As the creature charged forth, Relic’s jaws found purchase in its scaled hide, nails scrabbling to keep her position, not keen on being dragged around by her teeth. While it would be assuming to say she was expecting the oilstone snake’s flesh to be conventional, the feeling of sharp stone and oil almost shocked her into releasing her hold early.

They steeled themselves, though they wouldn’t have to for long. They were left coughing and sputtering as the serpent moved away, the abyssal liquid dripping from their maw. It tasted awful. It didn’t make them feel particularly well either, but they didn’t have much time to linger on that. They try to leap away from the beasts tail, twisting frantically as they change their position last minute.

There was little thought, but the Sentinel's typical lack of emotion--blank, black, and cold--was being replaced by something else. Slowly, trickling in, was coming the maddening bloodthirst--the battle-lust--of Chaos.

He remembered, in vivid and violent detail, the swathes of devastating smoke that had come with Rrevalk's singular appearance in the caves. The bellowing of that voice, thrumming through his body. The crackle of sickly lightning flashing chartreuse light across the walls. The sheer power of him crumpling a room of Valkhounds to the floor.

This was like that.

And caution, suddenly, was thrown to the wind. A roar erupted from him in meeting, and in challenge: the desire to guard, to play it safe, to protect, bled abruptly away.

Chaos reigned in the Sentinel's heart, just then. And as he sprinted toward the beast, leaping high, and coming down with swinging poleaxe, the grinning snarl on his face was wholly alien.

The idiot with teeth by the name of Nidhogg also was not thinking. Not a thought in that empty serpentine skull. No emotion but violence--if violence could be called an emotion.

Now that the snake was lashing out, he leapt in: darting for the back of its neck, aiming for a severe and crushing bite. Yes, it was bigger than him and yes, it was on fire, but it wasn't LOOKING HIS WAY, and therefore, Nidhogg could bite it.

And Nidhogg, if he could bite something, would bite something.

That was just the rule.

His jaws closed for Oily scales, and he hoped to rip them through and into the flesh--or Oil--beyond. To rend and tear, and rip apart, and indulge himself in Chaos.

- THE LEVIATHAN -

Madness had not taken him; he hadn't lost himself to chaos, like some of the rest.

He wasn't sure if the Creator was truly behind this, or even what he wanted. But he did know two things.

First, that the Chaos Forge were lucky they had a Master here, and that he would fulfill that role to the edges of his immense new power.

Second, that he still loved battle. It wasn't a case of being lost to it, but indulging, revelling, despite his sharp awareness of the fight. When the Oiled scales swept toward him, black flame arcing along the serpent's length (and he could see another, second serpent leaping for its head, jaws agape)--Vargas lunged to meet it.

His arm blades came up. He swung as hard as he could out, away; if the serpent impacted him it would, with luck, be torn up deeply and thrown backward, to boot.

Vargas wasn't grinning, but that's only because his face was too rigid to really do so.

THE CREATOR'S TEST

[THE BLACK SERPENT]

159 / 250 HP    64%

▼ BLEEDING ▼ INFESTED ▼ BURNING

The crash of Oiled scales and black flame to bodies was a violent crush. Thrown flying was the very Leviathan himself, sent skidding across the floor and into a violent tumble. Others too close and too slow were lashed by the sharp-scaled tail, blood drawn or bodies smashed into, fire smoldering far too close for comfort. Rue, and Nidhogg, the Sentinel, all smashed by living Chaos.

There were strikes back. A lash of a black-bladed halberd. The crush of comparatively tiny jaws. And nimble Relic, scooting aside as the tail slammed down, crushing up a cloud of black dust in the space they had just occupied. Too quick. Oil-gleaming eyes sought the cub out past their streaks of blinding blood, narrowing with hatred.

Injured, it pulled back. Its coils rolled over and over, and it lurched upright, leering down at the Gembound.

A strange sensation of anticipation rose around it: as though something magnificent was about to happen. Sparks of magicka--gleaming bright, not only that of Chaos but pure energy, as well--gleamed through the air, as if drawn to the Serpent. A low hiss began to emanate from it--and around the room, this sound echoed, like a water tap left on.

It was unclear what it was doing, bar readying an attack.

Vargas 11/20	Nidhogg 11/20	The Sentinel 11/20
V-Hiddenite-One 20/20	Ruby-Beta 20/20	Azrael 20/20
Garnet-Epsilon 10/20	V-Labradorite-One 20/20	Rue 11/20
Khavur 20/20	Relic 20/20	Madhukar 12/20

[ ACTION LOG ]

> THE BLACK SERPENT draws back, attempting to LEECH from all present! This may be interrupted if 30+ damage is done; if not, ALL present will find their magicka drained! Gembound are free to attack, and will take no damage this round.



