Climb: The Floor 7 Boss

Adventurers reach further up. Passing through the town of 'Monster Arena' into the depths of Wyvern Infested Lands, seeking out the dangerous twin Wyverns that are rumored to serve as the Floor Boss of the region, and blocking their move to the 8th floor.

Prepare your Switch-Axe, grab your Dual Blades, and leave the Insect Glaive at home because it's still not a viable weapon... it's time to slay some Wyverns!

Liminality
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Straight south of the massive fortified town known only by the name of 'Monster Arena', lies the enormous mountainous cauldron region, filled with enormous monsters. From enormous flying squirrels with a propensity to inflate their neck as a defense mechanism, to wyverns of various sizes. With the precious only source of water of this region in the western parts of the monster cauldron, the Landers of this region have proven themselves to be incredibly hardy individuals, some of which have significant level advantages on the Adventurers that are climbing the tower.

Thanks to some information gathering, they have found out that there are two Wyverns that particularly guard the Southern Regions of the cauldron. A region that few of the Monster Arena's Hunters even bother setting foot in.

As the group arrives, after an arduous journey of climbing up cliffs, rapelling along vines that have been set out through the centuries, and using conspicuously useful vine walls to further rise up to the heights of this tower, they come upon a region that seems to be rife with coral-like mushroom formations. There's constant fungus dust in the area, none of which seems to be affecting the Adventurers. At least, nothing that a mask won't easily stop.

As they crest to the very top of the coral region, they come upon a plateau. Formations moving forward to the cave that lies deeper in and connects to the former Boss Room Gates, that now lie devastated. This has been a common theme it would appear. More and more of these Boss Rooms had the boss escape it. A few steps forward, prepared for battle, the team proceeds inwards...

Until suddenly, there's a loud screetch as two massive Wyverns reveal themselves, breaking off of the tower walls - having seemed like rocks at first - and swoop down. Their sharp claws snag at the various Adventures, trying to grab hold of them, and /thrown/ them off of the plateau for a drop that could very well mean the end of anyone not prepared, or lucky enough to be a Sylph or Spriggan! The moment the Wyverns finish their first pass, they land on the Plateau, and let out vile screetching sound /so loud/ that the team has no choice but to grab at their ears, momentarily stunned and confused by the flash-bang like blast that pierces their body...

There is just a small moment where they have time to strike at the two Wyverns - one of them that seems to be surrounded by winds, and the other by a constant drift of snow-like substance, though it might just be more fungus!

OST CHANGE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXOBWIVduHo
Setsuna
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12


    As the group reaches the top of the cliffs to face down the twin Wyverns Setsuna had stood before the group. " So I never really thought I would be doing one of these pre-raid talks however here we go. Our fight today is supposedly against two Wyverns, according to our information the mechanic of this fight is that if one dies before the other it will revive. We have to down these things at the same time, so make sure you are listening on the raid chimlinks. If you need help , speak up now before we begin. Make sure you have all your potions ready, buffs set, all that good stuff. No one needs to repair there armor right?" Setsuna takes a breath as that was a lot and seems to be walking back to his position he stops for a moment and adds, " Also a memo from our healers, don't stand in fire. If you are standing in fire you will not be healed until you move out of said fire. Thank you." With that Setsuna returns to his position and gets ready for some fun.

    As they proceed into the boss room Setsuna, flanked by his Skeleton bodyguard, is looking about, "Here lizard lizard lizard...." Tightening a makeshift scarf around his mouth he looks over at the doctor for a moment, " I guess they ran away?" A moment passes before the Wyverns answer that question for themselves as Setsuna is pushed into the air and only manages to not get sent flying off the plateau by solidifying the air behind him. As he lands on the ground safely his dagger in hand , a ball of fire in his other. Without a second thought he throws it at the Wind Wyvern as it shatters into a barrage of flaming embers.
Kita
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

There are journeys that challenge a person, causing them to strive to greater heights and to better themselves. And then there are travels which are just ridiculously not suited to certain members of the raid group. This is the later, in Kita's case. The black mage is not hearty, nor strong, and having to climb, repell, and slog through the expanse of monster-ridden territory has her looking more than bit put out.

She is breathing heavily by the time that they reach the destroyed gates that should have marked the boss room. The witch is about to complain, perhaps, that they need a breather. Some time to recover. Yet... the monsters seem to have other ideas.

One of the wyverns' claws comes desperately close to her as she is forced to suddenly flatten herself to the ground. For the stylish, gothic black mage, it isn't exactly a posture she appreciates. Yet, the talons graze over a glimmering shield in the air, rather than digging into her flesh. "Not this time." She rolls over, pushing herself gracelessly to her feet.

It is the one that had the strange snow around it that had gotten close, so Kita pushes to her feet, using her own strange form of tainted air magic. It combines darkness together into a sphere which she then lobs towards the wyvern, which shatters upon impact, creating a series of razor sharp blades which dig into vulnerable spots in the creature's hide.
Syx
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

"Yo what the fuck?!" Syx wasn't ready for the wyverns to literally come out of the walls like that, as he gets snatched up by the snow covered one.

Syx isn't really going to let that go without a fight though, as he starts swinging his fists repeatedly at the claw that's wrapped around him trying to force it to let him go with flaming punches.

It does actually let him go, and everyone can see Syx slam into the ground on fire like some sort of crazy angry meteor.
Michio
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Michio doesn't normally do these tower things. He's not real keen on them. He is keen on keeping abreast of what's going on in the Lands, and the who's who, so he decides to accompany this particular boss raid on a whim.

The climb is arduous, wind blowing his hair around, until he reaches the bowl with the others. As soon as he catches a hint of movement from the falling wyverns, he activates his flame roll ability and propels himself backwards in a summersault, leaving a trail of flame along the ground behind him, avoiding the grasping claws of the wyverns.

Regaining his feet, the salamander actually reaches into the flames he left behind with his clawed fists, as though grabbing the flame itself, and then launching a fire shrouded haymaker towards the snow covered wyvern.
Goldenblade
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Goldenblade pants as we make it to the end of the long climb, and explores onward as we seeks out the boss chamber. A huge room, and suddenly a screech, and she hunkers down, hands over ears, as the wind howls horribly around us, the wyverns trying to blow us off the cliff. But She darts out of the path of the attack so fast she leaves a smoking trail across the ground. When she doesn't want to be there, not much can pin her down.

Then there's a moment's opening, and she darts in, both blades flashing in lightning thrusts, quick as thinking, the blades reaching in to touch, to steal some of the wyvern's HP, stabbing for its heart, or whatever computer guts it has, stealing its life little by little with each piercing thrust.
Vertina
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Vertina is already pumped and ready to move, so when the Wyverns come swooping in she's even quicker on her feet. The Salamander becomes a blurr as she weaves to the side and dives into a roll, tumbling away from the outstretched talons and lashing tail. Between the two there's a lot of dust kicked up, but by the time it's settling and the Wyverns return over and release their screeching roars. Instinctively she covers her ears with her hands to stifle the screeching cries, but keeps moving towards them, having set her sights on the snowy one.

It's not until she's closing in that she lowers her hands, kicks off the ground with her powerful legs, and lunges towards her intended victim to make several short quick slashes with her clawed battlegloves before hitting the turf and darting out of the way of ground zero.
Gwen
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Gwen does not like this the fungus set her on edge and she doesn't know why but she just doesn't like it. That is quickly set aside as here comes two Wyverns? Two bosses? Oh, just bloody lovely there here s she'll move in the Snow Drifting Wyvern gets her attention now as she kicks things up to speed. She'll be glad for once for that snowfall her wings give her. That's could save her from ending up going to take fatal dive. The scream though oh god her ears. She reels at that and it's not long before she's charging at the snow wyvern intending to close with it let loose several air spells hopefully to its face!
Wisteria
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Wisteria is, clean, composed, wearing clothing and armor, and in caerbannog form. It seems the fey mood is passed and the Ulyssian is back in battle rattle and ready to go. Her new armor has a dark cast to it, an usettling feel despite it's rather normal bushi appearance. Her blade hangs at her hip and she's joined Vertina and Mizukichi for this battle. It's like the lower floors all over again only now she's realized there's more to this world than her sword.

