Bullet finished paying for his squid while Jane insisted on paying for her own food. The young man shrugged, not feeling particularly offended by having his offer turned down. The man working the stall skewered the fresh squid, searing it against the flames of the charcoal grill. Meanwhile Isabella's curiosity had been sparked by Jane's comment about her parents.
"Proving their innocence? It sounds like you've been busy." She was trying not to sound too pushy, but it was clear that she wanted to know more. She was about to move closer to appear more inviting, when Bullet's voice spoke up from behind.
"Were they really innocent though?"
"Bullet!" Isabella thought he hadn't been paying attention to Jane, but regardless she was still mortified by his completely insensitive tone. The chef handed Bullet the two skewers, but when he turned around to offer one to Isabella he was met only with her scornful glare.

"I was just asking. Besides, I don't think Jane really gives a damn about our opinion on her parents; who we've never even met." Isabella snatched her squid from Bullet's grasp before taking a large, frustrated bite.
"That is not the point," She spoke between chews, covering her mouth with her spare hand while she talked. Swallowing, Isabella turned to Jane with an apologetic expression. "Bullet doesn't think before he speaks sometimes. Pay him no mind if he comes off as rude." Bullet stared down at his feet, furious with Isabella treating him like some kid. In the back of his mind he knew that he was just letting jealousy get the best of him, but at this point he hardly cared.

"What should we do once we've eaten? The night is young, after all." Isabella gazed around the square looking for anything exciting to participate in. Though it seemed as if the grandeur of the rest day was starting to fade. Perhaps it would have been a good idea to retire to the hotel. Though Isabella dared not mention such a thing; she was having too much fun with Bullet and Jane to just let the day end here.

There were many things that Gabriel considered were strange and obviously magical, the use of fire works to try and stop a monster was on the top of the strange and wacky. His dragon weaved in and out expertly, avoiding the flaming balls of death as they hurtled towards them, and in one case actually engulfing one, spitting it back out in a gush of dragon fire. Gabriel was sure his face was pale, and he had to wonder why the dragon had taken him with it.

Gabriel closed his eyes tightly and let his dragon do what it was going to do. If he was going to die here, so be it. It began to unleash it's fire over the wounds the explosion had caused, the heat flying back towards Gabriel, who pressed against the dragon. Ignotious. That's what he should call the dragon. He laid his face against the dragon's scales, and hung on with all his strength. His dagger would be no use here, and he had no magical powers he could fling towards the monster.

When would this end?

---

Jessie nestled quite comfortably against Ferris, content where she was, and more than happy to stay where she was for the rest of the day. She would gladly ask the hotel staff to simply deliver food right to the bed, if need be. She smiled, quite happily. "Anything but the games, and as long as it is fun, and frigging awesome, I'm happy" She said, her voice sounding almost like a pleased cat.

@Raijinslayer@hatakekuro[@Liugubrious]@zarkun@oblivion666[@lunariors34]

@Caits
"It was certainly...new." Jasmine gave Penny a wiry smile as she dusted off the skirt of her dress. Not for any particular reason other than trying to straighten it out.
Looking around for a moment, obviously with the intent of looking for something in particular.
"Pretty sure it's that way..." Jasmine mumbled thoughtfully as she turned westward. Would make sense since that was the direction she had come from to arrive in Crocus to begin with.
Believing that Penny would follow after her, Jasmine now began to wander in that direction almost as if in a daze. A few memories surfaced as she passed a few 'landmarks' in her the jumbled mess which was her own memories.
After about five minutes of walking, looking from side to side in her search for the trees she actually somehow nearly walked into one of them funnily enough. Not sure how on earth she had missed an entire damn tree in front of her, but she somehow managed to do just that. To her credit she managed to notice in time before she smacked into the tree, but it was still more than embrassing to realise she hadn't seen it till then.
At least only Penny beared witness to it....

@hatakekuro@Lmpkio

Although he couldn’t see Saya, he could see her orange needles flying towards him from different directions. He tried using the earth below him to show at the incoming needles. Most missed, but the few that hit caused an explosions near Frye. Luckily he used the gravity around him to push some of the damage of the explosion away from him. But from this, Frye didn’t want to play this game again with Saya.

He raised his arm into the air, causing the ground around him erect several layers of earth up to form a coned barrier. Some of the orange needles exploded when they struck the earth. But although the explosion left an opening, Frye was able to repel the blast by stretching his palm out to have the gravity around him force the explosion away from him. For the remaining needles that were still around, Frye flung his arm down to cause the gravity around him come crashing down to cause a 20 meter wide crater, sending the needles into the ground to explode.

From the explosion, Frye decided to use the time within the smoky cover. As he tightened his fist, the reddish orange glow on his arm grew brighter again. With a single punch into the ground, Frye turned the ground him into scorching lava that continued to spread across the area by about a radius of 50 meters. The whole area appearing as if a volcano was ready to erupt with red cracks in the ground and the temperature rising to extreme levels. Anyone standing here wouldn’t be able to stand in the same place unless they wanted to feet cooked.

As Nolan suddenly appeared to about to slash through Frye’s neck, Frye snapped fingers his towards Nolan. Frye caused the gravity around Nolan, specifically his arm, to get staggered in place, slowly curve his attack up and float upward. But Nolan sudden speed still caught Frye off guard and cost him a bit of skin that was grazed by Nolan’s blade. Frye quickly grabbed Nolan’s arm and with a quick pull towards himself, Frye’s arm that still had the radiated glow, punched Nolan in the chest. The hit was not as devastating compared to the one Grane had since Frye has used it a few times already, but the attack should still give the sensation of the opponent’s body of being on fire from the intense heat the fist had.

Since Frye was a bit busy with Nolan, he didn’t have enough time to see where Saya could have fled. But once he spotted her, Frye kicked the ground with the heel of his foot. At that moment, numerous columns of smoke shot out from the ground until some broke out into an eruption of lava. The whole area felt more unstable. With a quick thrust of hand towards Nolan, Frye shifter the gravity to push Nolan away as he tried to bolt towards Saya for a more close fight and not have to deal with her annoying needles.

As he dashed to Saya, forced the gravity around her to try and push her down or stagger her movement as he came in to attack her with same strike of his fists as he done early with Grane and Nolan.

Rallied by the command of their master, the soldiers of Fiore's finest war guild did not disappoint. Ike's pitch-black fist of wrath bore down upon the stricken Flesh Giant as it vied to pull itself together, and when the abhorrent thing could not block in time, the massive fist struck its torso head-on. An optimist might have imagined the entire gruesome construct falling apart in a visceral shower from that attack alone, but even in this state the monster would not be so easily vanquished. The incredible cohesion of its despicable body held out against the Ebony Wrath's Blow just long enough for it to bend under the onslaught, like a tree in a storm, and not break. Chunks of gore flew as the Flesh Giant staggered backward, the explosive entropic energy preventing the crater in its torso from immediately healing.

