Ikanat See Without This Light [Eevachu + Cloud]

The ice-cold of the packet wasn't nearly as cold as it should have been, thanks to the White Hide incorporated into his raiment. Thanking the Gods above for this, he jumped to the side as the ReDead Knight unleashed his sluggish blow upon him; the wind-up was obvious and the undead didn't put nearly enough effort into masking its attacks... Not that it could have, anyways, since Julius knew that most -- if not all -- undead lacked consciousness, anyways.

He then struck at it with several blows of his own blade, which, coupled with its icy chill, seemed to put enough of a halt on the ReDead's movements anyhow. With their opposing forces seemingly down and out, they were free to advance, more or less. Noticing that Rika's ReDead was still capable of screaming, he stomped on its head with a magnitude of force equal to that of an earthquake. Satisfied at the ReDead's broken skull and splattered brains, Julius nodded to himself.

"Let's move on."

Just as quickly as they had appeared, they were dispatched- somewhat brutally by Julius, one might add. Rika briefly wondered if horrifically murdering the soldiers of Ikana would have undue effects in the future- while normal undead were mindless creatures who lived only on instinct and desire for blood, these were intelligent, sapient creatures. Even if they were here through Captain Keeta's direction and request, other higher ups may not take too kindly to the murder of their own. That consideration was quickly discarded, however- it was natural in the line of battle, and the duo could not afford to go easy on their opponents, which was something that would be seen as an even bigger insult, likely. Keeta must have considered there would be casualties, as well, and have accepted them. Plus, Rika did not really care. With the enemies taken out, the two of them proceeded onward.

. . .

. . .

. . .

At this point, Rika had begun to develop a pretty good understanding of the castle, his mental map becoming fleshed out with many different paths that he could more or less guess where they led to. They had been sneaking around the castle for some time now, but no adversary of particular note had come to their attention- some lesser undead, perhaps a Stalfos soldier or two, another ReDead or ReDead Knight, but they all fell to blade edge as quickly as it was drawn. It was honestly somewhat insulting to the Kokiri- it was likely that they were at least aware of their presence by this point, after all. Did they truly underestimate Rika that much? If they were not aware- in which case, the Kokiri was giving them far too much credit,- were the Ikanan sentries so confident in their reinforcement and status that they had no need to employ stronger security regularly? He supposed Igos would prove a challenge, though- not that anything else up to this point had given him confidence to believe that.

Nonetheless, the constant trekking around had more or less given Rika an idea of how to get to the throne room. Rika stopped at a door. While he did not know what laid behind it, he knew it was an imposingly large room, and they could use it to easily reach a higher level which would place them closer to their location. "In here. It is a shortcut that will save us time." Rika said, before sliding open the door and slipping in.

Incredible. Absolutely incredible. His will-o-wisp flickered to reveal towering shelves filled to the brim with dusty, archaic tomes extending as far as the eye could see, curving like a metaphorical labyrinth across the massive room extending high into the sky, with small bridges weaving between shelves to different balconies at edges that seemed to hold doors, among other things. It was a massive library.

"I cannot believe this!" Rika cried out, overjoyed, as he glanced over the nearest bookshelf. "The amount of ancient knowledge unknown to the living world lying in wait to be read in this room is just. . . indescribable." This was exactly the reason Rika came to Ikana, and he so desperately wanted to look around and delve into a tome. Alas, time was of the essence, and they had an objective- Rika could spend all the time in his eternal lifespan bouncing around from historical anecdote to magical inscription once he showed them how deserving he was of its knowledge, which would come in due time- there was no rush.

Snapping out of his semi-trance, Rika explained to Julius, "Right. We want to leave out of a door on the top floor, west side." With Rika on the case, traversing this library would be like walking in a straight line. "Let's get moving- the sooner we leave, the sooner I can come back, after all, haha." Rika chuckled, his voice probably the most full of joy it had been since entering Southern Hyrule.

"Yes," Julius responded, taking point. The door creaked open... revealing something terribly frightening. It was Death Blade-- but not as Julius had known him. It was indescribable-- he looked... more crazed than usual. Not that he was necessarily sane before, but there was no mistaking it. This was Death Blade, alright.

Julius put a hand out to stop Rika from doing anything obnoxious. "Stop." He wondered what exactly was wrong, but then realized that something was probably driving him mad. Could that be the case for much of the palace as well? "This is... My battle." He drew his sword before wandering in. "Death Blade!" He'd shouted. "Come on!"

