Match of the Millennium

Description: "The site of the phenomenon is in utter ruin, an ashen wasteland devoid of life. Ever-burning fires of annihilation cast a viridian glow throughout the region. A blight will spread slowly, killing the life around it... There are few that could extinguish them. It would be within my means, but I don't suppose I will be making a return trip. One visit to that arcane interference wasteland was one too many already. That curse will have to be another's burden to dispel..."

[RACHEL ALUCARD]
The ashen grey, burning wasteland will end up garnering a lot of attention around the world. Many will cite it as just one more atrocity conducted by an overreaching UN aggression into mainland Japan. Specialists will be dispatched to study it, to try and explain the lifeless dust, the unquenchable green flames, still smoldering across the landscape, and, if possible, to fix it.

But there is one being who already knows what it is that they are dealing with, and her arrival comes before all others. It happens near the edge of the desolation. There is a precise, unmistakable line between the still verdant life of the forest, and the dead land adjacent to it, like the lifeless region was carved into existence with a precision knife.

Shadows ripple from the trees and underbrush, surging together toward a focal point, folding up into a vertical, pitch black surface roughly the size of a door. A door that folds open, revealing a realm of endless night behind it as Rachel Alucard steps through it. She is accompanied by a large, black furred, rotund feline, and a hovering, crimson, bean shaped creature with tiny bat wings.

Behind her the shadow door collapses, the darkness melting back into their proper places. The tiny new arrival is clothed in layers of black gothic attire with crimson crosses on her shoulders and back. All around her is the scent of roses and, in spite her small stature, a sense of power.

Immediately, her crimson eyes are set on the newly created Dead Lands, her right hand lifting to rest against the side of her head. "Hmn..." she murmurs softly to herself, lost in thought.

"Goodness," the large cat speaks, his tone pompous yet deep. "He is already this strong?"

The bat-winged hovering critter pipes up, his voice childlike and whiny, "Princess, I don't like this place! How long are we going to be here?"

Rachel Alucard takes a step toward the lifeless ash-scape, but doesn't step into it. "The question I doubt either of you imbeciles will be able to help with is why? Why would he unleash the Black Susano'o here...?"

[NECALLI]
To be one hundred percent honest, perhaps not even the person who has seen the Black Susano'o in person could answer that. Perhaps Terumi thought he needed to pull out all the stops to convince the Soul of Devouring Darkness of his power. However, only he can probably answer that for sure...

Behind one of the trees on the edge of the Dead Lands, the shadows shift, and a shape inexplicably rises from the ground itself. It forms itself into a muscular human man, with red energy occasionally playing over the freshly-closed scars ritually carved into his chest. Necalli stayed for a while and fed on what life was remaining here in this blasted wasteland, and then waited for the arrival of the one Terumi referred to as 'a shitty vampire.' The devourer was admittedly unsure what kind of a name that was, and eventually concluded it was more of the God of Destructions... fickle... sense of humor.

From behind Rachel and her familiars, a raspy, rumbling voice. "To-to-to demonstrate his power. To test me." Necalli lopes into view. His enormous hair braids, rebound and banded with gold, clanks softly as he steps across the ashen dead ground. "To draw you out-out." Necalli grins a wry, toothy grin. "Yuuki Terumi, God of Destruction-on-on, sends his regards."



[RACHEL ALUCARD]
And quickly it becomes clear that these desecrated wilds are being observed by more than one timeless being. Only when the shape rises from the earth, congealing rapidly into the shape of a powerfully built man, does the small blonde whirl around, crimson eyes locking onto the imposing figure in an instant. At the same time, without a word of instruction, the black, pudgy cat that had been sitting on his large haunches at her side, squishes in on himself, becoming elongated even as he swirls up into the right hand of the young looking immortal. What was once his tail curves into a hooked handle, as the other end of the black, amorphous shape quickly molds into the outline of a closed parasol, one which snaps open with an unexpected backlash of force.

Accompanying the transition is a rush of wind through trees, whipping at the mostly empty branches of early winter boughs. The hovering bean whirls around as well, tiny, beady eyes fixing on Necalli as he begins to speak in his halting manner.

"To show off, you mean," Rachel replies, standing beneath the shade of her black parasol as the top of the canopy bulges upward, bizarrely becoming shaped like the top of a cat's head, cat ears and large crimson eyes included.

"And to annoy me, it seems." She does not answer the toothy grin with anything resembling amicability, eyes half lidded.

