Completed The Final Confrontation

[Arlo Berakailen]

32 of Fall, 513 AV OOC Note. Please read first : OK, guys, as promised, this is Arlo's last hurrah. This is going to be Arlo's final thread before I retire this character as I've simply got too many things to do and four other characters to worry about, and I can no longer maintain Arlo anymore. Feel free to join in the fun, but as I've already promised Kouri she can kill me, the honor (?) of the final blow belongs to her. Other than that, do whatever you wish. With that said, let the fun begin! Arlo Berakailen strode down the street, eyes constantly searching for anyone that might be following him. It'd taken days to get to this point. Days of painstaking research, of sifting through lies, lies, and more lies to find that single kernel of truth that he needed to find another clue to the mystery. Despite all that the medallion had told him, there was much it didn't. He couldn't be sure Carver Jack was the man he sought but, at the moment, it was the only lead he had to go on. Stumble Alley. Not the safest place to be. All the locals knew to avoid this place, though nobody knew why, exactly. Arlo had at one point tried to glean that piece of intelligence, but wasn't able to. Nobody would talk. Absolutely no one. But if Carver Jack was anywhere, he was here. Arlo had eliminated the Gated Community: the Sun's Birth wasn't there much anymore and more to the point, Arlo wasn't sure Carver necessarily followed the movements of his organization that precisely. As Arlo continued to stroll down the street he noted one of the abandoned houses to his left. It was two stories tall, ramshackle with boards on the windows. The beaten-down wooden door was worn and slightly ajar. But it wasn't that which caught Arlo's attention. It was the fact that despite its dilapidated appearance, the house still had people coming in and out of it. Not often, but he'd gotten fairly reliable intelligence that this particular building was still in use by someone. Who could it be? He couldn't be sure. It could be Carver, but more likely it was simply another one of his contacts. Regardless, he couldn't let this opportunity slip his net. Taking a deep breath, Arlo walked up to the door, and marched inside.

[Fubuki Kouri]

Just about two days after arriving at this strange, downtrodden city, Kouri was already beginning to hate it. Everywhere she saw, evil ran rampant, mugging, stealing, and assault happening everywhere and no one seemed to be the wiser. She was in her human form, ebony hair and vibrant sapphire Vantha eyes, fully materializing herself to pass off as a normal human little girl. Rena and Kriemhild were staying at the Sunset Quarters, they better be, Kouri didn't want anything to happen to them. It had gone well so far, no one suspected her as being one of the dead, though... some men looked at her as if she was prey. She shuddered, what would those men were going to do to her? Would she be... violated like the one with the dark-skinned squire? The little girl was utterly disgusted, some petched up people found her to be sexually attractive? She was a child for Morwen's sake. She exhaled, most little girls didn't have to go through all these things. Shaking her head, Kouri flicked her knee-length black hair and continued exploring this hellhole of a city, her barefooted feet making no sound whatsoever as they made contact with the ground. "Hey, girl..." A slurred voice came from behind her. Kouri felt her soulmist body freezing, did this man just talked to her? She turned around just to make sure. "That's a pretty hair you have... so long..." Then Kouri felt a gruff hand clenched her hair. *PSSSSH!* A sound akin to dry-ice freezing a warm surface emanated from where her hair made contact with the stranger's hands. "A...aaaaah! A- *THUD!*" The man felt like his life was being sucked out of him and he dropped to the ground, dead. As usual, no people seemed to care in this streets. "......" Kouri grabbed her hair and rubbed it, feeling dirty after being touched by the drunkard. She didn't gave the corpse another look and just continued on her way. That's when someone interesting caught her blue eyes. A man passed her, he was tall with short black hair and gray eyes. The man looked like he was searching for something. His face... they were of someone with a purpose, not like the empty look she witnessed so often during her stay in Sunberth. "....." Feeling that she had nothing to do at the moment, Kouri decided to follow him stealthily from behind. Due to her footsteps emitting no sound whatsoever and the fact that she looked like a harmless little girl, she could follow the man until he stopped beside a two-story house, the building looked abandoned. Eh? Kouri tilted her head, now she was getting more and more curious, why was so important about an abandoned house? Did it hold some kind of treasure? As the man entered, Kouri looked to her left and right before following closely and also entered the house after him. OOCAlright! Since I do not know that the house's interior is like, Arlo would be taking the lead here. I suppose you will also control Jack Carven and his goons, right? If you want to notice a little girl is following him, that's also very fine!

