⭐ HUNTERS ⭐ Urban Fantasy ⭐ IC [Still Open, See OOC]

[Durmatagno]

Victoria Aurelia Fawn
Santa Marina, October 31st, 2020



Victoria raised her hands and a lump of metal, steel, formed in front of her, shielding her body from the incoming crystals. It was unshaped, and only temporary metal, but it'd do the job of protecting her from the enemy attack. With one down, possibly for good, and one blinded for now, that left one obvious threat. Victoria could feel a few shards skid past her metal, one cut her arm, another into her cheek, but neither were serious. Glancing blows, anything on target was going to be stopped or deflected by the barrier in front of her. Once the attack was done however, she smiled, and let the metal drop the ground. Instead she brought one hand up, then tugged down, as if calling something. Sure enough, she was, a great beam of light from the heavens slammed down on top of the crystal launcher, definitely an earth mage....probably. She was burning mana fast, maybe not as fast as Candace, but fast. Whatever these things were she didn't want to risk another round of attacks, not when her own defensive magic was focused on energy not physical attacks like these.

Iron works (Temporary) -20
Solar Flare -40
Mana 100/200

[Lunas Legion]

Gabriella Sara Bianchi-Costa De Inferenza
Santa Marina, October 31st, 2020

"My magic doesn't exactly lend itself to direct offense, I'm afraid." Gabriella shot back, partially in explanation, partially in apology, using the opportunity she had to holster her CZ 85 B and instead drawing her Contender, figuring the much larger pistol would have a better chance against the mana crystal armour. She should probably learn some more directly offensive spells at some point, it wasn't like her family didn't know any, but that was something to be done later.

And then Candace did her thing. Gabriella could only blink, holding a hand up reflexively in front of her eyes from the wind as Candace leapt into the air. She stood up, eyes shutting for the briefest of seconds from the flash of lightning, counting that that figure was at least down for now, and could be dealt with once the other two were eliminated.

She registered the crystals, and dived to the ground rather than chancing testing her shield against them; it might have held, but it was better to evade than to try testing one's defences out. She didn't move to get up, instead remaining sprawled on the ground in a rather awkward and slightly uncomfortable post and raising her head to see, arm swinging around as she aimed down her Contender's iron sights as she paused, considering her options. The third figure had just attacked, that made the second the next attacker most likely. Her aim shifted as her arm drifted slightly, aiming for the second figure's center of mass and lining her shot up, channeling more mana into the bullet before her Contender roared as she fired.

Mana: 146/200

[Forest State]

Cassia & Candace Marin, Vivian Shaw
Downtown Santa Marina
October 31st, 2020

---

The armor held. It was damaged by the solar flare attack, of course, and the spots which were exposed were damaged, but the attack hadn’t been a one hit kill… Which wasn’t the best thing for the group of Hunters that was running out of options to take out the enemy with. Candace touched down on the ground with the wind helping to break her landing and keep her from just breaking something thanks to the high height that she was coming down from, but she could only use her strongest offensive attack one more time and she would be out of mana… Not just low on it but clean out.

“Might want to throw something at it, Cassia,” she said, looking to her sister. “Don’t wanna use the last of my mana when we might run into something else,” she added, crouching behind a car parked on the street for cover. No point putting herself in the line of fire if she wasn’t really able to retaliate, either. She cursed her situation, but rolled with it.

“Yeah, let’s see if this has more success this time,” said Cassia, targeting the one that Victoria hadn’t targeted, using a star bomb attack that was just like the one Candace had used. Once again, the projectile spiraled around and around in the air, homing in on the target that she had designated for it before it hit the mark and embedded itself within the armor of the enemy before exploding…

It sent crystals flying violently, as the armor was shattered, and that figure would now be open to conventional attacks that previously would’ve simply been deflected by the armor. Gabriella hadn’t had luck with her Contender shot, which had been absorbed, but Candace figured she would give shooting with her pistol a try, hearing the successful explosion and promptly popping out from the car that she was hiding behind…

Squeezing down on the trigger, she fired a number of shots in succession, but despite sending five shots in the direction of her target, none of them managed to hit… She fired three more rounds to empty out the magazine, only two of them hitting and neither of them actually dropping the enemy, before pulling out the emptied magazine and crouching back behind the car while she dug through her jacket for another.

Sometimes her luck just went that way, and she gritted her teeth in frustration. Of course she’d missed all her shots while Cassia had hit on the first try. Was just one of those days.

Two attacks came from the enemy side as the Hunters finished up with their moves - the blinded enemy, the one that Candace had fired at and broken the armor of, sent a spike out of the ground which pierced the car Candace was behind, and exposed her position. “Shit…” she muttered under her breath. The car was, after all, now above the height of her head, skewered through the middle by a spike of hardened earth which had been powerful enough to smash right through the concrete.

While the attack led by the other target, the one that was still unblinded and still had some armor left, was another thing entirely - this wasn’t one spikes but a row of spikes rapidly rising out of the ground, accelerating in the direction of Victoria and tearing up all the asphalt between her and the enemy, aiming to catch her up in the oncoming attack path.

MANA
Candace Marin - 75/200
Cassia Marin - 110/150
Vivian Shaw - 120/200

[Castelia]

Archibald "Archie" Lawson
Santa Marina, Florida

"Well, that was quite the scenic ride! Nothing new for me since I've experienced high altitude flight before, but it is different when you're riding on the back of a dragon."

Dismounting the dragon with a fluent movement of his body, Archie landed on the ground and began to quickly survey their surroundings, noting the number of enemies around them.

Hmmm, mostly goblins around us. They're not much of a threat, but if we encounter those mages and orcs that Freya mentioned, this could get into trouble fast...

Making a decision, he pulled out his Heckler & Kock USP pistol from its holster, setting the safety to off. He wasn't going to expend any mana for now, not when he might need it for the more dangerous enemies.

"Well, like I said earlier, let's get this show on the road." Adopting a shooting stance, and taking aim at a nearby group of 4 goblins that were approaching, Archie sent 3 rounds into the leading goblin then 3 more rounds each into the others, always aiming for the same spot in each of them: 2 rounds each into the torso, one into the head.

