From a distance, Shen heard combat. Shockwaves of magic rocketing past him, winds rushing through his hair. The grounds quaking with each shattering impact. It brought the figure to approach the aftermath, not fast enough to actually catch the fight while it was still happening.

An injured Siren running like his life depended on it, and a floating man with pale skin and red eyes. The hooded man looked up to the vampiric fellow, unamused.

"I don't assume you have the best of intentions, wandering these parts."
(Shen)
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        Karias Van Landerge says, "Was it that obvious? *cackles*"
[15:25] Shen says, "You're not going anywhere."
[15:25] Karias Van Landerge says, "And who's going to stop me, you? *gazes down upon Shen.*"
[15:26] Karias Van Landerge says, "Stand in my way, and I'll reduce you into a mince of meat."
[15:27] Shen says, "Well, I can't exactly have you running around."
[15:27] Shen says, "So, I'll take my chances."
[15:33] "It's one after another." - he murmured under his breath, following up with a brief sigh.

He lifted up his blade and pointed its serrated edge at Shen as a wry smile spread across his face.

"If you wish to meet your demise that much, I suppose I'll oblige." - he spoke whilst jabbing his serrated blade forward, with a swift, precise movement. At first, it'd look like a meaningless taunt, however, after a brief delay, a powerful gale of-sorts would take shape and fly straight towards Shen's form. It'd definitely hurt, if it were to collide with his body.

And with that, combat ensued. It was enough talking.
(Karias Van Landerge)
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[15:38] Shen stood unflinching against the gale, keeping himself grounded. A wave of telekinetic energy exploded from the figure in order to combat the push, the two opposing forces cancelling each other out. The clash sent a shockwave rocketing through the area, trees rustling. The masked man had some mastery over the natural order.

"That was certainly cheap. You'll have to try harder than that to do some damage." he quipped back. The man muttered something incomprehensible under his breath - a prayer. It gave birth to an unprecedented outpour of blinding raw mana, a cerulean brilliance lighting up around his form. It couldn't have been from his reserves alone.

His sword was drawn, and the battle was upon them.
(Shen)
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[15:58] Telekinetic blasts and powerful gales as well as shockwaves that were created with Karias' sheer force collided and made the surrounding area quite literally quake as they canceled each other out.

Karias then, moved in and rained a flurry of swift, precise attacks upon Shen, however, despite the said attacks being ridiculously swift, they by no means lacked in actual strength. Infact, they packed an enormous amount of strength. Each attack that had connected with Shen's body, had sent him staggering backwards, gasping for air. However, he didn't seem too affected by it. Which was impressive, to say the least. Clearly, he was a rather durable one.

His serrated blade caught flesh and skin, it ripped and tore, causing crimson liquids spurt all over their surroundings. The clacking sound of metal, their blades clashing, echoed throughout the dreadwoods as craters were created underneath their feet with every single exchange of their blades.

It was a truly astonishing battle of strength.

However, to pick a fight of strength with Karias - is truly a foolish thing to do.

He leapt backwards and created some distance between himself and Shen as he raised up his blade and then swiftly swung it downwards, essentially smashing it against the ground.

What followed, was equivalent to an earthquake - the ground shook and cracked up, but, there was more. Genuine hurricanes rose up due to the monstrous amount of sheer force that Karias had used.

And Shen, naturally, was caught off guard. As the hurricanes swirled about violently, he got caught up in it, completely trapped as the hurricane violently carried him over the grassy landscape, violently ripping trees from their very roots and destroying everything in its wake in the process.

Karias, simply trailed the hurricanes with his sanguine, malevolent gaze.
"I suppose I'll see him again, at some point, if he survives this."

And with that, hisbusiness were concluded. He pivoted about on his heel and departed towards the plains.

(Karias Van Landerge)
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It wasn't enough.

Years of endangering himself out in the wilderness, risking his life day in and day out. Putting everything on the line to improve himself and walk the path of righteousness, slaying cursed beings. Even after he had gained a mastery over the natural order, it wasn't enough to topple one vampire.

Close, but not enough.

That phrase embodied most of Shen's encounters. Victory being just within reach, before it was seized from him. Stolen. He knew that the path he walked was just, but there couldn't be more obstacles in his way. As blood and sweat dripped to the ground and his breathing became shallow, there was one thing he needed to remind himself of.

The Emperor was testing him. Every attack, he needed to stand resolute. Every telekinetic blast and gale, he needed to stand his ground. When blade rended through flesh, he needed to keep himself alive. When his blood met the grass, his body couldn't. Staggering and gasping for air, he still gripped his weapon. Durable indeed.

But, there was one thing that he couldn't brave. The downward and concussive force of Karlas' blade impacting him, quaking the earth beneath him. He was forced onto his hands and knees, winded from the sheer amount of physical might the vampire possessed. Laying at the epicenter of his own crater, desperately trying to recuperate.

Shields of earth and energy were raised to defend himself against the natural disaster that had been created in his defeat. And whenever the storm subsided, he'd find that the vampire he was seeking to slay was long gone. Shen was spared from death like some sort of cruel joke.

He'd make sure that Karias would regret giving him this chance.
(Shen)