The creature looked over at him from his hunched position. It screamed-- an ear piercing scream, to be sure, but it wasn't like a ReDead's scream at all. No, it was just... driven mad. Maybe it served a higher power, and that's why it was here. "Come get me!" He yelled. This was a personal fight-- that much was true. As ridiculous as it seemed, nothing else mattered. Not the need to be quiet, nor his usual stoic demeanor.

Archfiend
---------------
Death Blade
​

He caught air. He swiftly utilized his Backshift Cape, jumping back about six feet before the creature struck. He readied himself. He charged a Spin Attack in an instant, before unleashing it upon his foe. It reared back, apparently being half-frozen from his usual tricks.

He moved forward, careful to not fall for any more of this creature's deceit. A strike from behind?! Julius wondered, ducking and rolling forward. Looking back, it seemed the creature had somehow obtained another sword. Maybe it had summoned it? Julius thought, before charging again.

Sitting on the sidelines was boring. It was clear Julius had a personal connection to this ghastly figure, its imposing, spectral blade seemingly instilling a hasty sense of urgency in Julius that had not yet been present. Rika cared not for this personal grudge, or whatever it may be that drove him to seek a duel with Death Blade. However, the change in mood from Julius was something that peaked his interest- enough to want to see where this was leading.

"Fine. But don't whine for my assistance later." Rika called back, stepping back a short distance so he would not be forcibly dragged into the combat. Perhaps he would peruse one of the many tomes behind him while he waited.

The ice was gone, now, it seemed. It -- Death Blade -- struck at Julius, a blow he wasn't able to avoid. That was not the only pain he felt-- it felt like it almost chopped his arm off, and Julius remembered why he'd had such a difficult time fighting him before. Back then, he'd had Guy fighting alongside him; where was he now? Probably drowning in his own vomit from downing too many 'magic mushrooms', Julius thought, somehow, through the pain.

The pain did not end simply there. Before he could regain consciousness, the ability to even formulate a plan, Death Blade was upon him once more. He seemed fully in control, now, and whatever had driven him insane before simply stopped mattering. Perhaps it remembered Julius' presence specifically? No, it just seemed to be on a rampant bloodlust-- but then, why wasn't it attacking Rika as well? Perhaps it did remember Julius.

Once more, it delivered a tormenting strike to Julius' abdomen, and the same pain as before repeated itself once more. The inability to think-- it must have a Shadow Gem, or a Shadow Enchantment, Julius managed to, again, think through the pain. The ghastly figure stood forth, beckoning Julius to strike at it. He didn't -- couldn't. Not through all this pain. Seeing this, the creature once more attacked, this time aiming at Julius' head. Kneeling already, clutching his stomach, Julius thought that this would be the end for him.

A shame, he idly thought, that this would be how things ended. No word from him to his superiors, to the Crown, and that he'd died such an embarrassing death. Julius braced himself for death; but it wasn't so. Apparently, he had stopped moments before... driven insane, once again, by whatever was beckoning towards him. It backed away, slowly, before vanishing entirely.

"Rika," Julius said, in a gasping voice, "dig into my Adventure Pouch at my waist. There should be a Red Potion in there. I'll," he gasped again. How much damage did he actually take? He gasped a third time. Had his lung been punctured? It seemed so. "I," another gasp, "need you to bring it to my lips." He was dying, he realized. "I think I'm," he gasped again. "Dying."

How disappointing. For his show of bravado, Rika had expected something interesting, but perhaps he had overestimated the Hylian up to this point; or perhaps this creature- Death Blade, Julius referred to it as, - was simply that powerful. Regardless, the fight was a clean, one-sided stomp. When Julius hit his knees, that was the point Rika decided to intervene, though perhaps against Julius's wishes. After all, dealing with the remnants of this castle alone would prove far more difficult than with an ally, regardless of Julius's actual competence with a blade. Even Rika, for the grandeur of his ego, was wise to that fact. However, before anything could be done, Death Blade. . . retreated?

Why would he flee at the moment before slaying his foe, especially one he seemed to have had past quarrels with? Perhaps he was a warrior who took no pleasure from taking the lives of his foes, Rika presumed, but that was doubtful, what with the ruthless, bloodthirsty way he swung his sword.

