Lightning quick exchanges, Abella constantly on the backfoot.
Tanaka was just barely able to take attention off her, as this… D'arce perfectly blocked, and countered with a riposte.
A combatant that was perfectly in their element. Where even the valkyries of Gro-goroth would weep in envy of the skill at display.
Marina needed to do something, fast.
Or else they would all be torn into ribbons.
A quick cast, minimizing chants. Her hands flashed through several hand signs.
Sheep. Vermin. Snake. Wolf.
"Get back!" She warned her teammates, both of whom disengaged at her command. "Black Smog!"
Reality overlapped, her words bringing forth a thick black fog.
It carpeted the air like the Vile's toxic gas, and ate through flesh with just as much voracity.
But most importantly, it blinded anyone that was caught within it.
Returning to Lenora's side, Marina grabbed onto the wheel chair, "Just follow me!"
They didn't have the luxury of time, they had to keep pushing through. No matter what.
Returning to the ritual circle, they stood within its bounds.
Marina quietly hoped the circle didn't lead to their doom.
But they had little choice in the matter.
"What now!?" Abella demanded, back to the party. Her wrench discarded, and a broom stick now in its place. "Marina, what do we do now!?"
They turned to her for answers.
For they couldn't escape through the elevators. Their backs quite literally pressed against the wall.
To make matters worse, this… D'arce, slowly walked out of the fog, seemingly no worse for wear. Save for the lack of skin on her body.
"Please, don't run." She asked of them, as though they were lambs to the slaughter. "It makes my job more difficult."
"Dreams and reality, Mind over matter," Marina hurriedly chanted, drawing on the hope for safety, for survival. "The liminal space between what is and isn't!"
There was no dramatic tear in reality, like with spells of Gro-goroth. As The Violent One wanted to make His pressence known to all.
There were not lights, or feeling of envigoration, like with Sylvian Spells. The Great Mother only ever wanted to embrace all within Her clutches.
Rher was uttertly detached to those concepts. As The Delinquent One, the god bore no attachment to flashy spectacle. But only in the amount of confuddlement a certain action caused.
Case in point, Rher's realm.
It was much like the dream they all had. The wooden walls stank of mold, the ceiling stretching out into the sky, boundless, but also percievable.
A maze where the only thing that was certain was yourself, and what you deigned to be reality.
A dream realm.
Though, for some reason, this particular dream realm felt different compared to the ones she opened in the Vatican.
Typcially, there only existed the creator, and those they wished to enter the realm.
However, this realm had already been filled out.
Like they had been transported into someone else's dream…
"Marina, where are we?" Abella asked, blinking spots out of her vision that would never leave her. "How did we get away from that… thing?"
She had been similarly disorentated. Although, she was used to exploring such limal realms.
"We are in the home of a God," She whispered, loud enough for all to hear. "We need to find another one of those circles. It should be somewhere here…."
"Hai, Marina-San," Tanaka nodded, though he looked unsure. "But where is this circle? I don't see one around us."
"That's the thing, we need to look for the exit." A troubled expression crossed Marina's face. However, there was always a light at the end of the tunnel. "Although, places like these typcially follow a linear pattern. If we can find a path, and follow it, we should be able to escape without issue.-"
It seemed as if the realm had read her thoughts.
A mechanic buzz echoed from behind them, as the party turned to face what new hell awaited them.
From the ground, a head sprouted. Growing like a tree, as it emerged to reveal the rusted metalic body of a woman.
The being had blades for arms, and gears for joints. A constant creek following it with every movement.
"Just keep going the opposite way!" Bella ordered, the group following without complaint.
There was no time to talk, as the hall stretched and stretched. The machine woman following them with every step.
But no matter how much distance they crossed, it was like the monster was always one step behind them..
Or like their feet were walking through mud-
Just as the idea crossed Marina's mind, a quagmire appeared beneath their feet. Swallowing their feet with every step!
"Shit!" Marina cursed, as the wheelchair was slowed by the mud. "Guys, I need some help here!"
Though, looking at the Abella and Tanaka, they also seem to be in a pickle. Both trying to take their feet out of the sinking mess, though ultimately failing, as their other foot fell deeper into the swamp.
