The moment I got a clear look at the presumed Huntress, my stomach dropped.
Something was wrong.
Her clothes were caked in dust and grime, like she'd been fighting nonstop for hours ,maybe days. The fabric was torn in several places, ripped along the sleeves and sides, hanging loosely off her frame. She looked disheveled in the way only someone who'd pushed far past exhaustion could look.
Then I noticed her face.
Her skin was unnaturally pale, stark against the orange-and-black mess of her hair, and her breathing was heavy ,ragged, almost animalistic. When she lifted her head, I caught a glimpse of fangs as she panted, lips curled back slightly like a cornered beast.
Her expression set my nerves on fire.
It wasn't confusion. It wasn't relief at seeing other people. It was tension ,coiled, feral, barely restrained. Like she was waiting for permission to attack.
For half a second, a horrible thought crossed my mind.
Is she… a humanoid Grimm?
But no. That didn't make sense. There was too much intent in her eyes, too much awareness. And honestly… if she really had been fighting Grimm nonstop out here, that might explain why the area was so empty. No bodies. No tracks. Just dust and silence.
Maybe she was stuck in a battle trance.
That didn't mean she was hostile. Just on edge.
I decided to talk first.
I opened my mouth ,
And she moved.
Her eyes snapped onto me with terrifying precision. One second she was panting, shoulders hunched, and the next she straightened, arm snapping up. A sphere formed in her palm ,smooth, polished, covered in swirling, colorful patterns.
"Oh ,!"
She threw it.
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(4/10=https://borderlands.fandom.com/wiki/Gunerang
Give it a burl. - +100% weapon damage. When reloaded it is thrown and travels in a straight line for a medium distance. It then turns around and homes in on the wielder. If it comes in close proximity to an enemy it will home in and explode on the enemy, otherwise it continues to home in on the wielder until it explodes. -Due to the extremely low role, the evil God D has interfered to give it to the Demon that Ruby is currently fighting. The abilities given are faster fight speed and full tracking of the opponent and once contact is made the ball fully explodes causing medium amount of damage/80 aura. )
The ball ripped through the air with a shriek, moving faster than most Dust-powered sniper rounds I'd ever seen. My brain screamed danger as my instincts kicked in.
Too fast. Way too fast.
Even for me.
For a normal Huntsman, dodging that would've been impossible. Dust projectiles could hit speeds upward of Mach 50, and this felt even worse. My heart slammed against my ribs as I reacted on pure reflex.
My body dissolved, exploding into a storm of rose petals as the projectile tore straight through where my chest had been. The impact scattered petals in every direction, the shockwave tugging at my dispersed form.
I barely had time to think before I reasserted control.
I surged forward, petals screaming across the ground toward her in a crimson blur. As I flew, something tickled the edge of my awareness.
Behind me.
The ball hadn't stopped.
It was following.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me ," then I got an idea.
I angled my trajectory and rushed straight at her, passing through her body in a cyclone of petals. At the last second, I twisted, guiding the tracking sphere directly back toward its owner.
I reformed behind her just in time to see her catch it cleanly ,no hesitation, no surprise. Before she could fully turn, Crescent Rose snapped into my hands, unfolding into scythe form with a familiar, comforting weight.
I swung.
She didn't dodge.
Instead, two extra arms snapped out from her sides ,where the hell did those come from ,and clamped down on the shaft of my scythe with bone-crushing force.
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(2/11=
https://typemoon.fandom.com/wiki/Hassan_of_the_Cursed_Arm- Hassan of the Cursed ArmOld Man of the Mountain Hanam-Due to the Midling role and the compatibility Yang gets the effects.
The effects are that she gets the noble phantasm of Hassan of the cursed arm. This Noble Phantasm manifests as a curse-based execution ability that directly targets the heart, bypassing all conventional forms of defense.
Primary Effect: Heart-Crushing Curse
The user seizes the target's conceptual heart, guaranteeing a fatal blow by shattering it instantly. This effect cannot be blocked, deflected, or resisted through armor, Aura, durability, or physical toughness alone. Once activated, the curse ignores all external protection and acts directly upon the heart itself.
