Round 2: Eradicate the Enemy

Ruvel sighed his eyes going to Oras for a moment studying him up and down, he has the suspicion that the other was thinking him as a child and within reason he was, but at the same time he had every right to act in such a manner given how violated he was a short time past by the same man. He had asked for the others help but he hadn't expected for Cirven to get worried enough about him to send three other members out to try find him and help him if he needed it, but then he normally wasn't away from the company for so long and when he was he would keep in touch something he hadn't recently so he guessed it was only normal that the elder male would send people to check on him. 'I didn't mean anything by my words Verus, it was strange you asked for help from someone then as the same person to help me when there are two others and a summon.' he sent to the illusion mage. Taking a deep breath he huffed a little dodging a hit with ease 'I'm sorry if it offended you, it wasn't my intention.' he said as he dashed forward his staff becoming more spear like as he drove it through one of the half dragon trolls Barthenz had already hit a few dozen times before moving forward satisfied that he done enough.

'Agreed, I want to go home and tend to the birds.' he said dashing forward once more to try and catch up with Barthenz and Rasparov but stopped in a skid touching the ground a complex green seal "Ancient earth, protector of all" standing he took three steps back a smile on his face it was the first time he had a chance to use Knaeuth but it seemed like the perfect time. From the seal came what looked like a human gopher hybrid that began to instantly burrow underground "Follow Barthenz and Rasparov the enemy is just ahead." he knew he didn't have to tell Knaeuth this as the summon would feel the vibrations, soon he himself managed to catch up with the rest Ruvel remaining close on his trail due to the short distance that had to be kept between the two.

When there Knaeuth started to move around the legs of the last two half dragon minions creating mounds around their feet that slowed their movements allowing for Ruvel and the others to hit them with greater ease. Ruvel moved one hand forward a red flaming seal appearing as an aoe fire attack thirty meters all around him flared, he was just glad that when he used this ability that it couldn't hurt his allies unlike when Ordhabbi decided to use her flames, he knew the seal would last a little while plus a short time after the seal faded due to the after burn. Bringing up his hand he coughed glowing blood coming from his mouth his hand going to the hand holding his staff going to his ear "Cirven I'll need my medicine soon, I'm pushing to much." he whispered he didn't want to alert the others to his his issues, but to be honest it was pretty bad if he was actually asking for his medicine 'Kid, stop pushing... no more summoning you hear me!' the warrior summon demanded irritated that he had pushed so hard with no real way of knowing when he was getting back to the trading company. 'Shut up for once Barthenz! With all that I am... I will summon, it's my choice!' he growled, he knew he was getting to his limit but for now he was fine to push a little more making the warrior summon shrug and giving his full attention to the last few enemies he currently was fighting between, how he felt alive in this moment.

'Akryn, I said my magic' it wasn't a lie he just decided to leave out the fact he was also a demonslayer 'Mr. Weiss uses wind magic and from what I can tell Verus is an illusionist.' he was vague on the magic types of those he knew or had seen but still wasn't to sure about Rasparov but he was curious given he could see Maera when others couldn't, but that would be something to ask if they met in the future. "Barthenz..." he said looking to his summon "Yeah, I heard what he said and I agree... I'll go for the heads of those that remain then we can go for the overgrown monstrosity of a bird thing." he said dashing forward striking in a new deadly dance each slice quick and precise until they too found themselves immobilised by the skilled warrior "You stay back and rest kid, I'd hate to explain to sparky why you're close to dead or worse for us both actually dead and I didn't stop it." he growled working in tandem with the others to hit a few things he and Ruvel had hit but was so frustrated wanted to hit more, but he didn't just hit each enemy once instead he slashed each several times wanting to feel the warm blood of his enemies on his skin.

