Monkey's Paw Tavern

[PandArsonist]

Naru smiled, watching the figure attacking the darkness creature. This would be interesting to watch indeed. He called Zero over, and pointed the figure out to him. "Watch closely. This should be interesting indeed. Just don't get involved unless he notices you, and seems like he needs the extra help."  

[Evol Bear]

♫Of course I'm beautiful.♫

She remained quiet as she looked at Durithill who laughed at her comment. Venustas frowned angrily then. Her grip on her shot glass tightened but rather than a repeat of when they met she poured herself another drink and shot it back quickly. Her wings were protruding straight behind her, another signal of her slight anger that she suppressed. Another shot. Then another. Her eyes suddenly lost its luster as she sunk into herself and the memories of her beloved Autumn.

Venustas remained lost within herself until Durithill said his last phrase. As he began his attack, the suppressed anger relentlessly exploded from her being. Using her wings, she propelled herself up and away from the bar, catching the attention of one of the creatures. Venustas grinned and crushed the shot glass in her hand as she lowered herself to greet the charging monster. Just as it got closer, she propelled the shards of glass with a wave of energy, causing them to penetrate its face. As it faltered backwards she grabbed her whip and lashed it out towards it.

Venustas licked her lips, she could taste its fear as she calmly uttered the enchanted words to her whip. "Luce Flagellum." The whip extended itself some and wrapped itself around the creatures neck. "Vulnus Flammae." Fire began to course through the whip until it reached the creature and began to burn through its flesh. With a powerful pulling motion backwards, Venustas flung the creature behind her. A snap could be heard through the bar as its neck snapped due to the strength. As its body flew past her, the whip released it so that it could smash into the wall with a loud crack.

Once it was done, she walked back towards Durithill, wiping away a small amount of blood that had splashed onto her delicate cheek. Her eyes were filled with rage, but her body was loose and calm with tons of power coursing through her veins.

♫Just as an angel should be.♫

 

[Doctor Corn]

The portals began bubbling faster and faster, releasing more half-formed creatures to protect themselves. A creature screamed in agony as Durithill flayed the flesh from its back. The surprisingly tender shadowflesh burst like a ripe fruit, pouring out several large spiders to leap upon the man as he began to roll away. The creature then began to smoke, dissolving into a toxic mist that would cause coughing in all that did not have protection from it. Similar circumstances occurred around the other beaten shadow creature, more spiders this time falling upon the nearest townsfolk or scurrying to attack Venustas's back. In the meantime, the tendril that had swept around Tobias jerked back toward the portals, the small body passing between Durithill and Venustas. The woman shrieked and caught hold of him, pausing to beg the two people to help her charge.  

[Durithill the Black Blade]

SPACEDurithill came out of his roll prepared to strike again, but the creature he had hit had indeed gone down and the creature nearest to him was an angry Venustas, who he did not intend to kill at the moment. Of course, there were a few spiders clinging desperately to his body. Those that had not been thrown off by his roll by gripping onto his unprotected arms, neck, and face quickly fell off: dead from Durithill's body. Durithill's poison might only be of average strength against a human, but a smaller, weaker creature like a spider would be much more susceptible to it. Those spiders that were still left on Durithill's clothes, he quickly batted with the back of his hands before they could really do anything. Even if he didn't managed to dislodge them from his clothing with the hit, they fell off not long afterwards from the effects of the contact with Durithill's bare hands. Even if the spiders were not much of a problem, the mist that rose from the creatures after death might be an issue. Even if Durithill's body was itself poisonous, he wasn't immune to it.

SPACEHaving a moment to think since he wasn't in any immediate danger since he wasn't next to a corpse and the other creatures were a small distance away, Durithill surveyed the situation, analyzing everything. They were after Tobias for whatever reason, that was clear. Even though he didn't particularly care whether the kid lived or died, he should probably help Tobias since his chances of getting answers from Tobias's father would likely significantly decrease if he let Alex's kid get taken. "The portals." Durithill said calmly to Venustas, and whoever decided to get in on the fight. "They are creating more of the creatures. Destroy the portals, and the fight shall likely end. Venustas, you have the ability to use magic, so you are better suited for that task. Their target is Tobias, so I shall guard him." With a fluid motion, Durithill stepped forward and brought his blade down on the tendril wrapped around Tobias. After severing the tendril, Durithill grabbed Tobias by the shirt and threw him back. Not hard enough to hurt him, but enough to get him out of the way.

SPACEThat done, Durithill stepped back to get between Tobias and the attackers. Although some of them would undoubtedly try to stop Venustas from trying to destroy the portals, they would likely focus their attack on Durithill. Tobias was the main objective after all. Even if they killed everyone buy failed to take Tobias, Durithill was sure whatever was controlling them would be upset. The mist would also be a problem, so if they got close he would either have to force them back or not kill them. The best option would be to take them out from a distance. Durithill slammed his foot into the floor, causing the floorboards to break and one to lift up. He then put his foot under the end of it and used his foot to fling the board at one of the creatures like a spear, impaling it through the neck. Without pausing he then grabbed a bottle of beer off of a table next to him and threw it at the end of another creature. The impact was enough to shatter the bottle and knock the creature off its feet and possibly unconscious, though perhaps not enough to kill. He would only have to keep them at bay until Venustas closed the portals.  

