The Cauldron of Black: Eyes on the Prize

The Enemy Camp
After an hour of careful consideration, the two teams went their separate ways to pursue their objectives. Each were selected due to past experience and cohesive teamwork that'd work in the field they were heading. Sakura had agreed to return back to Hell while the Lieutenant joined the other Shinigami in preparation for the eventual assault on the enemy. Tension mounted for everyone back at HQ, armanents being checked and small quiet moments were shared by all.

Hana had no such luxury.

There she and her team were, dropping from a small Senkaimon a kilometer away from the located castle in the Material World's England countryside. Everything around it felt unearthly, like it was a battlefield from ages past that forgot to renew itself with time. Instead, what was left had turned into a horrible dark scar in the rolling hills and the valley the enemy's headquarters were located. Dim camping fires dotted the encampment surrounding the dark fortress.

Approaching it under the cover of DCO Overcoats, masking their Reiatsu, they further hid themselves with Kyokko to impede visibility by their enemies. She wasn't alone; along with her was the Knight Commander, her Paladin Primus Aesa and her own subordinate Percival, followed by Angelika. Each of them wore the cloaks atop their own armored to leathern frames, they skulked in the cover of clouded twilight, furthering their ability to encroach towards the opposition.

Raising her hand up, she signaled the other four to halt in their tracks.

"We're about half a kilometer away. Getting any closer at the moment will be pushing it," Hana murmured through her telepathic link via Kidō. Looking over at Angelika's general direction, she nodded to her to gain a good glimpse with her own special binocs, "tell me what you see, Angelika-san."

"Already ahead of you."

Angelika trained her eyes on the scenario at hand, making sure to pay attention to every last detail. Her said eyes were the optics that had been given to her courtesy of Hyoryu. "From what I can tell, nothing seems to have changed from the last time we looked at this place. What I can make out of the innards are casual. But there are plenty of sentries making sure that the perimeter is clear. Still," She gave a contemplating frown. "I don't see as to why there's a good majority of them acting so carefree. It's as almost as if they're treating it like a home."

"It's tempting to move in and wipe out the entire group of them ourselves." Percival remarked, hidden eyes intensely staring at the base. "But if this Quincy is as dangerous and tactful as you claim him to be, then confrontation would only lead to us wandering into a trap."

"Indeed." Angelika said smoothly, still keeping her eyes trained on the camp. But her next words were directed to Hana. "With that being said, what would be the plan of attack, Captain-Commander?"

"Until we know how many of them are in Hell and what their objective for moving within that infernal place, we wait. But, if I'd hazard a guess how we should approach them?" Hana's thoughts replied with a few turns of her head, looking around to see the environment all around was relatively flat within the middle of the valley. A few outlying hills as gray as the soil around it was kilometers in distance before turning back into the normal countryside England was known for. Furrowing her brows she looked back at the castle and looked over its turrets of which made its angular top. "we need to flank them in a timely manner. A frontal assault force makes their presence known from all sides with Elites charging faster than the rest to offset their expectancy of offenders. With their focus set on all sides they won't think of the Senkaimon we'll open in the sky above for when we raid them undetected and bomb them unexpectedly."

"That sounds eerily similar to the plan you had to begin with," Aesa thought with an invisible twitch.

"No, that sounds like a tactic the RAC could get behind," Elizabeth countered with a knowing smile, "baiting them into the open will be something they won't expect. If we had people try to infiltrate and ambush them, they might rely on traps or snipers to pick them off to expose them. But in this way we'll make them rely purely on their own organized counteroffensive, unknowingly bringing them out so we could flank them on all sides and make them scatter. Powerful as they are they can't survive long enough on their own."

"I guess that sounds better, given the context of our enemy's confidence in themselves. They can't refuse the challenge, not even with an operation put into jeopardy," Aesa reluctantly agreed, given her own person experience with Quincy.

"What do you think, Angelika-san?" The Captain Commander turned her head back to her superior set of eyes that the V-14 Leader represented, "any thoughts about attacking this small army the Quincy have amassed?"

And to be honest, Angelika couldn't say anything additional to the plan.

