Spiral Bomb Dev 3

[03:10] "That's also a yikes from me."

Golden eyes would follow Black Flower as they began to leave the scene. Honestly, Himari wanted to leave in the other direction but they and caught their eye and she would soon follow them.

But then soon someone else caught their eye.

"You again..." A clench of a fist before they were relaxed a bit. Himari remained to keep her breathing relaxed. "What are you doing here of all places?"
(Himari Kurokaiyo)
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[03:14] A thousand insects dart the area around them. Indeed, it would be obvious to know he was coming if one was astute, paying attention to the world of the smallest creatures. He descends from the mountains, from where the dojo and the mines were, though he aims to slowly move past the group as if he didn't even see them.

At least, until he hesitates at the bottom of the cliff face. He glances up, dull gold eyes barely misted with light blue wisps of spiritual mana that move across the three. His expression is steeled, yet dull and almost emotionless.

An enigma, nigh impossible to tell what he was really thinking. When he speaks, his voice is exactly like the rest of him; Dull and flat, conveying no outside emotion aside from exactly what was implied.

"I'm looking for a Knight. Any Knight."

He does not move, aside from the wayward twitches of his joints and the occasional odd bulging of flesh as something crawled just beneath the surface. Cairn's head tilts upwards to look at them, dripping silk from his antlers that cascades into pools around him upon the ground.

"Otherwise. I'm leaving. This place. That mine. Disgusts me."
(Cairn)
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[03:23] Himari looked at them with a curious expression. Their answer was simple but also weird. Why they were searching for a knight at this time of day was kind of pointless. Most of them were asleep.

Himari would only exhale more than she should've. She leaps from the cliff while floating slowly to land a sole on top the male's head and front flipped to land behind them.

"You're looking for a knight?

By yourself?

Wait..."

She turned to face the druid male and rest her hands on her hips for the moment. "You were with someone. Otherwise, you wouldn't be leaving right now. Unlucky for you."

The ground shook a bit as she stood in the druid's way.
(Himari Kurokaiyo)
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[03:32] "Wrong."

His eyes barely follow the woman as she leaps over him, his heels twisting into the dirt beneath as he follows her movements. Despite how slow and miserly he walked, how pathetically small every motion or reaction he usually performed was, the way he twisted defied that expectation entirely.

It's even more telling that he immediately reaches back, hand grasping against the staff and pulling it free. The butt presses into the ground, and immediately a small shockwave of blue mana echoes throughout the world. This echo causes the grass to bloom and brighten in near random locations, spreading outwards before the mana stops glowing.

However, as the staff is held, the queen held within the end bulb awakens. Immediately, the air is filled with a sickeningly sweet smell as it emits pheremones, the queen spiraling to life and beginning to emit a pulsing glow. The blue wisps in his eyes take form to something more severe, becoming entiely blue ashe communes with the spirit realm.

"I travel by myself, and with nobody else. I survey the world through my own eyes, without any outward expectation or opinion. I do not expect somebody like you to understand." His voice is still emotionless, though there's the vague hint of something that's almost annoyance in the back of his throat. He inhales, slowly, and the buzzing of insects begins to pick up, a veritable swarm awaiting his command..

"As said. I'll be leaving."
(Cairn)
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[03:46] Himari remembers this lack of expression that came from this man. If she could remember his name she'd recall the day of them attacking her and probably would've killed her if she didn't escape with Francois. What she could remember was, "Cairn." The same name she heard Caritas say when he was being of no use.

Their face seemed so lifeless.

"I don't understand a lot of things, you're correct." Himari switches her hands from her hip to cross them over her chest. Her brow seemed to dip a bit making her seem slightly adamant. Well, of course she would seeing the same person who was ordered to kill her right in front of her. She could get back her revenge.

The ground rumbled more and made it seem like there was a light earth quake. She remembered that this certain individual had a way with bugs and anything related to them. Sucking out blood and biting like they were mosquitos. It disgusted her completely.

