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Eloquent Conversationalist
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 Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 7:03 am
Post 5, 9/20
His anger beginning to ebb enough to make logical choices again, Magni notes the gemstones on his demonbow growing dim. The arrows are growing scarce for now till it can recharge. Still, he is going to have to change his tactics anyway. Tana's leap and extinguishing touchdown became something else. Once again, Magni's experience was right in that those swirling petals are more than decoration. Becoming a shield, Tana closes the gap behind a pink wall. Still firing, Magni holds back a few remaining shots as the shield morphs.
In an attempt to maintain momentum in the fight, Magni sees the petals shift before the shot is fired. Any closer, and he might not have had time. Diving diagonally before Tana, he rolls and reverses the direction he faces. The yasashii tama is left to fly out, and Magni's eyes widen behind the mask. He noted the similar blade to his own at the beginning, but for some reason did not realize there were two swords. "Shimatta!" Too late to alter tactics, he does change slightly. The original move was to be done using his armor- but now he keeps the demonbow handy.
Leaping upward with an arc, the demonbow held wide so each point was parallel to his shoulders and reaching far, Magni all but explodes out of the grass. With Tana running at him, hopefully this will hit the unwary fighter- or better yet steal one of those blades! Despite the cliche nature of the move, it simply cannot be done without a smile on his face and a trademark yell . . .
"Shoryuuuuuken!"
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Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 8:22 am
Post 5, (10 of 20)
Relieved as he was that the arrows had stopped for a little while, they had been doing a serious number on his coat, Tana notices the difference in Talon's posture as he readies himself. He kept his katana ready in both hands, and watches Talon launch from his position.
Tana was left with a dumbfounded look as he heard Talon's latest battle call, not expecting it in the least. In fact, it blindsided him to the point where he tripped and fell onto his face as Talon plunged towards him. Luckily there was enough time between falling down and Talon's attack for Tana to roll onto his back. Maneuvering himself into a 180 whilst upon the ground, he waits patiently until finally releasing a large upward swing from the longer of the two katana. The other not only still in his hand, but purposefully plunged into the ground.
As he swung the sword, however; Tana jumped from his back to his feet. Giving more support for the swing, he bolstered himself to take the attack. Due to his jump the second katana, having been within the earth, was in an easy position for the next option.
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 8:37 pm
Post 6, 11 of 20
The upward leap of an attack was designed to catch and disarm Tana. Leaping right in front of the running man, there should not have been enough time to stop. Unfortunately, only after the attack was launched did he fall victim to Tana's infamous randomness. Instead of parrying or dodging . . . hell stopping, Tana falls flat on his face. This causes him to fall short of Magni's counter. Instead, Magni is left without recourse in the air. Beneath him, Magni sees the flash of sword and does the only thing he can.
The large steel demonbow is still in his hand, and he swings it down quickly to try and alter the move. A thunderous clang of metal on metal rings out over the crackling fire. Searing pain goes through Magni's right leg as the blow is parried to a wound along his calf- but not a lethal blow that it could have been. A rain of red comes down upon Tana as Magni berates himself for forgetting his grieves for leg protection.
Unable to do much in the way of maneuvering in the air, he aims for a two pronged attack. With the parry with is bow, the pointed lower edge now faces straight down. At the same time his uninjured leg comes in as a downward arc. The demonbow aims for his torso, the heel of his boot moves for a distinctively lower area.
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Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 9:25 pm
Post 6 (12 of 20)
An unfortunate grin squeezed its way upon his face, a grimace that was soon cleansed thanks to Talon's bow. The satisfaction of managing a blow was so suddenly halted that time itself froze for only a second in Tana's mind. "s**t... this is going to suck."
His face lit with red from Talon's leg didn't hide the look of anguish as his body writhed. Both attacks had connected, and met their marks well. Tana for but a second cried out, though admittedly he secretly was beside himself in admiration. The bow had been plunged within his gut, and Talon's foot met its mark well. But this was the risk Tana had decided to take.
