Don't drop your guard, this could be a feint.
...But also don't hesitate to be civil.

The ringer? My tutors are considering this fight as a fucking test.

Speakin' of which, you look pretty out of it, Nolan. Got any fight left in ya?

Approach with caution, He might be still saving some power.

>Were was all this before buddy?
"Begginers look, some tell me. And yeah, they do kick your ass as way of training. But you get results, as you can see."

Be ready for anything and save energy, just in case.

well to be fair, I only learned how to use magic a day before the tournament so it's been less then a week since I got my first spell. Plenty of things to learn when you're new.

>>931696
Don’t let your guard down just yet.

>*gasp* Ha! Were was all this before buddy? They really put you through the fuckin' ringer at pagan school or whatever huh?
“I didn’t have any of this before, I just barely learned all of this today. In fact, you’re kinda interrupting my lessons.”

“Although, the guys that are teaching me decided to use you as a sorta Pop Quiz for me, so I guess you’re a part of my training now.”

>>931696
Tell him you could have hit him with more than one fist. He should consider himself lucky. Now he's gotta cough up the mask and get lost, unless he wants another beating.

>>931696
Ask him if he surrenders just to make sure

>>931696
Try to conserve your aether for the rest of the fight. Don't use Aether Sight. If you really need to, only have one extra hand.

1/2 Heretic 2019/05/02(Thu)16:52 No. 931774 ID: a451fc
File 155684113879.png - (1.91MB , 1558x2128 , Pop Quiz 17-18.png )

YOU: I didn’t have any of this before, I just barely learned all of this today. In fact, you’re kinda interrupting my lessons. Really it's more of a pop quiz, they don't bullshit here.

You approach cautiously, reserving energy while still keeping your guard up.
YOU: So does this mean you give?

Nolan speaks through heavy breaths still seemingly exhausted from your attack.
NOLAN: I may be a little winded, but I ain't done yet. It's always important to keep something in your back pocket in-case you get caught.

Nolan's breathing suddenly stops, a gust of wind kicks up the dust around him. You're ready to sense the energy inside of him, but from the look of it the energy's somehow escaped from his body! You look around for where he's gone. You can still feel wisps of air pass by your face when suddenly the gust behind you grows more solid and you're grabbed in a headlock.
NOLAN: Surprise!

2/2 Heretic 2019/05/02(Thu)16:52 No. 931775 ID: a451fc
File 155684116472.png - (1.05MB , 1558x1064 , Pop Quiz 19.png )

The gusts of wind surround you and Nolan in a strong tornado. The two of you are launched upward into the cavern's ceiling, the whirlwind drilling through the rock and bringing you into the main body of the pillar tree cavern. You can see the large stump and the canopy below you as you rise up.

YOU: There's no way you'll survive this too!
NOLAN: I've survived worse! Give me some credit Gallows!

Your ascent begins to slow, Nolan keeps his grasp on you as you feel yourself begin to fall back to the earth and the wind begins to gather once again.

>>931775
Zap his arms with Yellow to make him let go, then slow down your fall with wings. They don't need to fly, just be enough to slow your fall. Use Blue to sense wind direction to help.

>>931775
Okay, you could easily make a parachute to avoid dying from the fall. Do that and make some aura gauntlets or something that you can use to hit him with to make him let go so he's the one that falls uncontrollably. I don't think he can outright fly, he just seems to be able to jump real good.

>>931777
Actually, lets try do do something different. Lets fall. In fact, lets fall as fast as we can and drag him down with us. When we are about to hit the ground, transfer enough energy into him to push off of him and negate the fall.

>>931774
>You can still feel wisps of air pass by your face when suddenly the gust behind you grows more solid and you're grabbed in a headlock.
Ah, Nolan is kinda like Shackle. Just like how Shackle can turn his body into chains, Nolan can turn his body into wind.

>>931775
Not this again! He’s gonna do more than break your back if this keeps going!

Materialize some Caesura gauntlets on your arms and break his arms to make him let go!

Or materialize the arms out of the middle of your back to punch him off of you!

>>931779
Eh, well, as a combination of our two ideas we could make a kind of glider which would let us turn the downward momentum into horizontal, then we ditch him at the right moment to toss his ass into a wall while we pull up to brake.

>>931781
>wall
Ground*
We should toss his ass into the ground.

>>931791
Actually, this wont work. He is probably planning on turning into wind right before we hit so he doesnt get injured.

