Scene #7510: Face Lord Dracul, Master of NEPHIL FIST

Owner	Pose
Vergil	For a man with as grandiose a title as 'Lord Fountaine van Dracul,' his home dojo is nothing exciting. No ancient structure atop a mountain here, nor is it hidden deep in the woods. No, it is above a bowling alley, with a street sign bearing his likeness indicating the external staircase one must climb to reach it. Fountaine himself is a bit more impressive thankfully. A well-built man with wild hear and frizzy beard and a wild look in his baggy eyes. He wears an all-black gi with a white belt and the symbol of the dojo on his back, a human figure with an angelic wing and a demonic wing with 'NEPHIL FIST' spelled on the top then bottom. His students are in attendance, all kneeling besides the gym mats laid upon the floor to catch falling bodies. "Welcome welcome!" Fountaine says in a dramatic, thickly-accented voice. "You are brave to accept my challenge. I am Lord Fountaine van Dracul, master of the NEPHIL FIST!" He throws some fast punches to punctuate both 'Nephil' and 'Fist.' "My style is untouchable! With it, I assail my foes with visions of both heaven and hell without touching them! None can stand against it!" He then chuckles darkly and says, "But fear not, I shall hold back against out guests. Who would like to spar with me first? Tell you what, if you manage to knock me back from my starting position, I'll give you a discount on your first six months as my student. Knock me down, and your first year is free!"
Cantio	Normally, Cantio would be skeptical of anyone calling himself the master of anything. She's heard of plenty of self-proclaimed masters content to shill their techniques to anyone gullible enough to pay them despite an obvious lack of ability, but something about Fountaine strikes her as a legit contender to... Something! Someone worth trying to learn from, at the very least. That does depend on the results of this challenge, though, and what better way to do that than to indulge in this combat challenge issued to all comers? She arrives at the bowling alley dressed in a stereotypical kendo outfit sans helmet (of course) to ensure that Cantio's recognizable as an anime protagonist on her way up. Granted, she's carrying her usual metallic-yet-plastic-looking sword instead of a standard kendo sword, but close enough. Once she's there, she listens to Fountaine with wide-eyed curiosity, and she raises her hand almost immediately once he issues his challenge. "I'll take you on, sir!" She shouts out in all her five nothing glory, stepping forward with her weapon shouldered and a fierce determination blazing in her eyes. "I look forward to testing the power of your technique and learning it myself. Whenever you're ready!" She stances up accordingly, sword gripped in both hands at her shoulder with the tip pointed forward. It's not a proper kendo stance at all, is it?
Strawberry Princess	Strawberry Princess is dressed in a fairly casual, understated way, but her Protagonist Energy still can't be fully concealed. Her comfy surplus jacket is sewn with a patch depicting the green shield of the Paladins, marking her as a multiversal foreigner; an exotically awful scar traces its way from cheekbone to temple and deep into the scalp, hinting at an "active" lifestyle. Her awkward and gangly height, too, puts her literally head-and-shoulders above passersby on the street as she meanders towards the dojo. Despite the dingy surroundings, Strawberry is visibly anxious almost to the point of being flinching. The idea that Lord Fountaine von Dracul might not be entirely legitimate has yet to cross her mind. After taking the stairs two at a time and filtering through the doorway, Strawberry kneels in a corner, unslings the slender carrying case from her back, and starts to undo its latches. A faint taste of metal fills the air, accompanied by a soft mosquito-like tinnitus whine. "Ah- Cantio. Thanks for going first," she says, her voice hoarse but gentle. "I wasn't- I'll need a minute to get ready, you know. Depending on what's allowed." Eyeing Fountaine with a nervous smile, she adds: "Sir, uh. Isn't a white belt usually- isn't that for novices, most places? What does it mean here?"
Rubi-Kan Vagrants	It's never hard to know when the Green Knight is coming. An engine of the kind used in his hoverbike is loud even on a small scale--for something powerful enough to move that huge armored thing, there is a thrum in the air that rattles windows. You can feel it in your chest. As the bike slows, the roar of the engine cycles to rapid, evenly spaced detonations, revealing in a way how that beast is moved. He's not hard to spot, either. Seven and a half feet tall. Mohawk. Beard. Green. He's not armored, and so he looks like the type that usually gets cast as bad guys in movies where dojos are being attacked. Except, as many likely know by now, his rad shirts often have something... disarming to say. As it happens, this one is a robe-and-skeleton style grim reaper with three zombie dogs on a leash, teeth bared. I DIDN'T DESTROY "CRINGE CULTURE" I JUST REDIRECTED IT TO PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF THEIR ACTIONS Bercilak is, admittedly, sometimes the sort to bully dojos, but only in the interest of seeing if what they're learning is actually going to help them improve, or be of any use in a fight. Accordingly... "Gramercy thereof thy chalenge," he says, stepping aside for Cantio. "I accept als--but onli if thou affrain thyself not, whanne-so we shalt ifighte." There's a grin cast Strawberry's way, when she mentions the white belt. A silent laugh quakes through him for a moment. "What doth thou awene necessari?" He asks amusedly, pointing a thick green finger at the case.