It sounded like a good strategy. Drawing them out and making them expose their own weak points through their own defense was not only a sound plan, but it held a sense of irony that she learned to find funny. Of course, with the type of opponent they were dealing with, it would only go so far. The only problem was that she had no idea just what kind of trap could've laid within such a place. She peered behind her glasses, trying to get a complete picture. "It sounds like a start. I don't know if it's a good one, but it's definitely a start. We won't get anywhere without at least testing the waters." She replied, catching sight of one particular individual. "If there's anything unexpected, I've complete faith that we'll be able to make it out in one--"

And then, she stopped herself. Her eyes widened, and the calm was wiped away from her face.

A fur-laced light jacket. Black pants and a matching sleeveless shirt. Spiky black hair. An aura of cockiness and haughtiness, felt even from the distance they were at. He was turned away from them, considerably far away from the main group. From the way his body was posed, it appeared as if he was relieving himself - something that would've explained the distance. It did not explain just why exactly his presence was here, within the enemy's ranks. Angelika's eyebrows furrowed, a look of shock clear on her face. If that wasn't enough, her next choice of words would.

"What the fuck?!"

''"What seems to be the problem, Hartmann?" Percival questioned, making her snap her gaze to him briefly.''

"It's... it's Tome! Tome Kugun, the leader of the Crimson Knights! But... what is he doing here? How is he..."

For Hana's part, she felt her heart skip a beat at what she heard. Tome was a valued though unexpected asset during their fight against Aizen. He had voluntarily stuck himself in harm's way so Casilda and Starrk could nail the immortal into the wall. Him being there, casually, must have be one of two reasons. The first and most likely was he was contracted by the Quincy to provide additional firepower for their inevitable operation. The latter, which was unlikely but more disturbing, he came of his own volition knowing they'd clash with the Soul Societies and those he was allied once with.

"If the Crimson Knights are a part of this, then that means we have a better idea of the additional manpower we should expect," Hana replied smoothly, trying to hide her invisible beads of sweat she couldn't help but project from her pores. Tome was a powerful Bijonaga, one of the only Arrancars with powers capable of rivaling the current Primera and herself. He'd likely be an uncanny enemy to face in the open battlefield no matter what favored them in their conflict. "now, can you see any of his other subordinates hanging around?"

What they wouldn't see but Angelika was Tome finishing the deed only to have his gaze look in their direction. Furrowing his brows he looked as if he was suspicious of what lied in the distance. Sniffing the air he looked slowly from left to right. Then, with a cagey grin he shrugged and waltzed back into camp with his hands pocketed, whistling a carefree tune as he left his marked ground.

That was all Angelika needed to know.

"He knows." She said simply, a heavy frown on her face as she watched him walk off. This time, it was Percival who snapped his head to look at her in surprise.

"Excuse me?"

''"Never underestimate the senses of a Bijōnaga." Was her answer. "Especially if they've been exposed to plenty of combat. Even these coats and Kidō spells would do nothing to hinder their effectiveness. He knows we're here, or at the very least he's aware that there's something not where it should be. Whether he'll report our presence or not is left in the air. Despite the absurdity of him actually working for these Quincy madmen, he's a mercenary at heart. Time and time again, he's shown that he'd rather do whatever suit his interests, ally or enemy be damned. I'd like to believe he has more sense than serving Arael..." Her eyes lowered solemnly. "But then again, there are a few others that I had the same faith in, and they were quick to exploit it.''"

"If we haven't heard any alarms going off yet, or see any movement within, I can bet that he's decided to keep this to himself...for the moment, that is," Elizabeth surmised, turning her head to look over at Percival, nodding to him before looking at Hana then to Angelika, "we should head back before we push our luck further. Regardless if the enemy knows we've caught sight of their base we should stick with the plan. When the scouting party from Hell returns, we should prepare to act accordingly."

"Agreed," Hana nodded with confirmation, turning to Angelika and nodded to her back, "I'll open a Senkaimon for us to return to base. Keep watch while I attend to it."

Standing up she crept forward, and placed her drawn wakizashi into the air. Turning it to the left, she opened an intricately designed wooden door that slid back. Smoke, dark colored butterflies and a rush of air flew out of the opened pathway. Turning to look back at the others now standing she gestured to follow her back through the gate to their base.

