The War of Four: Seeds of Revelation

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Breathe, A Tearful Reunion
"So cold."

Even though he had lost all sensation within his body as well as his life, Suna was still barely aware of himself. If he had a form, it would feel as if he was within a cold and dead weight, trapped and unable to move. Yet at the same time, he would feel himself floating aimlessly through what he presumed was a lifeless void. There was no sound within this state of limbo, with not even the whispering of the wind to keep him company. The touch of death had left him abandoned and without a soul, drifting in a sea of chilling blackness.

''I'm so damn cold. Haven't those big wigs up in the sky decided my fate yet? It's starting to get boring.''

The only thing that was entertaining him was his own semblance of thought, which produced weary and irritated complaints about his situation. A year could have gone by and he wouldn't have been aware of it. But did it really take this long for his ultimate fate to be decided and his judgement to be handed down to him? He had slaughtered innocents, destroyed the lives of too many and was unrepetent to the end. It should have been made clear to the Spirit King that his soul belonged in the hottest pits of Hell. So why wasn't he there, burning alive in the flames of Izanami's daughter? It seemed so much better than this empty abyss.

''I know what I am, and I know what I've done. I'm pretty sure you do to. Just end this farce and let me serve my sentence. I don't need to be stuck in this waiting room.''

In everything he was expecting to happen then, he didn't expect his own voice to answer back.

It is not yet your time, Tekketsu Suna.

If he had eyes, they sure would have opened wide at the sound.

W-what?!

Thanks to the actions of your fellow Horseman, your life is still your own. The voice - his voice - continued to speak to him. 'There are many lives who were ready to join the plains of eternal judgement. But because your ally gave his own life, all of you will be spared from the judge's fingers. You will not return to the dust, but to the world of the spirit from which you left.'

The hell do you mean--

All of a sudden, it hit him. The sensation of his form and mind returning to him made him stop his shocked questioning of the mysterious voice and focus his attention on himself as he began to "reboot". He could feel his heart beating within his chest again, his energy slowly flowing back into his system like water filling a glass.

'He has wished that you continue to fight against what is now your mutual enemy. To destroy the ones who betrayed you.'

He found his eyes slowly opening to a world of haze. Everything was a clouded blur, and he had to open and close his eyes a few times to get his vision back into gear. As that slowly came into focus, he could see the blackened skies that hovered over the Vandenreich fortress. He opened his mouth, letting out a weak groan as his nervous system turned on. Although he was severely groggy from his "nap", he could feel the energy exhausted in his fight with Shin'en burning within him once more. Thanks to Kyōaku's sacrifice, he was now alive and free.

'Fight on, Horseman of the apocalypse. Fight on...'

Slowly, he brought himself to a sitting position and looked over in what he knew would be his friend's direction.

"Seihai...?"

A tear-ridden Seihai would suddenly gasp, hearing Suna's voice. Her hands, splayed out in front of her in concentration on reinforcing the emerald lit barrier of Kidō that encased their proximity in a dome of sorts. Turning around, a relieved smile with tear-streaked cheeks turned to look at Suna gratefully, "Thank goodness. He was able to save your life as well..."

That was enough to confirm Suna's suspicions and the words spoken to him.

Kyōaku was dead. In a blaze of glory, he had resurrected the fallen soldiers of the Inner Circle and restored those lost numbers to a much more stable status. He could only guess as to how the majority of them would react upon seeing the war-torn fortress instead of the Rukongai and the Seireitei they had been patrolling. It was the most noble and humble thing to do for someone who had been parading himself around like a god, and that fact caused a slow, small grin to cross Suna's face. He lowered his head and slowly shook it, finding a grim humor at the irony.

"I think he just might have saved all of us..." He muttered, slowly pushing himself into position where he could rest his arms on his knees "I can't believe it. All this time, I kept telling myself that he'd never do it. But he just had to prove me wrong. A genius, a god, warrior and hero to the very end... what a show-off." Although his words possessed clear humor to them, there was the subtlest hints of mourning that only the ones close to him would've recognized.

"You don't need to be brave, Suna-san," Seihai softly replied back, keeping her gaze towards the barrier as tears poured down her cheeks anew, "he was a comrade of yours, Shikyo-san's, and Shūkurō-san's. He was a precious part of the organization and...and...he was precious to all of us...and...to me...!"

If there was one thing that Suna hated more in the world, it was the sound of a woman's grief... especially when it came from the likes of Seihai.

He raised his lowered head to look at her when he heard her voice crack. Seeing the tears run down her face suddenly made the most painful of sword wounds pale in comparison to the pain that shot through his heart right then. The scientist may have done a good thing for them when he gave his life up for theirs. But in doing so, he had to leave behind those that loved him the most. He may have given the Inner Circle a second chance to fight against their adversaries. But as a cost, he left those who carried him as a valuable with empty hands. That was displayed by Seihai herself as she broke in front of him. It almost made him want to shed tears alongside him.

But he still had his pride as a man. He still was aware of the fact that if he showed his sorrow, there wouldn't be any reassuring voice between them. If he wanted to ensure that she held hope and morale, he would have to become that voice for her if only for this moment. It was what allowed him to push aside Seihai's offer and move him to his feet. With a slow gait and a weary gaze, he approached her back. It didn't take long for him to get close to her, and when he did, he gently lowered himself down to a kneeling position. He took in a deep breath through his nose, mentally making sure that his chosen words would be the correct words.

Then, he raised his arms and embraced her, bringing him close to his form.

"If I ain't brave..." He whispered, his tone subdued but still holding a semblance of his casual self. "Who's going to tell you to be?" He closed his eyes for a moment, allowing himself to bask in her presence as he held her. "I'm not gonna lie to you, kid. I'm pretty sure nothing I say is going to make this situation any better. But I know that Kyōaku wouldn't have wanted you to sit here and crying over him. His sacrifice was made so that the rest of us could live on and carry out the fight. We'll have all the time in the world to mourn him after this is over and done with. But for now, we'll keep marching and personally make sure that Ywhach and Aizen pay for taking him. Are you with me?"

The warmth, the assuring strength, and his kind words didn't go unnoticed to Seihai. Tears slowly halted their heavy output, as she reached up and grasped Suna's hands. Raising his palms up, she comically used them to wipe away her dampened cheeks, sighing heavily into the calloused hands.

"I am. Just as he is...with me..."

As she spoke those words, something happened within Seihai. Eyes widened and her body seemed to spasm. Spiritual pressure exuded from her body in a steady rumble, rapidly increasing in intensity and output, causing the ground around her to crack as well as the barrier encased around her. An emerald pyre of light jettisoned from her body, as she found her form weightlessly levitated into the air, causing a cyclone of power to be unveiled before Suna but not thrust him back more than washing over his pores.

A violet hued dispersal of energy discharged from her linen, transforming it into an identical cloak that Kyōaku had donned as a Horseman. Lacking only the helm, her spiritual power seemed to transcend that of even her late beloved's, that much was clear. Gently, the cyclone vanished within her body as her now boot-covered feet landed upon the ground.

A crimson bird-shaped sign burned brightly upon her forehead, signifying the transfer of genetic and spiritual data that Kyōaku had stored within her. Looking at her gloved hands, she clenched them and opened them with a dazed look in her eyes, "I...I have...everything he had. Is this what he meant by me...continuing his legacy?"

It was needless to say, Suna did not see an event like this coming.

Even if the sudden release of energy didn't knock him back, the sheer existence of it and its abrupt appearance stunned him beyond belief. He took steps back in order to witness it with shocked eyes, his hair and cape billowing in the winds that had been generated. Although it wasn't affecting him, he knew. That kind of power was that even beyond what Kyōaku had been capable of. As he watched her transformation take place, thoughts were running through his head at a hundred and twenty miles per hour. "Incredible..." He thought to himself. "Something like this was waiting to come out at this moment? A power that leaps ahead of even the likes of us Horsemen? To think that Kyōaku had a wild card like this in his hands... I really am starting to think I underestimated his line of thinking..."

At her words, a grin slowly came across his face. "Apparently so, kid." He said, straightening himself up to look at her. "His memories, knowledge and all of his powers... they're yours to use. I guess he really did entrust you with the continuation of his legacy, to pick up where he had left off. Personally, I'd say it's a pretty darn reckless move. But hell, he always knew better than I did. With that being said..."

