1378/Hurdles at the Assault on Gaito - Devario

Hurdles at the Assault on Gaito - Devario
Date of Scene:	01 April 2024
Location:	Palace of the Panthalassa
Synopsis:	Steam Sentinel Propel fights and defeats one of Gaito's water demons during the assault on the palace of the King of the Deep Seas. Happens at the same time as Scene 1374: A Dark Lover... Trio!?
Cast of Characters:	Coco Kiumi, Yuuto Shiraishi
Tinyplot:	Usagi's Abyssal Nightmare

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Coco Kiumi has posed:
The teleportation to the palace of Gaito had gone seamlessly for the party that had gathered to put an end to Usagi's nightmares, the blessing of Aqua Regina having brought them there and having granted them the ability to perfectly adapt to the underwater environment.

They were meant to be facing the Dark Lovers, except it turns out that they too had brought reinforcements, a water demon with crimson and blue skin slightly glowing in the light, his long blue locks floating in the water behind him, an arrogant grin on his face.

Yuuto Shiraishi has posed:
It's not sure how Yuuto ended up a bit on his own - but as the rest of the party is in their fight, after henshing, the Steam Sentinel found himself at the rear guard, watching Coco from behind, before he feels a little presence. Spinning around, his goggles flash as they identify the threat.

"Okay, hopefully they have things held in the front. Looks like I was right to stay back." he grunts, charging both of his blasters. "I don't suppose I can just convince you to leave, hmm?" But when it comes to protecting the others - especially the Princess - the first thing he does as soon as those words are out?

A pair of blasts are unleashed at the water demon as he tries to get the drop on him and drive him backwards! "You'd do better to give up now and leave!"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Oh, is someone feeling touchy on this beautiful day?" the water demon chuckes as Yuuto goes on the offensive right away, not at all afraid of the sudden opening of fire. "It's such a pity. I am sure Lord Gaito would be eager to show his brand of hospitality to any friend of a mermaid princess."

The demon's muscular arm is entended towards Yuuto, as if offering him a handshake. "But why not introduce ourselves first? I think it's just good manners to let my victims know who defeated them, and give them to opportunity to make me remember their name. You have the honour of talking with Devario the Combative."

He is not at all impressed about Yuuto opening fire on him and he extends his hand towards his blasts, a small hole clearly visible at the bottom of his palm, gravel shooting out of it and exploding against the blasts before they reach Devario.

Yuuto Shiraishi has posed:
"Not really feeling touchy, feeling more like making sure you don't hurt my girlfriend." the Steam Sentinel grits his teeth, even as Devario offers his hand in friendship (not). "I doubt that you really have a handshake on your mind. If Sara is any indication, I'm not interested."

And apparently, firing at the water demon is not going to help, even with Coco's song providing him a little extra boost. As the blasts are intercepted by the gravel, he frowns. "Alright, going to need a new strategy." He starts to move, trying to gain some speed in the little space available.

As he builds up energy, he releases a larger blast, to see if he can punch through - or at least keep Devario the Combative busy. "With a name like that, I'd assume that you'd appreciate someone taking the initative of a first attack!" he points out with a small smirk.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Well, please do tell who is your girlfriend!", Devario remarks. "I am sure Lord Gaito will be able to reserve you a spot next to her once our little fight is over", he says, grinning ferociously towards Yuuto, the gravel dust slowly falling to the ground between them.

He clearly thinks of Yuuto refusing his handshake, because he nonchalantly retracts his arm and tells him. "You sure do need a good strategy against me, because the Dark Lovers need each other to be effective, but I relish in the fight, enjoy a good opponent, so all I do are 1 vs 1 and you are actually right. Try your best to make it worth my time, ok?"

And then that larger blast is coming his way and this time Devario sends gravel at it from both hands, trying to let it consume itself on them, but to no avail, the impact reaching him. "That was pretty good, I like it!", the bruised water demon says with a smile. "Let's do more!" He slams his hands together, and suddenly, a big stone slab forms between them, which is promptly tossed at Yuuto.