[kjaslkdjiehdfba]

Upon entering the shack like tavern, Itazuki noticed a fight between some spiders and a woman and a dude. To him none of this matter. He walked slowly trying not to touch any of them. Doing all he could not to get involved. He exhaled and lowered his head, he wished he had a hat, so he could lower it and conceal himself even more. He reached the bar fairly quickly. An odd thing came, and he waved his hand at it making it go away. "It's my business." Itazuki muttered as he took a seat and looked at the bartender. now the bartender seemed fat, his stomach full of thick frothy beer. Itazuki's eyes gave off the impression of innocence but as the bartender looked farther into them he saw a life not his own. The bartender spoke with clear conviction. "What do you want?"

Itazuki made a simple gesture with his hand then spoke, "What do you think I want?" The bartender raising a brow said, "Uh, I don't know." He now felt a bit unease, not because the battle in his bar but because of this one man.

Itazuki combed his hands through his hair, and took deep breath. The tension between the two only began to increase. "What is your name?"

In all his years of being a bartender no one ever asked him his name, he was sure no one even knew it. He was just the bartender, he served you drinks, what ever you liked. As long as you payed he was happy. He said, "Its not important." Itazuki kept his composure and waved the bartender off ordering wine made from their finest peaches. The bartender had no other choice but to comply.

Itazuki twisted his chair around and looked at the rather boring fight go one. "So ders people fighten in dis ere joint." He spoke irregular for change. "Woowii, ya'll know how to scrap, that fo sho." He giggled a bit to himself then his peach wine was served. He chugged it and ordered for more saying. "Keep it coming."  

[Soidie Denroth]

After seeing sever others jump into the brawl, Fleischer now had no reason to hold back from the urge of battle. All though his head still banged from the heavy drinking, it wasn't too much of a problem to keep him away from the fight. Fleischer readied his bone saw and scalpel before rushing in.

The first one to fall was one of the black shade men; the saw slammed into the back of its neck and from there Fleischer began to saw severing connection from the body. "I'll look 'into' you later! AHHAHAH!" he said with an evil grin on his face. The next was a spiderthing; although Fleischer knew very little about spiders and their anatomy, he knew at least that he could get on the back without it being able to do anything. A few stabs here and there with the scalpel and it hit the heart stopping it in its tracks. Blood splashed all over Fleischer's already bloody apron.

Several black shades later, as well as spiders, the things kept coming no matter how many he could kill. Some would have to do something about the portals, but all Fleischer could do a the time was survive. "Vhy do I alvays have to beh involved!?" he asked himself out loud.  

[PandArsonist]

Naru yawned, this fight was starting to get tiresome, and the gasses the creatures were releasing were annoying. He snapped his fingers and, as had happened in a similar bar what seemed to be mere weeks ago, a vortex of darkness appeared, swirling in the air. A nice miniature black hole, taking in all the venomous fumes and reducing them to nothingness, along with all the bodies of the defeated. Zero looked at him, confused. This was clearly the sort of interference that Naru had talked about abstaining from. he raised an eyebrow at his master, hoping for a response, which he was soon given, though it was to the male with the bad accent that Naru directed his words to. "There does not need to be a reason for anyone to get involved in the affairs of others. One simply needs to be willing to do so. If you do not wish to fight, then don't. I only involve myself, because of the inconvenience that would otherwise arise."
Naru glanced back at Zero and nodded his approval for action, and so, Zero too, put his powers to work, sending beams of piercing light through the shadow creatures, leaving no traces of their bodies behind. It certainly was an odd sight; the Master of Darkness, working with a beginning light user.  

[Evol Bear]

♫Of course I'm beautiful.♫

Venustas was frowning but her body movements were fluid as she sauntered back towards Durithill, swatting and stomping on the spider-like insects that crawled towards or onto her. She was caught in the intensity of the fight and the moment that he started to order her around, she snapped.

"That's it!" She thrust her wings out on either side of her as far as they could reach before turning sharply and smacking Durithill in the face. "I'll take care of the damn portals, boy, but I'm sick of your secrecy." Venustas didn't even bother to wait for his response before jumping towards the arms that were spread about the tavern, creating the portals. Her whip was ready in her hand and was glowing with a light aura as she prepared her attack.

She had noticed the odd black hole that sucked away the lifeless creatures and mist but disregarded it as she pursued the arms. With her whip, she slashed outward, light energy coursing through the whip as it struck one of the arms. Venustas leaped from arm to arm, repeating this attack all in hopes of destroying the sources of the portals, her anger and frustration fueling her barrage of attacks.

As she continued to attack, she couldn't help but realize that her stomach started to feel odd and she was slowly beginning to feel weaker.