[Arlo Berakailen]

32 of Fall, 513 AV As Arlo walked through the door of the building, he noted the interior looked about as good as the exterior. Fantastic. He also noted the wood inside was quite old; there was a fine layer of dust on everything, yet the boards on the windows were new, as the nails used to fasten them had not rusted. Interesting. So the occupation of this "abandoned" house was recent. As he looked to his left he saw a small sitting area with a wooden table, and two chairs scattered haphazardly. The table had a few playing cards splayed across it, and was curiously devoid of dust, which meant that whoever was playing cards was still here. The hallway seemed to stretch to a small alcove, and to the right of Arlo about ten feet down was a large set of double doors. Past the alcove, he could just barely make out a flight of stairs that rose into the darkness of the second floor. There did not appear to be any source of illumination. It was day, however, and such illumination was not necessary. Arlo noted the existence of several tallow marks on the floor. Tallow marks would only be left if someone was carrying a candle back and forth, which meant this particular hallway was well-traveled, by someone who did not value caution or they'd use a lantern (which would not leave marks). It did not fit Carver's profile, but he imagined it might fit the man's goons. There was the faint odor of death in the house, and a strong one of alcohol. Arlo wrinkled his nose in distaste. He disliked both odors, but at the moment it wasn't important enough for him to leave. Instead he headed straight for the staircase at the end of the hall, striding purposefully forward, lips set into a thin, straight line. There weren't any guards at the front door. That could mean one of two things. Either the inhabitants were not in. In which case, Arlo intended to rifle through whatever papers might have been strewn about, then leave before the owners returned. The other option was more ... distressing. It was that the inhabitants knew he was coming. It wasn't out of the question: Carver had managed to elude him for quite some time, and only someone who had at least some skill in Intelligence work could have fooled Arlo so completely. Standing on the last step before the landing, Arlo paused. There was so much to consider, and no time to consider it. He ran over all the information, as meager as it was, over in his mind, looking for some clue he'd missed, some secret key that would tell him what he needed to know. Nothing sprang to mind. Yes, he'd had relatively credible information that pointed to there being activity here. And yes, the house looked somewhat used from further inspection but none of that guaranteed anything. Arlo sighed and took the last step onto the landing. The back wall of the place was directly before him, the dull gray stone glistening from the sunlight streaming in from the cracks of the window behind him that were not covered up in planks. to his left was a series of three doors, the one furthest down was slightly ajar, the others were shut. To his right was an open door with what appeared to be a large supply room, as he could see crates and objects strewn about inside. Arlo took a quick peek inside and didn't see anything of interest. It was possible this was where Carver was keeping his ill-gotten gains, but Arlo couldn't be sure based on his cursory inspection. Instead, he withdrew from the door ... only to feel cold iron on his back. He'd been caught. "Nice day for a stroll, dontcha think?" a voice came from behind him. It was a low, almost gravely voice, which spoke of years of cheap beer and cheaper whores. But Arlo knew his best bet was to maintain calm. He'd used his head to get out of stickier situations before. "I'm just here to see the boss," Arlo replied evenly, making sure to keep his voice neutral. The other man just barked a laugh. "Oh he'll see you alright, petcher, with your guts spillin' out," he leered. Arlo just shrugged. "If you wanted to do that, you wouldn't be threatening me, you'd have killed me," Arlo replied. And it was true. Real killers Arlo knew very well. They didn't bother talking, they just struck. He knew better than to get tangled with them. Men like this, they loved the sound of their own voice. "Keep pushin' it bub, and I'll gut ya one," the voice warned. Arlo sighed. "Your boss is expecting me," Arlo bluffed. It wasn't entirely a bluff. If the man hadn't been expecting him he wouldn't have made it so easy to get up here. Besides, this guard didn't seem all that intelligent or he'd never have made it up the stairs. "Ya don't say?" the man had a tone of sarcasm mixed with incredulity. Arlo decided to take a risk and turned around. When he wasn't immediately impaled, he knew he had the upper hand. The man facing him had short, close-cropped brown hair with a long scar from his left eye running across his cheek to his ear. He is green eyes were filled with cruelty, and his large, stocky body was obviously well-built. He had on a tan shirt, ripped in several places, and dark-colored pants held up by a rope belt. The man's feet were covered by a pair of dusty old leather boots, and he loomed imposingly over Arlo, eyes boring into his skull. "You're going to get out of my way, and you're going to show me to your boss," Arlo announced quietly. There was a beat. Two beats. "You were told to expect someone, and to escort him to the boss, were you not? Because if not, you should kill me, right here." Arlo had been in similar situations before. So he was up against a man who, despite his name, was well-versed in this game. "Carver" was more than just a brute. He hired brutes like this thug, but was clearly smart enough to know Arlo was looking for him. He must have figured it'd be easier to face him on his own turf. Arlo had to hand it to the man, he'd been right. And Arlo had swallowed the bait, hook line and sinker, because here he was, conceding home-turf advantage. Without another word, the big man growled and turned, walking to the second door and knocking twice, pausing, then knocking again. There was a smooth voice on the other side. "Send him in," it called. Arlo's face, for a briefest flicker, registered his surprise. In all his dreams and nightmares he'd never thought that Carver would sound like that. Then again, it might not be him. There was only one way to find out. Arlo strode confidently through the door, which the guard shut tight behind him. The room Arlo found himself in was large, but sparse. In total it was about seven feet by seven feet and had two windows directly facing him on the far wall, as boarded up as the others in the house. The walls were slate gray; Arlo suspected there might have been wallpaper at some point because he could still see bits of it stubbornly clinging to the wall but much of it had ended up on the floor like so much confetti. There was no furniture to speak of except for a single oak desk, an uncomfortable-looking chair, and a large, high-backed seat upon which sat a solitary man. Carver Jack? Arlo peered at the man curiously. He seemed well-dressed for Sunberth, with a spotless white cotton shirt, collar turned down, and what appeared to be cuff-links on either cuff made of silver. The man had short, tousled black hair, much like Arlo's own, and equally dark slate-gray eyes, also like Arlo. He also had on an easy smile and a calm demeanor. "Nice of you to drop by," he commented. "Won't you sit down?"

