The shadow that was Vargas darted out of the path of Azrael's magic, to his mild annoyment, but the dodge had taken Vargas a moment, a longer one as he took stock of Azrael's form and the opening it caused gave Azrael time to lunge forward, not waiting on a pounce as the Master seemed to be doing.

He'd like to let out another blast of flame, but that was too predictable and, as Vargas had proven, too easily dodge. Besides, his more powerful spells had still been testy at best and this was an important battle that he didn't have any intention of losing. It wasn't fear of failure that had intense heat travelling up his claw instead of out his jaws, but a need to save his strength for when he felt ready to unleash his more devastating blows.

Vargas may be huge and covered in quills and spikes with little place to reach for a good strike, but that would not stop the beast, lunging straight for his face to deliver a strike of searing heat.

@Vargas

ROUND 2/?

100%

ATTEMPT: good ol fiery claw
DEFENSE: Natural Defenses
INJURIES: None

- THE LEVIATHAN -

Azrael was coming at him, and the demon's clawed hand was extended. He might, just then, have tried to grab the limb--to bite it, or snap it, or drive the blades of his own forearms through the red-furred muscle there. But the problem was that Azrael had four of them.

Four arms.

Grappling could quickly become problematic; Vargas could see that, had experienced it once or twice with stranger designs in the past. His attempt, then, was to shove forward and sharply snag the muscled forearm of the hand that was shooting toward him--and to sidestep, using Azrael's momentum to yank the demon into hurtling past Vargas.

If he hit, it wouldn't do any damage--he just wanted to put the beast off-balance, for now. To get it on the defensive, perhaps, where he could push the attack.

Round: 2/?
Attempt: Do not get made into crispy valkbacon: pt 2, the sequel
Defense: no lol
Injuries: none

@Azrael

He expected claws to rend into flesh, or at the very least, to feel the skin of Vargas against his palm, heat searing away flesh, for blood to pour over the fur of his hand, but he was lurching forward. Would he go into wrestle? Two arms against four? No, a grab on the arm and step to the side and suddenly Azrael was falling forward, with no Vargas in front of him and his balance quickly slipping out of his control.

He was making an opening. He was a skilled opponent, and faster then his size let on. But two could play at that game.

Azrael had no intention of letting Vargas have the upper hand for any length of time. He would show no weakness. He let himself slip off-balance, but as he fell, his fur began to shift colors, rapidly changing until he was the color of the stones beneath him in a fraction of a second, completely invisible to the eye. Even the glow in his chest had been dampened by the spell, rendering him fully out of sight.

He stumbled forward, his wings opening just a bit to keep himself from falling over completely. Vargas would most likely hear it, if he was paying attention, but he didn't intend on staying like this for long, only intending to hold off his opponent's attack to keep him on the defensive.

@Vargas

ROUND 3/?

100%

ATTEMPT: be invisible
DEFENSE: invisible
INJURIES: off-balance

- THE LEVIATHAN -

Vargas's six eyes snapped narrow, their glow half-fading, as Azrael simply... vanished. The alarm in the Leviathan could not be missed: the way he jerked back, swinging his head to and fro, searching for his missing enemy. He was making sure Azrael wasn't behind him, now--because there were too many possibilities, weren't there?

He could have translocated behind him. Become invisible. Cast himself into the Void, even, perhaps (was that possible, for a creature not of Chaos?). Instinct flared his magic into being, and Vargas sought to pick Azrael's pure heartbeat from the darkness.

To his surprise, the demon was indeed exactly where he'd left him--admittedly only a second or so had passed, but he'd assumed it had changed position, somehow. His head snapped in that direction and then he deliberately looked away, as though he were still searching as he circled.

Perhaps if Azrael thought he had the upper hand, he'd strike--leaving himself open to Vargas, who could now actually see him again.

Round: 3/?
Attempt: See Azrael
Defense: no lol
Injuries: none

@Azrael

His plan to distract the Master had paid off, as Vargas swung his head around, searching for his adversary, giving Azrael a moment to catch his balance and turn to face him again, ready to continue the fight. Would Vargas expect the demon to circle around? Get a different position? Or would staying in the same spot be too easy for the beast to counter? He didn't seem to know where Azrael was, checking his sides, behind him, everywhere, so obviously he thought that he'd moved. Unless he had some magical sensing that let him know his location, but Azrael couldn't rely on that. So far, he had shown little magic, so he would rely on Vargas's reliance on physical strength.

This time, the breath he sucked in was silent. It would be hard to predict something you couldn't see coming. The fire would only show itself once it left Azrael's jaws and, hopefully, by then, it would be much too late to counter or avoid.

There was no bestial roar with this flame, only the bright light streaming from his jaws and the sudden blast of flame that left his throat. It was much stronger this time, Azrael mustering as much force as possible. It wasn't that he intended on killing the other - no, but battles had their risk and he would not dishonor a skilled opponent by holding back.

Once the fire burned in the open, he dropped his invisibility. There would be no more hiding!

@Vargas

ROUND 3/?

100%

ATTEMPT: fire blast, part 2
DEFENSE: none
INJURIES: None

- THE LEVIATHAN -

He had been expecting a lunge from the invisible shadow, so when flames came, needless to say he was surprised. On his side he had millennia of honed reflexes and combat training, and the fact that he'd actually known exactly where to find the demon.

On Azrael's side was the enormous gout of fire cascading Vargas's way.

