Unknown Location - Test of the Faceless / Marcus Roman - 500HP - 6/6

---

Amid the competing sounds of clanging metal and chaotic garbles, a more subtle, almost articulate, gurgle bubbled from the faceless minion standing before Marcus. This particular creature stood apart from its brothers in stature and intimidation, slender limbs awkwardly grown from a disproportionate torso and an inquisitive sea of emptiness cocked to one side where a face would have been. It clutched a long, straight blade in one hand while the other hung lifelessly and it stood perfectly still as its would be opponent attempted to make sense of his foe. Having witnessed the previous offense, Marcus had a relatively good idea of how to dispatch the monstrosities, but a chill in his bones whispered that this one was different from the others; this one exuded a sort of intensely calm wrath wrapped within an inexplicable need to understand the situation - to comprehend the purpose combative action served. In spite of his awe, the weight of Marcus' own blade reminded him that this was no time to lose himself to thought. It was just as well because he had run out of time in any case.

Snapping forward with unnatural speed, the unique faceless launched itself towards Marcus. Instinct enveloped the former knight and muscle memory shuffled his feet to the side while his body followed on the turn and his attacking arm sent the waiting blade into a preemptive stabbing thrust. Momentum betrayed the beast as it barreled forward against the air and impaled itself through the abdomen though it completely ignored the circumstance and seized the opportunity to swipe diagonally upwards towards its briefly bewildered opponent's face. An involuntary grunt burst forth as Marcus forced his head back and ripped his blade free from an organ-less body while propelling his own a few feet back with a stumbling hop and pivot. Blood dripped from the cut on his cheek and stinging heat gnashed at the skin around the wound while a cold stare dug into the visage of an inhuman being once again standing perfectly in place. Marcus slowly stood from his semi-crouch and let a small grin arrogantly take its place under newly brightened eyes. This was going to be a hell of a fight indeed.

Fiona's club-wielding foe simply gazed at the downward falling blade as the disciple cleaved its neck and sliced its head from the body. The now headless creature fell to its knees and slumped over, immediately melting into a black ooze that bubbled and steamed before the Order's most fiery Aspirant. Nicholas, now more aware of the danger that faced him, approached his own personal enemy with a more refined, yet savage, technique that also resulted in a severing of nape and skull that again melted into a black ooze though the two pools seemed to gravitate towards one another. Annalynne's acrobatic assault was met with an apparent suicidal sacrifice as the faceless monster plunged its neck into her thrusting dagger and viciously spun to allow the separation of its head and a newly formed puddle of black ooze to join the growing puddle created by the mercenary and the disciple. Ytone took a more cruel tactic with her combination of death dealers and literally squeezed and butchered the head clean off her opponent a flowing display of unforgiving mercilessness. Her trophy of ooze quickly slithered over to the now large body of steaming black substance that was beginning to rise and form something. Erickson and Senua ended up attacking the same creature, but their efforts were rewarded with a creature that was not only cut in half, but also headless with the skull melting in two parts.

The combined matter left over from the defeated faceless fizzled and rose until it molded itself into a large humanoid shape. It stood a foot taller than Erickson and thick in torso and limbs. Though solid black had engulfed it, the being resembled a much larger faceless that now stood in front of the party with absolutely no weapons except fear and intimidation. It cocked its head to one side, but a bassy sound cut the air as its words became intelligible for the first time. "Your souls are tainted. You shall not live," It growled and decreed. Much like the individual creatures before it, the black faceless stood completely motionless after the utterance of its threat though an empty stare gazed at each and every one of the party members. Marcus shuddered when the thing spoke, but his attention had quickly returned to his own still waiting opponent. What the hell were these things and why did they always refuse to attack first was his immediate thought.

Unknown Location - 500 HP - 4/6 Stamina

---

Fiona felt an undeniable rush of exultation as her blade cut cleanly through the neck of the faceless that opposed her, severing the head and leaving it bubbling at her feet. Not only that, the others all seemed to have similar success, and as Fiona stepped back, she glanced over at Nicholas and smiled honestly. They'd proven more than a match for their first foes. She was hardly winded, too, and only the God Eater had suffered a blow in return. That was something she could fix easily enough afterwards, if he were willing to let her use magic upon him. The negative effects would all be on Fiona to absorb, but still some were not fond of having magic of any kind cast in their direction.

Her smile held until she noticed the piles of substance, melting and molding, beginning to gather together and form a new shape, a larger one, greater in size than any in their party, including the physically intimidating God Eater. Fiona took several steps back, taking her blade in both hands again and narrowing her eyes at the newly formed faceless, unarmed but somehow much more impressive than those smaller beings it had absorbed, so to speak. Its words, if they did indeed come from its mouth-less head, were bold and threatening, giving Fiona the impression that they faced a much more serious threat. Then again, the other faceless had seemed horrifying and inhuman before battle had been joined, and she'd felled one of them easily enough. Perhaps they would find this thing to be all bluster as well.

