THE CHAMPION,
UNBOUND

saran'zol

the unbound champion

72/300

▼INFESTED

Fahl, once again, flies just out of the way of the incoming blade swing, clipping on the edge of the shell of wood covering his body. Saran'zol snarls in frusteration as the gembound just continue to dodge, weave, and parry the attacks coming their way. Glowing eyes scour them for a moment before he leaps, again, forward to attack. Fire burns its skin, ice freezes some of the blood dripping from his ragged wound, energy slams into it, throwing it off course, giving just the opening needed for more of the creatures to swarm in and latch on, their teeth and claws biting into hard shells and piercing the skin underneath, sending dribbling of black blood mixed with glowing red. As he staggers off-course, Shrike bundles into him, bouncing harmlessly off the thick scales.

Saran'zol howls and rights himself, gripping the staff as he twists to attack. The swings this time go for the two creatures currently scrabbling at the thick plates that are quickly falling off under their barrage - the first at Nidhogg, the second at Relic, to spear them straight off of his body, or even just jostle them away.

Meanwhile, the hand is grabbing again, but this time, magic flows into its fingers, causing the glowing red substance to drip from the claw-tips. It doesn't make to blind, but rather to reach for Gaheris, to grab and hold of her and drag her along. Something dangerous gleams in them, though - something is different here.

RELIC 20/20	AZRAEL 12/20	SHRIKE 13/20
FAHL 20/20	GAHERIS 20/20	PHELIX 8/20
BAUXITE T-ONE ▼Unconscious 0/20	NIDHOGG 8/20	AUDLAND 20/20

[ ACTION LOG ]

> Saran'zol's blade cuts towards Nidhogg! Failure to dodge will inflict 19 points of damage.
> The other end of the blade cuts towards Relic! Failure to dodge will inflict 10 points of damage.
> The auxillary arm is reaching for Gaheris, supplemented by Ephemevenom! Failure to dodge will inflict 10 points of damage and poison her.


> Saran'zol takes 6 points from infestation.
> Nidhogg bits onto Saran'zol's shell and does 10 points of damage!
> Relic rips into Saran'zol's shell and does 10 points of damage!
> Azrael burns Saran'zol for 13 points of damage!
> Phelix freezes some of Saran'zol's blood, inflicting 6 points of damage from the ice burns!
> Gaheris blasts Saran'zol, dealing 16 points of damage!
> Audland recovers 12 points of HP!
> Fahl dodges Saran'zol's strike! His barkskin has worn off.

@Relic (Gaheris) @Nidhogg (Shrike) @Fahl @Azrael @Phelix @Audland

Nidhogg was behind Saran'zol, and was watching the back legs. Closely. Just in case they kicked back from where he was snapping.

He did not expect the glaive to suddenly whip back, blade-first, for him.

The resultant dodge was less a neat lunge away than a flip, a roll, and a weird scramble of oily black on sand. It was fast, at least: so much so that his movement would be hard to follow. But it was almost a mongoose's sort of movement instead of something practiced and reminiscent of warfare.

He quickly scrambled back to gain more space, studying the battle for another opening, but careful now (and hissing again) to keep his distance.

Weakening. Weakening! Go for the kill!

The chaos thrumming through her veins--still not finalized, but dripping black nonetheless--heated to a blinding roar. She'd bounced off the glaive's haft, but rather than move to a safe distance once again, the urge to violence usurped her better judgement all at once.

With beak parted, she shrieked, mandibles wide as she dove in again. Her attack was a drive for the spaces between the armored plates, talons and beak driving in bites, stabbing pecks and slashes to do as much damage as she possibly could. Never mind the consequences; never mind that swinging glaive, or the pulsing magic.

The predatory part of her was angling not for honorable battle, but for the kill.

Light caught the blade as it slid towards her after Nidhogg, a warning flash in her periphery seconds before it'd make contact with flesh (and metal).

Relic tore herself away from his leg, literally, spitting out chunks of meat as scampered away with half of Nidhogg's efficiency. The blade scraped horribly against one of the plates along her back, carving a line through the dark metal - she'd JUST gotten that fixed - but missing its intended target.

