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Eloquent Conversationalist
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 Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2010 9:09 pm
Ammiel Moonblade "You're powerless to oppose me."In a fluid motion, the Death Knight brought Ruination from the deflected blow to a horizontal level. Chaotic wisps of purple and black energy erupted around the weapon as Argon twisted his body to the left and countered with a one-handed horizontal slash/smash. Shock Tide -Shock Tide: A large amount of mana is focused through a target (I.E. the tip of his spear, his fists, etc.) for a single, devastating attack. This spell actually uses a combination of two elements. Negative energies wear away at the target's life force directly, where as the chaos energies work to tear apart any physical object. This typically cannot be used as a projectile attack, as the combined magical energies disperse as it travels out, negating its effectiveness. The Death Knight opened with his bread and butter attack, attempting to rip Ryugi apart with dark magics. Though the greatspear itself lacked in physical power when used one-handed, the attack had energy potency in spades. The rotation of his body also offset the physical deficiency to a degree. If a normal human took the attack straight up, the intense magical energy would likely tear them apart. Ryugi was certainly no 'normal human', but it would still put him in a bad way. Argon's left hand was hovering somewhat near his face, ready to cast or act as the situation called for it. Ryugi didn't speak to answer the Death Knight's retort. In his unlimited state, the Death Knight would have to do more than stop his attack to stop his advance. Ryugi's attack might have been deflected, but it wouldn't be enough to stop him. As soon as the blade was knocked aside, a pulse of power surged through Ryugi's body and Ragnarok. Quote: Lightspeed Dash – This technique allows Ryugi to boost in a direction for better evasion and speed. Each boosting action drains a small bit of stamina from Ryugi varying on how long the boost is maintained. *Weight Augmentation* While Ryugi can wield Ragnarok due to his strength, the sword's weight is still easy to see in his swordplay, limiting his movements. Ragnarok has power of its own, and can use this power to augment its weight for its wielder if Ryugi so wills it to. This is done by tracking Ryugi's movements, and using its own power to add positive force and counteract negative force (IE - some of the force of gravity or its own inertia and momentum). This allows Ryugi to wield the sword with greater ease, while the sword itself doesn't truly get any lighter. One could consider it somewhat similar to having two sets of hands wielding the blade rather than one. The sword's effective weight is seemingly reduced by about 35%. *Shining Sword* This ability gets its name from Ragnarok's glowing status while undergoing it. When in this form, Ryugi can get a slight boost in his stats as long as Ragnarok is within his grip, as Ragnarok uses its own energy to assist Ryugi in battle. However, this is still a limited ability, and does not give Ryugi a massive jump to his abilities. This is not to mean that the effects are not noticeable, just that they have their limits as Ragnarok is not directly charging Ryugi's body. In a blur, the massive weapon was shunted around in a full arc as Ryugi took a step back, feeling the momentum of his blade carrying it through with even more power and force behind it than the first blow, even as energy crackled along its length. Ryugi's pure physical might topped that of the Death Knight, and coupled with his less awkward weapon, made for far more speed as well, and that was even without the added boost from the Lightspeed Dash tacked on to supplement it. In short, Ryugi would be counter-attacking the Death Knight's attack before the ebony-clad warrior even knew what was coming. As the hand came out, the attack created, the energy crackling, Ryugi's strike would be unleashing at full force into the forming strike. And it was an attack that the man would be familiar with, and it was being used at close range, with an added boost to its power from Ryugi and Ragnarok working together to supplement it. - VORPAL SLASH!! - Quote: Vorpal Slash – Ragnarok releases a superheated slash of energy that cuts the air in twain as it moves. The blade is capable of cutting through heavy defenses and armor for moderate damage to the target inside. If used against an unarmored opponent it can heavily damage an opponent, if not be fatal. Luckily, the attack is easy to dodge, being a single slash, unless used at close range where the high speed of the attack is put to its highest effectiveness. Named in honor of a blade said to destroy a powerful and formidable beast. The power that Ryugi's armor-piercing slash carried in its base form was already tremendous, if not fatal at close range. And now, all that power and force was further amplified by Ryugi's spinning arc, his momentum, as well as the additional energy added to it, his blade blurring from the speed. Any attack that the Death Knight tried to unleash would be cut apart and dismembered by the strike, and that went double for anything he tried to unleash with his left hand, causing no harm to befall Ryugi, but the same could not be said for the Death Knight himself. The sheer magnitude of the strike cracked the marble floor beneath the two fighters' feet as it sped towards the Death Knight with little to no warning beforehand. Talk was cheap. The Death Knight could talk up his game all he wanted, but Ryugi was here for results, and nearly ripping your foe apart with your first strike, only to follow it up with an even faster, more powerful second strike at the same deadly close range seemed far more adequate than idle threats and bolstered false pride. So far, determination was looking pretty solid...
