The Cauldron of Black: Through The Looking Glass

Previous Chapter |

Waking Up
When she came to, the world of Brina McTavish was incomprehensible and alien thanks to her scattered senses.

She let out a groan as she slowly opened her eyes, her gaze weary and exhausted. Her vision was blurred, taking only hints of an upside-down world of brimstone and fire. Looking downward rewarded her with the sight of reddish-orange rocks covering her body. As she took it in, feeling returned to her. She ached all over, and in her haze, she couldn't quite figure out why. A shuddering breath her as the pain washed over her, fueling the rest of her senses to a full state of alertness. She took in another one, instinctively preparing to get herself up and on her feet.

A sudden pain shot through her right leg.

Her head fell back against the ground, and she let out an agonized cry as the awful sensation shot up her body. She clenched her teeth, raising her head up as best as she could to see what had caused it. Although she couldn't see much it, she could catch splotches of red right beside the affected leg. Moving it not only caused considerable pain, but it felt like she was rubbing it through a fluid. In addition, she could feel the several breaks within the limb. In that instant, everything came back to her. There was the fight with the Winter Knight. There was one of his arrows that had sent them on a free-fall from the area they had been in. And now, there was this.

"Great..." She hissed through clenched teeth, rolling her eyes away from the wound and laying her head back down. "Just how can this get any worse"

She was cut off when she laid her head back completely, the sight of a gun barrel pressed against her head stopping her cold. At first, she looked shocked. But when she took in just how exactly was holding the gun, it was quick to regress. She took in a deep breath and exhaled harshly, closing her eyes. "That," She mumbled. "Is a very good answer."

It was the Winter Knight himself.

He appeared to be in better shape than the now immobilized McTavish, his uniform covered in dust spots and several ripped patches of cloth. His visor was missing, though he retained his black face plate, revealing his one good blue left eye and his scarred, blinded right one. The most significant damage that one would be able to make out would be his mechanical right arm; sparks would occassionally pop outwards of its joints, and it appeared to be missing a few parts, sometimes twitching as if he were struggling to hold it straight.

He stared her down, the hand gun pressed tightly up against her forehead for several seconds before he finally spoke. "...My arm's damaged, vision's slightly impaired, I lost my target, feeling agitated and helpless... and I'm low on my ammo count... you picked a bad time to get pinned under a rock with me, McTavish." he said in a gruff and irritated voice.

Brina slowly opened her eyes to a half-lidded position. A weak grin was made out of her mouth, despite the hurting she was going through. "Well, look on the good side..." She said hoarsely, chuckling painfully. "Clearly, you still have enough rounds to kill me with. And at the very least, you can walk out of here with the majority of yourself intact. Me? I'm going to die at the hands of this husk of a being, this shell of a soul walking in human clothing. Sazuke's already probably coming up with some malarkey speech about me having to be left behind for the sake of duty, writing me off as dead. Knowing her, she'd be glad to have the thorn in her side taken out."

The smile faded away, and she closed her eyes once more. "Well, I don't think I'm in much of a position to stop you. My leg's busted, my body's refusing to cooperate with me and I think the fight took a lot more out of me than I anticipated. I guess you win this fight, Asumu. Go on. Finish me off."

With his free hand, the mercenary reached up and ripped his faceplate off, tossing it aside. Sure enough, it was the former Sternritter 'S' of the dissolved Wandenreich: Asumu Godai. His glare kept itself fixated on her, the gun still pressed against her head as his finger calmly placed itself on the trigger. He seemed to be contemplating his next set of actions very carefully before he would commence executing one of his old friends, and the longer he thought, the pressure of the gun being pressed against her forehead would decrease, before he finally lowered it entirely. Knowing their current situation, wasting ammo on executing an opponent who couldn't fight back was both a waste and counterproductive, as such ammo could be used to help him survive the remainder of this plane until he could reach an extraction point. Ammo was a problem to begin with as he couldn't afford to draw attention to himself by drawing in Spiritual energy to use Heilig Pfeil, and this also reminded him that the sound produced from the shot intending to kill Brina would also draw unneeded attention to himself.

He knew he only had one real choice.

"Now that's a sad state, seeing you quit so easily." He said as he calmly holstered the gun on his left leg's compartment, before kneeling down closer to her on one knee. "From what I learned, there are at least ten different ways you can fix this situation, or could have at least, before you let me get the drop on you." he said, his gaze glancing back towards the direction that his fellow Quincy had gone, before letting out an annoyed and defeated sigh. "Thanks to your intrusion, my target's already gone too far out of my reach. I'm going to have to get out of here to regroup with my team..." he went on before turning his gaze back to her. "... and you're coming with me."

Beat.

Brina could only regard him with bewilderment, opening her eyes and staring at him as if he had grown a second head. Even the pain coursing through her body couldn't stop her incredulity. Had he really staved his hand? He had a perfect opportunity to finish her off, get rid of the thorn in his side before it could sink any deeper. Yet, he had spared her? She could only imagine what propelled him into this line of thinking.

But when she heard about his target, her shock gave way to confusion. An eyebrow was cocked and her mouth curled in a slight frown. The way he was speaking made it seem like she had misinterpreted his true intentions. She believed that his target had been the rescue/attack force. But he wouldn't have told her about coming with him, unless it meant she was to be a hostage or tortured for information. The thought of being tortured sent a chill down her spine, and she had to make sure she didn't let it show on the surface. She gave another weak chuckle, slowly closing her eyes. "Look, honey. If you're trying to hold me up for ransom or squeeze me for info, you're wasting your time. After all, I am still a member of the Onmitsukidō..."

Asumu didn't verbally respond, instead, his metal arm reached out towards the larger piece of debris that was pinning her to the ground and pulled it upwards by a few inches, just enough for his free hand to grab hold of Brina under her right armpit and then pull her out of the debris. Although he wasn't rough in doing so, his motion wouldn't be terribly gentle either, a sign that he could possibly be in a hurry. As he set the boulder back down, he calmly lifted one of Brina's arms around his shoulders, briefly putting his other arm around her waist to help better support her. When it was finished, he pulled out his pistol from his holster and kept it in his free hand. "You're of no use to me in either case." he responded finally, starting to steadily walk with her towards the direction of what appeared to be a forest of large, pointed purple thorns that seemed to stick out of the level's surface for miles on end.

"...I just don't want your rescue team to start firing at me on sight." he continued. "And if they're going to send who I think they're going to send, then I think we'll be in good hands."

Either Asumu didn't know how to properly carry someone with a broken leg, or he was being purposefully sadistic.

Being dragged from the rubble caused an overwhelming spike of agony to shoot from her shattered leg and through the rest of her body. She had to clench her teeth in order to stifle a moan, her eyes reflexively squinting as they focused on her form getting pulled out. The blood staining both the clothing around the limb and the ground left a trail in her wake, and the slight bumps were shaking up the broken bone even more. As he lifted her up on her feet, her eyes widened with a hint of alarm. Her mouth opened up, attempting to relay a warning to her courier.

"W-wait--!"

The foot of her wounded leg met the ground, and her position made her press her weight on it.

She shut her eyes and let out a pained shout, her body falling from Asumu's grip and back to the ground again. She managed to bring up her arms to keep her face from hitting the ground, but had to roll on her side in order to avoid pressing any more on her fractures. She pressed a hand against her thigh, looking up at him a mixture of pain and irritation. "Have you not heard of inspecting a rustled package before you start carrying it any which way?" She hissed, exhaling a breath as she focused her gaze on her leg. "Or didn't you get the part where I said I had a leg busted up?"

She didn't wait for a response, pushing herself as best as she could while keeping herself on her side. She closed her eyes, focusing a few Kidō spells in order to mend the leg. A Geki spell paralyzed it, and very slight bursts of energy from a Sai spell allowed her to push the bone back into place. She hissed softly as she dug fingers into her thigh, piercing it to the point of her tips were touching the bone. From those tips, a miniature Hōrin spell wrapped around the bone to ensure that further agitation of her injuries was minimal. Although it would require her focus to keep these spells in check, it would also keep her from getting wounded by any more movement.

She ripped off one of her sleeves, using her finger to cut it into a ribbon before hiking her hakama leg. As she set to dressing the wound, she looked up at Asumu again. Once again, her expression had regressed to a simple raise of the eyebrow plus a small frown. "And what's this about a rescue team? Like I said, they're not coming back for me. That'd be wasting time and numbers, searching for one lone operative. They'll proceed on as planned. As far as they're concerned, I've just become another statistic. I thought you, of all people, would've guessed that much."

Try as she might, she couldn't help the subtle taste of bitterness that came along with those words.

As before, Asumu's response would be delayed. With a sharp scrape of metal, like a sword being ripped from a sheathe, he pulled another pistol out of his other side compartment, grabbing it by the barrel and then holding it's handle up to her for her to grab with her free hand. "I don't have time to baby you." he responded gruffly as they entered the violet rock forest. There were small stretches of something resembling a trail inside of it, one that he would have to follow in order to reach a proper clearing. In his mind, an area like this would be difficult for any possible pursuers to both traverse and find them at the same time. Any normal individual could possibly end up losing themselves in this forest, as there were numerous trails, all leading in different directions between the eerie violet sharp rocks that seemed to stretch on endlessly, but Asumu had the capability to see the true path with little difficulty.

"Besides..." he continued after a few seconds. "...if I remember what you told me before all of this, you've been through a lot worse than a busted leg." His blind eye then glanced over at her as he continued moving, his pace pace not losing a beat despite the load he was carrying. "Which reminds me... I never did say it was good to at least see you again... even if I was trying to kill you earlier."

Silently, Brina thanked herself for her impromptu medical procedure. Once again, she had found herself in the same position as before. But this time, her wounded leg had the strength to support itself. It stung every time she pressed her foot against the ground, but at the very least she was able to walk. She could brush off the stings, as long as they didn't become worse.

As she walked as best as she could alongside him, she cast a glare of annoyance at him. The gun she held in her hand twitched, almost as if she was ready to shoot him down then and there. But she remained silent, listening to him to the very end of his words. At this, she regarded him with a bemused curiosity. It was almost as if she was looking at a completely different person - at least, one different compared to the one she had fought prior to their fall. The "shell-shocked soldier" act was falling away, and a bit of the old him that she knew was seeping out. Had it been just an act, all along?

"What happened to you?" She asked quietly. "I was so certain back there that you had discarded your humanity, your very identity. I'm not even sure if you're still in that state of mind or just playing me for a fool."

"I don't think I can confirm either, honestly." he responded with a sigh as they treked onwards. He went silent for a few more seconds after saying this, as if he were having to word what he was about to say more carefully than usual. "... but I can say that you're wrong about your first point." he finally started, his gaze drifting downwards in a solemn manner. "Honestly... I don't think I've ever felt more human in my life. My King is dead, executed by my own hand in a bid to grant him mercy. My old Sternritter comrades have abandoned me, and I'm now left with a legion of soldiers, blinded in their loyalty to me as I was to Yhwach all those years ago..."

His tone became a bit lower as he went on. "I'm a soldier, not a person. I wasn't raised to talk and make friendly with people I met as much as I was raised to either give them orders or kill them. It's just how I worked... but after the war, after the others all went their seperate ways, and after I was left with nothing but my own will to go by... I really did feel lost... but then..." his gaze then shifted back forwards, looking more angered than usual. "...then I caught wind of what Arael and his followers were trying to do; essentially bring about the end of the world. My team and I offered our services to help him, but in truth, I came to kill him. Without him, the rest of his group wouldn't be able to proceed properly, and that thing would remain in Hell where it belongs."

He then glanced over towards Brina, his expression lowered again. "...and then you came."

The way he spoke that line didn't seem very congratulatory.

Brina looked at him, silently mulling over his words. She had been wrong all this time. He had never been after the Shinigami. It was all a ploy, an act in order to keep the big bad villain from seeing him as an enemy. It was also the best course of action; while joining the Alliance may have kept him better protected from any Arael's machinations, it also would've made him a much easier target. If she hadn't attacked his squad, would he have ended it before they could?

She closed her eyes and sighed, turning away from him. "Messed things up for you that much, did I?" She took in a deep breath, slapping the back of her hand to her forehead and shaking that head in a melodramatic matter. "Oh, if only you told me about it instead of firing that first shot at me, this never would've happened! All I wanted was to meet one of my closest friends! You couldn't even grant me that, could you? Wah~!"

Asumu simply looked at her with a somewhat annoyed glance. "...well you did kill nearly all of my men..." He started, finishing with a light sigh as he contemplated the lives under his command that were all taken in mere seconds. It initially re-ignited the spark in his chest that made him want to kill her, the one that made him take up arms against her in the first place, but alas, such action would avail him nothing here. "...Ah well, there's nothing we can do about it now but-."

He stopped himself mid-sentence, his hike halting dead in it's tracks. He had felt something, seen something, and it had either terrified him enough to make him completely stiff, or he simply didn't want to move for fear of agitating whatever or whoever had apparently found them. Slowly, he began to set Brina carefully up against one of the violet thorn-like pillars in the forest. "Something's been following us..."

And just like that, all of the jollity from the situation had vanished.

The moment Asumu set her against the pillar was the moment Brina froze, as well. She scanned with her senses instead of her eyes, searching the area moving a muscle. Although her index finger subtly crawled closer and closer to the trigger, she didn't raise her gun up. If their stalker happened to be watching, she didn't want it to be aware that they were onto it. In the event that they were suddenly attacked, she could rely on her reaction time to save her from getting decapitated or disintegrated. She hoped that it would be enough to save her from the initial attack; she didn't want to have to agitate this detrimental injury more than she needed to.

"Where's it hiding?" She asked, keeping her tone low as she continued scanning.

He didn't answer immediately, crouching down to be on her level as he scanned the environment along with her. "...it feels like it's everywhere; whatever it is, it's pretty big." he finally responded. Both of his hands and arms were extended outwards, his own handgun gripped tightly by both palms as he was prepared to gun down whatever it was that was coming for them, but after he finished speaking, his right arm descended into the depths of his tool-belt and leg's pocket. From their depths, he pulled out at least six sphere shaped objects that were solid chrome in color, and he carefully began to move a few feet in front of them, before placing the spheres into the ground several feet apart from each other.

"Proximity mines." he said quietly to her as he placed them, still moving as careful as he could without lowering his firearm. "Anything that isn't a Quincy will get burned alive once they get close enough... they should give you a few extra minutes." as he finished, he quickly stepped back towards her, placing two extra mines a few feet behind the tree where she lay. He then stood straight up, pulling the last two objects out of his left pocket: two mortar shell shaped objects, these ones being solid black like his uniform. "I'm going to try to intercept it, maybe catch it off guard." he said, before casting a glance down towards her. "If I'm not back in three minutes... " he continued before he took a few seconds pause. "...well, you said that there wasn't a rescue team coming for you anyway, right?"

Brina shook her head, giving a humorless smile but keeping her senses on the alert. "That's right. If you happen to die, I can safely say I'll be right behind you." She answered, giving a weak shrug of the shoulders. "No pressure."

For the first time in a long while, Asumu felt a smile of his own grace his expression as he continued to look at her before averting his gaze to what was ahead.

"No pressure."

With that, a Hirenkyaku stole his presence, and Brina would be left alone, with her gun and the mines as her only form of comfort.

For the longest moment, Brina only stared in silence. The distant sound of flames as well as the faint screams of the damned served as the only voice to keep her company. In the seconds that passed, her smile eventually faded away. She directed her stare to the bombs around her, then to the hellscape around her. She held her stare for what seemed like the longest time, the alertness of her senses giving way to her own emotions. She took in a deep breath, lowered her head, pressed her hands to her face and allowed the cold iron of the gun she wielded to further hammer in the reality of her situation.

From that point onward, she did nothing but shed quiet tears.

"My disciple... why do you weep?"

Louder and more clear than any noise that was ringing in her ear, Brina would not only hear, but feel a voice inside of her head. It was male in origin, and it's tone was deep but soothing, like a caring father comforting a despairing child. There would be a gentle and audible breeze, something previously nonexistant in the depths of the underworld, enough to potentially remedy the awful heat that was plaguing the location.

"There is no need to be afraid... I am here for you." the voice continued as the gust of wind seemed to get only stronger, so much so that even the mines that Asumu had placed only a few minutes ago were resurfaced. But then as soon as the wind reached it's supposed pinnacle of strength it immediately stopped, and the atmosphere was calm again, as calm as atmosphere in Hell can get. However, she would feel something next to her, a presence leaning against the "tree" that Asumu had leaned her against.

It was a katana, sheathed in a sleek black holster, and a handle that was black with a metal brace along the handle's top. A soothing blue aura eminated from the blade, presumably being the source of the breeze.

The crying stopped when she heard the voice.

Her head raised up, and her eyes regarded the world in front of her with shock. Her free hand wiped away the water trailing down her cheeks, pausing as her head kept swinging from left to right. At first, she was in a state of alert again, momentarily worried that the enemy had shown up. The aching in her leg reminded her just how much of a state she was in. If she was attacked, the first shots would have to kill or stun her target. Otherwise, she'd have better luck relying on the mines.

But as she listened, she found herself relaxing once more. The wind that caressed her form was a warm welcome to the heat that encompassed Hell, providing her with a sense of relief that she had only been pleading for in her subconscious. She relaxed against the tree and closed her eyes, allowing the speaker to fill her mind with theraputic words. In that moment, she could feel a sense of familiarity. Granted, she had never heard that voice speak to her before. But thanks to her own delving of the study known as Red Sun, she had a strong feeling of who it was that spoke to her.

She took in a deep breath, looked over to her side and happened to see the sword. She jumped a little, looking in astonishment at the weapon.

"Wha...?"

It didn't take her long to register just what it was that held her attention. Then came curiosity, and she scooted over so that she could get within reach of it. Once she found herself comfortable, she reached out and grasped the blade of the sword between two fingers. She pulled it to her, allowing it to rest in her lap while she traced fingers of the flat edge. Normally, she wouldn't have just haphazardly handled an unknown item like she was, especially in such strange circumstances. But for some reason, it felt like a good thing to do. Whatever presence that had been speaking to her left a confidence within her heart, one that almost made her forget the extent of her situation. In fact, the very presence of this blade seemed oddly comforting.

"This is a rather nice blade." She commented, lifting it up to face level and looking it over with a piqued interest. "Simple and plain, yet has a subtle flair to it. Just what kind of careless person would go about lying it somewhere and forgetting about it?"

"I would suggest you not get used to it." the voice would continue, his words calm and collected, despite their implications. "Only those I will to grasp it may hold my treasured blade. I will you to do so because we need each other for what is to come.". As Brina's fingers ran along the blade's broad side, she would notice the wound in her leg slowly healing, and the breeze she had felt before gradually returning and picking up once more. In a few seconds, it would appear as if the wound she had sustained had never even been there to begin with. As the wind would gain more strength, the voice would ring inside of her mind once more. "Your friend will return soon, and when he does, both of you will be in mortal danger." he said, no doubt drawing her attention to where Asumu had departed. "One of the Hankami is upon you, a dreaded beast who hunts those that do not possess the dreaded chains of this realm. We will have to work together in order to kill him..."

Just as he finished, a giant flash of blue light would appear only a couple of miles away from her location, followed by the thunderous crashing sound of an explosion. The signature of the explosion would be heavy with Reishi energy, and there was only one Quincy in this level of Hell with her.

"...and we've only a minute before he returns. Prepare yourself."

"Oh, you're still talking to me?" Brina cocked an eyebrow as she listened, breaking away only to watch in quiet awe at her leg healing. "And here I thought you were some hallucination in my head."

She took in a deep breath, pushing herself to stand on her feet. Resting the back of her new weapon on her shoulder, she pointed two fingers at the mines. A Kidō spell pushed them back underground, grinding them carefully into the ground until they were back in their proper place. She directed those two fingers to other points of the environment, and the tips started glowing with her energy. Certain points of the environment began to glow the color of her tips, signaling the presence of Kidō traps. She had to be careful, though. If Asumu was returning, she didn't want him to run into it. At the same time, she didn't want the enemy to miss it.

"All right, just what exactly is this "dreaded beast" supposed to be?" She questioned, focused on her work. "Assuming that you're not the said "dreaded beast" and successfully luring me into a trap." The deadpan was probably an unnecessary addition to the question. But she had to keep the mood lightened while she could.

Just as she would finish, a blue flash of light would briefly spark before her eyes, and in it's place would be Asumu. He was facing away from her, breathing heavily, and a steady stream of blood was coming down his left temple. His uniform was somewhat burned and his arm appeared to have suffered even more damage than it had during their previous battle, but he kept it steady, still holding his own hand gun out towards the explosion that he had created earlier.

"It's the Predator." he said through his panting, briefly using his upper arm to wipe some of the blood out of his eye. "He's been following-." he started to continue before he happened to glance back at Brina and noticed the strange sword that she was carrying. "Where in the hell did you get that?" he asked in a surprised manner, cocking an eyebrow at the fact that such a blade was even crafted.

Brina gave a wide grin. "Would you believe that a talking ghost gave it to me?"

She quickly got serious as soon as she heard the Predator, her heart skipping a beat. It was bad enough that they were dealing with a monster in captivity. But yet another was loose and chasing after them? In any other circumstances, she would've considered it suicide. But with this blade in hand, she felt at ease. She didn't throw out the fact that this would be a very dangerous battle, but with this weapon and the unknown presence directing her, she felt like they had a significant edge.

"Looks like he did a number on you." She muttered, her eyes regarding him with a glint of concern. "Can you hang in there?"

He returned his attention to the direction of the monster that would be approaching, seemingly disregarding her response to the question regarding the new sword she'd acquired. "Doesn't matter if I can or not, he's on his way. I used those mortar shells in my pockets to make an improvised mini nuke." he continued, carefully back stepping towards her, making sure not to step in the path of the absurdly long katana she held. "It was a pretty big gamble, and I nearly got myself killed, but I hit him where I needed to; he's making pretty slow progress."

Once he was next to her, he happened to glance down and notice that Brina's leg had been fully healed, a shocking revelation to himself, as it was in a rather terrible state when last he looked at it. "Did that "ghost" heal your-" he started, but was cut off by what happened next. A clear green line of energy appeared horizontally across nearly every tree that was in front of them, an audible humming noise slowly making it's way into their line of hearing before every tree with this line was immediately severed along it's emerald mark. They would all briefly fly into the air before crashing all around the environment, fortunately not coming near the mines that they had concealed. That would be of little concern to them, of course, compared to what they saw next.

Standing amidst the now cleared treeline was the burning visage of the Predator himself. He stood taller than either of them, dressed in black armor with a horrid dog shaped helmet upon his head, and a long, blood-covered cloak draping behind him in the wind. Atop all of this, he held an enormous sword over his shoulder, much bigger than the one that Brina found herself in possession of. None of this, save for his weapon, would be clear for them to see, however, as he was almost entirely cloaked in a blue flame, apparently eating away at him by the second. His walk towards them was more like a stumble, and his breaths were so heavy that they would be able to hear them from where he was, almost several meters.

"D-Did you.... did you really think that would be enough... to kill me??!!!!!" the monster screamed at them in between his panting breaths.

Brina's heart stopped.

Oh, no.

Even in the state that he was in, the Hankami still managed to instill a sense of fear into her. Asumu's flames may have been eating away at his form, and he did give the impression that he was about to die. But she heeded the blade's words. Underestimating this thing just because it looked hurt was a sure-fire way to get killed. She lifted the blade, gripping it in two hands and leveling at the Predator - something she did to keep her own cool rather than threaten the mutual enemy. She regarded the burning entity with a terse gaze, and she did her best to keep her tone casual even in the sensation of her apprehension. "Blade," She muttered. "If you happen to have any ideas, now would be a good time to start hittin' us with 'em!"

Once she leveled the blade towards him, the Predator seemed to stop dead in his tracks, even going as far as to lower his sword to the ground. "That blade.... impossible!!!" he yelled in a fit of pure rage, before grasping his enormous blade with both hands, and springing forward towards her. '"We killed you!!! We killed ALL OF YOU!!!!" 'it continued to shout in it's rage. The speed in which he moved, combined with the azure flames that were slowly eating away at him caused him to appear as a spiraling blue comet, one that would quite clearly obliterate both her and Asumu.

The latter, however, intended to finish the Predator then and there. Once the Predator had come close enough, he immediately aimed his pistol down where the mines where, directly underneath the Hankami, and fired a single shot down at them. Once the spirit bullet made contact with the device, it detonated, releasing a fairly large blue explosion that would consume the Predator, and once that mine exploded, all four of the others exploded too. The force of the blast was enough to force Asumu to skid back several meters, but to his amazement, Brina would find herself able to withstand the blast entirely, a visible barrier of wind surrounding her and causing the flames to harmlessly flow around her.

"Did you not hear me? I will not let harm come to you." the voice spoke calmly into her mind. "Cherish these next few seconds, Brina, for you will feel the power of God himself...."

He wasn't able to marvel at the supposed miracle for long, as a green flash of light emerged behind him, revealing itself to be the Predator, still cloaked in blue flames. He'd managed to avoid the mine explosions, and despite his anger being directed at Brina, he needed Asumu out of the way. Before the Quincy could hope to respond, the Predator slammed the flat side of his sword into Asumu's right side. His metal arm emitted a disturbing amount of sparks, and blood flew out of his mouth as he was helplessly sent flying deeper into a part of the forest that had not been touched by the Hankami's earlier slash. Upon doing this, the monstrous Hankami brought the blade back towards Brina, it's length more than enough to cover the distance between them, and as it came around towards her waist, it was cloaked in a massive amount of green Shinsei energy. Such an attack would normally destroy her in an instant due to sheer destructive force alone, if only...

Time slowed.

From the moment the voice had finished speaking, she could feel it. In the moment that had passed, she could feel the extension of her senses expanding to lengths she never would've thought possible. Every crackle of flame, every scream of agony that came from the Damned, everything within the entire dimension seemed to be in her reach. In addition, she could feel the depths of her own spiritual pressure expand as well. No, more than that - it was shifting, becoming something more than something so simple as energy. Whatever it was becoming, it made her strong. It made her feel as if she was directing the very rotations of the world - maybe even the entire galaxy - with her hands alone. It was enough to erase all fears from her mind, and she found herself regarding the angry Hankami with little more than a serene smile.

The back of her free hand moved by itself, blocking the oncoming strike that would've destroyed her. There was no wound and no scar. The Predator's weapon simply rebounded off of her skin, unable to find any purchase against her skin. She didn't stop to question it or gaze in awe at her own power. Her mind simply wouldn't allow it, focused on the destruction of her enemy. Before she knew it, her body was moving at a speed that her normal eyes would have never been able to process. It carried her right behind the Predator and his seemingly still frame. The blade was thrust, piercing through the area of his neck where the helmet and his body connected. With both hands gripping the weapon, she focused her newfound power into her opponent.

The results were violent.

