Neither fighter present held a large amount of fine-tuned skill. At his current station in his adventure, Devroux was not as powerful as he could become. There were a lot of things to learn about actual combat that he would have to discover in a trial by fire. The skeleton as well didn't have the reactions of someone that was battle hardened; representing little more than a situationally fashioned golem. However, even in spite of the lack of skill, the clash was an interesting view, as Tom could attest to.

Tell Tale Tom took a spot off to the side with a clear view of battle, yet also distancing himself away from the animals in the room, just in case they chose to attack. But even with that looming threat, the old navigator's eyes were locked on a supernatural battle. A humanoid bat tumbling around a walking skeleton. It was a sight that anyone would be hard-pressed to find anywhere else in the world, and that made it interesting even with the gaps in actual combat experience.

Devroux, however, couldn't take joy from the situation. He was the one doing the fighting. But even then, a flurry of slashes had made their way through and ripped off one of the skeleton's arms. Even if it wasn't the one he was targeting, it was a small victory that was granted another disorienting scream. Being so close to the skeleton, the high pitched noise was even harder to stand than it was the last time, grating at the mink's heightened sense of hearing. He closed his eyes for a split second and was met with the blunt force of the skeleton's shoulder smashing into his chest. Devroux eyes flipped open in an instant, but it was much too late to react before taking damage. The movement wasn't full of momentum, yet still managed to hurt and void the wind in his chest. The only thing Devroux could do now was grasp at anything he could to prevent being thrown to the ground.

Reaching out with his right arm, he managed to get his fingers dug into a space between the skeleton's armor. He didn't have a good grip, but before he lost it completely he had managed to stay within striking distance of the skeleton, putting him in a perfect position to take the gauntlet-covered punch from the skeleton. The mink had managed to stay close enough that the only thing to make contact was the skeleton's hand, missing the bladed portion of its undead rotation, but receiving some broken ribs for his efforts. However, even as he could feel the ribs crunching, it was enough to bring him back to his sense, even if momentarily. It hurt, but the situation was dire and required action regardless of his state of health.

Devroux used his left hand to grab the skeleton's arm, riding out the full 360 degree rotation, but using the moment to attack with the kiridashi in his right hand. He was close enough to strike virtually any important spot on the skeleton's being, but two were priority above all others considering the creature's lack of internal organs; those spots being the skull and the arm holding the sword. He chose the latter, spinning the kiridashi in his hand to stab downwards with it, attempting to shove the pocket knife-sized blade into the elbow joint of the skeleton and pop the entire forearm off in one quick motion.

The mink was unaware of what made the skeleton work, but his primary concern was not potentially killing the skeleton, but disarming it so that the kill would be made easier and less of a risk to himself.

With the rotation ended, Devroux dropped to his knees. His mid-section hurt beyond belief, preventing him from lunging towards the skeleton, but luckily, he didn't have to. In tandem, Devroux thrust both kiridashi at the spot just below the skeleton's rib cage, targeting the bare spine between the hip bone and the rib cage. The wind wouldn't carry nearly the same impact as the actual blades would, but together they might just get the job done and knock the spine out completely, immobilizing the skeleton if it still decided not to abide by the rules of death.

And it was after this that Devroux used his time to roll to the side, putting as much space between him and the skeleton as he could. Anything would work. He needed to catch his breath and come to grips with the pain before he could continue the fight, otherwise it'd be an uphill battle from here.

Devroux was able to jam the kiridashi into the skeleton's elbow joint. Applying as much force as he could muster into moving the now embedded blade, the mink was slowly able to pry apart the arm and send the blade to the floor with a loud clang. The plan had worked, but the result was not to expectations. The only intent that Devroux had was to disarm the opponent and attack while he had nothing to guard himself with, but what ended up happening was the complete destruction of the foe before him. However, rather than crumbling to the floor as would have been expected, the skeleton that Devroux was still clinging too burst apart, sending pieces of it and the mink flying.

The skeletal explosion was powerful, but the effect of it was not the same as a traditional explosion. Instead of being a destructive force, it merely accompanied the destruction of the skeleton, sending out a pulse of force that washed over the room, tossing Devroux aside and shaking sand loose from the ceiling. The force itself was dramatic, but not painful for Devroux beyond the impact of slamming against the floor when it was done with him. But even though the force itself wasn't an issue it still managed to cause injury and mayhem within the room. What the mink noticed first was the piece of the skeleton's rib that was sticking out of his side and another piece that was protruding out his shoulder.

Both injuries were painful and with the addition of the injuries that he had accrued during the fight with the skeleton, he wasn't in a very positive position. However, while he was in a lot of pain, his legs weren't affected by any of it. He'd still be able to walk, which meant he could get to help and get healed before any of it managed to take his life. Death would not come to him today.

Or so he thought.

