Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 2, 2014 19:49:17 GMT -6
Seeing that he finally inflicted pain, the madman's demented smile grew larger and his eyes widened out of anticipation. "Yesssss! Bleed more for me!" He bent his knees, preparing himself for what was to come next. However, he stalled as he waited for the spinning blade from above to fall down, for he threw it upwards a little too high. Granted, his insanity and thrill for the fight was the sole cause of this folly and it would give Nayru a chance to react. However, Zarius himself was convinced that he could inflict more pain right there and now despite screwing up his plan a little. The odd giggle he allowed to escape his lips was prove of his confidence, yet oddly enough, he was kind of hoping she'd live from the next assault if he landed a clean hit, wanting to have a longer battle.
By the time his other sword spun viciously back down, he sprung up into action as he caught the hilt of the blade with perfect timing, a burst of laughter while in the air marking his success. While in his descent with the reclaiming of his weapon, he dropped down with the same blade aimed downward in a vertical position, the lethal weapon aiming directly for her right shoulder. During this, he kept up his annoying laughter that could drive just about anyone up the wall.
"Grrr...blast! Nayru, above you!" Veigue called out to her, taking several steps forth as he prepared himself for the worst. Despite seeing her take such a terrible wound, something kept holding him back from outright jumping in. He usually didn't hesitate, but he took that moment to consider Nayru's position. Even if he did, there was no guarantee he'd make it over there to block the aerial strike in time...that, and Zarius would easily use that as an excuse to target him instead and that'd make vain of Nayru's effort. It all happened so suddenly that he still couldn't keep up with Zarius's speed, even with his distance and following the lunatic with his eyes alone. He clenched his sword's hilt even tighter to the point where his hand actually bled.
"...This is bad. Just hang on a little longer, Nayru..." While keeping up with Zarius was seemingly impossible, he was beginning to see some sort of pattern in the madman's attacks from where he stood...and he was only getting closer to finding a weakness in that wild fighting style of his. He couldn't keep standing by while Nayru suffers injuries meant for him from the start. It was enough fuel to make the gears in his head move faster.
|
|
|
Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on May 2, 2014 21:25:21 GMT -6
The wound wasn't particularly serious, a bit of blood from a relatively light cut that had gotten through her weakened reinforcement during her distraction. It was also irrelevant, though somewhat distracting. The problem was that she had lost control, if only for an instant, and control was far harder to create than to contain. A torrent of backed-up emotions was flowing through her, repressed hatred and rage that she had stowed away over the years since her last transformation. A very distant part of her subconscious wryly noted that there was a human saying about repressing your emotions being unhealthy - if she could let them out without a massacre, she would be happy to follow that advice!
But all of that was little more than a spark of self amidst an ocean of emotion, one dominated by crimson and shadow that threatened to drown her entirely. She could see - feel - her body growl, teeth gritted so hard that she could almost feel her body's pain, but it was all she could manage to not lose herself entirely that the fight itself almost seemed secondary as instinct took over entirely. Her body was more ready to fight than she, instantly denigrating her stomach wound to irrelevant as she surged forwards, offense the only thing on her mind. Rather than blocking or dodging his attack, Nayru hurled herself into Zarius bodily, beneath his strike, with a shoulder as hard as steel.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 3, 2014 20:35:38 GMT -6
Somewhat shocked that his attack failed, the madman was actually a little worried, mainly because he placed a lot of power into his aerial assault and it would be difficult to recover in time. Just as he feared, the tall woman raged forth and came within his space, piercing through his guard entirely as he tried to make a last effort in saving himself. Recovery from the fall was nowhere near considered "certain", as her shoulder ram was certainly going to hurt if she hit him. A part of him wanted to feel it so badly, but with his vulnerability, who knows what it'd actually do to him considering the woman's strength. His smile would soon fade to that of a rather panicked one, not sure of the outcome or how he'll be affected as he braced himself for impact.
He managed to tilt his body to the side a bit, however that only dodged the possibility of her striking the center of his chest, which was the worst place to be struck. So instead, the shoulder rammed the area between his arm and side of his body, literally feeling some bones shattering from the attack as he was immediately launched backwards from the mighty push. He wasn't able to rebound this time, his back colliding with the ground and rolling several times until he finally made a complete stop, face down and groaning in pain. He curled up afterwards, holding the area where Nayru struck him before flipping over on his back. He immediately allowed a momentary yell in reaction to his broken bones.
Oddly enough after the yell, his demented smile returned as he began laughing uncontrollably. It was exactly the "pain" he was seeking to feel, trying to crawl back up, but immediately dropped back down as he tried to move around in the grass, hunched over as he slowly slid forward in the grass. "...He...hehehehe...! ARGH! This is...great. Ah, this actually...hurts, hehe...! It's painful...but as satisfying as...I've imagined!" As much as he enjoyed it, his willpower alone was enough to allow him to move around a little more, though still bound to that one spot. He ran off pure adrenaline at this point, feeling the agonizing pain, but still pushing on as he slowly placed the palm of his hands onto the ground beneath him while pushing up, coughing up blood as he supported himself.
