[Nightmare Incarnate: The Beginning] The Twin Dragon's Bane

Klein HP: 100% ϟ Klein MP: 100% ϟ Spells Used: N/A N/A

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The day was unusually dark when Klein was getting ready in his apartment. Storm clouds were blocking out the sun and the atmosphere was very depressing and a bit ominous. Perhaps it was a sign as to what would happen that day on his next job. Klein finished putting on his clothes and he used is teleportation lacrima to get back to the guild hall. On the way there through the bright and disorienting trip through space, Klein thought about the events of the previous day. A mysterious package arrived at his P.O box. The contents of the box was simply a journal of some unknown man and an audio log continuing it. It portrayed a series of events where a woman had run into a forest and the rune knights were employed to find her. But the rune knights in question went missing. Klein was very curious about what had happened. He needed answers. Who sent him the package? What happened to the Rune Knights? He realized that this mission he set for himself would be difficult. So he asked his newfound partner, Ibara, if he would come with him. To which he agreed. Klein stepped out of the lacrima room, now in the Sabertooth guild hall. He took a seat at a nearby table and waited for Ibara to arrive.

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Ibara HP: 100% ϟ Ibara MP: 100% ϟ Spells Used: N/A N/A

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" “

Ibara hated bad weather, despite his genuinely apathetic attitude towards almost everything, rain, sleet, mist, fog, thunder, ligthning, all of the above genuinely pissed him off. He sat his apartment, one palm pressed firmly against his face while the other was held against the window. The heat of his hand drew condensation halfway up the window which served as a simple representation of the cold weather outside. Ibara couldn't help but feel slightly perturbed by the atmosphere but he did his best to dismiss the thought to the back of his mind. Besides, today was the day Klein had asked him to undertake a mission with him. Over the past few weeks, the duo had bonded together pretty well and Ibara liked the guy, he wasn't going to throw that all away to ditch a mission simply because of a little bit of bad weather no matter how much he despised it.

Klein hadn't elaborated on the mission at all, Ibara thought to himself while walking through the rain to the Sabertooth Guild Hall. The walk was short from his apartment so thankfully he didn't have to tolerate the weather for very long. In fact, it only took him a few short minutes to reach the Guild to find Klein sitting there. His face lit up upon Ibara's arrival and he smiled back. With a hand pressed atop his head to drag a deep line through his shaggy red hair, Ibara spoke out to his partner. "What're the details then? You never really explained yesterday. Something about a parcel, right?“ His words were nonchalant, truth be told he didn't care much for the details of the mission, the factor that excited him was that the mission was classified as C-Ranked, a rank higher than any job he'd undertaken before. Ibara did his best to act casual as he strolled up to the table that Klein occupied and he took a seat himself opposite.

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Klein HP: 100% ϟ Klein MP: 100% ϟ Spells Used: N/A N/A

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Klein generated a handful of light and juggled it around playfully for a bit as he waited for Ibara to show up. For some reason he half expected him not to show up, as Klein really hadnt given him the details on the job. A few minutes later and Ibara was walking up to the table Klein was sitting at to his relief. Ibara asked Klein what the job was really about. Klein responded with, "Right. This job was on the request board for a while now. Not really sure who posted it there. But the reason I decided to take it was because I received a package yesterday from an unknown individual that is linked directly with this job." Klein knew he was beating around the bush as to what the job actually was so he just got straight to the point. "The job states that we go to this mysterious forest and find out what happened to some Rune Knights that were dispatched there a while ago. But that forest is known to house some... Lets just say, disturbing things. Ive heard plenty of tales of people going into that forest and losing their sanity by the time they come out." Klein wondered once he finished his explanation if Ibara would still be willing to take on this job now that he knows the perils of it.

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Ibara HP: 100% ϟ Ibara MP: 100% ϟ Spells Used: N/A N/A

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" “

Ibara felt almost immediately uncomfortable from the moment he'd sat down. There was something disturbing to the way Klein had presented himself. The man was usually relatively up-beat and confident in the way he conducted himself. Today was the complete opposite of such a demeanour. His shoulders were hunched and he looked genuinely uncomfortable, Ibara's mind locked onto only one suspicion, this job was either severely disturbing or Klein was getting married, naturally he assumed the former.

