[IC] NoW: LeeRoy vs. Melonhead Rnd 2.

[LeeRoy]

With the sharp crunch of his shoulder resetting, Shin let out a slight yelp as his arm was returned to its socket. The strange look on his foe's face was unsettling, like he was having difficulty seeing straight. While his faced looked so, his actions weren't mirroring that. A sudden burst of speed nearly caught him vulnerable, and the knife struck against his abdominals, punching a small hole in his gut just before he could leap backwards. A hot sting kept him on guard as he was pushed back by the ferocious fighter.

It almost seemed as though his opponent was growing stronger and faster, maybe the effects of that drug he took earlier were longer lasting than he had thought. Or maybe it takes longer to kick in. Either way, this situation was worsening.

With a few rapid backsteps he could feel his footing growing weaker and weaker, the slight incline couldn't be offset by wide steps if he was moving backwards. His feet were dipping into the sand more and more with every step and Metz would be upon him if he let himself slip. So, he carried himself backwards a few more steps and shot his right arm down and forwards. Aiming not as a punch, but as a grab towards Metz' wrist. Aiming to catch the hand that was armed with the curved blade, preventing any further offensive with the blade.

Halting his movement at the same time and turning at the hip, pulling his body off to the left side of Metz' right hand. Putting it out of the direct line of fire from his foe's stabs.

Should the grab be successful, Shin would yank his arm upwards and twist at the wrist. Hopefully disarming his opponent on the spot, and hurting his wrist at the same time. Keeping the offense and defense up at the same time. If he could disarm him, he would snatch the weapon from the air as it fell from Metz' hand and use it against him.

If the grab weren't successful, as unlikely as he would like to think it to be, his elbow is pointed directly at Metz' face. Shin would move from a grab into a sharp elbow forwards into Metz' face. Aiming the point of his arm directly into his nose.

[MelonHead]

Metz blade tasted flesh for but a moment, and then his grotesque foe out-sped him again, and Metz was forced to pull back himself. Unwilling to continue chasing the man up the sandy beach the man had no real purchase for his grab, and was unlikely to even attempt it as Metz himself seemed to back off. The Mage had of course realised he was working on borrowed time, the last dregs of mana burning through his body like the spluttering flames of gasoline. He stood there, knife in hand, weaving his last spell for the moment and visualising a spot a few feet behind him on the beach as he backed up, watching his foe for any signs of a sudden change in direction. It was impossible to guess what Shin would do, seeing as how he had been running from the Mage just a moment earlier a frontal assault seemed unlikely, but then it seemed that way before when Metz had tried to cast a circle and the man had immediately ran towards him rather than dodging and serpentine like before. It was like he could pre-empt the Mage’s spells, which to some extent was true as Metz had not been aware of the ability to watch the other competitor’s matches.

Still, Metz only needed about two seconds to complete his spell, and he was confident he could earn himself that long. Behind him, at that point invisible, an earth circle was being prepared.

“Give me a moment pal.” Metz said, keeping the knife at the ready, grinning viciously at his foe. In truth, the need to fort up so to speak was multi-purpose, for the effects to his vision were growing disorientating and he wanted to catch his breath from the earlier punch. However, should his foe charge him head on that fort could easily become Shin’s tomb, it was just that sort of day.

[LeeRoy]

For the entirety of this match, Shin had avoided the water and the fumes as though they were toxic. Hell, he hasn't even taken a breath for the past two minutes. Whereas this foe had dove into them, perhaps willingly, of perhaps accidentally. The effects on his vision were totally unknown, but his face was twisting in confusion and possibly frustration. Which lead Shin to believe that maybe the water was in fact poisonous. Disappointing, higher gravity and toxic water in the same place? This place must be a training ground and not a battlefield, nobody in their right mind would willingly wage combat here. It was too risky and lead to too many missteps.

Like his foe announcing some sort of assault before even enacting it, calling himself out before there was insufficient time for his foe to do anything about it. Opting to keep himself at a safe distance, from his standing position he began to strafe at an angle to Metz. Weaving once more, there was another spell coming. An earth and lightning spell so far, what more does he have up his sleeves? What is he trying now?

