Barely did he register the strange newcomer into their midst. Vitruvion was focused now, and intent, his eyes blazing with a form of celestial glory that could not be denied.

As Stare rushed forwards to again strike at the beast before them, Vitruvion glanced around them, seeing the various people who had been such an ardent crowd, cooing their admiration of the Philgast 'wonderful' man, who promised a new life. Now, they backed away from all, alongside the fanatic himself, hiding in alleyways, doorways and alcoves, or altogether having scattered. As the red light of Sage's craft blazed above them, bathing them all in a crimson glow, the people gasped and shivered, for fear of the beast who had stumbled into their world.

So far one of his legs - no two had bene severely wounded. And Stare had temporarily blinded the glorious bastard. Now she danced, dodging the mantis' strikes with the supernatural speed that her direct connection to Vitruvion granted her. Their relationship was one of true divinity and high priestess, the paladin he would never have. He watched in a moment of silence as she twisted her form, bending her legs to then excel herself into the air. Bounding, she aimed directly for the beast's back, her wings unfurling magnificently to give her lift. They beat once and she was soon in the air, aiming to get better of this creature.

"Keep the rest back," Vitruvion shouted back to Sage. "And I will deal with this."

In a blink of an eye he was gone. He then reappeared in midair, directly beside Stare in her almighty rise into the skies. For a second he floated - hovering like a ghost as if gravity and momentum meant nothing to the man - before he began to fall. Just before he did, however, he reached out, hand curling around State's upper arm.

And he dragged her to him.

"What the-" she began.

He swung an arm around her torso as they both started to fall back to the earth. Right back to where he and she had begun, nowhere close to the mantis' back.

"Fly," he commanded in a firm, low voice.

"Fly?" she asked, as they twirled onto their backs. The beast of mottled earthy colours shrieked and tried to lash out at them with one of its injured legs.

"Fly!" he confirmed with a yell.

And she beat her wings. At the same time a rush of energy, supernatural and divine, ran through him, moving into her body with the strength of an entity beyond her imagining. The power surged into her wings and as she beat them she found she was suddenly able to carry both of their weights, catapulting into the sky madly, sailing far more than a single beat should have, faster than should have been possible.

"Stop!" he growled.

And she stopped.

Turning them both in the air with a pivot of his form Stare found them to be now, suddenly, directly over the neck piece of the monster. It let out a ghastly clicking as it tried to turn, stumbling on those bleeding legs she had already caused.

"Blind it again! Pain!" Vitruvion hissed, as they, once more, started to fall.

Her eyes went wild. Inside of her she searched and found the memories that would spark emotions to cause the mantis suffering. With a single glare she cut off its sight, and then sent a reeling stab of agony into the head of it. Not enough to kill, but enough to stop it from moving out of the area they needed.

It paused, frozen in that time. Vitruvion drew his golden blade, clutching close still to his kenku, eyes focusing on the single point where the head met body. Wordlessly understanding Stare raised hers too as they plummeted as a joint bullet of death from above. Down they went, down they stabbed, as the monster let out another single, horrible, clicking yell.

And then blades met skin, slicing through like butter. They cleaved through shell, muscle and bone, gaining right to the central cortex.

Which they severed. Along with the head.

Killing the beast, there and then.

And they slammed into the ground, covered in blood.