El Sagrado Cruzada, The Queen Returns!

Time to Head Home, The Last Battle Cometh!
A week had passed since the Alliance had retaken Soul Society.

For the Shinigami, it was a week that was used to restore everything to its rightful glory. The destruction that had been reaped upon the land was restored to its former glory, courtesy of the gratuitous Hankami. Buildings were put back together again, displaced refugees could come home safely and continue their lives and so forth. The statues of the Horsemen, Aizen and Ywhach were destroyed with zealous eagerness, erasing the oppressive presence that the enemy had taken. Everything was well and prospering.

For Casilda and the Espada Afilado, the week had seemed like an eternity. After all, while they had been directly assisting the Alliance in taking back their home, it was guaranteed that the Sennin Butai and their respective forces were wreaking havoc in Hueco Mundo. There were select few that could face them down just as the Espada Afilado themselves had done. But the Primera couldn't guarantee how long they would hold out, despite the comforting words of her parents. Although the week was necessary time in order for the evacuated force to gear back up, it just made everyone all the more antsy. By the time the week was over, they were practically jumping at the chance to leave the Soul Society.

Three Arrancar in particular were heading out to meet up with the gathered evacuation force - Casilda, Senkaku and Bernabe. The two males walked side-by-side with the leader as they talked about last-minute preparations.

"Is everything ready?" Casilda questioned, looking from one to another for confirmation.

"Our forces are prepared to march on your go, my Lady." Senkaku said smoothly, his hands folded behind his back as he walked in step with the other two. His gait resembled that of a butler's, lax enough only to allow a lack of stiffness in posture. "Nicolao says that the jump gates have been connected and are set. They will activate once you've given the command."

"Everyone is more than ready to brandish their weapons again." Bernabe added, a pleased smile crossing his face as he looked over at the other two. "As they should be. Once we step back into the sands of Hueco Mundo, the enemy will realize just what kind of grave they've dug themselves in." His teeth briefly flashed with malicious anticipation, and he clasped his hands together to pop his knuckles. "Oh, what I'm going to do to that punk Dorado..."

"Just make sure not to jump out of line, Bernabe, and we'll all get what we want." Casilda said simply, to which the Segundo chuckled in amusement.

"Of course. The desire tearing an enemy to pieces can easily be suppressed in favor of your word, my Lady. I'm no child, after all..."

"Lady Selestino..." Senkaku asked, a sliver of hesitation within that calm tone of his. It garnered the curious attention of both Casilda and Bernabe. "With all due respect, you look unwell. And you seem to have been acting like this ever since the war's end. Are you sure you are able to participate in this battle?"

This didn't suit well with Bernabe. His smile quickly turned into a scowl, and he glared at Senkaku with thinly veiled irritation. "And who would you be to ask such a question?" He snarled, disregarding the Primera's own reaction to the question. "Are you questioning the ability of our Primera, Tercera?" His hostile response caused Senkaku to raise his hands up in an attempt to placate Bernabe.

"No, I--"

"No, he's right." Casilda promptly cut Senkaku off before he could defend himself, her answer causing Bernabe to regard her with confusion. She lowered her head and took in a deep breath, her eyes closing for a moment. "Senkaku, I'm afraid I can't answer that straightly. A lot of things have happened... things that have shook my resolve, my morality and probably my sanity. I'm tired, and raising a sword to anyone is something I'd rather not do at this point. But if I don't, we'll never get rid of the enemy that plagues our lands. Besides," She opened her eyes again, a hawk-like glare focused ahead of her. "I have yet to know just why my own mentor would play a part in this tragedy. At the very least, I deserve to find out."

"Of course, my Lady." Senkaku gave a brief bow. "I meant no disrespect." Bernabe himself scoffed at this, but said nothing in response to it.

With that being said, the three reached the door that led to the courtyard where their forces were at. With another deep breath, Casilda pushed open the doors and stepped outside.

What greeted the three Espada was a massive gathering of Arrancar soldiers, with their weapons at the ready and their bodies exhibiting nothing but anticipation. Heading the force was the remaining Espada Afilado, standing in various idle positions as they waited for the other three to arrive. Nicolao was separated from the group a little bit, shouting orders to his own underlings as they made sure the said "jump portals" were in place. In the sky, a multitude of what appeared to be massive birds were flying through the sky. They were a mix of biological and mechanical make, their appearances making them look as if they came straight from the earth itself. All in all, this was certainly a force ready to invade - or rather, take back - a land.

It was during this moment that the triad of high ranked Espada Afilado would feel a gust of wind kick up behind them. A trio of feet would land gently after such a dramatic use of Shunpo was employed. Haoris enraptured their beings, as each of them looked steeled for action and join the Arrancar Army.

"On behalf of Captain Commander Yūgure," Kukkyōna declared, his onyx eyes locking stoically on what would be Casilda's, "we've come to lend you our aid against the remaining forces of Aizen's Army."

Now this was a moment of surprise for all of them.

The eyes of the three Arrancar widened in various degrees when they saw the three Captains appear before them, joining with the looks of surprise that the idle Espada Afilado had. None of them had expected the Shinigami to lend their assistance, especially with such few numbers. The closest thing they had expected was a proper send-off and a final farewell before they re-entered Hueco Mundo, courtesy of the newly established Head Captain and her escorts. It made Casilda meet Kukkyōna's gaze with contemplating silence, which dominated the atmosphere for a few seconds. When she spoke, her voice would present itself in a calm and soft manner. "Might I ask what brought about this particular decision from Hana?"

"And what makes you think that we need your help?" Bernabe asked not-so-nicely, ignoring the subtle glare from Senkaku for his sudden addition to the conversation. He folded his arms across his chest, giving a scrutinizing glare at the three Captains. "I believe we are fine taking our land with our own two hands. You've done quite enough, thank you very much!"

"You misunderstand, Arrancar," Kaze interjected, waving his free hand while his rightmost one leaned against the gleaming skull cane. His cold yellow eyes stared boredly at Bernabe for having to explain this to someone whom outranked a fellow intellect like Nicolao. He wished that he was speaking to him rather than the prior. "Captain Commander Yūgure understands that this is a personal mission of vengeance for your race. That's why she sent us three. We're moreover expressing our support as allies, not overtaking your mission entirely."

"The imbalance among the various Spiritual Realms has required a number of high ranking members of the Gotei 13 to spread our resources thin. Stabilizing various lands has been key. However, we don't forget our comrades who helped us in our own time of need," Kōjaku interjected, smiling in a disarming fashion as he waved his hands in emphasis, "there had been a list of people whom were asked by the Commander and we happened to have volunteered first."

"Whether you believe us to be inhibiting you or not is irrelevent. We're here under orders as support upon the Alliance that has been formed between our two races," Kukkyōna explained in a much more brisk tone, his eyes shifting from Bernabe to Casilda, not even bothering to move his impassively straight stance, "it's that simple."

After looking at Kukkyōna for a moment more, Casilda turned her gaze to an annoyed Bernabe as he returned the disinterested stare of Kaze with his very own brand of stink-eye. He was quick to turn his eyes to Casilda once he saw her staring at him, emitting a sigh and giving a slight shrug of his arms. as he stepped back. Seeing this as a gesture of surrender, Casilda gave him an acknowledging nod before turning back to Kukkyōna. "Very well, Captain." She said, folding her hands behind her. "Your support is greatly appreciated, and I certainly will remember this gesture of kindness later on." She turned her eyes and voice to Senkaku. "Senkaku, could you call Nicolao over here? If the Captains are going to join us, then they've got to know about our plan of attack."

"Yes, ma'am." Senkaku confirmed, stepping away from the other two Arrancar before switching his attention to the directing Nicolao. He waved a hand. "Hey, Nicolao! The Primera wants you for a moment!" He couldn't help but cock an unseen eyebrow at the way Nicolao's shoulders sagged briefly before the man walked in a somewhat annoyed manner over to their location. "Um... might I ask what's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing." Nicolao muttered with a hint of irritation, waving off the question. "It's just these last-minute preparations. Everything's settled out accordingly, but sometimes those damned underlings cannot understand the most simple of orders! They're nice to have around, but it'll be quite a long before I learn to trust them with my life." He gave a brief sigh as he folded his hands behind his back. "But my complaints about my subordinates aren't important. What is it that you need?"

"The Captains here will be joining us in our counter-attack." Casilda explained, nodding towards the Shinigami trio and causing Nicolao to glance over to them. "Explain to them how our entry will proceed."

Nicolao's face brightened up at this instruction, and he took a few steps back from the group in order to gesture. "Well, it's about time I get to do something productive!" He said pleasantly, before turning around and walking to the massive crowd of Arrancar soldiers. "Come on, then, I'll walk you to where the entryways are located and tell you everything you need to know."

"Bunch of show-offs, these scientist bastards..." Bernabe muttered under his breath.

"Good to see you again, Nicolao," Kaze said in a sincerely grateful tone, glaring at Bernabe over his shoulder as his more stoic comrades turned on their heels and followed the intellectual Arrancar. "I'm taking that this plan of yours will be a bit more intricate than simply charging in like barbarians?"

"While the ones behind it were our enemies," Nicolao said readily, looking behind him to see if they were following him as he instructed. "The blitzkrieg attack certainly was an effective one. Had the surviving force of the Alliance had reacted a second too late, they most likely would've succeeded in making their presence permanent within the first invasion! This is an opportune time to reenact that moment upon the enemy that lies in Hueco Mundo! When the signal is given, the Bloodwings," He motioned to the flying creatures above their heads. "Will fly through their designated portals and commence an aerial bombardment once they're out. There are plenty of them to sweep Hueco Mundo if necessary. The Espada Afilado will move in next and serve as a direct distraction for the commanders of the enemy forces, followed by the foot soldiers. Each of these portals are set to varying locations, where control is key."

"Employing chaos to ensure that unity is impossible among their forces. I cannot wait to hear the screams of panic among their ranks once we arrive," Kaze chuckled darkly, clackling his staff against the ground as he walked alongside Nicolao.

Looking up above at the winged beasts, Kōjaku let out a low whistle. The gusts of wind that the frightening creatures created as they would swoop low and high likewise cause his violet hair to buffet over his white coat covered shoulders. He could only admire in silent awe at the various beasts of burden under the Arrancar army's control.

"How did you get such a large fleet of avian creatures in such short notice?" Kōjaku couldn't help ask aloud in pure curiosity.

"Oh, them?" Nicolao asked rhetorically. "They were always there. The Tercera and I had kept those particular weapons of destruction hidden, and due to circumstance, they didn't have a good chance to be deployed until now. It's a good thing, too, considering that the enemy will most likely not expect such a force to hit them. As far as they are concerned, we're bringing a new card to the table and abusing the absolute hell out of it!" A wide grin came across his face as he said this.

At this point, they had made their way to an open space in the courtyard, where a marvel of science was taking place. Generator-like machines, governed by several of both Nicolao and Kaze's underlings, were firing near-transparent beams towards a certain point in space. These beams ended with what appeared to be a tear in the atmosphere, which had the appearance of a sealed cut in the sky. There were a total of four of these closed tears, with a particularly large one directly in front of the group, two flanking it from a scattered distance, and another one high in the sky. Nicolao allowed himself to turn towards the group and gesture to the work in progress.

"These are the portal entryways we shall be using." He explained, gesturing towards the portal directly in front of them. "This one uses instantaneous function, allowing the Espada Afilado to come from here and appear in Empresa without delay. The secondary portals," He gestured towards the side portals, "Are what the armies shall be using. Unlike what we'll be going through, those portals lead to pocket dimensions in which the soldiers will hide until the signal is given. The same concept applies for the Bloodwings," He pointed up to the tear in the sky. "Which will head through that portal up there."

