Ra Ra Umibozu

In the cold dark damp sewers, Yurika lay soaking in a shallow stream of water. As she slowly opened her eyes, she was met with a towering figure with glowing gold eyes. Igniting a flame from the left rim of her glasses, Yurika was able to make it the figure's features more clearly. It was a man, a big and strong one with a decrepit beard which coupled with his attire invoked images of a fearsome man who lived in Russia long ago.

"Ah shit... It's him... The monster of the sewers," Yurika thought as the water began to bind her.

The man slowly knelt down, his crusty beard brushing against Yurika's face as he licked his lips. "Woman... Ah, woman... I've longed for a woman to fuck for so long..."

"Yeah- GLUB!?"

Water viciously poured into Yurika's mouth.

"You are cold... I will warm you with my bed," the man menacingly mumbled as the water rose and began to carry Yurika slowly down the corridor.

Her fire quickly extinguished, all Yurika could rely on for light was the glowing of the man's eyes. Her power still had yet to return, which meant she truly was vulnerable as this man was not an opponent she could stand a chance against at anything less than full strength. Grigor Umibozu. That was this monster's name.

Originally hailing from Shikotan, he possessed monstrous mana levels from birth despite being born to poor fishers. With his power to control water, all life within the area was at his mercy, yet in the beginning, he was a gentle giant. Fate wouldn't be so kind though as fear and hysteria drove people to try and kill him. First they started small with poison, but that had no effect. Then came stabbing, burning, even a mighty blast of lightning, but Umibozu still stood unharmed.

He still refused to raise a hand against his attackers, and simply walked away. Yet his enemies wouldn't let him go so easily. Going from one to a hundred, they loaded up one of his drinks with some of the most addictive drugs imaginable, and that, gave them a reaction, a very bad one.

Though the drugs failed to get Umibozu addicted to them, they did warp his mind to the point where he became violent, leading to him attacking all in his sight. It took an entire army just to subdue him, but even then, he managed to escape to the sewers below Tokyo. Seemingly content there, he made the sewer system his new home, attacking any and all he deemed threats that wandered too deep within.

"It had to be this guy. He's a terrible match for me. I guess my only shot would be surprise," Yurika thought.

Giving Umibozu no time to react, Yurika lit up her head in fire, briefly startling him due to the sudden presence of light. The disruption allowed Yurika to slip free and run for her life, but Umibozu would not let her go so easily.

Just like his namesake, he was relentless when it came to pursuing those that arrived in his domain, and given his current state, words would not move him. Running was the only option as in theory, he would probably give up if one were to escape the sewers. But this was all theory because never before had anyone escaped from Umibozu. Of course, that didn't mean it was a death sentence to find oneself in the sewers.

As Yurika began to run, she suddenly found herself clothslined by an outstretched arm.

"Buddy, buddy, don't go drownin' this girl just yet," the voice attached to the arm chuckled.

Gazing up, Yurika was able to see yet another bearded face, though this one seemed a tad more welcoming and less deranged than Umibozu's.

Umibozu slowly trudged to a halt, yet his bloodlust still remained.

"Ah, sorry bout him. He's kinda... territorial. Name's Hobou. I was the original denizen here until he came along. Now we room," the bearded man stated.

"Yurika... I was attacked by some molesters and fell down here," Yurika groaned.

"I heard the big bang. Think the sink hole might still be open, but it is a distance away.

"You know where we are?"

"Yeah, these sewers are special. Since they're within TIUMP's barrier, they're all contained within it, meaning nothing new comes in or out, in the barrier sense. Not even Umi here can bust through it with magic."

"But I thought people could pass freely through the barrier."

"On the surface, yeah, but not down here. It's like a point-bottomed egg. Just curves down to a basin. That said, it does have some human safety protocols. Really good runecraft."

"Can I get out?"

"If I'm with ya, yeah. Umi doesn't attack folks I'm with."

"Why?"

"I don't know, he just doesn't."

...

Back at the dorms, Yabei shuddered under the covers as the others stared at her.

"We must go... to battle," Doku mumbled.

"Nah-ah, nope, not going," Yabei mumbled.

"Aren't you some proud noble? Get your ass out there," Calli snarled.

"Proud nobles have the peasants fight for them and take the credit for it."

"Oh I see, you're cruising for such a bruising right now, that when I'm done beating the shit out of you, you'll be physically incapable of participating!"

"HEEEEE!"

"Get up. This is part of the curriculum, unless you want to be expelled," Shuna snarled.

Yabei slowly crawled out of bed. "I... need time to prepare... my magic..."

Shuna sighed, but humored Yabei and ushered everyone else out of the room. "20 minutes, is all I can delay things for. Then we have to meet up with Onyx coven before heading to the battlefield." 

Now alone, Yabei began to panic. "Yabai, yabai, yabi, yabi, YABAI! I'm gonna have to rig the area with traps, but if I get caught, it'll be over! Ah, how am I gonna do this!? I also gotta configure my wireframe. Gotta, or I'm done!"

Trudging over to an ordinary-looking backpack, Yabei put it on and activated a button on it. The backpack then morphed into a bra top, and seemingly did nothing more, but now Yabei was relaxed.

"Ah, I have insurance. Now, to rig the battleground with traps," she thought as she climbed out the window.