Fantasy Hunter's Moon: The Sin & Sentence [IC] [CLOSED]

[joshuadim]

"Then find him. We'll be fine for the time being." Azathor said to Hayley, giving her a nod along with reassurance. He then returned his attention to the rest of the group to speak again: "You're asking me to risk the lives of those that entrusted their loyalty to me, as well as my own life, to break into Dis... do you realize the weight of this?" he asked Vincent in no uncertain terms, leaning forward where he sat.

 

[Infab]

"You're asking me to risk the lives of those that entrusted their loyalty to me, as well as my own life, to break into Dis... do you realize the weight of this?"

"...I do." responded Vincent, feeling slightly better thanks to the flow of qi from Takato. "...I wouldn't ask it of you if it weren't needed. If we have a chance to take the artifacts from Taranoch, we have to act. If he keeps them, he'll eventually use them to break the binding. Then he'll just invade the mortal realm again."

He paused for a moment, before looking to Azathor's followers. "...All we need is to get into the palace. Once we're in, keep the guards distracted long enough for us to find the artifacts and get out. If we run into Azgon, we'll take care of him. You won't have to worry about fighting him."

 

[joshuadim]

"Azgon is not who I'm worried about running into."

Azathor sighed before shaking his head again, "Fine. But if we're going to do something as insane as this we might as well plan this insanity. We'll head into camp and prepare from there."

 

[Infab]

"Fine. But if we're going to do something as insane as this we might as well plan this insanity. We'll head into camp and prepare from there."

"Hopefully it doesn't take long to plan. If we stay here too long, we may never leave." remarked Riberta, glancing to Azathor. "These artifacts we have are old Icon and Demon King items. They're corrupting us, quite quickly. That's why we're in such a hurry."

Vincent nodded. "She's right. We don't have much time left here. So we need to make whatever plans we can quickly, and get to Dis."

 

[Infab]

Hours passed. The group gathered inside the makeshift camp that Azathor and his forces had propped up not far from the train, and soon plans were made. Azathor and his forces would get their group inside Dis, into the palace, and distract the guards and remaining forces in the capital. Meanwhile, the group would search the palace. If they find the artifacts, they would need to escape quickly, and contact Xager or Tariun in order to get back to the door quickly. Should they encounter Azgon...find a way to put the Icon down for good and get the hell out of there. Simple enough plan, but tricky to execute. They didn't know how many guards were left at the palace...or if a certain other Icon or the King himself might be there. Still, it was the only chance they had.

Hayley, after making some arrangements to assist Azathor's group against the guards, departed for the Land of Pride. Venextos would need to be found quickly. His things were given to Hayley, whom promised to give them to Venextos once she saw him. Once she left, the group began their preparations. Wounds were healed, weapons readied, and soon they were on their way. Straight to the heart of the Abyss. The capital city of Dis.

------
​

Several hours later...

Sazak's Palace
Kur
The Land of Vainglory


"I still do not understand as to why we need to return home, father. If we need to rest, we can just...stop and set up camp." stated Astraal, dismounting from the hellish steed he sat upon. As the rest of their men did the same, Sazak chuckled. "Astraal, my boy...I am an Icon. I don't just set up camp all willy nilly if I do not have to. I happen to like living in my home, so my home is where I return when I need to rest." said the Icon, grinning as he looked to his favored son. He then looked towards his palace...and noticed something off. It was quiet. No activity in the courtyard or around the palace.

"Astraal...do you hear anything?" he asked, glancing to his son. Astraal looked to his father, before looking about the palace from where they stood. "...No, father...I don't." he soon responded. Sazak shook his head. Something was wrong here. He dismounted his own hellish steed, and quickly marched towards the palace. Astraal followed quickly, jogging after Sazak along with the rest of Sazak's forces. Once they were close enough to the palace, they saw why it was so quiet.

All the guards were dead.

