Raelius could hear the screams of civilians as they fled away from the monsters emerging from the ocean surf. Rushing against the tide of fleeing citizens was like swimming upstream in a mighty river, so instead, he leaped to the roof. From there he made his way toward the advancing creatures, stopping as he came across their hideous forms. He could already see others engaging them, guards and mercenaries alike baring swords and flails and all manner of weapons against the invaders. He let loose a quick series of precise shots, silent arrows finding their marks as they struck the distant enemies in their soft, fleshy weak points. Continuing he unleashed a hail of arrows from the roof until no projectiles remained in his quiver. Each shot downed a scaly beast, yet for each monster put down two more rushed in to replace them. He was out of arrows, and out of options from up there.
Deciding something must be done Raelius reversed direction, dropping soundlessly to the now-empty streets below. Out of sight from the battle, he skulked along the perimeter of the building, observing the fight from a distance before using stealth to maneuver inaudibly closer through the nearby buildings. Soon he came upon a group of guards who had been ambushed. Amid the fallen soldiers there were many weapons and among them, he found a lean, balanced scimitar. It felt good in his hand as he swept it back and forth with a few casual flicks of his wrist. It would have to do.
He crouched in the corner, laying his head to his hands as they formed a strange diamond shape. There he rested his head a moment before picking it back up. Suddenly he burst from the shadow, a blinding streak of motion. His blade carved through them like a butcher through meat, their vile fluids spilling out onto the cobblestones, releasing a rancid stench that filled the air. He continued on like this for some time, cutting down the beasts as fast as they could repopulate. He danced and weaved between his foes, his slashes faster than they could perceive and soon he had racked up quite the body count. They were largely helpless to his advances, but alas their numbers continued to wear on the defenders, for they seemed to be an unending horde.
I woke up, had breakfast, and immediately went to my goblin hunting mission with Islareth. As we were about to go, I revealed to Islareth that I could just teleport us back to Tarrin. It should be no problem since I had been there before.
Since this was Islareth's first time apparating, he must have felt dizzy.
Back in Tarrin.
When we got back, everything was different. I knew Tarrin was never the safest place to be, but it was on another level. There were a lot of fights going on, people were attacked by some kind of fish creatures/monsters and the guards seemed to be overwhelmed. It was a truly horrifying sight.
Me: "Uhmm, what is happening?" I said worriedly.
Islareth: "It seems like Tarrin is under attack by monsters."
Me: "Well, I know we should be hunting goblins right now, and I know I'm not an official member or Monster Hunter Guild yet, but those things can wait. This seems to be an emergency, and not to mention a really good opportunity to fight monsters. What do you think?"
Suddenly, our conversation was interrupted by a voice... I realized that the voice was actually in my head.
I looked at Islareth, and said "So.... Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
OOC:
I think I can defeat those creatures from Aquaman easily despite my inferior physicality. I can just force apparate them to the sky. They can't fly on their own, so they will fall to their deaths. Meanwhile, I can just apparate or fly back to safety.
"Absolute hells!" Marco exclaimed out loud after the telepathic message. Tarrin was turning out to be an insane place to live that was filled to the brim with danger. Mercenary groups, Super Ninjas, and now Crazy Fish people!? And this was just his second day here!
The citizens around him started feeing, trampling over each other, and knocking over merchant stands. Marco had to help protect these people. He had to help fight the monsters. Before Marco took off towards the Heroes Guild he plucked an apple off an untended food stand. He would be having breakfast today after all.
On his way to the heroes Guild he had to fight several of the fish people, all of them were easily defeated. Marco bore witness to an especially badass looking warrior spill the guts of 30 fish people singlehandedly.
Marco arrived at the Heroes Guild as soon as possible and saw Narlak. Marco went over to talk to him.
"We need to get out there and save people." Marco said.
"I agree. Its better if we move as a unit. I heard some of the high level Heroes are planning to take out the second in command." Narlak explained."
After night went by Abime and Gabriel continued their journey. Abime felt change in the air, the roars become clearly hearable too. "We must be close" - Abime thought to himself. "How you want to do it Gabriel?" - Abime asked.
@emperorthanos-: Gan was sitting down in a quiet corner of the inn and enjoying a nice morning drink. Due to the long boat ride over it had been quite some time since he had been able to relax, and even if the town was dirty, there was a far greater variety of food and drinks here then there ever was at the temple. Gan lent back in his chair as he rested his mug on the table. Honestly, he thought as he looked up at the roof and took a deep breath, apart from all the screaming going on this is a really nice morning.
After slowly making his way through his morning stretches, he sighed heavily before making his way to the door. "Guess it's time to put all that training to use," he said to himself as he casually opened it and walked outside. He was greeted immediately by a monstrous snarl as a mutated, bipedal fish lept at him from his left. With a single flash of light, the beast was headless by the time it had hit the floor with the sound of a wet mop. To an onlooker, it looked as if the beasts head had simply ejected itself in the opposite direction of its body upon coming into the swordsman's reach, but that was merely how fast Gan had drawn, and sheathed, his blade.
A veritable trail of bodies followed behind Gan as he wandered aimlessly through the streets, moving to and fro in accordance to the sounds of screams. Usually he would be guiding people to safety right about now, but with this many monsters around and as many civilians as there still were in the city, Gan had decided that he would be better served culling as many of the fish-men as he could find, instead of dedicating his attention to saving one or two people. Looking behind him at the street that was now tainted a dull red, Gan tried to sheath his blade but failed to do so. There was too much of the fish-men still on his blade to fit in his sheath. With a look of disgust plastered on his face, he approached the corpse of one of the creatures, crouched down, and nonchalantly wiped the blade off on its scales before sheathing his sword with a satisfying clink. Nodding, he continued on his way until reaching a slight clearing near the port.
The 'clearing' was a result of one of the buildings on the port side, a shop for fishing utensils that was run by a kind old man, being reduced to splinters. In the centre stood what could only be called a walking shark.
The screams and cries for help moved Ragnos’ body before he even fully realized what was going on. Once he understood. Flashes of the woman raced through his mind. He stopped for the briefest of seconds. Pondering whether or not this truly pertained to his mission. Then the memory of her spurred him on. Compelling him to remember that he was still human, despite it all. Ragnos leapt into the fray, sword of sin burning with its unholy flame.
The blade flashed as he cut through the creatures of the sea. The flame searing through their flesh as their guttural voices cried out in anguish. As he ran through one, Ragnos saw its eyes go white... a sign that esoteric effects of the blade still worked as well as before. Ragnos removed his blade from the dark creature and drew his staff. Shearing his blade, and now using his polearm, Ragnos continued tearing through the beasts. Hoping to soon find the leader of the horde.
"Sure I will send someone over as soon as possible. Be careful and try avoid any of the powerful members."
"Hark to the Wind"
Anastasia thanked the receptionist and turned around to head out of the heroes guild. She was smacked in the face by the musty aroma of hot, piss-soaked dirt and and the occasional spotting of feces in the gutters. The unsanitary conditions of Tarrin reminded her of the small towns in Kandor, the Kingdom she went to when she faced the Ederal Mafia last. It was against her interests to request help, because the biggest mistake in her career in crime-fighting was causing her friend to get killed. Anastasia remembered it distinctly, but this time, she chose to allow the anger, sadness, and frustration she felt that day to fuel her drive.
***
“They’ll come out any second now” said Marsavius. His arrow was drawn back at full length, poised and waiting to be released. Anastasia nodded in acknowledgement. The mid-July heat beat down on their skin, causing droplets of sweat to roll down steadily off their bodies, evaporating in a sizzle as it met the parched dirt grounds. Anastasia and Marsavius were waiting in an alleyway adjacent to a pub where it was reported that high ranking members of a ruthless gang were meeting. The gang was the Ederal Mafia, a group notorious for the impressive influence and control they exerted over small towns like this one in Kandor. It was the middle of the day, the Sun slowly climbing to the top of the sky. Orange-yellow roads spread out in all directions but eventually lead up to the entrance of the The Whisker, a kingdom famous pub. Marsavius was Anastasia's partner. His dark brown skin refined a sculpted, chiseled build. He stood tall and straight, his eyes narrowing dead center to the large double doors in front of The Whisker.
The duo had been camping for hours. They knew the Mafia didn't bother hiding their tracks. They felt they were untouchable and they used the main entrances for every building due to no fear of law enforcement apprehending them. This is why it was easy to predict that the Mafia members would come out from the front of the building.
"How many of them are there?"Ananstasia inquired.
"At least ten. This was a large scale meeting after all. But not all the members will leave at the same time. The scrubs exit first to clear the way and escort the bosses."
