Black Kings Event: Challenger's Ambition

The master had spoken...

Basil flew through the air cutting through the Zouen skies propelled by gravity magic. "Tch..." The black magi sucked his teeth in frustration as he looked down at the case he'd been given. Inside were the instruments of this worlds destruction, but so far he'd had little luck in finding worthy candidates to wield them. Basil could not afford another failure as he'd already wasted three dungeons on men who could not be willed to follow "The Organization's" designs. The dark metal vessels he was carrying were seeped in black rukh and, from what he understood, would dye the soul of their users in depravity. But it wouldn't do to simply hand them over to anyone.

The rulers of the many countries were powerful enough to be strong choices, but they had the iron will to reign over countless people. This would make them hard to control. No, Basil would need to choose a king that was raw and unpolished, yet brimming with potential. A gem in the rough would do, even if they called the despicable white ruhk to their side. These corrupted vessels would see to it that only the black harbingers of chaos would flutter around them in time.

"I've been flying around this blasted country for days...There's got to be someone around worth my time..." The youth said through a frustrated expression as he continued his search. Thankfully he would not have to search for much longer...

After Lagi went back to the small hut to see how Liam was doing, he noticed that the hut was n flames. “What?! No!!! Liam!” Lagi ran over to the hut, he could see Liam’s own Metal bird hovering over him, the pitched sound it was emitting was full of sadness. Lag walked over and and checked pulse, it was fairly weak. “What’s going on?! Liam! Wake up!” Liam weakly opened his eyes and began to utter a few simple words. “ The Nagi Orai…” This was very surprising, why was the Nagi Orai here? Why did they attack Liam? “Liam, why did they come for you?”  Liam coughed up a little bit of blood as he shook his head. “I’m sorry I have to tell you this. Roark sent me to kill you, I reluctantly agreed. But deep down inside, I didn’t want to. You were so kind hearted,  I didn’t want this reoccurring hatred to consume you. You’re better than that, and I know that you have the potential to be great. You can be a better leader than your father; you can find your own legend beast. “ Lagi was silent for the entire time, he was holding himself back to randomly lashing out in anger towards the fact that he wasn’t there. He failed once more; his father put one of his mentors against him. His father tried to force his friend to kill him, and he didn’t take this lightly. “Lagi, I was also on a mission to recover the Rukh Compass that can point the way to El Drago. When I didn’t return, the Orai was also sent to retrieve them. Catch up with them; we can’t let the clan have possession of El Drago. We can’t let history repeat itself, I’ll be fine.”

Lagi slowly gets up and hops on Zygus. “Ill be back for you, try to stay alive. “ However, he knew that there were plenty of main arteries that were damaged. Lagi wasn’t too sure if Liam would live, and the only thing that Lagi had from within himself was a great source of regret.  Zygus flew at top speed, dong his best to catch up to the Nagi Orai. “Keep going Zygus!  I think I see them!”   Lagi’s killing intent could practically be felt from a mile away; it was a true El Nagi character trait that was beginning to show. Having his bow in hand, Lagi would be dammed if he would let them take advantage of him any longer. “The compass!!! Now!!!”


*Didnt really know how to reply but ok,did my best*

The Nagi Orai were moving at a casual pace having believed that their mission was already completed. This complacency allowed Lagi to catch up, however it did not extend so far that the elite group did not notice their pursuer. It would have been impossible for their leader, Kohai, to not feel the killing intent that Lagi was producing as he spotted their group. The man simply held up a hand indicating that his unit should halt before turning around to face the incoming threat. There was no need to panic, no need to get prepared. The Nagi Orai was not a group of weaklings that had to worry about the emotional out bursts of a vengeance seeking boy. Even as Lagi approached within attacking distance the Nagi Orai simply stood at attention awaiting the orders of their leader.

The Ronin Bug perched upon Kohai's shoulder shifted slightly and then twitched once...twice...only twice. It had a habit of getting restless depending on how strong their opponents were and two twitches was hardly a danger equivalent to a random wild beast attacking. Kohai evaluated Lagi as nothing more than a minor weakling baring its fangs for no good reason. There was no sign that the assassin even recognized Lagi as a member of the El Nagi clan or someone he'd ever seen before. So for now Kohai was treating this as a meeting of strangers under the assumption that Lagi was simply a friend of Liam upset over what had just happened.

There was no answer, they wasn’t even taking Lagi seriously. However, it’s that same underestimation that would prove to be their downfall. Lagi recognized the pet that was on the leader’s shoulder, it was a symbiotic class pet. On top of it being a Ronin bug, he knows that it could only belong to Kohai, his father’s lap dog. “Kohai…” Zygus was flying at the new base speed of 10 m/s, he was able to close the distance from 30 meters, to  10 meters due to his constant motion and the fact that the Nagi Orai has ceased their movement.  Two seconds was a grace period,  and  Lagi’s violent intent was not to be trifled with. The current lax nature of the Nagi Orai towards the appearance of Lagi was slightly infuriating, but they wouldn’t even realize just how prepared Lagi was for this altercation.