"Well, it's nice to see that you've given us an advantage for a change." Bernabe said gruffly, giving an acknowledging nod towards Nicolao. "Good work, Jandro."

"Oh, I can't take all the credit!" Nicolao gave a light shrug, before giving a nod of his head towards Kaze. "Had it not been for Captain Sasayaki's contributions, I would've still been trying to figure out how to keep the things from opening automatically!"

Chuckling with bemusement, Kaze waved his free around in a dismissive manner, "Interdimensional travel is still a hazardous thing, even for us Shinigami. It took us centuries to find an effective route through the Dangai without losing half as many Shinigami we send through that barely come back intact. That is, what little remained that we could allocate, of course."

"Thorough flanking procedures. I don't think the Sennin Butai will expect such an organized assault on their base of operations," Kukkyōna voiced aloud how impressed he was by the set-up of this dual pronged assault staged for Hueco Mundo. He could only fathom the casualty rate is going to be for the opposing side before the first Arrancar boot touches the sandy soil to take the battle to them directly. "this battle may prove to be their ultimate undoing."

Bernabe sneered. "Of course they wouldn't." He said in haughty disdain. "They said we were nothing more than mindless beasts, animals relying solely on brute force! Well, this will make them ever regret that line of thought ever came within their heads!"

"My Lady!" Casilda's head abruptly snapped towards the direction of Findor, who was approaching her and the rest of the group with a brisk walk. She stood at attention as he stopped in front of her, giving her an acknowledging nod. "Queen de la Cruz has informed me to tell you that the portals are fully mature enough for transfer. We can head out as soon as we're ready."

"And I think we're all ready at this point..." The voice of Loly drawled from behind them. If they turned around, they would see the remaining Espada Afilado and their respective Fraccion standing there. It was noted that all of them were wearing gray hooded cloaks - more specifically, cloaks that would mask their spiritual signature from the enemy to prevent early detection. The figure who had spoken up had her arms folded across her chest as she looked at her leader. "What's say we get this over with? We're just dying to kick some ass..."

"Since you didn't pack any additional cloaks for us to wear," Kōjaku took note, raising a hand to acquire the attention of Casilda herself, "perhaps we should use Kidō to maks our own approach? This would give us a significant advantage to land our own surprise attacks unseen to the unaware forces of Aizen's Army."

"I'm fairly certain we can all mask our own visibility and spiritual projection," Kukkyōna said in an assuring tone, returning his own gaze to Nicolao and the other high ranking members of the Espada Afilado, "unless you don't plan on us being invisible to the enemy? Would you rather have us bait them or remain hidden from view?"

"It matters little to me," Kaze waved his cane around, circling in the air, "the battle begins as soon as they appear. Whether we're concealed or not makes little difference."

"However you feel you'll fit into the attack is fine with the rest of us." Casilda said, her eyes fixated on the portal. "We weren't exactly expecting the Shinigami to lend their assistance in any way outside of a simple farewell send-off. It's up to you to find a way into this."

It was here that Senkaku made his own contributions.

Stepping a ways off from the group, he cupped his hands around the area where his mouth would be. A noise reminiscent of a bird's chirping rang loud and clear, catching the ears of the massive sky creatures. They abruptly stopped their random flying patterns, moving their direction towards the tear high in the sky. Abruptly, that tear would widen to expose a "window" of the other side and the location they would spawn at. The enemy would see no signs of it, but when the birds came out, they would appear to spawn from out of nowhere - a perfect scare factor for the unexpecting soldiers.

"When all of this is over," Casilda continued, her voice gaining a much colder and venomous edge. The malice and murderous intent dripped from her tongue like an unsatisfied venom. "I want not a single one of them alive. No prisoners, no compromoise. They tore our world apart, slew our brothers and sisters without so much as a second thought. Here is where we'll make them all pay." She grasped the hilts of her swords and swiftly drew them out, brandishing them threateningly at her side. Her irises and pupils had shrunken, the fury on her face ever so clear. It would be the first time that the Captains would ever see her like this.

"Especially you... my beloved mentor."

She stepped forward, just as the first Bloodwing flew its way into the portal...

Blood for Blood, The Vengeance is Me!
Uncertainty.

That's what was the general consensus among the large cohort of remaining forces that made up Aizen's forces. Due to the rapid way of travel from dimension to dimension they had largely kept the bulk of their forces from suffering a counterattack. But it had been a week and their current encampment in the ruins of Empresa was supposed to be largely temporary, composed of tents and stony structures made out of the city's own rubble.

Without the god that Aizen's legion were fixated upon they had all but grown lethargic and nearly docile. True, they would respond should a battle be called for them, but their unity was officially dwindled since the war's end. It was an unsettling sight to see such a collective mass of unsettling pressure become more like a calm dark ocean than a maelstrom of death.

It was for this reason that, once again, Rey Dorado came to verbal blows with the official leader of the Sennin Butai.

"Why have we remained here, Jigen?!" Rey inquired in a heated tone, his gleaming golden armor reflecting the lunar light cast by Hueco Mundo's sole moon in its starless sky. He paced to and fro across the desert ground within the middle of their camp's highest elevated spot, being what would be seen as a large upraised partition that had been part of a shattered wall of Empresa. While various members looked on with feigned or genuine interest, it was the two aforementioned that seemed most engaged in this repeated subject.

"Orders," Jigen said in a dutifully level tone, as if scripted for the same answer to the same question sent his way for the past week they had arrived. He sat upon a makeshift seat made out of a perfectly carved debris chair, his ten sheathed blades leaning on either side of his chair. His hands clasped in front of him as he stared down at the ground, not bothering to lock gazes with Rey's angry red orbs.

"Whose?! Last time I had been made privy, Lord Aizen was felt by us all to be no more! Why is the army here when its leader effectively destroyed?!" Rey questioned heatedly, clenching his golden plated digits into a fist, holding it for Jigen's slightly upraised immovable orbs to see.

"Assumptions can be dangerous," Jigen said plainly, leaning upwards, keeping his hands upon his armored thighs, "if we leave now, under the impression that Aizen is truly dead, wouldn't that make us the ones in the wrong?"

"Let me twist that back right at you! You're assuming that a ghost is coming back where it cannot escape. He's dead, Jigen! Murasaki is gone, too! It's only a matter of time till this war is brought back here by the Alliance. What is your plan then, hm?!" Rey snarled with doubt, increasing with every passing second.

"Calm yourself, Rey," Senkenteki said smoothly, his two visible eyes looking at him from the pillar his shorter statured body leaned against casually, "remember how long we had to wait to launch our invasion in the first place? If you cannot simply sit still for a single week without Lord Aizen around, then you truly are weak willed. Need someone to hold your precious golden hand, child?"

"Careful whom you speak to, Korai!" Rey growled, turning his staunt frame in his direction, pointing visibly at him, "you may be an aged old spirit, but your power cannot protect against my absolute divinity!"

"Like you could," Senkenteki quipped with a purposeful smirk, earning a violent twitch from Rey.

"Why you-!"

A thunderous stroke of pressure caused all to become silent. Rey looked over, unnerved as he would see Jigen having grasped a single sword, unsheathing it an inch, bathed in a aura of silver and black. Eyes colder than ice glared in his direction strengthened the command in his voice, "I will have no infighting or insubordination as long as I am in command, Dorado. Be silent or feel free to arrest control from me now!"

Rey sneered, quickly turning on his heels, flourishing his crimson cape behind him. He'd create a golden plated platform of energy underneath his soles as he'd tread out into the middle of the air, carrying him away as he'd cross his arms over his armored breastplate. One could imagine the sheer indignant fury crossing his facial features.

"My-My," Tenshi chuckled, rising from his own seated position to crouch next to Jigen's seat. "seems Rey's been as antsy as our army grows bored."

"It shouldn't concern him," Jigen said with a sigh, sheathing his blade before leaning its scabbard back against its stony spot, "Aizen had ordered us to be patient for centuries. If he wants us to wait for his return here, in Hueco Mundo, then so be it. Wait another hundred years if that's what it takes."

"Well, we were close to our goal. I think that's the one thing that's bothering him as much as its bothering the rest of us," Tenshi suggested offhandedly with a shrug, "perhaps some of us would have rathered to stay and fight instead of retreating back here. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Honor has no place in death," Jigen said with a hardened, forlorn gaze, "honor is only how one treats one's life and follows their own ideals. Betray it, at the very end, and you are worth nothing. No matter the good you've done it can never amount to the betrayal to yourself that'd be caused from it."

Shrugging once more, Tenshi rose to his full height, looking across the sandy vista that was offered by their perch, "Who knows if what you say holds water or not. All I know is that I'd rather be anywhere than this dreadful place..."

"Give it time," Jigen said in a proclaimation, saying it more to the rest of them than it was merely for Tenshi, "we'll be long gone from this place soon enough. I swear it!"

Then, the unpredictable.

High within the sky and within a distance away, a murder of massive winged creatures spawned and flew. They were like jets, racing across the skyline with the speed and ferocity of runaway demons. One of these monstrosities let out a loud screech that seemed to shake the foundations of the very earth itself. They were shadows cutting through the clouds to locations unknown, at least to the ones below them. As intimidating as the sight looked, it was clear that they didn't seem to pay attention to the encampment.

That is, until a bird flew a little bit too low towards their location.

Without so much as the slightest indication of what it was going to do, it unleashed what appeared to be a pillar of red lightning upon the target area. It caused both an explosive and incendiary effect, blowing apart objects and individuals unfortunate enough to get in the way as well as igniting others in a fierce blaze. As the creature continued to fly, it would "drag" that pillar of lightning through the encampment to maximize damage and hopefully kill the individuals caught in the crossfire.

"Damnation?!" Senkenteki swore aloud, leaping off his leaning perch and hopped to the edge of the wall partition they were all settled upon. The sheer mass of light that had tore a fissure through the ocean of soldiers at their command was not only alarming but a wake-up call. Whatever manner of beasts these were, they could only come to one conclusion: the Alliance has returned to finish the job!

"Shukun! Senkenteki!" Jigen said in a commanding voice, strapping his ten swords to either hip, walking in long strides to the edge of the wall, "I want you to take command of the north and south formations of the Legion. Make sure to spread them out to minimize casualty rate and increase damage to the invaders. Go now!"

With a swift dispersal of movement, both Korai and ethereal spirit vanished from sight, leaving but the company of standing Sennin Butai to witness the avian flock of nightmares circling above.

"A spacial rift has been created," Ariana noted, narrowing her scarred brow line at the faint cracks within the spacial fabric that wasn't hidden by the ungodly flock, "obviously through technology and not by a spell of some sort. It looks too deliberate and focused to be anything otherwise!"

"We'll need to seal that," Jigen said with authority, nodding to them all, crouching to his knees with preparation, "follow me!"

A sonic boom would be felt as all of the Sennin Butai would shatter the partition they had been standing on -moments ago- with the sheer force of their instantaneous acceleration. Flourishing upwards, they were soon joined by the aerial craft of Rey's, discharging streams of virulent energy around at the creatures as the commanders of Aizen's army would land upon its solid deck. Three of the creatures would circle around above, avoiding the ship's auto-fire, as they began to charge the incinerative lightning within their mouths.

Jigen merely twitched his blade in their directions, causing their bodies to be eviscerated into a shower of gore they'd leave behind as they'd near the fissure of space.

"Looks like the Alliance has sent some form of pet project after us," Rey said from his throne, glaring upwards at the abominably circular hole the creatures funneled out of, already being cut down to size by his companions. He even aided with a nonchalant blast of Kidō in the direction of the creature as they'd ascend further, "too cowardly to face us head-on, hm?"

