Rise of Sabertooth: Fire

Upon the Sabertooth guild, their allies and Nicklaus Flamel all entered the portal that was underneath the ace of spades. Upon entering their world Flamel would explain that there are a total of five Elders located through this massive shadow realm.  The god of war Mars Ultor, Father of time Chronos, Creator of life and fire Prometheus, Lord of earth Geb and Ruler of the underworld, Hel. Thanks to the Information provided by Flamel, the Earthland mages knew that the four huge energies that could be felt in the distance belonged to four out of the five with Hel being the only one unknown. How he knew was another matter entirely but the only way they could proceed was to split up their forces and take the fight to the four elders that were physically present in the world, the only downside is that Flamel had no clue which Elder was located specifically so they wouldn’t know what they were facing until they entered the battlefield.  Team Kite consisting of Roy, Luna and Zar would be heading East to combat the God of War Mars Ultor. Team Ryo Consisting of Mashyuu and Kenna would head south to deal with the Prometheus and his primal flames. Team Cirven consisting of Kiersa Bec, Imai and Kanrya would be on their way west to face Geb and his dominance of earth. Team Ardere consisting of Itori and Rai Chu would be heading up north to face the lord of time Chronos. Flamel would stay behind for he was merely a spectator for now.

Update

Nicklaus Flamel:

Ryo having tried his best to get a spell ready, but Gora had dragged him away kicking and screaming. He watched his heart breaking as he remembered his first day in that magnificent floating fortress, remembered Zenshin and the lengths he had gone to defend the guild. He remembered his former master Legacy and how much that card mage had taught him of his own magic and mastery of that art. He recalled the beautiful, talented, and worthy mistress Raven, he loved her and she was so worthy of the guild she ruled over. Frederick was one who did not want to stand as the master of Sabertooth, but he rose to the occasion so that Sabertooth would not be without guidance without protection. It had all come crumbling down around all their ears.

Ryo’s home was gone, his love was gone, his sanctuary, all of these were gone from him now and it was a gut-wrenching soul stealing experience. Still, Gora dragged him away from the sight and towards Kite dropping him down near the guildmaster. It was far too much for Ryo, yet he heard the talk from this Nicholas and his grief was gone in a flash instead it was focused on these so-called Elders. He felt that icy grip close tightly upon his heart slowly he rose to his feet his eyes slowly filling up with black becoming two pools of oil as he watched, listened, and understood the entirety of the situation as it was explained to him. When Nicholas led the whole of the guild down Ryo was as usual among the first stepping along right behind Kite with Gora at his side. They moved along through the catacombs coming up to the entrance of this other realm.

Upon arriving in this other realm, he looked out to see all that there was and truly this realm was one that was separate from the one he knew and the lands he loved. Now, he was told he would get a team that he and them would go after an elder who called himself “Prometheus” in the south. His team would consist of his apprentice Mashyuu, and a girl named Kenna. He slowly turned to them and let them see just what they were going to follow into battle. His eyes were black pits of oil, his fangs were gleaming in the available light, and he dropped his guise of humanity to look at these two he would have to lead “I am going for this Prometheus.” He said his voice cold as Ice “I am planning to either kill him or die. I will avenge what was stolen from me, and if you come with me then it is likely the fight will be the hardest one you’ve ever had. Yet, if you want to avenge what these monsters have done to our guild, our home, our city, and our family then I invite you to follow me and take your revenge.” Without waiting to see if they followed he turned and started to head south starting out at a brisk jog heading for wherever the thought that this creature, this ‘elder’ was staying. Gora in full battle form was right next to him his fur clinking like ice crystals as he moved. If Mashyuu and Kenna wanted to be a part of this battle then they would have to follow and be quick about it.

((OOC: Okay so as of 5/23, Kite has told me we are getting Celeste. So it shall be her turn after Aura from now on. Once she posts we shall keep pressing on.))

The guild hall quaked around Mashyuu as he struggled to hold it in the sky, he couldn't though and he knew it. Mashyuu looked at the hole he created in the guild to lead down then mentally reached out with his mind. The walls and floor rolled from his room and grabbed a long weapon wrapped in a red cape and carried to the God Slayer. Mashyuu picked it up and jumped down the hole he made, free fell until he was about to hit the ground and exploded into a pile of sand that reformed a moment later, letting Mashyuu touch down harmlessly. He ran behind a large wall and braced himself, the guild hall crashed down along with all of Mashyuu's memories. Everything he had worked for since he joined the guild, since his mother passed on and his first love was murdered the same day he joined the guild. Everything that Hika, Fred and Kite had taught him to stand for was part of that guild hall and it was destroyed. He came out from behind the rubble where a majority of the guild were gathering.

Slowly Mashyuu joined them along with Itsu and stood next to Kenna, taking her hand and squeezing it to make sure that she was okay. Standing before a portal the guild stepped through and entered a new realm, one that Mashyuu wasn't sure he understood. Before he even had time to take in his surroundings Ryo told them he was going after this god of fire and life. A burning rage filled Mashyuu's body, Mefetis, the spirit that revived Mashyuu's body and gave him power infused Mashyuu with a need to stomp out a creature that in many ways was the same as her. She was a Goddess of Earth, Fire and Life. This false god was of Fire and Life and Mashyuu needed to destroy the being.

Ryo looked at the pair of Olympians with a look that he had seen before but never with such a degree of anger. He sighed while Ryu took off and handed Kenna the cape and the item wrapped inside. "I made these for you. I hope they help keep you safe when I can't be there for you." He said lovingly while giving her a soft kiss. The magic in his boots activated, increasing his movement speed by a massive amount. "Well, lets go kill a god." Mashyuu winked at Kenna and darted off behind Ryu, gathering his thoughts to prepare for battle.

Ryo glanced back at those who may or may not have been following him to see that Mashyuu, Kenna, and surprisingly enough Celeste were all following him. He wasn’t sure that he was leading them to anything, but death and yet he knew that this was the only path for the guild. He wasn’t sure how he felt about this Nicholas guy, but one thing he did know was that these so called “Gods” had destroyed his home and he would make them pay. So, here he was leading three others to what could very likely be their deaths. He looked over at Gora who stood taller than an African elephant and strode next to him calmly his nose working quickly as he tried to get the scents of the forest they were now walking through. He glanced at Ryo and growled softly “This place is strange. There aren’t the typical scents of our home. The plants smell different, the air is different, just about anything and everything that can be different is and none of it makes me comfortable. I have a bad feeling about this Ryo.”

The card wizard only shook his head outwards but he replied to Gora “I don’t care. These deities need to pay for what they have done to my home. We are not going to allow this to stand.” He slowly drew to a stop and turned to look at the three that were following him. Allowing them to catch up to him he reaches into his pocket and pulled out a tarot card and three playing cards. If they stopped in front of him as he was expecting he would say “This is a strange place, this is a place where we are seriously undermanned, and have a high chance of surprises. I do not want us to be separated if we can avoid it, but should we be unable to avoid it then I have a way for me to keep track of all of you.” He handed the three one playing card each and nodded his head “Make sure you keep these on you at all times, do not lose them, do not let them be destroyed if you can help it.” Once they were holding them Ryo pressed the tarot card “The Empress” to his forehead and concentrated. His purple aura slowly sank into the card and separated the card into three sections each having a picture of one of the three wizards he was with. The cards that the three were holding each gained a picture of that person with a single word being on the bottom “Track”. Once they had these cards he tucked his tarot card into his pocket again “With that card I shall be able to always find you no matter how far away we get separated, or by what. However, it has its limits and you should be careful. If you lose it I won’t be able to find you if it gets destroyed I will lose you as well. Now then, let’s keep going.” With that he turned heading further into the forest which had begun to take on ancient, wild, and overgrown appearance.

