angelicgunslinger replied to your post: “I'm a warrior but, I have some bows that I use. I have rank B magnum shot and if I recall rank 9 with just the bow itself.”:
Except Mana shield damage is the damage you would take with 0 defense and protection, so it's almost not even worth it. I'd rather die with my mana intact than die with 0 MP.
It still helps you survive a few extra hits. Why would your mana being intact matter if you were mainly melee like the person who asked this question?
A staring contest was the calmest way to express the way these two looked at each other. Either had a bloodthirsty look on their face, and their bodies quite relaxed. Their weapons, both considered two-handed weapons, were being wielded with one hand each. Hers, the Tyrfing, was now standing upright with its tip in the ground beneath, glowing an eerie red glow. His blade, a large claymore-style sword, did not glow, but instead blinked. The weapon had an eye strewn in its hilt, and it was moving.
0:05
A devilish grin appeared on both their faces almost simultaneously, and their blades flew up out of their grounded positions to meet the tips of one another. The dark energy within them began to explode into a rotating mass that grinded against the other's darkness. the two stood perfectly still, not affected whatsoever by the ebb and flow of their powers. they only stood there, staring each other down, blades poised, as if to size up one another.
0:21
Again at the same time, both corrupted heroes dashed a short distance to meet one another. Their blades clashed in a cross which caused the excess power to erupt to their sides and crash into the walls, causing debris to fall off the stones that kept the room enclosed. As they pushed forward into one another, their blades grinded against each other, causing sparks to fly. They growled at each other angrily as if to demand the other to move, but neither did so.
0:44
With a grunt, they both shoved their weapons at one another, the force of which caused them both to slide away from each other. Not even a moment was spent to think, rather the two had charged at each other and now swung their heavy blades around as if they weighed nothing, fully intending to kill one another. their blades clashed over and over, neither able to score a real hit on the other. As each clash occurred, it sent off a wave of dark energy that randomly flew into a solid surface in the arena where they had just defeated their darkness together. Now they were trying to kill each other.
1:05
With one hand, she swung her blade horizontally, which forced his to block the blade. Showing her cunning, she concentrated darkness in her other hand and threw it at his feet. This was the first true difference in their combat styles. He may have been stronger, but she was more cunning. He leapt back swiftly, narrowly avoiding the blast to his feet.
1:16
Instead of running right for him, she made a dash to her right to go around him. He kept an eye on her, not moving, but ready to retaliate. He watched as she ran around the perimiter of the room, and their eyes never left another. Even shrouded in darkness, in the back of their minds they could see what was happening. Both were terrified of what might happen. Powerless, they watched from within their own subconscious.
Suddenly she changed her direction from running around the room, to running right at him. She had time, this time she could read his movements. As she dragged her weapon across the ground, causing sparks to erupt from the contact point, she noticed him ready a strike of his own. He too dashed in her direction. Their weapons were poised to his the other across their dominant arms, but even with his density, he knew better than to leave it open. As quick as he could, he switched his blade to the other hand. As the opponents met in their mad run, he swung his weapon at her and leapt into the air. Using the momentum from his swing he was able to turn around and see her halted, her body crouched, and her arms in the air beside her, pointing to the ceiling. He saw a slash across her right hip, fresh. One he had made.
1:40
She looked over her shoulder at him, her anger intensified. She had been cut, it was not permissible. She had to kill him. She spun around to see him land and grimaced at him, the bloodlust in her eyes so sharp it could kill with a glance. He landed gracefully on his feet facing her, his wings used to lighten the impact. they stood and eyed each other for a moment longer.
1:50
She again began to concentrate dark energy into her hand. This time it was raised over her head. She stood up straight, hand pointing to the ceiling, other hand holding the blade she was wielding, and looked at him. The darkness began to take the form of a long object, similar to the Spear of Light. He too created a similar projectile with his energy, however his was raised to the side, in his hand which stretched out towards the wall.
2:01
The two attacks were let loose, and collided. An explosion followed, forcing any and all loose debris to be ejected to the outer reaches of the room. When the darkness settled and dissipated, the two had orbs of darkness in their off-hands and were eying each other with a killer's intent.
