Salvage (Duel)

Its been months since the Guild Eclipse Soul has disbanded, for whatever reasons they might have is unknown. Its in Dubhlainn's best interest to search for any clue to whatever clues there is regarding to their disappearance. Eclipse Soul disappearing out on a whim is something he did not believe, there must be a reason for its disappearance. He wore a hunter's attire for this dispatch, investigating the very site of Eclipse Soul itself in hopes to find clues about the Legendary Master Zeno. Even the heat of the afternoon sun did not hinder him.

He never met him but he heard of his amazing triumphs and was known to be one of the Arcana Force users, a kind of lost magic and probably uncommon of its like. He hid his horse on one side, dropped down from his mount and started to walk towards the old and ruined Guild Hall.

He need not to knock, he simply burst the door down and drew a flash light, if anything would help him it would be Eclipse Soul's Archive Room.

---

You have decided to take on a salvage mission by a group of Ravagers to head towards the Phoenix Mountains to Salvage whatever is left of the guild hall Eclipse Soul. If you find any valuables, bring it back to the Ravager's camp. Be swift about this chore as the Ravagers would move to Midi the next day and they will not wait for you.

"mmmmm the warmth Kyaaaaa~" Her voice rang out, half dazed from just waking up on her perched position over a cliff. The sun's warm rays beating down on her skin. The tightly coiled snake body twitched in enjoyment of the heat. Her eyes slowly flickering open as she took a deep breath to start the day.

Though that is when her expression changed. Inhaling the air gave her an unfamiliar scent to pick up on. It was faint, and one had no clue as to what it belonged to. It just did not belong to a typical mountain dwelling creature. No this smelled somewhat different, but Ellia couldn't even put a finger on it. However it did spark her interest. She knew of the old ruins of the eclipse soul guild, but did not know much about it. Only recently had she actually began to actually delve deep into magic. It didn't stop her from deducting the scent went 'towards' that direction, but she was unsure of if it went to or past the ruins.

Her instincts told her to start looking at a thermal level, but the rays of heat beating down on the entire area made it way too hard to even do such a thing. Fact was, she had already tried, no tracks could be found due to the entire ground being one hot marking to her.

"Hmmm... wonder if they're Hostile" her voice muffled as she slid down the slide of the cliff, using her long snake like body as a rope to cling to any spot that allowed her, while using her upper body to gradually climb until she reached the bottom, a more open clearing, and then progress towards the ruins of the guild hall. The other's presence made her curious, and sure... why not... time to investigate.

Through the empty halls, Dubhlainn had search for what is possibly the Archives room till he found a huge room with books and file cabinets. Surely this must be the room he's looking for and so it was. Here was the list of former Eclipse Soul members, some were just papers of the guild's own budget and some were just profiles of the guild members themselves but no traces of Zeno's profile. He was patient and scanned through the documents thoroughly till something stirred his senses.

A demi-human is somewhere near the guild hall. Dubhlainn has a natural sense for anything that isn't human, it was one of the gifts that he was cursed with but proved useful towards many situations. A demi-human in the mountains? Who could have gone their way through the afternoon just to get here? At first Dubhlainn wanted to ignore it but he can feel them moving into the abandoned Eclipse Soul Guild Hall and there was one thing to do... hide and identify the intruder....

... other than himself. The Magnum only had 4 loaders filled with bullets but since its a demi-human, four loaders wasn't enough for this situation. And as soon as it seem it entered he held his breath, with his hand at his pockets. The Demi-human could sense Dubhlainn due to his... "essence" so in order to minimize the presence he himself is giving off, he must hold his breath and remain as an inanimate object amongst objects.

Curious yet cautious, Ellia proceeded to slither forward but not into the building. Inside could mean they were laying in wait for her, but inside at least meant the heat from the outside no longer would show. Even one that didn't naturally give off heat would be a different temperature due to having been outside.

Ellia's mouth would open just slightly as her lungs began to become filled with the air in the surrounding area. The person or what ever they were was around, but the scent was stagnant, she had not developed it perfectly yet, which meant it still had a ways to go. Even trying to sense the presence of a mage was not as adept yet either, she had tried but seemed to slither backwards. The presence had stopped, as the air was becoming more stale, so did they know she was around? No? Maybe they simply stopped due to searching. Did they belong to this once prosperous guild? Perhaps yes, maybe no.

Her instincts told her to leave, but instead she backed up. If they were hostile, then thing could get sour. However, someone that did not immediately jump out to attack, must have some self control. Deducting this Ellia decided to speak up.

"Who are you?!" Ellia would speak more than loud enough, the quiet echos of the mountains meant anyone in the vicinity would hear her voice, despite not trying to yell. Instinctively even after speaking, her body would be pushed backwards by her own habbit, slithering backwards to give distance to him and who ever was there. If they were hostile, she'd fight if she had to, but going into a darkened room, and more so, a ruined building with potential traps laying in wait, just meant she'd have to proceed with caution and wait outside, or wait for a reply.

