Dashing forward, Willo knew she couldn't afford another flitter, so instead opted to try and glide beneath the beheamoth's incoming fist.
Willo's hair fluttered in the slight breeze the giant fist created with its considerable momentum. It would make the rebound for another strike even slower than normal.
On Jonathan's side of the battle things were finally starting to look up with an effective tactic for the time being. His whip struck the shoulder of the troll, digging fairly deep into its flesh. If it had been an ordinary weapon it would have likely become lodged in the dense fibrous mass of the troll, however, the switching back to its lance form caused it to snap out of the tissue.
Further strikes by Jonathan ensued, though this time the beast blocked with its fist despite sustaining injuries to it.
Jonathan ceased his heckling tactic when it became apparant his opponent was catching on. He needed to keep the pressure on it with a constantly changing assault and wait for the oppurtune moment where he could strike true and slay his enemy. He breathed heavily. Exhaustion and some rather painful wounds were beginning to take its toll. He could not let up until his opponent was slain though. Another whip backswing and he charged forward, lance-formed weapon in hand. His intended target was the troll's elbow. For even the strongest arm was useless without a working joint.
More than a little relieved she'd cleared the beast's strike, Willo sprang upright, whirled Cinderwill around, and went to slash wide at its ribs from behind. As her swing went out though, she was already moving towards the troll's frontside, hoping to catch it as it turned and swing right past again.
The troll Jonathan was battling shifted its giant fist causing the lance to pierce all the way through it. It struck the body of the beast, however it also had the unintended effect of bringing Jonathan into its range once more. And promptly, the plagued creature swatted him away with its fist, disregarding the absurd amount of damage it had already sustained. Jonathan smacked into the wall again. Unless he intended to win this battle in one piece, it was unlikely he would be able to do so alone.
Willo all the while successfully landed her hit at the beast's back and prepared to dodge its next attack. To her surprise however, the creature roatated in the opposite direction which WIllo anticipated and struck the ground, fortunately not hitting Willo herself. The sizable chunks of floor however did, sent flying by the impact and Willo along with them.
Lance lost, saber lost. It appeared Jonathan would have to call for help... His divide and conquer strategy had not yielded a decisive victory. In fact, defeat and death loomed over him in the form of an infested troll. "Willo, get over here and help me. I'm out of weapons and this thing ain't stopping!"
Not too far away, Willo was in poor shape herself. Though a second-hand strike, it still hit, and on top of everything else, it was starting to add up. She had to pull herself to her feet, thankfully a good distance away, and her attention turned to Jonathan.
"Oh boy," she started over, gradually picking up to her normal pace as she approached Jonathan's assailant troll. "Over here! Ay!"
She ground Cinderwill's blade against the wall and floor as she approached, creating sparks she hoped would draw its attention away long enough for Jonathan to do...well, whatever it was he was going to do. Something, she hoped.
The troll that had just attacked Willo turned and followed her with his gaze before starting a slow run towards her. The other troll also focused its attention on Willo and it seemed like it was about to charge while at the same time it slid its giant fist off Jonathan's lance. The other side of the lance hadn't pierced the torso of the beast too deeply, as it anticlimactically dropped to the ground.
Jonathan Breathed deeply to quell the pain, he focused his mind on the creature in front of him and on his fallen weapon. The troll looked away to Willo, its attention broken for the briefest instant. He breathed again, and the world slowed down to a crawl. He sprang forward for his lance, intensely aware of the strain he was putting his battered body through. Powering through it, he would pick up his lance, ram it through the troll's armpit, switch it to whip mode, and pull it back out. Likely taking most of the troll's internal organs out with it.
Willo saw the troll she'd left behind start lumbering after her, but was confident that she could outrun it for the time being, and that's what she did. No point risking another hit for nothing, especially when she wasn't sure she could muster up the strength to stand toe-to-toe with it anyway.
Willo in turn also saw as Jonathan approached from behind the distracted troll. A not too pleasant, fleshy sound echoed through the room as his lance dug deep into the trolls torso. As soon as it was back in its whip mode Jonathan pulled on it hard. Black liquid and other organic materiall spurted all over the ground as the upper part of the troll simply toppled over, having been gruesomely severed in half.
The still alive troll, surprisingly, caught up to Willo after building enough momentum, but it wasn't yet close enough for a direct strike.
Jonathan wiped the bits of troll out of his eyebrows. He had always wondered just what would happen if he did this stab and pull manouver he had been considering ever since he first had his lance designed. Apparently, it was just as effective as he had imagined. He basked in his triump for a brief moment, but then he saw the troll looming over Willo, and he sprang back into action. "Two-pronged attack!" he shouted. The fight had left them both battered, but now they had the numerical advantage.µ
"I don't know what that means!" Willo shouted back, but kept running nonetheless. She saw one of the trolls go down -spectacularly at that-, and decided it was best to bring the one chasing her back towards Jonathan. Two against one would be better--oh.