It refused to attack first, as the others had, but was the threat not declaration enough of its intent? It would see them all dead if they did not fight. Fiona stood as tall as she could in comparison to it, sadly still coming up short, but she hid any of her trepidation well. She could not deny she wondered how well her unleashed power could serve in the field; cities full of civilians were no place to sling fire about. And if her abilities could help end the fight before any of the others were injured in it, it seemed like a worthwhile risk to try.

Stepping two paces away from anyone so as to not risk catching them in the area of her spell, Fiona removed her left hand from her sword. "Everyone stay back!" She warned. Bending slightly through her knees, she lunged forward towards the faceless, feeling a surge of magical energy swell up from within her core, shooting with force through her body and along her arm, until a gout of flame roared into the air from her palm. The intense flames launched forward in a focused cone which would easily engulf the faceless creature. Any human would be easily burned to a crisp from such magic, but this creature was far from human.

---

One slash and it seemed to be over, the humanoid's neck severed, its form melting before his eyes. For a few moments, Nicholas let confidence and excitement wash over him, same as the others, same as the priestess who had been just as successful with her enemy and smiled at him in a way that left him with no choice but to respond in kind.
Some of them, he realized, had never fought anything like this before, may have never even ventured outside Armistice before. They had brushed aside the thin veil of safety that was the city wall and, for the first time, saw the world for what it truly was, what it held in store for all of them... and how exhilerating it could be to defeat something of otherworldly power, how sweet the sensation of not only cheating death but laughing in its face when it sent beings their way that had all but destroyed human civilization and yet you cut them down with ease.

He noticed that his body was warming up but it probably wasn't just due to the priestess' attractiveness - His armor, his swords, his shield, together they amounted to about half his body's weight without them and moving quickly in them was exhausting, even for a seasoned fighter. Considering the blow of the creature, the violence he had to withstand, Nicholas wasn't surprised to find himself beginning to sweat and breath just a little heavier than before.
But it wasn't so bad that he couldn't hide it still and he winked at the priestess again, as if to say 'See, that wasn't so bad'.

In hindsight, he should have waited a little longer with that; not only was Marcus still facing one of the faceless with considerably more difficulty than the rest of them but Nicholas' own liquified foes had gathered themselves, literally, not far from them, growing and taking a new shape, more imposing and terrifying than the last.
"Oh, for fuck's sake", he murmured under his breath as he returned to his combat stance.

The mercenary had seen and fought something vaguely similar to this before, a creature made entirely of slime and magic, though there had been one critical difference: The beast he had faced then was only about the size of a dog. That said, it had been a brutal fight still, the creature changing shape and taking blows from the sword like it was nothing, moving with devillish speed and, once it caught hold of one of his companion's legs, melting it right off, absorbing it, eating him alive.

Nicholas hoped against hope that this being didn't share the last trait with its relative, although he did remember the weakness its cousin had had, their salvation... and the priestess' seemed to have the exact same idea a few seconds before him, warning them to stand back as she started her assault. He admired her spirit and, even though he was confident in his magic, assumed that he would be no match for somebody who had done nothing but prepare their body and mind to act as a conduit for raw arcane power. What he did know, however, was how weak this energy could leave its user.
Maybe her attack would succeed and destroy it but if it did any less than that, she would be leaving herself wide open for a counterattack that, even if the being didn't possess the combined strength of the faceless enemies, could be deadly.

That was why Nicholas ignored the red-head's warning and stormed right after her, his sword in hand still but his entire focus on his left arm, ready to raise his shield in her defense or to tackle her and pull her out of harm's way - though he hoped that neither would be necessary.

Unknown Location - Test of the Faceless / Marcus Roman - 450HP - 5/6

---

Flames danced and the air scorched as a burst of heat and an eruption of fire exploded into the atmosphere and consciously charged towards the imposing black faceless. The sentient being remained in place and simply allowed the burning embers to embrace its body freely. Though the magical spell continued to burn, the creature within continued to lack any sort of reaction or visible change in its behavior or physiology. Eventually, it grunted and the flames quickly shrunk until they ceased to exist. "You would decompose yourself in an attempt to smite your foe? Ignorant fool," The black faceless sighed in disappointment.

Marcus witnessed the first significant use of magical offense, but only between sword blocks and parries. His personal foe had begun a flurry of reckless offense though without a proper bone structure to dictate joint limitations, strikes rained down from all manner of unexpected angles. It felt as if the creature was trained while at the same time swinging out of pure anger and desperation. It was a dichotomy that made the former knight all the more curious, but he could not afford to lose a grip on his concentration. Blocking an overhead slash, Marcus pivoted and hopped back a few crucial steps. He was beginning to feel the weight of armor despite it being of a lighter plate and his chest was beginning to heave slightly - had it he been out of combat that long? Thoughts of his two year prison term flooded his mind for a few precious seconds, but he quickly washed it away. It was obvious that his conditioning would be affected, but he never thought he would be this rusty. Taking a two handed grip, Marcus retook his fighting stance; this battle could not go on any longer.