Hibiki Tachibana	"A little less mystical than I thought it'd be..." The blonde-haired girl notes to herself as she looks up at the dojo from the outside, raising an eyebrow at the sign and designated staircase. 'Vast fortunes' and a 'home estate in Transerbsla--how do you pronounce that' left her with a couple expectations. EARLIER: "Hibiki-kun! Rewards aside, this is an opportunity for training you can't pass up, don't you think? Much better than the simulation rooms we have here!" "Eeeeehhhhhhhhh...?" NOW: Once she's actually here and in front of LORD FOUNTAINE VON DRACUL, Hibiki looks a lot more focused, with slightly furrowed brows as she sizes the bushy-looking fighter up from head to toe. He definitely has the bearing of a man who's confident in himself and his style, if his booming boasts didn't make that clear enough. She can't actually tell if he's exaggerating the power of the NEPHIL FIST for effect or not... But she punches her fist into the open palm of her other hand anyway. Rather than her normal casual clothes, she's come wearing a pure white gi tied off with a black belt and with a similarly black undershirt barely visible beneath, along with her Symphogear pendant still hanging from her neck. "I'm going next." She nods to emphasize her readiness. "Break a leg, Cantio." Pause. "...N-Not literally, though."
Strawberry Princess	Strawberry turns around, still kneeling, to give Bercilak a glimpse at the contents of the case. It is, in fact, the nuclear goddamn wand. "I wasn't sure- you know," she says sheepishly- obviously realizing how dumb it'd be to use that indoors- "what'd be allowed. I thought- it might not be good to leave it at home. Depending on how things turned out." She smiles a distinctly shaky, embarrassed smile.
Cantio	"Eh? Oh! Hi, Strawberry. I.. Y-yeah, I guess I would be going first, then, huh?" Cantio laughs, although she's already sounding a little more nervous than before. "Don't worry, it should be fine! He looks tough, so it'll be good to know just how hard his hits are before you and..." She trails off in the middle of reading Bercilak's shirt. She snickers a moment later, letting herself get distracted momentarily. "Don't worry, you're not the only one. If he holds back, it'll be hard to know just how strong his techniques are against us." She chuckles again at Hibiki's addition. "It'll be fine! Probably. If anyone gets too injured, I've got healing magic to help stabilize anything before it gets too serious!"
Vergil	"You are brave girl, to be first on the chopping block! Do try and give everyone a show!" Fountaine says to Cantio with a boastful grin. He gestures at her to stand upon the mats across from him. "Watch carefully my students, and I will show you how to nullify the advantages one bearing a weapon has!" A side-look at Strawberry as she asks why his belt is white. He laughs a deep belly laugh and replies. "I have long since transcended the belt system my dear. I dress in black and white to make a statement. Polar opposites united. Light and Dark, combined. Plus, it's just fashionable. Do you understand?" After looking at her for a moment longer, he adds, "I suppose you don't." What does that mean? Bercilak's window-rattling arrival has the students muttering. The giant green man has even Fountaine craning his neck. "Ah, welcome friend. Take a seat, I'll be with you shortly." His eyes flick to that striking shirt and he grins slightly ruefully. To Hibiki, he nods. "Do your stretches now young lady. This won't take long." Finally, he assumes a stance. Right fist in the air beside his head, the left held low before his gut. It looks more akin to a dramatic pose from a kabuki play more than a fighting stance. "I sense goodness in you, so I shall strike with the infernal aspect of NEPHIL FIST. Behold!" He exhales and mutters, "40 Days of Temptations ~ SEDUCTIVE WHISPER!" before throwing a punch at empty air. Cantio feels nothing, and he looks wide open right now.
Rubi-Kan Vagrants	Bercilak claps Cantio heartily on the shoulder, laughing boisterously. "Fuck yea, SIB! Swich is what I am talken aboute! Bahaha. Ah, but he agredies himself nau," he cautions, though that hefty frat-boy clap might not have helped matters. Though... there's nothing. He glances towards Strawberry and Hibiki, making sure that they've just seen the same thing he has. Silently, he darts his finger back and forth between Cantio and Lord Fountaine, grinning. Well... now it's time for the boorish part of the Green Knight. "SMITE THEIM CHOKES, CANTIO!"
Cantio	It's time to get to work! Or learning. Or... Something. Showtime! Cantio lets out an affirming grunt as she stances up once again, listening to Fountaine's explanation of his clothing. She lets out intrigued 'oohs' and 'aahs', taking a brief moment to glance down at her own otufit. It is so bland. White and purple? She really needs to try something new. "Black and white, huh...? Maybe that wouldn't look so bad, either." She ponders aloud, the possibility of expanding her wardrobe to different colors finally starting to hit her for real this time. Fountaine, too, takes a stance, and Cantio braces herself. She actually perks up a little when he claims to sense goodness within her, and she even smiles despite looking ready to get to fighting. "Understood! Give me everything you've got!" Which apparently feels like a nothing. She blinks slowly while standing around for a few moments, confused by both the name of the technique and the whole lot of nothing. Is she supposed to play along? No, that'd just be insulting to Fountaine. Should she try and shoot him? No, that'd be dishonest and against the spirit of this exercise. She needs to prove herself to herself, too! He said he'd do something to nullify the weapon's advantage, so she might as well try that. And so, Cantio charges forward with blade in hands, stepping forward rapidly to close the distance without letting her guard down. She waits until she's within about three steps away before aiming a quick quick thrust towards Fountaine's arm. It's a testing strike rather than one seriously intended to impale anything, but there's still sufficient force in that maneuver to cause some serious harm if he doesn't take her seriously!
Hibiki Tachibana	Even Bercilak is here today! Can't miss that. Literally. This shirt is even more out there than the last one she saw him in, but she approves. Another nod comes out at his mention of not wanting the dojo master to hold back, her attention going back forward and on the approaching just enough to miss out on a peek at the NUCLEAR WAND. She is, in fact, already starting up on some minor stretches by the time Lord Dracul mentions it, bracing a hand against her elbow and twisting to the opposite side and then repeating it in the opposite direction after. "I think it looks pretty comfortable..." She murmurs offhandedly to herself, at the man's comment on Strawberry's fashion, but pauses and perks up when it's time-- The infernal aspect. A special move, right from the start!? But what's that stance...? She blinks. There's a tentative glance to Bercilak, a side-glance back without moving her head as he fingerwags between the combatants, and a raise of her eyebrow. Then squinting. Apparently, the Green Knight's booming has rubbed off on her. "FLOOR HIM, CANTIO!"
