So Much For R & R

Crescent Island. It was the perfect place for holidays, what with its warm and lovely weather all year round, its scenic environment, and the most important fact that there were very few things capable of ripping one's face off if said person wandered too far. Unlike many places in Earthland, which were rife with danger intermingled with beauty, it seemed that this sickle-shaped island was quite high on the beautiful scale, while somehow managing to do away with the dangerous part. And although the Dongxian scholar known as Bai Suzhen usually could not help feeling that the name of such an idyllic place was not as poetically impressive as the scenario before her, she could forgive whoever had given the island a name as mundane as Crescent Island. Of course, she was probably being too high-standard. The name was simple, apt and not easy to forget; these attributes tended to be adjectives of catchy names. Sadly, it seemed most people were not like her. The more "labor-intensive" names, in her opinion, were reserved for impressive things, like Crescent Island. That the island's name had never been petitioned to be changed was proof that everyone (or almost everyone) was just fine with that name. With no few misgivings about not changing the name of the island, Suzhen realized the futility of her thoughts and abandoned them for more productive lines of reasoning.

As the horn of the ship blew, Suzhen lifted her eyes to look at the noisy contraption. A part of her had wanted to either row or swim south from Fiore's south eastern coast to Crescent Island, but she had eventually decided against it, and not because she felt it an impossible task to perform. Suzhen was blessed (or cursed, depending on the shades with which she regarded her powers) with an incredible, perhaps almost godlike body, and her vitality was amazing, to the point that she had, on occasion, dared to throw herself into situations that would have killed, or severely incapacitated, someone on her strength level, if they tried the same thing. And she was sure, thanks to her powers, that she could not drown as easily as normal folk. So either rowing or swimming to Crescent Island would have been her most likely choice, except that the single reason she had decided to temporarily abandon Fiore and jump into a ship headed for this resort island was because she felt that, for her own physical and mental well being, she needed to take time off to rest.

Life had, of recent, been a weird spin for Suzhen, and not exactly in the best of ways, as far as she was concerned. First it had been the war between Bellum and Pergrande, and while Fiore was technically not supposed to be involved, Suzhen had found herself on the Pergrandian border, fighting for her life and the lives of the soldiers with her, even though she had initially joined the war effort only to serve as a medic. It had left her wondering whether she was actually willing to leave the life of violence that seemed to always interrupt her at every turn. Then her guild had folded up, and left her on her own once more, guildless and without allegiance. Then things had turned for the better. Suzhen had found admittance into a new guild, the hostilities between Bellum and Pergrande had ceased (although it appeared that Bellum had come out on top when the numbers of the dead were reckoned), and to an extent, she felt she had made peace with the fact that one could still walk a virtuous path and be a warrior at the same time. All that was left was to have a retreat, rest her body, mind and soul, and then take on the next challenge that came her way. And that was how she found herself on Crescent Island.

Three hours later, it was noon time, with the sun shining brightly overhead, the sky a clear blue, and the air sultry. Being indoors was torture, and while most of the rooms of the resort hotel in which she had lodged had effective cooling systems, it was almost like this heat was more subliminal than physical, and the only thing that would assuage its oppression was the sea breeze. This was why Suzhen had quickly left her room, and found her way to a section of beach designed and set apart for those who wanted to play in the sand, and those who wanted to recline and sunbathe, or enjoy the wonderful sea breeze. Suzhen did not care for sunbathing. She was tanned enough for her own tastes, and besides, sitting or lying under the hot sun when she had a special yet uncanny case of hyperthermia was never a good idea. For this reason, she set out to locate a comfortable reclining chair fitted with a large parasol, positioned in the way of the prevalent breeze.

Anyone who saw Suzhen would immediately be aware of some sort of contrast which manifested itself in her presence and occupation. She was clad in nothing but a rather skimpy hot pink bikini, designed such that she could show off as much of her curves as possible, and yet trust in the integrity of the swimsuit to not disgrace her if she had to perform energetic tasks (trouble could yet come to this island, and it would be very bad for her reputation if her reason for being unable to go into hero mode was because she feared what would happen to her apparel). Of course, it was expected that someone in such an exiguous outfit with such an eye catching color would be here for the attention that would undoubtedly be drawn to her presence. And that would make it difficult to explain the mountain of books she currently carried in her arms. Still, the pile of books did not deter those who would wish to socialize for whatever reasons humans engage in such activities, and one such... socialist(?) approached her, a fetching smile on his face.

"Hey, beautiful, need a hand?" he asked, taking the books from the Dongxian girl before she could protest. Too late did he realize that these books were much heavier than Suzhen had made them seem, but he had a girl to please, so he managed to maintain his dignity and bear his load to where Suzhen had found a perfect spot. "Such a gentleman," Suzhen cooed, smiling at him before settling on her chair and putting on her reading glasses. Encouraged by her compliment, the young man ran a hand through his black hair, then asked, "uh, so... you come here often?" He was trying to make conversation. He certainly wasn't the best in that department, but Suzhen's empathy wouldn't let her strike him down socially. Besides, he was easy on the eyes. She instead smiled brightly but said nothing, enjoying watching his responses to her somewhat ambiguous cues.


WC: 1163

It was not often that she was able to simply take a day or two to relax but for once, Medeia had decided to simply forget about everything and spend some time in her own company. She had heard a great deal about Crescent Island and had simply set off, not needing to take a ship due to her easily summoned wings. Of course, the angel had left a note for her lovely maid, just in case Armina started to worry but other than that, she had not told a soul. Today would be strictly about her and perhaps getting a tan for once. Spending so much time on Mount Hakobe hnd been an absolute pain for her skin and something that she desperately wanted to deal with. What better place to do that than a lovely beach? The impulse was just too strong for her to ignore and had been the final straw in deciding her location.

The trip to the island was uneventful but gave Medeia the time to ponder. She now had two students to take care of and both of them required a fair amount of her attention. Completely different in personality but both capable of embracing their lovely inner darkness when the mood struck them. Kyra, her delicate flower, was such a gentle soul and yet once the beast inside her took over and she simply allowed it to, her power was immense. It delighted Medeia to see her truly become at one with her powers and the ancient being would do everything that she was capable of in order to further drag out the gentle girl’s darker side. It would by no means be an easy feat, with Kyra’s depression both a strength and a weakness but the raven haired witch would not stop until her student reached her potential, no matter what it took.

Amber, on the other hand, was a far more confident and passionate soul, one that Medeia had kept an eye on for some time. She had only recently reached out to the lioness and after a tense moments between them, the two had agreed to work together, which Medeia was of course delighted with. The blonde had such potential and the angel was looking forward to helping her reach that next level, one that scant few had reached. It would require throwing her against far stronger opposition than she was used to but it was necessary. The path to power was filled with pain and struggle but it only made one stronger. Either that, or they were crushed. One way or the other, Medeia would soon find out which outcome her newest student would achieve.

As for her own strength though, Medeia had no such issues. It seemed as though she was gaining magical power by the minute and every day felt as though she had climbed even further up the path. The craving for it never died, no matter how strong she became. There was always more to learn and discover with the angel devouring knowledge as she did everything else. That was what kept pushing her to the outskirts of the world and beyond, to go where no one else dared and perform deeds and acts that mere mortals would call unforgivable. It mattered not, such was her standing among them. All that mattered was her continuing to grow, until she no longer craved power but was power itself. She was already well on the way but she had not reached the pinnacle yet.

Her musings were finally interrupted as the clouds parted below her to reveal a lovely beach. It was an absolutely gorgeous sight and without any hesitation, the angel began to descend towards it, uncaring as to how it might look to those who saw her coming. Her landing was soft and gentle, coming to a graceful stop on the lovely sandy shore, feeling the sun kissing at her face and body. It felt heavenly and Medeia wasted no time in removing the bag she had brought with her and making herself at home. A towel for her to lay on, an ice cold drink brought from home and a parasol for her to sit under when things became a little too hot. She had never been modest and the angel was soon removing her clothing, with the parasol only half shielding her from view. When she was finished, the heavenly being was simply wearing a black bikini, only just able to contain her rather ample chest. She cared little for modesty and was soon laying flat out on the towel, letting the sun do its work. It was all going to be so perf…

“Holy Hell! You are the hottest thing I have ever seen!” A voice suddenly exclaimed from close by. A male voice, whose owner had decided to approach and was now standing pretty much over her.

“Go away.” Medeia replied simply, not even turning her eyes towards him. She had no time for idiots.

“Oh come on now.” He continued, the sun reflecting off of his blonde hair. “Don’t be like that. How about you let me rub suntan lotion all over that lovely body of yours?”

“Did you not hear me or are you just stupid? Leave me alone.” The angel responded, still avoiding his gaze.

“Hard to get, huh? Well, I am not going anywhere until you at least let me buy you a drink. I swear I have seen your face before, were you in the Sorcerer's...URGH!”

His words were rather swiftly cut off as Medeia’s left hand was now lying on the sand, a finger pointing in his direction. That simple gesture had caused the sudden change in his attitude, as a horrible slimy tentacle had wrapped itself around him from below and was now squeezing the life out of him. She still did not look at him although she did speak. “I am not playing hard to get. I simply have no interest in you nor any other male. You should have walked away while you had the chance. Now, suffer for it.”

Medeia might not have been paying much attention to him but the beach goers around them were starting too. Shrieks and screams starting to echo across the sandy shore.

(1048 Words)

Seeing that Suzhen had not responded to his question, the man tried the same question, but different wordings this time. "Is this your first time coming to Crescent Island?" he asked. The Dongxian shrugged. "What does this being my first or hundredth time here have to do with anything?" she replied, stretching herself comfortably on the chair beneath her. "Well, most times, first timers just hit the hotels, and the beaches, and that's all they do, because they don't know that there are many other really interesting, although much less known, areas," the man explained, sitting down cross-legged on the sand. "I could serve as your travel guide, for absolutely no cost at all." Suzhen chuckled. "How do I know you don't have any ulterior motives in mind? I've been told that it's not very virtuous to have a young man and a young woman traipsing about in solitary places. I am very sensitive to the opinions of others about my public image."

"Well, I never said anything about two young people going off to isolated places," the fellow replied, some red evident in his cheeks, "I had the gaming arcades in mind, if you're into that sort of thing; I believe everyone ought to be into gaming. And..." he hesitated, "forgive my unsightly forwardness, but I don't believe someone with such a scrupulous public image would wear something so--" he faked a light cough. "I wholeheartedly approve, though." The Dongxian was about to give a retort, when she saw that the man's attention was focused elsewhere. A winged woman was descending gracefully onto the beach. Suzhen watched with some degree of curiosity mixed with wariness; the woman's arrival on the sandy coast had not immediately presented some purpose to her coming. But Suzhen realized that her worry was unfounded; it seemed this angelic creature had merely come to enjoy the beach, like most, if not all, of the other people who had scattered themselves on the beach. She noticed that the fellow who had come to interact with her was watching this new stranger with some sort of spellbound expression on his face.

"Wow, I've never seen so much saliva being produced by a single entity in so short a time space," Suzhen quipped, a naughty smile playing on her lips. "Are you certain you're not suffering from some odd medical ailment?" The man turned to look at Suzhen, and realized he was probably flushed. "I wasn't slobbering," he said defensively. "Of course you weren't, dear," the scholar replied patronizingly, picking up a book from the pile of reading materials lying on the sand beside her chair. In any case, she didn't think she would blame the fellow for staring the way he did at the newcomer. Coupled with the apparently divine entrance (although the whole thing about angels with black wings being not so nice and friendly was there) was the fact that this woman was rather attractive. Suzhen thought she would have probably been caught staring if she had such sexual preferences. Still, she could not help but attempt to torment the flustered fellow beside her, even though she wasn't in the least bit jealous. She was aware that, even though she was not at all impressive in the height department, she was a looker herself, and the Dongxian was as comfortable with her body as she was confident of her looks. She clucked her tongue in mock disapproval as she shook her head, flipping to some random page in her book. "I'm sure your girlfriend would be most disappointed to see you drooling over that beauty there."

The man replied, but Suzhen wasn't listening to him. Her attention was on the newcomer, who seemed to be ignoring the advances of some blond haired guy, who seemed not to notice that he was not where he was most appreciated. The distance between the Dongxian and the woman in the black swimsuit was large enough for Suzhen to be unable to determine what was being said. Yet, body language alone was enough to tell an accurate enough story. "That guy is looking for trouble..." the Dongxian maiden said with a sigh, her eyes dropping down to her book as she positioned her reading glasses on her nose, unaware that her statement was soon going to prove to be all too accurate. Suzhen could sense the dark haired man just about to attempt drawing her attention away from her reading, when the ear-splitting scream caught the attention of everyone on the beach in the immediate area. It was the yellow haired fellow, and he seemed to be in real trouble.

