ΦDobitoc swings his arm right towards Orb, who dodges, and quickly jumps towards the wall, then jumps off and using his legacy, he lands a kick right towards Dobitoc's face.
Following this up, a series of acid-filled hairs fire off towards Orb, who says, "Red branch battle arts; Sky Flower."
He kicks the air hard enough to send him out of the way, and then does it again, sending him right towards Dobitoc's face. Orb quickly lands another blow, and in response, the elongated arms swing for him, but Orb quickly flips backwards across Dobitoc's arm to dodge the attack heading towards him.
As Orb moves, he uses his legacy against his hands and feet to create ice, moments before he touches Dobitoc's skin, allowing him to avoid the acid and the damage it causes.
Using this method, Orb moves around Dobitoc's body like a fly, smashing his fist while avoiding any retaliation from his opponent, eventually landing a blow against Dobitoc's throat, which he uses to propel himself away.
Landing, Orb smiles, making the rage-filled Dobitoc roar like a monster before letting out a series of hair projectiles from his mohawk.
Φ Ever since I learned the ethos of Helix battle arts, my body has been faster and swifter. I used to fight like a hunter, like Setanta. It is probably due to his influence that I was able to get the fighting style of Aplos down so quickly.
But that entire fighting style is based on superhuman instincts, and just a natural intuition towards battle that I don't have. I like analysing the things in front of me and finding ways to crush them down, completely handing me the victory. That process is slow, so slow that I still always had to rely on Setanta's senses to get through battle.
But Helix battle arts is the same process, except it makes it overwhelm you. I am analysing my opponent just like always, but I don't feel the pressure, I don't even feel like I am thinking. It just feels like dancing to music, my body moves naturally on its own to find the solution. Each aspect of my existence is caught up in a spiral, allowing my body to work in perfect harmony.
As the shots come towards me, with delicate and precise movements, I dodge them all, allowing them to land on the ground around me, and in response, another volley is sent out.
I want to continue to become more enthralled by this. I want to keep going, I want to fight to my heart's content so I can take it all in, so I can experience everything people are. Right now, I feel more human than I ever was before.
The next volley comes, and I continue to dodge. Each movement of my flesh is embedded with Helix battle arts, every single movement, right down to the way my brain processes information, builds up spiral energy, minuscule amounts, but very present. I don't need to spin and flip like a madman anymore to build it up; all I need is to take all those little spirals and move them toward the rest of my body.
Φ Not waiting for the barrage sent against Orb to end, Dobitoc dashes forward and tries to strike Orb, but like the rest of his blows, he misses. And in that moment, Orb lunges towards him.
He quickly raises one of his arms and uses the thick skin as a shield, and with the other arm, he drips poison from it, preparing to strike Orb the moment his attack lands.
"Helix battle arts; Spiral!" Orb says as he smashes his foot right into Dobitoc's arm.
The spiral from Orb's body moves right through the harsh skin of Dobitoc's body, harming his internal organs, and using that moment of stillness, Orb jumps off the arm, then kicks off the roof and smashes Dobitoc in the throat, knocking him down.
Dropping down beside him, Orb manifest large pillars of ice that send Dobitoc right into the cave's tunnels ceiling smashing him against it. He then turns all of the pillars into snow, and as Dobitoc falls down, Orb makes a large cube of ice, which Dobitoc's back smashes directly into.
As his face lands right in front of Orb's feet, he looks up at Orb's excited face and shouts, "YOU HAVEN'T WON THIS!"
He moves his tongue at high speed and coats it in acid, and he manages to strike Orb's cheek, drawing blood. Orb pulls back as Dobitoc stands up and swings towards him.
He takes a deep lunge backwards, towards Dumnorix, then looks at Dobitoc, leaking acid from its mouth like a beast. He quickly makes a pile of snow around his feet and spins it to build up spiral energy while stationary.
Dobitoc's arms plunge into the ground, the hard flesh breaks into spikes which stab the earth, keeping him locked in place. Throughout his body, his veins glow an even brighter green, with his core shining far brighter than ever before.
Valters, with sweat on his face, says, "We need to dodge."
Dumnorix says, "No, Orb will be fine. I can feel it."
From Dobitoc's mouth, a large blast of acid bursts out that stretches across the entire tunnel, and Orb seeing says, "Helix battle arts; Spiral Snowboost, plus, Red Branch battle arts; Passiflora."
In an instant, Orb lunges forward at a speed incomprehensible to everyone else in the room and creates a large amount of ice against his shoulder. As he moves, he completely breaks through the wave of acid and smashes right into the stomach of Dobitoc, sending them both flying backwards far past Franny and Merid.
Valter, seeing this, says, "What age is the boy?"
"16, I believe."
"I think I might've just witnessed the first-hand battle of a future member of the 7 Monarchs."
Confused Dumnorix says, "7 Monarchs?"
Merid, in the distance, shouts, "Should we go check on them?"
Walking forward, Dumnorix says, "You two stay here with Valter; I will go ahead."