Nothing was happening quite yet, so Shin raised his hands up into a boxer's guard, stepping slowly over his own feet as he strafed sideways. How long do his spells need to prepare? The only tell I've seen so far is him lashing his arm outwards, so expecting that is my only real hope for preparation. Aside from readying himself for the coming blow, no matter what it was he was prepared.

Well, he hopes so. Shin's well outside of his depth when it comes to magic. This guy might as well have a massive conflagration spell that incinerates the land in an area around him. Nobody can really predict what kind of magic a mage has.

Speaking of things he doesn't know, Shin's eyebrow perked up a bit. Not as though Metz would see it. "Hey, I neglected to ask you something, and I don't want a repeat of my last bout. What's your name, boy?"

[MelonHead]

“Metzalaatla Akalikalat at your service.” Metz smiled, weaving his spell with a practiced ease, the time he needed was granted to him by his foe’s arguably justified caution, though if he had been casting a bolt his hesitancy would have been his downfall. Metz supposed it gave him something of an advantage off-world that his spells were weaved in such a complex manner, on his own world most spells could be recognised by the hand movements he was completing at that very moment. Other than that though, there were few outward signs of what he was doing, and memorizing hand signs in a few moments could usually be considered beyond most opponents. Then again, his opponent was anything but natural, maybe he could tell that he was not replicating the movements from earlier that brought forth the bolt. Anything was possible, Metz concluded, nodding at his foe and taking one last dramatic step into what suddenly became his earth circle.

“And, gone.” He muttered, the rock hurtling up around him after bursting up through the sandy layer. Like before, he created what was essentially a rock cocoon about five inches thick, this time with a pointed roof. The pillar itself only stretched up to eight feet tall and four feet wide, making it something of a squat rectangular shape in the otherwise unblemished earth. Metz stood inside the pillar in complete darkness, falling with his back against the side as the mana rushed out of him with a final burst. His fatigue came to him then, with the stinging sensation of the minor wound to his arm and the bruising aching pain from his chest. He sighed heavily and felt the odd pressure on his back, which with a start he recognised as his backpack. He had forgotten all about it in his strange new surroundings and had neglected to discard it earlier, probably attributing in part to why he couldn’t catch Shin when he needed to.

“Oh well.” He muttered, shaking off his wet backpack and finding his supplies inside relatively untouched. He quickly wrapped up his forearm with a bandage and drank sparingly from his water bottle, sighing to himself as he realised he had yet to really make any head-way with his foe. Hitting him with a bolt had barely singed him, despite probably dislocating his shoulder in their collision he’d hardly slowed down, even with a knife in the shoulder he was outrunning the dejected mage. It was always depressing fighting for one’s life, but in this particular scenario he couldn’t help but feel like the fight was a little hollow.

“Just remember what you’re fighting for Metz old boy.” He said to himself reassuringly, standing up in the darkness and leaving his backpack at his feet. Metz decided it would be prudent first to see where his friend had gotten to in his relatively brief minute of isolation. He grabbed the remaining pure mana vial at his belt and downed it in one, feeling his strength return and the oppressive weight lifting from his shoulders. “Wait a second, how the hell am I seeing anything right now?” He said aloud in confusion, not realising that he had unconsciously swapped his vision capacity to see in the complete darkness. “This must be some alien effect, hopefully it passes when I activate my magical eye.” He debated with himself, patiently weaving the slightly complicated spell that granted him magical sight.

[LeeRoy]

What a stupid name. Shin thought to himself moments before the pillar of rock erupted from the ground like some sort of stone rocket. Heh. Rocket. Forming a protective barrier around himself? Was he so desperate that he needed to shield himself? Or was he preparing some other devious plot? No matter the outcome, there was plenty of time for Shin to look himself over. The fight hadn't been going on for very long, probably less than four minutes about this time. So with a bit of free time he was left to plot the rest of the fight.

It seemed as though destiny saw itself rather ironic, as both fighters were noting the lack of exhaustion in the other. With the wound on his shoulder already scabbing over and his arm re-set, the only wound still remaining on his body was the burn from previously and the oozing stab in his gut. Now that the fight had slowed down, by that I mean to a screeching halt, Shin was only just noticing the sting that had been cloaked by his adrenaline. The pain wasn't excruciating, but he can't simply heal from burns. They're dermal and sub-dermal, and he can only scar over wounds. If the fight dragged on long enough for the burn to heal, well, it would be several days before then.

