✧ THE TORTURED ✧

The assault on The Tortured was beginning to have an effect, and those astute enough could see exactly why. Kaida had forced it back on the defensive and when faced with the 4 heroes, it had no choice but to double down on this desperate effort to defend itself. The metallic whips that had extended from the sphere were flailing wildly to try and dissuade anyone else from approaching only for two of them to be pierced by Kaida's swinging tail and fall limp to the side.

This wasn't the only thing that began to struggle.

In an attempt to keep the others out, The Tortured had begun to weaken its hold on its biological host, who was still flailing and screaming at the top of his lungs to be freed from the metallic maw. The liquid metal that had coated him head to toe had now receded exposing his head and his chest, and he flailed wildly trying to free himself further.

Not appreciating this, The Tortured turned back inwards, dragging the remaining metallic whip inside its shell to subdue its host. That would be IF Jun didn't open fire at that worst possible moment. The shell was torn open as a result, revealing the half-naked, bruised and bloody man fighting desperately to be free from this torture.

Whatever or whoever the entity controlling this was, it was pushed into a corner without a way out. There wasn't enough time to build up the energy required for the conversion of the ward into its domain. With a last-ditch effort of self-preservation it would glow, and within seconds a red flash would burst forth, covering everyone in its light before it would disapparate. Whatever it had done it caused the host to cough up copious amounts of blood with more pouring out from its eyes.

The four heroes would have their vision and senses warped by the light they were exposed to moments earlier as the human within the shell now resembled those whom they held most dear. It was more than an illusion as the light they were exposed to would slowly warp their senses further until they genuinely believed that the person in front of them was the person they cared for the most.

Kaida's elder sister, Jun's father, Hoshino for Hebi, and Kupo for Jack. They would need to strike quick and true before the shell of The Tortured could fully regenerate and they lost all sense of reason. Could they do it? Could they strike down the person they cared for the most? More importantly...would the others stand by and let this happen?
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tl;dr
-The Tortured loses two of its whips from Kaida
- It focuses its attention inward as the host starts to struggle.
- Jun's assault blasts open the cocoon, exposing the human underneath all the metal
- The Tortured douses the area with a harmless light that changes the human's appearance to those closest to each person. With the longer they wait before acting, the more effective, it will be.
- It tries to use this to bide time to regenerate and complete its mission.

✧ THE INFERNO ✧

Perhaps it was because of the unstable nature of his transformation but The Inferno was having a much harder time with complex thought and speech "Gonna smash ya!" was about all he could get up as he snapped the chains surrounding him only to have Auden grab onto him. Not as much of a problem as he readied a punch to put him into the ground...

Until the blue flames Auden created touched his 'skin'.

He would howl in pain instinctively trying to shake him off as he screamed and thrashed around. Miroru encircled him and lit him up with hit-and-run tactics. They were enough to push him to be further unstable as the cracks on his body began to split and opened revealing something even worse. Magma.

The heat would intensify enough that even with Miroru mitigating as much as she could it was radiating outwards and strong enough to cause second-degree burns for anyone who got too close. If Auden held on he might be able to heal through the heat damage but he would soon feel the Inferno's arms structure starting to collapse as it released a trail of magma heading straight for him. The Inferno, with his newfound powers, cranked his neck toward the sky and bellowed sending a volley of magma into the air and in all directions as if he were a volcano.

He was desperate and losing all reasoning as he reached his third and final stage; a volcano that would wipe out the ward if not contained or destroyed before he went critical.

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tl;dr:
- Inferno snaps the chains and tries to strike Auden, his sense of reason deteriorating
- The Blue flames Auden produces at having a profound effect on him
- Miroru's assault causes his body to break apart further until he starts leaking magma, including down his extremities towards Auden.
- Heat ramps up to a point where even Miroru can't cancel it out, contact will cause second degree burns
- The Inferno spews magma into the air like a volcanic eruption in all directions.

✧ THE TORTURED ✧

The sudden incursion on the Tortureds newly formed shell wasn't welcomed by the puppeteer. If Kaida listened close enough, she could hear the man's cries getting weaker and more muffled as layers upon layers of the metallic substance compounded on themselves. Her effort wasn't entirely in vain as the assault on the cocoon worked to a degree until the layer she managed to tear through regenerated just as quickly, resulting in a zero-sum game for Kaida. At least if she kept going at it alone, that was.


This assault caused the other active drones to respond, and a loud beep was heard at both locations.

Dronekai responded to Jack's assault by flooding its system with the irradiated energy emanating from every inch of its "body" as the battery on its chest dropped to half. If Jack continued on his path, he would strike Dronekai for sure, but he would also take substantial damage in return for striking at the radiation-cloaked appendage.

Regardless of whether he followed through or not, the drone would melt shortly after, with the metallic liquid flowing back to its source to reinforce the dome and prevent any potential further entry by Kaida, leaving Jack with a decision on what to do next.

A similar scene would play out for Hebi, who was now facing the drone alone. Her quick thinking was the only thing keeping her from getting her throat crushed as her powerful tail coiled around the drone's tangible form and crushed it with her might. As a last-ditch effort, the drone would suddenly light up as it was being crushed, and using its connection to Hebi would pump enough voltage into her to cause some serious pain. After this last attempt, it crumbled away before also turning into a pool of metallic liquid that made a beeline for the cocoon also looking to shore up its defenses.

The cocoon, now supported with extra mass that was previously used by the drones, sprouted a thin metallic appendage and would wrap it around Kaida's wings in an attempt to pull it away from it. If she chose to hold on she would find that it wasn't strong enough to outright rip Kaida from it but if she let go of her leverage it would likely succeed.


"T-Minus 2 minutes until full biomass conversion and ward expansion"

An ominous voice would ring out from The Tortured as the screams and crying from inside the sphere grew louder. Whatever it was referring to it likely wasn't good to let it happen.
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tl;dr
-The Tortured's cocoon is being stalled out by Kaida, with it not being able to add more layers but Kaida also not being able to pierce through it any further.
- Dronekai charges its body fully with radiation meaning that if Jack connects he will be dealt substantial damage in return. Regardless the drone melts and heads back to defend the cocoon.
- Gyrfaldrone is caught by Hebi's tail and uses their connection to send an electrical current to shock her to her core before getting crushed and then melting to support the cocoon.
- With the cocoon having its full metallic mass back it forms an extra appendage to snag Kaida's wings and attempt to pull her off of it.
- Count down timer begins! Its a DPS check y'all