live by fear

She doesn't get the chance to reply to Walter, at least at the moment. It was something that Tanya hadn't yet seen much of, but was obvious at a glance. It gets past them, to be certain, but Tanya is quick on her feet. Perhaps Walter had followed her, but it was the pink-haired woman who would arrive at it first.

A snake of rather large proportion, a beast that she'd read much about, studied much of. Her blade is not pulled, but a hand rests upon the hilt of her blade which was firmly situated in her pommel. Amber eyes lock onto the creature, never glancing away once she had it positioned before her.

Her stance is ready and angled, though she does not immediately aim for combat. Tanya's words are dull and flat, her entire motions prepared and ready. It was something that didn't seem immediately to be a threat, but to not be prepared was suicide regardless..

..And this thing had come from behind them, closer to Osrona. The thought caused her to suck air in through her teeth, slowly rolling her jaw, crackling muscles and bone as she look it over.

"..Do you have no sense of self preservation to roam this close to Osrona? This populated spot which has warriors from all over? Your kind does tend to be stupid in all regards, but I expect at least some modicum of intelligence, even from your type of ilk."

A finger idly taps against the handle of her weapon, a singular fingernail idly chipping against it, as if in anticipation.

"..Tell me. How many humans have you eaten? It's something I need to know. Lie to me and it will only cause your end to come more swiftly."
(Tanya Volkov)

The lithe Serpent slithers by.

But it seems to have little regard to safety or what exactly he would pass through, going as far as to try and sneak across the bridge with so many powerful magi on stand-by. Did the Serpent forget all self-preservation, or forgot how to feel fear? Surely, it maintains a degree of caution when it's necessary, and yet...

The answer is far deeper than that.

An extension of forked tongue, in and out. Easily, he picks up a scent- no, two of them, and realizes that he's been caught. If the features could tell of a smile, then perhaps this snake would be seen smiling... otherwise, it remains an odd curvature across the maw.

"Hsss..."

A silent, contemplating hiss. It begins to straighten the body, soon rising up to match the adult height from the sheer length positioned vertically. The mesmerizing, fine slits amidst the golden background of snake-eyes turn to stare at Tanya.

How amusing.

"Foolish of you to assume I'm ruled by fear..."

Far from that. In all truth, Fidi realized that one day he will die- it's inevitable, and the markings upon history are left by those who burn the brightest, shedding their light unlike any other.

Or their darkness, instead.

"Humanity is so narrow-minded."

"Often repugnant, obnoxious... ruled by fear and anxieties of what would be. Carefully scheming, planning - to preserve their species no matter what, just to make sure they will delay the inevitable." It dares to slither closer..

It dares to face Tanya.

"Do I look like a schemer to you, little girl?"

"Do I look like someone with a plan?"

The buzzing chaos within the mind of Serpent was always tempting it to drive into unreasonable, often too dangerous things. If it had been any other way... he'd die from boredom.

"I do not fear - I know, that one day, I will die. So should you."

"To live by fear is the most pathetic, pitiful existence."

And yet.. it seems amused by the remark of devouring humans. How many has it even been?

"I am a young one. I remember little of killing someone, except feasting on their essence.."

"But would that enrage you if I said a dozen? A hundred? A thousand? Hm..?"
(Fidi)

Tanya's gaze is not one of fear, to be certain. She almost looks dull-faced, were it not for the slow inhalation that pulls air straight in through her teeth. The weapon still does not leave its hilt- Nor does she seem to have any intention to pull it from its scabbard. Her fighting stance, however, as she leans her knees in and tucks her elbows ever so slightly, seem to indicate what could be expected.

A foot presses deeper against the cobbles, prepared to kick off and launch into the dirt and grassland. Slowly, then, she inhales yet again. She'd seen death, before- Much of it, when the Teraphim burned down her city and her livelihood. Her eyes narrow, the latent cosmic aura around her beginning to flare bright..

"No. You look like a foolish snake, about to get eaten by a mongoose."

Still she does not move, barely listening in to the serpent's talks of how many humans he'd killed. Slowly, she picks herself up, flicking her blade out of the scabbard only barely.. Enough to showcase off the dull appeal of what looked to be arcanium. It gleams a myriad of rainbow colors, and slowly, her gaze turns to an almost manic grin.

"..It doesn't enrage me, no. I just needed to know so that I could speak of how many I've avenged. You will be my first. But you will not be the last."
(Tanya Volkov)

A foolish snake?

How mistaken one can be... and it's always surprising to the Serpent that humanity views something as living to be free, something as living to be unchained to be foolish. Were they always this keen on growing into stagnation, to make sure that they could live out the rest of their lives in relative safety, so long as nothing could threaten them?

Was it that bad?

"Incredible..."

"You try to judge me for living free, for acknowledging reality as it is - but you seem to hold nothing special to you. Just as keen to live out the rest of your days being nothing..."

"Much like majority of Esshar, save for few exceptional specimen."

Can't she see? That to be unchained is the only way to truly shine... which is rather hilarious, considering the very same man standing next to her is the living embodiment of such. Maybe, one day she will learn.