The man beside her rose to his feet in alarm, and too a step forward. "Would that really be wise?" Suzhen asked, remaining where she was. She had not heard the discussion between the two, and while she felt uncomfortable with the man's pain, she assumed that the man must have insulted the angel, and was definitely getting comeuppance for it. She was not a fan of butting into matters that did not concern her, and initially, was hoping, expecting that the angel would release the fellow and leave him to run for safety with his pride and a few tissues damaged, but even from this distance, it began to appear that the fellow was now in mortal danger. This Suzhen felt was totally unnecessary, and the Dongxian could not sit comfortably by and watch the events play out.

"You, call the police or security, or something," she said to the black haired man, as she rose to her feet. "What are you going to do?" he asked. "Maybe try to save that bloke's life, I don't know," the purple haired girl replied. "In any event, he seems to be in mortal danger, and something must be done. If things turn out as I hope, I expect to try to bargain with the being who inspired so much spittle from you. Now, go!" The urgency in her voice set the man running, and Suzhen began to run too, hoping she could reach the scene of the crisis quickly enough. As she approached, she saw the slimy tendril wrapped tightly around the man like some extra thin constricting snake. With the way his voice seemed to be failing now, Suzhen wasn't sure that just by running she would reach the man in time to save him. While still on the move, Suzhen swung her open hand, and a small crescent-shaped flash of light flew forth from her hand, slicing through the tendril and causing the fainting man to fall to the sand. By now, she was close enough to talk to the still lying angel.

"I apologize for intruding on your affairs," the Dongxian scholar said, stopping her run and bowing deeply, "but I think that man will die if he continues like that. Please be so kind as to let him go. I'm sure he is quite conscious now of whatever lesson you must have wanted him to learn."


WC: 1170
Personal WC: 2333
Total WC: 3381

The raven haired woman had no intention of releasing him from her tentacle and although there was no actual look of pleasure across her face, she was taking some enjoyment from the event. The fool had been clearly warned and if he was ignorant enough to ignore her then death seemed to be a fair fate for him. Her tentacle, named Janice, who seemed almost responsive enough to be classed as a living being itself, was most certainly enjoying squeezing the life out of him, with the tip moving to and fro with apparent glee. The blonde figure, once screaming loudly, was now starting to finally quieten, a sure sign that his life was reaching its end. Without so much as a glance, she would refuse to answer his pleas and simply let her tentacle do its work, knowing that in a few moments, his soul would soon be descending into the pits of Hell. It was always the fate for those who were eliminated by her. How many had she sent there by now? It was impossible for her to remember. Her family, her enemies, even those who had simply irritated her like the male beside her. All of them had ended up the same way.

However, to her slight surprise, a flash of magical light would appear, flying above her and striking Janice. Her tentacle would wriggle its tip in anger and surprise, before vanishing back to the void, seemingly defeated. The near unconscious male would fall to the ground, his breathing laboured, only just hanging on to his life. The attack must have been rather powerful to defeat her spell and Medeia could not help but ponder to herself about just who or what it had spawned from. No dark mage would bother to interrupt her and she doubted that the security forces in the area could summon a spell of that strength. So, her mind began to drift to the idea that perhaps it was the work of a mage who was more legal leaning than her? One who perhaps despised the idea of her torturing the fool? The idea made sense to her and as she considered her options for a moment or two, her hand was actually once more turned towards the idiot, completely ignoring the possible threat that the caster of the spell just might be to her. Maybe if she killed him in cold blood, they would have the common sense to just leave?

Those thoughts soon left her mind as a feminine voice reached her ears, causing Medeia to instantly turn her head in the direction of it. Standing before her, performing a polite bow, was a lovely purple haired woman, with sparkling green eyes and a gorgeous figure. She was most certainly attractive and the eyes of the angel were swift when it came to looking over her bikini clad form, with there being no attempt from her to hide it. Her attention was also captured by a rose shaped tattoo that was located on the woman’s right shoulder. A guild mark perhaps? It was most definitely possible although Medeia did not recognise it at first glance. Truthfully, she paid little attention as to the comings and going of guilds. Very few seemed to last all that long, her own guild being one of the few exceptions. Guild mark or not though, it absolutely suited the beautiful woman it was placed upon and the angel was in no doubt of that. However, such pleasantries and sweet words would have to wait. There was a far graver matter that needed her attention.

“A fate that he deserves for interrupting my relaxation,” she replied, her gaze fixed upon the face of the green eyed woman, finally sitting up. “He was clearly warned twice to remove himself from my presence and he ignored every word I said. That is the problem I find with all males. They just never listen and insist that they are God's gift to women. Well, this one is learning all too well that he is anything but. I have no intention of letting him go nor am I going to let him leave this beach. Perhaps if I make a large enough display, I can spread that message to everyone on this island. Maybe then, I can finally have some peace and quiet.”

As she watched the woman in front of her, she began to reach out with her magical senses, attempting to get a read on her strength. There was no doubt that the green eyed female was powerful in her own right but could she match the witch herself? Medeia thought not. There were few who could at this stage. That being said, she felt no compulsion to simply launch an attack at the lovely lady. The angel was a tad more reluctant to combat other women in general, preferring to have such encounters in a rather different way.

(824 Words)
(1872 PWC)
(4205 TWC)

Suzhen noticed the languidness with which this angelic being responded to her. The Dongxian was quite expecting that even if the tentacle controlling woman did not spring to her feet with surprise, there would be some cue, no matter how hidden, that would have informed Suzhen of the surprise felt by her at having the odd tentacle thing attacked. But there was none; not even the slightest sign of surprise. Suzhen liked to think that although she wasn't the strongest being in Fiore, she would rank somewhere among the ranks of those who had stepped past just being impressive. That the woman had not even seemed to notice her attack seemed to be screaming a warning, although Suzhen could not yet determine exactly what the problem was. Still, she was sure that something was not right. It began to slowly fill the Vessel of the World Snake with a little degree of trepidation, although Suzhen did a very good job of not showing what she was beginning to feel, her expression one of calm but suppliant expectation.

The woman had only responded when Suzhen spoke, turning in the direction of the Dongxian's soft voice. There was something about the woman's face, something vaguely familiar, like Suzhen had seen her before, perhaps a celebrity or some sort, whose face had been in the news or something. And although, for the present, the Dongxian maiden could not really say where she had seen this woman before, there was this strange assurance that it would not be too long before Suzhen had her question answered. But for now, what existed in the Dongxian scholar's mind was that she was probably not going to like this woman. Suzhen, while appreciative of beauty in any form, had always found herself offended by those who nature had blessed with wonderful physical characteristics but showed unkind tendencies. Still, despite her biased dislike for the woman, just looking at the woman's face made it possible for Suzhen to not help but understand why the idiot lying in the sand had been so quick to run towards what would have eventually been his death, if she hadn't intervened when she did.

For a moment, the woman had not replied her, instead taking the time to look her up and down. The Dongxian was already getting her mind ready for a retaliatory attack, having taken note of the fact that the tentacle had emerged from the ground, and thus prepared for another attack from beneath her. Which was why seeing that glint in the woman's eye (the word that presented itself to Suzhen's mind was 'sinful') immediately strove to cause Suzhen's mental poise to falter. "Wait, is she... checking me out?" the scholar asked herself silently, as she hoped the slight blush on her cheeks from receiving an obvious, although unspoken, compliment from the woman's gaze would not be noticed. A part of her was embarrassed that she was glad she was being admired by such a gorgeous woman, although her positive appraisal of the woman's aesthetics didn't go beyond 'safer' thoughts. She was supposed to be disgusted by this apparently evil woman. There was no time to gush over such trivialities.

The Dongxian scholar tried to place a mask of steely determination on her face, when the woman began talking, while finally moving from her prone position. And then Suzhen saw the guild mark on her stomach. It was black, and it took the form of a sun with swirling rays. The mark of the dark guild known as Errings Rising. And almost immediately, that piece of information Suzhen had sought, which had kept eluding her, was made clear to her. Suzhen knew who was seated before her. It was Medeia, one of the top dogs of the foremost dark guild in Fiore. That she would show her face here without fear of being accosted was sufficient proof of just how much faith the raven haired woman had in her power. A gasp of sheer surprise escaped the Dongxian's lips, before she reflexively put her left hand to her mouth, her eyes still wide in surprise. Now she knew why she had been feeling trepidation. Though the two women were on opposite sides of the morality spectrum, Suzhen was presently quite unwilling to attempt to fight Medeia, or anyone else at all for that matter. But she had a responsibility to do what she could to protect lives, and she was not going to run away. Besides, it was possible that all this could be defused with a little diplomacy.

"I'm terribly sorry for this awful pest," Suzhen said, moving over to the limp body on the ground and slipping an arm over her shoulders, so she could carry him. He was barely alive, and the scholar was glad she had come when she did. "I'm quite sure everyone here is most definitely going to let you alone now, with what we've all seen. It would be most foolish to try otherwise. And your opinion on the male folk is rather... shocking. I have met very amazing specimens among their kind, though these types show up now and again. But I must beg you, please reconsider and let this fellow go, irritating as he is. There will be very little to be gained from his death. And now, with your leave, I thank you for your exquisite magnanimity, and shall be removing this annoyance from your sight."

So saying, the Dongxian attempted to walk away, though she kept her senses peeled in case Medeia wanted to try to still kill him. Dark mages were, after all, not known for their compassion.


WC: 943
Personal WC: 3276
Total WC: 5148

Her attention was becoming more and more focused upon the purple haired woman rather than the blonde fool and Medeia’s gaze never left her face. It was the gaze that she gave everyone who had attracted her attention, for good reason or ill. A look that seemed to penetrate through to the soul of a person, deep and intimate, as if she was trying to peel away everything the woman was and discover her true nature. Her expression did not change but it was unnecessary, her eyes would say everything that needed to be said. She caught the blushing of the girl’s cheeks, her reaction to the angel’s guild tattoo and the nervousness that was starting to make itself known. The raven haired woman did not introduce herself, having read the woman’s body language and simply watched for some time. Was she trying to intimidate the woman? Not intentionally, it was simply a result of just how far she had come in the magical arts. She was beyond the point of having to make an effort to cause people to fear her, it was simply second nature now for others to do so. The raven haired woman would be lying if she said that she did not enjoy this effect though. It fuelled her desire to control and what better way to control others than through fear?

It was only when the green eyed beauty proceeded to try and move her victim that Medeia’s expression changed, a frown crossing the dark mage’s face. She had been perfectly clear when describing what was going to happen to him and to be slighted in such a way by the bikini clad woman was enough to irritate her. She would briefly ponder about unleashing an attack then and there, one to not only end the fool but teach a lesson to the purple haired woman too but she decided against it. No. That was not enough and far too quick. The angel decided to play a slightly longer game, which in truth she enjoyed more. Her gaze would lower as she watched the pair slowly try and leave, focusing on the retreating mage’s lovely rear. She was beautiful and along with irritation, Medeia began to feel a sense of desire for her. How long had it been since she had last tasted the lips of a legal mage? Too long.

“I believe I already told you about what his fate would be and it does not involve him leaving this beach alive. You can do yourself a favour by simply dropping him like a bad habit and allowing me to deal with him. I do not forgive those who attempt to force themselves upon me and I am not all that fond of those who turn their backs on me either.” Her tone of voice contained just a hint of threat now, her eyes boring into the back of the woman. “Judging from your reactions to my appearance, I believe that you are already aware of who I am and if that is the case then you know that angering me is not in your best interests.”

The briefest hint of her magic would be used following her words, resulting in the dark mage teleporting and appearing directly behind the pair. It was not an attack, simply a gap closer but perhaps would be just a slight warning to the purple haired woman of just how easily the angel could reach her. It appeared that Medeia, although not a giant herself, had a fair advantage over the lovely green eyed woman when it came to height too, standing almost half a foot taller. She would use every inch of that in trying to intimidate her, seeming to bare down on the blonde man’s supposed saviour.