His assumption was correct once Klein began explaining the mission to him. The details sounded extremely iffy, in fact, he'd never heard a more vague job description in his life. Not only was the location completely unknown considering how obscure the name was. Not only that but they were expected to search for a missing dispatched group of Rune Knights who were in god knows where and were gone for god knew why. Ibara didn't really know how to react but he realised, considering Klein's demeanour, he had to act strong if they were to have even a sliver of confidence going into this job.

"Lighten up, Klein. What could go wrong? All we're doing is looking for a group of Rune Knights in a pretty small location. We either find them or we don't. If we do then all is sorted, if we don't then we come back here like nothing happened and collect our reward. Stop looking so down in the dumps and let's get outta here.“

Ibara said all this with a pretty awkward smile on his face. Comforting people wasn't really his forté but he attempted to do so nonetheless because his partner was clearly perturbed by the idea of undertaking this mission, as was he. With a confident veil to his demeanour, Ibara pressed his hands to the table and stood up, pushing the chair backwards behind him. It almost toppled over at the force he pushed up with, meanwhile, Ibara strode to the teleportation lacrima, inputted the coordinates to the Spooky Forest and disappeared through it without another moment, word or second to spare.

"Igneel.. Get me through this one, bud.“ he said under his breath while taking his first steps into the unknown.

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Klein HP: 100% ϟ Klein MP: 100% ϟ Spells Used: N/A N/A

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As Klein explained the details of this very iffy job to Ibara, he noticed the slightest hint of discomfort in Ibara's eyes. But soon after he sounded perfectly fine and comfortable with the job that Klein had just presented him with. It was apparent he was masking his true feelings at that moment. Klein had always had a knack for picking up on peoples bluffs. After giving his reassuring speech Ibara walked off to the lacrima room and disappeared. Presumably to the job location. Klein stood up and walked over to meet him there.

After the dizzying trip through the teleporter, Klein had arrived at the forest. Ibara was already waiting for him there. They were standing at the end of an open field. Right outside of where the dense forest began. There were no buildings anywhere that Klein could see. And the forset itself was foggy and ominous. The rain that was pouring down wasn't exactly helping the atmosphere for him. With a bit of unease in his voice he said, "Alright, well here we are. We'd better get going now before it starts getting dark." Klein wasn't exactly scared per-say, but something about this forest was evil. And he didn't really want to find out what it was. With that he started walking into the forest, with no path to guide him. With nothing to guide him.

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Hug me im scared.

Ibara HP: 100% ϟ Ibara MP: 100% ϟ Spells Used: N/A N/A

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" “

The sight that Ibara beheld was much worse than what he'd originally come to expect. Any location with a name like 'Spooky Forest' was bound to live up to it's name but Ibara never computed the idea that it would live up to it's name to such an extreme extent. He soon began to regret the idea of walking through the lacrima alone for the sight that met his eyes was an experience no one should have to venture into alone. Ibara's stoic and ignorant nature was the only thing keeping him sane while standing alone in a small forest clearing. Sunlight illuminated the spot where he was standing, in fact, his position seemed to be the area for miles that shed even a little bit of light. He was surrounded by towering, withered pine trees which spread expanses of shadow for miles on end. It wasn't the darkness that frightened Ibara. The forest had an extremely ominous aura to it. Every inch metaphorically reaked of the idea that he was being watched somehow. As if he'd trespassed onto an extremely powerful creature's domain.

"Eeep.“ Ibara breathed in heavily as he heard the sound of the teleportation lacrima behind him. Obviously this was Klein's approach but Ibara had been so lost in thoughts that he'd forgot about his partner entirely. His arrival had caught him off guard to the point where Ibara had spun around and faced his partner with two fistfuls of flames and a singular glowing yellow eye. This defensive nature was quickly dismissed after a few seconds of bewilderment, his hands dropped to his sides and the flames were extinguished while his eyes faded back to their usual red colour. "Sorry Klein.. This places gives me the creeps, that's all.“ He shook his head vigorously and turned away from his partner. "Let's get going. I feel like we're perfect examples of sitting ducks if we just stand here.“

With those few words, Ibara trudged deep into the forest. He was constantly in guard, and as they descended to darker and darker areas of an expanse they never knew existed until now, Ibara's fists caught alight to act as a torch for the two of them. The flame brightened areas a few square feet away from them, shrouding them in a sphere of light which temporarily served as their safeguard from fear. There was still that feeling though. The feeling of being watched, someone was here, someone was watching waiting to pounce and Ibara didn't like it one bit.

