Cottonmouth

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Roy nodded. "I suppose you're right. There aren't many options for me here. But I've always felt that lady luck has been on my side." With that final sentence his docile behavior suddenly turned for the worst and he immediately popped a hidden knife out from the inside of his leather sleeve, and in one fluid motion rose from his knees and stabbed out towards Travis' neck.

Roy took the gamble. He figured that even if he let the group capture him, he'd eventually either be killed by them, or he'd be killed later by his own former crew. As soon as the captain showed his face he knew he'd be struck down for his treason. Or worse, he'd be tossed to the churchgoers currently on board for their own personal judgement on him.

---

Nemo took his glove back and slid it back on his hand. "You're welcome." He replied simply before he continued on walking. By this point they were close to the exit. Nemo only showed a slight reaction on his face after Raiya's look of horror. While he didn't show it much, it was certainly something he thought about afterwards. The thoughts seemed to make him less talkative than usual. I figured it would scare her, but there was nothing else I could do. But I shouldn't be surprised, that look is how it's always been. He continued to ponder on it until they reached the hatch back out. With a small flick of his wrist he used his magic to spin it open.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Nemo took Raiya's gloved hand and placed it on his shoulder. "The spell is what brings stolen mana to my own pool. The enchanted runic glove only enhances the rate at which I can steal it, as well as directing the flow to it's wearer. Since that wielder is almost always me it's usually an overlooked aspect. Outside of that spell the glove also works for me like a wand or a staff does for other mages." Nemo explained.

"Just let go once you feel like you've gained back enough." Nemo then activated his drain spell while whispering the word "umkehren." He knew the spell had worked when he started to feel his mana slip away, and while using his manalysis he saw Raiya's began to restore. He had used his spell countless times on others, but he never knew what his trademark ability felt like on the other end of the barrel. The feeling made him sprout a small toothy smirk on his face.

The rate at which Raiya was gaining mana back was rather fast. Nemo had always found the sensation of rapidly stealing mana to be pleasant, but he guessed that for Raiya it might feel odd, especially coupled with the fact she was getting his own void-ish manastrain as well.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

"The secret recipe doesn't really lie within the incantation. It's the X runes, and..." Nemo set softly set Raiya down by a wall so she could use it to prop herself up. "... the glove." He finished, raising his right hand and wiggling his covered fingers.

Nemo pulled Raiya's jacket and sweatshirt off his shoulder and offered them back to her. "Until I developed those two things, my absorption ability was much less weaponized. It was only really viable to use it for gaining small bits of mana from crystals and nature. The glove acts like a lightning rod, amplifying the power of the ability as well as guiding all the gained magical energy from what it's touching to it's user." Nemo explained before pulling the enchanted black leather glove off is hand, something he rarely ever did.

He then extending his arm out and offered the item to her. "Which is why if you are wearing it, and with a few minor mental modifications, the energy should transfer to you instead, even if I'm activating the spell. It should be relatively safe as well, as I'm basically just attempting to steal my own mana here not yours. If diverting it's path from me to you doesn't work, nothing should happen."

"So I suppose it's not exactly like reversing the spell, it's still just stealing with extra steps. I wish I had the ability to un-wither the flowers I touch, but giving life just isn't something someone like me has the gift to do."

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Nemo let out a small laugh at Raiya's robot impression as he continued tracing their steps back out the ship, passing many of the bodies they made on the way down. By this point they were close to reaching the exit, and thankfully they hadn't run into any sailors again. Raiya's response caused Nemo's head to cock to the side as he thought. "Well, what if I tried to give you some of my mana?" Nemo asked, sounding unsure of himself. "I've never tried it before, but if I made a couple of small adjustments to my absorption spell I might be able to do it. I'm not sure if there would be any side effects though. Most people think of me as being impure, so I'm not sure if you'd even want to do that." Nemo explained.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

"Hey, don't say that, I'm sure it's all gonna be daijoubu Raiya." Nemo replied with a more softer voice to try to comfort her. "You tried something new, having to work out all the kinks is to be expected. I've made my own share of mistakes in that regard as well. I remember the first time I tested out this new explosion spell out in the field it didn't go so well. Had a bit more power than I thought, wiped out the entire fifth floor of the apartment I was in. I got blown through a glass window myself, would have probably broke every bone in my body when I hit the floor if I didn't crash through a cloth awning first." Nemo remembered.

"D-do you think there would be any ways for you to recharge your mana? You're like an electrical mage right? Couldn't you like find a power outlet or something for that?" Nemo said, his tone left whether he was joking ambiguous.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Roy brought himself to his knees, noticing Travis' runes. He let out a sigh, but it turned into a chuckle towards the end. "It's possible I have, what's it to ya lad?" Roy asked, not making any sudden movements. It's likely for a smuggler like him, putting his life on the line for his crew wasn't something he really wanted to do. But in the same regard if they kept him alive, Roy backstabbing them later with one of his knives was equally possible.