As the group traveled through the foliage the forest eventually lost what would call it a simple forest and instead it became a jungle. The scent was primal, wild, and yet full of life. The sound of his boots clicking on stone caused Ryo to stop dead in his tracks and look down at his feet. Underneath a great many leaves, vines, and some grasses he could just make out the form and color of old cobblestones that were packed too close together to be anything less than a road. He raised a brow and shook his head slowly “Be careful.” Was all he said and he said it in a voice that would be standard in volume for him. Following the path for over two miles the group would come out on the top of a hill and in a valley before them was an ancient city. Rather the ruins of an ancient city. There were homes, temples, shops, and all kinds of buildings one would expect to see in a thriving ancient city. Yet, there was no sign of life anywhere, the vines hadn’t touched the city, time had only just started to crumble the stones. In the dead center of the city however was a pyramid with a golden roof that was glowing with an unnatural red light like a beacon in the night. Ryo’s skin crawled as he remembered his new weaknesses, but he was determined to see this through. He looked around at the three sabers who were with him “Don’t leave sight of each other. This is enemy territory and we do not want to be separated here. Who knows what kind of traps there are likely to be around here.”

Gora growled uneasily as he slowly matched pace with Ryo his body tensing up “Ryo, I smell something strange. We shouldn’t be here. This city isn’t as empty as it seems.”

Ryo only nodded his head “I figured that, but still, we have to find this Prometheus and destroy him.” At the bottom of the hill the path into the city was a straight shot, but the thing that brought Ryo’s attention to the full front was the dozens of stone carvings he could see in the streets, on the sidewalks, and just about everywhere a person could reasonably be standing. These carvings were strange made of a deep brown colored stone, expertly carved and sculpted. As Ryo approached one stopping a good five meters away he could see that they were human statues, but they had no real features. They had spaces for eyes, but no actual carving had been done to give them eyes, they had a line where a mouth should be, but no actual lips. All in all, they looked like half-finished mannequins. There were male and female shaped statues, all of them in various poses as if they were mimicking life, but upon closer inspection Ryo noticed that many them were just standing in one place as if they had never moved from where they were placed. This place gave him the creeps and he moved slowly, carefully even despite his boots clicking on the hard stone under his feet.

((OOC: Alright everyone, from here on out make sure you always read each other’s posts carefully. Mine will have the settings and other such environmental information so make sure you read it carefully. Details will matter, and you could be in serious trouble if you don’t pay attention. Now let’s get ready for the main event.))

HP:500/500
MP:97/100 %
Spells:
Tracking Card D rank: active

Mashyuu started to follow behind Ryo when he felt the pressure of another standing on the ground behind the three. Slowly he turned to see Celeste and a frown crossed his face. She shouldn't have been here, it was dangerous for the team to as is and now they would have to watch over a Wizard who was still fresh and green in every way. "Itsu, you're in charge of keeping her safe. Make sure she stays on support for this got it?.. HEY CELESTE! KEEP UP!" Mashyuu shouted while he glanced at Kenna once more and the group continued on into the woods.

Itsu made sure to stick to Celeste's side and keep her company while they all crept through the forest. Mashyuu sniffed the air and swore he could smell sulfur in the air. Ryo Stopped and explained that he had a way to keep track of everyone, something Mashyuu wasn't too keen on but understood that under the circumstances it was a good idea. Mashyuu took the card and let Ryo cast his magic on it then tucked the card into the back hand of his glove to keep it safe behind the magical fabric and metal. "Ryo, we need to get this guy quick so we can meet up with the others and make sure they are okay." He urged the group and started to run, just barely keeping pace with Ryo and his massive friend.

"This place is overgrown but I think it used to be a village of some sort. What are the odds that his god used some sort of fire or volcano magic to level most of this place and over the years it became covered in this deep jungle?" Mashyuu asked Ryo and glanced back to Kenna and Celeste. "I know this isn't a great time but, Kenna that is Celeste, we did a job together recently. Celeste, this is kenna, my girlfriend." Mashyuu introduced the two then went back to the task at hand.

Mashyuu watched as Ryo examined the statues and he frowned, flexing his forearms the ground around the sidewalks to create a floating platform of dirt. "Ryo, those things might not be completely stone, why don't you let me try to move them. Ladies, if you don't want to walk on the ground we can move around on this just to be safe."

Ryo nodded his head in agreement with Mashyuu as they ran “I know, and we will, but we can’t afford to underestimate anyone who can destroy our guildhall without actually being free in our world to do it. So, do not be hasty my former apprentice. We do not want to run headlong into a trap or I have a feeling it will not work out well for us.” This was all said while on the run.

The city itself was abandoned but no vegetation clung to the buildings, and no one looking at it from afar would even think it was abandoned it would take the up-close inspection that it was getting from the sabers that would cause anyone to notice the effects of time on the stone buildings. The walls of many of the buildings had some kind of paint, or carvings on them that had faded away into obscurity with exposure to the elements, and time. He looked over to his former apprentice nodding his head in agreement “I would not be surprised, but it seems that this part of the city right around the pyramid was saved from whatever consumed the rest of the city. Not only that, but it seems that the forest itself is afraid of coming in to try and reclaim this land from the city. I mean look around nothing is growing in here, it’s almost like life is avoiding this place. I don’t like what this implies.” He said as he carefully threaded his way through the city and statues. Gora snarled in his irritation, but jumped to the top of a building so he wouldn’t touch any of the statues and to Ryo’s surprise the structure held the weight of the Dire wolf without even the tiniest sounds of protest. He smirked and nodded his head in approval “Well, that’s an interesting bit of discovery.”

Hearing the suggestion by Mashyuu he shook his head “I don’t want to present such a tantalizing target. We already know they can bring down our guild hall from the air, and I don’t want to know what they can do to such a small target in the air. I think on the ground would be our safest bet, but don’t touch any of these statues with your body if you can help it. I just can’t believe these things are left here for anyone to interact with. These things give me cause to be nervous.” He said in a tone of great seriousness as he continued to walk through the city streets.

Gora kept leaping from building to building in order to keep Ryo in his sights, but after several long moments he gave a short bark of sound. This made Ryo stop dead in his tracks as he turned to look at the spot where Gora was point. Sure, enough there was something horrific to see. One of the statues was slowly turning to look at Ryo, there were no eyes sure, but it was clear without doubt that this statue was looking at him. If there would’ve been blood in Ryo’s body that moved it would have gone cold from the sight of this lifeless stone thing moving. It moved without any sounds like stone on stone and in the same kind of organic nature that any living person would move with. This is what gave Ryo’s heart a flutter despite that it no longer really beat. Gora had seen it move and so had alerted Ryo to the possible attack.

As soon as it had started to move its head the rest of its body seemed to come alive as well and it began to move forward with slow rusty movements as if it was trying to wake up the rest of its body for the first time in ages. Each step it took towards Ryo was deliberate and purposeful, but what disturbed Ryo even more was the fact that a faint purple wisp could be seen coming off the thing, this to those who knew or recalled the little spell work that had happened earlier they would know that this is the color of Ryo’s aura. At that point, another few statues began to come alive moving towards Ryo all with that same purple aura wisp and same bone chilling feeling. His eyes went as black as pitch and he lifted his hand quickly pulling off his gloves and tucking them into his pants pockets one on each side. Right at that moment he bit down on all his fingers as fast as he could before he let his magic focus. His blood began to grow and shape into the shapes of blades.

