Match of the Millennium

Description: Rachel from a rooftop looking toward a massive building in ruin: "There are more relics in this castle than generations of scribes can hope to catalog. I do recall some particularly nefarious thing was left gathering dust in that old place though. It would be unfortunate if either the Librarium or that mad collector got their hands on it. Fortunate, then, that the Black Knight of Agharta keeps vigil within."

[MARDUK]
"There are more relics in this castle than generations of scribes can hope to catalog."

"Gosh, that really sounds like a lot of relics!" Marduk announces out loud as he reads from a note, walking along the mossy cobblestones of Castle Alucard. The towering brute is is dressed in his NOL uniform, a solid blue number that is clean and pressed with nice slacks, and even a fancy beret. He was busy looking at a note he found, and trying his best to read it out loud. "I do recall some particularly nefarious thing was left gathering dust in that old place though. Oh that sounds really important to get! I bet that is why Major Kisaragi asked me to come out here alone, without any other soldiers, on a very special mission to explore Rachel Alucard's castle!" Marduk was walking across the courtyard, approaching what looks to be an ominous cathedral. Stretching to the sky, the black stones loom in gothic architecture, the profound darkness inhaling and exhaling through those rotten, iron-studded doors. Marduk heads up the steps, approaching the sealed door that lacked handles.

Marduk promptly smashes through the door with his shoulder, entering the building without missing a beat as he studied the note.

The interior of the temple was dark. The only illuminations came from the holes in the roof, where pale moonbeams of sickly light streams in. Rows and rows of rotten pews lay before it. At the far end, upon the atrium of the temple, was a singular throne. On it, sits a full suit of pitch black armor, wearing a strange silver tiara upon its head. There are gems studded in it, gems that have no light nor bearing, crystals of void energy. Marduk strides through the dusty cobwebs, as he continues to read it aloud. "It would be unfortunate if either the Librarium or that mad collector got their hands on it. Fortunate, then, that the Black Knight of Agharta keeps vigil within. Huh. Librarium!" He slaps the letter, smug with his own brilliance. "That's us! I am Librarium! So that means it would be unfortunate if we got it. But if it is bad for her, then it must actually mean it is good for me!" Marduk snorting, glancing around as he asks aloud. "But who could that so called Mad Collector be-" Marduk looks around, glancing past the pews and the sprawling, vaulted ceiling. He squints his eyes.

"Holy shit where the fuck am I?"

[VICE]
Is Marduk afraid of the dark?

People tend to think of that as a childish thing; as though only the young and naive could possibly be scared by the tenebrous corners of the world. Darkness comes every night, and as years tick by, it becomes harder to imagine that something so common could hold real cause for fear in it. But there is a reason why tolerance of the dark has to be learned. Fear of it is ingrained in humanity from the very earliest dawn of its consciousness. Marduk's ancestors feared the dark. And with good reason.

Light hasn't touched this space for aeons. The crystals of void energy set in the tiara seem to swallow the light, greedy, perhaps even hungry for it. That is a sensation that Vice can relate to on a spiritual level. And once the seal of the door is broken, all shadows become as one once more, and she knows where she needs to be.

So it is that the Hakkesshu of Darkness emerges from the corner of the room. Shadows cling to her as she steps into the narrow pillar of light spreading from the doorway, and stretches. Somehow, her shadow seems more stubborn than those of the rest of the room, spreading behind her and making her seem taller even than the titanic figure of the former MMA Champion.

"The wrong place, at the wrong time." She growls. "To say thanks for opening the way, I'll let you run back to your Major. This wasn't hers to take, and it isn't yours, either."

[MARDUK]
Marduk didn't even realized he might be afraid under the woman emerges with the shadows.

To be fair, there is some evidence Marduk's ancestors were some of the dumbest most violent people dumped into Australia. There is a good chance they wouldn't understand darkness unless you explained it to them using small words and large hand gestures. "You're welcome!" Marduk states aloud, mindlessly. As he thinks a bit more, he looks at the woman, looking up and down at her. He smiles, as he looks about halfway up. "Oh shit! I mean, I could run back to the Major, or Colonel, or whatever his rank... his rank..." Marduk squints his eyes, staring downward as he realizes something. "Hers? Major Jin Kisaragi is actually a dude! I know, it's real surprising, because he's built really slim like a woman, and he even has the hips." Marduk helpfully explains by touching his own hips, shaking them side to side. "But it's actually really fucking disrespectful to misgender people and shit; I got in huge trouble with the NOL HR about that kind of stuff, so they gave me some workshops, and I now I know that if you do that, they will beat the fuck out of you!" Marduk nods knowingly, as he stares at Vice's chest. He suddenly slaps his head, knocking his hat off.

