Naboundd

[Kotomine_Rin]

Lawrence - at the same time

Wha-!?

That dark man's boom was too fast, the shockwave alone had ripped every ounce of air from Lawrence's lungs, causing a stifled whistle to escape his body as the vacuum compressed his chest. Limping, he fell to the ground and wiped a grimy lock from his face. "Haaah... How troublesome. You're a real pain sometimes, you know? Not that I mind... compared to that place, even this is refreshing."

Gh...khhh!

The burning bird choked and gagged, writhing in pain from the suffocating sensation. It was like drowning, trying to move away from the waves only to be dragged back by something. Truthfully, it was an experience he didn't want to live again. But his body was already dead. So he moved to the girl quietly, whose air was surely ripped from her lungs as well, and crouched by her body to heal her up. Rather, he was ripping life essence from his surroundings, and forcefully feeding it into her so she wouldn't die. He looked at her like a piece of meat, like everything that just happened was of no consequence. To Lawrence, this was Tuesday.

This did get a small smile on his face. A kind, hopeful one, even as his tattoos forced more life into her.  As all of this happened, the fight raged on, far far away. "Ah. Normally, your body should have housed someone else. It's a pity, you managed to retain some individuality. That's why you're still yourself. ...Can you hear them?"

Glowing eyes revealed themselves around the two. Crawling back from where they were smashed up, dragging themselves away from the darkness. They had the same smell as her, even as they crawled closer and started climbing the professor, latching onto him like a dozen oversized slugs.

"Shako. Ethan. Sumiko. They all have names, Ana." Even as you could hear the booming sounds of battle, his expression was as unphased as ever. "Oh my. So it's the end of Reshma. She dreamed of becoming a princess, you know?"

It felt their lives being snuffed out. It was enough to nearly move him to tears. Nearly.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Indra

The creatures were cut down mercilessly, only to melt back into the void whence they came. Only Indra remained, surely rattled by the previous tackle. Surely...

The creature rose. No, it didn't even bother correcting its position, it rose on its hands and took a Sanchin Kata stance with its feet raised like fists. Its neck snapped eerily... but even more than before, its bulbous white eyes gleamed like stars, and the air kept rotting around the two. Only vapor seeped from where he was struck, as if the impact had been diffused.

"Ah, I must be blessed. To have two feasts undress before me in one day."

But... I'm rather full for tonight. How troublesome. I might have to use it.

As it noticed the rays of the sun seeping through the sewage, the revolting sound of insects escaped its throat. Was that... a laugh? "Please, would you kindly step aside?"

[yinsukin]

Ana

Fuzzy, dark, smelly, grimy, sweaty, discussed.

Those were the sensations Ana felt when her fox eyes opened ever so slightly.  It hadn't been that long at all.  She expected to be in a hospital bed, or more likely the void beyond this world.  No, a personal hell created by that man would be far worse than the void.  Her body was still shaking.  It was as if her body was imagining that fate in vivid detail and refused to stop shaking in fear.

Then she saw that face.

"KYYYYYYYAAAAAAA!!!!!!" she yelped, leaping back into a crawling stance on all fours.  "What?!  WHAT?!  HEAR WHO?  The souls of the dead?"

[Kotomine_Rin]

Lawrence

The eldritch humanoid mass that was once Lawrence didn't blink. It didn't stare. It peered right into Ana's life essence and gleamed an unknowable expression, one that reeked of irradiated sea beasts and burnt seas.

It took one step towards the cowering girl.

"In a sense. All of us, we're voyagers. This body was like a journey to me, you know? Traveling through bodies to finally reach the end. That's the thing about traveling, you always wind up in the same place, don't you? Where do you think that is?"

The grail king's paws pressed on Ana, preventing her escape. She was alive, good. Very good. He didn't really want to do this, but with that man's arrival, he had to respond appropriatedly. It was a subtle shift of his hands, he pulled something from his hands. A rib. A corpse-like rib, that belonged to a very dear brethren of his, one who had shifted from one too many bodies. This was the last one, and the one closest to Ana. The one suitable for his needs. But it was too much, was that man so vile he'd free her from one chain, only to bind her in another?

"Your home. A trip is only complete once you return home. Your comrades are part of that home. So you'll help your comrade... right?"

[Bern]

??

