Chapter 302: Hagalaz

The cloud was vast as the explosion was made, with Griffos underneath Runesmith's body, snapping his fingers to prepare another Hagalaz in the mere instance the boy somehow survived. The dust was starting to part, letting Beelzebub investigate it, breaking apart parts of its face in order to send a swarm of insects, all of which acted as cameras to scope out the crater and see where he was. To their surprise, there wasn't any evidence of them surviving, merely a dirtied bow that sits on the rubble. Both of the monsters would be relieved, yet Griffos still held firm. "Blast the land beneath our feet." he'd command, much to the concern and curiosity of Runesmith. The Runic beast looked down towards the summoner, silently questioning him, yet the mirror's face says it best.

He still lives.

BWAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!

A Laser, nearly cleaving off the Monster's head, an attack from below, quickly melting the metal and splitting the golden land, prompting the Doppelganger to escape. A set of chains and thorns were made, however, to snare him by the neck and drag him back. As Griffos tried to cast a spell, Harvard would be in full view, wielding the binds in one hand, having the other sock him straight into his face, his nose breaking through the impact, the Card Magician quickly backing up so he can use his knee to push the Mirror up, a solid straight kick to propel him into the night-like beam, burning his body and breaking the binds in the process. Harvard would then set up another spell, a crane-like arm being created, yet he would have its use be for a ranged attack, lunging the claw and balling it into a fist in order to try and deal more damage while he was burning up.

Despite such damages and the propulsion, forcing Beelzebub to act as a cushion to catch Griffos' charred body before turning back to its proper form, The Mirror cannot help but be impressed at how he adapted. He'd still hold the card in his hands, a mutation sent towards the insectoid, passing along traits of the bee-like monster, Bumble. A hexagonal pattern was being left in the black ball's body, a sticky substance leaking out, coating the ball to act as a personal defense. Such a defense when mixed with the heat would create a scent that slowly encroached the arena itself, an aroma that would leave the child wide open with its sweetness. In response to such an aroma, Harvard simply had his nose blocked with bone, as well as taking in as much oxygen as possible, expanding and shaping his lungs to act as a personal tank in order to charge forward and keep striking, a left straight towards Griffos once he got close. Griffos would be quick on weaving and sending a knee to his stomach in response, as well as grabbing at his head to headbutt him and try to break up his nose so he would be forced to smell the honey. Harvard, however, simply veered his head so that he would headbutt in the same manner, grabbing at him in the process and repeating such bashings to try and crack his skull open.

Amidst such bashing, as well as a spell to create more arms so both can barrage each others vitals in the process, Runesmith would try to support Griffos with another rune, Nauthiz, in order to provide more defenses and endurance to sustain such blows. The fusioned beast, in the meantime, would be quick on tethering the boy with such string, almost puppeteering the child, providing him the monster's energy to further such power and performance. Elbows here and bites there, a chop in someone's neck, and a kick to someone's shins. The two boys were adamant about trying to kill one another, even in such a situation as dire as this. Through such brutality, however, Griffos would be forced to back away and try to breathe, being affected by the contents of the monster he fused into. Harvard would smirk as his trick worked, attempting to go for a lethal push in the form of a kick straight into his jaw. What resulted, however, was Griffos to roll under the child, dodging the attack altogether, and casting a spell to deactivate the sweet aroma wafting in the air, a small pocket of Oxygen he can finally take, as well as another spell towards the two beasts, aiming to make things fair for each other.

"FU! SION!!!"

He'd scream, as the spell would quickly absorb both monsters into each other, an output escaping from the card in another swarm. Such mosquito-like flies were still present, only now that each one had a specific rune placed on its body. Once the Flies converged, it would take the shape of Runesmith instead of the usual ball, the black mass quickly shifting such rings into large maws and tongues that wish to eat. Its arms were now saddled with crossbows, thanks to the Mutation from Griffos' end, allowing it to switch a few runes into making a combination, attempting to fire the bullet straight towards Harvard's body, impaling him in the process.

Hagalaz, Jera, Thurisaz, Uruz.

A Mass of arrows that came barreling across the boy, each arrow having enough power to cleave off one of the Sun's arms, slowly but surely ripping both to shreds with such a large mass. As the wave of arrows came, however, Harvard would be quick on casting another spell, a ritual. Such strings were weaving once more, utilizing the Golden Ritual in its reserves to expunge the energy and through the silk-like strands, slowly weaving the Ritual into fruition. Such a ritual was in the form of a Heart, a Talisman made on its center, with each and every attack the arrows coming into contact with fueling the talisman, and to an extent, the heart.

It was clear of the Boy's intentions: to fuel it with the power of the beast in order to either get out a new monster or casting a spell with a usually higher cost than average. Griffos would try to de-spell it with his card, yet because of the massive wave, doing so simply resulted in the arrows getting in the way and taking the hit instead, forcing the Mirror to close in. The boy wrapped the chains around the mirror's neck, pulling him close so he can land a heavy clothesline straight into it, striking straight into his neck to damage him further.

Despite the blood and energy being sapped out, both of them were still wishing to fight, the adrenaline kicking in harder than ever.