The Liberation of Dachinst

[Paroxysm]

Zdenek frowned, his forehead wrinkled as he did so and his teeth gnashed in annoyance at Hikane's persistent stubbornness. Not one to be skewered so easily, Zdenek did step back, once, twice, and three times; he then slid his dominant leg forwards, flames erupted outwards in a wave approximately six feet tall; it was enough to obscure sight of the demon and, when they finally did die down, which would be only after a second or two of travel time, Hikane would find that not only did she fail to impale or slash her enemy, but that he was no longer even focusing on her. Indeed, Zdenek had no intention of fighting Hikane on her playing field, she may have been the most aggressive of the soldiers but her weakness was also the greatest: she had no obvious long range capability.

Positioned in such a way to keep an eye on both Circe and Hikane, Zdenek approached the former from the side, he had not gone unnoticed however, as Circe backed away, slowly, but confidently. The kusarigama was held poised for attack; the chain was swung in her left hand, her right hand held onto the sickle end of the weapon and electricity sparked just at the young woman's fingertips.

Zdenek brazenly threw both his arms back, wide away from his body, once again summoning the searing flames, which would form a crescent shape around his body, and this, this would effectively cut Hikane off from him and leave the second soldier at his mercy, or so he thought. Nevertheless, Zdenek did know better than to try any such pyrotechnics against Hikane's partner in this duel for Dachinst; after all, it would have served no purpose for his energy to be wasted against a person who had already demonstrated a particular talent in negating his flames entirely, which was potentially the most dangerous thing about this fight. Physically, he was a demon and blessed with a degree more power than most humans, he could rip the average person in two, if he wanted, but magically, that was where his true advantage was; Circe was an affront to that. Indeed, it was better to finish her off the old fashioned way, before anything could come of her continued presence in the fight.

"Sit tight, Etsu Hikane of the invading Drunalan Empire. You will have your chance at glory in a moment."

[Nayt]

Etsu, if only for a moment, felt a wave of panic. The Governor of Dachinst was virtually isolating her from combat. She had no ranged attacks to use against him and she had no immunity to fire. This crescent wall of fire surrounding him blocked Etsu from him--and Circe Brandt by proxy. If he was going to isolate one of them like this, that meant Zdenek was going for a divide and conquer technique. If Circe wasn't exceptionally skilled in melee combat, she might not stand a chance against this man. Etsu thought, then, less about herself and the mission, and much more about her partner, Circe.

The girl brushed off her moment of panic, and nearly used all that built up adrenaline to fuel a rush around Zdenek's flames, to situate herself between Zdenek and Circe. The second she turned and started, though, she realized the horrid fallacy in it all: she'd never reach Circe in time. If she started to run, she might spark Zdenek to run, too, if only to reach Circe before Etsu could.

And so, panic set in again . . .

. . . until she became aware of her surroundings. Whilst shifting her gaze every which way in a momentarily panicked search for resources, she happened to find one: the ceiling--or, rather, the supports that kept the stone ceiling from caving. Wooden rafters lined the ceiling with great regularity, and there just so happened to be one above and between Zdenek and Circe.

Hikane wasted no time. She flicked her left wrist, extended her arm, and held her open hand out, reaching somewhere above the governor's head. She stayed completely still, however, almost as if she were reaching for nothing at all. Her focus, however, was entirely upon the wooden rafter above and between Zdenek and Circe. She piggybacked the heat caused by Zdenek's fires, routed and poured as much of it as she could all into that singular target. The flames would catch and spread quickly. There were enough flames here already--it would be easy to overlook an extra fire, even if it happened to be set way above their heads . . .

[Paroxysm]

The aged and (now) dark-skinned demon seemed incapable of noticing Etsu's increased attention on the rafters above and the redirection of heat; in fact, it would do well to say that he was entirely oblivious to the element outside his own field of view (though still quite unaffected by it) and without having any reason to shift his focus to Etsu, he, too, had no reason to look about and see if she were tampering with his element; he had already established dominance in that field, had he not?

A flattened tongue licked at the edges of the demon’s lips and his eyes, an inky black in color, narrowed and locked onto Circe’s small frame.

Suddenly, Zdenek would stop, his fists would unclench with the left’s thumb remaining in its position and the fingers straightening, pointing straight ahead with the wrist rotated so that the palm was facing his chest; his right hand would curl just a bit and be brought down, elbow bent and limb placed at his side.

