"The creature infecting all these mind needs to be put down.... but where is he?" ~Kassadin, The Void Walker
Enjoy and comment!
If you read the previous chapter..... you'd notice a couple things. One, this is Gregori's first time transforming with a full Caalyx. Two, the shield changed despite not changing all the previous times. Now I believe it is possible to guess how they killed Caalyx's brother.
Fight chapters are fun to write. This one was a little difficult with how both characters are incredibly strong but are nerfed due to the situation they are in. And if you guys are interested Styraatu's fighting style resembles the twins from Kung Fu Hustle but scaled up a little.
Also to anyone who plays the game.... I have put in a couple easter eggs this chapter. It would need a little bit of focus to spot but you can guess it through the descriptions. (Hint: Both have crowd control type effects.)
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Styraatu's eyes spun around trying to spot Gregori and immediately locked onto him as he appeared above her.
ZWENGGGGG
Invisible blades erupted from the harp, rushing toward Gregori.
He swung his hand up, bringing the shield above him. These blades slammed into the shield sending Gregori into the ceiling.
Cracks spread out through the rocks as Gregori pushed himself off them as if gravity was reversed.
"DIE YOU FILTHY MONGREL!" Styraatu roared as she strummed her harp continuously, sending slashes at Gregori, "WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO STAND IN FRONT OF ME!"
"Well..... I can't really die can I?" Caalyx taunted from Gregori's body as Gregori kept dashing around, "And I'll do whatever the fuck I want you stupid moron."
"STAY STILL!" Styraatu's harp fell to her side horizontally, she ran both her hands across the harp.
ZWOOOOOOM
Instantly, as if an invisible weight fell onto Gregori as he fell to the ground. His body felt sluggish as he rose to his feet and began walking toward Styraatu, it was as if he was swimming through muddy waters. He tried to leap but his body refused to leave the ground.
"Her abilities are of two kinds. Long range slashes and weakening or strengthening through her songs." Caalyx explained, "Right now our movement is affected."
Gregori focused on Styraatu as he placed one foot in front of the other, "She seems to be unable to do both at the same time."
"That changes if she gets blood." Caalyx corrected his guess. "Once the harp begins to change..... that's when you should be worried." Caalyx then focused on Styraatu, "But we cannot reach her from this distance, not when she is still that far off the ground. She was supportive Gregori. Even in the war. I cannot tell you how to fight her, especially since we did not let anyone or anything get close to our back line. We cannot reach her with this restriction on us."
Pulling the arm holding the spear back, Gregori got into a throwing stance, "Only I cannot reach her..... You can."
A burst of blue fire erupted from his shoulder and elbow, condensing into pure force, as his arm pushed forward, releasing the spear toward Styraatu.
The spear disappeared from vision.
BOOOOOOM
A delayed explosion erupted from his hands as the spear reappeared right behind Styraatu and pierced through the walls going far into the rocks, breaking up an entire face of the wall.
"What?!" Gregori grunted upon seeing the attack fail completely.
Caalyx's voice replied in his mind, "I passed right through..... I think the magic holding up her eyes is pointless to attack."
And Caalyx was right.
Styraatu was mostly just energy with the only tangible parts of her body being the arms and the sole leg like protrusion.
"She also doesn't hold the weapon." Gregori spoke as he held his hand in front of himself willing Caalyx back to his hand, "That means our previous plans of taking the weapon from the hands of the host will not work here."
"YOU CANNOT HARM ME!" Styraatu roared as the harp stood up vertically. She strummed it, playing a soft tune.
ZWEEENNNGGG
Reacting to the shift in the harp's position, Gregori raised his shield upward, feeling the weight chaining his body down disappear, but moved his other hand away.
"The magic is forming a connection." Caalyx answered as Gregori braced for impact.
Large slash marks appeared on the ground as Gregori held strong even as his body sunk into the ground, all the way up to his ankles.
"AGAIN!" Styraatu yelled as she pulled her hand back to strum once again.
BANGGGG
The harp moved away from her hand as she moved to play it.
Her eyes swiveled around to catch Caalyx spin around and fly back to its user.
"You hit the harp on the way back." Caalyx remarked.
Gregori leapt into the sky before Styraatu could attack again and began to rush toward her position.
Styraatu's harp fell horizontally as she pulled her arms back on the strings.