As to the stamina he had remaining? Probably an hour, maybe a little more. Pain would be the problem, not exhaustion. None of his wounds were fatal, and Metz hadn't aimed for very sensitive spots. With a quick look-over of himself, Shin noted that his left arm was lagging a bit, since it had recently been popped. Favoring his right hand would make Metz focus the arm, and eventually it would be disabled. If he favored his left, it wouldn't carry as much force as he would like it to. His side and chest stung as though someone were pressing a coffee mug against his skin that was just slightly too hot.

Taking a short breath near the pillar, Shin turned to the water's edge. Using his time wisely, Shin rushed to the water and fished out his weapon by the chain. Shaking off as much water as he could, trying his best to avoid touching it.

Re-equipped with his weapon and standing a few dozen paces away from Metz, Shin turned and kept his eye trained on the pillar. Swinging the weight in his left hand, the assassin watched carefully. There was no way he could put on an offensive while his foe was inside of that pillar, and he couldn't tell whether or not his foe could attack from inside.

If the fool dared to emerge, Shin would be more than ready to go on the offensive.

[MelonHead]

Metz completed his spell and span around, catching sight of his opponent through the solid rock with his magic eye. He seemed to have re-equipped himself, which was a little surprising, Metz was fairly certain he launched the weapon behind him into the lake when he let go of it. He assumed there was some unnatural method by which he was able to retrieve it, or maybe the man was just an excellent fisherman, who really knew. He was however standing awfully close to Metz, and was evidently waiting immobile to cut down on making any sounds and hoping Metz would relinquish his own protection. Metz considered the situation for but a moment, before deciding on his next course of action.

He began to weave the same spell as earlier, aiming to create an earthen circle beneath his immobile foe’s feet. The circle would only manifest itself when he relinquished his finite mana into the earth, so outwardly there was no real sense of anything happening unless one could sense magic being used. Even if that were the case they would only see it manifesting in Metz weaving hand, rather than his target.

Metz casted for about four seconds, obviously intent on judging if his opponent would choose to move regardless. If he didn’t then there would be little stopping him from unleashing something truly nasty. The element of surprise involved in Metz specific form of elementalism was always his main advantage, he was hoping to use that here.

[LeeRoy]

It hit him like a truck when the realization struck, and honestly he was a little embarrassed that he hadn't thought of it sooner. Shin's guard dropped and his eye looked away from Metz' pillar. Not like anything interesting was happening anyway, if he got caught off guard now it would totally be his fault, but the realization was important enough that he didn't bother caring. "You know, now that I think of it. This guy had a gun, but he just threw it away." The words left his mouth pretty faintly, as the last of his breath left his lungs while he spoke. His eye scanned the horizon where he last saw the gun, and lo-and-behold it was lying in the sand barrel down just a couple inches away from the surf.

With Metz still stuck inside of his strange fortress of stone, seemingly totally harmless inside. The spellcaster was probably doing something devious, or plotting some sort of mega-spell or something. Honestly, him being totally stationary was just keen. Shin's mind was left to wander and plot. Shin's body was also left to wander, as he began walking towards the sidearm. It didn't actually make sense either, the gun looked like it had a clip or something. Not like it was a single shot weapon, or at least he hoped it wasn't. Heck, even if it was, he'd still be able to use it as a clubbing tool.

Whatever the case, Shin wanted that gun. So he moseyed across the edge of the beach towards it, not really paying much attention to his now harmless opponent. It'd probably take a couple seconds to reach the gun, maybe Metz would attack him as he passed the pillar. Or maybe Metz had accidentally killed himself when he summoned the rock. Crushing himself to death, Wouldn't that be funny? Musing these thoughts as he casually strolled along the beach, swinging the heavy metal ball back and forth along the way.

If only Shin knew how hilariously lucky he was that he started moving again.