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Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2010 11:15 pm
Lightspeed Dash always caught people unaware, and the Death Knight was no exception. However, instead of allowing himself to get blown into oblivion, he let his magic solve the problem. Chaos Ripple -Chaos Ripple: Argon releases a field of energy around himself with properties similar to anti-magic, dissolving and effectively nullifying whatever energy it happened to collide with. The ripple, while powerful, is a rather inefficient use of energy; it almost certainly costs more than the effect he's trying to nullify. For this reason, the Death Knight rarely extends its radius more than five feet. This spell is not sustained past its immediate effects. A wave of purple chaos magic burst from the Death Knight's left hand, disrupting all active magics in a five foot radius as they were torn apart by the field. Fortunately, this meant he would be spared the blow from Vorpal Slash. Unfortunately, his own spell Shock Tide was nullified as well. However, given the circumstances, it wouldn't have done much anyways. While it wouldn't be apparent due to Argon's chaotic aura clouding his magical input and output, Chaos Ripple made a significant dent in the Death Knight's mana pool. It was unlikely that even Ryugi's keen energy sense could get an accurate reading on the Death Knight's current energy store. However, Ragnarok itself was a physical object. The weapon slammed into the Death Knight a few inches below his left arm, staggering him. The weapon rebounded off the armor, but the force of the blow was sufficient to damage the body underneath regardless. The Death Knight's previous attack was rendered completely useless. Being thrown off balance, the blunt attack would do little more than mildly annoy the dragon. He was too close to use the full range of the spear, anyways. As Argon's was knocked off balance and his to the right, Ruination was returned to the void in a puff of black mist. The Death Knight had no doubt Ryugi would continue his assault while he had an advantageous position. Before Ryugi could strike again (or perhaps even as Ryugi started another blow), the Death Knight's staggering right foot came down with a stomp. Lunar Push - Lunar Push: Using his affinity for the moon, Argon is able to create a mobile, hemispherical energy field that prevents the entrance of most types of living creatures. This could also be used to toss those who are in close proximity to the Death Knight back. An expanding field of silver lunar magic slammed into the dragon warrior, presumably pushing him back. The field extended to its maximum ten foot range in roughly a fourth of a second. It was more than powerful enough to knock someone of Ryugi's mass back, perhaps even tossing him if he were caught off balance. Given that this ploy was successful, the Death Knight wouldn't waste his advantage, promptly chasing Ryugi down and calling Ruination back from the void.
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Tue Jul 13, 2010 11:38 pm
Ryugi detected the expanding field of energy rather quickly, and moved to intercept with a block, however, as it knocked him back, he lifted a leg and pushed off of the field, using it to gain some distance between he and the Death Knight. However, there would be little in the way of an "opening" for him to strike back at Ryugi, because Ryugi, while gaining distance, was still on the offensive. His onslaught did not let up, even as he moved away. Ragnarok glowed with power as Ryugi brought the blade across his form from left to right with his right hand, his legs moving up, almost into an airborne crouch, energy bolts erupting from the blade in a torrent of energy spears, each one a deadly piercing projectile. And the closer the Death Knight got, the more like a shotgun the effect would become, increasing the chances of a serious strike. Quote: Adamant Spear - Jumping up with a sword strike, Ryugi unleashes a hail of burning energy spears towards a target for area damage and possible piercing damage. But that wasn't all, Ryugi still had a second hand, and he intended to use it. White energy pulsed into being as Ryugi unleashed a hail of white orbs along with the Adamant Spear, each one flying towards the Death Knight with earnest. Quote: Flash Bang - Launches anywhere from one to several concentrated balls of light energy, explosion can temporarily deafen an opponent, and flash can temporarily blind, no real damage, only inflicts status change. These were extremely similar to Flash Bang grenades, and were loud enough and bright enough to cause temporary deafness and blindness, and what was worse was that the only way to completely remove the effects from the equation was to heavily cover one's ears and completely look away from the blasts. Separately the two attacks were only mildly effective, but together, they combined to form an extremely dangerous situation with terrible costs to the opponent. If the Death Knight moved to shield himself from the blasts, he'd leave himself open to the spears, and if he avoided the spears, he'd be open to the unforgiving hail of Flash Bangs. His time to consider his options was slim, and Ryugi wasn't going to wait patiently for him to make up his mind.
He was already plotting his next strike...
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Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 12:23 am
As Ryugi went airborne, the Death Knight slowed his charge in anticipation for a retaliatory attack. Moonblade had tried to intercept him in midair in the past and got blasted for it. Argon would not make the same mistake. As the Dragon Warrior revealed his attack, the moonlit boundary field was dropped as the Death Knight simply pushed off hard on his right foot, leaping to the left. He thrust Ruination towards the ground near Ryugi. "Void Sphere."Void Sphere - Void Sphere: Being crafted from nothingness, the Void Sphere lacks conventional elemental properties of any kind. Essentially a vacuum in the space of magic, it disrupts the spellcasting of its target for a short time, in addition to dealing an impressive amount of energy damage. It is not only useful for absorbing enemy spells as defense, but is used as the basis for many of the Death Knight's advanced spells. A pure black, featureless orb roughly the size of a basketball was created from the tip of the greatspear and flew towards where Ryugi was going to land at a leisurely 30 miles per hour. It was, conveniently enough, sufficient to catch him a moment after he was bound to land. The Death Knight would land a moment after the initial projectiles hit, narrowly evading the Adamant Spears as he landed right outside the blast zone as the marble floor was torn apart. The flashbangs were a different story. Recognizing the attack, Argon made no attempt to evade it. The blinding light would only hamper him while the flash was in effect; not only did his helmet lenses protect him from bright lights to a degree, but his arcane-infused eyes were different from that of a normal human. Bright lights didn't have as much of a lasting blinding effect. However, the helmet did little to protect his hearing. He would be momentarily deafened, but with his sight still intact and his mana sensory as high as Ryugi's, it shouldn't be too much of a hindrance.