2:10
Forgetting the need for weapons, they left blades on the ground and charged at each other, their hands outstretched with their swirling darkness in hand. Neither bothered to block the other. Instead, their hands ripped into each other's chest area, and the darkness they were holding began to rend away at their skin, and their energetic auras again pressed against the other, swirling and vibrating angrily.
Even with normally fatal injuries they kept at it, until eventually the hatred within their auras was too much, and their energies caused another eruption of power that caused the two combatants to fly backwards in opposite directions at an incredible speed.
2:32
Their collisons with the walls had created a large amount of dust and debris near the points of impact. As it settled, their bodies were limp at first, heads hanging eerily over their sitting bodies. Slowly they took to their feet, clearly shaken by the superb force that had shoved them into the wall.
2:43
Now with a clear view of his opponent, he could see that her wings of crystal had shattered, and were slowly being rebuilt in even larger and more dramatic form. The area around her had begun to manifest itself into repairing her broken ornaments and improving their size, if anything else. As she looked to him, she smiled, an evil kind of smile, a smile that showed far more darkness in it than before.
2:54
He searched the room, scanned it really. Their weapons were gone. He assumed they had been incinerated by the last explosion, which meant they were both unarmed, bar their own powers. It seemed her chaotic powers had increased. He didn't have to think twice about it. He unfolded his wings entirely to demonstrate their relaxed twenty foot wingspan, and threw his arms out as if to taunt her. Then, his aura of darkness intensified. A halo now twirled around his head, much like the one adorned by his Shadow. His body was enveloped in a furious red ambience that thickened by the second.
3:06
There was no mercy to be had by either one of these poor, corrupted souls. They both drew on a power from their past, and raised their hands both to the sky. A barrage of spears just like those used earlier began to form over their heads. He crouched himself down to assume his stance for throwing these spears, while she assumed a stance more used for throwing darts, though her hand was over her head rather than in front of her.
3:17
With a surge of fury, both of them began to throw their spears at each other from opposite sides of the room, one by one. Their entire supply of remaining dark energies were being expended with this attack, and it was well shown. the spears, one after the other, kept ramming into each other, causing chaotic eruptions of darkness that exploded at the meeting point. It was true that they normally could both last a while under their corruption, but this barrage of dark spears was truly frightening and expended a lot of it, and fast.
3:27
As the last of their spears had been let loose, it was apparent that she had formed one more than he. The lone spear travelled through the clouds of darkness right for him. He was far too exhausted to catch its presence and move. He had taken the hit directly, and the spear pierced his body and ripped through it, leaving a huge wound in his torso. It was in the same place as the bandages once used to be. He took the impact and fell backward with the momentum.
3:38
She could see from her mind what had happened. Even her, with no control over her darkness, had managed to shove her way through to the front and suppress it. Her body was weak and her head light, but she used every last bit of her willpower to go forward. It only lasted so long, and she fell to her knees about five meters from Xehr, who was now unconscious and fatally wounded. She had also lost plenty of her own bodily fluids, and promptly passed out despite her efforts to reach her lover.
"Damn, this is bad.." Xehr said roughly as he huffed air in and out of his lungs, trying to catch his breath. He was staring down Bran, a great beast tasked with imprisoning Shakespeare. Xehr had just been knocked back by a shockwave that the beast had let loose through one of its attacks, and it has separated him from his partner and coincidentally, his lover, Malkeria. She took her blade and gripped it tightly in hand, a simple gladius, but it had been her trusted weapon for as long as Xehr had known her as a Milletian. She rushed the beast, but failed in hitting it, only to crash into its great armored arm. The recoil set her off balance, just enough time for Bran to grab her in its other hand and take hold of her.
0:13
"No, you let her go!" Xehr shouted as he recovered from his previous knockback. He used the enlarged blade of his weapon, a Dragon Blade with a black hilt and neon red blade, to prop himself up and reposition himself. He quickly shifted his legs and used them to propel himself forward, now somewhat angry. Wit hthe thought of protecting his loved one in mind, Xehr swung his blade angrily, but Bran had put his hostage in the blade's path, causing Xehr to force himself to redirect his weapon out of the way. He then made a quick leap backwards to get some distance from the monster so he could think.
0:35
The truth of the matter here was the fact that Bran's weak spot was it's stomach, a spot it was using Malkeria to cover up. The beast had intelligence, this was no lie. But he had managed to piss off Xehr. But in order to defeat the beast, he had to strike its stomach.. This coupled with the fact that the beast was too large and agile to get behind.
