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Colosseum - Round 1, Group A - Magus vs BlackStar - Storyteller - 10-12-2015
Magus, standing before an unfurled Kingdom flag. There had to be some irony in the fact that a former felon and prisoner had been selected to represent the same government that wanted him in chains.
On the other side of the battlefield, BlackStar stood beneath the colors of the Deserters. Up above them, a packed crowd cheered, waiting for the signal that would commence the 'festivities.'
Someone gestured for silence, and just like that, there wasn't a sound in the building as Victor von Magnus walked onto the small platform near the center of the massive structure. With a smile, he picked up the padded hammer and smashed it into the gong, signalling the fights to commence.
Quote:Judge – Gildarts/Caira
Magus posts first, and he may do so anytime after 6 pm CDT/7 PM EDT.
Description of fight area and other information can be found here - <!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="http://omniverse-rpg.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&p=44961#p44950">viewtopic.php?f=28&p=44961#p44950</a><!-- l -->
Please refer any questions to that thread.
Word Limit: 750
Posts: 3
Time Limit: 48 hours
SP use is enabled. SP does not regenerate between rounds. Injuries may occur. Neither injuries nor SP use are factored into judgment, only the quality of writing.
Re: Colosseum - Round 1, Group A - Magus vs BlackStar - Magus - 10-12-2015
He was literally the deadliest wizard of all time, and he had been pitted against a petulant child with candy-colored hair and a ridiculous outfit. The boy carried himself with the air of a competent fighter, but his ridiculous star tattoo and smug expression belied his experience. The boy was a fool, and Magus spared no quarter for fools.
Magus stood across from this boy. Between them a fault had split the ground apart in the center of the vast distance that separated the two. To his left and right, other combatants sized each other up across a similar battlefield, and behind him again. It seemed that everyone would be fighting, and everyone would do it at once. What marvellous entertainment.
A gong sounded, interrupted Magus’ thoughts and called the blue-haired urchin into action. With a sudden & immense burst of speed, the boy leapt forward, onto one of the many small barricades littering the arena, and propelled himself up into the sky, sailing over the jagged trench beneath.
Magus smirked, a reflection of the arrogant expression on the idiot boy’s face. He threw off his cumbersome robes and revealed absolutely nothing, as the man beneath the clothing had simply vanished.
The boy Magus would later learn was called “Black Star” – or something to that effect – landed, bewildered, on Magus’ side of the fissure, unable to pinpoint where the man had gone to, when a pale, lavender haired man appeared to his left from nowhere, hurling a punch. The boy executed a perfect sequence of backflips, narrowly extracting his jaw from a thunderous impact and opening the gap between them.
Magus capitalized on this, hurling bolts of Gloom after his quarry. The blobs of negative energy sailed all around Black Star, whizzing by and exploding near him as he deftly danced and flipped around them.
The Fiendlord pressed the attack, phasing out of the material plane and into the dangerous plane of negative energy that his Shadow Step took him to. A furtive glance assured him that he was alone, and none of those shadow people were around. For now.
Magus sprinted past Black Star and whirled about on his heel. The boy was slowly twisting as if trapped in a slow motion sequence through the air, doomed by time itself, as the wizard experienced time much more slowly in the plane immaterial.
The mage rushed at the acrobatic whelp and threw himself into a flying elbow, shifting back into the material plane just before his elbow connected. Black Star’s muscles spasmed around the brutal strike, and the boy was thrown off-balance, collecting himself only to be blown off his feet by the thunder of a charged bolt of Gloom. The kid skittered across the ground as malevolent energy seared at his flesh.
“I hope you’ve got more than that in you,” Magus remarked, idly rubbing his thumb and forefinger against one another, as if trying to rub out a scuff on his glove. “This is a combat tournament, yes, but I’d expect the entertainment of the crowd plays a factor in advancement, and me dispatching you as soundly as this is hardly entertaining. Plus, I’d prefer to be at least somewhat warmed up for when I go up against someone actually worth the effort.”
The verbal barb worked as intended, and the boy leapt to his feet, his face flushed in anger. “You think I’m not worth the effort?! You don’t know who you’re dealing with,” he said as a deadly chain-scythe materialized in his hands. It was oddly reminiscent of Magus’ old weapon. It was sinister in design, and the wizard saw immediately that such a weapon could inflict severe damage in many different ways. “I’ll show you who’s not worth the effort!!”
