" They said this man, Erebus, would be your opponent for the match. From what I could gath-," Tenevi, Lumikki's harpy companion would begin speaking. She hoped to summarize the man in the fight so that the information would serve her Revna well, but the Demoness wouldn't entertain it. Instead preferring to cut Teveni off." Oy, ye know well as I me eyes tell me the gist of what I need to know. Consider it a woman's intuition but really, I don't need to know more about him. Nor does he really need to know about me. It just so happens this was the way the Moon sent the tides, best to make fun out of it ya know." So spoke with a scoff in her tone, but it was not for no reason. She'd heard of him before, from some conflict over a fox's soul. And the rest of the picture was filled in by the flashes of her Daemon's memory.

Lumi was naturally as curious as the birds that flocked to her, and one to know more than she ever should. Her new life and existence as a Demon only served to disconnect her further from the mortal realm, not in a pompous way but in a newfound understanding of the passing of time. Time...that is what she now had a lot of, and most things would fade with enough of it, maybe even her or at least who she knew herself to be. But with such a new reality, she needed to find ways to remain entertained. "Fighting for God's favor" was simply just one means to do it. Though really she would just prefer to lore them down and test her magic. Yet, for all the power she held, Lumikki was still only a fledging. Nothing compared to the Demonic ancestors that made even the Abyss feel small.

Yes, time was all she had, for better or worse. So all there was to do was to pass it getting stronger.

" You sure you don't wanna hear about it girlie? I heard he was a nasty one." Gunvald, one of the many ravens that follow and divulge to her, would mention with giddy delight. He was perched on the back of a chair beside her, his feathers in a constant flux of puffing from his excitement. Unlike most of the ravens who stuck with her closely, he was the most bloodthirsty. So knowing that a fight was just about to start made him excited.

" And distasteful as ever....You know, you make me happy no one else could understand us despite how useful it could be. Try not to get close to the ring this time. Not unless you know for sure a corpse was made. I'm not going to keep talking you out of every idea of yours." Lonu, another faithful raven of hers would retort in annoyance. He was not opposed to violence, but idiocy and the thirst for carnage ruffled his feathers in a way he couldn't itch. And with the frustration of this conversation, he would glide down and swat Gunvald for his childishness.

Lumi, who was enjoying the spat between her birds, would lean forward and reach for another grape. But as she brought her treat to her lips, she would hear someone just outside the door call out. It was instructions that the fight would begin.

The Demoness would get up languishingly as Tenevi promptly opened the door, the man who was on the other side didn't seem to stick around for long. " Acts like I'd bite~" She jested and with a loud screech that escaped her lips and echoed throughout the hall, Lumi enjoyed a deep stretch. " I am sure if it was a bite, he wouldn't mind it so much. But the shadows and voices padded by chill? Those set off people's nerves, I'd wager." Teveni spoke back cheekily, not to Lumikki but to have fun.

A feigned pout would barely last on her lips before a smirk true of her emotions would snake along her face. " But aren't the Seven used to handling monsters?"

***

It was to the Demoness' request that her corner and entry were made to remain dark. Figuring that it would suit her more than whatever gaudy thing the showrunners had in mind. This would be the first time she took part in the arena, and her first appearance shouldn't be drowned in lights of all things. So as Lumi walked down the dark hallway that led to the ring, she figured no one would see her.

Just outside the ring and heavily mixed within the crowd and set up, were a large unkindness perched and ready. Lumi's flock would come and cheer for her along with the masses just happy for a show. Her name was something they'd heard of enough to recognize but not something they would quickly identify. She tends to stay within her corners, rarely making her way out at the moment.

The chill in the air would reach the stage before she did and her quiet steps would hardly harken a cheer. The crowds were still occupied with their enjoyment of berating the villain before them, overlooking the real Demon that approached. Part of her wanted their passion set toward her. Feeding into her ego as she climbed the steps, but a creature of the night should make peace with never being seen. A state of life that served her way more. At least it did, taking part in this fight would mean more eyes were on her.

It was that thought that would cause her to sigh deeply. Yet here she was...

She saw no reason to scream over the crowd, though she could. Figuring when the announcers say it is fit to move the pace they would. It didn't take long too, the man on the right would promptly take notice of the direction of chill and begin calling the match out.

" We're in for something interesting folks!" He paused so that the cheers would subside as the crowd was calming down to let him speak. " It's not often you get to see the clashing of two monsters in the ring! One could only wonder what Gods are watching now!" A rally picked up just as fast as it died down. " Yes with Erebus on the far left and Lumikki on the right, it's time to witness the collisioooooon!"

Lumi was still pacing toward the center, mirroring Erebus' choice to stop twenty meters in. Meanwhile, the announcer was still trying to build up the tension and her opponent would only feed into it.

" Quite the passionate man..." Lumi rolled her eyes as his display to reason with the crowd annoyed her. Humans have always been like this, and she long lost the desire to point it out to them. If she did entertain the folly, it was for the sheer enjoyment of being the one to shove their face in the ugly truth.

