The Cauldron of Black: The Creator and the Destroyer

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The Living Apocalypse
A deathly silence loomed over the battlefield, following the approach of the beast.

His presence was an anesthetic to everything else - voices, attacks, emotions and even sense. Everything was smothered under his presence, and everything smothered was forced to draw its attention to him. The initial panic that had occurred - people getting knocked down and thrown away, struggles to get back up and see what had attacked - had been swept away as quickly as it had arrived. Now there was only shock, awe and horror. Even some of the Quincy were regarding their objective with apprehension - a feeling they hadn't expected themselves to experience.

Thanks to Ultharon's approach, Renji's final attack had been blown away. Armisael, affected by both the wave of power and her own amazement, was nearly blown out of the sky along with it. But she was quick to right herself, giving a few flaps and twists of the body to keep herself safe. The sounds of flesh tearing and more blood spilling made her aware of the purchase on her back. "Oh?" She commented casually. "You're still alive back there? And despite what I put you through, you didn't even scream once. They must have put you through absolute hell for that, didn't they?"

Then, she performed what would be a surprising move, given the scenario. A three-sixty degree spin was performed. When Renji was facing the ground, the spikes that kept him bound to her retracted back into her body with sickening cracks. She briefly folded her wings as she turned back to belly-up position, her hands thrust out to Renji as he began to fall. She caught him underneath his arms, looking down on him with a mixture of amusement and satisfaction. "I can only wonder," She whispered, slowly lowering herself to ground level. "Will all of that resolve, endurance and determination matter now?"

She turned her gaze to the other members of the audience - particularly, the members of the enemy side.

"Wh-what the hell is that thing?!"

"Is that Ultharon?! How did he get free?!"

"I'd like to believe," Tsubasa breathed, regarding Ultharon with the same sense of apprehension he had felt when facing down an angry Yashin. Beads of sweat fell down his face, and suddenly the irritation within him was long forgotten. "That I'm entitled to a bad mood whenever I get the short end of the stick. I mean, if you can keep the biggest smile on your face after seeing that kind of thing stroll in... well..." He put on a wry grin. "The Spirit King has certainly blessed you."

"My God." Gina whispered, a clearer look of horror on her face. "I never would've thought... in my lifetime, I'd..." She trailed off, unable to say anything more. Her body was trembling, threatening to fall to its knees.

There were others who carried a much more positive outlook to it.

After getting over his own shock and horror, Zeruel turned back to face Daisuke. The grin on his face grew wider, and he gave a short set of laughter at the statement. "Spare me? I'm afraid that's not possible, boy." He answered casually, keeping a haughty tone of amusement in his words. "After all, in the next few minutes, there's not going to be anything left to spare. Neither from me--"

As he spoke, there would be another to share his anticipation.

When the smoke cleared from Tome's attack, Arael would be seen sitting with his arms resting on his knees. There was a puddle of blood around him - the only sign of him having been wounded. By the time he was seen, all of his injuries had healed until little more than scratches and light scars were left. Half of his shirt had been burned away, exposing part of a bare torso. Although he looked worse for the wear, he still bore a grin as wide as the Cheshire cats. He didn't bother looking at Ultharon like the rest did, keeping his eyes on his opponents and feasting on their own horror at the situation.

Jūshin was the first to notice it, swinging his head back to the white-haired Quincy and glaring. "And just what the hell's so funny over there?" He growled, trying to keep himself composed. "I think we'd all love a chuckle right now."

Arael chuckled, his eyes flashing with twisted delight as he raised his arms in a casual shrug. "Looks like Christmas came early for me." He taunted, slowly bringing himself up to his feet. "Shouldn't we stop this fighting and partake in this wonderful occasion?"