Deception Leads To Death (Open to One)

“You had better have a good reason for coming here without my merchandise.” The voice was authoritative and stern, a perfect match for the expression that was currently written across Medeia’s face. She had expected to be currently having her pick of the lovely beauties that this horrible band of foul smelling pirates had brought for her but instead they had come to her with nothing but excuses. The irritation was obvious and already her magical aura was beginning to spike, causing a wave of uncontrollable fear to flood through the minds and bodies of the dozen men who were sitting around the table with her. The group were currently located in the captain’s cabin of the ship, a rather dingy looking room that suited its owner perfectly in Medeia’s opinion.

Standing behind Medeia’s chair was Armina, the Warlord’s loyal maid, a look of annoyance on her face too, a hand occasionally stroking the axe that was attached to her back. She already knew what the ending to this meeting was going to involve and one look at her red eyes would be all the pirates would need to see to realise that. The busty purple haired woman was thirsty for blood, the blood of a bunch of lying scumbags who had lied to her Mistress.

The Captain, a seasoned man who had clearly spent his entire life on the waves, appeared to be relatively calm although it was obvious that he was unused to being spoken to in such a way. Fluffing his beard for a moment, he would eventually respond, his tone steady. “What would you have me say? The war has made it impossible for us to reach our usual haunting grounds and that is why we have been unable to provide you with what you seek. I assure you that we made every effort to find you the loveliest of specimens…”

“Do not lie to me.” Medeia interjected coldly, her frown deepening. “You had no intention of fulfilling my order and the only reason that you even agreed was because you thought I would be foolish enough to fool for your scam. I will not pay you a single jewel for such a pathetic attempt at deception and you will now understand precisely why you should not lie to me.” She turned her gaze to her maid and began to speak to her. “Armina…Kill….”

“Wait! Captain! Surely we should just come clean with them.” The first mate interrupted, a younger man, sporting a full head of blonde wavy hair. “We should just show her the…"

“Shut your trap!” The Captain replied with a scowl, his calm demeanour disappearing, glaring daggers at his right hand man. “They would have paid twice as much then this woman would have. You idiot!”

Whatever he was about to do next would never be known, for a ball of flame would strike his face at that moment, turning him into little more than a pile of ash.

By the time the pirates realised what had happened, it was already too late, as the axe of Armina was already cutting through them. A display of vicious brutality that no one would wish to witness. The six foot maid was relentless, her eyes glowing with blood lust as she butchered every single pirate in the room, sending blood all over the place with a gleeful laugh. It was art in its own way and while the purple haired woman went about her work, Medeia would simply watch, her right hand still placed in front of her, from where her fireball had been launched. The screams of the pirates were deafening and the few who were able to draw their weapons were easily battered aside by the warrior maid. Oh, how much did she adore the thrill of slaughter and that was just one of the reasons why Medeia adored her so.

The entire fight lasted little more than a couple of minutes and by the end, there was nothing left of the pirates besides bloodstains. A flawless victory so to speak and as Armina approached her Mistress, bloody axe in hand, Medeia would stand up, nodding with approval. “It would appear that Hell will be home to those pirates for the foreseeable future. The price for lying to me and a fair one. Would you not agree, my dear?”

“Absolutely.” The maid replied, her outfit coated with crimson, as cheerful as ever. “Lying to you deserves death. I am just thankful that I was here to deliver their judgement.”

“Are you satisfied?” Medeia answered, raising an eyebrow. “Or shall we deliver a little more punishment?”

Armina beamed at the suggestion, twirling her large axe around. “You know the answer to that already, Mistress, I am always ready for more fun.”

A small chuckle escaped the witch. “Then let us start by sinking this ship.”

The two women would proceed to leave the ship and down the ramp back to the dock, the sounds of the struggle not seeming to have reached the ears of the public. There were still plenty of sailors walking around but that would not last long and as Medeia turned around and faced the ship they had just left, she would begin to tap into her vast magical power, forming a large sphere of darkness energy in her hands, which she then hurled towards the floating fortress of a ship. The spell flew true and struck the vehicle with an earth shattering amount of power, destroying the vessel in a single blow and sending shrapnel in all directions, skewering a few members of the public who were unable to get out of the way in time.

The reaction was instantaneous and the calmness of the town evaporated in a single moment, as the locals instantly tried to take cover from the unexpected attack. They were intelligent enough not to try and attack either of the angels though but unfortunately that would not save them.

Turning to Armina again, Medeia would smile. “That should be enough to get us started. Enjoy yourself, my dear and kill as many as you wish.”

“Yes Mistress!” The maid responded giddily, curtseying to the dark haired mage before turning away.

Medeia, however, was not quite finished and grabbed her arm. “Remember to spare the cute ones. We can take them back to the guild and have a different form of fun.”

Armina laughed and nodded, before starting to dash across the dock, her axe swinging for anyone who she deemed to be unsuitable.

Deciding to take a different course, Medeia would walk down the street, heading for the centre of the town. Hargeon had apparently suffered greatly in the past but that was nothing compared to what it was about to suffer now.

(1129 Words)

-Hargeon Town-

Wearing her usual green, gold, and white outfit with black bike shorts on underneath the skirt, Leona was also carrying her Silver Longsword in its scabbard on her left hip and her Scout Laser Pistol in its holster on her right hip as she strolled through Hargeon Town. Concealed inside her right boot was Ses Revanche. The last piece of gear Leona carried was the Argent Gloves on her hands.

Leona was carrying all of that equipment because she had geared up for yet another trip to Haunted Guild. She had been flying on the back of Winged Lion for the past two hours on the way to Haunted Guild and was close to Hargeon Town when she decided to stop in town and stretch her legs for a bit. Once she decided to do that Leona had lowered her altitude and picked a landing spot on the town outskirts where no one would get hurt or be frightened by a flying lion. Leona then landed on the town outskirts, dismounted Winged Lion, and finally dispelled it before entering Hargeon Town. Leona had arrived roughly thirteen minutes ago and was moving at a leisurely pace... since she was not going to Haunted Guild on an official job she did not have to worry very much about sticking to a schedule.

Leona wandered through the town and alternated between looking at the buildings and looking for a coffee shop. She knew that she when she found the coffee shop she would have to remove her weapons before entering the establishment, but she had already thought of a way to solve that problem. She could hand her weapons to the Harpy Sisters and have them fly above and out of sight with her armaments. She could keep in touch with them via telepathy, so she had a reliable way to call the Harpy Sisters when she needed to get her weapons back after leaving the coffee shop.

With that plan in mind Leona continued to walk through Hargeon Town while looking for somewhere to get some coffee. Or at least that was the plan before she heard a loud explosion that forced a change of plan. The Wizard Saint paused where she was and looked for the source of the noise. After a few seconds she had determined that it had originated from the docks. Leona began to sprint towards the docks as fast as her legs could take her... there was no time to lose.

-Hargeon Town, near the dock-

Leona arrived at the docks to find some kind of debris lying everywhere, but a second look around also revealed that a few human bodies were lying motionless among the debris. The Wizard Saint's attention was soon drawn to the eye-catching sight of a purple-haired young woman dressed in black maid attire. She was wielding an elegantly crafted axe and running around the dock swinging it at random people as she moved towards her destination... if she had one. Leona was not sure what was going on here, but she was not going to stand by and let innocent people be killed while she pieced it together. The Wizard Saint sprinted towards the docks again while hoping that she would be able to stop the mayhem before it spread into the town.

Leona looked and saw the path the maid was heading down, so the Wizard Saint moved to follow her. Leona got onto the dock and began to run towards her quarry as fast as she could. She could not let the ax-wielding maid get away or the citizens of Hargeon Town would be in grave danger. As the blonde ran towards the purple-haired maid she was not certain if the latter would hear her loud running footsteps thundering on the dock or not, but now was the time for speed, not stealth.

After a few minutes of running as fast as she could go Leona stopped a few meters behind the maid and drew her Scout Laser Pistol with her right hand and quickly readied it for possible use.

"YOU IN THE MAID OUTFIT! STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING RIGHT NOW!" Leona commanded the purple-haired maid in no uncertain terms. Whether the maid would listen or not was up in the air. What Leona knew for certain was that if the maid decided to charge at her Leona would open fire. The threat needed to be stopped now before it got out of control.

[Post Word Count: 746]
[Leona's Word Count: 746]

The maid was in a world of her own for the most part, her weapon cutting through the vast majority of people that she came across. All that mattered to her was the order that she had been given and Armina had no intention of letting her Mistress down. There was nothing that bothered the maid more than seeing Medeia frown and she would do her utmost to avoid that. The humans that she killed had little in the way of defence and although a few tried to fight her off, she was simply at a different level of power compared to them. Mere sailors and guards could do nothing against her angelic might and soon enough, her axe was already crimson, along with most of her outfit. They were lambs to the slaughter and she thought of it as such. They were unworthy of dying by Medeia’s hand, so she would do it herself, a task that she relished and one that she loved dearly. Calling her a maid was always a grave underestimation of her talents, she was her Mistresses guard and protector, having been so since both angels were young, millenia ago.

Armina had just removed her axe from the head of a rather feisty male when she heard a female voice from behind her, authoritative and strong. The maid did not detect any fear in the slightest, a realisation that amused and intrigued her. It was rare that a mortal would be able to watch her in the middle of one of her rampages and speak to her in such a way without any trace of nervousness. Just who was this woman who dared to interfere? She was desperate to find out and soon enough, the purple haired woman turned around to find a gun pointing in her direction.

