Cathy
*The zombie furthest to the right would immediately take two shots through the heart by Yuu's combined attack with his steppe elf, the sharp steel point of the arrow piercing straight through the zombies rotten, decaying flesh. As pieces of its matter fell to the floor, a vile, odious smell would fill the area, reaching as far back as the wolves. It smelled like rot, like garbage, like corpses, like the unattended dead. Turning immediately towards Yuu, the zombie would begin to lurch forwards at his assailant, the other one following shortly in suit. They would start closing the distance at quite fast pace, about the speed of a pedestrian walking the busy streets of a crowded city. It was somewhat surprising, honestly. However, it was still rather slow compared to normal humans. The right most zombie wouldn't reach Yuu in time, but seeing that Oshikuru stepped forward to meet the undead, the leftmost zombie would other attempt to charge at Oshikuru, leading with its head first to bite and gnaw on the Oni's armor. The wights would duly take note of these actions, as they both noted that they were outnumbered. Slowly but surely, they would position themselves on thick branches of the oak, slowly climbing down as the zombies began combat with the party, blending in with the darkness of the moon, hiding in the shadows of the trees, becoming one with the nights' silence. Once they scaled the tree down, they would begin a quiet tread back to the necromancer, blending their drab, gray skin with the dull backdrop of the surrounding forest.*

*The necromancer, sensing two of his minions saunter silently back over towards his direction, would halt and pause for a moment, wondering why they would ensue such an action. He was certain that he made his wights strong enough to handle their own against an experienced warrior; what could have caused them to retreat like so? Did they encounter something large? Like... An adventurers Band? Was there something in that group that was so powerful, so mighty, that the wights had to fall back to regroup? Honestly, the necromancer doubted it. Stomping his staff against the floor once more, he had his three wights beside him summon three more zombies, and telepathically ordered the wights that had gone to patrol the eastern side of the forest back to regroup to his location. He would gaze ahead cautiously, then turn around and continue a head for a minute, stopping only when he could see the both of his wights gather by his side, joining the other three to form a makeshift guard. From there, he would stand still, waiting for something to happen in the shadows ahead.*