[Confederation of the Equator]

[minecraft villager sound]

[Forest State]

Freya Jung
Downtown Santa Marina
October 31st, 2020

---

Freya watched as goblins fell all around them in the melee that happened after they had departed the back of the dragon, a small maelstrom of chaos really, with target after target running up on them but being taken out. These goblins weren’t strong by themselves - not at all. They were pack hunters, they couldn’t do much without the support of a horde of others by their side, but when they moved in numbers they were still capable of decent feats like throwing cars on their side and ransacking a building, something that had happened plenty on this night in Santa Marina, where everything had gone mad…

If they weren’t careful, they would find themselves the next victims in the crime spree. The goblins, when they were hunting as a pack, were still capable of hurting humans just fine… They were small, yes, with each one generally not even going up to the knee of most of the Hunters standing here right now, but they could jump, and they had sharp claws and teeth that could make someone regret underestimating them real quick.

Gritting her teeth, Freya surveyed the battlefield and wondered if it would have been a good decision to bring a firearm of her own. No, she reminded herself that she already had something to use as a weapon. She had the best weapon of all out here…

The dragon roared behind her and reminded her of its presence, and she gestured towards the incoming group - from down the street, the goblins were showing up in larger numbers than what the Hunters were dealing with now, but the dragon would have no problem holding them off or even taking the group out entirely. Hell, it might as well have been made for tearing through the things, either swiping and hitting many of them with its claws, or barreling through them and crashing their formations, breaking the organization they desperately needed

“Go get ‘em, boy,” Freya muttered in a low tone, and she watched as the dragon flew over her head, slamming back down once it was ahead of the group of Hunters, charging off to face the goblins coming from further down the street.

There was no question about it, now, this place was some kind of place of interest. There was no other way to explain the influx of creatures that were targeting the city hall of all places, rather than any of the other high value targets across the city, even the Hunters Association office which hadn’t been hit at all… Which was strange. Seemed like a good target for whatever rogue mage was running the show behind the scenes here.

But there was a bright flash, and the battlefield changed in front of them…

No, the battlefield hadn’t changed, the participants had. There were two new fighters, and they didn’t look like they were on the allied side… They’d just appeared, somehow. Probably using some kind of spell, and if Freya had to guess, she would say they had traveled here in… In a bolt of lightning. They seemed like electric mages from the way there was electricity crackling around their bodies, so it made sense.

The entire look about them was just dark. They had dark clothes, dark brown hair, dark eyes… So on. If someone was going to be cast to be the villain, they seemed like they’d be good contenders for the role. But the Hunters wouldn’t have to wait long to find that out.

“We expected Hunters to be on the scene, but a bunch of students? Or is the Association letting you in younger and younger now? Stretched too thin, perhaps?” the lead member of the duo, the male with slicked back hair and some kind of light body armor, painted black of course, said. Although he was armored, though, his arms were still exposed… Showing well built up muscle. “What a surprise…”

The brunette standing next to him, who looked like she was most likely his sister or some kind of other relative, joined in the conversation as she stepped forward, electricity crackling between her fingers as she focused her mana there. She was tensed for an attack for sure, it was just a matter of when that attack would actually come. “You’ve got one chance to run and get outta here, kiddos. The time of the HA tellin’ mages what they can do and what they can’t do, it’s over…”

Her face had a smirk on it now, as she leaned in, ready to spring forward for an attack as soon as she decided that was the course of action she wanted to take. “It’s the rule of the strongest, now. If everything else tonight hasn’t gotten the message across to ‘ya, I will.”

Freya looked back to her comrades, raising her own fists in preparation to cast a spell when the fighting started. Not if, when. It was inevitable, at least if she was successful in getting her allies to not simply run now that they were faced with what was clearly an experienced pair of enemy mages, even if they didn’t seem that old themselves, maybe in their early twenties at the latest. “What are you worth as Hunters if you run from this…?” Freya asked Lola and Archie in a low tone. “I know it’s scary… But this is what we fuckin’ trained for…”

“Almost out of time, Hunters,” the male said, standing with folded arms and watching them. And all the while, there were still goblins around them, but they weren’t looking at the Hunters as much as they were the building that was being targeted. Which was fortunate. Because this would’ve been a good time for the remaining goblins in the area to swarm them, if they had decided to focus on the group of Hunters. “What are you going to do?”

He unfolded his arms, electricity now running up and down them. “Fight and die for a doomed cause? Or save your lives?”

MANA
Freya Jung - ???

[Sraelyn]

Viktor Farkas
Santa Marina, October 31st

---

Crouched next to the goblin he had just crushed with his enlarged arm, Viktor failed to notice the one that rushed him from behind. He felt the small creature jump into his back, latching on to his jacket, but before he could get it off, a little static ran through his body and the goblin fell.

“Thanks brother. You check on the man, we’ll finish off rest.” From his sides appeared two gory masses of flesh, quickly growing in size and shaping themselves into the form of robust, hairless dogs, 30 inches tall and with their head and front covered in thick bony scales. Two short whistles was all it took to unleash the rabid bone-hounds, one on the goblin he had previously smashed against the wall, which was now starting to get up, while the other hound snatched the leg of the goblin that was charging Tristan. Hopefully the owner would not mind too much splashed walls and mess the hounds were making with them.

Viktor looked down to his previous assailant, its body in spasms from the electrical attack, before placing his foot on its neck, softly applying pressure. “Do not fret, you filth, there is no point in struggling any further, soon enough you will join the rest of your kin.” He spoke in a soft manner to the wriggling goblin, the soft smile on his face in contrast with the deep rooted anger he felt for those things. Increasing the pressure placed on his foot, it was met with more resistance and some flailing, yet he continued until he felt movement no more. "Tristan. Do you know any healing spells? Can you check on those two?" Without looking at his classmate, he motioned at the bloodied pair that still lay on the floor, and whose sudden entrance had kicked in this whole situation.