Only entities that lack a heart entirely or whose existence fundamentally defies biological anatomy ,such as Grimm, Salem, or similar beings ,are immune to this effect.
For normal biological beings, once the curse takes hold, escape is impossible. Death is absolute and immediate.
Secondary Effect: Unsealing the Right Arm
When fully unleashed, the user removes the bindings restraining his right arm, revealing a monstrous, crimson, skeletal-looking limb ,a massive, unnatural appendage that radiates malice, curse energy, and lethal intent.
In this state, the arm's touch completely ignores conventional defenses, bypassing armor, Aura, and magical protection alike. Any contact allows the arm to directly seize the heart, delivering instant death upon impact.
This form carries Shaytan's Curse, a powerful malediction with the following effects:
Prevents all forms of healing or regeneration, whether natural, Aura-based, or magical.
Shatters the victim's heart on a conceptual level, making recovery impossible.
Ensures death even if the initial strike is somehow survived.
But due to the middle role this last effect is invalid, the effect is instead changed, to a weakening of a the opponent, for a period of time. Also, this hand is uncontrollable just as likely to kill your allies as to kill you or your opponent. Also, Yang knows all about the abilities of the hand. )
"What?!"
Her grip was insane. I couldn't pull free.
Then her remaining arm drew back.
I didn't have time to jump away.
My body scattered just as her punch tore through where my head had been, the force cracking the ground beneath us. I reformed several meters away, skidding backward to gain distance.
My heart was pounding now.
I looked her over properly this time.
She was… strange. Really strange.
Her upper clothing had been torn away almost completely, leaving only a tight tank top clinging to her torso. From each shoulder extended three arms, spider-like in their arrangement, all tense and ready. Each hand held one of those tracking spheres, fingers flexing like she was itching to throw them.
Her black hair with orange tips stuck to her face with sweat and dust, and her expression was pure ferocity ,eyes sharp, jaw tight, lips pulled back in something between a snarl and a grin.
She looked less like a Huntress and more like a beast barely pretending to be human.
Is it racist to think she's strange? I wondered distantly. …Probably not when she's literally growing extra arms.
I raised my free hand slightly. "Hey ,wait! We don't have to ,"
She threw another ball.
Then another.
Then another.
The air screamed as the spheres curved toward me, tracking relentlessly. I yelped and vanished into petals again, darting between them, weaving and reforming just long enough to deflect or redirect before disappearing once more.
Okay. Talking time is over.
If she wasn't going to listen, then I had no choice but to fight.
And judging by the look in her eyes…
She wouldn't stop until one of us was down.
Deciding to play it safe, I stayed in my scattered rose petal form, drifting and reforming only enough to guide my movement. I kept my distance carefully, far enough that the tracking balls could not immediately curve back toward me. One whistled past where my torso would have been, close enough that I felt the air pressure even without a body, and I scattered again, petals bursting outward as I shot away at full speed.
Mid flight, I partially materialized my cloak and let its wind ability activate. The sudden rush of air hurled me upward, the force scattering even more petals behind me as I climbed. Once I was high enough and far enough from the pursuing projectiles, I snapped back into a fully corporeal form.
Crescent Rose unfolded in my hands with smooth, practiced precision, metal shifting and locking into rifle mode with a familiar, grounding click. I forced my breathing to steady, focused, and poured a thin stream of Aura into the barrel. My sights settled on the nearest ball.
I fired.
The bullet twisted in mid air, its path warping as it transformed into a red arrow. It punched straight through the projectile without slowing. For a brief moment, there was silence.
Then the ball detonated violently, the explosion shredding the arrow in a burst of light and pressure.
I blinked.
"Oh. They explode."
That realization hit hard and fast. That changed everything. I adjusted my aim and fired again, once, twice, then faster, picking the remaining balls out of the air. Each impact lit the sky with sharp flashes, the blasts echoing across the wasteland until only smoke trails and falling fragments remained.
The strange woman below could probably summon more. I had no doubt about that. But I had not flown up here just to deal with her toys.