The Predator's flaming body exploded, bursting apart under Brina's will. Blood and flesh were consumed by a magnificent light that consumed the area, causing destruction on a wide scale. But it was only a handful of seconds until the flash cleared, leaving behind a smoldering ruin of what was. But above all, the Predator had disintegrated completely. There was not a trace of the monster left to clean up, and whatever that had miraculously survived turned into ash with the rest of the environment. Brina was left to float downward, slowly coming down from the high brought on by the presence of the blade. What would've been their doom had been destroyed, and all was well once more.

Then she remembered.

Asumu.

With her thoughts turning to her old friend, she carried herself out of the area and to the location where he had flown. The smile had faded away, and a resolved look was left in her eyes.

Just as she started to move, however, she would feel the inside of her body freeze up entirely, stopping her in her tracks. A light blue smoke like aura would eminate from her mouth, nose, eyes and ears as a blue corporeal figure would begin to slowly emerge seemingly from within her and out into the open. At a distance, it would appear as if she had been possessed by some sort of spirit, and upon closer inspection, that wouldn't be an entirely inaccurate assumption. The being was humanoid in appearance, and the more he separated from Brina, the more his features would be revealed. He wore an ancient appearing eastern garb, adorned with silver and red armor pieces, some of which consisted of demon like horn decorations, combined with a long, tattered white and violet robe. His skin, what little was revealed, was a very pale color, and his eyes were a piercing yellow. More than that, his hair was a bright silver color, and he wore an ornate headband across his forehead. As he fully emerged from the now exhausted Shinigami's body, it would be shown that in his right hand, he carried a long, slender black sheath, the size of which perfectly matched that of the sword that Brina had used just minutes prior.

"That was very well done... my disciple." the being said to her in the same voice that he apparently had done earlier whilst still in the sword after a moment of pause, having allowed her a few moments to regain herself. "But now I must ask that you return that sword to me. It was not made for mortal hands and I fear that it may bring more harm than good should you have it for too long."

It was certainly an experience she would remember.

She would not be able to respond immediately. Her palm placed itself onto her chest, and she took heavy breaths in order to calm herself. Beads of sweat had fallen down her face in multitudes, courtesy of the dispossession experience she had. But she was more shocked when she was able to look up, her eyes regarding the figure before her with surprise and awe. A spark of fear had been mixed in, too, but it was quick to fade upon recognizing the signature. It was the very same one used to calm her down and stop her tears, healing her leg and restoring her to full functionality. This was the same person who helped her. Just what reason did she have to fear him?

Still, she felt a bit of wariness even knowing this. Her hands gripped both the handle and blade as though she was ready to consider giving it to him. But she didn't dare to extend it out for him to reach. In her moment of hesitation, she asked one simple question.

"Who... who are you?"

A soft breeze washed over the both of them, and the figure simply smiled lightly, calmly extending his arm out to her in a motion for her to hand the blade to him. "A friend."

Just as he said that, from the pillars behind Brina emerged Asumu. His right arm was a skeleton of it's former self, but it still appeared to be functional. A trail of blood was leaking from the top of his forehead and from both corners of his mouth, but he still seemed to be in a relatively good state of being. Perhaps his Blut Vene had managed to absorb most of the Predator's strike, or maybe his arm had been made of denser material than he realized. Regardless, he appeared with his gun in his left hand, aimed directly at the spectral figure. "I always thought Brina had questionable friends... but you seem like something more than questionable." he stated, glaring at the figure dead in his eyes. "Now, it's my turn to ask... who are you, and how were you able to kill that Hankami so quickly?"

The being's attention diverted to Asumu, but his calm gaze and demeanor hadn't changed. "You needn't raise your arms to me, Asumu Godai, for I mean you no harm." he responded.

To this, Asumu began to lower his gun, and his expression more incredulous. "How do you know my name?"

"I know many things, about both of you, your friends, your family..." the being started to reply to Asumu, but upon mentioning family, his expression seemed to lower and he glanced back towards Brina. "Family... I know much of yours, Brina McTavish. They have all been through so much... and both you and your brother continue to suffer. I am sorry that I could not have intervened for you both..." he went on, before his gaze began to shift towards the horizon. "...or for anyone else for that matter."

Objective In Sight
The 5th level of Hell, possibly the only point of Hell literally being frozen over.

The ground was eighty percent ice, ten percent water and ten percent actual ground. The winds were blistering to the skin, wind taken directly to the throat would threaten to freeze the windpipe and any body heat unwitting travelers had was quickly sucked into the unforgiving environment. No sane or normal individual would be caught this deep in the territory of the Punisher. But then again, Arael's forces could hardly be considered sane or normal. Even now, they were keeping their composure even as they tromped through the hazardous storm, braving the insane temperatures with their usual attitudes.

In addition, they were keeping themselves warm through another way.

The trail they marched was littered with corpses of Daitenshi, those who had encountered Arael's forces in an attempt to hinder their progress. But their skills and smarts were enough to ward them off, and they destroyed number after number without too much trouble. A more recent encounter ended up with the last demon falling and the killers having a rather casual conversation.

"Y'know, I've actually heard about the conditions of this place during my time back in the Material Realm." Bardiel said thoughtfully, putting a hand up to her chin.

"Really?" Braeburn questioned, hugging his arms to his chest. Thanks to his inability to access Blut Vene, he had more difficulty maintaining his heat than his Quincy compatriots and had to rely mostly on their fights to keep his blood heated.

Bardiel nodded, giving a pleased smile. "Mhm. I don't remember what the exact title of the source was called, but I do remember that the main character's name was "Dante". Dante went through nine circles of Hell, with the last one bearing a similar appearance to this one. It was called "Treachery", housing the damned that committed varying acts of betrayal in their lives." She snapped a finger up as if suddenly realizing something. "Oh! If we were in that situation, we would be approaching the center."

"Why's that?"

"Ultharon technically is seen as the Satan to all of the societies, right? I believe that should speak for itself."

Braeburn gave a soft snort. "Fair enough..."

"You all have done a good job so far." Arael cut in smoothly, his tone carrying over to the entirety of the group. "Even in the face of what would've been insurmountable odds for anyone else, you have effectively smashed through Hell's defenses. The rest of our path to Ultharon should be a smooth one until the unsealing, where I'm sure that they'll be throwing dozens more of their rats at us in an attempt to stop us." He looked at one of the Daitenshi corpses he was passing by, kicking it out of his way. "But I have confidence that before your might, our challengers will be annihilated just as Hell's forces have been."

Sachiel felt a wave of apprehension as her leader spoke such confident words. Not that she wasn't pleased that they were able to traverse through the cold abyss that was the 5th Level of Hell and fend off the ambushing Daitenshi. But something was uneasy about the way their enemies desparately fought to halt her. Not the servants of the Hell's Queen, but the ones from before. Doubts began to swirl within her mind, combatting her own conviction that this was the path she had chosen and it was the only way. Still, even as she pushed forward, her Reishi Light Arrows cut down a few more rising Daitenshi that were playing dead and swirled around her cloaked head like wisps.

Then, something picked up on her senses. Quincy signatures and...

"The Bijōnaga?!" She turned around in exclaiming thought, finding herself seeing a host of the men and women whom were supposed to be back at the castle. At the moment, Tome was looped around Armisael -something that made her blink in doubletake at the sight- but Tabris and Ramiel among Iruel coming with a dozen or so guards at their heels. They seemed weathered, as if they had to rush through Hell's many levels just to get to them in the nick of time.

"Whoa!" Tome exclaimed, clinging to Armisael while chattering his teeth comically. "T-T-This is w-w-way colder th-th-than I-I-I would have liked! Why does Hell h-h-have ice a-a-anyways?!"

"Armisael," Sachiel called out, her smooth voice bridged with serious alarm as she tried to gauge their intent of arriving. "What's going on? Why is he here?! What of the Material World Batallion?!"

In response, Armisael exhaled a breath. The vapor exited from her mouth in the form of cold vapor, dissolving and forming back with each intake and exhale. She regarded Sachiel with a gaze as cool and collected as the air around them. "So many questions at once, Sachiel. Aren't you going to at least ask me if I'm all right? So rude..." She reached behind her, fingers gently playing with Tome's hair.

Tabris decided to speak for her, stepping forth and fixing his gaze to an expectant Arael. "They knew." He said. "They were aware that the castle was nothing but a diversion.If what the Black Plague said was true, then they have a detachment force just up ahead. What remains of the defense we encountered will be arriving at any time now. V-14, the Sect, the Royal Aethian Corps--"

"Wait a minute." Arael interrupted, regarding Tabris with incredulous scrutiny. "The V-14 and the Sect were supposed to have torn each other apart. Just what went on back there?"

Tabris lowered his head, giving an amused and shameless chuckle. "It seems as if the leader of the V-14 had much more charisma than we thought she did." He answered, causing Arael to raise an eyebrow. "Just before the forces of the Sect could engage, all she did was speak some simple words and they lowered their weapons. All but the Crimson Knights fell by her side, and it wasn't soon after that the Keeper was slain by her. I don't like to behave arrogantly, but I have to say I really underestimated her."

"Damn it." Arael's lips pursed together, and he looked at the ground briefly before fixing a stern stare at Tabris. "All right, then. I suppose attempting to sneak our way through isn't going to take us any farther. We'll need to be prepared to unleash our full strength against the enemy if need be. If what I'm hearing is one hundred percent accurate, then that earlier attack might have been a means of probing our defenses for any weak spots. Be prepared for anything and everything." He spun his head to turn to the rest of them. "That goes for the rest of you. Am I understood?"

"Yes, sir!" cried the voices of the S.K.M. members.

Arael then turned his gaze back forth, starting his walk once again. "Let's go. Our prize isn't that far ahead."

"Dammit!" Sachiel hissed under her breath, beginning her trek to turn away from Armisael and the others. "How could things go so wrong just in a short time?"

"Fuck it's cold," Tome huffed, his body suddenly bristling with a vibrant light. Blinking a few times he realized the cold was slowly starting to fade as an almost euphoric high that only increased the deeper that he was carried into Hell. Now it felt like a sublime purity, like now passively glowed a silver raiment of Reiatsu and his own power seemed to increase with every passing second. Grinning tenatively, he had no idea what was causing this change or if it had something to do with his presence in the Fifth Level of Hell.

Then, an ominous thrumming followed by a far-off boom. The horizon soon became opaqued by a dark shade, arms of black text skin and red pumping vessels erupted from geysers of cobalt Reishi that rung around in a perfectly circular ring. When all of the hands met in a mishmash of fingers and palms, a solid granite texture was stretched across all the limbs, forming thick lines of black that crackled all the way to the icy earth below. Being fifty square kilometers in scope, it was the most monolithic sealing spell one could conceive and one that made Sachiel and Tome look around with their own brand of alarm.

"WhatthefuckwhydoesthiskeephappeningArmisaelpleasemakeitgoawayfarawaymenolikegiantarms-!" Tome praddled on, absolutely petrified of the scary backdrop that erased the howling snowy haze they had been trekking through.

"What is the meaning of this? A massive Reiryoku had to be responsible," Sachiel discerned out loud, forming a Reishi ball in her hand. Pointing it above her head, it sprayed outward into dozens of enormous columns with razor edges, propelling themselves with streams of particles left in their wake. Cracking into the canopy of palms and digits, they ground tightly before shattering into dozens of pieces. Glaring through the shadow of her hooded veil, she turned towards Arael with frustration. "What should we do, Arael?"

With the wind gone, the air was far too still and the horizon was blotted out by the stout trunks of granite textured giant arms. But that soon changed. Bodies soon began to march through the dome's perimeter, almost as if they were ghosts themselves. Wearing furred armor and cloaks to shield them from the perpetual cold of this Level of Hell, many of them looked to be a mix of ranked troopers. From Aether, to the Seireitei, and even Yūrei Ōkoku's batallions of Police and Military combined into one unified front. Daitenshi marched from the approximate left flank of the forward facing SKM, and the DCO appeared from the East just as the combined Alliance's brunt created a barrier of bodies and steel to the North.

From the South the presences of V-14's Sect and RAC forces were coming and fast, with only possible minutes before they'd enter through the envelope that was the massive barrier.

An ambush.

Almost immediately, Arael took command of the situation. He didn't dare take his eyes off of the opposition, but kept his tone directed to his soldiers. "Form a loose outward circle, keep distance between yourselves just out of arm's length." He commanded, swiftly thrusting a hand out. Upon his mental command and through the area's rich abundance of spirit particles, his trademark sword was summoned. "Ramiel, in center and charge."

"Right, Commander." With a nod, Ramiel quickly darted into the center of the circle that the rest of the Quincy had formed. In turn, his visage was covered by the bodies of his comrades as the circle completed itself. Every side of the Alliance's forces would now be faced with varying degrees of anticipation and the unique weaponry each of the Quincy carried. At first glance, it was laughable. Arael's forces were only a dozen or so in number, boldly facing against more than a battalion of enemy soldiers. It was a slaughter waiting for happen. But yet, they stood ever so confidently, waiting for the opportunity to kick off the storm waiting to happen.

However, there were a select few that didn't share in their anticipation. One such person was Braeburn.

A chill went down his spine as his senses reached out, detecting thousands of soldiers making up the opposition. He sucked in a deep breath, keeping one hand on the hilt of his sword and his muscles tensed. Looking to one particular side of him, he could see that he wasn't the only one that was tensed. Despite being one of the Quincy known for their zealous approach to battle, Sachiel was looking considerably tense. It wasn't the look of someone numbed to battle, the look that the Archangels shared. It wasn't the look of someone who was interested in seeking out their own deaths.Just what exactly was going on through her mind right now?

Off to another corner, Armisael was tending to the panicked Tome.

With a swift swing of the hand, she gave a swat to his cheek and a somewhat irritated look in his direction. "Tome." She said flatly. "You're making a complete ass out of yourself. Is this the same man that charged Yashin without a second thought, the one who proved that he isn't as invincible as he thought he was? Was all that talk about enjoying yourself in situations like this nothing more than flowery words to impress me? I don't give myself to those who aren't able to back up their talk." She switched her gaze to the troops she was facing, her collected gaze gaining an edge as cold as her tone was on her last words. "If you're that much of a chicken, then just roll over and die."

"So, no mentioning of the creepy arms now surrounding our vista? Okay, fine-fine. You win only because you sound more gorgeous with that cold shoulder routine of yours," Tome agreed, relenting when he heard the icy chill of her own words overpower the cold that had briefly caught him off guard. Winking at her he raised his arms up in a clawed-boxing stance, he began hopping back and forth, taking up his own position next to her and Tabris. "Bring it on then. I don't care what shit-scaring barriers you summon, I'll beat ya all to the ground!"

"...why did we hire this moron again?" Sachiel muttered out loud with disbelief.

"Hey, I heard that!" Tome snarled back at the distant back of the Archangel.

"I won't hide it. I believe you're as incompetent as you are loud," She admitted openly, not hiding any sign of bluntness in her honesty.

"You wanna make somethin' of it, you-" Tome began to ring out, suddenly catching sight of a severance of space over their heads. Ripping open the air above their head, a black cloaked figure streaked down, twirling around a beheading gesture of incredibly sharp cutting power across the space between them and their attacker. To Tome, it was like narrowly leaning back as the coolness of the blade's flat tapped the point of his nose. He couldn't even mutter a warning, just hoping that the rest of the Archangels -more importantly Armisael- could see the attack come before his back hit the ground with a backwards roll. When he'd see who it was, he barely saw the stave pommel crash into the earth, creating a shockwave of pressure that'd hit him dead-on and most likely the gathered assemblage of Archangels and their skilled warriors they brought from the surface world. Skidding back on his heels, he felt steam emanate from his crossed arms, having protected his face while the rest of his body felt the blunt trauma that winded him even as he was. Uncrossing them, he prepared a feral snarl at the one who was inwardly giving him undeniable chills due to his current state of non-existing Reiatsu. "YASHIN YOU FUCKIN' BASTARD! WARN ME NEXT TIME!"

"My apologies, Arrancar Doll," Yashin muttered out smoothly, resting the scythe's handle in a way that had the sharp edge curl around the back of his hooded neck, its tip reflecting his now passively glowing red eyes and black letter pupils. "I didn't think you needed your hand held by the enemy in the middle of a war. I thought the Guild Master of a Mercenary Force would be better prepared for a surprise attack. It's a common pragmatic move," turning briefly to look at Arael's form, his smile was visible while the rest of his face seemed to be obscured from his perspective. "isn't that right, Berhtram Brandt of the Schwarze Krähen Macht? Isn't that what your father taught you?"

The Archangels wouldn't have to twitch - or at the very least, the majority of them didn't have to.

When the smoke cleared, there was a transparent blue bubble around each of the Archangels and their supports. Bardiel had a hand raised as if she was a student waiting to get picked on in class, and that hand glowed a brighter hue of blue than the created barriers. She lowered it with a smug grin, but the barriers would remain up courtesy of her influence. As long as she had them up, any further attempts at assault would be next to impossible to carry out. But at the same time, the Archangels would be unable to attack without breaking the barrier themselves. A stalemate had been effectively created.

But before Leliel could compliment Bardiel's timing, they stopped themselves at the registration of what Yashin said.

Berhtram Brandt.

His father.

It was something in particular that registered to the owner of the name. The signs of his feelings upon hearing it came out in subtle notions. There was the twitch of his upper lip as he restrained the urge to sneer, the slight curl of the fingers on his free hand as he kept himself from balling it into a fist and the soft increase of the grip on his sword. There was a brief flash of rage not too different from what he had regarded Mōshin with when he had openly dropped the name. But just like before, it only took a heartbeat for him to regain himself. It took slightly longer for him to speak, and when he did, he delivered his lines in a cold and smooth tone.

"Shut up."

He slowly turned himself to Yashin, giving him a look that matched the quality of his voice. "I didn't come all the way here just to hear your useless dribble, Yashin Kagai. I came here for my prize, to see that my endgame is achieved and carried out. I came here to watch you die, to see every drop of life you have burn away. All you have done by coming here is ensuring that your millennial life will come to an abrupt--" The briefest of smiles crossed his face, jumping off as quickly as it came. "--and satisfying end. You can either get out of our way, or you can join the rest of the lambs for the slaughter. I'm fine either way."

"And here, I thought you two would get along just fine." Braeburn muttered under his breath, averting his gaze away. "After all, both of you are bastards that just love to hear yourself talk..."

Yashin laughed out loud, completely humored by Arael's attitude. Turning to look at him, he pulled back his hood to let his long hair fall out and drape over his back, "I think you've mistaken your enemies. Not a single one has backed down before you, and those that have are not far away from a warrior with the nerve to match their steel. This is an Alliance, wishing to live as much as I want to fulfill the passions of my heart. And now, that I've found the other half of my being and heart not but an arm's length away I don't wish to fall now and not for another ten thousand years," with his smile spreading, a sinister spread of teeth showed as his crimson eyes twinkled with an underlying pride that filled his words. "I've toppled empires larger and more competent than yours, Berhtram. If you honestly believe the Commandant's arrogant spawn will be the one to undo me, think again. Not even your aspiration for achieving cosmos annihilation can match me as I am now. I am without limits and I aim to see just how far my line of thinking will take me."

Turning around to look at the assembled Archangels, their men, their leader and Tome he gutturally cackled as he raised a beckoning hand to them all. "Now, if any of you truly have the fearless nature I know you all claim to have, who will be the first one to start our dance of death?"

"I've heard enough!" Sachiel growled out, erasing the barrier that had protected her from Yashin's preemptive attack that she was inwardly grateful to Leliel for. Thrusting out two hands she discharged what appeared to be forked currents of silver Reishi, spiraling and homing in chaotically towards Yashin's body. When they reached his vicinity, shadows reached out and burned them, causing a series of snaps or pops to sound outward. "What?!"

"I was born out of the most Divine Shadow. Do you believe that petty light has any potency against me?" He asked with a bemusing tone, eyes twitching just enough to cause a shower of darkness to discharge a wave of force that struck the unprepared Sachiel. Shrieking out in pain she doubled head over heels before landing on all fours.

Tome, using the opportune moment of his attention being diverted, rushed forward with hands cocked back. Appearing just to Yashin's armed side he thrust both hands to impact his side, abruptly cut-off by the whirling stave mass that rang out with metallic collision. A follow-up kick struck him in the abdomen but not before he unleashed a near point-blank Cero whose scale was enough to potentially cause a wide explosion. But, like before Tome landed with a skidding halt to see the light of blood swallowed up by an impossibly swift gesture of Yashin's scythe.

"Where the Hell does my Cero go? He can't just erase it without any sign of its disappearance!" He thought with a growl, crackling his fists with anger.

"You've gotten better, but I was holding back before," Yashin smiled casually, twirling his scythe as he eyed the other Archangels. "I'm not sure if I can count this as a warm-up. Will anyone else have a go? I promise I will only counterattack if I'm approached."

"You think this is a game to you?" Tome asked with a feral snarl.

"Don't you?" He inquired with a tilt of the head. "I thought you enjoyed battle with a damning passion. Isn't that what you Crimson Knights associate so well with these Quincy folk?"

"I enjoy the thrill of a battle, not someone who toys with others. You're making sport of something not even close to a real fight," He growled out, his body shaking as his Reiatsu billowed out almost like a hurricane, roaring and howling with a mighty abandon. "I fight because I live for it. When you treat it like a game you demean my way of life. And such disrespect pisses me off!"

"Heh," Yashin smirked with a light laugh. "Then you should learn to really lighten up. Every second counts in your life. Spend most of it shouting and flailing angrily will only get you so far. Right Berhtam?"

"I'm going to kill him."

The grip on Arael's blade tightened even more, and although still delivered in subtle doses, the fire that he had felt facing Rey was starting to burn within him once again. The man - no, the thing - in front of him was mocking him. Every word spoken was an incentive, a provocation to its target for violence. The desire to gut the monstrosity in front of him grew stronger and stronger because of these words, taking great leaps when he saw that both soldier and pawn were thwarted so easily. Of course, Sachiel was an Angel and didn't have the stopping power the Archangels did. But Tome had enough power to fight against the Primera herself if need be, and his attack was nullified just like that. As far as he was concerned, he was the only candidate capable of wiping that damned smirk off of Yashin's face.

"I'm going to erase him."

He felt a smile, sadistic and malicious, work its way onto his countenance.

"Yes. That's exactly what I'll do. Erase him."

He readied his sword--

"Commander."

A hand abruptly caught his wrist, stopping him from raising the blade against the jester. His gaze, one that would've restored the weather of the Fifth Level by itself, fell onto the one that dared to stop him.

Leliel.

Arael's gaze doesn't change, but the message is made clear. "You better have a good explanation for going against me twice."

Whether or not Leliel noticed was a mystery. His gaze was focused entirely on Yashin, and a sedate version Arael's smile fitted on his face. But the tone of his body language was completely different. Unlike the hatred from his leader, Leliel seemed more pleased than anything else. Even those his tone carried its normally amiable sound, the delight was clear to anyone who listened hard enough. "Allow me to face him. Out of the force here, I believe that I'm the one suited to properly challenge him in a one-on-one battle."

Arael didn't bother to hide his skepticism or his incredulity. "You can't be serious--"

"I am." Leliel didn't lose his tone, nor did he divert his eyes from Yashin. "I only regret having to put off my battle with Byakuya Kuchiki and Yoruichi Shihōin in order to do this. But your safety and the achievement of your endgame comes first. Against a force this sizable, all hands will be needed if we want a chance at winning this battle. But only one or a few need to blunt a trump card like this one." He grasped his sword by the hilt, slowly drawing it out as he broke formation. The smile grew to a subtle Cheshire cat quality. "And what better soldier suited for the task than a mirror of the enemy?"

And then Arael remembered.

Of course. Leliel wielded the Void itself as a weapon - the very place Yashin had been born from. Out of all of them, he had the least danger of getting harmed by Yashin's attack. As much as Arael despised to admit it, he was at greater risk if he fought Yashin. The Void of God was the best choice for facing the arrogant bastard, while the rest of them could deal with the other opposition. It was a perfect play to go by.

"If you feel so confident..." The white-haired Quincy answered, regaining his cool composure. "Then by all means, deal with that thing by any means you see fit. But I want it gone from sight and mind. I don't even want to see its corpse when you're through. Do I make myself clear."

"Of course, sir." Leliel responded, leveling the sword at Yashin.

"Good."

Satisfied that he had a plan in motion, Arael saw it fit to continue carrying out his schedule. He slowly lifted two of his free hand's fingers up to point at the ceiling of the barrier. It was a pointless gesture by itself. But the ones who had a better view would see Ramiel raise the barrel of his rifle up to point in parallel with Arael's fingers, with the rifleman having his finger ready on the trigger. Arael didn't hesitate to give the order.

"Do it."

The only response Ramiel gave was a pull of the trigger finger. The matter-destroying shot flew towards the barrier ceiling, looking as if it was about to join Sachiel's failed attack. However, just before it could connect, it abruptly split into a storm of smaller missiles. These missiles were launched at hellish speeds to the troops below, who regarded it with their own brand of horror. It had been the reason why Arael had ordered Ramiel to the center of their circle, so that the bodies of the Archangels could mask the charge. It was a surprise attack hidden in plain sight and carrying the potential to wipe out the entire army.

When they landed, the entire area shook violently. Vicious shockwaves resonated from each missile that detonated and the bright blue domes of explosions they created. Every shot had the potential to disintegrate anyone that was caught within it, and the sounds of combustion were loud enough to shake the foundations of those that had dodged or somehow defended against it. The sounds of explosions would not be enough to overpower Zeruel's yell as he brandished his blade towards the enemies.

"VICTORY OR DEATH!!"

That was the signal for all of the S.K.M. to let out their own battle roars. They charged the opposition with abandon, with Leliel taking his sword straight to his designated target.

The missiles ordinarily would have been a devastation to the ranks, causing explosions in mass and scattering them as they pressed their advantage. But this was just one of the strategies they come to account for. Just as the shot was fired towards the ceiling, an unseen series of hands gestured ordering the gathered Shinigami and Knights to start chanting out loud. So when the streaking comets of compacted Reishi raced towards the main front that was composed of the most bodies. When they impacted, rivuletting domes expanded outward, forming the cross topped glass shields that created a mesmerizing palace that shook and rattled by the missiles but didn't waver.

By the Daitenshi's side, an unexpected sight graced their positions. A sword shrieked with blindingly swift movement, cutting through the Reishi and burning it away with sword strokes. When the fragments of the missiles caused miniscule cracks into the earth, the Reaper stepped forward past the startled Daitenshi that was preparing to scatter at the sight of the hellish attacks.

"It seems this is the site of yet another battle," The Reaper announced with a grin, resting the back of his enormous blade on his shoulder as he continued to march on past the Daitenshi as the Archangels stormed forward. "Oh how I can't wait to drink the essence of death from this calamity that will occur!"

From the DCO side, Kaze was not in his Captain's Haori but in the dark cloaked, silver Kidō Armor. Standing at the head of his created department and black ops organization, he clapped his his hands together with an amused smile. In an instant, a tall shield of transparent water was opened, capturing the missiles without any sign of them escaping or showing sign of where they'd go. Erasing them with a spread-armed measure, he announced to his organization from behind, "Men, show them the might of the DCO!"