"I doubt that the Alliance had these creatures at their disposal," Jigen said pointedly, slashing his sword across space to cut another wide line of winged beasts within his line of sight, "these are something new. But what sent them and where did they come from? Something doesn't feel right..."

"Indeed," Magatta said with a suggestive slash of her Zanpakutō, the fragmented blades chained by the whip bifuricating another screeching beast as they'd slow their upward movement via airship, "this seems too coordinated and planned. Where are their beastmasters to send them through the tunnel?"

They would get their answer through violence.

Another attack of a different variety would hit them hard and without warning. Rey's ship was suddenly wracked with an explosion. The material that made it up would quickly and violently shatter apart into molten fragments. Just like the Bloodwing assault, there was no indication of when it came or what exactly had caused it. The effects on the commanders that boarded it wouldn't be as harmful on them as it would to the freshly destroyed aircraft, which would fall from the sky in pieces. But this time, it wouldn't be long before the source of the attack spoke up from the ground, his voice carrying an almost jocular nature as it called out to them.

"Excuse me! Hello!" If they looked down, they would see a hooded form waving a dark-skinned hand out towards them. "We're done here, if you're done using our birds for target practice! I apologize for misdirecting your attention, but it was the only way to get your attention, if that makes any sense!"

"It doesn't..." A female's voice muttered, causing the male hooded figure to pop a comical vein.

"Right then!" He continued to shout out to the commanders. "Could you come down here so we can talk? We have tea and cookies!"

The majority of the Commanders had scattered upon the instance of the ship's implosion. All but Rey, whom had remained seated upon the ship's throne, had evacuated the doomed aircraft. By the time the aviator's minute supply of debris would rain down, in tune with the attacker's voice from below, one could see the silhouetted outline of Rey hovering within the smoldering cloud of destruction that had ensued. Still seated upon the throne which remained surprisingly in untouched state, Rey himself looked visibly annoyed.

"Oh look," Rey would call out to those who surrounded his throne's vicinity, idly casting his red eyes down towards the ground where their enemies were gathered, "bugs have come to gather the attention of those infiinitely their greater."

"I suggest we teach them the error of their ways," Magatta said in a scornful manner, her Zanpakutō instinctively sheathing back into its more compact state.

Jigen wordlessly blurred downwards, landing with a soft tap onto the desert floor to stand before the cohort of enemies. His eyes stared impassively as his own assembled force of allies lowered down by his side. Jinsoku landed on his left knee, with his right upraised along with his right hand holding his scythe upwards in a demonically presenting manner. Tenshi had his hands within his pockets, idly staring at the gathered assemblage of opponents he'd have to face with a unreadable grin upon his own visage. Kugyō rested his left wrist over the pommel of his sword, staring at the interlopers from over his shoulders, creating a pose that seemed to emanate confidence and menace at the same time. Magatta had her blade tapping casually over her right shoulder, smiling with a cold and malicious manner that hinted a bit of boredom, as if seeing the task to be as mundane as the initial invasion of Hueco Mundo. Finally, Ariana herself held her sword aloft with one hand, while the other remained tightly clenched at her side with the only heated glare among the Sennin Butai's ranks.

Seeing that the majority of them wore cloaks, hiding their identities as well as their presences, Jigen beckoned with an upraised gesture of his solely unsheathed sword, "Since you're all here, I suggest you reveal yourselves. It'd be pointless to fight faceless enemies after the way you introduced yourselves into this domain."

The outspoken hooded figure immediately thrust his arms in an incredulous shrug. "Really? Faceless enemies, you refer to us as? Come now, master of the sword. I thought that you, of all people, would have fit the pieces together. The Bloodwings should have been a dead giveaway as to who we are. After all, they were creatures of our kind..." With that being said, he grasped the front of his cloak while giving a mockingly disappointed sigh. "Oh, well. These were painstakingly made, and I almost hate to see them go. All right, everyone, cloaks!"

Then, each and every one of them shed their cloaks to reveal themselves.

There was Nicolao, the one who had dared to speak up to Jigen with his arms folded across his chest and a considerably smug grin on his face as he looked at the Sennin Butai's leader. There was Loly, who bore a scowl on her face and sat in a crouched position with her trademark knife in her hand. There was Bernabe, who had his arms folded across his chest and a scrutinizing glare directed towards his foes. There was Senkaku, with a face hidden by a mask as he kept his arms folded within his sleeves. There was Tierra, holding an almost idle yet clearly guarded stance as she gave a hard stare. But most notably, there was Casilda, with her dim eyes holding nothing but an ice-cold glare that certainly would've been capable of killing. Lastly, there was the presence of the Queen and King of Hueco Mundo, who were standing a few ways off from the main group.

"So, be honest..." Nicolao said, lowering his arms to his sides and grinning toothily. "How much did you miss us?"

A piercing screech would be heard as a bolt of Kidō lightning would sing through the air, rushing forth to hit Nicolao dead in between the eyes. Whether it'd hit its mark or not mattered little to Rey, as he floated nonchalantly on his throne, leaning on one set of golden digits while the other casually aimed a single yellow plated finger in the direction of the jeering Arrancar. To him, seeing such annoyances reappear before his eyes just made his stomach turn.

"Does that answer your question, little Arrancar?" Rey asked in a bland tone.

"To be honest," Jigen said in a calmer, cool tone as he ignored Rey's attack outright, fixating his gaze upon Casilda's wrathful one intently, "it had been awhile since I've looked dead in the eyes of those beasts. They used to dominate the skyline of Hueco Mundo, hadn't they? It has been...quite a lifetime ago since I remembered those days, Casilda."

Bowing his head, he idly counted the grains of sand at his feet for a good long while before raising his face to stare coldly at the Primera of the Espada Afilado, "That man you knew as your beloved mentor is gone. I am the successor and confidant of Lord Aizen's will. He has charged me to guard his precious territory here and await further orders. You shall not get in the way of that directive, Primera!"

POW!

Had it not been for Rey's sudden attack, Casilda would've responded immediately to Jigen's declaration.

She only took a glance behind her as she saw Nicolao get struck by the Kidō bolt, his head jerking back and his form staggering a few steps. She felt the rest of them tense up at the sudden and abrupt attack by the man on his throne. But none of them chose to attack. Instead, they simply watched as Nicolao's form stopped in its tracks. It looked as if with that simple bolt, the scientist had been killed off as easily as one would swat a fly.

That is, until they heard him take in a deep breath, slowly bending his body back to his former position. Other than the knock-back, there was no sign of damage. Of course, Rey may just been holding back for analysis, or maybe just to antagonize his victim. But if there was any sign of shake in composure, then it certainly wasn't showing in Nicolao's expression. The best received was a look of irritation as he swiped at his forehead, then an expression of query as he regarded Rey. "Of course I'm little from down here." He replied smoothly, with a subtle dose of sarcasm. "We all do from your point of view, don't we? Just us little ants scurrying around with you high in the sky. I can see what you were talking about, Segundo."

Bernabe gave off a scoff, folding his arms across his chest. "It's a bitch, isn't it, Quinta?"

As they talked, Casilda was quick to recover herself and answer Jigen's statement. "Then you will be waiting forever." She said, her voice controlled but the venom as clear as crystals. "Sōsuke Aizen, your beloved Lord and master, is here with us no more. He is dead, along with the Quincy King Ywhach."

"I knew it!" Rey hissed lowly, his red eyes glaring at Jigen's backside. Immaculate brows twitched with frustration at seeing Jigen not even moved by this news. The least he could expect was a flinch or a retort of anger, but he seemed to not even acknowledge Casilda's declaration "the Hell is your game, Jigen?!"

"You're a fool, little Casilda," Jigen said in a chiding tone, eyes filled with dispassion to her words that seemed to strengthen the conviction in his voice. "Lord Aizen is beyond the scope of your understanding. Even if you have destroyed his body, he will soon reincarnate himself shortly after. He's transcended the bounds of your imagination by becoming the consciousness of imagination. I don't know what you believed you did to him, but rest assured of one thing that is certain: Aizen will return, and your meaningless squabble here won't deny the inevitable."

Rey twitched with a bewildered expression, akin to that of Jisoku's and Magatta's. Only Tenshi seemed to just smile and shrug at those who met his gaze with indifference. Whatever their leader thought, crazy or not, it was a little comforting to see him so assured in the face of the enemy.

"It could be a ruse by the enemy too, or on the flipside a cover for Aizen," Rey concluded with furrowing of the brows, leaning his head back against his throne headrest while tapping all ten of his plated digits against the armrests. "Aizen's power to will nothing into something, or whatever it exactly is, cannot be denied. I doubt any real spiritual being could do him any permanent damage, no matter the height of power..."

It was all Casilda could do to prevent her disgust from showing to the surface. Sure, Jigen's strong words caused a bit of doubt to well up within her, and for the briefest of moments she wondered if Starrk had really killed him. He had sacrificed a half of his soul for the sake of killing him, the first companion he had ever had. Aizen had to have died, otherwise--

Mentally shaking off her apprehension, she opened her mouth to speak. But another beat her to it.

"And what if he does?"

The voice of Nohemi rang out to Jigen's ears, solemn and composed in contrast to the cold venom Casilda had exuded within her own voice. In addition, she seemed to be regarding Jigen and the rest of the Sennin Butai with a passive and relaxed countenance. "Twice he has came to break the rules of our existence." She spoke out to him, earning her daughter's surprised attention. "Twice he has been defeated by someone he never thought would pose a threat to him. Several years of planning, deception and work... all of it shattered to pieces in a single battle. If he is truly not dead, then surely his soul must be crushed and his mind warier than before. He will take this moment to recover, regain himself and attempt another invasion of existence. But if he is not wallowing in the seas of denial, then he is aware of it. The moment he returns, there will be someone up and ready to challenge him to his limits. That time may not be here and now, and the obstacles may not be us. All this war has done is given his enemies all the time in the world to prepare for his proclaimed return."

Hearing her mother's response held Casilda's resolve back in place once more, and she had to resist to urge to smile in relief. This was strengthened when Nicolao spoke up again, slipping his hands in his pockets. "But that will be whenever, won't it?" He questioned rhetorically, still maintaining a semblance of confidence in his voice. "This is the present time, and as of the present time, he is dead. So I ask you, sword master: are you going to just stand here floating on your," He let out a derisive chuckle. "Thrones of delusion while your enemies stand in front of you? Or are you going to make way for your master's so-called return? Think carefully now, I don't think our dear Primera has much patience left."

The woman in question almost rolled her eyes.

The man standing next to her -Jinete-, would cup his hands over his mouth, raising his voice's volume to ensure that Jigen would hear him, "She's got you pegged, big guy! Can't we all just call it a day and just leave these guys to us? I'd hate to see you get diced and minced by my little girl's possy!"

"Please," Jigen spoke with disdain, raising his blade to be in a beckoning manner, "I'd like to see any of you try and draw blood from me!"

Jinete would sigh, leaning over to Nohemi's side, whispering with a disappointed tone, "I tried to warn 'em..."

"Enough of this pointless rhetoric!" Rey snarled aloud, his hand letting lose the remnants of a blade already dispersing into a field of glittering dust, causing the entirety of space to warp around the atmosphere. With Jōten Taiyō activated, Rey took charge by grasping what looked like a marble handled hammer, a behemoth onyx-hued end with the design of a roaring lion would emerge from the vertically aligned "water" that had emerged above his head. "let us end this score, not with talk, but with action!"

In an instant, Rey swung the large hammer effortlessly forward, watching it pinwheel with incredible velocity towards the midst of Arrancars. With curtails of purple light streaming in its wake, it seemed as earth was gravitated towards it, like a singularity well was imbued within the center part of the hammer itself. The sensation would almost feel like a lunar body being thrown in their direction.