Word Count: 878
Total Word Count: 4'605

Everyone was taking a long time to finish off the enemies that they had come across. Knowing this, the man would use the speed he had been graced to go back and do a few extra hits to the stronger enemies to bring them to their proverbial, and sometimes literal, knees. Hits to the tendons in ankles and legs, alongside the poison of one of his blades, brought most of the creatures that they were up against down to some level of disability. This, alongside others doing the same thing, would make it a much quicker clean up so that they could focus on the major enemy before they called in to tell the Magic Council they had done their part as the front operation of their group. The Magic Council would be happy with them, and it would keep the other side of the business in secret for that much longer. Rasparov felt a familiarity with the dual nature of the guild. A happy, do-good, front that masked the dark nature just underneath. It described the homunculus down to the last letter of his current state. There would likely be a day where he did not have to hide it, like when his creators were dead and he had no one that could just outright end his existence with a touch, and then he could open up about what he was with those that would not care. Until then he would remain the happy mask of the butler that he was seen to be, his mind the sound of white noise to those that pressed in on it enough, and bide his time until he could be himself again.

Oras nodded to Johan who had decided to take the lead. Oras was now following him who had decided to take on the Lizard Humanoids now. One of them nearly hit Johan however so Oras sent one of his physical illusions to end it's assault, which in turn gave Johan the ability to finish his strike on the final dragonoid. He watched as Johan moved to the next group of monsters and Oras followed him, he and his illusions moving together in seemingly no pattern. They continuously shifted positions, changing directions, which made it impossible for the dragonoids to follow Oras. Despite the fact that they were pretty much immobilized, Oras wanted to practice caution. He had never been hit as of yet, and he would prefer to keep it that way if at all possible. Oras and his three physical illusions struck each monster at least ten times with each blade they held on the neck, wrists, and anywhere else there were vital veins or nerves. He avoided the scales on the creatures as well, aiming for the weaker points in their structure. Soon enough the dragonoids were dealt with.

And that's when the mental conversation continued. The brute of a man called them all secretive and Oras would not argue with that. Oras was extremely secretive and for a good reason: He trusted none of them. He had no reason to. Ruvel had snapped when he discovered that Oras was looking to gather information on him. And now all of a sudden there are three other wizards from his guild who decided to take on the very same job? There was no such thing as coincidence and Oras didn't like this at all. Then he received a direct message from Ruvel via telepathic communication. Ruvel was essentially apologizing to Oras, stating how Oras' actions were rather strange and apologized. Oras was silent for a moment as he moved towards the next set of monsters before replying to Ruvel's statement. "Apology accepted..." One of his non physical illusions appeared beside Ruvel and spoke softly so that only he could hear. "And I apologize for however I have upset you.. Forgive me Ruvel if you are offended that I still do not understand. I've been distant from society for a long time. All I know is survival techniques." With that the illusion dispersed and Oras moved to the final group of the smaller monsters.

There were two resurrected Deinosuchus ahead of them and struck them both in the knee section with both daggers from himself and his physical illusions. The attack successfully caused them to buckle, finishing them off. He turned in the air and dashed for the Gryphon, the one enemy he had yet to attack. Oras turned to Johan who had finished an attack and ran beside him. "I'll give you a launch into the air. Attack it from above while I surround and strike from below." He would only start the action if Johan agreed to this. If he did, one of Oras' physical illusions would appear in front of Johan and would help launch him into the air. The moment this happened, or if it did not, Oras would charge forward, throwing three throwing daggers from each hand into the creature's wings, striking it's flesh not feathers, and injuring it's nerves, disabling it's flight abilities. His illusions surrounded the creature and he and the other illusions charged in at once, dodging it's claws, and while the Gryphon did in fact have armor, Oras wasn't aiming to damage it. He already did so by disabling it's flight abilities. Soon he found a weak point in the armor and retreated, pointing the weak section out to Johan and everyone else who was paying attention.