At his word, the Elites and the DCO personnel charged wordlessly forward, cloaked like a band of deadly raiders. At the head of them was Yōki and her band, fully recovered to determinely face off against Braeburn. Catching sight of him from the mere two dozen enemies they were fighting against, she leaped towards him with sword drawn, Shikai already released while Takashi shot his Shikai like a spearing projection from his hilt and Rokotsu swung out her hornet colored hammer Shikai at him.

"Knights! Fire Spells at once!" Knight Commander Elizabeth shouted, causing the Knights to gesture forward with metallic formation. At the same time Hana's forces thrusted out their hands, priming a number of Reishi bolts in front of their hands. At once with their Officers, they fired an onslaught, sending searing fissures of attacks in a cacophony of destructive precision and force at the Archangels, all the while hidden behind their durable barrier. At the same time, the Military and Police forces unleashed a Hellish amount of Kidō bolts from their armaments, even packing a few unpacked cannons to send destructive explosions able to wipe out entire city blocks worth of landscape the Archangels crossed.

The Daitenshi also let out a war cry as the Reaper flew forward, now flying on eye-protruding wings of shadows, his Shinsei radiating a fierce wave of damning coldness within the environment. Grinning like a madman, he found himself facing off against Tome, whom chose to unleash a volley of Balas at the charging devils. When nearly two dozen were shot down and sent crashing into a bundle of limbs or pools of blood, the Reaper thrust out his sword, causing it to stretch at unimaginable proportions till Tome raised a partial released arm to catch it. A massive balloon of force followed by sparks split between them, as the two faced off, with the latter jumping forward in a Sonido-burst of swift attacks as the Reaper and him engaged in swift combat in the air and the ground equally, unintentionally involving many Daitenshi in the process.

Sachiel rushed towards the Gotei ranks, her body spiriting forward with a vibrant aura of white in her wake. Reaching the shield she simply placed her hand upon its surface and pulled. A large formation of the wall of the spell cast palace came apart, causing many of the defending Knights and Shinigami recoil at the sight. Using that to her advantage, she formed the Reishi she stole from the framework and then turned it into hundreds of spears, lancing forward with incredible velocity at the offenders.

"I can't afford to waver now," She thought, even as a number of Officers raced with Zanpakut ō activated. Forming Reishi swords she deftly parried, kicked and cut down her enemies regardless if they were sure kills or not, She aimed to get closer to the heads of the war front, to the leaders themselves. Getting closer she suddenly found herself crashing against a significant pressure of her own; Captain Takuji, current heir to their Noble House. "A Captain leaps to the aid of his men. How nice of you to grace yourself among the enemy, oh Noble-"

"Shut up," Shind ō replied with a fierce crash of thunder and lightning, his blade discharging a massive fissure of electricity that sent Sachiel skidding back a few meters. Lowering his crackling blade to his side, his Tamenky ōme was already activated, fixated upon her aura of Reiatsu coming off her frame. "I don't make chit-chat with enemy scum. Prepare to die, Quincy!"

Just as they all continued their assault, Yashin could feel the RAC Cohorts, the Sect's forces and V-14's presences all get closer. He knew that once they arrived, the battle would be that much harder for Arael and his men. But at the same time, their power was unprecedented and Leliel had managed to produce a barrier capable of blocking his space-ripping scythe back. It excited him that there was danger even among those who didn't hold the mantle of Leader.

So when Leliel came charging in with a sword thrust aimed at his heart, he swung his shoulder cradling weapon to parry the sword and derail its maneuver. Spinning around through swift footwork on his heels, he grated the stave he wielded pointed Leliel's blade upwards, further upsetting his balance. By the time he came beside the Quincy he pulled down and let gravity assist him pulling down his spacial cutting scythe to bifuricate him across the neck. Passing him by with a twirl, he launched a series of bludgeoning stabs by his scythe's pommel, alternating back after a few strikes to swing wildly around as he leaped and twirled around him in a blur of shadow and black silk.

Performing one uppercutting swing, his hair whipped about as his red eyes fixated with hunger at the Archangel, his words finally coming to him, "You truly are one of a kind, Archangel, to dance with me so well. I aimed to kill with every blow and you adapted accordingly. Your power intrigues me to specifically counter this ability of my own. Explain it to me how it works if you please."

Several clangs resulted when Leliel fought back.

The initial loss of balance was compensated for by "rolling with the flow". He allowed momentum to direct him, his body twisting to avoid the initial strike of the scythe. From that point on, it was a dance. The flat and edge Archangel's blade met the demon's pommel again and again while its owner pivoted and spun to match Yashin's movements. His form was fluid, naturally weaving from and against his foe with the grace of a professional dancer. It was a fusion of fencing and Eskrima, utilizing high speed and precision over sheer power to gain an edge. But in the face of such an enemy, it seemed to bring the battle to a stalemate. Of course, there was still plenty of battle to go around before any impasse could be noted.

They drew back from each other, and Leliel took pause to both listen to Yashin's question. His eyes twinkled, and in a display of generosity, he answered. "It is the gift from Yhwach." He explained, lowering both of his arms to the side. "He gave me the power to direct the currents of the Void and use them as a weapon against my enemies. I say "direct" and not "control" because it is just that - direction. Like how the ground controls the path of a river, I can divert the currents of the Void's power to my target. But I can't directly control it. I am not of a Hankami's blood, nor am I one of the Cursed. I'm sure you understand. After all, it was your home, once upon a time."

Then, he was in front of Yashin. Once again, he took the lead with an upward swing. What followed was his wrist twisting, directing his blade in a series of swift and relentless strikes against Yashin. His free hand wasn't dormant here, thrusting out occasionally to grapple onto the scythe staff for a brief opening of the defenses. Oddly enough, he never attempted to disarm the other man in this case, letting go after a certain period of time had passed even as he continued his assault. He held a small grin on his face as he fought, his serene eyes flashing hints of anticipation.

Likewise, his colleagues were eager to jump into their own challenge.

"Incoming fire, dead ahead!" Tabris called out, a pensive gaze swinging from the opposition to the blonde-haired Quincy. "Bardiel!"

"I'm on it!" The Quincy abruptly stopped, swinging her arms out. Just like before, she spawned a barrier to protect her comrades. But this time, it was a singular one that protected the entire group. Upon the materialization of this barrier, the advance was halted. They were made to hunker down, watching as the bullet and cannon fire brightened up their field of vision to a brilliant degree. The caster herself was looking at it with awe and amusement. "Well, well. Seems like the Shinigami really know their way around energy control. Color me impressed."

"I'd rather color them cowards!" Zeruel hissed, glaring daggers through the impromptu light show. "Even knowing they outnumber us, they still choose to shelter themselves! If they're that insistent on preserving their lives over victory, then maybe they shouldn't be in this war at all!"

On the other side of the field, the situation was just as hectic.

The relentless fire from the police force was directed by Avaron, who was adding to the storm with her Kidō pistol. She fired round after round, pausing only to reload and using that moment in order to call orders. "Focus all heavy fire on the enemy's caster!" She said into her radio, her eyes glaring at the silhouette of Bardiel. "The closer she is to the action, the least likely she'll be able to keep that barrier up for very long!"

"Right, Captain!" One of her men acknowledged, shouting his own orders. "You heard her, boys! Bring in the thunder on their spell caster!"

All heavy fire from the police was shifted upon that command, and the mixture of armor-piercing, explosive ballistics directed at Bardiel was enough to make her eyes widen.

"Oh, boy."

When all of that power smashed into the barrier, she let out a yelp when she felt a bit of her control slip form her fingers. UNder the intense fire, the barrier was being pushed to its limit. Her legs started to shake, and it became harder for her to maintain her stance. "Nnngh-- I don't know how much longer I can keep this up! The volume of this fire is too intense!"

"Do not worry, sister Bardiel." Zeruel growled, bringing himself to a stand. Both hands gripped his massive sword, bringing it back for an extended swing. "You don't need to hold it anymore."

He blinked, his eyes flashing a brilliant white. A resonating pulse erupted from his body, bringing a potent release of pressure out with it. In the wake of the shockwave, a massive and transparent form of what vaguely looked like Zeruel was summoned onto the battlefield. He mirrored the pose of the real Quincy, ready to unleash the power of his strike upon his adversaries. But the specter was looking down on the ants below, the fury of Zeruel's glare magnified by its size. It was enough to make a great deal of the enemy stop firing and look on in shock. But that shock would be made worse when the attack came; when Zeruel swung his sword, the specter swung its own.

Destruction was unleashed. The massive blade of the projection carved a landscape's worth of destruction as it was unleashed on the offending armies. A brief snowstorm was created, limiting visibility and temporarily causing the temperature to drop even further than before. But the Quincy weren't affected. They kept charging forward, with both Zeruel and Arael sporting their respective variations of satisfied grins. Arael even found it suitable to speak four words to the enemy army.

"Out of my way."

It wasn't soon afterward that Braeburn felt a disturbance.

A swift sweep earned him the sight of Takashi's Shikai shooting for him. He was forced to pull out of the formation with a Flash Step to avoid being skewered, earning a few surprised eyes. He didn't have time to reflect on it, for he saw Rokotsu and Yōki charge at him. For a moment, his heart trembled in apprehension. Of course, it wasn't out of fear - he had proven himself to easily be able to kill these particular individuals if he wanted. But it was the fact that he was facing down his former friends that made his heart tremble. He swore mentally - he had been hoping to fight Daisuke again. But it simply wasn't meant for his plans to go accordingly. Had his choice really disgusted the threads of fate that much?

"Braeburn!"

He heard Bardiel call out of him, snapping him out of his thoughts and back to reality. With a swift raise of his steel ribbon, he banged blades with both of his former colleagues before further retreating. "I'm fine!" He yelled out. "I can handle these three myself. You keep pushing them back! Go on!"

As he retreated, Bardiel could only stare after him for a moment more. Then, she gave a soft sigh and a shake of her head. "May Dante's luck befall upon you, my Shinigami brother." She muttered softly, before adjusting her pace to keep up with the rest of the Quincy.

The Indomitable Force
"So strong!" Rokotsu commented, surprised both her own natural strength layered with Y ōki's strike didn't cause Braeburn to even flinch. He was powerful enough to block the both of them combined.

"Rotate," Y ōki uttered aloud, causing the spheres within her blade to rapidly orbit within the locked holsters of her sword's flat. Doing so gave the impression of a number of whirling crimson lights that entwined with each other, giving the impression of a highly vibrating chainsaw of Reishi. Pushing forward with enough strength to stagger Rokotsu back she rapidly swung out a number of eviscerating shredding cuts at Braeburn, her eyes now burning with a sign of determination unseen before. Yet, her attacks aimed to kill, didn't possess a malicious aura. Instead, it bore of a subdued sadness when Braeburn would clash against her own strikes. "Braeburn. I will end your mad plot here and force you to tell me why you joined with such a maniac! I SWEAR THIS TO YOU!"

With a deafening crash of a final blow to the frozen earth before her, she was giving her two allies an opening. Rokotsu swung her Shikai club, discharging a number of protruding thorns from it to fly at him in a ranged attack of impressive spiraling force. Takashi, pulled his sword back and fired off multiple extensions at Braeburn from a distance, aiming to offset him while he was briefly obscured or sent stumbling back by Y ōki's attack.

But the following crash of Zeruel's projection gave way to a sudden severance of the barrier that dwarfed the one that Sachiel created. This hurricane of wind would send a howling cold wind to blow back past the pair, causing Y ōki's friends'  attacks to be unknown in their efficiency. But what was clear was that many men were sent hurdling back or instantly killed by the shockwave of Zeruel's might.

"Th-The barrier!" One of the Shinigami cried, watching it crumble and soon fall apart away from the defending Shinigami, Knights and Yūrei forces alike. But still, the significant fire was only reduced, and not completely waned. "Don't let up! Reform it and stay in formation!"

"You're too slow," Sachiel murmured, her body becoming an intangible fabric of light as Shind ō's Zanpakut ō swung through it completely. Reassembling, her right hand grasbed the blade and held it with surprising strength. Before the Shinigami could counter, his sword was sapped of strength and he felt a sudden emptiness emanate from the weapon. "And now, your Zanpakut ō's power is mine."

Crackling in a divine aura of light filled Reishi, she clasped her hands together as her body produced a sparkling ovular form of repelling force. Just as the Shinigami tried to counter her, so too did she create such a vicious backlash that Shind ō was instantly burned from his arms down to the shoulders, his face even gaining 2nd degree burns along with his legs. Fumbling head over heels he landed in a steaming pile on the snow, with many of his Division's men taken aback how he was instantly beaten in a single blow.

"Captain!" Lieutenant Sakura ran to her Captain's side, placing herself before the slowly approaching Quincy. "Stay back!"

"S-Sakura...?" He whispered through a hiss, his eye barely able to see in his face-planted perspective. "No...run..."

"I won't!" She shrieked, lunging herself for the Angel.

"You're weak," Sachiel mumbled out, thrusting a piercing jab into her solar plexus, followed up with a bright white beam of Reishi shooting out her back and exploding amidst a number of scattered Knights and Shinigami. "I have no time to waste with you."

"G-Gaugh," Sakura coughed up blood, following up with her own fall to the ground, limply lying in the tundra wasteland that resumed a howling almost indiscerable roar of fierce air currents produced by Zeruel's attack.

"Lieutenant!" Shind ō shouted hoarsely.

Amidst the chaos, the battles continued.

Such as when Bardiel approached, Kaze seemed to be the black robed figure she'd meet in person. Having taken the time to be right in her face, his Reishi defusing gloved fist swung a particularly strong right hook into her face at a momentum only comparable to the current Captain Commander. When he'd pull back, he swung another free hand bolts of emerald crackling Reishi, the Kid ō aiming to bind his enemy while also incapacitating her with its searing heat.

"I've been looking forward to dissecting an Archangel for sometime," The DCO Overseer declared with a maniacal grin spreading across his pale face. Eyes glowed with an intense fervor that belied the life stealing cold that emanated from his own Reiatsu. Pulling out his cane sword, it automatically transformed into the life robbing Shikai, displaying its rune-aligned blade towards her as he cackled aloud. "Show me a good time, Quincy!"

Discharging a wave of cerulean light, in the name of  Hiya Tōketsu, it'd steal her Reishi and fuel his blade while simultaneously freezing her flesh and bones. The powerful attack was an extension of Reit ō Jigoku's power, something that seemed to be only magnified while in this frozen atmosphere. Whether that'd be in the wake of the currently howling wind as many DCO operatives fired their own brand of projectiles at the free-handed soldiers of SKM, or it was an illusion no one would know.

Amidst the fighters, Shinji Hirako, Kenpachi Zaraki and T ōshir ō Hitsugaya would come upon the powerful marksman, Ramiel. Shinji reached out with a rope of Saj ō Sabaku, trying to entangle him while drawing his sword. T ōshir ō used a thrust of his Shikai, launching an ice dragon throttled with kinetic force that'd freeze and shatter on the target instantly. Kenpachi simply swung his sword in a vertical line, sending a searing flash of Reiatsu to cut him from a distance as they attempted to attack him from afar.

Tabris would find himself facing Sh ūhei, already unleashing a flurry of his Shikai's blades attached to his chains. At the same time, Shij ū would unleash a myriad of cutting threads of Kid ō aimed to entangle and lacerate him from all sides. Shouldn't that work, Seu-Feng and Yoruichi rushed forward to combine their Shunk ō powered fists to punch a hole through him if possible. All of the chained attacks would come in succession of each other, to show the power of the DCO and the Elites within.

Iruel would find a number of capables coming for his head.

"Bankai," J ōsh ōtsu declared, opting to leave his replicant blades in his scabbards at the moment. In a flourish of bright emerald Reiatsu his body swirled and cycloned, soon transforming him into the visage of a black horned knight. With a massive claymore in hand, he rushed forward swinging a capably hard cutting stroke at him. Swinging with a damned ferocity that'd leave most opponents but the one before him winded and battered. " Tenchi Kisaku!"

"Jeez," Kaien muttered out loud as he and his own Lieutenant, Senna, kept a distance from the Shadow Squad Captain's rampage. "He isn't allowing help to be easy at the moment..."

"Let's keep a watch and see if he does, though," Senna suggested with a nudge to his side.

"Yeah," Kaien sputtered, waving his hand through the finall dying down frosty wind. "Damn, this is some weather I didn't expect inside a barrier."

"You can go home if its too much for you, Captain," Senna suggested again with a wry grin.

"Ha! I've felt worse!" Kaien said with a sniffle. Looking over to Rukia, he winked at her and gestured to his own face with a outstretched thumb, "isn't that right, Rukia?!"

Armisael would feel a barrage of attacks from the Lancer Corps.

"Roar, Zabimaru!" Renji howled out as his Shikai extended to impressive lengths at her, aiming to use its refined velocity to increase the razor stretched blade in cutting her down. In the event she'd dodge he whipped it around in a spiraling dance of ribbons and metal aimed to twist around in the air.

Ikkaku, already activating his Bankai on the fly, swung around heavy blades to crush and attack her. Shouting with a gleeful laugh that showed his enthusiasm for the fight. He was joined with Yumichika in his semi-released sword, joined in a flurry of attacks at the female Archangel. Lisa Yadomaru used her Hollowfication and combined her Shikai efforts with Yachiru, whom all were a cacophony of attacks in sync with Renji's long-ranged attacks.

Daisuke, lunged straight for Zeruel, emitting a potent flame that stretched to the size of a giant of similar scale to the Quincy's. With Bankai activated in a valiant scream, he swung his blade around, synchronizing his projection to pummel down at the formidable Archangel's form with an explosive upheaval of scorching flames. Amidst the striking explosion he kicked off the air and rapidly closed the distance, swinging his high temperature sword again and again to try and overwhelm him with a series of attacks, to keep him away from the others.

"You're my opponent," Daisuke declared with a glare that was magnified by his fiery visage enhanced by his constantly burning coat orange-golden tongues surrounding his body. "And I'll beat you! Jigoku Hashira!"

With a follow-up swing arcing upwards, fiery flames that pulled the energy of Hell through his Bankai surged forward with enough power to cause a deafening shockwave radiate the immense enclosure. When sparks flew across the entire earth, Daisuke resumed his vicious assault. He didn't want to let up an inch, not wanting a fate horrible enough to befall in this dimension again. He didn't want the Punisher to go through with that, not again!

As for Arael, one who seemed to deflect all fire from Kid ō to Reishi infused weapons, was approached by a larger scaled coalition. Before him was the full compliment -save but several left back in Aether- of Paladins both of the Holy Decimus and lesser ranked. At the head was Aesa, its Paladinus Primus. Taking out her Seelenbracher, she declared out to her allies as they all activated their Hollowfied aspect of Reiatsu to fill their blood with even greater strength than before.

"We are the Vanguard of our Alliance. From here, we will use our cursed blood to annihilate the enemy before us, Arael of the S.K.M! Fight with honor and die with pride that any blow we instill upon him, will be poisonous to his Quincy veins," She declared, their combined Reiatsu causing a shockwave of hurricane proportions to race towards Arael's slowly approaching form. "FOR AETHER!"

In a blur of motion that had super velocity behind their blinding streaks of grey, their swords of flames, ice, venom, gravity, lightning and various other elements tied within their unsealed Seelenbrachers attempted to bring down the target. Infused with Hollow Reishi, to but even have a microbe of their energy enter the man's blood would be but deterimental to his health. In a torrent of blades and limbs along with vibrant explosions of power, they'd try to bring down the man behind the mad scheme to end the cosmos with their combined power; a power of two hundred lessers and formidable seven Holy Decimo to bring him down.

Simultaneously, Yashin was in a renewed dance with Leliel. It was amazing to see how quick he was and it made the spawn of Izanagi wonder just how close he was to Arael in terms of strength and skill. His thoughts were abruptly cutt off when one hand managed to grasp his scythe handle, catching him in the torrential flurry of clashing metal. When an uppercut raced upward in a dizzying arc, he stepped back, narrowly avoiding its cutting edge but managed to receive a knick up his shoulder through the cloth due to its pressure. It only served to make his retaliation more satisfying.

"Good," Yashin Kagai replied as the weapon in Leliel's hand sudden transformed into a torrential blast of dark energy, exploding as he swung it out of his grasp. Knowing the attack would at least take his enemy's arm off, a mere graze of his own flesh was a small price to pay for being offset by the enemy's tenacious speed. Returning the weapon back to both hands, he swung it around in a curving arc to that'd drag an S shaped cut from left down jaggedly to right and back to left again. "This dance of ours is becoming more exciting with every passing moment, Archangel. Don't disappoint me!"

Finalizing his move with a pommel thrust into the earth, causing it to combust and race in an igneous magma current towards Leliel's feet. Aiming to drag him down into the molten earth he created below, he thrust a Reiatsu kick from his foot to hit him in midair. The aim was to bring him down into the superheated fire below him, and catch him alight in the unnatural tongues that Hell can provide.

Braeburn remained silent, raising his blade up to counter Yōki's strike.

He immediately regretted it.

When the teeth of his steel ribbon connected, the speed of the spheres around Yōki's weapon nearly threw the weapon from his hands. Realizing that attempting to stand his ground in a one-on-one melee fight, he took steps back in retreat. He had to bend from side to side and backward, avoiding Yōki's swings as quickly as he could without relying on Flash Step. Even as he bobbed and weaved, thoughts invaded his head.

''Of course. They're still going to come after me. Even when I put them on the brink of death, they're just going to pick themselves back up and repeat. That's how it's always been. No matter how strong or smart the foe, they're going to keep fighting. It felt so good being beside such people. Was I wrong this whole time?''

The light in his eyes dimmed.

His next movement felt automatic and as mechanical as the arm affected. The prosthetic hand clasped onto the blade, and the motions of the spheres were abruptly halted by the strong frame of his palm. There was the bolts of a static charge racing from the base of the cybernetic arm to the fingers, and then there was a violent shatter as the foundation of the "chainsaw" fell apart. The spheres scattered across the ground, sparkling with charges of disruptive energy. Braeburn would be left staring at Yōki with that dead gaze.

''Probably. But I have to remember. All of this is for her. I may have damned myself with my actions. But at the end of the day, it'll be worth it. Don't worry, Hana.''

A second afterwards, the pommel of his sword swung to strike Yōki's cheek with a force capable of liquifying the internal organs. A reverse of that same arm brought a follow-up elbow strike to her face, and that arm would pull back completely to swing his blade at her chest.

I swear I'll make it up to you, if this doesn't.

Within the area of Shindō and his Lieutenant, the mood seemed much more jovial.

The ground nearest to Sachiel erupted in a brief, small dust storm. The bright light of a blue whip would be seen, twisting to circle the Quincy's form. The circle closed, and for a moment, it looked as if the whip would wrap around her form. But then, a series of explosions shot from the base of the whip to the tip, consuming both the weapon and the Quincy in a fiery, smoking blaze. The source of the attack would reveal itself in the form of two particular Captains, who stepped in front of the wounded Captain and Lieutenant. To the ones that knew them and their abilities, it was clear what had happened.

"You seem to be looking for a good dance partner, Quincy." Gina muttered, bringing her whip back to her side and regarding Sachiel with a cold, stern stare. Her partner-in crime, Tsubasa, was resting the back of his Shikai against one shoulder and grinning smugly at their mutual target. "How about you try us on for size?"

Sachiel's comrade Bardiel would be facing similar challenges.

It was in a heartbeat that her particular opponent appeared before her. Her eyes widened when she found herself staring into silver-blue eyes of Kaze Sasayaki. Her heart fluttered, and for the briefest of moments, a genuine smile crossed her face. That smile shifted into a smirk of anticipation when she saw the other scientist's oncoming fist race to her head. She thrust up her own right hand, their wrists intersecting in their collision. The muscles in Bardiel's arm tensed, she shut one eye and she had to root her feet in the face of Kaze's strength. But the feeling only made her grin wider, even as she saw the creation of a Bakudo spell in progress. The fluttering changed to beating, and she swung up her other hand in order to smack against that one. A precise use of energy control disrupted his flow, causing the heated Kidō spell to scatter away from their persons in a dangerous display of fireworks.

Then, a pause to listen to Kaze's words, before he struck again.

Initially, she raised an arm to block Kaze's strike once again. But her eyes widened when she felt the stir of energy within his sword. She reflexively kicked into a Hirenkyaku in an effort to escape. But she wasn't fast enough to keep her arm from getting caught - something she noticed only when she got a certain distance away from him. The cold sensation that overswept the affected her limb caused her to direct her attention to it, only to earn her shock when she saw what had happened. The arm had turned a pale blue, with the nerves unable to operate it properly under the intense cold. She cradled it to her chest with her arm, looking at Kaze while still retaining her shock. But it was only a second later that the grin returned to her face in full force.

"The robbery of a target's energy?" She asked, laughing in twisted delight and mania. "You cheeky bastard, I bet you modified it just for something like this, didn't you?!"

In another part of the arena was Ramiel and his personal opponents, all of which gave the signs of a hard fight.

With one hand carting the grip of his rifle, he allowed his free hand to catch the chain of the Kidō spell shot his way. He sent a bit of his own energy into its foundation, disrupting it just enough so that he could dodge its grasp. A Hirenkyaku pulled him away, just enough so that he could line the sights of his rifle with them. The finger rested on the trigger, stopping for a brief statement of words. "I will applaud you for engaging me with three particularly strong fighters," He commented. "But throwing stones at a bird in flight will only get you so far."

He fired the shot.

While initially powerful as demonstrated on Mōka, the projectile launched gained strength through the energy particles it was gathering on its flight. The energy of Kenpachi and Tōshiro's attack was assimilated, crossingF the distance between the shooter and his targets in a heartbeat. Once in proximity, the projectile of combined energy detonated in a powerful and expansive explosion. A dust storm was created, and shockwaves resonated from the center of the blast. But in the face of them, the Quincy didn't flinch. He stared on with cold eyes, loading another shot into his chamber and holstering his rifle against his chest in preparation for further confrontation.

Tabris was already in a confrontation of his own.

Hisagi's blades were met with his katana as he parried and battered them aside. Like Braeburn, he fell into a retreat upon the second attack, focusing on the Kidō spell that threatened to immobilize him. The sharp edge plus his energy control was enough to thwart the attack, slicing through his bindings and allowing him to guard against the combined attack of the former Onmitsukidō. As he saw the Shunkō-enhanced women approached, he swung a hand out to allow a rectangular barrier of energy spawn between him and his adversaries. There was a burst of residue energy released from the collision, and it was only a few seconds before they were blown back from him. The shield dispersed, and he swung his sword down to his side to analyze his adversaries.

"These are the ones I'm fighting?" He commented, a grin of amusement crossing his face. "You Shinigami must really want me dead." He raised his blade up to a defensive stance, one of his hands making a challenging motion to his foes. "Not that I mind, of course."