All at once, Jigen and the rest leaped up into the air, scattering as they would avoid the violet trails of energy weaving out and about from the thrown maul. Anticipated destruction of a grand scale would be expected, all the while Rey would watch from his comfortable seat on the hovering throne.

And from his position, Bernabe gave a pleased smirk.

"Perfect."

With a movement that put him in the lead position and a lone outstretched hand towards the oncoming blast, he stood his ground alongside the rest of his comrades. He could feel the winds pick up as the attack approached them, his hair and clothing billowing violently in the intense winds generated. Despite the approaching power and the brilliant light, he took it all in with a malevolent grin and a glint of lethal clarity in his eyes. What he was about to do would possibly have meant suicide for anyone under lesser caliber. But it would quite possibly change the outlook his foe had from the first fight.

When the surge collided with his palm, the build-up of energy would grow unstable and immediately destabilize. The earth that had been swept up with the thrown hammer fell back down to the ground, having no power to control its path. The hammer itself would collide into the Segundo's hardened palm via its staff, allowing him to catch it and stop it in its tracks. Within seconds, the attack had completely destabilized and disintegrated, leaving the group of Arrancar to stand unscathed. It was a demonstration of just how much had changed and a foreshadowing of what was to be faced by the Sennin Butai.

"Pick your opponents, brothers and sisters..." Bernabe whispered. "I can handle this one."

"Remember your orders!" Casilda snarled, gripping her two blades tightly and bracing herself. "No one leaves this realm alive! No one!"

Upon that command, the Espada Afilado promptly took off, with each one choosing their own opponents. Only the King and Queen would be left standing below, considering both their distance away and their own considerable power. The latter of the two would be staring at it all with a solemn and somewhat saddened look on her face. "I wish this was something that didn't have to happen..." She said softly. "Seeing our daughter like this carves a wound in me that no sword of this life could. This was the very same man that we had trusted her to, the same individual she looked up to. Does it really have to end in such a bloody and uncivilized manner? Student and teacher fighting as if they never were to begin with...?"

"Any kind of warfare is regrettable, Nohemi," Jinete spoke in a soft tone, placing a hand on her shoulder, giving her a comforting squeeze. He'd even add a smile of reassurance as he winked at her, "don't worry about it too much. I think, knowing Jigen, he'd have wanted one last battle with his star pupil. Whatever changed the man over the ages since we last saw him, deep down he still has the longing to have one last honorable exchange of blades before passing on."

Tap-Tap!

Upon Jinete finishing his speech, a pair of boots tapped upon the sand nary a dozen meters behind them. The King of Hueco Mundo would slowly turn his head around to see the lone Hankami member of the Sennin Butai, Kugyō, The Defiler. His parallel aligned pair of blades stemming from a single hilt and oval shaped guard gleamed with lunar luminescence, held aloft at his side as he approached the pair. A carnally delighted smile of a forcefully subdued proportion stretched across his visage, his blue eyes danced with hidden embers of malicious intent that he wished to inflict upon them both.

"Greetings, your Highness and Majesty," Kugyō said in a eloquent, if not entirely sarcastic tone as he did a halfhearted bow before them with his free arm. "I promise your return trip hasn't been tiring on your aged bones?"

It didn't take long for Nohemi to recognize the voice, her stance straightening in the slightest manner as she picked up that voice.

It was him, the one she had beaten before but hadn't killed. She could still sense the malevolence radiating off of him, just the same as it had been the first time they had fought. The sensation caused her stomach to turn somewhat, and she slowly closed her eyes in a slightly pained expression. Although it didn't really affect her that much in terms of constitution, she still hated the feeling of blood lust. But even as it was made clear that he hadn't changed much from their first encounter, she could pick up something else. His power, for whatever reason, was much more potent than what she had felt in their first fight. She didn't know how much it had risen, but she could safely guess that if he had the stones to challenge them both, it was going to be enough to challenge her this time.

Still, it didn't prompt her into turning around like her husband. She spoke to him, keeping that calm edge within her voice. "Jin, Kugyō, and the Defiler. Those were the names you said you went by, didn't you? I note that you've managed to heal yourself well after our last encounter..."

"Flesh wounds are all you ever inflicted, dear Queen," The Defiler said with a haughty flaunting gesture of his arms, placing his free hand on his hip for emphasis. "I could have come back from such a state you put me in easily."

Snorting, Jinete had to cover his mouth slightly at hearing those words from the Hankami. This, of course, earned a curious glare while retaining his passive sinister grin.

"Something amusing to you, your majesty?" Jin asked with narrowed eyes.

"Nothing...it's just, if you knew half as much about my wife as I did, I think you'd know that behind closed doors she'd not allow such a wuss like you come out at all," Jinete chortled with a snicker, amused at the innuendo he had laced into the comment.

Kugyō glowered without a smile, finding the nonchalant nature the two treated him was nothing but short of insulting, "It seems you both need to take me seriously. Here's an example!"

Charging forward, the Hankami flourished in a movement that caught Jinete by surprise -still in mid snicker- at his sudden materialization. A sudden plunging his dual bladed katana into the soil beneath them would only further to the confusion, just shy as the entire earth around them for hundreds of meters began to darken. As if the very essence of Hueco Mundo's soil had been tainted, noxious fumes spouted upwards, dictating the incoming mineralized spears of carbonized grains jutting out at a number of angles below and around them to ensure maximum damaging affect.

Jinete reacted accordingly. Leaping upwards, he had dodged the initial discharge of earthen grain spears and the fumes itself, but the more elongated ones would overtake his jump. Crossing his arms over his chest, his physical flesh would briefly shift in a flurry of violet-black flesh before transforming into a pair of organically grey hued limbs. Extending what looked like arcing shaped blades, protruding from veins, he'd swing them outwards in an arc that shattered the earthen spearing columns that had chased him, ripping large geysers of blackened sand below him.

"Phew, that was close," Jinete commented, now hovering the air, his fur-laced cloak whirling around his partially transformed figure. Turning his head towards his wife, he'd call out, "you okay, honey?!"

"!"

Needless to say, Nohemi was surprised by the sudden attack. Considering that he had attacked just as quickly in their last fight, it wasn't his abrupt assault that surprised her. This time, his attack carried much more potency. It was a kind of attack that served as a much bigger threat against her - biological toxins. Had it come from just one or two directions, her shield would've served as an excellent defense. But with the infected sands closing around her, it would only make her a sitting duck trying to defend herself. She had to move.

With a Sonido, she boosted herself up into the air and allowed the tendrils to follow her. Pulling herself out of her flip, she turned herself around and extended her hands outward. A flash of energy burst from her palms, crashing into her pursuers with enough force to send the earthly weapons back down to their proper place. She looked over towards her husband at his query, giving a quick nod. "I'm untouched!" She confirmed, switching her glance down to her enemy. "But I have to admit I wasn't expecting this. I figured he would've grown stronger after the first fight we had... but just by how much, I wonder?"

Beauty and Rivalry, Venomous Vixens Clash Again!
Thrumming through the air, like a guided viper, came Magatta's Zanpakutō. Having already been released prior to this engagement, Magatta had went on the immediate offensive, not wanting to give any upperhand to the offensive Arrancar known as Loly. She was in mid-air, swinging her blade to make eloquent and confusing spirals, contorting to strike her at the upper torso and lascerate her in a perfect bifuricating thrust.

That and it would attempt to come back around as she would retract the blade back into a compact stance.

"Oh how I wished I had finished you off without interruption," She swooned aloud, placing her free hand to flip her hair back over her crown, smiling with resigned pleasure. "but, you did me a favor by coming to me. Now we can settle this without anyone to save you from your deliciously bloody end...Arrancar!"

To this attack, Loly would perform an impromptu counter.

The twists and turns of her opponents whip were hard to predict, that was for certain. But the first battle gave Loly a chance, a sort of practice run. When that deadly blade came racing towards her, she moved and twisted herself to avoid it. Her body was a ribbon blowing in the breeze, dancing and weaving to evade the cutting edge. Occasionally, she'd use the knife to bat away the blade if she was in a position to do so, or even her limbs if it was safe enough. But all in all, she kept up the brief routine of her unorthodox dance. It was here that one could note that although her eyebrows were furrowed, her eyes held more focus than they did in the first fight.

When the whip returned to its original form, she straightened herself up and locked her eye onto her foe. Then, she slowly settled into a preparatory stance with her knife at the ready. She let out a slight breath, reminding herself to keep her focus. "Oh, there won't be anyone needing to save me." She answered, a mocking tone of her own lacing her otherwise cool voice. "You, on the other hand, will be wishing that the Sword Saint finished you off while he had the chance to." This was emphasized by a smirk that emphasized one of her canine teeth and a beckoning gesture via two fingers on her free hand. It was a clear contrast to how they had started off their first fight, with Loly getting agitated from the very start.

"Aren't you the confident one?" Magatta chuckled with bemusing humor. Taking long strides towards her enemy, she couldn't help but curl her luscious lips into a tight-lipped smile that withheld an apparent veil of menace. Raising her blade to have its edge visible divide her facial features, she expanded her smile into a toothy grin, in sync with an audible declaration. "I won't leave even bones in the wake of your death!"

In an instant, her blade discharged upward, disassembling into a dozen segmentations that scattered and became embroiled with scarlet light. Without any visible muscular indication to their change in direction, the spiritually empowered blades sung through the air, creating warping trails of light within their wake. They'd spin in a manner not unlike a flower, rotating around as they'd thrust in the direction of the Arrancar's direction, intending on impaling and shredding her with a substantial amount of discharging force around their metallic frames.

To dodge, or to counter?

Loly's mind ran through that question as the parts of Magatta's Shikai shot down towards her. Dodging would've certainly given the impression that she simply couldn't take the hits on and check off a possible weakness. Magatta would become more aggressive and give pursuit, pressuring her until that weakness was exploited to its fullest extent. The battle would be won just like that, and she wouldn't even have much of a chance to fight back. But it was clear that Magatta wasn't taking into the account that Loly might have improved in their time apart. She would have little to no idea as to what she was in for.

That kept the smirk on her face, even as she began her attack.

A Sonido kicked her off, and she was racing towards her opponent with superhuman levels of speed. Her form was a multitude of blurs that circled her target, vanishing and reappearing with disorienting images to the eye. Every now and then, one of those blurs would cross Magatta, the temporary center for the circle, with a precise knife strike. There were strikes to the joints, to the head and vital parts of the body. Her strike pattern was irregular, and her aim was lethally accurate. If anything, she was moving like a professional assassin now.

"She's faster than before!" Magatta realized in a single blink of an eye, witnessing her spin out of the way of her charging Shikai blades before making a charge towards her location. She had to rely upon pure instinct to predict the various afterimages that were produced by the Sonido'ing Arrancar, moving by at intermediate charging intervals to strike at her exposed spots where her armor or guard would be weakest. Feeling a knife hand hit the backside of her left leg and another hitting her underarm, she couldn't help but visibly wince in pain -no doubt the Hierro laced digits causing extra added impact-.

However, the Shikai blades returned after a dozen seconds of the high-sped hit-&-run attacks of Loly's. Having tore a fissure of sand in their wake, it took awhile for it to subtly burrow underground back to Magatta's aid. Without any indication of their arrival, Magatta would allow another ridge hand to graze her neck, only to have her free hand grasp the wrist.

"That's enough, Hollow slut!" Magatta snarled as she thrusted the blade-less pommel of her weapon into the eyepatch mask fragment of Loly's. Even if she hadn't taken the blow, she used the extra momentum to kick her away, all but a small distance away before a surprise attack would occur. That being a sudden eruption of scarlet-refracting pale grains, as a dozen six inch long blades thrusted towards her at all angles, intending to shred her apart without warning.

