Iron Man(?) [CLOSED]

"What the hell!?" Elliot Wrinn stood in the middle of a street. The town looked completely abandoned, but everything had obviously been recently used. It wasn't just one or two huts either. It was a full on town that looked to just randomly be evacuated. There were no major storms recently, nor does it look like some kind of attack had happened, so what the hell? As he walked through the town, he came to the other end where a large group of people seemed to be moving cautiously back toward the town. Putting his hands on his hips, Elliot waited for them to approach, his two swords at his side just in case. As they came back, they asked him if the armored demon had left and Elliot raised an eyebrow. From there, he talked to the villagers and gathered the entire story, at least what they could tell him.

"Well, that was weird..." He rubbed the back of his neck, leaning his head to the left and right to stretch it. As he walked down a dirt road away from the town, he heard a loud clanking and what sounded like a man crying. "What the..." he turned his head toward a large armored man and narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Hiding behind a nearby tree, he peeked around and watched as this man jumped like a scared girl when a deer popped out at him. He resisted a laugh as the man turtled and couldn't seem to get up. "You have got to be kidding me..." he shook his head and smiled, coming out from behind the tree. Letting out a cheerful laugh, Elliot stepped over to the man and stopped near his shoulders. Elliot put his hands on his hips and stared down at the armored man with a smile.

"You need some help there?" he said, another chuckle following as he waited for an answer. "Come on, come on..." he said and placed his hands on the man's shoulders, pulling him up to a sitting position, "Why the hell are you wearing this heavy shit anyways if you can't handle it? Not exactly the smartest thing to do... Oh, and hey... You the one scare the shit out of the town back there? Not cool, man." Elliot stepped around the man and sat down about five feet away from him. "Now tell me... Why exactly you sittin' out here crying like that?" he asked, placing an elbow on his knee and raising an eyebrow at the armored man, "Someone in a big ass suit of armor shouldn't be scared of anything and you're over here jumping away from deer? What's up with that? You should man up a bit."

The first thing Elliot could not help but notice was the way this guy was sitting. Are you kidding me? "This dude acts like a chick..." Elliot thought, watching suspiciously. There was no way in hell though. This guy was at least seven feet tall in that armor. There is no way a woman gets that big. Nope. He refused to believe it. Instead, he shook it off and thought of the guy as strange or a super momma's boy. It was entertaining as hell to listen to though. When he started talking again, Elliot only had his theory confirmed. That deep ass voice was not something belonging to a woman. It was a Momma's Boy under that armor. Probably wanted to show himself as a strong man and failed horribly when he put the damn armor on. It took all Elliot had not to continue laughing at the guy.

"Well what do you expect? People in villages aren't adventurers and you have no idea what a village has previously been through." Elliot just smiled at the guy and shook his head, "For all you know, an armored demon attacked them a month ago or somethin'... You gotta be careful with situations like that." It was then that Elliot was slightly taken aback. He didn't even know this guy, so should he help him? The dude was huge and this could all be some freaky ass plan to stab him in the back. Well, those villagers did sort of confirm this guys' story, right? "Eh..." he rubbed the back of his head and looked away, "I... guess. I mean, I don't have much else to do, so if you really want out of that armor, sure... I can help ya out. I could use the money anyway, but you can pay me back later."

"You have any ideas on how to get that armor off?"

Elliot practically jumped back away from the giant man when he jumped up. The guy began yelling at him over things that Elliot couldn't possibly fully understand. Sure, he can logically understand it, but he's never been in that kind of situation himself. He was always one of the 'taller' guys, but seven feet must have been a little ridiculous. "Alright, alright!" Elliot put his hands up and waved them back in forth in a manner of surrendering, "I'll help ya, Big Guy. You don't need to get all emotional over it. You sound like a girl." In fact, this guy did a lot of things that reminded him of a woman. It was a good thing his voice made it obvious he was a man, otherwise Elliot might have made fun of him a little more for it. Either that, or he would have called him out as being a girl.

