Exovaryn Haruke: Captured

Whom?

Truth be told, the girl was half-listening as she surveyed the field for further cadavers! The field medics had swept up most of them in the coming months, the Yokai and feral animals catching a good chunk of the rest, and it was getting harder and harder to find any proper corpses. It took a goodly amount of energy to percieve through the fields with a sixth sense for corpses that the sudden exuberance from the child jostled from her!

"Y-Yes, yes." Rubbing her ear lightly she turns towards the boy, failing to see anything new in the nearby fields. Maybe she'd need to start digging...? Maybe the fields of perdition had already been emptied? With a renewed focus, Valledia fixates upon the boy in the crimson cloak. "'We', huh. I'unno if you wanna go where I go. It's not safe for little boys. Monsters might come out of the trees 'n getcha!" An ironic statement, considering who might be approaching, but Valledia is entirely ignorant to Exovarn's theoretical approach.

In fact, she's referring to something far worse.

Hands fold beind her dress, interlocking at her waist as she smiles--bouncing lightly upon the heels of her feet. "Fightin' ain't everythin'. Killin', sure. Life, death. That is everythin'. But--tell me. Right here 'n now. You want to be a warrior. Why? For what cause? Is it for the cause of battle? The bloodshed itself? Is it to 'defend'? To 'conquor'? To 'eliminate'? Do you have hatreds, kid? Do y'got 'passions'? Alright, so y'wanna fight 'n kill. But..."

A shrug!

"To what end? What higher calling?"
(Valledia)

The crunch of brittle bones betwixt the salient maws sounded off explicitly loud from above, the sound of one's chewing upon a human hand, mutilated cadaver still drifting lifelessly on his left arm, to rain down a dripple of sanguinous substance for the mesa's walls, streaking the rocky crevices true of crimson. All the while ebonic hues locked unto a youthful child, equipped with a weapon, as though to further confirm Valledia's speech.

Though, it didn't say anything, remaining cloaked in silence, hood shrouding the majority of its visage save for the glowing hazel illuminated through the darkness shrouded his face. The blank cornea left only hollow rings to follow the young spartan where-ever he may wonder, though one's gaze would eventually digress for the familiar femme.

Perhaps, he was curious?
Piqued after former encounters?
Such could be assumed only until he broke his observations with rhetoric to beckon indivisible attention.

Through a dreadful voice, the baritone to rumble true from his gullet, terraformed due to the several hundreds he had absorbed in his travel, throughout the war and so much more.
"Those whom fight the Path of a boundless Warrior, are merely those whom haven't yet found conviction to stand for, young or elder; Humanity has a tendency to inevitably flow for a greater purpose. It is, simply how such ilk preform." He introduced, no longer concealing his Depravity through the Harukean substance coursing through his veins to allow the bombarding field of a passive gravitational aura to cast unto his surroundings and bodies alike.

Fingers unraveled the cadaver at his hand, leaving it to plummet down to the soils down below, where he'd soon plummet feet first untop of it, shattering what remnants of its skull would remain in callous endeavor.
" Hrmmmmm..." A hum in ponderance was murmured from his gullet, eyes sifting over to Valledia now, likely expecting answers for their encounter prior.
(Exovaryn "Voss" Haruke)

"Ah, old nobility returns!"

Letting her interest in the boy fade, though 'interest' is to put it generously when in truth she did little more then indulge him as she did her own work, the Karkizan turns lightly to flash a warm smile towards the Harukean that intercedes. It is not that the visage of Exovaryn isn't horrific to many, or that the power he wields isn't enough to slay most lesser magi.

It's just one that the girl is used to--one that she has grown to find no fear of. Lion tamers do not fear lions when so many others do, so why would Valledia fear Exovaryn?

" 'Such ilk' " The lady repeats, shifting back towards Maximus--only to find the boy missing. Had he fled? Been swept up by the spirits of the desert? Or simply been taken by Exovaryn when she wasn't looking. It didn't seem as if the girl cared much about the answer even still. "Y'sound just like'm, you know. Like a blast from the past. Nostalgic, in a way. Don't like nostalgia much, tho'. History has a tendancy to repeat."

Brushing past the exsanguinated corpses she had gathered, the athame in her hand sheathing themselves somewhere within the folds of her dress, the girl moves with a light step, grass crinkling with every movement until she was but a small distance below the floating Magi.

"So!" Her hands clap together, vermillion irises flickering lightly behind the tinted lenses she uses to obsfuscate them. "I see you managed to walk away from all that! Good, good. Not the place for someone like you t'die, yeah? How'd you manage it? Convinced Jerudiel t'let you? Kinda suprised, but kinda not." A big shrug rolls off her shoulders as she continues, shaking her head. "Power-hungry, willin' to do everything 'n go back on all his virtues 'n ethics if it meant he had a shot at greater things. Malpercians, Harukes. Kinda shocked he didn't let the Kaor in, all things considered!"

"So! What's got old nobility runnin' around the battlefield. Lookin' for somethin'? I coulda sworn y'were more 'living food' then 'scavengers'."
(Valledia)

This woman knew a lot...
A lot more than he felt comfortable with a commoner knowing, which automatically profiled one's personage akin to an enigma. He let her speak, attempting to pick apart her words to further comprehend what he was dealing with. Why did she not fear him as the many others did? Why did she have any remote interest in him?... Then, came key hints.

"Escaping Jerudiel's wrath was simple... He, like many other humans are predictable. It merely took exercised logic and a stage until his death was proclaimed. Then, a contest for how many of the Brightholdians I could hunt down." He chortled some bit...
"It was... Entertaining to say the least." He stepped off the siphoned cadaver, allowing it to reside eternally upon the dry grasses mouthing at the Sarab's vast desert expanse.

" Though, aside from the subject I find myself far more interested in your mention of... 'Nostalgia.'."

'Nobility'....
"You seem to know as well..." He murmured under his breath, eyes never shifting from their sights. " You know of Mormegil... You know of my privilege. How is that so?" He inquired, narrowing eyes under the shadow of his hood. " How did you find me there..." He continued, "-and who exactly are you, to start off with?"

One didn't take note of others encroaching his scene, mostly because he didn't exercise caution in his travels. It was rare of him to encounter anyone of notable worth upon the main roadways.
(Exovaryn "Voss" Haruke)

 It was time to head south, had said Demeter, and so to the road they took!