Bran was growing impatient, and it strengthened its grip on Malkeria, causing her to cry out in pain.
"Xehr.. kill it.. what are you doing?" Malkeria shouted with the breath she had after having her torso squished by Bran's massive hand. Xehr began to panic, as his options were limited. The darkness in him would kill her, and maybe Bran, and who knows what else. No, he couldn't risk letting loose that kind of thing. He wasn't even sure what would happen. Xehr looked down at his weapon and back up at Malkeria, who was in pain, and was trying to pointlessly squirm in Bran's hand.
"I can't.. Its weak spot is its stomach.." Xehr said to his lover. "I can't harm it without hurting you!" Xehr let out that last bit with a surge of emotion. Malkeria calmed down and smiled at him, a hint of sorrow in her eyes as she realized what the situation was as well.
"You know Bran can't live Xehr. We cannot let him win. Even if.." She trailed off and Bran gave her another painful pressure-surge, causing her to shout out in pain. "Even if it takes my life."
She was a Milletian though, it was true. But if Xehr were to strike the truly fatal blow to kill Bran, it would kill her too. She wouldn't ever see Nao, her soul wouldn't go to the Soulstream ever again. In fact, who knows what would happen to it? But she didn't know that. Not many did. It was a small tidbit of information Xehr had picked up on in the past.
But she was right. If they failed to kill Bran here, he would go on to succeed in capturing Shakespeare, something Xehr knew couldn't be allowed.
Xehr stood there, almost powerless as he witnessed his wife suffering by the hand of Bran. He'd lose her forever, but it was for the good of the world he lived in. If Xehr became weak and gave up on the mission, everyone else might die because of it.
But it tore his heart apart to even consider killing her.
"Besides, I'll go see Nao afterwards, and be right back with you.." Malkeria's voice penetrated the still air of the battle, confirming that she was unaware that she'd never come back. On the inside, Xehr began to cry. His heart cracking under the pressure, figuratively, had caused his eyes to tear up. He looked up at Bran and Malkeria, and poised his blade forward.
"Yeah, you will.." He said, preparing to rush towards the monstrosity before him. In his mind he knew he was lying to her, he was trying to keep himself from breaking down, so that she wouldn't have to see him as weak, so she could die happy, looking forward to coming back.
Maybe she'd be smiling?
3:23
With a blood-curdling scream, Xehr let his feet carry him swiftly into the proximity of Bran, where he thrusted his large blade through Malkeria, through the minimal space between her captor and her, and through Bran's stomach. The beast cried out in complete horror and pain, nearly causing Xehr's ears to pop. His eyes had been closed up until this point in his attack. He opened them to see blood dripping from his blade. Her blood.
3:43
"I love you, Mal." He said quietly after Bran's screaming had become heavy, broken breathing as it struggled to stand, but unable to do anything else. "I'm sorry.." He apologized, trying to think of what he could possibly say otherwise. Bran had begun to fall back, and Malkeria had been silent since she was struck. Xehr stood back, letting go of his sword, and watched as Bran fell backwards, becoming enveloped in a cloak of sky blue light.
3:54
He looked closer and notice Malkeria was also cloaked in this light. As Bran hit the ground with a massive thud, the light began to sparkle, and piece by piece it flew away from the main source, like small fireflies. Xehr slowly walked over and examined the phenomenon as it was occuring, and watched as his once most beloved disappeared into thin air. He couldn't speak, being choked up at the time, and could only let the rears stream down from his face. They began a single drop, but slowly increased their flow from his eyes. Even the eye with the patch was in tears.
4:27
Xehr reached out before him to try and make one last contact with her, but as his hand reached where hers was, it only spread the light out into the air. Now driven on his remorseful instincts, Xehr walked through the light, causing it to move outward and dissipate as he walked to the middle. The hero dropped to his knees and covered his face with his hands, wiping stray tears as they streamed from his face.
"I'm sorry.." He apologized again, and a few more times afterward as his right hand created a fist, and he slammed it into the ground beneath him. He looked up to the ceiling to see the light above him spiraling. It gathered together just right to form a feminine face. As Xehr wiped the tears from his eye, he could make out her face. The last time he'd ever see it.