[Fubuki Kouri]

The little girl tilted her head, her sapphire eyes curiously examining the man walked through the main corridor of the "abandoned" house to an alcove, then pass it, walking upwards on what seemed to be a flight of stairs. Kouri looked to her left and right, nothing interesting was of note to her, only chairs on her left and a large double door far on her right. If she was a normal Vantha girl, she would be coughing from the dust. Instead, Kouri continued her way to the alcove, her bare feet trudging through the old wood. She arrived at the stairs and looked up, hearing voices, someone else was inside this building after all. She listened closely, her large eyes squinting in concern. What are they talking about? See the boss? The two voices were distinctly male, one was more rougher and gruffer than the other. It was clear that the men didn't like each other. Kouri exhaled, her cold breath emitting a frosty mist even though the atmosphere was warm. she could be getting herself into something big here. She was not a little girl anymore in a sense, she could take care of herself. She decided to see this "boss" as well. So, after the voices died down, Kouri decided it was her time to act. Her little feet carefully climbed the stairs, she was in her materialized human disguise, floating up would utterly destroy it. Her very long hair ebbed and flow with nonexistent wind. Almost arriving at the second floor, she peeked her head to the left corridor, finding a large man with short hair and scar on his face, wearing ugly clothing that Kouri didn't even care to examine. He didn't seem to notice her... yet. She retracted her head and sat down on one of the stair steps. Kouri's mind was turning to make a decision. Should she unmaterialize herself and do the usual "stealth mode", phasing through the walls and entered the room silently? That should be a nice plan, yes, she could do that. Until she felt a dagger being gently pushed to her back. "Why... what do we have here? Are you lost, little missy?" "!?" Kouri's blue eyes went wide, how did the large man found her? He was more observant than she thought. Kouri could kill him without even batting an eye, just a launch from her soulmist tendril would be enough to pierce through this man's skull, however... all her efforts would be lost. She still wanted to know what was going on inside that room. So, thinking quick, Kouri controlled her materialized body so her touch would only feel slightly cold, not freezing deadly. "Such a naughty girl, you know what happens to naughty little girls?" The man leaned in, Kouri could feel his foul breath on her ear "They get punished..." "Kyahah!" The man then easily picked up her weightless form and heaved her to his shoulder, he winced slightly at the cold sensation upon touching the little girl's body. Woah, yer so cold and light, aren't ya? Got a disease or something? No worries, boss can still fetch for a good price, you look really cute anyway! Hahahaha!" The man then carried Kouri like a kidnapped child, heading to the door, he knocked on it "Boss! Found a little girly snooping around 'ere... do I bring 'er in?" Kouri would just keep silent, smirking inside her mind. These were evil people after all...