Lets do the wing idea, but before we do that, lets try to make a caesura shell around Nolan to hopefully contain him regardless of whether he is wind or not, since ultimately, he isnt "wind," he is gas, and gas can be contained.

>>931792
I like this one.
And tell him something like:"Well guess what, i eat explosions for breakfast!"

>>931797
Feel like saying "I eat dangerous demons for breakfast" is better. It's more accurate.

>>931892
>It's more accurate.
That Displacer Beast was pretty tasty.

>>931892
Well you have a point there... But EXPLOSIONS tho!

cant we just stab him? like with casura or a knife or something
or an elbow to the kidneys

>>931962
>elbow to the kidneys
Now I'm imagining this as Team Four Star's Freeze vs Goku.


"Ah! Bad touch!" *repeated kidney shots*

Use an extra arm spawned from your back to remove him from you. Reconfigure it into a tethered prison shell, reinforce it with yellow. Using a blue infused tethered shot, fire at the tree tops and home in on a sturdy branch or high trunk. Reinforce this with your remaining energy.

Swing to relative safety with the tethered shot, but release the tethered prison as you do, allowing Nolan to continue plummeting downward as his protective prison dissipates at the last second, causing him to crash violently into the ground.

1/2 Heretic 2019/05/04(Sat)16:35 No. 931989 ID: a451fc
File 155701295307.png - (2.35MB , 1558x3192 , Pop Quiz 20-22.png )

>>931797
What? Why? Where's the explosion in this situation? Nothings really exploding at all here. It wouldn't make sense.

>>931892
You guess that makes more sense, but this situation doesn't really involve demons either. You really feel like a one-liner needs to be relevant to what's happening. He tried this before and got you so something like "Fool me once shame on you, Fool me twice shame on me?". But then that doesn't really sound all that bad-ass does it? Ah whatever, the moments gone.

>>931777
>>931792
>>931791
You charge a Concerto arm with energy and shove Nolan off of your back, you turn the same arm into a bubble and encase him to keep him from slipping away again. You raise another Concerto arm and slam the bubble into the ground. Nolan's body crashes back down into the canopy below.

To avoid falling to your death, you create a parachute out of your barriers and float down to the ground.

2/2 Heretic 2019/05/04(Sat)16:36 No. 931990 ID: a451fc
File 155701298167.png - (1.40MB , 1558x1064 , Pop Quiz 23.png )

You walk over to Nolan's body, you think the impact might have killed him until he stirs. He's alive, but you're sure he's not going to be fighting anymore.

YOU: The mask. Hand it over.
NOLAN: ...No.
YOU: What do you mean no? I won. You made the bet yourself!
NOLAN: If you want the mask so badly...then kill me for it.

He's not in a position to choose. Take that shit off him with a Ceasara arm.

If he wants to die so bad, he can do it himself.

Lammar 2019/05/04(Sat)16:55 No. 931993 ID: 4e16f6

>>931990
Well, it's been a good battle and while Nolan's a bit of a sore loser, he's still respectable as fuck, if dude still wishes to stay with his mask, there's no real reason to get from him using force. Anyways, ask if he wishes any sort of medical help or anything before you go back to your training, he's bleeding a lot.

>>931993
The man was using the whole bet thing as pretense to murder us, like a predator playing with it's food. He just didn't expect Roland to be some sort of magical prodigy.

He doesn't deserve respect.

...Which puts us in a unique position really.
While were justified in showing him no respect, we could instead give him an enormous amount of it and plant a seed of friendship to be harvested later.

If we're gonna be respectful, I say go all the way. Be a sport and give him our name anyway, call your tutors, and get him medical attention right away. Even if he doesn't want it, he clearly needs it.

>>931990
>Kill me
I'm not sure if we should. On one hand, we can go tell Troy that we killed the guy that killed his friend and show the mask as proof. On the other hand, would Troy be satisfied with us killing Nolan instead of letting him do it?

Then again, if we let Nolan live and tell Troy that we left him alive so he can kill him, Troy might get upset that we didn't kill Nolan.

Or we could just do a Goku vs Freeza thing, where we spare him and walk away, he attacks us, then we turn around and kill him.

Whatever we do, we should take that mask, no matter what.

>>931990
Keep him in a bubble.

Lets call Flint and Co. over to help with restraining this guy for transport. Lets keep him prisoner for now and see what Troy wants to do with him.

