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Post by Advix on Sept 7, 2012 22:45:24 GMT -5
Trevor simply grumbled as he picked himself off the the ground, holding his throbbing head. "Fucking wall. Fucking show off." Trevor picked up his bokken, and ran after the rest of them, quickly catching up. "Don't just sit there, someone's trapped in this terrible place," he called out to Kyle. He ran alongside the others. That girl with the really long hair had some crazy spear, an elf with a gun, that Silver haired asian chick had fox ears and tails, what the fuck was going on? It didn't feel like a dream. He'd ask questions later. For now, Trevor had to find Neil.
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Post by Jisui on Sept 8, 2012 0:12:25 GMT -5
...There was just too much going on, that Clara didn't understand. And that which she did not understand, irritated her... while she was relieved that no one had paid much attention to her ears, the abilities the others had displayed didn't alleviate her concerns. A knife? And the other girl, she had materialized a lance out of thin air... of course, she wasn't one to talk, bringing Truth and Lies with her, but these were supposed to be college students! Why had a group of such unusual people met each other before school even started? That was way too coincidental to be an accident, right? No... there was something even more concerning, that she was surprised that no one had picked up on.
Clara's emerald green eyes coldly locked on to the back of Robin Hood's figure, she might not have read much literature, but there was no mistaking it... he was...!
"Stand back. I sense danger behind this wall. Trail me closely and I shall judge the damned that may lie ahead..."
A powerful voice cut off her train of thought, echoing with and seemingly resonating with conviction itself. As the golden armored man appeared, Clara's eyes could not help but widen slightly in shock as an enormous blade of blue energy materialized in his hands. The wall that had stopped them dead in their tracks, was blown by in an instant with a mere swing, as if it were nothing more than a piece of paper. Such power... as an elf, she could recognize great magical power when she saw it. Despite this, a somewhat familiar feeling crept into Clara's chest as she stared at the golden armored being, who dashed away in a brilliant trail of blue energy.
"After him. We can get through now..." Clara muttered, clutching her white revolver close to her chest as she dashed forward over the ruined rubble of the wall. Suddenly, before she took even three steps, the half-elf stopped, staring at Aika and Robin Hood with narrowed eyes.
"The Rogue of Sherwood Forest. Robin Hood. Only an idiot wouldn't know who you are. If you're Aika's servant, than that means..." Clara's voice trailed off in a mixture of sudden realization and wonder. Summoning magic...?! Her mother was capable of summoning minor familiars as well. But to summon such a legendary hero like Robin Hood... it was a feat on par, no, even more impressive in her mind than the golden armored man. Who was Aika really?
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Post by BloodValkyrie on Sept 8, 2012 23:02:06 GMT -5
Robin Hood let out a hearty laugh and performed a dramatic bow. "Haha! Aye, yes that be me! The dashing legendary rogue of Sherwood Forest! Robin Hood, at your service!"
Aika giggled quietly as she watched her heroic spirit. His light personality always helped keep her calm and positive. He was so melodramatic at times that it felt like he was constantly in some kind of theatrical performance. While others would find such a thing annoying, the kitsune found it rather endearing.
The emerald thief then began following the others, holding out a hand and helping Aika maneuver herself over the rubble of the marble wall.
"Now, how about we get to following that odd armored fellow? Certainly seemed like he had some kind of idea as to where he was going, which is more than I can say for any of us."
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Post by Tokrochiru on Sept 9, 2012 0:55:27 GMT -5
The group moved onward. As they did, the scenery gradually shifted. Gone were the resemblances to the school's north wing room halls. Now, they were truly lost. Kyle's responded accordingly, his face turned red and his breathing heavy. His previously steady walk degraded into a heavy limp.
Kyle feared nothing more than being lost. It was really starting to show.
He wanted to keel over and just close his eyes...but he couldn't do that. No. That wouldn't solve his problem.
He eventually regained his composure. He put his phobia aside and kept going forward.
Eventually, the group reached what seemed to be the end of the hallway. They had entered into what appeared to be a large cave made of the same dirt and marble that was in the hallway. The cave was complete with stalagmites and stalactites. The room was large. Larger than the main hall in the central plaza of the university. So much space...But for what purpose?