Dubhlainn hid his submachine gun under his robes and aimed right at the door. Whatever it is, its waiting for him outside. There was no point in hiding his presence; they already know he is here. Demi-humans will always sense other Demi-humans regardless and her question confirms it. If she were behind the guild door, then Dubhlainn knows what he must do. He walked into the Guild Hall, aimed his Magnum right at the rotting wooden door. A few seconds right after she asked, his answer was delivered by means of firing through the rotting wooden door and tearing off her top just around the right shoulder.

Primarily he intended to aim for the middle of its neck but it seems he has miscalculated, thinking that he can fire through visual obstruction and use his instincts to get the perfect shot to kill them. He was wrong. He jumped up from the Guild Hall and into the balcony that overseas it. His barrel was smoking and only five bullets remain. (No damage as this is just an intro to the duel).

How troublesome, if this is one of the former Eclipse Soul Mages then he’s in trouble, and once that they get a good look at him, then he had no choice but to shoot to kill. He wore his hat and masked his face with his bandanna, leaving his eyes exposed. “…” He can’t run into trouble but that last shot marked his failure. Hopefully they’d take it as a warning shot but right now he’s waiting for a response and if Ellia were to come in, Dubhlainn would be out of sight, probably hiding somewhere in the Eclipse Soul Guild.

He did not anticipate that he’d be intercepted while trying to get information about Master Zeno, the Arcana User and unfortunately for him, he had not brought his explosives to make traps. The Calico, his submachine gun doesn’t have enough bullets to fight against this threat, the Magnum won’t be much use either once all the loaders are emptied. He can only hide from plain sight.

If Ellia were to barge in and attack, he wouldn’t be in the Main Guild Hall as he can be seen standing at the corner of the right hallway, in order to get her attention, he threw a rotten piece of wood at her from such distance that would prove that he isn’t an ordinary human. If Ellia were to retaliate, Dubhlainn would disappear and turn to another corner, the same process would only repeat three times till he lured her back into the Guild Hall and it’s there where their fight would begin. As he moves from these four hallways, he was trying to find a room that would hold documents but such he did not find.

At first there was silence after her words, no vocal reply, but the projectile that bore through the wood of the door, and took a clean hit onto her top, nearly hitting her arm too had made the reply all too apparent. "Really now? I wasn't going to fight, but fine sure I can be up for some fun". Obvious by her words now, this was not in her immediate interest, but now instead she decided to slither to the side and use the length of her tail to lash at the door, the weight of her tail being much more than that of a typical human, and much more than sufficient to destroy the door entirely.

The flow of trapped scents that filled Ellia's nose the moment the door was broken only revealed there was indeed another presence, one she still did not know, yet would definitely proceed with caution on how she would tangle with this individual. She did contemplate using one of her spells right off the bat just to force the situation into a more preferred state, such as her sand manipulation technique.

Even entering, and seeing only one trace of a heat signature, which belonged to Dubhlainn, as well as the natural heat of the room from the hot outdoors. Even noticing the large chunk of wood being thrown at her, she sighed, easily moving her body out of the way due to the moderate distance between them allowing more than enough reaction time. She wasn't too keen in this 'luring' thing, and once she noticed Dubhlainn had fled from the spot he threw the first chunk of wood, Ellia would stay in the door way. "I wasn't here for hostility, and I'd be damned if I let you lure me further inside the building" with her size after all, she preferred the wide open, it allowed for much more freedom with her movements.

Dubhlainn would never play the Lamia's game, hew knew all too well that a body of her size would require more space than anything. He let loose his presence across the guild hall, a tactic he'd use against mages trying to locate where he's hiding. The purpose of his earlier action was to measure her reflex and it seems she isn't someone to be trifled with. If she is part of Eclipse Soul then would be the right time to capture her, otherwise she needs to be put down immediately.

Archived theme:

Unfortunately he forgot that she was a lamia and they would usually sense their prey by means of body heat, hiding would be a bit meaningless in this situation but then again, Dubhlainn had the element of surprise, this was probably the reason why he refused to play the Lamia's game out into the open space. From one direction he started  shooting submachine gun rounds at the serpent, his calico unloading all the bullets in the magazine, firing non-stop at the Lamia, he showed up on the balcony towards her left, wielding the calico with one hand.

He drew a few pieces of wood, as projectiles in addition to that, hoping that she'd get blisters from such shattered pieces. Upon examining the torn right shoulder from which he shot at her earlier, his eyes widened, he recognizes that insignia, the Lamia is a Guild mage from Black Rose, the Guild that had recently caught his interests. Is the order of the Black Rose investigating Dubhlainn? Were they following him? And was she sent here to capture him? It would be bad if the entire perimeter would have been locked down by hidden enemies and if so, Dubhlainn would have been cornered.

This is what they call, curiosity killed the cat.

---

HP: 200
MP: 100%

Spells used: None

Passives
1 active - Permanent increase in all parameters.