Something hideous, not unlike rage, took hold of the thing, and it made as if to charge forward and crush the soldiers of Frenzy Plant underfoot. Before it could, a blazing green growth, aglow with the glamor of passion, snaked up from the desolate earth to ensnare it. A wretched howl echoed across the landscape as it found its progress stymied by the huge, searing roots, but even if they prevented it from moving forward they could not stop another volley of fleshy bone spears from shooting from its mass in a vile deluge. Even as the spears fell once more, though, a piercing white light emerged before it, and that radiant flame turned to ash every disgusting spike that threatened its maker. When the singularity of pure heat entered its hip, it immolated the noisome meat in the entire area, and with a sound like thunder it violently separated leg from giant. In that split second, it seemed, the battle was decided.

Yet, from the rims of the grievous wound, a surge of black smoke erupted and stretched the gap. Ashlyn's holy magic burned against the tangible darkness, but she beheld something most dire. The radiance cast a light on the nebulous fog itself, and in its glow Ashlyn could see that, rather than vapor, the smog appeared to be made of millions of tiny particles. Before her eyes, these particles swallowed the light—an ill omen of something darker than black.

All the same, this unexpected and worrying response formed only a stopgap measure to keep the Flesh Giant standing, and Frenzy Plant's warriors would not allow it even a second to heal. Each one, from the venerable Bytan Brass to the rookies like Nandy Rewman, put everything they had into projectile attacks meant to annihilate this foul behemoth where it stood. The attack that cut through them all to penetrate the horror, though, came not from a soldier but from an outsider. Flint's mighty Beam of Entropy, its power compounded by successive magic seals, ripped into the twisted colossus and cut jagged patterns straight through its body. His first strike paved the way for a maelstrom of earth, wind, and fire from the soldiers, their combined weight of magic crashing into the Flesh Giant to inflict more damage than the nightmarish fog could repair.

In the midst of that tumult, a single great blade came to be. The weight and sheen of its magnificent edge, wielded by Phoenix Wing's master swordsman, sawed diagonally through his repulsive adversary in more time than he might have liked. Even though it wasn't a clean cut, the blade forged its way through, and with the regenerative smog already pushed past its limits, this new terrible wound could not be undone. With all of the enormity of a collapsing building, the severed top half of the abomination began to fall away. All throughout the graveyard, the soldiers ceased their attacks, waiting with bated breath to see if the battle was ended here and now. None expected a secondary attack in the form of a mind-bogglingly massive eruption of magic swords to follow. When it happened, skewering the giant throughout its body and holding it in place, even Sanders thought that the move might have been overkill.

Then, from above, a volatile ball of fire flew from the mouth of Gabriel's dragon to detonate in a skull-rattling explosion in the crater left behind by Ike's Ebony Wrath's Blow. When the flames died in the swirling thunderstorm, all could see thanks to the surviving lights provided by Putcher that the Flesh Giant was threatening to fall apart. The black smog that sustained it poured off its deplorable surface like mud during a shower, and heaps of tissue, organs, and bones fell free of its mass. Not satisfied, the Oni called Enma rushed in with a Tremor-empowered club to deliver a mighty blow to its leg. The sheer force of the strike, compounded by the vibrations with which it quaked, sundered the limb completely. Only the blade geyser of Damian kept it off the ground now.

The amount of magical and physical force dealt to the Flesh Giant by now was nothing short of obscene, but even still, the story was not quite over. Foul energies lay within the faltering frame still, and melted flesh poured over its wounds in a renewed attempt to regenerate. Then, and only then, did the lacrima implanted by Argus finally detonate, blowing the abomination into smithereens in a riotous fireworks display. Time seemed to slow down as the horror flew apart, unable to hold together anymore, and -influenced by the positioning of Damian's great blades- tumble over the cliff edge and into the chasm below. The ruin that had come to Belka was gone.

In the moments after, the only sounds were leftover bits of flesh in the graveyard burning, rain falling, and heavy breathing. The soldiers dared not believe that this nightmare come to life was done with. After a few moments passed by, however, a haggard cheer arose among them. Those with the energy left danced out of sheer joy, or embraced one another. Tsubani Morimoto bent over the still form of Argus, applying the healing power of her Marsh Songs to bring him back to consciousness. Behind large headstone, the axelings Kilo and Ni Rensa wiped goo from one another's faces, growing closer and closer until they shared a brief but passionate kiss. The metal siege engine of Jillian Suede disappeared, and she heaved herself onto a rock beside her general as both caught their breath. Cormorant Sanders, having truly felt alive in the heat of the battle, was obliged to bestill his beating heart. His eyes fell on the black fog that thinly blanketed the ground and, suddenly curious, he swept into it with his walking stick and brought the tip to his eyes. Widening his peeper, he peered closely at the smidgen of black staining his staff. He increased the likelihood of being able to discern what exactly it was. His eyebrows shot up when he did discover this, and under his breath he murmured, ”An insect? Bizarre...not like any insect I've seen.” The minuscule creatures he initially mistook for particles suddenly flew away, joining a shadowy stream moving along the ground. Sanders' eyes followed the stream, as many of the others did, to a point above the destroyed chapel where they appeared to be converging.

Before anyone could take action, the cluster of smog flew upward, forming a dark pillar, then a swirling vortex high in the sky directly in front of the moon in a sky inexplicably grown clear. The synchronized movements of millions if not billions of tiny bugs, silhouetted by moonlight, seemed oddly hypnotic. That haunting symbol reappeared in the minds of all present, just as it had when the living fog first swept through the town. From the very center of the vortex an odd light shone, somewhere between red and purple, and it fell on a single corpse sitting against a tombstone in the graveyard. The body was clothed in the ragged remains of an old-fashioned suit, strips of beard still clung to its sallow skin, and a broken noose hung around its neck. Embers of the fires of Ashlyn and Riona smoldered around it. Awash in the chilling arclight, a voice came from this cadaver, though it did not move.

An invasive species, tiny and fanged, gnawing, gnawing, always gnawing. The gnawing brings the dead to life, makes things that should not be. How could you stand against them...how? But alas, you've seen only dipped a toe in the waters, and they go deep, deep down. Even as they abandon me...I, who brought the plague to Belka...they tell me: go to the drowned city. The gnawing, crawling, all-loving deep awaits.

As this last proclamation rang out, the corpse burst into green and white fire, and in seconds it was nothing but mundane ash.

Then the light went out, and the black cloud swept across the night sky, headed west. No fog remained. The pressure on the minds of the people faded, and at long last a quiet settled over Belka.

The needles made only little headway in stopping Frye, but regardless most were able to dodge the incoming slabs and manage to get a few brushes on him. But the remaining needles were futile as they were pulled right to the ground. If only she can get past the intense gravity magic may she get the upper hand in battle. And Saya knows what she needs to do.

But before she can commence an offensive, a large explosion erupted from where Frye stood, unleashing scorching lava that continued to spread across the area by about a radius of 50 meters. Red glowing cracks crack through the surrounding area, with the temperature beginning to increase rapidly. But Saya only leaped just a few meters away from the incoming crack, remaining still in the scorching crater. She should be cooked if she continues to be inside, but alas her magic fibers were aiding her yet again. The red needles already increased the Council woman's strength and power, but also her durability to physical and environmental conditions. Besides, her body was already blazing with fiery power and rage, blocking out any outside elements from effecting her severely. She has a minute and a half to finish this battle before the needle's power ends.