Strawberry Princess	Strawberry's eyes widen as she tries to take in the full sophistication of Lord Dracul's ultra-special technique. There must be some hidden sophistication, some deeper power here she's not seeing, right? Even if she's not seeing anything, that just means she needs to look harder...! But in the moment she locks eyes with Bercilak and Hibiki, she realizes: he's a paper tiger. The special move was, somehow, nothing. And that comment about her clothes... it kinda smarts, doesn't it? Her flinching gaze darts downwards, to the precious silver bracelet that Lilian gave her. Something shifts. "Bercilak," she says in an even, steady voice. "Give Cantio your strength."
Rubi-Kan Vagrants	Bercilak hoots, pumping a fist-- "Ei?" Give Cantio his strength? He grins. "CANTIO!" "A COVENANT! STRENGTH! Alik thou hath ne'er knoued. But be thou wacchleu! For if thou accept, thou shalt hath hit for thri moons, and ofte I shalt fraist thy assuming of hits use. Yea... or nay?"
Cantio	Cantio can feel everyone's energy swelling behind her! Hibiki's cheering her on, Strawberry Princess asks Bercilak to help her, and Bercilak obliges with his offer of power. It doesn't take more than a moment for Cantio to process that sentence before responding. "I accept!" She's pretty sure she understood most of that.
Vergil	Cantio rushes in and jabs! Fountiane looks confused that she can even move. And then she jabs him in the arm with her wooden blade. This 'testing strike,' backed by Bercilak's gifted strength, sends him tumbling across the ground. He slams into the far wall and clutches the area of impact with a pained grimace. His students look stunned, several rushing over to check on him. "I'm fine, I'm fine!" he declares, awkwardly getting back to his feet. "Whew! That's... there's more to you than I anticipated. Your... the arrangement of your toes must be accidentally perfect to nullify my technique!" He laughs, even as tears bead at the corner of his eyes from the injury. "Tell you all what. There's a lot of room to go wrong against someone so /inexperienced./ But there's less likely to be any mistake if all of you come at me at once. But I warn you; I'll bring the full bear of the might of NEPHIL FIST against you all. But if you win... I'll acknowledge you all as my betters. You'll be able to say you bested Count Fountaine van Dracul, master of NEPHIL FIST. What do you say?"
Rubi-Kan Vagrants	"Oh, hell yea!" He wheels around and points at Hibiki. "Thou ofhered the man," excitedly urges the Green Knight, a wild gleam in his red eye as the armor begins to envelop him, constructed by blue light. A cloak of rye grass and hyacinths sprouts from the mantle of a massive metal harness. Beneath that harness is a black bodysuit with thick metal plates woven in. A bucket helm, with a black T-visor and boarlike tusks that rise up to either side. This armor bears not the marks of a smith's hammer, but of computer-assisted design and machining. Into his waiting hand there materializes a similarly high-tech battle axe which spans his full towering height, with a beard large enough to entrap a human neck, and a menacing green edge. Cantio had made a thrust... so the Green Knight makes a low-sweeping swipe with the weapon's shoulder, intending to crash it into Lord Fountaine's ankle. "HAU'S YON MAT TASTE?!"
Strawberry Princess	The emotions that jolt through Strawberry's heart when she sees Lord Dracul slumped against the wall, his eyes watering, are hard for her to untangle. Just a moment ago she'd wanted Cantio to show him up- but seeing him actually struck like this is different. He's not a boastful master who needs to be taken down a peg; a much-needed boost to Cantio's confidence. He's just some guy. Some guy who's convinced himself that he has superpowers. And even if he's leading his students into that delusion, too... does he really deserve broken bones for that? "Mister Dracul," she says, her voice shifting gears into Stern Justice Hero Mode. "I think you should take it easy. You're hurt. Can you really handle the power of Nephil Fist with an injured body?" Even as she says that, though, others are gearing up for battle- so she boots up her wand covertly, hiding its activation sequence behind her back. She's not going to intervene directly- instead, she surrounds Dracul in a barely-visible flickering forcefield, an imitation of her own Shimmer Aura. Beneath that, phantom hands crawl along his limbs, preparing to absorb blows on his behalf and to subtly steer his limbs into what she understands to be the proper movements. She's no master of martial arts herself, but this could be the best fight of "Lord Dracul's" life.
Cantio	Bercilak's power boost works far better than Cantio had expected! She actually jumps a bit when her jab throws Fountaine against thewall, and there's a mixed look of disappointment and concern on her face as she lowers the weapon. "Good thing I switched to something less sharp... Er. Y-yeah, I..." Is this guy really just a blowhard? Or is he hiding something further? Either way, maybe Cantio could still work with this. Clearing her throat, she shoulders the weapon again before forcing the oujou-iest chuckle she can. Not the obnoxious 'ohohoho' laugh, but more of a gentle 'hmhmhm' sound. "That's to be expected, of course. I... I'm one of the leaders of my homeland, after all. I have to be strong enough to take at least that much!" As she replies, she plays up the hamminess considerably as if she's trying to help Fountaine save some face from that initial... Thing. There's another look of uncertainty when he issues a challenge to the whole group, though, and Cantio glances around a few times before shrugging and readying her weapon at shoulder-height once more. She also flings a mote of healing magic at him to take some of the edge off that initial hit. "My name is Cantio, Drive Core Candidate of the city of Cadenza. I accept your ch... Um. Second challenge, Count Fountaine van Dracul!" Of course, there's still the awkward matter of figuring out how to do this without severely injuring the man. Seeing no other reasonable option, Cantio lets out an overly dramatic shout as she launches herself into the air (far higher than she had expected thanks to Bercilak's strength amplification), raising her wooden blade for an incredibly telegraphed diving slash! ... Which might very well wreck the ground in front of Fountaine with a dramatic blast of debris, but is still aimed well enough to just barely miss him even if he stays right where he is. Of course, with Bercilak looking like he's aiming to actually hit Fountaine, she has to pivot afterwards to ''''subtly'''' try and scoop him up with the weapon to fling him out of harm's way!
