Cross Effects 3.0 - The Third Time's the Charm? Colosseum

[Umbra of Chaos]

A small frown was displayed on PARIAH's face as his enemy was hurtled away. A tendril tossed the spear away as the child charged at the knight again but this time he was greeted with two chunks of blackened stone.

So PARIAH jumped. He hopped straight over the rocks and hit the ground running at his opponent with the same amount of tenacity as before, except this time four more tentacles sprouted from his body. All ten of the tendrils bulged with extra biomass and reached towards the weapon master. Two aimed to restrain or slow each limb while the final two were sent to slam into the man's body gave out.

But those were the least of the black knight's issues. One of PARIAH's tiny hands were clenched into a fist and the arm was slowly being fed biomass to increase in length. If his enemy were to somehow escape the tendrils the virus would make sure to stretch and strike his enemy with strength that far surpassed that of any extra appendage.

[Panda]

Compared to the cannonballs, avoiding the flintlock shots was child's play. And Tyrfing couldn't absorb cannon balls. Adjutor continues to follow the pirate, hindered by the endless cannonballs flying from below the decks, but relentless in his pursuit of the pirate's bounty...or was it his booty?

Not like I can do much about it, though. Too many cannons, firing too fast for me to just start shoving them off the ship

Who fucking cares?! This guy is putting up almost as much of a fight as Darius.

I think you're exaggerating a bit there, but yes, this man is putting up quite the fight.

[Kotomine_Rin]

"Hehehe...haaah..hahahahahah-" Lorenzo was now laughing madly, running faster and faster towards his goal. His blood gaw gushing from all over his body, leving a visible trail. He knew that of course, but such a thing wouldn't matter.

Just a bit more, to reach that place.

He was now panting like a half dead cur, holding on to what little he had left, the pirate gasped for air ad he dragged his bloodied body trough the secret passageway.

Eight minutes for my body, five for the ship...

Pushing his way trough a heavy iron door, he finally found what he looked for. Barrels, hundreds and hundreds of barrels. Just enough rum to appease a hundred men for a hundred days. Lorenzo was on the verge of tears, his grin reached ear to ear.

Guarding the ship's brewery, numerous cannons and countless fire familiars of diverse shapes and sizes. If his opponent managed to reach him, the last stand would surely take place here and then.

Lorenzo sighed, taking a glass that stood in the proximity, he filled it and drank it's contents greedily. He'd need all the help he'd get to vanquish this foe.

"Heh, this might well be my last drink lads, this ain't no joke...", the pirate muttered humorously before letting a dry chuckle.

[Panda]

Adjutor blasts through the door to find...fire familiars. Fire familiars everywhere. All standing between him and the pirate. And then there's all these cannons. And there he is. Standing there. The headiness of this fight is getting to him, the pirate's own fiery attitude seeping into the teen as fire lights in his very veins, leaving him burning for more. More fighting, more blood, more of the pirate's blades clashing with his own. He wanted to pierce the pirate with his blades, feel the life force draining from him into Tyrfing. He wanted to be pierced, to feel that wonderful poison coursing through his veins once more. Everything. He wanted all of it.

The lord of the castle that was this ship, hidden within the deepest parts of his keep. His body bloody and barely holding on, yet here he was, standing behind all of the fortifications that remained between the Hunter and the Pirate. Enjoying what may very well be his last drink.

"Hah," Adjutor laughs, realizing now what kind of fun he's been missing out on with his humorless hunts, "Hahahaha...AHAHAHAHA! This is perfect! Yes, come on! A fight! We shall have one! We shall throw everything we are at one another until only one of us is left standing!"

All four swords at the ready, two in his hands, and the other two held up by the other blades. Ready to fight. Ready to kill. Ready to die. Whatever happened, this would be good. Fitting. Satisfying.

"Let's dance, Pirate!" Adjutor shouts, charging towards the pirate all possible speed, leaping from the floor to the walls to the ceiling and back again, temporarily defying gravity itself to reach his foe.

[Kotomine_Rin]

"Ok!", the pirate roared in glee as his opponent charged towards him with the speed of a bullet. But this time, it would be different.

Last stand.

In an instant, Lorenzo pulled his gun's trigger, a single prana bullet flew, hitting an oil lamp nearby.
A blast consumed the whole area, explosion after explosion, a deadly inferno devoured all in it's path.

The countless barrels of alcohol burst into flames, exploding and releasing a haul of deadly sharpnel.
And in the middle of this bombing was his foe, to be consumed by countless flames and torn apart by a carpet of projectiles.

But this wasn't enough, it wouldn't be. So the pirate's body erupted in flames as his legs released a burst of pyre. Lorenzo took flight, propelled by the released flames like a jet.

