EVENT: Rising Tides |Vic the Boss|

As the collective of mages and warriors arrived and the song began to fade, a heavy and over whelming power would begin to rise. At first it would be nothing more than a tickle, a slight teasing at the edge of the senses. But as the wizards gather waited and watched the tickle would turn to an itch, the itch to a burn, the burn into a thundering presence. Across the city they would feel it, the coming of something powerful indeed. Out in the bay sailors and fishermen on their boats would turn to each other in confusion and fear, quickly moving to turn their boats back towards shore. Citizens across the city, beings who normally felt no magic, felt this coming presence. Wizards, both high and low, would likely stop and turn towards the sea as the massive amount of magic rushed towards them. Something on an entirely new scale from them was coming, and fast.

Out in the sea all was calm. The wind did not blow, the sea did not stir. Not even a seagull could be seen upon the water. Then came the disturbance. It started as a ripple, a fast moving rush in the water, small and insignificant, but constant. Oh but it grew, widening at first, spanning an ever growing amount of surface. But then it grew upwards as it neared the land, and those on shore would begin to see it, though it was still far out. A mass of black under the water, moving at an impossible speed, the mound of black growing rapidly out of the water. As it grew features would become prominent upon it. A slope down. Ridges. Fins. Eyes. A creature had come to Hargeon, and as it neared the shore it only grew, taller and taller, broader and broader, bigger than anything that had ever before come to Fiore. The citizenry would stand in awe, dumbfounded. The fishermen and sailors would stop their work and stare in horror as this thing rushed towards them. And as it neared and grew, so to would its magical presence, dwarfing that of even the mighty gods of Ishval who had gathered. A neck now appeared, with already over a hundred feet of head. Shoulders rose from the water, hundreds of feet across of shining, black shell. Arms and tentacles next. A shining black skin, plates of shell, ridges of spines and fins. It plowed into the bay like a storm, its sheer size sending mighty waves crashing out to topple boats and swamp the docks. It rose from the water once in the bay, towering well above any gathered. The cities mightiest arcs and tallest towers seemed as but toys to this behemoth, and yet it continued to rise. Water cascaded from it like great waterfalls, and massive, hundred foot wide tentacles began writhing in the water.

Finally would it stop rising, towering above all, well over a mile, nearly two miles. The sky seemed to darken and not a sound could be heard at the arrival of such a being. Then it spoke. A voice more felt than heard, which echoed from the city and shook the towers, a mighty and booming voice, like that of a god.

"Rejoice! Children of men! Your new deity has come, to claim your sacrifice." said the voice, a voice which would boom and echo in the very minds of those gathered. As it spoke the creature would raise its arms slowly, clouds beginning to swirl in the sky and sea beginning to recede as the monster did so. "By your end shall my glory be remembered. Humanity has sat for too long upon the food chain. This day shall it fall from its lofty perch!" The beast bellowed menacingly, as even more of the sea would draw back, forming into a swell around the beast and spiraling around its body, rising up like a mighty wave and shield. "Let the world shake and the cries of the children be heard! I am your god! And this day I declare as the beginning of the apocalypse!" he would bellow once more before the water which had been swirling around him would stop swirling and suddenly rush forward, towards the city.

Sailors and fishermen who had escaped the arrival of the titan were swept away as the wave crashed forward. The docks were shattered. Stone buildings and towers crumbled as the wave smashed into it and water raced down the streets and alley ways, a hundred feet tall and with the force of a gods will behind it. Citizens were smashed aside in droves and entire buildings were swept away. No doubt the panic would have set in by now, but what good would flight and panic do now?

Gargalrax had come. His will would be done.


(Gargalrax for reference)

Spoiler:

Vic was not a rich man, not in any way, having been raised on the streets he survived in the only way he could, by stealing. He was not afraid of the Rune Knights, they were a joke, not even a minor threat. Today had started out as any day for him, go to the stores under his protection and get his money. But today something was diffrent a huge influx of Gmen, which is what he called Mages who were in guilds, made their way into town. He didn't mind, it mean more people he could con out of their jewels. He found himself a nice mark and was halfway though chatting him up when something came out of the harbor, something that worried him. He didn't care for the city to be honest but it was what kept him alive and fed. 

The beast spoke something, causing mass panic and for the Gmen to get all up in arms. He on the other hand made his way back to his hide out, back to the others of his little street gang.

"GET UP!" He said as he kicked one of the larger men. "Chance of a lifetime and your lard ass is asleep." Vic kicked the fat man again.

"wut! Im up..." The large man sat up and rubbed the spot that Vic had kicked. "wat you say something about chance of lifetime?" Vic scowled at the larger mans stupididty, he had not asked the fat man to join for his brains. 

"Dar... you..." Vic clenched his hands trying not to hit the fat man again. "wake the others and get your ass to the main square." Vic left the hideout and made his way ahead of the others, once there he made his way into one of the now abandoned store and took his pick of what he wanted. It was a watch store, not exactly a place Vic would loot normally but the owner was a prick and this was pay back. He quickly cleaned out the register and then took his pick of the scattered watch.


"Who's there!" Vic heard the old mans voice. "Get out of my store or ill shoot you."

Vic smiled, even better... the old man had not run like everyone else, he turned around to face the old man. "well well, no joke police to help you today is there." The old man narrowed his eyes, brandishing a old looking pistol at Vic. "I guess its time for some pay back for all the times you gave me a hard time."