Hibiki Tachibana	Hibiki just barely catches Strawberry's proposal, and Bercilak follows up--sort of like what she got before, but with a different purpose. It goes through! ...And Fountaine is sent /flying/. As he gets back up, Hibiki looks to Cantio and gives a pump of her fist and a thumbs up along with a wry grin, followed by looking back up towards Bercilak's wild glint with an even wider grin. Afterwards though, she straightens up her stance again and steps forward. "There won't be any reason to hold back if it's against all of us, right?" She looks between the others on her half of the dojo while tightening up her belt. "So you can show us everything you got! The undefeatable no-touch, instant-knockout NEPHIL FIST!" The last two words are accentuated with a final tug, and lunging in beside Bercilak. Of course, she's not going to transform against him or go for seriously injuring blows. But an all-out spar to see just how strong he really is? She can get behind that, especially in the moment. The battle to determine if he's really a fake, or if she can learn of the powers of LIGHT and DARK for real from the time she took to come out here! Either way, they won't know until they try! "HyaaaaaaaaaAAH!!" Thus, there's an echoing shout that resounds throughout the building as she strikes high to the Green Knight's low, closing in for an open palm strike to the chest driven by momentum and a well-timed twist of her upper body! Despite her small frame, she packs a serious punch.
Vergil	"Fear not. For NEPHIL FIST has never failed me in a true bout," Fountaine says to Strawberry. Everyone here though has pretty much figured out that he's probably never had a 'true bout' in his life. The only difference is 'how much they care.' Bercilak, as it turns out, cares very little. He goes for a real, ankle-shattering sweep. But Cantio and Hibiki both care a little bit. The former smashes the ground, probably giving the patrons of the bowling alley below a right scare, and sends Fountaine flying back. Strawberry's efforts might not help him put up a fight, but she is at least keeping him safe. The knockback helps insulate him from the leg sweep and Hibiki's body blow, turning them from bone-shattering to massively bruising, and Strawberry's shield lowers that further down to 'slightly bruising.' But either way, the master of NEPHIL FIST is once again flung off the mats and off his feet. His students gather around him again as he coughs. No immediate justification is coming. From the look on his face, he's plainly scared and confused, his mind a jumble. And then the door swings open again. "Is this the place? I came to fight." Vergil says as he strides in. The tone in the air immediately shifts from 'sympathetically pathetic' to 'cause for real concern.' Even those who don't know the man can tell from the scorn in his eyes that if he figures out that he has been tricked, he might kill whomever did it.
Strawberry Princess	In her attempt to shield Lord Dracul from the consequences of his own actions, Strawberry has taken a sympathetic hit to her own vitality- the forcefields are one thing, but the phantom limbs she shrouded him with beneath that have a closer connection to her heart. Accordingly, when she pulls herself to her feet and stands in front of Vergil- still out of costume, but now clutching the active wand in her hand- it does look fairly convincingly like she's already been in a fight. "We have already defeated Lord Fountaine von Dracul," she says, her voice surprisingly clear and authoritative once more. It's not a lie, is it? "He is in no state for a second match. And should your bout not be with us, the inheritors of his technique?"
Rubi-Kan Vagrants	And I shalt @emit Lord Fountaine... so the others were right, after all. A master would at least be able to react--perhaps not perfectly, but certainly better than this man had. That... that's a forcefield, though, isn't it? Wait. Behind the expressionless visor of his helmet, the Green Knight grins. It's pink. He relaxes his shoulders, having satisfied his curiosity, and looks over his shoulder. At Strawberry. With his free hand, an armored thumbs-up. The bruises on Fountaine's body will heal quickly, at least. Vergil: Is this the place? Vergil: I came to fight. "Verily," says the armored knight with friendly cheer, shouldering his axe. With the opposite hand, he makes a beckoning gesture, as he steps forward with clear intent. Vergil: Is there a problem? "Nay, not at al," says the Green Knight, cracking his neck as his boots press heavily into the mat. "Dost thou lest batail, sib?" It's conversationally uttered. This guy looks angry and stressed. Nothing like throwing hands to unwind. Vergil: Yes. I heard tell of a man who weilded the power of God and the Devil. I would learn his secrets. He stops. Adjusts the axe. Then plants a metal-tipped thumb squarely in the center of that massive green harness. "Speking," he says. This dude would destroy that guy... and Master Fountaine has already been hit for talking shit, anyway. it's not technically untrue, if you look at it in a symbolic kinda way... Vergil: You are Count Fountaine van Dracul? "Nay," he says laughingly, later facetiously adding, "But I am muchli mo coled." He jerks a thumb in Strawberry's direction, nodding. "Thou didst journei al this wai. 'Twould be acrien shame if thou wert to ileve withoute ifighte. And of us al, 'tis we, not he, which shalt be the bet. Verily, 'tis fortunat that thou alended whanne-so thou didst!" Adjusting the axe on his shoulder so that he's now choked up on the grip all the way past the heel, there's a sweeping motion with the opposite hand towards the door. "Outen-forth?"