"So we won't mow down the scouts that poke their head out first. Got it"
Just then, the doors swung open. Two broad-shouldered brawny studs strolled out of the pub. They looked both directions, and upon gesturing to each other, the shorter one whistled. Marsavius tightened his grip and readjusted his aim. "Any moment now."
Anastasia picked up her trusty sword and crawled a little forward. Their only goal was the leaders, so the plan was for her to rush the Mafia members head on while Marsavius provided her cover from the back. Six more men in shady clothes flowed out of the pub. However none of them were moving. They all gathered their at the entrance as if they were intentionally blocking it. "Ugh" said Anastasia. "Well, it'd be dumb not to expect them to take any kind of precaution at an important event. "I'll go around the back." Anastasia grabbed her sword and stood up, leaving her hiding spot and going the opposite direction of The Whisker. She was going to circle around the back of the pub and run up of the higher ranking members while Marsavius mowed down the goons from the front. By the time she got to the back entrance of the pub, there was a thunderous sound and an eruption of commotion from the front. She entered the building and whizzed over tables and stands, knocking over platters of drinks and pushing down innocents in her way. Her blood was pumping so fast she couldn't hear her footsteps over her heartbeat. Ananstasia reached the entrance of the pub from inside the building and burst through the double doors, swinging her blade wildly. But it was over. "Six, seven, eight, nine..." she counted. "Oh no, they're all here." Ananstasia frantically looked around but the bodies enclosed on her. "Mars!!" she yelled at the top of her lungs.
"No need to fret Ms. Beatrix. A man with a dark, sinister bellow spoke up. "We've already taken your friend."
Anastasia turned to see Marsavius crumpled on the floor, bleeding out as his mouth foamed white. She dashed to him and picked him up in her hands. "Let's go." said the man. Without paying mind to Anastasia, they all left. Which was easily the most insulting part of the entire encounter. They didn't even consider her a threat. Was it because she was a woman? Because they thought she was weak? Anastasia grabbed her sword, tears and anger filling her eyes. Marsavius' grip tightened on her forearm and he shook his head. "Hark to the wind" he said. She knew he was right. She couldn't beat them all at the same time. For the next few moments, Ananstasia leveled with the pleading look in his eyes, as he slowly coughed and choked on the thick, frothy white foam that erupted from his mouth. The gaze pierced her soul, and a few convulsions later, his body went stiff.
***
The moment had come. Anastasia had reached the location where the Heroes' Guild receptionist told her the mafia was collected this time. The moment had come for her to exact revenge, for her to justify her sins of the past. Anastasia unsheathed her sword and continued to walk defiantly.
After getting food and drinks with the two other fellows (@primainterpares and @higorm) Ryuga had excused himself from the conversation and called it a night. Finding a secluded corner in one of the more empty parts of town, the young teen found himself a nice dark corner where he could sleep undisturbed. The day was already unsettling as it was, and he wanted nothing more of it, hoping the next day came as quick as it should.
The unprecedented interference of the mysterious man (@higorm) meant Ryuga was unable to inspect the battle prowess of the mid-ranked fighters of this province. To remain undercover, and possibly gain the assistance of the two other cloaked men (@primainterpares and @higorm) meant that he had to willingly hand over the gold that he would have obtained had he chosen to take a share of the bounty. While although it fended off any fleeting suspicions the other two may have had about him, it left him stuck in the same broken state that he found himself in when he had first arrived on this barren port . . . which was technically today . . . but whatever . . .
Ryuga knew that he should not be so tough on himself, especially considering that it had not even been a day since he had arrived in the kingdom of Edral. Patience was key to success, especially when talking about the progression of one's strength! For now Ryuga had decided that it would be more beneficial to stay with this newly found group. Should they encounter an enemy in the future, it would allow Ryuga the opportunity to scout out the abilities of the two caped crusaders. With this information he could create an estimate of the appropriate skill level of those that exist within this kingdom, and the types of abilities that they could harness. Also, should this alliance allow him to earn some gold in the sideline, then it would allow him to attend and witness the matches in the main arena, further fueling his already growing catalog of information regarding the skills, magic, and abilities, of those that live on this side of the world. And the women . . . do not forget the women . . .
After careful analysis of his day, Ryuga came to realize that it did not go as bad as he had first thought it did! There were still many advantages that he had gained through this alliance, not to mention the resuppply of his food rations, enough to last him a week. If anything, his day was merely inefficient in its course, unable to provide him with what he specifically wanted, but rather useful in other shortsighted ways! The young teen sighed into the cold midnight air, thinking about how the rest of his stay here was going to go. Today may not be as fruitful as he intended it to be, but tomorrow he would make sure that such a thing is no longer the case! If only he had any idea . . .
He was woken up the the screams of frightened humans, and the roars of a strange creature that sounded something akin to a walrus undergoing the Heimlich maneuver. Opening his eyes he found crowds of humans running left, right, and center as some sort of bipedal humanoid shark-hybrid chased them down the streets. A young mother had her child clutched to her breast as she did everything she could to flee from the monstrous invaders. In a moment of failed grace she slipped, sending the two tumbling to the floor. It only took a second before the invaders were on them, quickly reducing the two into a pile of stripped meat. By the time they were done, all that was left was a bloodied cloth, and a half-eaten hand, which by the looks of it, seemed to have belonged to a child!
Walking out of his secluded corner, the invaders turned to look at Ryuga, and only a second later, sprung right into action. 'This . . . is going to be fun!' the teen thought excitedly. It did not take long for the small street to be turned into a blood bath of fish organs and fists. Not wanting to waste any spells the young teen jumped smack down into the middle of the horde. His superior acrobatics and speed made it to where he was untouchable. Taking out his handy pocket knife he began happily stabbing away, leading to him often ducking over the swings of the dumb and clumsy fish men. Within a minute, the ten or so monsters that once populated this small street had been reduced to exactly zero.
Walking out from the small street, Ryuga had found that his clothes were completely soaked in blood. His breath remained erratic form the battle adrenaline and a small crazed smile formed on his lips. Jumping onto the nearest rooftop he sped off. By the looks of it this invasion was taking place across the entire town. There were bound to be battles between the local mages and the creatures, but he was not interested in something as small as that. An attack by these bipedal humanoid fish on a scale as large as this meant that they had to have been coordinated by someone, or even something! If that is true, then the current heroes guild will probably send a team to neutralize the head of the attack. Said 'head' must be pretty powerful to command a legion of monsters as large as this, and thus should a battle between 'it' and the local heroes take place, then it would lead to many abilities of the locals being revealed, providing Ryuga with even more information that he could ever have asked for! It was with that exact thought in mind that the young teen sped off, studying the attack distribution of the monsters to try and scout out where he was most likely to find the Monster Herder of this large group.
TL; DR
Ryuga wakes up to find that the town is under attack by some sort of bipedal humanoid fish monsters
After killing the monsters that were in his alley he decides to go and look for the 'head' of these monsters
Jumping onto a rooftop he decides to speed off, jumping from scaffolding to scaffolding, avoiding most of the fodder that was in the streets down below.
While scouting he uses 'Observe' to study the monsters, and uses 'Detect Bloodlust' to help scout out how many monsters there are and their distribution patterns
He uses Detect Bloodlust every five second interval to act as a sort of monster radar!
Will post corresponding feats for my character in the next post!
@emperorthanos-: "I possess a unique form of magic. Capable of anything really. I simply require the right ingredients and anything from tracking those who would hide from you to ending a famine to trapping people's souls are all within my power."
A fish-man leapt towards her, jaws wide open. A hard punch, however, intercepted the creature, cracking its skull against the stone wall. Lilith’s dress was now covered in the blood, spit, and other fluids of the fish-men.
“Disgusting.”
Another one broke through the front lines and attacked. She dealt a kick that caved in its chest. The hardy fish, however, survived and fled from the honestly frightening demoness. Lilith went in pursuit after it. Sweeping it to the floor, a blow to the temple ended the being’s life.
She then noticed how she had stumbled upon a shattered storefront. A massive shark-man was destroying the fishing establishment. A swordsman stood some distance away from the shark, closer to her. Lilith tensed up.
"Ooh a mage. My brother has one working for him so it's only makes sense for me to have one myself. Very well Tigra you can join us. Tomorrow when I'm sober, you will show me exactly what you can do. I know some people you can work your magic on. For now you can go downstairs and enjoy yourself. You may stay here for the night." You spend the rest of your night eating and drinking before going to sleep in a room provided for you.
...
You wake up the next day to hear screaming. You rush out the room to see all the people from yesterday fighting a bunch of sea monsters. Except for Kaari who seems content with just sitting and watching her men kill the sea creatures. She looks at you and says "Well look who woke up. Well I think now is better time than any to show me what you can do Tigra."
