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Description
Haruks slammed into the floor hard, sending up sprays of dusts and earth. He reared up onto his newly formed skeletal legs, towering over the bewildered pair and letting out a roar that shook them to thier core.
"Ciarra! Go, Ill handle him!" Cluny yelled, but the look in Ciarras eyes spelt out her reluctance.
"I wont leave you alone against that thing!" She yelled but Cluny shook his head.
"Theres more at stake here than just us! You need to get through the Sorrows to stop Shialla! We cant waste any more manpower! I'll take him down and catch up! Destroy the stone if you can, just go!" He yelled and with a grimace she nodded and ran on.

Haruks made no attempt to stop Ciarra as she barreled past him, merely flicking the huge skeletal tail into the floor.
"Go on ahead, I'll be right after you once I'm done here" Haruks called after her, his gaze firmly fixed on Cluny.
"You look like you've been dragged through the demon realm by your face, things not been going too well for you since last time?" Cluny taunted. Haruks held a boned hand to the jagged scar that ran down his face, over where his eye had been.
"I know you've been targetting my friends to get me to show myself. You should've just found me. I wasnt running from you" He continued, sizing up his opponent.
"They didnt turn out to be such easy prey, did they? Jovanni...Faigel...Ciarra...tell me, which one was it that made you finally turn tail? Who took your eye?" Cluny sneered and at the mention of his lost eye, Haruk lunged for Cluny, clawed arms extended, ready to kill.

Cluny rolled aside and flicked his hand out, sending a jagged bolt of shadow at Haruks. The spell bounced harmlessly off of the bone now covering Haruks and he lashed out again, this time swinging his tail and aiming to cleave Cluny in half with the cleaver attached to the end. Cluny ducked this but lost control of his momentum and staggered backwards, lacking on his backside. The cleaver on Haruks tail flashed as it swung down, landing inches from where Cluny was sat. Scrambling backwards Cluny aimed his hand at the floor this time, striking the ground and sending up a dustcloud which masked his location. He dove for a nearby statue and crouched, hidden from view.

"Come on, think, think, your spells dont hurt him, how can I beat him? Theres got to be something simple Im overlooking, something basic" Cluny muttered to himself.
"Not so smart now are we, Cluny? Reconsidering your position?" Haruks bellowed from out of view. Cluny winced as he heard the sound of Haruks lashing out and smashing a nearby statue to rubble. The surrounding area was littered with them, offering plenty of places to hide but they wouldnt withstand more than a single blow from the monstrous strength Haruks now had. He held out both his hands and huge rib-like bones burst from the floor randomly, toppling several statues, including the one Cluny was hidden behind. Gasping, he darted out and on sight, the bones began to converge on his location. Haruks held up one hand and the bones instantly burst into dust which flowed through the air effortlessly and gathered above where Cluny was running. It formed a massive spiked ball and began to orbit around Haruks. The bones on Haruks arms began to grow and as he gestured with his arm they fired like spikes, whizzing past Clunys head. Cluny fired several bolts at the floor around Haruks feet to obscure his vision but narrowly avoided bieng struck by the gigantic bone orb that was picking up speed as it lazily orbited Haruks. Cluny clambered onto the statue nearest and hid.
"I know you're conserving your mana for the battle ahead with Shialla, so you wont use any of your summoning abilities, but with your shadow spells useless and your storm pendant inside of me, you have no way to even hurt me! Give up and I may only rip off your head!" Haruks roared, his voice amplified by some unseen magical force. Cluny stayed perfectly still, the taunts hitting home harder than possibly even Haruks intended. He was absolutely right, he HAD to save his strength for facing down Shialla but without demons and his storm pendant he was useless.