"Vic... don't do this..." The old man raised the pistol and pointed it at vic. "What would your mother say."

"Fuck what she would think... she left me to fend for myself on the god damned streets." Vic took a step forward, "Your bitch ass would be able to shot me... to much of a chicken shit." Vic took another step and grabbed the pistol by the barrel and pulled it from the mans grasp. "See... your a panzy." Vic hit the old man in the gut with his free hand. "now shut up and lay there."

The old man collapsed, letting a groan of pain as he fell to the ground. Vic didn't really care to be frank, supposedly the old man knew his mother and was suppose to take care of him. But Vic didn't need help he could survive without anyones help. no more then five minutes later the rest of his crew arrived, all six of them walked right into the store and set about picking the place clean.

Once again after all these years, Leonard starred once more in to the eyes of a fair woman with silky white hair. He stood there, not knowing what to do. For he had tackled her to the ground and numerous emotions would surge through him. Happiness. Embarrassment. Fear. Nervousness. They all took hold of him. He couldn't even utter a few words in reply. He was stuttering, no sure whether to apologize for tackling her to the ground or to express how happy he was to see her again. "L-Lady... Alye... I-I..." he said, finding it difficult to say anything. He simply wanted to savor every moment he could spare with her. For a girl like the Windrider Alye Reyold, it's not so very often you get to be with someone like that. However, what he was supposed to say was cut off by a magical presence so vast it felt as if had a physical weight bearing down on each individual, the entire town even. He looked over towards the shore and found the waters rising. His jaw dropped in a manner to say that they were fucked.

The waters rose and from the it burst forth a gargantuan beast as if the sea was its cocoon and now was the time to hatch. The beast was a frightening sight indeed. Casting a shadow over the town, a metaphor to the coming darkness and doom this creature entails to man kind. It spoke a terrifying speech, to which Leonard grinned. This is bad... he thought whilst in a readied stance with his knees bent, keeping a low stance and clenched fists as he faced the beast while in front of Lady Alye.

To make matters worse, the beast, known as Gargalax made its move. With it's beastly size, power, strength and disgusting tentacles, it sent a giant crushing wave to the town. It was at this moment that he realized why the people were made to stay. They were tributes! But as vast as Hargeon was, there was no way he can round up all those who stayed and evacuate them. Not alone at least. He needs a team, to make sure everyone in Hargeon is safe. But what mattered more to Leonard now, more than anything is getting Lady Alye to safety as the waves rushed in the city.

Thankfully, a burst of warmth magic came over them. Warm and protective. And especially familiar. With a sigh of relief, Leonard realized Heero used Fairy Sphere to save the town. He stood up straight and calm. He turned back to Lady Alye and spoke to her whilst reaching a hand out to her. "If I may, Milady. Would you please take my hand. We must get to higher ground to assess the overall situation." he said in a way so calm and sure to inspire strength.

Once and if Lady Alye takes his hand, he will jump on to the roof with her. From there Leonard saw mass chaos. The people were panicking and the rest of the mages were either fighting the monster or those responsible for its summon. At least I know where she is now. he thought to himself as the woman was seen being engaged by other mages, too difficult to make out who it was from this distance.

He rubbed his chin in wonder as he continued to look around. No one was dealing with the civilians. True enough that they should deal with the monster, but they should know that it is the people who live in Hargeon that are the ones most affected. They are the ones whose very lives must be their first priority. The normal people who cannot defend themselves, it is because of them that guilds were opened. So he decided with determination in his eyes as he scanned the streets, looking at the poor panicking souls who do not know what will become of them once this is all over. With fierce determination in his eyes, he has decided what he must do. To get these people to safety. Ensuring that everyone gets through. As humble as it was, it was also noble. And important.

After this, he caught a glimpse of a man robbing a watch stall, who even looked to exchange a few words before punching and making a run for it. He would sigh and shake his head in disappointment. Seeing that there was still those who would further their selfish intents rather than seeing the bigger picture.

In a sad sigh, he turned to Lady Alye to discuss his plan. "Milady. I'm sorry, but I must ask you to do something. The people are in a panic, and without protection. It will be up to us to get them to safety. Please rally up a team to help us in this task." after wards he turned and looked for the thief and continued "I must deal with the less... cooperative ones. Please take this communicator and meet me at once. I can't do this without you, so I'll just stall them." He was sad because they will have to be separated again, even if it was just a little while.

He didn't even realize he was still holding her hand. And as he went down to meet the selfish thief, he slowly let go with their fingers dramatically sliding off from each other as he fell freely to the ground with his hands over his head, and landed a few meters in front of the thief, he arms crossed in his chest as he landed smoothly on bent knees and without a sound. He stood up and confronted the stranger. "Your town is facing a crisis and yet here you are, worrying about yourself..." he spoke deep and cold and sweeping his right hand to his side that was accompanied by a grayish-white glow that ended as a simple broadsword. "I won't let you continue. So please give yourself up easily..."

Mashyuu was standing around at this point, waiting for something to happen, for a reason to spring into action. He was just about to give up when he heard a massive burst of shouts fill the city. It was painful to the Dragon Slayers ears and while he was forced to drop to his knees he managed to fight through it and look out towards the water. Mashyuu's jaw dropped down in fear.... Real fear, something he hadn't felt since he was a young child. Slowly he pulled himself up while he watched and listened to the monster state that it was going to destroy everything. "Well looks like I found what I have to take down. O.k. Mashyuu lets do this." He whispered while trying to hype himself up.