"Good...good...I like where this is going. I want more." He began picking his weapons back up, attempting to get back into stance, but his body was still in a bit of shock from the pain that he couldn't stand straight immediately, almost falling back over before catching himself. He was finally able to lift his head back up, giving Nayru a stare as his face was easily speaking for him. He still wanted to fight some more. Even with broken bones, he was ready to go another round. He wasn't going to allow pain to stop him, even if pushing himself was ultimately going to make his wounds even worse over the course of battle.
|
|
|
Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on May 4, 2014 0:32:14 GMT -6
She staggered forwards a step, silently screaming as lightning danced through her body, humanoid insides singed by the energy boiling within her - the precursor to the unchecked violence of a complete transformation. At least it was a nearly cloudless sky, a small blessing to an otherwise unpleasant day. If the thunderclouds had already been in place - Nayru stopped that train of thought immediately, refusing to surrender total control even through the torrent of pain flowing within her. This was fine. She had time. If the clouds started gathering. No. They wouldn't come. She snuck a glance upwards with what control she could muster, satisfying herself that the storm had not yet arrived, and immediately dropped to one knee with a hissing growl as her right arm became as fire.
Her left hand moved to cover the right automatically, but it did nothing to halt the reaction within, the desperate need for an outlet for some of her overflowing essence flowing through and - polluting the arm with power that warped and twisted it, metaphorically and literally at once as alabaster skin mottled and extruded, what was once ivory now singed a brilliant gold by the electricity dancing along her misshapen limb. Scales. Lovely. That was a fantastic sign. The overwhelming pain lent her clarity, focus, and through it control; much like humans bit their lips in an attempt to use the pain to reel their own emotions in, she turned the far-greater agony as her arm began to transform to regain control of her jumbled morass of emotions. In part.
When the pain grew too much to bear, Nayru ripped her arm aloft, staggering to her feet - had she dropped? She couldn't remember - but she had been on the ground so she must have - Zarius. For the briefest of instants, her focus on him, there was a target for all the pent-up aggression that was so close to consuming her, and her face twisted into a feral snarl, utterly inhuman, before it receded back behind lock and key as it must. Even without the whole hate-rage thing, she really wanted to punch him in the face. It was almost amusing. Nayru settled for a pained grin, one closer to a hunter staring down his prey than her previous expression. She could feel the power flowing through her partially transformed arm, masking the pain as the circuit finally reached some degree of stability, and allowed her left arm to drop uselessly to her side as she flexed the larger arm experimentally.
She hadn't tried this since... that battle alongside Veigue, back at the burning village. Was that where they had met? Nayru realized she was having trouble thinking straight, the combination of pain, power, and emotion alike all interfering with rational thought, but focusing on a coherent, specific subject helped her retain control. Yes, they had met there, hadn't they? She remembered lugging him out with one arm still transformed. Or maybe they had lugged each other out. She had been in poor shape as well. Zarius. Focus "You do not know pain," she rasped, momentarily surprised at the hoarseness of her own voice. "...But I will show it to you."
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 4, 2014 11:19:16 GMT -6
"...What?" Surprised to actually witness Nayru's arm change again, Veigue became frozen with uncertainty as he once again held no specific reaction or know what to do at this point. He couldn't recall why her arm changed last time due to being on the verge of death, but he remembered something Aerious told him...that she commanded a power greater than anyone else could wield, though the historian didn't specify on what he meant the last he saw of him. Then Nayru herself stated it as a curse. Regardless of what caused it, the arm reappeared and he didn't know whether to intervene or let the battle continue...not for Zarius's sake, but for Nayru's. He couldn't see her face from where he stood, but she was obviously in pain due to the arm.
Time was shortening with each breath he took, needing to speed up his thought process and worry about the other stuff later. Zarius was weakened and yet it seemed like he could still maneuver around at a somewhat speedy pace from how he was finally standing back to his feet and stretching repeatedly. He likely couldn't move as fast as he could before, but he was still dangerous nonetheless, and he had no idea if Nayru was in any shape to take advantage of that...but then something clicked in his mind as he recalled his fight with Zarius earlier...and later when Nayru saved him. "Wait a minute...his fighting style DOES have a weakness. How did I not notice it before...?"
It was a tough decision to make, but Veigue decided to continue with sitting it out for at least another exchange between the two to prove if he was right, and the plan he was formulating would be successful enough to end this and get Nayru out of there ASAP. If he rushed it without being sure, it would only make matters worse. He was more concerned about the pain his ally was suffering and who knows if Zarius was going to take advantage of that. It was quite difficult to tell what he thought about with those disturbing faces he makes...if he even had a brain left up there. But if he had mind to pull off clever little tricks, then he must still have some intelligence left up there.