    As she finds herself in air, the caerbannog were plants her feet on an air rune and with a thundering sound she leaps forward landing neatly before the wyverns. She pulls out a jewlers loop and stares at the boss. "Wind wyvern is weak to fire and lighting, target the wings, head and tail." she says aloud before repeating it into the raid Chim.
Lin
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

It's been busy lately for Lin. It seems like everything he does only lengthens the to-do list. For the whole length of time he's climbing those cliffs, the to-do list seems more like a list of everything else he'd rather be doing. Sure, this trek was going to be hard. He knew that. But sliding on vines? Potentially deadly fungus? Any other day he'd love to scrape some samples, but right now there's bigger business. He flinches at the first dangerous squeal of the wyverns, then doubles over grabbing his ears in pain. Not willing to go down without a fight, he lifts his spellbook and prepares a response - a sharp blast of lightning directed at the snow wyvern.
Mizuki
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12


EARLIER:
    The gray-white-haired human girl sits on the 'train' going up the stairs, huddled under a gray cloak. She catches sight of her reflection in the window or a random metal object and reaches out towards it. Is this me? Or just an avatar I'm trapped in? It doesn't look like me... She starts to picture the boss fights, the friendly conversations, seeing this wonderful world. It allowed all of that, though... Her hand touches the cool, reflective surface and recoils. The girl in the reflection imitates his slight surprise, his intake of breath, but searching that face, he doesn't see himself. Mizuki pulls the cloak tighter around her.

    After stepping off the train, she sort of trudges along... until monsters attack the group. Nothing they can't handle, but still, she reflexively transforms and draws her daggers, holding one out in front of her. As she sizes up the enemies and plans her attack, Sam catches sight of himself in the surface of the dagger. Wait, what? Ah, not now, it's a fight! After the monsters, she holds up her dagger again and scrutinizes her reflection. But only a cute catgirl looks back...

    The platforming and climbing challenges provide a welcome distraction from such thoughts. Play the game. Overcome the challenges. Win. That's what's fun!

NOW:
    Mizuki smiles as they reach the top, looking around, glancing back the way they came, and stretching. "Ahh... what a view, huh?"

    And then the wyverns attack! So sudden, Mizuki tries to dive out of the way and raise a shield of stone but she's too slow, suddenly she's being scratched and squeezed by massive talons and hurled off the edge! She struggles in its grip, biting at its feet and legs and breathing fire point-blank to get it to let go!

    ...Oh wait, that's not good either. Falling is not good! Fortunately, she's so used to doing the handsigns now that she can invoke ninpo even in a near panic, activating flashstep for the triple air jump! Hup, hup, hup! It's juuuuust enough to allow her to grab the ledge! Now, to decide whether she drops off and uses her up special when it comes to finish her off, attacks when it approaches the ledge, or taps shield to roll... wait, wrong game! She peeks over the ledge to see how the fight's going before deciding her next move...
Prophylaxis
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Unfortunately, some pressing issues on the fourth through sixth floors have kept Prophylaxis from taking the opportunity to scout the seventh in person. Other than the reports being sent down the line, he hasn't had much opportunity to visit-- and looking at the place, it's a genuine shame that he's been unable to. The flora and fauna are spectacular, and he has half the mind to take a break from everything going on down in Karluin to explore these fungal jungles in search of rare reagents. But then, that can wait until after they deal with the floor boss.

That is, of course, if the beasts don't kill them all first.

Clouds of spores swirl through the air as the beasts descend. Prophylaxis clicks his tongue and makes to dodge out of the way, even enchanting his speed to try and improve his chances... But then the monsters /scream/, and his enhanced Cait Sith hearing is again used against him. The doctor makes a noise of pain and stumbles, his enhanced speed sending him in a painful roll that almost has him tumble off a cliff...!

He doesn't. Not quite. With a groan, he pushes himself upright, his staff serving as a useful anchor to secure his footing. Already, a shrill note begins to howl eerily through the air. The doctor lifts that staff, the gem at its headpiece glimmering with inner light. High above, the clear sky has filled with churning, angry clouds. "Lightning," the doctor orders, as the note builds to a terrible crescendo... And a pillar of electricity abruptly floods down out of the sky and into the wind-wrapped wyvern. "Off to a great start, I see," he mutters to himself, glancing askance at the still-swirling clouds of spores. "...Those have me worried, though. Hmn."
Liminality
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Setsuna's flaming sphere blasts against the wind wall of the Wind Wyvern, causing it to ripple every which way. The pale scales and webbing of the creature shifts, as it is pushed back slightly by the force, rising slightly into the air, before coming down again. Some of the flames licking across its body and damaging it, whilst other parts of it are harmlessly carried away by the wind shield! Not a moment later however, that flame bursts outwards in a large radius as Kita's arcane sphere of wind collides against it. Binding and seeming to be /erasing/ some of the wind barrier. Carving a hole through its defenses and slicing into its chest, causing the majestic Wyvern to let out a roar of pain!

This gives Goldenblade the chance she needs. Jumping up and swinging her blade with a fierce swipe in an arc, tearing into its scales and tearing a red line across its body! Lightning blasts down on its head not moments later, preventing it from grabbing Goldenblade amidst her charge!

On the other side of the plateau, Syx slams their fist into the Snow Wyvern, slamming into its head while the chilling wind around them tries to grab hold. Syx can feel the feeling in her body begin to fade. It's not paralysis, but rather a rapid onset of frostbite that seems to dig into her nerve-endings! Her flame barely keeping it contained from turning her into a frosticle in a single go! It's about to take her over, when Michio's flames engulf her for a moment, heating her up and doing just a little bit of damage - which the healers can deal with - and preventing the Frostbite status from solidifying. The flames continue to flare against its body, melting away some of the snow!

Vertina uses that moment to get in, much like Goldenblade did with the Wind Dragon. Getting through the barrier, and slams both gloves into it. Tearing into its scale, some of them parting from the creature, falling to the ground and creating dangerous icepatches with strange white wisps coming off of them! She's about to get snagged in the creature's jaws, when Lin sends that violent surge of lightning forward, catching its head and slamming it back! A sudden surge of chilling wind /barely/ misses Mizuki as she peeks her head up over the ledge - before she gets her shot off.

Her hair may be standing still and on end. Wisteria takes a moment to identify the creature. Indeed, she gets its name as well.

The Snow one then rises up into the air, spores bursting every which way. Fleks of cold from its previous fallen scale rushing through the air at its targets as it begins beating its wings faster and faster, gripping its claws onto a piece of extended hardened fungi, trying to /blast/ the various people off of the ledge. Freezing winds starting to cut into them, slowly chilling them. Trying to freeze them in place. The kind of cold wind that takes one's breath away. The kind of wind that one expects in the midst of a winter storm at -40 degrees celcius! At the same time, the wind one remains on the ground, slowly extending its head, charging a blue light from along its tail to its head... before a vile blue lightning bursts into the air, arcing from Adventurer to Adventurer, trying to shred their health apart!
Kita
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

"Weak to fire and lightning." Kita murmurs to herself, the words likely under her breath. She's likely picked up some of the intel from the chimlink, even if not being particularly vocal about talking on it. "Fire shouldn't be a problem."

Her hand flips through her spellbook, past some of the pages of her own custom spells. The witch seems to just find the right incantation when the wind dragon starts to spew lightning in their direction.

Holding the book in font of her, she channels dark magic forward, meeting the electrical current which crackles around her own dark barrier. She grits her teeth, trying to hold against the powerful magic, even as her own defensive strength starts to flicker out. Luckily, it holds long enough for that lightning energy to chain again towards some other Adventurer.

"Won't be able to take too many more attacks like that..." No, she had already needed to burn too much defensive magic. "Right, let's see about taking some health down." She traces a series of runes into the air, which then ignite into flames and combine into a large ball of flame. With her open palm extended, Kita flicks it towards the dragon, sending the fireball sailing in the creature's direction.
Mizuki
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12


    Mizuki flips over the ledge back onto the plateau like a flippin' ninja and casts Ozocubu's Armor just in time! The opressively cold breath may chill the armor of ice, but since part of the spell is that the ice's cold doesn't hurt Mizuki, it seems she's mostly protected from the effect as long as she keeps moving to avoid getting frozen in place! She zig-zags closer through the Snow Wyvern's breath before unleashing her own breath right back at it, a plume of roaring fire! "Yeah, take that! Ninjas are masters of ice AND fire! You're gonna have to do better than that, wannabe dragon!"
Wisteria
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

    Wisteria has had this armor crafted, hand picked materials, some of the best armor crafters doing the work, and she's shoved her best curse into it. The caerbannog seeing one of the brawly lzrds going down to a knee she sprints in, her light armor letting her move with the grace and frightening speed of her monster ancestry. She gets her furry self braced infront of Syx long enough to get him to his feet. "Come on, wind wyvern... aim for the head, wings, or tail, and put some lightning or fire into it to really pound it home." she says even as she starts to shiver, her razor fangs rattling against each other in her sharklike maw.

