Edged Horizon IC

[Voltin]

There had been no pain. There had been no feeling in her when the expected time of impact came. Why was that? Was it because this was what death truly was like, or was she deluding herself, and still standing and waiting for the impact of her friend's body? Riley didn't know, but soon opened her eyes, deciding it best to face what was to come to its face. What she saw wasn't what she wanted to find either.

"Fion..." Riley was certainly dazed, and grateful for what he had for her, but the position that they found themselves in... was enough to make her face go scarlet for a reason that seemed beyond him. "W-would you please get off me? Your, um, knee in inappropriately placed..." He was on top of her, and while she didn't find the position necessarily unpleasant, saying such aloud would be something that she would never admit. Fion moved off wearily and then helped her up as well, despite the effort that it seemed to take. He's weak from over extension of his mana, she thought, dusting herself off after getting on her feet.

"Second time in five minutes I've saved your ass."

"Maybe I should learn to wield a different weapon, like a rapi-" An obvious joke, one interrupted without a thought from Fion.

"And what a nice ass it is too..."

He was delirious from his lack of mana too it now seemed, a feeling that she was all too familiar with. This knowledge of course had no effect in stopping Riley from flushing into an even darker shade of red, and blurting out what she was going to say. "Right. Got it. Keep doing those workouts Riley and you'll keep receiving compliments like that from everybody! Yep..." Was she really doing this? Blabbering on and getting flustered on a battlefield where such relaxed gestures could get her easily killed and with two major threats on her life only feet away? They were both near powerless, and with the horrible possibility that Araki had died from the velocity at which he impacted the ground... they were completely vulnerable too. That fact was enough to sober Riley out of her blunder.

"Fion, we have to ge-" Riley stopped herself, feeling the intense presence of Aiv's murderous intent. She turned as quickly as she could, drawing her weapon in inane attempt to defend herself and Fion. The act was for naught, as before the slab could reach them, it had been intercepted and pushed back by a creature she hadn't seen before, yet also felt familiar. It was... Araki? There was no time to think about that, there was a chance that they could help, and repel this beast of a man. However, watching the resulting combat between the him and the now deformed crystala, whatever little she could do was more likely to draw unwanted attention to them and disadvantage Araki.

Her attention was diverted once more, the sounds of a fight above being quite the grabber of such things. The maw, it still hung over them, its progress being halted by the God of War that still clung to its own illusion of grand terror. It was probably best if they could sever its connection to this plane of existence all together. And the best way to do that was to rid themselves of the hypotenuse, the thing calling it into the world, its summoner. "Fion, are you, uh, sane again? I need you to do something..."

[xGabrielx]

"Move move move!" Rilolia shouted as she slapped against the metal pauldrons of Dead Gear as if to say "giddy up". The God of War stepped back a few paces, barely missing the gigantic bones falling from the monster above, their expansive surface encompassing Rilolia's entire vision. Their impact rattled Dead Gear's footing slightly, but as he had already possessed enough weight beforehand to seep a few feet into the ground, his position wasn't moved any significant amount. Nevertheless, the ensuing debris forced him to shield Rilolia by snapping shut the maws over his upper arms until the hail subsided. So to was Vance protected by Dead Gear, though as he was still unfamiliar with the man, could not make the assumption that he was in the same place as Rilolia, nor knowledgeable of his abilities. So instead, Dead Gear simply raised his free hand and brought it before Vance to cover him.

Vance was suprised by the attack himself, though more so by the God of War moving his hand to project him from the incoming debris. Deciding that now was the time to attack Vance looked over to Rilolia and called over. "We need to hurt that thing but attacking it directly seems to be a poor choice given how big it is.... How good is Dead Gear's throwing arm?" The priest pointed hios thumb towards the large shards of bone around that had just rained down. Logic followed that whatever fired it would have to have been strong enough to attack others of its race, just like all beasts, demons and the like. "I will protect you as you wind up. Don;t worry, I can take some punishment."

