[Conquest AT] The Weeping Eye of Obscurity

"Do you expect something else? I'm not lying." Leave it to the Heroes to always think there had to be some ulterior motive. Marrow's energy was slowly returning to her, fingers flexing as a fresh wave begged to be unleashed. With Kamae under attack by the formerly inconsequential sideshow, she'd need every bit of power she could muster to make an impact. This had the unfortunate side effect that she couldn't afford to respond to the surging strike coming her way.

To Crotona, it'd almost look like Marrow didn't bother blocking at all, taking the magically infused attack head-on and tumbling back atop her platform, rolling into a standing position as her heels nearly went off the edge. Her dark sweatshirt was almost cut in half. The arcane armor below had worked well to disperse the remaining damage, so Marrow didn't suffer the same fate, but the blunt impact still left her reeling. With a quiet sigh, she'd discarded the sweatshirt, cold, emotionless eyes staring back at the Konatsian from beneath her mask.

"He has something I need. The terms you can guess. That is my end." Her head tilted. "And why do you care about these people?"

Marrow paused, Saiyan instincts screaming as a massive surge of magic pooled at her back. Against every fiber in her being, the murderer simply tensed her body, taking the blow. Unceremoniously tumbling off her perch, Marrow crashed into the void-laced ground below. The girl wheezed as she stood, injured but far from neutralized. Traces of void stuck to her fingertips and body like sticky sap, begging to be used. Marrow was inherently a magical fighter - even if her unique genetic spin was focused on a strange paint-like substance.

Unlike Erebos and Kamae, however, the call of the void did nothing to her. Temptation and whispers slid from her mind like water off a duck's back. Her mask, a Kashvarian artifact, hummed excitedly at the touch of pure darkness. For a brief moment, its power spiked, Marrow's increasing in tandem. Her pain dulled, and her focus sharpened, eyes swiveling towards the Demon who had attacked her. Crotona was still fresh from her rest, but Erebos? He had expelled all of his energy.

Clawed armor tips dug into the void below, coating Marrow's gauntlets in a mire of darkness. The substance boiled and frothed in her grasp, shifting into a Red-Blue-Green color. She knew hitting her target with pure void would likely only empower him again... but if she simply melded it into something different? Silently she rushed straight for Erebos, aiming to slash him across the chest with her color-laced claws. If the attack struck, the bright sludge would dislodge and stick to its unfortunate victim, burning away at them.

Though he had refused as he original thought he would... Kamae could see the changes taking place within Erebos. The void was not to be denied when it came to physical changes... Kamae had experienced this first hand. His own failure to take measure of such things had lead to his facial scarring and now he was watching Erebos fall into the same boat... or rather seemed to be heading that way. The demon touched lightly at his own face, his blindness, the scars and the empty sensation within. The lack of mobility with his legs was also a worrying sign.

"And yet you lap up the primordial magic like a dog drinking from its bowl. Surely you can see what it can offer you. The Enhancements to your power and the thrill of its calling. I hear it too Erebos."

Kamae knew the allure of its power, of the calling to heights unreached, of untold strength to be found within it. He simply held out his hands in a gesture of good will. 

"I am a demon of deals Erebos... I made a deal with that girl over there, and I've made deals across the galaxy. Lets make one now. I will teach you everything I know about the void... How to harness it safely and without physical alterations like I have undergone. How to enhance your own abilities like it has clearly done for me... I will show you the great beings that lurk within the void and I will teach you how to master them."

Kamae was going to try to hammer this home, perhaps if he could appeal to the inner demon of Erebos... Perhaps he could succeed. He hated Erebos, but only for his childish fantasies and delusions. He could be taught to not be childish.

"Think about it Erebos... I am clearly on the verge of something great here... You don't have any reason to defend this people. Why help them when you could grow stronger. Self improvement is all that I am about, and I have demonstrated this countless times. Surely you can see this. Why fight me? Because you want to protect this strangers? People you do not know? The girl you know but... how well? She uses demonic magic so she clearly is relent upon our strength. Why settle for half measures and drowning in mediocrity?"

Kamae asked, looking to the androids that were attacking. He couldn't see them but he felt their energy attacks. While he wanted to attack them, he instead wished to continue speaking.

"If you help me here... I will show you the next stage of strength. A level far beyond what you and I currently possess. The deal is help me finish my transformation, and I will show you magic you never would have dreamed possible with the void. All I require is a yes..."

