Alright.
That was a terrible idea.
Charging headlong at a bunch of people in a schoolyard brawl or even outside, works; untrained people- delinquents harassing the weak outside, the clique of mean girls pestering the shy bookworm- preferred to target the weak, the vulnerable and those who weren't going to fight back. They didn't like targets who could fight back; Minato learned this lesson early, when they tried to smack him around as a young kid and he fought right back, showing them he wasn't a pushover, some weakling to be stepped on by the strong. An untrained fighter preferred an opponent who really couldn't fight back at all.
But a trained enemy knew how to take advantage of anyone's vulnerabilities, and these robots were plenty trained.
Minato groans, pulling himself off the ground. The shooting pain through his body told him he wasn't in any condition to use his usual tactics; no charging in like a madman. A Dai-Henshin in his current condition was going to risk genuine bodily injury. Luin Celtchair wasn't going to cut it either; it would take him too close, too quick, and Minato needed to stay away from them. Rho Aias could work, but how? He needed some way of keeping these things off him, some way of fighting back without getting too close. Gleipnir could hold the crowd back but he didn't have enough chain to hold the entire group back or lash them back. His finishing technique could do it, but he'd need them grouped up for the impact to get ALL of them.
The next few seconds passed like an eternity for Minato.
>How, dammit? I gotta think.<Noriko. How did Noriko do it? She was dancing around the battlefield with her spears and her wind; Minato was an immovable object, but she, she was like the wind. She had a way of fighting that was alien to Minato. How did she do it? He racked his brains. Maybe she could give him some pointers. What would she do if she were here? How would she handle this?
Manavastra.That word rang in his ears. Where did he hear it before? It wasn't one of his Regalia, no. Nothing he'd used-
Noriko. It was one of Noriko's techniques. One of her powers. He figured her abilities had to do with Hindu
astras, but he'd never tried to summon them before, not like that. He didn't need a nuclear bomb, he needed a scalpel. Most
astras were too powerful, too broad in range for Minato to use. Most of the big ones, anyway. Maybe he could take pointers from her. But using one of her abilities wouldn't work; again it wasn't suited to his powers.
Something reached out to his mind, like warm, grasping tendrils, reaching out to Minato's mind. It was something he was familiar with; the feeling he got whenever he searched for familiar weapons to use in combat, the feeling he got when he reached into the Gaia Memory. It had begun when he had first Awakened, when he drew Durandal that night when the Aramitama had broken into his house to try to kill him and he summoned a sword out of thin air to fight it off. The Gaia Memory knew Minato now, and Minato knew it like a familiar book, and it knew what Minato was looking for.
The golden outline of an ornate bow formed in Minato's outstretched hand, a string already drawn in his other hand. He knew its name like he'd said it many times before. He could feel his armor changing to accomodate the new weapon; it did this every time he had a new Regalia, changing in subtle ways and subtle forms to enhance Minato's use of weapons. He already knew; he'd be using THIS one a lot.
Regalia Unlocked: Gandiva.
Perfected False Regalia: Celestial Arc of the Inferno [3]: Gandiva, the bow of Agni, the Hindu god of fire. Minato may summon Gandiva to fire flaming projectiles from the bow that explode on contact, or load the bow with summoned False Regalia (either other hypers or Requiem-summoned fakes) and fire them to impale them into objects and explode on contact, as well as projecting their effects at range (Rho Aias projects a shield at range, Luin Celtchair becomes a enemy-seeking projectile, etc.). He may also sacrifice stockpiled Regalia to increase the amount of arrows fired from Gandiva. As with other false Regalia, he can destroy it to protect himself from attack or to damage an enemy heavily.And after that, everything fell right into place. He could turn Gungnir into a finishing move of his own, imbuing his foot with it to ensure his attack would be powerful enough and accurate enough to take down the target. Why not everything else?
New Stat Block.Power: Minato's physical power, allowing him to use physically-oriented Regalia such as Gae Bolg, Durandal and Gandiva from any range.
Determination: Minato's durability, physical and mental, allowing him to tank attacks and push through enemy attacks with little effect to himself.
Mobility: Minato's ability to move swiftly from point to point, either using his Regalia or his own feet.
Skill: Minato's ability to land, block and counter attacks against himself.
Power: 11. Minato is an adept fighter, both physically strong with the power of his Regalia. His power is amplified by the ability to passively summon Regalia about himself, using them to quickly attack or defend when necessary. Minato has also gained the power to imbue Regalia with other Regalia, combining the effects of different Regalia or stacking their powers up on each other.
Determination: 11. Minato's sheer toughness, mentally and physically, is what keeps Minato ticking in a fight. In addition, Minato's shields and defensive Regalia are boosted in power due to his natural affinity for the Shield.
Mobility: 7. Minato can move reasonably quickly unaided. His speed increases when propelled by exploding Regalia, such as the Regalia he can passively summon.
Skill: 8. Minato's accuracy has been honed through conuntless fights, making him skilled at anticipating attacks that he can block or counter into, as well as landing attacks on his enemies.
New Skill Unlocked: False Regalia Fortification.
False Regalia Fortification [5]: Minato can sacrifice a Regalia to imbue it into something or a small area. That object is now imbued with the power of that Regalia, and be used to lay traps in an area for Minato to catch an opponent out with it. If Minato imbues another Regalia with Fortification, the effects are now combined, i.e. Luin Celtchair and Gleipnir combined now leaves a trail of chains to entrap anyone struck by Luin Celtchair.Action: Minato summons Gandiva and loads Luin Celtchair and Gleipnir into it. Move away from 02's landing spot and fire the imbued arrow into 02 to throw it away from Minato, lining up the trajectory to nail 05 with the combined Gleipnir/Celtchair arrow as well. Load two more stockpiled weapons into Gandiva and sink exploding arrows into 09 and 10 to knock them away from Minato, all the while moving back to keep space between Minato and the Pugilists. Use the remaining weapons to ward off incoming attacks, sacrificing them if necessary.[[3] [6] 1 2 5 5 2 2 1 5]