Once more unto the breach, my friends! [Event w/ Ardere and Cirven]

Bursting from the trees, Ardere's feet carried him as fast as they could muster. Dashing from branch to branch, he utilized the height of the trees and his enhanced dexterity to move faster than he would have on the ground. The height advantage also allowed him to view any oncoming enemies if need be. The fire mage was currently focused on making it to his destination, more so than any enemies for the time being. Celica, stay behind me. We're almost at our destination. Try not to draw too much attention. He ordered to his phoenix companion. The blazing orange bird soared dozens of meters above the samurai, keeping watch over him like his faithful guardian. The two formed quite the pair, but unfortunately the red and orange phoenix drew too much attention. They were not combating mages today, but instead--monsters.

Earlier at the guild hall, the guild master of Infinity Hydra had received an invitation from the Magic Council. As far as he knew, his Paragon allies had been contacted, but he was not sure how many would show. Being a Wizard Saint and guild master, he was often called upon by the council to carry out any high level missions or alerts they found the need to delegate to an outside source. Ardere was a God of Ishval, he had a duty to protect his country at all costs. But his title was not nearly enough motivation, the brown haired mage loved his home. Fighting through legions of monsters was merely payment for the kindness he had been shown when his previous home had driven him into madness for many years. He owed Fiore, more than he liked to admit.

Choosing to leave the guild to his Ace; Wolfe, Ardere packed a few things into his bag and left on Ember Celica. The phoenix had flown for miles towards the Fat Monsterland, supposedly where legions of beasts were pouring out into the nearby villages and towns. He could only take the phoenix so far before being noticed, so he chose to dive into the dense forest below. This led him to utilizing Celica's scouting skills, while employing his intense speed. His wooden and leather armor jiggled with each step, his sword strapped tight against his body. The white cloak across his frame flickered in the wind, as did his thick brown locks. The Fire King was moving as fast as he possibly could, for in the distance he could see smoke and smell death.

As he grew closer and closer to the source of the destruction he had seen, he was now realizing the sound of marching could be heard. His slayer senses were well trained, so picking out the sound of such loud traveling was an easy task. Loud bastards. I'll be there soon. Gritting his teeth, the scents that crossed his nostrils were vaguely familiar. One was quite similar to that of one of his old phobias; snakes. The other scent reminded him of ogres or perhaps even giants, but it was hard to pick out with such a cluster of smells. Regardless, he had an ideas of the size and scale of his enemies. Now it was time to attack.

Leaping onto the tallest tree branch he could find, now he spotted the sea of monsters. Cyclops, two-headed snakes, even a few chimeras and griffins littered the area. The army seemed to be funneled into a pass of mountainous terrain and rolling hills. It was after a few moments of studying that he noticed the creatures had stopped to surround something, or someone. The scent and sight of the powerful man below was that of Mr Yamamoto, a fellow Paragon and member of Golden Phoenix. Well I'll be damned. Twirling Clarent between his fingers, the crimson blade reflected the last bit of light as the sun began to set, rolling storm clouds entering the fray. Not only would a fight ensue, but they were in for quite the storm tonight.

Leaping up into the air, he began to fall down into the pass full of monsters. Grabbing one of the cyclops by the face, he created a massive explosion before the beast could even react. Flame God's Judgement! Utilizing the force from his launch, and the strength of his explosion, the cyclops was knocked back dozens of meters as he burst into pieces. Many of the other creatures were caught in this explosion, as his flame power was heavily enhanced with magical buffs. The explosion would have swallowed up Hero, if not for Ardere's pyrokinesis. Splitting the flames right around the Golden Phoenix mage, he would see only flame and ash for a moment. As the fire and smoke dissipated, the samurai landed, sword held close and covered in flames. Nice to see you Hero, hope I didn't surprise you too much. The cyclops he had made contact with was basically ripped apart, while the others were heavily burned, the black flames corrupting their flesh and causing it to wither away just like the ground beneath them. The destruction of his god slaying flames was unparalleled. Let's end these beasts, shall we?

It appeared that Ardere was not the only mage to come to the aid of Hero Yamamoto. Now, the fire mage began to recognize a familiar scent; that of Cirven the Black Sails guild master and fellow Paragon. This man he considered a powerful ally, but the scent that followed was one unfamiliar to him. Nice to see you Hero, and you too Cirven. Let's get this show on the road, shall we? Twirling Clarent between his hands, the eruption of fire and lightning had granted them quite the entrance in this fight, but the presence he had felt earlier was far more powerful. A spear of dark energy gave even the samurai quite the surprise. Even though he was the third God of Isval and considered the most combat adept of mages, he was not the strongest in sheer raw power. There were several mages on this continent who's raw power surpassed his, but the fact that he had never met the woman that appeared before them was appalling. The stranger fact was that even though she had summoned such a powerful spear, he could feel no magical presence from her body. Looks like the whole gang is here. Pleasure to meet you. Unfortunately we don't have much time for talking, as we're surrounded by an army of beasts.

