011: A True Demon [Mixed Video/Action, Backdated to spirit event]

[beautifulmidboss]

[Part 1: Action, Backdated to the 2nd Day - after Dracula makes it worse]



[Midboss had been keeping a close eye on the spirits moving throughout Everglade and Genessia since the problem began...and he had no doubt that suddenly, this mess had gotten worse for no readily apparent reason. He knew something needed to be done. Attleton was calm, he could leave it be for now.


It didn't take him long to notice the giant cracks in the barrier itself, spirits swarming out the gap in vast number. It had to be stopped.

Activating his flight charm, he sped towards the opening, hoping to call on his magic to seal the barrier. It worked on Baal, there was no reason it shouldn't work on this.

It didn't take long for the hungry spirits to overwhelm him once he'd flown right into their midst. His energy attacks pushed them back, but he was grossly outnumbered, and the crack wasn't getting any smaller.

Why wasn't it working??

Slowly, slowly, he felt the creatures sucking his power from him, leaving an overwhelming sense of cold throughout his whole body...


Finally, Midboss fell to the ground, stumbling before he landed on his knees in the dirt. It should have bothered him more that his powers had failed to stop the onslaught, but right now he just felt numb, hollow as he watched the spirits swarm straight past him.]


[Part 2: Video/Action, Backdated to the 4th Day, early afternoon]



[After the attack, Midboss had thought it best he rested up, chalking his feelings down to exhaustion from the failed effort.

Even now, however, they kept gnawing at him. That emptiness, far worse than the humiliation of defeat. Too much like when Gwen had been taken from him, but the fact the usual pain that accompanied those memories failed to come as well?

He couldn't stand it.

Finally, he addressed a video to the whole of Genessia from where he stood in the Attleton arena. Battle had begun this, but perhaps it would be battle that could reawaken the spark within him?]

People of the five cities. I, the city Guardian of Attleton, come baring a challenge.

[For once, the melodrama and the playful banter had been all but lost from his voice and expression. It made way for only the iciness one might expect of a true demon.]

I seek to make this city into a Netherworld fitting my image, a place that reflects the power of the great Overlord now ruling over it.

But a Netherworld is only as strong as it's people - my vassals. Nothing can come from ruling over those who cannot fight. Thus, I ask you all to come forward to the Attleton Colosseum and prove yourselves worthy. I will make warriors of you yet.

[He would normally lock a feed when addressing people privately, but this time, he saw little point to it.]

Ted. You asked me to train you, yet you've been avoiding me. I thought better of you. Come to the Colosseum at once.

Zoisite, take care of business whilst I'm gone.

[With that, he ends the feed and awaits his challengers...

Anyone who does arrive at the arena for a fight will notice he's taken on a different look, one perhaps more fitting for an Overlord.]


[Part 3: Action, Backdated to the 4th Day, evening]



[Unimpressed with the fights in the arena, Midboss Krichevskoy stalked the edges of the arena, ready to fight anyone who came his way.

The battles in the colosseum were meaningless, there was no danger, no challenge -- out here, perhaps he could actually get the rush of adrenaline he needed...]

[OOC: If you're going to fight Midboss, please let me know in advance how far you're comfortable with taking the damage. He will kill people both inside (part 2) and outside (part 3) the arena, but obviously not everyone will want that to happen - so please just give me a heads up! Plan so far is for Laharl to kill Midboss, but anything else is cool.]

Comments

[forever_prince]

[Laharl had been off fighting the spirits from the start, but this caused him to stall in the air. His grip tightened on his sword's hilt and black flames began to lick at his form as the spirits began to fall just from getting too close to the barely contained rage.]

The hell are you doing, Mid-Boss? You know damn well I'm the Overlord here. You can't just go making claims like that.

[Video]

[beautifulmidboss]

Laharl.

[Strangely, Midboss didn't rise to the insult. No fleck of anger at the nickname.]

I am the Guardian here, I can make what claims I wish about the fate of this place.

[4th Day, early afternoon]

[deadlysakura]

Of course, sir. I won't let you down.

[Video]

[forever_prince]

The hell is wrong with you? This isn't a Netherworld, and we can't make it one until the Dark Senate approves it. You of all people should know this. Not to mention that I'm the one in charge here. You can't do jack squat without my permission.

[He flicks his wrist, sending a wave of energy out from his sword, cleaving a number of spirits in half just to keep the rage from boiling over.]

Or do I need to remind you why you're just a Mid-Boss?

[Video]

[beautifulmidboss]

The Dark Senate isn't here, thus the 'choice' lies with us alone.