[MelonHead]

Metz sighed wearily as he released his spell, his opponent immediately moving as he began to cast. Now where’s he off to? Metz thought. Looking at his foe with his magic sight, and tracing his slow movement towards an object on the ground. Realisation set in a second or so before Shin could reach his weapon where he was going, and Metz smiled to himself, weaving again with a new target in mind for his earth circle.

[LeeRoy]

With no sign of any activity from Metz, Shin carried on his merry way towards the gun. The surf had risen and washed over it and began to dislodge it from its position. Hurrying his pace slightly, he reached the gun in a matter of seconds. Letting go of the chain, Shin let it drop to the ground so that he could grab the gun. It struck the sand with a hefty thump, scattering sand as it struck.

Hurriedly snatching it from the water, he tried his best to not get any of it on his hand. Failing, ultimately, but he shook the gun and his hand off quite easily. Gravity was actually pretty helpful here, as Shin noticed that shaking his hand and the gun downwards got most of the water off pretty quickly. He would say that fortune is favoring him today, but this fight was growing rather boring. Now that his opponent has turtled up inside of a barrier of stone, there really wasn't much to do now.

This was eerily reminiscent of his frequent attempts at raiding LeeRoy's Island. A massive protective shield, devious plots and numerous weapons discarded. It was practically a mirror of the events just before the tournament began, which was starting to make Shin uncomfortable in a profound way. When you're immortal, the last thing that you want is monotony, boredom is the real mind killer.

[MelonHead]

Metz spent just a second casting his spell, but it was all that was really required. His opponent’s path to the weapon was set, allowing Metz to plan for where he would be, though Shin’s sudden increase in pace meant he hadn’t managed to double the circle’s radius, it would still be more than enough. Appearing on the sand about two feet from the firearm in the direction Shin was coming from, a brown circle two feet in diameter materialised under Shin's feet. Almost as soon as it had manifested itself however Metz activated it, leaving little room for his quick opponent to spot the danger as he stood in its epic-centre. His eye was ultimately fixed on the firearm, not the sand.

Escaping the rock was a difficult prospect as it ruptured the sand around the edge of the circle and burst up and towards the man in a lethal cone of spiked protrusions with roughly four inch gaps between them. The rock moved at a cool two hundred feet per second, so even to the advanced observer it had pretty much completed its passage the moment it appeared. However, to confound Shin’s issues his feet were also set upon by a small replication of the stone cone, which quickly sought to impale his ankles and keep him immobile as the larger and more deadly spikes burst up and towards him. They could only reach up to four feet high, but even so the end result could quite easily be Shin’s death as he was skewered from every direction at once in a full circle. If he escaped the end result would see the rock form a spiked cone, but if he did not those same spikes would find their place in his body, and what a gruesome sight that would be.

Metz stood inside the stone pillar, awaiting the result, planning out his next move if his surprise attack failed him.

[LeeRoy]

There wasn't much that he could do about the oncoming attack, his opponent was a coward that hid himself away in a barrier of stone and threw potshots in his general direction. His opponent had officially made him angry. Once the smaller spikes penetrated through the heels of his feet. It wasn't much warning but it was enough to give him province to survive. Blood sprayed everywhere from the bottoms of his feet, pain rocking his body and blurring his vision for a moment. Even without the ability to see straight he knew what was coming, the man had demonstrated the ability before. With his hands already hanging at his sides, it wasn't too difficult to move them into the path of the column. The Kusarigama's handle blocked a spike from spearing through his hand, and his body was wrenched upwards by the force of the stone projection. Shin caught another spike with his left hand, and was forced upwards by the spear of earth.

The bottoms of his feet were torn open as the spikes from below were ripped out. If he had air in his lungs, he would have let out a holler of anger and pain. With his right hand on the peak of the spire, and his left hand holding onto another spike on the opposing side. Shin was thrust upwards into the air on the top of Metz' column of stone. It was official, this guy was just as bad as LeeRoy. A genuine asshole who Shin was now at an impasse with.

Stuck atop the pillar, bleeding profusely, and unable to use his feet properly. Shin was in a real bad situation, and honestly he couldn't be angrier. This man fought with the lowest common denominator of ability, utilizing magic from behind a shield of stone? Hiding from his opponent because he knew he can't compete? In a tournament like this? Such a coward deserved to be executed.