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 1:49 am
The Void Sphere was shot and away. It took only a moment before Ryugi calculated the trajectory of the move. But he grinned once he figured it out. Suddenly, a disk of light appeared under his feet, and in an instant, Ryugi's chambered legs shot out against the disk, propelling him away from his supposed landing spot, and instead, he shot directly towards the Death Knight with a pulse of energy, catching himself on the ground, Ragnarok surging with power. Quote: Light Manipulation - This technique allows Ryugi to call on light energy to form any number of solid objects for attack or defensive purposes, much like a shadow elemental, but using light energy instead. Stamina is used to manifest objects based on their size and complexity. If the objects are not destroyed in combat, the energy can be reabsorbed by Ryugi and used to replace some of the stamina lost during their creation. Lightspeed Dash – This technique allows Ryugi to boost in a direction for better evasion and speed. Each boosting action drains a small bit of stamina from Ryugi varying on how long the boost is maintained. The strike would be a blast from the past. Something that most considered completely lost from Ryugi's arsenal. Together with Ragnarok's assistance, these "Lost Techniques" could once again be used in limited capacity. As Ryugi charged in, Ragnarok would glow with power, golden light energy forming up around the blade, increasing the size of the weapon to a staggering three times its already large size. Quote: Lost Technique * Titan Blade - Originally used by storing energy within Ragnarok, but now utilizing power fed directly from Ryugi and Ragnarok's own stores, the sword grows to an enormous size (3x current size), a frighteningly sharp energy representation, using the energy for intense damage at close, medium, and long ranges. But the real power from the attack was yet to be seen. While the Titan Blade was amazingly powerful in and of itself, what would follow would become terribly more dangerous. Heat and light energy surged along the extended length of the blade as the power spiked, and with another blurred movement, the mighty Titan Blade cut the air in twain with a thunderous wave of torrential cutting force. Fueled by Ryugi's unleashed strength and Ragnarok's own energies, a battle cry shot from Ryugi's mouth as the wall of cutting force bore down on the Death Knight. - ADAMANT!! - - VORPAL SLASH!! - The Adamant Vorpal Slash was a combination of using the Titan Blade's greater size to increase the condensation of the energy used to facilitate the Vorpal Slash. A bigger weapon effectively meant more surface area to gather the energy, increasing the output exponentially, and the tip of the blade moving at a higher velocity also meant an even faster strike. If the first Vorpal Slash had only dented the Death Knight's reserves, then a massive, wide wall of cutting force moving at an even higher rate of speed would crush it to pieces. The wall-like crescent of cutting force would tear a massive furrow into the ground at the edges of the attack as it stormed towards the Death Knight with horrific cutting power, even as Ryugi continued his weapon's movement, readying for whatever might come next...
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Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 3:24 am
Argon secretly smiled underneath the black mask of his shadeskin armor. The Void Sphere, though it dissipated harmlessly when it hit the floor, was not a waste. In fact, it forced his opponent to move the way he wanted him to. His smile completely vanished, however, when Ryugi unleashed the previously lost Titan Blade. He would have had to think hard to remember what manner of technique it was if Ryugi wasn't a straight forward guy and the effect wasn't immediately apparent. The Death Knight created another Void Sphere in his left hand and casually tossed it above himself (and slightly forward) as Ryugi charged in, preventing a feint into another aerial attack. Having no time left to defend with Ryugi blasting towards him with blurring speed and a titanic attack, the Death Knight bent his legs and pushed off backwards, leaping high into the air with a backwards flip. Extending his left arm dramatically, bolts of purple chaos energy danced around his gauntlet. This was all completely unnecessary, but Argon still harbored a bit of Moonblade's taste for theatrics and battle drama. Chaos Bolt - Chaos Bolt: To a normal combatant, this is merely a bolt of chaos energy, having properties comparable to that of a strong electrical discharge. However, due to the spell's effects, the Chaos Bolt actively seeks out a closed circuit to wreck havoc across. For example: the leylines of a magical weapon, the circulatory system in a human, etc. This renders certain forms of magical absorption useless, rather allowing the bolt open access to their bodies. The bolt itself doesn't usually do enough damage to critically wound a target, rather tries to spread the damage across the entire body. The chaos bolt thundered from his fingertips, traveling at incredible speeds. However, Ryugi wasn't his target. At the same instant Argon barely cleared the literal wall of energy and the gorgeous marble floor was torn asunder, the bolt of energy collided with the Void Sphere. "Rain of Eden!"Rain of Eden - Rain of Eden: [Void Sphere + Chaos Bolt] When the Void Sphere is impacted by Chaos Bolt, the sphere becomes visibly charged with chaos magic. The charged orb breaks apart rapidly, flying off in the form of a few dozen short laser bursts over the course of a single second. Each shot is potent enough to burn and pierce human flesh and most variants of armor. On collision with the ground or sufficiently slowed by a physical object, the projectiles erupt in a burst of chaos energy, arching their energy to the nearest target within five feet of impact. The energy arc has properties similar to the Chaos Bolt, though each individual burst is significantly weaker. While a rapid bombardment, they strike seemingly at random within a predetermined 45º cone. The cone in which Rain of Eden's projectiles are fired is not dependent on the direction either the Void Sphere was traveling, nor is it dependent on where it was hit by the Chaos Bolt. It is prepared mentally by the Death Knight in advance. The charged void orb, now directly above the draconic youth, violently broke apart, 'raining' its deadly projectiles around him. ~ PEWPEWPEWPEWPEW!The laser-esque sounds would be almost humorous if it weren't excruciatingly loud, rapidly executed, and the potential damage wasn't so high. Bright orange bolts of energy rapidly bombarded the area surrounding Ryugi, erupting in bursts of chaos energy. On impact, the remainder of each shots energy would 'arc' towards the nearest target like a jolt of electricity. The disintegrating Void Sphere was roughly 15 feet above the dragon, meaning every blast would land within five feet of Ryugi's current position. Consequently, this was almost the perfect range for each burst to unleash its arc into unless he somehow moved. Alone, the individual blasts were a minor (albeit painful) nuisance. In a cluster, however, the effects could be devastating.