"You are quite lucky," Rika called out to the Hylian as he approached him, "that your error in judgement did not end with your life." He began digging through Julius's Adventurer's Pouch. "But I will stress," Rika added, casually pouring the goo-y, crimson liquid into Julius's gasping mouth, "that this was a fool's decision. I know not why this Death Blade spared you, but it is not something I expect to happen again."

The liquid instantly spread through Julius, likely a familiar sensation to him at this point. He was probably fine, at this point. "Should we wish to make it out of this castle alive, there will be no more 'sitting out', unless your objective really is the reaper's doorstep." Rika's eyes turned to glance at the doorway he had referenced previously. "Now let us be on our way. It is possible reinforcements will arrive after the escape of our enemy." With that, he tapped Julius on the shoulder- imbuing him with extraordinarily enhanced jumping, and without waiting for a reply, began leaping upward to reach the upper balcony where their target door rest.

"He wasn't like that the first time we fought him," he said as he experienced intense physical pain for the second time that day. "It's a good thing this is alcoholic," Julius commented, still reeling from the pain. "I would probably pass out from the pain otherwise." He stood back up, leaning on the bookcases. "Anyways, I think that thing was being called. It was sealed, so I'm thinking it probably has... I don't know, a master, maybe? He certainly wasn't like that when I initially fought him." He said, bending, and picking up his Mirror Shield and associated sword.

He doubled over, almost vomiting. "Ugh. I hate how this makes me feel," he commented, "but I'll never complain about being saved death." They soon departed... and in the next area, Julius was absolutely glad Rika had given him the ability to jump higher and farther, even with his Roc's Feather. It was a long, winding, spiral staircase; with vast amounts of the stairs missing, having crumbled away at some point or another. "Well," he commented, "thanks for making me lighter. With this, I could probably clear most of the gaps, but I'd need to be careful to not fall in the gaps either." With a running jump, he easily landed on the second set of stairs.

"Whew. I'm gonna go ahead and use my Keese to scout out, if you don't mind," he said, summoning the strange, unnatural Keese. It flew up and up and up, eventually reaching the top of the staircase. Things were too dark to see... Until it came to a chamber of sorts. It lead to a long hallway of sorts; probably the antecedant to the throne room. "Well," he started, "it looks like we might be close to the throne room, if all this light I'm getting is correct," he finished. "But don't take my word for it. For all I know, we might be a good bit away from the throne room." With that, he continued running, jumping, running, jumping...

Julius’s scouting Keese fluttered for a few moments, before its vision suddenly turned black- then a moment later, Julius got the sensation it had been taken out. A few moments later, the duo could hear the swishing of wind coming from up above, and it was shortly apparent what was causing it- a caped figure dived down the open center spiral of the staircase, flying past the two and threatening to send them falling off with the pull of wind that followed.

“Heads up!” Rika shouted, though it should have been more than obvious their new foe had arrived. Taking the mere moment they had to reactivate Julius’s Double Jump- it would be unlikely he could mid-combat, - that was all the Kokiri had time to do before the sudden threat made itself known. “You dare to come zo cloze to ze throne room, az thoze ov ze living?” The voice boomed from below, before an imposing figure made itself known. Swooping upward to level with the duo, it spread its cape wide, to reveal its large, imposing, green body. It was clear it was a Vire, those of the undead kind that feast on the living and make them into their undead puppets that live to crave the blood of others. “Vor zis crime, I zhall maek you eento my zlavez for all eteernity!” It spun before swooping back upwards, another gust of wind pushing against the two. “A Hylian and Kokiri zoo. . . Ze most zelicious! Ha Ha Ha!” Its laugh echoed throughout the cylindrical pillar, taunting the duo in preparation for its next attack.

Julius was taken aback by the Vire's sudden appearance; so much so that he fell flat on his ass, all the while hollering, "Oh, what the FUCK." He didn't even listen to his speech; instead, he dropped a Light Gem that he'd had in his Adventure Pouch down at the Vire, hoping to drag his attention away from Rika, so that Rika could, hopefully, end its life before the battle even begun. "Rika!" He shouted as the gem dropped.

The Vire let out a hiss of pain as the Light Gem dropped between it cloak and its flesh. "Now!" But it was too late; the Vire had already transformed into a bat-like creature, ready to get rid of Julius once and for all.