That aside, it's my title that holds power here, not yours. Everyone in the five cities can see that.

[He watched the rage, unmoved by it. Strange, surely he should feel something about his son being this worked up -- guilt, satistfaction, anything?]

Do I have to remind you that I am the greatest Overlord to ever rule?

[4th Day, early afternoon]

[beautifulmidboss]

Good. Make sure that you don't.

[At least someone wasn't questioning his insanity.]

[youfool]

Even Ted could see something was up. He was wearing a shirt, for one.

"What in the world has gotten into you, man? Er, demon-man?" Vainglorious though Vyers might be, he'd never adopt some brutish governing policy that valued the strong over the weak.

"And I've been busy, if you haven't noticed! But all right, I'll come, if only to exorcise whatever devil found its way into you. Demons, pah! Always a hair's-breadth away from doing something kooky."

(OOC: I don't know if Ted will "fight" mid-boss, per se, but he'll probably scuffle. I'd be cool with #2 and having him 'almost' die. Well, as much as you can die in the arena, anyway.)

[beautifulmidboss]

"There you are. Here I thought you'd given up on your grand claims for strength,"

At least Ted would finally be turning up. It had taken him long enough - although in a saner mind Vyers would realise this was at least in part his own fault.

"Nothing has 'gotten into me', as you put it. I am not possessed be a demon, I am a demon...or had you forgotten that already?"

[OOC: How about Ted goes to the arena, scuffles a bit, then runs away once Vyers has got a few good hits in? Vyers will probably taunt him, but won't chase him if he runs away.]

[4th Day, early afternoon]

[deadlysakura]

[What, Zoisite question a handsome authority figure?]

[4th Day, early afternoon]

[beautifulmidboss]

[Very good point.]

OOC: Sounds good to me

[youfool]

"Hmph! If I was strong, I wouldn't need the practice, would I? And for both our sakes, you had better not make me remember!" This was rank nonsense, and so he hung up as he stomped toward the arena.

Clearly upset, Ted sat his bag down and made his accusation. "Something very strange is going on, Vyers. This isn't like you. Is this some sort of drill sergeant impression? Where you act tough to make toughness? It isn't necessary."

[frostheartedrose]

[ooc: Was there a certain point you'd prefer Bridget? For this she's probably willing to risk some sun exposure, especially if it's overcast or something. Poor Vyers is going to get the insult of the century...]

[beautifulmidboss]

Once Ted hung up, he stalked to the arena to wait for him, the purple antenna-like hair catching easily in the light breeze.

"This is no impression, Ted," he said, cooly. "I always have been a demon, I always will be. In a real battle, your opponents will not be so soft."

[beautifulmidboss]

[OOC: Maybe she could go bother him in the arena? Otherwise, bothering him whilst he's running around outside is an option. And yes, please do insult him :D ]

[youfool]

"Oh? Did you figure that out yourself, or read Sun Tzu in your off-hours?" Yep, Ted was pretty worked up. It's one thing for Vyers to be somehow changed, but it's another for him to be such a jerk about it.

Then again, maybe this was all some weird head game meant for the express purpose of training. He'd give Vyers the benefit of the doubt. They were friends, weren't they? He'd earned that much, even if he was a demon.

"You've certainly been saying some demonically foolish things. Will you take them back, or will I have to scuff your cuffs?"

[Part 2: Video]

[spitfireprincess]

[She looks worried since the happy man she had met seems to have vanished in the face of this conflict. Of course she had been pulled to Nova City so she doesn't know what is going on for sure.]

Is it okay to challenge? Don't you want to protect those in your city and guard them like a Guardian?

3rd day, evening?

[frostheartedrose]

In an ironic change in her usual habits, this time Bridget was one of the more cautious in her investigations of the new intrusions. There had been times in the past when she'd held back simply because there was only one of her and humans could only kill themselves off for so long before they stopped themselves or ran out of targets. This time though, the targets were anything with the ability to tie a shoelace. And as soon as Bridget felt the first edges of just what they were really after?

Bridget went on full mental lock-down. She spent precious time diving into every memory on defensive wards and shields and built herself a mobile fortress. This place had so few who could match her from what she had seen that it would be total disaster if she was overcome. Only after a full day of creating her armor did she venture out to check on the city guardians. Vyers had been at the top of her list, actually.

At least until she neared the floor-entry gate of the arena and paused just out of the curve of twilight's glow. Pale eyes narrowed under her dark hood as she saw him thrashing some drug-enhanced wall of muscle. The movements, the way his eyes looked, the set of his jaw... Bridget took several more steps forward until she was two steps out into the ring. If her hunch was correct...

