Alexander Russo vs Karel

Alexander Russo  	Alexander stepped out from the shaded plateau of the lounge into the pale orange light of the stands, exhaling a sigh upon feeling the horizon's glow bathing him in vibrant rays. An audible crack occurred as he tilted his head back, angling it slowly and meticulously. There it was... Crack... A little closer... Crack... I n s p i r a t i on. The faint thumping of music could be heard from behind him, he'd been flicking through the Colosseum's collection to get his adrenaline going. Finally, after a slow inhale... The Emperor became a monochrome blur sprinting down the stands, feet crossing several steps with each stride before planting oneself on a seat, hopping onto the guardrail at the very bottom, and lunging into freefall above the warzone. He didn't milk it, a black meteorite smashed the barren earth in seconds, dispersing a cloud of sandy dust in his wake. It was showtime.

Karel  	"Let's see here... fireball... mhm... cone of cold... mhm... lightning bolt... okay... scorching ray... yep..." Closing her spellbook as she wandered her way into the arena like usual, Karel readied her gear. The little warrior was clad in her armor, as usual, lacking her helmet. Her runic blade hummed with magical energies today as she prepared for an epic showdown. Feeling a surge of determination, Karel let out a close of the eyes and a small laugh as she entered the arena. Used to the sands and dust, she hadn't expected there to be... well... a literal warzone waiting for her. Nor a black comet coming from the skies and hitting the ground below. Raising her eyebrow as she readied her mage's shield, the young girl's voice betrayed her surprise: "Alex...?"

Alexander Russo  	"In the metal." Replied Alexander as he emerged from the dust-cloud, habitually brushing his formal attire of any lingering specs. Garbed in black dress-clothes contrasting with his pale features, he complimented his look with a fighting cane seemingly drawn from the depths of his jacket sleeve like a magic trick. The air around him was warm with excitement as the battlefield began to change, the earth unraveling into threads of dull light before weaving into a literal concrete jungle, comprised of petrified trees whose stone branches crisscrossed in all sorts of ways, both large and small forming faux-bridges above their heads as the light resolved into their forms. The reformation spread out from his position in a wave, gradually consuming the battlefield but not immediately surrounding Karel.

Karel  	"Well... uhh... hadn't expected you'd actually come down to fight." The young girl said as she carefully watched the changing earth around them. Putting a hand to one of the trees, she raised an eyebrow as she felt nothing but cold stone. Feeling as though this was the sort of environment that would be naturally favorable to his opponent, Karel was immediately on her guard as the blue disk of her mage's shield immediately sat ready at her free arm. Picking a spot she fancied, which was to say, a few steps closer, the young girl took a low position as she placed her shield in front of her body, ready to fight. "Alright then. I am excited, shall we get started?"

Alexander Russo  	Once the battlefield had been consumed by the stone forest, flowing streams of the same dull light poured from the trees before coalescing above the their naked branches. They gathered into a large sphere looming ominously over them, whose light grew less pale with each moment until it finally resolved into a blue moon bathing the forest in azure rays. Upon its completion a wave of sudden night claimed the sky, creating a boundary within which the natural twilight of the Colosseum became a starless void of space. A one-way mirror of night sky, to be precise, dominated by the newly formed moon. "Every once in a- well, you know." Alexander answered before taking the eight steps to his left that blocked Karel's line-of-sight with multiple trees. "Let's begin." His tinny tone rang from the general direction before falling deathly silent.

Karel  	Karel gave a quick breath as she crouched low. So, a game of cat and mouse huh? A sense of unease hung over her head, yet she didn't let it drag her down as she moved around the arena, her plated body scarcely making a sound as she kept her alert up. Noticing the ambient light from her sword and shield, she quickly sheathed her blade and dissipated her shield, drawing only Rishi's knife as she kept to the concrete trees, her ear out for any sign of trouble. Looking around on the earth, she picked up a sizable stone from the ground, roughly about as large as an apple as she hurled it in a direction to her right, pressing her ear for any signs of movement in the concrete forest around them.

Alexander Russo  	Countless billions of grains of Iron Sand moved in perfect unison, Alexander's body 'sliding' an inch above the ground rather than walking. He carefully positioned himself behind trees for cover as Karel moved, using the light of her weapons to track her location as he gradually made his way to flank her rear. He'd made it to roughly her 4 o'clock when the light subsided, pleased to hear the clacking of a stone striking a tree several feet away. Wisps of vantablack rose from his fingers before shaping into a small marble, which he would flick past Karel's backside to loudly smack a tree to her left before leaving his cover and flying towards her with a jousting-thrust from his cane in an effort to claim the first strike!

