[IC] D'Angelo VS Black Rose Killer (Shidenblades VS Nightangel at the Mountain Monastery, Ranked Match)

[Nightangel]

Jahar simply let the man play his music and have his say, watching with glinting eyes, and the answering laugh was even more amused than before. "I think I'm finally starting to understand. The only thing different about the Veiled-Ones is their ridiculous pride. You want to tell yourself pretty lies about how you're a better class of killer? How your methods are somehow more noble than mine? Go ahead." The killer laughed derisively again. "Strip away the cute tricks, the whispered myths, and the delusions of superiority and what do you have? Someone who takes money to make corpses, the same as me." He gestured to the scattered, spittle covered coins still laying upon the raised platform behind him and shook his head with another disturbing smile, chuckling.

Then, suddenly, the smile fell from the killer's face, leaving only the hunger behind, and he scoffed. "You keep saying how much better you are, how you don't take me seriously, how you'll 'bring the Angels unto me', whatever the hell that means, but your actions tell a different tale, one of a man desperately clinging to his pretty title while grasping for any little advantage he can get."

The Veiled-One had proved far more cautious and less sure of his own abilities than Jahar had hoped, considering his organization's reputation. He was beginning to lose hope that he would get what he so desperately wanted from this fight; still, he yet believed the man was holding back the greater part of his ability, and that belief spurred him on. While Nicoli had been playing his flute, Jahar had taken the time to assess the rooftop on which he stood. The sloped tiles, designed to easily slough the rain from their surface, would certainly provide for somewhat treacherous footing, but other than the fact that the assassin currently held the high ground, Jahar did not think the disadvantage would be as great as his opponent assumed. The man seemed to be assuming a great deal about Jahar's level of training; he would likely be surprised if he knew the truth.

"If choosing the battleground means so very much to you, perhaps I've overestimated the Veiled-Ones." In the matter of an instant Jahar sent a small flood of power to his legs and torso, crouching only slightly to leap adroitly up to his left, landing gracefully on the smaller rooftop of the nearby permanent pavilion and streaking a few steps down its length. From there, he would use his enhanced strength to complete a series of two short leaps, the first allowing him to easily cross the gap to the top of one of the small pillars slightly below and to his left, pushing off to crest the remaining distance and land upon the same tiled roof upon which Nicoli stood, thirty feet toward the tower from the man's position. The entire maneuver would take less than two seconds with Jahar's enhanced strength, though he used only a fraction of that which he was capable. "But I'll oblige you if it means we can end this farce and get to it." he finished as he dropped into a fighting stance, his left leg partially crouched beneath him to accommodate the slope with his khopesh held in a two handed grip before him, blade pointed at Nicoli.

"Now, show me these Angels, assassin."

[ShidenBlades]

There was no reason to hide the smile that played over D'Angelos face as he watched Jahar's feats of strength. He had a pretty good indication of what that magic was doing now. It made sense, his lens had shown him some transmutive properties, mixed with other magical energies that he did not have the skill to analyze. But he knew more now than he did moments ago and he realized that if he had attacked blindly that very strength could have proven his downfall.

"Yes perhaps you have overestimated us." He agreed, laughing at Jahars words. "It seems you've fallen to the same delusion and myths that
everyone else has. We are but men." He said with a mock-bow, his hands coming to rest on the hilts of his swords once again. As he spoke his body began to work over-time, eyes-dilated, body trembling slightly as a rush of adrenaline filled his body. "But, since you have humored me, I will oblige you."

There were no further words as his hand moved with a blinding speed, his left hand dropping to his belt and retrieving green vial that he flicked out with surprising speed and accuracy. The target wasn't Jahar, but the tiles that were on the raised roof to Jahar's left. The Acid vile, unless Jahar went out of his way to try and catch the item, would shatter on the roof.

D'Angelo came forward a moment after he threw the vial, his footing sure footed as he withdrew his long sword with his right hand, his left once again dropping to his belt, though he made no move to grab anything this time. He reigned back the speed at which he ran, which took incredible control as all he wanted to do was open the flood-gates.

After a brief moment many of the tiles that the acid struck would begin to break off an slide down in pieces a couple steps behind Jahar. It wasn't an overly dramatic thing, and the amount of tiles that broke free was barely more than a dozen. The only thing of note would be that they would land behind Jahar and continue sliding down to the ground the same moment D'Angelo came in range, his long sword stabbing out stabbing forward and try to skewer his opponent in the gut.

It was the type of attack that wouldn't cause him to over-balance on the slanted roof and throw himself off the edge. It also used his range to his advantage, knowing that if Jahar back peddled to evade the attack he would risk stepping on a loose tile, which in itself wouldn't cause much harm. But any misstep and loss in footing would cause D'Angelo to press that advantage further.

