[center][color=c0c0c0][b][u]Slayer[/u][/b][/color]
Level 2-3
Day 1-2
Location: Outside Abandoned Castle – Garden Funeral
[@Hylozoist] [@Holy Soldier] [@Gentlemanvaultboy] [@Lmpkio] [@Zarkun] [@Bright_Ops]
[b]Experience: [color=orange]|||||||||||||||||||||||||||[/color][color=black]|||[/color] (27/30)[/b][/center]

[hider=Level up]
(P)Damage +1 = 8
(P)Defense +1 = 4
(M)Defense +1 = 4
Dexterity +2 = 3

[color=c0c0c0]New Ability: Teleport[/color] – Slayer is able to dissolve in a flash of shadow and reappear three feet away.  A brief moment must pass before he can do so again; on the whole, doing this to move is a touch more slow than running, if he ever were to run.  It is not invincible at all, and as such is not suited as an evasive maneuver, for which Slayer has Dandy Step.  Essentially, it replaces the quick dash that most other characters in his game have access to, and serves as mobility.  Because it's a teleport instead of a dash, however, it can pass through enemies, allowing him to cross them up, or thin obstacles
[/hider]

In the heat of battle, communication between allies could be drowned out not just by the sounds of fighting, but by the distracted attention of the fighters themselves.  By a stroke of luck, the stranger in power armor understood Slayer's intentions and approached him to accept his use as a springboard.  [color=c0c0c0]”Heave-ho!”[/color]  Slayer employed just a smidgen of extra strength to send Samus flying up and over.  He turned to watch, a thin anticipatory smile on his face, as she provided just the lightshow he'd been hoping for.  An overcharged bolt of energy careened into the Demon Lord's head from an unexpected angle, and it didn't stand a chance.  From Slayer's perspective, the obliteration of his great foe's gearbox reminded him of an exploding furnace; raw destructive power poured through the openings in his helm like flames through a forge's grate, and an instant later it disintegrated as well.  At that point, the battle was as good as won, but the finale wasn't done quite yet.  From above, Balor plummeted down to crush Odin's headless torso, and just like a tin soup can being crushed beneath a compactor, it spewed out its noxious juices between its jagged cracks as it crumpled.

From those grievous wounds, however, something else emerged.  A writhing black monstrosity—a vile amalgamation of the several detestable vermin that lurched across the ground, burst from Odin's body, leaving only an empty husk behind.  Amorphous beings of darkness weren't unknown to Slayer -his experience with Zato-1's Eddie came to mind- but this, above any other, struck him as a wretch of pure corruption.  Its hideous shriek caused the gentleman's lips to curl in disgust, but his eyes widened almost imperceptibly as it made a beeline for none other than Luigi.  On instinct Slayer tensed into action to help as best he could, but the plumber's lightning-coated fist repelled the noisome abhorrence before it could dig its fangs in, and Slayer gave an admiring [color=c0c0c0]”Hm!”[/color].  That display, though, paled in comparison to what came next.  The atmosphere itself seemed to change as the Valkyrie Princess jumped into action.  [color=c0c0c0]”This...is going to be good.”[/color]

And it was.

A few moments later, as the residual light died down, Slayer removed his monocle to polish it against his jacket.  Numerous small tears had appeared, though the vampire couldn't say from where, but the garment served just as will to wipe off the dust that Gwendolyn's incredible attack kicked up.  [color=c0c0c0]”My, my,”[/color] he murmured.  [color=c0c0c0]”Such splendor quite boggles the mind.  I count myself lucky to have been a spectator, and not a target.”[/color]  He replaced his monocle, fixed his hair, then placed his hands in his pockets to stand as a quiet, solemn onlooker while Luigi received his brothers soul.  No matter how many deaths he'd seen, each one was a new tragedy.  Not being privy to the moment that Mario passed did not mean he could not extend his sincerest sympathy.  Slayer didn't say anything to Luigi, for what word to encompass this experience, or bring him solace?  He told the plumber all he needed with a single look of mournful resolve—that Slayer's heart was with him.

When the moment came, he smiled to Gwendolyn and Oswald as he shrugged and said, [color=c0c0c0]”I have nothing to ask of you.  It was my pleasure to be of assistance.  I wish you all the very best in your continued fight.”[/color]  To Luigi, he replied, [color=c0c0c0]”I am well.”[/color]  Samus turned to him a moment later and registered in Slayer's mind as female for the first time.  He managed a flawless recovery and, considering the current situation, gave a pointedly flat-toned reply.  [color=c0c0c0]”It was nothing.  The rest of you did all the true work.”[/color]

Soon after, he and the rest of the heroes left the world of crystalline twilight behind.

[center]-=-=-[/center]

The funeral was a weighty affair.  Immaculate in black, Slayer paid his respects to the departed.  He hadn't known Mario at all, but that mattered not at all.  Even with his limited knowledge of the nature of this extradimensional world and all those it linked to, he fully comprehended the role the plumber in red played within it—nothing less than a legend and a hero, and someone like that Slayer did not hesitate to honor.

For the woman named Peach, he mourned his disinclination to shed tears.  Luigi wasn't, it seemed, the only one for whom this loss was brutal.  With even less ability to help her than Luigi, Slayer opted to not impose himself, and instead wore a morose expression as he listened to the speakers and wondered what came next.