[center][color=c0c0c0][b][u]Slayer[/u][/b][/color]
Level 2
Day 1
Location: Outside the Abandoned Castle
[@Hylozoist] [@Holy Soldier] [@Gentlemanvaultboy] [@Lmpkio] [@Zarkun] [@ToadRopes] [@Bright_Ops]
[b]Word Count: [color=green]1015[/color]
Experience: [color=orange]|||||[/color][color=black]|||||||||||||||[/color][/b][/center]

Just as Slayer began to enjoy the twilit scenery, a shape appeared in the sky that caught his attention.  Before he could make out its exact contour and character, a despairing shout bombarded him, and like a cockroach in a spotlight the vampire's improved mood skittered away.  No matter how many world-threatening monstrosities he'd seen or heard of, to treat the onset of a new one with anything less than grave seriousness would be beyond foolhardy.  Now, according to this winged messenger, the very demon lord poised to annihilate this place would be arriving in only moments.  Slayer did not need to make any internal calculations to figure out that his allies lacked the firepower necessary to take Brigan down, let alone Odin, and he doubted that the barbaric brute would be so courteous as to stand by while they tried their luck with the bigger bad.  Even as the other heroes streamed from the crumbling castle, all alive and intact, he felt as though he'd been flung out of the frying pan and into hell itself.

From the direction of the approaching messenger a furry blur shot toward the group.  Slayer did not immediately recall Fox as an ally, but he figured as much, and so merely stepped to the side to ensure that the vulpid had enough space to execute his impressive landing.  Fox's confirmation served to bring a sigh to the gentleman's lips, and in anticipation of the coming strife he plucked a brand-new pipe from a side pocket.  He snapped his fingers with undue force, the friction creating a purple spark, and with it he lit the pipe before taking a puff.  [color=c0c0c0]”Well then.  Ready as I'll ever be, I suppose.”[/color]

He cut a determined look, but the shaking ground and resounding crash that heralded Brigan's arrival robbed him of his focus.  Only after sending a no-nonsense glare the lout's way did he turn his attention back to the sky and find, to his mild dismay, a great dark shape incoming.  Fox opened fire, but his barrage seemed to have no effect but to suddenly cause the ominous figure to zoom forward, headed straight for the group fast as a freight train and with far more force.  The heroes around Slayer scattered to avoid the impact, but he stood still, counting in his head.  At the last moment, he executed a Dandy Step, and the momentary lapse of presence characteristic to the move allowed him to completely avoid the initial shockwave of the predictable strike.  Even still, the aftershock jarred his bones, and he knew that if he had been the dive punch's primary target, he would not have gotten off so easily.

Before Odin even rose back to his full height, his entourage began its assault.  For a split second Slayer was shocked by the sheer, feral tenacity of the valkyries' shrieks, but his heart hardened when two of the twelve veered toward him.  [color=c0c0c0]”Is that all?  How rude.  One does not play billiards with a matchstick!”[/color]  As they approached, he sucked in a deep breath from his pipe, then exhaled the smoke in a blast at his feet.  It splashed upon impact, becoming a thick cloud, and into it the valkuries dove with spears extended.  As one, they thrust their spears at the dark, dapper shape in the cloud's center, only for the vampire to disappear before their eyes.  The next instant, he dashed in from below, ramming a pile bunker into the foremost valkyrie's exposed belly.  He felt it connect, though with the haze he couldn't quite tell exactly what he hit  However, he could be sure that the power of the blow carried him forward just enough to be almost behind the second valkyrie, and with the unflappable momentum of a veteran boxer he turned on the dime to deliver a crushing backhand to the back of the little monster's neck.  Given he resurgence of strength, he felt certain that it would be an instant kill, but he didn't stop there.  With his other hand, he reached out to try to grab and yank down the valkyrie he'd Pile Bunkered, his goal to slam her against the ground and stun her.  As the cloud cleared, he attempted to place his heel upon her cheek to pin her beneath his weight.  [color=c0c0c0]”Though I do generally find this act unbecoming in public, I feel as though some of your blood would fully restore my health.  Hold still, young miss, and I assure you it will be -almost- painless.”[/color]  He flexed his fingers as he smiled, his fangs ever so slightly bared.

The loss of the haze, however, allowed him to witness that same winged messenger from before headed his way, a pack of valkyries on her tail.  It was Naija, who he had been unable to recognize thanks to a striking alteration in her body.  As she passed, the fishwoman tossed him a fruit, telling him it would help his wounds.  With an indifferent shrug, Slayer took a bite, and unsurprisingly the fruit healed him just as Naija implied.  [color=c0c0c0]”Fancy that,”[/color] he murmured, taking a look around.  He felt as though in the heat of the moment he'd missed something important.  After a second he spotted it: Oswald and Brigan, as well as a valkurie who looked different from the others, standing side by side against the Demon Lord.  Without skipping a beat, Slayer was able to intuit from their positioning and body language more or less what had happened.  [color=c0c0c0]”Desperate times make for odd bedfellows, I expect.  Or am I mixing my metaphors?”[/color]  He asked the harpy who he expected to be beneath his foot, still squirming feebly.  [color=c0c0c0]”Oh!  My apologies,”[/color] the vampire fretted, as though surprised.  He removed his foot and attempted to reach down to pick the creature up.  [color=c0c0c0]”It would appear that I do not require your blood anymore.  Allow me to let you go.”[/color]

A second later, the wailing valkyrie, her wings torn out of their sockets, would hurtle as a living projectile toward the trio in pursuit of Naija if Slayer's attack succeeded.