He took a few steps forward until they were standing mirror with each other, their cloaks billowing in the winds that blew. He wasn't just staring at a second-hand assistant, but an apprentice that claimed the throne of the master. Now they were standing before each other as equals, not as leader and subordinate. It was enough to send chills down Suna's spine. But all it did on the outside was widen his grin as he looked at her, finishing what would be a welcoming sentence.

"Welcome aboard... Third Horseman."

Death filled with Life.

That was the sensation that Hana felt. Looking around through the waves of liquid light that shimmered over her pores, like a mixture of a summer's warm rays and a bath in a sauna, without any dampness. It was beautiful and bittersweet to behold, but what was breathtaking was what came after the light disappeared. Hundreds, no, thousands of spiritual signatures rising to the surface. Gone was the maliciously blinding spiritual power of the Vandentei, only revealing the many unified and living entities that were raised back to life.

A smile graced her face. Despite the cut across her left cheek, she had managed to keep a good even-matched fight with Haschwalth. While she was content, she knew the Balance would be tipped soon, now that favor was falling upon her own side. She just hoped that she could do some lasting damage to the Quincy before that happened.

"Are you at a loss of words, Quincy?" Hana jeered, as she raised her ring blade in his direction.

Haschwalth stared out into the horizon, his once impassive gaze now one of disqust and frustration. In one simple motion, the Horsemen of the Inner Circle had nearly undone all of their plans, all of the Sternritter's hard work, and all of Yhwach's ambitions. He could feel his Majesty's power decrease, but steadily rise, and now he knew that they only had one option left.

"I am." he said plainly, looking back at Hana once more. "But not at this sudden change in the balance, rather, how quickly your Captain Commander fell at the hands of his Majesty." he continued as he glanced down at his Spirit Weapon. "And to think, he didn't even have to use his own power, but one that he stole..."

"W-What?" Hana choked out, as her sudden burst of resolve that rose within her chest stopped. The words, hauntingly off topic of what she spoke of, were regarding someone of the utmost importance in her life. Save for her beloved, it was the one man that held the Soul Society together for nearly four hundred years and beyond.

"The Head Captain has fallen? Impossible!" Hana refused to accept this, calling it a bluff as her eyes steeled with anger towards the Quincy.

"You're lying," She growled, her grip audibly tightened around the ring blade's inner bladeless frame.

"Don't be so childish." the Quincy responded calmly, staring at her in a blank manner. "I feel the balance at any point that it can turn. Your fortune briefly spiked, and now it is starting to fall once more; Your Commander's spiritual signature has completely vanished, as was anticipated. Not even he is capable of standing up to the power of His Majesty."

Hana couldn't deny his stoic words. If there was one thing that could attest to his claims, it was the fact she felt every signature of spiritual life within the Soul Society except for his. Even the Quincy King's, though dimmer than it was once before, she could feel and not the inferno that was Furuidenshō's spiritual power.

"N-No!" Hana felt her legs quiver, her eyes looking down as she realized with growing horror what just occurred. Falling to her knees, she felt her Zanpakutō clatter to her side. Tears began to form in her eyes as she felt the fire that kept her strong throughout this bloody war's skirmishes and tragedies.

"Y-You can't be dead. You can't be!" Hana shouted up into the air, not even registering Haschwalth's presence anymore. After sobbing for a few seconds, her cries turned into howls of agony, "HEAD CAPTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIN!!!!"

Jugram simply stared down at Hana impassively. In this grief and sorrow stricken state, she was all but vulnerable to a death blow, and his fight would be over just like that. However, he had a strange desire to let her wallow in her own pity for a few moments longer; death for a Shinigami in this state would be far too merciful, in his eyes at least. But at that same time, he was now faced with a new problem: Yhwach's power had decreased as well, and in order for him to regain that power, possibly more, the Sternritter would all have to resort to their endgame, something that only he could do, as the Sternritter leader.

"As Grandmaster of the Sternritter..." he began, his body beginning to radiate an intense azure fire like aura, raising his sword up to point it in the sky. "I hereby initiate the final selection..."

All of it would bring nothing but stunned silence from both the barrier-entrapped Shikyo and Michiko.

The news of Furuidenshō's death was enough ice-cold water Shikyo's head had been dumped into. But seeing the seemingly invincible and relentless successor of his position break down and crumble was an even worse shock for both of them. They watched with widened eyes and slightly agape mouths as the young woman screamed to the heavens for her now-deceased predecessor. In just a matter of seconds, they had been brought together by Kyōaku's sacrifice and then hit hard again. It made Shikyo wonder if the ressurection of their forces would make a difference.

Then...

"Mommy, he's glowing!" Michiko cried, pointing at Haschwalth as he ignited himself with the flames. "He's glowing!"

"What the hell is he doing?!" Shikyo thought to herself, her shocked gaze focusing on the challenger Quincy. Immediately, she pushed herself up from her sitting position on the ground and staggered to the wall of the barrier. Her hands pressed themselves against it as she watched the "final selection" take place. This couldn't have been some sort of finishing move for Hana. In her weakened state, all it would've taken was a single sword strike and his enemy would be down for the count. It had to be something else, something much bigger...

And then it clicked in her head. Her eyes gained a horrified edge to their gaze, and suddenly she found her own confidence wavering.

"No..."

"What in the--?!"

Suna suddenly found himself gazing into the sky as he felt a sudden disturbance within the atmosphere. In the area where he had detected Shikyo, he could feel a Quincy's spiritual pressure as it rose. At the same time, he could feel a multitude of other Quincy signatures dropping from his radar. "The Stern Ritters' spiritual energies are dropping?" He asked rhetorically, gritting his teeth and narrowing his eyes. "Oh, hell... I can't believe it. He's started it!" Like Shikyo, he had managed to figure out right away what was happening within the Vandenreich's ranks. Although the dwindling of their enemy's spiritual power would've normally been a good thing, only an idiot would've assumed such was the case here. But it took one who had a good idea of what Ywhach was to figure out what it really meant for all of them.

The conclusion was not a good thing.

He sharply turned his head towards Seihai, his expression showing urgency and alarm. "Seihai!" He barked. "Tenteikūra spell to all of their and our officers! The Stern Ritters are using their wild card!"

Seihai was in a daze of her own. The Captain that had spared and beaten the man who was closest to a father to her, the one she rushed to avenge his death against the Quincy who murdered and betrayed him in cold blood, was now dead. When she heard Suna shout her name, it was all she could do but follow orders.

"R-Right!" Clasping her hands, she immediately conjured the black writing along the length of her arms before pressing them out twards a blue cube that spread out black roots into the air, "Tenteikūra!"

The Light of God, All Things Come To An End!!
Haschwalth then closed his eyes, as his entire body began to corrode away in the flames that he generated. With a solemn, echoing voice, his final words would be heard from all in the Seireitei.

"The Mask of the Ruler falls... revealing the Father of all Quincy..."

Within that instant, Haschwalth and the flames around him exploded into a massive pillar of light, ending in a wandenreich emblem shaped cross that scraped the skies above, and thus cleared away the darkening clouds.

"Our time has come..." Cang Du calmly said to himself, seeing the pillar of light that Haschwalth had generated. He himself had endured quite a bit of punishment in his battle against the 2nd Division Captain, but his ability "The Iron" had made him virtually immune to most of her attacks, and it seemed that he would win this fight, but then he heard Haschwalth's words.

His body too became engulfed in blue flames, and he turned his head over to look at the beaten Sazuke impassively. "Your fate now lies in the hands of His Majesty. Pray that he will at least let your death be swift."

"What the Hell does that mean?!" Sazuke replied, her body bloodied and bruised from the severity of Cang Du's ferocious onslaught. For a moment, she swore he was going to reveal his Vollstandig, but now it appears he's committing some form of ritualistic suicide. It was all too eerie and the Stealth Force Commander was just as infuriated as she was confused, "why are you giving up?!"

"The entire reason we Sternritter fight is so that we may give His Majesty his true strength." he said as his body began to corrode away into the flames. "We are his loyal pawns, and in our death, he will guide our race to a future where Shinigami no longer thrive. He will rise... and you will fall."

And with that, he too exploded into a column of energy, its cross shaped end also scraping the sky.