All five of his fingers on both of his hands growing into 3-foot-long blades made entirely of blood. He trembled ever so slightly as he made himself ready to attack. They drew closer and closer to him only focusing on him. However, these five weren’t alone.

Over a dozen others had begun to move and come to life slowly, but without a doubt they were coming to life and would soon be a threat to the rest of the party. Each member had statues moving towards them all seeming to be bent on getting close to them.

OOC:
Alright folks this is the time. These statues will match your rank, if you have a specific aura color then that is what these statues will be emanating. Each statue right now is just trying to get close to you, but they take at least 3 hits of the rank above you to be destroyed. These things move walking dead zombies slow, but they are strong and can hurt if they are not backed off enough.

DO NOT go on any further than this kind of encounter. You may kill as many statues as you want, you may fight them as you will, but you will have to be careful. This is meant as a first reaction to the threat that we will be facing further on. Do enjoy it.

Also, Aura you are forgiven your first strike for posting before me. Celeste, you have one strike. Should you gain 2 more you will be dropped from the event, I am sorry, but this is how it must be. Mashyuu Thank you for being prompt. Now the 48 hour rule will be enforced to the fullest extent. Have fun, and for those who want a better idea of what they look like. Go look up the Doctor who episode with the weeping angels without wings. That is a very accurate idea, but they are not dressed.

When both of his former teacher and his lover both stated they should simply walk Mashyuu crossed his arms over his chest and frowned then ran his hand through his shaggy brown hair while sighing. "Seriously guys? I thought you would know I'm smarter than that. I mean to say we should move just a few inches off the ground. In case of pressure sensitive traps." He corrected the group and glanced to make sure Itsu was doing okay since she had been rather silent this entire time, very unlike her.

As the group examined the statues and the surrounding buildings Mashyuu thought for a moment. His fingers cradled his chin until an idea sprang to mind. "If I were an all powerful God and wanted to show my power to everything around me, I'd do it in a village or a city. In the one spot everyone and everything could see from anywhere. Like this pyramid. I can't recall ever going into one but do you think this Prometheus could be in there?" Mashyuu wondered aloud while he smelled the statues to see if any of them had a scent to them.

He was just about to taste one, as he did with most rock when Gora barked, pulling his and Ryo's attention at the same time. He followed Ryo's gaze to the now glowing red stone statues and lifted a brow. "Hmm, those seem stronger than Ryo, and the ones going at Kenna seem stronger than her but weaker than me... Oh and look. The ones moving towards me seem about as strong as Ryo. Interesting guard system. Shame they are stone though." Mashyuu mused as his hands slipped into his pockets. He didn't get to flex in this manner often as earth magic in general seemed rare so he was about to take advantage of this situation.

"Hey Itsu, keep an eye on Gora so we can mange these guys. OH and if Kenna gets into any trouble could you give her a hand? Thanks, you're an angel!" Mashyuu called out while his blue eyes met up with a stone creature that was glowing with waves of gold and brown energy, the two auras he radiated depending on how injured he was. As three of them started to lumber towards the God Slayer, Mashyuu closed his eyes and felt the ground. He could feel their every move, from the shoulder shifts with each step to the finger flexes. For once, Mashyuu had a real advantage in a fight. A wide smile spread over his face when he realized he wasn't going to need to use much magic if any. In fact thanks to his blood line, if they were magical at all he could destroy them with a snap of his fingers but there wasn't any fun to be had there.

Mashyuu let one get close then ducked quickly, his knees bending so fast that most would have lost balance and fell from the sudden movement. His left leg shot out and took the ankles out from under the statue, tripping it over to land hard before Mashyuu. The Wizard reached down and grabbed his arm, then bit a large chunk out of the things shoulder and sprang up and backwards all while chewing. When he made contact with the tiled floor again he swallowed and watched as the other two creatures tried to correct themselves and come at the Wizard. Mashyuu's left hand flexed and wind started to compress around his gloved fist. He pulled his arm back and charged an unharmed statue that was closest to him. The thing silently groaned and opened its mouth to try and bite Mashyuu but was met with a deadly fist. "Sky Breaker!" He commanded, unleashing the magical power in his gauntlet, blowing the creature hard to the right from the impact of the magical energy that ripped through it. The creature stumbled and tripped over the golem Mashyuu had tripped earlier, creating a small pile of bodies that struggled to get up. As it stumbled, Mashyuu swayed with the weight behind the punch he threw and drove his foot into the last creature standing upright, knocking it back just enough to give Mashyuu a good opening. "Don't know how effective this will be against your master but I bet it works wonders on you guys. Earth Gods Molten Blast!" Mashyuu's bond with Mefetis strengthened his magic beyond that of even his Natural Slayer gifts, making molten stone from beneath the earth spring up and launch out in a twenty foot long, ten foot high wave, washing over the creatures, melting bits and pieces of the statue like monsters in the process while costing Mashyuu no energy from his magical reserves.

His magical boots carried him quickly behind the burning set of creatures while his right hand pulled back into a fist and launched out. "Super Dragon Fist!" The attack he had learned at the Road Fighters Tournament had been perfected and unleashed through his gauntlet covered fist, unleashing a massive black dragon upon all three creatures, knocking them all back yet again while they still tried to recover from Mashyuu's last set of attacks. Quickly though, the brown haired man's left hand shot out and grabbed one Statue by the head, holding it in place. "You stay, I'm still hungry!" Mashyuu quipped and bit the neck out of the statue's head while his foot came up to the monsters chest and pressed, severing its head from it's shoulders, crumbling the monster to dusty, ashy, rubble. "Man these things taste good. But maybe we should get on the road before we get overwhelmed by these things, what do you guys think?" Mashyuu asked the others while jumping forward atop the shoulders of one statue and biting its other shoulder before back flipping off it, kicking the arms off the monster in the process.

(OOC:) I think something actually happened to Celeste as I haven't been able to get a hold of her for any reason at all. Had to replace her in a job we were doing too so it's best to just move on without her for now I think.

For the first time in his life since becoming a monster Ryo felt fear, these things, they were feeding from him. Off the power that he was emitting. With a roar of rage, fear, and raw emotion he flung himself at the first statue that had begun to move his blood claws slashing through the stone with ease. With three swipes of his hands and claws the statue was brought down into shreds of clay, stone, and earth crumbling even further. He panted softly as he felt himself being fed upon by the remaining statues that were all glowing with faint wisps of purple light. Using his inhuman speed, he slashed through another two much in the same style rendering them as little more than piles of rubble. He was not going to let these things come back to life, reform, or give him any other kind of irritation all in all.

He was about to bring death to the last one his claws ripping off the creature’s arm, but only a moment after the stone arm shattered from hitting the ground the creature gained a brand-new arm. This one was the color of ebony, and yet it was made of flesh, bone, and blood. Ryo could smell these attributes inside of the creature. This caused him to panic again leaping up onto the roof of a building “WHAT ARE THESE THINGS!?” He screeched out in his inhuman voice “THEY ARE LIVING! They are humans of some kind!”

Just then a red pulse of magic smelling of Anise came surging through the village and all the statues seemed to come to life all at once. A deep booming voice bellowed out “They are humans! They are the first people! Magic is the truest gift to them! It was my aura, my power that first gave them life! Now they shall be reborn by your presence here!” it bellowed out in a warning “You shall be the new source of their life, and through your foolishness my children shall rise again more powerful than before!”

