Ignazio sighed before turning his back to Lloyd and pouting slight before looking up at Sirzechs. ”Tsukiumi, mind your manners. If you don’t I’ll punish you harshly once this is all over with. Sirzechs, you have my apologizes, for her ill temper.” he growled before looking around at the wasteland around. It was covered in blood and hundreds of bodies; the bodies of Salamanders. ”It looks like we have some time, so I’m going to explain to you everything you missed until the next wave appears.” Ignazio said as he took in a deep breath and began to explain his plans to win the war, along with all the information he was putting together from the members who was on his current team. Ignazio’s closed were stained with the dried blood of the many demons as the recent addition of blood basically died the male’s brown hair red. Ignazio didn’t like the fact he was covered in blood, but he had a plan for getting clean as well as drying his clothes at a rapid rate; being a tamer had so many uses and they never ceased to amuse the young tamer as he found out new methods to utilize his powers. The tamer stretched his arms and then leaned forward to stretch his legs before yawning. ”That’s about it. I sent the tamer squad back, because they were running extremely low on their Qi, so in order to keep them from passing out and becoming a target, they should have made it back to base by now with the doctors. Even in the field, a doctor should remain protected and never on the front lines. That’s what my father always says at least. This little exam is like one big game of Go or even worse Chess. You know, now that I’m thinking about it, Titus doesn’t seem like a chess playing type neither does Akemi or Victor. I don’t know about Alexandria, but after watching her fight up close a few hours ago, I’m pretty sure she has a lot of skills that she’s hiding. If anything, they have a strategist on their side just like we do on this side. Seeing how my true knight is here, I have nothing to worry about, I can actually send out real mission commands.” the tamer said before turning his head to the left and then standing up all the way he closed his eyes and exhaled ’Looks like they are here…’”Lloyd.” Ignazio said as he began to walk away from the Knight and then looked towards the west and inhaled the blood filled air through his nostrils before exhaling. ”Since I’ve seen your trump card once, I’ll let you see mine now; it’ll be an even trade, alright? ” the tamer calmly stated before turning and looking at Tsukiumi. ”Tsukiumi, get ready!” he called over to the water demon cheerfully and then bit down on his lower lip. ’Hopefully this is all we need’ he thought to himself as he reached down toward his holster with right hand and removed a tarot card and then raised it into the air and lower it in front of his right eye. ”Watch carefully Lloyd, because I won’t show you this form again until we are fighting each other on the battle field of the third round…Spirit of Sorrow and Isolation, thou who bestoweth thy power upon kings, bring forth a great torrent that shall rule the earth! Dwell within me, Tsukiumi!” the tamer chanted after speaking to his friend.
Alaric watched as Ignazio passed him to go too the front line of the battle. He couldn't believe they were already being attack and it wasn't another team, but wild demons, he assumed that the beast were caused by the people who sponsor the exam since he didn't believe that the demons were able to make it here without their knowledge. He turned so he could follow behind Ignazio into the battlefield, but noticed that Ignazio was already far in front of him and their was already a bunch of their team member following him. Alaric sighed and just followed behind the troop. The young half breed wasn't going to push every aside to get to the battle first because that was rude and he didn't feel like doing such a thing at the moment. When they made it pass the large door and into the dark valley, Alaric was already tired of waiting, so he just leap high in the air and top of the rock formation that surround the entrance to their base and started to sprint towards the battlefield. The members of Team Black were pretty amazed that he was able to jump so high with such ease, Alaric smiled and started to pick up speed.
Alaric made to one of the area that was being attacked, but it seem they were being drawn towards the middle, "I guess Ignazio came up with a plan," he muttered as he made his way to follow the group.
Word Count:250 Total Word Count:2078 Qi Remaining: 72,664 / 72,664 Mobility Remaining: 254 / 254
Yggdmillennia Seal: On Back of Blazer & Vest, and as a small emblem on the front breast.
"Think nothing of it. I have not fallen so low that the comments of another have taken over my mind." Chuckling lightly he watched as Sirzechs moved off in a separate direction from Ignazio in order to stomp a few more salamanders into the ground itself. The ground was becoming rather clustered with their dead bodies, but even as they dwindled their numbers, they simply continued to attack without hesitation. It was almost scary to watch how quickly they were willing to rush directly into their deaths. When Ignazio explained everything ranging from his plans to the information on the members fighting with them, Lloyd quickly ran his free hand through his hair. The members of the White Team were not so much of a threat when they were alone, but putting them altogether would serve for something of a problem in the battles to come. Having been called his True Knight, Lloyd could only guess at who his fake knight must have been. Who had the gall to proclaim themselves to be a better Knight than he? Surely it was no one on his team, right? There was a thin line between having a big ego and knowing the limits and capabilities that one possessed, and while he would never brag about his skills, he was more than capable of taking down most of the Knights assembled in their exam. As he remained lost in thought, Sirzechs continued stepping on Salamanders one behind the other. "Show us, show us, show us!" Celebron's chanting only got louder and louder as the anticipation began to eat away at the small Cat Sidhe.
After completing his incantation, Ignazio’s words echoed around the area and even after he finished speaking. It was like a growing wave, as it grew larger and larger before crashing into the shore and taking over it. Tsukiumi floated over to her master and circled him before placing her left hand on his right shoulder and extended her right arm out and touching the talisman. A bright azure light took over the darkness, blinding the approaching salamander demons for a second as well as any on lookers whom looked directly into the bright light of Qi. The tamer’s energy flowed with the ebb and soon the familiar known as Tsukiumi was gone, as water was left in her stead. The water swirled around the base of Ignazio’s feet until he raised the talisman into the air, causing the water to engulf the male completely. The card vanished from his hand as the water took over and swirled into the air forming a tsunami like effect in the area. Winds churned as it began to rain. The twister of water continued to grow in size until it reached over the towering mountain tops. Ignazio lowered his right and left hand to his sides and released himself to the water. Tsukiumi appeared once more, but only for a second, her body was almost easily missed as it looked like the water was entering the male’s mouth, but the loyal familiar have appeared to seal the command of her powers, with a kiss upon the lips of her master.