-Current situation
-One necromancer 2 miles away from the party, surrounded by 5 wights and 6 zombies with 2 more wights approaching 
-A zombie attempting to bite Oshikuru
-A zombie closing in slowly on Yuu
Mary
*Oshikuru simply takes a step back and slices at the zombie's neck, expecting it's head to fall off. Too easy. There was more to this. He looks to Yuu, who has his own zombie, but surely he can take care of it*
Willie
*Yuu wouldnt need to worry about the zombie, even if it had reached him, his Macen guard was ready to step in the way of it should it happen to get too close. He would simply draw another arrow, this time aiming higher and at the head and his Archer summon would do the same. Zombies were notoriously slow and the necrotic energy of this one did not do it any justice in making it scarier. He would keep his wolves at bay still, something about this situation wasn't right. There was no way the necrotic energy he had felt was a mistake, there was no mistaking such power difference.*
Sean
"What the fuck is going on? This is far from what we were supposed to fight, this doesn't even qualify as a starter course. I guess the hosts aren't as kind as I though they were..."
Shirley
After a moment of thought, Kohm spoke up, a slight frown on his face "Do you folks feel that the necrotic signatures... Seem to have moved back? Damn, they must have decided to not confront us."
Barbara
"Perhaps they fear for their lives. Who knows?"
Peter
*Mizu was clearly agitated at this point. Not only was she unable to catch any appetizers, but the main course didn't even show up. Like Yuu said, their hosts weren't kind at all and in her frustration she would push her senses to their limits. She was the alpha predator, she would not allow her meal escape her that easily. With her senses pushed to the upmost limits she would attempt to find the stronger necrotic signatures. The hunt has begun*
```Mizu uses Apex Predator. 120/150 mana remaining. Has +800% boost to visual acuity, sensitivty to noises, and smell sensitivity, and can tell apart blood scent like a predator.```
Shirley
"Or they were sent to scout- the zombies merely being dummies for us to demonstrate to them what we could do. Even though it wouldn't give them much to work on, it's still intel." Kohm's eyes narrowed. "This necromancer has a fresh head on their shoulders, at least."
Adolfo
"This simple will not stand... I came here for a dance of death, and death I shall have. Either mine, or theirs..."
Sean
"Now, now. It's obviously theirs. Can't have you dying when I still owe you.~"
Shirley
"Well, we should go on then. Can't give the necromancer too much time to parse through any information." Kohm sighed. "While their intel might be minimal, we have nothing on their forces."
Peter
*If Mizu was her more lax self she would've been more amused by Yuu's tease, but right now she was a huntress on the prowl and her hunter instincts deemed his words not worth responding to as she focused any other sounds that would lead her to prey. Bloodlust filled her bright crimson eyes and could be seen through the slits of her mask, looking more akin to a beast than a woman*
Mary
*Oshikuru would notice Mizu as she focused on something else. He for one couldn't see anything*
Barbara
"What is she looking at?"
Cathy
*As expected of the zombies, they were utterly useless when it came to single hand combat, and Oshikuru was able to slice it down with ease, severing it's head from its shoulders, causing it to roll down and collapse onto the floor, it's body rotting away back into the ground. With Yuu, the zombie would not have nearly any time to react as it got pelted with the vampire's arrows, following the same manner as the other zombie had of collapsing to the ground, dead. Both decaying corpses would emit a terrible, terrible smell, which would affect Mizu the most as her senses had been multiplied by a substantial amount. Her nose would pick up the rotting smell of dead flesh, not leaving room for anything else. However, due to her heightened visual sensitivity, she would notice in the trees two human sized footsteps trailing backwards, seeming to go on for a mile. These would belong, obviously, to the wights, but they had long since regrouped with the necromancer, the vanguard of undead preparing for an attack approaching, sooner or later. It would still take time before the patrolling wights would approach the necromancer's vicinity, so repeating the process once more, the wights would simultaneously summon more zombies to their aide, resulting in five deteriorating hands clawing their way up out of the ground. These undead would join the ranks of the necromancers miniature army, all thirteen taking up the frontal lines of the guard.*
-Oshikuru's zombie has died
-Yuu's zombie has died 
-5 more zombies have been summoned, increasing the total amount to thirteen
Peter
*Mizu would reel back from the stench, however, it was honestly not the worst she has smelled before. Being as battle crazed as her, she would've spent plenty of time on various battle fields in her long life and had become familiar with the stench of death. However, with her enhanced sight she would be pleased to have found a trail. In one quick motion she would merely point with her tail and then rush forward.*
Willie
*Despite the situation, Yuu would be quite facsinated by Mizu's animalistic nature when she gets serious. He would be quick to follow despite being a good 30 feet behind her. Like before, his wolves would follow, as would his summons. He was aware that they were likely being lured back into a trap but he was a monster hunter. Situations like these is what got him excited. He didn't like wasting energy, but this wasn't it. This was enetertainment. Fighting something stronger than himself and coming out on top. There was no bigger rush. And now he had someone as strong as him fighting on his side unlike his usual solo adventures. You couldn't blame him for getting goosebumps from how excited he was. His blue eyes grew brighter as they got further and further into the woods. Short maniacle chuckles could occasionally be heard escaping his mouth. Let the hunt truly begin.*
Shirley
Eager vampires, they both. Truly a match in hell. Kohm shrugged as he picked up the pace as well, Sandman in tow.
Barbara
"Haha! More heads to cut off!"
Mary
*He would start to run in the same direction as Kyuu, blade in hand and assuming there are enemies*
Cathy
