06-28-2017, 07:33 PM
Alabaster energy bombarded the stadium, subjecting thousands upon thousands of viewers to a blinding holy glare. The shining spell revealed Dante for what he truly was: the spawn of a devil, the carrier of a dark knight's legend. The transformation paled in comparison to the divine judgement, demanding all the devil's might and ability just to not be wiped clean from this world.
Finally, the intense light petered away into nothing, leaving only Gildarts standing in the wake of his destructive spell. The magician opened his eyes, and beheld the battlefield swept clean and bare by his titanic effort. He couldn't help but sigh with exertion, arms dropping to his sides in exhaustion. Gildarts's breath came heavy and harsh, rasping and panting with terrible effort...
Wait- that wasn't his breath!
The wizard turned too late, a fist of demonic steel crashing into the side of his head. Gildarts was thrown away with a cry of pain, tumbling and rolling over the scorched earth. When he finally came to a stop, the left side of vision was blurred, blood trickling into his eye and nearly blinding it. The re-opened wound on his temple burned, dust rubbed agonizingly into the breach. Gildarts nearly ground his teeth into pieces, stopping when the fresh taste of copper was squeezed from his gums and into his mouth.
Dante didn't feel sorry for the man. The battle-mage had pushed him to this state, and the Son of Sparda was nothing if he did not push back. The devil stood still for a moment, willing his carapace to fuse his wounds shut and his blood to knot the injuries. Once he reversed all the damage he could manage, he would resume the attack.
Gildarts did not wait. He did not even question why and how this monstrosity was still alive. The wizard forced himself to stagger to his feet, fighting through the wooziness that invaded his senses. Magical energies surged through his arms, ready and desperate to put an end to his battle. "Wh-why d' you keep f-fighting, huh-?" Gildarts demanded, choking on his tone and stumbling over the words. Dante might've laughed- maybe if he were not currently so consumed by raw power.
Instead, his only response was to level Nightmare at the spellcaster, an abundance of demonic magic flowing through the weapon. Gildarts seethed with determination, raising his right hand as if to karate chop a board.
Both attacks launched at nearly the same time- a harrowing volley of dark-fueled lasers, versus a transparent wave of magic that churned up the ground into cubed pieces. The two fighters broke away running, each trying to avoid the other's attack. Only one of the violet bolts missed their mark, the other four flinging the mage painfully out of range. The expanding diameter of the destructive wave blindsided the devil as he was about to clear himself from range.
While the sting of the lasers made Gildarts falter, Dante just pushed through his own pain. Even as the netting pattern on his right hand expanded and deepened into harsh cuts, he just dismissed the bio-weapon and gripped his claws around Rebellion. Even as he charged forward and found his flying stab deflected violently, the devil just rolled right back onto his feet and charged again.
Knight and wizard continued to clash, every heaving breath from Dante's lungs announcing a new swipe of his sword. It was all Gildarts could do to deflect the blows, the blade leaving cuts wherever it met his arms. The mage backpedaled to avoid the sixth slash, holding his new stance firmly and rippling the air with waves of power. As Dante blindly rushed ahead, Gildarts unleashed a huge pulse of the intangible force, bombarding the demon's senses and throwing him off balance. The overhead swing went wide as the redcoat tripped over his own feet, giving his opponent an opportunity to fall back.
Dante growled, removing his face from the ground and spitting out dirt. His sword had fallen out of his hands and out of reach, but that didn't matter. The only thing that kept the devil moving, instead of lying in a heap clutching his head, was sheer demonic grit. His attempt to push himself back up failed, Dante's face mashing back into the ground- which turned out to be just the thing to dispel the dizziness.
The Son of Sparda threw himself upright, fury reclaiming his eyes from nausea. The mage was standing in front of one of the few barriers not yet crumbled, charging another powerful spell- but not for long. Dante reached out for his link to Kalina Ann, his trump card, and willed the rocket launcher into his waiting hands.
The devil grinned, almost swearing he could see Gildarts go wide-eyed as he pulled the trigger.
Finally, the intense light petered away into nothing, leaving only Gildarts standing in the wake of his destructive spell. The magician opened his eyes, and beheld the battlefield swept clean and bare by his titanic effort. He couldn't help but sigh with exertion, arms dropping to his sides in exhaustion. Gildarts's breath came heavy and harsh, rasping and panting with terrible effort...
Wait- that wasn't his breath!
