---

Seemingly in tandem with Belial, Isshum ran behind the boy. If he had wanted he could had overtaken him but Belial’s plan was still a mystery, so he wanted to see it in action first. Once the kid burst through the doors and declared his action towards Matt. Isshum signature—toothy and challenging—grin fell upon his face.

I must be rubbing off on him! Wait! Aye I was gonna attack him first! He thought angrily.

He watched with a bit of amusement as Matt effortless slammed the kid’s head to the ground. It was unfortunate for him that Isshum instinctively followed the attack. Like a shadow, he trailed behind Belial unseen, perfectly matching his movements so that he was practically invisible. It wasn’t until Matt had manhandled the kid has Isshum showed up.

“Fire Dragon’s Nightfall Bang!” shouted the youth as he came down onto Matt with his hands locked and fire barreling around them. Upon impact, the explosive would stretched zig-zagging branches of flames around the guild hall, singeing and warming those nearby. With a grin, Isshum expelled another burst of flames from his fist and backed up towards the door.

“Don’t try and get up after that one, Matt.” the white-haired man laughed heartily as he rubbed the back of his head, pride leaking into the air. “I don't think your old bones can handle it. I mean how old are ya, half-past dead.”

@Renny

Matisuki Kiryuin

Of course, if Belial attacked first, surely someone else would follow closely behind right? And just after he crashed the boy's head into the floorboard was when he sensed the dragon slayer Isshum come up right behind him, mimicking the former's move set! As he comes down onto Matt, the latter uses his lizard arm as he blocks the Dragon Slayer's attack, causing quite an explosion in the process. Even after Isshum tried to expel another fiery fist was it also blocked. As the man backs up to the door, greeting him heartly yet reeking with Pride, Matt would stand up, seemingly loom over the feisty white-head.

"Still old enough to kick ass." Matt answers back, "Your's if given the chance.

He pauses slightly before continuing.

"But I gotta admit, that was a sly move ya did there. Could've caught me off guard if it was just a bit faster."

He looks down at Belial who should still be lying on the floor.

"Heh, sorry about your friend. It was animalistic instincts ya know?"

Once the advance team walked into the cave, they'd find themselves going down a long corridor. It went on for some time, so much so that Aiden had a guardian created to go back and retrieve the reserve team so they could still remain an effective distance behind him and Taka. Once the two made it deep enough, the corridor opened up to reveal a large cavern. The two mages were up high above what ceemed like a ceremonial gathering of Ogres, Trolls, and other hideous beasts. At the head of this nightmarish mob was an altar made from the bones of several different kinds of animals with the symbol of a tusked face looking down upon those in the stands with rage in it's eyes.

Behind said altar, trappedin a primitive cage was what appeared to be the family from the request, as well as several other people. However, before either mage could react to the scene in anyway, two trolls that had been hiding in the rocks launched an attack on them. They wielded blades similar to what Bris had picked up, except blood red tendrils were coming from the handle into the Ogre's arm.

Aiden would bring up his Naginata with re-quio mqgic to block the surprise qttack, only to be pushed back by a red shockwave that nearly took him off the edge. Struggling to regain balance for a bit, he finally stabilized himself ob solid ground before leaping back into the fray, lashing out at the ogre who was much more skilled and agile than any ogre had a right to be.

It must have something to do with those weird swords, maybe they increase the user's abilities or something. Either way, something's going on and we've got to end it fast.

Deciding to stop playing games, Aiden gathered up magical energy into his Naginata, befire swinging it hard at his foe with a mighty shout.

"Ice Dragon's Rending Claw!"

The concentrated slash of cold magic would instsntly incapacitate the ogre, who had no way of blocking the magic. He turned around to Taka, hoping she'd taken care of her enemy as well as he did.

