Description: Round Three of the Devil's Tournament pits The Unstoppable Force Zach Glen versus the Immovable Mountain Mukai. (Winner: Mukai)
The sky senses the coming destruction and it weeps.
Standing amongst the ruins of a destroyed Shinto temple, like a lone blackened mountain parting the horizon in two, is Mukai, or as he has been known in the Devil Tournament; the Obsidian Knight. His massive frame of eight feet remains immobile letting the droplets of rain run down his muscled torso, unbothered by the fact he is now soaked.
More a statue than truly a man, the giant /creature/ for could anyone really call someone so big a human? Stands unmoving, silent, his knightly helmet, the only article of clothing he wears besides white pants and some sandals hides whatever expression he might have about the coming storm. His gaze is focused down, his massive arms at the sides like a broken wind up toy, just waiting for an excuse to come back to life.
Though the giant is a massive monument to silence, even the sky knows that the quiet is naught but temporary as the storm that is Round Three of the Devil's Tournament is about to get really loud.
COMBATSYS: Mukai has started a fight here.
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Mukai 0/-------/-------|
Mukai represents an immovable object in the face of the elements of nature, in the face of his opponents.
The third round of the tournament is going to bring a match where that eternal question is posed once more: immovable object versus unstoppable force.
Zach Glen enters the marked off arena, wearing a red and white ballcap to help mitigate the effects of rain to the face. He looks around with a bit of concern. The last time he fought in weather like this was against Daniel. That fight ended badly for him.
It's only when he snaps out of recollection mode that he cranes his neck to regard Mukai. And cranes it, and cranes it some more. "Holy hell," Zach breathes, eyes going wide. "You're bigger than Zangief."
It occurs to the psion that he may be out of his depth, which is odd when one considers the dangers he's thrown himself up against with less thought. Zach snaps into a boxing stance, left hand just below chest level and right hand near his jawline as he awaits the bell.
COMBATSYS: Zach has joined the fight here.
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Zach 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Mukai
Mukai doesn't respond. Not right away.
For a long moment Zach doesn't get a reaction from the behemoth, leading some to think that this isn't the true Obsidian Knight, but an actual statue of him, bearing mute witness to the destruction all around them.
Just as the silence begins to turn uncomfortable, which would perhaps prompt Zach to prod at the creature to see if he is even alive, white glowing eyes open from under the helmet visor suddenly. Those orbs look down below at the baseball cap'd boxer prompting the giant to awaken, a slow deliberate motion that brings him to straighten up his back, arms raising at the side to deliver one single cryptic warning to his opponent.
"Eat your vegetables."
He says, dead serious.
"And you may one day be as big as me, my little Firestone."
Taking notice of what is customary for boxers, the giant of man leans down to tap Zach's knuckles with his own (even though his hand is bigger than both of Zach's fists put together) and draws back to give himself some space. A rock forms on his palm and he tosses it the abandoned bell of the Shinto temple, announcing the start of the match.
"Begin!"
COMBATSYS: Mukai focuses on his next action.
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Zach 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Mukai
Zach tentatively raps knuckles with the mammoth man, scowling a bit at the size comment. Despite not really having the sterotypical 'short man complex,' he /is/ still coming to grips with the fact that he's stuck at under five-and-a-half feet for the rest of his life. It's a stupid height to be stuck at.
Zach decides to capitalize on it as best he can, by ducking in as close as he can get to Mukai and try to stay inside Mukai's optimal reach. He follows by throwing a flickering jab to the man's midsection, augmenting the punch with a golden aura of Soul Power.
Sure, it might be as effective as a mosquito bite, but Zach plans to pile them on as best he can. Perhaps he'll fell the larger man that way!
COMBATSYS: Mukai fails to interrupt Jab Punch from Zach with Jab Punch.
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Zach 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Mukai
Mukai is playing the boxing game. His fists curl into knuckles, almost as if he were mimicking Zach's stance, preparing himself for a slug match if that's what the boxer is intending. Figuring that if the boy is trying to out endure him by trying to trade punches with him, he'll oblige by simple standing in one spot as he returns the strikes.