“Unless of course you are going to sacrifice yourself for him and allow me to toy with you instead.” She then said, changing tact slightly, a touch of lust now also combining with her threatening tone. “I am not going to lie and say that you are not attractive, my dear and I am certain that I can think of a few ideas in order for us to pass the time. There is no need to worry, I do not kill other women if it can be avoided and I am certain that I can be convinced not to finish you. I might even be convinced to let you return to your guild once it is all over. You can tell them first hand precisely what happens when one of their members interferes in my business. Make no mistake though, no matter what happens, you have made everyone that has that guild mark a target. I am an obsessive woman and once I have my sights set on something or someone, I will not stop until I have what I desire. The second you interfered, you became another target for me, another pawn in my game.”

(829 Words)
(2701 PWC)
(5977 TWC)

Suzhen noticed the frown appear on Medeia's face when she began trying to move the angel's victim away from the place. She had not expected that Medeia would be forgiving in the least, but she had to try to see how she could save the unfortunate half dead twerp whose weight she was currently supporting. Of course, the easiest way out was leaving the man and walking away. He was only one person after all. That was what Suzhen would have probably thought, years ago. But it would be difficult to leave the place with a good conscience, if she allowed him to die, especially seeing that one of her most ardent desires was to have people look up to her, and depend on her, when there was saving to be done. If she could not try to preserve the fellow's life, with what confidence could she call herself a hero? Of course, trying and succeeding in saving the idiot were two entirely different things. Suzhen looked at his senseless expression, and it occurred to her in an ironic light that he would have very much felt pleased if he had enough life to know that he was currently being cradled by a lovely young woman. She would have shook her head if she had felt her own personal safety was less in danger.

In any event, from Medeia's words, it was certain that the Errings Rising mage was quite unwilling to let things alone, even taking umbrage at the fact that Suzhen had turned her back on her. "I wonder if things can get any worse..." the Dongxian scholar thought to herself, as she sensed the hint of menace in Medeia's tone. The irresponsible part of her mind made a suggestion to ask pointers from the Errings Rising Ace though, about just how easily she made reading one's opponent look. Suzhen knew she was not bad herself at acting and reading people if she had to, but much of that advantage was lost when she was under tension, like as at now. And Medeia's indication that Suzhen was angering her wasn't the best balm for the Dongxian's fraying nerves. And then she was behind Suzhen, close enough to touch her. The maiden almost screamed, managing to control her shock, but failing to prevent herself from releasing an alarmed yelp. She turned quickly, still holding on to the half conscious man. With his weight, she wasn't even standing upright, and Medeia looked even taller as a result. Taller and more imposing.

The next statement filled Suzhen with some degree of worry. What did Medeia mean by Suzhen sacrificing herself for the blonde idiot and allowing the dark mage to play with her? Her mind was already suggesting answers to the Dongxian's troubled silent question, but Suzhen was not willing to mentally explore the implications of the ideas floating in her mind. And the new undertone Suzhen sensed alongside with the threatening quality of Medeia's statements was very consternating. Still, she tried to maintain her decorum, managing to compose herself satisfactorily. She knew Medeia knew she was afraid of the angel, and she was also aware that Medeia was pleased by that knowledge. It would be more acceptable, thought the Vessel of the World Serpent, to try to maintain as much dignity as she could, even though the power and presence of the raven haired woman were very overbearing.

"If I agreed to-- to surrender myself to you, do you promise to let this man go?" Suzhen asked, still looking up at the Errings Rising mage before, unwilling to break eye contact. Seeing as she was already in trouble, from the way Medeia had spoken, the best thing she could do now would be to try to get the best out of the situation. That was what diplomacy was all about: when stuck in a difficult situation, one had to use tact to end up at the close of the matter without feeling like she had, for all intents and purposes, drawn the short stick. She could only hope, however, that Medeia would be willing to agree, since the angel had given that option. She would have to keep her eyes peeled for treachery, though. Thinking about it, could she really say she would be able to handle Medeia if the latter chose to throw honor away and do something nefarious? It was not wise to trust servants of the darkness. Especially those like Medeia, who seemed to see themselves as the highest authorities around. "If you give me your word, then we have a deal."

There was a pause, as something unspoken flashed in the Dongxian maiden's eyes. "And while I am very grateful for your cordiality to me so far, I must ask that you please reconsider your opinion about targeting my guild members simply for my discretion. The thought does not please me. But I would be very much delighted if we could resolve all this with as little violence as possible." Suzhen had made that last sentence, because she was beginning to feel the influence of the World Serpent. She knew Medeia was stronger than she was, granted, but the reason she didn't seem to like violence was because she actually found it intoxicating, and she tended to get more and more drunk on violence the longer it lasted. While Suzhen had never gone out of control due to the 'intoxication', she never hoped she would have to. But something inside her was beginning to stir, as she wondered just how she would do against a stronger opponent. It might be fun....


WC: 935
Personal WC: 4211
Total WC: 6912

There was a touch of something else that could start to be noted in the angel’s gaze at this point. Amusement. There was almost a naive sweetness to this woman that Medeia had not expected to find in such a powerful mage. The stutter in her words, the girl’s startled reaction to her little teleporting trick and the fact that she seemed to be willing to trust the dark mage at her word. All actions that helped Medeia form a profile of the bikini clad woman. The longer they spoke for, the clearer the profile became and her interest was now completely upon her. Her interest in the blonde fool's demise was beginning to recede, considering the possibility of having the woman at her whim to be a far more intriguing proposition. Still, she was not about to let the woman onto that tidbit of information. He was an incredibly effective bargaining chip. Honestly, she had no idea why the green eyed woman would even bother protecting such a hopeless idiot. By protecting him, the woman had simply let herself become prey for the witch. Was she simply one of these legal mage types who just had to defend anyone who was in danger due to some ridiculous notion of honour and gallantry? A foolish notion and one that Medeia never failed to find absurd.

“You have my word,” she eventually said silkily, her eyes still locked onto the bikini-clad woman’s. “Take his place and I will spare him from the death that fools such as himself deserve. You will spend the day doing precisely what I desire and perhaps then, I will let you go unharmed. However and this is important, if you try to argue, fight or cause me any further issues then I will not only find that idiot and finish him but I will remove everyone on this island, one by one.” There was little in her tone to suggest that she would be willing to listen to negotiations on that point and the look in her penetrating orbs did not either. She meant every word. It felt so wonderful to have this level of control over another and the thrill and pleasure never died, no matter how often it occured. Control. Over others, over her magic, over herself. It was the greatest sensation and one that permanently craved, never dimming, even after all the long years of her life.

Yet, the purple haired woman had apparently not finished speaking and a smile actually crossed Medeia’s face as she listened. Leaning forward so that the two were inches from each other's faces, she would speak again. “Targeting your guild members is not my opinion, it is my nature. Whether it pleases you or not makes no difference nor will it change my mind. Saying that, perhaps I can be persuaded to not trouble your guild. If you honour your promise and become my plaything then maybe I will remove the heads of your guild members from the chopping block too, just like the flirty fool.. Maybe.” A chuckle escaped her lips, wicked and demeaning, thoroughly enjoying the barrel that she apparently had the woman over.

An eyebrow rose at the mentioning of violence. “How interesting. Here I am giving you a nonviolent alternative and here you are bringing up the idea of a fight. Well, my dear, if you truly desire for me to show you the difference between your magical abilities and mine then so be it but there is something that you should know if that is the path that we take.” Leaning in so that her lips were beside the woman’s ear, she would then whisper, her left hand moving down to the girl’s bikini. “I will take this as a trophy and send you back to your guild as a drooling, whimpering mess. You can also be assured that the rest of your group will end up in the same state, sooner or later. Choose your next words carefully.”

Leaning back, she would admire the lovely woman for a moment, her eyes once more freely wandering across the woman’s body. It would not be difficult to tell just what Medeia was thinking about as she gazed. It was only at this point that she finally took the time to ask a question that she should have asked at the beginning. “Dear me. With all the threats and dirty talk, I have forgotten to ask you for your name. If we are going to be spending time together then you must reveal that to me, unless you wish for me to simply call you, “Purple haired woman,” all day long.” Every word was laced with a touch of mockery, endlessly teasing the heroic woman, nipping away at her nerves, trying to garner a reaction. What had originally been genuine irritation had now become something else. She was thoroughly enjoying herself, at the expense of her newest...newest? Well, that was still to be determined.

(831 Words)
(3532 PWC)
(7743 TWC)

Nothing was turning out how Suzhen wanted. She did not especially like how Medeia gave her word. Such things were supposed to be forthright, as honestly done as possible. The Dongxian's face slowly turned red as her mind began suggesting to her the possible things that Medeia would probably ask, no, demand, that she carry out. The most pleasant of those ideas was embarrassing to think about. It began to dawn on Suzhen, when Medeia gave the terms and conditions which excluded fighting, or even resistance of any kind, that she, the Dongxian scholar, was in no position to try to make bargains. And for every time she attempted to bargain, Medeia cunningly raised the price. Initially, it had been just the life of this blonde idiot, then somehow, she found her guild thrown into the equation, and then she was presently looking at the lives of everyone on this resort. A most consternating development of events. It was gradually becoming clear that Suzhen had only one way out of this... and even that in itself didn't seem to have a wonderful ending.

Presently though, it looked like Suzhen had all the disadvantages. She was now racking her brain on how to get the blonde idiot to safety, though her options looked very bleak. Medeia was definitely very fast, most likely faster than she was, and the dark angel could teleport as well. Suzhen's primary concern wasn't her own safety; it was getting this half-dead flirt to safety. Little by little, however, it was beginning to seem unlikely. Still, Suzhen had determined that it would not be for lack of trying that she could not successfully preserve this fellow's life. The fact that Medeia had threatened everyone on the island was another headache that the Dongxian had to solve. A part of her wanted to tread the treacherous path, agree to Medeia's demands and then get everyone to safety, before either running away, or fighting for her life. But even as Suzhen thought about such a plan, too soon did she detect the futility of that particular endeavor.

The way Medeia spoke about the apparent lack of choices that existed as regarded going after Suzhen's guild, it had become obvious that this was nothing but a one-sided exchange. The Dongxian finally came to terms with the reality that there was absolutely nothing that prevented the dark angel of Errings Rising from reneging on her promise not to go after Luminous Rose. What if, after Suzhen had subjected herself to whatever demeaning and perverted plans the raven haired beautiful terror had in store for her, Medeia still went after her guild? All Suzhen would be able to do would be to remind Medeia that the angel had promised not to do so, a promise that Suzhen was almost certain Medeia would break, if only to punish her further. Because as things seemed to be going, the dark mage seemed to be enjoying herself too much at Suzhen's expense. The time for talking had come to an end, for there would be nothing Suzhen would gain from diplomacy. She had realized that too late, it seemed.

The Dongxian's mind was brought to the present by the feel of a hand brushing against her bosom. She uttered a short, high-pitched scream and pulled away, an offended and scandalized expression on her beet red face, as she created some distance between herself and the salacious dark mage. Suzhen did not miss Medeia's words, and they served to only make her embarrassment worse. "Drooling... whimpering... mess..." she slowly muttered, trying not to imagine what sort of things Medeia would do to her to bring her to such a state. And in the end, it seemed Medeia's unholy plans with Suzhen's guild in mind were still very much in consideration. Although Medeia had stated that she choose her next words wisely, Suzhen had come to a conclusion. As the red slowly faded from her face, the scholar kept her eyes fixed on Medeia, her expression now one of stony determination. She eased the half-dead man to the ground, and stepped forward, so that she was between him and Medeia. At that point, she created a telepathic platform using her Shingan Bokusen, alerting everyone within the range of her telepathy to run for their lives if they knew what was best for them. She excluded Medeia from the platform though, in the hopes that the dark angel would not know what she had done. And slowly but surely, people began to leave the area. The Dongxian hoped this would make a difference in the possible future.

"I have come to a decision," Suzhen said, her voice calm. "In the end, I realize there is nothing that keeps you from killing everyone here if you so desired, so I am afraid I cannot take, in good faith, your promise of leaving that half corpse, the rest of the people on this resort, my guild, and all of Earthland in peace, because once you feel inclined to do otherwise, you would, and nothing would stop you, because you are quite powerful. So please, eminent Medeia," at this point, she gave a polite, graceful bow, "do whatever your heart desires. I, for my part, shall do what I can to prevent you from doing evil to others. I know you must be amused about the vanity of my course of action, but it will help me sleep better." So saying, she widened her stance and bent her knees slightly in a fluid graceful movement, her arms positioned in a martial art stance. "And my name is Suzhen. Bai Suzhen. Remember it well, if you don't plan on killing me."

