An audible clap of opposed energy snapped at the air as the demon's blade caught against the [i]Essentia[/i] infused talons of the great tiger's paw; a visible cascade of ghostly blue and white sparks flung themselves wide across the air and faded into vapor just as briefly as they had sprung to life, leaving unnatural mist in their wake. The impact, a skillful parry by the aged fiend, was enough to spare him the worst of the viciousness inflicted upon him - an assault that was not relenting, not in the least. It was the follow through that caught "The Red" on to the move again, changing his angle of approach from a direct confrontation to the slightest chink in the enemy's defense.

The lioness, in all her rampant, snarling glory, proceeded to rake, tear and bite at every exposed inch of the demon's back; each strike shuddering with a faint amount of essence surrounding it as it inflicted true injury upon the attacked. It was at this time, the wicked blade darkening in a dim glow of magic, that the Red threw himself full force into Zargon's chest, with claws splayed wide and looking to wrench the demon to the ground - a tactic no different than those used by the beasts of the wild. With one fierce roar, hoping that the opportunity presented in brief by Ioannes would be enough, his mind bellowed with pitched fury.

[i]"Kill or be killed, fiend!"[/i]

The longer Zargon had to do whatever it was his blade [i]was[/i] doing, the only greater danger they surely would be in. If things went well, the monstrous being of evil would be pressed between two creatures set to wrestle him to the ground - if things went poorly, well, at least "The Red" reasoned he could survive his foe's revenge; the sheer closeness of the fighting made a sword's use difficult, but so too was Zargon armed with deadly ebon talons. This was much preferred though, given the circumstance.

It was a gamble to try to take him to the ground, but it was all that could be done in the throes of a bestial fury.

There was no time to set about a defense - the counter-attack was now. Waeldeshore had already failed to defend its leader, and any attempt to shield the scholar was foolish, likely suicidal. Or so "The Red" reasoned these things; they were expendable, but the demon before him, that which is [i]Incarnum[/i] burned just as cleanly as the fire of the heavens or hell? This was the true thing that needed to be crippled, if not defeated; the demon's attack needed to be routed... or better yet, destroyed.

[@ArenaSnow][@Jon Y][@Letter Bee][@The Fated Fallen]