Jenny received the telepathic communication and sighed "god damnit when it rains it pours" she said "All i wanted to do was fight in the arena and make some scratch but NOOOOO now we're being invaded by Cthulhu wannabes" she finished her little complaining and jumped up on the nearest table
"Listen up you Muppets" she shouted to get everyone's attention "those of you that are actually competent grab a group of people and get them out of the city safely, those of you that are useless muppets get out." after that Jenny jumped off the table and left the room.
She left the arena to see the town in utter chaos "well isn't that just great, the cities gone mad as a bag of ferrets." she started rolling on her force field killing any of those useless sea creatures along the way.
Gallery
Skids can travel almost as fast as feathered Angel with her force field
She stopped when she heard a scream coming from an alley. a creature had cornered a girl that couldn't be older than 8. Jenny slid over and removed the arms and legs of the creature's with her claws before finally stabbing it through the head. The girl was crying and understandably so. Jenny slowly approached her while saying "hey im not gonna hurt you, but we need to get you out of here. I promise i can protect you."
She held her hand out waiting for the young girl to take it, when the girl took her hand Jenny also covered her in the same forcefield that protected her. Jenny then swung the young girl on her back "hold on tight ok."
Gallery
skids can cover others with her force field
And with that Jenny sped off towards the town exit away from the sea level. She had no interest in this fight and from what she had heard about Tarrin it would be better off destroyed anyways. she thought about the little girl on her back "and just what am i gonna do with you?"
TL;DR
Jenny left the arena
Jenny performed a moderate amount of pest control before finding a small child cornered by a monster
upon rescuing the child Jenny exited the city with the small child
@emperorthanos-: Instead of rushing, Felleyes took his sweet time rising out of bed. He preferred doing his activities under the cover of night most of the time, leading him to sleep through most mornings. Fishfolk were certainly not going to make him hurry any faster. For Felleyes, monsters were no worry. In fact, the prospect excited him a bit as he would have a quick easy source of magical materials to better serve his new job. Now helping out with the disaster itself? That never quite crossed his mind. Why risk himself or burn through his resources when others always seemed so very willing to do so themselves?
After leaving his room and hearing his new Mistress's proposal, Felleyes simply blinked twice.
"Hmm...I am not quite sure that's the best idea, Mistress," Felleyes shrugged as he said this, "I simply am not the best when it comes to combat magic. Nor do I have the ingredients nor power to end this quickly. It would be faster and more efficient to simply have your men put swords to them."
Felleyes sensed a tinge of disappointment and smirked. He found it imperative to set his limitations down early lest his masters thought him capable of something he could not do. This did present an opportunity to sell himself in his actual areas of expertise though.
"Fortunately for you, I can certainly provide some assistance. A pittance compared to what I can do with better preparation and time," Felleyes walked over to some flames, reached into his pouch to pour a sprinkle of a special powder into it. The fire flared purple for a brief instant.
"SREKEES YKOMS. NIAGA ESIR. ENOB DNA HSA," Felleyes' eyes glowed briefly and his voice resounded with the power of ancient horrors long ago forgotten by humanity. Twin dark ethereal wolves began running outside to help combat the fishfolk. His eyes and voice promptly returned back to normal, "Both cannot die by mortal means. Both are capable of tearing through mortals ease and never tire."
Felleyes flashed his new mistress one of his many impudent smiles.
TL;DR
Felleyes is sending two ethereal wolves to hunt and kill any of the sea creatures they can find, beginning with the ones Kaari's men are facing.
Just like the other day someone takes you down to waiting room for the warriors. Where you hear your name called for the first fight of the day. You then head down the stairs to see a women already waiting for you in the arena.
"Well folks we Saoirse the new number 193 taking on Telca the current 155 ranked fighter. This should be one hell of a fight. Saoirse did well in her first fight yesterday but how will she do tonight?"
Telca speaks directly to you " We don't have to fight you know. You can just walk of the ring right now, save your self from the humiliating loss you are about to receive and save me the time. "
Támerlein nocked an arrow from his quiver and was about to join the fray when he heard the woman's voice in his head. It seemed as if the six warriors have heard it too, but they didn't seem to care all that much as they kept fighting among themselves. Támerlein didn't have much time to weigh his options: even before the woman finished broadcasting her telepathic message, Támerlein saw a group of those hideous underwater warriors climb from the water and into the deck, making their way quickly toward him with malicious looks on their faces. He cursed silently to himself and fired the arrow already nocked to his bow at the closest one. With blinding speed, he nocked three more arrows and fired them at three more of the creatures. Two were left, and they started to hesitate once they saw four of their comrades being dropped with such contemptuous ease. Támerlein smiled and reached for his quiver, when he heard an inhuman roar somewhere to his left. Turning his look, he saw another of the fish-men climb up from the sea... but this one was unlike the others, and Támerlein's smile slowly faded.
"Oh, Seven Hells," he said and braced himself for a real fight.
You cut them down one after the other but they keep coming. One of the Guard shouts "There seems to be no end to them. We have to kill their masters. That's the only way to get them to go back to the water." Another shouts " They are trying but the sharkman is killing everyone coming his way and the monster lady is even stronger" As the says this you see an entire building collapse. " We need to focus on the civilians. Take them to safety and wait until the monster hunters show up."
"You are right this take priority. We can deal with goblins later. You heard what the lady said help is on the way we just need to buy time. These creatures will not stop coming until their masters are killed. I'm going to go after one of them. You can come with me to try stall them or you can stay here and use your apparition to take civilians out of the city. Your choice"
You arrive at the guild building to see a man shouting instructions " Again, Rank IV members should focus on evacuation, rank III should focus on taking down the monsters. While any Rank II or I should help take on the Monster Lord and her follower, we have already lost quite a few heroes to them. Do not try to do something you are no qualified for. I understand the two big one have a big reward but Civillain safety is our top priority here."
You see the giant shark killing warrior after warrior. It's a gruesome scene as he rips apart the heroes and monster hunters with his teeth while their attacks seem to just bounce of him. As he kills the last of those opposing him. He begins ripping houses from the ground and throwing them all around. Even his allies seems to be avoiding him, and letting him rampage on his own. The 3 of you notice each other as you each watch the carnage unfold. You all know he must be stopped but can you work together to do so.
You arrive to see them under attack. Fish creatures jump out of the water attacking every living thing in site. It's chaos and soon you hear a telepathic message explaining the situation. Now this could be a perfect opportunity to attack the mafia and take out one of their leaders while her men are distracted. Or you can aid those in need.
Your search for the leader of the monsters leads you right to the woman shown to you telepathically. It was not hard to find given she towers above the buildings. Her sheer size gives her enough force to send everyone who comes near her flying away, killing most in one strike. Getting near her alone will be difficult let alone killing her. Thankfully the message was to simply distract till the monster hunters arrive so that is all you need to do.
"Well not bad not bad at all. Though it looks like Wollf is killing a lot more than your two pets. Show me what else you can do. From the looks of things, these creatures won't stop coming so we have all the time in the world. Also Tigra tell me, where did you learn your magic?"
Your mines are successful but only in exploding the first wave of creatures that rush in. Soon the second wave comes towards as the large explosions have managed to catch their attention.
Could you guys start keeping track of how many coins you have for me please. Makes my life a little easier.
“Hmmm. That is a foul, yet dangerous beast.” Ragnos thought to himself. It seems as though he couldn’t easily kill it. At least without proper knowledge of its weak spots and anatomy.
Remembering the decree however, Ragnos instead looked for another option to smite the beast. As he remembered from his sect and his training, the power of words can be deadly. And so Ragnos took to distracting the beast. Perhaps with a lack of focus, the beast could lower its guard, and loosen itself up to more fatal blows.
“Foul, Disgusting Creature! You would hamper this place with your filth! Come then. Forget these mortals and face me.”
Deathstroke getting in Batman’s head with a few words. Throwing him off his game tempoairily.
That distraction, Ragnos hoped, was enough to provoke the beast. Noticing other warriors, @darkdementor101, @menos_kegare, Ragnos signaled for them to strike if and when the beast was distracted with chasing him. Then when the time was right, he would help strike a mortal blow with The Sword of Sin. And if that didn’t work, wait for the help of the hunters while keeping the beast occupied.
"It really sounds like we should leave this up to the professionals. Remember yesterday how we got way in over our heads? We almost died!" Marco tried to reason with Narlak.
"This will be different. We are fixin to have rank twos and ones by our side." Narlak countered.
"We will only get in their way." Marco retorted. "I came to Tarrin to escape death, not run towards it." Marco shut up realizing that he revealed more than he wanted to about himself.
"You sound cowardly. Im going to help fight the big ones while you save your own hide!" Narlak stormed off to join the group of high ranking Heroes.
"Godsdamn you Narlak. Your going to get yourself killed without me there to save your ignorant Orkish ass." Marco muttered under his breath as he scurried after his new friend to join the high ranking group.