Weapons
Magnum (5 bullets current, 4 loaders remaining)
Calico ( 8 rounds remaining, firing 45 bullets per mag)

Total dmg unarmed - 12
Total dmg armed with the magnum - 18 (Usually 15 but naturally strong because Magnums were known for their powerful recoil)
Minimum dmg one would receive from the calico - 15
Maximum dmg one woudl receive fromt he calico - A C rank spell.
Total dmg from any improvised weapon - 13-15

ooc: well I WAS going to have this thread be part of her life prior to BR, but nvm since you kind of just mentioned her guild-mark. Sorry for late reply, had to get the word via pm on how to calculate something lol.

---

IC:


Having been able to taste the direction her foe was in was not nearly enough, her speed allowing even a larger body to snake past a majority of the sprayed rounds, but a couple easily clipped her. Though the assault was not even over. Chunks of wood being hit to cause splinters were also hurled in her direction. The random assaulting barrage being quite the nuisance The strikes easily causing multiple points of bleeding right away.

Wincing through most, Ellia's hands began to form claws, ethereal looking purple and green looking claws with magically sharp fingers. Withdrawing from the assault, she was not about to just leave herself open for further assault, and retaliated with an energy arrow being shot from the claw, firing right through the spaced out and sprayed attack. Knowing full well her opponent may dodge it, she began to set up the next part of her fight, ensuring enough environment was within her grasp by slithering further back, letting the shine of the sun reach her as the exit was quite near.

"Shooting at a lady is no way to treat them you know." she spoke in a more affirmative way, trying to show while injured now, she was not out of the fight. No... not even by a long shot, she still had her signature weapon, the sand. After all phoenix mountains were not named that for such a cheap way. The area was loaded with sand and hard hitting heat. While her opponent had the skill advantage clearly by their presence, she had the advantage of moving out of the guildhall without any trouble, and it was a point she was going to make.

"Besides, you're surrounded by something I doubt you'll see coming" she was in fact referring to her environmental advantage, so no lie was there, but it also held mystery, so she could try to draw them out to a more subtle fight.

---

HP: 100 -22.50(From 2 bullets) -10.5(from wood splinters) = 67.00
MP: 100 - 10% + 3% (93)
Requip hp: 60 - 15(from a bullet hitting it) = 45
used:

Spoiler:

Perhaps this was all he can do, shower her with complete suppression fire till his Calico ran out of bullets. Now he needs reloading and took cover behind a pillar that would hide him from sight, but the Lamia know all too well where his position would be.

This is bad, he is not equipped to fight Demi-humans at present and having not a single frag grenade with him, it would spell trouble. He put the Magnum away and started to quickly reload the calico to prepare continued suppression fire. Unfortunately the debri he threw at her wasn’t ideal as he could not find the right opportunity to fire the magnum.

The Lamia gave her remarks to the man, Dubhlainn who’d careless about his opponent prepared and loaded his Calico. He would have to act fast at the next instance, as his opponent is a demi-human, he must not lag behind, not even for a moment.

This is a battle that he would admittedly came unprepared as his primary purpose was to gather information, he never would have expected Black Rose to intercept his activity. He hears a surge of energy being channeled and right away, even when he’s hiding behind the pillar, he had to dodge quickly. The wooden pillar shattered and it seemed to be a projectile shot, purely magical in nature that would have dealt physical interference.

But this gave his target enough time to slither back outside. She once again gave another remark.

Surrounded by something he did not see coming?

He already had the thought that the Black Rose would have surrounded him by now, agents hiding along the treeline, with their weapons and magic at the ready to completely swamp him. He wouldn’t stand a chance, then again this wasn’t a pre-emptive strike so he’d only have a few minutes to think. Usually Black Rose agents are always accompanied by a few others in case one of their own fell in battle, they are well organized and Dubhlainn knew that. They’re more like their own kind of military than a mage’s guild, its even possible for Black Rose to even wiped out divisions of Rune knights with their tactics alone. To think they also inquired Demi-humans into their organization…

Then there’s no mistake, Black Rose has grown to be more of a threat. Perhaps it was too soon to assume the circumstances but their activities is what had bothered Dubhlainn for the last few months.

It was clear he was surrounded and if so then its no surprise if the entire Eclipse Soul Guild Hall will be raided or tumbled down to the ground by Aoe attacks. He cannot match that firepower, not with the equipment he currently has. The Lamia seemed to have left but if he were to step outside, it’s possible he’d be sniped. He must quickly find the right materials and make his weapons right off the bat. He has only a few minutes and if the Lamia came her knowing that he’s here, then everything could have been set in stone before Dubhlainn picked up her presence.

From a third party’s perspective, this was considered paranoia but because of Dubhlainn’s past experience in the military, he knew all to well of tactics that would put down the task force. Then he came across the sigil of the Eclipse Soul Guild, it was made of metal, perhaps it would make a suitable shield but would require him to choose his firearm for the right occasion. The Magnum would be best right now and having brought loaders with him, he’d be able to respond and trade easily. She didn’t manage to see his face yet, perhaps that’s a good thing and all she knew was that he was present in the guildhall.