And as she stood, Lumi was already adorned in her Twilight Veil armor. Her Snow Monarch was wrapped around her throat but as she finished walking, she began to pull it up and cover her mouth. The Ka'el cape she often wore would hang from her shoulders. Lumi brought her hand up, making a circle in the air with her pointer finger that housed a ring. A small dark portal would appear from her gesture and Lumi would reach in and pull out her Abyssal Spin, hoisting it and resting it on her shoulder as she waited for what next. Her eyes never left the man before her, and she could see him as clearly as if he was only three meters away. Her world eyes would also peer deeper than one could normally gaze, telling her all the things about him she'd need to know without the need for anyone else's recants.

A smirk played on her face as she kept still, small, and quiet. Quite the inverse of Erebus on the other side.

" There is no need to praise who isn't here to enough matter. They are powerful aye, but barred from working freely in this world...unlike me. Sadly for ya even in me boredom, I still don't I need yer praise. Honestly, chaos is already irrational without employing your fickle attention to add to all the dribble of it all." As she eyed him down she felt the tension growing. It was only a matter before he pulled his move. With two palms, she gripped her staff ready. On the cusp of swinging it to cast her spell. But for the moment, she would wait. Just to see where his move would go, she was already half paying attention to his words. After all, those who talk so much aim to use it to their advantage. Lumi only needed to focus on hitting hard and often.

" And Erebus me dear, me magic was designed to slay the Gods. So hold those sentiments near. I mean to bring me destruction, but I'll never grace ya with me true form. After all...," she swung down her staff, and as it pivoted low a magical circle would glow above her before lowering down. The darkness within the folds of her dress and cast down by the lights above would reach for her. Wrapping around as she set to speak again." Ye lack the nerve to be anything more "true" than yer pain and misplaced ideals. And ye had the nerve to clip a bird's wings." She was now out of sight. Her veil hugged her features so that none of it would show.

[color:414e=#ff3300" What do you make of it folks?! Where could she be? Is she trying to pull a fast one or will she make a move?" The announcer to the right was beginning to play the crowd. He has to work double time for a fight you couldn't see. So he was trying to add to the anti and stir the crowds' thoughts and speculations. " Boy wouldn't we like to know. Meanwhile, it looks like Erebus is sprinting to the bird--harpy on stage. You'd think she'd fly by now!"

Tenevi was one way, and Lumi went the other. If she had to stay grounded for the moment then she aimed to still make it worth her while. Though she didn't enjoy all this running about. As she sprinted, her steps only half-soundless, she swung her staff again with the momentum bringing her to a twirl; and she would cast once more, now a massive lavender magical circle flashed beneath it. And with its appearance, a horrid chill would hang in the air. With another swing of her staff, to which she almost stumbled as she got used to her wings, the second circle would overlap the previous on the cusp of phasing out. With it, a black frost would creep from below. Clinging to her victim within it and sticking to his cloak like black flowers blooming. The man robbed her of her wings, so she saw it fit to slowly rob him of everything else.

Tenevi, seeing as she caught his attention, would try to run away from him.

Lumikki's Pokedex entry:

Plight of a Raven:

Lumikki observed as a critter was sent to her skies. So this beast could fly and she could not? Well, not for long really, she would think to herself as she was still adjusting her positioning. Erebus would lunge for her harpy to make do with not seeing her. To which she expected of him.

Meanwhile Tenevi at the forefront of Erebus’ attention would make do with running from him. With the brandishing of his “claws” she would smirk. A laugh escaped her lips. Lumikki would join her companion in such sentiments. Wondering what the man would think of her, even if it was not an opinion she cared for. It would seem he forgot what she was.

On the release of the tendrils that protruded from him, its sickening sight would only serve to make the two laugh more. Observing him relish on the monster he is, was a bemusing spectacle. The crowd would agree as they booed and cheered for his transformation. ” Well look what we have here! Something was sleeping in him all along!” The announcer to the right would bolster, egging on the passion of the audience. ” It’s looking like that indeed Ernest. But what would the harpy do?! Will the bird be able to get out of the wolf’s maw?”

But what would happen next would befuddle them. Everyone spectating assumed that Teveni would continue to try to run away but no one expected what she’d do next.

” Perhaps we should pass some advice to you instead.” The harpy would yell over the crowd as she dashed into the hungry tendrils. Their grasp was revolting and ravenous. Pulling and yanking her in toward their master but the harpy only had a sadistic look on her face. Her cruel nature was pouring out of her at last as she was often used to maintaining a polite facade. So she took the moment to relish in it.” Whatever fake demons you have brimming in that head of yours? You are facing a real Demon now.”

The connection Lumikki had with Tenevi was not a normal one. The two had never simply met in the outside world and decided to journey together. There was no build-up, no bonding moments. Tenevi wasn’t simply a friend. The harpy was the manifestation of Lumikki’s darkness taking form. The portion of her soul severed from her when she was young to ward off the presence of her Demonic father by her Nan. This sliver of her, took a personality of its own as it churned within the primordial darkness—waiting. In desperation and yearning. A soul aching with loneliness to return to herself and become whole. And it would be the will and desire to be more than just a voice in Lumikki’s head that would drive her to yearn for even more. A body to assist her being, a form to walk along her greatest love. Tenevi was Lumi, their relationship was one of the self. A self-love to persevere but with a joint desire for sadistic destruction at all costs. All costs, even her….