Then it hit him. The answer he'd been fumbling for so desperately had been staring him in the face. The critical fatal mistake Haruks had made in thier prior encounter, that moment of ego when Haruks devoured Clunys hand along with his storm pendant had sealed his fate. Cluny grinned viciously. He could win this.
"How about you surrender and I promise I wont kill you!" Cluny called out and was thrown to the floor as Haruks extended his boned arms to the sound, crumbling the statue and knocking Cluny down.
"Your desperation is unbecoming, Cluny. Even as hopeless as your situation is, that joke fell flat." Haruks snarled. Cluny lay perfectly still as the bone orb flew past him, now dangerously fast.
"On the contrary, Ive already won!" Cluny yelled and rolled behind the next nearest statue, one of two women holding each other up wearily.
"Fear is driving you mad!" Haruks screamed and began to flail wildly, slicing and bludgeoning anything within reach, He moved swiftly, indiscriminately crushing whatever his bladed tail didnt slice apart.
"Maybe, but stupidity has sealed your fate! I mean it, give up!" Cluny yelled again. He held his hand to his mouth and spoke into it quietly. He held his hand out and a yellow orb rotated slowly there. He rolled it away, the ball coming to a rest some twenty feet away.
"You're always trying to obtain such massive power, you're always grasping for the most strength you can obtain regardless of the sacrifice you make to get it!" Cluny called but his voice came now from the ball. He rolled away again and ran, still taunting Haruks.

"You're so obsessed with bieng superior that you ignore the basics!" Clunys voice echoed again. Haruks held out both of his hands and a purple summoning circle formed in midair. A huge snakelike skull burst out, gouging up the floor where Clunys voice had came from.
"Look at you, you're bieng outsmarted by a childs prank! I learned this spell as a child with my little brother! We'd torment our nanny with it!" Cluny called out, his voice now originating from the snake head. It burst into dust and Haruks moved his hands, reforming it in midair into a long serrated blade. He swung it and it tore through the air, leaving nothing standing in an arc around him.
"You ignore the basics and theyre whats going to seal your defeat! Last chance! Give up!" Cluny yelled. He'd angered Haruks enough, if he was going to make a go of his plan he had to do it soon.
"Enlighten me, o master of magic, how I've beaten myself if you're so sure!" Haruks snarled.
"I can finish this fight in two spells and one gesture, give up! Remove your armour and stand down! Theres too much at stake here for us to waste time squabbling!" Cluny yelled. Frankly this was only half true, if he had a chance to take down Haruks once and for all, he was going to take it.
"Never! You think Im here because of that whores machinations? I dont give a damn! I want you! I want to tear you to pieces and only then will my future be secure!" Haruks screamed and Cluny realised there may have been more to this than pure revenge. But he couldnt waste more time.
"Last chance before I finish you!" Cluny yelled and stepped out from behind cover.

"You're annoying me now Cluny, but I'm a fair man. Here, you can even have a free shot, let me see how your basics can defeat me! I dare you!" Haruks growled and stood squaring off to Cluny, making himself as broad a target as possible.
"You know what I learned in my second class at magic academy? A pretty inconsequential spell but convinient nonetheless" Cluny said and Haruks reared up, unphased.
"What, pray tell is that?" He asked, supremely confident. Nothing Cluny had up his sleeve could penetrate his armour and his power.
"Remote artifact activation" Cluny said and placed his hands together then motioned toward Haruks. He had enough time to widen his remaining eye in horror before the lightning bolt struck him, instantly shattering the armour covering his left shoulder and severing his arm. Unable to reach the storm pendant that was sealed within him, the lightning struck again and again and again until it reached its target. Haruks hung, supported by his bone armoured legs but split down the middle from his shoulder to his waist.
"The second spell, artifact manipulation" Cluny said and the storm pendant, in its transformed form, burst from Haruks now severed torso and attached to Clunys arm. His eyes now glowing a dazzling white, Cluny pulled the trigger.

The blast of energy struck Haruks square on and obliterated his armour. The bone orb dropped to the floor and began to harmlessly waste away. Haruks was blown totally off of his feet and came to a rest after several rolls, face down in the mud, blood gushing from both his wounded body and his mouth. He spat an unintelligible word and shuddered, lying dead. Cluny deactivated his storm pendant and returned it to its place around his neck.
"I even got to fire it mana free thanks to your stupidity. Its over" Cluny sneered and began to raise his hand to strike the killing blow when a massive explosion over the horizon caught his attention.
"Ciarra!" He yelled and ran, leaving Haruks in pieces on the floor, the steady flow of crimson now a massive pool around him.