"I see you changed your mind." Narlak grunted.
"Only because I want to see the creatures break their teeth trying to get through your thick skull." Marco shot back.
Both Marco and Narlak walked up to the high ranking group. "My friend here wants to help you slay the big ugly bastards, and I am tagging along to make sure he doesn't end up as literal fish food. If any of you can talk a block headed Ork out of doing something stupid be my guest, if not, then we are coming with you and I will do my best to stay out of your way." Marco said and flashed a quick unenthusiastic smile. " Okay good."
Goran's sleep is suddenly interrupted by a shrill scream, he wakes up worried not knowing exactly what is happening, but one thing is already clear, that was not an ordinary city. He looks for his newly formed allies but nor @primainterpares neither @darkdementor101 could be seen from where he was. He soon realizes they're already on the move.
- No time to waste here, must join the forces against this invasion.
He activates his Dark Vision to have a better understanding of things, to see where to trouble comes from exactly so he can act accordingly. Once he's able to get clear view he sees horrendous creatures comming from the water by the dozens with a continuous flow of monsters storming into the city.
- The guards won't be able to hold them off, and I won't wait for others to come for the rescue, gotta do my part.
Goran sends his killer shadow's against the first ones that manage to break the guards defense. He waits until a couple of them is banded together to use his Blink+Windblast combo to blast them away with a poweful wind gust. He looks around to see if he can find one of his companions that might need his help.
Note: Apologies, I'm exhausted and wrote most of this on my phone, so it may not be up to the quality of previous posts.
All of the Might
“We don't have to fight you know. You can just walk of the ring right now, save yourself from the humiliating loss you are about to receive and save me the time."
Saoirse laughed, “Trying to get out of this already huh?” she rushed forward her footfalls kicking up dust.
“Brave...stupid, but brave”, the woman remarked in a low flat voice, raising her blade to the oncoming assailant.
“I must just be too dumb to know what’s good for me”, Saoirse quipped in a jab of sarcasm. She had taken the role of aggressor leading in with a lance thrust that her opponent parried with ease. Flowing with the energy of battle she redirected with another lightning-quick thrust. Finding resistance she pressed on, keeping the pressure on her opponent and pushing her back into the fence encircling the platform.
“You children are always so full of vigor until the real fighting starts”. The woman unleashed a rapid series of cuts, each surgical attack dexterously rebuffed by the rapidly spinning lance.
“Who are you calling a child?” Saoirse’s spear intercepted the razor-sharp sword and turned it aside before sliding along the length of the blade and thrusting through the opening created. An ingenious move, which might have worked but for the speed and skill of her opponent.
“I may have underestimated you”, the woman admitted, gracefully intercepting the lance with the back of her armored gauntlet and rolling with the thrust at just the right moment. Seizing an advantage she followed up with a shield bash and finally a blindingly fast series of skilled feints and slashes that Saoirse struggled to deflect. “But not as much as you underestimate me.” The woman’s sword whistled through the air as Saoirse ducked, the blade cutting the ponytail from her head. She dodged backward, juking to the left and right as her opponent’s sword-thrusts narrowly missed.
The fight raged on as the crowd grew quiet, watching each impossibly quick exchange unfold with bated breath. It was difficult to understand what was happening below, the combatant’s bodies blurred in constant motion. The crowd stood intently, gasping and cheering periodically as they made out the combat unfolding before them. It continued for some time, the impact of metal reverberating through the air as the weapons collided, locked, then collided again. For the nineteenth or maybe twentieth time the mighty warrior woman pressed into a position of attack.
Without hesitation, the woman lunged forward in a powerful overhand strike. Saoirse took a strong, two-handed stance, blocking the overhand blow, and pressing back against her assailant with all the strength she could muster. Her attacker pushed in return even harder, attempting to overpower and crush the lithe lancer. Abruptly, Saoirse let one arm collapse, spinning the lance and jolting the swordswoman forward with the sudden lack of resistance. As the woman’s foot came forward to regain her balance, Saoirse brought the spear tip into position, skewering the foot with a thrust like a lightning strike; pinning it to the ground with a loud SPLURTCH. “#$^!”, the woman let loose an exasperated sound.
Find your enemy’s weakness and destroy it, she could hear Chiron’s voice in her head. Without hesitation Saoirse took advantage of her enemy's shock, grasping the opponent’s sword-hand and disarming it forcefully. The blade was sent tumbling to the arena floor, wedging itself upright in the dirt as Saoirse tackled her opponent to the ground. Mounting the female gladiator, whose foot was still pinned to the ground, she unleashed a pummeling as the woman tried to block her furious blows.
“Never...look...past me”, she panted breathily, her fists producing blood with each stone crushing strike, droplets of blood hanging in the air. “Ach...grgle buh”, the bloody woman struggled to speak as the fists fell upon her face like the heavy strokes of a hammer. Saoirse’s fists were coated in blood, but she continued to pound, over and over.
A faint grin crept across her face, and she bent down to the woman's ear. “We don't have to fight you know. You can just walk off the ring right now, save yourself from the humiliating loss you are about to receive and save me the time." She taunted, repeating the woman’s own words softly, before climbing to her feet.
“Never”, the woman’s guttural voice wavered as it labored to climb from her throat. She reached for Saoirse but suddenly stopped, coughing as blood spilled from a fresh wound across her neck. She collapsed to the ground limply, her breathing growing labored and ragged, then stopping completely.
Saoirse drew her speartip across a clean section of the woman’s clothes wiping away the blood “Fine then”. She thrust her spear in the air, listening to the thunderous applause and admiration of the crowd.
Strategy and Evidence
1. Slight physical advantage, particularly in speed and agility, as the many feats I have already shown demonstrate. Black Sky has somewhat similar feats as far as combat speed and reflexes, but Snake-Eyes’ are more impressive, for example deflecting multiple bullets with a single swipe of his sword and overwhelming other bullet-timers with his speed. He regularly beats Storm Shadow who has superior speed and reflexes to Black Sky judging by feats.
Strength-wise she may have a slight edge with the way her blows send people flying, but again Snake-Eyes has punched through solid stone, broken steel robots with his bare hands, shattered an armored helmet with a headbutt, and thrown a grown woman across a room from a seated position. This shows that her level of strength isn't superior enough to overwhelm me.
Durability is questionable. On one hand, I have already shown evidence that Snake-Eyes jumped out of a plane moving 120+ MPH at least a hundred feet in the air without a parachute, hitting the hard desert ground, then got up almost immediately and infiltrated an enemy base. Assuming a conservative estimate of 100 feet for the fall his speed at impact would be roughly 25 m/s, well-above the lethal level given NASA research. I believe this compares favorably to Black Sky’s best feat of taking an Iron Fist.
2. Skills are pretty evenly matched, but again the slight edge leans in my favor. Cu was able to match swordsmen as skilled as Ras; like Artoria and Sasaki Kojirou, both considered masters of swordplay, while not even going all out. It should be noted Kojirou also has predictive skills that allow him to read enemy attacks after a few moments of fighting. He also overwhelmed Archer, who has clairvoyance and eye of the mind, which allows him to predict his opponent’s actions.
In hand to hand combat, Chiron’s training in Pankration should give me the skills to overwhelm an injured CW Ras. It is considered the world’s oldest mixed martial art, a blend of strikes, grapples, and throws. It allowed him to counter and take down (albeit very temporarily) faster, more powerful opponents like Mordred and Achilles and as I’ve demonstrated I actually have a small advantage in speed and reflexes here. Having already inflicted damage and put her opponent at disadvantage Saoirse should be able to overcome her opponent using this skill. Ras has shown a bit of unarmed skill, but most of his best and most impressive skills are with weapons. He especially has few showings of grappling skill, which Saoirse can use to great effect given wrestling and grapples are a major part of pankration.
3. Advantage in weapon length. Pretty self-explanatory. Spears and the way they are wielded generate significantly more range than swords typically.
4. Atlantean steel’s greatest advantage over regular steel is it’s sharpness/cutting ability. This makes the upgrade to Atlantean steal largely ineffective here. Regular steel was already sharp enough to pierce my skin, so Atlantean steel adds nothing there. Furthermore, even with Atlantean steel, the blade should not be capable of damaging my cursed spear. Gae Buidhe has survived clashes with immensely strong servants like Artoria who wields the holy sword Excaliber and is so strong she can flip trucks with ease and her attacks create craters and make the air tremble when they connect. If a being that strong cannot break Gae Buidhe with a holy weapon black sky should not be able to with an Atlantean steel sword.
5. Beyond just range alone spears are considered to be superior in a matchup against swords in general. CW Ras Al Ghul is very good with a sword, but this match-up puts his skill set’s greatest talent at a disadvantage.