Both so hungry and willing for self-destruction if it would mean reaching their desire. As Lumi would prove all those many times she fought her Guild Master despite the odds.

” Adorable~” Lumikki would hiss, Tenevi was not often a factor in her battles. The harpy could sadly only do so much. This was a fact that Tenevi could not yet deny, with her lack of power and presence, she was only a casualty. But it did not bother her in the slightest to be sacrificed, she invited it. Until she could be something more, it was the role she accepted. After all her master much preferred striking like a storm….

Almost as if on cue and with a smirk on her invisible face, Lumikki began to twirl her staff. Her mana flowed into the base and surged all at once. With a jerk, a lavender magical circle would gleam from below both Erebus’ and Tenevi’s feet. With the wind kicking up, a storm was threatening to come. With another jerk, A flurry of magic circles would shimmer in the sky. The creature in the air and the two below, would all be between it and the ground. A blizzard would wrap around them and lash, its cold cutting into all who were within. From above, each magical circle would begin to materialize with black frost rapidly swirling before setting into the perfect likeness of all the heroic weapons Lumi read or encountered. A few from her guild would glimmer among the arsenal she willed from ice; and just as soon as she cast it, they would all drop down. Threatening to crash all that was below.

” Let’s risk it all…” Teveni would purr as her form was taking damage from every tendril that latched on. She could barely hold in her manifestation, steady streams of darkness were now pouring out of her. Yet her cruel smile would never waver as she smirked at him.

Lumikki would skip along the edges of her magic range. Watching and observing what would come.

Lumikki's Pokedex entry:

Plight of a Raven:

Lumikki observed as Teveni dissipated the dark smoke that she was, never giving Erebus the particular satisfaction he wanted. There was no gore to be had past the gashes he inflicted, but for the moment she was indeed gone. Just a whisper returned to Lumikki’s mind, where she had originally come from. ” So full of himself and his abilities, isn’t he? Seems the crowd is now changing their sentiments as well.” Tenevi’s voice would push through Lumikki’s thoughts as they did long before. It was nostalgic.

” Aye, and he keeps reaching for a response as if he wants a conversation. Perhaps that’s the bit that gets me the most. He speaks like it’s a conversation for two, but all he wants to do is make it about himself.” Lumi was already shifting positions. Never wanting to be in that direction Erebus runs for the safety of his spells. She was always keeping a distance as she was inclined to do. So while Erebus ran for the South-East, Lumi veered to the North-west.

As she was making it to her new location, her storm was almost fizzling away. Lumi fed more mana into her staff, swinging it up. A magic circle would flash before a dark vortex would swirl around him. Laying itself down upon him like a thin layer of snow before clearing away. Such a shadow acted to blind the man halfway. Taking even more from him. For that was the desire of the Demoness in this battle. To take all away in time. If his companion was anywhere above them, they too would get caught in the dark smoke.

Lumi twirled once more with her staff, almost ceremonially as it fed off her power. She did so in a little dance that would weave two spells forth. The circle below would flash, and one that faces toward the man. The wind proceeded the storm once away as its razor sound kicked up before the black snow followed. From the other circle, a crackle of pure black frost would surge and strike out in an imitation of lightning. It’s branching points would break off in black flowers that would bloom and wilt in an instant leaving dissipating petals behind in its wake. Hitting the area where he was now.

When her dance was done she would continue to move in whatever direction benefited her. Constantly moving around as she was taught to do. All while Erebus would stay within the corner of her eye. ” Ye think he’s going mad? He seems unhinged.” she would direct to Vee within her mind, ” Quite likely.” She would muse in her response. The harpy now nuzzled comfortably within Lumi’s consciousness again.

Lumikki's Pokedex entry:

Plight of a Raven:

” The world does not care for me, it cares for no one.” Her voice was already like a echo before, the sound of wind shipping through a sheer cold winter landscape. But now it was shifting into the howl one hears when a storm was kicking up with the threat to tear all in its path down. She barely sounded human before, but she was entirely foreign now. Still, as she said, Lumi refused to show her form to him.

She refused to let him get near her was well. In her time growing and changing, Lumi began to better take a hit but she knew better than to offer him that. No, it was a necessity for him to touch her. It was why she was grounded for now. For now… the thought would echo in her mind as she mulled it over. His will would not hold out longer than her’s. No, he would probably falter should this battle last longer, something of which the ice witch didn’t mind.

” And for ye of all beings to be the one to destroy it? Don’t make me laugh. Ye can’t fight the older Demons, ye can’t even subdue the guilds this world has to offer. Aye, these people have their fill of heroes. Almost too many to choose from. And those heroes would out last all of ye soon enough. To which I would take the pleasure of observing for centuries.” Lumi’s sharp eyes could see through almost anything, including the man phasing through her spells and heading her direction. It wouldn’t bother her much as she pointed a direction with her staff, casing a small lavender circle beneath her while also leading black frost to coat her legs and skate her in the direction she wanted. A diagonal way that took her further from him and onto another quadrant just twenty meters away.

