damned_institute | Night 44: Main Hall, 2-West

The girl's speed would hardly matter, though she had little way of knowing that. The lucentien's skin (though it was more like armor) continued to gleam unnaturally as it threw its body forward, its movements illogical for its human-like form. Its mouth gaped open, but the lack of teeth meant that most of its danger was in its long knife-claws.

She wasn't running, which was best, as the monster wasn't one for chases. Instead it let out a guttural noise and almost stumbled forward, flinging an arm out in an attempt to slash at any part of the patient that its claws could reach as it closed the distance between them.

The girl was alone. This would most likely be an easy kill, if she truly did choose to stay and fight.

Damn, this thing was hard to read. It was like a cross between a human and one of those bizarre plants back in the Gaoracchia Forest that would smack a ninja around if she got too careless.

That skin looked hardened, but Sheena didn't know how hard it was. She'd fought monsters with thick skin before. It took a bit more effort but eventually they fell. That being the thought, when the monster attacked, the ninja ducked under the swipe, her hand meeting the back of its elbow with a shove to hopefully put it offbalance, and then sprang up into a powerful roundhouse kick aimed at the back of the creature's neck.

Maybe this would be quick and she'd get lucky enough to break its neck.

There was no denying that the ninja was agile and skilled, but it didn't mean much when she was going up against a lucentien. It didn't matter how strong someone was, how sharp their sword was, or how quickly they could string together attacks. Not in this case.

The monster definitely stumbled, slamming into the wall with a loud crash, like the sound of a gong being hit, yet warped. However, that did little to deter it. It had to yank it arms for a few seconds to pull the nails of its right hand out of the wall (they'd gotten lodged in there on impact), but once that was done it was able to turn itself right back around and pull its arm down toward the girl in a sweeping motion, nails extended.

That... didn't work as intended.

Sheena's foot smarted a little from the kick, which wasn't something that normally happened unless she kicked someone armored with the intention of ringing their bell. So, the thing had an armor-like skin. She could deal with that. Maybe.

Geeze, it was strong. Was that a piece of the wall falling to the floor as the thing pulled it's claws out?

The ninja didn't bother to verify whether it had as the monster turned and swiped down at her. Well, she had a couple options still left; it was far too early to give up. Armored or not, the thing still had joints. Darting inside the sweep, wary of the other claw, Sheena brought her hands up to catch the monster's wrist and tried to twist the limb around into a lock behind its back.

She really hoped it felt pain.

While the monster was sturdy and dangerous, it had little grace, making it a simple matter for the girl to dart in and twist it around. The lucentien pitched forward as its arm was yanked behind it, though it showed no sign of being in pain. It started to extend the claws of the captured arm out in hopes of nicking the girl and getting her to release it, but that didn't seem to be working particularly well.

Instead, it tried to turn itself back around to face her, not seeming to care that it might cause its arm to get pulled out of the socket. It swiped with its free arm, aiming for her face this time. It wasn't out of any practiced malice, but simply going for whatever was closest.

And maybe the worst thing was that it wasn't even killing to feed. Lucentiens killed for the sake of it. They were guardians, near mindless attackers that were much hardier than the average rat or cat.

For the moment, it Sheena seemed had some measure of control over the monster. It couldn't get at her with the claws of the arm she had locked behind its back, and she'd seen more grace in a drunken Meltokio whore. It didn't show any indication that it felt pain, which she found concerning. What was the purpose of this creature? It really felt like something she'd find in the Meltokio Colosium and not in a place where things tried to eat you every moment of the night.

As the creature tried to turn, the ninja went with the movement, staying behind it, and twisted the arm harshly. If it was so insistent on rendering the limb she had in her hands useless, who was she to argue with it? Besides, one less claw to deal with was preferred, she decided as she hissed in pain. Blood from a few shallow cuts on her face welled up as she'd underestimated the creature's reach. Those cuts better not scar.

Note to self: Don't let it do that again.

As sturdy as the monster was, it still had joints -- and while there was no bone that could break, its shoulder was still able to be dislocated. That was exactly what happened, and the creature pulled harshly away from the girl to get out of her grasp. Once it did so, its arm hung uselessly at its side.

However, that didn't stop it or send it running back the way it came. Lucentiens had no concept of fear most of the time, and while it was unable to see the girl, it could feel on its metal nails that it had drawn blood. If anything, that spurred it to keep fighting until the girl was so weakened that the only thing she could do was keep bleeding until she was dried out.

Angling its body so that the uninjured side was slightly forward, it lurched toward her, flinging its good arm around wildly in hopes of stabbing her in the shoulder, the gut, anywhere it could reach. Anywhere that would cause more bleeding.

