Afterimage 1

[12:45:39] The Archon sighed audibly. But of course, that much would be obvious - lack of belief, refusal to acknowledge what's beyond the surface.

Unamused. Zaruma decided to speak, nonetheless.

"Him." - the Archon pointed at Geese.

"That man was there when first Demon Hunters of Jianghu killed ours. He was there to acknowledge what caused our anger."

"But I figure he chooses to remain silent now, because Coalition is convenient. Because Jianghu no longer have to be responsible for the crimes committed."

"Then there was Lin Ru. A backstabbed, a liar, a manipulator that backed off on his word, even when I agreed to settle down for ceasefire and discuss peace."

"If only to proclaim that we all must die. That's when Ezmara and Cruxati began to raid with us."

He made a pause. Those that had known history of this conflict could perhaps remember, but that much was irrelevant- lies and truthswere a mix nowadays.

"That is when Chizue took over, but Demon Hunters persisted. We continued to raid. Jianghu surrendered, but to Cruxati--"

"After which, Kayeliun powergrabbed Jianghu for her own devices. Coalition was formed, and that hypocritical trout by the name of Hatsune rose to power."

"Her plan had come to motion. Ever since she wanted to kill the natives, after killing Zahhual while being aided by Xococan, she could finally do so."

"This war started."

"Now we stand where we are."
(Zaruma)

[12:49:04] The little Dryad glanced between Tragedy and Zaruma and those of the Coalition. Her shoulders slumped. Is that really what she fought for? It couldn't be, right? Fingers curled more tightly around her staff. Then she noticed the others who arrived. Many more from Gaier. It was not looking good.

"I-. . ."

She had no words. No, she'd need to ask Hatsune and Adsila and Sibri. There had to be another side, right? There had to be some misunderstanding that could be fixed!
(Zyanya)
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[12:49:04] A crude awakening. The spider did not know this... provided information.

It hit Ka'vas hard, comparable to a freight train to a poor individual on the tracks-- al founding thoughts, now a simple mess upon rails.

With that much said, the spider began walking. Walking forward, eight legs shuffling. It needed to stand closer, but not on either side. Yet.
(Ka'vas)

12:49:55] Tragedy exclaims, "Uwa! Lies!"
[12:49:55] Zaruma exclaims, "Uwa!"
[12:49:55] Zyanya says, "O-oh."
[12:49:55] Zaruma exclaims, "Keheheh!"
[12:49:55] JaDrako Kumo says, "Marry me"
[12:49:55] Ka'vas says, "...The fish nearly killed me."
[12:49:55] Zyanya says, "Mister Zaruma."
[12:49:55] Ka'vas says, "As have Gehennan's."
[12:49:55] Zyanya says, "Do you know a Demon named. . ."
[12:49:55] Ka'vas says, "As have Jianghese."
[12:50:46] Zyanya says, "Uh. . ."
[12:50:46] Zyanya says, "Ezmera? Ezarama? Errema? Ez. . ."
[12:50:46] Tragedy says, "What a tiny demon."
[12:50:46] LOOC - JaDrako Kumo: ( Bunt
[12:50:46] Zyanya asks, ". . .Ez-something?"
[12:50:46] LOOC - JaDrako Kumo: ( I'll just give u it
[12:50:46] Zyanya says, "Uh."
[12:50:46] Zaruma says, "No. I believe I do not."
[12:50:46] Zyanya says, "I forgot their name and I feel horrible for it."
[12:50:46] LOOC - JaDrako Kumo: (;-;
[12:50:46] Zyanya says, "But I was hoping they'd returned safe and now I only grow more worried."
[12:51:37] Tragedy says, "There is a very simple way to test the truth of ones claims."
[12:51:37] Zaruma says, "Ah. Yes. The truth potion."
[12:51:37] Tragedy says, "You see their counter arguments. And how they act in the face of evidence."
[12:51:37] Tragedy says, "Uh, yes, that too."
[12:51:37] Zyanya asks, "Truth potion?"
[12:51:37] Zaruma says, "Convenient. I happen to have truth potions."
[12:51:37] Tragedy says, "But if Hatsune were here, it would be something along the lines of..."
[12:51:37] Tragedy exclaims, "Uwa! Attack!"
[12:51:37] Tragedy says, "Then I would kill everybody and it would be unfortunate."
[12:52:28] Zyanya says, "O-oh."
[12:52:28] Tragedy held out her hand for this tiny spider thing.
(Tragedy)
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[12:52:28] Hinoka says, "You'd have a hard time of it."
[12:52:28] Zaruma says, "Loud words for someone who hides behind the comfort of Coalition, woman."
[12:52:28] Zaruma asks, "Why don't you test yourself against either of us?"
[12:52:28] Zaruma says, "Take your pick."
[12:52:28] Noxim Florus says, "...Is recalling specific incident when Hatsune and Jadrako proved that possibility difficult."
[12:53:20] Tragedy says, "Yes, yes."
[12:53:20] Tragedy says, "How smug you are."
[12:53:20] Noxim Florus says, "Is benefit of being victor."
[12:53:20] The spider thought no more on it, as eight legs carried it over to Tragedy. It saw the extended hand as a message of greet, of welcoming, of beckoning. If it were wrong, then, death would be imminent.