"You can leave after I show you what I had to suffer after that day," she demands, holding her fist near her side and beginning to channel her mana throughout her body. She takes a deep inhale as she begins to start her breathing process that kept her mana flowing within her constantly. Filling in those spaces within her ethereal being.

A blue coat of azure would soon succumb over her form as she would take a stance right after. As a result, her palm would reach out to her side. She remembered the talk about what she had with Zachary and the moment she had with Wano. Mana is yourself. Himari would using her own power to form in the palm of her hand.

"Swirling Sphere." A bright light slowly manifested in her palm as she gathered the surrounding mana within the air and contracted it into her hand.
(Himari Kurokaiyo)
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[03:57] It's what he expected, if he was being honest. The sudden influx of mana on her palm is met with his own force, a horrid cloud of black static - A cloud of flying insects and bugs - that erupt from his person. They burrow their way outwards, from his cloak and his sleeves, his collar, and a few even force their way, rather suddenly, from his flesh.

The spiral ball held within her hand is the immediate target, the staff in his hand twisting forwards as the cloud of biting, stinging creatures crash into it. Fueled by Cairn's mana, it's enough to disperse the attack - But then, he was on the offensive, as she was.

He immediate opens a palm, a few bloated mosquitos, fat with blood inside of it. They're crushed, his hand coming down to squeeze and cause them to erupt, but this causes something drastic to happen. Where before they were at the foot of a mountain, instead now it seems they're in a practical jungle. Trees bend to his whim and the grass beneath his feet guides him, though Himari would find the area almost impossible to traverse..

..And even worse, just as she had witnessed before, the insects began their onslaught. They rush forth at the beck of the queen's pheremone, the staff tilting to cause them to crash like a massive tidal wave forwards. While on their own they do not seem to do much, the impressive mass of twenty thousand bugs hitting into somebody is not to be underestimated...

..And it's enough to let Cairn sit off in the distance, commanding his orchestra of death, using Queen's Crescendo to guide his assault forwards.

She'd need to push through a practical barricade of swarming creatures, all bent on biting and drinking her blood, eating her flesh, absorbing her mana. Cairn seems not to mind at all, or rather, it was very hard to tell.

Especially given the thin layer of insects that now crawled all over his body.
(Cairn)
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[04:10] She remembered it like it was yesterday. The bugs, the trees, and the vines that latched onto her body. Everything that decided to annoy her as she fought. However, the moment that ball of raw mana formed in her palm, she'd run straight in and appear as a blur right in front of the mage. As a result, appearing right behind him and landing the mana into his back. Her palm stayed and channeled more mana into it and released a beam of energy to push him away from her.

Her stance was reassumed after such an action. The moment she did, trees began to grow all around the area. It hindered her sight from seeing Cairn at all. It seemed like a mere disadvantage to her and bugs would soon come in like a wave of insects ready to suck upon her body.

Albeit, Himari was a master of most martial arts. The Kurokaiyo would lower her eyelids and begin to breath. Energy was radiating into the air and she could feel all lifeforms as they collided with her energy. It'd locate thedruid throughout the whole magical forest and that is when her eyes would reappear.

In a flux of power, Himari would thrust her mana out of her body in a burst. Propelling all the vines and or insects that decided to bombard her frame. Inside a protection of mana that formed like a shield, she'd rush towards the magi with full force. Crashing and crushing through tree trunks to get to his location. A lasso of mana would wrap around him to keep him slowed for the time being as she used the metaphysical mana she upheld to keep him in place. Another ball of mana formed into her palm and was sent into his abdomen.

However, she felt the power of his bugs and all were a bit too much even after she shielded herself from their invasions. Her body would force her to back up and skid across the grass and she took on her stance once more to face him. For him? He seemed unscathed.

