David hadn't expected the demoness to practically collapse into his arms and was actually not sure how to take this sudden show of vulnerability. He gave her a half-hearted one-armed hug as she leaned into him. "Was she just faking the tough girl act at the tournament." He thought to himself as he gently pushed the Demoness off him by her shoulders, "OK, look I'm glad you trust me, My names David by the way," He quickly adds, "but now isn't the time to break down. I need you to put the tough girl act back on at least until we can get out of this park. I have the ability to create portals using this fancy pen here, but it's difficult to do with dirt and trees. If we reach the street I can portal us to my house, then we can relax and figure this all...Ah shit." It seemed David had even less time to act then he thought as a girl wreathed in ice, Christine, skated up to them at an insane speed. "Did I just see a car crash because of the ice in the distance?" David had little time to dwell on this as Christine started rapid fire accusation's about Katherine's identity. At the same time, another girl who David thought looked like she shopped at Hot Topic emerged from seemingly nowhere. The worst part was she called David out by name so there was no playing dumb with her. He swears he knew her from the student council but didn't really pay attention given he never saw any of them at night. Well, except for the crazy cyborg girl with an itchy trigger finger, but he just avoided her for safety reasons.
He wasn't sure what to do. They all wanted him to get out of the way so they could deal with the Demon. There was a chance that they told the truth and could help, but David knew someone was after Katherine and they had less than noble intentions. He didn't know these people, and that sadly meant he couldn't trust them. David looks the demoness in the eyes while sliding his arms down her shoulders and into her hands. Then with a determined expression on his face, he whispers to her, "Run." then without missing a beat, he starts sprinting towards the street dragging the demoness by her hand. As he runs he hastily scribbles a circle inside a square on his chest. If these people pursued him he had some nasty surprises waiting for them.
It was supposed to just be another normal day. He would wake up go to work and then go to school, but of course, the tournament was going on and he was now down half a crew and the other half was itching to split at any moment. The only compromise Hughes could make to keep the rest was to make a promise to let everyone off early for the finals if they finished planting the charges in at at least one of the two shafts they had planned for today. He also put the tournament on in the break room so the guys could check it every now and again. The crew moved at a fair pace, but David would always catch guys staring at the screen when they were up top grabbing supplies. David only carried a toolbox lid and several rolls of wire as he spent the most time down under. He didn't need to go back up for more charges when he had multiple marked boxes tied to his portals. He could just keep planting and wiring without having to slow down. He didn't really care about the tournament anyway beyond the fact it was giving him a migraine.
"Dam this fucking tournament!" David yelled into an empty tunnel, "Why does my blood have to boil every time a bunch of dumb people loses their collective shit!" He starts speaking in a mocking voice, "Oh David, the tournament is safe it shouldn't bother you." He yells into the void, "Fuck you, Hughes! It doesn't matter if it's real or even staged. When people see someone get their shit kicked in there going to get excited about it!" David kicks a rock only for it to bounce off a wall and hit him in the face, making his headache worse."Goddamit! I hate this fucking city!" He flails around a minute venting his anger before picking up his wires and going back to work.
As evening approaches David finishes attaching the last of his wires and starts running them up top to connect them to the detonator board. It was getting late, but he was almost done now, and could finally go home. He intended to lay in bed and down a bottle of aspirin maybe see if he could sleep off the tournament. However, as he reached the top he found that no one was there. The place was crawling with people last time he came up. "They couldn't have left without me." he thought, "Hughes could be an ass sometimes, but safety was a big deal to him," David noticed the break room door was open and saw everyone was standing inside. David couldn't believe it. They were almost done and yet they all had taken a break now of all times to watch the tournament. "Can't these people just finish their goddam jobs and go watch it in person." he mumbled angrily to himself, "I'm going to give them a piece of my mind." David approached the tent fuming, ready to give everyone an earful, but when he entered the room he became aware that something was wrong. No one was cheering or shouting in excitement as he had expected. They were all just standing there silently watching the screen, even Hughes was sitting up front. They all had the same look on their face as well. They looked worried. David had been too angry to notice, but his head was hurting a lot more then it had been a few moments ago, in fact, his whole body was starting to feel like it was burning. He looked at the screen and listened to a frantic announcer trying to calm a panicking crowd. A girl was at the center of the screen, a caption revealing her name as Katherine, and she looked like hell. She was on her knees bleeding from multiple wounds and she had an arrow sticking out of her chest. You could actually hear her whimpering as she struggled to breathe. "What the fuck happened?" David spoke without thinking. Hughes answered, "I'm not sure David, but I've seen some terrible things and, unless the gods intervene, I don't think that girls going to make it." As Hughes says this the Katherine suddenly stands strong and rips the arrow out of her chest.
