Malenexum vs Damion

HoH season 09. Source: valucre.net static Gaia dump.

Posts 24Pages 2Forum HoH '09Topic 14132907Source originalWinner —
Table of contents
  1. The Duke of Id
  2. Eternal Dirge
  3. The Duke of Id
  4. Eternal Dirge
  5. The Duke of Id
  6. Eternal Dirge
  7. The Duke of Id
  8. Eternal Dirge
  9. The Duke of Id
  10. Eternal Dirge
  11. The Duke of Id
  12. Eternal Dirge
  13. The Duke of Id
  14. Eternal Dirge
  15. The Duke of Id
  16. Eternal Dirge
  17. Eternal Dirge
  18. Eternal Dirge
  19. Unknown
  20. Eternal Dirge
  21. Unknown
  22. Eternal Dirge
  23. The Duke of Id
  24. Eternal Dirge

1The Duke of Id

Stage0: Preliminaries

Undrgrnd Cage Match

An old classic with a bad habit of producing sub-par fights. Change this, please.

This steel cage prison holds two fighters captive as they are forced to fight for their freedom and glory over a featureless concrete floor. They have nothing to rely on other than themselves and the assortment of many weapons decorating the sides of the structure.

Terrain

General - Spectators present lining the outside of the cage, limiting area of effect attacks.

Weapons - Melee weapons from all nations line the wall of the cage. Give them a good tug to get them free.

Bonus Effects - You can't use strikers in the prelims, now you EXTRA can't use strikers.


Red Player: Malenexum

Representing: Team Ugly Bastards

Played By: The Duke of Id

Blue Player: Damion Hedley

Representing: Team Random Select

Played By: Eternal Dirge

2Eternal Dirge

Not many people. Not many people as compared to the real deal, but He supposed it was a good turn out. Damion saw afew signs, some for him, some for this Malenexum guy. Long name, no language he knew, but he supposed he'd know who it was in aminute or two. He was currently standing in one of the ring corners, back against the padded corner covers and his arms draped over the ropes." Hrn......gettin' bored..." He murmured softly to himself, looking over the rows and rows of weapons that lined the cage walls.

There weren't many that caught his interest, the more exotic ones being alittle too complicated for his tastes, but he saw some he might grab down. Maybe this guy was like his friends, and fought hand to hand until weapons were pulled. Damion didn't care one way or the other, but he hoped it was the case. He wasn't going to touch the earth much in this fight sadly, so he was glad for the weapons around him in any case.

He had dressed better this HoH, his chest covered in a tight black shirt, of the same fabric that UnderArmour was made from. His pants were of a looser material, this one red with a black stripe down the outside of the legs. Not fancy, but better than his normal tunic and pants.

3The Duke of Id

The cheering of the crowd was deafening...

The people were excited for more bloodshed...

And with the kind of guy Malen was, heh...

...eager to obligue...

There were two carpets on either side of the mini stadium: a red one and a blue one. These carpets were separated by a large dome-like cage easily 30 feet in diameter with an equally circular ring around 25 feet in diameter, where the carpets would cease to cover the plain cement floor. Inside, lined up one after the other, melee weapon after melee weapon lay gripped firmly to the cage, all of them with different sizes and shapes, meant for different things. Above the cage, 40 feet or so, stood a large hexagonal booth that hung from the ceiling and was supported by steel beams that ascended from the cage itself. Inside it were the commentators, which not only could see the fight from plasma screens that were connected to live recording cameras below found around the cage, but could also look straight down, since the floor of the booth was made of several layers of bullet-proof glass supported by steel frames.

And then the voice of said gentlemen came booming through, above the noise the crowds made.

Commentators Wrote:

"Good evening folks! I'm Sean Dorren!"

"I'm Ferdinand Berrelli!"

"And tonight we're going to be commenting on the interesting preliminary fight that'll be going on a good story or two beneath us, where a rare combination of elements will be colliding against eachother: Earth versus Darkness! Team Random Select's Damion Hedley or Team Ugly Bastards' Malenexum'll be brawling it out to claim their team's right to ascend into the first rounds of the prestigious annual Heaven or Hell Tournament! Who will be victorious!?"

"Weeeeelll... I'm not so sure about the whole elemental thing, Sean. I mean, with the whole basement here being made of hard cement and metal and darkness being something that impairs watching the fight for the public's pleasure, I don't think we'll be seeing a lot of magic-works down there; that is, unless they want the judges to start deducing points due to their flaws. One thing's for sure, though! There's definitely going to be a couple of melee clashes before the fight ends!"

"That'd be about right! No other stage has been developed so well-aligned with the need for weapon on weapon combat! With over fifteen different classes of weapons, and over twenty different weapon types per each class, each fighter is allowed to choose from one of the largest variety of melee weaponry that this side of Gaia has ever seen!"

"True that, Sean! Well, I think it's high time we introduced the ch-- Woah! Speak o' the devil! There he goes!"

"DDDDDAAAAAAMMMMMIIIIIIIOOOOOOONNNNNN HHHHHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEDDDDDDDDLLLLLLLEEEEYYYYYY!!!"

