Private Overconfidence and Hostile Hubris

Steven

Well-Known Member
Inactive
Jan 6, 2017
677
Posting Status
Weekly
Life for Iaemor in recent months had grown stagnant, even though the fun loving demon had more than his fair share of outlets to occupy his more carnal nature, he couldn’t deny that life had lost its sheen. When he had first come to the islands, he had been more than happy to simply coast by living off the earning of the retinue that had fled his home-world with him. However he had started to grow restless, driveless and while he would never say life was bad it was certainly becoming repetitive. It was this feeling that had led him to today, mixed in with the feeling of powerlessness from last year when enemies from their home-world had injured Maya. The arena.

While there was no doubt that as a demon king he was imposing, he was no real fighter. Even still, he had learned that the arena cared little about who someone was when it came to taking part. Of course the arena wasn’t simply going to treat him as if he was important either even when he had told them he was incredibly strong and though when he wanted to be. Instead their would be a trail of his ability, not just to perform but also of his entertainment potential.

It was an early Friday morning, the arena having arranged for him to take part in some of the one of the early filler fights of the day before business picked up in the evening. From the few fights he had seen since first arranging today participation he had seen that these early fights tended towards those who were less imposing, and even without any real combat training he still felt as if he was sure to win. Overconfident, even though in the past he had been unable to protect Maya from the wrath demon, a wrath demon who should have been his lesser by a large margin. Standing in the hallway that would lead out onto the arena field Iaemor waited.

“Good morning everyone. Our next fight is a newcomer to the arena, a so called demon prince of his world ready to fight for your pleasure. Iaemor.” Iaemor scowled unseen at the comment, that dare threw doubt on his birthright, but was glad that it seemed the speaker didn’t know more about his flight from his homeland to Manta Carlos, as that would have stung his pride further. Shaking his head he walked out into the arena. The audience at this time was small, and not very vocal in welcoming him to the stage. Though that might have been partially down to the fact he walked out in his normal red hair human form, dressed in black pant and open black shirt. Not exactly looking much like a demon except for the small curled horns. He glared intently to where his opponent would eventually appear once the announcer introduced them.
 

PixelatedGlory

Mmm oderator
Moderator
Mar 30, 2018
2,988
East Coast, USA
Gender
Male
Pronouns
He/Him
Posting Status
Daily
Backstage, or as backstage as the tunnel on the other side of the arena could be, Sharpe poked and prodded a hungover Frank into his shabby leather armor. It was functional, but only just, and the imp had to be careful not to cut the armor or Frank's sweaty ass skin with their claws as they worked. Damn boozing asshole.

"Can you at least pretend to be doing something useful you ungrateful bag of vomit," Sharpe quipped at Frank but only got a noncommital grunt in return. Ok, fine. If he wanted to play it that way then Sharpe didn't have to be nice about it. The Imp floated over to a sink and filled a bucket with water. Then poured some out because it was heavy, and finally floated back over with it in tow. Right over top of the slouching man's head. Splashing and spluttering and cursing filled the hallway, followed by Sharpe's gleeful grin. "Showtime Rank. You need to put up a half decent fight or maybe you'll be making a home out of that damn pile of bottles and garbage."

With the pep-talk done the imp groaned inwardly and stowed their robes in Frank's locker before shifting into their sword form. Floating in the air for Frank to grab hold of. A three and a half foot long sword with a black core and rimmed in silver. Though the silver was very clearly tarnished the blade was perfectly sharp still. The greasy, inkempt man strapped a basic shield rented from the armory onto his left arm and took hold of Sharpe's hilt as he headed for the exit.

Just a moment later than Iaemor's entry into the arena the announcer again spoke. Trying to enthuse the small crowd despite the fairly insignificant fight about to take place. To be fair Frank usually did ok, as long as Sharpe was in a cooperative mood. And if the imp wasn't? Well they did get some interest from the audience in seeing what happens when a person's sword is messing with them during a fight. It was all about drawing crowds as best as they could.

"And on the other side, some of you know him and some of you don't. From the bar stools to the battlefield, Frank the Tank!" There were a few eyerolls and a few claps but the arena prided themselves with putting on interesting shows. So maybe this wouldn't be lame. Maybe.

Frank slowly stepped to his favorite starting position and held up Sharpe, catching the light with the edge of the imp-sword's blade before crouching and raising his shield towards Iaemor. More out of muscle memory than anything else. Waiting for Iaemor to attack as the loud bell rang out to start the match.
 

Steven

Well-Known Member
Inactive
Jan 6, 2017
677
Posting Status
Weekly
Iaemor examined his opponent intently as the appeared after the introduction. Thinking that the nickname used by the announce didn't match as much as it could have. With a name like 'The Tank', he would have expected a larger individual or at least one who wore heavier metal armour then the leather he was. Even so, the fact his opponent need weapons and arms of any kind just served to further Iaemor confidence. The unkempt appearance of the both the man and his equipment, plus the fact these were meant to be the lesser fights had Iaemor believe that speed and force would be enough to win.