@Lmpkio

@Eklispe

@WaddleDaisy

"Corpse... collector?" Hana mumbled to herself, confused about the entire concept. Why would someone need to collect corpses? Was there a value in that? Did you go to school to learn how to do collect corpses? While Hana definitely was hung up on that detail fairly early into Ira's story she still paid attention to him. His story wasn't exactly tragic but it was certainly morbid. Hana was no stranger to death but Ira's apparent comfort with it was almost uncomfortable. It was easy for her to wrap her head around his Heavenly Body magic, being that another in the guild already had that. It was a strong magic, no doubt. It probably helped in allowing Revan and Matt to sense him.

"A cure for death?" Hana pondered, bringing her finger to her lips as she thought about the idea. "Hmmm... I don't get it." She gave up fairly quickly, not caring to bother trying to understand how one would even 'cure' death. She moved her hand to prop her head up by the chin, resting her elbow on the bar while keeping her eyes on Ira. "My story isn't very entertaining," Hana said, bringing her other hand up to inspect her fingernails as she talked. It seemed almost as if she was bored, but that was her regular mannerisms. The woman wasn't bored in the slightest. "But... because not many people ask I am willing to tell you anyways..."

"I was born in a small town in the north of Seven. I come from a distinguished military family, all my forefathers had been esteemed and legendary masters of both magic and sword." Her expression began to change, doing away with her bored look and taking a proud and honorable appearance. "I was the first girl to be born to the family line in hundreds of years, which caused problems but ultimately I was proven to be worthy of my family's name. I was powerful from a young age, completing my family's Rite of Passage at the age of eleven, which consisted of defeating my father in combat. I was rewarded with my first legendary blade and a new duty. So I traveled across the continent searching for other samurai to challenge in battle. That's how I earned my name as The Last Samurai, because I was seeking glory over all the others."

At this point Hana jumped up, now standing on the bar stool she was previously sitting on. Placing her other foot on the bar, Hana struck a heroic and grand pose while pretending to hold an imaginary sword. "It was during my travel to Fiore that I found several warriors capable of challenging me. I joined the guild Lamia Scale when I was sixteen, to socialize and keep some kind of home as I continued my quest. It was during my time in Lamia that I encountered my biggest challenge yet." Hana dropped back down from her pose, landing surprisingly softly on the stool to begin sitting again. As she sat back down she made a slashing motion with the imaginary sword. "I was locked in an epic battle to the death with one of Fiore's Wizard Saints! But I lost." All her enthusiasm suddenly vanished and she no longer pretended to hold a sword. "He was a nice guy and spared me. Turns out I was his greatest challenge too and all. Oh, and he wasn't a Saint yet when I met him. But he became a Saint later. He's been a great friend over the years, we even fell in love. Anyways, back to the story, I took my humbling defeat and began honing my skills to surpass the Wizard Saints. When the war broke out I was confused as to what we were fighting for, but I made sure to bring glory to my guild no matter what."

"Once it was all said and done I had nowhere else to go, what with all the guilds being disbanded and even the Magic Council being reorganized. When a new guild was formed, this one, I felt like I had no other choice than to join. If not for my sake then for the sake of Lamia Scale's honor. And now, years later, here I am." Hana made a wide motion with her arms, to make sure that Ira knew she was in fact here. "There isn't much for me to do these days other than train. The younger and more energetic mages go for all the jobs, leaving me with little to do. I try tagging along, but they always say that I'm overkill or something. So most my days I practice or I socialize with the guild and its fans. Did you know that I was Lamia's cover girl back in the day? I don't model as much anymore with so many younger girls in the guild, but I've been asked a few times." Hana closed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, letting out a sigh as she relived her memories of her early twenties briefly in her head.

When she opened her eyes she seemed almost startled that Ira was still there. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize how much I dragged on," she began apologizing. "I got a little carried away. Like I said, not many people ask about me these days. I'm not even that old and I'm treated like a relic, like Matt and Revan. Those two actually are old. But I'm lumped in with them. I try to maintain my dignity and honor though. So I apologize if I bored you at all with my rambling."