“The shortsword that deflected Lancer's lance flies from Archer's hand. This is Lancer's technique. A straight thrust that turns into a sweep at Archer's wrist. It was a blow Archer could not avoid even had he seen it coming. There is no effective way of parrying a lance with a sword. A strong rebuff only results in a stronger counterattack, and a weak rebuff does not create any openings.” - Fate:Stay/Night
On top of that, as usual, any wounds inflicted by my cursed spear will not heal and lead my opponent to slowly bleed out and slow down. Meanwhile, my healing factor as a Nephilim will mean any non-critical hits that land on me will quickly heal. Over the course of a long fight, this will keep me in peak fighting condition relative to my opponent. As the fight progresses my advantage will grow until eventually, it becomes too much.
Gan cast a cold eye over the scene in front of him. Collapsed buildings and dozens of half eaten, mutilated corpses were all that remained of the once peaceful (enough) port. "I guess this isn't the time for holding back," he said coldly as he looked towards the shark. Gan drew his blade, now coated almost entirely red, and pointed it towards the monster. "Raise your head, Wabisuke." A dim glow emanated from the blade in response before returning to its normal colour. He shook his head and suppressed the thought that he wished he'd stayed in bed today and charged at the shark.
As he approached, he noticed another person running alongside him. A woman, clad in black and sporting short blue hair was keeping pace with him as they both approached the shark. They made eye contact and nodded before returning their attention to the monster. Reaching it, the beast lashed out, but Gan threw up his sword in time to meet the blow as the blue-haired woman weaved behind it and disappeared from Gan's view. The impact of the hit sent him skidding back several metres along the floor despite him cleaning redirecting most of the force. From just that attack Gan could tell that although the monster was exceptionally powerful, it was left wanting in the way of skill. Gan smiled fearlessly. Honestly, he had expected the creature to be nothing but a simple brute like the hoard of fish-men that had invaded the town, but that wasn't the case. This also meant that it was intelligent, or at least far more intelligent than the other monsters in the town. This was going to be more troubling then he had predicted. But that's okay. After all, Gan's fights never lasted too long when he was using his blade properly.
The monster fought with both its body and its blade, but through a mix of its attention being split between himself, the woman fighting next to him, and an archer firing pot shots at him from afar, as well as Gan opting to fight with complete defence and only ever attacking when the monster was preoccupied with someone else, the beast made little headway. Gan had sustained several small and medium-sized cuts throughout the exchange, but they healed as quickly as they appeared. On top of this, despite the groups mounting exhaustion, the beast was slowing down at a much faster rate then they were. It started slowly at first but ramped up significantly a few minutes into the exchange, and at this point, the beast moved as if its body had been submerged in mud. With the beast slowed to this extent, deflecting its attacks had become much simpler, which in turn slowed it down even more. A look of confusion seemed to cross its face, and Gan smiled in response. The hunters should be arriving any second now.
Feats
First up, Wabisuke.
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Chapter 169
Its one and only ability is that it doubles the weight of whatever it strikes ad infinitum. It's quite useful for extended fights or defensive battles as it means the opponent can't attack you without making it harder for them to attack you again.
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Chapter 323
This ability also extends to whatever body part he hits (if he doesn't cut it off, anyway). With Sharkbro being all but impervious to my swords cutting abilities, whenever he hits me or I hit him his weight is gonna get doubled. With Arlong weighing upwards of 100kg (it is from a game but I doubt games would get weights wrong tbh, and either way he's over 8 foot tall so he's gonna be heavy) his weight doubling is gonna make his body extremely heavy, extremely quickly.
As for physicals, I'm not Arlong tier (obviously) but when supplemented by my skill and my swords durability (in the chapter 323 scans above he gets knocked through a building hard enough to destroy a huge amount of concrete and the sword is fine) I should be able to deflect his attacks without immediately dying.
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Strength wise Kenshin can pretty easily cut a lamp post in half.
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Speed wise Kenshin is pretty easily FTE. Arlong is a decent amount faster than this due to Luffy scaling but my skill more than makes up the difference which I'll show in a little bit.
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Durability wise, Kenshin can get up and continue fighting after being hit hard enough to send him through a tree. This is blunt force, and for piercing obviously he has no feats of blades breaking against his skin or anything, but he does have solid pain tolerance.
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Even when all his senses had systematically been taken away from him (sight, sound, etc) he was still able to counter a hit and keep fighting after taking a hit that broke bone. Aside form that, after running a gauntlet of opponents that results in him getting cut and stabbed multiple times, internal bleeding, being caught up in an explosion, and a multitude of heavy blunt force attacks, he continued to be able to fight right up until he took the last guy out.
Physically I'm still far weaker, less durable, and slower than Arlong (and I mean, obviously), but I feel like when supplemented by my skill showings which I'll show now, I can keep up long enough for weight doubling to slow Sharkbro down to a level that means I won't be dying.
This fight is a pretty perfect example of the type of combat style I'll be using here against Sharkbro. Ikki's opponent in the fight can move roughly 3 times faster than Ikki can while holding back, and upwards of 4 times faster when going all out. Despite this, Ikki is able to deflect hundreds of blows from him in a defensive battle that was from the start supposed to sap his opponents stamina:
"That's it! So that's the weak point of Marginal Counter…!"
"Eh? What are you talking about Vermillion-san?"
"Just carefully look at the face of the skull guy, you'll understand."
Being told that, Ayase looked at Kuraudo's face. He was sweating a lot, and from his chin, drops of sweat were pouring down as if overflowing.
"…I see! It's his stamina!"
"Yes. It's quite simple now that I think about it. That overwhelming common sense-defying Marginal Counter of his boasts higher action counts, but in return the stamina consumption is really harsh. Ikki immediately realized that and played for time while sustaining the minimum amount of injury he could, in order to bring down his stamina!"
As if confirming that, Kuraudo suddenly gnashed violently.
Damn mimic…! This was supposed to be going with my pace, but before I knew it I got caught in that bastard's game of endurance!
Even though he was half dead and could barely hold his sword, he immediately saw through the weakness of Kuraudo's Marginal Counter and drew him into his own pace. As a result, Kuraudo's energy was almost completely exhausted.
Yes, it's exactly as Stella said. Ikki wasn't the type of guy to just quietly sit around while he was being attacked. In his arsenal, there were many methods to wear out his opponents.
Almost like witchcraft… what an annoying bastard.
Kuraudo got the chills when he tried to think of how many layers of planning this simple attacking and blocking match had.
Essentially, Ikki's skillset allows me to fight defensively throughout an exchange of easily a hundred+ strikes against people at minimum 4 times faster than myself. That's not all, though, as my skillset is going to be supplemented by Kaiser's and Sharkbro's own skills.
"Are you only good at running away!?"
As if trying to dispel that feeling, Stella kept on slashing at Ikki.
But he didn't reply. The troubled but warm smile he sported just a while ago had disappeared. Now he wore an expression so serious it could be terrifying, and he was calmly watching every movement Stella made.
What irritating eyes!
As if her clothes, skin, and muscles were being read fiber by fiber, her every little act was being studied. And from that gaze, she realized that Ikki was trying to understand the Imperial Arts from her movements.
"My sword style isn't so simple that you can see through it easily!"
"…No, I already got it."
In an instant, the flow of the battle turned. Only five minutes had passed since the start of the match when Ikki Kurogane began to attack for the first time.
It might've seemed like a suicidal action at first glance. In a head-on clash between swordsmen, what could he do with just honed technique against an opponent with that much offensive force? He could only fall before such scorching firepower. It should've been inevitable, but―
"Kuh!"
But Stella was the one who retreated. Ikki was pushing Stella back with his weapon. How? The method lay with the sun-like orbit Intetsu was tracing. It was, in fact, Stella's Imperial Arts.
"Impossible…! How can you be using it?"
As she asked, something flashed through Stella's mind.
"You don't mean, you copied my style during these exchanges!?"
"Something like that. I've been despised ever since I was a child, so no one ever taught me, and all I could do was watch others and steal their styles. That's why I'm quite good at these kinds of tactics. I can grasp most sword techniques with only a minute of trading blows."
Swordsmanship describes its own knowledge, style describes its own history, and breathing describes its own principle. If one followed the branches and leaves of a sword style and arrived down at the root, then it wouldn't be hard to grasp that style's techniques and combinations, or its approach in facing different situations. This was what Ikki was saying.
"And if I can understand the style that far, I can also create techniques that outperform my opponent's."
What was the ultimate way to surpass an opponent's sword style? Simply correct all the flaws of that style to create a more perfect one, and the new would be plainly superior to the old. The new style would account for all the old style's faults, and even compensate for its weaknesses. It would eclipse its precursor in every offensive and defensive situation.