In a blur of freighting speed, Zdenek would reverse the placement of his limbs, mirroring the stance, even, and as a result, the air around his body would intensify in heat, flames erupting circularly form his body, rotating as they moved outwards, but coming together and moving down the length of his now extended right arm, fingers pointed towards Circe.

Like the elemental bullet from earlier, which had been directed at Etsu, these flames would move together, all at once, and head towards Circe; however, this time, they more resembled a cannon shell than anything else.

Nimble fingers moved against one another, the gesture was easily visible, but the meaning behind it wasn’t quite so easily seen; indeed, only the occasional spark in the hot, almost intolerable room even so much as hinted that the girl had anything planned for her encounter with the bronze skinned monster that acted as Governor of Dachinst, the city’s unnatural leader.

It would be at the height of the heat from Zdenek’s attack that Circe would finish whatever she had planned, granting her only a few miserable seconds steeped fully in panic, seconds that she would spend entirely by threading neon wisps together, threads that had come out of thin air, almost, but explained her heavy concentration whilst the Governor had made his advance.

Moments from facing a brutal, excruciatingly painful death, Circe would throw her hands wide apart, the neon threads, revealing themselves to be of an electrical affinity, shaped like a net of some sort, would widen as the width of the space between Circe’s arms increased; the net would catch the flame shell and reduce it to a puff of smoke almost instantly.

Fists clenched, arms brought down, the spiritually induced electrical anomaly would vanish, as Circe rolled to the side, expecting a second attack, but proving to have been unneeded, ultimately.

Crimson eyes rolled from Zdenek to Etsu and then back again, Circe used her senses to follow what her partner in this fight was doing, following the subtle, otherwise invisible action with her mind’s eye.

She wasn't like Etsu. Her physical training, while not neglected, was only meant to supplement her main talent, her natural ability, but she was incapable of doing anything so fancy as dodging bullets on a dime, flames or not. However...

“ ... “

The young woman gritted her teeth and exhaled slowly, clearing her mind and renewing her resolve: she focused intently, adding to Etsu’s own, but also keeping an eye on Zdenek and on something else, something potentially capable of aiding Etsu in recovering the ground she had lost.

[Nayt]

Regrettably, the bulk of Hikane's training was physical conditioning. She could take blows, she could land blows, and she could fight a man to the death. The manipulation and control of heat was little more than a secondary ability, something used to give her an edge on an opponent; she could heat up her blade to make it cut easier, she could drive a warrior to throw down their armor, and she could make a room so unbearably hot that he opponent slowed and lost all focus. If Zdenek hadn't driven the flames so high--or worse, if they'd been outside--Hikane's hands would have been tied.

But that was not the case, and the azure haired soldier was given the rare opportunity to use her secondary talent in a way she'd never used it before. She had no truly damaging ranged attack with her ability alone; she couldn't create fire with it and most people could get away from her before she could instigate something akin to heat stroke--but Zdenek allowed her an opportunity . . .

Hikane almost strained to concentrate. She felt panicked and rushed as Zdenek attacked her partner, and relieved when it seemed Circe was able to manage through it. She showed it, if only barely.

Flames licked the rafter above Zdenek's head. Once. Twice. On the third time, they spread like wildfire. They caught within the grains, gathered, and spread rapidly from the middle of the rafter and out. It was a harsh fire. It weakened the wood quickly and efficiently. There was but a single creak that foretold its weakness, and nothing more. It took only a moment for the weight weakness to set in. It was at that moment that Hikane drove her open palm down; she leaned down quick and nearly slapped her hand against the floor, but did not take her eyes off Zdenek.

The rafter would crash down upon the Governor of Dachinst with a sudden and otherwise unexpected force. Gravity, paired with another's limited ability, ripped hundreds of pounds of thick, reinforced wooden down from the ceiling. Were they lucky, the rafter would crash down upon Zdenek's skull, but the second best scenario would be the ultimate separation of Zdenek and Circe.

[Paroxysm]

A room of dismembered limbs, of bodies spewing putrid blood and of pestilent insects darting in and out of open mouths, jaws shattered through blunt force. A minute earlier, each of these bodies were living remnants of Dachinst’s necromancer acolytes, apprentices to either Zdenek, the Governor, or of some other, already-escaped mage that had gone overlooked in the chaos outside; even despite being away from the action, however, these acolytes were no cowards, they were not hiding in fear of the Drunalan Empire, but, instead, had been assigned a specific task: Protect, at all costs, Zdenek’s anchor, the catalyst used in his summoning by Shenfald.