Maybe not. But this? This remains an entertainment for Fidi.

"You teach me about how humanity is."

"Flawed... limited, by their own feeble minds. Teach me further, then, just how I can change you all."

"Show me that dull nature of yours. Show me that emotionless face that tries to promise me death. Show me that sword upon my body..." A colourful display noted by the Serpent.

"Since that's the only thing that sticks out about you."

Yet, in response to light of cosmos, the shadows deepen around the snake; the mesmerizing gaze pointed to her, awaiting...

"A hundred." Does he provoke her on purpose? Does he tell a lie, just to draw her ire?

"Now show me your anger, you loathsome parasite."
(Fidi)

It is not clean, by any stretch of the imagination. Her blade is finally drawn- A weapon that gleams of arcanium, that shimmers a thousand colors all at once, yet drips with cosmic magic all the same. Her slashes are precise, aimed and deft without much strength behind them.. But all aimed for vitals, for weak spots and critical points.

She presses the assault first, the weapon cleaving through the air with a whistling brilliance. It strikes against the snake, and then again, and again. She aims for the eyes, for the throat, aims for its underbelly where it would pierce easier.. And yet the fight is still not easy. It's magic slams into her time and time again, blinding her and throwing her off balance.

The antithesis to how Tanya fought, it would appear; Each stroke carries meaning behind it, and yet still it manages to dodge back and forth, to and fro'. It is only barely that she manages to gain the upper hand, throwing a feint with her free hand and, while its distracted, slamming the tip of her straight sword into it.

Not a clean cut; A piercing strike, just enough to cause it to back away for a moment as Tanya catches her breath. Freehand presses against her chest, and she exhales, inhales, quietly.

"Apologies. I do seem to be rusty. I'll do you the service, next, to simply skewer you and be done with it. I hope that will suffice, Monster?"

She takes only one more inhalation, perhaps allowing the serpent a word or two, before she resumes her attack.
(Tanya Volkov)

To think that this is a young spawn...

Yet, it manages to put up like this against a grown magi- someone who had the time to establish themselves, their skill. Is it to say that Demons are truly fearsome creatures, that even the youngest of them could be potentially a threat, despite the fact that they remain weaker than adult, human counterparts?

There's a lot to spare. In particular, the way how the magic slams into Tanya time and time again... how she finds her mind assaulted with phantasms, shadows and the sheer kinetic force of gravity. Had it been grown any further, perhaps, she would not stand a chance.

But instead, before her stands the youth of Fidi.
The promise of future threat.

A bite. Into her neck, amidst the close-quarters struggle... leaving two markings of fangs, leaving a droplet of venom that is already enough to destabilize her.

Badum.. badum.. badum..

"Amusing.."

"But you can feel it already, can't you?"

The heat that overtakes her body, a fever that makes it difficult to fight- the blurry vision, and at times, a complete blackout. The heartbeat quickens, the breaths grow shallow. It becomes difficult to fight, no doubt.. but what would kill a simple human, to a magi, it's weakness.

"Come, come..."

"Let me bite you some more."
(Fidi)

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Venom...

She can feel it weakening her. She can feel it becoming the very thing that threatens to take her down- the very thing that could end the fight between the Serpent and the young woman, soon to become the phantasm that becomes too overbearing to deal with.

She attacks..
But she attacks the wrong person entirely.

Or a demon, one should say.. for while certain cuts and cleaves find their mark with the spill of demon's blood, sometimes, she finds herself fighting with literal shadows. The very same shadows that seem to just disappear when they get hit.

'Hahahahaha…'
'Ha-ha-ha.'

They laugh at her. They mock her. Just when did she begin hallucinating? The sweat that gathers around her forehead as result of fever makes it all more difficult to fight- and soon, she finds herself unable to find the target properly.

"Look at you.."

"Struggling already? Did poison get to you, hm..?"

The barrage of magics doesn't help either, and whereas she intends to cleave and skewer Fidi, she's a subject to the trickery of illusions and venom alike. And...

Another bite.

Badum.. badum.. badum, badum, badum!

Her heart struggles- so does her body. The darkness grows, the fever becomes worse, and hallucinations are so ever vivid.

"Tired already..?"

No, she must end this fight as soon as possible.

Or this venom will be the end of her.
(Fidi)

Her blade finds its mark- And yet, at the same time, it does not. Straight through a shadow, ripping it to cinders with impressive accuracy.. But without harming the demon whatsoever. It catches her off guard, time and time again, and the venom that he continued to inject her with..

She staggers, her blade held aloft in a single, somewhat shaky hand. She inhales, pressing her advantage forwards; Only to lose that very advantage. She leaps backwards, heels digging into the dirt to catch herself from staggering. Her freehands knuckles crackle, her gaze locked onto his still emotionless.. Now was not the time for fear or rage. Be calculated. Be certain.

She inhales, slowly, and as if she were beginning to erupt herself ablaze, as if fire surrounded her form entirely, that brilliant yellow cosmic magic begins to glow blazing red. It surrounds her entirely, concealing her form as even her eyes take on the hue of the brilliant red stars above.