The eyes of the maid though did not instantly focus upon that, instead looking over the woman in what could be considered a rather rude way. She was sizing the lovely woman before her up but not as an opponent, rather as a trophy. Armina’s crimson orbs were already wide due to her bloodlust, a smirk across her face that oozed with confidence and enjoyment. There was never much chance of her calming down once she was in such a state and even with the gun pointing at, Armina still took a step forward, her axe more than ready to be swung if necessary. She would fight this woman at the drop of a hat if the fancy took her although the words of her Mistress were somewhat keeping her in check. Her lust for blood had gotten her in trouble before, when faced with someone stronger but was this woman stronger? The maid did not know yet, her skills in sensing the power of an opponent being rather poor compared to Medeia.

“Or what? Are you going to shoot me? Try it and see what happens.” Armina answered, her gaze again leaving the face of the gun wielding woman and looking over her body. “Oh wait. Are you one of these pathetic legal mages who do not shoot unless you are attacked?” There was a touch of mockery in her tone but with her being in the mindset she was, it probably sounded like she was completely unhinged. “I am going to continue hacking down these pathetic humans until I am satisfied and I will tell you now that it will take quite a while. My Mistress has given me free reign to do whatever I like and she is the only person that I take orders from.”

She chuckled at that point and added. “I warn you now that hurting me will only incur her wrath and that is something that you do not want, if you value your life or at least your…dignity. If you find yourself in her arms then you are going to be in for a wicked time.” It was exactly what it sounded like and Armina took another step towards the lovely blonde. The choice is yours, Beautiful, but no matter what you do, I am going to keep swinging this axe until this town is drenched in blood.”

(699 Words)
(1828 Med WC)
(2574 TWC)

Leona was not sure what the maid was getting at when she promised dire consequences should Leona hurt her and hinted that her mistress was not someone to be crossed. The Wizard Saint frowned. She could not allow the purple-haired young woman to continue running wild in Hargeon Town.

Leona took a quiet breath as the young woman took a single step towards her. The Wizard Saint was determined to stop the maid this instant, but for some reason she hesitated. The maid had openly stated her intent to continue the slaughter of Hargeon Town's residents until she decided to call an end to it. Leona had also caught the maid in the act of slaughtering anyone she could reach. Considering the circumstances, very few people would blame Leona for opening fire on the spot.

Why was she holding back?

Leona's mind ran over the maid's threat that her dignity might be jeopardized should the latter's "Mistress" arrive on the scene and join the fight. While Leona did not know what exactly that meant, little did the purple-haired woman know that the blonde already had a bad self-image. Leona believed that few people actually liked her because of her poor social skills and unfortunate habit of saying stupid things at the wrong time. She also believed that most people only tolerated her because she was too powerful and had too high a status to simply ignore. She had held those feelings before the Ishgar Symposium, but her self-image had taken a major beating after that day.

After that fateful day Leona's self-esteem took a nosedive to new lows and the belief that she was a complete failure as a Wizard Saint had taken root. She had done her best to avoid thinking about that day and the numerous stupid mistakes she had made, but the threat to her dignity brought all of the negative feelings roaring back. Leona was visibly affected by the surge of negative feelings... the maid would likely see the Wizard Saint look distracted for a few moments before seeing the blonde's grip on the Scout Laser Pistol tighten and her eyes refocus on the maid.

Leona had to do this.

She had to fight the maid and her "mistress" no matter what the cost.

Otherwise she had no right to call herself the Wizard Saint of Courage.

Leona's facial expression became one of determination as she held down the trigger of her weapon to prepare a Charge Shot. While it was being readied the barrel of the pistol visibly glowed bright orange. After a few seconds the Charge Shot was ready, but Leona held off on firing to try and give any innocent citizen still on the docks or otherwise in the line of fire time to flee. After a seven-second delay Leona finally released the trigger, firing a blast of bright orange energy aimed at the maid's chest. The Charge Shot traveled in a straight line and did not have homing properties, so it could be dodged if the maid was fast enough to do so.

It could also be blocked by armor or magic shields. Furthermore, there was a possibility that the shot could miss completely thanks to Leona's inexperience in using firearms against human targets that could move at normal human speeds: she had used the weapon most often against zombies, which were hardly the most challenging targets to hit. Leona's opening attack was not the best one she could have made, but property damage and concern for the citizens of Hargeon Town were concerns that held her back from showing the arrogant maid her full range of spells and techniques. However, firing the Charge Shot in defiance of the maid's warnings was proof that Leona was willing to fight. The maid would not be allowed to continue her mission of mindless slaughter if the Wizard Saint of Courage had anything to say about it.

[Post Word Count: 652]
[Leona's Word Count: 1,398]
[Total Word Count: 3,226]

Active Weapon Abilities Used:

There was a smile on the maid’s face that never faded, her eyes locked on to the blonde woman before her. She was searching for something, anything that would help her try to figure her opponent out and there were just a few moments where Armina could have sworn that she saw some doubt in the eyes of her opponent. Her enemy did not fire straight away and that was all that the purple haired woman needed to see to detect what she believed to be weakness. Her axe thrummed with magical energy again, a sign that she was preparing to attack herself. If this coward was not prepared to shoot first then Armina most certainly would. Her Mistress expected results and the maid had no time to be dithering around with this dithering blonde.

She would have charged then and there but the woman’s weapon started to vibrate and as soon as it did so, the local people around her seemed to run for their lives, even more quickly than they had from her. That was unusual and Armina briefly thought about whether there was more to the gun wielding woman than met the eyes. Should the angelic maid know her from somewhere? Did she have a reputation that Armina did not know about? She had no doubt that Medeia would know but unfortunately for the axe wielder, the witch was not with her at the moment. That could change in an instant, of course and she was willing to bet that as soon as her blood was spilled, her Mistress would be beside her in moments. The busty maniac knew that she was the bait, a way to gauge the strength of any opposition before her dark haired partner would move in but she was content with that.

A blast of energy escaped from the gun at that moment in her direction and the maid was forced to jump out of the way quickly, just about avoiding getting hit in the chest. The shot was pretty good in her opinion and she had to admit that she felt quite a lot of magical power behind it. No doubt the damage would have been quite severe but Armina still felt little in the way of fear. Her opponent had started the fight and now it was up to the maid to give her an absolute pasting.

Tapping into her own powers, Armina would activate one of her abilities, granting her a massive boost to her physical strength, as well as restoring some of her health over time, not that the latter was required just yet. There was one other benefit to her “Bloodlust” spell too and that was what she was about to unleash. Focusing on where she wanted to appear, the maid would briefly disappear, her angelic magic teleporting her towards her foe at a rather quick pace. Her spell was not infallible though and when Armina reappeared and launched a two handed melee attack with her axe, there was enough time for her opponent to dodge the powerful blow.

Her eyes were blazing red in colour, allowing herself to become overcome by the dizzying delight that only battle could draw from her. Armina was going to batter this woman around for as long as she could, a punishment for daring to get in her way. Her Mistress might not be pleased with her if she hurt the woman too much but for the moment, that thought just happened to slip her mind.

“Come on then! Let me see what you can do!” She shouted with glee, her axe careering towards her foe at a swift enough pace.

(610 Words)
(2438 Med WC)
(3836 TWC)

Leona's Charge Shot had been fired and it had narrowly missed the target. Having literally and metaphorically pulled the trigger on the fight, Leona was now fully committed to it. She was not too bothered by it, though. The whole point was to get the murderous maid's attention in a way that left no uncertainty about the Wizard Saint's intent to fight. Having made a bold declaration, Leona felt that she needed to back bold words with forceful action to try and prevent the maid from killing any more of Hargeon Town's citizens for whatever reason she was killing them for.

Leona watched her purple-haired adversary disappear and reappear moments later a bit too close for comfort, then swing the axe with killing intent. Having dealt with ax-wielding enemies before, Leona knew exactly what to do. She remained calm and avoided the weapon with a timely jump backwards, watching the sharp blade sail harmlessly past her as she evaded the strike. The blonde landed on her feet and thought for a moment about how to strike back.

She was tempted to draw her Silver Longsword and go head-to-head with the murderous maid, but that might be playing into the latter's hands. The maid was carrying an ax and since she was carrying such a weapon there was a very good chance that she was proficient in its use. Fighting an opponent in their area of competence was a dangerous proposition.

Leona could switch to ranged spells, but there was a chance that her spells could miss the maid and hit occupied buildings and citizens who had still not managed to get away from the fighting. Melee attacks, on the other hand, had less chance of causing collateral damage. Unless a hapless citizen ran right between them at the worst time, there was little chance of anyone else getting hurt from a sword swing if Leona missed an attack on the maid. The same went for her techniques, all of which were close-range punches and kicks except for Meteor Jump Kick.

However, Leona knew from experience the benefits of mixing ranged spells with swordplay, so she was not going to abandon long-range combat just yet.

Leona put away her Scout Laser Pistol and drew her Silver Longsword for close-range combat. She raised her left index finger and pointed it towards the maid, then began to channel magic to form a silver marble on the tip of the finger. When the spell was ready Leona fired the Wind Bullet at her target. It was a small silver marble that traveled in a straight line and did not have homing properties, so the maid could dodge it if she was quick enough. Leona was also firing the spell with her left hand; she was predominantly right-handed, so the spell could miss because of that.

