Alexander Ascot

Alexander turned to the newly-arrived Aram, not knowing what to say, before looking at Michael to see if the latter needed medical aid. Vittorio had given them all a chance to leave, and Alexander, after making sure Alto was all right, was taking it. He can see that things were now going to end in this apartment, one way or another. Going to Michael, opening a first aid kit, and beginning to treat him with it, Alexander would say, "We've won, but why does it feel like we've lost?"

Or rather, like I've lost. I failed to help Vittorio, and I may even have made things worse. What kind of officer am I?

His next words were, "Let's leave now."

@RoflsMazoy@Dezuel@Bartimaeus@Scarifar@Gentlemanvaultboy

Yuuto

The ninja merely observed as Bak jumped in surprise at his entrance, before proceeding to hand him the unconscious student. He nodded in understanding. He quickly ducked out of the room the same way he came in, hoping to deliver the package before the St. Laurel's student could intercept. Once outside the room, it was easy for him to sneak up behind the Vigilantes, especially after two of them haphazardly jumped into a hole in the floor. He snuck up behind the remaining Vig, and dropped the body. As it hit the floor, he disappeared into the Void, walking away and following Clara. Perhaps it was time he focused on his primary objective...

Brutus

As Brutus watched, Aram and Nasaraph both headed down below to help Michael. Brutus was considering following, then decided to stay up here and assist if possible. While he was trying to line up a shot for a tag, the fight below seemed to end as abruptly as it started. Before Brutus could make any further moves, he heard a thud behind him. He whirled around, his arm held up and crackling with electricity. There, in front of him, was another student. Brutus quickly stopped his sparking, and picked up the hapless student. He then turned to where King had disappeared, and walked into the room. He shouted down.

"King! We got another one. Just seemed to appear out of thin air!"

Lise took a fairly uneventful walk to her dorm. If anything, she was fascinated by the surroundings she observed. The manor of hers was dark at night and only lit by electric lamps in certain areas, and only after a young Lise complained and complained about it. To think that something as large as a city could have lights along every street. The only thing detracting from her experience were the so-called pants that she was wearing, which felt strange to her.

Between her ability and the strangely dedicated royal guard that was Andreim, Lise felt plenty safe despite the unfamiliar surroundings. It was only after a fairly long stroll did they come upon the familiar territory of Laurels. Walking through the dorm hallway, they eventually stopped at Lise's room.

Lise handed her room key to a shadow maid and turned to Andreim. "Now, boys aren't allowed in these dorms, so I will quickly return your trousers before anyone notices you're here." With that, she disappeared inside her dorm, the door to her room swinging back but not quite closing.

Lise gingerly tugged at the belt of Andreim's pants, eventually getting it loose. She was unfamiliar with commoner clothing, after all, and it could break if she was not careful. For that reason she even refrained from summoning her shadow servants. Their strength could be regulated, but she couldn't risk an accident. Eventually she managed to loosen the belt and buttons of the pants, and she pushed them down around her ankles.

This was a problem. They were much too long for her, and they seemed to bundle up around the ankles when she was taking them off. As she tried to push them off, she lost her balance, falling right on her butt with a thump. Lise felt a twinge of self-consciousness, despite nobody being present. 'Commoner clothing was supposed to be easier to wear and take off, wasn't it?!'

Outside of the room, Andreim could hear a thump.


Andras nodded at Ascot's plan but she also spoke up to William afterwards, saying, "I can keep track of any cards that I draw for you, but... I can't stay at Laurels all the time. I have some other engagements that I have to see to."

'Like doing more Vigilante work since I'm about to spend some money on new clothes, for one.' Andras's stomach fluttered slightly at the thought of her wardrobe embarrassing her again. 'Hopefully I can get something done with Brutus soon.'

"Plus, I'm not even a student. Wouldn't that raise some concerns if I stayed around there too much?" Andras grudgingly admitted to herself that she already spent too much time at what is essentially a rival school, but she used the excuse that no other school had a library as expansive as Laurels.

Andreim

Safe. They had arrived.

She had told him that boys were not allowed here. The idea of being caught and labeled a pervert by the rest of the school didn't annoy him as much as it would be if Lise thought of him that way. Lise had not quite fully closed the door and he looked at the gap and saw her starting to undress before he shook his head and turned his eyes away.

I can't be peeping on her godly body from this corridor of shame. I am much better than this.

Then he heard something horrible. The sounds of approaching gossip. Damn some nosey girls were out of a late stroll through the place. He needed to find a place to hide quick. But if he'd leave Lise then she will think him a big jerk. And she had the only key to his own dorm and his other things in his pockets. He had to do the risky thing and sneak into- then he heard a thump sound. Something had fallen down inside of the room.

Had someone attacked Lise in her own dorm? Unforgivable! But he had to be silent or he would be discovered. By the girls, by Lise or her attacker. He grabbed unto the door softly and slid inside, once inside he did a soft sigh and pressed up against the door abit, accidently locking it with his arm. He had avoided the Girls approaching in the corridor. But now there was an enemy in here.

Then he took a step forwards and looked if he could find Lise, and sure enough he found his empress to be on the floor. She had slipped and- Andreim's first foot glued to the floor whilst his second foot came up behind it at too high a speed. It crashed into the back of the other foot, causing him to fall forwards, tumbling and without grace he fell straight over Lise with a softer thump than she had done.

Oof. Hm? He found himself on a soft surface, he reached with his hands to try get up abit and then his face grew red as he realized where he was. He had fallen right over his precious goddess and found himself in a predicament.

Then the scene began to fade.

The burning continued to torment Michael, but his body was still in one piece. Michael figured out rather quickly that whatever he was covered with was not going to come off with just his hands, and that he needed the stuff off him now. Michael's mind raced furiously as he tried to come up with something to get rid of whatever was afflicting his body. The liquid burned his body wherever it touched him, as if it were acid. Wait, what was he thinking, it was acid! What else could Gilliam have vomited out at them like that?

With the substance on his body identified, Michael had an idea on removing it, or at least rendering it ineffective. Michael got to work drawing a Trap Art on the ground below him. A circle drawn here, certain symbols drawn around, and it was soon finished. The Trap was sprung at once, and Michael found himself lying face-up in a pool of water-based ink. Michael hoped that at least the ph level of water-based ink was enough to counteract the properties of the acid. It seemed to have worked too, considering the burning feeling began to lessen. The stinging from the inflicted wounds continued, though not as much as he had expected. Perhaps his durability Body Art had provided some needed protection. It still hurt, though.

Michael sighed in relief as his Trap Art pool expired. The worst of the crisis seemed to be over, and Vittorio was no longer in sight. Alexander came over to him with a first aid kit. Michael wasn't sure what could be done about acid burns, but Alexander was evidently doing the best he could. "Sure," Michael responded to Alexander. There didn't seem to be anything more to do, anyway.

