The Strange Truth [Dungeon Traversal]

The moment the Dancing Hands were hit with the blast of fire, they were flipped back onto their palms and struggling against the floor. Obviously they were hit hard by the fire assault, so when the rest of the attacks came they couldn't particularly dodge out the way. Now they would need to use this time to attempt to recover their footing. On the other hand, the Venus Eagle would survive the attacks directed at it, and would respond with a maneuver of its own. Extending its wings with a shriek, each enemy would be hit by a low burst of Garu. With its companions down for the moment, the Venus Eagle was the only active enemy ready to attack. Still being in the way of the Persona-users, it cut them off from running back to the entrance of Limbo. The World itself began to write messages upon the walls once again, and they all had one thing in common. They all involved wanting the three Persona-users to bend over and die where they stood. Apparently whatever was behind the Golden Door, Limbo didn't want them to have. Even if they somehow got pass the minor guardians, there would be one final one awaiting them towards the end of the dungeon. If they couldn't handle the cannon fodder, there was literally no way they'd be able to handle the final guardian that watched over the first clue.

Dancing Hand 1:

Dancing Hand 2:

Venus Eagle:

Ejji could not help but feel a sense of power and pride when the hand-things fell down, taking the hits from his fire attack. It seemed that those things were weak to this particular element and this was surely good news. No hand-monster was going to beat Ejji down if he had anything to say about it.

While the incapacitation of the hands was a good thing, the Venus Eagle seemed to take all the techniques thrown at it and persist. The shadow then used a wind attack, and the tables were turned once again. It seemed that this battle would prove to be more difficult than Ejji had first thought.
As soon as the attack reached him, Ejji could not help but fall down, barely managing to slam the point of his Okatana's sheath into the ground, so that he would now be kneeling with one knee on the ground, trying to regain his footing and to stabilize his breathing.

Everything went dizzy for a second, but Ejji could see, turning his head, that Genji would still be standing. He focused on the young man's blurry figure. "Genji..." Ejji rasped somewhat. "That bird - kill it. Obliterate it!"

He had to get back on his feet, praising whatever gods that his earlier attack had incapacitated two of their attackers.

Ejji's Stats and Actions:

Spoiler:

The moment Naito was hit with the gust of wind, he was knocked onto his feet and to his butt. With an annoyed grunt, the silver haired student cursed under his breath. "Damn it! This was exactly what I was talking about." He shot a glare towards Ejji and then towards Genji who was still on his feet. Naito had made a decision at this specific moment. It would be far too dangerous teaming with these two at his current strength. Being around Ejji made was bad. Not bad, just horrible. They were no where near prepared for this fight, and Naito would need to swallow his pride and accept this. He needed to get stronger... Relying on the strength of his subjects was not this King's way. He would need to handle things alone or with a suitable partner who didn't share his one bane. Without saying another word to the two others, he'd hang his head low and let his hair fall over his face. "This is suicide... I'm not strong enough yet. Jinmu-tennō, we have work to do, my friend. But before then... " Naito's eyes would flick towards the remaining enemies. The hands seemed to be down from the attack Ejji had performed. So they were weak to Agi skills. The bird seemed competent in Garu skills but Ejji's Agi skills didn't seem to effect it as much. After seeing Genji's first attack, Naito suspected he didn't have enough power to finish off the bird with his next attack. That meant once again he would be getting smacked by a gust of wind most likely. Son of a-... How shameful of an Emperor to be groveling on the ground in such times. Burying his scabbard into the ground, he'd use it as support to try to make it back to his feet. "I don't plan on dying in here. Not like this... "

Naito Stats:

Finally, the dancing hands would reclaim their lost footing from before and rejoin the battle. Shuffling back and forth, the first hand would snap its fingers and cast mabufa to cause a small amount of ice damage to each enemy on the battlefield. The second dancing hand would follow suit and cast the same spell, dealing another AoE small amount of ice damage to the enemies. Once their attacks were complete, the hands continued to dance back and forth. The Venus Eagle would be hit by the only standing attacker's attack, but would endure it aswell. However, its health was getting lower and lower at this point. Spreading its wings, it would cast a second wave of magaru to all the enemies. With the group still being surrounded, they wouldn't be able to flee from the battle as of yet. The world of Limbo seemed quite amused at the lack of strength the Persona-users had. What appeared to be a sort of laughter could be heard echoing through the cylinder cave.