"...Oh my." remarked Astraal, looking at the corpses that lay in the courtyard. Sazak was quiet, simply walking through the courtyard and eventually into his palace. Guards could be replaced. What had been broken? What had been taken? What all in his grand palace had been disturbed? He moved through the halls, finding more corpses...until he found one particular corpse. His son's corpse. Sazak stood there, staring down at the body of Ergran, as Astraal soon entered the hallway and saw them. "...Ergran..." whispered Astraal, his eyes watering a bit as he gazed upon the body of his brother. But Sazak showed no emotion, his face locked in place as if it had been carved from stone. He then looked up after a few moments, and spoke only a few words. "...Ask the guards to take care of his body."

"F-Father?" replied Astraal, but Sazak didn't answer. Instead, he walked to the library. Inside, books were scattered about. They had gone through his things, whomever did this. All of his things. He strolled the aisles between the bookshelves, examining the books that had been removed and tossed aside. Until he noticed...a grimoire was missing. One particular grimoire...one of Undite's old grimoires that he had been using in order to try and locate her staff.

And this was where a sliver of a clue popped into his head. A certain someone had done this. And from what he knew, another certain someone had escaped from Azgon's punishment. Mariette and Cassandra had been here...all he needed was definitive proof of it. And soon he got it. One of his guards came running, appearing in the doorway to the hallway. "Sire, Ser Edmond is gone!" stated the guard. Sazak's face twisted into a malformed smile, but hatred burned in his eyes. "Of course he is." he muttered, marching to the door and shoving past the guard.

He marched through the palace, scaling up the various towers, until he arrived at his room. And found the door...open. His room, disturbed. His closet where he kept his vessels? Open. And inside...the disk and map to Valeria's location...gone! Sazak stared into the closet, his fists balled tightly enough that his fingernails were cutting into flesh. His eyes had become burning yellow embers, the color filling them to the point where there was no black left. His teeth were gritted tightly, as rage filled breaths pushed through them.

Astraal, a few floors down, suddenly heard a powerful scream coming from his father's room. And as he and the guards rushed to see what it was, they found Sazak standing amongst his now ransacked room. He had apparently torn it apart even more. He turned to face them, and they noticed just how upset he had become. And before they could ask him anything, he vanished into a portal which appeared to lead to Vucrox.

------
​

Elsewhere...

Taranoch's Palace
Dis
The Heartlands


"There it is." stated one of Azathor's men, motioning to the towering palace before them. The palace looked...ancient, much like some of the structures they had seen in the Hollowlands, as well as in the Land of Dead Kings. Spiraling pillars, crafted of solid marble and granite. Even the bridge they were about to cross into the foregrounds looked to be extravagantly crafted. It was oddly warm here, especially compared to the rest of the Abyss. And luckily for them, there weren't many guards to worry about. It seemed they'd have an easy time getting inside. Getting out may be a different story.

And it wasn't long before Azathor's men sprang into action. The guards in the towers were attacked quickly, using whatever weapons they had on hand. While they fought, the group continued inside quickly, passing through the large archway into the palace courtyard.

 

[joshuadim]

Somewhere in the Land of Pride

He didn't know how long it had been since, but when greeted with sight and smell once more Venextos slowly picked himself off from the ground to sit upright. Everything hurt and worse still he was completely alone. At least the vista looked familiar, it was the Land of Pride that he had travelled through earlier with Hudson, Jakob and Riberta. He took a moment to process what exactly had happened before coming to the obvious conclusion: he was dead. But... he didn't feel dead? At least, not in the typical sense as one might imagine it. He breathed in deeply as he made the effort to stand up, which sent waves of pain shooting through his body as he did so, until he successfully found himself upright completely.

Yet the questions that popped into his mind afterwards were both of curiosity and terror: Was Ralvas defeated? Are they alive?

In this state of bewilderment as well as isolation, he had no idea. And that terrified him.

---

Dis

Successfully scaling the walls to get to the guards was easier than expected due to a lowered guard presence. Grappling hooks made quick work of the heights for Azathor's followers as they began to take out and fight the guards in their towers and ramparts with the element of surprise on their side.

