The time is now

[Anastasia]

"If he's on the verge of death," Jessica's voice is soft, "Then I understand how he defeated Mystra."

"Have faith," Antenora says a loud, her hand finding Alicia's shoulder.

[Ebiris]

"All we can do is watch and hope. As no doubt a great many others are..." Alicia says, still a large part of her wishing it could be her confronting the gnome down there.

[Anastasia]

> roll 1d100
<Rei-chan> Kotono rolled : 1d100 --> [ 1d100=13 ]{13}

And from there, chaos. A pulse of power shatters the temple instantly, debris exploding outward.

Oberuth ignores them, pierced a dozen times yet the stone falls out of his body, wounds gone before a single drop of blood is spilled.

Marianne surrounds herself in a shell of ice, curling up as she defends herself, untouched by the assault.

Lyris simply dodges, a shard of stone ripping into her side, blood falling as she hurls darts. They bounce off his armor harmlessly amid the storm of stone and shrapnel. She stays moving, leaping from chunk to chunk of stone as it collapses.

In a blink Oberuth is before him, sword coming - only for a spectral copy of the Second Resort to appear in the God-King's hand, a loud CLANG of a perfect parry.

Amid this Marianne escapes her shell and glides back, already chanting arcane words.

The debris begin to fall away and clear, only remnants of the temple intact, shards and ledges hanging in place in the aftermath.

[Ebiris]

Alicia is silent, watching intently and picturing her own responses and tactics if she were taking part in this battle, what she would do and how it might work.

Marie is more talkative though. "Lyris's darts aren't getting through, she'll need to find another way to contribute. Hope Marianne's got something flashy in store..."

[Anastasia]

"How hard is to destroy an entire building like that?" Marchalu asks, "With but a single spell?"

Meanwhile...

> roll 1d100
<Penuche2> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 75 > [d100=75]

For a moment the God-King and Oberuth are locked, blade to blade. As they struggle, "Your sword's better than your words," Oberuth growls out.

"I'll not play in this rigged game, human," The God-King retorts, before with a push the two separate. A split second later Marianne intones in creeping, chilling words of power, "Glacier, collapse!"

From above a great glacier appears. Marianne grunts as it overshadows the God-King, slamming down - only for a single word to be uttered. In that instant the glacier shatters into a thousand needles of sharp ice, flying towards Oberuth. They clang against his shield, bounce off his armor, assail his body hopelessly. The few that wound him heal swiftly, cuts and gashes gone in a blink of the eye.

Amid all this Lyris becomes one with the shadows, leaping ahead and behind, past the battle and behind them all.

At this Marianne begins to chant again, words of rumbling power. At the same time Oberuth flips his shield onto his back, one fluid motion that undoes straps and supports, slotting it in place. His free hand draws another blade - the Second Resort.

[Ebiris]

"There were stories of Afina levelling a devil fortress on Lifasa towards the end of their crusade," Alicia tells Marchalu as she watches. "Marie might do almost as well with her true meteor swarm, but it wouldn't just explode like that."

"It would be like stepping on a sandcastle rather than having it detonate from within," Marie agrees from atop Alicia's head. "Like Marianne's spell just now actually."

"You know I always worried there might be a trick with the Resorts, that they might turn against us in the final battle. Or that Daa-vid would have some way to influence or more easily attack anyone who'd used gnomish spellgems like Seira had," Alicia goes on as the battle continues and Oberuth switches to dual-wielding. "Right now though it's just power against power..."

[Anastasia]

"The Second Resort," The God-King pauses as everyone watches, his voice harsh.

Oberuth raises the blade in a salute to the armored gnome, vanishing and appearing, closing in once more.

> roll 1d100
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 84 > [d100=84]

Marianne grows mightier, the ghostly image of a tarrasque momentarily imposed over her. She is taller now, standing straight and ready. As this happens and Oberuth closes in? The God-King sails back, a leap as he turns and darts to back - right at Lyris, her eyes widening as his armored glove touches her arm. A scream from Lyris as that arm becomes a writhing green snake, writing and sinking its fangs into Lyris's neck, her own arm in open rebellion against her.

"Lyris!" Marianne calls, flying forward rapidly, but Oberuth is faster. He's there, blades swinging - and this time the God-King dodges fast, the moment the Second Resort is seen. Bands of glittering gemstone appear with nary a word or gesture, flying towards Oberuth. Yet with a swing of both blades, most of the bands are shattered, and only one survives to latch onto his upper leg. It bands on tight, cutting and barely drawing blood, pushed out as the wound heals.

[Ebiris]

Alicia winces as one act effectively removes Lyris from the fight. She hopes she can come back from it but now it seems like it's purely down to Oberuth and Marianne. "I don't like how close this is getting..."

[Anastasia]

"It's too close," Antenora breathes, "I don't think he has an answer for Oberuth yet, but the other two are in trouble."

"Faith," Latha says in a single word, "We'll see this through until the end.

> roll 1d100
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 63 > [d100=63]

Amid the ruins of the temple Oberuth appears again, pursuing the God-King. He pushes him back, Second Resort slashing at him, dodged again and again. Meanwhile Marianne reaches Lyris and gestures quickly, a twisting wrench as her arm returns to normal. Lyris slumps to her knees, being noisily sick before rising, shaking, but rising.

"You have the others?" The God King sneers at that, while Oberuth just smiles grimly.

"I don't need your tools to end you, monster," Oberuth says, "But I'll let you see them one more time, when it's buried in your gut."

With a clash the two meet again. Phantasm on reality, magic against solid. Two Second Resorts meet, a loud whine of stressing metal as the two collide. The God-King again parries, hand going up and shining with magic - only to stop, spellfire fading from his hand. His hand goes up to catch a thrown dart, Lyirs glaring defiance at him.