Lagi’s particular style of archery was called the Yabusame style; it involved great precision with an individual’s shots while they were mounted on an animal.  The animal’s actions and coordination was sent through a series of slight movements that Lagi made with his knees, and the method was even more versatile due to Zygus’s intelligence in emergency situations. With that being said, Lagi is able to efficiently fire from his bow while he rode on Zygus, no matter how unorthodox the evasive movements was. After covering the first ten meters, lagi pulled back his bow string. The second ten meter coverage was met with his bow string’s release.  As for an even further description of the actual attack, Lagi’s bow of heaven had a unique function of firing holy arrows. Instead of drawing arrows from a particular holder, the fundamentals have been broken down to simply pulling the sting back and letting it go. The action of pulling the string back was met with the creation of the holy arrow, and the release itself. As a result, a single holy arrow would be launched at the speed of 20 m/s to a range of 30 meters, with only a 10 meter coverage to factor in.  The arrow had the capabilities of dealing B tier damage upon impact in the form of second degree burns, and it was aimed at Kohai’s left thigh. Lagi wasn’t going to waste any time, the Nagi Orai were among the famed when it came to their assassination abilities.  Lagi wanted to cripple him; the loss of use towards Kohai’s legs can give lagi a better fighting chance.  Zygus remained attentive, his eyes and ears were on full alert.

*I think Magi is used up here*

195/200

Abilities used

Spoiler:

OOC Reasoning:

Spoiler:

Even though Kohai seemed motionless, the Ronin bug paid close attention to the movements of the enemy. Its observation was impeccable; it’s the nature of the Ronin bug to be mindful of all surroundings. With the small generation of light that was coming from the bow, an already established hive mind mentality was alerting Kohai of the incoming attack. Even though his back was turned, his passive stance was abnormal. It was a readying position of a decisive blow; Kohai was prepared to counter attack. His Kunai was always in hand, he is never unarmed at any given time. With a quick turnaround, Kohai just barely clashed with the holy arrow along his Kunai knife at full strength. Counting in the awareness of his Ronin bug with the mental information that was shared about the particular chance of danger, his agile movements proved to suffice. At full strength, Kohai could achieve B rank strength with his weapon, effectively canceling out the arrow. It was a good thing that the arrow was only fired once, the circumference of whole bodily movement paid off as long as wasn’t going outside his own personal reach. However, close calls are not without its penalties, for Kohai did take D rank damage at the targeted area. He dusts himself off and folds his arms, unimpressed at the boys attack. “Please spare me the pleasantries, the small drips of pain are a well enough hello already. Perhaps I should return the favor?

Lagi actually stopped a few meters short away from Kohai (5 Meter Difference), close quarters was not his strong suit. He lacked a weapon and any know practice of close quarters, Kohai would eliminate him with ease. “Kohai! Why did you attack Liam for the compass, you know he would of cooperated if you simply asked him for it! You didn’t have to kill him!” The Nagi Orai laughed at the emotional outburst of Lagi, right until Kohai started to speak again. As soon as the sound of Kohai’s voice was among the Orai, the rest of the group remained silent immediately. “He’s not dead, and he’s not your friend. Did you think that watching you grow up offered you brownie points? We are all at Roark’s beck and call, and those who don’t listen are simply punished. With that beating we gave Roark, he will return to Reim like a good little worker bee, like he was told to do. All of this pain and suffering wouldn’t have happened to him if it wasn’t for you, this is your entire fault. This is your entire fault for being a failure, being Roarks only son with no talent should be a sin. Tell me Lagi, we all know you won’t amount to anything. The question is, why haven’t you killed yourself yet? Could it be that you found hope? If so….” Kohai takes a readying stance, preparing himself for battle. His sharp words were like swords that were repeatedly stabbed into lagi’s heart. “That’s just another thing I’ll have to take from you…”


OOC Reasoning For Roark

Spoiler:

Lagi

There was too much to anticipate from one given point, riding on Zygus as an advantage and a disadvantage at the same time. Kohai was a well-trained mercenary of the El Nagi group, every noticeable aspect of Lagi’s attacks was to come from Zygus, as well as Zygus’s own independent moves. There wasn’t too much to think about, he needed to confuse his foe with an unpredictable plan of attack. Lagi actually jumped off of his bird and took an archer combat position of his own, the same meter length away from Kohai. He decided to play into Kohai’s pride and ensure that he was the only one to expect retaliation from; taking on the entire Nagi Oeai was practically suicide without a plan. “Fine then, one on one. Since you’re so much better than me, take me on alone then!” During that small dialogue, Zygus was shedding some of his metallic feathers in order for him to get even lighter. This would have been a two second process of loosening the metallic feathers that resided onto Zygus’s body, and the actual detachment.  This would increase the speed of Zyus and make him on par with Kohai. Zygus went ahead for an attempted dive-bombs to injure Kohai with his talons.

The field presence of Zygus was massive, anything 5 meters and bigger was to attract some attention. Lagi would hope that would prove a big enough description as Lagi pulled back the string and attempted to fire another arrow at kohai, that would move at b rank speed and do b rank damage.  

Abilities used

Spoiler:

Lagi- 170/200

Kohai-

“Fine!” It was a simple request; Kohai didn’t need anyone to help him with his battles. He was feared and respected; his skills were more than enough for him. With plenty of experience, Kohai had observed his surroundings quite well and figured out a plan of attack.  His Ronin bug was eying Zygus and twitched, sending information to Kohai about the abnormal loosening of Zygus’s feathers.  While the Ronin Bug was watching Zygus, Kohai was watching Lagi.  At the basic C rank speed he moved, he cleared the distance between them from 15 meters, making the distance between him, Nagi and Zygus by 20 meters.  During that backstep, Kohai threw a kunai knife Right at Lagi’s hand. While he took out another Kunai knife to use, it was around that time that Zygus decided to dive-bomb with a mid-range Ariel assault.  The Ronin bug had that front covered, because it surprisingly emitted a tar like goop that Zygus ran straight into! This was a surprising form of action since Lagi or Zygus wasn’t aware of the capabilities that a ronin bug possessed, much alone a symbiotic class creature.

