The Tower of Perdition [Open, Party of Two]

[Ariane Ivers]

The first time Anne had wandered into the portal that lead into this messed up sort of tower, she had quickly turned around and 'Noped' right back out of it.  She wasn't even sure how she'd explore it without it collapsing on top of her, anyway.  Of course, it didn't take long for curiosity to get the better of her and bring her right back in, though. It obviously had something to do with everything going on after all.  Leave no stone unturned, and all of that.

Back for round two to actually explore, she entered the bizzaro tower.  Despite it's precariously built appearance it seemed normal enough inside.  As normal as a twisted demonic version of their world could look, she supposed.  Cracking her knuckles, she cautiously stepped through the hallways of the outlets, looking for either something to punch or something to collect and bring home to study.  Either worked, honestly, and at least punching something would get her a little practice.  

[Akira Nakajima]

Akira was moving up in the world of demons. Well, as far as he could safely access more areas, at least. Truthfully, so long as he didn't try to engage things on sight, he would probably be safe in most places by that point. With Hayagriva's mobility, anything too dangerous could simply be run from at full speed. Barring an extremely powerful Ice attack, nothing really ran the threat of putting him out in a single shot. Of course, he wasn't going to get ahead of himself. While curiosity did urge him onward, he was still going to keep moving at a pace that fit him. The spire, for the time being, was among the group of places he would willingly traverse. Nothing worse.

”Oh? And look what the cat dragged in.” His words were soft, pleasant. They might not have reached the other's ears, but they were at least in a positive tone. ”You seem to be doing well after all the trouble we've encountered lately. Good to see you haven't lost your nerve.” Though he doubted anybody that fought alongside him against the ogre would back down just because of a large dog. Still, a comment like that was fine on occasion, if only to inspire a flaring of the spirit. Either way, Hayagriva slowly closed in towards the young woman. For the time being, there was little danger. At least, apparently.

[Alice]

Together, we ride!

Berith
Drain: Fire
Weak: Ice
Skills: Blade of Fury, Viper Smash, Agilao, Dekaja

Eligor
Null: Dark
Weak: Lightning
Skills: Heat Wave, Twin Shot, Mudoon, Counter

[Akira Nakajima]

”Ah, the welcoming committee. Well, we can talk later. I'll handle the lankier one. I'll also heal if necessary.” He nodded before leveling his spear. His body, and Ariane's too, began to reinforce itself thanks to the effects of Auto-Marakukaja. Thanks to that, less healing would be necessary overall, but, more importantly, he didn't expect either of them would go down in a single hit. Not like Luka and that dog. Charging forward, Akira took a blast of fire from the Berith, having no issues at all as he swung his halberd down. At the very least, he looked like he fit in that form of combat- he and both the demons were mounted, ironically enough.

Berith swung the shaft of its spear at Akira. Though it rattled against his ribs, he'd be fine. He swung the halberd again, judging that its effectiveness was complete- no resistance impaired that effectiveness, which was good! It was his best form of firepower, to date. Their engagement literally turned into a slapping fight. Slash, beat, slash, beat. Up until Akira healed himself, and Ariane, the course of the fight was pretty simple. As if realizing it was at a disadvantage, the Berith tried to dispel the boy's defensive boost. A bit last, though, given it was already at its expiration time. However, a nice halberd swing ended that part of the engagement.

All that remained was Anne's.

[Ariane Ivers]

When she first heard the sound of someone approaching, Anne turned with her fists partially raised.  As soon as she saw the familiar face, they lowered, a grin spreading across her face.  "Hey stranger, how've you been holding up?"  With a scoff, she shook her head, braids bouncing behind her head.  "Of course not.  It'll take more than an untrained dog to keep locked up at home.  Good to see you're still at it too, I need someone to keep me out of trouble after all."  It was more than just that, of course.  He was one of the first people she fought alongside, if he up and stopped fighting she couldn't imagine she'd have much left in her either.  Not like that was a distinct possibility, of course;  until she figured things out she wasn't about to stop just yet.  Either that, or she died.  Hopefully it wouldn't be the latter.

Before she could say much else, their present, perfectly normal demon-portal conversation was rudely interrupted.  Just who did these cavalry think they were.  Not only that, it left her being the only one not on horseback.  Cery was technically based around a deer, that counted, right?  Maybe she would summon her persona and try to run around on her shoulders.

Smirking and ignoring her mental dumb jokes, she cracked her neck and nodded to the boy.  "Alright, sounds like a plan."  As she dashed for the other one, she saw fire out of the corner of her eye and gave a brief prayer of thanks for their luck.  If they swapped opponents it could have been a bit more difficult.  Jumping high once she was close enough, she pulled her arm back and forward again in one quick movement as she descended on the mounted enemy.  Her hit landed hard, and she just barely managed to swing herself back off of the horse and away from it's spear as it tried to jab her in the side.  With a couple more quick short punches, she found herself less lucky as the burst of dark energy shot from it's hand and pushed her back a little ways.

A couple more punches and attempts to move out of the way of incoming attacks─some successful, some failed─and Anne hurriedly finished her own match with one last hard punch.  If she had come across demons like this just a few weeks ago, she would have been terrified.  Now these seemed almost as much small fry as the Fae in the portal closer to home.  Of course compared to the Ogre and the Pooch, they pretty much were.  It was nice to see their progress, sure, but at the same time made her wonder about just how much harder the 'small fry' would become down the road.