As it turns out, Zach is not trying to play the endure game, he rushes in fast, right inside Mukai's circle of defense and when the giant Obsidian Knight sends a left jab to check the boxer right in the face, he sneaks right under his massive arm and hits him in the torso.
"Hm!" He felt that! The Obsidian Knight looks down and begins to slowly move to the side trying to keep the much smaller Zach away from him so he can't use his long reaching arms against him. "You're fast, my little Firestone."
"Twice now," he mutters as he slips around Mukai's arms, trying to move in concert with the larger man to /stay inside/. He can all but /hear/ his coach's advice in his head as he picks another spot on Mukai's flank.
"Why do you call me that," Zach asks as he throws a punch with a little more wieght behind it. That golden energy flares to life once more as the punch closes on Mukai's rib cage.
COMBATSYS: Mukai fails to interrupt Light Punch from Zach with Quick Throw.
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Zach 0/-------/-------|-------\-------\0 Mukai
Trying something else, the giant of a man begins to take slow backwards steps keeping his gaze down as Zach begins to work his midsection. He extends a hand to scoop down the willy boxer to grab him by the head, yet once again Zach proves too nimble for such a simple technique by sliding right under him, placing a clean punch right on the giant's kidneys.
Grumbling at his speed, Mukai keeps moving, albeit slowly and slides sideways as he continues to try and keep Zach on his front where he can see him. "Aaah, that is what you are my little Firestone. I can see your spirit, ever burning around the foundation that is your body."
"Make sure it does not burn you too and consume you."
Zach is starting to feel a little confident, having managed (for the nonce) to avoid Mukai's grasp. He's fairly certain that letting Mukai get ahold of him would be downright disasterous.
He grunts at Mukai's comments. Zach's power presented a threat to himself at one point, thanks to a cursed artifact he was foolish enough to experiment with. "I'll take it under advisement," Zach says as he slips around to Muaki's flank again to fire another punch to the kidneys. This punch, instead of the quick punches before, is a full-on right straight.
The psion doesn't seem shy at all about using Soul Powered punch after Soul Powered punch. It's almost as if he's been practicing it.
COMBATSYS: Mukai interrupts Straight Punch from Zach with Disruptor.
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Zach 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Mukai
Zach is smart to take Mukai's advice, even if the mysterious obsidian creature radiates a malicious aura about him, it would appear that he does have Zach's well being as a priority. At least in the spiritual sense, it's rather obvious that he's definitely trying to hurt his body be strikes he keeps swinging at him, even if they have all failed...so far.
"A wise decision." Nods the giant in approval when Zach comes in for another go at him. The giant has proved slow so far and he grumbles when he senses that he once again won't be able to catch the boy as he dashes in. However, this time, Zach goes in directly at him, charging his front gate, rather than weave around him.
Giving the Obsidian Knight enough room to maneuver.
"Aaah...you're getting cocky, my little Firestone."
PUNCH!
Though Zach's fist cleanly collided with Mukai's stomach, the attack was in a straight line and thus gave the giant to ram his own massive knuckles right on Zach's face.
Zach is sent sprawling into the mud as he is struck with a wrecking ball of a fist. He stays down for a second before forcing himself to his hands and knees, pausing to spit out a glob of blood before shaking his head to clear the cobwebs.
Zach circles Mukai for a moment before throwing another stright punch. However, Zach is too short to physically strike Mukai at this range. However, the punch launches a comet of Soul Power at the giant.
Something about this guy gives Zach the jibblies. Best to bring him down quickly, if he can.
COMBATSYS: Mukai dodges Zach's Blast Punch.
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Zach 0/-------/-======|===----\-------\0 Mukai
A mountain sometimes has to...get the hell out of the way!!
"Oh dear." The Obsidian Knight rather dislikes energy projectiles such as this, he thought that he was invulnerable before, able to withstand any strike sent at him with naught but slight annoyances. However, after his fight with Kain, the giant is not so sure about that. His eyebrows furrow beneath his helmet when Zach throws a punch at the air, though his intent becomes too clear when that wave of energy sails out of his fist to strike him.