"Sorry, Quincy," Tōshirō uttered lowly, his Zanpakutō in its Shikai state and held in a horizontal aloft manner. Snow fell from the air, signifying the localized freezing temperature, surrounding what seemed to be frozen solid As Nodt. Bound within the ice, his prison seemed to be shaped in the form of a star of sorts. "but I couldn't make it into a pentacle for your liking."

Had this been a different time, victory would be Tōshirō's. His fight with the Sternritter of Fear had gone rather smooth, as the latter could hardly touch the former Tenth Division Captain. But of course, this feeling of victory would not last.

Slowly, the ice began to melt away in a liquid state, and steam was beginning to radiate from the spot where As Nodt was. Within seconds, blue flames erupted from where he was, and therefore freed him from his frozen captivity. As he regained his senses and movement, he leapt down to the area in front of Tōshirō. He was covered in blue fire, and chuckling in a raspy voice. "Do... Do you think that... that after all he's done for me...."

He then brought his deranged face up to meet Tōshirō's gaze, and his black mask was now corroded away to reveal a decayed and almost rotten lower face, making him seem more like a zombie than a human. "...THAT I WOULD JUST LIE DOWN AND FORSAKE HIS MAJESTY?????!!!!!!!!"

"He lit his skin on fire in order to release himself?" Tōshirō thought, as his gaze regarded the deranged Quincy and his newfound stance. Due to the grotesque nature of his face, he averted his eyes from making straight eye contact. The haunting jaw had been enough to cause him to feel revulsion towards the being.

"Don't you know when to quit, Stern Ritter?" Tōshirō asked pointedly, raising his blade to point directly at him. Because of the high level of moisture that had been released from the water vapor of melted ice, he was able to at least produce one technique. With a luminous glow coalescing over his body, he made a swift turning motion, as pillars of ice seem to discharge from the earth and materialize around As Nodt's body.

"Sennen Hyōrō!" Tōshirō declared aloud, as the freezing columns of ice converged upon the recently freed Quincy, aiming to restrict his movements again so he could take further action against his durable opponent.

As Nodt then straightened his body out and spread his arms to the side, as the blue flames shot out all around him and melted the oncoming pillars away almost instantly. ''"A PITIFUL SHINIGAMI SUCH AS YOU IS NO MORE THAN A SPECK OF DUST, STRUGGLING AGAINST OCEAN CHURNING GALES BEFORE HIS MAJESTY'S WRATH!!!!" ''his shrill voice screamed as his body began to corrode itself away. "THE FEAR THAT WILL ENROACH UPON YOU WILL DWARF MY OWN, ONCE HE REGAINS HIS FULL STRENGTH!!!!"

Finally, his body erupted into the large column of energy, like the other Sternritter before him, leaving nothing of him in it's wake.

V-14's fight with BG9 had been nothing short of a stalemate, especially when his Vollständig had been released.

Every brigand that couldn't engage the Quincy in close-quarters had to take cover behind some sort of debris that had been created by the intensity of the fight. Even the heavy hitters had been thwarted by the machine's enigmatic nature and abilities, unable to have much of an effect on him. In contrast, BG9 could take a comfortable position in reigning down bullets and rockets upon its targets with mercilessness and cold precision. At that moment, it seemed like the Quincy would kill them all and be done with his mission.

But then, the most unexpected thing. Asuka, who had sparingly attacked BG9 during the fight, requested permission from Angelika to fight the thing alone. Naturally, it brought about shocked responses and exclamations from her colleagues, and it made the woman in charge almost question whether she was in her right state of mind. But when she saw the look in Asuka's eyes, she could see no wariness or fear that had stricken the rest of them. Instead, she saw anticipation, resolve and even some semblance of enlightenment. It bewildered Angelika to the point that saying no felt like the denial of letting something enlightening happen. So, out of curiosity, Angelika called back the rest of the V-14 and watched as Asuka challenged BG9 by herself.

And she wasn't just fighting it. She was beating it, Vollständig and all.

Whereas the rest of them had moved with tension and understandable wariness, Asuka moved against it like a bird on a natural flight course. Her blade defended against the barrage of rockets and bullets that had been launched her way, slicing through projectiles and deflecting others. Her body moved with elegance, yet her movements carried a ruthless aggression of her own that, in conjunction with her naturally fluid movements, was rather frightening to witness. She had never displayed that kind of style when fighting against her opponents - not even when she had went up against her own son.

Angelika could've only imagined what was going through BG9's right now as it tasted another vicious strike from Asuka's blade.

From the first slash, BG9 would experience what could only be described as terrifyingly psychedelic. The very first strike Asuka landed on it let her know that he had a soul, because her own had made a connection with it. Flashes of her memories would go through his head as if they were his own, and he would feel as if her soul was trying to invade his own. It would make for a very resolve-shattering and mind-breaking experience as far as he was concerned. Every strike would further attack him, hammering at his will like a sledgehammer against the foundation of a house. Her actions here would demonstrate just how devastating and terrifying the style that was Tamajutsu could really be when used against someone.

Such was the given situation in the present time.

"I can't believe she's beating it, when I barely slowed it down," Kenja spoke aloud. Resting on one knee with an aforementioned bout of exhaustion from his use of his newfound Shinsei powers. He had been grateful that Rika hadn't been harmed during the fight, and that he had largely gave the majority of his comrades time to fight in a cohesive manner. Even if it didn't work, it allowed for the last few minutes of actual conquest to take place, "she's incredible."

"She sure is," Shito smiled, having admired her stance and movements ever since she engaged the fierce automatonic being.

"I think someone has the hots for a certain swordsman," Mōka teased, winking at Shito as she grinned with delight.

Shito blushed fiercely, as he diverted his gaze from her, weakly refusing to admit it, "I don't know what you're t-talking about!"

"Wait," Hyōryū held up a hand, furrowing her brows with query, "isn't Asuka like Angelika's mother figure?"

"Powers of observation are truly gifted with this broad," Yajū jeered with a grin, despite the glare briefly sent his way by the gun girl.

"I'm just saying, wouldn't Angelika find it weird that you find Asuka hot cause, you know, she practically took her in?" Hyōryū queried with a perplexed, if not partially accusing stare at Shito.

"Isn't attraction and affection between two people not bound by the moral dilemmas and restrictions of normal society?" Shindō queried in a curious tone next to his partner, like a foreboding shadow she can't get rid of.

BG9 wasn't in a relaxed mood.

It's senses were clearly going haywire. Despite all of it's weaponry, tactics, and knowledge of the entire V-14 squadron, this one single female was decimating him in battle. He had withstood entire blasts from Kenja Kodai and continued to fight on, but here, Asuka was tearing through him as if his armored shell were nothing but thin paper. Even in his Vollstandig, he could do nothing against her.

''"Paramater-rs reconfi-fi-figured." ''he stuttered aloud, as his left, shining minigun picked itself up to fire at Asuka, but instead released it's entire salvo on a building just behind her. "T-Tar...get... elimina-nated...."

It was a threatening display aimed at the wrong thing.

Even as the hail of bullets was unleashed at an indirect target, its real target stood with an almost deathly still gait. Her sword was lowered to her side as she watched BG9 attempt to fire on her. But she never moved an inch, waiting patiently as he wasted his bullets. Even in the face of the thunderous gunfire, her voice would be heard loud and clear. "Can you still hear me, Quincy? I'm sure that even with all of what you're experiencing right now, I haven't yet scrambled that mind of yours. To tell the truth, it would be very easy to make you break down right here and now. Had I still believed that you were nothing but a machine, I would have done just that."

She began to take steps forward in a slow, soft and yet oh so menacing walk towards her enemy. Her eyes looked upon him with a relaxed stare, almost as if she was conversing with him over a casual subject rather than assaulting his mind. "But I'm sure that by now, it's become obvious. A machine is cold, calculating and precise up to the very end. A machine possesses no emotion, not even the desire or intent to kill even as it attempts to take the lives of its targets. A machine would certainly not be affected by the likes of a soul-cutting technique such as Tamajutsu." She continued to approach him until she was within a few inches of blade's reach again, stopping and staring him in the eye. "And a machine would most certainly not experience something as human as fear."