With the gentle kiss of the frigid wave, bubbles and another torrent within the twister formed around the male’s arms, as his skin and clothes began to change as the torrent passed by his body. The twister of water began to lower as his clothing became a part of his body. But it wasn’t as if it was really his body, it was more like he was wearing armor. With each passing of the water, another part of his body changed. Ignazio’s body began to look more like a dragon, than a human. Two horns made of gold, crowned the top of his head with a crimson jewel in the center of his forehead, connecting the horned crown. An elaborate golden necklace stretched down his chest, with bright blue scales covering a majority of his torso, excluding his abdominal area, lower back, and his upper back near the base of his neck. His legs and feet were also covered in the blue scaled armor, and he had even obtained a dragon’s tail. With the final movements of the water circling around his body, a long white robe appeared and covered his lower body, from the waist down to his shins. With the completion of this form Ignazio raised his head to the rain and took in a deep breath as he opened his eyes for the first time in the fused form. ”You’re witnessing my trump card thanks to Tsukiumi. It’s called Soul Resonance.” he said, but Ignazio’s voice wasn’t the same either. It was deeper and an undertone of Tsukiumi’s feminine voice came forth with his voice. He then raised his hand into the air as he caused the rain to stop flowing and then change their direction.
”Be gone.” he muttered as he pointed his hand towards the group of salamanders causing the rain to attack them like bullets. Ignazio crossed his arms over his chest and began to walk forward as the demons started to fall towards the ground. The tamer pushed off the ground lightly and began to hover in the air before pushing himself forward causing him to force the wind behind him. He moved with the speed of a tidal wave and zoomed passed the demons and before rotating creating a tornado of water to following behind him as he drove through the group and then landed on the mountain side causing it to shatter under his feet. As the tornado of water contained and drowned the demons Ignazio pushed himself forward with the same speed once again but this time drove himself through the water with both arms out and hand perched as claws formed. Once he landed on the ground with a thunderous crash the rocks beneath his feet shattered and sunk in. Ignazio revealed his nails had become claws and the twister of water exploded leaving behind only bite sized pieces of salamanders falling to the ground. ”This is my trump card. Tsukiumi Dragon Armor.” he said as the bodies crashed behind him.
After the last of the bodies splashed along the ground the male quickly shifted his eyes to the right, and then turned his body before walking towards the direction of the demonic energy he was feeling. ’Even if it is Lloyd, I really shouldn’t be showing him my true powers like this, so, I can’t summon another familiar right now, it’ll be too taxing on my body and Qi alone, not to mention, I want to have something to show him in the main event. In that case I guess I should get started with my next trick.’”Spirit of sorrow and isolation…thou who controls the power to make kings! Bring forth the great raging streams that judge the surfaced Earth!” Ignazio began chanting slowly as he walked. Water began to form once again out of thin air, and surged around his body, rapidly rotating around him in a circle. As he completed reciting the spell, the large amount of water rose towards the sky before creating a massive glyph over the entire canyon. ”I’m officially don’t playing game with you stupid Salamanders, with this power I’ll show you something you’ll never forget!” he growled with the doubled voice before clapping his hands together. Ignazio’s golden qi lit the sky behind the glyph of water as the two merged as one becoming a shining frosted blue color. The flowing demonic energy in the sky the was merging with the energy of Ignazio’s Qi changed the glyph into a giant opening in the sky, the opening was black as the night sky; but within the opening the swishing and rushing of water crashing against walls could be heard. ”I hope all you bastards can hear this, because it’ll be the death of you. I’ll drown everyone here if I have to if it gets rid of you.” Ignazio muttered as pulled his hands apart and the rip in the sky began to expand in size. An evil grin took over Ignazio’s face as he chuckled watching the field expand in size. His body started to rise into the air as he stood in the middle of the distortion of space. ”Bakusui Shoha (Colliding Wave)” he muttered from his soft lips before water began to rapidly race out of the empty void. The transformed tamer laughed as he looked at the lesser dragons in the distance approaching him even with the demonic aura he was creating. The boy laughed as he with drunk with ecstasy of the power he was controlling. The power of a demon was within his grasps, and he had it all to himself. ”More..more..more...Let’s play some more!” he yelled as he laughed while the water rushed from the vortex and took over the sky creating an ocean above the ground in which it could possible crush and destroy.
”Insects” Ignazio growled as he pointed towards the on coming demons with a single hand and lashed his arm away from him causing the water to move with him. But instead of a single lowly smack the massive flood of water dropped drill like pillars rapidly spinning on top of each of the demons within his range, forcefully stabbing them into the ground within the square below. The tamer wasn’t just a tamer at this point, he was more like a demon. He was enjoying himself not only for the sake of the battle, but for the amount of strength he was obtaining with every slaying. The power was starting to control him; or so it would seem from an outwards look on the situation. Ignazio pushed both hands outwards and released the massive torrent from the heavens down upon the demons forcing them to be engulfed in the water. Ignazio kept his eyes focused on the water in order to control it, keeping it from escaping its single form of a giant pillar. The tamer watched as the demons were drowned one by one as he made his decent to the ground. The dragon scaled armored feet touched the ground first and Ignazio’s body slowly stumbled forward before he caught himself and began to breathe slowly as he caught his breath. The amount of energy it took to manipulate demonic energy while being a human was enormous, even if he was a tamer, the feats he had just utilized would be a technical classification of witchcraft or even making a deal with a devil, but because of the limitations of a human body, one couldn’t stay within such a form for a long period of time without a substantial amount of power, especially if the user wasn’t use to using the ability. Ignazio placed his hand on his chest before pulling on the golden necklaces.