Spoiler:

Second Calculation

Spoiler:

As soon as Lagi pulled back his bow strong, his left hand was met with sharp pain of c rank damage. It went halfway through the hand and caused Lagi to drop his bow and wince in pain. Guhh!” He quickly took his sash and tied round his hand to apply pressure. There was no time for quick fix right now, his life was on the line. Lagi pulled the knot with his teeth to secure the wound for the time being, the sash served as a small bandage. It was a total of five seconds. Zygus tried to pull up as soon as he took notice of the tar like substance, but it was too late. Everything but his head was covered by the tar like goo, it wiggled and squeaked as Kohi give it two sharp kicks at C rank strength and speed. “Not soo tough now are ya? “Kohai then turns Lagi who was making slow movements towards his bow. “Going to watch me as I kill your friend? Wouldn’t make a difference if you were there or not for what I did to Liam if that’s the case, you would have been useless!”

Lagi grunted, Zygus was tied up and he was losing a lot of blood. Kohai Kicked Zygus once more and LAgi screamed out. “Stop!” Lagi picked up the bow and rushed towards Kohai head on. “Amauter.” Kohai Gave Lagi a powerful gut punch, possibly fracturing one of the ribs on the right side. Lagi slid on the floor back 20 meters and fell to one knee. But he still attempted to aim at Kohai“…” Kohai placed one foot on Zygus as if the bird was a trophy. “You fool….” Suddenly, Zygus gave a startling shriek head on in Kohai’s ears. Even the ronin bug was disorientated. That scream was to cause immediate deafness for a few minutes; the surprise actually caused Kohai to hold his ears in a brief moment. Lagi took that time to pick up his bow and fire off an arrow heading straight for Kohai’s chest.

Abilities used

Spoiler:

Damage calculation:

Spoiler:

The final attack of the exchange would never meet its mark, however both combatants would find themselves defeated. At the last moment a swirling ball of light and power descended upon the battlefield precisely in the middle of Lagi and Kouhai only to erupt into a destructive blast of steam, heat, raw force, and light. Aberrant magic. A spell so advanced few magician's alive could even fathom attempting to cast it. The force of this spell would send both fighters and their beasts flying several meters from each other with more than enough power behind the shock wave to render them both unconscious assuming the painful crashing of their bodies against the earth after being blown away didn't do the job. The Nagi Ourai found themselves under attack from several more of these mysterious balls of destruction and their second in command rallied a retreat. Kohai's body was recovered along with his Ronin bug and the entire group escaped leaving Lagi to face whatever danger this was all alone.

A shimmer in the atmosphere appeared and then faded away revealing Basil floating in the air several meters above ground with his wand in one hand and the black obsidian chest containing metal vessels in the other. The look on his face was apathetic as he'd watched the entire encounter hidden by illusory magic and to be honest he'd found both side of the battle to be weaklings in comparison to himself. Although that wasn't a very fair comparison considering who he was exactly, a Magi. Still, the reasons why Basil intervened at all were purely due to the way the black rukh were dancing restlessly as if begging that he check those below for the qualities desired in the one he sought. Since all the others had run away that just left the loser and his strange metal bird to be weighed and measured for value.


Basil had taken Lagi and Zygus to a nearby cave where he performed life magic to keep them asleep and unconscious for a full day whilst using another spell to heal them of their wounds. When both were in top condition Basil broke the sleep spell and allowed both to awaken feeling like they'd just had a wonderful nights rest on the worlds most comfortable bed. Too bad they'd both be awakening on cold stone floors. Basil sat on a rock in front of them looking bored and not particularly expecting much of the man and his avian companion. "Yo~ Welcome back to the world of the living. Took you long enough..."

“Huh? What?” Lagi looked around, he didn’t know what to expect when he saw the dark cave. He then looked for his bow and his companion, they both were there. Zygus was actually nibbling on the bow a little bit, as if he was trying to get it to work.  Checking his arm, Lagi made sure that he had his Angelic brace as well. Everything he had with his was here. “Half past dead, and instead of robbing me, you heal my wounds? Is the world full of kind people like that anymore these days? Or maybe it’s just pity? “  Lagi whistled and  Zygus dropped the bow next to him. Lagi picks up the bow and brushes off the saliva.  “Lagi El Nagi, of the El nagi clan. “  Kohai and the others have probably escaped,  it didn’t matter though. Lagi was going to lose that fight, he was lucky if anything. “I owe you my life, but having the owed life of a failure  could be bit unfortunate for you. “ Maybe everyone from the clan was right, Lagi wasn’t good enough.  Due to the fact that he was weak, being born was also a sin now.  Why couldn’t he be like Zadi? If he was, he would have the power. “Why wasn’t I picked? Why can’t I be me?”