"Hm, it could work," Rilolia considered, instantly recognizing Vance's intentions, "Sure, let's give it a try!" Rilolia stood herself up as the shoulder-maw fully opened and telepathically conveyed her orders to Dead Gear within a split second. Grabbing onto a outcropping of metal, she rooted herself as Dead Gear dissipated his massive sword and slammed his feet into the earth, uprooting a shower of volcanic rock and a few corpses. Rilolia clasped her hands together and closed her eyes, a wave of silence overcomig her senses as she channeled focus into casting what would likely be the most potent spell she'd seen in years.

As her eyes opened, a flash of blue gleamed and linked her sight to the countless dead souls hovering about the battlefield. With the clench of her hand, they funneled inwards towards her position, spinning and merging together into a helpless and despairing mass of spiritual energy. With a rip and screech of metal, the mouth of Dead Gear's chest cracked open, revealing an abyssal black hole in its center. Like a hellish vacuum, the vortex siphoned in the collection of souls Rilolia had gathered and instantly slammed shut.

From the many crevices and seams upon the giant machine's body, a cacaphony of screams seeped forth as if the souls it had consumed were attempting to seep through and escape. A sickeningly green glow burst from the many gemstones layering its body, and with a might roar, Dead Gear struck into one of the dislodged teeth impaling the earth and heaved it upwards for the monster above.

Nodding to Rilolia, Vance started his own task so he had little time to be both disturbed by the God of War swallowing up the souls around the battlefield. Looking above he saw three falling teeth heading towards Dead Gear. Pushing up his glasses Vance smirked lightly before suddenly jumping off Dead Gear with intense force, sending him up towards the teeth.

As he made it to one tooth he planted his legs on the side before leaping to another, pushing the one he jumped off from away from Dead Gear, only to do the same with the next tooth as well. Though he didn't wish to go any higher due to the HUGE demon above so Vance redied himself and grabed onto his sword with one hand. One mightly slice later and Vance had split the tooth, only to kick them apart and fall back down to earth; both shards of tooth would land next to Dead Gear to use as ammo for attacking the demon.

[Psyker Landshark]

As a seemingly changed Araki began going toe-to-toe with Aiv, Fion stood and watched for a moment before realizing where he was. There was a monstrously powerful swordsman, a monstrously powerful witch, and a monstrously powerful demon being summoned by the witch, all with a relatively high chance of killing him in a gruesome and painful manner. That was already a very large incentive to run like hell. Plus he'd already completed the assignment that the lady Seyour had sent him out to do. Fion's mother had said nothing about sticking around for any shitstorms that might occur, and now that the barrier was down, there really wasn't anything keeping him from leaving. Araki seemed to have the situation with Aiv well in hand, so that negated any chance of the swordsman interfering with his escape. And Riley's mother was noticeably out of sight, probably still summoning the demon.

"Yeah...no." Fion sucked his teeth, looking over the battlefield. "Dying seems bad. I don't feel like dying." He muttered, still rather delirious from mana depletion.

"Fion, are you, uh, sane again? I need you to do something..." Riley spoke up beside him. Despite arguably being drunk off of exhaustion, Fion still recognized patterns. Whatever Riley suggested in the next five seconds would be fucking stupid. Mainly because she wasn't calling him a jackass. No, she wanted him to do something that would probably get them killed.

"Shut up. Better idea." Fion raised a hand to interrupt Riley, his other still clutching his sword. "We're bugging out. I've done my scouting, you've got your money. There's really no reason for us to stay and die. I mean, me dying would suck. It'd probably make my family happy. You dying would be almost as bad. You're like, the only real friend I've had in years."

Let it be said for the record that mana deprivation loosened Fion's tongue far more than alcohol ever did.

[ERode]

As they gauged each other, the scenery around them faded to black. Yes, both were aware of fact that they were in a battlefield, in which, at any moment, a third party could ruin their concentration, but neither Cygna nor Esace dared divert any focus away from the standoff. Logistically speaking, Esace had the upper hand, unencumbered by any summoning or outside worries, while the witch was having her mana drained away by a summoning. Yet the witch had more unknowns. He had already seen her regeneration capabilities and her flight, as well as her control over living beings. Though both stood in a way that could be considered casual, neither of them were relaxed. For a moment, the two of them stood still, before, finally, Cygna asked, in a monotonous, apathetic tone, “You’re not religious, nor stupid. Why are you here?”