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Klein HP: 100% ϟ Klein MP: 100% ϟ Spells Used: N/A N/A

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Klein walked through the forest alongside Ibara. They seached around for any clues on the whereabouts of the Rune Knights. The entire time Klein was on edge. He tried not to show it but there was always the feeling of a pair of eyes watching him. Its sent shivers down his spine. A few minutes later Klein heard the sound of someone cackling in the distance. Klein became fearful all of a sudden and stuck slightly closer to Ibara, who seemed to be relatively calm given the circumstances they were in. The feeling of an evil presence there was getting stronger and stronger with each and every passing moment.

Not a moment later Klein heard a noise. The cracking of wood. Klein and Ibara looked at each other quickly as it seemed he had also heard it. Then to Klein's horror, the cluster of trees in front of them had begun to fall down right where they were standing. Klein leaped to the left and Ibara to the right as the first tree came crashing down where they were not a moment ago. Without any time to recover from the landing, more trees fell towards klein. He continued to leap around repeatedly like some kind of frog just to dodge all of the collapsing trees. Once he was finally safe, he caught his breath and realized that he had been seperated from Ibara. "Hey! Ibara! You out there!?" No response came. He didnt even know if Ibara could hear him from where he was. "Damn" Klein muttered to himself. The solitude he was now in multiplied the feeling of claustrophobia and fear as the trees and fog seemed closer and more ominous than ever. Hoping they would find each other again, Klein lit his hand in light to see a few meters around him and continued on.

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Ibara HP: 100% ϟ Ibara MP: 100% ϟ Spells Used: N/A N/A

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" “

Ibara could sense Klein's discomfort from simply standing within a close vicinity. The reason being was that he empathized with his partner, every aspect of this forest gave him the creeps, that feeling of being watched acted like a tingle up Ibara's spine. Sometimes there were periods of Ibara's life where being a Dragon Slayer didn't grant him extremely enhanced senses for the smell of rotting meat, perhaps a corpse, was overbearing which drove Ibara into yet another corner that could've paralysed the average man in fear. Ibara was glad to have Klein with him, the two shared similar ideologies, but the fact he was even there in the first place inspired Ibara to remain stoic even in the face of these terrible odds. The only lead Ibara actually had so far was to follow the rotting smell of meat as grotesque of an idea it was. Rotting meat in the middle of a forest either meant an animal didn't want to follow up on it's hunt, which was unlikely in a place like this, or there were dead human corpses nearby; a factor which could relate to the Rune Knights' disappearance unfortunately.

Ibara didn't even have time to gather his thoughts for much longer than that when he felt a strange influx of kinetic energy followed by the reverberating sound of splintered wood. He glanced to where these noises emanated from only to find a huge stockpile of towering pine trees beginning to descend on the duo. The tree-fall split them directly down the middle, it was impossible to dodge them without having to separate immediately. They were colossal in number and the trees rained down heavily. Their impact on the ground caused massive upheavals of dust, wood-splinters and mud to rain down on him from an aerial position. This only made the task of attempting to reconnect with his partner essentially impossible. It wasn't until a few minutes later that the onslaught of mother nature's finest disaster had finished striking. Ibara had officially been separated from Klein and was now left to venture this forest alone now with a completely separate task in mind. To find his partner.

"KLEIN! KLEIN!“ Ibara's voice echoed from area to area, as if releasing a signal fire to any nearby perpetrators with a massive sign over his head as if to say 'kill me now please'. Ibara despised the idea of having to call out so openly to his friend but this was the simplest way of contacting him, besides, there were no other options unless he were to burn this whole forest down to create a different form of signal, however, that would put the whole job at risk and Ibara knew Klein wouldn't want that.

Ibara continued shouting for his friend although this time, he did in fact receive a response though they weren't of a tone that would befit his long, lost partner. Whispers, small irritating noises that scratched at the very pits of Ibara's ears. He couldn't shake the feeling as if someone were right behind him at that very second, testing his very psychological limits but this young Dragon Slayer refused to break. He growled into the open air as his two fists lit brightly with heavily burning orange and yellow flames. A huge sphere of light erupted from around him, banishing the nearby shadows to the safety of the pine trees. "Trust me.. I'm a lot more than you're bargaining for. It'll take a lot more than you flirting in my ear to scare me off. Get lost and let me find my damned friend!“

The whispering seemed to completely inhibit itself at that point, although Ibara reckoned that wouldn't be a permanent change. He needed to find his friend and fast before this situation escalated into something neither of them could handle alone.