The boy charged at him, leaping and dashing in an unpredictable path that brought him inexorably closer to the Demon King. The anger etched on Black Star’s face radiated from him in a visceral aura of fury.
The kid was fast but sloppy. Magus’ crimson eyes followed every step, every leapt, every sudden dash and fake-out. Finally, Black Star came in for the kill with an upward slash. The wizard easily blocked the telegraphed attack, but wasn’t expecting the kid to go for a feint and come in with a horizontal slice instead.
Shit.
Magus’ form burst into a swirling black-and-purple mist as the scythe swept through him. He re-materialized instantly, slapping Black Star away with a Gloom bolt. A good start.
Re: Colosseum - Round 1, Group A - Magus vs BlackStar - Black☆Star - 10-13-2015
Black☆Star grimaced as yet another Gloom bolt connected. He skidded to a halt a few feet away from where he originally stood. The boy glared up at his opponent, a determined glint in his eye for a brief moment before he once again opened up his assault. Another immense burst of speed and careful steps closed the gap between the pair, only this time, Black☆Star careened off to the left, brandishing his Chain-scythe in a precise crescent, aimed for the Mage’s flank. In the same instant, Black☆Star planted his foot in the dirt, halting his spin and tugs the second blade over his shoulder, striking at Magus in a style reminiscent of a scorpion lashing at it’s prey with it’s barbed tail. The Mage tactfully avoids the crescent flourish, though the second assault goes, apparently, overlooked. The blade finds itself lodged in the Mage’s shoulder, albeit shallowly, before the young assassin yanks backwards on the chain, tearing the blade viciously from it’s resting place.
The mage growled under his breath, launching himself backwards a few paces, scrambling to balance himself against one of the nearby barricades as blood began to trickle from his shoulder, staining his clothing, a hand rising up to shutter the flow of blood. Black☆Star took the opportunity to let out some prize gloating, Not worth the effort, huh? Are you scared now? I understand if you are.. I saw myself in a mirror once, I was scared by how big the reflection was. The boy let out a short burst of confident laughter, hands planted on his hips, each blade of his scythe held tight in his grip. He muttered down to the weapon, quietly, so as to not divulge his thoughts to the Mage, Tsubaki.. keep Shield☆Star ready.. this guy hasn’t hit us with anything overly huge yet..
Another growl escaped Magus’ lips as he took a defiant step forwards, planting a heavy footfall into the loose dirt before him, “Little but a scratch!” he called out, goading his opponent, “As if a mere boy could cause me any serious harm!” With that, the Mage began to hurl a flurry of Gloom bolts towards Black☆Star, who took to once again nimbly avoiding the bolts of shadow energy, however all was not as it appeared. With a particularly accurate burst headed towards the boy, Magus slipped into the immaterial plane and instantaneously reappeared behind Black☆Star, who’s attention was still on the cascade of Shadow energy. Another strong strike connects, the Mage rams a knee into Black☆Star’s side. The boy winces and doubles over to the side, shortly before a blast of Shadow energy sends him staggering backwards, winded and burnt by the negative energy.
Black☆Star stands, visibly grimacing, a hand clamped to his midriff for a few moments. Nevertheless, Black☆Star stood, once again, at full height for the briefest of seconds before darting towards Magus once again. The assassin launched the blade that was held in his left hand directly towards the mage, in an effort to have the man dodge to the side, which proves fruitful. Magus dodges to the left, just as Black☆Star reaches his mark, lodging his foot into the dirt and winding up a powerful punch with his right hand, scythe still clenched in his hands. Said punch connects, sending the Mage reeling backwards. As magus recoiled, however, Black☆Star’s assault did not come to a halt. With the blunted edge of his scythe, he hooked the blade around the back of the mage’s neck and tugged towards him, dragging magus forwards, so he ended up doubled over next to Black☆Star, at which point the boy leapt upwards, bent knee outstretched towards Magus’ stomach. The resulting blow was powerful enough to send the Mage flying backwards yet another few feet, skidding to a halt in the dirt.
Re: Colosseum - Round 1, Group A - Magus vs BlackStar - Magus - 10-13-2015
The wizard fought against the pain, but the urgent burn of pain radiating through his abdomen betrayed him and he took a knee, one hand on the armour covering his injured flesh. The boy lunged at Magus, keen to deliver the final blow before his opponent could recover.
