AC 2021 - Round Two: Team Three

[Leoric]

Leoric stood, watching his companion storm off and attack an empty section of the room. The confused brawler was wondering if Shin could see something he couldn't. But he asked for a fire tornado, Leoric could theoretically pull it off again, but he needed an astonishing amount of fuel for the flames to consume and in this chamber made of stone there was not much fuel.

In his glancing about the room he did see another figure in the shadow’s hiding. Before he could do anything they had disappeared and vanished and were now behind Shin as sounds of flesh being sliced could be heard. At this Leoric took off at a sprint straight at the assailant as he could just begin to make out their voices.

“Cazri!” Leoric screamed as he flashed a pale white light as his prepared mana surged, he was going at her with everything he had. She turned to look at him with a smirk on her face, that smirk, however, quickly disappeared when she saw how close he was and closing fast.

Leoric had dropped his morality, he knew if he was to end the threat that was facing the world he would have to momentarily become as unethical and immoral as his opponents. Thankfully he had learned to drop his morals and ethics quite easily when he traveled outside of corone, after all he was doing his best to slander his biological fathers ‘good’ name, so making everyone associate Blackwell with disgusting behavior was something he delighted in.

He launched several quick strikes from what everyone would assume was never going to reach Cazri, However she promptly reacted and was sent rolling across the ground away from her injured prey. The determined brawler shot a dart from his M.A.D. device on his wrist which would drag small things to him, or pull him to large things at quick speeds. He connected the dart with a large sized rock on the ground. By the look of it, it was a section of the roof that had collapsed and shattered on the ground. With a quick flick of his wrist and the mental command required the rock began flying towards him as he charged directly at Cazri. He Jumped into the air and entered a spin as the rock soared underneath him and directly at his target. Cazri barely had time to bring her sword down to cut the rock in two as Leoric caused a massive burst of wind to erupt from behind her, pushing her forward into his attack range as he finished his spin in the air and hammer kicked her square on the top of her head.

Cazri seethed and backpedaled away barely able to stand for a second before she shook her head and regained her composure as Leoric finished his spin and landed on one knee and used his front arm to brace himself from falling forward.

“I had heard rumors that there was an intimidating fighter, using a lost fighting style, but all I see is a bar brawler who tries to look flashy.” she flexed her wrist and her sword lit up in front of her as she quickly vanished in a blinding flash of light. She re-emerged seconds later behind Leoric bringing her sword down.

Leoric barely sensed her with his wind magic appear behind him as he attempted a quick roll out of the way, it wasn’t enough as her blade dug into his shoulder and ran down his back, slicing through his enchanted leather vest and causing a deep gouge across his back. His roll had now become a flop as he seethed in pain on the ground.

“Looks like, just like your reputation, you are all talk” she sneered as she began to walk forward to finish off the brawler.

“You wanted to see the lost quaking fist style? Well don’t let me disappoint you.” The now determined brawler used his good arm and got to his feet, quickly entering what was drilled into him by his master, First stance.

From the first stance you launch every attack and defensive move within the technique, the Stance looked as if he was wide open for many attacks but every move was blindingly quick and for the most part unable to be noticed.

Cazri leapt at the man while swinging her sword. She was baffled as it looked like Leoric had deflected her attack with the back of his hand, but his hand never reached the sword to actually deflect it. She tried to attack him again. This time her sword was launched in an upward arc forcing her arms up as well before Leoric quickly rushed forward and grabbed Cazri by the neck, his hand tightening and fingers digging in. cutting off her airway’s and an attempt at strangling the life out of her.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I am not here to give you a lesson on lost techniques, i am here to save the fucking world from you.” he smirked as he noticed the color was not disappearing from her face, and instead of a look of fear she was smirking back at him.

In a flash of white light both of them were now in a free fall above the center of the room, where the portal was located and just before they hit the ground, she struck him with blinding speed and strength, knocking him back into the portal.

“You can be a threat if you stay here, how about you go visit the demon’s you so wish to destroy.” she said with finality as she landed on the ground and slid back a few feet after kicking off Leoric.

Leoric began to panic. Was he about to be sent through the demon portal? Could he get back? He knew the demon’s were coming in through the portal, but could he? All of his worries and thoughts were quickly knocked from his head as he felt himself impact a solid object before feeling like something was flowing inside of him. It felt like something he had encountered in a brothel before where they poured things into his…

With a quick burst of demonic energy the sticky feeling of magic in the air vanished and he was on his knees in front of where the portal once sat. He looked back and only saw the other side of the room. He looked down at his hands on the ground and the black color that was only on his right arm began to pulse and with each pulse Leoric felt his heart skip a beat. Was his heart failing?

He stood up ready to try and finish this before his heart failed him, but as he stood up his eyes fixated on his enemy, the target of his rage, and he felt an outside force in his mind. It felt betrayed, it felt anger, rage, it wanted to flay the skin from her corpse, it wanted her to suffer.

” Oh she will suffer, and by my hand, there is no doubt about that” he thought as a feeling of content resignation washed through his mind before every muscle on his body pulsed with energy and in a flash of sickly pale gray lightning, his entire body became covered in the same black skin that was on his right arm. His hair began to fade in color and now matched the arcing pale gray lightning that was now arcing around him and into the room. He stared at Cazri lifting his left arm and pointing at her

“Cazri! You have betrayed not only your own government, but those that would once call you Ally, The Court of Nine are coming for you, and they send me, their Herald, to destroy you and everything you have spent your whole life working towards.” As Leoric spoke there was more than just his voice, it felt like there was a group of people talking in unison, all saying the same thing through him. But not only that, he didn’t mean to say any of that. Whatever had now granted him power was speaking through him. Before he had a chance to question what was going on he felt a thought in his head

“You agreed to our request, we have granted you our power as long as you see to it that nothing of her legacy remains upon this world, you are our Herald of Destruction, now deal with her as you see fit!”

“Shin, Let’s show her what happens when she crosses the wrong people.”