Wielding a blade that shimmered blue in the air, Azathor pressed onwards with the group into the courtyard and walked at a confident place as his men managed to occupy and dispatch many of the guards that manned the towers and ramparts. In the distance, he spotted an archer taking aim at him from a battlement which brought Azathor to whistle loudly. Soon after, an arrow sailed through the air and hit the demon marksman straight in the neck, causing it to choke on its own blood as it clutched at its fatal wound. He knew he could rely on his own men to have his back, the question was however how much time they had to spare.

"We've got to be quick about this then." Azathor announced, "We shouldn't spend more time than we have to being here."

 

[K0mori]

Mariette had kept quiet throughout most of the planning. She didn't trust herself to be sane and rational. Their team was facing its greatest challenge yet, and calm, decisive leadership is what they needed most, and not bloodlust or a thirst for revenge, which is all she felt after learning that Azgon was in their path. There was also the tender subject of Cassandra. It was strikingly clear to Mariette that her own corruption and derangement was progressing far more quickly than hers. Perhaps Cass still had a chance to escape the Abyss, but Mariette knew, as she laid her fingers on the boney, protruding horns on the sides of her head, that her own window had closed. She would never see the winery at La Cygne again, never gaze upon the star-filled night sky as she remembered.

Deep down, she knew it was ultimately for the best, as the dead are not meant to return to life- especially the damned. And while she was jealous of the others who would escape, that jealousy was impersonal. It wasn't as if their success or failure had anything to do with her own fate anymore, and the resentment she felt was far outweighed by a desire to see the others return to their former lives. Jakob and Hudson had children who were waiting for their fathers to come home, and she used this fact to battle herself, internally, and silence the compulsions given to her by her demonic side. Only one raw fact remained irreconcilable: if Cass were to leave, then there was no telling if Mariette would ever see her again. Perhaps, as the years and decades pass by in the mortal realm, and the decades and centuries pass down below, Mariette would content herself in waiting. Or maybe she would soon find that she couldn't survive without her lover.

And she was surprised, and somewhat disheartened, that neither Cassandra, nor Jakob, nor anyone else for that matter, had brought up the topic during the journey. Perhaps they were all in denial, and assumed that somehow, Mariette would join them in the mortal realm. Or perhaps they had reached the same conclusion and simply didn't want to torment her with the discussion.

Either way, they finally came to Taranoch's palace, and Mariette felt an odd sensation of vertigo as she looked upon its daunting façade. What sort of wonderous things could the Abyssal King be hiding in there? Non, you greed-stricken wastrel. This is not about you. Keep your focus!

 

[Dmaster]

When it turned out that Azathor would once again be lending them a hand Hudson was incredibly skeptical. The chance encounter seemed too good to be true, yet he could not deny that the train explosion would function as a beacon to both friend and foe alike. Regardless he resigned himself to staying quiet as they went back to camp, though made his interjections and put across his thoughts during the planning period. The risks were high for both parties involved in the raid, but they had very little choice.

Hudson was sure to station himself near the front, weapons drawn as they stepped into the courtyard with his guard raised. The soldiers were falling quickly, but they were just getting started. "Here I thought we would be staying the night." the hunter quipped bitterly, finding Azathor's announcement to be stating the obvious. "Let's hope the artifacts aren't well hidden. Even if they are - we'll make it." Killing Ralvas had shown him that Icons can bleed like any other demon, and Hudson wouldn't let them stand in the way of him getting home.

 

[Damian0358]

Takato, after having handed the staves over to Hayley to deliver to Venextos, prepared his part during the planning process. He didn't necessarily contribute much, given some of his ideas wouldn't work for the approach they were going with, but whenever his name was brought up, he nodded. If nothing else, he was glad to know that even in the Abyss, Venextos would have those who care for him. He prepared his part in healing and combat aiding if things went south, but thankfully, many of the guards present were dispatched with the aid of Azathor and co.

Takato was still prepared to engage for combat, but for now, they would have to figure out where the artifacts were. He tried to see if he could sense them, as though they were still in Vucrox, but to no avail... it wouldn't be that easy, surely. However, standing in that courtyard, he couldn't help but feel something was off... not the least due to the amount of guards.