The instant Lumi reached her target location, she swiveled around while swinging her staff. Brandishing another spell with her mana pouring into her staff. Lumi would lock eyes on Erebus and will the magic of her eyes to seek him as well before heaving her Abyssal Spine up and casting her spell. Almost like another ritualistic display one would think a priestess performs. A lavender circle shines from up above before pulled back to revel an arrow of shadow. The head and tail were in a constant flux, shifting rapidly as if not sure what to land on before finally cementing its form. The head of it became a hound, while the tail turned into four black wings coming into one. The arrow shot out faster than one would expect, rotating rapidly as it shot out for Erebus like a drill piercing the sky just for him. All before break up into more arrows like they were separating at a point with the intention of piercing him. No matter where the man would go, they will follow. And his head would be their target.

And so Lumi would continue to run further along the rim of the area to assure there was enough space maintained between them. Not stopping until she was now forty meters away.

Lumikki's Pokedex entry:

Plight of a Raven:

The veil around Lumikki would begin to peel away, breaking away like freshly fallen snow. The snowflakes would whip around in the air, instantly carried in the gust. Swirling and dancing around her. The man pursuing kept spotting her despite the deflection,  it was becoming apparent that it was hardly serving her. She had never really experienced what it was like to have your mana gleamed and she was now surmising that this was how it seemed.

And now with her vestige on full display, one could easily make out the features of contempt on her face. Lumikki’s glowing purple eyes would lack their usual sparkle and shine as if the entropy that called to her was now all she felt within. ” Ye misunderstand me human.” Lumi began with a glare, she had to hold back a snarl. ” I said the world didn’t care, not that I didn’t matter. To humans, I’m another monster of destruction, interchangeable with the next. To this, I don’t care. What they think of me hardly matters to me at all.” The chill around her intensified as her frustration was climbing and it would only be the air to keep her cool-minded now. Its frigid touch would eat away the animosity building up within but with a deep exhale, she was calm again. Almost giddy as she finally found the humor in all of it. Why get bothered by the ramblings of a man when he was doing something so reminiscent of the humans' tendency to build a story? Create a narrative, tell a tale. Anything to make sense of the world around them and the Demons and Gods among them. Erebus was just simply self-soothing with the fairytale he was forging and she will let him have it as she returned to her indifference once again.

” I am quite aware of me Guild Master. More than the ramblings ye used to piece yer story. I knew from the start that if I stepped out of place by his standards, I could be slain. And unlike ya, I’ve felt his smite. But he leaves me to me freedoms as that’s our terms and as long as I don’t encroach on his kingdom, I’m left alone. See human, I only stay out of loyalty. A concept that sounds foreign to ye by yer benign obsession to distort everything. I care not for the king and I never did. I hail from different lands and owe no loyalty to Fiore beyond what me guild wishes to offer. And if the day ever comes that the Angel of ours falls into a complete Demon? Then I’ll fight alongside him like I’ve always had. Riches means very little to me, yer politics too. None of it applies to me. And I plan to create and destroy to me wishes.” She tilted her head in an almost mocking way, her purple gaze intensifying. ” I became a merc so I chose me job. I can also choose to leave and no one would stop me. But dear Erebus, in yer manic machinations. If ye ever were to pursue the Abyss, I’m sure ye’d make a great Demon. Yer need to destroy and warp pass as a decent imitation. But whatever glorification ye compile ta feel ya have any value in this world? Will break ye long before ya get reborn in the real chaos ye obsess over. What plans ya have, I don’t care as long as it don’t cross me own. I am no hero….”

But as the Demon was trying to state her point, the man would only try to converge on her. Shifting through his armor and weapons like swift transformations. He now wielded a fork that she was all too familiar with and a blade she could gleam enough to know about. I see… She would think to herself as he was closing the gap. In his one-track-minded pursuit, Lumikki looked helpless. A small girl soon to be cut down to an extent.

” I’m getting tired human. I am getting so tired….” And the moment he blinked toward her and tried to strike, Lumikki would break apart to pieces. Her body turned dark like an eclipse before it erupted in a multitude of wings that would continue its way across her form before revealing she was now a flock of ravens. The unkindness circled Erebus, muttering in a multitude of voices all at once. Like every stray thought would channel directly through the beaks of each bird. Some laugh at the man's futile attempt in varying pitches and ranges. Others muttered how tired they were of the encounter overall. That the man's presence was the seething toxic culmination of man distilled in their self-pity and delusions. Many other Demons would savor his existence. Tempted to help sink the man further in the pandemonium and act upon their will for destruction. Some would like to break him like a puzzle time toy. Using his will as a bar of difficulty that slinks beyond as they conspire to manipulate him. Leaving him with the individualistic satisfaction of making his choices. Only for them all to be machinations of the Demon’s influence.

It was true as Erebus states, that there is a boundless darkness in man. It simmers and boils with their passions and inflictions. Poisoning and destroying all around them for the sheer sake of possibility. One could even argue it was this boundless miasma that spawned the Abyss from which Demons find their origin. Many mortals love to insist that they are the source of creation to all beings of myth in all elevations just because of their colorful imaginations and charged passions. In “Believing” in a God, you thereby create and sustain their existence. And to this they create their importance among a plethora of beings, Demons included.

But it was all delusions.