Sighing slightly, the guild master of Infinity Hydra stepped away from the group. Walking towards the enemies before them, he held his sword out to the side. Clarent began to burst into deep black flames with a slight red tint to them. These flames engulfed the blade, taking up a size comparable to a small building in length. The strange fact about this blade, was that he could move it as if there was no weight. Swinging the massive flame sword around like it was nothing, he had now activated his sword's ability: Sword of Kings. Come on you big bastards. Dashing towards two cyclops creatures, he swiftly slashed open their chests before they could even reach him, then proceeded to decapitate them. Their wounds were instantly cauterized, but their flesh had begun to decay and wither away from the effects of his god slaying flames. A black aura began to blaze around the Fire King, as his power rose. Inferno Drive. The aura surrounding him was powerful enough to turn the ground black, making it crack and corrupt. His hair burst into pitch black flames, as his Legacy Form began to activate in tandem with his Inferno Drive spell. The combination of these abilities made him appear like a flaming warrior, while drastically increasing his speed and fire magic power.

Many of the first wave of enemies had been slain by the four mages, but there was a threat looming above, high above the clouds. Soaring around them, were two griffins. They were massive beasts even for creatures of their class, soaring faster than most ships he had seen. How were they to hit them? He wondered. Within a split second, an idea crossed his mind. He began to target one particular griffin, while allowing the other mages to attack the hordes of monsters. Leaping from tree to tree, his movement was almost a blur. Following one of the griffins, he began to swing wildly with his gargantuan flame blade, provoking it. The griffin screeched loud enough to severely pierce his slayer ears, prompting a cringe from Ardere. Accompanying these griffin was a set of monsters, all ready to fight in the defense of the griffin leader. Wielding his sword with two hands, he slashed right through the cyclops beasts guarding the griffin, only to be blocked by the chimeras. Roaring loudly, the beasts sent the samurai tumbling backwards with extreme force. I see you won't let your general go down easy then. His glowing red eyes focused on the chimeras, as something began to slither around his feet, a scent he dreaded. Why does it always have to be snakes? Leaping upwards to avoid the strike of a two-headed snake, he instinctively lopped off one of the heads as he landed on a nearby tree. A smog began to be unleashed, messing with his slayer senses. Gritting his teeth, he began to spin like a top. His body twirling at an intense speed, the flames created by his sword began to spiral as well. Utilizing his pyrokinesis, he manipulated his own flames into a tornado, as he began to ravage the trees surrounding them, sending the snakes backwards. As the smog began to dissipate, he dashed towards the weaker of the two snakes that had appeared, slicing it to pieces. Leaping back and forth to dodge the strikes of the other snake, he fought them back with his flame sword. Slicing through two trees on both sides of the serpent creatures, the large wooden structures collapsed right onto them, allowing him time to slice them to pieces as well. This left the chimeras. Staring down the beasts, he condensed his flames on his sword down to just cover the blade. Wielding a building sized sword would give him no advantage here, he needed to be precise rather than intimidating.

The Griffin General merely soared around behind its chimera allies, as the fire mage stood there ablaze. He was ready to strike at any moment. Calling out to his friends, he clutched Clarent tightly. Guys, if we can defeat these guard beasts quickly, we can take out the griffins and end this. Let's give it everything we've got. Dashing forward, leaving a stream of flames in his wake, he engaged in combat with one of the enemies. Dodging each poisonous strike and roar, he unleashed a burst of flames from his blade, engulfing the multi-headed being in corrupt fire. Plunging his blade into the beast, he lifted up its body, blasting flames from his feet to launch himself into the sky. Twirling in mid air, he landed with the chimera's body underneath his blade, shattering its bones. The ground beneath them cracked, earth and wood splattering across the area. Leaving only the single chimera, he had finally broken a sweat. Hopefully his allies were fairing well. More beasts began to pile before him in the defense of the griffin, he could choose to slash through them or blow them up with his sheer firepower, but fortunately he was not alone here. He did not have to waste mass amounts of mana to blast through the enemy. There could be strategy involved. It almost reminded him of the time he fought the Dragon King.

