Surrounded by weirdoes
Sam could see the impact, feeling some satisfaction that he could at least get a demon like that, but with the snow being flung around by the now flying Mikael makes it harder to see, and with how things are, he couldn't even rely on his hearing on this one.
Still got some grievances to air with some asshole about that
Still, with a bleeding, even if slowed down wound and these conditions... Better go nuts.
The snow started forming a bigger wave as he used himself as a bait in front of Mikael, even if he still felt himself fly away. And then... pain.
Well, actually lost or force a draw? Everything is left to the laws of motion.
Edited by Blueace on Jun 25th 2023 at 2:28:31 PM
Wake me up at your own risk.
Fwomph
Bea :> Accept Surrender
"Hm. Very well."
The usual coldness in her voice persisted as she turned to scan the stands. She was disappointed, just a little, that the duel she had waited for was ending like this but there was no way she was going to continue pressure against an ally that was clearly in the middle of a mental breakdown.
"Can we have an referee to settle this match? My opponent is unwilling to battle."
It's clearly a case of backroom political albumizing.
Breath of the Sun
Mikael
He almost missed the fact that he'd hit something other than ice, but for the faint smell of blood.
Ah shit. I hope I didn't fuck him up that bad. Mikael thought, mere moments before the massive wave of snow hit him. The avalanche buried him, causing him to drop his weapons as he frantically clawed through it.
A few seconds later, he burst through, rising into the air with the beating of his wings. His red skin was blackened by frostbite in many places, but dead skin was already being replaced with living.
"You alright, Sam? I'm still raring to go if you are!" He grinned, spreading his arms midair as if inviting another shot.
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?
(They/them)
Fala — The Arena
Fala raised her forearm in front of her to block the blow, with the force of it making her skid back slightly in spite of her stance.
As she did so, she noticed that Edgar had left himself open, which she took a chance with as she countered with a knee to the stomach.
If I die, tell Hex Haywire I loved him.
Liam for his part reshaped the shield at the front being hit by Lucy's barrage, the spinning blades reforming into a selection of quickly rotating rings around his position. Each moving fast enough in a circumference around the more stationary pieces to deflect the ink barrage off by aerial force. Inside of the shield however, Liam was far from taking it easy.
He was working on a more offensive plan - the internal golden energies starting to shift and curl, bending inward and twisting around his person. Just a little bit more and he could take the fight to Lucy...but for now he decided to go with something in return for the barrage.
The internal rings of his defensive array promptly shifted, turning quickly into a barrage of his own. An arsenal of glowing golden daggers aimed upward at Lucy. Each then fired in turn, bending and flying unpredictably through the air before curving back around toward her.
I can't leave alone the fact that she probably has some plan for the ground. I'm not getting caught off-guard.
Martin
His breath was coming to him in ragged gasps by this point, the slow leak of blood from his torn fist dripping to the arena floor but the smile never leaving his face. "My mom warned me about women's nails, but I think this might be a bit beyond what she might have meant." he saw the crimson slashes through the air, having expected a range attack at some point meant he wasn't behind through.
Meeting a demon who was twice his size and likely equal in power had left bits of the arena cracked and broken, exactly what was needed as he delivered a powerful downward kick and wrenching his body to send a chunk of the stone beneath his feet into the air directly in the path of the strike. He didn't expect it to stop it, but at the very least slow it down so he could power through. "Now then lets try this again," he rushed forward, arms put forward in front of him in a blocking motion before he finally closed the gap. "No holding back!" he threw his fist forward, putting his entire body into the punch.
Your Lord And Savior
Kitson Dragonfly - SURPRISE - The Spider and The Dragonfly Pt. 7
Well that was certainly unexpected. The strike that Kit had expected to be the deciding factor had not become a death sentence. The over-extension of the tunnel-strike meant that when Khulan began rocketing through the air towards him, he had little to no defensive options. At the speed she was going, impact would occur in 2 seconds max. Dodging was a near impossibility. There was only one option that allowed him to continue on.
Quickly he twisted his posture. In doing so he aimed to reduce the full impact of the Khu-ball to a lesser graze. Even that would be game over, however, so a secondary measure was required to solidify the success of this particular defensive maneuver. With a sharp whistle, he began gathering and compressing wind along his blade. He then raised it in a sort of cross block. The wind shield would rank most of the Khu-ball’s impact, distributing the force partially across the wind around the battling pair in a miniature shockwave. But it also had one other effect.
