Fantasy That Time the Demon Lord Killed our Party Leader: Ic

[Nessi]

The Night Parade of 100 Demons

Hajun

Hajun could see Aaxir approach once more, and couldn’t help but smile. Using his large weapon, he fended off the initial lightning attack, and was ready to crush the young dragon the moment he landed.

But something happened to Hajun, a feeling came over him, one so foreign yet familiar. One that made him wish to tear the very skin off of his bones the moment he saw the stance that Aaxir had taken.

Hajun felt genuine fear.

In this moment it wasn't Aaxir that stood before Hajun, but a furious goddess, Tutu Pele, wreathed in azure flames, flowing with enough energy to destroy the world as we know it, and mold it in her own image.
The memory was from a lifetime ago, yet it came back as if it had happened yesterday. Hajun could remember the day clearly, How the volcano goddess stood on a mountain of corpses basking in the golden rays of light that descended from the sky. Her arms were drenched in blood, and the handle of her blade was stained with crimson.
Hajun laid not too far from her, desperately clinging on to the little life he had left, he was so weak back then, he couldn’t do anything.
Tutu Pele turned, and approached Hajun squatting down to meet the demon at the same height.
There was nothing he could do, all of his bones were broken, his mana was drained, all he could do was watch in fear as the volcano goddess stretched her hand towards his face, the same hands that had broken his body piece by piece. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see her hand wrap around his neck, and finish him off.

“Not even worth my time.”

Hajun snapped back to reality, and used his mace to defend against Aaxir’s onslaught. It wasn’t like before, Aaxir was not on the same level that Pele was at that time, and more importantly, he wasn’t the weakling he was in the past, he was the 3rd demon king, the god killer, he who invaded heaven.

The pathway in which Aaxir and Hajun fought didn’t leave much room to evade, so the addition of a barrier around the pair, with chains that threatened to sear Hajun’s skin. Using his mace, he not only dispelled chains to allow him to move around properly, but was able to fight on an equal level to Aaxir.
Black smoke would approach Hajun, and he immediately recognized it as Qin’s handiwork. He swung his mace in a wide arc, trying to knock away Tiberius, but would hit the gladiator's shield, rather than his body.
Inanna and her clones swung into action, accompanied by Rohen, closing in on the demon king.
Realizing the situation he was in, Hajun quickly adapted to the rather unfortunate situation he was in. He began to move his mace as if it weighed nothing, spinning it around like a staff and deflecting attack after attack, but that’s all he could do. He could only defend himself considering the amount of pressure on him, and the limited amount of space he had to work with. Even as he focused on protecting himself, attacks began to land on him, whether it be Innana cutting into him, Rohen or Aaxir landing a clean hit, or Tiberius stabbing into him with his spear.

Hajun had successfully been backed into a corner, and he didn’t have much time before eventually, someone would land a killing blow. He needed to rectify, to use a technique that would properly defend him, and allow him to launch some sort of counter attack.


Hajun took in a great big breath, before letting out another loud screech, only instead of focusing it on one person, it knocked everyone around him back, dispelled Inanna’s clones, and temporarily destroyed all the chains present in the cage. With this new opening, Hajun, launching his large mace at Rohen at breakneck speeds. Using earth magic, the demon king bound both Tiberius, and Inanna’s feet into the ground below. He knew they would break out of it with ease, but he needed a moment, just one moment, to be able to take the biggest problem out of the equation, Aaxir.

Hajun took on a new fighting stance, one that only Aaxir (through Pele) would recognize. It was the only fighting style that could counter the fury of the volcano goddess, created by her very own sister, Poli’ahu, The unorthodox style known as Ka pale kapu.
Hajun charged towards Aaxir, blocking any incoming attacks the dragon tried to use in order to stop him, and slammed a frost covered fist directly into the red dragon's solar plexus, sending him crashing into the walls of the barrier.

With Aaxir dealt with for the time being, Hajun turned his attention to the others, taking on the Ka pale kapu stance once more. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t matter, for the next attack to come at him would be from above, with Freyr wrapping his fiery hands around the back of his neck. Being strangled wasn’t much of an issue, however the fast approaching tendrils, wreathed in the flames of the destroyer, was a much more pressing issue.
But with this issue, came an opportunity, an opportunity to test out an ability Hajun crafted when all he could do was sit within Paimon, and plot about what he could do if presented the opportunity to escape.

All the way back in Hofn, when Hajun made contact with Eleanor, it wasn’t just to degrade her, but to test a theory of his, to see if it was possible to make contact with Eleanor somewhat directly. He was able to temporarily interrupt the bond between god and hero, even if it was only for a moment. With that, he was able to improve upon it, and was able to find a way to completely sever the bond Eleanor had with Paimon by taking advantage of her despair.
Hajun knew that he couldn't use the same method he had used to completely sever the bond between hero and god, but if a hero approached during partial, or divine sync, then there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that he’d be able to temporarily disrupt the synchronization , and force the god unto the physical world, temporarily at least.

Hajun’s mastery of magic and the spirit, combined with his high intellect and ability to create new spells on the fly was apart of the reason as to why he was such a monster on the battlefield. Only a scant few could match his ferocity, and of them, only 2 were present, one of which was too busy dealing with a pink haired fae, and the other to ashamed to even attempt to give her hero the history of Hajun, and how he became the god killer.
Before the tendrils got too close, Hajun grabbed Freyr's hand, and broke the Fae’s grip on his neck, knocking him away with a well placed elbow. The strike alone wasn’t anything to be concerned with, but the 3rd demon king was far from finished, quickly turning to face Freyr. His left fist quickly became wreathed in his black mana, but instead of summoning the spear of apocalypse, or the sword of annihilation, he simply uttered two words.

“Divine Dissonance.”

Hajun’s fist connected with Freyr, and immediately he lost his partial synchronization form. But worse than that, Kagutsuchi was forcefully brought into the physical world. Both god and hero went flying, crashing into the barrier.
Hajun wanted to follow up on the pair, but Nel’s water tendrils came down upon him, forcing him to once again play on the defensive. He knew that the effects of divine dissonance were not permanent, and in about a minute, Freyr would be capable of synchronizing with Kagutsuchi once more, but the mental effect of seeing such an attack would pay off more than anything Hajun would be capable of at this current moment.

Once more did the demon king take on the Ka pale kapu fighting stance, and smiled, he was ready to take on anything.

 

[Beann]

Suzuki Kaida

With Ryushi assisting those dealing with Nergal, Kaida and her long-range summon worked with the others to whittle down Hajun. Eleanor’s identifiable traits continued to fade the longer their battle was drawn out but that didn’t cause the kitsune, or any of the heroes, to relent on their assault. The demon’s taunts only fueled their resolve to defeat him but more importantly free Eleanor — Aaxir being the main candidate to show such a display. Any other time, Kaida would have reminisced over the encounters she had witnessed between Aaxir and Eleanor, the perceptive fox easily picking up hints of a certain emotion whenever those two interacted. However, she spared no time to do so now, choosing to block out everything that didn’t involve saving their friend.

The barrage of attacks from everyone left Hajun with no other option but to defend himself, or so it seemed. His loud screech pierced painfully through the kitsune’s highly sensitive ears, forcing her to fold them down as she was knocked away by the sheer force of his bellow. Even after regaining her footing, she was left with a high-pitched ringing in her ears. “Uh…” Despite the disruption, her vision refocused on Hajun in time to witness the unique attack against Freyr.

A sudden rage bubbled up deep from within. It was not normal for the kitsune to outwardly display such strong emotions. Her eyebrows furrowed deeply and her lips pulled back to bare her fangs. The surge of emotions she experienced could only be described as the anger of a mother, and it took her a brief moment to realize these emotions were not her own but Inari’s. ‘Kagutsuchi!’ The goddess cried out in Kaida’s mind as both of them witnessed the disruption of Freyr’s synchronization.

‘Suzuki, get us close to the demon!’

‘But…’

‘Now!’

Considering the time spent as Inari Okami’s champion, this may have been the first time she had felt such strong emotions coming from her deity. As such, she did as she was told and sprinted at Hajun with her sword drawn. Once she closed the distance, she raised her katana with the intention of a downward slash but instead of following through with the motion, her weapon disappeared as she uttered ‘divine synchronization.’

From a plume of smoke emerged a large nine-tailed fox, its jaws wide open with the intent of biting through the spirit of Hajun.

 

[DSLIX]

Chrome Van Der Linde

Nessi
Chaos is the only thing that Chrome can use to the describe the battle in The Well. The scent of blood, pestilence, and the stench of demons overwhelmed his senses as he entered and he felt his heart throb with overwhelming anger when he saw the scene of the possessed Eleanor transforming into the Demon King Paimon. Though most of the anger came from Hanuman's influence as the God exerted his influence onto Chrome making the symbol of Hanuman on Chrome's back glow and fills Chrome with an abundance of dense and heavy mana that weighs him down as Hanuman roars curses in his mind "I should've known that rat demonic bastard was working with such filth. Arrogant son of a wh-You've said enough now. Unless you plan to punch him as you curse him. Help me circulate this mana so I can handle the filthy god." Chrome interrupts Hanuman as he starts focusing the abundant of mana flowing through him to craft a oversized blood javelin that struggles to stay in a solid form as the abundance of mana flares out in sudden bursts of pressure as the flares touching the ground around him creates craters. Hanuman huffs and starts to meditate in sync with Chrome, before chanting a mantra in sync with Chrome "SRI RAM JAI JAI RAM" repeating this chant in sync as minutes pass by trying to ignore the distress of his comrades in battle. In that span of few minutes the Javelin grows even more reaching about the same height as Chrome and takes a solid shape as it emits a brilliant gold light. Chrome's face is locked into a harden expression as he twirls the golden javelin in his hands as it feels as light as a wooden stick, then he smirks and mutters "It'll do perfectly." His wings spread before he launches 50 meters into the air in a near instant and spins the javelin into his right hand taking aim with his left and roaring out "FLAME" causing a sudden surge of black flame to emit from Chrome as he squeezes a bunch of blood from his veins at once causing most of them to burst and the blood to leak straight through his skin. He turns the blood into a menacing black flame that wraps around the golden mana javelin. The dark and crude mana wrapping around and covering the brilliant gold light the mana weapon once held. As more blood drains from Chrome and more of his mana he uses to cover the mana weapon causes his body to become pale and his body as Parzival's piece of soul within him starts to mix more into Chrome's soul making his hair turned jet black and his undershirt burned away revealing the growing black cluster of veins that's running through his body into the arm holding the now flaming pitch black Javelin as they form into a strange looking tattoo that reaches up to the side of Chrome's face.


The more Chrome drew this uncontrollable power only mixed Parzival's small piece of soul and consciousness deeper into his mind, making him smirk as the influx of power feels nostalgic. In a sudden blur Chrome launches the Javelin with all his might as he realizes he's wasting time. The Javelin pierces through the air heading dead center for Nergal's heart the Javelin moving only a little bit slower than Azeara's instant acceleration. He feels the intense pressure of trying to manage all the mana in the javelin disappear from his body as he releases it to soar through the air. Eyes locked onto his enemy Chrome plans to guide the spear directly into Nergal using the mixture of Hanuman's godly mana and his black flame to pierce and burn into Nergal. Chrome keeps control of the weapon even as it sails through the air as he lets the golden tip of the Javelin be exposed so it can pierce Nergal's skin deep enough for his flame to intrude in Nergal's body to spread. Chrome expects the worse of every attack so even if he misses Nergal or it's countered, he still plans to redirect the javelin and let Hanuman's mana and his black flame explode while hopefully impaled into Nergal but if it can at least erupt in close range it should still do a lot of damage and get his black flame to attach to Nergal. He quickly cuts off his flow of mana making his appearance turns back to normal as he cuts off any mana to his body to prevent wasting any more unnecessarily. He using his downward momentum to dive behind Nergal muttering "Form Greatsword and Tower Shield. "As he lands and turns around Chrome now adorns a thick pure iron great-sword that he casually holds over his shoulder with a towering shield tall enough to reach his chin and thick enough to be considered a metal wall with a perfect grip for his hand. He breathes out as he focuses trying to pull in the mana around him, while he keeps cover by ducking under his shield while peeking at Nergal to keep an eye on the situation.

 

[Nano]

Lichdragon Fortissax

Nergal

The deranged glee Nergal wore like a uniform never left his face, not when it seemed like the heroes had him backed into a corner nor when a guttural hiss shook the cavern. A mouth full of teeth and venom bore down upon the god and his newly born pet, yet when his beast deftly skipped to the side of the charging serpent, Nergal remained strangely still. Contrary to the young dragonness’s expectations, part of her jaw dug into his shoulder. However, what greeted her was not a face twisted in pain, but a pair of crazed, sunken eyes staring down her own.

Nergal grinned.

“Drink!” His voice echoed boldly, “Drink your fill, mortal. I shall forgive your insolence, so come and savor the lifeblood of the incarnation of plagues!” As the unusually viscous blood trickled out from his wounds and wet Azaera’s tongue, something inside seemed to wriggle about as it produced the same putrid scent of the plagued rain he sent down upon the students of the academy before his descent into the well. Nausea would be the least of the dragon’s worries, as the longer her teeth remained clamped onto Nergal’s body, the more her teeth and gums would rot and shrivel. The steady trickle of blood surged forth, attempting to dive down her throat and deliver upon her whatever cocktail of diseases the whimsical god had decided to play with that day.