"Nngh--!"

Loly's teeth instinctively clenched when the pommel slammed into her face, the force naturally sending her flying towards the destinated spot. But the blow hadn't stunned her enough to keep her from recovering. Her body flipped and twisted, and she skidded against the sands before stopping in a crouched position. As she started to get up, her senses picked up the disturbance that the buried parts of her enemy's Shikai made. But they were too close for evasion, too fast for her body to move and parry them. She had to admit that despite her enemy, it was a clever impromptu trap. Now that she had her head in gear, she could grudgingly give Magatta credit for it.

But that was where that feeling ended.

A pulse of her spiritual energy, and the attempt on her life was stopped in its tracks. The fragments of Magatta's Shikai dissipated into pieces of ash and dust when they got too near Loly, blown away by the constant breeze that blew in the area. She slowly stood up, locking onto her opponent with a single eye of amusement. "What's the matter, old hag?" She taunted, allowing herself to slowly saunter towards Magatta with her knife held in a backhand position. "You shouldn't be calling out "That's enough" right now. After all, I'm only getting warmed up." She stopped once she was at an adequate distance enough, placing a hand on her hip and tilting her head to the side. "Should I give you a moment to take a breath? I don't want this to end too quickly, after all..."

Magatta sneered at the efforted shattering of her Shikai projectiles. Mentally invoking Zassō Sodachi, her blade grew back from the guard in a flash of scarlet light, returning it back to its compact state. Once her weapon had been reformed she could only glare heatedly at the wench who verbally and physically disgraced her. The only thing she could take value from these insults was time for respite and to plan her next assault.

"She's gotten notably stronger, even within a short amount of time this is a huge leap from the brat I faced when we invaded. I might need to employ some more...devious tactics," Magatta thought with a slowly returning smile, tapping her free hand's notably sharp nails against her exposed left thigh.

"Quite the comeback you made, Loly Aivirrne," She spoke in a sincere tone, laced with disdain as she visibly appraised her from head to foot, "who knew Lord Aizen's pawn had become such a substantial knight of Hueco Mundo's land? But alas, it is nothing in comparison to a Field General whom has seen more battles and engagements than you could even conjure in your thick head..."

Swinging her free hand upwards, a practically invisible field of energy stirred the earth around Loly, causing it to form what seemed like a maw of pale-hued grains to enclose around her in a matter of seconds. After doing so, she thrust her fingers in its direction, enwrapping it with dozens of lime lit vines of binding energy, soon creating a cocoon of confinement for her Arrancar enemy. As a red flower bloomed over the elliptically shaped formation of energy and carbonized grains, all hardened to make escape almost impossible, she smiled with finality.

"Observe! Sunarenge Shukkan!" Magatta declared with a final swing downwards, causing the insides of the verbally declared coffin to spike in temperature. The outside would shimmer with orange glow, soon changing the color scheme from emerald to crimson, until all at once a pillar of scorching fire would erupt in a geyser of molten flames. All the while as a crimson luminiscent would overcast the surroundings, leaving a silhouetted Magatta with a sadistic grin on her face.

"!"

For a moment, Loly's amused expression changed to one of shock once she saw the earth stir around her. But once again, the trap had been activated far too quickly for her liking. She let out a startled yelp when the makeshift coffin wrapped around her form, and she found both her seeing and her breathing cut off. Instinctively, she struggled against her bindings in an attempt to get physically free. But it was only for a few seconds before she stopped, realizing that she wasn't going to get out that easily. If she wanted to free herself, she would have to push a little harder. So when she got into that mindset, she called upon her spiritual energy once again. Her indigo eye glowed underneath her trappings, even as the temperature began its spike.

When the explosion began, so did the exertion of her spiritual energy. At first, she made it subtle. Her body glowed with her spiritual aura, burning away her bindings and keeping her safe from the fire. She could still feel the heat upon her skin, sweat beading down her face and body as she became more and more unveiled. When she found the ability to move her arms again, she upped the amount of spiritual pressure in preparation for her next attack. She spread her arms out as she felt the surge increase, growing little by little even as the flames burned all around her. When she was at her zero point, she took in a deep breath and let it all out.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH~!"

Her brief scream, loud and furious, echoed the explosion of power that she released into the open. The crimson fire was replaced by a brilliant indigo, the flames being smothered out. Within that flare of energy stood the Sexta as she slowly extended her hands out to the sky. With a swing of those hands, a multitude of what looked like condensed beams shot towards the sky. They would change direction when Loly moved her hands toward Magatta, locked on and throwing themselves in her direction. Each of them would carry considerable penetration power, and upon contact with the ground, cause a small explosion effect. The minor storm Loly was unleashing would cause a contained yet undeniable amount of destruction.

Magatta only allowed a second to have her sadistically gleeful expression switch to one of indignant shock. While the spiritual pressure would lapse over her body like a concussive wave, originating from the point of the indigo pillar of light shrouding her foe, it'd do little to move her physically. The literal shooting stars of spiritual energy raining down from the heavens, however, ensured her attention wouldn't be solely focused upon her enemy's visual splendor.

Visually distorting her image, several afterimages would be deployed in the wake of her high-sped evasive maneuvers away from the downward spiraling blazes of light. Each one had enough temperature to glass the grains they impacted with, shattering with the concussive force that would follow, leaving dozens of concussive ballooning shockwaves to pepper across the landscape in front of Loly. To the Arrancar, it'd appear like an entire kilometer of sandy dunes and wastes were being obliterated and riddled by her own power.

During her many graceful twirls and leaps, it'd seem that Magatta would shimmer into view, unintentionally into the way of several compressed beams of light. What would transpire would be three coalesced foot-wide spears of spirit energy that would jettison through her body, leaving the left side of her face barreled through along with her upper left breast and her navel. A look of horror would be etched across her face as she'd distantly sway with little control of her bodily functions.

In the instant of her fall to her knees, a sudden thunderclap of force would be emitted, upon the waking thrust of a attack. An attack aimed at Loly's backside, coming from where the real Magatta lied, her visual duplicate long sense fading from view as her extended whip Zanpakutō had extended for over thirty meters away. Bathed in rivulets of scarlet-hued spiritual energy, the compressed and extended series of blades would extend another twenty meters past its prey, buried within a dip within the sandy and glassed landscape in front of her.

"Shinkirō is such a useful technique. By displacing enough spiritual energy into a Shunpo Clone I can make it visually indistinguishable to myself, even allowing it to take damage and atmospheric recognition to its surroundings. A perfect fallback should I need such a tactic," Magatta thought with a malicious curl of her velvet smooth lips.

Raising her Zanpakutō's guard near the left side of her face, facing her enemy in a perpindicularly fencer styled stance, she couldn't help but mock her enemy from afar. Whether her attack made any significant damage -having happened in such a short time equivalent to a thunderclap- she had reinforced it with the utmost integrity the sword could manage and at its maximum length. Now she could fight as she pleased, without any inhibitations.

"Does that hurt, bitch?!" Magatta crowed in rhetorical query with a magnified voice. Swinging her hilt to the right, either creating a bisecting slice or a follow-up stroke of her blade to chase her down it mattered not. It'd be as if all the segmented pieces of her projected weapon had created a solid, versatile whip of shredding power, swinging around with frightening speed. Just by moving it cut entire standing hills of sand and glassed grains into pefectly bifuricated slices, leaving an exorbitant amount of heat in its wake along with little structural integrity.

This time, Loly didn't need her spiritual senses to figure out the one who fell in front of her wasn't her enemy.

Although she almost allowed herself to get gleeful when she saw the clone collapse, the feeling had lasted only for only a millisecond. Realization kicked in. Would such a strong foe have really fallen to the likes of such a simple attack, when she had shown herself to be nearly indominable in their first duel? It was laughable to think that Magatta assumed Loly to be foolish enough to fall for such a trick. Her eye narrowed in disdain, and she immediately twisted herself to face her real opponent once more.

But she didn't expect the following attack to be so quick.

"Fucking rodent--!"

She only had time to move her hands in front of her when the sword whip struck her, the force lifting her off her feet and blowing her backwards. She gritted her teeth as she held the extending whip, requiring a moment to shove it off to the side before jumping back from it. Although she heard the crow coming from Magatta, she didn't have time to deliver a sneering response back before the blade came towards her again. But in the face of such speed, her muscle memory came to fruition and her reflexes kicked into high gear. She found herself moving her knife to swing at the steel ribbon of death, with only one thought coming into her head.

"No... but this will!"

The knife connected.

Upon contact, Magatta would feel a brief yet searing sensation through her body. It was not a pain of the body, nor was it a pain of the mind. It was as if someone had taken a blade straight to her very essence, cutting through it as easily as a physical blade would cut through the flesh. It would be one of the most painful sensations a being like her could've possibly gone through This would delay the whip for a good moment, allowing Loly to straighten up and look at her opponent. "Well, I don't know! Does it?!" She fired back, her teeth flashing with her very own sadistic grin across her countenance.

Magatta felt stunned. The radiating power that had been coalescing through her Zanpakutō had almost all but vanished, causing the light to dissipate along her hyper-extended weapon. Shards clattered into the sand at high velocity, all but evading the whiplashing affect it normally would've had if it was still interlocked. Now she was frozen with a sudden pang in her gut, as if a piece of herself had been struck violently by the supposedly innocent dagger.

"Shitsuru?!" Magatta whispered harshly, eyes widening at her shaking hand, holding the bladeless hilt and guard of her prized weapon. After hearing no voice speak back, she'd almost scream the name of her Zanpakutō, "SHITSURU?!"

"Quiet!"

"Shit...suru?" Magatta thought with shock, recoiling from her sudden yelling that had happened out of sheer panic.

"You're too loud, sis,"Shitsuru would speak, psychically appearing beside her, all but invisible to the enemy. It'd be a young woman that looked remarkably contrasting in appearance to her. Leafy green petals cupped a small bosom, a black stamen corset wrapped firmly around her petite hourglass shaped waist with white seeds acting as buttons going up her navel to between her covered cleavage. Vines would flow in between beautiful black hair, wrapping around her forehead and neck, draping down into a pair of green sleeves that would halt into gloves, extending her nails into thorns. Lily shaped petals with a pink hue would flourish around sparkling creamy legs, ending with a pair of wooden clog shoes. Red eyes looked over at the woman just half a head taller than her, placing her hands on her hips as she huffed with annoyance, "I'm fine, alright?!"

"Thank goodness," Magatta inwardly sighed, as time seemed to have relatively stopped on the outside, having all but retreated to her inner world. A land filled with flora large and small, vines sprouting to wrap decadently around the most exotic of trees filled the landscape around her. It would only be compared to  a world alien to the material realm's or even one potentially resembling back to the beginning of its existance.

Despite this, the two of them stood within a meadow filled with red roses, able to converse freely.

"What just happened?" Magatta inquired, shaking a upraised fist with confusion laced demands.

"It seems that our friend here has learned a way to attack our spiritual connection directly," Shitsuru surmised, rolling her hips in a peculiarly cute way, eyes looking all but too serious in comparison to her bodily language. "I felt as if she had hit me as much as she hit you without ever leave a scratch. I'm not sure I'm anxious to fight against something like that head-on."

"So what do we do? Just give up?" Magatta asked sardonically.

"Don't be stupid, sis!" Shitsuru scowled, crossing her arms over her chest, "even if that was a viable option, I wouldn't forgive you for such a cowardly act!"

"So, what are our options?" Magatta rolled her eyes with her repeated inquiry, her shoulders sagging with frustration, a left set of digits rubbing the bridge of her nasal bone.