Spell used:

WC: 949
Personal WC: 5160
Total WC: 8692

The look of amusement did not leave Medeia’s face for a moment, a smirk which was purely there to irritate the woman further. The angel had her well and truly beaten, the thought continuing to unleash waves of pleasure through the raven haired woman’s mind. Slowly, she had been cutting off the girl’s options, raising her hopes only to dash them again, attempting to cause her to second guess herself. All familiar tools and ones that the witch wielded with as much precision as her spells and equipment. It was all a part of her game, one that the purple haired woman was well and truly caught in, much to Medeia’s pleasure. There was little that her plaything could truly do now besides either fight or concede and either of those options frankly would be equally as enjoyable for the angel. As far as she was concerned, the end result would be the same. The only difference being whether she would have to magically force the heroic woman to surrender or not.

She waited rather keenly for an answer to her previous words, her attention as always focused entirely on her. The lovely woman was rather captivating on the eyes and so it was hardly a chore for Medeia to have to watch her. Oh no, it was an absolute pleasure and she knew that her rather keen gaze was a useful weapon in her arsenal, another way for her to keep the pressure on the green eyed woman. How many people had she managed to intimidate and draw fear from merely by gazing at them with her obsessive orbs? More than she could count but if she was being truthful, that was not all she was trying to accomplish. No, she was also simply trying to cause the girl’s cheeks to turn red once more. Humiliation was a powerful tool as well, one that the fallen angel was never afraid to use to her advantage. There were so many that feared the horrible shame that came with it and for others, it was an ideal way to destroy their precious ego and pride. Oh, this woman would most certainly feel this, no matter what choice she made. By the time that Medeia was finished, this woman would shudder every time she heard the angel’s name. She would see her everywhere.

The answer, when it finally came, drew a chuckle from the witch. It appeared that Suzhen, as she had introduced herself as, had come to the realisation of just how poor her position was. Her stance was clearly a battle ready one and the look in her eyes were giving off the same impression. She was going to fight, knowing full well that the odds were heavily against her. Well, Medeia was not all that unhappy about her choice. She would still have her way with the legal mage but perhaps now in more ways than one. Unlike Suzhen, there was no determined look in the eyes of the witch. No, she simply folded her arms across her bountiful chest.

“Oh, my dear Suzhen, I have no intention of killing you. What I am going to do is this. I am going to break you, crush you, humiliate you, destroy every crumb of pride that resides within your perfectly formed body. When I am finished, you will regret ever attacking my beloved tentacle. Then I will make you watch as I make a mess of this beach...which I must admit has become rather scarce and perhaps if I am in the mood, I will also drop a meteor on the nearest hotel. There will be nothing that you can do about it and once I have finished with my little display?”

She tilted her head to the side, the lustful look in her eyes returning. “I will have my way with you. Toy with you, cause you to feel sensations that you have never felt before. You will become my plaything, as I have been saying from the start. This was always your fate, from the moment you crossed my path. Is going through all of that truly worth the tiniest amount of contentment that you might get from having done the right thing? You are quite right. I never had any intention of keeping my word to you.  Why should I when I hold all the cards?”

Another chuckle escaped her lips, before she suddenly allowed her magical aura to come to the surface. Again, it was not an attack as such, simply her releasing her power for her opponent to experience. It would feel heavy, thick, suffocating, precisely as its wielder was, demanding complete control over all those who felt it and inspiring fear and terror if there was any hint of weakness in those who were in its vicinity. Her eyes blazed purple as waves upon waves of magical energy poured from her.

She took a step forward, the ground beneath her shaking due to the strength of her aura, her voice thrumming with power at this stage. “Since we have reached an impasse, I will now take the greatest pleasure in making your life...true hell.”

(861 Words)
(4393 PWC)
(9553 TWC)

Although the fear was still there, the Dongxian scholar was beginning to feel some degree of irritation thanks to the words and the presence of the dark angel before her. It felt rather demeaning to be considered as nothing but an object by someone else. Suzhen determined frown unconsciously deepened. Perhaps she would make this woman acknowledge her, one way or another. But that raised the most important question: how was Suzhen going to do that? Even if she would end up doing something impressive, performing some feat of worth that could even shock someone as powerful as Medeia was (although for the life of her, the Dongxian maiden was quite lost on how to do such a thing), there was the sinking feeling down in the pit of Suzhen's stomach that Medeia would not acknowledge it, even if she was impressed. That, in itself, the Dongxian found rather unacceptable. Since Medeia knew she was stronger than Suzhen, she had absolutely no respect for the Luminous Rose mage, and it was unlikely that she would, unless Suzhen managed to reach her power level, obviously no easy feat. So, since there was nothing else to be done, since Suzhen had made her worst possible mistake by interfering with Medeia's plans (at least that seemed to be how the dark angel put it), it was best for the Dongxian to attempt to make as best of the situation as she could, on her own terms. As Dongxians liked to opine, when diplomacy had reached its end, war was often inevitable. Suzhen considered that so far, she had tried to be as cordial and tactful as possible. Obviously, Medeia wasn't interested in the fineries of courtesy. It was therefore time to try the more primal, more ancient, more natural response that many living things were capable of: violence.

"Well, you seem to be quite the horrific show off, don't you, esteemed Medeia?" Suzhen asked, in response to the angel declaring what she was going to do to her. In her thoughts, thankfully shielded from the Errings Rising mage, Suzhen was divided. One part of her wanted to play the safe game, try not to be as offensive as possible when speaking to and dealing with Medeia, but quickly, the scholar reminded herself that such manners had gotten her nowhere; if anything, Medeia probably imagined that Suzhen was being polite because she was terribly frightened of the angel. Even if she was scared, it wasn't enough so as to attempt to ingratiate herself with an enemy who thought nothing of her... except to function as a plaything. This reflected a nugget worthy of mental reflection, should the Dongxian scholar survive this ordeal. It was this: most evil people simply believed that they were above what was referred to as the Golden Rule: that one treat others as one desires to be treated. While not trying to make boasts about her virtue, Suzhen knew that she often tried to follow this rule. Often, not always, for she was human, and thus liable to mistakes. Medeia, however, gave no thought for the rule; it was all fun and games to treat others as one wanted, but said person would surely take offense if treated in the same manner. And Suzhen knew that the answer to that, if Medeia would ever condescend to give an answer to why she didn't follow the idea of the Golden Rule, was simple: power. One who had power could do whatsoever they desired. And at this point, Suzhen determined that, as possibly as she could, she would not give Medeia the satisfaction which the angel demanded.

Well, thoughts and intentions were one thing, and action was another. Obviously, Medeia was just posturing, but this was much. Shaking the ground just by walking? Power exuding from just her voice? The suffocating, overwhelming magical presence? It was evident that through out their interaction, Medeia would always attempt to inform Suzhen of how far beneath her the Dongxian was. And although Suzhen was the innocent, wide-eyed maiden that she was, she had come in contact with terrible, overarching power, long before her meeting with this beautiful but depraved angel. Coming to think of it, Suzhen wasn't really that innocent... perhaps except in matters that regarded 'fleshly' pleasures. And it wasn't this dark mage that she would allow to... educate her. "While I have absolutely no doubt in the reality of your sadistic intentions towards me," Suzhen replied evenly, "you cannot make my life, what did you call it now, true hell. Someone, or something beat you to it. And I survived. While I disagree with this maxim, it isn't an uncommon saying in my country: your biggest mistake is to leave your enemy alive. If you do not kill me, I will recover. I always have, I always will. And if you do not consider me your enemy, then I am most pleased, eminent Medeia. There is some hope that things will end as I desire, and none of that includes a slobbering, drooling mess."

So saying, she crossed her arms before her, and performed a double chop in the air in the direction of the approaching angel. From her arms was generated a glowing, rapidly spinning crescent, which quickly expanded as it flew towards Medeia. "Mushinken: Senkouken!" She would begin with something Medeia had seen before, the same spell she had used to cut at the angel's tentacle. It wouldn't do to just show all her techniques at once. For Suzhen's part, she was sure that if she did not attack, Medeia would just probably continue with the mind games. The angel had almost everything on her side: time, power, convenience. Suzhen was going to attempt to elicit a response from her by this first attack. It would also help her gauge Medeia's response to this spell, for while it was one of Suzhen's most often-used spell, she favored it because this spell was no pushover. When Medeia responded, Suzhen would know how best to strategize on fighting her. This battle would have to be one of wits, if the scholar even wanted a fighting chance.

Spell Used:

WC: 1023
Personal WC: 6183
Total WC: 10576

There was no rush on the angel’s part and she was quite comfortable with not launching the first attack. In fact, she was curious to see what Suzhen would do. Would she just keep talking and try to avoid the inevitable conflict or would she take the front foot and attack the angel? It said quite a bit about a person or at least the angel thought so and she was content to try and get a further read off of the lovely woman by her actions. Up until now, Medeia had honestly believed that the legal mage may just have been too frightened to strike at her. She had been cautious regarding combat which reeked of weakness as far as Medeia was concerned. The woman in front of her seemed rather innocent and yet powerful at the same time. An interesting combination and one that did cause the angelic being to wonder. It did not quite add up and although Medeia was not even close to wary of the woman, she was at least slightly puzzled by her behaviour. Still, that was certain not to last much longer as the tension was reaching breaking point and by now, Medeia had pushed Suzhen as far as she could. It was time for the woman’s flight or fight instinct to take over, an instinct that the witch desired to see. Was she as innocent and polite in battle as she was in conversation? A fascinating question.

“A show off?” She replied with a laugh, “Is that truly how I appear to you? An attempt to try and wound my ego perhaps? You will need to try a little harder if you wish to accomplish that. I am merely stating the truth, my dear, believe it or not. I do not need to show off to you, for the look in your eyes has been telling me from the start just how aware you are of my strength.” Thoroughly amused once more by the purple haired woman’s words. Nothing that Suzhen had said had wounded the angel. How could they have? The green eyed woman’s mannerisms were so polite and almost meek that they hardly appeared to be threatening or offending to the angel at all. No, the raven haired angel only took amusement from every word Suzhen said and even now, when battle was about to begin, she still did not take them overly seriously. There was a part of her that did somewhat respect Suzhen for maintaining her ground, despite the situation that she found herself in but it was only a small part, not even close to actually having an effect on Medeia’s actions. It was completely overruled by Medeia’s desire for control and desire for the purple haired woman.

Her show of power brought an entertaining response from Suzhen, resulting in a smile once more to cross the features of the angel, her eyes burning with magical power. “Oh, is that so? Some creature or being stole the pleasure from me? Well, that is most definitely a shame but I am sure that I will still be able to introduce something new to you, through combat or perhaps what will take place afterwards.” Her orbs once more examined the woman, her intentions perfectly clear, as they had been all along. “Have you considered the possibility that by not killing you, I am deliberately allowing myself the chance to come across you again? I will let you live and I will find you again and again and again, until my interest in you has died.” After a few moments, she added. “I only kill those who are useless to me and you do not fit that criteria. You most certainly have your uses, which I will take a great deal of joy in having you perform.”

At last, an attack would finally come, a familiar one for the angel. The same one which had destroyed her beloved Janice and sent her back to the void. Medeia did not underestimate the attack and while she could feel the power coming from it, there was something about it that did not quite add up. The speed did not match the power behind the attack and the angel’s natural movement was enough to allow her to dodge the attack, causing it to harmlessly miss her. Still, it was potent enough to give the angel pause for thought. She could not be too careless and was intrigued by just what else the purple haired woman would throw at her. For the moment,. She would simply reply. “The same attack that you used to defeat my tentacle, hmm? Interesting choice.”

Medeia could have gone into her takeover and instantly ramp up the pressure but even now, with the fight well and truly on, she still wished to toy with Suzhen. So instead, she pulled her first back, and then launched a flaming projectile towards the purple haired woman in return. The attack would look exactly like a flaming version of her own hand, hurling towards Suzhen at a swift speed, far quicker than the purple haired woman’s had approached her.

Spells Used: Mine are a little out of date.:

(857 Words)
(5250 PWC)
(11433 TWC)

"Oh, I'm almost completely certain it would not be in my best interests to attempt to wound your illustrious ego, eminent Medeia," Suzhen replied with her characteristic lopsided smile. "I'm quite convinced that people of similar... ah, inclinations as yourself take very poorly to being insulted, and despite your previous words about myself being the one to raise the issue of violence, I'm evidently the more pacifistic one here. Of course, I know my argument regarding my willingness to do violence is wanting; I am after all the first person to have made an attack. You'll have to forgive me for that, but I forget, your types do not forgive. And of course, since you know I'm well aware of your strength, your ground-shaking steps and rather overwhelming aura would be absolutely unnecessary, unless you simply wanted to make me realize that fighting you would be a bad idea, but I've heard some people say that beauty often does not remember to bring brains along, and so I shall vainly ask pardon again for my foolish indiscretion."