Karel   	Unease gripped Karel as she waited for a response from her stone toss. A solemn expression donned over her normal gently features as she waited for a sound to come from her opponent. Hearing the small flick of the marble, she twisted her head immediately over to the place of the sound, only to see nothing. A split second realization spared her a gruesome injury as she threw herself to the side, feeling the 'whoosh' of his thrust mere inches above her. It seemed as though Alex had the same idea as her as she skidded a few feet away from her, her sword coming out momentarily as she looked to him. Without a second's hesitation, she leaped up from her crouching position, a thrust aimed for the larger man's side!

Alexander Russo   	Damn! Foiled by her warrior instincts! His cover was blown and he failed to land a blow, rather than enter direct combat he followed through on his joust and continued flying forward into the trees once more, narrowly evading Karel's counterattack. He blade had clipped the fabric of his jacket, earning a wince as audibly slammed his foot into the stone ground to propel himself behind more trees to the left. The damage was as minimal as it could get, really, and would naturally patch itself without slowing his momentum, but seeing how well she handled the situation brought a prideful grin to his face.

Karel  	Not going to engage her head on? Fine then. Her sword became wreathed in flame as she ran after him, lagging a significant portion behind as he was far more mobile with his flight. Pointing the tip of her blade after his trailing body, she cast fireball targeted at him, the ball of flame quickly rushing after him. As usual, if he could not get out of the way, he would be engulfed in the deadly blast of the explosion. In the meantime, Karel began to prepare a second spell as she suddenly detached the mage's shield off her arm and set it down on the ground in front of her.

Alexander Russo  	In the darkness of the moonlit forest Karel's fireball shun like a second sun, alerting Alexander to its presence and giving him ample time to react. Pale digits lashed out to grasp an overhead branch, diverting his forward speed into the stone thickets above with the audible breaking and shattering of petrified tree-limbs. A particularly thick and sturdy branch provided the platform Alex needed to propel himself toward Karel once more with a well-placed kick, reaping the blunt head of his cane at her like a club in a wide, dangerous arc as the fireball likely exploded against a nearby tree, broken branches raining down after being destroyed when he smashed his way through them.

Karel  	The flight of the fireball passed below him, the tail streaking away as it struck a cement tree some distance away. Immediately, that portion of the forest went up quite literally in smoke as fire engulfed in the entire area, the detonation shaking the area as though a bomb had exploded there. Seeing her attack miss, Karel's attention was fully on Alexander as he came flying at her. Seeing the path of his jump and the swing of his cane, the young girl raised her sword up to block the strike, the shield she had set upon the ground slowly levitating her upward, serving as an impromptu flight platform.

Alexander Russo   	"Talk about firepower!" Alexander chimed as the heatwave unleashed by the explosion washed over him from behind. The metallic clang of his cane's shaft clashing with Karel's blade became the fervent grinding of a sword-lock. "You've certainly gotten stronger since you first showed up." He kept the pressure up, pushing his weapon against hers in an effort to keep the knight occupied. "I on the other hand..." By which he meant 'eye' on the other hand, something she would do well to heed as he swiftly raised his spare hand up the length of his cane's shaft to grasp the handle, twisting and removing it to reveal an inch-long blade that he quickly thrust at Karel's shoulder in an attempt to pierce her sword-arms vital tendons.

Karel   	Karel gave a grin, and a grunt. The muscles in her body worked hard against him, every inch of strength in that little mage knight's body working to keep his cane away as she tried to force him off balance. Still, she had little idea that his cane contained a blade, and in the instant in which he pressed the cane's shaft, the young mage let out a small cry as he drew first blood. Her armor coupled with her naturally quick reflexes saved her from something more devastating, but a thin trickle of blood now dripped down the younger fighter's shoulder. Not to be outdone, a small faint glow began to shine at the tip of her blade, which momentarily blossomed into an intense light aimed straight for Alex's eyes, which if successful in blinding him, would have Karel follow up with a slash to the legs.

