In this world, Magic is Everything. All people, all races, are granted with the power to perform mystical and magical feats via grimories, mystical tomes granted to each and every child on their 15th birthday. Those blessed by the mana can have their names written down in legend.
Shattered Grimoires is the work of the mind(s) of Ardere & Shattered Grimoire's staff. All characters and content are copyright their creators, and may not be replicated without their creators' permission. Black Clover is owned by Yuki Tabata and published by Viz Shonen Jump. All images belong to their original owners. The theme you are currently viewing was made by Eliza of ElizaCodes exclusively for Shattered Grimoires.
What a spectacle.... As Tora found herself out in the more cold area of the clover kingdom.... frigid? Tundra? She was sure it had a name, but all the same, bundled up, she took a moment to admire the frozen tower off in the distance, her eyes a little wide as she surveyed the place, she couldn't help but whistle just a bit as she imagined what culd have created such a place. Where had it even come from? She had been in the area asking about any areas of high mana concentration, trying to fish out information about dungeons, and one just ....popped up overnight? That or they had simply sought to deceive her, the very idea made her chuckle just a little as she approached the frozen place through the snow and the wind. It definitely was a bit of a frigid place, but nothing she was too bothered by...well...so far at least. She definitely was shivering as she made her way toward what seemed to be some sort of entrance. Tch... she should have took the time to try and learn some sort of heat based abilities she imagined... well nothing to do about it now. If it turned out to be too rough of a going she could always ditch, right?
Though a bit to her surprise, as she approached the entrance, she did pause, stopping in her tracks as she looked over her shoulder out into the wind, squinting her eyes just a bit. Was that.... someone else approaching the tower? She couldn't help but cant her head to the side for a bit before waving off in the direction of the figure, smiling as she did so. Huh... another person coming to explore? Well, she HAD made her way through that one tower with help. Not that she didn't think she couldn't have made it without the assistance... but still.... a bit of help this time? Especially with her getting used to the cold... "Ahoy there!" She called out through the wind, hoping to catch the attention of whoever it was. If all went well she might actually be able to get an ally in this adventure of hers! Looking back over her shoulder toward the entrance, she couldn't shake the feeling that .......this was proabbly going to be a bit different from the one place she'd gone through before. The last one had been hot like a sauna, easy enough for her to handle, but she could only imagine how tough it was going to be going through a place like this...
[attr="class","zavenreescroll"] ”So...Aries Garse is the spot this year...that is unique...Must have thought it would be funny to punish those that have been “naughty” this year.” He shook his head as he walked through the cold streets of the “casino capital”. The place was a lot less lively ever since the spire had risen from the ground, which was a normal reaction to a dangerous situation. He stopped at a few places and got a bite to eat and moved to get some information, but people were either unknowledgeable or they just did not want to speak without getting paid. Zaven was not worried, he had survived two of these dungeons, this was just the next damn one in the neverending chain of winter dungeons. With a sigh he would pick his axe up and sling it across his back before Drake Dragonale came up beside him wearing his duster, it was more for the man to be able to survive if the dungeon proved to be stronger than he had thought. ”Captain, it has been several hours now and the fact of the matter is this. The city has no need for us to really be here...we can have another squad come take a look if we want to, there is no reason for us to waste our time…” Drake said as he looked to the Shadow of Dawn and tried to persuade his captain to give up this subjugation of this annual “Yule” dungeon phenomena that occurs in Clover. ”No need Drake...for now I am going to examine the spire once more...just keep going through the casinos to try and get our info, if you do not find anything in an hour meet me at the front of the spire.” [break][break]
Zaven however had already begun to walk off, his mantle was flowing in the cold, winter wind as he looked up at it. The first dungeon was a cave located high up in the mountain, the second was a hole in the ground with an underground lake, and now a spire. ”What the hell am I going to do about all these dungeons popping up like this…” He said to himself as he heard someone call out to him. His eyes grew wide as he heard the voice again, more feminine than Drake’s and he could not help but turn around to look at the person that called out to him and man...was he caught off guard. The woman before him was...tall to say the least and he had to admit she was at least appealing to the eye. ”Hello there, I assume you have some info on the spire? Otherwise have I done something wrong?” He said as he knew that his reputation should speak for him...he knew he was a difficult man to approach at times, but this woman had no issue in doing so.
The man seemed a little caught off guard, but that really did nothing to diminish the big, friendly smile on the woman's face as she made note of their response. Information? She glanced over her shoulder at the tower proper and scratched the back of her head before chuckling. "Nope! Nothing like that, matter o fact I was just about to head inside. You heading in as well? Always a good idea to have a bit of company in these sorts of situations." She noted with a vibrant expression, clearly enthused about the prospect of such a dangerous venture despite being by herself and no doubt a bit unfamiliar for a man who probably had good tabs on the sorts of people that went around the kingdom. Certainly she was nobody of note.
She turned to inspect the doors of the place itself, recalling her latest excursions into such places, and even the meat she'd recently gotten to get. Speaking of... she reached into her cloak and pulled out a bit of jerky ant took a bite as she peeled it from it's cloth container. Sadly the meat had been kinda fatty so it wasn't great steak material, but she'd made a good amount of it into dino jerky, the curing process of course having gotten rid of a lot of that acrid taste, it was actually pretty good. "Name's Tora by tha way, Tora Gui! And who might you be?" She asked with a friendly smile, outright completely not knowing who the guy was, a la her uprbinging and more or less whole life living out in the forsaken forest . Even this man's fame and prestige was no match for the ol 'living amongst the trees' lifestyle she'd been brought up in.