Lifting himself off the ground to sit upright, Michael noticed that others were arriving, and they were Vigilantes as well. "Oh, you guys were here too?" Michael asked as Aram and Nasaraph came over. "What made King so interested in this place? Besides the obvious, I mean."

William Ascot

"Oh, right; you're with the Vigilantes," Ascot said to Andras. "Well, they can protect you as well, so that's good. I'll also have my brother dip into his personal savings in order to hire you to protect me. Note that in practice, we'll be protecting each other."

In response to Vernon's voice message, Ascot sighed before saying: "And what is Vernon doing now?! Did he just say that he can make me immortal? If so, that's absurd; I am not sure even he has the resources to do that. Well, it doesn't matter; we're going to need to plan a way to defend ourselves from that Half-Demon's minions - if they want vengance - once it's time for us to depart. That'll be after Masami finishes her fight, right?"

Deep inside, Ascot didn't like the fact that he had somehow displeased Vernon. He didn't like that at all, but his boyfriend would forgive him in time, hopefully. What he was more concerned about was trying to extricate himself and his group from any lingering hostility from the half-demon's bodyguards, as they might want vengance (He didn't know Galbrek's name yet). Hopefully, his mother would come and fetch them, soon; she was among the strongest people Ascot knew, with immense powers hiding a unique weakness he didn't want to think about.

A car drove into the Midnight Tournament's Parking Lot; Gilgamesha Ascot had arrived.

The boy looked at Andras, "Mom's come to take us home, it seems."

@RoflsMazoy@Dezuel@Bartimaeus@Crowvette@CavnderOHeart

As the beam came down, there was one final flash as Alto entered God Speed Flash yet again. Three times in a row wasn't very easy. He was a little unsteady on his feet, but he didn't let it show. Their little skirmish was over now, but it felt as if it was just a taste of what was to come. Hopefully it wouldn't come too soon. He shook his head. It would be clear soon enough.

Despite the unexpected nature of the night, he had been expecting the past to catch up with him some day. He was strong enough to face it now, but who could say what lay in the future? It seemed he needed to set his sights forward, now more than ever.

---

The room Brutus entered was empty again. The window was open and the curtain was billowing in the wind. Suddenly, a message appeared on Brutus' phone.

Alto's got a car downstairs. If you find anyone knocked out, bring 'em down.

King, wherever he really was always seemed to have impeccable timing. It seemed true for almost everyone, enemy and ally.

"So, why is it that you are here before me?" Clara asked.

In front of her stood a very familiar gaudily clad figure with a grin on his face.

"I was looking for a missing cat," King replied innocently.

"That doesn't look like a missing cat." Clara replied, looking at the body draped over King's shoulder.

"And that sure as hell doesn't look like a savory activity." He said, referring to the worm currently stretching out from Clara's finger to enter the other unconscious student's ear.

"...Granted." Clara said, getting up on her feet. "Still, to seek me out like this, you must have a reason."

"I wasn't looking for you, just this guy over here." King said, walking over and taking the other unconscious student over his other shoulder.

"Aren't you siding with them?"

"That worm of yours isn't going to be found unless you want them to be found, right? Well, I could do something about it if I felt the need to, but I want you both to owe me a little."

Some words came to mind, she didn't remember who had said them, but they were significant none the less. "If you can't be medicine or poison, then all you are is water." She would have thought that the Vigilantes would have been as such. So many 'neutral' parties she had witnessed failed to be either, and simply became nothing. The Vigilantes however, had yet to become truly one or the other, like many others of their type. But their leader King, felt as if he could make them become anything.

"I'm headed off for a bit, I can tell them I saw you, but it's not as if you'll be staying here for too long, is it?"

"No, I don't think I will be."

King waved, or about as close as you could really get with bodies draped over both shoulders, and flew out the window.

"Let's continue, Yuuto." Clara said with a sigh. The ninja was hidden, but it was likely such a thing didn't really mean anything against King. "We have some more targets to pursue."
@rawkhawk64@Gentlemanvaultboy@Dezuel@Bartimaeus@Letter Bee@Crowvette@Scarifar

Alexander Ascot

Alexander received a text message from his and William's mother, Gilgamesha Ascot, saying that William had failed in his initial attempt, made enemies, and might make more in the future. As Vittorio had left, he had no reason to take on the rest of this skirmish; that and he had to take care of Michael anyway. Looking at Aram, he would shout, "Hey, Alchemist! I sort of need you to help treat your friend's acid burns! That, and I have a job for your Vigilantes!"

Without giving the other boy a chance to reply, the Juvenile Investigations Officer would continue, "I need my little brother, William Ascot, protected for...two months. More to the point, I want one of your members, 'Andras, Demon Lady of Despair', to be one of the people sent to protect him. Can you guys do that?"

@RoflsMazoy@Dezuel@Bartimaeus@Scarifar@Gentlemanvaultboy

Aram slid swiftly down the thin pole he had created, quickly surveying his surroundings as he descended past the second floor, to the first. Nasaraph followed suit, grasping the beam and descending himself.

The Alchemist's passing of the first ceiling was met by a cacophonous eruption of rubble which send large and varying amounts of debris his way. This worried Aram, as he need both hands to perform alchemy, which he currently didn't have available to him. Meaning he was pretty much entirely defenseless. Luckily for him, Nasaraph was capable of providing his own support, and expelled a blast of stored energy his body, smashing the larger debris into smaller pieces as they both dropped to the floor, their grips on the pole each released.

Aram landed unsteadily, falling forward and tumbling over to sprawl out on the floor. He pushed himself up from the ground to stand, a moderate pain spiking from his ankle which caused him to distort his face slightly in pain. That would be a problem. If it weren't for the fact that it seemed the fight was already dispersing. It seemed our side had won. Or at least the side Michael was fighting for. Speaking of the fellow Vigilante, Aram spotted him, accompanied by a man who was seemed to be supplying him with first-aid attention.

He took a step forward to go over and see the state of Michael's injuries when the man looked back, and called him. "Hey, Alchemist!"
He came over hurriedly as Alexander told him of his friend's acid burns. He drew the acid from the student's body with his water manipulation as he listened to the officer's proposal. Protect someone? For two months? He pondered, a little confused by the request. He nodded ever so slighty, thinking. "Odd proposal, but... you did say it was a job. So that means money... and depending on the amount, King could be very pleased." he thought out loud. It seemed like an odd request to him, but he would put it through, nonetheless.

Aram nodded. "Alright. I'll put it through to King, our leader. I'm sure you'll know how to contact him with any follow-up requests."
He put his hand on Michael's shoulder, easing to help him up after cleansing his acid wounds. He would indeed put the request through to King, including the part about Andras.

The reward for this could please King. It could provide them the money they needed for access to the upcoming tournaments, in conjunction with the exorcism and cat missions. It was perfect!

But what Aram didn't consider... Who or what were they protecting this brother from...?

Masami left Andras and Ascot after assisting them as she could. She was making friends much faster than she had anticipated upon her arrival in Rhea. Not that she ever had trouble with making friends. People usually seemed to be naturally drawn to her, even if she wouldn't admit such an un-humble fact. But it wasn't like she got out much anyways.