On the blue carpet and all around the whole mini stadium, the cheers and screams of the crowd intensified by a good dozen decibels. Two spotlights casted by large search lights located on the sides of the hexagonal booth searched around the blue carpet until they both focused on the newcomer. The large broad man made it through the carpet and into the cage as the commentators began jutting down his physical attributes and some interesting facts about his life, most of it somewhat interrupted by the loudness of the place.

The man had gotten into the cage and was leaning against one of the corners of the cage when the commentators began to get a bit anxious about Malenexum's delay.

Sean Dorren & Ferdinand Berrelli Wrote:

"Well, folks! It seems like our other challenger is currently taking a bathroom break, we've apparently been unable t--""WOAH! Holy--

Look a-- You'd better swallow those words, Ferdy!

There he is!

Out of no-where...!

...

...

Crowd's showing some love!

The shadow amongst shadows! The dark lurker...!"

"MAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLEEEEEEENNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEXXXUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMM!!!"

The sudden shock that Mr. Dorren had undergone just a few seconds ago was very well justified, for while they had been looking for Malenexum on the red carpet using the similar searchlights located on the other side of the hexagonal booth, the spotlights had criss crossed eachother over the same spot twice. When they had first criss crossed eachother there was no one there, but when they came to the second criss cross, which was easily within the timespan of a less than a second, he was standing there as if he had been waiting to be revealed, wearing a conceited grin across his face. The crowd went wild while Sean Dorren sputtered in disbelief of what he had just witnessed, during which Malenexum simply raised his hands and encouraged the cheers, sending kisses here and there.

Then, when Ferdinand exclaimed his name in the all-too-typical 'let's get ready to rumble' fashion, Malenexum turned his back to the spotlights, took of the long gothic cloak he had been wearing, and turned around again, exposing his barechested body to the public. His fine-chizeled abs, his nice well-formed pectorals, and two hip lines that slid into his black pants, which definitely had to be framing his crotch and his... well...

...suffice to say that there were more women cheering now.

His grin grew larger, showing his fangs off, and he threw the cloak over to the stands, where some lucky fan girl managed to grab onto it, and then he began walking down the red carpet to the cage with the spotlights following him, and a weird shadow creature floating behind him. Black skeletal bat wings, long horns portruding from it's forehead, mouth and body wrapped with what seemed to be black shiny tape, two round yellow eyes and a hole where it's heart would be, Exhibitor turned off many of the cheers the crowd had been eliciting before they had noticed it. It carried Malen's sword. Above, Mr. Dorren and Mr. Berelli did their parts on the commentary.

Sean Dorren & Ferdinand Berrelli Wrote:

"...eature floating behind Malenexum is supposed to be Malenexum's familiar, having something to do with Malenexum's close affiliation to darkness. You can see it clearly carrying the sword Malenexum will use for the fight... or perhaps won't, considering the cage has more than enough weapons for him."

"I don't think we've really given these folks what they want, Ferdy. They want to know facts about what he's going to be bringing to the field! Malenexum is 5 foot 10, weighting at 178 pounds of pure muscle and speed. Because of his vampire-like attributes, he is extremely fast and strong compared to your standard well-built human being, and is an expert with the longsword he carries on his left hand. It is however, unknown what kind of vampire he is, exactly, since his bites have been known not to infect his victims with the curse of vampirism...

...an interesting little fact for the ladies, I'm sure."

"Definitely the mysterious man, Malenexum's true origins are unknown, since he claims to have suffered amnesi..."

Malenexum let the voices be drowned by the cheering of the crowd around them as he grabbed the sword from Exhibitor's hands and opened the cage's gate, closing it right behind him and leaving the odd shadow creature behind, staring at Malenexum and his opponent. With his electric blue eyes, the vampire-like fiend looked forward at Damion straight in the eyes. Malen was currently half-naked. He was wearing pants that had five zippers on them: one of them that slid from his crotch to all the way behind him at the center of his lower back, and two zippers that circled each of his pants' legs. His boots were gray and black, with six metal links coming out of the front side and back of the boot, and two other links extending from either side of the boot.

He shrugged and chuckled in to the air...

The public was waiting, the show was about to start...

s**t was about to get fun...

Malenexum twirled the Sanguine Sword on his left hand once, and smiled widely, showing his fangs again, but this time his tongue was carressing the side of his right fang.

Then, he spoke, loud enough for Darion to hear.

"I choose Hell."

4Eternal Dirge

" Pffff....show off...." Damion had been mildly surprised to hear his own name called out over the speakers, managing a smile and a wave to the people before lapsing into his grumpy looking state. With a grunt, he shoved off the corner, making his way towards the cage edge to examine some of the weapons he hadn't seen previously. Something was telling him he'd need something, seeing as how the other one had a sword. " Brought a valet too, how quaint.....this should serve me." He murmured, completely ignoring the presence of his opponent.

A Jian, the hilt simplistic in its' design. " I can work with this." Damion added once more, for his own benefit, before turning, holding the sword out from his body at a 45 degree angle, the tip pointed towards the ground as he started towards Malenexum, " And so it begins, an epic clash between Hell...." And he smiled once again, more a smirk as the left side of his mouth split to reveal teeth, " And Heaven."

