Yiathahak's arrival seemed to draw some attention from the other players. Fear, or at least the sort of caution that made one stare apprehensively at a man for much longer than he would normally be comfortable with, was the overall mood of the room, which he found far more amusing than he really should have. When the lanky blue-and-gold person - Saerimnir, his hovering nameplate read - subconsciously shrank back at the sight of him, he couldn't help but flash a toothy grin in reply and chuckle a bit to himself. Much like an actual hyena's laugh, the sound was hardly reassuring.<br/><br/>Two others joined soon afterwards, and both caught his interest. Eris was another human, which was not particularly remarkable, but she way that she carried herself so confidently suggested to him that she might have had past experience with the game. "Hell No", on the other hand, looked more amusing than useful. He must have been small and squat even by the dwarf's standards, but to Yiathahak who stood over eight feet tall, the effect was exaggerated well beyond that, and it was unlikely that anything short of lying prone would bring the two of them face-to-face.<br/><br/>The gnoll's ears twitched involuntarily as they picked up the middle of a brief conversation about the "ancient Assguardians", which was cut short by a vicious "Nyeh!" and the sound of movement approaching from the cave entrance. The barrier had come down, and imps began to pour into the room in great number, menacing its residents with pickaxes and tiny pairs of fangs, neither of which struck Yiathahak as particularly menacing. Saerimnir and the Assguardian, however, simultaneously began a clumsy half-retreat to the back of the cave, both managing to trip themselves in different ways almost immediately. Rather than join them, Yiathahak stepped forwards - and nearly lost his own balance as he brought one of his thick pawed feet down upon the chest of an advancing imp, pinning it to the floor and sliding it along with his leg a good few inches further than he had intended either to stop.<br/><br/>For a brief moment, he hesitated. Although the pads on the soles of his feet were hardly sensitive, he could still feel the creature struggling and gasping for breath beneath him. He didn't ponder the thought for long, especially since the tiny thing had charged a plainly superior foe with absolutely no regard for its own safety, but it nonetheless struck him as strangely realistic. He knew he was in a video game - he even possessed a subconscious awareness of how injured the imp was - so what purpose did its pitiful behavior serve? Was it only there to sell the premise of it being a weak enemy? He was about to step off of it until the thing raised its miniature pickaxe into the air, intent on freeing itself at the expense of his leg, and with a grunt he shifted his weight forwards instead, pressing the entirety of it down upon the imp's chest. It gave off a high-pitched screech, strained in futility for a fraction of a second, then fell limp.<br/><br/>...Sure enough, it felt for all the world like killing an actual animal. Somewhere in the back of his mind, the act disturbed David more than he was expecting, but also far less than he thought it should have - instead of disgust he felt... excitement. It was likely adrenaline which caused him to immediately search for the next threat, but he didn't have to look far. Imps had flooded into the cavern and all but surrounded him and the others, filling the enclosed space with the echoing of a dozen Nyehs even as their numbers were rapidly culled by attacks both desperate and occasionally even intentional. The gnoll didn't register the toothy grin spreading across his own face as he drew his knife, but two of his opponents hopped forwards all the same, undaunted by the sight of a foe easily more than four times their size.<br/><br/>To his regret, the difficulty of striking a foe less than a quarter one's size quickly became embarrassingly clear to Yiathahak. His sense of balance was poor enough on a new pair of legs, but to even bring his arms within reach required him to bend downwards and assault the creatures with wide, awkward swings of his weapon. His aim and stability were hindered badly by such a position, and he only managed to land one solid hit before accidentally toppling over onto his side. The unfortunate imp was sent flying across the room without so much as a shallow cut from the bladed "edge" of his knife,  belted out a defiant "Nyeh!" as it soared over the heads of its brethren, hit the wall with a soft thud, and finally landed dazed with its stomach to the floor. Yiathahak was harmed far more by his own landing - he yelped as a muted pain stung his right shoulder upon impact, and while he struggled to stand upright, a new pair of imps saw fit to try and dig into his backside with their weapons. One missed and found its pickaxe caught on his robes, while the other was only strong enough to inflict a shallow wound in the gnoll's thick hide.<br/><br/>Surprising himself more than anyone else, Yiathahak snarled rather than give in to panic. The instant he felt the strike against his back, he rolled over and brought a fist down upon the imp responsible, knocking it against the floor. When it continued to move, he clenched his claws tight over its head and rolled backwards, slamming it down harder still on the backswing. Though it did not act afterwards, he was once again aware that the creature was not yet fatally injured, so he used his spare hand to retrieve his knife from the floor and stabbed it straight through the chest, finally ending its struggle.<br/><br/>This time, he felt more than just excited - he felt powerful. Though the sudden movement had only made things worse for his injured arm, and he somehow<span style="font-style: italic">knew</span>that he was still just as hurt without the need to even check, the pain from both of his wounds had become little more than a numb tingling sensation. Moreover, he could tell that he had become capable of... something. He couldn't place whether it came from killing the imp or being harmed by it, but the power he felt was quite literal, and if nothing else he was certain that it could be released.<br/><br/>With a low grumble, Yiathahak pressed against the floor and slowly rose to his feet. Underneath him he noticed the body of a third imp, crushed by his earlier fall, as well as its weapon which lay embedded head-first into the flesh of his shoulder. It didn't seem important in the moment, so he left it where it was. He paid even less mind to the fourth imp, now clinging to the spikes on his collar, as he took stock of his surroundings. There were no more reinforcements arriving that he could see, and the few remaining enemies were too busy with his alleged companions to give him any attention. He didn't particularly care - raising his damaged right arm towards the first one he saw that wasn't dangerously close to an ally of his, Yiathahak fixed it with an intense stare and imagined its destruction.<br/><br/>Nothing happened for a moment, but gradually, a faint crimson glow lit up the palm of his outstretched hand. Dark smoke began to drift between his fingers, thickening as time passed on, until the entire spell ignited without warning in a brilliant flash of red and streaked outwards like a screaming rocket. The point of impact kicked up a small amount of dust, but as it settled, all that remained was a dented miner's helmet and a long scorch mark on the stone floor.<br/><br/>To Yiathahak, if no one else, the room seemed to fall silent as he stared at the damage. It was only a few seconds later that he noticed how the shrill, cackling laughter which eventually broke it was coming from his own mouth.