There was a sour look on the Magi's face but it got a bit worse when Lagi suggested that he'd been saved out of kindness. It was an unmistakable expression of disgust however it only lasted a moment so brief it would not be surprising if Lagi had missed it. There was always a reason for why people did things and that reason was always rooted in self interest. At least that was what Basil thought. The naivety of Lagi's comment was just like the willing denial of the world that people mindlessly accepted. It was the heart of what Basil sought to tear apart and destroy. Thankfully the youthful magi of darkness managed to suppress this hatred and kept a calm composure as he watched the man and his strange metallic bird without saying a word. They both seemed to be simple minded, drowning in the "lie" of supposed care for each other. Perhaps Basil had chosen the wrong beaten fighter to bestow power upon...Then the words came.

“I owe you my life, but having the owed life of a failure could be bit unfortunate for you.“

Those were the words Basil had been waiting to hear. They spoke of Lagi's inner darkness based in self doubt and likely from outside persecution as well. Basil finally smiled as he saw a chance to sink his fangs into this stranger's heart, "You're right, I don't want you to owe me something that has no value. So how 'bout we make your life into something with "value"...Are you interested in power?" Basil then stood and walked past Lagi and Zygus to the black chest the magi had been carrying. The chest was sitting at the back of the cave where light seemed afraid to venture. Basil then pivoted on his heel to face Lagi, "The kind of power that can topple kingdoms and rule over the entire world?"

Lagi was speechless, this man knew of such power. He only thought that El Drago was capable of such a power. “You have something like that? Something like that exists in that box? “Lagi stared at the box; this was almost too good to be true. Was there something in that box that could make him even stronger, stronger than his father? The pained flashbacks of weakness started to come at a time; rejection was the peak of it all. His father rejected him, Vassago didn’t pick him, it’s like no one wanted him. Was there a destiny, for Lagi. If there wasn’t, then everything would have been led up to fate. If that’s the case, then he would have to take a chance. “Burr…” Zygus whimpered, which was most likely a sign of caution of concern. There was definitely something about that box, but it didn’t matter to Lagi.

That power could be used to catch El Drago as his own, have a Kingdom of his own, and defeat anyone who dared to oppose him. He was going to make something of himself, and his ambition held no limitation. It’s because of his past starvation, the hunger for self-importance and reason of life. Could it be? Could it be that he could actually become someone great? “I’m interested… i…” There were plenty of emotions. Lagi was a kindhearted soul, but he was at the end of his rope. He didn’t know what he had to do to get his hands on that power, and he was afraid to lose his sense of self. But this tradeoff only comes once in a lifetime if it’s true. “I need this….. “ The truth came out; it wasn’t based off of simple desires, this was an opportunity to turn his life around.

It was painfully clear now that these two were under the influence of the despicable white ruhk but none of that would matter soon. The response of the unusual stygian bird was rightfully wary of the power Basil was pitching. However its human companion's eyes were already gleaming with desire. That emotion would become a powerful medium for the dark metal vessel to use when dyeing Lagi's rukh pitch black. The question was not whether or not the beast tamer would fall into depravity but rather how long it would take just so long as he made the first stop towards that end here and now. The magician drew closer to the chest and opened the obsidian container to reveal a set of well polished black metal objects. A flock of black ruhk fluttered from the dark chest as it opened and filled the cave with a fluttering storm which Lagi and Zygus could not see, but rather felt instead as an atmosphere of uneasiness.

"Then reach for one of these Dark Metal Vessels and you can have power equal to that of a Dungeon Conqueror. The power to topple the world is here at your fingertips...all you need to do is pick one and feed it your power. The vessel will do all the rest..."

The smile on Basil's face had almost turned into a full grin as he watched the hungry look on Lagi's face. There was no doubt in the Magi's mind that he had found his first candidate. Basil could only hope that Lagi was the right kind of person to be compatible with the dark metal vessels. Then again, even if he weren't...Basil could always just kill him.

"Now then, spite the world that cursed you to live as a weakling! Cast your fate aside and take the power to carve your own will unto the world!"

((Ok, so now you need to fall into depravity by allowing the metal vessel you pick to dye your ruhk black. The black ruhk will try to make you relive your worst experiences in order to lead you towards ONE objective. Cursing your own fate. Once you do, the black ruhk will subside and you will possess the ability to use your basic weapon equip.))

The change of scenery was something to behold, there was definitely something sinister about the contents of this box. However, Lagi continued to press forward, moving closer to the box. “….” He would stick his hand in the box, as simply as if he was waiting to be chosen by something. To see if there was a sign that there could be some greater power out there that could find some worth of him. After searching around the box, Lagi came across a bracelet that latched itself onto his wrist. However, there came a great pain with it. “Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!” Lagi came to his knees, the memories were unbearable.

IT all started off when he was a kid; he was only trying to be as nice as possible. However, his father didn’t like that. There was a dark and scary box, it was small and there was hardly any space for him to move. Lagi was constantly put there in that dark box; there was no salvation for this child. This child was surrounded by darkness so much. It seemed that he was bathing in it. Tears fell down Lagi’s eyes as he watched his younger self groan in pain and in depression, defecating himself and nearly starving. His own family allowed him to dwell in his own shit!” Guhh” It hurt, it to remember, but it didn’t stop there.

Lagi was kicked out of the clan when he didn’t show any progress, the only person that he had was his bird. However, he still felt lonely, he still felt hollow inside. That’s why he started cooking, learning things to make himself important, or doing things to make himself relevant. The truth was staring it right in front of his face. He wasn’t doing any of these good deeds for the sake of Kindness, he was doing them all for himself. It was all for his own sake, and nothing else mattered. “I was truly selfish….”