While Percival was quick to retreat, Angelika allowed her gaze to linger a little more. She looked on with a sullen gaze, the fact of Tome working with the enemy not suiting well for her. Despite the extent of his narcisissm, Angelika had found him to be one of her closest associates outside the V-14. Inwardly, she hoped that it was only due to contract and not loyalty to Arael that put him in such a position. The last thing she wanted was to fight him - not when the tension was at an all time high. She exhaled harshly, turning herself around and moving to join the others.

This ride was going to be a long and rough one.

Roads of Brimstone
In the opposite spectrum of destinations, the secondary scouting party set off to track the movements of the enemy within the inferno. Starting up from a level above the estimated location thanks to the Punisher, all five members of the handpicked scouts moved forward with as much subltety they could manage. Thanks to the Hell Queen, they'd remain anonymous by the dimension's innate defenses as well as her many subordinates looking on with carnal curiosity.

Those who were spearheading the operation were as followed. Captain Qilin the Spiritsmith, Anton Semenov the Battle Magi, Hyōryū the Gunslinger, Oliver Holmes and Knight Captain Longstreak. Most if not all had an adept record of successful infiltration and keeping a safe distance from their enemies as to avoid unnecessary detection. With two gunners with excellent eyesight and senses akin to a hawk, they were led by the pair of gun toting mercenaries while the others took up the rear with Xavier acting as their Vanguard.

Peeking through the watery surface of the Second Level, they could see, even through the substantial depths dots of distant moving figures they had picked out as their adversaries. There was at most a company of men accompanying half a dozen of distinguished members of the Corps. One in particular they could feel even from tons of Reishi infused water as none other than Arael himself, practically enshrouding the presence of the others, including the Stern Ritter Marksman himself.

"That's them alright," Hyōryū muttered as her special lens covered eyes maginifed through the dense layer of moisture separating them from their targets. "they seem to be traveling in a particular direction within the Fourth Level. How they got down there without even stepping on a proverbial landmine is beyond me."

"It is most likely that, with the exception of McTavish, the Quincies simply didn't resonate any form of Reiatsu. That's what makes them specially apart from any other Specially Empowered being, even among humans is the absence of Reiryoku but instead of absorption of it through Reishi enslavement," Xavier offered as explanation without any real request.

"Gee, thanks for the lesson, teach. I'll make sure to take notes for the test," Hyōryū snarked back with a cheeky grin aimed at the visibly twitching Knight Captain.

"That is a lot of Quincy for a scouting party." Qilin noted, maintaining a squatting position near the ground with his arms resting on his knees. "But it's too small a group to be considered a marginal threat to the forces of Hell. Even considering the spells, direct confrontation would be something the last thing they would want in their current state. If what the Punisher said was correct, I guess that they're trying to cover their bases in the event that some unexpected enemy comes along." He gave a small grin. "Not that it's going to matter. Against the likes of us, escorts like that wouldn't stand a chance."

"The lead ones really are creeping me the fuck out." Anton muttered, causing Oliver to look over at him in confusion. However, it caused the blonde to gain a mocking smirk on his face, as well.

"What's the matter, Ruskie?" He taunted, noting the pensive expression on Anton's face. "Don't tell me that those punks have gotten you all shaking in your boots. Sure, they may be powerful. But we've dealt with several juiced-up enemies before. How are these guys any different?"

"They look too... casual." Anton answered, a bead of sweat trickling down his face. He was looking at the rather casual wear of what was assumed to be the leaders. "I was expecting individuals more grizzled and hardened, battle-worn and the like. But they look like people you'd see at a movie or walking the streets from place A to place B. They don't look like masterminds of some radical group. What they're wearing is normal. How they're walking is normal. It's as if they're not even phased by where they are right now. And that power... are you sure they're supposed to be human?"

"Anyone wanting to unleash that thing doesn't have a soul," Xavier murmured, his eyes glaring hatefully through the barrier to the obvious group of enemies below his feet. His hands trembled at his sides, aching to unsheathe his sword and drive it through them. Everything that he stood for and upheld as a Knight Captain was about to be undone by this raving madmen following a methodically and absolutely heinious man who dared to claim the trappings of the Quincy.