Kit knew he could maintain grip on his sword. He could maintain grip on his sword against almost every possible strike thrown at him. The only thing that would break his grip would be his own mistake, such as back at the racetrack. But Kitson was not left handed, and so he was at a severe disadvantage. As the Khu-ball collided with the wind shield, the blade flew from Kit’s grip and sailed through the air, slamming against the arena wall and clamoring to the ground. The boy himself was flung backwards, away from both Khulan and the blade, and left stranded. Waylaid in battle.
Desperate now. Somewhere deep in his chest, he still had something to prove. He had walked in afraid of the audience, but now he didn’t care. He didn’t care if they thought he was a monster. This adrenaline high was a familiar friend. He had discarded thoughts of war, but his body failed to catch up. Everything felt right again. He felt himself lapsing back into the belief that this was who he was. A pair of legs to walk his brain to the next big rush. He was out of options now. He couldn’t stay on defense, and he couldn’t attack like he had been for the entire round. One note leads to the next. One element feeds to another. Earth to air, air to flame. This was the next link in an elemental chain. For the moment he didn’t care about the consequences. This would fade, but he didn’t care.
He just knew that right there, right then, he didn’t feel like being a force of pure destruction was a bad thing.
A low note sounded through the arena. Those who saw the race would recognize it. They would recognize it as the herald of the catastrophic destruction from the race.
Ignition…
I am become dubstep, destroyer of taste
AKA Nixer
Lucy Livingston
Liam was returning fire with a barrage of his own, but his defense was impeccable. Lucy huffed, focusing on using her melanokinesis to pull herself around through the air. She darted about the place rapidly, narrowing avoiding the energy daggers, before an idea struck. She diverted herself straight towards Liam, the daggers trailing behind her, before letting loose a large cloud of ink that would obscure his vision; presumably with the intent of pulling the old misdirection trick. But along the way, something didn't work out for her.
As soon as she disappeared into the cloud of ink that she'd made in front of Liam, there was a loud sound of a collision, followed by the sound of something piercing flesh. A sharp cry, and Lucy's body came tumbling out of the cloud, rebounding off of Liam's shield and landing facedown with a wound visible in her back. She laid unmoving.
Blood was pooling.
Either she'd miscalculated the speed of the daggers coming her way, or she'd been caught by the back end of one of Liam's defenses just as she'd gotten too close. Regardless, she lay there motionless, and with her face down it was difficult to tell if she was outright unconscious or just in pain.
Liam's defenses were whirring about dangerously close above her, however. She still wasn't moving. Something was wrong.
bork
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
Khulan - Rocket Tackle!
Well, that was certainly unexpected. Dragonfly's wind wall thingy had almost knocked the wind out of her. She'd keep practicing that bouncing move, yes. As she skid herself to change directions, that wasn't the most surprising thing. His sword had clattered to the other side of the ring. That means I win, right! Truthfully, she'd never asked him if his sword was where those blasts came from, and she wouldn't blame him for not answering if she did.
Well, one way to find out. Khulan spewed webbing and grabbed the line, using her skidding to stretch it taut, and flung herself at Dragonfly. She heard the note and scratched off the 'sword being the source of his powers' idea. She didn't think much more about it, aside from rocket tackling him before he got a chance to make a hurricane.
That he might be going for a supernova again in his state in this space with no emotion controller nearby never occurred to her, and she had been too preoccupied at the race to see him do it the first time.
Edited by CenturyEye on Jul 16th 2023 at 7:09:27 AM
Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
Surrounded by weirdoes
Sam had made his own move before hitting the floor pretty hard, and all the snow went to the other side. Well, that failed, and his side and his arm are bleeding badly. Probably cracked a few things, it does hurt enough. He forced himself on his feet, with whatever he had, giving Mikael a stare for a second, before his body tilted forward.
Wake me up at your own risk.
Breath of the Sun
Mikael
Even as Sam was falling, Mikael was already rushing to meet him, catching the other boy before Sam could hit the ground.
"Heh. Guess that's a wrap. Nice fight, bro." He lifted Sam effortlessly, shifting into a bridal carry. "For what it's worth, you did pretty good. Anyone other than me was against you, and you'd have kicked their ass."
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?
Edgar getting the knee.
Well he left himself wide open for an attack a big blunder on his part, he will need to step up his game if he wants to have a chance at winning this but for now he,ll have to endure a knee to the stomach.
While aware of his own pain tolerance or better said lack of pain tolerance, he dint expect to hurt that much, but he was mistaken as he clutches his stomach in pain, not much damage was really done it was just a knee to the stomach and he can take it as he goes back to the offensive again. Swinging his right hand to Fala´s head, this time much less sloppily than before.
