[Bounty] Between Gods and Titans

[Sparky]

    The two seemed to be on their way out, and met Nocturne with visible shock and surprise. However, though they were afraid, instead of locking up or running away, the two immediately went for their weapons- only, they were too slow. The two bandits found themselves wrapped in Nocturne's shadows, thrashing and writhing against them enough to dodge away from the blade. They fought like wild beasts, but couldn't break out of the bindings they now found themselves in. 

    "Wh-what is a damned god doing here...!?" The first managed to choke out. She was a female faunus with features reminiscent of a lioness, and she was managing only slightly better than her companion, a struggling human with glowing red markings. 

SPOILER: Click to show

Bandit A: Affinity 8
Bandit B: Affinity 8

Enemy - HP Remaining
A- 70
B- 67

[[God] - Nocturne]

Oh? These two seemed to have a bit of meat on their bones. That was fine by her. That only told her she was getting closer to the figurehead anyways. It was rare for elites to not group with elites. Though she supposed in one aspect, that she was portraying that rarity herself as of right now.

A new hell unleashed around them as the ground turned into a pitch blackness that swallowed minimalistic light. She stepped back, only to release a wave of purple magic aimed to cut into them. It was raw chaos magic, a school of power separate from her home domain, but one she easily tapped into. Hopefully that would make a show of these two for her so she could hunt the head while they were off fighting each other. The shadows themselves seemed to stretch across the ground of the entire camp, but that was namely because the camp was tiny. Observant bodies would be alerted of her presence, it was just a matter of finding her.

Though she did appear to make this game of hide and seek harder as she sunk back into the shadows once again, surfing underneath the ground's surface to find where the head bandit was. She could have done this sooner, but that would mean alerting several other bodies if she ignored them.

SPOILER: Click to show

Spell name: Shadow Travel
Spell Main Element: Dark
-Spell Sub Elements: --
Affinity Strength: 3
Function: Allows a shadow mage to step into shadows and navigate through the darkness, exiting another shadow elsewhere. This aids in quick escapes or simple ease of travel.
Availability: Open

Spell name: Elemental Cut (Chaos)
Spell Main Element: Variable
-Spell Sub Elements: N/A
Affinity Strength: 4
Function: The user imbues and enhances their weapon with their primary element, providing different effects based on the element the weapon is imbued with.

Chaos: The weapon itself is solid, but it flickers a lot, appearing unstable. Strikes with the weapon have a chance to insight fear, confusion, and hysteria in the victim.

Spell name: Terrain Alteration
Spell Main Element: Arcane
-Spell Sub Elements: Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Lightning, Metal, Flora, Shadow, Light, Chaos,
Affinity Strength: 7
Function: The caster performs a spell, unleashing mana around them in a large area and modifying the local area with magic and turning it into an environment more suitable for them based on their main elements. The area now changed provides them with conditions and resources to manipulate that would otherwise might not be there in such a large amount. Combinations of this spell can happen with multiple mages in one sitting, changing the environment totally into a strange hybrid but cannot form multiple conditions from one mage. This spell uses up 5 mana per post after it has been activated to keep going.
Availability: Open

[Sparky]

    While the man was able to barely struggle out of the way of the slash and break free of the darkness, the woman was hit dead on. With the shadow grip dissipating, and the chaos magic taking root in her mind, the faunus broke into manic laughter. As Nocturne left, the woman launched herself at her companion, lightning sparking from her eyes. The man screamed, trying to shake her out of her insanity, but from the cries that escaped out of the tent, his pleas likely fell upon deaf ears. Lightning could be hear crashing from within.

    When the god found the leader within his tent, the man seemed tired. Angry. He was a massive wolf faunus, clad in heavy armor. Though he didn't know who it was that now came for him, he could plainly see the shadows that now invaded his room. Judging from the fact that only the sounds of his companions fighting could be heard, rather than a full camp of panic, he quickly pieced together that the assassin had dispatched his clan in some form or another. The faunus bared his fangs and growled. "Show yourself, coward."