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Klein HP: 100% ϟ Klein MP: 100% ϟ Spells Used: N/A N/A

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The fog seemed to be closing in on Klein. The solitude he was now in as he was walking was overwhelming. He could smell death from where he was through his enhanced sense of smell. The longer he walked the less sane he became. He kept hearing noises that he didnt know if they were real or simply illusions made by his mind to torture him further. Klein tried following the smell or rotting flesh as he suspects Ibara would be doing the same. Hopefully they could meet where the bodies were, as morbid and grotesque as that sounds. All of a sudden as he was walking, a stone flew out of nowhere and hit Klein on the back of the head. He turned around and encased his hands in light. "Whose there!?" He yelled into the darkness. After standing in a combat stance for a moment waiting for a response, Klein decided he had to keep going further. The forest was messing with him, trying to break him. But he knew that if he was going to make it out of there sane, he was going to have to be stronger than that.

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Ibara HP: 100% ϟ Ibara MP: 90% ϟ Spells Used: 1

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" “

Ibara knew his stroke of luck, having rid himself of those ever watchful eyes and that malicious intent that seemed to taint the very air he was breathing, wouldn't last long. He could feel it in the air this time, as if the voices, which had now infiltrated the side of his head, were taking physical form. Collectively mutilating itself and rebuilding to form a singular figure out of the shadowy mist that the very trees themselves seemed to exude.

That was when all Ibara's nightmares slowly flooded out of him and solidified into a reality. The mist infront of him intensified to such an extent where it almost became impossible to distinguish, up, down, left or right. The only thing that became clear to him at this point was a singular silhouetted figure which stood only one hundred metres away, directly opposite him, hidden by a cloud of mist. No features of the creature were really visible aside it's humanoid body shape. The only thing that could even allow Ibara to determine whether this thing was a reality or not, or so it seemed, was it's ever-watching eyes. As Ibara met it's gaze, he felt a similar sensation to what he had felt when he first set foot in the forest. A sense of foreboding, yet utter ominous, raw power. Ibara's legs quivered while his eyes narrowed as he struggled to find some sort've reaction. His body almost failed him and he stumbled backwards towards a tree.

"Strike first and fast, that's what you're best at, Ibara.“ Igneel's voice continually echoed into Ibara's cranium.

"He's right.. Strike first..“ Ibara's fists emblazoned themselves with heated orange flames and he burst forwards into the mist. His rage fuelled him with new-found strength and the fear that had once predominated the entirety of his body now vanished.

"IRON FIST OF THE FIRE DRAGON!“ Ibara wailed before disappearing into a cloud of mist.

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Fire Dragon's Iron Fist (USED)
Cooldown: 1 Post
Mana Drain: 100 - 10 = 90%

Klein HP: 100% ϟ Klein MP: 100% ϟ Spells Used: N/A N/A

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Klein continued walking towards the scent of the decaying bodies. It was honestly the last place that he wanted to go, but he really did not have much of a choice at this point. He felt is was his only shot at getting back to Ibara. And it was also technically the reason they were out in that horrible place to begin with. Klein walked for what seemed like hours, even though in reality it was only a few minutes, but the forest had a way of seemingly entending the length of tension filled actions like walking through it in silence. The smell of the bodies became stronger and stronger until Klein saw them. The bodies of the Rune Knights. There were two of them. Both of them appeared to be very young. There was blood all around them. klein did not want to know what the cause of their deaths was. It was a shame that their lives had seen such an abrupt end. While this was a tragedy, atleast Klein now knew what became of them and could report back to the guild. But first he had to find Ibara, and then they would have to find their way out of that twisted hell of a forest. Right then however, Klein saw flames in the not to far distance. "That has to be Ibara." Klein thought. He quickened his pace to find the red haired slayer as soon as possible.