The madman himself arched an eyebrow at the transformation of his opponent's arm, he too unable to fathom what was going on. However, unlike Veigue, he wasn't much of a thinker. He smiled again out of anticipation once more. "HMMMMM...shinny new toy, eh? Well, whatever! Inflict more pain on me, then! Show me...what it REALLY feels like so I can experience that satisfaction once more! Come on!" He stretched out his arms, obviously taunting her to make the first move.
|
|
|
Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on May 4, 2014 14:04:04 GMT -6
"Haaa." A single breath, protracted as she willed what tension she could from her body. Not a particularly successful attempt, but staying relatively calm was about the only way she was going to freeze her transformation at this for the time being, and it helped distract her attention from the pain to focus on Zarius. Truth be told, though, while the arm looked impressive, Nayru was acutely aware that she was in no shape to fight very well right now. Certainly her power had risen, but channeling power to her arm and simply holding it aloft robbed her of what speed she did have, and while that would have been fine against a heavily-armored foe, against a speedy fighter like Zarius...
The manakete considered calling out to Veigue, letting him know that he was welcome to come in and help at any goddamn time of his leisure, but what remained of her tattered pride held her back. Best to leave Veigue to his planning and just do her part with silent efficiency - or if she could kill Zarius, better her already-stained hands be drenched with blood once more than Veigue be thrust further into her world with his old acquaintance's blood. If she could manage it. Not for the first time, Nayru could not help but think that being able to freely transform must be pretty nice. Turn into a dragon, bite off his head, revert to human form, fight done. Minimal pain, plenty of gain. Might as well wish for a pony while she was at it.
One step. She wasn't immediately struck by lightning nor did she collapse to the ground in unthinkable agony, so Nayru ventured another, almost underwhelmed by how little had gone wrong there. It did occur to her that it was a little pathetic that so much had gone wrong already this fight that walking was a pleasant surprise, but it was a grim reminder that she was not much of a fighter without tapping into her instincts, with all the baggage that came along with that. Someday she would need to face it, just as Erim had said she would. Another step, quicker this time. Walking menacingly at someone wasn't exactly the most terrifying scene she could come up with, but it would get her close enough to Zarius sooner or later, and since neither of them were ranged fighters, all that mattered was that she get into melee range to finish the threat once and for all in short order.
Nayru held her transformed arm close to her body, as much a golden shield as a spring ready to uncoil at a moment's notice, as she approached her opponent. She had never really fought with a transformed arm before, so maybe it was best to start off small, get a feel for it. Or perhaps she should start off big and terrorize Zarius, trying to take advantage of his own weakness? Without a vast reserve of legitimate combat experience to fall back on, Nayru decided that caution was the better part of valor despite the heady rush of power emanating from the arm, deciding to go for a quick elbow strike as soon as she was in range to test his reaction speed and see what else he had up his sleeve.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 4, 2014 15:33:54 GMT -6
Letting his arms drop, the dual swordsman spun his blades only once before readying himself for her next assault. His arms and legs were shaking out of both reacting to his pain and anticipation. He didn't care whether or not to be worried about her new arm, moreso of the thrill of the fight. He felt like if he could strike a strong opponent like her down into a pool of her own blood, then he definitely became stronger than ever. Only one way to determine that, by meeting her head on...of course, not while she was attempting to elbow him like THAT. That would probably hurt more than last time, and while he wanted more pain inflicted, that attack in particular would likely kill him. If there were some way to feel it in the afterlife, he probably would have been foolish enough to take it.
"...More pain builds more tolerance. The tolerance I desire for more strength!" He spoke lowly as she approached. Having enough reaction time to see it coming, the nimble assassin leaped backward at an impressive distance, big enough to avoid his opponent's elbow strike with split second timing. If his broken bones were reacting to pain, he could have escaped in a more speedier fashion. However, he wasn't just going to stand there and allow her to deck the life out of him despite the desire for her to land another deadly strike. He wanted to earn that next hit while trying his best so it'd be much more satisfying.
In retaliation to the elbow strike, the madman sprinted to the side in a quick burst, then darted himself towards Nayru from that angle, towards the non-transformed arm's side. He was crazy and fight-happy, but not stupid to challenge the other arm head on. In his approach, he kept up his sprint and swiped both blades towards her horizontally in attempts at creating more space between each other even when they collide. Since he wasn't as fast as earlier, it was highly possible the attack wouldn't connect, but he desired to slowly close in with a killing blow for later IF he didn't get his head knocked off before he could.
|
|
|
Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on May 4, 2014 16:26:35 GMT -6
Zarius's willpower and sheer determination were impressive; anyone sane would have have fled long ago, while the vast majority of fighters would have been painted the fields red with their own blood long ago. He was still moving, despite a solid shoulder check, and arguably even still held the upper hand simply due to the fact that all the power in the world would avail her little if she could not make contact. "Would that you had chosen a nobler path to power." There was regret in her words, admission that she could do nothing to change his mind, the situation, and yet the wish that it was not so. Perhaps if she had met him long ago, she might have been able to impress the dangers of power born of madness to him, convinced him to follow a different road to power that would not have led to the current moment.