Take the mask, wear it sideways like one of those japanese carnival things.

Heretic 2019/05/04(Sat)21:27 No. 932026 ID: a451fc
File 155703046635.png - (710.12KB , 1558x1064 , Flying Colors 1.png )

YOU: You're in no position to choose, now give me-

As you reach forward to take the mask it cracks, and shatters falling away from his head revealing stitches that run across his face.
NOLAN: ...Sorry 'bout that. I guess you hit me a bit too hard. Should've expected that to happen really...

Nolan leans back and stares at the cavern ceiling.
NOLAN: Channing's footsteps are dead silent y'know...If either of us were ever caught making the slightest noise in the house when dad was trying to sleep it meant a beating, and with the squeaky floor boards it meant we were confined to our rooms until he woke up...Channing learned which floor boards squeaked the least, and soon learned how to move without making a sound all together.

Nolan removes the remaining half of his mask and tosses it to you. You catch it as he continues to speak.
NOLAN: I'm a whole 5 years older than him but he's the one bossing me around like I'm a kid...It's been like that my whole life, Channing's been the one to take the lead no matter what while I follow him. He killed our dad no problem while I hid like a coward and now I've been spending everyday since that point trying my best *cough* to get to the place he is.
NOLAN: Every move I've made has been a step towards Channing's rung the ladder...Why are you ahead of me already? How come I don't make any progress no matter what I do?

Nolan picks himself up off of the ground, you prepare yourself, but his posture and demeanor don't seem to suggest attack. You lower your guard, only for Nolan to suddenly grab you by the collar

NOLAN: If nothing I do leads to anything, than my life is worthless! I was a failure of a brother and I'm an even worse bandit! So just end me Gallows!

I've never been a good person with this type of talk, but my only suggestion is saying to him grow a spine. Nolan almost surplexed us with a god damned tornado and that was with a long time with no training, dude isn't even at his peak! We're just some random guy trying to make a silly book about the local devilish fauna, buddy at least should try take control of his own life instead of trying to be the best at something.

Honestly, in this moment, he's too worthless to even deserve a dead.

>>932026
>Every move I've made has been a step towards Channing's rung the ladder...
If he wants Channing’s position as the leader of the gang, wouldn’t that mean that he’s gotta kill Channing to take his spot? Because I’m pretty sure Channing wouldn’t just give it to Nolan without a fight.

>Why are you ahead of me already? How come I don't make any progress no matter what I do?
He’s probably not making any progress because he doesn’t actually believe in Channing’s cause and he’s only sticking around because they’re related to each other. He might also be wanting to bail, but he can’t find a way out.

>If nothing I do leads to anything, than my life is worthless! I was a failure of a brother and I'm an even worse bandit! So just end me Gallows!
“I’m the wrong guy to be asking to kill you. But if you insist, then I guess I’ll kill you.”

Then make a gun with your fingers, point at his head, and say, “Bang!”

“There, I’ve killed you. Nolan, Channing’s half brother, is now dead. Give yourself a new name and go do something with your new life. I’m sure you’ll find something out there that’ll make you feel like you’re worth something.”

Then take the mask and whatever shards fell on the ground and walk away, while telling him, “See ya later, nameless stranger. Hope we can meet again as friends some day.”

When it comes to self-improvement, the inferiority complex isn't doing Nolan any favors. Hard to get better when you think of your defining trait as "worse than the other guy." Also yeah, training just isn't the same without real teachers.

Nolan just seems like a sad kid who got bullied by his brother into doing things he didn't want to do. He thinks he'd rather die than desert, but hey Roland's kept a Channing-fugitive at his place for a while and nothing *too* bad has happened because of it. Nolan could probably run too, if he was willing to risk it, but he's too scared. Maybe we can convince him.

>>932026
Tell him he should try to be something other than a bandit then. There are plenty of other lives he could lead. As for why he's not getting stronger, you can't really say. There are a lot of things that can go wrong.

And no, you're not killing him. He's defenseless. The fight's over.

Take the shards too. Tell him you're going to put the mask back together. He should put his life back together.

I don't think Gallows is the type to kill like this. You won the bet, and you got the mask. Might want to take the shards too, after.

Tell him that, someday, you might see me in Dawnsprings, and maybe I can tell you my name there.

>>932026
If you keep thinking of yourself as "Channing's number two" you'll never get anywhere. Whether you work purely for him, or work just to surpass him, you live just for him. Try to do things without thinking about him. Live for yourself for a bit.