Ryo gave a hiss of hatred at hearing this voice but seeing no sign of a speaker he bellowed out “Where are you!? Is this your handy work Prometheus?! Come out and show yourself!” Gora easily leapt to Ryo’s building nuzzling and licking him to show that he could relax. He saw how deeply these so called “First men” had gotten to him, and it was terrible to behold. Ryo didn’t scare easily, and not at all once he had become a vampire, but these things were giving him a fright and the idea that they were feeding off of him was one that he was not coming to grips with easily.

There was no answer to Ryo’s challenge and there was no further sign of anything happening. This made Ryo snarl in his anger and he spoke loudly so he could be heard “Mashyuu, Kenna, get yourselves away from the village. I am going to level this god forsaken place, Flight is my suggestion be over 25 meters in the air should you take to the sky!!” He roared out ending his blood magic spell at once as he reached into his coat “Gora run, I am going to do something terrible, and I don’t want you caught up in it.” Gora knew what spell this would be and he gave a bark of warning before he himself bounded away running deep into the forest. Ryo pulled out a single tarot card and on this was a little red man with horns and wings along with a spade shaped tail. The scroll at the top of the card read “The Devil” Focusing on only the card Ryo sent his magic through the tarot card bathing it in a purple light.

One moment it was in his hand, the next moment it vanished appearing high in the air. Without another word of warning the card shot down towards the earth at an insane speed, Ryo knew that he wasn’t about to weather the storm so instead he used his own inhuman speed to rush away from the abandoned city, but he was not faster than his spell. The card slammed into the house that Ryo had once been standing on reducing it to rubble without any effort, as it hit the ground a boom filled the abandoned city spreading a great shockwave up and out, this was the power behind the spell. The shockwave shot out in a huge radius reaching up to 70 meters from the point of impact the first ring which covered more than half of the was strong enough to bring down the buildings it touched and shatter the statues that were not animated yet, as well as the ones that had begun to glow with Kenna’s aura. The others cracked and seemed to take damage but still stood, the shockwave dealing less and less damage as it traveled. Finally, it stopped only a few meters short of where Ryo and Gora stood shaking the leaves from the trees that he was standing under. With this done Ryo rushed back into the city which now had less than half of the buildings it had when they first arrived.

One building however, and those that rested behind it were left completely untouched and undamaged. The Pyramid replacing its red glow with a purple one as the shockwave touched it then seemed to shatter against this single structure. Upon Ryo entering the village again he would see that the statues that had been glowing with his aura were now cracked, but the cracks caused chunks of the stone to start falling off revealing flesh underneath. One was soon standing fully human, with only the barest of scraps covering his waist. He looked to Ryo and in his hand formed a ball of flames which he threw at Ryo with ferocity. Ryo only just had the presence of mind to realize he was facing something much stronger than he was as he dodged the fireball the best he could only narrowly avoiding the blast thanks to his speed, but he rolled away to see that the other statues that were cracked were doing likewise, but he couldn’t see whose aura had brought them to life.

Status:

OOC:

Everyone seemed to be ready to leave, even if they were handling most of the creatures fine for the most part. Mashyuu took deep breaths of air and started to look around when the sound of flesh grinding against stone echoed around him. Mashyuu winced from the seemingly inhuman sound and looked around at the creatures he had bitten apart. Skin dark as ebony exploded out of the stone, revealing that sealed in the stone were almost zombie like creatures who quickly shot up and started to glare at the God Slayer. One pushed its hand out the same way Mashyuu did when he used his base earth spell. Just the same three pillars of stone shot up in front of Mashyuu. Quickly he opened his mouth and took three quick bites out of the stone in order to stop them from hitting him in the chest. His blue eyes rose in annoyed and almost insulted confusion and anger. "I don't care what these things are, I'm not about to let them use my magic!" He shouted and started to charge the earth using creature when a flash of flame ignited to his left and a gust of wind brought the fire forward.

Mashyuu jumped backwards, feeling the heat of fire and wind licking his body as his clothes became burnt at the edges. "Are you kidding me?! Now they do other elements too? I think I liked these things better when they were trying to eat us." Mashyuu narrowed his eyes and focused in on his own power. He hated having to use his magic against creatures that didn't seem to have much of a mind and as such he wasn't going to put too much into this, not yet at least. "Earth Gods extension!" He shouted, causing stones to explode out of the ground and float as if they were Mashyuu's raised fists. He took a single leaping step and threw his left hand out towards the creature that had created wind, smashing the stone into the creature to knock it back while dealing a bit of damage. He kicked his leg out towards the earth using creature, causing the ground to roll like a whipped rug and throw the monster to the ground. It was then that a strange voice seemed to answer Ryo's call. "Seriously, lets leave and go find that guy! I really don't want to fight this guy drained of energy!" Mashyuu shouted when a series of lightning strikes darted around him, digging into each of the ebony monsters repeatedly. Itsu stopped next to Mashyuu, sparking for a moment before the light died away. "Where is Celeste?" Mashyuu questioned the beauty at his side. "She froze up in fear, I took her to the forest to calm down, told her we would come back for her later."

Ryo shouted a warning to get away from the area and Mashyuu started to chuckle while flexing his forearms to activate the bracers of flight he had. The ground cracked under him and Itsu. "Kenna the flight up is leaving right now!" He shouted and weather she got on the carpet of stone or not, a large blanket of rock shot up into the sky carrying Itsu and Mashyuu high up. Suddenly a blast of magical power hit below the Wizards, rocking Mashyuu's concentration but not enough to shake him from his sheet of stone. The blast nearly threw Mashyuu off his carpet of rock but he just barely managed to escape the worst of the blast radius and floated with his stone flight pad in the air, taking deep breaths of air to try and calm himself down. He and Itsu peered down at what was left of the area. That damned pyramid was still sanding as was every building behind it. "He's gotta be in there! Come on. Lets not waste any more time with these things, they are just gonna slow us down!" He shouted. The Wizard started to float towards the Pyramid while keeping his eyes peeled for Ryo to follow the stronger Wizard so they wouldn't get spread out to thin. "There are hundreds of these guys, no way we can take em all."

Status:

Ryo couldn’t believe his eyes and was soon ready to combat the fire using first man that came at him. The man sent a column of flames billowing towards him. He was not going to waste any further time with this person however. He drew his blade with a flourish giving a soft whistle that Gora immediately caught pouncing on the fire spewing first man clawing into the ebony skinned human. The opening however, was what Ryo’s ultimate goal was and he launched forward slashing at the pinned being several times. With each slash Ryo saw that these first men were indeed human enough. They bled like anyone, and everyone else, and yet; their blood was strangely black in color. Almost as if they weren’t finished and their blood was turning into a liquid from being solid clay, sand, or mud of some kind. Even still Ryo’s second much darker magic called out to him to sample this delicious bounty before him.

He also could feel that his sword was feeding him the mana from this fallen foe. This was perfect if he could steal mana from them then he wouldn’t have to worry about this plan. He didn’t have time to worry about this however, as he could feel a threat coming towards him. He leapt up away from the incoming attack which was another flamethrower. He whipped around and snarled pulling up a bunch of cards in his left hand. Using his skilled fingers, he selected three of his cards that he needed right away. Using a fire, detonation, and enhancement card he turned and threw the cards “Attack Combo: Water bomb!” The cards formed into an old school bomb with a fuse that was made of a jiggling and swirling mass of water. Throwing the bomb at the fire wizards who were attacking him it collided with the ground and exploded sending a torrent of water out in a 30-meter radius. The two wizards were weak to this kind of attack and as such they suffered more damage, the statues that had come close and neared Ryo after suffering the effects of the previous strike were too damaged that they just crumbled into dust and dirt.