Suddenly, a thick tendril flowing like water yet shimmering like a mirror cracked down upon Nergal, forcibly separating the god from whatever else he had intended to inflict upon the dragoness.

“You foolish lizard!” Nohea, who’d finally joined the fray, bellowed. His voice would be drowned out by Chrome’s strike, which would miss its target by a hair as the god barely managed to maneuver out of the way but still managed to catch Nergal right in the epicenter of its explosion. However, the god of plagues wouldn’t give them the pleasure of hearing him scream out in pain, merely fixing them with an enraged glare as if daring them to try harder.

Nergal struck out at Chrome with his lion mace, his strength frighteningly great despite his physique boasting nothing of the sort. The seemingly immovable wall tipped and accelerated sideways, disrupting the royal’s vampire and taking him along with it should he persist in keeping his hold upon it. From behind, the slumped figure of the beast had disappeared, now appearing above Chrome to strike down upon him with its blade.

Within Nergal’s hand, a dark ball of fluid oozed into existence, bubbling and twisting until it gradually took the form of a great thorn. However, instead of joining his beast in its endeavor to take care of Hanuman's hero, he swung it in the direction of the sun elf maintaining the wind wall separating the god of plagues from his king. The dark mass spun rapidly through the air, and smaller thorns flaked off of the main body of the spell.

The momentary distraction wouldn’t go unpunished.

Trusting that the sun elf could cover for himself, Nohea veered clear of the diseased thorns and focused on condensing the invisible vapor resultant of Chrome’s fire burning away his quicksilver magic.

Small droplets of silvery liquid appeared in the air, rapidly forming into larger balls of liquid that surrounded Nergal. “Toll of Silver,” he muttered, and with a flick of his wrist, a hail of sharp needles fell upon the god’s path.

 

[Zariel]

Azaera’s jaws clamped down with crushing force, her fangs sinking deep into Nergal’s flesh. But the taste of victory quickly turned bitter. The instant her teeth punctured the plague god’s hide, his vile ichor spilt into her maw. It was thick, foul, and clung to her tongue like tar. As it trickled down her throat, her body shuddered with revulsion.

Azaera hissed in agony, her upper body lurched violently as the horrid substance took hold. Her mouth was seared, not with fire, but with rot, a corruption that gnawed at her from within. It felt as though her gums were ulcerating, her teeth corroding from decay as the ichor festered. The taste was beyond revolting: an utterly vile, bitter honey that dripped along her tongue, rancid and nauseating, like the sludge from the depths of a poisoned well. She could feel it seeping into her bones, trying to hollow her out from the inside.

With a desperate, enraged roar, Azaera thrashed violently, her massive body smashing into the ground, shaking the entire well. The dragoness knew she had to act quickly, or she would be lost.

"You! Will! Pay!"

Focusing through the agony, Azaera summoned her fire. It bubbled and roared in her throat, so intense it bled from between her teeth in fiery wisps. Her maw flared open as black and blue flames poured out, burning away the rot, cauterizing the decaying flesh, and purging Nergal’s corruption before it could spread any further. The stench of acrid rot and the taste of her own charred flesh mingled with the lingering bitterness, but it was a sickening trade she gladly made.

Her violet eyes, now glowing like soulless amethyst jewels, locked onto Nergal with unbridled fury. The rage within her boiled over, her hatred seething.

Azaera would not be humiliated by filth like him.

Her jaws snapped shut, and she inhaled deeply, charging a fire blast, more potent than anything she'd used against Nergal so far. The air rumbled and distorted around her as her dark fire coiled within her chest, black and blue embers flickering in the depths of her throat. With a thunderous roar, Azaera unleashed the torrent. A stream of devastation surged toward Nergal. Azaera's Dark Flame of Extinction was no ordinary flame—it was pure destruction, a force that burned hotter than any natural fire, capable of stripping those scorched of their defences.

The she-dragon's eyes narrowed in pure hatred, her gaze unwavering, as she watched the flames spiral and twist, hungry and malevolent, eager to devour their target until nothing remained but ash.

AZAERA​

---

Once again, Inanna was pushed back by the force of Hajun’s screech, the sound ripping through the air like a shockwave, her feet skidding across the ground. Her clones disintegrate around her, their forms breaking down into a soft cloud of sand that drifted away on the breeze. But even as they faded, she felt a measure of satisfaction. They had done their part. She and her duplicates had managed to inflict considerable damage before they were destroyed, each strike cutting deeper into Hajun.

"Tsk! Is that all you're going to do? Scream... like a helpless damsel?" Inanna mocked.

Though she was full of confidence, as per usual, the situation was truly dire. Her sharp eyes quickly took in the battlefield, noting how Aaxir and Freyr had both been swiftly incapacitated, for now. But thanks to the fae-giant, the war goddess was able to observe Hajun's terrifying new technique.

"Interesting..." she mused.

Inanna looked down as the earth beneath her feet trembled, tendrils of rock and soil rising up like serpents, trying to ensnare her legs and bind her where she stood.

But she was the Goddess of War, and nothing—no force, no god, no king—could contain her.

Summoning her immense power, Inanna’s body surged mana. The ground beneath her cracked and buckled, unable to withstand the pressure. With a defiant roar, she shattered the earth’s grip, the soil exploding outward in a shower of debris as she broke free. Dust swirled around her as she spun her scimitar in her hand, the blade gleaming with the hues of magic it was forged in before she pointed it at Hajun, smirking with the same feral confidence that had struck fear into countless opponents before him.

"Is that all you've got, Demon King? It'll take more than that to hold me," she taunted, licking her lips with an insatiable hunger for battle.

Then, Inanna summoned a magic war banner in her other hand, radiating with divine energy. She drove it firmly into the ground at her side, The moment it was planted, a pulse of magic rippled out from the banner in all directions. A golden aura began to surround her allies within a certain radius, restoring a portion of their vitality, and granting them a divine blessing that would bolster the power of their attacks.

"Hmph! You'd better brace yourself, Demon."

INANNA​

 

[CasualTea]

Heiwa Sanka (Instrumental)

Rohen Xiong, "The Mad Orca"

Interactions:Hajun Nessi

Mentions: All Heroes fighting Hajun, Aaxir LazyDaze , Enthy Nano , Freyr Steve Jobs

It was going well for a short while. Rohen and Aaxir successfully being able to suppress Hajun as the other members of her party were able to successfully land attacks upon to the point in which it overwhelmed him. He sustained a lot of damage but that does not mean he will pass from this world quietly. Literally. He let out an ear-piercing screech in which a force knocked everyone back and dispelled Innana's clones, giving the demon king some breathing room and an opportunity to counter. While she couldn't say the exact same for everyone, she recovered quite nicely afterwards, managing to gain her footing quickly and locking in her sight back on target. However, what she expected to see the demon king to be executing his next move, he was faster than what she anticipated.

Her expectations caught her just slightly off guard as she was met with the almost daunting approach of Hajun's mace flying at her at a velocity which with its large mass could really mess her up. Fortunately with the gem she acquired recently, she was able to make great use of it ever since they were engaged by Nergal. She took the necessary measures to maneuver her body just out of mace's way that all she could feel as it whizzed passed was the air pressure it created in passing. All it did was giving Rohen a slight ringing in her ear where she will recover from shortly. This would mean that whoever was behind her, might suffer its deadly force. Whoever it may be, hopefully they were able to dodge it if not just surviving it.

It gave her a moment to observe the battlefield once more and what she saw was something she couldn't have fathomed. While he was able to deal with Aaxir, sending him crashing into the barrier, the other members still took action to hold Hajun down. Freyr, trying to restrain the demon by grabbing a hold of his neck and Fel attacking from above with Nel following up. Surely, it was over for Hajun is what Rohen thought. But as the demon managed to break free from Freyr's grip, an ominous mana from Hajun's fist manifested before he simply connected it to Freyr's frame. What could be described as a punch as a pure understatement, Freyr's sync was disrupted and was no longer present and another being had spawned out, being affected by the attack. While she didn't know who he was, Tiamat's sudden alertness had translated and became her own.

"Kagutsuchi...?" Was the name that left her and echoed in Rohen's head.

With Rohen piecing together what had happened, she arrived at the same conclusion Tiamat already had and her expression sharpened with added caution. "Ro, if you want to keep that arm, I suggest that you avoid any attack carrying that mana as you had witnessed before." Tiamat advised. "Your plan of simply beating him with your fists alone will not suffice. Draw your blade." This prompted Rohen to let out an exhale again before taking up a stance to meditate for a short while to get herself back into the zone. "Can't anticipate or plan then. I'm gonna have to be very reactive with how this bastard moves." She said before readying herself as she was about to engage into a particular hand-to-hand combat she had learned all her life as a mercenary and that has been engrained into her being like a second nature. It would allow her to be very observant and very maneuverable in reaction to any of her opponent's movements even if they're up close in front of her.

"Be wary of that stance he boasts. His smile may either be high confidence or a fool's mask in regards to whatever mastery he has of it. Do not take him lightly." Tiamat warned once more as Rohen pulled one of her legs back in order to commit to her re-entry to the fight gaining an aggressive posture, raising one of her left hand into the air behind her. "Of course, this bastard will only find Hell here; Fragmented Ground!" In one fluid movement, kicking a chunk of Earth up into elevation and waving her hand towards it causing it to launch and spliting into fragmentations spit firing towards Hajun's direction at the same velocity she encountered with his mace. This was more of a distraction so she could close distance between her and Hajun quickly as she was consolidating water and freezing it into a chunk of ice that built up around her metal arm which bore a fist.

Upon getting close, she lunged and smashed the chunk of ice at Hajun's lower body and began her assault once more delivering more precise and intended blows rather than whatever she can hit. Using her gem's ability to the fullest, she watched for any movement from Hajun to avoid or block while redirecting the force of the attack. Despite still attacking, she was more observing his movements just so she can follow up with any sort of counter she came up with. Especially, should he try to strike her with a punch and send it fully, she would really wanna break that arm over her shoulder at the elbow's point.

Rohen on full focus, shown no unnecessary emotion or sound when executing her movements. She was exerting all of her energy in showcasing her fluent mastery of her martial art skills with devastating blows aimed at critical points in Hajun's body with a slight twist every now and then; Where she would form and dismiss the ice arm blade at will from her left arm and slip in just that lethal and unsuspecting strike to slash at Hajun's tendons to cripple him as breaking his joints just wasn't enough.

 

[Dovinique]

Dong Mei

An eye for an eye…

A soul for a soul…

As one flower bloomed… another had to wither…

✦✦✦​

“She won’t make it.”

That was the first sentence I heard as I finally met my long-awaited daughter.

How could they say that? About my baby girl??

She’s too pure, too beautiful, to be taken away before she’s even seen the colors of this world.

Who has the audacity to separate a mother from her child?

How could they take my baby away from me???

No one... Yes, no one can do that!

Maybe I should do it… Yes, I must.

Dong Han would definitely be against this. But he’s not a mother, he doesn’t know how I feel.

What about Dong Xun and Dong Lian?

They’ll manage, they’re both strong and smart. I believe in them.

People will call me a bad mother for abandoning my two boys to save my daughter… but… but… how can I do nothing when I know I can save her??

I’m sorry… but I can’t… I can’t let you go.

I will… make you live, Dong Mei.

✦✦✦​

It’s been almost a week…

I can no longer feel my lower body, and it’s hard even to lift a finger.

My breath is heavier than ever… I have to struggle just to take a full breath.

But that’s okay… because I’ve seen her smile, her very first smile…

I’m happy… I’m content…

The only sadness I have is seeing my boys cry over me every day, no matter how hard I try to convince them that everything will be okay...

“Mama… don’t go…”

I want to stay…

I want to see Dong Xun, Dong Lian, and Dong Mei playing together, running to me when I bring them their favorite snacks.

I want to see them grow…

I want to be there for them in happiness and in sadness…

I want to… ah… my tears… I can’t stop them, I can’t wipe them… I can’t move my hands… I don’t want them to see me cry…

Why is it… blurry? Is it because of my tears…? I can’t see anything…

No… Is it night already? No… no… why is it so dark? Where are my babies? I want to see them, please… one more time… please… no…

✦✦✦​

As the final note of Mei's lullaby faded into the air, Kannaka stirred, rising from the clutches of death as though granted a second breath. Mei couldn’t quite understand it, how a melody from her childhood had summoned Kannaka back from the brink. It was as if the melody had woven a spell from the depths of time. But the details were of little concern to her now, what mattered was that Kannaka was here, warm and alive in her arms.

She was happy… she was content…

They embraced, tears streaming freely as the overwhelming tide of emotion spilled over. Mei clung to Kannaka, her sobs raw and heart wrenching, until at last, she released her, knowing the world still demanded to be faced. As Kannaka moved to confront whatever lay ahead, Mei was left in the aftermath of her own miracle. The spell had drained her completely, leaving her feeling like an empty vessel. It was as though every ounce of her mana had been wrung dry, siphoned into the incantation that had revived her friend. Her body betrayed her fatigue. She felt a deep, bone-weary exhaustion settle over her like a leaden cloak. When she attempted to stand, her legs trembled violently, reduced to little more than jelly beneath her weight, and she crumpled back to the ground.

Panic gripped Mei like a vice, her breath shallow and ragged as she struggled even to sit upright. The world seemed to close in around her, the air growing thin and elusive, slipping through her grasp as if mocking her frailty. Her vision blurred with desperation as her eyes darted frantically, searching for the only one she could think of in this moment of weakness, Han. And there he was, her God, galloping toward her with the speed of the wind.