Slowly, she leveled her blade at him, the tip pointing directly at his face. "And I can feel so much fear inside of you right now. Tell me, BG9, for it is I who am the curious soul. How does it feel to have all of those plans within your machine-like head turn upside-down? How does it feel to know that the very one you saw as an easily killable target is the one that put you into a corner? What goes through your mind," Her blade slid closer, until the cutting edge was touching his neck - a perfect position for decapitation. "Knowing that this blade is going to be the one to destroy you?"

The machine Quincy stopped in his tracks, his weapons and his tendril like wings lowered down to his sides. His single red eye was looking directly at Asuka's blank stare, and it was trembling. It would move left, right, up, and down several times, as if desperately trying to find a way to answer her query. But one would also get the impression that he was afraid, very afraid of what was coming for him, all from just looking at his single, orb-like eye, concealed behind his helmet. He let out a few clicking and whirring sounds, presumably his internal systems, before uttering out a low reply.

"... no data... available."

"...I see."

That was when Asuka lowered her gaze a little bit. They wouldn't see her close her eyes because they would be overshadowed by her bangs. But they would see the tears that fell down each eye, the droplets falling on to the ground. She took in a deep breath, slowly lifting her sword until it was looming overhead. The cutting edge gleamed threateningly in preparation for what was to be the death blow. But the wielder of the blade would speak in a solemn and, shockingly enough, remorseful tone. "For what it's worth," She whispered. "I truly am sorry for this. Maybe one day you can forgive me. But until then.... goodbye...."

She brought her sword down.

"BG9."

''"Goodby-?" ''would be it's only response.

Just as her blade would come crashing down on his neck, his entire body was enraptured in blue flames, preventing the weapon from touching his hide. If BG9 was scared before, his eye movement now would indicate sheer terror, for he now knew what was coming for him. "N-No.... not possible... selection process was to be delayed... this unit was to have more.... more time... to gather... to move.... more time... please....give this unit... more time....."

"I've never seen Asuka fight this intensely before," Shinshin voiced aloud, as all eyes were now focused intently on the automaton's futile resistance against Asuka, "not since we crossed blades has she projected such a cold indifference. Truly, this is the pinnacle of Tamajutsu Mastery. I have a long way to go-"

Then, the cyborg seemed to erupt into flames.

"DAFUQ?!" Hyōryū shouted with wide-eyed exclamation, backing up to stand near Anton's side for desired protection against the searing heat that wafted the area, "is he killing himself?!"

"Not that I don't mind a guy axing himself, why is he begging for mercy when he's the one who pulled the trigger?!" Yajū inquired, holding up his scythe defensively as his eyes glared at the flames.

"He's not doing it," Shito spoke aloud in a solemn, horror-filled voice, "someone is triggering this. Look!"

As Shito pointed to the sky, similar columns of pentacle-shaped pyres of spirit energy all seemed to erupt into the sky. Much like how the Vollstandig and prior entry of the Stern Ritters themselves had done, this seemed to have an entirely different meaning. There was a nefarious air cast within the wind, a purpose that dictated the self destruction of all commanding officers of the Quincy forces, not to mention hundreds of smaller beams of light discharging into the sky. It looked like a grand sacrfice for something twisted and terrible.

Mōka herself felt her throat tighten, "He's using his own kin...to fuel his power! That bastard is growing stronger than even what I can handle!"

They weren't the only ones to react with such attitude.

As he watched the spectacle of Quincy-made stars, Anton wordlessly moved in front of Hyōryū when he saw her back up from the flames. The sight had left him as speechless as it had a good majority of the others. Normally, seeing the enemy destroy themselves would've been a good thing. But Mōka's deduction of what was happening cast any thoughts of positive feelings out the window. The Quincy King was using them as a means to increase his own power - something that was not only incredibly callous, but also very terrifying for the Alliance. For all purposes, this could be considered the Quincy's final attempt at destroying their enemies and making victory absolute.

But despite this, Yusuke and Shinji had not yet taken their eyes off of the two combatants in front of them... and with good reason.

As soon as she got over her surprise at the flames' appearance, Asuka thrust out one of her hands into the burning blaze. As if moving through water, her hands would push through the tongues and clasp against the center of BG9's chest. The heat did not sear her flesh. "No." She whispered. "I don't think you need any more time. You have fought long and hard, have you not? You have spilled the blood from many of His Majesty's enemies, have you not? There is no need to cry, no need for regret in the face of such accomplishments. You are a soldier, loyal and devoted to the cause up to the very end. There is no more that is needed to be done."

Slowly, she raised her head up. There was a bit of light shimmering within those blank eyes of hers, but also a genuinely encouraging smile on her face. "Your service has been honored, soldier. Now go back, and return to His Majesty's side where you belong."

When this happened, BG9's trembling eye managed to stop as it looked down at Asuka's hand, resting on his chestplate. It continued to stare down at it throughout her speech, though it was unlikely that he was not heeding her comforting words. It's body was slowly beginning to decay from the feet upwards, just as the other Sternritter had, but it was no longer shaking in what would be perceived as fear. Rather, it seemed very relaxed as Asuka finished her statement.

The decaying reaching up to his chest, he brought his eye to look back down at Asuka and managed to let out one more word:

"...Affirmative... "

Finally, the cyborg's body crumbled away and the flames that had consumed him leapt for the skies above. A single Quincy Cross was all that was left of him, lying flat on the ground in front of Asuka.

"Can't believe that I'd feel pity for an enemy like that, one I was nearly hellbent on destroying myself," Kenja murmured with disbelief, as he watched Asuka say the equivalent of a farewell to the passed away Stern Ritter.

Shinshin could only bow his head and utter in prayer, "May the Void bring solace to your soul, machine of war."

"Good riddance, I say," Yajū spat callously, not one to care for the passing of his enemies, let alone automatons such as BG9.

Shito rolled his eyes, but kept his senses alert for any further changes within the Vandentei's ambient pressure, in case the Quincy King decided to do anything immediate with his newfound power. He knew he could transport everyone away at a given notice, but he knew the concentration of his surroundings had to be perfect.

Hyōryū sighed with relief, as she saw the last of the azure embers vanish as the other pyres of blue flames had done. Even if it was bad in the long run, she felt unnerved to be so close to a pillar of raging fire, especially when it contained the life force of something so inhuman. Clenching her hands onto Anton's arm, she leaned against him as she closed her eyes, whispering to him, "Thanks for protecting me, big man..."

"Angie," Mōka spoke in a level tone, her eyes turning towards the leader of the mercenary organization that is V-14, "what's the plan now? Its obvious that this changes everything. What with the Quincy King being a physical god on par, if not stronger than even my own father, I doubt we can simply walk away from this battlefield and hope the Alliance comes through."

Hyōryū's actions caused a stunned Anton to avert his gaze from the sky. He swung his head towards her with surprise, but quickly relaxed once he realized what she was doing. He allowed his own eyes to close, his head leaning on the top of hers to return her affection. "No." He said softly. "Thank you for keeping yourself by my side throughout it all. Don't know if I could've kept myself together without you..."

However, he opened his eyes once he heard Angelika's chuckle towards Mōka's choice of words.

"I can't believe I'm hearing such idiotic words from the likes of you, Mōka." She said casually, looking over at her subordinate leader with a spark of amusement within her eyes. She reached into her coat pockets, pulling out a cigarette and a lighter. "Nor did I expect you to sound like such a defeatist. And in the face of your own subordinates, nonetheless? You could at least try and sound like you have at least a little spine."

In between it all, Hyōryū blushed, punching Anton's shoulder as she responded bashfully, "You're completely helpless without me, aren't you?"

The Russian merely huffed in response. "I do believe that was your fault..."

"The Captain Commander is dead," Mōka said plainly, her eyes looking seriously at Angelika's. One could tell there was a mixture of grief and sorrow lingering behind her crimson-hued eyes as she spoke as frankly as she could, "Yhwach Juhabach slayed him just moments before this deranged sacrifice ritual took place. Someone who could defeat the strongest of the Four Horsemen before that Quincy bastard's own power is not something we should rush blindly without a plan. I don't even think I can even subjugate him with my own power, not after what's just transpired!"

There was a moment of silence that lingered in the air. But only for a moment.