Yuuto Shiraishi has posed:
Okay, this is bad. Yuuto is realizing that now, as he's trying to figure out what to do, as his first blast is so easily deflected away. That, apparently, was not going to be the trick here - applying more and more firepower is not providing the answer. As Devario is hit by the blast and does damage, Yuuto smirks just slightly. "Yeah well, go ahead and keep liking that, there's more where that came from."

Though Devario followed up by an attack with a rock thrown towards the Steam Sentinel, it slams into Yuuto, smashing him into the wall and knocking the breath from him.

There's a brief glance towards Coco - perhaps not more than a couple of seconds, but more than enough to let Devario clue in on which mermaid held his heart.

And it is through Coco's song that he is able to push back up again. On his feet, he considers - and runs. And it seems like he's running away from Devario. Retreating from him, leaving the back of his beloved open... maybe hoping Devario would follow - until he's not, passing by behind Devario. Again gone, other direction, back - in front of Devario. Around and around he goes, starting to circle around the water demon in increasingly tightening circles under the water -- which is starting to swirl the water around the demon.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Devario opens his arms wide at Yuuto's provocation, as if to invite more and more. "But of course! I love nothing more than my opponents doing their best before they are defeated. A boring battle is the worst. It doesn't matter if I get hurt, or rather me getting hurt is proof I am facing an opponent worth defeating!", he proudly declares.

The water demon then follows Yuuto's gaze after he is hit by the stone slate, his eyes falling onto Coco, and he starts laughing quietly. "I see, I see, how rude of me. We have a guest of honour here. Well, I will be sure you and the princess get the same spot if you give me a good fight, how about it?"

Then Devario looks perplexed as Yuuto starts running and running around using his powers to go faster and faster until a whirlwind envelopes him, raising him further and making him crash to the ground.

Yuuto Shiraishi has posed:
After creating the mini-waterspout and dropping the water demon, Yuuto is shifting back to his blasters again. "I'm not going to give you the chance to get close to her." he warns, intent to defend Coco with his very life if he must, keeping up his speed.

As he comes around on Devario as he was down, there's a pair of blasts unleashed into him. Not as powerful as his earlier blast, but meant to try to keep Devario down for a moment longer - as he continues to circle, trying to build up his energy and charge up the blaster. It's taking time.

Especially underwater. While it's not much different than land thanks to Coco's sealing key, he's still not sure how his electrical discharge is going to work under the surface - and perhaps worried about injuring Coco, he's holding out.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
The water demon gets up to his feet after a short while, just a brief moment of recovery from the impact that sent him into a daze. However he can't do much else, unable to see Yuuto through the agitated waters that surround him on all sides. He tries slamming the ground with force to send a shockwave that would interrupt his path, but he ends up missing completely, the steam sentinel too fast for him to catch.

Yuuto Shiraishi has posed:
As the shockwave goes out, Yuuto finds himself almost hit, but it misses him. "Have to try harder than that." he grunts, even if he feels the wave through his legs. It shakes him, but it only makes him redouble his efforts to protect his princess. Spinning around on his wheels, he slides to a halt.

"How do you like this for combative?" he asks, bringing both of his pistols together to make the larger blaster and he starts to charge it upwards as he prepares to unleash a finisher blast - leaving him open for a moment should Devario get off an attack.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
With the water still rushing around him, Devario can't see anything further than his own nose, Yuuto's indistinct mass not really providing any help in that regard. And even when Yuuto does stop, finding his exact position takes him a moment, exactly that moment of vulnerability Yuuto has, and by then it is too late.

The supercharged impact of Yuuto's attack hits Devario like a meteor, the body Gaito's dark energy had given him starting to crumble. You have been a good foe", he tells Yuuto satisfied. "Thank you truly for providing me with a great fight", he says, before reverting to his true form, a giant danio that quickly swims away from Gaito's palace.

Yuuto Shiraishi has posed:
After the massive shot is fired, Yuuto disengages the guns, in case he needs to fire again - but it turns out that Devario is retreating after transforming into his real form. And there's a sigh of relief - because Yuuto is pretty sure that he cannot handle that large of a foe on his own.

But with Devario retreating, Yuuto can turn his attention back to helping Coco and the others and advancing deeper in the castle.