[Nightangel]

Jahar watched warily as the man withdrew his hand from yet another pouch at his belt and flung it; instantly he knew that it wasn't targeted at him as it left Nicoli's hand, and so he kept his focus forward as the Veiled-One closed the distance. Finally he thought with savage satisfaction, just before his finely tuned senses picked up the sound of the shattering vial above him and to the left, followed by the telltale sizzle of acid.

When the first tile slid free and begin to rattle downward, Jahar realized his opponent's strategy. Clever. A simple retreat, by far the easiest and safest defense against most attacks, was now impossible. The sense of wariness he had felt upon the throwing of the vial melted back into enjoyment and amusement. As though he would back down now.

As the Veiled-One ran with a sure-footedness and confidence upon the uneven tiles that the dark killer actually admired, he would take several quick but careful steps forward to meet the attack. As Nicoli's thrust darted in, Jahar released his left hand from the khopesh and sent an instant surge of energy into the tattoos upon his right arm, shoulder and back. At the last moment he swept his sword in a counter clockwise arc before him, the surge of power in his muscles allowing him to maneuver the heavy sword as though it were light as a rapier. The khopesh would slam into Nicoli's longsword with another dull ring as the killer would try to force the lighter blade down and away to Jahar's right with a strength of over twice his normal level.

At the same time, he sent another similar surge of power into the muscles of his left arm and shoulder, though this time rather than strength his arm would be empowered with speed. Jahar's clawed hand would literally blur in motion to most normal eyes, moving several times faster than the speed of his earlier attacks, to strike out immediately after the parry at the exposed upper section of Nicoli's sword arm in a raking perpendicular slash from top to bottom. Unfortunately, he had been forced to lean in toward the roof to counterbalance the defensive khopesh swing, and so the blow would lack power despite its incredible speed. Normally he could have compensated with the aid of his tattoos, supernaturally increasing his strength, but he feared to sacrifice his footing while shifting any weight away from the slope of the roof. Still, with this particular weapon it hopefully would not matter.

Should Jahar's claws find purchase in Nicoli's arm, even with a simple set of scratches, the assassin would feel an inordinate amount of pain, as though a much greater wound had been inflicted. The pain was occasionally great enough to send lesser men into shock, though Jahar heavily doubted that would be the case here. Still, in a battle at this level, any distraction could be fatal, which was why Jahar pointedly avoided glancing at the tattooed flower upon his left hand, instead keeping his eyes upon the hand that lay near to Nicoli's belt. Had he looked, he would have seen the first petal begin to wither and shrivel. One way or another, the countdown had begun.

[ShidenBlades]

The sheer power of Jahars block was enough to send a shock wave up Nicoli's arms. He hadn't been expecting something that powerful. His sword hit the the roof-top with a clang, then bounced the short distance as gravity pulled it over the edge. He had been disarmed. Worse, fire lit up that arm as well. Despite the speed at which he retracted the claw Jahar wore on his left hand did little more than scrape the top of his own hand. Still, the pain made it feel as if he had lost a finger.

Knowledge is what saved Nicoli there. He knew that the weapon had some sort of necromancy enchantment on it. He now had a brief idea of what it did, though with just that minor wound he couldn't be sure, and he wasn't willing to test it either.

With Jahar watching Nicoli's left hand it would be no surprise when his fingers worked independently and pulled out two variations of a sand like material. It would be no surprise when he threw the sand forward. The two variations were vastly different, one was not sand at all, but crushed glass that if breathed in could literally tear the inside apart, not to mention what could happen if it got in the eyes.

The second powder was much less lethal, but no less important. It was a metal eating rust collected from the inside of a specific creature. The dust would have no effect on Jahars magical weapons, it wasn't powerful enough for that. What it could do with alarming speed is eat away at any buckles or metal fasteners that Jahar wore. Something as simple as a belt-buckle would be eaten away in a few moments of time.

Other than that move Nicoli didn't dare step in weaponless and attack, he'd be chopped down and he knew it. Instead he focused on the other effects that the adrenaline had on his body, increased perception and brain activity. His hands once again darting to his belt as he took a step back defensively, his mind racing with the possible advantages. He'd need to surprise Jahar, catch him of guard...somehow.

[Nightangel]

With Jahar's close proximity to his opponent and the sloped surface, his options were limited as Nicoli threw the cloud of sand toward him. Were it not for his Onyx Eye, he would likely have been forced to choose retreat, but its enhanced ability to see in the gloom allowed him to detect the glint of moonlight off of the glass particles as they left Nicoli's hand. Jahar's lips curled upward into a snarling smile and he sent another, larger surge of energy through his entire body. The fragile tiles beneath his feet cracked with a loud report from the pressure as he dashed through the cloud to press his advantage, moving a bit upward to his left to gain the advantage of slightly higher ground. He held his breath and closed his right eye against the glass while keeping his focus upon Nicoli with his open left.

