[Grimoire Heart] Airship

[Shuren]

“A troublesome mission.” the young man replied, not moving an inch from where he stood. His target was now behind him, which put both of them in a rather interesting situation: they were both decent enough to not attack for the sake of their conversation, yet it was also an opportunity for both of them. Hayama was well aware of this and he wasn’t intending to miss it either. As Azazel’s shadow advanced towards him, attempting to land a punch, another invisible force would grab and block the punch. “It’s only proper that one introduces himself before seriously engaging in battle.” he said, and continued. “Rikudou no Hayama desu.” Rather than giving his exact name, it seemed more sensible that he shared what others called him. After all, he was pretty damn famous with that title on the field. Once he was done speaking, it was Hayama’s own shadow that appeared right next to him and intercepted the move. But not only that, he would create a second shadow in front of Azazel. This particular shadow would wait for the man's reply, while readying his sword for slashing motion.

[Bloodedge]

"What a shame. You even thought to put your trouble off on me by crushing my ship? Poor Calypso is going to take a whole three seconds to put it back where it was," he jested. The punch of his shadow was blocked, and a shadow of Hayama's own was created. Azazel responded to this by also producing a second shadow, which stood between him and the one most recently called forth by Hayama. All the while, he was content to let this civilized conversation progress. "Rikudou? Sou desu... ka. Azazel desu. Yo-ro-shi-ku~♪" With a simple, sweeping motion of his left hand, Azazel would then create a massive cloud of black flames, aiming to engulf himself, Hayama, the hawk beneath them, and all four shadows.

[Apollymi]

Calypso continued to watch still in her sitting position atop her crystal ball. This would seem odd to most but it would seem this young woman couldn't be bothered to stand up right now. Beyond that, it seemed that there was a pause in the battle or at the very least the initial test of wills was getting somewhere. 'Ugh, I wish he would hurry... I'd like to put the ship back in the air at some point in the next few minutes... if I don't do it soon, I'll lose a few years doing it.' she thought rolling her eyes. Her face resting in her clawed hand with the most bland expression on her face.

[Shuren]

“Blame yourself for the lack of motivation.” Hayama replied to the man’s sentence. So this comrade of his called Calypso was capable of putting the entirety of the ship back together in such a short span of time. Maybe her powers didn’t focus on mending as one would expect, but simply reverse the time around a certain object. Guessing that would do it, he continued. “Yoroshiku, Azazel-san.” he replied. With that said, now both of the parties were aware that the real battle could commence. Azazel decided to take the initiative and engulf everything around him in a cloud of black flames. Hayama, as a reaction, instinctively jumped and increased the distance in between. He didn’t care much about the shadows, since he had a more important thing to think about The hawk he had called forth was currently being burned. As for the drill beaked one, he had summoned it to receive Azazel’s first attack. So now, he had no summons left that could assist him down on the ground. Furthermore, the lower part of his body had caught on fire.

His first move was using Shinra Tensei on himself and repelling the flames that had begun to burn him. Once that was done, he used Asura Path. Transforming his left arm into a launching pad, he launched four missiles that were aimed at Azazel. Though this was only to distract him, while he would be off to do something else. Adding mechanisms to his feet that let him propel himself and basically fly in the air, the young Senbu flipped and propelled himself towards the forest below. Once he was near the ground, he would reverse his position and slowly deactivate the mechanisms on his feet. “Asura Path is versatile for sure.” he thought while landing softly. “I never thought the master of a dark guild would be this irrational. It must be the confidence built within his character thanks to his powers. In that case, I can’t be careless. Or simply, I shouldn’t be.” With a small nod to himself, as if he reassured himself, Hayama adjusted his mask that had gotten loose in the process of landing. He had made his way to the ground pretty quickly, so he had enough time to execute his plan.

He momentarily stabbed the ground with his sword and brought his hands together. He shortly formed the ram hand seal, closed his eyes and spoke with a barely audible voice. “Kutsuu Rikudou: Ichi.” Unknown to anybody, he activated a special type of magic unique to him and accessed its first realm. If he were to open his eyes, there would be the kanji of one on his right eye. The first realm granted him the power of manipulating illusions. Though this wasn’t the kind of power he needed for this fight. Without pausing, he continued as his magical power surged. “Ni.” He said, and accessed the second realm, which would let him copy the skills of others. It was a formidable power, but he wasn’t going to stop yet. “San.” He said quickly, accessing the third realm that granted him the power of summoning deadly animals with poisonous attributes. And lastly came the realm he was intending to stop at, at least for now. “Yon!” he exclaimed, as his magic surged and gained an unusual intensity. His right eye, or as much as it was revealed from his mask, was surrounded by flames while also displaying the kanji for four.

Grabbing his sword back and retracting it from the ground, he sheathed it in its scabbard on his back. He activated the mechanism at his feet and waited at a ready position.