"Don't let me touch that blade of hers physically," She instructed, fixating serious eyes at Magatta, "I feel like something terrible could happen if she uses that nifty trick of hers again. Do whatever you have to get rid of that weapon of hers and then hit her with whatever you got. Just remember not to try to rely on my powers too much, sis."

"I can take care of myself, thanks!" Magatta gruffed out, causing her sisterly ethereal partner to laugh in a musical tone.

"Just don't say I didn't warn ya!~"

"!" Magatta felt her connection with her Zanpakutō, stronger than before. More than that, the resolve flowing through her strengthened her, causing an enveloping cloak of scarlet light to discharge from her pores. Such intensity it was that it would feel to her opponent as if the desert floor would dip a dozen meters inwards for countless metric meters. Pale grains of sand rose upwards in a mimicry of anti-g, adding to the eeriness of now scarlet-white eyes glaring at Loly from a distance.

Raising her Zanpakutō's bladeless hilt towards Loly, she began to mutter aloud, "Wreathed in flame, Embodied by Beauty, Cursed by Blasphemy; let all those who view your grace be rendered asunder! Shukuyū!"

In a matter of moments, a trail of flames would flow from the point where the scattered shards of her Zanpakutō lied about. As if they spewed forth animated flames resembling vines, a ring of molten tongues would soon engulf the twenty five square perimeter of where Loly stood. What she would face would resemble a beautiful flower-skirted woman, with hallowed eyes of pure white and a ghastly orange furnace for a mouth. Her hair would flourish back like a curtain of embers, all of which took the shape of petals of lotus blossoms.

When the semi-sentient Kidō roared, it would be deafening enough that it would shake the very air of which Loly would stand upon. During this seismic quaking, hundreds of fiery roots would spring up around her, entwining her and searing into her skin. The intensity of the barrier of flames would equal to that of her newfound bindings, making her earlier Kidō trap a paled imitation of the one that inended to disassemble her now.

When a hood resembling five lotus petals circled around her head formed, the ashen banshee would swing itself down upon her, aiming to embrace her in an infernal blaze. Such was the intensity of the pyrotechnic explosion that would be unleashed, that the caster herself would leap high into the air, employing Shunpo to reach a safe enough ascent to narrowly evade the waves of searing tongues aiming to burn her with her target.

Looking down below, a vividly glaring Magatta would stare down, in wonderment of how durable and determined her enemy had become since their last engagement.

"Be ready for her counterattack!" Shitsuru reminded.

"I know that!" Magatta barked, regrowing the blade into its compact state in an instant, ready for a close quarters blade for which her enemy has seemed to favor most. All she had to do was wait for her to escape the hellfire she had placed her in and see just what kind of damage she had inflicted upon her. That is, much to her chagrin, the possibility if she had any at all...

"What the hell?!"

If Magatta was aiming to make a habit out of shocking the Sexta, she was certainly going down the right path.

Her eyes widened as she felt the sudden surge of power erupt from her enemy, her form stumbling somewhat as the sand pores were raised all around her. Her lone eye regarded her foe with clear disbelief, as she hadn't expected the enemy to retort in such a fashion. Although she knew the fight was just barely getting off its feet at this point, she was still taken aback by the amount of spiritual pressure exerted. Just what was she capable of at her full power, when she got truly serious?

She was even taken more aback when flames surrounded her position and she was left staring a wraith in the face. But she barely had time to react much to it before it released its roar, forcing her to shield her face with one of her arms. It was just one thing after another, as far as she was concerned, especially when she once again found herself forcing that arm back down due to the vines wrapping around it. She clenched her teeth and hissed as they wrapped around her form, the heated bindings pressing against her hardened skin. Her glare was directed towards the Kidō-constructed monstrosity as it rushed to envelop her in flames.

"Trying to keep me held down, eh? Pointless."

With a smug grin on her face, Loly once again summoned her own spiritual pressure to her aid. At the rate the creature was racing at her, she only had time to get her arms free. But that was all that she needed. She spread her arms out to the side just as the beast neared her too much, bringing her spiritual energy out once again. It manifested in the form of a spherical shield, with the semi-sentient monster crashing into it and causing its own foundation to destabilize. It and the flames that made up the attack would become attracted to this indigo shield as it swirled around the Sexta's form, giving it an eclectic fusion of orange, red and purple. In a matter of seconds, there was nothing but a massive flaming ball where Magatta's enemy was - a foreshadowing of the counterattack Loly was going to employ.

"Cero Espejo!!"

The energy of both the shield and the flames that made up Magatta's attack would be launched towards their designated target, racing through the space between them and scorching the very air. Loly watched from her position on the ground, looking on with satisfaction and her trademark smirk on her face. It could be noted that despite several black marks on her form, she looked relatively uninjured from the second trap thrown on her.

"Here it comes, sis!"

Magatta mentally nodded, seeing the coalescence of light being formed within the wake of Kidō inferno. Recognizing it, even from a distance, as a Cero Magatta quickly unraveled her Shikai back into elongated links. By the time the multi-colored sphere had been fully primed, the Shinigami had begun the thirteenth rotation of her extended blade links -having extended into a length of nearly twenty five meters in circular radius- building up a sizable momentous current of rotating air currents. Placing her golden nailed hand over her sword-spinning wrist, Magatta shouted in sync with the Arrancar below.

"Tenran!!!"

VRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRR!!!

A sizable typhoon of energy propelled aero-power would be released, looking to be like the proverbial finger of God sent down to crush the ground below. As such, the powerful sphere explosive and fiery condensed energy briefly clashed with the tendril of the accelerating twister, creating hyper friction within the swirling winds itself. This would create an unintentional increase of the vortex's strength, transforming the distortive maelstrom of air currents into a diagonally powered stream of electricity.

The infernal orb had been created of far more durable substances, however, making it unable to be simply split or destroyed. Instead, it became a focal point of the lightning cyclone's thrust, like a bullet at the end of a high velocity lance. Shrieking across the air faster than sound could produce the said affects, the blast would aim to crash directly into Loly's vicinity, creating a cataclysmic explosion following a gouge within the sandy horizon.

It was clear Magatta didn't intend to give her foe much thinking room.

With the massive twister closing in on her position and little time to think of a counter-strategy, Loly narrowed her options down to dodging or taking the attack head-on. Whether or not Magatta was aware of how strong her Hierro was, the Sexta wasn't sure of. But it was clear that her enemy was at least a little bit aware of the fact that the Arrancar had gotten stronger. Trying to pussy-foot into this situation was only going to cause her more trouble than she wanted. So in a decision to throw everything away and go with the flow, Loly grit her teeth, narrowed her eye and raised her hands towards the attack. It was time to show just how tough she was.

When the blast connected, there was a surge of energy that enveloped the area Loly was in. From Magatta's point of view, it would look like a miniature supernova had went off and took the sands with it. The full power of the attack was being demonstrated here, and for a good moment, it appeared as if the Arrancar had been destroyed.

That is, until she was right in front of Magatta. Courtesy of a Sonido, she had boosted herself like a torpedo towards the airborne enemy feet-first. It was a destructively enhanced form of a drop-kick, carrying the potential to smash through both her armor and body. But regardless of whether or not it connected, she would keep up her offensive. At first, her body turned and twisted to deliver a few roundhouse and snap kicks. But then, she would switch to the primary mode of knife-fighting. Her hands were like snakes, moving with supernatural speed and striking at the weaker parts of Magatta's defenses. It was a demonstration of using the advantage of a small weapon to its fullest, as well as a tremendous display of close-quarters fighting.

"This isn't the same Arrancar I faced in Empresa..."

That line of realization was the one that crossed Magatta's mind as she could vividly see the wraith speeding frame of Loly slicing through the air via Sonido. Not willing to take any chances of risking a direct impact from her enemy's feet, her body swiftly spun to the left, allowing the thrust to miss her entirely. When the roundhouse kicks was delivered, she swung her compacted Shikai to block the sole with the flat of the sword, producing a cacophony of showering sparks and loud clangs.

As the dreaded knife came into play, Magatta decided to employ a new tactic against her enemy.

Sprouting from her own flesh, underneath vinyl and armor sinew, came forth bright emerald vines and roots. By the time a knife would strike her side, it'd be repulsed by a thick and tensile weaving of floral armor embedded into the Shinigami's flesh. Throughout the exchange of swordplay that'd parry her knife thrusts, those of which that had not garnered through her defense -perhaps purposely- struck in a futile manner. By the last time her knife snaked up to impale her throat, having dodged a slash of Magatta's, it'd produce a series of sparks as it'd strike the supposedly weak spot and would be stopped as if striking diamond.

Grasping Loly's wrist, Magatta would smile back at her Hollow nemesis as a collar of flaring pink petals would surround her head, just as her own face seemed to become imbued in the organic armor her body had been endowed with. What was once a sultry -if not cougar appearing- woman was now a creature that would be out of storybooks. Draped head to toe in vines that took on the characteristics of roots and flesh as one dermal piece of floral armor, her skin would be as sheen and attractive as if she were a nymph of a beautiful garden. Even her hair had taken a sheen of emerald, having extended from short tuffs of bleached white to lime-hued wreathes of multi-colored flowers, similarly protruding over different parts of her nubile flesh.

Even her Zanpaktō seemed to be interwoven with roots, retaining sharpened edges while seeming to resemble more of a floral sword with gnarled thorns surrounding its guard and pommel.

"Nugaisō is my ultimate defense," Magatta said with a pur, her grip tightening around Loly's wrist as she would no doubt take in her situation and witness her full transformation. The mere contact with her pores would cause what would look like sporadically growing vines to sprout across her exposed skin, quickly working its way towards her upper arm and around her body. Embedding into her body would be chemicals designed to transform the makeup of her frame while twisting her flesh into that of a floral appearance. "and my ultimate offensive Kidō. Employing the rudimentary basis of binding energy, I can create a spiritronic metamorphosis to change the physiological makeup of my body to increase its defensive capabilities to excel far beyond what any Shinigami can physically produce. Likewise, I can use the catalyst of organic components of my binding energy to produce a form of destructive energy. Breaking down the fabric of my enemies on a cellular level, I can change your body from a humanoid one to that of a beautiful floral one. I can either kill...or utterly twist my enemies in this frame..."

Spreading her smile, Magatta couldn't help but let out a seductive pur as she'd tighten her grip around Loly's wrist, pulling her body closer to hers. "How would you like to become my slave?"

Loly's eye shot open wide at the chain of events, the grin being wiped off her face.

First, the initial appearances of the armor. Every time she thought she had her target, her knife would get deflected by whatever kind of defense that sprouted to it. She gritted her teeth and let out a frustrated growl escape her throat as her attacks were thwarted. Her irritation only increased when Magatta grabbed her knife wrist, and she raised her head up to glare her foe in the eye. But when she Magatta's head become enveloped in that Kidō, her irritation was quick to exchange itself for complete shock. It was just like looking at a living embodiment of a plant, a mutilated form of flora life. It was even more unnerving when those accursed vines began digging into her skin, forcing their chemicals into her body and initializing a gradually growing pain inside of her.

But just like before, where the vines had enraptured a broken body, she found herself grinning widely. Her body started to shake not with pain, but chuckles of amusement and the slightest amount of sadism. Even as she felt the first signs of transformation - a flower sprouting from behind the ear, her Hollow hole being encompased with signs of green vines - she still felt the urge to grin and chuckle. "Me? A slave?" She repeated, incredulous as to what Magatta was saying to her. "Are you going full senile already, hag? I, Loly Aivirrne, am no one's slave, much less yours. I sure as hell don't intend to be made into one, especially by some puny Shinigami's black magic." Her free hand slowly clenched into a fist. "But it seems like you need a lesson as to why. Allow me to teach you!"

Then, she activated her spiritual pressure.

