The Rise of Sins (War 1.5.1 Boss fight)

[King Roxa Hiaten]

Roxa took the swing into his side, but rather than just collapsing to the ground, he did so whilst keeping a solid grip upon Bart's tail. Landing hard on his feet, he skidded through the tiles of the roof for a moment before sliding to a stop. He looked up at the monster with yellow slitted eyes and grinned.

"Say hello to Kain won't you?"

With an almighty heave, Ave gave Bart's tail a strong pull, aiming to pull the former Saint closer to his waiting Onyx blade which he held in his free hand.

[Bartholomew]

As Bart was being pulled closer to Roxa, he flipped in the air and planted his feet, stopping his motion to Roxa. He looked to his side and noticed that the Lost and the Corrupted had died.
"Weaklings... But even in death, they will serve Duo." Bart said as he snapped his finger, and grinned.
"Now, where were we?" He then pointed his blade at Roxa, charging at Roxa and yanking his tail back.

[King Roxa Hiaten]

Roxa struggled back into control of his own body as he dropped Bart's tail before it yanked back, and charged forth, with his own blades in hand. He gritted his teeth against the grating and scratching of Ave in the back, trying his best to remain in control of his own body. This was his revenge, it would be him who has it, not some twisted demon.

He'd spent so long bringing the spirit into reign for Alessia's sake, for their children's sake. He wouldn't shame himself now by giving in.

"We were at the part where I kick your treacherous ass!" Roxa growled as he swung for Bart.

[Sahir Masbrati]

With the two men coming to her rescue Sahir wanted desperately to find her long-necked friend. She needed to know he was alright, yet there a monster stood between her and him, and the creature had pushed her to the point where her sensibilities couldn't sway her anymore. After the battle was over she'd look back at this point and wonder if this was how all people became swayed to murder. Was it really as simple as seeing someone hurt another you love to drive one beyond their morals? Was she so easily drawn to such behaviour?

Yet back in the moment her mind had no time for philosophy. She wanted to hurt Bart, and she knew exactly how to. Sahir should have known better than to attack all out. It didn't play to her strength, never did. Deceit was what her journey had taught her so far, so deceit is what she'd use.

"Hey ugly!" She shouted out towards Bart as she pulled a vial out from her belt before giving it a quick shake. "Are your eyes getting sore from all of these? Because looking at you is making my eyes far sorer than these ever could!" Taking aim she lobbed it directly at her foe. Twice now he'd winced from her flash bangs, but never dodged. She was counting on him being a creature of habit, as her alchemic fire bomb would be sure to sting far more than the little light and sound he'd likely be expecting.

[Bartholomew]

"You betrayed us first. Your head should roll before mine!" Bart said as he crossed blades with Roxa. He then pushed Roxa away as he saw the alchemic flash bang come in towards him. Bart growled as he decided to use his tail to cut it. However when the blade touched the glass, it combusted and set his tail ablaze. "RAWR, YOU WHORE!" He shouted at her as he fired the fiery tip towards her.

[King Roxa Hiaten]

His senses... They seemed to be a strong point of Barts, so maybe if they could weaken his senses... He looked around, and then he saw Bartholomew's discarded cloak, which he had shed when he changed forms... An idea struck him.

He quickly jumped in the way of Sahir and parried away the tip of the tail and looked over his shoulder, speaking in a hushed voice which he hoped that Bart wouldn't overhear. Even if he did, he could keep him distracted.

"His cloak." He said with a nod over to the discarded item. "Go and grab it, throw it over him. It'll blind him hopefully and then I can finish him off." He turned his attention back to Bartholomew, holding his blades at the ready. "I'll hold him off." He nodded to himself, and started to goad and revile his opponent, hoping to keep his attention.

"You want my head? You wouldn't be the first to try taking it, Bartholomew. And you won't be the last, I can guarantee that now!" He rushed forwards. "So fight me!"

[Volkmar Gamlxltoe]

Volkmar charged Bart, his swords now producing a gargantuan aura of their own. When he swung his sword, an arc twice the size of Bart comes towards him, and Volkmar still led the charge toward him.

Bart looked towards Volkmar, and raised his sword to block the arc, but he was struggling to do so. Volkmar then came crashing threw the arc and slashed him on his arm, letting the arc crash into Bart.

[Bartholomew]

Bart growled as Volk's attack got him. He then pushed Volkmar away, and looked at Roxa as he taunted him.
"You think you have bested me? You have 2 other peoples fighting with you, and you have yet bested me. This city has been sacked, and I have the power of Duo on my side. Do you think you will actually best me?" Bart said,as he then ran towards Roxa, his sword at the ready.

[Sahir Masbrati]

With a smile of satisfaction Sahir took enjoyment in seeing her plan come together. All she had to do know was slash Umbravox across his flame coated tail and she'd have her offence. Just then fortune seemed to reach out to her as the speared tail launched out at her, still covered in flames. With a half step to the right she readied her scythe to strike.