The water the demons were trapped in crashed into the ground slowly, and the void within the sky sealed itself, as Ignaizo’s body was returned back to normal, with the blood stains and all. His hair was soaking after the armor become Tsukiumi’s body once more and she became one with the falling water which was absorbed into the tamer’s card which called forth the mighty demon. Ignazio fell to a knee in on to the wet dead bodies of Salamanders. He gasped for air and then pulled himself to his feet before looking over at Lloyd and giving a smile and a victory sign. ”And that was my trump card.” he said before sighing and falling backwards onto his butt onto the pile of dead demons and began to laugh. ”We’ve gone through more than half of them. If we keep this pace up we should be done in no time.” Ignazio said softly as he picked himself up and walked over to Tsukiumi’s card that was lying on the ground not too far from him. Bending forward and picking up the tarot card of the magician, he placed it back into his holster and started to stretch his arms up above his head. ”When do you think another wave will be out this way?”
Suddenly out of the structures around speakers appeared along with small cameras. The demons that were attacking began to retreat back in the direction in which they came from. ”Hello everyone, this is your proctor for the Second Examination; Tatsuya Shiba. If you haven’t already figured it out the demons you have just faced, either Salamanders or Dragon Tooth Warriors, are mid-level demons and can easily overtake an enemy camp if allowed to run wild especially if contingency plans are not in place. You were not told this in the explanation of the rules or of the island that, this is a demon island primarily, while there are wild demons, the ones you just faced were either bred or created especially for this examination. Now, you may be wondering about the retreat of the demons. That’s simple, both teams were supposed to protect their King, and you both managed to do that simply enough, but there was a catch, eliminating the threat quickly and effectively while maintaining the health and safety of all the members of your team, putting all the other’s wellbeing above your own. King of Team Black, your formation strategy was brilliant, using the arias and dragoons as live bait and drawing the prey to a single location for an executional style massacre, while this is effective, it is risky, although we noticed you for seen these possible casualties that could take place, and left your medical group within the base, while utilizing your Knights and Fights as a means to transport anyone injured as a personal body guard as well guard the arias and dragoon units from harm while they lured the demons into your trap. That’s an advance military tactic used within the Order, old fashion, but still advanced. We congratulate you. Now, King of Team White, while unorganized your assault ideals entertained us you showed that you have guts, as does the rest of your group. You managed to have found yourself two strategist. I advise you to utilize them, two heads are better than one. While Team Black’s King is creating the plans and strategies for his camp, his troops have an option to either go through with them or ignore them, although this King rules with an Iron fist, you tend to have something else within you. You’re all being graded on your performances during this exam, not just your single given missions. The current time is five-thirty in the morning. Sunrise will be upon you soon. Oh! Before I forget, the numbers for this little test. Team White, you were given one thousand and seventy two, mid-level highly trained undead demons to defeat, you were being tested to destroy at least half of the demons and maintain your group, within the allowed time before the opposing team defeated fifty percent of their demons. Out of your starting number, you managed to exorcise four hundred and ninety one demons, leaving behind five hundred and eighty one demons, I’m sorry but you failed to exorcise fifty percent of your enemy. Team Black; you were tasked to exorcise a total of one thousand two hundred and twenty three flying salamanders, whom could breathe fire, a lesser dragon kin of Drakes. Out of your grand total you managed to exorcise six hundred and seventy two demons and you managed to slay more than half of your opponents before the expired time. For the first section of the second examination, Team Black receives one point. Oh yes, there is something I should mention before I end this announcement, we will be sending more demons after you the longer you remain in a single area as a whole. There are cameras all over the examination, so remember not only are we watching but the millions of others are as well. Oh yes, Team Black, since you have proven to be such a resourceful team, we are assigning your King another mission. You are to kidnap a member from Team White, which means Team White, you should either protect all your members with your lives or retrieve your lost member before time runs out. You’ll half until sundown to complete your new mission Team Black. Oh and combatants, don’t forget about the larger mission at hand. Good luck.” With that the speakers and camera returned back into their hiding positions and the demonic auras vanished from the area, leaving only the residue and remains of the exorcised demons.
Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2014 6:56 pm
Yggdmillennia Seal: On Back of Blazer & Vest, and as a small emblem on the front breast.
Having been watching Ignazio's movements and the movements of his new familiar intently, when a bright azure light encompassed the entire area, he immediately brought his arm up to his eyes in order to shield them from the bright light. Looking to the side as he shielded his eyes, it seemed like the Salamanders were having problems moving forwards to advance their attack, and even Sirzechs had put his head down towards the ground before closing his eyes. When the light had faded, Ignazio was being surrounded by water and soon enough it began to rain. "What the hell!? I don't like being wet dude!" shouted Celebron before he forced himself into Lloyd's blazer in such a way that his head was directly beneath his master's chin. Such positioning allowed for a safe hiding location from the rain that had been suddenly brought on thanks to Ignazio and the lady familiar of his. When the rain had finally stopped, his hair was quite soaked, but he did not pay it any mind as he looked upon Ignazio's new form. All in all, he looked like a human dragon, or perhaps a human wearing an armor fashioned from a water dragon itself. The rain that had stopped raining atop him had not actually stopped, but had been redirected to pelt the Salamanders . The sheer power Ignazio seemed to have just from his soul resonance was something to behold. For the remainder of the battle, he simply took a step backwards in order to stay out of Ignazio's way completely. Sirzechs had shrunk down to his one-headed puppy size before running quickly to Lloyd's side. Dropping to a knee, he picked up the Cerberus before watching as Ignazio demanded for more of the Salamanders to challenge him. "That is quite a display of power. It almost seems like he could keep fighting forever while in that form." Sirzech's thoughts were fairly quiet, but loud enough so that he and Celebron could hear without a problem. Standing back up, he remained silent while watching his childhood friend rip through the Salamanders as though they were nothing. However, when Ignazio's feet managed to touch the ground once more, he took note of the male stumbling forwards. "A time limit perhaps? Just how long can he hold that form while in actual combat? Is it possible for him to go over whatever time he generally stops at, or will it prove fatal?" Moments after Ignazio fell to the ground and stood up later on, an announcement rang out all around them.