For a moment Viktor had let his guard down, too focused on crushing the other goblin, and in the process he had exposed his back to an attack which fortunately didn’t amount to much thanks to Tavian. It was an amateur mistake really, and one he was ashamed to have made. Still, this scenario brought him back in time to years ago. Back to the first time Father had placed inside the “box", locked against a group of captured goblins and told to survive. The memory made him shudder.

On the other side of the counter, the barman was struggling on the floor. With one hand he tried to reach the revolver laying just beyond his fingertips, with the other he desperately attempted to keep at bay the goblin that was clawing at his face and torso.

---

Bone-Hounds x2 [60]
Reshaping Tools [20]
Mana remaining 70

[Durmatagno]

Victoria Aurelia Fawn
Santa Marina, October 31st, 2020

Victoria quietly thanked her mother for being a nephilim, and her other other for choosing that one. She was faster and stronger than most people, she doubted most could avoid what was heading her way without magic, but herself? It would be cutting it close, and she felt her shirt rip as a spike caught the loose fabric. Thankfully she had a compression top underneath. As she finished her full tilt sprint away from the wall of death, she didn't stop, instead a now all to familiar spell formed itself in her hand, and she raised it. She should catch all three with this one, but after this...she was basically out of mana, and wouldn't be much help magic wise. From her hand the now familiar beam of light extended forward, the same one she had used to kill the wraith things, but these guys? They were wearing rock, and seemingly made of flesh. They were exactly what this kind of spell was designed to destroy. The beam surrounded the three, and Victoria held it in place as she brought herself to a skidding stop. Once the light diminished, she looked to see if any were still standing, the unarmored ones should be completely toast, the armored one might have survived, but it's armor wold be molten, and that much would probably finish it off.

"Guys, I uh, I'm running a little low on mana over here, little help?"

Solar Wind -75
Mana 25/100

[Kassaran]

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

G U N M E T A L B L A C K
SANTA MARINA, Florida
31.10.2020
Elijah Langley
__________________________________

The dragon pumped its great wings once, twice, and suddenly he was clinging to it's back for dear life. To state that he was uncomfortable with the current situation was a vast understatement as they took to the skies and climbed in altitude. He'd never liked flying in planes and the one time he'd gotten to go werewolf hunting on the side of a helicopter had also been immensely unpleasant, but this took the cake as least favorite of activities he'd ever participated in. He cursed under his breath in Latin and English, mixing the two as it seemed appropriate and damning the infernal beast he was riding for not being a smoother ride, but besides the sudden rush of adrenaline he was experiencing, he felt no other problems. Hell, he'd not even tapped into his mana to get the adrenaline rush to combat his fear, that had just been pure biological reaction which honestly made sense... given dragon-riding wasn't a natural part of the average human or Hunter's life.

Watching the city grow in size around him, he could now also clearly see the cause of much of the chaos. While from the academy it had simply looked as though the city had been set alight, it now was obvious that the individuals buildings were simply reflecting the light from the fires on the street level, casting them up into the smoke-filled sky. The beast dropped suddenly, forcing him to bring his attention directly towards the point on the ground they were going to definitely impact. He gritted his teeth, letting himself prepare to absorb the almighty shock of whatever terribly blow the landing would do to him. He'd learned to tumble at a young age, but not off the back of a dragon- but horse-back riding probably wasn't all that different. Feeling the sudden jolt as the beast slowed its descent in the final moments, the landing suddenly became much less severe than expected and he felt himself relax and the rush of blood that his adrenal glands now filled his body once again. He looked down to note that Abaddon was still freely slung over his shoulder on its one-point sling and so he swung his leg over the back of the dragon and dropped to the ground lightly, his hands travelling to the familiar grip of the custom carbine and pulling it to his shoulder.

All around the dragon, goblins were wreaking havoc, the swarm of the short monstrosities sent Elijah's blood into a boil and he steeled himself behind the CCO sight. There were a few bodies of humans in the street, he could see other people still trying to flee and watching a small pack of goblins begin to set themselves upon the civilians, he lined up the small red dot on the back of the lead goblin and applied the 2 pounds of force to the trigger he needed. Fire, a rush of wind and noise, thunder from the blood mage's tool of choice set to smite the wicked abominations which had dared spill blood in the realms of man. The .300 Blackout had a habit of not leaving much behind to determine an exact cause of death when dealing with creatures the size of a goblin, but the second pull of the trigger made any effort an observer made after the fact a pointless endeavor as the small being erupted into a fine mist of gore. Several goblins pulled to a stop, their shock sealing their fate as the trigger slammed into the back of it's well and from the Abaddon erupted destruction and death three more times. An arm flew to the left, a shattered skull cap skittered back across the street, a goblin's torso fell in twain as though struck by a great sword.

"Twelve Goblins, Eight O-clock, thirty meters! Engaged!" he roared out over the report of Abaddon engaging in battle with the enemy which had now begun to realize the threat the man in black posed. A group broke off from the swarm, abandoning the chase of the civilians for the blood hunter who was slowly strafing across the street into cover, weapon shouldered and slamming rounds home into another two goblins before the rest peeled off the pursuit. Mercy was not a virtue that Elijah had been trained to afford his quarry, and a third goblin fell, a large hole in it's chest cavity from where the heavy-duty ordnance had ripped through it's primitive armor. Two goblins now had caught up to the civilians that were struggling to pull themselves away from the fighting. Blood streamed down their arms and heads where the crude weapons had impacted them, their cries echoing down the street as part of the din of the fighting. Elijah pulled the bead on the closest civilian nearest him and waited for the shot.

