"Ah, just as I thought. You wouldn't go down so easily, tssehehe. You're a fierce one, little Slayer", the Seal would cackle in glee as the smoke and dust began to clear, pieces of crushed and broken rubble raining down all around. The metallic egg was swiftly spotted, even through the obstruction of the blast's aftermath, Mars' senses would make sure of that. The wide grin on the Seal's expression would widen ever-so-slightly. She was stronger than she appeared to be, more durable, certainly, but would that help her against the Lord of War in the long run? The Second Seal was rather eager to find out. The girl, however, didn't seem like she wanted to play along with his eccentrics, an annoyed
"Tsk" escaping the Seal's lips reflexively.
"You're no fun".
Instead of small talk, though, the girl seemed very much eager to let her actions speak for herself, the counterattack to Mars' spell following without much delay. The Slayer's form shifted in color before, in a sudden and immediate burst of speed, the girl would surge forward towards the Nephilim through the lingering remains of the cloud obscuring her path. The Second Seal's eyes, however, would follow her movements with precise accuracy, the wide grin returning to his face as he raised his arm, the extremity alight with glowing, runic scripture, to meet her kick with similar, inhuman speed. The force of the attack would cause a resounding crack upon impact, though apart from blocking the strike, the Seal hadn't moved an inch, dark, unblinking eyes staring at Sivvy, who was now within point-blank range to the Nephilim.
"You'll have to put a little more effort into your attacks if you want to take me down, little Slayer. Here-", with his other hand, the Seal would reach out, a sword materializing within the grasp of his extremity, the air around it aflicker with magic. The grin on the Seal's face, however, would vanish in syncronicity with his movements, raising the sword to point the tip of the weapon at the omnipresent, colorless sky. The Nephilim's deep, distorted voice would ring out once more, though devoid of all emotion, the deranged amusement it normally held gone from his tone.
"-I'll show you how it's done"
From one second to the next one, the air around Mars would erupt with an overpowering aura, magical pressure that concentrated within him blanketing the area around him in an omen of what was to come. What followed was a distinct sound, something that Sivvy had witnessed before. A singular, resounding vibration filled the air with a hum that sounded like it had come from a massive, heavy bell, and, almost in unison, the blade in Mars' hand began to glow, a helix of golden light wrapping around the weapon. Several hundred meters above them, the same light would shine before spreading into all directions, a gargantuan magic circle extending across the featureless sky for hundreds, thousands of meters, mile upon mile upon mile in the blink of an eye, radiating with immense, nigh unfathomable magical energy. It wouldn't matter if the girl would try to attack once more, if the would run, if she would try to defend against the attack. Mars, hellbent on destruction, would make sure that she wouldn't make it out of this unscathed.
Of course, he wasn't the only one to make a decision on that matter.
"Didn't I tell you something about that spell?", the voice of the silver-haired Rune Mage would ring out, Mars' arm twisting and driving the sword through his own chest, causing the circle to collapse and fade into nothing. Blood burst from the Second Seal's mouth, the creature faltering backwards, though managing to keep himself on his feet. The grin returned.
"Back so soon? Thought that I'd have a little bit more fun before you'd ruin it, tssehe ...".
"You need to learn the difference between a spar and a battle, Mars", the same voice would speak from the Second Seal's mouth once more, answered by a carefree,
"Well, whatever", before his form was shrouded in shadow, dispersing to reveal Johann's form, hand still clutching the hilt of the sword that had pierced his chest. With a strained, although fluid motion, he would pull the now bloodied blade out, though the wound would heal in what amounted to almost an instant, leaving the man with torn and tattered clothing, though he didn't pay much mind to that fact, his eyes seeking out Sivvy.
"I'm sorry. He doesn't know how to limit himself. Are you okay?". The girl looked just as bloodied, battled, and battered as he did, Johann, if need be, administering some healing magic to Sivvy, should she need it, though not without a deep sigh.
"That got a little out of hand, so ...", he spoke before snapping his fingers, the seemingly never-ending battlefield around them vanishing, placing them back at the Trial Grounds, exactly where they had been some time prior.
"... let's leave it at that, for the time being".
________________________________________
A heavy thud and overwhelming pain ripped the Ambassador from a deep unciousness, the silver-haired man skitting across the polished marble before the archway that gave entry to the guild hall of Dies Irae, instinctive yellps escaping him as bones broke under the strain of the impact. The man came to a halt after a few meters, sanguine stains left in his wake. The man, clad in a bloodstained, tattered coat of black color, tried to sit up, though his vision was blurred, pain shooting through his body with every movement, no matter how minute, causing him to slip back onto the cold stone. He tried to breathe, but he felt liquid fill his throat, coughing violently and reflexively, red, viscous fluid dripping down his chin. How did he end up like this? A sharp pain pulsed through his chest. Ah, of course. Rakshasa. The half-dragon woman had struck him in the chest, and indeed, had hit the artificial heart, the magical core of his body that sustained him, had corrupted it with her venom. Joh had lost that battle, certainly, but that was the least of his worries at the moment. He was severely injured, the wound in his chest, as well as deep cuts and scratches on his body that he had incurred moments prior, bleeding still.
The unnaturally strong healing factor he normally enjoyed, even though he could feel his magic pulse through his body regardless, seemed entirely absent, and while a certain durability had remained, any normal person certainly would have died by now, the situation didn't look good. Had she dropped him off here? Why? She could've killed him right then and there, in the jungle where Johann had encountered her. Why did she take him all the way to Amber Island? Why had she left him here, at the steps of the guild hall of Dies Irae? Did she want people to see him? To witness how broken, how defeated, how powerless he was in this moment? Did she want to humiliate him? Johann felt anger well up inside him, though it wasn't enough to overwhelm the crushing pain, the silver-haired Rune Mage wincing in agony as he rolled from one side to the next one. While he had fought, bled before, he was certain he had never experienced, never felt something like this. It was as if acid coursed through his body, which was barely held together by its own magical power. He had to endure this. He had to survive this. He repeated those words in his head, over and over. It would pass, as long as he could just endure it now, and even though he had finally managed to draw hectic, shallow breaths, his vision would begin to darken once again as unconsciousness threatened to take him.
Word Count: 1,309
Personal Word Count Total: 7,139
Thread Word Count Total: 11,942
(-4,000 Handed in for 2x C Rank Free Forms - 7,942 Total)