Φ Lying and looking up at the top of the tunnel, I try to move my body, but the force of the last impact I took keeps me down. I never expected that he would be able to manifest that amount of force. He just plunged right through the acid faster than it could have eaten his shield. If I hadn't burnt through my Bewitchment uses trying to reach here, I could have put up a better fight, but if he had the ability to use Advent, it would have ended up the same.
This is just the inevitable end of someone like me, laid out against the floor with my ribcage moments away from collapsing in on itself. Dammit, why do I have to experience this? I tried to fight, I tried to fight for a world where Nightmares like me wouldn't be like this.
A world were the images of disgust other Nightmares felt at my unhuman appearance, a world were my parents didn't want me to leave the horse so I wouldn't embarrass them, a world were Nightmares who look even more horrifc than a mountain of corpses like myself could live amongst the lands given to humanity by God without fear, yet I couldn't even do that.
This gross, disgusting figure that our human sensibilities can barely make sense of couldn't even defeat a small child. If, at the very least, I couldn't be strong, why did I have to be burdened with such a body, a body that can't grasp without breaking, a body that cannot hug without burning, a body that cannot speak without repulsing? Why couldn't I be normal like everyone else God? Why?
Against my body, I feel small footsteps, and tilting my head forward, I see the boy walking across me. Sticking out my tongue, I use the mouth against it to say, "Kill me."
The boy raises up his hand with his legacy active.
I guess this is all this useless life of mine will ever amount to, best killed by a man of no renown on his way to protect two whom I would have sacrificed, a pathetic end.
He quickly slams his body into my chest, and quickly starts doing starfishes while drooling from his mouth.
Φ "What are you doing?"
"Of course, I am getting a good feel for this incredible body! You said I could take your life, so I assume you don't care about what happens to your flesh in the slightest."
"Wh-what do you mean, incredible, get off, boy!"
Continuously rubbing against him, he says, "No way, no way! These long, incredible arms, this strong, hard skin, that cool tongue which allows you to speak, even the glowing lines running throughout your body. It's all amazing, you must have been so popular in school when you look like this. I am so jealous."
Orb, like a little child kicks, and rolls around Dobitioc's body, and says, "This is so cool, this is so cool, I need to go get you a wife so I can see a bunch of little versions of you. THAT WOULD BE SO CUTE! I MUST HAPPEN!"
Grabbing his face, Orb starts to shake it and says, "Come on, tell me what kinda of girls you like?"
With fury rising across his face, Dobitioc shouts, "GET OFF ME!" Then weakly pulling up his arm, he tries to swat Orb away.
Catching his arm, Orb looks down and says, "It isn't nice to attack people like this."
"I don't care! You have no idea what it's like to be me, and look like me! If you think you can just come here and pretend you're some lover of my form, I will strike you down! In this country, people who look less human will always be sources of fear, sources of disgust, sources of anger, because to the rest of this world, we are the realisation of all their fears. We look so inhumane that all they say, all the lies and hate they spread, because believable just by staring at us. Don't make me laug-."
A fist flies into his face, pinning him to the ground, then grabbing his large head, Orb says, "THE HELL DO YOU MEAN! YOU KNOW IT ISN'T NICE TO HEAR PRETTY PEOPLE COMPLAINING ABOUT HOW THEY LOOK!"
"I AM NOT PRETT-."
Orb rattles his head and says, "YOU'RE THE COOLEST NIGHTMARE I HAVE SEEN!!!! DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY TIMES YOU ALMOST HIT ME BECAUSE I WASN'T ABLE TO STOP LOOKING AT YOUR BODY!!!! SO SHUT UP!!!!!!! JUST BECAUSE PEOPLE AROUND YOU ARE BLIND DOESN'T MAKE YOU ANY LESS BEAUTIFUL! YOU DUMBASS!"
Dobitoc, in a neutered voice, says, "You lie."
"I don't."
"You're lying."
"I am not."
Crying, "STOP LYING TO ME!"
Bashing his skull against Dobitoc, Orb says, "I SAID I AM NOT!"
As his head crashes into the floor, Orb moves back to his chest and lies on it whilst saying, "If you don't feel like your life is worth it, I will take ownership of it till you feel it does."
From Dobitoc's eyes, black tears start to fall from a mix of the pain and sadness moving through his body. Yet despite the pain, he says, "My skin will start to secrete acid if you touch it for too long."
Orb's face starts to burn as he presses it against Dobitoc's chest, and he says, "Who cares, a few little burns never killed anyone."
With Orb lying on his chest, Dobitoc's eyes quickly come to a close as peace moves throughout his body, right down to his cursed soul.
Name: Cursed Sköld
Height: 240 cm
Type: Wonderbeast, Carnivore
Description: A large turtle-like wonderbeast, which has alarge shell completely composed of emerald hexagons, though in the middle, a giant cross opening is impeded, similar to the gashes put in baked potatoes. In the middle of the giant cross lies a purple gem hooked up to a saddle, which many different Nightmares ride forward. The purple gem on its back holds its soundwaves, which can be released from its mouth for offence, or sent towards its shell to force back its enemies for defence.
Fact: A wonderbeast nativity found in Molstoria, and is commonly associated with a warrior family known as the Gjallarhorn. They form the turtle scales into special shields, which they have formed into an entire fighting style known as Gjallarhorn Battle Arts.