There would be someone else who would mind.

Unlike the rest of the Archangels, Iruel was not a direct combatant. He served as the spy, using stealth and tactics in order to assist his allies. In most cases, he was pacifistic and did not dare stick his head into a heated battle unless it was absolutely necessary. Both his power and his nature disallowed him to fight against a strong enemy, and so he had to rely on his teammates in order to do the fighting for him. But his teammates were all occupied with their own battles, caught by opponents who were considerably strong in their own right. He was stuck on his own - something he had attempted to compensate for by hiding with the heat of battle.

So when Jōshōtsu came after him with full power, he had more than enough reason to be horrified.

Oh God, don't let him get me!!

A Hirenkyaku barely got him to safety just before the blast of kinetic force could slice through him. His body ducked into the mist of fighting soldiers, using them for cover in order to get away from the D.C.O. operative.

On the sidelines, Rukia Kuchiki found herself to be in a much more comfortable position.

She had her arms folded across her chest, silently looking on as the battle waged around them. Recently, her eyes had focused on what she had assumed to be the fight between Jōshōtsu and Iruel. But she was surprised when she saw the Quincy abruptly run for it. She took a moment to peer closely before speaking. "He's... scared." She murmured in quiet awe, lifting a finger to point at the retreating Arael. "The rest of these Quincy have shown nothing but fearlessness when in battle. But that one is acting like he's never been in battle before. Not to mention that his spiritual pressure is abysmal when compared to his colleagues." Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Why would Arael have him here, in an environment like this?"

Speaking of fearlessness, Armisael was embodying that very trait.

One of her blades smacked into Renji's parrying it away from her so she could focus on the charging Ikkaku. With a grin that matched his own, she swung her blades to meet his. The massive pendulum blades were held off by Armisael's strength, and for a moment that the battle would allow, they fought one-on-one. When Yumichika joined in, she retreated. Her form never broke, and she seemed to move with a natural flair as she fought them off. The only thing that seemed to change when Lisa and Yachiru joined in was the increase of her movements, which included flipping and twisting around in order to keep herself from getting hit.

Then, there was a moment's break. Armisael hopped away from them, straightening when she was a good distance away. In the lull that followed, she was surprised to hear Yachiru speak to her. "Hey!" The girl commented, a bright and anticipating grin on her face even as her body was ready to attack again. "You're pretty good with that blade, lady!"

The mirth made Armisael chuckle, and she decided to humor the girl. "Thank you, sweetie." She said casually, a genuine stroke of acknowledgement of the compliment. "You're not so bad yourself. Just where'd you happen to get those skills?"

Yachiru giggled. "Only the best around!"

Lastly but not least of the challenging force was Zeruel.

He was surprised when he saw that his opponent wasn't Kenpachi and instead a Lieutenant of the Gotei 13 approaching. On reflex, he swung his blade up so that the projection of himself could meet the one of the enemy giant. When physical force and flaming energy collided, the resulting outburst of energy seemed to shake the air itself. He didn't have time to think about it, though, for he saw Daisuke charge him. A grin, amused and condescending, appeared on his face as he raised his sword accordingly, intercepting the strikes with only the movements of one arm. When he heard the words spoken, he opened his mouth in preparation to fire a mocking retort.

But he was stopped by what happened next.

In the next swing, he felt himself facing down not only Daisuke's power, but the power from Hell itself. The oppressive energy seemed to disregard the blizzard the armies were surrounded by as it raced to him, the heat of the concentrated flames briefly overwhelming his senses. For what might as well have been the first time in ages, he found himself looking on with horror. But thankfully for his pride, it would only be seen for a heartbeat's worth. He yanked himself away with a Hirenkyaku, but could not pull himself away in time to avoid the flames completely. When he appeared, he had a mixture of shock, fear and pain on his face. Contracted eyes were directed downward at his chest.

It wasn't hard to figure out why.

The front part of his clothes and his skin had been burned away, revealing charred and cooked muscle underneath. It looked as painful as it was, and in those handful of seconds, Zeruel could only stare at himself in bewilderment. "Wh-what the hell?!" He stammered, raising his head up so that he could stare at Daisuke. However, it wasn't long before the expression of shock changed to fury. "What did you just do, you little bastard?!"

Arael seemed to have a much easier time.

Even against the brigade of Paladins that charged him, even as Aesa declared her words to them, he stood his ground with a calm and smug smile. He strolled towards them, raising his free hand up in what seemed like a signal to stop. "Any blow you connect with will destroy me, you say?" He questioned rhetorically. "Well, that's certainly a bit of a predicament. But nothing I can't overcome. After all, all I have to do is not get hit. Right?"

Then, his palm erupted with a flash of light.

It was sudden and without warning, hitting the eyes of the oncoming Paladins. It wasn't just a massive flashbang, however. It was something that seared into the minds and soul of those targeted. Thoughts would be probed, souls would be searched and the very being would be invaded without a shred of regard for those affected. It was enough to halt the army in their tracks, their yells and screams resounding throughout the area as they struggled to regain control of themselves. The extent of the pain was such that a good majority were even dropping their weapons and falling to the ground.

Unfortunately, this was also the point where Arael moved.

Even without the flash of light, his body was nigh-invisible as he struck. His blade was swung with speed and precision that would've challenge the masters of the sword, tearing his targets into bloody ribbons. Multitudes of Paladins were transformed into literal shreds within a few seconds, and throughout it all, Arael kept that calm smile on his face. Once again, he was demonstrating just how terrifying he could truly be in the heat of combat.

Leliel was experiencing a much different sensation.

One moment, he was prepared to fight.

The next, he had lost his arm thanks to an eruption of dark energy.

The pain was searing, shooting from his destroyed arm to the rest of his body. It was all he could do not to yell out and keep himself together. Still, his widened eyes and his shocked face made it clear that he was far from comfortable. It also made one thing clear. Physical contact with Yashin was something that was sure to get him killed if he wasn't careful. Even with the powers of the Void on his side, he was still dealing with a very powerful threat. With this thought in mind, he weaved to and fro to avoid Yashin's follow-up strikes. His free hand had gone to clutch the bleeding stump even as he moved, with a gaze of astonishment still on his adversary.

But as soon as he leaped away from the final strike, he bore witness to something even more threatening.

A lava pool.

Within seconds, the ice on the ground had given way to lava that broke through the ground. It consumed the surface, but the ice did not give way to its heat. Even so, Leliel fully understood that even with his Blut Vene, trying to wade through something like that was next to impossible without death. He leaped into the air, looking on as the wave continued to conquer the area they were in. In the second that he had, he come to realize just what he was feeling at that exact moment.

It was fear.

He was scared.

The very thought of it caused him to giggle, the sound resulting from a mixture of delight and hysteria. He had fought on the battlefield many, many times. Being on the brink of death was nothing new to him. The feeling had simply been suppressed when he saw that there were barely opponents who could challenge him, allowing him to keep his sense of serenity. But in this situation, death was a very high possibility. It was something that he had wished for long ago in his nearly immortal life. But now, it was right in his face. He wasn't quite sure what to do. Would this actually be the fight that would fulfill his wish?

He didn't stop to think about it for long. His Core activated, and from the stump Yashin had made, the flesh of a new arm sprouted out. It was also at that moment that the monster appeared above his head, its leg swinging in a kick to send him down to the burning abyss below. He didn't have time to look up and see it. But he did have enough time to prepare another move, the same move that he had caught Sazuke with. He focused his energy, opening up a portal large enough to capture the offending leg and hold the assailant in place. Whether or not Yashin could feel the same sensations Sazuke had felt was of little concern, as it was merely a temporary restraint for his next move.

Within a heartbeat's time of the capture, Leliel widened the portal.

A violent expulsion of the Void's power was released, enveloping Yashin in a river of blackness. Its power resonated through Leliel's bones, and he eventually had to float away from his standpoint in order to watch the release of energy. But the effects of Yashin's attacks were still in effect; the Quincy's hand was quivering slightly, his breath was hitched and he still held a thousand yard stare directed at where his opponent had previously been.

It was an astonishing feat that Leliel pulled off, to Yashin's perception. He had observed the powers of those who could harness and tamper with the Void. Shad ō was the first, as he could be someone to blend in the "shadows" of the spiritual world and enter it as if it was a safe haven so he could strike from virtually anywhere. His former fellow Dragon, Kun ō showed an adept usage to use it on a destructive level with perfect control while his enemy Karitori used it far more savagely. But Leliel was someone on a completely different level, able to pull its power from the nether and thrust it directly at his foe.

Had he been either Yashin Shiy ōnin or Shidai Kagai, he would have been completely annihilated. None of his prior lives could hope to stand against an awash of abysmal pressure and hope to remain intact. It'd be equivalent to a spiritual body being exposed to the energy of Reason within the Dangai Precipice World. They'd cease to be, without any hope of salvation or return back as a reincarnation.

But he was none of those. He was Yashin Kagai, the man who achieved deification far beyond his wildest dreams.

And now he was going to show everyone just why.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, V-14 along with the Sect loyalists and the RAC detachment that survived their fight against said Sect forces clamored in. They stormed the virtual south of the abysmal south, passing through the enormous umbrella barrier that had been established without any effort. With Angelika at its head along with V-14, the RAC Knight Captains and their respective Knights came in with the Paladins who fought with them in the Material World. What would happen as they appeared in the battlefield of the enemy and fellow man was something that'd cause them to halt their advance.

The portal's dark energies that opened in front of Yashin was suddenly bathing the deity in its essence. Unaffected by its harmful effects that anyone could tell from the outside, the energy that aimed to destroy his being was suddenly harnessed upward in a pillar of crimson outlined blackness. Striking the top of the barrier, it soon unraveled into a blanket of darkness that seemed to project an unholy light of red gleam onto the battlefield. From the shadowy canvas of this foul power came seven enormous eyes, each one gleaming with a black circle with the kanji letter for seven presiding each one. Opening at the ground, the barrier encroached sky, and a number of angles across the vista of their battlefield, it was just a demonstration of Yashin's new found godhood.

"I don't believe it," Kun ō uttered out loud, just as Karitori shivered as an unnatural coldness seeped into their very beings, reminiscent of the energy they harness on their own volition. "Yashin's...manipulated the Yamiki to a league I never imagined. He's completely surrounded the battlefield with it, making it his own domain!"

"That creepy fuck," Karitori flinched at the eyes that seemed to stare into her very soul. "Why did he put eyes everywhere?!"

"Stay close to us, Shinji," Kun ō advised with a surprisingly warm smile sent his way, "Wouldn't want to lose you again, do we?"

"It's...as if he's showing his omniscience and omnipotence at one time," Shad ō muttered out, falling to his knees as his whole body convulsed at the proximity to the Void's power he was feeling.

"Hey, you okay buddy?" Hyōryū asked as she bent down to help her friend stand up.

"I am...or rather...will be fine," He coughed out, his shaking was almost akin to a rattlesnake's tail. He looked at his hand and gaped at the dark flames ebbing off his covered flesh. "It seems that my physiology is...struggling to adapt to this power emanating from the atmosphere...I may become stronger than I ever been in the past, thanks to this new development."

"Anton," She turned to her lover and partner, handing him over to his grasp. "Keep him close. I trust you'll do better than I can what with my fingers unable to squeeze a trigger at this feeling."

"Ugh...I'm going to be sick," Kenja heaved as he was still in the hands of Yaj ū and Zaii.

"Easy man,"  Yaj ū growled, not wishing to be caught holding a man blowing his chunks.

"I think this place is beautiful," Zaii whispered, his eyes caught up to look all around him as the battles around seemed to grow quiet at this new look around them. "If it weren't for the creepy eyes...it's causing my blood to pump faster. This place...is perfect for a great fight!"

"Aesthetically pleasing but nothing else," Shito commented idly, his own eyes looking across the new nightmarish surroundings they just jumped into. "It gives me the creeps knowing that Yashin's eyes are boring into me."

"Where is their leader?" M ōka queried, unable to catch a true glimpse between the Yamiki pressure blocking her Hankami senses. "I can't see anything through this fog that Yashin's put up."

"Agreed," Shinshin spoke up as he tried to close his eyes and concentrate. "A myraid of emotions are making it impossible to tell what is happening. Plus this seems to make it sound like static to my senses."

Elsewhere, the sudden transpiring atmosphere only changed the battlefield to a small degree.

While the Daitenshi seemed to stop out of mingled panic and apprehenison, it only made Tome angrier.

"Bastard, putting up your eyes as if you're the boss of everything," He growled, his aura seeming to be fiercer than it was a handful of minutes ago. Letting it boost upward as a threatening column with a visage of teeth and red eyes, he reared around a pair of fists that crashed into the Reaper's flat of his sword. Shouting out loud he unleashed a pair of wrecking ball sized Balas from his knuckles, sending his enemy flying back through a few bodies of Daitenshi till he stopped himself short. "I'll kill you after this bitch, Yashin! Just you wait!"

"Ah, the Void's presence," The Reaper replied with an amused expression, his sword swinging from one side to the other. The event caused some Daitenshi leaping towards him with renewed vigor to be eradicated by black flames of Shinsei, his aura blowing back the others as the sword swipe dug a trench into the frozen earth beside him. "It's been such a long time since I've felt it in a tangible environment. Makes my blood feel...excited."

"You-!" Tome rushed forward with a vibrant aura of Reiatsu that flared out as if he was aflame of sparkling white tongues. When he reached the Reaper's vicinity, he suddenly felt a bludgeoning impact from his left flank, sending him sprawling across for a kilometer before skidding to a halt. Looking back, he saw the eye-imbued wing of the Hankami's seemed to pull back behind him, showing it was to blame.

"Patience, Crimson Knight," He whispered with a cold edge that provided the lethal intent in his voice. "You're time will come. As will anyone who stands before me."

Aesa was astonished by the execution of Arael's attack. The blinding light was far more than a distraction, as it seemed to dominate the immediate space with its brilliance. It was so offsetting that, when she moved to parry his blitz style of attack, she found nearly every member of the Paladins who stood by her were annihilated. Turning to see the gore and remains of her comrades, her body emitted a harsh Reiatsu, her eyes becoming a complete gold with a slit for a pupil, even fangs emitted from her teeth.

"Bastard!" Aesa howled out, just as Yashin's domain had spread across their presence. She was fixated on Arael's back, whose hands were stained with blood as the outer tresses of his pure apparel. "I'll kill you where you stand!"

Zooming forward, her blade packed with Hollowfied Reiatsu, she swung at an incredible storm of focused swings at his body. She'd follow him wherever he went, intent on condensing the power of her attacks to only his body so that the comrades standing their ground wouldn't be harmed by her as a result. It was all she could do, thinking that members of the Holy Decimo were killed so quickly because of a momentary distraction and that she was the only one who could act.

"I must kill him before my comrades from the surface appear," She decided as she continued her furious assault on him. It was her duty as their strongest member and leader; as well as to the Knight Commander.

Daisuke was surprised with how angry he made the man. Then again, he hadn't tested his connection to Hell's flames since his fated duel against Sakura. The power he projected back then couldn't be measured because he was always outclassed and it was only by happenstance that he could manage a victory. This time, it was an opponent he could see his precipice of power. He was strong, stronger than he could have hoped of challenging back at the DCO HQ.

But now, seeing him harmed in such a way, he could feel confidence even as darkness encroached on the surroundings. He was thankful that, even through spirit, his beloved Hankami was still extending aid to him even if it was unintentional. Raising his sword up to be gripped by both hands, his body roared like a condensed inferno of many colored tongues, becoming a wreathed being of fire.

Leaping forward, he let loose a shout as he swung one fiery swing after infernal stroke of his Hell Flame empowered being, "I am a conduit of Hell's unending fire. Through my Zanpakut ō I can control any flame that touches it, including the one I generate from my own Reiryoku. I fought two beings too strong for me to completely measure it. But now, I can fight someone I can win on my own terms, Quincy!"

"Damn," Ikkaku swore aloud as his grin seemed to widen. "This woman can fight. I've trained this whole time and my Bankai doesn't break when I swing too hard. Yet she takes it in stride."

"Indeed," Yumichika brushed some of his bangs out of the way as they took brief pause as the battles escalated all across the massive frozen landscape. "She's a formidable warrior. Not even all of us rushing in offset her movements."

"Should we change tact? Reinforcements have just arrived," Lisa asked as she mentioned the arrival of their fellow men-in-arms. As she did, the environment warped and transformed into something foul, hideous, and dark. It made even her Hollowified being tremble at what she witnessed. "What...happened?"

"Yashin," Renji muttered, loosely remembering those eyes from reports. "What the Hell did he just do?"

"I don't care if you guys hang back with your jaws slack," Ikkaku jeered, leaping forward to attack Armisael. "I'm going forward, no holds barred! If you want, find an opening and attack, but I don't care either way!"

Just like that, the pendulum swordsman rushed in and flurried with his weapon in hand, attacking in earnest against her. His power and speed used in conjunction with the aim to break her through overwhelming force. He hadn't fought a good enemy for too long, and he needed this to be lasting.

Jōshōtsu was mildly disturbed by how cowardly his enemy was acting. But the fact his aim wasn't accurate was what made him more infuriated. Why couldn't he hit him, someone of such abysmal Reiryoku, comparatively to his brothers in arms? Just as he was thinking this, the environment warped and changed in complete atmospheric composition. Even the air felt colder in a sense that wasn't physical, but spiritual and psychological.

That instant was taken advantage of by Hiroi, as he thrust an arm within the back of the Shadow Squad Captain, bypassing the layers of armor and Reiatsu that protected him thanks to his Bij ōnaga ability to manipulate any Reishi body he touched.

"G-Gulk!" Jōshōtsu choked out as he turned to look at his enemy from over his shoulder.

"Die," Hiroi whispered, causing the Captain to suddenly combust from the inside out, eradicated in a vaporizing occurrence that made a shockwave send the attacker skidding back on his feet. When the sword of the fallen man died, he grasped its steaming frame and fused it to his right arm. By extension he took on the armored properties the fading Bankai had, giving him a menacing Reiatsu as he looked at the cowering Quincy, "Stand and fight, fool, or you'll get left in the dust of your own ashes. Isn't that right, Captain?"

Kaien was left aback by how sudden it was. Hiroi had virutally came out of the earth like a gopher and then impaled  Jōshōtsu as quickly as he caused him to explode. Taking hold of his Reigai bracelet, he ripped it off and embraced himself in a powerful aura of Reiryoku that lied dormant within him. Now his eye sockets sparked like electricity, his sword unsheathed and held forward just as Senna activated her Shikai by instinct.

"You ready, Rukia? Senna?" Kaien asked as Hiroi began to walk slowly with purpose towards them.

At the same time, Yoruichi and Suifeng were gauging the man before him. With Shij ū standing back with a cautious glare aimed at the Quincy, Sh ūhei dropped by his Captain with his blades in hand. Just when the abysmal canvas of power that made their bones grow cold in a metaphysical sense, a whisper came out of the ether as a new entry to the bunch that aimed to fight this Quincy.

"Scatter, Sebonzakura Kageyoshi."

All of the original attackers were taken aback as Byakuya took a step in entrance behind the Quincy. A storm of petals bombarded him from all sides, focused like corkscrewing pillars while others acted like blades given wings. The billions of razors aimed to overwhelm him with his powerful Reiatsu poured into each individual weapon. Eyes coolly examined him within the flurry of attacks and raised a single hand to where he'd see an opening between his simultaneous, synchronized attacks.

"Had ō #34, Sōkatsui!" He shouted out loud in his stoic tone, unleashing a powerful wave of cerulean eradicating flames, aimed on taking him in a single swoop with his "Will" enhancing its strength.

In the meantime, the attack sent by the marksman Archangel was thwarted and caused the former attackers to scatter. With a variety of ice dragons launched from the dust storm upon Ramiel finishing his reloading. They'd spiral around and aim to freeze him where he stood. Despite the success of this attack being up for question, Kenpachi rushed in sword swinging, laughing as he gave chase to the gun-toting Quincy with a sneer.

"What's the matter? I thought Quincies fought with bows 'n shit," He crowed out, his sword swings separating the dust around them as it gave way to shockwaves that collapsed and crashed the earth everywhere they were aimed. "Don't matter ta me! As long as I can cut you, I don't care what weapon you use!"

As this all transpired, an ominous ringing was thrumming in the background. Shinji, outstretching his Zanpakut ō, Sakanade, to produce a bountiful mist within the vicinity that they were all fighting. Smiling candidly as he held it up in a prostrate manner, he knew by the time his enemy realized what was going on he'd already be captured. Caught by the optical illusion of his Inverted World technique.

Kaze's battle, however, was more on a level of intrigue than tension.

Seeing that his specified target escaped with only an arm robbed of its given Reiryoku while simultaneously closing off the points of Reishi control to give motor function and sensory to the limb was gone. What was replaced, well, he'd display as he grinned back at his maniacal opponent. Raising his sword up in a presenting manner towards her, he called out to her, "Indeed, Archangel. My Zanpakut ō's power, you see, robs the Life of anything its Reishi touches. In exchange, it reaps it and fills it plentifully at the exchange, leaving any enemy I face a frozen husk. But at the same time, I gain something in return.  Jōshō, Hiya Bodi Seigyo!"

At the instant he said this, the limb she cradled to her chest suddenly moved at an unnervingly distorted way. Reaching up it'd attempt to wrap the cold digits around her neck and begin to choke her. While its aim was witnessed he explained with a cruel grin at the display of his power, only made more monstrous as Yashin's canvas of influence increased the hideous sensation of closing death as the arm aimed to claw it from her.

"So, Yashin finally made a move, hm? All the more fitting to meet your end, Quincy," He cackled out as he watched the arm aim to rip her throat out if it didn't squeeze it to a bloody, broken pulp.

As the pair of Captains stepped in, Shind ō's Hollowfication kicked in. As his mask was adopted to his face, he felt his regenerative powers restore the missing organs, tissue and cartiliadge burned away by his enemy. Using what stamina he had, he inched towards his Lieutenant, cradling her in his arms before forcing his own energies into her to sustain what life she had left. Looking up with shame at the Captains' backs, he left with a Shunpo to the 4th Division, knowing he abandoned his fight with his tail between his legs.

"I'm not my brother though," Shind ō thought as he hastened to get his officer the help she needed. "I won't abandon my comrade, no matter the consequence!"

"My-My," Sachiel murmured out loud through the smoke of the explosion that encircled her being. Her cloak was completely eradicated, revealing a violet-haired woman with white-irises and small black pupils. Aside from her glove covered hands and boot covered feet, her grey complexioned skin was on display for her womanly curves up to a one-piece Quincy collarless uniform that wrapped around her developed bosom down to the waist and pelvis. White glowing veins sprouted over her visible skin all the way up to her cheeks, showing her use of Blut Vein in the instant her body was attacked by the Shikai of the Captain. "I was almost surprised by that attack. Good thing it wasn't such a significant threat to me, but I did like that cloak. Prepare to face me, Shinigami!"

Leaping forward, she coalesced the ambient light Reishi around her hands, forming visible mallet constructs where her knuckles were. Swinging them at Qilin and Gina respectively, she swung her legs around to produce sickle shaped white Reishi blades. In conjunction she danced around with powerful swipes and bludgeoning attacks at her foe. Her use of Hirenkyaku in conjunction with using her visibly brighter veined Blut Arterie to empower her attacks to push past the defenses of her Captains.

Y ōki was caught off guard by Braeburn's move.

The artificial arm that caught her Zanpakut ō was enough to halt her dead in its tracks. The howling wind and piercing snow that was sent blistering around her face kept her from seeing him pull back to swing his sword's pommel at her face. That was, hadn't it been for Daisuke's Hell Flames erecting themselves to the heavens, outlining the blizzard wind silhouette of Braeburn. Eyes dilated and her breath hitched as she took a step back, practically smelling the metal from his blade past her nostrils. When the elbow came back to crash into her temple, she ducked, feeling it cut a shallow cut on the top of her scalp. Clamping her jaw shut to hide her pain, she saw that he was about to bring back his weapon for a final swing at her still weaponless body.

It was only by happenstance that the whole atmosphere changed, halting the winds briefly as Yashin's domain stretched over them. With the wind halted, she could see him clearly. Upon instinct, she attacked in the only way she could.

"RAAAAH!" She growled out in a furious yell, thrusting a non-incantation of Shakkah ō into his exposed solar plexus. She knew that the explosive power was lessened but it was expected as it was necessary. The force was to be enough to halt his attack while blowing her back. Not even allowing her rolling body to stop her, she clawed at the ground while pointing her Shikai at him, following up with an angry call out as Takashi and Rokotsu seeing the two of them. "Discharge!"

The orbs that had dropped by Braeburn's feet, having been sent flying by the explosive shock of her Kid ō, now rotated swiftly in a matter of a couple seconds. Spiraling through the air at seemingly chaotic motions, they all swerved to crash repeatedly at the McTavish from all angles. The bludgeoning force would be as punishing as it was constant, with Y ōki's now blood soaked bangs complementing her glare at the man who broke her heart and betrayed their trust.

As Rokotsu and Takashi were gawking at their surroundings apart from their look of worry at their angry friend, Yashin finally appeared before Leliel.

"Fufufufufufufufufufufufufu," Rang out a gutturally amused laugh to the Archangel. Rising up from empty blackness was Yashin, his cloak now bristling of the Yamiki he had grasped and pulled it out to make his own. The imperceivable feeling of his power was now replaced by the cold, eerie feeling of the Void now wrapped around him and extending his power to make the battlefield his own domain. With the scythe in hand, he looked like a grim reaper as his glowing letter inscribed eyes stared at Leliel while he spoke out loud his reveal to him. "That was...truly amusing what you tried to do. Erase my physical body with the Void's energy. But you see, I was born from that place. I've transcended all past limitations and become a god beyond ordinary mortal comprehension such as yourself. I can easily take that place's power and make it my own. That is my Divine Birthright, after all, as Izanagi's son."

Twirling his scythe around in one hand, he pointed it at the Quincy with a delighted smile spread across his pale face, "Shall we continue our dance, Leutwin Fleischer, the Absence of God?"

Within that instant, what was left of Leliel's composure had dissolved with the arctic setting.

His smile faded away, and his eyes contracted even further when he took in the "new" location. It could've been best described as the epitome of the Void, complete with Yashin's morbid customization. He stared into not only the eyes in front of him, but the massive constructs looming over every inch of the battlefield. Was he still in Hell, or had he been transported into the belly of an abomination? He couldn't tell anymore. Within this field of death, it was almost impossible to think outside of his instincts.

Then, he remembered. This was a good thing that was happening. This was a setting he had gotten used to, ever since his first connection with the Void. It was a reminder of his wishes, a keepsake that he had clung to in the years that passed. Yashin may have transformed the battlefield into something that suited only the likes of him. But as meager as it was compared to Yashin's hold, Leliel still had control. He still had a foothold. Even if he didn't, he still had a good place to die as any one of his colleagues had. Death in the battlefield was, after all, something that they all sought. All Yashin did was give him a better chance.