As she watches from afar, she sees Frye violently countering Nolan's godly attack and pushing him out of the way like he did with Grane, but with slightly less power. Saya knows that she's up next and prepares to issue a counter against the opposing gravity mage. As he rapidly approached her, numerous columns of smoke shot out from the ground until some broke out into an eruption of lava. The whole area becomes more and more unstable by the second. She has nothing to loose.

Frye attempts to alter her area of gravity, stagging Sayatachi only by a bit, but it wouldn't be enough to make it a victory. Just before his fist would make violent contact with the goddess body, his fist would be stopped by Saya's palm, absorbing the impact as she stands firm, her power rapidly holding ground as she only takes one step back from the impact. After a grunt or two, she begins to laugh at such attack, her eyes gleaming rather ominously at him.

"You're indeed strong," she responds as she takes a slow forward step, "I'll give you that... But have you properly accessed the GRAVITY of the situation?"

What Frye would fail to know was in Saya's free hand, the forbidden black needle was nudged in between her index and middle fingers, purposely hidden to issue a surprise jab at any given moment. With a rapid and quick motion, almost in the blink of an eye, the hand would jab at Frye's side, issuing a pressure point and injecting the black needle into his blood stream. The pressure point should be able to make him stagger in pain, but has little knowledge of the needle that stabbed him. He's in a precarious situation. The needle begins to sapping the magic aura that is within the opposing mage's body, feeding Saya with his magic power. No matter for how long it lodges inside of Frye, she's already beginning to get the upper hand.

To leave it inside for 1 - 3 seconds, Saya will be able to resist the magic to a very notable degree...

For 4 - 7 seconds, she'll be able to conjure that magic and combine it with one of her needles...

For 8 - 30 seconds, she'll be able to create a new needle based on the power...

And by over 30 seconds to a minute, the opponent will begin to grow frail and weak, eventually turning into nothing but a corpse...

And even if Frye is able to push the hand away from his side, the needle will be still lodged in, held together by a very thin but durable fiber.

"You're mine..." mutters Saya as she slowly gains this newfound power...

@Lunarlors34
Penny followed Jasmine, glancing around them constantly as they walked. Penny might be a little paranoid yet with everything going on, she wouldn't be surprised to find them surrounded by enemies. In which case she would grabbed Jasmine and fly them out of there, bringing back reinforcements if it proved necessary.

She reached out to stop Jasmine from crashing into the tree, but the girl seemed to stop herself. "did that thing just appear?"

---

When all seemed to be over finally, Gabriel realized two things. He was alive. And the dragon used his own magical energy to create its fire. He swayed, having given a lot of magical energy the day before to keep the floating platform from falling, Gabriel hadn't yet replunished it. He lost his balance, beginning to fall from the dragon, which disappeared from under him as he couldn't sustain holding the gate open.

Wind blew around him as he fell, deafening him. Had he really just survived that, only to fall to his death? He closed his eyes wearily, waiting for it to happen. His fall was stopped as something seemed to crash into him, and then it was almost like floating. He opened his eyes, looking up at Leo, who plopped him on the ground. This proved dangerous as Gabriel swayed, nearly falling, until Leo supported him.

Perhaps it was a good thing he was here on his own will.

"is everyone okay?" he asked, his own voice raw as if he had been screaming all that time.

@Caits
"N-no I just wasn't watching where I was going." Jasmine said with an embarrassed chuckle. Obviously Penny hadn't been paying much attention to their front either. But Jasmine needed to concentrate now.
They had found the rock, and now the trees...what was the next landmark? A strange, burnt smell filled Jasmine's nostrils suddenly as a breeze picked up through the area. It was putrid and Jasmine had never smelt anything like it before, it was like someone had WAY overcooked their meat or something. But in the middle of the forest? Jasmine just couldn't get most people.
"W-what's that horrible smell? Jeez." Jasmine pinched her nose and wrinkled her face in disgust as she searched around for the source of the stench. Walking past the trees now there was another grove of trees not too far ahead with a small stream of smoke coming from the center. What a minute...
"Wait...that grove there. I remember we camped there for a night...but I can't seem to unjumble myself." Jasmine rubbed her temples quite a bit now as she was still trying to put some of her memories in their rightful place.
She was sure this was after the argument. Surely.

Argus Leandros

As Argus' wounds were being tended to, his mind would come staggering back into consciousness by Tsubano's Marsh Song, his breath coming out in a pained hiss as he started to get himself back up, but before he could make it even a third of the way off the ground, he fell back to the dirt, his body being racked by a violent coughing fit. He'd stop after a few moments, but not before painting the ground before him with his an worrying amount of his own crimson ichor.

While the others celebrated their victory over the beast, he struggled to contain the spasms that were working their way through him, his body jerking to and fro as if something inside was trying to savagely break free from its prison of flesh and blood. This would pass, and after it, Argus would simply lay still, his breath coming out in shallow bursts in order to keep the pain to a minimum, the hastily healed wounds in his body staining once more leaking out his life onto the ground, having re-opened after such violent movements.

And then the sense of dread would come over them all, a feeling he knew better than most. He'd drawn this sick darkness into his body, using it to fuel what little of his magic he could still use effectively with this damnable seal. The swarm, turning end over end above the desiccated corpse that had once been their master, an undulating mass of living darkness, was made only more unnerving by the corpse's words, seeming to almost be speaking into his very mind. The fact that this man used to be the source of the plague, and that everything that had happened, and the beast they had fought, had been created from these insects, did little to make the injured mage feel better. He wanted to get up and blast the swarm to bits, incinerate every last one of them and laugh at the ashes, but before he could even get the chance to fail, they were gone, dispersed as if by a great wind and sent off to whatever dark lair they called home.

Argus would stare after them for a bit, then down at his own hands. They were rough, coarse, and appropriately covered in blood(never mind that it was his own), a testament to the life he had lived up until now, Even when his sister had been by his side, he'd always tried to rely on himself, whether it be due to his sens eof pride or a desire to not be a bother to anyone else around him. Perhaps, more to the point, it was so that he never once more grew close to anyone, so that he wouldn't end up causing their deaths as well. The shallow breathing that had been a constant for the past while would hitch as memory imposed itself upon reality, showing a younger Argus standing before a friend in the arena.

The two danced around each other in brutal savagery, and yet every act was fraught with hesitation. Neither wanted to kill the other, they had grown up in this hell hole, had planned many escapes, suffered everything it had to offer, and yet now they had to kill each other to continue this torture. It was too much for his friend, who wanted it all to end, so, as they grappled with each other, he pleaded for death. Reddening blue orbs would shed a mix of blood and tears as he dug a jagged rusty dagger into his friend's heart. And then, the young boy was alone, his darkening hair beginning to rise into the air as he let the magical power inside him truly begin to rage.

The demon-touched mage's body would begin to shake again, pain lancing its way through him, his face unreadable as he lowered his head and began to curl in on himself. Soon, he would turn over and began to rise, his blood-stained jacket clinging to his unstable form as he just barely managed to get to a sitting position. Teeth gritted against each other in pain and frustration, he would force himself to take a deep breath, then let it out, his vision blurring as he did so, tears squeezing themselves out of ducts he'd long thought dry. Whether this was from pain, or something else, Argus knew not, but one thing he did now was he needed to change.