It was Tatsuya Shiba's voice. That much he knew just from the beginning of the male's words, but as he continued, Lloyd simply looked around to the cameras and microphones that had extended outwards for them all to see. The Salamanders that had been attacking without a care in the world had then began to retreat back into their respective directions, and as he watched them disappear completely, he merely shook his head. Thier next mission was not something that he expected to go smoothly, but if they were being watched by the millions of people who saw the exam as nothing but pure sport, they would have to put on quite the show if they were to gain more points for their team. Fortunately, they had not lost any members iether, so all was working for now. Moving besides the brown-haired tamer, he examined him closely before speaking up. "That is indeed quite the trump card, but the way in which you staggered and how you fell to the ground moments ago indicates that you can not sustain that form very long can you? I assume that even as your trump card, it is generally used as a last resort? I must apologize to you. You may have seen my trump card, but you did not get to see its full potential. Fortunately enough, an opportunity may present itself once again in which I am forced to use my trump card to save us." At the mention of a trump card, Sirzechs looked up from his positioning in Lloyd's arm with a puzzling expression. For what he had assumed, he was Lloyd's trump card simply because he looked like a normal dog when in his smaller form and could easily surprise those that had never seen him before. Petting Sirzech's head, he looked around before removing a hand from around the dog demon in order to push some water from his hair. Returning his arm to its position beneath Sirzech's stomach he took in a deep breath. "Shall we return to base, and develop a means to capture a member of the opposing team?" Despite having asked, Lloyd began to walk in the direction that he had seen a majority of their group head towards. His pace was not fast at all since he was not too sure how much energy Ignazio had burned with his Soul Resonance, but it was fast enough to express that he at least wanted to get inside and dry himself off a little.
Ignazio listened to the announcement as he caught his breath and shook off the fatigue the was coming about from merging with Tsukiumi. Looking up to Lloyd the tamer smiled ”Well actually my limit is two hours, but the fact it’s extremely draining when I’m at about fifty percent of my full power, the effects are heavy. In a way it’s the line between being human and demon that I can’t fully cross.” he said before walking forward a little then stopped as Lloyd asked about reaching the base. ”Oh yeah, that’s right, we have to bring all these inside and clean the area.” the tamer remembered as he tapped his right fist on top of his left hand and quickly reached down to his right pocket and took hold of his phone before pressing down on the middle button. ”All right guys, good work; mission accomplished, everyone did a great job. Now, seeing as we have all these Salamanders in a single location, this will be what we’ll be eating for the next day, so Knights and Fighters if you wouldn’t mind cutting the meat and bringing it into the base, that would be great. Doctors, tend to any that are wounded in the Knight and Fighter teams before they start coming this way. Those whom can cook, will be on cooking duty today.” Ignazio announced over the radio but as soon as he finished speaking a lot of people radioed back asking him what creature was in the sky, and what was up with the strange glyph formation as well as the demonic aura that came from his position. The King simply ignored the radio calls and started walking. ”Shall we go Lloyd?” he asked before walking away and towards the path that lead to the base. Thinking back on the situation, the tamer began to think about the time limit between their arrival and the start of the exam for the simple fact they would be attacked by demons or any other traps the proctor choose due to them sitting around for too long. ’A live combat situation, under normal circumstance, one would be able to sit back and fortify an entire base while dividing up squads with people they didn’t have knowledge or experience with. The fact his squad was able to react quickly was because they were out fortifying the area and securing it. But now that sort of thing wouldn’t work.’
The tamer looked back to see Lloyd following him once they reached the golden doors deep within the mountain range. It wasn’t too far from the center of the mountain where the Salamander graveyard is now, but it was a distance away from each point of probable entry to the mountain range. Pushing on the door, Ignazio was surprised by how many people weren’t injured, as he walked down the stairs people thanked him and congratulated him on leading them to victory. The heir shook his head and smiled before reaching the bottom of the staircase and walked over to the throne. The male stat down and sighed before relaxing. ”Man! I’m totally whipped out now, remind me never to use so many high level fatal verses again without actually having a plan.” the tamer whined as he rubbed his shoulders with the opposite hand while lying on the throne with his legs over the arms of the chair. His eyes closed as he thought about the attack and the time limit. ’Shiba never gave a time for when they would attack us again. When I got here it was about twenty minutes before the attack, the exam started two hours prior to that, ten minutes after the start of the exam Lloyd, Alexandria, and myself took out those members from the opposing team. So could it be every two hours or is every half hour?’ His blue eyes opened as he sat up from the chair and then looked down at his clothing and sighed. ”Everyone who needs their clothes cleaned, strip and bring them over to me. Just set them in the opening here.” he called out as he stood up and proceeded to remove his clothes and then folded them neatly before walking to the area he wanted everyone’s clothes. Ignazio removed all the weapons from his blazer and pockets and wore them above his black silk tight boxer briefs. The strange red tattoos along his chest, back, arms, and abdominal area was clearly exposed.
Ignazio sat his equipment on the throne before grabbing hold of four talismans and awaited for everyone to bring their clothes over.
OOC: || Word Count: 1094 Yggdmillennia Seal: On Back of Blazer & Vest, and as a small emblem on the front breast.