[Cayden Mortem]

Cayden was strolling through the city. the sun was beating down on his head, the cloak he was wearing now just made him feel hot. He keeps walking until he passes the infamous Stumble Alley. He looked down the darkly lit street. debating on if he wanted to walk through the alley. Even at the height of noon there were still shadows and a very foreboding atmosphere. He had heard the rumors surrounding the alley but he figured he could handle himself if push came to shove, so he turned and walked down the narrow street expecting to cross through and end up in another part of the city, where he could perhaps look for an unsuspecting newcomer to rob blind..

Instead he got about half way down the alley, and noticed that one of the run down houses had a door standing wide open, "That's odd." He says to himself as he walks up the steps and peers into the inky blackness inside. He waits for his eyes to adjust, and he could see properly then he quietly steps inside. He hears the voice of a gruff sounding man drift down the nearby stairwell. Something about having found a small girl, he wasn't really sure, but decided to check it out anyways. He figured the girl could use a hand. He stalks up the stairwell silently as he could, his cloak rustling silently behind him and his boots made soft, quiet thuds on the old creaky stairs. he followed the sound of voices until he realized they were coming from behind one of the doors. He steps closer to listen in but accidentally bumps the wall with his arm causing a dull thud. Cayden freezes hoping furiously that no one inside had heard him. He knew that the people on the either side of the door weren't too friendly so he shifts his weight back on his heels feeling a satisfying click, and he feels the blades hidden in the toe of his boots slide out, ready to kick the first person to open the door if need be.

[Arlo Berakailen]