A gamble... But in the now educated mind of the demon--- It was worth it.

Why fight for those who would have your head, within moments?
(Ka'vas)
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[12:54:11] Edge asks, "Whats smug..?"
[12:54:11] Noxim Florus says, "Should know by now, yes."
[12:54:11] The Archon immediately shifted his gaze at Noxim Florus.

Almost like spewing venom, Zaruma spoke out with a harsh, spiteful tone in his voice towards Kaor.

"Silence, you worthless, pathetic dog."

"Either prove your worth in one way or another, or be silent like the pitiful slave you are."

(Zaruma)
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[12:55:02] Tragedy looked a little bemused at having such a tiny demon, even when it was intelligent enough to make decisions. What a strange evolution. She turned to Zaruma.
(Tragedy)

[13:01:00] "Unfortunately for you, I'm no idiot. And at the moment, I've other goals to meet. And part of that gives me something to uphold. But, should you give me the opportunity... Well."

Hinoka looked towards the growing crowd. There was a hint of sadness, as she looked towards them. But it quickly faded away as she turned back towards Tragedy and Zaruma. She very clearly wanted to take them up on that offer. But something seemed to be holding her back.

Her fist would clench, and then a sigh...

"I suggest you go. Something tells me you have a bigger fight to prepare for."
(Hinoka)
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[13:01:00] Noxim settled his sights on Zaruma, his mask parted in a crescent sliver, revealing a row of jagged teeth, glistening in the surrounding lamplight.

A guttural baritone echoed a response, a voice laced with unmistakable amusement, despite the ongoing situation.

"You speak big words, Archon. Suzerain spoke big words. Calamity spoke big words. Noxim keeps words small, minute. So far, it's worked. "

His smile widened, thin trails of a black tarry substance slowly began seeping out from between the beast's fangs.

"How much longer do you think you'll last?"
(Noxim Florus)

[13:06:08] The Archon was clearly infuriated with the words that Noxim spoke.

But the words of Hinoka, at this point? They were disregarded. Zaruma no longer had any attention on her whatsoever, and the words of a woman were merged with ambience among other conversations.

Without hesitation, the Tempest blew razor sharp Fell Wind towards Noxim; it was not a dangerous attack, per se, but it would certainly cut into their skin, cause them damage and pain.

"You conniving-- deceptive-- miserable ape!"

"You had only stayed alive because you've avoided any confrontation, any challenge. You are no Demon - you are an animal in a skin of one, something worse than Daemon at this point."

"And just like animal, you pick out the bones that are thrown at you. You have no dignity to do anything on your own, other than mooch off from Coalition's efforts."

"Even if it means turning back on your kin."

With a pause, the Archon added.

"Battle me now. I will not use any of my equipment. I will fight you bare, just as if I were a Kaor myself."

"This shall be your test."

"Or are your too scared to accept even that?"
(Zaruma)

[13:06:59] Zyanya jumped! An attack?! Please don't be a real attack! She bid her vines away from herself, rose them up in a feeble attempt to protect the large tree Demon from the cutting winds!
(Zyanya)
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[13:06:59] Tragedy raised an eyebrow over at Zaruma, still holding the spider awkwardly like some exotic pet. The Archon... well, her brow furrowed. Was Zaruma so confident in his own abilities? Noxim was doubtlessly not a pushover. Her gaze glanced over to the tree creature, curious.
(Tragedy)

[13:17:13] Without warning, the blade of felwind was met with an unusually thick wall of dark magic, a palpable mass that seemed remarkably unusual, even for a demon.

The beast's smile widened, his form visibly shaking with a tumultuous excitement, a thin layer of vim that the archon's suggestion ushered forth. The sickening crack of wood visibly warping rang out across the clearing as the beast abruptly raised one arm, motioning carefully in Zaruma's direction.

"Prove your superiority, Archon. Show that even without the tools you wield, you are capable of handling a measly Kaor." he rumbled, taking a step forward in the Lavender-haired Archon's direction.

"If the others will not step in? I accept this test of yours."he spoke, his voice devoid of any particular verbal tics, the mere excitement of fighting an Archon on even footing was enough to make him salivate.

He would not pass up this opportunity, even if it meant his potential demise.
(Noxim Florus)

[13:19:47] The Archon was only eager to get it on.

Zaruma was in something akin a trance, a rush for a battle to be had; the voices, the words of others, they were all ignored in a single stream of dull ambience.

There was only one thing that mattered to him - to prove Noxim wrong.

"At last."

"No one else interfere, no matter the outcome. You, Kaor, are coming with me."

On his way elsewhere, to a clear battle ground, the Archon assigned one of the lesser Demons that he easily spawned to carry his weaponry, same about his clothing.

Yes... he actually was stripping himself of any tools, any possessions, anything that could potentially aid him in battle.