Despite the risks Leona figured that the Wind Bullet would be the best ranged spell she could use since it fired only a single projectile as opposed to spells that could affect multiple targets like Wind Blast and Silver Tempest, so if it missed the maid it would not be nearly as harmful to the town as a miss from her more powerful spells.

After casting Wind Bullet the Wizard Saint would watch and see how her enemy reacted to it. She wanted to see what her enemy could do before committing to a close-range fight with the maid. Rushing in blindly would not help anyone, but neither would being too passive. Leona had experienced the price of being too passive before and the price was one that she was still paying. If long-range spells did not work she was going to have to close in and continue the fight using her sword.

[Post Word Count: 624]
[Leona's Word Count: 2,022]
[Total Word Count: 4,460]

Spells Used:

There was a moment where Armina thought that she had hit the target but the blonde was able to manoeuvre herself out of the way, much to the maid’s disappointment. A part of her had wanted to end it in a single strike, to prove to her Mistress that she was capable of overpowering powerful foes. Her defeats to Nita and Kensho had severely wounded her pride and the purple haired maid was desperate to restore it. Yes, she was pretty much a test dummy to reveal her opponents powers but that did not mean that Armina did not have any self respect. She wanted to be known by her own reputation, not just as a hanger on of Medeia’s. One day, she wanted to be able to stand beside the Warlord in terms of power, not behind. Could she do it? She did not know but it was a motivation nonetheless. If she could defeat this mage, here and now, it would be the ultimate confidence builder. Killing the weaklings on the dock was nothing, as they were simply magicless lambs to the slaughter. Not a threat, nor a challenge.

Her opponent drew her sword, an act which caused the wicked grin on Armina’s face to grow. If this woman wanted a fight of pure physical strength then the maid would gladly oblige with that. It was something that the angelic warrior had in spade and honestly, she was more proficient with that then with her magic although she could cast a few spells too. Expecting a close contact attack, Armina brought her axe up in preparation to exchange blows.

That was not what happened, however, with her opponent suddenly making a gun-like gesture with her left hand and firing a small bolt of wind. It was not what she had expected and the bullet hit in the chest, which took the wind out of her, so to speak and knocked the maid backwards. She stayed on her feet but was pushed back several metres. It hit like a truck and the magical power behind it was far greater than Armina had anticipated. This woman was by no means a weak mage and the maid realised that the moment she was hit. She was in serious trouble and doubt began to enter the recesses of her mind but the image of her Mistresses disappointed face entered her head, which pushed that thought away. The busty purple haired woman could not allow herself to be discouraged too easily and after shaking her head, she was prepared to continue.

Changing tact, Armina would create a pair of chains from her wrists and hurl them towards her opponent, hoping that she could perhaps catch her target unawares. They were fairly fast moving but could be evaded like any other spell although if they did latch on then the blonde would find them wrapping around her frame, trying to bind her in place.

Regardless of whether her attack was successful or not, the maid would then charge forwards again, not allowing her fear to overcome her and instead focusing on her blood lust. One little bullet was not going to stop her and if she was underestimated then she might just give the mage before her a hiding. Judging from the power of the bullet, she somehow did not see that happening but who knew? Fortune favours the bold and Armina was about as bold as someone could be. She would keep swinging until there was no strength left in her body.

In the centre of town, another magical aura would start to deepen its influence, having felt the bullet penetrate her maids defences. Medeia was aware and while she made no effort to intervene just now, her Slayer senses were honed in on the encounter.

(633 Words)
(3071 Med WC)
(5093 TWC)

Unlike in the case of the Charge Shot, Leona's Wind Bullet spell hit the target and knocked the purple-haired young woman a fair distance away, but she remained on her feet. Leona was not particularly distressed by that... since Wind Bullet was one of her mid-tier spells she did not expect it to defeat her opponent in one shot. Right now she would take any hits she could land on her adversary.

Leona had landed a hit, which was a good start, but she needed to slow down and keep the adrenaline at bay in order to think things all the way through. She did not know exactly what her opponent was capable of, so she did not need to charge in blindly swinging her sword and trading blows with the maid. She knew that her opponent had an ax and was not afraid to use it, but other than that the maid was a total mystery to her.

On the other hand, Leona did not need to rely too much on ranged spells because if she wanted to win she would need to take the initiative and close in with her enemy. While ranged spells certainly had a place in her arsenal, she did not need to rely on them to the exclusion of anything else. She could not afford to be passive when so many lives were at stake. If Leona did not stop the maid soon Hargeon Town would be the site of a massacre.

The maid, not content to stand back and allow the Wizard Saint to come up with a plan, retaliated with a spell of her own. Leona saw the maid conjure a pair of chains and sent them speeding towards the Wizard Saint. While the chains were fast, Leona was faster still and dodged them with a single jump to the right. It was a close call, though... had the blonde waited too much longer to jump she would have been ensnared by them.

Narrow escapes were not going to win Leona the fight, though. The maid did not lose any time in going back on the offensive with her ax. Leona observed her enemy and knew that charging into the fray was not a good idea. She was not going to bank on being so fast that she found the one-in-a-million gap in the attacks that would let her get away with using a Meteor Jump Kick aimed at the maid's face or charging in with a Sonic Slash to land a hit. She was going to take a more reasonable course of action and use a ranged spell instead.

Leona took two giant leaps backwards and when she landed put herself where she faced the maid, then channeled silver magic into her left hand. When the spell was ready Leona thrust her left hand out with the fingers spread out and the palm facing the maid, firing an Air Pressure spell at her enemy. The maid would see the spell as a visible silver horizontal column of wind speeding towards her. Since the spell traveled in a straight line it could be dodged with enough speed and good timing on the maid's part.

After firing the spell Leona kept her eyes on her enemy. She was focused on ending this fight as quickly as she could before the maid decided to disengage and head into town to continue the slaughter. If the fight spilled into the town the chance of property damage was very high.

[Post Word Count: 584]
[Leona's Word Count: 2,606]
[Total Word Count: 5,677]

Spells Used:

It was frustrating for the maid to see her chains miss the target and a scowl briefly crossed her face. The thought of such a beautiful woman bound by her chains was a rather pleasant one and Armina knew that her Mistress would most certainly approve too. That, however, seemed to be just wishful thinking for now and all the maid could do was watch as the chains came back towards her, wrapping themselves around her arms, to be cast again later. Perhaps she would have more luck later, once she had worn her blonde haired foe down a bit.

One aspect of her opponent was clear, she was not much of a talker and rather different to the last powerful mage that the maid had fought. Nita was a powerful mage too but she was also rather chatty, which the maid found rather amusing. They had constantly been talking during their own fight, a battle of wits, to go along with the battle of muscle and magic. The purple haired beauty did not mind a silent opponent but it did make it rather difficult to get inside her head, a tactic that Medeia had implored her to try and use more often. It was not Armina’s greatest trait though. She was a warrior, pure and simple, her skills dedicated to the art of hacking her opponents down, instead of taking their head off.

Her foe was rather fast and no sooner had she jumped away from Armina;s chains, she countered with a powerful attack of her own. It looked like a powerful blast of wind, travelling incredibly quickly in her direction. There was not an awful lot of time for her to react but she kept her head and trusted her training, teleporting out of the way at the last moment and reappearing behind her target. It was the safest place to be for the moment and although she could not say for sure, her enemy seemed more comfortable at range, even with her sword. Armina found that to be odd but maybe it was something that she could exploit.

Channelling her power into her axe again, the maid would unleash a magically enhanced swing towards her opponent. Not only did using her Bleeding Slice increase her movement speed but if she was fortunate enough to hit her opponent then it would place a bleeding effect on her foe, which would slowly eat away at the woman’s health. It was a powerful enough attack, one of Armina’s most basic but impactful at the same time. “You do not talk much.” She commented with a chuckle as she did so. “At least tell me who you are. I am Armina, loyal maid to Medeia, the Warlord of Lust and one of the Guildmaster’s of the Errings Rising guild. Give me a name to go with that gorgeous face of yours.” Her eyes still glazed with her lust for battle although there was the briefest moment where it gave way to something else. A lust for something else, more carnal in nature.

(511 Words)
(3582 Med WC)
(6188 TWC)

Despite watching her enemy closely Leona managed to lose the maid when the latter suddenly disappeared. Moments later Leona spun around to find the ax descending towards her. Not having time to completely dodge the attack thanks to the maid's speed and deft handling of the ax, the Wizard Saint instead took a jump backwards and took a grazing wound on her left forearm just below the Argent Glove that cut through the fabric of her left sleeve. The wound instantly began to bleed, staining an area around the sleeve where she had been cut. As bad as the pain from the cut was was, a bleeding wound certainly beat losing her left hand on the spot.

Leona landed on her feet at the end of the jump and made eye contact with the maid again. Leona expected her enemy to charge at her with the ax swinging or to make another kind of attack, but to her surprise the maid introduced herself as "Armina" and stated the name of the "mistress" she had mentioned earlier. The blonde took note of the mistress' titles... while she had never heard of either the "Warlord of Lust" or "Errings Rising" she got the impression that Armina served someone who was not a common Dark Mage.

After the introduction Armina asked Leona about herself. The blonde was not amused by that and her facial expression made it plain. She was not about to have a cordial conversation with someone who saw killing innocent people as an amusing pastime. Leona decided to humor the request anyway, if only to let the maid know who was about to put an end to her mindless killing spree.