32 of Fall, 513 AV There was a knock on the door as the guard explained there was a little girl outside and should he bring her in. If the information surprised Carver, he didn't show it. He simply paused for a brief moment before calling out, "Go ahead," as though he was ordering tea. The big burly fellow from before entered the room, carrying what indeed appeared to be a small girl slung over his shoulder. The man behaved very differently from how he acted out in the hall. He was deferential, even polite, making sure to make eye contact with "Carver" and his demeanor almost that of a soldier addressing his commander. "Here's the little missy for ya, boss," he explained, as he dropped her down next to Arlo. Arlo briefly glanced at the new arrival. He had no idea why a girl her age would be in such an incredibly dangerous place. Sunberth did not treat girls like her very kindly, so he was instantly distrustful of her. If she survived this city, and more importantly if he had never heard of her (and he hadn't), then there was something seriously wrong going on here. Carver seemed to be having the same thoughts. He looked thoughtfully at the girl, before glancing back at Arlo. "Interesting backup you brought, Arlo," he mused. Arlo decided not to answer. Silence in this case could mean anything, and Arlo wanted that. The more he could make "Carver" guess, the more information Arlo himself could glean from what direction Carver would take his predictions. "Not talking? That's a shame," Carver sighed. "Come on now, Arlo. I don't know who the girl is. So we both know you don't know who the girl is. Basher, make Arlo a bit more cooperative, won't you?" "Carver" said it nicely, but there was a cold tone of finality in his words. Arlo glanced up at "Basher", obviously the nickname for Carver's associate. The man gave a wicked grin, and before Arlo could move, plunged a dagger into Arlo's left arm, just below the shoulder. Arlo screamed in pain as the steel cut through flesh, white hot agony spiked through his body. He'd been stabbed before, and had the wounds to prove it, but it never got easier. Carver's face was impassive as he watched Arlo struggle to regain his composure. Torture was never fun, but occasionally it was useful and warranted. When Arlo had regained some semblance of his former calm, Carver gave him a cold stare. "You ... you know killing me isn't going to change anything, right?" Arlo gasped out. "If that had been your plan, I'd already be dead." Carver just shrugged. "Impeccable logic as always, Arlo. Bravo," he replied, putting his hands together mockingly and applauding Arlo's analysis. "Still," he continued, "have you considered the possibility that I might not be a complete idiot?" he asked mildy. "Cutter! Butcher!" he called out suddenly. "We have a guest outside our door! Do escort him inside, won't you?" Turning to Arlo, he smiled. "You didn't really think I'd only have one guard, did you?" he asked rhetorically. "Now I believe you have something that belongs to me." Arlo's eyes had gone somewhat bleary from the pain in his arm, so his head lolled some as he looked up. Carver had stood, his impeccable dress continuing down past his clean white shirt to his perfectly pressed dress pants and shiny leather shoes. He walked around the table slowly and deliberately, before smoothly reaching into Arlo's left pocket and retrieving his father's pendant. "They were the ones who gave me the name, you know?" he mused quietly. Arlo had no idea if that was true, or if Carver was just saying it to get to him. "You play the game well, Arlo, but now it's time for the games to end. You made a big mistake coming here. Basher. Finish the job." Arlo simply smirked. "Do that and the Night Eyes might get a package," he called out. Carver froze. "An interesting play," Carver said after a chime or two, though his left hand shot out instantly to stop Basher's movement. "But a desperate one. If what you are saying is true, you've made a deal with an organization far more dangerous than me." Arlo looked up at Carver defiantly. "If you don't kill me, I have now found your safehouse and I have ways of making it very unsafe. If you kill me, the Night Eyes will know about you. Either way you lose." Carver walked slowly back behind the desk, sat down, and regarded Arlo for several chimes, fingers interleaved and held before his face, elbows rested on the surface of the desk. Finally, Carver turned to "Basher". "I can't tell if he's bluffing," he commented, voice as mild as though he was referring to the color of the sky. "Would you be so kind as to remove his fingers until he tells us if what he is saying is actually true?"

[Fubuki Kouri]

BGM for the mood! : AvP 3 OST - Predalien Battle Kouri acted scared, her large sapphire eyes looked bubbling with held back tears. It was all just a ruse, she would enjoy freezing these men to death and hacking off their limbs as if they were mere ragdolls. As far as she was concerned, most people in this hellhole were scums not deserving the space and air they occupied. *STAB!* A drop of blood clung itself to her cheek, Kouri's eyes widened at the violence being shown. These men didn't even care that they were doing this in front of a - seemingly - normal little girl. Her mouth went slightly agape, no, these men... this must stop. They must all die, DIE! She watched in horror at the casual conversation they did, evil hurt evil it seemed. That was to be expected, scums didn't have any sense of loyalty or friendship. Kouri didn't care what they said, she didn't care about the new guest, she didn't care about this "Night Eyes". All she cared about was bringing the full force of Talderan blizzard to this very room. As Carver told Basher to cut Arlo's fingers off, Kouri decided it was time for her to act. She focused the soulmist on her right fingers and palm, ready to lash out. Walking casually to in front of Basher, the large man looked down to find the previous little girl "blocking" his way. "What, girl? Scared? Want to go home to your Momma? Hahaha-" *SQUISH!!* "HACK!!" The large man coughed blood, immense pain wracked from his chest. He looked down to find the girl's tiny hand stabbing into his chest, cutting flesh, and he could actually feel her freezing fingers wrapped around his heart. "He...hehehehe~" Kouri's soulmist utterly cut through his puny flesh from just under his chest, into his body. She could feel that precious organ that pumped warm blood inside him. "Die..." She said simply and ripped out the beating organ from Basher's chest. Warm red blood spurted from the large gaping hole on his chest, the man's face went blank ticks after, falling down and forming a pool of his own blood on the ground. Beat. Beat. Beat. It all happened so quickly, the little girl had turned from harmless to monster in a matter of ticks. Her skin and pretty white sundress were now glistening red with blood. In her right hand was a still beating testament to the now obvious fact that this "girl" was no ordinary child. Her very long ebony locks lashed the air as if they were alive, the room's atmosphere felt thick with immense soulmist aura. *BURST!* She crushed the heart in her palms, spurting blood everywhere. Her sapphire blue eyes no longer held the child-like innocence. It was clear she was out for blood, for each and everyone in the room.