"In a way, they kind of remind me of Mōshin," Hyōryū idly commented, remembering her bare encounter with that Demon who read their minds and lives like pages of a book. "they might as well not be mortals at all. They're just walking weapons, awaiting to get their triggers pulled and kill anything between them to the objective. I think the only thing separating us mercenaries from them is that they're doing it for the objective of Universal Annihilation instead of a paycheck."

"That's hardly comforting," Xavier thought with tilt of the head.

Qilin gave a thoughtful hum. "Well, in a sense, wouldn't that make all of us mercenaries?" It earned him several looks of question, but he kept his gaze focused on the opposing group. "After all, each of us does our thing for a certain "paycheck", whether it comes in the form of something as material as a piece of paper or something as universal as the benefit of others. No one rides for free. Everything has to have a price to it. Otherwise, how would we ever hope to move forward?"

"That's some pretty deep stuff there, Captain." Oliver said dryly, rolling his eyes. "Was there a point to it?"

Qilin gave a simple shrug. "Just sharing a little piece of mind, considering the subject."

"Well, thank you very much, teacher!" Oliver grumbled sarcastically, causing Anton to snicker. "I'll make sure to take that down in my notebook and use it for my next test!"

"Get your own jokes, Ollie," Hyōryū playfully jabbed at Oliver, doing her best to suppress her own laughter at his joke to the Captain.

"Nothing but the most mature to handle such a delicate operation," Captain Longstreak sighed out loud, rubbing his temples as he peered down below through the watery barrier. What caught his eyes, however, was only a matter of time till Oliver and Hyōryū respectively would see it with their own special lens. A thick shadowy gout erupted from the dark earth and revealed a tall menacing figure much more imposing in visage and stature. With wings extended once before retracting behind his back, the blindfolded Demon was facing Arael and the others who were at the head of the Quincy platoon.

When Hyōryū gasped, almost feeling the compulsion to scream at what she saw, she drew her gaze up to Oliver as she assumed he'd lock his gaze with hers. The monster they narrowly escaped from during The Meet. Someone who could read their hearts like sanscrit papers in a dusty book. The Winged Nightmare, Mōshin.

"What the fuck is he doing there...with them?!" She asked in a hoarse whisper, her eyes twitching as her hands instinctively reached for her guns for self preservation.

Hyōryū had been wrong to assume that Oliver had the capacity to look away from what he saw.

From the moment the winged demon had first made his appearance, he first reacted with unbridled shock. But that was soon to change when he remembered just what the monstrocity was responsible for. It had invaded his mind, picking out the most fragile pieces of his past. It had broken his hands, and along with a certain Hankami he couldn't completely forgiven, humiliated him in front of the Sect. It had treatened his comrades, using them as playthings as much as it had done to him. Those facts caused him to clench his teeth together, his pupils shrinking and his hands shaking. The heat of Hell was nothing compared to the wildfire burning within his body.

"D-d..."

The looks of surprise Qilin and Anton were giving was turned to their partner in crime, their own reactions quelled when they felt the slightest flare of spiritual pressure. Anton himself was a little wary, speaking cautiously to the blonde. "Oliver...?"

"Die..."

But Oliver didn't seem to hear him at all. The flares of spiritual energy became more potent and constant by the second, and their source was giving way to the building fury swelling within him. He continued to speak to himself, dismissing the ones around him. "The Nihilist should've cleaned his clock back at the Sect HQ... he should've wasted away in that cold wasteland. Why is he here? Why is he showing his god damned face here, of all places? He couldn't have just rolled over and died like a good little dog! HE JUST HAD TO LIVE!!"

Following this, he tilted his head up to the sky and let out a scream, raw and straight from his heart. Power came to his aid, falling to his control as quickly as it had summoned itself. His energy flew around his body like a firestorm, courtesy of the Seelenbracher he wielded on his back. The flames blew across the area, a perfect physical manifestation of his rage. His gaze was livid, desiring the death of the ones that dared to associate themselves with the abomination called Mōshin. However, his next words were spoken with barely restrained venom. "Well, don't worry." He spat. "I may not be powerful enough to fight you toe to toe. But if I shove this fucking meat cleaver straight through those nonexistent eyes, make a shish-kebab out of your brain..." He reached behind him, grasping the hilt of the massive blade. "You'll die then, won't you?!"