-But that was the then, and this was the now. She would mourn him privately when this was all over, when Veigue was safe and Zarius put down like the mad dog he was. Veigue hadn't interjected yet, so she was forced to assume he had no solutions - something she could not fault him for, but it did mean that her task was now to win, not simply to hold the insane Sacaen off, and that in turn meant that she could no longer afford to pull her blows in the vain hope of... something. Sure footwork born of centuries of practice allowed Nayru to smoothly recover from the elbow jab despite the colossal weight of her right arm, and she pulled it back, half-cocked, as she intercepted Zarius's renewed assault with her much more mobile left arm.
It was clear there was too much power being used by the transformed arm when his twin blades left thin red welts on her forearm, her reinforcement elsewhere weakened, but she would worry about that after he was dead, or she was. A short shove with the blocking arm to knock him back, and a massive pulse of power into her engorged arm, her intentions signaled clearly by the dancing electricity along it as she pulled it back for a massive strike that would evaporate Zarius whole if it struck. Aware that it would leave her wide open if she missed, Nayru hedged her bets by aiming it downwards into the ground, through Zarius if he did not dodge, impacting the earth with a colossal shockwave of force that instantly and completely obscured her vision - and hopefully Zarius's - while grinding earth and rock alike to dust in the crater before her. Hopefully Zarius's threat had been eradicated immediately, but even if not, the shockwave of force and dislodged dirt and stone would likely have hurled him well away from her and left him disoriented.
She hoped.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 4, 2014 18:34:28 GMT -6
She sure did have more than "impressive" power, he thought as she pushed him away with her parry. He winced in pain as him being pushed back caused aches in his left arm and side from his internal injures, though he immediately smiled again to shrug the pain off, still hellbent on not allowing it to get in his way. He was even more anxious to rip her apart now, though he froze in his tracks when Nayru sent her fist downward with the unfamiliar power he was witnessing. Almost lacking any clue on what he'd do as a counter, his body spoke on it's own instead of listening to the brain of it's crazy owner, as he had to be a complete idiot if he thought he could counter, let alone block the strike head-on knowing her strength by now. Since he was already pushed away, he had enough time to escape.
He settled for another backstep in attempts to get away from her punch, but he had no idea that she'd create a shockwave that smashed against him when it spread, shutting his eyes during the blinding flash as his legs were lifted and he was sent flying backwards again, laughing maniacally during the entire thing like he was on a never-ending ride, however he was launched much further than last time. Since he wasn't directly hit by her fist, the shockwave merely stunned him as he rolled into the grass and on his back once more. He was still laughing loudly, though it was subsiding over time as he actually began to calm down. He managed to kep hold of his weapons this time, and he rolled to his side that wasn't in pain. He tried his best to balance himself while using his weapons as canes to support his rise.
"Ahhhh...this is very exciting! It's been a while...since I was the one...eating dirt, hehehe!" By the time he stood to his feet, the dust floating around was a little more manageable to see through. He could barely see her through it and had no idea if she'd charge him or not during. However, he was ready even if his body wasn't, screaming out a single battle cry before continuously spinning his weapons. "This will decide it! I'm going to end you with one final strike! I hope you're prepa--"
"Enough!" The voice of the wanderer was loud enough to reach Zarius from where he was. Having finally fed up from just standing idly by, the sacaean was already beside Nayru after things died down a bit. His weapon was still drawn, but the look of determination burned deep within his eyes as he stared at the direction of Zarius. He had no reason to hesitate with his actions no longer. Nayru didn't have to force herself to kill someone and have that death on her conscience...something he was clearly meant to do instead. After all, it was his fault in a sense, he thought. "...Just stay where you are and recover now. Leave the rest to me...and no matter what happens, don't jump in. Just...trust me. I can do this." He gave a slight smile before jumping forth highly, over the deep inwards crater.
"...Eh? Bah! Outta the way, loser! I'll deal with you later when I'm finished ripping her to pieces!" The insane sacaean growled at the sight of his battle being interrupted. Veigue simply shut his eyes to blank out the fool's words for the moment to focus, but then did something rather...unexpected that caused the madman to arch his eyebrow. The swordsman sheathed his sword at an odd time instead of brandishing it for battle. After the blade returned to it's sheath, he allowed the arm to drop as he kept the enclosed sword in his left hand. Going offensive would result in what happened earlier, and him standing no chance whatsoever. However, since Zarius was weakened from his battle with Nayru, his evasive movement speed could finally rival his opponent's with ease now...and he could manipulate the weak point in Zarius's style he spotted.
"You will not do such a thing...not while I'm here. I'm your opponent, not her...and Zarius...I'll spare you no mercy. You die right here. It's because of my family dispute that transformed you into the sick fool you are now...and I have to take responsibility for those who were affected by it. However, you've gone too far...you can hate me all you want, but...trying to kill my friend between our struggle was the biggest mistake you've ever made!" His voice raised in a tone of aggression, finished talking and was ready to go.