He had gotten in trouble with Marlene, had disgraced the guild, and generally made a terrible impression because he hadn't wanted to change, was too afraid that he couldn't be anything but what his life had made him, so he didn't want to try and find out. He had convinced himself that it was the guild's fault, that Marlene had over-reacted, and that he was not truly at fault, when he had simply acting like a child, and he decided that, even with holes in his stomach, legs, and other parts of his body, now was a good time to start growing up.

"Your name was . *urgh* . Tsubano, right?" He'd barely managed to get those words out, his voice faint and weak due to the state of his wounds, even with the assistance of her healing magic. Gritting his teeth slightly, Argus took a moment to catch his breath before continuing to talk to his fellow guild member. "I'm sorry about how I acted earlier today. It was ungrateful and childish, as are a lot of things I've done. I just . . . I just have been on my own for so long, I was afraid to actually try and join you guys. I was so convinced and caught up in thinking that . . .*cough* . *cough* . . . ugh, that you were all going to turn around and kill me at any second, that I never really thought of trying to give you guys a reason not to. If I'm honest, I don't trust anyone in this guild, not fully anyway, and I think it'll be a while before I do, but I'm going to promise to the Commander that I'll do my best not to cause too much more trouble.

Argus would take a few minutes to stop talking, and just let Tsubano heal him,a nd perhaps respond if she had anything to say. While he regained what little strength he had left, he would reach up slowly to his neck, feeling the magic brand that was placed their so long ago. Following it's jagged black form across his neck, he came to where he knew the elaborate Seal of Denial was placed. He seemed to contemplate something as his gaze would occasionally shift towards Tusbano, only to shift back as he had some form of inner monologue with himself. Once he felt a bit better, he seemed to come to a decision, as he turned his head to fully face the Marsh Witch.

"Listen . . . about the seal. . . I see now that I just been relying on this dark power for a while now, and as a result, haven't really been growing, not as a mage, not as a fighter, and certainly not as a person. So, no matter how much I hate the damn thing, I'm going to keep it. Argus was about to say more, but he suddenly was racked with a fit of coughing, his hand coming away colored even redder than before once it passed, though he seemed more annoyed by it then worried, though his eyes did seem rather glazed over."_{That's what I get for doing a rush job . . . must've missed something}*Sigh* . . .Moving on, I need to tell you something, and you need to tell the Commander. If I'm going to be here, might as well commit fully and come clean. You see, my magic is not easily restrained or contained, even by myself, due to the fact that it destroys everything it touches. This includes magical energy, even pure Eternano itself, which means that from the moment you put the seal on me, it has been slowly weakening and degrading. It will continue to do so till it either gets taken off or, the more likely scenario, it gets too weak to properly contain my magic when I try to push as hard as I can and breaks. Since you place it on me . . .I figured that. . .it'd be . . _{best to tell . . .you. . . now . . .}"

Vision would become blurry as the world suddenly went sideways, pain bring everything back into focus for a sharp moment, but only just, and that would be when Argus succumbed to the embrace of unconsciousness, with nothing but the sound of few voices, the smell of blood thick around him, and a dull throbbing pain spreading it's way through him.

@Lugubrious

@Lunarlors34
Penny followed Jasmine, feeling a little paranoid, glancing about them constantly. There definetely wasn't something right here. "Stay close" She said to Jasmine, scouting out ahead for a moment, "I don't like this" That smell...Penny closed her eyes a moment, and swallowed around a foul taste in her mouth. "I won't you to stay behind me, Jasmine. And if I tell you to run, run, okay? I'll catch up, and I'll prbably just grab you and get out of here, into the air" she warned the girl, moving towards where the smoke was coming from

@Caits
Jasmine cocked her head to the side at Penny's request. Stay behind her? But she was the one who knew where they were going? Nonetheless she trusted the phoenix slayer and let her take the front. She seemed to think something was off so it might be wise to follow her advice, as unlike Penny Jasmine didn't really have the ability to sense overwhelming danger. One could say she was completely oblivious to it at most times.
They entered the grove of trees now. Penny would've entered first and seen the sight, but wouldn't have had the time to stop Jasmine from entered due to their close proximity. Within the clearing was scattered, mutilated and badly burnt or still slightly burning human body parts. A merchant cart stood in the middle, a smouldering heap of crap was all that was left of it actually.
Jasmine fell back in horror at the sight within, clutching at her head as images flashed through her mind.

@Lunarlors34
Penny spun back to Jasmine, covering the girl with her own body. She should have made Jasmine stay back, once she had caught that smell. You n ever forgot the scent of burned bodies. never. "Jasmine...Jasmine, it might not be them." but who else was it likely to be?"I can do a spell, bring the...the bodies back to how they were originally, with my Phoenix Slayer magic. Do you want to be sure?" She didn't know if her words were getting through to the other girl, but she kept her shielded from the sight.

@Caits
Jasmine continued to clutch at her head, pain contorting her face as memories flooded back. They flashed by in an instant, hazy and fuzzy at best. But she could remember the sensation of fear all over again.
"I-I-I remember n-now...we had stopped for the night. I heard my parents outside arguing with someone before loud commotion and screaming. I ran outside to see what was going on...but everyone was...already...b-bloo-d-d everywhere. T-there was a woman and-" Jasmine clutched her head again as the pain came back once more. Tears were streaming down her face but she needed to finish...
"A-and s-she saw me so I ran....eventually I ran into the moth and butterfly person. Next thing...I woke up in Cody's room. The rest you know already." Jasmine wrapped her arms around the S-Class wizard and began sobbing into her shirt as she spoke so some of it might be muffled into Penny's chest.

@Lunarlors34
Penny held Jasmine, knowing there was nothing she could truly do for the girl. After a long time, she said softly "We'll go back. We'll get some things, and then come back, okay? We'll give them a proper burial" She wouldn't leave the bodies there, out in the open. And Jasmine deserve a chance to say goodbye.

Jamie

Jamie, up early again, began to knock on the contestants doors, cheerfully saying "Rise and shine, my dears! The last day is here! You better all be here, I don't want to have to track your butts down!" Once she had knocked ont he last door, Jamie headed downstairs, where a breakfast buffet was waiting for every one. Jamie wanted the whole guild there, or as many of them as there could be, to support their constestants and to show the world Phoenix Wing would stand together.

On their way, to the guild Masters of Dragon Fang, Frenzy plant and Riders blade, were communication lacrimas, and a note saying she wanted a meeting with them. The lacrimas would be a way to organise a time, but Jamie would track each leader down herself if need be, and drag them together. After the events of the last few days, she didn't want to lolly gag.

Jessie

Jessie snuggled in close to Ferris, having been more than content to stay in his room, enjoying the simply pleasure of being with him, without the games being a constant, Sadly, before she had fallen asleep, she remembered to set the alarm lacrima, so they wouldn't be late, and had organised bagels to be brought up for their breakfast a few moments later.

