Slayers Take a Gander (Strange Vulcans 1)

Job Info:

Xavier shivered momentarily, as they approached the forest. He remembered this place all too well. The wolves that tried to rip him apart by each limb. His hanbo were still scarred and dented from fending off that attack. And then there was that field of flowers… And the mocking image of his- He stopped his train of thought there before he drove himself to tears. He rubbed his hand along the length of one of his metal weapons feeling the scratches and just thanked some higher power that he was still alive. His companions were catching up to him now, and he turned around to meet him, trying not to look so distraught, and mustered what fake confidence he had about himself.

“Are you ready?” the questions was mostly pointed at Verona, the fiery mage that had yet to truly get acquainted with. He wasn’t worried in the slightest for the safety of Kihia, the stalwart figure of power just about anywhere within a 300 mile radius of them. He waited a moment for them to respond, but regardless of what their answers were, he would unsheathe his two hanbo, twist them together until they locked into place, and wield his now 6 foot staff defiantly facing down the forest. “Once again, looming amongst the trees, something, someone will pay the fees.”

Verona started up the slope, skipping happily behind Linx. She was completely unaware of the strange darkness that covered the forest, having it be true to its name. It was a very dense forest alright. Wherever she looked, there were more and more trees. Ironwoods, sentinels and many more big trees were scattered across and all of them built a thick canopy over them. The sun was shining profoundly outside the forest, yet, inside the forest, it was difficult to determine whether it was day or night. Surprisingly, Verona paid no attention to it nor did she comment about it. She had grown up in a forest much like this for three years, after all.  

"Ready as always!" she exclaimed, halting right in front of Xavier. Kihia was a few feet behind them, taking his sweet time in reaching the two other mages. What Verona noticed first, though, was Xavier's expression. He appeared calm and confident, but, she could make out lines of something completely different. Something told the pink haired girl that he was not very happy about being in that forest.

Thus, she did the only thing she knew she could do. She completely ignored his distress and threw a hand around his neck. "What are you sounding so poetic about?" she quipped and pulled him forward with her but not before throwing some words at Kihia behind them. "You are seriously slow, you old man! Hurry up!"

Kihia had been sitting up in one of the trees, taking a small nap has he waited for everyone to get here, Ukan was sitting on a nearby branch, also taking a small nap. Kihia had taken a job like this once before, however that had been a long time ago, with the founding members of Clustering wishes. Today however, he was with a member of Clustering Wishes, as well as one member from his own new team, Xavier and Verona. They had been sent out here to deal with a group of Vulcans that had gone rouge and started to act like your everyday thieves. Kihia was awoken when he heard the voices of his companions down below, Xavier had asked if they were ready with Verona coming up shortly after him commenting on Xavier’s poetry as well as calling a crystal clone Kihia had formed for the an old man.

Kihia then turned to Ukan who was snoring soundly, Well I guess it seems like everyone is ready and finally here… Kihia then picked up Ukan and dropped down just as the Crystal clone walked up right behind Xavier and Verona stopping in silence. Kihia landed not to far infront of the group as he placed down Ukan who was still sleeping, “It took you two long enough to get here… I am glad my spell did its job right…”

Xavier wasn’t exactly expecting the sort of hug or arm over the shoulder and had to re-adjust his glasses. He stopped ranting about the past for once. It was somewhat nice how carefree she was able to be, and it made him feel relatively better about the situation. “Alright, this should be simple. We just go in there, find the jerks and put an end to this little hub bub. We’ve got the biggest threat any side of Lamia Scale walking around with us.” And about that point Kihia dropped down from the tree, which didn’t really phase Xavier much, due to how long he’s known him and to expect surprises. “Glad you could finally join us.”

Using the staff as a walking stick, he carried on without so much as a thought. Daring wasn’t really an apt description for this journey, but considering the circumstances it wasn’t a bother. Something however was already afoot, and it was rather obvious. The familiar sensation of something having their gaze set on him sent a small chill down Xavier’s spine, enough to stop him momentarily. “I believe we aren’t alone…” he stood still gazing around for a moment, before he got a face-full of squirrel. It scampered over him before jumping to the next tree. He exhaled with relief.

Verona will be honest. She was not expecting a big mass of white to just drop in front of them out of nowhere and she was definitely not expecting it to be Kihia. She did whip her head around to look at the Kihia behind her and then to the one in front of her till realization finally dawned on her. That guy...she could feel her anger rising out of proportions and in the heat of it, she even threw a small ball of fire at the clone behind it although it did nothing to the clone that was made out of crystal.

"DAMN YOU, KIHIA!"