He had to look outside the window to locate where the Lamia is and as soon as he sees her, he’d take the shot with the magnum and fire right at her.

---

I don’t bode well with calculations, you’ll just have to state how much damage Dubh would receive, as I am not in a suitable location to perform duel calculations.

HP: 200 / 100%
MP: 100%

Passives
1 active –Permanent increase to all parameters

Weapons

Magnum (4 bullets remaining, 4 loaders remaining)
Calico (7 rounds remaining, loaded and ready)

Total dmg unarmed – 12
Total dmg armed with the magnum 18
Minimum dmg one would receive from the calico – 15
Maximum dmg wone would receive from the calico – A C rank spell
Total dmg from any improvised weapon – 13-15
Total dmg shield can block – 90 hp (Blocks 3dmg)

A twitched nerve rang through Ellia's mind when the man refused to step outside. Blood still running down where she was shot. Kakuma would not be too happy that this had happened, best to try and hide the wounds later anyways. After all, slithering to the phoenix mountains just for some lazy reason as to wanting to stroll around, kind of was the downside of her. She was far too free spirited, and this was at a time she was paying for such an action.

Even casting off a quick healing spell while she waited, the rejuvination closing the wounds, and removing the splinters for the most part was the best she could do. Though the threat of what caused those bullet wounds were still there. A barrage had hit her, and hit fairly hard too.

The moment she even saw where her oppoent way and noticed they were about to shoot her from made her angry, a quick raise of the hand, swiping at the bullet that was about to hit her, causing it to damage the requip instead, but the noticeable impact onto the bullet would send it ricocheting away. Not to stop there, Ellia used the same claw hand to fire an energy arrow right from it directed it slightly towards the edge of the window, hoping they'd dodge out of the way and just instead get hit by it for trying to take cover. It would only take a little bit more time to get the situation under control, and begin to use her sand manipulation technique here and now. Using such would after all, let her control the field in a better way. Especially since the guildhall was surrounded by it in various ways.

No longer housing any words for the man to hear, Ellia simply plotted her next thoughts out, wondering and waiting how to proceed and hoping her arrow connected in even the least bit of a way, her requip was on a time limit, and once that was over then she only had one last offensive potential.

---

---

ooc: will do. Listed it below for you


HP: 82(67+ 15%[15] 82)
MP: 93 -15-5 + 3 = 76
Requip hp: 45 -18 : 27
Lamia claws dura: 2 remaining
praise the sun cd: 2

Arrows deal 15 damage before any damage reductions.
claws: deal 30 dmg when striking with them. (since all my dmg is considered heavy hits)

used:

This is odd, why aren’t her fellow members responding? Even if Dubhlainn were to start shooting, there would be at least a sniper somewhere that would have took his head off the moment he shot the barrel. Were they waiting for him to drop his guard? What’s more the Lamia made her moves poorly just by affirming Dubhlainn’s assumptions that he has been surrounded. There’s no way he’d exit the guildhall without knowing that she had someone supporting her from the treeline.

The moment he would jump out, it would put him in danger, he stubbornly refused to play the Lamia’s game until he is certain there are no other enemies. It’s obvious the Lamia is not a professional assassin or rather had not experienced the rite of the underworld.

The underworld, the war between nations, there’s no way that she could have experienced all those, that’s a fact that he had confirmed from her earlier actions but now is not a good time to underestimate her. She’s from Black Rose, that’s a fact and if he were to unravel his abilities now, it would mean a difference between the chances of success or failure to investigate Black Rose. Any single piece of information of his abilities will make it even harder for his mission. He never had any plans for the shady organization but this was clearly unexpected, if they are indeed on the same page, then what could they be after in Eclipse Soul that he isn’t aware off? He took cover as soon as he’s done firing his shot,  the response was a magical missile destroyed the window. At this rate he’d run out of cover.

His radio starts buzzing, an incoming transmission from his partner.

“Natalia, it seems that you missed one.”
“Well I’m just one person and this was supposed to be a simple sweep, I didn’t expect us to encounter company.”

“Can you make sure the perimeter is clear of enemies? I do not want to engage without knowing she has company.”

“Sure thing, I'm guessing you don't need any assistance?”
“Indeed, this is something I wish to deal with, after all…. Its been a long time since I faced off against another Demi-human. If anyone else is in the area other than the Lamia, I want them eliminated.”

“Understood.”

It’s a shame he did not bring any grenades, that’s a bad on his part. He’d lose his credibility if critics find out about his sloppiness. If there’s any real threat the Black Rose should be concerned about, it’s the unknown, and Dubhlainn prefers to remain that way. Once again he repeated the process and fires both his Calico and the Magnum twice right at the Lamia. To the Demi-human it seems she was fighting a mercenary that prefers the use of firearms, best keep it that way and fire arms is all that he has right now.

In case Ellia has any allies, they’d be knocked unconscious or shot. Dubhlainn hides again and checks his inventory. From what he has, it would be more than enough for him to fight her until Natalia makes sure the perimeter is clear but what of the enemies’s next move?  Natalia better not be spotted by the Lamia, this isn’t her fight.