The alarm Lacrima went off, and Jessie sighed, wrigging in closer to Ferris as if that could stop the sound. After a moment however, she rolled away, or as far as Ferris would allow, sayign "Okay, okay, I'm getting you, shush!" Her fingers curled around the small globe, and the sound stopped. Stretching, she gave Ferris a kiss, and wriggled away, "Foods on its way!"

At the stadium

Over an announcement, a pre-recorded recording of Jessie's voice said "All teams need to be at the grounds in thirty minutes. Any who are late will be disqulified. Have fun! Don't forget a hearty breakfast! Anyone can win today!"

Those arriving at the stadium would find that the ground had been completely flattened, but that there appeared to be ridges, as if something would rise from there.

As the sun rose on the city of Crocus after the fourth day of the games, Damian was already awake and heading for the one room in the hotel he hadn't visited since day three. He paused a moment, listening for any movement on the other side of the door. He was wearing just a suit of light leather armor, no plates, with his combat boots with no swords today. After a moment, he knocks on the door.

Meanwhile, Marlene was already sleeping heavily after the battle with Argus. Most of her scratches and scars have disappeared since she got into bed, but still some showed on her face and arms. They'll heal though, just a little later. Already she was sleeping for 12 hours straight, which she can consider to be a first. At least she'll rest enough until her wounds fully heal, for surely nothing bad can happen while she's still in bed.

*Knock Knock Knock*

"Come on, Marlene. Day of Reckoning has come."

Oh shit! Marlene's eyes jolt open after hearing those words. She instantly knows who's voice it was... and oh boy did she forget about it. Nor was she even happy about it. With a grumpy groan, she tries to get out of bed, only to stumble off and land on her belly with a thump. Another long groan escapes her as she slowly struggles to her feet. Damian would've heard the commotion from the other side, but Marlene just didn't care. She's grumpy, that's all.

"Are you REALLY sure you can't like... start it on the weekends?" she whines as she rubs her head and opens the door, looking all messy, "I mean I know its punishment but can't I have a few days rest before doing this?"

Damian leaned against the wall, shaking his head. "Nope, you had a day and a half of rest, today's guild wide rest, so it's a good day to do it. If Jamie asks, we're going for a run." Of course, that was just the opening bit for the day ahead of the Crystal Make wizard. Hopefully, they wouldn't run into Jamie on the way out anyways, but he never knew. "You've got ten minutes to get ready to go. Get ready."

"Shiiiiiiiiiit..." Marlene hisses to herself as she quickly gets some clothes on.

Once she was ready, 8 minutes sharp, she slowly tugs herself out of her room with a tired face.

"Ok..." she says tiredly as she follows Damian, "What kind of utter torture am I going to experience now...?"

Damian grinned, but simply beckoned her to follow him. As they walked out, they managed to avoid anyone who might ask questions. Once they were outside, he turned to Marlene. "Alright, first is a five mile run. If you finish before I do, I'll lessen the next activity's severeness. If I beat you, it maintains it's severity. Easy enough?" Upon receiving Marlene's reply, Damian took off down the road, catching a ladder and climbing it swiftly before heading to the roofs.

"FIVE MILES?!" Marlene blurts out in utter surprise as he jaw drops and her eyes water comedically.

But by that time, Damian simply took off down the road, catching a ladder and climbing it swiftly before heading to the roofs. Oh for the love of god this was not what she was signed up for! But then again, if she finishes before him, he'll lessen the next activity's severeness. With a mighty bolt, she begins to run as fast as her legs can carry, already catching up to Damian. She has to put her physical ability to the test, or she'll have to suffer the consequences!

Damian glanced back and grinned when he saw Marlene coming as fast as she could. He didn't have to worry a ton, he knew she'd wear herself out trying to beat him, and that was enough. Turning his attention back to the paths in front of him, he leaps over an alley way, slides under a duct and up a slanted roof, only to roll at the top to get under a piece of piping. Coming back up to a standing run, he rolled over a magic controlled AC unit back first, landing on his feet and continuing on. He didn't expect her to get crazy, but he did expect her to do her damnedest to keep up.

Jeezus was this guy fast! Not to mention that he was very agile. Yet Marlene will soon begin to realize that keeps running like this, that's she's going to petter out and utterly fall. She can cheat yeah, but under the authority of Damian? Probably not the best idea. However, this was going to be something she might as well do as things get tight. Another AC unit drives towards her, but she didn't have much space to get to the side! Yet she has a plan.

"Crystal Make: Pole!"

She then forms a long pole in which she uses it to pole vault over the car, which dissipates just before the car would hit it. She would then find herself on the roof, running right beside Damian. But she's going to have to do much better then that in order to win.

Damian glanced at Marlene as she landed before sliding under a vent and coming to a stand, picking up his pace and once more putting the Crystal Make mage behind him. He wouldn't begrudge her her magic, since it was the greatest equalizer for the young woman. In all honesty, he had to wonder how much of this kind of thing she'd done, if any like it. Clearing another roof, he slides to a stop and looks back a moment judging when she'd reach that point and dropping a small blade on the roof. She wouldn't see it until it activated and then she'd have to think fast. Standing, he counts to three before sprinting forward once more.

Marlene continues to run as fast as her legs can carry, only looking at Damian running steadily ahead of her. She was indeed jealous that she doesn't have the stamina that he has, but alas still pressures herself to keep on going. Suddenly, in almost an instance, a dozen blades begin to spring straight below her! With a surprised meep, her instincts told her to quickly jump, barely missing what would've been a bloody injury. What the hell was Damian thinking?! Was he trying to bloody kill her?! And with that, her anger boosts her speed as she leaps from rooftop to rooftop, leaping great distances to catch up to him again. She wasn't going to take these traps lightly!

Damian glanced back and smiled at her quick dodge. As she moved to catch up, he changed course into a more obstacle heavy area, knowing they were getting close to the end destination.

The end was finally near. Marlene was already getting exhausted the more she pushed herself. Any regular folk would've petered out long ago, yet the determination was shining through her eyes. She will prove that she's a mage to be reckoned with! She will win this race to the finish! Even if the area she's going through will be laired unknowingly to her, with traps.

Damian got into an outcrop where Marlene wouldn't see him until it was almost too late and dropped another small blade before waiting. As she came around the corner, likely confident that she had passed him after loosing sight of him, he grinned. "Radial Blade: Burst!" A circle of several blades appeared around the Blades mage and exploded outwards as the trap he'd dropped went off, but he was already on the move, leaping over another duct and dropping down the ladder down the side of the building. Hitting the ground, he ran into the park and waited, already double checking some things that had clearly been set up ahead of time for the punishment.

Ah crap, more traps? What kind of a person is this damn Damian?! Nevertheless, she avoids the blades after performing a very high leap over them. But where is Damian? It seems he must've taken some sort of shortcut to try and throw her off. This was unacceptable! If he can cheat like this, then why shouldn't she try some as well? Issuing a crystal spell, she then announces her next move.

"Crystal Make: Floor!"

And with that, she creates a floor in front of her as she runs, providing an additional speed boost due to its slipperiness, while also fading behind her. She would bounce over incoming people, which also provides a better speed boost as well. She feels as if she was getting close to the exit, even seeing a park coming up. Then she catches the eye of a wooden plank that has been put up like a ramp. This will lead her to the rooftops as she launches herself up to the roof and continues her furious sprint. When she reaches the end of the roof top, she issues another spell to help her.