    However the second half of all that hard work kicks in, the massive attack waking the curse she's planted in the lines, engravings and crystals of her armor. Chains of black energy lashing out trying to link to the wyvern to drag it down, only it seems that she needs to work on range of her radius of effect, the black chains coming short not quite reaching the flaping monster.
Michio
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

A hand reaches for a pendant just beneath Michio's gi tunic causing something to glow there, while the other reaches up to make what would seem to be a rude gesture at his face, spreading his eyelid wide, while he sticks his tongue out. The verdant salamander stands thus for merely a moment, before activating his chimlink.

"Kuso! The spores are bad news folks. It appears that they'll try to hide from the cold inside any source of warmth. Around here, that means US. Healers, if anyone is infected by the spores, you have to heal them /fast/ or else they'll get a frostbite status, and then... well I don't know what, but I'm guessing it'll be bad. Maybe freezing them solid, maybe creating more spores. In other words, heal frostbite status /immediately/."
Goldenblade
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Goldenblade dodges aside from the blue beam of horribleness that the Wind wyvern shot at her, and ... is it slower? The patterns have changed, but that could be good! She can burn one of her weaker attacks and it's still strong enough to get through. Fire blazes along the length of her swords as she slashes them both in a dizzying pattern, the blazing strikes intending to hurt the wyvern as much as possible, since the word on the link is that fire hurts it more.
Lin
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Lin entered this battle intent on performing. No huge messes - not like last time. Or the time before that. And just like the previous times his plan barely lasted beyond the initial exchanges. Sparks linger on his body, crackling as they spider across his coat and leap harmlessly from the pages of his spellbook. Lin turns the page and begins refreshing the shields of the front line, dispensing glowing bubbles with crisply recited syllables and a broad wave of his empty hand. The freezing gale from the wyvern makes him squint and shiver, lifting his spellbook in front of his eyes to protect them. But it doesn't last forever - and soon he can respond with another blast of his own lightning. Electricity crawls over his body again as he casts a spell. With a sudden clap of thunder, lightning streaks down at the sky, striking the wind wyvern.
Setsuna
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12


    "Legiana, what type of name is Legiana" Watching the Wind Wyvern land as Setsuna moves to avoid the lightning from the dragon. The rapid movement also stops him from freezing place, though he is a bit cold. Looking over to his skeleton knit and then at the one in the air. " We should turn off the AC, not paying to cool the entire tower." Looking over to Michio he turns to his knight, "Spector of the snake, possess my weapon, poison my foe." Setsuna's knight hold his weapon , prepping to move for the strike and the spector of a snake can be seen wrapped around it before taking a giant leap in the air and the skeleton knight swings at the snow wyvern with a poisoned buff blade.
Vertina
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Freezing winds sweep across the plateau... and as Vertina makes a few jutsu hand motions as she turns they swirl around her almost as if she was grabbing the air and pulling it around her position. There's a shimmer as she does so that's more than just the frost in the wind.

As in the moments the wind passes there's multiple version of her, which all start running in circles around the Snow Wyvern's position. Occasionally one will get struck with a blust of wind or step on a patch of ice, causing the reflection to poof back into Air and Light elements.

It's enough to confuse the beast for a few moments, letting the real one work. The Adventurers that know her techniques will realize which Vertina is real, as it is the one kicking up rock and flames as she circles around. Until she skids in front of the beast at a moderate distance, and bumps the ball of smoldering rock into the air with her foot, off her knee, and then bumps it with her head to get it just that bit higher so she has time to plant her anchor heel and whip her body around to swing up the opposite leg...

"METEOOOOR STRIIIIKAAAAHR!"

Her foot SLAMS into the ball with such force that the speed the kick rockets it into the air with causes the smoldering embers to reignite into full fledged flames, blazing brightly around the stone core to recreate the image of its namesake as it hurtles straight for Snow Drifter Wyvern's frosty face!
Syx
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Syx is clearly off his game a bit, maybe it's the agility of the wyverns. He can't seem to keep up, and it's showing. Though with how cold the freezing attack made him, it's hard for him to keep up his usual speed.

Thankfully Wisteria is there to block the attack that was about to finish him off.

He shakes himself a bit to try to get himself warmed back up, "Thank you." He says to Wist, as he tries to lob a ball of energy at one of the wyverns, but his shot flies wide. It seems that he's still running a bit slow. He punches himself in the chest to try to get things moving again.
Prophylaxis
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Dealing with two boss monsters simultaneously is a special kind of hell. Prophylaxis moves steadily toward the center of the arena, carefully dodging out of the way of the worst of the wyverns' attacks. The combined onslaught makes it difficult, though. The way the monsters seem to attack just in the right way to take advantage of one another's blind spots...

Well, it was never going to be an easy fight. But perhaps Prophylaxis should avoid musing too much on his opponents and their impressive abilities. The doctor looks up just as a ray of lightning rakes across-- and through him. Prophylaxis disappears into a spray of red sparks, apparently instantly obliterated by the attack...!

...

Only to appear a short distance away, within striking distance of the Snow Wyvern. He has in his open palm a single, smoldering ember. With a slight smirk, the doctor presses the flame into his chest. Tendrils of fire wind through his body like entangling vines, before the area around him abruptly bursts into a bonfire-like conflagration.

He draws his hand up over his head. Flame gathers there as well, pulling into a tight, focused sphere. It glows brighter with each passing moment, until the light it emits is absolutely blinding. Then, he thrusts his palm toward the Snowy Wyvern...

...And unleashes a narrow beam of super-hot flame that glows like the surface of the sun. Spores burn to cinders all around the roiling blaze that surrounds him.

...He hasn't spoken all this time. Weird.

...

...No, he's just holding his breath, and letting all those warmth-seeking spores burst into flame around him.
Gwen
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Things are not going well for Gwen she has some luck with one of the Snow one but then things go to hell she's caught in the blast of the attacks and it's bad. It's really bad, it's so damn cold in the end and she feel like the time she got caught out in sub-zero temperatures in college in her underdoos. She's not happy later as she going numb the attacks keep coming and she'll make a go for the wind one. She'll leap up using her wings to slow her fall as she chains

"GALE OF SWORDS"

against the boss but things are just going bad, very bad. Gwen's shivering now too and she's not sure how long she'll hold out but there are just too many people behind her to withdraw yet.
Liminality
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Michio analyzes the dangerous spores in the region, which are starting to react to the constant cold. Biting into Wisteria and Gwen, dulling their senses and slowing their movements! Hiding away from the cold, the fungus begins to climb into their bodies. Their white bodies showing vine-like formations near their noses and mouthes.

As the initial cold wind settles, and the lightning pauses for a moment, the beasts roar out loud once more, almost shattering some of the Raid Party's eardrums! Right before the Wind Dragon is silenced by Kita. The wind barrier apparently not as strong this time as her dark flame blast detonates right into its head and causes it to slam to the ground with this sickening CRACK on the ground, sending dust and fungus up into the air! Goldenblade slashes her blazing attach across the wind dragon's horns, carving off one of the horns - letting it fall to the ground and STAB into it - from which a flurry of wind begins to form!

Lightning bursts down onto the fallen horn, enhancing Lin's magic, and causing it to arc straight into their target! The lightning ripping through its body and causing it to contract its muscles, flailing its tail around in order to stop the assault on its body! But just when it looks like they are going to get the upper hand, it spreads its wings and lets out a violent screetch, halting magic around it for a moment, then runs towards the edge of the plateau, clambers over, and begins to descend by jumping over the ledge, binding its wings, and rushing down along the climb they'd made it up. They're going to have to chase it! By jumping after it! This causes Gwen to miss her attack - as it moves just a bit too fast for her at first!