Nothing but a bare strength of Archon, versus bare strength of Kaor.
(Zaruma)

[13:25:45] Noxim Florus says, "...I can almost taste it."
[13:25:45] Zaruma says, "We shall see."
[13:26:36] Noxim Florus says, "We shall."
[13:26:36] Sima Kang says, "You're going to push with the armies that want to take over the closest thing to a civilisation the natives have managed in centuries. You want to purge my faith, and kill my kind."
[13:26:36] Sima Kang says, "Yes, JaDrako."
[13:26:36] A small bead of sweat ran down Tragedy's brow. Surely Zaruma was not powerful enough to defeat a near-Archon, unarmed... She felt a little threatened. Her hand moved to curl through the dryad's hair idly, other hand moving to be a platform for the spider demon.
(Tragedy)

[13:32:35] Zaruma won. How... uncomfortable.

The Archon glanced away, not really wanting to dwell too much upon it. Her position as the strongest in Agartha was still secure. She looked over to Erenoa, smirking a little as her hand ran through Zyanya's... whatever it was.

She pulled the dryad closer.

"Hmm. Weren't you going to teach me some sort of lesson?"
(Tragedy)

[13:38:33] The Archon knew very well of the power that Kaors possessed; truth be told, there wasn't much room for further ascension, other than wielding the tools at Archondom.

But without them? It could get pretty even. That's why Zaruma offered such all along.

Regardless, the Archon was still superior. No matter how many times the Kaor made an effort to throw Archon off him, there was a deadly persistence from Zaruma that came by.

"TOO LATE! YOU'LL PAY FOR YOUR WORDS NOW."

Much like he were a Kaor himself, the physically smaller Archon leapt upon Noxim's chest and face- and proceeded to brutally claw it, delivering constant blows of immense force across the Kaor's body.

The speed of such blows was absolutely inhuman. Even to the onlookers, they could hear the bones being broken, they could see the purple blood spilling all over due to delivered clawing, and Noxim was pinned down beneath the Apex predator in this gory display of brutality.

"You- will not- disgrace me- with such words- you pathetic- dog!"

Spoken with a pause between each word, the Archon at last climbed off. It could be seen as he had enough, but-- no. Suddenly, he began kicking down the Kaor, all across his body, crushing and breaking any portion of Noxim's structure with sheer physical strength.

"Suffer, you worthless scum!"

A final kick was made, and Kaor literally flew off from it; the Archon was /that/ strong physically - but perhaps Zaruma had grown too excited over a fight, and the kick that caused Noxim to fly off from brute strength delivered put him on a safe distance.

"Do not. DO NOT EVER dare to mock me like that again."

"Or I WILL put you down."
(Zaruma)

[13:41:58] Zyanya jumped slightly as she was pulled closer. She did enjoy hugs and it was sort of like a hug. Still Tragedy was a tad bit frightening. More than a tad bit in fact! But as long as she wasn't being annoying or anything it'd probably be fine, right? She was actually pretty nice when she wanted to be!

The offer of visiting sounded pleasant as well but she was certain that it'd only get her into trouble. Then again the Demons had a messenger for the Coalition. Maybe she could be their messenger?

Her attention turned towards the fight, frown persisting. Noxim was defeated. He was thrashed. Badly. Punted away like some sort of straw-filled ball. But he was alive! Hopefully! With that done she let out a sigh of relief, glancing towards Erenoa with a nervous smile.

"Its okay! See? Um. The fighting is over."

She glanced up towards Tragedy briefly before turning her gaze towards Ka'vas.

"Will you be okay?"
(Zyanya)

[13:44:32] Unsurprisingly, the human was not stupid enough to try and physically wrench Zyonya from her grasp. She would let the dryad go after a moment, holding the spider out towards her as it was addressed.

"... To think that you would be victorious with such a handicap. I have under-estimated you. The sheer hatred that flows from you is begging for release. Be sure to catch up on my White Testament, Zaruma. Your potential is beckoning."
(Tragedy)

[13:53:04] The demon stood his ground, gouts of ethereal magic flowed from the beast's maw, cutting deep into the surrounding landscape with each missed strike. He clawed out at the Archon, scraping him free from his wooden carapace before the naked figure would clamber back on, shattering his outer shell with each blow, revealing a thick layer of congealed tar, with tufts of blackened fur sticking out.

A well-aimed strike from the archon ripped through the Kaor's mask scoring through the tarry layer, before striking a thick crevice into the skeletal core that was the demon's vulnerable form. An inhuman hiss rang forth from the beast's throat, his voice resonating in the large clearing as his one open iris stared the Archon down with an air of utter loathing.

"You will REGRET that, ARCHON."he howled as he was tossed across the clearing, the ascended Demon's footdriving him well out of his range. He rose to his feet, one fully exposed arm clutching at his shattered mask.

In its full form, the beast's flesh could be seen, a skeletal creature draped with broken flaps of flesh and fur, pitch-black tendrils of tar slowly worked up from the decaying foliage surrounding the beast, intermittingly reconnecting with the writhing mass surrounding the creature.

There was no attempt made to hide up what had been exposed, there was far too much of it. At the very least, it was clear to see that Noxim was not a tree demon, as most had assumed.

"...Next time...There's always next time."
(Noxim Florus)