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[10]

Ryugi felt the magical pulse, and seconds later, his vision was lost. This wasn't natural darkness, this was magical darkness, and he could feel it around him. He could feel that it was a barrier of sorts that extended out for quite a distance. Hopefully it wouldn't follow him...and thats when he heard it. Someone was messing with a crossbow...DIRECTLY BEHIND HIM!!.

Click

The bolt from the crossbow whizzed by him as Ryugi ducked low, his hair being tussled by the projectile. He frowned in the darkness. He might not have had his eyes for the moment, but his hearing wasn't something to underestimate either. He hoped that the darkness around him would also serve to hide him from view as well, as he suddenly pulsed a large amount of energy through his system...

[12] Luckily, Ryugi wasn't planning on standing around in that bubble for any longer than he had to. He'd used it as cover while he prepared for his next big attack. It was now that he would be glad he was on the outskirts of the city, and people would have already fled the area. That, and the street was relatively wide as well. As soon as he pulsed the energy through his body, he jumped, shooting his body into the air at a high rate of speed, flames suddenly detonating below him in a mighty explosion.

As Ryugi faced the ground, he continued to rise higher and higher, now nearly 200 feet up. The massive torrent of flaming energy roaring around Ryugi's form in the sky soon took shape around him as Ryugi began to move towards the ground at a high rate of speed. The sky burned and roiled around Ryugi as the massive cloud of energy heated the air around him to such an extent the vision of Ryugi's form, shrouded in massively searing flames, was blurred by the convection and air currents. The energy then began to form up around him even more, the falling form of Ryugi looking more like a comet than a fighter.





The energy gathered up around Ryugi, forming into a massive, searing ball of glowing gold, orange, yellow, and white energies, the ball letting off an aura of its own energy with tendrils of power seeping off the back of it. Any magic user would feel the strength from the attack as with another sudden pulse of energy sent the ball, now nearly the size of a car, and Ryugi racing towards the ground at an even faster rate of speed than before! As the ball neared, the enemy forces would feel the temperature rising by several degrees. The necromancer and any forces near him, however, would feel the heat rising significantly as the ball grew nearer as it illuminated the ground below it like a mighty sun in the sky, the air blurring from the currents and sweltering heat.




The massive ball would collide with the ground, tearing into the rocky surface as if it were a knife, and guiding the massive force right towards the target, was Ryugi himself.





The blast would explode with titanic force, sending chunks of debris flying into the air. One would be thankful that it wasn't a Hypernova attack being used. The force from the detonation would blast a massive chunk out of the ground, and the searing heat would melt pieces of it into molten magma and glass. The necromancer and the defeated golem would get the full force of the attack, but the remaining troops would still be blasted by the sheer force and searing heat of the attack. Any targets hit by the blast would be completely helpless against the thunderously powerful attack and the heat, which would cause terrible burns. With any luck, most of the enemy group would be wiped out by the force of the attack... [7]

Arzhael could feel the explosion off in the distance. In fact, the sudden jump caused his drink to spill on his shirt. Rolling his eyes, the rather irate and oblivious man would attempt to wipe off as much soda as he could with a napkin before grabbing a handful of fries and heading up to his room. He'd take the chewed up straw out of his mouth as he went, shoving the fries into his mouth as he ascended the stairs to his hotel room.

He'd step into his room, grab his armor from off the spare bed, and begin the painstaking process of singlehandedly equipping himself. First the relatively easy process of attaching his boots and leggings, which only required him to sit down on the bed to secure all of the straps that held them in place. Next came the arms, which took about a half hour as Arzhael just kept slipping up on the last strap for his right arm.

Then down came the breastplate, easily secured to the armor lining his arms, since the armor as a whole was remarkably flexible. And lastly, the gauntlets came on, snapping into place with the arms and leaving Arzhael covered neckline to toe in Tallum Heavy Plate.

"Guess I should check it out."

And, with a sigh, he snatched his swords from the closet, locked them into place within his armor, and headed out of his hotel.