Yes, I've beaten Channing's brother, and he was pathetic. I hope one day I run into Nolan the Saint. That sounds like a man worthy of respect.

It's almost impossible to make progress in a direction you don't want to go.

You've been in your brother's shadow for so long, have you ever stopped and honestly thought about what it is that YOU want to do?

Take a vacation, Nolan. Get away from this place for a while. Far away. Don't come back until you've done some soul searching.
Come find me when you return. If you still wanna die so badly, that's when we'll have a real fight to the death.

I'll even do you a favor. I'll claim that I killed you, and use this mask as proof. You'll be free, Nolan.

“No, if you need purpose that desperately then the job board in town is always full, but i’m not gonna kill you when you can obviously get better. Speaking of getting better, head into dawnsprings, go to the lila palast and ask for a peach, tell ‘em I sent ya and they’ll know what you mean. If you want to mean something then you should at least do with something in your belly.”

>>932026
You're a Saint, right? If you don't know what to do with your life, ask your angel for guidance. They'll give you a better answer than anything I can give you.

>>932055
I like this. He needs to find something worth living. Find some friends. Some realfriends. Get a hobby that isn't involve with his brother. I mean, look at Gallows. He just research demons, he is nothing out of the ordinary. He doeas odd jobs to get money, fix his ride, play the violin. Prety common guy. An most people just want that. Live a quiet life. He Nolan can do that too. He has the right. That is a good cause to die for.
We can be his friend, if he wants. We can help him out of this.

>>932026
For everyone's safety, including Nolan's, i think we should still imprison him for the time being. He has a rather distinct face and wont be able to hide long, especially in his current state. Additionally, he may have some dangerous info.

--

The reason he lost is because he was too aggressive and underestimated us. If he was more defensive, more of his body mechanics probably would have survived the encounter. Additionally, he is specialized; you dont send an elite sniper to clear a building if you dont have to. Nolan would be far more effective in a fight if he kept himself away from his adversary and attacked at range.

Anyway, right now, he is effectively a quadriplegic so we should stabilize him, call FlintCo, treat Nolan more thoroughly once they get here, and then figure out what we do from there.

--

When we get back, lets have a hole punched into one of the mask chunks and turn it into a necklace.

>>932085
>When we get back, lets have a hole punched into one of the mask chunks and turn it into a necklace.
But the mask is cooler! Why would we turn it into a necklace?

>>932096
we could wear it as a pauldron

>>932046
yeah i like this idea. get him to start fresh, with a blank slate, far away from here.

"You've got no support. Look at me, you think I got this strong all by myself? Hell i'd be dead several times over without my friends. And i sure as hell wouldn't have beaten you if i hadn't just gone thru hellish training. Nobody gets anywhere by themselves." Then offer him your hand to help him up.

>>932046
This seems good.

>>932085
>Necklace
I'd prefer a mask instead of a necklace.

>>932097
Wearing something intended for the face on the wrong body part doesn't seem like a good idea.

>>932129
I don't feel that a mask fits our look.

>>932129
>Wearing something intended for the face on the wrong body part doesn't seem like a good idea.
It's like your allergic to cool.

>>932133
Which is why we wanted it as a trophy, not something to wear.

>>932136
No, I just prefer the pauldron to not be made out of flimsy mask material.

Also, "coolness" does not equal increased defenses. Function over fashion, that's what'll help keep us alive.

1/2 Heretic 2019/05/06(Mon)16:49 No. 932154 ID: a451fc
File 155718655997.gif - (1.34MB , 1200x820 , Bang Bang Pew Pew.gif )

YOU: ...You really want to die that badly? Fine.

Nolan let's go of your collar and crumples back to the ground. You put your finger up to his head and do a little shooting motion while making a bang noise with your mouth.
YOU: There! You're dead now. All of this is gone, and now you can be someone else. You can get away from Channing and do something worth while with your life.
NOLAN: ...Do you honestly think it's that simple?
YOU: Hey man you think dying will just fix all of your problems, don't get on me for my "simple" solution. Constantly comparing yourself to your brother and following all of his orders even if they make you unhappy seems like the real source of your issues. What's more is you lack support from anyone, I didn't get this way on my own y'know. Going through life essentially alone is a terrible way to live.

You kneel down to his eye level.
YOU: I know you're scared of your brother he sounds like a terrifying guy, but is this anyway to live? You need to ask yourself what you really want? because what you're after right now seems to be making you miserable.

