It was like a police siren went off in his skull. The moment [Detect] was invoked, warning signs surged into Raime’s mind, alerting the scout not only to the countless ghosts surging within the darkness beyond Ames’s firelight, but also to the general areas where pools of tar, fathomless in depth, must be present. In the farthest edges of his Detect’s range as well, he could sense greater evils, monstrosities that would certainly present a greater challenge to the party than whatever they’ve faced before. But there was no sign of those spiritual atrocities moving; Amulak was the one that shot first.

Words of power so profane that it could only be alluded to indirectly seeped through the lips of the necromancer, his arcane veins surging with more power than he had ever unleashed before. Magic coalesced unseen within the cavern, dripping downwards like stalactites until, with the ringing screech of a blade drawn from a scabbard, they shot for their target.

But the mud-drenched warrior was fast as well. Letting out a deep breath, it somersaulted backwards, the arcane constructs sinking silently into the tar while the warrior landed into a crouch instead, their brutish chopper resting on their shoulder. Whatever response they had for Amulak’s attack was paused by Magpie’s flying bodyslam though. With the mid-air activation of [The Bulldozer], the brawler’s joints and limbs locked in midair, her defenses surging rapidly as momentum carried her towards her target. It hissed in another breath and rolled out the way, allowing the surprisingly fast, disgustingly strong, yet basically paralyzed brawler to fly out of Ames’s range and into the ghost-infested darkness.

The animist’s soul-split shield could only fly twenty meters away from him, after all, and the light cast by the phantasmal flame reached that same amount. It was a good trick for exploration, but for superhuman combat? For the rest of the party, including the hesitant Klein, it was as if Magpie was sucked into the darkness.

And as for the mud-covered warrior?

Rising up from their dodge roll, it raised its left hand up and wiped the cursed tar from its eyes, revealing a set of sanguine irises, redder than even Ames’s flames. [b]“Ok, alright,”[/b] it spoke, tone light and conversational. [b]“So we fightin’ fighting, hanh? Bring it on then, ya fuckers!”[/b]

Without a pause, the warrior swung its chopper into its own arm, cutting into the bone and drawing out blood that ignited instantly into a purple blaze.

[b]“Let’s fucking GOOOOO!”[/b]

And with an earth-cracking kick, it leapt for Amulak, the infernal axe swinging for the hooded mage’s legs.
[sub][@Shovel][@Searat][@Psyker Landshark][@OwO][@Yankee][/sub][hr]
[b]“Indianna Jones?”[/b] Bortz furrowed his brows. [b]“What?”[/b]

Droko shared the same look of confusion, but didn’t decide to marginalize Ari’s hobbies and changed the subject instead. [b]“Tournament brackets are usually divided by level, actually. I mean, Horogi’s a bit of a special case because they have individual arenas for each major clan except for the Gakui-Re, but you could always dip your feet into it by checking out the one at Nyu-Taro.”[/b]

[b]“Oh yeah,”[/b] the hammer man butted in, glad to be in the loop again. [b]“Go there all the time. Making a name for myself in the Silver Sub-100 tier, even! Great for working out the kinks of your build; after all, it’s only in an itemless 1v1 where your skills really shine!”[/b]

[b]“Fucking Smash goon,” [/b]Droko muttered under her breath.

Bortz continued unabated. [b]“Could give you a tour of Nyu-Taro’s arena after this, Ari. Hook you up with some of my seniors. They'll teach ya the ropes pretty quick, 'specially if you're already a manual gamer."[/b]
[sub][@GreenGoat][/sub]