[center][h2][b][color=turquoise]The Cereal Killer[/color] Vs. Knight Sylvestre: [color=red]Final Round![/color][/b][/h2]
[@Lugubrious][/center]

Cyril slumped over from the blow to the head like a sack of potatoes. Runch stood over the knight, holding his spoonsaber ready in case the final blow to the head was not actually the final blow. Just in case, he continued to form the armor which had caught Cyril so off guard. In only a small handful of seconds the pirate was covered head to toe in [url=https://i.pinimg.com/originals/e7/dc/b4/e7dcb4420400e76f71a4bfe0d19362ba.jpg]a bright blue armor[/url] which completely covered him from head to toe, excepting only his eyes and hands. The suit was not exactly skin tight, but it was fairly form-fitting. The grainy texture was somewhat surreal to look upon, as it gave the impression that this suit was easily torn asunder despite otherwise appearing perfectly protective. 

“I don’t normally like to use my bori bori ironclad. I haven’t quite figured out the joints yet, so my movement gets a little impaired. Plus it’s heavy to wear a full suit of cereal not only so dense, but with such a rich iron content.” Cyril didn’t move as Runch spoke, but it could just as easily be a ruse. The man had proven himself to be dangerously sturdy, much like himself. The captain was normally sporting and lackadaisical, but this far into the fight, this exhausted and injured, he no longer wished to give his opponent the chance to turn the tide. 

After a few more moments of observation, the captain’s doubts and concerns subsided. Cyril was clearly breathing, so he was not dead, and if he were playing possum it was exceedingly well given all the pain he had to be enduring. Runch finally relaxed and approached the knight’s prone form.

“Juniper, stop!” cried out Erina from the sidelines. Runch darted his gaze to the women just in time to witness three knives flying straight for him, constructed of some undefinable energy. The combination of his fatigue, being taken off guard, and the added weight of his ironclad determined his short term fate: all three constructs hit their mark. The blades of ephemeral energy pierced into the chest plate of Runch’s armor, the force of which knocked him off balance. 

As Runch’s backside hit the ground, Juniper came rushing toward his position with a mighty leap and sprint. He struggled to get back on his feet before she arrived, but only managed to move his palms into place and lift up into a pseudo-sitting position. Reflexively he attempted to swing his spoonsaber to fend the woman off, only to find he had lost grip of his weapon for what must have been the umpteenth time this day. Consequently Juniper’s fist struck Runch in the face, knocking him back down to the ground. The armor protected him from direct damage, but he was near certain the sudden jolt and impact left him with a concussion. Rather than a one-armed maiden above him, Runch saw stars.

“I said stop!” screamed the fox woman, hurling a ball of mostly-harmless blue flame at the shrine maiden to force her attention. Juniper pivoted around to face Erina and dodged out of the way, narrowly missing the flame by mere centimeters. In response the rosary on her person reacted, sending a wave of energy flying toward the kitsune. Erina, completely blindsided by this unexpected and bizarre counterstrike, took the brunt of the wave to her shoulder and fell to the ground. Lifting herself up enough to be able to meet Juniper’s eyes, she spoke. “We agreed to let them have a one on one duel, and Runch won! Why are you getting involved now?”

Juniper mentally rolled her eyes at the question. “I have no intentions of having my soul stolen a second time. That my goal means this suffering will instead be placed upon you is regretful, but one must look after oneself.”

The shrine maiden was, perhaps, overconfident in the blow she had struck to Runch’s head. He was recovering his vision, and blinking rapidly now to adjust. Meanwhile, Erina continued to hold off Juniper’s assault with continued debate. “Your partner showed honor in his battle. What right do you have to step in like this?”

“It is true that his pride will likely earn me his ire once he wakes up,” Juniper spoke maintaining her cool disposition. “But I do what must be done. He had his honorable duel, and now I finish this. Of course, if you feel so inclined then you are welcome to stop me.”

“Don’t count me out yet, lass! Omnomnomnom!” Suddenly Juniper felt a pit in the center of her stomach. He wasn’t knocked unconscious? [i]How?![/i] She twisted back around, fist ready to slam into the pirate one more time to keep him down, but he was already in action. “Bori bori volcano!”

Though he was still prone, Runch erupted straight upward, a mountain of cereal propelling him from below. With finely honed battle senses, Juniper pulled back before the Krunch Kaptain’s leg smacked right into her face, but this fight wasn’t over yet. Runch had not escaped, and she wasn’t giving up so easily. Throwing out her hand, Juniper manifested a long chain with a hooked end, sending it flying up after the injured captain. Still rising and looking the wrong way, the chain hooked onto his ankle.