Johann had managed to inflict all kinds of cuts, bruises and stabs on every single monster before himself, with only a handful of half dragon giants left who were still standing and capable to fight. It was time to finish them off, and Johann decided he had to step up his game, getting down on both legs and his left hand again, this time without launching forward. He would apply all the speed boosts he could to himself and his weapon, 3 magic circles appearing beneath his feet over the course of a few second, each one bigger than the one before. They started glowing at the same time, surrounding the man with a grey aura and circulating wind while making him aerodynamic as a bullet. Now he started accumulating and pressurizing air once more, launching off at extreme speed to appear behind one of the half dragon giants, slashing the beast with his rapier multiple times per second. The monster, who'd had no time to react, collapsed off it's feet face forward into the ground before Johann moved on to the next target, repeating the process, aiming his rapier at ankles, joints and other weak spots in the armor of the beasts, destroying every single monster in the area with a multitude of extremely rapid slashes.

He had, together with Verus, finished off the rest off the crippled monsters, with everyone's attention now turning to the one beast that was still circling above them, a giant griffin, covered in a brightly shining golden armor. "Certainly a formidable foe" Johann thought to himself before being approached by Verus with another plan, listening carefully to what the masked man had to say. He had no objections, nodding to signal his agreement, a physical illusion appearing beside him right after. Johann would assist the Illusion by removing all effects of air resistance from his own body while accumulating compressed air around his legs. As soon as the Illusion had launched Johann he released all of it explosively, catapulting him upward at an even greater speed. Johann was too fast for the normal eye to see, appearing right above the unsuspecting griffin, launching at the beast a wave of immense pressure that would have the same effect as several tons of stone. The griffin cried out as he was struck by the immense weight, still, the armor prevented the monster from taking damage. Johann had anticipated that, not intending to damage, but actually immobilise the beasts long enough so Verus could strike it at it's weak points before falling back to the earth along with it. The griffin smashed into the ground with the full force of his fall while Johann landed safely a few meters away from it, releasing air pressure in a controlled manner to counteract the force of gravity before engaging the beast with his rapier, slashing at it relentlessly a dozen times. This was the chance for the others to strike.

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Word Count: 465
Word Count Total: 2.465/2.000

All enemies, including the boss, have been hit

Akryns sword drove down into the back of the skull of the last elemental, pushing the life out of the beast, a growl of frustration leaving his body as he did so. He had been sent over here to help this crew with there targets, but he had personally found them all to be rather uncooperative. To be fair, he was new to the guild, they didn't know him or how he worked. But damn if they weren't hard to work with and very closed off. He made a mental note to talk to Cirven about implementing some sort of team work and tactics program, something to help train this lot in cooperation, and he wouldn't mind helping instruct it. With that thought Akryn turned back t where the rest of the group was facing off against the gryphon lord, having already dropped the two massive lizard skeleton things. Good, they were bad as a team but they were at least efficient. Quickly sheathing his sword and dropping his shield to the ground, Akryn rushed forward, his hands open and ready. As he passed by one of the giant skeleton lizards, he reached out and grasped hold of the beasts tail, the magic holding it together nicely still. Good, just what he needed. With a snarl Akryn gave a tug, dragging the beast along the ground, shifting its massive weight. Oh yes, this would work nicely. "MOVE!" Akryn bellowed into the telepathic connection as with a mighty heave he swung the corpse up, its massive form rising from the ground and coming down in a massive arc down towards the grounded gryphon, like a devestating meteor. They may not know him, but opefully with this they would at least remember him.

The massive bone lizard slammed onto the gryphon with deafening force, earth and stone and debris going flying out in a wild pattern around the area, causing bone and stone to scatter all around the battlefield. Akryn smirked as he released the tail, letting it drop to the ground as he put his hands on his hips. "We really need to work on our team work you lot. Seriously, bigger and nastier baddies on the field is not the time for us to start distrusting each other, and I sensed absolutely no trust here. Are we all so damaged?" He asked with a bit of a smile on his face before sticking his massive, armored hand out to no one in particular, his crushing grasp waiting. "Akryn Motomiji, latest member of the west fiore trading company, only recently acquired by Cirven! It is a pleasure to meet you all, and I do so hope we can grow to trust and work together in the future!"