As the creature reared up, trying to gain leverage for a better means of striking the man in the head, Elijah depressed the trigger and sent a round thundering past the creature's head. It jolted back, off-balance and fell to the ground. Two more rounds slammed into the ground around it, sending up a spray of asphalt and rubble around the small creature as Elijah struggled to regain his shot. The small humanoid struggled to get to safety, reaching for a nearby piece of building which appeared just large enough to shield it's body, but as it gripped the piece of rubble, the fifth round found it's mark. It seized up in its final death throes as it's side split open like a ripe piece of fruit, viscera spilling onto the street. The second goblin by now had registered the threat and had begun to charge Elijah. The carbine's muzzle quickly acquired it's target and barked three more times. The creature fell to the ground as a leg separated at the hip and another round penetrated through it's upper abdomen to leave the head lolling to one side loosely.

"Two civilians at eight o'clock, check fire!" Elijah shouted again, hoping someone was keeping track of his location as he finally reached the side of the street and tucked in close to one of the columns on the front of a now abandoned office building. Thank god for practical cover in some architecture. A sudden impact in his back had him dropping to the ground and releasing his weapon to avoid firing off any rounds as he fell, rolling as he impacted and flipping over to find a goblin with a crude club of sorts, leering at him. Elijah smiled wickedly back at it as his right hand was already at his hip, lifting Abaddon's muzzle and fixing it squarely on the creature, point-blank. He'd never noticed how goblin's looked when they died, this one appeared confused as it lost control of itself below the shoulder's and crumbled down upon its eviscerated spinal column. The empty feeling of the bolt not slamming forward again signaled to Elijah it was time to reload, so his hands quickly worked the magazine release as he came up to a crouch within the cover of the building, looking out over the battlefield outside city hall. The place was large, mostly exposed, and with a flash of bright light, two new contenders had appeared.

Eight seconds to discard his previous magazine and throw it into his mag pouch had him frowning, Abaddon's familiar CCO sight now filling his view again as the weapon came to his shoulder. It took only a few seconds for him to register what the two figures were implying about their affiliations before Elijah had settled on an answer. Two shots rang out and as the first round ripped through the air next to the male mage, the second found its mark and struck home in the mid-torso. Quickly pulling back into cover, he whispered to himself and wove the mana through his body, letting it fill his veins with the rush of fresh blood to his extremities, but most importantly to his brain. Rush, a low-grade enhancement spell, but one that could be the difference between life and death for a Hunter in a pinch-hitting situation like this. As his body seared with warmth of mana-fueled adrenaline filling his limbs and muscles, he rushed along the edge of the building, attempting to relocate before the two mages could react to his ambush.

Rush

Heightens blood flow and efficiency for a short period. Heightens reaction time and senses.

10 Mana p. Minute

Current Mana	140
Mana Capacity	150

Azrael - Custom M1911 Handgun	2 Magazines (14 Rounds .45 ACP)
Abaddon - Custom CQC AR-Pattern Carbine	3 Magazines (88 Rounds - .300 Blackout)

[Theyra]

Tavian Arcos
Santa Marina, October 31rd, 2020

Tavian was expecting a response from Tristan, but none the less responded to Viktor, "Got it." The two of them should be able to handle the remaining goblins, Tavian thought as he made his way to the barman. Vaulting over the counter and finding the barman locked in a struggle with the goblin. Tavian wanted to converse his mana so instead of launching a lightning bolt at the goblin. He ran to the goblin, and while it was distracted with trying to kill the barman. Tavian grabbed the goblin and gave it an electric shock, it only stunned rather than kill it outright. But, it gave the barman enough time to grab his revolver and aim point-blank at the goblin. Firing two shots at its head and the goblin fell dead on the barman. Tavian helped get the goblin off of the barman, "Are you hurt? He asked the barman.

The barman was shaking as he was leaning against the wall, Looking at the goblin intently before facing Tavian. "I.. I am fine, thank you for saving me. I saw you use magic, are you a Hunter?

"No, just a Hunter in training and let me help you up," Tavian helped the barman up, and the two surveyed the scene. It looked like most of the customers had fleed the bar, and goblins bodies littered the floor. Some intact and others... not so much thanks to Viktor's bone hounds. " It looks like we got them all, and are you sure you are okay? Tavian asked.

"I am will be fine and I am just glad it is over, he placed his revolver on the counter, still breathing heavily.

Seeing how the barman was fine, Tavian walked around the counter and rejoined with Viktor and Tristan. "That is all of them, but, where did they come from? He asked out loud to the group.

Mana left - 120

[Recuecn]

Tristan was glad to see that his companions were more than capable of dealing with a couple goblins. Viktor's bone hounds made short work of them. Tavian was fighting hard too, and called over his shoulder for Tristan's help, but by the time Tristan was ready, his friends had dealt with the goblins. It was just as well. Tristan's combat spells were more support based anyhow.

Viktor finished off a goblin with his foot, but glanced with concern at the original couple who had run into the bar, followed by the goblin gang. "Tristan. Do you know any healing spells? Can you check on those two?"

"On it."

Tristan hurried over to where the two lay face first on the floor, lying in their own blood. He gently rolled them over. They were still alive at least, but it looked like they were in a lot of pain. Most of their injuries appeared to be only flesh wounds, but they had a lot of bad scratches from the goblins who had leaped onto them.

Tristan hesitated for a moment, thinking. He did have a powerful healing spell, but he didn't think he had enough energy left to use it twice, plus if there was going to be more combat like this, he'd need to save some mana. If only I'd brought my gun, he thought, forgetting that of course there was no reason for him to bring his weapon along to what was supposed to be a peaceful night out in a bar.

Tristan did however have a slightly weaker healing spell. It would be enough to make sure that they didn't bleed out and die on the floor of this bar here, and it would also go a long way towards reliving the terrible pain the couple must be in. Pain like that could send someone into shock, or send them unconscious. Tristan's psychic magic was perfect for easing one's mind and relieving pain, to the point where the healing came from the mental effects, not the other way around.

Kneeling, and laying a hand on each of the individuals, Tristan felt a little more magic energy flow out of him for each one, as he cast his spell twice. He called it 'magic placebo,' but just like a placebo, it had a real, powerful effect. He watched as his beneficiaries' eyes fluttered open and they began to sit up. They were still covered in wounds, but they could function, and they would be okay.