Which just so happened to be located near the Barton Town Square.

A man was sitting atop the Arena, his legs dangling in the emptiness. His eyes followed the movements in the city below with delight. It was, indeed, quite a show to behold, and he'd stay but a spectator until the very end.

The zombies were felled easily, too slow and sluggish to avoid holy-powered strikes. The skeletons would last a little longer, the one with the crossbow getting off another shot, firing another eldritch fire missile at one of the Guardians before being taken out. The lich raised its staff and spoke a word of power. The air around the holy men was suddenly filled with a white, sparkling radiance, the energy negating all, if not the strongest, magical effects bestowed upon them by the Guardians. The lich vanished when the rain began to fall, teleporting outside of the storm's radius. That left the shadesteel golem and the drow, all of which were unaffected by the rain. In fact, since the rain had healing properties, it actually made the latter feel better.

"Thrityh," Chaszmyr commanded.

Globes of magical darkness engulfed the area. Unlike the drow that Ryugi fought, Chaszmyr and the two who were with him were able to see still, as well as the golem. They moved with practiced percision, silent as shadows, suddenly appearing amongst the holy men as they stepped through shadows and sprung their attacks, stabbing at them with bladed weapons from behind before they could get a chance to recover from their sudden lack of vision. Chaszmyr's jet black short sword would slice through any magical protections still lingering around them as if they weren't even there, the properties of his weapon reflecting the nature of the spells to bypass them.

The shadesteel golem glided into combat, lashing out with its claws, unaffected by the rain. It would go after one of the Guardians while the drow kept the soldiers busy, negative energy radiating from its form to weaken those around it not protected against the draining effects.

* * *

The skeletal warrior at the train station exploded from the fiery punch, which instantly drew the attention of the rest of the group. The other skeletal warrior raised and levelled a crossbow, firing a bolt that ignited into eldritch fire as it streaked through the air to strike Amelie in the chest, then began screeching as healing spells ripped through its form, burning it to ash. The zombies had more to burn, and so the process would go a little slower, which bought time enough for the necromancer in the party to pull out a wand and fire a lightning bolt at Antoine to interrupt his castings. The shadesteel golem glided forward - swift, deadly, and silent - swinging its left claw at Amelie's face. Two of the drow moved swiftly to circle around her flanks, while a third moved to engage Antoine, holding a wicked longsword with a sickly green aura.

A stir ran through the trees that bordered the Barton West Field, nothing descript, just a series of cloaked shafts and shadows that hid from the sun underneath the canopy of the thick forest. And there he was, the Death Knight. Two pale blue eyes that shone without pupils underneath an ornate silvered steel helmet. His featureless face reflected the cold stone walls of the city he looked at, his black cape billowing gently in the wind as it surrounded his imposing figure. A heavy circular iron shield rested against his thigh, and the shaft of a spear stuck out amongst his garb, the head twisted and ornate, like a drill bit that had been melted somewhat, pieces pulled apart to form branches of steel surrounding the pointed center. A small tree of corrupt metal, ready to rend resistant flesh.

And yet the Knight didn't move, just stood poised beside the ancient oak that guarded the forest behind it. An odd juxtaposition that made you consider the forest of shafts the Knight guarded, a shift of the light highlighting an assortment of rusted spearheads and misshapen helmets amidst the cloaked and stumbling forms.

"

This-is-Sorrow."

A relatively quiet back alley close to the town square was bathed in an unnatural glow for a moment as a rip in space appeared and a woman jumped out, her red hair bright in the dingy darkness, but her dark green leathers blended fairly well in with the dirty stones. The woman's eyes were wide as she pressed her back against the nearest wall and glanced about her. There was a simple pack slung over one shoulder and a six foot long, stout bow staff in her left hand, the length of the wood was etched in elven glyphs and sigils of power but otherwise the woman appeared to be unarmed.

"Andi, you better get your a** out here and close that damn gate right now, or I will drag you out!" Even in a strained whisper there was a musical tone to her voice that matched the long pointed ears and the almond shaped eyes, elven... this woman was definitely not human.