Nicholas successfully tackled Fiona, but the momentum caused his own body to tumble to the side with her as a massive black fist crushed the earth. The black faceless slowly pulled back and turned its head towards the mercenary and the disciple. It almost seemed like it was going to say something when it -- again, seemingly -- thought better of it and instead returned to it's previous position. This time however, its arms bubbled and fizzled before transforming themselves into an impressive looking black tower shield and an ornate, savage looking Scimitar. Crouching its knees and hunching its shoulders, the beast finally looked like it was preparing to go on the offensive. After having absorbed Fiona's magical attack like it was nothing, the party was going to be in for a tougher fight than they had anticipated.

Her attacks sliced through the head of the faceless creature easily enough just as quickly as Erickson cleaved the monstrosity into two halves. Her party members were equally victorious and the resulting mess that remained on the floor was a gooey puddle of black ooze that looked as disgusting as it smelt with its pungent and acrid stench. What was surprising was seeing all the remains of the faceless that had been slain fizz before rejoining back into one solid mass like a mother hen recalling her chicks back to her. That sight did not bode well and it definitely could not mean anything good. As the puddles melded into one another, it rose, solidifying itself as though it was made of clay. Up and up it rose, until it took on the shape and form of a humanoid that stood a foot taller than her largest party member, Erikson. It was as large as it was thick and was not a foe to be underestimated.

Senua was without a doubt that this abomination was on a completely different level compared to the faceless ones her group had fought and slain earlier. It was equally faceless but it was much, much larger and without any doubt alot stronger. What took her by surprise was the fact that the thing spoke with a voice with so much bass that it rang through the air. "Your souls are tainted. You shall not live." Those were its words and the girl almost scoffed at them. Yeah right, of course we are the tainted ones. Senua was just about getting ready to launch an attack, her hands clasped firmly onto the grip of her broadsword when the red-headed priestess warned the group to stay back. The young girl did not know what she wanted, but the expression on her face was one of seriousness and determination, and so she abided by the words of the priestess and stayed several paces back.

The girl watched as the red priestess lunged forward towards the monstrosity, with some sort of energy that must have been magic emanating out of her palm as a burst of fire promptly erupted with force in a focused trajectory towards their foe. Senua stared dumbstruck at the towering abomination absorbed the magical fire from the red priestess like it was nothing. Yikes, they were in serious trouble here if something like that didn't even hurt it one bit. From her backward position, she saw as the one called Nicholas saved the red head from being crushed with a timely tackle. Yikes. They were indeed in for one hell of a fight.

Unknown Location - 500 HP - 3/6 Stamina (For Both)

---

Fiona's spell faded away from her hand as she saw that the faceless being was simply absorbing it in its entirety. The magic had cost her no small amount of energy; driven by the rush of her last seeming victory, she'd enthusiastically pushed herself into the casting of it, and the gale of fire had been about as strong as she was capable of. It had no effect on the faceless, however, and Fiona was left breathless, sagging slightly through her legs. Its words cut deeply, as she could recognize the truth in them. How ignorant it had been of her, to assume her abilities would solve their problem with little difficulty. A foolish, childish notion.

She found herself rooted to the spot, both from the drain of the spell and from her despair at its pitiful lack of use, and the large black fist that came down towards her would've crushed her had something not hit her from the side first, taking her off her feet and leaving her momentarily weightless. Fiona hit the ground in no gentle way, on her side, barely keeping a grasp on her sword. She could feel an armored body on top of her, and turned to see Nicholas. Their limbs were somewhat awkwardly entangled, but Fiona hardly seemed to notice, her eyes instead finding the weapons that were conjured into the hands of the faceless monsters. Still, she seemed dazed, from her own failing more than any physical blow.

---

From Nicholas' perspective, the events didn't look much better: Just like Fiona, he had hoped that fire would be the solution, the weapon their enemy couldn't withstand and the only thing that kept him from adding his own magical power to the mix was that hint of doubt and years of experience to tell him never to put all his energy in one blow until he was out of options.

The outcome of her attack, however, was more catastrophic than he could have possibly predicted - The creature didn't just resist her flames but absorbed them, used them to nurture himself and grow some of his mass into terrifying weapons... not before it took revenge for her attempt at destroying it, however. It was exactly what Nicholas had feared, finding the priestess unable to move due to exhaustion, fear or something else, and his body crashed into hers not a second too early. As intended, his weight carried both of them just out of range of the monstrosity's blow before they fell to the ground, the beast's limb slamming into the earth where she had stood with a thunderous wham.