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 11:55 pm
The power of the Adamant Vorpal Slash was avoided by a simple jump and the tossing of yet another Void Sphere. But if the Death Knight thought Ryugi was going to stand back and allow him to toss more power at him from range he was sorely mistaken. If there was one thing Ryugi had not done this fight, it was back down. And even though his attack had missed, Ryugi was ready to follow through yet again. Just as Ryugi had done before, he followed through with the speed and momentum of his attack. He did not halt his forward movement as the Death Knight leapt away. He continued to forge ahead, moving past the Void Sphere in an instant. But the "Rain of Eden" still went through, the sphere erupting and showering Ryugi with several blasts of chaotic energy. The pain stung him to the core, causing him to wince, but Ryugi had been through worse. Even as the bolts of energy slammed into the ground, kicking up debris, Ryugi charged ahead, undaunted, crackling chaotic bolts of electricity streaking across his body as he fought through the burning pain, his red eyes burning with fiery determination and dead set on his target, the pupils black and slitted, just like a dragon's. With a ferocious battle cry he swung the mighty Titan Blade around in a new direction as his legs chambered and launched him directly up and into the Death Knight's retreating form, the Titan Blade aiming to cleave the black clad warrior in half with terrible force. But as the Death Knight rose and lifted into the air, he'd spy something under his own feet as he flipped around. It was a shining blue and white rune... Quote: Adamant Rain - Large runic circle appears under Ryugi's and the target's feet as burning pillars of light energy erupt into the sky from the rune under the opponent doing damage. Then, the energy falls to the earth in a powerful beam of light energy for even more damage, as well as slamming an opponent to the ground. As Ryugi's upward SWORDRYUKEN aimed to slice through the Death Knight, the Adamant Rain would erupt to meet him as well, surrounding both he and Ryugi in searing holy power. Ryugi had timed his jump and the attack itself to be precisely in-tune with the release of power, and the result was that he suffered virtually zero damage from the attack, and in fact, it only served to add more thunderous force into the blow. It would be terribly difficult to backflip away from one attack, and fire another when you were being cleaved in half and slammed into by a rising gout of purifying holy energy. In short, the Death Knight wouldn't even have time to recover and react to Ryugi's lightning-fast devastating combo before it was being, almost literally, shoved straight up his a**.
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Posted: Sun Jul 25, 2010 7:23 pm
Ryugi Kazamaru But as the Death Knight rose and lifted into the air, he'd spy something under his own feet as he flipped around. It was a shining blue and white rune... It was about this time that Argon cursed his own lack of foresight. There simply wasn't enough time for the Death Knight to prepare a proper counter. Lifewave & Dark Pulse - Lifewave: This spell draws the life force out of lesser living beings (plants, insects, etc) in a ten foot radius in one fell swoop. This is almost always done to draw the essence in as mana, increasing his store of magical energy. He can also funnel this force directly into a wave of energy, ironically giving him a positive (holy) attack to use against other undead or negative adversaries. Argon cannot draw the life-force out of anything but the smallest of creatures, as the spell isn't potent enough to capture their essence. The reverse of this spell, Death Pulse, allows the Death Knight to use his own 'life force' (I.E. Negative Energy) as a weapon or healing agent for undead targets. Argon brought in his right leg for a brief moment before promptly stomping down towards the glowing mark. A pitch black beam of negative energy erupted from his foot with incredible ferocity, colliding with the pillar of light. Both sources of energy would effectively cancel the other out, harmlessly dissipating as the one consumed the other. Normal people shoot energy from their hands. This dude can fire lasers from his feet. He must be really good. Alas, the dark foot-beam wasn't enough to actually stop Ryugi's onslaught; the Death Knight wasn't able to draw in a sufficient amount of negative energy from his 'life force' to counteract both attacks on such a short notice. The barely effected Titan's Blade would collide with the Death Knight's powerful armor like a bolt of thunder. The negatively-aligned undead shade would be sent flying across the battlefield from the sheer force of Ryugi's attack, rebounding off the ground hard a good fifty feet away before adjusting his position with a midair tumble and landing on his feet. It was the first heavy blow of the match. How would the Death Knight's defenses stack up? Dragon Bane - Dragon Bane: Upon being wounded, the cursed blood of ancient dragons becomes exposed, thus creating a toxic miasma deadly to dragon-kind. Though it isn't enough to actually kill a dragon, it will severely hamper its abilities and movements, making it wretched and sick enough to easily finish off. A bright purple crack formed where Titan Blade struck. Given the pigment and intensity of the fiery-hot glow, it was obvious that holy or positive aligned attacks were highly effective against both Argon and his armor. The black mist escaping the tear in the Death Knight's armor and flesh was a major reason why the Death Knight was so dangerous during the Angaran Invasion. On the off-chance the Death Knight was personally assaulted, the ones responsible would be effected and promptly dispatched. Worse yet, nearby Angaran units would also eventually succumb to the effects of the poison. The more injuries the Undead Shade sustained, the more miasma was released into the surrounding air and hence the weaker Ryugi would become. As a combatant, the Death Knight was more suited to taking out large combatants and groups of enemies than single man-sized targets. When it came to a one-on-one duel, it was apparent that Argon usually relied on his ability to overwhelm his opponent with an