Angelika slowly turned herself around to face Mōka, catching the emotion within those crimson hues of hers. But instead of causing her own mood to waver, it only prompted her into cocking an eyebrow in slight incredulity. Her thumb flicked the wheel of her lighter, catching the end of her cigarette in its flame. She slid it between her lips and breathed in the smoke before taking it back out and blowing it from her nose. The new string of information was processed with a subtle dose of shock. After all, someone as seemingly indomitable as the Head Captain being slain in battle? She never thought it would've happened in a million years, let alone now.

But it wasn't going to pull her down, and it wasn't going to stop her from speaking her next words.

"You won't have to worry about subjugating him... because as of now, we won't be doing any more fighting."

A series of gasps were heard among the crowd of V-14 members. To them it was obvious, that this was the kind of war that they couldn't participate in any longer. All they'd do is get in the way, or put their necks out needlessly for a conflict they can't help improve or end as quickly as their allies.

Hyōryū bowed her head, not knowing if anything could persuade Angelika. Her mind sounded made up, and from a glance towards Shinshin, Shadō, and Shito, none of them looked intent on stopping her. They all looked devastated at the idea of one of the few advocates of allying and standing up for them, Furuidenshō Shin'nen himself, was dead. What reason was there to continue fighting?

"I guess that's it then," Kenja thought to himself, as he wearily leaned against the wall, looking at his fullbrought claymore with a downtrodden expression.

Then, the most unlikely person spoke up.

"Like Hell we aren't!" Yajū snarled out, his eyes glaring at his superior and Angelika equally.

"Yajū, this isn't something that we can-"

"Oh don't give me that kind of bullshit answer!" Yajū swung out his free hand, gripping his scythe handle tightly as bared his teeth with indignation at her, "long before I knew you were some otherworldly goddess, I looked up to you and followed your lead only for the sole purpose of fighting alongside you. That I'd bathe in the blood of my enemies while you told me where to go and whom to kill. What happened to your guts, Mōka?! Does a mere human scare you that bad?!"

"This has nothing to do with my fear, but with a cautious certainty!" Mōka raised her voice, almost sounding desperate as she raised a hand towards him for emphasis, "I don't want anyone to throw their life away needlessly! This isn't a battle we can participate in without casualties. Face him, and he'll not hesitate to cut you down-!"

"DO I LOOK LIKE I GIVE A DAMN?!" Yajū shouted at the top of his lungs, glaring wide-eyed at a dazed Hankami, "that Oracle said that I'd live to be a god among men, that I'd bathe in the masses of my victims for many years to come. If there is even a sliver of truth in what that weird-ass relative of yours said, I'm not going to become deified by cowering every time an enemy stronger than me!"

Turning around, he raised a clenched fist up at the rest of V-14's conglomerate, throwing it to the side to smash into the wall with enough force to cause the structure to collapse beside him, "All of you can go ahead and cower if you want, but if any of you have the balls or guts to try and do something daring, then come with me! The Alliance needs people to fight, and I intend to help give them a fight worth song and damned praise!"

"Do they?"

Although Yajū had earned slight glares from Alpha Team for his intent of disobeying Angelika's orders, he would get none such thing from the director herself. Although her smile had faded away for the time being, she still had that reserved look as she regarded the scythe-wielding warrior. "All of those fighters capable of destroying worlds with their power, all of those soldiers capable of wiping out armies by themselves, and you say that they need people to fight? I may not be a devotee to their cause, but I'm fully aware of how capable they are... especially in the face of certain doom."

She slid her hands back into her coat pockets. "And before you start accusing me of cowardice, let it be known that I'm not speaking out of fear." She spared a glance towards Mōka. "Nor am I speaking out of "cautious certainty." As a matter of fact, had it been any other circumstance, I would've gladly allowed for a charge against the remaining pieces of the enemy's army. Have you already forgotten that I risked our treaty with the Gotei 13 for the sake of rescuing one of your colleagues from Aether's clutches?"

At this, Oliver's eyes flickered for a brief moment.

"I'm not pulling us out of this fight because we might get in the way of someone else, or because of inability to bring a quicker end to it all. I'm doing it because getting involved would be essentially pointless in the long run. Why try going after a kill that was long ago marked by someone else?"

"What do you mean, boss lady?" Yusuke questioned, raising a curious eyebrow at the woman.

"Yhwach. Aizen. Both of them have been enemies of the Soul Society for who knows how many years. They were locked in their struggle against each other long before we even came into the picture. While they, the soldiers, fought against each other for dominance and control, we children played around on the sidelines without care. We were unwittingly neutral throughout it all, up until this point in time. What sense would there be in suddenly brandishing our swords against a particular enemy, as if they were the bane of our existences the whole time?"

That would be when another very unlikely voice spoke up to her.

"...you don't believe we're the ones meant to defeat Yhwach or Aizen... right?"

A good amount of eyes abruptly snapped to a stirring Rika, who was now lying on her stomach. Her hands were propped on either side of her, and she slowly pushed herself up to her hands and knees. Her head was lowered, with her long hair covering her expression. "Those two... and the Soul Society... have years worth of a grudge against each other..." She breathed. "Right now, all we are is the third wheel, an undesired variable in the equation. The closest thing to a personal enemy was the Inner Circle, and they are all but dismantled now. In addition, the death of the Captain Commander wouldn't affect the likes of us. But it would greatly affect them, further fueling the blood lust between the two sides... further pushing us out. Is that what you're getting at, Angelika-sama?"

A pleased grin swept across Angelika's face. "A very accurate guess of my thoughts, Nakamura." She commented with the slightest bit of intrigue, watching as the girl slowly pushed herself to sit on the ground. "And you're not even one of my closer subordinates. How'd you happen to come up with that?"

How Rika responded effectively sent a chill down Yusuke's spine and even made Shinji's eyes widen a little.

Her eyes would be hidden, but that mouth of hers would contort into a grin. But it wasn't the common grin of happiness or smile of pleasantry. It was the smile that would've been less frightening and more fitting on the face of a cold-blooded killer. It didn't help that she added a clearly amused chuckle before her actual response.

"Oh, nothing. Just a lucky guess?"

"You're a frighteningly tactful girl, aren't you?" Kenja mused out with an appraised grin towards her, smiling at her across the distance, "you remind me of a disciple I raised. She had the same outlook on most things, and could confidently analyze any given scenario with dispassion."

While Angelika's words, her demeanor, and the sheer professionalism on how she handled herself with the additional feedback by Rika, Yajū managed to calm himself. The blood boiled less in his veins, and his outstretched fist came to rest at his side. His glare softened into one of rejection, but understanding, as he kept his eyes on Angelika. He briefly cast his glance at a more passive set of superiors, realizing they had nothing more to say.

Looking back at Angelika, he responded lowly, "You think this battle is pointless? I don't remember ever signing on to get the benefits of being within the regime of the damned Yhwach or under that bastard Aizen's thumb. We walk away, and those sobs lose because we didn't bother raising a finger, then this will be all on our heads, not just yours. This battle has more meaning than our fight with the Inner Circle had. What's more, these guys HELPED the Inner Circle take down the Soul Society, our own home! Don't you care that they trashed our place, our livelihood, for the sake of conquest?!"

"Since when have you become sentimental, Yajū?" Shinshin inquired, coolly locking his gaze from afar, "here I thought you were nothing more than a bloodthirsty warrior. I didn't know you were so interested in reasons to fight."

"I won't become a F#$%ING god with Aizen and Yhwach standing in my way, will I?!" Yajū snarled out incredulously, as if it was a plain as day fact. Flourishing his scythe around to point at Angelika, he said with a heated glare of renewed vigor, "how am I going to better claim my deification than help cut up everything that makes Aizen and Yhwach gods themselves?! I'll shred their subordinates to pieces. I'll reap their dreams from their very hearts, before I crush them in my hands! I don't give a damn about how we have scores of personal worth against these bastards, just that we have the opportunity to keep our livelihood as killers for hire and that we can have some merit as being part of the grand scheme of cutting them down to size!"

"You're insane, you know that?" Shito asked rhetorically.

"Insanely badass!" Yajū admitted shamelessly.

"How is that a THING?!" Shito asked incredulously.

"I find it kinky!" Genesis called out.

"SHUT UP, JEAN!!!" The voices of Shou and Kaitlyn snapped at her.

"Killers for hire?"