Hibiki Tachibana	After Fountaine goes flying, Hibiki immediately digs her feet into the mat below and shifts her body the opposite direction, re-entering a readied up stance beside Bercilak to face him down. She apparently hasn't caught onto the other girls' shielding right away, and seems to be waiting for the man to compose himself to say something or pick himself back up. Until someone else comes in, and she feels a certain kind of pressure emanating from the man who steps inside. That's a look in the eye she can recognize at an instant, even having never met him before. What an oppressive presence... There's a glance over her shoulder back to the fallen Lord Dracul, and a shorter one between the others as she very slowly catches on, and ends up planting a hand on her hip while facing Vergil. Fountaine won't be dealt any lasting damage (except maybe to his dignity if he can't come up with something to explain to his students later), but if he has to try and contend with this guy... "They're right. Just finished, in fact. If you bothered to come all this way and want something out of it, we're the ones you're looking for. That's not a problem, is it?" Honestly...maybe coming all this way wasn't a waste after all, if they can have a bout with someone like him...maybe she can pick up something new after all. And, you know. Not have Fountaine get annihilated when he doesn't deserve /that/ much.
Cantio	That all but confirms Cantio's suspicions, and she has to do some SERIOUS ACTING to hide her disappointment. Before she can really formulate any kind of plan on how to extract herself from this thing without making Fountaine look too stupid, though, Vergil arrives along with a heaping helping of danger! For Fountaine, anyway. Everyone else would probably be fine, but could Cantio really live with herself if she abandoned someone in need at this moment? Probably. It's actually mildly distressing how quickly she realizes that, but there's still an opportunity here. If he could get these students to follow him with sheer charisma and size and not much in terms of actual techniques, perhaps she could twist that to her own advantage. Strawberry Princess speaks up, and there's some clear relief on Cantio's face, but she needs to make sure there's no further risk to Fountaine's life. She turns away from the Elites to try and make it less obvious she's putting her hands together in the shape of a heart, triggering the time stopping ability that BB had granted her, and...! --- Time to make it look good while she can mess with the stopped time. Her first action: She starts moving towards Fountaine while striking the ground/bowling alley roof with her wooden sword every few steps. Her second action: She strikes the ground/roof next to Fountaine with the sword again. Her third action: She sprints towards Fountaine and reaches for his neck. --- Time resumes, and Cantio's already in front of the Count, leaning forward and reaching for his neck while the roof around her bursts with debris thanks to what must surely be incredible speed and not just afterimages of her hitting the ground to force up debris in rapid succession. "Stay down and shut up if you want to live." She whispers with a far more menacing tone than she had intended, but it'll have to do. She uses her Bercilak-granted STRONG to lift the man upwards. "And now, this power is mine." She speaks aloud before a pillar of light engulfs her with some ominous angelic noises reverberating through the light. The light fades moments later, and Cantio is revealed to have transformed into... The same plasticy white and pink getup that literally every Elite here has already seen before! This time, though, there's added sound effects for extra ominous-ness. She drops Fountaine afterwards, shooting him a cautioning glance before tossing her busted-up wooden sword aside. "That was a fun bout, but... I think it's time to give this NEPHIL FIST a try. What do you say, Mister Vergil?"
Vergil	Vergil looks at the wheezing man against the wall, and the four who have claimed to best him. A vein in his forehead throbs lightly as he sighs. "Late to the party. Damn you Dante." Looking to Bercilak, he shakes his head. "I came here to learn his secrets. I don't care about defeating those who defeated him." But then Strawberry chips in. Claiming they had 'inherited' his technique. His eyebrow raises. "Really now? So soon?" He starts to advance on her, grip tightening on his blade. "I find it a little hard to believe you could learn it that fast." And then Cantio moves. Fountaine chokes as she grabs him and snarls, before dropping him. He looks up at her in awe as she is clad in light, completing her transformation sequence. Vergil, having never seen it before (or having forgotten if he had), narrows his eyes. "So you have separated his power among yourselves? I see..." He smirks, looking placated. Or at the very least, not annoyed. "Four on one then. Perhaps you might have stood a better chance had one of you absorbed it all." He raises his hands and flames consume them, resolving into a pair of burning gauntlets with long black nails. His feet are similarly clad in matching boots with a massive horn jutting out of each outer ankle. He moves, flames and smoke marking his movements as he dances. First to Hibiki, driving a burning left fist into her face. Then Strawberry, aiming a meaty right hook to her side. Then Bercilak, having raised left leg to chamber a kick, unleashing a rapid flurry of them at him, the horn slashing about with each one. And then finally, a fast dash punch with the right hand at Cantio.
Strawberry Princess	Strawberry is not a terribly sturdy girl, but her reflexes serve her well enough- especially as he stops to throw a punch at Hibiki first. Mahou down? No, she's tough. When he reaches her, she's already lifting off into the air and dashing backwards. Those maneuvers don't pull her out of the arc of his fist, but do bleed off a substantial amount of momentum when his fist connects. The impact knocks her out of the air and sends her rolling across the floor- followed by a burst of pink light- and she's back up already, now clad in her mahou regalia. Even still visibly winded from the impact, Strawberry dashes back in, putting the full acceleration of her flight into a kick to the gut. She's aiming to dunk Vergil backwards, straight out the doorway and out into the street!
Rubi-Kan Vagrants	Bercilak jukes backwards. For a big guy, he's pretty quick--but Vergil is no stranger to battle. Sparks fly as he brings the haft up to force those horns away from his center of mass. Making a plane of its surface and using his shoulders as leverage, he even begins attempting to meet them with his own force. His parries are quick, steady, for such a massive weapon. One kick, however, scores more than a glance or a gouge across his gauntlets. One kick pierces the side of his helmet, the horn curving around the Green Knight's 'tusks' to do so. It comes clean out the other end, with a scarlet coating. Only the message hasn't been received by the man in the armor. Indeed, when he shoves forward and gets behind his pauldrons to force Vergil off balance, the hole in that helmet is already mending. The thrusters of his armor fire off, just as his knee extends, delivering an armor-plated strike aimed at Vergil's chest. The butt of the weapon's haft is quick on the heels of that strike, coming up to try and smash into Vergil's neck and drive him to the ground.