"Checkmate" Vivian said cooly, her sword pressed against the back of Matisuki's neck as she stood in the open doorway. Her face was deadly serious for a second, then she cracked into a grin and withdrew her weapon, resheathing it and brushing past Matt on her way into the building.

"That's why we work together. There are plenty of people we can't take on our own, so we do our best to understand each other and cover our weaknesses. That's what being a team is all about." She lifted Bel off the floor and onto his feet. "Isn't that right, you two?"

She moved towards the nearest table and sat down hard, the long days on the road finally catching up to her. "Someone be a pal and fetch me a drink, will ya? The stronger the better." She slumped backwards in the chair, acting more like a sack of flour than a person.

Erin Draven

Erin looked over at the door as he heard loud shouting. Upon seeing Belial rushing headlong towards Matsuki, he couldn't help but chuckle. Erin quickly called the little bird back to him before falling backwards off his chair and slipping through the shadow. Appearing shortly after a little away from all the commotion, the little bird in the palm of his hand. Laughing joyfully at the friendly confrontation between the four wizards as Isshum and Vivian joined in.

"Do not worry about all this it is actually quite common behavior," Erin said to Marcus. Trying to put any fears to rest before the new mage decided to run away.

Then turning his attention back to the four wizards currently locked together he smiled that easy cheerful smile of his. "I'm just glad they haven't burned the place to the ground yet. It would be hard to find a new home as welcoming as this one. Though I believe it's time for this one to take leave else he be injured in the chaos." Erin said with another laugh before patting the little bird and tossing it to the air. Watching as it flew around chirping before zipping out the open door.

@chukklehed
@Leslie Hall
@Renny
@Lmpkio

---

“Vivian’s got the right idea. Hell, I won’t become a hero on my own.” He looked at Matt with a smirk. Team Fireworks always brought down their target, which is why he was confused as to why they wouldn’t allow him to take any S-Rank missions yet.

Walking up to Matt, Isshum punched the guy onto his thick shoulder, the thump of impact against muscle was pungent. He smiled with an almost infectious amount of cheer. “Whattaya say to letting me prove my worth? If I beat you or Hana make me S-Rank. You know you how the authority to.” He pulled his fist back and crossed his arms, a disapproving frown on his face. “All you need is an audience, an ass-whooping, and voila! I’m S-Rank and one step closer to being Fiore’s Hero! Natsu will be a relic and I’ll finally make my village proud of me!”

“Ain’t that right, Vivi!?” he barked loudly, peeking over the broad man and towards his comrade.

That was when he picked up a suave—annoying—voice. Isshum turned in the direction of another white-haired male; weird considering he believed himself unique in that aspect. He could have cared less about the offer but to see Hana with him was enough to send him into action. They were several feet away.

He walked to nearest long-table and kicked its edge, sending it twirling towards the pink-haired mage. With a snap, he stretched his flaming right arm outwards as he sauntered towards her in a straight path. A rather mischievous grin was on his face by the time she had dispatched with the table she would see it. Grunting, his flames roared to life and crackled, small ambers brightly floating from the heat source.

“Hana-taichou,” said the youth softly, devilishly. His flames stretched out from his legs but ultimately moved aside as drew close to them. The guild was quickly becoming a fireplace. “Fight me. Beating you will make me a hero. Or ... at the very least more renowned. The Wild Brilliance, he who took down the Last Samurai!” The effects was purely for himself, though he enjoyed sending fear, if not awe, into those that viewed him.

@Lmpkio@j8cob@Ira@chukklehed@Demon Shinobi@Demon Grave

The pink-haired woman thought about Ira's words. "I have already traveled across a good part of the continent," she explained. "Though my eyes are nowhere near close to seeing it all. I stay with the Wizards of Fiore because my honor and duty binds me." Without looking away from Ira, Hana's right hand shot out with her index finger pointed outwards. Whipping it vertically at high speed, an arc of cherry blossoms were created. Immediately this "sword" of pink petals blasted towards the incoming table, slicing clean through it to leave two perfectly symmetrical pieces to crash into the bar to either side of Hana (one of the halves being quite close to hitting Ira but not actually touching him) while her Kamikaze spell passed through the rest of the guildhall and sliced clean through the opposite wall.