David's building horror is washed away with relief, "You were saying?" David responds snidely as he felt his headache lesson as the crowd calmed, but his smugness was wiped away when Katherine burst into flames and transformed into a demon in front of everyone. "Perhaps the gods weren't the ones to answer her call," Hughes replied sagely. David only watched in stunned silence as Katherine blew the barrier protecting the stadium away. He felt another burst of fire in his blood as the people began to panic again. The officials tried to stop her, but wings emerged from her back and she flew off into the city. The burning was now becoming unbearable as the whole city seemed to freak out more and more about what they just witnessed. David's body was in agony. His power demanded that he interfere, but the truth was David didn't want to. What could he possibly do to help? Hughes looked at David's pained face and with a look of conviction upon his face told him, "You need to go."
"Are you crazy?!" David replied looking at Hughes like he had just suggested he should jump off a bridge.
"David that needs help those students were trying to kill girl her. You saw it" Hughes looked at David with pleading eyes, "Please, I don't know what they're after, but they don't deserve it. What they did today is desecrate a long-standing tradition of this city and its founders. Only you can act fast enough to possibly prevent this from getting more out of hand. Help her David. Even if she doesn't want it. She needs it."
David stared at him, a low growl building in his throat, until finally, he screamed, "FUCK!" He jams his finger into Hughes' chest, "I swear to god old man. This is none of my business."
"Everything's your Business, David. Whether you like it or not that is what the gods chose you for. Now do something useful for a change and actually save someone who needs it." Hughes retorted without breaking stride.
David spits on the ground, "Fine, but if this shit gets me killed I'm haunting your ass!" David takes a step back and draws his pen, then yells into the heavens, "Crisis!" with that final word David is swallowed by a purple and orange portal that forms from his body.
In Central Park as the demoness stood ready to attack the old man. In the space between her and him, a purple and orange tear would open in the sky, and David would be seen emerging from it. As he does the old man, whom the demon had just threatened, would take the unexpected opportunity to run away.
David would wave the remnants of the portal away as he stared intently into the eyes of the Demoness, unaware of what almost transpired. He slowly points at the Demoness with his pen, full of enchanted blood, and asks "Hey, Your Katherine right? I don't know what kind of shit you got yourself into hot stuff but I'm here to help you. I was told some assholes want you dead, and I'm here to fuck that up for them." David looks at Katherine's body and notices it was looking a lot better. "Good, you don't look like a trainwreck anymore. Healthwise." He quickly added, "You're beautiful to look at. I mean your appearance is fine." He rubs his head, "Fuck you get what I mean. Look I know you have little reason to trust me, but if it makes you feel better. I'm probably no match for you if you chose to attack me right now, but you may just lose a valuable ally if you do. So, what do you say, Friends?" David holds out his hand hoping that she would accept his offer, and not use his outstretched hand to throw him into a tree or something. If she did accept his offer he would start telling her what his abilities are, so that they could coordinate if needed. If she didn't accept then he'd have to improvise.