A storm began to brew around the mages, clouds darkening like his flames. It appeared they were in for an intense night ahead of them. Twirling his blade, Ardere took a deep breath. While he was a fire mage, no storm would strike fear into him. His god slaying flames were one of a kind, he was the Fire King after all. Clutching Clarent tightly, he thanked Cirven for clearing a path to one of the Griffins. As he did so, magical power began to well up within the guild master's body. I suppose we should end this quickly then. His hair began to turn black, as his eyes began to glow. His pale skin took on a grey tint as a black aura engulfed his body. The god slayer was entering god force, as the lacrima deep within his body reacted with his slaying magic. The mana around him began to intensify, as the ground beneath cracked and melted. The sheer power from his new form was one that even the beasts noticed. How would they react?

Dashing forward with intense speed, Ardere appeared like a black blur. Utilizing the path his friend had cleared for him, it was now that he noticed Hero engaging the other griffin. The creatures were massive, surely capable of shattering buildings with their bodies. His paragons however, were not to be underestimated. You crazy bastard. Leaping forward, the griffin swooped in to engage him. Appearing as if he was going to engage the flying general, a spear of flames appeared in his offhand. Take this you bastard. Flame God's Infinity Strike! Tossing the javelin as he dove towards the beast, he made sure to narrowly dodge the sweeping claws rocketing towards him. The weapon he tossed was easily maneuvered around by the soaring enemy. Unfortunately for it, the fire mage had a trick up his sleeve. At the last second, he used his pyrokinesis to change the direction of the attack, sending the javelin above the opponent, then brought it back down right through its wing. The flaming spike pierced the wing like it was nothing, causing feathers and flesh to wither away. The griffin spiraled down towards the ground, shattering trees as it crashed into the earth. Quickly regaining its balance, the general leaped to its feet, attempting to take flight, but finding it was unable to do so. Sorry about that. I can't have you flying around.

The griffin opened its mouth and stared at his enemies. Lightning began to form within its maw, and then a roar the size of a skyscraper was unleashed. Obliterating all trees in its path, the roar was powerful enough to shake the fire mage's ear drums. He quickly tossed up a cloak of flames around his body to defend himself. Sliding across the ground, when he removed his cloak, he watched the spell shatter. The ground around him was utterly scorched, leaving no trees in its path. In fact, a chunk of a nearby mountain was missing. Eyes widening, Ardere was now aware of the power that his enemy faced. Even though he had weakened it, he could only hope his team mates would take this opportunity to attack the beast. Sprinting forward, he summoned a blade of flames in his offhand. He used Clarent and the blade known as Ifrit to slice through several remaining enemies, moving towards the griffin as quickly as he could. The mage possessed a limited amount of time to use his god force. He had to make it count.

Maneuvering himself behind the mages that he fought alongside, Ardere watched as they each unleashed hell upon the enemies. The strange woman in particular happened to level the battle field in one fell swoop, seemingly unleashing perhaps her strongest spell. It was child's play to them, not to mention as the samurai stood there the ground beneath him merely decayed and withered away. His God Force was powerful, but was it needed? Then, it began to rain again. There was no thunder or lightning, only heavy rain. The water rushed down the fire mage's back, evaporating within a matter of seconds. His red glowing eyes were fixed upon the remnants of enemies that remained after the woman's powerful attack. Hero took to eliminating the last of the beasts, but that did not last for long. Out of the woodwork, hordes of creatures surrounded the guild master. The pitter patter of heavy rain drowned out almost all sound. There was no screeching, no howling, only dead silence and the exchange of lustful stares. Their lust was for blood, warm blood. Swiping his blade aside to remove some of the red liquid from it, the remains splattered across the ground. Taking a deep breath, his eyes closed for a moment. Just before they moved, his eyes reopened. Spiraling like a top, four of the giants were sliced to pieces. Slashing and hacking, the samurai kept fighting the hordes of beasts. Unfortunately he was far away from his allies, in attempts to avoid the aforementioned blast.

Blood and water flooding the cracked and barren ground, Ardere began to pant. After slicing through beast after beast, he had grown a bit tired. Letting out a hellish battle cry, he was swarmed by enemies. It reminded him of the battles he fought back in Midi, more specifically ones he had taken part in. A lone samurai standing in the rain, surrounded by enemies. Some men miraculously survived these battles and became legends, others died gloriously. But was there any true glory in death? The brown haired mage did not plan on dying here, not today. He had been training for years to fight beasts, demons, and men. This would not be the end of him. Even as blood and sweat trickled down his arms, he maintained his strength. Even as the beasts leaped into the air, coming at him in horde after horde. He stood strong. For a moment, it appeared as if they had overtaken him. Then, in a burst of black flames, they were incinerated. Standing before the army of beasts was a gargantuan samurai, comprised of pure flames. Covered in armor and wielding a blade, it appeared to be an extension of the Fire King's soul. Flame God's Dark Arts: Blazing God of Valor! It was not very often that he found himself in need of this spell, as it was rather large. Fortunately his temporary endless mana allowed him to utilize many techniques and abilities he did not normally get to. An intricate black armor, the Blazing God of Valor was Ardere in a sense, moving with him. It possessed the same speed and intensity he did, fighting just as hard.

