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Round 2: Wolf and Dragon [Luke vs Elliot]
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Feb 27, 2018 2:24:18 GMT
Vibrations shuddering through the ground helped give Elliot's position away before, but now they were doing a good job of letting Elliot know Iko's location in return. They also hinted as to the desperation of his dodge, because Elliot could feel how hard of a landing he had made. Jeez, weren't his legs right in the way of the Fatal Lance, too? That could not have been pleasant. As someone having his vulnerable, scarred sides currently pressed against the arena's dirt floors, he could sympathize. At this point, the duo's own wear, tear, and fatigue would be their undoings if one of them didn't land a strike soon.
Unfortunately, though, Iko was surely not going to stay still. And his light footsteps would produce way less rumbling than Elliot's heavy tunneling. So long as he remained underground, Iko was going to better be able to sense his approach. Unfortunately, if he tried to go aboveground, he'd also be vulnerable to incoming attack when breaching. For all of the advantages that tunneling gave, it gave just as many disadvantages against a canny opponent. Iko? He was canny as all hell.
Fortunately, Elliot did have one advantage on his side. Four more peepholes remained nudged into the dirt, and the ground beneath them had already been churned. Not only could he spy on Iko through them, but his approach would also be far more quiet than the original dig had been. With that in mind Elliot slithered over to the fifth peephole, turning his head once more to look out of it. Right now, Iko was primarily focused on circling the ring, keeping his eyes and ears posted. It was a great strategy when Elliot could come from any direction, but the relative predictability of his movement meant that Elliot wasn't going to have as hard of a time with his ambush as he figured.
Promptly, Elliot darted off in the opposite direction of Iko's movement. If there were any rumbles, they would be far more faint than usual. He didn't stop until he neared the arena wall, gingerly booping it with his snoot as he eased himself to a stop. That was step one. Now came step two, snaking his tail up in the direction of Iko's approach so it would be resting beneath a relatively thin layer of the arena's floor. That would help him keep track of the vibrations from Iko's approach, letting Elliot know when to strike. Then came step 3: waiting.
Were there no vibrations to trample over his tail, Elliot would simply lay dormant. However, the second he felt Iko's footsteps, he would snap into action. First Elliot would smash the ground above him with his head, turning his jaws to catch Iko between them. Then he would try and dart back down beneath the ground, folding his tail over the dirt to obscure any light that would come from the hole that he made. A numbing poison in his jaws would wrap a nice bow around the whole package, making it harder for Iko to escape if Elliot could get a proper crunch going. Were the stars to align and his pain to work, he would leave Iko in his own domain; the dark depths of the tunnels beneath the arena floor.
What was a shadow, without any light to feed it?
Combat Log: - Battering Ram - READY!
Cooldown on Bao Kui: 2/2. Fatal Lance - READY!
In addition, as Iko was not hit this turn, Chip Away has expired. - Elliot doubles back to the peepholes, taking advantage of his pre-dug tunnels to snoop on Iko without risking giving away his position through the rumbling of his digging.
- Elliot lies in wait for Iko, setting his tail near the arena floor as a vibration sensor while his main body lurks below.
- If Elliot can detect Iko's presence, he lunges with his Mouth of the Mamba to crunch down on him, then aims to descend down into the tunnels while using his tail to cover the resulting hole that he produces. His goal here: strand Iko from the light.
Mouth of the Mamba: Sandiramon laces a numbing poison on his fangs and crunches down on his opponent. The poison slows movements and makes pain harder to feel. Duration: Four Posts. Cooldown: Two Posts. Relevant Passive - Delving Deva: Sandiramon is a natural-born tunnel digger, capable of moving through many surfaces with ease. Snow and sand basically are of no impediment, soil is only slightly slower than Sandiramon’s top speed, and if softened up with attacks even rock can be slowly churned through. Relevant Passive - Chip Away: Sandiramon is merciless in his pursuit of enemy defenses, each attack of his leaving them somewhat weaker than the last. Sandiramon’s hits leave stacking debuffs on enemy defenses, negligible at one hit but intensifying powerfully by the fifth. Avoiding Sandiramon for two posts resets the debuffs. Magnitude: 10% reduction to defense per stack. Maximizes at 50% reduction to defenses. Duration: Two Posts (if not reapplied in two posts, is lost)
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Post by darkblade on Feb 27, 2018 2:49:16 GMT
Round and round, the wolf goes, where the snake was, nobody knows!
