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Nexus Campus Town

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YOLF:
Headmaster

What was reflected in those golden eyes that watched the mirth of an inhuman warrior swell through the gauntlet of obstacles? As though pain and evisceration were nothing more than fulfilling refinements to that gigantic passion, the vampire broke free of the arena she'd painstakingly made, and offered his taunt as a gift. If the Headmaster had any response she would bother to give, it was only this: he wasn't done falling either.

In turn, she raised an arm, closing her hand into a fist but for her raised thumb... and then pointed the thumb down in a firm swipe.

Every remaining piece of the dome split apart on its down, and in the blink of a superhuman eye, amassed into a single, hardened shape. It rose higher than him, and bereft of the ability to manuever mid-air, the vampire was slammed down to the water as by a meteoric club.

Panda:
Nanako

Gore and stray flesh splattered her face as Costin shattered his hand against her, but the blow was effective. Even as the sound of his bones snapping like dry twigs and his flesh tearing filled her ears, the squirrel girl was too dazed to chase him as he was launched away. She lurched upwards dizzily, but by the time she was on her feet again, he'd done something to make the dome crumble and corrode away. Gritting her teeth, she moved to leap after him, only for the floor to vanish from under her feet. Blinking, she glanced down to see the rubble flying away to reform into a giant mallet above them. In the same moment, the feathery exoskeleton fell away from the squirrel girl's body, flowing into large wings ending in clawed hands resting on her shoulders.

What the- whatever, let's give it a shot.

"You ain't gettin' away that easy," Nanako muttered, ascending with a mighty flap of her new wings, rocketing up into the air to chase him. Too late, she realized she had no idea how to slow her ascent or change direction.

"Shit, how do I-AHHHHHH" she was cut off with a surprised yell as she turned her head to keep track of Costin, only for the unconscious movement to carry through to her wing, sending her spiralling downwards madly, falling just as fast as she'd risen.

Kotomine_Rin:
Costin

It's not that he could've seen the shadow looking over him, but the sounds and vibrations in the air were more than enough to warn him. Staring up at the giant hammer, Costin could do nothing but sigh with a laissez-faire expression - his smile now edging between satisfaction and worry.

Good grief...
"Dumnezeule mare..."

And then the impact, sending him down the bottom of the lake with judgment and fury. But even so, Costin accepted it with his arms crossed casually, even if his body looked more like a bloody meat-rag. His sunglasses still perfectly placed, he passed the falling beast girl a curious glance before sinking into the depths.

Oh... I didn't even notice... heh, not bad ladies. Not bad.

It was the first time he finished a fight without his earphones, and yet he didn't feel the horrifying itch and the throb of madness. He felt.. content, for the first time in ages. It's as if their voices and blows were an enthralling melody on their own, just thinking about this fight was enough to pacify the beast. All in all, he had but a single thought, free from all regrets.

"What a wonderful world."

Thats why it was such a shame.



Lawrence

"..." With his one arm left, he wiped the cool sweat-like liquid off his brow. So that was it... it was over. With a satisfied sigh, he helped himself off the lady, limping weakly. It was embarassing being held like this, he disliked the idea of being held at all to begin with.

"Thank you, master. And... I'm sorry. If I were more competent, this could have been avoided."

As sinisterly as he always liked to exaggerate his mannerisms, his grief sounded genuine. For the first time, there was some melancholy when his black eyes looked at her golden hue. Maybe it's because he knew. Or maybe he felt it, deep down, that this was all as it was meant to be. He took a small step away from her. That's when it happened. If he'd have staggered at all, it was after the first five swords pierced his abdomen.

"Kuh...wh...what!?" Horrified, Lawrence vomited a spew of mud. That wretched thing was in the depths, its blood couldn't have shot out of it. There wasn't any way for him to suddenly hack him from there. So how?

The ashen corpse fell down weakly. Bleeding. Dying. He didn't see it, couldn't see it - half of his head was cleanly blown off. It was just... the blood squirrelgirl punched out of the vampire's wounds was still littered about. Was that the difference between the mage and the apostle? While she controlled this external pocket world, that vampire's essence was like a world unto itself.