For someone of his size, he was light on his feet, moving on the padding behind his toes. His right hand held the sword, the left positioned infront of his chest, palm mostly vertical. It would serve as a fine range maker and balance for the style he would attempt.

1/10

5The Duke of Id

Eternal Dirge Wrote:

Something was telling him he'd need something, seeing as how the other one had a sword. " Brought a valet too, how quaint.....this should serve me." He murmured, completely ignoring the presence of his opponent.--

Oh how delicious it was when they took things for granted! He had only finished saying the word 'Hell', when suddently Malenexum sprung into a dash straight for Damion, left arm strengthening considerably as the sword was lifted into the air.

Once close enough (3'10" feet), he'd send a quick jerking stab motion straight for the shoulder which's arm was reaching for the jian as he stopped his dash and recovered from the forward momentum, using some of that very momentum to increase the intensity of the stab's motion, during which strike a feral grunt of anger could be heard. Both of his legs would end up shoulder-length separated from eachother, left arm bent at the elbow, which joint would be concealing his ribs afterwards. The blade would be diagonally reaching up to the shoulder from his hand, which's palm was facing Malenexum, bent in an angle a little bit more closed than 45 degrees (~40 - ~35 degrees).

While all this happened (as he dashed and when he made the stabbing motion) his free open hand began to generate a dark mist of some sourt, extended away from his opponent for now as it went...

Whether or not the stab landed, it wouldn't really matter, the battle could continue from there...

For now, he needed blood. He required it to be spilled.

For the sword.

For the audience.

For himself.

[MP: 135/135]

[Darkball: Charge 1]

I

6Eternal Dirge

See, there was one issue with coming up behind someone in a place with a crowd. They tend get loud when something happens, their pulses racing with the first of likely to be many motions. But that wasn't what tipped Damion off. this was...

Quote: Master Earth Sense: Damion can sense and feel things that reside under the earth, such as deposits of minerals and other such things. He can also feel things on the surface. He can't tell much about the person ontop other than where their feet are, but underground objects are lit up in vivid detail, telling him their shape, what they are, and how far below him they are.

" Tch...." Alright, so he couldn't grab the weapon he wanted. He would let Malenexum come on ahead, not even trying to evade. But the other man would likely only get halfway, as a small bit of rock, maybe three inches or so, stuck itself out of the concrete floor infront of the shadow users planted foot, whichever that may be. It stuck out at an angle to cover the foot, make it hard to lift. In other words, a trip attempt, as Damion finally decied to slide out to the left, away from his chosen sword.

Quote: Advanced Earth shaping: Damion can also mold earth to a degree, such as create small trinkets from stone he finds. He can also create larger, but less elaborate structures of stone, no larger than an igloo though.

" Learn some manners why don't you...." Damion sounded insulted, and his facial expression had gone to that of someone very annoyed.

7The Duke of Id

Unexpected and uncalled for as his attack was, the same could be said about Damion's defense; if not much more so.

Perhaps it had been somewhat naive to think that his opponent would not use earth manipulation during the fight, he thought, as his forearms slapped the cement surface along with the rest of his body. "Ooof!" The sword clanged to his left side as his hand grasped onto it despite the fall. On his other hand, the dark matter he had been creating had been extinguished. He chuckled outloud as he stood up almost instantly after the fall, pushing against the ground with both arms and thus springing himself onto his legs with no effort. The impact of the fall would only prevent him from reaching his opponent at his preffered pace, but other than a couple of bruised elbows and knees, it wouldn't really hurt him otherwise.

And then, he just continued forward once more, this time faster than before, closing the gap between the two of them with much more emphasis. This time around, however, his eyes were alternating between the floor and the opponent, clearly weary of the floor's unwelcome interruptions, the open right hand behind him resuming it's creation of black and purple smoke once more in large ammounts.

The sprint would only stop once he was within reach (around 3 feet and a half), where this time around he'd send a diagonal slash straight across the man's torso, from the lower-left hip area to the right shoulder. His intent was clear: he wanted to see crimson, thick liquid. Killing? Perhaps not so much; but it was obvious that a good couple of slices would get anyone blurry-eyed, if not unconcious from loss of blood. Both of his legs would be separated shoulder-length wise once more, his left side presented to his opponent, while his right arm was positioned behind himself and away from Darion as large ammounts of darkness enveloped his hand and forearm.

The clock is ticking...

...stop stalling...

...embrace your fate.

[MP:135/135]

[Darkball: Interrupted]

[Darkball: Charge 1]

II

8Eternal Dirge

A large blip. He fell. " Well...." Damion was done with this charade, he was never this kind of calm. It just wasn't in him. Instead, a quick snatch brought two curved shortswords into his hands and faster still the movements of his eager fingers set them into a short spin. Grinding on his heel, he spun to face the charging shadow user. His lips had split into an even wider grin, the kind a snarling animal might give another before they attacked one another.

" Come on then!" Not the best warcry, but it worked as he moved in to meet his opponent, swords moving. They were smaller, lighter, and thus he could move them faster than his opponents blade. The two shortswords crossed, the right tip aiming to jab the hands holding the larger blade, the Left moving to pass over the blade itself, the two blades forming scissors to trap and hold his opponents weapon in the crux as Damion drove his weight in, making sure to keep a foot planted.