Men and women started to rush past Mashyuu and while he wanted to say something smart about how they didn't want to leave while they were being warned, he kept it in and shouted loudly. "Everyone stay calm and help one another out of the city, leave by any means you have that isn't a boat! Clear out and warn any neighboring villages or people you come across!" A large majority of men and women passed the Earth Slayer by but near by he could hear glass shattering. Thinking it was simply someone trying to get out of their home Mashyuu rushed over to the source of the sound...

The Earth Wizard stopped to see a trio of men dressed in shabby clothes looting up a small trinket shop. Mashyuu rolled his eyes and mumbled something about how no matter what was happening in the world, there were others who were always trying to take what didn't belong to them. Casually Mashyuu strolled into the shop and stepped on a large piece of glass to alert the thugs they weren't alone. The three men twisted around to look at Mashyuu and their eyes narrowed at him. Between the men was a set of two large bags all half filled with pilfered items from the shop. Mashyuu rushed forward and slammed his fist into one of the men's jaw as hard as he could. The man went sprawling through the air, the Dragon Slayer gloves on his hands making his strikes stronger than even a normal Slayers would be. Mashyuu twisted on his feet to glare at the other two men but they were already running to report to their boss Vic. Mashyuu scowled and started to give chase, trying to stop them from possibly hurting anyone before it was to late.

WC: 434

Rowan didn't have much time to speak with his guildmaster. Soon after his brief encounter with the Fire King, a huge magical presence made itself known to Hargeon, and before Rowan could react, Ardere was off to assist others in defeating it. In the meantime, the plasma mage made his way down the building's stairs as fast as he could, huffing all the while. It wasn't just the physical exertion that was tiring him, but the sheer magical strength that clung to the atmosphere was choking, and every few flights, Rowan bent over to catch his breath. By the time he made it to the bottom, Rowan was soaking in his own sweat, but thankfully, the port town's naturally cool air quickly cooled him down. Just as he was about to step away to see where Ardere had gone off to, a couple of shifty looking men ran straight past him, jostling the plasma mage in the process. Rowan turned to angrily curse at the thugs, before yet another person ran past him, apparently chasing down the thieves. Rowan’s cringed as he felt the dragon slayer’s powerful aura spring past him, and the plasma mage’s insults stuck in his throat, instead choosing to shake his head in disappointment. With that ordeal quickly over, Rowan turned to the streets and noticed the throng of panicking people, who were basically stepping over themselves in a hurry to escape the town. Nobody really seemed to be organizing the exodus from the city, and so Rowan took it upon himself to do exactly that.

The plasma mage took a few a running steps closer to the front of the crowd, before cupping his hands over his mouth and taking a deep breath. “Everyone please quickly, but safely, exit the town! Move away from the giant sea monster! Take only the barest of necessities!” Rowan shook his head before making his way to the other side of the crowd. The people had been warned to leave much earlier, but their stubbornness now left them in a much worse situation. Still, there was no point in crying over spilt milk, and Rowan cupped his hands over his mouth once more. “If your family has an evacuation meeting point, please get there as quickly as possible! NO Sir! That couch is NOT a necessity, please put it down!” Rowan continued the evacuation as smoothly as he could, ushering people towards the exits as he did so. He could hear shattering glass somewhere off in the distance, but his main priority was to help the people get out. Everything was going rather well, except for this woman, who seemed desperate to interrupt the flow of pedestrian traffic by pushing through the crowd, wailing about unintelligibly. With a sigh, the plasma mage pushed through the escaping people, and pulled her out of the masses, interrogating her off to the side. “What exactly are you doing?!” he hissed through his teeth, unsure of why there would be a trouble maker in all of this. The woman broke down into further tears, words jumbling out of her mouth. “Mmmmm-my chil-… m-my childre—-nn…. p-please y-y” Rowan grabbed his own face in frustration, his hands running down slowly. He couldn’t understand how people forget to stick to their own children in these sort of situations, but he knew it was essentially his obligation to go hunt down the children. “God-okay okay! Fine! I’ll go get your children and make sure they evacuate safely, but for now… just get out of here!” Rowan didn’t wait for her to reply before sprinting down towards the heart of the city, his eyes scanning the multitude of alleys that sprang from the streets.

((622 Words))

It was not soon after he had gone back to submerging his mind on the words in the book before all sunlight that was entering the library suddenly and abruptly was cut out to leave only the dim artificial light from the glowing lacrima that floated gently all around the library, cutting his concentration from the book Aether placed it on the table in front of him before making his way over to the closest window to see what sort of object could be blocking the sun from all points of the building, with Anima following closely behind him.

Having spent most of his years after escaping the lab he was experimented on for 11 whole years he had travelled far and wide, journeying across many continents and coming across many large and often dangerous creatures in his travels. But whatever this was it took the cake, and most of the other sweet desserts. Before this the largest creature he had come this close to was a sand wyrm in the midst of Desertio which compared to this behemoth of a fish was as a normal human considered a lowly worm beneath their feet. He was almost paralysed by fear at the size of the beast, the screaming of those who had made it to the windows in time to see the beast further setting in his fear towards this creature as they made attempts to gather their items and escape as quickly as they could. It was only when Anima grabbed his shoulder that Aether seemed to snap out of his temporary paralysis as he turned towards his soul-bound friend, placing his hand on hers as they both nodded to each other.