As the universe had to be carved and shaped by beings more complex than their own. More timeless than a mortal could ever understand. It was comical to observe, that they thought they created the Titans above them with only the small window they were afforded. Did they ever consider that there was a time when these beings didn’t let themselves be known? That the mortals were an afterthought to all the other worries and passions from timeless beings afforded different perspectives?

Lumikki understood all too well as she was one of them as well. A human who stumbled around in the world with a sense of purpose and longing for the powers in which all had come. In the myths of her people, she was a descendant of the primordial frost, from which the nothingness of the black skies churned chaos and then us. Humans long to be a part of something. She knew this and she sympathized. It was one of her few remaining attributes of being human that remained for the moment. But it was in her rebirth that she came to understand more. And in stepping into the timeless, she shifted in perspective.

She was a part of the world, yes, but it was more complex than a person living out their life trying to leave a mark before they pass. She was now granted the time to observe things and they change and pick and choose what she decided to intervene. Her sympathy didn’t give way to compassion like it once had. She only cared for those she could care for. The rest were afterthoughts that would flicker the moment she blinked.

And yet, she would be berated by one such mortal. Who feels the woes of his life constituted him a profound understanding. A true understanding of the morbid nature of man and all things monsters. But he only knew just a sliver of it all. There was only so much one could ever witness in a fast-paced life that rushed before their eyes.

” Yeees, let us both stop entertaining this.” All the ravens flew up to the sky. Like a vortex rising to a point straight above. All the ravens would collide into a dark orb before the darkness fades away to reveal Lumi curled up. Her four wings unfurled and pulled back to suspend her into the air.

” Let’s see how strong yer will is Erebus…”

Lumikki's Pokedex entry:

Plight of a Raven:

The member 'Lumikki' has done the following action : Spin

---

'Dice 100' : 19

The pain in her head was one she already endured for the full duration of a battle she had prior.
in revalation of that knowledge, Lumi clutched at her head annoyed but not entirely debilitated. It wasn't even as severe as the time Emil subjected her to it during their fight as his lighting would whip at her head over and over.

" Not me circus, not me monkeys..." Lumi murmured disinterested. And so did it hardly surprise her that the man would make his move so quickly. Exactly what he had in mind, she was not sure. Flexing her muscles, a black frost would quickly encase her skin so she could at least be ready.

Before Lumi could do more or even try to look around for her opponent, she was struck from behind. The impact was enough to shatter her frost and tear through the back of her dress. With her robe in tatters, she pointed herself in a direction of her choosing, her raven wings coated with trails of ice and darkness that propelled her elsewhere. When she finally got to look back, she would see the plan he made more clearly. And with his tendrils affixed to catch him down below, Lumi pointed her storm in that direction.

Plight of a Raven:

Lumi barely hovered in her spot for long before the metal lashers of the man sprung for her once more. She would have figured he would occupy himself with the churning storm than her, but that would be a foolish thought in itself. Every action this man entertained flung himself into the fray in almost a self-destructive manner. As if his antics would be rewarded the more he lost. A man preaching for the fall of gods, angels, and demons alike would offer himself to “fate” all the same. As if the more he gives the more he would receive. All the while rambling on and on about his existence and pedigree.

At first, Lumi grew incredibly annoyed. Every word and forced phrasing for slander was trying her patience from a man who barely knew anything past himself let alone of the world. But as the metal tendrils would strike and coil tightly at her tiny frame, she began to fall into her own nature; to her madness. And a cackle would escape her lips as it harshly reverberated in the air. Her voice was already like the winds howling in a tundra, holding an inhuman echo, and would now delve deeper into the abnormal. Started curtly before breaking off in what sounded like multiple gales lashing all at once. The chiming of her sniggering soon halted as an unearthly cold tundra voice would splinter in. Gave word to her thoughts while the cold darkness crept into her skin, swallowing her form before promptly morphing it.

” Ye tickle me so human. Ye do…Some of yer nonsense almost passed for believable. I can hear yer fellow man coincide on those lavish ideals of yers. But it was to be expected for the kin who have faced nothing but their day-to-day to assume as such are the ways of the world. Pitiful Erebus, trying to convince me yer happy alone as if there isn’t perhaps a wound in ye that makes it so. Festering like all the other things ye seem to reason in yer meandering speeches.” She promptly broke into another cackle while her voice would oddly shift in pitch and tone.” But isn’t that just the norm for you Don Erebus? To cut every tie you have before the cut them first? Can never leave anyone on good terms can you?” She spoke in the familiar voice of his old companion. Knuckles, a man she came to know from a pact made. Aiding her on somewhat of an understanding to her opponent if she cared to delve further. Just as the last work hit, her voice would morph once more,” Of course, for all the talk he has still not bothered to come to the North. I thought you had a man to steal back from Paradise Dawn, lone mercenary.” She now spoke in the guise of her Guild Master’s voice. Pushing the ply further to mock the mad man. Lumi played on the knowledge she caught wind of when Yuurei returned. She was aware this man was trouble, just not how unhinged he seemed to be.

The dark shadows that coiled around her tighter than his metal claws would rumble within his grasp. Whether he was capable of feeling it or not, the swelling dark would become more prominent. Its slight movements would seem like a beating heart and with every pulse it would get bigger.