Description
Haruks slammed into the floor hard, sending up sprays of dusts and earth. He reared up onto his newly formed skeletal legs, towering over the bewildered pair and letting out a roar that shook them to thier core.
"Ciarra! Go, Ill handle him!" Cluny yelled, but the look in Ciarras eyes spelt out her reluctance.
"I wont leave you alone against that thing!" She yelled but Cluny shook his head.
"Theres more at stake here than just us! You need to get through the Sorrows to stop Shialla! We cant waste any more manpower! I'll take him down and catch up! Destroy the stone if you can, just go!" He yelled and with a grimace she nodded and ran on.

Haruks made no attempt to stop Ciarra as she barreled past him, merely flicking the huge skeletal tail into the floor.
"Go on ahead, I'll be right after you once I'm done here" Haruks called after her, his gaze firmly fixed on Cluny.
"You look like you've been dragged through the demon realm by your face, things not been going too well for you since last time?" Cluny taunted. Haruks held a boned hand to the jagged scar that ran down his face, over where his eye had been.
"I know you've been targetting my friends to get me to show myself. You should've just found me. I wasnt running from you" He continued, sizing up his opponent.
"They didnt turn out to be such easy prey, did they? Jovanni...Faigel...Ciarra...tell me, which one was it that made you finally turn tail? Who took your eye?" Cluny sneered and at the mention of his lost eye, Haruk lunged for Cluny, clawed arms extended, ready to kill.

Cluny rolled aside and flicked his hand out, sending a jagged bolt of shadow at Haruks. The spell bounced harmlessly off of the bone now covering Haruks and he lashed out again, this time swinging his tail and aiming to cleave Cluny in half with the cleaver attached to the end. Cluny ducked this but lost control of his momentum and staggered backwards, lacking on his backside. The cleaver on Haruks tail flashed as it swung down, landing inches from where Cluny was sat. Scrambling backwards Cluny aimed his hand at the floor this time, striking the ground and sending up a dustcloud which masked his location. He dove for a nearby statue and crouched, hidden from view.

"Come on, think, think, your spells dont hurt him, how can I beat him? Theres got to be something simple Im overlooking, something basic" Cluny muttered to himself.
"Not so smart now are we, Cluny? Reconsidering your position?" Haruks bellowed from out of view. Cluny winced as he heard the sound of Haruks lashing out and smashing a nearby statue to rubble. The surrounding area was littered with them, offering plenty of places to hide but they wouldnt withstand more than a single blow from the monstrous strength Haruks now had. He held out both his hands and huge rib-like bones burst from the floor randomly, toppling several statues, including the one Cluny was hidden behind. Gasping, he darted out and on sight, the bones began to converge on his location. Haruks held up one hand and the bones instantly burst into dust which flowed through the air effortlessly and gathered above where Cluny was running. It formed a massive spiked ball and began to orbit around Haruks. The bones on Haruks arms began to grow and as he gestured with his arm they fired like spikes, whizzing past Clunys head. Cluny fired several bolts at the floor around Haruks feet to obscure his vision but narrowly avoided bieng struck by the gigantic bone orb that was picking up speed as it lazily orbited Haruks. Cluny clambered onto the statue nearest and hid.
"I know you're conserving your mana for the battle ahead with Shialla, so you wont use any of your summoning abilities, but with your shadow spells useless and your storm pendant inside of me, you have no way to even hurt me! Give up and I may only rip off your head!" Haruks roared, his voice amplified by some unseen magical force. Cluny stayed perfectly still, the taunts hitting home harder than possibly even Haruks intended. He was absolutely right, he HAD to save his strength for facing down Shialla but without demons and his storm pendant he was useless.