Hyōryū should have known better than to think Holmes would just sit back and quietly seethe. Instead he had to shout to the blood soaked sky that hung over their heads -albeit, was a shining blue but was besides the point-. Raving like a lunatic eager to get his next fix, all of the Reiatsu coming off of him was substantial enough to make the gunslinger tremble at the sight. Flames ebbed and flowed off of him harmlessly, the Paladin weapon reacting to the wielder's wild emotions enough to strike a chord of nervousness within her.

The Knight Captain on the other hand was looking deadpan incredulous. They were but one Level of Hell away from the enemy, a superior armed, numbered and skilled bunch that could easily bring them down if they ditched the ceremony. The worst part was, it'd only take the unknowingly powerful Arael or the much more infamous Mōshin to flick his fingers and be done with them. No Hankami around made it abundantly clear just how screwed they'd be if Oliver charged in just now.

"Oliver! What the Hell are you doing?!" Captain Longstreak feverishly whispered at seeing the man snap before his eyes. Reaching his hands out, he tried to regain control of the enraged and mentally unstable merc, "control yourself! If you don't, then they will-"

Trailing off, Xavier found himself staring just behind Oliver as the monumental statured Demon himself instantaneously lurked within his scope of vision. Everyone of the part would see him, looking down with arms crossed over his muscular chest, wings extended to incoprorate his menacing visage. Worse of all, his gazeless smile spread haughtily across his face told all of his knowledge of them there before Oliver even screamed for vengeance.

Worst, the Reiatsu coming off him felt like a sonic scream, blowing away the sea of water within the dimension enough to form tidal waves of retreating moisture to either side. Lightning crackled across the air, snapping at the ground now hissing and cooked from his mere proximity. It was like a gargoyle given life only looking in their direction to emphasize his awareness of their presence. His eyes saw more than any one of them would like; especially for the man who stood but a meter in front of him as he leaned down to breathe towards his scalp.

"Are you, broken man, screaming out for my death?" Mōshin hissed with a tooth-ridden sneer, only further captured with a dark chuckle within the bowels of his throat. "no weapon of yours is capable of scratching me, kin killer."

He had come.

His very presence made Anton freeze in place, all of the memories of the Sect confrontation coming back to him. Although he was brimming with his own anger upon seeing the demon, his was a far cry less than Oliver's fury. At the very least, he could still maintain a professional gait and keep himself in check while in the presence of the enemy. It didn't keep him from being wary. "The very same one who went toe to toe with a Hankami." He thought to himself. "It's not as if I've ever fought a Hankami in my life. But this spiritual power... fighting this guy would be like trying to swim horizontal two thousand feet under the sea. If there's even the slightest chance of hurting him, it's slim." His hands slowly balled up into fists. "Always our luck to be saddled up with enemies like this."

"So that's him, is it?"

He was brought out of his thoughts by the nearby Qilin, who was apparently speaking to himself. His voice was just enough to him to be barely heard by Anton. Looking upon the Captain's face earned him the sight of a mixture of awe and apprehension. "The one demon sealed by the Punisher after being responsible for an untold amount of destruction..." He muttered. "He's got a finer face than I thought what would've been possible on the likes of a demon. But it feels like I'm standing near a pot of pure malice and hatred. Just what the hell exactly is this thing supposed to be...?"

His sudden appearance had even made Oliver freeze in place. But it didn't stop him from reacting.

He gave a chuckle, dark and ominous as the fire within him would allow. "Broken?!" He spoke back, his hand still gripping the hilt of the Seelenbracher. "For someone who acts like he can see anything and everything, you sure are pretty blind and stupid. A broken man would barely be able to function. A broken man wouldn't feel so passionate, so angry at the sight of his enemy so close to him. And a broken man certainly wouldn't be able to grip his own weapon as tightly as I'm doing right now. I ain't gonna sugarcoat the "kin killer" part, though. After all, I did shoot my own daughter in the face. I did take the life of my own brother, along with everything else he had in his name. But does that make me "broken"?" He gave a short laugh, which was almost jovial and jocular. "No..."