The fight was short, fierce, but short: the cloaked man was prepared, a casual air about him and a savage intensity in his eyes; his attacks went unseen, even as he sprinted through the necrotic bolts and slew the acolytes, killing them two, sometimes three, at a time, and allowing them to drop where they stood, paying only enough attention to not step in the pools of blood forming around their corpses; and in his hand, he held a journal, his eyes moving down the page, across words written in Cizokian scribbles.

There were many methods in conscripting--binding--a being of power, a demon or some other entity, but most of them followed the same rules and normally those rules involved a contract of mutually beneficial terms, but there were more violent methods that could be used... Enslavement-type methods, even.

Just such a method had been used against the Governor of Dachinst, though circumstances had changed over the years, the contract remained valid, as the mysterious stranger originally thought, or Zdenek wouldn’t have waited idly in his residence while his town was attacked.

Indeed, the center of the room was house to the anchor, a skull, fractured in two places, but in one piece, ultimately. It was neither under glass nor protected by magic; it was a regular skull, sitting on a pedestal and centered within a circle drawn in salt, regularly maintained.

A resounding thud echoed the room as the journal was closed, tucked into the man’s belt, his hand raising, obscured by the large sleeve of his coat, but held in the general direction of the skull.

Sstk.

The rafters fell atop Zdenek quite unexpectedly and their great, clashing sound was accentuated by the thunderous roar that erupted from his throat; the sound, beast-like, would momentarily disorient the Drunalan Empire soldiers, so loud it was, and, maybe, even trigger long forgotten instincts for survival; there was no telling, really. Zdenek had not fallen entirely to the ground, though he was close, his body refused to give, blood dripped down his brow, flowed down his long, toned limbs, but he remained standing, hunched over as he was.

The orient soldier might believe herself having defeated him, he, at least, looked the part, but something would give it away, just at the edge of his face, maybe all that she could see, was the signs of a smile, a grin, even, and his eyes, fierce as they were, were not the eyes of defeat, but of victory:

Zdenek attempted to stand straight, the rafters, still cloaked in flames, did not bother him, the wood groaned, as he stood, and his joints and knees popped; it would be a terrifying sight to the inexperienced, but both Etsu and Circe should have been desensitized to such sights.

“चिन्तनीया हि विपदां आदावेव प्रतिक्रिया ... न कूपखननं युक्तं प्रदीप्ते वन्हिना गृहे!"

His lips moved, slithering words came from his throat, tainted with a dark, crawling energy that would run itself up both soldier’s spines and forcing a near-involuntary shiver.

“It is done, undone, made right, whole, but no longer binding--I am free,” his head swerved around and pivoted, quirking to the side in curiosity as Circe darted around and towards Etsu, willing the wall of flames down with but a moment’s glance, aided, of course, by the fact that she had already weakened them while Etsu prepared her own trick with the rafters.

The bones in Zdenek’s hands and arms popped in anticipation, his hand rolled and flexed, his fingers drew in and out, but he did not seem serious anymore, like the atmosphere had died down entirely; maybe, just maybe this was a moment of respite for the two soldiers.

Or maybe not.

The demon, his skin turning darker and darker as time went on, roared again, like rolling thunder, and threw the wooden rafters off his back, standing straight now, a momentary grimace of pain crossing his features, but eventually returning to the smile, the mocking, insidious smile.

His leg appeared more haunched than before, the curve that led behind his knee was more pronounced, his feet longer, his shoes ripping at the seams, but he showed no signs of discomfort; instead, he planted a foot just onto a piece of debris from the rafters and then, quite suddenly, pushed off into a sprint, kicking up sparks from the burning wood as he did so, and his trajectory was also quite obvious, he was heading straight for the two girls, a dead-charge, where, at point-blank range, he would allow a great inferno to erupt from his throat, a fireball with a cannon’s force to over-take and charbroil the two soldiers, leaving nothing but ash in their wake.

That was the plan at least.

[Nayt]

Indeed, Etsu Hikane thought it a victory when the rafter collapsed upon Zdenek's skull. Even if she hadn't killed him, he'd be stunned, right? Then, she'd be able to rush in for the kill. Singeing herself whilst passing through the wall of fire wouldn't have been so bad if it was worth the effort--

But this was not to be.