Alarmed by its words and speed, Nicholas didn't dare try to run, didn't attempt to keep hold of his weapon. He did the only thing he possibly could, raising himself over the woman to shield her with his body, bracing himself for the second strike that would break his back.
Only, it never came, and he watched as it returned to its posture and grew weapons, changing its stance as if to prepare for an attack but not yet moving. Precious little time for them.

The mercenary searched for his sword sister's eyes and gently touched her face with a gloved hand, brushing aside a strand of red hair.
"Are you alright?"
Their position was exposed, their bodies entangled in a way that must have looked comical and should have been awkwardly erotic, but neither his facial features nor his voice acknowledged these circumstances, both radiating a calm he hoped she would absorb.

Fiona wasn't sure what she had done to inspire such a defense from a group member she had only recently met, someone she'd yet to have an actual conversation with. He was no Brother of the Burning Light, yet he stood over her with his shield presented to an enemy that had shown it could crush either of them. She was immensely thankful for the bravery and the selflessness, but she also felt a rather crippling guilt that she didn't deserve such a thing. The aggressiveness with her magic was her own mistake.

Then suddenly he'd touched her face, asking if she was alright. "I'm..." she stammered, suddenly aware of the entanglement. Her sword was under them, and she tried to get it free, but the blade was too long, her arm too short, and Nicholas was still above her, insistent on being protective for some reason. Their legs were awkwardly tangled, and Fiona worked at squirming free, eyes constantly darting back to the faceless creature.

"I'm fine," she managed. "We need to move." She didn't intend to attack again until she had the support of her allies, but they were hardly any use to the group down here, getting in each other's way.

She was right, of course, and he was glad that something in his words had shaken her out of her reverie, her paralysis far less grievous than he had feared. Something in her eyes, in the way she fought had spoken of method and knowledge but nothing more, enough so to make him suspect that this was one of her first fights against the horrors of the wild. She was certainly stronger than he had been the first time he had to fight for his life, a scared little boy then.

He quickly withdrew himself from between and on-top-of her legs, grabbing his sword as he rose and nonchalantly offering her his left hand to help her up.

But his dark brown orbs had shifted away from her, darting to their, quite literally, biggest problem and, when the being didn't make any worrying movements, onwards to the fight that raged between their nearly bald companion and a survivor of the small faceless Nicholas hadn't even realized existed.
Something about this fight piqued his interest and glued his eyes to them as they traded blows.

"That creature... It's different from the others."

Fiona took his hand and pulled herself to her feet, releasing it and making some attempt to regain her composure, brushing off her pants and the short skirt of her white robe. It would be difficult to throw herself back into the fight, with her confidence shaken, especially considering that she didn't know how best to approach the attack now. She thought perhaps to wield her magic through her blade, and attempt to cut cleanly through the faceless creature's limbs or weapons... but with how her last magical attempt went, she wasn't sure that was a good idea.

She too noticed the fight still occurring between one of their number and the other faceless. Fiona thought perhaps to intervene, but she'd already made things worse once, and didn't want to get in the way again. He looked like he was quite capable with his blade, regardless.

"How so?" she asked, taking her blade in both hands and holding a ready stance, keeping her eyes locked upon the larger of the faceless. They didn't have long to figure something out, she knew, but any sort of idea was more than she had right now.

Nicholas didn't know how to answer her at first. His statement was based more on a gut feeling than hard evidence when he made it, and as he didn't want to push their luck, he nudged the woman's side and slowly, carefully backed away from the scimitar-wielding giant towards the illusion of safety their companions offered. But with every second he watched the fight, his feeling grew stronger until he could finally place it.

"It's actually fighting him. The others... They wanted to be defeated, they just didn't want to make it too easy right away."

If they hadn't cut off the faceless's heads, they wouldn't have been able to join themselves, would they? Didn't this thing seem more desperate than them, blocking attacks instead of accepting them like its brethren had? Maybe the key to ending this fight was destroying this one creature instead of wasting their efforts another that seemed truly without weakness - after all, the Red Ones had spoken of a test, so the solution could potentially be as simple as choosing the right opponent to defeat.
He could have been wrong, of course - maybe they had to end both of them and the larger one simply wouldn't go down easily. Or perhaps it had one but it was well-hidden, deep inside its mass. But if that was the case, the last thing they needed was splitting their forces.

"We should try and kill that thing first. Maybe that's all we need to do."

He nudged her again as he stopped so she'd turn her head and see the confident smile. Nicholas didn't know her name but he didn't have to to know that he trusted her with his life that day - not that either of them had a choice in the matter, really.
A cocky wink transformed it from an inspiring to a challenging gesture.

"Try to keep up, pretty girl."