"I dare say, the likes of you have no right to address the Princess," the... umbrella speaks with the pompous voice of the cat from before.
"Yeah!" chimes in the flying bat-bean, "You should be on your knees!"

The girl herself offers nothing to refute or support the claims of her familiars, just looking at Necalli with a half-lidded gaze. "I see... so he did recruit you... to what end, I wonder," she ponders as if to herself.

[NECALLI]
To say that the speaking ... things ... are befuddling would be to put it mildly. Necalli glances quickly from Rachel to her cat-umbrella to her bat-bean before back to the vampire princess herself, addressing the bat without even looking at it. "Necalli does not kneel before unproven-en-en royalty, bat-thing." Maintaining his full attention on Rachel, he explains: "You are... prey. Yuuki Terumi-mi wishes you removed from whatever plans he has in-in place. Once I have devour-our-oured your soul," he continues, "we are free to feast upon this-is world. We are kindred souls, in a strange way, he and I-I-I."

Necalli lowers slowly into a crouching stance, letting his hands curve into claws like an eagle's talon. "To have Necalli appears before you, especially now - when there is no Hour-our-our of Battle, no dark moon, yet so many powerful souls freely walk the Earth - is an-an honor, Rachel Alucard - it speaks to your power-er-er. Despite-ite your size, I sense much in you. Face me, and face your destiny with open arms!"

COMBATSYS: Necalli has started a fight here.

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Necalli          0/-------/------=|

COMBATSYS: Rachel Alucard has joined the fight here.

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Rachel Alucard   0/-------/-======|=------\-------\0          Necalli



[RACHEL ALUCARD]
At being called a bat thing, Gii bristles, his roundish body straightening out, his tiny legs thrust out as if to make himself look more imposing. It isn't very effective. "Oooo! Back talking in the presence of-"

Rachel's left hand slips free of the parasol's handle to backhand the whiny bat thing, "Quiet, Gii, grownups are talking." She never takes her eyes off of Necalli, however. He would realize on an instinctual level, that while her stance may seem relaxed, and her tone aloof, she is paying very close attention to every move he makes, not letting down her guard in the slightest.

When he speaks his name, her eyes blink once. "Emissary." she replies back as if in a more formal greeting, a tone of recognition clicking then. "If Terumi lead you to believe you would find me to be prey, you should learn to question your sources better." She closes her eyes for a moment, head bowed in thought, before she looks up again.

"You have no need to treat with a beast, Princess," insists her talking parasol, crimson cat eyes locked on the hulking form with disapproval. "Yeah! Let's go home, I'm tired, and this place stinks!" Gii chimes in after recovering from his previous smack.

Rachel ignores the please of her familiars. Necalli saw her teleport in, surely she could leave just as abruptly, one would think. Unless, of course, the destruction wrought by the Black Susano'o is causing a most vexing interference...

"No, the Emissary thinks it within his power to devour my soul... I simply cannot abide such a grievous misunderstanding of the truth." She pauses, studying Necalli for a long moment, head canting to the right then left as she considers him, "Are you truly at your full strength, Devourer of Souls? I assure you, anything less than your best will be insufficient to approach me."

Her left hand sweeps to the side, a swirl of magic released with a simple gesture. With the ashen wasteland as a backdrop, a hovering jack-o'-lantern poofs into being at her side, its interior glowing with a fierce heat.

"I suppose we can dance for a short moment. I find pain to be a most effective teacher." Cradling her parasol with her left hand, her right hand flicks up, brushing back one of her long, blonde twin tails. The parasol above her head melts to the ground, taking on the form of a classical canon. Three rapid shots fire, sending spheres of concentrated energy into the air. Two seek to land to either side of Necalli, while one is on a direct collision course.

All three, upon eventual impact with the earth itself, will shift into tall crimson metal poles with a bat figurine atop each. And with that, the stage is set.

COMBATSYS: Rachel Alucard successfully hits Necalli with Tiny Lobelia.
- Power hit! -

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Rachel Alucard   1/------=/=======|=====--\-------\0          Necalli

[NECALLI]
Of all the strange things he's fought, Necalli was most unprepared for the Black Susano'o. Second to that is a tiny vampire lady firing cannonballs at him. He mentally notes that nothing Rachel does is necessarily what it looks like, preparing to take the brunt of the cannon fire with his arms, deflecting the shot. Two of the shots go to each side, which causes him to relax his guard a little, then the third comes in. He barely gets his arms up in time; his bones are ringing as the shot falls to the ground - then the pole bursts out of the ground, roughly scraping up his front.