---

HP: 200 / 100%
MP: 100%

Passives
1 active –Permanent increase to all parameters
1 set -- ??????????
Weapons
Magnum (2 bullets remaining, 4 loaders remaining)
Calico (6 rounds remaining, currently reloading the gun)

Total dmg unarmed – 12
Total dmg armed with the magnum 18
Minimum dmg one would receive from the calico – 15
Maximum dmg one would receive from the calico – A C rank spell
Total dmg from any improvised weapon – 13-15
Total dmg shield can block – 90 hp (Blocks 3dmg)

Attacks given:
Calico
Magnum

Proposal:
Force Dubhlainn out from his position before 2 posts pass. Do not let him know you are alone but if you’re daring go ahead.

Finally, enough time was spent in the sand, slowly waiting for the right moment as she smiled it became apparent that now, she was about to go on the extreme for offensive measures. "I do wonder... how strong is the integrity of a ruined run down building... one that the support beams themselves would barely support any more abuse." Her words were so hushed and whispered as if talking to another person, but instead she was simply thinking out loud.

The lamia peered through the doorway, still standing outside as her hand was aimed towards the center, where a support beam actually was. No, that alone wouldn't be enough, never nearly enough but it would show her intention as the energy arrow was shot, ripping right through the beam, doing minimal damage to it.

Not to be 'finished' just yet, she finally gathered enough sand from the area, more than enough to be exact. Ten cubic meters of sand would compress down into a two by two by two and a half box sized control before flattening slightly out, and forming a sharp point and being hurled towards said beam. She only had control up to so far, but sending it with momentum was more than enough to cause the sand to rip past the beam, and collide with the ceiling, causing a sand shower to spray the entire inside with sand particles. That was just action one. Another block of sand, the same size would be used to strike at the window in the form of a giant sand spear. Aiming through the already broken window(the one that was used for cover), but instead of going straight, the moment it went through it would in all directions, spreading the damage out, but hoping to hit. Assuring the man that Ellia had little intentions to be simply toyed with for no reason.

Despite being in mid combat, Ellia knew to keep her mouth slightly open, tasting the air to ensure nothing was able to sneak up on her, and when she got a taste of another individual, she decided to play along, she had no clue if that individual was this man's ally, or some strange passerby. Things didn't look good either way.

---

HP: 82
MP: 76 -15 -15 +3 : 49
Requip hp: 27
Lamia claws dura: 1 remaining
praise the sun cd: 1
sand control dura: 3

Arrows deal 15 damage before any damage reductions.
claws: deal 30 dmg when striking with them. (since all my dmg is considered heavy hits)
Max possible damage per 'action' of sand control : 20

Example of how much sand at a time 'compressed' I can hold. :Example & example

Spoiler:

And that’s when it hit him, he knew all too well that this was an old building and sure enough, it won’t last against attacks like that. If what she had used so far was just warning shots, then there’s more danger coming his way. The second he started to run off the platform he was on, an arrow was already shot, destroying the support beam, the sudden change of angulation of the floor almost caused him to lose his footing. “!!!” At that moment, he saw a stream of sand ripping the support column. The floor he was on was about to collapsed as he hold onto the railing. He quickly withdrew the calico and switched to his shield and before he can regain his footing, a sand spear burst through the window. As it entered the hall, it started to spread out, violently, flowing as if it was meant to flood the guildhall with sand. Before he can even draw out his shield, it was already too late, he was hit.

Some of the sand managed to rip a bit of his leather off and he was pushed off the ledge, falling down to the center of the guild and covered with sand. He went inanimate for a few seconds after he fell, lying on the floor with the magnum on one hand and the shield on the other. His vision darkens, his whole body is coated with sand like fish that has been salted.

It was pointless to even remain behind cover knowing she’d just tear down the guildhall, but its funny really that she revealed her abilities too soon, or perhaps she has to, after all he did well just by suppressing her with the calico. It doesn’t seem like any of his weapons or his shield had taken damage, his body took it head on but simply fell. The guild hall doors were torn as Ellia could clearly see her target was struck down at the center. Perhaps she overdid it for him?

There was no bodily response from him whatsoever.

---

HP: 200/100% - 20dmg(20% endurance due to stats) = 184/ 92%
MP: 100%

Passives
1 active – Permanent increase to all parameters
1 activated – Increased resistance to opponent’s specific magic
1 set - ??????????????

Weapons
Magnum (2 bullets remaining, 4 loaders remaining)
Calico ( 5 rounds remaining, gun loaded)

Total dmg unarmed – 12
Total dmg armed with the magnum – 18
Minimum dmg one would receive from the calico - . 8
Maximum dmg one would receive from the calico – A C rank spell, 40.
Total dmg from any improvised weapon – 13 -15
Total dmg shield can block – 90hp (Blocks 3 dmg)

While yes, Ellia could leave now, she rather didn't think the idea of potentially being shot from behind was nice. Possibly at least cripple the enemy's way to hurt her any further and then leave was a good idea. No need to kill, or stain the and with too much blood at all. Even with the guildhall now littered with sand, and a large amount of it too, Ellia knew it would only take so much more before even the ceiling would collapse too. Luckily, she had enough range to get done what she needed, and since her opponent was in the middle that could be just enough for what she wanted.