As the audience started to jeer the two from the lack of fiery action that started the bout, the Shaininmon found himself on edge. Iko had never wanted to use 'Darkness Wings' from the start of this fight, as a mere clipping of the energy from one spear of light would have left him in free-fall to any one of Elliot's more devastating attacks. But without flight, the burrowed state of Sandiramon was quite a nuisance. The wolf supposed he could try and snake a shadow into one of the previous exit points from before, but who was to say how far the shadow would even travel? The wolf would be left standing still, easy pickings for the kid's machinations.
So that's it, then? The next time we cross eyes, Elliot, this battle's going to end... Figuring that sounded about right, the Shaininmon awaited Elliot's inevitable approach. Either the tail was going to strike up again, or Elliot was going to go broke with the head - in either case, the counter was already clear, the slit once more opening on the wolf's helmet. In the next moment, Iko took that fateful footstep...
... And lo and behold, Elliot's head snapped right up, practically level with the wolf's body! This time, no range or quarter was given, just trying to snap Iko straight up in the Sandiramon's jaws! But, then again, the wolf had already played this game, and this time, there was an added kicker! The wolf thrust his left arm forward, while letting his right arm do an empty hook across his chest - simultaneously, a shot from his helmet would snap straight forward! As such, the end effect was simple: the first six-foot long whip moved to strike from overhead, at the top of Isaac's head, while the second, and potentially more effective, would travel from right-to left (or left-to right, from Elliot's perspective), attempting to give a deep slash right across that open mouth. And the third, Iko's 'Lunar Ray', propelled one blast of energy, aimed for the dead center of Elliot's mouth, again towards the top of the throat!
If Elliot pressed through, all three were likely to hit - but it wasn't as if Iko had himself in a position to dodge! Should Elliot manage to endure that and carry through, the Sandiramon's fangs would easily sink into his remaining armor!
Log: Techniques used: Lunar Ray: A slit opens in Iko's helmet, revealing the half-moon, energy briefly charging before being sent out as a white ray of energy. Simple, effective ranged attack.
Iko maintains Crescent Blades at 6 blades. Iko prepares Lunar Ray, awaiting Elliot to surface. Seeing the open Sandiramon maw, Iko lets through with a downward slash of Crescent Blades, a cross-ways slash of crescent blades across the center of the mouth, and a lunar ray dead down the center of the mouth!
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Mar 2, 2018 1:45:51 GMT
Unlike last time, Elliot wasn't going to just blithely assume that Iko had no counter before. Iko had already circumvented his ambushes quite a few times, and by now he knew emerging from the ground inattentively would spell his doom. For this reason, he was quite unsurprised to see that Iko was already mustering up a Lunar Ray. What he didn't expect, however, was how quickly Iko was able to build up this offensive. Not only had he readied the attack, but he was also already lashing out with his arm blades before Elliot even had much chance to emerge. There was no chance Elliot would keep his offense up. He was fast, but there was no way he'd make it before the burn of the Lunar Ray spelled his demise. At the same time, if he abandoned his attack entirely, he'd be right back at square one.
For this reason, Elliot decided to go for a bit of rope-a-dope. He'd take the jabs on the chin, so long as it left him able to get around Iko's hook. The second Iko drew his arm back to swing Elliot clamped his jaw shut, letting the venom he produced go to waste in the interests of staying alive instead. With his mouth shut and his shell angled forward, this might not be as bad as he feared.
The first jab. The top of his head. Elliot made sure to lunge forward ever so slightly that instead it lashed into the top of his shell. The sheer force of the attack still sent reverberations shaking down his spine, and he knew there'd be quite the bruise there when he degenerated, but he refused to let his fortitude get rattled. He continued pressing onwards, knowing his target was so close.
