He hadn't had a chance to breathe before the next assault came.  It was as if Lon had become tainted, scorned by the ravages of savagery, wholly submerging himself in the intoxicating bliss of strength and immortality.  The barbaric vampire had become feral; a creature belonging to the wiles of violence.  There were rumours about these beasts.  A vampire being driven mad by their lust, their anger.  Naga wondered how long he'd been like this - how he got to this point.  How long would it be before he also grew blind with this obsessive distemper that would tear his mind asunder?  Would he be like Lon whose mouth seemingly foamed like a rabid dog?  Would he strike at the first promise of bloodshed?  Could his mind ever become this lost?  A frail sheep without its shepherd; the lion without its pride. For the first time, Naga drew in a deep breath as Lon's attentions were drawn elsewhere.  Her movements were so quiet even Naga hadn't noticed them and neither had their target.  The scent of his blood further penetrated the air, filling it like lead.  He took in a lung-aching breath, deep and steady, as he adjusted his hold on the twin daggers and scoped their surroundings.  The blade had been enough of a distraction for Naga to regain himself, to think, to act. While Lon was distracted by the busty woman and pulling her blade out of his arm, Naga lunged.  It was an attempt to swipe the edge of his daggers into Lon's fingers, severing them from their bleeding knuckles.  The swipe was quick but fruitless as the lumbering oaf pulled back just in time to narrowly avoid the dismembering blow. Naga  86/100 HP 70/70 SP Got punched in the face.  Insignificant scratches along his back. 80. Lon 70/100 HP

There was passing thought to call for the man’s assistance, to see if he could shove a blade the rest of the way through or even snap an arm while it lay snared. Yet as orange-tinted gaze fell upon him he seemed almost frozen. Maybe that brain of his had been rattled worse than she thought, seeming only to draw breath she could not focus on for long before the crazed man before them pulled attention back. One clawing desperately to liberate himself from the severance of a blade. Seeking to tear it from where it lay lodged but such efforts only spurred the hare to press more harshly in aims to keep those hands distracted, away from swinging out at her in turn. Haru still didn’t like the idea of lingering so near to the accursed man and yet it came from necessity now. Step lightly faltering when a limb finally found freedom, pulling back as the beast readied for another strike. And her blade would do the same, reposition and surge forth in hopes of meeting the vampiric and impale itself deeply into that piercing gaze. Only to miss her mark as a crown jerked to the side bringing the edge of the sword to graze over flesh. Hardly inflicting the puncture she’d desired and yet her gaze would drift as the nameless one lashed in turn. A flicker granted before it was called back toward a shared target. Yet even as the red head did not currently hold the tenderness of her gaze, a softened query did, “Are you alright? Seemed to knock you out of it a bit there.” Haru 70/70 HP 45/50 SP Injuries: None 57. stabs at one of Lon's eyes but ends up slashing him on the cheek/face as he pulls back (-5 HP) Lon 55/100 HP

In some strange, mildly concerning way, this woman almost reminded him of Naza.  A twin sister he hadn't seen for some odd years now whose gentle spirit earned her the scorn of their dames' gaze.  Perhaps it was the soft way this stranger spoke to him or the way she regarded him with worriment etched into those petal-kissed eyes.  The same stare he earned whenever blood beaded at the edge of a newfound laceration and Naza would tend it.  Or when their mother's harsh words brought him to frustrated, angry tears.  There was no pleasing that woman but at least it wasn't endured alone. "Are you alright?"  He nodded then wiped away the dirt and blood that had accumulated at the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.  "I'll be better when this crazy bastard stops moving." He hated using magic.  Perhaps that was also another trauma response towards the volatile command of his mother.  If you couldn't fight your opponent with your fists, you didn't deserve to fight them, to begin with.  Magic was cheap - she claimed.  A coward's path to victory.  Even in his work, it was seldom used though she found his profession to also align with the yellow-bellied snakes.  There was no pleasing her.  But she wasn't here; she didn't face the man responsible for countless deaths.  If he wasn't stopped here - with any means possible - there'd be more blood on his hands.  Naga adjusted his position with the daggers before drawing in a deep, grounding breath.  Slowly inhaling through his nose, languid release through the subtle part of his lips.  With both daggers still dripping their assailant's blood, Naga used them to his advantage.  The blood hummed with magic as the assassin drew close to the rampaging vampire, blades swinging out towards Lon's thighs where they made quick work of the flesh and the magic-infused blood acted like needles beneath his skin, puncturing beneath and bursting from the muscle.  Before the hefty man could retaliate, Naga jumped back just out of harms reach. Naga  87/100 HP 65/70 SP Got punched in the face.  Insignificant scratches along his back. 44.  Sliced open Lon's thigh and made a smol blood explosion. Lon 45/100 HP