By shoving with his arms, Shin threw himself from the pillar and into the water. It was a necessity, letting someone like this go unpunished was a worse fate than death. Shin threw himself into something he'd been avoiding this whole time. For now, Shin was forced to back off, away from Metz until he could return to the offensive.

This is a terrible day.

[MelonHead]

“Well, now I’ve seen everything.” Metz muttered, shaking himself as he released the magic eye spell before it could drain any more of his mana. He was still doing alright by his own estimation, though it was difficult to judge accurately exactly how much energy he had at any one time. Ignoring that specific plight for a while, he returned his attention to what he had just witnessed. As far as he could tell he’d just witnessed the closest thing he’d ever seen to a true anomaly in physics. That was the first time he had ever witnessed someone escape the earth circle after walking straight into it, as far as he could tell the method by which his enemy had achieved it probably should have led to him being cut in half, but he disregarded that issue and dealt with the reality of the situation. The man was bleeding somewhat apparently and had just jumped into the lake, where the heavy water should have been tiring him out if the gravitational effects he had experienced thus far were what he assumed. However, he had finally discovered perhaps by accident the fairly obvious flaw in Metz fort. If his enemy just fled the area he would bleed mana and be left with no offensive capability, so with a sigh he reduced his stone fort to rocks at his feet and entered out into the light, blinking rapidly.

It was unlikely that Metz would actually be able to see his opponent if he had fled beneath the water, making him lament the loss of his magic eye, though the cost would have been equally lamentable. If he indeed was unable to spot him and wasn't accosted immediately he would be forced to slowly sheath his knife and look around, before walking a little higher up the sandy bank keeping his eye on the water’s edge. There wasn’t much he could do now, though to his mind he had probably done enough, the man’s wounds weren't life threatening, but they were certainly worse than his. About forty feet from the water’s edge he stopped and faced the water, sighing as he realised he was going to just have to burn through his mana. He looked at the ground at his feet, less sand at that point and more like loose dirt, and decided he might as well use his mana for something. Patiently, he began to weave, keeping a close eye on the water that stretched out before him, it was unlikely his foe could retrieve himself from the depths without alerting the mage, at least not on his side of the lake.

[LeeRoy]

Blood oozed from his feet and into the water, and Shin knew it would spell trouble. It left a trail of crimson beneath the violet tides, sweeping towards the shore. A line pointing directly towards him. That wasn't the worst of his problems, the worst was his pain. There was no way of getting around the holes in the bottom of his feet. His heels had been nearly torn off, and there was no quick fix for a wound that serious. Even worse, was that he would heal over before he could properly bandage it. It would hang painfully from his feet, until he was returned to the hall.

With a bit of weak paddling, the assassin began swimming towards the cliff face on the opposing side. Shin didn't have a real goal right now, aside from moving farther away. It wasn't as though he would be forced to the surface, no, he doesn't need to breathe. The pressure was problematic, and his swimming was sluggish at best. If he hadn't gone for the gun, he wouldn't have had to deal with this. Problem with that, is there was literally no way that he could have seen the attack coming. It was as though he were fighting an angry god that liked to play around with someone, but doesn't like being seen.

On top of the pain and frustration, he was also dealing with the huge problem of whatever the fuck his vision was doing right now. There was a massive shift in his visual ability while underneath the water, and he couldn't tell if it was a pain induced hallucination of poisoning. Whether poison or pain, it was hugely distracting. There had come a time when he first earned his ocular prowess, and he had to learn how to see with new sight. This was very similar to that, except now things were getting into extra-spectrums. There was something profoundly disturbing about seeing colors that didn't exist five seconds ago.

[MelonHead]

His mana ran out before he could finish his masterpiece, but it was still an impressive set up. Three circles overlapped in front of him, all four feet in diameter. The closest to the water was a red fire circle, the left point was air and the right was rock. There was no real way of telling if he’d ever get to use the circles, especially as his tricks tended to only work once before a foe caught on to the implications of the elemental pillars. Still, it was better than wasting his mana sitting around super-charged with his foe no-where in sight, and as he slumped with the weight of his equipment pressing down on him uncomfortably and landed on his ass sitting facing the lake, he wondered if the Dreamers were enjoying the strange display. The grotesque man had chosen to outright flee the field, not a bad decision considering the situation, and Metz couldn’t really be bothered to go after him when the water would probably drown him before he made it half way across the lake. Felenr was dying as he sat around wasting time, fighting fools for prestige and mysterious prizes that meant fuck all to him. There was only really one reason he would fight, to get a chance to stop that monster draining the lifeblood of his people.

