That's Why It's Called Falling... (Closed RP)

[mugenginga]

There was no reaction to the recovery. Nyx Avatar held its sword up and a veil of Tarukaja surrounded it. Depending on if Minato ran around reading his opponents, it may have seemed odd. The Empress Arcana, at least as used by the winged entity, was not one known for physical skills. Even beyond that, Tarukaja was not a skill known to be used by Nyx Avatar in this phase. The entity held out is hand again, and a striking blow rammed towards Minato.

Nyx Avatar lowered its arm. It had not only used Tarukaja, but had managed to combine it with the physical skill Akasha Arts. That wasn't a standard skill for the entity, let alone of this Arcana. Given the situation, the odds were fairly against Minato realizing it. But there was a Persona of the Empress Arcana able to use that skill. It seemed his opponent was stronger than the first time...

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Minato was hit rather solidly by the attack, and took a step back from the impact. Tarukaja and Akasha Arts? Those weren't normal skills... but now wasn't the time to question it. Minato held his hand out again.

"Megidolaon!" Minato yelled. Messiah sent another exploding orb of energy Nyx Avatar's way.

[mugenginga]

The blow connected without a hitch. Nyx Avatar jerked from the impact, seeming unable to recover until the last of the purple and white mist was blown off the top of the field by the slight wind. The familiar aura surrounded it again.

"The Arcana is the means by which all is revealed... Though events may fall out of order, the end is always the same. One needs stern will and determination to grasp what one desires."

The symbol created by Nyx Avatar's energy revealed Duelist, and then flashed to Magician. Nyx Avatar dropped throwing its hand forward for the attack. Instead it lifted its sword up ever so slightly and brought it in a slight arc. It was possible Minato thought he was going to use the thing on him, which would have just added more to the unusual way the entity was fighting. Instead, a rush of fire shot down from the base of the blade to the tip in the time it took to blink an eye and a wall of fire far to large to be even Maragidyne. The Ragnarok attack rushed at Minato. Once again the Shadows coming up on him from behind were obliterated as a result of Nyx Avatar either not watching the field or not caring about their presence.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Minato had been confused by the way Nyx Avatar lifted its blade... for about five seconds before the wave of fire came rushing at him. Minato's eyes widened, and before the attack could hit him, Messiah grabbed Minato by one arm and tossed him into the air, probably dislocating a shoulder, but at least getting him out of the way of the flames. The flames had disappeared by the time Messiah caught Minato again.

"God Hand!" Minato ordered. The Persona placed him back on the ground before sending the golden fist at Nyx Avatar.

[mugenginga]

That had been different than during the first fight. It had been different than the few fights even Ryoji had managed to witness Minato take part in. Nyx Avatar's expression remained the same as Minato was caught by Messiah and placed on the ground. The attack impacted with Nyx Avatar, causing its body to jerk back. It straightened up and stared at Minato a moment before speaking again, the familiar shield forming around it.

"The Arcana is the means by which all is revealed... Though events may fall out of order, the end is always the same. With that, one may attempt to pursue what one desires."

By this point, Minato probably wasn't even looking at the presence that Nyx Avatar summoned until the flash happened. Of far more importance was the description of the Chariot Arcana that Nyx had seemed to shift to. The encounter was going very fast, but the description was key. Rather than each Arcana standing on its own, the entity's description of Chariot had seemed to follow directly from the description of the Magician Arcana.

The held out hand precluded a giant golden fist, this time heading towards Minato and his Persona. Whether it hit or not, Nyx Avatar quickly followed up by bringing down its sword. It would be hard to dodge both attacks, and if Minato dodged the God Hand, Nyx Avatar was more than capable to adjust. Despite the it being a blade, the damage done by the sword would be of a strike sort, possibly explainable by the size. It was a Vicious Strike, and the Tarukaja from before was still in effect... in any case, the winged entity seemed less shy about using its sword than it had when Minato had fought it with his friends.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Minato hadn't been able to dodge the God Hand. The attack struck him in the chest, knocking him onto his back. His eyes widened, and he rolled out of the way and back onto his feet as Nyx Avatar brought the blade down.

Messiah responded by sending another Megidolaon at Nyx Avatar. At this point, Minato was relying on Messiah's regenerating and invigorating affect on him to fight. He couldn't stop to heal himself, not with these constant attacks.

[mugenginga]

It wasn't like the attack with the sword hadn't been broadcasted. A normal sized human didn't miss the thing being swung around. Nyx Avatar was able to put up no resistance to the counter attack due to having to right its sword. The Megidolaon hit straight on, and there seemed to be a slight balance issue. The entity didn't take a step back, but there was a distintive way its wings flared to keep its balance. In truth the attack had managed to be critical due to the various factors. The shield indicating a changing Arcana went up around Nyx Avatar again.