From this height, I had a clear shot.
I let my cloak keep me hovering, stabilizing me against the shifting air currents, and trained my sights on her. Then I opened fire.
Aura enhanced arrows tore downward in rapid succession, each shot deliberate. As she started to summon more of those balls, one arrow struck her arm. It did nothing. It did not pierce her skin. That got her attention.
She moved immediately, faster than I expected. Her dodges were sharp and instinctive, like a predator reacting on pure impulse. She twisted and leapt through the barrage, her expression locked in fierce focus as arrows gouged lines into the dirt around her.
I adjusted my aim on the fly. Low shots toward her legs to slow her. Quick snaps toward her arms to limit her movement. Center mass whenever she gave me an opening. Occasionally, a shot toward her head just to keep her off balance.
To anyone watching, it might have looked like I was missing. It might have looked like my attacks were doing nothing.
But they were doing one very important thing.
I did not let her breathe.
I did not give her the space to stop or the rhythm she needed to summon more of those balls. Every time she tried to slow down, another arrow forced her to move. Every hesitation was punished. I could feel it, clear and certain. If she got even a second of calm, the sky would fill again.
There might not be a limit to how many she could summon.
So until I found an opening, until I could land something decisive, I kept firing.
Shot after shot, I forced myself to stay calm and watch her closely. Patterns began to appear. Subtle, but real. The way her legs tensed before she lunged. The slight dip of her shoulders before a hard dodge. Even her eyes gave her away, flicking toward her next escape just before she moved.
She was fast. She was skilled.
But she was not unpredictable.
Sooner or later, she would slip.
The sun flared just to my side, its light spilling across my vision. I adjusted instinctively, angling my shots so the glare worked for me instead of against me. I fired several more arrows to keep her moving. One toward her leg. Two toward her chest. She dodged them easily.
Then another arrow appeared.
From her perspective, it came out of nowhere. Obscured by the sunlight, invisible until the last instant, it seemed to materialize right in front of her face. From both our perspectives, it looked impossible.
It was heading straight for her eye.
There was no time to dodge. This shot was unavoidable.
A spark of triumph flared in my chest. Even with strong Aura, this would hurt her.
Then she moved.
And what she did next shocked me.
Her hand moved so fast I barely saw it. It was like she was catching one of the balls she kept throwing around. She caught the arrow cleanly, tossed it upward, and then spun into a kick.
Her foot snapped up with brutal accuracy. It struck the arrow and sent it flying back toward me at a warped angle. For a split second, disbelief froze me in place.
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(2/6=https://typemoon.fandom.com/wiki/Hinako_Akuta-Hinako Akuta (芥ヒナコ, Akuta Hinako?) is one of the seven Crypters, Masters attempting to supplant the Proper Human History with that of the Lostbelt in Fate/Grand Order: Cosmos in the Lostbelt. - due to the evil gods D interference this goes to the Demon Ruby is currently fighting.
The effect is, she gets a very weak conversion of the noble phantasm of Hinako call the eternal Loment the effect is self-destruct basically but instead of self self-destructing this Demon can now make her body parts explode only body parts.)
You have got to be kidding me.
Instinct took over. I yanked hard on my cloak and released its wind. The force threw me sideways through the air as red petals burst outward. The arrow ripped past the spot where my head had been a heartbeat earlier. It moved slower than I expected, but the surprise was enough.
My rhythm shattered.
That was all she needed.
She dropped into a low, wide stance, solid and ready. Her eyes swept across the battlefield, sharp and focused. My pulse pounded in my ears as I tracked her.
She is going to be harder to hit now, I thought to my self.
The opening I gave her was small. She did not have time to summon more balls, but I could not let her take control. Every second matters and one mistake could turn the tides of this battle.
I forced myself to focus. I watched every step she took and every dodge she made. I had to read her movement, predict where she would go next, and strike the instant she slipped. One bad shot was all it would take for this to collapse.