"Well, that's...disheartening...to say the least. A two hour time limit of immense power and control over the elements similar to that of a demon. I assume that is the basis of the technique then? He resonates his soul with that water familiar, and in turn, gains the abilities known to be possessed only by the Kin of Egyn, the Demon King of Water. If he can resonate his souls with every one of his familiars, then I would be more than lucky if I managed to avoid him in the third exam to come. I doubt that anyone, let alone myself, can stand up to Ignazio if each of his familiars can resonate souls with him." His familiars could hear his thoughts with perfect clarity and in response to their thoughts, both the Cat Sidhe and the Cerberus never changed their expressions. On their own that had known of the threat Ignazio possessed as a possible enemy, but to hear their master who feared nothing actually worry about his chances during the final exam, they were a little worried. But, in order to keep up appearances, Celebron continued to look around as Sirzechs remained perfectly still just as whenever he was carried by his master. When Ignazio had made his announcement, the black burner phone that he had attached to his hip vibrated once before the announcement he was hearing first hand began to play over the device as well. Upon the announcement's ending, he nodded his head at the offer to return inside, and followed closely behind Ignazio. As he walked besides the brown-haired male, he began to patch his pace and strides to that of Ignazio causing a slight echo to vibrate as they progressed into the deeper parts of the mountain range. The golden doors seemed to be a bit much, but he could only assume that those in charge of the Exorcist Exam were pulling out all of the stops in order to make sure the viewers around the world got just as much entertainment out of them risking their lives as the mercenaries that inhabited the island itself. Following into the staircase, he watched as separate individuals came up in order to congratulate and or thank Ignazio for leading them to victory. "It seems that you have quite the support already, King of Team Black. Impressive." Laughing at the little things that seemed to impress his dog demon, he followed up until they reached a throne within the center of the room. Sure, they were given titles similar to that of a chess board and its individual pieces, but was a throne really necessary? If they were to give a throne, then they might as well have given any of the King position a cape, crown, and a scepter to match.
The call for a removal of dirty clothes was announced, and soon after others began moving over to the area in which Ignazio wished for the clothing to be placed. All that needed to be cleaned on Lloyd's person was his blazer, which Ignazio had managed to get blood on. Unbuttoning the blazer, he pulled his arms from the sleeve before folding it and placing it near Ignazio's clothing. The Barthomeloi remained in only his boxer briefs to which Lloyd simply shook his head. It amazed him to see just how comfortable Ignazio was with just being in his boxer briefs, especially when in front of such a large crowd. While Lloyd was by no means modest, he would try and keep his clothes on unless they absolutely had to be removed. So, as he adjusted his vest he moved to the side so that Ignazio could see him without having to move from his positioning on his throne. "It goes without saying that our next assignment is not something that we can do as easily as we would like to do. The reason I say this, is not because of those from our school who have been placed on the opposing team, but because of one male in particular..." For a moment, he paused, remembering the male's face and thinking once more on the entire situation before continuing. "If you remember during our dinner, there was a male who sat with Rias Gremory and Akemi, correct?"Once again he paused, though this time, it was so that Ignazio could get a clear picture of the male of whom he was referring to. Needless to say, even if he could not picture the male in his head, Lloyd's facial expression was one of utter seriousness. That one male alone is the one Knight in which I am concerned about on their entire team. At first I was not sure due to him not moving at all, but when our fight started, I got a fairly good look at him. That male is Francis Yggdmillennia, a Knight that turned his back on the Yggdmillennia Family, and has since been teaching our techniques to swordsmen outside the family. Where Durandal is known as the Peerless Blade, Francis wields the stolen blade, Gram, said to be the weapon of Glory and Destruction." Placing Sirzechs on the ground, he watched as Cerberon lept down from Lloyd's shoulder before jumping into Ignazio's lap before laying down. Despite having laid down, Celebron spoke up next as Lloyd folded his arms across his chest.
"What Lloyd will not say, is that Francis Yggdmillennia, is a swordsman of equal caliber, and one that would have achieved the title of Sword Saint had he not failed his exam." As Lloyd began to pace back and forth slowly, Celebron stretched before closing his eyes in order to catch a quick cat nap. It was clear by the way in which he moved that Lloyd was rather conflicted on what to do, but even through his conflicting thoughts, he kept a calm exterior appearance. "The appearance of my traitorous cousin and his stolen blade aside, do you have some idea on how we are going to kidnap a member of Team White? Or, while they make preparations to safeguard every one of their members, will we be attacking to eliminate their King and any who stand before us?" questioned Lloyd as his pacing came to an immediate halt. His cousin was a dangerous threat who would undoubtedly be coming for him in order to claim his life, or make him beg and renounce his title as Sword Saint. If it came to it though, would he be able to make a decision that separated many in his family.
After all the clothes had been gathered Ignazio watched as the meat of the salamanders were being brought into the base. Listening to Lloyd as he spoke Ignazio didn’t really pay attention to the male that was with them, he just assumed it was a bodyguard or a member of their team. ”I see, well what would you rather have done? If you saw him why didn’t you just kill him back in the restaurant? I’m sure you could have done it before anyone noticed.” the male replied to Lloyd directly after Celebron made his statement. Moving one of the talismans forward he pointed it towards the clothes before a strong force of wind circled them to circle around. Suddenly Ignazio tossed another talisman at the floating clothes before the wind was turned into a giant torrent of water spiraling in multiple directions as if it was a giant washing machine. Ignazio then held up the other two talismans and the water and wind stopped, but suddenly the area began to get extremely hot as the two talismans glowed a bright pink in color and created a wave of heat that dried the clothes. Ignazio was making sure to control the energy in order to keep everyone’s clothes from shrinking while pressing them nicely. ”I have a few ideas, but I’m not really planning on kidnapping anyone, the extra mission is great and all, but we really don’t have to do it, and to be honest with you travelling to their base on foot would take forever, so I did think about splitting the team and carrying a few on my familiar, he can handle at least a hundred or so people. While maintaining a pretty high speed; in terms of distance the bases aren’t far apart by flight.” Ignazio said as he lowered the talismans and the clothes landed on the ground gently and folded perfectly. Letting out a sigh the tamer walked over to his uniform and held it up to inspect it. ”Perfect.” He said as he put on his white shirt first and then his crimson pants followed by the blazer. As Ignazio redressed and equipped himself with his weapons and started to formulate a plan in his head. ”Mr. Shiba said Titus’ team had two strategists, right? So that means they’ll split their efforts up, an offensive and defensive strategy. We could skip right over that and go straight for a kill and end this. But I’d like to make this clear, leave Titus to me. I personally want to go up against him. I need you to handle Victor and Alaric should be able to hold back Alexandria, at least by manipulating the wind.”