" If you want my blood, you're going to have to work for it dog!" Damion snarled, his voice dropping several octaves as his anger rose, becoming a harsh red mist to his own eyes.

3/10

9The Duke of Id

Behind Malenexum, an arm was stretched out into what seeemed to be a solidifying mass of what could only be described as darkness. The longer blade clashed against the twin swords the man held, a powerful impact of steel colliding against darksteel that would make both of the challengers be almost bounced off eachother. Malenexum's incredible strength, pitted against Damion's almost equal strength with a large ammount of weight included into the guard. A frown formed through Malenexum's brow.

"...talk too much!"

Eternal Dirge Wrote:

...the two blades forming scissors to trap and hold his opponents weapon in the crux as Damion drove his weight in, making sure to keep a foot planted.

Without much hesitation, Malenexum let Damion's weight against his sword continue forward as his body moved and turned right-wise and perhaps a bit backwards, turning around and bringing forth the mass of darkness around his right hand and forearm. The Sanguine Sword slid downwards away from the blades, and then back to where it came from in the same kind of swing (diagonal upwards, aimed at the torso). Considering Damion had put his weight into the block, this would mean that Damion's balance was pitted forward, and thus Damion would have to compensate before stopping himself from moving forward after no resistance would be met by the sword Malenexum was carrying-- but this compensation would require a good half a second or so, during which time Malenexum would jerk his blade back upwards as quickly as he had let go the resistance to meet with an opening just below Damion's arms.

At the same time, his body turned right-wise and brought at Damion what seemed to be a right haymaker punch directed at Damion's upper abdomen... but the distance was a bit off; surely Malenexum didn't expect to punch from that range? The answer to that question lay in the large mass of darkness that was lurking around said fist and most of the right arm.

Sean Dorren & Ferdinand Berrelli Wrote:

"...nd there goes the attack I was telling you about Sean!"

"That's definitely gonna...!"

Quote:

Darkball

Description: A large ball of negative energy casted from the hand after it is charged. It's magic power cost is high, as is the waiting period to create the ball, which lasts 1 post. It can go as far as 50 feet, and does so at 30 mph. The darkball is a 3ft x 3ft round, and instantly starts eating away at matter upon impact (-2000 joules). The matter around the initial impact is slowly deteriorated. This reaction spreads as if it were the effect of acid (negative energy continues to lurk even after impact), purple & black fumes emanating from the point on the target that recieved the impact. This reaction often continues, if left unattended, for 1 minute (3 posts), and will continue to eat away at matter for the span of 5 inches into the target until it snuffs itself out.

Mana Expenditure: 75 MP per use.

Thus, even if the fist itself didn't land, the huge 3 ft sphere of hazardous dark matter would be hurled towards the earthbender's stomach, or left shoulder and left torso, or his overall torso or whatever was in it's way; but it would definitely hit much more than just the torso with it's 3 ft diameter, probably striking the upper thighs and the chest as well as the arms and legs. It's substance was like some kind of extremely cold fire, that burnt into anything it touched, but spread like corrosive acid. The fun thing about it was that the only way to effectively 'attend' to negative energy injuries was either cancelling it out with positive energy or using positive charges of electricity; and most positive-aligned energy types were capable of 'half-remedying' the situation. Adding matter to the injury (such as throwing water on it or attempting to soffocate it) had the same effect as adding regular matter to chlorhydric acid (with the exception that dark matter had no pH, thus base substances also had just as little effect on the dark matter as wood did on acid), and was often an ineffective way of getting dark matter off. Shaking it off would also only half-remedy the situation, as dark matter stuck to upon contact, and would only shake off the excess matter that had yet to touch solid surface of the opponent.

With the speed the sphere went at (30mph) and the distance between them, plus the fact that Darion had been paying attention to the sword the whole time (as it had been his plan from the beggining), there were very little chances of Darion moving in time to dodge the blast.

Both attacks happened almost simultaneously with one solid, fluid movement in the span of about a second, the sword strike half a second earlier than the darkball blast.

Moves were played and the match is set...

...are you ready to accept it yet...?

...or do I need to remind you how last time went?

[MP: 60/135]

III

10Eternal Dirge

He would be turning around, yes, but he wouldn't make it all the way around. To beleive that your opponent was that kind of slow was foolhardy, especially since they had both been moving forward as it was. So when Malenexum spun, Damion would crash into his back, around the time he'd have his sword on the opposite side. He couldn't stop moving, after all, not on a dime, but he would bash his shoulder into the other man as he passed him, possibly knocking him off balance. He was concerned about the sword, catching him as he moved past.

He shouldn't have been. The angle with which the sword rose would make it impossible for it to catch him on its' way up, and even if his opponent hadn't been jarred that much, the downswing wouldn't be fast enough to catch him a killing or crippling blow, since it still had alot more ground to cover than he did. Damion would slow down as best he could as he went past, turning to look over his shoulder as he tried turning around with stable footing.

4/10

11The Duke of Id

As he spun and was about to deliver a coup-de-grace, Malen felt something hit his back and push him forward with an intense strength. Out of suddeness and having willed the darkball to leave his hand before he would be facing Darion once more as so to increase the effect of the lack of reaction time, the darkness around his hand shot forward into the floor of the ring.