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Ibara HP: 100% ϟ Ibara MP: 92% ϟ Spells Used: 1

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" “

Ibara had realised this fight was aimless from the very beginning. Although the figure had shown signs of retaliating through attacks such as moving trees, similar to the occurrence both Klein and Ibara had experienced before they were separated. As well as forces which worked against his body to either push him away or pull him towards the figure (the latter of which he particularly disliked). However, this did not deter Ibara's courage nor falter his fighting spirit, in fact, he fought harder and more vigorously than ever. Trees splintered at mere contact with Ibara's fist and he expertly dodged random flying objects which attempted to dissuade him physically from fighting any longer. Although, Ibara's muscles began to tire against an opponent that did not relent at any point. It seemed like it could go on for an indefinite period of time, it's attacks were never-ending, unrelenting and ruthless. The only thing keeping Ibara going at this point was Igneel's words which reverberated and echoed in his head.

"If you don't believe in your own ability, how do you expect to defend those who do?“

Ibara's thoughts drifted to Klein whom was most likely as lost as he was, or worse, in a similar predicament to him. This inspired the young fire wizard to keep fighting. If he was to defend his friend, this was one simple obstacle that he had to overcome, and he WOULD overcome it, there was no choice in the matter.

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Fire Dragon's Iron Fist (USED)
Cooldown: 1 Post
Mana Drain: 100 - 10 = 90%
Mana Regeneration: 90 + 2 = 92%

Klein HP: 100% ϟ Klein MP: 100% ϟ Spells Used: N/A N/A

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The fog continued to close in on Klein as he quickly walked through the forest. but this time he wasn't as deathly afraid as he was a few moments ago. The sight of Ibara's flames in the distance filled Klein with comfort and courage. Klein no longer heard anymore strange noises and mysterious forces were not toying with him. Atleast not for now. But there was also the question as to what it was that Ibara was fighting. Could it have been the same thing that killed the Rune Knights? The thought made Klein dread for his freind and he began running to reach him. The flames were getting closer and closer. Klein did not let up his speed. He finally broke through the fog that was in-between himself and his freind. He finally saw what his freind was fighting, and it was..... nothing. "Ibara? Are you alright there? Dont tell me this place has finally gotten to you..."

Klein's Reaction:

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Ibara HP: 100% ϟ Ibara MP: 94% ϟ Spells Used: 1

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" “

He really didn't know much further he could push. How much longer he could strive in a vain attempt to continue his search for his friend. The stamina that this creature possessed was limitless without comparison. It was as if.. the creature wasn't even real to begin with...

A light bulb flashed over Ibara's head while his movements came to a stop in the mist.

His brief realisation of what he'd been doing all this time came to an ultimate stop when a tree flew past him and shattered on his body. The impact was enough to strike him off his feet while his head landed hard on the dark grass below. Luckily damage was narrowly avoidable and, unfortunately, this unavoidable strike caused him to wonder on what was actually going on here. If this creature was non-existent, then how was it able to pull off strikes like that? If it really was a figment of his imagination, what was really happening? For all he knew, he could be standing absolutely still in reality. Luckily, there was one man present to bring him back down to Earthland.

"Ibara? Are you alright there? Don't tell me this place has finally gotten to you..“ the voice repeated itself several times over in his head before Ibara was finally washed away back to the real world. Upon his realisation, Ibara slowly realised what he'd been doing all this time. There he was, in a similar position of motionless apathy shortly before the non-existent paranormal strikes had begun to occur. It was indeed a figment of his imagination for the mist had vanished, the trees were all intact and Ibara's body had withstood absolutely no damage at all.

"I'm fine. Let's keep moving.“ Ibara wanted to dismiss the idea that this forest's traumatic aura had finally infiltrated his mind as quickly as possible. He shook his head vigorously and ploughed through a nearby set of trees. It was there that he came face-to-face with something entirely real, entirely dangerous and entirely terrifying. It's figure was humanoid, for the most part, similar to the apparition Ibara had spotted in the mist. The only thing that separated it from the average human was it's long claws, dark, piercing yellow eyes, it's terrifying height at 2.5 metres and the fact that it had absolutely no other features at all because it was clad in a suit of shadow, an outfit of absolute black.

"In answer to your previous question, Klein, I think this place is really starting to get to me.“ There, the final showdown would begin, it was do or die, fight or flight. Klein and Ibara, the two young Slayers now prepared to fight for their life or risk failing their very first mission. The question was whether Ibara had enough willpower for the both of them since they were both clearly on their last sets of legs.

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Mana Regeneration: 92 + 2 = 94%
BOSS APPEARS!