2/2 Heretic 2019/05/06(Mon)16:49 No. 932155 ID: a451fc
File 155718658095.png - (302.67KB , 1558x1064 , Flying Colors 2.png )

NOLAN: I didn't come here to be lectured
YOU: You didn't come here to lose either but it still happened. If you don't want to listen to me then fine, but I'm not going to kill you.

You stand back up.
YOU: If there's anything you should take away from this it's to stop by Channing's brother Nolan, and start being just Nolan.

There's a long silence before you can offer him help or something for his wounds he turns back into thin air and floats away. You're left the victor, with the shards of Nolan's mask in your possession. Not really sure what to do with it, you have no intention of wearing it as a mask, making a necklace out of the shards sounds like a good idea though your dad's neckerchief already has your neck slot reserved, so maybe a bracelet? It's not really important right now. What's important is you return to Flint and wrap this training up.

I say just glue the pieces together and keep it as a trophy on your mantle.

>>932155
>What's important is you return to Flint and wrap this training up.
Then let's get back over to Flint and ask him what you need to do next.

>>932159
Exactly what I was thinking.

"See you later."

Time to go, honestly.

I say when we get the chance we should modify the mask to me something useful, kinda like we did for our flamethrower but more utility.

Anyway head back up and declare your victory.

Rude ass mother fucker, at least say "bye"!
Anyway, task complitet, trophy gained. Let's see what the lazzy master thinks of our fight.

We can think what to do with the mask later.

Before you leave these caverns, get some of that aura sensing water! It might help you make a demon-detecting thing along with the meteorite chunk. Seriously that water is useful.

Before you leave these caverns, get some of that aura sensing water! It might help you make a demon-detecting thing along with the meteorite chunk. Seriously that water is useful.

>>932155
Let’s get back to Flint.

>>932159
Good idea!

>>932176
>water
Don’t we first have to take that to Flint?

>meteorite chunk
Speaking of which, did a Flint take that from us? I know he took our weapons, but I’m not sure if he took that.

But if it reacts to demons, maybe it reacts to their aura? Could we see what happens if we run a tiny amount of our own aura through it?

>>932178
I think we left the chunk at home, we didn't have much reason to bring it with us.

Also, we touched it to our barrier and it reacted, so yes, it does react with aura.

We should ask Flint about the chunk.

>>932179
>Also, we touched it to our barrier and it reacted, so yes, it does react with aura.
That was back when we had Vol’s mark, so technically it was his demonic magic we were using, not our own aura.

Now that we’re not borrowing Vol’s magic anymore, I’d like to try using our aura on the meteorite chunk to see if we get a different reaction this time.

>>932181
I think we already did and he said something along the lines of, "Hey, don't ask me. You're the researcher, do some research." or something like that.

... We just used an energy construct as a parachute...

We can use energy constructs as limbs...

Roland Should be able to make flight capable wings!
What's more, since Energy is weightless, sure, they'd have to be big, but not massive.

A two wing setup could provide massive speed and power, a four wing setup could provide precision control and perhaps even hover capability.

Of course, this'll take practice but....
I think our boy Roland should get on this!

1/2 Heretic 2019/05/08(Wed)14:27 No. 932297 ID: a451fc
File 155735085014.png - (806.20KB , 1558x1064 , Flying Colors 3.png )

>>932176
You still have the waterskin with some of the water.

>Return
After the whole ordeal you trudge back to the tree stump. There your three tutors are waiting for you. Wick and Daisy seem to immediately relax upon seeing that you've returned relatively unharmed while Flint nonchalantly eats a rock hard apple, the sound of the crunching is absolutely disgusting.
WICK: Congratulations kid, you passed!
DAISY: I'd say with flying colors. Right Flint?
FLINT: Eh, I'd say it's more of a C minus.
YOU: Seriously?
FLINT: You took longer than I expected. Don't be too down 'bout it though its still passing so, Good job!

Flint gives you a small round of applause semi-sarcastically but Daisy and Wick join in with applause that feels actually genuine.
FLINT: Progress no matter how small is progress, kid, remember that.

As he says this to you he tosses a bag at your feet. Inside is a change of clothes along with some other stuff.