The Emissary has no idea what exactly the poles are for, but he has a feeling that nothing good can come of them. Springing back for momentum, he nimbly springs forward and grabs one of them, swinging off of it and over Rachel in an attempt to not be between her and her weird batpoles. Necalli reaches for her face with that clawlike hand; should he succeed, Rachel will find herself rapidly slammed into the ground before being kicked away a short distance.

Never trust a magic user, he thinks grimly.

COMBATSYS: Rachel Alucard fails to interrupt Soul Sealer from Necalli with Sword Iris.
! VENGEANCE !

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Rachel Alucard   1/-------/=======|=====--\-------\0          Necalli



[RACHEL ALUCARD]
The purpose of the bat-tipped poles becomes abundantly clear the instant Necalli's powerful grip closes around one in the process of vaulting forward. He would notice the diminutive monster extend her arms out to her sides, eyes closing briefly as she dips her head for a quick moment of concentration.

"Sword Iris!"

Her voice echoes out over the desolate arena and, from an otherwise clear sky, three thick bolts of crimson lightning zap down, each anchored to one of the crimson metal poles. The intent was obvious then, but beyond having picked up a bit of static discharge in his passing, the brutally fast entity surges out of danger in time to avoid taking any harm.

Each of the three poles vaporize under the surge of crackling energy, falling to dust against the ground, but none of that is Necalli's concern. His target whirls to face him, a blur of motion taking place around her as each familiar scrambles to respond to the unexpectedly swift attack. It is Gii that tries, ineffectively, to get into the path of Necalli's grasping hand, but the flying bean is too little, too late, powerful grip closing in on his small opponent's face. "Princess!" exclaims Gii.

Necalli would heft her with ease, but when it comes to the slamming her against the ground, the black canon at her side has become a thick, fluffy cushion, surging to flatten itself beneath the girl as she gets slammed, mitigating, to some extent, the savagery being delivered.

When the follow up kick comes, her malleable black cat folds up, blunting some of the force, but not enough to keep the bundle of girl and familiar from being punted through the air, landing in a cloud of grey dust some meters away. "Ugh..." Nago grouses from beneath Rachel as he expands, shifting his shape to quickly get her back to her feet with as little effort expended on her own part, then molding back into the form of a parasol.

A swing of her hand dismisses the dust with a swift swirl of wind. "Very well, I can see you will need to be taught respect more directly..." Rachel complains, but for all her posturing, there was no denying that his hand and foot delivered painful blows. Were she any ordinary child, her bones would have certainly shattered from the ordeal.

[NECALLI]
Necalli laughs heartily as he manages to stay away from the lightning and fling the diminutive sorcerer away, even if she did have her weird pets to cushion the worst of his savage blows. "Ah, you too channel the storm-orm-orms. I met another with that power recently, who also-als called herself royalty. Her soul was delicious..."

Reaching deep within himself, he begins to call on some upswell of energy. The gold bands that rein him in fall to the ground in a discarded pile, which he kicks away lest they serve as a potential target for this tiny witch's lightning magic; his hair sways in Rachel's wind, an eye-searing red. His ritual scars and even his eyes are that same bottomless pit of red as Necalli summons his blood chi to do his bidding.

"Come then-en, sky-witch!" He beckons, looking every bit the force of nature he is rumored to be.

COMBATSYS: Necalli gathers his will.

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Rachel Alucard   1/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>------\1          Necalli



[RACHEL ALUCARD]
As Necalli speaks, the petite spell weaver pivots her parasol forward as she leans, a gust of wind swelling up from behind her to catch the cat-eared canopy, pulling her forward out of the ruined wasteland and back over the untainted earth that borders it. "You did, did you," she muses as he mentions facing another storm caller. Under less pressing circumstances, perhaps she could take a moment to trace back the threads of intersecting fates to find the point in time he refers to, to observe this other so-called royalty for herself, but now is hardly the time to satisfy frivolous curiosity.

Speaking of frivolous, she seems to take a moment to do something that might be construed as such. Crouching down slightly, she extends her right hand, her left hand holding her parasol aloft, "You have earned the privilege of being introduced to George the Thirteenth." she declares, as from her palm hops a fairly large, but by no means giant, frog. Other than being about as big as one of Necalli's fists, it doesn't seem particularly remarkable. It does ribbit once in greeting though, so it is at least a polite frog.