"The Arcana is the means by which all is revealed... Though events may fall out of order, the end is always the same. Reaching what one desires requires a firm grasp on the forces guiding oneself."

The Duelist Arcana flashed to the Hierophant. Nyx Avatar turned its blade a bit and swung it. The fact was Minato's life probably depended on dodging at least some of it. Given the blade length, he'd have to go up to dodge all of it. The Mighty Swing was coming down at an angle. Just staying on the ground from where he'd hit wasn't going to cut it. Once he got out of the line of fire, he'd have time to consider what had been said. At this point, the way the Arcana messages were continuing from each other, it was almost as if Nyx Avatar was saying something. As if it was trying to make some kind of point. This was far different than the generic path of life that had been given originally...

[Firebreath Fishslap]

And once again the blade came swinging Minato's way. It occurred to Minato that Nyx Avatar was using the word much more now as Messiah once again lifted Minato out of harms way. Minato found himself extremely glad that Messiah could float, as this time he hadn't needed to be thrown out of the way.

As Messiah put Minato back down on the ground, it occurred to Minato that there was something very different about what Nyx Avatar was saying. Though events may fall out of order, the end was always the same. And then... something about grasping what one desired. But Minato still didn't understand it quite yet. Was it... actually telling him to try to save Ryoji?

Messiah held out its hand, sending out another God Hand at Nyx Avatar.

[mugenginga]

Nyx Avatar had to turn its wrist quickly to avoid slamming the sword into the ground. As it was, the entity wasn't fully successful. A very thin piece of the tower, about as tall as Minato with its center right where Minato had been standing, was now gone. It didn't seem to as much broken as compressed. The edges of the area were cracked. It was clear that the blue haired teenager had been damn lucky to dodge it. The God Hand fired before Nyx Avatar could get in another attack. The entity grunted as it leaned back a bit from the force. It straightened up as the protection granted by Arcana changing surrounded it.

"The Arcana is the means by which all is revealed... Though events may fall out of order, the end is always the same. Only in solitude can one see themselves honestly and choose their own path."

The Duelist Arcana this time flashed to Hermit. Nyx Arcana raised its blade and a shimmer passed over it. It wasn't Moonless Gown, but Minato had been in enough fights to know Tetrakarn when he saw it. The entity didn't give a chance for a counter and a wave of purple miasma shot towards Minato as the blade quickly lowered. If Minato was lucky, the Virus Breath wouldn't poison him. It would be hard to dodge given the way it washed over the battlefield, and the four Shadows that were closing distance between the fighters were all effected by the poison effect. If it hit, Minato would lose a quarter of his current strength in one blow, whether he was poisoned or not.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

And now Minato was just confused. Of course, as the Tetrakarn flashed and the Virus Wave spread, Minato realized he didn't have time to think. He covered his mouth and nose in an attempt to keep away the poison, but he still felt the affects of the attack and winced. He couldn't use any Physical attacks right now, so Messiah sent another Megidolaon Nyx Avatar's way.

[mugenginga]

(OOC: You know what? Given the occassional god moding in this thread, just assume its been approved. We're IMing as we do this. XD)

The attack connected as expected. It didn't seem to do any more damage than the previous attacks had been doing, but it was enough. The signs of another Arcana switch came up and the distorted version of Ryoji's voice spoke again.

"The Arcana is the means by which all is revealed... Though events may fall out of order, the end is always the same. One must heed the profound wisdom that comes from within the heart."

The symbol of the Duelist Arcana flashed to that of the Priestess. Again, the altered words seemed almost to be trying to say something. At this point it wasn't clear if Nyx Avatar was contradicting itself or if there was a greater message to be had. It was all rather unclear. The being lifted its free hand into the air as soon as its feet had touched the ground upon the switch. Green mist ripped through the area in the form of Magarudyne. Dodging would be a virtual miracle. Once again, the field was cleared.

This time it wasn't a moment too soon, either. While poisoned, some of the Shadows from previously had been seconds away from ganging up on Minato. The Magarudyne destroyed them. For being the "same" as Nyx, there was some definite disregarding in terms of her children on the field. Every Shadow that had managed to get up to the roof had been destroyed by the recent attack, and the wind was enough to suppress a few almost there. The spikes around the edge of the tower channelled the wind, it made the whistling rather loud.

