Terrain Exploration [Yuuki, party of 2]

[Lucretia Odovacar]

Lucretia needed a break from some of the more difficult investigations she had been doing lately.  She thought about taking a break tonight, but doing so honestly made her feel listless, like she was wasting her time.  Given the recent circumstances, it was becoming increasingly difficult for her to just take a break.  She knew such thinking was unhealthy and would eventually result greater fatigue, which in a situation like this could easily lead to death.

So, she compromised with herself.  She wouldn't go to the spire today, and she would go out of her way to avoid fights.  On the off chance she did get into one, it would at least be weaker than what she was used to.  There was still plenty she could explore in this area as well, since she had only been here once.  Instead of figuring out what kind of creatures were in this area, she decided to study the area itself.  Most areas in the midnight world weren't really any different, but it was worth a look around at least.  It would certainly make for a pretty lax investigation, and that's what she needed right now.

Lucretia walked around to the back of the shrine and started examining the building.  She was admittedly, not sure what the place normally looked like, but she would look over it carefully and come back here during the day to see if anything changed.  During that time, she sensed another person enter the area.  Rather than move too much, she just stuck out her arm from behind the shrine and waved.  It's not like her arm looked too similar to the creatures here, so it shouldn't look too weird, right?

[Yuuki Honda]

"Tch..."

He was already in pain. He was forced to keep his hand in his pocket as it shook violently. The sting was similar to hitting your funny-bone on the corner of your school desk. But, like all of the painful episodes before this, it would be only momentary. Even still, his vision was slightly blurred from having to tolerate it on his way here. As it subsided, echoes of the pulsating feeling remained. Yuuki removed it from his pocket, and let it hang limp on his side. Was he ready to fight in this condition?

Nonsense, he can take them on even without the function of his right hand. That's how he's handled all of his adventures in the Dark Hour since the beginning of these hellish weeks. To think that all of this began a minute after the moment that took away his dreams and his aspirations, and most of everything that ever mattered to him.

I wish I died in that car crash.

The teen closed his eyes and lowered his head, an inappropriate action in this Shadow-eat-Human world. While nothing came after him during this moment, the solitude allowed for room to feel miserable about himself.

At least I wouldn't have to watch the world burn.

These negative thoughts obstructed his focus, but he couldn't help but to flash back to the encounter against the Cerberus. The Demonic realm and their existence outside of fantasy led to infinite possibility for this world, most of which will end it all anyway. What if Gods were real there? Maybe that would at least allow this faction of Persona-users to partake in civilized discussion with them, provided that they weren't as jerkish as the Demons under them. Ah, but this was all wishful thinking.

A movement caught the corner of his eye, specifically the movement of a hand waving behind the shrine. Someone was here. Yuuki's eyes brightened up a bit, though it was by his own will that they did so. He looked around and stealthily crouched his way to the hand's location, meeting the girl whom he now knows as 'Rucreshia'... or 'Odovacar'. Which name was more proper? "Oh. It's good to see you here, Ru-Ru..." Obviously, the native Japanese-speaker had trouble pronouncing her name. He tripped over the L-sound, which might be his fault for not paying attention in English.

"...Odovacar-san. Are you keeping well?"

Yuuki would occasionally look around for Shadow presence, even though it was probable that Lucretia would detect it first.

[Satanick]

Crusader Sigil
Resist: Dark
Weak: Light
Skills: Mahamaon, Infuriate, Agilao

Preying Eagle
Resist: Dark
Weak: Pierce
Skills: Blade of Fury, Auto-Masukukaja, Mudoon

[Lucretia Odovacar]

Lucretia sensed the creatures for some time.  Given how wide her sensory range was, she could see everything in this shrine.  She knew that she should just get away from here and that there was no reason to fight, but doing so would slow down her own investigation.  She only had an hour to look around this place, and if she was too slow she'd have to wait until the next night to make any more progress.  There was another person here too, and the creatures were weak, there wouldn't be much harm in fighting them.  It's not like she was ever good at keeping the promises she made to herself anyway.  Thus, she ignored the presence of the slowly approaching creatures and continued examining every inch of the shrine itself.  

As for the human, she mentally sighed when he tried to say her name.  Even if she was used to it by now, it still made her feel a bit depressed.  

"I am fine.  I am seeing if there are any small differences between this midnight world and the normal world.  Compared to the demon world, the midnight world stays much more the same.  It seems strange to me how little the two worlds have in common with each other."

At that point, the creatures were close enough for her to scan, though it would still take them a moment to arrive.  As expected, they weren't strong at all, but all things considered she still probably shouldn't have let this happen.  Lucretia would still compare this area to the area she'd see in the morning, but she didn't see anything out of the ordinary.  This investigation wasn't really worth fighting for in the end.  Oh well.

"Two creatures coming.  Both are strong against dark attacks, so do not use it.  One is weak against piercing attacks, so I will let you get that one.  I will get the other."

All things considered, he'd probably kill his target before she killed hers given how bad her offensive ability was and that she might have to spend some time healing.  The light based attack that creature used would also be a problem given both of them were weak to light.  She was pretty sure she'd be able to heal any damage done, but it was still annoying.

[Yuuki Honda]

Yuuki pondered the thought of the differences between the Dark Hour and the Demonic Realm. "Well," he spoke, "the Dark Hour is just this world frozen in place for like an hour while Shadows frolick about in our homes, businesses, and streets. It's sort of understandable that they'd be as different as the difference between this world, our world, and the Demon world." Switching between 'realm' and 'world' revealed his confusion over what to call it. It might be an alternate dimension, or it might be a copy-pasted version of this world's scenery placed on another planet. Maybe they're aliens.

Crazy shit. Not a lot of information. Bummer.


Another big bummer? There were two Shadows on their way. It was just as he had predicted; they always seemed to attack bigger groups. Or it was simply coincidence. Why did they always have to pop up whenever he met up with a few others? It was a pain; socializing is always better than fighting. It wasn't that he could get hurt, but the concept of fighting in general. They had to fight for the lives, and that just sucked.

The Black Knight rose from the ground in a dark pool, almost as though it itself was a Shadow. He looked like a demon or a zombie rising from the pits of hell. Yuuki glanced at his target and nodded in response to Lulu's orders. "Understood. Let's not prolong this." He pulled at his covered sword's handle and swiped the bag away. The ivory blade's light color was shrouded by the pulsating shadow surrounding it like an aura.

He rushed at his target as usual, the wind brushing against his body and his right hand strangely tucked into his jacket. His position was akin to an American Football player holding the ball. The student struck his sword downward, however, fazing the enemy while his Persona, which trailed right behind him as a streak of darkness, pierced into the crowned black bird thing with its claws. Yuuki circled the enemy and slammed the point of his weapon on the back of the Eagle, pushing it down into the ground. While it was immobilized, the Black Knight proceeded to stab the creature over and over and over and over again.

It was a few seconds after he realized that it was already motionless that Yuuki got up from its deteriorating body and stepped back. His Persona faded into the darkness in time with the Eagle, and he looked back to Lucretia who'd most likely be finished with killing her own target soon. Once that was done, he dropped his sword, picked up his case, sleeved the weapon, and held it over his shoulder... all with the same hand.

"...You're pretty strong even without a combat-type Persona. That's rather awe-inspiring."