 

[Infab]

The group made their way into the towering palace, taking care not to simply rush in and run the risk of engaging more guards immediately...or potentially Azgon right off the bat. The inside of the palace looked much like the outside. Towering walls made of stone and other materials like marble and granite. The guards that they did manage to spot running through the halls to go engage Azathor's men outside reminded most of them of the Abyssal Gate Guardian which they encountered when they first entered the Abyss. These, however, seemed more masculine, and moved obviously even while being looked at. They apparently didn't fight as well as the Gate Guardian, though, if they were being fought off and killed by Azathor's followers.

The general size of the palace and height of the ceiling above gave the impression that Taranoch was a giant among demons. Either that or he just liked having room to move should he want to do anything outside his vessel. They wandered through the building's various hallways and rooms, taking in the sights while attempting to locate where the artifacts might be held. So far, they detected or saw nothing regarding the artifacts. Other than that, they saw plenty of other things like art tributes and statues, a room full of gold and jewels (which was probably the treasury or just a place where Taranoch tossed spoils), and they even found the room which appeared to be his throne room. A tall staircase ascended up one side of the room to where his throne sat, while a long table sat at the base of the stairs. The Icons must have sat there when called by Taranoch...and some of the group noticed the long crack in the table from where Taranoch may have hit it with his fist.

As they continued to search the building, an uneasy feeling set in. A vague feeling as if someone was watching them. There was no aura to detect, however. Perhaps it was just knowing they were inside the heart of the Abyss. Plus, Azgon was lurking around...somewhere.

Eventually, the group met back up in the central hallway of the palace. Nothing. Not a trace of the artifacts to be found. "...He must have taken them with him when he went to the front line. That or he hid them really well." muttered Vincent, looking about the grand hallway. Riberta grunted. "We can't waste any more time here. If we stick around, we'll be stuck here."

As they moved back out of the grand hallway, proceeding out and down the steps into the courtyard, an intense, powerful aura began to set in. As they moved into the center of the courtyard, they glanced behind them and soon saw what the source of the aura was.

​

Azgon had found them. The looming Icon of Wrath marched down the steps, walking towards the group. Silent, his piercing eyes locked onto them as he approached. And then he stopped just yards away. But strangely, he wasn't alone. Two other auras manifested themselves nearby, and suddenly Valeria yelled out from amongst the group. Vincent snapped about to see someone dressed much like an Atracan citizen, wearing a top hat and cloth sack over their head with eye holes cut into it. The eyes glared intently at Vincent specifically, as he grabbed Valeria and dragged her away from the group. One hell of a knife was gripped in his hand, pointed at Valeria. "Haha! Finally, I get to meet my origin face to face." spat the shadow demon, cackling as he jerked Valeria closer.

 

[Damian0358]

Though fascinated by the sights before him, Takato couldn't shake off the unease he had felt since entering. Perhaps it was just the aftershock of the train battle on him, but... something was going on beneath their noses. He didn't like this one bit, and his worries were confirmed as they stepped into the courtyard. An intense aura, just as when Ralvas appeared, began to manifest itself... this had to be Azgon.

And while Azgon did appear... he found himself immobilized. Not out of fear of Azgon's aura, he just couldn't move. He couldn't even turn towards Valeria... As he realized what had happened, behind Azgon emerged another aura.

It was his shadow, as he remembered him from his dream; stoic-looking, and wearing a bastardized shaman's outfit: "...there he is, oh Wrathful One. The one whom I spoke to you about... may I liberate him from this space?"

Azgon merely nodded, as the Shadow stepped forth, and Takato could see the sigils used to maintain such immobilization. The Shadow clenched its hand, and the stone beneath him launched itself out of the ground, taking the hermit with it. He was sent at high speeds beyond the palace walls, away from the others. The Shadow looked back towards Azgon, and nodded back to him. Before departing, the Shadow looked back at the group present, giving Shadow Vincent a smile before vanishing.