Klein HP: 90% ϟ Klein MP: 90% ϟ Spells Used: White Dragon Palm

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Ibara began walking forward in front of Klein. He was shaking his head, almost like he was denying to himself what had just happened. Klein figured he would have done the same thing if he thought he was fighting something that turned out to be nothing in the end. They walked forward a bit and then Ibara stopped in front of him and tensed up. Klein looked past him to see what was happening, and there was a shadowy figure just a few meters away. It had shadowy tentacles coming out of its back. Klein was struck with fear at the sight of it. This was it. The thing that had been tormenting them that whole time. The thing that killed the Rune Knights.

But Klein's immediate concern was that it was within striking distance of his freind. Klein yelled, "Ibara, get down!" With that Ibara ducked slightly and Klein leaped over his back and straight at the figure. "White Dragon Palm!" Klein yelled as his palm became buried in the figures face. A spiral of holy light spewed forth and knocked The figure back. The figure rolled along the ground a bit from the momentum it was knocked back at. But not a moment later it regained its balance and stood on its legs once again. In a lightning quick motion, the figure lashed at Klein with one of its tentacles. He tried to dodge, but the attack was too quick, and his arm was lashed. Blood began dripping from the wound and Klein backed up a few meters to gain some distance.

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Ibara HP: 100% ϟ Ibara MP: 84% ϟ Spells Used: 2

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" “

Everything that occured in the last two seconds whooshed over Ibara's head like a magical steam train. It was a lot to take in, especially after the predicaments that had occurred only a few minutes prior to the experience they had now found themselves in.

Ibara turned behind him to notice Klein already engaged in combat with the monster. Something he hadn't identified prior to coming face-to-face with it was the fact that it had tentacles to use as weapons, only another disadvantage that both slayers had to live with.

This demon, humanoid thing clearly knew and exploited that fact as it took Klein's White Dragon Palm head on, absorbing it's blow so that it could push the counteract and narrowly miss a stab which drew blood on Klein nonetheless. However, this young, fiery dragon slayer had had enough sitting on the sidelines. He'd had enough of fighting imaginary monsters to ultimately seal an imaginary job. Right now, all he wanted to do was protect his friend.

"WINGBEAT OF THE FIRE DRAGON!“ Ibara screamed as both of his arms lit up from shoulder to the tips of his fingers. Both his eyes now, rather than just the one, glowed a bright luminous yellow which almost shrouded the area in a thick light which penetrated and battled the shadows around them. All of a sudden, Ibara rushed forwards and intercepted the tentacle that had previously struck Klein at it's epicentre. Without a second to spare, Ibara had already passed it and had sliced the long, cylindrical body-part in half. Flames traveled up the remaining length of the tentacle which had remained attached to the monster, now seemingly lifeless and without movement, to strike at the monster directly. The shadowy, dark figure was lit up, counteracting it's blackness with a mixture of red and orange.

The monster was set a blaze and it was now time for the two young slayers to push the counter-attack.

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XXX

Klein HP: 90% ϟ Klein MP: 72% ϟ Spells Used: White Dragon Gauntlets / White Dragon Talon

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Klein winced in pain as the monster's tentacle burrowed into his arm. But before the tentacle even managed to go back to its owner, Ibara had lashed out his own fiery fury and cut it off. Setting the creature ablaze in the process. Klein soon after, ran forward saying, "White Dragon Gauntlets." and the entirety of both of his arms became encased in holy dragon light with the power to cut through the darkness that manifested in this being of evil. He ran at the being until he could see his red eyes that screamed of pain and suffering, and punched it underhanded in the stomach. The light encasing his hands burrowed deep into the creature and sent it flying upwards slightly. Pressing the advantage further Klein kicked upwards at the creature yelling, "White Dragon Talon!". the attack sent the creature flying up even further. Atleast 7 meters. Klein hoped that Ibara would follow up on the opportunity granted to him for a fiery finishing move.

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100th post WHOOO

Ibara HP: 100% ϟ Ibara MP: 0% ϟ Spells Used: 4

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" “

Ibara admired Klein's ability to fight. In fact, he stood there quite astounded at some of the moves his compatriot managed to pull off despite the damage to his arm prior. However, Ibara's mind slowly reverted from gawking to a realisation that his partner had set up almost the perfect opportunity for him to finalise this fight once and for all. It didn't take a genius to realise that this monster was far superior to them both in skill and stature, in fact, it was simply toying with them which was evident through it's moves. It's foreboding magic level oozed out of it's body too which only served as further evidence that these two were far out of their depth here. Ibara could only hope that his final attack would serve as a devastating enough blow to reel the monster home.