"Oh shit you must be the Mad Collector this note was talking about!"

[VICE]
As Marduk gives his rambling explanation for his actions, Vice ignores him completely. Guys with more muscle than brainpower were not exactly uncommon in the fighting world, and she clearly thinks that he is, frankly, beneath her. He doesn't understand what he's looking at, where he is, or likely even the implications of breaking down that door. Expecting him to understand who she is, who the 'mad collector' is, or why he should be more terrified if they fight and he wins than if he loses? Those are all lost causes.

Vice isn't exactly happy about her assignment, here. She'd wanted to take a crack at some of the more interesting people who would only be available here, on this night. But orders are orders, and whilst she might be a wild animal, she is still one kept on at least a modicum of a leash. If she's going to have to fight this guy, though, she might as well get it over and done with sooner rather than later.

So her hand whips out in a surprisingly long arc, aiming to snare the tiara and take it firmly in her grip. The energy in those void stones is calling to her. She might as well see what all the fuss is about before she takes it back to Rugal... and if that means going through this guy even after she gave him an opportunity to leave, that's just fine by her.

[MARDUK]
Marduk drops Sypha's Ruinous Tiara.

Marduk doesn't even -notice- he is being ignored, as he does.

By the time he finishes, he looks back over to Vice, and notices that the mad collector is swiping to grab the ti- the tir- the funny crown off the funny suit of armor. "Hold on bitch!" Marduk snarls, shaking his head and hand as he stomps at the woman. There is a strange flash of energy around it, as tendrils of invisible energy lash out, back to the throne.

And the armor suddenly jerks.

Crimson eyes flare from within the helmet, as a dark force builds within its depths. THe armor begin to creak and groan, the limbs begin to twist and curl as it tests itself as it rises up to a stand. Marduk doesn't notice. He was still chasing after Vice. "That looks like it would be a particularly nefarious relic in the letter and shit! If you are the mad collector, then I am the Librarium person who has to pick it up! So you better hand it over! Before the Black Knight of Agharta shows up!" Marduk glances back over to the throne.

"Oh damn, who the fuck is that?"

[VICE]
"I've heard enough from you."

Vice's arm whips the tiara back to her, and she glances briefly at it. Ugh. This kind of accessory was definitely not her style. She could feel the power of the void pulsing in it, though, and now she held it in her hands she could equally feel the Orochi power within her surging in response to it. She'd given the brute a chance to just get the fuck out of her way, but apparently that wasn't going to happen because - well, because she may have found the one person even more clueless than Saishu. Her jaw tightens as she forces herself to don the artefact, and let the power flow through her.

Dark veins spread across her skin, and her eyes shrunk to pinpricks. She didn't, honestly, know why Rugal had any interest in this particular trinket. It didn't feel like the kind of life extension that he was usually eager to obtain. In fact, it felt the opposite. As though the malevolent force bound within the silver was instead trying to invade and destroy her.

Which in turn brought out the terrible fury of her Orochi blood.

As Murduk spat insults and still failed to understand the blindingly obvious, the woman threw her head back:

"GRAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

There was no mortal animal that could issue such a full-throated and terrifying roar. The shadows themselves writhed as though terrified of the furious energy now surging around the Hakkesshu of Darkness. Before, Marduk's ignorance had merely been irritating in the same way that every human on the face of the planet was irritating.

But now, Vice is gone completely.

The flagstones beneath her feet EXPLODE as the wild woman bears down on him whilst his head is still turned towards the Knight.

Well, if he's that interested, he can get a first-hand look! Vice's hand need only grasp the man briefly - by the shoulder, preferably, but she'll take whatever she can get - and the superhuman strength that surges through her form will do the rest as she casually seeks to fling him at the erstwhile guardian of the treasure; as though throwing seven foot of MMA fighter was no more challenging to her than tossing a baseball.