Her voice was so loud that it resonated within the forest, causing birds and other small things to fly away. Growling, she glared daggers at Kihia's back before following Linx, knowing very well that it would be a waste of her energy to go pick a fight with the ice demon slayer. Hey, even Verona could have rational thoughts once in a while. It didn't stop her from brooding, though. Well, that was Verona's expression till Linx decided to stop and sound mysterious. She was going to ask him what he was talking about when she saw a scurry of squirrels jump onto him.

She blinked, watching them use him much like a stepping stone before jumping off and running away. Verona even busied herself by locking her gaze on one of them running past feet. "Now I wonder if they thought you were one of them," came her comment, almost like an innocent statement rather than a question.

Kihia gently smiled as he saw Xavier and Verona take his joke surprisingly well, he then dispel the crystal clone right after the fireball hit it. He then watched as a group of squirrels jumped out as they startled Xavier. Kihia slowly walked up and patted Xavier, “Ease your nerves Xavier… These woods will confuse you and prevent you from being able to fight effectively…” Kihia then placed down Ukan and then tapped him on the nose, he stirred a bit and looked up at the ice mage, “Did they finally arrive Kihia?” Kihia nodded at Ukan, “It is time to work my friend,” Ukan stood up and stretched out, he then grew to the size of a small boulder, “Well Lets go Vulcan hunting!” As Ukan said this he started to walk towards an unmarked trail.

Kihia then turned around and faced his companions, “the Vulcans in theses words are slightly more intelligent than others for one reason or another… so lets have Ukan be the bait and we try and ambush the ambushers….” Kihia then went quiet as he closed his eyes to listen, he heard the numerous howls of the monsters that roamed the spooky forest, “Do not worry… As long as we work as one this forst cannot beat us…”

The member 'Kihia' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

'Monster Dice' :

“I'm not that short...” he complained, his face growing red after Verona decided to speak freely and he looked down to the ground somewhat embarrassed. Then Kihia decided to give him some advice about being out in the woods, but it's not like Xavier didn't already know, he was just innately paranoid in dark spooky places like a regular person should be. If Xavier hadn't already know Kihia to be... well exactly what he already was, then he would have been much more angry with him about when he managed to pull some lecture or lesson out of the sir whenever it was most convenient to him, and they almost always were aimed at poor Xavier.

If you took the time to stay quiet and feel your surroundings, the small vibrations of trembles and disturbances far away could be felt at the trio's feet. Xavier was paying careful attention and took quick note of such. “I'm not sure we'll have the time to put your plan into action Kihia. They're already pretty close.” Xavier had been out here tangling with the same foes once before, and he couldn't forget the sensations he felt then. Just then a number of figures could be made out in the distance, about three moving from tree to tree just north of them. And the the west, some trees began to fall in the perfcetly aligned with Verona and Xavier.

Verona giggled at Xavier's complaint and turned her attention to Kihia afterwards. When a few words had escaped him, Verona started to close her ears to what he was saying. It didn't hold anything too important for Verona to hear anyway. She just kept looking around her, trying to get the feel of something out of place. And she did it just when Xavier did. The ground was trembling, trees were shaking and Raven could hear something in the distance. It wasn't too far from them either. "Something is approaching us alright. Kihia, you should call Ukan back," she was serious this time and even started to take a few steps back.

She noticed two small shadows along with a bigger one. However, something moved in the west and Verona looked up just in time to find a tree falling towards them. Verona managed to jump back from where she was already standing though she didn't know if Xavier had got caught under it or if he had moved too. But she had no time to think about it as a rather big figure emerged from the woods. They had a high level vulcan to deal with. And it looked angry. As if they had disturned it.

Kihia heard what Verona had called out and begun to turn around when a tree started to fall right at them, he watched as Verona moved out of the way, Kihia however stood there as the tree came down. Kihia reached into his trench coat and pulled out the Geruks, “Twin Halberds of the Frozen Angel…” The Ice Halberds quickly formed as he swung Geruka upward the blade of the Halberd slicing through the tree as it came down. The two halves of the tree fell on either side of Xavier and Kihia as a large Vulcan was walking out of the wood work alongside a younger Vulcan.

Kihia studied the two for a moment, and he then whistled, a moment later, a large blur of silver scales jumped out behind the larger Vulcan and tackled him. The Vulcan was sent sprawling as the younger Vulcan nearly jumped out its skin, “Sorry I am late everyone but a Wyvern always makes a dramatic entrance.” Ukan let out a chuckle as he saw the Vulcan he hit was still trying to get his feet underneath him. Kihia however, seemed to be looking beyond Ukan, “Ukan… there are more of them… Coming up from behind you.”