"Besides, having a home and friends is nice," Hana continued with Ira. She had all the intentions of ignoring the attack on her but those plans were thwarted when Isshum actually spoke up. At this point the woman actually turned to face the Dragon Slayer. Her expression wasn't quite annoyed, but rather pout-y. Like she didn't want to fight him. "Fighting in the guild hall is ri-... ridi-... ridiculous. You know that neither of our magics are suited for indoors." Hana turned away from Isshum, but not before pointing at him and making a circular motion. From his feet began to spew thousands upon thousands of cherry blossoms, quickly surrounding him in a narrow but dense vortex that stretched all the way up to the ceiling. The pink petals were so thick and rapid in their movements that no one could see in nor could Isshum see out. The floor and ceiling that was in contact with the Vortex spell was being sliced up from the blossoms, proving that the petals were dangerous. "If I were to draw my sword against you, Isshum, you would not survive. We can duel later, outdoors."

At this point Hana returned her attention to Ira, as if she was unaware of the swirling tornado of pink blossoms that she had created in the middle of the guild hall. Specifically to trap and isolate Isshum, one of the loudest and most boisterous, to boot. "What was I saying?" Hana asked, mostly to herself, as she brought a hand to her chin. "Oh, right. I like it here, with a wizard guild. I had done enough traveling when I was little to satisfy my desire to move. Perhaps maybe you should consider finding a home one day instead of walking across all of Earthland. There are only so many years you get to have in this world, after all."

After a long travels Zyero finally arrived at Akane Beach. He had just arrived at the top of the steps and was taking in the sites. There was a massive five star hotel and more people you could count. Zyero walked towards the building and headed towards the receptionist.

The attendant was checking people and asked for the next person she looked up and seen Zyero walking up. His eyes glimmered off the reflection of the light two strands of red hair swayed down over each eye. "Welcome to the resort have you already registered?"
"Rikoto" he said

"OK, hold on please. Ah Yes Mr. Zyero Rikoto?"

Zyero place his hands behind his head "Call me Pyrus or Z"

Her face became flustered and a slight rose red color rushed her checks "Yes sir Z, Your room is on the top floor facing the beach" Handing him the key and some reading material about the resort "Your stuff will taken up to your room by one of our helpers and he will meet you at your door"

Zyero took the key and walked off "No need i dont have stuff to take up, besides i plan on laying down where i can and catching up on some well needed sleep."

Zyero went up to the floor his room was on and walked towards it. There was a servant standing at the door waiting on his arrival.

"Sir, this was sent for you" extending out his arm with a magic letter to Zyero

Zyero grabbed the letter open the door to his bedroom. The servant kept his arm extended as if he was waiting on something in return. Zyero glared back at the guy as he walked into his room and threw his bag on the bed. Jewels fell out all over the bed as the bag landed upside down. The servant eyes widened as far as the sea and his mouth open.

Zyero walked just enough to close the door "Now beat it" closing the door behind him and slamming it in his face. The magic letter then open as Zyero use a spell on it.

An older fat man appeared "All your expenses have been paid for as requested and half the funds will be deliver once you identify he is there. The other half when the job is done. You have all my memories on him, so this shouldn't be a problem to get done."

Zyero raise his eye brow and froze the letter, throwing it backwards it shattered into pieces as it hit the ground. Zyero looked down towards the beach from his bedroom window and decided he would go down there to catch his sleep. With the sound of the ocean and the cool breeze coming off the water it would be ideal for sleeping.