However foolish Suzhen thought her indiscretion was, it was obvious that she was planning on sticking with her decision to battle the Errings Rising ace. Suzhen would plan on keeping Medeia amused, in any case, as far as words were concerned. It wasn't probably going to be difficult; Dongxians tended to be usually very polite, though there were the occasional ruffians among them, and Suzhen had been raised with strict adherence to courtesy, etiquette and manners of high society. Of course, she knew how to use subtle barbs and sarcastic wit to get an opponent riled up, but getting Medeia angry was not yet her intention. As long as Medeia was amused by her, the angel would be pleased to toy with her. At the moment, there was no obvious opportunity available, but Suzhen hoped that in the event that one showed itself (the Dongxian scholar had no idea how it would, though she was hopeful), she would be able to utilize it to the fullest, and Medeia's present laxity might serve as an advantage then. Medeia was a seasoned fighter though, that much was obvious, and could probably snap out of her apparent languidness in a fraction of the blink of an eye, if the situation demanded it. Yet, the advantage of hidden thoughts was that they could be concealed from even the wisest.

Suzhen cast a reproachful glare at the dark angel, aware that it would only serve to amuse her further, when the latter commented on how sure she was that she could subject Suzhen to a new experience. "You really should stop talking like that, with the way you're looking at me. Shame on you. And I'm very flattered that you'll waste so much of your valuable time and effort to keep looking for me after this first encounter. You can rest assured that I shall try my utmost best to not disappoint you; I'm not quite ready to die just yet. I'm not sure I know exactly what you think my uses are..." that was probably a lie, "but I shall try to do my best to please you, as long as your demands are reasonable and chaste enough. You do know that there's a lot of high expectations on maidens these days, so I'm sure you should be able to understand my concerns."

There was something that Suzhen took special note of: Medeia had not attempted to block her attack, but had dodged it. That meant one of at least two things. Either Medeia wanted to display her superiority by not even allocating resources to block the spell, or she had sensed the destructive power of this spell, and had chosen to avoid it. Most of Suzhen's spells were like this, for she was more of a close-range fighter, especially based on her Shinken martial art style. Many of her long range spells were slow, which was why she preferred to attack while very close to an opponent. That made dodging at point blank range much more difficult. Medeia, however, did not seem willing to close the distance between herself and the Dongxian scholar, and after referring to Suzhen's choice of attack as interesting, had launched a flaming fist at the Luminous Rose mage. It was frighteningly fast, much faster than Suzhen, and while she would have probably been able to attempt countering the spell, dodging it was definitely out of the question.

It was then that Suzhen realized that the blonde idiot was still behind her, lying on the sand. That moment of hesitation was enough to allow the flaming fist to strike its target, lifting Suzhen from the ground and throwing her a few meters back. She flipped and managed to land on her feet, her nerves screaming with pain, a pain that refused to die away over time like normal painful sensations did. She let out a pained moan as she writhed unsconsciously, all too late realizing that the sound and her motions would probably excite Medeia to some considerable extent. Ah well, she had told the Errings Rising angel that her aim was to please. Swallowing the pain, Suzhen gritted her teeth and stepped forward to plant herself stubbornly in front of the fellow she had been trying to protect. He seemed to be coming to, and was beginning to sit up, evidently dazed and in great pain. "Argh, what the hell happened?" Then he saw Medeia and stiffened, fear contorting his features.

"Oh, hello, I'm glad to see you're awake," Suzhen called over her shoulder. "Now, if you'll try to be a dear and take my advice...." The fool rose and took off, without even waiting to hear anything anyone else had to say. Suzhen sighed and said, "you're welcome." Then she turned to face Medeia. "Now, would you also be a darling and focus solely on me? I may not look it, but I think I might be the jealous type." She made no attack; her intention was to watch and see what Medeia was up to. The angel would most likely attack the fleeing idiot, and Suzhen would try to intercept or do something. Truth was, on realizing Medeia wasn't someone to be bargained with Suzhen was almost certain that this fool would continue his philandering in the spirit world.


WC: 1060
Personal WC: 7243
Total WC: 12493

“You would need to try considerably harder to wound mine, my dear.” Medeia responded with a slight smile of her own. “I assume you are referring to the dark mages who are more likely to rip someone’s arm off than they are to say hello. Yes, more likely than not, they would probably be in the midst of unleashing their wrath upon you now, if they were in my shoes, for daring to mock them. Believe me, Suzhen, I most likely would have too, had you not been such a lovely woman. You intrigue me and that sense is only increasing as time goes on. You are not like the Rune Knights, who would no doubt have threatened me the moment they felt my magical aura. Politeness is frankly not what I am used to receiving from those I encounter who are from the other side of the magical spectrum. Even now, after attacking first, you do not waver from that same almost meek sounding manner and offer me an apology of all things for doing so? You seek my forgiveness? Well, we will have to see about that. I am not simply an inclination and I do not follow the code of morality of good and evil. I am who I am and what I am. That is the only code that I require.” Her tone was not quite as mocking as it had once been, more conversational.

Her smile widened somewhat as the purple haired woman went on to attempt to shame the angel for her lustful manner. “I believe I just said that I live by my own credo. You cannot shame me, Suzhen, because I have none. I have made it perfectly clear since the start of my intentions towards you. Surely by now you must realise what they are? I am a woman of lust, my dear and the looks that I have been given you have been filled with nothing but that. Whether you are a maiden or not does not cause me a moment of hesitance of my intentions. Yet, I admit that I do somewhat admire your ability to hold your ground and not give into the fear that I can sense from you. Death is not going to be your fate unless you push me far enough for me to ignore my lustful impulses and instead replace them with anger. An emotion that I feed off of, both my own and others. Since you seem so willing to please me though then perhaps for now we can simply resume our little battle? Your stance, your style, the determined look in your eyes. They speak of an inner determination that I wish to experience first hand.  It is not often that I face a mage of your power, one which is of course not as potent as my own but enough for me to consider as potent.”

Medeia’s attack, however, when she finally launched one hit its mark. Her flaming fist struck Suzhen firmly and caused her to perform an acrobatic backflip. Quite an action indeed but as the angel watched the purple haired woman groan and moan from the burning effects of her spell, a sound that brought the lust filled smile back to her face. It was a heavenly sound indeed and one that she would make no effort in denying that she enjoyed. “You make a lovely sound when struck, my dear.” It was a filthy comment to make and the chuckle that followed it was equally if not even more depraved. “Perhaps if you are unwilling to become my plaything willingly then I can achieve it through force? I must admit that I would prefer not to go down this road with you but you are so very stubborn. Tell me, what is your vocal range when it comes to pain?”

Unfortunately for the angel, her mood was once again soured as once Suzhen had moved back into position, the blonde idiot who had irritated her suddenly seemed to awaken from behind the green eyed woman. Her gaze turned towards him and the moment he looked at her, it looked like what remaining life was in him seemed to leave his face, petrified with fear at the sight of her. Well, it appeared that he had least learned his lesson about bothering her although she was still not willing to simply let him run away. A frown crossed her features and a purple coloured bow formed in her hands. “As much as I love to focus on your lovely form, it will have to wait for a moment while I deal with this fool. He still owes me for interrupting my sunbathing and I always collect my debts. I am sure you can understand that, yes? Do not worry, I will be right back with you shortly.”

With that, she unleashed a powerful arrow at the fleeing figure, one eye focusing on Suzhen to see what she would do about it. Being the heroic type, Medeia was half expecting the woman to either dive in the way or protect him using a defensive spell. Either way, it would give the angel a little more knowledge of the bikini clad beauties magic which could prove useful. The raven haired woman’s mind would briefly think back to the stance that Suzhen seemed to take when fighting and she mused whether it was more of a tell then perhaps she had thought. A form of martial arts magic perhaps? It was possible, as practically everything was when it came to the magical arts and Medeia mused to herself about just how best to combat it, should it be the case.

Spell Used:

(950 Words)
(6200 PWC)
(13443 TWC)

Suzhen could be glad about one thing: that from the dark angel's words, it was very unlikely that she would actually get Medeia angry, with the way things were going. Medeia seemed to be delighted with their interactions, and while that would have been a wonderful thing, Suzhen knew that the dark angel's increasing delight was most certainly going to be detrimental to her. In essence, the purple haired scholar was between a rock and a hard place. If she made Medeia angry, she would be in deep trouble. Still, her keeping Medeia happy was leading to the most likely conclusion being that she would be in deep trouble as well. And she could not easily walk the line between keeping Medeia pleased and offending the dark angel. If she tried not to be too entertaining, chances were that Medeia would get bored, and that could lead to some rather painful results. While the path of entertaining the Errings Rising ace was rather displeasing to Suzhen, it seemed to be the safest course of action, presently.

Medeia's speech about following her own code made Suzhen silently ponder on some things. She took immediate note of the lack of taunting or lustful tones in the angel's voice, and it mildly surprised her. That Medeia seemed to be explaining something without talking down at her or trying to make her feel uncomfortable seemed to suggest that perhaps there was the possibility of having some sort of connection between the two women. Who knew, perhaps if they had met under different circumstances, they could have been friends? But then Medeia's lustful tone was back again, and Suzhen decided with a wry smile that it was a foolish hope to expect that the two of them would befriend each other. In any case, it was nice to see that Medeia had favorably compared Suzhen to the traditional run of the mill legal mage. A plus, that. And since Medeia wanted to see the extent of Suzhen's determination, the Dongxian mage saw no reason to disappoint her opponent, at least in the meantime.

As Suzhen had expected, her pained response to Medeia's attack had given the salacious mage a lot of dirty pleasure, as that smile that made Suzhen feel uncomfortable appeared on the angel's face. "So do harmonic gongs and xylophones, I wager," the Dongxian quipped in response to Medeia's naughty remark. The chuckle was enough to make Suzhen resist the urge to shudder. Fortunately, she succeeded. "It would be a very high soprano, I suppose," the Dongxian replied to Medeia's question about vocal ranges and pain. "Are you certain you wouldn't want to buy a vibraphone or something? It will most likely produce a much more pleasant tune than me screaming my tonsils out.And despite the natural high range of my voice, I'm not very great at producing a high quality of decibels, so a percussive instrument would most probably serve you better, eminent Medeia."

As Suzhen had expected, Medeia was not intent on letting the blonde fool off the hook. Suzhen saw Medeia's naughty smile give way to an annoyed frown, and the Errings Rising mage summoned a purple bow in her hands. Suzhen grimaced. Despite Medeia's strangling then man to within an inch of his life, the angel was still desirous to enact punishment. Of course, as she had mentioned earlier, the punishment for the man's interference with Medeia's sunbathing was his death. Suzhen was not willing to allow that to happen, if she had a say in what was going on. And as long as Suzhen could move, she had a say. "Mushinken: Senkouken!" she yelled, flinging a shining crescent that Medeia would by now recognize. Of course, she was sure that Medeia would consider her spell choice with disappointment, probably assuming her to be a one-trick pony. But this was exactly Suzhen's intention. It was common knowledge that when the brain encountered something it did not expect, there might be a bit of time for the brain to reorient itself. That little moment of surprise was what Suzhen intended to create, and the surprise would most obviously not be from her Senkouken wave, for Medeia was already familiar with it. Suzhen had timed the release of the wave such that, slow-moving as it was, it would encounter the flying arrow as the latter projectile sped past her, something that would have been a lot harder if the running blonde idiot hadn't been behind Suzhen. As the Dongxians would say, quick thinking saves lives.