Then, he pulled that sword from its sheath, the cutting edge held up to the neck of the one who dared get so close to him. Both hands held the weapon in a position to decapitate Moshin, or at the very least attempt to. His head partially tilted itself upwards, his eyes gazing up towards his nemesis. His smile showed off nearly all of his teeth, the malice within gleaming as brightly as his canines were. "It just makes me a very mad dog. The fangs of one mad dog have more than enough sharpness to tear through the throat of another. Isn't that right, pet?"

"Ollie, now isn't the time to-" Hyōryū tried to reason with her comrade until she felt an increase of pressure from the overwhelming carnal fueled energy coming off of the Demon. His smile seemed to retract into a fang driven snarl, soon turned into a downward lip frown. Any amusement he had in the immediate present, even at the attempt of intimidating by the man, was lost to him the moment he called him a pet. An aura of deep purple flames edged in black darkness soon ebbed from his skin and porously sweltered the atmosphere around him. When sightless red eyes peered through the cloth that was wrapped around his sockets, he murmured out lowly.

"I have freed my bonds of everyone who tried to control me, including Yashin," Mōshin hissed, his wings rising up higher as his arms unfurled, completely ignoring the fact an enormous sword was held up to his neck, "but as for you, I won't entertain you with the option of retreat or fair combat. Instead, I shall make you fall to your doom. I'm quite certain he will have more entertaining solutions on how to deal with you than I can fathom."

Among Company of Unholy Sort
"Oliver! Pull back!" Xavier called out, his eyes now seeing the bubbling water they were all standing upon disperse and evaporate. His words became irrelevant as within seconds the barrier separating one level of Hell from another disappeared. Without the capability of forming footholds of Reishi, the scouting party fell down haplessly while Mōshin remained afloat above them all, sneering down at them all the while of their descent.

Thinking quickly, the Knight Captain thrust his free hand out towards the rapidly approaching earth, dispersing a cerulean light from his palm. Within its discharge could be seen as organic crystal took shape, rapidly growing up to a collosal and surprisingly flat topped surface. Reaching out it caught everyone narrowly before they could suffer extreme trauma. Cushioned from the dense Reishi constructs of crystal by his own Reiatsu, he ensured they all landed safely a dozen meters above the ground.

Unfortunately, it did make them an easy pedestal from which was served to the Quincy Troops all watching from a moderate distance.

"Shit," Longstreak thought as he reached for the hilt of his Zanpakutō, hoping they couldn't see them all too well from the height and angle they were seated up upon.

But unfortunately for them, the Quincy had spotted them.

In fact, the leaders had stopped the group just in time to see the group stop their fall. They looked on as the enemy scouting team slowly recovered. While all of them first regarded the situation with their own degrees of surprise, they were quick to take it back once they realized what was happening. Arael and Bardiel regarded the group with amusement, Leliel looked on with serenity, and Braeburn saw it through pensive eyes. There was only a few seconds of silence before Bardiel decided to speak up. "Well, well!" She remarked, folding her arms across her chest. "Looks like we were being watched after all. I knew they couldn't keep their noses out of our business for long."

"Good work, Mōshin." Arael commended, giving a pleased smile towards the demon. "I'll take it from here." He directed his attention towards the Alliance members, the majority of whom were just finished getting their bearings.

"Nnngh...." After standing up on the crystal platform, Oliver raised his head towards the floating Mōshin. His teeth were clenched in a snarl, and he shouted up to the demon with renewed hatred. "YOU FUCKING COWARD!!!" He snarled. "THE MOMENT WHERE I'M READY TO CUT YOUR HEAD OFF IS THE MOMENT YOU HIDE BEHIND YOUR QUINCY FUCK-BUDDIES?! GET DOWN HERE AND FIGHT!!!"

"Uh, Oliver..." Anton deadpanned, looking down at their audience. His eyes were particularly on the white-haired leader, who had begun to part ways in order to approach them. "I hate to ruin the moment you've got going on with the walking apocalypse, but I think we have other problems."

"The hell are you talking about?" Oliver's snarl regressed to an annoyed scowl, and he twisted his gaze down to the small group of Quincy. "These guys can't be a bigger problem than the thing above our heads."

"Members of the Alliance!" Arael called out, giving a seemingly amiable smile as if greeting old friends. He spread his arms out as if welcoming them, but his words spoke otherwise. "You really shouldn't be here. It's quite dangerous, you know."