Dancing Hand 1:

Dancing Hand 2:

Venus Eagle:

Ejji was once again blasted with a barrage of attacks, but this time he managed to not only get up, but also remain standing. He was hurt and pretty badly at that, so some healing was definitely the right thing for him. However, he had a few options as to ho he could go about doing it. He could do it himself, or let others heal him. Remembering Genji's earlier words, Ejji made a quick decision.

At times like this Ejji was really thankful to his quick mind, seeing as how it helped him come up with a good strategy on the run. Just like now. His eyes quickly darted from his allies to his enemies, thinking up the best way to defeat their foe. He was quick to voice his plans to the others.

"I require immediate assistance - Genji, heal me." Ejji said, turning to Naito next. "You can take out the acursed bird with a single attack, along with the other enemies."

Ejji then turned towards the dancing hands, a card appearing before him. "I shall deal with these nuisances." with a quick gripping motion, Ejji shattered the card, willing Amatsu-Yarikami into existence before him. "Persona! Burn them to ash." The Persona responded, slamming the spear into the ground and sending the Maragi fire attack towards all their foes. Afterwards, it vanished and Ejji once again slammed the tip of the Okatana into the ground, helping himself stand.
He hoped everything would go well.

Ejji's Stats and Actions:

Spoiler:

Once recovering his footing, Naito would reclaim his stance. Holding his scabbard firmly in his right hand, while grabbing the hilt of his blade with his left, he'd grind his teeth. "I've regained my honor." The boy with the silver hair would focus on his tarot card, and slowly it would float before him. With a quick draw of the blade, he'd slice through his card with precision. "Finish this mess!" On his command, his Persona erupted from the depths of his soul and took its stand upon the battle field. Spinning its blade in its hand, it'd stab its sword into the ground and send a surge of electricity throughout all of the enemies. Hopefully it'd finish them all off and therefor, finish the battle altogether. Spinning his blade with a flick of the wrist, Naito would sheath his blade as his Persona faded back within his subconsciousness. This was certainly a troublesome encounter, and if this was just the first enemy in this linear dungeon, there was no way he'd survive going further with this team. Luckily he hadn't made any promises to lead them to the promised land or some other nonsense. "You all can linger here if you'd like, but I've decided to fall back. This is ridiculous." He spoke with his blunt tone before looking back towards Ejji. "We're not compatible. We can not work together in the future." Once again being his blunt self. Narrowing his eyes, his expression would remain neutral. "I'll find my own way of getting the answers I need. That seems to be the only solution to this problem. You two try not to die in here."

Naito Stats:

As the Shadows fell back into the goo they had been spawned from, Ejji let out a somewhat tired breath. Even with Genji superb healing, he still had felt that the battle had taken it's toll on him. After cheking his well-being he knew that it was possible to continue forward and go through a few more battles, but the risks seemed to outweight the gains for now. No matter how important this mystery was - it did not take priority over their lives. Faced with a choice as to what to do next, Ejji had already reached the decision. His companions seemed to have similar ideas.
Ejji stood straight, taking a good look at the golden light ahead and then turned to face his friends.

"It seems we all agree. We should leave - a tactical retreat seems like the most reasonable thing to do. As we are now, it would be very hard to win the next battles. And I am sure that Limbo will throw more monsters at us to fight." Ejji thew a glance at the walls, scowling as he restrained himself from verbally insulting the realm. It was beneath him. "As adverse as I am to this - we need more unfortunate people to be thrown into Limbo, for there is greater strength in numbers. Naito and myself..." Ejji looked at the young manin question. "... are not such a good team, indeed. We seem to have the same weakness and that makes possible enemies more dangerous. We need more people, so we can split into better teams and be able to cover more ground, while eliminating more enemies on the way."