Though would she dare assault such an obvious thing? It was a potential yes a decoy or a ruse, but with the ground littered with sand, even a decoy had little potential to easily avoid her attacks. Considder it mercy though when Ellia caused the sand that Dubhlainn was not only on, but the sand around him too. Instead of attacking to kill, Ellia used her first action of sand to assault mobility by an attempt to apply an overwhelming amount of pressure. In otherwords, Ellia attempted to put all 10cubic feet of sand she could control with one move onto Dubhlainn's right leg, and foot. before forcing it to try and crush.

The next action of sand she could control this moment, would have that same sand attack Dubhlainn's entire left arm, hand and shoulder included by that same crushing motion. Striking a single limb with both crushing attacks, hoping to get it done, so the fight would lean towards her not having to just flee, but rather be able to peacefully get away. Then again, did things ever go the 'easy' way?

---

HP: 82
MP: 49 +3 : 52
Lamia claws Cooldown: 4
sand control dura: 2

Max possible damage per 'action' of sand control : 20
2 actions allowed per post.

The Battle is to the Strong:

There's no easy in a fight, that's the reality of battles. Opponents secure their own victory and if not they are sordidly mistaken to think this would have ended just like that. There was darkness in his vision but because some of his senses are down, some became more active than usual. The sands slither to his side, much like how a snake, he can hear it clearly but at that moment he hand started to move on its own and fired right at the direction where Ellia is, in hopes to disrupt her channels and if that's not enough, the calico started firing right at her too.

Two bullets were spent, the Magnum needs reloading, The Calico is still firing and yet he's there lying on the ground, trying to come to while both of his arms started to defend his body like turrets. One of his legs was grappled by the sand, the magnum was quickly discarded, Dubhlainn sat up straight, and crushed the grip with his iron fist. She must have a lot of mana reserves if she can manipulate sand like that, it be troublesome if he was cornered now. His senses return, but as soon as he stood, Ellia could clearly see that this man...

... has no face at all.

Her mana is channeled in the sand, in order to control this much sand, she must divert mana into it and if that's the case..... then he'd find a weak spot in her magic. Something the grand magus taught him should the situation arise. Now he knows her abilities and he's ready to fight back now. Of course crushing the sand grip on his leg was quite hard as he felt the pressure and hardness of the sand while doing it. His leg was fine but he ended up injuring some of his fingers doing it. He continues firing the Calico till it runs out of ammo, he put the calico away and drew his loader, rolled over and grabbed his magnum and hid behind a wooden table in order to reload, smalls sparks of black mist starts to form on the injured hand and on his face.

Fighting a demi-human without his abilities isn't easy but even without those, he was already more enough of a threat. If only he brought grenades, the outcome would have been different and the sand would have not been a problem. The moment he gets close to the Lamia, she's finished.

Now he's betting everything into this one attack, there's no time to load the calico as her counter attack would come any second. His magnum is at the ready... but his fingers... might affect the outcome of his next attack. So in other words....

---

HP: 184/92% - 10dmg (Self inflicted to break free from sand grip on one leg) = 174/87%
MP: 100%

Passives
1 activated!!! – ??????????
1 activated – ?????????? ???????
1 activated - ?????????????? ??????

Weapons
Magnum ???????????
Calico ??????????? (Discarded)

Total dmg unarmed – 12 + ???
Total dmg armed with the magnum – 18 + ??
Minimum dmg one would receive from the calico - 1 dmg
Maximum dmg one would receive from the calico – A C rank spell, 40
Total dmg from any improvised weapon – 13 -15 + ??
Total dmg shield can block – 90hp + ??hp (Blocks 3 dmg)+ ??

A grin on Ellia's face arose the moment she saw the man some how grip the sand before too much piled on. Were they that strong? Or were they just plain stupid to try to even go on the offense for that moment. Did they potentially know Ellia's sand control was limited in how long she could control it? The time frame was short and draining, however accessing a technique she had learned recently was the limit transcendence. Thinking she may even have to resort to that, was a pain, it meant the fight was dragging on too long, and right now, that meant a bad thing.

Her initial instinct was to use the advantage now to flee. Though the opportunity right now was far too clear. Here, she had someone trying to grab 10 cubic meters worth of sand, which... was far more than enough to encompass and bury them too. The fact that the sand never was 'removed' from the picture, only grabbed and attempted to be fought off, made it the true face that Ellia's assault was not going to end just yet.

The first action/attack this time was all 10 cubic meters would rise around the man, ensuring a tight grip to prevent any easy slip away as it made it's way to the hand that was holding the gun currently aimed at Ellia, and attempt to crush that entire arm, or at least do major damage. The second action however was a defense, one that pulled more sand from outside and shot a wall forward at the incoming bullets, crumbling downwards as it took damage, and having defended Ellia from the barrage of bullets, though some did make their way past the sand, and actually hurt Ellia pretty bad.