[Cayden Mortem]

Cayden who was standing outside, listening to the screams of pain heard himself being referred to as a 'guest' and new that he was in trouble. He began to slowly back away from the door knowing that he was leaving this little girl to be harmed, but he also knew he couldn't very well help her if he was dead.

As he backed away from the door trying to think of someway to get out, the door opened, and two big burly men came striding out the door. "How you guys doing?" He says as he backs closer to the stairwell, his face as passive as ever. Cayden was debating on if he could sprint down the stairs fast enough to get away from him, when the one named 'cutter' rushed him, trying to take him down quickly.

"You little sneak, get back here!"

Cayden manages to just dodge out of the way, and the man takes one step too many and he ends up falling down the stairs, "My bad." Cayden calls down over his shoulder and he turns back to the other one, only to have the man punch him in the face full force knocking him to the ground. Cayden starts to pick himself up off the ground wiping blood from his now split lip, and as he pushes off he lands a hefty uppercut to the man sending him reeling. Then as the man is staggering backwards Cayden moves closer and kicks the inside of the man's leg with his bladed boots. He feels the blade slide into the man's leg like a hot knife through butter, and he hears a satisfactory scream of pain from the man as he retracts the blade, and allows it to go back into his boot.

As Cayden turns to run he hears the sound of someone inside the room yelling "Die!" He turns to glance back into the room through the now open door, and what he saw surprised him. The little girl that he had thought was innocent, and had planned to help, now had her hand buried deep inside one of the men. Her eyes had changed, and now they were cold. they seemed to him almost like death itself. Cayden knew that whatever or whoever that was, he stood no chance. So he turns and as quietly as he can exits the building, stepping over the man at the bottom of the stairs who was unconscious from the fall, with the screams of the men inside echoing behind him. He runs as far as he can trying to get away from the screams.

[Arlo Berakailen]

32 of Fall, 513 AV OOCOK Radi, I don't know if it's legal for me to do this, but I figure Carver should give at least a TINY bit of resistance before he dies . I'm not gonna be mean and make him a Spiritist, even though Kouri's survived Spiritists before, but I figure to give him some Reimancy. I think it'd make this thread more interesting than just, Kouri Stab! One Hit KO! Carver moved quickly. Far more quickly than Arlo anticipated, and he drew his arms back. He did not seem all that concerned about Basher's death, one eyebrow merely raised and his face betraying no emotion. Arlo had to hand it to the man, he was very calm in the face of extreme danger. "A ghost, then," he ground out, eyes never leaving the girl who had just caused the removed heart to explode. Moving back toward the windows, Carver faced Kouri, his eyes flashing a warning as Res crawled its way up his arms. "Butcher! Cutter! Get your sorry petching behinds in here!" he called out, his voice carrying just a hint of worry. The door opened, but only for a moment. Arlo could not see who it was, as the pain in his arm was too great. But Carver saw that it was a tall, muscular-looking man with tousled brown hair and dark eyes. More importantly, it was neither Butcher nor Cutter. For the first time, something akin to fear crossed Carver's face. This was not in his plans, but fortunately for him the man slammed the door shut again, clearly not interested in taking on the enraged Kouri, whose large clear eyes had turned murderous. "So. That's how this is going to be," Carver stated. Even here, with all three of his guards presumably dead, Carver did not panic. In his pain-induced haze, Arlo had to give the man credit for that. Perhaps that was where he got it from. His own near-suicidal confidence. But like his father, it seems that confidence was about to get the both of them killed. Carver regarded Kouri carefully, while one arm disappeared behind his back. A beat passed, then another, before he suddenly hurled the arm forward, a ball of fire arcing its way towards Kouri, as he dove behind the desk, overturning it and making a makeshift barrier. Ghosts, as he knew, could phase through such barriers, but perhaps if she was solid enough to rip out hearts, she was solid enough that the oak desk would prove at least some hindrance to her. Arlo just laughed. Or tried to, but it came out as a hacking cough. How appropriate. He couldn't even get his revenge. Now Carver would die, and he wouldn't even have the last laugh. The blood continued to flow from his injured arm. Arlo just hoped he lived long enough to watch the petcher die.