Now, Julius already knew to stay back from enemies whose abilities were yet unknown. But he didn't know when, or if, the Vire would display any latent abilities, aside from the ability to transform into a bat. "I don't know what the hell you are, but you're certainly no Death Blade," he said, cautious and ready. "Come at me! With everything you've got!" He was especially careful of the thing having teleportation abilities; he'd faced enough foes, primarily Wizzrobes, that had that effect. Keeping his ears open, he was more than ready for the Vire's apparent attack.

"Nyeheheh!" The Vire laughed, while launching a Fireball at Julius. Really? A basic Fire spell? Julius thought, reflecting the same spell back to the Vire. "Nice try, but it's gonna take more than that to compare with me." The Vire let out a harsher hiss, this time in response to the Fire spell. "Rika!" He shouted, "It's weak to fire!"

It had its share of magic, that much was certain with the wind effect and now its latent Fire abilities. The Light Gem from Julius was surprisingly clever- but it would need more of a hold to provide any real distraction they could capitalize on. For the moment, the Vire was fixated on Julius- this wasn't an opportunity Rika could let pass. His hand thrust forward, and with a quick snap, flames roared from the tips alongside his voice, "Here's some real flames!" The Vire squealed and spun, the bolt of embers narrowly zooming past its back and singing at the undead beast's cape.

"Nyehehe! So you have ze fire az vell, boy! I vill take you first, zhen!" He cackled, turning his attention directly towards Rika. Shit. A clean blow with Fire would be more than a decisive end to this battle- but it'd take more than a handful of seconds before he could conjure such a flame again, and with the Vire's quick reactions, a direct blow was virtually impossible. Its close quarters capabilities were unknown, but with its surprisingly thick girth, its physical prowess should be at least noted.

Diving down the gap in the stairs next to him, Rika dropped down the spiral staircase to the level below where they were, but the fluttering, undead bat would not have that, as he swooped down to give chase.

"You cannot run from ze undead, kekeke!" He cackled, to which Rika turned to face the nosediving beast. "The way you speak is fucking obnoxious!" The Kokiri spat out while waving his palm forward, sending a spiraling ball of wind launching forward. It tore through the small tufts of wind expelled by the Vire's flight- much to its surprise that its defenses failed- and crashed directly into the bat-beast. At the same time, though, a crackling, sparkling orb flew out of its mouth, sailing over the wind-bladed blast and directly at Rika. Obscured by his own attack, the ball of electricity crashed into Rika, sending him collapsing onto one knee as tortuous screams of pain shot out from his mouth.

Him own attack had sent the Vire sailing backward, so his momentary vulnerability would not seem to be his undoing.

This was good. Better than good, even. Reaching into his Adventure Pouch, he felt around searching for a bomb... but also his Boomerang. Withdrawing the two, he immediately tossed it into the air; then, activating the boomerang's Fire Gems, he threw it so that it caught the bomb in its inherent gusts and flew towards the Vire.

"Hey, fuckface!" The Vire was immediately faced with a whirling inferno of both fire and wind. As soon as the gale hit him, it deposited a bomb that was on the verge of exploding.

"Ha! Ha! Ha!" Not realizing that the flames had also apparently dropped an explosive on him. Julius waited for a fraction of a second, before hearing the explosive detonate. He was still standing, but barely. Stowing his Boomerang, he drew his sword, ready for whatever tricks, apparent or otherwise, the Vire might throw his way.

"Aaaaaa!" The Vire screamed at the explosion. "Vat have you done?! My face! My beautiful face!" Julius looked at the Vire. It wasn't pretty before, that much was sure. But he decided to not question him or give him a dissenting opinion. "Vah! You foolz do not vealize my true potential!! Nyah!"

With that, numerous apparent clones emerged; they all twisted off from the Vire's apparent physical shape, and did so rather disgustingly, if Julius had any say in it. They twisted and crawled, just barely hanging on by his apparent fleshy tendrils as they all twisted out, soon gathering around Julius. "Really," he said, giving it no thought.

He charged his Spin Attack in an instant, and unleashed both his sword's inherent properties, alongside a Spin Attack; this was sure to be deadly, he thought.