All of a sudden, the vines that were trying to invade Loly's body were burned away and disintegrated. The effects of partial transformation would disintegrate into thin air within the blink of an eye, as well. The vines that held her would start to smoke and sizzle, cursed by an acidic effect that was slowly burning them away. But that was hardly the worst of it compared to what was happening to Magatta. Not only would the burning aura eat away at the defenses, it would also chew at the flora armor, the regular armor and the flesh underneath. It would be like standing next to a big toxic sun. Throughout it all, the sadism in Loly's smile would increase even as she got her knife hand free just enough to grasp the back of Magatta's head.

Then, with another hand aided by the pressure around them both, she thrust it towards the front of her foe.

That hand would punch straight through the Kidō, the fabric defense and the meat underneath. Her arm ripped straight through Magatta's stomach, with a bloodied palm exiting the back. The suffocating energy would seep into the open wound, invading and slowly burning away their target's insides. "Metamorphosis? Changing the makeup of your body? That's fine and dandy, because my body of poison will burn all of you away no matter what you are!" She pulled Magatta's head down as best as she could while in her position, pushing the acidic effects as hard as they could go. At this point, Loly was gaining a manic edge to her expression, the idea of causing her enemy pain all the more appealing to her.

"So go on! I want to hear it, little piggy! Squeal!!"

Magatta's pleased visage would contort into grimace. She knew full well that her enemy was based on poison and corruptive pressure. Their last exchange she had ultimately aimed to maintain minimal contact with the acidic compounds her poisonous released frame generated. Now here she was, as close as close could get, receiving the full brunt of a newly enhanced batch of degenerative toxins into her flora enhanced flesh.

The hand that had held and continued to hold Loly's wrist would be seen becoming dark in tune with the pain rushing through her system. The leaven flesh would decay as the burning aura lapsed over her body, causing her to precipitate heatedly. She had to will herself not to cry out at the sheer horridness of the malicious assault upon her body. The spearing thrust of Loly's toxic hand caused her to gasp aloud with a silent scream, hissing between her teeth as she closed her eyes and dipped her head forward.

"SIS!" Shitsuru cried out, feeling the acidic compound begin to eat away and corrode the protective layer of leaven armor fused onto the blade itself.

"Shut up!" Magatta snarled out loudly, both to her Zanpakutō's mental cries and to Loly's jeers. With a swift thrust of her blade, the entire length became embedded into Loly's midsection. Ripping the blade straight off the guard, leaving it lodged within Loly's body, she'd use a surprising amount of strength to twist Loly around in the middle of the air and hurtle her towards the ground many a distance away. Doing so would dislodge the poison wreathed digits buried within her gut and also put the "Poisonous Sun," far enough away that it wouldn't continue doing damage to her.

Heaving slowly, Magatta's body seemed to ooze bountiful quantities of sweat. What would come after would be the visible appearance of her steaming a violet curtain of smog, seeming to porously eject the toxins within her body's system. As for the degenerating segmentations of Negaisō, something curious begain to happen as the toxins were vacated from her system. While the majority of her limbs' exposed skin was reddened and bleeding from acidic degeneration, the core around her torso to face seemed to be intact. In fact, her flesh seemed seemed to "grow back" what was lost and seams where the partitions of bone began to chip. The flora membrane began to regrow over where it was broken down and returned back to its primal beauty that it had upon primiering.

With a sigh, Magatta redirected her gaze back downwards with a glare, even as a smile encroached back onto her face.

"I did tell you this was my ultimate form of defense, didn't I?" She asked rhetorically in a chiding tone, "I say that first and foremost for that what it is. Even if you begin to break it apart with toxins or viruses, weeds have a fancy way of never going away no matter how hard you try. With a little sunlight and nourishment, even the smallest of plants can come back after a plague. My Negaisō only requires my spirit energy to replenish its lost structure and to anatomically annihilate foreign substances intending to destroy it. In addition it can also heal wounds that I sustain from such a grievious attack, of any physical kind."

Rubbing her midsection, showing that the hole where it was ruptured by Loly's hand had sealed up, she could only brandish a toothy grin. Swinging her Zanpakutō to the side, a flash of scarlet light would reveal another growth of a compacted double-edged blade, showing her renewed resolve to continue their battle anew. "Slaves shouldn't strike their mistresses so willingly. For that, I'll ensure your punishment is excruciating as it will be pleasurable to me!"

"Gah--!"

Although she was barely aware of the idea of retaliation, Loly hadn't expected the Shikai to rip through her stomach as easily as it did. The insane smile twisted immediately into a pained snarl when she felt her enemy's weapon rip through her body. Blood spurted from her mouth once that blade twisted, left within her gut and abandoned by its user. She could only brace herself when she was taken and tossed aside, her form slamming into the sand dunes below. It was enough to kick up a brief sand curtain, which briefly enveloped the visage of Loly that would've been seen otherwise.

In the time that the cloud was up, she allowed herself to lay in the sands for a brief moment. "Can't believe this bitch still had the ability to pierce through my Hierro." She thought to herself, taking in breaths to calm herself. "And that damn Kidō's more of a nuisance than I thought it would be. Not to mention she screwed up my plans of finishing her off when the fight was at its pinnacle." Her mind drifted to the first blows she had landed in the instance she had used Sonido. "Right when she was pushed to her limit in Bankai, I'd just snap my fingers and she would've been nothing but a mess of flesh and organs. Guess I'll just have to fight this battle the old fashioned way..."

She sucked in a breath and forced herself up to a sitting position. Her free hand grasped the blade lodged within her stomach, causing a jolt of pain to shoot through her form. But she did her best to ignore it, clenching her teeth and sucking in a breath before ripping it out of her body. She let a grunt as she tossed it away, forcing herself up to a standing position. Notably, the newfound injury started emitting smoke once she got upon her feet. If one looked closely, they could see the open wound slowly closing itself and sealing up in a display of moderate regeneration. The pain of the wound eased somewhat, and Loly's mind could focus a little bit better to Magatta's declarative words. Throughout it all, she had a scowl on her face, as she clearly didn't like being lectured.

Upon her last words, however, her lips slowly curled into that trademark malicious smile. Her eye narrowed with clear hostility and anticipation, her knife hand and free hand clenching. Although it agitated her to no end that Magatta still found a way to smile, it satisfied her to know that she was now capable of striking her. She had the capability of ending her life, wiping that smug grin right off of her face. Satisfaction and revelation filled her being, standing alongside the hatred she held for the woman. She settled into a preparatory stance as she prepared to reengage, calling out her own particular threat. "Oh, we'll see who punishes who..." She said lowly, her legs tensing one final time. "Right after I'm done smearing you across the sands!"

Without hesitation, she lunged at her foe with her knife ready and her hands all too eager to kill...

The Loud Light & The Musical Melody, Murder and Compassion Clash!
"What a beautiful one you are," Tenshi commented aloud, his feet touching down upon the ground casually, hands in his pockets as he admired his chosen nemesis. A thin smile veiled in a vague sense of menace but held no true effort. Cold blue eyes glistened with fascination but no full-on malice as his compatriots would withhold. His coat would lap at his legs and black linen covered frame, emphasizing the only true animation of his features besides his voice.

Most notably his exposed Zanpakutō's sheathed frame jingled within the wake of distant ruffling winds causing his silver hair dance around his face, making it known he had yet to draw his blade to begin their exchange. With a light-hearted shrug emphasized further with a lengthy sigh, Tenshi rolled his eyes with annoyance, "It's a shame that you have to die for Master Aizen's cause. Ah well, you win some and lose some, right?"

In a manner similar to him, the female Arrancar didn't hold true malice within her form.

She stood with her hand resting on the sword of her Zanpakutō, regarding Tenshi with a passive look of analysis. According to what was recorded out of the time the Ahijados and the Espada Afilado were working together, this was the very leader of the cult that had attempted to destroy existence. She was dealing with a very severe threat, that was for certain. If she wanted to win, she would have to keep her mind and body on the alert. If he couldn't overpower her, he could outsmart her. If he couldn't outsmart her, he would have to find some other way to deal with her. This time, she most likely wouldn't have the luxury of being spared from the grasp of death. The ruthless man would take no hesitation in slaying her if she wasn't careful.

Still, the idea of death didn't phase her more than the idea of failing her leader. Thus, her voice was soft yet strong as she spoke to him. "If I am to die here," She answered readily. "It won't be for Aizen's cause. It will be for my Primera, the only leader I dare to follow. But I suppose that's unfortunate for you, because I have no intention of dying by the likes of you. Even if it takes every breath within this false veil of beauty, I will stop you, Tenshi Chinokatsubō."

"That's the spirit!" Tenshi would practically shout in a gleeful tone, his eyes widened and a delighted toothy grin would be emblazoned upon his visage...

SHFT-Tap!

...simultaneously, a cold killer's gaze would be emoted by an identical cop -a Shunpo Clone, if you will- as his pair of feet would briefly tap the air above the sandy soil in exiting his swift movement. Before his enemy could realize it, he leaped up and curled his knees towards his chest, allowing him to lift both feet up and snap both of them square into her backside. The force would be great enough that it'd create an audible crack in the air pressure, distending the earth and rippling across the sandy landscape.

Landing back onto his feet, both Tenshis -Clone and Original- looked on with nearly contrasting expressions, awaiting the reaction to settle in from their mutual enemy.

"Way of the Onmitsukidō #8, Shadow Step Strike," Tenshi explained with a pleased visage, watching the Clone fade out of existance a few seconds later, "while my enemy focuses solely on me, I preemptively form a Shunpo Clone to move around within the shadows of our surroundings. It'd then strike as it'd land in your shadow, completely undetected and striking unaware."

And certainly, Tierra had been caught off guard.

Her eyes widened when she felt the sudden presence of the clone behind her form. But the time that he took to attack was time that she didn't have to react. Her head had reflexively turned, her gaze swinging over her shoulder. But that was all she could do before its feet crashed into her back. She let out a yelp as she was sent forward, the force put behind the attack catching her by surprise. But fortunately, her hardened skin kept any possible injury from being formed by the surprise attack. In addition, she didn't go far before regaining control of her body. Her feet caught on the sandy grounds, and she skidded to a stop before twisting back around to face her enemy. With the knowledge that surprises in plain view could be possible, she quickly grasped the hilt of her katana and drew it from its scabbard.

Not only did this man have the capability of a mastermind, he also had the abilities of an assassin. A second's worth of hesitation, the smallest moment of letting down her guard and she would be done for. That very first move, had he been using a weapon, would've certainly finished her off and ended any altercation right then and there. She exhaled a slow breath as she settled into a preparatory stance, the tip of her katana pointed towards her foe. Her hand would have to be quick and her heart would have to be strong if she wanted any chance of bringing this particular foe down.

When she was ready, she moved to attack. A Sonído threw her back at her enemy, and her sword in the motion of being thrust towards Tenshi's face. In figuring that her opponent would either dodge or block it, she bent her knees and twisted herself to deliver a horizontal sweep towards the legs. They were two simple motions, but a fusion of precision and grace could be seen from each one of them. She was a skilled swordsman, and nothing less should be seen from her, after all.

Tenshi would respond as if it was all rehearsed. The high sped thrust of her blade would be dodged preemptively with a subtle blurring shift to the right. The sweep of the legs would be met by a reactive leap, producing a right footed snap kick to her angled face. This time the physical attack alone wouldn't be what she'd face.

Almost instantly his body would appear in duplication, axe kicking down at her skull, unleashing a fissure of sizable spiritual power. This alone would indent the sandy wastes they were combating indent by two dozen meters. The pale grains alone would be producing flecks of silvery spiritual flame as a result of the output's intensity.