” Forgive me, I wasn’t raised among the pitiful of Fiore or the dredge within the Seven.” The crowd was not pleased with her slight but they already lost favor long ago.” Those of Iceberg rarely feel as sorry for themselves as ye do. Granted the lands were not always kind, but they hankered just fine. There was no time to dive into the misery ye seem to muster.”

To this point, Lumi’s frame was passing into four meters and nearing five. The silhouette now became more distinguishable as the features grew more pronounced. And the wings of before were now pushing three meters themselves. Yet the darkness that obscured her didn’t simply hide her form as much as it was combining with her flesh. Revealing the true beast that lingered within the petite girl just before.

” I’m so glad we agreed…On the futility of speaking to the other.” her voice would swell as if filling with pleasure. Lumi was more content with the end of the dialogue than to bother sorting the empty disarray of words he slung forward. Hoping that he could catch her vulnerabilities and build himself bigger than he was. As far as Lumi could make out from the ramblings of a lunatic, were that he needed to lash out at all costs. Doing so helped him take up more space in the world.

With the rise and fall of her clutched talon, the staff she harbored this whole fight, would now brim once more with her magic as she surged her spell forward. And as the man began to make his attempt to sprint toward her, the magic circle would spill forth jagged stalagmites that ripped apart the ground; destroying the surface as they rose and his simple path to her.

Lumikki would take the moment to pull all her wings back, before beating them down at once and lifting from the ground. Her ascent was a quick one as all for wings beat simultaneously, clinging hard to the air in the sky. The plain darkness peeling away to the frost beneath as her feathers shimmered in the light with beautiful blue and purple hues. Two long feathers adorned her peak and to horns perturbed from the sides of her head. The raven Demon rarely showed her from but in the moment of prevalent madness, it only felt right.

And with barely a pause in her moment, she pulled the upper too and summoned many circles to flash before her. They kept for a moment before pulling back to reveal another arsenal of black ice weapons. If one were to observe and quickly discern all the blades present, one could even pick out a sword that looked very much like the one Erebus owns. Hanging beside the flurry that was soon to descend as it came crashing down for the mortal below.

On the crashing of her arsenal, Lumi would take to circling in the skies faster than she had before.

Plight of a Raven:

“I aim to displease.” he said, with little amusemust at the growing demon’s mock expressions. “And who are you to Knuckles, Lumikki? If your death inches me closer to theirs, consider me invested, privileged even.”

Erebus postered his attacks and landed them as she spoke, in which time stalagmite erupted forth from the seals heading towards him as he fell, smashing against his metallic claws, Erebus was intelligent enough to realize further damage could be sustained if allowed. He sacrificed what little durability remained in the armor. Watching her transition into a scarier version of the harpy before him earlier. Propelling off his placement as the stalagmite carried him further from Lumikki, Erebus glistened into a translucent figure and spun against the stone, rolling onto his back shoulders and finding his feet quite acrobatically.

Falling to that knee again after a short sprint and sliding to the open center of the ring until he was far from any prior AoE spells, Erebus spun against the smooth ground to the higher stadium. Just as the spires of ice came forth with a cool mist earlier, a sky blue and pristine wind which hugged the very skin on this dark mage’s bones. This spell seemed to pull the shadows from the audience, festering forth ancient weapons, and then of course, the strangest delusion of the shape of his own in her arsenal.

He wondered if that were her game, she was on her own adventure. Perhaps, meeting and facing others was apart of her fun as well— and Erebus had to agree. She earned her place in his books, her might had prevailed and even harmed him whereas her distance was always the first priority. “I may have been wrong about you too. You have potential and certainly more power than most in the lands, but there’s still a fine line separating your attempt to dominate, and my need for it. I will only get stronger, and stronger, and collectively hunt all that stand in my way. You included Lumikki… It does not matter how they sell me to the world, in the end I will become God of War, and reshape Earthland in Odin’s vision.”

Whispers began to flood Erebus mind, while it could be chalked up to the C.S.S. Malfunctioning, the actual voices were of those people he had forgotten or left behind, haunting his memory. He had lost so many people, that he really was the last person in his world. Yet even so, he had to press on, to see the dream through.

“You can talk.” Erebus evoked, seeming to chant chaos back to the heavens, the simple truth was that he was not phased by her powers, they were serious, but Erebus had learned so much about Lumikki— she would need to completely kill him, or walk around her eyes over her shoulders. As her entire arsenal was collective information, and no other entity on Earthland was more equipped to make a revenge plot than the elusive folktale before her. Erebus was a pit fiend meant for a special rite to Hell— and perhaps if Lumikki hadn’t discerned it yet, he was much stronger than regular specimens of his people. She was perhaps his greatest foe, but the sheer terror that he could stand with a creature like her, had yet to awe or inspire her as it had the crowd. Erebus, on the other hand, was far from hopeless.

He needed one thing to occur in order to make a fulfilling change.

He needed to reach her, as fast and as close as possible. But with a distance of 40m separating them. He would need to advance all over again, as he spun and avoided her spell, his hand weapon changed to that of a silver hilt, and in one bodily rotation, you would see the figure of Erebus light up with a green beam of laser ionized or perhaps, plasma based arcane energy, that danced with the weapons frame and it’s master’s skill. His form was grace in motion, he dipped low his head narrowly catting the spells sent by Lumikki, and with each that came, he still persisted and avoided them shadow-blade after shadow-blade, tugging the gravity around his own shoulders to forward roll or backflip and somersault when necessary; Erebus at one point could fly and walk on air, and so made no difference between his feats on the ground nor the air, thanks to the tendrils, he always had a new platform to maneuver around— that is, if Lumikki would ever get close..