“Uh-oh,” remarked the captain, looking at the current situation. Juniper gave a mighty tug, and he had to act fast before the wave of force reached him. Reaching out, Runch manifested a replica of his trustee spoonsaber and sliced down! It was not the hook-chain of energy that he targeted, but the armor he had crafted around his leg! Targeting the weaker joint, the serrated edge of his weapon sawed and crumbled the hard, dense cereal armor into a separate segment. Just in time, the slack of the chain pulled taut, yanking the boot of armor clean from Runch’s foot.

“That was close! Omnomnom!” 

Juniper narrowed her eyes. His ability to continue making that cereal of his despite his injuries was bothersome, but he was still fatigued. She was fresh. Not to mention her ace in the hole, should it be necessary.

Reaching the apex of his launch, Runch twisted himself in the air to face his new enemy down below. The options ran through his mind as to what exactly he could do. Hellberry grapeshot? Cyril was nearby unconscious, so that was an unacceptable risk. Firehose? The force would propel him back and throw off his aim, too unreliable. Throw his sword? No, wait, that was stupid. Throwing your sword never works. Think Runch, think!

[i]Her focus is away from you, Erina. We could end this quickly.[/i] 

“We could… But not like that, Bend. We’ve got to keep an eye… On the perfect opening…” Erina stood up with some effort, rubbing the injured shoulder.

[i]Have it your way, then.[/i]

Juniper maintained an eagle-like gaze over the pirate high up in the air above her. She couldn’t reliably do anything from their current positions, and he was certain to throw some manner of counter attack at her. Whatever it was, she was skilled and disciplined and strong enough to meet it.

“I’ve got it!” Runch shouted with glee, just as he began the downward descent brought on by gravity. “Take this! My ultimate attack, my final recipe! Bori bori!” Runch clapped his hands together, fingers and palms extended outward, facing down directly at his opponent. A small kernel of  yellow cereal began to form, and rapidly grow outward larger and larger. Baseball size, bowling ball, office desk, it kept growing until it reached the size of a small house!

“Gigante cannon!” The Cereal Killer thrust his attack forward, an absolutely stunning display of his goofy powers. If it were as dense and hard as his normal cannon technique, it would no doubt flatten everything it collided with.

“So much for not wanting to kill,” muttered Juniper, holding up her arm to the oncoming threat. [i]It looks like I’ll be using this sooner than I had thought.[/i] The paper seals wrapping the maiden’s arm unraveled as she released their power over her. The seals fluttered down to the ground as her arm began to glow and crackle with raw, untamed power. 

[i]There it is,[/i] thought Runch. [i]The God Hand power described in the journal![/i] He couldn’t help but grin in a goofy manner. This was exciting to see in person!

Bracing herself, Juniper took a standing leap up toward the massive cereal cannonball. She could not allow this thing to make landfall! “AAAAAAAARGH!” cried the woman who summoned all her might into the strike. Several meters high in the air, her fist met with the grainy, crusted outside of the weapon. Two mighty forces had finally collided!

“Recipe: Marshmallow Surprise!” Runch called out, somewhere behind the behemoth attack.

“Now is my opportunity, Bend!” Erina cried out.

Juniper’s mighty God Hand sank right into the cereal ball. “What?!” she cried out, her face distorting in surprise. Cracks formed from the force of her blow, and cereal crumbled away into dust. Beneath was not more grain and wheat, but a white sticky mess! The marshmallow blew apart, raining down large goopy clods, sticking to everything they touched. There at the epicenter of the mushy explosion, Juniper was covered in the gunk and thrown back down to earth, for a relatively safe and soft landing.

Jostled from the ordeal, Juniper stood up a few seconds later, shaking the pain away from her head. With her God Hand it was child’s play to pull herself out of the mushy goo that would have kept a lesser warrior trapped, but as soon as she recovered her senses, the maiden’s heart sank. About thirty feet away was Runch, pulling Cyril out of the marshmallow goop, and reaching for his phylactery.

“[i]No.[/i]” It was not a cry of desperation, but a soft declaration heard only by herself. She rushed forward, her excess strength giving her tremendous speed to work with. Her target only had but a fraction of a second to realize she was coming before Juniper had plowed straight through him, blasting through his body as though he weren’t even there. Wait, [i]what?![/i] Juniper turned round only to see that Runch and Cyril were no longer there. She didn’t blow right through him, he was never there to begin with! 

“An explosion and a fall can really disorient you, huh?” Juniper cocked her head in the direction of the voice. Erina was sitting nearby, her fur providing a pseudo-camouflage to the marshmallow gunk everywhere. 

“An illusion.” It wasn’t a question. Juniper instantly realized the situation. She was aware of her mistake. Off in the other direction she could see Runch, the real Runch, pulling Cyril free. He already had the vanguard’s phylactery in hand. She had failed. The shrine maiden took a deep breath, preparing herself for the inevitable pain, and took her failure with grace.