Hibiki Tachibana	"Balwisyall nescell Gungnir tron..." Cantio's quick thinking is both really, really clever, after she takes a moment to think about it, /and/ guarantees them a fight! To go along with it with it - and so she doesn't get folded instantly as Vergil equips himself with his Devil Arm - she initiates her own transformation right just as the fight officially begins, her gi exploding in golden light as the silhouette of her Symphogear forms back over her in its place. Instead of angelic boops, there's a definite Celtic musical sting as the mechanical armor becomes physical one piece at a time, metal locking into place and internals hidden. Not entirely quite in time for when she gets socked in the face just a second later, searing into the cheek as she's forced back several meters from the impact. But her heavy metal boots keep her from leaving the floor, skidding across it instead and bracing herself to a hard stop as she drags a glove across the point of impact and shakes her head clear. "Outside...then let's try this!" Having ample time to prepare while he's assaulting the others, she buckles her knees before launching herself forward in a leap, twisting around in mid-air until she's blitzing their opponent down feet-first. She's going to dropkick him in the face! Except it's not just a one-and-done--assuming she can plant boot to head, the thrusters on her skirt armor fire up immediately after, to keep carrying them both forward and back out the door. Aiming high, once again!
Cantio	Holding in a sigh of relief, Cantio turns her head briefly to let out an awkward-looking cough that isn't hidden all that well before she faces Vergil again. "Split for now. I'll take the rest later when I feel like it." She boasts with more of that trying-too-hard hamminess, holding her hand out as the air in front of her shimmers with pixelated light. She reaches in, and she pulls out a pair of metallic... Wings? Thrusters? Stylized V's? Big black metal things with purple highlights that contrasts sharply with the white and pink of her outfit. "There we go... The divinity in my soul, the infernal powers of this fist... Yes, this should work nicely!" She announces proudly, actually starting to get hyped up herself. Rather than drawing out an actual blade, Cantio holds her hands out in front of her as she prepares to catch Vergil's oncoming punch, already mentally prepared to do a sick parry! Instead, she gets punched right in the chest. She gets launched back several feet in the process, catching her hands on the ground almost by accident before flipping onto her feet in a somewhat shaky landing. Coughing again, Cantio steadies herself before kicking off the roof to charge at Vergil, flying barely a foot off the ground and skidding to a stop with her fist clenched behind her. "We haven't really had a match before, have we? Then.. Let's see how you stand up to this first!" As she draws near, she swings her fist upwards in a somewhat obvious uppercut, compensating for a lack of skill with a lot of momentum and somewhat uncontrolled power behind it. She also adds in some reverb-boosted wind gust sound effects to it in mid-attack, fully intent on using her audio-based powers to make it seem more impressive!
Vergil	The retaliatory blows start coming. Vergil catches Strawberry's foot in the gut and goes sliding towards the door. "She seems familiar. Ah yes, from the descent. Rook's woman. She can fly, and had that very impressive ranged weapon. A hit from that would take far too long to regenerate with three others on me. I'll have to take car-" Hibiki follows up with her own dropkick, knocking him even further back as his face deforms under her foot. "A third woman who changes her clothes to battle. Ridiculous. She has gauntlets, but mentioned Gungnir. Might she have alternate forms? Or is it merely an incantation?" He's heading out the door now, but Cantio doesn't let up, rushing in with an uppercut that sends him skywards. "Is this Nephil Fist? It certainly doesn't feel any different from a common blow. Are they still adjusting to it, or are they holding back so I do not steal it from them mid-fight? Commendable caution, if nothing else." Bercilak follows up, launching himself into the air after Vergil to knee him, and them smash him to the street below. He's now outside! "I know I saw the horn pierce his skull. He's like me then. I suppose this may be fun after all..." He impacts on the street, forming a crater, and then immediately ukemi's back to his feet. In spite of the bone-crunching landing, he stands tall and proud, running into the alley and up the wall to catch Bercilak as he's coming down with a powerful uppercut to the chest, the black nails on the gauntlets slashing deep. From there, he descends down upon the metal stairs to catch the three magical girls on their way out. A blazing, falling divekick that explodes on impact, superheating the stairwell. Now among them, he lashes out with a combo of swiping kicks, the horns cutting and carving with each one before kicking them into the air and pursuing with two more spinning roundhouses!
Cantio	As Vergil dives towards herself, Strawberry Princess, and Hibiki, Cantio's already bracing for impact while trying to figure out how everyone else can fight with their limbs so effortlessly. That punch alone had her worrying about overextending, but here they are throwing their weight around like it's second nature! Maybe she just has to try harder to not care about safety. It's easier said than done, though, with the divekick exploding the stairwell around her and flinging her into their air with a startled yelp. The explosion proves to be more of a decoy, though, as the kicks following that knock the swordswoman-turned-amateur-fistfighter around like a ragdoll in midair. Only her ability to fly keeps her from being able to block against a few of them, although the roundhouse at the end sends her hurtling back to the ground! Or roof. The bowling alley might not be too happy with all this noise she's making between the yelling and hitting it repeatedly with her sword and herself. "Gh...! O-okay, plan B. Let's see how that one technique works against you!" Staggering back onto her feet, Cantio shakes her head quickly before lifting her right hand to her head and the left at her midsection. A dramatic wind can be heard blowing again as she inhales slowly, eyes closed as she waits for the sound to end. The moment it does, she exhales while her eyes shoot open. "40 Days of Temptations ~ SEDUCTIVE WHISPER!" She stomps forward and punches towards Vergil, much too far away for the strike to reach him. The actual attack comes from light magic bursts, coming from around her outstretched fist and hurtling towards Vergil like a mass of... Well. Light-magic explosives. Wait. Wasn't this supposed to be some kind of infernal attack? Maybe Fountaine's students won't notice the difference. Maybe they'll even be impressed!