[attr="class","zavenreescroll"] When she answered him and let him know she did not in fact have any information he could use which made him sigh audibly, but then again...what could he really do about the situation. It was just another random ass dungeon in a random area. When she said she was about to head in though he had to blink for a moment. The woman was large, but she was by no means strong or stronger than him, and the fact that she was just going to casually stroll into what the reports have called a senior level dungeon...yeah no he was going to have to put a stop to that as soon as possible. When she turned to look back at the doors and took out a piece of meat and casually began to eat he had to tilt his head because honestly...this woman would fucking die if she just entered the dungeon without protection. When she introduced herself as Tora Gui, Zaven stuck out his hand as he walked back in front of her and offered a professional greeting. ”Zaven Blake, the Captain of the Golden Dawn magic knight squad. It is a pleasure to meet you miss Gui.” After giving it some thought and the fact that Drake had not shown back up with any worthwhile answers the Shadow of Dawn gave a nod towards the doors of the dungeon. [break][break]
”If you are planning on taking that spire on seriously, you should consider a companion at least to hold the attention while you move in for the kill...you can’t just take on these things alone. So...shall we head inside?” He asked as he turned towards the door and began to walk up the steps towards the dungeons entrance.
Her head tilted just a little as she watched the man walking around her and offering his hand. Oh how polite! She smiled and gently shook his hand, having quite the firm handshake as that big grin returned. "Pleasure to meet you Zaven! Hmmm, Golden Dawn you say? Say you wouldn't happen to know a fellow by the name of Vulkan there would you? Tall fellow? Silver hair, very quiet, wields liquid fire? Not exactly the most chatty chap, ahd reckon but he was a right spiffer in the last tower I was in!" She noted with a hearty chuckle. Though she did tilt her head just a little as she glanced over her shoulder at the tower. Hmmm, that rough huh? It must be a lot harder than the place she explored with that other one.
"Hmmm, probably right you are..." She murmured, watching as the man promptly started to make his way toward the entrance. Of course she put on a bit of a grin in response to his enthusiasm. Certainly the kinda guy she'd expect to be a Captain! She was all too glad to fall into step alongside the man as the pair of them made their way into the tower, whistling appreciatively as she noticed the sudden massive drop in temperature once they were inside. WOOF, it was chilly! And no doubt it was going to be like this until they made their way further up to where all the warm air would be flowing into. .
Beneath that cloak, her hand reached up and snatched a pair of cards from the air. Both dissolving promptly as tattoos slithered along her body beneath all those layers, not even slightly visible thanks to how much she was covered up. But what WAS visible was the long Pudao that formed in her palm, snaring it out of the air and gripping it firmly. She could see frost creeping along the edge of the blade, but she didn't worry about it too much. the energy flowing through her body was enough to get her moving as they made their way across the courtyard, her eyes darting around, attention quite rapt as she knew that there would probably be some sort of obstacle that they would need to overcome. All the same, an excited smile was painted across her features regardless. And as lock would have it, she turned out to be right!
As they hit about the halfway point of the courtyard, she noticed movement from behind various trees and the like. They were....mounted warriors? At least that's what they seemed like, until they started to close in, lances pointed meaningfully at the pair of them. It was at that point that she realized that they were.....tiny! Even on their little deer mounts the little guys barely rose up more than three...MAYBE four feet off the ground! All the same, their small stature seemed to do nothing to deter that cold stare they gave the pair as she and Zaven entered the center of the courtyard area, eyes shifting between the ....six of them? So about three for each of them. " A welcome party if I ever saw one." She chuckled, grinning just a bit as she tapped her palm with the weapon she was holding.
Of course even with vulkan she'd hardly allowed herself to just SIT back and let him do all the work. With her attention focused on the riders before her, she licked her teeth excitedly and narrowed her eyes, a sortof glee one usually wouldn't expect from such a gentle woman on her face as she crouched ever so slightly. And then without warning, She Launched! Apparently as much the same time as the line of riders started to charge on her and Zaven's position! And not at a bad pace at that! Though she herself, thanks to her lance, was just a bit faster, she wasn't quite satisfied with that, and as she closed in on the left wing of the formation, she watched as the line of riders lowered their iron lances in her direction, one of them promptly conjuring an iron shield, as the other two produced secondary bladed weapons, as if anticipating that she would get in past the effective range of their lances. Heh.
As she ran, water promptly rippled as a card crumbled in her free hand, and an aura of water like tufts of fur grew over her knees and elbows, and clawed paws made of that same water formed over her hands and feet, her speed promptly kicking up another notch as she promptly SPED toward the line and then SWISH! She slashed with her pudao, causing twin sleek dragons to suddenly launch out of the blade onto either side of her. But of course, the cold seemed to slow them down, and with her speed, she quickly rushed past them anyway as she then STOMPED on the ground, using the motion to leap into the air! In that moment, she slashed down, knocking that iron lance downward and throwing off the Rider's balance, enough that he wasn't able to raise that spear in time before she slammed a knee into the little elf's face, knocking him back and even knocking his deer mount over in the very same motion. That stomp from before having sent a ripple of magical energy across the ground from the angle of the stomp. The other two riders winding up slamming straight into a line of raging water, catching both of them off guard as their mounts staggered and fell about in that little ravine of roaring water, just before those twin dragons that had been produced by the slash promptly slammed into the pair of them to add injury to insult.
All the while, Tora came to a skidded halt just behind the rider she'd assaulted as it dropped tot he ground and promptly slashed down with her weapon on the downed rider and his mount's flank, though that frost seemed to have dulled the blade a little, not biting into them as much as she would have liked. Even so, the elf and his little mount shouted from the damage and she had to dip to the side as it angrily swung it's shield in her direction, clearly caught off guard by the attack and subsequent follow-up. As such, she raised her foot and promptly STOMPED onto the elf's torso, not once, but twice in that rapid speed she was afforded by her layered reinforcement spells, the Elf letting out a pitiable little noise as it promptly slumped, knocked out, and it's mount startlingly seemed to conk out in unison with it.