"Heads up!" She rounded about, sprinting back towards Jonathan, and silently praying the beast wasn't close enough to pull anything.
The creature narrowly missed Willo and struck the ground instead. Another shockwave sent Willo flying towards Jonathan. Both were in luck however, as the force with which the beast attacked caused its fist to become lodged in the floor.
Jonathon caught Willo's lithe form and released her once her momentum had been sufficiently dampened. "Circle around and assail it in the back. I will run it throug from the front." He didn't wait for an answer, simply trusting she would go along with his tactics. He raised his lance above his head and brought it down on the beast with all his weight behind it. He was pretty sure the thing would be completely pierced and stuck ot the floor were he to hit. And even then, his compatriot would be there to follow up on his attack, or at lest that was the expectation.
Willo understood "stab it in the ass" well enough, and as soon as her feet touched the ground again she was off. Jonathan made his move, and she took a moment to switch Cinderwill back into a blade for just a bit more leverage as she darted around for the troll's back.
With a leap, she aimed to imbede the superheated blade into the nape of its neck, but would really settle for just about anywhere that would cause damage.
Just as Jonathan was about to strike the sickened beast, it finally pulled its fist out of the ground and used the energy accompanied by the move to raise its fist above the bulk of its body, blocking Jonathan's lance. The beast however was powerless to Willo's attack.
To what extent a plagued creature still required a nervous system was a mystery, but Willo's attack certainly was effective and likely severed what remained of the troll's spine. The lifeless body toppled over, almost crushing Jonathan in the process.
The two victorious hunters-in-training could hear a slow clap coming from the direction of the entrance they used as they came in the over-sized hallway. It wasn't Lazarus however, but another slightly eccentric looking. On closer inspection he didn't seem to be in better shape than Jonathan and Willo themselves after their scuffle beforehand.
"Well done. It seems I won't have to step in after all." He said to the two. All the while Lazarus was leaning against the wall with his head pointed towards the ground, eyes closed.
Jonathan was the first to answer. "Err... who are you if I may ask?" He wasn't quite sure he would lower his weapon quite yet. Not until the newcomer identified himself at least.
Willo on the other hand had her guard as low as it could go. If Lazarus wasn't upset with this guy's presence, she didn't figure there was much to worry about. Besides, she couldn't do much to fight'im off anyway if he was hostile, so instead she took a note from her mentor's book, leaned against the wall, and tried to let herself relax. Shiny seemed to have the conversation under control anyway.
The uninvited casually continued approaching Jonathan and also extended his hand to him despite him having kept his weapon raised at him.
As the adrenaline of battle made way for soreness and tiredness, Jonathan decided on coiling his spear up. If this newcomer had been nay threat, he would have made his move by now. He used his free hand to take the man's extended hand. "Jonathan Von gulderland... and you are?"
"Ah, Jonathan it is. I've been looking forward to meeting you. It's rather unfortunate that it must be under these regrettable circumstances." He explained.
"I can see some things went awry here... I thought this place was supposed to be a secure containment. What happened?"
"Yes, well it was our assignment to clear out this basement. That is me and the students training under me. And you were supposed to become one of them. Still have the letter I presume?" He continued as his identity was without doubt clear to Jonathan at this point.
"Ah, so you're Joshua then, pleased to finally meet you in person. It's been a long road to get here, and the past few minutes have not been kind to me either." Jonathan tried to stretch out to remedy some of the soreness, but it only served to give him a stabbing pain in the lower chest. Still, as his martial instructors had been fond to repeat, no pain, no gain. "If I may ask a rather direct question... Will we be exerting ourselves much more? I feel like a peasant farmer in winter after that fight."
Joshua patted Jonathan's shoulder and laughed. "Well, Lazarus no doubt would like you to push on, but I'm sure I'll be able to convince him to give you some rest time." He then turned his head and looked at Willo leaning on the wall. "Hmm, and you must be . . ." he snapped his fingers in a moment of thought "Willo! Yes?"
Willo offered a thumbs up in response, and nodded her head. She thought she'd heard Lazarus mention a "Joshua" once or twice, but then, it was a name she might have just happened upon before.
"Nice t'meetcha," she said, then remembered her manners and gave as much of a bow as she could muster. "Er...an honor?"
Joshua couldn't help but laugh once more. "Ah please. You needn't bother with formality around me."
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