Mizuki snows the dragon that she too can breathe magic! Her flame washes over the icy dragon. But this time, it seems the snowy barrier is stronger than it was just moments ago. Intercepting the flames and making it hard to break through! The barrier slowly begins to wane under her constant flaming assault however, giving others a chance to get in there! Wisteria's cursed chains grab at the creature's horns. The physical curse coming short from getting where they needed to go. But they latch just hard enough that Wisteria starts to get dragged closer for a moment, before getting heaved up and off of the ground! The beast then rapidly tries to snap its head forward to GULP her up in one go...

When Setsuna's knight comes down on its head, bringing its poison blade biting into its scales and moving its biting attack just barely enough out of the way that it only grazes Wisteria's armor. She can feel the incredible cold coming from its body, and she suddenly feels her breath being stolen from her. As if she were drowning on something rushing into her throat! Vertina then comes crashing against its head before it can crush Setsuna's Skeleton, slamming its head to the ground once more. The fierce snow barrier around it trying to grab her, but it's halted as her stomp CRACKS its horn off and causes it to stab into the ground much like the wind one - creating a sudden icefield around it.

Flashes of embers burn around Prophylaxis as he keeps his flames alive, bursting down the Snow Wyvern. The narrow beam boiling against its scales, causing them to glow with heat, slowly even bursting in pockets of viscous body liquids being detonated by the heat! He'll notice however, that those Fungus Spores start gathering a LOT around him from this continued assault! Syx manages to erase some of them with their orb of energy luckily, keeping them off of the doctor!

The Snow Wyvern then suddenly beats its wings, slamming one of its claws against the broken horn it dropped, twisting it, and causing the 'ice field' to suddenly reach across the ENTIRE plateau! There's this sudden intense drop in temperature that makes everything suddenly seem to slow down! Every bodypart people move feels like it's slower. Like it's cracking with each movement...
Prophylaxis
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

How close had he come to being utterly bogged down with those awful, paralytic spores? The doctor makes a mental note to try and snag a few samples for future study, but for now he can finally afford himself a sigh of relief when Syx erases the spores swirling around him. He flashes the Salamander a quick thumbs up before turning his attention back towards the wyverns...

...As a wave of frost suddenly sweeps across the battlefield like a plague. Prophylaxis whispers a curse and slams his staff into the plateau. The flagging flames surrounding him suddenly redouble, a tornado of roling flame surging outwards and carving a roughly circular patch of clear ground for himself to stand in. The others... are not so lucky.

Frostbite stacks are building. The doctor runs towards someone suffering particularly bad from the accumulating debuff and stabs them in the arm with a helpful syringe.

...That somebody happens to be Setsuna, because of course it is.

"Good job taking that hit," he says, patting the necromancer's shoulder. "I mixed that dose with some stimulants. Go now, and kick some tail in my name."
Setsuna
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12


    Setsuna watches his knight almost lose his head and winces glad that the knight missed , touching his own neck. That damn link does work both ways and it would hurt. Then that damn snow Wyvern, it actually seems to be acting on some form of strategy. At the moment he wouldn't even be surprised if it started speaking. Setsuna pulls flames around from to create a source of warmth before he sees Gwen not doing to well, already suffering from the warmth he changes tactics as he provides warmth to Gwen. Meanwhile he grows cold and he can here the skeleton leg creaking as it begins to turn brittle. He wasn't going to be able to move much for the moment as he turns back to the Wind Wyvern and raises his dagger into the air, " I summon the very fury of nature." With that lightning begins to rain on the wind one as he does his best to slow his breathing and wait.
Kita
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

The sudden drop in temperature doesn't seem to effect Kita as much as it might other people. It is likely due to the fact that she happens to already be wielding fire magic at the time, and it makes it that much easier to just maintain that heat around herself.

She quickly swipes her hand and menu-equips a cloak as well, just to be on the safe side. It's a puffy thing, with fur lining that looks far too elegant for going into a boss battle. But... hopefully it is somewhat warm.

Without the ability to feather fall like some races, or just having the bravery or stupidity to leap afer the wind Wyvern, Kita turns her attention to the remaining foe. "Let's try to tie you down a little bit while the others take care of your friend."

She starts to weave dark tendrils of magic up from the ground, reaching to latch on to the wyvern's limbs, wrapping around and pulling the creature downward.
Michio
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Michio decides he's going to try something nifty. He brings his fingers to his lips so that his thumb and forefingers form a circle. He takes a deep breath, and prepares to exhale between the ring formed by his digits, sighting both Wisteria and the Snow Dragon in a flame breath. Along with the inhalation comes a single spore up his nose, which causes the salamander to sneeze violently. Thankfully this pushes him out of the way of the Snow Wyvern's beam attack. Unfortunately it does nothing to help either Wisteria or harm the wyvern.
Goldenblade
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Goldenblade takes evasive maneuvers as the ice field spreads across the plateau, and then she's ice skating, sort of, her heavy boots not tracking well, at least at first. By the time she gets re-oriented, the fight has changed a bit, and the wyverns are all out of position. Or, rather, she's out of position. It's complicated, and she's having trouble tracking. But it looks like the one down below needs more attention, so she jumps down onto it, both blades extended, and she drops down sword-first, stabbing it hard as she rolls to the ground and begins slashing madly as fast as she can.
Lin
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

It's getting colder. It was already too cold. Lin shivers as the wind's rage increases and temperature decreases. He huddles as much as he can in his coat, flipping through pages with numbing fingers. It's almost getting difficult to think. He falls back to his tried and true tactic of excessive overcasting. He lifts his free hand and conjures a ball of red fire. It crackles in his palm, radiating warmth and casting a dancing, sharp shadow behind him.

Lin takes a moment to appreciate the warmth of his fireball, holding it close while surveying the battlefield. It's time to share the warmth! Michio's flame breath doesn't help Wisteria as much as it should and his targets are secured. He shouts the words of another spell, holding the fireball high. It turns into a tall pillar of flame that sprints across the coral, guided by precise hand movements.
Vertina
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Things start to get cold cold and colder still. So Vertina does what a Salamander does best, and crank up the heat. To the point that when she turns and runs to follow the Wind Wyvern's path it leaves trails of flame melting some of the ice in her wake. She's got her eyes on their target so they can get this Raid Battle back on track.

Then Windy dives over the edge and starts climbing down the side of the plateau. Being the daredevil that she is Vertina doesn't stop to think twice about what she's going to do. 'Look before you leap' means little to her, because when you look first you tend to not leap at all.

The Salamander runs up to the edge and jumps over it herself. As soon as he feet catch the side of the plateau she skids a bit, and then starts running once more. She's putting kung-fu parkour skills to work using her own speed and agility (and clawed toes for traction!) to waixu wall run down the cliffside after Windy. "You want to go down? Fine." Vertina leaps off the rocky surface and twirls in the air to redirect her feet before her. "We'll take the express route... STALAG SPIKE!" She draws on her Earth elemental powers to bring her atomic stomp-kick down on the Wind Wyvern with the force of a landslide!
Wisteria
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

    Wisteria flies towards the open maw of the snow Wyvern. Her sword sweeping out in a move she practiced for over a decade before she even put on the DIVE helmet to join ETO. The blade catches against fangs, and then in a move she'd never have tried back home she rotates around the handle to plant her feet on it's snout. "Wrong move." she announces dark energies crackling around her blade as her chains lash into the boss locking her in place atop it and trying to wrap it's jaws, even as fire rolls around her burning the numbness from her limbs. Then she takes a great cleaving slash at the top of it's head sending that dark energy rocking through it's skull.
Gwen
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Things are getting full-on body horror for Gwen right now and for once there's visible fear on her face as the fungus is forming near her nose and mouth and getting worse. She knows this is wrong she's seen enough horror to get what could happen and she has half a mind to cast firebolt on herself to deal with this as that would be far less horrific to her. She doesn't do well on the attack worse the cold is getting to her given she's got frostbitten already she knows this is going bad but at least it's not someone else. Who is in this situation right? Then Setsuna rather than worrying about himself. She says nothing but some part of her feels an intense level of failure right now. It's her job to take harm for people, not others to take it for her.

She just then throws herself at the snow wyvern as she triggers a sonic lunge and attempts to rapidly close to stab the ever-loving hell out of it.

"I owe you one Sets!"

She's not an ingrate at the very least.
Syx
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Syx is still trying to figure things out. He puts up flames around himself to keep the cold at bay as best he can while he tries to figure out the best way to work through this fight.