Esace arched his eyebrows, amused by her bluntness, and then replied, beginning the verbal exchange in which each side tried to side-track the other. “I’m Riley’s son. Should there be any other reason?”

“That’s funny,” she replied, no laughter in her tone, “Are you another battle maniac like that barbarian? Another hired hand like that she-male? Please, entertain me with your life story.”

“I would refrain from that, thank you very much. Though I will confess, I am here, at least partly because of a female.”

“Oh? Is it a lover? A mother? A friend? Tell me more, so I know who to kill to make you go away.”

“Wouldn’t you be afraid that my motive will simply turn into revenge, and further strengthen my resolve for participating in this bloodbath?”

“Angry fools are more easily dealt with than smiling ones. I’d tell you to be mad, but, alas, I’m too preoccupied to give out further commands.”

“Is that so?”

“No. That was a lie.”

“And would it be a lie to say that Riley’s dead now?”

That was fast. Cygna was almost amused by how quickly the greenhorn tried to throw a curveball, before a pattern of conversation could be set.

“Alas, your mind was probably too strong to be swayed by that. Shame too. Angry fools are more easily dealt with than smiling ones.”

“Ind-”

“But you really are a terrible mother, aren’t you? Leaving your daughter alone in a battlefield with a battle maniac that quite easily countered the onslaught of someone like Mariwen.”

Esace allowed himself a smile at his wild guess.

“In conclusion, it’s not a far-fetched idea that Riley is simply meat paste for the vampires now, right?”

Cygna’s eyes flickered, for just an instant, away from Esace.

And two words sounded.

“One Fang.”
~
The Hell Drop rumbled, disturbed for an instant. Not by the minor wound inflicted upon its teeth, nor by the fact that its attacks were unsuccessful in dealing with the only existences currently combating it. It wasn’t even that there was a far greater beast down below, incubating in the grossest of manners.

It was because…
~
The first disabling strike.

Time stopped, and, with ghost-like grace, Esace drew his sword and cut down once. There was no resistance offered by the witch’s body as the talentium glided through meat and bone, slicing through the right arm and leg so cleanly that there was no spray of blood. The limbs simply fell off, before the red liquid that symbolized life force started to gush out.

The second killing strike.

Bouncing his sword upwards as soon as it passed through Cygna’s body, he lifted it above his head and swung downwards again, a blur of afterimages following its descent. Once there was an opportunity, he was going to take the most out of it, regardless.

But then, the core of his body shook, and he stopped.

Despite falling onto her remaining knee, despite having two injuries that were slowly bleeding out, Cygna had still managed to activate her strongest binding spell. She grimaced as Esace strained against the invisible chains, her mana pool even further. The witch was bleeding out, yet her ability to multitask was already at its limit, preventing a swordsman from finishing his Sword Skill. How long did she have left? Fifteen seconds? Twenty seconds?

“So, I guess you lose.” Despite the tension, there was a clear confidence in his tone. “Or will your pride as a parent carry you on?”

“A parent?” She laughed mirthlessly, her white criss cross scars turning into an odd shade of red. “I’d have more pride as a cockroach.”

“Eh, it doesn’t matter anyways. Your witches are losing, and your trump-card of a summon won’t be manifested. Such a shame too. I was looking forward to seeing the demon of Muspelheim.”

“Manifested?” Ah, it seemed like pain and blood loss really did make her stupid. “I wonder, my dear swordsman. Why is my summon called Hell Drop?”

Her smiled widened, before she cut off her mana supply to the massive beast from above. As a terrible rip could be heard, Cygna finished with her own two words.