Rubi-Kan Vagrants	An uppercut with claws like that... it could remove the harness. But why make it easy? This guy came to fight, after all. The axe is pulled close to his chest. With a one-handed grip, he snaps the beard towards Vergil's hand, attempting to trap his hand, use the haft as leverage and wrench his arm away. There's a sound of torn metal, however. Those claws did indeed find purchase anyway, cutting a deep gouge into the plates beneath the harness--deep enough to draw blood. "Hel yea," he grunts as he staggers back into a fighting posture. "I am Bercilak of the High Wasteland. And thee, sib?" It's time for some tunes. This guy's earned them. As he approaches again, the axe seems to flow around the Green Knight, so graceful is his handwork. The deadly green edge strikes sparks where it meets with Vergil's weapon, moving in an X, upward one way, down another. And Vergil can hear some hard ass distorted guitar action, as close as he's getting. This barrage is ended by a twirl of the weapon that looks showy--until he drives the axe into the ground. Gnarled roots spring up from the earth to grab and trip up Vergil, attemping to force him back into the air with Strawberry.
Hibiki Tachibana	Out the door and into the alley. Hibiki is on Bercilak's trail as he's the one to land the blow that takes Vergil into the more open space, intending to follow up and keep the pressure on before he can recover. "He's the real deal! Those gauntlets, those boots...if I can learn something from those movements..." However, he's one step ahead by the time they're out there, and she has a brief moment to get snapped out of her thoughts by the sight of the flaming kick coming down towards them - her arms come up on instinct as the detonation rolls out in all directions, and she's forced to keep them up and as steady as she can when the man pushes into a barrage of additional attacks before she gets a chance to regain her bearings. "Ngh! He's fast! ...There!" Biding her time and observing as Ifrit clashes against Gungnir's armor again and again, tearing gashes into the metal, Hibiki is sent up by the launcher--and chooses then to counterattack, lowering her defenses to instead rear back an arm in the face of the follow-up roundhouse! The piston within her gauntlet pulls back on its own, and the girl throws her fist forward to meet his leg! "If you want a fist--! You've got one!" What's already a serious clash of raw strength is followed up with the machinery slamming back in, creating a second impact from the force being transfered directly into his Devil Arm and the limb beneath! She's aiming to send him back down to the ground and several feet into it with this one.
Strawberry Princess	Despite walking straight into Vergil's plunging kick combo, Strawberry is in her element the instant both she and the demon are in the air. The stinging pain of a half-dozen deep bruises doesn't rob her of her wits; her wings of translucent white glitter flare, allowing her to twist out of the way of the final kick- then draw her Glock from her waist holster and attempt to put a single bullet right through the side of his knee, intending to hamper further pursuit. She soars up and away, orienting herself to be framed against the sun as a tiny speck. Even at that distance, the agonizing and agonized whine of a reactor pushed to its limits is keenly audible. Surely she wouldn't fire the Annihilator Beam inside a city, and yet there it is- the hiss of steam, the grinding clank of metal control rods, the unbearable light of her wand's crystal tip visible even against the sun's brilliance. "They said you're as tough as anything. Maybe can't be killed," Strawberry says, her voice carried by radio- a staticky edge creeps in, building along with the rising shriek of her wand; the electromagnetic effect of that much radiation. It sounds like she's trying to convince herself of something. "So I'll trust you, Mr. Vergil. And I'll trust her. Be good." As Bercilak knocks him up into the air, Strawberry plunges downwards like a diving falcon, brutally intercepting him right at the apex of his trajectory. Aerial combat is less intuitive, but if your brain can properly process three directions, simpler- no cover, fewer ways to change direction. Strawberry leverages that mercilessly. As their paths cross, there's a flash of light so blinding that it singes the grass and sets pigeons in the sky on fire. There's a noise like thunder drawn out into a continuous roar, deep enough to rattle one's bones and resonate in the lungs. The tip of her wand is aimed to impale straight into his abdomen- from there, it projects a fist-sized sphere of hideous energy inside his body- not explosive, but static, held in place like a searing cautery. Not the full Annihilator Beam- not here, not against a person- but on the scale of his tissues, the distinction is nearly academic. No vital organs there, but if I can tax his regeneration enough...? I can't think of any other way that doesn't risk killing him if I judge it wrong!
Vergil	Hibiki, as she is being juggled, actually sees fit to clash with Vergil's blazing leg. The two clash in a flurry of sparks, his eyebrow cocking in the moment. "She's actually willing to meet me head-on? This one at least, has some guts." The piston extends, and Hibiki wins the clash, launching Vergil skyward. He lands on the roof of the dojo, across from Cantio upon finishing his strikes. She starts charging up, and he waits. And upon hearing those words... "This is it. Nephil Fist. What form shall it take?" "Come on!" he barks, only to be hit by fairly straightforward beams of light. "That's it? It doesn't seem particularly impressive. It has impact, but that's all," he thinks as Bercilak descends on him. He blocks the axe with his arm, and snarls a response. "Vergil. Son of Sparda." The axe twirls, carving bloody gouges in the demon that quickly reform, before roots spring up to launch him into the air. Into Strawberry. The terrifying thing about his regeneration has been how /fast/ it is. You can cut clean through him and the wound closes immediately. Now, up-close, Strawberry can see it in action. Vergil actually cries out, an agonized moan as the concentrated beam burns his skin and boils his guts, his body regrowing flesh around it only for it to sublime away. He lashes out, not a punch but a shove to get Strawberry off him before plummeting, leaving a trail of blood and vapour as he hits the ground. He lies still for a moment before kipping back up. The hole is closed. But blood pours from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears as the radiation poisoning kicks in. "Nephil Fist seems... lacking. At least in its current state," he coughs. Pointing at Cantio, he says, "Seize it from the others. Then I'll come to claim it." Then his finger drifts towards Hibiki. "You're not bad," he concedes. "But swap out that outfit for a full set of armor, akin to what you wear on your fist." Next, Bercilak. That blood is flowing fast. "I know not what you are. But you wield an axe with a grace I thought the weapon lacked. I'll remember you." And finally, Strawberry. "Your magic. I'll seize it for myself." He draws Yamato, and cuts a circle in the air around himself. It bleeds into a black portal that soon closes, taking him with it.
