The battle between Dracul and the two Stone Guardians has begun. The Knight Gabriel Lionus, and the three adventurers he had hired alongside, stand by to watch the battle unfold with Gabriel hoping to take advantage of a tired Dracul once the fight ends. Here is the result of the conflict...
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As the two Stone Guardians swing their blades simultaneously down at Dracul, he had already taken a battle stance. Prepared to fight. As the giant blades come crashing down on him the stone ground cracked and fractured, creating a small impact crater and kicking up dust around the area as a result.
While at first it'd appear that it had made contact with Dracul, in reality he had saw a small gap between both blades and positioned his body to where it was standing upright with his left side facing towards the Guardians. Avoiding the attack entirely. With the dust blocking the view of the Guardians, he took advantage and leaped out from the dust cloud with incredible speed. Appearing in front of one of the guardians head and delivered a straight kick. The force being enough to knock the 1st Guardian to the ground and even fracturing a bit of its stoney head. However as a result it left Dracul in the air with seemingly no way to dodge.
The 2nd Guardian took this opportunity to use one of their hands to deliver a downwards smack onto the airborne Dracul. Slapping him down to the ground like how one would hit a fly, causing him to crash into the ground and leave a near 10 foot in diameter crater. It then raised its sword with both hands again, planning to once again deliver a downwards slash at Dracul, and at the same time the 1st Guardian had managed to recover. Standing up once more to deliver the same attack with their ally. Once they attacked, it once again caused small to medium chunks of rubble to shoot up out of the ground and around the area.
Gabriel and the adventurers looked on, with Gabriel having a smirk on his face. Despite the showing from earlier and Draculs confidence, it seemed he was having more trouble than he might have suspected. Maybe he wouldn't need to get involved. However that thought quickly went away once he saw the Stone Guardians attempting to pull their blades away, struggling greatly to get them to move. Once the dust settled, he saw and was left somewhat surprised.
Dracul was standing their with one hand in the air, having both blades in his grip with the tips of his fingers digging into the large blades. He then chuckled a little before saying, "Well that's surprising... That little smack you managed to land actually stung me. Good job for you..." He said before using his free hand to channel what appeared to be a ball of flames in his hand, he then raised it towards the Guardian that hit him before speaking once more. "Let me return the favor!" He then fired it, hitting the Guardian clean in the head and causing a small explosion of flame in the process. The Guardian almost immediately let go of their blade and stumbled slightly, the force feeling as though they had been hit in the face by a powerful punch but otherwise not managing to do much other than crack the head. While the handle of the blade came falling to the ground.
This left Drac somewhat surprised, causing him to look at the hand he fired the attack from and questioned to himself. {That's odd... A low level spell like that should have been enough to take its head. Did staying in who knows how long in that crystal weaken me somewhat or is something else going on?}
His thoughts were soon broken when he noticed the foot of the 2nd Guardian coming towards, attempting to kick him in order to get him to let go of their blades. However, that kick was quickly met with a powerful palm strike by the free hand, hitting the Stone Guardian clean in the middle of the foot and completely taking off half of it in the process.
"I'll have to figure what's going on after I deal with you two..." Dracul said to himself before looking over at the Guardian he fired the low level spell at. He soon let go of the blades, rushing towards the handle that had fallen to the ground. Using both hands he went ahead and dug his fingers into the stone handle, gripping it tightly and twisting his body so he can deliver a sideways slash to the Stone Guardians side. The result was a near clean hit. The blade slicing through its side and causing the area where it left to break and send large bits of rock to come falling to the ground.
The upper and lower halves of the Stone Guardian came crashing down, with the cracked head breaking into a few large pieces and the rest of the body as well. Leaving rock sizes that ranged from small to large on the ground. However the attack did end up breaking the cracked stone blade. Leaving it useless.
Dracul soon tossed the oversized blade away. He didn't need to look behind himself to tell though that the remaining Guardian however was attempting to attack him from behind, attempting to once again crush him with their large blade. With his right hand he began to briefly charge what appeared to be an electrical sphere, and once he turned around to fire it before the Guardian could swing down on him. The effect was nearly instant. There was a tiny flash of blue light that went from Draculs hand, through the Guardian and up to the roof. Once that flash was gone the sound of a deafening boom echoed through the room and a bright flash of pure white light enveloped the area.