[Ebiris]

"We always knew it would never be easy. Hope Marianne didn't have to use a wish to fix Lyris there..." Marie says, watching intently.

[Anastasia]

Syala's hand is in yours, assuring as...

> roll 1d100
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 77 > [d100=77]

Intensification.

There's no words this time, but the God-King blinks back and away. Dozens of bursts of gemstone bright light erupt amid the heroes, the soft, crystalline TING of gemstones being struck also heard.

Oberuth charges, taking his srikes. Parts of him are turned to shattering crystal, only to regrow as he goes, hale and hearty flesh returning. As he charges in, the rest of the bursts clear. A gemstone colored shield of ice crumbles away, revealing Lyris and Marianne behind it, untouched. In that moment Marianne utters a roar of magic, suddenly moving blurringly fast. She's like a dart at the God-King, her rapier alight with arcane fire. She lunges, so fast that her strike makes contact with his armor, thrusting in. It's a grazing shoulder wound, a sudden and furious charge of tremendous speed. A moment later there's a tremendous crackle of collapsing magic, a dispel ripping through the God-King.

As in the background Lyris leaps from debris to debris, closing in and staying away from the others? Oberuth darts in and raises the Second Resort in a sublimely fast slash, coming down. This time the God-King doesn't try and dodge. He bulls forward, the weapon only grazing his side. He reaches out and touches Marianne's chest.

"Wha-" Marianne manages, a soft cry. The sound of breaking crystal.

Chunks of crystal slowly fall from Marianne's chest, her chest and heart now nothing but crumbling crystal. Marianne's eyes go wide at this, a few gasped words, the beginning of a counter.

It's then that steel spikes follow up from within the wound. She is impaled a dozen times from the inside out, spike tips jutting out from her body all over. All Marianne can do is softly exhale one last time before she slumps and falls, plummeting away, her rapier still trailing spellfire.

[Ebiris]

"Oh no!" Marie gasps, hands going to her mouth.

Alicia closes her eyes a moment, squeezing Syala's hand. With how she's spent her second chance, Marianne deserved better. Lyris and the others who's lives she's touched deserved better. She'll have to check with Demedais after this where she goes to, but presumably Seira will claim her if none other. But she might just be the first, as their odds have gotten a lot worse, tilting the scales against Oberuth and Lyris now.

[Anastasia]

Antenora bows her head, "Thank you, Marianne."

Syala's grip on your hand becomes crushing, enough to be painful. Her gaze is narrow now, not a word uttered.

"A hero's death," Strength of Light says, "She will be honored for it."

Meanwhile...

> roll 1d100
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 71 > [d100=71]

A flash. Another dart? Lyris's gaze is deadly calm now as the God-King reaches up to snatch it - and the Third Resort stabs hard into his hand, through the palm and sticking out the other side. A grunt of pain from the God-King as Oberuth takes that moment, Second Resort coming for the God-King's arm.

Yet the gnome is too fast, dodging even in pain - and right into Oberuth's fist, denting his helmet's faceguard from fist and the hilt of Tears, his free hand going up to strike a blow. The bones in Oberuth's hand loudly break, but visibly begin to resume the proper position, healing away. This impact knocks the God-King back a step, head snapping back.

For that moment, for that one moment, Oberuth has the advantage. His foot comes up and he kicks the God-King back, boot connecting with armored stomach. The gnome is pushed back even further from that - until with a bright flash of light, Oberuth is momentarily blinded, a grunt of pain. The God-King dives back as Lyris shields her eyes - and passes by her. His hand lashes out, a sharp, large gemstone shoved into her ear, seemingly produced from nowhere.

A split second later a burst of pure sonic fury erupts around Lyris's head. A horrible curtain of blood, obscuring all...until it clears. Most of Lyris's left face is gone, blood pouring - but she's up, surviving eye glaring malevolently at the God-King.

[Ebiris]

"Hang in there Lyris!" Marie calls nervously.

"The Commander's regeneration is key now," Alicia says, but Lyris doesn't have that advantage, how she can even stay alive never mind coherent and fighting with a wound like that speaks volumes of her endurance and willpower. It'll have to be enough.

[Anastasia]

> roll 1d100
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 18 > [d100=18]

That survival seems to for one moment surprise the God-King. He doesn't react, he doesn't move - and Oberuth is behind him. The God-King whirls, a blur of metal and magic, a word uttered. There is a hellfire inferno that erupts, blocking vision as it immolates everything.

When your vision clears, the Second Resort and Tears are impaled through the God-King's chest, one besides another. The God-King blinks back, sagging, bleeding - but even with his heart pierced, he does not collapse. Oberuth is burnt horribly, blackened all over, yet healing before your eyes. He relentlessly comes forward, vanishing cleanly, a dozen steps at once. With a slow cry, the gnome reaches up, pulling the Second Resort out of his chest. Blood pours but he stands in defiance, blade in hand at last.

Slowly the God-King raises the Second Resort up - only to bring it down, to bat away darts. Somehow Lyris is faster, somehow she's moving, anticipating it perfectly. Lyris charges in with a gurgling, wild scream, coming right at him. She makes no move to dodge the counter thrust, impaled straight through the chest. Yet she doesn't stop. With one half of a grimace her hand darts out, grabbing the Third Resort. She pulls it out of the gnome's hand, and even as her lifeblood pours out, stabs it into the side of the God-King's armored head.

There is a moment as the God King's hand slips off the Second Resort, all before he stumbles back. He falls, Lyris on top of him and flopping to the side as Oberuth reaches there. He picks up the Second Resort and without hesitation, impales the God-King once, twice, thrice.

It's over.

Oberuth drops the blade and kneels by Lyris. She manages to whisper something, unheard, before Oberuth gently places her down to the ground.