These wandering thoughts were interrupted as the bright pink-haired, perky individual she had met before named Euphoria, caught her eye, the notions dashed from her consciousness as she remembered she wasn't yet done fighting. Her muscles had long been relaxed, as she had been in the company of her new-found friends, and she now felt reinvigorated.

She approached the girl, "Hey Euphoria!" she called. She had never been given her name vocally, but she remembered seeing it on some board somewhere. She would then inquiry about her next fight in the tournament, and be presumably led to the correct ring.

Masami really enjoyed a friendly sparring match. It invigorated the senses, and sharpened the skills. Both things that she highly enjoyed experiencing. She wasn't much for showmanship, but considering her style and appearance, she didn't need to be. Again, people were naturally drawn to her.
Even here, as she approached the ring-side, she heard hushed tones from the crowd. Those who had watched her earlier mentioned the previous fight, betting and bickering to themselves over one question; Who would win next?

---

With a roll of his eyes from being ordered about by Rurik, Thobias grabbed his and Christine's wrists and soon enough the three were up to the third floor.

". . . I will never get used to that," Rurik said, his stomach feeling a bit flip-floppy. He had been under the grip of adrenaline last time, but after a second go defying the laws of physics, his internal organs weren't feeling so hot. Christine could only offer a sympathetic smile.

The fight beneath seemed to have ended not long after it began. A moment later, their attention was drawn to a nearby room by someone's shout. They were looking for King, so it must have been a vigilante. While the Vigilantes were certainly opposed to Mephisto's, they weren't their main enemy, not like St. Laurel's was.

"OK, before we run into someone we don't need to, let's go. Uhh, this way..." Rurik turned in the direction of the stairs to the fourth floor. With any luck, it would be mostly empty, perhaps just a few imps and Clara.

"Oh, but I think Bak is the other way!" Christine offered "helpfully." A stomping footfall soon proved her right. Rurik pursed his lips. He had said they were gonna check on Bak. She'd just had to play the good girlfriend and pay attention to him, hadn't she?

"Good point..." Rurik said stiffly, through clenched teeth. The look on Thobias's fault told him that he too knew that Rurik had brought this upon himself. Smug bastard.

And so they went, being forced to jump over the hole first that Rurik had made, and then the other made by Andreim. Rurik feared that the floor would collapse under them, but somehow the crumbling structure held just enough for them to make their way.

They found a hole in the wall, and in the room was Bak, guns deployed.

"There, we found her. She seems fine. Right? You're good, aren't you, Bak?"

“Rurik!” She said, turning slightly toward him and giving him one of those weird half-smiles of hers. “Christine! Thobias…” She said, her voice suddenly going flat. “So good of you to come today.” Rurik was one thing, he showed up late but at the very least he bothered to show up. Thobias just showed up whenever he wanted. Bak could take measures to correct tardiness, but actual absences weren’t so simple.

“Hold on for one moment, I am just finishing something up here.” She said, and fired. The missile flew over the top of Samoth’s cover at an angle, slammin into the ground behind it.

Samoth couldn’t react fast enough. He was more focused on listening to the other voices in the hall to hear the release of the missile, or its launch through the air towards him, until it was too late at least. He barely had time to begin moving before the blast detonated directly to his left into the floor.

The explosion sent him sprawling away from his cover, turning him over as he collided with a granite counter separating the apartment kitchen from the lounging area. His focus was dashed as he collided, dispersing his glaive and knocking the wind out of his lungs from the hard impact his back took the brunt of. He knew he couldn’t win this fight. Retreat was his only option.

He looked to his left, the area of the apartment furthest away from Bak Tsarevna. But also the most open. Without second thought, and even without waiting for his lungs to refresh their oxygen supply, he spurred himself to make a mad dash for the closed window while clutching his ribs, and focusing all his attention to the space to his right, aiming to telekinetically block any attacks he could as he made his escape.

Rurik sighed. More fighting, of course. He knew Bak would get mad if he didn’t help or something. He lazily fired a bolt after the fleeing enemy student, but it seemed to disperse upon hitting something. He fired again, but with the same result. Ah, of course, a barrier. Not quite as useful as his own, but also bigger.

“Oh no, he’s escaping,” Rurik said with obvious lack of caring. Another sigh. Fine, he’d make himself actually useful he supposed. He swore he was done after this. He grabbed Thobias’s wrist, “All right, do your thing.”

“I’m not a taxi service.” For a moment the two stared at each other, both showing obvious distaste for the predicament. “Ugh, fine.” With a sudden folding and unfolding of reality, and Rurik’s stomach, the two appeared in front of Samoth, Rurik charged and ready.

BAM!

An unstable blast flew free right into the fleeing boy.

“I got hi-!” Rurik began to call out, but stopped suddenly. “I… I got… HORF!” Without further warning he hurled all over the St. Laurels boy’s feet.

“Yep. That’s enough of that.” Thobias pursed his lips and blinked away, leaving Rurik on his own, cut off from his allies.

“Uuuughhh… sorry about that. Teleporting’s a bitch to get used to…” Rurik actually apologized to his victim as he wiped off his chin. “Now, wh-” He looked up and realized his situation. There he was, sick to his stomach and off balance, and Thobias had left him. “That… bastard…”

Samoth was completely unprepared for a direct close-combat attack. The blast hit him directly in the chest, even before he could raise his arms, and knocked him off his feet. Once again what little air had re-entered his lungs was knocked out of them as he once again took an impact directly in his back. He groggily attempted to scramble to his feet, but before he could do so, he heard Rurik pause, and then wretch all over the Laurel’s feet. Samoth looked at his boots in disbelief. He narrowed his eyes as his gaze shifted from his feet to Rurik.

He synthesized a kinetic bolt, launching it directly into the rival student’s stomach. Samoth would then attempt clamber to his feet, lunging at Rurik, throwing one palm into the boy’s rib as the other arm wrapped around his torso, under his arms.

Bak growled as Samoth got around Rurik and put him in between them. Rurik would never try at anything now if this was the sort of thing that ended up happening. She tried in vain to lean around around, stepping to the left, stepping to the right, trying to get and angle on Samoth and getting more frustrated all the while as he hid behind his human shield.

She looked desperately down at her chainguns and let out a frustrated sign before her missile pod popped open again. “I am sorry Rurik.” She said apologetically. “This is rescue missile, not punishment missile.”

Rurik’s jaw dropped. Rescue missile?! “Dude. Buddy. Pal. You need to let go,” he spoke in a panic to Samoth.

“Why should I?” He said flatly. “Not a chance.”

“You heard her! She’s gonna blow us both up, and I don’t wanna be standing here hugging it out out when she does!” Rurik’s eyes flitted nervously back-and-forth between Samoth and the soon to be fired missile-pod.

“Hmm...No.” He smirked on the inside. This wasn’t exactly the best time for jokes, but it amused him either way. He tightened his grip on Rurik.