Elliot took a good look at the notebook after some things had been explained. "Well, you know a lot more than I thought you would..." Elliot said. He wasn't meaning to be offensive, though it could have come off that way. The fact was, the first thing he learned about the guy was that he forgot the first rule of dungeoneering. Who knows how many other things he just 'forgot'. In Elliot's mind, he assumes this guy got a little to excited over his first mission and accidentally ignored the rules, not forgot them. No one forgets the first rule of anything. Elliot just nodded to her suggestion and handed the notebook back. "Chesterfield, huh? Alright, sounds good." he said and then walked along with her. As he walked, he kept his hands behind his head and had a nice smile up at all times.

"Huh?" Elliot was caught off guard when he was stopped. It took them a while to get here, so he wanted to just go in and ask. He looked up to the Big Guy and listened to his suggestion. He chuckled a bit, "Alright, alright. As long as you don't run at them, I'm sure they won't freak out, though." Actually, Elliot might of been wrong. He went toward the village and people were looking at him in fear. As he approached, the people that had been in the streets seemed to hide, which made him feel quite a bit uneasy. He walked up to one man who held a sword at his side and looked ready for battle. "Hey... Is there a reason that I am being looked at like that?" Elliot asked with an eyebrow raised. "You a demon?" Elliot blinked in shock at the question, "Wh-... What? No! I'm not a damn demon!"

The man physically relaxed, but Elliot was not ready to just yet. A few other people came out of their hiding spots and approached him. "A demon has been attacking our village, a different house every night. It takes a woman or a child each time... We haven't found any of them." the man explained and sat down on the steps of the inn he was standing in front of. "Ah... I see. Hey, I'ma call my friend over here, he might be able to help." Elliot said, but then remembered, "Oh, and don't be scared of him. He's big and is stuck in some cursed armor. It won't effect you guys, though. So no freaking out... It upsets him." Elliot moved to the middle of the street and waved his arms widely, "HEY! BIG GUY! COME ON! IT'S ALRIGHT! THESE GUYS MIGHT NEED YOUR HELP ON SOMETHIN'!"

The Big Guy sort of took over the conversation once he made it here. Elliot put his hands behind his head and leaned against one of the wooden columns that supported the front of the inn. He stared up at the sky, half-listening to the conversation. When it came up about the women and children again, he did turn and pay a bit more attention. Their fates worried him. Were they even still alive? If so, what was to happen to them? Could he even help with something like that? Another question was 'should' they even help with something like that? This sounded like an issue that should be brought up with the nearest guard, one of the Seven City Knights' squads should be sent out, but then what would happen to those that had been captured? This needed to be taken care of now, not later.

"It attacks at night..." he muttered under his breath as they were making their way toward the entrance. He glanced toward the sun; there'd be at least an hour before it was dark enough to be considered night. This meant the Demon was likely still in there. As they got to the entrance, the signs made Elliot raise an eyebrow. "With all this warning, these idiots still uncovered the place?" Elliot asked the man who lead them here. "Yes, they refused to listen to reason. The boys want to be adventurers, so they thought solving a mystery in their own town would convince their Mother to let them go..." the man explain, his tone saddening and a sigh following, "They've been missing ever since the attacks began... Their Mother is worried sick, but the villagers and myself fear the worst for them."

Elliot glanced to the Big Guy and then back to the tunnel. Whatever was down there could be a challenge of sorts, even for him. He doubted the people of this village had much training when it comes to battle, so it was also possible that the thing wasn't that strong. They'd just have to travel down there and see for themselves. As they started, Big Guy pulled out a lantern and asked him to hold it. "Uh... Can you even fight?" Elliot asked, raising an eyebrow. The implications behind his tone were obvious, but he explained the reason for his question either way. "I'd rather not get caught down there with a lantern in hand..." he explained and patted at his swords, "The quicker I can get to these, the better we have for survival. If you can't even run in that armor, it's best you hold the light."