(Word count 456/ Total word count 2237)

Ruvel was glad that his apology was accepted and where he was about to dash towards the gryphon even if it was on unsteady legs but he stopped in his tracks getting distracted by Oras's illusion talking to him suddenly from behind. This of course made the youth jump and due to being startled his staff fell from his hand instantly fading before it even touched the ground making his eyes going wide as he sighed. It made things harder for him as he could no longer fight along side his summons like he was being traint to do so now would only burden them and the others fighting which meant more training was coming his way for something that wasn't even his fault. That was the last thing he wanted that was for sure, more so as he could already hear the lecture that would be given to him by Barthenz and Cirven alike so backed away but remained within range due to the vastly short distance that he could be from his earthen summon. 'Talk about bad time to startle me.' he said to him with a sigh before covering his mouth as he coughed the two large battles back to back where taking their toll on him in a major way that was for certain but still he was trying his best to hold out.

'Rui, are you alright?' Demi would ask him, right now he was in no direct threat from the enemy so didn't come to aid but she still worried for the youth that was for certain. 'No, not really I need my medicine and badly Demi.' he sent to her honestly knowing the rest of his summons heard it and knew if he admitted he needed to take it then he was in really bad shape 'Barthenz...' Demi sent to the summon who nodded "I got it little princess, this should be over real soon." he grinned watching as the gryphon's hind legs where dragged under the earth preventing it flying and causing issue, it was true Ruvel had a flying summon but none of them wanted him summoning further if it could be helped for his own sake. Seeing the last enemy struggle against the hold of the humanoid gopher Barthenz dashed forward dodging the wings and claws expertly though getting the occasional nip from the beak of the last opponent as he went into a flurry of quick and precise strikes meant to immobilise it further for the last member of the group to finish the thing off.

Word Count: 427
Total Word Count: 5'032

Everything has been hit and as many times as required

Once the group he was with had finished off the rest of the monsters they would quickly converge on the gryphon that was before them. The creature would fight with all of its strength, using wings claws and teeth to try and attack anyone that got within range, and would eventually lose its wings and capability of flight due to the effort everyone put into it. This was an excellent thing for Rasparov right now. He had not yet had the chance to adapt to aerial combat, or the ability to grow wings, and with the creature fully on the ground he would slash a few times at the feet of the creature, slicing off a few toes each time so as to keep its balance from ever being steady, and after he had sliced a few times to each foot he would slow down his running and leap onto the body of the creature to hack at the tail until it came off. Piece by piece Rasparov would cut at the creature until he saw Akryn swinging the skeletal crocodile at the beast. Dodging out of the way, not wishing to get caught by such a stupid and unattentive attack, Rasparov would teleport into the air directly above where he had been to watch as the dead beast hit the living one. Such a dumb move with his allies nearby. Why had he not just gone in himself and attacked like the others were doing? He would have to talk to Cirven and Ruvel about this new recruit. They lacked intelligence and foresight of any kind. Maybe he had intelligence or development issues that he had not admitted to. Either way, he needed to be dealt with, and sooner rather than later. At this rate, he would get an ally killed if he was left unchecked.

The thoughts he held about Akryn would be kept out of the group telepathic connection as he fell at a decent speed towards the center mass of the gryphon, both of his swords piercing into the back of the creature even as spines suddenly erupted out of him to allow a few more stabs at the same time. Running across the creatures back, the homunculus would swing with abandon and stab his way up to the head of the creature and dive into the top of the head while swinging one sword into each eye. A large portion of his spines would enter the head of the creature as he dug his swords in and pulled them out, blood spewing forth before he did it a second time. This would go about four more times until his swords came out with brain matter covering them, and the gryphon falling to the ground as life left the body due to the loss of brain function. "Mission successful. Let's get out of here and make sure no one has suffered too much from injuries." With that he would go to meet up with Ruvel so they could all move on to their next job. This one was over, and there was no reason to stay any longer than they already had.