The blade did not come for him again as he was expecting. It cut towards the smaller ones nipping at the Champion's heels, who were too swift for him to cut through - a blessing, given their smaller size. But Saran'zol was not done with Gaheris.

The arm at his side shot towards her, threatening to grab her neck as if she were some kind of giant goose. Perhaps she'd offended him somehow, with the way she used his own element against him. No matter, she still intended to do it again.

Perhaps emboldened by her previous success with countering Saran'zol's attacks, magic flooded to the surface once again to meet the blow ten fold - a perfect parry.

It has to be true

The battle clashes on, and his is magic reaches out, shakey and uncertain, to drive the ice even deeper into Saran'zol's flesh. He continues to cower next to the Bauxite chrysalis, for now safe and unnoticed in its shadow. Thank you for protecting me. He hopes that it didn't hurt too much, but knows that it most definitely did. Even now phantom shocks of pain sting his tentacles.

He hopes he can get out of this in one piece. He doesn't know how much more of this he can take, but Saran'zol is steadily weakening. All he has to do is last just a little bit longer. Part of him just wants this to be over right now. Part of him wants to wake up in a cycle like all of this was an awful, bloody dream, to return to Leo and pretend this never happened.

But it's almost over. He can do this. He can focus his magicka, help take down this monster, and then never have to fight like this ever again.

I'm counting on you
To be my wings and my eyes

Spells had limits, time for one, and his bark armor's duration at last had run its course. Taking that minor impact as he'd flown out from underneath the shadow of the blade bearing down upon him might as well have been the signal for deterioration to start; chips flaked away, vulnerabilities spreading throughout the structures guarding his scales without any further energy invested in keeping them reinforced. Eventually, all defense was stripped away from him, and Fahl was left again more vulnerable to attack inside the arena.

Could he have dragged it out longer, forced the bark to reemerge for peace of mind and safety? Perhaps, but multiple instances of playing convenient squishy target while others had the opportunity to unleash their attacks meant he'd grown especially weary of running around and feeling moments away from sudden death. He demanded satisfaction for his tired limbs and sore skull, preferably carved out from his opponent's massive hide.

"Hey, hey," he spat, exhaustion swaying him in place, a glare directed at Saran'zol. Heat built in his throat, a rapid escalation from uncomfortable searing to a pain indescribable. "Go f—"

A blinding white beam of energy erupted forth, directed at the enemy's head, and the remainder of his insult was obliterated by the surge.

It’s a sucky phone post! It’s a sucky phone post! It’s a sucky phone post. Yippy yippy yaaay!

With his vision returned (AGAIN), Audland could now consider where to strike. Random bouts of blindness were not so much of a stranger to Audland. Regaining his bearings was still a somewhat disorienting experience.

He went initially with where his mind first drew him. That auxiliary arm seemed to cause nothing but trouble. At this vantage, Audland could see that it was dragging something bluey-white off right now, in fact. Ah, but it seemed the shag rug already had some response prepared.

Well, what did that leave Audland with?

Before he had much time to deliberate, the oilstone in his navel seemed to choose for him: fire. Fire’s good anywhere. Everywhere, even.

OOC: letting DM decide where the fire goes

With all the gembound now throwing themsselves at Saran'zol, weaving his attacks, Azrael now throws himself in. Trying to find an opening to get at one of Saran'zol's legs, Azrael darts in, reaching for the already-damaged leg, to try and break it or even straight up rip it off, but the Champion was rearing and moving too much, and his claws only swiped through midair as the valkhound jumped out of the way.

He snarled, whipping around to follow his momentum.

Content Warning
This post contains potentially sensitive material:

gore

THE CHAMPION,
UNBOUND

saran'zol

the unbound champion

35/300

The valkhound roared in frustration. The red light is becoming brighter. Brighter. The end is imminent. Lightning races across is body as the energy begins to rupture his scales, his skin, from the many wounds that are healing rapidly. Even the infestation has at last closed, leaving behind a nasty scar, while the energy opens new wounds, barely contained by its mortal shell. But the Unbound Champion is NOT FINISHED.