impressive array of magical abilities and 'nearly impenetrable defenses' as opposed to using actual skill in melee combat. A spellcaster behind the veil of a mounted knight was still a spellcaster. "Dark Reparations."The Death Knight pulled in a large amount of mana into his left arm, expelling it to the side into what appeared to be a black and purple vortex of void energy. The vortex didn't last more than about a second or so, simply consuming all of the mana the Death Knight poured into it before vanishing from this plane of existence. To what end this served was anyone's guess. One with such keen energy senses as Ryugi might start to notice that for the amount of magical power Argon seemed to throw around, he was drawing very little mana to sustain himself. The truth of the matter was that the Death Knight had to allocate most of his resources to sustain his armor and passive auras that kept him 'alive'. To offset this weakness, the Death Knight had an absolutely massive pool of magical energy at his disposal, allowing him to forgo the entire 'energy build-up' phase that entail in most metabrawls and blow his proverbial load right off the bat. However, even with the chaotic Black Wind concealing the Death Knight's arcane power, Ryugi could probably sense that the Death Knight's magical reserves were starting to dwindle. With his magical intake at such a relatively low level, the Death Knight could only continue his magical barrage for so much longer if the situation didn't change. As a consolation to both combatants, the chinks in the Death Knight's armor sealed itself. It was good for the Death Knight because his shadeskin armor was in full fighting force, but it was also good for Ryugi because he temporarily stopped spewing deadly miasma.
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Jul 25, 2010 7:56 pm
Ryugi landed, watching the Death Knight fly across the battlefield before landing hard. However, at the same time, Ryugi fell to one knee, hacking and coughing as the Death Knight's toxic Dragonsbane Miasma spread into the air, and erupted right into his face.
What the...?! I know this sting... Dragonsbane miasma?! That b*****d...
The mighty Titan Blade fizzled and dissipated as for the first time since the fight began Ryugi felt the massive stamina drain from utilizing so many attacks in a row. His body had taken a considerable drain, but up until now he'd fought through it, determined to take out his foe. The miasma felt like acid in his lungs and nostrils, and stung his eyes. His vision blurred as he continued to hack and cough. As if the miasma wasn't bad enough, he still felt the stinging crackle of the Rain of Eden running through his body. The combination of bodily assaults was taxing to say the least.
Thinking as quickly as he could, Ryugi leapt backwards and out of the toxic and stinging cloud. His vision was still blurred from the tears in his eyes, but he could still see. While his lungs burned and it hurt to breathe, while his body was still wracked with pain from the Death Knight's attack, still Ryugi stood, gripping the handle of Ragnarok tightly. If the Death Knight wanted to defeat Angara's most recent famous son, he'd have to more than this to defeat him.
That's a dirty trick, Vermin... But you'll need more than THAT to finish me off...
Through irritated, Ryugi still locked his red eyes onto the Death Knight, and pulled himself into a standing position, hacking and spitting to the side, the spittle tinged red from his irritated and inflamed lungs...
Ryugi's determination held strong, but for one blast of miasma to have this cumulative of an effect, one had to wonder if Ryugi could still hold out if he took in too much more of the stuff...
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Posted: Sun Jul 25, 2010 9:48 pm
The Death Knight found great satisfaction in watching the Dragon Warrior retreat as he fell deathly ill. He suddenly found the tables turned as Ryugi broke from his assault and took the defensive. "Hmmhmm. Is that the full extent of your determination? Deplorable."Still, Argon was no fool. He knew from experience Ryugi's incredible durability in combat. He wasn't about to play his winning hand before knowing to what extent the poison affected the draconic paladin. Of course, that didn't mean he couldn't s**t-talk back. "I expected more from Kobayashi's puppet. How... disappointing"Unseen mana poured from the Death Knight's legs directly into the ground, leaving only a very small portion of mana in his reserves for clutch use. Chrysm Burst - Chrysm Burst: Focusing his chaotic energies into the ground, Argon corrupts the natural leylines in Gaia, using them as a conduct for his own magicks. By corrupting the mana in the ground with his own, he can slowly 'network' the earth around him, allowing him to fire off crystalline spikes of chaos energy anywhere in the area of influence. The networking process is slow and requires the Death Knight connected to one spot in some way for an extended period of time; while his influence on the land's leylines doesn't dissipate immediately, he certainly cannot utilize it while he's not connected. The responsiveness (in terms of fire speed and accuracy of attacks) of the network depends on the amount of time allowed to corrupt the earth. The Death Knight stood fixed to his landing spot. Drawing the incredibly sharp obsidian military saber sheathed at his side, Argon allowed his magic to seize hold of the playing field before he would advance. If anything could be said for the ethereal void, it was that it was incredibly thorough with its terrain simulation. He had no problems connecting to the mana-rich leyline network in the marble floor. For the moment, Argon would attempt to force the weakened Ryugi to move in on him. While this was a defensive maneuver for the time being, it would put him at a severe advantage. If the Dragon Warrior allowed the Death Knight to completely set up his war magicks, he might find victory all but unobtainable. If Ryugi didn't act soon, the very battlefield would become the Death Knight's weapon. Argon's masked gaze wasn't fixated on the dragon, but rather Ryugi's sheathed off-weapon, Sol Blade. Naturally, Argon had a plan to deal with the sword, but it had proved to be nothing but trouble for him in the past.
