- Job Info:
Staring into the glowing eyes of Mars, the lord of war, and the endless, unending horizon of pure white behind him Johann drew his blade while his opponent grasped into nothing, in a swirl of dark, sinister energy, a scythe of pure negative force forming in his hand. Wordless, Mars looked down on his challenger, the two charcoal orbs with glowing pupils in their middle going to the rapier, then back to the Vice President of the West Fiore Trading Company. It had been a couple of days, a week perhaps since the souls of Johann von Weiss, one of the VP's of the WFTC, and Mars, the lord of war that had been sealed away inside him had merged due to an unfortunate miscalculation taken by Ruvel in the Cursed Lands. Mars subsequently, seeing a prime opportunity to free himself of his own curse, had destroyed the cage that had held him for hundreds, if not thousands of years with the unfortunate end result being the unification of the two entities that now shared a single body. Mars had apparently disliked this new circumstance, however, and thus changed not just the formerly old man's appearance, but also his magic, Johann's personality not being spared from the sudden and radical change, either. He had not just received a new body, undoubtedly stronger, faster, more durable than his last one, his personality had also been altered. He had grown more stoic, more indifferent to the world around him, his view towards etiquette and manners perhaps making the most notable of changes.
In any case, in the week that Johann had spent like this ... in honesty, it hadn't been to bad. Aside from the pain it was having to explain his sudden change in power, magic, looks, smell and personality to his fellow members of the West Fiore Trading Company, and on the other side, of course, Onyx Moon, it had actually been surprisingly agreeable. The self proclaimed Second Seal had been not just docile almost, listening to what Johann had to say in doses, he also seemed quite talkative and helpful even with not just runery but magic as well. It was almost that now he had been freed from the cage a heavy, heavy burden had been taken from his shoulders, his constant aggression had vanished, and he had found purpose anew. What exactly it was Jo couldn't really tell, and he wasn't particularly interested in inquiring about exactly this topic, either, but whatever it had been that had troubled Mars was now a thing of the past. Johann, on the other had, was excited. His efforts to find a way out of this situation had ceased. Why would he throw away this gift ? Sure, he wasn't exactly the man he used to be, but ... compared to what he had gained, it was a relatively small sacrifice when put side by side with what he had gained. His rune magic was stronger, more developed than ever. He had unlocked an entirely new type of magic provided by Mars. And above and beyond all of that ... he still held close the same things he did before the sudden change: The West Fiore Trading Company, Onyx Moon, his friends, his family. All Mars had done was provide him with the tools he needed to b better at what he wanted to do, to become even stronger than before. Ultimately ... he had even offered to train him. Johann was, quite frankly, blown away by the offer, not sure what to make of it until the lord of war had explained what he had in mind. Both would engage in a kind of mental exercise to strengthen each other, though Johann was not quite sure until Mars had shown him. He only now started realizing the other's true level of power, wondering if there wasn't something he couldn't do.
These events where what had lead to their encounter as enemies like this, sparring against each other within their own subconsciouses to enhance their powers. In this moment, the two, however great the difference in their strength was, saw each other as equals. Bursting forward with his usual inhuman speed, the Vice President of the West Fiore Trading Company leapt forward, his hand with the rapier extended for a brutal swing that was just as brutally taken by the hilt of the scythe, the golden runes on the swords sending sparks of light flying everywhere as the two weapons clashed. "Is that all you've got ?", Mars' deep, distorted voice taunted, a wide grin dominating his facial expression, Johann giving him a weak smirk back "Far from it", Johann answered just as confidently, raising his other hand up and pointing it at Mars. "Aura Elementis", from the extended extremity glowing with crimson runes exploded a burst of scorching flame, causing the lord of war to dash backwards. They had been fighting like this for the past couple of hours ... at least it had felt that way where they were. Johann felt neither exhaustion nor depletion of his magic power, so who could really say how long they had been in this state ? With a quick burst of speed Johann dug his fist into Mars stomach, a slight gasp escaping his opponent, Johann grinning to himself triumphantly ... before a small stream of blood started running down a corner of his mouth, looking down to see that Mars' scythe had dug itself through his chest, the lord of war quickly pulling back as the Vice President collapsed to his knees. "That wasn't bad. Your speed is more than adequate, but your power and your defense are lacking. If you get a hit in you'll have to do it with the intention of wounding your enemy so bad that he won't be able to get back up.", Johann coughed up a pool of blood. "Well, I suppose that hurt, tssehehe. Let's leave it at that for today", he spoke, the endless, white plain before the VP vanishing into darkness, Johann opened his eyes.
He took a deep breath, overlooking the wide, barren landscape that extended before himself, the horizon dominated by a dull grey. Would this really prove to be an eventful day ? He stood up. "It seems like they are coming", the other voice spoke, the words echoing through the back of his skull "Good. Let's get ready to deal with this then." Johann spoke, grabbing the mask from one of his pockets, placing is on his face, his clothes changing both shape and colour immediately. Standing where Johann had stood just a second before was a new person, born from the change of the owner of the mask of the unknown side of his guild. Casus Belli of Onyx Moon, his guild mark shining in a deep purple on the back of his left hand, was ready for the mission he had been given.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Word Count: 1.158
Word Count Total: 1.158 / 6.000