“It drops.”
~
Like a guillotine, the magic circle closed, just as the Hell Drop’s head was manifested. For a moment, it appeared as if it was going to rain down another nightmarish attack from above. But instead, it simply died. Its head severed from the body that was on the other ‘side’ of the portal, the object dropped, hurtling downwards, the air around it creating a soulless roar.

After so much abuse, the cratered ground wouldn’t last this gigantic impact.
~
Aiv was having the time of his life. Though the caliber of this apparently immortal, ever-evolving monster was still below his own, the regenerative capabilities of Araki helped to extend the battle. His black slab was actually wearing down, and with each violent clash, more and more fractures appeared on it. Was it going break? Would he risk fighting the crystallized being barehanded? His injuries were piling up slowly, each single hit insignificant, but becoming increasingly worrisome over time. Should he finish it? Should he get greedy and take on that cute Captain right after? So many options! Perhaps today, he could actually die!

And, just as Hell Dropped, the metal slab shattered, black shards flashing everywhere.

Amongst the scraps, a single piece of red.
~
Sarier was happy that he found his sword. He wasn’t as happy when the blond knight realized that the hilt had been stepped on by a dragon and was now sporting the strangest of dents. But as the lines of the immortal summons thinned, and as witches retreated or were forcibly ‘retired’, they were finally at a point where their captain could properly invoke a spell powerful enough to end the fight. How long has it been since he’d witness the Amethyst Arisen? One year? Two year? No, such a Sword Art need not to be used, so…he shook those thoughts from his mind. The past didn’t matter now. In just one more minute, there would be a fireworks show for all to see, and then, the end of this battle.
But then, the roaring could be heard, and looking above, Sarier sighed. That gigantic beast really couldn’t wait its turn, could it?

It seemed the battle would go on for a while longer.
~
The gigantic impact was met with a gigantic force. Twelve seconds before impact, a rose-shaped magic circle expanded from on top the igneous surface. In the center, waves of animosity could felt as the lone figure, a mere speck of rusty red hair in the enormity of the magical construct, lifted one hand up, pointing her rapier towards the corpse of Hell.

Eleven seconds before impact, the magical circle gained dimension, lifting upwards from the crater like paper. It folded onto itself, an elaborate three-dimensional rune created from what was once just a simple rose.

Ten seconds before impact, the Rose Rune dissolved, as a dozen purple lances came into existence, creating a circle around the dissipating symbol. Twenty meters long, they crackled with electrical energy, distorting the very air around them.

Nine seconds before impact, Mariwen said the first line of invocation.

“The Time is Now, Paladin of Long Past.”

Eight seconds before impact, the Captain said the second line of invocation.

“The Corrupt shall be smote, and the Light will Cleanse once more.”

Seven seconds before impact, she said the last line of invocation.

“Arise from your Chains, a Dozen Lances of Amethyst.”

With a roar matching that roar, the spears sparked off, coiling into one pillar of energy as it shot outwards, keen on eradicating the meteor of flesh.

Barely audible amongst the roars was one female voice, calling out the name of one swordsman.
~
No, he won’t die yet. Not when his debt wasn’t repaid. Not when there were still so many more stars to reach. Not when his contract wasn’t up.

He snatched that glimmer of red amongst the black shards, grinning at the warm, familiar sensation that wrapped around him. As if he was invincible.

“I’ll be depending on you again, huh?!”

With one exhilarating, lung-emptying shout, he broke off his engagement with Araki and jumped, easily rising thirty meters in the air. But it wasn’t enough.

“TIMES TEN!”

An odd crack could be heard, and suddenly, the red shard expanded to ten times its length, becoming a hiltless, blood red longsword. Aided by that new platform, he bounced off again, covering another sixty meters as his body burned at the exertion. Yet it still wasn’t enough.

“TIMES TEN!”

A crack akin to the breaking of the earth could be heard, and the longsword could no longer be a sword. It was the weapon of giant, no, it was the weapon of a God of War. With this, he could begin to scrape at the stars, but it still wasn’t enough.

So he smiled, and, soaring 90 meters over the battle from above, moments away from being sandwiched by the Amethyst Arisen and the Hell Drop, shouted out once more, as he lifted the gargantuan blade above his head.