"Creating that sword style in the middle of battle is my technique, Blade Steal[7]. Because Stella-san's techniques were so well-engrained, it took me two minutes to steal it and thirty seconds to surpass it. But now I have a solid grasp, so I'll also be attacking from here on."
Stella was falling behind visibly. The audience started stirring up at the unexpected development, but the one most surprised was Stella herself, and not only because she had lost in sword skill. She was surprised because her prized style had been copied, and moreover, Ikki had refined the style enough to surpass it. Just by looking at her sword swings, he could grasp the wisdom of a technique, read its history, and find its secrets. That devilish insight, it could even be called a reflective magic mirror. And on top of everything, he had done all this without using a bit of magic.
She could no longer deny it. Comparing just their sword skills, this boy was several levels above her. If the duel was restricted to weapons alone, it wouldn't even be a fair fight.
One of Ikki's defining characteristics skill-wise is his ability to steal the skills and styles of others within only a minute of seeing them be used, and then improving on said style to become better then the original user. The above quote is putting specific focus on sword skill, but Ikki can absolutely copy skills that aren't based in swordplay.
The lecture they were talking about was the one Ikki was forced to start giving, being pestered by his classmates. It was a martial arts class. Ikki gave classes on various martial arts. Of course swordsmanship was included, but there were also kodachi techniques, spear work, and even archery.
Only Ikki could do it. Being well versed in many martial arts after analyzing so many techniques of different enemies, he was a universal martial artist.
Ikki can copy spear styles, archery styles, and kodachi styles with ease. This also extends to H2H styles and more esoteric, 'mystical' martial arts moves like the Trackless Step, which allows one to seemingly teleport in front of an opponent. I can't use stuff like this here due to skill limits, but this is simply being used to show the ludicrous range of abilities that Ikki can copy with ease. I'd say I wouldn't be able to copy Viper's archery as Gan wouldn't be focusing on him, but he'd absolutely copy Kaiser and Sharkbro's styles. Kaiser's because it's really powerful and Sharkbro's so I'd be aware of every move he'd be capable of making before he makes it.
A destructive killing intent shot invisibly, an arrow capable of even snatching away life, was racing directly toward Ikki. But―killing intent was inconsequential now. Of the arrow, there was nothing that could be seen, nothing that could be heard, so rather than try for the arrow, Ikki would only see what he could see, hear what he could hear.
Remember it―
The order he received his wounds, the direction―
Remember it―
The depth of his injuries, the angle―
Remember it―
Kirihara's words at that time, the voice―
Everything about this match was packed into those details. As if perusing the history of its fencing from the sword style technique, derive the enemy's process from the order and direction. As if collecting the school's knowledge from its swordsmanship, reverse-engineer the position from the injuries and angle. As if stealing the principles of its invention from its tricks, expose the patterns of thinking from the words and the voice. And then from everything there, investigating the previous degree of piercing's tendency, the personality, technique, design, by integrating, analyzing, understanding, exhausting data on all kinds of things―grasp everything about the person called Shizuya Kirihara!
There was no reason he couldn't do it. It wasn't difficult. Because all along, since long ago, Ikki Kurogane had fought that way!
In that instant, the arrow shot from Oborotsuki bit into Ikki. The place it pierced… was not the crown of the head, but the heart. Yes, Kirihara had set a trap into the last blow with a Hunter's composure and cool-headedness. His opponent was already in a hopeless situation, but just in case none of the injuries had occurred, he had shot an arrow at Ikki's heart while saying he was aiming at Ikki's head. A feint in addition to invisibility, his attack permitted no evasion. And exactly as the Hunter planned, the invisible killing intent pierced Ikki's heart―
"…Oh?"
That sound spilled out from Shizuya Kirihara's mouth at the inexplicable sight before him, and his mind went blank. He had sent an arrow of certain death that couldn't be avoided or blocked, but―Ikki's left hand had grabbed it, stopping it on the verge of penetrating Ikki's chest.
"H-How…."
How was it possible? Did such a thing really happen? To the astonished Hunter who was confronting a reality beyond his comprehension, his red-soaked prey coughed and said―
"…As I thought, there's no way you'd tell me the truth."
"What… are you saying―!?"
In that moment, Kirihara shuddered as if a worm had burrowed into his back. Ikki's eyes, without the slightest wandering, were staring him down even though he should be imperceptible.
"It… can't be…."
He had never experienced this, and icy sweat was pouring from all over his body. A chill crept up his spine, and his limbs trembled with a clatter. In Kirihara's swaying field of vision―
"…Yeah, I caught it. And I won't let you get away again."
―the bloodstained knight before him laughed weakly.
「W-W-What happened―!? Contender Kurogane just caught the arrow that he shouldn't be able to see! What the heck is going on!? Even I, reporting live on location, still can't find Contender Kirihara! Area Invisible, the perfect stealth, is still going strong, but the images from our camera are being delivered now… and they reveal that Contender Kurogane reacted to the arrow flying at him! Is he seeing what we can't!?」
「Aha, wahahaha! Are you serious!? That guy really did it!」
Saikyou, who was also giving commentary to the arena, abruptly clapped her hands and gave a resounding laugh.
「Saikyou-sensei? Did you just figure something out!?」
「Heh heh heh…! Yeah, I figured it out. It's exactly as it looks. Area Invisible is already useless.」
Kirihara countered Saikyou's words reflexively.
"D-Don't be ridiculous! My Area Invisible is unbeatable! There's no way this F-Rank garbage has seen through it!"
「Ahaha. Yeah, that's right. That's also what I think. Kiri-yan's[8] Area Invisible is the strongest Noble Art against individual fighters. It's fine to be confident about it, because after all, Area Invisible can't be seen through. The thing that's been seen through is… the Hunter himself.」
"What the hell does that mean!?"
「Oh goodness, you're exceptionally dull, aren't you Kiri-yan? Haven't you seen the fight between the princess and Kuro-bou[9]? At that time, Kuro-bou saw and stole the princess's Imperial Arts, but stealing a sword technique isn't an ordinary feat like imitating a style. From something like a style or swordsmanship, the accumulated history is studied, taking the ideas arrived there, and exposing and returning with the principle of its foundation. That's what we call stealing a sword technique. And just now, he did the same exact thing to you. During the fight, he stole the person called Shizuya Kirihara. Isn't that right, Kuro-bou?」
Ikki affirmed her analysis with a nod. He had employed his anti-personnel technique, Blade Steal, against Kirihara.
"R-Ridiculous! How can something like that happen!? Especially since I must have been invisible to you…!"
"I didn't see you, but knowing 'where Kirihara-kun is right now' isn't that difficult, because you've left a lot of clues, you know?"
"Clues…?"
"The wounds you've put on me. Your procedure from the sequence of wounds I took. Your direction from the angles. And the distance from the power. They all tell me where you are. Tracing the Hunter's position at any particular moment is easy if I follow these markers, and if I understand that much, it's the same as being able to see you. In that case, it's fine to do what I usually do. Whether it's sword technique or people, there's a principle that fundamentally governs all their actions. You can call it a system of values. By using that―the person's actions and plans, what that person is thinking right now, how I myself should move, what countermeasures should be taken, whether to move forward or draw back, to attack or defend―every possible action is completely and quite clearly predictable. For example, at this moment, I know that you've taken three steps back."
Kirihara's body froze in fright at Ikki's light declaration, and he leaked out a soundless shriek, because what Ikki had said was unmistakably true. But of course Ikki could know Kirihara's response. The principle he spoke of wasn't a notion limited to the here and now. That predictability of human thought was a firmly-rooted identity, not something that could be changed in an instant. However much the person himself wants to outsmart that identity, even the thought of outsmarting it arises from the identity itself, and therefore couldn't escape Ikki's perception. By stealing the opponent's identity, Ikki seized all those thoughts and feelings.
If Ikki had to name this technique, it would be Perfect Vision[10]. Before its power, Kirihara finally understood. The true dreadfulness of the knight called Ikki Kurogane wasn't sword technique, a one-minute boost, or anything else like that. It was his ability to expose and reflect the true nature of everything he sees, a discerning eye like a shining magic mirror. That mirror could capture even the invisible Hunter. Therefore―
"I see everything you're capable of doing. In this match, I'll take the win!"
In response, Kirihara put up one final resistance. Drawing Oborotsuki so forcefully that it creaked, he faced the sky above and shot one arrow that had all of his magic loaded into it. A moment later, the arrow exploded in midair, becoming a hundred slivers of iron shining with light invisible to the naked eye. Overtaking Ikki as a sudden shower, they homed and poured down on him, drilling into and smashing the stone floor of the battleground, heaving it up and smashing it again.
There was no pattern to the destruction. The Noble Art Million Rain[11] was an attack of indiscriminate scope made of more than a hundred pieces of iron. Kirihara had concluded that if his thoughts were being read, he should carpet-bomb the area without thinking. The idea had to be correct, but even so―
"Why!? Why doesn't it hit!?"