The tamer called over to everyone about their clothes and then took in a deep breath as he smelled meat being prepared. His eyes lit up as he looked up to the entrance and noticed a little smoke coming in front outside. ”Oh wow! Lloyd, a barbeque! I haven’t had barbequed Salamander in years!” he called giggling and running towards the smell but then stopped and turned to look over at the Knight. ”Wait a second…that’s it, they don’t have food out in the desert, and any demons that would attack them in that area, won’t be easy to cut through.” Ignazio said as he turned and looked up at the entrance. ”There is more than one way to win a war, in the days of King Arthur, they used to use tactics of siege by starving their opponents, by circling their whole castle to ensure the enemy couldn’t leave a certain area without going through the army. Maybe we can do something similar. We do have enough meat to last us at least a month. And with the left over hides we can even make shelter. If we take over the forest region, they won’t have a hunting ground, and we’d still have shelter and hiding places for the group.” The tamer continued as he placed his right hand under his chin and continued to think before getting another idea. ”By now, they have to be exhausted and starving. Dragon Tooth Warriors aren’t the easiest demons to defeat, even a Knight of your skill would have some trouble against a group of them. I’m thinking after we replenish the group’s energy we move out for the forest region. Our scouts have been there setting up traps anyways, so by now they should be done.”
OOC: || Word Count: 457 Yggdmillennia Seal: On Back of Blazer & Vest, and as a small emblem on the front breast.
Honestly, if it were that easy for him to kill a member of his family, then he would have done so the instant in which he saw him. Unfortunately, it is not that easy to kill a family member, especially not one who was raised in the same castle as you and was around you for all of your life. Not to mention, they were both taught the same sword techniques and trained by the very same people. The only thing that set him apart from his traitor cousin, was that he had taken the title of Sword Saint from under him, and simply because the male had not passed his exams with Lloyd's great grandfather. Had he passed, the two candidates for the title of Sword Saint would have fought each other till one of them surrendered and or died. Folding his arms across the top of his chest, he simply washed as their clothing was handled like they would have been if they were within a laundromat. Once the washing of their clothes had stopped, he looked at the clothing as they landed gently in their former places. Moving around Ignazio, he bent down and picked up his newly cleaned, pure white blazer. Moving besides Ignazio, he began to whisper so that only he would hear him when he spoke. "If transporting the troops is one of our major concerns, then perhaps you should transport some of them on your dragon, and I will have the others ride on Sirzechs? If we are going to charge straight ahead, then I will hold Victor back. But, I can not say whether or not thing will work out according to plan. I may instead be put up against Akemi or Alexandria, in which case, I will move as quickly as I can to stall Victor. Although, I have not seen Alaric since I arrived. Do you have any idea where he may be?" Sliding his arms through the blazer, he buttoned each one of the buttons that lined the fabric before adjusting it so that it sat the way it did before he took it off to wash. Adjusting himself one final time, he followed Ignazio who seemed to be following the smell of food and nothing more. In turn, both Sirzechs and Celebron chased after the young Knight, keeping enough distance so that they did not slam into the back of his legs if he were to stop short. Stopping near the entrance besides Ignazio he rocked on his heels before turning to Ignazio once more. "Whatever you decide we are to do, I'll be following behind you. Just give those within your army a heads up first before we decided to forcibly move on."
Stopping to think about what Lloyd had said, it was possible for him to transport a large number of troops with the help of Hyorinmaru. Flying on a dragon would cut down the travel time rather swiftly. In terms of speed those within the Fighter and Knight classes were always going to be superior than one of the Tamer or Aria class; no matter how hard Ignazio tried to improve himself. These were just fact he had to deal with and accept. The tamer placed his right hand over his chin allowing his index finger to slightly overlap over his upper lip. The plan that Lloyd had come up with was pretty sound, but there was no telling what the enemy could come up with as a counter measure. On the positive side, the enemy didn’t have much information on him especially his familiars other than the one’s he was famous for utilizing in battle. ”You have a point, traveling on Hyorinmaru would make things faster and we could skip any unnecessary battles in the process. Although, this whole battle is more so personal at this point, it would seem True Cross are the front runners for this exam, which is why we are being pit against each other. So, because of that I don’t see a reason for us to hide our true strengths.” Ignazio said as he changed his positioning slightly shifting his weight to his left side. The tamer had a pretty good understanding of the fighting styles in which his schoolmates possessed, there was a reason why he never used the school facilities to practice other than the summoning chamber underground; the academy was rigged with cameras and microphones. The only place that was safe to was within the cram school or at his home where he knew he had the privacy of the Barthomeloi Manor and the barrier that protects the estate.
