Rider leaped backwards, bringing his shield down at an angle to absorb Ira’s blast, the cataclysmic force flowing into his shield even as he landed, his greaves furrowing into the concrete as the force pushed him back. Focusing on Ira and the approaching cavalry, he watched as Ira alone disappeared, and for a split second felt hesitation at which part to focus on. Something that almost cost him.
A ghostly howl echoed out as Revenant appeared once again in the world, all flesh missing as the spirit of the loyal wolf forced itself from oblivion with his own will, to stand with his rider at the end of the fight. Appearing behind Rider just as the Servant’s helmet formed again, the wolf’s paws flash out, knocking Ira’s spears away even as the very touch of the weapon burnt the wolf.
Feeling a grin as wide as his jaw come to light upon his nonexistent face, Rider focused entirely upon the approaching cavalry, placing his trust fully within his partner as the two began to work in tandem.
Rider swung his shield, shattering the body of both ethereal mount and rider even as Revenant leaped over him, crashing down on top of another cavalryman. Rider continued with his swing, coming low and with force at Ira.
Whilst Rider and Revenant tore into the charging ethereal cavalry, Ira’s would-be attack froze before he had a chance to strike as he sensed a flare of magic shooting his way, accompanied by a loud crack. Spinning in the air, he jerked one of his lances up in a blur, and unleashed an arc of golden light that met the incoming hex despite its speed. The magic shattered as the energy impacted it, but despite the rune not meeting its mark, its distraction had proved useful.
Before he had a chance to turn back, Magnan’s shield slammed into Ira’s side. He let out a cry of pain as the blow struck true - even as gold light flared at the impact point protectively - and he was catapulted away by the force. His wings spread wide to catch him mid-flight, and he spun in the air, righting himself and landing with a skid along the concrete. Gold shimmered at the impact point where the shield had hit him, as he drew on more mana to regenerate the injury with a grimace, but he was far from broken.
There was a moment’s pause as he steadied himself, but no longer, and with a snarl he launched himself forwards again, vanishing in a flash of gold. He reappeared an instant later, even as Magnan was wheeling around to face him, and lunged forwards again with his own weapon, driving the point towards Magnan’s chest.
Magnan’s body cleared the way as the weight of Revenant pushes him down and clear, the wolf leaping forward as he used his master as a springboard. The titanic hound aimed to land atop Ira’s wings, just as Rider hunched his shoulders and turned his dodge into charge, shield forward and aiming to send Ira flying like a baseball.
Ira let the momentum of his spear thrust carry him forwards, ducking beneath Revenant as the leaping hound attempted to bear down on top of him. As he did, he spun on the heel of one foot, and was able to jump backwards just far enough to let Rider’s charge pass him by. Mid-leap, he drew back one of his spears and with a yell of effort, launched it in an overhand throw at the other servant’s retreating back. Once more he supplemented his own strength with a push of telekinetic force, and the weapon wreathed itself in fire - flying more like a ballista bolt than a javelin.
Magnan’s torso spun about, even as his body continued forward. His shield flashed as the spear impacted it, the flames being absorbed into the surface as Magnan grabbed the spear by the shaft and rotated once more, using the momentum to throw it back at Ira. Meanwhile, as Magnan’s legs wobbled due to not have a head to direct it and so continued forward, Revenant flashed past Ira. The wolf followed his rider, not intent on fighting alone. The only way to win this was through teamwork.
But by the time the wolf was passing him, Ira was already vanishing in a flash of gold. His spear disappeared in the same instant, and a split second later his body reformed directly in front of (behind? Skeletons were weird) Magnan’s path. Both his weapons were once more in hand, and he struck again, thrusting for Rider’s back.
Magnan’s body spun around again, but this time he was too slow as the spears pierced his body. Armour rent and tore as the artifacts pierced them and entered his essence within, pain lancing through Magnan. “And people say I’m stubborn.” He mutters as Revenant appeared behind Ira, aiming to swipe one skeletal paw against the back of the servant’s head whilst at the same time Magnan’s free hand snapped forward with a punch, the air cracking with the force of the blow.