Yet fortune was a fickle mistress. As Roxa came to her rescue he unwittingly threw away her chance. Peeved more than a little she would have had half a mind to snap at him were it not for her better judgement giving him the benefit of the doubt.

"Are you crazy? You want me to blind him with a piece of fabric when my bombs didn't work?" She replied back in a hurried and hushed tone. "If it's a distraction you need you got it, but it'll be through pain." Her teeth clenched she slipped past Roxa and to the side, taking a wide leap to clear the alleyway and onto an undamaged rooftop.

"You didn't like that did you, you vile thing? Well how about another? I'll make you suffer for what you did to Dral!" Her real emotions helped the bluff, for the rage against Bart was all too real. She just needed to not be stupid because of it.

Taking a pitch black vial from her belt she took note of her stash, one black and one amber left. She'd have to make them count. Throwing out the black one her aim was shallow, striking just shy of the ground beneath Bart's feet. In a sudden Foosh the blackness plumed and covered the surrounding area, obscuring both his vision of them and of the sight of the others.

"Come on, you nasty you! You look like you got plenty of tails to spare, can't you hit a little girl with one?" She jeered and taunted as best she could, hoping to draw him into making the mistake she wanted.

Meanwhile beneath them all Dral groaned as he slumped to his forelegs, his right shoulder twitching as he struggled to his feet. Cranking his neck up he saw the trails of smoke leaking from the perimeter and thought the worst. Ignoring the pain as he thought only of Sahir's safety he dug his claws into the wall and climbed with furiously, claw over shaky claw up the wall before reaching the top where the shingles laid scattered from his collision. While he could make out nothing with his eyes, he sniffed the air, attempting to place the scent of his enemy.

[Bartholomew]

Bart looked as the entire area was covered in the black smog, as he couldn't see a thing. "So want to cover my eyes? That won't make me blind." He said as he got his tail coiled, readying to strike from behind, as his sword would be ready to slash anything from the front. He kept looking around, but eyed from above every once in a while.

[King Roxa Hiaten]

Roxa really really hated this part, but he needed to make sure that he moved silently and swiftly.

'Ave, this part's all you...'

The pale red of the battlefield suited Ave all too fine. His sharp senses instantly picked up the discarded cloak, and with it, his brothers plan. He smirked and sheathed the silver blade to his waist, holding only the onyx sword in his left hand. He flitted forwards with the tiniest hiss of air, scooping up the cloak in one swift movement with a dip of his hand, before skidding to a halt and turning to face the black smog, within which was the figure of Bart. Ave sneered.

"I can't sense his power over my own." He admitted with a growl. The downside of Ave and Roxa's form of tracking was that whilst his senses were so much sharper, because of the flow of magic around his own body, he couldn't effectively track mana thanks to him being blinded by that which was already nearby. "So this part's up to you, brother."

Roxa opened his eyes again and gave a quick shake of his head. Never before had he flitted between himself and Ave so much in such a short period of time, and truth be told, it felt weird to Roxa. It was almost like he was stepping across some line that needn't be crossed. But right now, it was all they had... With his own flow of magic steadily being cut off, he could sense the warped figure of Bart's own mana hidden within the black smog. Roxa looked down at the cloak in his right hand and looked back to the smog.

Time to end this...

He rushed forwards with a hiss of air into the thickness of the smoke and held both the cloak and his sword as tightly as possible. Rushing from Bart's right flank, he caught the former Saint's tail against the fabric, before quickly leaping over him, and then around him a few times, hoping to effectively tie his old comrade in his own cloak.

Landing in front of Bart, he took a deep breath. He raised his left arm, and with it, his onyx sword, up to his face and stared at it for a moment. His arm burst out with energy, the flesh of it turning into chitinous blue armour, the black markings that had already been written into his flesh flowed with a bright yellow substance, the underside of his palm and fingers also glowed with the golden energy. He stared at the glowing limb for a while, before all of the energy from the arm channeled inwards towards his sword. His arm slowly returned to normal, whilst a glowing blue aura surrounded the blade until it was the size of a greatsword... The same technique which had helped kill Kain and had killed Grey...

"I'm sorry..."

He twisted, and slashed towards Bart.

[Bartholomew]

Bart was shocked that Roxa got him wrapped in his cloak. Bart tried to get out of the cloak, but it was too late, as he reverted back to his human form. Bart tried to avoid the blade, but he got a massive gash on his stomach. Bart used the wind magic to jump out the smog, and land to a cleared area. He collapsed and grabbed his stomach, as it tried to healed from the wound. He coughed, "Why... I am better than this! I should be able to slay a traitor!"