Here it was, The Vassago Siege. The one memory that didn’t get old, Lagi was practically used as a distraction while Zadi took care of everything. It was either Lagi was useless, or his original purpose was to serve as a distraction. On top of that, Zadi’s pet was gravely injured; there was nothing that Lagi could do about it. How could he call himself an expert on animals if he couldn’t even help his friend’s partner? The icing on the cake was when Zadi was seen as worthy by the Djinn. Lagi never admitted it, but he was jealous. He wanted someone to tell him that he was worthy of something, some kind of praise. Even if it was Just once, even if it was a lie, but that never happened. “ I was weak…. Im sorry…. I-“

Finally, the memory of Liam. One of the senior members of the clan that looked out for him was beaten with an inch of his life, just because he refused to kill lagi. Liam helped him, taught him meditation, gave him a scroll to show him archery. Kindness was returned with evil, there was no justice or karma to rectify this. Any kind of vengeance that Lagi attempted failed…. That was his entire life…. He failed…and he failed…and he…..”No….” That can’t be right, it wasn’t lagi that failed. The world failed him, why would fate give him such a cruel life. Lagi cursed everything; he cursed his fate...and his Rukh changed drop day to night. The pain was beginning to subside, but Lagi didn’t feel the same anymore. “….” This new found emptiness left a hunger. It was a hunger for change, a hunger for glory.

Basil watched with interest as this was honestly his first time seeing the dark metal vessels at work. As a Magi he would be able to see the storm of black birds gathering in the cave as they entered Lagi's body and began tugging out all his doubts and desires to be used as fuel for the process. "So this is what it looks like when one falls from Solomon's grace..." The dark magician said to himself as he felt his own ruhk stirring in response to all the black energy present. It made him feel strong, like he was alive for the first time in a long time. Basil's heart raced as his eyes took in the advent of a new age. The age of the black kings. There was nothing that would have please his master more which meant Basil had redeemed himself of his past failures.

At least...that was the hope. There was no telling how this man writhing in a torrent of black ruhk and negative memories would act once the transformation was complete. The dark eyes of the black Magi gazed upon Lagi as the ruhk subsided and grinned when he saw the look on the man's face. It was clearly the face of one whom had fallen to depravity. So far it seemed like this first experiment had been a success. "Now then, rise as a Black King and be reborn from that weakling you used to be." There was a clear tone of excitement in Basil's voice as he closed the obsidian chest and lifted it into the air with gravity magic. The young man began to leave the cave with the chest in tow and seemed to be leaving just like that without any explanation or further words. Basil was focused on getting another black king into the fold and nothing else, but if Lagi stopped him to ask questions, Basil would have time to delay his departure to answer them.

“I…”  Lagi didn’t really know what to do with himself now.  He looked back at his bracelet and uttered a single name. “Baelk.” It was the name of the power that rested within the contents of his metal vessel.   Things till seemed a bit confusing to Lagi,  but the mysterious man was starting to leave. “Wait!” The man was leaving, Lagi had to think fast. “Zygus!” Zygus rushed forward at 10 M/S as Lagi jumped on, he then hovered near the magician. “Wait, were still not even. Not even with this…” This power was great, but Lagi still felt some kind of obligation towards the  man. The questions seemed to fall out, but Lagi didn’t want  to waste any time by asking things that didn’t matter.  He was a Black King now. This wasn’t self-imposed royalty, this was a title that was granted to him. He should do what all kings do, make a country for himself and rule. “How do I master this weapon?  Who are you?   And how do I settle this debt I have with you?”

OOC: I tried asking the right questions

Basil stopped as Lagi called out to him and turned around to face the Black King. The black Magi took a knee as sign respect towards Lagi's royal status albeit only did so as an empty farce to play on the man's thoughts and feelings, "Few things in this world are ever balanced or even my king..." Basil said with a smirk before listening to a string of questions flow from the beast tamer's lips. Each question made sense but they would garner mixed answers. First was the matter of how to use the dark metal vessel. "The Black Djinn inside the metal vessel will feed off of your magoi. Send energy into it's vessel and it will respond in kind by producing magic. If you learn how to condense more power into the weapon then it has the potential to clad your whole body in a dark Djinn Equip. Finally, if you stab the weapon into yourself the Black Djinn will merge with your body turning you into the ultimate living weapon."

Basil stood from his kneeling and ended his explanation by pointing at Lagi to make it clear that Basil was speaking of a power HE now held. The finger then turned to point towards the Magi himself, "As for who I am, I am Basil a Magi in service of the truth behind this world. That is all you need to know. If you feel indebted to me than simply do what you wish with the power I've given you and become truly strong. There may come a time when I ask something of you, but until then you're free to forget we ever even met." The Magi waved his hand to gesture as if waving away the memories of this day would really be such a simple prospect before turning away and starting to fly upwards. "This is where we part ways, Black King, the wheels of fate will keep on turning no matter what you do. The questions is, how will you steer them now that you have the power required to take the reigns?"