"We need to slow things down on the Snow wyvern!" He calls out, relaying the info over the raid channel, "Lock it down with Thorn Bind Hostage, or have someone use Anchor Howl to keep its attention!"

Syx isn't exactly a leaderly type, but he knows how to play the game. It's why he had so many followers on his livestreams. Well that and being a famous wrestler didn't hurt either.

"Hit the wind one with everything we got, try to bring it's health bar even with the snow one! Last thing we need is to screw this up and wipe!"
Liminality
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Prophylaxis heals Setsuna, giving them a good chance to focus on the Wind Dragon not moments later. The one-legged man able to turn, sending a violent lightning down after the Wind Wyvern. The lightning cracks and blasts into its back, causing its wings to go wide and its body to arch down for a moment in a pained position - slowing its fall! Only for Vertina to finish her wall-run, and come crashing down on the same spot that lightning hit just moments ago, slamming it down towards the ground at higher speed, until its chest CRASHES into the ground below first, softening Vertina's landing with its body. Her foot really DIGGING into its scales!

Before the Snow Wyvern can even think of taking off and heading the other way - right in the midst of it beating its wings, Kita's thorn bind hostage suddenly erupts from the ground. The fungus immediately adapts, encrusting the vines, seeking the magic and forming a physical growth on top of the magic, sealing the Snow Wyvern in place for a moment! It thrashes and tries to get out of the temporary trap, unable to get loose!

Shame nobody has a big supply of explosive barrels here.

Violent beat bursts over it instead, as Michio heats up Wisteria, partially curing her of her Frostbite, and burning across the body of the Snow Dragon. The fungus on Kita's vines rapidly creeping against the Snow Wyvern, further binding it down! In places, burning up, in others, solidifying almost like a calcification process! Lin's violent sphere of heat adds to this, grasping on, further waning off frostbite stacks from their allies! Wisteria further protected as she remains close to the enemy - standing on top of it. If it wasn't for the fact that both Lin /and/ Michio were directing their firepower near her, she'd be a frosticle by now. But instead, she manages to make hew standing hewing attack as her boots seem to freeze into place, slashing into its neck and carving an enormous gash into it that causes red-glow to splash out of its neck, covering the ground all around it!

Syx instructs the team from the sidelines, and Mizuki makes sure that Gwen is healed off of her troublesome frostbite status! The Tank manages to join Wisteria, stabbing into the underside of the Snow Wyvern and further lowering its health. But now that they're in the last phase with the Snow Wyvern, and the Wind Wyvern still has a chunk of health left, they are going to be having to deal with some significant amounts of cooperation to ensure they get the killing blow at the right moment!

The Wind Wyvern gets up on the ground, and quickly begins to wobble-run away from the crew, clambering onto a cliffside with a vine-wall, trying to get to a secondary nest. As it runs, its massive tail slams at various trees, bringing them down towards the people following it.

The Snow Wyvern on the other hand, lets out another ear-piercing roar, before icicles begin to form in the air over people, and begins to rain down en-masse. It's like a massive version of the Ice Rain technique, spread across the entire plateau. One can practically picture the red circles all those Dragoons are going to be standing inside of!
Mizuki
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12


    The wyvern tries to eat-- "WIIIIS!" Mizuki screams, running to get closer, only for everything to FREEZE. Thank goodness for ice armor, fur, and were-fang strength. Maybe if she jumps high she can get out of the field...?

    Thankfully, others save Wis. Mizuki leaps up to try and get out of the frost, and surveys the field.

    Mizuki spies Gwen. Gwen is getting frozen and covered in spores...?

                                       ~~                                      

    Mizuki, a huge scar of red light across her body, is knocked to the ground by the gnoll's massive axe, the monster towering over her. Furry, hyenic death raises its axe for a finishing blow. If I die here do I die for real? Is this really it?? I don't want to die! Frozen in terror, the catgirl's slitted eyes stare up at imminent death... and then Gwen is there, standing over her, the axe slamming into her shield. She's alive! She's alive!

                                       ~~                                      

    Mizuki lands, leaps, lands again behind Gwen. "Let me see if I can do something about that..." She forms the hand seals for Aero while taking a deep breath, then steps forward and hugs Gwen from behind as the air begins to spin and whirl around them. The were-tiger's body heating up and fur wavering like flame as she breathes carefully-modulated fire into the air, heat and flame swirling around them to hopefully not more than slightly singe the tank herself while making her armor feel like it's fresh out of the dryer... and hopefully thoroughly scorching those accursed spores!

    Then she steps back so Gwen can keep tanking, of course!
Goldenblade
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Goldenblade chases after the wind wyvern, dodging the thrashing tail and the trees it's knocking down. Sadly, she's not as fast as she ought to be, and she zigs where zagging would have been the tactical option, resulting in her eating a tail to the face. A large chunk of her health bar later, she picks herself up and starts after it, she's not letting it go so easily.

Panting, she whirls both swords around and strikes it with hard blows, telling strikes that shave off chunks of HP with each hit. She's fighting as hard as she can right now, she's not sure what's happening in the other fight, she's lost situational awareness. Hopefully someone's directing traffic.
Wisteria
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

    Wisteria shivers, as ice runs up her legs. But she's here now and she's got her cursed armor and cursed blade pressed into the beast. "Freeze me?" she says it's hard to avoid contact attacks when your plan involves standing ON the boss. "Let's see how well you can fight... under the weight of my darkness." she growls through chattering razor fangs. Then she starts channeling pulse after pulse through her armor and sword. The black energy crackling into the wyvern even as more black chains grow in response to the damage she's taking mounted there on it's head like a hood ornament. Her HP bar drops and drops, as does her MP as she keeps resupplying her sword and armor with power to keep the curses going.
Syx
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Now what kind of fighter would Syx be if he told folks to focus one of the bosses and didn't then follow his own instructions.

He stops in his tracks, raising flames all around himself. The heat is intense, but the Salamander just laughs, rather maniacally, from inside of the flames.

Out of nowhere, Syx shoots up off the ground like a fireball, fully engulfed as he throws himself up above the Wind wyvern. Suddenly the fireball that is Syx changes directions, and drops right towards the dragon.

Syx begins to unleash everything he's got, flaming kicks, flaming punches, as he tries to stay mounted on the back of the wind wyvern and drive it into the ground with the flaming strikes, intent on crashing it to the ground and allowing the group to finish it off once its grounded.
Kita
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Even with her cloak, the temperature does start to get to Kita after a while. It doesn't help that the wyvern is continuing to spew down freezing ice onto them. "I can get a barrier up, if anyone needs a minute to recover." So, Kita weaves her magic once more, the glimmering shield showing in front of her as she places it in front of herself and Wisteria.

It holds for a time, but it isn't long before some shards start to pierce through, cutting a few gashes along Kita's form and letting in more of that icy cold that starts to chill her to the bones. Her breath hangs in the air as she shivers. "Should have... packed warmer clothes. Or brought a Salamander to warm myself on." She mutters.

"Looks like we could use some support..."

So, Kita does one of those rare things that she is known for in the real world, but not so much in Elder Tale. She begins to sing. It is one of the common, buff-effect songs, meant to bolster defenses and aid the party. Her voice is clear and practiced, carrying over the wind and cold, attempting to lift the spirits and apply a positive status effect to those around her.
Vertina
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

"Ground floor!" Vertina quips as she rebounds oof Wind's back from her high velocity dropkick. "Forests, rocks and monster beatings!" She lands on the ground and backwards rolls to finish her landing. By that point the injured Wind Wyvern is trying to scramble away on the ground. "Hey, get back here!" The ground seems to almost literally ripple behind her as Vertina flexes her earthbending forces to launch herself after the Wind beast. Who does the smart thing and starts knocking over trees and stuff in it's wake. Vertina is already hurtling forward, so there's only one thing she can really do. She jumps over one, another, kicks off a third....