The second jab. No getting around this one with any fancy tricks. Instead Elliot had to just take it on the chin. That might've been a mistake. The blade lashed right across his mouth. Even with his mouth shut, it managed to leave half of a Joker's smile cut right across his cheek. Red pixels trailed in the air behind him, a telltale sign that he was on his last legs, and only clenching his teeth hard enough to start grinding them prevented him from shouting in pain. The restrained gasp slipped through his clench, and his vision started swimming ever so slightly. Nevertheless, he pressed on. If he diverted here, it'd all be for naught.
He'd just need to weather the hook.
Fortunately, there were two things in Elliot's favor here. The first was that his shell was still intact. As soon as Iko started to fire Elliot angled his approach downwards. He wasn't fully submerging himself this time, but he wanted that laser as far away from the center of his mouth as possible. Churning through the earth a little was just an effective way of doing this, allowing Elliot to duck down and graze past the attack. It was way too close of a call for comfort. Elliot could feel the scales of his scalp burning as the ray sailed past, and he knew if it nailed him right between the eyes he would've been a goner. If that didn't convince him, the brutal impact that the ray made with his shell would have. The already-weakened shell, seared by dark tendrils and cracked by Iko's blades, proceeded to shatter as soon as the ray collided with it. The purple fragments started disintegrating into data as they fell back, and Elliot knew he had just sacrificed his lifeline.
The second thing in Elliot's favor was that, with Iko focused on a three-way assault to the front, there was no way he could've been watching his back. The plan from before was still in motion; snatch Iko, then smother him out of the light. It just needed to change course a little, and Elliot's ready-and-waiting tail was exactly that course. While Elliot's head weathered the assault, his tail sprang forward, starting to wrap around Iko's busted up legs. Right now, Elliot's goal wasn't full coverage. That could wait for when he had taken control of the exchange. Instead, he just wanted to make sure Iko couldn't escape anymore. Working down his wounded limbs was the easiest way to get control of the situation. If he could snare the legs, then he'd immediately try to pull Iko in close, allowing the tight, thick coils of his upper body to start winding around the wolf.
The tell-tale golden glow of the Fatal Lance formed in the back of Elliot's throat again. If he could get Iko properly wound up, Elliot knew another punch from the Lance would be all that it took to end this. Even if he couldn't, he knew there was no better chance than now to strike. The second his coiling gambit either succeeded or missed, he fired the Fatal Lance at Iko with the speed of desperation.
Combat Log: - Cooldown on Mouth of the Mamba: 1/2
Cooldown on Bao Kui - READY!
[li]Elliot elects not to bite Iko, slamming his jaws shut to instead prepare for Iko's onslaught. He takes the two Crescent Blades on the chin, one cracking his shell and the other making a nasty gash at the corner of his mouth. Elliot is on his last legs. - Elliot submerges just enough to graze past the Lunar Ray. His shell, not so lucky, shatters, removing Elliot's final line of defense.
- With nothing else to lose and everything to gain, Elliot takes advantage of Iko being focused on his counterattack to snag him behind with his tail. He grabs for the legs to take advantage of Iko's injury, then attempts to wrap him up completely. To seal the deal, he fires the Fatal Lance.
Fatal Lance: Sandiramon coils around an opponent, then tries to launch the Bao Kui through their body at point-blank range. A devastating technique, but very hard to set up. Cooldown: Two Posts. Relevant Passive - Delving Deva: Sandiramon is a natural-born tunnel digger, capable of moving through many surfaces with ease. Snow and sand basically are of no impediment, soil is only slightly slower than Sandiramon’s top speed, and if softened up with attacks even rock can be slowly churned through. Relevant Passive - Chip Away: Sandiramon is merciless in his pursuit of enemy defenses, each attack of his leaving them somewhat weaker than the last. Sandiramon’s hits leave stacking debuffs on enemy defenses, negligible at one hit but intensifying powerfully by the fifth. Avoiding Sandiramon for two posts resets the debuffs. Magnitude: 10% reduction to defense per stack. Maximizes at 50% reduction to defenses. Duration: Two Posts (if not reapplied in two posts, is lost)
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Post by darkblade on Mar 2, 2018 2:46:59 GMT
Tch...
Why, oh why, did his opponent have to be so freaking large? Fortunately, the wolf managed to ward off those fangs, dripping with poison, as Elliot decided to brace himself rather than trade blows! At the very least, Iko expected Elliot to try and crash in with a headbutt - but the kid instead held Sandiramon short, electing to use the shell as a shield! Purple fragments scattered across the dirt field. Even through that pain, Elliot kept a distance...