One arm down, one to-- Shit!

The wild swing forced Sheena to abort her plan repeating the process with the other arm. She simply didn't have the time to catch it like she had the first. Quickly dropping low to the ground, the claw grazing so close to her head that a piece of her hair that stuck up was severed, Sheena stuck upwards at the monster's elbow with the heel of her hand.

Coiled as she was, she transferred the power from her legs through her body and into the strike. If she couldn't get the limb at the shoulder, she'd take the elbow.

Not even making an attempt to dodge (that was not this creature's strong point), the lucentien took the hit and the pressure from the attack was enough to toss it backwards and off balance.

It crashed to the ground loudly, the sound echoing through what was a mainly empty hallway. However, this position, facing up, wasn't nearly as vulnerable as one might think, and the lucentien took its time in getting back up again. It wasn't exactly easy to push its body up when it only had proper control of one arm, after all.

Wow. Sheena hadn't expected it to make that loud of a noise when it hit the floor and leaped back out of instinct. She eyed the thing warily as it started the process of righting itself, focusing on the elbow she'd hit. Nope. It seemed to be working alright. Damnit.

Something tickled her neck then. Reaching up to grasp whatever it was, her hand came away with a bit of thick black hair that as no longer attached to the rest of her head.

"...bastard," Sheena growled out, dropping the strands as she charged at the golden creature. Since it was using its good arm to get up, the ninja wasn't worried about the claws. That arm had to be supporting a great amount of weight and would be vulnerable. Once in range, Sheena kicked hard at the monster's elbow.

"That was my hair!"

It heard the noises from the girl, but they meant nothing to it beyond being able to register anger. Her kick hit sharply, causing the monster to fall back down against the floor with another clang. Still, this had brought her in close enough that she was once again in range of its long claws.

It leaned up and forward, light still shimmering off of it as it threw its good arm forward to try and stab at least one of its claws into the girl's shin. It would be helpful if it could take out one of her limbs the way she had crippled its arm.

Her anger made Sheena sloppy. She didn't see the claw coming until it was too late to avoid it. Still she tried, leaping back in hopes of getting out of its range. Pain flared up from her leg as the claws cut through her leggings and flesh, the ninja giving a small cry as the tips scraped against bone.

She continued her leap backwards into a handspring, taking herself far enough away from the monster that she could assess her leg. Kneeling down, one eye on the creature, she probed at her leg. Shit. That was pretty deep.

Damnit! Bringing a single paper card out, the ninja tested her leg. Okay, it would still hold her weight, but for how long? She needed to do something about it.

Another successful hit, and the lucentiens' body writhed as its claws screeched in some strange sort of pleasure across the floor. It had gotten her in the leg, which was going to greatly cut down on her agility. That had been her greatest strength thus far, meaning that the chances of a kill were much higher now.

It did not hear her racing forward again, which most likely meant she was scared, licking her wounds. The golden creature pressed its good hand flatly against the floor again (those nails hissing as they slid against each other) and then started to push itself back up a second time.

That screeching sound? That was downright creepy. If it wasn't for the fact that she kind of needed the monster right them and leaving it for another to deal with wasn't something the ninja would do, she would have run. Steeling herself, Sheena reminded herself that she was Mizuho and she had to deal with this.

Dashing forward, teeth gritting against the pain, Sheena leaped at the wall just out of the monster's reach and, using her good leg, bounded off the wall to somersault over the creature to land on the opposite side of it. As she neared the end of her path, she threw the paper card in her hand at the golden creature. Channeling her mana into the card, she completed the Life Seal and waited for the card's vampiric effect to take place; she wasn't keen on how much landing had hurt.

Come on... Come on... Work!

While it could hear her movements with a surprising amount of clarity, lucentiens could see nothing but darkness, and so it was difficult for it to determine what exactly all of that shuffling was about. The only thing it knew was that she was being careful to not get in range of it, which meant it was going to have to rush toward her instead.

It was just getting to its feet, that one arm still completely limp while the claws of the other dripped with the girl's blood, when the seal hit it. The spell did as it was intended to, causing the monster to fall off balance as some of its energy was drawn out of it.

It stumbled against the wall, its injured shoulder colliding against it harshly. It would have been enough to cause any human to cry out, but the creature was merely waiting to recover from that attack so that it could continue with its own offensive.

Feeling the rush of life energy into her body, albeit a much smaller amount than she was used to, the gash in her leg stopped bleeding and the cut sealed. It was still very delicate, prone to reopening if she put too much stress on it, or took another blow there, but it would do. It would do.

