Ferro VS. Mantis

Ferro’s moves:
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Stamina Attacks

Trip - Swings his staff at the opponent's legs to make them fall to the ground, dealing two damage.

"Javelin" Toss - Throws his staff at the opponent, dealing three damage, but disarming him until he retrieves his weapon.

Double Thrust - Roll twice, each successful roll deals two damage.

Helm Splitter - Swings the staff at the opponent's head, dealing five damage. Available every five turns.

Palm Strike - Hit the opponent with an open palm attack, dealing two damage.

Fleet Combo - A three hit combo move where Ferro knees the opponent in the gut, then thrust his fist at the opponent's chest and then elbows them in the side. Each attacks requires a Successful roll to deal each piece of damage, which, individually, deals two damage. If every roll is Successful, the attack will result in a whopping six damage.

Reversal Counter - Ferro stands at the ready, swinging the target around and throwing them to the ground when they try to attack him. Deals 3 damage.

Gargoyle Rush - Ferro launches himself at the target fully and slams his arm into their torso hard before throwing them to the ground. 3 damage.

Ground Pound - A two-part attack. One the first turn, Ferro grabs the opponent, putting a temporary bind status on them. If the opponent doesn't break out of the bind and if he succeeds in the second roll, he will suplex the opponent hard into the ground, dealing eight damage. Special Attack, only available every ten turns.

Iron Shot - Calling upon his magic, he reshapes his metal staff into a dense steel sphere, which he throws at the enemy, the sphere reforming into the staff afterwards. Deals 6 Willpower damage and leaves Ferro disarmed.

//Defensive Skills:
Meditate - Halves all willpower damage received for three turns. Usable every ten turns.

Nine Kata - Ferro performs a series of hand gestures in unison with several chants to redirect his thoughts and clear his mind. Roll nine dice, every successful roll heals 1 willpower/stamina.

Enchant, Reinforcement - Doubles staff damage dealt for the next three turns. Usable only once every battle.

Enchant: Stone Skin - Ferro uses his magic to make his skin as hard as stone, halving all stamina damage and doubling unarmed attacks for three turns.

Summon Swamp Succubus - Ferro calls upon the Swamp Succubus, who gives the opponent a sweet French kiss, stunning them for a turn. Useable only once per battle, available after ten turns.

Summon Lasciel - Ferro uses the feather given to him by the once-corrupt angel to call upon her. Restores five willpower, useable only once per battle.

Summon Ixana - Calls upon Ixana to either heal him of 4 Willpower damage with her Radiant Sword (Light) or deal 4 Stamina damage with her Vortex Crusher.
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Mantis’ Moves:
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/Passive/ Clairvoyance: "Ha! There's no point, I already told you! I can read your every thought!"
The opponent's first attack will always miss. Also, once per battle, when an attack that would otherwise bring Mantis' Stamina to 0 rolls even, it will fail anyway.

/Passive/ Unforeseen: "No! T-This isn't possible!"
If Mantis falls under 5 Stamina, all attacks will require 2 rolls to hit.

Psycho Mantis: "So, you like Forumotion~?"
Mantis delves deep into her opponent's psyche, mocking them with some obscure, yet strangely familiar information. As if they've heard of what she's talking about before, yet just can't grasp it entirely. Deals 2 damage, and inflicts paralysis.

Subconscious Connection: "Your mind is so.. weak~! Weak! Weak! You don't really think you can beat me, do you~?!"
Mantis establishes a mental link between her and the target, invading their thoughts, replacing them with lewd ideas of submitting themselves up to her. Deals 2 damage per turn until they spend a turn to remove the effect.

Cold Embrace: "Сдаваться.. I know more than anyone how much you like this~.. Why not just let your primal urges take over? Wouldn't that be so much easier~?"
Mantis wraps metallic arms around her opponents in an iron hold, before gently kissing them. Inflicts Bind, and does 2 damage per turn.

Disappear: "Do you still doubt my power?!"
Mantis disappears before the very eyes of the enemy, avoiding any damage from their next attack.