The sound was so loud it made Gabriel and his allies cover their ears to prevent themselves from having any possible hearing loss. They also closed their eyes once they did so. When they opened them they were met with the sight of a Stone Guardian that had been completely pulverized and large rubble that had fallen from the roof. The roof itself having a near 30 foot wide hole in it. When they looked over at Dracul, they saw him lowering his hand.
"What was that..?! That wasn't just ordinary lightning magic!" The female mage said, her voice reflecting both shock and possibly amazement at the whole show.
"I didn't think something like that would completely turn that statue into dust! Leave a hole I can understand, but it's like it's not even there!" The brawler said, sharing a similar amount of surprise as his friend.
"You don't think he can do that again, right? If he plans on continuing to fight..." The rogue said, his voice having shock but also a slight bit of worry. Knowing if Gabriel and Dracul fight then if Gabriel gets hit by that then there might not be anything left of the knight.
Gabriel for a moment was silent. He too was somewhat shocked but not surprised. From what he was told, this type of power should be expected. Even if his power is weakened. Though he noticed something that the others didn't while looking at Dracul. He then answered the rogues question by saying, "I don't think so. Look. He appears tired."
The three looked at Gabriel, then over to Dracul to see if what he said was right. He was. Panting a bit heavily in fact. Even though he's standing tall, he looked tired. As if that attack took out most of his energy out of him. The female mage was the first to speak about this and said, "It looks like he's near his limit now..."
"You think you can take him? That is, if you still plan on fighting him?" The rogue asked Gabriel. Looking over at him, wondering if he still plans on taking him on.
"If I did, I doubt I could do much to him. You saw what happened when that smack landed. It barely fazed him. Even if I hit him with my strongest attack I'm not sure it'll even cut him." Gabriel said, expressing his doubts. He was a highly skilled sword fighter and has an attack that can cut through blocks of marble the size of those Guardians, but if that smack couldn't deal the damage it should have, then he doubted it could cut him. Even a little.
"What will you do then?" The brawler asked, wondering if Gabriel even has a plan to combat him.
"There's only one thing I can do... Listen closely." Gabriel told them, getting the three close to him so he can whisper his plan to the three. Talking quietly enough to where Dracul wouldn't hear them.
With Dracul meanwhile, he walked over to a part of the broken head he made on the Guardian he cut. Sitting down on the largest piece to think to himself. He placed a hand under his chin and began to think. {Something's wrong... First that crystal took a bit of effort to break, and that spell I used to shatter took a bit more energy than I thought. Then that Guardians attack actually managed to sting me, and that low level fire spell didn't do anything other than crack it. Finally that last spell I fired... It left me feeling drained. It can't just be because of any lack of food or drink after being in that crystal for who knows how long. There's something else going on. Did someone... Seal most of my power?} That last thought left him feeling two things. Worried and frustrated. He had spent a long time obtaining the strength he had before and the thought at going back to nearly square one was annoying. Still he did it before and he can do it again. Just as he was starting to accept that fact his stomach growled loudly, causing him to look down and place a hand on his gut. {Well whatever happened I'm going to need to get something to eat. Regaining my power won't do me no good if I don't have the strength to do so.} Just as he thought that however, he felt a rock that was kicked his way hit his boot. This caused him to look over in the direction it came from and sure enough Gabriel was the one responsible.
Gabriel was holding his blade over his shoulder, looking at Dracul with a serioud expression and said, "You finished sitting there, devil?"
"I wasn't 'just sitting'. I was thinking. You need something?" He asked, acting as if he truly didn't really care about Gabriel at the moment. Who could blame him? He's hungry, thirsty and is more concerned about other things. Even so he tried acting as calm as he could.
"Do I need something? Yes, I do! You and me have business." Gabriel said, making it clear that he intended on fighting Dracul like he said earlier. Despite the display he put on.
"Can't we do it after I get something to eat and drink? I'm pretty hungry to be frank. Actually, do you have anythi-" Dracul said, about to ask if Gabriel had anything he could share. Despite the fact Gabriel was clearly trying to threaten him. Though his words were cut short.
"No. Now stand." Was all Gabriel said, now grabbing onto his blade with both hands and getting into a battle stance.
"Thanks a lot then bud. Hey, you three." Dracul said, looking over towards the 3 adventurers. Causing them to jump a bit in surprise, not expecting him talk to then directly. "You got anything I could eat or drink? That's all I'm really askin'."