[Fubuki Kouri]

"Uhuhuhuhu..." A low giggle escaped the little girl of a monster's lips, each syllable was accompanied by a puff of frosty mist. The little girl cocked her head from left to right, "cracking" nonexistent bones. The little fingers on both of her hands flexed, glowing black as she focused her serrated tendrils on them. She hunched her back forward, her feet taking hold on the ground, ready to launch herself like a viper upon Carver "Come on~ Let's play! Plaaaaaaay!" She taunted in Vani, it didn't really matter whether her target understood or not, he would die soon enough. Heh... She tilted her head, he was calling for backup? So, he had more cronies with him. When the door opened, an awkward silence ensued, the look on Carver's face showed that he was not expecting this other guy to come in. The tall stranger immediately closed the door, leaving them to their shenanigans. After a tick of mutual pause, Carver and Kouri locked their eyes again. Her sapphire blue were now in the shape of slits, like a Dhani. *BOOSH!!* Flames, Kouri did not expect that, the man was a mage. A fire-wielder like Madame Azcadelia and Master Cyrus, knowing this, Kouri didn't want to play around anymore. Mages were the bane of her, they could actually hurt her and put up a decent fight, only Spiritists were worse than mages. As the fireball launched to her, the fire brushing with her soulmist skin, she vanished. The ball of flame crashing into a wall, immolating it. Carver looked from behind the desk, did he get her? Even a ghost couldn't withstand the might of his fire, could it? He got his answer soon enough, in the form of a giggle, from above him. He looked upwards to find... the very same little monster hanging on the ceiling like a bat. Her very long ebony locks defied gravity and kept cascading down (up) to her back. This was not good. He prepared his res further, this was definitely a battle to the death. Kouri looked down to the hiding man, a smile grew on her lips, her tiny feet flexing and the girl ran on the ceiling, dodging another fireball from Carver, the ceiling caught on fire, joining the ever-growing flames from the previous fireball. In a few moments, the house would fully be on fire. Kouri didn't care, heck, it would be better if this hellhole of a city burned down to the very last building, taking all scums that inhabited it. After she was directly above Carver, her tiny form vanished again. *STAB!!* "Gahak!!" Carver coughed up blood, he stuggled to look down, his eyes making contact with the murderous sapphire of the little girl, he saw her child-like right hand going inside his chest. This was it, this was the end of his journey. Out from the corner of his eyes, he saw the little girl extending her left arm to the side, claws made out of ghastly black soulmist covering her hand. Then, the girl lashed out. *SLICE!* Time seemed to slow down and everything went red as Kouri's focused tendrils sliced through Carver's neck, cutting it clean off his head. It came flying, spurts of crimson flowing from the bloody stump that replaced his head. Under the watch of the man named Arlo and the flames consuming the room. Kouri looked like a monster out of a horror story, her child form utterly contradicting with her deeds. Now that was done, Kouri ripped out Carver's heart, it was still beating, futilely trying to pump fresh blood to a decapitated body. Her eyes turned to the last living man in the room, Kouri didn't need to kill him personally, the house was burning down. As if on cue, a large piece of wood fell from the ceiling, crushing Arlo's lower body and the chair he was on, he was now pinned down to the ground. His fate definitely sealed unless by some divine intervention. Tossing aside the heart, Kouri climbed over the upturned desk and slowly made her way to Arlo, cutely sitting on top of his chest. Her gaze bore deep into Arlo's grey eyes. Small lips opening up, puffs of white mist flowing out, her eerie high-pitched voice echoed in the room. "Any last words?"