"...Pathethic... I had heard the oh so magnificent Indra was the greatest warrior in all of Salvation but is this all they have to offer? A little bug who falls to a boy barely out of his teens. How utterly droll.. Salvation has become a mere shadow of it's former self and here I was looking forward to a nice warm up but you're barely even qualified for that." The darkness surrounding him intensified and took on a hue even darker, no it was glowing brigther than the brightest light, yet it was still unmistakably darkness. It was a darkness that surpassed even darkness itself... The Darklight

It hadn't been seen by mortal for over a hundred years. But legends still told the tale, of the hero who worked from the shadows to bring down rogue organizations. No district claimed him as one of their own, but he had been sighted everywhere, from Little Russia to Halloween Town, from the small settlements near the great forest down to the sandy beaches of Swole City. In Districts new and in Districts old as well as in Districts that no longer were. They all told his tale, the tale of the Darklight Hero.

"DARK CLEAVE!"

KASHWOOOOOOOOM

What followed could hardly be described as a cleave, no it was far more like the sundering of the world itself. A dark rift or perhaps a wave of Darklight threatening to consume the monster. It was as big as the biggest land elephant, no even bigger still. 10 maybe 20 meters wide and almost equally tall. This attack was the very definition of overkill, an overwhelming power that crushed everything beneath it.

Just like in the legends, and if the legends were to be believed, this was just the beginning.

[yinsukin]

Ana

"Huh?"

The young woman slammed into something.  No, she wasn't allowed to escape to start with.  Then she felt it.  "F-father....  FATHER!" she screamed with glee, her lips stretching to the edge of her cheeks.  Her pupils rolled back as he mouth stretched open.  The skin of Ana melted, leaving only musculature.  That gave way to bone before suddenly being enveloped in a black skin and radiating with power.  She had become a beast. 



A fountain of water exploaded as rock and rubble flew everywhere.  It was as if the sewer itself could not contain her power.  The limbs of the monster flew in every which direction before stopping abruptly.   She did it.  She was one with father!

[yinsukin]

Entheo


The roar echoed through the sewers.  Something would be coming soon.

Your right we do need to help him.

No... I think that means he is still alive.  We should finish this before whatever that is gets here.  What is more important, a man's life or his dream?

The sounds of gravel shifting under his feet could be heard if someone listened carefully.  The young man was marching towards the twoc combatants, gandao held behind his back.  The blade dragged along the ground, slicing the already broken concrete.  The walls were littered with holes from the man's magic as well as his own strikes from their earlier battle.  "Hey Mr. Hero, you got a battle plan for taking this guy down?  If not, I have one.  That thing is an affront to nature, a man who consumes souls and desecrates the sacred cycle of life.  More importantly, something else is coming, so we don't have time to fool around, as much as I enjoy that sort of thing."

But Entheo, what about your dream?

[Kotomine_Rin]

Indra

The eyes shone, the rot intensified, and the bell tolled.

The second world's merry ending.

"Ultima."

The blinding radiance of the Godlight smashed against the Darklight and everything around the two. The energy surge was enough to blow stone, metal, rubble and water crashing around, as everything turned to dust and started collapsing.

And as the two lights faded, the casters were unharmed. Unmoved.

But was Indra actually there in front of him? A technique that caused the rhythm of one's motions to leave afterimages. A technique that turns seven steps into one. A technique to turn one's body as still and silent as stone. And a marvelous combination of attacks.

The one inch punch.

From the smokescreen of their clash, all of this was coming for the intruder's side.

[Bern]

William

The Godlight overpowered the Darklight as he had predicted and washed over him and to blast away the magic obscuring his features and frayed at his robes, but other than that he appeared to be mostly fine.

Just as predicted.

"EXPLOSION"


The Darklight burst out from all around him this time, creating an expanding dome of glowing shadows that swallowed everything around yet avoided Entheo all the same. Not just the bug man but the very ground beneath them was annihilated to destroy his footing leaving nothing but a spherical crater atop which the now revealed Dark Mage floated.

"Hey Kid, can you keep him busy for a second while I charge up a beam?"

[yinsukin]

Entheo

"A second?" he said, tapping the mysterious man's shoulder.  Since the magic was going out of its way to avoid him, it carved a cute little path to walk the little distance between the two.   "Thats not too bad.  We were trying to win before."

Then, Entheo bolted forward, his form becoming a blur of red. The crimson comet shot into the air, the guandao already being reeled back for a strike.

"He is going to touch you, Gezo added, a ghostly hand emerging from Entheo's and giving the man a wave.  "If I let him get touched more, we might be able to give you five."