COMBATSYS: Vice has started a fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Vice             0/-------/-------|

COMBATSYS: Vice equips Sypha's Ruinous Tiara.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Vice [E]         0/-------/-------|

COMBATSYS: Marduk has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Vice [E]         0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Marduk

COMBATSYS: Black Knight has joined the fight here.

[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////////////////]
Vice [E]         0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0           Marduk
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Black Knight     0/-------/------=|

COMBATSYS: Vice successfully hits Marduk with Deicide.
-* CRITICAL HIT! *-

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Vice [E]         0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0           Marduk
[\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Black Knight     0/-------/------=|

[MARDUK]
"This is getting to be some crazy sh-"

Marduk's eyes goes wide as he turns back towards Vice, and the crazy lady just -howls.- "Oh shit!" Marduk blurts out as he stumbles back. "You sound like a fucking dingo in heat!" THat is the last thing he musters as Vice is upon him. As he gradually eases into his Vale Tudo stance, spreading his legs and arms apart, Vice was grabbing him by the groin, likely confusing one head for another. Marduk squeaks as he is ripped straight up in the air overhead, just as the suit of armor reaches it full height. Lifting his arms high in the air, a ghostly voice booms through the halls of the temple. "Who dares steal the acursed Sypha's Ruinous Tiara, a relic of such power-"

"MY BABIES!"

Marduk interrupts the guardian as he is spiked straight at the suit of armor. Screaming, he seems to be aiming to latch on to the armor as he flies to him, much like a cat or some other type of household feline. "Uh-" The ancient spirit begins before he is cut off by the incoming mass of meat. Marduk threatens to connect cleanly with the Black KNight. "THAT DINGO GOT MY BABIES!" SHould he connect with the full form tackle? Marduk immediately would proceed to catch the poor suit of armor, attempting to rolling with it into a monstrous tumble, rolling straight as would aim to slam himself and the armor straight into the ancient throne, smashing it to flinders with the pair of them as he would finish up by grabbing the suit of armor by the helmet...

And ripping it clean off!

COMBATSYS: Black Knight blocks Marduk's Brutal Throw Chain.

[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Vice [E]         0/-------/----===|===----\-------\0           Marduk
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Black Knight     0/-------/-----==|

[VICE]
It certainly is a situation that is rapidly spiraling out of control.

With the power surging in her, Vice's entire body convulses. Blood red power burns on her skin, and even as Marduk is screaming about dingos and writhing against the stalwart form of the immense Knight, she's following him in erratic motion across the ancient stonework. Poor Marduk likely just wasn't used to dealing with people as utterly and completely focused on murdering him as Vice is in this moment.

Or at least, not ones with the strength to back it up.

The guardian still seems to be trying to get itself in motion, but Vice doesn't care about it - not right now. She just wants Marduk to STOP TALKING, and she knows just how to make that happen.

As the cloud of stone dust from the detonated throne clears, Vice punches through it with startling accuracy. Her aim is to grab Marduk by the face, and then once again the massive guy will find himself being swung around and SMASHED into the suit of armour...

Only for Vice to whirl him around and CRASH him into the massive guardian a SECOND time.

"DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE!"

The bellowed shout does not sound like it should come from any human throat. At once a demand, a battlecry, and the bestial expression of Vice's inner rage. The power of Orochi flows out of her in a torrent of shocking intensity, that brilliant red power exploding all around her in an echoing, screaming skull that aims to consume not just Marduk but the sworn guardian of this place. She can't rein it in. She can't hold it back. She can't stop it.

She really should not have put this tiara on.

COMBATSYS: Black Knight dodges Vice's Obscura.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////////////      ]
Vice [E]         0/-------/------=|===----\-------\0           Marduk
[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Black Knight     0/-------/----===|

COMBATSYS: Vice dazes Marduk with Obscura!

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Vice [E]         0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0           Marduk
[ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Black Knight     0/-------/----===|

[MARDUK]
Marduk only manages to get the armor through the throne, before the armor manages to fight back.

As he fights with the helmet, the Black Knight grabs him, the incredible strength of the spirit managing to stave off his strength. "BLACKGUARD! CRETIN! SIMP!" The armor outrages, as Marduk fights with him. Marduk finally releases him, though the armor doesn't release him. "Holy shit, you aren't the crazy lady. Where did she go?" Marduk looks over.

And he finds her.