Tristan stood up and walked over to Viktor and Tavian. "What next?" He looked at the bartender's gun. "Hey... could I borrow that?"

---

Edit: remaining mana, 75

[Castelia]

Archibald "Archie" Lawson
Santa Marina, Florida

Archie watched with hidden satisfaction as goblins began dropping like flies around him. His initial attack had all found their marks, causing the first group of goblins he engaged to drop to the ground in pieces. Admittedly, he wasn't much of a marksman, but he had used the USP pistol he was holding all his life. It was the very first gun he had held, the first one he had learned to maintain, and the first one he had mastered. It was like an extension of his body at this point, and he knew what it was capable of, and what it wasn't.

Turning towards another group of approaching goblins some distance away, he fired the remaining four rounds, dropping another 2 of the little bastards. With quick, practiced movements, he pulled out a magazine from his holster with his left hand, while using his right thumb to eject the empty magazine from the pistol. Thanks to the magwell extension, he was able to quickly reload the pistol and chamber a round before resuming his work, completely eliminating the small horde of goblins with precise shots.

Thanks to the Expert's focus on precision shooting, which it was designed for, Archie had an easy time eliminating the goblins even at a distance. In fact, it was almost like target practice for him. He had a habit of firing several rounds against a single target, but that was usually good practice. A single round wasn't enough to guarantee neutralization of the target, even if they were small beings like a goblin.

16 shots for 6 kills. Not bad...

While reloading the pistol again, he took some time to look at his surroundings. There was one of their group, a male student, engaging a group of goblins some distance away. And then there was Freya, ordering the dragon to attack even more goblins. The mighty beast flew over the heads before dropping down further down the street, bringing carnage to the poor things that found themselves in the dragon's reach.

Archie was about to comment on how things seemed easy when they arrived. Two mages, in what was obviously villain attire. The man looked like a bulked up standard run-of-the-mill villain-of-the-week in a cop show, while the female, who appeared to be related to the male, had electric magic. They then began a standard villain monologue about how the strong trumps the weak, how the Hunters Association was bonkers, well, Archie stopped listening mid-way through.

Internally shaking his head for tempting fate, the young water mage began to ready himself for a fight. Feeling Hydrokinetic Movement activate, boosting his movements, Archie turned to Freya and replied "Of course. What kind of Hunter would I be if I ran away from this?"

The fight started as suddenly as the mages arrived. Elijah, from wherever he had moved to, had sent a couple of rounds towards the two bad guys, hitting the guy in the torso with one round. Taking this as the "Fight, Start!" signal, Archie decided to fire off 4 rounds from his pistol towards the two mages while using his boosted movement to move towards the opposite side of the street from where Elijah was. Taking cover behind a pillar, he holstered his pistol then created a riot shield using Hydrokinetic Constructs.

From there, he cautiously moved to take a peek towards the two mages, magical riot shield in front of him, so he could see what they were doing and plan accordingly.

Mana: 120/150

[Sudbrazil]

Leonard Constantinovich
Downtown Santa Marina, 31/10/2020

---

He was still dazzled when his set his boots on the ground. His hair still tingled with memories of the air that had flown through its tips, and the aftertaste of a fearful yet pleasant experience clinged to the back of his mind. But the air smelt of ashes and there was fresh blood on the pavement. He slapped the charging handle, slamming the bolt forward.

As the gunshots rang out, Leonard hurried to find cover in the open square. Behind a car, two of the green marauders hid, and without much care for accuracy he squeezed the trigger. The bolt, delayed by rollers, kicked hard as the extractor flung the brass several feet away. The unsupported rifle jerked somewhat and flung two shots into the pavement, but one hit its mark and tore away a goblin's arm. The little creatures scurried away, seeking more precious time, but three other shots popped from the German rifle struck them down. Constantinovich dropped behind the engine block, grimly satisfied by his accuracy and the NATO round’s terminal ballistics.

He found another pack to prey on and lined up the glowing reticle. The rifle, properly braced, resting on the car hood, spat out its supersonic lead and struck down another goblin and wounding it's companion. He fired again in quick succession, and six shots found six targets despite all odds. Brief spurts of bloody mist sprung from the goblins as they fell onto the pavement, cursed each by nine grams of lead. Having secured his immediate surroundings, Leonard crouched behind the car and locked the charging handle back. He threw the almost empty mag into its pouch and rocked in another aluminium substitute. A strange feeling had crept into his stomach – disgust.

"Ain't war hell…" lamented Leonard as he once again slapped the bolt home. Despite the thrill of the hunt, it had been quite some time since his last combat operation and this all felt eery. Now, the air had been stained with that maroon iron tinge and the earth drank from the blood he spilled. But now wasn't the time for such ramblings. Clearing his mind, he peeked over the automobile and fired at the female's general direction. The recoil was rough, and he didn't expect to hit anything, but volume of fire was crucial to victory in the modern battlefield.

[Confederation of the Equator]

[minecraft villager sound]

[Sraelyn]

Viktor Farkas
Santa Marina, October 31st

---

“Nicely done, brothers. Not too bad for our first taste of blood together in America.” So far so good. Looking around the bar once again, Viktor surveyed the aftermath of their surprising encounter. The patrons that had been enjoying themselves minutes ago were long gone now, in their stead were now the strewn, mangled, and in some cases dismembered bodies of multiple goblins. The bone-hounds had made sure that every single one of them was certainly dead, to the detriments of whoever would have to clean this place afterwards. Fortunately, they were able to stop the gang of creatures before they could do significant damage. The barman and the older pair were still alive if injured, but it could have gone much different if the trio had chosen another place to spend their evening.

“I doesn’t seem they came here searching for us specifically, as the goblins were as shocked to see hunters in here as we were to see them. Fuck if I know what they’re after, but someone must have unleashed them, and there must be more of them.”

