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

[MissingMandible]

Leaping from rooftop to rooftop, Elyssa was in search of her prey. A golemn had slain the wrong person, and she was hired to end its life. All she had to go on was an image taken from a security camera and detailed accounts of how it fought and what it endured. It wasn't going to be easy, but what battle truly is?

When she reached the last known sighting of the machine, she went to work. Elyssa utilized everything at her disposal to start tracking the golemn, from her sensory suite to the skills taught to her in her early life. The Warmonger quickly picked up the trail and began moving again, sticking to the rooftops for the better vantage points.

Target sighted

The VIP stood eight feet tall, about the same height as her, and was walking down the street belowThe fair lady became transparent as mana flowed into the shadow rune. A plan formed in her mind to end things as quickly as possible. She raised her left arm, and quickly fired Arcane Lightning...

[Kotomine_Rin]

The urban landscape was quiet, far too quiet. Walking down the street, Vanguard could feel a presence. He wasn't sure of what it was, but something was tracking him, that much was a certainty.

"Mph, very well...", the warrior muttered, picking up the pace as he tried to find his opponent.
Suddenly, he felt a surge of energy coming from the rooftops and before he knew it, a powerful lightning bolt came down upon him from behind.

Instinctively, the metal behemoth turned around, pivoting as his left arm surged with energy. The lightning bolt met a charged fist emanating great electrical energy, nullifying the attack in a thunderous blow. However...

"Two!?", the warrior yelped in surprise. A second bolt came crashing down his shoulder, metal breaking down as cracks formed where the bolt had hit. Not even budging from his position, Vanguard turned to the direction of the attack, glaring at whoever was responsible for such a cowardly attack.

"Fine!", the warrior roared, "If you won't come to me, I will come for your head!". And with that, Vanguard's arm rose to face the heavens. A blinding light seeped from his gauntlet, and in an instant, a great halberd appeared in his hand.

"My name is Vanguard, the end is nigh!", he declared with a booming voice before he leapt from the ground, crashing on the building's wall and using the brick as support to gain momentum.

Despite his great size and weight, he climbed the wall swiftly, rubble falling whenever Vanguard took a leap, the colossal warrior used the gaps to gain momentum, getting closer and closer to the rooftop.

[Mooncake]

Wanderer vs. Vanguard
Rebel 1
Action!

Wanderer very quietly scratched the light stubble that covered his chin. He didn't need to shave, or to trim his long, shaggy hair, but appearances should probably be kept. Either way... the eternal cowboy stared down the hunk of metal e that had challenged him to a fight. There had been no real need to accept, but the creature had been insistent and eventually, Wanderer had given in after his patience had been worn down.

His prismatic eyes meeting the soldier's helm, the physical incarnation of War on Earth casually raised the shotgun in his hand and pulled the trigger, spewing flame and hot lead at the metal thing before him.

[Kotomine_Rin]

"...mph", Vanguard grunted at the sight of his opponent. He looked like an ordinary human at first glance, but he could see his eyes were hardened eyes of a true warrior, perhaps the greatest foe he'd even encounter.

In a sudden motion, the enemy pulled out a weapon, and before any could introduce themselves, a burning flame spewed from the barrel of the gun, incredible heat directed at Vanguard.

Holding his arm out, the warrior retaliated with a powerful strike. His swinging fist swatting most bullets out of his way, only three hit his chest, hot lead bouncing off the metal body with only a slight graze inflicted upon the armour.

Taking a single step forward, the behemoth leapt to his enemy's direction, his fists lighting up as a great surge of energy seeped trough the metallic gauntlets.

[Mooncake]

Wanderer vs. Vanguard


The shotgun pellets bounced off of the constructs armor, as Wanderer had expected them too. Clearly, this fight would need a more... persuasive touch. Something in line with his older preferences. As Vanguard leapt towards the cowboy, gauntlets crackling with tremendous energy, Wanderer raised a single hand.

"I am... in no mood to play!"

War's eyes blazed with power as the Horseman drew on an inner reserve, hand flung out towards Vanguard, who still hung in the air, falling towards War with tremendous speed.

"Warship Breaker!"

A massive blade, taller and wider than a building burst forth, the power of all weapons calling forth the great sword to strike Vanguard down. There would not be a chance for mercy.

[Kotomine_Rin]

The heavens roared.

Before Vanguard could realize it, an enormous amount of energy came forth from the skies, great calamity was brought worth to annihilate the warrior of metal. Looking up, Vanguard saw a colossal blade, unfit for even the greatest titan.