The Black Star leapt across the final few feet that separated them, and his target vanished. Again.
Magus clenched his eyes shut and half-groaned, half-roared in frustration, hidden away from his enemy and the audience in the plane between planes. He picked himself up off the ground and regarded the boy caught in mid-leap, his chain scythe brought to bear, ready to come down on Magus’ head and end the battle before it began.
“Little mongrel.”
Wispy tendrils of darkness crept into the corners of his vision. Those… things were near; he had to work quickly. Magus rushed over to a weapon rack and retrieved an elegant rapier before leaping over a barricade and taking cover behind it, slipping back into the material plane.
The snivelling little whelp jerked his head this way and that, trying to get a bead on the wizard who remained behind cover, channelling energy into a small, greasy sphere of energy that roiled there, suspended in the air just above his palm. A faint, purple glow emanated from the inky black energy.
“Where’re you hiding, huh?!”
Magus continued to build up the negative energy already sizzling inside the bolt of Gloom he’d been channelling. He gave the hilt of his newly acquired rapier a reassuring squeeze. The child was aggravatingly good in close combat; the Demon King would need the weapon to fend Black Star off if he could close the distance again.
Black Star stalked carefully toward a barricade – the wrong one, unfortunately for him – and he mood of the crowd soured at the protracted inaction. Conveniently, Magus’ Gloom was just about ready to go. All he needed was for the brat to make a mistake. Just one little error, and Magus would strip the flesh from his bones.
Then, it happened. The filthy urchin leapt over the barricade he’d been stalking, poised to slaughter whatever had been on the other side, and conveniently leaving himself completely exposed from Magus’ vantage point.
The wizard stood, levelling his palm against the Black Star. “Play with fire,” he rumbled, recalling the last time he’d said those fateful words, so long ago. “And you get burned.”
The tide of the crowd turned again as the Gloom leapt from his hand with a sizzling crack, sailing across the void between the combatants. The cheering thundered in a sharp crescendo as the bolt crashed into the hapless Black Star, engulfing him in the blighting explosion.
Magus found himself recalling the face of the young man who had sacrificed himself to save his friends – and the wizard. He found himself saying those callous words.
A boy going up against the Fiendlord; it was like Crono facing Lavos.
The smoke cleared, revealing a gigantic star fixed in the air between Magus and the runt. The bizarre shield had absorbed most of the blast, and rather than dead, the kid had barely more than a few scratches and burns.
“Impressive,” the spellcaster remarked. His scarlet eyes hid the surprise that ebbed under the surface. “But I hope you realize how outclassed you are. I’ve barely begun to test my abilities, and you seem utterly on edge.”
“Oh, right. That’s why you couldn’t stand after we scuffled for like three seconds.”
“Be silent, you cur.”
“Come here and say that, wimp!”
“Very well.”
Magus blinked out of existence once more. The Black Star knew how this worked and adopted a defensive stance, his back to the barricade. The wizard would somehow teleport from nowhere and he’d have to be ready right then to strike first.
The wizard blinked into reality for a moment, throwing an elbow into the side of Black Star’s head, sending him reeling before blinking out again, reappearing almost instantly in front of his adversary and driving the pommel of his rapier into his gut. Magus disappeared again, popping up on the kid’s side and thrusting at him with the sword.
This time, the Black Star was ready. He desperately twisted his body, wrapping the chains of his scythe around Magus’ blade and wrenching it free from the wizard’s hands before launching a snap kick to his face, staggering him backward, blood trickling from his lips and nose.
Quote:747 words on wordcounter.net. Giddyup.
Re: Colosseum - Round 1, Group A - Magus vs BlackStar - Black☆Star - 10-14-2015
The atmosphere in the colosseum was palpable, the crowd cheering and hailing every single blow that struck, regardless of which fight they were watching or who they were rooting for. This was no different to the assassin and the mage’s confrontation. The sight of blood and burns only spurred the blood-thirsty crowd on. The boy stood before his now bleeding opponent, idly twisting his wrists, spinning his deadly chain-scythes in unison, as he watched the Mage gather himself up. Once again his tone dropped; Tsubaki, noticed any lacking angle we can get him from? Getting up close is fine and all, but there’s only so many of those bolts I can take.[/] Black☆Star admitted reluctantly. The woman inside the weapon hummed quietly for a moment, analysing their opponent, We could try Dummy☆Star? she asked calmly.