Alexander Russo  	First blood! It wasn't much, but it was something. He wasn't going to press his luck with a prolonged clash much longer, so he immediately tried to retreat. Before he could fully disengage however, his attention was drawn wide-eyed towards the faint glow, and the ensuring flare managed to overwhelm his sight with its intensity. It only made sense that she'd attempt a follow-up attack whilst he was blinded, but there was no telling fro what direction she'd attack. He only knew where she was prior to blinding him, and would brutally swing his cane in her direction with intent to viciously bludgeon the young Karel, faded eyes widening evermore with the feeling of her blade cutting into his left leg, cleaving the lesser fibers of his dress-pants before carving a gash into the ivory flesh proper and unleashing a spew of mercurial blood.

Karel  	Karel gave a small grin. Normally, she didn't really like using her sword against other humans but no one ever died here. It also just occurred to her... was Alex even human...? She didn't have much time to contemplate that however as she was forced to struck by the cane full force, falling off her shield almost comically. Rising to her feet quickly, she extended her hand out, crooking her finger as the disk returned to her forearm. Feeling the numbing pain off to her side, she rose to her feet, waiting for him to make the move as she raised her shield again, wondering what sort of thing he would try now.

Alexander Russo  	The sensation of Alexander's cane slamming into Karel brought a smile to his face, he'd managed to smack the knight around some despite his impaired vision. Speaking of which... Rather than try to press the attack he swiftly plunged his cane's hidden blade into the sheath once more before floating several feet away, silvery puddles of blood staining the ground as it leaked from his wounded left. His vision was returning, albeit slowly, allowing him to barely make out the shapes of the trees surrounding them and Karel up ahead. "That was a nasty trick Karel..." He groaned, blinking as he tried to restore his eyes. "You're making me pretty damn proud." With that he twirled his cane before brandishing it once more, the axe-head shaped handle now the end he planned to strike her if she approached. For now she seemed to be keeping her distance, which did him a much needed favor.

Karel  	"It's a staple trick I try." Karel said as she rose, keeping her eyes on the cane as it... became an axe? Darn. She really wanted a weapon like that. Keeping a low stance as she crouched forward, her blade once again became wreathed in flame as she looked for an opening in his defense. Deciding to take a risk, she opted to rush at him, shield raised to protect her body as she would leap forward, pretending as though she would go for a stab. In actuality, while she would put the motion of backing her arm up, her real intent was to fire a jet of flame straight at him.

Alexander Russo  	Axe-head shaped handle. The cane's handle had an axe-head shape. They were very common. He was still very much bludgeoning her with a blunt object. When she began charging forward he steadied himself in preparation to defend, but once she came close he instead launched an attack. Vantablack: Bleeding Iron. The puddles of silvery blood weren't an illusion of the moon's pale light. The fluid coursing through his veins was in fact a liquid form of Iron Sand, the grains of metal electrically fused into mercurial life-essence. And the moment she passed it, the liquid metal lurched forward in protruding spikes aimed to skewer her from below mid-jump! It was fortunate that her flaming weapon provided enough light to more accurately track her approach. The liquid needles were silent in their assault, and even if they weren't Alexander would draw attention to himself with an abrupt forward charge, quickly running a hand up his cane before grasping the handle and unsheathing it's hidden blade in a high-speed slash meant to strike just after the needles would. Unlike before, the blade's length swelled mid-swing until it resembled a more traditional cane-sword, if not slightly longer than the cane itself. Could she endure both an assault from below and his extending black blade of Iron Sand?

Karel  	Karel looked at him approaching and promptly pointed her blade, firing off the jet stream of flame and raising her shield. It was then that the needles came from her rear, spiking her through the back. A small cry escaped from her throat as she grunted, feeling the spikes practically sticking out from her back as she raised her shield in case the cane sword attack still came through the jet of flame. If not, she would start to back up, resisting the urge to tug away at those needles as she let out a loud "ARGH", visibly clenching her teeth to stop herself from crying. Slowly, she worked her healing magic as she backed away, looking around on the ground just wondering where those attacks had come from.

Alexander Russo  	For a brief moment Alexander was engulfed in flames, his visage reduced to a silhouette by the onslaught of fire. But he felt it, the shards of solidified mercury embedded in her flesh, they had managed to invade her armor and draw blood. The Emperor however, was a scorched mess after enduring the gout of inferno. The fibers of his pants and jacket visibly smoldering, individual weavings of Iron Sand reduced to molten slag clinging to his ivory physique. What exposed flesh there was bared scorch marks from the blaze where it hadn't melted to reveal black metal bones underneath, and his eyes were now highlighted by the flickering embers of his burning hair. The metallic follicles glowed red with heat, like candles almost. With an audible groan Alexander retracted his blade before reattaching the cane's handle, the slash had failed but succeeded in distracting Karel from his true attack. "Alright..." His voice didn't sound quite right.. his vocal chords must have taken some heat. "Kneel!" The Emperor channeled his influence through the metal in Karel's back, willing it deeper inside her as he marched forward with staggered footsteps.