Vision blurred, Rika's senses were mute to the ongoing carnage that occurred in the following handful of moments. When his attention was brought back to the oncoming fight, the tinge of gunpowder singed at his nostrils and the Vire's form had expanded, alien-esque tendrils swarming out in all directions to connect to blobs and masses bearing his visage, though warped and even more monstrous. In response to Julius's attack, the Vire flew backwards, though his movement was staggered. Whether that was due to his newfound injuries or the mass he had built upon himself, it was not clear, but something seemed to be having an effect on him. While his main body avoided the brunt of the attack, the Spin Attack tore at the mass of clones, sickly fluids spewing out of the now severed tendrils. Though, it seemed to do little to impede its wrath.

In response, all of the clones alongside the base form began flapping their wings, sending powerful gusts of wind at Julius that would knock back even the most stout Goron.

"Ngh. . ." Rika groaned, bringing himself to his feet. He would have to intervene lest Julius eventually be crushed by the winds. Sliding his palm into a pouch, Rika chucked a small packet at the Vire- on impact, it exploded into a wave of force, surging across his back. While the creature was far too imposing and large to be displaced against the wall, it completely disrupted his wings, sending him dropping down several feet. A few moments later, it surged upward, this time facing Rika.

"Zhen, I zhall veaaaast on you vahst. Kokiri blood iz ze most deevine!" He hissed at the Kokiri, chuckling.

"Think again, fuckface." Rika outstretched his palm in the direction of the Vire. Even with its mass, it was still likely capable of dodging a fireball- so a direct attack was sure to fail. Which was why Rika's aim was not at the Vire, but, unaware to it, at the figure standing a level above, behind him- Julius. His eyes glared at the Hylian, hoping he would pick up on what Rika had in mind without words, as that would defeat the purpose. He had done the same thing a handful of moments before, so hopefully the idea would not have been lost so easily. Flames surged at Rika's palm for a moment, before it rocketed forward. The Vire managed to avoid it, the flames flying through the open space between clones. It laughed obnoxiously, as the flame continued its trek towards Julius.

He flew back, crashing into the wall. He was even having trouble breathing and speaking because of the flurries of wind that was being caused by the Vire's clones. "G--! DAMN--," was all Julius had the chance to utter. Fuck, he looked around, hoping to see if Rika had come up with something.

He cast a Fire spell. It missed completely.

But that was the point, Julius realized, managing to take his shield off and bear it against his chest. "C---!" He was still having difficulties with speaking; breathing besides that. "FUCK!" The fire spell finally impacted the shield. The spell traveled. And traveled. And traveled some more.

Then, it hit the Vire square in the back. With a whimper, he went down, not even able to breathe; the clones disappeared in a cloud of smoke as well, not being anything more than summoned entities, apparently. "THAT is what you get GOD DAMN IT." Julius took off his helmet and rubbed his throat. "Hoooooooly shit." He continued to massage his throat, before taking a drink of water from a waterskin he'd kept in his Adventure Pouch.

"Rika! Are you okay?" He yelled from the second level. "Those clones almost suffocated me, but I'm glad you came through when you did. Good planning!" He watched Rika climb up a few more stairs, before eventually surpassing him. Julius kept his eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary; not wanting Death Blade to surprise them again, lest he forget the strangely quite capable being behind the blade.

"He was more powerful than he was when I first fought him," Julius quietly said. "Why?" His gaze lingered on the door they came from before deciding to climb up the stairs as well.

A heavy sigh escape Rika's lips, relief washing over the Kokiri as he watched the damned Vire spiral down the staircase to its end. He collapsed to his feet, his muscles twitching and the adrenaline that held him up fading away. He would need to rest for a moment. Holding his palm up towards his face, an orb of water swirled into existence, like a small, cupped puddle hovering in his grasp. He quickly gulped down the water in its depths, the liquid rejuvenating him.

He rested for a few moments until he heard Julius call out to him from above. "Yeah!" He called back, "I am glad you realized what I was trying to do, haa-" He laughed at his gamble, "If you had failed to noticed we would have both been done for, almost certainly." And that was true- he would have taken Julius out on his own, and having been struck by the Vire's electrified zap, he would have nowhere near the mobility required to take it out or avoid its assault. After a few more moments, Rika felt like he would be able to move properly. His body ached, certainly, but it was nothing he had not become accustomed to from his years of adventuring- it was not something that would restrict him.

