THE FINAL THROWDOWN: EVERYONE
Siana's intervention was timely indeed; behind the protection she offered, Peony was able to finish casting. She was accustomed to the sickly green explosion of what looked to be almost tentacles of power. Many of the men surrounding the mage fell, but he did not.
She had not expected him to.
Peony did not kill when she could avoid killing. But she did not falter when she knew the situation was truly dangerous; a party such as theirs was lacking in the means to disable large numbers. There would be casualties here. Against such vast numbers, she could not afford to cast cautiously, and the room would need to be cleared in swaths. As the skeletons began to rise, she unleashed a Firaga, aimed to split the room in half. The skeletons in the line of fire fell, and the cultists fell back. Hopefully, that would give Monaco enough of an opening to get through.
The mage had to be separated from his guardian, somehow; if they could face the two of them separately, she thought they might have a better chance at defeating these enemies. As the dragoon seemed to falter, occupied as he was with the Blades and the Father's magic, Peony continued to concentrate on the mage. Her next spell was a calculated risk; as Stonega washed over then enemies surrounding the leader, and though he appeared immune, many of those still standing around him stilled to statues. They would shatter now, if struck, but at least they would not interfere. For a few brief moments -- until the Dragoon's inevitable awakening -- the mage was not protected.
As yet another Darkra exploded around them, with her and Siana at the epicenter, she cried out and staggered against the samurai protecting her. But if the necromancer was busy casting at them, he was momentarily vulnerable, and there were others in the fray.