Mind-Read: "..Oh my~.. How filthy. Don't worry. We can flush out those urges..~"
Mantis searches the opponent's mind, learning all their dirty little secrets. Does 1 damage, and inflicts charm.

Analyse: "Aha! I can read you like an open book!"
Mantis searches into the opponent's mind, looking through their pasts to get a better understanding of their fighting style, making their next 2 attacks require 2 rolls to hit.

Overwhelm: "Как я и сказал! You can't beat me. You're nothing but another fragile mind for me to toy with!"
An information overload sending the opponent into a confused state, their deepest desires coming to light, lusting after Mantis, which she gladly obliges. Deals 5 damage.

Phantom Limbs: "I can feel your mind aching.. I've always liked the feeling as they slip. The intimacy.. For a split moment, they really think they love you."
Mantis caresses the opponent with her multitude of arms, both metallic and her own. This move is split into two parts, one turn spent in preparation, and the next in execution. Deals 8 damage, but can be interrupted during preparation.

Kinetic Blast:
Mantis blows a kiss to the opponent, which, upon contact, throws them backwards from the sheer force. Deals 3 damage.

/Finisher/ Break: "Aha! No future! No past! You live in the moment now! That's your only purpose!"
Mantis attempts to completely replace the opponent's memory, completely dedicating them to her. She leaves them drained and unconscious after a long, hard time with her.
They eventually come to, recovering themselves and their memories.
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It wasn’t often that Ferro was called on to investigate.. Screaming in the woods. In light of his usual work, this wasn’t really up to his par. But, a disturbed village means disturbed people. And disturbed people are known to do rather.. outlandish things, and come to rather.. Outlandish conclusions. It was best to simmer them down sooner than later.
It didn’t take much of a search before he started hearing someone.

“Are you trying to tell me that a single man was able to bring down.. that?! REX was supposed to be impenetrable..! Do you have any idea how powerful that machine was..? It was supposed to.. It..”

“Excuse me for a moment.”

Banging her head repeatedly against a nearby tree, Mantis began yelling.
“Gah! This can’t be happening! This isn’t happening!”

(Dear god I just saw that I titled it “ferry magia”)

Ferro came upon Mantis bashing her metal exo-cranium against the nearest tree at her convenience and he felt the need to speak up in light of this strange act. "Um...Are you alright?"

At the sound of Ferro’s voice, Mantis immediately stopped in her tracks, mere inches from another impact. It was almost eerie, the sudden halt; She had seemingly just broken a number of the laws of physics.
Without turning to look at him, she spoke.

“No, Ferro. I am not. Ask me why. Go on.”

"How did you know my name?" he asked a bit perturbed but managing to maintain calm. "Magic, psychic powers?" Judging from her appearance though, probably the latter.

“Magic?! Ha! I don’t need worthless tricks, Ferro. This is real power!”
Snapping around to face him, Mantis’ helmet slipped silently behind her back as she began to float off of the ground, rising like some sort of phantom.

“I am Mantis! The most powerful practitioner of Psychokinesis and Telepathy in the world!”
The mechanical arms attached to her back suddenly sprung to life, drifting around as if each had a mind of its own.

“Less about me! More about you, Ferro! Your past! Your future! I can see.. All of it! Aha! All of it!”

Anaylse: 34

“You are a highly skilled warrior, Ferro... But..” Giving a knowing grin, she laughed to herself for a moment. “You’re a naughty little thing, aren’t you~? You’ve been having a few.. Interesting fights recently, haven’t you~? Giving yourself up so easily..” Bitting her lip as she peered into his memories, she went on. “You’re only an animal, though. I don’t blame you~.”

“Your fighting style is refined. Impressive. Yet predictable. I suppose only time will tell how effective it truly is.”

“..And this ‘Daraku’ business? Seems far bigger than you, Ferro.”

“Do you understand now? I can read you like an open book!”

"Aaaand psychic powers it is," he sighed as he got into a battle stance. As she looked into him, into his past fights and the whole mess with Daraku, he glared ever-so-slightly before launching himself at her.

-Helm Splitter-

Helm Splitter: Autofail due to clairvoyance

Mantis simply stood in place, waiting for Ferro to attack. The moment that momentum started to carry his swing, she darted backwards, weightless in the air despite being encumbered with equipment that should’ve been heavy enough to have her pinned against the ground.