Karel   	She couldn't stop herself from crying that time. An audible sob broke from her lips as she tried to remain standing, only to double over before finally remaining standing. She wasn't sure exactly how deep those needles could go into her back, and she knew she didn't want to find out. Yet... collapsing to a knee as though the pain was too much for her, Karel gave a cough and a sputter. Keeping her sword arm raised as though try to take a final stab at him, there was nothing special issuing from it. Painfully, she raised her shield hand, her palm reaching out to him. "W-what did you do...?" She rasped, keeping down her own tears.

Alexander Russo  	"The blood from my wound is actually liquid metal." He replied, marching closer still with a firm grip on his cane. "I took control of that metal and made solid spikes o it before stabbing you with them from behind." It wasn't long until he loomed over, still multiple feet away in case she had one last trick up her sleeve. "Now that they're embedded in your flesh, I'm forcing them deeper inside you to prevent your healing magic from working." If he had lungs- or rather, if he needed lungs, he would have been heaving for breath. Every grain of Iron Sand turned into molten slag was a constant burning pain wearing away at him from within. "Either I've lost my touch, or you've gotten really damn good..." He added. "Because you're the first to suffer my Iron Blood." With that he began to raise his cane, but then stopped... "No.. Is that it? You've waited so long to challenge the emperor and this is how it ends? Get up!" He barked in a harsh, pained tone.

Karel  	Karel gave him a poker face as she made a show of rising, waiting for him to practically get into her face. Her planted sword hand seem to be the one holding her up, while her outstretched shield hand finally made what looked to be a tiny flick. And it was there that her shield made its move. Practically jumping off of her forearm, it sped at Alex like a buzz saw as she rose in one fluid motion. She wasn't sure if that would be enough, so following up the shield trick, she immediately lunged for him. Being the shorter fighter by far, she aimed just a sideways sweep, seeking to split him at the torso.

Alexander Russo  	I n s p i r a t i o n. Alexander's ivory teeth clenched, partially exposed where his lips had melted in the fire. He was right to keep his distance! When the shield came flying he was able to slam his cane into it from below, smacking the projectile aside whilst sweeping his left, unarmed hand in Karel's direction whilst she approached. He made a show of opening his palm as much as possible to draw her attention to it, when in reality the true threat was a flurry of metal tendrils erupting from the puddle of blood pooling around his left foot. They shot forward aimed at her chest, meant to skewer the little knight head on before she could strike him. Were she to manage to swing her weapon regardless, of somehow avoid the barrage of tendrils, his left hand would eat her sword's bite and be carved into instead, splattering metal blood in a gory mess. In an effort to keep her from evading however, he pulled on the metal already inside her and would force the shards from before deeper into her muscles. To round the close-range engagement off, with her shield sent flying aside he would follow up on the barrage of tendrils by slamming his cane down towards her from above, aiming for the left shoulder!

Karel  	The disk of mana flew to the side as Karel made her lunge forward, the look of disappointment apparent on her face. Sensing an incoming attack as he opened his palm, she made a roll to the side, only to flop it from the sudden lance of pain digging into her back. Rather than landing on her feet, she simply ended up tossing herself onto a heap on the ground, a loud wail issuing from her lips as the pain stopped her from her usual movement. Looking up, she saw the cane coming down, and sensing her only chance she reached up, a wreath of frost and cold consuming her hand as she grabbed onto it, an audible 'crack' of her wrist being heard as she held onto tight. Suddenly, the cane began to freeze over, the trail of ice moving up to Alex where if he didn't drop it soon enough, his own body would begin to freeze in place from the hand up.

Alexander Russo  	Oh... no. No no no! The shock of freezing cold struck Alexander immediately, surging through his cane so violently he nearly released it as he recoiled in pain, growling in agony as it coursed through him. Like hell was she going to ice him! The still burning parts of his hair, clothing, and body burned brighter as he took hold of the freezing cane, a surge of energy pouring through it and filling the grains of Iron Sand with heat to clash with the frost and impede it from consuming the weapon. The shards of metal in Karel's body ceased moving as the heat intensified, eventually halting the onset of cold entirely. By that point, the shards- and the tendrils he'd just attacked with- began losing solidarity and turning liquid once more. "Is that all you've got?" He barked. "Show me some magic!" The burning fabric of his jacket frayed as it fell apart. He wasn't letting her off until she cashed the check her mouth had written!