Zarius stared blankly for a moment, quite dumbfounded as he was a little taken off guard. However, his head dropped down for a moment as he was seen silently giggling to himself before raising back up with his crazed smile once again. That soon changed after that smile shifted to a frown. "...Hah hah hah hah! Did you spend this whole time rehearsing that little speech? Well, I'm not hurt or anything, so what a utter waste of time! Fine! If you want to die first so badly with your false sense of victory, then come at me and finally pay for what you did to me and my pride, you sinful bastard! You'll be the one face down and drowning in your own blood!" The ticked off assassin blindly rushed for with rage as he had his weapons in front of him and ready to kill.
Still not removing his blade, Veigue settled for a defensive stance as he was finally about to put his plan into motion. He had to move quicker than the handicapped dual swordsman to win...plus, he wanted to spare Zarius one thing: A painful life. Setting him free from that corrupted mind was the best medicine for him now...as he couldn't bear even seeing one of his worst enemies suffer in such a manner. That alone was enough to be victorious. No more words for him...not until his past oppressor was dead.
|
|
|
Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on May 4, 2014 20:58:37 GMT -6
Nayru crumbled to the ground like a sack of lumpy potatoes, her wild attack as inefficient and costly to her as it had been impressive to see in action. She could hear Veigue as she spoke, but it was too much work to turn her head to look at him or insist that she could finish the fight, so he went off pell-mell into the fight, hopefully with a plan. Probably for the best, she really couldn't move much right now, but if he got himself killed she was going to yell at the corpse for being so stupid. Not... not that she was really in any position to judge, the manakete grudgingly admitted to herself, but at least she was still alive for the time being.
Her inability to channel her power properly was not a subject she particularly wanted to discuss with anyone, but this entire debacle was further proof of how much of a danger she was to herself and those around her. If she had managed to keep control she probably could have taken Zarius out with one good hit, or she could have transformed and very quickly ended the whole charade, but as she was the chaotic ocean of essence that comprised her core was a power well beyond her grasp, locked behind a wall built as a monument to her own weakness and inadequacy. Erim had told her that she had great potential, that control was what she needed to learn rather than searching for more power - a talk that she wished Zarius had received in time as well, but that availed her little if she could not even control her own soul as other dragons could.
It cut like a knife to hear Veigue defending her, protecting her from Zarius, even as she struggled to stay kneeling by balancing herself on the arm still impaling the ground. She had hoped to end this before any more blood need be shed, and yet in her own failure she had hurt herself and consigned Veigue to a task he did not deserve to be forced into. If she'd been able to move, Nayru might well have punched herself out of sheer frustration, but for now she could do little but watch mutely as the wounded maniac faced off against her friend and silently cheer for Veigue.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 4, 2014 22:58:21 GMT -6
He was ready. Since he usually didn't have a chance nor time like this to actually "plan everything out", he'd have to be the most clumsy of people to screw this up now. Granted, Zarius still posed a serious threat to him, but he had too much on the line to just die now with a certain plan up his sleeve. He clenched his right fist, it being his only means for counterattacking if it was strictly necessary for this plan to work. Zarius had probably been decked enough already today, but if he was going to die here, then that shouldn't really weigh on the wanderer's conscience too badly. But it was time. Zarius was already on the move and wasn't going to hold back this time...all of his attacks were going to be murder-intent and probably won't pull any punches in terms of aiming for his vital spots.
Just as the madman approached, he started throwing wild swings at the swordsman...and much to Veigue's surprise, he was able to actually see the blades in motion with his bare eyes. Of course, he was pulling a rather risky move...something Lena specifically told him NOT to rely on until he got better, but he had little choice in the matter. Since the Magnus style was mostly offense-oriented, defense was not it's strong suit...however, when it came to nearly instantaneous counterattacking, that was a different story. Using his speed strictly for evasive moment was the key to getting that opening he desired...and he only needed one. With his mind focused in the defensive position, his reflexes would be better. By the time Zarius's first sword swipe drew closer, he swiftly and flexibly bent to his side to dodge it, but when the second sword was coming horizontally, his gaze rested upon the steel as his instincts kicked in and leaped over the low blade.
"...Huh? Stay still so I can cut you!" The madman was already getting annoyed at Veigue not fighting back, but that too was also part of the plan to keep him distracted. Every time Zarius would swing his blades, Veigue would make use of his free hand to help more with his maneuverability to dodge them. Without his sword in his hand, he was free to move around even more without an occupied hand. It was working so far, and he could at least keep up to step with the handicapped swordsman, and better. Looking at things now, he could see how going offensive with Zarius was generally a bad idea...his attacks left no kind of pause to take advantage of. He had crazy amounts of stamina and he sure did make the best of it. A shame that he couldn't use that stamina to keep himself from sliding into insanity.
