[center][h2]Damian Gerard|Crocus City[/h2][/center]
[center][@Lugubrious][/center]

When Damian landed on top of the tower, just as he'd hoped, no one was there. However, he couldn't help but wonder what the sudden light was for as he pulled the Hercules Blades free. He realized it about a second later as the first explosion shook the tower. Time slowed for the swordsman as he tried to find a way to lessen the damage he'd take, but the best he could come up with as the explosions reached him was a Blade Shield, and he already knew it wouldn't hold. His Blade Shields were good for stopping other swords, hammers, axes, even bone spears as he'd recently discovered, but for the life of him were useless against anything that caused big, fiery booms. As the explosion reached him, he shifted so his right shoulder, which bore the shield right then, faced the explosion. The shield held for a second, which gave the Blade of Phoenix Wing some hope, and then shattered less than a second later. [color=FireBrick][i]Shit.[/i][/color] Without anything between him and the explosion, his world became searing heat and a bright white light.

The force sent him flying back up into the air and a piece of the rubble caught the young man in the head, knocking him unconscious for most of his ascension. If one were to look towards the top of the tower, they would see a streak of black smoke ascend several hundred feet into the air, already surpassing the height at which he'd begun his mad dive to force Frenzy Plant off the top of their tower. It was during this time that a wave of Negation Magic passed over the city, causing all magic to cease functioning and Damian regained consciousness. The upside of his position, as he hung in the air for a couple of seconds, was he got a rather amazing view of the city. He enjoyed for all of the second that it took for gravity to kick in. [color=FireBrick]"Shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT!"[/color] He tried, unsuccessfully, to summon a Striker Blade to land on at a much safer distance the the roughly half mile to a mile drop he had ahead of him. Unfortunately, the negation magic wouldn't allow it and he plummeted like a stone back towards the ground. He kept trying to summon the blade while also trying to think of a non-magical solution to the dilemma he now faced. 

A spark of magic appeared as the ground got closer, but he still couldn't get the blade until he had about ninety feet left, when suddenly his Ares Blades formed and a Striker Blade appeared, which did little more than redirect his fall from perfectly vertical to a more angled one and sent him tumbling through several walls of an empty building, eventually coming to rest on the street on the other side. He laid there for several moments, a haze of pain and relief all he could feel, before he attempted to sit up, a movement he immediately regretted as his side screamed out in pain. Laying back down, he gingerly counted the broken ribs, which came out to four. [color=FireBrick][i]And a broken arm, at least three cracked ribs, bruised body, and a cracked lower leg bone. All in all, I'm alive.[/i][/color] He attempted a chuckle at his own joke and immediately regretted it, his side screaming in agony.

Managing to stand up after several tries, he summoned a Hercules Blade to aid him in walking and began the trek back to the stadium, moving carefully while also trying to be quick. [color=FireBrick][i]So there was no winner huh? Guess it's not that bad. But I also have to wonder what would have caused the Royal Family to personally step in and stop them. Suppose I could always ask one of the servants at the ball tonight. Lord knows that if there's gossip to be had, that's where you'll find it.[/i][/color] Still, the lack of a winner didn't bother Damian at all, both because he was fairly sure he'd have been laying in that street for a long time and because he hated the thought of missing out on seeing what everyone brought to the table because of laying in the street.

As he limped along, he spotted Penny descending down towards a street further ahead and frowned, wondering when she'd gotten so far ahead. Then he remembered she could fly and let it go, deciding it wasn't worth the headache of trying to figure how much he'd missed during both his rapid climb and fall after that explosion. Some would say he should have been angry with Frenzy Plant for sending him sky high mere moments before all magic became unusable, but he knew better. None of them had anticipated such a large scale negation spell, if any, and he hadn't died from it either, so there was no need to be cross. After several minutes, he find his way to the entrance of the Stadium where he saw Tough Love and Frenzy Plant. Noticing that two of their members were down, he frowned, unsure of what had happened while he'd been forced to play aerial recon for Josh. Still, he made his way to the Phoenix Wing symbol, where he summoned a Striker Blade to sit on while he waited for the rest of his team, who he had avoided in order to avoid babying from his girlfriend. Catching Zander's eye, he gave the other man a nod. Not a nod of greeting, but a nod of respect, from one strategist to another. He was then seized in a fit of painful coughing, his broken ribs perilously close to puncturing the lungs they had protected. [color=FireBrick]"Ow..."[/color]

[center][h2]Jake Ronan, Ammy Silver, Hunter Jorgenson|Crocus City[/h2][/center]

When the magic in the tower suddenly all vanished, Hunter was the first to shift focus in preparation to counter an attack from Hyun. However, she seemed just as confused as the Dragon Fang members, and after leaving a threat hanging in the air, one that the Dragon Slayer dared her to try and carry through with, disappeared outside the tower. While the three from Dragon Fang regrouped, Ammy already making Jake lift his arm so she could see the damage done, the tower lowered to the ground and Hyun and Indigo departed, the former helping the latter. That left the three Dragon Fang mages to leave and return to the stadium on their own, but not before Hunter spoke up. [color=DarkGreen]"Man, never met a group of people with a bigger stick up their ass. How's a guild like them still getting members?"[/color] Jake, in return as the trio walked through the city to find Zephyr and Jackie, shook his head.

[color=SaddleBrown]"Pride isn't a horrible thing. Hell, we're all proud of our guild, same as Phoenix Wing is proud of theirs. But, I will say too much pride is dangerous. Frenzy Plant's done a lot to earn their pride, but to say that they won't feel some kind of consequences for it some day is foolish. But for the time being-"[/color] Ammy cut him off, finishing his sentence.

[color=Cyan]"We should try to get along with them. This year's Games didn't bring out the best in people like I'm sure the Royal Family had hoped. Phoenix Wing unintentionally sold themselves to be haughty and arrogant, Frenzy Plant prideful and rigid, ourselves just a slight disorganized, and so on and so forth with each guild. Pirate Lord and Tough Love will see member increases just for competing, as will Ryder's Blade."[/color] She opened her mouth to continue but Hunter held up a finger.

[color=DarkGreen]"Jesus you guys over analyze. A simple 'I don't know' would have worked too."[/color] Jake chuckles and Ammy smiles softly before returning to searching for their guild mates.