*As the four of you rushed ahead following Mizu's lead, you would all arrive at an open clearing of grass, free of any trees. 20 feet away, although it was difficult to see in the grass, you would be able to feel the strength of the origin point of the necrotic energy, the sheer amount becoming visible in the air as black wisps, dancing in the air until they disappeared, only to be replaced by more. A great deal of these ribbons would emanate not from the zombies, not from the wights, but from something all the way back from behind the two companies. You could feel the dread fill the air as the necrotic energy pushed outwards, seeming to corrupt the shining grass with the black tint of death. From where you were, you would be able to see a makeshift phalanx of zombies, all of them slowly kill milling about the area, albeit still close to the the origin of the necrotic energy.*

*Though, soon after your arrival, the zombies would begin to split their formation, revealing a dark figure covered in a black robe. It wielded a staff, dark magic seemingly embedded and spiraling around it. The wood itself seemed to be made out of a sort of black wood, with carvings of dark figures etched within the material. You wouldn't be able to see it, but hidden inside it's cloak would be a ceremonial dagger, a crimson red ruby locked within the hilt. The figure strode a few feet ahead of his small legion of undead, elegantly and with grace with each step, unfitting for the situation at hand. Stopping a few feet ahead, it would have the wights and the zombies fan out beside it, keeping the wights close by.*

"State your name and business. Why are you here? You do realize this entire forest is my domain, yes?"
Barbara
"Your domain? Did you buy it? Or did you just come here and say that it's yours?"
Mary
*He prepared his blade and took an offensive stance, prepared to slice through the zombies*
Willie
*Yuu would eye the enemies, some overly weak, some overly strong. He was excited, the odds were far from being in their favor, how many would allies would die? It's a thought he hadn't had in a long long time. Shaking not with fear but with adrenaline he would start to chuckle, though the chuckle would soon turn to a maniacle laugh as he stared straight at the necromancer speaking to him, drawing an arrow for whenever the fight started.*

"You already know the nature of our business... You felt it didn't you... So why are you engaging in small talk? You already wasted so much of our time, why can't we just let the bloodshed begin?~"

*He would lick his lips as he said that, loading his arrow onto the spring and aiming it at the necromancer. He wouldn't fire it yet but the gesture should've been clear. His Macen knight would stand before him, just barely giving him enough space to shoot if he wanted to. His Steppe Elf Archer would also have an arrow ready to be fired and his wolves would be ready to pounce from the dark on command.*
Shirley
Kohm would remain silent, not seeing the need for the small talk. Instead, he eyed the horde of undead. It would be troublesome to deal with, but with the strength of his current allies and the fact that he had a conveniently perfect counter to this formation (wildfire damage and the annoyance of the vampires be damned) they should pull through.
Peter
*Mizu would chuckle at the exchange between Yuu and the necromancer. Like Yuu, her fur was standing on end from excitement of the battle to come, and was very much so pleased that Yuu felt the same. That burning desire to fight those stronger than you so that you may become even stronger is vital for any worthwhile creature. Yuu had said everything that needed to be said, and would thus take a stance aiming her spear for the necromancer as he appeared to be the largest source of the necrotic energy. She didn't want to waste her time with the small fry after all, she had waited long enough for the main dish*
Cathy
"Please, do not mistake me for a delinquent. I would not dare tread upon land that isn't mine; it should be those who trespass that should be afraid of my, ah, retaliation. As such, I'm going to have to dispose of you from these grounds, before you cause any more trouble to my research. You, Oni, would make a fine specimen indeed; perhaps I shall make your corpse into one of my newest wights... The rest of you all, however, should be more or less disposable. I have enough macen already, and I don't feel like adding crazed ruffians like you two-" *He would point his staff towards Yuu and Mizu in turn.* "To add to my army. I've got enough battle-driven maniacs on this side already."

*With this, he would stamp his staff on the ground, causing the surrounding wights to take up a defensive formation. All five looked like swordsmen, and all five radiated a sort of black glow visible to those with a trained eye. The necromancer ordered all of his units on the battlefield to surround him, advancing slowly towards the party in a defensive stance, making a sort of ragged, makeshift phalanx. For every two zombies that lined up in a row, a single wight took stance in between them. The remaining three zombies would attend to the necromancer as they advanced. The robed mage would be able to peer over the dead army at the party, making out four. Shortly after, he would attempt to sense the location of the remaining wights that he sent out earlier. The two that he had recalled earlier would only be a couple of minutes away, but just for insurance, he recalled all the other wights to regroup at his current location. Now, he stood tall against his opponents. Raising his right hand, he would cast Firestorm towards the silent macen in the back, the one that eyed his horde carefully. He had an inkling that he was the sort of 'tactician' of the group, and so he wanted to rid himself of him before things became complicated.*
``` Firestorm Cast. Remaining mana: 230/250```
Willie
*Yuu would look confused for a moment, a necromancer who uses the same spells that all his summons are weak to. Did he overestimate the brain capasity of his opponent? He was expecting this to be a chess battle, though what he got was an opponent who wasn't at all elegant in his commanding skills. If Yuu was a King, the necromancer was a Tyrant. This could be used against him however, raising things the power of wights would be draining on any summoner, even one of high skill, all they had to do was position themselves correctly and the fight should be even better. It was probably time Yuu tried commanding more than just his summons.*