Hoping to make a significant impression for his first outing in the arena, as the bell rang Iaemor came out hard and fast. He didn't even bother to change his form yet as he started to sprint at high speed to close the distance in hopes to take the man by surprise. He thought that if he could win without even using the full force he could muster it would somewhat prolonged the fight and in turn make it more entertaining. His charge didn't come directly at Frank but ever so slightly veered off to his shield side. His front leg would slam down in a heavy step as he felt he was in range and his other leg would come up to try and slam the base of his boot hard against the man's shield to try and throw him back and off balance.

He was betting purely on the means of being to make contact with his forceful kick before the man could bring his sword around. How he had veered off to the side being partly to increase the odd of doing so, but it was a tactic still left him easily in the range of the blade. Around 3 foot of blade range, and then arm length was easily a longer range then the length of his leg after all.
 

PixelatedGlory

Mmm oderator
Moderator
Mar 30, 2018
2,988
East Coast, USA
Gender
Male
Pronouns
He/Him
Posting Status
Daily
Frank squinted at his opponent. Was he really fighting someone who was unarmed? The organizer rarely made those kinds of mistakes. Unless they were powerful enough not to need a weapon or armor at all. Damn. He was going to regret this later, but Sharpe was right- he needed rent money.

The man was slammed by a kick to rival any horse and he felt the shield dent some as he was pushed backwards by the powerful kick. But Frank, through experience, knew not to underestimate a foe and had decided to move with the blow rather than try to fully block it's force. Iaemor hadn't exactly made it hard to see his kick coming so Frank took the boot against his shield and pushed off at an angle instead of directly back at the demon. Casting his leg outward and reducing the force pushing through his shield. He skidded back in the sandy floor of course but his sword arm was still free to act.

"Damn super strength, Frank you gonna poke him back or just stand there with a dumb grin?" The annoyed voice seemed to come from the sword and, as it had requested the human swung the sharp blade forward to slice at Iaemor's stationary leg as the man spun slightly from the kick.
 

Steven

Well-Known Member
Inactive
Jan 6, 2017
677
Posting Status
Weekly
Iaemor was taken off-guard when his Frank wasn't knocked off balance, and instead moved with the a kick before diverting the momentum of his foot sideways by pushing towards the side instead of trying to push directly against the hit. As he started to spin a little to the side, he heard a voice telling the man to attack, which in turn acted as a warning for Iaemor to move.

Though still off balance, Iaemor bent his knee still in contact with the ground and pushed back hard. To take a short hop backwards, if he hadn't of move it would have hit directly but his greater speed meant he managed to mostly get out of the way. Instead only the tip of the blade glancing across his leg. Even though the blade looked somewhat in disrepair, it was still sharp enough to cut the cloth of his pants and slice against his flesh. While he was in most meaning of the word immortal, he was not invulnerable.

Landing a couple feet back, a gash was left down his side of his leg. "That actually hurt." He muttered, but his tone was more angry then pained. Luckily while he was not invulnerable he was tough and resilient. The wound did indeed hurt but was by no mean's serious, though it would slow his running speed a little. In truth it hurt more then he would have expected a normal blade to do so. Still the sword was the man's only real means to inflict damage, as the force that had been behind the swing told Iaemor that if Frank was reduced to punches and kick they would do little.

So Iaemor pushed in once more, with his hand raise this time. One hand aiming to try and grab at his sword arm, while the other to stop him using the shield. He figured if Frank was disarmed he would easily win. Not just because the sword was his main weapon, but also because it had seem to instruct his opponent what to do.
 

PixelatedGlory

Mmm oderator
Moderator
Mar 30, 2018
2,988
East Coast, USA
Gender
Male
Pronouns
He/Him
Posting Status
Daily
The blade failed to cause significant damage, but the drawing of blood and the apparent strength of the demon's kick seemed to at least draw interest from the crowd. There wasn't quite cheering, but they were watching.

Frank grinned a little at drawing first blood but he didn't need Sharpe to warn him that this was just beginning. He dug his feet into the sand for traction and crouched slightly to ready himself for the next blow. Unfortunately for him his was not nearly quick enough to strike before his right arm was seized by the far stronger demon. He tried to use the shield to batter at him as well but that was stopped too. If it had been simply held maybe he could have dropped it and tried to slip beneath Iaemor's arms to strike but it was strapped on. He kicked out at Iaemor's shin and prepared for what the demon was about to do.

"Yeah, swords do that. Maybe... don't get cut," Frank jeered, failing to find an intelligent insult to tuck into his words. Sharpe usually did a lot better at that but the sword wasn't helping with the one-liners today.

Sharpe could have warned him that the larger demon was probably poised to disarm him. Heck, had this been a death fight the disarming probably would even be literal. But Sharpe kept silent and waited. Amused to see what Iaemor did next and also plotting a few things on their own end. No one ever said this was a perfectly fair fight, after all. And Sharpe wanted to at least make the demon leave with a few regrets for being cocky enough to waltz into a fight with no protection at all.
 