Rika went up a few more levels- Julius seemed preoccupied with something, but Rika would still continue his forward scouting. However, after a handful of levels, it still seemed to go on, so Rika would wait for Julius. Confident as he was, they were not in a situation where he could easily get away with acting solo, not in enemy territory like they were. Eventually, Julius made his way up to meet Rika.

"I think it is safe to say they are aware of our presence." He called out. "Stealth will likely only harm us from here on." He added, before they continued making their way up.

. . .

Eventually, they reached the end. The stairwell led out into a long, empty hallway- no doors or decorations along the walls. It was only decorated by the line of torches set across the wall leading down it, and the ornate golden rug that stretched from the stairwell's mouth to further in. The sides were rather wide, and stretched further to about twenty feet, before leading to a colossal doorway.

There did not seem to be much in the way of threat, but it left an imposing, ominous feeling on Rika. They were heading into the throne room, that was certain. The thick tension beating down from the atmosphere, the presence of light, the ornate rug. There was no reason for a random hallway to have this. Plus, Rika knew that the throne room- the large room he had felt earlier, - laid up ahead.

Cautiously, the two made their way down the hallway, but nothing happened- they reached the thick, heavy golden gates with ease. As they approached, they could see that the doorway was not completely shut- it was adjunct, as if welcoming any who would approach in. Well, why else would the throne room doors be open? Rika gave a silent glance to Julius, as if to confirm his preparation, then back at the throne room doors. He stood still for a moment- this had to be a trap of some kind. Yet, they could not stand idly, not at this point.

Suddenly, a deep voice boomed from within. "Come." One word. That one word felt so powerful, it shook Rika to his core. He had never met him, and never heard his voice, but the authority it held, the command it struck to his very core, told Rika all he needed to know. That was the king himself. This was it.

". . . Let us go, then." Rika whispered to Julius, before the duo made their way in.

Even with his mental assumptions of the throne room, its size outshone even that- it was a colossal room truly fit for a king. It stretched far and wide- it must have been at least 30 feet tall, while the width seemed to go even further. Across its floors were countless structures- pillars, weapons encased in glass, and so on. Spread across the walls were portraits of all kinds, depicting countless seemingly important men of many different races- some skeletal, others not. It stretched far back, about 60 feet, and at that end was the objective they had sought.

A colossal throne, one where two Hylians could sit in side by side, and its backend rose high into the sky. Resting upon it was a massive, imposing skeletal figure- at least the size one might expect from a Darknut, his bone interior masked by heavy, steel plates. Thick, sharpened steel that one could describe as a sword, but that was almost impractical for anyone without impossibly strong physical strength to wield sat at his left, while a wide shield plated of steel, its design ornate and bearing key symbols of Ikana, rest at the other. Sharp, green eyes unflinchingly shot out from behind an ornate, golden headpiece, directly at the duo who had just entered. He did not utter a word.

At his side, four cloaked figures stood- two on one end of the throne, the other two the opposite side.

The four vanished, and a mere moment later, reappeared, this time closing the distance between themselves and the adventurer duo by about half.

"Welcome, intruders." One spoke, distinguishing itself as the leader. "You have done well to make it this far. But this far is where it shall end." It spoke clearly and plainly, then without another word, the four raised their palms. In an instant, differently colored blasts of magic swirled then launched outward from them, threatening to bombard the duo.

Julius assessed his options in an instant. On one hand, he could dive for cover-- useless, given that this was a throne room, and they could likely teleport, much like Wizzrobes could. Were they Wizzrobes? It was difficult to tell. His other option (out of many) was to deflect all of their attacks by using his tried-and-true, almost trademark, Spin Attack. This was the most likely option he'd have. Still, there were other options; parley for peace? Hardly. He'd sliced up a good number of their underlings, so even he would be a bit uncomfortable seeking peace.

He raised his shield and sword the instant the four figures unleashed their barrage.

The projectiles were coming. Closer. Closer.

He had to time this right. One missed Spin Attack and he would be dead.

They closed closer still. An opportune moment to unleash it was upon him. He reflected the magics back towards their respective casters; all of them gone once he'd displayed his capabilities. His equipment's capabilities, rather; all he had was the ability to summon a flying eyeball and his ever-trusty Spin Attack. He reached into his Adventure Pouch; thinking to draw a Bomb, instead he opted for his Roc's Feather. It would grant him increased upwards mobility, and the more he kept moving, the more difficult of a time the apparent casters would have in pinning him down.