Still, this wasn’t anywhere near enough as many more of the statues only cracked further; more chunks falling off of them to reveal more first men that were coming to life slowly shedding their stone prison. He sighed and heard the comments by both Mashyuu and Kenna he reached into his coat landing on a pile of rubble. Sheathing his sword again he looked to Mashyuu and Kenna “I am done holding back. If Prometheus won’t let us get close to him, then I am going to draw him out! If these are his children then I’ll slaughter as many as I can.” Pulling his hand out again he held up the three cards he wanted the wolf, the moon, and the magician sending his magic through these cards they began to orbit him spinning faster and faster until they were a blur. From his coat, he produced several decks of playing cards letting them fall and form onto his back as two great wings.

From his pockets, he pulled out a pair of tarot cards, and two elemental cards. Holding a pair in each hand he smirked down at the statues and first men that were approaching him “Behold the power of the Card King!” Flowing his magic through the cards he threw them towards the oncoming group. The cards on the left crackled like lightning forming into the shape of a wolf. It leapt upon one of the statues biting and clawing it ferociously. The cards on the right however began to smoke and then seemed to form into a being of shadows and darkness that was in the shape of a lion who landed upon one of the first men biting into his shoulder dragging him to the ground.

Yet Ryo didn’t stop there and instead he pulled up a lot more cards in his hands forming two creations at once “Mashyuu, Kenna! I am sending you some help!” using his will he manipulated the cards forming them into another shape “Card Creation: Griffon, Dragon!” throwing the first batch of cards into the air they took on the shape of a griffon the cards giving the beast’s dimensions accurately. He threw out another bunch of cards which took on the form of a dragon large and in charge. Despite this they were weaker than his opponents but he knew that his allies would benefit. He looked to his griffon “Help Kenna, and obey her as if she were me.” As the beast flew off to join Kenna he looked to the Dragon “You help Mashyuu and obey him as if he were me.” The dragon flew away to obey the order moving towards the dragon slayer.

Ryo drew his sword again and surged down towards a first man who was about to attack the lightning wolf he had summoned. As he flew past he slashed his sword through the man causing him to whip around aiming a fireball at the retreating Ryo, but in the air again Ryo was a much harder target. Gora on the other hand had the opportunity to sink his fangs into the first man biting him hard on one arm the sound of bones cracking was clear as a bell. He gave a cry turning his flaming hand on Gora scorching his muzzle with fire. With a yowl of pain, the great wolf retreated. Hearing his beloved lupine partner in pain Ryo dove down sword first impaling the first man from behind dragging him to the ground and keeping him there with his blade through his heart looking around with his inhuman eyes.


Meanwhile, inside of the pyramid Prometheus slowly rose from his throne which was directly under the golden point of the structure. Pulling up a short sword, and an axe he looked to the doors of his home his eyes becoming two balls of flames inside of his skull “These damned upstarts think they can just kill my children without consequences.” Taking a few steps down from his raised dais to the ground he chuckled moving towards the doors “They shall soon learn of their folly.”

Stats:

Instructions:

Mashyuu's eyes darted back and fourth between the fights happening below and the temple that clearly held the fire god that needed to be defeated. For a half moment he considered continuing to fight these things but the idea that they would just keep coming back rang true in his heart and mind. He shook his head side to side and shouted out. "I'm going to the pyramid,
you guys can stay here and die if you really want but I know where we are supposed to get going!" Mashyuu called out and turned to see a giant dragon floating behind him. Mashyuu, the Dragon Slayer rolled his eyes and pointed to the enemies below. "I don't care what you do, just kill all of those things. Why didn't Ryo tell you to do that?" Mashyuu barked at the card dragon and leaned forward with Itsu holding his waist. A moment later the massive stone he was floating on broke the cloud line and soared towards the pyramid, leaving the others behind if they weren't coming.

OOC:

His guild hall was in ruins. What he had worked so hard to build crumbled from the sky and was, at best, a pile of ashes. It didn't take the old guild master long to figure out where to go, nor did it take long for him to be filled in on the current happenings by a rather untrustworthy fellow - Nicklaus Flamel. Still, his instincts were second to assisting as best he could in dealing with the threat at hand. Zenshin would be catching up with team Ryo in their hunt for Prometheus, the name of one of the five deities that resided within this strange realm. Now, he sprinted. Zenshin ran as fast as he could towards the south in an attempt to find Ryo and his group before it was too late.

A blue aura condensed and took shape on his back and on his side. Soon after, a scythe and a pistol, his two primary weapons. That's when he felt Ryo. He didn't see his former guild mate and friend, rather he felt the magical power he was giving off. Seems as though Ryo has done some growing since I've been away. There's no mistaking that unique magical signature he thought before finally getting close enough. Statues. He was fighting statues that turned into men and seemingly spending quite a bit of magical power on them. While Zenshin currently did not have nearly the same magical power that Ryo had, he did have a bit of experience in a fight and he knew that one of the greatest advantages that a warrior had was the element of surprise.

He leapt up into the air and took his scythe off of his back, bringing it down with both arms as he fell to the ground. A second passed and his targets head cleanly slid off, speaking to the craftsmanship and sharpness of his blade. "Long time no see Ryo. I wish we could have had our reunion during a less stressful time" he said happily, folding the long stick that made up the shaft of his weapon and removing the blade which doubled as a curved sword. "You've seemingly grown into quite a powerful mage. I'm impressed and am a bit sad to say that I've gone the opposite way and that I cannot be much help" he continued, scrutinizing the movements of the statues which had come alive before having to avoid a fire whip style spell by jumping over it.

"Though I can say that you should try to conserve your magical energy. None of these creatures look like a deity to me, so there are more important uses for your great power" he finished, quickly crouching down to avoid a fireball spell. With his free left hand, he unholstered his pistol and pointed it at the enemy which had just thrown a second attack at him. He wasn't exactly close, so he simply laughed at Zenshin's threat. Hubris is one of the only truly insidious killers he thought, pulling the trigger and feeling some of his life's energy drain from him as it turned into a bullet and exited the front of the gun. The head of one of his target recoiled back as the bullet stopped in its skull and Zenshin, taking no time to rest and see if his attack had landed, was already stabbing his weapon into the chest of the second statue man. "I don't know about you Ryo, but I think we should make a break for the pyramid"

HP: 200/200 (-10 HP from firing gun, +15 from armor)
MP: 100%
Spells Used:
Sig. Spell - Hunter's Weapons

The dragon and the Griffon that were made of cards were doing everything they could to not only destroy the statues that they could, but also to protect those they were told to guard. Ryo watched as the two fought bravely. He decided however, that they weren’t strong enough to keep this up. He looked to his card constructs “Get them out of here!” He ordered loudly. The two creatures did just that dragging the two away out of danger. He hoped that Kenna would go with them, but he understood if she wanted to stay and fight. She would have the ability to do so as she had control over the griffon and it would leave her in the fight if she wanted it to. This left Ryo alone in the whole of the ruined city. All of the statues turned on him and the two elemental constructs that he had fighting next to him. He surged to one of the first men that were fighting him and he slashed into the dark-skinned woman twice bringing her down with blade and the help of his lightning wolf, and dark lion.

