"If you're hoping that being a living battering ram does you any good, I'd like to ask you refrain from such beliefs. You'd only hurt yourself if you do that." Bathory commented as she'd try to reach for the nearest sharp object to use as a weapon against the Necromancer. She'd try to weaponize her blood again as blades to slash into Ji-Mon, but the body didn't flinch. Shocked, she'd be met with a grisly swing against her skull, knocking her off course, as he kept the push going. In retaliation, she'd let the blood that poured from her head dribble down to a shield, blocking the next strike Ji-Mon did to expose that wound further, and deliver a slash against his neck, letting it open up like a can, the blood spraying everywhere all over, especially upon her own body.
KRACC!!!
And yet, it did nothing. She'd slowly start putting the pieces together as she'd kept up this song and dance, seeing how much his body is corroding away, the flesh looking decomposed, the bones barely making any sounds, apart from the snap and crackle once it was made to a drill and pierced through her stomach. He wasn't just 'playing dead', but 'cosplaying' as it. He made his body work into overtime in such corruption, letting him act as much of an animated corpse as possible without losing both control and life from said body. She was bewildered beyond belief as to why he was willing to go this far, let alone against a Countess that was currently struggling against the magic minutes prior. What compelled him to take this path? She was almost tempted to try and get away, an instinctual fear spiked into her own heart. That very moment was when Shoka began to speak, to answer the question in her mind. "'Why?' That's what's on your mind, isn't it?" He'd begin.
He'd keep the pressure going as he'd heal from both the chop and the twist, letting his other hand deliver a barrage, forcing Bathory to block as much as possible, grabbing the wrist and trying to break it. Such an attempt only resulted in snapping off the hand entirely and using the exposed bone to act as a blade to barrage her again with stabs. "It took me ten years to train my energy and its function to the way it is, and it took me another ten years to learn from the very best and secure my first magic style. Twenty years of non-stop blood, sweat, tears, and whatever other fluids grinded me down to who I am today. Every trick, every spell, every nook, every cranny, I studied the way of magic more than anyone else! My goal in life is to find that very secret, the very reason as to why Magic as a concept even EXISTS for us! Why we are chosen to take it! Why we are chosen to expand it! Why we are chosen to breed it a new Exordium!" His voice raised higher and higher alongside his attacks, going ballistic in both speed and momentum, keeping a pace that would make the Countess struggle, forcing her to explode such blood and use it as both an escape and an attack to stab through the talisman and into his eyes.
Even with such injuries, such punctures, he still continued. "MAN! WOMAN! CHILDREN! HUMANS AND MONSTERS ALIKE! WE ALL HAVE ONE PURPOSE! TO GROW! TO CHANGE! The reason why we are here... IS TO GROW HUMANITY AND LIFE ITSELF WITH OUR DEATH!!!!" His scream echoed freely, his voice flowing through the vacant ghost town left behind by the Shadow Mages'
"Life...? LIFE!?!? Have you not heard yourself?!? That is the most contradictory statement I have ever heard! 'With our Death', by the time we DIE, there will not be any further progress. We'd be at peace! We'd be at ease! What Growth is there in dying?!" She'd retort, but such words were laughed back by Ji-Mon as he followed it.
"That is the Nihilism talking. Have you not heard of 'Death' in the Arcana? A friend of mine gave me that card for my daily fortune. She told me it is a card that acts as 'Change', usually in something Drastic. That Drastic push can be anything, really: A magical sum of trillions in gold, a Death of a loved one, a new bond that opens new horizons. Even something as simple as a loss from a strong opponent can spark it! Whatever it is, it is a change. It is something that WILL occur, no matter what. A change that involves the very self be martyred to portray and personify the belief we have? The opportunity that many others can follow and learn by its past and elevate it to its future? To broaden it in open lands where no one has ever gone before? That is a Change ONLY POSSIBLE by Death. Without Death, we'd be stagnant. We'd never discover things before us. We'd never learn from our mistakes or take notes in our victories! Death is as Life is as Death. That very balance, and thus, that very progress..."
"THAT! IS WHAT NECROMANCY IS! TO TAKE THAT GROWTH AND RAISE IT BEYOND THE LIVING!! TO LIVE AND TO DIE! THE CHANGE THAT WILL BECOME A NEW GENERATION BOTH PAST AND FUTURE!!" Bathory couldn't believe what she was hearing, seeing him change from an energetic fighter to a fanatic. In a way, it almost annoys her, hearing about such growth for Humanity's sake. It reminded her of the discourse her husband and King has with one another, only this one's more louder. More demanding. More visceral in words and emotions.
"You're living in a fantasy, Necromancer. Nothing awaits us in that very end, no progress, no opportunity. Only isolation and peace. Only quiet and darkness. To prattle on about this change is to expect the world to actually follow that mindset, and as far as I can tell, that thought never crossed in ANYONE'S minds. You're better off making a cult out of your words than letting fate dictate that choice. Your Tarot Read is hogwash." Her insult came sharper than any blade she could throw, yet Ji-Mon only laughed, as he'd rush ahead and followed her speech, her sounds. He was close to her, as his eyes regrew back, the same kanji imprinted in his iris.
"Then show me! Prove me wrong by taking my life! Make that change with your own bare hands!" He'd demand, as he'd cause the departed undead to merge with the mass, a few more zombie soldiers flanking on Bathory's sides, preparing a new growth in his own style of magic. The wick within him was beginning to flicker, his cells needing tentative care. Even under that strong smile, he fears what would happen if he mistimes and is forced to handle such dead cells in his system.