As soon as he reached her, Han leaped from Escha's back and knelt beside Mei.

“Han… I feel so weak… I don’t know why…” Mei's voice trembled and as she tried to reach out to him, it was barely lifting before falling limply back to her side. Her body then crumpled as if her life was seeping away.

Han’s reflexes were quick, catching Mei before she could collapse onto the cold, unforgiving earth. He gently turned her to face him, his eyes scanning her as he tried to gauge the depth of her condition. Though he was not Wanga, Han could see that something was terribly wrong. Mei’s skin was unnaturally cold and her once-vibrant cherry lips had faded into a ghostly blend of gray and blue.

"Could it be…"

A sudden realization gripped Han, sending a chill down his spine. Mei's family had served him for generations, their history intertwined with his own, and he had borne witness to nearly every significant event in their lineage. The spell Mei had chanted, though seemingly accidental, was not unfamiliar. He had seen it before, long ago, when Mei’s mother had invoked the very same incantation. If this was indeed the same spell, then the implications were dire.

Han's gaze shifted to Kannaka, who now stood as though untouched by the icy grip of death, her vitality restored as if nothing had happened. But the sight filled him with dread rather than relief.

As one flower bloomed… another had to wither…

How had Mei, so young and untrained, managed to cast such a powerful spell? It was a high-tier enchantment, shrouded in secrecy and forbidden for its nature. The spell was a cruel bargain, an exchange of life forces where the caster's essence was gradually taken away to revive another. It was a one-time incantation, sealed by the certainty of death for the one who wielded it.

Han had always known that Mei possessed remarkable potential, a latent power that had yet to be fully realized. But never had he imagined that her resolve could be so fierce, her will so unyielding, that she could summon the strength to perform such a spell. Yet, that was not the issue right now. The spell had been cast, and Mei was paying the terrible price.

"Han…?"

Mei's voice called out to him again, soft and fragile, like the last note of a fading song. The melody that had always carried strength and cheerfulness was now growing faint. Han's heart tightened with the knowledge of what lay ahead. Four days… perhaps a week if fortune favored her. That was all the time Mei had before her life force would be completely consumed. The spell she had cast was irreversible, there was no undoing it, no magical cure to halt the slow, inevitable approach of death.

But Han refused to accept that this was the end. He couldn’t simply stand by and let fate take its course. In the past, as a God, he had been bound to not interfere in the lives of mortals. He had watched helplessly as Mei’s mother succumbed to the very same spell. But now, things were different. Now, humans and Gods had fought side by side, their destinies entwined. Surely, there had to be a way… some hidden path, some forgotten magic, that could save her.

With a swift motion, Han scooped Mei into his arms, her weight almost nothing against the surge of determination that drove him. He mounted Escha, who stood ready. Han cast a glance at the battlefield, where heroes and Gods clashed with the foul God. Every fiber of his being screamed to join them, to fight alongside his comrades, but Mei was his priority. The others were strong, capable of holding their ground without him. His prayers would remain with them and he knew that victory would be theirs. But for now, he had to leave the fight in their hands.

He caught the eyes of his old friend, Hou Yi, and gave him a solemn nod. "I’ll leave the rest to you," he said.

Without waiting for a response, Han raised his flute to his lips, playing a swift, commanding tune. Escha’s wings unfurled, and with a powerful thrust, they ascended. Unfortunately, fate had not favored Han. The walls of the well rose unforgivingly around him, offering no trace of an escape. Trapped, with despair nipping at his resolve, he muttered a curse for the very first time, “F*** it all!”

He had no choice but to guide Escha back to the ground and away from the chaos of battle. His thoughts raced, each second precious, as he considered his options. Mei had gone unconscious, but she should be okay at least for today. Still, she was vulnerable and the battlefield was no place for someone so defenseless. Gently, he laid her beside him, while Han took the opportunity to close his eyes and sought solace in meditation, grounding himself in the silence. Gambling, he hoped that by reaching deep within, he could find the answers he needed.

 

[LazyDaze]

AAXIR THE RED

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Mentions: Nessi Zariel

Aaxir fought with a focused desperation, refusing to blink for even a second less Hajun take advantage of even that momentary lapse. The world around him became muted saved for the exchanges between him and Hajun. For a moment, he thought he saw the mighty "king" falter. It was brief, but the colors of doubt and fear splashed across Hajun's face at the speed of light, but not speedy enough to go unnoticed by the young dragon. With every passing second Aaxir would grow more confident, pressing to take more risks. His allies, would aid in this effort joining in to back Hajun into a corner. Aaxir's focus grew so high that he was able to resist the urge to let one of his strikes slip in the direction of that hapless hero borrowing Tiamat's scales. This was it, they could win. Before Aaxir could land a decisive blow, he let out a screech that threatened to rival Golroth's roar that pushed everyone back.

"No, not yet," Aaxir said as he tried to press on without the backing of the other heroes. They were so close to getting Eleanor back, they could not let the opportunity slip away. Once more he burst toward Hajun with victory in focus; however, victory would be forestalled as Hajun assumed a stance that gave Aaxir pause and a sinking heart. Now, the same color of doubt and fear that had splashed over Hajun was now tinting Aaxir.

"It can't be," Aaxir said as he watched Hajun redirect his best attack combinations. Fighting now felt like sand slipping through his fingers, yet he fought to reclaim the advantage he thought they had. Every now and then it was as if he could see the Goddess Poli’ah in place of Hajun, perhaps through Pele's memories, calmly countering his strikes with a smile, chastising the ferocious haste and violence of her sister. It was then that the past would fade to present as Aaxir was struck so hard that Aaxir was sent flying though the walls of the barrier away from the battle. Aaxir instinctively reached for his abdomen and chest as the strike was so powerful Aaxir truly believed he was gored beyond saving. He didn't have the breath to even speak, let alone scream through the blood streaming from his mouth as he desperately tried to press himself off the ground. Familiar green embers flickered throughout his body as he attempted to speed up his recovery, lifting himself up only to fall back down again.

"That hateful cold hearted bitch..," Pele said, through Aaxir. "Even now she continues to be the worst inconvenience of my entire life. Why does that little runt have....that..."

Aaxir could only flail helpless as the sounds of steel, bones, flesh, and magic sung a song of tragedy. "I should have erased his pathetic existence when I had the chance...a chance that I have now again...Aaxir...you stay-"

"N-," Aaxir tried to speak through the blood and pain as he violently pushed himself to a kneeling position. He spat out any remaining blood then flashed a grin that could almost be described as greed incarnate. "I finally saw it...the fear of a god. We can win." That was win Aaxir felt within him a great terror he had not felt since his defeat against the current demon king. It was as if a bottomless pit of fury that was not his own welled up inside of him.
".......Silly dragon. It is not a matter of winning, or even possessing the ability to achieve the aforementioned. This parasite......this putrid spec upon the landscape my eyes rest open has taken host of one of the heroes, incapacitated my champion, besmirched the name of the entire pantheon, but his most heinous crime...was assuming THAT STANCE in the presence of Tutu Pele! He must be humiliated, broken, eradicated, destroyed, annihilated, fed to maggots and erased from the annuls of history.......if you don't save Eleanor and destroy him I-

Aaxir could only nod while Pele finished her rant lest anything he say infuriate her even more. Then suddenly a pulse of golden energy sped through Aaxir and even gave Pele a reason to cease her ranting. Even from this distance Aaxir could see the battle was not yet over, the heroes were still fighting for Eleanor. "That's...Azarea's goddess." This wave of energy gave Aaxir just the amount of strength he needed to press on. One by one his emerald flames dissapated as the golden aura of Inanna took it's place. Not only was he ready to fight again, Aaxir felt even stronger. This could be the edge the heroes needed.

".....Oh...the war whore stealing glory yet again. Why am I not surprised. Aaxir, I believe it is time we re-enter the battle. You have dilly dallied long here long enough my dear."

Aaxir nodded once again. Hajun was not as certain of himself as he let on. That last flurry of attacks was a hint to the key at defeating him; however, it was only that. Aaxir would have to find a way around Pele's sister and the heroes would have to withstand Hajun's desperation once he is cornered once again. There was no way around it. This golden aura was a good start, but to defeat Hajun in the end they would still need Eleanor to fight back.

 

[Nano]

end of a life

Enthyskana Rhoda

For one bound by the limits of mortal flesh like the rest of them, the tenacity of Hajun’s borrowed vessel and the ferocity of his strikes far eclipsed theirs. Their attacks were effective, and Enthy picked up on the fleeting scent of fear that disappeared so quickly that she wondered if she’d imagined it. History told them that he had yet to become an immovable mountain, but the deafening screech that shook the foundations of the well, shattered magic, and halted the advance of the heroes’ bruised bodies fed the sense of dread that they were merely throwing eggs at a wall of stone.

The incessant ringing in Enthy’s ears nearly drowned out the small hint whispered by the devil in her pocket. As if in a trance, she made no notion to suggest that she was paying attention to the happenings of the battlefield—neither when Kagutsuchi was torn away from the bond between god and hero nor when Inanna’s blessing settled comfortably around her body. By the time she finally flipped the Hammer of Justice into a more battle-ready stance, the summon stone had long grown dull and silent.

Within the narrow corridor, the large axe tore through the air and cracked down on the earth upon where Hajun stood. Even if it missed the demon lord, the young dragon didn’t hesitate to follow in its path.

“I’m borrowing this,”

Enthy muttered, swiftly plucking the sword hanging from Veritas’s waist and continuing onward in a single motion. If the god reacted to her impudence, she didn’t look back or bother to keep her ears open for any words of protest in favor of continuing to mumble something under her breath.

Ducking past that dastardly Fae’s tendrils of magic, the young dragon opened with a wide swing traveling from the bottom up. Then, she tightly grasped the hilt and thrust forward, throwing caution to the wind in her attempt to push the demon lord back and leaving herself entirely open to being grappled or otherwise being retaliated against.

Regardless of what Hajun had up his sleeve, Enthy grit her teeth through it, going as far as to suddenly attempt at grabbing on to him.

“Conflagrate.”

A small sphere of light, nothing more than a barely noticeable ember, sat at their feet. As soon as the final word of her spell rolled off the dragon’s tongue, it ignited, scorching all within its vicinity. Even when the initial explosion cleared, wisps of blue flames stubbornly continued to burn, appearing small and faint yet feeling as if sticky and absurdly hot tar had been smeared upon whatever it hit.

Though the dragon had little to fear regarding her own flames, her god had the prudence to form a thin layer of protection in front of Enthy the second he noticed her reckless intentions. It had been promptly vaporized in the blast, but had succeeded in its job of keeping her clothes intact. They were horribly singed and had certainly seen far better days, but intact nonetheless.

 

[Nessi]

The Battle for Death

Give Everything

“Keep healing her! I don’t care if you don’t think she’ll make it!”

“I’ve almost got the rot under control, so just keep her stable.”

“I can see her eyes sturing… She’s coming back!”

Yi Nuo awoke on the outside of the well, surrounded by several students using various healing spells on her. She had lost consciousness, but hadn’t forgotten the actions that had led to her being in the predicament she was in. The plague god, Nergal had appeared, and suddenly attacked, raining down plagued filled projectiles that threatened not only heroes, but the students who had accompanied them to assist with Relic retrieval.
While normally, the agile moon elf would have easily dodged the projectiles, however if she had done that, the students behind her would have surely perished.
So she did the next best thing, and used herself to shield them from Nergal’s attack.

“That was stupid.” Baihu’s voice boomed within Yi Nuo’s head.
“I couldn’t just let them die, as a he-”
“Blah blah blah, don’t flaunt your morality in front of me, just be glad you didn’t die.” Baihu interrupted. “Nergal dragged Eleanor down into the well…and an old evil has taken her body over…one that will annihilate everything.” he informed her.

Yi Nuo shot up from the ground, and scanned the area. She couldn’t sense any heroes around, which meant that they had all leapt into the well to try and save Eleanor.
“Um… excuse me…you were holding this before you got hit…” A timid student said, handing the moon elf an object that had been tightly wrapped in cloth. “Is everything gonna be okay… will you be able to save them?” the student asked.
Yi Nuo was silent, but quickly gave the student a bright smile. “Of course, they’ll make it back here alive and well, I give you my word.” she replied. With that being said, the moon elf leapt from her current position, and dove directly into the vortex.

When she had finally made it to the other side, Yi Nuo had to purposefully stop herself from simply throwing herself into the fray. Instead she utilized the superior spatial senses bestowed upon her by Baihu, and quickly got a hold of the current situation.
“The thing outside, the one that controls Eleanor’s body…who is that?” Yi Nuo asked her patron god.
“He is the strongest, and last of his kind. The 3rd Demon King, Paimon, who is referring to himself as Hajun.” Baihu responded.
“A demon? I thought no such thing existed…that demons were merely a thing of fiction?” Yi Nuo thought.
“That’s because there is a god who has rewritten the very history of this world, altered the memories of gods, and has forced those with knowledge to swear secrecy, lest their immortality would be stripped and cast out from heaven.” Baihu revealed.
Yi Nuo landed on the ground, and before moving noticed a statue that was not too far from where she had landed. She approached it quickly, and was baffled when she found out who the statue was.
“Paimon? What happened to him?” Yi Nuo exclaimed, touching the eternal king's cheek.
“It’s a curse….should the 3rd demon king escape, the Eternal King would be turned to stone until the demon is sealed away…or killed.” Baihu explained.