Ignoring the quiet throbbing in his shoulder where he had hit the ground, first faint aches in his muscles and few drops of sweat on his forehead, the mercenary ran quickly towards Marcus, widening the gap between himself and the giant and looking to attack the head of their companion's enemy from behind - even if it could sense attacks at its back, he hoped that it would need to divide its attention.

But if the big one decided to punish this mad dash, he would do what he could to hold his ground.

Fiona wasn't entirely sure that killing the smaller one would somehow kill the larger one too, if that was what Nicholas was implying, but he seemed confident enough in the plan, and that was more than she had. It was something to work with, at least. Nicholas still seemed confident in everything, actually, though Fiona didn't know how. It was infectious, not enough to completely drown out the guilt of her failing and her uncertainty, but she did manage to return the smile, just a bit. It was a small, fragile thing, but it was there.

She steeled herself, ignoring the warnings of fatigue that were starting to loom, and followed swiftly behind Nicholas, though she kept her guard facing the larger of the faceless, so as to watch her ally's back while he moved. They could only intervene so much to assist their friend without getting in each other's way, and Fiona was much more intent on playing a reserved role for the remainder of the fight, if at all possible.

Unknown location-893 HP-2/4 Stamina
Unknown Location - 248 HP 7/8

---

Annalynne stood motionless, jaw dropped and dumbfounded as the darkness of each beheaded faceless monstrosity slithered together forming a new deformity of pure evil. The stench was worse, as if the remnants of each corpse had been allowed to rot for centuries. It was the same, just larger, leaner. After a moment, her senses returned and she took a step back, minding her feet in the darkness. This couldn't be real... What in the 9 hells was this thing?!

Erickson was so furious he was grinding his teeth, his pupils were mere pin-points in his fury. If he thought he could intimidate the big bastard he would have shouted and screamed and howled... but he guessed it wouldn't matter.

"Everyone, stay back!", the fire priestess roared as she summoned up the power for one of her spells ... A plan that may have worked. Magical energies surged from the woman, but only seemed to be absorbed by what could only be described as a hulking mass of distorted dark matter.... absorb the magic, only making the beast more powerful... and It only served to make Erickson even angrier. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on edge, and like some animal his hair ruffled up in primal rage, A beast that can absorb magic and it has no FLESH??!!

Lucky for Fiona, Nicholas had charged in right after her, ignoring any instructions to stay put. A foolish act, but one that probably saved her life. "You would decompose yourself in an attempt to smite your foe? Ignorant fool," The black faceless sighed in disappointment. ... it spoke, while these words were not the first to erupt from the inhuman beast, they struck her in a way she had not anticipated, they were indeed fools. Annalynne glanced down at her own weapons, her eyes lingered over the smooth edge as a singular though swept over her However are we to defeat this thing

The rogue slowly made her way through the field, her comrades seeming to all be in a similar state. The figure was transforming, gurgling and bubbling as if turning its insides out and forming new parts. A large shield and sword were formed, as if from the being's very flesh. Had the Priestess' magic done this? Regardless, this was going to be one hell of a fight.

She glanced around at the leering eyes, assessing each reaction separately. Only one had truly caught her attention. Their large companion had a look upon his face, one that seemed all to familiar to her. It was a look of rage? Perhaps. Pure, animalistic rage. "I've seen that look before. What are you thinking, big guy?", she grunted under her breath, the question directed at Erickson.

He was not intimidated by its bulk, for he was far to enraged for such trivial things as 'size' or 'logic' to reach him. He had learned long ago how to harness the anger in his heart in combat, even more than most soldiers or knights for the God Eaters were a savage and murderous bunch... a certain amount of untamed rage and fury was required for the cannibalism they practice. Now he needed an outlet, and the great magical bandit seemed just right. Erickson had barely noticed Annalynne come up beside him. The small woman had not spoken much, and all he had heard of her so far were biting words to her companions, however this time she spoke to him more tactically, and appeared to be ready to help.

He looked at her, his face still in a snarl of barely restrained hate, his mouth drawn tight with disdain, making his words sound as if he had to strain to even speak them, "I am thinking... I can hardly see... I am going to tear out its hamstrings... try to cripple it... then cut its fucking heads off.", he was practically spitting with indignation, "Now... you help me... I bring it to its knees, you try to behead it ... or chop of something... I'll try to cover your back as well. In?", his eyes... she could see in them something... disturbing. She may have seen the look of fury, but his eyes betrayed something else... something deeper and more... visceral? Primal? Something... it was not an ordinary fury... it was something different. Different but eerily familiar, it triggered something within her, something that she hadn't felt in ages. Her eyes darted away from him, as if the feeling itself uncovered something she had hidden away. Something so shameful or foreign, it nearly made her blush. The darkness, the rage, it overwhelmed her in that moment.