The member 'Kihia' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

'Monster Dice' :

Xavier looking around at all of the incoming threats seemed a little worried at the number of them coming at them at once, he knew they were great at accomplishing ambushes in the forest, but he’s never seen them work this well together. If anything was certain, he wouldn’t leave this time, no matter the difficulty. He could feel a familiar sensation coming over him, this odd apprehension and a feeling of lack of control that preceded every mid-fight blackout he’s experienced in the past few months. No, I’m not going to let this… thing take control again, I’m fighting this time, whatever you are stay out of this.

He shook off whatever this feeling was, and affixed the glasses he wore so they were secure on the bridge of his nose. “Alright, Kihia and Verona! Stick together! I’m going to tackle the ones to north!” He shouted over the congregation of hulking ape figures in the ominous darkness as a number of them amassed in various locations. There were only ten in total but they had enough mass between them all to crush the tiny mage. Stay strong, we gotta get through this one, and make a point. I’m tired of Kihia holding my hand, but I need him to protect Verona. I’m certain they can handle themselves.

Verona, for a moment, was confused at the amount of enemies they were dealing with and where they were all coming out from. One thing she knew was that there was a few right behind where she stood. Just when one jumped at her, she fell back and rolled out of the way. The ground, she felt, shook under her when the vulcan landed because she was barely saved from getting crushed under its feet. They looked nasty alright and smelled just so too. She scrunched up her nose when her extra sensitive nose picked up the smell of the creature's feet.

When she finally jumped back to her own feet, she backed away to where Kihia was. The Vulcan that she escaped from, however, had its eyes locked onto her and for some reason, it looked like it was having fun watching her step back as if in fear. But, what the vulcan didn’t know was that Verona wasn't someone to step back in fear. It even committed the biggest mistake of giving her one of its smug grins. Well, he would have broken smile by the time she is done with him.

Verona returned the smug smile and transferring her weight to her feet and crouching down, she summoned her flames. Fire spiraled around her and finally settled around both her fists, coating the fair skin with burning fire. Then, as if her body was a spring, she jumped forward, drawing her left fist back while pushing her right one forward. She managed to hit the surprised vulcan square on its jaw till a click and cracking sound was heard. Ah! She had managed to really break his smile. "Oh and I don't need protection!" She announced as she fell back and landed on the ground perfectly.

Kihia watched as both Xavier and Verona engaged the hoard of Vulcans, he saw both their ferocity and their will to hold their own. As Ukan started to move to engage, Kihia put up his hand, in response Ukan cocked his head to the side, he then quietly said, “Lets let them have this bout to themselves for a bit…” Kihia then walked a bit ignoring any Vulcans who tried to attack him all their attacks accidentally missing him. He then got to the middle of a clearing as all the fighting went on.

Kihia then planted both halberds into the ground and held his right hand palm up, as a sphere of magical power came out of his hands he tossed it to the ground, “Heaven’s Tundra…” The sphere absorbed into the ground, then suddenly the ground flashed and illuminated the entire area. When the light died down their was a thick sheet of ice covering the ground as well as a few ice boulders littering the area. Numerous Vulcans slipped around the ice as they had been caught off guard from their setting being changed so drastically. “The stage has been set Ukan… Be ready to lend any ice I may need for this next part…” At this Ukan nodded, Kihia then formed two shards of holy ice in his hands and tossed them to two different points five meters apart from each other, “Heavens Arch!” Kihia then nodded as the giant ice archway, Kihia then furrowed his brow as he started trying to formulate how this plan of his could work out…

Xavier couldn’t seem to catch the attention of the number of Vulcans he had selected for battle, overlooking him due to his size probably, but Kihia’s show of strength didn’t make that any easier for his little predicament as the Vulcans proudly paraded past him “Hey, focus on me for a second! I’m the one you want!” They turned to face him and stared for a second like “Do you believe this guy?” expression on their faces before they burst out into laughter, or at least appeared to. It’s hard to tell exactly what’s going on with these ape-like things.

Tired of the scrutiny Xavier lashed out upon them and demonstrated just wy thought ought to pay a little more mind to the shorty. His hands cracked with lightning, and he clapped and a bolt of lightning arced out from his hands and stuck one of the hairy beasts, and from there it reached to another, and another. Three of the four where chained together, by this chain of lightning. They fell to their knees for a moment, and started to recover. Angered, the three chained together charged for their new target, the tiny slayer, unintentionally dragging their comrade with them as the chain wrapped around its torso. Nearing him, they all collapsed having difficulty adjusting to being attached to one other while one was dragged in the dirt. “You make this too easy…” He grinned a devilish smile. “Lightning Dragon’s Roar!” shrouded in the attack, the Vulcans had been felled and Xavier strode back to his allies at full speed.