"I'm Leona Jarnefeldt, the Wizard Saint of Courage and Guild Mistress of Silver Wolf." Leona stated her name and titles while keeping eye contact. Now that the pleasantries had been exchanged it was time for her to think of a way to finish this fight, but after being cut by Armina's ax the adrenaline was flowing. Leona had to keep that side of herself under control to avoid making a stupid mistake that could cost her the fight. The surge of adrenaline made it hard for her to think straight... she wanted to rush in and cut the maid to shreds with the sword in her hand.

The Wizard Saint had to deny that urge if she wanted to win. Giving into the urge and becoming a mindless berserker would play right into Armina's hands. Leona needed to be able to think somewhat clearly if she wanted to defeat the maid.

[Post Word Count: 432]
[Leona's Word Count: 3,038]
[Total Word Count: 6,620]

A happy cry escaped the maid as she cut her foe, delighted at the fact that she had been able to score a successful hit. It did wonders for her morale and any doubts that she might have had seemed to disappear. If she could cut this woman then she could beat her and that was all that Armina needed to know to press the attack. Her eyes would continue to blaze with blood lust, the smell of the woman’s wound only increasing that sensation. She knew that her bleeding cut would deal damage over time and would be unpleasant if left untreated. Naturally, it also gave the purple haired beauty somewhere to aim for although right now, she just wanted to swing wildly for the woman for interfering with her slaughter. Medeia might not have been watching her at that moment but her order had been incredibly clear. Kill all those who did not meet her Mistresses standard and immobilise those who did. The blonde woman before her was most definitely the latter and Armina knew that Medeia would desire her, whether the sword wielder liked it or not.

There was a distinct change in her body language though as her opponent introduced herself though, the wild smile turning into a rather more ugly and anger fuelled expression. The words ‘Wizard Saint’ reverberated around her mind, the memories of her defeat to Kensho returning to the forefront of her mind. She had suffered a horrible loss there and the regeneration that she had been forced to go through afterwards had been even more painful than the wounds she had received. A fortnight of depression, rage and violent mood swings that even her Mistress had been surprised by, forcing the powerful witch to have to bind the maid for the majority of that time, for her own sake and everyone else’s. It was a decision that Armina had come to thank her closest ally for and that fortnight had inadvertently brought them even closer, as well as help the seed of hatred and anger grow in the heart of the axe wielding angel.

“A Wizard Saint? Like that bastard Kensho? Well, now I have even more reason to fight you.. My Mistress has already beaten him and I am sure that she will appreciate the chance to take out another member of that group of irritating pieces of dog faeces. That position you hold? Well, she is exactly the opposite. Take everything that a Wizard Saint stands for and turn it on its head. That is what the Warlords Of Fiore stand for and by the time this fight is done, you will understand why they are to be feared. I doubt that she will kill you though, as she uses the moniker ‘Lust’ for a reason.” The levity in her tone had well and truly disappeared.

Without wasting another moment, the maid would fire a purple coloured pulse of energy towards her foe. On the face of it, the attack would not seem all that threatening but that was part of the trick and if Leona was struck by the spell, she would feel a pull at her mind, a desire to walk helplessly towards the maid. A mind control spell but not of the highest calibre, an opponent could dodge the pulse or fight off the effect with a strong resolve but if Leona did start to walk forward then she would soon enough run into the charging maid, another powerful axe blow heading towards her.

(588 Words)
(4170 Med WC)
(7208 TWC)

Doing her best to suppress the adrenaline threatening to overwhelm her higher brain functions, Leona visibly clenched her teeth and listened to Armina speak about how her mistress had taken on and defeated the blonde's fellow Wizard Saint Mura Kensho at some point prior to this encounter. That was news to Leona. Then again, it had been a long time since she and Mura had last spoken... she could not even recall the last time they had met. Remembering when she and Mura last met would have to wait until another time, though.

Leona set that thought aside and listened to Armina describe the "Warlords" and learned how they were effectively the Dark counterpart to the Wizard Saints. Then came the declaration that the mistress selecting the title of "Lust" as her title was not a choice made on a whim. Leona was not exactly sure what that assertion meant but she was fairly certain that she did not want to find out. That was why she was going to do her best to win against Armina and her mistress.

"You should know that I didn't pick the title of Courage out of a hat." Leona notified her purple-haired adversary that the blonde's choice of title had a reason behind it. As the Wizard Saint of Courage it was her job to stand against evil no matter how badly the odds were stacked against her and no matter what the cost to herself was. She had demonstrated that virtue when fighting Odhran Aegisbane and his minions some time ago and she would demonstrate it again today.

Once the conversation had run its course the maid went on the offensive again by firing a purple burst of magic directly at Leona. The blonde wasted no time in dodging it by jumping to the right. Once she landed on her feet she looked for Armina and spotted her adversary charging right at her with the ax ready to descend and deal the Wizard Saint another blow. Leona did not intend to be there when the ax fell and performed a backflip to put some distance between her and the charging maid, then performed another backflip to put more distance between them and give her room to think.

After landing Leona took a moment to think of her next attack. Opting to use an Air Burst spell to try and wear down her adversary, Leona quickly put her sword back in its scabbard, then opened both hands and began channeling magic into them. When the spell was ready Leona thrust both hands outward, firing a visible cone of wind towards Armina. Like all of her ranged spells Air Burst traveled in a straight line and had no homing abilities, so her target could dodge it if she was fast enough.

Once Air Burst had been cast Leona knew that she had to stop playing around and use her more powerful spells and techniques against Armina if she wanted to win this fight. While she could fight a protracted battle if she had to, she preferred to avoid drawn-out struggles and was determined to stop the maid as soon as possible. Leona would need to use her speed and power in an effort to make that happen. She already had a spell or two and at least one technique in mind, but she would need to set them up just right in order to avoid eating an ax or spell to the face when attempting to use them.

[Post Word Count: 584]
[Leona's Word Count: 3,622]
[Total Word Count: 7,792]

Spells Used:

If anything, Armina was rather amused by the blonde’s words, even if it did not show across either her face or body language. She and her Mistress had fought courageous mages before, men and women who seemed to view the world in a similar way as Leona did. The maid and the one she worshipped were just villains to these people, the stereotypical bad girls who simply wanted to stir up trouble. It was an incredibly human way of looking at things and although neither Armina nor Medeia were offended or bothered by the stereotype, it did become a little stale after a while. Of all the so-called heroes that had spouted such things, not one had been able to back up their statements and actually manage to defeat the pair. Yes, Armina had been defeated by both Nita and Kensho but that was always the plan. The maid knew that her defeat would only anger her Mistress, stirring up the cold fury that lay within the breast of her beloved Medeia. Anger was a weapon that the dark haired woman could manipulate and devour, one of many in her arsenal of elements. Of course, if the maid could anger the blonde as well, then that would be simply marvellous too.

Leona was quick on her feet, managing to backflip and dodge the attack of the maid. She was a difficult opponent and the purple haired woman knew that this woman was a powerful mage. How strong? Well, it was hard for her to judge just yet. Her aura was strong but both Nita’s and Kensho’s had been too. Where did this woman fit among the scale? Armina was determined to find out and would continue to try and irritate and stir up her opponent. She was rather confused by the strategy of her opponent though, who still seemed reluctant to engage her in close combat. Was that sword just for show or something, perhaps just a keepsake? There were so many questions and she craved the answers to all of them.

Her opponent was soon casting again and another blast of wind was soon travelling towards her. It was quick and all she could do this time around was put her axe up in front of her which would hopefully take the blow. Unfortunately, that did not quite happen and the maid found herself flying backwards and landing right on her backside. The attack did not seem overly strong but her pride was certainly stung at being knocked on her rear, more so than the hit itself.

Standing up, the annoyed maid would rotate her shoulders, resulting in a pair of angelic wings to sprout from her back. It was a dangerous move considering her opponents skills with wind but Armina was struggling to hold back the tide of anger and blood lust that was building up within her. Taking her axe in hand, she would leap into the air and fly towards her foe, her axe prepped and ready for another strike. She had very few other spells or tricks to use and so would do her best to just wear her opponent down a bit.

(528 Words)
(4698 Med WC)
(8320 TWC)

Leona found herself starting to lose the battle against the adrenaline flooding her body after being cut with the ax earlier. She wanted to blast Armina with Silver Tempest and be done with this fight already, but the rational side of her knew there was no point in fighting to protect Hargeon Town if the Wizard Saint was going to end up destroying it by using one of her most powerful spells. Defeating Armina would mean little if more of the town's citizens ended up being killed or badly hurt because the Wizard Saint lost control of herself and used her most powerful spells without regard for property damage.

Leona watched her enemy be hit by the Air Burst and land squarely on her backside as a result. That was an unintended consequence of the spell that was mildly amusing to the Wizard Saint, but her enemy was far from finished. She stood in place and watched the purple-haired maid suddenly manifest wings and take flight with the ax ready to descend at the maid's command. Leona found that to be an interesting move because it would make her have to fight in three dimensions as opposed to only two.

She had waited too long to get aggressive and now she was going to have a tougher fight because of that hesitation.

Leona stood her ground and waited for just the right moment to cast a spell so that Armina would be committed to the aerial charge and not as likely to change direction at the last moment, but Leona's approach was far from foolproof. Armina might be agile enough to change direction at the last moment and render Leona's tactic useless while leaving the Wizard Saint open for attack. That was a risk Leona was willing to take... she had played it safe for too long and now the fight had become tougher.