Of course, the other three Rider seemed, surprisingly, unperturbed by the fate of the other three, resuming their charge toward Zaven! Showing either an incredible solidarity in maintaining their assault, or a shocking apathy for the fate of their fellows, intent on forcing a reaction from the Captain rather than allow him to get the initiative on them.
wc: 1177 twc: 726 -> 1903 -10 mana for Leaping tiger Shroud, -10 mana for Nine Falling Dragons Mana: 60 -> 50 -> 40 Leaping tiger Shroud
Name of Spell: Coin of Earthly Fiend Number 36 - Chen Da: Leaping Tiger Shroud Elemental Type: Card Rank & Spell Type: Junior | Physical Reinforcement / Transformation (Transmutation) Range & Speed: 10 m/s 10m aoe(linear) Mana Cost: 10 base 5 sustain Stats Effected: 7 m/s(speed buff on self) Applicable Perks: Full Blitz Description: Chen Da, the 36th Earthly Fiend, nicknamed the ‘Stream Leaping Tiger’. Upon activation, the card appears from Tora’s grimoire. Promptly after, water forms tufts of fur at Tora’s knees and elbows, and claws along her fingers and toes (over her shoes if wearing them) as her body is reinforced boosting her speed. Upon activation, or later so long as the spell is still being sustained, Tora can perform a melee attack with her legs (kick, sweep, stomp) to activate the offensive transmutation portion of the spell, unleashing a sidewinding streak of magic, carving its way following the attack, creating a long slightly conical line of raging water my transmuting the terrain slightly ahead of Tora into water. This surging line of water spans 10 meters from the attack point, tapering outward to a winding 3meter wide cone in one direction(Multiples produced by the ammo rules can be fired in different directions). Any target including Tora who is within this zone once during their turn will sustain 1/2 Junior damage every post that they do so, until this spell ends and the terrain returns to normal, leaving the terrain damp and water damaged. . Targets within the raging water zone are slowed by 30% as per the Offensive Transmutation rules the first turn they come in contact with the changed terrain.
Name of Spell: String of Heavenly Spirit Number 23 - Shi Jin: Nine Falling Dragons Elemental Type: Card Rank & Spell Type: Junior | Physical Reinforcement / Attack Creation Range & Speed: 25m 10m/s Mana Cost: 10 base 5 sustain Stats Effected: 7 m/s(speed buff on self) Applicable Perks: Full Blitz Description: Shi Jin, the 23rd Heavenly Spirit, nicknamed “Nine Tattooed Dragons”. U[on activation, two cards appears from Tora’s Grimoire: one for the reinforcement and one for the weapon (This is not produced via ammo rules, but simply the two parts of the spell). Following this, the spell wraps around her and then forms Nine Dragon Tatoos stemming from her lower back and curling along her body, mainly her shoulders, ribs, hips, arms in pairs with a single dragon snaking up her spine to the base of her neck. This reinforces her body, boosting her speed. Additionally, a Pudao, one of Shi Jin’s weapons of choice, forms in her hands, buffing her power.While this spell is being sustained, Tora can execute a slashing attack, producing a 16in wide 5 meter long sleek dragon that surges forward, slashing objects in it’s path. This slashing attack produces 1 extra dragon projectile per 15 control (as per dual spec ammo rules).
New speed: 5->12->19m/s
1 Melee hit, 1 reduced damage slash from Nine Falling Dragon's pudao, and then 2 melee strikes producing a total of intermediate damage to the main target Rider (Killed) 1 Reduced damage Nine Falling Dragons projectile hit to the other two riders resulting in 1/2 Jr damage. Rider's 2 and 3 are at Jr+(1/2)jr health as the raging water does no damage.
[attr="class","zavenreescroll"] When the woman shook his hand he smiled, the force she exerted when doing this simple greeting showed that she was indeed strong even without really applying anything. The mention of Vulkan and how she asked if Zaven knew him made the captain nod and nearly chuckle. ”Vulkan and I go way back to before the Diamond War came to a close. The man was once considered to be my closest friend, maybe even my brother...but we have not talked much since he showed back up after the shattering, and yes he is quite handy in dungeons.” He finished as she began to walk up towards the entrance to the spire, Zaven walked alongside the strong woman. Once inside he would immediately regret giving his duster to Drake while he was gathering information, the place they stepped into was a damn tundra...he was clearly out of his element in this place and a shiver crawled up his spine. ”That was a mistake to come without a jacket…” He said to himself as they walked a bit, his senses quickly picked up on the riders before he even saw them. He was about to say something when the large woman went into action herself, catching the Shadow of Dawn by surprise. ”Well...this would make the third woman that is independently strong...that I recognize anyway...all in all...not bad form.” [break][break]
He watched her fight, casually calling forth his grimoire and waved his hand to the specific page of the Abyssal Strike. Zaven was not one to mince words when actions were clearly needed so as Tora attacked the creatures he noticed that they more or less ignored a variety of her attacks as if they were shrugging them off. ”That’s rude…” He said under his breath as he watched the ones that withstood Tora’s attacks as the grimoire floated behind his back and a shadow torso exploded from the tome and loomed behind Zaven as if watching his every move as the captain confidently continued his trudge through the snow. He could almost feel how wet his legs were getting from the compiling wet snow. ”Shadow creation Magic...Abyssal Strike.” He said with a confident tone as the riders closed the distance with ease, they were small, wiry looking bastards that looked either malnourished or that they were dead...and there was no stench of death or decay in the area so he summarized that it must be due to the malnourishment of their day to day lives. As they closed in, they maneuvered in, giving Zaven a pincer attack that might actually leave a mark on his mana shield, but it was too bad that his own senses had expanded and when they thrust in to deliver the stab to attempt to put the captain down there was a qualitative change in Zaven’s features as his eyes immediately snapped to a hyper attentive state. [break][break]
The captain stepped back and took in a deep breath before delivering a double hammer fist; one to each riders reindeer as he wanted to end this quickly, he could see the deer were unprepared for this attack and were brought down with a thunderous crack that would make even the hardest of criminals at least wince in sympathetic pain. ”You could have had a much easier time had you let the woman finish her attacks, yet you came all the way over...I am sorry your last breaths will be wasted on me.” He mocked the beings of mana before reaching out as the shadowy arms reached out longer to pick up the riders before a simple squeeze of his hands as the resounding crunch would be sickening to hear, and the scene of the red snow around the Shadow of Dawn would the first real look at the power that the men held as he walked towards her, hopefully she was done with her own affairs in this fight and they could move on to the next area.