Taking another look out the window Aether noticed the quickly approaching wave heading straight for the library. There was no time to escape. He had to do what he could to protect those in the building before it would be taken down by the torrent of water. But what could he do? The wave was simply too large to create a portal large enough to capture it and he could only sustain a wall of bone long enough to stop it from destroying the building for a good few seconds, and a few seconds wasn’t going to cut it for a wave this large. Sighing to himself he was beginning to prepare for the torrent of water to impact the building at any moment, only to be met with a soft golden light replacing the dark shadow as an audible gong sound could be heard.

It had only been a moment in his eyes but the wave that approached the city had been blocked by some form of large domed shield formed of light, his one visible eye widening at the spectacle that was unfolding before him as it cracked and shattered, falling all over the city but never damaging it as it turned to golden sparkles to be captured by the wind. Sighing in relief from the receding wave Aether returned to his feet and cast his gaze across the city in case anyone or anything needed help getting out of the city, only to find a small group of at least six people moving in to a building. Normally people in this situation would be either cowering in fear in their homes or running to what Aether could assume that they were educated enough to seek a high hill or mountain to reside upon until the monster in the bay was defeated. For now he could only assume they were up to no good, no doubt plundering and pillaging what appeared to be a store for all they could get their hands on.

Opening the window of the second story building Aether would climb out, quickly pulling two knives from his pocket dimension to swiftly make his way down the building as quickly as he could without hurting himself, displaying his agility and speed as he swung himself down before digging the daggers into the building itself, slowing his decent as he pushed off and pulled the bone daggers towards him and back into his hands, making his way towards the looters and whoever else might be there.

703 words

An overwhelming magical presence quickly washed over the entire port city, seeming to make time itself freeze around the cream haired Dragon Slayer as she stood upon a roof near the shore with her Guild Master. The next few moments seemed to play out in slow motion as a beast of beyond gargantuan size arose from the waters not far from the city. Most normal people would be in a state of utter shock and fear from simply gazing upon this strange fish creature, but Haretsa was far from a normal person. The size of this creature combined with its immense magical power only seemed to cause her blood to boil with anticipation. With no citizens in the city to get in her way, the Dragon Heiress would finally have a chance to cut loose with her full power without having to worry about civilian casualties. ”Ohhhhhhhhhh this is gonna be fuuuuuuuuuuuun~” Haretsa exclaimed with a grin, her grip on Scisara tightening as a tsunami began rushing towards the city and her Guild Master along with his pet rocketed towards the beast ahead of her. ”I’ll show you whose really at the top of the food chain, ya overgrown squid…” Haretsa muttered to herself as her body began sinking down into the shadows to avoid the oncoming torrent of water.

    Once she was in the safety of the Void, Haretsa proceeded to blast her way through the shadows towards the ocean in order to get around the wave and head towards the creature. However, her journey through the realm of shadows was quickly cut short as she seemed to smash into something akin to a brick wall. "OW!! What the hell..!?" she uttered in confusion, looking up to her view of the real world only to see a gigantic dome of light now surrounding the city and causing the massive tsunami to crash against it. Haretsa didn't know what this strange light dome was, but her curiosity ended up getting the better of her as she immediately exited the Void to find out. Resurfacing not far from where she had set off, Haretsa's head looked around curiously as pieces of light fell around her like glass. Despite a piece hitting her right in the head, the light didn't hurt at all nor did it seem to cause any kind of damage. Was this one of those Guild Spell things from that Heero fellow Ardere seemed to never shut up about sparring with? Whatever it was, the Head of Destruction didn't have much time to wonder about it, as now that she was out of the safety of the Void, she was now vulnerable to a strange song that seemed to fill the air. It didn't really seem to do much aside from sound decent and somewhat enjoyable to the girl's ears, but the screams of terror from countless numbers of citizens seemed to snap her out of enjoyment. "The hell..? Why are there people here?! You were all supposed to evacuate the freaking city days ago!!!! DAMMIT ALL!!!" Haretsa cussed, turning her attention back to the city.


     The moment she turned, Haretsa's hazel orbs caught the movement of about six or so figures off in the distance breaking into a shop of some sorts. Whatever these figures were, they didn't look human to Haretsa. "Alright Squid Lord, I guess I'll deal with you after lopping the heads off of some of your lackeys!!" she exclaimed, returning once more unto the Void and swimming through the shadows at high speeds towards her destination. Once there, the Dragon Slayer wasted no time hopping out of the shadows with her energy scythe at the ready; oblivious to the others that seemed to gather at the same shop as all she saw were the six strange fish looking creatures that were apparently looting the place for some strange reason. Five of them appeared to be anthropomorphic sharks, while the biggest looking one looked like some sort of bizarre, brown octopus with a hammerhead shark for a head and maces for arms. Whatever the hell it was that Haretsa was looking at it, she knew it at least wouldn't be boring to fight if it looked like that. "We're having a seafood buffet tonight, it seems! I guess I'm starting with the shark appetizers!!" Haretsa exclaimed as she pointed her scythe towards the six beings in the shop; everyone else gathered here more than likely having no idea what on earth the girl was talking about and assuming her to be crazy.