When Zdenek began to stand, he let out something of a roar. Etsu felt a chill run up her spine, through her bones, and down through the pits of her stomach. Her brow furrowed, her eyes widened, and her lower lip quivered ever so subtly. For a moment, if only a brief moment, she was absolutely terrified of this man. He stood, practically disregarding the rafter. He threw it off of him entirely. It was like it hadn't mattered to the man at all. He was bleeding perhaps, but he soon underwent something of a transformation . . .

One instinctive thought came to the girl's mind: safety in numbers. Etsu cautiously moved around the transforming Zdenek until she was next to Circe again. It was best They could do more to this man together than they could alone. She kept her eyes on the governor the entire time, but felt herself disillusioned with each passing second. The girl felt a bit more comfortable when she stood by Circe Brandt's side, of course, but not nearly as comfortable as she might have liked. Zdenek was even more monstrous than before.

This fight had taken a sudden and dangerous turn for the worse. The Governor of Dachinst was larger, faster, stronger, and even more immune to heat than before.

Unfortunately, Etsu and Circe had to be separated again. When Zdenek charged the two girls, they had no choice but to go their separate ways again. Etsu darted to the left, leaving Circe the only option of moving to the right. Hikane readied her blade once she stopped, however, for the off chance that Zdenek might leave himself open when he passed them.

[Paroxysm]

As Zdenek charged and Etsu darted to the left, Circe, too, darted, but to the right, instead. She rolled to the side, scrambling to her feet as a great wind announced Zdenek's passing and an even greater crashing announced his stop, he had not stopped when the two girls evaded, but kept going, unable to control himself at such great speeds, fire still spewing from his mouth with splotches and patches of flame still laying on the ground, where his great inferno had meant to hit; it didn't, but it could have, if not for the intended targets quick-on-the-heel evasion.

A large crack formed in the stone walls of the building, the rafter’s hadn’t done too well a job, but the wall did, it would seem; if Etsu went in for the attack, she’d find the demon’s hide unyielding, but shallow slashes and cuts would be possible, if she so wished. Regardless, Zdenek would recover after a few seconds and, if Etsu had started to unleash hit after hit, she would be forced to retreat, once again, or find a swipe of clawed hands coming crashing down in her position, former or not. Zdenek was considerably more powerful now, if it was not obvious, and a single glancing blow could lead to death or serious injury, it was best to avoid any and all attacks to the best of one’s ability.

“Your friend,” a raspy voice came with the exhalation of air from the man‘s powerful lungs, the voice was like a breeze blowing through a hollowed oak, gruff, but ghostly, too. “The other,” he cackled at his former thought of following the man, thinking him a threat: “He did me a favor by ending the contract with that Emperor, I had grown used to it, used to this building, but I can finally leave--be free, no, I am free, yes, but not before I kill you, you and you and him, especially him.”

The demon stood up straight and then turned around to better face the two soldiers, both of whom were most likely on opposite ends of the room, no doubt, but it didn’t matter to him in any particular sense as he, once again, hunched down, placed his right arm’s knuckles against the ground, and prepared his body for another sprint; it was going to be a fierce, rough ride for now onwards.

Circe was not quite as prepped for fighting as Etsu, if she hadn’t already made that clear throughout the battle, but she did retreat further in the room, her eyes appearing empty, but her body attentive, regardless. She was opening the vein--the link her control in Seele Ubertritt allowed her with purgatory--and, ultimately, widening that vein, calling to it, taking from it, hoarding--gathering and concentrating--energy from Purgatory, bringing it not into herself or even around her body in ambience, but placing it somewhere else, somewhere specific; for example, like the tip of a sword, a focused point, a physical area in which one’s focus could be placed and broadened, where it was made easier to compress and hide the build up of energy; however, Circe did not give any outward hints as to what she was doing, Etsu might feel it with her extrasensory ability, but to know what Circe planned would have taken time for their partnership to perform like a well-oiled machine; no such bond had ever occurred between them and it would be their own personal abilities to tell what the other was planning.

Zdenek’s body shifted its weight towards Circe and it would appear as though he was going to charge towards her, to take her out before whatever she planned came to be, but, in truth, he was oblivious to her or what she was doing; instead, his body took off, his feet would slide against the floor momentarily, as he attempted to find traction, but he’d recover and once again head towards Etsu, developing, maybe, a dilemma of tunnel vision; she was, after all, making herself out to be the biggest thorn in his side, and now, now Circe did not appear as even a threat, he was far more powerful than before and he was dying to show it: The blue haired orient needed a good goring.