It wasn't looking all too great. And looking back, the manequin-like monsters were still creeping ever closer, their bodies girating as they moved.
Looking down at Lenora's sleep form, and looking back at the words she'd said, Marina's heart grew resolved, as she turned back.
Fine, if she was going to go out. She would do it on her terms.
"Life for a life, an equivalent exchange!" She roared in defiance, hands coming together.
Otherwordly energy gathered easily in these higher realms, the burden on her mind lightening.
A black sphere formed in front of Marina, as the cultist poured all her emotions into the attack.
Fear, desperation, guilt.
Black sphere, a spell of Gro-goroth with immense power, but a heavy cost.
It formed a ball of energy made from the curses found within one's heart. And the more negative emotions a person felt while casting the spell, the stronger it became…
Inversely, positive emotions weakened the spell. Thinking clearly was a down side to the spell, as it actively hampered the caster's efforts…
But what if…
In the formation of the spell, instead of imbueing the sphere with just negative emotions, she were to harmonize the two together?
But how would one go about that?
Hate, fury, the guilt she felt, it all condensed into a murky ball. One which sucked in all that entered its influence.
But, that wasn't all she was feeling…
No, because through the connection (this random feeling in her heart), she also felt things she couldn't explain.
Sylvian virtues were often associated with these emotions. The joys of creation, as it were.
But what if Marina were to-
A pair of arms hugged her tightly from behind, guiding her ever action.
The proper seals, came to her naturally, her hands spread to properly visualize.
"Repeat after me," A smooth voice spoke in her ear. Its gender undiscernable, neither male nor female.
It just was.
"Bear my love, which shines brighter than the stars!" It was a vow, something to settle the emotions. "In the name of Love and Hate, I'll punish you!"
Another sphere, this one radiating like a lightbulb, formed in front of her. One she had never seen before.
Curious, she reached to touch it, but her hand would not budge an inch. As if to push her away.
""Nine Ropes. Polarized Light. Crow and Declaration. Between Front and Back!" She continued, knowledge flowing into her, as understanding bloomed in her mind's eye.
The connection between Sylvian and Gro-goroth. The spell that was the inverse to the birth of Vinushka. A realization to the duality that came with creation.
Ultimate destruction.
The two balls merged, turning into a gray sphere that consumed even the light around it.
Marina's mind frayed at the edges, unable to bear the sight humans were never meant to see.
But the spells wasn't finished yet.
Guided once more, her fingers shifted.
One hand was out stretched, aiming the ball. While the other was held behind it.
It was beautiful. A once in a century miracle that was only possible because she was in Rher's domain.
"Gray Orb"
Marina mimed a flicking motion.
And everything in front of her disappeared.
The imperfect distilation of emotions, caused the spell to deviate. Though, it wasn't entirely deminished.
It still bore the pressence of something nobody was meant to uncover.
Like it had all been a bad dream, the mud beneath the party's feet disappeared. No longer in the chase, they were more free than ever to explore the dimension, and find the exit.
Looking back at Lenora, a quiet smile crossed her features.
At the very least, she would save one person here.
Maybe Marina wasn't so selfish after all.
Turning to the rest of the ground, she beamed at them, a hand on her hip. "Alright, let's go!"
Gobsmacked, the rest of the party merely nodded, continuing the trek onward.
And Marina felt all the better for it.
"In the name of Love and Hate, huh?" She whispered under her breath.
A blush bloomed on her the girl's cheeks. Just remembering what she'd said…
It made shivers run down her spine.
Still, acknowledging her feelings made the knot in Marina's chest lighter.
'Just wait dad, I'll show you just how much I've improved…"
Unbeknownst to Marina, an ever so little smile crept across Lenora's face, a small patch forming beneath her, as the seconds ticked by.
"Why is the floor so wet?" Marina asked aloud, feeling the moisture even through her maryjanes.
"Must be the mud from earlier." Abella answered, obviously unable to feel it through her work boots.
"I feel no such thing as well, Marina-San." Tanak added his thoughts, looking at his soles. "Not even a drop on my treads."
"Huh… That's weird," Marina glanced all around her. Unable to find if there was even a source to it..
But most likely, it came from the mud, like Abell had suggested.