Her blade finds its way into the dirt, used as a support to pick herself up, a hand moving to slowly brush herself off. Aloof, even though she staggers. Calm, even despite her battle wounds. Certain, even despite everything in her telling Tanya to give in to rage and continue her assault.

"Just.. Getting started."

It's all she can muster to say before, saving the last of her energy for the battle, she sprints in again. Nothing if not determined.
(Tanya Volkov)

An impressive display.

One that is founded upon the mastery of cosmic magic and the light that is able to permeate throughout existence of the battlefield shared by the two magi. It would be true to say that Fidi has never witnessed something like this before, causing the Serpent to be at his absolute best that he could possibly be- to evade as much as he could...

Otherwise, he would be easily crushed.
Under the weight of the cosmos.

Is it luck sometimes? Perhaps.. but the venom that steadily digs into Tanya's bloodstream, the venom that steadily works its way to disable her, it becomes an endeavour in which she finds herself no longer able to fight as effectively as before. The weakening grows..

To the point of being unable to do much else.

"No, little girl.."

"You are not getting started."

"You're finished."

A lunge of theserpent. Found upon the weakness of Tanya that has been pushed forth ty the impossible amounts of venom. Here, she finds herself at mercy of the Serpent..

A bite. Right into her neck. The entirety of the Serpent's body coiling around her, wrapping akin to that of a python- yet with much more force behind the crushing force of a strangle. How amusing.. humanity truly can put up an impressive display of fighting, to the point of becoming a threat to just about any demon. And yet...

"I'll tell you a secret..."

"I never fed on magi before. But you?"

"You will be the first."

The whisper of the Serpent to the mind of Tanya, where she remains unable to resist for the time being. With yet another bite..

She's drained of her essence. Her mana, her blood.. offered to Fidi as a means to grow and empower himself.
(Fidi)

It's clear that she's outmatched. For all her bravado and powerful words, for her sudden eruption of crimson cosmic magic, it isn't enough. Not even close. She strikes time and time again, with blows that would have, should have absolutely ripped the demon to shreds..

And yet, each time, she finds only shadows. Not even shadows, but illusions that first appear as the snake, but evaporate to mere smoke with each and every blow. The sheer force of the light itself infuses in her blade, the power of an infused star echoes around her body as she erupts forwards with a thousand strikes.

And none of them, in the end, seem to matter. At all.

The serpent whispers threats and horrid messages, but it does not phase her. Again, she's seen death, embraced it. She watched the Teraphim slaughter a thousand innocents before her eyes.

And in the face of death, perhaps, now, she could finally embrace it. Finally let go of that horrid atrocity, finally let her soul be cleansed. Perhaps she could-

BOOM.

There's a sudden eruption of stardust and light that forms between her and the snake, a massive ball of starfire that erupts near immediately. Tanya's on her feet before she really knows what she's doing, managing to sprint back a good thirty, forty, fifty feet before she falls to a single knee, the venom pumping through her.

Not enough to be lethal. Enough to cause her a momentary pause. A pause that would have probably ended her life..

..Were it not for Walter, off in the distance, following suit alongside her. Too late to witness much of her fight. Too late to stave off the assault of the serpent. Enough to, perhaps, ward him away, however...?
(Tanya Volkov)

The elusive serpent does not only prove to be a worthy match for Tanya's deep starsea channeling, but stands tall against the adverse trade, trumping the patrolwoman by sheer nature of endurance. As venom staggers and trips up the patrolwoman, and the transmundane reptile prepares to coil over for the kill? An eruption of opaque, impenetrably dark smoke obscures the creature's trajectory.

Smoke, similar to his usual spectres of charcoaled tobacco projected by his chimney in aloofness, coats the area.

"... overconfidence is all but a gift, Tanya."

He had not gotten there late. In fact, Walter was faster than the two of them - intercepting the demon's route, yet remaining cloaked in a treetop, not unlike the snake creature had just weeks prior.

It was all but a test. Not only of the ambitious swordsman, but the demon's own modus operandi, too.

Alas, when smoke is dispersed? Neither Commander Docro nor Constable Volkov are there to be seen. An ad-libbed route of escape, improvised out of the blue. One good enough to see a man of such hulking size, plus an encumbering load flee without ever being seen.

Once a cat burglar, always a cat burglar.
(Walter Docro)

Feeding interrupted.

Although the Serpent managed to feast upon the essence of Tanya, it does not last long- the sudden explosion causes the Serpent to sink amidst the shadows once more to avoid harm, but while such harm is avoided from searing the flesh of Fidi even further...

It's enough of a force to knock him back.

And it seems for good, too. While the Serpent regains the composure impressively quick, thanks to the inherent demonic advantages, the gaze of the snake stares off into the distance, only to see Tanya and Walter lingering about too far off, soon making the escape. The scents are picked up, the forked tongue extending in and out...

But it finds none.
They're gone.

"Interesting.."

"We shall meet again.."

A thought out loud. Surely, this isn't the end of it.. and perhaps, at some point, the scenery and situation would be different. But fornow, the Serpent slithers off.

Satisfied, content.

Truly he has grown.
(Fidi)