As much as she didn't want to respond, there was something inside that was tugging at her, nagging at her, begging her to give in. Her eyes met his once more as something inside her unlocked. "I'm not sure how much help I can be, but", she nodded slowly, "I will try.". Her voice was steady, cold, yet with a bit of uncertainty. She looked around, eyeing the others. Nicholas and the Priestess had were unharmed, save for the scuffle as they tumbled to the ground. They were well enough though to get back up and charge another attack. This time towards a faceless that had been engaged in battle with Marcus. Annalynne hadn't even realized there was another left. There was something different about this one, but figuring they had it handled, she gave it no more thought.

Pulling her second dagger from her belt, she took a deep breath, shaking lose any distracting thoughts left in her mind. Then offered one more nod to the God Eater, affirming her readiness.

In spite of all his blinding rage, of all his hate for the fleshless beast, he saw... something. No, he didn't 'see' it, he felt it, from this woman. It radiated from her, it sat cold and deep in her veins... but he could feel it... a level of rage he had not felt in any but the Eaters... interesting... but for now it did not matter, it would have to be addressed later. In response to her nod, he took action and did what was necessary, he charged at the great beast.

This time, he truly charged, his rage lending his muscles the strength and speed they needed. He sprinted at the beasts legs trying to draw its attention, but being too fast to hit... hopefully. It took almost everything within Annalynne to keep up with him, sticking to his side like shadows in the wind. If he made it between the creature's legs, with a great sweep he would bring the blade across the thick, dark matter, slicing right through what would've been it's hamstring, then spinning to hit its left. She slid into position as he swiped his blade across, attempting to bring the foul smelling darkness to its knees. If she had any faith in the gods, she just may have said a prayer, not just for her own safety but for his as well. Sure he was big enough and could probably take the hits. But this was no ordinary beast.

Just like the others, there were no bones to cut through, which could've made it easier, so long as their attack worked. Now turned back towards where he came from he intended to move to take any hit meant for the woman... he could take more punishment than her, and now he really wanted to be sure she survived. He attempted to lock eyes with her ash she ran, wanting to see if the hate was really there, or if he was only seeing ghosts.

She did everything in her power not to think about what just happened, if she could even admit to anything happening at all. She didn't even dare to look at him as he swerved around, stealing a glance her way. Whatever it was though, had exploded through her movement, so perfect and precise. An elongated tendril of darkness swayed, its back towards her. She took a running jump towards the thing, screaming out as the thrill rushed through her, her blades penetrating the back of a neck. She doubted the same action would work twice, but here's hoping. Her breath stilled for a moment just before she yanked both hands, her grip tight around her daggers, hoping to drag the tendril to bits.

She was avoiding his eyes, clearly she had felt what he had earlier, or rather had felt his own rage similar to what she had... neither could truly tell what it was, but hers felt strangely cold to Erickson, as if the coals were all that was left of a once great fire. Despite their dampness, an ember somewhere had sparked, burning brighter even still. As he heard her scream, a loud red thing, he smiled. He was right, the rage radiated from the scream, the coals heating inside her... she could not die, no he had to speak with her now, her rage was too apparent... and he wanted to see it prosper. He could not stop himself from laughing again, though it was not a laugh bred from comedy, no, even the laughter felt enraged and hot, hot enough to melt the hardest metal ... for he had unlocked his own rage long ago, and in his trance even his laughter would elicit anger...

The sound that erupted from within him echoed through her own screams, they fueled them as if egging her on, driving her daggers deeper into the darkness. Had the enchantments on them effected the faceless beast at all, she wouldn't have even known, or perhaps they wouldn't have even had the time to drip into the abyss of whatever this monster was. She whipped around so fast, slashing her daggers in a fury, lost in the embrace of battle. She was barely aware of her own actions, and completely unaware of her comrades around her. It was becoming a dangerous situation as her recklessness was leaving her open. She had to snap out of it, otherwise it would not only mean her death, but possible harm to any others around her. Unless of course she had become the perfect distraction.

Unknown Location - Test of the Faceless / Marcus Roman - 450HP - 4/6

---

In spite of their otherworldly circumstances, it took a surprisingly short amount of time for the party to come together. The black Faceless stood with twisted transformations for arms at the ready - the massive tower shield and curved blade. It's head cocked to one side the same as its fallen brethren before it and though it still lacked an expression, curiosity emanated from the emptiness and morphed into a silent inquisition that sought to satiate its everlasting need to know; to understand reasoning not made known to anyone currently present, but imbued within the fibers of creation that granted sentient life to the massive molding of ooze that formed this malevolent creature. It watched as Fiona, Nicholas, Annalynne, Erickson, and even Ytone mounted a multi-part, team oriented offensive strike.