Lagi was a bit taken back at the actions of the mysterious magi. He had just given him power, and showed some tremendous force from when Lagi was fighting the Nagi Orai, and yet he bowed to him? He just bowed to Lagi, and announced kingship upon him, it was too good to be true. However, it may be the case if Lagi was to sacrifice all of the good in his heart for the sake of power. The current feeling that he use to have towards others were practically null and void. It was only replaced with the feelings of obligation, pride, ambition, and competence. Everyone in this world served a purpose, and everything in this world serves a purpose just the same.  The mysterious magician then went into a brief explanation as to how the Dark Metal Vessel worked. Lagi was supposed to feed it his Magoi, and it’ll produce magic in response. With enough practice Lagi would hope to understand the secrets of this item, and the kind of magic that he would have access to upon being the new owner of it. It was all too soon and immediate, but Lagi finally got what he wanted all along. He was a king, and he wasn’t about to let anyone stand in his way.

Then the Mysterious Magi introduced himself as Basil. “Basil?  And you said you were a Magi? Isn’t a magi the only ones who choose the worthy?“ A wicked smile formed on Lagi’s face as soon as he learned that  Basil was a Magi, he’s one of the powerful individuals that bestows kingship upon people. This only meant to Lagi that his new destiny was legitimate, and that’s all that mattered. “So this truth in the world, does it have some it has something to do with the scales of power?  There are plenty of truths in the world; it’s just the fact that the truth instated by someone of great power is the only one that seems to matter. Its due to the force they have to back it up,  a strong desire that can move an entire country and its people willingly.” That’s what Lagi thought about the truth of this world. The truth was that it was nothing that the people of this world you don’t know. “The truth of power is that even someone as lowly and pathetic as me can be a king if given an even playing field, power is a superficial mechanism that individuals use to substitute their mortality for. Something that serves to boost their importance in the world, their desire for a sense of control.  But the truth is that these kings are nowhere near different than the slaves they own, they might even be more worthless than a slave. “ Due to the fact that Lagi understood that he fits this category as a man with power , and the fact that he was willing to admit it in front of the magi, only means that he wasn’t being controlled or consumed by the power.

It was a medium  that he was going to use to pursue his ideals, to rule his kingdom.  To answer Basil’s question, Lagi had his smile again. “The first thing that I’m going to do is take over the EL Nagi clan and find The Blightning El Drago. Start my new country; perhaps harass the people who think that they could take over any dungeons that show up in Reim. Nothing is going to go on in that city without me knowing anymore,  I don’t have any need for an unwanted nuisance I have no control over.  But I need to catch up with the Nagi Orai and grab hold of the Rukh compass; do you know how far they are?”  This was the new Lagi, he was now a man that lived for his own ideals.  This was going to be difficult, but the most important thing about obtaining power is to make the smart moves with it. Since the Magi had granted Lagi permission to do what he wanted, Lagi didn’t mind about speaking freely about his intentions. However, it’s not like Lagi needed permission to do whatever he wanted in the first place.

Black King- Servant To Duke / 707-3000

This new King didn't seem to catch the hint that Basil was departing and continued to try to hold a conversation with him even as he flew away.

“Basil?  And you said you were a Magi? Isn’t a magi the only ones who choose the worthy?“

Basil didn't know where Lagi had heard such a thing, but as far as he was concerned it was a silly concept. Basil was just following the orders of his master which just so happened to include finding people they deemed suitable for their plans. But never in his life did he think that it was his purpose to pick people for something. Sure, the twisted magician loved judging people, but he'd never met a single human he thought was even worthy of living on the same planet as he did.

Nevertheless, it was time for Basil to go and he left Lagi there to simply talk to himself as the question the black magi had posed was a rhetorical one more so meant for Lagi to think on rather than to respond to. The black rukh danced in the air around Basil gracefully as he used gravity magic to impose flight upon himself and the black box carrying them away at incredible speeds. The Magi was gone and any hope of gaining more answers with him. However a final gift could be seen if Lagi looked after Basil. The cave he'd brought Lagi too was near a cliff and one glance down the mountain would reveal an interesting view. Below, at the foot of the mountain, was the Nagi Orai camp. They were just starting to break things down before returning to their journey once more. Basil had carried Lagi and Zygus there specifically so he could have a chance to end what he had started before the Magi interrupted.

“Oh, Zygus.. he left…” It was now back to the two man team, or man and beast team. Lagi wanted to know more about Basil’s purpose and plans, but maybe that’s none of his business anyway. He had power, and now it was time to settle the score with the Nagi Orai. “As a matter of fact, isn’t that them?” Lagi would edge Zygus over to where the camp was, Zygus would sniff the air a few times before nodding. That settled it; it must be Kohai and his opposing group. Lagi grunted at the fact that he didn’t get a chance to finish his fight from before, he wondered how much time passed from the time he fought Kohai. If it was only a day, there might be an off chance that the injuries from before might hinder his mobility or performance during battle. It would be in Lagi’s best interest to attack now, but Lagi thought better of simply killing Kohai. It all makes sense when you realize that its fair game, Lagi was the son of Roark. That means that Lagi was next in line to take over the El Nagi clan if anything was to happen to his father. The Nagi orai was nothing but the elites that took orders from the head, and they always submitted towards a higher power from within the group. If that was the case, wouldn’t Lagi’s new-found kingship verify any doubts that they would have. Still, all of these assumptions would be meaningless if Kohai does not yield.
Zygus was flying very stealthily towards the camp, but their presence was probably known by now from Kohai’s Ronin bug. The symbiotic class animal definitely have a sensory ability that’s out of this world, it wouldn’t be a mistake to overanalyze the situation when it’s involving someone of great skill and resources. The current dreams of the El Nagi clan are null and void, is the simplicity of searching for power the only thing that’s on their minds? Lagi has also obtained power, but he learned a lot with the few minutes of obtaining his metal vessel. Simplistic ideals are things that holds you down, Lagi was going to try a different approach this time. After flying up near the Nagi Orai camp, Zygus made sure that he had 30 meter distance from the camp itself. That in itself was a safety precaution so that Lagi and Zygus would have a reasonable enough reaction time if anything was to occur. Lagi also had his bow in hand, kissing Baelk’s metal vessel for good luck and leading on with a devilish smile. His new power was also his new obsession. “Kohai! It’s about time that we finish things from before, don’t you think? We are actually not so different, just tools to be used and thrown away by my father. ” And there was the nail in the coffin, Lagi made sure to reveal himself in such a way so that Kohai would know for sure that he was here. He was ready to do battle, but this fight wasn’t about revenge as before, it was about control.