Angelika repeated those words in incredulity, her furrowed eyes widening as they glared slightly at Yajū. Her smile faded into a slight scowl, and she spoke with a clearly scolding tone within that calm voice of hers. "Don't you get it yet? We gave up that title long ago when the pact between us and the Gotei 13 was first made, when the V-14 was legalized. We stopped being mercenaries when the decision about the bombs had been made." She raised a hand to gesture towards the rest of the V-14. "That was the moment when I realized that the majority of these people here today didn't want to be known as "killers for hire", people who made a living destroying the lives of others. They wanted to let go of the grudge we had against the Soul Society, to walk down the path that would mark them as heroes of this time. I know it's something that leaves a bad taste within the mouth. But if that's what the men and women under my banner wanted, then who am I to deny them? I am a leader, not a tyrant."

She closed her eyes for a moment. "But if you still want to claim yourself as a so-called god... if you still want to pave the way to your deification, then by all means you can part from this group and do what you want. There will be one catch if you do, though..."

This was where Asuka herself turned an eye from the cross and to the debate. "And what would that be...?" She asked with a soft yet curious tone.

She would get her answer when a brief pulse of sickening spiritual pressure erupted from Angelika's body and over the majority of the main group. Her coat and hair began to flare upwards a little as if blown by a constant wind, with a faint blackened aura starting to form around her body. Her calm expression began to slowly contort to a more manic degree, complete with a feral smile and a shrunken iris-pupil combination within those eyes of hers. When she spoke again, her voice held a heavy amount of distortion within. Her voice was an epitome of rage and murderous intent as she spoke that one finishing sentence out to Yajū.

"You're going to have to go through ME to DO IT!!"

All confidence was sapped immediately out of the grim reaper. Being the sole focus of the ire of Angelika, as she was now, ontop of the waves of overwhelming spiritual pressure that washed over his pores, he could feel himself turn three shades paler. As his eyes dilated with alarm and fright, he felt his scythe fall out of his hands, clattering to the ground as he felt himself fall to his knees in front of her.

"Unbelievable," Was all that Yajū murmured out, his throat going dry at seeing such a mangificently terrifying aura that wrapped and burned off of Asuka's persona.

"Such power reminds me of the essence of my own style of Tamajutsu," Shinshin remarked

Mōka's eyes herself widened, her own bod being the closest of the overwhelming darkness that porously ebbed off of Angelika. Unlike before, when she had been accidentally letting loose the tormenting entity from within herself, she had complete control. No, that wasn't accurate. More like complete synthesis between herself and her captor, as if the bonds of being a host to such a terrible entity no longer seemed like a detriment to her person.

"Was...Yashin's battle key to awakening this potential within her?" Mōka queried silently, as her eyes narrowed at the dark aura'd Angelika that glared threateningly at the now submissive Yajū.

Unbeknownst to all, a solitary figure stood atop the structure most of them were leaning against. He looked down with intrigue, as his coat flourished with wild abandon throughout the gusts of wind that the power surging below him. His right eye glistened with red-black darkness while his left eye shimmered with curious onyx light.

"What will you do, Angelika Hartmann, when you find that your only route of escape is broken?" Yashin asked aloud, his voice carrying down to the midst of V-14 once more. Not bothering to wait for a reply, he waved around in emphasis from his highest perch, "the Quincy King's army may have been sacrificed, but Aizen's army marches upon this Vandentei. The Alliance cannot deal with the mass of enemies and their leaders simultaneously. Knowing this, will you still be insistant on turning a pair of truly blind eyes away from this plight, or will you carve out destiny beyond the Alliance's survival?"

At first, everyone's gaze was quick to fall upon the hovering figure of Yashin when he spoke down to them. Naturally there was shock and surprise upon seeing him, with widened eyes and a few gasps earned from his sudden appearance. But although she too was surprised, Angelika kept herself silent and merely listened to his words of question. His note of Aizen's army was a new newspaper slipped into her mailbox; she had assumed that with the Stern Ritter's sacrifice, all but the bigger pieces of the enemy faction was destroyed. But Aizen still had minions of his own kicking through this place?

Then, she felt it, as well as everyone else would.

A new spiritual pressure, ominous and new to the senses, washed over the area like an ocean of cold water. To a good majority of the company present, it would put them in a state of high alert. Shou was the first one to speak up about it, standing up and allowing his eyes to search the area. Because of his nature as a Daitenshi, he didn't have much of a problem being under the influence of the aura. "Do you all feel that?" He questioned, cocking an eyebrow as he surveyed the area.

"I might as well be tasting it." Oliver responded back to him, with beads of sweat falling down his face as he looked up at the sky. "What the fuck is that?"

"Must be that army our beloved friend was talking about..." Anton muttered dryly, pulling himself up to his feet. After he lent a hand to Hyōryū to pull her on her own feet, he too began to survey his environment. "Can't believe that after all of this warfare, they managed to hide themselves up to this point. He was waiting for this moment, wasn't he?"

"With the Alliance forces recovering from their engagements with the Stern Ritter, they won't have time to anticipate this." Asuka said firmly, turning her gaze towards her leader. "We've got to--"

However, she stopped herself when she saw Angelika still looking up at the sky. No longer was her gaze directed at Yashin. But rather, it seemed very distant. When she looked closely, she could see that the woman's pupils had dilated to a considerable degree. It almost seemed as if she had fallen into a hypnotic trance.

"...Angelika?"

"She's asking herself what she and it wants to do," Mōka surmised aloud, her eyes looking to Asuka with stoic red eyes of her own, "there won't be any turning back for any of us at this point. Are we going to run and hide in sanctuaries by the Sect, or are we going to fight in a battle where not all of us could come back alive? That's our options here."

"The Spiritual Pressures are about as damning as Yashin's," Kenja growled, his eyes looking upwards with a glare. His personal avowed enemy seemed to be personally invested in this group he had joined. Why? What did he care? It seemed for as much time as he spent unconscious he had no idea how personal Yashin's connections had been made with Angelika or her team.

"If we fight that, there's no guaruntee that we'll be fighting with aid. The Alliance will be using most of its resources to annihilate Aizen himself and the Quincy King," Shinshin vocalized out his own beliefs.

"So if we do help them, there's nobody but us to pull our asses out of the flames," Shadō concurred, his eyes casting to and fro across the masses of comradic faces, sighing with depression, "then again, I don't like the sound of being a fugitive from Aizen and Juha, either."

"So what's the plan then?" Shito asked, his eyes casting over towards Angelika, Mōka, and Asuka's direction, "fight or hide?"

Although Mōka's guess of what Angelika was thinking was a rational one, it couldn't have been farther off from the truth.

The look in Angelika's eyes wasn't that of someone in the process of thinking or a woman in conflict with what seemed like a hard choice. It was the look of someone who had long made their choice before the question was even made - no - it was the look of someone who was reveling in that choice. It was the look of someone who saw an end of the apocalypse, laughing in its face. If that wasn't clear enough to anyone, then the smile that made its way across his face would surely do that. Those dilated eyes of hers slowly closed, and she took in a deep breath as a chill went down her spine. For everyone else, there were two choices. But for her, there was only one.

Destroy.

"Haven't your mouths gotten tired of speaking words of negativity?"

Her voice rang loud and clear as it addressed all of her subordinates, the smile fading soon before she spoke the words. As she lowered her head to look at them directly, the light of her eyes could be seen through the shadows of her face. "I'd never thought there would be a day when you all would be more concerned about their own self-preservation and how powerful the enemy is than anything else. You should be jumping at this chance, this opportunity presented to us. All this time, I had thought there to be no one but the individuals that are Aizen and Ywhach to deal with. But with this new predicament? There is a stage that has yet to be set, and the actors can't move to their places until that has been met."

She took a step forward, giving a cold yet resolved glare at each of them. The more she spoke up, the louder and stronger her voice got. "Will you really allow yourselves to even think of running away, just because you find the enemy to be truly strong? That has never stopped us before in the battles we've fought together. Time and time again we have been threatened, and yet every single time, we have survived. It might have been by a wide margin or by the skin of our teeth, but we are still alive and breathing! Our claws and teeth are still sharp, ready to rend and tear apart the flesh of our helpless victims! For men and women like us, there should be no other alternative but to crush our opposition, beat them until they are nothing but a puddle of blood and flesh under our feet! And yet, you have the audacity to think that running away is a choice?!" At this, her teeth bared in a manner not too different from an angry dog's snarl.