[Bloodedge]

"Don't be coy," was Azazel's reply. Within moments, the hawk he and Hayama were stood upon no longer supported him, causing Azazel to begin his fall anew. Though he could not color himself impressed, as it were, by this man's ability, but he was quite curious about the one that sent him here on this supposed mission. Closing his right eye, Azazel teleported a few meters ahead of Hayama, wielding another scythe of flames in his left hand. "You aren't the Dragon Slayer I've been waiting for. But..." As he spoke, the raven-haired man dashed toward his enemy, baring his scythe at his left side and aiming to swing it horizontally across Hayama's midsection as if to bifurcate the man. While doing this, he continued speaking. "Perhaps you know where the Dragon Slayer is. Who sent you to me?"

[Apollymi]

Calypso was starting to find this tedious. As the magical power of this intruder surged, she was quite interested in the sort of mage he was. This was becoming ever so slightly more entertaining, perhaps then it was time for her to change seats? With this in mind the crystal ball began to move forward and then the young woman would descend while still sitting atop it as if bored. Which was kind of true she was bored, and unlike the Seven Kin she couldn't be bothered simply to wait. She'd restore the ship completely after the new comer was dealt with, until then she took her seat at ground level seemingly unperturbed by the potential dangers of being so close to a battle.

[Shuren]

As soon as he was done with this little ritual of his, Hayama would find Azazel standing in front of him with a distance of several meters in-between them. He told his that he wasn’t the Dragon Slayer he expected, making the young lad smile under his mask. Thinking that Azazel was anticipating his guild master to possess one type of Dragon Slating Magic, he tried to imagine what it would be like if he really encountered him. But that thought was soon discarded as the man attacked him with his scythe of black flames. Hayama didn’t response in return, instead he simply extended his arms out and created a barrier around his entire body. “Fuujutsu Kyuuin!” he said with a confident smirk that would go unnoticed because of his mask. Once the scythe hit the barrier, it would dissolve and be absorbed by him. “I needn’t answer that question. Yondaime will approach you when the time is right. Though I’m sure it will probably be on a whim of his. Just like everything is.” he replied while transforming his left hand into a cannon. Afterwards he released a gigantic, powerful energy blast aimed at Azazel. It was strong enough to destroy everything in its path, though Hayama was sure that he would need more than that to kill the man.

[Bloodedge]

"Yondaime? Do you mean to imply that Sabertooth's Master is my Dragon Slayer?" Though he sought the Fire Dragon Slayer specifically, Azazel would never specify. No; he thought that perhaps, if he found another one instead, they would have connections to the one he needed. This one's words, though, were quite troublesome. "When the time is right, hm?" he asked, completely in rhetoric. The idea that he would have to wait on someone else merely because of their whimsical nature was appalling, even though this fact made Azazel a bit of a hypocrite. Still, he was a bit angered by this. As such, when Hayama aimed a canon his way, Azazel held out his right hand. The blast from the Legal Mage's cannon engulfed the man, but no noise came from him during. When the blast faded, Azazel remained in place with his hand still raised, and black flames flowing from his every pore. Black, wavy markings had spread across his body, seeming to wrap around his face and arms and grasping on. His eyes had undergone a change of sorts as well, seeming to be nothing more than empty sclerae emitting a glowing white energy.

"Pitiful creature," he said in a more guttural tone than he had previously spoken in. "I will give you one chance. Tell me where to find this Dragon Slayer of a Master you have, or so help me, you will be exposed to the flames of eternity."

[Apollymi]

Calypso sighed just a little as she relaxed at her new viewpoint. She couldn't believe that Azazel had managed to become so annoyed by the lack of information provided by this ugly little intruder. The fingers of her unclawed hand were pressed against her temple on the corresponding side, as she watched the pair of them, and she found all the information she needed about the man who was known to Hayama as 'Yondaime' and from what she saw this was not the Dragon-slayer that Azazel sought. If the man who had challenged them had been beautiful, she may have pointed this out, in the hopes of being allowed to keep him. But instead she simply made a bored face and spoke. "Oi, Azazel. Speed this up. I'll age too much when I fix the ship if you take too much longer..." she said as her way of voicing the only real complaint she had, which was her dislike of the aging process in its entirety.

[Shuren]

“Kutsuu Rikudou: Go.” Hayama released the fifth realm of his Six Paths of Pain. He had done it on instinct after seeing the changes in Azazel's appearance. He believed it was called God's Wrath, a release that increased the God Slayer's magical capabilities. Feeling his magical power surge through the air, he smiled under his mask. As much as he was being underestimated by the duo, he didn't pay attention to their thoughts about him. On the other hand, the man was perceptive enough to catch that the Dragon Slayer he was talking about was his guild master. It didn't bother him in the slightest that Haru's interest in this particular dark guild had been revealed. If anything, they were the ones that had to watch out for him. Discarding the thought, he analyzed the fucked up situation he was in. “Although they are talkative, it's not just for show either. The fucker's magic took on a whole other level after that release of his. Even my fifth realm won't quite cut it anymore. In that case...” he thought, placing four shadows around him. “Kuchiyose...” he uttered, before continuing to place his hand on the ground and shout. “GEDOU MAZOU!”