This was of course enough to get the three adventurers to look at one another in silence. Unsure of what to say. Did this guy, a person who was said to give up his humanity, ask for something to eat from them? Thats kinda odd to say the least.
"Um..." Was all the female mage managed to say before Gabriel shouted.
"ENOUGH! Just stand and quit stalling! Or do I have to make you stand?!" Gabriel yelled, clearly finding this frustratin and having enough of the nonsense he's witnessing.
Dracul simply gave a exasperated sigh, placing a hand on his head before speaking. "Gods it's like trying to have a conversation with a wild wyvern in the middle... Fine." He said, soon getting up from the rock he sat on. This causing Gabriel to tighten the grip on his blade. Dracul soon took one step forward and said, "Lets do thi-" Just as he spoke he had a funny look in his eyes. His face going into a neutral like look before he started falling forward. {Ooooh shit..} Was all he thought as he began to fall and faceplant into the ground. His vision being completely dark while it happened.
This caused Gabriel and the 3 to look at Dracul. Blinking in slight surprise. They knew he was tired but he barely took a step forward before faceplanting into the ground.
As Dracul laid on the ground, he thought to himself. {Did I just fall to the ground? I can't see anything but I can feel it... If I did that then I'm definitely unable to fight for long. At best I can throw a few punches before I collapse again.} He thought, knowing that if him and Gabriel fight he'd have to make it quick or else he'll collapse. Then again something else crossed his mind... What if that was the plan? What if Gabriel planned on waiting until he collapses? {That has to be his game. Why else would he have the guts to fight me still?} He'll have to play it smart and knock him out quickly as best he could. {My vision's coming back.}
"Is he..?" The female mage asked, wondering if he is still conscious. Though her answer would quickly be answered.
"Hold on! I'm good... Just got a bit dizzy is all." He said, slowly getting up to make sure that doesn't happen once again.
As he got up Gabriel readied himself, standing firmly in his battle stance as he watched Dracul get up. He knows he won't do much, but if he can get Dracul to spend whatever energy he had left then he can get him restrained and take him in chains.
Once Dracul had gotten up, he took one last deep breath. Taking in as much oxygen as he could before looking back over at Gabriel. "Alright. Alright. I'm good now. Let's do this." Unlike before with the Stone Guardians however, Drac didn't get in a fighting stance. He had his hands to his side, as if waiting for Gabriel to make a move.
While most would think his lack of taking a stance is either a sign of disrespect, or a lack of any will to fight. Gabriel knew better. He was an experienced enough fighter to see that Dracul had his guard up and was anticipating an attack. Normally he wouldn't make the first move, but he knows that's not an option. He could tell Dracul was a smart enough fighter to know he was low on energy, and he'd need to conserve it by going on the defensive. Attacking wastes more energy than needed, and Dracul was aware of that fact. Seeing no other option he held his sword tightly, placing both hands on the handle and positioning the blade to where he would deliver a powerful thrust.
Within the blink of an eye, Gabriel made his move. The distance between the two closed, and Gabriel attempted to stab through Draculs torso.
Of course, this didn't happen. His strike met nothing but air as Dracul simply sidestepped him and used his right hand to deliver a fast and strong enough punch to Gabriels jaw. An attempted knock out. It worked as Gabriel was soon seen falling forward, unconscious and hit the ground while simultaneously dropping his sword.
"Now that that's done. Fare-the-well." Dracul simply said, knowing that Gabriel had lost the battle. Even so, the satisfaction of victory was not what Dracul bothered with. He wanted to eat and he'll leave to find something. He soon started to walk towards the doorway, his mind focused only on getting something to refill his energy. He honestly didn't care if he had to eat a wyvern.
However, just as he was about 10 feet from the doorway, his instincts went off. Alerting him that an attack was coming his way. He quickly stopped to turn around to see Gabriel's blade coming down at him, no more than a foot near his face. On instinct he simply jumped to the side, the blade barely missing and colliding with the ground. The result being the force alone created a crack that stretched across the surface for about 15 feet. Only stopping about 10 feet away from him.
After dodging it Dracul looked at Gabriel with slight surprise. He thought for sure he knocked him out for the count. He nearly even asked how he got up, but then he sensed a faint hint of magic coming off him. Healing magic. Not his own, but the female mages. {Tch... Figures.} Dracul thought, then stood up as Gabriel pulled his blade out of the cracked ground. "I should have expected that to be too easy. You're really adament on not letting me leave here, are you? Even though you can't win?" He questioned, though he figured he already knew the answer.
