Again, the Emperor groaned. His cuts and bruises did not, however preferred by the Phoenix Wing wizards it might have been, prohibit him from whining. “On our feet? You just smashed us flat, you poltroons! We're obviously too hurt to go anywhere. Leave us or carry us, we're plenty light. But please, take us to detainment or whatever. It's for the best, Jamie might blow a cap if he saw us again.” Gil laid his head back down, chuckling nervously. The blood from the dire gash in his side, judging by the lethargic rate of flow, was far more viscous than most blood and did not pump nearly as freely. For now, the wound dealt to him by James remained nonfatal.
The demands of Cody received an inarticulate grumble. “Uuugh. I just told you everything, whoa,” Gil jerked away when Levi's black tendrils began to wrap around Sadie and him, smushing them together. “How...indecent! She's not wearing anything, you know!” He looked doubtfully at Cody as he knelt behind him and attempted some sort of introspective glare, for the Emperor's pupil-devoid eyes were far more piercing. “No, just some toy.” As the defensive wizard continued, Gil gasped in indignation. “What...'us guys are'!? How racist could you be! I refuse to answer any more of your moronic questions!” Had his arms been free, Gil would have crossed them resolutely, but as it was he could only adopt a disdainful expression.
A javelin to the stomach, however blunted, still hurt a lot to an unarmored target. Lakota took a step back, her birdlike face clouded by anger. Her breathing, though she'd only been active a few seconds, was thick and raspy, as if she were sick or her throat afflicted by some disease. Whatever this condition was, it did not seem to deter her. This time, rather than letting Lockheart waste more time with flowery speech yet again, the Sun opted to speak for the both of them. “Talk is for the weak!” came her scornful, guttural utterance, “Hope you like tasting pavement, humans!”
She charged forward again, her size and bulk poised to ram into and through Mark and whatever shields he raised. Lockheart, meanwhile, shook her head, flicked her tentacles, and released a trio of orange lightning bolts toward Luna.
I'll fry you in that armor, sweetie, she resolved.
Solemn and uncaring as ever, the Lovers watched Gabriel's dragon turn its fiery glare on its master, and remarked, “Seems like your partner is far less well-behaved than mine. No matter how brave or strong two are, if they cannot work together, they are nothing but two. Naomi and I are bound in eternal love. We are the perfect pairing.” In what looked like reaction to Jann's words, the dragon contorted itself around to face the Mystic Beast and without warning barreled forward to attack. Despite the incoming fangs and crushing jaws, Jann wore a nonplussed face. “Poorly behaved indeed. How...”
Before he could get another word out, presumably the often-used 'sad', Jann was thrown along with Naomi by the incredible force of the dragon's attack. Both cried out in pain, and as they crumpled to the ground, something strange happened. The mingling of their screams caused a disturbance in the very air, and small anomalies began to seep in. If Gabriel glanced down, he'd notice the grass blowing every which way, including opposite the wind; if he looked around, he'd find distant objects and scenery growing blurry while nearby items started to float, ever so slightly. More than likely, however, his attention would remain on the Lovers, just now fighting to stand back up. With every exhale, the inside of Jann's mouth, ears, and nose glowed with a searing red light, and Naomi's own maws and eyes shined with the same scarlet luminescence, though for now the redness remained dim. Around Jann's body, the air shimmered as if in a heatwave, and the Lovers whispered in that eerie voice, “Why...why? Why do you hurt us? Do you enjoy suffering? Don't hit us again, we can't take much more...”
This time, Naomi burst forward, slithering along the ground like a scaled bolt of lightning toward Gabriel, and Jann, his features twisted with hurt and anger, followed on her tail.
Meanwhile, in the duel between Proteus and Thor, the Mystic Beast held the upper had. His opponent had yet to fully recover, and with a gleeful cackle Proteus prepared to lay upon her a debilitating curse. As the ethereal arclight danced around him, however, a small, radiant eruption took place behind him. Too intent on his cursing, the Hanged Man didn't notice Magni's presence until his blades bit into his back, prompting a strangled bellow of wrath from whatever organs lay beneath his helmet. Intent on paying the Antimage back for the dirty blow, Proteus pivoted around and cleaved at Magni with his longsword and all his might.
VIII - Justice
XVII - the Star
@zarkunOf course Imani anticipated an attack—it was merely a matter of guessing which Jade Dragon art Hunter would throw out first. No shred of doubt could be found within the holder of the Justice card, for Imani now held a firm control over both the chakra of herself and of Hunter. Even as he attacked her, his own chakra would continue to burn within him, contesting with the magical energy running through his flesh and causing an acute, white-hot pain to distract, annoy, and eventually destroy him. A beam of brilliant viridian magic funneled Imani's way from the mouth of the Jade Dragon Slayer, but shaping her own chakra into a mesh of plate-sized interlocking rings served Imani well as a shield. Even so, the force of the Roar knocked the Mystic Beast back and took a chunk out of her chakra reserves.
Growling, she refocused on Hunter's next attack. More rings blocked his initial claw swipe, but the Dragon Fang wizard's subsequent barrage of attacks broke through the shredded barrier and reached Imani's body. She recoiled from the pain, jumping backward while Hunter wasted energy flipping, and checked herself for bruises as her opponent fortified himself. He would find no relief in that suit of armor from the pain of his own life essence going wrong, but against any chakra blasts Imani might conjure he'd be sitting pretty. After determining her limbs to be in workable condition, Justice's holder backed off. As tempting as it was to assert her might by creating a stalwart barrier and waiting for Hunter to drop, Imani's mission parameters dictated that doing so wasn't an option. Instead, she gave a derisive snort and licked her chops. “Surely you've got more than that...?”
Fleo nodded her assent to Sasha's suggestion. Crossing her bandaged arms, she smiled,
”Good plan! I wasn't suggesting some crazy bash, but I'm up for a celebration if you all are! Way to go, Karn. I thought that that crystal girl had you for a few moments there, but you were toying with her the whole time! Ruthless and awesome. I bet any of you could floor someone like me in an instant.” Partially leading the way for her friends, Fleo joined the crowd trickling out of the Doma Flau now that the day's events for the Grand Magic Games had definitively concluded.
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