Dragging his building sized blade across the ground, he leveled a line of the enemies with one fell swoop. Their bodies were incinerated instantly, as the large samurai bellowed loud enough to shake the earth. The rain was heavy, but the intensity of the flames he was producing did not care. Steam filled the area he fought in, burning the beasts who got too close. Blood trickling down Ardere's forehead, as he walked forward, hacking and slicing as he went. He could feel the presence of something stronger coming. No doubt his allies if they were not preoccupied would be with him by now, but it was too late. Soaring high up into the air was their final opponent; a final griffin. This beast possessed a rather large scar across its left eye, as it stared them down. There was no fear or remorse in the beast's body. Screeching with all of its might, the ground began to shake and quiver. The samurai found it difficult to stand, so he stabbed his blade into the earth beneath him until the quake passed. Removing his blade, he twirled it in his hand. As he did this, the samurai armor he was inside did the same.

Walking slowly forward, he left titanic foot prints burned into the dirt. Picking up speed, he slashed through the rearguard of enemies, finishing them off within a matter of seconds. The griffin noticed his ferocity, and as such unleashed a hellish slash of lightning, knocking the armor backwards hundreds of meters. Dispelling the armor, Ardere removed his white cloak. His personal armor was cracked a bit, but he was far from done fighting. Rolling his shoulders back a bit, magic seals began to appear along his right arm. Alright. Whoever's got the mana, let's fire one last attack on this big boy. The samurai's arm began to charge with dark fiery energy, and as he prepared his attack, so did the griffin. The built up magical force in the wizard's arm was so powerful, that the ground beneath him began to crack. This was one of his trump cards. Taking a deep breath, time seemed to slow. He knew what would happen if he unleashed this technique, but he was prepared for the consequences. Flame God's Dark Arts.....Incineration Cannon! Once the other mages prepared their attacks, Ardere's arm would fire off a skyscraper sized beam of flaming energy. The last time he utilized this attack was during his fight with the Black Dragon, and as one could imagine, it took quite the toll on the user. The sheer amount of damage it would deal was frightening, but they could not allow their enemy to pass. Swallow that, asshole. In the pouring rain and river of blood, they made their last stand. The Paragon of Justice gave it his all in one final blow.

As the combined blast of Ardere and Cirven's attack shattered the earth below, the ground began to shake and quake severely. The Griffin was undoubtedly turned into what could be compared to fried chicken. The beast never stood a chance. Unfortunately for the fire mage, the attack he used was perhaps his strongest in terms of raw power, and took quite a toll on him. Not only was his force deactivated, his arm was utterly obliterated. Stumbling back, flames spewed out from his body across the ground. He quickly utilized his pyrokinesis to seal his own wound, but found himself panting and unable to use magic any further than a passive ability. He had only used this spell once before, and it would require some serious healing magic to recover from it. Taking in a deep breath, only a smile could cross his pale lips. Sweat dripping down onto the ground, the samurai knelt down to rest. Thanks guys. Seems like we took them all out. Holding Clarent in the one hand he had left, his armor and garb were torn to shreds. It appeared that he would need help from a tailor and a blacksmith after this. Struggling to stand, he used his blade as a cane to prop himself up. Blood trickling down his cheek, his brown lengthy hair fluttered slightly as a breeze rolled through. The rain continued to drop, but there was no lightning anymore. Soaked and battered, Ardere stumbled over to his companions as the rain began to slow. They had prevented the destruction of the world around them, but this would not be the last of close calls for them. Hopefully we all can meet up again. I'm sure the world will be in need of us again, it always is. His blade digging into the ground, the Fire King called upon his ship known as the Black Sun. Taking another deep breath, the air was still filled with the stench of rain and monster blood. Twisting his lips, the slayer twirled his blade before sliding it back into the sheath it would reside in. Hobbling over to the rope hanging from the side of the wooden ship, he grabbed onto it. Anyone need a ride? Smiling a bit, the guild master leaned against the craft, waiting for his companions. They had been beaten and battered for long enough, they would now finally have the time to rest properly. The dark haired mage could sleep for a week if he did not have duties as a guild master. How comforting it would be to just enter a small coma for a bit. Sadly he could not do so, not anymore. The roaring of the ship's engines, Ardere sighed contently. Their work was done for now.