That questions was given a remarkably horrifying answer.
A 30 foot tall, rotten, decaying tree made of marble and dirt animated in the center of the room. Its branches seizured disturbingly, causing many of the branches to bump into each other and create a grinding sound.
The tree looked alive....No, alive wasn't the right word. It looked animated. That tree was moving of its own accord.
Kyle jumped back in fear. He had seen some strange things. He himself was a strange thing. But this....
The daemonic tree towered over a single human, who looked to be cowering against the wall. Trevor would have immediately recognized the human as Neil, his brown-haired, goofy Irish roommate. The tree was slowly moving its arms toward him. However, there was another in the room as well. It was the knight that had cut through that marble wall earlier. He looked ready for battle as he glared at the tree, as if he had the intention to cut it down himself.
That tree branch was slowly, but surely reaching out for the cowering human...But what could Kyle do? He'd never seen anything like this before. He didn't know where he was, or why he was here. Nothing at all made sense.
...Still...was that any reason to not take action?
Kyle looked to his father and mother. They had just finished packing up the minivan, and he was about to head off to Carnigan University.
"It's a brave thing you're doing, Kyle," his mother said. "I always knew you would make it someday. That you'd one day have the control and discipline to control your own strength and live on your own."
His mother wiped a tear from her eye. He'd always wanted to do her proud, and he was glad that he'd done it. Still, there was a doubt in his mind that he couldn't shake.
"Thank you, mother, but...I'm not so sure I am ready. What if I crush someone by accident again? You won't be around to help me if I hurt someone again..."
"You won't hurt anyone," his father responded sternly. "There hasn't been an incident in years. More importantly, you're a Matua. The Matua's have always been naturally strong. Maybe not as physically strong as you, but we still all have had to learn to control our own strength, and we've always done it successfully. I can't think of any better example of that than you, son."
Kyle shook his head. He was glad that his father had so much faith in him, but still...
"Is this worth it?" he asked his parents. "I'm happy here. I wouldn't mind living with my family for the rest of my life. Besides, it's safer this way."
"Kyle," his father said, his voice noticeably less stern than before. "You only live once."
"Not if there's an afterlife."
"That's not the point, Kyle. Your mother and I have always believed in life after death, but you only have one chance to prove yourself in this life. Because of that...You only live this life once. Afterlife or no, you should do your best to make the most of it."
He could never successfully argue with his father's wisdom. He was right. After all, if there was an afterlife, how would he look back on it if all he did was remain secluded and alone for most of it?
"...Then I will. I promise I'll make the most of it."
His mother came up and hugged him. He gently held her in his arms. The arms that could have so easily destroyed her...but didn't.
Kyle darted for the whimpering human at the speed of a cheetah. He was able to easily lift the cowering man in his arms and carry him over to the group in less than 3 seconds.
"H...holy shit...!" the Irish accented man said.
The tree let out a high pitched scratch that was torture for the ears. Its branches expanded and stretched out toward each individual member of the group, as well as the knight. They needed to move, if they wished to avoid being strangled, or perhaps worse.
Out of all the things that were strange, improbable or outright insane going on at the moment, there was one thing that the group could be assured of.
This was going to be a very, VERY difficult year for all of them
First Battle ~ Mandragora Tree
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Post by Advix on Sept 9, 2012 13:46:21 GMT -5
Trevor look up as the giant stone tree thing tried to grasp at him with marble branches. He leapt backwards, and kicked at the air in front of him, propelling him backwards with a squall strong enough to halt the branches. But it was only that. For the first time in a long time, he truly began to doubt himself. "How am I supposed to take something like this on?" Was it even worth it? They had Neil, couldn't they just run? But, where would they run to? Was there even a way out? Did they have to wreck this thing to leave? Well, there was no avoiding it, Trevor quickly moved in front of Kyle and Neil, putting himself between them and the tree. He crouched slightly, and drew his arm and bokken back, with his left hand guiding the tip, as if preparing to thrust. "You're fast, so get him out of here. One tree against the rest of us is bad math, we can take this thing no problem." Trevor felt a little better after he reminded himself that he wasn't alone. All these people with crazy powers, they'd pull through just fine, no matter what.