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Jul 25, 2010 11:34 pm
Ammiel Moonblade "Hmmhmm. Is that the full extent of your determination? Deplorable." Ryugi cleared his throat and coughed again, spitting another red-tinged blob of spittle aside as his lungs began to clear a little more. He even let out a chuckle at the Death Knight's comeback. If you think that's all I've got, then you have no concept of the depth and power of my determination and resolve...Ryugi felt the dark corrupting energies seeping into the ground beneath his feet, and he felt his own power shift almost imperceptibly because of it. Ryugi drew his powers directly from the fire and light elemental planes, and the corruption of the ground below made it that much more difficult for him to maintain his draw. However, even if it was slightly lessened, it wouldn't make a noticeable difference unless the Death Knight somehow managed to completely corrupt the area, and Ryugi wouldn't give him the time necessary to accomplish that goal. Ammiel Moonblade "I expected more from Kobayashi's puppet. How... disappointing" Ryugi's eyes narrowed at the comment this time. The Death Knight quite obviously spoke of Argus Kobayashi, Vargus's father, and a high ranking member of the High Council. However, a smirk soon took its place on Ryugi's face as he continued to buy himself time... What's truly deplorable is how after all those you've killed, all those you've cut down in their prime, everything you've gained, even after defeating my brother and all his power...you have to use so much effort to try and squash one insignificant warrior like myself.With each second that ticked by, Ryugi's stamina was returning. Each moment gave him new found strength that flowed into his body, and while the Death Knight extended his influence to whatever end he saw fit, each moment that he delayed Ryugi regained his energy to fuel the fires within... So then, "Death Knight," what's wrong?
Here I am. The man you've been waiting to fight since you attacked my homeland and defeated my brother, with hardly a scratch on me after everything you've thrown my way. You've run away and backed off like a coward in the face of combat against me, and now you're stalling for time to try and figure out how best to destroy me.
Face it, "Death Knight", you're frightened... Ryugi continued to monitor the spread of the Death Knight's energy through the area below him and all around the battlefield,even as his breath returned, and his strength began to flow back into his limbs, the stinging fading from the Rain of Eden and the Dragonsbane Miasma as positive energy flowed up and down Ryugi's form, purifying the dark energies and empowering him at the same time... And for all your talk, you're nothing... The last words were like daggers, spoken with spite. The Death Knight was nothing if not prideful, not too unlike one of Ryugi's once greatest friends, Ammiel Moonblade. Any tarnish to that pride would send the man into a raging fury of energy and anger. The last thing men like Death Knight wanted was to feel weak and inferior. And right now, that's all that Ryugi seemed to project towards the dark knight, as he stood tall, gripping Ragnarok despite the drain he'd undergone. This was the true power of Ryugi's determination. It gave him the strength and the willpower to push through any obstacle that got in his way, and to keep pushing, to keep fighting, and to keep cutting his way towards victory. And nothing that the Death Knight unleashed would be able to dim that light, and that resolve. It was his move...
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Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 2:46 am
Ryugi Kazamaru Here I am. The man you've been waiting to fight since you attacked my homeland and defeated my brother, with hardly a scratch on me after everything you've thrown my way. You've run away and backed off like a coward in the face of combat against me, and now you're stalling for time to try and figure out how best to destroy me. The undead shade simply scoffed, humored by his gross oversimplification of things and false truths. "You're restricted. You refuse to see combat beyond physical spacing and raw, blind aggression."Ryugi Kazamaru Face it, "Death Knight", you're frightened... Argon rebutted, opening with a sarcastic, condescending noise that sounded awkward as hell beneath the distortion of his mask. "Hmmmm? You preach about fear, but you take your hypocrisy and flee at the mere sight of my blood. Presume all you like; I know you're simply trying to buy time as your body cleanses itself of the dragon's bane coursing through your respiratory system."Ryugi Kazamaru And for all your talk, you're nothing... A twinge of irritation was hidden behind a mask of metal. Whether the dragon knew it or not, he struck a rather painful nerve. "While I tire of your trite ramblings and inconsequential nothings, I will indulge you. Let no one doubt the vast gap in our actual skill."The Death Knight went on as the corruption beneath their feet continued to spread. "Don't worry..."The powerful shadeskin armor dissolved into the far recesses of the void, as though it were nothing more than dust to the wind. Long, jet-black hair flowed from the back of the apparition's head, as though it were a liquid substance. Violet eyes stared the dragon down, his left hand off to the side in a lazy shrug as the Death Knight's condescendingly arrogant voice was truly heard for the first time. "I'll try to fight down on your level. The full extent of my powers are wasted on you."With fresh memories of the dragon bashing his head open in cold blood moments after he extended an perfectly honorable (albeit involuntary) duel invitation, Argon found the hypocritical words hitting precariously close to home. These words had some effect on the Death Knight, though perhaps not the effect he was expecting. Without his powerful armor, it was quite possible that the Dragon Warrior could destroy Argon in a single attack or two. Just what was he playing at? Simple. While Argon was more composed than Moonblade ever was, he was as arrogant as ever. His first few rounds with his opponent filled him with confidence he didn't have previously. Ryugi opened with his new aggressive fighting style right out, allowing the Death Knight time to adjust and figure it out. He felt that he had a fair estimate of Ryugi's total energy potential. He also knew all of Ryugi's old tricks and abilities to boot, whereas the Death Knight was still holding a fresh, powerful hand. He didn't want to simply defeat Ryugi. He wanted to humiliate him and assert his complete superiority beyond a shadow of a doubt.