The additional party added, Rachel stands up straight again just in time to observe the Emissary shed what appear to have been some kind of limiters. Curious, that. "Mn," she ponders, standing still in the building unseen storm. "Why ARE you made manifest? It is not, as you said, the Hour of Battle. This is not your time to be in play. How uncouth it is to deviate from your purpose... but how? The prophesy concerning you is ancient and unchanging."

To the side, the hovering Jack-O-Lantern continues to drift lazily, seemingly neglected for now. And the frog at her feet takes an ominous hop forward though is still quite far away.

But for now, Rachel hangs back, Gii fluttering next to her, "Sorry Princess, I tried-"
"And assessment of your performance will wait until this matter is resolved," she interrupts.

COMBATSYS: Rachel Alucard focuses on her next action.

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Rachel Alucard   1/-------/=======|>>>>>>>\>------\1          Necalli

[NECALLI]
Necalli stretches, feeling the blood chi flow through him. He cracks his knuckles, first one hand, and then the other. Is this frog supposed to be a threat...? It would probably do well for other ageless beings to take a few centuries off existence as well; the ones that don't tend to be a bit odd.

"I-I-I assume the souls from the prophecy are in play, but I have not been gifted with that-at knowledge. The one with the power that burns his soul-oul-oul... the one who serves the god of flame... the warrior who fills the world with-ith destruction." His eyes widen as he remembers Yuuki Terumi's parting words to him, about gladly waiting for Necalli to consume his soul. "Perhaps they have awakened to their potential in-in the wrong order. Or are hidden somehow."

He rests lightly on the balls of his feet. "Regardless, there are a-a high number of strong souls walking the Earth. Souls to return to the Earth, to the jaws of death." He prepares to spring. "Souls to devour-our-our!" Once again Necalli lunges for Rachel; rather than a grab, he aims for a full-force punch into her stomach, followed by another kick to follow up.

COMBATSYS: Rachel Alucard blocks Necalli's Soul Discriminator.

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Rachel Alucard   1/------=/=======|>>>>>>>\>------\1          Necalli



[RACHEL ALUCARD]
The musings of the ancient monster do not go ignored by the vampire in black. For a prophesy that has stood the test of millennia to now suddenly be awry... it seems matters around the world have tilted harder toward chaos than she had even fully realized in the time that she has been awake. "Perhaps they have..." she replies in contemplative acknowledgement.

"Princess, why do you continue to play with this brute?" her cat-eared parasol asks.
"Yeah! Let's go home!" Gii agrees.
George XIII offers an introspective croak to add his thoughts concerning the situation.

But their master appears resolved to not simply teleport away with the same ease with which she arrived. "Your presence is far more troubling than I had originally considered, Devourer. And far to disagreeable to ignore. Normally I would overlook such things, but I can defend myself without having to worry about overreaching..."

The powerful figure surges forward into close range against his small prey and Rachel reaches out with lightning fast reflexes to haul her fluttering bat-thing into the path of his crushing fist, the crimson sack stretching into a flat, wide plane that seems to absorb all the kinetic force behind Necalli's brutal strength.

As his foot rises, Rachel surges backward, feet inches off the ground as the wind answers her call... and in her place a single, massive bolt of lightning smashes down, threatening to catch Necalli in its path. A second column of crimson lightning strikes the same point an instant later, smaller than the first, and finally a third, narrower column smashes into the ground, threatening to thoroughly electrocute him!

COMBATSYS: Rachel Alucard successfully hits Necalli with Rabbit's Adonis.

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Rachel Alucard   0/-------/------=|>>>>>>>\>>>>---\1          Necalli

[NECALLI]
When the first bolt of lightning strikes the ground, Necalli is sent skyward alongside a plume of ash. The second works in much the same way, and the third knocks him backwards in a narrow arc, away from Rachel. With a mighty *thump* he lands, sending more ruined ground skyward around him. There is a noticeable pause before Necalli works his way back to his feet.

"Good," he says, coughing lightly. "Now you're showing-ing me your true power. Let me see the full extent of-of your warrior's soul, immortal princess..."

Necalli is slowly realizing that keeping Rachel at a distance is what she'd prefer, so he resolves to do exactly the opposite. In a blur of red - his hair, his eyes, even his fingertips are practically roiling with red chi - he gets right back into the vampire's face, aiming to manhandle anyone he can reach (Rachel, a familiar, anyone) with a flurry of furious slashes.