[Nayt]

The very second Zdenek crashed into the wall, the very moment his progress halted entirely, Etsu sprung for him. She crossed the length of the room, katana held in both of her hands. She reached Zdenek before he could readjust himself. He left a cracks in the wall, spiderwebbing out from every side of him. The cracks even reached the tightly shut doors that Hikane, Brandt, and the third man used to get to Zdenek.

She practically gliding across the floor. Her footsteps were light but filled with a push and spring with her calf muscles. She leaned into her run, crossed the distance quickly, and made short work of landing the first blow. Hikane hadn't even stopped by the time she cut across Zdenek's right side. It was only after the first cut that she came to an abrupt stop, slashing across the man's ribs in the opposite direction immediately thereafter. She cut at him repeatedly, swinging from the right to left, left to right, and repeating in tandem for nearly half a dozen blows, all of which barely seemed to do much more than leave flesh wounds.

It seemed a direct approach wasn't going to work, at least not immediately, She'd either grow old or die of fatigue by that time Zdenek's hide was slashed enough for him to at least bleed to death.

Hikane retreated the moment she saw Zdenek's arm twitch. She leaped back, cleared the distance by five feet, and backed away from him as quickly as possible. By the time he dislodged himself from the cracks in the wall, spun, and swung his arm out to assault the girl attacking his back-side, she'd put enough distance between them for a reasonable opportunity to evade the man's second charge.

She darted to the right this time, and timed it all much better than she had before. During Zdenek's first charge, she didn't know what to expect. Now, she did. She knew he hadn't the same control over himself from before. Bulk made it all the harder for him to control himself. He'd crashed headlong into a wall for it, just to the right of the still closed doors. And so, Etsu took a gambit. She landed hard upon her feet, bent at her knees, and drew her blade back as if to run Zdenek through--but she was too far from him. He'd miss her and she'd miss him, but at least the latter was on purpose. Hikane was simply testing something she'd never tried before, something that might actually become useful in this battle.

Of course, Hikane noticed amidst her evasive maneuvers that something was different with her sword. It didn't feel lighter, it just felt . . . different. She didn't pay much mind to it right at that moment, however, as at the time, she had both a tactical curiosity to fulfill and a demon to evade.

[Paroxysm]

Another rolling roar erupted from the man’s--the demon’s--throat, although his intelligence still showed through his eyes, it was hazy, decreased, even, but he wasn’t stupid; he, too, had a plan, Hikane seemed prepared and there was no reason to have her wait; indeed, he kicked off again, racing across the ground just as fast as before, but he stopped early this time, about half way, his body still sliding against the floor, but pivoted to the left, rotating entirely, as skin ripped, clothing, already torn, shredded, and a liquid smack hit the ground with a resoundingly wet thud: an extra limb--appendage--swung from his backside like lightning, it cut through the air with a whistling sound, and, if the orient did not see or know how to handle it, would most likely find itself colliding with the backside of the girl, maybe even her neck; the resulting damage wouldn’t be too great, the thing was newly formed, it had been centuries since it had seen use, and it was still relatively soft, needing time to harden and become useful; still, it would be enough to launch Etsu off her feet entirely and sending her sliding several yards against the marble, if it hit.

If the attack did connect or at least deter Etsu from mounting a counter attack, Zdenek would stand triumphantly over his conquered ground, his joints popping again, preparing for another attack, but it would most likely not be a charge this time and would require Etsu get used to yet another type of attack; it would seem that Zdenek did not intend to allow Etsu any respite or chance to fully measure his capabilities or exploit the weaknesses within them. He was still himself, after all.

The scarlet eyed, orange haired girl still sat in the back of the room, concentrating and focusing her craft, her ability, thankful for the lack of attention brought onto herself, and a silent yearning that she could do more, that she could do better; she couldn’t, not yet, but she would: if the fight was to end, it needed to be decisive, powerful, and done in a single hit; after all, Zdenek was just too powerful and unyielding, he’d sooner overwhelm them than die of their attacks.

Crackling flames appeared around Zdenek’s arms, hands, and fingers.