"Crystal Make: Pole!"

And with that, she grabs a very long pole and ultimately pole vaults over the edge and lands right behind Damian, ending in a gymnastic like pose.

Damian chuckled and pointed to some water set to the side. "Alright, five minute break. Re-hydrate and rest up, the next parts more fun."

It was just then when Marlene began to tremble with tiredness. She then looks at him hatefully and growls.

"WHY THE HELL DID YOU SET UP THOSE GOD DAMN TRAPS?!" she then yells at him as she drinks the nearby water, "You are a god damn cheater!"

Damian chuckles and summons a Hermes Blade, spinning it around. "I never said it wouldn't be a pain in the ass to get through. And besides, what's a good run without a little quick thinking involved. And by the way, there's no reduction, you were two seconds too slow."

All Marlene did was make a frustrated groan as she bangs her head on a tree. Ohhhhhhhh this was going to be a very, VERY long day for her. She was slow by 2 seconds?! God damnit! She has to do better on the next part, or otherwise its just going to be harder on the next training exercise...

After a couple of minutes, Damian put the blade tip first into the ground. "Alright, break's over. Now we start. I take it you have no idea how military push-ups work, right? Then I'll show you. Down is one, up is two, down is three, up again is the actual number of push-ups, like so." Taking a proper push-up form, Damian goes down, up, down, up while counting. "One, two, three, One! One, two, three, Two!" He stops and stands, looking at Marlene. "That's part one of the next bit. Ready?"

Push ups are next huh? Even if they were military versions she is alright with it. Sure she still doesn't want to do them, but yet if she complains, she may just get a heavier punishments. After nodding to Damian's question, with a sigh she gets into push up position. She will do three sets of these push ups before stopping to ask a question.

"Now... how many sets of these must I do?"

Damian took his own push-up position and smiled at her. "We go until you ask for a break. If you don't ask for one by the time I decide to take one, you'll get a longer one. Ready, go." And away he went, like a machine he did them.

Well wasn't this a bit of a conundrum. She can ask for a break whenever she wants, but if she does so before Damian gets one she'll get a much shorter break than usual. However, she just has to buckle up and keep doing it until her arms literally fall from their sockets. And just as Damian begins his own push-ups, Marlene does her's, only somewhat slower then him. The fatigue of the race still lingered in her bones, but she mustn't let that stop her. She continues to make push-up and push-up, pushing her upper body strength to the test. She was shaking every time she pulls herself up, yet it still doesn't deteriorate her determination to win! She can do this!

Damian didn't stop, and his pace never slowed, like he did at least this much on a daily basis. It could, with in reason, be asked how he ever had time to do anything else, but then maybe he split the full workout he had planned for that day to be on different days normally. After he'd done about a dozen sets for himself, he shifted to doing it one handed.

From the corner of Marlene's eye, she can see Damian already doing one-handed push-ups! Of all the people to do push-up contests with, why was her opponent this jacked off dude? She was already getting awfully tired, with every push being slightly harder then the last. At this rate, it wouldn't take much until she will drop like a fly. Just a little more perhaps, for maybe luck can steer her in the direction of success.

Even as Marlene silently prayed for respite, Damian was varying up the kinds of push-ups he was doing, trying to find the right one to give him more of a challenge to keep it fair for his partner for the day. After two attempts, he decided on the diamond push up and went to it. It was another ten minutes before Damian finally stood up and called for a halt, noting that Marlene's arms were shaking horribly. "You've got drive, I'll give you that much. Twenty minute break, give your arms a respite before we start sit ups. In the meantime, I think I owe you an explanation for why this is your punishment if you want to know. Because I almost went by the book and put you on KP duty for the rest of the Games and the next week after."

It was incredibly tough for Marlene, as her arms were already on the verge of collapsing and shaking quite violently. However, as soon as Damian mentioned a break, the girl collapsed on the ground with a sigh and began to pant furiously. At this rate, she might as well get muscles for all this exercise. When Damian began to tell her that he owed her an explanation, Marlene slowly got up to sitting position.

"I-Isn't it because I fought that Argus guy and got myself in trouble for that?" she asks, thinking that it was the case.

Damian nodded, getting his bottle of water and taking a drink. "Partially, though in all reality, the guy does need a good ass kicking from what I keep hearing about him. No, the biggest reason is that the guild isn't as ready for what's over the horizon as Jamie thinks, whatever it may be. And I can't shake this feeling that here in the near future, Fiore is going to be embroiled in yet another war and this time? It'll be the guilds fighting with the army instead of just the army." He noted her skeptical look and sighed, taking another sip as he tried to figure out the best way to explain it.

He could just come straight out and call it a sixth sense he'd inherited from his dad. Or he could say that an old friend of his that serves on the border watch has been intercepting scouts from other countries. In the end, he decided on both. "My dad used to have this sixth sense for when a big battle, or war in other words, was coming. I never understood it myself until I was about eight and I noticed that the air just felt, for lack of a better word, heavy. Like there was a storm rolling in but without the clouds. I was ten when war broke out between Fiore and Mistral, just like Dad had said. And here we are, years later, and I'm getting that familiar sense of a heavy feeling in the air. I couldn't say who the war will be with, but there will be war. On top of that, an old buddy of mine in the border watch has been intercepting scouts from some other country, though they always refuse to say which one. So I figure I can help the guild in my own way by doing this. But," he set it down and looked Marlene in the eyes, "I hope you're ready to take another's life if I'm right, because war is hell and doesn't spare the weak and meek."

Marlene would raise an eyebrow at Damian's words of a guild war.

"You mean like a civil war?" she asks as she sips some well-deserved water, "What do you mean?"

That was when Damian answered her question.

Marlene has heard about these wars as far back when she was in grade school. The textbooks do say and show how gruesome and violent these wars can be, along with showing pictures, but never has she ever encountered or even lived in times of war, like most people of course. But just the thought of killing someone... it just made her shudder coldly. What she tried to accomplish when fighting Argus was more of a revenge move, to get back at him for the prank he did to her and her friends. But then she remembered the whole event with Nolan and Ariel. What was attacking Ariel wasn't exactly her... more like, a beast of her own self. Perhaps that was the closest she has ever been to killing someone, but this was due to some unknown energy and not because of her pure thoughts. She didn't know what to say exactly.

"So..." she answers slowly with worry, "This whole training thing... this wasn't because of punishment... but training for this so called war?"

She pauses as if Damian was going to answer.

"But out of all people you could've chose... why me? Like I've just entered like barely a week ago and~"

Her voice then trailed off, as if she stopped herself from saying more...

"This is as much punishment as training, and I choose you because, well, you got in trouble. The timing was good is all. I'll be trying to talk to Master Jamie about doing this as a guild, though I might not be as up front with her as I was with you about the reason. Anyways, that's the two contributing factors, your fight with Argus and my itching sixth sense. With that out of the way, you can ask any questions not already answered if you want, or we can rest in silence. I'm fine with either."

Marlene was quiet for awhile until asking another question.

"I know you don't know this exactly..." she then begins, "But... do you have any clue on who might we be facing like at all?"