COMBATSYS: Rachel Alucard dodges Necalli's Savage Disc's Guidance.

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Rachel Alucard   0/-------/------=|>>>>>>>\>>-----\1          Necalli



[RACHEL ALUCARD]
It is the third bolt of lightning that is of particular interest to the so-called shitty vampire. The instant it connects against Necalli, she brings an end to her backward glide, snapping her right hand out, fingers forward. From behind her lower back, crimson bat wings unfold from her dress, and as she calls the final narrow column of lightning home, it surges along the tips of the wings, crackling with potential as it moves up her back and along her arm, ending in the palm of her hand.

For a moment, she stands, aglow in crimson light from the phenomenal power, before closing her fingers over energy, drawing it into herself while Necalli gets back to his feet - fallen once, but not even remotely stopped.

The question of warrior soul is a good one, concerning his prey, however. For all the power she has demonstrated, there is a certain absence of that drive that sets great warriors apart from normal people. She may control winds with but a thought, and call down lightning with a gesture, but his finely honed instincts will struggle to detect that zeal, that spirit, that he has discovered in his more enjoyable, fulfilling prey. There is no doubt a powerful soul housed within the vampire's tiny body, but it is as if it has not been pushed, refined, or hardened through a lifetime of battle. In a sense, he might categorize it as potential gone to waste. She could be so much more.

"I'm afraid I have no such interest in showing you anything concerning my soul," Rachel replies as Necalli surges forward again, crimson chi answering his call, only serving to augment the danger of his strikes.

There is a slight intake of breath, as if she was caught off guard by the sheer ferocity of his charge, and again she begins to slip backward, playing that game of keep away that he has come to identify.

But not all parties make the escape. "I'll save you, Princess!" her parasol insists, shifting back to the form Necalli saw when she first arrived - a large, pudgy black cat. Selflessly he dives into Necalli's savage beating and... well, he blocks him from getting to the little Alucard girl at least.

Otherwise, it seems to be no contest, Necalli's slashing frenzy tearing into the cat of questionable combat-worthiness. And he creates the most awful of caterwauls in the process, fur flying everywhere as he is caught and beaten to a lumpier mass than he started as.

And for his sacrifice, Rachel appears unamused. "I can see you two are out of practice. This display of ineptitude is unacceptable. There will be disciplined training in your future."

Gii starts whining immediately even while Nago suffers a savage beatdown. "B-but Princess, I thought you hated fighting!"

Rachel lifts her right hand to rest against the side of her head, eyes still focused on Necalli and her abused feline familiar. "I will abide by nothing less than perfection from you two."

As if desperate to prove that he isn't a lost cause, Nago begins clawing back at Necalli furiously with large, cat paws. For all his flailing about, the actual impact of his strikes is enough to maybe even make a powerhouse like Necalli notice!

COMBATSYS: Necalli interrupts Nago Harassment from Rachel Alucard with True Raging Light.

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Rachel Alucard   0/-------/----===|>>>----\-------\0          Necalli

[NECALLI]
It is very likely that, at some point in his long life, Necalli has been attacked by a cat before. It's very unlikely, however, that it has been a talking, transforming cat familiar. Nago flails at Necalli, and sure enough scratches him, landing kitty-cat welts here and there. But it does not deter a determined warrior.

Necalli reaches out and grabs Nago. "You need more-ore-ore training, cat-thing." He leaps into the air, spinning like a drill, bringing Nago along for the ride with whirling attacks. "Now, return to your master!" He dives towards the ground, his blood chi flowing over and around Nago and overhand throws the familiar at Rachel.

"Who is next," he says, panting and half laughing, "your-our pet frog?"



[RACHEL ALUCARD]
The contest between Nago and Necalli goes about as poorly as one might expect, really. The beast seems far more adequate at absorbing blows than he is attacking in this form. If the Herald of Battle was any less powerful, if he was a normal human being, he might find his punches bouncing off the beast's thick body without leaving much of an impact.

Instead, the cat-shaped familiar is helpless in his grasp, seized and hauled up, smashed into the ground, then sent rolling away with a savage kick, coming to rest at Rachel's feet looking thoroughly pummeled. There isn't much in the way of concern to be found in his master's face too as she just extends her hand, pulling him up into her grasp, reforging his malleable ebony form into a parasol once again. Only now, it's a parasol with a tear in its ear, scratches along its canopy, and one crimson eye partially swollen shut.

