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The group began their march down the forest path, with Griselda taking up the lead, while Irina and Vanessa tagged just behind, wrapped up in a conversation that they were attempting to bring Xenovia into; right behind them was Jafar and Ethan, who were also having some sort of chat, with Ethan waving his arms around animatedly. Last but not least, Vin walked at the rear of the group, flanked by Ezekiel; the chunni having a sheathed blade clipped onto each side of his hip.
Now, Vin had seen the 'Judgement Sabre' before; hell, he'd been on the receiving end of it numerous times since their first clash, all with decidedly better outcomes than a broken nose, but what drew Vin's attention the most was the other sword, a rapier-like weapon with a large spiraling band of steel coiling around the blade like a serpent. Vin knew the name, sure: Excalibur Nightmare, but beyond that, well, it was the first time he'd seen the thing.
Ezekiel seemed to notice Vin's intrigued gaze, and raised the sheathed Excalibur slightly on his hip to allow Vin a closer look.
"This is the first time that one bears witness to the presence of the Excalibur Nightmare, yes?"
Vin nodded, more or less desensitized to the peculiar cadence used by his chuunibyou friend, "Yeah, what's it do? I mean, the other's are easy enough, Destruction makes blasts of power, Mimic changes shape, Transparency makes you invisible, Rapidly just makes you fast, but Nightmare? I don't know, it's a bit more… esoteric than the others?"
Ezekiel smiled, "One's glad to see that the wielder of crystals has access not only to such a wide range of extravagant abilities, but also a vast arsenal of refined vocabulary."
"Eh, I needed to pass my language final paper somehow," Vin shrugged, "Anyway, back on topic, the sword: what does it do?"
Ezekiel gazed down at the hilt of the fragment.
"Excalibur Nightmare… A blade that embodies the malevolent nature of the once great holy sword. It is the necessary shadow cast by the blinding light of Excalibur, a blade of unnatural prowess that defies the honorable spirit embodied by it's other brethren."
"Zeke, just tell me what it does," Vin deadpanned.
Flustered, Ezekiel coughed into a closed fist, before fixing Vin with an equally flat look, "It makes illusions, and can manipulate dreams."
"See, was that so hard?" Vin teased.
"You're incorrigible," Ezekiel grumbled, as the group continued their stretch into the forest.
Walking deeper and deeper into the woods, the group eventually found themselves in a massive clearing, easily the size of an American Football field or two; and on the far side of the clearing sat an impressive-sized cabin, which would have been rather luxurious, if not for the obviously foreboding aura that seemed to exude from the building.
"Ezekiel," Griselda called, "I want you to summon an illusion to fish the stray out here."
"Very well," Ezekiel stepped forward, drawing Excalibur Nightmare into his left hand.
Griselda turned her attention over to Vin, "When the stray comes out into the open, do you think you can trap it in place with your Sacred Gear?"
Vin summoned Midas' Rings onto his hands, "I think so. Depends how close I can get to it though; the amount of crystals peters off from farther and farther away."
"Alright then, Vin when it comes out, get as close as possible while retaining a safe distance, and seal it's legs in crystals. Everyone else will be in charge of laying on damage. If it comes loose, your top priority is to restrain it again, alright?"
"Gotcha."
"Good. Now Ezekiel, if you would."
Ezekiel raised Excalibur Nightmare into the air, as a dark miasma swarmed around the blade. Swiping it down quickly towards the ground in a flourish, the miasma split off from the blade, swarming in the air next to the chuunibyou swordfighter, until it began to grow, and take the rough shape of a human.
Next thing Vin knew, he was looking over an astonishingly lifelike copy of himself.
Ok, that wasn't funny.
Vin sent a dry glare at Ezekiel, "You chose a clone of me to be the bait?"
Ezekiel seemed rather smug as he shrugged his shoulders, "You do appear to be the most tantalizing target for a stray devil."
"Yeah, fuck you too," Vin grumbled without any real bite behind his words.
"Focus you two," Griselda demanded, "Everyone in position?"
Various cries of confirmation met Griselda's question. Nodding, Griselda jerked her head towards the lodge, as the clone of Vin began to run towards the lodge, and all but threw open it's front door before going inside.
Vin balked. Oh come on... Sure he was stupid, but he wasn't borderline suicidal.
Soon, a variety of guttural grumbles, growls, and all forms of unpleasant noises began to leak from the lodge, before a blur broke through the front window of the lodge, right as a massive creature burst straight through the wall, and into the open field.
Vin let himself absorb the appearance of the stray devil in front of him. It was a massive hulking thing, easily at least twelve feet or more in size. Covered in it's black fur, it looked more like a sasquatch than a devil, but hey, guess that was the nature of stray devils. It's eyes were feral, animalistic, and conveyed nothing more than a primal desire to tear apart the exorcists in front of it.
"Now!" Griselda shouted, as Vin regained his bearing, and began to shoot off towards the creature.
It gave off a massive bellowing roar to the skies, before immediately rushing towards Vin himself, bounding on all fours, it didn't take long for it to catch up to him. The stray devil bore down on Vin's comparatively tiny figure, before swinging its arms down at Vin.
Managing to throw himself to the side in time, Vin let the blow swish right by him. With no possible way to even get closer to the thing, Vin began to wave his ring-clad hands upward, as pillars of crystals began to rapidly form over the beast's feet, creeping further and further up it's forearms.
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