=====

WC: 757

Yeah the song I had her hear at the beginning from the siren chick in the other thread makes Vic and the others look like Cthulu Gargalax's minions of some sort; only way I could think to have Haretsa fight these guys lol

At this point however the entire game would change, as Kateri attacked. The barrage she unleashed struck the gargantuan in the chest and continued pounding, pouring on more and more damage, until the stream of rounds punched out the back of the beasts chest, leaving an absolutely gaping hole in its body from this one attack. Gargalrax seemed to freeze up, its tentacles freezing and loosening their grasp, allowing the armored nun and the civillains to escape its grasp. The spirit hawk would cut through several tentacles unstopped, and every attack would strike the beast for its maximum effect as the monster stood there, seemingly stunned by what had just happened. Blood poured from the wound, flooding the very sea with black, loose tentacles falling from the wound like loosened parasites.

The tentacles began withdrawing from the shore, all across the city pulling back into the water, as Gargalrax began falling backwards, toppling like the mightiest of oaks. The beasts fall could be seen all across the city, and for a time it would seem almost too quiet, too calm, as even the giants magical signature had ceased to exist. Another massive wave of water began rushing towards the city as the beast fell, its sheer size displacing millions, if not billions, of gallons of water in a monsterous wave. But that was it. All other attacks by the monster ended.

Aw, so someone though he shouldn't be doing what he wanted to. "Butt out buddy. I won't be as nice to you as I was the old man. He had it coming and I don't want to deal with you when there's money to be made here and now. Money that we need for a good reason. Now step aside so I can go about my business. We don't want to spill blood if we can help it."

No weapon would be drawn in response to the other's, he needn't one for this; not with the tricks he had in store for the requip mage before him if he had to fight.

In another area of town, Dar had fully awoken the rest of the gang; the actual looters that were working with Vic. All others were, for all intents and purposes, enemies of them as well as they were interfering with business.

Dar, the strong man, was at the main bank of the town with Nanial, the master of puppets. Valria, the wolf takeover mage, along with Yue, the anti-magic requipper, were hitting the magic shops and grabbing the more powerful items that had been left behind.

The gang of five were deadly, giving themselves the name "Black Vipers," and were not to be taken lightly. Even seperated in groups of two, across the town from each other, they are a force to be reconed with for anyone that challenged them.

notes:

Leonard has had this stare down with the thief who was smart enough to proceed with caution after seeing him drop down from the rooftops. It would appear he doesn't know what to do, considering that his objective was to escape. No. Leonard squinted his eyes and he was sure this young lad has no intention to give himself up. Was he waiting for something? His henchmen perhaps? He did look like the type to lead a gang of thieves.

The stare down continued, while his grip on his weapon tightened. Making sure that the thief stayed in the center of his vision. Just then he replied as if warning him to stay out of his way, concerning himself more on money above anything else. This man also said something about not wanting to spill blood. Perhaps he has principles after all, and he is simply misguided. Cornered to this kind of deed without a choice. At the very least, he was still human and Leonard thought that he might still be redeemed. "I won't pretend to know you, my friend. But you must consider that this isn't that kind of opportunity you're looking for. You need money? There more ways, better ways, legal ways to make it if you would just stand down and come with me." he pleaded, placing his ReQuipped weapon on his back and changing it to Archangel should hostilities arise. Yet this was a gesture of letting his guard down, of placing a bit of trust and non aggression towards the thief.

Just then a huge thud and a slight tremor of the ground cut off their starring contest and made Leonard looked towards the sea as he knew that it could only mean that the beast that emerged from the sea has fallen. Crashing back to whence it came, causing another huge tidal wave to burst forth from the seas, ensuing another episode of panic amongst the people of the city. The waves were closing in. Crashing towards the buildings and flooding streets. Screams could be heard in every direction. The situation was growing dire. He could smell the sea from here despite being a couple of miles away from the port.

He looked back towards the man and pointed outwards to the scene unfolding before them. "Look! This place is going to hell and yet you still cling to your selfish ways. You might have had a rough time living here, but this is still your home. These people are still people you know. Well... Since you stole from them. Your friends might be the ones making those screams we hear right now. It's not too late to redeem yourself yet. Trust me. You just need to this one moment in your life to change the path you walk on forever." he continued with a heartfelt speech. Hoping that at least some of it got through. Leonard was betting everything he has on this man. He was able bodied. He could help him get the people to safety. But as this stand off continued, the more risk they would have to face if he succeeds. And as the screams grew louder, the waves crashing in getting closer, he would grin his teeth as his heart grew heavier. There wasn't much time....

Mashyuu ran after the thieves until they vanished from sight. The blue eyed man placed his hands on his knees and took a deep breath and stood up, waving his hands as if giving up. "Screw it. It isn't worth chasing some low lives who won't make it out of the city as is because they are to stupid to run to safety." Mashyuu said to nobody in particular. The young man started to turn as the ground rumbled and the sound of rushing water hit the Slayers ears. "Oh shit...." Mashyuu whispered and made his way into a small stone building. Swiftly he pushed heavy bookshelves, desks and chairs in the small furniture shop against windows and the door. Mashyuu placed his back to a stone wall and braced for the impending wave that was surely coming.

WC: 140...