Bastet's new assignment was simple- Oversee and hold the technical title of the Isthmus. Okay, sure, no problem. It was just a minor estate, and all in all, most of the work would be- "Really Hibiki, shouldn't be that bad! Sort of fun! I've been given my own LANDED ESTATE, even if it's just a ruined mess! We can totally possibly find some STUFF IN IT!"

"Literally given ruins to explore and fix up to help people," Her voice is peppy, and loud. "From what was seen of the former residents, and their involvement with the whole Brighthold situation..." Her hand tilts from side to side. "Wev'e got a lot of work to do. Should be fun, right?" Her head bobbles along as they make their way down the road on foot, although every step is lightened.

Demeter's cool winds provide a startling contrast to the dry heat of the desert, and the Rosengard intended it to stay that way- An uncomfortably dry and hazy land that she wasn't quite so fond of in her full armor and normal exertions.

Nonetheless, sacrifices had to be made as they set out south of the Wychwood past the recaptured Brighthold, leaving the civilized areas after the young woman insisted on seeing how work had gone.

A bit of time would surely be given- The Princess' approach as she makes her way towards the Sarab for the first time in a long while on the part of the Glacium would be less than subtle, accompanied by a shift in termperature, her usual booming voice...

And her companion.
(Demeter Rosengard)

It wasn't too likely, all in all, that the booming voice's conversational partner was able to be heard at all from a distance. Trudging alongside the other with his hands folded at his side, Hibiki threw her a skeptical expression. "This is the opposite direction that I wanna be goin' in. I'm not staying long, mind you, I've got to keep narrowing down the location of the monastery...I've almost got it, and now you're dragging me down halfway across the damn desert!"

With a groan, he shook his head, pacing alongside her. It was only when she mentioned the aid of others that his expression softened, rolling his eyes in spite of this. "Guh. Always with the guilt trip. Alright, I got it, I'll help out. Can't be easy to be a one-eye when everyone's steppin' on you..."

In contrast to the other, his pace was calm and relaxed, preferring by far to take his time and enjoy the trip.
(Hibiki)

"I mean..." The lady's head lulls back and forth as Exovaryn goes on, trying to think of exactly how she wants to phrase it all. It's a bit hard to, isn't it? Without incriminating or otherwise... "Was it really that long ago...?"

Mormegil's fall was easily one hundred years ago, maybe a scant bit less. Or perhaps it only felt that way? Languishing in an oblivion without light or sound, without--

Terrible memories flood to towards the mind, shaken off like a terrible cold in the middle of the night with a violent twist of the girl's head. "It's not an odd place. It was very popular! Very, very popular. To..." Again she sways lightly, trying her best not to overplay. "...read of. A fascination, is all. Is all. Finding you..." Leaning forward, the girl squints! He was an older gentlemen, but it isn't her age she fixates on--but the facial features.

Nothing. Not a hint of recognization of Exovaryn, though his notable Harukean features, subtle as they may be, are evident to her. "Never saw you, mind, b--"

A twirl! Crimson frills at the bottom of the girl's dress, bloodied and dirtied with some sort of wear and tear of the battlefield they pass through, give evidence that the girl has been up to something. And, indeed, there are numerous pieces of evidence that something did happen! On occasion the pair might pass by a gathering of bodies, lined up or in piles, each with incisions along their bodies and a great pooling of blood (now a stain against the ground) around them.

Though it doesn't seem to be all hers, surely, as some bodies look like they've been the victim of opportunistic yokai or hyenas, scavenging the fields and leaving great bites and rends upon the flesh.

Bloodletting! Something or Someone had been cutting into the bodies to expell the remaining blood, and given Valledia's storied history and proclivities? It's not a hard match to make.

Not that Valledia sees the danger. "Ah! More come. The battlefield is right, ain't it?" With a smile she turns, ignorant to Hibiki or Demeter's mounting suspicion or wrath towards her. In fact, as Valledia strides, something of her own flares up.

"You two! Hero-boy! Hero-girl! Look what your people left on the fields!!" A start point towards the bodies that are inlaid and cut upon. "Is this how you treat your dead?! Letting them rot with all the blood left inside of them! It's impure! No burnings!? Didn't even exsanguinate them for proper rites! I've been here for weeks!" She shouts, a faux-anger mounting. "Weeks! Dealing with the remainders that your people left on the field! No proper ettiquite! No proper cleaning!"

Fists clench into a ball as her cheeks puff out, a glistening and bloodied athame vaguely visible within the folds of her dress. "It's against His wishes!"
(Valledia)

Exovaryn seemed to have disregarded the cadavers as well, perhaps he was exempt from this agitation, simply because it was never his war waged- he was merely caught in between the sides' quarrels until the bitter-end... On their behalf. Now, with attention garnered he flickered his emptied optics from beneath his hood from the duet and the lines of bodies stretching abroad.

It'd make sense if she was out here for weeks, perhaps preforming rites on each individual one by one with some unvoluntary aid from common scavengers and Yokai-- It was a pity in his perception. Though, with his glorified envision of himself, he couldn't see him bestowing any one of these persons, fallen or standing reason for attention that'd earn anything more than his gullet.

They had no circuits, but the flesh alone would at least sate his cravings...
" Perhaps, I could satisfy this wish... I'm sure it wouldn't take long." He stated in reference to the fallen, albeit, his eyes would eventually fall upon the two once more, mising interest on one of the entity's in particular. The hallow hazel rings grew cut of their circular form as lids collapsed about them, narrowing sights upon Hibiki...

Had he met this one before? He appeared oddly familiar. Perhaps, one of the many faces in the war? For some reason, he stuck out, as though someone once harbinging all of his focus. Perhaps, his memory was failing him, or it was a mere coincidence, but something about Hibiki appeared too... Recognizable. Whatever attributes that may've been, they were obstructed by the booms of his companion, diverting his optics.

"If Humanity is as selfish as I've come to understand, I doubt they will badger themselves to heed your words. It is merely human nature." He generalized... Landing beside Valledia to further inspect the Danarites.
(Exovaryn "Voss" Haruke)

Hands go up as Demeter's lips twist into a sudden, furrowed-brow purse as she gives an overly affronted look at Valledia on getting approached by the ritzy and morbidly excitable lady! The woman wobbles backwards! "Do you know how long it takes to clean up a battlefield and tally the dead, low casualties all in all or no?! What the heck! What's even going ON with these corpses!"