“Fucking Dreamers, I bet you make all sorts of people dance to your strings.” The Mage muttered in a dejected manner, wondering if someone up there would hear him and get offended. He ran one hand through his reddish hair as the other pointlessly massaged the armour over the area he had been punched. He was tired, physically of course, but also mentally. How long does a man have to fight for just to survive, ultimately if one’s life is almost perpetual struggle is there really any point in living it? Of course there was a way to end the fight, two actually, but suicide was not all that constructive regardless of how tempting it sometimes felt. No, there was an option, it was the easy option as well, at least in the short term. Metz hand had fell from his chest and crept along his belt. He massaged his forehead to quell the discomfort there, the temptation had snuck up on him as it always did, and his black finger tips brushed his remaining vial of mana. Almost as if lured together like opposite magnets, his hand stuck like glue to the vial, and he prised it away with an actual degree of physical difficulty.

“You know that can’t be the answer to everything Metz.” He said to himself rather sadly, sighing deeply as he returned to massaging his chest. He scratched his beard and looked around, noting that there was really no sign of his foe. There was a fair chance he was either swimming far away from him or had found a secluded spot to drag himself from the water and was even now flanking him. He wondered if the Dreamers would cut the fight short like they did last time, if so he wondered if he’d done enough to pass regardless, like before.

[LeeRoy]

While his airheaded coward of a foe lamented his piteous dying world, Shin was more occupied with coming to terms with what he was seeing. Nothing was quite right, and while he was under water he couldn't take a deep breath and center himself as he would normally. Stacked with the no longer bleeding but agonizingly painful wounds on his feet, if he were a lesser man he would have prayed for death. All of these colors and wavelengths that were once invisible to me, what nightmares are hidden within them? Was this the Dreamers? Why did they force Metzalaatla and myself into this place? They wanted us to see this. This is what was causing him such distress!

At the bottom of the water, Shin settled himself to the ground and pushed the flesh on his heels back into place. Before they sealed up completely, he wanted them to hold in place. At least for the duration of the coming melee. Again, he would have screamed if he had any air in his lungs. At the bottom of the water, however, he wouldn't be able to breathe without inhaling a mouthful of water. Nor could he paddle to the top, not in his condition. Shin was basically walking at the bottom of the water now. It would take him a good few minutes to reach the water's edge, and another few seconds just to scale the cliff.

Might as well make use of the time. Beneath the violet surf, Shin was noticing every single notable change in his vision. Things felt strangely lighter beneath the water, where before it had been weighing him down, he was now feeling alleviated. Though still walking, using a handy trick for killing pain through repeated infliction. It hurt more in the short term, but in the long run the pain wouldn't be as severe. Shin didn't know how long his fight had left, but he wasn't ready to just let this coward escape without dying at least once.

While marching and slowly reaching the shore, Shin wrapped the chain around his left arm and tied it tightly. Making sure he wouldn't disarm himself again, it wasn't a mistake. But it was a gambit that didn't work out too well last time and he didn't want even the temptation to repeat. As well, it would strengthen his weaker arm. That shoulder injury was really dragging on him. Much more now than before, because the water was cooling his burn nicely.

Now all that remained was his frustrated internal monologue. Whatever I do, once I leave the water, I must do it fast. Before he can lash another spell at me, I must strike him down. And there's only one way to do that. No plan of action could fight against a spell that he couldn't see coming, the pillar before had nearly killed him. If he had've been a second too late, it would have impaled his groin and torn him in half. No defense aside from luck or constant movement, no offense could work if his foe managed to form another barrier.

With all of this running through his head and more, one thing tingled at the back of his head. This location. Why this location with this strange water? Why did the Dreamers want ME to see this!?