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Since the Nagi Orai were already in the process of packing up their gear there were sentries watching the perimeter with bows at the ready and arrows knocked. Lagi's brazen assault was met with a volley of flying steel as he drew attention to himself and the sentries loosed their arrow's. Every single shot would miss to Lagi's good fortune and Kohai emerged from his tent in time to order his men to stand down from firing another shot, "Hold! It looks like the failure has returned for another beating! Kohai was fully healed from their last encounter as well and the Ronin bug at his shoulder was twitching fiercely in response to Lagi's intent.

The shinobi-like warrior of the Nagi clan stood there with his arms crossed and shouted up in response to Lagi's taunt, "Ah, indeed! We ARE both tools. But you're a useless tool which was deemed more of a burden than a use. I've sent messenger birds to your father, our dear chief, and informed him that you're still alive! Would you like to hear what he had to say?" There was a grin on the man's face and his Ronin Bug began twitching eagerly in response to his elation. It was clear that Kohai was enjoying himself as he teased Lagi with word from his father.

"If you care, I've got his response right here. Come down here and follow me...Maybe I'll let you read it!" Kohai did not reach for his weapons and the order for his men to stand down remained. Would Lagi accept this offer or would he spit in the Nagi Orai leader's face?

Lagi kept his distance; he wasn’t falling for the bait. It was much safer to stay on top of Zygus, it doesn’t matter what their true intentions were. It was just the particular quirks of someone that wants to stay alive, and Lagi had a responsibility now. That’s right, Lagi was a king candidate now. He was going to surpass Zadi, his father, and anyone else that tried to get in his way. “A King like me has no need to humble himself to fallen mercenaries. You were once great, but now you’re dwindling. When my father gets rid of you as well, I bet you’ll rue the day you refused to join my side. I’ll make this easy for you to understand, become more than just a tool. Be one of the standing pillars of a new country!” Lagi knew that his words would slide off if he didn’t have the power to back up what he meant. “I was chosen by a Magi, I am now a King candidate. This leaves you with three options to be exact, they are fairly easy.”

Lagi was prepared to let the Nagi Orai know his true intentions were, he also knew how the system of the mercenary group was based on. Kohai was the head of the snake; his fall would break everyone apart. With that revelation, there comes a hint of sadness. They had been so blinded towards the fact that they can achieve greatness without following a leaders every command. However, this made Lagi secure his rule a lot more easier this way. The goal was to make the Nagi Orai fall in place, Kohai stands at the pinnacle for that. “ You can either hand over the Rukh Compass and we can go our separate ways until I come back to the village with El Drago. Or you can all work under me as I continue on my quest in founding a new world order. As for the third choice, it seems to be something up to your speed and preference. If you won’t give me you’re your loyalty willingly, I’ll just have to take it from you. Kohai…..”

Lagi spoke loud and clear with confidence, there was no room for weakness if he was going to be a king. “ Kohai, I challenge you for the leadership of the Nagi Orai. If win, you and all of your members will submit to me and my commands over my father. However, if I was to lose. “ Lagi then reaches over to his pocket and tosses over his dagger with the El Nagi insignia onto the floor. He continued to hold his bow firm with his right hand. This is proof of my standing and legacy as my father’s child. You are free to check the authentic qualities of the dagger, it allows me to be a candidate for being a successor to the El Nagi clan if he was to step down or pass away. Bringing this back to my father would make him happy, as well as the fact that I will never appear before any of you ever again. “ For the sake of his new future, Lagi was going to stake his family legacy. He wasn’t trying to be overconfident, but Kohai had honor. He wouldn’t be able to ignore such a challenge, his pride as a successful warrior would allow him to rise up to the challenge. However, this would all play into Lagi’s hands if Kohai was to accept the challenge. After that, all Lagi had to do was win. It was easier said than done, Kohai was a formidable opponent. However, Lagi was no slouch either.