With the monster recovering from the seal with its back to her, Sheena pressed her luck. With the Life Seal being affective, she concluded that her other seals would as well. Invulnerable to straightforward physical attacks it may be, but it seemed mana had an effect. That thought rejuvenated the ninja's spirit.

Pushing off, Sheena closed the distance to the glowing monster, one of her sturdier card in her hand. Everything she'd ever fought before was vulnerable from behind, so she'd take advantage of the opportunity. Again, before she got in the range of the thing's arm, Sheena sent the card at the creature with a charge of mana. A quick hand motion and the card split into a small flurry of cards to explode upon contact in a Pyre Seal.

These studier cards were so much better. She needed to make more.

If the fight had stayed hand-to-hand, it was likely that the lucentien would have won. However, with the girl resorting to magic, the golden monster found it hard to fight back. Even so, if that attack had been aimed at its front, it would have been fine, and most of the cards did just bounce off of its back.

One, however, did not. One sliced into the hidden, tender spot on its lower back, opening up its only weak spot.

The cut was small, but it was still enough to cause some blood that was as gold as the rest of the lucentien to seep out. The monster leaned against the wall and then fell onto one knee, splaying its good hand out on the floor in front of it. It was difficult to tell if it would have the energy to get any further attacks in, now that it had been truly wounded.

It bled gold?!

Sheena wasn't about to question that fact any further until she was sure it wasn't going to get back up. The ninja was on the monster like snow was on Flanoir. With her fingers curled into a more spear-like shape than a common fist, the ninja struck at that bleeding spot with all her strength, wishing her exsphere was working to give her that extra oomph to the attack.

She wasn't sure how much more damage she could do, but theoretically it should have some kind of nervous connection in that area.

While not as effective as something legitimately sharp, the girl's follow-up attack was still enough to prod the wound open further and cause more of that blood to spill, sliding across the lucentiens' hard body before dripping onto the floor. It went through spasms of what had to be pain, even though it made no noise.

Still, it wasn't going to give up that easily. If it was going to bleed out, then it wanted the girl to go along with it. It jerked its body around and slashed its good arm out at her, a last-ditch effort before it fell on its side onto the floor. And the blood just kept pouring out...

The last-ditch effort, the death throe, Sheena was read for. Hands came up to catch the creature's arm, keeping the blade-like claws from connecting. The monster's strength in those last moments, though, was enough to put the ninja into the wall.

"Oof!" Hands losing their purchase on the arm thanks to the blood on her hand, Sheena rolled backwards away from the creature and into a crouch. As she watched the thing, she rubbed her shoulder where she'd hit the wall.

"Hurry up and die already," Sheena grumbled at the monster as the golden blood pooled on the floor.

And that was what it did; the lucentiens' body continued to twitch in the pains of death, its hard skin scraping against the floor as it writhed around while the blood oozed out warmly.

Eventually, all movement stopped and the creature finally lost its glow, returning the hallway to complete darkness.

The lack of luminescence was a pretty good indicator that the monster was dead, but Sheena wanted to make sure. Silently creeping forward, the ninja crouched down, her weight on the balls of her feet, and poked the monster.

Nothing happened, there was no response, so Sheena poked it again, a little harder. Still no reaction; it was dead.

Breathing out a sigh of relief, Sheena put her back to the wall and sat down. She needed to rest her leg a bit before moving on. She wished she'd been able to gather more energy with her Life Seal, but this was going to have to do. As she sat, she gave a vaguely disgusted look at her hand, feeling the stickiness from the monster's blood on it.

Gold blood. That was new.

Here there be monsters -- perhaps the best way to describe the Institute at night, with its shifting shadows and soft, unidentifiable noises. Were those footsteps those of another patient, or something more sinister? Was that movement in the corner of one's eye just a trick of the moonlight, or a night-beast sneaking up, intent on blood?

Whatever the case, it bore remembering: here there be monsters. More than one, and if one hadn't succeeded, there existed others to pick off their leavings.

A faint croaking sound slowly began to resound in the hallway, growing louder and softer at random intervals, but without a clear indication of source. Still, gradually, it seemed to move closer to where the ninja had chosen to rest, something created of hatred and hidden too long in the darkness ready to pick up where the creature of light had left ...

A shiver ran down Sheena's spine, and she peered around with wide eyes. Fear creeped upon her, for ninja were not immune to such things. Not sure what was coming, she shifted into a crouch, one hand on the ground disregarding the pool of golden blood it was in.

Sheena couldn't tell where the sound was coming from, but one thing was very certain. She did not want to know what was making it. With another quick look around, the ninja silently slipped down the hallway and around the corner.

The icy fingers she felt on the back of her neck was her imagination, but it didn't feel that way.

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Night 44: Main Hall, 2-West

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