Her hands suddenly and swiftly shift to gesture, the frozen gauntlets leaving a trail of chilled mist in the air from the temperature difference. With both hands, she gestures meaninfully, focusing on her words at first! "I mean, if you need a hand, I'm sure there's more magi in the castle, but any dead have to be, like, identified, probably given to whatever burial rites their family wants, and-"

"Hey, woah, woah, woah. Blood left inside of them?" For a moment, she stares at Valledia- And then to the man nearby. The hooded, black cloaked form, radiating faintly of depravity...

The princess' stance shifts almost immediately as her senses detect the power of what she considered 'evil' nearby. Knees bend, and arms stiffen with anticipation, burgundy eyes locking onto him. The sparkling whorl of purified life energes flicker briefly into sight- The cleansing power and sensing of Lancelot's bestowed attunement reacting to the obvious anomaly.

"And who... Are you?"
(Demeter Rosengard)

The sight of the bodies about, in such suspicious circumstances, of course raised his concern. There was clearly more at hand for them than a simple jaunt to the south. Of course...more delays. Never could be a straight shot, could it? Always with the interference.

There was clearly something off going on, and his gaze resting on the two depraved beings was more than suspicious. Stepping forward slightly, one gloved hand clenched into a fist, knuckles audibly cracking.

"Don't bother talkin' to the crazy lady, she just likes to rile people up. Don't think she means anything she says." So spoken well within earshot. It was clear he didn't care if she heard.

Familiarity was directed toward the both of them, particularly Valledia - but a mere raised hood couldn't divert his recognition of someone he'd fought so viciously against...felt the malice and hunger of directly.

Instantly, suspicion became alertness, both hands flying upward in a defensive posture, feet digging into the dirt. "Careful...That guy in the cloak is the one I was telling you about. The crazy people-muncher who thinks he ain't human."
(Hibiki)

Huff!

A hand is raised and waved off at Exovaryn as he brings up his method of disposing of the corpses--like it wasn't something special and pure! He didn't understand, they never did, and Valledia wasn't about to allow the umpteenth time of that conversation being repeated get to her.

"Don'tcha know anythin'?!" She strides forward once more, dirt roads crumpling lightly underneath a slowly growing pressure as her hand rises to rub against the shining icon of Kark that dangles from her neck. Pale fingers, sharp nails, graze against the sheen as she continues. "The proper resting rites? I don't care who they are! I don't care about their families!" She cared, surely, about the profound sadness of their stories! But the who never quite mattered as much as the what and why.

"Bloodletting!" She shouts once more, as if educating a spoiled child on the aspects of proper bodily maintenence. "Blood spoils if it isn't allowed to flow! It becomes a terrible, wretched sludge! Once the heart fails it is imperitive that the body is cut open at the vital points to spill the blood once more!" Another throw of her arm, gesturing towards the browned areas of grass that have slaked their fill of the precious life-fluid of humanity.

Where, one day, future flowers will bloom from Kark's blessing and, beneath it, will the oils of Palthus slowly begin to form. "It's disrespectful!" A finger lifted and raised towards both of them. "To life and death to let the blood spoil inside! It needs to be released back and none of you bothered with it! No Glacium! No Brightholdian!"

"A week!" She stomps her foot, placing the blame solely on the two in front. "That's a lot of effort, you know! If you're gonna kill them, take care of them! Properly! And don't--don't--hey! Pay attention!"

Snap, snap!

The ladies finger's pop loudly as the crimson lady strides forward once more. "I'm talking! Don't focus on him! Listen to me! Blasphemy, I'm tellin' you!"
(Valledia)

There were no words to sputter from his lips immediately, only morbid silence. Attention was mised upon Demeter in particular at her query directed at him, though, Hibiki wouldn't fail at inciting one's memory-- He bought recollection of such with his voice to match his face, with his claim. It was too clear as of now, to what his identity was, save for a name.

Blackened scelera and eyes alike traced their figures, highlighting posture in their gaze for accurate summations as to their next move, albeit he dared not badger himself with the urge to budge... Not yet...
The whole dilemma forged a grin across his visage, clearly appeased at their discomfort, or so it'd seem until it abruptly faded in a twist of presented perception.
" As always, Your ilk never cease to humor me. At least, for momentary periods at a time." He started. " You lot, fear what you do not know... What you do not understand. It is, simply within your nature. Perhaps, why you ready yourselves for conflict that hasn't risen to light as of yet. "

Gaze digressed to Hibiki, focusing on him directly before the next succession of words would were uttered through his lips: Cold, albeit delivered as smooth as silk.
" You haven't a clue of what I am, child..." He claimed.. "Neither of you do..."

"Thus, I retain my identity.. I need not share it with the likes of contradictory persons in my wake. If you're truly any different from the forces you battle against, you'd drop your defenses. If I had quarrels with you, I assure you, you'd know already." From then onward, he simply brought his gaze over to Valledia, attempting divert attention away from himself for lack of words to speak.
(Exovaryn "Voss" Haruke)

For a moment the snapping makes the princess' head twitch back towards Valledia, snorting through her nose. "Who's will? Bloodletting- Okay. If it's some- Issue you have, I'm pretty sure I'm not going to stop you. Some people consider- Is this about the land? Oh my god, this is about--" She just sort of buries her face in her hands. "Tell you what, Miss- V... V... Miss! Valledia, I think, right?"

"I'll help you and ask you and solve blasphemy or whatever if this is some weird earth-cyclops rite thing. Okay? If you need assistance, I'll do so! I've got no interest in provoking it if it's really easy to fix and won't cause any sort of issue!" Her palms are out, placatingly! "I've got no knowledge of this rite or blasphemy, so you'll have to forgive me-"

Her head dips!

"But, I do gotta handle the issue of a potential criminal or Brightholder-guy here." Her gaze shifts back towards the enshrouded man- The occultist. Memories of what Hibiki said were fresh in her mind enough, and her face is set in a scowl. "You gotta back words like that up. I'm not here to coddle the likes of the moon cultists, azraelites, occultists, or what have you."

"You probably do sort of have to explain yourself, running around with such-" She shudders! "A disgusting aura about you. That, or come in to get purified. 'M not letting the depraved walk these lands."
(Demeter Rosengard)

To be fair, he was more or less tuning Valledia out on principle after their previous encounters had mostly ended in his severe irritation. As he'd thought, giving her a solid punch to the face had only caused short-term indignation and she was already onto bugging them about something else. He had his doubts about any sincereity with which she followed this weird religion, but that wasn't the matter at hand.