“TIMES TEN!”

Now, it was a weapon that was only used by one person.

Aiv, the Strongest Man of Talze Utera.

A hundred meters in the air, three forces collided.
~
Esace sighed, as his sword sliced through nothingness. Was this karma, for deceiving mother and daughter equally? Sheathing his sword, he looked around. The crater was breaking, after a third of the corpse survived the blast of lightning and plummeted into the mountain. Most of the surviving knights and witches had escaped by now, leaving only a few key players remaining. Mariwen. That swordsman who used Red Talentium. Araki. Vance. The God of War. And egg-bearing Witch. Only a few left. It would end soon.

With a few small jumps over the sinking islands of rock and bubbling magma, Esace decided that Wynnara would hate his guts for his actions in the past few days, before looking for a vantage point once more.

There was still more action left, but now, it was out of his hands.
~
On the last remaining piece of semi-solid ground, protected by the barrier that had done more than its purpose, Annette was filled with mixed emotions. She felt bad for being greedy. She felt sad for having so many witches sacrificed. She felt happy that the arcane symbols finally seemed completed. She felt exhilarated the egg was hatching. Yet she also felt regret that she was putting Aiv through this. A God of War, two knights, and an odd crystallized werewolf. It was…a lot, even for him.

“Don’t worry, Anne,” he said, seemingly out-of-the-blue, “This is going to be massively fun, after all.”

“Then don’t die of laughter, idiot.” She smiled, despite the struggle in front of them.

“No guarantees.” He twirled the red shard like a pencil in his hand, covered in burns and cuts that he could no longer feel.

“No buts.” The last witch could feel the life growing from within the egg, the magical lifeform that was soon to come.

“Heh, fine.” The last guard clenched his teeth, and locked eyes with the only major threat amongst those still in this sinking arena.

“Are you going to ask for a bonus after this?” The resident of Musphelheim would be born soon, and then, she could make preparations for an escape.

“No, just consider my debt cleared.” His energy would run out soon, but as long as Annette finished her performance, it was fine.

The God of War was a non-issue in this unstable terrain. The crystallized beast was a monster, so likely would retreat. That left two knights, and only one of them was significant. Aiv smiled, and took in a deep breath. This will be the final piece of entertainment for the day.

“WELL THEN, MARIWEN,” he roared, “COME AT ME!”

[Zombehs]

“God damn it,” Araki hissed as he picked himself up off the ash covered ground. His body had been covered with enough wounds to make up for the many he’d lost. In the span of a few minutes, his clashes with the swordsman had resulted in hundreds if not thousands of blows, yet in the end it was like chipping away at a mountain with a pickaxe. Enough hits would show some results, but the mountain could still crush him at any time. The swordsman looked a bit winded, but still ready to fight. The same could hardly be said for the former Crystala, he understood that much.

His magic repaired his body as best as it could, but his reserves of strength both magical and physical were almost dry. He might be able to hold out for another clash, maybe two if he was careful, but he wouldn’t last. Araki managed to smirk in self-depreciation, as he clenched his fists. Brought back from the dead, only to die, he thought bitterly. Well not only to die I guess, he reminded himself as he had noted that Fion and Riley had managed to escape the crater a while back. He tried to step forward, but a monstrous roar filled the air and caught his attention.

Odd, Araki thought to himself as he turned his back to the swordsman and scrambled from the crater. His opponent wasn’t one that would have simply let Araki look about, yet he was given a breather. It made sense their attention had been focused elsewhere, and as Araki looked upward once more… well it was quite the distraction. The monster’s head had been cut off, but that alone was still massive, easily enough to blanket the entire crater. No longer bound, it fell and well when something that large fell, people tended to notice. So here Araki was, scrambling if not very dignified looking, towards the crater’s edge. Adrenaline pumped and forced his body to hoof it, despite his disagreement with such actions. He would have time to lie down and simply sleep later, and it would preferably not be when a hill sized piece of flesh was falling atop him.