Approaching the open door, Viktor peered into the street. The display of deep, multi-coloured lights continued illuminating the night sky; surely magical in origin, they were more than likely tied to the sudden apparition of goblins. The scenery that greeted him outside finished painting the picture of what the hell was going on. Burning cars, thrashed storefronts and the charred remains of a corpse where in their immediate vicinity, while on the distance gunshots could bee heard ringing over sirens, shouting, and the occasional scream. While they were busy at the bar, the whole of Santa Marina, or at least its downtown area had been under siege by and unknown enemy.

“Well, I’m not staying here while the city burns. Guess now we do whatever we can to help, be it hunting down as many creatures as we can or helping civilians caught in the open. Either way, let’s move out.” With both hounds in tow Viktor stepped outside, using whatever car was not in flames a cover as they headed towards the city’s center, where the attack appeared to be the fiercest. “The Association must have deployed Hunters across Santa Marina by now, maybe we can link up with someone that might tell us how everything went to shit so quickly.”

---

Mana remaining 70

[Forest State]

Halloween Fight Night
Downtown Santa Marina
October 31st, 2020

---

The fight started with a bang rather than more words - more than one bang, the bangs that came from gunshots being fired away from the main area of the battle. The attack was coming from somewhere that was out of the immediate view of the two dark mages that had shown up and challenged the Hunters, and now, both of them were under attack by Elijah… The next sequence happened quickly, too quickly to process for some perhaps, as the male was hit in the midsection by one of the shots, an area that was covered by armor. The other bullet, on the other hand, went whizzing by the head of the female, not making contact and going harmlessly off into the distance.

And then they were gone.

They weren’t gone from the field of battle, no, that would be too simple… Just having them disappear and fuck off to wherever they had come from in the first place, deterred by the attack. It was going to take far more than what had already happened to deter them enough to get them to leave. Hell, these Hunters knew nothing of their skill. For all they knew, it could be an impossible fight and they wouldn’t be able to protect the city hall no matter what they did.

That was getting ahead of themselves, though - before they could worry much about what the mage were doing next, it would be a good idea to find them. Surprise attacks wouldn’t benefit anyone… Anyone on the Hunter side, anyway.

The male mage seemed intent on dueling Elijah, and appeared in the air above where he was running now along the edge of the building, having used the same electric travel move that they had used before - seemed it turned the user into a lightning bolt briefly which could move rapidly to one location before the user of the spell was able to drop back down and revert to their regular form. The most dangerous part was that it was very hard to see when the user of the ability had arrived, or rather, it was hard to immediately find where someone was going once they departed…

It’d probably take everyone a few seconds to process where the mage was right now. And in this case, the place the mage was happened to be the same edge of the building that was occupied by Elijah. It was a quick counter attack, but it fit, because everything else they’d seen… No, the only thing they’d seen before from this duo, was that they were fast. When they used that one spell of theirs, they were able to jet to one location without a chance of being caught, and that meant they could hit from a lot of different angles.

The mage also seemed intent on attacking quickly. Approaching on a downward vector towards the gun toting Hunter, the dark mage reached out with a spell as soon as materializing once again, maybe out of instinct and having done similar counters like this before - considering the gunshot had been a penetrating one, which had wounded the mage, it made sense that what was coming next was a ranged attack and not one that would initiate a physical battle. There was a disadvantage to be had there. Not a disadvantage from range, or at least not as much of one.

Three knives of infernal energy shot forwards, rocketing towards Elijah with speed, and they had been designed a very specific way… They could be stopped by magical protections without much trouble, but they were optimized to use their infernal traits to shred through traditional body armor quite easily. One could even say it wouldn’t stand a chance against the triad of blades that had just been launched against the isolated Hunter.

One might think that the second mage would be the target of a number of attacks given the ones which targeted her in the moments after the battle had started, but she was also gone, and she didn’t move as far this time, instead choosing to attack the back line of the group of mages instead of going after Elijah off in the distance or something along the lines of that. Archie had fired out some shots, but what he almost certainly wouldn’t expect would be the female mage appearing to his side and behind him, reaching out and striking him hard in the side to make her presence known.

“If the speech before wasn’t enough evidence towards giving up,” she said, reaching to grab the back of Archie’s collar, hoping to use him as a shield to discourage any attacks from his teammates. Although she still had her more familiar way of getting out of it if they did decide that overwhelming force was a good option in this scenario for freeing their friend… And of course, she had to nab Archie in the first place, which wasn’t guaranteed. She wasn’t sure just how slippery of a Hunter he was.

If she was successful, it’d give Lola and Leonard something to think about before they started throwing explosives around again or firing shots wildly, especially since she was behind their ally. And she had him in something of a compromising position, there was a chance she could do quite a bit of damage with a well placed spell.

[Castelia]

Archibald "Archie" Lawson
Santa Marina, Florida

Thank God for life's little blessings, even if they do hurt...

Peeking ever so slightly at where the mages were supposed to be, Archie had expected them to be on the move as soon as the battle began. But he didn't count on them to be as fast as they actually were, which came to bite him in the ass when the blow struck him on his side.

"Gah!" It was a particularly hard strike, hitting him directly on the rib cage and knocking the wind out of him. However, it was also a blessing in disguise; Archie's unprepared state, coupled with his boosted movement thanks to Hydrokinetic Movement, caused him to instinctively follow the direction of the blow, narrowly dodging the hand that was about to grab his shirt collar by accident. Putting some distance between himself and his surprise assailant became his priority for now, especially since he didn't know what else she was capable of.

Activating Hydrokinetic Flight, Archie rapidly turned towards the direction of his assailant and began his plan. Launching himself high into the air, Archie blasted himself towards Lola and Leonard. With himself in the air and away from his opponent, he hoped to give them an opportunity to attack the female, if they weren't attacking the male already. At the same time, he fired off a Water Blast towards his opponent, keeping his eye on her, riot shield once again in front and ready to counter.

Mana Left: 80/150

[Sudbrazil]

DOWNTON SANTA MARINA
Leonard Constantinovich, firefight in progress
31st October 2020

---

The last round in the burst cycled, leaving behind a faint chemical trail. But its targets were no longer there, having disappeared from Leonard’s sights. Bewildered, he looked around the battlefield. Then, despair hit him like a hammer. Where were the police or the Hunters when you needed them? They were just half a dozen students, how could they fight such an enemy? He didn't know whether or not he would survive the next hour!