“Look I don’t even wanna be here! Just let me go and I’ll make it up to you!” Rurik skipped right to the bargaining phase of grief… Bak’s missiles hurt like hell.

Samoth pondered the proposition briefly, even though he already knew his answer.

Bak closed her eyes and the missile came whizzing out of the pod directly at them.

“Fine.” He immediately released his grip upon Rurik, giving him a abrupt shove towards Bak. He would immediately begin sprinting straight for the window, planning to dive out of it head-first while covering his face with his crossed arms.

Rurik’s eyes went wide. Even as Samoth spoke, the missile was loosed. And then Samoth of course had to be a dick and push him toward it. Fortunately, Rurik felt his ability to use his powers return immediately. More by instinct than by skill, Rurik project his shield, lifting up and sort of scooping up the missile with his shield, sending it spiraling away up into the ceiling. He then held his shield there, like an umbrella against the rain of debris that ensued.
When the chaos passed, he looked around, first at Bak, and then at the broken window where Samoth used to be. He’d escaped. Bak was surely not going to be pleased.

“OK, look, I think we can all agree that in reality this is all Thobias’s fault.” Rurik crossed his arms. Not his, certainly. It wasn’t like he had the ability to go extra fast and dodge or anything. Nope… it had been totally out of his hands. Totally.

Thobias just flipped him off.

Nasaraeph shrugged his shoulders as he approached Michael unsteadily. "I didn't rightly know that King was interested in this place." he said in response to Michael question. "I was just here to gather more potent energy in time for The Midnight Tournament." He sighed, glancing yearningly out the door into the cold night. "A opportunity I'm afraid I've now dawdled too long to take advantage of. It was sheer luck that I ended up embroiled in all this." He neglected to mention whether this luck was good or bad.

It really did tear at him. He should have realized that the moment they jumped down that battle would tip to their favor and one side would retreat. He'd intended to pull Michael from the battle and watch it unfold a little longer, and he would have if that damned monster hadn't tried to kill him with a rock! He noticed that he was gritting his teeth and quickly played it off. "What were you doing here?" He said in perfect faux-worry. "Throwing yourself into the fray like that, you could have gotten yourself killed. And who is this man?" He said, pointing at the officer. "And why is he offering us a job?"

"ALTO!" came a shout from the rubble pile. Nasaraph turned his head to see...the monster? He supposed so. It had the same voice as before. Some sort of transformation had taken place. Why hadn't he retreated like the ghost had said?

Gilliam hadn't retreated because he's spotted Alto where his last burst of light speed had left him. He jumped off his rubble perch, now less than half its previous height and strode over to him. Then, twitchily, shakily, as though every taught cell in his body was screaming out against it, he swept his hand in front of him and attempted a polite bow.

It wasn't as though he wanted to do it, he didn't, but this wasn't a matter of pride or burning, teeth-gnashing need. This was about survival. Vittorio had launched a suicide left him in the lurch. Despite their best efforts the boy was yet unmarred by damage. Under optimal circumstances Gilliam figured the two of them together would have a rough go of actually taking him down. Now it was only Gilliam, and he knew that if hostilities resumed right now Alto would likely have the backing of the remainder of those in the room. This fight was over. He understood that. At the same time, he was screaming internally to fight. He had to send this morsel away, for now, hopefully to his death.

"I do not believe," he began, struggling to hold himself together through one conversation. "We have had the pleasure of being formally introduced. My name is Gilliam Dewitt." Gods on high and devils below he could smell him from this close. He brought all of his training to bare against the animal desires raging within him. Don't salivate, don't salivate, don't salivate. "My thanks for indulging the fancy of us two humble servants." He directed him to the central staircase. "You alone may proceed upstairs, where my Mistress has no doubt prepared more stimulating entertainment. Please, right this way. Sir."

The force with which Gilliam pulled himself away from Alto could have snapped a sturdy oak in twain. He walked back to the rubble pile and placed himself back upon it, between the central staircase and the group that was even now tending to Michael. Nasareph internally cursed this cowardly monster for not re-engaging in battle, but for his part Gilliam only surveyed them passively. The way the bird boy was looking at him was quite interesting, and Gilliam distracted himself momentarily by considering how best he could be prepared. An oven would be too small, but perhaps over an open fire? No, that would burn off the feathers. Those were the best part of a bird.

His eyes strayed from the bird to the annoying painter and the burns that dotted his body and the way the adult was fumbling for what to do. "Apply anti-septic bandages to the wounds, which are to be changed twice daily, and do mind to avoid popping any of the blisters if you can help it. There is unfortunately not a quick fix for burns of that sort, but you can at least avoid scarring." He said in a loud, clear voice.

"Why would anyone listen to you?" Nasareph shouted back angrily. This bastard didn't do anything that Nasarph wanted him to do! IT really pissed him off!

"Because I admire self-sacrifice." Gilliam replied. "And because I wasn't aiming for him."

@Bartimaeus@Letter Bee@RoflsMazoy@Scarifar

---

Meanwhile, back on the third floor, Bak opened he eyes to find a hole blown in the roof, Samoth gone, and Rurik perfectly fine. Her eyes went wide and she let out a little laugh of excitement and relief. "I can not believe rescue missile worked!" she said happily. She stomped up to Rurik, rotated her guns back, and hit him lightly in the chest with both fists. "That was very much reckless. But it was also very good. You see, you can do so well when you just make attempt." She looked around the room, got a confused look on her face, then turned back to him. "What did you do with him?" She asked. "Wait, this is not important, are you all okay? Did you meet enemy? Where is Gilliam?"

@KillamriX88@Hammerman@6slyboy6

He looked at the scene before his eyes, as the murky room's stench made him crinkle his nose. He stood there, flawlessly still, as he ascertained the current situation. Deals with Mephisto...well, ended up usually like the ones from the tale. They had said they needed his skill for a project. While it was true that the situation could improve with his set of skills... babysitting was hardly a project.

He was by the bedhead, waiting for time that ticked slowly, like murky mud going down a slope. Really slowly. Filthy. Fitting description. The man before his eyes was Vittorio. An acquaintance of the past. A broken toy much as himself. But not too broken, that had been the instruction. As he was, Vittorio was yet another dagger on St Laurel student's throats. But even the sharpest of daggers would lose its edge due to overuse.

He cracked a smile, as he crept from behind the tired and taciturn fellow youngster, who seemed to have woken up from an excruciating dream. His phone began to play an eerie song upon command. He whispered, his mellow voice honeyed and soft.

"You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?" Celestine said, a wide grin in his pristine face, as he drew forth into Vittorio's field of vision. In a rather skimpy nurse outfit. It looked on him better than the doctor, that was for sure. "Vittorio."

"Welcome to the land of the living, yet again. A little more and I'd have to put you on IV drips." He paused. "I got some sausage for food, if you fancy. Or some kale. But I guess... kale is not that much of a filling, isn't it." He added, as he circled a chair nearby, and spinning it on its feet, sat backwards, his elbows leaning against the back of the chair.