The good news was that Rowan had eventually found the missing children. The plasma mage had spotted them dangerously near the ocean, and without any hesitation, he scooped them underneath his arms and began hauling them out of the town. The toddlers didn't struggle or resist, but they did bawl their eyes out, which only added to the sounds of combat springing up and around the area. Rowan moved at a rather hurried pace, eager to leave the dangerous parts of the town to the higher ranked mages. As he went along, the plasma mage spotted people who were still adamant about staying in their homes, and he shook his head disappointingly. He felt the need to urge them to leave their homes, but before he could come to a final decision, a huge shaking stirred the ground. Several people poked their heads out to identify the disturbance, and Rowan turned around himself, a bit curious. The plasma mage managed to get a glimpse of a huge monster falling into the ocean. For a brief moment, the plasma felt some pride at the beasts' fall, but suddenly, both he and the townsfolk, realized that the impact would create one hell of a wave. And they were right. From the horizon, Rowan could spot the rising tide...al wave quickly grow larger in size, and without further hesitation, he spun on his heel and headed sprinted towards safety.

Several of the remaining townspeople quickly followed suite, and were actually right on Rowan's back as they ran from the quickly approaching wave. Rowan could hear the crashing of buildings being bulldozed by the large wave, and the sound only spurred him onward. As he ran, Rowan passed various mages doing all sorts of things, but for the most part everyone was bracing themselves for the wave. A few of the townspeople lagged behind for awhile, but they would quickly rekindle their running for their life. After a minute or so, Rowan felt he was far enough away, but his job wasn't done yet. Along the way, Rowan had spotted several bandits being confronted by mages, and the plasma mage sought to help out. Handing the children off to one of the towns people, Rowan instructed the group to make their way out of the city. The plasma mage watched in satisfaction as they scampered off, and without further ado Rowan jogged to the closest scuffle, which happened to be where Izayuki was at.

((410 Words))

Even as the many mages watched the mighty titan fall, even as they combated his wave, moved to battle lesser threats, to save the citizenry, to heal wounds and deal with crisis around the city, expending their magic and wounding themselves, even as they thought the world saved and the mighty beast fallen, a dark and forboding power would wash over the entire city, like a wave of hostility and terror, digging deep into the souls of all gathered. Even the mighty wizard saints, so bold in their power, even the holy clerics, the darkest of dragons, the mighty warriors, the gods of blood, the technological geniuses in their airships, all of them would feel it, deep in their souls. Gargalrax had come full, and his presence was beyond belief.

A wash of power flooded over the city, energy ad life force renewed into the behemoth that had fallen. No, not within the behemoth, but beneath it! Even as so many watched in likely awe, two massive breaks in the water would appear, miles long, hundreds if not thousands of feet wide, with jagged mountain ranges along the edges and curving, with the behemoth in the center of them. As the seemingly massive ranges of mountains, curving in nature, began to rise, and oddly close, it would dawn on those watching just what they were seeing. The closing of jaws around a punctured tongue.

The beast would continue to rise as it closed its jaws, scales the size of towers gleaming in the setting sun, water cascading from its closing jaws as if the ocean itself was emptying. It was enormous, its size defying belief. It was as if an island had come to life and risen from the sea with the sole purpose of crushing Hargeon. The beast continued to rise, its absolutely massive head and body, shaped like an ungodly large bullet, with a rounded snout and a massive, rounded body, with two massive legs attached to it. The beast would rise higher, higher, and some how even higher still into the air, mile after mile of massive body rising up high. before the massive body would begin to topple, its huge body blotting out the sun as its body plummeted down to catch itself on the land, its legs catching its weight. But the sheer impact from the legs sent out shockwaves like nothing seen before, two massive craters forming under the feet, hundreds of feet deep and wide, flattening buildings over a mile in either direction and sending people flying. But perhaps the worst part of the beast, worse than its size, worse than that sickening, other worldly feel to its magical presence, worse than the sheer awe it likely inspired in so many, was what was all along its body. Tentacles, thousands and thousands of tentacles, belching forth from massive mouths all along the beasts gigantic form, streaming down to the city in swarms of varying sizes. Some were small, no more than a few inches thick, but incredibly long with row after row of razor sharp teeth along the edges, swooping down to snatch up civillains and bury the teeth into their flesh, yanking them back up into the jaws. Others were massive, hundreds of feet across with stone colored scales across the back and massive, crushing suckers along the bottom, striking down to smash entire avenues into rubble. Even as the tentacles smashed along, the massive creature would begin moving, one gigantic leg rising as the beast slid forward, further onto land, its body rising more out of the ocean, where even more of its flesh was hidden in the waves, which were rushing in in gigantic waves to fill the space its body had left behind. Gargalrax, his true form, was coming ashore, and who could imagine the destruction he would bring.

After a long pause Mashyuu stepped outside to see what was happening. His jaw dropped as he realized that this was a lost cause. Anyone insane enough to still be in town was going to be dead. Swiftly the Wizard realized it was better to live and fight another day. He twisted around and took off for the safety of anywhere that wasn't here.

Rowan took a reflexive step back as Izayuki made short work of the looters. He even went so far as to wince sympathetically as the leader of the group made a brave, but vain attempt to attack the yokai. Rowan watched with some satisfaction as the last of the looters was repelled, only for his satisfaction to turn into disappointment with the arrival of two MORE looters. It had seemed Izayuki had also noticed the newcomers, but Rowan didn’t wait for her to take the lead. Instead the plasma mage began a steady jog towards the broken window of the magic shop only to stop dead in his tracks when a huge magical presence made itself known. Slowly, the plasma mage’s head turned towards the direction of the aura, and Rowan beheld the great beast’s ascension from the water. The first thing the mage noted was the immediate sounds of screams as the innocents were snatched up by the creature’s tentacles. However, Rowan was a bit more concerned with the fact that Gargalrax was steadily getting closer towards the mainland, and that the monstrous thing was already crushing building along the coast. Rowan could see, and sense, Ardere combating the sea thingy with the guild’s Hydra as well, but for the most part it looked ineffective against a creature of such size.