The Senkouken wave had negation properties, and it would dispel the flying arrow, canceling out itself just after it bifurcated the arrow in two. It was expected that Medeia would momentarily cast her gaze on the arrow as Suzhen's wave struck it, and then Suzhen would take a characteristic fighting stance and be suddenly gone, appearing in a split second on the dark angel's right side, and slightly behind her. It was very likely that Medeia was faster than Suzhen was, but the Dongxian maiden hoped that her attempt to create a ploy with the element of surprise would avail her something. "Shinken: Shinryuu Bougai!" the scholar called out, as she took a step forward with her left leg, twisting her hips and converting the created torque into a straight punch aimed at Medeia's right side. Even as Medeia was interested in seeing just what types of moves Suzhen possessed, the Dongxian, aware that Medeia was a superior opponent, still was desirous to see how she held her own in combat. The Luminous Rose mage had no idea how good Medeia was in close combat fighting, but for Suzhen, it was like she was in her element. She had however begun to see that her reliance on close quarter combat had left her with a number of disadvantages, one of them being that she had to cover the distance between herself and Medeia. But whatever Medeia would do next would be educative, and hopefully not painful, for the Dongxian scholar.

spells used:

WC: 1004
Personal WC: 8247
Total WC: 14447

A flicker of a smile passed Medeia’s face as Suzhen humorously replied to her sound based question. The angel would not not respond to it as such verbally but was amused nonetheless. Mind you, practically everything that Suzhen did by this stage achieved the same effect. In a way, the anger that had been built up against the blonde fool was slightly starting to drain away. Oh, she still desired his death of course but that feeling just did not pass over to the purple haired warrior. Both because of the attraction that the witch felt towards Suzhen and the fact of how much amusement that the woman was able to provide. One of the curses of immortality or at least in Medeia’s opinion was quite simply boredom. There was only so long that one could travel the land and wreak havoc before it became a little the same old, same old. Random acts of destruction did not quite cut it for the angel at this stage, preferring the more personal touch. There just needed to be something to activate her obsessive traits, to stir the want and desire inside her. This encounter had most certainly achieved that, in more ways than one.

Her attack was as she expected, defended by Suzhen, resulting in her arrow seeming to fall into half halves. It appeared that it had stemmed from the attack that the purple haired woman had used to begin the fight and while Medeia had hoped to see something new, it was an effective counter to her spell. The blonde idiot had survived again although the angel still did not see why Suzhen was so intent on protecting him. Had he not gone after her, who was to say that he would not instead have drooled over her opponent instead? Honestly, that was a thought that slightly bothered her. The angel had always despised the male gender, for reasons that were of the most personal nature to her. She had seen what they were capable of and the barbarity that they could inflict on the women of the gender, causing a deep seated hatred that had only strengthened over time. There were very few males that she put up with in truth and as with the fool today, it did not take an awful lot to cause her to lash out in their direction. Fortunately, most of her guild were aware of that fact and her reputation was enough to cause the men in Errings Rising to avoid her if at all possible, which she was of course delighted with.

After her attack was negated, Suzhen would briefly disappear with the angel having a fair idea of where she would go, considering her style so far. It appeared that her hunch may have been right about the green eyed woman wanting to fight at close range and while Medeia was not overly strong in that regard, it was not as if she was frail in that department. No, it simply drew Suzhen in towards the angel’s more unusual techniques, ones that tried to play with the minds of her foes. Medeia’s desire for control naturally was complemented by more than a few of her spells Yet, which one should she use, in order to try and toy with Suzhen once more?

Medeia’s reflexes picked up as Suzhen reappeared close to her, launching a punch that seemed to be magically amplified. The punch was swift and no doubt contained a lot of physical force but it was in a way similar to the purple haired woman’s previous attack. It, while quicker than her first spell, was still not fast enough to truly trouble Medeia and so, she would gracefully move her body out of the way of the strike, leaning to one side and watching as the strike passed her by. She could feel the power behind it though and was not foolish enough to assume that it was a weak attack by any means.

It did, however, leave Suzhen open for an attack of the angel’s own and so she decided to try something a little more sneaky this time. It was actually quite ironic that they spoke about sound and music previously as that was what the angel’s spell tapped into. Opening her mouth, she would start to sing a captivating melody, visual sound waves emerging from her and travelling towards the nearby legal mage. It would tug at Suzhen’s heart and soul, attempting to lull her into the arms of the witch. Yet, it would not feel unpleasant, on the contrary, it would sound as appealing as possible. The spell would try to erode her opponents will, enough that even if the spell did not fully work then perhaps would leave space for Medeia to follow up with something else. There were always options, so many options when the angel used her three forms of magic together. She was not the easiest mage to classify, as she was capable in all departments. Offense, defense, support. She could play whatever role she needed to play. As always, control was what linked all of her magics together. Control of herself, control of her allies and control of her foes. It was at the heart of what Medeia desired above all things, a desire that had not dimmed after the long years of her life. A fire that always burned inside of her.

Spell Used:

(904 Words)
(7104 PWC)
(15351 TWC)

There was something very satisfying about the fact that Suzhen had been able to cause the dark angel of Errings Rising to pay no more attention to the running idiot after she had negated the angel's archery attack. It meant that Medeia, despite her dirty talk and part infuriating, part interesting mind games, had not chosen to underestimate her opponent, at least as far as combat was concerned. And while Suzhen was disappointed that the raven haired angel had not made that mistake, she was not really surprised; as a matter of fact, it was, to some extent, honorable in the eyes of the Dongxian that the Errings Rising ace was not taking the difference in their power levels for granted. Even though this meant Suzhen was at a disadvantage, she had decided that since she was not presently in danger of losing her life, and her interference had allowed the blonde idiot to make good his escape, being alone with Medeia meant that she could focus on learning a thing or two from this battle, without being distracted about protecting some innocent (but was that blonde fellow really 'innocent'?) who could potentially be in the line of fire. More unscrupulous villains were known to use such people as disadvantageous leverages against their more law abiding opponents. Since there was no such thing now, Suzhen prepared to feel pain, but pain was not new to her, and she was not scared of it. Pain, in a way, was a teacher, and given the likely chance that she would survive this encounter, she would take it as an educative session. She had no intention of winning this, but the thought of being sent back to her guild as a slobbering drooling mess was still a most disturbing thing to ruminate on. For her, the best outcome would be to somehow escape this place with her dignity. She just hoped that would not present itself to be an impossible feat.

Although Suzhen had hoped to take Medeia by surprise, her heart sank when the dark mage glided elegantly out of the way of the blow. Evidently, Medeia was no slacker when it came to hand to hand combat, even if the Errings Rising mage did not seem to favor it. The fact that the raven haired angel had not attempted to make a physical counter strike gave Suzhen the established impression that Medeia was more of a long range fighter. But even if that was the case, and Suzhen managed to bridge the gap between the two women, how would she take advantage of the fact that, based on skill alone, she was better than Medeia at close quarters? Suzhen was no fool; skill was nothing to really boast about. A skilled person would be beaten by a stronger, faster and more intelligent opponent. Skill just made one's physical qualities more effective. And there would be nothing to show for that skill, if one could not land a hit. For the umpteenth time today, another wise statement came to mind: an attack is useless, unless it hits. In that strange way in which a part of the mind seems to detach itself when one is undergoing a dangerous or stressful situation, Suzhen noted with some humor that she had really accumulated a lot of pithy sayings and advice over the twenty-something years she had lived. She wondered how much wisdom Medeia had acquired. Though Medeia probably looked, in appearance alone, a little older than Suzhen, the Dongxian was almost certain that the dark angel was not her mate, as far as chronological age was concerned.

The counter attack came, but not as Suzhen had expected it. Sure, she wasn't expecting a punch or kick, but the spell that Medeia used was not what she had considered the possibility of engaging. It was a song, and the notes themselves seemed to ripple the air as they traveled towards Suzhen. She was too close to avoid the rippling air, and it struck her, the sensation making goosebumps spread over her skin. She felt herself weaken and shuddered, but the sensation of pain was not there. It was a very weird feeling, like her brain had taken note of the fact that she had been injured somehow, but her pain nerve endings had not registered anything. On the contrary, Suzhen seemed to enjoy the sound of Medeia's song, and she almost thought she could hear a voice calling her, enchanting her, bewitching her. There was nothing better to do than throw herself into the waiting arms of Medeia. But if Suzhen had, for many years, been battling mentally against the influence of the World Serpent, then her mind was no pushover. To make matters even better, one of the branches of her Yoza Kengen magic, Majutsu, was aimed at giving her a superior mind. She would pit her will against Medeia's and hope she didn't end up broken.

In any event, the charm of Medeia's song had almost been totally effective, and Suzhen realized, before she could correct herself, that her body had already lurched with an almost unbridled sense of abandon, towards Medeia. The Dongxian cursed herself inwardly, as her cheeks once more turned a bright red. Here she was, throwing herself, like a woman of loose morals, into the arms of another woman with loose morals. That would not do at all. Holding out her arms as through she wanted to throw them around Medeia's neck in an amatory embrace, Suzhen actually did throw her arms around her opponent's neck, but it would not be any type of amorous gesture. Instead, Suzhen attempted to put one arm under one of Medeia's, while the other arm went for the angel's neck, attempting a standing arm triangle choke, in the hopes that she could probably stop her from singing that cursed ravishing song. She also made a little jump, attempting to wrap her legs round Medeia's torso, in order to prevent the dark angel from attempting to knee her if she managed to lock the hold, and make breathing difficult if she succeeded. But that was not her most important attack. While trying to tangle herself with the angel, Suzhen would, using a Majutsu technique, release a mental pulse from her head, its visuals appearing like a rippling wave of air, like Medeia's song spell.

spell used:

WC: 1061
Personal WC: 9308
Total WC: 16412

It was truly lovely to see the effects of her more unusual spell as it appeared to strike Suzhen. The woman’s cheeks reddened which only seemed to confirm the fact that the song was being somewhat successful. Medeia would continue her song, her arms slowly spreading wide as the purple haired woman came towards, seemingly having fallen victim to it. Given their close proximity, the angel knew that it would only be more difficult for her opponent to counter it and the witch was rather pleased. To see Suzhen look in such a way brought no shortage of pleasure to the witch and only brought more lustful impulses and thoughts to the forefront of her mind. This was exactly how she wished for her fights to be, ones where she could toy with the bodies and minds of her foes at her leisure. Yes, during her time in Errings Rising, she had come to appreciate the more violent methods of her guildmates but in truth, she still preferred her own methods. To charm and bewitch her opponents brought her unlimited joy and it seemed that once again, she had managed to hook in her target without any real risk to herself. She moved in to accept the embrace of the beautiful woman, her song reaching its climax.

However, that was not what happened and instead of receiving the embrace she had desired, the angel instead found herself being caught in some kind of submission maneuver from the legal mage. One of her arms was hooked while the green eyed mage’s other arm went for her neck, resulting in a choking position which did indeed manage to cut off the angel’s song. What was more, Medeia then felt Suzhen’s legs wrap around her body, trying to cinch in the move and make it impossible for the mage to counter it through physical means. It was a well played move and had Medeia not suddenly found herself short of breath, she might have acknowledged it. As it was, she was simply trying not to fade out as the hold began to squeeze at her throat. She dropped to her knees as the pressure intensified although her force of will prevented her from passing out, forcing herself to be calm. The dark haired beauty did not struggle all that much, knowing that would only cause her to pass out and so instead tried to tap into her magic in order to get Suzhen off of her.

It was only then that she felt a touch of Suzhen’s magic against her mind, causing her to feel somewhat uncomfortable. She could feel doubt starting to creep in, a sense that she could simply give up and concede the fight to her opponent. It was a feeling that Medeia had not felt in millenia and it was more than a little surprising to experience. It was ridiculous. Her? Doubt her own strength? Yet, the feeling remained to poke away at her confidence and for a few moments, it seemed to be effective and her breathing, already difficult, began to slow, as though she was truly giving into the combination of Suzhen’s physical and mental prowess. She had clearly underestimated her opponent and her overconfidence would be her downfall. Her world seemed to turn to black, her vision fading, her mind emptying of all thought and her body seeming to still. Death was not something that she could ever face, due to her immortality but helplessness? That was something that she could face and had been a primal fear of hers for so long. How long had she spent trapped in that god forsaken prison for, blind, muted, unable to do anything?

That thought was what brought her back from the brink.and as she remembered the sheer horror of that millenia long imprisonment, her hands clenched into fists, her rage and anger burning through the doubt like a hot knife through butter. She had sworn upon being free that she would never concede, never show weakness and never give up control. The angel was thoroughly ashamed of herself for allowing such a simple spell to toy with her. She did the toying, not her opponent. The anger began to pulse through her body, her body started to shake with rage and her eyes blazed open again. Her thoughts turned to what she was going to do with Suzhen, now that she had crossed the line. Toying and playing were no longer enough. The angel desired now to truly torture the purple haired woman, grind her into the dust as she was going to do with that blonde fool. Her interest in him vanished, her anger now fully directed towards the woman who was trying to choke her.