I narrowed my eyes and locked onto her. My arrows kept falling, each one more deliberate than the last. I adjusted for wind, distance, and the slight delay in her reactions. I used controlled gusts from my cloak to bend my shots, curving them just enough to hit where she was about to be instead of where she stood.
It worked.
Several arrows forced her into rough dodges. Her movements lost some sharpness. Her breathing grew heavier. I saw frustration start to show on her face.
Then she changed tactics. She stopped dodging sideways and sprinted straight toward my shadow.
"Oh, that is smart," I muttered.
If she got directly beneath me, my firing angle would collapse. Straight down shots were awkward and slow. I would lose my ability to lead her properly. She was trying to trap me in the sky.
I clenched my jaw as my thoughts raced.
Think. Think. Think.
My Semblance was not just speed.
And Crescent Rose was not just a gun.
My fingers tightened around the trigger as a familiar resolve settled into my chest.
Fine.
I had never used this ability before, but I knew it was there because of the status page the evil god and that mysterious person gave me. I tried to sense it the way I used my side Semblance. That failed. With no better option, I turned inward and searched.
At first, all I felt was a tangled web. Countless strands stretched in every direction. I recognized it as my primary Semblance. It responded to me, but I left it alone. Looking deeper, I noticed small nodes woven into the web. A rose. A scythe. Shards of light. And vast pools of darkness. The darkness stood out the most. Heavy. Endless. Almost crushing.
Then I found it.
The ability to change the parameters of my power.
I focused on it and shifted the balance. Less defense. More offense. I could not change Crescent Rose itself, but I could change the Aura flowing through it. I stripped away its protective qualities and forced everything into speed and piercing force.
I fired.
The arrow struck before she could react. From her point of view, it must have appeared out of thin air. I had attached a rose petal to it, guiding its path and pushing it faster than it should have been able to move. I curved it into her blind spot.
She tried to knock it away.
It punched straight through her forearm.
I flinched. That had to hurt.
No time to stop.
I kept firing. Arrows curved around her from impossible angles. Some shattered when she tried to deflect them, breaking like glass, but the fragments still tore into her skin. Cuts opened along her arms and legs. Shallow. Painful.
She did not scream.
No Aura flared to protect her.
Does she not know how to use Aura. Or does she not have it at all. Then how is she doing this.
She kept moving. Smooth. Controlled. Almost unnatural.
Before I could think further, she acted.
In one fluid motion, she grabbed her wounded arm. While dodging, she severed it completely and hurled it straight at me.
I froze.
What?!
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1/5=https://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-024-Description: SCP-024 is an abandoned sound stage that was once owned by █████████. However, SCP-024 itself had been abandoned since 19██, and it is unknown whether its special properties manifested before or after its abandonment. SCP-024 is located in the heart of █████████, ██████████, and was initially discovered when a group of teenage youths broke into the abandoned compound. The testimony of the lone "winner" when she turned herself in to the police was enough to have Foundation assets mobilize to contain SCP-024. due to the extremely low role this building and the full anomaly will not manifest. Instead what will happen is whoever kills the Demon gets the best ability it has and the people who do damage and help kill the Demon gain a random ability that is left.
The thought barely formed before the severed hand twitched in midair, fingers curling as a ball materialized in its palm. It launched with uncanny precision.
I yelped and scattered into a cloud of petals just as the projectile detonated where I had hovered moments before. Retreating, I tried to fire in return, but it was too late. My barrage had ended. She was already fully recovered.
Then the sky erupted. One ball became five. Five became dozens. Dozens multiplied into hundreds, each tracking, each curving, each screaming toward me from every conceivable angle. I fired constantly, detonating them mid-air while my cloak's wind ability screamed with burst the air at its maximum output to keep me moving. I had to stay corporeal to fight, to aim, to shoot.
Explosions ripped through the sky like a storm of fire and metal, pressure waves slamming against me. I couldn't gain distance. Every time I pulled back, more balls filled the gap, like some relentless tide.
I couldn't run.
Why couldn't I run? The thought flickered, sharp and cold, as if I'd forgotten something vital, but the roar of detonations drowned it out.
And all the while, the huntress pressed closer.