Instead, his sights were fixed cleanly on Exovaryn. The force of his mana rising caused a shift in air - scarf flowing backward as his muscles tensed, tightened.

"This guy ain't gonna give up for anything like that. It's like I said, he just wants to kill people - He's scum, pure and simple. I ain't afraid to start a fight with you, muncher...You're a sick freak."

"And by the way, you're just as human as us. I know the dark power makes you go sick in the head and suddenly you think you're a god or whatever, but all that rambling is just making me roll my eyes."

A stray trail of flame ran down his arm, eyes blazing with anger. "You're gonna surrender, or come with us. murderer."
(Hibiki)

"Cyclops!?"

Off she goes, without taking a single breath, expounding about the faith that she so dubiously falls upon. "This is not a weird cyclops thing! This is the final rites of Kark! He who is the Eternal Warrior! The reason that blood flows through your body! The one that brings heat to the frozen north! The one that boils blood and brings revelry unyielding!"

Stomp, stomp, stomp. In front of both their gazes, blocking out Exovaryn's visage as she does, the girl shoves her hands against her hips and looks upon both with a rightous malice! Vermillion irises flare underneath the glasses of the girl, radiating a light that'd make even the most pure-blooded Hirano blush. "Not Palthus! The bloodgod himself! Don't you know anything!?"

The athame glistens within the girl's dress, though it fails to be grasped or wielded at all; almost as if it had an instinctive reaction to the tension in the air. In truth, Valledia was playing up most of it--mannerisms that are exaggerated and being blown out of proportion. She was doing her best to divert the coming storm.

"You and your Kraus. Because he was the First God it makes him the best one? Have you no empathy!?"

In a flash, the pale, pallid hand of the Karkizan grasps each of their shoulders and shakes them with a light fury. "Failure to respect religons! Failure to respect the dead! Failure to tend to those in need! Failure to properly wipe out all the Brightholdian's! Failure to capitalize on sheer weakness and allow many to bleed out while sick and tired! Torturous--" Her head turns, a small smile forming. "Torturous hours of slow bleeding out as life fades away. Because you all warred improperly!"

Shake, shake.

"Shameful!" If Hibiki's flames continue to pulse through his arm? The sheer contact of Valledia's clothes would slowly ignite too--though she would not address it, as though the pain were muted against her flesh. "Shaaameful! Make amends! You always focus on the future problems and never focus on fixing what you've already caused! Magi are all alike!"
(Valledia)

Again?

Lyndell stopped short on her venture to the North through the desert. It hadn't been the first time passing by Brighthold, or what once was, on the way to learn about the surrounding lands, but like the other day at the bridge, there were people there and gathered. If it were anything like last time, the need to raise proper and prepare to run again. If it were anything like last time, it was more than necessary concerning the power of the others.

Upon the stop, the dirt around the point of skidding seemed to kick up, tossing a stone or too off into the grass with small plicking sounds skittering across the small bit of land. Tensions were high, and no one could really be trusted. Eyes from inside the helmet just scanned among all the people in the area and got ready to draw blade if necessary; but only in a means of defense, like before. Last time though, that didn't work out too well, but that woman from the Belial whatever seemed to focus her dog on that boy instead.

Staying quiet, not even whiffs of exhaling breath, everyone was properly examined. They were far outmatching nonetheless, and all that could be done for now was standing idly by and observing. Learning and watching wasn't ever, anything bad but.. when life is put into danger because of it, the risk may not ever be worth the reward.

But compared to what's happened so far, would this be enough to actually make progress?
(Lyndell)


Trying to find Diana was becoming quite a hassle and after his little encounter with Isis in Tilandre....he wasn't going anywhere near those parts soon. As such he made his way back to a more peaceful place one where he could relax for a bit and take the time to think about his next step. Of course it was dangerous to go back to such a place but Espa needed to see the town once more. As such, he went to Brighthold.

When exited the sarab and arrived, not to far from the entrance seemed to be a bit of a quarrel. He was going to make his way to intervene when the voices and colors of the individuals stopped him dead in his tracks. The first he would notice was none other than the Haruke.

That dark color, leaking with depravity hoisting several mana signatures and reigning dominion over them. That un-easy feeling that came from his strength....he could never forget it. Oh but it got better, the next person he noticed was none other than a friend or perhaps maybe a rival. Espa wasn't sure what to call their relationship. Whenever they met they most likely fought...that being the case, he was cautious.

" Just my luck...."

He would mutter as he would make his way over to the group and then taking a deep breath in. Espa wasn't good at disguises or anything so he was betting it all on his hood. If that didn't work. Well he would have to try and deal with what to come. He would then ask the group

" Hello everyone. I see that you all are having quite a bit of a quarrel and all. I would love to assist and try and make everyone at peace but I'm not that informed in culture. With that said...I have a question. My name is.....Hero and I'm looking for a Diana Rosengard. I need to speak to her about my application to the Whitegua-- Whitecloaks "

(Espa Montblanc)

Exovaryn could somewhat understand the perception of Demeter Rosengard, which brought his lips to part in reverence...
Though, what respect and grounding he once bared with them, for even a moment, was instantly vaporized once Hibiki chipped in. He was beginning to feel inclined to explain himself, only to recall the reasoning for his Xenophobia towards Humanity, towards what he'd dub 'Valmasian' in all.

What opportunity there once was for speech was instantly soiled the moment Hibiki summoned forth the pyres of his symbollic prowess, transcending indifference to Hatred once more-- A prime ingredient in the festering ethernal conflaguration subsuming factors that exceeded that of symbollic contortion. The blackened miasma of stygian smog radiated from his flesh, slowly growing peeved at one's presented perception of him and his kin.

It was the same way everywhere...
No matter how much time would pass...
No matter where he would reside...
No matter the ilk, that one would confide in...

People much like Hibiki furthered the discrimination betwixt Malpercian and Harukean kindred abroad the Valmasian continent. Espa's appearance went unnoticed, and just as he begun his approach.. He was... Intercepted?
Valledia forced herself betwixt the pending combatants, leaving him to pause as well.
Breathing through barred teeth, sharpened to predatory standards sung his own orchestrated auditory prequel of Death: Fury, bound by the weakening chains of his patience.