SPOILER: Click to show

Enemy - HP Remaining
A- 50
B- 21 
Boss: 90

Spell name: Thundercrunch
Spell Main Element: Lightning
-Spell Sub Elements: N/A
Affinity Strength: 6
Function: focusing lightning mana throughout the body and requiring an open area to sprint through, the user coats themselves in pure lightning, bringing with them the concussive force of thunder as they rush forwards, shattering and crushing defenses in a straight line before in a reckless charge, during this the user is unable to change what direction they are moving but are surrounded by a wave of lightning and kinetic force
Availability: Open

[[God] - Nocturne]

Coward he said? A blade poked out from the shadows, accompanied with tendrils of darkness that sprung forth in an attempt to grab onto the wolf faunus. The blade itself poked out from just under his chin, aiming for the throat from below. Connected to the hilt was a taloned hand and then an arm covered in black fabric and then her face showed. It was almost as it it was in slow motion if the wolf faunus caught on to watch the god's details show as they phased back into the overworld.

As this was happening, the boy from before also found the inky blackness around him retreat. While he didn't feel the shadows push him out, he could see tendrils moving aside to reveal the clouded sky and a blackened ground. He was where she left him, left to his own devices. He could flee, he could fight with or against those he banded with, he could listen to her orders and stay put. That was up to him.

SPOILER: Click to show

Death's grip casted

[Sparky]

    As the boy came back into reality, he never thought he'd be so thankful to see grey skies and shitty, windy mountains. But he was. Now, while many parts of him wanted to do many different things, the goddess told him to stay put. If he didn't want to be punished, or hunted down, or anything of the sort- he'd stay put. So he did. He was still frightened and anxious, but he was being given a second chance. Every little thing made him jump. The sounds of lightning clashing with light could be faintly heard for the briefest of moments, but after that went quiet, a fellow voice quietly called out to the boy. 

    The one that'd run away. Equally shell-shocked, something had driven him back. Perhaps to see what had happened, or because he simply had nowhere else to go. Seeing the first sitting down, anxiously waiting, the second decided it... might be for the best and quietly sat down next to him. No words were exchanged between the boys. They both were too afraid to even cry. 

    Back in the main tent of the camp, the bandit leader found himself staring down a very, very angry god. Immediately it took all his gusto and all his rage out of his sails, ears flattening against his head in sheer terror as the shadows closed in around his massive body. He snarled, he whined, he thrashed, he yelled. Many different things. Curses. Obscenities. Utterances of pain. Only he didn't have time to really commit to anything specific as a blade came straight for his throat. Writhing in an attempt to dodge, he found himself simply unable. 

    Thankfully, though the goddesses aim was true, it didn't punch all the way through. Still, it was enough to have him spitting blood as a new gash was carved into his flesh. The faunus snarled once more and made an attempt to break free, only to fail miserably. With his arms bound, the physical fighter had nothing he could cast that might help. No ranged spells, nothing that could work. Those weaknesses were typically made up for when he was fighting with his lieutenants. Who, from the sounds of it, killed each other. Lovely. 

SPOILER: Click to show

Enemy - HP Remaining
Boss: 49

[[God] - Nocturne]

Nocturne was fully out of the shadows now. A read on his signature and a snarl glanced over her face. [smear:#ac75ff]"I SHOULD HAVE YOU HANGED."[/smear:#423159:1], she roared. This faunus lacked honours that came within the domain of war. Trampling the weak to attain power by fear was not a good representation of that domain. While she found Fenris to be absolutely distasteful at times, it was the following with misunderstood directions that more than angered her.

She's been around long enough that curses by whelps like these had no effect on her. It was all noise. With all the wiggling this poor dog could do while ensnared, it'd just make things worse for him. She grabbed his arm and drove her blade through the elbow, attempting to sever the man limb from limb as a payment for his atrocities. Might as well while he was still alive. While Nocturne had a nice and forgiving side, this man deserved none of it.