Flexing his wings, he shot cards from the two great appendages smashing into some of the weaker Statues that had been attacking Kenna, and Mashyuu. These cards shattered the weakest of the statues doing enough damage to keep them from forming again. That was when he felt it, he felt something that he hadn’t felt for a while a power, a presence that had been lost to him or so he thought. That was when Gora let loose with his deep howl signaling to Ryo that a guildmaster, or someone of authority had arrived. Slowly Ryo turned and watched as Zenshin arrived in the fray. His eyes went wide as he watched his former guildmaster arrived on the scene and started to fight. He spoke and greeted Ryo as if nothing was odd, as if he hadn’t vanished for such a long time, and only just returned out of thin air.

Ryo’s eyes went black as pitch as his inhumanity surged forward in a mixture of rage, hope, joy, and even sorrow. He couldn’t understand, but after a moment he bellowed “You have some explaining to do Zenshin! I won’t let you get away from that!” he warned.

As soon as Zenshin spoke about trying to make it to the Pyramid however the two giant doors to the structure slammed open and all of the statues as well as the first men seemed to want to get away from the foes they were previously fighting. They all stood waiting for something to happen and soon enough the one who had thrown open the doors started to descend the stairs to the ground “No need to do that little wizards. I have come out here to settle the accounts.” The scent of Anise grew stronger as the man neared and he slowly drew both his sword and axe holding them loosely in his hands. Standing on the ground he smirked at the two wizards and the four creations that were now to either side of their creator Gora standing directly behind Prometheus “Seems you guys like hurting children, MY children no less!” He said his body slowly coming to life bathing in flames and anger “The name’s Prometheus, that is the name of the god you have offended, and the one who is going to destroy you!” he said quite simply.

Lifting his axe in a horizontal pose a stream of fire shot out towards the Lion made of darkness and with the single blast. Ryo’s eyes went wide as he pointed “Kill that imposter!” he bellowed in rage. The dragon and the Griffon were the first to respond flying to the left and the right of the man, while the lightning wolf surged up the middle. Ryo looked to Gora and shook his head “You stay safe, and only attack if you know you can do so in safety.” He said in the secret method they shared between them. He himself followed up after his elemental wolf sword in one hand and his wings extended to their fullest.

Ryo’s stats:

Prometheus’ stats and notes:

"Good to see you too, friend" he said to what could be described as an emotionally charged response. It was true that he had been gone for quite a while and may or may not have remembered to take a formal leave, though that surely was no reason for Ryo to act as such. "We'll catch up, don't worry. Just try to keep me from death's door." he said, a bit worried at the apparent strength of the opponent before them. Fire magic. Prometheus, huh? Let's see if I can't find a weakness he thought, looking upon the false god that he and Ryo were tasked with bringing down. He did get quite angry just because we destroyed a few of his 'children,'... I wonder if he has a bit of a problem with managing his anger he thought, smiling as he requipped his Hunter's Attire. Despite his life force being spent in order to gain the benefits afforded to him by the clothing, he felt better than ever. So long had it been since he and Ryo fought side by side, even longer since he had found an enemy worth fighting. This was going to be quite enjoyable.

"Really? You're Prometheus? You're the god that we're supposed to be tasked with killing? Wow, I almost regret joining my friend here. He could've done chore all by himself." he said with the utmost confidence to the towering figure who wielded an axe and a sword. Zenshin knew that, if his little plan worked, he wouldn't have much time before Prometheus focused on him. So, in that instant, he created three vector spaces. One directly in front of him angled so that he would be launched straight above Prometheus. The second where he would end up being launched angled so that he would be sent to the ground directly behind Prometheus. The third would be located where the second would send him and be angled to launch him to where the first box is located. This chain would, so long as he didn't get stopped by some external force, allow him to continuously travel in a triangular formation around Prometheus without putting himself in too much danger except for the instance where he would need to slide between his legs. This plan, he hoped, would only serve to further annoy him in order to give Ryo and his pet an opening while also allowing Zenshin to do some minor damage.

With his attack planned out, he stepped into the first vector field and was launched above the fire "god." He pointed his gun at him and fired three times on the way up and three times on the way down, the first barrage aimed at Prometheus' stomach, chest, and forehead and the second barrage aimed at Prometheus' occipital lobe, upper back, and lower back. With each pull of the trigger, he could feel himself getting weaker and weaker, though if he was to truly become a hunter he needed to risk himself completely. To complete his first cycle through the three vector spaces, Zenshin would, as he attempted to dash between Prometheus' legs, to slash at his Achilles heel with all his might in an attempt to not only inflict some damage, but to cripple his foe.

HP: 125/200 (-30 HP from Hunter's Attire; -60 HP from 6 shots from gun; +15 from armor)
MP: 92% (+2% from Armor; -10% from Vector)

Spells Used:
Sig. Spell - Hunter's Attire

For Ryo:

Prometheus watched the Dragon, Griffon, and Wolf come at him with a small amused smile on his face. The Lightning Wolf Launched itself straight at the “God of Fire” it didn’t get any further than in the air before Prometheus’ axe slammed into the creature a burning blade of fire. The creature shattered apart in a crack of thunder spreading out in various directions none of which were helpful to the cause. The dragon on the other hand surged forward it’s maw open wide. Yet Prometheus turned his short sword expanding with flames blocking the maw and burning it in the same process. Sadly, for him this meant his back was turned to the griffon who sank it’s claws into the deity’s back dragging deep gouges into the man’s back.

This in turn caused the man to below out in agony his body erupting in flames that consumed both the dragon and the Griffon burning them to ashes with how powerful it was. No sooner had he turned around than he was slammed by half a dozen cards all of them slamming into him and making him flinch with the impact. His eyes turned right onto Ryo and he bellowed “Is this how you think you can break me?! You do not know my power!”

Ryo smirked and rushed forward in order to make some kind of attack against the fire god, but he was thwarted by the sudden actions of Zenshin. He came in flying around and firing at Prometheus. After the first three shots connected solidly with the deity he turned to try and launch a fireball at the new threat, but thankfully enough for zenshin he was moving too fast to be able to stop anything. However, only one more of the bullets struck the flaming warrior. As Zenshin made a dash to aim between Prometheus’ legs the warrior turned to try and slash at Zenshin as he made the dash.

As Prometheus’ blade came down it met with resistance from Ryo’s silver blade. The two blades sang as they met together, but Zenshin’s slash only met with the armor that Prometheus wore on his legs. With the distraction that Ryo presented Zenshin would be able to continue on past the fight all together. The two swordsmen fought sword on sword again the song of steel rang through the ruins of the town. The strikes kept ringing out, but soon enough the blade would start to show signs of overheating. He couldn’t afford for his blade to melt now with a flap of his wings that kicked up the dust around them Prometheus flinched giving Ryo the perfect moment to slash the man across the chest before flying out of range.

The Originator of flames bellowed his rage and shook his head summoning up his axe again “You, despicable cur! I will not allow you to make a fool out of me!” He inhaled as deep as he could manage before he roared out in fury. The flames were even more intense than a dragon’s flame, or even the god and demon slayer flames. They were white hot flecked with green tints.

Ryo summoned up several cards hissing his anger thankfully in this form he didn’t have to wait to draw the cards he needed. He smirked “Defense Card: Flame Absorb! Elemental Shield: FIRE! Repel Card!” The three spells activated. The first card shot forward into the flames being consumed by them, but a red light surged up in Ryo’s body as he regained the mana he was going to absorb. This one spell was not enough to stop the white-hot flames. The second spell formed into a large diamond in front of Ryo the flames slamming into it only to continue on after shattering the spells. Finally, the last spell shot most of the remaining flames back at Prometheus, but it still couldn’t stop them all and Ryo bellowed out in agony as he was bathed in the flames dropping to the earth like a stone.