Kamae stated, hand outstretched in an offer of comradery, of potential to grow past the limits of ones morals. He offered freedom to ones self and no limits beyond that. The lines were already blurred, why not step over them fully? He couldn't fathom why Erebos was denying his own desires. To what purpose? He wanted to know more.

The chaos behind him began to dull. Quieted by the storm both inside his mind and erupting from Kamae’s offer. Something exploded behind him, but his body naturally defended against it— a vortex of shadowy magics swallowed Marrow’s attack whole, and dispersed it into the great beyond. He could feel it, somewhere deep in his soul, but on a physical level, the attack made no purchase.

Despite dispelling the void, it still clung to him. Pleaded to be used. He should’ve been attacking Kamae. Making use of the pandemonium to ensure their duel remained one of single combatants.

Words wrapped around his mind like a serpent, echoing over and over and over. Take the deal, gain unlimited power, and then nobody would be able to tell you what to do. Not father, not that scullery maid, and certainly not any mortal. What would be so wrong? Sure, Crotona would be upset, and if Fend ever found out she’d blow a gasket but…

NO!

He flung the words away with a harsh twist of his arm, and suddenly his skin was its usual white self. The black in his eyes burned away, and he stared Kamae down with his own power.

”You wanna make a deal? Here’s my counter-offer: if you beat me, prove that your way of magic is better than mine, then consider me your student.” His hand flourished In front of him, and his sword reappeared, its gray faux-steel shining in the abyss.

”Seem like a fair trade to you? Since you’re superior and all, the only thing you need to do is stop holding back.”

He glanced back at Crotona, and gave a soft, worried smile. For the first time in his entire life, he wasn’t sure he could win. It didn’t help that he’d just locked himself out of some of his more volatile spells, but he’d figure it out.

---

Marrow's lips twisted into a slight frown as one of the robots flung itself in the path of her attack. Her empowered claws tore through the machine as scissors to yarn, but the damage had been done. What remained of the swipe, extending from the tips of her fingers and racing eagerly towards Erebos, was swallowed whole. The Saiyan was surprised but didn't falter, sensing a massive spike in power as Crotona prepared her most deadly counter yet. Leftover motes of energy from Aegis flung themselves at Marrow in tandem with the screeching bloodlust of a Konatsian wronged. In her already injured state, letting that hit her would mean an inevitable demise.

Marrow's fingers quickly grasped her Senzu, veins burning with stubborn defiance that refused to be snuffed on some backwater planet. She'd have to pull a retreat afterward, no doubt, but hopefully, the opening would leave Kamae with enough of an opportunity to turn the tide of battle. ...Yet it was Kamae that appeared before her, imposing and stoic. The Demon hardly expended any effort to stop Crotona's deadly attack, taking the damage in stride before turning to unleash one of his own upon the exposed Erebos. Marrow blinked twice before regaining her composition, switching focus from Crotona to rush the white-haired Hero down with a flurry of thrown knives. "Not yet. If that had struck me I'd flee but now I've still stamina."

"You two are the most violent and spiteful yet," She mentioned neutrally. "I find that interesting." On Earth, the defenders fought on behalf of the people and upheld stringent righteousness in their actions. Crotona and Erebos fought with the same vitriolic intent to kill that most 'bad guys' did. It was comfortable. She could understand it. The wanton violence, lust for vengeance, and absolute disregard for the enemy. Imaging them all standing on the same side didn't seem too far-fetched... yes, they could make valuable allies. Marrow had learned she'd NEED help to reach her goals. Eris dangled drops of emotion before her like a leaky tap, but maybe...

Marrow would disengage from the fight, taking to the skies and observing what damage Crotona had done. If the city center had looked bad before, the unrestrained ball of dark magic made it seem like a hellscape. Entire buildings had been toppled over, debris and dust clogging the former streets as void sludge ran greedily over it all. The shockwave had extended beyond their area, impacting larger parts of Dharatan and no doubt inflicting unintentional harm on whoever still remained within the city boundaries. "Is that what Heroism is to you?" She'd ask the knife-ear calmly, head tilted curiously. "Neutralizing the threat no matter the collateral?"

Her eyes trailed off to the parts of Dharatan still untouched. Evacuations were underway but nowhere near finished in the short timespan they'd been fighting. "I wonder what would happen..." She turned back to Crotona, forcing an unnatural and ungenuine smile. "If I went over there instead?"