Still with a slightly blurred vision he saw the form of someone. He recognized this form as that of Celestine, one of the students of St.Lucifers. Celestine had always struck him as an odd one, but then again so were they all. Not to mention himself. He mustered the strength necessary and the painful rasp in his throat to reply to Celestine's question. Whilst it seemed more like a statement or confirmation of the cruel fate having befallen him.

"That... that I have. But even so I cling to hope.. that one day it will end." Vittorio allowed a soft upturn to form at the corner of his mouth as if he tried to smile but could not.

"Life is not fair... only death is fair. You only get a single chance... no matter who you are. That's why it is only fair Alto dies by my hand..." His sentence was ended with a cough which sounded it had blood in it.

"The land of the living... It feels distant to me.." He coughed again. "Ever since that day.. everything was... taken. That's when I.. truly died..." His eyes turned to the side and then back to Celestine.

"Thank you.. but no thanks. The hunger I feel cannot be qwelled by things like that..." His eyes wandered to the ceiling before he closed them and his astral self manifested next to the bed, sitting down and it turned it's head to Celestine.

"Clara and the others are in trouble. Alto and the vigilantes are both there. I tried to end him but he had assistance by some member of the police and others." His astral self lifted itself from the bed and walked over to look at the medical equipment and then back to Celestine. "I am sorry. I just cannot think about food right now."

Meanwhile...

Galbrek and Adam had finally arrived to the building which housed the St.Lucifer school. They both threw a look around to make sure they were not being tailed, before dashing into a dark alley and approached the cellar entrance.

Galbrek looked at the dirty metal door and then threw a glance to Adam and motioned to him as if expecting him to do something. Adam ofcourse by then realized what his master wanted and thus stepped up and knocked on the metal door, a lid opened after a little bit and a pair of red eyes met them both.

"Ravenovich. What buisness do you have with us at this hour?" A voice from the other end of the door asked.

Galbrek put one of his hands by his waist and the other began to fiddle with the ruffle on his shirt. "It is Lord Ravenovich to you. I have buisness of great interest to Vittorio Twinveil. Now open up this door or I shall tear it to pieces. My patience have it's limits do not test me." "That won't be necessary." The red eyed blonde young man behind the metal door slid the lid shut, then he opened the door and allowed Galbrek inside. "Whose this?" The blonde asked and pointed to Adam.

"One of my servants. Now cease your pestersome interrogation." Galbrek answered with an irritated tone in his voice. The blonde young man shrugged and shut the door close after watching to make sure none had seen them walk in. After a little bit of walking they came to the right corridor in the basement with the old wooden door. Adam looked to Galbrek and then began to open the door for his master. "Excuse us." He said in an apologetic tone of voice with lowered head.

"To think of all the trouble I have to go through tp find you, Vittorio. I have information for you. Don't think for a moment that I actually care about you. I simply hate the guts of the other guy more. Oh- You are here aswell?" Galbrek said with a not overly amused tone in his voice. "What was your name again? No. Nevermind. It is of little concern to one such as I." With outright arrogance he strolled up closer to get a better look of Vittorio's astral form and also of his bed ridden physical self.

"Sleeping well I take it? Well speaking of sleeping. Your dead friends and relatives have caught quite the interest in some parts of the city." Vittorio had kept a silent and grim stare at Galbrek, but Celestine could get the impression that these two did not like each other one bit.

"What do you mean.. Galbrek?" Vittorio asked with his ghostly eyes narrowed and concerned.

"Lord Galbrek. Some fool named William appearantly desires to raise your dear friends and family from the dead. Those wonderfully wicked necromancers. I cannot imagine how you would feel about having your dead ones bodies and souls defiled and puppeteered by some self-serving cretin. I am sure they could even fool you, if they are good enough at their craft."

"William... who is that? Necromancy?" Vittorio's face grew even more grim and his tentacles began to twitch in agitation, almost swinging out at Galbrek.

"Where... where is this William? Why is he doing something like this? Why are you here telling me about this?! What are you up to?!" Vittorio was now furious and tried his best to contain himself, even to the point of Galbrek looking abit uncertain if his approach was really the best.

"Oh hes over by the little special tournament they hold here in the city... heard about it? This boy also got in my way by preventing me from getting a brand new toy. Which as you might understand is completely unforgivable. So to put it plainly. I'll have you take care of this problem for me and you both."

Galbrek waved with his hand nonchalantly. "Do this for me and you won't have to think of a way to repay me for gracing you with my aid."

The astral form of Vittorio turned to look at Celestine. "I am going... I will not allow anyone to desecrate the bodies of the fallen. I don't do this for you however, Galbrek. I do this for their sake. Don't forget that."

Galbrek raised a somewhat arrogant eyebrow which hinted at annoyance but also curiousity, then turned his attention to Celestine. "Are you going to join him? Would be a shame if Vittorio here proves incapable of stopping this boy."

"IV drip will be it then. Stubborn humorless guy." Celestine scoffed, as he rocked forwards and backwards in his chair, wondering what kind of trick he would need to pull to keep Vittorio focused and a little more aware of his own fragility. He sighed in resignation. That was when the fop of a junior student came in, strutting alongside a manservant of his. Celestine's eyes narrowed for a split second, as the fool began to address Vittorio in a casual manner and take oh-no-so-subtle potshots at his apparent lack of spotlight to flaunt some sort of superior status.

He wondered how much of that status would he be able to flaunt if Celestine decided to remove half of his teeth and facial features with red hot pliers. The kitchen was nearby, as his eyes drifted over to said place longingly, his ears being assaulted by the arrogance of one, and the brashness of the other. Puppeteer and puppet, maybe? Oh and the new guy wanted to pitch in his own vision, to lead him astray. He had a little charm, that had to admit, but his mind was calm and focused on whatever instructions he had been given. He would need to try a little harder than that.

"I'll get the kettle to make some tea, we do have visitors after all." Celestine finally spoke, in a halfway disinterested mood, as he limped along in his nurse cosplay to the kitchen to procure the necessary instruments quite proficiently. As the kettle was set to boil, Celestine then walked towards the gathering, going out of his way to accentuate his walk as he circled around the fop, the manservant, and the astral thing that was supposed to be Vittorio's will now. He then went past it, as he crawled into Vittorio's bed, looming over his real body.

"Thanks but no thanks, you see... I have some task at hand. And one that is of the utmost delicate." He tilted his head, as he began to trace Vittorio's chest with a finger. "Such a troublesome patient. And now you, whoever you are... agitating him even further." He paused. "And neither of you realize it, don't you? It would take very little." He paused. He had memorized the steady heartbeat of the unconscious body. He knew which phases of his heart would go. He knew when to strike. His palm clenched into a fist.

Thud

It wasn't much of a hit. Merely a simple hard punch. But one with dreary consequences. Vittorio's heart had flatlined. "One hit is all it takes... for life to be snuffed like a candle. Alas poor Vittorio... in such a state he won't even be able to enjoy...the tea." Celestine smirked, as he eyed both astral form and the newcomer.