But this warrior of metal already faced calamity in his living.
Instinctively, Vanguard used all his momentum in order to turn his body around, dodging the fatal blow with a hair's breath.

The titanic blade grazed his underfoot with incredible power, the friction alone shred the plating as his leg turned into a steaming red colour.

But there was no time to stop, a single instant of hesitation could cost him his life. Running atop the blade, the warrior felt a burning sensation, his body... wouldn't last for long.

Before he could be destroyed by the sheer force, Vanguard used the blunt edge of the sword as a platform, falling at an incredible speed and propelling himself towards the enemy alike a great comet.

[Mooncake]

Wanderer vs. Vanguard


War raised an eyebrow.

"Not bad."

However, it was too late. The physical incarnation of every war to ever exist lifted his hand above his head and pointed it at Vanguard. He began to mutter under his breath, eyes slightly unfocused as he brought more and more of his power to bear. It was, in all honesty, going to be a little tricky, but he wanted to slip the leash a little, the violence inside of him having been held back for well over a generation.

And... there.

"Vayvayastra!"

The divine weapon of the Skies soared forth from Wanderer's hands – and detonated as soon as it touched Vanguard, releasing winds that shattered every window nearby, unleashing might that could lift any army, shrieking gales shearing straight through concrete.

War grimaced. Using something so strong in this form was taxing, and he probably would not be able to use something of that strength again for a little, but every now and then he felt the urge to cut loose, and so he had.

[Kotomine_Rin]

...Amazing.

Vanguard muttered under his breath. A monstruous gale torn the very earth, eating at his crafted body like a rabid beast.

This power... was not something that belonged to the realm of mortal men. Such a display could but remind him of his last battle, one he'd fight to his very last breath.
But he had already witnessed the power of a god, thus it was an inevitable fact that this time, it would end in a different note.

Feeling his very being tearing from his body, countless cracks and rifts opening in his decadent body of metal, the falling warrior instinctively directed his left arm to the direction the shattering winds came from.
In a single breath, Vanguard muttered countless ancient words, a language long forgotten by the world that could not be replicated by any man.

But Vanguard was not any man.

Instantly, a blinding light came forth from the very arm he moved, a disk-like structure composed of the primordial light came forth, complex engravings of scriptures of the old world protected Vanguard from the deadly gale.

But no matter how durable, even the mightiest shield could but falter when confronted with the winds of a god. The protection slowly fading, Vanguard turned his back from the world.
Both arms and all of his will pushed to the limit in order to resist just a bit longer...


The great warrior's fall ended abruptly, a mighty crash blew the earth away as his body his the ground with unbelievable violence.
His body was still mostly functional, but it seemed Vanguard's left arm had shattered from the strain.

So be it.

Rising from the rubble, he could but gaze at the destruction caused by that attack, the very ground had ceded to the almighty wind, and yet his body still stood.
Vanguard would not show any mercy, in an instant, a great halberd appeared in his hand.

"...here I come, your head will be mine!", he roared before charging towards his opponent.

[Mooncake]

Wanderer vs. Vanguard


War shrugged, casting off his previous trappings of humanity without a care. It was almost nauseating, the sudden aura that sprung from him, enveoping hte world in the smell of blood and steel, paining the corner of the eye with a crimson haze of fury.

"Well, you managed to survive. Clearly you can't pull that trick again, so I suppose I could say... that the only head to be lost will be yours?"

Wanderer hefted a spear that he had pulled out of nowhere, the weapon of a war god that had made its way back to him, as all weapons do, borne from him and returned to him in an endless cycle of bloodshed. He expertly twirled it in his hands and pulled it back, targeting Vanguard.

"Let's see you dodge this, then – Ibar!"

The spear of Lugh was thrown, bursting apart at the seams with crackling energy as Gae Assail sped towards its foe, the enchantment placed upon it so long ago ensuring that the spear of Yew would hit its mark.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Vanguard wasted no time as he saw his opponent's deadly weapon. Such spear would surely slay many men with utmost ease, even he wouldn't be an exception.

The lance easily penetrated his chest, but such a thing wouldn't end his charge. What should've been a fatal blow did not even faze Vanguard, who had no mortal flesh to wound or body to kill. He was but an empty shell kept alive by ancient magic, a gift from the gods that bound him to eternity.