Sue/Bea
Sue was shaking. She knew she'd agreed to this. She knew she was letting sword lady down. She was letting mom down, her brother down, everyone down. But what was she supposed to do? The only thing worse would have been if it was Kit she was supposed to strangle, but Bea was still special.
She didn't want to hurt her. But she was letting her down. She didn't want to hurt her. But she was letting her down. She didn't want to hurt her didn't want to let her down didn't want to didn't want didn't want—
She'd barely heard sword lady in the middle of her breakdown, but she'd heard enough.
"Unwilling...?"
She gripped her staff. Her muscles were bulging, eyes glowing red. Ripples cascaded down her arms, fur bristling, claws and talons growing from her hands and feet. Something was wrong but she didn't care. She couldn't be weak. She was many things but never weak. If she couldn't finish what she started, what good was she?
"Unwilling?!"
Her thoughts grew dim. Her tail grew long and thick, wriggling and squirming, lashing the floor like a whip. Her arms spasmed, her hair changing colours, flesh bubbling and boiling—
"I'll sHoW Yo U Un Wi Ll In GG!!!"
She swung her arm at Bea. It was a bulging pulsing mass, a hairy tendril of anger and hate, moving with the speed of a whip. She was struggling for control, but it was a losing battle. She was either a monster or a pathetic weakling, no in-betweens. She was radiating magical energy, laced with fear and self-loathing. To nearly anyone observing, it was unlike anything they'd ever seen, but any demons or sorcerers would know better.
Martin/Jezebel
The stone was cleaved in two, but it did its job. The waves slowed, powerful but not as deadly. Martin swung his fist forward, the sheer force of his punch scattering the waves apart.
"Tch..."
But two could play at that game. Jezebel dropped to the ground. She hurled a chunk of stone at Martin then flung herself forward, flapping her wings to give her a boost. She expected Martin to bust through the rock, but it'd leave him open to her next course of action.
Edited by kkhohoho on Jul 23rd 2023 at 5:04:30 AM
Your Lord And Savior
Kitson Dragonfly - IGNITION!
START!
The way to beat someone faster than you? Use their speed against them. Khulan expected a straightforward whirlwind, and indeed at this pace she’d beat it. This was it. The last resort. A roundhouse kick to the jaw, fueled by combustion. He wasn’t even thinking anymore, it was his nature to fall back on Inferniano. The demonsong they called it. Mastered mostly by the Oni. He hated it, but his body was so used to the feeling of flames. He didn’t consider the ramifications until sparks were already running down his leg. It felt like hot shivers, dancing. Stabbing. His nerves alight for a single bold moment as the firelight reflected in his eyes. They glinted red and narrowed.
He put he weight on bad leg for just a moment before the combustion occurred. It shook. He knew it wasn’t strong enough yet to handle this. He wasn’t. But it didn’t matter. It couldn’t matter. He had to win. But why?
BOOM
In an instant, his leg shot up like a speeding bullet. As he saw the fire, his eyes filled with fear. It was like a pit in his stomach, eating away at all the progress he had made. He almost wanted to cry. She was speeding towards him and now he was about kick her with the force of an explosion. Oh god, she could end up dead. He couldn’t let that happen, but it was too late to stop now. He was horrified, enveloped in fear and fire, he silently begged her to get out of the way before something happened that they’d both regret.
But I don’t think that’s quite her style.
I am become dubstep, destroyer of taste
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
Khulan - Boom - The Spider and The Dragonfly Pt. 10
Well, Kit was right about Khulan not being a get out of the way type. At least not now, in a ball, hurtling towards him at high speed. And then coming to a sudden, explosive stop where the energy of her rocket tackle met his rocket kick.
She was fireproof. She was not kaboom proof. She felt every pascal of that overpressure. And either Khulan or Kit got the first taste of hot smoke from the pulverized bit of arena their shockwave made. And the roar... her streaking through the air and his bomb kick would have each roared on their own. When they clashed...
Well, no one probably heard Khulan shriek on impact when that kick dug into her left arm and side, all but knocking the wind out of her even as the second impact from the overpressure came, and together they shaved off layers of suit and skin, leaving raw, red and very bleeding streaks on her arm and sides. That she was buttoned up in a Khulan ball for protection from a hurricane proved accidental protection for her head and guts.
If that had hit her in a flying pose... Little bits of bebilith all over the ring.
"!" Khulan did not think of that until after. After she'd made her very sore, very twisted, very raw arm along with the other one go for Kit's leg before they separated. That bomb kick prevented her from spewing web. She was too busy hacking. To her, hot smoke was as good as crisp mountain air. To her, she still needed her guts to have not been kicked in to take advantage of that. But that was later.