The situation was bad, worse than anything that Yi Nuo could imagine. Rewritten history, demons, all of these revelations were swirling around Yi Nuo's head like a storm. Quickly however, did she clear her head, now wasn't the time to worry about such things, every moment of hesitation was one waisted, she needed to act quickly.

~~~​

Hajun was feeling good.
Everything was going well. Soon, all he’d have to do is find Paimon, and rip his remaining power from the Eternal King, and be at full strength. He’d easily be able to crush the remaining gods and heroes, and finally continue what he started thousands of years ago.
And then Kaida would attack from behind, catching Hajun so off guard that the demon king couldn’t react in time to avoid the attack. He felt the massive fox’s teeth sink into his body, but more importantly, he felt his spirit get punctured, which was NOT something he could afford in his current state.
With every ounce of strength he could muster, Hajun released himself from Kaida’s jaws, and pushed her aside. He didn’t get any time to recover, for immediately, Rohen would begin to rush him.
“Alright then, bring it on brat!” Hajun roared, meeting the mad orca head on. He evaded her icy fist, and quickly followed up with a kick aimed for the head.

Rohen was fast, faster than Hajun at times, but with Poli’ahu’s fighting technique, the demon king was able to defend against the quick strikes. For a time, the pair were evenly matched, Rohen couldn’t get a clean hit, and neither could Hajun, all they could do was clash with each other.
But the longer they dueled, the more Hajun began to adapt to Rohen’s speed, and the stalemate began to lean into Hajun’s favor. Soon, it was Rohen on the defensive, as Hajun pressed forward on the offensive, it would only be a matter of time until he landed a critical blow.

Of course, things could never go well for the third demon king.

Hajun narrowly dodged the ax that was thrown at him, but couldn’t help but smile at the expression on Enthy’s face. “Do you hate me, hatchling!?” He howled, backhanding Rohen away as if she was a toy he was no longer interested in. “Come on then! Fight me if you dare!” Hajun cried out, charging straight towards Enthy. He easily avoided her initial swing, and side stepped her thrust before delivering a strong blow to the stomach.
To his surprise, Enthy ignored the pain, and pushed forward, forcing Hajun back further and further. He couldn’t get a read on her plan, partly because he didn’t know Enthy’s exact skill set, and also because he was enjoying the fight so much that it didn’t matter. It wasn’t until the small, blue light appeared before their feet, did Hajun realize just how badly he had messed up.

The explosion that occurred blinded everyone within the golden dome that caged the 3rd demon king. When the light of the explosion dimmed down, blue fire persisted to burn on the ground, and cracks and fissures now riddled the dome.
When the dust settled, Hajun still stood, his back against the dome wall. The explosion had completely taken his left arm, and left his right arm without skin, exposing his raw flesh and muscles to the elements. He was battered, bruised, and parts of his face had been burned down to the bone, but still, he rose, still, Hajun stood tall.
“You all fight hard…I respect it. But it took the entire pantheon to try and put me down…and even then they weren’t successful…what made you think that you would be able to beat me?” Hajun taunted. The wounds on his face began to heal, and slowly, a smile crept on the 3rd demon king's face. But before he could do anything, a new face would come crashing down into the dome, which simply made Hajun’s smile grow larger.

~~~​

Yi Nuo rose from her landing point from the center of the dome. She stood directly in between Hajun, and the rest of her grandchildren, but her eyes were only focused on the enemy before her. At this point, outside of his missing arm, the majority of Hajun’s burns and wounds were healed, but this fact didn’t bother the moon elf at all.
“If it isn’t the teacher…do you believe that you can do what your students could not?” Hajun asked.
The veins in Yi Nuo’s forehead began to pulsate in anger, as she unwrapped the object she had been carrying with her. With the cloth removed, a strange shortsword was revealed, its handle and guard was bumpy, and looked as if it had scales on it. “What kind of leader would I be, if I abandoned my comrades…if I abandoned my grandchildren.” Yi Nuo responded, slowly walking towards Hajun.

“If we’re going to fight Hajun…We’re going to have to use that technique…” Baihu spoke. “Are you willing to sacrifice everything to win this fight?”
Yi Nuo didn’t respond, but her silence to Baihu spoke volumes. “I’m sorry, I was too weak to protect you all…too weak to protect Arlux. But I have one more lesson for you, so pay attention.” Yi Nuo said solemnly.
With these words being said, the old moon elf slammed her fists together, causing the veins in her arms to glow with divine energy.

“DIVINE FUSION!”

Yi Nuo roared, as she became wreathed within Baihu’s mana. Her Aura was so strong, that even those who were fighting Nergal could feel the pressure she was exuding.
“Partial Synchronization is the act of partly syncing up your spirit with your patron god, while divine synchronization is having your spirit be in perfect synchronization with your god…but divine fusion is to fuse your physical body with your god…similarly to how Hajun has taken Eleanor’s body.” Yi Nuo said during her transformation.
When the light dimmed, the form Yi Nuo had was completely different than anything that the heroes had seen before. Beautiful, young, and brimming with power, as if a completely different person was now before them.

With this new form, Yi Nuo again started to approach Hajun, who cackled in joy at the sight before him. “Magnificent, absolutely magnificent! Come, fac-” Before he could even finish his taunt, Yi Nuo would close the distance in the blink of an eye, and with one strike, sent Hajun flying out of the golden dome. Before he could go too far, Yi Nuo appeared above him, and struck him far away from the heroes, close to a building that looked to resemble some sort of chapel.

Before Hajun could fully dig himself out of the rubble, Yi Nuo swung her blade directly at his neck.
But Hajun moved just barely out of the way, getting a small cut on his neck. He fully escaped from the rubble, and grabbed Yi Nuo, launching her towards another platform, and following close behind.
Both of them landed on the platform, and stared each other down.
There were no words that were exchanged, the pair immediately began to clash with each other. Yi Nuo knew that her greatest advantage was her speed, and thus she used it, overwhelming Hajun with a flurry of slashes from all directions.

“Baihu…How long can we keep this up?” Yi Nuo asked mentally, dodging a myriad of projectiles that Hajun launched towards her.
“Your body still hasn’t fully recovered Nergal’s Rot…which means your body might only be able to handle…15 minutes of this at best. Make every attack count Guo Yi Nuo.” Baihu ordered.
The old moon elf kept up her barrage of attacks, knocking Hajun around like a rag doll. For a moment, it looked like Hajun couldn’t even keep track of her movements. Yi Nuo tried to go in for yet another attack, but this time Hajun was prepared, grabbing her by the mouth, and slamming her into the ground.
“Gonna take more than your little tricks to deal with me!” Hajun cried out, before launching Yi Nuo off the platform. Satisfied with this, Hajun made an attempt to go back to the other heroes, but found his body unable to move.

“What’s wrong…having trouble moving Hajun?” Yi Nuo chuckled, landing right back on the platform. She lifted her blade, and pointed it at Hajun. “A simple, but effective relic. Those who are cut by this blade, can only fight their attacker…and the more attacks I land, the stronger it gets.” She revealed, cleaning the blade of Hajun’s blood in one swing.
No longer did Hajun smile, instead, he reached his remaining arm into his dark portal, and retrieved a weapon of his own, a mighty ax that held gold engravings in the sides.
“Something is strange with that ax…it’s not normal.” Yi Nuo said mentally.
“That is no normal Ax…it is the Ax of the god Perun…Hajun stole it, alongside some of Perun’s abilities when he killed him. Stay on your toes, and be ready for anything, there's no telling what other weapons or spells he has access to.” Baihu warned.

Both Hajun and Yi Nuo let out deafening battle cries, before charging at each other, and clashing their weapons together. The impact of the two caused the interior of the well to shake violently, resulting in the various pathways and bridges to begin to collapse and fall into the void below.

 

[Dawnsx]

Nelumba

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Mentions:

Nel’s soon-to-be best-selling book was writing itself! You’ve got the friend-turned-enemy, the heart-wrenching sacrifices, and the timely power-ups!

“I can’t believe you never told me about divine fusion!” Nel exclaimed.

Shiva’s lips curled in disgust. “Why would I ever want to share a body with you, gremlin?”

Nel looked at the camera. “He says that, but if I run and leap at Shiva, he will most certainly catch me in his arms.” She turned and charged toward Shiva. “Coming in!”

Shiva whirled around, eyes wide. “No! I’m holding the Trishula–!”

A) Let Nel fall and break her bony butt
B) Puncture her with the Trishula
C) Catch her and regret the day he chose her

With an angry, guttural sound, Shiva dropped the Trishula, which disappeared like smoke, and caught the stinky fae in a bridal carry.

Before he could toss Nel back onto her feet, she swung an arm around his neck and hollered, “Activating: DIVINE FUSION!”

The duo burst into dazzling pink-and-purple light. The colors melted together until they reformed into the shape of a single humanoid. As the light faded into an iridescent glow, the figure’s appearance grew visible. In place of Nel and Shiva stood a six-armed entity. Its silhouette was a swirl of starry nebula, the billowing cape upon its back like a portal to the celestial expanse up above. Its eyes were luminous slits, and its hair a smokey wisp.

The entity inhaled deeply, like it was breathing its first breath.

As it exhaled, it uttered quietly:

“Wowie.”

In contrast to its ethereal appearance, Nel’s squeaky voice rang out like an unpleasant echo.

“How dare you fuse with me without my consent,” Shiva’s voice boomed furiously.

“I feel so much stronger!” Nel squealed, ignoring Shiva’s indignation. She gasped, and the cape rose up and brought them airborne. “And my wings! It’s a cape now! I feel so much lighter!” Another more dramatic gasp. “And what’s this?!”

The Trishula manifested again into their uppermost right hand. Three other weapons materialized as well: a sword in their uppermost left hand, an ax in the middle-left, and a club in the middle-right. In an impressive show of strength, they lifted all the weapons high into the air.

“I’m so strong,” Nel said in awe.

“I’m strong, not you,” Shiva countered.

The weapons’ names somehow popped into her mind even though she had never known them before: Chandrahasa, Parashu, and Khaṭvāṅga. Like a stream, Shiva’s knowledge of these weapons flowed into her mind. That, along with Shiva’s fond annoyance toward Nel.

“Aww, Shiva. You do care!” Nel cooed, flailing the weapons about as though she was flustered.

“Will you waste time speaking, or will you assist Baihu’s champion?” Shiva snapped.

Nel covered their mouth with their two free hands. “You’re right! Let’s do this, Shiva!”

With Hajun sufficiently occupied by Granny, Nel flew up behind him, closing the distance between them with dizzying speed. They bore down the ax, Parashu, upon Hajun. Whatever the Parashu hit would be gradually weighed down. As they swung the blade down at him, the slit on their forehead opened, revealing a third eye. Instead of reducing Hajun to dust, he would find his mana circuits unnaturally obstructed.

“What if I need to blink?” Nel thought to Shiva as they continued the assault with the Chandrahasa, a blade known to be able to cut anything.

“Blink and you die,” Shiva deadpanned. Hajun was now facing attacks from the Trishula as well, the heat of its purifying flames threatening to scorch his skinn. The final weapon, the Khaṭvāṅga, glowed with a blue light. The moisture in the air solidified into sharp icicles and launched themselves at Hajun.

As though she wasn’t fighting a demon who’d enslaved her friend’s mind and body, Nel whooped and giggled,“This is so fun!”

 

[Worthlessplebian]

Tiberius Helvian, Longinus

The gladiator leapt once more, trailing shadows as he went, movements preternaturally swift and fluid in the warping nocturne. The grip on his spear tightened, outstretched, intending to disembowel the body Hajun's malicious, insidious spirit possessed. His dim blue eyes glowed with divinity, sparking azures in the hard darkness of his shaded shroud. Then he heard her. And his eyes saw it. A sphere of twisting fire at their feet, a cerulean gem glistening amidst the time-worn marblework of the Well. He already knew. His mind reacted, reflexes aflame, muscles burning with the bone-shearing strain of forcing his legs to withdraw. Jaw taut, teeth grit, raising his shield. Then he saw it.

Light.

The spell had detonated, banishing the black shadows that embraced him. Tiberius was blown out, spared the brunt of the explosion's heft, but he felt the gut-wrenching sense of dislocation as he was lifted into the air. His ears burst, debris impacted his shield, cracking impotently against its rugged surface. Tiberius was forced to bow his head as the detonation rolled over him. Blind and deaf, his mind struggled to right him. He twisted, arms lit with agony, turning the shield to the ground, or at least he thought. His back struck the cold, marble, bone creaking then he spun. There was an ear-splitting crack of Olrodian steel meeting ancient marble. His shield skidding, spitting fat sparks, metal screaming an agonised howl. He plunged the spear into the flagstone, grinding a thin striation in its path.

He slid to a halt, sight marred. Eyes bloodshot, dilated, bleary with moisture. He clambered to his feet. Unsteady. Confused. He spat a wad of scorching phlegm and bitter fluids, his vision lost in the haze of light. Head swimming as he tried to refocus his gaze. The area was fogged with smoke, dust, and the coiling plumes of azure embers. The ringing in his ears lasted for long, painful seconds. But Tiberius heard a voice.

His hand went up, clapping his ear. The voice hadn't come from anywhere in the well. It had issued, as always — as ever, from inside his skull, a soft voice, edged with care, but frigid as the night's devouring dominance. "Tiberius." She whispered, his name hung in the merciless obsidian of his mind. And suddenly, what lay before Tiberius became visible, his sight dim, pockmarked with smears of darkness. He even heard noise, sounds returning in a slow ebb like a crashing tide.