---

The others at the palace could only witness as the hermit was effectively thrown out of the palace with intense qi, though he managed to just barely avoid crashing into the outside ground due to the immobilization freeing itself up. Takato straightened himself, as he looked around himself to find where his shadow had taken him, and where his shadow was.

 

[joshuadim]

Having waited for the group's return in the courtyard, occasionally directed his followers from time to time as they did the work of dealing with the garrison, Azathor saw the group return seemingly empty handed. He was about to ask before Vincent and Riberta spoke up about the situation. Hearing the artifacts weren't here had a pit of uneasiness form in his stomach as he visibly grimaced. "Then let's go-" he began to speak before Azgon, and the two remaining shadow demons, made their presence known. Rather quickly, Takato was flung into the sky while Vincent was preoccupied with his own worst self which left the rest of the group having to deal with the Icon of Wrath.

Azathor stepped forward and sighed. "Azgon. It's been a while." he simply stated, staring straight at his former mentor.

 

[Dmaster]

Hudson grew frustrated as it became apparent that the artifacts were nowhere to be found in the palace. They were on several time limits as it was, if this turned out to be a wasted venture he had no idea what they may be able to do to make up for it. As they stepped into the courtyard and Azgon and the shadow demons came to meet them, he sneered through his helmet and tightly grasped onto his sword. Though Valeria was being taken from them he didn't take his eyes off of the Icon, knowing full well that the real threat was coming from him.

Takato's shadow had decided to remove him from the courtyard, the hunter spotting that encounter out the corner of his eyes as he did his best to steel himself for what was to come. "Where are the artifacts?" he shouted up to the Icon brazenly.

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

Before the group departed from Azathor's camp, Leakhena made sure to resupply her stocks of food and water with as much as she can carry. Not just normal food and water either, but enchanted in the same way the drink she made for Vincent was. They glow dimly in their containers as a sign to the others that they'll do more than just fill the belly. Though unfortunately, to make room for all the jars and canteens, she had to leave behind her rifle and the last remnants of ammunition for it. It probably wouldn't be of any use however, as their previous fight made them redundant with how fast Ralvas dodged every single bullet. Soon enough, they arrived at Dis, and at Taranoch's palace. Leakhena made sure to stick with the group very closely as they sneaked inside.

They searched every room, every drawer, and every closet, under every table, every bed, every shelf for the artifacts but found nothing but dust. Either they were never really here to begin with, or perhaps worse, they were too late. Leakhena stops herself from panicking while thinking more about that last possibility; something she couldn't have done any sooner as two shadow demons, and Azgon himself, made their presence known. While Takato and Valeria were whisked away by the two shadow demons, their actions were barely noticed by Leakhena as she couldn't shake her attention away from Azgon. Then the shock wore off which gave way to fear and dread. This isn't someone like Ralvas where his hubris was his main weakness, this is the Icon of Wrath that's facing them down now.

She grips her sword tightly in her hands. This is going to get messy...

"Where are the artifacts?"

Carefully while keeping her eyes on Azgon, she leans over to Hudson. "Something tells me he's not in the mood for talking." she sarcastically whispers.

 

[Infab]

"Azgon. It's been a while."

"Indeed, it has been a while." responded the Icon, his voice powerful and deep. "...I'm not surprised that you've survived this long. After all those times I've had to punish you for something you did to piss Sazak off." He folded his arms, shifting his head to the sides till his neck popped loudly. "If you had died, it would have been an insult to me."

"Where are the artifacts?"

Azgon's gaze shifted to the other that had spoken up. "Lord Taranoch's sorceress Mazgith has them. And I don't know where she is." he responded. His gaze then shifted to Cassandra and Mariette, still standing amongst the group. He gave a low grunt, before speaking again. "Cassandra. Mariette." he said, "...Always knew somehow that you would end up becoming one of us, Mariette. It will not help you against me. As for you, Cassandra, you owe me for killing half my palace guards."