2/2 Heretic 2019/05/08(Wed)14:28 No. 932298 ID: a451fc
File 155735088196.png - (839.96KB , 1558x1064 , Flying Colors 4.png )

The clothes are similar to your original ones, but a bit better quality. On the back of the poncho is three triangles stacked on top of each other. Inside of the bag there's a knife and a smaller sack of 10 ball bearings.
WICK: Even with all of your trainin' carryin' silver on you's always a good idea. So there's a silver knife along with some silver ball bearings. Personally I feel like guns can be kind of unreliable so it's better the fling those if you need them.

Next to the silver stuff there's a phone.
DAISY: Flint told me you didn't have a phone, so I got you one of my old Tombstones. They can work without a network, but not gonna lie it's kinda shit. No camera, the audio can be spotty and it loses signal sometimes. it can still be useful though.

Finally there's a sheaf of paper along with some pencils and an eraser
FLINT: In case you run out.

After you change into the new clothes Daisy and Wick say their goodbyes, both wishing you luck in whatever you do. You climb back up the stump with Flint and enter his car as he starts it up.
FLINT: So! How ya feel now that you're all used to this stuff?

>>932298
>Cellphone
I can't believe I didn't actually realize those existed until now. Like, even though Nolan used a phone, I still didn't think they existed.

>How are you feeling
I'd say I can see why you expected me to get my ass kicked in the tournament if a lot of the people who entered are capable of this kind of stuff (good thing we didn't run into many of those). I can think of a few situations where this power would have probably made things a lot easier.

Hey, what does the symbol on my back represent?

I feel like everything is more easier but complex at the same time. Like i just took this big step on a journey, but i can't even see the end of it. And it feels great. I want to keep walking.

>>932298
>On the back of the poncho is three triangles stacked on top of each other.
Ask what that represents.

>Silver
Those will help!

>Cellphone
Now you've got an excuse to ask Ada for her phone number. ;D

>Paper, pencils, erasers
Seems like he's expecting you to fill out your demon journal quite a bit!

>How do you feel?
I feel like I'm a little more prepared for whatever comes at me.

By the way, did Flint give you back your things that he took from you at the start of the test?

>>932298
Ask what the symbol means.

I feel like I'm a kid who just beat the shit out of a hitman...

It only gets crazier from here on out, doesn't it?

>>932298
>cellphone
What numbers are already installed on it?

Since this is Daisy’s old phone, do we need to worry about someone calling it and looking for Daisy?

>So! How ya feel now that you're all used to this stuff?
I feel like showing off to everyone when I get home! But I’m not sure if I should.

Are there any rules when it comes to this aura stuff? Like am I not supposed to tell anyone about it or don’t go trying to teach anyone or something?

>>932316
And Wick mentioned that it’s possible to fly with aura and I kinda want to do that after I get better at controlling my aura.

Heretic 2019/05/08(Wed)20:22 No. 932337 ID: a451fc
File 155737215744.png - (846.09KB , 1558x1064 , Flying Colors 5.png )

YOU: Prepared! Excited! Really I feel great!
FLINT: Glad to hear it, but don't get cocky just cuz you're a fast start. You're still a rookie, and I'm nowhere near done with you kid.
YOU: 'Course you're not...Hey what do these triangles on the back of my clothes mean?
FLINT: Seeking Knowledge. I thought It'd be fitting for you.

Flint drives out of the cavern, into the wasteland and back to your house dropping you off. Before he leaves, he puts his number into your Tombstone phone and makes sure to give you back whatever else he took.

You walk over to your house where Vol is playing darts at the front, You call his name to get his attention.
VOL: Roland! Finally! I was worried I'd hafta stay up waitin' all night fer ya to get back! Did ya get new clothes while you were...where eva' ya were?

>>932337
Real quick, before you get distracted with talking to Vol, use Aether Sight to look around and see if you can spot Peaches before he ends up tackling you while he’s invisible.

Once you’re sure that Peaches ain’t gonna sneak up on you, excitedly tell Vol where Flint took you for your training! You actually went to a big jungle in the Aether!

And then show Vol the new trick you learned and summon up a few aura arms!

.....then tell him about Naos unexpectedly showing up and your fight with him. Tell him Naos’ real name and show him his mask that you got as a trophy for beating him. You didn’t kill him, even though he really wanted you to, and he kinda just.....left. You don’t know where he is or if you’ll ever see him again.

>>932337
First, let's see what a demon looks like in aura vision. We should also use aura vision on that stone and silver to see just how aura reacts to them.