The sounds of the other targets being taken care of did alert Tora just a little, causing her to perk up as she glanced briefly in the direction of the man taking down the other creatures. She whistled appreciatively before she turned her attention back to the other two remaining riders. Woof! She tensed up as she saw them charging out of the roiling waters! Undeterred by the damage, they still were however slowed by the water on the way out, charging out of those white waters as Tora eyed the pair of them. Thankfully, between the slowing of their movements, and Tora's impressive speed as it were, it was all too easy for her to see them charging out of the water and readying their weapons. Little elf bodies twisting to throw those long iron lances her way. The woman twisted and jolted to the side as those lances sped toward and then past her, crashing into the icy floor behind her with a loud crackling CRUNCH, followed by the glass-like crackle and titter of little ice shards being scattered by the impacts.
She had to admit it sounded like these things were actually pretty hefty, and she couldn't help but be thankful that she was fast enough to stay the hell out of their paths. She swished her lance, launching another pair of dragons before racing ahead of them, once again throwing the little elves off as she far outsped her own projectiles. As those twin dragons showed up, they braced themselves for the incoming dragons, only for Tora to blitz toward them, slipping in lowand then throwing her own weapon. The pudao crackling into the ice behind them, startling the pair of them and causing them to turn, expecting an attack from behind. And just like that, Tora was on them. With them being so small and in such a tight defensive formation, it was easy for her to grab both Elves by the face given her sheer speed advantage and then slamm them both headfirst into the ice by the force of her momentum.
A mere moment later, and the twin dragons slammed into the mounts just as she raised the elve's little bodies up off the ground and then slammed their heads into the ice a second time, causing both of their bodies to go limp as they finally succumbed to the damage dealt, them and their mounts dropping from the onslaught of attacks from the woman. And FEELING their little awful bodies going limp was enough to have Tora sigh in relief, slowly getting up before letting out a loud WHEW as she broke out laughing, grinning over her shoulder as she rolled her shoulder. "That was quite a workout! Good thing these little guys are so small or I wouldn't have been able to pull that off." She admitted, looking at their prone little bodies. A full heighted heuman, or even something that was a bit bulkier? And she wasn't sure she'd have been able to rip them off their mounts to actually deal the finishing blows without having risked some damage from their deer. Not to mention if she literally hadn't been bashing them skull-first into the ice, they might have turned those secondary weapons on her and done some decent damage before she was able to finish them off. Not only that, but given the other three enemies...
She smiled brightly and rubbed her shoulder, smiling wide in the direction of Zaven. "You were definitely right though, if it weren't for you I totally might have died to these things! Well, maybe not these... but I probably woulda gotten pretty hurt considering we just entered the place... I'm really glad you decided to come along." She noted appreciatively, giving the man a thumbs up and a fond smile before she turned and glanced at the stairs heading up and out of the court yard. "Let's keep moving, hmm? Hopefully there will be warmer air once we get higher up and outta this section." She reasoned, rubbing her palms together as she kept those spells sustained, still a little high off the adrenaline of the fight, she was primed and ready for action, incase anything decided to surprise them out of the blue.
wc: 714 twc: 1903 -> 2617 +5 in combat mana regen -10 mana to sustain both spells Mana: 40->45 -> 35
Dealt 1/2 jr damage to the riders with a melee attack, then 1/2 damage with the Nine Falling Dragons projectiles hitting the mounts (as the elves and mounts presumably share health being a single creature mechanically), and then a final 1/2 jr melee attack again on the riders, finishing the two remaining off.
[attr="class","zavenreescroll"] Zaven canceled the spell as he nodded to Tora, the woman was capable enough to finish off her own enemies without much of an issue, but he believed that there were possibly more challenges that lie ahead that may be a bit more than they had bargained for. ”These little bastards are tenacious for sure, glad you got a workout from them though. What lies ahead may be a bit more than just a workout though.” He said with a smile as he continued towards the steps, hearing her next words honestly made him worry about her well-being ahead, dungeons only got more tough the further one went. Her signal and saying she was ready was all he needed to walk through the doors and into the next area. ”Honestly, if we got warm air in this place I might feel a little worried myself.” He said with a chuckle as he climbed the staircase. [break][break]
Once he opened the doors into the next floor he was hit with that familiar smell of...home...He instinctively went on guard as he scanned the first area. ”Watch your corners, whatever this is...it's using some sort of spatial mana to distort the spire...it should not be looking like this in a place where ice and snow are the dominant zones.” Moving through the foyer he could see that the pictures that decorated the walls looked like the past explorations inside the spire...the deaths of many adventurers lined the wall in a macabre fashion. Zaven did not study these pictures for long as they seemed to just pull one’s focus and he knew that if he were to falter here then there was probably a larger trap at work here for them to fall right into. ”Well...at least you were right about the warmth being a thing...I genuinely did not expect this.” He suppressed his mana for now, but he was keeping a close eye on their surroundings, but when he found nothing out of the ordinary except for the damn paintings...It was time to move on. He located the next hallway and began to move towards it, just doing some exploration for the two of them as if he was leading the way.