"Please Grace... do try to calm down." A second woman stepped gracefully out of the portal, and it disappeared back into nothingness behind her.

The second woman was almost a complete contrast to the first, baby fine white blond hair falling around her shoulders. She was dressed in a smart white silk suit with a long tulip skirt and four inch high stiletto heels. Even outside of a war zone she would have stood out, in the dingy back alley she almost glowed... and yet there was something about her that made you want to turn you gaze away, as if looking right at her was as difficult as looking right at the sun.

Grace scowled at 'Andi and dragged the taller woman in against the wall beside her. "So what is the damn plan, you said I had to be here... So you better have a plan or I am going to figure out how to rip that damn portal open again and get the hell out of here before anyone notices me!"

"Have a little faith in me dear Grace... You are needed here, and I will give you all the aid that Fate allows me to." wink 'Andi pulled away from Grace and started towards the mouth of the alley, her body fading away until she was more a wisp of fog than a person.

Grace leaned heavily against the wall, watching 'Andi with trepidation even as she mentally reviewed her list of combat spells. Grace couldn't help but to wonder, not for the first time either, if 'Andi was about to get her killed...some days, knowing that Fate was smiling upon you was of very little consolation... sweatdrop

Ryugi:

The drow that had taken cover immediately sprang out, weapons drawn, sweeping around and charging Ryugi from opposite sides, attempting to flank him. Both wielded a longsword and dagger, dual-weapon style, their speed swift. Ryugi's body would become limned with blue and purple flames, hopefully confusing him with the illusion, if not making him an easier target to hit. They came in, one slashing low, the other high.

The necromancer reappeared on the rooftop of a nearby building, uttering words of power and sweeping his hands through the air. One of the skeletons began to reform itself and rise back up from the ground. The necromancer would repeat the spell for all of his undead minions, until they were all re-raised and joined back into the fight.

Arena:

Within the darkness, the shadesteel golem was completely invisible, blending into the shadows and making it highly difficult to hit. Mundane weapons had no effect on the shadesteel golem, absorbing the blows without even a scratch. A claw reached out to grab a soldier, hurling him through the air, while a backhand strike with the other claw would send another hurtling in the other direction. All the while, the negative energy pulses would lessen the effects of the healing spells the Guardians were constantly casting. The construct continued advancing toward the Guardians.

The drow relentlessly attacked the Knights, keeping them on their heels, disoriented by the darkness. Faerie Fire outlined their bodies, making them easier targets to hit. They fought in practiced unison, dancing around the Knights, attacking high and low at the same time. Chaszmyr swept behind one of the Knights, slashing out with his short sword to hamstring a Knight, while another weaved between that knight and another, dual sabers slashing at the neck and chest of the latter. The third, armed with a longsword and main gauche, batted at the knight's weapon with the former while thrusting at his chest with the latter.

The lich raised its staff, activating one of the spells stored inside of it with a command word and sweeping the crystalline head over the darkness affected area. A wave of negative energy swept over the felled cadavers of the undead minions, and moments later they began to reform and rise again, lurching toward the defenders.

Train Station:

The necromancer muttered words of power immediately after seeing the lightning bolt be deflected by some sort of protection, waving his hands to cast dispelling magic upon Antoine and hopefully strip him of one or some of his enchantments. The drow advancing toward him moved swiftly, weaving to the right and left. Suddenly, darkness would envelope them, and an instant later the drow would strike from behind with that sickly glowing blade, slashing horizontally at the man's lower back.

The shadesteel golem wouldn't be affected at all by the vibrations in the ground, though the explosion did force it to pause a moment. The drow changed coarse when the ground started rumbling, leaping back and activating levitation spells to ride the force of the explosion, dropping back to the ground a few feet away. The golem came in swiftly, slashing with its claws, negative energy pulsing from its form to weaken her. Darkness would envelope them as well, aiding the construct with its shadow blend ability.