She would not be facing him there, he had to force control, or trap her in her series of attacks. Erebus was dragging the weapons further away as they chased behind him, to follow his command and charge of direction, as he also made these figures and discernments of his foe in real time. In which, his spear was able to be kept barred in his knuckles and was often times a simple appendage used to propel or push the weapons upon a quick three-sixty as he ran; deflecting against the shadow weapons, however, was useless— Erebus needed magical damage to cancel magical spells. His lightsaber in his off-hand was the primary attacking weapon, as Erebus seemed in encumbered and totally at ease with repelling the spells skills. The green light sliced through her shadows and bled them from reality like ashes, creating the image of atrophy in the weapons. The sight of it was describable: shadowy masses infected— caught by a magical fire, that crawled over their surfaces, shrinking down then into nothing, nothing but the cloud dark shade, a popped balloon of mana itself, melting just like cotton candy would on the tongue; until it was no more. Erebus spun and sliced with a vindication his hands registering on their own, and the C.S.S allowing him the super human range to defend his own tendrils as they were targeted as well — With Ere, hitting all placements of his weapon attack. He moved at accelerating speeds, heightening rapidly to a realm ordinary man was locked out of. For the direction of Lumikki.

If he weren’t enduring such a hellish fever beneath the visor, he would probably be frozen stiff as a rock— muscles contracted and paralyzed on the stadium floor before the demon. In reality, that may have been the case already, with certain damage sure to continue on his body. However bloodlust drove a much more intimidating bargain, out of the Legendary Weapon Master— it was his main selling point. Perhaps Lumikki had mocked him— however— the sheer opposite of positive things can only come from such aggravations. Both instinct and reflex were accelerated one second sooner than average in this adventurer, Erebus dances like a bat from hell— weapon in hand, his body is fluid— flowing to a motion and frequency that most cannot decipher, lest they are Grandmasters or higher themselves. His finesse and mastery was in full display— bridging the gap in unparalleled fashion, his body was his area of expertise and so he didn’t need to be facing forward to always have control over his max speed— in fact, he was better when he was in rotation, keeping to his rogue-like nature, and he could do wonderful things with his elbows as well in that time, able fall and propel off his neck for a graceful recovery after a short flip, should he need it— controlling his landings, and his takedown defense, was the first steps in street fighting needed to incorporate a good ground technique. Getting someone to the ground, was normally not Erebus’ style, as he enjoyed striking.

But that hadn’t seemed to be on Lumikki’s interest. With each attack, she further kept away. Erebus was tired of this, she was kiting— and he was biting. But he had nothing else that would get her, she had already revealed her magic to him, eliminating the use of his Bow…  

This was his monster to deal with— but the foe she had signed up to face, Erebus was a cunning— even deceptive dirty tactician. There was always a a chance he had something up his sleeve. Lumikki had not given him an inch in this race, further trying to freeze and poison this rambunctious prisoner before her eyes. So it seemed clear to him; she was quite aware of how superior he was in point blank radius, riding the curtail of her distance; he proved to her already she would not be able to give him the space.

Erebus was in no state for true war, and yet he was pushing it. His need to win, seeming to truly shine through the mystery of the darkness. His right to the darkness, to the chaos in man. Seemed rightful— and for some reason, he could not walk forward, without finding his resources and the support of others from somewhere. Even if he was alone, it wasn’t that Erebus left everyone on bad terms. He lost them, for their efforts to see the world changed. The others, the betrayers, would not reach the same afterlife. They were a different species.

She was a different species, and his hell was not the same as her Abyss.

Today— Erebus will survive another day. ”These rotten souls, have made one of their own legendary heroes a prisoner of War…! Cast him out of the land as criminal, now they need a demon to clean up their mess… For heaven’s sake! These people are truly corrupt! Possessed by their greed; enchanted by power, on full display for us here in Seven?! What are the governments doing?? Who is monitoring Fiore?! The King?!?! Epiphany, me people, I’m havin’ a vision!!! Listen here, all of Seven, these are proof of the words in other lands! We have no idea the powers which are trifling around in Fiore! You will see soon what the Gods have in store for the use of witchcraft and idols— blasphemy! Sin!” shouted an elderly woman from the crowds, as she watched these things, and tripped and stumbled amongst other onlookers, a few people seemed to echo her statement— she simply had enough of this battle, as it was now very clearly going to be an execution— with Erebus’ entire armor already blown back and revealing his open chest, bloodprints and slices from the ice that seemed to be eating at his skin with acidic and freezing burns. “Greghhagh!… Quiet down lady, ruining the show for the rest of us!.” said a burlesque man sitting two rows beneath her.