" You speak as though condescending upon a petty member of your own kind, as though some superior to a figure you haven't the slightest clue, nor faintest hope to fathom. You claim I differ no greater than you lot, yet contradict yourself without further delay. You merely hunger for an excuse to fight, for an excuse to kill in the name of your god, and deem it Holy. A disgusting trend I've come to perceive of you Exorcists... Of you 'Heroes'..." He stated outright, shifting his gaze over to Demeter to acknowledge her statement.

" . . . Depravity." He responded simply...
"Is that what you call this? Depravity? Does it worry you because of its resonation? Its radiance? Very well... If it appeases you to see it vanquished, so be it." With that said, the weight upon the shoulders of those within proximity would abruptly... Vanish.
It was akin to the screams of the suffering, once consumed by this ravenous creature shouting out simultaneously, only to have been suddenly silenced at-once. The Depravity was absolutely, entirely concealed to even the adept mana sensor's perception: An extension to Lyperion Utovex's capabilities, thanks to the many consumed during the war.

"... There... It's gone..." He claimed.
"Now... Unto your friend here..." He stated, with eyes shifting back over to the obstructed pyromancer.
(Exovaryn "Voss" Haruke)

"Yeah, no, okay." Demeter did not have time for this! Perhaps Valledia could find further cause for sacrilidge, as the mark of Ulfdyr's god was upon the Winter's Thorns at the shoulder. "Miss, I'll repeat one last time that," A deep breath. "I'll help you and handle stuff but if you keep getting in the way of the LAW and stuff like that-" A pained expression crosses her as she is shaken by the blonde!

"- I'm gonna just sort of shoot you over to Sigrid as the appropriate person to contact regarding this stuff and totally not me and COULDN'T YOU HAVE ASKED THAT DAY?!" Her voice sort of raises, very gently scowling and pushing lightly at Valledia's head like an overeager child. "Like I already agreed to help! I don't know what more you want of me!"

She was PROBABLY family somehow, anyways. That was sort of a constant.

She tries to move Valledia's wiggling around to her back, so she can get a good look at Exovaryn- Eyes narrowing at the power of the miasma of dark magic unveiled.

"Do you think hiding it makes it any better? A wound in the life force, to use occult magics? You're the guy who ate peo-" She slams her palms against the head. "Yeah, I can figure out what you are through that. You're one of those- Kraus protect, yeah, no, I'm not letting this happen. I know history."

"Like, grandma had records of that sort of stuff- I've got the inquisition records, you know?" Her eyes narrow.

"Power and might doesn't MAKE right, but refusing to use it when you can stop people from doing wrong is slothful and inelegant. If you think I'm so easily deflected, guess again. I'm not really about to let a maneating, depraved occultist walk free, 'cause I'm not exactly stupid."

She glances over to the young man- Not having seen him in many long years, and before they were full grown, the cowled Montblanc is unrecognized! "Yeah, uh- Hold on, you're in the wrong place, but I can totally help you find Di-di."

"Any better explaination than that? That we're 'wrong and bad' 'cause letting people who have obviously ill intent towards the people walk is hypocritical? I mean, really. I may be a warrior, but that doesn't make me stupid." Lips quirk. "What's oppressed isn't 'darkness for no reason', or anything like that. It's preventing catastrophies and averting unnecessary and damaging powers."

"... And depravity is earned on some level. Always. It's a choice."
(Demeter Rosengard)

Hibiki, meanwhile, had far less use for these manners of which Demeter speaks. With a growl, he pushed forward, attempting to merely shove the blonde woman aside with a stray hand, to keep eyes on their target. "I don't even have a god, and you're just homing in on me cause you know it ticks me off! Get lost if you don't wanna get caught up in the fight."

It was clear that Exovaryn's self-righteous approach didn't impress or dissuade Hibiki any more than Demeter. A snort, his fist now swirling with flames - Before his eyes turn over to Espa, blinking! As opposed to the others he'd addressed such far, Hibiki's expression as he turned to the young man was curious and unaggressive, nodding once.

"Yo! Yeah, we're involved with that group and help em out. We can totally give you a hand finding Diana. Till then, we gotta nab this guy. He's bad news, can't let him get away or people could get hurt. Just a sec, alright?" Waving at Espa offhandedly, he took another step forward, eyes snapping back to the Haruke.

"Dunno what all this history stuff is about, but I saw with my own eyes - you're just another crazy. Blab all you want, we're taking you in!"
(Hibiki)

Flames lick lightly upon Valledia's sleeve as she continues to drone on and on about Kark this and blasphemy that. She seems passionate about it, refusing to let them simply ignore it and desperately attempt to buy time--but it is for, mostly, naught. Demeter is the first to brush past the Karkizan cleric, the girl's body swiveling to continue to address her before the touch of Hibiki is made upon Valledia, the boy doing the same.

For the briefest of moments, as Valledia's hand rises to meet with Hibiki's own, can the partner of Demeter feel a surge of raw, unrelenting power that threatens to shove the boy back entirely on his back--but it is only for a fragment of a second, the power that swells dying just as suddenly as it came.

With a light push, the Karkizan stumbles backwards, gazing towards the now unhindered advancement of Demeter and Hibiki. In silence she stood, gazing as if in contemplation--but in truth, there was nothing to think about.

Valledia made her decision the moment she let Hibiki shove her aside.

Shaking her head lightly to her side, the blonde simply glides through the grass upon tiny steps, sitting next to Espa Montblanc with a neutral expression on her face as she watches the two approach. "'Hero'." She speaks, her tone melodic in defiance of what is to occur. "Do you know who this is?" Blonde locks lightly fall from her bangs, fluttering in the winds as she prepares herself for a story.

"Harukean. Old nobility, though nobody really remembers them. Mormegil, mostly, was their claim to fame. Ol' Eutan ran that place like a tight ship, he did. Carefully monitered, yet free in a way. Jus' had to be a part of the right group. Malpercians, Harukeans..." The girl pauses, gazing at Exovaryn now--fixating upon him and his markings. "Brenntes." A name, perhaps, that is foreign in many history books with that depraved city.

"It was a good place if you didn't care. If you simply...didn't mind. Ignorance can be bad, but nobody has to care about the world. Let it burn, let it rise. Live in the now, y'know? Not an opinion shared by many." Long, chilled fingers idly play with the grass, rubbing dew-soaked blades of grass between her fingers as she continues to watch the tragedy unfold.

"People cared. The greatest crime to Mormegil's name wasn't it's depravity nor it's sins. It wasn't the necromancy nor rift. It was it's lack of subtlety. If you give people a cause..." A glance back towards the red-eyed Demeter and the fiery Hibiki! "...They'll rally to it. Mormegil fell because it was thought to need to fall. The people willed it, and thus it is so. Your White Cloaks are similar, aren't they?"