[King Roxa Hiaten]

A small whistling came from the sky, faint at first... But distinctly there. It steadily grew louder and louder, until it reached a high-pitched crescendo. With a sudden crack, Roxa's two swords landed either side of Bart, lodging themselves deep into the tunic which Bart was wearing, and even deeper into the floor beneath the former Saint, trapping him in place. Another whistle. This time it seemed a little heavier, something with more mass falling from the sky towards Bartholomew. That was when he burst through the smog from which he had been hidden.

Roxa's arms were unsealed, the blue chitinous armour and glowing yellow flesh soaring down towards his opponent. With a clenched fist, he plunged down and thrust his hand into Bart's stomach.

Silence

CRACK

A mixture of ribs breaking and the floor around them splintering.

Roxa reached out and grabbed Bart by the collar, pulling him up, his left fist crashed into the man's face, instantly flopping his head back onto the floor. Roxa didn't stop. He had to break him before asking questions. His fists rained down on Bart's head.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Four.

"WHERE IS SHE?!"[/i] He roared, grabbing Bart once again by the collar and dragging his face up so that there noses were nearly touching.

Silence.

Wrong answer.

Another punch to Bart's jaw, then a second just to make sure.

"WHERE IS SHE?!" He repeated, before laying one final punch right in between Bart's eyes, the former Saint's head forming a second crater within the first from Roxa's initial attack.

[Bartholomew]

Bart’s head hung there after Roxa’s brutal assault. Then a sound came out… a laugh?
“ROXA! THIS IS ALL YOU ACCOMPLISHED?! AFTER YOU BETRAYED US, THIS IS THE POWER YOU HAVE!? THIS IS PATHETIC!” He laughed manically at him. He quickly swing his sword, knocked Roxa arms off of him, and Roxa’s swords off of his tunics. Bart’s face started to heal quickly, having dried blood on his face.Bart breathed heavily as he looked at Roxa, and then he stood more straightly at Roxa.

“Roxa, you are a mere child. You ignore the sins you have commited, and you proudly walk on this Earth as a group that will cleanse the world. I was like you. When I died, I was glad I died for the Saints knowing that my reward was an eternal paradise. But I ended up in Hellious. I arrived with a number on my hand, a shield on my arm, and my sword. I had to fight, for the sake of fighting. Resting, enjoying an afterlife vanished as soon as I left my body! Think about it, Roxa. If we were ever saints, then I would have been in the paradise!”

Bart stuck his arms out, “Even you refuse to accept these truths, and continue fighting, you will lose. You were not able to defeat Duo the first time around, and what you think these damnable heroes can? We lived in an imperfect world, and it was going to change one of 2 ways, either Duo’s or Kain’s. We were just pieces in their games! So I switched to a different players side. Alessia knew this tha-” Bart said but then turned his head when he saw something coming up on a staff. It was a flag rising, the Unda’s flag, but it flew upside down, and tattered. Bart then smiled and laughed at it.

“So, it seems that part of the plan is successful. Your emotions are your weakness, you came chasing here looking for your Alessia, leaving poor Ben Kirix-Unda defenseless, letting him getting assassinated and die, simply because you had to chase your wife to be. “ Bart smiled as him as 2 sinners came up next him, one of them handing the white orb Enizo saw before.

“This is where we depart Roxa. Duo told me to take it easy on you this time. Next time however, I won’t listen to him. I will kill you to show what kind of monster you really are. You are an arrogant sinner, who thinks the world is in your hand, but it is the dagger that will slit your throat.” Bart then turned around, and walked away from Roxa.

[King Roxa Hiaten]

"You came chasing here looking for your Alessia, leaving poor Ben Kirix-Unda defenseless, letting him get assassinated and die, simply because you had to chase your wife to be."

Roxa's whole world seemed to freeze for a moment. Benjamin was..? The President of Unda had been..? He blinked hard for a moment, trying to regain his composure. No... It wasn't his fault, he would never have been able to get to Unda in time... Benjamin should have had his captains to protect him... There would never have been anything... anything, that Roxa could have done to save him. And yet the guilt was there, lingering. Alessia wasn't here, he couldn't sense her anywhere, and yet Bart was. He was stood there, in front of him... Goading him, gloating.

'That's right, Roxa...'

He talked of Roxa being the monster... Of Roxa being the sinner... But he would prove him wrong. He wouldn't let this man simply turn his back on him and leave.

'Embrace it, brother...'

He gritted his teeth, clenched his blue and yellow fists, tightening them into balls of rage. His eyes locked onto Bart's back, and if looks could kill, he'd have been halfway to Hellious. Yellow feline-slitted eyes observed the former Saint as he walked away.

'Destroy him.'

"You won't kill me..." Roxa growled through gritted teeth, taking one shaky step forwards, his fists tightening even further.

"You can't kill me..." Droplets of blood started to drip down from his palm and across his fingers, as his shaky steps suddenly pounded forwards into an animalistic charge.

"BECAUSE I'LL KILL YOU FIRST!" He bounded towards Bart, his arms outstretched behind him, yellow eyes burning with fury.

'Accept what you are, Roxa.'