"Rika!" Julius shouted, jumping off and searching for their attackers. He immediately felt a bolt of magic graze his neck; obviously not aiming to kill, more like subdue the pair of adventurers. "Fuck!" Julius shouted. Turning, while raising his shield, his would-be assassin wasn't there any more. Knowing he had to keep moving, he once more took to the air. Scanning more carefully, it did seem like they had the ability to teleport. He'd have to keep his ears open for that as well, then; he hadn't faced such a powerful foe (excluding Death Blade) in an extended amount of time.

Julius had shouted something, towards Rika it seemed, but the Kokiri was unable to keep enough of a focus on the Hylian to make out if he needed anything at the moment, as he was too preoccupied with his own perilous evasion, dashing and weaving behind pillars to avoid the spell blasts and keep cover. Evasion alone would not save them, though- they were outnumbered and out-prepared. If they weren't able to take one of the spell slinging Wizzrobes out soon, they would lose.

Darting out from behind a pillar, Rika's palm was already extended towards a nearby Wizzrobe. Flames roared out and rocketed forward, but the robed monster, aware of his presence, had countered with its own flames. The roaring, magical sparking flames collided, exploding in a wave of heat that distorted the air. As soon as it vanished, Rika saw the Wizzrobe's body begin to glow- none other than Wizzwarp, this tell a large weakness Rika was well aware of. Immediately, his heel spun behind him, and sure enough, a shimmering, green outline was hovering above the ground behind him. Rika's fist clenched, and a bright, golden circle erupted from underneath the green outline. Just as the Wizzrobe appeared in place, before it had even a moment to teleport away or flee, a massive Spire erupted out of the ground, tearing into its robe and completely mutilating its body. Yet, rather than blood or flesh, chunks of bone were flung outward from the robe, with no inner containers.

They were skeletal themselves, then. Or at least, that one was. Keyword, "was". Rika couldn't help but smirk as one was taken down, but this moment of arrogance cost him. He felt his chest turn hot, boiling, and his body moving back involuntarily. That's when his eyes saw the beam of heat connecting with his upper torso, vicious beams of heat launching from the pupils of one of the other Wizzrobe. Rika was sent flying to his feet, a horrific, burning sensation coursing through his body.

To make matters worse, the Wizzrobe began to shimmer in a pale, grey light- the other two Wizzrobe followed suite. This shimmer only lasted but a moment, but once it ended, the scattered remains of their ally began to tremble, before animatedly rising into the air and reconnecting- in a matter of seconds, the Wizzrobe Rika had decimated was now standing unscathed. Immediately, it spoke.

"Impressive, that you were capable of delivering a critical blow unto us- unfortunately, your magic is all for naught."

They were capable of reanimation, too? "Ah, shit. . ." Rika grumbled in a haphazard attempt to bring himself to his feet so he was more than a sitting target. If they were capable of spells as magically intensive as raising the dead, these Wizzrobes were more than your simple spellslinger. It was not as simple as just killing them one by one, either- they would all need to die at the same time to truly stay dead, and that was assuming they were the only ones in Ikana capable of the art of resurrection.

"Get dunked on!" Julius yelled as his plummeting blade connected with the Wizzrobe's body, freezing it instantly. "Shit!" He yelled, having to go back onto the evasive immediately. "Rika!" Julius yelled, still jumping around, "There's got to be a mastermind controlling them! Find--" He froze, electricity arcing off his armor.

...

He was back in the game quicker than any had thought, though. "GODS!" He was being dunked on, it seemed. Not lingering for even a moment, he had to resort to jumping to get anywhere with any kind of feasibility. They were being majorly outplayed, too! Taking a quick inventory, it seemed like all four of them were still up and about, despite Rika and himself both having taken out at least one.

"Gods above," Julius muttered in exasperation. He kept leaping around, but it was tiring. Seeing a Wizzrobe above him readying a spell, he smirked. They probably knew about the effects of Mirror Silver already, so he leapt out of the way, and he did so in the nick of time, narrowly evading another lightning-based attack. Julius frowned. He had all the proper tools for this fight, but was being woefully outplayed, and Julius was convinced that these fiends were merely toying with them as well.

An idea popped into his head. If a bomb took five seconds to explode, maybe he could trick a Wizzrobe or two into teleporting near where he'd planted them. Maybe being the keyword.