“Oh Lord, help me deal with this mayhem,” muttered the Slav as he attempted to regain his composure. His prayer was seemingly answered as he finally found one of them, attempting to backstab Elijah. Instinctively, he channeled arcane energy through his arms, conjuring two jets of water. In his haste, one of them arched and sputtered pathetically into a wall. The other, despite the large distance, hit the wretched wizard with the force of a deluge gun and drenched him in water. Leonard seized the opportunity and quickly froze the water using his hydrokinetic abilities, hoping to trap the mage in a case of ice. He hesitated to follow up this attack, and looked for the other mage, but it seemed to him that Archie was handling her quite well. Shouldering his gun once more, he moved closer to the building as to see whether Elijah was alright or not and to get a cleaner shot.

MANA: 140/200

[Confederation of the Equator]

[minecraft villager sound]

[Forest State]

Halloween Fight Night
Downtown Santa Marina
October 31st, 2020

---

The mage that was fighting Elijah would find himself caught up in the water and ice trap that was being played by Leonard, not because it would have been impossible for him to avoid, but because his focus was on guiding the knives that were headed towards Elijah, which went off target and ended up on the ground once the person who was accelerating them was no longer paying attention to the spell. They were magical constructs, after all, not physical objects that obeyed the laws of physics… One of the downsides of using this specific spell, which needed focus on the guidance of the knives to make them hit the mark accurately once they were out of the immediate vicinity of the mage.

Although it wouldn’t work forever. The mage quickly went to work on creating infernal electricity, which started to burst through the layer of ice and allow for more movement without yet freeing the user of the spell completely. Would it free the mage before someone else launched an attack? That remained to be seen, of course, as it depended on whether or not anyone else felt confident in trying to capitalize on the fact that this mage was held up… Even if it would likely only last for a moment more.

The female mage, on the other hand, was much more proactive. She’d taken a jump into the air, going directly upwards to avoid Archie’s attack towards her, and then she replied with the first real attack that she had taken using her magic, spraying electricity downwards towards Archie while she angled herself towards him, on a path to come crashing down to the ground from a high height if she didn’t use her quick travel ability once again. But it seemed like that was her plan. For now, though, she was at the apex of her ‘jump,’ and she had one hand extended, blasting the electricity in an arc towards her opponent which would require, at the least, evasive moves to escape.

Freya just gritted her teeth while she watched, going through her potions… She had one potion in her hand that she thought would help, one that would disorient the person who breathed in the smoke that’d appear once the vial was broken, but she couldn’t throw it just yet… It’d just affect Archie too, and she needed to get the mage isolated for it to do what she was hoping: provide an easier target for the others without the threat of metaphorical friendly fire. And so for now, she waited…

[Castelia]

Archibald "Archie" Lawson
Santa Marina, Florida

Quite the slippery fellow, aren't ya? But not unexpected...

It's quite the feat for someone to jump higher than Archie while he was traveling upwards with Hydrokinetic Flight, but then again, he was ascending slowly as he only wanted to keep her away. His goal had been to create some distance between himself and the woman, but it seemed to him that she was determined to engage him at any cost. Thus, it wasn't any surprise to Archie when she jumped up and launched an attack against him.

Now, he knew she had electric powers from what he had seen of her entrance. The way she moved was reminiscent of a lightning bolt, moving from point to point but needing to stop before being able to move again in a different direction. Because of this, it wasn't much of a surprise to Archie to that she would have a way of using electricity to attack.

Watching the female mage closely as she jumped and launched her attack, Archie was reminded of the way Jordan Liao had first attacked him during the magic combat tryouts. A jump, an attack while in midair, and then a landing on the ground. Sure, this was a different opponent with different abilities, but it was essentially the same mode of attack. And just like before, his chosen plan was the same.

Using Hydrokinetic Flight and Hydrokinetic Movement together was tricky, but not impossible. And so, Archie made a high-speed sideways dash in mid-air, narrowly dodging the lightning attack that had been sent against him. He put more distance between them than before, like with Jordan's fight.

And just like before, he used Hydrokinetic Constructs to create another water spear, and with one mighty swing of his arm, threw it at her projected landing spot.

Directly into where the middle of her ribcage would be right before her feet touched the ground.

Mana Remaining: 65/150

[Kassaran]

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

G U N M E T A L B L A C K
SANTA MARINA, Florida
31.10.2020
Elijah Langley
__________________________________

The mage countered almost immediately upon being hit and Elijah could feel the hair on the back of his neck prickle as the static discharge from the Lightning Step deposited the enemy fighter close to him. Too close. He rolled, but felt slow, sluggish compared to the feral magus. Rolling onto his left as he reached for Azrael in its holster, he turned over in time to see several arcane knives scatter away from him as the enemy mage's concentration was broken. The mage that had been asking so many questions of the dragon earlier had just saved his life, Elijah was sure of it. He intended to capitalize on the freezing effect which now had begun to engulf the mage as he scrambled to bring his sidearm on target.

Watching as the barrel pulled onto target, he pulled the trigger and watched the round fly towards his target, but in his jumpiness, his other two rounds fired after went wild. He continued to scramble, moving to a low crouch as he prepared to dive away. These electric mages were fast and he felt a grim smile cross his face as he realized that perhaps they truly were outmatched. It didn't mean he'd stop though, not this time, not with so much on the line. He'd picked this fight and he'd be a part of those whom ended it. It was the only choice the mages now left him and it was the only choice he'd tolerate being given.

Rush

Heightens blood flow and efficiency for a short period. Heightens reaction time and senses.

