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A simple backstep to avoid the lunge while Leo was throwing, all it required was that Leo step back and thro forward at the same time, which he was fully capable of doing. As for throwing the blade, you can release something with force and it can be called a throw as long as there is distance, if there is no distance when the weapon is released, even then it would still be an attack. As long as there is a thrust of force with enough strength behind it, the distance the attack travels matters little. A few feet would be more than enough to to split the creatures face considering the amount of strength in Leo's arm, and the creature would end up with a cleaver blade halfing it's mouth, nose, and seperating it's eyes.

Since there was no ghoul attacking from the rear as of use of the backstep, Leo did not have to worry about being caught from behind. The backstep dodging a few needles while he was at it.

Two more hornets nest opened up, these were regular garden variety hornets, their only purpose to act as suicide shields for Leo against a barrage of toxic needles. They would only take a hit that Leo couldn't or wouldn't avoid, and would serve for another forty needles. Assuming this approaching army of undead had a limitless supply, Leo realized he had a limited amount of time to achieve anything here, even escape.

As said before, a few backsteps to the rear end of the pit would by Leo enough time to leave a cleaver wedged in the ghouls face. As the top half of the ghoul was commited to a lunge and couldn't change direction of the attack, Leo merely sidesteped the ghoul and took it by the arm, swinging it up and back at the one of the ghouls surounding the top of the pit without bothering to even attempt retreiving his weapon, assuming that's where the needle firing ghouls where because they would have a better trajectory for their needle guns, this peventing a few shots from being aimed at Leo and directed in the air as the ghoul would be knocked over by the half-ghoul flying into its face.

There was a pair of legs and hips walking toward Leo in the pit, Leo jumped on the bottom half of the zombie, gaining a mushy footing, but enough to jump out of the three foot deep earth pit Descant had created.

Lice would indeed be killed by the vibrating pulse of Descant's song, but far from explosively. The dead bugs would be used to pack Leo's ear's, and a number of them might be blown out to make way for living stock, but it wouldn't be nearly as mushy as she might think. As little single units they were weak, but as one collective they formed something greater that sum of their parts, and were quite resistant to being put out of their misery, especially while in the confines of Leo's warm body.

Once out of the pit, he would do a single second's survey in Descant's direction to see what entourage she had while running forward to break free of the formation of undead ghouls firing needles.

His insides ached from the initial attacks of the dark spirits, there was still blood running down his chin from his mouth and from his ear when the first sound attack surprised him. Now, being unable to hear much of what was going on around him from the protective lice, he was still feeling shaking vibrations through him from Descant's high-pitched singing. It would have really pissed him off if he had time to get madder than he already was.

Meanwhile, deep beneath the cursed and blasphemed surface of the northern lands, Gavin sneezed.

"Hector! Tissue!"

With the sound of stone grinding against stone a hulking figure emerged from the darkness with a box of Puffs. They were very soft, because even villains detest irritated noses.

"Most excellent."

The necromancer then set back to work flaying the last trespasser that had happened through their lands. The remains would be thrown to the ghouls, as all trash parts were, but there was no sense in wasting so much perfectly usable skin.

((Could Leo get out of the pit before Descant's droped it 24 feet? That was the main question, but the zombie's attack needed to be a settled matter first. srry, friend of mine died.))

Visions of one of the other realm's worst theatrical creations danced through Leo's head and faded in an instant, as no time warp should have been required for a simple response to a violent attack.

Whether the response was adequate was another matter.

When the first attack split the zombie, failing to stop the thrust, Leo realized that he need to take some action to prevent his eyes being ripped out, as that would make it difficult for him to see and he really liked seeing things. The initial blow was designed to slow the zombie, but it seemed he used to much power and split the thing in half.

The psychic pulse and the direction of the blow should have pushed at the zombie, at least lessening the forward force of the thrust, allowing Leo to back step. His choice in stopping the zombie was to throw the cleaver at it's face. The movement required a lower arm lift and a quick toss forward, giving the cleaver enough time to ram the creature's face with enough force to flip the severed torso backward and take the arms out of reach just in time. Even if the creature did reach, gravity was acting on it, and as it had nothing to provide it support, a base from which to base itself for the attack, even if the attack landed it would probably amount to a few scratches below the eye before the flying ghoul either fell down or flipped upside down.

Leo would still want to grab the ghoul for a toss, but it seemed the time for that would not happen, so the previous would have to suffice. If it did, Leo would escape the pit by first jumping on the fallen ?bodies? of the ghoul. ASAP, knowing it was not the best place in the world to linger at the moment.