She couldn't help but grin just a little as she made note of Zaven's comment about her getting a workout. It was pretty auspicious that she'd managed not to take any hits or anything like that, but she had a feeling that things weren't going to be perfect going forward. She brushed herself off just a little, shaking her poncho of some of the residual snow as they soon made their way up that winding staircase, just a brief glance over her shoulder to the prone forms littering the ground behind them, silently wondering if any others had made it past those things.
Tora let her spells fade as they soon found warmth up above, to Zaven's surprise, as it were, as they walked up into what seemed to be some sort of ....Foyer. She had to admit that she was a little surprised. She looked around and spotted the bodies that littered the floor around them. She furrowed her brows just a little and let out a slow, steady breath as she allowed herself to recharge just a little, rolling her shoulders as the vestiges of her magic faded into nothing and she glanced at the Captain as he seemed disturbed by the scene around them. "Well, a bit warmer than I expected... but it makes sense.....sortof. After all this is a castle, and those elves weren't made of ice. Stood to reason there'd be some areas that were warm." she noted idly, pausing for a moment as she saw a door on the other side of the large room. She watched him as he seemed intent on heading through, scanning the area as he did. She herself eyed the weapons that lined the walls themselves, reaching up and running her fingers over a sword that lay across the broad width of a shield, both of them made of that dark material.
"A little strange that there's so much stuff here...." She murmured and poked at one of the paintings, which promptly THWUMPED as it peeled off the wall and SLAMMED into the ground next to her, making her jump just a little as the portrait promptly broke. However, as she'd turned to watch it fall, she DID catch some motion behind them. Enemies! The caracachure-like bodies almost assured her that these were not another band of adventurers, most notably as she saw them raising crossbows! And promptly she TORE the shield from before off the wall and WINCED as she slammed it into the ground just as a bolt promptly went flying past her, thankfully missing her as the huntsmen tried to clip her around the shield! "ZAV! COMPANY!" she shouted out to the man, as another pair of the hunters promptly moved into the room from the path ahead, both pairs of huntsmen barring both escape and progress for the pair! She muttered under her breath. So much for catching her breath! She took slow, steady sighs as she braced herself, knowing that this was going to be a rough fight, she tried to keep herself calm, getting into the headspace as she could hear those hunters tromping into the room, trying to get a better angle on her around that big shield, which strangely despite her size, it was plenty big enough to cover her. Just who was this stuff MADE for?
She let her eyes dart around, scanning the walls for something to use against the huntsmen as honestly she was a bit leery about trying to rush two crossbow-wielding maniacs to say the least. She knew that the man with her probably could do a good number on them, but at the very least she didn't plan on just relying on him. She was focused, and her expression reflected that as her mind ticked away. Peeking around the shield she could see that one of them was starting to get a better angle, and she gripped that shield and turned it, sliding herself closer to the wall as she started to formulate a plan. Right... she would work with this... She braced herself, knowing that once she charged back into combat things were probably going to get pretty hectic. Slow breaths.... she could do this...
[attr="class","zavenreescroll"] Her confirmation of what he said at least gave him what he needed in regards to his warnings and insistent speaking. He continued on through the foyer as he even debated just taking a rest until he was completely warmed up so that when they moved on up into the higher levels he had some thermal energy at least to keep him comfortable enough to fight. Tora’s next words gave him a little bit more of a clue than what she probably intended as she mentioned that there was so much in the foyer despite the fact that there was nobody around to enjoy it. Zaven was beginning to put the pieces together when he heard the crash a few moments later. ”Tora, please be…” Before he could finish his small cut he felt the four creatures enter. Tora’s warning came seconds before he dodged a bolt, the second one he was unable to properly dodge after the close attack and was hit in the left shoulder, his mana skin held up to the attack as he felt the adrenaline course through his veins. He looked up to see the humanoid creatures dressed in a fucking horribly color cordinated leather armor and holding some rather wicked looking crossbows which they were reloading as Zaven was thinking of a plan. ”fucking ho, ho, hold up there you flannel wearing storybook characters. I think you are forgetting something…” Zaven said as the four creatures actually stopped their attacks, a human like response from creatures that were not in fact human. His grimoire floated to his side and opened up, but was just a feint as he activated his Final Abyss Armor and let it envelop mis entire being before unsheathing his axe and flying forward in what looked like the blink of an eye as he went to swing. [break][break]
He was first up to bat as he slashed his axe across the chest of the first crazed hunter, causing the humanoid creature to stagger a bit before the Shadow of Dawn kicked the crossbow to the side which caused the hunter to shoot its partner. The next swing was a whirlwind slash as he aimed to decapitate the two, the issue was that he did not yet finish whittling down their health so he turned his attention to the first one he attacked and went to swing as the second crazed hunter grabbed the shaft of the axe and pointed his crossbow at Zaven’s masked face. With a calm breath, the Shadow of Dawn ducked down and brought his axe down to the ground before bringing down his foot in an axe kick to the second creature. With the damage dealt the damn hunter still hung on so Zaven just let him have it as he switched tactics. He pushed the axe into the hunter and went to the first hunter again and kicked the crossbow away causing another misfire before delivering an elbow blow to its face and then grabbing the back of the head of the creature and delivering swift uppercuts in a successive fashion until the creature went limp after a total of 5 hits. [break][break]
Zaven then turned his attention to the other hunter as he slowed his breathing, the hunter came at him with a broad over the head swing, Zaven moved at the last second and caught the axe before spinning it to the right and ripping it from the creature's hands. There was an agonizing cry from the creature before Zaven returned the blow with astonishing speed, smacking the damned thing in the head with the blunt side of the axe blade. When he saw that he had disoriented his opponent, Zaven scooped the crossbow of the other hunter and loaded a bolt before firing it into the creature’s foot before finally swinging the axe up in a vertical cut that bisected the hunter with a mighty roar from the Shadow of Dawn’s mouth. Once he was done he turned to look at Tora, wondering how the tall warrior was holding her own.