The vermillion-eyed girl gazes up at the standing Espa, her eye colorings visible from the angle. "A reaction to a greater cause. What's got you folks all riled up? There ain't a Mormegil no more. Somethin' up that someone ain't telling me?"

Why, the girl flashes a smile! Her sights have shifted from the oncoming conflict, fixating more and more on the gossip. "Tell me a story, 'Hero'. I got time."
(Valledia)

"Your ignorance is blatant, boasted at best..." He stated, already taking his first step in retaliation. "It is the mana that courses through your veins that I hunger for, to consume of the flesh is merely a tradition I've taken practice in to clean up after myself. It was merely advice given to me from another... It hardly proves more than a craving." He answered, "... And as for your claims... "

The Occultist's pyre was risen to its fullest, embracing him in its twisted valor, soon growing corroded with the harukean symbiote oozing from his flesh. " I fight and kill for the same reasons you humans do... In defense of my person and beliefs." He retorted, aura shredding at the soils he'd stand upon, soon ascending for an aerial advantage.

"Your incapability to grasp that, infuriates me... But it is, perhaps... Justified. The difference between your lot and myself?" He rose an arm to point for Demeter directly, concurrent to the fabrication of the onyx fluid dubbed Lyperion Utovex. The serpents of his void would crawl over his shouderline, snake about his abdomen, barbs aimed for both combatants.

" I find enjoyment in paying retribution to those whom would wrongfully assail one such as myself.. Much like Jerudiel's endeavor to imprison and enslave my person, you Danarites prove no different. Claiming me the greater evil, a criminal.. Much like any unlike yourselves..." He was on the defensive, against -two- magi of notable strength, far than likely an encounter within his capacity- As proven with his previous encounter with Brightholdians.
(Exovaryn "Voss" Haruke)

Demeter steps forwards- And with a surge of power running through her muscles. The bane of occult and the depraved, the knitting, healing, soothing and gentle balm of harmonic attunement runs vibrantly about her form, a hand reaching out.

A cheery little snort follows, as she gets into position.

"The truth of Valmasia is that forces conspire to warp the land. I don't act in defense of simply myself- But the prevention of wrongs on those who can't stand up for themselves. Not everyone's a magi. Occultism? Descendancy? No excuse."

"Everyone has a choice, to prey on the weak or kill people. To give in to their baser urges. Maybe everyone IS the same one some level- But it's how we approach and overcome them that differentiates us. If you think I'm just going to kill you..." She grins. "You're wrong! So, let's duke it out- I doubt you'll come willingly, but if you stand and fight... I'll fight you one on one."

Her arm sweeps sideways. "Hibiki. Stand aside... This is my challenge- I'm going to do this properly, and act on your honor. You're not allowed to squawk about it being dumb, just so you know." She flips a braid over her shoulder, as she positions herself opposite of the Harukean patriarch. "It's a civilization thing. You wouldn't understand. And it makes him not get away, if my convictions are stronger. Sides, you already lost. Don't be a sour puss!"

She refocuses her ruddy gaze on the wielder of Lyperion Utovex...

"So, you going to accept? Us going, just me and you? I'll show you the strength of my heart and convictions," A wink is given from a burgundy eye, and actually makes an audible 'ping' as it discharges a little sparkle of prismatic, showy light. "I'm a chivalrous sort, yeah? If you've defeated Hibiki, you're fighting me, anyways."
(Demeter Rosengard)

As with before, he seemed to have nothing but disdain for the Haruke's reasonings and excuses. "Your ability to not shut your dumb mouth infuriates *me* but you don't see me complaining. Just be quiet already and put up your dukes, or-"

Blinking once, he turned his gaze with a snap to Demeter, outrage written over his expression. Throwing a hand to the side in a wide gesture, he responded with a scowl! "You've GOT to be kidding me! No way. No fucking way! This is my fight, you can't just cut me outta-"

Whether you wanted to call it squawking or not, it was clear he had an objection. With a grimace, he stared over at Exovaryn for another moment, expression hardening in thought. It took a minute or so...But eventually, he took a step back, sour.

"Fine, show him how we do things. But if you start to lose, I'm taking over, got it?"
(Hibiki)

The bane of the Occult and Depraved stood before him, ready and armed...
Himself, analyzing her with the hordes of the many assimulated into his vessel. What advantages once idled near seemed to fade away, leaving the full potential of the Oracle's Mark to slip from his clear-cut grasp.

"So, you intend to face me on your own? Well, that grants you some placement of honor. Something worth respect that levels you beyond what I've seen of Valmasia-... Brightholdians, thus far. Perhaps, there is feeble hope to grasp upon with your ilk. Though, it will not change the reality of this encounter." The ethernal pyre of materialized malice grew entangled, fabricating a stygian brand of conflaguration that licked flesh cold in its morbid embrace.

The animated locks of mauve danced for the skies above, siphoning not only at the enviornment's bare vitality but even at the magical presences looming too close. An unnamed star high above would inevitiably succumb to his remote siphon, compounding to his already festered reserves in preparation.

" I accept your challenge, so long as you understand the consequences should your comrade attempt to intervene. " He stated quite plainly. " To those whom can vaguely comprehend that of my code and beliefs, I'm sure I could grant, even a single moment's mercy... Though, don't get too comfortable, Valmasian, know the risks of your actions!"

The earth at his feet began to shatter under the immense fluctuations of gravitational presence, soon unveiling the general region to induce a pseudo-bouyant sensation to reverb across the battlefield, perhaps even allowing one with close proximity of the Harukean throughout the scuffle miniscule aerial flight? Albeit, hardly within their own control...

A slight decline in one's posture lead to a leap in his form, kicking off to transport his figure via one's trifecta of magical affinities, visually transcending into a streak of lavender, mingled with strokes of ebony and aurelean gleam, harboring one's slhuoette within.
" If you want a fight on honorable terms, don't. waste. My. TIME!"
(Exovaryn "Voss" Haruke)

The metal of her boots dig into the ground as she adjusts her body. Perspiration begins unthinkingly as her heart begins to circulate with adrenaline, the flow of blood throughout her body carrying with it the flow of mana. Internal energy flows violently throughout her body.

"Well, then; I guess I'll just have to try to teach you the weight of the laws of nature and Valmasia then, huh?"

