[center][u][b]Minamoto Yoshitsune[/b][/u]
Level 3 [23/30]
Al Mamoon Northwest - Obelisk Temple
1361
[@Lugubrious][/center]

With the water on the floor, Yoshitsune didn’t have quite the mobility he wanted with his wheels. Choosing to lock them and run as he used to, his onslaught continued, though he did manage to block or dodge most of the fireballs coming at him. A few hits in less-lethal places, mainly his arms and legs, left him able to fight but not unscathed.

With a roar of rage, the samurai ran as fast as he could at the caster, head tilted low, seeming to aim for a ram with his helmet. Instead, at the last second, he froze, turning all the momentum from his dash into thrusts from his blades, aiming for the caster in the center of his chest and center of his abdomen. He didn’t expect his plan to work out completely, as he hadn’t kept his eyes on the sorcerer and didn’t know if he’d moved or not. It was an all-or-nothing attack, one that he knew he’d never have used before coming to this strange world.

Whether the attack hit or not, he’d jump back, giving himself enough time to dodge the mage’s next attack if he wasn’t defeated yet, and take a look at the others who joined him in the room.

Hot hail rained down across Yoshitsune's helmet and back, but the Samurai powered through, undeterred. Charnok attempted to defend himself by interposing his staff between his assailant and himself, which might have blocked a headbutt but didn't help a whole lot against thrusts. He took both stabs, and though the fire that surrounded the katanas showed no sign of hurting him, it was clear Yoshitsune left a mark. Of course, charging headlong into a flamethrower set the samurai on fire too, and he jumped back into the water to put himself out.

Charnok didn't give him a chance to check on the others just yet. The dragon mage cast a spread of fireballs before renewing a shower of Hot Hail, the red-hot stones failing all around the samurai. In addition a fair amount of blunt force, Yoshitsune's metal armor was starting to heat up, and would burn his skin terribly if allowed to get much hotter.

With the stones falling and heating his armor, Yoshitsune was definitely in dire straights. He allowed himself to fall back into the water, keeping only his face above the surface, as his swords blocked and parried most of the stones, though he did focus his defense over his vital areas, taking a few searing burns to his arms and legs again. 

With his quick thinking, he lifted his wheels just enough to not touch the floor below the water before spinning them as fast as he could in reverse, causing water to splash over the dragon mage, hopefully causing enough of a distraction, for the samurai to leap back into an attack, slashing his left sword for his opponent's neck. He expected it to be blocked. Immediately, he thrust his right blade straight for the beast-man's heart.(edited)

From the pool below the fountain came a front of water, aimed for Charnok. Seeing it both annoyed and amused him--did this swordsman think that such an attack would hurt him because he manipulated fire? He allowed himself to be doused without complaint, only closing his eyes for a moment to keep the sudden spurt out of his eyes. Once he opened them he saw Yoshitsune jumping up onto the carved stone of the fountain, using each tier as a footstool to reach the topmost section where Charnok waited. As he approached the dragon mage toasted his foe with another flamethrower, then broke sideways so he wasn't facing Yoshitsune head-on. The samurai came at him with both swords in sequence once more, this time a slash into thrust. Knowing he wouldn't be able to block well anyway, Charnok decided he'd try and make his foe back off, so once he blocked the first strike he swung the other way with his staff. Yoshitsune's katana pierced Charnok's chest one more, but got nowhere near the heart before the mage's staff clonked him in the side of the head. Charnok then cast a spell, causing orange circles to appear on the fountain around him. A moment later they burst upwards in geysers of flame.

Yoshitsune barely landed on his wheels after the sudden and disorienting thwonk to his head. "Put away that wretched maho and fight like a true warrior!" he called to the mage above him. Once the flaming pillars began to erupt, the samurai didn't have many options except dodge quickly and stay mobile. It was time to go on the defensive. Let his opponent attack, allowing him the chance to parry and counter. He just had to get him to that point. "Or is the tiny lizard too afraid?" Egging him into attacking couldn't hurt too much. His wheels itched to move, to go on the offense. He held them back.

The samurai's new strategy quickly evidenced a flaw. Though Charnok happily gave in to the taunts and launched his attack, he was happy to stay parked right on top of the high ground and sling down fireballs from afar. No matter how annoyed he got, the sorcerer would not just throw himself into melee combat he was ill-suited for.

Yoshitsune stayed on the defense, dodging or blocking most attacks. It wasn't too long before he had an idea. Using the same trick with the water, he figured he'd blind the mage temporarily before finding a sneaky place to hide. Using the statues as a cover, out of the sorceror's line-of-sight, he figured it was the safest spot. He'd used a similar strategy against Kagekiyo when he tried to make himself a god. Why shouldn't it work here? He just had to wait for the unsuspecting dragon mage to climb down.

Eventually the samurai seemed to have his fill of fireballs and, after another big splash, circled around the fountain to hide behind the statues. Charnok snorted and moved forward to get a better angle. "Can't hide from me, human!" he growled. A devilish idea came to mind, and with a toothy grin he readied his staff."Gotcha cornered now!" With a flick of his staff he brought down another Hot Hail to bombard Yoshitsune's current position. As the fiery stones hit the water they threw up enough steam to quickly make a giant smokescreen, and while Yoshitsune hunkered down Charnok began to summon a meteor to obliterate his foe from above. A moment later if fell, and with a mighty explosion wiped away steam and statue alike. "Grahaha! Hail, yes!"

As soon as the area began filling up with steam, Yoshitsune knew what was about to happen, a large, focused attack. He'd been seen in that spot but hadn't noticed it until the falling rocks. With as much speed and stealth as he could muster, he ran behind the dragon mage, jumped right as the giant meteor impacted, and landed on Charnok's back, both blades pressed against his throat. "Maho-oni," he spat before aiming to decapitate his foe.

The very second Charnok felt the unexpected weight hit his back and the unknown words hit his ear, the mage panicked and enacted his emergency measures. As Yoshitsune's blades descended to the ground beneath, Charnok exploded, launching both himself and his unwelcome rider. The sudden burst of force saved his life, turning certain death into a mortal injury, and well before the dragon reached the peak of his rocket jump a golden magic circle whisked him away. Yoshitsune was left alone in midair, the knee-deep water of the pool not quite enough to break a fall.

Yoshitsune landed with a roll. Looking around, he saw no sign of the dragon mage. It took him only a second to see his allies were still in their battle. “I hate maho users,” he grumbled to himself.

With a light jog, he was soon close enough to the other battle that he could join, though still far enough away to not get hit by any stray attack. “Need a hand?” he asked, twirling one of his swords, seeming both bored and annoyed.