Mukai does not want. He takes one step to the side and moves his massive form out of the way from Zach's energy blast, letting it hit something on the background.
"Well, since we're playing that game."
Mukai summons a large boulder to his hand, letting bounce on his palm a couple of times right before chucking it at Zach as if he were playing baseball with the boy!
"Catch!"
COMBATSYS: Mukai successfully hits Zach with Terrestrial Shock.
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Zach 1/--=====/=======|======-\-------\0 Mukai
Zach's eyes go wide as Mukai handles the boulder like a pitcher might a baseball. He's still a bit busy gaping as the boulder slams into his everything. He stares up at the cloudy night for a moment, blinking rapidly to get the stars out.
Well, as least his assesment wasn't wrong.
Zach pulls himself to his feet, moving towards Mukai to the left, then to the right, zigging and zagging on his approach before trying to line up a good shot at Muaki's liver!
COMBATSYS: Mukai interrupts Liver Blow from Zach with Terrene Tower.
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Zach 2/<<<<<<</<<<<<<<|=======\-------\0 Mukai
Mukai dusts his hands after tossing his rock, chuckling softly as the boulder slams into Zach with all the weight and strength of..well.. a boulder..and sends him flat to the ground.
The Obsidian Knight doubted it would be so easy to defeat Zach 'Firestone' Glen with just two simple blows and he is not surprised when the young boxer goes back to his feet, if albeit slowly, to attack him once more.
Back to his old tricks, Zach tries to exploit Mukai's long reaching arms again by getting inside of him, but the giant has really had enough of that game and summons a stone column behind the boxer.
When the hit connects, the giant grunts and grabs Zach by the head. "That would work." He says as he grabs Zach with his right hand, then grabs the stone pillar with his left and introduces the too by ramming the boxer's face against the pillar! "If I actually had a liver."
Zach slumps against the summoned pillar. That... that was not /there/ a moment ago. He stares blankly up at Mukai, wondering just what the /hell/ he is up against. This is not a man he faces, but some kind of /monster/. He blinks, slowly, trying desperately to regain his bearings.
*Get /UP/, Glen*, he thinks to himself. *You've stared down monsters before!* There is a sliver of doubt at the back of his mind; he's never faced them /alone/ like this. *GET UP!*
Zach stands, turning to face the pillar for a moment. He leaps, gaining the top of the summoned stone, staring down at the wavering image of the giant. He's still a bit blurred around the edges. "Then let's try this," Zach says just loudly enough for Mukai to hear as he whips his right hand out to his side. A small sphere flickers into existance, growing brighter as the seconds pass. As the sphere's brightness intensifies, it starts to enlarge, as Zach jams as much Soul Power into as small a space as he can manage.
The wind picks up, as air is violently displaced by the expanding spherem which shines like the sun. "Everything, all at once," he says over the howling of the winds. He leaps, dragging the mass of energy behind and to his side. Contrails of light wisp away from the globe of power as Zach brings the thing above his head.
The sphere, already straining against some unseen barrier, suddenly expands to a ball as large across as the psion is tall. "FULL TILT!" Zach roars as he casts the blast of Soul Power directly at Mukai's face!
COMBATSYS: Mukai blocks Zach's #Full Tilt+#.
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Zach 0/-------/-------|=======\-------\1 Mukai
"Go Hard of Go Homes I see?" The giant darkened monster of a man takes a few more steps back as he allows Zach to recover after getting face planted. He savors those words, as if the mere act of saying them gave him power, his bright eyes glowing with power whilst he sees the boy jump to the top of the structure he summoned to get on eye level. "I love it!! Humans are so bold in their undertakings, who amongst the children of Gaia can claim to do such scandalous things for the sake of victory!?"
As the Obsidian Knight laughs, Zach gathers tremendous spirit energy to blast Mukai with everything he has left. The giant stands there observing him, curiously almost. "To bet everything on a single strike..." Muses the Obsidian Knight as the giant sphere of power is sent at him.
"It is suicide!!"