As he ran he was sure to absorb every detail of the massive clash that occurred over the volcano’s crater. A rising pillar of energy crashed against the falling flesh while the massive crimson colored blade clashed against both. Araki winced at the shockwaves that rippled out from the collision of forces and ash filled the air as it was thrown about. His feet sunk into the ground as he struggled to keep his footing amidst crumbling earth and was covered in a layer of soot and ash for his efforts. As he opened his eyes, the crater had been completely changed. Lava boiled up from beneath the cracked ground and what was left in the wake of the clash were islands of rock amidst a sea of magma. The sight of the strength held by two of the strongest here was enough for Araki to simply slump to his knees. Still weak, he thought bitterly as he saw the swordsman with his red blade across the burning sea.

He might have tried to crawl away or simply let gravity take hold and pull him down the mountain slope, but he felt that despite the feats that had been shown the end was not yet here. There was another clash, one that would be monumental and one that he would linger around, at the edges, to see.

[xGabrielx]

Vance landed on the ground in front of Dead Gear, though as he did so he spotted something happening through the battle before them; a opening. Looking up to the pilot of the god of war above him, Vance shouted up "My lady, will you be able to handle yourself? I have something to take care of" He could see Mariwen giving him the signal towards the egg in the center, it was his chance to take now and he couldn't waste it so he had to move without a answer from Rilolia. The chains rattled only once before Vance was speeding across the battlefield, using his fists and legs to beat away and push off larger enemies that got in his way. Reaching up with his right hand he gripped God Slayer tightly, his other hand pushing up his glasses just as he leaped into the air, coming down towards the egg! "Celestial cleaver!" The powerful attack was followed up by the chains on his body tightening, forcing the blade down even more towards the egg.

[Voltin]

"Shut up. Better idea."

The first words to come out of his mouth were a command, and where it seemed there were to be little to no "buts" to be had on her part. The witch scowled, what kind of arrogance did her possess to think his ideas were better than hers? There was little that they could do with such low reserves of mana, and defeating her mother was Riley's top priority at the moment, so a plan that Fion of all people thought up on the spot wasn't going to accomplish much of what she needed to do.

"We're bugging out. I've done my scouting, you've got your money. There's really no reason for us to stay and die. I mean, me dying would suck. It'd probably make my family happy. You dying would be almost as bad. You're like, the only real friend I've had in years."

Her mouth fell ajar out of surprise. He was suggesting they just run!? When the person who had been the progenitor and menace of her very life was standing only a few questionable yards away? No, she wouldn't have it; she was going to find a way to finish her off so that she was no longer her problem, or anyone else's for that matter, and she wasn't going to let someone ruin that chance for her, no matter their intentions.

"...I can't believe you. Running, the great Fion's plan is to run from the battlefield! I don't understand how you can just decide to abandon another person like that, or what, did you forget that Araki is fighting that monster of a man by himself? Or that he's also going to have to contend with that demon above us? So go ahead, do what you please, just know that I-I will be staying back to help my friend." She was lying through her teeth, and she knew it. She was lying under the pretense of helping someone, when in reality, she was doing it to make sure someone was murdered -- an option she was having a hard time even considering until seeing her mother's face again. Riley knew she was going to do something she was going to regret, something that was potentially going to get her killed, considering the circumstances, and she didn't even care. She didn't care that it was going to hurt her uncle, that girl she spent her night out with back in town... or even Fion.

She turned her back on him, haughtily at that, and began to walk off in the opposite direction, even if that wasn't where her target was. She was stopped by the firm grasp of another's hand on her wrist. It was Fion, and he had proceeded to hull her to the edge of the volcano. "...Let go." Her voice was quiet, somber even, before raising it when she didn't get the response she wanted. "I said 'Let go,' damn it!" She began struggling, pulling back like her arm was a length of rope, and even began to kick at the backs of his knees in the hope that this would trip him up. It was to little avail, and after a few seconds of her torture, just picked her up and lugged her on his shoulder. She started kicking, and pounding on his back with her fists like some child throwing a tantrum.