BEENNNNGGGG
Instead of the sudden weight, Gregori's body began to feel weary. His movement felt sluggish and his mind began to slow down. But despite that, he swung the spear at her but it was no where near as strong as it normally would be.
Styraatu's hands gripped the harp, "YOU THINK YOU WON JUST BECAUSE YOU GOT CLOSE?" She swung the harp at him.
TWANNNGGG
Both weapons bounced off each other with Styraatu winning out a little as the bladed edge of the harp met Caalyx's spear point.
Surprise flooded Gregori's eyes as the magic affecting him vanished and his spear bounced off Styraatu's harp and his arm went upward.
"GOT YOU!" Styraatu took one hand off the harp and then ran it along the strings.
BWENGG
In a swift motion, he raised his shield, blocking the slashes but that didn't stop it from sending him into the walls causing cracks to spiderweb out of it.
"Her harp can be used as a melee weapon as well." Gregori commented, "You've never seen this before?"
"As I said..... we didn't let anyone of anything get close to the backline. Our attention was on killing those in front of us and protecting those behind." Caalyx's single eye zoomed around trying to spot a weakness before freezing, "Range. Her slashes lose effectiveness based on distance."
"The other one?"
"That works regardless of range."
Gregori's mind blazed trying to figure out a way to beat her, "Fuck...."
She was perfectly covered.
If he had somehow managed to create distance between him and Styraatu, she could just weaken him with her magic and he would be unable to reach her. If her stayed close then she could do the same thing she has been doing the entire time.
Both would work to leave them in a standstill.
"Keep talking to her. Rile her up. Do anything. As long as you can stall her or even try to make her slip up....." Gregori carefully worded as he continued trying to figure out a way.
"So you'll go back to serving Aatrox?" Caalyx immediately spoke up.
All of Styraatu's seven eyes honed in on Gregori as he pushed himself off of the hole in the wall, "HE IS MY GENERAL!"
"You do know he's been free for a century now right?" Caalyx prodded, "If he really wanted you at his side.... he would have freed you already."
"LIES!" Styraatu yelled, "YOU LIE! MY GENERAL NEEDS ME!"
"You know...." Caalyx began, "I thought you would be sane when I got here but seeing you now..."
"SANITY DOES NOT MATTER!" Styraatu's harp fell sideways as she played it, "SERVICE DOES! AND I SERVE MY GENERAL!"
Gregori groaned as his body stood still, refusing to listen to his commands as Styraatu continued to play her music, one hand plucking at the string and the other moving in as the hand reached upward.
"THE VOID IS NOT GONE YET!" Gregori roared as he struggled, trying to move his body.
Styraatu's fingers stilled for a moment.
And for that single moment, Gregori felt his body respond to his will.
"MORE LIES!" Styraatu played once more.
But Gregori was not there anymore and despite hearing the music..... it did not affect him. This was until she spun around after her eyes spotted him and continued playing.
"As long as she plays the harp with me in her eyes, I cannot move." Gregori muttered as his body halted in its tracks. "And even with seven eyes she cannot see everything coming.
"And you don't even need to move." Caalyx spoke gleefully.
"And I don't even need to move." Gregori affirmed as Styraatu realized that both the spear and shield were missing from his hands.
In the heat of the moment, he forgot his magic.
But somehow it seemed to always pull him out of such situations.
Her eyes spun around spotting the shield soaring toward her harp and the spear going for her torso.
"I suppose beating her would be a matter of who can last longer." Gregori guessed, "Taking the weapon off her is not going to be an option. That just means I need to make her use up her reserve of blood."
"For your moronic actions.... in moments like these you become really smart." Caalyx commented, snorting.
Styraatu's hands stopped playing as the flipped the harp and played it.
Invisible slashes knocked the spear off course.
She turned her attention to the shield.
BANGG
Her eyes spun around as she looked at the very spear she had just knocked away slam into her hand and tear it off her torso and carry it into a wall.
CLLAAAAANNNGGGG
In the same moment the shield clashed with the harp sending it flying off to the side.
Styraatu's hand began to regenerate quickly, "USELESS!"
"Is it though?" Gregori voice echoed from behind her.
The eyes spun around as Gregori's legs met her torso in a flying kick sending her toppling to the ground.
"This is going to be easier than I thought." Caalyx commented as the spear and shield flew back into his arms.
Gregori eyed his spear, "Shut the fuck up."