------
​

"Leave her out of this. You want me, right? I'm right here." said Vincent, as he followed after his shadow copy. Valeria attempted to pull away from the demon, but was quickly stopped by the sharp knife that he was holding towards her neck. "Obviously. But why should I let her go? I mean, if I kill her, you fail your mission down here. You all do! And I'd get to see you suffer before I kill you and take your body." responded the shadow. "And its only natural, you know. Me killing a poor, defenseless woman. After all, I'm you."

"You motherfuc--" spat Vincent, marching towards the shadow demon. The blade snapped around to point at Vincent, forcing him to stop in his tracks. "Ah-ah! Lets not get any closer, now!" stated the shadow demon. Valeria took note that the blade had been moved, and quickly took her chance to act. Grabbing a hold of the demon's arm, she sank her teeth into them to force him to let go. He yelled out, before she stomped down hard on one of his feet. As he let go, she quickly moved away, diving as far as she could away from the shadow demon. "YOU BITCH!" he spat, before snapping his attention back to Vincent. Whom had closed the distance.

Vincent's fist collided with the face of the shadow demon, forcing him to stumble backwards. His hat was knocked off onto the ground, but he still managed to keep a tight grip on his blade.

---

The Heartlands (Dis) - Taranoch's Palace Courtyard - Shadow Battle (Vincent)
Shadow Vincent (Shadow Demon)

This battle will be determined with three turns of coin flips, three coin flips per turn.
Heads means Vincent, Tails means Shadow Vincent.

FLIP #1 = Heads
FLIP #2 = Heads
FLIP #3 = Tails

Vincent wins the first turn.

---
​

"Such a cheap shot! What's next, you just gonna shoot me like you did your wife?" spat back the shadow demon, as Vincent moved towards him yet again. "No. I'm going to cut your fucking throat." responded Vincent, with a fire ablaze in his eyes. "Oh, goody. Always fun to get a little personal with it." remarked the shadow demon, before attempting to strike at Vincent. And as he swung with his knife, Vincent latched onto his arm and punched him yet again. He spun about, landing on the ground as Vincent continued to hold on to his weapon-clutching arm. And as soon as he was laid out, he delivered a vicious stomp to the shadow demon's chest before letting go of his arm.

His mistake of course, for as soon as he let go, the Shadow Demon delivered a nasty slice across Vincent's thigh. Vincent yelled out in pain, quickly moving away as the demon went to get back up. "Are you fucking stupid? You never take your eye off the KNIFE!" coughed out Shadow Vincent, before following it with a chuckle.

 

[joshuadim]

"If you had died, it would have been an insult to me."

Azathor chuckled aloud at this statement as his gaze dropped to the ground. "Yeah, I bet. You always told me pain was the best teacher... and you were right in that respect. You did teach me a lot when you beat the shit out of me. How to fight, how to use my hate... my anger." He then lifted his eyes back up to Azgon and gave off a smirk, "But now I'm much more now than what I used to be."

 

[Damian0358]

Though noting the distance between him and the palace after having been thrown out of it, Takato concentrated squarely on attempting to identify where his shadow was. Soon enough, however, he felt his Shadow's aura manifest behind a large rock near him. Looking at him stoically, he raised his hand, but not in such a manner that indicated he was about to attack... but to speak.

"...Takato, or if I may refer to us by our true name, Xiaòzhou," the shadow began, as Takato maintained his defensive pose, "you cannot imagine to what ends this journey of yours has frustrated me.

"Those whom you have joined in this journey of yours, they provided me frustrating peers to cooperate with, ones whom largely refused to heed my words, and dispense of you. All of my alternate plans had failed too... I failed to dispense of Abahai and of your family, I seemed to failed to entrench further doubt within you, and even now, I'm sure since Vucrox, you've grown stronger in some fashion unnotable to me..." the shadow remarked with an annoyed tone, while the hermit kept himself at the ready in case any of this was just to lull him into a surprise attack.