The plasma mage fell to his knees as pure hopelessness and dread overtook him, and tremors shook the earth. Out of the corner of his eye, Rowan noticed some movement from the pair of looters in the magic shop, but right now his full attention was Gargalrax’s true form. Even if the plasma mage aided in the evacuation of citizens, and the damage control of looters, would it really matter if the entirety of Hargeon city was destroyed? Probably not. Out of frustration, Rowan pounded the ground before standing up and drawing his arm back as far as he could, before yelling and flinging a simple plasma bolt in Gargalrax’s general direction. The magical attack would probably disperse before even reaching the halfway point of the intended target, but it felt good, and so Rowan did it. With that out of his system, Rowan returned his attention to the looters, and with cry of anger, the plasma mage charged towards the store, at the same time unleashing a torrent of unstable plasma energy into the air above him. By the time Rowan hopped through the broken window, a small cloud of plasma was swirling about him, and a faint crackling quickly rose in volume before 2 bolts of pure magic were unleashed in the looters’ general direction. Rowan wasn’t too sure if they hit or not, but it didn’t matter, the plasma mage was closing in for a simple right hook.

((463 Words))

Stats:
HP: 200/200
MP: 85%

Spells used:

"Legality is what brought me to where I am today. I've had enough of the legal way of thinking. Just look at some of the 'legal' guilds and what they get away with. At least I've never outright killed someone. Sure I may injure, steal, loot, threaten, but I have never taken a life. Neither has anyone in my crew. Everyone with me has had a rough life, and we do what we do for something no one understands until they see it in person. I'd offer to take you there, but I can't trust you, not right now. Sure, this place may be coming down around us. Any I can sense everyone of my friends, they are in no trouble just yet. If they were they have a small magical device to get them out safe and sound. I have full confidence in them to make me proud, and to survive at all costs."

Vic had no intention of turning himself in to this man, no matter what it might cost him. He had his goals, his entire life working him to here. Others may look down on him, but those rich in this town would understand what he did if they could just see it without the greed in their hearts.

~~Across Town At The Magic Shops~~
Valria and Yue had had an easy time stripping the place of what they found to be useful, even as the monster made it's way with the town. A yip from the takeover mage was the only noise made by them as they worked quickly, before feeling the presence of other mages in the area. Looking around they didn't notice anyone just yet, though a strange animal seemed to be emitting an aura that released a dark frost from herself. "Aww, it's adorable. Can we take it?" The excited voice would be Valria, the excitable woman loving animals in general.

"No, it's obviously not an ordinary animal. It may even be one of the mages here to help the town. Leave them be and we can hope they don't attack us when they see us try to move to the next place." Yue's serious voice would carry loud enough for the transformed girl to hear her, just in case it might help eliminate hostility for all around.

~~At The Bank~~
Dar and Nanial found themselves uninterupted even as the two managed to finally get into the main vault of the bank, Dar and the puppetmaster quickly loading bags with money so they could transport them out efficiently.

With every passing moment, problems are getting worse. And it's starting to piss Leonard off that this. His one job. And he can't even do it right. He balled up his fists and stood there like a stone all the while the town around him quakes and shakes to the might of the beasts attacking the town. He doesn't even know what's happening to the rest of the town. But he had strong faith in the rest of the mages present.

The thief in front of him. Their leader. Lectured Leonard of things no one understands. He raised a brow slightly, to the point that none will see it. Especially not in the thief's distance. He raised a point on not trusting Leonard on letting him see the truth they came to suffer. But little did he know, Leonard suffered certain truths himself. He would have loved to further debate with him, but structures are beginning to crumble around them. They will be squashed if they will not move.

And in an impulse decision came over Leonard as one of the structure's shadow began to loom over them, threatening to crush them under it, he dashed towards the thief in a flash of light, making any of his weapons disappear. He tackled the thief and grabbed hold of him as he was trying to take them to a safer place. Preferably higher ground. After covering about a half kilometer of ground, Leonard jumped up to a structure's roof while still holding the thief, only releasing him when they reached the top, making him behold the destruction that is being wrought about. Waves of water crashing and flooding the streets. Mighty beast known as Gargalax emerged from the beast the other mages had initially fell. And with every passing moment, Gargalax continues to bring about the wrath of the sea to the "surface dwellers", attacking them with everything he has. "Perhaps we can continue to speak and reason here." he said as he began to turn his back on him to survey the field once more. "The truth you hold on to. What you saw. Will it still be there when Hargeon is gone? Because if not, then you would have lost your cause. You may not change, but can you at least fight, protect, to save that thing you think I will not understand?" he added.