So that's what he did. Sheathing his sword mid-leap, he started to plant bombs all around them. Nearer to the pillars would be preferable, but he did spy some weapons on the way in. Maybe... There were the portraits, too. This was going to be tricky, but if Rika knew what he was doing...

Before Rika found himself on his feet, he would be back on the ground. One of the unoccupied Wizzrobe had wasted no time in beginning its onslaught onto the prone Kokiri. His sense still numb from the burning sensation pervading his chest, Rika instinctively dove forward with an almost clumsy roll, the pain of which was made null only by the intense adrenaline pumping through his core. Flames tickled at the stone tiles he laid at just before, their singe narrowly missing his backside. This repeated once more- this time with magic of a more chilling orient, - but the result was the same.

"The Kokiri is weasel-y. It seems range will be less effective." The Wizzrobe mocked, before hovering in to engage the prone Rika in melee. This, at least, gave Rika a moment to reorient himself and understand what was going on. Julius was engaged with one- two?- of the Wizzrobe, with the other not seen by his eyes. He had begun tossing bombs around seemingly completely haphazardly, and the stench of gunpowder striking his nostrils confirmed that. But, why? Was he panicking from their resurrection, and hoping wayward explosions would catch the Wizzrobe off-guard? Doubtful- Rika knew Julius as many things throughout the course of their raid of the castle, and while there were doubtless negative traits he would impose on the Hylian, reckless and easy to panic were not among them. With that in mind, he must have had some kind of plan he wanted to fulfill, but simply tossing around bombs would do nothing. It had to be that he wanted Rika to capitalize on their placement.

He would figure it out as he went along, his time limit being the trickling fuse and their sizzle masked only by the roar of the bombs themselves.

The Wizzrobe came barreling down at the Kokiri with flaming fists, though Rika was able to easily roll to the side and avoid its strike with his superior agility, even with the burns he had suffered. This went on for a handful of swings, before the two spellcasters were engaged in an all out fist-flinging brawl. The timbered hands of the Wizzrobe swiped and grabbed at Rika, the heat penetrating through his armor if he was not quick enough to detach himself or retaliate with his own quick right jab or kick. Rika's quick movements had the clear advantage, due to a combination of his smaller frame, magical bunny hood, and the fact that he had far more experience with physical altercations than the Wizzrobe. The Kokiri was left with a handful of burns and bruises, especially due to the fact that he was punching raw bone, but the conflict was ended when he landed a frontal kick directly onto the Wizzrobe's chest, sending it launching back onto the ground, and directly into a bomb. Before it could recover itself and move or teleport away, the ring of the explosive went off, enveloping the Wizzrobe and sending its bones flying skyward.

However, Rika knew this victory was only temporary. They had taken down, what, three of them? Perhaps more, if Julius had done more while he was not looking. Yet, with their restorative magic, that number was essentially nothing. Even with the toll it would have on a caster, they seemed practically unfazed by its use. And surely enough, the Wizzrobe would almost immediately begin casting their incantation to bring their ally back.

"Court mages," a withered, but mighty, voice spoke. "Leave them. They have proven themselves...worthy." With that, the figure on the throne stood up -- he must have been seven or eight feet tall -- revealing a cascading purple cape that had seen better days, sitting atop his appropriately regal mail. As he drew his blade, Julius saw the shield the figure reached for was made of Mirror Silver.

"Mirror Silver," he warned Rika, knowing about how he relied on spells. "If you got anything that could help us against him, now would be the time." He said, pulling free several pouches containing Ignition Powder, received from the very same dungeon where Lucia died. He shifted hands as the King came down from his throne. "Don't let him stay still for too long. We never know what he could be hiding." He threw the packets at the King's feet, while gulping down an Armor Seed from his stash.

He felt sick, then. Suddenly mixing armor seeds with red potion wasn't the best of ideas, he'd realized, as he threw up into his mouth. He forced it down, taking careful note of where the presumed King was. When the King had landed, he was closer than he'd expected. He swallowed down the last of his vomit, before grimacing. He was probably way outclassed here in terms of skill. Regardless, he still charged, only to be knocked back, almost effortlessly. Thankfully, he wasn't feeling very much pain, or being damaged at all, thanks to the new effects of the Armor Seed-vomit he'd managed to finish swallowing. He looked at Rika.