Verona had jumped once more, keeping one of her fist out to hit another vulcan on the jaw. When she came back down, she wasn't expecting for her feet to make contact with ice. Her eyes widened for a second as she scrambled to find footing on the slippery ice below. In the end, she slipped and fell back on her behind, groaning as she did so. "Unbelievable. What on earth is he trying to achieve with an ice floor?" Verona grumbled out loud as she tried to stand up, flailing her hands around to find balance and not fall back down again.

"I hate ice," she announced but somewhere deep inside, she felt that she was bluffing. Something told her that ice wasn't something she could easily hate. Of course, she never really poked into her feelings. It wasn't the time to do that anyway. Finally, she started sliding on the ice, using it to increase her speed as she slammed into one of the vulcans, her flame covered fist hitting its stomach and pushing it back along with her thanks to the force willing her to move forward. Both of them lost their balance and the vulcan was thrown back into a boulder with Verona landing right on top of it. "So...heavy," it groaned to Verona's dismay before losing consciousness. "What?! How rude!" She complained, puffing up her cheeks. "I don't expect you ugly things to appreciate real beauty anyway," she huffed and got up, lifting her hands up to gain balance as she tried to make it back to where Kihia was. Something told her he had a plan.

Kihia’s finger tips started to glow, as he started to rapidly to draw various symbols that glowed in the air for a second then faded, as he drew, he begun to say an enchantment. “May Crystal and Holy Ice fuse together, Chained blades and Frozen Shield mold together… form a cannon that projects all magics!” Kihia then thrust both of his hands forward that caused all the symbols he drew previously to glow, suddenly the giant arch started to shake up and down until it ripped itself out of the ground and revealed itself to be a giant ring, it hovered into the air and then turned so it faced the ground.

Kihia then pulled out both Geruko and Geruka and leapt into the air, “Crystallux Magic Focusing Shield!” he spun in the air has two crystal chains formed and went around the ring angling downward towards the center as they spiraled down, when they reached a certain point they stopped and a shield of ice formed between the two partisan blades connecting the two, then suddenly the entire structure glowed as a wall of ice formed within the chains forming a large cone made out of ice. “Xavier and Verona, jump up and unleash one of your Immatieral ranged spells into this spell!” Kihia then let go of the Geruks which hovered in place, he raised his right fist into the air, and called out, “Supreme Fist of the Frozen Angel!” As his fist started to glow he thrusted it downward, as a giant flash of light erupted from it.

Always expect something new right? Never before had Xavier seen Kihia pull out and arsenal quite like this. This amalgamation of crystalline shapes and icy features solidified on the handheld grasp of Kihia’s geruks forming a something conic to the best of his description. Xavier couldn’t make heads or tails of how this thing was intended to work, but he didn’t doubt his comrade’s plan. He had to make it passed the few Vulcans he was already working to bring down as they just didn’t want to stay down insistent on leaving a mark on this kid. “I don’t need any spells to finish you lot of.” A charge lightning sparked to life on his arms as he rushed forward to combat them. As two charged at him, he barreled into the one on his immediate left, slamming into him and throwing him off balance on the ice while he tossed his hanbo into the throat of the other. Regaining the balance the two he hasn’t stuck yet rose to the occasion and quickly charged him down as well, the first unleashing a flurry of blows that couldn’t seem to land a hit before Xavier evade by sliding between its legs and grappling its neck from behind. He seemed to be in complete control as the Vulcan couldn’t get his hands on him, but his friend landed a solid blow both on Xavier and his friend. The ape was unconscious but Xavier recovered. Reclaiming his hanbo he reconnected the two, and with his staff he unleashed a fury that doesn’t need to be adamantly described. The point is he’s awesome. After a short period of time Xavier gets close enough to aid Kihia. Leaping into the air he gave it his all. “Lightning Dragon: Wing Attack.”

Verona liked the sound of a combination attack. She chuckled as images of the result flashed through her mind. Taking slow steps to Kihia's side, she made sure her eyes took notice of each and every vulcan standing and their location. It could be said that she gave them all an evil grin as she walked back. For Verona, It was time to make a huge blast. Lightning, ice and fire together.

They noticed it. They noticed Kihia who was getting it started, Xavier who was leaping into the air and Verona who stopped right by Kihia's side. The vulcans backed off and some of them even got ready to run away from the fight. But Verona wasn't ready to let any of them escape. "Let's finish this with one big bang!"

"Fire Dragon: Dragon Fang!"

Red fire mixed with the pale blue of ice and gold of lightning. Each of their spells mixed together till it finally took the shape of a huge dragon's head. Compared to Verona's usual spell, this one was bigger and stronger. It bared its fangs as if it was going to devour the whole earth and crashed into the vulcans with incredible speed, covering the area around them in fire, ice and lightning. "It's Over!" her voice was heard in the middle of the explosion as she raised her hands up in victory.