Things began to finally look grim as the lunatic managed to score a hit, though with Veigue's constant movement, the sword only inflicted a flesh wound near his chest...luckily it wasn't a thrusting attack and just a mere sideways strike. With that kind of pain rushing through him, Veigue made sure to keep his distance and just avoid Zarius for now while he was able to get a couple of seconds of breathing room. He was able to endure the pain because it wasn't struck somewhere vital. No pain, no gain. Zarius, without warning, began to actually try thrusting attacks, just when Veigue was thinking how fortunate he was. Thankfully, they seemed a tad slower than his sporadic swings, at least able to dodge them before the madman tried to switch things up and throw more swings into it.
"GOD DAMN IT! Stop moving around like a monkey and fight me, you coward!" With an aggressive swing, it inflicted another flesh one near his stomach area...but like his opponent before him, he wasn't going to allow the pain to slow him down, even if he was going to risk suffering from it later and make the injures worse to where they would eventually become severe. But as long as his evasive movements were constant, and his arms blocked his vital points, then he wouldn't have to worry about getting downed and killed in one shot, at least not for now.
"...If you insist. Good-bye..." Veigue only closed his eyes for a split second before reopening them and Zarius engaged for a twin strike from his swords. That's exactly what he was waiting for. He watched the madman's arms, and with the right timing, he darted to Zarius's side as fast as he could move, the tip of his enemy's blade cutting the back of his shoulder through his jacket while once again taking the flesh wound and getting completely behind the dual swordsman as his hand finally gripped his sword's hilt. Within that single moment, his blade of iron slid from it's sheath smoothly, yet nearly instantaneous as he brought his sword upwards with a strong swing, his weapon grazing through the man's back as the blood flowed out instantly. Now that was his only chance.
Yelling out in pain, Zarius turned around with a very irritated expression as he swung his blade horizontally after he turned around in a rather sloppy and poor form. With it being slow enough, Veigue took advantage by moving to the opposite side of the moving dual blade and struck his foe on his side while dashing past him, another vital point to weaken him further. Zarius was mostly limping over by now, but was still not throwing in the towel. He dropped one of his swords, but kept the other as Veigue came charging at him. The wanderer himself was going off pure adrenaline now, letting out a yell as he sprinted forth. When he clashed with his adversary, he was able to disarm him with his now-handicapped strength and proceeded to swinging his sword rapidly to several parts of Zarius's body before pushing himself forward, thrusting his blade clean through his disoriented enemy's chest. They remained there for a few moments before Veigue shut his eyes for a final time and yanked his weapon free upwards from Zarius, the defeated lunatic allowing a weakly laugh escape him before falling backwards to the ground.
It left him with many injures he didn't expect, but it was safe to say that no matter how crazy Zarius was, he'd be dead before long from wounds like that. Veigue kept his back turned, unable to even put his blade away as he was covered in the blood of his past oppressor. "...Your one weakness. You leave your back wide open during your onslaught of attacks. I...wish I didn't have to expose it in this manner, but...it had to be done." He spoke softly, knowing that he didn't want to end the battle that way. And if anything, it would have been the perfect excuse for Zarius to add more reasons why his pride was stained further. The man was still alive...barely. However, the shock from his wounds must have been preventing him from trying to say anything at the moment, Veiuge still choosing to keep his back turned as it was finally over. He remembered ending Walter Slasher's life in nearly the same manner.
|
|
|
Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on May 5, 2014 0:18:01 GMT -6
They seriously could not have one decent fight together without both of them getting cut up and her with a transformed arm, Nayru decided with mirth born of relief in the wake of Veigue's victory. She had watched with trepidation and shame born of uselessness as he took several hits, not to mention nearly having a heart attack as a result of his damn fool plan of waltzing unarmed into Zarius's assault, but his resounding victory made it clear that the insane assassin was not likely to get up - not even she could have survived being impaled like that, and while she could probably have blocked the thrust with armored skin, the manakete realized that Veigue probably could have maneuvered into one of her weak spots and pulled it off anyways.
Granted, Veigue was even more fragile than Zarius, so if she got off a solid hit on him the fight would be over as well. So they could both kill each other! That was surprisingly non-reassuring. She laughed, or maybe that was a cough, and realized after a few moments of hacking that there was blood in her mouth. Yeah there was definitely some internal damage. Glorious. At least she was alive and had stopped the transformation before entirely liquefying her insides. Nayru wasn't sure why that was so funny, or maybe she had just finally gone properly insane. Maybe Zarius's vengeful spirit had possessed her. By Mother Earth, why couldn't she take this seriously? If she was capable of it, she might well have been giggling like a schoolgirl. A very insane schoolgirl. Relief was a powerful drug.
A thought struck her, spurred by a fragment of memory from her meeting with Elly after the burning village incident, and Nayru focused on the positive feelings flowing through her while attempting once more to reign in the energy flowing into her arm, slowly throttling it as she suppressed her essence core from combat level. Results were gratifyingly quick; without the constant influx of power to sustain it her arm quickly reverted to its normal form as the excess scales evaporated into the golden essence that had formed them. A shimmering rain of essence, one that floated upwards and dispersed rather than falling to the earth, interlacing hues of gold and silver that spiraled and spun in a scintillating display for several seconds before dissipated as quickly as it had begun.