[Nayt]

When Zdenek charged for a third time, Etsu was prepared to act as she'd practiced the second time, but for a genuine attack this time. This, however, was not to be, as the Governor of Dachinst stopped short and early, not leaving Etsu the opportunity to run him through. Surprised, Etsu tensed up. The man drew ever nearer, until he was practically feet from her body, and, momentarily frozen still, there wasn't a thing the girl could do about it. Before she realized it, she was struck by something she hadn't at all seen, hit hard in the head and sent sprawling back. Etsu hit the floor shoulder first, prompting the release of a small cry of pain. She slid across the floor until the top of her head met the tightly shut and locked double-doors, and momentum drew her up into a sitting position rather than stopping her entirely.

Etsu would have given these new pains a fair degree of thought, if she actually had the time to. Behind her, beyond the doors, Etsu could still hear the sounds of endless battle. As she fought the governor, her comrades were still fighting for their lives out there.

Fighting and hoping that Etsu and Circe could put an end to this before too many lives were lost.

As she struggled to stand and regain her bearings, Etsu began to recognize a worsening situation with her weapon. Just holding the blade made the pigment deficient hair on her arms rise up in a frazzled sort of way. Hikane eyed her blade once and quickly recognized the energy. She paid one glance to Circe at the other side of the room, nearest Zdenek's throne, and finally acknowledged that her partner was preparing for something. What, Etsu hadn't the slightest clue. She'd just have to trust Circe and hope for the best.

Without a word, Etsu stood up straight. She raised her left hand to undo the red Drunalan sash upon her right arm. This, she quickly tied to metal sheath at her side. Holding the sheath by the cloth, she slid her blade back into its confines, especially careful to leave all metal untouched by her skin.

Though she kept a firm grip with her left hand upon the cloth about the top of the sheath, Etsu Hikane seemed absolutely unarmed. Her right hand was bare left by her side uselessly. She hadn't much of a choice in the matter. If Circe was channeling electrical current into her blade, Etsu couldn't afford to waste it all on a single hasty slash, especially if more could be channeled for the better.

[Paroxysm]

“Hmph!”

Zdenek spat liquid fire onto the ground, stamping a fought against the floor, rubbing it, and then withdrawing it back towards the other; he scratched a clawed digit against his thigh and seemed to be deciding on what next to do next, how best to rid himself of Etsu, who has, time and time again, proven to be little more than a thorn in his side, incapable of causing any great damage, but an annoyance none-the-less. Indeed, he would take great, great joy in ridding himself of her and would do horrible things to her corpse afterwards.--

The newly born tail swayed back and forth, cracking at the ground every few seconds, but not violently so, just powerfully. It was prehensile, there was a considerable degree of strength and dexterity in the appendage, and Zdenek had obvious control over it, too. It had been a while, but it was just as dangerous as before and could probably break a person in two, provided the chance.

Leaning down, the demonic, now far more lizard like, man picked up a few rocks, debris that had chipped and rolled from the wall, some large, even, and were shuffled around in his palm.

“Hikane Etsu,” his voice was a slithering crawl and despite his appearance he did not show any signs of snake-like mannerisms, his S’s were not elongated or overly pronounced.

The largest of the rocks were lifted and the others allowed to fall back to the ground, the demon’s digits curled slowly around the chunk of earth, his arm reared back, and then the rock was air-born, heading towards Etsu. The throw was swift, violent and destructive. The rock would shatter an adult man’s jaw, let alone a child, leaving little more than dust in its wake, and if it hit the wall or door, much the same would occur.

“Quit fucking around!”

He shouted through a spew of infernal flames; his eyes and his brow were lit with a molten red as the latter became more pronounced, increased in length, but split down the middle, sunken; there were horns literally sprouting before the Drunalan Empire's soldier, Etsu Hikane: horns that were pin-pointed, with the lowering of Zdenek’s head, straight towards Hikane’s upper body and all to ready to end her life short.

Zdenek gave yet another roar and charged forwards yet again; the heat given off by his body was powerful and intensifying as time moved ever forwards, and would begin to take its toll on any who found themselves unlucky enough to be within a few feet’s distance of the demon.

[Nayt]

Though she was on edge for the entire battle so far, Hikane was especially observant once Zdenek took rubble into his hulking hand. They were potential projectiles far too large for Etsu to deflect--and as she was worried about releasing the electrical buildup to soon, that wouldn't have been an option even if they weren't too large for her to handle. And so, when Zdenek shouted at her in some form of mock rage, Etsu was fully prepared to take evasive action. She leaped to the left once, dodging the largest piece as it struck the doors directly behind her, and leaped to the left again to avoid some of the residual stones that could've given her problems.

