Liu hadn't been expecting Felix to attack the demon, not after it had shown off it's overwhelming power to them. Taken by surprise when he had began his furious assault, she had hesitated for just long enough to be unable to join the attack without breaking Felix's concentration. Swearing to herself, she settled with applying the pressure of being held in reserve, using the time without a direct aggressor to prepare for a battle while surveying their surroundings.
They were definitely in a cave of some sort, the walls promised that, but the roof of the cavern was so far above that she couldn't make it out through the mist. Glancing around the clearing that Felix and the Demon currently filled with their combat, she couldn't help but take a deep breath of the mana-rich air. The dungeon they had been in was similar, but the density of the mana in the air there had been insignificant compared to the air here. Her eyes shone with determination. The air was rich enough here that mana would effectively be limitless for those who knew how to breathe properly. From the power of the demons strikes, it was possible that it had learnt at least one of the breathing techniques, but it was more likely that it deemed such ideas below it, leaning on natural strength over learned behaviour.
Analyzing the two combatants, Liu frowned. She blinked, struggling to keep up with the flow of battle. A sudden thrust here, a vicious slash there, a pommel strike followed by a blinding riposte. A raking claw accompanied by the snap of powerful jaws, a deep gouge appearing in the rock from a tail strike. The two seemed to be moving faster and faster, every strike quicker, more deadly than the next, and yet aside from the opening wounds they had scored on each other, neither seemed able to land a blow on the other. It was considered rude to inspect another creature without permission, and Liu was hesitant to do so, but focusing on Felix, she could feel her curiousity overwhelming her manners.
"Forgive me. Inspect." The words, barely a whisper, went unnoticed by Felix, even as a shiver ran down his spine. To Liu's surprise, she had gained even less information from the attempted inspection than she had anticipated, and what little she saw was meaningless without prior context. Instead of learning how Felix was able to fight a Demon on equal ground, she only had more questions.
Name: Felix BrightStar Level: 2 Flurry Chain: 75
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Enga felt his frustration rising. He hadn't expected the two fledgling humans to put up much of a fight, even after he had been caught off-guard by the males counter-strike. It had hurt immensely, but luckily, had not had enough strength to finish him off in a single strike. But now that insolent human was matching him blow for blow, keeping up a relentless assault that prevented Enga from properly using his skills and power to overwhelm the human. Additionally, at first he had been toying with the boy, but as the strikes had kept coming, slowly found he needed to place more and more effort into turning aside the humans attacks.
Things had come to a head for Enga when he had tried to counter-attack, only to find that defending against the humans flowing chain of attacks now required his full attention, and that a proper counter-attack would leave him open to the humans sword, if only for a moment. Unwilling to take the risk of a more powerful strike than that first one, Enga settled in for waiting for the correct moment to unleash his own powers and skills, opting to burn out more of the mana the human must be sacrificing to keep up such a frenzied torrent of strikes. Still, it was a source of great irritation that a mere human, barely with any power to speak of at a glance was able to pin him down like this. Enga licked his lips in anticipation, eagerly awaiting the moment when the humans feeble mana reserves would empty and his sword would falter.
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I could feel my stamina dropping by the second, the endless chain of attacks from my flurry draining me with each movement. And yet, each strike was more powerful than the previous, more deadly than before it. Where the demon had toyed with us at first, it was on the defensive now, unable to turn my strikes aside without injury. As it licked its lips, I felt a sense of dread run down my spine. Did it know I had a limited reserve of stamina? I had yet to see it attempt to use any of its skills or mana, and the idea that it was merely letting him wear himself down before slaughtering him was terrifying to contemplate. Not that he had time to think much. His sword flowed from one strike to the next, parried, blocked and turned aside seemingly with ease by the demons claws and tail.