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 3:54 am
Ryugi smirked. The Death Knight was dropping his armor in favor of fighting on Ryugi's level? Well then, that was unexpected, but nonetheless welcome. Without the armor the Death Knight would be far more vulnerable to Ryugi's attacks, albeit a bit faster on the reactionary movements. However, the Death Knight's reactions had simply been strikes designed to eliminate or cancel out Ryugi's attacks against him. And since that was the case, he hadn't really gained anything by dropping the armor. Or so it seemed anyway. Ryugi wouldn't be so blinded by his assumptions, but as far as he could tell, the Death Knight was arrogant and prideful, and goading him into action seemed to have worked in Ryugi's favor. But if the Death Knight thought that Ryugi would hold back on any of his abilities just because the man had dropped his armor, he would be sadly mistaken. The man obviously had something to prove by "fighting down at Ryugi's level", but whether or not he'd be successful in his attempts was something all together different. Ryugi firmly gripped Ragnarok as the sword began to glow more brightly than before, its energies once again infusing Ryugi with power, even as Ryugi felt the pains of the miasma and the previous attacks fade to a dull throb, something easily dealt with, just like the vermin in front of him. For all his power, the Death Knight had failed to land a critical strike. That was it. For all his power, he was nothing. Don't flatter yourself... The full extent of my power isn't something measured simply by how explosive something is, or how many innocent people I can protect.
It's fueled by something more!! Ryugi took a step and his power grew. He took another and it grew again. Each step it continued to climb as his eyes burned with fierce and serious intent. They were the eyes of a warrior intent on destroying his foe, the eyes any enemy would fear or despise, the unyielding glare of a hero. People like you will never understand!! My will and my desire to overcome no matter the odds gives me strength and determination! And together with Ragnarok I will continue to fight until my life drains from my body and I can no longer move to strike, and even then, my spirit itself will reach out from beyond eternity to protect that which I hold dear!Ryugi broke into a full on run, boots tearing across the foyer of the massive hall as the sheer magnitude of his determination swelled within him, an aura of white and gold energies surging around his form. Adrenaline fueled his body, pushed it past its normal limits, combined with his drive to push him towards his foe, and their destiny. His heart forced him onward, into and through the lion's den to strike at his foe. If you think holding anything back will prove anything against me, you're wrong!!
As long as there is something to fight for, I won't back down no matter what you throw at me!!
So show me the power!!
SHOW ME WHAT YOU'RE MADE OF!! Ryugi thundered forward, Ragnarok surging with the strength of Ryugi's determination, the two souls linked in their goal, warrior and weapon fighting together. Ryugi lead with his left elbow, his right arm and Ragnarok trailing behind as he shot towards the Death Knight, before his body spun into motion, the blade flying into the air, spinning with arcs of energy spiraling around it as it left Ryugi's hand behind. But Ryugi was unphased as the blade shot above the two combatants and continued ahead, his energy racing down into his arms, empowering them with high levels of positive energy, strengthening them, hardening them for what would undoubtedly come his way as he spun, throwing his right arm into a super powered punch with energy pushing him forward to drive the attack straight into the newly unprotected chest and stomach of the Death Knight.
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Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 3:27 am
Ryugi Kazamaru Don't flatter yourself... The full extent of my power isn't something measured simply by how explosive something is, or how many innocent people I can protect.