"Goodness, there is nothing redeeming about this one at all. Can't we have Valkenhayn deal with him?" the cat complains.

Gii helpfully chimes in, "He really showed you!"

"Quiet, you fools," Rachel chides. Her temperament has not improved much since the time she got grabbed by the face and hurled around. "I can't see Valkenhayn right now. I can't see anything at the castle. It's this detestable mess Terumi made."

Toward Necalli she stares, eyes half lidded, looking rather put out at the moment. This is another ploy, isn't it. HE lured her out here, to a place she couldn't quickly leave, all so that he could do /something/.

"George the Thirteenth is not a pet and I take offense at your insinuation of such." Rachel replies with a haughty hmph. The frog agrees. Or maybe it doesn't. It does ribbit though.

Instead of keeping her distance, the small vampire engages Necalli directly for once. The game of keepaway seems to be have set aside, the girl leaning forward, letting the winds take her swiftly toward him even as she gestures out with her right hand, releasing her hold on the parasol all together. "For his many faults, Nago does have some use." she states as the falling umbrella shifts into a long, ornate black sword with silver engravings along its length. Gone are the cat eyes, ears, or anything resembling her familiar as the hovering weapon surges forward, attempting to stab into Necalli's torso with tremendous force and a surge of that same crimson lightning coursing over its edge!

COMBATSYS: Necalli endures Rachel Alucard's Aconite Steel.

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Rachel Alucard   0/-------/-======|>>>>>>-\-------\0          Necalli

[NECALLI]
There it is. Necalli can sense some resolve radiating from her now. Though whether her thoughts are directed to himself or her *real* enemy, who could say? Regardless, while it seems she may overpower him in the end, the Devourer is glad to have witnessed even a flicker of Rachel's real resolve.

Necalli makes an attempt to block, but realizing there is no way he can deflect a blade of that size, he reaches for the blade - seemingly too late. Before she knows it, Rachel has it buried in Necalli. His blood chi pulses dangerously, especially in the blood that is now flowing out freely around the blade. He raises his hands, and grasps both sides of the blade.

And, seemingly deciding something, pulls himself /towards/ Rachel.

The lightning-limned blade edge slides through him with a sickening squelch; there should be ribs or organs or something but instead there just seems to be more of that fiery red blood, so bright this close it's hard to look at. Now definitely within reach of Rachel, he clamps one hand over top of hers, then uses the other hand to take a mighty clawing swing at her.

COMBATSYS: Rachel Alucard blocks Necalli's Heavy Strike.

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Rachel Alucard   0/-------/-======|>>>----\-------\0          Necalli



[RACHEL ALUCARD]
With her ebony sword sinking in deep, Necalli would feel first hand that while the feline's normal form had been malleable, pudgy, and so very punchable, in this state the creature has taken on the durability of the hardest metals with a keen edge that spears right through his inhuman body, just as the sorceress must have intended. He will feel the lethality of the attack - were his body mortal, the thrust would have been grievous indeed.

But even if it is not immediately lethal, the strike is true, burred into his torso as blood begins to spill out from the savage piercing. In that moment, she looks up into his face with her blood red eyes, jaw set. Terumi is playing games with her again, and she just simply hates games. And the Emissary of Battle has proven far more vexing than she had anticipated. It is not often a creature such as herself is challenged.

When Necalli presses forward against the sword, forcing himself along it to get closer, she doesn't release the blade, as if refusing to show fear in the presence of such an overwhelmingly strong warrior. So she does have pride, after all

That doesn't mean she's going to take a blow to the face willingly, just to prove a point though. Once more, Gii's form is plucked from the air, stretched thin, resilient, into the path of the clawed slashes. "Ow!" the bat-thing exclaims as his stretched body is savaged by the blow then released by Rachel, having served his purpose in keeping his master's face safe from harm.

"I wish I had more time to study the unique nature of your body, but I simply cannot linger any longer."

From behind her back, her crimson wings stretch, bringing with them an oppressive shadow that radiates out from the vampire, a hint of her heritage unleashed, an oppressive aura impossible to miss.

Finally, her hand releases her blade, pulling away from Necalli's touch, leaving the sword fixed in his torso for now. With a flick of her wrist, a burst of violent wind surges up between the two, chi driven into a frenzy by her simple gesture as it tries to blast the Emissary away and buy her the space she needs to try and distance herself from the interfering corruption left by the Black Susano'o.