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Post by Greed on Sept 9, 2012 22:03:55 GMT -5
"Heh, the punk with the stick has a point... none of us seem average at this point, that's for sure." Casually, Juli hopped back from the tree's opening strike strikes, passing her shank between her hands idly, as though she was bored. However... there was a fire in her eyes, that screamed of excitement. Lyla however, seemed disappointed.
"Well, a spear won't do bloody anything against a... tree. Thing. Made of stone and ass. I'm-" Lyla jumped back with a small 'eep', landing a few feet away, "- just whinging, aren't I?" Juli shrugged, keeping her distance from the tree for the moment.
"You know what? We need more explosions. Now, if Mr. Robin Hood over there would be so kind ..." The red lance Lyla had been holding vanished, and was replaced with... well, it looked like a bizarre, fragmented wolf's head, which fixed itself to the girl's arm with an electric crackle, "We can get to blowing this thing to pieces, yeah?"
"Haha, is that seriously...!?... You are one nerdy chick! I think I like you!" Juli laughed, recognizing the head adorning Lyla's armor, and began to size up the stone and dirt tree, looking for her best opening of attack.
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Post by Jisui on Sept 10, 2012 21:06:56 GMT -5
"Aika!" Grabbing the petite kitsune's arm, Clara's eyes darted about the room, her heart thumping in her ears upon seeing the demonic tree. Quickly, the half-elf sprinted behind a large stalagmite that was large enough to cover both of them, dragging Aika behind her as well. Her thought process before had been logical, and concise. If they were to stay calm and focused, then they would be able to get to the bottom of whatever caused all of this. That was what she had thought before.
The creature in front of her however, was illogical. It was something that should not have been in this world, an entity that should not have existed. A living tree made marble and dirt... its existence was something that Clara could not have accounted for, because she did not understand it. And that which she did not understand, like most humans, she feared.
Ignoring the rest of the students for now, Clara focused her attention on protecting Aika, which Robin Hood would have likely done anyway. It most likely wasn't even needed in the first place. If Aika could perform such high-level summoning magic, then it was likely that she end up protecting Clara instead. She had also just met the young kitsune. Rationally it did not make sense for her to risk her life for someone she had just met. However, in this particular case, she had decided to go with her emotions rather than her reason. For some reason, if Aika had died here while she could do something about it, then she didn't think that she would be able to forgive herself.
Clara contemplated firing a few potshots around the stalagmite at the tree with her revolver, and while bullets had high penetrative properties, it was unlikely that she would be able to do much damage with them. She would need greater piercing ability... closing her eyes, an identical revolver similar to Truth slid out of her front pocket into her right hand, an obsidian black revolver with a white grip. Holding a revolver in each hand, the young half-elf held them side by side, up in the air. Magic was an art. The words had to be enunciated properly, every word had to be precise, every motion had to be pure.
"...Truth is held in the left hand, deceit in the right." The half-elf began in a low murmur, gazing intently at her two dual revolvers. Her words carried an unusual echo, as if tinged with an unusual force to it."Veritas, she who illuminates all deception, grant me power to preside over the boundary...!" The half-elf suddenly crossed the revolvers together, which seemed to lose their form and take an unusual amorphous shape. A blob of white and black melded together smoothly, until it finally took the shape of a much larger revolver twice the size of her originals. The barrel was much more elongated than the original guns, and it had an odd split coloring to it. One side was a pearly white, while the other side was a clear obsidian black. Most unusual however, was the space where the bullet chamber should have been. Instead, it was replaced by an odd horizontally placed mirror, which rotated on its side steadily.
She would only get a few shots at this, Clara realized grimly. Ducking back under the cover of the stalagmites, she grunted as the weight of the larger revolver pulled at her arms, peeking out to wait at her chance.