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If I got distracted here, the demon wouldn't hesistate to use the opening, and as my sword whirled for yet another attempt on its neck, I felt something shift. It was like time had slowed slightly, just enough for me to notice it, but not enough for the difference to be real. Shaking my head, I grimaced as my sword was deflected yet again by the midnight black claws, my next strike already launched at its thigh. This time it's tail blocked the slash, the rocklike scales covering absorbing the force of the blow with ease. I was vaguely aware of the system telling me something, but I pushed the notification out of my mind as I maintained my focus on the flurry. I had lost count of how many consecutive strikes I had made long ago, and as my stamina neared its limit, I found that it was all I could do to keep my sword moving, keeping the chain alive to keep me alive.
The demon hissed as my sword slipped past its claws, scrapping the scales on its arms, and as its ruby eyes flared with power, I sensed an opening, my sword being launched in a desperate two-handed lunge for its heart. Too slowly. I could see the air vibrate as its tail moved to prevent my strike, and adjusting my grip, I roared a challenge into the the demons face, my sword cleaving through the base of its tail. Scale, skin and muscle gave way to the tempered steel, a slight resistance formed by the bone in the center, before my sword exited the other side of the tail. A howl of rage and pain exploded in my ears as I felt my bones creak, a powerful kick sending me flying. Panic grips me as I feel the flurry chain end, my arms suddenly heavy, my sword dropping from my grip. I land hard, my body too tired to respond in time to cushion against the fall, and I feel a rib or three crack from the impact. Reaching out for my sword feebly, I sense rather than feel Liu step inbetween me and the demon, only for it to vanish, it's pained howls echoing off the chambers walls as it flees.
The notifications I had been ignoring during the fight swarmed to light, filling my vision with a gentle blue light as everything went dark.
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Liu looked down at the unconcious Felix in awe. That final blow of his had made it through the demons defense and severed its tail. More importantly, even though he had taken a vicious kick to the chest, the wound had inspired enough fear in the demon that it had run the moment Felix no longer harried it, vanishing almost before he had hit the ground. Collecting his sword, and returning it to his sheath, Liu paused momentarily, eyeing the demons severed tail dubiously. If they were in a dungeon, the first person to touch a drop item would be bound to it, meaning that if she picked it up, she would be robbing Felix of his prize, and that if she left it, something else might claim it for themselves.
Swearing at the severed tail, she dragged Felix over to the item, apologizing for the discomfort it must cause, before placing his hand on it. Waiting for a few moments, she tried picking it up, and not recieving a notification of binding, she smiled to herself as she congratulated her own genius. Dropping the tail on her unconcious companions chest, she dragged him out of the clearing, looking for a safe enough spot that they would be able to heal and recover. Hopefully somewhere that the demon wouldn't find them in an instant.
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Illeane frowned. She had always hated these strategy meetings with the various kings and nobles that she was invited to whenever a new dungeon or powerful monster was discovered. Her companions had told her to bear with it, that it came with the territory of being the most powerful being alive. Of course, that didn't make it any less dull. She would rather be mapping the new dungeons or facing off with the newly discovered monster than hearing about how dangerous they are to normal people.
Grinding her teeth, she turned her gaze to the massive double doors of the strategy room seconds before they opened. Berik. That aura was easily recognizable, even when he tried to hide it. The doors swung open, revealing the Sorceress Supreme had been correct in her assessment once more. She hid a smile, knowing it would not do to welcome a distruption to the meeting in front of the royal family. Appearances had to be maintained after all. Opening her mouth to scold the Shadow Knight, only to be interrupted as he spoke first.
"Felix is missing. No magic of mine can detect the boy, and his trail vanishes in a newly discovered section of the Wolfspine Goblinoid Dungeon."
Appearances be damned. Illeane shot to her feet, the very air around her growing cold as she absorbed the words, before heating drastically as her temper slips from her control. Shooting a stony glare at the royal family and their attendants, Illeane speaks, her words etching the air with power.
"Excuse me. I have to find my son."
A shimmering portal comes to life behind her, vanishing abruptly as Berik and Illeane step through it, the only trace of it's existence the thick scent of mana in the air.