"Macen. Burn this whole forest to the ground.~"

*He's seen Mizu attack from far away by throwing her spear so it wasn't a bad idea to kite, the only person who might have trouble with it would be the Oni. Yuu and his Archer would simultaneously fire their bows at the head of one of the wights. The zombies were likely of the same power as the ones before meaning Kohms fire would likely easily take care of them if he manages to get his spell off. His wolves would still remain hidden though he would order them to start howling in an attempt to get into the necromancers head and make him aware of multiple enemies around him.*
Shirley
Kohm remained calm as even as his most favoured spell was used against him. A battlemage was always a prime target, after all. If anything, he wanted to laugh in the irony involved with a necromancer lobbing fire and fielding an undead army at the same time. The fact that he used a phalanx of all things with these slow shamblers didn't help since he would have expected the necromancer to at least account for fire magic.

The Sandman reacted immediately, dashing toward the fireball with arms crossed to act as a shield. Fire wouldn't do much to a sand-based construct, and the sandman certainly was fast enough to intercept it at a safe distance.

On the meantime, before Yuu had even given his command, a counter-firestorm of his own had already flown out, aimed towards the middle of the phalanx. It was a no brainer regarding what to be done and coupled with the fact that he already had a well-practised trigger finger as his earlier showing with the abomination should have told, there really was no need for the command to even be given, but Kohm wasn't about to state that, focusing on the battle.

```Firestorm (15 mana), 85/100```
Peter
*Mizu would flinch once more at the sight of fire, but was grateful that it was targeting the Macen whom she had thought was rather useless. However, as his summon would come to intercept the attack while launching a counter of his own, her eyes would now look at him with keen interest. Had she underestimated the macen? Looking at his skillset, his spells would prove pivotal in this fight with his fire spells given how clumped up the enemies were. She decided to make a mental note to ask the macen's name once more after the battle was over if he was still alive. He was someone she deemed at least worthy enough to remember the name of, even if he left a bad initial impression.* 
*As for Yuu, she could understand and respect his swift decision to burn down the forest. It would certainly prove more of a detriment to the necromancer than them, and thus would acknowledge the pay off of such a tactic, but she figured it would be best to contain the fire as much possible as it would be rather disappointing to have won the battle to only be killed by the environment afterwards. But perhaps he was exaggerating and meant more so for the macen to use his fire spells against the undead, or she hoped so at least.*

*Anyhow, focusing back on the battle, she decided she would exert herself a little, see how many she could take out with one thrust. Her blood would pump quickly through her veins once more as her bodily capacities were pushed beyond their normal limits. She would then increase the weight of Kyūketsuki by 50% as her enhanced strength would allow her to support the weight while thrown, and then use her enhanced speed to position herself to the side of the phalanx where the defense would be weakest, and aim for thinnest patch of undead that would lead toward the necromancer. The undead won't dodge if their master was in danger, so either case she would get to spill some blood. With that she would grin in delight and let Kyūketsuki fly through the air aiming to pierce everything in its way*
``` Going Feral Cast: 107.5 mana remaining. Strength is now 22, gen speed 1.9, and movement speed to 47 mph```
Mary
*Oshikuru would now turn his katana to his Guandao, for the reach and power as opposed to his katana*
```12.5 mana spent, 5 regained, 22.5 mana remaining```
Cathy
*The necromancer had already taken notice of Yuu's already drawn arrow, and as soon as Yuu put his hand on the bow's handle to fire, along with his steppe elf, the wight had already ordered one of the zombies to take the hit for him. It sluggishly jumped in front of the wight, the arrow striking its chest and sticking to it. The zombie, however, would look to be relatively unaffected, seeing that the arrow had hit its chest, not its head. The howling of the wolves in the area would not deter the necromancer in any form. It almost made him laugh, actually. He continued to advance his army forwards, but soon came to a halt as Mizu launched her spear at the side of the phalanx. The sheer force of the attack would send two zombies to the floor, a gaping hole in their lower abdomens. However, since the zombies were already dead, they simply got back up to their feet, having a new target; Mizu. The entire horde of 13 would suddenly begin making moves towards the kitsune, with the five wights shortly in tow. Kohm would fire his spell towards the army, but the necromancer, observing the advance from a good distance back, was the first to notice a bright fiery glow form in the macen's hand, a firestorm aimed towards his small army of undead soldiers. Raising his arm nonchalantly, the necromancer produced a glowing white orb in his hand, tossing it quickly in the direction of the firestorm, forming a transluscent wall 7x7 feet long and wide, blocking it before it had hit the undead.*

*Oshikuru would watch as his weapon slowly morphed into a guandao from a karana, staying shortly behind as Mizu went alone into the horde. Taking note of the oni's cowardice, the necromancer used this opportunity of vulnerability to have one of his wights break off of the main force and target the Oni individually, rushing towards Oshikuru as his weapon finished morphing. The wight would aim a horizontal slash at the oni, using an unusually sharp black blade to aim for the midsection.*
``` Project Ward cast. 15 mana regenerated. Remaining mana: 235/250 ```
Mary
*Oshikuru would quickly react by stabbing at the wight's face at an upward angle using the back end spear tip, blocking the dark blade as well. He then pushes the large blade outwards, pushing the wight's blade to the side as the blade came from the same direction in a horizontal slash at the wight's head*
Willie
"Macen, focus on assisting Kyuu, all the forces are on her."