As Vice explodes at the both, Marduk suddenly finds himself lifted up and around. "What the-" The Armor suddenly leverages the burly titan as a human shield. Marduk struggles to block the Surface to Surface missile that was Vice, but with his position and the armor... yeah. Marduk takes the full impact, the blast of energy consuming him as the armor tumbles aside. Marduk groans in agony, before he is knocked back by the pure force. The armor slowly rises up, as Marduk stumbles and spins, dazed but enraged himself. The armor sputters as MArduk grabs a hand around the armor's ankle. "Thou- thou must know- thou must know of- Can you please let me have a moment to explain what's going on?" Marduk bellows at the suit of armor, trying to seize him with both arms.

"NO!"

ANd promptly begins to try and throw the armor into the air, to toss him straight up to land somewhere near Vice.

A series of grinding mechanical clanks echo throughout the church as the giant suit of armor standing against the rear wall animates, its visored helm turning slowly to focus upon the trespassing combatants. Over three meters tall and herculean in breadth, the guardian's armor seems to draw in the surrounding light, its blackened steel surface worked with the subtly swirling patterns of roses in bloom. Much less subtle are the jagged black thorns that jut from the heavy plates, their razor tips designed to pierce and tear anything unfortunate enough to come into contact with it. On its left arm and gauntlet is secured a knightly shield with the crest of house Alucard emblazoned across the front, while its right gauntlet clutches a broad rose-filigreed sword as long as a man is tall, both edges of its silver blade split into a series of serrated teeth.
Hefting its shield, the black knight steps down from its plinth with a ringing crash of metal on stone, huge sword rattling apart into a heavy bladed chain as it advances forward to join the fight.

COMBATSYS: Black Knight blocks Marduk's Around The World.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Vice [E]         0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0           Marduk
[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Black Knight     0/-------/---====|

COMBATSYS: Vice dodges Black Knight's Lashes And Stabs.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////////             ]
Vice [E]         0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0           Marduk
[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Black Knight     0/-------/--=====|

[VICE]
As the immense suit of armour is hurled towards her, it becomes very obvious that the spirit hadn't yet fully taken hold. It smashes into the ground in front of Vice, and it is only after the impact has shaken the building to its foundation that the towering suit rises up to its full height and draws its fearsome, baroque blade. The sword is easily longer than she is tall, though perhaps not quite as long as Marduk. Nevertheless, whilst they've both assailed it in its 'waking', Vice is the one wearing the tiara and thus she is the one to first earn its wrath.

The trouble is, in her current state, Vice is far from an easy target.

The suit moves faster than anything that large has any right to, blade descending on her in a whirlwind of steel and stabbing. But she moves with it, twisting around each blow in rapid succession until she is finally poised within its guard. Vice's teeth have ground together so hard they have cracked; her poisonous Orochi blood drooling down her chin with her eyes reduced to slits of pure, intense hate.

"SUFFER!"

Her spit-flecked scream is coupled with a SHOCKINGLY powerful overhead blow, aiming to stave the helmet of the ancient guardian in and send the suit sprawling to the flagstones so that she can lunge over it and bear down once more on her real target - the flesh and blood human she can take satisfaction in rending limb from limb.

[MARDUK]
r"WOOO!"

Marduk shouts aloud, as he unleashes the launch on the Knight. The knight, for his purpose, is floored. But Marduk, seemingly forgetting about the INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS LADY, is dead set on dogpiling on the poor knight. "THOU SHALL SUFFER IN THY STEAD!" The knight bellows, as Marduk gives a groaning bellow of his own from behind. The titanic grappler attempts full-force body rampage at the knight. "YEAH! FUCK YOU!" He snarls as he would start to stomp on the knight himself, in tandem with Vice's own savage rending. It was kind of an asshole thing to do.

IN fact, Marduk would be -shoving- Vice a bit to get some real good angles on the stomp down.

COMBATSYS: Black Knight dodges Vice's Monstrocity.