While a part of her did not believe it, Haru would accept the way he nodded and attempted to stave off concern in a manner akin to Saizo’s own. An act of one not wanting to bring her brow to pinch in worry, after all, it was he who was supposed to fret over her not the other way around. Yet such phrases were never something she could accept. There was nothing in this world that would chase it all away. Not for him, not toward this nameless man who worked alongside her now. Though the words spoken were those she could agree with and for now they would offer enough of a distraction. The sooner this cretin stopped moving the better. Fingers tightened their grip upon a blade as she fought to gauge an opening, an opportunity to strike that would not hinder her companion’s own movements. Unease sparking anew as the tingle of magic radiated over her skin, whirling past with the shift of another’s own weaponry. Attentions dancing toward the way blood seemed to burst, glistening in the moonlight as it nearly appeared to leap from the very injury carved against flesh. The hare had never seen a spell like that before. Little known over the damned and the very world she now dwelt in, everything so different from the lands across the sea. However, observation had always proven to be the best study. Already she’d seen the speed and strength held by at least the two before her this night. The eye catching stranger far more nimble while an elder brute seemingly held more power behind each swing. An aggression she never wished to feel first hand, already she feared the blow one managed to land on the red head. Damages seemingly miniscule despite the way he’d been thrown back. Surely if such a thing were to find one of mortal flesh it would be a more devastating blow, the resounding crack of bone left to echo in her ears if aim held true. Whatever the possibilities she didn’t intend to find them out for herself. Not tonight. So as the tyrant seemed focused upon another her own blade would shift, attempting to slice the throat of their towering assailant only to find motion to falter. Growing pressure against her forearm causing her to wince, a grip unrelenting the moment an arm lay seized. The edge of her sword left to barely trace over that tender expanse of flesh - a swing effectively stopped in the vampiric man’s refusal to release a prize that had already found escape once before. A still free hand darted in vain efforts to pry those clasping fingers off, hoping to draw back before fist or fang could join the revolting touch crawling over her skin. Haru 70/70 HP 45/50 SP Injuries: None 40. a big fat miss aka gets her arm grabbed instead of slicing Lon's throat open wit her sward Lon 45/100 HP

This was why he worked solo.  It was easier to focus on the target when there were just the two of them entangled in the sombre frays between life and death.  Naga didn't have to worry about the innocent getting knicked by his blade or accidentally ending up on the coroner's table nor did there linger concern over who his target was going to focus on - alone, it would always be him.  In the thick of the street where bystanders began to gather, their gawking eyes honed on the action, there was a growing fissure of impatience and dread.  What if they got in the way of Lon's rampage?  As it was, even he was starting to struggle against the red-eyed behemoth.  No matter how they carved at his skin it seemed like nothing could stop him. As the crowd gathered, many rushed back inside gathering others as they went so they wouldn't be caught in the crossfire.  That was one relief off of his shoulders, at least.  Naga's other concern, however, found herself in Lon's iron-like grip.  His eyes widened with the realization of what was about to happen and so he didn't spare a second before his feet pushed hastily off the ground.  To the bystanders, he'd appear as a blur of motion, a striking viper whose fangs aimed at the man's back only to be met with the full force of his frenzied fist.  A backhand for the history books.  It was enough to knock the wind out of his lungs as he went soaring backwards in a tumbling flurry of dust and loose pebbles.  Every inch of his body burned as the stones dug into his skin to create a plethora of superficial scratches. Naga  72/100 HP 65/70 SP Got punched in the face.  Insignificant scratches along his back.  Probably has a broken rib and more scratches all over. 95.  Sigh.  Went to save Haru but got blasted off again. Lon 45/100 HP