Sean Dorren & Ferdinand Berrelli Wrote:

"OH!!! What a waste!"

"Definitely, Sean! If that blast would've hit our fellow earth elementalist, that would've certainly put a huge dent into his combat ability for the rest of the fight!"

"What a shame, Ferd, what a shame!"

With a snarl and a grunt, Malenexum stumbled forwards, gripping the sword as tightly as he could, and thusly turned around to face his opponent again. Enraged and enfuriated, his attempts thwarted, Malenexum held his ground with a grudgeful demeanor upon his visage.

A grimace spread across his lips, he stood there with his sword being held by his left hand. His position, as follows: left and right feet were shoulder-width apart, perhaps narrower, left foot facing away from Darion, while his right side was exposed to him, his hand holding the sword horizontally infront of his chest, sword tip aimed at Darion, his right arm casually resting by his side. The latter limb, however, extended towards Darion, and his right hand beckoned Darion forward by waving towards himself.

Sean Dorren Wrote:

"Ohhh!!! Was that what I think it was!? Malenexum's just taunted Darion... !

...the crowd's pouring off their seats...!"

The crowd indeed blew it's roars of enthusiasm at the vampire-creature's gall. Behind him, black and violet fumes seeped forth from the ground where the darkball had fallen, and to his left, a dark floating creature with round yellow eyes watched Malen's every move in almost tactile longing.

It was time for a change of tactic. Sometimes the best offense was good defense.

Let him come...

...swallow your pride with your hate...

...and show him what you do best.

[MP: 60/135]

IV

12Eternal Dirge

Damion was surprised, but altogether grateful, for being allowed to reset his position, turning around in time to catch the taunt." Awww hell Nah." Taunting was not cool, but he wasn't going to let it get to him too much....at least not as he chucked the shortsword in his left hand at Malenexum, the air hissing around the weapon as it flew. For a weapon not designed to be thrown, it did pretty well, although he didn't really expect it to hit. What he expected to hit was himself, coming up behind the flying sword, a good 2 seconds later.

The remaining sword gripped in hand, he moved low to the ground, fast enough to be an immediate threat without losing all control. His eyes were on the other mans chest, his peripherals catching the rest of his body. No time to throw some trash talk in there, as much fun as it would have been. Well.....maybe just alittle, " Man, if your going to look that gay might as well be wearing a dress fool!" yeah....that felt acceptable. Not as good as something Tzen could throw out, but good enough for now. His next action hinged on how Malenexum blocked or avoided the flying weapon.

5/10

13The Duke of Id

With Malenexum's intense reaction speed, plus the time it would take to throw such a weapon properly (since it was not designed to be thrown and it was much heavier than standard thrown weaponry), the fact that it had been thrown with Darion's offhand (unless he was ambidextrous, was willing to fight offhand vs good hand or was going to swap hands in the middle of a charge) and the predictability of the weapon's speed and direction would make dodging the hurled weapon an easy task. Almost like playing baseball.

Once the man had lifted the weapon to throw it, Malenexum already knew what was coming, and simply shifted the balance of his stance from neutral to resting on his left leg, the one away from his opponent. After the sword was thrown, he'd only wait about less than a second or so to kick upwards in a flash, predicting where the sword'd be by the time his foot reached the air: just above the tip of his boot.

CLINK!

The sword was hit on it's broadside by one of the many metal links the boot sported around it. As soon as the leg had kicked the sword out of it's trayectory it had been already planted on the floor, and, Malenexum, keeping his sight forward at all times, awaited the incoming opponent. Sword was ready, mind was set, and his face was set. A grimace, and a frown, looking straight at Damion and waiting.

C'mon in, come on...

...we can break your skin, it's fun!

By the time you sing, it's already begun!

[MP: 60/135]

V

14Eternal Dirge

" oops!"

Quote: Break the line: Both of Damions feet must be on the ground for this move to work at all. his right or left arm thrusts forward, sending a shaft of stone the width of a car forward at a 50 degree angle from the ground, in a direction of his choosing

His left foot suddenly slammed down into the ground, body lurching as he threw a punch nowhere near hitting Malenexum, about the time he was throwing the kick to block the sword. Damion had run slower than normal intentionally, following the sword at a pace he normally didn't. He would stop a far enough distance away that even with his upper body lurching the way it did, he wasn't at risk of getting hit, his right arm extended in an odd uppercutting motion. The ground cracked under his feet, covering the cracking noise of the ground struggling to match his demand before the concrete floor erupted out and up. Given the speed of his opponents' kick, it'd likely catch him as he put his leg back down.

Back to the wall, almost literally seeing as how they had changed positions from Damions back being to the wall, He'd have little space to dodge, and since the move was admittedly odd to look at if you didn't know what he was doing. To top it all off, and give aid to his earlier statement, Damion let his sword go flying, the angle poor and obviously too high as it sailed over Malenexum;s head. Damion looked like a man who had realised he had made a bad move, not someone who was pulling a power.

Inwardly he was jumping around, barely able to contain his enthusiasm and the feral smile that wanted to jump onto his face. Maybe now the playing field could get even again.