Now Khulan was grabbing at Dragonfly's good leg to keep them from separating in the kaboom, and to bring her own legs around it to trap him a leg bar before they hit the ground. Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our lives
Surrounded by weirdoes
Sam knew the fight was over, but could only sigh, freezing his more obvious wounds to at least keep himself from bleeding out.
"Well, bummer" He said, feeling more lightheaded. Damn, he got roughed up. At this point, he just wanted to lie down and end the day. Losing sucks, but between people in the same side, the best thing you can do is to take it to the chin and smile.
Wake me up at your own risk.
Fwomph
Bea :> Impact Warning
It really doesn't matter much what Bea was thinking in the time between her call for an adjudicator and what happened next. What matters mostly is that the next solid second of time was occupied by being sent flying from the punch and colliding against the far wall of the arena. It was frankly a little bit surprising that she wasn't at the very least knocked out from the impact, but there she was clearly heavily pained but slowly getting back on her feet.
"R-referee! Call the match, please! She's having a breakdown!"
The grip on her sheathed blade was unsteady, as was her stance in general. Obviously it wouldn't take much to take her out of the fight, or worse.
It's clearly a case of backroom political albumizing.
(They/them)
Fala — The Arena
Edgar's right hook struck true to its course as Fala took the full force of the blow, causing her to stumble a bit. After regaining her bearings, Fala couldn't help but make note of how well Edgar seemed to be adapting. This guy learns pretty darn quick. Maybe now's when I REALLY let loose.
With a flick of her arms, she extended the spikes along her arms into their active position. "So, whaddya think about givin' these guys a show? I'm ready to show what I'm really made of." And with that, Fala charged forwards towards him, armed braced in front of her.
If I die, tell Hex Haywire I loved him.
Martin
The young man watched the bit of stage fly at him, a wide grin coming over his face before launching himself up, using the rock as a platform to get above the giant demon. "Guess all that training paid off, blame Lucy for teaching me its better to go around then through!" and with that Martin used the distance above the demoness to launch an axe kick directly toward her, using the built up momentum to prepare a blow worthy of a name. Thankfully he had one in mind.
"Hero Drop!"
Liam
Seeing Lucy drop like that, Liam seemingly paused for a moment and the energy of Regalia visibly fell in toward him and vanished from sight. He hurried along toward Lucy to check and see if she was alright. He didn't even think twice about making sure his friend was okay, knowing that first and foremost the well being of his friend and ally came before winning some cup or tournament. He might well have gone too far in that.
"Lucy...?" He asked in a concerned tone as he approached.
The Monarch might have said that he should have made more of a show as he approached. But he was...more the optimist, a cautious optimist, but an optimist.
AKA Nixer
Lucy Livingston
-CRACK-
Something had struck the back of Liam's head. Hard. As quick as the lash of a whip, with about the same kind of feeling, right when his maximised defences had been lowered out of concern for the bleeding Lucy on the ground. Who was... melting. Into a puddle. The blood was turning black, and so was her skin as it seemingly liquefied. The Lucy on the ground was nothing more than a limp decoy made of ink.
She must've been switched out in that brief second of being obscured within the cloud of ink she'd formed during her last attack. Right before that sound of impact and cry of pain had been heard. The real Lucy must have used that spray as cover to slip away out of Liam's field of vision.
Regardless of if Lucy had managed to knock Liam out or not, she stepped out from behind him; makeshift camouflage shifting back to normal as she altered the pigmentation of her form. It hadn't been perfect, just enough to let her slip past the corner of his eye, and she was reliant on him considering that the Lucy in front of him had been real. He'd believed it, to her relief. That ink doll had been her last desperate ploy.
So she stood in full view now, accepting either outcome. Either her strike to the back of his head knocked him senseless, or he'd hold on and either he'd retaliate or let the match end. She had no intention of pulling something as risky as that again in this match. It was more to prove what she could do with misdirection against an opponent that outmatched her in every other regard.
She looked guilty, though. But also a little proud.
Edited by Enirboreh on Sep 12th 2023 at 10:28:37 AM
bork
"Well looks like we might have pineapple paradise pie for dessert tonight with how Edgar rattled her!" Wolfang chuckled...and then saw what happened across...
"Ooooh! FACED!" Wolfang howled with laughter as he watched the proceedings, particularly Liam's bout, ruminating in a low, quiet and dark tone, "And Richie Rich just learned a very important lesson about trusting particularly...unmarried...females..." He then turned to the side and whispered, "Keaton... I need that written down because I just gave myself a phenomenal idea for a new project. Remind me to call the Mochizuki up."