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Vice [E]         0/-------/------=|======-\-------\0           Marduk
[    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Black Knight     0/-------/--=====|

COMBATSYS: Black Knight endures Marduk's Strong Kick.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Vice [E]         0/-------/------=|=======\-------\0           Marduk
[        \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Black Knight     1/-------/=======|

[VICE]
As Vice's fist comes down, the Knight simply stops possessing its head. The helmet is sent smashing into the floor, only to rise again with renewed vigor to snap into place as Marduk's foot collides with the enormous mass of magical steel. Vice finds it impossible to vault over the guardian, and Marduk finds himself trapped in it; the pieces of the armour breaking away with each impact, only to whirl around and start lashing themselves to him. The attempt is dizzyingly fast, and quite horrific to behold; apparently the suit has decided that it will crush him into the right shape to fill it out now that he has involved himself in the battle.

At least it provides some brief respite from the manic Vice, however. The woman snarls and brings her leg slashing around. Once. Twice. Three times. And then a flurry - blades of sharpened Orochi power aiming to carve new etchings into the armoured figure. This is not, as it might first appear, because she is feeling sorry for Marduk and wants to free him from the armour's grip.

No. The hateful power is instead trying to burrow it's way straight through the armour and into the soft and meaty bits beneath - hopefully the MMA fighter can get himself out of there before that happens, but the murderous force will keep going regardless.

COMBATSYS: Marduk blocks Black Knight's Crushing Coil.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////////              ]
Vice [E]         0/-------/-----==|=======\-------\0           Marduk
[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Black Knight     1/------=/=======|

[MARDUK]
Marduk and Vice work in tandem, in their effort to take down the armor.

"YEAH! YEAH! WOOOO!" Marduk howls as he stomps down on the knight. The armor begins to shatter, piece by piece, as the helmet is hurled down. It seemed like while Vice might be more primal in her reactions to the relentless beat down, the pieces of armor seems to be falling apart faster than what Vice could nail down. Marduk squints as he finds that the armor was nothing but scattered pieces.

And then they move.

"THOU! SHALT! NOT!" Was the hollow sound as the armor pieces relink, magical energy flowing through it as it slithers straight at Marduk. The suit was now like a serpant, a fierce constrictor that quickly wraps itself around the vale tudo fighter. Muscles bulging, his uniform pops and rips as the brawler struggles on the armor as it catches him. "GOD DAMN! The KNIGHT has become a SNAKE! This is some freaky ass shit!" He begins to flex, his body bursting and bulging as he flexes, and flexes, until finally: the bursts the armor construct off him, flexing as he roars into a frantic frenzy of pure vale tudo might! "OH! OH! OH! That's right!"

"No SNAKE can get a HOLD of ME!"

COMBATSYS: Marduk gathers his will.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Vice [E]         0/-------/-----==|=======\====---\1           Marduk
[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Black Knight     1/------=/=======|

COMBATSYS: Black Knight blocks Vice's Outrage.

[   \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  //////////////////            ]
Vice [E]         0/-------/----===|=======\====---\1           Marduk
[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Black Knight     1/------=/=======|

[VICE]
They very well might need to! As the pair assault the armour - Marduk with all the fury of a concussed rhino, Vice with her Orochi blood tainted by the void and pushed to new heights of violence - it certainly doesn't look like either of them are having much effect on the Knight itself. Their combined efforts have only barely dented it, even in its serpentine form, and as it flows back and into its more towering figure, an enormous slab of throne catapults itself across the chamber to become a shield, which it then swings around with the intent of swatting the peacocking Marduk aside as though he were a fly.

It is fortune for him that the armour reformed facing towards him with its back to Vice, because at this stage the enraged woman is in no fit state to distinguish between opponents. She instead fully screams, and flings herself at the enormous mass of metal. All of the impossible strength of her heritage is put into the task of wrenching the Knight off its feet, and simply hurling it down into the ground. She really does not look good at this stage. Whilst the power of Orochi is keeping her physically health, helping to offset the toll that the cursed artefact is putting on her body...

The toll on her mind is another thing entirely. Vice has always feared what would happen if she were to lose herself entirely to the Riot of Blood. She's finding out. Because all she needed to do, minutes ago, was simply leave the chamber. But all she CAN do, is try to murder this man and the spirtual guardian that seemed intent on ignoring the threat she poses.

And just to add to Marduk's general state of confusion, she snarls, her lips curled back and forming another vaguely intelligible word -- one which makes no sense whatsoever to anyone else in this room.

"... Matuuuurrreeeee...!"