Once that was settled, Elliot went first so the light can shine over his head. With how tall Big Guy was, he'd not be able to see anything coming at them if he were standing behind him. "Oh, head back to the town quickly man... If we haven't returned by dawn, bury us down here with it and call for the Knights. I have enough supply to survive at least a week down here, but I'd rather not risk it coming back out at all of you." Elliot was taking a huge risk with that, but he felt it was the right thing to do. If Big  Guy didn't like it, he could say something, but he'd get a bit of a glare from Elliot for it before continuing into the cave. The first parts of the cave seemed to go on forever. It was going farther and father underground, which made it a bit more clear as to why the demon couldn't get out.

The first thing they came across was strange marking along the grounds. Elliot stopped and knelt down, running his fingers along some recently disturbed dirt. "I'm not exactly a tracker, but it's a bit obvious that this has been used a lot recently..." Elliot said and looked along the path until he saw two ways they could go, "See, it looks like something had been dragged here and went that way each time." Elliot pointed toward the right, where the drag marks went. He looked for other tracks or signs of something going the other direction, but saw none. "Best bet..." he muttered and walked down the path to the right. Feeling a slight shiver down his spine, he pulled out his sword and activated his 'protection' ability, making himself and the sword impenetrable, pretty much unbreakable.

As they moved along farther, the two would come to a strange opening. Everything was carved out pretty well, as if something was intentionally digging here. Elliot first thought they'd be ruins of some sort, but when he looked a little closer, he looked back to the Big Guy with an eyebrow raise. "This place is odd... don't you think?" Elliot glanced back and forth, something was off about it, very off. He wasn't very good at this sort of thing, so he didn't know what to make of it. In fact, the only person here that would was the Big Guy. "You know more about any of this stuff than I do..." he said and then pointed his sword around at the room they were in. It was well carved, cleaned, and organized. It even had a nicely carved arch to another area, "Anything in that notebook about all of this?"

Elliot's eyes narrowed when Big Guy began chanting. Well, it wasn't exactly a chant, but it sounded like some sort of incantation. When Big Guy called out for the demon, Elliot's eyes widened and he had the thought of slicing through the armor pass through his mind. It was like this guy was trying to get them killed. Sure, if the demon approached them, Elliot would fight, but he'd like to be warned before the damn thing was summoned! And his hesitation likely cost him because a single drip of what sounded like water, but with an unnatural echo showed him that they were not alone. Elliot turned toward the echoing drop of water and watched this creature form before them, it's body distorted by shadows. Elliot's eyes were wide with shock and slight fear, having never fought a demon before.

Elliot gulped as this thing spoke, it's voice echoing through the carved out dome before it had even appeared. The very sound sent shivers down his spine and told him that he was not going to have an easy time with this. Once it fully formed and told them to speak, Elliot narrowed his eyes and pulled out the wakazashi that lay at his hip. "So this is what you've been doing with your time, eh? Building yourself a fancy hole in the ground?" Elliot's eyes narrowed, his confidence quickly regaining as he readied himself, "Where are the people you've taken from the village? Tell me now and your death will be quick." The demon smirked at this threat, as if he expected nothing to come from it. This angered Elliot quite a bit, causing him to ready his stance and prepare for this battle to start.

"You think a mere mortal can defeat me?" the shadowed demon asked, his voice leaking such a strong ego that you can practically see it drip within the shadows this one controlled. "You think a lowly mole can defeat me? You've done nothing through out the years except dig yourself a false palace in the dirt. Some demon, some power you've got." Elliot said just as cockily, smirking when he saw the demon before him narrow his eyes, "Something tells me years of isolation with no company beyond the ants in the dirt has left you rather... weak." That seemed to be the last straw because a shadowy serpent shot out toward Elliot. His eyes widened momentarily. He had no real time to react as his body was slammed into the once perfect dirt wall that surrounded them.