With that said Ejji would turn to Genji, making a few steps in the direction of the exit. "We, on the other hand, need to get stronger. Perhaps a few more battles with Shadows are in order. We need to get a feel of cambat with these things in order to develop better strategies and get used to being a team. For now it's going to be just the two of us, Genji, but I believe if we do not go too far into enemy territory - we can get stronger and then come back here."

The Reiguu heir would then proceed towards the crimson door through which the three student arrived into this Dungeon. He needed to get a small break, and perhaps the next day would be good for venturing into Limbo again. There were other places they needed to investigate, but he would bother with that later. On his way back Ejji would make sure not to get ahead of the others when they followed, thinking whether he had any questions for Elizabeth or not. She seemed to be the most friendly of the attendants and if the earlier words of Justine were truthful - she had spent the most time here in Limbo. Would she know what to expect in other places?

Without wasting anytime, Naito would begin his retreat back towards the entrance. If he needed to use his bead or traesto gem to escape, he would, but for now he'd move on foot. With blade in hand, he'd simply shake his head to Genji for his offer of healing. Naito was hardheaded already, and with this display of a bad team, he wanted no part with the others. He just wanted to escape the dungeon as fast as he could before losing his life in the most ridiculous manner. For one who was extremely prideful, this was a situation he couldn't control and it caused him to hate himself for it. He was all about control. All about taking control of the environment around him, but here at this moment he had nothing. Not even with the power of Persona was he able to press forward without worry. This lack in strength needed to be removed and eradicated. His journey towards strength needed to be expedited. All the answers to his problems came down to a simple solution. Going into Limbo's more tamed areas and battling Shadows he knew he could defeat in due time. Though he wasn't a fool and knew he would most likely need assistance one day or another, he also knew he couldn't be a true leader without having the strength to lead others. Craving power and needing power were two entirely different things after all. He no longer craved it. He needed it! He needed to protect his possessions. He needed it to protect the people he actually cared about, even though there were probably only two or three. Without this power, he was useless to them. What would happen if they were thrown within Limbo?

These antagonizing thoughts were doing nothing but weighing down Naito's judgment and will. First thing was first, and that was escaping the hell hold of this dungeon. The truth would be learned, but perhaps today was abit too early to tackle such a task. Perhaps Justine would be willing to train with him. Though after witnessing her strength, he knew such a battle was immediate death. Only a fool would think otherwise.

Naito Stats:

Ejji was relieved that the group had no encountered any sort of resistance on their way out. It seemed that Limbo did not wish them to proceed, but had nothing against them leaving in one piece. That was a good thing, since an ambush at this point would be simply useless. The white-haired student finally reached the crimson door that lead out of the treacherous realm. If there was anything he wanted to ask Elizabeth - nothing came to mind right now. He just wanted this over with for the moment.
Having said everything he had wanted to say, Ejji didn't need to add much. Stopping just before the shining doors, Ejji turned to his companions.

"Genji - I shall give you call when I am rested. Expect me tomorrow." he let the Ame-no-Tsuru fade away from his hand and turned around, touching the door.

There were many things he needed to think about and some plans to make. His spirit was somewhat dampened, but not truly weakened. He would return to Limbo to battle more Shadows and grow stronger. He needed Genji to be his support for this and together they, naturally, would have a better chance at fending off the monsters inhabiting this realm together.
The small excursion had also given him some idea about how Tsurinai would handle such situations. They seemed to be a bad team, both in their weaknesses and personalities. Ejji had a hard time picturing a similar venture with Naito present, and even though the boy did not truly insult anyone and had spoken the truth... the Reiguu still felt some displeasure with how his fellow student handled himself in their company. Or perhaps Ejji was simply getting irritated due to stress.

[Attempted Exit]