----------

The group below were managing by sheer force of numbers. They were over halfway to the top, but the Shadows were getting thicker with every floor. It wasn't just numbers that was helping the group. Souji had a Persona out with Victory Cry. If it hadn't been for that, the group would have been exhausted a long time ago. There was a bit of covering having to be done for Jounouchi and Anzu, mainly the latter. After a while she'd taken a central position to the main group and focused on using magic cards to help heal the group. Victory Cry only helped during the battle pauses, after all. Yuugi was taking the rest of healing duties, and the few times people had been knocked unconscious the results of the training had been made clear. Samarecarm was quite literally being a life saver in the fights.

In terms of damage, there was no contest which of their sub groups was doing the most good. For all the party friction, it was painfully clear it would have been a mistake to not have the Court of Bel helping them in the fight. Abel was doing the most damage of the more human members of their team, even with the limiter. While Kaido's fighting was likely no surprise, Seth's very well might have been. There was a frightening level of ruthlessness to the younger Bel twin, and most of who he attacked were down in one set of hits. Cain's position as General was being proven to be more than a title as well. The level of strategy and command he had over the situation, and the way the group seemed willing to follow it, spoke volumes of the five thousand years of memories he had under his belt. All together as they were, it was an eerie reminder just how dangerous the group actually was...

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Minato braced himself as the Magarudyne came his way. The razor sharp wind managed to cut though his clothing and left several gashes on his body, but miraculously, the tattered yellow scarf around his neck had managed to avoid any major damage. It was the cries of the dying Shadows right behind him that made Minato realize that Magarudyne had just saved his life. Several Shadows had been about to attack him, and the Magarudyne had stuck them.

Minato gaped up at Nyx Avatar for a moment. This thing that was trying to kill him... had just also saved his life.

Minato didn't need to give a verbal order to his Persona as it fired another Megidolaon at the being. It knew what to do by now.

[mugenginga]

The exchange of blows continued. The attack from Nyx Avatar had done significant damage. The only real explanation for the level of it was that the altitude and general layout of the buildings' roof had amplified the attack. The counter attack was unaffected. While Minato seemed to be having trouble figuring out the situation as a whole, it was his subconscious that was fighting. Given the nature of Persona, Messiah was able to attack even with Minato's stumble. The Megidolaon hit before Nyx Avatar could prepare another attack. The entity took a step back. It spoke without stepping back forward.

"The Arcana is the means by which all is revealed... Though events may fall out of order, the end is always the same. One must seek guidance to work past the doubt of uncertainty."

Nyx Avatar rose off the ground as was usual for an Arcana switch. The Duelist symbol flashed over to the Justice symbol. As it was, Minato wasn't faring very well. Nyx Avatar landed in the position it had held before getting knocked back by the Megidolaon. The being threw its hand forward and God Hand shot towards Minato. It was another case of managing to sneak in another attack, but it divided itself oddly. Given how much Messiah had been saving Minato, it might not have been a surprise. The dual strikes of Akasha Arts aimed more in Messiah's direction, as if to block off the Persona from grabbing Minato again. It didn't seem as much aimed to hit the white entity as to just block it, though.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Minato had braced himself for the God Hand, expecting Messiah to at least take some of the hit. What Minato had missed was the Akasha Arts heading to cut Messiah off. The Persona was unable to get Minato out of the way, and the golden fist slammed into his chest. Minato winced and put a hand on his chest. He'd felt something break that time. Probably a rib, couple ribs. At this point, he was really going on willpower. No matter what, he wasn't going to back down.

He was going to save Ryoji. Somehow.

He raised a hand up and Messiah sent another Megidolaon flying Nyx Avatar's way.

[mugenginga]

Nyx Avatar had made a very noticable pause as Minato stumbled. The blue haired teenager managed not to fall, but any idiot could see he was in massive amounts of pain. There may have been a chance for a follow up attack, but the fact was the entity had missed it. Call it an oversight, hesitation, or something else, but it meant that the Megidolaon hit with full force. The large being was forced to take a step back again. It spoke, once more not bothering to reposition itself.

"The Arcana is the means by which all is revealed... Though events may fall out of order, the end is always the same. One must have courage in the face of overwhelming doubt."

The being moved forward as it rose into the air. The Duelist flashed to Emporer. Nyx Avatar landed in its former position and raised its sword up. The pose was rather similar to the Moonless Gown ability it possessed, and it was possible Minato expected it. The fight had not been predictable thus far, after all. However, a bolt of lightning shot down from a point several feet above the being and shot out to each of the pillars bordering the rooftop. There was absolutely no way to dodge as Thunder Reign lit up the entire area. Giving the impossibility of dodging and the effects of the skill, Nyx Avatar was able to immediately follow up.

The odds of Minato surviving the Maziodyne were astronomical...

(OOC: Yeah, might be Enduring Soul time. XD And HEALING TIME. XD)