The wizard turned too late, a fist of demonic steel crashing into the side of his head. Gildarts was thrown away with a cry of pain, tumbling and rolling over the scorched earth. When he finally came to a stop, the left side of vision was blurred, blood trickling into his eye and nearly blinding it. The re-opened wound on his temple burned, dust rubbed agonizingly into the breach. Gildarts nearly ground his teeth into pieces, stopping when the fresh taste of copper was squeezed from his gums and into his mouth.
Dante didn't feel sorry for the man. The battle-mage had pushed him to this state, and the Son of Sparda was nothing if he did not push back. The devil stood still for a moment, willing his carapace to fuse his wounds shut and his blood to knot the injuries. Once he reversed all the damage he could manage, he would resume the attack.
Gildarts did not wait. He did not even question why and how this monstrosity was still alive. The wizard forced himself to stagger to his feet, fighting through the wooziness that invaded his senses. Magical energies surged through his arms, ready and desperate to put an end to his battle. "Wh-why d' you keep f-fighting, huh-?" Gildarts demanded, choking on his tone and stumbling over the words. Dante might've laughed- maybe if he were not currently so consumed by raw power.
Instead, his only response was to level Nightmare at the spellcaster, an abundance of demonic magic flowing through the weapon. Gildarts seethed with determination, raising his right hand as if to karate chop a board.
Both attacks launched at nearly the same time- a harrowing volley of dark-fueled lasers, versus a transparent wave of magic that churned up the ground into cubed pieces. The two fighters broke away running, each trying to avoid the other's attack. Only one of the violet bolts missed their mark, the other four flinging the mage painfully out of range. The expanding diameter of the destructive wave blindsided the devil as he was about to clear himself from range.
While the sting of the lasers made Gildarts falter, Dante just pushed through his own pain. Even as the netting pattern on his right hand expanded and deepened into harsh cuts, he just dismissed the bio-weapon and gripped his claws around Rebellion. Even as he charged forward and found his flying stab deflected violently, the devil just rolled right back onto his feet and charged again.
Knight and wizard continued to clash, every heaving breath from Dante's lungs announcing a new swipe of his sword. It was all Gildarts could do to deflect the blows, the blade leaving cuts wherever it met his arms. The mage backpedaled to avoid the sixth slash, holding his new stance firmly and rippling the air with waves of power. As Dante blindly rushed ahead, Gildarts unleashed a huge pulse of the intangible force, bombarding the demon's senses and throwing him off balance. The overhead swing went wide as the redcoat tripped over his own feet, giving his opponent an opportunity to fall back.
Dante growled, removing his face from the ground and spitting out dirt. His sword had fallen out of his hands and out of reach, but that didn't matter. The only thing that kept the devil moving, instead of lying in a heap clutching his head, was sheer demonic grit. His attempt to push himself back up failed, Dante's face mashing back into the ground- which turned out to be just the thing to dispel the dizziness.
The Son of Sparda threw himself upright, fury reclaiming his eyes from nausea. The mage was standing in front of one of the few barriers not yet crumbled, charging another powerful spell- but not for long. Dante reached out for his link to Kalina Ann, his trump card, and willed the rocket launcher into his waiting hands.
The devil grinned, almost swearing he could see Gildarts go wide-eyed as he pulled the trigger.
Quote:799 words, according to Wordcounter.net
[spoiler][/spoiler]
- Dante spends 1 SP to use Devil Trigger (T1 Power-Up) to avoid and weather the damage from Fairy Law as best as he can. He maintains it for the rest of the post.
- After the attack is finished, Dante uses 2 SP to recover health with Advanced Regeneration, augmented by Devil Trigger. This leaves him with 0/5 SP remaining after the battle.
- Dante cuffs Gildarts in the head, re-opening the wound Gil healed earlier. He's starting to go blind on that side.
- Dante charges another Nightmare-β attack (5-laser homing) while Gil charges a Crash.
- Dante tanks through Crash and charges forward with Stinger. Gil uses Parry repeatedly against the slashes with Rebellion.
- Gildarts uses Fear to overwhelm Dante's senses, and then runs off to charge Mizuwari. Dante bashes his head into the ground to cure it.
- Dante brings out Kalina Ann and fires it, most likely disrupting Gil's charging in the process.
I don't have much confidence for getting out of this intact, and I'm honestly kind of wiped out just writing this. But here's to hoping we both at least put up a good fight.