The impact upon his body, blood splattered from his mouth at Talon's broken mask. "If only this bow of yours was a little higher, right aniki? You could have finally ended it for me." But Tana wasn't quite finished yet, the tensing of his muscles allowed him a tighter grip and with both hands he swung the metal blades which had been resting, tips in the nearby flames. One went for Talon's neck and the other for his non-injured leg. Hopefully with this, Tana would be free or they would both be critically injured regardless if the blades met skin.
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 9:57 pm
Post 7, 13 of 20
Magni felt a visceral pleasure as the heel of his boot crunches into a thigh, and his bow goes deep into the belly of his opponent with all his weight behind the strike. Curling his injured leg underneath him, Magni tries to prepare to leap away. Now wearing the red hue of his opponent, he muses silently on how they match until the inevitable counter happens. Unable to spring away in time, he tries a desperate move.
With blows coming in from both sides, all he can do is try to parry. From his right he raises his arm, subsequently removing the demonbow from Tana's abdomen. The sword from that side cuts deep into the bracer of his armor, deep enough to slice into his forearm. Still, that is nothing compared to what he must do to the other. Without time to think, Magni can only turn his face towards his shoulder and brace for impact. His neck no longer an option, the sword bites deep into the mask.
Leaping away after the dual hit, Magni drops his demonbow, his right arm bleeding through the armor. His grip is no longer enough to keep a steady aim with a bow- now his sword must suffice. Landing a good ten feet away, he stares hard at Tana and draws his blade. Taking an aggressive stance, the flames move in behind him advancing at different rates through the grass. Back lit by flame, a faint crack can be heard. The sword hit dead center of his mask, and a fault goes from top to bottom branching out before the mask shatters completely and a large flow of blood moves down the bridge of his nose and across his mouth.
Staring hard at his opponent, Magni takes a quick assessment. He has but one sword, his horns, and armor. He also has a wounded primary arm, making him weaker . . . and a wounded leg limiting his mobility. By contrast Tana has no armor, a wounded leg, and a deep wound in his gut. On the other hand, Tana still holds two swords and an umbrella that has been proven effective. Neither has an advantage yet. In homage to the rather damning hit Tanakietsu has dealt him, he offers the traditional word of acknowledgment. "Touche, sir."
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Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 10:28 pm
Post 7 (14 of 20)
Taking his time wasn't something he should have been doing, but if Tana managed to rush too much blood from his gut he could easily fall over again. He got to his feet, spitting out more blood. Images start to, incredibly slowly, fuzz over. Yet it wasn't enough, blood lust flickered within Tana, his green eyes starting to gloss over. He thrust his arm forward and concentrated, hoping the refractory shield would come as summoned. As the remaining petals start to accumulate he begins to form the shield over the wound in his gut. It would not cure him, or heal his wounds at all. It merely blocked the blood from pouring out any more so he could continue to fight.
His attention finally returned to his opponent, he stumbled forwards a bit as he lost a bit of his balance. "You know, niisan. I would be able to move a Hell of a lot faster without this." He threw the umbrella from his belt-loop into the fire. He jumped up and down quickly only twice before regaining his blood-lustrous composure. His swords in the ready position, he unanchored his newly lighter position. His katanas shifted as he began his assault. The longer of the two held in a rear defensive position, Tana nearly threw himself, albeit with a newly formed erratically and swiftly pace, at Talon. His blade swung in a diagonally downward crescent. The fires raged around them, dancing as they continued their match.
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Fri Jul 24, 2009 5:37 pm
Post 8, 15 of 20
As Tana makes this rush, his moves are carefully watched. Both wounded, both getting desperate, this won't last much longer. Still, Magni is not ready to roll over and die yet! As Tana closes with that diagonal slash, Magni does a quick spin. Moving in the same direction as that slash, complete with a lean to the side to match the downward arc, he precedes the strike. A good slash hits his back, but he grimaces a smile as he spins. With that momentum, his spartan cloak billows out, and with it's many tears and jags, the heavy fabric can nab that sword. Wrapping around the blade a bit due to momentum, Magni lurches his shoulders back, ripping his cloak off. It was a prized possession, but worth the risk.