6/10

15The Duke of Id

With Damion's stop, the sword was kicked out of the air. At the same rate his leg came down back to the ground, or perhaps slightly slower, a massive rock formation slid upwards from the concrete floor infront of Malen.

"GRAH!"

A collision of quite the moderate damage ensued. When his foot came down and the stone came up, it hit the back of his knee and potentially sprained it if not badly bruised it, and then continued forward. It plowed through Malenexum and then stopped, causing him to stumble on his left leg for a while until it continued, and then fall backwards and hit himself against the cage of the ring on the other side, limbs and torso fortunately missing sharp sides of weapons lined up along the wall, before sliding onto the floor.

The crowd roared in a mixture of random screams of both cheer and discontent.

Sean Dorren & Ferdinand Berrelli Wrote:

"And there you have it, folks! Damion's all-powerful 'Break the Line'! The attack itself is not very strong if one has both feet planted on the ground and has experience with earth benders of similar caliber, but Malenexum's got none of those tonight!"

"That's right, Sean! Seems to me like he hasn't been able to lay a single hit, and now he has been hit pretty dead-on! I wouldn't want to be in his shoes right now!"

Everything that Malenexum had been expecting to do had gone to waste. While he was willing to quit the magic acts and get physical, it seemed his opponent was reluctant to show some face. Growling, his iris shrinking, with Exhibitor behind him only divided by a cage, Malenexum grabbed frantically at the weapons around him, reaching for anything with his right hand.

His hand reached a mace, which he dropped, then a rapier, which he also discarded, and then he grabbed a spear.

Straightening up from where he was quickly, using the spear for support to ensure this, he looked out for Damion, from wherever he came.

Bring it! 'f your courage, gimme some proof...

...you've yet to see my Ace in the hole...

...and you might yet be surprised to see what you can live through!

[MP: 60/135]

VI

16Eternal Dirge

Damion, however, was perched ontop of his new arena attachment, crouched down like a gargoyle with a broad grin on his face. His fingers and toes gripped into the stone in an unnatural fashion, as if he had turned the spots his fingers touched into clay. " Gotcha." The earth elemental dropped to the ground, a short hop brought him to the ground as he walked calmly forward, still smiling, his heartbeat thundering. Anyone who looked at him could tell he was excited, the first good hit of the day always bringing adrenaline.

He had new issues to work through now though, namely the spear. Range and sharp pointies to his lack thereof kind of killed his momentum, and his unwillingness to create a stone weapon to use. Even his favored stone claws wouldn't be of much aid. Oh well, nothing for it. He was closing the distance slowly, but he was already within the spears range after amoment or two.

7/10

17Eternal Dirge

The moment he had spotted Damion grinning on the rock formation, he had lowered the tip of the spear into the dark matter that was still sizzling on the floor somewhere infront of him and to his right. Then he waited for the right moment, lifting the spear, preparing for the next move he would ...

Eternal Dirge Wrote:

...s if he had turned the spots his fingers touched into clay. " Gotcha." The earth elemental drop--

THERE!

Malen's whole body lurched forward, the hand holding the spear only following afterwards. The spear was launched the moment Damion's limbs had proceeded to push him with enough strength and momentum that it was obvious he was going to hop off. An earth bender's natural weak point being when he was in the air, the throw was designed to catch Damion in mid-descent, miliseconds before he touched the ground.

This time around, Malen knew, it was the most fail-proof way to get the b*****d once and for all.

With the additional dark matter only freshly bathed around the tip and slowly eating away at it, the attack was a vicious one that not only attempted to stab into Damion, but also burn whatever insides it went through. Malenexum was not entirely sure of where the spear would land. He knew that the throw in itself was a a bit of a longshot, and was not willing to put all his bets on it.

Two legs, one of them limping, began to cross the stretch between himself and the air-prone opponent, trying to run as best they could. "ggrrrrAAAAHHHH!!!" Sword in hand, Malenexum threw himself into the fray even in his condition, war cry coming out in a low, glutteral half-growl.

This fight is far from over...!

I'll get you yet, even if it costs me my own blood!

Stop lying to yourself, and face your fate!

[MP: 60/135]

VII

18Eternal Dirge

" Mother-" It was kind of hard to hide throwing a spear, the things were large and had to be thrown a specific fashion to do anything really other than fall. Thus, Damion would have time to clear up from his body, catching the spear behind the head and throwing it over his shoulder, feeling it bite his shoulder before he could close his wrists over it. The burning from the darkfire had already started, and fed the growing anger. A growl of his own started in his throat as he rolled both wrists and the spear shaft.

The darkfire stung and burned, threatening to overwhelm his senses with anger, and the feeling of his own blood starting to run from the cut on his shoulder was only more incentive. But Damion had enough presence of mind to drive out with the butt of the spear, aiming for his opponents stomach but doubting he'd hit it. The spear was held crosswise across his body, right foot helping with the drive. He had the option of mobility, even if he wasn't unwounded. Around each wrist burned a circle of the darkfire, making his muscles twitch around the spear shaft. He wouldn't drop it, but it was more hoping his opponent drove himself onto the spear butt.