COMBATSYS: Necalli blocks Rachel Alucard's Solomon's Seal.

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Rachel Alucard   1/-------/=======|>>>----\-------\0          Necalli

[NECALLI]
While she would like to blow him away, that's probably not going to cut it. On the other hand, Rachel does manage to blow Necalli off of Nago. The devourer puts his arms up, anticipating something stronger, and instead Rachel is merely attempting to make space. Sensing that she intends to retreat from this space, he grimaces.

"No need..." he coughs up blood. "... to rush off-off-off." Picking up the Nagoblade, Necalli, with a sudden burst of speed, hurls the sword at Rachel, hoping to catch her unaware before she can react and change it back into its hapless familiar form - while simultaneously, he slams the ground, channeling his energy into a targeted shockwave at her feet.

The total effect would be something like popping her into the air to be pierced by her own blade. It won't end her, but it's fitting.

COMBATSYS: Rachel Alucard dodges Necalli's Sacrificial Altar.

[              \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////                      ]
Rachel Alucard   1/-------/=======|-------\-------\0          Necalli



[RACHEL ALUCARD]
The force of nature himself proves to be far more difficult to dislodge than the small vampire had in mind. The whirlwind surges up, buffeting him hard, but not hard enough, leaving the two in dangerously close quarters. The fallen blade retains its solid form in spite no longer being lodged into its intended target, hitting the earth at an angle so that its edge sinks into the dirt and leaves it standing up for easier retrieval, an opportunity the Emissary takes advantage of to be sure.

"Unhand him," Rachel snaps, her tone ordering on irritated now. It's safe to assume that hurling the blade back at her in synch with a dangerous shockwave was not what she had in mind when making that request. The reaction the dual-natured attack provokes is the fastest reaction he's seen from her since she arrived, Rachel leaning to the side, twisting while throwing her arms out to maintain balance, then slipping back just outside of the radius of the blastwave, only in range enough to be jostled by its force but not truly harmed.

"What did Terumi promise you for your tenacity, I wonder," she snaps back toward the Emissary, her teeth grit, tiny fangs visible for the first time. "What did he offer you to keep me from returning home immediately?"

Nagoblade lands in the dirt again, still shaped like a sword, sinking in a good two feet before coming to a stop. He's notably been silent since assuming that form, but given the lack of mouth on its intricate surface, perhaps that's not surprising.

For her own part, Rachel is still on the offense, rushing in against Necalli, closing distance to point blank range. But it isn't something so mundane as a kick or punch she tries to throw his way. Instead it's the crimson fabric wings on the back of her dress. In unison, they surge forward with all the speed of a dangerous sword strike. That one happens to shift into a fork, and the other a long red steak knife in the process... well, that will just have to be chalked up to her eccentricities. Not so eccentric is the way the knife shaped blade aims to ruthlessly spear directly into the wound already created by the black sword, while the forked wing simply aims to secure Necalli so that he can't avoid the strike!

COMBATSYS: Necalli interrupts Wing Stab from Rachel Alucard with Road of the Sun.

[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////                        ]
Rachel Alucard   1/-------/=======|===----\-------\0          Necalli

[NECALLI]
For the first time, despite his grievous, gushing wounds, when Rachel produces cutlery, Necalli shows fear. Surely she doesn't intend to eat /him/... right? Then again, he remembers that she's a vampire...one that's been battered... if she gets weak enough, well, that's a concern for future Necalli.

As Rachel's wing zooms in for a strike, Necalli leaps into the air again, although definitely less high than he has before - his strength is clearly pushed to the edge. "He promised me what he-he-he promises others, I am sure."

As gravity begins to take hold Necalli returns, foot outstretched for a deceptively fast kick at Rachel's midsection.

"Everything."



[RACHEL ALUCARD]
Before her sharp cutlery wings can taste blood, the ancient warrior surges into a brutal counter attack. With her cat buried in the dirt and Gii still barely recovering from the last time she dragged him into the path of a savage blow, at last it is time for the arrogant vampire to take a direct hit herself. Given the lateness of her response, it would seem as if he's at last caught her completely off guard. Delicate looking arms raise into the path of the strike, but they seem as effective as twigs before a brick with the way his massive foot crashes directly into her torso, knocking Rachel clean back several meters, eyes widened slightly at the first direct blow she's had to suffer herself. It's so much easier to be arrogant when one lets their minions take all the hits!