The cuts weren't simple rubbing a blade over the surface, it was a blunt hack into the body. Even if she missed, it was enough force to dent and crease his armour. This force was driven by raw fury.

[Sparky]

    The man howled in rage and agony as the shadows continued to close in, his armor creaking, groaning, and crunching inwards. While the goddess may not have been able to fully lop off the faunus's arm, her blade did manage to bite through the metal plating and sink into flesh. Blood poured from the wolf's jaws in a thick, red stream. He snarled as he felt darkness closing in from the corners of his vision. Even when using every ounce of strength he had, he couldn't break free. 

    "Say what you will, Night Witch. You're sly, underhanded ways will never be as glorious as Lord Fenris. You slink and sneak in the dark while we attain glory on the battlefield. Your kin are just as weak as those pitiful children you no doubt slaughtered with the rest of my men." His jowls drew back into a wicked grin. "Not like I wouldn't have done so myself. The weak perish, the strong thrive."

    "I hope you savor my death, 'Lady of Shadows'." He spat. "Because there will always be more like I."

SPOILER: Click to show

Enemy - HP Remaining
Boss: 6

[[God] - Nocturne]

His words seemed to bounce off her. What good were the words from a bitter wolf's maw if they fell apart when stitched with nothing but lies. Fenris could care less about beings like this in his name until they worked directly under him. Even then, he was only using Fenris' name for face. As any of their kind would. His mangled corpse would be left for Lord Incarnidine to judge further, she was just a mere start for this man's hell.

The goddess turned her back to him, letting his dying breath choke out harsh words as much as liked until he could only dribble blood instead of wasted air. The shadows gave one final squeeze and retracted back into the ground, violently twisting around the man and throwing apart his armour in a bloodied frenzy. She walked over to where she saw two boys there, taking a glance to one of the previous tents and finding the two struck each other and were collapsed on their killing blows. Good. Now to deal with the boy and the coward.

Her expression remained blank, an empty stare boring into both of them. [smear:#ac75ff]"I will give you two choices."[/smear:#423159:1], she said with a sigh. [smear:#ac75ff]"Repent or death."[/smear:#423159:1] Her blade tugged at her cloak slightly, the tip poking out from under it. She was still holding it, it wasn't sheathed, but it stayed alongside her leg. The factor that she was still holding onto it meant one thing, she would go through with her threat. The fear on their faces said more than enough they weren't going to try to fight her at all, unless they were extremely stupid. The choice was theirs. 

[Sparky]

    The boy that ran fell backwards, gazing up at the goddess in utter fear. The goddess had killed everyone in the camp, save for them. What right did they have to challenge a god when the most powerful man in the camp couldn't even make a dent? The boy that was already battered and bruised fought against his fear, standing infront of the coward. Even if he knew he couldn't fight her, some part of him was still loyal enough to try to protect his former comrade.

    He knew repenting was the best choice. For both of them. They were dumb kids who chased a stupid dream and got in way over their heads. But, even if he was going to, a question still lingered on his mind.

    "Wh... why did you spare me and not the other two...?"

[[God] - Nocturne]

For a brief moment, Nocturne seemed surprised. [smear:#ac75ff]"Were they not the ones harming you?"[/smear:#423159:1] She jumped to conclusions, but in her defense, mocking another for weakness didn't help their case. Though it was safe to say, she was by no means a hero. [smear:#ac75ff]"That is my mistake then. I will see to it personally they have a proper burial."[/smear:#423159:1] She stared at the two. [smear:#ac75ff]"I'll give you both a task. Take the item that is the known signature of the bandit leader here. Take it back to Avalon and turn it in to the Phoenix Guard. They will reward you for the bounty that rested on that man's head."[/smear:#423159:1], she said before walking over to the two bodies of the teenagers she murdered. Her steps were slower now that there wasn't a threat left in this place.