Nails embedded themselves against skin as the hare fought for freedom from the jaws of a beast. Terror sending a rabbit-heart into overdrive as it hammered in her chest. Doe eyes unable to tear away from the figure towering over her as those finger seemed to squeeze ever tighter - silent refusal to release what once was lost. So easily she could see the venom in his stare, the hunger and desire which burned behind it as it roved over the delicacies of flesh. It was frightening, unnerving, the quiver of her limbs sparking digits to cling ever tighter to the blade still in her own grasps. However, despite the filthy hold upon her the threat of a fist never connected. The sharp puncture of fangs never darting to pierce delicate skin, nothing more than the bruises sure to bloom beneath that iron grip. It all brought a greater sense of disgust to turn her stomach. Why bother staying his hand? A blemish upon her would hardly taint a meal, it would not poison what flowed within her veins more than the fearful surge of adrenaline already did. Perhaps it was the haze of a passing crowd, a hope to paint himself as the victim no matter how plastered posters proclaimed his name. Warnings all their own to the monstrosities one was so willing to enact for the sake of self-pleasure… it was pointless. And no matter how Haru did not wish to become another statistic - a claim of his indulgences - the devil refused to falter. His presence unrelenting no matter the blows dealt. Were all of the damned so resilient? She hoped so. For in a blur there came a flash of red. One swatted away just as swiftly as it had appeared. An action nearly unseen by the woman, not but a flick of the wrist captured as if he were shooing away the annoyances of a mere fly and the storm which followed dared to enrapture her. Caught staring into the cloud with a sickening sense of dread, however, try as she may Haru could not find focus upon a would be savior through the veil of grime. The luxury not afforded to her for long as sights were torn away. Fixating upon the creature who hoped to reel her ever nearer to him, sending panic to wash over her anew. The discomforting crackle of static blossoming into the sharp pop of electricity as it surged into that muscled hide. It’s pathway easily forged through the very contact he hoped to keep. Haru 70/70 HP 40/50 SP Injuries: None 34. piiiiikaaaaaachuuuu *zap zap* (-10 HP) Lon 35/100 HP

After his body had stilled within the cloud of dust and grime, Naga's head spun, and his ears were drowned with obnoxious buzzing like a thousand locusts taking flight.  The world around continued its relentless whirlpool dragging him to the centre of a dark storm to which he wasn't sure he'd wake.  He fought it.  Fluttering lashes were akin to claws fighting to stay open, to war against the encroaching sands of beckoning slumber.  Tantalizing, but he couldn't afford to pass out now.  Not when a cute girl was depending on him to free her from the clutches of the madman hellbent on murder.  You could see it in the way he looked at her - the same way Naga looked at his victims right before the blade sunk into their throats.  It was no wonder Basentaent Lon had such a hefty bounty on his head.  At this rate, even an army couldn't bring him to his knees.  The man was what many would envision when they thought of the most holy crusader, a general marching into the front lines of battle.  A berserker laying claim to the lands of his foes.  Then - one had to wonder - what had she done to earn his attention? Naga took his time rising from the cobbled road.  He stumbled and swayed.  He slowly regained his footing until the street stopped spinning.  This was the second time now that their target had cast him away as if he were just an annoying fly.  A snarl nearly tore from his mouth.  Instead, Naga wiped at his bleeding lip with the back of his hand as a silent oath that it wouldn't happen again.  A low hum mingled with the locust swarm, familiar electricity sparking at the cute girl's command.  In a frail attempt to garner Lon's attention, Naga launched the closest stone he could grab at the hefty man's head... only for it to sail right past them with a thud as it hit the wall of the tavern behind them. Naga  73/100 HP 65/70 SP Got punched in the face.  Insignificant scratches along his back.  Probably has a broken rib and more scratches all over. I don't remember but it was a miss.  Again.  Sigh.  Throws a rock at Lon only for it to go right past him. Lon 35/100 HP