Standing up straight, she hisses a breath between clenched teeth, her bladed wings retracting to fold against the skirt of her dress. Hands curl into small fists at her sides, "I certainly intend to make you earn that reward then!"

Her right hand goes out to her side, drawing the sword back to her proximity. As it draws near, it flattens and unfolds, becoming an ebony shawl that drapes around the girl's shoulders as she finally pushes off to disengage from Necalli. The close quarters thing was not working out exceptionally well.

As she does so, she sweeps a hand toward the Jack-O'-Lantern that has been left to drift around harmlessly the entire scuffle. But with that motion, it surges up into the air, driven by currents, bat wings snapping out of either side of it as she begins to pour a dangerous amount of magic into the rather harmless looking thing.

As it arcs over Necalli's way, however, it explodes into a dozen mirror images, all of which begin to plunge rapidly toward him, driven by those same currents she continues to weave against him. Each one turns out to be an arcane bomb, exploding on impact, each attempting to level Necalli outright, or maybe bury him in a crater in the process!

COMBATSYS: Rachel Alucard successfully hits Necalli with Cardinal Gloriosa.

[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  < >                                ]
Rachel Alucard   0/-------/-----==|======-\-------\0          Necalli

[NECALLI]
Pumpkin bombs, a dizzying array of pumpkin bombs, is what does him in in the end. What an inglorious ending for the Emissary. If the area weren't already a desolate mess, it definitely would be now; as it is, the blasted lands now have a definite blown-out crater in the middle, and at the bottom is a broken body probably formerly recognizable as Necalli.

His body's red glow has faded; he lays surrounded by the remnants of his bands, blasted and blackened in a semicircle around him. His eyes are closed, yet around him the ground is... shaking? Very closely now, if one looks, one could see the ash and dirt begin to tremble, then rise into the air.

The Devourer raises his hands above him, momentarily lending him a comical B-movie zombie-about-to-rise-from-the-grave look, and then he slams his fists down to his side, pouring what little is left of his power into a poorly-aimed shockwave with the last of his power - and afterwards, if Rachel thinks to follow up on this beaten mess of a monster, she'll find that he has dissolved entirely into the earth.

COMBATSYS: Necalli can no longer fight.

[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Rachel Alucard   0/-------/-----==|

COMBATSYS: Rachel Alucard blocks Necalli's Fierce Culminated Power.

[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Rachel Alucard   0/-------/-----==|



[RACHEL ALUCARD]
It's hard to say what Rachel had anticipated initially, but the fierce durability of the Emissary delayed her far longer than she would have liked. Finally, it is with a saturating storm of arcane bombs shaped like pumpkins that brings an end to the confrontation. Her soul will not be feasted on this afternoon, though given the beaten up state of her familiars, and her own disheveled condition, the prideful vampire is hardly getting out of this encounter without having something to show for it.

A long exhale follows the release of the pumpkin barrage, one solitary, final pumpkin falling down into the crater where Necalli should be, one final explosion that sends earth surging upward in a plume, but certainly can't hurt what is no longer there.

The eruption surges up around her, but this time, the girl wraps her nago-cloak around herself, letting the poor beast take the abuse rather than herself, and when the shockwave passes at last, she's left standing, Nago slipping off her shoulders to slump the ground, looking like quite the abused kitty.

Gii, who did not escape the shockwave, takes a while to flutter back, his own body covered with claw marks and deep indents where he absorbed the kind of kinetic force that will normally destroy someone's skeletal structure. "Ooooh, Princess, I don't feel so good." Gii whines. Nago echoes the sentiment, ears lowered, head bowed, "Goodness, I do believe natural disaster cleanup should be left to other less... prestigious individuals. There was nothing appealing about this journey at all!"

Rachel folds her arms, in front of her, ragged sleeves hanging from her elbows, "Hmph. If you two weren't so out of practice, I'm confident the quarrel would have been settled in an instant." Leaning off his haunches, Nago starts to plod along after the girl, as Gii settles down to ride on the large cat's back.

"Now come along, we have to get far enough away from this place that I can teleport us again... get ready, I fear for what might be happening back home..." Several steps toward the forest and she pauses, glancing over her shoulder toward the crater and now missing Emissary of the Gods. "Hm..." she muses one last time, before turning to walk out of sight.

COMBATSYS: Rachel Alucard has ended the fight here.

Log created on 18:54:07 12/16/2017 by Rachel Alucard, and last modified on 05:12:16 12/22/2017.