♫Just as an angel should be.♫

 

[kjaslkdjiehdfba]

Scanning through the bar, the fumes suddenly cleared making visibility more pristine. A strange spider came jumping at him, and with a mere flick of his wrist he swatted it with a back hand. Not much effort involved then as he looked across the tavern he thought he saw a familiar figure. Itazuki thought to self, letting his mind swarm with various ideas. 'Is that Naru? The darkness man, who always felt superior, he might have been, but I'm stronger.' Itazuki chuckled to himself taking a sip of his fifteen glass of peach wine. He remembered the battles with Naru, they were odd, never ended with one beating the other. Itazuki put the glass down and noticed Naru with a more than holy folk. "Kinda odd seeing Naru hang with a spiffy kid like that." Itazuki said, then he got up from his seat and over the roar of the miniscule battle, Itazuki shouted. "Hey Naru!!! I haven't seen you in like ages!!!!!"  

[PandArsonist]

Naru heard Itazuki calling him, and couldn't help but laugh, though he wasn't quite sure why. Perhaps the years spent in the Void of Existence had tamed some of the evil that had started corrupting him back in the day. For now at least, for whatever reason, Naru planned on staying neutral. If he was back, it was for a reason, and starting fights so soon would not help him. He signaled for Zero to stay close, and made his way across the room towards Itazuki, his own natural aura keeping the darklings from attacking him. "Well, well... it certainly has been a while since I've seen a familiar face. Funny, isn't it. Meeting here of all places. You don't look as if you've aged at all."  

[kjaslkdjiehdfba]

Itazuki only chuckled, at the possibility of him not aging in all the years that passed by. "Yeah, it does seem that the years have been kind to me, or it could be another reason." In Itazuki's state of mind, the situation became grim, and the friendly smile he carried upon his face suddenly vanished and he only muttered. "A force beyond anything else." The idea Itazuki had, could have been only second nature to Naru, but to Itazuki this was simply stunning and this information had to be given out in secrecy. "I was resurrected, actually cast out into this world as a pile of bones. Mine I guess-" Itazuki yawned and stretched his arms and extending his back out. "-But anyway, where have you been all these years? You too, look similar to those days way back."  

[PandArsonist]

Naru shrugged. When he next spoke, it was a whisper, so that only Itazuki could hear him. "Honestly, I don't remember. one moment, I was fighting to preserve my own little castle of Darkness, here in Ethral city, to try and stop Defaeco's army from taking over...And the next second...I felt like I had been cast into a void. Like I stopped existing. And then, the old Genesis of darkness appeared. He had been corrupting me, from the inside out..." Naru smiled slightly, recalling the epic battle that had ensued between him, and the being that had given him his powers. "It was a tough battle. Felt like it lasted forever. I think that if I weren't already dead, it would have killed me. But I survived, and won, and then, all of a sudden, I felt my body being pulled back together. Next thing I know, I open my eyes, and I'm in the middle of those ruins that I created, that same day that I first appeared in this realm. And this guy," he pointed to Zero, "Was talking about trying to bring me back. Whatever the hell he did, it allowed him to bring me back. Either that, or it was really good timing on his part. I don't know what's going on. I just hope that it's gonna be entertaining. After all, I tend to start killing things when i get bored."  

[kjaslkdjiehdfba]

Itazuki gave off the impression of being a very sincere listener. He nodded and said, "Mmhmm." When appropriate, but nothing honestly drew his intention but the last word's Naru spoke, caught hold of Itazuki like fire catching flame to a forest. "Yeah getting bored, sure does stir up those inner instincts." Itazuki looked down and then he remembered, "Calypso, that crazy thunder cat. I sure hate that guy. It was either you or him, i was fight..." Itazuki giggled slightly then remembered a old battle that was just a distant memory. he gritted his teeth a bit, but quickly he heard in the distant, the rushing moans of a woman. He got annoyed by it and uttered. "Do you hear that?" He laughed a bit but then just got more angry. The urge to using his sword, to see the flow of blood began to settle in slowly. His hand twitched a bit, but he held it still.  

[PandArsonist]

Naru shook his head slowly. "You and I crossed paths, but never blades." He looked around, unsure of what Itazuki meant. "I hear many things right now. Perhaps it would be best to do something about the noises within this building."
Naru motioned for Zero to come over, and gave him some basic instructions. "Go ahead and start filling the portals with light energy. With any luck, it will cancel them out."
Zero nodded, and located the nearest portal. A few bolts of light magic were enough to get rid of the tentacles protruding from it, and a few more seemed to make the portal continue to fade. With the confirmation that this method was working, Zero finished the job, and began moving on to the other portals as well.  

[kjaslkdjiehdfba]

"Ahh, well my memory is blurred. Imperfection seeks us all, in some way or form." He paused and took another sip of his fine delicate peach wine. The flavor barely touched his taste buds, but sometimes it left a little tang in his mouth."A bit tart." He muttered. Itazuki looked over at Zero. His name alone bothered him. "So you been teaching that boy somethings." The ripples of the past started to fade into the present. "All those years ago and sometimes, I'm thinking im gain sanity back in life. I hope not." He only made a single laugh, that died off into the bustle of the tavern.