Managing to raise her one free hand, she managed to utter two words, her eyes blazing with magic power. “Black Coffin.”The ground beneath the two would start to darken and from there, four walls would begin to form around them, covering a large area. There was time for Suzhen to get out but it would not be all that long, only until the walls would merge, sealing them both within. Her opponent wanted to try and fight with her in the mind games department? So be it. The kid gloves were coming off. The period of feeling each out was over.

Spell Used:

(892 Words)
(7996 PWC)
(17304 TWC)

It seemed like Suzhen's little ploy had managed to work. She had managed to deceive Medeia into thinking that the Song of Desire had worked against her, and the dark angel had opened her arms to welcome Suzhen into her embrace. What Medeia had been planning to do to the Dongxian scholar if Suzhen had yielded to the song, the scholar was not sure she wanted to know, but she was sure it would probably be something perverted, something that would be an incessant cause for shame and embarrassment for a very long time to come. However, the tables seemed to have turned, and Suzhen had managed what she had almost thought impossible. She had, for the first time ever since the exchange between the two mages, managed to get one step ahead of her opponent. A part of her felt some remorse when Medeia's song stopped; she thought the angel had a rather lovely singing voice, and the song itself had such a soul stirring tune. Suzhen would have, left to herself, not wanted the song to end, or at least she would have wanted to hear the song to the end... if that song had not been rather detrimental to her survival. As a matter of fact, entertaining the desire to hear the song to its finish for too long would have most probably ended in serious woe for the Luminous Rose mage. A trade off that was reasonable enough. Self well being was always the primary focus of survival.

As Suzhen tightened her hold on the Errings Rising angel, a part of her had been afraid that Medeia would probably use some insane level of superhuman strength to rip the Dongxian off her body, and break Suzhen's back on her knee. Which was why she had chosen to attempt a blood choke, one that would cut off blood circulation to Medeia's brain. And of course, once the brain spent just a little time without oxygen, it would begin to shut down. An air choke would have been probably more damaging, but more expensive. Suzhen had not yet ascertained Medeia's physical strength level, nor the durability of the dark angel's tissues. Even though Suzhen did not know exactly what Medeia was, she was sure that the Ace of Errings Rising could not be completely human. Non human anatomies could have different rules, but if there was a human shaped head, then there had to surely be a human shaped brain within that head. And probably a similar circulatory system to that of the human. That Medeia had fallen to her knees and seemed to be passing out was an indication that Suzhen's gambit, though having a lot left to chance, had been well done. But she could not be too happy. She could not rest easy until the dark angel was unconscious. A niggling though began to rise in the back of Suzhen's mind that this battle was going too easily in her favor.

And then something changed.

The Dongxian could not tell what it was, but it was like something had woken Medeia from her faint. Even without seeing her face, Suzhen could sense the dark, bitter and vindictive rage that seemed to flow out of the dark angel's pores, along with the Errings Rising mage's magic power. At that moment, the Dongxian mage realized, with no little amount of consternation, that she had actually succeeded in doing what she had initially hoped she would not do: anger Medeia beyond the point of the dark mage regarding her as a plaything. A part of her mind almost felt offended that Medeia would be angry that Suzhen had hurt her so, but the Dongxian thought about the saying that all was fair in love and war. This was war, so Medeia was free to respond however she pleased. As the dark mage lifted her hand, Suzhen had already released her, and was dashing as fast as the maiden's legs would allow her, even as she realized the intention of the dark angel. Though she had no idea of what this spell did, it was obvious that Medeia wanted to trap her within it. Hopefully, she could escape... the walls were closing fast, but if she used her Shinken: Shinryuu Bougai to attempt to teleport out, perhaps she might make it. Suzhen quickly channeled her magic and made the teleport dash...

...then her mind went white with mental pain. It was as though she was forced to endure all the worst moments she had ever had in her life, all in the space of one second, and for someone so young, she had had many. The death of her parents; the destruction of her village, Fenghai, by the alliance of the World Snake cult and strange extraplanar beings from another dimension; the maddening months she had spent in that reality-defying dimension, with the survivors of her village, her little sister and her fiancé; the death of Xiaoqing, her sister; but the worst of them all was the sacrifice of her fiancé, Xu Xian, to ensure that she escaped the dimension. She had killed him, shot him through the head, to ensure that he would not be tortured by the monsters that had abducted them. It was a mercy for him, true, but the deed had haunted Suzhen for so long... she was not even sure she had really gotten over it, and now she was forced to relive it and so much more, all in the space of one second. Suzhen realized that she had been screaming, a heart wrenching sound that could only have been made by someone who knew what true pain was. She took in deep breaths as she fought to rise to her feet. The pain she had just experienced was enough to prevent a normal person from even being able to move, but Suzhen was much more vital than the average person. By sheer dint of willpower alone, she rose to her feet, fighting back the tears, though her legs were visibly shaking. She was a mess; all that remained was the slobbering and drooling, unless Medeia wanted to kill her. The fact that Medeia was no longer speaking was proof that the angel was really pissed. But Suzhen could not just lie down and surrender. It was not her way. She could still move, and that was all that mattered, even though she was feeling rather weak now.

She cleaned her wet eyes and stubbornly took a fighting stance once more, a grim determined frown on her face. Her legs were still shaking, though. This match would not probably last much longer, and she didn't seem to be the winning one now. Even so, the reliving of the most painful moments of her life had stirred a fierce desire to not only live, but not be at the mercy of this angel, as beautiful as she was merciless. Perhaps her fear of helplessness made her somewhat similar to Medeia, but she had no idea. In any case, something had cracked inside her mind, and she was almost acting on a primal instinct to fight free, to live free. She threw back her head, screamed with all her might, while her body seemed automatically to sink into a fighting stance, and she threw a blow with her open palm, in Medeia's direction. The power of the blow ionized the air rapidly, creating what seemed to be a tiger's head made of plasma, made even much brighter by the darkness created by the Black Coffin, rapidly expanding and rushing at the dark angel. Massive updrafts of air twisted the atmosphere uncannily with the passing of the Thunder Tiger Cannon, and a short moment later, a light rain began to fall, obviously the effect of the blow that had been thrown.

spells used:

WC: 1305
Personal WC: 10613
Total WC: 18609

The hold restricting her breathing loosened, causing Medeia to take a few deep and grateful breaths as she started to recover from it. The anger that had awoken her from her slumber was rising in intensity, even now, fueling her beyond all measure. There were half a dozen elements that Medeia could harness, as part of her slayer magics and yet anger was the one that she had always dismissed, thinking of pure rage as something that would only leave those overcome by it to make mistakes, resulting in their defeat. Now, however, as she felt it erupting through her body and soul, the angel began to understand, her ignorance fading away. It was just as potent as any other element or emotion and more than that, it had saved her from what would have been a humiliating and embarrassing defeat. She would not underestimate it again nor the abilities of any foe that she encountered in combat. In a way, she should be thankful to Suzhen for reminding her of that lesson and perhaps looking back on the encounter later, the angel would have to admit that. For now though, it was difficult for her to think of anything, her rational thoughts thrown aside, replaced by raw hatred and fury for the woman who had almost caused her to pass out.

The sounds of Suzhen screaming would soon echo throughout the coffin of darkness that Medeia had summoned, clearly confirming that the legal mage had been unable to escape in time. It was a spell of the most horrible kind, one that struck at the heart of her opponents, a torture that no physical form of pain could match. Honestly, it was not a spell that the angel often used but here, it was more than appropriate. Suzhen deserved to experience such torture, for daring to try and break through Medeia’s mental shields. The green eyed woman was playing such a game with the wrong mage and now it would cost her. Medeia took such twisted joy from the purple haired woman’s screeching, loving every single moment of it. They were not as before, where her opponent had simply been struck by fire. No, these were screams that came right from the soul, the deepest and most hearty. Only those who had experienced the darkest of moments could scream in such a way and it gave a clear message to the witch that Suzhen had suffered in her lifetime. She sorely desired to drag those horrific moments out of the woman and force her to relive those moments verbally, as well as merely through her spell. Perhaps when the fight was over, once Suzhen was lying helplessly at her feet. There was no chance now of her opponent leaving unscathed. She needed to be punished for daring to push the angel so close to unconsciousness.

While her foe was suffering the immense pain from her soul, Medeia returned to her feet, all signs of the playfulness and lust from her face now well and truly gone. Now, her beautiful features were distorted into a mask of wrath and fury. Her blazing orbs were solely fixed upon the woman now, as though she was the only creature on the planet besides herself. Nothing else mattered to her in those moments, just revenge and her wanting to see Suzhen suffer further. Eventually, the martial arts mage seemed to collect herself, her legs and body shaking, tears streaking down her lovely face. If it had been earlier in the fight, Medeia might have given a lustful smile and made a flirty remark but as it was, she simply waited, ominously, without uttering a word. She did not expect her opponent to simply lie down now, having learned first hand of Suzhen’s determination. An attack was likely and this time, the witch was prepared for it. She began to tap into her powers again, chanting in a language of old, one that caused her throat to burn just by uttering the words. The time to end the fight was drawing near and Medeia refused to take any further damage. As she spoke, a war-like suit of blood red armour began to cover her form, shielding her, protecting her, granting her an enormous amount of defense.

Something was coming. An attack far more powerful than Suzhen had used so far in the fight. She could feel the strength of it, how it manipulated the air, how the heavens seemed to open up and rain started to fall. This was a blow that had the entirety of her foes magical power behind it which was perfect. What better way for the angel to show her dominance than this? Her armour was ready, just as the attack, which had the semblance of a tiger, reached her. Suzhen’s attack met Medeia’s defence in an enormous blast of energy that caused the sand around the angel to burst up, surrounding her in it and briefly shielding herself from view of her enemy. The attack was powerful indeed but was it enough to overpower the angel’s defence?

For a few moments, there was nothing but silence, before the sand disappeared, revealing the result. The attack had been negated altogether.

Standing with one hand still outstretched, the effect of her strongest shielding spell had indeed done its job, defending her entirely from harm. Medeia stood tall, her entire body blazing with power as she stared down her foe. Her armour gleaning, completely undamaged. Now it was her turn to attack. She would briefly inhale, allowing herself to combine the powers of three of her slayer elements, before unleashing it in a powerful slayer’s roar towards the weakened legal mage, her scream so loud when releasing it that it was almost more intense than the spell itself. It was a spell that contained all of her hatred, wrath and violent intent. Suzhen had brought it upon herself to feel the full force of Medeia’s magic and at that moment, Medeia wanted nothing more than to see the bikini clad woman as she had stated at the start. A drooling, slobbering, mess of a mortal.

Spells Used:

(1024 Words)
(9020 PWC)
(19633 TWC)

As the rain fell, Suzhen could feel her vision blurring intermittently. The feel of the water on her skin did serve to help her dizziness, though Suzhen knew she was nearing her limit. She had taken quite some damage, but she could not give up now. By now, a normal person would have been finished, but thanks to the power that came from the World Snake, Suzhen was three times as healthy and three times as hardy as a normal mage. Sadly, this boon came with a rather problematic downside: Suzhen could not create shields, and she was really beginning to see the results of that disadvantage. Often, the Dongxian had tried, in her moments of training, to craft shields using her magic, something that normally should not be impossible, giving the applications of her Yoza Kengen, except that she just couldn't. It was like asking a very normal, garden variety human being, without any special mutation or magic powers, to wiggle their ear lobes. If she had had a shield, she would have had a lot more options fighting against Medeia. In any case, she had to make do with what she had. But she had learned that the best defense was not a superior offense, because when your opponent, in spite of your offense, did manage to make an attack, you would be in a very difficult place.

When Suzhen had fired off the Kaminariko Taihou, she had heard Medeia chanting in a strange, language. Suzhen had never heard it before, but being a linguist, from the way it sounded, if she were to make a guess by using guesswork to form syntaxes, she supposed it sounded like a very old language, one whose native speakers probably had died long ago. A strange looking red armor, the color of blood, seemed to be materializing to cover the dark angel, probably her absolute defense, which meant that she had correctly judged the nature of the Kaminariko Taiho's power. And then the Thunder Tiger Cannon struck, raising a whole lot of flying sand, the particles of earth thrown high even in the midst of the falling rain. And the sand fell, and the armored Medeia was there, standing with an arm outstretched, unharmed. It was not possible; it could not be possible. She had been sure that the Kaminariko Taiho, one of the strongest moves in her repertoire, could scarcely be blocked, and here it had been dispelled, negated without any apparent stress on the part of the angel of Errings Rising. Suzhen stared in horror at the armored form standing before her, beginning to realize finally just how vastly different in power the two women were. "No..." she could only say, and the despair in her voice was very evident.

