"All units, fall back to the courtyard... what?"

Bots rush past their tiny commanders, and Beist and his monstrous amalgamate are clearly intent on doing the same, but Zak refuses to flee!

"Dammit, we can't stay!"

But then, there's a hand on her shoulder: her own, or, rather, the replicant's.

"I can," it speaks. It might be considered brave if it had anything to fear.

Veliky nods her head approvingly to her own image, a strangity that she's long since grown accustomed to.

With that, the true Veliky and all her bots storm out of the hall while the replicant remains, adjusting its suit, then vanishing^[1].

The half-hewed table flies past the beastly Hekton. And then, the voices, in sound and in mind. The mental taunt is assuredly the most lucid thought in his skull.

"Champion of Hypnos, you have no place here! I shall destroy you!"

He alofts his trident. Around the prongs, motes of water swirl and coalesce^[2], though only the spectral clone witnesses it.

"Oh, come on," it groans. "His weapon's enchant- uh oh."

Dashing^[3] through the aperture with the speed of a lunging snake, Hekton's form is revealed to the party as he attempts to pierce the clone in triplicate, only to pass through and strike the wall behind.

"Gah! Enough of these tricks! To Hades with you!"

Yanking the three prongs from the masonry, he slowly turns with the severed head held high, sweeping its lifeless gaze across the hall...

---

1. Invisibility
2. Water Rune (Hekton)
3. Dashing (Hekton)

After seeing that his two companions were standing, Beist turned to follow Dora. However, as he headed away, a trident came flying out of the hole and pierced through the wall. Well, that wasn't good. If this man was that powerful that he could embed a trident in a stone wall, then running with their backs to him wouldn't end well.

Beist slipped the blindfold down over his eyes again, not wanting to be petrified like all the others the group had passed on their way here. No matter how strong he was, he would be done for with one glance at the eyes of the Gorgon's head in Hekton's hands. The remains of the stone drake outside were proof of that.

He turned back to the hole blindly, hearing the man shouting. He let the vibrations in the ground tell him again what was around him right now. He could sense the shapes of Zak and Veliky along with the crazed man holding the head, sweeping its petrifying gaze across the hall. He was certainly glad he wasn't seeing that head with his eyes. Veliky was moving quickly down the hall, away from the fight. He also knew Dora was far back, hopefully safe. Zak was standing still.

Hekton's eyes locked onto the beast man in the hall before him.

"Be gone, foul beast! Back to the depths of Hades, where you belong!" he shouted, aiming his trident for another throw, but Beist could sense his movements.

Beist charged forward at the man before he could finish getting into his throwing stance. Hekton's eyes narrowed angrily, but Beist couldn't see this. He punched out at the insane man, not wanting him to throw his trident down the hall toward his companions behind him. He mostly cared about Dora and Bull, but Veliky was back there too.

Hekton raised a hand to catch the beast man's fist. He was incredibly powerful, his strength far surpassing a normal man. However, Beist strength was also beyond what his appearance would suggest, and his appearance already looked like a monster. With a look of surprise, Hekton was overpowered, his arm bending back as the fist impacted his hand, and the sound of a bone snapping could be heard. Once again, Beist was glad he couldn't actually see that, but he sensed the shape of the man's arm and felt his lunch try to come back up for a moment.

Hekton jumped back, away from the monster in front of him that had just broken his arm with one punch. His mangled arm hung awkwardly at his side.

---

Ground Tremors
Stone Giant
Bull's Strength

Sparks flickered at Zak’s fingertips, as he awaited a glimpse of someone coming through the opening. Everyone else was running for cover, but Zak stood his ground, keeping his gaze high so that only a small portion of his line of vision could see what was happening. Zak almost laughed as out of the corner of his eye he watched Hekton dash through the doorway at tremendous speed, passing directly through the clone’s apparition and getting his trident stuck in the wall behind.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Zak unleashed a stream of Light energy in his direction⁽¹⁾, and then quickly shut his eyes to protect himself from the gorgon head Hekton still held. When the Light beam struck the powerful mage in his back, an amber mist spread out, eating away at his life force. Somewhat weakened now, the mage staggered a bit as he pulled his trident out of the wall, and began slowly swinging the severed head from side to side.