They would fight here, in this burning hall of death, an arena of flames, cannons and gunpowder were two men would clash to their heart's content.

[Panda]

Flying?! Fucking flying?!

I think the awesome just fried my brain.

The explosions blasted Adjutor off his feet and into a nearby wall, the shrapnel pinging off his armor uselessly. The armored teen lays there for a moment, dazed and tasting his own blood, before getting up to see Lorenzo flying around like a poor man's Iron Man.

You can't just cockblock me like that!

With that, he sheathes the rest of the blades except for Tyrfing and Valmanway. Gripping Valmanway, he finally starts the invocation, after the blade had spent so long in dormancy.

"Wing Blade Valmanway," Adjutor says, aiming at Lorenzo with the blade held ready to be thrown, "FLY!"

As he says this, he throws the blade at Lorenzo, the blade screaming through the air as it flies towards the pirate's center mass at Mach 3.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Lorenzo basked in glee as the armoured man resisted everything he had thrown at him. The madness of battle had taken his mind by now, he felt a blood rush like never before in his life as he fought this amazing opponent.

The enemy now launched a demonic dagger at him, a blade that tore the air apart as it mercilessly lunged at Lorenzo with a thunderous boom. But thankfully, Lorenzo had gained just enough momentum to do something.

Just before the dagger left his enemy's hands, Lorenzo had flipped backwards,  his fiery legs imbued with an all consuming heat. A monstrous burst of flames shot from his legs, a burst of pyre unlike what any man could conceive.

All the fire of the area concentrated in this one blow, forming a colossal eagle-like creature made of fire that threw itself at the opponent, facing the tearing dagger.

The clash of energy tore the ship further, wood bursting and the very structure shattered in this mighty blow, a titanic explosion shook the Fiery Fortune.

But even this display couldn't halt the tearing dagger, flung at inhuman speeds, the blade shot trough the pirate's left shoulder' flaying flesh and bone alike.

Tch...

Using all the strength that his torn muscles could conjure, his left arm rose, flintlock in hand, and focusing all the energy that that arm could generate, a piercing shot of mana charged at his opponent, shooting trough his stomach as it penetrated the flesh.

Of course, Lorenzo's arm could't handle such a sudden and violent discharge of magic, as he pulled the trigger, both the arm and the weapon burst, blood erupted from the limb that simply crumbled into pieces.

He now roared in pain, his bloodshot eyes looking right at his opponent, he swung his rapier at the man who stood before him and instantly, a torrent of fire shot trough the pirate, charging towards the man.

A literal carpet bombing of fiery creatures was charging towards that man, cannon balls and torn wood flew right at him as the pressure intensified to such a degree, the wall that the enemy lied against gave in and crumbled.

[Panda]

That didn't work either?!

I want to say how awesome this is, but I think we've broken the number of times we can go 'Holy Shit' without it getting old.

All but growling his defiance, Adjutor proceeded to have to restrain a shout of pain as the magical flintlock shot tore through his stomach, leaving a gaping hole. Regardless, he didn't go down. Quite the opposite, really, as he drew Rahab and Tyrfing once more before surging energy into Rahab as Xarrest called upon Tyrfing's power to catalyze blood for another healing spell, the wound in his stomach starting to seal over, though it didn't look like he'd been injured in the first place as the armor had never been damaged in the first place. Adjutor point the rapier behind him as he puts Tyrfing's hand over the pommel to assist in keep his grip

"Fang of the Sea Dragon Rahab," Adjutor starts to say, when the torrent blasts towards him. Cannonballs burst from the walls towards him as the fire forms into countless familiars. But there's still a path.

"PIERCE!" he shouts, as the blade extends, digging into the wood until it can pierce no further, a full fifth of a meter of the blade anchoring it in the wood as Adjutor flies through the air for the remaining length, launching himself at the pirate at a good 30 m/s as he brings Rahab and Tyfing to bear on him, aiming to bring the flier down right here and now.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Lorenzo winced as he witnessed thhe armored man rise and leap from the ship, using his extending blade as support in order to reach him.

His teeth gnashing as he smiled ferociously, he roared in glee. The men clashed furiously in the air, sparks flew from every directon as their blades crossed multiple times. This time, the pirate used magic in order to  create bursts of fire to guide his arm, not unlike a motor.

The deafening sound of metal against metal, the tearing pain as Lorenzo's very body cooked from the inside, his blood boiling and pumping at speeds so monstruous his insides were torn by the force. The pirate was now steaming red, his bloodshot eyes containing fire unlike ever before.

