revolved around his neck in a thin circle that loosely resembled a neon halo.
Vere's actions suddenly stopped, causing him to stay locked in his position. Vexation bit at him as the upper left corner of his mouth upraised into a snarl, his brows furrowing. The light left from his neck and dispersed into two smaller rings that floated around him, attacking the Twin Dracoons in Cloake instead.
They entered through their swinging arms—forcing their movements to become odd! Some parts of their body just refused to move, weakening the strength of the swipe slicing towards Vere.
He turned on his heel, pivoting himself so that the silver clawed strike raked across the body of the Bastard Stick Greatsword. Then, moving forward while spinning on his heels again, he pushed the red wooden greatsword up and caused the attacking Suspect to hurtle in the air!
Light black tendrils of Authority thought power seeped from him and blanketed his outline, some surging towards his arm as he swung the greatsword. The heavy-handed weapon started to move about as lithely as Vere as he sliced, swiped, and veritably bashed with it.
The Brick held tight in his grip was covered in light blue flowing thought power as multiple duplicates of it floated around his hand. The pig crest howled and smacked its jaws as Vere used his thought power to lob the translucent blue copies at the Suspects around—keeping the Mechanist Suspects at bay.
Clang! The end of the greatsword was shoved into a Dracoon's mouth—prompting them to bite down! With a great show of strength Vere's muscles coiled and released…and he swung the whole joined object together!
Four revolutions occurred before he threw the Twin-Headed Dracoon in Cloake at a far-off heap of car scraps. Then, the light returned to him—this time green—and as it formed a neon light halo around him, he found it much easier to move faster!
As he rampaged about the junkyard prairie, he swiftly reduced the Mechanists to quivering piles of mush. The parts with engines and remnant power still within them exploded, yet Vere was unscathed each time.
In fact, he used the explosion of one to hop atop his greatsword, allowing it to carry him up into the air!
Agilely twisting about midair, he returned the handle to his right hand and pointed it downwards. Authority thought power enabled its innate ability—intensifying the weight of the wooden armament and driving Vere into a rapid descent!
His feet were planted on both of the draconic metal heads before nestling against each other as Vere pushed off against the Suspect's lengthened necks.
Creakkkk!
The sight of the plains spread before Vere's eyes as the blade bashed against the neck, forcing it to warp and eventually break off. He let it go, turning around and smashing The Brick against the remaining head!
He then rolled down, his free hand removing the billowing black cloak.