... Just as the tip of the tail tapped against his wounded ankle! Swearing under his breath, it took only a moment for Elliot to grab around his feet, and the ensuing coil quickly worked its way around Iko's legs. Realizing the bind, Iko's response was twofold: first, he kept his right arm next to his side, angling the back of his arm outwards. Should Elliot tightly grip around that, at the very least, the first blade around Iko's wrist would deeply cut into Elliot's scales. Second, instead of letting his other arm be pinned, the wolf forced his left arm skyward, well above his helmet, and far above Elliot's grip.
The moment Iko did this, maybe Elliot would see it: the shadow, cast from the light of Iko's crescent blades shining over the wolf's helmet, as well as the back end of the serpent's coil. If Elliot was fresh as a daisy, this trick might have never worked - even now, it was a bit of a long-shot! But between the fatigue and the wounds on his coils, Iko hoped this extra distance would allow him to get one last burst in, the wolf's tired self giving a rare, verbal declaration:
"Dark Tendrils!"
At once, the casted shadow would darken, purely under Iko's control. If he managed it, the shadow itself would already be directly against Elliot's scaled body, and it would take but a moment for it to snake around Elliot's neck! All Iko could do now was pull his arm, and all of his focus, to the right - and try and slam the head preparing the 'Fatal Lance' against the ground!
Log: Technique Used: Dark Tendrils: Manipulating darkness directly from shadows, Iko can contort solid dark energy towards the opponent in the form of tendrils. If these strike the enemy, the tendrils can powerfully constrict around the opponent for ~3 posts with a combination of 'burning' and constricting damage. The shadows used for this attack are made from his own shadow, as well as any shadows intersecting his shadow. One post cooldown.
Iko's previous moves wound Elliot's chin, and shatter his shell. However, he's caught in Sandiramon's coils! Before he's completely enveloped, Iko arches out his right arm to dig in with the Crescent Blade. He raises his left arm into the air, and with the cast shadow, attempts 'Dark Tendrils', attempting to restrict Elliot's movement. Presuming he gets that far, he stretches his arm to the right, attempting to, at the very least, redirect Elliot's aim!
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Mar 2, 2018 3:25:00 GMT
Iko was in Elliot's grasp, and so was victory. The wolf's greatest advantages were neutralized, he was wrapped up with no chance of escape, and Elliot's strongest technique was seconds away from firing. At this point, all Elliot wanted to do was commit to the lunge and finally bring this game to an end. The blade that Iko lodged into his side was making his head swim, true, but it wasn't like he needed to aim anymore. Iko was physically attached to his body. No amount of distractions would stop his strike from ringing true. He leaned forward, the Fatal Lance launching all rapidly out of his throat.
If only it didn't stop short, mere inches away from Iko's face. The attack was throttled back as Iko channeled his shadows through an all too unexpected method. The blade did have quite a bit of effect, namely leaving Elliot far too focused on pushing through the pain to see as shadow tendrils leaped out from behind him. Perhaps if Elliot wasn't hovering at the edge of consciousness, he would have had enough focus to weave around the attack and endless. Iko had gotten Elliot thoroughly punch-drunk, though, and in his recklessness Elliot was snared.
If there was any saving grace, it was that Iko wasn't a spring chicken either. Both of them had been worn down to the absolute limit by this match. It was only fitting that the fight would end in the same way it had began; two high-power Ultimates grappling each other relentlessly for dominance, the course of this grapple holding all of the influence over the fate of the match.
Making matters worse, Elliot was stuck in a really bad place. If he leaned against the grapple to try and overpower it, he would be constantly digging his side into the blade embedded in it. Elliot would bleed out for sure. If he didn't fight against the grapple, Iko would be able to slam his head right into the ground. It would be hard moving that much snake at once, but once Elliot was overpowered gravity would be all too happy to guide Iko into helping Elliot eat the pavement. He couldn't even turn his head to properly dig into the ground, because Iko's grapple was in far too tight. He could try and keep the grapple going, but then the heat and pressure of the Shadow Tendrils would force him into fading. Act, lose. Act in another way, lose. Do nothing? Lose.