”I’d rather not risk the others so early, if anything they can provide backup for a sneak attack; I also don’t want to risk Sirzechs or Celebron at this point. They are both at the A-Class level, but even so, they can get injured easier than my familiars. Don’t forget they are living within this world, and need an actual substance to stay alive; my familiars can at least draw their energy from my Qi whenever they are injured in order to heal themselves. ” Ignazio continued before shifting his eyes over towards the others as they began to pass out food and talk about passing the exam along with the chances of winning after the announcement. False hope was all it was at this point. It has been a half year since he’s seen Victor in combat, and the simple display Alexandria used at Homura’s was enough to show him that she’s improved. For someone whose brain was filled with muscles, he was sure Victor was stronger than ever. Closing his sky blue eyes for a moment as he focused on a plan, Ignazio thought about the map and the area they were located as well as the time in which it would take for them to arrive on enemy ground. Overall, it wouldn’t take too much time to reach the ruins, also calculating the information shown by the Vatican on all the members taking the exam, there were only five contenders who possessed a Qi level on par or greater to his own. Ignazio thought harder as he recalled the information. ”If I remember correctly, Victor’s Qi rates are extremely low for someone of his class as an Aria, and if all the physical test were performed correctly, he’s been slacking in his skills as an Aria overall, if anything, he’s more than likely just a generator, and if he can produce a fatal verse, it won’t pack too much power. That gives us the advantage in that area. Alexandria is a Knight and a Doctor, so she’ll be a pretty tough opponent, so if you cross blades with her, monitor your breathing, Doctors are known for carrying all kinds of airborne weapons, like poison. They can also use Qi in a deadlier form than we Aria can.” Ignazio continued before taking a break and reaching into his pocket to grab his map and then opened it. He motioned for Lloyd to follow behind him as he made his way to a flat surfaced rock and set the map down. ”In terms of location, the desert isn’t the best fighting grounds for a Knight or a Fighter, even a dragoon could have some difficulty there. Lucky for us, Akemi is a horrible shot, as for Joushi…well he’s almost as good as I am when it comes down to his aim. Actually I should correct myself, his accuracy is close to that of Garuda’s, and she rarely misses a target. Lastly we have Titus, and as we both know what he’s capable of, I think we scared him pretty shitless to even think about unleashing his powers during this exam.” the King said as he placed his right index finger on the map where the ruins were located with the desert. ”We’ll go in alone first, and have the army come up from the rear, we have numbers in terms of members from other schools, but they have skilled players, I’d rather not lose a man on my side of the board, when I can obliterate the other side in a single move.” Ignazio said before standing up tall and crossing his arms over his chest. ”We’ll take the lead together. The Sword of the Yggdmillennia and the Shield of the Barthomeloi; Sword and Shield Formation; I’m pretty sure we can pull this off.”
OOC: || Word Count: 1147 Yggdmillennia Seal: On Back of Blazer & Vest, and as a small emblem on the front breast.
It was nice to know that Ignazio agreed on his point with Hyorinmaru, but there was no guarantee that they would be doing such a thing either. The elder male had not officially said yes or no to the idea, so for now, Lloyd would see it as one of many possibilities. However his next words were of some sort of concern to Lloyd. He was sort of alright with being the main target alongside Ignazio, who already was the target for the White Team, but he was not sure about leaving his familiars behind. Both of his familiars had strong personalities and would not simply sit quiet without wanting to join in the battle. But, the knowledge that they could in fact be killed probably did not phase them either. They had all spoken about it back within Lloyd's hotel room and knew full well that any one of them could die at the hands of another, and in turn, never see each other again. Strangely enough though, this was a battle he did not wish for his familiars to partake in. Many lives would be lost and there would be no time for him to make sure they both got to safety. For the duration of their conversation, Lloyd had toned the others in the area out completely. If one wished to speak with him, then they would have to get up and touch him, otherwise his undivided attention was solely on the Barthomeloi heir. Looking to both of his familiars on the ground, they looked up at their master and just from their expressions alone, he could tell that they disagreed with the plan, but would stay behind none the less. With their looks finished, both Celebron and Sirzechs moved to where food was being distributed before sitting in front of one of the distributors quietly. For a moment, the male distributor stared at the two familiars before looking up and over to Lloyd who simply smiled. With that, a small portion was set down for the two familiars and as they happily ate, his attention returned to his King. A run down of their competitors abilities soon came after, and with it, Lloyd's mind began to race through his thoughts.
"Regardless of whether or not Ignazio wishes to admit it, everyone on that White Team poses a threat right now. As individuals they may very well have a horrible shot, or have no clue how to wield a blade. But, together, they cover one each others faults at make it so that their imperfections can be used to their advantage. Needless to say, this is their first time officially working as a team with a singular goal, so that may also effect the ending of this battle to come. It is unwise for me to think that they have not improved in the short time in which we have all been apart, but regardless of what I think, the numbers are against us." Following Ignazio's movements, the young Knight remained close to the Barthomeloi heir as they progressed. Stopping just short of the flat-surfaced rock, he looked at the map laid out before him. There were areas in which he knew he would be hindered and more than likely overwhelmed, but likewise, there were areas in which he would have no problem wielding his blades to perfection. Talk of obliterating a side caused Lloyd's hand to slide over to the tattoo that marked Excalibur's location. The Demon Blade he had sealed inside of his body was known throughout both Gehenna and Assiah as the Sword of Promised Victory. For the few battles that he had called upon the blade, he had indeed won. Unfortunately, this was not a battle similar to fighting mindless Hobgoblins or one that involved Salamanders that were bred solely to attack them and nothing more. He would be facing other Exorcists, and there was no telling what tricks they had up their sleeves. As one whose childhood revolved around blades and studying them, there were various demon blades that could appear throughout the exam itself. However, there was one blade in particular that worried him the most. One that would have been able to stand up against the power of Excalibur. If he was lucky, if the need arose for use of Excalibur, that single blade would not be in the area at all. "My, my. You sure do like to bring things back from the past, do you not? I have not taken up such a formation since we were children. But, I am ready none the less." For a moment Lloyd went silent, but soon the silence ended as he unsheathed Durandal before stabbing the blade into the ground before him. At his actions, the Knights among their army stopped what they were doing before standing in accordance with Lloyd's will. As a mere sign of respect, the all drew their blades before holding it before their bodies. At his actions, the Knights among their army stopped what they were doing before standing in accordance with Lloyd's will. As a mere sign of respect, the all drew their blades before holding it before their bodies.