For their part, Fiona and Nicholas dashed off towards the increasingly interesting creature Marcus faced. It spun and lashed towards the ex-knight with speed and rage, a hurricane of sword strikes moving to and fro pining for an opening. Marcus, now using a two-handed grip, moved purposely slower, but held onto more control as he strategically placed his feet and brought his sword up and down just in time to block key strikes while dodging and ducking under others when he could. He could feel the burn in his chest and expansion of his lungs as they gulped down air and fought to keep up with a body that demanded instinct where stamina had been lost. Despite his valiant defensive efforts, energy was being wasted on this valuable protection; there was no way Marcus would be able to finish the aggressive faceless if he could not launch his own attack, but it seemed that his enemy had somehow known that the man was aiming to finish the fight when he took a two-handed grip. The edge of Nicholas' sword came dangerously close to the neck of the faceless in a slim opening, but, once again with unnatural speed, the creature twirled its blade around and deflected the weapon sending Nicholas back into the following Fiona slightly, but not with too much force. Marcus took the opportunity to put some distance between himself and his foe before nodding at the twosome briefly in acknowledgement. Sure he was used to fighting alone, but there was no way he did not appreciate the help of new companions.

Erickson and Annalyne, for their part, rushed towards the towering black faceless. The God Eater moved like a man with something to prove and his unwillingness to give in finally paid off. He was successful in capturing the attention of the large beast as he rushed through its legs and even managed to slice at the area where hamstrings would be causing an oozing leg to fold at the knee and buckle, crashing to the ground and creating a small crater in the earth. In tandem, Annalynne dashed towards the fallen faceless and used the opportunity to brandish her daggers in an attack that was also successful in piercing the neck of the thing while Ytone added her own insurance to the mix bringing the creature closer to the ground on all fours with her chain. Though silent, the heat of anger boiled the air around the fallen creature and it burst upwards, unwrapping the chain from its neck forcibly and flinging Annalynne off and towards Ytone. Erickson was lucky enough to have already moved away from the immediate area as the giant enemy stormed to its feet. "You humans... Are tenacious. I grow tired of these games," It bellowed. Its arms returned to normal before it smashed a fist into the ground cultivating an earthquake that concentrated itself in the ground beneath Ytone and Annalynne and swept the feet of each lady from under them in violent fashion.

Marcus, Fiona, and Nicholas now stood together a few feet away from the lone, smaller faceless. Their enemy stood completely still, its sword menacingly awaiting the feel of flesh. "We need to finish this damn thing... I don't know how much I have left in me, honestly," Marcus said quietly to the two on either side of him. "If we're to have any hope of ending this fight at all... We're going to need to work together." Marcus took a renewed one-handed grip on his blade and pulled an arrow from the quiver on his back. Having witness their actions, he knew he could count on the Aspirant and the mercenary to follow his lead. With that in mind, and a second wind, he sped off towards the faceless. Anticipating a strike to the head once again, Marcus ducked under the flashing blade of his foe and pushed his arrow through the fold in its knee, bringing one leg down. Fiona and Nicholas followed swiftly behind and Marcus only hoped they would continue this small turning of tides and luck.

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Unknown Location - 500 HP - 2/6 Stamina

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Fiona watched with a great deal of interest, and concern, as the other half of her group engaged the larger faceless, who proved unable to stop Nicholas and herself from moving to assist their ally engaged with the smaller one. She watched their impressive coordination, doing what they could to it to bring it down, before the woman atop it was thrown bodily into the other girl, and an earthquake erupted under them, taking them both to the ground. It didn't look too bad, but Fiona wondered if she could help them, if she was getting in the way here...

No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than Nicholas was forced back, bumping into her side with his shield arm and throwing her off balance. She recovered it quickly, reaching out with her free hand to grasp Nicholas by the elbow, and keep herself upright. Turning to face the smaller faceless fully, she trusted that the other three could keep the greater beast busy.

"I can't go much longer, either," Fiona admitted. She wasn't harmed at all, by some miracle, but her muscles burned and her breaths were coming quicker and quicker. Her use of magic had fatigued her quicker than some of the others as well, and if this kept up, her strikes would swiftly start to become weaker, her reactions slower. "We're behind you," she assured her ally, getting ready for the attack.

She wasn't sure what he planned to do with the arrow, but it came as a pleasant surprise when he used it to strike through the thing's knee and bring a leg down. Fiona followed in the path of its swung sword, opposite the way the other man had gone, and raised her sword high over her head for a vertical strike, bringing the blade down towards its head. She thought to use her magic to make her blade even more deadly, but decided against it, remembering the results of her last spell. The strength left in her arms would have to do.

Unknown location-893 HP-1/4 Stamina

Ericson growled again, his allies had been thrown off the great magical beast like toys... and he had had enough. Her charged the beast one last time, intent on finishing it. He launched himself at the back of its left leg and put all his strength behind a two handed swing of his sword, aiming to cleave the thick leg in twain. As he passed underneath it, hopefully bringing it to one knee, he would quickly shout to his allys, "If I fail in this, I'll have nothing left. You'll have to finish it.", with that, he charged one more time.