[Sparky]

    "N-no! It... it was the boss that did this. He... he did that to all of us, including them..." The young man frowned at the now lifeless corpses, his eyes shimmering. "We... didn't know what we were getting ourselves into. He just said that if we joined him, we could be strong like him. We didn't know..." 

    The other boy slowly attempted to climb to his feet once Nocturne turned away, and the bruised boy helped him. When the god told them to take a signature directly to the phoenix guard in Avalon to claim a bounty, they shared an uneasy look. "Are... are you sure...?"

[[God] - Nocturne]

[smear:#ac75ff]"Strength comes from building up your comrades, regardless of rank. One who whips others into submission is no leader, and lack the skills to lead properly. His ranks would break if he accumulated enough that tired of his abuse."[/smear:#423159:1], she said. Nocturne crouched and looked over the bodies. Leaving them alive remained unpredictable. Perhaps this was the safest route for her, not necessarily for them. Shadows enveloped all corpses but the wolf man, they'd be buried somewhere less dreary, somewhere unconnected to that failure of a leader.

She got up and faced the two again. [smear:#ac75ff]"I care not for the loot bounties provide."[/smear:#423159:1], she said while making her way to the tent with a silver and gold book. [smear:#ac75ff]"What need would I have for such things they provide for others?"[/smear:#423159:1] She stepped into the tent only to pick up the book and walk back out to regroup with the two boys. She idly flipped it open, just to skim through its pages. If intrigued enough, she'd give a more thorough read later. [smear:#ac75ff]"If you truly seek to redeem yourself, do not stray into the life of a bandit. Seek more honourable means of living."[/smear:#423159:1]

[Sparky]

    The book she found was lovingly gilded with edges lined with gold. While it wasn't an extraordinarily rare tome, it was definitely close. Surprisingly enough, it was a genuinely detailed accumulation of mythos regarding the Sun and Moon. Many of the tales weren't ones commonly heard. 

     Exchanging an uneasy glance between them, the two boys didn't argue with the goddess, quietly slinking by her. The one that had fled clung to the bruised boy for dear life, as though the second he let go, Nocturne would take him and leave him like the rest. The bruised boy paused at the entrance of the main tent, looking towards the Goddess with his only good eye. Truth be told, he didn't know if they would even be able to make it to the capital, but even surviving a few more days was better than being torn to pieces right now.

    Trauma aside, neither planned on wasting the second chance they'd been given. 

[[God] - Nocturne]

Almost as if catching his glance while she was leafing through the pages of the book, Nocturne spoke a reply. [smear:#ac75ff]"The fallen aside from him, I'll bury later in a better place than here. If need be, I can escort the both of you back to a nearby village and pay a carriage driver for the rest of the trip back."[/smear:#423159:1] It was the least she could do to compensate for their condition. Besides, for them to take the glory of the bounty, it probably seems more fitting for them to look so fearful and battered as they were. It sold the image that they struggled against this man, and there were no definite faces other than a wolf faunus' on the bounty. Perhaps the bounty giver wouldn't even recognise them either.

[Sparky]

    The frightful boy continued to cling to his compatriot, but as he moved, the bruised one seemed to pick up a bit more of his courage back. The young man opened his mouth, but stopped and simply gave the goddess a slow, nod. "I'd-... we'd appreciate that very much..." He whispered, casting his gaze down slightly. 

    He didn't know who posted the bounty. What rewards they offered. This was the first time the bruised boy had actually seen a true fight. Perhaps if he's been unlucky enough to actually stay with the bandit group for longer, he would have had that experience? Perhaps that would have put him on the chopping block as well? He shuddered to think about that as he braved the gore of the fallen bandit leader to grab one of his personal effects. When both boys were back out of the tent, they were gasping for air, shaken by the scent of blood.