"Nobody wants that to happen, doesn't it?" He paused, nonchalantly, as he sighed. " But where are my manners ,some people call me Lightbringer, others the Fallen One. I'm Celestine, nice to meet you, mister."

He smiled. "And I do think in my humble opinion, that we all should enjoy this little get together, and think on a cool head, mmkay? Bad decisions have costly mistakes." He added, as he hit Vittorio's chest a second time, restarting his heart after what it seemed an eternity. The kettle, as if an herald, whistled in anticipation. "Excellent. The tea will be ready soon." He said, tracing his steps towards the kitchen once more.

"So please... sit down. Rash fools end up dead, don't they say that a lot?" He added, a little too thick to dissimulate the faint vitriol in his words.

---

"Well, that was a painfully long trip. Come on, Wolf! Hurry up!" A young, pink-haired (natural, believe it or not) girl shouted to her lackey, err, boyfriend.

"Coming, Vera..." Her victim, Wolf, replied weakly, throwing on a backpack. He'd learned to pack light and never take luggage that required hands to carry. Why? Well, because next he hefted Vera's two suitcases. He'd have said it was nice to have a girlfriend who could afford to spontaneously send them on a trip to another country, but trips like that just reminded him how high-maintenance she was.

"Hmmm," Vera stopped, stroking her chin thoughtfully as they stepped outside the airport. "I'm bored. That plane ride put me to sleep. You go carry that stuff back, I'm gonna go find a party!"

"What!? You can't, we just got back!" Wolf's jaw dropped.

"Yeah, and I feel like shit after being stuck on a plane for 5 hours! I need to loosen up!" Vera scowled at him.

"A-anything but the nightclubs, that never goes well!" Wolf argued back frantically. Vera had an addictive personality, he'd learned that quickly enough. She adored the nightlife and the club scene, but she also tended to give in to less savory indulgences. It had almost been nice the first time it had happened. Apparently Vera was very affectionate when high on... whatever the hell she'd been on, but she'd also been twice as nasty when it had worn off and she'd been hungover. That and, well, drugs are bad.

"Uuuuugh, you're such a buzzkill." Vera tried staring him down, but he swallowed hard and held his ground. "Holy hell, fine! I'll think of something else." And so they stood there, him laden down like a pack-mule, while Vera scrolled through her phone. "Oooh, that's a good tip!" Suddenly she had a devious grin on her face. "Just how badly do you wanna keep me out of the clubs?" She was like a predator eyeing up her prey, and he felt so very, very small...



"Umm, uhhh, it's my next fight, so, wish me luck?" Wolf looked at Vera expectantly.

"Yeah, whatever, just don't embarrass me, OK? At least a few people probably know we're dating," Vera rolled her eyes. "But, you know, no pressure." Her look told him there was oh so very much pressure indeed.

"Right..." Wolf's shoulders slumped and he shuffled into the fighting arena while Vera made her way to the stands to watch. "I won my first fight, didn't I?" he mumbled to himself. And of course he hadn't even been congratulated.

"All right, ladies and gentlemen! Let's get ready for the next round of bracket two!" The MC called out. "On one side we have Maxwell Booster, and on the other, Wolfram Koenigsmann! Do we need to hear anything else? No, we just wanna see some violence? Agreed! BEGIN!"

"All right, I hope you put up a better fight than my last opponent!" Maxwell cracked his neck. "Wait, is that a sword? You're not planning to use that are you? Come on, be a man!"

"Huh? Oh, it's... just a... normal sword..." Wolf pouted and looked down at the weapon on his hip. "I mean... OK, I won't use it..." In a world where some people could shoot actual lasers, a sword didn't seem like a big deal, but... OK.

"Ugh, geez, what a downer. This won't take long. Must have had a real loser for your first fight, huh? I'll let you have a real fight! Try not to die, OK?" Maxwell rushed in, hand extended like a claw.



Vera sat in the stands, a phone in each hand. One was Wolf's. She had taken it to "protect it" but in reality it just allowed her to browse to social media sites at once. She probably should have been watching her boyfriend's fight, but then again, why would she bother with that? The crowd would let her know if anything worth watching happened.

BLIP!

A message popped up, but it was on Wolf's phone, not hers. How odd, Wolf didn't have many friends, Vera had made sure of that. Couldn't have anyone taking his time away from her. She paused for a moment. That sounded extreme. She would never... She shook her head. Such thoughts weren't worth worrying herself with.

"Ah hell, seriously? We just got back." It was from King, because of course it was. "Already with the freaking jobs!?"

She read it, and it actually sounded somewhat interesting. Maybe this would be more amusing than even the tournament.

K. She responded concisely. King would no doubt realize it wasn't Wolf answering, but that was fine.



Wolf just sort of flowed around the incoming attack, his own hands flashing out to grab the arm and twist it behind him in a triangle-lock. "Wh-wh- OW!" Next, Wolf kicked him in the back of the knee, dropping him down.

Finally, Wolf spun to build momentum and swung his buckler around into Maxwell's face in a brutal, steel-meets-face, backhand.

"Ugh... guh..." Maxwell lay there, nose bleeding, trying to breathe more than anything. Wolf took a moment to assess the situation. He was pretty sure he was just sad enough for his next trick. That was... good... he supposed. With a defeated sigh, his net and trident popped into existence in a puff of dark smoke, his net soon dropping over his opponent. After a few moments of struggling, Maxwell realized there was no way he was clawing free of the impossibly heavy netting. "N-no fair!"

"But... I didn't use my sword..." Was all Wolf had to offer in response.

"That didn't take very long! Come on guys, at least give us a show! Oh well, we have our winner! THE WOLF!" The MC called out.

"I-it's just Wol- OK..." Wolf sighed, knowing no one really cared and quickly made his way out of the spotlight.

To hid surprise, Vera was waiting for him when he exited the arena. Was she there to congratulate him this time? It had been a flawless victory!

"Your, um, boss messaged you," Vera told him. So no congratulations. No... that made sense...

"King?" Wolf was able to pull out of his emotional slump a bit as curiosity took over.

"Yeah, wants you to play bodyguard or something I guess," Vera explained. "Someone named William? Alex is here, but I guess they need a bit more muscle." She then smirked. "Unfortunately I guess you're the only one available in the area."

"Ha... haha... good one..." Wolf just wished he could shrink into nothing.

"Anyway, they should be here somewhere, so lets get going." Vera began walking. It didn't take them long. They spotted Andras first, but she was with a few others. Vera held up Wolf's phone. "Yep, that's him. The little nerdy one."

"Hey, Andras! We're here too! King wants us to join up with you guys," Wolf announced with a forced smile as the two walked over. It wasn't that he wasn't happy to see a fellow Vigilante or that he had anything against the job... it's just that Vera had long since made smiling a foreign concept for him. 99% of his smiles were forced these days.