Tora had to admit she was a little impressed as she noticed how the man was taking them out. She looked over the shield she was using for cover and noticed that the two Hunters were turning their attention to Zaven! Well she wasn't going to let him get shot from behind! Bracing herself she grunted as she stood up, grabbing the shield she'd been using for cover and lifting it up off the ground! It was a heavy piece of metal to be sure, more like some sort of barricade than an actual shielf, but thankfully it wasn't so large that she wasn't able to move it. With a bit of struggling she began charging at the pair! Promptly, their attention shifted right back to her as she started to close in! there was a staggering PWANGRAK, almost breaking her stride as she felt a crossbow bolt slam into the shield and then shatter into tiny splinters, the ripple of force through the shield making her arms tingle as she promptly slammed into both of them! The second crossbow bolt firing wide and impaling one of the nearby portraits that covered the walls.
The first Hunter she slammed into promptly dropped his crossbow, in favor of gripping the shield that Tora herself had been grabbing onto and then tearing it from her grasp, most of the force having been shunted into the second hunter, who was on the ground on the other side. Thankfully despite being physically stronger than her, the two were still fairly small, and so her mass and velocity had been enough to stun them, the tearing of the shield seeming to be more reflex than a conscious decision. Which was fine by her. Letting go of the shield, she reeled back and SLAMMEd her foot into the shield. Using her full weight, she easily lifted both the tiny huntsman off the ground with the force as he promptly flew down the stairs, topping down them with the shield in hand, thankfully his crossbow had been dropped. Which she promptly snatched off the ground. IT WAS LOADED! She grinned a little at her luck. Thankfully it seemed it had been the other hunter who had gotten a shot off before she'd connected with them! She looked down just in time to see the huntsman fumbling with the crossbow, loading it. She promptly stomped down on the man's weapon, pinning it to the floor as she leveled the weapon to his head.
She spotted a grimoire appear above the huntsman's head and she felt a chill up her spine. With no room to be hesitating, she promptly fired, driving the bolt clean through the huntsman's face and causing them to promptly drop on the spot, causing her to let out a sigh of relief. She glanced at the crossbow and frowned, she picked up a bolt from the ground and glanced down the stairs. That huntsman down below was already on his feet, damn durable thing he seemed to be... all the same, he was starting to stride up the stairs, a dead-vicious look in his eyes as she spotted a crackle of magic. Some sort of ...armor? No it was like a thin veil of ....knitted sweater? She grinned just a little as she tried not to bark out laughing. Following what she'd seen the men doing, she promptly loaded the crossbow. Based on the damage to the shield and the walls these things packed quite a punch. Possibly enough to get through that burly mannish armor of his.
"It's over bucko! Got me the high ground!" She called down to him, leveling the reloaded crossbow down at him. And to her surprise, there was a SWHOOSH as he promptly THREW the shield! She tensed up, a startled look on her face as she fell to the floor! Dropping to avoid that spinning slab of black ice that sliced through the air and slammed into the ceiling above! She was barely able to dodge it! She slid back from the stairs, gliding along that cold floor before she glanced up and spotted the Hunter charging over the edge of the stairway! Aiming, she promptly fired, that massive bolt hitting the hunter dead in the center of his chest, and that sweater promptly absorbed the incoming bolt, bursting in a shower of wool and caring craftsmanship! It also seemed to take most of the impact! Undeterred, that little man roared out and LAUNCHED himself at Tora! She promptly kicked up, slamming both feet and then kicking upward, sending the man sailing over her to land just behind her.
Both her and the Crazed hunter scrabbled to their feet, though he was just a tad faster than she was. She saw him go RIGHT for the weapons on the wall, and she felt her pulse quicken. "NYEH!" She shouted as she promptly HURLED the crossbow at him from behind, an OOF escaping the man as he was beaned in the back of the head and stumbled forward as Tora promptly leapt onto him from behind, gritting her teeth and promptly grabbed that crossbow and began beating him in the head with it! Getting a good blow to his face in before he promptly grabbed it. She struggled, tensing a bit as her arms trembled slightly. She glared down at him as the both of them wrestled with the crossbow.... but he was considerably stronger than her! And she watched as he grinned up in her face, and started yanking the string back, a fresh bolt in his tteeth, making her tense up. This crazy man was going to try and shoot her point blank! And she was not strong enough to wrestle this weapon from him! Not without a good running start, she'd made a mistake in grappling with him instead of just striking.. Zave! LITTLE HELP!" She called out as she fervently tried to slow the Hunter down in the loading process!
wc: 998 twc: 3321-> 4319
Crazed hunter 1: Dealt 1/2 jr damage with shield bash. Dealt another 1/2 jr damage kicking them down the stairs. Senior Damage from Crazed Hunter Crossbow destroying the Defense Spell conjured. 1/2 jr damage hitting them with the crossbow. 1/2 jr damage stock jab with the crossbow. Total intermediate damage dealt. Intermediate health remaining.
Crazed Hunter 2: Senior damage from snatched Crossbow killing the hunter.