COMBATSYS: Black Knight successfully hits Marduk with Shield Charge.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Vice [E]         0/-------/---====|=======\=======\1           Marduk
[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Black Knight     1/----===/=======|

[MARDUK]
Marduk glances at Vice, as the armor starts drawing back a full-sized throne-piece. Vice says something, and Marduk grins at her. "Why thank you, crazy lady, I think I am pretty Matur-"

"MRGH!"

Marduk grunts as he takes a shield straight into his face. As it pulls away, teeth and blood dribble out, as he reels side by side. Blinking in a dazed fashion, he suddenly narrows his eyes. "Oh, that FUCKING does it!" Marduk snarls, his broken face twisting up into a rage. "THAT FUCKING DOES IT! YOU FUCKING GARAGE SALE SHITSTORM has GONE and PISSED ME THE FUCK OFF!" Roars the MMA brawler as he stampedes at the writhing armor. It begins to fall apart, just as Vice is flinging herself at it. The pair would try and slam into it together, as they would pile on it. VIce might be just slamming it, but Marduk? Marduk would be outright sitting on it, and just -smashing- piece by tiny piece, hammering it into itself as he would try crushing the armor into the armor, bit by bit. "FUCK! YOU! FUCK! YOU!"

"I FUCKING HATE THIS CASTLE!"

COMBATSYS: Black Knight blocks Vice's Strong Throw.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Vice [E]         0/-------/---====|===----\-------\0           Marduk
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Black Knight     1/---====/=======|

COMBATSYS: Black Knight dodges Marduk's Skull Crusher.

[  \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Vice [E]         0/-------/---====|=======\=------\1           Marduk
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Black Knight     1/---====/=======|

COMBATSYS: Black Knight successfully hits Vice with Demolishing Swing.
Glancing Blow

[      \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Vice [E]         0/-------/-======|=======\=------\1           Marduk
[            \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Black Knight     0/-------/----===|

[VICE]
The spirit animating this armour is clearly extremely skilled at using not only its unique state but in the arts of battle in totality. Vice manages to smash the suit into the floor, but it is already de-animating by the time she does so, leaving Marduk to crush some unimportant pieces as it reforms around them. The sword swings towards Vice with devastating speed and shocking force, the woman only barely able to dodge forwards in time - and even so, the man-sized weapon catches her shoulder, gouging out a length of meat that would cripple a fighter not wholly lost to supernatural rage.

"GRAOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Vice isn't slowed by the strike. In fact, it only seems to drive her on harder. The woman aims to grab the sword itself - something that definitely HAS to have part of this spirit linked intrinsically to it, right? - and SLAM it down into the ground tip-first with all the force she can muster. That alone should make any weapon fan flinch.

But along with it, she pours as much of her Orochi-power into the impact as she can, causing a massive flare of screaming crimson skulls along its length as she channels the full force of her killing desire into this determined defender of the Alucard estate; she might not be able to possess the sword, but she can sure as hell make it a horrifying hell to live in.

[MARDUK]
"NO FAIR!"

The rattling of the armor continues, as it slips from his grip. As it lashes out at the strange lady, Marduk grunts, in spite of his bloodied, beaten, and burnt form. Rubbing his groin tenderly, he tries to figure -how- to approach this, as she slams the sword down to the earth, recoiling at the blast of skull energy. "Listen Lady! We got to use our brain! We got to use our smarts to beat it! It's too fast and strong! We can't just... mindlessly... attack it..." Marduk mulls briefly, as if some kind of grand insight has come upon him. "But if I was using my brain..." Marduk approaches the universal truth, absolute reality descending on his mind. "I would... I would...."

"SIT ON HIM AND HIT HIM!"

Marduk then proceeds to charge in as the skull energy burns away, surging back once more to the animated suit of armor, to lift and slam it down, and try and sit on it and punch it over and over again.

"I AM A GENIUS!"

COMBATSYS: Vice successfully hits Black Knight with Nailbomb.

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Vice [E]         1/-------/=======|-------\-------\0           Marduk
[                  \\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Black Knight     0/-------/-======|

COMBATSYS: Marduk successfully hits Black Knight with Melon Masher.

[       \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Vice [E]         1/-------/=======|-------\-------\0           Marduk
[                       \\\\\\\  <
Black Knight     1/-----==/=======|

COMBATSYS: Vice interrupts Power Throw from Black Knight with Dokken.