As far as Elliot was concerned, he had all but lost this match. He had tried force. He had tried speed. He had tried strategy. Iko had answers to each, executed with the strategy of a veteran. There was only one avenue that Elliot could see remaining to pull off the victory, and he could only hope that it was unexpected enough to catch Iko off guard and force a win.
Elliot fought against the grapple as valiantly as he could, one eye wincing shut as he forced himself to keep parity with his mentor and foe in this test of strength. He looked down at Iko, as well as his own coiled up body, and promptly fired off one last Rain of Pain. Win or lose, there was no way Elliot wouldn't slip into unconsciousness at the end of this. However, if he could skewer Iko along with himself, he could hope that taking the direct brunt of the attack would lead to Iko falling before he did.
With that, Elliot had done all he could. Whether by his own hand or by Iko slamming his skull into the ground, Elliot let his eyes shut and prepared for the fall.
Combat Log: - Elliot is snagged in Iko's grapple. There's no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Now with a blade in his side, flaming coils around him, and Iko seeking to smash him into the ground, Elliot is trapped.
- In a last win-or-die gambit, Elliot fires the Rain of Pain down at both Iko and himself. He can only hope that his plan is crazy enough to work.
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Post by darkblade on Mar 2, 2018 4:02:28 GMT
It wasn't perfect.
After all, with one arm heavily wedged inside of Elliot's coils, Shaininmon was left with only one arm to stave off Sandiramon's advance - and that Fatal Lance was oh-so-close to shattering his helmet visor! Gritting his teeth in this game of endurance, inching his right arm slightly deeper into Elliot's scales, the wolf looked to hold all of his power into his left. Indeed, both were struggling for breath, and had limited resources on hand. Trapped tight in Sandiramon's coils, Iko knew that he had to win very soon, or he'd simply lose out to this tight grapple.
Elliot knew he was on the ropes too. None would have blamed either side from simply tapping out, but at that moment, Elliot decided to do something quite reckless. Using what seemed to be the last of his power, a bright light once more shone in Sandiramon's throat. If Iko hadn't seen it before, that would have been the last of it: the unknown move would have peppered blades over both of them, and the smaller target would have likely lost out in that exchange. However, Iko knew what it was: a shotgun-like blast of spears of light. At this range, there was no way that Elliot could avoid his own blast. It was a risky gambit... with one mistake:
Elliot had already convinced himself that tightening the grapple would make him lose consciousness first. Iko had one last gambit: underneath those coils, the remainder of the Shaininmon's armor fragmented, blasting out from his body in one fell swoop! Over such a short area, though, the bullets couldn't pick up all of the velocity they needed to do enough damage to catch up the difference... but Iko didn't need them to. The wolf's last ditch idea was to fire off all his armor outward, and use the instant the coils would expand, to push as hard as he could with his right arm, upward, against Elliot's coil!
This was his plan: Iko tried to force himself down in Elliot's grip, and sink into the depths of those coils! Like this, the serpent's own body would act as cover, taking in much more of his own attack than he intended! Past that, the wolf would just huddle up as best he could, gritting his teeth, trying to endure the grip!
Log: Technique used: Armor weapon: An unconventional attack, Iko can fragment pieces of his armor, and fire them out a little faster than the speed of a bullet. This armor cannot be regenerated; hence, anything fired leaves Iko exposed.
As a last ditch effort, Iko discharges his armor into large pieces, and forces all of it, outwards! In the same motion, he wrenches his arm against Elliot's coil, attempting to pull himself behind the serpent's body, for cover!
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Post by Elliot and Isaac Sunderland on Mar 5, 2018 0:55:24 GMT
The pieces of armor launched over Iko, this time more like a shield than a sword. The Armor Weapon simply didn't have enough momentum to live up to the second part of its name, being used at such a point blank range. However, that wasn't Iko's goal here. Iko's goal was to derail Elliot's attack, and the Armor Weapon met that need perfectly. Fragments of armor smashed into Elliot's spears, sending sparks shooting at the points of combat. Some of Elliot's spears slowed, leaving them falling upon Iko in a far weaker manner. Some deflected, sending them more in the Sandiramon's direction than Iko's. However, a good portion of the move was still pressing onwards.