He took a cold, dry breath and saw a brilliance. It came in a roar, immediately familiar to the gladiator's senses, but bent with the power of the Divine. It was followed by a crack, reverberating across the Well as Yi Nuo struck Hajun, flesh burst apart and bone cracked as he was smashed from his feet. "By the—" His voice trailed away into the stunned quiet. Tiberius had been too far away to see what had transpired to elevate Yi Nuo into such an esteemed transformation, but he realised its significance; an elision too complete with their Gods.

Tiberius rushed to the edge, witnessing the speed and ferocity Yi Nuo embodied, raining down blows with focused, animalistic brutality. His breath caught, fists clenched.

Nel flew unleashing a torrent of ice, glistening in the weak illumination.

With no hesitation, Tiberius threw his left side back. His thin lips quivered as he ran through the words, it seared his mind with turmoil. "Free of steel shackles," Tiberius called, arm reeling with unbridled potency, shaking. "a storm of stars, given form, suffused with purpose." His knuckles, white, shuddered as a blizzard of gleaming white dots amidst a black tide surged in his hand. "The silent song awakens, a chorus' devotion unto thy unmaking. And now," He grasped the star-bejewelled spear, and Tiberius was forced to clench his teeth so as to not unleash a roar of exertion as he swung his arm forward, hurling the glimmering spear at Hajun. His limbs drained, effort melting from his spent and throbbing muscles.

Interactions: Nessi (Hajun)
Mentions: Nano (Enthy), Dawnsx (Nel - Shiva)

 

[Midrick]

Arrian Dreagher

Arrian was buffeted by the forces in play around the group of heroes fighting Nergal, electing to hunker down behind a sizeable piece of rubble while waiting for the right time to intervene, Fel's windwall nearly swept him off his feet, the whirlwind throwing his hair back and exposing the rapidly darkening cloth that covered his right eye to any who were close to him. Arrian silently weighed the pro's and cons of assisting Tiberius's companion Polux against Nergal's newly spawned fiend, but decided against it, he would only have one chance to use the Gae Bolg against his target, any flaw in his timing could prove disastrous, the Gae Bolg could not miss it's target when spurned to action, but it could be deflected or blocked under the right circumstances, and while not many possessed the raw magical power or constitution to survive such a blow, he imagined a god would have sufficient amount of both to potentially thwart his attempt at a decisive strike.

As Arrian peeked over the uneven edge of the ruined piece of masonry he saw more magic brought to bear against Nergal by Chrome and Nohea, the sight of the latter causing his lip to curl in anger. Looks like the useless bastard decided to do something after all. Arrian silently cursed as his attention was suddenly pulled to Azaera charging Nergal in her dragon form, clamping her maw around the plague god. Arrian wanted to scream at her to cease her attack, but it was no use, even if Azaera would heed his words she had already sunken her fangs into the tainted flesh of Nergal. Before Arrian could formulate even the beginning's of a plan to eliminate the plague god, an ear splitting howl chilled his blood and caused him to lose his train of thought as he instinctually looked toward the source of the cry, flashes of color and the sounds of intense battle lit up the side of the well that the other half of their motley crew had conglomerated at, presumably in a harrowing fight from the look and sound of it. Arrian began to realize how desperate this fight was becoming at the sight of his allies and the length's they were going to to bring down their opponents, half of which weren't even working. They needed to regroup and finish this fight sooner rather than later if they wanted to come away without any more injuries than they already sustained. Turning his attention back to Nergal just in time to see another of the plauge god's blighted projectiles sail past, Arrian reflexivley ducked down behind and pulled himself into the stone bulwark as well as he could, knowing full well what the dark magic of Nergal was capable of.

Not sparing anymore attention on the tertiary conflicts and magic missiles sailing about, Arrian noticed a mist of silver filaments surrounding Nergal. At that same moment the interior of the well began to shake with the tremors of the battle like a chaotic heartbeat, Azaera had retreated from attempting to devour Nergal and began to coalesce power in what Arrian assumed to be dragonfire, only to be proven right as she released a gout of flame that distorted the air around her entirely with the sheer heat of the dragon's rage, seeing the combined assault of Azaera and Nohea, as well as Nergal being currently preoccupied with Chrome, Arrian seized what was likely to be his best chance. "Now or never..." Arrian muttered to himself as he inhaled deeply through his nostrils and exhaled in one great breath, his muscles ached and his body protested at his every movement, but the pain wasn't enough to stop him. It never was.

Arrian lunged out from behind his bulwark and snatched his sword from its standing position with his off hand, grasping it in a reverse grip just above the cross-guard. More coordinated than the last time he attempted to move swiftly after his short rest, He kept his stance low as he sprinted sword and spear in hand, with an unspoken command, the dread spear's power was unleashed.

Time slowed to a crawl for Arrian, phantoms of false light manifested all around him, vaguely in his own shape, each one moving freely through the liminal space that he now occupied, each copy mimicked a permutation of a vector of attack that Arrian had considered committing to. Each phantom that flanked around Nergal, held position and released, or sought higher ground slowly faded into nonexistence as they failed in their delivery of their damned payload. It seemed rather odd that he instinctually knew this was fact that should have instead been conjecture, but a force beyond even the power of causality drove his thoughts and movement now, something utterly and horrifyingly alien. each faded ethereal form felt like a distant memory being forgotten, a mirror of glass cracking then shattering, a branch of a tree being pruned by a hand cold and clinical, uncaring and ignorant of the means and interested only by which the end result could be obtained. As this happened Arrian felt himself being pulled along as if by an invisible thread, following the trail of a ghost that led him up the ridge of Azaera's tail and torso, eventually to her reptilian head, his feet propelling off the dragoness and in perfect view of Nergal, the spear leaving his hands in a kill shot that would be impossible to miss.

At the end of the final phantom's path, Arrian's point of view suddenly snapped back to where he stood, what had felt like minutes of time was merely a lapse of a nanosecond of time. Although to Arrian, there was no time in between then and now, only when he began to empower his spear and rush along the cracked and heaving stonework was remembered by the warrior, the fresh torrent of blood pouring from his nose going as unnoticed as the tides of fate heaving and reshaping themselves to the whims of one who was unaware of sheer gravity of his actions.

Pure adrenaline and anticipation propelled him forward along Azaera's spine as he sprang forth from her head. Arrian hung over the black and azure flames for a heartbeat before rearing his arm back, and with a roar, releasing the spear of mortal pain, aimed at Nergal's rotten heart. A sound akin to a volcanic eruption reverberated through the inner sanctum of the well, as a lance of bale light sought it's way to end a god of war and pestilence.


Mentions: DSLIX Zariel OldTurtle Nessi Worthlessplebian

 

[Steve Jobs]

Freyr Stormsurge

Mentions: Tiberius, Kaida, Hajun, Kagutuschi

"Oba...chan?" Kagutsuchi's head reeled, not from the shock of being ejected from Freyr, but the emergence of his aunt--his lifeline when his father cast him away. From the phantom pain that suddenly shot up his prosthetics to the sight of the nine-tailed fox, a sense of relief washed over him. Even though he didn’t have a peg leg and even though he wasn’t a child, Inari Okami was watching over him. They hadn’t spoken in years, owing to both the war with the Olrodian Empire and his disinclination to choose a new hero.

Kagutuschi owed it to her to rejoin the fight.

Slowly he stood up, watching her champion bite into Hajun. The ground felt foreign under his working foot-it was a mixture of water, rubble, and the blood dripping from Freyr’s mouth. The bridge wouldn’t hold much longer, that much he was sure of, yet the Fae-Giant seemed more worried about him.

“Kagutsuchi, are you with me?”

a gruff voice yelled.

The god turned towards his chosen hero and nodded. He couldn’t let Kaida or his aunt meet the same fate, not while Hajun was finally on the defensive.

Divine Synchronization!

Embers danced from Kagutsuchi’s hands onto Freyr’s body. Swirls of red enveloped him...only to dissipate in smoke.

“What the hell?”

The two tried again, this time channeling their energy inward. Their bodies glowed, creating a blazing core between the two of them. Heat radiated outward, warming those still within the vicinity. For a few seconds, it seemed that Kagutsuchi’s form faded--but it wasn’t enough. Instantly, the sphere blackened before exploding and blasting the two away from each other.

Freyr clutched his head, bleary eyed as he tried to make sense of Hajun’s attack. The demon hadn’t sapped power from either of them nor did he disrupt his mana circuits–it was something alien. The champion no longer felt the tether between them. Instead his muscles spasmed when he tried a third time; it was as though an electric barrier held back his body, threatening to discharge each time he attempted to invoke synchronization.

Tentatively, he conjured a fireball within his palm and gazed at Kagutuschi before snuffing it out. He still had access to his patron's magic, which meant that their pact wasn't entirely severed; however, that did not the nature of the attack.

Bah, what a nuisance,

Freyr grunted. With no seals or curses, he turned towards Kagutuschi.

“Has anyone ever done something like this?”

The god shook his head. “He's had many years to plan his break. I wouldn't put it past Hajun to develop a technique this powerful.”

Kagutsuchi closed his eyes, probing for the divine energy sealed within Freyr. When his prior champion died the flames of their bond were snuffed, leaving nothing more than a still body. In searching for Freyr, there was a light. Yes they were closer to a dwindling fireplace than a hearth, but he could feel their bond intensifying.

"Freyr, it's only temporary. I can feel it coming back!"

Time dilated as the barrier between them eroded; it allowed for too many questions. How many times could he execute Divine Dissonance again? Would they be better off tackling him separately? What was the counter to that? More than either of them, Kagutuschi's skin crawled at the thought of it happening to his aunt.

As if reading his patron's mind, Freyr's eyes flickered to Kagutuschi.

“We don't need an answer.”

He unleashed their fully synchronized form, dashing towards the edge of the fight. He'd been waiting for the right window when Nergal would be on the backfoot and now that the other heroes distracted Hajun, Freyr could make use of the mana he stockpiled for the past few months. For Inari Okami, who showered Kagutsuchi in maternal love and for her champion, he would bring her paramour back into the fight.

“This is no time to rest!”

Taking Sumire's Will, Freyr plunged the dagger into Tiberius' back and released its healing energy. Feathery outlines covered the gladiator's body, imbuing him with a familiar warmth. Not unlike the nights spent by the campfire, the mornings sleeping in, or strolls beneath the afternoon sun, the memories of both Freyr and Sumire flowed through Tiberius. The dagger repaired his muscles and melted the fatigue that forced him on his knee. Once Sumire's Will stopped glowing, Freyr took back the knife and extended his hand towards the warrior.

“We have to help everyone. I don't know how long we have before Hajun uses that move again.”

 

[Zariel]

"DIVINE FUSION!"

The old moon elf's voice rang out across the well. In that moment, Yi Nuo was consumed by an immense amount of mana that generated enough pressure to send a shudder even through the Goddess of War's spine.

Tales of such a technique had reached Inanna's ears before, but this was the first time she had witnessed it with her own two eyes—a technique powerful enough to merge two souls, god and champion, into a single entity.

The war-mongering goddess observed as Yi Nuo exhibited a spectacular display, far surpassing her mortal limits, able to blitz the Demon Lord with ease. And for a time, their foe was no match for her speed.

Even Inanna, in all her battle-hardened glory, found herself momentarily awed. She stopped in her tracks, watching in admiration as Yi Nuo unleashed her newfound power.

"To think that old hag was hiding a trick like that up her sleeve. Hmph!... Not bad," she remarked. A subtle hum escaped her lips as she pondered.

Divine Fusion. The mere concept sent her mind reeling, and not because of Yi Nuo’s display. No, Inanna’s thoughts turned to herself and her own champion. What was the likelihood the two could fuse? The odds were so slim, so infinitesimal. No... impossible.

Both Inanna and Azaera were creatures of boundless pride, too stubborn, too arrogant, and far too independent to ever consider such a merger. They were both warriors who refused to bow, even to each other. To fuse into one being would require a surrender of the self, an act neither of them could ever fathom. And though Inanna would never admit it aloud, there was a part of her that wondered whether Azaera’s draconic pride might even transcend her own.

Still, Inanna's mouth almost watered at the mere thought of the potential power they could wield.

But there was no time to dwell on impossible fantasies. The battle continued to rage on.

With superhuman strength, Inanna bent her knees and leapt high into the air, the ground cracking beneath her as she ascended. She landed with a heavy thud on the platform where Hajun now faced the fused moon elf. Her gaze turned toward the Demon Lord, and her eyes widened with fury.

"I know that axe! That's—!" she exclaimed, snarling, "Aaargh! You'll pay!"

She charged, her scimitar raised high, racing alongside Yi Nuo, weaving her attacks with the moon elf to overwhelm their opponent with an unrelenting maelstrom.

INANNA​

 

[LazyDaze]

AAXIR THE RED

Interactions:


Mentions: Nessi Zariel








In spite of Aaxir’s resolve, it was still a tall task to defeat the Demon King. Literally, with every passing second the enemy grew stronger. Stratagems, and last resorts would be countered and rendered useless for the remainder of the fight. Their stamina would wane, mana dwindling, he had taken their best shots yet Hajun’s power grew. His captured body melded with his soul to the point Aaxir wasn’t able to push back thoughts of Eleanor being completely gone.