With the blade brought to bear yanked hard enough to pull it from Tana's grip, Magni follows the lurching motion to perform a crescent kick. Beginning from close to the ground and moving in an upward arc, this wide kick has more power at it's beginning. His heavy boot, reinforced with a metal plate, aims straight for the petal shield that keeps Tana fight worthy. That shield is designed to keep vitae in, not to stop wounds at this point. Either it will fail and the wound will bleed heavily again, or perhaps it will hold- but the shock should make Tana stumble in pain.
While Magni would far prefer a more offensive move, an attempt to disarm, and to stun an opponent work just as well for setting up a more devastating move.
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Posted: Fri Jul 24, 2009 6:19 pm
Post 8 (16 of 20)
It was gone, one of the two katanas had been taken away. But in his current state Tana gave no thought to whether or not he was missing one or the other. Nothing was really running through his head except to slice and chop. Of course, this would change all too soon.
Talon's boot connected directly with Tana's shield. The pink cover on his stomach did not break, though it did crack. He was sent flying a decent length of about six feet. Winded as he landed, he coughed more blood as he regained the ability to breathe. More quickly than the last time, Tana rose to his feet with his conscious more clear. Something was in the hand without a katana. If due by the fire, the color of these things was lacking, it was plain enough that there were four of whatever he had. Tana had landed on the throwing stars, and had taken off his earrings as well.
He anchored himself before choosing to spit out more blood to his right. He spoke as he regained his more calming posture, "Well, niisan. That was a pretty good one. Not to mention you've made me lose my blade. I'll have to make sure I pick it up when this is all over. Oh! What's this? A tooth!" He picked out the tooth from his mouth, and threw it to the ground, what Tana needed was not another distraction. The remaining fires which seemed unnoticed had begun to die down only slightly.
Tana sprinted towards Talon as best he could, but instead of attacking directly he chose to leap aside Talon's position towards his sword. He wanted his steel, and he wanted it bad. After managing his way closer to it, he threw the two stars and earrings at Talon, aimed at random targets spread out over his body. Two went wide, two were pin-point.
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 5:37 pm
Post 9, 17 of 20
As Tana drew attention to the disarmed weapon, now ablaze in his favored cloak, Magni glanced at it on his left. Noting where the weapon lay in a newly forming pile of ash, he does not fully see what Tana is up to until the stars fly at him. While not seeing, he did listen, and knows that Tana will likely make a move. With his right arm holding the blade and his left bracer undamaged, the glint of stars made him cover his face. Rather than dive, he holds his ground and lets the objects impact.
One thunks into his arm bracer, the point just enough to pierce and draw blood. Another lands on his shoulder, biting into him at the seam for his armor. The bite hurts, but it is a calculated wound. Looking around his left arm, he sees his opponent doing as he thought- diving for the lost weapon. Turning to his right, he rears back as if hurt deeply by that shoulder strike, and when Tana is in range Magni lurched with his whole body behind the blow. Aiming for Tana's chest, this is meant to be a mortal strike. No armor, distracted by greed for a weapon, and lurching through the air, Magni is sure that this strike will finish him.
"This game is over . . . You-are-MINE!"
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Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 6:18 pm
Post 9 (18 of 20)
Tana gasped a mixed bag of emotions as he witnessed Talon's lunging attack. It was as dangerous a situation as he predicted he would land himself in. Yet it seemed that Talon acted a bit hastily which was unlike his previous form prior within the battle. Perhaps the lure towards the burning weapon worked too well; it was obvious a second blade could life the potential odds of winning the battle, but Tana knew better than making for a straightforward attempt. Though this attack Talon launched might have been much more the bite than Tana could chew. A simple grumble of "s**t" might have been audible if he wasn't being yelled at in attack as he took the full couple seconds he had to decide how to counter or even stay alive.
Still yearning for a variable response wielding two blades Tana opted for the safer, yet most probable injury causing method of defense. Within his decently exhausted state, he swiftly anchored himself, facing Talon with his left side and forced as much inertia as he could into swinging his blade into Talon's as he took one step forward. It was a rudimentary baseball swing, but it there was enough to potentially knock Talon's sword out of his hand as well as putting Talon off his single course of direction. Of course putting as much power into one attack to simply deflect would ultimately leave Tana weaponless as well. With the clash of steel, Tana's eyes closed awaiting his hands to feel the reaction. Regardless of what happened, he would be left without arms; hopefully Talon would be too.