The sparkling light of exorcism and the lifestream runs along her in a loving reflection of the miasma of darkness and corruption. Faint lines and swirls in the air like an animated melody, her lungs expands as she breathes in the ambient energy, and turns it to girding her body.

A frigid gale whips up about her body, a swirling, violent force that lowers the temperature aboud her in a protective aegis. Small droplets in the air turn into soft, pattering bits of snow, making a stark contrast with the warmth of her aura- Layers of power ensconcing her as she clenches her fists with the blessing of Winter's Thorn.

The coldforged arcanium gauntlets glimmer, the spirit inside subdued by Demeter's aura. Glimmerous, opaque layers form overtop from condensation, adding weight to her fists; In a noisy clang, she bangs her fists together. "Have at you, then!" Her voice booms, the fight beginning.

In a smooth motion, she blinks out of sight- Darting backwards and away, the in and out attack of the young woman beginning...
(Demeter Rosengard)

The woman's body is both weapon and armor in one, as much as what she clads herself in.

The pattern of the Paladin was perhaps easy to spot. With the symbolic fluttering of wind mana racing throughout the body, the woman goes at accelerates speeds, dancing away from the tugs and lashes of Lyperion Utovex- Watching him, burgundy eyes of a much less sanitary bloodline than an exorcist should claim wait and watch.

She sends out her mana- Watching for differences in the pressure, holes in the pattern, circling, dancing, waiting for an in- And then literally blasting towards him in a wash of steam behind her, her frozen power leaving a wake of chilled air that dissipates in the warmth of the plains, so close to the desert.

And when her fist flies against his body, it smashes through darkness and burns violently, the cleansing, cold force not unlike an acid to eat away with flesh; Only working it's wiles on his magics, tearing through. Her strikes are done with the force of her body- Getting close, snapping kicks would regail him only for a fist to try to make a followup, aiming for his solar plexus, hampered by the occultism enshrouding the Haruke.

Her strategy was no less effective for it's brutal honesty.

Even with her intermittent pressure, Exovaryn would find himself being forced backwards under the assault...
(Demeter Rosengard)

Globs of saliva sputtered from betwixt gaped lips, legs scampered backwards and a breather seemed nigh implausible. He was on the losing end, facing a battering unlike other scenarios. Though, he was not out of options... Not yet.
He couldn't see many opportune digressions from this scuffle, but a rebound could come from anywhere... It was simply his philosophy and a venture he could entail on regardless.

Steps backwards brought upon the image of a hunkered over Harukean, clutching at his abdomen. Coughing soon devolved into a feeble chortle, one loose under his breath... Humor bared odd timing in this scuffle, though did not grow hindered despite the circumstances.
"Y- You're... Strong... Stronger than you look..." He complimented, rising his head to face her, hood knocked off by the combination of his own and her strikes conflicting throughout.

An alabaster mane hardly shrouded the juxtaposing ebonic optics, reflecting Demeter's image upon over their likes. The hazel outlining of a blank cornea switched over to Hibiki, midst his pondering, and then back to Demeter.
" A lot stronger than I gave you credit for.." He fixed his posture slowly, during what seemed to prove a mild hiatus.

"I'm going to need more mana to take you on." He admitted. "Much more power to stand-off against you, indeed. Unfortunately, it seems there are no magi within the general proximity, save for your friend here." He regained his form, though rather than prepare for another charge, he commenced ascension for the skies at a slow pace.

Arms extended for his sides, and head went lax to expose his chest...
"It would be a much greater issue if I had been restricted to the few powers I've demonstrated thus far. Otherwise, this talk of baring more power than what you've percieved thus far would be naught more than rhetoric."
A gleam of saffron once slaved to the seems of his armor, soon burned through his chestal plate- midst his pectorials. An emanation that would assumed what appeared to be runic formations. Albeit, the characters scribed across his chest proved of alien origin to those coherent to Valmasia-bound runic inscriptions.

" It is through the mesh of lifeforms within the lifestream of Eternia, so tightly entangled midst this fabric that all forget they stand within. Should one ever realize such, and bare the language true alongside a key for the doors unseen? I'm certain you too will unlock the secrets that keep you magi bound seperate. It's for that reason, us Harukeans have the power to tap into other circuits, with enforced anatomy to transcend further beyond what you'd dub a fellow human throughout these lands... Allow me to show you."

The wan tug of one's circuit pried by the glowing entity that was: Exovaryn, spread without prejudice throughout the general region, feeding the Oracle's Mark at the volition of the various inhabitants, should they not bare resilient willpower to outright resist. The truest extent of the Lyperion Utovex was being tapped into, though it'd lay dependent on whomever could be idling nearby.

" Let every soul rejoice in my calling... " The sapphire miasma of mana lifted from every living vessel within general sight...
The grasses, the near foliage, distant forestry, small rodents and even wandering non-magi; though, it'd all pale in comparison to an actual magi nearby. " Succumb to my pull... Feed me your essence... And Lyperia's blessing shall be shed upon you as well." Thus far, the results seemed minuscule, though it was far from everything he had in store.
The tendrils of Lyperion Utovex grew ecstatic, soon coalesced with the ravaging pyre of one's essence. An Occultist's aura grew corroded, thick and nigh solidified... Though, far from controlled, merely concentrated...

"As for you, Valmasian..." He directed for Demeter. "I ensure you, that it will only get more difficult from here on in..."
(Exovaryn "Voss" Haruke)

Arms folded, a scowl that could easily be interrupted as a pout in addition square on his face, he watched the ongoing matchup between his friend and the depraved madman without any apparent concern. Not to say he thought Demeter was stronger than him! He simply knew that her style would be a hard counter to the Haruke's own. That was all it was...

Even if he would've had trouble as well, there was little doubt that he'd wanted this fight instead. Indeed, Demeter could probably feel his glare boring into her from a distance. She'd be getting an earful later to be sure.

Hibiki observed the flow of the battle...bad temper vanishing somewhat as a more analytic air came over him. There was little doubt that their initial clash had made the eventual outcome of the battle clear. Even so...

"Yo, Braids!" He called out during the lapse in the fight, eyes on the other warily. "Dunno what he's babbling about, but watch out for the bubbles. They mean he's stronger, or something. It's weird!"
(Hibiki)

"Disgusting."

The first words out of Demeter's mouth as she sends her fist flying forwards and slamming him backwards with abrupt and magnified force. The woman is unceasing, and her every spat word is made without truly pausing in her assault on his form.