He temporarily lowered his head, closed his eyes and gave a pleased grin. A soft chuckle escaped from the seam of his lips, removing the possible interpretation of fear that Yashin might have gotten from him. When he raised his head up and opened his eyes, his opponent would see the light within had disappeared. Although the color was still present, the pupils had become smaller and comparable to dots. Although this alone centered someone at the end of the line, the squint of his lids somewhat counter-acted that. But even this was balanced out with the sedate yet malevolent grin.

"Only if you lead." He answered, his cool tone laced with an edge of hostile anticipation. "If you have truly gone past your limits and beyond my comprehension, you should be able to destroy me very easily. After all, I am but a mere mortal," He lifted his hand up, spawning his trademark sword into his hand with the tip pointed at the barrier.. "Aren't I?"

There was only a brief pulse from the weapon, and then, there was brilliance. A violent burst of energy erupted from Leliel's body, extending into a pillar of light that pierced through the darkness. It continued to penetrate the barrier, the power of its extension causing the resulting hole to open up wider than it normally would've. When it reached its apex, it formed the dreaded Quincy's cross. In the handful of seconds that it lasted, there were tremendous amounts of power radiating off of it. Everyone within the area would feel it - the feeling of something new being brought into the battlefield. But just like the lifespan of a cherry blossom, it was tragically short; the pillar eventually shattered into fragments of "glass" that rained on the ground.

But what was revealed more than made up for it.

He wore a hooded cloak and gi/hakama set of black, with the top covered in shoulder plating and chest-plate armor. The lower portion of his face was masked with similar plating. The blade he wielded had turned into the same black that made up the majority of his person, lengthened to a size comparable to a claymore and grew eight barbs on each side. The skin and hair lost their color, with his skin becoming a pale gray and his hair white. His eyes, however, shone a brilliant red as they eagerly looked at Yashin. He lowered the weapon, holding it in a backhand position. His free hand raised two fingers to gesture to Yashin with a challenging motion. "Will you punish me for my heresy and defiance? Or will I perform the miracle of sending a god to hell?"

It was the very change of the environment that stopped Braeburn from reacting to the sudden Kidō spell.

Before he could even begin to express his own shock, his body was hit at point-blank range. He let out a yelp, shutting his eyes as he was forcefully sent away from his enemy. He was forced into a backflip, and he found himself having to slam the tip of his sword into the frozen ground to keep from sliding back too much. His body fell into a kneeling position, with both his knees and cybernetic arm helping to keep purchase. As a result of his actions, it wasn't too long before he stopped in his tracks. He shoved himself back onto his feet, hissing when his charred chest sent a sharp ache through the rest of his body.

He wouldn't get long to dwell on it, as Yōki's Shikai rose up with a vengeance.

The spheres that had fallen to the ground had shot towards him, attacking like a swarm of angry hornets. His eyes widened, and he pulled his sword from the ground just in time to intercept the spheres. His sword arm was a blur, parrying and battering the things away before they could touch him. The way he kept himself protected allowed himself to get a glimpse at Yōki - or more importantly, her body language. But once he did, his soul was once again hit with a mixture of emotions. Gone was the subtle remorse when she had first engaged him. Gone was the resolution to make him open up. Now, all he could feel from her was the desire to kill. All she wanted now was revenge for his betrayal.

On one hand, he was relieved. The distance between them ensured that he had more freedom to act as he pleased, to carry out his own personal plans without any baggage getting in the way. But at the same time, there was a strong measure of disappointment. She had spoken like Daisuke had, spoken so highly of the virtues of life that the Gotei 13 valued so much. But when push came to shove, they refused to follow through. They didn't try to talk him down. They didn't even try to hold their mentality. They were simply focused on hurting him, and in this case, killing him. It was amazing at just how quickly they fell to violence in the face of danger, just like a cornered animal.

He switched sword hands, using a brief interlude between the ball flights to toss his weapon from the organic to prosthetic hand before striking again. This time, the currents of electrical energy moved through the arm and to his sword, where it was released against the pressure of the spheres. It only took a few seconds before they fell to the ground. But this time, Yōki would find it much harder to pick them back up and strike him again. Braeburn used the opportunity to explain, lowering his sword to his side and steadily approaching Yōki.

"Y'know," He began in a casual tone of voice. "The more I think about it, the more I realized I should've thanked Hana for cutting off my arm. If it wasn't for her, I would've never gotten this new toy." He raised the arm up for her to see better, a smirk making its way onto her face. "Not only does it carry a larger degree of physical strength than my regular one, it can disrupt and neutralize the energy flow of whatever it comes into contact with. I had this constructed just in case I tangoed with Hana again, to make sure I had an edge against her spiritual pressure. Y'see, she has me outmatched in terms of reiatsu and reiryoku. But in a contest of physical strength, I could crush her into the ground just like that."

His eyes sparked with lethal clarity. "Do you know what's really sad about that? It's something that you, Hana and Daisuke all have in common. Not only do you lack the fighting strength to stop me, you also lack the spine to keep yourself held up. You speak so highly about purity and freedom, trying so hard to be the hero. But the moment you're pushed into a corner, that mentality just goes straight out the window. There's nothing on the mind but the pull to maim and kill, and it's only until after the fight's over that you regain that sense of heroism. It's almost as if the whole thing's just an excuse to justify everything terrible you've done, a shield that prevents responsibility from reaching you. That's no good, Yōki. With the traitor having more resolve and commitment to his goals than the backbone of the Gotei 13, how could it be anything else?"

It was here that the smile had faded away, his eyes narrowing into a bitter glare. But he still kept that conversational tone of voice. "Give it up and lay it clean, Yōki. There's nothing pure or liberating about this at all. It's just another opportunity to butcher the pigs."

He threw himself forward, the teeth of his blade once again readied to sink into his target.

In another corner of the arena were the two Captains and the Quincy.

Both sides exchanged blows with the quality of a master. Against Sachiel's onslaught came the skill of the two swordsman. Gina's whip flew to and fro as it blocked both hammer and sickle, twirling around both the body of herself and her opponent. Likewise, Tsubasa countered with the flicks of the wrist and the fancy footwork he was known for. It seemed like a stalemate, with neither side giving ground to the other's unique set of attacks.

But then, Gina's whip found a way through Sachiel's defenses and wrapped around her form. The assailant grinned, giving a tug and taking her new purchase from the ground. A single toss and the Quincy was thrown like a missile from their area. Gina didn't waste time celebrating, knowing that Sachiel would be quick to recover. She abruptly turned to her impromptu partner. "Do it!"

"One step ahead of you, Genie." Tsubasa answered, tapping the side of his blade with a finger.

Upon that instant, the spiritual weapons Sachiel had carried in her hand exploded, enveloping her form in smoke and potentially taking her limbs off along with them.

The next corner of the battlefield presented Bardiel with a situation not too different from when she had faced Rey.

She looked disturbed at the sight of her own hand reaching up to choke her. She slowly leaned back, attempting to keep the distance between herself and her traitorous limb. But it inched towards her little by little, coming closer and closer to seize its prize. Despite what looked like fear on her face, she still managed to speak in a rather amiable tone. "Well," She remarked. "You bring up a very accurate and fantastic point. May I provide a rebuttal?"

Upon this moment, she dropped the attitude in exchange for a smug and toothy grin. The next second that passed would justify this.

Just before her fingertips touched her jugular, the controlled hand abruptly stopped in its tracks. Its fingers started writhing and wriggling, and the sounds of bones popping could be heard. A few seconds more, and the hand abruptly yanked itself away from its owner. It then worked itself out, exercising both fingers and wrist to work out any final kinks. This left Bardiel free reign to explain. "It doesn't take much for a Quincy to be able to reopen flow points closed off by the enemy. In addition, the Core in my body ensures that whatever damage done to it is healed, and whatever mistakes that allowed for the injury are corrected. In simple terms? That sword of yours can do nothing to harm me."

Her eyes narrowed, her smile growing wider. "I can only wonder if the same applies to you, seeing as you're a Shinigami." She raised her hands up, her palms positioned for a clap. "Let's find out, shall we?"

When the flats of her hands smacked against each other, a horrifying chain reaction started.

The hands of Kaze would promptly ignite into the blue flame of the Quincy, burning on both the outside and the inside. Both sets of flame spread quickly, moving up forearm to the bicep. It would only be a handful of seconds before the man was completely burned to a crisp. Throughout it all, Bardiel's smile had taken on a tone of sadistic pleasure. "This will ruin the chance of allowing me to preserve you for further study." She said. "But I suppose the satisfaction of watching you die a slow and agonizing death can more than make up for it. I just hope you're fully prepared for it, Shinigami."

And then, there was Ramiel facing his own deal of enemies.

At first, he was eerily calm even as he backpedaled. His body moved and twisted, missing the teeth of Kenpachi's blade by a hair each and every time it was swung. It moved to flip over the dragons that threatened to encase him, deftly evading the possible death by hypothermia. It didn't take him long for him to spin around an extended swing of the relentless swordsman, allowing him to get behind the man and raise his rifle to his back. His finger tightened, ready to pull the trigger and put the monster out of its misery.

But then, he caught it. There was an odd smell in the air, as if someone had just sprayed perfume or cologne. He couldn't help but cock an eyebrow at this as well as the strange ringing, finding himself turning to the source of it. While initially his gaze was one of intrigue, he realized that he only had a few seconds before Kenpachi rounded on him. Pushing the thought away, he attempted to lift his gun up and shoot the blonde where he stood.

But instead of going up and forward, his arm attempted to go down and backward. It was enough to wipe the cool off of his face, replacing it with clear surprise. He swung his head down so that he could see just exactly what the problem was. But his surprise would change to shock and horror when his head went up instead of down. He nearly lost the grip on his rifle, stumbling like a drunk and struggling to regain control. But no matter how much he moved, his body went in the opposite direction of where he wanted to go. His sense of direction had been shattered, and his entire foundation was thrown into disarray. There was nausea, there was vertigo and over everything else, the desire to fall to the ground just so the world could stop spinning. As a sniper, he prided himself on proper control of his senses and used them to the best of his ability when executing his targets. But now the very card he relied on time and time again had turned on him.

Suddenly, the fight seemed a lot more terrifying.

Fighting the urge to throw up, Ramiel only barely managed to swing his body to face Shinji. His expression was a mixture of shock, rage and sickness. "Wh-what in God's name have you done to me?!" He demanded, unable to even muster the words as the snarl he intended them to be.

Next up was Tabris.

Although he was surprised at the sudden attack made by what had been Leliel's personal enemy, he was also quick to act. He leaped to the side to avoid the deadly cherry petals, his sword moving quickly to intercept and bat any that came too close to him. It took a considerable amount of energy control to fight them off, courtesy of the energy contained within each and every petal. He grit his teeth, narrowing his eyes as he looked at his new opponent. But they would widen when he saw the new arrival raise his hands up, calling out the name of the Kidō spell. Reflexively, he swung his hand out to summon a body-sized rectangular shield just before the blast could be unleashed. His visage was enveloped in the stream of power, and for the briefest of moments, it looked as if he had been destroyed.

But as the light of the attack swallowed the area, a counter-attack was already taking place.

From the light of the aftermath, the very energy that made up Byakuya's attack along with Tabris's own offer of power was unleashed at his opponents in a more sizable and potent blast. It carved trenches and ditches into the ground, consuming the area as quickly as one could blink. At one edge of the destruction was Tabris, who regained his grin of anticipation as he maintained the reflective shield. "And now, Byakuya Kuchiki comes." He muttered to himself. "It's just going to be a busy day for me, isn't it?"

Things were not so easily taken on the Shinigami side - or rather, the side where Rukia, Kaien and Senna were.

She wasn't a stranger to violence and death, that was for certain. But the way Hiroi had taken out Jōshōtsu had been a bit more than disturbing to watch. There was the disintegration and then there was the demeanor Hiroi was carrying himself with. He was behaving like a cold-hearted assassin, a machine focused solely on the deaths of his targets. Right now, they were the targets. She took in a deep breath to calm herself, doing her best to force down that apprehension. As brutal as his death was, there was no time to act like a coward.

But it turned out, she might've not needed to lift a finger.

Before Hiroi could start his potential attack, he would be stopped when the teeth of a katana intercepted the path of his throat. Rukia's eyes widened in surprise, and she found herself swinging her gaze to the interloper. She wouldn't recognize the brown hair, brown eyes or the pink kimono. But unbeknownst to her, Kaien would recognize it immediately.

"Ah, ah, ah..." Asuka chided smoothly, looking at Hiroi with a smooth and serene glare. But if one looked closely, they would see that the light had vanished from her eyes. The extent of her calm attitude was laced with a subtle mixture of killing intent and fury. "You still have a debt to pay, Hiroi. After all, you did betray us in favor of Quincy willing to damn the world. It's only proper for the Alpha of the same pack to deliver the punishment, isn't it? If you're that eager to kill someone, then try and kill me."

Yet on another side of the battlefield was Armisael, lifting her blades up as Ikkaku charged her.

He was good with those blades, she could give him that much. But he was nowhere near the level of Alastair, the same one who actually had the power to keep her on her toes. This one, even combined with the might of his comrades, simply couldn't match up to that expectation. It would've been so easy to kill them right then and be done with. But she was intrigued by these particular opponents, just like she had been in the face of V-14's collection of fighters. She wanted to have fun, enjoy herself while she could. So for now, she would simply fight just enough to keep them on their guard.

Putting a little more effort would be a good start.

The moment their weapons clashes, Armisael went up a degree. Instead of her simply parrying and countering, she moved into offensive territory. Her parries became more aggressive, shoving him to and fro in order to imbalance him. With every step that he took backwards, she took a forward step of her own. Little by little, she was gaining a foothold while robbing him of his own. Throughout it all, she had a sedate Cheshire cat's grin on her face and a gaze to match, demonstrating the extent of how comfortable she was.

Then, a break in his guard. A lift of her leg, and her foot crashed into Ikkaku's flank with enough force to send him flying away from their battle zone. It wasn't soon afterwards that she witnessed the sight of Yachiru attacking, the two creatures moving in unison to mimic her actions. She deftly evaded the swing of the smaller creature, intercepting Yachiru's blade with a parry that caused the little girl to stumble. Naturally, the creatures mimicked her actions and staggered away, leaving the duo's controller open for attack. Without hesitation, Armisael swung her blade and smacked Yachiru in the head with the flat of her blade to knock her aside. The Quincy then threw herself at her remaining two targets, her blades and lower limbs moving in an effort to beat them back.

Likewise, Zeruel was engaging Daisuke with just as much ferocity.

At first, he was taken back by the power of the Lieutenant's blows. Granted, all of them had the power of Hell reinforcing them. But the sight of a simple Lieutenant using them against him so effectively was a harsh slap to the face. It was up until recently that hw found himself virtually unmatched by any contender that had faced him. But then, there was Kenpachi. There was Hana. And now, there was Daisuke. It made him realize just how lucky he was to have lived to this point, to finally reach enemies that could hurt and kill him. It was here that his streak would finally be broken, and he could find equals in the ones Arael deemed to be enemies.

That thought was enough to ignite him, kicking him back into the thrilling sensation that only a good fight could give him. His grin was feral, and he looked down at Daisuke with his brand of malicious delight. Even as he defended himself, the veins of Blut Arterie were spreading across his skin. "All right then, boy." He growled, stopping his retreat with a dig of his feet and a vicious parry. The heated flames licked at his skin hungrily, but they were nothing that he had to worry about. "Let's see how far the blessings of Hell take you. Defend yourself!"

He made his charge. Both hands gripped the hilt of his blade, and the rod of iron was brought down again and again on Daisuke in a show of powerful, fluid strikes. The opposing flames continued to lick at his skin, but none of them had the power to deter his assault.

Arael was having his own bit of fun, at the expense of an enraged Aesa.

Without a good majority of the immediate resistance cleared out, he was free to turn his attention to the lead Paladin. Her Seelenbracher met his blade in a powerful clash, a ripple of air passing between the two combatants. He allowed himself to retreat, parrying and deflecting her strikes with an inappropriately casual flair. Throughout his exchanged with her, he regarded her with amusement. "You? Kill me? That's quite the joke, Primus. But do you really think you have a chance of even touching me? You're just a test tube experiment trying to pass off as the real thing, a pathetic excuse for a real life. There's no way you can--"

"QUINCY!!!"

The voice of an enraged Simon from above caused him to briefly avert his gaze. He leaped out of the way, barely missing Simon's massive blade as it pulverized the ground where he had once stood at. Despite the destruction, he was spurned on by the new Paladin's rage to taunt his enemies further. "And of course your men come to save you. Just who else is going to try and--"

"Saigo no Iki."

Percival's cold voice came next, and Arael barely had time to turn around before he was hit with a blast of corruptive energy. His body flew, its flight powered by the potency of the attack the Paladin had unleashed on him. It flew until it crashed into the ground, where the blast itself made a spectacular explosion. The dark matter swallowed up a sizable portion of the ground, dissolving anything unfortunate enough to get caught in the blast. Percival stared at it sternly, his voice carrying over to what he had caused. "I believe I speak for all of us when I say we've had enough of your mouth, brat."

Last but not least were the individuals stuck on the sidelines - more specifically, the V-14.

Oliver let out a whistle, regarding the stream of battles and the transformed environment with intrigue. "Looks like we might not have to lift a finger." He remarked, folding his arms across his chest. "Everyone here seems to be doing a great job!"

"No kidding." Anton muttered quietly, keeping a good support for Shadō as he observed. His stare was much more serious as it swept its field of vision. "Every Quincy here is preoccupied with one or multiple opponents. Never thought I'd be saying this, but I think having all these people to fight is a bit overkill."

"Asuka?" Shinji cut in, his eyes widening in surprise when he saw his personal leader challenge Hiroi. His inquiry caused the other two to look at him in question.

"Huh?" Oliver quirked an eyebrow. "The hell're you on about?"

"She's challenging Hiroi by herself." The man repeated quietly, lifting a finger to point at the two soon-to-be combatants. "Just what is she trying to do?"

"She's angry." Angelika answered him, taking it in with a frown and narrowed eyes. Her own arms were folded across her chest. "Who wouldn't be? Even after everything that's happened, Tome and his men still chose to ally themselves with the Quincy. Even after everything, Tome still chose the death of himself and everything else, and his men are choosing to follow right behind him. Considering all of that, she has to be angry. If she wants to fight him, I'd let her. After all, I'm not one to deny someone what they deserve."

Anton looked at her in slight surprise, slowly processing her words. "That so?"

After a brief moment of silence, he looked over to Yusuke and Rika. Although the both of them were silently regarding Asuka with their own brand of surprise, he gave a whistle in order to get their attention. "Yusuke." He called over, nodding his head to Shadō. "You think you can watch over Shadō from here on out? I think I've just found myself something to do."

"Huh?" Yusuke looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Anton turned his gaze over towards the Tome, his eyes narrowing in a lethal gaze. "I'm going to rip the Arrancar copy's throat out." He growled, his voice dropping and dousing itself in a healthy dose of venom. "If the fucker really wants to die so badly, then I'll give him a trip to Hell he'll never forget!"

The Twilight Draws Near
"That's right," Zaii turned his head to look at Anton with a cheeky grin. "You didn't get a chance to fight when we went toe-to-toe with the Archangels back at the Castle. Guess you felt missed out."

"To be fair, I think I kicked Tome's ass more than any of you could," Yaj ū commented, half joking but retained a serious glare at where Hiroi was standing. "That guy, I'm not even sure what he is. He's not a Shinigami, a Human, a Hollow or anything that makes sense. He's a wild card and the fact he took out a Deep Cover Operative of Captain-Class means that he's up there. I can't go into my form again unless I want to die an early death, so don't make me come bail your lover clung ass, Anton."

"I'll stay my blade for now," Shinshin bent towards Shad ō while looking up at the burly man. "If only that you don't restrain yours."

"Damn, this place is making me lose my shit," Karitori mumbled out loud, feeling herself shiver while M ōka drew her into a comforting embrace. "Look at me. I tried to gain all the control over myself and seek answers yet I come back a shivering idiot. What a Dumbass I seem to be like."

"I was in the same place not too long ago, Kari," Hy ōry ū replied with a meek expression of humility on her face. "But we all have to deal with that. Anton got beat by that Captain jerk, but he got up after that and got stronger. Learning from the experience is what we need to do. And as much as I'd love to tag along," She smiled, looking over at Anton long enough to raise a clenched fist up for him to connect with his own. "I know this is your battle to show what you've got and teach these suicidal mercs what for."

"I know you can...do it...Anton," Shad ō wheezed as he weakly looked over from Yuzuke and Rika's sides, sweating profusely as his body struggled to adapt. "I have...faith in your strength..."

"Go for it!" Zaii pumped his fist towards the brother in arms.

"Beat 'em dead!" Yaj ū crowed out before coughing sporadically.

"Kill him," Kenja simply whispered, his eyes a faint glow of orange as his recovery continued to slowly work through his weary body.

"Don't drop dead," Kun ō replied with a humored grin, "Or your lover will be quite sad."

"Ha! What she said!" M ōka broke out into laughter along with Karitori, increasing the latter's mood better with the joke.

As they all broke out to jeer and cheers of encouragement, the leaders of the Sect turned to look at their designated Keeper. Silently they awaited any word for her to command her forces. So too, did the now large formations of Knights under their Knight Captains' commands lined up along the South partition of the barrier enclosed battlefield. They were now the Vanguard, the hope for reinforcements and aid should either the enemy or their own forces need to regroup. While high in number, it was still an uneasy thing to bring armies to fight over a dozen entities at once.

But none of that concerned Hiroi, as his sights on the three Shinigami gave way to look at Asuka while her sword was held at his neck. His eyes were drawn back in surprise but only for a moment. They renewed a harsh coldness that one could only attribute to a machine of war. Donned in the form of his slain victim's Bankai, his power multiplied and inherited the Zanpakut ō's lasting abilities. Yet, he still felt apprehensive facing not just an ally but one of the Axis that acted as the head of the V-14 organization and now by extension the entire Black Blood Sect.

"Stay out out of this, Lady Asuka," He replied in a crisp tone that told of his aggravation at the situation he was in, yet held enough grit to show he'd act if he was ignored. Turning his head to have a full eye glow a bright emerald light at her, he snarled out loud as Reiatsu surprisingly ebbed off him in a gentle rise off his armored appearance. "I won't repeat myself, even for you."

"Uh, yeah," Kaien awkwardly called out, finding himself taken aback at the new found arrival and her threat made to him; enough so that his bristling Reigai Reiryoku dimmed enough so that his laidback appearance could be seen yet again as he scratched the back of his head with a free hand. "No offense but I think the three of us could have handled him. Is this a grudge match for you or is he an ex-lover of yours?"

"Captain!" Senna snapped with an irritated glare fixed on him as he laughed sheepishly.

"Hey, it could be possible," He shrugged lamely as he accentuated his claim.

Elsewhere, things were less awkwardly tense and more exhilaratingly fast paced.

"You've arrived," Aesa breathed out, relieved and also apprehensive the other members of the Holy Decimo appeared. The fact so many were killed so easily by this madman only curbed her enthusiasm at being by the side of her bretheren. Renewing her stare back at the man who had a spree of verbal lashings, she raised her sword till she held it by both hands on its hilt. Closing her eyes, she asked rather than commanded, as a rare sign of regret mingling with her seriousness of the situation. "Please, buy me time to release my Seelenbracher. I intend to destroy it with my true power but I need focus. Just a minute and that's all I need."

"Verzehren!"

A distant twang! and a arrow sang across the air with an incredibly swift velocity. Aimed to strike Arael in the left pectoral, approximately where his heart would be, the spell craft projectile intended to bury a wormhole of sorts within him. Shadows that'd encroach form the inside and pull his outsides in, effectively imploding his body. Knowing the first arrow would be missed or even deflected, Rosalina fired from her Reiatsu suppressing cloaked position by way of a quarter kilometer in distance she knew it'd at least give time for her comrades-in-arms to fight the leader of the SKM.

Meanwhile, by not too far away from Rosalina's firing posture was the roaring thunderclaps of steel against burning metal. Flashes of blue and orange continued to exhale from the two clashing warriors. One, an unlikely Lieutenant bringing his all against a powerful adversary who overpowered the Captain Commander, and the other was the strongest arm of Arael's. It was a decisive battle that'd show exactly if Daisuke's control over Hell's inferno could help best an enemy he could "see" in comparison to his previous battles against gods higher than his own plane of existence.

At the moment, he was determined but still wary.

"It's like I'm fencing with a mountain in the form of a man!" Daisuke thought as one swift stroke by Zeruel followed by the other caused the powerful jets of fire to be countered with ease, straining his muscles and pushing him to his limits. Behind the mantle of flames that licked at his very skin, he could feel sweat disperse from his brow and jawline as he continued to fight on with as much attrition as he could muster. "Damn, this guy's strength could match the likes of the legendary Kenpachi Zaraki and even Hana after years of training! It's only thanks to Sakura that I could call upon this flame and even now I'm not sure it's enough!"

Knowing a drawn out physical confrontation played to this man's advantage, he decided to switch tactics to what he was best at.

"Jigoku Dangan," Daisuke growled out in between a parry of the man's sword, flinging a fire bullet at the man's torso within less than a meter's distance. Through the explosive pyro blast, he backpedaled away drawing up a large amount of flames from the earth, making it appear molten to the Quincy's eyes. Raising the blade up, the earth hissed as parts of the frozen soil became burning rocks fused with his Reiatsu amplified by Hell. Thrusting his sword forward, a mighty hail of continuous Jigoku Dangan that acted like meteorites raced to crash into Zeruel with limitless tenacity.

In another battleground, Ikkaku was shocked by how easily he was overpowered. The power behind her kick was enough that he could hear his ribs pop and snap just as the air exploded with her furious counterattack. The way he saw her move as she engaged Yachiru made it seem so nonchalant that he knew one thing for sure. They were completely outclassed by her!

"Ikkaku!" Yumichika cried out, watching his friend contort at an odd angle before flinging across the landscape like a skipping discus. He wouldn't be allowed the time to see him crash, already witnessing Yachiru batted aside. Lisa and himself raised up weapons in a feeble attempt to repel her assault but found themselves batted aside with a concussive crash that cemented them into the ground beside Renji.

When he looked at either side of his flank, he raised up his Shikai in its compact form in a defensive posture. He was surprisingly cool despite the change in the environment and how easily beaten his comrades were. He could tell by their Reiatsu that they were alive but currently incapacitated. But first, he needed to see how wide the gap was. Using something like a Bankai carelessly when there were still powerful enemies in play would be irresponsible; at least, that's how he felt.

"Everybody stand back," Renji took several steps forward, feeling as if he was enacting a similar stance an old friend of his hundreds of years ago would have done. Pulling back the sword till its flat touched his wild haired scalp, he swung forward. In that instant a blurring streak of crimson Reiatsu was unleashed, jagged light edges depicting the shredding power he employed in a single swipe of his sword to eradicate his opponent and everything within a single straight line. "I got this. I'll show this Archangel what I got, and not to mess with the Shinigami of the Soul Society!"