"Do you understand now? You're in a terrain where I could have instantly crushed your entire body. Why not let me leave in peace. I had simply come to observe, and you attacked. Do you wish for this fight to drag on? or... do you accept this half-hearted victory, and let me surrender in peace." Truly, it was this man's victory, and not Ellia's. She knew if it dragged on at this rate, she'd lose, and would have to flee soon anyways. However, at least if she did need to flee in a hostile manner, she'd ensure to tangle the close desert into this man's future.

---

HP: 82
MP: 52 +3 : 55
Lamia claws Cooldown: 3
sand control dura: 1
-Activating Limit transcendence next post-
Max possible damage per 'action' of sand control : 20
2 actions allowed per post.


fyi... its really hard to gauge 'anything' if you're putting ??? instead of actual numbers/text you know.... cause I actually have active/passive things too.

Everything falls into this strike and he must end it with just this one strike for that if he had not then he would have lost this battle. Then again he didn't use much of his abilities but if he did, the outcome of this battle would be different.

But she's a member of Black Rose, any intel on him would definitely decrease his chances against the ghost guild. Pray she didn't memorize his face, or things won't fare very well for him. Kakuma is a wise leader and with the tools and resources to back the guild up, she will find a way to know of Dubhlainn's intentions and when that's done.

Dubhlainn will be outmatched, thus he can't lose here.

He grabbed onto his shield and his magnum, the calico would have been buried in sand right now but that's a loss expected after discarding the weapon. He allowed the 10 cubic meter of sand to devour his form whole, much like how a snake would devour its prey much bigger than its jaws. He  took a stance, almost as if he's ready to charge and just before the sand gripped him he inhaled.

The shield darkens... into a black and hazy, alien like object, veins of red were printed on it.
The same goes for his magnum, all the bullets in the receiver was enchanted and all he had to do now was wait for everything to set in for a few seconds.

He focused all energy on the shield and then finally...

... bashed the sand with extreme force.

FHOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He destroyed the sand binder that was going for his right arm and blasted a hole through the wall.

Sand had scattered in the air, the faceless mercenary materialized eyes of red that flashed. His action broken his shield but it did successfully protected his left arm from any direct damage from the sand. The impact was powerful enough to have his partner hear it from a distance. The blow allowed a window of opportunity for him to dive in and shoot the enhanced magnum  repeatedly until it was out of bullets.

Designated trajectories for the bullets were:

1. The left shoulder
2. The right hip
3. Grazing the left rib
4. Her right forearm
5. The tail
6. Her Right Hand

And all would have been non-lethal as it was never meant to target a bone or important organ of her body.

Then he discarded the magnum, the moment the magnum touched the ground, it reverted back to its regular appearance. The shield was destroyed and there he was struggling to get close as the bullets would fly. Should she managed to block it with a sand wall, she'd feel the power and impact of the bullets as they felt stronger than the previous shots.

A few seconds, his right hand would be deemed unusable and would arch his right arm in front of him on shoulder level in hope to shield him for whatever attack she might come up with.

---

The next instance will happen:

He would use his left arm and thrust it when he gets close, not to pierce her nor to beat her but to grab her throat and cause her to cough heavily, gripping on it as his right forearm would have hit her stomach. It was a military move to capture targets, revealing that this man had learned self-defense military training. He's completely disarmed and he has no time to re-arm himself, he was forced to sacrifice his weapons to get close. He'd drive her into the ground and would probably ask her of her allies that could be hiding in the tree line. If she's with someone, she'd use her as a shield and a hostage, if she's alone....

...the duel ends and he would have given up.

---

HP: 174/87% - 10dmg (Endured injury on the right hand, in addition to absorbing some shock after blowing the sand away with the swing of his shield) = 164/82%
MP: 90 - Had not used a single unit of mana till now.

Passives:
1 Active
1 Active (In reaction to sand magic)
1 Active (The sudden change of appearance and power in his firearms)
1 Active ( Hidden all information about his magic and his identity)

1 spell activated! - Duration 3 posts

Information on the effects are hidden and will be revealed after the duel.

All Weapons discarded

Damage from each bullet form the enhanced magnum - 20dmg
Damage for being caught by him - 14dmg (Does not count as a heavy attack)

After effects:

Right hand unable to hold any weapons due to injury.

Success, an attack went through but the man's assault was not over, and this concerned Ellia. Why... why wont you just stay down? Such awful sense of needless violence was all that was about to happen now. Watching her sand being blown away so effortlessly made the lamia feel helpless, and knowing she was alone made her only feel weaker. Even watching the man pull up a gun again, only made Ellia cringe. Last time... the bullets still went through the sand pretty effortlessly, and caused a huge disruption in the sand.

Now though, she knew not much sand could be pulled for much longer, and requiring that small bit of focus to activate the limit transcendence just to keep her magical control over sand flowing, meant she was now on a huge time limit, one that'd leave her drained within minutes now if she was not prepared. It meant a huge ordeal, yet at that time, she knew at least protection was assured.

