The clash came like a hymn of fire and rock. As Zazel and Stolas tried to help in their respective areas against Wyvios, Mawkin would grab ahold of the two and toss them to the other side, prompting them to fire with their respective artillery, as the Dhampir rushed ahead and smack away such projectiles with no remorse for his own body. Koina and Wyvios, meanwhile, became almost feral with how they lunged at one another and try to aim for the kill. The Assassin utilized her melting arms, allowing them to be shaped with extra frost to be blades in order to skewer into the Clay King, whilst Wyvios would curve around and aim to grab and snap her neck before she gets the chance of an opening. With how wild such shadows are, the King also made sure to jump and avoid if possible whenever Eustace has an opening of his own. The figures backed themselves away as they watch the fight come up in smoke, only seeing their blackened silhouette's dance in such violence.
The Dragoness aimed for a sweep to trip the Clay King over, only for him to leap up and scoop parts of the land to bend and ripple as if it were water, attempting to flood over and catch her mid-attack. In response, she'd back herself off and let the flames engulf around her, losing her arms faster, but also watching the clay be brittle and run back ahead, carrying the fire so she can use it as hail-like projectiles to push him in a corner. He was reading her moves as fast as he reacted, seeing the shadows careen over and bubble over. To avoid such a surprise, he'd think ahead and try to bend the clay-like ground to topple the buildings, tethering them under so as to weaponize them and swing into Koina like a club. While this runs the risk of exposing more shadow to wield, he'd be amazed to see not only was this attack successful in such fluidness, but also inadvertedly swatted away the massive flames to the other side with high force, allowing him to start piecing together another plan to survive and thrive in the chaos. Koina, however, was not having it.
SHIKK!!!
She'd stab into the building and held on tight, climbing her way up and freezing the structure down, letting it crack and break apart, allowing her to have her own piece of the Kingdom and use it against him. The two slammed such buildings like swords over and over, raining rubble from above, a hazard that befalls under the three when the Demons fight against Mawkin. Zazel would set up Gaap and toss the sigil at the incoming rain of rock, letting it take on Optimism for a philosophy and have them float over and around them instead, allowing Stolas to use the stones as a makeshift marbles with one strong punch, a chain reaction between them to try and strike at Mawkin's vitals while lessening the impact of themselves once they make contact, burning off the straw tethered to them in the process. Mawkin, in response, would rush ahead and make contact before the straw was removed, aiming for his head so the others would feel such a spike across their brain. By stunting them enough, he'd allow an opening on Wyvios' side, though at the cost of struggling to properly breathe and keep his energy up, forcing the straw to come back and return as flesh, regenerating an extra heart to ensure he doesn't die.
Up above, however, Mawkin would be cascaded down in black, as Strength would be close enough to land down one of its many arms, with Solomon amplifying the output using Might of Solomon, and Eustace taking advantage of the new shadow by sinking the Dhampir down and holding his arms to prevent him from moving further. As he'd struggle, he realized this would spell his death if it lands, as he would start to feel the heart in its impact, watching the arm combust and come down like a meteor. It would most likely hit the others, but such heat matters little to those that are either immune or can find a way to escape and survive. As he lacked neither, Mawkin would once again throw himself in that grindstone.
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIP!!!!
It was a grueling effort, one that he'd scream and struggle as he'd pull away from such a grasp, allowing his arms to be taken away in the process, the blood and flesh quickly becoming straw so it can scatter and return back to him. Even with such regeneration, the pain was still there, one that almost everyone felt. Koina would even feel it in her custom-made arms, as if there was invisible nerves still kicking and acting out of her control, distracted long enough for a building to come down at her, forcing her to catch and try to lift it up. Her knees buckled before it, knowing she's going to be crushed the longer such struggle was made. Once more, she used her breath, a screech that follows suit as it coats and cracks apart the structure, leaving it as merely fragments of what it once was. She watches as Wyvios would curve around and let the flooring contort and swallow her up, letting her see the boys struggle just as much, coming across a revelation in the process.
Wyvios was clearly affected by the straw, and yet he remained unaffected. Even if his body was something else, he should have felt the same pain as did she in her arms. She was able to even see him react to such pain when Eustace stabbed into him and dug the blade deep enough to prevent him from moving proper. Whatever Wyvios has must be a counter to Straw Magic, where his soul is not tethered properly to his body. Whatever Wyvios has for a soul simply doesn't belong there. It was the only reason she was able to take such pain, as her own soul was struck in the same manner during such a rip. Where did that soul even go? Wyvios tries to take advantage again, but Koina shuts it down with a massive downward slash, an arc of frost that cuts through half of Kabanaska in the process, almost as if she wanted to focus more on the idea than the fight itself.
"...Where could it be?"