"Those insects.."
(Himari Kurokaiyo)
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[04:12] ** Cairn has inflicted an injury upon Himari Kurokaiyo. ("Temporary Injury", "Temporary Injury", "Temporary", "Duration: Medium (4 days)") **
[04:21] Her onslaught is met with a bit of surprise.. Or, at least, that's what it might appear like. The misty blue that makes up where his eyes would normally be, hidden through a veil of insects, opens wide as she lands her blows time and time again. It is clear he is not used to combatting an opponent who manages to strike him so up close and personal, and yet her style of fighting manages to catch him over and over..

..But, unfortunately for the girl, it would appear as if all it accomplished was to smash against the layer of insects he wore as armor. Each eruption of mana held within her fist crashes against mana infused bugs, each mighty blow dissuaded by the constant shield that he manifests almost on a whim.

Horrifically enough, to the few who arrive late, who may have been spectating, they would watch as his insects began to latch more and more on her. They'd grasp against bare flesh, finding their way beneath clothing, and they would bite, pierce, sting. Each insect finds her mana, engorging itself upon it, and then it would return to Cairn..

..Feeding him her mana, draining her of power and reinvigorating Cairn, time and time again. While his movements and mana seemed endless due to this kind of power, slowly Himari would begin to fade, her blows becoming weaker, her movements sluggish. It's during this time that she becomes more and more sluggish that, indeed, Cairn would make his move.

Held within a lasso of energy, he'd wait for her to get closer. A fist, or perhaps a palm full of raw mana flies towards him, only for Cairn's hand to raise upwards in speeds that were almost disgustingly unbefitting of the oft-tired druid. He ducks below her assault, the wall of insects flowing around them, forming a massive cocoon about them. His grip on her arm grows tighter as he presses himself dangerously close to her, the insects swarming her, biting, devouring.

"I told you. I'm. Leaving."

From his palm erupts a much larger insect, almost akin to a wasp. Helpless to stop it, it forces its way out of his flesh, tearing and ripping its way.. And then, it finds its way directly into her skin, rooting itself in place much like the insects that Cairn commands do to him. She'd become a host for one of his Queen's, and slowly does the horrid cloud of creatures pull away, not only from Cairn, but also from Himari.

The grip on her arm is still tight, though she'd likely be in no shape to combat him anymore. It's almost as if he's renewed, his vigor full and plenty, considering he had just devoured the girl's mana like some kind of horrid vampiric creature. He glances over, his golden eyes misty with bright blue spiritual mana, his gaze narrowing on an exarch..

And with a scowl, the girl's arm is jerked violently, her body sent sprawling over to the group, towards Cristovan's feet.

"Does this. Belong to you?"
(Cairn)
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[04:22] Marísol exclaims, "....!"
[04:26] I remove withered flowers. She learned how to cull the rotten pieces from the flowers during her time within the church. And she learned how to praise the name of the stars even further. But despite such a thing, while spectating the battle ahead...The only reaction that she seemingly held would've been one that seemed terribly, terribly 'frightened' of insects. Especially, when they crawled all over Himari's being..

Nopenopenope. Himari would just have to suffer through this one. Because there's no way that she's touching her while she's infested. But surely, Cristovan would help..

"-Please...Cristovan, heal her and allow him to leave. I don't know what this is about but-..." She goes silent, peering over her brother's shoulder to get a better look at the magi.

"He seems very serious."
(Marísol)
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[04:30] There was no mistaking this unnatural feel that comes from the person who had thrown Himari.

Cristovan manages to shift, catching the poor girl in his arms as she is thrown like nothing. Tossed as though she were garbage. There is a dangerous knowledge to this, and he was certain that Cairn had done something or another before hand.

He couldn't pinpoint it just so, but it managed to nestle deep within him as he moves slightly, lying Himari against him. Marisol, behind him, would likely be more concerned with her well being--but he simply couldn't find it in himself to set her aside.

She mattered to Francois. She mattered to him.

