@AThousandCurses@Estylwen@Psyker LandsharkIRIS RECORD, 3F, CATHEDRAL
The Umbralist hissed as the shield slammed against him, his body left wide open with the impact of solid steel against him. It left him vulnerable, in that state in which he no doubt saw stars, disoriented with the pain of a blunt object brought upon him with physicality surpassing an ogre. Staggering, he was wide open as Iraleth's sword struck true. Her blade would cleave the man through, and for a moment, that was that. The villain had been defeated, his blood raining upon the cathedral floor as the paladin stood proud above him. Were he a regular vagrant, that would have proven sufficient.
"Ethos are... truly troublesome things," his voice would ring out from behind Iraleth, the slashed body bursting apart into solid spikes of darkness that hurtled towards the paladin.
The Umbralist's shadows would dance and rotate around him, now numbering four. His new body had disconnected from the reptiles, who he now looked upon with arms crossed, disdain in his posture. He seemed to make no effort to save them, devoured in their own ways by Ciara and Chunji. He withdrew a kris dagger from underneath his robes - a ritual knife in many cultures and religions, especially Umbralism - and pointed it towards Iraleth, assuming she was not already skewered by the shadow spikes that launched towards her.
"I could have struck, but that last attack impressed me. That will be your one mercy, Astrite. I will have no more to give. Try it again, and I will run you through with the curse of this dagger. Your cardboard armor would fade to dust, trying to stand against it."
Leveling the blade towards the paladin, his hood would turn towards Ciara's escape, growling. There would be no movement, but an orb of pure force blasted out towards Ciara, honing in on her with the intent to kill. Or rather, the closer it drew, the more apparent it was that the orb was tracking towards Davil instead. The orb could only be described as a moving force with its own gravitational pull, drawing in and crushing anything it came in contact with. It had one target: Davil Wund.
In the midst of all of this, a figure emerged from out of the open cathedral doors, piercing through the shadows. Rushing past Ciara while giving her what could only be described as the most murderous side-eye that a woman with her eyes closed could give, she raised the wooden staff in her right hand and opened the tome in her left. "Windborne catalyst, take form!"
At those words, what appeared to be a solid ball of lead would emerge and intercept the gravity orb, seemingly stopping it in midair. She looked towards Ciara as this happened and nodded. "Leave now, and we will speak of things later, Ventura. Your final judgment is yet to come. Go!"
The orb would continue to move at a turtle's pace through the air towards Ciara and Davil, slowed by the conjured lead that Nicole had summoned, but it was clear that it would not be hindered for long with the rate at which the lead was being crushed. No doubt once it regained its speed, it would continue to pursue them.
With a click of the tongue, the Umbralist's attention turned towards Nicole, though with the kris dagger still pointed in Iraleth's direction as he looked upon the Undermage. For her part, she would shout while the pages of her tome flipped furiously, her staff slamming and cracking the cathedral ground. "Ms. Kyrios, Mr. Yi, I would encourage each of you to leave immediately! This is not a fight for children to partake in."
She would assume a stance of battle, staff pointed towards the Umbralist, who in kind was stretching the tips of his pale, gnarled, wrinkled free hand. The light that peered through the church's windows was fading, and it was clear that the essence of this place would soon take a turn for the worse. The Umbralist would not attempt to halt the escapes of Iraleth or Chunji unless they were to try to attack or hinder him in some way, his attention nearly fully focused upon Nicole. As this standoff transpired, a small projected screen of light was open at the Undermage's right flank, a phantasmal hand typing away on it.
@ERodeIRIS RECORD, 1F, ARENA
As Otis finished sending the message, it would be almost immediately that a response would be delivered across multiple shorter texts, which would read as follows:
"Currently engaging the threat on the third floor."
"Umbralist."
"Leyline Overcharge, or something similar."
"Ventura has left, student in arms."
"Ensure eyes remain on her when she descends."
"Can open up a camera via leylight to view the scene in here. Y/N?"
These texts would each rapid fire near instantly one after another, as if the Undermage were born for instant messaging systems. Were Otis to accept her request, an additional camera would join the others he was viewing, though of a lesser quality. Through it, he would see a first-person view through Nicole's levitating projection screen cast through her leylight. It orbited near her, showing footage of the cathedral and of Iraleth and Chunji, as well as the Umbralist that seemed eager for blood.
The battle would undoubtedly rage on once more in the next few seconds, so it was unclear how long the leylight screen would remain active in the midst of it; for now, though, it would capture footage of the battle should Otis wish to view it.