The sound of stone slabs snapping under increased weight made its way into Devroux's ears, causing him to turn his head and witness the sight of the giant boulder coming crashing to the floor. The force of the skeleton's explosion must have shaken it loose from the grip of the crabs, causing it to finally be able to hit the floor, mercilessly crushing the bananawani and the moving crab beneath its massive weight. It pulled down sand and ceiling with it, enveloping the room in a thin film of dust before the boulder itself began to roll forward towards both Devroux and Tell Tale Tom. The stone flooring began to snap and turn up behind it as the boulder began to roll forward against the natural tilt of the building. The only hope for Devroux was to reach the doorway he and Tom had come through, which lead to a smaller path that would keep the stone from following. Luckily, in all the wounds the Devroux had received, the tuck of his wings had kept them intact. Although he couldn't use them when he reached the smaller pathway, he could use them to reach it.

Devroux extended his wings, beating them once to pull himself off the ground and into a standing position. Grabbing his wings, he thrust his arms downward to create some thrust and help give him a running start, creating a shared process of making both running and flight easier until he was in the air in just a few quick steps. He darted forward through the room, grabbing the sword the skeleton had dropped on his way towards Tom, but was met with a greater pain than he had felt in a long while.

His foot wrapped around the hilt of the blade, sending a static charge of pain through his body and into his brain. He could feel the sword. He could feel its rage, its anguish towards the loss, and more than anything, its bloodlust. It was the final confirmation that the sword was the root of all the problems Devroux had witnessed in this journey. The sword, Yoru as it called itself, was rife with a lust for battle that tainted the local island. It had infected the wildlife with the same lust for battle and if he wasn't careful, Devroux would lose his sanity to the weapon as well. The pain was overwhelming, but it was still beat out b Devroux's consciousness being aware of the dire peril he was in.

He gripped the sword tightly and thrust his arms faster, working through the mental pain he was feeling and flying towards Tom. With the other leg, he grabbed the old man by the collar of his shirt and hoisted him through the air. The mink folded his wings just before they hit the doorway, launching himself, Tom, and Yoru into the safety of the pathway. Tom and Devroux scooted away from the doorway as the boulder rolled towards them, the mink grabbing Yoru and grinding his teeth against the mental pain once more. The travelers were lucky they began to move away, as they were forced to make a run for it when the boulder pushed its way through the doorway, crumbling the surrounding walls and revealing the extra space for it to roll.

"It's a trap," Tell Tale Tom shouted, darting off ahead of the mink after noticing first. "This entire thing was designed to kill us. We have to get to the end of the tunnel!"

Understanding the emergency state they were in, Devroux followed his partner as quickly as he could. He was a great deal slower than Tom on foot, as his legs weren't built for running. His only way of keeping up was small leaps, relying on the minimum amount he could open his wings to quickly, yet safely, glide down the stairway. Yet even then, the only thing keeping the two travelers alive was the fact that this boulder had to flatten the entire length of the wall before it got to them. Any mishaps for either of them and they'd be squashed beneath its weight.

The opening to the next room at the bottom of the tunnel grew ever closer with each step the travelers took. The journey up was a lot harder and a lot slower, but was also a lot less stressful than the trip down. Tom was ahead of Devroux, with the mink only managing to keep up with his pseudo-gliding trick, but at their maximum speed the boulder was still managing to close the distance over time. Each step brought it closer and closer, making them run harder and harder to reach the destination that would save their lives.

With a couple of long strides, the two of them leaped through the hole into what they thought was safety. Devroux could feel the boulder tap his butt as he made it out, ensuring that he knew how dire the situation they were in really was. The room they had burst into had the wall slightly concaved by the massive boulder slamming into it, putting more fear into the travelers who half expected it to continue to pursue them. The saving grace for them, though, was the wall that it had to crush over the length of the tunnel, keeping it from getting up to speed so that it could burst through.

"WEE HOO!" The shouting of Tell Tale Tom filled the dark room they now stood. The life-threatening situation was over and he deserved his celebration.

Devroux, on the other hand, could only stare at the hilt of the blade that sat in his hands. The saber was built unlike anything he had seen before. The hilt was relatively normal until it came to the guard, which were formed by an elaborate array of steel thorns. The blade itself was soft, yet hard to the touch, almost as if it were made of flesh and bone. Eyes and mouths lines the blade, none of which interfering with the fine edge that ran on both sides of it. But above any visual aesthetic it gave was the weight. The blade itself didn't seem to weight anything at all, with all of that weight being store in the hilt. The center of all the weight was directly on his hand, and it felt so smooth to wield. The feeling was incomprehensible to the mink, realizing how amazing the treasure Tom had lead him to actually was.

But the feelings that the sword shoved into his head were another story. This desire to kill that Devroux was only barely able to stave off. It was as if the pain, anguish, and rage of hundreds of people were stored within the blade, honed into a fine edge of bloodlust. The sword, Yoru, was a fright to hold, but the power was also awe-inspiring to the mink that now wielded it.

"Thank you, Tom. You've helped greatly." Devroux stood up, swinging the sword down to feel the weight during an actual swing, the floor beneath the point splitting effortlessly apart.

"Let's go. I'll buy you a drink as an extra thanks."

"Wee hoo!" Tell Tale Tom took the lead once again, beginning the journey back to Alabasta with the treasure now in hand.

[EXIT]