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Post by BloodValkyrie on Sept 11, 2012 9:10:29 GMT -5
Aika released a surprised squeak when Clara grabbed her and dragged her into cover behind a large stalagmite , successfully getting her away from the demonic tree's branches. Robin Hood had quickly followed, jumping away from the branches and landing next to the two women. He then heard Lyla asking for more of his explosions and "smiled". Aika nodded at him.
"Thou must go. I shalt be safe here."
The heroic spirit looked at Clara as she combined her revolvers into a much larger one. It was an impressive little feat and the weapon certainly looked as if it were capable of damage. "Clara, I trust you to keep an eye on my master while I assist the others to vanquish this fiend!" Without waiting for a response the emerald archer jumped over the stalagmite and raced back to Lyla, Juli, and the others.
"Aye, some fantastic poisonous explosions are on the way!"
The tree moved erratically. It's branches twitched and constantly bumped into one another. The thing was rather disturbing and Robin Hood had never really faced such a thing before. He excelled in combat against humanoid opponents, not large monsters like this. That was someone else's forte. But this did not mean he wasn't going to try.
The chivalrous thief jumped high into the air, landing on one of the trees branches. It took some effort to actually keep his balance on such an oddly moving branch, but he succeeded. He raised a hand and was about to bring it down onto the surface of the branch, planning on planting one of his Poison Bombs within it.
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Post by Shin RyuKen on Sept 12, 2012 5:33:36 GMT -5
[[Let's try this morning post stuff]]
". . ." Allies...the presence of other people was starting to crowd the vicinity against the massive tree in front of them. This was fair. It was all the same of an outcome to the armored figure as he turned his helmet back to his allies once again. Although he was far ahead of them by the time he approached the giant tree, it could only help if they managed to catch up to him. This tree moved in such strange, unpredictable ways, which the armored figure showed no visible emotion to. Physically, there was no reaction, even though deep down, it felt like there should've been. Rather, the knight just stood ahead at the tree before its branch got closer and closer to him, arms hanging down, then finally animating as he rose into the air above the creeping branch.
The armored knight knew his allies before him. They, too, were caught in this branching demon's labyrinth, uncertain of what to discern of their surroundings. The knight, too, could barely figure out what to identify this labyrinth as other than another layer of Hell they were all expelled to. If that were the case, than the knight would fight his way out of it. And he would deliver righteousness to every corrupt soul in his path as he rises on ahead. This was just another one of his obstacles, and it threatened the innocent well-being of his friends around him. This tree was to be defeated.
The armored figure began to generate more sparkles of energy below his feet as he hovered somewhat to decelerate his fall. Although he could barely keep hovering and mainly keep his posture to level himself against the creature, it was enough time for him to materialize the same giant blade of blue energy from before. Brandishing the blade as he brought it forward towards the tree, the armored figure began to echo an utterance in such a booming voice that everyone in the chamber should be able to hear.
"You who grows in darkness...you blaspheme the prospect of life created by all nature, and for trapping us in this abyssal labyrinth, you shall be sentenced to an eternity in Hell where you belong!"
As the figure's voice resonated throughout the entire cavern, the tree, whether or not it could interpret the human tongue, would be condemned to spread its grotesque roots in a layer of Hell where it could thrive. The blade of justice, the hammer of God, the right hand of judgment was casted overhead from the figure's arm towards the towering demon tree, only for the armored knight to begin to spiral down vertically, descending with a spiraling slash until he was to land on the ground once again. Should the Mandragora dare to contend with the scintillating blade of energy, it would feel its branches scorched to nothingness at the might of the knight's divine power.
[[From now on I'm keeping track of the compass position, and we'll assume he has one Judge Point as of now]]
Compass: Courtier Arc
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Post by Tokrochiru on Sept 13, 2012 7:41:51 GMT -5
The tree did reach out and attempt to attack the armored knight, but its branches were all to easily cut by his claws. The tree had much more luck with Robin Hood, as it managed to shake off the mythical archer. However, in a surprising display of stupidity, it took the bombs and smash them against the ground, causing sparks to ignite, and setting them off. The tree, had overall sustained a vast amount of damage. It would have been quite a turning point in the battle, if it had not immediately regenerated the damage. Even the damage to the trunk was easily repaired.