His wings were destroyed in the process and Ryo hit the ground smothering the flames with his body as he did so, but it was clear that he was not in good shape. He struggled to his feet panting heavily as he came up to one knee shaking his head “Damnit…I-I can’t keep this up. Fire…Fire is the absolute worst…” He panted as the god stepped forward.

The Deity smirked at him nodding his head “Fire only burns those who are stupid enough to play with it! Now I shall burn you to ashes!” he said lifting his axe letting it be bathed in flames.

OOC: Alright, I attached the damage charts for pets, weapons, melee combat. So be sure to refer to these charts. Zenshin thank you for including the damage your spell did. Please keep it up in the future as well. Those who started in this thread are still a part of this thread if they want to be, but only have 48 hours to post after Zenshin.

Stats:

Prometheus’ HP, and Damage Chart:

I need to work on my aim he thought, watching as his last two bullets missed the fire "deity." When he reached his second box and dashed towards the monster's legs, he noticed that he was in the perfect path for him to turn and attack. In his offensive maneuvering he had let his guard down. Not good he thought as he stuck to his guns and braced for an impact that did not come. Before Prometheus' attack could connect, Ryo had intervened and blocked the strike that would have otherwise mortally wounded the weaker mage. "Thanks for the cover, Ryo!" he said before being launched twice more so that he was behind Prometheus once again. He broke out of his vector boxes and watched as Ryo battled with their enemy. The card mage had even outmatched the fire 'god' at one point and managed to land a clean blow across his chest. Their attacks seemingly did nothing other than anger him, but Zenshin had to hope that they were doing something to him.

This situation is a bit more dire than I had anticipated... I was hoping I wouldn't have to use 'their' help, but this Prometheus is quite the opponent if he could take what Ryo and I dished out and act as if we had just stepped on his toes he thought as he sheathed his sword at the top of his scythe's handle and pulled out his codex. Careful to balance it in one hand since he left was preoccupied with a firearm, he waited for the book to open on its own to a page that 'they' knew would help him in the moment. Oh? A wolf? Alright I guess. Come on out he thought before a dark magical circle appeared in the air in front of him with runes that he had never seen before and probably for good reason. They were alien and made him a bit uncomfortable. From out of the circle emerged a large black wolf whose fur was darkness and whose eyes were simply glowing white circles.

Zenshin looked at the beast and down at his hand. The book was back in the pocket he had sewn into his regal attire specifically for it. He unsheathed his curved sword once again and looked upon what he had summoned. "Alright... Bright. Yeah, Bright. Let's strike now while the iron is hot! Endless blades!" he roared aloud, prompting a positive... sound from his wolf-y companion. While he could not describe the sound and it truthfully made him a little nauseous to hear, it seemed happy to attack. Additionally, twenty light blue swords made of mana appeared above him, all pointing at Prometheus. Just as he roared at Ryo, Zenshin made his attack.

He jumped atop Bright and the beast burst forward in a sprint. Zenshin's magical swords kept up and all at once they launched themselves forward at deafening speeds, all into a straight vertical line and all aimed at sections of Prometheus' spinal column. While they individually didn't do much damage, Zenshin was hoping that his enemy shared a similar physiology to that of humans. The swords, as there were twenty of them, could easily overwhelm an enemy - especially if that enemy was not paying attention. The mage hoped that at least a few of his swords could make their way far enough into the spine of his enemy and cripple his central nervous system. Zenshin jumped off and, along with Bright, made another try for Prometheus' Achilles heel. He would strike as hard as he could at the same spot he had struck before - an armored spot which was no doubt weakened from his earlier blow. Bright, the hound whose size was comparable to that of the card mage, would be commanded to sink its razor sharp teeth into the other leg - again, aiming for the Achilles heel. The Recreationist knew that his power along wasn't enough to topple the giant foe, so he had to fight smarter rather than harder.

HP: 140/200 (+15 from Armor)
MP: 83% (+4% from Ability: From the Dark; +2% from Armor; -15% from Spell: Endless Blades [C])

For Ryo:

Ryo looked up at the god with eyes of blood and fire. He hated this man, and he would make sure that he would die killing this so-called god. With a smirk on his face he spoke to Gora “Kill as many first men as you can, be as bloody as you can with it. I need them dead.” He said in the special way they had, noticing that the sun had finally sank beyond the horizon. The night was here and this is what Ryo needed for his next volley.

Despite the changing of the time of day nothing else seemed to change, and the pyramid began to glow bright enough for none of the lightning to change, as it came aglow so too did every building that was still standing. Soon, there were no shadows to be had aside from the buildings that had been destroyed. Slowly the deity lifted his flaming sword smirking “It is time to burn little undead creature.” It was at this moment that he came under attack. The blades all struck Prometheus’ back making him bellow in pain and rage turning to face Zenshin. As soon as he did this he was suddenly surrounded by seven nearly naked women who all held him down despite his thrashing. This gave Zenshin the time he needed for his attack. However, with Prometheus facing him his achilies’ tendon was out of the question. Yet the strike hit home this time denting the bracer that had already suffered some damage.

Even with the successful strike however Prometheus kicked out at Zenshin looking to land a serious kick to the wizard’s chest. Focusing on Zenshin left him open to bright who was able to latch his fangs onto the fire gods’ leg. The smell of anise was heavy again and Prometheus burst into flames burning away all the women who held him, and bright as well. Should Zenshin be within melee range then he would also be caught up in the blast suffering an SS rank would. If not then he would get away just fine. Standing there caught up in the attacks he had suffered he was distracted and didn’t feel the first death of the first men who had been attacking Kenna. Gora was ripping through them one at a time, but they did not seem to give fight, and yet they were more human than ever seeing as they were bleeding pure red blood.

After the third death a shock seemed to run through Prometheus’ body and he whipped around to see Gora tearing and clawing into a fourth first man. The fire gods’ eyes went wide, the first men wouldn’t feel the need to defend themselves as he was around, they were new borns and didn’t yet know how to take care of themselves in his presence. Before he could do anything however, Kenna appeared and attacked him. Her attacks hit home, but he attempt to sever his axe hand only made him below in his new pain glaring daggers at the woman who was now out of his reach.

Slowly Ryo rose to his feet his eyes black as pitch no irises, pupils, or whites. They were two round black pools of oil and his fangs were now prominently poking out of his smile as he nodded his head “I am glad you are safe though." He replied to her before addressing the pair "Zenshin, Kenna, I am sorry for what you are about to see, but I need the power.” A surge of his royal purple aura pulsed through the area as he lifted his hands “Gora, you help them and keep him busy.” He ordered his wolf in an audible voice that was slightly unnecessary. The pulse made Prometheus stop for a moment as he looked around feeling something strange.

Then all at once all of the blood that was still fresh enough to be liquid surged up to Ryo coating him and sliding over his body. It all pooled to his back and formed into two great bat-like wings that spread out and flapped lifting Ryo from the ground. He held out his left and right hand with a wickedly fanged smile “Keep him busy.” He told the two allies he had. “I need a moment to get this spell to work.” He said as blood began to surge from his wings to the center of his hands molding and forming into a particular shape, but the process was a slow one. With a great flap of his wings he shot up into the air catching Prometheus’ attention and forcing him to try and attack. He pointed his short sword at Ryo’s figure sending a trio of fireballs shooting out, but he was far too slow as it was now night, and Ryo was much stronger as well as faster at this time.