Then Enthy took to the scene, Aaxir still too far to aid his fellow dragon. Her movements were calculated but anyone who knew her well could see there was a messiness about these movements that was unlike her. She was close, too close…what was she thinking? Then there was a powerful explosion that even shocked Tutu Pele.





“That dragon…Enthuskya, she’s tougher than I originally thought,” Pele would say. That desperation, ingenuity and willingness to throw caution to the wind was the only chance they would have at defeating Hajun…but as the smoke cleared and the embers from her desperate charge wisped across the battlefield, everyone would realize that it was in fact, a small chance, Hajun had withstood yet another gambit that would likely never work again. Knowing that the mangled body belonged to Eleanor caused an unfathomable sense of foreboding to wash over Aaxir. Whatever it took to defeat Hajun might mean killing Eleanor. Could they even manage that?





“Damn it.”





Before doubt could officially take hold of Aaxir’s heart, hope would come crashing down in the form of Yi Nuo. It was strange, though he would never admit, her arriving had calmed his heart. There was a feeling of relief, nervousness, and anticipation. Once again, she had come to save them again. The world stood still for only a moment before turning with the phrase. “DIVINE FUSION!” The energy released caused Aaxir to stop his valiant sprint momentarily.





“Did she say fusion,” Aaxir said in disbelief while shielding himself from the raw output of energy due to the transformation. Surely he had misheard her, or so he thought. Nevertheless, his eyes, nor his senses could lie…in a span of milliseconds Yi Nuo and Hajun had several clashes. Hajun being able to keep up only cemented the fact that he was getting stronger as time moved on; however, their “caretaker” was also starting to find an advantage. It was all Aaxir could do to keep up.





“DIVINE FUSION”





Next was Nel. Was she secretly a genius or something? It was actually terrifying hearing those horrid giggles while she sought to dismantle Hajun. At this point Aaxir’s feet had lost their speed. The other heroes contributed in what felt like a final push.





“This might be the only chance we get…I..I have to do it. Divine Fusion!”





Despite the passion, and fervor in his cry, nothing happened. “….Wh…what?”





“I will not partake in such a degrading transformation.”





“….Pele this isn’t the time for your games! We have to do this in order to win!”





“Yuck....”





Aaxir was dumbfounded…had Hajun used a secret technique to brainwash Pele…no. This was who she was. A goddess as fickle as the wind, as unpredictable as an active volcano.





“I changed my mind. You may not be worthy of my power after all.”





“Pele what the hell are you on about now, we need to defeat Hajun!”





“Please stop before I vomit…I can’t believe you had me fooled for so long.”





Aaxir couldn’t understand what Pele was talking about. They were just on the verge of pushing Hajun back and saving Eleanor.





“Is it Eleanor that has made you so weak? Is it her that made you so desperate?”





“What,” Aaxir growled,





I remember a young dragon who believed he could ascend to godhood on his own merit. You used to be someone who would rather die than rely on my power, charging headfirst into Golroth’s flames without completely syncing with me completely, yet here you are not even giving a second thought to something as special, and powerful as Divine Fusion. I am Tutu Pele! I could destroy this world and remake it on top of your corpses! The MOST beautiful and MOST bountiful goddess in the entire pantheon. I AM NOT A CHEAP THING YOU CAN USE AND CAST AWAY SO EASILY. YOU DID NOT EVEN GIVE IT A SECOND THOUGHT!”





Slowly, power drained away from Aaxir as he listened in disbelief. His armor would wisp away, his hair would slowly return to normal…any traces of his patreon god would fade until all that was left was a singed, and bruised Aaxir.





“If this is all that you can manage on your own….then Eleanor would be better off dead. At the very least it would put a halt to this unbecoming behavior. I already know everyone is laughing at me…the most beautiful and bountiful goddess in the entire pantheon chose a dud. I can hear it now, Pele chose a potato.”





Aaxir was completely speechless. The battle had reached its climax, they had learned of a trump card and now, of all times, Pele decided to be jealous!? Aaxir’s teeth grinded as his eyes grew wider with every opportunity missed; but part of his soul resonated with her words. There was an uncanny desperation in his actions. There was a lack of faith in his own abilities…he wasn’t himself. He wasn’t her champion anymore.





“Pele…that’s, that’s not what….Hajun is…they need us, we don’t have time for this!”





“Ughh, disgusting…you are supposed to tell me you will take care of this with or without me. You really have no inkling of the female desire you dolt. I need to talk to someone…Is it possible to return a hero?”





“Pele! Tutu Pele! This isn’t the time for this!”





“You are right…I need time to overcome this betrayal. Feel free to use the embers of my power since you NEED them so much…you will not hear from me again.”





There was no answer. Aaxir had lost his synchronization and he stood helpless as the well shook with the might of all the heroes. It was clear how much he had been relying on Pele because for the first time in a long time he felt helpless and weak. When did those feelings develop? Why was he agreeing with that fickle goddess? Why was he standing still while everyone was fighting their hardest? Aaxir smiled though his bones trembled with fear. Fine…..I’ll win without you…”





Aaxir at this point knew he couldn’t get too close, so he transformed into a full dragon to increase the range of his emerald flames, roaring as loud as he could while releasing the green flames to rejuvenate his allies while also attacking Hajun. He had to focus on what he could do, there was no time to sulk on his ill timed spat with Pele.

 

[CasualTea]

Evolution of Magic

Rohen Xiong, "The Mad Orca"

Interactions:Hajun Nessi

Mentions: All Heroes fighting Hajun, Nano Dawnsx Nessi

Again, going well for awhile. In fact, initially she had the upper hand against him. It just seemed like she was better at hand to hand combat than Hajun was. Thanks to to the gem, she had the higher ground for awhile and it was evident she was just faster and better than him. But Hajun was no creature who was intelligently limited. He adapted and began to learn her move set and slowly took the upper hand. Soon without her realizing it, she found herself on the defensive. Blocking his strikes at least was not the main issue for her but she was eventually swatted away, opening some distance between her and Hajun. Catching her breath, she looked around at the battlefield to take inventory and observe. There were many things that her allies are doing especially bringing out attacks that would've spelled some injuries by her comrades. Along with her plan to beat the shit out of Hajun, this battle was going nowhere. At this point, the battle may drag on and on until it's in the enemies' favor when the heroes begin to tire out...

Then an explosion erupted, blinding everyone including her as she made an attempt to give more distance away from the source until she recovered. And then a crashing sound erupted. Just as she began to finish recovering from the effects of her blindness, a phrase she never thought to be strung together was uttered.

"DIVINE FUSION!"

She looked at the source and it was Yi Nuo. But she seemed... different. "Hm... Seems like Baihu is using that trick." It gave pause to Rohen as she was about to resume battle. Instead, she began to seek knowledge even in the midst of battle. "What the hell is Divine Fusion?" The obviously sighed a little before she began to explain it in a more brief summary. "To put it simply, Baihu has fused with her patron. Rather different than Divine Synchronization." Just then, she heard the phrase again. "Activating: DIVINE FUSION!" She turned her head and saw the source came from Nel who... Also seemed very different. Notably, the more arms she has. "Interesting.." Rohen mumbled to herself as she was sort of in awe. She was just surprised that there were still things she didn't know about and yet she learns it on the battlefield. She began to wonder, if they had known about something like this before, would it have changed the outcome of that battle when Arlux died? Could she have lived? "Now's not the time for if's and what if's. Would you like to join them?" A question that Rohen was ready for. She stood from her crouched position and nodded. "Yes. Let's go." Gathering her mana, she began to ready herself before taking a step into a charge.

"DIVINE FUSION!" "Wait, wait-- DON'T RUN!!"

Engulfed by water into a violent torrent forming a bubble, it soon burst as Rohen emerged in her new form... Falling to the ground and face planting into it. "Aughf! My face..!!" She wailed out in pain as she rolled around with her hands on her face and kicking her legs against the ground. Plap plap plap!

Plap...? PLAP.....?!!

She looked down and actually took a moment to examine her new form. Long blue hair adorned by horns with some sort of luminescent scales. The same was said for her arms. Actually, both of her arms felt organic. A hard scale structure covering them and her chest. Although, she would start to freak that she wasn't exactly wearing any clothes and left her exposing quite a lot of skin... "M-My legs?!! W-What.. What's going on?!" Tiamat couldn't help but sigh and chuckle at the same time. "It's... It's a tail." A little frustrated, she punched the ground as she tried to get herself up. "How am I supposed to fight?!" She clicked her tongue. "You'll have to fight a little different than you're used to. Let me help you move." Soon, Rohen felt a surge throughout her body as she sprung into the air and began to seemingly swim in the air, her tail moving accordingly. A new sense of awe began to overwhelm Rohen. "With this form, your magic is enhanced. No need for your barbaric methods. You will fight in a way that matches my divinity. Now, say it as I do."

She began levitating in place whilst in mid-air. She extended her arms both forward, facing out her palms and began concentrating her mana in that spot. "All life comes from water. Bringing life and death." She chanted. She began to gather water droplets around her and beyond from the area. As the water formed into a magic circle in front of her, she continued her chant. "Just as water, life and death adheres to a cycle. To whom ever should attempt to break this cycle, will face punishment." The circle breaks and the water is absorbed into her body. The feeling to resist a yawn took a hold on Rohen, as a ball of water violently torrenting in place began to form just in front of her mouth and grew. "P-Punishment.. Will be.. Swift and precise..!!" She strained out until enough water had condensed and was finally ready to be release. "D-Demon Killer...!!" A voice uttered out as a combination of both Tiamat's and Rohen's, she threw her head back before a surge of power began to erupt within her and made its way through her entire body up into her throat and mouth. While the whole feeling was alien and unfamiliar, she mustered up all her being into the spell and throw her head forth.

"HYDRO RAILCANON!!!"

In a moment, a bright and blue light flashed out from her mouth into the ball of water and forth. Faster than an arrow shot from a bow, way faster than a ball shot from a cannon or a flintlock, at such insane speeds it could be said it was just almost like the speed of sound. The spell shot quickly darted through the air in a straight pathway, finding its way home just on the other side of Hajun's heart. But he's in the way? Just go through him then.

 

[DSLIX]

Chrome Van Der Linde

Midrick Nessi Zariel
Chrome blocked Nergal's strike just fine until he felt the weight only grow as he was pushed along. He merely sighed as he noticed the presence of Nergal's spawn trying to ambush him from above as he musters the strength to dig his ankle into the concrete below to gain enough leverage to redirect Nergal's strike enough to deflect Nergal spawn's sword as it comes down a foot off of where Chrome is, causing a clash that had all three staggered for a moment. Chrome takes the moment to roll into Nergal's blindside to throw his large shield at Nergal's hands as Nohea appears to attack Nergal as well "Form Shuriken" and just like that his shield transforms into a razor sharp shuriken still just as large as before as it goes to slice Nergal's wrists off. Chrome then quickly diverts his attention to Nergal's Spawn "Fuck off" he mumbles as he quickly charges the creature using his right hand to grab the creature's neck and the left grips the creature's blade before he suddenly soars into the air with a loud and powerful flap of his wings till he reaches about 100 meters in the air. On his ascent though he hears Hajun's piercing scream due to his immense senses but luckily the distance only causing him a small annoyance. When Chrome reaches to the peak of his ascent he kicks the creature before forcing it to impale it's own neck with it's blade before dive-bombing Nergal's Spawn headfirst into the concrete, it's skull making a disturbing crunch noise as it shatters the concrete under it. Chrome's isn't satisfied though as he swiftly stomps his foot which crushes what's left of the creature's neck before spitting blood onto the body while walking off mumbling "Flame and flare into dust." as the blood burst into black flames as it melts and starts to spread over the Nergal Spawn's body. Chrome's instincts immediately drawing his attention o the rest of the battlefield as his body starts moving quicker than he can fully process thoughts and his scarred eye starts to gleam red and emit a faint amount of mana. His bloodlust only grows but he merely clenches his fist as he endures the growing urge within him.

“DIVINE FUSION!”

The booming voice of Lady Yi Nuo relieves Chrome but that phrase he's vaguely familiar with makes him freeze for a second and think before his thoughts are interrupted by Hanuman "Don't bother thinking about something your unworthy for." Chrome shakes his head unfazed at the comment and merely creates distance as he takes a moment to focus recharging his mana even if for a moment. His body and stamina still showing little signs of fatigue thanks to his constant effort to maintain mana but his body is under a visible gleam of sweat. Then he notices all of his allies using their divine fusions and he restrains a sarcastic chuckle. Jealous? Is that what Chrome felt.......nawww he was more so curious what he could do with the techniques ingrained into Hanuman's spirit. He doesn't ponder long as his ears starts itching as he feels eyes on him before he looks around to barely notice Arrian closing in on Nergal at blinding speeds, but as soon as he notices his intent as Arrian's spear...no..Gae Bolg emitted an intense mana from it, Chrome rushed Nergal from behind "Form shield" is all he mutters before making a shield the size of Nergal and using his wings to launch himself forward to flank Nergal's backside. His pure determination making him fearless of being caught up in his allies attacks as Chrome shouldn-no he can't die, as long as he has people in this world to fight for he won't die not until he makes it a place where peace can all co-exist between everybody. His extraordinary and lovely companions in his party, the good and wise people he's met and learned from along the way, the lost ones like Parzival......he'll suffer the pain of being cut into a million pieces before yielding. His only thought is to shield bash Nergal directly into Gae Bolg even making a cleverly shaped hole in the shield where Nergal's heart is positioned so he can make sure the spear pierces through and through. He only partially armors his body with his blood as he closes in on Nergal being able to quickly swerve and maneuver out the way of Nohea's attacks and merely braces his armor for Azaera's Flames as Chrome was used to the pain of burning by now and merely gritted his teeth as he closes in on the raging flames raging around Nergal and Hanuman chuckle rings throughout Chrome's mind "Make it swift you crazed dog." Chrome pondered on the comment as quick as it came as he didn't realize Hanuman was laughing at the growing smirk on Chrome's own face as he closes in on Nergal despite all the chaos he was diving into. His gleaming eye showing Chrome Nergal's heart and the flow of blood through his body despite everything obstructing his vision. As Chrome finds himself in a focus so strong that the thought of eradicating Nergal completely fills his body with a euphoric sense of adrenaline as all his senses are focusing in on Nergal making everything feel rather slow to him. The bloodlust and rage that follows behind that adrenaline is merely the reminder that even if Nergal lives through this attack, Chrome will make sure he won't for the next one.