[MelonHead]

Metz sat around for a while staring out across the lake, pleased that at least his vision seemed to have returned to normal after he used his spell earlier. He could only assume there was some sort of strange environmental effects somewhat like hallucinatory drugs on his old planet at play in the local area, though it was strange because such things were usually more visible. Then again, the entire landscape was of an odd hue like nothing he had ever seen before, it was like something from a dreamworld to begin with.

“Hmm, I wonder where Old One Eye went.” Metz muttered to himself, noting with some interest that no sign of his enemy had surfaced across the entire lake for as long as he’d been watching. It was possible the scarred looking creature was just a master of stealth swimming, but the Mage couldn’t be so sure of that. He certainly didn’t look like a swimmer, with that metal mask of his he’d probably drown trying to breath properly in the water.

Metz looked down at the water’s edge and spotted his gun half submerged. He frowned, the weapon would be useless now, it was archaic to begin with and being dropped in water and sand was certain to ruin the firing mechanism. Never mind now, he was certain he didn’t need a gun to face off against a mad-man with a big piece of metal.

[LeeRoy]

Reaching the end of the water's depth, Shin mounted the sandy cliff face and began scaling. With solely the use of his arms, Shin used the blade of his weapon as a support by jabbing it into the wall. Clawing and gripping, pulling and forcing himself. The assassin overcame the obstacle of the cliff with haste, pulling himself over the edge to finally take in a relieving breath. Without the pressure of the water on his body, that breath was a relief, a literal breath of fresh air. Nearly collapsing on the cliff, Shin was forced to stand on his toes. There was no way that he could put pressure on his heels.

Looking about, Shin could barely make sense of the world around him. Though most of it looked the same, so he could still see how far away he had moved from his opponent. It was almost certainly too late now, there was no time. He might have the time to cross the distance and deliver a single strike, but he would have to move now. But with how quickly the fight he watched was cut short, Shin was expecting to be forced to abscond any second now. Shin tucked the handle of the kusarigama into the chain so that the blade stuck out just over his knuckles.

Lamenting the unfortunate circumstances, Shin decided to rely on something that he had only ever used once before. Dropping down onto all fours, Shin bent his legs at the knees and kept his toes pressed to the ground. Placing the tips of his fingers to the ground, Shin lowered himself into a bestial stance. Keeping most of the pressure from the bottoms of his feet on his toes and fingers, Shin was forced to make himself look like an idiot. Not even the first time he was forced to do this, and the first time was even more humiliating.

Weighing himself a little bit, Shin felt slightly alleviated due to the sudden knowledge of how gravity was affecting him. Strange how knowledge can come from a dip in some water, but it wasn't the strangest thing he'd ever experienced.

With his body now balanced a little better, Shin swayed himself back and forth on his toes and fingers before bursting into a full sprint. Raising his weight upward and back before launching himself from the cliff's edge, Shin swung his arms around in a wide circle and before reaching the ground he leaned his weight forwards. Meeting the ground with his feet and hands, Shin continued to throw his weight forwards so that he rolled to reduce the impact. Before slowing down completely, Shin righted himself and popped back up into a standing posture. Now about halfway back to his opponent, Shin took another deep breath. Glaring directly at Metz.

Slowly but surely, Shin walked on his toes towards Metz. Making sure to slide his feet and keep his toes spread wide. Trying his best not to sink into the sand.

The only thing left was to get back into the fray. Shin didn't know how much energy Metz still had, and though Shin was still running on full, he was starting to slow down due to his injuries.

The assassin would be willing to bet money that this day was probably going to get worse before it got better.

[MelonHead]

There wasn’t a whole lot of obscuring scrub or foliage in the immediate vicinity of the strange lake, and what scrub that existed was obviously not the kind his enemy deemed it wise to utilize. He had instead opted to take the path across the sandy lake’s edge towards him, leaving him in pretty plain view as Metz watched his approach with tired eyes sitting just behind his triangle of circles. Shin had opted to come in from the right hand side, though Metz wasn’t overly surprised he hadn’t opted to use stealth. From what he had seen the man was little more than a beserker, and not even a particularly good one, if such a think existed. Metz looked on with disinterest as the man made steady progress towards him, noting with amusement that it was not unlike starting the fight again. The cyclical nature of it appealed to him in his state of melancholy, speaking somewhat of the futility of combat.