However, Leona was not totally helpless. Armina might be able to fly now, but so could Leona via her winged summons. Also, it was unlikely that flight would render Armina immune to carefully timed spells or techniques.

When the flying maid drew closer the Wizard Saint raised her right hand and channeled magic into it until it visibly glowed silver, then thrust her right hand outward with the palm facing Armina to cast a Wind Blast spell. Armina would see a visible burst of concussive wind heading right for her in a straight line. The maid could dodge it with a last-second change in direction such as darting upward or darting sideways... if such a feat could be done in time. Leona was not sure how much control Armina had over her flight, so she could not predict what would happen next. Leona was also not going to assume anything about her opponent until she knew exactly what Armina could do.

After casting Wind Blast and lowering her right hand Leona prepared to dodge in case Armina managed to avoid the spell. However, she was not sure if she would have enough time to do so. Standing her ground in order to cast a spell had cost her time she could have used to try and dodge the maid's incoming attack. It was all right, though. She had to start taking risks if she wanted to win... high-level fights like this one involved managing risk.

That was easier said than done, though.

There were so many variables to take into account when fighting an opponent like Armina that Leona could not possibly account for them all.

[Post Word Count: 590]
[Leona's Word Count: 4,212]
[Total Word Count: 8,910]

Spells Used:

The chance of an attack being cast against her was always high and Armina fully expected to see something coming her way. Leona did not disappoint and fired another blast of wind towards her. The magical power behind it was considerable and the speed was rather potent too. It was too late now to get out of the way and so the maid just tried to stubbornly force her way through the blonde woman’s spell. It was not an intelligent move and as the wind battered against her body, Armina gave a rather piercing shriek, the wind tearing through her outfit and doing a lot of damage. This was not a weak spell at all and the purple haired beauty had made a grave mistake in being so reckless. She was blasted backwards by the spell and crashed into a pile of debris that had been left over from the ship’s destruction. That blast of hit hurt her badly and although she got up again, it was clear that she was wounded.

“Why did you not hit me with that from the start?” The angered mage hissed towards the blonde. “Do not tell me that you are actually concerned for my welfare? Afraid to take a life?” It was a taunt meant to get a read on her opponent and even though annoying the Wizard Saint was probably not in her best interest, she did not care. Every little piece of information that she could gather on this woman would be useful to her Mistress and any weakness would no doubt be exploited if found. “Or is it that you are scared of harming these useless pieces of filth that call this place their home?”

Briefly, she looked over her foe again and added with a twinkle of mischief. “If you feel that way then just stop fighting and submit. I promise that I will stop my rampage and I am certain that my Mistress will be glad to spend some time with you. Medeia is awfully fond of blondes and I am sure that she will let you go once she has had her fun. I am not sure that you will feel the same way about it though.” A blatant lie. The blood was pumping too strongly through the maids veins now for her to stop hunting but she said it anyway, trying to unnerve her foe.

She had little in the way of tricks left and so Armina would summon her chains again but rather than fire the twin restraints towards Leona, the maid instead started to wrap them around pieces of debris and throw them at her opponent. Metal, wood, even a corpse or two, she would throw anything that she could get her chains on, a barrage for her opponent to deal with.

The time would soon come when her Mistress would take over and even now, her aura could start to be felt, coming from the centre of the town. Medeia was well and truly heading towards the fighting women, almost feeling Armina’s pain as though it was her own. She could feel her maid losing badly and the anger was building up inside the black haired witch. Whoever was fighting her beloved partner was powerful in the ways of magic, enough that even Medeia had to admit that their aura was potent. Would this person finally be able to give her a challenge?

Armina could feel the aura of the Guildmaster and spoke while throwing the debris and laughed. “It seems that you have attracted her attention, Leona, I hope you are prepared for it.”

(602 Words)
(5300 Med WC)
(9512 TWC)

When Leona had decided to stand her ground and cast her Wind Blast spell at the airborne Armina Leona had no idea what was going to happen afterwards. She was not sure if Armina was able to endure the spell and keep on going or if Armina was going to use some impressive agility to dodge the spell and then give Leona another nasty cut from the ax. Instead the purple-haired maid was unable to dodge the Wind Blast and took a direct hit from the spell. She was sent flying a fair distance away and when she got back to her feet it was obvious that she had taken a beating.

Leona listened to the maid question her reason for fighting with restraint instead of starting the fight with her most powerful spells. The Wizard Saint remained silent because she was not in the habit of revealing her motives to her enemies. Armina should have been grateful that she was still able to stand and talk at this point because ordinarily Leona did her best to eliminate threats the first time so that she would not have to fight them a second time. Odhran Aegisbane had been the first of her major enemies to survive their encounter, but that was because he had put up a very tough fight and Leona was unable to finish the job in time before he managed to escape.

However, the question about her concern for Hargeon Town and its people prompted the Wizard Saint to finally speak.

"I came here to save Hargeon Town and its people. I fight for those who can't fight for themselves." Leona replied to Armina's question as calmly as she could. What Armina did not learn and would never learn was that this town was of special significance to the blonde, which was another reason that she was determined to defend it from the maid and her shadowy mistress. This town was where she had gotten her passport when she had first arrived in Fiore over four years ago. This town was where she had gotten her start as a mage.

This town was also where she had met Leila Vergious, the mage who had set Leona on the path that led to her becoming first a member of Silver Wolf, then a Wizard Saint, and eventually Guild Mistress of Silver Wolf.

What Leona had said was all the maid was going to get on that subject, so the blonde went silent again and listened to what Armina had to say next. When the maid spoke she proposed an offer the Wizard Saint could easily refuse.

Leona had no reason to believe that Armina would keep her promise to spare Hargeon Town if the Wizard Saint quit fighting right this instant. She also had no reason to believe that Medeia would let her live, much less allow her to go free, after whatever happened between them happened. Those two things made it very easy for the blonde to refuse the offer proposed to her.

Besides, she would not have gotten very far as a Wizard Saint if she meekly gave up every time someone threatened her.

"I can't trust either of you to keep your word, so no thanks." Leona gave her rebuttal to the offer. From Leona's point of view the offer was an attempt for the maid to save face after having been beaten by a Wizard Saint who was holding back. Things might only get more difficult for the blonde after the refusal of the "generous" offer, but that was a risk she was willing to take to protect Hargeon Town.

Moments later Armina used the chains from earlier to begin picking up and hurling random objects at Leona. Leona weathered the storm with ease until she got slapped in the face by the hand of a human corpse that had flown by her left side. That grim and unexpected hit seemed like a rebuke by the dead for her holding back all this time. That was the jolt she needed to take action.

Leona aimed her body diagonally right of her current position, then sprinted to try and get clear of the debris. Should she be able to see through the storm of debris Armina would see it as Leona running and then stopping a short distance away from where the blonde had started. After getting through the storm of debris mostly intact Leona immediately aimed herself towards Armina and used her Sonic Slash spell to disappear in a "flash step" that would propel her right at the maid.

At the end of the "flash step" Leona would reappear diagonally and very close to Armina before slashing at Armina's midsection in a right-to-left swipe with her right hand, which was coated in a sharp blade of wind. While the Sonic Slash was fast and hard-hitting, there was no guarantee that Armina would be hit by it. Leona visibly aiming herself towards Armina might have been a big hint that an attack was about to happen and the purple-haired maid might have had just enough warning to dodge the Sonic Slash.

Whether Armina was hit or not Leona would find herself standing close to the maid with all the risks that entailed. Perhaps launching herself at her enemy was not the brightest idea, but the Wizard Saint needed to end this fight fast. She would make Armina regret criticizing her for holding back.

[Post Word Count: 908]
[Leona's Word Count: 5,120]
[Total Word Count: 10,420]

Spells Used:

A scoff was the response to Leona’s words, accompanied by a roll of the maid’s eyes. They were exactly what Armina had expected and she could not help but feel a little disappointed. The blonde woman spoke like any other hero and the purple haired axe wielder was beginning to come to the conclusion that she had the charm and charisma of a draining board. It was unfortunate and the maid knew that her Mistress would probably feel similar to her in that regard. Fights were always more interesting when the opponent was chatty, after all and Armina briefly wondered if even her Mistress could get something more out of this Wizard Saint, before tossing the thought aside. Everyone had a weakness, something that could be exploited and Medeia had become rather effective at drawing it out, whether it be by threat, charm or intimidation. No woman was an island and Armina had full faith that her black haired partner could break this woman’s defences, one way or another.

Leona was certainly good enough to dodge Armina’s barrage of debris and soon enough, the maid noticed her suddenly move forwards. The speed was incredibly fast and the purple haired beauty briefly lost sight of her as she came in. Panicking slightly, she tried to draw her chains in to make a shield with them but her speed was just far too slow compared to the blonde’s. Pain tore through her body as she was struck by the attack, a nasty slash resulting in blood to burst from the maid’s midsection, covering her outfit in the crimson liquid. An angel she may be but she could still bleed if struck hard enough, something that Leona had just accomplished. The wound was nasty enough that it caused a horrible screech to leave her as the blow sent her backwards.

“You bitch!” She spat, the last tiny bit of her maidly and cheerful ensemble flying straight out of the window. “I will turn you into a bloody stain for causing me to bleed!”

She was not going to just lie down though and would swing for the blonde woman again, attempting to deliver another bleeding slash. It would not be the most accurate of attacks though, with the maid focusing more on raw power than finesse.