And takes a forth tree straight to the head. Fortunately it smashes against her horns, but it still drops her back to the ground and pelts her with sharp splinters. Instead of bothering to stop and shed the wooden needles though Vertina resumes her pursuit. Until she gets close enough to lunge forward, this time leading with her Direclaw Cestus and aiming with Salamander hunting fury to try and dig into it's flesh once more and rip away more of the creature's health!
Michio
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Seeing that the wyverns are being dealt with, Michio turns to what he does best: Support. He strikes a pose, hands before him in a jutsu type formation and gathers his ki before releasing it in a burst of radiant light that erupts outward in a sphere, easing the frostbite being suffered by some of the party.
Gwen
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

There is good news for one Mizuki was on of a similar mind as to Gwen about the effect she's under. Fire might be the answer and it seem indeed fire is the answer to this problem Gwen will have to thank her later. Even in this state Gwen is almost robotically focused on trying to keep the bosses under control. The fire comes she does not min the sing as the fire burns away the fungus and thaws her out enough to function.

"It seems I owe someone else something later..."

She'll keep on the tanking part as it's game time now she'll trigger another tanking ability.

"ANCHOR HOWL!"

Green wind cascades off her body and then she'll take off after the Wind Wyvern again dashing as fast as she can go.

She'll then set up to attack triggering another sword art.

"DIVINE WIND!"

She leaps striking out with several rapid wind-charged sword strikes.
Setsuna
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12


    Setsuna hadn't really planned to chase the windy one, he was quick on his feet when one foot wasn't frozen to the bone so instead he looks at the Snow one and nods his head. "Ok then so I guess we have to keep you here Shrieking Legiana." Then the damn things begins to throw a tantrum, with all the ice and snow being thrown about the necromancer is forced to summon bones of shield and dark energy to protect him from the cold. It was unpleasant but nothing bone chilling yet. With an annoyed look he grins and looks under the wyvern. "Big mistake," His left hand glows with magic, focused on the ring calling the knight to him, and tosses the dagger to the knight before shouting to it an order. " Pin it down."
     The knight catches Setsuna's ornate dagger and charges through all the cold and ice and yes it means the shared hp is decreasing a little but the skeleton reaches beneath the Wyvern and drives the Halting Tip Relic into the Wyvern's shadow. Its as if in some crazy part of Setsuna's brain he thinks pinning the shadow will pin the monster. Thats just crazy, isn't it?
Prophylaxis
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Lock it down? It's a giant, flying monster! The amount of mez that would be required to hold a boss-class enemy down is... Well, probably manageable with all the controllers they've got in the party today. Prophylaxis gives Syx another nod. He's been quite instrumental this time around. Maybe he should consider some incentives down the line...?

Well. That can wait. Prophylaxis has other things to worry about. There's a storm of ice and snow bearing down upon him, a veritable deluge of ice the likes of which... Well, the likes of which /he/ can cast, but bigger. Honestly, it kind of makes him feel a little small by comparison, but that's how boss monsters are, isn't it...?

The doctor flares his lingering flames, but there's too little remaining after turning aside the wave of frost. Chunk after chunk of ice pounds through his barrier, until finally he seems at the brink of being overwhelmed...

When Lin suddenly interposes himself between the doctor and the storm. He regards the pooka with silent surprise. "Thanks for the save," he says, gratefully, before turning his attention back toward the wyvern. "Now let's deal with this thing, shall we?"

Prophylaxis raises his staff. The ice storm seems to... intensify? No, it focuses, lensing down until it seems focused directly on top of the snow wyvern. Enormous chunks of ice slam down into it, pinning it to the ground while the others deal with the second threat...!
Lin
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Lin stands straight and tall. Well, tall for a Pooka. Icy wind whips his silver hair around him as he focuses on guiding the massive ball of fire across the battlefield. When the magic burns out he finds himself cold again... colder than ever before. Why does everything feel so heavy? So slow? He stares at his hand for a long moment, opening and closing the fist.

He jolts back into action. Even with narrowing vision he can see Prophylaxis in trouble. He rushes forward, every frostbitten step feeling like it's taken with someone else's legs. "YOUR SHIELD!" It seems like an eternity passes while Prophylaxis' shield fails, but he gets there just in time, repairing the shield... but forgetting to reinforce his own. The Pooka takes a large chunk of ice to the shoulder and falls down. "Owww.. yeah... deal with it. Right."
Liminality
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Goldenblade cuts through some of the trees in her way, managing to get through and chop at the Wind Wyvern's back leg, tearing into it and causing the creature to collapses then roll to the ground, tumbling and slamming into the side of a tree! Syx kicks it in the belly, pushing it THROUGH that tree. Its sharp wood carving through its scales as Syx berserks into its body, slamming into its body from point to point! Punting its head to the back, only for Vertina to get in a fierce clawing slice across its head, punching it back towards Syx, using it together like they are playing some sick game of monster volleyball!

Wisteria shows herself one hell of a badass. Standing in place while she's slowly being devoured by the ice. Frostbite crawling up her body once more. Her legs feel like statues at this point! If it was not for Kita's very direct intervention, Wisteria knows her body would be frozen solid by now. The frostbite creeping at her nose and her ears. The chill almost deafening in its silence. The shards of ice falling throughout the region seeming like they're just pictures moving without context. Yet she can hear Kita's voice through it all. The buff song ripping through the silence. Strangely haunting amidst the silent cold field, yet encouraging.

Flames erupt nearby, bursting through the region, as Michio directs flames towards their allies. The flames boiling up from the ground and bursting around them, licking at their bodies, removing the spores from their bodies! Near them, Gwen calls out Anchor Howl, forcing the Snow Dragon to remain in place even as it starts breaktin through the fungus-covered former vines that held it in place. A Divine Wind chipping at its health. Luckily for Gwen, it's not enough to bring it down into dangerous levels where their teamplay will suffer.

Then, the Halting Tip comes down. Stabbing into the Wyvern, and it literally appears to freeze! People who are watching its status, will notice the rather rare IMMOBILIZED status on its body. Its entire body as if someone had taken a picture. Ice entombing it, keeping it locked into place as Prophylaxis lays down further Crowd Control!

The Snow Dragon then finally manages to break out of all of the Crowd Control, but it's lost its chance to get away and try to heal. Its health and the Wind Dragon's health are practically at the same level. It all comes down to this, as the both dragons attempt to retaliate. The Snow Dragon sending out an ice cold blast that suddenly seems to rip the sky open, creating this vicious wind chill that cuts through any and all clothing, forcing the Frostbite status on everyone. Had it not been for Michio curing everyone of that status, things would be really bad right now! The vile cold creeping into peoples bones and skin - while throwing its head up, and biting into Wisteria's leg, now that she's stool in place long enough for her legs to have gotten frozen entirely. Grabbing onto her leg and trying to literally rip them off of her body!

Down below, the Wind Dragon sends out a shockwave of wind, and tries to bite off Goldenblade's head, before thrashing its tail about, circling and seeking to slam Syx, Vertina, and any others nearby off of its body.
Goldenblade
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Goldenblade tries to block the wyvern's attempt to bite off her head. She is not entirely successful, escaping being devoured by a small margin, and losing quite a lot of HP in the process. It doesn't look good for her. But they've got the wyverns on the defensive, haven't they? Just one final rush!

Goldenblade pulls out all the stops, then, in an effort to finish it, bringing out her big attack. Her swords glow with fire so intensely that normal steel would have melted, it's almost like lightsabers now, as she strikes with both blades, hammering the beast over and over, both blades smashing through its defenses as it sucks down the wyvern's health a smidgen at a time.
Mizuki
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12


    In addition to the warmth of... warmth, Mizuki is filled with the warm and fuzzy feeling of helping someone, of healing them and taking away their pain; or at least their status ailment! She doesn't get to feel that often, Ninjas aren't healers!

    And then... one of the wyverns makes a run for it! She chases after it across the plateau, and then... ice. Everywhere! She tries to dodge, but eventually it gets her! And then everything gets cold.

    It hurts a little, as always, as his healthbar drains to a sliver. He falls to the ground -- still atop the plateau, thankfully -- and feels the impact numbly. He tries to get to his feet but his avatar's limbs move frustratingly slow. It feels strange and unfamiliar. Fungus coats his avatar's clothes... He lifts a hand to feel his face but sees fungus there too. Maybe better not to touch his face. Okay. He just did this for Gwen. Amber-furred hands form the required seals frustratingly slowly... aero swirls around him. Breathe out... but he doesn't feel the warmth. What came so naturally before... it's gone. He never thought about the subtle distinction between breathing fire and breathing air, it just came naturally, and now... he can't remember how doing it right was *different*.