[b]That would work, if we could resonate. I’ve not figured it out yet, but apparently Soul Wavelengths don’t work the same as home. Black☆Star mused, still watching Magus as the pair began to circle around each other as if waiting for the other to strike. It would be Magus who took the first move. By disappearing into thin air. Again. But the assassin had figured out how it worked, or at least he had hoped. He waited, with bated breath, for the mage to reappear. Though, he took a little longer than usual. It was at this point that Black☆Star straightened his posture, one arm raised above his head and the other raised level to his mouth, his fore and middle finger extended upwards, the others wrapped around Tsubaki. The reflection of the woman shimmered into view on the blade of the scythe.
Tsubaki, let’s go one step ahead of him. Rule of Assassination Number 2, Tune in to your target. Predict his thoughts and actions. Black☆Star communicated with his weapon on a silent level, connecting to her through some form of crude telepathy. The boy stood motionless as he awaited the mage’s reappearance. And as abruptly as he had disappeared, so too did he reappear, a stone’s throw from the boy. Just as abruptly as the mage appeared, Black☆Star leapt into action. He tossed the scythe held in his left hand towards the Mage as he began sprinting towards him, tossing the second scythe in quick succession, aiming to keep Magus in the same spot. It only took a second or so for the assassin to close the gap, his momentum carrying him close to the mage, at which point he launched into the air and extended his leg, aiming to connect with the mage’s stomach, more specifically his solar plexus, so as to strike the pressure point with a thunderous strike. The strike rings true in the form of guttural sputtering and suffocated gasping. The Mage was sent reeling backwards, but not without intent. Little did the assassin know that Magus had spent a little longer in the Immaterial plane so as to charge a pair of gloom bolts in his palms. Black☆Star jerked backwards and let out a pained groan as the mage clapped his hands either side of the assassin’s head, forcing the bolts of greasy, black energy onto Black☆Star’s exposed skin. Still, Black☆Star was never one to not have a counter play. The chains of his scythes still remained either side of Magus, his fists firmly clamped around the metal links. He tugged backwards on them, as he was let free of the hold the mage had on his head. The tug forced the scythes to connect with the back of Magus’ heels, dragging him down onto the blood stained dirt beneath him. The pair subsequently laid mere feet from each other, on their backs and panting, pained gasps escaping the both of them at ragged intervals.
Only, Black☆Star grunted, room, wheezed, for one assassin in this arena. and finally growled towards his opponent.
Quote:644 words, according to googledocs x)
Re: Colosseum - Round 1, Group A - Magus vs BlackStar - Magus - 10-14-2015
Magus’ wrath spread across his bloody countenance like a cataclysm, screwing his face up into a venomous snarl. He’d fallen right next to his opponent who had done the same. To think an impudent, cotton-candy haired runt had matched him, even for a moment. Those words squirmed their way through his mind a second time.
“Only room for one assassin in this arena.”
The deadly conjurer forced himself to sit up, glancing over at the Black Star, who laid just feet from him, wisps of smoke streaming from both sides of his head. The boy saw Magus getting up, and summoned the will to do the same.
They hadn’t even found their footing when the boy lunged at Magus again, whipping his scythe around with far more dexterity than a dazed man should have had. The Fiendlord had had quite enough chain-scythe antics, however, and handily deflected an incoming slash away with a backhand to Black Star’s wrist, and followed up with a harsh palm strike to the chest, before he snaked his leg behind his opponent’s and brought him down with a hard slam, tripping him up like the boy had done to him with those damned chains.
“I’m no assassin, boy, no killer for hire, exchanging blood for gold. I’ve lived a thousand lifetimes and the impact of my actions stretches across eons,” his voice, already a low rumble, grew darker, quieter. “How dare you try to compare yourself to me, you petulant whelp?”
The kid clambered to his feet and Magus vanished, scooping up his fallen rapier and racing over to the weapons rack filled to the brim with deadly medieval implements. He withdrew a loaded light crossbow and, without even turning back to his opponent, brought it to bear against him, looking over his shoulder to sight his target.
He waited until the kid turned away from him and then reappeared. Just as soon as he’d pulled the trigger and loosed the bolt, he stepped back into the place between worlds once more. He stifled a bemused chuckle at the sight of the crossbow bolt suspended in the air nearly halfway between himself and the Black Star, ever so slowly traversing the distance.