Her rage was almost overwhelming, the adrenaline flowing powerfully. For the first time in the fight, she truly wanted to kill Leona, not knock out or immobilise but mindlessly slaughter. Her mind became filled with images of her opponent, begging for her life, bleeding from every orifice. It was a sight that she had seen so many times in her long life but it was rare that she had ever wanted to see it so strongly. She would hack and maim this woman until there was nothing left. Everything else became secondary at that moment.

So consumed was she that the familiar aura of her Mistress even became briefly forgotten in that instant.

Walking down the dock was Medeia, her purple eyed gaze focused entirely on the sight before her, she did not rush nor come to her maid’s aid but simply approached at her own pace. The Warlord could have shouted and attracted the attention of the two but for now she simply watched although she had one hand already stroking one of her books. She had heard enough of the confrontation to know what she was in for and knew that conversation was not Leona’s strongest suit. There was an undercurrent of anger that fuelled her every step but unlike Armina’s, it was perfectly controlled, her servant and not the other way around. To wound her maid was a grave insult and she had every intention of making her attacker pay. It would be slow, and torturous. By the time she was done, this Wizard Saint would not be able to say her name without becoming overcome by fear and anxiety.

“My dear Armina. Have you bitten off more than you can chew again?” She uttered to herself with a shake of the head. It appeared so.

(682 Words)
(5982 Med WC)
(11102 TWC)

Leona was pleased to see that the Sonic Slash had hit its target. She was even more pleased to see Armina go from rather smug to more than a little unhappy when her blood was spilled. Armina struck the Wizard Saint as the kind of person who enjoyed violence as long as she was the one inflicting it on someone else. Now that she had encountered someone who could actually fight back the maid was appearing to have difficulties handling the situation. Leona did not enjoy getting hurt during fights, but she fully expected to take hits in return whenever she fought someone.

Leona listened to Armina's vow to end her life in a messy fashion and let it pass without comment.  Leona was focused on winning the fight as quickly as possible, not exchanging witty banter with her foe. Armina's response to Leona's Sonic Slash was to swing her ax with great force in an attempt to cut the Wizard Saint again. Leona's adrenaline-fueled state gave her the speed to duck under the ax just in time as she dropped to one knee and the blade passed over her hair without hurting her. Once the weapon had passed harmlessly overhead the blonde quickly got back to her feet and focused on her enemy.

Leona was not going to retreat and start firing ranged spells again. The time for holding back had passed and she needed to start hammering the maid with strong attacks before the maid could regain her strength and possibly add a new complication to the fight with a special ability she had been holding back. Leona needed only a moment to think of what her next attack would be. She was going to attempt to strike Armina with her Silver Blade spell to try and end things quickly.

Leona wasted no time in closing with Armina again with a few quick steps forward, then putting the index and middle fingers of her right hand together before bringing the rest of her fingers together beneath them. She then channeled silver magic into the two fingers until the spell was ready. When Silver Blade was ready Leona brought her right hand diagonally up and held it in front of her left shoulder for a moment, then lashed out with a diagonal right-to-left slash aimed at Armina's torso.

Armina would see the spell manifest as a silver blade of wind on the blonde's fingers that would leave a brief silver afterimage in the air where Leona's fingers had moved whether the spell hit or not. Despite how close the two were when the spell was cast there was no guarantee that Silver Blade would strike its target. Armina might have anticipated a melee attack from the Wizard Saint and was prepared to use her speed and mobility to dodge it. If the maid could not dodge the Silver Blade she might be able to defend herself from the spell using other means such as a shield of some sort.

Once the Silver Blade had been cast Leona watched her enemy for a retaliatory strike from either the ax or from a spell. She was momentarily distracted by adrenaline's effects on her, which were much stronger than she remembered. The blonde was riding a rush that she had not felt in a long time and it was making her feel... alive. She felt a kind of vigor that no amount of coffee had a chance of emulating.

Leona had to get the feeling back under control before she developed the mistaken belief that she was unbeatable. Despite her power she was not invincible and she could be beaten if she got overconfident. She focused on her purple-haired enemy again and waited to see what she would do next.

[Post Word Count: 628]
[Leona's Word Count: 5,748]
[Total Word Count: 11,730]

Spells Used:

It was becoming difficult for the maid to keep up with the blonde warrior and as Leona ducked under her attack and came back in with one of her own, there was just a moment of panic in her crimson coloured eyes. It looked like a powerful slash attack and given that she had already taken one, Armina was slightly concerned as to just how much damage it could do. Yet, her panic was just that, momentary and with her rage swiftly burning it away, the purple haired woman would utter a spell quickly to create a shield around herself to hopefully protect her from the damage. Normally, it would take the form of a purple coloured dome of energy but due to the close proximity, it instead appeared as simply an aura around her. She had no idea of just how potent it would be but there was only one way to find out.

To her horror, the attack would pierce through her aura on contact and another wave of pain echoed through her body as the attack struck her. Her defence seemed to do something and Armina did not think that the spell did its full damage but still, it caused another gash to appear on her body and she struggled to compose herself after that. Leona had a great deal of magical power behind her attacks, stronger than any of the other mages that she had fought. The maid was realising more and more that she was in deep trouble. It was becoming harder to move her axe around and the angel mused that she would not be able to keep going much longer. The Wizard Saint was just too powerful for her. It was a shameful thought and made her sick to her stomach but it was simply the truth.

“Not yet.” The maid shouted, spitting out blood. “I will not go down after just a couple of strikes from you.”

She began to channel, causing magical energy to flow across her body, a buffing spell to boost her immense strength further still. Her eyes would regain that adrenaline and anger filled look that the blonde had managed to draw from her. Taking her axe in hand in both hands, she would then slam it into the ground, causing a wave of energy to burst from her position. Given how close Leona was, it would be tricky to manoeuvre out of the way but given the blonde’s dexterity and speed, it was certainly doable.

Her attack would take up a vast amount of Armina’s remaining energy and regardless of whether Leona was hit or not, there would be a weariness to her stance afterwards. Her wounds were rather unpleasant and although she sometimes quite enjoyed pain, there was something about this situation where she did not feel that way. Maybe it was simply the effect that someone of Leona’s power had upon her? Being struck by such a seemingly cold woman did not quite have the same appeal as a chatty one such as Nita…or her Mistress.

Speaking of the Warlord, who by now was slightly alarmed by just how quickly her maid was losing, had no intention of allowing the fight to last much longer. Watching Armina take such a beating was not something that she was prepared to tolerate, especially since she now had a good idea of Leona’s strength. There was no need to sacrifice her maid’s well being any more.

That was why she placed her hand to her back and drew an unusual looking weapon, a sickle, charged with the power of nature. A weapon that Medeia had carried with her since her adventures in Fiore had begun and one that she had well and truly mastered. There were many who had been destroyed by just her sickle alone and should she wish it, a single strike could kill the toughest of creatures, each strike magnified by her enormous amount of spell damage.

Without any word of warning, she would hurl it towards the blonde woman, the weapon arching around like a boomerang. Once it reached its maximum range or hit the target, it would move in a path back towards the witch. The attack was hardly one of Medeia’s strongest but even the weakest spells in her arsenal were dangerous.

Yet, it was not meant to harm the Wizard Saint as such. Just a sign of her arrival and a warning of what was to come.

(746 Words)
(6728 Med WC)
(12476 TWC)

The Silver Blade spell had managed to hit Armina, but that was not the end of the fight. The purple-haired young woman was tough enough to keep fighting despite being hit with one of Leona's most powerful spells. The maid issued a stern declaration that she was not finished fighting and made an attack on the blonde, who was too close to the maid and too distracted by the fact Armina was still standing after being hit by a Silver Blade spell to dodge the incoming energy wave.

Leona was hit by the energy wave and felt an intense burst of pain flood her body before the pain mostly subsided. Armina was a lot stronger than she looked, but Leona was not deterred by that discovery. She was not going to let the maid go on a murder spree in Hargeon Town if she could help it. Leona's eyes narrowed as she faced Armina and she clenched her teeth to dull the residual pain from the attack and to try and keep the adrenaline flooding her body under control long enough to continue to think straight.

Armina was a tough opponent, but so was the adrenaline the Wizard Saint was feeling. The feeling she got from it was nothing short of exhilarating... no amount of coffee she could safely drink could hope to match it. She had not felt this alive in years and the rush was threatening to overwhelm her better judgment, especially after the attack she had been hit with caused another wave of adrenaline to flow. Leona had to rein it in before she did something stupid and cost herself the victory.

Armina would likely pick up on Leona's struggle as the blonde clenched her right hand into a fist and leaned forward like she was about to move towards the maid before stopping herself. Leona had managed to stop herself from making a stupid move by not planning out her attack beyond getting in Armina's face, but she needed to keep her momentum going and fight while she still had something resembling an advantage. Leona already had an idea of what she was going to do.

Leona was about to close in and use either her Mach Straight or Tornado Kick techniques to keep the pressure on the maid when she spotted a shining object flying towards her in her peripheral vision. The Wizard Saint performed a backflip and put some distance between herself and the maid while dodging what turned out to be a sickle that had been thrown at her. When she landed Leona prepared to dodge the sickle in case it had the ability to home in on her, but instead it returned to its sender.

The irritated Wizard Saint looked in the direction the sickle had come from and spotted a tall, dark-haired young woman holding a book and wearing an outfit Leona would not be caught dead in. She must have been the "Mistress" Armina had mentioned earlier. Leona was regretting her decision to hold back earlier in the fight, but it was too late for regrets now. She would just have to fight off two opponents at once.