The sparks grew into flames, that danced around the two opponents, shredding the air apart and tearing at the armored man as the blows intensified. Lorenzo's body was mercilessly cut, but the multiple explosions surrounding Adjutor tore his flesh.

Both stared at each other, one last exlosion resulted from their clashing blades, they had finally gained distance. His opponent was now falling down once again, Lorenzo charged towards him with tremendous flames following behind him, not unlike a space rocket going right at the armored man.

Their blades crossed once more, this time the force was so great, the air around them burst, a boom tore both warriors, Lorenzo's ribs were crushed as countless cuts formed on his face and body. His right eye was now lost. Whipping a violent gust of burning pyre directed at him, his opponent was launched to the ground, the violent fall most definitely caused some damage.

60 seconds...

His heart was giving in, the flesh, his flesh couldn't bear it any longer. Screaming pain ate his very reason, and he stopped thinking altogether.

"LAST STAND!", Lorenzo roared, these would be the last words ever spoken by the pirate. His heat, his chest, his very being burned from the inside out. Flying near the ship, he grabbed the remaining chink of the fiery fortune, and launched it to his opponent. The ship now ceasing to float, it was akin a great projectile aimed at him, a giant construct meant to crush him.

And atop that broken ship was  Lorenzo, pushing it further and further with bursting flames, the ship now turned into a deadly rocket aimed right at Adjutor.

The impact shook the earth, the mightiest explosion of them all tore the very shadows as everything burst into flames. Lorenzo now fell to the ground, his leg crumbled under the strain, he grimaced.

Inside that very explosion of erupting fire, Lorenzo could see a silhouette of a man, Without even thinking, he charged towards it with a great burst, wings of pyre on his back to propel him even faster.

[Panda]

Impossible. All of this is just...impossible.

The exchanges had left Adjutor bleeding internally from all the explosions, leaving the teen coughing up blood inside the armor as the impacts tore through his body, part of it badly scorched by the magical flames.

Regardless, he gave as good as he got. The pirate was still far more heavily damaged than he was, and all it would take was some quick attention from Tyrfing to fix this damage.

But the man didn't give him an opening to even activate Tyrfing, tossing him to the ground outside of what was left of his ship before flying off.

Adjutor groans for a moment, his entire body a throbbing mass of pain, before he gets up to see...part of the ship. Flying at him.

Are you fucking serious?! He's throwing the ship at us?!

Our win.

Adjutor allows a grin behind the armor, despite the pain he's in, as he get up, Tyrfing working at healing him, the magic slowed by his lack of focus on it. Adjutor tightens his grip on Rahab for a moment, then the handle turns into a lengthening shaft, the blade and the hilt following suit as the sword quickly turns into a spear, which Adjutor holds with the tip facing behind him in a similar manner as before, surging mana into the spear as he dashes at the falling flaming ship.

"Fang of the Sea Dragon, Rahab!" Adjutor shouts, jumping into the air just before saying the critical word, "PIERCE!"

The spear as a whole extends back and down, digging into the earth before pushing the teen up and on to the chunk of falling ship. It's massive enough that the impact does alter its trajectory, which serves Adjutor's purpose as he runs along it, pumping Reinforced and Armored legs as he dashes up the falling ship to reach his foe, Adjutor pumps more mana into the spear that Rahab has become, tracking the flame-winged pirate as he aims Rahab accordingly.

"Fang of the Sea Dragon, Rahab," Adjutor says, starting to feel the strain of everything he's done starting to catch up to him. With a roar, he pushes past all of it to move faster, every ounce of strength pouring into more speed. More speed. That was all that mattered now.

Then the moment was upon him. The edge of the chunk of ship approached, and there was Lorenzo, barreling towards him with wings of flame, like the Seraphim of old.

"PIERCE!" Adjutor roars, his vocal cords straining as he leaps off the ship, Rahab extending as it digs in to the ship before continuing to extend forwards, sending the teen rocketing towards the pirate with this spear held forward to impale the rushing fool.

[Kotomine_Rin]

The exchange lasted but an instant.
Now but a millimeter apart from each other, both opponents looked at each other with burning passion and intensity.
Lorenzo coughed a bloody stream, his nose leaked with internal fluids, his eye's color dulled. His heart had been pierced by the frozen spear, eviscerated from the inside, he felt his consciousness fade away. His blade never reached the man's skin, sparks flew as the rapier simply bounced off the armor. The winner of this bout was clear, and yet...

I win, you scurvy cur.

The pirate grabbed the man with all his might, holding him in place as if the two bodies were molded together.
Lorenzo's face was of pure serenity, the pirate passed away smiling, never letting go, gripping the man's body so hard it could crush him.