Magus wasted no time in rushing past it and past Black Star, positioning himself so the boy stood between himself and the crossbow bolt now sailing toward them. He’d just about slipped back into the material plane when he saw it.
One of those bizarre, formless shadow people stood just on the outside edge of the invisible barrier that housed their combat, facelessly staring at him. Magus fought down the chill creeping up his spine; he had to focus on the matter at hand.
Magus blinked back into reality right in front of the Black Star, but before the kid could react, the crossbow bolt bit into the flesh of his back, piercing him right between the ribs. His eyes went wide and he arched his back, leaving him open to a slash across the chest.
The wizard-cum-swordsman went for another swipe, but the boy had collected himself enough to slash upward with his scythe, crashing his blade against that of the rapier’s, shattering the fragile steel of the elegant gentleman’s sword.
Black Star pressed his attack, slicing deep across Magus’ face before being pelted by a flurry of Gloom bolts and tossed backward off his feet. He crashed hard onto his shoulder and tumbled through the dirt as the Demon King clutched at his face, doubled over in tormenting pain.
The crowd was in an absolute frenzy at this new escalation of violence, and by the time Magus had collected himself and stood upright, the wretched assassin was pulling himself to his feet.
A deep, surgical gash stretched from just left of his left eye, down between his nose and upper lip, to the bottom of his jaw on his right side. Blood flowed freely from the wound, but the Black Star hadn’t fared any better. He’d been badly burned in patches across his flesh, and the ragged cut across his chest and bolt wound in his back had added to his misery.
Without wasting a beat, he hurled two bolts of Gloom, vanished, popped up at the boy’s side and drove his knee into him, vanished again, appeared on his other side just as the bolts crashed into the Black Star with explosive effect, and slammed his elbow into the kid’s face, dropping him to the dirt.
Quote:748 words according to that there wordcounter.net
Re: Colosseum - Round 1, Group A - Magus vs BlackStar - Black☆Star - 10-16-2015
The assassin hit the ground with a pained wheeze. The pain and exhaustion from the on-going fight was beginning to set in. His vision began to fade in and out, the edges of his vision in particular began to blur. The dazed boy struggled to pull himself up to his elbows, grunting the entire way up. But losing was not a word Black☆Star acknowledged, let alone knew the meaning of. Never one to give up, the boy planted a fist into the ground, pushing himself up to his knees. The simple action of moving drove the previous near muted crowd to screaming and chanting once again, the suspense and excitement their match provided was too much to remain silent over. The boy remained doubled over for a few moments as he spoke, his tone quieter than usual, but the inhuman determination leaked through, belying the adolescent’s current condition.
A thousand lifetimes, huh? So, you’re saying you’re practically a God? Black☆Star spoke through gritted teeth, his hand clutched to his stomach, the usual straight posture replaced with a vague hunch, well, I am the man that will surpass God, the biggest man in this stadium and right now.. right now you’re taking up my limelight. The boy practically spat the last few words, nigh-on snarling at the mage.
The mage chortled condescendingly, taking Black☆Star’s words for little more than the words of an immature child. “I suggest you give in now, whelp, I’ll not give any quarter because you are a child.”
Black☆Star, however, did not take his words as ones of kindness. They were taken as a challenge, and this as not someone who was likely to say no to challenge of any kind. His response came in the form of a last ditch burst of speed. The assassin closed the gap between the pair in all but a few seconds, instantly dropping his hands into the, now blood clotted, dirt beside Magus’ feet. The momentum carried Black☆Star’s feet upwards, into an acrobatic cartwheel, the heel of both feet connecting with the mage’s chin. The force of the strike sent Magus staggering backwards, giving Black☆Star yet another opportunity. He ground to a halt behind the mage, forcing himself to a halt by digging his fingers and feet into the soaked dust before springing forwards, elbow bent and driven into Magus’ spine, causing the Mage to let out a guttural growl as his fall came to a halt. Black☆Star’s assault, however, did not come to an end. He continued to dance around Magus, light foot work keeping him on the move as a flurry of punches and slashes from his scythe connected. The mage had little in the way of anything to contend with Black☆Stars speed, that was until he let forth a roar of rage, a blast of Gloom energy erupted from his being, knocking the young assassin away, hidden beneath the resulting cloud of dust. He scrambled back behind a barricade, knees pulled into his stomach. The boy panted for a moment, gathering his senses as his vision once again began to fade. Though, this time the world began to spin around him. With a pained groan he leant over to the side and threw up, the stress was beginning to show on his body.