Leona knew better than to stay in a place where she could get trapped between them and maneuvered somewhere she could keep both Armina and the new arrival in front of her... at least for now. That way she only had to face attacks from one direction. She turned to face the dark-haired mage and did three consecutive backflips to put some distance between her and the maid and mistress duo. Once she had positioned herself a safe distance a few meters away from her opponents and had them in front of her for the time being Leona's eyes moving from maid to mage and back again. As she looked at them she began to think about who to attack first.

The Wizard Saint was leaning towards finishing off the maid so that the fight with the dark-haired mage would be a one-on-one battle. However, the dark-haired mage's arrival seriously complicated things. If she chose to engage Armina the other mage would not hesitate to take advantage of Leona being distracted to attack, but if she instead focused on the mage Armina would be the one to try and strike her while she was busy. Leona reined in her adrenaline and chose to stay where she was. There was likely to be more fighting ahead and she did not need to put herself at a disadvantage by making a stupid mistake and getting seriously hurt before the real fighting began.

[Post Word Count: 768]
[Leona's Word Count: 6,516]
[Total Word Count: 13,244]

For the time being, Medeia did not attack again and merely approached her maid, who was struggling to do much of anything after Leona’s assault. She did not rush, deliberately slowing the pace of the encounter down in order to suit her whims. This fight, as all others, would be entirely on her terms and there was nothing that the blonde woman could do about it. The Warlord craved control, desired it, demanded it at all times, whether peacetime or war. The world around them belonged to the witch and everything that resided within it was hers to toy and play with as she wished. The men and women who had died already had done so because she wished them to do so and the same fate would fall upon the rest of the town if the desire crossed her mind. That desire for now was not quite there but it could always stir again at any moment. As it stood, she was far more interested in the Wizard Saint who stood before her.

The dark mage did not utter a single word until she reached the bloody purple haired warrior, her eyes briefly looking over her wounded partner. “Forgive me for allowing you to fight her for so long, my dear, my curiosity got the better of me. I should have stepped in sooner and shielded you from her.” Her tone sounded genuine although it was always rather difficult to tell. She could say one thing and mean another, her words being as dangerous as any spell that she might cast. Yet, she did hold such affection for her most loyal of companions and that was why she placed a hand softly on Armina’s shoulder and began to channel her slayer magic, resulting in the maid's wounds to start healing. A blood slayer spell to be precise and one that caused the cuts across the axe wielder to swiftly repair.

“No. Forgive me for failing so miserably at fighting her, Mistress.” The maid replied, her heavy breathing starting to ease as she was healed. “She was far stronger than I had thought and I was unable to keep up with her long enough to scout her out for you. I had thought that after losing to Kensho and Nita, I had honed my skills and trained enough to be able to fight such powerful mages. I see now that I was wrong. This woman is beyond me in power.” Her body would shimmer, thanks to Medeia’s spell, resulting in her starting to regenerate. Add that to the amount of raw healing the ability did and the maid was quickly starting to recover. Her Mistress might have been primarily a monster in terms of spell damage but she was not bad in other departments either.

Medeia's sickle returned to her right hand at that point, having taken a rather long way around, due to it missing the target. It landed perfectly in her palm, ready to be thrown or used again at any time. Medeia was certain that it would be required but she had many weapons in her arsenal. Her rapier, which could be summoned in an instant, alongside her various spellbooks which contained a multitude of different abilities that could be cast. She was more than prepared for the woman in front of her and she oozed with confidence although it did not show in the same way as Armina’s. There was less of a hot blooded anger and more of a cold and bubbling one that resided inside the witch. It was all in the eyes with her.

Taking a step in front of her maid in order for her to heal, Medeia would finally speak, her penetrating purple orbs never leaving the hues of the blonde. “I know you. Your face was once on the front of that magazine that everyone seems to adore around here, yes?” A rhetorical question. “That is something which we have in common as I too was once the poster girl for it. I think I may still have a copy of your issue somewhere in my quarters, as I do tend to keep the ones with the most beautiful covers.” There was a hunger in the eyes of the raven haired woman but not purely for blood, there was something else too. “I must admit that it was quite the treat to watch you fight with my beautiful Armina and the sight of two gorgeous women battling always causes my heart to beat just a little faster."

“I tried my best, Mistress.” Armina interjected briefly, a look of amusement crossing her face for just a moment. “I hope you managed to enjoy yourself.”

There was a ghost of a smile that crossed the face of the dark mage but she did not respond to her maids interjection. Instead, she kept her focus on Leona. “I am certain that Armina here informed you about what happens to those who have wounded her. As much as she might ask for it, I will not allow you to deal any more damage to her. Clearly, you are a cut above her and I do desire to see just how your power does against mine but more than that, you must pay for standing in our path and having the audacity to spill angelic blood.”

She smiled then, her slayer senses picking up on something from the blonde. “I smell anger from you, it resonates strongly within that lovely body of yours. By all means, let it all out and show me what you have. Anything less will result in your defeat and you have no idea how desperate I am to fight someone who can challenge me. It has been so long.”

Oddly enough, she did not strike first and instead patiently waited but the challenge had been made although the angel decided to make one last point, poking the bear, so to speak. “Know this. If you lose, then you will find yourself on my wall of conquests. I hold the title of Warlord of Lust not because of my love of carnage but for my love of the female form. It will  not just be you either. Your family, your guildmates, your friends. I will find every single one and break them while all you will be able to do is watch.”

(1061 Words)
(7789 Med WC)
(14305 TWC)

Leona watched the maid and mistress duo talk and watched as the dark-haired mage healed Armina's wounds, making all of the Wizard Saint's work for nothing. Leona had spent all of that time and effort to get Armina to that point and it had been healed away in a matter of seconds. The Wizard Saint could do nothing but frown as the dark-haired mage started to talk to her... Leona was not in the mood for a rambling conversation, but there was little she could do about it other than start the fight right away and she was not ready to do that yet. She would take this time to try and think through how she wanted to approach the upcoming fight.

What tempted the Wizard Saint to seriously consider replying was hearing the dark-haired mage place Armina off-limits to any further attacks by Leona. Leona was not sure if that meant that the maid was going to stay out of the fight or if that meant the maid was free to intervene but Leona could not attack her. Although the wording was unclear, it did not matter what restrictions her enemy came up with. If Armina intervened in the fight she would become a valid target... Leona had put her on the ropes once and she could do it again.

Besides, it was not like Dark Mages restricted their aggression to mages who could fight back.

The restriction the dark-haired mage had imposed was laughable nonsense, but what really amused Leona was the sheer nerve of the mage to claim that the blonde was going to be punished for two dire crimes that seemed like they were made up on the spot as flimsy justifications for what was going to happen next. That was an even bigger laugh. The pair had come to Hargeon Town to cause mayhem and destruction and now that Armina had been hurt her mistress was mad that someone had had the temerity to fight back.

That was some very interesting logic, but that "logic" was something to try and figure out another time.

Preferring to let her spells, techniques, and weapons do the talking for her, Leona kept her mouth shut and let the dark-haired mage keep talking despite the former's growing desire to fight already. The Wizard Saint did not know much about her opponent, but she quickly discerned that the dark-haired young woman sure loved to hear herself talk. While she went on and on about whatever it was she was going on about Leona was still struggling to control the adrenaline and come up with a coherent plan that was more complex than "get in the enemy's face and punch their face in."

Leona listened to her opponent's last verbal barb while glaring directly at her enemy. The dark mage promised a dire fate for the Wizard Saint and everyone the blonde knew if the former managed to emerge from their clash victorious. Leona would not let what had been promised happen to her and she would not let anything happen to the other people in her life. She would do everything she could to make her opponent regret saying such things.

"You can try." Leona tersely replied to the threat while fighting back yet another attempt by the adrenaline to take over. The dark-haired young woman could see Leona's right fist tremble a bit and her jaw clench tighter as the latter stood in place. Those were two signs that the threat was more effective at irritating the Wizard Saint than the blonde let on. Leona had to stay calm and somewhat focused if she wanted to have a chance of winning this fight, but that would be easier said than done. The dark-haired young woman had thrown down the gauntlet and the adrenaline was threatening to overwhelm Leona's better judgment and make her do something stupid at a time when she could not afford to make any stupid mistakes.

The fight ahead was going to be tough without putting herself at an early disadvantage thanks to rushing in without a plan.

[Post Word Count: 682]
[Leona's Word Count: 7,198]
[Total Word Count: 14,987]

“Trying is for the weak. The strong do and I will do exactly what I said.” The dark mage replied, amused by the blunt style of the blonde, a look of superiority crossing her features. She could sense the anger and adrenaline continuing to build within the Wizard Saint, detecting the briefest signs that were starting to show. Her sight was naturally enhanced due to her magic and her purple hues were soon glancing upon Leona’s right hand. It was working and Medeia was hardly one to stop, once she had begun something. She was going to drive this woman mad and would take an immense amount of pleasure and satisfaction from the deed. The Warlord did not fear this woman, as strong as she might be. No, she did not fear her at all. “You are a marked woman from now on and that is no idle threat. I do not make such things. Only guarantees.”