Not that Zak could see anymore with his eyes tightly shut, but he certainly could hear Hekton’s taunts, and the ensuing struggle that Zak could only assume was Beist attacking the mage. The sound of breaking bones pierced the air, and Zak opened his eyes a sliver. Beist had broken the mage’s arm. Zak took the advantage within seconds, sending out another wave of magic⁽²⁾, this time striking the other arm, the one that held the ominous head. Losing control of the use of his fingers, Hekton dropped the gorgon head as his arm quickly began turning to stone. The head bounced across the ground a few times before stopping with its face planted firmly in the soil.

One arm dangling, and the gorgon head powerless on the ground several meters away, Zak decided to take care of one more thing. Zak spoke a few unintelligible words under his breath⁽³⁾, his arm pointing toward the trident now laying on the ground. Slowly, the trident turned to rust and disintegrated, staining the ground with a reddish tint that resembled blood.

“You’re finished, son of Heracles or whoever you are. Surrender now,” Zak yelled.

---

(1) Chromatic Blast
(2) Lithify
(3) Age Item

Being in the middle of a battle without being allowed to see is disconcerting, to say the least. It's fortunate that the replicant is not truly alive, else it might consider running.

For an ephemeral moment, the noises of scuffle are paused and Zak demands a surrender. Should the replicant risk a peek?

It doesn't have much to lose. Slowly opening its eyes, it sees how the fight has stopped, with Zak and Beist appearing to be the victors. But she knows better; the glorious Hekton's stance is defiant, and he registers an eerily slight degree of pain from what should be an agonizing disfigurement. He wants to continue.

In preparation for whatever's coming, the replicant looks about and sees - facing the other way, fortunately - the severed gorgon's head in the debris. She strains to lift it up, as it's nearly as large as her entire torso, and now stands in waiting, covering the ominous eyes. Outwardly, it appears that the head simply vanished.

"Hekton, Son of Heracles! Inheritor of divinity! This, I shall carve upon your tombs, so all know who felled you!"

His white eyes shine with the light of terrible dawn as he releases a bellowing battlecry^[1]. His arm cracks and snaps back into place, though the other remains statufied. He charges forward with reckless abandon and makes a wild swing with his stone hand at the head of Zak. Though it can't wield a weapon, the petrified limb makes for a brutal bludgeoning tool in its own respect!

---

1. Prevailing Justice

Beist could sense his surroundings thanks to the tremors giving him such information, but the tremors couldn't convey such fine details as what material something was made of. He could tell the difference between a living creature and the surrounding terrain, but he had no idea the man's arm had been turned to stone since it remained the same shape as before. For some reason, it just seemed like the man's arm was unusually stiff.

He heard the man's arm bones snap, crackle, and pop back into place. Once again, the sound made him want to throw up, but he held it down. He sensed Veliky's invisible replicant steal the Gorgon's head off of the ground. And he sensed Hekton start charging toward Zak, his stiff arm aimed to punch the man in the chest.

Immediately, Beist reached out to grab the man and stop his charge, wrapping his two lower arms around his torso and pinning his arms to his side while his two upper arms raised up, ready to punch him in the head. However, as Beist grabbed hold of him, Hekton raised a leg and kicked backward at Beist, striking him in the shin painfully.

"Ow! You stop that!" Beist shouted out at the man in his arms.

Then, Hekton leaned his head forward and shot it back into Beist. Hekton was tall, but Beist was nearly double the man's height. As such, the back of his head struck directly in Beist's stomach, and with a surprising amount of force. The beast man's grip weakened enough that Hekton broke free and continued charging at the man that had destroyed his beautiful trident. Beist fell to his knees, his lower arms clutching his stomach in pain while his upper arms supported him. Honestly, how many times was this Hekton fellow going to make Beist feel the need to lose his lunch?