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There was something different about Lagi this time and Kohai was keen enough to notice it. The leader of the Nagi Orai frowned as Lagi spoke and mentally considered the change that had taken place in him. "I thought he wanted revenge...what's all this nonsense about being a king and how did his wounds heal so quickly?...." Kohai then spoke aloud in a whisper to the Ronain Bug at his shoulder, "Stay sharp...something isn't right..." The warning was intended to command the beast to stay on the look out for any strange movements from Lagi. It twitched and quivered on Kohai's shoulder in affirmation as it tried to focus on Lagi and Zygus. The Ronin Bug twitched violently as Lagi prepared to throw the proof of his birthright and Kohai reached behind his back to grab a Kunai in hand, ready to defend on a moments notice. But instead of an attack on Kohai, an attack on his pride came in the form of the heir's dagger landed a few meters away.

Kohai scowled at the gesture and the audacity that he should serve Lagi instead of his father. "Did you hit your head during our last encounter? What fool would defect from your father to serve a snot-nosed reject like you?...I refuse." Kohai the clicked his teeth giving a signal to his Ronin Bug to use Tear Smoke cause it to suddenly emit a mysterious smoke from its mouth which would spread outwards into a plume of cover and concealment.  Kohai used the chance to move hidden and unseen towards the dagger that had been thrown, eager to reclaim the precious clan heirloom which had somehow remained in Lagi's possession. After grabbing the artifact and tucking it away in a pocket on the inside of his top, Kohai would then dart for his left emerging from to smoke in a sprint moving 12m/s.

Kohai was aiming to cover the 26m between himself and the treeline of a nearby forest where Lagi would be unable to make full use of Zygus' flight and ranged attacks. After their last battle the shinobi-like fighter knew better than to fight Lagi on open ground.

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So the plan worked after all, Kohai basically retaliated first and used his Ronin bug to spew out some sort of gas. That gas was definitely made of some substance that wouldn’t be wise to challenge, the capabilities of a symbiotic class pet was still unclear to Lagi. A positive conclusion that came out of this was the fact that Zygus and Lagi was out of the effective range of the smog.  The smog would have only covered 20 meters, while it was 10 meters short from Zygus’s and Lagi’s original position.  The safer approach would be to avoid the gas, and it was a good thing that Zygus had exceptional hearing. Zygus’s incredible sense of sound elevation took notice of the teeth clacking and reacted immediately to the sudden action of the ronin bug.  It was around that time that Zygus would listen for the movements of Kohai from being within the smog. Lagi held the bow skillfully while he rode on Zygus, waiting for some kind of signal. However, Lagi was unable to get a clear shot. “Zygus!” Lagi’s avian companion knew what he had to do. When Kohai emerged from the smoke by running to the left, he seemed to be even closer than he was originally standing. What was the purpose of moving forward, other than to claim the dagger? “He probably has it, I knew he couldn’t resist.” Lagi would think to himself as Zygus would continue to pursue him, using the current sight of Kohai emerging from the smoke and it superior hearing as a guide.  

Upon obtaining the dagger from within the smoke, Kohai would have had to move up five more meters when he used the smoke as cover.  This would make the distance between kohai and Lagi about 25 meters. When moving left, Kohai darted at the speed of 12 M/S. Zygus pursued Kohai immediately, with his base speed only being 10 meters. Due to Kohai’s superior speed, the gap between them would have increased by two meters per second. This would have given the total gap between Lagi and Kohai to only be 29 meters after two seconds, with kohai being two meters away from the tree line.

As seen from Lagi’s point of view, he finally received a clear view of Kohai, which also promoted a clear shot.  One second was equivalent to Kohai covering 12 meters. In response, Lagi pulled back the bow string, which in turn resulted in the instantaneous creation of the arrow.  Lagi was already focused and held the bow with extreme concentration beforehand when the smoke ws emitted from the ronin bug. Another second would have been another 12 meters for Kohai, which would have been followed by the release of the arrow from Lagi. The arrow of light itself would be moving at the speed of 20 m/s to a range of 30 meters. This beats Kohai’s speed by 8 M/S  as well as being within the range  of a 29 meter range difference upon firing. The arrow itself would be heading towards the lower legs of Kohai to cripple his movement.

Abilities used

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OOC Reasoning:

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The Ronin bug upon Kohai's shoulder reacted to the attack Lagi sent in their direction prompting the warrior to dive forwards into the tree line. Kohai would land in a roll just past the first tree of the forest using the momentum of his movements to get back on his feet and continue sprinting. His speed dropped to 8m/s as he now had to move back and forth between trees, but at least he'd obtained cover from Lagi's ranged flying attacks. The beast tamer would have to go on foot from here if he wanted to continue his pursuit. The holy light arrow Lagi had fired fell short of Kohai and would pierce into the ground just at the edge of the forest scorching the earth but failed to start a fire.

What would Lagi do? Fly over the canopy of trees and try to spot Kohai from above? Or would he play the Nagi Orai's leader at his own game and dismount to enter the forest on foot?

((Sorry for the short post. More transitionary than a real combat post.))

Since Lagi couldn’t follow Kohai with his bird due to the forest, Lagi gave Zygus a gentle kick. That Kick was a physical command for Zygus to land. “ Zygus, listen out for my voice and pinpoint the location. You can provide support from above. “Zygus nodded at the commands of his master and flew into the sky, keeping a keen eye and ear for the black king. “….” Zygus knew that he was falling right into the hands of Kohai by entering this forest on foot, but he didn’t care. He had to defeat Kohai, and this was the only way that he was going to do this. Thinking of this situation as another right of passage, the young black king ventured off into the forest, trying to trail kohai. Lagi would whistle once in a while, giving the location to Zygus who was airborne. This was a risky attack plan indeed….

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