“Does that mean I can attack Silver Wolf mages on sight?” Armina interrupted, a gleeful tone to her voice, crimson eyes sparkling with mischief and menace. Her gaze, however, was fixed on Leona as well, her hand gently fingering her axe. “After clashing blades with her, I would love the chance to make her life miserable and I am sure that if I cut a few members in two then that would be a good start.” There was no doubt in her eyes at all that she was speaking anything other than seriously. Vengeance ran strongly within her, as it did within the dark haired witch.

“You may do whatever you wish should you encounter them.” The Guild Mistress replied. “The laws of this land do not apply to us, remember, we are above such things. All that matters is what we desire and if yours happens to me to hack someone’s head off then be my guest. Just try not to end up regenerating again, as you do end up in the foulest moods when you are forced to and also make sure they know why they have been struck down before you deliver the final stroke. It is because the leader of their guild is a coward, afraid of her own strength and lacking the courage to do what is necessary to defend her own people.” The wording was deliberate, an attempt at throwing shade at the sword wielder’s title.

“As you say, Mistress.” The axe wielder answered, gripping her blade and to the slight surprise of Medeia, moving out from behind the witch. “I wish to make up for my own display of weakness. Please allow me to fight alongside you now. If I fall here then I promise I will be on my best behaviour when I regenerate and you can bind me to the bed for a week if I break it.”

A sigh escaped the witch, a deep one but after gazing at her maid for a moment or two, she nodded. “If that is what you wish but it is unnecessary for you to do anything more. You have already done enough.”

“I want this whore’s head on a plate.” The maid spat with far more venom than her Mistress had heard from her before. Glaring daggers at the blonde woman, her axe starting to charge with power again. “No messing around this time. I will bury you.”

The dark haired mage meanwhile began to chant in an ancient language, causing a large amount of blood to briefly surround her beloved maid. Yet, Armina did not flinch or give any sign that she was in pain and if anything, her eyes simply burned brighter. Medeia was tapping into her supportive powers again but this one was far more potent. When the blood dried, Armina would be covered in a suit of crimson coloured armour, able to both shield and heal her over time, while boosting the magical powers of her maid. It was a powerful spell by the angel’s standard and made Armina’s own defence spell look utterly worthless.

When she was done, Medeia would whisper into her maid’s ear. “This is the best protection that I can give you. I cannot promise that it will be enough but if you so badly wish to fight then who am I to refuse you? Do your best, my beloved Armina, I will be with you until this is done. Have fun and beat some charisma into her while you are at it. I swear that there are potted plants who talk more than her.”

Bolstered by the words of her Mistress, the maid would take her axe and charge towards the blonde. Ready for round two and knowing that this time she had the full power of the dark mage behind her. It would be different this time around.

The witch was not finished either and she briefly began to channel, before starting to unleash a powerful sandstorm from her position. It was not the most damaging spell, at least not to a mage of Leona’s calibre but the vicious storm could deal some serious damage to unprotected skin and made it rather more difficult to see. For Armina, it would prove to be a useful source of cover, as she came in to deliver a powerful blow with her axe, the adrenaline and blood lust well and truly back.

(893 Words)
(8682 Med WC)
(15880 TWC)

Leona listened to the attempts to wind her up and was both amused and irritated by how petty the maid was. It was obvious that she had taken being hurt pretty badly and was trying to get revenge in any way she could. The dark-haired mage actually encouraging Armina to wind the blonde up did not help matters, but it was obvious that they were doing that as part of their plan. An angry opponent would be a lot easier to predict than a level-headed one, after all. Leona bit her bottom lip and her right fist visibly trembled again as her fingernails began to dig into the palm of her Argent Glove, but her fingers were not hurt because she opened her right hand just before they began to feel pain.

The pair was really starting to get on Leona's nerves with all of their verbal jabs. She had to stay calm, but it was getting increasingly hard to do so and it was definitely showing. It was a minor miracle she had lasted this long without losing her cool.

The maid and mistress pair were merrily tap-dancing on the buttons that were making Leona go from "mildly annoyed" to "irrationally angry."

They were really asking for trouble and Leona was ready to oblige them.

After a bit of banter between maid and mistress the maid rejoined the fight, but not before being granted boons from her mistress. Leona should have known better than to expect Armina to stay out of the fight for very long. Part of her had expected the dark-haired mage to take on Leona by herself to prove her superiority, but the blonde supposed that the maid wanted to show off for her mistress. The rematch was going to be a challenge now that the dark-haired mage was here, but no one ever said being a Wizard Saint was easy.

Leona started thinking of ways to attack the newly empowered maid when a sandstorm suddenly appeared and began to assert its presence. Leona felt the abrasive sand fly into her face and do abrasion damage to her face and the bleeding cut on her forearm where the maid's ax had cut earlier, but she had bigger concerns than some sand flying around. Thanks to the sandstorm she had no idea where the dark-haired young woman was, so attacking her was currently out of the question. Before she could worry about confronting the mistress Leona would have to contend with the maid who wanted a rematch right away.

The Wizard Saint quickly hurried to the outer edge of the area a little bit past the storm and stopped, then considered calling in some summons to have an "eye in the sky" to spot the maid/mistress duo for her and to serve as her own backup since the mistress had Armina back in play, but the sandstorm was making that a decision of questionable wisdom. Their vision would likely be no better than her own despite them being able to fly above the concealing sand. She decided to hold off on calling in support until she could get far enough away from the sandstorm to safely bring them in. Speaking of safety, Leona witnessed Armina burst out of cover and make a beeline right for her with ax at the ready.

Leona was surprised by the sudden reappearance of the maid, but thanks to the adrenaline flowing through her body she was able to dodge the attack by the skin of her teeth with a quick sidestep to the right. Had she waited a moment longer she would have taken a hit to her left arm, possibly even losing a chunk of it to the sharp blade. Leona backed away from the maid, then sprinted as quickly as she could and stopped about seven meters away, then turned and aimed her right hand at Armina. The blonde channeled magic into it until it glowed silver, then pushed outward with her right hand, casting another Wind Blast spell at Armina to try and slow the maid down while she thought of a way to fend off two opponents at once.

The Wind Blast would manifest as a visible burst of wind that could be dodged entirely with enough speed or endured with protection from sufficiently strong defensive spells or armor. Leona was not banking on the spell defeating Armina, only on it buying her time to think of a better spell or two to use against the maid. Air Pressure was a valid option. So was Silver Blade, but she expected the maid to be ready for that spell after Leona had used it against her a few minutes ago. Leona would have to see how the fight developed and remain flexible.

[Post Word Count: 794]
[Leona's Word Count: 7,992]
[Total Word Count: 16,674]

Spells Used:

Armina was not all that surprised that Leona had managed to evade her attack and the maid wasted no time in trying to close the gap once again. She did not mind a little bit of kiss chase although the purple haired woman was slightly bemused that the blonde would not simply try and overpower her from closer range. The woman was clearly incensed and it appeared as though she was barely hanging on to her sense of reason and control. Armina knew that the most dangerous but also effective way of getting the upper hand was to push her over the edge and so the maid decided to once again speak or at least she would have, had Leona not decided to do something first.

A blast of wind energy was heading in her direction and there was not an awful lot of time for her to get out of the way. She tried to dodge out of the way but then the realisation came to her. The maid did not have to evade and instead she allowed the ability to hit her, resulting in it hitting her armour and vanishing, its power negated due to her Mistresses powerful defensive spell. There was a negation effect to it, which allowed the purple haired woman to fight in a far more aggressive manner. If Leona wished to cut through her new defence, then it would take a spell of considerable force to do so and with her Mistress close by, Armina almost felt invincible at that moment. She could swing for the woman without a care in the world. “That is not going to work this time, you emotionally retarded coward.” She yelled with glee, her eyes blazing with bloodlust once again.

Darting in again, the maid would then jump into the air, performing a leaping slash that would no doubt deal a great amount of damage if struck, however, it was an attack which left her open to counters, given how aggressive it was. A nimble opponent could easily get out of the way and strike back although with Medeia’s armour spell surrounding her, landing a hit would be rather difficult. That did not matter to the purple haired warrior though as all she wished to do at that point was to butcher the enemy before her, the warmth of fury and war spurring her onwards.

Waving her hand, Medeia would dispel the sandstorm, revealing the two warriors before her. A sigh escaped her at the sight of her maid’s recklessness but she was hardly surprised. Armina had always been that way, ever since they were children, all those years ago. Of course, the busty woman had been her bodyguard then, as there was no need for maids in their angelic realm. The buildings pretty much cleaned themselves due to the powers that her kin wielded. Yet, it was not the paradise that it appeared to be and both Medeia and Armina had experienced just how sinful and wicked their fellow angels were.

Deciding to irritate the blonde further, Medeia would use a simple teleport spell, which turned her briefly into sand, before she reformed again, far closer to the action. She deliberately left herself in range for an attack but with Armina in the way, it would not be a prudent idea to strike at the witch. With that thought in mind, the dark haired woman would just sit on a barrel that lay on the dock, crossing one leg over the other as she watched the two women fight.

“I would love to know just why you are so reluctant to express yourself.” The Warlord mused, her eyes twinkling with mischief. “Is it as Armina said? Do you lack the mental faculties to do it? Surely it is not because you are scared of injuring the people of this insignificant and pathetic town? A few people dying to stop a nefarious dark mage is an adequate sacrifice and you are not going to defeat me by holding back. Others have tried and they have all ended up the same way, helpless at my feet. Stop being stubborn and let it all out. I promise that those you care for will when I wrap my arms around them.”

(710 Words)
(9392 Med WC)
(17384 TWC)