Steven

Well-Known Member
Inactive
Jan 6, 2017
677
Posting Status
Weekly
Iaemor would come in, his first hand coming to grab Franks hand holding the sword. Not only did he squeeze tightly, grinding his fingers against the sword handle but he would start to twist his hand to the side. Not a method of trying to directly disarm him, but to inflict enough pain on Frank hand and wrist that his grip would loosen, only once he could feel Frank's finger no longer hold on to the sword would Iaemor let go of them and allow the sword to fall to the ground at both of their feet.

His other hand would have grabbed the edge of Franks shield. Unlike his first hand. It purpose was purely to hold the shield arm aside. To prevent him from using it to get in the way of the other, nor allow him to try and use is it to smash his other to arm so he would let go of his sword hand. Iaemor would smirk looking up at Frank before pulling his head back.

The smarter course of action now, would be to wait until his disarming attempt was through, or maybe to use a leg to try and sweep Franks legs out from under him while he would find it hard to get away and kicked at his own leg with little effect. However Iaemor instead brought his head forward down and forward quickly. In an attempt to headbutt the other fighter. It was a brawler mentality, brought on by both a lack of training, his over reliance on physical force and down to a growing annoyance at Frank having taunted him, as if he was an idiot for being shocked at being hurt.
 

PixelatedGlory

Mmm oderator
Moderator
Mar 30, 2018
2,988
East Coast, USA
Gender
Male
Pronouns
He/Him
Posting Status
Daily
Frank strained and struggled to break free but couldn't budge Iaemor's grip. His kick failed to accomplish much and he could tell his head was wide open with no hands to block any blows.

Without further hesitation he kept go of the sword and let it fall to the sand below, ducking his head back and pulling his right arm free to defend himself as soon as it was released by Iaemor. He succeeded in avoiding a literal head to head confrontation but took Iaemor's headbutt to the shoulder and there was a rush of pain from the area as he gasped and reeled. Desperately he scrabbled for the straps on his shield arm with the other hand so he could escape the clutches of this monster.

Sharpe remained motionless on the ground biding their time. This was interesting, and they wanted to wait for the perfect moment to screw with both Frank for being a buffoon and Iaemor for being too cocky. He was fighting like he already had won and Frank was powerless to stop him. Well maybe Frank by himself was pretty powerless, but he did have Sharpe for better or worse and the imp revelled in plotting what they might do while the demon distracts himself with Frank the 'Tank'.
 

Steven

Well-Known Member
Inactive
Jan 6, 2017
677
Posting Status
Weekly
Iaemor smirked again as Franks grip dropped on the blade and he used the slight freedom that granted to prevent Iaemor's headbutt from being as devastating as it otherwise would have been. Chuckling to himself as Frank desperately moved to remove the shield straps to get away from him. Iaemor acted slowly, giving Frank time to get the shield off and back away from him. Than he would nonchalantly throw the large disc over his shoulder it landing a few meters away, Iaemor even turning to look over his shoulder to see how far back away it did. Far enough away that Frank would struggle to reach and reclaim it.

It was only then Iaemor went on the move again. Following up after Frank at a walk to start. His smirk turning a little more menacing. Iaemor by most demon standards wasn't bad but he couldn't help but get a rise out of the feeling a superiority and was glad to play it up. Than he would pounce. Using a burst of speed to rush after Frank and now unarmed felt no reservations at being vastly more direct in doing so. As he reached him, Iaemor would crouch low and tackle Frank and lift him of his feet and over his shoulder. Iaemor than spun around, one full 360 degree rotation before letting the man go. It wasn't truely a throw, more of a unceremoniously dropping of him to the ground and allowing gravity to do the work for him.
 

PixelatedGlory

Mmm oderator
Moderator
Mar 30, 2018
2,988
East Coast, USA
Gender
Male
Pronouns
He/Him
Posting Status
Daily
Frank only backed away so far. It wasnt like there was much to be gained by going any further. He crouched down to fix a loose leather strap on one leg and then saw the demon taunting him in his own way. Grinning and prolonging his approach. He could have done it right then- called Sharpe back to his hand and thus been prepared to fight again. But did the Imp have a plan? Just lying in the dirt wasnt really the imp's style after all.

Maybe... oops too late. Iaemor was lunging so fast Frank didn't have the time to finish strategizing. Besides, his hands were full already. Literally. As the demon hoisted him up towards his shoulder Frank cast his hands out and flung the sand he'd surreptitiously grabbed while leaning down right towards the demon's eyes. A dirty move but oh well.

Unfortunately for Frank you dont need eyes to spin a man around and have him be flung off fairly far.

The man tumbled and bounced painfully in the sand and only after he skidded to a halt did he slowly crawl back up to his feet. And that was when Sharpe made their move. They had been slowly working their way closer to the fight as Iamore toyed with Frank and then ultimately was fully distracted by his over the top wrestling move. Perfect.

Sharpe drifted up behind Iaemor and returned to imp form. "Yo John Cena, didn't see this coming did ya?" They exclaimed with malice and glee as they raked their sharp steel claws across Iaemor's shoulder and the side of his face. Aiming for pain, but more importantly giving him a taste of disgrace. With that done they began to float around his head annoyingly and in solid steel form with their horns, claws and teeth ready to pierce any hands that tried to get too grabby.
 
Forgot your password?