Demeter in combat was not the Demeter who laughed jovially with Hibiki, or who delivered formal smoothovers of political diatribe. No, there was something cold that did resonate with the magic she practiced in combat- A purity of purpose, distilled and clear that fuelled her symbolic powers.

"What you do is perversion." She hisses through her teeth, trying not to give Exovaryn too long to breathe- Sweat sticks her bangs to her face, teeth gritted in dimples cheeks are wide eyes are narrowed from the pressure. Her flesh flexes and glimmers with the muscle underneath surging violently with power.

"Taking, stealing lives from others and calling it harmony. No empathy, no-" A hand chops through a tendril, glimmerous aura slicing through it like a blade, as she manages to punch ever closer to his physical form. "No unity of people is done through this."

"I feel the lifestream. It's what lives in all of us, the harmony I make manifest to blend this together-" A surge of sunshine-colored life energy pushes against him- Girded against him, unwilling to be sucked in. "And it's the exhalations of everyone who lives in the light, nothing violently stolen, nothing misused or abused."

"I'll show you what harmony really means."


(Demeter Rosengard)

To be encircled by the antipodal of his affinities, denied of the energies he once tried to pry at- To empower himself with the lifeforce of others... It infuriated him. If he couldn't utilize their essence to his volition, he'd have to force an opening. Even if it mean't attempting to tear through the barriers forged by this combative femme, and siphon her directly.
" Stealing lives? You call my act theft?!"

The serpents of one's void were beheaded one by one, forced back further to their source. He was growing depleted, soon dipping into his own reserves, consuming his very own body throughout the initial steps of Degeneration. He was pushing himself too far, and he knew it well.
"What I do, is simply work the cycle of mana through the basic stages. The only lives lost are those whom attempt transgressions against this cycle. I act as a Seer of Destiny and Inevitiability. To survive is my intent, and persist... If it requires the extinguishing of those whom would rather execute me out of fear, so be it. To those like yourself with qualms on the matter?!"

Midst the eye of bioluminescence of raw energies, an ensnared Harukean pulsated with intensifying gravitational fluctuations, growing stronger in their push until the barriers rendering him momentarily incapacitated were dispersed. No longer did he have the urge to replicate his deeds, but rather resort to self-preservation. Through the consumption of his tones and fingertips, facial scathings were undone, bruises omitted and so on...

However, it could only be diverted to a new region...
He was running low on mana, low on energy...
And with low reserves he was growing desperate, more erratic in his decision-making.
To think a single bout would push him so far, seemed inane until now... The thought of being bested by what he'd once deem a lesser portrayed unadulterated disgust across his visage: Teeth barred with brows furrowed.
" I shed no further reverence. I grow tired of you by the passing seconds." An open palm extended out for the woman, as though in preparation for a gravitational discharge.
(Exovaryn "Voss" Haruke)

 In. Out.

When she charges now, her head dips- Braids flutter backwards like the trailing of a banner as she shrieks no words, but a rumbling war cry that echoes out. And when he uses the force to try to drag her in...

She obliges. Turning his own magic against him, she flies at him. As she shatters the veil of darkness, Demeter's fists finally find his skin and begin a merciless pummelling. Making good with the hard crash of knuckles against his solar plexus to force the wind out of him, she proceeds to grab his wrist and hook a leg around the back fo his own, following up on the force as he reels.

His entire body would be flooded with a pure cold, shocking his senses, slowing his reflex and numbing him as the gauntlet truly grips and sinks in it's magic through his body, as she neatly hooks back her leg and spins him about by the wrist, slamming his face into the ground as he is dropped like a rock, arm behind his back.

He would find himself pinned.

"You can lie to yourself as much as you like." A knee goes to his spine, going down to keep her weight to keep him down on the bloodied earth of the reddened prarie. "But it doesn't make what you do right or justified." She lets her energies flow through him, purifying and blocking his occultism and depraved energies- Keeping him from summoning any strength to fight her off, bringing a close to agonized screams in a wash of warmth and blessing...

Her other arm jams itself down into her bag- For a coil of rope, and a cold, metallic collar.

Well. The first was SUPPOSED to be used for climbing... She quickly squeezes his hand- And quartz crystal forms around his hand, binding it momentarily as she hooks him about the legs with it, tying his ankles and leaving rock cuffs on his hands, tying him right up! The anti-magic collar snaps around his neck, forcibly severing him from his network of victims, dispersing active enchantments on his person as she HEAVE-HO's him over her shoulder with a light "OOF!".

He would be lifted, turning her head to Hibiki. A thumbs up, and a grin with another overly flashy, deliberate manipulation of light magic ping~

"See? S'how you do it."
(Demeter Rosengard)

With every strike against his person, he felt his reach to his inner reserve growing further distant. No longer was he at liberty to lash out through the extensions dubbed Lyperion Utovex, for she pushed him to his limits and exceeded them althroughout the bout. The serpents grew shriveled, perplexed to the decision of further consuming at his flesh or shriveling up to sustain his form.

Inevitably, it wouldn't matter...
He fell for the soils, face shoved against dirt in a scenario both humiliating and degrading to his flourished ego. No longer could he continue in his endeavors, for it would, like many of his comrades, come to an end. The overall essence of the Occult was repressed by this overpowering force of Exorcism, complimenting what mised lashings he was dealt with.

For every blessing, he'd curse, though it'd never be pungent enough...
The most vile one could conjure to their volition seemed to fizzle out under the gargantuan might of a blissful materialization of symbolic righteousness.
Not only would his arms be bound, but ankles as well. A thought crossed his mind...
Perhaps, he could squirm away, fly off and eventually shatter these bin-
A click disregarded the mindset, leaving him suddenly stripped of his connection to the inner energies dubbed mana. In that instance, he was powerless, no longer capable of bending his energy to his will.

Severely drained of his fatigue and mana already, with degeneration already settled in, he'd succumb to the encroaching wave of unconsciousness; leaving a limp figure to hang over Demeter's shoulder. Though, he encroached the realm of ebony sheathing, he'd never truly falter... L'est the threshold be tested. Eerie movements could be strained...
The faint sounds of voices still heard...
The croaking of his own voice, still possible...
But as for resistance? It'd prove only futile.

This, was the taste of defeat he had grown inept to for so long... One could never fathom it'd tasted so sour.
(Exovaryn "Voss" Haruke)