    It's like... it's like he's learning a new game and his mind is struggling to turn moment-to-moment tactical decisions into finger input. They're leaping at you? Uppercut and follow up with the rekka! Fingers fumble, forward down, down-forward and you're taking a high hit and knocked down before you can finish inputting the command.

    Mizuki's not doing what he wants quite right. They're not... the same. But if Mizuki's not him, where is he? Where's the body holding the controller -- no, wearing the NerveGear? There is no body...

    Wait! This is a freaking boss battle! If he can't... focus on the fight, he can at least get his character out of danger! If she dies, does he lose memories? Does he lose HIM? Better to not find out if the rumours are true. He forces one foot in front of the other to get to the edge of the plateau and start climbing down. Somewhere along the way he remembers to say something, and Mizuki's voice goes out over the chimlink, haltingly, <"I-I'm retreating... Sorry...">
Kita
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

There is only a momentary reprieve from the cold before another blast of it hits, along with more of that icy breath that seems to start to eat into Kita's health bar. The mage is visibly shivering, her cloak pulled tight with one hand while the other continues to hold her spellbook, which seems to be spewing a bit of dark magical energy from the pages.

"We... need to finish this off... fast. Too cold." Her teeth chatter.

Listening to the chimlink, she times her shot, making sure that she only releases her cloak when she needs to finally cast. Her hands move, drawing dark purple energy out from her spellbook, forming it into a ball of dark-tainted flame.

"Chew on this, you great... flying popsicle." With that, Kita tosses a ball of Dark Flame towards the head of the Snow Wyvern, holding her composure just long enough to get the spell out before she pulls both arms around herself, all but hiding in her cloak while trying not to freeze to death.
Lin
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Laying on his back, Lin shivers. He's too cold to do much, and he stares up at the ice. What's that bit doing? It's getting bigger! CRUNCH. Pain jolts the Pooka back to action. He rolls off to one side and gives Prophylaxis a weak thumbs up before raising his spellbook and stumbling off. Disoriented, he heads for a source of draconic screeching and lifts his spellbook to cast off one last fireball.
Vertina
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

"Don't let up!" Vertina shouts, even as she smashes her claws across the Wyvern's face and sends it reeling back towards Syx. To keep it trapped between the various fighters. "We need to finish this before it escapes and the other can't be stopped." Someone starts calling a countdown over the Raid channel, at about the same time the Wyvern unleashes it's wind blast and starts thrashing. Vertina ignites her fire aura and braces herself against the sudden surge of air, but the tail's physical nature isn't so easily halted. It slams into her side, sending her rolling across the broken ground violently.

This time it takes a longer moment, but Vertina hoists herself back onto her feet, and despite being bashed and bruised now there's still fire in her eyes. Almost literally, with the way they glow, like the fire wreathing the rest of her. Some of the nearby broken trees start to smoke from the intensity as she stomps her foot, braces herself, and then unleashes some of that flame from her hands behind herself like minature jets to catapult herself back towards the Winddrift Wyvern. Then at the arc of the leap she concentrates, shifting more of that flaming power back into her hands and clenching them. Her propelled lunge brings her in low, and she takes aim for the center of the Wyvern's mass....

"Time for you to feel the wrath of a REAL dragon! RAGNAROK'S WISDOM!"

And slam her force into it with a mighty blazing, spinning uppercut and even Ryu would be impressed by!
Wisteria
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

    Wisteria waits for the call to finish striking, and she channels her earth magic into her muscles leveraging the strength of magic along with the strenth of her werefang form. Even as dark magics ripple along her armor breaking her free of the ice. "That's it, the call to finish." she says and again does something she never would have though of, or thought necessary in the real world. "Just die." she says and stomps her magically enhanced foot down on the tsuba of her kitana driving the blade in like a tent spike. Sure it looks cool... but she'll have to get it back, and she's going to need to baby her poor blade later. Of course she's less sure she's gona make it out without some effect from frostbite in the end herself... but until then she has a job, and she's a champion... so she'll focus, victory first... recovery and decompression later.
Michio
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

The Snow Wyvern's latest cold blast hits Michio full force, and he's not even close to ready for it. It sends him scurrying and sliding across the snow and ice, almost to the edge. When he finally stops rolling, he does a quick kip up to regain his feet, but he sees he's far too distant from the snow wyvern to do any melee attacks, hearing the countdown over the raid chimlink, "4... 3... 2..." Michio turns his back on the snow wyvern, seeing the group struggling to catch up to the wind wyvern as it bounces up the vine wall.

"Kusooooo." The Ki Master rumbles. He takes a step closer to the edge and takes an archer's stance...

But he's not holding a bow?

Closing his eyes, Michio extends his left arm forward, inhaling deeply. He brings his right hand to meet the left, and as he draws it back towards his right ear, a shimmering form of a bow and an arrow appears in his grasp.

"Die, you fucking demons."

*WHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIST*

The arrow of light surges forth from the bow, streaking towards the wind wyvern.
Setsuna
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12


    Setsuna felt the cold and responded with fire, as any good Scale member would. Instead of casting anything defensive he invokes some dark magic. "From where he walks on four I call the land. From where he hunts I call his air. From where he howls, I call the flame. " A dark flame of magic burst around him to protect him from the fire and then looks up at the snow wyvern. Turning to his knight he grins, "Today you are getting a promotion. " With a move of light earth magic he launches the skeleton kknight onto the Wyvern as Setsuna says, " I activate monster fusion, to fusion the Skeleton Knight and the Snow Wyvern together to form, Skeleton Wyvern Knight!" The knight lands on the back of the Wyvern as if he was inddeed intending to ride it and Setsuna watches eagerly for a moment. Then he watches for another and another. After four moments he sighs, " Ok maybe that doesn't work as I had hoped. Maybe I have to own both monsters. Oh well, bring it down." Giving a kill gesture the knight raises it's sword and brings it down on the snow wyvern.
Prophylaxis
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Too cold. Too cold, indeed. A wave of chilling wind washes down over the plateau. It reminds him of winter back home, walking through the narrow alleyways and down the city streets, the skyscrapers funneling the biting, wintery wind into a devastating, bone-chilling gale. He doesn't miss that feeling, but now...

He has an affinity for such things, now. Maybe that's why it doesn't bother him so much? Maybe that's why he has enough time and presence of mind to summon a barricade of stone walls to hide behind and absorb the worst of the cold.

Still, they need to end this as soon as possible. There's no way they can keep up this kind of offensive for much longer.

The wind abates. The rock walls crumble. Prophylaxis glares at the snowy wyvern...

And hurls a fireball right into its roaring gullet.

                                 -=KABOOM=-                                
Syx
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Syx is really laying into the wind wyvern, slamming it hard, passing it back and forth between himself and Vertina like a well practiced but also not at all remotely practiced maneuver. He leaps off the back of the dragon in order to get clear of any of the attacks, and then when Vertina goes in and lays a massive uppercut into the dragon, Syx makes his move.

He jumps up, and wraps his arms around the dragon's neck. Using his strength and the work he's been putting into this maneuver, he hauls the wyvern through the air, against its will, and with all the effort he can put into it, moves to slam the dragon's head, and then the rest of its body, into the ground.

There's enough force behind it that it may well leave a crater.
Gwen
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Gwen has blown most of what she's had so far doing what she can do but she's not on empty on things. She's got a few tricks left in the can and she's looking to the Snow Wyvern. Oh, she's going to give it some payback now as she breaks into a run with the frostbite status gone and Michio able to keep the whole raid protected? She'll barrel on ahead and will leap at the thing going to drive her blade into its face if she's able to..

"I HAD ENOUGH OF YOU YOU CANADIAN REJECT!"
Liminality
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

The moment someone gives the signal, all hell breaks loose. Amidst the assault from the two Wyverns, the two parties of the Raid start timing their attacks! Goldenblade taking a severe hit, only to bring both swords up like plasma blades, carving a fierce X across the Wyvern's chest, tearing off its other horn on the upwards movement! On the other side, Kita sends a fierce ball of arcane flame into the Snow Wyvern, tearing a chunk /off/ of its face, and ripping the arcane flame orb through one of its wings, burning off its webbing and devouring the fungi in its path!

Vertina sends her lunging attack, the flame around her hands fulminating and causing the air around her to shiver. The trees near her not just getting set on fire, but literally being turned to ash. The ground turning to glass beneath her as she takes her steps and sends that uppercut out which erases the thing's tail and half of its head. While Wisteria STOMPS her blade into the Wyvern from the top, and shattering its horn while she's at it!