Zak grimaced as he heard Hekton’s broken arm snap back into place. Even with his weapon destroyed and arms inhibited, the zealot Hekton would not relent. Beist tried to restrain the mage but Hekton got loose. With Beist on the ground recuperating from the gut punch, Hekton charged toward Zak. Hekton’s momentum caused him to stumble when suddenly Zak blinked⁽¹⁾ and disappeared from the mage’s reach, and Hekton found no one in his path to attack.

Reappearing several meters behind the mage, Zak quickly sent a streak of lightning at Hekton⁽²⁾, striking him in the back. The mage stumbled again, but righted himself and turned toward his attacker.

"Hekton, Son of Heracles will not fail. The demons will devour you!”

Wound sizzling across his back, Hekton charged toward Zak again. Zak concentrated, murmuring unintelligibly. Instantly, the skin on Hekton’s arm loosened and turned back into normal skin, while the mage’s leg solidified⁽³⁾ and caused him to trip and fall to the ground.

“You will not prevail, scourge,” Zak yelled. “Relent!”

---

(1) Blink
(2) Chromatic Blast
(3) Lithify

"Keep going!" Veliky shouts, as she runs with her squadron of golems. Her voice echoes throughout the hall. "Don't look ba- huh?"

She's immediately tempted to disobey her own command. Not only has Zak stayed behind, but Beist has as well. What's more, she hears bellowed taunts, crashing weapons and spells being flung behind her. What's happening?

She stops and snaps her fingers, creating yet another clone^[1].

"Look for me."

The clone, fearless of petrification, squints at the skirmish in the hallway. It still looks dangerous, but the main threat - the gorgon's head - has been dealt with... somehow. The clone shrugs lazily.

"Looks clear." it says.

"Good. Stay here, I might need you." She raises a hand and shouts, "Belay the retreat, we're fighting!"

"Who are you to say that I won't prevail?! What do you know of victory?!" He slams his fist into the flagstone. Not only does he creature tiny fissures in the floor, his hand and forearm begin to glow^[2]. "*I* conquered this fortress! *I* slew the chitinous queen! And *I* shall see victory again with your deaths!"

Suddenly; brilliant, beaming wings^[3] sprout from his heels - even the petrified one - and begin to flap. He rises into the air with his full, gleaming regalia!

---

1. Clone Self
2. Angelic Light (Hecton)
3. Beacon of Light (Hecton)

With Hekton's newfound wings bringing him into the air and off of the ground, the tremors can no longer tell Beist the man's location. With a small groan, he realizes he no longer has any way of tracking the enemy if he keeps his blindfold on. But he also had sensed the man no longer had the gorgon head in his possession, since it was now in the arms of one of the multiple Halflings around the place. He took off his blindfold and took some deep breaths.

After taking a moment to recover from the strike to his stomach, he stood up and looked at Hekton, a bit of anger in his eyes. That headbutt had really hurt. He wasn't a very aggressive person, but this man was really angering him now. All of the people he'd turned to stone, practically enslaving these ants probably using some kind of drug, attacking him. And for what? To live some fantasy about owning an old abandoned building in the middle of nowhere?

Beist started walking toward the hovering man who noticed his approach. Hekton turned to him and spread his arms wide with an arrogant look.

"Ha! So your pet beast shall be first to die! Are you ready, foul-hrrrblr" his words were cut off as Beist punched him in both the face and stomach at the same time with two left hooks.

The man was sent flying back, crashing into a wall from the monstrous strength of the beast man.

"Asshole." Beist just huffed as he watched the man slide down the wall into a heap at the bottom.