"Big mouth for someone so slow." the demon said with a smirk. Elliot's head hang there, his body not moving an inch as the snakes head pinned him in place. It looked as if the snakes fangs had pierced his body, but this was a foolish assumption. "Huge ego for someone so weak." Elliot raised his head with a smirk as if he had been completely unharmed. There was a reason he activated his protection power before they reached this area. He wasn't stupid. "What?!" the demon looked on in shock as he pulled the shadowy snake back to reveal the shadows just broke on his skin. "Funny thing about underestimating an opponent..." Elliot said as he dusted some of the dirt off, "It usually gets you killed." With that, he darted forward with an odd shift in his arcana; he switched his ability.

The demon assumed  that he had no ability to pierce Elliot's body with his shadows, so he attempted to defend himself instead of counter attack. A giant mantis-like claw suddenly appeared from the shadows, much more solid than the snake, as Elliot made his first swing. The demon smirked, figuring the sword would easily be stopped, but less than a second later, he felt the mantis claw  being cut through with little resistance, but just enough for him to jump out of the way of the rest of the swing. Unfortunately, the demon jumped straight toward Big Guy and figured the larger of the two would be more powerful. "Have you now!" the demon yelled and sent a large wolf head out to wrap it's shadowy teeth around the armored man. Assuming he was captured, the demon smirked.

"One move and I crush your large friend in the jaws of my wolf." the demon said and Elliot narrowed his eyes. A moment later, there was another shift in his Arcana; he once against changed his ability to protection over penetration. Elliot narrowed his eyes and sheathed both of his swords, staring rather intensely at the demon. "Let... the guy... go..." Elliot said in a rather threatening voice. "I don't think so." the demon said as the entire form of the shadow appeared and a large wolf just held Big Guy in his teeth. If Big Guy wasn't captured, Elliot would immediately rush in for the attack again, slicing through the neck of the shadowy wolf before a second attack could be implemented. Seeing he attacked the wolf and not the demon, the demon would move to slice at Elliot with another mantis claw. And this attack would indeed hit, slicing through Elliot's side and causing him to jump back.

So the Big Guy had a few moves, didn't he?! Elliot smirked. He was slightly surprised at what happened because of how difficult the guy said it was to even move in that armor. Once he was given the all clear, Elliot charged forward with a precise swing of his katana and sliced through the middle of the demons head. It stopped moving for a moment, it's body went limp, and then he fell to the ground. "Hm. Not as hard as I thought that was about to be." Elliot sheathed his blade and put his hands on his hips before looking down the other path, "Let's hope we find those people down there..." He gave a worried glance to the Big Guy and motioned for him to follow. They had no idea what they'd find down here. How many people had this piece of shit demon actually killed before they got here?

The path wasn't too far and opened up into a well lit corridor. A group of people, women and children, were all tied up and sitting in the middle of the room. It took a few minutes, but they finally noticed Elliot and the Big Guy. Some panicked, other's looked relieved, and the rest mumbled among themselves until one young girl came up and pulled on Elliot's shirt. "Are you here to help us or kill us?" Elliot's heart sank. That wasn't a question he'd ever want a child to feel necessary to ask. He glanced around at the rest, who looked at him for the answer, and then knelt down to pick the little girl up. "We're here to get all of you out of here." Elliot said and a torrent of cheerful voices and crying began. He went through and used his shorter sword to cut some of the people's bandages.

"Come on, get each other untied." he said as he sheathed his sword and then poked the young girl's nose. Everyone was soon untied and led out of the cave. A few people kicked the demons body over and over again as they passed him by, which caused Elliot to chuckle, but he pushed them along. Finally, everyone made it back to the village and was reunited with their loved ones. "Thank you... Thank you so much!" one of the men from the village came up to them. A few others began to follow his lead, coming up to Elliot and the Big Guy, shaking their hands, giving hugs, and thanking them over and over again. "Is there anything we can do for you?" one of the village women that was rescued asked. Elliot looked to Big Guy, "Isn't there something you wanted to ask about that armor?"