.
The duke could finally sigh in relief somewhat... his son, in the past, had always been a handful when it came to self esteem. Sure, even nowadays, the version he knows best still struggles with self-esteem and when powers go out of control... but he is also far more receptive to comfort due...
.
The man simply gave his old scholarly pal a friendly smile when he sat down besides him, an implied approval of their request.
He listened to the other's question, and seemed to be considering how to respond as drinks arrived, and Hershel got to gracefully serving himself a cup wordlessly...
.
"I see... talk about generous" He spoke in response with some praise in his voice, before accepting the rag with a smile and standing up from his seat.
"Oh and, if possible, I would like a bottle of red wine from an older batch, but one that has good tones of sweetness." He flashes Podley a...
.
Leo sure was exhausted from their previous ordeal... then again, it was weirder to not be utterly tired to the point of collapse by now.
Hershel smiled with a bit of self-mockery before addressing his ally again.
"A wet rag, is it? Yeah, I can at least figure that out for you" He flashed Leo...
.
The aftermath
For the whole ordeal after putting Toayi to rest had been observed by the duke. Battered and exhausted as he was, he committed to keeping an eye on his close allies while the mess died down. Yet, that was all he could do... his body demanded rest, and his mind no longer had the...
.
The duke's sprint was relentless, darting side to side, vaulting over things and the like, all to avoid ongoing fights, obstacles or fire.
Yet, as he noticed that Toayi's control waned at the hands of the god eyes, his instincts, honed by a myriad of battles, were telling him to expect some...
.
The man had quickly noticed just how hard Leo was struggling. Still, he kept applying his power while they spoke, trying to ease the burden somewhat.
"I see..." Once again, the man scoured the battlefield. Orbeck was playing the distraction while the boy the cleric is healing tries to apply...
.
As things seemed most dire. As the young man known as Leonardo watch struggled with his whole being to bring his friend back, a heavy yet gentle hand would be placed on his back. Should the boy turn to look though, he would notice that the entirety of the was black as coal, with some red...
VS
.
How the hell does this man still have so much fight in him?! Hershel’s counter had matched his opponent’s momentum, not broken it as he had expected.
As the man’s face contorted in surprise for an instant, Rex didn’t remain idle, and a ferocious headbutt was headed the cleric’s way...
.
The hook had been effective, the swordman was disarmed fully now... yet, his instincts were telling the cleric to not remain idle.
He stared down at his collapsed opponent, teeth still grit from the pain of his seared nerves being restored where they could. His left arm still remained charred...
.
The sickening crunch meant he had achieved his objective, yet- The red sword didn't stop. As its fiery edge approached the duke, his eyes seemed to see the scene in slow motion as the momentum disregards his left hand, the weapon digs into his hand, gauntlet, arm, shoulder, everything. Nothing...
.
He had just finished his counter-attack and gotten back onto his feet when he noticed his fellow scholar had decided to pitch into the fight. Despite what one would expect, the duke's expression became sterner as he turned towards his ally
"Now is not the time of that. He is focused on me...
.
"!! Tch!" The man only gets to make a sound in surprise, clicking his tongue as the blade of light headed towards his neck.
As it inched closer, his body reacted before his mind could. His grasping left hand moved, and grabbed onto his closed first. Both arms lowered for an instant, before...
.
Oh son of the crimson dog-
"Ugh-" The tackle hurt far more than he had expected initially, having spotted the man at the last instant and braced himself.
And as the towering specimen of a warrior had him at sword point on the ground, the duke's mind raced, and without losing a beat, punched...
.
Damned abyss of souls, that was faster than he had hoped for.
Toayi, the volatile entity of fire had hit the field, and also drawn all attention to themselves. The duke clicked this tongue as he turned back to Orbeck, digging into his pouch once again and pulling out some partially...
.
And as such, it had come to this.
Amidst a chaotic battlefield
As he watched the gleeful twins, the man narrowed his eyes... he supposed, considering how the pair had manipulated their bodies before and the like... it would be the crowd, his allies maybe? He had mentally prepared himself...
.
The prelude to the show
The journalist indeed was privy to information, a lot of it, all important and relevant. A reality warping creature... quite troublesome.
And poor kids, being forced to play along in a charade by a being that holds no love or sympathy for them. The promise he made...
.
The happenings so far
As he took the lead, things started to come together mostly smoothly. Someone bearing the look of a reporter of sorts showed up, bringing up a name that they hadn't been briefed on
Hershel could only raise an eyebrow at the newcomer, did they know about events related...
.
Things were getting... overwhelming. Hershel could handle it, quite well at that, mostly remaining wary at the initial introduction of the goopy creature but easing up when the kids and new allies showed up. Or Josuke's sudden moment of anger at the mention of his hair... They were not ideal...
.
The preparation
The situation of anxiety had come under control, and the phoenix descendant was able to calm down due to Hershel, Alexis, Irin and the ongoing conversation of Silver and Leo.
And then, after a quick meal, a call for duty came from the man known as Jason, so the duke hurried...