@Raijinslayer
@WaddleDaisy
@Eklispe

Kuroku Nagasai

As both Aiden and Taka went inside the cave, Kuroku stayed back with Aiden as he sat down on a nearby log. Despite the foreboding cave in front of them, the scenery out here was indeed beautiful. The beautiful plains and the snow-capped mountain at the horizon, all seemed like something from a story book when he was younger. It brought back nostalgic memories of back home when his mother would read to him stories when he was little. Those were indeed the good ol'e days.

But before he could continue, he thought to have heard some yells and shouts coming from inside the cave. He recognizes the voices of Taka and Aiden, but also hears some grunts and squeals. Of course, Kuroku knows what those grunts came from. Ogres! However, he still sits on the log as from what it sounds like the mages are winning. He and Bristle will not come into the cave unless Taka and Aiden need severe back up. As long as they have everything under control, there's nothing to fear...

@Renny
@chukklehed


Matt issues a short laugh until he felt cold steel touching the back of his neck and the words 'Checkmate' issued by Vivian. Matt wasn't scared, hardly startled, but in fact he laughed even louder! Even as the sword brushed by him as it withdrew, was he still chuckling.

"Alright." Matt says, "Ya caught me good. Have to say I wasn't at all expecting that."

Yet Matt just snorts at Isshum's remark about beating him, barely even feeling the punch the dragon slayer threw at his shoulder.

"It takes much more then just beating me or Miss Hana," he remarks to what Isshum said, "Let alone doing it one on one. After all, did I mention you reek of arrogance~?"

But his sentence trails off as Isshum approaches Hana, who was talking with that black mage, really itching to fight her. However, all he was met was a tornado of sharp petals to the face and ultimately covering him up. Matt can only sigh and chuckle as he watches from afar.

"You still have much to learn, little salamander." Matt says quietly as he stands with his arms crossed.

How he would be happier if the dark mage can quickly like... bug off or something.

Bristlebane grinned and snatched up the sword taking an experimental swing, "Nah it looks just right." That was a lie of course it was way too big and he would probably never use it except for when he shouldn't. Whoa, this sword was weird though, it felt like it had a little fire inside, and it made weird noises. Maybe there was like some sort of fire spirit inside. Sweet. He stuffed the sword inside his cloak, the large blade mysteriously vanishing into one of his many pockets. Then he followed the group to the cave and reluctantly waited outside with Kuroku. Quickly he viewed the beautiful scenery around them, hm, it seemed like this place was familiar, weird.

However he rapidly became bored of this and took out a yo-yo and began playing with it, after a couple of tricks his ears perked up at the sound of fighting from the cave. Bristlebane looked at Kuroku eagerly but the ice mage calmly sat there, clearly thinking the situation was under control. Bristlebane let out a mournful sigh and replaced the yo-yo with a box of crackers and began munching on them, silently watching his companion for a sign that they could move out.

@Lmpkio
@WaddleDaisy
@Raijinslayer

@Lmpkio
@Demon Grave
@chukklehed
@Demon Shinobi



The scene had suddenly erupted and a variety of new faces had made their threatening remarks towards the muscled man. Was he just not liked or something? Marcus was still inside the rift, so all the speaking that was going around him wouldn't be cohesive to him. With a snap of his fingers, Marcus exited the rift with a loud, cracking sound as if lightning had struck the Guild Hall. Just in time as well, since Erin began speaking to him.
"Ah, I see. That makes sense." It really didn't but Marcus did not wish to be the next victim of the three who had entered. "That is quite a way to greet a friend, that's for sure." The young man politely laughed the scenario off, just as the white haired mage began to challenge Hana to fight her before he was quickly dealt with. It would seem Ms Oshiro's reputation as a powerful Wizard was definitely accurate. Marcus watched as Erin set his little feathery friend free, feeling a little disappointed that the bird wasn't his pet. It was probably better for it to be out enjoying nature.