"She has a name."

This man urks him beyond belief and there is no other way to say it. And while that is the case he cannot help but to feel all of his culminating emotions come to the surface. The knowledge of the fate with Caritas. .

Was that even something that truly happened or had he imagined the whole conversation? He wanted her dead, yes. But there was no promise of it coming to fruition. Cristovan didn't know which way to look.

He didn't know which emotions were his. From the sudden influx of doubt til this very moment, where anger is obvious and flushing through him like a thundering storm.

The fair haired young man picks himself up to his full height now, still holding onto Himari but his eyes are set on Cairn impossibly so. "I'm tired of it." His shoulders tremble.

"Tired of people taking a stroll around and doing as they like. As they please. So many people are suffering because of our inactions." People like the girl in his arms. People like Felton, who willing walked into clutches because of some stupid reason or another.

Because of people like this, Soma died, Francois is building herself anew, and Sophie. .

His precious Sophie is struggling to find a fit in all of it, suffering silently until she can no longer contain it.

"You're coming with me."

He takes a step forward.
(Cristóvan)
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[04:30] Himari faced a defeat. One that she continued to feel oh so familiar with. The male was too strong for her and she felt like with each punch that she pulled and let rip into his frame would only do less physical damage to him.

The coating of mana that was wrapped around her form was starting to lightning in its potency. It was visibly lessening with each minute that passed but Himari's expression only stayed calm throughout her battle and so did her breathing.

The spirals of mana failed to do much as they lacked the form that was mastered by Zachary and Wano. She didn't yet understand how it worked in a such a way and would only need to figure out what was missing. For now, she only needed to embrace whatever defeat she was about acquire through this.

She felt her body becoming a house for an insect. A big one. One that had command over all others. It sapped at her mana and soon when she was going in for another attacked, she'd feel her mana completely shut off. The aura that succumbed her fading away, her eyes returning to its amber color, and her hair transitioning from blue to green.

It was like a light switch for her circuits. She was still conscious but she felt insanely drowsy and was close to blacking out. Her arm feeling a tight grip on it as it was rag dolled over to Cristovan violently.

She suffered so much.
(Himari Kurokaiyo
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[04:37] "I, too, grow tired of it."

It's spoken in a flat, monotone voice. His words are barely audible, drowned out by the swarm of insects that encircled the area. He tilts his staff backwards, angling it directly upwards.. And as if following an invisible trail, the bugs he commands find their way about his person, clouding around like a makeshift barrier, a threatening orb of stinging and biting death.

"Tired of people treading upon my lands, within my Vale. Not once, but twice, this one has stood against me. The first, I admit, I was at fault. This time, however."

His sparkling blue eyes trail downwards, his body unmoving aside from wayward twitches as insects inside of him strike at nerves, cause him to flinch or move in ways that are utterly inhuman. He's almost like a corpse, shambling and reanimated, barely able to control itself as it began to shut down.

Yet the mana that Cairn carries is fierce, his body practically a melting pot of it. Antlers, fae-like eyes, the world around him seems to erupt in occasional shockwaves of that mana, as if he had consumed too much and had to let it out. That mana echoes outwards, like a ripple in a pond, causing nearby grass and trees to bloom bright and proper.

"I am tired of my world being torn asunder. First, from Cornelia. Now, from you. All of you. Osrona." He glances up towards the mountain, a scowl forming on what was visible of his lips. He inhales, slowly, a few creatures moving out of the way of his lips as he breathes deep, refocuses his mana, finds himself steady again.

And then, he takes a step backwards. It's only a single step, not one that indicates any form of fear or worry, but one that betrays what they might have expected; Betrays a bloodthirsty nature, an ill intent to fight.

"If you are tired. As I am tired. Then you will keep your Knights, and your people, away from Me. Away from my Vale. That is all I have ever wanted, ever asked, from your people."

"I am leaving."
(Cairn)