Beist was surprised when he heard Hekton give a slight laugh from the floor as he rose again. His face and stomach looked completely fine, as if no damage had been done to the man at all from the two punches. The man just glared back at Beist before flying forward to make his own attacks on the surprised beast man.

---

Prevailing Justice- (All damage to Hekton blocked for 1 more post)

Zak groaned as Hekton took flight, seemingly unaffected by the damage they had hit him with. This lunatic just refused to go down. Beist kept beating on the asshole, but Hekton kept recuperating and returning the attack. Zak had to give Beist credit. He didn’t give up, so Zak could do no less.

Taking advantage of Beist’s punches that sent Hekton slamming against the cave wall, Zak moved in closer. Damn, Zak cursed silently when Hekton rose into the air in a matter of seconds. With Hekton’s attention on Beist, Zak followed from behind, summoning a thick rope of intertwined thorny vines⁽¹⁾. His hand circled in the air, and the whip struck Hekton in the neck near his jugular. Zak’s eyes narrowed, and the whip snapped⁽²⁾ and dug into Hekton’s neck even further. Hekton’s momentum stilled as he turned, and his crazed gaze focused on Zak, not showing any sign of injury even with the thorny vine hanging from his neck.

“Who do you think you are? Messing with me, the son of Heracles, inheritor of Infinity? You will die!”

While Hekton ranted, Zak pulled back the whip and reached up to try to wrap it around Hekton’s solidified leg. Hekton easily avoided Zak’s maneuvers, hovering out of reach. Hekton moved in quickly and smashed a fist into Zak’s back, causing Zak to stumble and fall to the ground. Quickly jumping to his feet, Zal struggled to regain his breath and braced himself for another attack while preparing to strike back.

---

(1) Thorn Whip
(2) Telekinesis

With a burst of light, Hekton's winged heels launch him toward Zak, heedless of steel in his path. He fears no injury or pain, though he isn't expecting to meet a similarly stubborn opponent.

A clanking figure lunges past Zak, interposing itself between Zak and the madman before thrusting a trident up and forth. The three tips scrape and pierce Hekton's cuirass^[1] but fail to scathe the wearer. They succeed only in lodging themselves within.

Above his radiant eyes, Hekton raises a grey brow.

"A man of metal?" His forehead wrinkles in rage again. "No matter; no flesh, stone or mith can halt me!"

He grips Fisher by its metal throat and raises it effortlessly into the air. The metal begins to glow white from the heat^[2].

"I rebuke you, bastard child of Hephaestus! BE GONE!"

He smashes the golem, face-first, into the stone wall! Dust and rubble assail the party as the masonry is obliterated - the bot as well, assuredly. The sound is deafening.

When the cloud clears, it becomes apparent that Hekton did not stop at a single measly wall. At least three were sundered in his path. Now, he stands beside the crumpled body of Fisher. His leg has become flesh once more. He yanks the trident from his breastplate and points it through the three apertures, at Beist and Zak.

"No more games, wretched men of the Nascent Ruin."

But, in spite of his threat, there's something visible on his arm that signifies a change in the tides of battle: a cut. It is not healing, nor does it appear intent on doing so. He's become vincible once more.

---

1. Cuirass Strike Prevention (Hekton)
2. Angelic Light (Hekton)

Beist saw Hekton raising the trident up into a throwing position and was immediately worried.

"Uh oh." He said as he moved to the side, trying to get farther away from the man and out of his line of sight. This worked completely against him, as the huge beast man's movement caught Hekton's eye easily. He reeled back the trident and threw it toward Beist, it flying fast from the man's great strength. Beist let out a yelp and dove to the side, but wasn't fast enough to completely avoid it.

One of the three points of the trident impaled his upper right arm and was carried through by the momentum, hooking a part of his arm and ripping through. He fell to the ground and placed both of his left hands on the horrendous wound. The blood flowed over the scales of their arm and down into the fur of their forearm. The trident embedded itself in the wall behind the wall behind where Beist had been standing, having broken straight through the first wall.