[attr="class","zavenreescroll"] It was a good thing he decided to take a peek at the female warrior and as he did he saw her in the midst of a struggle. Declaring that she now needed help he eagerly sprang into action and ran, his speed picking up before finally he jumped to the side wall and held the axe with both hands as he would have a few extra feet before the distance closed and this show would be over. ”Tora, let go and duck!” He barked out the order and gave her a moment to react before he brought his body down and kicked off of the dungeon wall and used a whirlwind slash style of attack where he would split the fired bolt and deliver the final blows to the crazed hunter. After being cut by the axe, Zaven followed the swing by embedding the axe into the wall and delivering a front kick to the hunter, causing the creature to fall down the stairs and with a sickening crack and then finally a crunch the hunter did not move any more. Zaven sighed and removed his axe from the wall and offered his hand to Tora, hoping she did as he ordered. ”You fought well Tora, but there is still another room ahead. Let’s get going before anymore of those hunters show up shall we?”
Tora immediately did as she was told, dropping down and closing her eyes as that axe sliced in out of nowhere, cleaving through the bolt and slashing into the Crazed Hunter as well. Her whole body a bit on the tense side as she watched him promptly dispatching the Crazed Hunter with decisive precision. She let out a little sigh as she slowly got up, and looked a bit forlown as she saw it crashing down the stairs, the crossbow breaking on the way. Damn... she was actually kind of enjoying those things. She'd have to get herself something like that in the future. She brushed herself off and sighed. "whew, thank you for that. " She murmured, rolling her shoulders just a little as she looked around at the corpses. There were also weapons on the wall but honestly most of them were probably to big for her to wield without putting herself in danger, it was a shame honestly.
"You got it, next room it is." She sighed softly as she walked up beside the man and the both of them moved on into the other room as she kept her guard up. It was definitely quite a bit different than that other tower. Rather than the mindless dinosaurs from the Tower, these were sentient thinking beings, full of malice and intent. It'd be hard to actually put these things down. All the same, the two of them soon stepped into the next room, pushing the doors open to another surprisingly warm area. One with..... chilling decorations.
At first it seemed just like a dining room. A vast expansive table of carved ice and wood, and chairs and the like all set neatly and daintily about. and of course....with platters decorated with frozen corpses... posed and oriented like taxidermied roadkill, posed creepily all along the table, as if to welcome them with a preview of their own fate in this damned place. Tora herself was..... a little shocked. It was far beyond the sort of thing one might see from animals or beasts. This was deliberate and intentional. And without a word, she started striding around the table, intent on getting to the stairway on the other side. She didn't really have to say anything to make it clear her feelings about the display. She wanted to get through here. But of course, once she got near the stairs, wether it was with Zaven or not, she would be stopped when she heard a soft, menacing clapping noise right in front of her.
The man strolled casually enough, a sly, pleased smile plain on his face as he stepped down the stairs, flanked by two elvish golems of snow on either side of him, a total of five enemies. She found herself taking a few steps back as the slim, sharply-dressed man regarded the intruders with mirthful pleasure. "Marvelous... SIMply.....marvelous~" The man chuckled, his staff leaning on one shoulder as he promptly twirled it like a cane, grinning from ear to ear as the snowmen filed out on either side and summoned long spears made of icicle to brandish meaningfully at the pair of them. "You know....when I saw you eyeing the tower from out there, I SO expected to see you wander in to your death~ BUT...... Imagine my surprise.... when the great Shadow of the Dawn accompanied you here." He chuckled, clearly amused with the situation, tossing his staff up into the air, spinning it before he snatched it on it's descent. "ONE HhhhhhhUNDRED points! To the lucky lady, for getting a body guard to carry her to the top. But..... boys and girls~ I'm afraid this is where your luck runs out." He sighed, his very voice sending chills up Tora's spine as her eyes darted between the snowmen, and a grin growled across her face as she clenched her hands into fists. Inciting brows to raise on Jacks' face.
"Not afraid? Aaaallllllllrighty then! Hm..... and Mr Sunshine here? I imagine behind that fancy mask of yours you're none too concerned either? Well, I suppose it wouldn't be fun otherwise!" He grinned, and shrugged his shoulders, his staff hitting the floor with a CLACK, releasing it and letting it stand on it's own as he promptly unsheathed the daggers from his hips. "Well. I guess that's it for the introductions then~ Be warned, filthy ape-pigs, that I am well versed in the art of...." He swiveled his head around, as if getting his mouth around the words, the smug piece of shit was actually being comedic in a time like this. [color-cyan]"...kicking human asses~"
[/color] [/blockquote] wc: 776 twc: 4319 -> 5095 +5 In combat mana regen previous post, +10 mana regen this post out of combat
Mana: 45-> 50 -> 60
Jack Frost has arrived. 4x Guardians of the Clause have arrived
[attr="class","zavenreescroll"] Walking into the next room with Tora he felt as if they were coming upon a conduit of magical energy and he honestly felt a chill run down his spine for the first time in a long time. The next room looked to be more like a mess hall, or a dining area for the rich I guess one could say. Posed up in various little poses, sitting in chairs, some standing and looking like they were ready to serve, then the pieces that acted like centerpieces for a cannibals dream vacation. ”I guess these ones were not too “chill” about being put inside a dungeon.” Zaven said with a macabre sense of humor as he went to one of the frozen corpses and flicked it with his fingers. Examining the dead man, looking creepy with the smile on his face he noticed he was mid swing with a weapon no longer in his hands and upon closer inspection the man’s chest was cut open like a cross. This received a nod from the Shadow of Dawn as he looked at the man like one would a piece of art. ”as creepy as this sounds...these men, if I am to simply judge by the one here...were long dead before they were posed like this. The way that they are cut here and the distorted facial expressions lead me to believe that whoever did this...cut, posed, and froze them before they became a bloody mess.” he said before stepping away so he could get a better look at things. [break][break]
Seemed as though this dungeon had other plans… [break][break]
Hearing the words of the charismatic man walking his way down the steps and into the hall he heard the door shut behind him almost too book villian-y and he shook his head. Toes seemed on high alert as well as the man then began to talk about the two of them, acting as if this were all some sort of fucking twisted game. Which in hindsight made sense since they were in Aries Garse, the theatrics were top notch and honestly the fact that he had watched them the entire time since the moment they came up to the spire Zaven had questions. He was addressed and before he could say anything the man stuck his staff to the ground and pulled out two wicked daggers and charged the pair. ” apparently we aren’t any closer to getting answers here so have at it frosty, it’s time to show you that shadows of winter are stronger than you think.” he grinned under his mask as his grimoire floated up and his axe seemed to smoke. ”Tora I trust you to have my back. You are strong, believe in yourself.”
