"Oi, Hotblood! Have at ya!" Amon yelled as he swung at Octivir's organic leg.
Amaud was fast. The Hotblooded Alchemist immediately swiveled on his good leg, bringing the automail blade down to catch the halberd mid-swing. What happened next was somehow even more implausible. With a grunt and a swing, Octivir's leg swung the halberd up and to the side, catching its hook around a piece of the shelf and sticking it there. Amaud then leaped forward, landing on his hands and spinning around as his leg-blade darted through the air like a mad, spinning hornet. Amon was forced to back away; his focus was on the blade, so much so that he never noticed Amaud hop into the air, clap, and bring his hands back to the floor.
A cartoonish stone fist burst from the ground under the Spice Alchemist and launched him through the air as Amaud finally returned to his feet. With a single transmutation his leg was back to its original shape, and he took a moment to transmute his foe's halberd into a hand-and-a-half sword.
[hr]
At that moment, a stone rod from Leopold smashed into the fugitive's back. He rolled forward, immediately coming back to his feet and looking over at him with a furious sneer. "Damn it! How many of you ARE there?!"
Though he was not a genius by alchemist standards, the Hotblooded Alchemist was still far beyond the creative prowess of the average Amestrian. He recognized that, since the other parts of the floor were being avoided save for the limestone, this new foe must only be able to transmute stone. That was his weakness. Hotblooded brought his palms together once more, and the room glowed blue as he transmuted his own sword. Dozens of metallic darts shot out towards the Landscaping Alchemist, and at that exact moment the dog of the military countered with a similar assault.
"The more I fight the faster this place crashes down - Amaud! Stop or I will crash the roof over your head!"
A single arrowhead grazed Hotblooded's arm. He grunted as blood spurted out and transmuted the closest shelf into a metallic shield in front of him, blocking all the assaults brought on him. "Go ahead and try it!" he shouted back. Anton chose this moment to attack, swinging with both arms towards Amaud. Hotblooded wouldn't go down so easy, though, and deflected one blow with his raised automail leg. Then, he got creative. He clapped his hands together, and brought them in to intercept the higher-aimed claws. He caught them head on, getting his hands torn up in the process. Amaud gritted his teeth and stifled a howl, but nonetheless got enough of a grip on Wilson's arms to transmute the diamond tips on his hands. With a slam, the claws hit the shelf to their left and shattered; they must have been no stronger than graphite. With another kick, the Lieutenant went flying backwards.
Amaud grinned and shouted "Who wants more?! I can take anything you've got!"
At that precise moment, a few bullets from James impacted to the side of his head. Amaud's face when pale with shock, and he immediately transmuted the floor beneath him. Three stone pillars shot up, two to his side and then one beneath him coming after. The first two tore a gaping hole in the ceiling, leading to the rooftop as Octivir's own pillar delivered him through it and out of sight.
"If you want me you'll have to fight for it!" he shouted as he disappeared from sight.
[hr]
"I'll ask again what the hell is that thing!"
Even as it was in what seemed like death throes, the monster turned its head towards Tasha and grinned before replying in a childlike voice "My name is Gluttony!"
It shot to its feet, ripping its very legs out of the stone to escape it. The feet within the trap dissipated, and new ones formed, perfectly attached to the monster's ankles. It began charging Tasha in a mad dash with its huge tongue dangling out the side of its mouth. As he got close, the built-up energy in Spark's hands coursed straight through his body. Gluttony's body convulsed, and he shrieked in pain as he was fried to a crisp, but even then didn't stop moving. One of his humongous arms smacked her in the side, sending her crashing into the wall as he turned to face down the Vampire Alchemist and Ken.
"I can smell lots of blood on you!" Gluttony mentioned with glee. "You'll be my best snack in a week!"
[hr]
The three gangsters, plus the poor veteran never even saw Marlin coming. His attack caught them off guard to the point that at least two, maybe all four of them shrieked in rather embarrasing voices as they fell to the ground. In the same moment, the water froze over, trapping them in place. They looked up completely helpless towards Marlin. "Oh no, it's an Alchemist!" one of them whispered to another.
Their worried expressions definitely proved they had nothing to rely on but his mercy at that moment.