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  /////////////                 ]
Vice [E]         1/------=/=======|-------\-------\0           Marduk
[                        \\\\\\  <
Black Knight     1/---====/=======|

[VICE]
Vice is, of course, completely not listening to Marduk. The combined assault finally seems to be wearing the armour down, at least. Vice keeps a firm grip on the sword for as long as she is able, until it manages to propel a large section of itself at her and force her to relinquish her hold. This momentary pinning of the focal point - as she is increasingly sure the sword must be - manages to distract it long enough for Marduk's frenzied assault to bear more fruit. Smashing into it and sending fragments of possessed armour scattering across the church.

This time, its return is quicker; a sudden burst as it hurtles towards Vice. Both arms outstretched, it clearly intended to grab her and force her onto the blade which still protrudes from the stone floor.

Instead, Vice lunges into the attack, and her outstretched fist punches a hole clean through its torso, with the rest of her following, bloodied and torn, moments later. "Hnnghhghhh!"

[MARDUK]
"YEAH! YEAH! We're doing it! We're beating this thing!"

Marduk cheers on, grunting and groaning as he whips himself up into that frenzy. For the time being, he has completely forgotten about the whole reason there was a fight in the first place. As he makes his ground and pound, the suit surges up, surging up piece by piece towards Vice. But that woman wasn't taking any of that shit. "God damn, you are some COLD ASS bitch!" Marduk bellows, grinning with his split and bloodied face. As she slams back, punching right through the torso, Marduk stamps in as the Knight tries to wriggle away. "NUH UN! You aren't getting ANYWHERE NOW!" He snarls, grinning as he attempts to grab the suit by the tippy of the armor chain. Should he get a catch? He would pivot and -slam- the armor straight across the stones of the temple. All while strike a pose at the end.

"WOOOO!"

COMBATSYS: Black Knight Toughs Out Marduk's Gator Slam!

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Vice [E]         1/------=/=======|====---\-------\0           Marduk
[                          \\\\  <
Black Knight     1/-======/=======|

COMBATSYS: Black Knight can no longer fight.

[          \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Vice [E]         1/------=/=======|====---\-------\0           Marduk

[VICE]
Marduk is the one who lands the final blow. Slamming the armor into the ground, it rebounds, and breaks the sword clean in half where Vice had left it embedded in the ground.

"Thou knowest not what thou hast wrought upon the world of men."

The last words of the possessed suit are perhaps more poignant than anything else uttered in these horrifying moments. And the Knight still seems to hold more of a grudge towards Marduk than Vice; perhaps because the woman is truly not in her right mind. With a final lurch, the Knight aims to bring its broken sword down upon the densest warrior in the land, and drive SOMETHING at last through that thick skull of his, before it collapses into silence.

But at the same time, the energy around Vice has taken on a far more menacing air. Literally. The shadows that had retreated from her are now rushing back in, and as she settles her gaze on Marduk, well. Even his ancestors would likely understand what it means to see such a hungry, predatory expression looming from the shadows.

"Hungry."

And then the darkness is rushing in to claim him...

COMBATSYS: Black Knight successfully hits Marduk with Devastation.

[           \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Vice [E]         0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0           Marduk

COMBATSYS: Vice successfully hits Marduk with Cannibal Corpse.
- Power hit! -

[         \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////////                  ]
Vice [E]         0/-------/------=|====---\-------\0           Marduk

What occurs within the darkness as it consumes Marduk is... well. It is an experience that would have killed a lesser man.

And when light once more returns to his world, Vice is kneeling over him, licking his blood from her lips.

[MARDUK]
The sword is driven straight into Marduk's head.

Fortunately, it was targeting the least important part of Marduk's body apparently, and his skull seems to end up deflecting aside the sword. It goes all the way through, and he makes a great big ugh sound. "UGH!" Marduk growls as he pushes away the remains of the armor, struggling with the sword. "This really sucks. Hey, could you help me with-" Marduk turns around and looks at that intense woman. ANd she says something, as she slinks towards him with the darkness. To fade into black? "Hungry?" Marduk briefly gets a certain look on his face, an unusually dumb one as the woman surges at him. He nods, giving a chopping gesture with both hand at himself. "I guess with a tough fight like that, it makes sense to get a little tension off. Oh baby, what you hungry for-" And it fades to black. And he -screams-

"OH NO IT WASN'T SEXY!"

