Rain begins to fall through ash and smoke. What was once a neighborhood close to the harbor, is now a jagged skeleton of concrete and flame. The ground still trembles under the might of blood thirsty gods. Gold rank vampires still ravaging the network in the bloodfarm. In the rubble of the neighborhood, screams echo. Not just monsters but people. Two children, a women and an injured soldier, defending them. They are trapped beneath a collapsed bus stop canopy. He moves through the wreckage. A massive form. Taking shape against the smoke. His armor torn open at the shoulder, blood running down his arm. In both hands, he carries a cleaver made of red steel, to large for a man to wield. He grins through bloody teeth at the survivors “Alright little ones. You stay a moment longer with that nice soldier while uncle Alex takes care of the monsters.”
Something growls, wet and hungry from the smoke. A ghoul, a twisted vampire thrall drops from a shattered balcony, claws outstretched. Alexander pivots around. The cleaver swinging upward faster than something that heavy should move. It strikes the ghoul with the sound of steel cutting bone. Its torso separates from its legs as it lands with a wet sound. Another comes, then three more. He feels wrath building up within him as the street turns in to a slaughterhouse. “Keep them safe” he says and Virelle separates from his skin. The long thorned bloodseeker vine rooting itself to the ground. Ready to strike out at anything that comes to close.
He moves in, Avalanche of Wrath engaging together with his other abilities.
Ability: Avalanche of Wrath (Might)
(Momentum assault, escalating power, disruptive force)
Base cost: Low
Current rank: Bronze
Cooldown: medium
Iron, Gathering Momentum: Activate to advance steadily. Movement is slow, but power and damage reduction increase each second in motion. Melee strikes slightly boost attack damage and stagger.
Bronze, Rolling Descent: Momentum builds faster, increasing movement and attack speed. Strikes and kills extend duration slightly. releases a small shockwave proportional to momentum stacks when it ends.
Stacking momentum and wrath, with every step he makes, every strike he makes, every hit he takes. Boosting him, his strength and attack speed rising, first to high bronze than low silver. Hemorrhage Wave slicing through Iron rank ghouls like weed. Every kill splashing red across his armor and face. And every drop makes his aura grow brighter. It starts as a red and white glow as wrath stacks build but grows brighter and brighter as he gets more and more stack, only dimming when he feeds stacks in Devouring Crescendo to kill lesser vampires that come in to the mix.
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Ability: Devouring Crescendo (wrath)
(Offensive / True Damage Finisher / Wrath-Boostable)
Base cost: High Mana
Current rank: bronze
Cooldown: Medium
Iron, Finishing Strike: Single devastating strike dealing true damage that scales moderately with the target’s missing health. Visual: Blade of transcendent light falls from above and impales the enemy
Bronze, Crushing Echo: Strike can now hit multiple enemies with transcendent arcs of lightning, damage scales with missing health and delivers minor area impact.
His breath becomes ragged, his pupils dilated as he struggles to contain the power in him. Static barks in his radio “all units fall back! Repeat, fall back! Perimeter is collapsing. Genoa is lost!”
He hears it but does not stop. He can't. The civilians are still behind him. Trapped, scared, helpless. He spits blood and grins wider “yeah yeah... just five more minutes.” he says.
More Thralls pour in between the ruins. A wave of feral body's, eyes glowing with hunger and madness. He meets them head on, a breakwater against a rampaging tide of violence. Laughing, roaring. Each hit makes him faster, each wound stronger. Dark veins bulge as flakes of skin peal of him. His body falling apart under the power his essences push in to him. A halo of bright red and whiten surrounding him. With each strike his cleaver screams under the stress as body's burst under it.
Time distorts under the onslaught. Raindrops hang motionless for a heartbeat before bursting against his swings. The sound of his laughter twists, deeper, layered and distorted by the power raging in him. He does not know how long he fights. How long he has to. How long he can. He just does. Then, a flicker. His grip slips, the tip of the cleaver sinks in to the blood red ground. His laughter falters, replaced by a choked gasp. He looks down at his hands. His fingers shaking uncontrollably, the skin hanging loose from them. “Not yet” its barely a whisper “Not while they're still breathing” He drags himself forward, using the massive blade to gain moment, his body screaming with strain, his muscles tear and knit back together in the same breath. His regeneration fueled by madness and violence. His body turns as he rips the cleaver from the ground. The momentum bringing it around. One more, then another. Ghouls fall. In a defiant roar he brings the cleaver up, then down again. An arc of transcendent light incinerates the final ghoul and sends corpses flying. Then silence.
Corpses litter the streets but nothing moves. The soldier, healed by Virelle helps the civilians to crawl free. The Children sob quietly. Alexander stands there motionless, barely able to breath. His cleaver still buried in the cracked asphalt. Rain hissing against the blade. His body trembles as though the rage was still there, clawing for release. He forces a smile Blood dripping from his face. His own, that of the ghouls. He does not know. He does not care. “Told you I'd handle it” his voice is calm, almost tender as he speaks to the children. One of the children, still holding on to the women looks at him and whispers. “Mister, your eyes... they're red?” his hand reaches for his face. “Are they now?” he laughs softly “well that's new”
A distant scream echoes through the air. Melissas wail, far away, shaking the ground even here. The soldier looks around fearful as the children cling harder to the women, Alexander smiles, proud. “That's my girl” He exhales, finally collapses to his knees, his aura flickering then dimming.