---

Nemo continued walking through the ship's interior. "Yeah I'm getting ideas alright, the first one is to drop you." Nemo retorted jokingly. Nemo seemed hesitant to continue, but eventually spoke again. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news and whatnot, but this mission has really only just kicked off. It's going to be pretty hard to fight off the rest of the heavy hitters on this ship if I'm just limited to... kicking. I don't think the Master Blaster technique we got going here is gonna work out." Nemo explained.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Roy's reckless run through his own smokescreen was probably a mistake, and he wasn't prepared enough for what was coming for him. He didn't think to look up to the moon, so once he noticed Zoey's attack it was already too late. He tried to dodge and used his arms to shield himself, attempting to generate some sort of barrier, but with the time he had to do so it was easily shattered.

Roy was hit three times in the arms, and once in the leg before he tripped and fell to the ground, sliding to a stop. Christ that stings! He thought as he laid vulnerable on the floor. Roy dug his hand into his jacket, and pulled out the same anti-magic powder he used early and tried to quickly apply it to his wounds in an attempt to sooth the burning sensation. To a degree it worked, but it didn't bring him back up to full speed.

Roy started to get up, but his damaged arms made it take longer than usual, leaving him open to attack. He kept one hand grasping a knife in case somebody came close to attack.

---

"Just have to take care of some things first." Nemo replied and turned around. He walked over to his chair and retrieved Raiya's jacket and hoodie. He collapsed the chair and returned it to his inventory, and slung her clothes over his shoulder. Nemo turned to the shield generator next. He whispered a spell into his hand, by the time it was done he was now grasping a black ball with a white X printed on it in his hand.

Nemo crouched down and rolled it across the room to the generator. The sound it made indicated it was solid, like a billiards ball, despite being generated from magic. It rolled to a stop in front of the generator, and began to glow bright white at it's core. The ball let out a faint fizzing sound before it detonated into a bright white explosion. The generator was completely destroyed.

"Alright, let's get out of here." Nemo stated before walking back over to Raiya. He crouched down and gently picked her up. Nemo supported her with one arm under her back and the other hooked under her knees. Nemo began walking out of the room and plotted his way back out of the ship. While carrying Raiya didn't seem to put any strain on him, Nemo was ever so slightly blushing, easily noticeable on his white skin. Being in such a close proximity to somebody else was clearly a foreign act to somebody like him.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Nemo gently placed his palm over her wound. He used a basic spell at first to map out the damage that was done inside before going to work with his mana-thread technique. Slowly but surely feint blue glowing threads started to generate and close up her wound. But this wasn't limited to just the surface, more generated inside and went to work repairing her lung and bone. The process wasn't painful, in fact, it was somewhat pleasant. A slightly warm tingling sensation could be felt as Nemo's mana-threads repaired flesh. The only painful thing was when the rib moved back into place, but the pain pain was dulled down to be more of a discomfort.

Soon enough the process was finished, and Nemo lifted his hand away to reveal that both his threads and her wound were gone. The magic within his threads made it much more advanced than stitches, once they faded away not even a scar was left in it's place. "Better?" Nemo asked. "The area might feel a bit sore still, but besides that it should be good as new."

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Caspian was the first person to move, rushing towards Nemo. His cutlass lit up orange before reaching his opponent, as he swung at Nemo a trail of burning hot energy followed it. Nemo bent backwards to duck under the swing before spinning around and wacking Caspian with his unsheathed sword over the shoulder.

One

Caspian thrust his sword towards Nemo's stomach, but in response Nemo used his own to block and push down the cutlass' tip to the floor. He slid the saya back up the blunt side of Caspian's sword and hit him square in the face with it.

Two

Caspian yelped and stepped back, using his free hand to clutch his nose as a trickle of blood began to pour out. At this point he was starting to get angry with Nemo's conduct. The fact he hadn't even unsheathed his sword yet made him feel insulted. Caspian's cutlass lit up blue and he furiously swung three times at a distance towards Nemo. Three razor sharp crescent shaped energy waves were propelled towards him.

In response Nemo shot out his own X shaped blast from his hand, cutting through all three crescents and continuing on towards Caspian.

Three

Caspian dodged out of the way of the blast, but it continued on to hit the shield generator instead. The glow around the machine faltered, and the outer hull of it was damaged. Up above the shield around the captain's quarters began to weaken. Caspian let out a snarl at his failure to protect the generator. However at least it wasn't totaled yet.

This time Nemo moved in on Caspian. He swung his sheathed sword horizontally towards him. Caspian parried the attack with his cutlass.

Four

Caspian took the opportunity to try to damage Nemo by punching him in the stomach with an magically enhanced attack. In connected, but Nemo didn't seem be effected by it, absorbing the force like a punching bag. In return Nemo used his own enhanced punch on Caspian while he was still trying to decipher why his attack didn't work. It connected to his ribs, no doubt breaking a few in repayment.

Five

Caspian howled in pain, but it sounded more like a wheeze as he kicked Nemo away from him. He took a few moments to recover and moved back. "You know what... I'm starting to regret removing that water now." He commented in between breaths, letting out a small laugh at the end.