" COME GET SOME!"

8/10

19Unknown

Again another deafening roar from the crowd as both combatants raced against eachother for what seemed to be an epic impact between darkness and solid stone.

Ferdinand Berrelli Wrote:

"WOAH!

The fight just got beautiful ladies & gents! It looks like both challengers are finally wounded and still going for the win!"

The moment that Malen came close enough to the spear's butt he swung the sword's sharp blade through the spear. The spear's shaft had been cut by the sword with a swipe as Malenexum came to a stop, allowing the man that had not a second before gauged distance between him and his opponent to be well after the butt of the spear to now realize what a short distance they truly had from eachother. Time would be short and speeds would be quick, and the horizontal slash that followed the cut of the spear was meant to rend Damion's torso open, be it near his abdominal area or his chest.

His balance was pitted on his left leg again, his right standing by for future happenstance...

Take a number.

You're next in line.

See, see? Didn't I tell you I was right?

[MP: 60/135]

VIII

20Eternal Dirge

Damion could feel the spear shaft give, shattering in his grip and leaving him to marvel at the weakness of the weapon he had procured. So much for good weapons eh? No time for postulation, he had to move. The broken hafts of wood got dropped, they wouldn't be useful to him now. As the sword cleared up towards the ceiling, he would step in, closing that already admittedly short distance to wrap his arms around Malenexum, hoping on one part that the flames on his wrist would burn the man, and two dropping his head to sink his teeth into the mans shoulders, whichever was closer.

This was all a Gambit, he had no idea if he had been close enough, it was a chance he had to take though. Atleast in deep like this, he didn't run the risk of getting shanked by the sword, seeing as how the weapon was alittle too long for such close combat. If he could get his teeth into flesh, Damion would begin ripping his head back and fourth like a dog on a bone, trying to rip flesh free and really just cause alot of pain.

9/10

21Unknown

The sword flew through the air right after slicing the spear in half, with his opponent getting so close to him he could smell him. Then, the man hugged him and Malenexum grunted.

But the grunt, which had been of annoyance, turned to a snarl and a growl once he felt the man before him bite into his shoulder. However, both these last two sounds had a different meaning behind them. They were feral, but they were also... filled with satisfaction. Both of his arms wrapped around the taller, much broader man before him and then nails dug into the man's skin. A tight grip, perhaps even tighter than the man before him procured to seal, a grip that clearly stated that he would not let go. Another sound filled Darion's closest ear that had not been heard since the beggining of the fight: laughter.

Was that lust in the vampire's face?

"Uhnn...! Good boy...!"

The crowd was cheering, but now more women than men would be making their voices be heard.

Darion had made a mistake.

A big, big, mistake.

Sean Dorren & Ferdinand Berrelli Wrote:

"Uh... heh... It seems the combatants are struggling to get into a grappling position..."

"All of you who may not be prepared to watch this might want to look away...!

It seems both men are going for a very savage lounge of bites and scratches!"

"Those who might not be ready to 'take curves', either... if you know what I mean, Ferd."

Now that he had a strong grip around the man infront of him, a man which had dared take the role of vampire in this particular relationship, the real vampire would take matter into his own hands.

First of all, there were quite a lot of things wrong with ever assuming to hurt Malenexum using the 'dark flames' that Darion had thought them to be:

Racial Traits Wrote:

-Dark Elemental: Absorbs negative energy (darkness) from outside sources (in other words, he cannot use his own negative energy abilities to heal himself) and transfers it to health, but sustains double the damage from the opposite element of positive energy (holy).

While this doesn't mean that he could absorb the energy from the flames, it did mean that he would not be affected by it, as he was aligned with the dark element almost religiously.

Quote:

Darkball

Description: ...is reaction often continues, if left unattended, for 1 minute (3 posts), and will continue...

As stated above, the dark matter itself would be extinguishing itself on it's own right by now, as if it were a fire that were slowly losing substance, or an acid slowly being deteriorated by the low pH levels around it.

And then, there was the fact that Malenexum was a bit of a masochist... specially when it came to actions as... 'close'... as the one that Darion had comitted himself into doing. Biting off his shoulder like that gave Malen great... 'satisfaction'... even with all the blood that splurted from it and the ammount of pain it caused, and thus only suggested Malenexum to return the favor.

Quote: Blood for Blood

Description: An equivalent exchange of transfusion of blood and organic tissue from victim to host. However much blood and tissue is devoured from the victim, the same ammount of blood and tissue will be regenerated by the predator. This only applies to fresh organic material, and cannot be used on undead or dead bodies that have been as such for more than 3 hours. During battle, regeneration of tissue is only effective 2 posts after the opponent's flesh/blood has been absorbed.

Energy for Energy

Description: An equivalent exchange of transfusion of energy. However much energy is absorbed from the victim will be handed over to the host. The only way to absorb energy from an opponent is to firmly grasp the opponent with, at minimum, one hand palm and absorb the energy. The absorbtion process is rather slow and ineffective, however, only recovering and extracting 15% of the energy sought per every post through which the grasp is mantained. Any kind of energy source can be drained, however the energy absorbed must be possessed by the victim in order for it to be absorbed (in other words, a completely non-magical machine or creature cannot be used to absorb magic energy). Physical energy can be absorbed from anything physical, and often drains the stamina of the victim (physical energy often reffered to as 'life force'), but it will never heal wounds-- only supply the user of the technique with said energy.