Elsewhere, the man's former Captain focused on his own enemy with his usual nonchalant flair.

"Look at him," Yoruichi smiled cheshire-like at the sight of Byakuya's entrance and total commitment to crushin the enemy. "He comes in and wants to steal the show. Not exactly a gentleman thing to steal from a lady what's her prey."

"Yoruichi-sama, I'd rather not compete with him, just destroy our adversary quickly," Suifeng muttered out aloud with a hint of a blush.

"Indeed," She nodded, watching the wave of rose petals blow around in the air in a thematic whooshing! sound. "But will he allow anyone to interfere?"

"It seems you're nimble enough to avoid Senbonzakura Kageyoshi's billions of blades. Impressive, Quincy," Byakuya commented out loud, his eyes briefly closing. When opened again, a cool light blue shone as the integrity of his Bankai transformed. With his body radiating an immense earth-shaking Reiatsu the waves of petals became a hall of circling rose colored swords. Raising up a hand in declaration, one such sword flew out from the collection and into his hand, its light dispersing as a symbol of his sealed Zanpakut ō appeared. "Senkei. Be priviledged, Archangel. I've only shown this form to three others in my lifetime. Now I shall use it to annihilate your body into dust."

Moving forward, his whole Bankai being evenly divided by his Will and now magnified the power of any weapon he forged, including the one he wielded now. Moving forward with ghastly speed, his sword cut through the air in a way that diluded perception as the space curved around its cutting edge. When its edge finally connected with a solid object a rupturing explosion of excess Reiatsu occurred and indent the ground in which he'd hit. Rushing again and again with adept ability within the Hoh ō Arts, his Shunpos moved at speeds hard for even Yoruichi to keep track of.

"We're in...Captain Kuchiki's Bankai?" Sh ūhei looked around with amazement, raising an arm to shield his face as the shockwaves radiated out to blow back his coat and hair.

"Stay on your guard, Lieutenant," Shij ū reprimanded as he stared hard at the enemy's form, analyzing his body language for an opening. "The moment he opens his guard, we strike. Not a moment before or after."

"Yessir," He answered fluidly, as the battle resumed between the former Kuchiki Head and the Archangel Tabris.

In another part of the battlefield, Shinji enjoyed seeing his own opponent drop to his hands and knees. For fun, he even cast it upon Zaraki, disabling his reckloose havoc by disabling him. The adaptable monster tried to stay on his feet but ultimately keeled over in a hurling state. It was quite sad that he effected another teammate on the same degree as his enemy, but he saw him as a berserker with no real leash. At least this way he could pay attention to Ramiel.

Raising a hand up to his crown, he began to explain with a cheeky smile, gathering Hollow Reiryoku in the form of a mask over his head, "It's my Zanpakut ō's ability, to drag you into a Inverted World of my making. From here you experience a full flux of driving your senses into vertigo, unable to comprehend what is left, right, up, and down. No warrior, once exposed, could escape this less they be a master of Sakanade himself."

Fully donning his Mask, he increased the effects even further, enjoying the sight of his enemy writhing on the ground with the effects of his Shikai implemented on him. But as much as he wanted to keep this up, he raised a clenched fist up underneath his Phaoroh mask and culiminated a bright orb of Reishi within his enclosed hand. Once fully primed, he whispered out loud in a hollow tone, "Sayonarra, Archangel."

With a flick of his wrist, he unleashed a wide arc of blood red light, aimed at Ramiel with a powerful surge of the Visored's Reiatsu within the destructive Reishi wave.

On the opposite end of the battlegounds, Kaze's hands seemed to catch aflame. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped agape, his arms soon being crawled up to engulf his entire cloak. A whole being alight with cerulean flame that he responded with inaudible cries of pain, caused by the Quincy's dirty trick. Flinging himself left and right, it almost seemed like he was done for, with the way he didn't even protest against her in a vocal manner.

But, then, the fire disappeared.

"Ahhhhhhhhh," Kaze breathed out as steam emanated off his body, now bereft of the cloak. Underneath of what was hidden was now a partially blackened morbidly designed armor hiding his surprisingly fit form. Small burns were seen across his face, his skin cooked while a smile stretched from ear to ear. Raising up his free hand to show its scorched flesh, he looked at it with mild intrigue rather than discomfort like one would see a scalded limb. "I see you managed to lash out some of your Reiryoku moments before you separated from my Zanpakut ō. Had it not been for the unique fabric of my gauntlets, my insides would have been set aflame as much as the outside. Impressive, but an ultimately futile effort. But if its any consolation...that hurt like Hell!"

With an unabated snarl, Kaze's body emitted a fierce Reiatsu that caused the frozen earth around him to decay and become adhered with an unholy ashen frost. His armored form rose up in a lightning quick motion, raising up his Zanpakut ō over his head. Once he came within striking distance of his nemesis, his body seemed to disappear in a thunderclap of instantaneous movement. Simultaneously, Kaze reappeared from behind, cutting down from the top of her scalp towards the bottom of her spine. Aiming for all of her vital motor functioning nerves, he grinned sadistically as he backpedaled away just long to raise a detonator in his free charred hand.

Clicking the trigger, an explosion of Hollow-infused Reishi bomb was detonated at her feet, intending on infecting her with its essence. Having used his Teleportation Kid ō in time to give him an unexpected ambush tactic, he knew that fighting through this manner would better offset her more prepared advances.

At another place, Sachiel felt herself thrown after a near-dizzying spiral the whip-latched her in its vice grip. It was only when a sudden white-glare emitted from her hammers that she realized the exploding features came not from the woman but the male Shinigami. In that moment of realization she was consumed in a bright explosion as she was cratered not but a dozen meters away from them. But from this crater that a cacophony of guided light lances rushed towards them, expanding after each meter till they were hundreds in massive numerical volume in the intent of overpowering and crushing them absolutely.

With that attack guided to race after their signature, Sachiel pried herself from the indented earth. Once back on her feet she inspected her person, thankful she managed to divert the blast with powers along with additionally using Blut Vene to protect herself. Soot claimed her skin but she dusted it off, looking back at her adversaries from a distance. Clapping her hands together, her eyes glowed a bright opaque white once more as her hair bristled with animated movement.

"I open the Looking Glass and show the purity of Holiness to Sinners so they may weep at their imperfection," She chanted out, separated her palms in a circular arm movement that created a transparent mirror between herself and her view of the enemy. Placing her hand a mere inch away from her proximate surface, she gestured towards the two Captains with the keen eye of a sniper. "Banish into Shadows, Geflügelte Urteil!"

From the mirror she crafted, thousands of feather-shaped arrows were guided and homed in on the two. With streaks of light cast in their wake, they almost acted like shooting stars instead of projectiles, mimicking such properties to showcase their incredible firepower.

It was so unlike the dimming streaks the spheres of high rotating were for Y ōki.

When she saw her counterattack repelled so easily as the words came to Braeburn, it made her just realize as she was it fell short compared to him. His words cut more and more jagged wounds than the few he spoke back when she sucker punched her. The prospect that everything she hailed and spoke proudly of was a lie made her even more uncertain. Looking over to Takashi and Rokotsu, neither had an idea how to deal with him both on an emotional or physical level. Lowering her head, she felt defeat inch closer as Braeburn readied himself to lunge forth and cut her down, before her friends followed.

Through his perception, that'd be what just happened. Her bowed head would be split open like a melon, the rest of her torso erupting in a geyser of blood and innards as the shockwave from the powerful stroke the McTavish would create. Sending Takashi and Rokotsu flying back, both of them looked horrified and astonished at what took place, the death of their beloved friend and the one who loved Braeburn so much it made her sick inside to see him like this.

But then, a soft exhale followed by smoke filling the air, the atmosphere around them seemingly calmer than the rest of the battlefield. When Braeburn would look to his posterior, he'd see Meikurai Shiomaneki, setting down the morbidly still Y ōki who hadn't gotten the teeth of Braeburn's sword. Looking back around, his sword unsheathed, he tapped the edge idly on the ground which caused the mirror of illusion cast in front of the McTavish's eyes to shatter and disappear, showing only the point of his attack with no corpse as a result.

"Braeburn McTavish," Meikurai whispered out loud, his eyes looking at him plainly without the aid of his usual shades. Blue eyes stared almost too strikingly as smoke steadily fumed out of his long-handled cigar. "To go this far you knew that your family would weep to know what your actions are reaping as of this moment. But I guess that's the price to pay, when you're doing all you can to protect them in your own indirect way. Right, McTavish?"

On the opposite end, Yashin was having goosebumps at seeing his enemy transform. His shadowy visage only strengthen his tie as a catalyst of the Void. Here, they'd battle it out and see whose master it really was at this given moment. A wry grin worked its way up his face as he twirled the scythe handle in one hand. Finishing the spinning, he grasped it bodily and swung it at the Quincy, causing a jagged force of Yamiki to launch itself in a bid to eradicate him in a massive discharge of negative energies.

Once the first assault was finished, a pair of hands would reach from the energy wave that was sent his way. Grappling his arms, it'd aim to throw him into the air. From the top canvas of their enclosure came another whispering wraith that appeared to look like Yashin, spiraling down like a windmill to cut him from above. In the instance he'd be out in the open, the air warped, shook and rippled before exploding in a ball of black, blue and white.

All while Yashin seemed to remain in the same posture as he did during his dance declaration.

Leliel didn't allow himself to move aggressively right away, even against the relentlessness of Yashin's onslaught. He boosted from his position with a Hirenkyaku to barely avoid the energy blast Yashin sent his way, but allowed the hands of darkness to clasp his body. While it would've been a normally suicidal move to do so, his Vollstandig's nature and the enhanced control of the Void's power allowed him immunity to its influence. It was what allowed him to keep composure, even when he was hurled higher into the air and zeroed in by the wraith his opponent spawned. It was what allowed him to stay still even as the makeshift blade sliced through his back, spilling his blood.

But it wasn't a second later that what had been cut up burst into dark energy that shot into the arena Yashin created, leaving the master of darkness by himself. There was silence in the field, with only the currents of the crackling air to keep the lone enemy company. However, the opponent had not simply vanished from the air. He was hidden within the darkness surrounding them, using it as cover for his presence. Unseen eyes kept on their target with analysis, taking in the still form of Yashin silently. With his enemy standing still like that, it was either a show of confidence that Leliel couldn't hurt him in this place or a false visage hiding a trap. But of course, there was no telling unless risks were taken, and the Quincy was more than ready to gamble.

A slash would be aimed at Yashin's back first. Then, his front, his head and feet, and then every other part of him. Each and every attack was filled with concentrated power, executed with lethal precision and covered by the shroud of darkness. With each and every moment, Leliel intended to tear Yashin into pieces before the other man could suspect what he was doing.

I killed her.

When he saw his blade cut her in two, that was the first thought Braeburn had in his head.

His eyes widened slightly when he saw it. He had expected her to fire a rebuttal, to dodge the strike or counter it, to tag one of both of her comrades in when she saw that she couldn't continue any further. He had even expected one of them to jump in. But none of it happened. Yoki had stood still, waiting for the pendulum to come down. Her friends had stood still, too unnerved to even lift a finger. Like her, they had been paralyzed by his barbs too much to take action. But he was sure that after he recovered, damnation was all too certain. They would cut ties with him, and the bond they once had would be shattered. His muscles started to lax--

Behind you.

There was a blade tap against the ground, and then the shattering of "Yoki" to pieces.

It was an illusion.

He didn't dare turn around, allowing his senses to speak for him. Standing behind him and carrying what would've been a dead woman was Meikurai Shiomaneki. Although he registered this very quickly, he did not allow himself to move. But the Lieutenant's choice of words caused his heart to skip a beat and his eyes to glance at Arael's direction. He was rewarded with the sight of the Quincy slowly getting up from the crater he had been forced in, his silhouette the only thing visible in the curtain of smoke and dust. If he happened to hear what Meikurai said, he was allowing the focus on the Paladins to be of more importance for the time being. Braeburn could only pray that those words were lost to everyone.

Can't anyone keep their bloody mouth shut around here?!

Despite the thought he screamed into his head, he remained cold and detached in his response. "And now, the mad scientist's secretary comes to save the puppets. So glad of you to join us, Meikurai."

"Scatter!" Gina yelled, seeing the arsenal of light headed their way.

The two Captains separated from each other with a Flash Step, clearing distance and allowing room for the weapons. But much to their surprise, the expanded lances began to follow them. A multitude zeroed in on each Captain as they flew for their lives, staying on their tracks even when they used more Flash Steps to keep the distance. Through a method not yet known to them, Sachiel was keeping a lock on their signatures and making evasion from this particular attack impossible. They would have to stand their ground and fight, lest they wanted to get impaled by the massive spears.

Gina swung her whip blade, and the extended weapon moved on its own accord. All of the lances were cut to pieces by the weapon, its cutting power working wonders as it danced in Sachiel's storm. There were considerable pauses between each swing she took, but the blade was moving quickly enough to intercept each and every one of the spears. As for Tsubasa, he would grip the handle of his blade with two hands and deliver a power swing to unleash a wave of kinetic energy at the first line of his own pursuers. Once it connected, that line detonated and caused a chain reaction that ended up destroying the rest of the missiles behind it. In the aftermath, they were able to find their way back to each other's sides, their weapons held at the ready.

Then, the secondary attack came.

"Again!" Gina shouted out.

Without hesitation, the two Captains once again separated. But this time, Tsubasa would stay on the ground while Gina took to the air. Tsubasa gripped his sword tightly, the orange flame of a Sengetsu enveloping the blade. As he pulled it in preparation to swing, Gina thrust out her own blade to once extend to the arrows. The whip moved a little faster as it sliced through the arrows, leaving only a select few to miss her. But then, the blade extended and multiplied, transforming into multiple whips that grew to colossal length. The edges slammed into the earth, with all the whips forming a dome-shape formation. It was only when Tsubasa neared one that he stopped retreating, allowing himself to swing his sword to unleash the Sengetsu blast.

An unspoken plan went into action. The moment the Sengetsu was launched was the moment Tsubasa threw himself, barely evading the whips as they began to spin around in a circle. The result was the dome gaining a more "solid" visage, with anyone caught attempting to exit risking the danger of being shredded to pieces. The dome would close in around the Sengetsu blast as it moved closer and closer to Sachiel, both attacks aiming to trap and suppress her. As Tsubasa found his way to a safe distance, he looked up and gave his partner a wink - one that was readily returned.

Bardiel was shocked.

Swayed by the initial effect of her flames, she was taken aback when she saw them abruptly disappear. Although they had did their damage, it wasn't to its intended effect. She was tempted to guess that it was the Punisher's interference, as Braeburn had mentioned before. But as she looked at the armor and gloves, she realized that it was once again her enemy's preparations that allowed him to get ahead of her. He had come with full awareness of the scenario, knowing that facing a Quincy would've meant dealing with the possibly enslavement of his power. Any attempts to steal that power would most likely result in failure or severe consequences.

She wasn't shocked enough to not anticipate Kaze's oncoming attack.

She lifted up her hands in preparation to intercept his strike, bracing herself against what would be his physical strength. But her eyes widened and contracted when she saw his form disappear with the sound of thunder, only to reappear behind her just as quickly. There was no Flash Step, but something else - a Kidō? She hadn't known there was something to allow for movements faster than what the high-speed techniques would allow for. But here, Kaze was demonstrating another way to move - something that effectively broke the "traditions" of combat. It was what kept her from reacting in time, as she was unable to detect her enemy was until it was too late.

The feeling his sword slicing through her spinal chord was nothing short of horrendous.

It lasted only for a burst. But there was a sharp scream that tore her throat as harshly as Kaze's sword did. In that instant, she lost control of her motor functions and could only let the push of the swing send her to the ground. Of course, her Core was quick to undo and seal the damage. But it wasn't quick enough to grant her enough movement to evade what she detected underneath her feet. Her expression changed to horror, and she reflexively turned on Blut Vene to keep herself from getting consumed.

BOOM!

The force of the explosion caused her to fly head over heels, tumbling across the frozen ground before she managed to stop herself. She righted herself, skidding on her knees and straightening up as best as she could. She gritted her teeth in a snarl, stretching out a hand to Kaze in an effort to prepare a counter-attack. But it was here that she felt a sensation of burning race through her body, stopping her in her tracks. She fell onto her hands, her head looking behind her to eye her freshly exposed feet. Thanks to the force of the explosion, her boots had been completely destroyed and her pants cuffs in tatters. What caught her attention was the blackened and bubbling parts of her skin where the explosion had scarred. It was how the poison had gotten into her system and why she was feeling the sudden wave of sickness in her.

"Y-you laced that bomb with a Hollow's reiatsu?!" She sputtered in disbelief, holding her arms to herself and sweating bullets. Her body was shivering, and it was all she could do to keep herself from falling on her face. "To go so far as to actually rely on their help to fight us?!"

Her ally Ramiel seemed to be under the exact same cloud, although it presented itself in a different form.

The strengthened effects of Sakanade was enough to put him in the same state as Kenpachi. He stumbled forth, having to use the barrel of his gun as a cane to steady himself. But it didn't stop him from jerking forward and releasing his stomach's contest on the ground. He held his stomach with his free hand, his body wretching as it released bile from the mouth. With each and every moment that passed, he felt more and more terrified. He couldn't fight in this state. His vision was going blurry, his body continued to betray him and he could barely keep a grip on himself as well as his weapon. He was completely helpless at the hands of his enemy, and all it had taken was one release of the Zanpakuto.

I can't win.

Even as he staggered back and fell on his rear, he saw the light of death unleashed. He barely registered his back as it hit something warm and hard, his hand shakily loosening its grip on his rifle.

I can't win.

He slowly turned his head around to see what he had hit, too shaken up to focus even as he faced certain doom.

I can't--

And then, he saw it.

It was the enemy Kenpachi, keeled over and weakened. Clearly, it had been the work of Sakanade at hand, as he had not even laid a hand on the man. At first, he thought it was unintentional due to the nature of the gas. But then, he saw that the Hitsugaya was still active and ready to continue the battle. It then clicked to him that Shinji may have targeted Kenpachi on purpose. But for what? With their proximity, Kenpachi would've been in a perfect position to kill him and end the battle. And yet, he had brought his own ally to a state of disrepair. There was no reason for any of it, and yet it had happening. That was enough to snap his head in the direction of the blast, a blank look in his head.

He hurt his comrade.

His eyes slowly narrowed.

He hurt his brother-in-arms for no reason at all.

Shaking lips curled in a snarl - something that looked frighteningly out-of-place on the normally tactiturn Quincy's face.

Friendly fire will not be tolerated.

And then, his Core kicked in once again.

He felt a sudden pulse within that "heart", and then he felt relief overtake him. The nausea and vertigo that had built up in his body had suddenly been quelled, his brain regaining proper functionality. His vision cleared, and in that moment, he was able to see the Cero make its final reaches to his person. In his state of mind, he did the first thing that came to mind.

He reached out, grasped Kenpachi by the back of his collar, and leaped out of the way just before the blast could hit them.

The sudden leap brought him and his purchase a fair distance away from their previous spot. Ramiel straightened himself up, his head snapping back to Shinji as soon as he regained his bearings. The full extent of his rage was now clear on both his face and in his body language. He was breathing hard, his teeth bared and his gaze livid. "Willingly attacking your own comrade?" He hissed. "Now I really am going to kill you."

He lifted his foot, giving a rough yet not-too-rough kick to Kenpachi's back. There would be a loud banging noise when the boot connected with the spine, and then Kenpachi would be shocked back into normality. There would be a sudden sensation of pain, and then all nerve functionality would be restored just as Ramiel's had. It was a stunning display, the S.K.M. operative had willingly helping a wounded adversary to better health. But the only ones that would be aware of it all would be the ones involved in the fight.

Meanwhile in Tabris's corner, things were heating up quickly.

Abruptly, Tabris stopped himself when he saw what Byakuya conjured up. He found himself lowering his blade, regarding the new setting with awe. Everything around him seem to have brightened up in a blue hue, with only the cage of swords serving as part of the landscape now. It was such a threatening display, and yet to someone like Tabris, it was nothing short of poetic beauty. He closed his eyes and gave a genuinely warm smile, taking comfort in the trap Byakuya had created. "And you were holding something like this back from me." He muttered under his breath. "I would've been a much happier man if you had deployed this right off the bat..."

Then, he threw himself forward, and the two started their dance once again.

Byakuya's enhanced blade met the blade of Tabris, and they clashed with a ferocity well above the majority of battle raging around them. The Quincy could feel the shockwaves resonating within each and every blow, and each wave sent shivers of adrenaline-induced pleasure through his veins. But outside of his grin and the squint of one eye, he kept his composure even as he fought. Every stroke of his sword was met with equal strength, speed and precision by the former Kuchiki head, and vice versa. In terms of direct combat, they were on even ground.

And then, Byakuya gained the edge.

One of his sword strikes sliced through Tabris's right shoulder, wiping the look off of his face. Although he raised his own sword in time to block the next, his arm was forced down to allow another vicious slash through his chest. The strength of Byakuya's blow forced Tabris back, allowing Byakuya to continue the onslaught. Although Tabris was trying his best to regain ground and his Core was healing his injuries, his opponent's relentless onslaught was causing him to slip further and further towards defeat.

Or at least, that was how the audience would view things from that point onward. In truth, none of that was actually happening. Tabris was actively using his Scrift in order to make their audience believe that Byakuya was gaining the upper hand when in reality, they were still fighting to a standstill. It was for the sake of keeping them out of the fight, in false assurance that Byakuya didn't need help. They would not be the only ones affected by his powers, for Byakuya would experience a good dose as well in subtle measures.

There were times where Byakuya would land a hit on Tabris and the Quincy reacting to it, only to have him snap back into attack mode and the injury to disappear. There were times were Tabris would seemingly land a blow on Byakuya, only for the wound to disappear and them to continue fighting as if nothing had happened. It was a distortion of cause and effect, with the recognition of landing blows, injury and movement being distorted. It was becoming harder to tell what movements were real and what movements were generated by Tabris's Scrift.

In response to Renji's movement, Armisael rotated her blades and swung them both to unleash a blast of blue energy of her own. As it traveled, it shifted into the form of a snake comparable to the size of the enemy's blast. The construct let out a loud hiss, opening its mouth and crashing into the crimson fissure with ground-shattering force. Although its head was undone, the two blasts still contested each other for the duration of their lifeline. It wasn't long before the blasts were neutralized, leaving the two fighters to face each other down. Renji would get a full view of Armisael's surprise, her eyes widening and her mouth forming an "o" shape upon witnessing the results.

It would only be a few seconds after that she narrowed her eyes and grinned. Her gaze met Renji's, and she spoke in a smooth and sweet tone. "Oh, such a cold look in those eyes of yours." She purred, casually walking forward. Her blades were gripped tightly in each hand, and once she was at a close enough distance, she stopped and raised those blades. The two would be close enough that only one jump would be needed before they were face to face. "And such a challenging energy. What would your name be, Shinigami?"

At the same time, a stroke from Zeruel's blade was enough to tilt the flat edge to Daisuke just before he released that point-blank fireball.

He let out a growl as he peered through the flames just in time to see the Lieutenant fall back. He gave a more careless swing, blowing the flames away from his person and clearing the path between them. However, he wouldn't have a chance before his vision was once again filled with fire. This time, it came in the form of a bullet storm. It was like being in the face of a firing squad, what with him standing still and facing what seemed to be an oncoming barrage of death. It was clear what the Lieutenant was trying to do - use both flame and long-range abilities in order to gain the edge. It was pragmatic and efficient, but it made him scoff in disdain. He was quick to voice his feelings out even as he pulled the blade back over his head, the tip aimed for the ground in a thrusting motion. "Even when you're sucking the bosom of Izanami's whore," He snarled. "You still have the gall to run away? Stand still and die like a man!!"

He plunged the rod of iron into the ground, and destruction was unleashed.

The ground in front of him exploded in a kinetic fissure colored by a mixture of icy mist and dust. The fissure expanded as it raced across the ground, powerful enough to send sizable rocks flying at flesh-penetrating speeds. It would dwarf both himself and his opponent at its maximum length, a colossal monster rushing to swallow its prey whole.

The boss Quincy was in full swing.

As the smoke cleared and his form was revealed for all to see, he looked relatively unscathed. All Percival's blast had really done was wipe the grin off of his face, his eyes regarding his assailants with slight annoyance. His shirt was stained with burn marks and fragments of ice that stung his skin with their touch. But thanks to a timely application of Blut Vene and a defensive movement of Reishi, he had blocked the attack. The sight of it made Percival scowl underneath the mask. But he readied his sword in preparation to attack again, once he heard Aesa's plea for a defense.

However, Rosalina had beaten him to the punch.

The sound of her arrow tunneling through the air was a temporary relief to both his and Simon's senses. It shot past them, heading towards Arael's heart with the speed and force of a missile. At first, it seemed like the Quincy didn't notice as he looked at the group. But that notion would be shoved away once they saw his movement - a thrust of his free hand in a direction perpendicular to the oncoming projectile. With deft timing, that hand caught the arrow by its stem. The wake of the force was a gust of air that slapped him in the face and billowed his hair. But other than that, it had been prevented from dealing the necessary damage to kill him.

And then, his eyes turned to where the shot had been fired from - directly at Rosalina.

It was in that second that Simon found his blood freezing, his anger giving way to apprehension. That wasn't the look of a human he saw on his enemy's face. It was the look of a predator, a hunter who had just cornered a rather delicious quarry. The flash of his teeth as he smiled and the glint in his eyes promised nothing short of death - something that prompted the Paladin to act. Even as Rosalina's follow-up shots took the path of the lead on, he gripped his blade and charged. Wind currents materialized around the blade, increasing in speed until it seemed like he wielded a miniature tornado in his hands. He felt the presence of Percival, who had only allowed his surprise to hold him for less than a second before summoning his own dark energy to his aid.

It was not a second after the two reached him that the arrow in Arael's hand sparkled a little. Arael abruptly switched his gaze to his new assailants, casually flicking the arrow in the direction of Simon's swung blade. It was only in the heat of his action did Simon realize just what the Quincy was planning. But by then, it was too late, and his eyes could only gaze in shock when the arrow touched the currents of his blade.

A moment of energy instability caused by the collision resulted in a massive detonation of all three energies involved. A massive bloom of blue fire erupted, consuming their personal arena in a heated storm. The light from the fire was brilliant enough to discourage onlookers from staring directly at the scene, lest they wanted to get blinded. In addition, the power generated from the eruption was enough to send concussive waves that'd shake anyone unfortunate enough to get caught in the radius. It had materialized so quickly, one would've thought Arael risked himself with it.