Standing taller than even the gods as they sit on their thrones, the beast let out a bellowing howl of laughter. Several ants began running as they realized they'd bitten off far more than they could chew, but all were far too late. A massive tentacle was lifted, sweeping across the coast and toppling buildings as it smashed through them. An enormous crater was blasted open, homes and debris flying to the sky as a tentacle erupted from under Hargeon, tearing a massive gash in the town. The massive appendage was preparing to crash down to level a large section of the port city when a wave of air slashed it off, causing it to land almost perfectly back down in the hole from which it emerged. Several beams impacted Gargalrax's hide, dealing almost no damage through the thick, leathery armour that was his flesh, but it had served to annoy him rather greatly. "You insects are still alive!?" he bellowed, lifting a set of tentacles from the sea and slamming them back down, sending a non-magical tsunami towards Hargeon that would serve to level a good portion of the houses lining the shore. The wave would serve as a viable method to keep other ants from biting at him, as well as a means of reducing their numbers. A wall of smaller tentacles flew up, blocking off some of the bastard mosquito's attacks. 'Twas then, what the insects below would call a large ship would begin blasting away at Gargalrax's body, smashing minuscule burn marks into him. Out of reaction more than the minor stinging sensation, the creature let out a howl before sweeping a tentacle in its direction, sending out a blast of air that would send almost and ship, however, a competent pilot would be able to save his or her ship before it crashed. Something then began striking at Gargalrax's back, another of those damned mosquito's these... ants called Dragons. Gargalrax bent over, releasing an enormous amount of air from behind him that smelled like the inside of a dead creature if it were fermenting in its own organs for years without decaying, a smell that would repel even the most tolerant of beings.

The behemoth of a creature had nearly made landfall when a golden light began forming high in the sky, even higher up than the behemoth itself. It was known only by the mages of this world as the Etherion Cannon, a weapon the magic council had only ever utilized in dire situations. Gargalrax however hadn't known this contraption, this... spell of deathly prowess and only gave it a passing glance. His tentacles swept across the shore once more, his laughter echoing through the town as he watched the wizards flee, not knowing it wasn't him by which they feared... It would require some time for the attack to be finished, and those who remembered this spell would be wise enough to vacate the immediate area. "YES! RUN YOU VILE CREATURES! SCATTER AS I LAY CLAIM TO YOUR PUNY SETTLEMENT!" his arrogant voice would be heard as massive tentacles ripped from underneath Hargeon, tearing enormous craters that lined the streets and cut off exit routes, sending hundreds of homes into the air.


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Gargalrax froze up, feeling something moving around inside his body, something tearing its way through. Blood flew from his mouth, covering a massive chunk of the city as his tentacles ceased wreaking havoc and tensed up. He felt something tear at his skull before making its way out into the open. Regardless of how far away the man got, Gargalrax was far from finished, and far from being defeated by meager attacks. Having a second pair of all organs, as well as a multi layer brain had made it so simply destroying his organs wouldn't be enough to put an end to it, though he couldn't shake the feeling that a portion of him was taken. "You think you're a god!? DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH MORTAL!"

A bright blue light shone, pooling inside the mouth of Gargalrax as the weight of the magic power he began using caused the air to grow heavy. The light shining through the clouds, filtering through the rain grew brighter, splitting off and forming rainbows across the field as all was getting ready to be said and done. "TASTE THE POWER OF A REAL G-" a blast of magic power slammed down on Gargalrax, slamming straight through his crown and shooting all the way down through his body. The magic power he'd welled up in his mouth released all at once, causing a magical explosion that would serve to further the damage dealt to him. The unrequited power of the Etherion Cannon slamming into the ground kicked up brine and debris from the ocean floor below. Bits of long destroyed ships, sand, molten glass and steam all shot out from the wealth of tentacles surrounding Gargalrax's legs and continued forth in a massive shockwave. All sound had ceased, not a sound was heard for a matter of moments as the dust began to settle.

The dust settled, revealing the massive beast falling slowly. Buildings seemed to explode in a massive cloud of dust, death, and blood as Gargalrax hit the floor with an enormous hole blown straight through him. The beating the self proclaimed god has given his insides has made it soft, causing the creature to reroute so much energy to repairing his damaged organs and firing a blast at the false god whom exited him that he was unable to use magic to shave some of the damage from the attack. This, combined with arrogance, and the destruction of a vast portion of Hargeon would be the legacy of Gargalrax...

Much of Hargeon was left in shambles, enormous, elongated craters scarred the city. Toppled buildings, corpses, crying mothers, fathers, children littering the streets and crevices under insurmountable piles of debris. Fires raging throughout the city, the downpour serving only to contain the flames but doing little to stop them, though with time the wood which was burning would eventually become too wet to burn. The scars left on the city itself would be capable of being repaired, the scars left on the heart of her people however would never heal...

Vic saw the buildings starting to crumble, starting to endanger the men holding a conversation that had no place for what was going on around them. He had been ready to make his leave when he found the one before him suddenly charging. It was good that the weapons had disappeared or Vic would have thought he was being attacked, the very thought enough to bring him to use the full force of his magic against him. Leonard began to speak more, the two at a much closer difference, but it seemed that the monster had finally been struck its final blows and the battle was over; it was time for the looters to get out before the full force of the mages around began to clean up the leftover issues.

"While this town may have been damaged, my groups cause can still go on. It is not in any of the towns or cities, but our own refuge that we have built with our efforts. Maybe some day you will talk me into showing you, but today is not that day. I will continue to fight for my cause, and please continue to fight for yours. Remember that we leave as acquaintances, and not enemies, and I will remember your face the next time we meet."

With that said the man took out a small item, what looked like some kind of lacrima with objects attached to it, before he pushed a button on it and simply disappeared. All those with him had the same teleportation lacrima, and each would use it to teleport out with the goods they had looted and the money from the bank.

END

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