Although the fire that had extended up both Ibara's arms had now extinguished, his fiery temper still emblazoned deep within him. So much so in fact that instead of the entirety of both his arms, it was now his right fist, his stronger hand, which was now covered in an inferno befitting a dragon itself.

"Time to finish this. Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!“ Ibara screamed as he felt an overwhelming and considerable drainage to his magic levels. He almost collapsed, he was clearly reaching the pinnacle of his exhaustion by now.

With one fiery fist equipped and ready to unleash, Ibara ran at his partner Klein as if attempting to strike down his own partner. However, with only a metre distance now between the two, Ibara used Klein's shoulder to lift himself upwards while simultaneously his foot touched the same place where his hand once was. As a boost, Ibara leaped acrobatically off Klein's shoulder and raced off into the air. The monster was now a considerable height above them both now and Ibara figured that if he were going to reach his target, he'd need a little aid.

"Inferno Wings of the Fire Dragon!“ Ibara screamed while having just recently leaped off his friend's shoulder. Fire burst out into strenuous columns of blazing orange from the soles of Ibara's feet which enabled his ascent into the air and easier job. However, this wasn't an entirely positive outcome as the exhaustion levels of the young mage only became more tedious. This was only the beginning seeing as the monster was only elevating itself further in the air in an attempt to escape Ibara's clutches. However, the Dragon Slayer persevered and pushed on. To Klein, he only looked like a little red speck in the sky now, granted the light produced by his flames served as a relatively easy signal to behold.

"Let's end this together, monster.“ Ibara was now face-to-face with it. It's demonic eyes almost pinned him in the air, holding him in a suspension of fierce trauma but nothing could stop him now. Ibara drew his emblazoned fist, far behind his shoulder and unleashed it in one, single sky-rocketing punch aimed directly at the monster's face. The connection and impact of the spell created an explosion so boisterous and visible, that even Klein could easily recognise it from the ground. Mist spurted from every orifice of the demon and it seemingly vanished, as if it were pulverised by the very punch Ibara wielded to protect his friend. Pages of paper spurted out from where the demon once was and Ibara gritted his teeth, clinging onto them with the only moving part of his body that he had left, his mouth.

His exhaustion had reached it's pinnacle as Ibara now plummeted back to the lake below him. His eyes closed and he simply passed out at that point.

"There was nothing left to do, he'd safely fought alongside and protected his friend while simultaneously completing the job. Now he could sit back and let fate do the rest." he thought to himself.

W O R D S
654

M U S I C
xxx

T A G  
@zenmedi

N O T E S  
XXX

Klein HP: 90% ϟ Klein MP: 100% ϟ Spells Used: N/A N/A

---

Klein stood on the ground watching Ibara's aerial engagement with the creature. He was dumbfounded at the loud, bright, and explosive finality of Ibara's final attack. He was truly a mage worthy of the title of a dragon slayer, and that of a Sabertooth wizard. After the final strike, the creature dissipated in the air. It was faint, but Klein could still feel a trace of the beings dark presence still in the air. The veil that was the fog of the forest began to lift and the sun broke through the storm clouds in the sky. With the sun shining so brightly, Klein sucked up the light in the air in order to refuel himself after that exhausting fight. Oddly enough, papers began falling from the sky. Before Klein could go and pick them up to investigate, he realized that Ibara was falling from the sky as well.

Klein began running forward yelling to his freind, "Ibara! Hang on!" Klein then launched concentrated light from his feet to propel himself towards his falling freind. Just before he landed in the lake below, Klein caught him out of the air by catching him on his shoulder. Klein's feet stopped spewing light, but his momentum carried them the rest of the way back to the bank. Klein and Ibara both landed on their sides. "That was close..." Klein muttered. "But that was absolutely incredible what you did! You completely annihilated that thing." Before Klein could continue, he noiced that his freind was unconscious. "Hm. Well i suppose you deserve your rest after that show." Klein picked Ibara up and slung him over his shoulder. He went to go pick up the papers that fell from the sky before. "I can read these later" He thought. At that moment all he wanted to do was get out of there. He walked out of the forest with his freind over his shoulder. "Igneel would be proud" he said.

[Exit]

W O R D S
326

M U S I C
xxx

T A G  
@Blood Plus

N O T E S  
Mission accomplished!