 

[Nessi]

The Battle for Death

Give Everything pt.2

“I do not know of your past, Demon. But I will make you one promise, this place will be your grave!” Yi Nuo roared. She narrowly dodged a kick from Hajun, and countered with 3 slashes so fast, it appeared to be a single strike.

This attack only slightly slowed the 3rd demon king down, but it was enough to line up a clean hit for Nel’s Parashu, which bit deeply into Hajun’s shoulder. He shouted in pain, but due to the curse inflicted upon him, he couldn’t deliver a counter attack, or even turn his head to face the crazy Fae. Despite this handicap, Hajun was still able to evade the attacks from both Nel, and Yi Nuo, keeping them both in front of him so that he could at least redirect some of Nel’s attacks. He knew he couldn’t keep this up forever, but that didn’t worry him in the slightest, for even as the heroes descended upon him, a smile was still visible on his face.
“Let the light of the world purify this weary vessel, and strip even the darkest of curses from him.” Hajun chanted quickly. Soft green light enveloped him, and a black mist slowly started seeping from his form.
“My guess was correct…that little fancy sword of yours delivers a curse…and a curse can be purified!” Hajun laughed happily. However, he didn’t get long to enjoy his freedom, for Tiberius’s spear crashed into him, blowing off his injured arm. This attack wiped the smile off Hajun's face, as he just narrowly dodged Rohen's hydro cannon, and braced himself against Aaxir's flames.

The purification of the curse made Yi Nuo furrow her eyebrows, but she couldn’t let this setback stop her. With the addition of Inanna to the fight, there was still a good chance to win, so the moon elf raced alongside the goddess to once more confront the 3rd demon king.
“Something’s wrong.” Yi Nuo thought to herself. Despite the situation he was in, Hajun's face was calm, as if he knew exactly how to rectify this situation he was in.
Hajun raised Perun’s axe skyward, and slammed it into the ground, causing the entire platform to crumble and fall into the void below. He quickly retrieved the axe, and launched it towards Inanna, attempting to cast her down to whatever lay at the bottom of the well.
“Nel, use your wings to fly to safety!” Yi Nuo ordered. Using the falling rubble, She quickly recovered, and landed on a platform not too far from Hajun, who was already staring at her with a grin on his face.

“Well Yi Nuo, you have yet to slay me…and something tells me that you only have a limited amount of time left on that transformation!” Hajun chuckled out. The demon reached into his portal once more, and retrieved a small, golden object that fit perfectly in his hand. “How long is that form of yours gonna last?” he chuckled.
As if on queue, Yi Nuo fell to her knees, blood flowing from her nose and mouth in force. She tried to rise up to her feet, but staggered back down to the ground, her form flicking, threatening to fade. But despite her condition, the old moon elf laughed, she laughed loud enough to wipe even Hajun’s smirk off his face.
“Divine fusion does place a lot of strain on my body…but the reason I’m like this…is because of my relic.” Yi Nuo cackled. Strange, black cracks began to form on her skin, and more blood began to drip from her nose.
Hajun opened his mouth to comment on the pathetic display before him, but found that blood began to drip from his own nose as well. This served only to be a warning for what was to come, for in seconds the demon king found himself on the ground, roaring in pain. The same black cracks that appeared on Yi Nuo’s body, began to appear on his own.
“Why do you look so surprised…You of all people should know to never fully trust the information your opponents tell you?” Yi Nuo laughed. “This sword inflicts a curse upon you every time you are struck, and I can choose when it takes effect…and just now you were hit with a combined total of 24 curses, the maximum amount that can be inflicted on one person. However the downside is that whichever curse you receive, I receive it as well.” Yi Nuo explained, her smile persistent despite the amount of pain she was in.

At first, Hajun’s face was baffled at the revelation that was revealed, but soon after, a smile crept on his own face. “Yi Nuo…I mistook you to be a common mortal…but you’re something beyond that, you’re a real monster.” Hajun cackled. “But considering what you revealed…It sounds like we’ve reached the end of this fight…I can’t hold this form much longer in this state, and you’re at your limit. So let's end this fight, show me the true resolve a mortal has!” He cried out.
Yi Nuo rose from the ground, her blade now glowing with power. She hated this demon before her, what he had done to her beloved student was unforgivable. Deep down though, she was thankful for Hajun, because now she was presented an opportunity to save her student.

Hajun raised his remaining arm high, the strange, golden object above his head. “Let the sky rumble and quake in my presence, for in the presence of the almighty, even the heavens shall fear me!” he chanted.
“Guo Yi Nuo! I do not recognize that spell…but something is bad about that spell, you cannot allow him to cast it!” Baihu roared.
Yi Nuo did not question her patron god, and immediately rushed towards Hajun. “Gods, bless me with strength to punish those who tread down the path of wickedness…for they are but a plague upon this world!” she chanted, swinging her blade towards Hajun’s throat.
Hajun dodged the attack by an inch, and continued to chant while keeping his distance from the moon elf.

“Let my rage annihilate all that stands before me, and end this being's existence!”
“Let my blade strike true, and destroy this stain upon this world!”

Yi Nuo leapt up into the air, and lifted her sword skyward, “Let this attack put an end to your transgressions, EVIL’S BANE SLASH!”
Hajun cackled, and jumped up to meet Yi Nuo head on, “Pray you find peace in the next life, Vasavishakti!”

The clash between Yi Nuo and Hajun caused the entirety of the well to shake violently, and everyone was blinded by bright, white light. There was a stillness even when the light dimmed, and nobody moved an inch, not even Nergal. Everyone stared at the platform, holding their breath to see who had come out on top.

When the dust settled, the hearts of the heroes sank lower than it had ever had before.

Hajun raised his arm up to the sky, holding Yi Nuo’s body by the hair. “Look at your precious teacher…she has failed you!” he yelled out, before dropping her corpse down into the void below.

But this was not as clean of a victory that Hajun had imagined.

Seconds after dropping Yi Nuo, Hajun himself fell to the ground, the black cracks along his body now blooming into roses. He looked down, and realized that Yi Nuo's blade was lodged directly into his stomach, increasing the effectiveness of the curses exponentially. But what was worse, was the hold he had on Eleanor's spirit, was weakening. He could feel her trying to fight him, resisting with she had, forcing him to stay down.

No words needed to be spoken for the heroes to understand the blessing that had been given to them, there wouldn't be another opportunity like this.

 

[CasualTea]

New and Dangerous Magic

Rohen Xiong, "The Mad Orca"

Interactions:Hajun Nessi

Mentions: All Heroes fighting Hajun and who needed that Safety Bubble taxi, LazyDaze Worthlessplebian Dawnsx Nessi

Rohen's look of disappointment when she missed her shot was evident. It would've definitely created a gaping hole into that demon judging by the damage it caused onto the ground. A clear hole was pierced into the floor with little deviation from being deflected upon its surface. "Just need to fire another one and it'll be it..!" She said to herself before Tiamat stopped her via her own body. "Wha- Tiamat..?!" She could feel Tiamat shake her head from within before she spoke. "Hold fast, something's amiss. Look." Heeding the goddess' advice, she took a second to look. Hajun had sustained heavy damage especially when Tiberius' attack blew off his arm while the red scaled donkey engulfed him in his flames. Hajun must've been reaching his limit in stamina as well, it shouldn't be easy to dodge and deflect attacks from both Yi Nuo and Nel.

Even so, he had raised his axe and slammed it down, breaking the platform her allies and himself stood upon and be reduced into chunks falling towards a void at an alarming rate. "That psychopath! Tiamat, how much can I lift?" Rohen asked quickly. "Wouldn't recommend it, use magic instead." She said before knowledge of a new spell had been inputted into Rohen's mind allowing her to use said spell. "Quick, use it to get everyone to safety. Prioritize the ones who can't fly!" Rohen nodded before flying a little lower to be within range of her allies as they descended and attempted to make their way up. She held her hand forth and recited to spell that was fed to her just recently. "Come forth, rushing waters. Arise and continue on with durability: Safety Bubbles!" Just as she finished, water rushed forth from her arm and flowed towards each of her heroes who barely had the chance of escaping the fall and formed a bubble around them to lift them towards stable ground. It also provided air to breathe so they didn't have to worry about suffocating. "Safety Bubbles...?" Tiamat questioned. That wasn't what it was originally called. "The former was... a bit long. This was shorter and... a little Nel inspired."

However in doing so, she would have had to purely concentrate on the bubbles' path and life span which made her an open target. Luckily, Hajun was so fixated with Yi Nuo that he wouldn't have targeted her. In fact, she was never his target to begin with. A bigger fish was in play and it was just the prize he was looking for. Once everyone she had bubbles cast upon transported safely to stable ground, the bubbles finally dissipated and she dismissed the spell and finally she was able to concentrate elsewhere. She checked her mana capacities and still had a significant amount left but it also meant that she can perform one more mana costly attack before she had to revert back to her own self lest she wanted to cause herself harmful effects. Suddenly, a bright and blinding light flashed causing her to look away shielding her eyes from the sheer intensity.

But rather than it being a surprise, it all had a nostalgic feeling. A very fond one at that which had only happened mere months ago. When the light cleared and the dust settled, she could've swore she saw a familiar picture. One of that Tyrian with the corpse of Arlux in his hand. However in this twisted battle, it was Hajun taking the place of Tyrian and Yi Nuo in the unfortunate fate of Arlux's. Just like everyone's, her heart sank as the corpse was dropped and descended into the void. All she could do was watch.

"Yi Nuo..."

The words escaped her mouth as she just watched. Her heart may have sank but in response, an anger flared up within her. The Mad Orca from within awoke, picking Rohen up from the dumps as she began to gather and concentrate mana. For Hajun to act like he just won some sort of victory only to helplessly fall pathetically to the ground and begin to barely hold himself together... It was purely outrageous. "What was that? You spout some boisterous shit just to fall like that? Are you fucking kidding me?!"

"You're not even the main focus of this war. You're not him, you damned fool. Did you really want to test our patience that badly?!!" Rohen threatened loudly as she began to engulf several chunks of the debris caused by Hajun's attack with water that flowed from her dissipating form. The water so vibrantly began to glow and break down the chunks into large fragmentations of itself. They would continue to and gather around Rohen as she ascended higher into the air, her attack full of her rage and her wrath slowly becoming ready to finally be released. Rohen's divine fusion form being used to supply the water had revealed Rohen, violently shedding her form like a snake unsheathing her sword. "Fine then, you and Tyrian; All of you lowly bastards can march straight to Hell..."

"TOGETHER!!!"

Raising her sword suddenly whilst letting out a roar which signaled her terrifying fit of rage in battles before had boomed all around the chamber. "All those nights from child's past, I call forth the accumulation of all of the sins that I carry to this day!! Shooting Star: Comet Stream!!" Rohen chanted before the water engulfed chunks glowed brightly like cosmic dust then began to shoot passed her and violently assaulted the downed Hajun in a jet stream. Its sheer force at which it was fired even damaged the ground around him, even so much as hitting Hajun so hard the force carried through his flesh and damaged the ground he laid upon. Even though the attack seemed almost equivalent to her previous attack, it was followed up by hundreds of rock fragments and chunks that were produced from the process prior. The barrage continuously and constantly firing and pelting Hajun's downed state with numerous projectiles, the sound of each impact can be heard but it's just getting followed up with another set of impacts right after.

Setting herself down, she engaged her arm blade now made of ice before she began her charge towards Hajun once more. The length of her blade soon coated with ice gaining more length and mass to deliver a skull splitting attack upon the demon. All the while Rohen released one more blood curdling war cry. "You killed her, just like him! So you both will pay the same debt!! HAJUN!!!" She leaped and swung her blade downwards during her descent to deliver this demon straight to death's doorstep and rid one more cancer of the world.

 

[Nano]

Somnium Labyrinth

Enthyskana Rhoda

The wind howled, and so did the doubts in her heart.

“Look at your precious teacher…” the voice of the demon distorted as it overlapped with the memories of the tyrant who’d triumphantly held up Arlux’s body like a war trophy. She recalled his words distinctly. He, too, had said, “Look at her! Your precious hero…”

Their teacher. Their hero.

What had they said next?

Her gaze, embittered and with nary a tear wetting her eyes, burned into the haze shifting between one detestable face to another. Together, they opened their mouths and laughed.

“She has failed you!”

Their words, inflammatory as they were, cooled the blood burning in her veins until her anger was nothing more than smoldering ash. The somber expression on her face was an amalgam of disappointment and sorrow, and her eyes grew downcast as she watched the demon drop the moon elf into the abyss below.