This left her in an unfortunate predicament, however. When she landed for a second time, she almost tripped. The half second required to balance herself almost turned fatal. The Governor of Dachinst rushed her again, this time with his skull at level with her body. He intended to gore her against the wall. The half second she took was too long a time; she hadn't the opportunity to leap again. If she did, she'd have been caught by Zdenek regardless.

Again, panic struck the girl. She felt her heart beating as if it in some way acknowledged that it might not have the chance to beat anymore pretty soon. She felt her lower lip quiver. She felt her brow furrow. She felt distress crawling through her bones.

Her reaction was both a last second tactical maneuver and an act of total panic. With her back to the wall, Etsu collapsed to one knee--and just in time, too, as Zdenek thrust his horns at her chest, only to miss her by an inch. She'd ducked down, below the reach of his skull. This, however, put them face to face, Zdenek looking down on her and Etsu looking up to him. He had her back against the wall, utterly cornered. There was nowhere she could run. If the Governor of Dachinst paid much attention to the girl's face, he'd find that her stoic demeanor was beginning to give way to panic and distress.

Etsu peered past Zdenek, if only for a moment, to check on Circe. While not one to rush someone, Etsu needed to act in the next second regardless of Brandt's preparedness. It was the only way to survive, now . . .

[Paroxysm]

Once again, Zdenek managed to stop short of slamming against the wall; it was true that he had intended to not dead-charge the soldier again, but it didn't matter, in the end, right? He had her where he wanted her and now, now he could finally end the insignificant soldier's life and go on with his; after all, he was free of his prison now and there were so many soldiers to play with... Everything was working in his favor from the look of things.

The demon's heat-stained eyes glared and narrowed at Etsu; the two facing each other would be quite something, there was such a difference in size and power, that it almost looked suicidal for the invading soldier to have even considered going against the Governor of Dachinst, but, then, he had gone through many changes since the battle first started, hadn't he? Indeed, with the formation of his horns and tail, he was more or less in his original form, his true form, as it were, and quite a degree more powerful than before; this was shown by how he stepped back a few feet, giving Hikane a chance to get up, perhaps, but it wasn’t for long; indeed, he brought his arms wide apart and summoned power from the circle-engraved floor once again, flames manifesting around his body.

The sheer power of the flames and of Zdenek would be present in how quickly the fire spread; there had been no preparation and no spell-casting, they were willed into existence by the demon and were converging upon him, coating his body in an offensive, protective armor of sorts.

A fiery fist was hefted into the air as muscles tensed underneath flame; the demon gave a large grin as he imagined exactly what he was going to do to the young woman’s desecrated, charbroiled corpse and the things he’d have to do to the others, too. Everybody and everything would pay for his suffering, whether they were part of it or not.

The demon’s attack would be a simple one, in the end. His finisher was a simple downward smash of his fist, coated in flames; however, his increased strength, the heat given off by his body, and the burning, searing flames around him would add to that simple gesture an unimaginable attack power coefficient that more or less insured the death of anything and everything around. Yes, upon impact, Zdenek would momentarily poor all of his power, all of his mana, for lack of a better term, into the fire, and ‘detonate’ his fist as though it were a bomb; of course, there would be no harm done to his hand, either. It was looking very bad for Etsu Hikane...

Finally, as the soldier’s eyes met with Circe’s, she’d find her partner’s to be clear, no longer empty, but full of life, in fact. There was an electric prickling that would move through and about Etsu’s body; it would originate from her sword and, for the moment, make Etsu feel energized; however, it was only temporarily and would last for only as long as the electrically aligned Qi seeped into the oriental soldier’s body. The Qi would give Etsu Hikane a partial immunity to the element and cause her no harm for as long as Circe’s limitations in doing so allowed.

The sheathed sword belonging to Etsu would emit a vibrant, though not too intense, light, and literally vibrate with power, making a small whining sound as it did so; if grasped or touched by Hikane, however, the sound would die down as the two conflicting charges met, but, at the same time, igniting another power, something destructive, but controlled at range by Circe; in the end, quite the capable weapon had been ’forged’ for Etsu, though it had taken some time.

Circe’s role was done, for the most part. The power was contained and controlled for however long it needed to be, but that would be over once Etsu struck with the weapon. The sword of light she’d find herself with was entirely unstable and would only last for a single hit before dispersing. That one hit should be all that was needed, however...