He kept trying to hit Ryo with these fireballs realizing who the new and very real threat had just become. Of course, the distraction only gave Gora his moment and the giant ice-furred wolf launched himself at the Deity sinking his fangs into the Deity’s sword arm sinking them deep. Using his massive paw he slapped the sword out of prometheus’ hand sending it spinning away with three deep gouges in it. Deciding that he was done Gora let go right as Prometheus started to lift his axe for a swing and leapt over the man clearing him by several feet to snatch up the sword biting into it repeatedly before it finally gave way. With a snap that resounded through the city the blade broke into two pieces and Gora turned snarling angrily at the deity who had harmed his master.

Facing down the Dire wolf as if it were nothing Prometheus totally forgot about the other opponents his eyes blazing red “You shall pay for that mongrel!” He bellowed charging after Gora with his axe raised high the head of it coming alive with a blazing flame.

Stats:

Prometheus stats:

Naked women. Naked women everywhere. They were beautiful, magical, and they were assisting him in his attack. No doubt this was the work of Ryo. I suppose it gets lonely, but to develop a spell like this? I didn't really see it coming from Ryo he thought as his blow struck the bracer, weakening it a bit more. He knew it wouldn't be long before it would break and he could have a crack at a vulnerable spot. Of course, Prometheus did not simply let him get away with his attack and would attempt to land a kick straight into the mage's chest. This attack would've worked despite Zenshin's enhanced physical abilities if it wasn't for the help of a third mage - a mage he had not yet met. His physical abilities were already doubled, and now they were boosted just a little more, allowing him to dash out of the way quite elegantly, spinning as he did so and even attempting to slash at the "god's" exposed toes.

Kenna he thought, hearing her name after she had made her grand appearance. "Anyone with that kind of skill with a blade has my respect! Good fight with you, Kenna. I look forward to defeating Prometheus so that we may get to know each other in a more appropriate setting" he said, greeting her while backing away from Prometheus who was seemingly getting angry. Before he knew it, Prometheus spontaneously combusted, turning Bright and anything within a small radius around him into ash. With this power increase no doubt granted by our new companion, I ought to get a bit more personal with Hades he thought, holstering his gun and inserting the bottom of his curved sword into a slot at the top of the hinged and bent wooden stick that sat on his back. Zenshin took the bent stick off his back and with a click, it transformed into a scythe whose blade was that of a long curved sword.

"Let's see what a pair of weapons can do to a god?" he said, his question directed at Kenna. Just then, Ryo apologized for something he was about to do and, in that same moment, his eyes went black. Blood formed his wings and a royal purple aura surrounded him. To those who hunted monsters, it was pretty clear what Ryo was. "Ryo... You're a vampire?" he said, trying to keep a neutral tone but allowing a hint of disgust and betrayal to seep through behind his words. Zenshin was a bit repulsed by this revelation - that his ally had transformed into a monster. If he was younger, he would probably instinctively just attack Ryo. Now, however, he had a bit more sense. Ryo was clearly more powerful than he and the guild was more important than his personal feelings towards monsters, so he simply focused on the task at hand.

He would take his feelings of anger and betrayal and use them against the false god that had been instrumental in the destruction of the guild he had worked so hard to build. "If you have any more power to give me, Kenna, now would be the time. I'm going to hit him with as much as I have!" the mage said, dashing forward with more than double his normal speed. Zenshin was practically skating across the ground and before he got too close to the front of Prometheus, he took a diagnol step and ended up within melee range of the "god's" arm. His enemy was distracted by Gora, Ryo's wolf companion and as such provided the perfect opening for the scythe-wielder to strike as hard as he could.

Three cuts he would attempt. And with each of those three cuts, the first aimed at the forearm and the other two aimed at the lower back after quickly readjusting his position would be an expulsion of magical energy at point blank range, amplifying the damage even further at a great cost.


HP: 155/200 (+15 from Armor)
MP: 55% ( +2% from Armor; -30% from Spell: x3 Leyline Manipulation - Burst [D])

for ryo:

The attacks by Zenshin were starting to annoy the fire ‘god’ he was not happy in the least and yet, even in retreat he was proving a nuisance. The attack against his toes however, was unsuccessful as Prometheus’ foot was flat and the slash went against his sandals. The leather was tough as could be, and it only just held together from the attack with Zenshin’s weapon. The fire master was so angry, but his attacks proceeded on perfectly.

Ryo looked to Zenshin as he spoke to Kenna and he couldn’t help but smile. Now however, he was free to cut loose so he started to do just that. Zenshin’s next weapons were interesting, but the god of fire didn’t seem to be worried, Ryo wondered what they could do however. When he cast his blood master spell and let his true nature out he heard the disgust and betrayal that was inside of Zenshin’s voice. It broke his heart, but he didn’t show it. Instead he only said, “It was either that or die, and Sabertooth still needs the Card King.” The sentence was spoken in a tone of someone who understands the facts, but can’t change them.

Gora had done his job and distracted Prometheus even breaking one of his weapons. This gave Zenshin a golden opportunity. However, as soon as his first, and second slash connected Prometheus’ blade was there to stop the third one. Yet, it wasn’t enough and the blast of magic was intense. Truly the God of fire was starting to show how weak these attacks were making him. He was only just standing on his own two feet.

That was when Ryo struck “Dynamic Blood Make: Sabertooth, and Bat!” at that moment a huge fanged cat of made of blood slammed into Prometheus biting into his axe arm his claws ranking along the god’s side and back. The bat surged up sinking his fangs into the opposite side of the deity. This wasn’t the end of it because as Zenshin was so close to the fire deity he could see the fire slowly dying in the gods’ eyes.

Ryo surged forward with his wings flapping forward and a sword made of blood in his hand. This he stabbed through Prometheus’ chest, as he looked over at Zenshin his black eyes meeting his former comrades “You have learned the bite of a Sabertooth, you can tell your allies in the afterlife.” He said as he stepped back. As soon as he did so he collapsed down panting his spells ending right then and there, and he sat there in his red duster, with his hat slipping down over his face. He was tired as all hell, and his mana was nearly gone.

No sooner had he done so than Prometheus slowly sank to his knees coughing up the last of his life blood “The first men…take care of them…” he wheezed as he slipped into the afterlife. His body collapsed to the ground and burst into flame. The flames were far too hot to approach or stay next to, once the fire was gone there was nothing left. Not an inch of skin, hair, bone, or blood remained. All trace of Prometheus had gone up in smoke.

Sitting there he glanced over at Kenna not moving his head “We couldn’t have done this without you, Kenna.” Then he addressed Zenshin “Thank you for your help Zenshin. I am honored to stand side by side with you again. Should you be interested in the story of what I am and how I became that way we can talk later.” Gora appeared and lay down curling around Ryo watching Zenshin ready to attack if someone approached the weakened wizard.

All around them, however, the first men and clay people that were alive only started to seem without direction moving around like zombies not paying attention to anyone. Slowly, the light in the ruins died down so it wasn’t so dark, but it seemed that the pyramid was still giving off a light and likely life. Ryo raised his eyebrows seeing this little thing. Perhaps this would-be information that Kite would find to be of value, but that would have to wait until he could stand under his own power. His spells had drained him of both mana and blood, but he couldn’t say that out loud.

He was not sure what he could, would, or should do next, he needed to rest. With the victory over the primordial flame, Ryo could rest now, and he relaxed against the big furry body of his lupine friend.

Final thoughts and tallies :