The rest of the damage, internal and otherwise, would take longer to fix - but she could do that given time. More importantly, Elly had given her the key to solving one... very small part of her greater issue. At least she could reverse partial transformations now, even if it was difficult given her general lack of true positivity compared to the colossal tides of negativity that flowed through her as a result of her nature. She was no closer to solving her ultimate issue, though, for in the dissolution of self there could be no thought. Zarius was clear evidence of how destructive it could be even for a mere mortal, whereas with her...
Nayru had awoken to enough ravaged villages and melted corpses to know on an all too personal level what scaling it up entailed.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 5, 2014 14:59:14 GMT -6
The moment of silence would be quite disturbing to many, however Veigue remained frozen in place. Had he not fought with his father, none of this would have happened. No matter how much he tried to blank the situation out of his mind, the guilt behind Zarius's insanity wouldn't go away. And yet...he still felt like it was the right thing to do. Another death on his hands, yet one he had to end due to his own indirect actions. However, there was no point in standing around dwelling on it here. He knew from the moment they began the fight, it'd end this way with one, or possibly both of them as a corpse on the ground. He swiped his sword for a final time as the blood flew off and returned the weapon to it's sheath. He wanted to just take a moment to duck off somewhere for a while alone, but before he could even move...
"...W-wait...please." The weakly voice of the dying sacaean reached his ear as he immediately turned around and gazing down on his defeated oppressor. Zarius's hand was still moving, trying to grab his sword that was next to him. "This...isn't over yet. I can...still fight. Just...give me another round and...we can settle this...! I don't...want to lose to you anymore!" He gripped the weapon, but the pain of his injures were too much for even he to bear, releasing the blade before holding his stomach while groaning.
Veigue couldn't help but place a saddened expression on his face, still feeling sorry what what he had to do to the man. At this rate, Zarius was going to suffer a rather miserable death and he felt like he had the power to at least place his mind at ease before he departed. "Consider this battle a fair win...for you, Zarius. I...wouldn't have defeated you if I was alone. I only won by taking advantage of your injures, not just your weakness. You've definitely grown a lot stronger since we last battled...stronger than I." He stared down with the look of earnest, trying to cross a point that he was not trying to deceive the dying swordsman. What he spoke was the truth...if Nayru wasn't there to bail him out, he'd be dead by now. He was kind of expecting some backlash at this particular moment, as the foe he was forced to strike down in a similar fashion responded aggressively in his final moments.
Zarius, however, just settled for a blank stare. At first, Veigue thought the man couldn't even hear him talking anymore, but Zarius was giving him direct eye contact as he spoke. Soon, he clenched his teeth for just a second before having a calm expression on his face, beginning to move his lips afterwards. "...You'd better...work on improving your skills further...Veigue. Jaquio will spare you...no mercy. He's not one to...play around. He'll try to kill you...in a heartbeat."
"...You worked for him to find me, right?" Veigue immediately interjected as he crouched down. Though the fact that Zarius was giving him a warning was a huge surprise considering the resentment they both strongly harbored for each other.
"Not...originally. When I had nowhere else to go after killing my father, two men named Walter and Jack...took me under their wing." He paused a bit, the pain forcing him to cut his words short. Veigue's eyes widened from the names "Walter and Jack", as that...explained A LOT. Guess the dispute with his own father wasn't the main influence for Zarius's insanity. He refrained from commenting, however, and allowed Zarius to finish. "Walter...taught me his rather unique fighting style...when I told him I needed the strength to...defeat someone. However, the day I heard you were the one that killed him...I wasn't fueled by revenge...I just wanted to kill you for...my own pride. While I harbored no vengeance...Jack did. He couldn't let you...get away with killing his brother, so he went through the effort of hiring assassins meant solely for...killing you and placing a bounty on your head...before he could get you himself. He could kill you himself if he really wanted to...but he wants you dead by whatever means necessary...and fast...and he wants Kenji, your family sword, as a prize and symbol for his success in vengeance. Simply put...Jack...is Jaquio."
"Surprised" wasn't even the word for how much of a shock this was...especially considering he still had energy left to say all that and not end up hastening his death. Besides that, once he thought about it, he resisted the urge to facepalm himself for the sake of the moment. "Jack" and "Jaquio" were totally similar names in sound alone...but when he fought Walter last year, Jack was quite forgettable...as he stood quietly and idly by when Veigue fought and struck the serial killer down. He let Jack go that day because there was no need for further bloodshed if the man wasn't going to fight back...but the swordsman felt he should have known better than to just turn a blind eye to the fleeing partner. Of course, regret was the last thing he needed to feel right now.