"All because I ultimately attempted to avoid the Way. To avoid what seemed to be fate, battle between the two of us. I maintain a knowledge and firepower advantage, if slight, but I could not defeat you one on one, for we're too evenly matched. All attempts to make you weaker failed, and I don't even know if I can defeat you now."

"...why reveal all this, shadow?" Takato asked in an apprehensive tone, to which the shadow responded with him clenching his hand toward the hermit.

"...I have my reasons for choosing you, rooted in this damned realm, irrelevant to you. But one thing is for sure, you are worthy enough to hear these thoughts of mine. Of us shadows remaining in this party, only I am able to challenge you, and because of you, I wish not just for a good fight, but a rightful one. I will embrace fate, because there is no other way. Victory is what I wish for, but what I seek is to confront you with what you need to know."

"...need to know?" Takato followed up, getting what he meant but unsure of his direction.

"Yes, because even in this moment, even with all you might've learned, you may not have yet internalized it all. For this, there is but only one solution - separation from the others, and a personal confrontation. Everything you have learned, you have to use against me. I will not stop until you have either internalized your lessons or until you cease to be," as the shadow said so, Sanchangchong arquebuses began levitating out of the ground, hidden up until then.

"Bare yourself, mystic, and let us fight in this most dark of lands. Show me the oni within!"

 

[Infab]

The Heartlands (Dis) - Outside the Palace Walls - Shadow Battle (Takato)
Shadow Takato (Shadow Demon)

This battle will be determined with three turns of coin flips, three coin flips per turn.
Heads means Takato, Tails means Shadow Takato.

FLIP #1 = Tails
FLIP #2 = Tails
FLIP #3 = Tails

Shadow Takato wins the first turn.​

 

[Damian0358]

Xiaòzhou rushed his counterpart, Takato attempting his best to counter his style with his stance. Despite Takato's best efforts, his shadow managed to break through his defenses, and aim for weak spots he knew the hermit had. The oni yelped, though so far managing to maintain the pain, pushing the demon away from him. Attempting to punch the shadow straight on, however, proved too sluggish due to the attacks, with the shadow phasing through his arm and striking a quick blow to the hermit's head before emerging behind him. Takato straightened up quickly, and swiftly turned around as to try and continue his assault, but the leg kick he tried was blocked by the shadow's arm.

It was at that moment that Takato also noticed that his counterpart was using the guns. Vanishing as they ignited, the hermit tried to deflect the shots using his abilities and skills, but he ended up getting hit in several places, forcing him to yell. He could see the dark mist leaking slightly from his artificial arm, through the bullet holes made. The guns quickly reloaded, as the shadow reemerged elsewhere.

 

[Infab]

"But now I'm much more now than what I used to be."

"You ascended to the status of Demon Prince. Cute." responded Azgon. "If that was all it took to defeat me, then I would have been destroyed long ago." He looked over to where Vincent and his shadow were fighting, before looking back to the group. "...I hate shadow demons."

------

The Heartlands (Dis) - Taranoch's Palace Courtyard - Shadow Battle (Vincent)
Shadow Vincent (Shadow Demon)

FLIP #1 = Tails
FLIP #2 = Heads
FLIP #3 = Tails

Shadow Vincent wins the second turn.

The Heartlands (Dis) - Outside the Palace Walls - Shadow Battle (Takato)
Shadow Takato (Shadow Demon)

FLIP #1 = Tails
FLIP #2 = Heads
FLIP #3 = Heads

Takato wins the second turn.

---
​

"Did you forget how to fight? Huh? Or did you forget while you had your head up that elf's ass?" spat the shadow copy of Vincent, as he quickly rushed Vincent to deliver yet another slice across Vincent's chest. As Vincent tried to get away, clutching the wound. The shadow chuckled again. "She'll just end up another victim. By your hands." he said, as he continued to stroll towards him. Suddenly, there was a loud crack, and Shadow Vincent cried out in pain. Vincent had drawn his pistol and fired a shot into Shadow Vincent's knee. "Shut the FUCK up." barked Vincent.