A violent detonation suddenly on the Wind Dragon, as Michio's long ranged attack of pure magical light slams into the side of the Wind Wyvern, causing it to roll onto its side. A hole pushed out of its side, the earth suddenly detonating where the shot hit the other side of it, raining debris up in a massive plume, which further carves health off of the Wyvern. All while Setsuna, on the other side, the Skeleton Knight falls from the air thanks to that earth jump, and brings its sword right down into the Snow Wyvern's spine, sending another plume of red glow into the air that rains down onto the ground!

Syx grabs around the Wyvern's neck, lifting it... then begins to pull with all of their might. If it didn't have so many parts missing now, it would have been impossible. But with the blast of Michio's, its body is rocked up. And with that, Syx uses the momentum and suplexes the damned Wind Wyvern, slamming it into the ground, causing it to burst into light right around the same time that the rest of the Snow Party strikes.

Prophylaxis' fireball blasts into the Snow Dragon's roaring gullet, causing its inner body to glow, starting to expand! With Gwen jumping in from the side, piercing its belly and creating a gap for oxygen to rapidly flow into the dragon, tearing its belly open further, the fireball expanding within it... and detonating from within!

Victory!

The violent detonation on the plateau erasing quite a few of the spores, and removing the 'Cold Zone'. But there is plenty left to make the area dangerous in the future. Luckily, as long as the area doesn't go cold, this should not be a problem.

The path is open. The 8th Floor Awaits them...

But so does the next Wave for those below.
Wisteria
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

    Wistiera falls over onto her back, laying next to her sword stuck in the ground. "I'm just gona... lay here a bit." she says shifting back into her human form, the tall albino girl in armor lokoing a bit dazed about it all.
Michio
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Slowly approaching Wisteria, Michio looks down. "Do you need healing? I have some ki remaining if you need assistance."
Vertina
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

With all the chaos of the fight it takes a moment to realize what Syx did. Then when she does Vertina thrusts both of her still flaming fists in the air. "THAT WAS FREAKING AWESOME!" The victory cheer pose looks rediculous amongst the destruction of tree ash and glassified ground, but she really doesn't care.
Setsuna
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12


    Setsuna takes a deep breath as the wyvern's fall as he takes a moment to walk around the boss room. Those who pay special attention would notice a magical glow to his eyes as he hunts for a few things. After the frozen ground and all the wind and everything he wasn't sure before finally he sees it. Walking slowly over and kneeling down he gathers up some wyvern remains before placing them in the inventory. Why who knows, but Setsuna is weird and a necromancer so why isn't something most people ask these days.
Wisteria
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

    Waves her hand a little. "I'm fine... just gona lay here and warm up." she says with a small smile, the girl vanishing her helmet into her inventory and running her fingers through her short shaggy hair.
Prophylaxis
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

The beasts are slain! Both of them, simultaneously. Victory is achieved and Prophylaxis breathes a final sigh of relief as the usual monument manifests near the center of the battlefield. Part of him wonders what might have happened if one of them had survived that final fight.

...Well. Best not to dwell on it.

For now, victory has been secured, and that means the way to the eighth floor is open-- but also...

...That there's a new wave coming-- and probably sooner rather than later.
Michio
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Michio gives a solemn nod, then looks around the devastated area. "Why do you do this?" He sighs softly, "Below, the Calamity comes."
Goldenblade
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Goldenblade huffs in exhaustion as the wyverns go down, and flames rise around her even as the cold debuff fades. She keeps the flames on, though, as she shakes off the cold that's chilled her. It'll take a bit to shake it off, but she's got enough fire inside that she's not too bad. The HP she's down is a bigger issue, but she pulls a small flast from her belt, and breathes from it like a football player sucking oxygen after a long drive.
Gwen
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

With the battle over after one heck of a fight she's looking pretty worn out. She's looking glad that thing are over she calls out. "I think I owe the lot of you a meal, lets go find somewhere to set up camp so I can get cooking..."
Wisteria
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

    Wisteria smiles, it's a bit wry and sad. "Because something lies at the top... something that I've been assured we will regret... but the top floor also holds hope. Until we reach it, it holds hope that we can go home, hope that we can see our family and friends again, hope that all this time... all this pain and worry and loss... isn't the end of our lives back home." she says and licks her lips. She taps her blade with one finger tip. "This... and my best friend and my parents they were all I had back home. Here I've got more friends." she watches dark magic sparkle along her fingers "I have magic... I'm a hero..." she chuckles "And still... all of my hope lies at the top of this tower, and in the dark forgotten corners of dungeons where I might find something the creators failed to account for that could let us go home."
Vertina
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

"IF YOU'VE GOT FOOD I'VE GOT DRINKS" Vertina shouts in Gwen's direction. Some hot food and drinks will probably help people shake off the frostbite effects.
Mizuki
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12


    Items appear in his inventory. The fight must be over. ...Well, now he feels kind of silly about climbing down. Maybe he should anyway... It all feels so distant...

    Mizuki climbs up over the ledge again, and walks towards the group a bit zombielike. But... begins to smile as Wis talks about having more friends here. About having magic and being a hero! She shuffles up to Wis and hugs her. "Congratulations! Sorry for running away, I... this status effect is really messing me up, can someone cure it?"
Michio
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

"You must have powerful draws to take you back to what you think of as 'home'. As for me..." Michio looks around sighing softly, but it is not exactly a sad sigh, perhaps bittersweet, "This is my home. I have come to accept that. Though, I have little desire to return to the place we come from. Like you said, here..." He snaps his fingers and then holds his palm out, a kernel of flame flickering above his palm, "We are powerful. Strong. Heroes. I suppose whatever you left behind must be very important, if you would work so hard to give all this up to return there."

Michio then offers a slight bow and turns to make his way out of the tower.
Prophylaxis
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Prophylaxis... seems to have been a bit distracted by the task of collecting several sample vials full of those awful spores. But then someone shows up in need of medical attention. He turns to Mizuki and nods as a fireball appears over his staff, while a syringe full of healing potion appears in the opposite hand. "Okay. Hold still, this won't hurt a bit."
Goldenblade
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Goldenblade will take Vertina up on a hot drink and food, if she's offering to just anyone. She settles down on her haunches with a sigh, taking a look around. Everyone looks OK, too. Or alive, at least. Better than some other pushes she's been on. She smirks to Michio, and asks, "Important? It's real life, man. My kids, their kids, my house. All my /stuff/ is there. This is fun, but who's watering my plants?"
Wisteria
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

    Smiles "Only the strongest draw, people I care about." she places herhand on the hilt of her sword and pulls herself to her feet. Then pulls the sword free and vanishes it into inventroy rather than putting it away dirty. She'll clean it at camp. After she eats. "V do you have anything hot to drink? Comeon Mizukichi we'll get you warmed up and feeling proper in no time."
Mizuki
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12


    Mizuki just looks up at Prophy. This close, the spark seems gone from her eyes. She nods simply and stands limply, waiting like she's in line at the DMV. Although her ears perk up and she smiles again when Wiz says her nickname, her tail starting to twitch as she waits for Prophy's cure to be administered.
Prophylaxis
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

The cure is just a jab to the arm to top off the HP, followed by an ALL CONSUMING EXPLOSION. Except it's actually just a globe of warmth-emitting flame. No pain at all! Aside from the needle.
Vertina
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

"We can make it hot to help warm folks up," Vertina replies, grinning. "I've got both booze and fermented juice for the folks that don't want the rough stuff." Some of her friends don't care for actual alcohol so she makes sure they're covered too.
Mizuki
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12


    The spores are destroyed, but Mizuki just stands there for a moment. "Is... is it done?" She asks, hollowly, and lifts an arm to examine, looking surprised at how it moves. She takes a deep breath and exhales, flames curling out of her muzzle, and smiles, tail twitching eagerly, eyes brightening somewhat. She rubs her arm. "I'm back! Kinda... that felt really weird... Thanks doc!" And then hugs Wisteria tightly for a moment before following her to the drinks.
Syx
Aincrad Tower - 0 - -1 - 12

Syx had wandered off after the fight was over, but had returned after a little while, "Nobody died this time right?" He asks the group as he strolls back up to where the camp has been made, "I never really did the tower climb before everything went crazy...Do you guys know what we'll be up against on 8?"