A Final Dance: The Large Castle Assault - Open Conquest!

"Way to be a buzzkill."

Erebos landed plenty of blows, but they seemed to do little. Annoying, but understandable. He was just killing time. Strategizing as the flames licked his body. A sneer found its way onto his face, but it shifted into a wince when his legs gave out from under him. Derry's elbow crashed into his chest, but rather than bring him to the ground, it took him THROUGH it.

A shadowy puddle sucked Erebos in, giving him momentary reprieve. Sitting inside the darkness was the coward's way out, though. He'd only stick in here for these precious few moments.

Unlike last time, Erebos didn't swing out with an insane, gut-rending slash. Instead, he simply appeared. He walked out from behind a shattered pillar, as if he'd always been standing there, and cracked his knuckles. The flames that'd plagued him for so many minutes had finally been extinguished, the last of which was pinched away by Erebos' thumb and forefinger.

"Just get your taxpayers to fix it." A quip. Finally. This one was curt and pointed, though. Not as playful as the others. "You're not as fun when you think you're winning."

For now, Erebos watched. He leaned on his pillar, smoke wafting off his body as he waited for Derry's next move.

---

"You're pretty cocky for a guy with a hole in his chest. I've not even begun to show you the extent of my magical prowess."

His shadows were returning to him. Slowly but surely, his power flowed back. Even so, his physical form was having trouble keeping up. There was a bruise welling up above his eye, and blood trickled from a few cuts he'd earned. The scorch marks made it look like he'd just been in a bombed building.

"Sure. Give it a try."

Derry rushed him, but the Oni made no move to evade. Instead, he leaned back further, sinking into the pillar as it shattered to bits from the shotgun blast. From the opposite end of the battleground, the Shadowmancer clapped his hands. Slow and taunting.

"Wow. So cool."

Despite his pain, he was trying to regain momentum. He was genuinely unimpressed, but overdoing it would help sell that he was finally 'starting to take this serious'. Maybe it'd work. Derry seemed the type to fall for it.

Erebos traced his fingers on the wall, making little shadow puppets. One was Derry, who was bleeding black ooze. The other, Erebos, was pumping his fist in the air. it turned to the real Derry, and stuck his tongue out at him. "Care to try again? Or should I cut another hole in you and go home?"

---

This waiting thing was really annoying! Derry was way too content to just sit around. Erebos was better at counter-attacking than going on all-out assaults. There had to be some way to end this fight.

He could feel it in his bones. This was bound to end soon. Whether by amputation or escape, someone was about to lose. Erebos knew he wasn't going to stick around much longer. All he needed was an escape route. Finding one wouldn't be hard, and if Derry was gone then he'd pretty easily be able to just waltz out of here without trouble.

"Really? You gonna cross dimensions to kick my ass? That's rich." Erebos pushed forward off the wall, rolling his shoulders as he stepped forward. "I'm a wanderer. Trouble follows me, but I'm always a step ahead. You think you and your thirty-zeni haircut have more sway than my father?"

V'rim'thrak. Invoking the concept of the name was sickening. He hadn't thought about him in forever and a day, but evading the watchful eye of his father had been rather easy. Admittedly, Erebos doubted his father actually cared enough to seek him out. He'd been exiled for such an embarrassing act, after all.

"I really don't think you understand how little this affects me. You're trying to puff yourself up; I get it. But you really need to just admit that this is a lose-lose."

Erebos' hand slid across the wall as he walked along it, scraping clean the shade and collecting it. The fullness of it swirled along his arm, covering it completely. He'd use it for something, surely...

---

Derry was pretty certain that things would go bad for Erebos. In all honesty, though, it seemed pretty unlikely. Consequences that should've come for him ages ago never did, and most of his actions usually gained him friends rather than enemies. Even so, maybe he'd take the words to heart. This was a pretty brash action, even for Erebos. Earth was more important than he thought.

"Yep." The shadow he'd been collecting traveled up his shoulder, wrapping around his chest and back down the other arm. It looked like he wore a shaded chestplate. "Trust me. This won't be a problem."

This was it. The final moments. One of them would go down in flames.

"Let's make this a good final exchange. Okay?" He snapped his fingers, and his blade, Stickler, finally appeared. The faux-steel shimmered in the moonlight... Wait. Was the moon broken? Weird. He'd have to check that out later.

"Ignore all the taunting and payback. Forget the vendetta for three seconds. As one fighter to another..."

Erebos took a few practice swings, and the blade sang. Darkness followed its motions like dancing flames. This was Erebos taking things seriously. Well and truly.

"Show me your best and I'll show you mine."

---

Power pulsed in the president’s palms, and the Demon reciprocated. The shadows coalesced into each hand. Darkness in one hand, and a dull gray in the other. Black Ki erupted from his body, pushing his Ki to the absolute limit yet again.

The fireballs, massive and imposing, were stopped briefly by the shield Erebos had summoned. It shattered near-instantly, but the brief pause in momentum was just enough. Flames licked at his body, and he wanted to shriek in immense pain. Instead, he held his tongue. He needed that air that would escape from his lungs to focus.

”Nice try.”

His eyes narrowed, and he darted across the expanse. With a quick motion, his sword unsheathed from its non-existent scabbard, and struck outward at the earthling. It was a single, precise cut. Aiming to sever Derry’s arm at the elbow. He didn’t quite care which one it was, but his angle dictated that it was the man’s right by sheer chance alone.

Erebos slid to a stop a good few feet away, huffing slowly and methodically as the pain washed over him. He didn’t dare make a motion. Not until he heard the president say something, do something— anything. Any reaction at all.

Until then, he waited.

---

A spray of blood. The wheezing of a dying man. His final taunts as he collapsed.

This combination of acts finally allowed Erebos to move, but not in the way he wanted. He didn’t turn on his heel, grinning wickedly to lick the blood from his blade. No. Instead he faltered. His stance faltered and he fell to his knees, hands clutching the scorched grass with the remaining ounces of Ki he had left.

Derry had done a number on him. His whole body was shaking, and it was hard to focus. The sound of sirens brought his focus back, though just barely.

”You did good, mister president.” He looked over his shoulder at the crumpled corpse, just as the SWAT team swung their van doors open. ”Round three is gonna be bombastic. A real show-stopper.”

Bullets flew, but Erebos was already gone. The shape they fired on was his shadow, which fizzled away from the rain of gunfire. As the soldiers inspected their surroundings, trying to find the source of the attack, a pair of medics rushed to the president’s aid, trying to keep him stable.

Erebos watched from the inside of a shadow, waiting to see if he’d make it. The answer was unclear, and Erebos was awfully tired, so he decided to move on. He slinked further into the shadows, darting from wall to wall, and vanished.

He’d arrive at a local hotel a few minutes later, disguised in the garb of a vacationer as he watched the news unfold among a crowd of horrified bystanders huddled around a giant television in the lobby.

---