“It’s useless, Ferro~! I know everything you’re going to do before even you do.”
Gently tapping her temple, she couldn’t help but to smirk.
“That’s not even the full extent of my power! Watch!”

Psycho mantis: 25

Mantis locked eyes with Ferro, holding him in an intense stare. He started to feel a faint ringing in his ears, that quickly escalated, the noise growing more and more intense..

Until suddenly coming to an abrupt halt as a beeping started to emit from Mantis’ waist.
“..What now?”
Grabbing around at her belt, Mantis pulled out a small, black radio, putting it against her ear.
“I am.. Busy. Is this important?”

Ferro was stunned for a moment before glaring at her and rushing in to thrust his staff into her.
-Double Thrust-

Double thrust:
87
31

Anticipating the attacks, Mantis gave a slight tilt for each thrust of the staff, barely missing her.
"We'll talk later." She said, seemingly hanging up the radio.
"Now~.."

Psycho Mantis: 77

Tensing up once again, Mantis focused herself. Ferro felt the same ringing return once again, before slowly subsiding like a fading flame.
"What? This should be working..!" She said, knocking herself on the head with her fist as if to start it up.
"No matter! I have.. Other means."

"I don't even want to ask," Ferro stated, moving to strengthen his body with his magic.

-Enchant: Stone Skin-

"Don't bother, Ferro. Allow me to demonstrate."

Phantom limbs: 47
Mantis' mechanical extensions whirred themselves up like snakes, rattling as they began to violently spin and pull back, as if preparing to strike. This was cut short by a loud bang of an engine, followed by a small trail of smoke from Mantis' back.

"Gah! Why.. Isn't this.. Working?! Useless machine!"
Mantis harmlessly punched at the now drooping mechanical arms. They seemingly.. reacted, some of them recoiling backwards at the attack.
"Don't worry. This doesn't mean anything, Ferro. It's not like you can beat me."

"Maybe you just need someone to hit it a couple of times," he suggested as his skin hardened and he put his staff away. Clenching his fists, he charges headfirst towards Mantis. "I'd be happy to give it a few poundings!!"

-Fleet Combo-

Fleet Combo: 75
Jumping backwards, floating out of the way of Ferro's knee.

"Aha! You still don't get it~?! It's usele-"

95, Crit!

"HNRK!"
She, however, didn't anticipate a follow-up, as Ferro drove his fist into her with a powerful impact.
"W-well.. I wasn't able to read the future that ti-"

Autohit due to crit!
Dazed by the punch, Mantis was unable to avoid yet another attack, this time an elbow into her side.
"..This is.. Unbelievable!"

Mantis' Stamina: 21
(These rolls are harsh)

"Sorry, what was that? I couldn't hear you, I think someone's banging pans together or something," Ferro stated, chuckling. He rushed forward and threw his palm towards her chest.

-Palm Strike-

Palm strike: Crit followup, auto-hit.
Taking advantage of Mantis' dazed state, Ferro thrusted his palm into Mantis, but she barely moved. She twitched.
"I'm going to rip your weak little mind in half, Ferro."
She didn't say it like a threat. More like a statement.

Psycho Mantis: 8
"I'll make an example of you!"

The strange ringing returned, this time, it was harsh. Not something in the back of his mind, but now the focal point.
"So, you like PRISMA☆ILLYA~?"
"You like NitroRad~?"
"Well? You do, right, Reploid?"

Those names.. He had to have them before. They sounded so familiar. Yet they didn't. They couldn't. What did she even say..? He heard her loud and clear. But he could never understand. The ringing only grew louder as his mind desperately tried to make sense of what had just been said.

Ferro's Willpower: 28
Ferro is paralysed!

Subconscious connection: 16
"Confused~? Don't worry. There's only one thing you need to be fixated on. Just let your instinct tell you what to do. It's much easier than trying to think~.."

Ferro's conflicted thoughts suddenly became clear. The ringing stopped. There was now a new focus.
Images of Mantis replaced his confusion, invading his mind with ideas of submitting, and what could come from it. The two of them, locked together in passionate
embraces, pressed against one another. The two of them acting out on their deepest desires together.