The old wench with one eye, seemed invested on both these evil beings. However… There was a pang of relation from one human being to another, seeing one of their own fight back against such a predator. Even if he were so vicious and dark himself, one could not forget that Erebus was just the man, he was prey for a daemonic entity in this harpy, at least— sent down for a show that way. Her form, which was quite grown by comparison to the recent one, was fairly freakish to the watchers. Who were at the edge of their seats, protected by a thin invisible veil of the arena.

Erebus examined her blades festering up, coaxed with shadowy mana, and her new shape— truly and quite obviously a more powerful form than before. Whilst she tried to fly, Erebus claws, which had bitten her, hand began their coil around her body. Slithering as serpentine forms, as she’d attempt to fly upward, Erebus would feel a jerking sensation. Which promptly kept them both at a distance.

Locked and suspended in, what was literally a physical bind against Lumikki, and his own lotus skin, revealed the peaking black helmet of a true assassin within— eyes directed back at Lumikki.

“Just what then, am I imitating to you so I know what part of me isn’t hitting the fan, because when you repeat these things they just piss me off!” He laughed, which echoed against the stadium— ominously it sounded as if five or six voices had spoke in tune at once, casting the projection of his own A.I. demon at the morphing woman.

In one swoop, as she’d send forth her spells, he would react swiftly, like a bridge crane pulling against it’s chains, the metal against Lumikki would  reel her body towards his own— to the crowd this would be a truly horrific display— like a bird stuck in a Venus Flytrap, and his secondary Claws protected him in his barrier as well— as he evaded he would try and get off path of the sustaining ice against the ground and evade to a safe spot as Lumikki was dragged with him— thrusted and thrown so that she would take immediate bludgeon damage as they ripped the stone off the floor cracking and destroying it, his hands were loosely hanging at his side in the veil of the tendrils— almost as if he were unguarded; or perhaps plotting something, because when Lummiki would finally reach Erebus, he would thrust his fork through the gaps in the tendrils, while his loosely hanging hand was available to counter attack, and since it was aimed at the ground, he had more range to reach and destroy her staff— a pinnacle thought going forward. Since it seemed to control a fair share of her magical power.

Some stalagmite ripped and stabbed him— sustaining damages, but no vital arteries were harmed, and acrobatically it seemed, Erebus always found just the right spot and footing to avoid the most critical attacks in those situations, his magical resistance also helped.

“If today should be the last of me, I will enjoy the battle— and relish in the God’s above.”


————-

-1 A spell on armor
-1 A spell against Lighstaber, Pitchfork, and Armor (Armor effectively breaks)

Erebus avoids any and all vital hits, and adjusts as well as spans the distance while pulling Lumikki towards him, if he’s successful, he is attempting to physical bind and stop her from flying away as attempted at the end of her last post.

Unleash The Claws - Sustained

" Yer right, unlike ya I don't need to do anything. Still.....I do not see how yer an avatar for Odin or what he stands to gain in yer warped world..." There was a misunderstanding between the two here. As Lumi was not privy to the mercenary's past or his old alliances. Her knowledge of him gave way to many details but it did not mean she would fare well to connect all the specifics. And so she would assume he referenced her Nordic god which only served to add more of a distaste and displeasure to his musings." Odin would never see ye to Valhalla. Yer a warrior aye, but not one to rise from the battlefield, ye'll never find such glory in yer death."

Lumi accepted his grip, not like she had all that much of a choice. But with all her strength, she would still pull him away. And with her might, she'd cast spells to cut in between them, using the teethers to her advantage.

She would use her upper set of wings to maintain the fight of freeing herself while the lower set would gesture for her spells. Casting a storm followed by more black frost weapons to rain down.

All her energy surged into the tundra storm she forced upon him. Casting darkness and snow to muddle the view of the field. It left spectators speechless, his chins hanging heavy. And so there was a long pause to see the results of such a chaotic clash.

It would not be until the dark frost finally fell away that people could make out a victor.

thrusting himself through the ice at rapid speed, Erebus would engage, ready to make amends with the life of this enemy, however, as his hand crept forward he found it locked, and himself unable to move, the frost which was expanding over his hands and body was causing his legs and arms to turn stiff, losing the right to his motor function.

He was unable to fight, but his claws, which acted with their own intentions, held his body aloft— dangling over the ground as it rushed forward, he was forced to face the fury of her power now and her storm, which damaged and eventually buried him, in a mountain of icebergs and blizzard. These bergs were black-sooted— sizzling atop the white caked blanket of snow within her storm.

It was called— the announcer stood from his commentator booth, spinning into a dance, he hit a sensational move and a lighting effect cut in atop Lumi, revealing her like she was on a stage: he would press his microphone against his mouth and yell into the microphone, his spell over this arena allowed him fast travel into and out of the ring as it was, so he then teleported to the side of the demon as the lights dimmed back into normal, and she was in the middle of an open coliseum with the sun shining overhead once more, he lifted her arm to the heaven’s; claiming her the successive contender.

“LADIES AND GENTLEMANNNNN, WE HAVE OUR WINNER BY WAY OF T.K.O!” He said, flashing a toothy grin, somewhere behind his sunglasses and his smug confidence. The announcer went ahead and volunteered the Demon for a return visit. “See her here again next time— when she faces the next competition! and with one closing moment, a giant spell seal would clean the stadium of damage, and transport both parties below, to outside of the revealed arenas.



- End and Exit -