Karel  	"You asked for it..." Karel growled as she flicked her other finger, before reaching forward to grab his wrist. Almost immediately, the fallen mage shield which had been left unattended off to the side lifted itself up and flung itself at Alex, spinning like a dead buzz saw. Not only that, but crackling bursts of electricity had begun to sparkle around Karel's hand and she reached for his wrist, seeking to give him a good shock in tandem to her freeze spell. One last trick remained in her arsenal as she tried to pull him down to the ground along with, trying to practically hug him with a combination of frost and sparks.

Alexander Russo  	S h i t. As much as Alexander disliked cold, he hated electricity more. The elements in general could do him over in a number of ways but where fire burned, and ice just hurt like nothing else, electricity was disorienting on top of painful. "Fine!" Suffice to say, he was actually triggered. Alexander's eyes widened as he let go of the cane and dropped to down onto one knee, shaping the blood gushing from his mutilated hand into a large spike with which to impale Karel's electrified hand at the forearm and pin it to the ground whilst thrusting his molten red right hand at her face, attempting to grab her face before unleashing a wildfire of burning heat surging through his grasp. The shield, just barely discernible through the darkness by its blue glow, would manage to nick the back of his head as he lowered it out of the way. Nothing serious, but a another gashing wound from which blood would flow. He was really letting the injuries rack up tonight.

Karel  	Seeing him let go of the cane, Karel still had a plan b. Making a gun shape with her hand, she cast a lightning bolt spell right at him point blank, hoping to get a hit in. She didn't have much time to dwell on it as she saw the spike going right through her hand, and all that came from her was a muffled shriek as his molten hand grabbed on the face, sizzling away flesh. Writhing underneath the burning heat, she instinctively took her cold-spell hand and grabbed him by the wrist, trying to force him away with a combination of pulling his wrist away and freezing his hand as her thrashing grew more and more frantic.

Alexander Russo  	The machine-like howl of pain originating from Alexander could be heard well outside of the arena, into the spectator stands. Despite his effort he still ate a bolt of magical lightning through the chest, the following events consisting of Karel's arm being impaled, her face firmly held by a hand of molten Iron, and the agony of electrical exposure causing Alex to retaliate by extending jagged spikes from the surface of his palm, burying the molten barbs in Karel's face. The spike of metal impaling her arm convulsed violently, tearing into her flesh before dissolving into liquid once more. It didn't matter, he had her in his grasp and was entirely driven by the thrill of the fight. He'd grab at her face with his mutilated hand as well, barely attached fingers claiming what hold they could as liquid metal poured out and became boiling hot from the molten heat. The same spikes extending from his hand erupted across his burning body soon after, a visible representation of the pain inflicted by the lightning bolt.

Karel  	Karel's uninjured hand was around his wrist, the cold settling in upon the greater portion of his hand. She couldn't feel her other hand, not even sure if she still had it quite frankly. That one free hand of her's however remained determined, pressing up against his wrist, doing its upmost to keep him from having a hold upon her face. She felt like she almost got it, until the jagged spikes came out, piercing the thin layer of scorched flesh and causing him to whimper. It was then when his second hand came in that she gave a loud screech, and then went silent as her body was impaled by the spikes which dotted his whole body. Her mutilated corpse went still, the air filled with the stench of scorched meat, frostbite, and electric sparks.

Alexander Russo  	When it was all said and done the emperor sat there, flesh sizzling in his cooling grasp and mercury oozing from various wounds, the Iron spikes across his body gradually retracting as the crazed expression across his features receded. He blinked, staring at the corpse beneath him with increasing recognition until finally an unsure, shaky "Huh." Escaped his lips. "Well.. uh.. that got away from me..." The pained curvature of his lips twitched into a halfhearted smile as he tried to laugh it off, the diluted post-fight exhilaration only managing a sort of weak, exhausted chuckling all the way up onto his feet, towards the edge of the battlefield, and off the side into the abyss below. His subsequent obliteration and reformation did little to take the edge off before he finally returned to the stands and found a seat.