"You won't believe what happened, Vol! I got to go to a satellite in the Aether! Oh, and word of advice, don't dare Flint to eat anything, at least nothing we own."

>>932338
Don’t forget to show Vol the triangles on your back and tell him what they mean.

>>932343
>Oh, and word of advice, don't dare Flint to eat anything, at least nothing we own.
Specifically anything made of metal.

>>932338
jungle is kind of pushing it.

--

Well, now that we are done with that, lets put Vol through a gauntlet until something interesting happens.

"I was off learning to do THIS!"
Demonstrate your increased control of Caesura.

Ask him if he's made any progress with his own magic, now that he's not weakened from the pact or whatever.

Hmm.. we should find Troy and tell him not to go anywhere alone for a while.
If Nolan doesn't report back, Channings gonna throw everything he has at him.

The final battle with Channing will soon be upon us.

>>932337
Did your replacement clothes include a neckerchief? If so, since you're not gonna replace your dad's neckerchief, what did you do with the replacement one?

>Vol
Tell him everything that happened and where Flint took you for training. Then show off your new skills because why would you not want to show off?!

We should also explain what happened with Nolan to Troy.

I WAS IN A CAVE! AND I WAS PUNCHING THINGS! WITH MY AURA! DID YOU KNOW WE HAD AURAS? SO COOL! I HAVE A NAME FOR IT! AND THEN THIS TWO GUYS APEARED AND TOUHGT ME THINGS! AND I HAVE TESTS, AND I PAS THEM, AND THEN NOLAN APPEARED, AND I BEAT HIM UP TOO, AND THE HE GOT SAD, BUT I DIDN'T KILL HIM! AND THEN THEY GAVE ME FREE STUFF AND now i am here.

>>932417
We've got a master storyteller over here.

>>932417
Seconding this.

1/2 Heretic 2019/05/09(Thu)16:13 No. 932420 ID: a451fc
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YOU: You won't believe what happened, Vol! I got to go to a satellite in the Aether!
VOL: You went to da Aether??
YOU: Yeah but it wasn't too dangerous, and look what I found.

You show Vol the worm you found in the Aether.
VOL: Oh, one a' d'em things. Rol you didn't go all dat way to collect bugs did ya? Ya coulda done dat here.
YOU: No! I went to learn this!

You showily flex an arm and at the same time materialize a Concerto Caesura arm behind you, then another and another, much to Vol's surprise.
VOL: Holy shit!
YOU: Holy shit right? I learned a lot when I was away...I uh also got something important to tell Troy.
VOL: Free-loada's at da side a' da house listenin' to garbage.
YOU: He pays rent Vol.
VOL: Wat eva'.

>Let's see what a demon looks like in aura vision
You close your eyes, Demons look like a slightly brighter red smear of energy.

2/2 Heretic 2019/05/09(Thu)16:13 No. 932421 ID: a451fc
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You walk over to Troy, who is sitting on a bean bag by his truck, wearing headphones. You tap his shoulder to get his attention.
TROY: Hey! Sup Roland! Have fun a Pagan school? Make any new friends?
YOU: Uh, Yeah actually, to both of those.
TROY: Well that's nice to hear. I tried playing darts with Vol but he cheats.

Vol shouts from around the corner of the house.
VOL: JUST CUZ' I MAKE DARTS OUT A' MY BLOOD DON'T MAKE ME A CHEATER! YOU'RE JUST BAD!
TROY: SAY WHAT YOU FUCKIN' WANT YOU GOURD GOBBLIN' GOBLIN.
YOU: ...Gourd gobbling?
TROY: Yeah y'know like a pumpkin eater...Like cheater cheater pumpkin eat- Whatever. Did you want to tell me somethin'?

You show him the shards of Nolan's mask.
YOU: Me and the mask guy, Naos or Nolan, had a run in.
TROY: ...Well, from context clues I can assume you won.
YOU: Yeah.
TROY: And he's dead?

>>932421
I'm afraid I couldn't really kill him, even though he was literally begging me. Guy has some problems, man. He lives in fear of his own brother. I felt like he was a bit of a victim of this whole thing, so I tried to convince himself to leave the gang, but I'm not sure how much effect it had.

>>932421
Just say "probably".

No.
He begged me to kill him when he lost but... I refused.

He might end up not going back to Channing.
If he does... I can see him doing something stupid that could wind up with him getting killed anyway.