Then I guess we only have one job.....
.
The blade came down, a crescent moon arc threatening to slice through Indra.  The ghostly arms of Gezo materialized another guandao in hand, ready to intercept a counter attack.  To live!

[Kotomine_Rin]

Indra

But a black explosion swallowed the beast whole, launching him into the heavens with its burning vigor. "Gyraaaaaghhhh! It hurts it hurts it hurts! You... impertinent...krgh-!" Its body began to charge again, wounded eyes still aimed straight at that boy. Its vision was dazed, the cumulative damage enough to nearly make it pass out.

No way. I can't lose. Can't lose. Can't lose. So why? To these pieces of garbage? I.. I...

Indra felt it, the same fear that brought it into this world. The fear of the weak against the strong.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH! DON'T TOUCH ME DON'T DON'T DON'T! STAY AWAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!"

With its focus reawakened, a kick flew to Entheo's face as Indra spun to avoid its blow, its other limbs ready to deflect the other ghost's. Sweating bullets, bleeding, gripped by this suffocating emotion, he'd use Entheo as a platform if he had to to run away.

[Bern]

William

"AAAAAAAAAAGHHHH!"

The Darklight shone ever brighter as the Dark Fist gathered his power for the one final spell that would end the fight. It built up and up easily surpassing the Dark Wave and Explosion from earlier but he just  kept charging-

More....

The darkness shot up like a pillar threatening to cloak the whole room in everlasting darkness but then it was all sucked in, the mage becoming the singularity of this new magic.

"Almost there boy, just a little more!"

Soon, very soon, he would reveal the truth behind the world to this insect. The power that was trusting someone else.

[yinsukin]

Entheo

Another arc was drawn in the air, threatening to cleave the monster in half.  The ghost's limb could be seen sliding along Entheo's torso, the origin point shifting from the back to the young man's abs.  There was a flick of Gezo's wrist, striking Entheo himself with the butt of the Guandao and sending him spinning into the air.  Harnessing the momentum with his core, he backflipped, knowing full well that he would be unable to attack the man.  Entheo's arms came up in advance, anticipating an attack from above.

Its as I told you, as your enemies have told you.  You can't fight alone.

Well, I admit, its just a little easier like this.

Just as you fight for the dreams of others, so too will people fight for you.  Tell me Entheo, what is your dream?

The cool blue eyes of Entheo stared into the creatures desperate eyes.  The monster was trembling, seeing the death he saw mere moments ago.  Before he felt the thrill of death's hand holding his own, enjoying its sway.  Yet this man was truly terrified by its touch.  Despite risking his own life, the young man wondered if he would be satisfied going out like this.  In his final moments, would Indra truly be happy?  The lonliest thing in the world was to die alone with broken dreams.  Thats why he spoke as Gezo's guandao sliced came in contact with his body. 

"Relax buddy.  Dying isn't so bad, after you get over the excruciating pain.  Do you have any last wishes?  I promise i'll see them through."

[Kotomine_Rin]

Indra

The beast's words were words no longer, but the chittering of insects. But his foot swung at the empty air, sending the beast flying towards the guandao's slash. "Grgkhiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!" This must have been the end, but - it wasn't.

The monster refused to perish and snapped its tail at the weapon's base to deflect the swing. No, it had latched at Gezo's hand and lance like a whip already - and pulled him towards a flurry of slashing blows. The soul's a fragile thing. Even if it can't be easily erased, there are things in this world that can interact with phantoms. To wound, to devour.

GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

To pierce its guts out with an ungodly flurry of strikes, and sap the very life from the dead.

Slash. Slash. Slash. Slash. Slash. Its claws came down on Gezo until his soul, exposing phantasmic meat and bone. And as its claws ate at him, his wounds regenerated. Like a cornered beast, with the technique of a thousand warriors, all harkening for the ghost's life. And with strength and speed that put them both to shame.

"Kikikikikikikikikikikiiiii!"

It's only wish at the moment was to live and accomplish its mission. But if it could allow itself to be selfish, he would very much like their death.

[Bern]

William

The dark pressure reached it's an absolute zenith and then in just that moment it all disappeared, like it hadn't been there at all. However this was nothing more than the lull before the storm.

"DARK CLOAK CRESCENDO: VOID BRINGER!"

The Darklight erupted like a humongous beam, even bigger than the dark wave had been, and unlike the wave it wasn't a single blast, it went on and on. Just before it reached Entheo and his ghost friend though, it coiled around them like a living snake avoiding both of them while heading for Indra, and the tip of the beam snake opened it's jaws to swallow Indra whole.