It's fueled by something more!! This thought merely served to validate Ryugi's next choice of words, which was something that irritated the Death Knight. At this point, the Death Knight had deactivate all of his passive defenses and auras, including the Black Wind. Without such energy expenditures, Argon had an almost acceptable mana regeneration rate. Ryugi broke into a charge, entering the area infected by Chrysm Burst. The ground beneath and in front of Ryugi would periodically glow before thin, crystalline spikes of energy erupted from the surface of the stone floor. As the network was still relatively unresponsive, it would be a simple matter for Ryugi to speed up or simply outmaneuver the spikes as he advanced. Why did the Death Knight even bother? Plenty of mana was already present in the leylines. The Death Knight didn't need to load that gun if there were already bullets in the chamber. "You want to see power, huh?"Dark Reparations - Dark Reparations: The Death Knight sends a small black and purple mana vortex into the void using an unspecified amount of energy. The vortex will reappear a short time later with mana collected from the rift, recharging the Death Knight's reserves before being absorbed again, effectively doubling the energy initially spent. The more mana Dark Reparations has to collect, the longer it takes to return to the Death Knight. The dark vortex the Death Knight created before suddenly materialized behind the Death Knight. Filled with mana from the recesses of the Ethereal Void, a stream of multicolored magic poured into the Death Knight's back, recharging him. Following that, the black and purple vortex 'streamed' into the Death Knight as well, being almost completely reabsorbed. Despite his mana issues, the Death Knight had devised several methods to turn himself into a sustainable war machine. Ragnarok separated from its master and flew overhead as the Dragon Knight charged in. Bracing himself in a low stance to intercept his opponent, Argon lead with his left side, his sword arm trailing to the back. Reaching out, cackling silver and blue energy suddenly erupted from the Death Knight's hand as it caught the powerful punch. Both combatants slid across the marble floor as the Death Knight's arm and Ryugi's fist was forced closer towards his unarmored body. Crush Beat - Crush Beat: Bright blue and silver energy envelops Argon's hand in a combination of Lunar and Void magic. On defense, Crush Beat is capable of stopping a physical object such as a sword without causing injury to the Death Knight. It also acts as an effective wall against most energy based attacks. In a grapple, it actually partially envelops the target, creating a powerful vice-like grip that is incredibly difficult to break. It also suppresses any energy in a small region. It got its name from the absurdly powerful crushing force that is applied when the Death Knight closes his enveloped hand. With the shadeskin armor equipped, Crush Beat costs an incredible amount of energy. When used without the armor, Crush Beat actually burns the Death Knight's hand, dealing magical damage to himself. Requires support from Lazarus to maintain. Ryugi would find his hand caught in a powerful vice grip. The dragon warrior might be a little surprised to find that the Death Knight possessed physical strength that far surpassed anything he exhibited previously. Without having to pay energy upkeep on his various auras and maintain his armor, the Death Knight was able to allocate that energy into boosting his raw physical power past Ryugi's previously displayed limit... and then some. Further more, the energy from Crush Beat effectively suppressed and nullified any energy-induced power increase or buff that was going through Ryugi's arm. No attack Ryugi had prepared was getting through that wall, positive or otherwise. "Fufufu."Argon smirked even as seething pain shot through his arm as his hand was seared by powerful energy. Despite his devious chuckle, the Death Knight wasn't ******** around here. In nearly an instant, the forces of Crush Beat and the drastically enhanced physical strength he temporarily possessed applied an incredible amount of pressure on Ryugi's hand in an attempt to destroy it. His armored gloves would provide little to no resistance against the Death Knight's raw crushing force. For reference, a normal man's hand inside an armored gauntlet would be completely obliterated in almost an instant. To make matters even worse, while Ryugi was trapped in close range with the Death Knight, Chrysm Burst was allowed to take free, rapid pot shots from below.
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Eloquent Conversationalist
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Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 4:09 am
With a pulse of energy, the two combatants met, and the sheer force of impact caused the both of them to skid backwards. But Ryugi wasn't finished. That punch was just the beginning. All that positive energy surging through his arms was deceptive. Ryugi was known for channeling energy through his body and unleashing it into powerful explosive attacks and punches at close range. But this energy was different, and it was a tactic he'd learned from a very certain Reaper... All the energy that would have normally gone towards outward force and explosive power was instead channeled into and through Ryugi's arms, wrists, and hands. If Negative energy was the energy of death and decay, positive energy was the energy of life and living, and Ryugi's arms were completely saturated in the stuff. The end result was something unexpected... Death Knight would find that Ryugi's hand, while certainly in pain, would be quite intact as the power surging through the limb effectively prevented it from being crushed and destroyed by the terrible forces unleashed. But that was only one hand, and Ryugi still had a second trick up his other sleeve. As the two combatants collided together and Ryugi's hand was gripped, Ryugi jerked the arm back, even as a pulse of energy shot him towards the Death Knight's still open body. Ryugi's left arm shot forward with all the power of a hydraulic piston on steroids, and it would strike with enough force and speed to punch directly through a solid concrete wall. But all it would find was the Death Knight's squishy torso, ripe for the picking, or the punching... Ryugi wasn't daft either. He knew the Death Knight was still armed with his saber, but with the speed with which he closed the distance between the two of them, the Death Knight would be unable to gain any striking advantage against Ryugi with the weapon before Ryugi's secondary attack struck with all the force of a fully loaded freight train. If successful, not only would Death Knight very likely find the wind completely knocked out of him, but almost all of his ribs would be utterly shattered by the force of the blow, and any internal organs would be stuck by enormous shock trauma. At least, such injuries would effect most "normal" fighters. There was no telling the truth behind the dark knight's interior. But either way, Ryugi would follow through with the punch, pulling/pushing Death Knight along with the force, straight into the ground, the floor of the foyer cratering from the force, and sending debris into the air from the power behind it. Ryugi was using the Death Knight's own body as a barrier to his own Chrysm Burst, and adding even more insult to injury to the black-haired warrior, even as a few fine lines of blood dripped down Ryugi's face from the shards and his red eyes bore into his foes with fierce determination. And still, Ragnarok spun in the air, energy swirling around its form...
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