"This is not a decision that I can make on my own... it is yours, as well! I ask you: will you be the ones who sat by and did nothing to grasp the gold in front of them?!" Her voice was starting to reach its aggressive crescendo as she spoke her last sentences. "Will you be known as the fools who ran away, let these so-called gods step on them and their allies?! Or will you be known as the ones who burned a path straight to the heart of the devil, the ones who overthrew the forces of Lucifer and lived to tell about it?! Will you be known as cowards, or nightmares?!"

Everyone seemed in unison as they yelled back with confirmation. They'd all give it their damned best to try to give it their all, and prove their worth on this day. If it was by their hand that they held back the tide that would have wiped out the Alliance, then it will be because an overwhelming force of reckoning was there to stop them. The stakes being made and the inspirational speech was given, everyone seemed to be on the same page.

Well, almost everyone...

"HELL YEAH!" Karitori shouted out, her eyes opened and her sudden catnapping state was shaken out by the vigor of Angelika's tone.

"Wait, you fell asleep during Asuka's battle?!" Mōka inquired with perplexed incredulity.

"What...she done now?" Karitori looked around, dazed at the spiritual pressures washing over her senses. Scratching her partially bald head, she asked lamely, "uh...someone fill me in?"

"Quincies are dead, but Aizen's army is here. We need to go slaughter them," Shito said pointedly, cracking his knuckles with emphasis.

"Ha! That sounds fun!" Karitori spoke with a dark trace of excitement, both hands pluming with dark energy as her body lit up with violet-black tongues, "let's get moving!"

"Gun-ho, as always," Mōka rolled her eyes with a smile, as she reached for her blades sheathed on her back, unslinging them from their scabbards as she readied herself to move upon Angelika's command.

"Hold on...didn't I just say we should go fight...earlier?" Yajū asked in a dazed, confused tone, as his eyes swam around trying to figure out the whole point of her threatening him in the first place. What, was it so she could give an inspirational speech instead? He didn't make sense of things anymore!

All Things Must End, The Father of Quincy Rises!
Yhwach had managed to place himself on the ground, beneath the building that he had been previously thrown into. The great wound across his chest had gotten worse over the past few minutes, as blood was pouring down his uniform almost endlessly. Even in death, the Commander's of the Gotei 13 were still managing to do harm to him.

But this bitterness would be short lived.

He could feel it in the air, the falling signatures of his loyal Sternritter, and their bright blue columns of light soaring into the darkened clouds above him. They had triggered their last resort, his last resort, as a means of keeping him from the verge of death, and all of it was done without a single order from him. This spelled an endless level of commitment that they all held for him, and it almost made him want to feel emotional.

"No..." he said to himself with a light, bloodied grin. "I will not spit on your sacrifices by shedding tears.... rather..." he continued, as he looked up into the skies above. The Sternritter's energy columns were all forming a massive Wandenreich Star in the sky, and it's center was pointing directly down at Yhwach himself.

"I will honor your lives... by destroying theirs."

There was complete silence for a matter of seconds, and then, with a loud booming sound, the star in the sky fired down a single beam of light upon Yhwach, consuming his entire form. Just as soon as it made contact, a massive and visible shockwave was released from Yhwach's person, and it was quickly spreading all throughout Seireitei. No individuals seemed to be affected by the blast, but all of the buildings around them seemed to crumble away into sparkles of dust, leaving nothing but a large plain of solid ground.

And at the center was Yhwach's new form.

The light and the star cleared away, and the darkened clouds returned in place. There would be a single shining light in the center of the ground, for all of the allied forces to behold: Yhwach's hair was now a dim blue, but his beard remained a black color. His shirt was removed, revealing a very muscular figure with a star like marking covering the entirety of his torso, although he still wore his pants. On his back were two, glowing sets of wings, one large on his upper back, and two small on his lower back. His right arm was covered in Reishi, formed into his signature broadsword.

His shining white eyes opened, and his echoing voice spread throughout the now completely leveled Seireitei.

"The Father of Quincy... has come."

"JUHA!" A feminine voice snarled out, as a lithe form dropped down to the levelled ground that the Quincy had created. It was Hana Yūgure, acting Captain Commander of the Soul Society's Gotei 13, and leader of the Spiritual Realm's Allied Forces. Her white coat flourished about her black kosode and hakama drabbed being, spiritual pressure of an intense nature crackled around her person, and sealed Zanpakutō in her right hand.

Her eyes bore towards his with a livid expression of the utmost intense anger. Rage practically seethed within her pores and the once anguish held heart now burned for the yearning of total annihilation for this enemy. Her high-rised ponytail flowed within a gust of the wind, flapping along with her coat and black linen, as she focused upon her enemy.

"It's time we ended this war, and this senseless slaughter," She tersely spoke with certainty, her authoritative voice echoing across the empty terrace the two warriors stood upon.

The now angel like Yhwach simply turned his head over to glance upon the newly arrived Captain Commander, looking upon her with a gaze that conveyed nothing more than disinterest. "Indeed it is time..." he said, slowly holding out his hand towards her. "...to end your suffering once and for all."

For a brief moment, all sound would completely disappear, and the air in front of Hana would appear to compress in on itself to form a barely visible sphere. Just after that moment, however, Hana would be hit by a force unlike any she had experienced, as a high pitched, elecritic sound would boom out from the compressed air bubble and send her flying away from her spot. The ground in front of her would be turned into a small crater, followed by a large burst of dust and debris following the seemingly invisible blast.

Yhwach was through with talking; the time for action had come.

Thanks to Hana's awareness of spiritual energy, she was able to shield herself from the brunt of the blast. The shockwave carried her back, her body pinwheeling across the air like a rocket. With a pained grunt, she swung her wakizashi blade into the ground, cementing her in place to keep herself from flying back farther. Wiping the soot off her face from the transparent-fielded explosion, she glared evenly back at the christened Father of Quincy folk.

"Knowing him, any attempt of ordinary spirit energy or physical attack would be pretty much nullified. I left my Sekkiseki blades back at the base, but I still have an alternative," She thought to herself, as she righted into a solid stance. Closing her eyes, she swiftly delved into that place within her spirit. The core of divine, ultimate power that she rarely touched. Inhaling deeply, she softly exhaled, repeating the process several times.

Then, it was unlocked.

'''VMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!! '''

A crimson wave of unnaturally pure energy dispersed from her pores. It coalesced, like a dimly lit ember within the flames that burned deep within her center. Her hair became crimson and her eyes drowned in a sea of scarlet light, ebbing with tongues of light from her eye sockets. Her Haori coat flickered with her hair and black linent attire, showing the full extent of the power of her Philosophy.

"My suffering will not end with my death, but yours, Juhabach!" Hana snarled at the Quincy, vehemently glaring with inhumanly glowing eyes as her body created an ambient pressure of unnatural properties around her.

"Philosophy, is it now?" Yhwach responded with a piqued interest, slowly letting his hand come back down to his side. "I've heard a great deal of it's mighy power, but even with such strength, you alone are not capable of touching me in this state...."

He then slowly held his arm and sword arm apart, almost as if he were beckoning her to try and come to hit him. "Go ahead then. There is no need to hold back now, no need to restrain yourself, no need to risk your life by delaying your assault. Come and hit me with everything that you have, with all of your anger and rage welled up into one blow."

"Bankai!" Hana shouted out, without hesitation and without remorse. Her body quickly became enveloped within a pyre of crimson-white light, the pillar of Philosophy spearing into the sky, swirling the clouds above the terrace battlefield. When she dispersed the energy, a crimson-aura'd form of her starry lit Bankai coat was displayed before the Quincy. With the Philosophy firmly in place, even if the Quincy desired to, there'd be no feasible way for it to be ripped from her person.

Swinging her billowy-sleeved arms to either side, dozens of ring blades the size of her palm were thrown out, spinning around her like she was the center of gravity. Walking forward in a foreboding manner, each ring blade began to separate into many sections, revealing to be hundreds of razor rings, each of them glowing with a white light. They began rotating around her, expanding in mass and size, as the energy that woven around them suddenly created a violently rotating orb, like that of a moon itself.