Ivan was getting frustrated as he felt Kakra start tearing herself free of his grasp. If she escaped now he knew he would not get another chance like this. His hatred mixed with his frustration as he prepared a desperate attack. His armor still wriggled, but now congregated around his stump. He prepared to force all the stone and steel he could through his stump to form a lance to impale Kakra before she could completely escape.
However, as Kakra tore free of his arm and he prepared to fire. He felt a gentle touch upon his neck, and then everything became clear. The wriggling stopped, the madness stopped, and all of Ivan's hatred and anger faded to guilt and shame. "What have I done." Ivan thought, " I have become a monster."As the secrets of the universe were poured into his mind. He knew that it would all be lost in a few seconds. He needed to stop. He needed to sleep. Ivan could now see the tears in the Kakra's eyes as she tor the spikes from her arms, but even as her tears turned to rage Ivan only stared back with look sadness and regret upon his face. He spoke to her for the first time in soft fleeting voice, "I um sorry." He focused all his power, every last scrap of it onto his own body, "I fix." Then in a sudden burst, Ivan severed every bond in his body, except for his heart. Kakra would hear Ivan's final words, and then he would turn to dust before her eyes.
As the knowledge of the universe faded from Ivan's mind he would find all his power spent. He knew not how the witch had defeated him, but he could no longer find the energy to care. His conciseness faded into a fitful sleep and only his heart would be left beating among the dust and debris.
As Ivan approached Kakra she once again impressed him with her strength. Without giving any ground she reached up and grasped his wrists, right where the spikes and sharp stones pointed away from her hands and halted all his momentum. Overpowering him she twisted his away from her yanked him forward delivering a devastating kick right into his gut pulverizing stone and bending steel. She released his left arm allowing him some freedom of movement, cut it was short lived. She violently twisted his right arm and delivered a swift and crippling blow to his elbow snapping it off at the joint.
"She's taking me apart." Ivan thought as Kakra stepped behind him, "She is strong and the strong always lord their power over the weak." Kakra delivers another strong kick to Ivan's knee shattering the stone, but a steel brace held keeping the joint connected long enough for the stone to refuse together albeit at a bent angle. Ivan began to fall towards Kakra as a result "I knew I could never overpower you." Kakra pays no mind to his crippled limb as she swings his own arm at him like a club cracking him in his helm. "I only prayed I could outsmart you." As Ivan's arm impacted his head, shattering stone and impaling him with steel spikes, it would suddenly stop. Kakra would find that her improvised weapon had fused to Ivan's head as she struck him. In that same moment, Kakra would feel Ivan's severed hand grasp her arm the steel spikes embedded in the gauntlet shivering. At his command, the spikes shoot through Ivan's hand and into Kakra's arm punching through the barrier and piercing her flesh and bones. Ivan's attack did not end there as he reached out with his stump and touched Kakra's shirt fusing it to the cotton. Multiple things would happen at once. Kakra's shirt would immediately start to tighten around her body as Ivan forcefully strengthened and compressed the fibers. The second thing would be Ivan's armor would start to shiver and begin crawling off his body and onto Kakra. This would Leave Ivan exposed, but this did not matter to him anymore.
If he isn't stopped.
The stone and steel would crawl over Kakra arm. As it progressed Ivan commanded more spikes to impale Kakra to weaken her resistance. As the moments passed the armor would start to encase Kakra's chest and Ivan would force spikes to merge together to form a large spike right over Kakra's heart. "It would be a quick death." Ivan thought, "More then you deserve Witch, but I would be a fool to let this fight drag on. Now burn in hell!" with that final though the spike would descend right through Kakra's heart. If this didn't kill her then Ivan truly had no hope of victory.