Vergil	Fountaine van Dracul and his students are looking out the window, a couple applying fire extinguishers to the stairs before descending. The 'master' of 'Nephil Fist' follows them, nodding with approval at Cantio. "You mastered the basics quickly. I approve!" he says, clapping her on the shoulders. Pupils gather around her, asking what insight she had to make the blow visible. Hibiki is also swarmed, with students asking where they can get pile bunkers like hers. Bercilak is asked if he has some kind of 'axe school' they could visit sometime. And a couple of the younger girls ask if they can get a picture with Strawberry.
Strawberry Princess	Strawberry stays well, well up in the air until Vergil's turned to leave, keenly aware that he might decide to draw his blade again. Her reactor's already dangerously redlined after that sustained performance, probably not good for another shot- but she keeps it trained on him anyway, just for show. With only the blood trailing down his face to mark the fact that she hurt him at all, it's hard to gauge how much fight is really left in him. When she finally descends, it's with slumped shoulders and a deep sigh of relief. She (carefully) fistbumps Bercilak for the hand-off; compliments Cantio on her dramatic performance; trades notes on Hibiki's magical girling with an impressed tone. She's pretty clearly had a lot taken out of her, though. When the dojo girls ask for a picture with her, she doesn't even realize her costume is still flecked with Vergil's blood. That's definitely a photo that's going to get onto the internet.
Hibiki Tachibana	Hibiki lands back on the ground after the fact, a hiss of steam bursting out of her gauntlet and her other arm coming over to grip onto it lightly - clashing with Vergil head-on like that left a lingering ache running all the way up to the shoulder that's going to take some time to stop. It's Strawberry's devastating point-blank attack that finally floors the man after all is said and done, and far from getting a chance to wonder if that was too much, it looks like that was just enough to get him to /call it/. "Full armor...?" She murmurs at his closing comment, looking down at her undersuit and then her palm, which she closes into a fist. She lingers on that only long enough that by the time she glances back up, he's leaving. Maybe that isn't for her, but fighting him...she feels like this wasn't such a wasted trip after all. It won't be a fight she'll forget any time soon. Right in the middle of going to tell Strawberry how impressed she is and going to chat up the other two, dojo students start assailing her from all sides. She's left rapidly looking from left to right, bringing up her hands and shaking them from side to side. "Uh--they're not really--it's not just--look, I don't know if you..." As if it'll stave them off, she tugs up on her scarf some to hide her expression and half-turns away. After a minute, she'll get used to it enough to speak straight and not dash their hopes, coming up with something about how they can learn to hit just as hard as her if they train hard and follow their hearts. That's technically true!
Cantio	Ah, crud. Now Vergil's expecting her to develop this fake technique. Keeping her jaw stiff, Cantio nods slowly while holding in a grimace at the visible bleeding from his everywhere. She even holds back on healing her own wounds until after he draws the Yamato and disappears into the portal, although it doesn't take long after he leaves before she finally breathes a sigh of relief. "That... That could have gone better, but it could have gone much worse." She takes another deep breath to steady herself, letting the transformation fade and her previous clothing/actual clothes reappear on her as her hair returns to it's slightly more purple state. Before she can rejoin the three Elites, however, she grunts lightly at that clap on the shoulder and actually gets caught off guard by the pupils' questioning. "Insights? That was... Er. The basic form of the move! Since it's easier to use a visible attack than to do it while hiding it. But for someone that's already working towards divinity, that's... Um. Also easier?" She is regretting all of this already. At least Strawberry Princess, Bercilak, and Hibiki seem to be taking it better than she is. She offers Strawberry a hand to get back home if needed, she (jokingly?) offers Hibiki a merchandising deal, and Bercilak gets... Her numbers?! Phone number. In case he ever wants her to fulfill her end of the contract.
Rubi-Kan Vagrants	"And I thou, sib," says Bercilak, clearly impressed. "I commend thee--thou ofstonded Strawberry's bem, and ne'er mo strengthli crafts hath I espied. Wel imet, Vergil." His helmet disappears in a wave of blue light, cutting the music off and revealing his grinning face. He offers an emphatic thumbs up, then turns around and clanks his way over to Strawberry. "That shit with the bem was fucking ille, sib. Thou'rt overprecise with that wight. PAU!" He pantomimes her stance with the axe, as a few would be students begin to encircle him. "Ei? Oh, yea, verily. Ifinde me 'pon the world of Rubi-ka, if thou cannst, and I shalt scole thee." He holds up a finger, as the axe disappears. "But obtein thou ifirst 'Ensuraunce.' 'Tis... lik five coins. Not costli," he says dismissively. "Mani wights on mine world quell, oth that, attempt to quell. Thou shalt hath nede of hit, if thou lest to ilern from me," he adds with a smile.