“Well, looks like he has a little fight left in him.” Metz muttered, judging him a good two hundred meters away at least. On a good day Metz could cover that distance in about twenty five seconds, so unless his enemy had recovered from his wounds he had little to fear for a while yet. He seemed to be walking a little precariously, so it seemed that the fight was really already over, though the weapon in his hands still posed a threat at range and he could well have been faking his wounds. Disdainfully perhaps he looked on, letting his enemy know he had spotted him and deemed him unworthy of even standing up in preparation. Metz would probably stand up with about one hundred feet separating them if nothing else changed, though it really depended on the severity of the situation.

[LeeRoy]

Rocking back and forth a bit with every step, attempting to be as ginger as possible with his feet as he could. Shin slowly but surely closed the gap between them until Metz was within shouting distance. Why shouting distance? Because that's what Shin aims to do. Raising his voice at Metz from across the gap, the assassin lambasted his foe. "You know, you're a really unlikable sort! I'm an assassin, but at least I have the decency of showing my face as I kill someone." Which is ironic, seeing as he always conceals his face behind a mask. Still fuming over the dishonorable tactics of his foe, Shin didn't think that Metz would actually care. Seems like the sort who does this all the time, so getting harassed for it is probably his full time job.

Wriggling the handle of his weapon out from the chain, Shin pulled the blade free and held it aloft. Pointing his right index at Metz, he called out to him. "I'm gonna do my damnedest to shove this blade down your throat, so be prepared for that!" Calling his shots like Babe Ruth, Shin started running towards Metz. Swinging back into the serpentine maneuver with no weapon in his right, and the blade in his left. There would no longer be any room for showing off, no time for extreme maneuvers. It was up to the simple and direct strategy, and that favored him.

It had started a few moments ago, while he shouted at Metz. The cold sweat of excitement and the hot flush of adrenaline, Metz had to die. Shin would bring deliverance upon him. The assassin's eye locked onto Metz' face, it almost appeared to vibrate in its socket as he glared at his foe. Shin felt tingly from his head to his toes, the unsettling imagery offsetting this lead to an even more numbing sensation. Something about this ordeal had become surreal.

Hidden behind his mask, Shin's mouth was agape with all teeth bared. Saliva trickling down the edge of his lips. Why had calling his shots triggered this? It was the prospect of punishing Metz that lead Shin into his seemingly trancelike state.

[MelonHead]

Metz looked mildly amused as he was reprimanded from across the way, though his frown quickly re-asserted itself as he stood up.

“I’m a survivor.” He said in a level tone, back in response, he drew his knife with his right hand and looked at it in the light as his foe continued to rage at him, threatening to stab him or some such nonsense. Metz left hand had already crept down and plucked his remaining vial from his belt, the liquid within black as night, swirling unnaturally as if it had been shaken abruptly. He only had the one vial left, his enemy’s timely retreat had resulted in that, so Metz justified what was to come as really the man’s own fault. Yes, that was right, this was a measure Metz didn’t want to take but had to, he had to drink it.

He downed the black vial even as the man finished speaking and ran towards him. The effect was immediate, his muscles bulged beneath the armour and his eyes changed, his skin falling into an unhealthy shade and steadily growing darker by the moment around his eyes and hands. His veins pulsed and unlike the glorious euphoria when pure mana suffused through his body, Black Mana was a burning pain that somehow grew into ecstasy. His voice even deepened a little as he looked on at the incoming man in delight, his grin feral. “No. I will tear you apart.” He growled, the knife in his hand unsuitable for the bloody destruction he wished the wreak upon his enemy he lifted his left hand claw-like and spat out a couple of words, bypassing his normal spell restrictions. One sharp drawing of his hand down and he thrust it back out palm forward, the lightning bolt launching from his hands at the ground beneath his enemy’s feet as he closed the gap between them to thirty feet. The serpentine manoeuvre was useful when one is targeting the body as its movements were erratic, but the ground was a more sure-fire target, and serpentine can be just as predictable as any other run. The bolt would disrupt the earth, detonating and knocking a normal man off his feet, though the man was anything but his injuries would probably result in the bolt unsettling him.