"Hmm, what's this, love? Your big brother works fast it seems. Might need to get a few tips from him," Vernon smirked. Michael was putting his family's men to shame with his efficiency. "Well I do hope you two are ready. We're gonna be doing some real crazy shit here."

"Ooh, I like crazy. Keeps me awake." Vera grinned.

"Errr... define crazy?" Wolf was suddenly concerned.

William Ascot

Ascot waved hi to Andras' friends, introducing himself first: "Hello, there! My name is William Ascot, St. Laurel's student. As for crazy, well, the plan is something that will require most of this month or the next and a lot of luck to fully succeed. Said plan is to use Andras' power, Perfect Alexandria, in conjunction with my power to duplicate First and Second Abilities and my ability to increase people's luck, strength, and speed, to get around the cosmic laws preventing the ressurection of the dead. This can be done via Perfect Alexandria coming from a pool of immense cosmic power. The limitation? Well...

The boy paused and continued, "Perfect Alexandria works by Andras drawing a limited number of spells from a gigantic storehouse that contains pre-set spells. These spells are chosen at random when drawn, and Andras can only do said drawing once or twice a day. So pulling the specific spells needed for ressurection will take a long time depending on luck." A frown. "Which pulls us into two issues: Why I want to do this and what perils you guys will face.

"The reason I want to do this because there is a Mephisto's student, Vittorio Twinviel, who is only in that school because his parents and his four best friends were killed by a Demon in St. Laurel's, a Demon that was seeking out Alto. Because of this, Vittorio blames Alto and has fallen under the dark influence of people who don't necessarily want the best for him. He's a sad, suffering soul and I want to help him greatly." A frown as he continued. "But, I have been less than discreet because another Mephisto's student, a Half-Demon, wants to kidnap Andras for himself - his minions are still out there - and also knows Vittorio and can pre-emptively poison his mind against me."

William Ascot's phone buzzed, and he picked it up and put it on loudspeaker after seeing who it was. A woman's voice, firm and loud, would sound out from said phone: "William?! I'm at the parking lot. Should I extract you out of the situation, or will your new protectors be enough?! Oh, and to said friends, I am William's mother, the great Gilgamesha Ascot! I'm probably the most powerful power-user you'll ever see, but actually stepping in is overkill; I'm happy to just watch my son find his own way.

A pause. "Well, what are you guys waiting for?!" the woman said, "Extract yourselves out of here; prove yourselves worthy of the Throne of Heroes!"

@RoflsMazoy@Dezuel@Bartimaeus@Crowvette@KillamriX88

Andras heard the call of a familiar voice. She had made it a point to remember as much as she could of her fellow Vigilantes, in case they wanted to start a fruitful friendship. It was a voice Andras knew always came bundled with another one-

"Ooh, I like crazy. Keeps me awake."

Ah, yes, the duo. Andras didn't like it when people were sad, but Wolf and Vera were a pair deal, and Vera was enough for her to keep a respectful distance. Andras put her hoodie up. Maybe it would make her harder to detect.

Of course William goes and tells the entire plan to them. Andras wondered to herself if William ever considered discretion with these kinds of things. 'But I guess that's some of his charm, isn't it?' Andras smirked to herself. To make things stranger, his mother called partway through. Andras didn't deal with William's mother that much, but she knew she was pretty intense. Also, if what she heard was right, insanely strong.

Andras sidled over to Wolf, trying to keep Wolf between her and Vera. "King himself sent you? Is this that important of a job to him?" Andras paused for a moment, then considered her wallet, and added, "Do you know how much this is going to pay?"

She'd feel awkward asking William how much she was getting paid for all this.

Euphoria’s head spun around at the sound of her name, and she looked at fox girl with surprise. “Oh yo, I thought you were done! C’mon, c’mon, hurry up! Most of em’ already started!” She grabbed Masami by the hand and nearly pulled her off her feet as she half dragged her toward one of the rings. “Yo, hey, I found her, she’s here!”

The crowd turned as one toward them, along with the boy standing in the makeshift ring. Aegus’s eyes were less impassive than before. Slightly surprised, and just a tad more judgemental.

Before Masami stepped into the ring Euphoria took hold of her shoulder. “Hey, listen. Not to give out spoilers or nothing, but that guy’s hard to damage. It’s that ego of his, it’s a real cushion. You want to get through it you got to pull out something real impressive. You know what I mean. A real display.”

Backing off, she patted Masami on the back and pushed her gently toward the ring.

No spoilers, huh? Masami thought. Whether Euphoria had meant to or not, she had just given her somewhat of an advantage over her opponent. So apparently they thrived on their ego. But...it acted as a cushion? That’s...odd...

Masami entered the confines of the ring, watching her opponent from her side of the field they were allowed. His expression was not one of approval.
She laughed nervously, calling over to him. “Haha...Sorry if i’m a bit late-” Masami said as she scratched her head, “-I had to deal with some personal things. But i’m ready now.”

“Are you?” he asked, not looking for the world as though he really cared. “Are you really? I had assumed you’d gotten cold feet. But, if you say so. I may as well get as much use out of you as I can wring.”

Suddenly, like a lightning bolt cutting through the air, something about Aegus changed. His lazy eyes sharpened and narrowed, his whole body swapped from a weak, unsteady posture to tensed like a hunting tiger in a moment. It was like a switch had been flipped, and this change barely had any time to register before he was upon her. As though he had been storing speed for this instant he sprang to her side, swinging his fist round to catch her in the ribs.

Masami wasn’t prepared for the sudden attack at all. No warning or gunshot this time. He was just mid attack. She was unprepared, but she didn’t need to be. To Masami, every close-quarters-combat attack was highly telegraphed. It was almost like slow-mo as the attack processed in her mind.
But she still had to act fast enough. She couldn’t draw her weapon and her Starballs were still in her mouth, as she had not expected a sudden attack such as the one know presented to her.

She raised her elbow swiftly to intercept Aegus’ wrist at the joint. Which would probably be very painful. The speed and and force of the elbow strike would be enough for her to generate another strike, but this time of air, which she would aim at his stomach. If this succeeded, she would then try and back away, giving herself some space to wield her Soul hilt.

If Aegus felt any pain at all it didn’t show on his face. As the wind battered him is was as though it were trying to batter down a mountain. “Drafty today, isn’t it?” he asked, springing after her, keeping on her even as she moved. It was as though this were an entirely different person from before. As he swept his arms out there was a bright glow in the palm of each, space inverted, and with a popping sound like balloons a pair of silver handled scimitars materialized in his hands. He swung again, and again, and again, a relentless but not wild assault. Every strike was fast and deliberate, every move focussed. “Come on now. Draw that sword of yours! Don’t make me regret wasting my energy. I want to enjoy this as long as I can.”

Masami was a little bummed that her plan to attack and maybe weaken the wrist had failed, but a more pressing matter was present. Having ripped two blades out of seemingly nowhere, Masami had little chance to maneuver as a series or organized cuts was relented upon her by Aegus. Thankfully for her, she was abe to stay just out of the blades’ reach as she danced backwards while he stayed directly upon her, applying a constant offensive pressure.