*He was hoping that the Macen would follow the command as him and his Steppe Elf drew arrows and fired at the necromancer. He may have had a shield but there was no way for him to block everything from all sides. A spell was a spell. It had direction, and requirements as all spells did. He knew his arrows were unlikely to do any damage to the necromancer but that wasn't his goal. It was to split his attention if he wanted to defend himself. In the meantime the wolf closest to him would charge at the wight attacking the Oni. It was mid-attack so there was likely no way it could split focus at a time like this. The wolf would sink it's fangs into the wights leg, attempting to rip it off by jerking at it with it's strong jaw.*

*The other two wolves would have emerged from the shadows, coming to Mizu's help. They would prioritise the weaker zombies rather than the wights, knowing that they are likely too sluggish to react. Their primary focus would be their throats, bitting and ripping it at them. Even though he was going for the weaker targets, Yuu knew that Mizu wouldn't mind, if anything she would likely be happy for it for his goal wasn't to protect her, it was to give her the fight she wanted without making her waste energy.*
Shirley
Kohm clicked his tongue in annoyance. So, this was his countermeasure. It was expected since it was just sensible and he didn't peg the necromancer as an actual idiot, but it was still a little disappointing that there was such a minimal effect in such a fortuitous scenario. Well, no matter.
He just needed a plan.

As Yuu's words reached him, he analysed the merits and demerits of an action.

Having witnessed Kyuu's actions, while he was well aware now that she had a mild concern about fire- he had noticed her flinch whenever fire was involved, and they were vampires, after all; he also knew that she was skilled enough that a slow-moving firestorm wouldn't be too much trouble to account for. Not to mention that she probably had anti-fire measures if the earlier battle with the abominations was any indication.

Tactically it was also sensible to target the congregating group, and with Kyuu being there she could take advantage if the firestorm struck- and even if the necromancer tried to counter, perhaps she, being in the general vicinity, could counteract that ward spell in some way? Certainly he felt so.

With that in mind, he wordlessly let another firestorm fly.
```Firestorm (15 mana), 10 regen, 80/100```
Peter
*Mizu would smirk, amused to see that these toys were standing. The zombies were particularly sturdier than the ones they had found earlier, but that meant she could play with them longer. She would hold out her arm and call out her spears' name*

"Kyuketsuki!"

*It would fly back into her hands at incredible speed and she would pull it back once more. Instead of aiming for the necromancer, let's see how many of the swordsmen could she clear. Using her increased mobility she would once more reposition herself to line up a shot, aiming for as many wights heads as possible. She was confident with her speed the sluggish undead wouldn't be able to keep up. She would then let loose her spear once more*