Oscar

DHA 4 First Part TW: We're gonna need a flashlight "Look at the time! I have a quest to finish. Let's get this over with," Oscar said. Megin-Fi Talia Asketil Phaedra Adren They had, quite literally, had the misfortune of making Oscar's shit list. To be fair though, only two of them were still on the list. Sorry, three. He hadn't killed Phaedra yet. The lanky man was between a rock and a hard place. You see, it would have been too easy for them to dash back to the city. Oscar had to make things a bit more interesting. As it turned out, setting the forest ablaze with Tesseleth's Fury made it plenty interesting. Now, Phaedra had allowed the flames to push him towards some fallen trees. Try as he might, he couldn't find the handholds to clamber over the felled trunks. Oscar watched from one of the branches of one of the trees that hadn't caught on fire yet. In preparation for the fights to come, Oscar consumed a few buffs and sorted his equipment. Phaedra wasn't going anywhere. Oscar would take his time.

“So here’s what’s going to happen,” Oscar said, shouldering his weapon. “I’m going to be more sporting than you guys were to Jason. We’re gonna play a little game. Whoever manages to outrun me and make it back to the safe zone gets to live another day. Now I need you to understand. I’m gonna be personally scratching your names off the Monument one way or another. But a little more time to get your affairs in order doesn’t seem unreasonable, right? It’s more mercy than you gave my friend. It’s way more than you deserve. But I’d feel bad if I didn’t at least give you a chance.” A lie. He didn’t want to give them a chance. It was their fear he was after. He wanted to own them, mind and soul, before he rid the world of their blight. He would live rent-free in their heads until the moment he saw fit to remove it from their shoulders. Even if they escaped, what they witnessed here would have them looking over their shoulders until Oscar hunted them down like the dogs they were. It wasn’t a mercy. It was only prolonging their torture. “Well? I’d start running if were you.” And so they did. Thread Summary 3 SP [1 bonus, 1 quest, 1 thread] 1,050 Col [400 thread, 650 quest] <<Ghidorah's Opal>>

“Really. It’s just bad tactics. All you had to do was let him go. If you’d done that, maybe I wouldn’t kill all of you. I certainly wouldn’t have killed your friend.” Oscar thought for a moment, or at least made an exaggerated showing of it, all the while digging the blade of his axe into Asketil and gradually lowering his health bar in the process. Finally, realization spread over his face and he snapped his fingers. “I’ve got it! Tyson must have fed you some story about how I’m a ‘good man’ and ‘too nice for my own good.’ Those were his go-to lines in the real world. Problem is, Tyson doesn’t know me. In fact, you guys have gotten a look behind the curtain and know me better than him now.” The constant damage dropped Asketil’s health bar to zero. His screams caught in his throat as he shattered into a thousand pieces. Two down.

Oscar let out a sigh. “Now that I know who you are, this makes things easier,” he said. One of them started to turn like they were going to flee. Oscar was upon them in the blink of an eye, looping Tesseleth’s Fury around their leg and pulled it out from under them. “DON’T YOU FUCKING MOVE!” His roar echoed through the blasted landscape. His sudden command confused their fight or flight response and the rest of the group stood stark still. Perhaps if they did, Oscar wouldn’t feel compelled to end them as he’d done to their leader. Fat chance, but he’d let them have their hope for now. “That idiot had a wife and a newborn daughter. All he wanted was to get out of here so he could see them again. That’s it. I think it’s pretty reasonable. But you guys just had to get at me. But what I don’t get is why you had to kill him.”

One step. Then another. Oscar’s hand shot out, grabbing Megin-Fi by the ankle. He pulled hard, jerking the man’s leg out from under him. As he fell hard on his back, Oscar was on his feet. He rushed forward, Tesseleth’s Fury manifesting in his hand. He slammed the axe down into the man’s chest, burying the blade deep. An explosion of black fire ripped out through the wound, blasting the rest of the ambushers away and utterly destroying Oscar’s target. The Fury of the Tyrant tore through the clearing, searing away the brush and vaporizing the trees. When the flames faded, Oscar had risen to his full height. The blade of Tesseleth’s Fury was buried in the scorch mark that used to be Megin-Fi. The rest of the group looked on in horror as Oscar collected their names from above their heads. Talia Asketil Phaedra Adren