While Masami wasn’t a stranger to combat, her normal practice partners were quite...predictable. This one was not. She needed to escape his reach quickly. She waited until he was mid-slash with one of his Scimitars, and then opened her mouth widely as she lept backwards once again. As soon as the first Starball left, it began to increase in size extremely rapidly, flying directly at the boy’s face as it erupted into a burst of hot flame. To anyone else, it’d look like Masami was also part dragon.

The second Starball would jump to her right hand as her left drew the hilt from her hip. She would slam the two together, and an ebony blade would sprout from the hilt as she drew it into a defensive grip.

As the fire erupted out the Masami’s mouth Aegus’s grip loosened and his schemitar clattered to the ground. Was it suprise? Fear? Before anyone had any chance to determine the reason he vanished into a sea of flames.

When the flames parted, however, it became clear. There he was, slightly scorch, hunkered down behind a new sword with the scimitars lying at his feet. It wasn’t even really a sword. It was impaled halfway into the arena, one of his burned hands still wrapped around the long brown hilt, more of a giant slab of iron than a sword. It was still enough for him to shelter his entire body. No normal human being would ever hope to wield something like that, he had to have simply conjured it to let it fall into the ground.

He stood up and looked at Masami, something approaching respect in his eyes. “Well, you’re certainly a higher class of mythical creature than I thought. Those are real, aren't they?” He asked, pointing at her ears, and smiled before summoning an exact replica of the sword she was now holding and stepping forward with a single overhead strike.

Masami’s eyes widened as she watched the flames disperse, revealing a only-slightly-charred Aegus, with a massive sword in front of him. Her first Starball had returned to her after glancing off the sword and engulfing it in flames. It was now back to its original form.

Masami smiled happily as her opponent inquired about her ears after giving what was probably a complement for him. “They certainly are!” she exclaimed. But there wasn’t much time to talk about as her opponent seemingly duplicated her sword. Interesting… She giggled.

He came at her with an overhead strike. Goodie, she thought, even more telegraphed than normal. Her remaining Starball was now just in front of her right shoulder, and at this point had grown into a bubble about the size of her head and developed a beige coloration. She would command it to throw itself at her opponent’s blade, where it would reveal it nature as a thick, sticky substance reminiscent of Napalm, or Tar. At the same moment she would sweep her blade upwards into Aegus’s sword. It would then also reveal its true nature. The entire blade would crumble into a cloud of pepper. And she would blow winds from behind herself and into Aegus’s direction.

He slammed his sword directly into the ball of tar and watched as Masami swept her own blade up, scattering both into a thick cloud of black dust that the wind kicked in his direction. It got in his eyes, some sort of horrible death dust. Clever fox, so this was how Aegus Reister died. Surrounded by adoring fans. He could feel the dust eating away at his insides, his eyes melting, his skin burning. He made a gurgling sound and clutched at his throat. He fell to his knees, lamenting his fate. The taste of it, oh gods above the taste, it was like...like…

He sneezed. He took his hands off his throat. Then he stuck out his tongue and licked around his lips. “Is this pepper?” he asked, the symptoms suddenly vanishing. There was a snickering throughout the crowd, a hundred sharpened barbs in his back. He started to go slightly red. “This is pepper. You just tried to kill me with pepper.”

He climbed back to his feet, a little more shakey than before. He cleared his throat, but that didn’t silence anything. So he pulled out another sword, this one a european broadsword with an intricately inlaid blade and a golden pommel. “Let’s end this. I won’t let them say the last move you landed on me was pepper! Come on, hit me with your best shot!” He charged forward and swung, then suddenly dropped the sword. His other hand shot forward, a rapier of the same style as the broadsword appearing in his offhand, hunting Masami like a missle.

Masami had to smirk at his reaction to being face-blasted with pepper. But she had finally made a move that seemed to at least have some effect. Hopefully he’d have blurred vision or shortness of breath or something. He just summoned another sword. The second charge in the Starball attached to her hilt took effect, changing from from a deep black to a bright blue. The blade reformed much differently this time. It wasn’t like the one before, which was reminiscent of a Katana. This one was a very broad blade, possibly resembling the one Aegus has summoned earlier, but smaller. But the blade wasn’t quite solid, it was made of it seemed to be made of electricity.

Her opponent once again took the offensive. He charged at her with a broad-bladed sword, and swung it. Which she obviously tried to block with her much larger sword. But no such luck. She felt the movement of the thinner sword coming towards her right side, but both of her hands were on her own blade, as it was too heavy for one, and she couldn’t move fast enough to block.
She felt the quick chill of the blade touch her skin, and soon the warmth running from the same spot of contact.

She released her control over the form of her blade, and at the same time her remaining Starball flew at her opponent, engulfed in the same unstable element. The would both... explode brilliantly into arcing strikes of purple and blue electricity that would strike both her and Aegus, knocking her backwards off her feet and away from her opponent. She would grip her stomach where the blade had dug into her. She didn’t know how far it had dug, but it hurt.

Unlike Masami, Aegus wasn’t thrown clear. He didn't move. He couldn't be moved like that. So while she was thrown clear he stood in the center of the crackling hurricane of electricity. Yet there he stood. Blackened and twitching, little arcs of purple and blue jumping out of his body, smoke pouring from his mouth, but there he stood. Smiling.

“He...was right.” He said raspily as the flaming remnants of his shirt fell off his body. “My....butler. How...stimulating...thank...you...” The his head leaned back, his mouth opened wide, his eyes rolled up into his head, and he passed out right there. Still standing.

A whistle sounded as Jokey rushed into the ring, followed close behind by his blank faced medical toadies that immediately started trying to move the boy onto a stretcher with great difficulty. Joey walked up to her and held out a hand to her. “Can you stand to take a bow? Or should we carry you off?”

Masami didn’t respond at first. She was looking up, towards the sky as she lied flat on her back.
That. Hurt.
She shook her head as if snapping from thought.

“Wait... I won?!?!” She exclaimed, moving to prop herself up on her elbow, prompting a grimace of pain. She reached out her right hand towards Euphoria as her left clutched her wound and her separate Starball drifted towards her slowly.
Euphoria looked around, perhaps thinking that one of Masami’s friends from earlier was beside her, before shrugging and leaping into the ring. Her and Jokey lifted Masami up gently between them and the crowd erupted into cheers.

The Jokey poked her in the wound and examined his finger. “Yep, we gotta get that looked at. Toadies!” Two more blank faced guys in medical caps appeared as if from nowhere at his command, bearing another stretcher. “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine in time for the next one. Patch her up.” The poke earned another grimace from Masami, and she squealed at Jokey. “AYE!! WATCH IT!”

They laid her down on the stretcher and boar her through the crowd like royalty, toward one of the waiting ambulances. Euphoria waved with both hands.

---

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