The gigantic hands of the Outer Path's Demonic Statue emerged from the earth behind him. Their short exchange had proved itself to be worthy enough to have him use this technique. He didn't have many options anyway: copying the man's techniques was useless, as he would simply eat it and energize himself. Absorbing them would put him in a tight situation as the magical energy behind his techniques would surpass the amount he could take in. Shortly afterwards, earthen-coloured humanoid entity with a decayed appearance emerged from the ground, destroying the entirety of the forest that happened to be around it. However, to everybody's surprise it didn't attack physically. Instead, it opened its mouth and released several dragons of enormous size, firing them in Azazel's direction. If he came in contact with any of the dragons, his magic and life force would be extracted, hopefully killing the man. It would be a second if the man managed to survive this, considering that Haru was the first, and currently the only one to have been able to do so.

[Bloodedge]

"Your aging is of no consequence, Calypso. The children must be taught during times like these," Azazel said in passing to the nearby woman. From the male in front of him, he expected either an answer, or another annoyance to further enrage the impatient Guild Master. In fact, Hayama chose the latter option when he used his summoning technique to bring forth a... statue? Azazel did not know what this man hoped to accomplish with such a thing, but the fact that this Hayama thought to further assault him was repulsive. "Kisama..." he said as he looked into the mouth of the statue, stepping forward to approach it. In the meantime, the thing spat out its Magic/soul-absorbing dragons. The dark Mage could only think them pitiful as his Magic Power fought against the effects of this assault. He continued walking toward this summon, even as the dragons continued to try their hand at ripping out his very essence. When he was within striking range, Azazel clasped his hands together and encased them in his black flames. "Enjin no Bansan!" When he separated them, the flames around each hand took on the shape of two massive heads, though each had only a top jaw with its respective row of fangs. He brought his hands toward each other again, bringing each set of flames toward Hayama's summon from either side. If they were to connect around it, the flames would accumulate into a giant sphere bent on reducing it to ashes within moments.

[Apollymi]

"Says you." the annoyed seer commented. "I've never been any older than this... I doubt I'd enjoy it." Calypso finished. Granted she looked to be a young woman of a mere twenty years, it would be completely unreasonable for her to say such a thing without being significantly older. Still it would appear that their afternoon annoyances would only continue, but at least things were actually on fire now and there was a bit of beauty in that so she had no issues and would instead go back to watching in her semi-amused state.

[Shuren]

Hayama stood there, silent. Was he shocked? Or was he expecting something like this, given what amount of magic Azazel had released before? It was both and at the same time none. What made the young man so silent and terrified, was the fact that he couldn't choose between these two. Nevertheless, he managed to say only one thing with a barely audiable tone. “Shimatta!” Now, what could he do next? He could have the statue compress the dragons, unleashing an energy beam that couldn't be compared to anything he had released before. Or maybe just escape with a summon? Similar to how he felt about the statue's current situation of constantly being burned while simultaneously regenerating, Hayama decided that he would do both in that order. As the black flames engulfed the Gedou Mazou, Hayama made the tiger handseal and released his magic. All four of his shadows formed a line in front of him and took a defensive stance. Afterwards, the statue would start to compress the same dragons from before in its mouth. Once it was done, it released the entirety of the energy it had accumulated in a gigantic beam that would eradicate anything in its path. Of course, with how Azazel had overcome the last attack, the intensity of the attack was a question mark. Even then, it would serve Hayama well to attack his opponent with a stronger technique for one last time, while also granting him enough time to prepare a summoning technique.

[Bloodedge]

"Kisama..." Azazel said as he watched this summon regenerate as he burned it away. As another assault on him was prepared, Azazel withdrew his hands and held his right hand over his left with both palms facing inward on each other. "Enjin no..." he began to speak as the flames once again gathered between his hands. One one hand, the flames he'd previously used were still in place due to the benefits even an immature God's Wrath granted him, but God's Wrath was also a very hateful state which brought new levels of animosity from the user. As such, Azazel was now content to incinerate everything until there was no trace left of the man, the summon, and the shadows before him. "KAGUTSUCHI!" Azazel's Magic Power swelled to even greater heights, causing the land itself to tremble and break as his hands moved forward, unleashing black flames which encompassed him and pressed against the Gedou Mazou's beam. The flames continued to grow and press against the beam, and they would do so until they reached Gedou Mazou, Hayama's wall of shadows, and Hayama himself. In the process of the flame's inevitable growth, nearby trees were beginning to have their roots torn from the soil in the presence of Azazel's power, and those very same trees were soon vaporized by his flames.

[Apollymi]

Calypso seemed unworried by the danger of this situation. Though to be honest she had no intention of burning to death here and now. But she also didn't want to miss the show. With this in mind and knowing how bad Azazel's temper was when he was in this state, any flames that made their way to her person would find themselves unable to get past a rule which simply disallowed the magic not cast by her within its space. 'Yare yare, he's gotten all worked up now. I'm glad this one isn't pretty or this would be depressing.' she thought as her head rested in her chin and she watched apparently amused as black flames aimed to drown all in their path in fires which wouldn't be quenched until things were but dust in their wake.