About half of the remainder, however, was heading towards the wrong target. With a tremendous effort, and the aid of having a blade sunk deep in Elliot's side, Iko was able to pull off the leverage to start hoisting Elliot up. It wasn't going to be perfect. By this point, Elliot was basically deadweight, and his huge serpentine body gave him quite a bit of dead weight to have. That bulk also gave Iko natural cover, however, and several javelins that would've been direct hits were now instead sinking into Elliot's scales. The Sandiramon let out a rasping gasp, but the damage to himself went unanswered. It was clear that Iko wasn't in any danger of counterattack.
He let out a quiet laugh as he hit the ground, his breathing far more shallow than before. He wouldn't know if his attack had hit or missed until the tournament results came in, would he? "That . . . that was a really, good fight . . ." he said, voice almost a whisper from its frailty. Then he let out a last gasp, coils loosening as he finally slipped into unconsciousness.
It was a decisive end to the fight, for sure. But would Elliot's last words be said to the victor of the fight, or to one just as unconscious as he?
Combat Log: - Iko's counterattack knocks away a third of the Rain of Pain, its slow momentum preventing it from destroying as much of the attack as it otherwise could. Elliot's body soaks up another third, Iko capable of hefting up the right half but not the left. The other third is up to Iko to deal with.
However, in any case, Elliot is KO'd. It is up to Sci whether Iko falls before, after, or god forbid simultaneously, but the battle ends with these posts.
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Post by darkblade on Mar 5, 2018 1:47:22 GMT
"Iko!"
That one call from the sidelines echoed through the arena, as the Sandiramon's 'Rain of Pain' rained down on the Shaininmon trapped within its coils. To the audience, the tamer, and the tournament organizers who hadn't seen what had happened, the serpent's strike looked like a decisive blow. Surely there was no way that the wolf had gotten out of this mess... right?
Inside the coils, however, Iko found himself gritting his teeth. One part of the blast had been handled by creating a barrier of 'trash metal' between himself and the Sandiramon. Another had been blocked by forcefully lifting up Elliot's coil, drawing it right in path with the Rain of Pain. And another, smaller portion had been literally ducked by the wolf lowering his head, only his back presented to Elliot's attack...
... And it hurt like hell! Feeling multiple spears of light sinking into his hunched shoulders, the wolf's eyes clenched shut, his fangs bared, grinding together as he forced himself to endure. For those several seconds, not even a single growl or yell escaped those coils. It left those outside - had the battle ended in the first breath? Worse, had one of those first spears managed to pierce his head?
As Elliot's head collapsed against the arena, the crowd watched on in baited breath. The grip around Sandiramon's victim finally loosened, as Elliot slipped from consciousness.
And then? The coils twitched. Once, twice... before the Shaininmon, devoid of even his helmet, dragged himself over the top coil. As could be expected, he looked worse for wear: even now, one spear stuck out from his back, and another out of his shoulder, both brimming with light energy. Letting himself slide down the other end of the serpent's grip, he caught the floor with one good foot, keeping the weight off of his right leg. Even like that, he supported himself on a much wider stance than he would have normally been comfortable with, clearly struggling to stay on his feet.
Giving but one glance to the Sandiramon's unconscious head, Iko clenched his fists together, closed his eyes, and let out a howling scream in the air - not of pride, but from adrenaline - simply trying to stay on his feet.
"... Holy... hell... kid..."
Log:
Iko hunkered down to avoid further damage from the spears, protecting both his head, neck, and chest from the oncoming onslaught. The remaining spears on target sank into his upper back. Gritting his teeth, he forces himself to endure the damage he knew was coming.
Though Iko would have not withstood a full hit at that level, the mitigating factors of the armor, Elliot's coils blocking a section of the spears, Iko's hunkered-down state, and Iko's advantageous element of Vaccine against a Virus attribute attack, allows him to remain standing. He's clearly worse for wear, but he's standing at the end!
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Spire
Better Mod
An In-Spire-ation to Us All
Posts: 17
OOC Name: Spiraga™
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Post by Spire on Mar 6, 2018 12:51:05 GMT
Well then, there we have it!
Luke gets 2000 bits. Elliot gets 1000 bits.
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