In an instant, a flurry of weapons had already lodged inside Lawrence like gunshots, faster than he could possibly react. Punching deep inside like curses, with no hope to escape.

"G...raghh...!!"

But enough... to perform one last ditch trick. The grail king burst like a sea of black metal and covered him like a dome, pushing the headmistress away. Its why the sudden explosion was deafened by the tought-metal, cracking from the seams until it slowly began dissipating into smoke. Phenex let out a blood curdling scream as flames bled out of its breaking form. Queen Mab let out an agonizing ring as it cracked and turned inside out - then to nothing.

The burning blood exploded inside the dome, destroying every shred of the man. Not even a page of the book he held remained, nor did the ashen corpse leave any ash to mourn. But there was no mistaking that scream, and the finality of it all. The stakes blew up the ashen man to nothing.

Now, there was nothing.


Costin

Arms still crossed, he bled out while his wounds forcefully closed shut. He couldn't move... in the water at least, not that he'd have in the first place. That's maybe why he looked so bored - even though he managed to crack a sadistic grin in the end.

"Mission accomplished."

YOLF:
Headmaster

She watched her hand stretch towards the summoner too late to matter. "Professor!" She called out, tone pallid from disbelief. But the Headmaster could only stand witness to the sudden sacrifice, with irises as dull as stones, and be left with the sounds dissipating in the air like the echoes of a ghost.

Her weapons made of the city itself floated above the lake forgotten, for as long as that instant stretched.

"Fool... did I read you wrong all along?" She asked the emptiness. Not once, but twice he'd protected an immortal guardian over himself. With a last breath. What of the plans in his head, the hopes in his heart, now that he was gone? Perhaps the schemes she hadn't yet uncovered had brought this along. She looked away through a shivering breath. "Could you just not let go of your dignity?

The instant ended. Something different overlapped the shock and questions, as the Headmaster launched her senses beyond. She could see him, the sinking vampire, and without further delay her commands came into action. The surface of the lake rippled and thundered. Not just the dark depths, but stone, sand and buried stone also enveloped him, entombing the warrior.

"Stay there," she said, giving the waters a withered glance. The squirrel girl could fly herself out. It wasn't her concern right now. The headmaster crouched on the last place Lawrence had stood, and connected her telepathy to colleagues coordinating the evacuation of the area. While she updated herself, a flurry of bricks and steel began to flow back to the street that was stripped bare.

YOLF:
Headmaster
Clocktower, 700 Feet Below Ground
At a later time

It hadn't been difficult to remove the vampire from the bottom of the lake or to restore the basic shape of the street he'd helped ruin. Acquiring the right measures to keep him safely restrained had merely been a matter of making the right calls and demands. Transfering him to the appropriate location had been more logistically complicated. It was a welcome surprise that he seemed unable to move effectively within water at all, but passing him through a door to his new holding place and placing the bindings without risking his release set a nervous mood upon everyone who had made themselves available to help. The Headmaster had smiled firmly with a severe bent to her eyebrows through the process, betraying no sign of turmoil until it was done.

Which brought them here. This grey and onyx room deep into the foundations of her home, where the vampire sat on a simple chair. His ankles and wrists were weighed down and bound together to the other with thick electronic manacles, red-tinted chains wrapped around his waist to connect to pillars equidistant from the center of the room, and multiple magic circles that limited his movement and vampiric might shone dimly on the glazed tiles of the floor. Entangling and self-devouring knots were engraved along the arches above his head and the variable width of the pillars every few feet, and orbs mounted upon the mid-point of the walls illuminated the chambers.

The two parts of the black iron door slid shut behind the Headmaster, forming once more an undecipherable sigil in relief on its surface. She came in with a steaming cup and a chair, and saw about setting them both down, one on the utilitary table in front of her prisoner, and the other on the floor, unfolded, before she proceeded to sit.

"Now. I don't believe I caught your name," she said. After a moment, she pulled the hood down, revealing the slightly unkept bun and pinned braids of her hair. "What do you say we begin there?"

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