He suddenly pulled his flintlock back out and fired, launching a large blast of blue energy from the barrel at Nemo. The surprise didn't work, and Nemo used his warp to faze a couple feet off to the side. The attack continued on and collided with the metal wall, exploding and creating a large hole of mangled metal.

Six

Nemo placed his other hand on the hilt of his katana now, assuming a 'ready to draw' position. Caspian sighed and put his flintlock back. He flourished his cutlass a couple times before rushing towards Nemo. Nemo sped off as well, closely analyzing Caspian's movement. Once the two fighters met, Caspian raised his sword up and swung it down towards Nemo at an angle. At the last second Nemo used his warp to place himself off to the side and drew his own sword and struck in one fluid motion before they passed each other.

Seven

The warp had faked Caspian out, and his swing had completely missed. However the giant gash on Caspian's side signified that Nemo didn't. Blood sprayed out from it like a he had sprung a leak, and the rush of pain made it too hard for Caspian to even think of a next move.

Nemo turned his sword around and held it so it was pointing behind him. He then used the same spell from before to quickly slide himself across the floor backwards, driving the sword straight through Caspian's back and out from his chest in the front.

Eight

Caspian let out a small gurgle before blood started to spill from his mouth. His grip on the cutlass slowly loosened until he dropped it on the floor with a metal clang. Nemo withdrew his sword from Caspian's body and let him lifelessly drop to the floor. The sword seemed to absorb his blood just like before until it was clean as a whistle. Nemo then sheathed it and returned it to his inventory.

With that over, Nemo walked over to Raiya in the corner of the room. He crouched down, looking at her wound. "Let me see it." He said.

Paragon's End [Modern/Fantasy/Anime/Adventure]

Nemo watched the fight with manalysis, giving him a better idea of what was going on. He saw Raiya's manawell plummet and was curious as to how this could of happened. But he developed a hypothesis quickly enough. Her sword must be taxing her mana when it destroys solid objects, unfortunately Caspian's enchanted sword must issue a high tax. That small nick she caused must have tanked her wells. Before he could continue theory crafting, a more pressing issue seemed to arise...

Caspian rushed towards Raiya as she tried to cover. Not looking down on me anymore are ya? He thought as he pulled his cutlass up high, ready to finish her off. "At least you'll die by the sword." Caspian commented as he started to bring down his blade towards her neck. Unfortunately his victory party was cut short when the saya of Nemo's sword blocked it at the last second, preventing him from casting his death blow.

Shit! How could he of gotten here so fast without me noticing? Caspian thought. He must have some sort of warp, but even then I should of been able to pick up the activation.

Nemo pulled his sword up, pushing Caspian's cutlass up along with it. He let go of his own sword, causing it to spin around up in the air. With his hands free he reached out with one arm to grab Caspian by the arm holding his sword. Caspian soon tried to counter attack with his free hand by charging a spell, but was panicked to find out that while in Nemo's grasp he was unable to cast spells. He swung at him all the same, but Nemo easily ducked under it.

Caspian left himself wide open, and in return Nemo used his other arm to tightly grasp him by the throat. He lifted Caspian off his feet with a display of strength, and then violently turned and threw him away like a ragdoll in a show of force. Caspian heavily collided with the metal ground away from the pair. Nemo caught his sword once it came back down from the air and held it at his side.

Caspian groaned and slowly got back up to his feet. He picked his Cutlass back up and regained his composure. "Didn't anyone ever teach you to mind your own fuckin' business 'bino boy?" He stated angrily, dusting his jacket off.

"I apologize for my intrusion. But, with this matter, I simply must insist." Nemo replied. He tone and attitude seemed to be much less upbeat than usual. He didn't have any jokes, quips, or even an insult to throw in. Caspian let out a small chuckle in response.

Nemo looked over to Raiya, checking her condition, then looked back to Caspian. "Eight moves." He stated, causing a confused reaction from Caspian. "What?" He asked.

"This battle will have eight moves before I kill you. So unless you can kill me before then, prepare to die." Nemo elaborated.

Caspian didn't respond with any words, he simply let out a small scoff, smirked, and raised his sword up into a ready stance.

---

Roy's grenade was indeed forced back by Zuri's spell, but it exploded into a thick cloud of purple smoke halfway back to Roy, creating a barrier of noxious gas between them. Coupled with Travis' fresh ice-wall, it left him with only one option left: forward. And forward he went.

After a moment of silence, Roy suddenly burst forth from the cloud of purple gas, covering his nose and mouth with his arm as he ran through like a juggernaut. Besides a few scratches, he didn't seem to be significantly damaged from Zuri's pebble sized barrage. Trying to capitalize on the element of surprise, Roy then pulled two knives from their holders and hurled them at the two closet people, Travis and Zuri.

He was now much closer to the group, with a wall of gas behind him preventing him from retreating. For a witch hunter however, being closer wasn't necessarily a bad thing.