Barghest

[Miliardo Red]

TITLE: // Barghest
RANK: // Anti-Magus
APPEARANCE: //


INFORMATION: //
The Black Dog is a common mythical monster, particularly in Europe and America. A giant black hound with glowing eyes, attacking travelers or simply appearing as an omen of their doom. The Barghest grail monster appears as one of these giant dogs, seemingly composed of shadows.

The Barghest is a giant of a dog; think of what a 400 pound/ 200 kilogram dog would look like, and you have a good idea of how large the Barghest is. Unlike the Astem, it is not simply a large animal; it is much stronger and has near-human intelligence, and it's abilities are far more dangerous. The Barghest actively hunts prey, seeking out lone magi or masters without nearby servants. Once they've picked a target, they will hunt that one above all others, obsessively stalking a particular person. They typically hunt alone, and do not appear to intentionally cooperate with other grail beasts.

Their abilities make the Barghest a very dangerous foe. Balefire can be used repeatedly, and their Monstrous Reinforcement can turn them from a giant animal into a roving engine of destruction, faster and more powerful than any normal human could hope to match. But the Black Dog is also something of a coward; if the tables turn, it will quickly use Shadow Body to retreat. While cowardly, they tend to bear grudges. If a Barghest is driven off, you can be assured it is merely waiting for another opportunity to attack. They do not like to be defeated, and will plot against those that have outfought them in the past.

A human opponent is all but doomed, and a magus must actually be prepared to fight if confronted with a Barghest; they are not the simple beasts the Astem are. Servants would have little trouble against one, making the choice obvious: Don't travel without your Servant around.

By preference or quirk, a Barghest will only attack at night. During the day they will typically find somewhere to hide, or quietly stalk whatever target they've grown obsessed with.

SPECIAL ABILITIES: //
Shadow Body
The Barghest can seem to transform into a thick, shadowy liquid that moves quickly along the ground, which increases it's speed and makes it much harder to hurt. However, it must reform into it's proper body before it can resume it's assault, and as such, the Barghest generally uses this as a method of escape.

Shadow Body can slip into cracks and under doors, allowing the dark canine to slip through defenses and into hiding places at it's leisure.

Monstrous Reinforcement
Being creatures fueled by prana, the Barghest does not have the issues with full-body reinforcement that a magi would. It can vastly increase it's strength and speed, allowing it to outrun cars and smash through walls. This means the Barghest is an actual monster, not simply a big black dog.

Monstrous Reinforcement lasts 15 minutes and has an hour cooldown time; while it does not worry about prana consumption, the Barghest cannot simply run around always reinforced. It generally saves the effect for when it's needed.

Balefire
The Black Hounds were sometimes described as having baleful or fiery breath. The Barghest certainly has that. It can breath out a terrible gout of fire, 10 meters long, equivalent to a rank C spell, and can do so repeatedly; unlike Monstrous Reinforcement, there's no long cooldown period for the Barghest's Balefire. It merely inhales and then fires again.