Isaac meanwhile had his eyes on the fight between Khulan and Kit. Promising...really promising. I think I just found a new investment opportunity.
Liam stumbled around for a moment, looking one step away from completely falling on his face from that impact. He moaned and groaned audibly, covering his eyes with his arm and planted his feet on the ground to try and keep himself standing up.
"Dammit..." he murmured, "Dammit...this is it..."
Edited by NickTheSwing on Sep 16th 2023 at 10:58:15 AM
Martin/Jezebel
Jezebel cursed under her breath. She'd gotten careless. She was so focused on kicking his ass she'd forgotten to be flexible. She held up her arms, protecting herself against his blow, but it wasn't enough. It pushed her back and broke her guard, leaving her staggered and open. She wouldn't go down so easily, but this was the best chance Martin would ever get.
Bea/Sue
"Y Ou'rE The oNe wHO's goNNa geT B Roo Ke N Do Wn!!"
Sue soared towards the ceiling, long fuzzy feet running on air. She leapt off, turning herself into a boulder, crashing down like a cannonball. She stopped short of squashing Bea like a bug, but the shockwave would send her reeling.
As the battle raged on, the referee took notice. He blew his whistle, bringing the match to a close. Half the crowd was begging for more, but the rest were glad they wouldn't see any carnage. The victor had yet to be determined, but the walls came down, opening their part of the arena to the public.
But it wasn't over for Sue. She didn't hear the whistle, didn't see the barriers begin to lower. She was swimming in rage and fear, acting on impulse and instinct, her true potential breaking loose. She went for the kill, hand morphing into an enormous hammer, bringing it down with unhinged ferocity.
"S Ho Ww UW Ho OSB Rrrro OO Kkeen NN...!!!"
But her berserker rampage didn't go unnoticed. Interceptor sat up, readying his tools, racing for the arena. The goal was to show what the students could do, but this was getting out of control. He needed to save Bea, but she wasn't the only one who needed saving.
Your Lord And Savior
Kitson Dragonfly - Giving Up.
It was over, Kit decided. He couldn’t let it go any longer. Not when he couldn’t control himself. Not when he saw the pin in her eyes when he hit her. It made him feel like a monster. He blinked and there he was, standing in the blood-soled floors of House Dragonfly once again. He looked down and their crying faces looked up. They all hated him. They all feared him.
No. That wasn’t what he was. It wasn’t what he wanted to be. He wasn’t a warrior. Maybe he wasn’t a hero. Before he could be anything, though, he had to be a human. He had to know when to quit. And so, as he felt his leg being twisted in a direction it was never really meant to go, he decided it was over. He hit the ground, wind knocked thoroughly out of him, and then tapped the ground beside him three times. Looking up to the sky, he considered himself.
Maybe this could be the beginning of something different. Or maybe it was just decency. Whatever it was, it was the first thing in a long time that didn’t feel like shit to Kitson. And that was enough for now.
I am become dubstep, destroyer of taste
Martin/Jezebel
The two juggernauts clashed, sharp spinning nails digging into a soft fist. The demoness pulled away, but they'd both left their mark. Martin's knuckles were bleeding, but Jezebel's claws were starting to break. She pulled back, wincing in pain. She snarled, folding her arms and whipping them out. Sleek crimson waves shot from her claws, razor-thin, rending the air itself. They lit up the field, blowing past the grass, splitting stray insects in half. Martin could take it, but he'd be lucky if he didn't need stitches.
Sue/Bea
The second clone went poof. The first readied another blow, but she stopped. Sue stopped. She couldn't move an inch. A month ago, she wouldn't know the answer. But she was starting to think. Losing her arm, losing her control, losing her sanity. If it wasn't for Kit, it'd be harder to sort it out. But she knew what was stopping her.
"I...
She'd already shown her true self. Back at the racetracks. Snarling, fangs bared, ready to kill. That was who she was, wasn't it? Who she was meant to be. Was that what swordlady wanted?
"I...
She'd killed before. More than once. She'd done it again and again. Whether it was to live or to hunt. It was never killing for killing's sake. Either it was to eat or to live. Or to save another. She'd never given it much thought. So how was now any different?
"I can't..."
She was barely keeping it together. Her breathing quickened, legs stiffening, fur bristling. More than bristling. There was a shimmering gleam, a soft wave rippling down. It was barely noticeable, but she couldn't bring herself to care either way.