Ivan had narrowly missed taking Kakra's head off with the first swing but he had drawn blood and that fueled his lust for more. Kakra had tried to speak to him to convince him of his folly, but Ivan could not hear her. The whole world sounded like it was underwater, making her words distorted and unclear. Ivan followed up his swing by dropping the hoe and charging at Kakra to tackle her to the ground. However, she had been ready for him. As Ivan threw his weight into Kakra he had expected her to crumble, but instead, she stood her ground sliding across the field digging furrows with her feet. As Ivan's momentum was halted he noticed that she had not yielded an inch to his strength even with his arms wrapped around her. Ivan had not anticipated such power in a girl so small. Kakra raised her arms above her head, forcing his own off her, and delivered a powerful blow to Ivan's back and forcing him to bow at her feet. Kakra then did something no one her size had any business being able to do. She wrapped her arms around Ivan's waist and hoisted him into the air. Ivan was a man of five hundred pounds of granite and Kakra held him as if he was a stuffed animal. Ivan couldn't even get his bearings before she dropped him on his head and delivered a powerful kick to his back. He was sent rolling through the grass with shattered parts of his body lying in the grass around him.
Ivan didn't move as the stones scattered around him and buried in the dirt merged with his body to repair the damage. The girl was powerful, he admitted, and she wouldn't go down easy. He needed to at least be able to trade damage with her if he was to have any chance at victory. His special sight scanned the area and fell upon a familiar visage. The structure of steel and stone that had been coated in the viscera of the troll still stood in the grass. However, the rats had eaten away all the bone and flesh and what was left behind was a sight to behold. The shape was a bit bent and hard to see if you weren't looking at from the right angle, but Ivan could see it clearly. The rats had revealed a figure that looked like a hunched over troll made of blood-soaked spikes of steel and sharp stones. Ivan had made that pattern to bind the creature in place by piercing every inch of its body. It now gave him an idea.
Without warning Ivan sprang to his feet and rushed towards the horrific looking monument. He only needed to place his hand upon it to invoke his power. If not stopped upon touching the stone Ivan would animate the structure causing it to spread apart and cling to him molding to the shape of his body. The outcome would be Ivan donning the worlds most demonic set of armor. The steel spikes and sharp stones that now coated his body were adjusted to face away from his joints to allow easier freedom of movement. His head would fuse with his chest as a cone of stone spiraled upward into a crown of massive spikes. His hands were coated in a set of sharp gauntles that ended in long stone claws with metal spikes pressed into the knuckles. Kakra would not be able to see his face, but Ivan glared at her through the armor. He would then charge at her with his arms outstretched with the full intention of impaling. He intended to do to her what he did to the troll and make a new monument of gore out of her body.
Ivan was enraged beyond reason. He had so much pent up hate being directed at Kakra. That he could not see the girl, but instead a Witch who shared the same blood as his ancient enemy. He wanted to see that blood, but it seemed fate had other plans. Sasha had finished pouring her frustration and anger into an all-out attack. An all-encompassing light washing over the battlefield. Ivan could feel his body being struck all over by small blows of force. His body chipped and cracked in places, but held strong. His left ear broke off, having not been fully reformed yet, but The attack had seemed to be of little consequence. However, something felt wrong, very wrong. Ivan hadn't realized it at first, but the numbness his body had known for so long was starting to fade and was being replaced with a creeping since of pain that started in his chest and slowly spread throughout his body.
Ivan had spent much of his time thinking about how to free himself and his family from their curse, but none at all thinking about what releasing his curse would mean for his body. Ivan had no issue with using his power to abuse his bodies malleable state. He would often reshape and mold it to better suit his needs. He had even changed it while fighting the troll adding stone to the gaps in his body and condensing it to further increase his durability. That stone was still there and he could now feel it.
Ivan's body had become human again, but it wasn't ready for that change. Ivan dropped his hoe and collapsed to his hands and knees as blood began pouring from wounds all over his body. All of the cracks and chips in his body had become gaping wounds and cuts. His missing ear dripped blood across his face and he could taste iron in his mouth. His organs feared the worst as they were being torn apart by the stone trapped inside his body. His lungs were the only thing still intact having just been reformed so he could speak, but Ivan could not speak now. He could only scream at the agony he was in. His own heart could barely beat with rocks in the way and he was losing consciousness fast. This all happened in the few moments of Sahsa's attack, but to Ivan, it felt like an eternity. As the holy light faded the pain stopped. Ivan could hear the witches laughter as his body was mercifully petrified once more and darkness consumed his mind.