And then Medeia inhaled. Suzhen knew something terrible was coming, and she placed her hands together, as if praying. With the way her legs were shaking, she was almost certain she would not be able to dodge whatever attack Medeia was about to unleash against her. Her body began glowing green, the aura swirling round her. She felt the life-giving energies from her healing spell bring a moment of respite to her aching body, and then the black blast smashed mercilessly into her, throwing her off her feet and sending her flying like a ragdoll to crash painfully onto the sand. Suzhen could not even recollect whether Medeia had screamed when the latter had released the dark energy roar. But this was the end. It wasn't supposed to end this way. Suzhen tried to move, but her will wasn't strong enough. A loud sob escaped from her lips, as she covered her eyes with her left arm, but she was unable to stop the tears from flowing. She was done. At present, she almost hoped that death would come, but she knew it wouldn't; her body still had too much strength in her. It was her will that had given up. Having to relive all her most nightmarish moments, and then seeing one of her strongest techniques dispelled so easily had quenched her spirit. And back then, when Medeia was toying with her, even if the angel had been promising her really dirty experiences, it had been very likely that Medeia would have been a little tender, as people never liked breaking interesting things too early. Now, Medeia would not be kind in the least. What she was experiencing now was not shame, compared with what Medeia would put her through. Suzhen let her left arm drop back onto the sand. There was no hope...

"Use that power..." a whispering voice suddenly sprang up in her mind. "In the end, you're useless without me. Tap into my true power. You have no idea of all the terrible things that await you at the hands of that magnificently debased creature over there. Reach out... tap..."

And Suzhen's eyes snapped open. But they were no longer her eyes. The Dongxian rose, and fixed Medeia with a gaze of her own. It was not Suzhen's cute determined frown, no, it was something blank, an expressionless stare with undertones of malice. And anyone who saw Suzhen's eyes would notice that what had once been beautiful and green were now bronze-colored, with slit pupils; beautiful in their own way, but unnerving. On various parts of Suzhen's exposed skin, white patches formed; closer inspection would reveal them to be scales, the color of snow, yet bearing some iridescence. Her shapely body was wreathed in a bright blue flame, pale and cold. For a moment, she stood, her body aligned almost perpendicular to Medeia's though her head was turned to stare at the dark mage. Then she sank into her characteristic stance, but her arms were crossed this time. Beyond Medeia was generally ocean, so there would most likely not be anybody caught in her next attack. But Suzhen didn't care. In a voice, or rather two voices, hers and another ominous one, which was still hers, but more steeped in malice, the Dongxian intoned, "Teiyoushiki Zekkou Ougi: Souzou Zenmetsu!"

First, the palm came, as if she was repeating the Kaminariko Taihou, but then she punched the spot of air that was just beginning to ionize after the first palm that normally would fire off a Thunder Tiger Cannon. The result was a fearsome catastrophe. As much of the blast went seaward, it seemed to disintegrate even the water of the sea, a loud and eerie sucking sound being produced as the water of the sea surged to replace the almost kilometer long surface area of water that had been decimated. Medeia was expected to be in the general range of this terrific devastation. And then Suzhen came to herself, her eyes turning emerald once more, as she dropped to her knees. Then she rose and staggered to the water's edge to see what destruction her spell had wreaked. So far, nothing obvious had been destroyed, but many fishes probably died. She covered her mouth with her two hands, her eyes wide with fear. She had momentarily given in to the World Snake, and had fired off such a rash spell. What if she had been in a city? For all intents and purposes, she seemed to be oblivious of whether Medeia was still there or not.

spells used:

WC: 1221
Personal WC: 11834
Total WC: 20584

It seemed as though it was all over, her attack hurling Suzhen back and sending her crashing into the sand. The woman’s weeping was easily detectable due to Medeia’s slayer hearing and it truly did sound like the end of the fight. Her opponent did rise again but it appeared for all purposes that the determination to continue the battle had faded from the beautiful purple haired woman, her strongest attack negated by the all powerful angel. Medeia did not believe that her opponent had much left to give and she slowly started to approach, preparing herself to deliver the blow that would more than likely finish things. The killing instinct was most certainly still there as far as the dark haired woman was concerned, wishing to see her opponent helpless at her feet. The anger still swirled within the dark creature but there was a touch of respect there. Suzhen was a hardy foe and had pushed Medeia further than any foe had in quite some time. However, that respect was not enough to prevent her from being left lying on the sand. In a way, she was further irritated that it had come to this. The lovely legal mage could have just accepted Medeia’s offer from the start and none of this would have come to pass. Would the angel have hurt Suzhen if she had accepted? Her body, no. Her pride, yes. It was an offer that few other dark mages would have offered but of course, the angel was not like them. She truly did not enjoy hurting women in the same way she did with men and did much prefer a more gentle approach when handling encounters with people of her own gender. Unfortunately, things had not gone the angel’s way today, in that department anyway.

Something changed then, as Suzhen suddenly seemed to change her mannerisms completely. There was a look in the eyes that had not been there before, a look that could quite possibly have matched Medeia’s own malicious gaze. Her form was changing into what the dark mage would be serpentine like. It was an intriguing transformation and the angel could detect a sudden rise in Suzhen’s power. This seemed familiar, in a manner. Similar to a technique that slayers could use, one that Medeia was quite capable of using whenever she desired. Normally, there was no need for her to do so but as she sensed the sudden killing intent, it almost came naturally to her. Tapping into her slayer powers, she would unleash her own mighty force powers, causing her entire body to burst with power, surrounding her with the six elements that she called her own. Sand. Gold. Curses. Fire. Blood. Anger. Fragments of all of them could be seen swirling around her. The ground would shake due to her godly essence, barely able to handle her immense power. She could have attempted to escape from whatever this next attack was but she decided not to. No. The angel would remain exactly where she was and experience the full force, quite literally, of Suzhen’s strike.

When the blow finally did come, it seemed awfully similar to Suzhen’s previous attack, except that the ritual that her opponent performed was rather different. Still, the difference in power was obvious and Medeia knew better than to not underestimate the attack. She closed her eyes and trusted her power, prepared for what was to come. The attack was immense, causing everything around the mage to seemingly vanish into nothing. She herself was pushed back by the attack, her armour doing an excellent job of taking the vast brunt of the blow but even so, Medeia was not unscathed and she felt a horrible burning sensation, followed by blood beginning to spurt from various places on her barely clad body. A mighty blow indeed and for a few moments, her vision was completely blurred by the pain and sheer enormity of it. This felt different from any other of the purple haired woman’s attack and if Medeia did not know better, she would have said that it had come from a mage such as herself rather than one who followed a more righteous path.

When her vision returned and the sheer destruction of her foe’s attack became apparent, Medeia’s eyebrows rose as she turned towards the ocean behind her. The water for almost as far as the eye could see had been completely erased with the bodies of various aquatic creatures littering the now empty space. Such power. Glancing down at herself, she would see the holes in her armour repairing, while the healing properties of her spell began to close the wounds on her body. She had not felt an attack against her quite like that before and it was enough to somewhat snap her out of her anger filled rampage. She felt a little weak physically, due to the effects of Suzhen’s spell, no doubt but she was not going to fall, her slayer force still in effect, not willing to let go of it until she was sure the threat had passed.

Only now did she glance across the severely damaged beach, to find Suzhen with her head in her hands. Was it a ploy to draw the angel in as before? She could not be certain but there was something about her body language that gave her the impression that it was not the case. The legal mage appeared completely stunned by her own spell and that actually reminded her of Medeia’s delicate student, Kyra. She too was often afraid of her own magic, of the monster that lay within her. It was a matter that Medeia was doing her utmost to aid her sweet little flower with although it would not be an easy task. Was it possible that Suzhen was in a similar situation? A question that seemed to stick in Medeia’s mind as she started to approach the petrified woman. She made no effort to launch an attack although she was more than prepared to fight on if Suzhen decided to strike at her. A chokehold would not work this time.

She could easily make out Suzhen’s transformation now and it did appear to be a form of force although one that Medeia did not know of. Curious indeed and a form that she would most definitely respect the power of from now on. Her footsteps were all that could be heard on the beach, only stopping when she was a few feet away from Suzhen, before turning towards the ocean and joining her foe in surveying the damage that the purple haired woman had caused.

“That was not truly you, was it?” She finally asked, her slayer force coming up against Suzhen’s unique version but nothing actually resulting from it, eyes focused on the ocean. “The look you gave me then was something else, something otherworldly. That attack was filled with raw hatred and wrath, emotions that I must admit that I had not expected to feel from you. There is a monster inside you, is there not? One who you struggle to contain? There is no need to feel shame over it, you must simply learn to control this beast.” Despite all they had been through, she had somehow managed to slip into the role of the wise old sage, a role that many of the women she met considered her to be. “I must compliment you on your resolve and magical power though, Suzhen. That was a mighty strike indeed."

Technique Used:

(1258 Words)
(10278 PWC)
(21842 TWC)

(Using 10K of my count and handing it in as 4 B rank jobs)
(New PWC: 278)

Suzhen slowly turned to look at Medeia, as though she was just realizing that there was someone else on the beach with her. By now, the terrible power that had suffused through every cell in her body had left, forced down by the shock the Dongxian had experienced when she had surveyed the extent of damage her spell had caused. Given, there had been nobody there to be destroyed by it, but what if her action here had caused terrible damage to the ecosystem, and people ended up starving as a result? What if--? Unable to sustain her mind running up and down in the midst of possibilities, she allowed her gaze to focus on the angel standing serenely beside her. It was as though Medeia knew she could not fight anymore. Maybe she did. Suzheen had been expecting another vicious attack, but the raven haired woman was silent for a while. Then she spoke, recognizing the unnatural power within Suzhen. But Medeia had made a wrong assumption.

"That power..." her voice was weak, "it's not exactly mine, but the emotions you felt... they're very much mine. As you called it... the beast within me... it doesn't exactly take over my will, it just sharpens what's already there, intensifies it. Because its destructive powers work so much better when spite drives them." There was a pause, and then a weary smile appeared on Suzhen's face. "I thank you for your kind words. But I need to apologize. I let myself get too carried away. As you rightly said, I need more control, but of my self, first and foremost." Then the darkness she had been trying to keep at bay began to settle in. Had she been any more alert, Suzhen would have fretted that the lascivious dark mage was very close. But her body had reached its limit. She collapsed, heedless of where she fell, as her voice faded.

"Please-- please don't...."


WC: 324
Personal WC: 12158
Total WC: 22166

The words that Suzhen had spoken before passing out were intriguing to the witch and she could see both the benefits and drawbacks of such a situation but regardless of whether Medeia had guessed wrong, her advice was just as useful. The green eyed woman would have to learn to control the beast within her otherwise who knew what might happen? What if the next time that the legal mage lost control, she ended up wiping out a group of innocents? What would her guild make of that? These questions did rather amuse the dark mage and a playful smile crossed her features. Suzhen was going to be a far more entertaining opponent than Medeia had thought possible and she was now thoroughly invested with inserting herself into the green eyed woman’s life. Her words from before had not been a lie, none of them had. Their encounter today was just the start.

Suzhen did not hit the sandy shore, as the angel moved forwards and took the woman into her arms before she did so. The slayer force that had surrounded Medeia faded away and the raven haired woman’s anger had now well and truly disappeared. The fight was over and as expected although not as easily as she would have thought, the dark haired beauty had been victorious. The day was won and now, she would claim her prize. She completely ignored the legal mages final plea and instead said to the unconscious woman, a chuckle escaping her lips. “It is too late for that now, far too late. I told you what would happen if you fought me and lost. Then again, I suppose it did not truly matter, did it? No matter what you did, this was always going to be the result, regardless of whether you fought or surrendered.”

Leaning forward, she would gently kiss her fallen foe, savouring the taste of Suzhen’s luscious lips. They tasted as sweet as Medeia had thought they would and when she pulled away, the playfulness had only grown in her eyes, along with the all too familiar hint of lust. “Now, I think we must move along from here, so I can take care of you properly.”

Without another word, Medeia would lift Suzhen into a bridal carry of sorts, before summoning her angelic wings and taking off into the sky. To say that this was what she had expected from her day of relaxation would be an absolute lie but in the end, she could not have been more pleased.

(Thread concluded)

(424 Words)
(702 FPWC)
(22590 FTWC)