His sword was aimed to cleave the great monsters head in two, he wanted to imbed it in the magical monsters skull. He would not die here, no he had far too much to do. He had discovered someone... the woman, the council's blood was in her he was sure of it. She had the deep cold rage of the old council, all it needed was an outlet and training. He would not die and he would not let this beast kill her, flesh or no flesh. With a great shout he brought his great blade down on the things skull, attempting with all he had left in him to cleave from the top of its skull to the base of its neck. He would kill it... for the God Eaters.

Unknown Location - 500 HP - 2/6 Stamina

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Had he been right? The creature certainly didn't seem like the same kind of pushover as the others at least.
Where Nicholas' blade surely would have found its target and ended the fight against the other Faceless, this one was more careful to watch its back - literally - and save its own neck - also literally. The block was so quick and powerful Nicholas was taken completely by surprise and could do little to counter it before he was sent back into the priestess behind him.

They were right - they had little hope of defeating this thing on their own, taking turns at trying to smite it. All they'd do would be wearing themselves out, and Nicholas already felt himself getting weaker, his left arm twitching under the armor. It was shameful how quickly he was tiring today but denying it when he knew it to be true was stupid.
It was simple: He had to do his part while he could. And his role was clear, at least to him.

As the other two mounted their attacks on their small opponent, he had a second to see the valiant effort the rest of the group put up against the giant. They were more effective against it than he thought possible and he could respect their strength and coordination, but he was still convinced - or at least hopeful - that his enemy was the key to ending all of this.

With these thoughts to fuel his conviction, Nicholas put away his bastard sword, drew his short sword and threw himself at the Faceless. He passed Fiona and his initial attack would be aimed at the being's neck from the side but despite putting a fair bit of momentum into the strike, it wasn't his primary goal to actually kill it. No, what he really wanted to do was draw its attention and put himself into close melee range, just where Marcus had been a minute prior. The almost-bald man had been hard-pressed to hold his ground against it despite considerable skill but Nicholas had a shield to aid him in his defense. All his partners needed for victory was an opening, somebody to circle their enemy and force it to spread its defense too thin. He would block and attack quickly, without much strength behind his own strikes and with any luck, he wouldn't have to keep that up for too long.

Unknown Location - 215 HP 4/8

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The rage erupted from inside her, glossed over her eyes and took possession over each limb and strike. Her temperature climbing even higher as heat emitted from the giant beast of darkness and nearly smothered her. But the adrenaline had blinded her so much so that she wasn’t even aware of the dangers before her until being flung off. Had she sat atop the beast any longer, she just may have burst into flames. Her energy had nearly been depleted within that last attack. She hit the ground near where Ytone stood, force of impact enough to shatter bones. Her body continued to skid, grinding up against the cracked surface just a few paces beyond before finally coming to a halt. Blisters adorned her hands, and beads of sweat poured down her face. Her once immaculate duster now torn and scuffed. She struggled, attempting a return to her feet, but just then, a powerful fist shook the earth violently and forced Annalyne to her hands and knees, bracing onto anything she could.

"You humans... Are tenacious. I grow tired of these games,", “Good … so do I”she retorted quietly, pushing herself up with a grunt.

All of her training, the lectures and lash marks, her outburst went against it all. And it left her with nothing more than pain and exhaustion. Perhaps it was good that she got it out of her system, but not at the expense of her comrades. Her eyes wandered over to each, just for a moment, assessing their status and welfare. They were all spent, and victory was seemingly impossible at this point. Not to mention, she had lost her daggers to the thick gooey beast, as they were still lodged in his neck.

The God Eater charged. "If I fail in this, I'll have nothing left. You'll have to finish it."

She hung her head low, the gods had surely damned her. Sauntering over to Ytone, she muttered softly, "We nearly had him before … we have to work together if we are to take this thing down. We cannot let him make a go of it alone." Her voice was strained with exhaustion, but she articulated enough in hopes that her message was clear. With whatever energy she had left in her, she charged the dark thing, pulling a few throwing knives from her thigh. They were small, and most likely useless against the beast, but they would do for what she had intended. Getting close enough to the thing, and somehow managing to stay out of Erikson's way, she swung her arms, slicing at the monster's legs. She rotated around, towards the injuries Erikson had inflicted on it earlier. It was a long shot, but she had to do something. Dipping into a pocket, she pulled out the bit of rope she had and attached one end to a knife she had plunged into the gaping hole that was oozing out into the ground.

"Missy!" she shouted at Ytone, tossing the other end of the rope her way. She only hoped it would be strong enough. If Ytone could lodge the other end in a good enough place, not only would it aid the God Eater in his attack, but any movement of the beast would tear at its already seeping wounds. It had to work, it just had to. Because unfortunately for her, she also had nothing left to give this fight other than her life. And she wasn't ready for that just yet.