In the darkness Ivan couldn't feel anything as all. His senses stripped away by the curse. In that darkness though, he heard a voice. His own voice asking a question him and important question, "Will you be stone for me?"
"No." Ivan replied, "I hate being stone."
"You will fade away if you don't." the voice answered, "I ask again. Will you be stone for me? Will you be stone for them?"
Ivan wanted to refuse and will away all the pain, but he knew he couldn't. "I will...I will be stone for you for I must keep my promise."
Ivan awoke as his senses slowly returned to him. His body twitching as his power granted it life once more. He had only been out for a moment, but he felt as stiff as he did the day he awoke from his centuries long nap. Ivan was back, but he wasn't in a field anymore. He was on a farm and as he looked upon his classmates he couldn't see them. His mind fractured he only saw the Witch and monsters standing in his way. He grasped his hoe tightly as he rose to his feet. The sickly red glow of his weapon seemed to accent the blood all over his body giving it the same luminescence. Ivan stared at through Alexei at Kakra as a subtle growl began building in his throat. That growl turned into a mighty battle cry as he raised his hoe and swung it like a bat. He cracked Alexei in the ribs, with the blunt side of his hoe, and sent him flying out of Kakra's grasp. He followed this up by raising his hoe high in the air and bringing it down onto Kakra. Hit or miss when the hoe strikes, the ground would shudder from the force and be torn asunder. A normal farming implement could never withstand such force, but it held stronger than any natural material as Ivan's power held it together. Ivan would follow up his swing by trying to tackle Kakra, intending to pin her to the ground. He intended to beat her to death just like he did to the first witch three centuries ago.
Ivan was grateful for the aid of the Rat King and his army of rodents. They made short work of the mutilated troll by literally eating it alive. He had admittedly been a bit disturbed witnessing the Rat King consuming raw flesh before his very eyes, or lack of eyes. He still didn't have a head after having it pulverized by the troll. He could still hear and see, but his body was sluggish due to reinforcing it to survive the troll trying to reduce him to gravel. He had made his body super dense to take the blows, but the added weight cost him greatly in movement speed. He was slowly undoing this change and had a small reprieve to appreciate the battle raging around him.
The new girl, Kakra, had proven quite capable in combat finishing off the first troll with a well-placed fireball into the crater of once was a troll's face and burning away its brain. It seemed her anger had almost been as great as his own as she closed in on the final helpless troll. The creature could not escape a brutal series of blows to its head each punctuating the girl's frustrations before finally showing it mercy with another ball of fire. The battle was over and they had been overwhelmingly victorious.
Ivan at this point had managed to sculpt himself a new head from the leftovers of the concrete bench, but he had yet to refine the sculpture. He still needed to re-fabricate his voice box and reform his lungs if he wanted to speak. It was as the young boy Alexei began lecturing people that Ivan noticed a grave detail. His hoe was still glowing that sickly red color. As he got to his feet he approached Kakra and found a noticeable increase in the hoe's brightness and vibration. His features darkened at this revelation his eyes wearing an intense expression. A light in the distance had slowly been growing, but Ivan did not care he had more important things to focus on. He still could not speak so he stepped in front of Kakra, casting a long shadow across her features. He stretched out his long arm and pointed at her then he pointed at the head of the glowing hoe, then back at her.
He could just feel the organs working into place as he stood there hoping she would understand his unspoken declaration, but to assure no misunderstanding could be had. As he finished forming his lungs he spoke slow and with a sharp edge to his voice.
"You witch. I know dis now." He slowly brandishes his hoe a gleam in his eye. Then with the light in the distance almost as blinding as the sunrise, he declared in front of everyone, "Release your curse on me and my family witch! or I will kill you!"