"Let it be declared now; my flesh shall serve under thee, and your fate shall be with my sword. Thus, an oath shall be sworn here. I shall attain all the virtues of all the Heavens. I shall have dominion over all evils of all of Hell. I hereby swear, that while I have breath in my body, blood in my veins, and strength in my arms, I shall defend the name of Barthomeloi. I swear, for that as long as my soul dwells within my body, I shall protect Ignazio Barthomeloi II from all who would seek to do him harm. In the name of Gavin Yggdmillennia, my predecessor, I, Lloyd Yggdmillennia, Sword Saint and heir of the Yggdmillennia do swear; my sword shall tear asunder the foundations of the battlefield, split the waters of the ocean and reach the imperial villa. Finally, I swear that if you, who are deserving of this pledge, shall ever stray from thy path, I will bring about the end for us both." With the ending of his words, Lloyd remained still until Ignazio either accepted or denied his pledge. Throughout history, there were many within the Yggdmillennia Family who had chosen to protect the Barthomeloi throughout the ages, and it was not uncommon for pledges between them to last lifetimes. Even to this day, his great grandfather and his father still held onto their pledges with the Barthomeloi family. This, was one of the various reasons that the Barthomeloi and Yggdmillennia family shared such a friendly relationship with one another, as opposed to that of the other Great Exorcist Families. Now, it seemed like history would repeat itself through Lloyd and Ignazio.
Ignazio started to pout as Lloyd made fun of the formation, it may have been a childish name and even a formation used in their youth, but it was still their formation ”Don’t make fun of me, this was my very first battle strategy, it was effective then and it will be even more effective now.” Ignazio started as his head was turned a different directions and as soon as he heard Lloyd drawing his sword he quickly turned his head and soon watched the Knight’s movements before the others followed after him. Ignazio closed his eyes as he listened to the words, it was almost most like a marriage proposal, but on more of an intimate level that only those bound by fate would understand. His crystal blue eyes opened slowly as he looked at Lloyd. ”Lloyd Yggdmillennia, I swear, I will be all that is good in the eternal world, I will be the disposer of evil in the eternal world, my will shall create thy body, and thy sword shall carry my fate, abiding by this sacred oath of the Yggdmillennia-Barthomeloi treaty, I, Ignazio Barthomeloi the second, accept this oath, and recognize Lloyd as my partner bound by fate, and my destruction in death.” he repeated as he crossed his arms over his chest and then looked towards Lloyd and shifted his weight from one leg to the other, ’He just had to do this now, he could have waited till another time to do this, this is so embarrassing.’ The tamer closed his eyes and turned his head to the right and looked down, in order to hide the fact he was blushing. ”Everyone, listen up! The plan is to attack the enemy from two different points, an air assault and then a frontal. Lloyd and I are going as bait; the rest of you will come as ground troupes. Tamers who have familiars that can fly will assist in the air assault once they arrive. So rest easy for now and finish your meals. Head out as soon as you have all recovered. The rest of the plan doesn’t change from before. We’re going to force the enemy to leave their base in the desert. By that time you should all have arrived in the Forest area. We will strike them hard from every angle. For sure they have two heavy hitters in their party, the reason why we’re moving as bait is to defeat these heavy hitters before they can catch on to the plan, if the enemy hasn’t reached the forest once you’ve been in position for ten minutes, you are to continue your march forward and strike home! Join us in battle comrades!” Ignazio called out as he began to walk away as he reached for his holster and removed a card from it. The tarot card had a man riding on a chariot with the words Judgment written along the bottom, it was fitting, that he would have a dragon sealed within the judgment card; for only he would set judgment within this battle, as the King of Team Black.
Ignazio walked passed everyone and placed his left thumb near his mouth before biting down on the soft flesh with his teeth in order to draw blood. The tamer slid his thumb down the face of the card and was followed by the group as the wanted to see Ignazio summon a familiar for the first time. They were all making bets on the familiar he would summon. ”Lloyd, I just thought of something, bring them along with us.” the male called back as he walked through the open doors and shielded his eyes from the sun rising over the mountain tops, for a second. As his eyes adjusted to the light a devilish smirk came across his face. ”Everyone might want to stand back.” The Barthomeloi heir stated firmly before he was given room. Ignazio began to walk further away from the group and released a light chuckle. ’I was going to save you for the finals, but Lloyd made a good point, you can move faster than any of us on foot.’ he thought to himself as he raised his right hand into the sky before releasing a large amount of his energy. Ignazio’s smirk grew as the energy burst around his body creating a frozen wind. The stone underneath the male began to freeze as a massive glyph was shaped out of the ice. ”Five perfections for each repletion, and now let the filled sigils be annihilated in my stead! Conquer all for your King! Come forth, Hyorinmaru!” the tamer called out over the raging winds as snow and ice circled him until his body wasn’t in view any longer.
The wind slowed down and suddenly repelled everything as the body of the icy dragon was formed; the Wyrm whom may have appeared to be fully grown, but was still a child; despite his voice and actions. ”You are now witnessing my strongest familiar, Hyorinmaru.” Ignazio said as the Wyrm’s eyes opened and it released a massive roar showing its strength. The screech brought forth a freezing wind which coated the rocks in thick ice as it moved by each formation. ”This is our ride to victory” the male called as the large dragon expanded its wings and lowered its body in order for Ignazio to climb aboard. ”We shall claim this victory and we will take the head of the King of the White! They shall fear those who ride upon dragons, and with first light being claimed by our strength we shall overall conquer this war!” Ignazio gave his speech proudly and moved his left hand through his hair before putting the card back into the holster.