"Stop it! I-I need down! I need to help Araki. To kill my mo-" She had caught herself in what she had considered a lie. She realized she was trying to delude him, make him think that if she were to die, it was in some valiant gesture, and that she was the stupid asshole willing to risk herself like that. But no, it wasn't true, and never would be; her motives were dirty, and morbid. Riley stopped resisting, and simply began to sob into the back of Fion's shirt. She was coming to terms with the fact that... what she wanted to do, was something no better than the rest of the witches would want to pull in her situation. And she resented this part of her, deeply.

[Psyker Landshark]

"...I can't believe you. Running, the great Fion's plan is to run from the battlefield! I don't understand how you can just decide to abandon another person like that, or what, did you forget that Araki is fighting that monster of a man by himself? Or that he's also going to have to contend with that demon above us? So go ahead, do what you please, just know that I-I will be staying back to help my friend." Riley hissed at Fion, who would have bought the lie had he not seen Araki turning and running like hell from the swordsman.

Under ordinary circumstances, Fion would have just raised an eyebrow and let Riley go off to do whatever monumentally stupid thing she was planning, but this was just a tad more serious, considering they were both at high risk of dying. So as Riley turned around, Fion immediately started to drag her away from the battlefield. As she struggled more, Fion eventually shrugged and hefted the witch over his shoulder, carrying her like a sack of potatoes. Even as Riley struggled to break loose, Fion held on tight, not letting her go despite feeling like a bit of a kidnapper.


"Stop it! I-I need down! I need to help Araki. To kill my mo-" Riley began to protest, before cutting herself off as she spouted out the truth by mistake. Fion suddenly felt like the child who walked in on his parents tying each other up and whipping each other. Mainly because Riley probably felt embarrassed as hell at the moment.

And as Riley began sobbing into the back of his cloak, Fion stopped, unsure of what to do. Awkwardly, he reached up and set Riley down on the ground before awkwardly embracing her in a hug, patting her on the back in an awkward manner. It was very awkward.

"Look, Riley..." He began, not sure whether he was just making it worse. "It's okay. If it helps, I'm not judging you at all for that. Blood doesn't mean all that much. The only people that matter are the ones that treat you like you're worth something." Releasing Riley from the embrace, Fion laid a hand on her shoulder, cracking a weak smirk. "We can come back and kill that bitch some other time. Like when we're not mana depleted and about to die. So let's get the hell out of here before we actually do die. Because that'd be bad."

[Asuras]

Rilolia wished she could claim responsibility for severing the demon's massive head, but given it was caused by the closing of the portal -an aspect of magic she knew nothing about- she had to face the fact that she was essentially beating what was to be a dead horse.

A waste of time, so to speak.

Rilolia looked on with a grimace at the careening maw even as it was caught by a web of magic. The more she participated in this drawn out battle, the more it seemed every force in Talze Utera had conspired to match her strength with something eve more formidable. She wouldn't be surprised if every successive encounter she had from then on out would see her so-called God of War subjected to the superiority of some bigger, badder beast. Even worse, it could be someone her own size capable of doing the same, like Aiv before her.

Rendering her abilities a waste, effectively.

As much as she felt a slight sense of responsibility to those still clashing below, she knew her only effective ranged attack wasn't the most focused or manageable of abilities. Dead Gear's greatsword projections were chaotic and wayward. Even its wielder could not fully direct it to target specific individuals, or strike a fine point. They would undulate, intertwine, and spiral about, generally piercing the intended area. It was good for disrupting large groups, not for killing a target individual. Without it, Dead Gear was once more rendered less-than-useful standing outside the already heavily-maimed caldera, certainly unwilling to submerge itself in a pool of magma. At best now, she could serve merely as a walking barrier to any lingering opponents attempting to escape with their lives.

Rilolia gave a light smile to Vance as he prepared to leave onto his own two feet, shrugging with uncertainty.

"I'll be fine. Make sure you stay safe, Vance," she replied back, leaning back into Dead Gear's neck armor.