“No, they never failed us,”

she whispered.

“We failed her. I failed her.”

She took one step, then another. If they hadn’t been so weak—if they hadn’t relied on Arlux so much, could they have won the war? If they had been more prepared, would Yi Nuo have told the heroes about Divine Fusion sooner? Had they been more capable, would she have resorted to dispatching such heinous curses that would tear her body asunder? Perhaps Golroth was right. Her fear of collapsing the well or hurting the others in her vicinity had wasted her chance to do something meaningful to wear Hajun down.

Still, Yi Nuo believed in them. And this time, so would Enthy.

“I’m sorry, Eleanor,”

the dragon whispered under her breath. As if scolding her for her foolish and unchanging nature, the scarlet gem in her pocket shook violently. But she ignored it and charged straight forward. Falling in step with Tiamat’s champion, she leapt towards Hajun. However, his prone figure was where their paths diverged. Contrary to the mercenary who’d drawn her sword, she flew beyond before plunging into the darkness below.

She’d felt it. Hajun’s presence was growing shallow, revealing a small flicker of light within. Eleanor, the hero of Paimon, still existed. But Enthy wasn’t the one who could draw out the breath of life within her once again. She needed a different spark—a tether upon which she could hold on to.

A small part of her still questioned whether her belief was nothing more than an excuse to abandon the battlefield to chase a faint hope. That Eleanor hadn’t yet lost her way. That Yi Nuo could still be saved. That her only two paths weren't just the destruction Golroth craved or Veritas’s hypocritical banner of justice.

As the dragon cut through the air that seemed to grow thicker the further she descended, the whistle of the wind seemed to murmur these doubts into her ears. Her eyes, maladjusted to the darkness, could scarcely make out the faint glimmer of the moon elf’s silver hair. Was she growing closer? Or was she losing the fight against gravity?

With an outstretched hand, the tips of her fingers brushed against a ribbon of fabric. It slipped away, her goal just tantalizingly out of reach. One final flap of her wings gave her a burst of speed, finally closing the gap between Enthy and Yi Nuo. As she gathered the moon elf into her arms, her limp body shook her heart.

“Baihu, are you there?”

Her voice trembled, but her hold remained firm.

Phoenix… What about Phoenix?

 

[LazyDaze]

AAXIR THE RED

Interactions: Nessi Zariel


Mentions:


This battle was entering the final act, for better or worse. In spite of their momentum and newfound powers that look of complete fear had yet to reappear on Hajun’s face that had etched itself into Aaxir’s memory as a beacon of hope in a bleak sky. That beacon was instead replaced with a look of confidence in every movement. Meanwhile, Yi Nuo did not display any hesitation, yet there was a frantic pace at which she fought that didn’t sit well with Aaxir. What would it take for Hajun to be defeated? What would it take for Eleanor to return? No…they had to end it here even if Eleanor had to be defeated. The party was no longer in a position to fight with a handicap like that. Aaxir snickered as Hajun easily shook off his flames, but before he could act Hajun pulled off another unpredictable feat of strength and destroyed the arena of this battle.

“Damn it!”

Aaxir wouldn’t be able to save them all from the seemingly bottomless abyss; however, his panic was momentarily satiated by Rohen, of all people, who quickly lifted those who could not maneuver through the destruction with her Nel inspired bubble magic. Because of her quick thinking Aaxir could focus on supporting Yi Nuo and anyone else who followed Hajun up to the next platform. Even with this chance, Aaxir quickly realized there wasn’t much he could do except stomach the helplessness watching Yi Nuo and Hajun clash once again. If he was to join in the battle now he would only be getting in their way, no amount of arrogance, or effort could gloss over that fact. However, he still had “that” up his sleeve; the heat energy that was stored up since the very beginning of this battle. With all of his comrades attacking Hajun, there had never been a good time to use it without getting them caught in the blast. Aaxir reverted into his human-like form then grabbed the hilt of his blade. If he could just get an opening then maybe Yi Nuo could take the final advantage. Little did he know that he was out of time.

Aaxir’s mind was uprooted from his thoughts and exposed to reality as Yi Nuo and Hajun charged at one another with what looked to be their final clash before he would get the chance. Aaxir’s heart sank as the brilliance of it all consumed everyone present. Though the light was painfully piercing, Aaxir peered deeper into it, doing his best to imagine an image of Yi Nuo standing victorious over Hajun. Surely this would be different. Granny wouldn’t lose to someone like this right? They had survived worse up unto this point right? The entirety of the well shook violently as if it had the final say on the outcome until the light faded and the chaos subsided. Eventually all became clear. Yi Nuo lost.

“I-Impossible…,” Aaxir said quietly, barely able to register an emotion. He could only watch as Yi Nuo was unceremoniously tossed to the void. There wasn’t a moment to mourn, commend her valor, or even ponder how Eleanor must have felt having her body used for something so devastating. Hajun…had won. Before that thought could even marinate, Hajun abruptly fell to his knees after their clash. Yi Nuo’s sacrifice was not in vain. Though her body was slain her spirit remained as resilient as ever. It was at that moment Aaxir knew…she was still fighting, harder than she ever had. Yi Nuo, Eleanor, they created this last chance. If they didn’t kill Hajun now then they would never be able to. Despair, relief, dread, shock and a plethora of emotions paralyzed Aaxir for the moment. Rohen’s battle cry jolted Aaxir’s body back into a battle stance as she used this chance to attack Hajun. She unleashed an unyielding torrent to the helpless Hajun, who had been crippled by Yi Nuo’s final blessing.

(so…are you going to let her die?)


Kill Hajun.

Save Eleanor.

Win the War

Follow your ambitions

Change the world

​

“Sorry…Eleanor….” Aaxir said coldly as he pointed his blade toward Hajun. All he had to do was swing and it would likely be over. She was just some human…a casualty of war. A stepping stone to his destiny. If they didn’t do something the entire war would be lost. All it would take is a single swing. All it would take…is to kill her.

When I met you…I wanted to run away.

Because I knew from the start…​

Long seconds ticked quietly. Heartbeats echoed and Aaxir swung his mighty blade. A great blast of heat, courtesy of Fel, ruthlessly divided what was left of the mighty torrent away from Eleanor in a violent explosion while exerting enough force to push those near the area away lest they get consumed by the heat blast. The dispersed water fell like rain amidst the departing steam…revealing that Aaxir now stood between the heroes and Eleanor. His hand burned with his trademarked emerald flames as he grasped onto the mighty blade of ice crafted by Rohen to end Hajun for good. Aaxir scowled.

Eleanor, a stubborn human who swears a little too much…

But kind…in her own unrefined way.​

“...I’m saving her.”

I envied your outlook on people

Free as the light that would shine from your blade.

I use to be the same​

Rohen was confused for just a moment as to why her blade had stopped when it hasn’t even reached its target. That was before her gaze became fixated on Aaxir. “...Just what the Hell do you think you’re doing, Red?” She asked, her voice a little weary from her prior over usage of it. “There better be a damn good reason you decided to step in the way, unless this is where you want to continue off from before.” It was obvious that her rage blinded her to see the bigger picture. Did she forget who that was? Does she realize what she was doing? Did it matter to her? What raced through her mind instead was this dragon in front of her and what he just did. He was fast enough to get ahead of her. He stopped her attack like it was nothing. Was it really nothing? It didn’t matter. To her, it showed her just a glimpse of the gap between the two’s abilities. Any human would develop a fear for Aaxir right then and there if they were in Rohen’s shoes.

But Rohen scowled in return.

“Step aside, Aaxir. If you want to settle a score with me, right now isn’t the time. That thing needs to pay for what he just did and you’re in the way of that.” She growled as her eyes were piercing directly into Aaxir’s. Was it hatred? Anger? Or a front of a human who almost never showed fear, is it truly what it is?

You were too bright….So I closed my eyes​

Aaxir locked eyes with Rohen not saying anything for a moment. The confusion, hatred, and grief all wrapped into a single gaze driven by determination and unrelenting will. What else could be said? “That’s enough,” Aaxir said calmly, barely above a whisper. “I’m saving her Rohen.” Cracks formed around the ice shard where Aaxir’s grip tightened while his blood painted the ice red. “If it’s for her…there’s no line I won’t cross.”

I hated that you didn’t see me as a weapon


And that I saw you as beautiful.​

She scoffed. “Oh, spare me the bullshit. D’you realize who… wait, did you..? ‘For her..?’” She began to strengthen the ice in Aaxir’s hand, making it sturdier and rebuilding upon itself. Some of it even spread upon his flesh. She swore she heard the words come from his mouth and it sounds like some sort of confession of intimacy. “Okay, fuck it. Humor me. You’re going to save her, right? A human? Gonna plant a kiss of true love upon her lips and she’ll live happily ever after? Go on, I want to see you do it.” She taunted, fixing her stance to properly face Aaxir. “Tell me, seriously, what are you going to do to save her? What CAN you do?”

A protector


Someone braver than I could ever be


…Or maybe just too simple to consider consequences​

Her patience was running thin. What sort of sick joke is this? Just not too long ago, she was on the receiving end of some out-of-left-field shade from a dragon simply because she was a human. But now he’s willing to risk it all to protect a demon merely because the vessel they possess belongs to a human? Is it because it’s Eleanor’s? Oh, oh God she’s seen it all today. She’d laugh but this was just too twisted to find any of it funny. All she could give off at this moment was an expression of disgust.

My heart would sink with every wound afflicted


But if you didn’t fight…


you wouldn’t be the person I respect and trust
​

Aaxir didn’t flinch when Rohen reinforced her ice, instead choosing to increase the output of his own flames until his newfound adversary eventually gave in. How was he going to save her? It was almost comical because he had no clue. Even now, Aaxir’s body moved on its own to intercept Rohen’s attack. Yet, even with his inner turmoil at its apex Aaxir’s impassioned and determined glare did not change. What could he do? Anything…he was the one that would change the world after all. It wasn’t for Rohen, or even Aaxir to understand. The words that needed to be said weren’t for anyone else to hear, so Aaxir released Rohen’s blade before turning to Eleanor. There might have even been the slightest of smirks forming on Aaxir’s face. “....Thanks.”

Every battle…you always knew where I would be and I, you.


Saving each other, yet facilitating our habitual recklessness.


A comfortable coincidence I could ignore​

What a move. The old yet young Aaxir, whomst in all his years has mastered the one skill that could trump any opponent: Confusion. It really left Rohen confused and dumbfounded. Thanks? Thanks for what, he didn’t say or do anything and neither did she. Unless… She did. But even so, she blinked a couple of times to register his words. “...Just what in the world is going on in that head of yours?” She asked, not expecting an answer. “...Fine. Do whatever you want, you’ll owe me later. But as soon as that bastard starts getting back up, I’m cutting him down. And you won’t stop me this time.” She said before disengaging her arm blade and held her sword with both hands in order to add more leverage over her blade, ready to strike again. Only this time, she’s putting in a technique into her stance. The stance of an executioner. She doesn’t know why she decided to give Aaxir just a little more time to run her patience out but it’d better be worth it. Perhaps it was the help of Tiamat holding her back with whatever words she used to calm Rohen or Rohen’s own volition just because she still had some sliver of hope of bringing Eleanor back. She was going to wait just a little longer just to see what he will or won’t do.

I’d tell myself…she is a tool to further my ambition.


Dragons are relentless and stubborn beings after all…I’m sure you’d understand. ​

As much as Aaxir hated the idea, he did owe Rohen. If he couldn’t save Eleanor then he would expect nothing less from his comrades than to finish the job should he lose this bet of wills. It was quiet. The occasionally shakes and explosions from the other battle almost seemed muffled by the gravity of their predicament.

For us…for anyone…Love isn’t something to be glorified. It is a tremendous burden. Treasure, mountains, ideologies, and even the world…I’ve seen my kind fall in love with many things and have it destroy them in the end. ​

“Eleanor…”


Though she was a long way from physically resembling the hero he once knew, her spirit called out to him. Ironically, it was difficult for Aaxir to see Hajun at all.

Loving you would mean forfeiting the keys to my destruction...to who I am.


It would mean accepting the unknown…accepting me, not who I decided to be​

“...You fought hard Eleanor. I’m sorry I kept you waiting all this time.”


Now he stood directly in front of her battered body. Aaxir kneeled down cradling her in his arms so that he could look directly into her eyes.


“…But not a second longer.”


Aaxir couldn’t help but think back to that time in the prison. She was fighting then too, he just couldn’t see it. The truth was she was never the pathetic one. For better or worse she was true to herself. Living with her heart on her sleeve even if it came with the risk of grievous wounds. He didn’t say anything. Seeing her now it was clear. So much in fact that a genuine smile that had been buried beneath his ambitions, past, and pride formed on his face. He couldn’t help but wonder how brave Eleanor must have been to chase this type of freedom.


So I can only imagine the burden you have.



“Yeah, now I’m sure of it,” Aaxir said with a short smile that faded as soon as it came. “Sorry Hajun…you can’t have her. She’s mine.”

Of loving someone like me.​

“Eleanor,…I love you.”


There was truth, fear, relief, and pain wrapped in those words; returned in the same straightforward, clumsy, and innocent way she received them. He leaned in and kissed Eleanor softly, forgetting the battle, the past, and the path he set for himself. For now, he left no regrets. What he couldn’t say in words, he expressed in this moment.

So please…come back. Give this foolish dragon one more chance to make things right.​