After "fixing" the Alicia and Nidgart situation. Ivan had taken a walk around the school. His thoughts were still erratic from his encounter and he needed to find a way to calm down. He eventually stopped to get some lunch, believing a nice meal is what he needed to get his mind off recent events. He sat outside at his favorite bench with a view of the open fields. The sight of grass and the occasional flower accented by the forest stretching out in the distance was the perfect backdrop. It was relaxing and reminded him of home. However, today it seemed that even that small comfort was spoiled. Ivan sat before the sight of flaming wreckage of some kind of machine. He wasn't sure how but there was also a dumpster in said machine.
He just couldn't be bothered at the moment to deal with whatever this development was. He accepted insanity and ate a golden potato in peace as he watched the events unfold like some kind of stage play. There was a lot of yelling but it actually seemed like everyone was working things out as the Ratman helped save the pilot. Ivan actually found the whole thing to be quite an inspiring sight. There was nothing like seeing his fellow classmates work out there differences and come together to give him hope in the world. Ivan was starting to finally relax. He was even getting ready to get up and see if he could help. He didn't know the strange machine but with proper directions could probably fix it. That is when things took an unexpected turn. The pilot seemed to disagree with something the Alexei said as he took off into the woods the boy shooting some kind of rainbow beam after him. The pilot avoided it though and escaped into the woods. Ivan had figured that he wasn't coming back for the machine then and sat back to wait for the janitor to inevitably clean up this mess. However, the pilot came back. He was running full speed and he ran right past the crash site, across the big open field and then right past Ivan. 'This guy sure could run.' Ivan thought as the man continued right into the school. Ivan was wondering what he was screaming about when he heard a monstrous roar in the distance.
Three strange looking beasts emerged from the forest. They had long noses and wielded large knarled clubs. Ivan did not know what to make of this as he had never seen these creatures and wasn't sure if their appearance here was a normal occurrence. 'Afterall demons have become an accepted species among humans so why not local tribes of wild beasts.' Ivan thought darkly as he was once again faced with more social challenges. He wasn't going to assume they are a problem until they demonstrated hostile intent. I mean sure they were carrying clubs and looked pissed, but maybe the pilot is to blame for that and a friendly agreement could be worked out. Ivan noticed Alexie had crawled into the wreck. He emerged with a knife and some kind of gun. Ivan was starting to get a bad feeling now as the trolls were approaching fast. It seems Kato had the same thought as he went rushing to Alexei's aid shoving him out of the way as the first troll closed in. He didn't stand a chance. Ivan once again cursed his sightas he watched the troll swing its mightly club right into Kato's head the world slowed as Ivan's vision seemed to zoom in on the sight of Kato's head snapping to the side from the force of the blow. Ivan could practically hear the bones cracking in the Kato's neck. His body was flung into the wreckage and his body was bent in an unnatural way around a supporting structure. As Kato's body slid to the ground Ivan could the color drain from Kato's face and his eyes lose focus. Kato was dead. Ivan did not need to be a doctor to know this was true. The shock of such a revelation was the only thing keeping Ivan in place as he had to process this fact.
However, that's when Kato's body began glowing. Ivan's eyes were drawn to Kato's body as it changed before his eyes. His hair became blonde and his eyes changed to blue. Ivan could also tell his body had become thinner. If Ivan didn't know any better he would have thought he'd become a girl. This girl, Kakra, wasted no time delivering a counter-attack to the trolls. Ivan witnessed a formidable display of might as she battled the trolls to an impressive stand still. She gave blow after blow and even when she looked like she had been taken out for thoe count got back at it. He was so enraptured that he almost missed the telltale vibration on his back. Ivan looked to see his hoe had begun to glow. He wasn't sure when it happened. The deep crimson was bathing his features with a sickly red light as the realization dawned on him. 'They were here.' Ivan thought in an ever-increasing rage, 'That witch's magic is here! Are those creatures theirs?! If they are...I will kill them all!!!'
