Chapter 143: Will 'O Wisp

"Ugh!" Oliver's voice garbled in his throat as blood spurted from his mouth in copious amounts. He expected the backlash, but it didn't prepare him for the pain which welled up in his chest. He watched as his Vitality plummeted, 60%, then 40% and finally dipping to a steady 15%. Only the pain kept him conscious, but that wouldn't last for very long. His knees gave way, his sight began to darken as the penalty for overusing his Evil Eye became apparent.

He managed to copy his own custom spell, Heavy Bullet with the aid of the Copy Eye ability of his Evil Eye. His intent was to use the spell only once, but after failing to account for the power difference this was the only contribution to battle that Oliver could offer. The most he could manage without killing himself in the process -- three shots.

*Shit. I hope… it's dead.* These were Oliver's last thoughts as his consciousness faded and he fell forward, face first towards the ground. The Archmage was out like a light before even striking the ground, which is why he didn't notice the timely save.

"I'm surprised. I didn't peg you for the sacrificial type." It was Vivian Lex, the young woman who dashed forward, catching Oliver just seconds before he hit the ground.

"Rest up." She whispered as she gently laid the fallen elf on the ground and focused her attention on the task at hand. To those looking on, Vivian's intercession was a life saver, yet for Agni and Katrin they could already tell the type of mood their leader might be in.

"Finally…" Bracha grunted as she allowed the tension to drain from her body, though in reality she had no choice. The battle left her bruised and battered, what's more with her strange powers gone she was beginning to feel the backlash of the short but fierce battle she'd engaged in. She groaned as a spurt of blood shot outwards from her side, just a few centimeters above her hip. Apparently sometime in the scuffle she'd been cut. Such wounds quickly began to take form all over her body, causing Bracha to stagger backwards as she struggled to stay upright.

Not missing the sign of weakness, the wounded Grimlock chose to strike. Bracha was only a few steps away, which did not bode well for her as the Fused Grimlock lashed out, backhanding her in the chest. The blow hurt less than Bracha expected. This was, no doubt, due to all of the damage she'd inflicted on the creature as well as Oliver's last ditch efforts to bring it down. Still, the pain was enough to make her grimace as she sailed through the air for several meters, coming down hard upon the ground. Her energy spent, it was all she could do to stay conscious.

With this her enemy moved to press the assault. It's injured legs would not impede it's revenge, causing blood to spurt from various wounds as it leapt into the air. It's intent was clear, to lunge upon the fallen adventurer and end her life in one fell swoop.

Several meters away Vivian's eyes glowed with a furious torrent of yellow energy, it was so vibrant that it pierced the miasma making her appear like a demon in the mist. She called forth her weapons and dashed forward in an instant, oblivious to everything around her. Dried blood caked both the corner of her lip and her forehead as a seething rage caused her blood to boil.

*I can't believe something like this sidelined me.* She was more angry with herself than her foe, if truth be told. Anything could happen in battle, and given the situation an unpredictable thing did. She was knocked away, swatted like a bug for a considerable distance. She slammed into a tree with such force that her consciousness was immediately severed despite the light injuries she suffered from the blow.

By contrast Ryo's injuries were much worse -- yet he was still alive. A testament to the strength of one known as The Earth Dragon Behemoth. Vivian bridged the distance in the blink of an eye and slashed forward with the full weight of her blade as she did so. In the moment of impact her blade became engulfed in blue flames. This caused onlookers to notice a flash of blue light as she severed the creature's outstretched arm.

Her second blow cleaved the creature upwards, leaving a deep gash along it's chest. The power behind the blow was enough to knock the creature out of it's lunge and onto the nearby ground.

*Everyone. Stay where you are. And don't move.* Vivian's voice transmitted as the miasma began to grow thicker. So thick that the limited visibility was no more, no one could see further than a few centimeters in front of their own face.

Some murmured, others stood silent but all obeyed the weight of Vivian's words. The Fused Grimlock landed on the ground with a thud, but the blow was superficial at best. Despite having shifted to a less muscular form its body was still rather dense. It quickly got to its feet, completely ignoring the blood trickling down it's front torso. It gazed around and quickly found it's prey. A short distance away, Vivian stood with her back towards the creature. It was a perfect chance to take out the adventurer with one blow.

The creature's muscles groaned as it launched itself forward with little regard for its own well being. Such was the mind of this Grimlock, unfettered for concern and focused solely on causing carnage.

It delighted as it sprung through the air and swiped with the full weight of its body at Vivian's head, it's aim was to smash her skull completely. The attack landed with such brutal accuracy that Vivian's body didn't have time to react, her head splattered against his fist and moment later her body fell to the---

No. The creature looked on in confusion as the young girl's body slowly faded away into smoke which swirled upwards as if carried by an invisible wind.

If the creature had sense to speak, it would have displayed surprise -- but this was beyond it so it continued to look about wildly. Then, a sharp pain came as a blade sliced into the creature's body, accompanied by the same brilliant blue flash of light.

No more than a flesh wound, this was what the creature felt as it spun around to confront the annoying gnat. It once again lashed out, striking the nearby adventurer in her chest. Once more, the body spiraled into a scene of death, followed by a smoky demise. In the distance several more figures appeared, one after another, surrounding the creature. They advanced forward without rhyme or reason, sometimes slashing -- sometimes appearing to slash. Each blow landed was little more than a nuisance -- or so the creature thought. Soon it's mobility was sealed as its legs were slashed and shredded.

Skillful stabs and cuts aimed for tendon, rendering the beast unable to move it's remaining free arm. Next to go was the creature's sight as the endless shadow clones converged upon the creature from all angles making it impossible to determine from whence the next blow would come.

It's head was racked with pain , so intense and so fierce that the Fused Grimlock thought it might burst. The more it clenched it's bleeding eyes shut, the more the pain assaulted it's senses. And for the first time, it began to feel a foreign emotion creep in. It was cold, chilling enough to cause the creature to shiver. It was fear.

Having been forcibly thrust into darkness once more, the creature could only await whatever fate had in store. Vivian, having used her illusionary powers to their fullest now walked forth. Gone was her visage of a teenager. She now appeared in her true form, an adult Kitsune clad in the same samurai like armor she once wore. The look in her eye was that of an ice queen, her eyes glinted with a steely malice as yellow energy shone from within. She stood just steps away from the wounded creature and uttered these words.

"Fox Fire : Will 'O Wisp".

Outside of the veil of illusion, all they could see were lights, dozens of blue wisps which blinked into existence. Though Vivian's illusionary magic concealed her true form, the soundless sight of flashing blue lights pierced the fog clearly.

The soundless fury lasted for only a dozen seconds, to Agni and company it was like watching silent fireworks explode. Then, just like that the swirling veil of fog dissipated, revealing Vivian--and Vivian alone. Now, before them all was the visage of a young woman, a teenage girl who was done venting her rage.