Flinging himself down and to the side, Ira was barely able to clear the path of the two strikes as they brushed past where his head had been an instant before. As he moved, he tore his spears loose in a burst of golden flames, rending gouges in Rider’s armour where they pulled free. A swift beat of his wings kept him on his feet, skidding to the side rather than hitting the ground.
Rider watches as Ira speed away, his armour closing up as he used a portion of Ira’s attack to replenish himself. Cracking his neck, he begins to make his way backwards as his head spins 90 degrees. Behind him, the form of Revenant blurs and disappears as the wolf begins to pick up speed again.
It was a retreat that looked suspiciously like bait to Ira, but he wouldn’t gain any ground just by waiting around to see what happened. And so again, he blinked, his body vanishing and reforming behind and above the retreating knight. His spear was raised and ready to strike down at Mag’s neck, but so too was his body was tensed and ready to react to a waiting counterattack if and when it came.
And come it did. Before Ira’s spear was even halfway across, Magnan’s shield was plummeting towards him, the Servant not bothering to stop and slow down as he made his way slowly towards the end of the shipping container yard. Ira always went for roughly the same place. Even a monkey could figure it out after seeing it so many times. The problem had been figuring out a way to deal with it. But he thought he had his answer now.
Ira was gone again before the shield struck home, his anticipation paying off in allowing him to react quickly enough to disperse away from the strike. He reappeared again off to Mag’s side, but didn’t stay there any longer. The third time he reappeared directly over the knight’s head, aiming to strike downwards. But before he could do so, the body of Revenant blurred forward, a trail of blue light following him as the wolf disappeared and materialised next to Ira at a breakneck pace.
The wolf slammed into Ira’s side, the other servant
just barely twisting around enough to bring his spears up defensively. He growled as the skeletal wolf’s claws dug in, but didn’t allow himself to hit the ground before retaliating. He snapped his wings out, halting their momentum with forceful abruptness, and swept his spears outwards in an arc from where they were holding the undead wolf at bay. As he did, an arc of golden energy slashed outwards from them and into Revenant,
The wolf let out an ethereal yelp as he was struck, the blue ethereal light pooling as the energy clashed with it, sending the animal skidding along the ground. Below them, still marching backwards, Magnan continued with his shield swing towards Ira with full intent to break his spine.
Ira’s eyes snapped to the incoming shield, and before it struck, he was gone again. This time when he reappeared it was unarmed, but much closer to his opponent than usual. He reformed practically latched onto Magnan’s back, hands snapping out to grab hold of the other servant’s helm. As he did, he unleashed a torrent of golden flames from his palms, aiming to consume Rider’s entire head with the searing energy.
“The armour isn’t for show.” Came the deathrattle voice of Magnan as his arm snapped backwards, his free fist coming in for a punch on Ira even as Magnan focused his armour’s essence upon his helmet, the metal slagging and repairing at the same rate as he continued to march back. The duo had now left the arena of containers, and were nearing the warehouse at the end of the yard where Jannik had formerly been, before Revenant had been sent to clear him out.
Ira swerved to the side away from the punch, but didn’t overstay his welcome to receive a second, pushing himself off of Magnan and sweeping his wings back to propel himself away. He landed back in the direction of the shipping yard’s centre, summoning his spears again and flashing a grin. “Leaving so soon?” he quipped. “Where we marching to, big guy?”
“Come and find out.” Magnan rumbles as he stops a few metres from his warehouse. His shield cracked the concrete where he placed it as the servant took the momentary respite from the onslaught to begin regaining energy and regenerating. That wispy blue light came from numerous cracks in his armour, and flesh began to slowly materialise on Revenant by his side.
“You want me to follow you into the big, expansive building that you came out of, that your master’s been popping in and out of since you got here?” Ira quirked an eyebrow. “C’mon, I know us pretty people have a reputation, but I’m not that dumb.”
He paused, then, to send a message down to Thomas. ‘Big guy’s trying to get me to the warehouse. You’ll need to move up if I decide to follow, but is there any chance you can tell what kind of lovely surprise is waiting for me in there? Or are we both guessing for the foreseeable future?’
“I’m not sure about that Ira. You fucked with my dog. Kings knew not to do that.” Magnan snaps off a reply, a growl coming from the wulgar to his side.