Tora couldn't help but tilt her head a little when she noticed that light-hearted reaction from Zaven. What an odd guy, and focused at that. Was he even worried under that mask of his? Was this the sort of person she'd become when she became stronger? and learned more about the world around her? She almost felt a bit afraid to think about that. After all, he was a bit on the off side, but he still seemed to have good intentions. But..... would she? She always wondered what it was that turned someone against society as a whole. And as she came to learn more and more about the Magic Knights, she couldn't help but wonder how she would feel about them in time.
But for now there wasn't a lot of room to worry about that. As the events seemed to lead toward a showdown, she glanced between Zaven and the man who seemed to be so focused on them. The suited man seemed to clock that look, and grinned just a little. "Oh I'm sure she is. But....really. Let's not .....distract ourselves." The man raised his daggers and focused on Zaven , as the Snowmen promptly formed a wall, separating Tora from Jack and Zaven. "Round one. FIGHT!" He declared before he promptly BURST in the man's direction! He kicked off of his staff, launching himself straight up into the air, just as the line of snowmen behind him promptly fired a line of Icicles in his direction, Three projectiles in total, as one of the snowmen was facing the other way toward Tora.
And just as those Icicles SHOULD have been reaching their destination, the suited man twisted in the air, planting his feet into the ceiling and then kicking off to fly in the direction of Zaven, seeking to catch the mage off guard in the middle of his dealing with the icicles, with long creeping scythes of ice growing out of his daggers, just in time for the monster of a man to execute a cross slash aimed for the Shadow's face.
Tora, of course, had every intention of staying in the fight! Even WITH those damned Snowmen in her way, she held out her hand just in time for a pudao to twist into existence out of thin air from the card that popped free from her Grimoire. And in the very next moment, she streaked toward the Guardian looking her way, her body speeding up as those tattoos etched along her skin, aiming to twist to the side in the very last moment, but that monster twisted right with her! Matching her speed as she felt herself tense, dipping to the side as that vicious icicle sliced down where she'd been standing a moment before, her eyes a little wide before she threw a card to the floor with a flick of her wrist, a grin spreading across her face. In that very next moment, the card she'd thrown just behind the guardian turned into a massive cleaver. And in the blink of an eye it tore horizontally, sweeping to slice into the bodies of the three guardians facing Zaven, and clipping the one right in front of her, causing a SCREECH of rage from the group. But the trio refused to turn around, affixed to the commands of Jack to keep their focus on hampering Zaven from afar. It was the single Guardian that responded.
As Tora slashed down, that pudao seeking to cleave down through the creature's arm, an icicle grew out of it's chest! She felt a sudden panick, and she knew that she might be skewered. She twisted, abandoning the slash as that icicle barely managed to streak by. Her weapon slamming into it, aiming to bash it upward, but only bouncing off of it as it plowed straight past her and into the flooring behind her, knocking her off her feet as she felt herself tensing up. Again she felt outclassed by these damn monsters, and KICKED up, slamming her foot into the guardian's chest, hitting solidly and causing a splatter of snow to be excavated from it's chest, and even sliding herself back a bit, putting some distance between her and the snowman, but she honestly didn't seem to damage it much. a soft Tch escaping her as she jumped up to her feet as the monster charged at her, and she promptly SLASHED upward! Not even waiting to close in as twin eastern dragons erupted from the pudao, one of them crashing into the snowman, halting it's advance as another slammed into the middlemost snowman behind it from behind, almost knocking it over! It wasn't much, not by a damn longshot. But it was what she could manage while keeping on her toes. No wrestling, no grappling THESE monsters. She had to be careful. Or she was going to be dead.
wc: 818 twc: 5095 -> 5913 -20 Mana for 2 junior spells. Nine Falling Dragons and Butcher's Wave New Spell:
Name of Spell: String of Earthly Fiend Number 60 - Li Li: Butcher’s Wave Elemental Type: Card Rank & Spell Type: Junior | Attack Creation Range & Speed: 10 m/s 10m aoe Mana Cost: 10 base Stats Effected: +4 power Applicable Perks: Battle Knight Description: Li Li, the 60th Earthly Fiend, Nicknamed “Life Taking Judge”. Upon casting, the spell’s card appears in Tora’s hand, and then is promptly thrown. Upon reaching it’s destination, the card promptly transforms into a cleaver, which then slashes horizontally in a 10m radius 180 degree arc in front of it.
Mana: 60-> 40 Speed up to 12m/s Dealt Jr Damage with Butcher's Wave to all four Guardians. Dealt Jr Damage to Tora's guardian, and the middlemost guardian targetting Zaven with Nine Falling Dragon's projectiles. Dealt 1/2 Jr Damage to Tora's Guardian with a melee hit. Zaven's guardian healths: Int+Jr / Int / Int+jr Tora's Guardian: Jr+1/2Jr