He snarls and twists and turns as more magic and claws rip open holes from which bright light and black blood pour. Shrike would watch the bizarre sight of each peck and scratch linger for mere seconds before they closed and opened elsewhere on his body. The energy is both healing him rapidly and tearing him apart.

Saran'zol screamed as the beam of white light hit directly in the face. For a moment, it looks as if he's finally been blinded as he reared back, but then a burst of sparks and light overtook his face, stitches back his eyes and the skin and bone. For a second, Saran'zol glared at Fahl, righted again. But then the light burst from his cheek, sending him staggering to the side as the energy that had just been used poured out of his faltering body. Leaving behind bloodless bone as part of his skull was exposed, Saran'zol swept forward, still fighting. Still holding on.

Other spells that hit had similar effects - Audland's cursed flame on his shoulder quickly healed but then light burst from his back as a plate was blown off. The ice that gathered on his leg quickly melted only for a scar of light to appear on his ribs. And then his own swing, parried perfectly, was thrown back and buried in his neck. He gurgled as blood welled in his mouth. He ripped the blade out, the skin stitching itself back up under a spray of sparks, but then from his chest, dangerously close to his Oilstone, another wound opened.

He shrieked, barely conscious, and threw himself forward, still fighting, still going until the very end.

"I̵̻̭̿̿̕ ̶̞̞̮̳̫̖̯̯̃̀̀̂À̵͕̻̹̩̫̖̍͝M̸͚̒̎̈́ ̸̨̤͚̠͗̉Ǹ̴̨͔̘̻͙̬͆̒̆͂͘̕͠Ǫ̷̝̗̦̣͛̍͒͜Ṭ̶͇̣̳͚͔̼̂́̉̊̀ ̵̫̈́F̶̤̀̿̚İ̸̛͍͆̋̋͐͠N̵͇̳̠̂͐ͅI̸̛͕̬̼̔̑̆S̵̭̗̜̠̳̒̄͑H̷̦͔͇̹̞̫̗̻̾̓̽Ȅ̸̳͙͇̳̗̉̓D̴͉͉̎̇̃̇̕̚͜ͅ!̶͔͚̞̓́͌́̏!̷̫͈̰͑͘"

Gaheris was his target. That one had repelled his attacks, blasted him, and had suffered no consequences. He would ensure it did this time. The first of the blade swings went to him, while the other went to Fahl. The arm reached out as well, grabbing for him again. It wasn't the same blind as before, but a grab, just without the poisoned claws.

At the same time, energy surged from him once again, stronger, this time, as if he were no longer holding any power back, a wave hurtling towards some of the nearby gembound - particularly Phelix, Relic, Gaheris, and Nidhogg were in danger.

HE WAS NOT DONE.

RELIC 20/20	AZRAEL 12/20	SHRIKE 13/20
FAHL 20/20	GAHERIS 20/20	PHELIX 8/20
BAUXITE T-ONE ▼Unconscious 0/20	NIDHOGG 8/20	AUDLAND 20/20

[ ACTION LOG ]

> Saran'zol's blade cuts towards Gaheris! Failure to dodge will inflict 12 points of damage.
> The other end of the blade cuts towards Fahl! Failure to dodge will inflict 6 points of damage.
> The auxillary arm is reaching for Gaheris! Failure to dodge will inflict damage next round.
> Saran'zol casts Vaccuum! Failure to dodge will inflict 12 points of damage on Phelix, Relic, Gaheris, and Nidhogg!
> Saran'zol regenerates 12 HP and is now immune to status effects.


> Gaheris repels Saran'zol's attack, dealing 10 damage!
> Nidhogg and Relic avoid Saran'zol's attacks!
> Phelix freezes Saran'zol's skin, dealing 8 damage!
> Fahl hits Saran'zol directly with Stellar Flare and dealing 17 points of damage!
> Audland burns Saran'zol for 6 damage!
> Shrike hits Saran'zol for 10 damage!

@Relic (Gaheris) @Nidhogg (Shrike) @Fahl @Azrael @Phelix @Audland