The first sand wall was erected from the ground The first bullet alone smashed into the shield, canceling it and the bullet itself out. A wince of pain shot through Ellia's body as her right hip was shot, then right after, more bullets were still flying, slithering to the side allowed her to avoid one, but then get hit by the next bullet which would hit her right forearm, and then her tail. However, she was able to at least dodge two of the seven bullets, and block one with sand, narrowly avoiding her hand being shot. All in all, she took four bullets, each breaking skin, and lodging themselves in her flesh, causing immense pain. Though it was not over just yet. Before she knew it, she was on the ground, her face bloody from being driven into the dirt, and she was already on the verge of tears.

"I... I'm alone alright!" she began to tear up, but  by now 10 cubic meters of sand in the shape of a huge cube with a very very spiked surface, indicating her thought process. "Let me flee, or I'll kill us both right here... ten cubic meters of dry sand, I'm sure you know that can easily weight over five tons, and I'm sure it'd kill us both right now."

Was it a bluff? Certainly not, Ellia could easily manipulate every grain to avoid her, and only crush those touching her, but even so, she would rather never use lethal force, and judging by how the man aimed, he did not intend to either. Right now though, Ellia was bleeding badly, and on the verge of passing out. It could be even seen with her shaky control of the sand as a few grains were slowly falling from the over head construct. With sand both above and below her, she was in the prime area to attack and flee if needed. however, she still rather just leave now at this point.

---

Subnotes: Accepting her surrender gives you the victory. Continuing will no doubt cause the fight to drag on much longer.
HP: 82 -10.5(being caught) -60(4 bullets hit each bullet doing 15, due to my defense): 11.5
MP: 55 +3 - 7.5 : 50.5
Lamia claws Cooldown: 2
sand control dura: N/A - Limit transcendence on both castings.
Limit transcendence cost: 7.5
Max possible damage per 'action' of sand control : 20
2 actions allowed per post.

There were no words needed to be spoken. He has no real reason to kill her and instead of choking her to death, he removed the four bullets from her body and drew out a shot of morphine and stabbing her with it. "Don't lose consciousness.." The Black Mist on his hands fade to reveal that both of his hands were bandaged and his right hand was bloodied. Natalia came out with a suitcase.

"She speaks the truth." She spoke as she stands there waiting for Dubhlainn to finish his business with her but this doesn't change the fact that she was part of Black Rose but there was no real reason to kill her here.

"Natalia, the Medkit now.." Natalia set herself down and revealing the suitcase full of medical supplies. Natalia knew Dubhlainn would be fighting a tough opponent, the medical supplies was originally for him.

"Huh, I never knew you're a charitable person to your enemies." She chuckled as she helps Dubhlainn to provide medical aid to his defeated opponent.

"An assassin must choose what is worth killing and what isn't, I never kill for sport." He told Natalia as he goes to closing up some of her wounds. His hand was still on her throat as he struggled with his right hand, enduring the painful strain on his fingers just to remove the last bullet on her body. He was breathing heavily, his right hand must have been in a lot of pain.

"Black Rose members aren't supposed to travel and be by themselves. Isn't that supposed to be a rule given out to you by Kakuma?" He released her and stood up, Natalia packed the suitcase and both mercenaries walked off. She should be able to return even with those wounds. "You never saw me here..."

---

"So basically you attacked her mistaking her for an enemy?"

"No... she is basically part of the enemy group. I didn't expect them to have demi-humans assimilated into their group, then again Kakuma isn't human either."

"You know she's going to report back to Kakuma..."

"Let her do it, it means little difference, she will bring no valid information about my abilities."

"You don't seem to even fit the idea of a Dark mage Dub, why have you joined Savage Skull in the first place?"

"To fulfill a debt I needed to pay."

"Why do you refuse to use magic."

"To remind myself that I'm human."

ooc: duel over so not keeping track of stats anymore. You won.

---

Sly as a snake, Ellia was not about to let this man simply do as he wished to her body. No, instead as the sand broke apart from above them, showing her lack of hostility, instead a veil of sand would form the moment a needle headed her way, easily breaking the brittle needle. "That'd of never broken past my flesh anyways. Same result, my entire body is tougher than it looks. Now good bye, and don't worry, I wont say I met you, thats my debt to you. However, next time, if we must fight, then I will not be as easy of a prey."

She wasn't one to stick around for this post-fight scenario, and still bloodied, and bruised, she had to go tend to her wounds with the healing magic she had, though... the loss of blood was already a serious thing, and plugging up the wounds with sand was only a temporary fix as the sand enveloped her entire body, pushing downwards into the earth, and using her manipulation to travel in that way. The ordeal was hard enough , and knowing full well her limits were going to be reached sooner than later, she would hide in the earth like the snake she was, waiting to see if followed, cause if then, she'd have to kill. However, she kept the manipulation up to form an escape, eventually coming up, a long distance away, so she can start her own healing process.

-left thread-