mazionga, my love

A swirl of Magatsuhi, red sparks defying the ritual of blood; Yoshitsune is well used to other demons disappearing around him just as if his very own crimson swords had slain them. It is only the Nahobino who appears and disappears in blue, Knowledge-flected light.

Only the Nahobino who defies their ever-chaotic order. But Yoshitsune does not mind this. After all, the Nahobino could fall at any time, and the Netherworld would continue. Why bother to remake the world when it would only return to this struggle, ever again?

Neutral. Yoshitsune is equanimously neutral.

Red, red - a redder red than Agi magic. Hassou Tobi pushes back encroaching foes en masse, and rarely reduces enemy demons to total annihilation. Yoshitsune does not indulge in the elements. Mudo spells are apt to come for them all.

Cu Chulainn, however, does whim to force. Gae Bolg is his very identity as a warrior. How noble it is to pierce, without fail nor fright.

Yoshitsune does find him quite striking.

And though he will choose a spot to float, swords akimbo and skew but ever-orthogonal to each other, the perfect exacted pair, independent of the other demons the Nahobino has chosen for their stock, always forward-looking and centered, Yoshitsune will not be the only object of his own thoughts.

How many countless nights in the demon haunt has he admonished the Nahobino of their transience in this plane; in every single battle's potential to be their individual last?

One fights to ensure their survival against the demon on the other side, not with the demons standing around one.

Now the Magatsuhi swirls a warning, for the impending onslaught of a demon's utmost power. But their sheer power has carried them this far, so they press on in hopes to vanquish the beast outright before it can even hope to attack.

Pure chance. Pure foolish, selfish chance. The Nahobino resists electricity. Pixie does not, but she is agile enough to skirt to the side - clearly the Nahobino prioritized her safety via prescience from the very moment she became one of the party.

(And why, then, has the Nahobino even brought Cu Chulainn - to be his surrogate guard hound? Or is he that arrogant as to presume his power absolute, the demons at his side merely decorative accessories? Is he that lazy?)

Yoshitsune bears the blow distractedly, watching instead for the hand of fate upon his lancer. Cu Chulainn is a far stronger demon than he, but weakness is more powerfully wielded against its prey than any measure of strength in vitality could ever be to defend.

Is he only catastrophizing? Baihu, after all, is weak to Force. But it is a demigod, and Cu merely a hero. Yoshitsune, below them both, a winsomely lauded and pitied tragic hero.

And here is the lightning strike, delivered without so much as a swipe of Baihu's shockingly white paws. Each ray from tiger to target, cruel and grizzling. Oh, it is more potent than it has any right to be.

But Cu's soul, brave soul, endures. As his narrow eyes flick to Yoshitsune's, there may even be the suggestion of a smile laid near his thin, grim lips. Then, he twirls his lance and faces forward once again.