Neil continued to cower in Kyle's arms. They both watched as the tree regenerated at a scientifically impossible rate.
Kyle thought about it for a moment. Why was this thing...a tree? Or at least, a tree shaped entity, with branches and everything?
In Kyle's mind, all living things were built on a system that was designed to be ultimately beneficial for them. He saw the benefits of every design in an organism's body. He knew it to be so. He had been asked if he did several times throughout his school life, but could never express it on paper.
Most things about a creature had purpose....So why was this thing a tree?
....Of course. That was it.
But in order to exploit that weakness, he had to do something he hadn't done in years.
....He'd hoped the others wouldn't suffer from this decision.
"Kyle Matua, remove safety limiters and engage," he said to aloud.
"As you wish, master," he replied back to himself. He didn't expect the others to understand why.
Kyle's eyes rolled into the back of his head. Red light poured out from his eye sockets.
Kyle charged forth toward the tree. All of the tree's efforts to stop him were futile, as branches were merely broken in the process. Kyle grabbed the trunk of the tree and used every ounce of strength he had as he lifted the entire 30 foot tree out of the ground, uprooting it completely. The at the base of the tree were completely visible now. They wriggled and squirmed, attempting to reach into the corrupt soil for nourishment. The tree let out incredibly loud high pitched screeches at irregular intervals.
They had to attack the tree NOW while Kyle kept it uprooted. This was their best chance to kill it.
Kyle hoped they understood at least that much.
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Post by Jisui on Sept 13, 2012 9:45:02 GMT -5
What monstrous strength, Clara thought in wonder. Barely believing her own eyes, the quiet one... Kyle she believed, uprooted the 30 foot tree with almost no difficulty at all. He looked strong of course, but this was ridiculous!
Regardless, it seemed that he had found out something they had not. Before, the tree had been regenerating at an incredible rate, almost immediately after they had done damage to it. By lifting it, Kyle expected it to stop regenerating...? The roots, she realized, her eyes darting to the wiggling mass at the bottom of the "tree". If it looked like a tree, then acting like one was not out of the question. Auto-regenerative properties when absorbing the nutrients in the soil... it seemed Kyle had figured it out quicker than the rest of them. Perhaps he was was more intelligent than she thought.
Regardless, the half-elf shook her head to clear the unpleasant sounds of the tree's screeches, peeking out from the stalagmite with her huge revolver clutched in both hands. Lifting it slowly, Clara put the center of the tree's huge trunk into focus, steadily gripping the gun and placing it a reasonable distance away from her. The mirror portion of the gun began spinning slowly, as if something in the air was moving it.
Target in focus.
Power at 30%.
Clara felt her mana seep into the revolver, the mirror beginning to spin even faster. The target could not move, and all possibilities had already been thought in her mind.
Calibration complete.
Power at 70%.
The probability of missing was now almost zero. The punching power of this bullet would pierce steel and split it into two. It should pierce the marble coating of the tree with little difficulty.
Power at 100%...!
The mirror was now spinning in a frantic motion, similar to that of a fan. It could not be seen to the human eye. Grunting, Clara pulled the trigger smoothly, wincing as her hands jerked back in recoil to the sheer force of the bullet. Streaking in the air, a large silver bullet was launched at devastating speeds, soaring towards the center of the tree's tree trunk.
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Post by Advix on Sept 13, 2012 12:37:54 GMT -5
Trevor had to keep the lolipop from falling out of his mouth as he watched the big guy tear the tree out of the fucking ground, watching as its tentacle-like roots thrashed painfully as it screamed from an unseen mouth. It was almost enough to make Trevor sick, had he not realized that it was his perfect chance to strike. His previous effort to keep his lolipop in his mouth was in vain as he quickly spat it out at the ground. He couldn't have it in his mouth for what he was about to do. He needed to breathe perfectly, like his mentor had taught him.