Once Gabriel pointed his blade at Dracul, he then answered. "I may not be able to win, but I intend on making sure you don't leave here unbound."
"Ah. Taking me in, huh? On what charge? Sleeping?" Dracul joked, clearly finding the attempt of being bound somewhat amusing.
"For posing a danger to all mankind." Was all Gabriel answered before taking a stance once more. Holding his blade with both hands once more.
"Ugh, gods damn it. You really are slow in the head you know th-" His words were soon cut off by seeing a wave of yellow energy cutting through the air. He managed to side step it and let it fly past him, allowing it to continue onwards before hitting a wall. He looked over at the impact area and noticed that it left a clean vertical cut into the stone. "That was a close one. Light magic?" He asked, looking back at Gabriel.
"Holy Severance. Now hold still." He one again attempted to go up close to Dracul. His blade now covered in pure yellow energy as he slashed away at Dracul, who was managing to dodge every attack with seemingly no difficulty.
In truth, Dracul was only barely managing to keep up. His low energy reserves making it hard to move quicker than he usually would, but even so he was able to anticipate Gabriels attacks. He has to say though, he's somewhat impressed. He's skilled with a blade and quick despite being in such heavy armor. Nothing to scoff at, but he's leaving too many openings.
This fight turned into a dance of death. With Dracul side stepping or moving away, and Gabriel pushing onward to attack. The missed strikes sending light energy crashing into the walls and causing small rocks to jump out of the walls. If it continued on, the entire room would come crashing down onto their heads. Though the dance soon stopped.
At one point Dracul took advantage of an opening, ducking through a sideways slash and moving close to deliver a powerful gut punch that sent Gabriel flying and tumbling across the ground for about 50 feet, dropping his blade in the process. Nearly cracking the armor. Though it soon left Dracul panting heavily, letting him know he only has enough in him for one more attack before he collapses. He then looked over at the three adventurers with Gabriel and he gave them a look that told them not to try healing him. Once again he turned away and began walking, though this time at a slightly slower pace. {I hope he just stays down. If I wanted to kill him I would have. Once I get enough energy I'll look into who told him I'm some devil.}
It wasn't no more than just a few moments after he walked through the doorway he sensed that mage casting healing magic. That made him stop and groan in annoyance, yet just as he was turning around he felt something wrap around his neck. It felt like a chain. One made of pure magical energy. Once he fully turned around he saw Gabriel barely leaning forward on the ground, not even on his own two feet, yet he held an arm out that was connected to that chain. It was actually able to prevent him from going any further.
Gabriel, who despite having healing magic cast on him, was still somewhat in pain. He held the magic chain in his hand and said, "Like I said, you're not leaving here unbound!" The chain then began to move, pulling into the sleeve that was barely under his gauntlet and dragging Dracul towards him. He then started channeling light magic in his free hand, forming a fist as Dracul was quickly getting dragged towards him. He soon got up on his feet and said, "Lets see if you can feel this!"
Dracul had it now. If there's one thing that can be said, Dracul had been going easy on him. He practiced great patience when it came to him, but now it's wearing thin. He knows Gabriel will just keep attacking, and he knows that if he throws one more attack then he'd be out for a bit. Either way it's not going to end well for either. Even if he gets out he'd probably collapse once he reaches the end of wherever he's at, especially if he can't get anything to eat on. So, even though he didn't want to do it, he figured he'd make Gabriel learn a lesson. He yelled, "I doubt I will, but I know you'll feel this!" As he said that he made a fist with his dominant hand, channelling what bit of magic he had into it to create a flame to surround his hand.
Once the two had gotten within arms length, they threw their attacks. Colliding each other's fists in a brilliant clash of red and yellow. The 3 adventurers that were with Gabriel were forced to shield their eyes as a result of the bright collision of lights. Though once the lights died down it showed a rather awful scene. Gabriel was laying on his back, screaming in agony, his right arm completely blown off from the collision with his shoulder suffering severe second degree burns. Dracul meanwhile was laying down, stomach and face against the ground. Out cold. All that he had left was put into that, and it resulted in him collapsing from exhaustion. Though his eyes were open for a brief moment, able to see the three adventurers rushing to help Gabriel. Their voices becoming muffled, along with his screams as everything turned dark and silent. One thing went through his mind... When he wakes up, what will he awaken to?