"Doesn't that seem wonderful, Ferro? What's the point of fighting? That's what you want. That's what you're designed to want. There's no shame in it..~"
Ferro's willpower: 26

He clicked his tongue in annoyance after having heard such strangely familiar lines and then having her invade his mind. The problem was that the mental images weren't stopping like they usually did after a few seconds against other psychics. "Gonna have to get back to you on that one..."

"Don't bother. You need to stop thinking, Ferro. Rid yourself of the harshness of it all. Love me. Take me. Let me embrace you. Let everything else slip away~.."
Cold Embrace: 1! Crit!
ⁿᶦᶜᵉ

Mantis' arms lurched forward, encircling him, some taking a rough grip on his shoulder. Staring him down for a moment, she smirked.
"Иди сюда.."
Slowly leaning forward towards him, she pursed her lips, gently tilting her head..
Until suddenly, the weight of her mechanical arms seemingly took effect, dragging her to the ground in mere seconds, crumpled in front of Ferro. Meanwhile, the arms flailed like fish out of water.
"This.. Machine..! Why won't it..?! Why can't I..?! Gah! Useless! Useless! Useless! ..He must've built it like this on purpose. 'A character flaw'. Pathetic."
All of this was mainly being yelled into the ground, however, whilst the mechanical arms still shook and tried desperately to steady themselves.

Ferro's Willpower: 24

"You are the strangest psychic I've ever met," he commented, taking it upon himself to bash her in the back with another palm strike.
-Palm Strike-

Palm Strike: Crit Followup, Auto-hit
Driving his palm into her back, the metallic arms only convulsing more in response struggle against the ground until suddenly stopping dead in their tracks.
Mantis' Stamina: 19

"I am the greatest psychic you've ever met!"
Mantis was quickly dragged from the ground, like some sort of rag-doll being hastily lifted into the air like as if by a poltergeist. Snapping to life, Mantis stood (Or floated) straight, grinning as she stared Ferro down.
"It's mind over flesh, Ferro!"

Disappear:100! Crit..? Critical disappearance..?

With that, Mantis seemingly dematerialized before Ferro's very eyes. Gone without a trace..? If that were true, then why was he still so.. 'Distracted' by the thought of her?
Ferro's Willpower: 22

It's a Crit, might as well Stun))
Ferro was surprised by her disappearance, and despite his magic prowess, couldn't pin her location down.

(Fair enough.)

Suddenly reappearing, Mantis began to feel confident enough to return to her gloating ways.
"Aha! Do you see my power, Ferro?! This is merely a demonstration! An example for the rest of your herd!"

Cold Embrace: 42
Rushing Ferro, she wrapped him into her iron grip, pressing the two against one another. He could barely even struggle as she held him against her, the mechanical arms not only holding him, but other sensually caressing him.
"There. Doesn't that feel wonderful~? I can hardly understand why you're fighting me over this. This is what you want. You and all the rest. It's what you're designed to do. What you're designed to want."
With that, she gripped the back of his head, gently pushing her cold lips onto his, the invasive feeling being unusual, yet certainly not unwelcome. He could feel her pushing herself closer against him with each passing moment, locked in the passionate embrace. In any other circumstances, this was the sort of hold you would use in the ring rather than for a kiss.

Ferro's Willpower: 18
Ferro is bound!

She'd managed to get the jump on him, but now that she was within sight, he could target her again. All he had to do was get out...but would that really be what he wanted? It was starting to become harder and harder to really tell.
NO!!
He wasn't going to let her do what she wanted, with his mind or his body.

-Struggle-

Struggle: 32

Ferro, with a burst of defiance, pushed his way out of Mantis' hold, the two of them stumbling backwards.
"What~? Don't you like me?"
"..It's no use to fight it, anyway. I'm already up here, aren't I?" She gently tapped her temple, looking at him with an estranged grin, as if she knew something that he didn't.

Ferro's Willpower: 16

He groaned and closed his eyes and started performing several hand gestures, chanting each one's title.

-Nine Kata-