Marduk is shouting and screaming, grabbing somewhere at his lower torso, writhing on the ground as he rocks back and forth. Was he missing organs? WHAT ORGANS WAS HE MISSING? At the very least, the sword wasn't in his head anymore, but now he was bleeding a LOT up top and at bottom. Marduk howls and moans. If Vice was looking for respite, she wouldn't get it. Suddenly, the bloodied, bloodshot eyes of Marduk lock on to her as he stampedes at the woman, stomping at her as he flies at her, and guess what. Guess what he is going to do, for the third time in a row. If you guessed 'lift someone up, slam them on the ground, and for a mounted pound as he tries to break Vice's neck?' then you would win a prize. Marduk would be trying to savage -her-, slamming the back of her head on the stones again and again and-

Possibly even knock the circlet off?

COMBATSYS: Marduk successfully hits Vice with Neck Lock.

[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////                      ]
Vice [E]         0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0           Marduk

COMBATSYS: Vice unequips Sypha's Ruinous Tiara.

[                \\\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////                      ]
Vice             0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0           Marduk

[VICE]
Vice drops Sypha's Ruinous Tiara.

Finally, the tiara is gone. The wounds that Vice has taken surge back full force, but at least the murderous power of the circlet isn't pounding through her skull any more. Marduk slams Vice's head into the ground over and over again, and yes, that's painful, but it is nothing compared to the return of her clarity - something which brings rationality back to Vice's eyes almost immediately.

Her hand seizes around Marduk's wrist, and she pries his fingers away as she stands. The circlet is at her feet. But for a the moment, she stands there, shuddering, shaking, and forcing breath back into her lungs. Poisonous blood has soaked her dress fromt he wound in her arm. HIS blood is splashed liberally in other places. She can taste his essence. And of course, there's the head injury now matting her hair.

But she's more shaken by what the circlet did than anything else.

"You... you want, this thing?" She growls, "YOU WANT IT, YOU DUMB BASTARD, YOU CAN HAVE IT!"

Her hand whips out and snares the little sliver of metal, and she aims to JAM it right into Marduk's mouth. She fucking HATED tiaras, and if he wanted it so badly, he could just EAT IT.

Better hope the tiara is stronger than it looks. It's magical. It'll probably be fine. Probably.

COMBATSYS: Vice successfully hits Marduk with Small Random Weapon.

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////                      ]
Vice             0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0           Marduk

COMBATSYS: Marduk equips Sypha's Ruinous Tiara.

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  < >  ////////                      ]
Vice             0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0       [E] Marduk

[MARDUK]
"YEAH! YEAH! YEAH- Huh!?" Marduk looks at his wrist. "Damn girl, you are so fucking strong. You know, I like strong-"

And just like that, Marduk gets the circlet stuffed in his mouth. Marduk starts to choke on the tiara.

"AGGH" He gags, flailing his arms as he turns off Vice. Flail, flail away he does, flailing like the flailer he is. "AAAAAAGH!" The foul energy fill him, surging through him. He was blind in his rage, his fury. But also, he was choking. Gagging, as his cheeks split, he turns at Vice.

And he explodes, daring to smash his knee -hard- right into Vice. Should it connect? He would be carrying himself, Vice, and the tiara out of the temple, out the broken front doors, and out of the temple completely. ANd should it not connect? Uh. Well it would be that, minus Vice.

And he would promptly spit out the tiara on impact, blacking out in the courtyard.

COMBATSYS: Marduk can no longer fight.

[                 \\\\\\\\\\\\\  <
Vice             0/-------/-======|

COMBATSYS: Marduk successfully hits Vice with Ultimate Knee.

[                         \\\\\  <
Vice             1/---====/=======|

COMBATSYS: Vice is waiting for something to happen.


COMBATSYS: Vice can no longer fight.


[VICE]
Vice takes the full force of the blow. Beaten and battered as she has been by the strain put on her body by this entire fiasco, it is perhaps unsurprising that she is incapable of defending herself against it. The assault takes both the surviving warriors out of the temple, and they collapse in an unconscious heap.

The tiara, well.

There had been a reason it was locked away.

Log created on 09:35:09 06/15/2021 by Marduk, and last modified on 16:09:24 06/16/2021.