That is, until he abruptly appeared in front of Rosalina. The light from the flames highlighted the malice of his gaze and smile, but contrasted heavily with his calm tone of voice. "He's right." He said softly. "My blade speaks much louder than my tongue ever could."

After that was his move, a single stroke meant to annihilate the enemy sniper.

"I know that you could handle this one, Kaien." Asuka answered, her tone less harsh when directed to the man. "But it's like I said. I am a member of the Black Blood Sect, and so is Hiroi. For him to turn his back on us as well as existence for the sake of his leader's wishes was something we should've seen. It is our fault that we allowed the Crimson Knights to go on this path, and it is our responsibility to make sure no more damage can be done."

"Then let us help you!" Rukia's interjection caused her to snap out of the cold attitude she adapted, and she found herself turning her head at the Kuchiki. In response, Rukia's eyes were staring intensely at the Sakamoto heiress. "We're here for the same reason, aren't we?" She questioned rhetorically. "We're here to make sure that these Quincy and their allies don't carry out their plans. You are our comrade-in-arms, our ally! We'd never let you fight a battle alone if we can help it. It's our responsibility as much as it is the Sect's."

After a few seconds of silence, Asuka closed her eyes and gave a light chuckle. She pulled her sword back from Hiroi's neck and took a few steps, readying her blade in a more professional stance. "Of course." She muttered, still laughing lightly to herself. "What was I thinking? I forgot that we're all biding for the same thing here. All right, then. Since I so rudely interrupted you, I believe it's best that you lead." She opened her eyes again, once again focusing that cold stare at Hiroi. "On your go."

With the cheers of his comrades spurring him on, Anton had all he needed to move forward.

He approached Tome with a slow and deliberate gait, reaching for a pocket on his leg. He grasped the hilt of what looked like a combat knife, dragging it out of its holster and flipping it back in a backhanded position. His gaze, filled with appreciation for the encouragement of his friends, immediately changed to a cold and piercing one. He stopped when he was close enough to Tome, allowing himself to speak. "So, you wish to die?" He questioned rhetorically to get Tome's attention. He raised his knife, flipping it so that the tip pointed at his target. "I believe I'm the genie you're looking for. What'll it be? Short and sweet, or slow and painful?"

The rest of the V-14 would look on with their own expressions, and Angelika only allowed it to keep her occupied for only a few seconds before she scanned the battlefield. From the looks of things, it seemed like everyone was occupied with the Quincies for the time being. In turn, she trusted Anton and Asuka to fight well on their own accord. So after taking it in for a moment more, she took in a deep breath and spoke to the group. "We can take five for now." She stated, folding her arms across her chest. "But stay alert. Keep an eye on the Quincy that happen to be facing only a few of our allies, because those are the ones that could break through at any minute. Make sure your best soldiers are on the frontline and your weakest are supporting them in the event that happens."

"Yes Keeper," Athena bowed her head, as the rest of the Sect Leaders agreed silently that this was the best approach. For now, they had such a vast superiority in numbers over the enemy that they had no need to recklessly charge. For now, they can support and oversee the collision of gods and mortal spirits against their deified enemies. Even in the face of such adversity, they all felt confident in what was to come next for them, no matter the perceived outcome.

But inwardly, M ōka couldn't help worry for Tome. There was almost a hint in the way he approached them so casually that he did the whole war in a way to get rid of himself. There was no serious intent to wipe out his friends. From what she knew he allowed the Alliance to spy on them and not debrief the others of what he saw. He was there for the thrill, so why did she get the feeling there was something more beyond a simple lust for blood?

"Anton...please don't go with the intent to punish. There's something going on with Tome, and I think you should find out," The Hankami inwardly prayed, even as the Russian's feet crunched on the icy soil towards his foe.

Here Tome finally recovered from the flanking strike on his person.

Rising up he saw the man from V-14 approach him, a dangerous glint in his eyes that he recognized all too well. Smiling rabidly Tome's eyes turned into dots as he raised his Reiatsu up high enough to produce a hurricane of wind and light around himself. Cackling out loud, he wanted to direct the man's hatred at him deserving so; for siding for the wrong people and playing such a dangerous game to begin with.

"What's with that stupid angry face, Anton?!" He howled out, the Bij ōnaga raising up partially released arms that crackled with a vibrant light. "Isn't this the kind of battle you live for? You, V-14, has always preached that there are no enemies but strong opponents. What changed about your mercenary blood? Aren't you sick of withering into dust without ever picking up a sword again?!"

With that last question outcried from his soul, he leaped forward delivering a mighty punch towards him with the intent to crush him into a bloody pulp. Following up with a vicious reverse roundhouse kick that discharged a Bala at the point of his foot, he switched legs in a hop to fire a number of explosive Ceros at him. For finishing he kicked off the ground and palmed or thrust his sharp clawed hands to eviscerate him with any chance of overwhelming him. The hint of regret and apprehension may mirror his eyes but it felt detached from the rest of his body, as if his actions were automatic.

Like going with the motions in the middle of the war.

Something that Hiroi felt, in his very inner being, was the indignation of being called a traitor. Grounding his molars when he was treated with such little care or caution, he turned around to swing his sword with a powerful crash at Asuka, "DON'T CALL ME A TRAITOR WHEN I FOLLOW MY LEADER!"

Just as he did, a ribbon of water intercepted the path of his blade, creating a powerful geyser of heated moisture that backlashed his attack. Taking a few steps back, he only had a second to register a fissure of wind propelling from an ornate spear that was held by the pair of attackers. Pushed back with only minor scratches on his armored person, the Bij ōnaga sneered at the two who got in his way, kicking off the earth to clash his powerful blade against Senna and Kaien's.

"Ngh!" The Captain grunted even as his eyes flickered with a chaotic blue light, his aura shining brightly beside Senna's own orange mantle of Reiatsu. "This may be...the strongest enemy I've faced. Probably would like some help...guys!"

But that was when, among the ranks of the standing RAC of the South, heralding from the Material World offense, a streaking blur that rocketed across the air in a perpindicular aligned fashion. He zoomed in and around various battlefields, appearing to shriek with super velocity. He passed by Daisuke when his assault backfired on him and an ungodly fissure of force was sent his way, giving him little time to imagine a proper defense against such an attack. But that's when the horrified Rosalina would gawk at the pendulum swing of Arael coming down on her form, too slow to put an arrow in her spirit quiver.

At that moment, a wraith outline of cloaked power smashed the flat of the blade, derailing it to miss Rosalina by a mere foot. This caused her to be sent sprawling to the right in a tumbling mess as a roaring cataclysmic shockwave of cutting pressure towered up to dwarf even the tallest skyscrapers of the modern or spiritual worlds. It even outpaced and outclassed the terrifying wind propelling sword cut. The sight and monstrous force gave the crafty Lieutenant staring death in the eye an idea.

So crazy it might work.

Kicking away from the roaring current, buying him only a few precious seconds by keeping it within his wake he turned towards Arael's sword stroke. Skidding to a halt, he declared out loud, muted by the terrors approaching him on either flank but confident in his ability and plan he put into action with a sword impaling motion into the earth, "So shall the wind be empowered by the flame, I call upon my enemy's strength to give me even greater power!"

Unleashing a spread out Jigoku Hashira from the earth itself, like volcanic streams that aimed to pierce the sky, it flowed within the torrential cutting waves. Both of them suddenly jerked and shifted, swerving around to instantly collide into each other rather than at Daisuke's person. The trench gouging sword swings turned their kinetic wind aided energy into a pyre of infernal heat that spread up into an immense tower of spiraling tongues. With its tip only a few dozen meters from touching the top of the canopy the barrier that surrounded them, he swung his sword around and commanded his largest attack ever mounted before to turn upon Zeruel with as much ferocity as he could muster.

"Sakura, Gyakushū Kyōi Abatā...give me strength to win!" Daisuke thought as he howled out with a wide-eyed glare as he aimed to pummel his enemy with power he had never imagined wielding in his life.

As an immense orange-golden light erupted behind Rosalina, she was able to witness the hooded savior quickdraw a familiar Zanpakut ō, Kensei. Immediately her single eye opened at the eventual successor to the position known as Knight Commander. "Knight Captain...Longstreak?!"

"Say ū!" Xavier uttered aloud as he redirected the force of his enemy's weapon, cutting a fissure through Hell's deepest level's miasma. The result would create a similar explosion from the one that occurred a mere half day ago when they collided. But this time, it'd have an effect that could comparatively equal to a fiery blast from the kind that Daisuke wielded but used in a focused sword cut to pierce his durable defense. Coupled with a shockwave that'd guarantee him at least stumbling back, Xavier's hood was drawn back as his blonde hair whipping in the wind, his recently bandaged head revealed as his cool eyes revealed a rising gleam of Resolve to focus his Reiatsu to a finer edge than before. No longer fighting to escape, but fighting to win, he stood before the Schwarze Krähen Macht's leader with a fearless disposition that rivaled any hero of the last war. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, Arael, but you will not be sinking your fangs into anymore prey. It's time that fangs sink into your flesh, Quincy Bitch!"

Renji was surprised. Since the War of Four he had done some major improvements on his own training regimen. He knew that he multiplied his power many times than the occurrence when one of the Wandenreich's best wiped them all out without effort. But now, even while his comrades were felled by this Archangel, he was standing firm. That was comforting only that he wasn't being creamed but the fact he was only matching her didn't sit well entirely on his shoulders.

Despite that, he sported a wry grin even as his eyes stared coldly into hers, "My name is Renji Abarai, former Lieutenant of the 6th Divsion of the Gotei 13. Now I'm a Lancer, aimed to pierce my enemies and rend them asunder with my blade. Such a weapon I shall use, to cut you down!"

With a thrust, Zabimaru jettisoned with the power of a fired rocket as it extended out to shred his enemy as much as lacerate her. Twisting his blade around with expert poise and finesse, it soon became a twirling wind of razor attached blades strung along by internal mechanisms of wires. Crashing around the fang edged wind of attacks spewed out currents of cutting Reiatsu with every stroke and twirl as he expertly kept a distance despite being able to return to a close quarters motion at any time.

It was clear cut by the rising Lancers who saw Renji go at it solo against the Archangel that he was doing well. That was unlike those who perceived Byakuya Kuchiki's fight against his nemesis who only saw mirages of clashes.

"What's...going on?" Sui-Feng murmured out, her eyes widening at the sight of injuries not only healing on the enemy's body but also on Byakuya.

"Are we under an illusion?" Shūhei questioned with his eyes narrowed and hands clenching his kurasigma.

"By whom? We're in an enclosed battlefield. The only one capable of that is-"

"The Archangel," Yoruichi cut off Shijū causing everyone to look on with apparent horror. "None of us can jump in, even if Byakuya is in trouble. Our senses are deadened, too muddled for us to be of use now. The only one who can best him is the most alert combatant on the field, Byakuya. We'll have to place absolute faith, otherwise this man could turn his power across every reinforcement lying in wait, rendering them completely useless should things go awry."

"Captain Kuchiki..." Shūhei thought as he watched with discomfort that he could barely understand what was going on.

But to Byakuya, it was apparently clear what Tabris was consciously doing. By the way he regarded the confused looks on his comrades' faces through the periphery of his vision and through his Reikakū, it was simple deduction what he was doing. With another right cross-cut delivered towards Tabris' torso, he declared in a cool and controlled voice, "It seems that you're intent on immobilizing any of my allies from intervening. That way, if you finish me off, they won't be able to put up a struggle when you turn your blade against them. Am I right?"

As he posed the question, he merely turned his eye to a sword on the wall. Rushing forward to slash quickly at his defense, the rosy colored sword rammed itself towards where one of Tabris feet would be. Then another aimed at his left calf from behind. Soon nearly a dozen jettisoning swords whizzed without rhyme or direction that they'd come as Byakuya kept his assault. During this attack from all sides, Byakuya simply mouthed out as he gestured towards his person, "Bakudō #61. Rikujōkōrō!"

Six rods aimed to impale him instantly around his midsection at all sides. Their restraining power only strengthened by his Will, Byakuya swiftly used Shunpo to appear before his enemy. Pointing a pair of forefingers at his throat, a thunderclap sounded as he unleashed a soundless Byakurai to pierce his neck and potentially paralyze him from the head down while simultaneously cutting his breathing or digestive valves. In this moment, he aimed to kill this very real threat to the Alliance before it dragged out too much longer.

Elsewhere, Shinji was left confused.

Not only was he pulled out of his technique but he avoided the Cero he aimed to finish him off. Quickly unmasking to save what available Hollow Reiryoku he had, he looked confused at the strangely vengeful Quincy. Watching him rid him of the hypnosis he placed on him made him sigh, halting his ringing so the weapon would slide back to his grip.

"You know, that wouldn't have hurt him that badly, let alone killed him," He asked with an annoyed look at the Archangel, tapping the flat of his blade on his shoulder while picking his ear with another finger. "Why so serious? If he kept swinging that blade around with you on your hands and knees, that'd cause some havoc not to mention kill you a bit too quickly. Honestly, I don't know why I bothered..."

"Shinji, that's enough," Tōshirō announced as he stepped forward, passing him by as he strode towards Ramiel with a cool gleam at his enemy. "I think your methods and reasoning are fallible as it is. Don't dig a deeper hole and shut up. We're here for a mission, nothing more."

When Kenpachi was put back to his senses, his eye visibly blinked before turning to look over at Ramiel. Annoyed he realized he had been had by Shinji, causing him to yell at the man with an extended sword, "You bastard! Why did you knock me out? Didn't you trust me to cut this guy up good?"

"Well, I was worried if you cut him up, who else would you fight? Letting you run loose might do more harm than-"

"SHUT UP!" Zaraki howled out, a ghastly aura of sickly yellow rose up to create a skull that gnashed above his head. "I'll deal with you after this. Let me have this guy to myself or else I really will go on a rampage, asshole!"

"Just let him," Tōshirō murmured as he sheathed his sword back into its scabbard. "With so many allies waiting, what harm could it do?"

"Now then," Kenpachi breathed out as he raised his sword with a satisfied smile while Shinji sighed with a palm to his own face. "In respect for helping me out of a jam, I'll let you make the first shot. Pick anywhere. My head, my chest you can even stab me in the back or aim for my junk. I don't care what you do, just attack me with the intent to slaughter me and I'll return in kind!"

While the 3rd Generation Kenpachi egged on his enemy, an even less than savory character approached with a glow coming from his blue iris filled sockets. A cold mist generated around him, sucking the life off the earth and air he tread upon. His heavy boots trampled anything resembling life Hell had, showing his gleaming sword as he approached his weary adversary.

"Don't talk as if there's a pretense of honor and ethics in war," Kaze sneered as he walked slowly towards his enemy, even as the battles raged far louder in retrospect around him by comparison. "War is cruel, unforgiving and more pragmatic than the romantic view you pathetic human souls view it as. I shall use any means to achieve my objective, any tactic to undermine my enemy and any weapon to kill my target. I am not honorable, I am not merciful, and I'm certainly not what you are," He spoke aloud as he raised a sword up into the air, catching an unholy glint from the crimson eyed black background, bringing it down towards her head with a how. "WEAK!!!!"

It was a similar problem that Sachiel was having with her enemies. They were working seamlessly with each other, something that unnerved her without any backup. Unlike with fighting a single Captain, this was fighting a duo who knew how to use their abilities in perfect synchronization. When the solid dome of cutting and explosive force zeroed in on her, she had one shot at escaping this closing deathtrap. Powering her Hirenkyaku with her Blut Arterie, she coated herself in a field of Reiatsu to enable her to pierce the top of the explosive and blade rung where a small hole presided. Managing to pierce up into the air with the outline of a silver streak just as an implosion of torrential energy occurred beneath her soles, she did a flip forward before using a sporadic cacophony of Hirenkyakus to gain distance between herself and her two enemies. With brightly glowing veins along the expanse of her visible limbs she lunged to crash between the two, spinning around to extend two palms of brightly exuding waves of burning light to wipe them away and turn them into dust.

"I will win, Shinigami," She declared out loud in a far more passionate growl than before, her eyes glowing a pure white that erased her pupil and iris. Now visibly alight in a mantle of formidable Reiatsu she formed a pair of swords held invertedly in her grip, she rushed towards Gina to perform a spiraling corkscrew of shredding fore. Swinging a spare leg to launch a seeking arrow of expanding Hard Light at Qilin, she kept throwing odd attacks at the other to keep him from launching explosive countermeasures while keeping close to the ranged artisan.

Meanwhile, Y ōki just now regained her sense of awareness. Meikurai, a formidable agent of the DCO and Lieutenant of the organization's overseer. He looked at her former friend and deeply something else, speaking words she hadn't considered before. What was he talking about?

"Oi! This isn't your fight!" Takashi cried out with sudden clarity at what happened, inwardly thankful he saved Y ōki but miffed that he was helping in their fight. He knew they were outclassed but he didn't want to admit it. His pride wouldn't allow it, even when his feet was rooted with indecision and fear in the ground.

"You're right," Meikurai surprised the straw-hat toting warrior, not turning his gaze from Braeburn. "It isn't my fight. Then again, this war shouldn't be his fight either. Not if your main concern was the extortion of your feelings towards the Captain Commander was a purposeful leash teathered around your neck and Hana's. Isn't that right, Braeburn?"

"They, what?" Y ōki whispered amongst the explosions and cries of battle that happened around their vicinity.

As much as there was confusion, there was within the sight of Yashin's combat with the Master of the Void, Leliel.

When he vanished the body of darkness that was Yashin Kagai began to stumble forward as a vicious cut opened on his back. Then another across his leg, then up his chest. Blood spurted from his mouth, gargling on his own life force as he was being eviscerated every which way from multiple angles. The attacks were invisible except the waking streaks they tore across his person and the air minute milimeters apart. It'd be like if the wind itself was constantly attacking him without sparing prejudice.

But within the darkness itself, a series of crimson eyes opened within the domain that Leliel hid within. Surrounding him with the eerie glare of blood light, a hand reached around to grasp his neck followed by another that crashed into his abdomen. An immense wave of punishing force was released from the knuckles, aiming to send him erupting from the space he hid back into the 6th Level right beside where his body bled out. But instead of a body, it shimmered away into a bleeding eye that spread out like bloody mist into the sky.

"To travel within the Void is like an ant crawling through the soil of my creation," Yashin spoke behind Leliel, launching a kick to crash into his cranium aiming to send him skidding across the blackened earth. When a wave of darkness emerged another body as he'd skid away, Yashin's wide smile gave birth to a narrowed stare from his sockets. Stretching out to unleash a wave of cutting strokes by his scythe with one arm, he finished with a blast of Yamiki right at Leliel's person. "You may have been able to act as the Void's catalyst and now even actively manipulate it. But now, as I am, the master of its domain and power lies within me. All you serve as warm-up for the apocalypse that is about to be unleashed by your leader, nothing more, Leliel."

It was the moment that Leliel felt he was at his smallest.

He had been manhandled and knocked to the ground, rising up only to get sent skidding face-first into the ground again. He had pulled himself up, only to face down a barrage of strikes from Yashin's scythe. He had blocked these strikes accordingly, thrusting out a free hand and forcefully dispelling the blast of Yamiki before it could destroy him. But in spite of his efforts, the enemy continued to mock and belittle him. As he listened to those words, he lowered his sword to the side and straightened himself up. His hidden smile faded away, and confusion began to take over in his eyes. It wasn't long before the confusion gave way to a somewhat bitter resignation, and he found himself lowering his head. There were several seconds of silence after Yashin finished speaking, and then Leliel's voice rang out.

"Yashin... are you trying to disappoint me?" He questioned rhetorically, a somewhat tired tone in his voice. "Here I thought you and I were alike. I thought you were genuinely enjoying this fight as much as I did. I believed that if we were in another lifetime, I would've been able to call you "brother". Why are you bothering to speak such useless words?" He lifted his head, raising his dark blade and pointing the tip at his opponent. "Don't you see that I understand? I am naught but a mortal, a human being. You are a being that I have yet to fully comprehend, a demon with powers capable of destroying worlds if you so desired. You are aware of this, and I am aware of this. The only reason I can see for such pointless words is if you are attempting to reassure yourself of something. Tell me..."

He lowered his blade, and his eyes started to regress to a more grim, solemn look. "Are you really what you say? Or are you a child, attempting to look bigger and stronger than you really are?"

"!!!"

As much as he tried, Braeburn could not keep himself from reeling in shock.

He knows?!

He had gone to great lengths to keep it a secret. The "help" from Arael ensured that whatever possible leads that anyone could've grabbed was taken care of. But to hear it spoken out loud by his former colleagues? It was shocking as it was terrifying, for despite the sounds of battle, he knew that he was being watched. After all, what reason would the Quincy have for completely accepting a Shinigami into their fold? It was a back-stab waiting to happen, and the moment that anyone realized something was amiss, it would go straight to the bastard called Arael. It was the last thing Braeburn wanted.

Suddenly aware of his own demonstration of shock, he narrowed his eyes in a hard stare at Meikurai. A clench of both teeth and sword, and he formed what he hoped look like agitation towards the 12th Division Lieutenant. "What the hell are you on about?!" He snarled. "Izanami, what is it with you bastards trying to come up with excuses for me?!"

The enemy was freed and attacking with renewed vigor.

The two Captains wouldn't even get too much time to reunite before they were attacked by Sachiel again. They were forced to separate, leaping out of the way as the blasts of destructive light consumed what had been their positions. As Gina righted herself, she reeled back at the sight of Sachiel singling her out. But she didn't hesitate to defend herself, raising her arms and sword just as the Quincy approached. At the same time, Tsubasa pulled himself out of his leap just in time to see the two square off against each other. After a few seconds of watching, he gave an exaggerated sigh and shake of his head.

"Ditch me for her, huh? That's harsh, Quincy. Real harsh--"

However, he was interrupted when he saw the first arrow shot in his direction, courtesy of a kick from Sachiel. He quickly side-leaped out of the way, barely missing the expanding arrow as it scraped by his side. He quickly shifted his attention back to the fight at hand, working himself into a sprint and putting on a pleased grin as he chased the two fighters. "Never mind, I'm back in business!" He exclaimed, his blade raised to defend against any more attacks.

It was one of those times that Gina had to personally thank herself for bonding with her Zanpakutō as much as she had.

She was forced into a retreat as Sachiel moved against her, the blades steadily blocked by her whip. Although her wrist moved just as it would've if her sword was sealed, her whip as moving alongside her. They worked in unison with each other against the enemy's advances, keeping herself defended even against the additional strength of Blut Vene. Of course, her using more evasive tactics helped, too; she was twisting and flipping to keep the enemy's power from unbalancing her speed and precision. Even as her eyes were narrowed hard in concentration, she couldn't help but grin at Sachiel's choice of words. "I'd like to see you try, sweetling." She taunted, shifting her swing when she saw her opponent come out of another kick of hard light.

The whip snaked around Sachiel's arm sockets and squeezed, with the razor quality of the whip doing the rest. With the use of Blut Arterie, it would have no resistance. It sliced off the Quincy's arms in a bloody display of quickness and lethality, lowering down and wrapping around her legs. The monomolecular sharpness went away once the whip found purchase on the lower limbs, and Gina used this moment to call out to her partner. "QILIN! HIT HER!"

He didn't need to be told twice.

"Kagizaki!" A funnel of dust-traced shockwaves were released, rocketing to Sachiel with tremendous crushing power and speed. He watched it all with a sedate yet dark smile, the battle fever having worked its way into him.

It was outmatched by the grin Bardiel put on when Kaze's blade was swung down.

Just before it could reach her head, she thrust out a hand and caught it in her palms. Blut Vene was what allowed her to keep from getting cut, and she wrapped her hand around the blade in order to keep Kaze from pulling it away. Her head swung up, allowing the scientist to get a good look at her face. There was blood that had spilled from her nose and mouth, with some having stained her teeth as shown from her grin. However, if one looked closely, the blood was a pure black rather than the dark red commonly known. Despite herself, she still had the ability to chuckle. "Weak, am I? I don't think you're using that word right at all, Sasayaki. Not one bit!"

And then, five dings sounded all around him.

There were five Seele Schneider arrows planted within the ground, having been freshly created by Bardiel herself. Those five arrows formed a pentagon, which lit up as soon as they were revealed. It was a Sprenger technique, carrying the potential to bring her opponent down by itself. But she didn't stop there, thrusting herself forward and slapping a palm against Kaze's armored chest. A Gritz formed, surrounding Kaze and trapping him within a cocoon marked with the Quincy cross on both sides. She hopped out of the glowing pentagon, straightening herself out and looking at it all with satisfaction.

"I bet I can guess what you're thinking right now." She said smugly. ""Just how can she move, even with all of that poison injected into her body?" It's quite simple, really." She wiped the blood from her face, trying to make it as clean as possible. "The human body naturally has the ability to purge itself of toxins. The Core in my body, which I'm sure you know about by now, enhances that trait to a fine degree. Things such as disease, disorders and poison are unable to reach us. There is only one way that our lives can ever hope to end, and that is through the violence of war. Here," She pointed two fingers at the Gritz'. "Allow me to show it to you firsthand! Sprenger!"

The Gritz exploded into a pillar of light that expanded to the width of the pentagon. The length would stretch up to nearly reach the ceiling of the barrier, and a constant array of shockwaves were launched from its sides. Bardiel simply stood there and took it all in with a sadist's pride, lowering her hand and basking in the results of her technique.

In the conversation that ensued, Ramiel had chosen to remain silent. He holstered his rifle in his hands, but kept glowering at Shinji as if he had committed the worst crime possible. The nonchalant and dismissive attitude only increased the desire to blow a messy hole into the man's body, and if it hadn't been for Kenpachi's intervention, he gladly would have. As Kenpachi challenged him for a one-on-one fight, he turned to look over his shoulder with that same cold glare. But it would only last for a second before regressing to his more passive stone face. He started taking steps away from Kenpachi, raising his rifle to point up to the sky. At first, it seemed like he was ignoring the challenge. But that would be dismissed when he stopped, turned himself around and used both hands to aim the rifle at his target. He looked into the scope, lined up his sights with Kenpachi's head and spoke up.

"Request acknowledged. Engaging."

He pulled the trigger, releasing a shot as powerful as the one that had downed Mōka.

Tabris suddenly found himself on the receiving end of an aggressive Byakuya.

With his expression changing to surprise at the sword falling from the arena to attack him, he was forced to step back and give ground to his Shinigami opponent. But then, more were launched, causing him to retreat more and more. With Byakuya still continuing his sword onslaught, it made it that much harder to fight. His teeth grit and his eyes narrowed as he attempted to regain ground. He had been careless to assume that this was simply an arena and a backdrop for the fight. It was another means of attack, and a pragmatic means at that. After all, who would suspect the very arena one fights in to turn against you?

And then, he was pinned in.

"Gah--!" He let out a grunt as the Kidō spell pinned him in, his body instinctively attempting to free itself. But he was forced to freeze when he saw Byakuya appear in front of him. His eyes contracted when he saw those two fingers press up against his throat, and he opened his mouth in an attempt to say something. But he was cut off by the Byakurai spell itself, which tore through his throat as easily as butter. What would've been said was replaced by choked gargling, followed by the sickening motion of his head rolling back. His eyes were blank, and in what seemed like the longest of moments, it appeared that he was truly dead.