After a moment, the assassin was having difficulty speaking further, as it seemed his time had finally come. Deciding to make his last few seconds count, the dying man clenched Veigue's jacket and yanked him closer in quite the aggressive manner, yet his smile wasn't demented this time. More like he was at peace now. "Heh heh...If I...see you in hell so early...then you'd better be ready...for another beating to make up for losing to...Jack. You'd better win...so you can be strong enough to...take me...on....."
By the time Veigue could open his mouth in response, the assassin took his last breath before his grip loosened entirely and dropping lifeless onto the ground. He had no idea how to feel about it anymore...seeing Zarius die right before him and actually...helping him out during his last moments, could he truly view the man as an enemy now? Sure, Zarius himself probably still resented him even in the afterlife, but was he supposed to remain hating his oppressor too? He shook his clenched fist in confusion and anger towards himself for being unable to manage his emotions properly. Instead, he settled for standing on his feet and just keeping his eyes shut while deep in thought. He'd have to give Zarius a proper burial later, for he at least...deserved that much.
|
|
|
Post by Nayru Al-Saiduq on May 5, 2014 15:28:44 GMT -6
"Ugh." Nayru pushed herself off the ground with an audible groan, suddenly reminded that happy feelings aside her entire body still hurt like hell. At least the arm was... alright, albeit sore. And they were both alive. That was definitely a plus. She didn't really get what Zarius was talking about, but it was clear Veigue did going by his expressions. So Jaquio was... Jack, and Veigue knew a Jack, whose brother he had killed? Was it some bandit? A mercenary? Was this related to his father-stabbing ways? A yellow brick road to a wonderful land of nonsense and murder. Maybe more of a crimson road if the amount of blood in the story was any indication.
Ohhhh. Blood. Right! Her stomach wound had slowed its bleeding, a result of the lightness of the cut, but unlike Veigue she didn't wear enough clothing to cover what were obvious wounds from inquisitive pink-haired princesses, and Nayru for one had the distinct feeling that this was something Elly was better off not being dragged into. Slowly, almost regretfully, she pulled the tattered length of silk from her shoulder, neatly cut by Zarius's blade in a blasphemous desecration of perfection. She had had that thing forever. But it wasn't much of a decoration now, and she needed a makeshift bandage. Grimacing a little, she carefully wrapped it around her midsection, tying it around the back in a futile attempt to make it look like a fashion accessory of some sort. It didn't work, but at least the cloth wouldn't fall off, and it did a passable job of obscuring her midsection, at least where she had been cut.
Business before pleasure, as they said. And it had given her time to think of what to say to Veigue, standing there by the limp corpse of his fallen foe. Maybe she shouldn't ask about Jack for now, it was clearly a touchy subject, and she ought to leave it to Veigue to explain it to her when he was ready rather than pushing for an immediate explanation in the wake of an exhausting battle. It had been a hell of an experience, good practice in teamwork and breaking partial transformations alike, but... her true issue yet hounded her, and in Zarius's tale was a grim reminder of what she could so easily become. It was sobering and worrying alike that she had come so close to transforming during her solo duel with Zarius, and no amount of momentary adrenaline rush would erase that truth.
Approaching Veigue slowly, partially out of respect for the dead and partially because she wasn't sure she could have run if she wanted to, Nayru hesitated for a moment before speaking quietly, going or the most neutral and simple conversation starter she could think of for lack of a better idea. "Are you alright?"
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 5, 2014 16:35:52 GMT -6
"...I'm fine. How's that wound holdin' up?" He responded immediately, though couldn't really face Nayru at the moment. His wounds did hurt, but they were simply flesh wounds. And if he recalled...she got struck there before. It was just like before...except Nayru didn't deserve that wound in the slightest. All of Zarius's anger was directed at him and she didn't have to get hurt in the middle of it. Regardless, she'd probably just argue him down over it, so he saw no need to bring that up now. The battle was over and they both lived to see another day...and he finally discovered the truth behind this bounty. He honestly held mixed feelings over it now.
Walter was a monster...but Jack was probably still sane. Walter was his family regardless of his crimes, and Veigue took that away from the guy. "...All of what you've heard today is true. I'm a murderer...and a criminal." He finally opened his eyes as he stared down on the corpse of his enemy, keeping his fist clenched. "I've killed many on my path, and for my own survival...and these hands will be used for even more violence in the coming days. That's...why I couldn't say anything to Lena. The Veigue she knew died the same day our parents did. And...this is why you and Elly shouldn't be involved with a monster like me."
He looked the other way at the mention of their other friend, thinking back on the sacaean village. "...That poor girl shouldn't have to be dragged into this. I was around her age when I began to walk this bloody path, and recalling the shock on her face when we first met showed that this sort of struggle will be too much for her, as her fear was a reflection of my own when I first killed someone. You two should just...leave this sinful beast behind and live your lives more peacefully. I have to continue walking this path, no matter what...and while Jaquio has his reasons, he's still going to pay for the lives lost in between our struggle." Recalling his father's insults were quite pain-inducing on his mind, cringing at the thought of his spiteful words. But his old man was probably laughing in hell right now, seeing his words becoming true after the nine years following his death.
|
|