―Ikki cleared away the invisible arrowheads, running through the destructive rain without slowing the slightest and darting through the rolled-up cloud of dust. In truth, he had already seen all of it.
"It's useless, you know. No matter how much you try to keep your heart clear, you want to beat me. You want to kill me. The urge for that frightened heart to shout its killing intent can't be restrained. No matter how much you want to attack with an unreadable mind, the killing intent dwells inside you."
And Perfect Vision accurately captured that intent. Attacking an enemy without consciously aiming to kill was a mental state taught by certain martial arts, but it wasn't a skill that someone like Kirihara could use. He had only increased the number of arrows he had shot.
"Whether a hundred arrows or a thousand, my Ittou Shura won't fall to such things!"
Every resistance was already meaningless. Like a superior player who predicts a hundred moves ahead, Ikki had already seen the endgame!
Which is also something Ikki can do by "becoming" his opponent (sorry for long quote btw).
I can show more feats if I need to, but I believe I've shown enough to show that I can deflect Sharkbro's blows for long enough to weigh him down to a point where he's not too much of a threat anymore. Arlong should be around 50tons or so, so it would take longer than normal to weigh him down enough but not a ridiculously long time, and certainly not anywhere close to a hundred exchanges.
A scary part of Sharkbro is his water bullets, but in CQC he wouldn't be able to use them, and the first time he uses them would undoubtedly be against Viper due to him firing from a distance and the water bullets being Sharkbro's only range based option. After seeing it the first time, it shouldn't be too hard for Ikki to predict where they're going to be flying and react accordingly, which is almost exactly what happens in the giant quote above, with the only difference being Ikki's opponent and the projectiles there were invisible.
Sorry for huge feat section, but I don't wanna die, so ye.
L i l i t h
Lilith examined the scenery - a ruined city covered in the entrails and littered with the bodies of men and beast alike. The young woman tossed the cigarette that was hanging off her mouth into the mutilated body of a dying fish-man.
Such an ugly scene.
The shark before them was a true monster among monsters. Bodies were sent flying wherever he rampaged. Both the swordsman and Lilith charged at once, nodding to each other in silent acknowledgement.
Truly, the beast seemed to be as strong as its appearance was fearsome. It might have been best for her to retreat and let others deal with it, but that wasn't Lilith's style. Yes, she might have been a thot, but she was far from heartless.
The sword-wielder blocked the brunt of the shark's blade and was sent skidding backwards. He seemed sufficiently skilled to disperse an impact with such great force. Without having the time to be impressed, Lilith weaved behind the shark and, charging energy into her fist, dealt a largely innefectual blow to its side.
The fighting was carried out this way for the next minutes. Not having a weapon to defend herself with, Lilith chose to dart in and out of close range, striking whenever the beast was off balance. Through their combined pressure and the abilities of the man's own sword, they slowly whittled down the creature. If it was an insurmountable force to face, then they would chip at again and again until it was a force their own size.
Feats
Part 1: Ajax/Francis.
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1) Dodges bullets after they're fired while riding towards them on a speeding bike.
2) His rival, Deadpool, has been shown cutting bullets in Deadpool 2.
3) His mutation enhanced his reflexes and made him impervious to pain.
I'm nowhere near as strong as Arlong, so I'm not even going to argue that point. However, despite still being slower, Ajax still is quite speedy and has incredible endurance and durability.
Ajax's own fighting style doesn't envolve any fancy acrobatics. Deadpool, however, does utilize them and shows how he is incredibly nimble. He also has great reflexes and cut through bullets in his second film. In my opinion, Ajax is a hair superior to Deadpool when it comes to reflexes, considering that was the main focus of his mutation.
As for his durability and general endurance, look no further than the final fight of Deadpool. Having been beaten up and stabbed through the chest days prior, he shrugs off most of Deadpool's hits (ex: 0:10, where he gets his head snapped back by a kick but doesn't even register it), completely ignores getting stabbed through the leg, gets stabbed through the chest once more, and gets hit by a container, falling a great distance. It's also only reasonable to assume that the container(s) crashed on top of him. He is, however, still capable of tackling Deadpool and only stops fighting after he is mounted and both his arms are completely broken.
Given my own weaker body, my skill will make up for what is physically lacking. It must be established that Kuroki's martial arts allow me to avoid being struck by the shark. In the world of Kengan Asura, "foresight" is a technique that allows its user to predict and counter the moves of their opponents. Kuroki is stated to be both the "pinnacle of foresight" and "the only one who can use it at this level." Hence, I will be using both Kuroki's own feats of skill and those of other fighter's which use foresight.
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The day he mastered foresight, he could block a bullet even though there was no indication of when the shooter would fire. This seems like a feat of relfexes first, but that's not the case. After all, exactly before this scene he states that "he who can only strike what he sees is a second-rate martial artist." And, exactly after this scene, it is stated that Kuroki couldn't even see Mikazuchi Rei. This shows a clear parallel between blocking a bullet he can't see and fighting a man who's movements can't be even perceived by his eyes.
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Rei's movements far, far surpass the speed of Kuroki. In fact, no one in the stadium, including him, can even seehim. However, Kuroki doesn't get hit even once. It's worth mentioning that Rei has been trained literally from the day he could walk to be an assassin. In addition, he is the heir to the Mikazuchi Clan, a clan of assassins that has perfected its craft for 1200 years.
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Here, Kuroki blocks each and every attack from Kiryu Setsuna, a martial arts genius who mastered both the Niko Style and Koei Style by the age of 16 (rather than going into detail, I'll just ask you to imagine two very, very stronk anime-style martial arts). The Koei Style has two main techniques: Blink and Raksha's Palm. Blink involves moving when your opponent blinks, creating the illusion that you have disappeared. It sounds silly, I know, but it's an incredibly strong technique. Raksha's Palm is a twisting strike done with the hands or feet that twists an opponent like this. One hit is enough to kill or permanently disable practically any opponent, yet Kuroki dodges or blocks each and every one, being that most of them came from his blindspots.
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Kaneda Suekichi, the same fighter who remarked on the supremacy of Kuroki's foresight, is a user of the Kujin Style. It's basically judo, but meant for fighting armored opponents. However, despite not being primarily a striker, through the use of foresight he could read Gaolang's next ten moves. His "Ten-Move Checkmate" fails, but we need to take into account that while Kaneda has the body of an average person (he was famously unfit in his youth), he was fighting the world boxing and world muay thai champ who had punches his opponents couldn't even see or block. So, in this case, we also see a high-level foresight user fighting an opponent who's moves he can't even keep up with and doing fairly well (considering his shortcomings in striking skill (which I have tons of, btw) and physical ability, of course).
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Back in school, despite being the school's worst athelete by far, he hits a homerun on a future baseball superstar, scores a penalty on a future soccer superstar, and knocks out the toughest kid in school who would go on to be a boxing champion.
Part 3: Zuo Tianchen.
Zuo Tianchen comes from the manhua The Last Human. The gist of the story is that a meteorite infected the Earth. 70% of the planet becomes constantly evolving zombies while the other 30% can use the virus to increase their physical abilities and obtain certain abilities. In my case, this will grant me a viral-powered equivalent to the radar sense as well as greatly enhanced punching power.
Originally, his natural radius was limited to five meters. This will increase throughout the story.
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In a more recent chapter, he has shown that he can observe everything in a parking lot without perception mode (open eyes).
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His virus-granted senses allowed him to fight six people at once. As the last page reads, "it's like he has eyes on the back of his head, no matter where we attack he always dodges or blocks!" This will come in handy during the fight. Much like Daredevil uses his radar sense as a supplement to his reflexes, Lilith will use her senses. My awareness is already incredible thanks to Kuroki, but it's increased to new levels thanks to Zuo Tianchen.
Zuo Tianchen has "spot patterns" which allow me to greatly increase my punching power. This will be shown below.
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This is a Sharp-Clawed Zombie. Capable of shrugging off Zuo Tianchen's regular hits and walking through bullets like it's nothing. Pretty tough, yeah?
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However, after amping his arm, Zuo can kill it in one punch (it ripped off its own arm after he trapped it, if you were wondering). In addition, when fighting a "fallen evolver" which was even more durable, a single full-powered punch blew off its arm, shoulder, and part of its torso. Admittedly, going all out took up 30% of the virus' energy. This means I should be able to use said punches three times before its power is limited. I'm not saying this'll take out Arlong or anything (considering his fight with Luffy) but, if need be, it should cause somedamage should I be in trouble.
"From the roars, it sounds like 2 of them. The best way to do this is to separate them and then attack them individually together. We can't take any chances with Giants. Do you have any way of making a distraction?"