[beautifulmidboss]

"Come now, have a little more faith in me. I do not need a book to tell me the obvious. I became one of the most powerful Overlords the Netherworld had ever known until I died, I learnt everything through my own experience."

He could tell that Ted was upset by all this - Vyers was far more observant than he was usually given credit for - but the simple fact was that where empathy normally filled him, a void of nothing took it's place. Objectively, a demon needed to be strong, and he wanted the people in his city to be strong, even if he had to push them in order to do it. That was the way of a Netherworld. Without emotion and kindness to balance his beliefs, he became far closer to what one might call a true demon...just like Laharl.

With his demeanour and that distinctive antenna-hair he'd adopted, perhaps the resemblance between the two was more obvious now than ever.

He expected the usual feeling of adrenaline to rush through him once Ted proposed the idea of a battle, but again, nothing. Nothing at all.

"Hardly foolish, but truths, all of it," he shrugged, taking on a battle-stance. "Come at me then, and show me your worth."

That or 4th evening when he's raging around?

[beautifulmidboss]

He would've been flattered, really, to know he was the first one she'd checked on out of all the Guardians - unless of course it was because she didn't trust him.

That last opponent had not lasted. It took barely any effort at all to disorientate him with blasts enough to easily toss him from the arena with a flurry of swift punches. It was all far too easy when he didn't go through the effort of holding back his power. Perhaps that was why the adrenaline wouldn't come.

If would've been frustrating, perhaps, but there was just nothing.

Red eyes scanned the arena for any other challengers, ignoring his adversary as he struggled away. His cloak and antenna like hair caught the evening breeze, the red fabric billowing out behind him. If Bridget had met Laharl in the past, she might notice the startling resemblance.

[Part 2: Video]

[beautifulmidboss]

[Oh, he remembered her. He'd run into her when she had first arrived, hadn't he?]

The easiest way to protect them is if I can make sure they know how to defend themselves. After all, if I know I don't have to chase each one of them, I can focus on combatting a threat at it's cause.

Besides, I am a demon. In the Netherworld, where I formerly ruled as Overlord, this was normal.

[He wanted his people to be powerful. He wanted to see them grow and become capable. As a demon, the strong survived and thrived, and if he needed to give his people a push to get them to see their potential, so be it.

...But with his emotions, his empathy, entirely lost to him, these views were no longer held in balance.]

[youfool]

He's certainly pushing Ted, if not to be strong then certainly to be indignant. "Folly, more like! But since you're so attached to it, I'll just have to beat it out of you. 'A rod for the backs of fools.' En garde!" He attached his flight pin, thinking that it might surprise when he leaped much farther than any human could jump. Then, foot stretched downward, he took it off, performing his first dive kick as gravity added its force to his.

Fate would decide for whom this would be more harmful.

[beautifulmidboss]

"En guarde, indeed."

So Ted had a flight pin as well? Midboss raised his arms and steadied his stance, bracing himself for the impact. The sting ran through his arms as Ted hit, but whilst they were close, the demon attempted to retaliate with a kick to the gut.

[youfool]

And it's good! Or bad. Ted telegraphed that attack from miles away, leaving himself wide open for all his panache. It wasn't hard for Vyers to strike his abdomen, sending him back and on the ground.

Though Ted wasn't formally trained, this was what's known in the martial arts world as the "armadillo", wherein one feels as if they've been hit by a charging bull, and promptly do their best road kill impression. There might've even been a broken rib in there.

It was hard to think through the pain, but one thing made very clear is that Vyers, or whoever it was impersonating him, wasn't kidding around. Despite having his wings clipped their first go, Vyers would never have knowingly clocked a newbie this hard. Would he?

He needed to escape, but Ted nearly groaned instead. This was bad.

[Part 2: Video]

[spitfireprincess]

That isn't protecting them though...

[She shakes her head slowly.]

You are asking them to protect themselves... is it because you can't? There is someone who's always protecting me... He makes me feel strong, so that I can protect him in return.

[Sakura shakes her head faster.]

I feel strong, not because he asked me too, but because he didn't.

[beautifulmidboss]

Too easy. Far too easy. A match like this was hardly enough to awaken his adrenaline...or to get Ted anywhere close to improving. He didn't even feel frustration.

"Get up," Vyers said calmly, shrugging the cloak so it billowed behind him once again.

He waited, for now, just to see how Ted would respond.