Reaching his enemy, Vanguard could feel the sickening aura revolting his soul, but he did not falter. In a hair's breath, he swung his great halberd at the opponent, a mighty blow meant to finish him off.

[Kaze]

To call the arena huge would be an understatement – monumentally gigantic was more like it.  There was enough room in this arena for even the most destructive combatants the Nexus had to offer to duke it out without fear of harming the spectators watching from their seats along the wall’s circumference. That was not all the purpose this great space served, however. A patch of trees here, a dried out riverbed there, the coliseum had been painstakingly laid out with all manner of environmental beauties, all for the crowd’s entertainment when it was eventually destroyed in one titanic battle or another.

Two figures stood in a square of stone tiles, the only perfectly flat surface to be found in the ring. Clad in black metal and armed with a spear tainted with red power, a dark knight regarded his assigned opponent. He towered over the boy, a child who’s years barely looked to be in the double digits. The warrior would have been gravely insulted if his instincts weren’t on high alert screaming this kid was dangerous. As he continued to worry, the enormous screens overhead flashed a message to the crowds.

Lancelot vs PARIAH

3

2

1

BEGIN!

For just a moment, Lancelot hesitated. Even though he was certain there was far more to this than what met the eye, cutting down someone so young – and unarmed - unprovoked didn’t sit right with the former knight. Still, the boy had chosen to enter the arena and apparently forfeited whatever weapons had been offered to him.

Taking the initiative, the black knight opened the duel with a careful horizontal slash with his spear, his aim so precise that the blade would merely relieve the child of a few hairs on his head if unimpeded.

[Milbunk]

The instant the lights began to fade, the mercury began to glow in an intense silver light illuminating the area around them.

Because Kayneth was safe inside the mercury's forcefield he smiled as the pressure from the air was useless against him.

Rather he continued his spell as thin walls began to extend from the three balls of silver in order to interrupt the circling wind. It is far harder to maintain a vortex after all when it can no longer create a complete circle.

"Errant in hoc quod quasi de somno excitaret..."

The chant was reaching it's apex as howls began to emerge from the air, an evil sense of foreboding began to hang in the atmosphere. The spell was nearly complete.

[Mooncake]

Wanderer vs. Vanguard


War shrugged again as the spear pierced his opponent's chest. It wasn't unexpected – after all, he had been holding back the whole time.

"Hardy, aren't you? Let's put it to the test."

The cowboy's mouth began to warp as Vanguard approached him, and as the might halberd swung down...

"Don't presume so much, Metal Knight."

War's eyes were glowing, flesh darkening, tendrils of shadow and flame emerging from his rapidly changing arm as he blocked the halberd with a simple sword, blade refusing to bend as he held back the attack with ease.

"Durandal, shatter his head."

The holy sword flicked out with all of War's superior strength behind it, and then swung down so fast it disappeared, flashing in a deadly arc to split Vanguard down the middle.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Vanguard's metallic body shuddered at the sound of his enemy's voice. In the long forgotten past, he would've said his heart was dancing. Terror was a long forgotten mirage of the past, there was no room to fear, only to move forward.

As soon as the terrifying opponent brought his mighty sword down, Vanguard instinctively twisted his hand, metal gauntlet overcharged with energy.

The invisible attack was to eviscerate the warrior, but before the sword could reach his helmet, Vanguard's great halberd moved with inconceivable swiftness and grace, barely blocking the attack with all his might.

Metal clashed against metal, the air around the two burned as countless sparks emerged from the weapons. The very space around them twisted as the earth crumbled under the weight of their might.

Cracks formed on the knight's body, a great burst emerged, blowing both warriors away from each other. If the clash was to take a few steps back, Vanguard's body was blown away by the monstrous force.

But Vanguard still stood from the mighty attack, akin small flame unfaltering even as darkness devoured all in it's path. Glaring at his opponent, he asked in an echoing voice, a voice as mighty as the thunder.

"Who... are you?"

It didn't matter who his opponent was, but his pride demanded the opponent to identify thyself.

Without awaiting a response, a blinding light oozed from Vanguard's body, energy unlike anything a mortal could handle coursed trough the great armour. Lightning emerged from every inch of the warrior's being,the wind around him shattering as the earth crumbled under his might.

[SINIB]

Noel Vs Crest

Noel stood in a large clearing with a lake and forest in the distance and mountains lining the skyline on all sides. Opposing her stood a pale short man in dark clothing, about twenty or thirty feet away. She quickly took out Bolverk and accurately fired three shots at him.