Magus began stalking his foe, edging ever closer to the young man, a bolt of gloom swirling, roiling in his palm. The filthy energy pulsated and ebbed in his palm, eager to be let loose. Slow footfalls fell closer and closer to Black☆Star with every passing second. The assassin had finally gathered himself up, one knee planted into the dust as he watched his apparent predator stalk every closer to him.
Tsu, we need to get one more hit in, the pair communicated through their mock telepathy once again, you can do that right? Of course. Everything in one, right? the woman asked calmly. Black☆Star merely chuckled in response as he trudged over the barricade. He sprung into a high somersault, launching the pair of scythes towards his opponent. In the same instant, Magus let the roiling mass of dark energy free. With a sickening crunch, the scythes connected with the mage’s nose and another gruesome sizzling erupted from Black☆Star as the pair once again hit the ground, spent.
Quote:715 words according to googledocs
Re: Colosseum - Round 1, Group A - Magus vs BlackStar - Magus - 10-21-2015
“They’re not stupid, little man. Some people just don’t have the gift. That doesn’t make them worth less than us and we should still take care of them.”
“But it does. Mom even said that they were unworthy.”
“Mom doesn’t know everything,” her tone was curt, and hushed. “Don’t tell her about this. But try to see things my way. All people are worth something, and everyone has a part to play.”
“You’re the only one worth anything to me.”
“Don’t say that-”
“It’s true. Nobody likes me anyway. Why should I like them?”
“That’s not true. People ask about you all the time. You just have to… try not to push people away.”
“You know that won’t work.”
“I… have to go, now. Mom will be looking for me.”
“Schala…” he trailed off, worrying his little fingers together.
“Yes?”
“The… the Black Wind is really strong tonight.”
“I know, I can hear it, too.”
“Just… be careful, ok? Something’s going to happen soon.”
“I know. I will. I’ll be back soon, Janus.”
He woke with a start – bewildered by the thunder of the enormous crowd which surrounded him. Magus lay on the muddy floor, bleeding from the face and head, staring up at the open sky above. The wizard lolled his head over to one side and spied the assassin he’d been dueling against on the ground, stunned, as he had been.
The Black Star began to stir, and it was that movement that sparked the will within Magus to bolt upright with an anguished groan. His vision blurred and, for what felt like a very long time, he wasn’t sure if he’d fallen back down or if we was about to pass out again. Or both.
Finally, his vision cleared and his feet found their way beneath him, just as the Black Star sat up.
“You’re beaten, boy. No greater than a god after all.”
The kid went for his scythe but Magus’ boot beat him to it, sending it clattering uselessly out of reach. He looked up at the pale harbinger, at the blood seeping from porcelain skin and the glowing, red eyes glowering down at him.
“Then do what you’ll do. I’m not afraid.”
“I know,” Magus regarded the kid for a while, and raised up a palm, summoning a bolt of gloom in his open hand. “Fear is what separates greatness from weakness. I’ve turned fear into a weapon, but it is useless against you.”
The Black Star said nothing, but his gaze never faltered; never broke contact with Magus’ demonic eyes to so much as glance at the weapon he was creating before him.
“You remind me of a swordsman I once travelled with. He never knew fear, either, and he knew how to harness greatness. And so will you. Maybe.”
“Maybe?”
“I’ve an experiment to perform. I still don’t know if Primes actually come back from the dead after being killed or not. I’d like you to prove it to me.”
The assassin didn’t respond.
“I am going to kill you, but I hope to cross paths with you again. You’ve gained my respect but you’ve also made me very, very angry; I will take no small measure in satisfaction at what happens next,” Magus didn’t wait for a reply as he aimed the Gloom at the Black Star.
He loosed the bolt and it punched clean through the Black Star’s head. Smoke coiled from the sizzling excavation and the assassin crumpled onto the floor, the last hallmark of life exiting his body and collecting in a large crimson pool beneath his head.
Magus didn’t acknowledge the crowd or their cheers, their bloodthirsty lust for what he’d just given to them like festering scraps to mangy dogs. He simply vanished in a puff of sickly, purple-and-green smoke and strode out of the arena, even as the fighting continued to rage around him.