With all of the commotion settled down, Marcus turned to Erin and Matt and rubbed the back of his head.
"Not meaning to interrupt, but may I know your names? I also wouldn't mind introducing myself to those," hooligans, "friends of yours." Marcus awkwardly smiled. God it was like being back in school, trembling at the thought of meeting new people.



Magnolia had changed a lot in the past 6 years, but the same friendly vibe that drew Alice to the town was still present. She stood with a man with long, black hair tied into a ponytail, clean shaven and dressed in a suit. In his arms, a small child slept with his head against the mans chest. Alice gazed upon her child's soft, beautiful face and gently stroked his cheek with the palm of her hand. It had been a long day for the entire family, and little James deserved to have a nice, quiet nap.
"I think I should go by myself tonight." Alice's words caused her husband to stare at her in disbelief, as if she'd said something crazy.
"Are you sure? If you're not ready to do this alone then I'll be behind you, one hundred percent." The man spoke with such passion towards her, leaning in close to Alice to hold her hand gently.
"I was nervous at first, but Magnolia used to be my home. These people were once my comrades. I feel like if I don't face them alone, then I'll just be admitting to being a coward." She tried to sound brave, but in truth her voice was trembling. What was her old friends going to say? You don't just disappear from someone's life for 6 years and then just suddenly come back and say 'hey guys! Long time no see!'. Putting on a brave front, Alice smiled at her husband.
"Besides, you can come up to the Guild tomorrow with James. I'd like to surprise them with you both."

The two stared at each other for a while, but before Alice could say anything else on the matter, Ebisu leant in close and gently pressed his lips against hers. The two were intertwined for just a moment, and Alice could feel his love coursing through her body. It empowered her. She felt like everything was going to be okay. They separated, but Ebisu still held onto her hand.
"You are so brave, Alice. They are going to welcome you back with open arms." Alice smiled at his encouraging words.
"I hope so."

While Alice stood outside the Wizards of Fiore Guild Hall, she began slowly tracing the scars along her face. The painful reminders of the war now held new meaning to her, signifying when she had started to feel like a person again. When she had met Ebisu, and when she had given birth to James. They were both two new, wonderful parts of her life, but she couldn't go on and just ignore her life before and during the war. To continue doing so would be despicable. Many people were hurt by the war, but they swallowed their fears and continued to serve the country as a member of the new guild. In a way, Alice thought it to be insulting to just walk in. Yet she knew that there was no way around it. Pushing the doors to the hall open, Alice was met with many faces. A lot of them she knew, but many were quite young and unknown to her. The feeling was visceral, seeing them all after so long. She wanted to turn away and run back to Ebisu, but she had already gotten this far.

She approached the bar without managing to draw much attention to herself, where a group of young mages seemed to have just gotten over a bout. One of them was even enduring an attack from Hana Oshiro. Alice knew Hana from the war, but she didn't recall speaking to her much. She didn't really talk to a lot of people during the war. Mostly she was in the background, tending to the injured. The small group seemed to be talking to a new member, a dark haired man adorned in a black mask.
"Am I interrupting?" Alice spoke, wondering if after so long anyone would even recognise her.

---

It was over before it had even begun. Trapped within the pink-petals of sharp death, Isshum could only feel the overwhelming calm that dripped from Hana’s smiling face. Defeat was comically on his face. With wide white eyes, sweat falling from his face, and his arms tight to his side; he had official given up. The soft whirling of the vortex betrayed its intentions.

“I don’t have time for later!” he yelled from inside. “I need the title of Hero now. I’ve waited ten years already, I won’t let another go by!”

The smell of Hana’s magic filled his senses but he still had an image of where she was. Knowing Hana, she was so confident in her ability to beat him that she wouldn’t move even if he threw his strongest attack at her. Even still, he knew when he was beat and gave up, sitting down on the ground criss-cross.

“Let me out dammit,” he muttered, putting the side of his chin on his fist. “I’m not as strong as Natsu or that other guy but dammit … I’m a fire dragon slayer just like them. I can become hella strong too.”