Damian persed his lips in thought a moment, trying to remember who had invaded the most while he was growing up and that his parents had told him about. After a couple minutes, Damian sighed. "In all honesty? It could be any one, though only Mistral has a lot to gain from conquering us. Guess we'll find out when the time comes."

Marlene nods as she thinks about the whole situation. War huh? If this is true, the whole neighboring guilds are going to be in serious trouble. What mages will the enemy have? Strong ones for sure, yes, but what kind of horrid dark powers would they use? Hell for all she knows they can be comprised of slayer magic users or some stuff like that. But like Damian said, they'll probably find out when the time comes. It was still a very intense situation to think about. But he was right, she needs to get ready. She thought at first this whole training was nothing more but punishment. Yet here she is, basically training to prepare for war. And she was just lucky enough to be a "VIP" for this matter...

Damian watched Marlene sit in silence and mentally facepalmed when he realized that he'd grown up around death and killing, even if he didn't exactly relish it, and that most people didn't. He had grown up a soldier and he'd accepted that was what he would be no matter how much distance he tried to put between himself and that fact. Not everyone could handle the implications. "Look, Marlene. I'm sorry about the killing thing. I grew up on the battlefield with my parents. Guess I have a bad habit of forgetting that some people just aren't as familiar with the idea as I am."

"It's alright." Marlene says as she puts her hand out to stop Damian from going, "I understand. Look, I've been taught about war and stuff back in school. It may be completely different then actually experiencing it, but I'm not that sensitive to it. Hell, I've even tried to pick a fight with Argus for revenge and shamefully tried to rip Ariel apart due to... well you know."

She then sighs as she finishes

"All I'm saying is, I'm not scared of war. Or at least to a variable degree. I may not be familiar with it, but I'm not just some little naive girl who only stays in lala land. You know what I'm saying?"

Damian nods, checking the time. They still had about ten minutes of rest. "No, I do, I really do. But reading about it and watching it in a lacrima aren't the same as standing on that battle field with some Mistralan Soldier bearing down on you for the first time. And, unfortunately, there's nothing I can do to prepare you for it, otherwise I would. Just do me a favor and before the war hits, don't think on it, just enjoy the Games each year and have fun with the guild. Leave the worrying to me, alright?"

Marlene paused for a minute, taking in the information that was told to her. All she simply did... was nod. That's it. But he's right. Why worry on the future right now? Just take advantage of life you know now. Besides, Phoenix Wing isn't weak, as well as all the other nearby guilds. Together, they can take the opposer down no problem! They shouldn't worry to hard on it. After all, they got time to prepare anyways... She then continues to sit and rest quietly.

The last ten minutes passed on in relative silence. They got odd looks from passersby on occasion, since at least Damian was a well known Wizard in his own right, but other than that, nothing happened. Finally, Damian sighed. "I think we'll wrap this up after the situps. I had more on the agenda, but you're already pretty beat from both your fight a couple days ago and what we've already done. Promise me that next time you'll come to me or another S-Class so we can arrange for a fair fight next time, alright?"

"Sure." Marlene answers almost bluntly, "Give me a date and I'll come and complete it."

With that said, Marlene lays on her back and prepares to do some hardcore situps.

"Let me guess," she says, "As much till I can't possibly do anymore right?"

Damian nods, taking up a position to hold her feet in place. "You mostly have it right. You have to complete forty five situps in as fast a time as possible four times with about a minute break in between timed goes." He pulls out a lacrima and sets it down, with a forty five second countdown appearing above it. "Ready, set, go!" As soon as he says go, the timer starts.

As soon as Damian shouted go, Marlene got to work on sit-ups. She has to do forty five situps as fast as she can, with only a limited amount of four minute-long breaks in between timed goes. She wasn't the greatest situpper in the world, only completing fifteen before going for a quick ten second break until going back to her situps. Her belly felt like it was pulling her apart and it burnt like hell. However, she still continues in spite of this, groaning each time she gets one up. At this rate, she is at thirty push-ups in about one minute so far. She has just fifteen more to go. She can do this!

As Marlene does the last of her 45 sit ups, Damian calls stop and the timer stops, a minute and thirty seconds on the clock. "Alright, not bad. You earned the rest. Just a suggestion though, don't take breaks while doing the sit ups, makes the pain worse. Just push through and remember to breath while you do."

One minute and thirty seconds. Not too shabby. Though she thinks she can do better, taking Damian's suggestion on not to rest.

"Got it." she answers as she takes a long breather.

Damian nods and resets his position and the timer resets, the first attempts time moving down. "Alright, minute's up. Go!"

Once again, Marlene began her second round of push-ups. This time, she was doing it slightly faster than before, having already reached thirty five by one minute. However, she once again was forced to take a breather, only this time being five seconds. She then quickly completes the last ten as fast as she can.

When Damian called stop, she was at a minute fifteen. This process repeated two more times, and after the last time, she was down to 45 in 45 seconds. Standing, Damian helps Marlene up. "Well done. I think you've learned your lesson about starting cross guild fights. Go ahead and head back to the hotel, and avoid Master Jamie. I think we can both agree the episode with Argus can remain out of her sight and hearing. If she DOES catch you, make it convincing." And with that, he set to cleaning up the other gear, which all went into a duffle bag off to one side.

Looks like she finally made forty five situps in forty five seconds. Marlene was also more relieved when she finally heard that she was finished with the training, issuing a sigh of utter relief as she gets back up. She was already a little sweaty from the exercise, but the shade kept her from getting drenched.

"Alright," she answers tiredly as she gets up, "I'll be sure to avoid her. Uhhh, thanks for the training I suppose?"

She then makes an awkward chuckle as she waves him goodbye and makes her way back to the hotel. She could've sworn she lost a pound or two there... maybe a little more...

Penny
Penny woke at Master Jamie's knocking. Giving a sigh, she rolled out of her bed, resting her head in her hands weary from the recent events. She...for a moment it seemed hard to get up. With a sigh, she rose, running a hand through her hair, she tied it back with a ribbon, changing clothes, she headed downstairs.

Being pulled into the games was not something she wanted, and especially wasn't something she wanted right now. She had Ariel to deal with, and Jasmine. Rubbing her eyes, she headed out the room, glancing about her. Anyone who truly knew Penny as she headed downstairs would notice that she was doubtful, something that wasn't common place for her.

"Morning, Master Jamie"

Sasha

Sasha was already up, getting dressed as Master Jamie knocked on her door. She jumped across the hall to Lazarus's room, letting herself in, and dragging Lazarus up, she got him moving, so they were both heading down the stairs in moments. The last day of the games seemed to have taken forever to come, and Sasha knew that anything could happen. She would do her best, but she was worried about lazarus. She would keep an eye on him, and do what she could.

@hatakekuro@Lmpkio

Saya jab made him and to his surprise, staggered in place for a second. Jumping back, Frye gritted his teeth as he was ready to leave behind a mess that he had planned to create.

Planetary Core Series, Volcanic Burst.