"'Punk with a stick,' eh?" Trevor ran at the tree in Kyle's herculean grasp and pounced through the air. With a meditated strength, he thrust his bokken forward, focusing his force and momentum into a single point of impact. It was then Trevor heard something that he could only describe as a magical bang. "Oh fuck." It was too late to act instinctively, his attack was already committed. All he could do was pray that whatever he heard wouldn't kill him as he jammed his bokken into the tree, cracks radiating out like lightning bolts in a sky of marble as his wooden weapon punctured the stone exterior.
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Post by BloodValkyrie on Sept 14, 2012 14:07:03 GMT -5
Aika clamped her hands over her ears, gritting her teeth as the demonic tree's pained screeches echoed throughout the room. It was such a discomforting sound and so high-pitched that her head felt as if it would explode. During all this, her eyes wandered towards Clara and she saw the mirror of her large gun was now spinning, while the hispanic elf was busy aiming at the tree. This was followed by an enormously powerful shot, the recoil sending Clara's head back and making the kitsune quickly look away.
Meanwhile, Robin Hood would be smiling if he had a face. Kyle's display of his immense strength was a welcomed surprise and he was quite glad they were on the same side. He doubted that even he, the legendary thief of the Sherwood Forest, would fare well against him. The emerald thief showed no visible reaction to the tree's loud screeches. He was seriously annoyed by the obnoxious sound, though and created four small bombs in each hand. He jumped into the air and threw them all at the tree's trunk, aiming properly so the explosives wouldn't hit Trevor.
"This vile thing must be silenced! Its screeches are aggravating beyond belief!"
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Post by Shin RyuKen on Sept 14, 2012 17:28:32 GMT -5
Such strength...the armored figure had to nod at his comrade's ability to carry a team behind his back, but more important, he had to credit his herculean strength. He knew the hulking athlete was strong, but he didn't consider him to be "lifting a thirty foot tree of marble" strong. The extent of his strength, however, was to be used to the knight's advantage.
The screeches emanating across the room, they somehow drowned the entire area in a scathing dirge of noise. The helmet prevented the knight's ears from shattering, but the sound of suffering...was this the sound of a just verdict? As an arbiter of truths, the knight could do nothing but guide the corrupt to their resting place. He didn't question what the tree came from, or what any of the rubble came from, or what this entire realm even was. All he knew was, he was stuck here for a year, presumably against his own will, and what a long year this was shaping up to be.
He had to make this quick.
When the assault upon the creature began, the compass ticked with every moving moment. Out in front of the creature, the brilliant blade of energy formed once again in his hand, hopefully for the final time. He had a feeling he wasn't going to need to be close for this attack, but the proximity didn't matter much. With a swift wrist motion, the blade arose to the left, then swung back to the right, releasing gigantic waves of energy that traveled at a blistering pace to sear straight through the target. Finally, the knight finished the job by unleashing the final slash, a powerful vertical slash wave that, if aimed straight ahead, could potentially cleave the entire lower half of the tree into pieces.
". . ." The knight could say nothing to his allies just yet, in between breaths from the attacks he was unleashing upon the tree. He needed to free him and his allies from this trap before anyone else would get caught in the crossfire.
[[Judge Points: 2. 2 were used for the full three-part combo, reducing the Judge Point count to zero.]]
[[Compass: Palatine Arc]]
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Post by Advix on Sept 14, 2012 17:58:21 GMT -5
[post approved by Tok of Knockers]
Trevor yelped as a massive bullet slammed into the tree, blasting chunks of stone out the other side, the tree screaming in agony. Trevor struggled to collect his thoughts as he turned to see four bombs coming towards him. His feet moved him without thinking, and he tackled Kyle, knocking the tree from his grasp as the bombs blasted the already cracked and fractured trunk, and the waves of energy slicing what was left of the trees lower portion. The tree screeched and writhed, unable to right itself, or take root again, for it's roots no longer existed. Trevor groaned as he tried to stand up. He felt like he had thrown himself at a god damn statue, but it didn't stop him from rising, and taking his bokken up again.
"Are you all crazy!? What are you doing throwing bombs and shooting shit!? Are you trying to kill him, too!?"
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