The group numbered five. Oscar recalled Jason’s prior words. How he seemed relieved that Oscar could handle them. At this point, he’d do more than merely “handle” them. He wagered that it wouldn’t take more than a couple hits to kill the lot of them. They supposed their numbers gave them the advantage. Megin-Fi stalked over to him, flanked by the rogue who had just bloodied her blade on Oscar’s friend. “That was easier than I thought,” the giant said. “Boss’s plan was right on the money. Let’s finish the job before that idiot’s paralysis wears off.” IDIOT?! Megin-Fi drew his weapon, stepping closer to Oscar. The others stalked towards him as well. Just a little closer now. There were too many to kill with his AoE. He’d need to blitz one. An his money was on the ringleader. Oscar watched the man’s footfalls intently. Two more steps and he was done. It was taking all of his willpower not to descend on them full of wrath and fury, but he needed the element of surprise.

Oscar was too stunned to move. The callousness of it all. They used him up and then destroyed him. Jason had a wife. A newborn daughter. A family he would never see again. He felt something shift in his chest, breaking. And, as it broke, it created a spark. That spark ignited every facet of his being that Oscar had fought for so long to keep down. His brutality. His cruelty. All of it created an explosion that instantly swallowed up all of his light. Everything good in him - gone in a flash. Ravenously devoured by the darkness until only his basest urges were left. Jason had been a human being. More than that, he had been a friend. A friend who, up until his last moment, did everything in his power to help Oscar. Oscar would make damn sure that he hadn’t died for nothing. Jason might not never see his family again, but his death would ensure that no one else would suffer the same fate.

“Move,” one of the people ordered. “No way. He’s still my friend. I ain’t movin’ until I get your word you’re done with me,” Jason said. One of them, a large man by the name of Megin-Fi, stepped forward. He was easily every bit as tall as Oscar. He glowered down at Jason. To his credit, Jason didn’t shrink a bit. They must have seriously harassed him in order to get the man to turn on Oscar. Oscar had to strain his eyes just to make out the man’s face. The moment they fell upon the malicious grin upon his face, Oscar’s eyes went wide. “That was a poor word choice,” he said. “But yeah, we’re done with you.” A blade shimmered into existence in the air to Jason’s right. Just inside his blind spot. Oscar wasn’t able to react fast enough before it was thrust through Jason’s neck. The blade’s owner quickly appeared as well, a lithe woman holding the weapon backwards in her hand. She turned around, removing the weapon as she did. In one fluid motion, the sword went from being embedded in Jason’s neck to slicing through it. His avatar shimmered for a moment and then shattered. An unceremonious end.

“It’s right up ahead,” Jason said. Just as he said, the brush cleared to reveal a clearing. Jason hung back as Oscar stepped forward. The moment he stepped into the clearing, he felt something dig into his back. “You won’t be moving now, asshole!” Jason yelled. “Come get him!” Oscar fell forward, prone and motionless. Best to play along until he saw what he was dealing with. Four people stepped out from behind some trees. Orange players, all. Everything was coming together now. Tyson had twisted Jason’s arm into luring Oscar into a trap. For whatever reason, however, Jason lost his nerve and tipped Oscar off. Fighting the temptation to hop up and rush them, Oscar just lied there. Unmoving, unblinking. Jason moved in front of Oscar. He had to fight to avoid scowling. Don’t get in the way damn it. You’re not helping! I can’t rush them down if you’re in between us!

“You’re telling me,” Oscar said. “I remember them being scary persuasive.” Oscar had to be careful here. If it appeared like they were passing coded messages to one another, they might wind up both being caught up in whatever Oscar was “blundering” into. Even so, the message had been received loud and clear. They walked a bit further. The brush had grown thick. It was impeding their progress, slowing them down tremendously. “Hey if you have anything with Para Immune on it, you might wanna put it on. Some of these plants like to sting you. They don’t do a ton of damage, but it’s annoying after a while.” “Gotcha,” Oscar responded. He opened his menu, removing his ring and putting on his Tactical Outfitting. His armor was obfuscated by vanity gear, so he didn’t appear any different. It would blow their cover otherwise. The flash of his equipment change was hidden by the brush. Even if they’d been trailed this whole time, they wouldn’t be able to see the change. Ivory Gold Leaf Ring unequipped. [-2 ACC, -2 EVA] Tactical Outfitting Mk. III equipped [Vamp-Def, Para Immune, Rec, Rec]