Either way, we're going to have a major fight on our hands soon. Especially since if they tracked me to the aether it won't be long before they find this place.

If there's anything you need to do to prepare, now's the time.

I guess the only question is, do we go about business as usual and wait for Channing to come to us, or do we bring the fight to Channing?

>>932421
Explain that Nolan was a Saint with the power over the wind. Then explain the bet he made with you: if he won, you tell him your full name, because he only knows you by your middle name “Gallows”, and if you won, you get to take his mask. It wasn’t a fight to the death, just a “friendly competition”, as he called it.

You guys fought for a while and when you had clearly won, you told him to hand over the mask and he refused, saying you had to kill him for it.

You thought he was just being a sore loser, until he broke down and said that he wasn’t getting anywhere in life. Then he grabbed you by the collar and said, “If nothing I do leads to anything, than my life is worthless! I was a failure of a brother and I'm an even worse bandit! So just end me Gallows!”

You didn’t kill him and just lectured him on how if his life felt worthless, then he should get a new life that would help him feel like he was worth something.

Then he just turned into wind and blew away. You’re not sure where he is right now and you’re not sure if he’s left Channing’s gang or not.

Also, he’s Channing’s older half brother.

No, i just couldn't. He was just there, ready to take it, practically begging me to kill him. Channing fuck him up real bad over the years. He just follows him trying to surpass him, but fail miserably all his life. I know he has done some bad too, don't know what, but i asume the worst. Yet i couldn't bring my self to do it. Call me naive, but i think he can be "rehabilitated". Make him start again, away from his brother and his gang. I would like to think that.

"no, but I think I broke him" is a good summary. Maybe don't go into too much detail about letting him go right away. Let Troy get used to the idea first, in the likely event that he flips out about it.

1/5 Heretic 2019/05/10(Fri)20:34 No. 932539 ID: a451fc
File 155754569070.png - (429.95KB , 1558x1064 , Flying Colors 8.png )

You explain everything that happened with Nolan at the Pillar Tree Cavern. The fight, his break down, and how he isn't dead.
YOU: Sorry Troy, I couldn't do it.
TROY: ...
YOU: Troy?
TROY: It's fine...I wasn't expectin' you to kill him really, and I'm glad ya didn't. Even with this little break down he's had, He still needs to answer for what he did, and I want to make 'em pay for it.
YOU: I'm also worried about Channing.
TROY: Man who here ain't?
YOU: You shouldn't go anywhere alone for a while.
TROY: Yeah...Things are gonna get a lot worse...

2/5 Heretic 2019/05/10(Fri)20:35 No. 932540 ID: a451fc
File 155754571264.png - (30.73KB , 1558x1064 , Rising Villain.png )

...

3/5 Heretic 2019/05/10(Fri)20:35 No. 932541 ID: a451fc
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NOLAN: ..."start being just Nolan"...What does that even mean?

4/5 Heretic 2019/05/10(Fri)20:38 No. 932545 ID: a451fc
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???: What does what even mean?
NOLAN: Christ!
???: Oh sorry! Did I startle you?
NOLAN: Y-yes! Fuck! your hands are freezing! Why are you out here?
???: Really I oughta be asking you what you're doing here, aside from getting drunk in the middle of nowhere. C'mon you know why I'm out here!
NOLAN: It's Troy right?
???: Well yes, and no! I need to meet someone else first, I don't think Troy'll be going anywhere though.
NOLAN: How many are left?
???: Enough.

5/5 Heretic 2019/05/10(Fri)20:39 No. 932546 ID: a451fc
File 155754594873.png - (503.01KB , 1558x1064 , Rising Villain 3.png )

NOLAN:...Hey, you ever wonder happened to-
???: Anyone who doesn't make it back isn't worth thinking about.
NOLAN: ...Right
???: Anyway, it seems like you had a rough time doing...whatever you were doing here. So you can head back if you want, you're lucky I love ya or I'd hate how much you waste time.
NOLAN: Sure Channing...Who are you going to meet anyway?
CHANNING: Someone important is all. Don't worry 'bout it.
NOLAN: ...Hey why are your hands so-
NOLAN: ...
NOLAN: cold.


D3: Slight Return - End Episode 6

>>932546
Oh, good, Channing has disarmed himself. Now he’s not a threat to anybody anymore!

.....those are someone else’s arms and not his arms, aren’t they?

>>932555
Yeeeap, wonder who tho. And who is this guy that might have not make it?