What Jahar hadn't seen, of course, was the rust powder mixed with the glass. Jahar had dashed through the handful of powder before it had time to fully expand, but it still coated the right half of his torso, part of his face, and most of his right arm as he passed. While Jahar's gear had very little metal, given that there was not a great deal to strap down, what little he had was quite important. Immediately, the rust began working upon the metal buckles on the right side of his weapons harness, as well as those securing the straps of the bracer upon his right arm. The blade at his elbow, affixed to his bracer, also began immediately to be eaten away.

Jahar, unaware of this predicament, saw only an unarmed opponent and the chance for a kill. His khopesh was currently down at his right side following his parry, and he reached across with his left hand to once again grasp it in a two handed grip as he closed the short distance with incredible speed, the position of the blade similar to the Iron Gate stance both had earlier used. With a snarl, he would arc the blade in a vicious uppercut swing beginning from the lower right and intended to cleave Nicoli in two diagonally, both the speed of and the strength behind the attack were at more than three times Jahar's natural ability. An attack of this strength in Jahar's previous experience had been enough to slice through unenchanted steel armor as though it were cloth.

Unfortunately, the killer made a miscalculation in his footing on the unfamiliar terrain, ending his attack with his left foot forward to accommodate the brutal attack. Whether or not it struck Nicoli, the upswing of the attack would be enough to momentarily unbalance Jahar upon the slope, forcing him to immediately bring his right foot beneath him to recover. The move was near instantaneous, and would normally have posed almost no issue, but in this case he was a victim of poor circumstance.

In the midst of the attack, the rust powder had completed its work upon the metal buckles in Jahar's weapon harness and bracer, causing the right sheathe holding one of his twin Haladie daggers to simply fall to the tiles and begin to slide down toward the lip. In a cruel twist of fate, Jahar's right foot landed upon the sheathed dagger as he repositioned his weight and it slid out from beneath him, causing him to fall backward. Gravity would immediately begin its work and Jahar would begin to slide downward, his body parallel to the roof's edge. He attempted to slam his right elbow into the tiles, hoping to find purchase with the blade upon his elbow, but to his immense surprise it simply crumbled from the pressure, the rust having done its work there as well, as the friction of the tiles stripped away the bracer, no longer strapped to his forearm.

With a growled curse foul enough to make a sailor blush, the Blackvine would slide over the edge and, unable to change his position mid air, fall ten feet awkwardly to the sands below, the dagger in its sheathe landing a few feet away.

[ShidenBlades]

Jahar was pressing his advantage, dashing through the cloud of glass and sand at him with speed beyond anything Nicoli had ever seen, from anyone. Ever. Had he not been using his Radiim technique he was sure he would have been sliced in two by the large wickedly curved Khopesh that the man carried. Even as it was despite hit his own enhanced abilities it would have been impossible to dodge were it not for the properties of two of the charms that he wore.

Nicoli shifted all of his weight onto his right foot and threw his body to the right and away from the blade, at the same time twisting his upper half and drawing his left leg back. The stance was anything but smooth, under normal circumstances he would have toppled into the ledge of the slightly taller roof. But, as it was, his enchantment held his right foot in place as his body bent backwards, the tip of his opponents weapon starting to slice in to skin when Nicolis bent out of its path, if he had to guess the wound was a good four inches in length on his lower abdomen, but how deep he could not yet tell.

Nicoli's right hand reached out to catch the ledge to prevent himself from falling flat on his back. Using that arm, his enhanced strength and keeping the one boot planted he was able to reverse his momentum and pop his body back up just as Jahar went tumbling over the edge.

This time it was Nicolis turn to press the advantage and he stepped towards the lip his hands, in a familiar action, enhanced by his adrenaline went to his belt yet again. This time he held nothing back, his right hand reaching for the daggers he wore while his left went for another vial.

Before he threw anything Nicoli took a step forward and looked to be about to fall, but instead as he pitched over the edge his feet found purchase on the side of the roof so that his body was horizontal with the ground, directly above Jahar. The first dagger was thrown, straight down at the man, the other hand threw a dark blue vial that once it hit the ground would flash freeze it five feet out in all directions, Alchemist Ice.

It wouldn't stop there however, depending on the speed with which Jahar recovered and if the slick ice had any effect on his footing he would continue to throw daggers at the man. Three more in total if the opportunity presented itself, all aimed at the mans core. The daggers, at such a close range, would be a red, black and steel blur as they whistled through the air.