Ivan rose to his feet grabbing his stone bench and tearing it from the ground. He starts to walk, then run, then dead on charge at the trolls the bench being dragged behind its shape morphing as he went. He notes many changes in the fight as he closes the distance. The new girl, Kakra was a fierce fighter and took many hard blows as well as give them, but the enemy was not deterred by her power. They seemed able to regenerate their wounds and were pressing their numbers advantage. There were three enemies total Ivan had counted and the girl had two before her while the Ratman tangled with the other. Ivan figured if he took one off the girl it would even the odds. Finally, with a target in mind, Ivan let his thoughts begin to fade away, wrath born three hundred years ago was emerging and Ivan was going to get his first taste of vengeance.
As Ivan closed in on the fight Kakra had just finished flipping over a troll as Alexei came in to assist. Ivan instead focused on the second troll and revealed his weapon. The bench had been converted into a large pike with rebar making up the core of the shaft with multiple stone fish hook like spikes running down its length. A large counterweight of stone was on the end with Ivan to balance the oversized stabbing weapon, or so it seemed. As Ivan closed in on the unarmed troll he let out a scream filled with hatred as he impaled the beast on the end of his spear. The spear ran clean through the creature spilling its blood all over Ivan as it let out an inhuman roar of pain. The troll shoves Ivan off him using its immense strength and knocks him to the ground causing him to release the spear. The troll then tries to pull the spear out with its hands but the hooks left in the spear make it all but impossible. The blood had already stopped flowing from the troll's wound but it clearly didn't like Ivan's weapon being stuck in its guts. Ivan in the meantime had gotten back to his feet and lunges for the spear. However, the troll was focused now and it sidesteps Ivan's lung and trips him with his leg. Ivan is sent off balance and falls forward having to catch himself with his arms. The troll seeing this opportunity brings down a powerful double-handed slam on to Ivan just as he is getting to his knees. As a result, the blow ends up connecting with Ivan's head ans shattering it and causing a massive crack to form down his body. Ivan sits there unmoving as the troll slowly retracts its hands. The others would see it smile at its vile accomplishment. Though its joy is short-lived as it notices its buddy going up in flames. That moment of distraction is also when the troll hears something strange. The sound of stone scraping stone. He looks down to a horrible sight. Ivan's body is moving and his hand is resting on the stone weight, but something is wrong. The stone mass that makes up the weight was moving along the shaft. It was moving into its body the other end as well. It could feel a painful wriggling as the hooks inside its body shift and move as the large mass merges with rest in the center of its body. The troll is not interested in seeing where this ends and starts trying to pummel Ivan's body again, but something is wrong. The stone isn't cracking and it feels denser. It bashes, again and again, its hands breaking and regenerating with every swing painting Ivan's body in its blood. It could feel something was coming. It began to panic giving up on offense and trying to flee instead, but it couldn't move. It was as if the stone man's body was fused to the handle and to the earth itself. It was coming whatever it was the wiggling in its guts was so intense.
At that moment the troll uttered its first and final words. In a deep guttural voice it said, " What are you doing to me?" in response Ivan raised his hand and made an opening motion. The mass of metal and stone inside the troll shot out of its body as multiple spikes and blades were formed all at once. The troll was completely eviscerated in seconds leaving nothing behind but a writhing mound of blood and meat perforated with stone and steel. The troll still lived even despite the horrid condition of its body. It even now squirmed against the many protrusions tearing its body to shreds. Ivan began to slowly piece his body back together. The troll had greatly damaged his body and it was all he could do to hold himself together after the brutal onslaught of blows the thing had delivered before being halted by Ivan turning its body into a grotesque work of art. Despite everything, the troll's arms were still intact and that worried Ivan. If someone were to get to close it may get the bright idea to grab said person and impale them on one of Ivan's spikes. Hopefully, it could be dealt with safely while he recovered.
Grizzlybeard
PaulHaynek