Both she and the metallic dinosaur were enraged at Marrow's actions; undoubtedly, both wanted her dead. Sticking with Kamae would only further complicate the Demon's mission... but allowing him to be alone, or close to alone, with Erebos? Without a further word, Marrow immediately sped off for the undamaged parts of the city, flinging large spheres of magical paint. If undisturbed, they'd erupt, sending impossibly hard streaks of the substance slicing down through buildings and splattering acidic liquid over any unfortunate civilians caught in the mix.

Crotona glanced back at Erebos seemed to be agreeing with Kamae's plan. Or at least had a counter? He'd join him if he was able to defeat him. Was he crazy? She wanted to yell at him but he seemed to want to do this even if he was worried. It was not wise to split up their battle formations, Crotona was of course going to have to reject that deal for him. Once she took down Marrow of course. She darted forward with her sword but as she swung forward, Kamae seemed to take the words of Erebos to heart. His Power exploded from <500,000> to <700,000> as he moved in the way of her strike meant to finish Marrow off. He took it to head the sword slashing deep into his flesh but it was not enough to take him down. Even if he looked quite hurt from the attack alongside Aurora's attack.

However, Kamae still had a lot in the tank as he would fire a massive blast toward Erebos in response. At the same time, Marrow was planning to head to other parts of the city to continue her attack. Her face twisted in anger, she would be forced to split apart to stop her. Crotona knew she could not just leave Erebos though, he had used a lot of energy. What could she do? She would flip away from Kamae darting towards Marrow but as she ran towards her she throw something back towards Erebos "Catch that!" It was a small bag and inside was a small bean. Her Senzu bean. She was going to gift that to Erebos. "Use it in a pinch!" She called as her aura blasted around her. She'd fly forward to try to tackle Marrow mid-air to not allow her to get too far. While they still are far enough away where it is a one-on-one (Since Aurora seemed to be retreating with her friends), it not be far enough to reach the citizen who were just trying to escape this carnage.



Wc:344
Throwing Erebos her Senzu Bean.
-
Kp:2/6
Mp:1/6
Damage Meter:0/260 (Keep forgetting Armor Lining 10 Percent)

Kamae could only watch as the others about him moved about. He was tired, his body didn't want to move. He could keep going sure, but he would certainly like to lay down again. He hadn't been this tired in a long time, after all the only time he had been injured like this was at the fight on namek. Kamae said nothing as Marrow began to retreat, his head lingering on her a moment longer as he thought about if he should command her to leave... She might make a good friend to Sobi someday... then again she might kill Sobi too. A chilling thought.

Kamae returned his gaze to Erebos as they were left alone. He didn't stop the little trio from leaving, he had no issues with them beyond them trying to stop this. A reasonable action he supposed, and no reason to harbor anger.

"It will... for a time."

Kamae stated holding out his arm to his right, his palm outstretched as if waiting to grab something. 

"The bad part about all of this? It will be forgotten in time. A small footnote in history... and when this people eventually end? No one will know it ever happened."

Kamae stated as a building in the distance was sliced in two by an approaching object. A split second later the spear of Bael slamming into Kamae's palm, the shockwave of its arrival causing the buildings under him to crumble finally. Kamae slowly lowered his arm then, letting out a long drawn out sigh.

"You know... Its a shame we fight as we do Erebos... We will end up living longer than any of this people. In a century or two? They will have rebuilt this city and no one will speak of this beyond a passing moment in history class. Of how the evil monster Sanksihin Kamae summoned monsters and some great hero closed the gap... Kids will probably find it quite entertaining at first."

Kamae chuckled as he thought of being another boogy man in history as he often times was. This was probably second closest he had ever gotten to death in all the time he had spent in the universe. The first being Palibur's scarring him permanently.

"But one day our battle will be forgotten, our names scratch from history because everyone who knows it and every book documenting it destroyed. Such is how things work."

Kamae looked to the giant tear in the sky then, watching as the spilling of primordial magic continued to flow in like tar. Now spilling into the bay nearby and filling the city.

"Anyways, you don't care about that. Its hard to know what you care about Erebos... You seem to treat everything with indifference. The lives of this people, the monsters slaying innocent people or the giant tear in the sky. I seem to be your sole focus... Is it because I represent some personal grudge or something Erebos?"

Kamae asked, his gazeless face breaking into a half smile. He was curious why Erebos even defended this city. It was... strange his behavior. He fought on namek because he liked namek, fair enough... But why fight now? Why fight against the same opponent twice when he showed such indifference? It certainly seemed odd to Kamae.