From below, the ground that was already unstable and bursting with pressure, erupted with a column of magma flying into the sky, lava pouring out from the ground, and ash clouds forming and falling. Frye was consumed and launched up within the column of magma. From inside, the magma burned everything, from Saya’s black needle to every piece of clothes on him as the magma also began to treat his wounds. The column of magma that launched Frye allowed him to pass the ash clouds. Once he was floating in the air with his gravity magic, he swirled his hand around as he was able to control the magma that erupted to remain in the air to form a disc of magma that floated above the ground and just below the ash clouds. Then he motioned his hand down, causing the magma to rain down over a large radius that was wider than the 50 meter radius of scorched earth that he caused before.

The two wizards below not only had to worry about the magma raining down, but also the event of what happened when the magma and lava that left the magma chamber that was below ground. With the magma from the chamber was gone, the scorched earth that they stood on was collapsing as it was forming a caldera, a type of volcanic crater.

With those Nolan and Saya busy, Frye used the ash clouds as cover and flew away without being seen.

@Caits
FERRIS

Groaning softly, he woke up to Jessie wriggling in his arms to turn off the lacrima. Ferris felt her kiss him and he tried to kiss her back though she had escaped his grasp. "I'm surprised you have as much energy as you do." Ferris sat up in the bed and yawned with his arms stretched up high in the air. He arched his brow at her mentioning breakfast and chuckled a bit, looking at her with an amused grin. "Well you better get dressed then unless you want to give the bellboy a hell of a view."

@Lugubrious
ENMA

It was over, it was finally over. Enma plopped his back against the yellow grass and sighed in heavy relief, letting the rain pour drench him. Exhaustion had overtaken him though he did not care, even if he was wounded and poisoned by the beast's foul energy, he was still alive and the whole ordeal was over. However that sense of ease was dashed away in an instant as he felt a sense of dread take over him and sat up to see the black mass of insects fly around and converge into a corpse, offering a disturbing truth of what had caused this plight over Belka before it burst into white and green flames. For now they have won, but they haven't won the war yet.

@Lmpkio@Expolar
NOLAN

The weight of the sudden shift of gravity had pushed him downwards, changing the direction of the swing of his blade but it had only left a small cut on Frye. The majority of the attack's force was directed away from Frye, leaving a destructive blast wave that had left blown away and scarred the ground in the direction of the blade's altered path. Nolan couldn't move fast enough away from Frye as the mage had grabbed the young Slayer by the arm and slammed his firey fist against Nolan's chest. Even though his body felt like it was burning up as if he was on fire, the sheer power that was nearly overloading him surpassed him in the terms of pain.

Nolan was sent flying back, skidding his feet along the ground as he tried to regain his stance. Frye's searing fist had left its burning mark on Nolan's chest. Blood was dripping down the corner of his mouth as his body began to breakdown from this state of divine power and he wasn't the only thing falling apart. The whole damn area looked like it was going to erupt as if they were standing on an active volcano nearing its boiling point. However, when it did erupt Frye manipulated it and created a rain of lava that expanded well beyond fifty meeters as well as leaving the earth below them empty, ready to give way at any moment.

"Fucking coward!" Nolan roared as Frye disappeared from the battlefield. The golden cracks glowing around his body had only grown around his body more and radiated even brighter than before. Even the dharma wheel hovering behind was beginning to crack as Nolan was drawing in the rest of his power for one more technique. Glowing, golden ashes had erupted from his body, rapidly expanding out into a swirling sphere around Nolan and Sayatachi until it condensed into a colossal hollow sphere with an incredibly dense outershell. The ashes had leaked into the ground and formed multiple spikes that had braced itself along the walls of the crater so it could not fall.

The sphere took the full brunt of the lava storm and insolated the two mages from the intense heat of the attack. From the inside, all they could hear was the roar pouring down on the shell. A few minutes later, the storm had finally ceased and the ash spehere had begun to do fall apart into streams of ash. Soon they could see the entire area had be obliterated by the apocalyptic attack.

The golden cracks that had surrounded Nolan's body were now gone and the golden Dharma wheel had shattered into many pieces then into powdery ash. He fell down onto his knees, panting as he spat out blood. "Too close...my body couldn't take it anymore."

Saya's needle was true to it's aim as it successfully pierced through Frye's side. She grins as she keeps ahold of it with the tiny, but durable, thread that she held with a tight grip. If she can just have it stay lodged in the mage, all of his magic will be her's to keep, or at the very least, be able to use some of that magic in her arsenal. However, only a few seconds later, Frye began to retreat via blasting himself into the air via a column of hot magma. The intense heat was too much for the black needle as it virtually melted away, cutting off the direct energy supply leading to the Council woman. She takes a step back as she watches her opponent disappear into the ash clouds, while unleashing a rain of hellfire down upon them.

Saya then looks around at her location. The whole battlefield was falling apart as the rain of lava crashes down onto the rock below, with lava beginning to absorb the said rock as well. It was turning into a crater of its own! It was now high time to leave. But as she prepared to evacuate the area, she suddenly sees Nolan running at her, gleaming with golden ashes swirling around him. For a second, she thought that he was attacking her, perhaps after that event some time ago... but alas it was not the case. The ashes burst from the Ash God Slayer's body, rapidly expanding out into a swirling sphere around the twountil it condensed into a colossal hollow sphere with an incredibly dense outershell. The ashes had leaked into the ground and formed multiple spikes that had braced itself along the walls of the crater so it could not fall.

Such impressive magic! It's been a long while since he had fought along side a non-council mage with such brilliant power. She clearly had him underestimated, despite his rather subtle "defeat" against Frye. Still... it was magic she hadn't felt in a rather long time...

The sphere took the full brunt of the lava storm and insulated the two mages from the intense heat of the attack. From the inside, all they could hear was the roar pouring down on the shell. A few minutes later, the storm had finally ceased and the ash spehere had begun to do fall apart into streams of ash. As Saya looks around, all she can see is what was left of the battlefield... a scorching-hot, obliterating mess. It was a good thing they were able to finish the battle here and not in a city where innocent bystanders would be harmed.

Then she hears whimpering down below her. Saya turns her head down beside her as Nolan was kneeling on the ground, the golden cracks being gone, and even began spitting out blood. The Ash God Slayer was severely injured and exhausted after using that much magic power. It was a rather pitiful sight. As he looks over him, she then looks back on the events that happened in the recent past...

The first meeting... where she tried something questionable...

And the second... having said event almost been announced...

Was she proud of what she did? It's tough to say. But she being powerful and wealthy one would think that she thought barely any of it. She seemed Shameless And if she wanted, she could simply leave him to fend for himself... and perhaps die... keeping the secret closed for good for whatever reason...

But that was only just in the back of her mind speaking. Saya slowly takes out a needle from her collection, gleaming brightly as the sun comes through the black clouds. It was her white needle, a needle based off pure light and healing abilities. It's certainly useful in helping mages (and herself) recover quickly from their wounds. She bends down at him, holding the needle gingerly in her right hand as she prepares to inject him with a healing potion.

"Hold still." Saya says as she pricks Nolan's shoulder with the needle.

It would spurt no blood, but the initial prick would be slightly painful. Thankfully, Nolan wasn't in for some questionable things, but rather a reward for his incredibly hard work. Soon enough, he would find himself fully healed in just under a few seconds, his strength returning to him bit by bit.