You leave the city to find several carriages taking people away from the city. There are carriages to Rilrahus(The Capital) and Notos both of which stop at smaller villages on the way. In the background you hear shouts of the water creatures as they are being held back by the guard.
"You are right this take priority. We can deal with goblins later. You heard what the lady said help is on the way we just need to buy time. These creatures will not stop coming until their masters are killed. I'm going to go after one of them. You can come with me to try stall them or you can stay here and use your apparition to take civilians out of the city. Your choice"
I thought to myself "Ehhhh, on one hand my abilities are better suited to save the civilians, but on the other hand, I'm aiming to be a monster hunter, not a hero..."
I turned to him and said "I guess my monster hunting stuffs can wait, these people definitely need me here, more than they need me out there, hunting monsters. Good luck!" I immediately went to the nearest civilians, and said "Hi, I'm here to rescue you." I took their hands, and apparated them to a save place.
I will do this, go back, and repeat until the area is cleared. I will also try my best to protect the civilians if I can.
My tactics and why I can pull them off:
First of, the range. Hermione and Harry could apparate all over Britain as long as they knew where they were going. I guess, I can teleport the civilians outside of Tarrin as well.
The weather grew colder and colder. They did not dare remain in any one area too long, so rather than staying in the south of England, where a hard ground frost was the worst of their worries, they continued to meander up and down the country, braving a mountainside, where sleet pounded the tent; a wide, flat marsh, where the tent was flooded with chill water; and a tiny island in the middle of a Scottish loch, where snow half buried the tent in the night.
—Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows
I can apparate 2 people at a time by grabbing their body parts. That seems to be the limit if we purely go by showing.
Please, Ron! Harry, hold on tight to my hand, Ron, grab my shoulder.’ […] Hermione twisted in midair and the thundering of the collapsing house rang in Harry’s ears as she dragged him once more into darkness.
Deathly Hallows, pp. 422–423
I can even force apparate people with me. Also, I can use this as an offensive tool against enemies that don't have flight as I can force apparate them to the sky and leave them there while I can fly or teleport back to safety. I can use this offensive tool in case I need to protect the civilians.
‘Grab hold, and make it tight. I’ll do Potter!’ said Greyback, seizing a fistful of Harry’s hair; Harry could feel his long, yellow nails scratching his scalp. ‘On three! One – two – three –’
They Disapparated, pulling the prisoners with them. Harry struggled, trying to throw off Greyback’s hand, but it was hopeless: Ron and Hermione were squeezed tightly against him on either side, he could not separate from the group […]
Deathly Hallows, p. 454
I can also use my apparition to scout for the remaining civilians if I need to
@emperorthanos-: (Out of universe) What's the location we and the giants are in? Are there any trees? Also knowing whenever they wear some heavy armor would be nice too.
Jenny thought very quickly "The Capitol probably offers the best chance to find this girls parents, but if they went to Notos then i'd have to go back through Tarrin" Jenny didn't want to admit to herself that the little girls parents were probably dead. held on tightly to the little girl and gabbed a carriage to the Capitol
Once they were in the carriage Jenny let go of the little girl removing the force field. Jenny tried asking her some questions. "What is your name?" she sat in silence "Ok well how about how old you are?" Still silence. "Not in the mood for talking huh kid? That's alright i wouldn't be either if i was in your position, but eventually you're gonna have to open up to me. Like it or not you're stuck with me for a little bit." Jenny said hoping to reassure the kid
There was a long silence as the carriage was still rolling and the little girl spoke up "Angela, my name is Angela but everyone called me Angie for short and i'm 7" Jenny flashed her a smile "Well Angie that's a start, we're heading to the capitol, hopefully i'll be able to find some food for us there." Angela spoke up again "Hey Jenny how come you have those claws?"
Jenny thought about the best way to answer that question "Well you see Angie my mother isn't human, she is something else and these claws come from her. They are very useful for fighting and my father taught me how to use them well. The sword i carry is just for show, i barely know how to use it."
Jenny and Angie talked for the rest of the carriage ride.
TL;DR
Jenny and Angie took a carriage away from Tarrin to the capitol
Jenny got Angie to open up to her and they talked about stuff
"Not quite sure really, Mistress. It just comes naturally to me. Almost like memories floating back up to the surface. With practice I have gotten even better and will continue to grow in power as I continue," Felleyes looking at the fighting although he seemed to look through everything at something else, "I do have one more trick that might work..."
Felleyes got closer to the fighting, far out of reach of the fishfolk but close enough to make his next spell easier to hit. He rummaged carefully through his pack to extract a little hopping spider and crushed it within his fist. His eyes glowed darkly once again.
"Rikujou Koro!" Charged with power, your words ring out, echoing across the cavernous underground.
Six disks of energy surround your target before collapsing inwards. With a flash of light, Unglaus splits his blade into 4 separate, yet simultaneous strikes, each striking down a disk of energy. Two however, slip past his defenses, pinning his body in place. "W-what the hell was that?" He cries.
As he stands, paralyzed, you approach; ready to deliver the final blow. As you raise your axe, a voice pierces through your mind, causing you scream in pain. "I still have need of his services..."
Chains leap out from the shadows, binding you body, before dragging you into the darkness.
Way Down We Go:
You awaken to find yourself in what looks to be a temple of sorts. All around you, you hear chants and whispers. Screams echo off in the distance. The air is heavy and tainted with the smell of flesh and blood. More than that, you detect the sweet scent of women. Lots of them... In fact, there were even more women trapped in these ruins, than there were in that syndicate hideout.
You attempt to investigate, only to find yourself bound and incapable of moving. It was the same chains from earlier. You could tell they were formed with binding magics, unlike any you had seen before.
A voice booms across the temple, bringing your attention the large figure looming over you.
"Does the Goblin King dare interfere with my affairs?" It asks. The voice was merely a whisper, yet you feel it piercing into your mind, and shaking the very stone beneath your feat.
Your eyes begin to roll into the back of your head as an unseen force begins to tear into your mind. You feel him probing through your thoughts and memories. Just as your mind begins to break, it stops. The echo of his laughter snaps you back to reality.
"It would seem you are telling the truth... Your species is quite interesting. Far different from any of the goblin tribes that roam this continent." He stops, as if in deep thought... "Perhaps we can work out a deal. The women imprisoned in these catacombs. I draw power from their suffering. I will allow you to do with them as you please. You will also gain great power... but only if you swear your allegiance to me."
@emperorthanos-: Raelius looked the man in the eye and agreed to do what he could. He worked hard to get the remaining civilians to safety, sometimes shepherding them in large groups, carrying those who could not make it out under their own power. Every once and a while he was forced to brandish his scimitar to protect his sheep from the slaughter, cutting down the monsters who stood in his way with practiced ease. Wherever there was a cry for help he seemed to be there, ready to protect the civilians and lead them to safety. There we others who would seek the glory of battling the monsters, but a protector was needed to guide these people as well. The city's other heroes, villains, anyone who could muster to fight could take care of that, at least until the arrival of the monster hunters.
"You may address me as Urizen, little king" I say, with a chuckle. "Now, let me give you a taste of true power!". Once again, you feel a presence inside your mind, giving you new information. You also feel your body surge with energy. You feel power that was not there before.
You now get a new skillset, as well as one new power (so long as it is approved)
"You may address me as Urizen, little king" I say, with a chuckle. "Now, let me give you a taste of true power!". Once again, you feel a presence inside your mind, giving you new information. You also feel your body surge with energy. You feel power that was not there before.
You now get a new skillset, as well as one new power (so long as it is approved)
"You may address me as Urizen, little king" He says, with a chuckle. "Now, let me give you a taste of true power!". Once again, you feel a presence inside your mind and soul, filling you with knowledge and power.
As you recover from your daze, a large sword is presented to you.
TLDR:
You have gained Guts combat skills and Lostvayne (In the form of a greatsword)
You may spend the rest of the night, erm... populating... kek
The above will fast-forward you to the next day (where the attack is taking place)
You spend the rest of the night scouting the building before Sorin says it's time to leave. You eventually head back to the tavern you were staying at. Before the two of you part ways Sorin speaks. "Good work Today. I will let Sepitus know your information was good. Tomorrow morning I will meet you at the inn and we can plan how to do this." He then departs while you go back to your room to get some rest.
Invasion Day:
As the new day came, lots of feelings turned in Měinǚ's head.
'This is gonna turn into a mess ain't it. Somehow, someway, this zombie is gonna f*** this up, won't he? But still, getting to kill gramps this early, can't say I didn't see this coming.' Měinǚ clenching her fist in excitement, as she goes down and waits for her partner.
Your clone makes the long trek topside and retrieve your spawn as well as the 3 women. As you take them towards the sewer entrance, you begin to hear screams off in the distance.
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