It was hard to argue with that.

With a grimace he flinched down and back, throwing his upper body away in a sharp pivot. Fire hurtled over his hide--he'd be burned, no doubt about that. But his leg kicked up on reflex even as he felt the searing heat, aiming for Azrael's jaw from underneath.

If he could snap it shut-

Vargas was half facing-away, having turned, and his kick left him a bit off-balance, but he hoped it would connect. As it was, he could feel the heat crackling his hide, though for now it wasn't all that bad--survivable, for now. The stink of popping meat filled the air nonetheless.

Round: 4/?
Attempt: interrupt the incinerate with a kick to the jaw before too much damage is done
Defense: no lol
Injuries: none

@Azrael

It hit this time, he knew it. He'd know the acrid stench of burning flesh anywhere and a small piece of him felt bad for harming his opponent in this way. Through their short fight, he'd already come to respect him, his strength, and his courage. A worthy opponent indeed and such a contest wasn't one where one should walk away grievously injured. It had never been Azrael's intent to kill Vargas, and if he thought that his was capable of killing him with the one attack, then he would not have done so.

But Azrael did not expect Vargas to kick out. In exchange for running and avoiding injury, the beast had made to strike while the fire roared from his jaws. A large foot slammed into Azrael's lower jaw, the loud clack of teeth a sharp stocatto as the fire died quickly and Azrael stumbled back, pushed away by the force of the strike. As he fell backwards, he lashed out at the retreating limb, heat searing through his paw and claws, a blind strike before he stumbled out of range. A claw reached up to his jaw, now tender and very bruised, his teeth feeling like he'd just tried to crunch down on a rock. He glanced up at Vargas, breathing heavily, and took a moment to shout out, "Very bold!", his eyes glittering with the joy and ferocity of battle. Yes, this was what he was looking for!

@Vargas

ROUND 5/?

81%

ATTEMPT: strike with very hot claws
DEFENSE: none
INJURIES: bruised jaw

- THE LEVIATHAN -

The follow-up strike he felt as a brief pressure, bruising, and for an instant Vargas thought it'd been little more than a wild hit. The searing agony struck a moment later, the scores down his hide charred instantly, painfully black. He hissed, a sharp intake of air through gritted jaws, despite himself.

He was finding some new respect for Azrael, in turn--well, new was a given, because he'd never met this one before. But it was strong, it was relentless, and it was brutal, all with a tight package of training and control. His respect for it would undoubtedly be joined later (once he'd had time to stop and think) by approval of Ruby-Beta for finding this one and for recognizing its utility, but for now, Vargas had a fight to finish. He recognized now that its combat style would be one of dauntless attrition: brutal, burning strikes that would inevitably, eventually hit. He left no opening for an enemy, but in that, at least, Vargas had the advantage of reach.

He lunged in, throwing his full weight behind a direct hit, not to damage but to knock Azrael off-balance; one long-clawed forelimb lashed forward, aiming to snag beneath and behind the demon's legs and yank forward and upward.

With any luck he'd topple him onto his back without real injury--and then either the creature would concede for now, or Vargas could press from there.

If things went to (two second) plan.

Round: 5/?
Attempt: flip Azrael onto his back
Defense: no lol
Injuries: scorched x2!

@Azrael (you can take the failure however, or just say he missed!)

Never in Azrael's life had he felt such exhilaration. Adrenaline was pumping scorching hot through his veins, every sense and nerve alight with the brutality of their clashing. He knew, once things had settled down, that he would have no qualms with aligning himself with this one. Any fighter of this skill and strength deserved his friendship wholeheartedly. No matter the outcome, he would be honored to fight alongside this one.

The strike Vargas sent his way, while powerful, Azrael avoided, jumping out of the way with a sweep of his wings. As he sailed a few feet to the side, his jaws opened again, feeling bile in the back of his throat heating super-hot, and as soon as he'd landed, he sucked in a breath and spat as hard as he could, a glob of blazing saliva hurling through the air.

He wanted to unleash another blast of flame, but he wasn't sure if Vargas could take many more of those. Despite allowing himself to unleash upon the beast, he had to remind himself to reign himself in so that he didn't kill him.

@Vargas

ROUND 6/?

81%

ATTEMPT: fire glob
DEFENSE: none
INJURIES: bruised jaw

- THE LEVIATHAN -

Vargas saw the miss, saw the demon leap with an easy beat of his wings, and saw the jaws open again. He tensed himself for flames, but what came was a targetted blast of hot bile. One of those, Vargas realized, recognizing it, and snapped a hand out with a flash of magicka.

It would be a risk, and he'd be damaged nonetheless, but far less so if the spell worked. Which was the risk, really; ever since his revival his magic had been fickle, at best.

There was a brief crackle of frost, coating the Leviathan's hand--and it might, if Azrael was quite observant, have been understandable, what Vargas was trying to do. If not, or if the crackle of white were missed-? Azrael'd probably wonder why the hell Vargas had snapped out a hand to catch the hot gob.

Whatever the case, the magic most certainly wasn't enough: a brief hiss of steam and the bile had burned straight through his pitiful layer of cold, straight to flesh. He hissed with sharp pain, slamming the hand to the rock to try and wipe it off.

That--that brief moment of bravado--had been a mistake.

Round: 6/?
Attempt: potentially catch the spitfire in a cold hand
Defense: no lol
Injuries: scorched x2!

@Azrael