As he waited, he put his hands together in his lap and begun to form sparkling flames. The light of a firecracker snapped between his palms. It made him smile genuinely. Fire can make people smile too. I know it can.

@j8cob

The samurai woman cocked her head sideways as Ira gave his goodbye. It was strange for someone to show up the way he did. If what he said was true then it made a little sense, being that he has been wandering for a long time now so it would be in his nature to come out of nowhere and to leave just as fast. "Taka, huh..." She brought a hand to her chin, trying to figure out why Ira was so interested in Taka. Earlier she had joked about Taka being in love with the mysterious man but perhaps there was some actual truth to jab. "Love it is, then." Hana placed a fist in her other palm, affirming her statement as the truth and thus etching it from her mind. There were more important things to think about.

Such as whether or not to let Isshum out of the Lovely Vortex. He sounded defeated, but once the blossoms would die down then he could easily try to strike again. Not that he posed any particular danger to Hana herself, but to say his magic isn't destructive and possibly dangerous to others or the guild hall would be a bold lie. Even Hana is dangerous enough to the guild as it is, let alone fighting someone else destructive. "Hmmm... okay." The blossoms that surrounded the boy began to dissipate into the air, taking only a few seconds for the whirlwind of pink to vanish entirely. "I don't know why you think beating me will make you a hero. Heroism doesn't come from strength, it comes from personality," Hana began to lecture. "But since the young man I was talking to has decided to leave, I'm not doing anything at the moment. We could take it outside, somewhere without people, if you really want to challenge me. But I warn you: I'm not very good at handicapping myself, so I won't be going easy."

"I call second match!" Vivian said, suddenly on her feet and energetic again. "But only using our weapons, no magic. I want to see which one of us is the better swords woman." She grinned widly.

"It's been bugging me for a while you know. I've gotten as far as I have because of my combat skills. I can't help but wonder where you'd be if you had to do the same."

Taka's foe was quickly blasted back by mage's attacks, falling into the space below after taking a fatal misstep. However, before he fell to his doom, the monster lashed out with his weapon, sending a wide, concentrated wave of energy at the two mages. The atrack would move very quickly, giving them little time to react to it. Aiden lept to the ground to avoid it, barely getting by as the blade passed very close to his head. As he hit the ground, however, he was sturck by two things: One, that the energy carried with it the scent of blood, which was likely what powered the attacks, and Two, that the energy itself held a familiar feel to it, a taint that he couldn't quite identify.

Getting up from the ground, he looked over at Taka to make sure she was okay, but before he could say anything, he heard a loud collection of roars and snarls coming from below. It seemed that a majority of the monstrous congergation were making there way up towards the two via the winding ramp up to them. The rest were pulling the victims out if the cages to tie to the altar, as well as going into a side area to pull out a throne with two rods across the bottom for 4 Ogres to carry it with. Sitting atop the throne was a hooded figure covered in thick robes, the only thing vvissible about him was a gnarled hand with black, claw-like nails that carried a largr wooden staff with a strange, liquidy orb atthe top of it. It grunted commands to the creatures in what seemed to be their own language, his bestial words driving them into a frenzy as they charged ever nearer.

Aiden quickly dismissed his Naginata to take an Ice Make stance, drawing in Magical energy before shouting out the name.

"Ice Make: Slashing Wyverns!"

From hus hands flew outa flurry of dragonic shapes with razor sharp wings, cutting down the frontline of the charge before they were broken by more energy waves. It did spook them a bit, halting them long enough to let Aiden use another spell. "Ice make: Bones of the ancients."

He let out a wave of ice magic, which dispersed over to the shards of the previous attack within the horde. Before they knew it, several spires of ice formed, trapping a lot of them in place and limiting the numbers of those who could get through.