And then, a reversal.

A blink of the eye, and suddenly it was Byakuya who had the Rikujōkōrō spell pinning his body. There would be no indication of what had happened, and the bindings would appear to have simply vanished from Tabris and onto Byakuya's form. Speaking of Tabris, his head was still leaned back and his body was still in the position it had been when first trapped. But there was a raspy chuckle coming from him, almost as if he hadn't been speared through the throat. A second later, his Core kicked in and the offending wound was sealed shut. This allowed him to slowly straighten back up, wearing a grin of amusement along with narrowed eyes. "A good try, Kuchiki. But if you were aiming to kill me, your aim was terribly off. Had you aimed a little higher, you would've finished this fight just like that. Such a waste..."

He dissolved his own sword, meeting Byakuya's eyes with his own. "And that's not just referring to your miscalculation of a kill switch. This power of yours, this ability to turn the concept of "Will" into a true physical force to be reckoned with... against any other opponent - no, against any other Archangel - I'm certainly sure it would've been their bane. But against the likes of me, one who can manipulate and subjugate that concept for my own use, it only serves as a push to your own guillotine. All you've really done was give me the necessary tools for ending your life quickly. And so, just for the sake of clarifying that this is indeed a suicide instead of a killing..."

He extended one of his hands out.

One of the swords making up the arena began to quiver violently, almost as if it was struggling against something. But after a few seconds, it was pulled down from its place and caught by the waiting hand of the Quincy. The pink glow dissipated, revealing the form of Byakuya's signature sword. Tabris raised it up to view for his enemy to see. "I'll be using this weapon instead of my own. It's only fitting that, after all that's happened, you are murdered with your own blade. But not to worry, though. When you die and I dispel this cloud of delusion around us, I have faith that I'll be right behind you."

He raised the blade over his head, his eyes gleaming with the desire to kill.

"Farewell, Byakuya Kuchiki."

Armisael was locked in a renewed dance with Renji.

Even considering the disadvantage of range, she was holding herself considerably well. Her swords and body worked furiously to batter away the elongated blade, performing the same twisted and violent dance she had performed in the fights before. Even so, physical prowess and swordsmanship alone couldn't contest the extension of Zabimaru. At this point in time, it was a cold stalemate. Renji couldn't get past Armisael's defense and Armisael could not bypass the range Renji was keeping her at.

That is, until she was knocked down to the ground by an overhead blow.

Upon connection with the frozen earth, her body sank into its surface as if it was a hyperactive variant of quicksand. But it wasn't until a second later that she rose from the ground right behind her foe. From that proximity, it was much easier to take in the contracted pupils and that wicked smile. Her blades and body moved to form an offensive, aiming to push Renji back and overwhelm him. Even in the heat of combat, she found it in her to speak. "If you can't carry through with those words, Renji," She snarled. "Then I am going to be one very broken-hearted woman. Show me what you've got!"

Of all the things Arael was expecting, interference from an enemy he had defeated was not one of them.

To parry his strike was one thing. But to return fire with a power that seemed to supercede what had been used against him in their first battle? It caused him shock, but not enough shock to paralyze him. He brought his sword in front of him and used a Hirenkyaku in order to get away, his Blut Vene protecting him from the brunt of the resonating shockwaves. But he still found himself skidding back against the pressure, falling into a crouch in order to completely stop himself. His eyes fell into a glower at the one who had challenged him, and he slowly straightened up. "It appears that the first time wasn't enough for you, Xavier." He murmured. "I suppose that's fine and dandy. With that golden-haired swine erased from this lifetime, there's nothing to stop me from putting you down for good. I do hope you're ready to join him."

"?!"

Needless to say that in the face of his own physical power being used against him, Zeruel was shocked. He straightened up and looked at the massive tower of fire with a mixture of awe and horror. The heat from it was so incredible, he didn't think that Blut Vene would make a difference against it. It seemed so much more than what Kenpachi had brought to the table. He wasn't just facing down a powerful soldier here. He was facing down the very power of Hell, the wrath of Tartarus's Queen made into a physical form. In what seemed like the longest moment of his life, he could only stop and stare as the tower fell upon him. It was only when it was close enough that he raised his rod of iron and placed it in the path of the flames to defend himself.

"This could be the one--!!"

That was his last thought, before he was consumed by the storm.

Asuka and Rukia did not have to be told a second time.

They appeared off to his side, with Rukia delivering the first strike between them. She closed her eyes, her Shikai active and swung in what seemed like a harmless stroke towards her target. She felt its power coursing through her in the form of the cold, her body temperature lowering accordingly. The reach of that chill extended to Hiroi to the point where movement was slowed, marked by the frost forming on both his body and the environment nearby them. But it would not affect the likes of her team, allowing them to keep up whatever assault they needed to without having to retreat from her power. In turn, this allowed Asuka to move in and deliver an overhead strike to his person. The cutting edge would not only be enough to tear through his body, but induce the same psychological effects she had induced within the Quincy BG9.

It was here that one could note one thing the two had in common - a cold and neutral stare.

Oh, how disgusting the sound of your voice has become. Was Anton's first thought, before he raised his arms in preparation for the oncoming storm.

He wasn't stupid. Although he was considered to be one of the strongest of the V-14 in terms of physical power, he knew he was going to be pushing himself to his limits. That was first demonstrated when he intercepted the first punch with his forearm, wincing at the force of the impact. His feet skidded, trying to gain purchase against the power of Tome's strike. That blow alone had rattled the bones within his arm, and thus he was prompted to duck to evade the kick. But his eyes widened when he felt the energy of the Bala scrape the top of his hair, and they contrasted when he sensed the energy of a Cero building up within his foot.

''He's generating these attacks with little more than simple movements, and it doesn't even look like it's taking an inch out of him! Unreal!''

He had to pull himself up quickly and side-leap just in time to evade the first blast, the heat of the energy once again barely missing his form. He swore under his breath, using several Flash Steps to keep himself from getting hit by the blasts. But just when he was about to fire back, he saw Tome charge at him again. Seeing his charge caused Anton to skid to a stop and raise his hands once again. He wouldn't need to much to counter here. All he needed was timing and a few moments of the hands to regain breathing room. If this kept up, there would be no chance to regain the offensive.

His free hand moved as soon as Tome's arms were close enough, his fingers hovering just above the side of his opponent's elbow. He pulled that hand in and clasped the joint while his body shifted behind Tome, forcing the Bijounaga's arm to lock behind its owner. His knife hand's elbow swung forth, the bone crashing into the back of Tome's head. It would be strong enough to stagger the man and give a concussion, stunning him long enough for Anton to give his response.

"Do you know what's really sad about this, Tome?" He seethed, a hawk-like glare bearing into its target. "It's not the fact that you turned against us in favor of these Quincy crazies. It's how low you've allowed yourself to sink. That white-haired punk is playing you like a fiddle, using you as a means to an end. That Quincy bitch you were clinging on to's probably doing the same thing, tugging you along by your balls to whatever Hell she plans on going to. And yet, you're choosing to let it happen? You're choosing to play the pawn for the people who'd prefer seeing you dead than alive, choosing to give them what they want?! Why?! Just what reason do you have for any of this?! Help me understand, Old Yeller, because I am more than ready to make you beg to be put down!!"

It was something that jarred him, literally in the head. His eyes bulged as he felt the crash against his skull, his body crashing into the ground on all fours. While the first few words Anton spouted were marred by his ears ringing, the rest of it caused his mind to go alert. His blood boiled and his teeth gnashed. His hands gripped at the earth beneath him, his voice comig out as a hoarse snarl, "What reason?! You're asking a Mercenary what is the point of it all?!"

Pushing himself up off the ground, his Reiatsu that had slowly been increasing with the passing of time he spent in Hell's bowels his coat flourished vibrantly within the light of his exuding Reishi. Turning his head to cast a vehement glare at the Russian, he swung an arm out as he faced him openly, his voice ringing out like a sonic boom with the words that came from his throat, "WHAT REASON WOULD A TOOL LIKE ME HAVE IN AN ERA OF PEACE?! I'M A FREAK OF NATURE! I'M BUILT FOR WAR, MADE TO KILL AND NEVER TO FIT IN! NOT EVEN THE SPECIES I WAS MODIFIED TO BE AKIN TO DOESN'T EVEN LOOK AT ME WITH ANYTHING BUT DISGUST OR FEAR! I AM A MONSTER AND MONSTERS DESERVE TO RUN LOOSE OR DIE FIGHTING! AND I DON'T INTEND TO LIVE A MEANINGLESS LIFE OF SECLUSION AND EMPTINESS ANY LONGER!"

Crossing his arms in front of himself, Tome howled out loud as his body erupted in a wildfire of Reishi. With the iron shading of skin overtaking his form his once iconic features were replaced by bared teeth and cold glaring eyes. His scalp overtaken soon he was nothing more than a raging machine of killing and destruction. Unlike his time fighting Aizen where he felt that he was doing a noble cause, he was out for blood with rage in his heart. In his fully released form, he lunged out with a hand and unleashed a massive Bala from the palm of his hand, intending on sending Anton thrashing across the battlefield.

Racing like a wraith, he'd appear most likely where he'd stop and swing down a knife-hand chop to crash him into the ground. The power that he'd project would send reverberating shockwaves across the air. The wind that lapped across the combatants was just one of many other battlefronts happening in tandem.

It was a shockwave that'd nearly cause Daisuke to fall to his knees. He unleashed the strongest attack he could, and it ate away at what Reiryoku was powering his Bankai. Now bereft of the flames that flecked off him like diminishing embers, his breaths came out in long winded wheezes. Sweat beaded down his brow and face, his hand holding his Nodachi Shikai in both hands. Stumbling forward he swayed back and forth, nearly falling forward if not for a well timed thrust into the ground.

"Not yet," Daisuke whispered to himself, lifting himself with a grunt of exertion, walking towards the immense charred crater. Heaving as he walked to where his enemy was, the unlit Zanpakut ō gripped with both soot marred hands that shook with holding such a heavy weapon. Even now his muscles begged for him to rest but he persisted onward. "I must make sure...that he's down for the count...not until a moment after will I find respite..."

Elsewhere, Hiroi found himself on the receiving end of multiple adversaries. Backpedaling away from Rukia's "miscalculated" sword stroke, he found himself suddenly enraptured in a numbing chill that pierced through the Bankai armor he wore. Crinkling cracks formed within the defensive force weaved around his body, showing the brittle state it was induced into. Even as he broke free his muscles were slackened and his heart beat blood that'd reach slower than usual to the rest of his form. This allowed Asuka's sword to shatter his armor and his upraised sword in a single stroke.

It was here that a spasm of psychological pain magnified whatever sensory harm was delivered by the deep wound into his left shoulder down his torso had received. Before even he could register the flashes of his mind's eye reeling at the moments of nefarious prodding the scientist who gave birth to his being. He didn't even anticipate Kaien's water Shikai piercing his chest, unleashing a torrential fissure of water that managed to blow out of his back, colored in red as his innards were erased by the searing moisture unleashed by the precise attack. His perception was worphed by what was and what was conjurred by his tormented mind.

"No..." Hiroi thought as he felt himself fall to the ground, a pool of blood seeping into the cold earth as Kaien regarded him with a solemn gaze. "I...I can't die...not...not like this. Tome...he freed me...I can't do a disservice to that blessing he gave me..."

Tears seeped out of his eyes as his body spasmed and twitched but was unable to proffer a resistance. He was beaten to the ground again, left to die or rot. Here in Hell his death would just be the beginning of his torment and be an eternal nightmare. Eyes began to close as he was nearly resigned to unconsciousness before death set into his new reality.

Then, the horrific howl that was Tome's voice wracked his downed body. It shook him to his core, ironically the beating engine that lied just nary aside where Kaien had launched his attack. The whir of his body restarting, life breathed anew, with the only side affect of him seeing double. The past of how his best friend and leader outstretched a hand while a distant avarice of the real deal was transforming into his real self. Eyes glazed as his wounds began to heal, his body emitting a wild Reiatsu that blew back the Shinigami around him.

"He's not down?!" Kaien cried out with surprise, his trident held in one arm while another crossed over his face defensively.

"He's healing!" Senna shouted out loud with detestment as Hiroi stumbled to get back on his feet.

"I will...I will..." Hiroi began to utter aloud his arms spreading out to either side as blood spewed from his slowly regenerating chest and his mouth to even his nostrils. "I WILL NOT FALL BEFORE YOU DO, TOME! I SWEAR THIS UPON MY SOUL!!!"

Pushing both arms out forward, he unleashed a powerful volume of concentrated Reishi from both palms not unlike a Cero but akin to that of a focused Kid ō. The golden blast would barely be blocked by a chantless Bakud ō cast by Kaien himself, a rectangular orange shield that buffeted the blast. It'd be smashed by Hiroi's bare hand, his lavender hair swirling up in a torrent of yellow light that made it dyed in its enhancing properties. With now blue-green eyes glaring back at the Captain, a hand punched the air just in front of the Reigai and caused a concussive shockwave to send him flying head over heels, crashing into the ground repeatedly before he could right himself.

In that time, he grasped a jabbing spear of Senna's and kicked her back. Swinging around an electrified current of Reiatsu from one arm he thrust it towards Asuka in a jabbing blast of light. Finally he slammed his fist into the ground, causing a number of earthen icy pillars of soil to race up to jab and crash into Rukia's body. Among all of these attacks he kept an almost distant glazed stare, as if he didn't immediately erase the doubled visions he saw overlapping what was reality. Shaking his head he turned towards Asuka and grasped the ground, pulling out two freshly made katanas in each hand. Leaping forward with a battle cry he began to attack her with earnest, his bloodlust fueled by his determination to survive thanks to Tome's outcry.

Through motivation of a different kind, Rosalina was not one to roll over and let someone fight her own battle so quickly. As soon as she saw ranged combat wasn't an option, she separated her bow into two scimitars. Each of them glowed an illuminated gas of shadow, projected from the weapons in a way that gave birth to the substance-less material into a solid form. Racing forward with a bout of commendable speed, she drew up the shadows of her own wake and forged it into a spiraling drill that jettisoned an immense force from behind to propel itself at a powerful velocity at his direction.

Seeing this attack as an excellent diversion, Xavier thrust out a hand to materialize an immense construct of spell crafted crystals to crash into Arael's side in time with Rosalina's shadow driven impact. Not waiting to see the results of her attack, he slashed the ground beside him as he ran in a circle with a few uses of Shunpo. Finishing his work he stabbed it into the freshly slashed soil, calling upon what appeared to be an intricately carved dome of Reishi suppressing soil to seal Arael within. Muttering out loud an incantation barely audible to any ear, he watched Rosalina backpedal away from her attack site just in time for him to swing his blade in an upheaving arc.

"X-2 Spell Craft, Gottes Aufgehende Zorn!" He chanted out loud, causing the ground to shake violently. Within a few seconds that made himself back away from his own spell, a giant hand alight of flames, frozen rocks, lightning and wind shot upward. Aimed to smash into the given enemy with absolute force Xavier took stock to gather his strength for another sizable attack. He knew these were the only feats capable of even stunning the SKM's leader let alone marginally injure him.

"That's it," Aesa thought upon hearing another rapturous blast against the enemy. As she kept concentrating, her body began to exude a wafting vapor of Reishi that flowed through her as much as it emanated from her upraised sword, eyes closed to halt all unnecessary distractions. "Just a bit more...and this power I've kept sealed for decades can be unveiled!"

Elsewhere, Renji was starting to have a hard time combating his Archangel adversary. Having gotten her up close, he had to rely on his body's enhanced countering and evasive abilities to keep out of reach of her deadly blades. Within a few seconds he retracted his extended blade back into its compact state, allowing him to parry after receiving a few nicks across the arms and cheeks. Ignoring this utterly, he crashed his sword mightily against hers as much as he matched her speed with his own versatile swordsmanship. Growling out loud, he finally had enough.

"Jayadama!" He roared out as he thrust out towards her guarding person, expecting her to try to bat away or make contact. In that instant, a bountiful expenditure of Reiatsu steamed out of his blade, unleashing the blade to its maximum length like a missile launched at point blank. The power created a sonic boom, with the intent of sending his enemy sprawling if not injure her to a degree. Whipping his blade around in a circling arc above his head he slashed it down towards her distant frame, unleashing a secondary attack in which every single link of the chain-extension discharged blasts of Reishi to crash into her with similar ferocity to the thrust but only as a downward slash. "Hihi ō J  ōsoshaku!"

Pulling it back in with a swift crack of compacting, Renji awaited to see the state of his opponent is after his two fold move combo.

Unlike his Captain who was legitimately in a bind.

With everyone watching in horror and uncertainty, Byakuya's own Kid ō had been turned against him. With his own body paralyzed even if temporarily, his enemy showed complete composure and certainty in his defeat. His widened eyes turned into a cool glare as he saw him use his own brand of Will to grab one of his wall mounted swords to use for his own bidding. Once he was within reach, he watched him with a rare smile as the blade was raised up and then swung down at his head.

But a single word guaranteed his safety.

"Scatter," He murmured out, a second before the blade's fang struck his crown. In that instant the blade that Tabris held not only returned to a petal razor state but it did so down to the hilt, intending on lacerating his grip and striking him when he least expected it. As the sakura blossoms swirled around to shatter the Kid ō holding him hostage, they returned to a sword form in Byakuya's grip. Eyes colder than ice stared back at him as he lectured him openly. "Fool. That you dare to use my own Zanpakut ō against me is absurd for you to plan out. Had you used any weapon of your own I would have suffered great damage but you wasted your chance to mock me. Your lust for punishment will be paid back seven fold, and it shall be by my Zanpakut ō's teeth that sink into your flesh."

In an instant, the ceremonial Senkei form scattered once more into a flurry of flower petals. Swirling around in a collective condensation of power to Kuchiki's person they changed color from rose to snow-white. Wings extended from his back with a halo connection the two, and a ring extending outward with a single sword of absolute power. His Reiatsu was so pure it became a transluscent display of beauty and awe to the beholder as he held all of his power into a single weapon.

"Shūkei: Hakuteiken," He announced, his aura causing the given landscape to shine in an opaqued glistening silver as if to show the shine of his power that had transformed since hundreds of years before he had used this technique. The vast difference being so apparent that to merely breathe was a strain for any of the Captains or Officers within his proximity. "This is my Zanpakut ō's final form, where it is at the strongest capability. In a single strike it will destroy my enemy and sink its teeth into the flesh, blood and bone of anyone foolish enough to challenge its might. Prepare yourself, Archangel!"

Leaping forward at an incredible speed in which the wings around him beat to propel himself forward, the single blade of pure white aimed to strike at Tabris dead-on through the heart. Even if it wasn't where his core was detailed, the damage that'd be sustained throughout his entire body would be enough to eradicate any chance of recovery. In this intention, Byakuya resigned himself in killing his opponent in this last strike regardless of the consequences.

On an opposing battlefield, it'd seem that Kenpachi was inviting death to take him early on. But it wasn't the case. He wanted to see power, the kind that could threaten his life. So when he saw the bullet fired from Ramiel's gun, he could practically taste the Reishi coming from the slug. As it made its way towards him in what he could perceive as hyperactive motion, he muttered out a small phrase before swinging his sword head-on at the bullet.

"Drink," He called out as his sword stroke caused an instantaneous eruption of volatile Reishi explosion. Decimating the land all the way towards the barrier's farthest edge point, not even embers remained from his sword strike. The bullet that almost struck his head was split in two, with one path cutting his scalp enough to free his eyepatch from his other eye while the other whizzed closely to his right ear. Lifting up his behemoth of a Zanpakut ō to rest on his shoulder, he smiled rabidly as he declared his weapon's name. "Nozarashi!"

With one said explosion deserved another.

Kaze was in the middle of an eruption he hadn't counted on. Bardiel, unlike before with the momentary ignition of his gloves to overlap his whole body was genuinely one step ahead of him. In a way it humiliated him more than made him afraid. That humility spurned his disposition into rage. Even as he was enclosed by the Gritz cocoon that swallowed him up along with the pentagon shaped barrier. By the time the explosion happened, the heat was the least occupying his mind. Even as part of his face was chewed off by the Reishi tongues his focus was kept on the one key factor.

He was outsmarted, by a Quincy, a mortal no less.

It wasn't something he could stand for.

Within the height of the explosion's rivetting display, his Kid ō armor was disintegrating by the sheer force of her technique. The admirable method in which she aimed to kill him with was only matched by the anger that she dredged up from his inner being. A swing of his blade, and the Reishi pillar vanished, revealing a simple kosode that was burning, revealing paled skin underneath while his face smoldered with cooked tissue. Eyes still a bright blue glared heatedly at Bardiel. Hissing breaths came out in deep inhales and exhales, showing his rousing temper has reached a peak.

"Never in my whole life have I felt such indignified anger," Kaze began to say, his body now being overlapped by his own icy cold Reiatsu. The effect was similar to a rising blizzard but one much more malevolent. As crystals of eroding Reishi formed around his feet he pointed his sword, wisping of cobalt vapor out of the hollow eyes and teeth, he howled out loud with an immeasurable ferocity. "You have caused me as much pain as well as insult to my pride. I will not stand for such intolerable actions against me. I am Kaze Sasayaki, the founder of the Deep Cover Ops, creator of the Captain Commander Hana Yūgure, and the last Shinigami you wanted to enrage to a breaking point! Prepare to die an incomprehensibly slow death, Quincy!"

With his aura rising up to form a shape of ghastly light, a skeletal form of dominating proportions began to emerge. Five taloned digits crashed into the ground on either side of Kaze's flanks, shaking the earth as a posterior pair grappled the frozen ground. With the blizzard of spiritually eroding energy in full swing, gnarled wings spread outward to create torrential winds of bitter cold like none have ever felt. With a horned crest and glowing blue eyes that emanated a vapor of Reishi similar to what was escaping its boned mouth, the creation of Kaze's Zanpakut ō had come to full fruition as it stood in its horrific glory and awesomely fearful power.

"Bankai!" He hissed out loud, just as the skeletal dragon howled loud enough to crack the ground and erupt into the atmosphere with a jarring shake that reverberated the air with a violent intensity. " Reitō Jigoku Ryū ō!"

Unlike the anger that was unleashed, a momentary moment of horror stretched across Sachiel's face. Her arms and then her legs were so easily torn off at the seams. Any hope of recovery was knocked away when a dust-filled explosion of force crashed into her limb-less body, sending her sprawling away with injuries scoring across her tattered uniform that was stained of blood, frost and dirt. Skidding on her back to a halt, she coughed up blood as she stared at the oblivion landscape dotting the sky. Her desire to embrace death was somehow conflicted at this moment.

But memories of a particular stoic and composed Archangel kept her from embracing the end.

Eyes lit up brightly, her maimed form glowing a vibrant halo of energy that coursed through her. Hundreds to thousands of threads of molecular rays formed at where her arms and legs once were, producing makeshift glowing limbs. Pushing herself up to her feet, a blood stained smile revealed an unnervingly calm look in her glaring eyes at the two Captains. From the faux appendages discharged hundreds of small ovular shaped discs that spun outward to encapsulate their given area. Crossing her restored arms, these discs turned into an intricate alignment of mirrors that seemed to shine an unnerving glare that made it almost blinding to stare straight ahead. But in a way, it was also Sachiel's best thought up attack to trap her enemies and pulverize them without end.

Like the mirror attack before but on a much grander scale.

"Descend God's Rain Of Rebuke And Righteous Punishment To The Blasphemers and Sinners!" She chanted out loud, spreading out her arms to cause each of the now dozens of mirrors to suddenly eject guiding feather-arrows to collide into her enemies. As they raced to attack them from all-sides in this glaring environment she cried out the name of her technique. "Göttliche Urteil Regen!"

Apart from the heated battles between the various combatants, lied the tense yet unnervingly calm placement of Braeburn against Takashi, Rokotsu, Yōki and now Meikurai. But with the new arrival came answers to questions, questions they had intended to ask in the middle of the fight but quickly got out of hand. When Braeburn acted irrationally angry at Meikurai's choice of words, Rokotsu and Takashi looked at each other before looking back at the Lieutenant for resolution.

"They're not excuses, Brae-san," Meikurai answered calmly as he puffed out another wafting wave of smoke, his sword raised to point in his direction. "No more lies, no more hiding behind fear and no need to wish for death to escape. We're all here in this to the end, for better or worse. I'm sure your Captain Commander knew that when she tried to confront you back at HQ but you refused to believe it. Even when your comrades clung to you, you felt afraid that they were woefully naive and wrong for having such faith. But now, you have nowhere to hide and you have nothing to lose, at least, not in the sense that it belongs to you anymore."

"What are you talking about? What is he hiding?" Yōki asked with an aghast expression turned towards Meikurai's collected visage.

"If you haven't guessed yet, then I might as well say it," He replied with a sigh, turning towards Braeburn with a curious gaze. "Unless you rather try to shut me up or speak for yourself. I'm game either way. This farce should end now while we still have lives worth keeping. Or are you really that tied with these suicidal maniacs that you'd hide the facts?"

On an entirely different battle of words and steel, Yashin took in what Leliel said with a humorless stare. His smile had vanished, his words not coming out as a buffer in an immediate quip. In a way it was similar to how Aizen had considered Casilda's words of wisdowm and outstretched hands in an attempt to bridge comraderie. Such a thing he declared had caused him to withdraw the curtain of dominance over the environment. The inky blackness was pulled back into his own shadow, eyes closed and his person looked normal. A sad sigh showing almost regret revealed a tired smile of his own towards Leliel.

"Leliel...as much as I wish to call you my equal...we aren't," He mulled out, his smile only remaining as he lifted his scythe to point up at the now red lit ceiling the barrier had created. "I wanted to fight someone who could test my abilities, not pointlessly delay the inevitable. Your power is remarkable, even now, but I cannot call you a friend. I have someone far more worthy of that title, and one I wholely give my affection to you. The burden of godhood falls on me because I was born apart from both creation and destruction at my conception. It is the curse of being Izanagi's spawn out of choice and will. You, who wished death from the moment you started this foolhardy mission, could never understand my longing to live far longer than I already have."

Seeming to swing the scythe in a meaningless gesture down where Leliel's body was, a sudden rupture of dimensional space elapsed within the epicenter for where his cranium was down to the end of his pelvic bone to the ground. Cutting an opening to the barrier past him that'd elapsed for countless kilometers across Hell's icy valleys, it'd soon return back to normalcy. But it was just a testament of what a single swing of his weapon could do, even as his eyes glowed an ominous red-black tint.

"Goodbye, Leutwin Fleischer," He whispered aloud with a sigh, awaiting for when the man's body would turn into dust from the attack he wrought upon him. "May you find your salvation in the death you've sought so long after."