And he let out his last breath in silence.
In the burning castle, the countless flame familiars burst out of control, an endless chain of explosion erupted from the inside, destroying all in it's path. The castle now but rubble and ruins, it was clouded by a surge of suffocating smoke.
The shadow... had changed shape.

Inside the shadow, the very structures that shaped this realm distorted as everything grew and everything crumbled.
Both were now standing atop a bottomless abyss, falling down further and further. The pirate held Adjutor tightly, not an inch of his body could be separated from his opponent, his killer.

Over them, the sparks, numerous fleeting sparks till resided, unfaltering even to the passage of time and to their creator's demise. And they grew, they grew into beautiful creatures imbued with life, Lorenzo's very last breath, his will flowed trough each of them. Thousands of birds flew in the darkness, akin to countless stars.

And they charged towards the great abyss, the stars shot down to explode on contact, to incinerate and destroy all in their path.
A carpet bombing so absolute, nothing could avoid it, not even a god.

The explosion that ensued shook the very world, whatever the result may have been, Lorenzo would never know...

[Panda]

As the spear drove home, Adjutor allowed a grin behind the armor, even as the dying man's blood was spat out onto his face.

Then the man grabbed him, trapping the armored teen to his body as they plummeted into the abyss.

How ironic. Beaten by my own world.

Adjutor prepared himself for the longest fall he would ever experience, when a quick look behind him reveals fire birds plummeting down to carpet bomb them.

Well fuck that.

Taking a moment to figure the birds' trajectories, Adjutor realizes that he has easily enough time to prepare a Shield Concept to take care of the birds, which he does so, the birds exploding harmlessly against the shield as they continue to plummet. The expenditure of the shield, which had to be overclocked to be able take on the full brunt of the carpet bombing, combined with everything else he's had to do so far, take their toll on the teen, and he slips off into sweet oblivion for some time. When Adjutor wakes up again, he and Lorenzo are still falling, with seemingly no end in sight.

"Well..." Adjutor says to the dead and broken pirate, "For what it's worth, you were probably the best fight I've had in a while. And the only one that's been any fun."

"...We're just going to keep falling forever, aren't we?"

By the time the smoke clears and shadows appear under what's left of the castle once more, Adjutor has found himself thoroughly bored, closed the pirate's remaining eye, bound the bleeding stump that use to be his arm, and taken the rapier and its sheath for himself. With the ground appearing under them and approaching fast, Adjutor utters a silent apology to the pirate before Reinforcing himself and positioning the pirate under him so that he takes the impact first. Prepared as such, Adjutor prepares for the impact, which comes as a sudden jarring stop to an eternal fall.

"Well, seeing as there are shadows again..." Adjutor muses, taking the pirate with him as he leaps out of the shadow.

...Damn.

He...did this?

Adjutor takes a moment to marvel at the destruction, then cremates the pirate. Finally, he walks away from the ruins, hungry and thirsty to a ridiculous degree.

Adjutor wins by victory in Combat.

Lorenzo wins the Holy Shit Quotient award.

[SINIB]

Noel

Noel silently tracked the man as he desperately tried to dodge her salvo. She didn't say a word as she continued to shoot at him, absolutely focused on destroying her opponent.   

[Kat]

Crest worked quickly when he got close to the river, using his wire he tightly tied it around  multiple tree’s, while discussing the wire itself in the leaves below. It did not need to be held taught for what he needed.

So with the wire tied to the trees in one hand, and his knife in his other, he awaited his pray to enter the area he lead the.

And he saw her walk, right into his trap. And with the the wire in his hand turned black, Rejection of Matter coating it. The Rejection ate though the trees as he pulled the wire.

And like that 5 trees fell towards the armored woman, intent on crushing her completely.

Fuck she cursed, as it dawned on her that bunch of trees were about to fell on her. Mordred dashed to avoid being hit. Even if her speed and reflexes were enhanced by her spear Token to the point of surpassing mortal capability, she barely made it. If she was not cautious enough to release it beforehand, she would have likely die there, crushed by the sheer weight of trees.

[Kaze]

The monster jumped his improvised projectiles with ease before resuming the charge. Lancelot gritted his teeth. There were only seconds before he was within range again, and there were no readily available weapons besides Arondight. He didn’t want to use that sword, but… no, there was another option.

The dark knight used his elbow to smash the trunk of the tree behind him with all the considerable force he could summon. The relatively young tree’s trunk blew open in a spray of bark and wood chips. Wrapping his arms around the mostly severed tree, the berserker’s muscles bulged in effort as he brought the down on top of the satan spawn, which had just closed into range.