10 Mana p. Minute

Current Mana	140
Mana Capacity	150

Azrael - Custom M1911 Handgun	2 Magazines (11 Rounds .45 ACP)
Abaddon - Custom CQC AR-Pattern Carbine	3 Magazines (88 Rounds - .300 Blackout)

[Forest State]

Halloween Fight Night
Downtown Santa Marina
October 31st, 2020

---

It seemed like Archie’s attack would be an easy enough one to dodge - the lightning jump ability didn’t take a lot of mana and it was clear that these were experienced enemy mages that didn’t have to spend a lot of time fretting over mana costs, right? Surely they could afford to simply keep avoiding a knockout blow and force their lesser experienced and lower capacity opponents to run out of ammunition, so to speak… In this case, the ammunition wasn’t bullets of lead but something much more ethereal, the mana that was expended with each move.

And jumping using the lightning jump ability was indeed what the female mage did when it became clear she was going to fall into an attack by Archie, and she ended up behind him once again… What she didn’t account on was a daring move from Freya to throw off her progress on this attack… She’d maybe have had a better chance of stabbing him in the back if it wasn’t for the fact that Freya tossed a vial with all her strength in their direction, watching as it shattered on the ground and released a pale smoke.

It’d affect both of them… But they didn’t have many options here, which Freya had pondered before making her decision. It wasn’t clear what the smoke was at first and what it did, but in reality, it was a disorienting potion which would daze and disorient the person who breathed it in, a bit - or in this case, the multiple people.

“Sorry, Archie…” she muttered under her breath, while looking to the others. “She’s going to be confused for a few moments, someone follow up!” she shouted to anyone else that would listen… Because really, they weren’t going to get a better chance to strike than they had now.

Meanwhile, though, the other fight was proving to be the one that had more life and death consequences - one of the bullets struck the enemy mage in the armor once again, but that wasn’t to say that the round would have no effect, considering it could still penetrate… It just wasn’t as dangerous of a round after going through the body armor, which was able to slow it down to an extent.

Was still enough to throw back the mage, however, as other shots missed in the general area around his body. The reply would come in the form of perhaps the largest attack that either of the mages had sent yet, as soon as the mage who was still on the ground sat up… Lightning was sent barreling forwards, but it wasn’t in a normal form, it was a ball… And when this ball reached a distance close enough to Elijah, it would explode and both send electricity and concussive force in all directions around it.

Not that Elijah knew that. All he knew was that a large ball of lightning measuring about a couple feet tall was barreling towards him at speed and that it seemed to be homing on to him… If he didn’t move immediately, it’d likely hit him, or more accurately, get into the range to explode and hit him with both the lightning and the concussive power of the blast.

The fight had another turn, however. Particularly, another figure showing up… It was unclear whether this figure was on their side or not, but judging by the fact that the figure was flying in on wings of light, from the distance… This had to be someone that was another Hunter, or at least allied with them against the infernal forces they were fighting now.

The bow in the hand helped to provide an identity for this person, and it wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to realize, as the winged figure came closer, approaching the scene while gliding in on a dive, that this was none other than the same Jordan Liao that was often involved in their training program, and she was approaching quickly and on a sharp angle.

“You fuckin’ idiots should get out of here!” she said from her high place, releasing one arrow in the direction of the fight between Elijah and the male mage. “Before this shit gets worse… Why are you even… Ugh, nevermind. Just pull back!” she added, showing her frustration with the fact that she was stuck bailing out students once again.

[Kassaran]

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

G U N M E T A L B L A C K
SANTA MARINA, Florida
31.10.2020
Elijah Langley
__________________________________

He'd barely reached his feet when he recognized the ball of lightning and saw it twisting and winding and curving on as direct a route as it could make towards him. It was a deep, dull thought that echoed in the dimmest parts of his subconscious that brought him to realize that he wasn't going to be safe from lightning by diving into the street, his best bet was-

Glass cracked and shattered and splintered into tiny cube-like shard, the laminated glass pane weakened by the single round fired from Azrael in the moments before the rest of Elijah followed the weapon inside. His weight, laden with muscle and equipment, coupled nicely with momentum and a few of the laws of physics to bring him through the front display window of an office building. Scrambling in a mad dash for the nearest cover, he rolled as he hit the ground, tucking his shoulders and feeling the breath rush from his chest as he came to a rest upon the ground. Throwing up both of his hands over his head, he pressed himself to the ground and awaited the impact of whatever magic energies were rattling unstably about in the lightning ball fired at him to catch up.

Rush

Heightens blood flow and efficiency for a short period. Heightens reaction time and senses.

10 Mana p. Minute

Current Mana	140
Mana Capacity	150

Azrael - Custom M1911 Handgun	2 Magazines (10 Rounds .45 ACP)
Abaddon - Custom CQC AR-Pattern Carbine	3 Magazines (88 Rounds - .300 Blackout)

[Theyra]

Tavian Arcos
Santa Marina, October 31rd, 2020

This is turning into a very eventful night for Tavian, as he looked around once more. Alot of dead goblins whose bodies are in more or less intact. Tavian always had an uncomfortable feeling whenever Viktor's bone hounds were around. Just how they looked slightly freaked him out but, he has made sure that Viktor does not know that. Looking back at the barman and then the bloody couple on the ground. At least the barman and the couple are safe, wounded but, are alive. Tavian did not know that Tristan knew healing spells, that is a welcome surprise. That means that he is not the only healer around, considering how the night started with a goblin attack. They may need to help some more people that were caught out during this chaos.

Tavian peeked outside from the front door after Viktor and found the scene to be from a movie. Burned cars, destroyed stores, a charred corpse and in the distance, gunshots, and screams. That and the night sky displayed multi-color lights, which have to be magical in origin, given the circumstances. Who caused this, he wondered as he looked around. These goblins did not appear out of thin air for a reason, and it looks like the whole town is being attacked. Tavian hoped that someone knew who started this, so the Hunters can stop whoever did this. But, for now, Tavian and his friends have to survive the night and help in any way they can to deal with this chaos.

Tavian listened to what Viktor had to say and followed him outside, "Yes, I agree, we need to do something to help. Maybe we can find some other Hunters and find out how this chaos has started. But for the moment we are on our own, and we need to be careful. Who knows what else is taking apart of this chaos, and we need to stick together".

Mana left - 120