The needles were still coming, but the hornets were in blood lust mode, ten times as powerful as normal, and after losing so many of them Leo devised a new dance formation. Instead of playing kamikazee, the hornets would play catch. In formations of two all around Leo, two would attach themselves to the incoming needles from both sides and fly in the opposite direction of the needle. They were powerful bugs, fast enough and agile enough to catch an arrow, a small needle they could slow down before it got to their master. If not, surely they could redirect the trajectories just enough?

Jumping up, only to be pulled down to a surface lower than the point of origin- it's what was happening. This was acceptable to her.

With the lack of his screaming, she rolled her hands around in elaborate play as her right foot slid across the ground before her. She spun clockwise now, repeating the last eight measures, which would deepen the pit another ~24 feet. In the back of her mind, she wondered if she was getting too close to one of the walkways beneath the ground. Something assured her that it'd be alright.

Such spinning was sure to lift even the most eternal of skirts, and would trip the dancer. Descant was forced to will the cloak to act as a more traditional dress and allow the air to have its way for now. However, she had a backup plan in place in case she was attacked by wasps not taking hits for Leo.

[2/2]

Psionic energy didnt protect against the life draining conditions of the land, they but provided a way to strike at the incorporal. The only counter agent that was effective against negative energy, was its opposite, positive energy. However, in a heavily desecrated place such as Sorrow's Keep, that was unlikely to ever happen as it was so powerful. As for the shadow's energy draining power, it was purely physical. Just like the negative energy of the land, it devoured pure physical energy; life. It withers flesh. It kills the living.

Sure, he could use psychokinesis to hurl dead insects at the woman and position them in a way where they could do damage, or lift the tiny corpses' to block the needle barrage, but they would little be able to move freely on their own before they died in the harsh terrain. Unless of course, the man was spreading his own life energy thin in order to cover a wide enough area to hide the smaller insect's meager life force.

Now, as the man would be able to suspend himself from falling further into the pit, the other shadows would emerge from their hiding spots surrounding the pit just like the first one which had advanced and yanked the man down.

The first shadow had yanked the man back down, and would have gone down into the pit with the man. But that didnt happen. Also, the shadow had little physical form, and would essentially weigh next to nothing, so it would be able to pull the man down with its weight. It would simply be hanging onto the man's ankles over the pit.

The other shadows simply formed a ring around the pit. And then the two ghouls coming in from the sides would have made it by that time to the man. They had used up their ammunition beforehand, and were already charging forward by the time the shadow had yanked the man down. So naturally, they'd be all over him at the time two worms emerged from the man's back to strike at the shadow that was hitching a ride, lunging through the air over the pit, arms extended, clearly intent on ripping into the man's body as he hung in the open.

Then the man would go limp, seemingly passing out. Because thats what people do when they pass out. And even for a mere moment, the slightest second he was defenseless, they came in. It was simply the wrong place and the wrong time to do something like that, and during that moment, the ghouls would be digging their claws into the man's neck and head, ripping at it for handholds and life. Even as fleas spread out from his body located at a broken bottle.

((Sorry, I suck at being here these days, it's only fair I end this fight and not leave it hanging. I thought it was one of the best I participated in, thanks.))

The life force dwindled, insects returning to their master to die. A cocoon of fleas spread from the broken flask, encasing their master. The tapeworms snapped back, wrapping around Leo's body, the lice were crushed by the weight of other compressing insects, including returning wasps and bee's. The dead insect cocoon would harden dramatically, becoming a case harder than steel. To allow it to form, one last psychic burst would push the spirits away. The case complete, it would fall to the bottom of the pit with a dull thunk.

It was probably best to leave it alone, bury it and let the negative energy kill whatever was inside over time. Or was it, it was just there, at the bottom, left for them to do whatever they wanted with. Possibly ghoul food, who knew.

The fight was over.

Supposedly. She'd get it done without as much flair and fandango as the rest of the dancing, but it'd be filled. One could tell something happened there, but those ghouls were as good as buried with a meal. Maybe they'd climb out later, like a B-grade horror flick. It'd probably take them a while to do that, so she started thinking on where a good quartet of big guys could be found.

Time to go "shopping" in a tavern, then.

A pale man approached the forboding keep wearing little more than tatters. His face was dark; this wasn't a visit he was looking forward to. He was here to report his travesty of an assassination attempt. He had gotten arrogant and gave his foe more than fair chances of success.

Which, if he survived this, wouldn't be a mistake Moonblade would make again. Ever.

His attire was in even worse shape than it had been when he first arrived at Sorrow's Keep. This time around the upper right side of his kimono had disintegrated into oblivion, completely revealing the embroidered black breastplate underneath. However, Moonblade likely had much bigger things to worry about than his attire.