Both these abilities would begin functioning right after he told Darion what a good boy he was, as Malenexum opened his mouth wide and went straight for Darion's neck, biting deep and hard with large one inch tall, sharp fangs into the neck of his opponent and hands opening wide against his back to drain him of his natural physical energy. His mouth would suck and chew at the meat of the neck. His hands would claw and stab into the man's back.

Quote:

Basic Skillset

Strength: x3 Own Weight (includes all limbs)

Yes, his grip was strong, and not only was it strong, but this potentially meant that Malenexum could lift the man before him if he wished. He was in control now. And as both men stood and bit at eachother and made to kill eachother this way, Malenexum decided that standing was a little bit too uncomfortable for such... 'delights'. And so, his right leg proceeded to move behind Darion's right, and the good, left leg pushed forward against the earth bender while the right slammed it's heel at the back of the man's knee, attempting to trip him backward as he kept his bite and his incredibly strong hug, with which he lifted Darion up just a bit to ensure the trip'd work. Far behind the 'blue player', a sword fell onto the ground.

Unlike Darion's bites, his were bigger, deeper, much more damaging: designed for their task.

Unlike Darion's grab, his was deadlier, stronger, and parasitical: an embrace of death.

Unlike Darion's intentions, his were both of lust and revenge: a painful love.

...let's see how much loverboy can handle...

You've sealed your doom...

...you used my signet on the wax...

...and given yourself to me, you fool.

[MP: 60/135]

[Energy Absorbed: Physical - 15%]

IX

22Eternal Dirge

Damion's eyes went wide as he was bitten in return, though he wasn't suprised in the slightest. It just hurt. " ********...." His mouth lifted away from the flesh of his opponents shoulder, eyes watering with the pain as muscles suddenly strained, lifting before the earth elemental whirled, smashing his opponent side first into the massive stone block next to them, using all that he had left in the attack, even going so far as to make small spikes along the impact surface, like that on a punkers armband. This in turn hurt his own unguarded arm, but he hoped the pain would make his opponent let up as he ground him against the stone, shredding his own flesh in the attempt.

" Try and heal that b*h!" IT was all or nothing now, Damion had nothing left to give. He had though his opponent a vampire before, and knew that this was way to close. Why the ****** did everyone in HoH have to be a masochist? Oh well, sacrificing his left arm(the foremost limb) was well worth it if it got his vampiric opponent to leggo.

10/10

23The Duke of Id

Lack of overall perception of the trouble Damion had gotten himself into seemed to be the key component of what caused the earth bender's downfall.

THUD.

Grunt.

As Malenexum's body hit the hard gravel, his skin being ground against it, he bit harder, dug deeper with his hands, sucked on his blood faster, leaving a large flow of it slide down his opponent's neck and chest.

Malenexum wouldn't let go.

Try as Damion might, the bite would continue, the hug would remain adamant, and the sucking of blood and energy would just weaken the man before him and, at the same time, feed the vampire latched onto him.

Why should he let go? Because of pain? Because of the force being issued forth by this man, trying to get himself loose?

Did he think that a futile attack that sacrificed both himself as well as him was going to cause his vice grip to give? Malenexum knew well where his advantage lay.

Damion had thrown himself into a position that was simply too sweet for Malenexum to let go of. He drank frantically and bit and chewed just as much, shaking his head from time to time while holding onto flesh to let loose more of that beautiful crimson liquid that bathed his face. The jugular artery was so close, yet he made sure not to touch it: he made sure not to kill the man; but with how much flesh he had opened, he almost might as well have cut into it.

Before long, Damion would faint from loss of blood, and he, as a vampire, would seal the wound and allow the officials to come in to tend to the man's semi-lethal wound.

Malenexum drank by the gulpfuls, like trying to chug a bottle of whiskey as quick as possible, and the physical energy the man had been using to excert force upon Malenexum itself would slowly be drained out of him, slowly tiring the man until he could no longer fight it. His muscles would get weaker, his will to fight would rot, his beatings would be less and less prominent.

Overhead, the commentators began to speak of Malenexum's vicious vampire grip, as the crowd roared in all kinds of cheers and boos... not that Darion could hear any of it by now, as everything was surely getting cloudy and hazy for him...

...

...so...

...loverboy had enough...?

The battle's over, we know who's won...

...you stood your ground, but for how long?

I'll leave you for now, you shameful scum.

[MP: 60/135]

[Energy Absorbed: Physical - 30%]

X

24Eternal Dirge

There would likely be a ding, some sort of call to let them know the fight was over. And Damion was quite tired of someone trying to kill him, either with sword or fang." Let go or I put a spike through your spine a*****e." Damion growled, his voice weak despite his threat. Their hearts were not in the same place, he could easily do it and come out alright, for the most part. But this was a fighting tournament, and killing was not allowed. Some people understood that, and respected it. Damion had seen what happened to those that didn't.

He didn't have much strength left, atleast physical strength, but he was still very much aware mentally. Damn Vampires.