Instead of shutting up, however, the Shadow copy laughed louder as he regained his composure. "HAHAH! I KNEW you'd draw that out! You solve your problems by shooting them!" he blurted out. As Vincent went to shoot him again, the Shadow copy drew something out himself. His own gun. He fired a shot into Vincent's shoulder, cackling as Vincent recoiled and dropped his pistol. "LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING ELSE I GET HONESTLY."

 

[joshuadim]

"Well, I'll have you know that these people destroyed Ralvas. Split him in two. His charred corpse looked so unrecognizable that you couldn't imagine that it was that cretin in the first place. So I think we're all more than capable of taking you on." Azathor replied in a cocky manner, unsheathing his sword and resting it on his shoulder. "That is, of course, if you want this fight."

 

[Dmaster]

Despite Leakhena thinking Azgon would not be talkative, the opposite proved true surprisingly. Despite that Hudson continued to sneer up at the towering Icon, uncaring for just how dangerous it might be to openly berate him. Azgon would be dangerous no matter what, so he knew that talking down to him would be the least of his worries. Even then, Azathor's own cockiness was likely not something that could be stopped regardless. In the end, Hudson had gotten the information he was looking for, and he continued to hold his combat stance.

"Of course he wants this fight, why else would he come here?" he replied to Azathor. "I'm ready to kill any Icon that gets in the way of the mission. We've come too far to let it end because of a craggy-skinned fuck like you."

 

[Damian0358]

Takato tried to heal himself, as he noted his counterpart's approach. The guns weren't firing upon him again, and he felt a concentration of power coming from his shadow, so he tried to steel himself. Xiaòzhou once more rushed, however, as he attacked, Takato was actually deflecting or dodging his strikes. But the hermit could tell that this was intentional, because as he fought him, more and more power rushed into the shadow. Suddenly, his shadow punched him in the gut, forcing him back. The arquebuses once more fired, but at his feet and not himself, forcing him back more. It was then, as he fled back, that he realized what was up. His shadow unleashed a massive aura, reflecting of how much he had gathered, before gathering it into his fist. He charged his fist forth, opening his palm and unleashing a massive blast at the hermit.

The blast swept across the earth, causing mass destruction that Shadow Riberta likely would've been jealous of, especially as Xiaòzhou culminated it in an explosion. The shadow straightened itself, looking forward toward the dust cloud he had made. He couldn't sense the oni, but he could just be hiding.

Suddenly, out of the cloud, several qi blasts emerged, headed in the shadow's direction. He quickly moved out of their ways, only to find that they weren't strictly aiming for him, striking and destroying most of the arquebuses in the air. The cloud quickly dispersed as Takato charged himself, having managed to recover a bit. The shadow smiled, as he shot a smaller blast back at the hermit, who deflected it with his hand. Takato charged forth, switching from a more formal human martial art to a more informal one spread by oni. The two engaged, exchanging flurry after flurry, before Takato turned the tide, with a gut punch returned to its sender, and a high kick slamming the shadow into the dirt.

The shadow vanished once more to try and strategically reposition himself, but as he did, without Takato noticing due to concentrating too hard on keeping track of him, his artificial arm reached for his bag to once more grab Zazriel's staff. When the shadow reemerged to try and strike Takato, he was stopped by the staff in his way. Takato looked shocked at the sight before him, whilst Xiaòzhou seemed confused over the staff that had stopped him... even feeling something familiar from it.

 

[joshuadim]

Azathor ignored Hudson's remarks completely as he kept his focus on the Icon and chuckled again. "So, what do you say? You willing to go a few rounds with me like the old days?" he taunted, "I might even teach you a few things on getting your ass kicked now. Or is that what you're afraid of? Losing to the likes of us? "

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

“Nevermind.” Leakhena whispers again to Hudson. “I guess he does.”

And while the others were talking Azgon down, Leakhena instead looks around for an escape route should such a thing be necessary, only to see the fights already begun between Vincent and his shadow and that Takato is now nowhere to be seen.

“Hey, where did Takato go?” she mutters while looking around frantically. “Oh, fuck...”