"Taka, get down there and stop the leader, I'll hold these guys off of you. No need to call Kuroko for this one, it'll ne a cakewalk." The Ice Dragonslayer gave the girl a smile before launching himself into the fray, cutting down his foes with both magic and martial prowess. The Ogres on tge ramp would focus on him, but those surrounding the robed leader would stand firm, eyes seeming to glow frighteningly as they swung their blades in the girl's direction, the weapons emitting a baleful howl on each swing.

The robed man, on the other hand, waa directing the few creatures not defending his person to strap a young man to the head of the altar. The yoh g man struggled, screaming in a strange language at both the beast and the man, but neither saw fit to respond. The man merely began to point his staff at the young man, muttering a low chant as a black magic circle formed in the orb on top of it.

Outside the cave, Kuroko would suddenly feel the brooch thrum with energy, as if responding to something. Whispers would echo in his mind, telling him thungs in a faint breath that he couldn't recall, but filled him with a feeling of unpleasantness. If he examined the object, he'd find the runes glowing a sinister red as the metal began to darken from thr lustrous silver to a solid black. However, the magic given off wouldn't by the brooch wouldn't feel dark, in fact, it gave off a very warm aura, but it seemed to be drawing in the dark energy from another source, as if reacting to someone.

@WaddleDaisy

@Lmpkio

@Eklispe



All the noise from Belial and Isshum was enough to rouse Revan into an annoyed state, but as they soon quoted down, Revan was just about to go back to sleep when he felt a presence appear that he hadn't felt in a long time, but recognized instantly. Nobody else made his skin crawl with their mere presence than this person. Gtting up with a yawn and a rumble he leaped down from the rafters to land behind Alice, this time with a much lighter step.

"Huh, been awhile since I've felt your angelic presence, Alice." Revan said, spitting out the word angelic like it was poison, which it might as well have been to him. His demon blood reacted very badly in the woman's presence, driving him towards snuffing out her light everytim he saw her. He never let on to this fact, as he was in well enough control of himself, but still, it was no secret that while he had no issues with the woman personally, he had an issue being around her when he was trying to sleep. It was nearly impossible to do around her, and when he did manage it, he always woke a lot more grumpy and irritable than usual, which was really saying something.

"So, given that you're back, I assume you want to join the guild, eh? Think you're ready for that, kid, 'cause last time I saw you, it was pretty bad." Revan did bear a slight amount of concern for the other mage's mental health, as he'd seen the condition she was in when rescued, and while he'd seen(and done) much worsen it was still pretty bad.

---

Released from his imprisonment, Isshum stood up and let the fire between his palms die. He turned towards Vivi with a fist on his side, his face scrunched in disapproval. “I’m not going down that easy, Vivi. You gotta have faith in the future hero of Fiore. After I beat her, you'll have to bow to me and they won’t have a choice but to recognize me as an S-Rank.” He muttered the last part. “A-Rank at the least.”

He slam his fist into his palm as he waddled out the door with large, bulky steps. “Don’t lecture me woman! You guys know I don’t like that crap! Now let’s go!” he barked, stepping outside of the guild.

When she wasn’t right behind him, Isshum spoke again. “Now woman!”

Once Hana had joined him, prepared and ready to fight, Isshum began the long track out of the city and into the dusk-colored forest boarding the town. It would be there that they would fight he decided. Though it wasn’t ideal, Isshum had gotten good enough to keep a wildfire from happening. Might be best to say he’d always been cautious of starting such a destructive event. Its been an instinctive restriction that he’d never understood. But at least there he could get his fight.

As they approached a rather dull clearing, with only a few trees around them. Isshum widened his stance, brought his hands to his side as if gripping a staff, and formed a long hatchet. With a wide swing, he lengthen the handle and seared the trees in half. One after the other they fell with powerful thumps to the ground.

The hatchet burst into ambers as Isshum released the magic and turned to Hana. “Alright! let's kill some time together, Hana-taichou! The Wild Brilliance and the Last Samurai! Today a hero will be born from fiery spirits!”

@chukklehed@j8cob