Then it hit him. The answer he'd been fumbling for so desperately had been staring him in the face. The critical fatal mistake Haruks had made in thier prior encounter, that moment of ego when Haruks devoured Clunys hand along with his storm pendant had sealed his fate. Cluny grinned viciously. He could win this.
"How about you surrender and I promise I wont kill you!" Cluny called out and was thrown to the floor as Haruks extended his boned arms to the sound, crumbling the statue and knocking Cluny down.
"Your desperation is unbecoming, Cluny. Even as hopeless as your situation is, that joke fell flat." Haruks snarled. Cluny lay perfectly still as the bone orb flew past him, now dangerously fast.
"On the contrary, Ive already won!" Cluny yelled and rolled behind the next nearest statue, one of two women holding each other up wearily.
"Fear is driving you mad!" Haruks screamed and began to flail wildly, slicing and bludgeoning anything within reach, He moved swiftly, indiscriminately crushing whatever his bladed tail didnt slice apart.
"Maybe, but stupidity has sealed your fate! I mean it, give up!" Cluny yelled again. He held his hand to his mouth and spoke into it quietly. He held his hand out and a yellow orb rotated slowly there. He rolled it away, the ball coming to a rest some twenty feet away.
"You're always trying to obtain such massive power, you're always grasping for the most strength you can obtain regardless of the sacrifice you make to get it!" Cluny called but his voice came now from the ball. He rolled away again and ran, still taunting Haruks.

"You're so obsessed with bieng superior that you ignore the basics!" Clunys voice echoed again. Haruks held out both of his hands and a purple summoning circle formed in midair. A huge snakelike skull burst out, gouging up the floor where Clunys voice had came from.
"Look at you, you're bieng outsmarted by a childs prank! I learned this spell as a child with my little brother! We'd torment our nanny with it!" Cluny called out, his voice now originating from the snake head. It burst into dust and Haruks moved his hands, reforming it in midair into a long serrated blade. He swung it and it tore through the air, leaving nothing standing in an arc around him.
"You ignore the basics and theyre whats going to seal your defeat! Last chance! Give up!" Cluny yelled. He'd angered Haruks enough, if he was going to make a go of his plan he had to do it soon.
"Enlighten me, o master of magic, how I've beaten myself if you're so sure!" Haruks snarled.
"I can finish this fight in two spells and one gesture, give up! Remove your armour and stand down! Theres too much at stake here for us to waste time squabbling!" Cluny yelled. Frankly this was only half true, if he had a chance to take down Haruks once and for all, he was going to take it.
"Never! You think Im here because of that whores machinations? I dont give a damn! I want you! I want to tear you to pieces and only then will my future be secure!" Haruks screamed and Cluny realised there may have been more to this than pure revenge. But he couldnt waste more time.
"Last chance before I finish you!" Cluny yelled and stepped out from behind cover.

"You're annoying me now Cluny, but I'm a fair man. Here, you can even have a free shot, let me see how your basics can defeat me! I dare you!" Haruks growled and stood squaring off to Cluny, making himself as broad a target as possible.
"You know what I learned in my second class at magic academy? A pretty inconsequential spell but convinient nonetheless" Cluny said and Haruks reared up, unphased.
"What, pray tell is that?" He asked, supremely confident. Nothing Cluny had up his sleeve could penetrate his armour and his power.
"Remote artifact activation" Cluny said and placed his hands together then motioned toward Haruks. He had enough time to widen his remaining eye in horror before the lightning bolt struck him, instantly shattering the armour covering his left shoulder and severing his arm. Unable to reach the storm pendant that was sealed within him, the lightning struck again and again and again until it reached its target. Haruks hung, supported by his bone armoured legs but split down the middle from his shoulder to his waist.
"The second spell, artifact manipulation" Cluny said and the storm pendant, in its transformed form, burst from Haruks now severed torso and attached to Clunys arm. His eyes now glowing a dazzling white, Cluny pulled the trigger.

The blast of energy struck Haruks square on and obliterated his armour. The bone orb dropped to the floor and began to harmlessly waste away. Haruks was blown totally off of his feet and came to a rest after several rolls, face down in the mud, blood gushing from both his wounded body and his mouth. He spat an unintelligible word and shuddered, lying dead. Cluny deactivated his storm pendant and returned it to its place around his neck.
"I even got to fire it mana free thanks to your stupidity. Its over" Cluny sneered and began to raise his hand to strike the killing blow when a massive explosion over the horizon caught his attention.
"Ciarra!" He yelled and ran, leaving Haruks in pieces on the floor, the steady flow of crimson now a massive pool around him.