The size of the rotating sphere was gargantuan, the wind currents from its high-speed rotation was enough to rival any element created twister, ripping up the flattened earth and tearing it apart by proximity alone. Directly at its epicenter, floating within its spacious mass, Hana clasped her hands in a symbolic gesture of prayer. Her eyes glowed and her voice echoed within the space, as she announced the name of her technique.

"Getsukachū!"

With blinding precision and thrusting momentum, the shredding mass of oscilating blades and pure energy flung itself directly into Juha's form. The destructive power was enough the produce a shockwave that shredded the upper terrace of the flattened Quincy Palace, sending a seismic tremor to shake the entire Vandentei of the clash it created against the powerful being she aimed turn into dust.

But before any hope of victory could be assured, Yhwach simply raised out his hand and stopped the onslaught of spiritual blades dead in their tracks. Sparks flew and the ground around him billowed in dust, but his stance did not flinch. With a folding of his hand, the blades all shattered like glass.

"Hm?" he pondered aloud without changing his expression or pose. "I said for you to hit me, or is your Spiritual Pressure so dim in comparison to mine that your attacks cannot even scratch me?" he continued as he lightly waved his left hand towards her without lifting it up. "How disappointing, be gone from my sight."

For a second, Hana's vision would distort and blur, almost as if an entire earthquake had focused itself just on her position, and before she would know it, a massive slash would cut across her torso. This would not only send her flying, but it would cause a massive burst of blood to shoot out from her body.

"This is it," Hana thought, as she saw her Bankai's ultimate attack fade into oblivion, her chest ripping out to produce a morbidly large geyser of blood to spurt out from her body, "I guess I couldn't do it. I'm sorry Braeburn...I'm sorry Daisuke...I'm sorry...Furui-otousan..."

As she fell, a sudden whooshing blur rushed up to catch her gently, before dropping to the ground a dozen meters away from the deified Juhabach, leaving a bloody trial to where they landed. The figure wore a black coat, made of DCO standard Spirit Energy concealment threads, but had a large battle fan strapped to his back, chained to his right hand while a ornamental katana was sheathed on his left hip. His head was wrapped and concealed by a white spiraling mask, symbolizing the Ocular Kidō of the Takuji Clan.

"S-Sōdai?" Hana gasped, her eyes looking up incredulously at her rescuer.

"Lie still," His deep voice emanated in an empathetic tone, laying her on the ground, his hands hovering over her wounds as they immediately projected a healing light, "we're going to need you before this fight is over."

"B-But...I failed," Hana whispered, her eyes guiltily looking to the side, seeing a cracked wakizashi in her hand to indicate the utter power that had broken hers.

"The Alliance still needs a leader. Aizen's army marches, and they need direction in order to defeat them," Sōdai spoke matter-of-factly, as his energies sewed her flesh back together and restored what energy she had lost.

"What about you? You don't think you can take him-" Hana began, silenced by a sudden handsigned motion, causing a spacial emerald light to envelop her, "-on?!"

KRAK-KOOM!

Within the sound of thunder, the light vanished and so had Hana. Teleported away from the battlefield, Sōdai knew that the army needed her more than she was needed at this battlefield.

Standing up to his feet, he turned around to glare impassively at the Quincy King. His bandana and attire flourished with a gust of wind, causing the chain of his fain to melodiously click within its waves of air. His Tamenkyōme eyes glowed within the dark eye holes of his war mask, emphasizing his words all more perfectly, "I see you've outdone yourself, Yhwach Juhabach."

"You should know, Sōdai Takuji..." Yhwach stated in a more enlightened voice, tilting his head slightly. The fact that he called Sōdai out by name indicated that he did hold some amount of respect for the Shinigami. "That in this life, the only one you should try to out do in any regard is yourself."

He turned to fully face Sōdai, still holding a calm and yet commanding demeanor about him. "It honors me that you have come to fight me here now, in your full strength, but you should already know how the odds aren't in your favor, or any of your allies' for that matter. I will do you a service and let you die in battle, as men of your stature should, but that is the best you will get out of this war."

"Oi Oi Oi!" A voice called out behind Juhabach, as a familiar and eerie-toned individual came walking slowly to halt a dozen meters behind him. Garbed in a white cloak with a kanji insignia for 'Shinsengumi' on the left face of his coat, while a symbol of a hectagon bordered Hollow skull was emblazoned in jet black. His cyan-hued sash was wrapped around his black Shikhakushō, giving him a traditional yet new look that hasn't been seen in a while.

"No one, save for the vacated and late Captain Commanders, are going to fight you alone," Gin Ichimaru stated in his tell-tale thin grin, his red eyes gleaming between the spaces of his slitted eyes, "that'd be freakin' suicide."

Yhwach only turned his head slightly to where his left eye would register Gin's sudden arrival, but even then, his tone didn't change. "Fighting me with an entire army at your side would be suicide, Ichimaru Gin." he said calmly, turning his head back towards Sodai. "I believe this would be more climactic if you were to challenge Sosuke Aizen, the one who put you near death, instead of me. Wouldn't you think so as well?"

"The level you are both at is relatively the same. It would make little difference which one of you we should fight. As for principle sake," Sōdai began to explain, he placed his left hand over his sword and his right hand to grasp the handle of his Kidō fan, "the reason we're fighting you is that someone else eager for more than simple revenge is facing Aizen. It's more poetic this way."

As Sōdai spoke, a number of blurring figures materialized in a complete circle around the Quincy King. Byakuya Kuchiki, Tōshirō Hitsugaya, Kenpachi Zaraki, and Yoruichi Shihōin all appeared in a perimeter around him. Kenpachi smiled with genuine delight, despite the fact a bloody stump that had been cauterized and bandaged up was all that remained of his left arm. Byakuya, after being healed himself, had appeared looking cold and impassive at Juha's flank. Tōshirō, relatively unscathed from his battle against As Nodt, looked on with his own indifference, tactfully analyzing the situation before him.

Their collective Spiritual Pressures, as a whole, were higher than any Captain or even the Captain Commander Furuidenshō's were capable of. They felt like entirely new beings, being reborn into new visages of incredible potential and strength.

"Juha," Gin began continuing, his eyes opening slightly as his lips curled into a more sinister scowl of serious nature as he finisehd, "trust me when I say this, the Captain Commander and his progeny replacement aren't small fries by any stretch of the imagination. But we're in an entirely league apart from the Gotei 13. Don't take us lightly, or you'll regret losing your army in exchange for deified strength."

For the first time in acquiring his God-like status, Yhwach allowed himself to smirk. "Come then. Show me just what kind of league you are in...". His sword was finally lifted and his feet came off of the ground, now hovering lightly a few inches off of the ground. "In the end, your efforts won't matter; you'll all become fuel for my fire. This has been nearly two-thousand years in the making, and it won't fail now because all of you decided to cease cowaring in the dark."

He then pointed his weapon directly at Ichimaru. "Your chance to stop us slipped by centuries ago; it's time for you to pay for that mistake."

"So, you've made your move, Yhwach Juhabach?" Sōsuke inquired audibly to himself, his black attired form standing high above the devastated Vandentei, observing the battle with piqued interest at thousands of meters in the sky. Since his fight with Kyōaku ended, he merely watched his army encroach upon the Vandentei's borders like a tide of darkness. He didn't think any of the gathered forces of this Alliance could defeat them all, and soon leave this entire landscape a cemetary.

"Come to make your own move, Primera Casilda Selestino?" Sōsuke asked in a level, calm tone as he turned his head over his shoulder, looking towards his newfound arrival.

And indeed, there she was.

She had approached him with her arms folded across her chest and the coldest of glares bearing into his back. Although her spiritual pressure wasn't being activated, an aura just as frosty as her look could be felt venting from her person. In contrast, the blood coursing rapidly through her veins was so hot it might as well have been lava. Once again, the sight of her most hated enemy was stirring up that volcanic fury and the desire to cut him into a thousand pieces. But unlike the seething Hana who had confronted Ywhach, she kept herself restrained for the time being. The last thing she wanted was to lose her cool, especially in the face of someone who knew just how to push another's buttons.

"Yeah." She responded casually, her mouth turning upwards slightly in the semblance of a smug smile. "Did I keep you waiting for long?" She dropped her hands to her sides and continued to approach him, until they were at the traditional fighter's distance.