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 2:27 pm
Post 10, 19 of 20
Finally . . . Endgame.
Through this whole battle, Magni has relied heavily upon the weapons he brought with him, those iron and steel items that feel so heavy and maneuverable in his hands. Yet there is something he has held back all this time. A weapon he never mentioned or hinted at for fear of how open it would leave him. Now his sword is sent flying with a ringing of steel- but it is of no matter; his bow is dangerously low on energy- but the range is too close for it's use. His back is sopping wet with blood, his right arm aching from the hits on his forearm and shoulder has little strength to grip the blade before it flies away. His leg is weak from the wound he took there lamenting his omission of leg armor. Still Tana is in worse shape.
Neither combatant is well enough for a long fight anymore. Neither is well armed, though now Tana has a sword in his hand. Flying out wide it is of no danger at the moment. Tana wasted his weapons one after the other: his other sword caught in a now burning cloak; his stars both times fired all at once; his umbrella cast aside despite still being useful; rashly dropping his lantern. Now he is defenseless, where Magni does still have armor left. He chooses to rely on that one last time.
Monsters and animals have no steel or trick weapons. Demons do not have a need for swords or blades. Nature, or nightmare, has offered them a natural set of weapons. Claws that can tear, fangs that shear . . . and horns to impale. With his eyes closed, and sword out wide, Tana seems to have forgotten that Magni is not totally without weapons. Already in a lunge towards his opponent, the hasty strike is more than salvageable. His arms out wide now, Magni lowers his head and pushes even harder into the lunge- straight at Tana's chest and abdomen.
Tana's chest is unprotected, and the petal shield cracked earlier from the crescent kick. Now with long and thick ebony horns barreling in, no matter where he hits Magni smiles evilly knowing that he has won. "You LOSE!!!" rings out over the smouldering field as Magni grabs for a hug-like grapple using his arms, and a deep impalement on his horns of the opponent without a defense to stop him, or time to mount an offense to save him.
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Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 2:40 pm
Post 10 (20 of 20)
It was over, just as shouted by his opponent. Horns being drilled into his torso. He would be dead in a matter of minutes, but it wasn't too distasteful. A good fight had been fought and it was entirely enjoyable. Thinking to himself, Tana accepted his fate though as sad as it was a smile crept along his face. Proud of his efforts, pride of fighting par with his successor, and pride knowing that as long as he was going to die anyway he might as well leave a reminder.
With no desire to kill his opponent, there was still a little time before his death to leave him a present. His sword fell out of his hands, no longer wielding the strength to carry it. Blood coughed out from his mouth, and began to drip where the coughing wasn't a fast enough unload. Tears washed his face of the dirt, though drying fast due to the fires.
When Talon finally lifted his head from Tana's torso, he chuckled as he lay there dying. "There we are, my friend. Some peace at last, but there's one more thing I must give you before I part once again."It took everything he had to stand up with Talon, yet he mustered the will to do so. Instead of leaning, Tana fell upon the standing demon. He kissed Talon's cheek, as brothers would. He fell, life gone from his body. The expression as the body burns was nothing other than
"Thank you."
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 2:49 pm
A warm smile on his face, Magni barely manages to catch his opponent, and though he body is not likely to register the action, he returns the kiss. "Anytime, old friend."
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With the combat over, the scene dissolves into nothingness and shadow, and the next thing he knows, Magni is back on the dais where he chose his clothes and gear. The combat is over, and though it was so visceral and real, now the simulation is ended and large bold print letters in maroon read "WINNER" before him. He now stands as he was before entering the simulation, and his wounds are gone.
"Heh . . . the wonders of virtual reality! I wonder what the system kicks out when you lose?" Those words are spoken rhetorically as he walks out, blinking in the bright sunlight outside.
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Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 2:54 pm
Though his wounds are gone, Tana manages to poof back to the panels where he chose his attire as well as weaponry. Though instead of standing, Tana fell onto the floor, much like he fell when he died in the game. Taking a few minutes of reflection, he dusts himself off and walks out ignoring the screen full of "LOSER" on the panels.
Sticking around, he finds himself a good seat in the arena's spectator area to keep watching fights. Perhaps he might win something.
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