[Nayt]

Zdenek did something terribly unexpected: he jumped back. He gave Etsu space. For whatever his reason's, he gave her the right to move.

Not one to take an opportunity for granted, Etsu quickly stood. She took in a deep breath, and if only for a moment, looked beyond Zdenek to check on Circe's status. What she saw was more than enough to fill her with a feeling of complete and total relief. By the time Zdenek came in to attack Hikane again, it seemed Brandt had finished all the preparation she'd intended for this last ditch effort. If it wasn't the look on Circe's face that told Etsu enough, it was the frantic vibrations of her blade, the static across her scabbard, and the flash of light it seemed to emit, if only briefly.

Hikane had only one choice: step in; evade Zdenek's fist and step in close, where he'd have the greatest difficulty getting away from her. This, of course, carried the primary benefit of appearing absolutely suicidal. Zdenek was covered in fire; just being close to him risked her catching fire, either her hair, clothes, skin-- anything, and yet, she fully planned to practically rush straight into the man.

But she wasn't going to touch him. Not with her hair, her clothes or her skin.

Hikane kicked forward and sharply to the left. She narrowly evaded the man's falling fist; it struck the floor behind her and sent a rattle through the structure and her bones. It nearly took her off her feet, but utter willpower drove her to move forward. Never once did the girl soldier stop moving. She landed and pressed forward, she took each step with intent to close the distance between she and her enemy, to stop harshly within range of his arms, bend at her knees, and lean forward with her right shoulder.

The girl was swift. She cleared the distance in a flash, she stopped on a coin, and fluidly leaned forward with the right side of her body, jamming her shoulder close to the flames wrapped about the Governor's body. She squeezed the cloth wrapped scabbard with her left hand just as she did the hilt with her right, both 'til her knuckles were distinctly whiter than her otherwise ghostly pale complexion-- then and only then did she pull hard with her right hand. She pushed the blade against the hilt; she drove friction across the metal, sending sparks from the every growing opening betwixt the scabbard and handguard.

Etsu Hikane drew her blade with horizontal force, to drive it forward and rear it across the chest of the Governor of Dachinst . . .

[Paroxysm]

The power infusing Etsu’s weapon would send shivers through the blade, requiring a firm, powerful grip on its hilt as it was employed in combat; the metal would whine and cry out as it struck the Governor's body and send waves of electric energy crashing against him almost immediately after. Had the fight occurred outside of the building and onlookers permitted to see it, there would later be stories and songs about the fight, the battle between the Drunalan Empire and Dachinst’s Governor, and the light wielding warrior that ended his life; alas, no such stories would occur, because there were no witnesses--most likely exactly how the Drunalan Empire’s higher ups wanted it.

Zdenek felt his knees begin to shake and grow weak, but he refused to fall; he lifted his arm--which felt a good bit heavier than before--and removed his fist from the crater he had left in his attack’s wake; it wasn’t supposed to end like this, was it?

The flames coating Zdenek’s body died down to within an inch, but, like Zdenek himself, they refused to fall, to vanish and fade away; it was with all his willpower that he stood and he scarcely minded the gaping wound across his mid-section; and his face, his face was contorted and twisted.

“N-n,” fanged teeth were gritted as he looked down at Etsu and, with his remaining strength, he wanted to crash atop her, he wanted to pound her until she was a blood smear in his marble flooring, but he couldn’t, his body refused to pay attention to his needs and wants and will.

He froze. His eyes drained of life and his jaw went slack, but he didn’t fall or waver.

Circe took a shaky step forwards and used her cloak’s sleeve to wipe the sweat from her brow. The last remnants of her power were quickly fading and dispersing from Etsu’s blade, the blade would be rendered useless for attack, and the metal, itself, became weakened from the first attack, too; the blade would require a few minutes to cool down from the intense heat it had been subjected to.

“You should--,” Circe’s voice was cut off by a door opening on the far end of the room; in fact, the same door Circe’s father had taken earlier in the encounter.

“--Finish him,” he spoke perfect Cizokian and looked towards Etsu, eying her from around Zdenek’s corpse; his hand held a sword, sheathed, towards Etsu and he motioned her over to claim it: “Decapitate him and bury the head,” he ordered. “Send word for the body to be sent to Purgatory,” were his last words before moving on--without saying a word of praise or informing the two soldiers what he had done in the hall, but he did acknowledge, silently, that they had done a good job, at least.