His hand stretches out to block the wave of power, closing his fist to crush it and let it flicker out of existence. His hand remains smoking from the attack thrown at him, clearly hurt after the blast, yet nowhere near as bad as Zach probably hoped.
"You are much too bold my little Firestone, sometimes it is necessary to pace yourself."
With that said, the giant points down causing his pillar to sink into the earth so that Zach is at ground level again. Once he does that, Mukai cranks his leg back and kicks the boxer treating him as if he were a soccer ball!
COMBATSYS: Zach dodges Mukai's Aggressive Strike.
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Zach 0/-------/-------|=======\-------\1 Mukai
Zach lands in a low crouch, his face blank as he watches Mukai utterly snuff his blast out. The kick comes screaming in, and Zach dive-rolls aside to let the foot by, regaining his feet and watching Mukai through eyes that don't quite focus on the mountain of the man. He's taken some pretty heavy hits, but he's apparently not done yet.
He wobbles to his feet, trying to get air into burning lungs. He staggers a bit, before closing with Mukai for what could very well be the last time. He slides in low, throwing a kick at Mukai's knee that is... unusual given Zach's tendencies during the fight: there is no tell-tale glow of Soul Power accompanying the strike. The psion is running on fumes after that failed gambit.
COMBATSYS: Mukai interrupts Quick Throw from Zach with Quick Throw.
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Zach 0/-------/---====|=======\-------\1 Mukai
"See!? Just like that! Hahaha!"
Mukai somehow thought that Zaki would go for one last desperate attack and try to punch out his leg or something completely balls to the wall like that. However, he is elated when the boy proves to be sensible enough to understand his advice and get the hell out of dodge from the incoming blow. The kick swings by, hitting nothing but air, even though a few structures far behind crumble by the gust of wind.
As he regains his footing, the Obsidian Giant sees Zach go for a rather unorthodox move in an attempt to kick him. This fight has gone long enough, thinks the giant, as he reaches down to grab the incoming leg and tosses Zach to the side, face first.
"Stay down. I do not wish to hurt you anymore that it is needed."
Zach does not stay down; in many ways, he does not know /how/ to. "Can't," he mumbles as he spits out mud and blood. "Won't." He staggers, summoning up the last dregs of his energy and will before launching himself at Mukai. However, unlike the previous attempts to punch the mountain, Zach does not aim for the legs or body.
Zach's arc brings him level with Mukai's head, and Zach launches a punch that is somewhere between a hook and an overhead smash on his way down, the gauntlet of sunlight forming around his fist even as it crashes towards Mukai's helmet. "DYNAMITE PUNCH!" At the end of the punch, the point the psion is aiming at, there is a detonation of Soul Power that launches the smaller man away. Zach sprawls out in the mud, not rising again. The referee doesn't even count the psion out, simply ending the match.
COMBATSYS: Zach can no longer fight.
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Mukai 1/-------/=======|
COMBATSYS: Mukai interrupts Dynamite Punch from Zach with Impact of Steel.
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Mukai 1/------=/=======|
"I didn't think you would."
From beneath his improvised knight helm, Mukai is smiling.
"Not even for a second."
When the boxer raises from the mud to glare at Mukai, claiming, swearing, that he will never surrender no matter what the cost. The Obsidian Knight stands there..and waits, his helmet covered gaze watching as how Zach reaches deep within his burning spirit to attack him once more, even though the ebony warrior cannot see any energy left in his spirit.
The boy makes his jump and brings a fierce over head smash right for Mukai's helmet. The giant grins still and decides to give Zach the warrior's end he deserves.
He crank a fist back, letting it rest on his hip as he launches an upwards strike directly for Zach's fist!!
The two attacks collide, canceling each other out, letting Zach then fall to the ground where he remains immobile. Medic crews rushing in to help, even if they remain wary of the giant.
"Well done, my little Firestone. May you use the burning fire that Mother Gaia has granted you wisely."
Turning back, Mukai begins to walk away as he sinks into the ground where he disappears from view.
Log created on 15:13:14 05/12/2012 by Zach, and last modified on 10:44:34 05/14/2012.