> THE BLACK SERPENT takes 1 point of damage each from INFESTED, BLEEDING, and BURNING, for a total of 3 damage
> NIDHOGG strikes THE BLACK SERPENT with PHYSICAL COMBAT, inflicting 10 damage
> THE SENTINEL strikes THE BLACK SERPENT with BONESHATTER, inflicting 8 damage
> RUE casts CURSED FLAME, inflicting 10 damage and IGNITING the BLACK SERPENT.
> RELIC attacks THE BLACK SERPENT, inflicting 15 damage.
> NIDHOGG uses BLIND, causing THE BLACK SERPENT to flail wildly for one round.
> VARGAS uses RIP, inflicting 8 damage.
> THE SENTINEL casts RIP, inflicting 15 damage on THE BLACK SERPENT and bleeding it!
> VARGAS uses Berserk, inflicting 10 damage on THE BLACK SERPENT and receiving 1 Point Corruption!
> RUE casts Wither, inflicting 10 damage on THE BLACK SERPENT and infecting it!

> THE BLACK SERPENT lashes out with its sharp-scaled tail, striking Rue, The Sentinel, Nidhogg and Vargas for -9 HP and inflicting one point of Corruption on Nidhogg! RELIC dodges!
> Madhukar is struck by LEECH, inflicting 8 Magicka Damage, 8 HP Damage and one point of Corruption!
> THE BLACK SERPENT strikes at Nidhogg, who dodges!
> THE BLACK SERPENT strikes Garnet-Epsilon for 10 damage!
> THE BLACK SERPENT emerges, and begins attacking!

@Vargas (Nidhogg, Sentinel) @V-Hiddenite-One @Ruby-Beta (Azrael) @Garnet-Epsilon @V-Labradorite-One @Rue @Khavur @Relic @Teyouma II

Rue's recklessness is not without cost -- not only did their spells fail them, but they were sent skidding across the floor by a lash of the Black Serpent's tail. They hiss and yip as they struggle to right themselves, still contending with a writhing miscast tentacle.

It's not long though until they charge again at the serpent, raking with terrible claws and swinging with pointed horns at the creature's plated underbelly. However, one of Rue's talons gets stuck in the cracks between the plating, and they're helplessly dragged with the serpent.

As they darted back, Relic watched as the blow they narrowly avoided carved through the mass of bodies, the impact ringing in their ears and the smell of all kinds of freshly drawn blood invading their nose. Relief and horror flashed past, but their focus did not falter.

The serpent retracted, shimmering coils shifting hypnotically. The oilstone, though ominous and foul-tasting, was beautiful in its way. No time to appreciate unfortunately, as Rue charged forth again first in their unrelenting aggression. A curious creature, but not at all misguided in this instance. Better to solve the problem now, yes?

Relic charged forth with their own offense, a more ambitious bite at one of its lower coils, hoping to rend a larger piece than before.

- THE LEVIATHAN -

The strike had been dizzying. The snake was one of those few beasts far larger than himself, and Vargas had to fight to get back to his feet. To get back into the fray.

He rushed it, noting past his intently focused search for a soft target that there was something unfamiliar about the rush and surge of magicka around it. Then his claws and arm-blades, and the serrated teeth of his jaws, were searching flesh that he could damage: scales through which he could rend.

Nidhogg felt the spill of Oil through his jaws, and pressed harder to dig out something from the serpent's flesh. A bone. A spinal cord. An artery, pulsating with Oiled blood.

Anything that would kill it, that would change its powerful thrashing into pathetic writhing as it died beneath his claws and fangs.

RIP AND TEAR were his only thoughts, if even they could be considered coherent thoughts at all. The magic he hardly noticed, though there was a prickle of alarm in him. It wasn't something that would hurt, was it-? He tensed to leap away, if needed, though right now he was far too invested on ripping out something important.

Anything important.

He was knocked back--a strike he barely felt, if only because it happened so hard and fast. One moment his halberd had crashed into black scale. The next, he was stumbling a dozen yards away, the wind knocked from his chest.

It took the Sentinel a moment to regain himself. By the time he had, the Black Serpent was coiling high, towering above them, unknown magics sparkling all around it.

He rushed in again, intent on bringing this thing to its destruction. He paused some distance away, skidding to a halt in a cloud of black dust. His halberd came up, around, and down in an arc, and with it came a surge of Chaos.

Darkness rippled out along the ground, a shudder resonating into a crumbling roar. His Chaos aimed to split the ground beneath the Serpent--to allow Draco itself to consume it within the rock--though it was not as strong as he'd intended.

With luck, it would injure it, at least.