Finally, to symphonize the trio of chained attacks, Tenshi would be at the outer precipice of her impact site. A single hand, christened with a halo of golden light, already coalesced with a highly compressed attack of electrical nature. With a delighted light behind his cool blue eyes, he'd simple utter in something resembling a whisper.

"Raikōhō!"

KRAK-KOOM!

A voluminously expansive fissure of Kidō lightning would slice through the air effortlessly, aiming to strike the Espada Afilado full-on, creating a searing impact and an expectant explosion in its aftermath.

There would be one thing that she noticed throughout it all.

He wasn't drawing his sword.

Now this was something that was starting to irk her. It was forcing her to engage an essentially unarmed opponent, and despite the clear skill he demonstrated in hand-to-hand so far, she wasn't pleased to fight an enemy without a weapon. Not only was it a stab at her own silent code of honor, but it also gave the impression that he didn't think of her as someone worth using a weapon on. That alone made her clench her teeth and narrow her eyes in irritation as she ducked her head to avoid the snap kick towards her face. Her sword wrist twisted, and her weapon moved to slice the clone in two before it could deliver its strike.

In the very brief interlude that she was allowed, she began to correct herself on that thought. From a tactical level, this wouldn't be a means of just toying around. This was an attempt to gather information, to gauge both his and her strength accurately before putting forth an actual effort in attacking her. It was a test of willpower, a challenge to see who would break first and reveal their hand. As she saw the Kidō blast directed her way, she was determined to rise up to that unspoken challenge. If Tenshi wanted to play, he would find himself dealing with a rather rough playmate.

She swung her sword in an effort to cut the Kidō blast in half.

But at the last second, when the surge of power was a millimeter away from touching her blade, she vanished with a Sonido movement. Her form reappeared behind her adversary, her cutting edge moving to slash at his back. She would follow this up with a pull-back of her blade and a lunge thrust towards his torso. In contrast to his movements and the use of rather explosive spiritual pressure, hers was contained in the use of her physical attacks. It was a demonstration of good energy control and subtle use of her power.

Again, Tenshi seemed to respond as if the attacks upon his person were perfectly choreographed.

Unpocketing his left hand, he'd swing it up in a pendulum motion to preemptively meet the bisecting sword swing aimed at his back. A flash of silver-hued light would be emitted at the point of contact between his knuckles and Tierra's sword edge. To the sharp observer, a finite layer of compressed spiritual energy laced around his flesh to perfectly counter the force sent his way.

When the sword would be pulled back for a thrust at his spine, he'd spin around, gliding around the spearing motion created by the Arrancar's weapon. Doing this he also spun around his former Kidō firing hand to point its index finger directly at her face, less than a foot away from where the center of her eyes be.

"Bang!"

KRAK-KOOM!

A similar discharge of electrical energy would be released but at a much swifter interval. The Byakurai spell's searing heat would slice through the air, intending on carving a new hole into the skull of the Arrancar's face. All of it timed perfectly within the finale of Tierra's sword thrust ending.

"Tch!"

Letting that particular sound escape from her lips, Tierra used the smallest use of a Sonido movement to evade the Byakurai spell shot at her face. Making sure to mask the movements of her hands, she used her free hand and thrust it out. But it would not be aimed at him. Instead, it would be aimed at the sands in front of him. The swiftness of the Bala would minimize the time Tenshi needed to properly get away from it, and the explosion would kick up the sand between them. It was at this time that Tierra shut her eyes, moving through the brief sand curtain that she had created for herself.

Once she was in his face, her hands spoke for themselves. With both hands on the hilt of her katana, she began a series of quick swipes towards him. She pushed herself forward in an offensive barrage, her sword moving like a hyperactive snake. Her movements were not only meant to hit him, but also to direct his evasive movements for better accuracy. It was her attempt at herding sheep into a pen.

Using one arm to shield himself from the sudden blast of dust, scattered by the sand around him from the explosion before him, Tenshi could only smile. Such a tactic was useful in situations such as these, limiting his options of evasion and to fight back by blinding him and inhibiting his defenses. That is, if he hadn't noted the trajectory of the attack from the moment it was aimed by Tierra's hand.

Upon her many swipes, it would all but appear that he began to dance expertly out of the way. Each sidestep maneuver would allow him to spin and twirl around with the direction of every sword slash and stroke, as if anticipating and moving with the flow of her sword slashes that she sent in his path. It was all but simply uncanny.

Then, a pair of hands reached out of the sand, just underneath her leaping feet. During a sword stroke upon what was now confirmed as a Shunpo Clone she targeted, the pair of emerged hands would let loose a crimson blaze of fire, spreading outwards like a spontaneous combusting firestorm. A dwarf star, if ever witnessed in its birth, would be the closest description to the power being projected from his palms sent from underneath her.

Regardless if the strike would hit its quarry, Tenshi would rise from the sand, dusting himself off from pale grains that clung to his immaculate black attire. Swiping off the last grains clinging to his left sleeve, Tenshi would narrow blue eyes coldly at Tierra's vicinity, "Way of the Onmitsukidō 4, Gaia Palm. You shouldn't ensure that I wouldnt' be able to strike from below as well as from all above, Tierra my dear."

The period of that sentence would be marked by Tierra's blade sliding into a spot by his head, which was emphasized by a foreboding click of the katana.

She was standing beside him with her own stare etched into the back of his head. She held the blade with one hand as she maintained the edge at Tenshi's neck. Her passive expression remained firm, even as she listened to his lecture. Having learned from the first time, she was all too ready to evade another surprise attack made from the assassin. A well-placed Sonido an a flaming blast to mask her movements had allowed her to sneak up on the assassin and put her in the position she was now. But even as she seemingly had him at her mercy, her mind was riddled with thought.

How was he moving like he was? Every strike made seemed to be evaded as he saw it coming ahead of time. Every movement she made and rhythm of attack she produced was countered, almost as if he had a picture of those moves in his head right before she executed them. Was his analysis capabilities that potent? Or was it something else, something that she was unable to clearly see? It staggered her mind.

"I may not be the smartest out of the Espada Afilado." She said firmly, a slight glare flashing in her eyes. "But I'm far from a fool. I'm quite capable of learning from my mistakes the first time they happen." She lowered her sword from his neck, allowing herself to take a few steps back. "But you knew that, didn't you? After all, you could've killed me from the first strike you made and I wouldn't have been able to lift a finger. It's stupid to say such words, because I already know you want it this way," Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Don't you?"

"Smart girl for an Arrancar," Tenshi murmured quietly, only just barely audible to his enemy's hearing. Turning his body slowly to face her all she would see would be a cold, venomous expression within his eyes and thin lipped smile. A single hand slowly grasped his Zanpakutō, withdrawing it from its sheathe with a provocatively slow pace that seemed quite methodical. "did you know that I was the first subordinate to have been contacted by Lord Aizen since his infamous disappearance, or as the Soul Society would have liked to believe, death? Of all the Sennin Butai I have been valued as his most effective and lethal servant. How about I show you a little bit of the why I believe this to be true."

VOOOOOOOOOM!!!

In the instant the blade had been released from its scabbard, the conical Zanpakutō and himself became enshrouded by a vibrant indigo aura that quaked the sandy landscape around him. A dust storm of epic proportions would be formed in a matter of seconds, with himself and his eerily glowing blue eyes shining through with lethal intent at his enemy. With his blade held aloft he seemed to hungrily stare at his target with nothing but absolute malicious intent, a contrast to the offsetting indifference he held towards her minutes ago.

Then, he attacked.

"HA!" Tenshi crowed out the moment his body seemed to materialize next to her unguarged flank, draging his sword along in a diagonally rising arc to bisect her body from the lower left side across her right collar bone. What would be left behind would be a fissure of incredibly condensed spiritual pressure, honed in with a blaze of fiery Kidō energy to increase the cutting power that'd assuredly leave a definite mark on her body. Hierro or no.

His body was quick.

But her mind, which was gradually attuning to the more rapid strikes, was able to catch him before he could catch her.

Her free hand shot out like a snake, his wrist crashing into it and her arm bending reflexively from the initial force. She grit her teeth, letting out a brief yell as she twisted her body around. Her hand lifted Tenshi off his feet and hurled him away from her with surprising force. It was only a second later that she used a Sonido to boost herself after him. Her sword was gripped in two hands as she neared him, ready to be swung on his form the moment she neared him.

But just as she neared him, she vanished.

An instant later, she reappeared in the path of his sailing form while continuing to charge him. Her sword was thrust out towards his back, preparing to shish-kebab him. Throughout it all, her eyes were narrowed and a concentrated scowl was on her face.

And a pained expression seemed to cross Tenshi's face, just for a moment. That moment would be replaced by another superceding it that would be a sinister smile, hidden by the fact she struck from her back. His body would seem to evaporate into pale grains of sand, having been fused together by spiritual energy and the deft employment of Shunpo Cloning.

"Way of the Onmitsukidō," Tenshi whispered behind Tierra's frame, thrusting his blade up towards her backside with unparalleled momentum and force, "Cicada!"

"Hah!"

With a show of acrobatics, Tierra bent forward to avoid the thrust aimed towards her spine. In that same movement, she used her free hand as a brace and swung her legs upward in the movement of a handstand. In the process, she let out a kick that smacked away the danger that was Tenshi's blade. Her palm twisted herself around so that she could land back on her feet. As soon as her crouched form hit the sands once again, her sword hand was swung backwards in an uppercut that had the chance of slicing him in two. Then, she would once again push her assault by unleashing a series of two-handed strikes at him.

But even as she moved, her mind was starting to work itself again. Despite the show of spiritual power, the one that had attacked her was nothing more than another clone. They had all been clones, and the latter ones had her played up to that very point. Even though she was adapting to the surprise attacks, she had no idea of how to tell if the one she was currently engaging was also one. But if it was, then why wasn't the real one showing up? What point was there in sending up all these fakes if he wasn't going to engage her directly? All he was doing was toying with her.

Unless, she thought it from a tactical point of view once again. If she looked at it that way, there was only one word that could summarize just what exactly he was doing.

Reconnaissance.

If this one was a clone, then the real one was in hiding somewhere watching her every move. That would explain the strange way he was fighting her earlier, the way he was reading her moves right before they were even performed. He was monitoring her, "calling out" her attacks to whatever clone sent up to engage her so that they could be prepared ahead of time. But that could only be a viable result if the one she was engaging was a clone.

There was only one way to find out.

"Almost finished..."

That voice would ring aloud within the Tenshi's head that was now facing Tierra, downward stroking his blade to meet her sword's uppercut. Even after the shower of sparks were deployed, their metal edges sang across the air, flowing past the orange fireflies of friction dispersal to repeatedly collide with each other. Every blow was expertly deviating each other's aim, only aimed to overwhelm and dissuade the other from making a true strike.

"You're getting better at anticipating my moves, Espada," Tenshi complimented in mid-guard, parrying another flurry of thrusts with his own redirecting slashes, "you're every bit the subordinate of the Primera I'd expect you to be!"

It was then that Tenshi's body blurred to the side, reappearing at her left and right, seemingly duplicating in directions as he spun around her frame at a rapid pace. Each time he'd reappear spinning around, lunging, or side-stepping by her body with a thrust, a pommel strike, or a series of flurried slashes. He aimed to use his advantageous employment of Shunpo to keep her from guessing precisely his next move, using numerous steps from predicting individually swift ones.

"!"

His sudden movement almost caught her off-guard.

Her eyes widened as she was suddenly forced to stop her assault, reeling back when he "divided" himself. Her stance was guarded now, and she was made to face an assault from all of her flanks. This time, it was considerably harder to defend herself. Every time she prepared to block, he would feint. Every time it seemed like an opportunity to duck was made out to be a push towards another danger zone. He was all around her, trying to pierce her defenses through speed and precision. She had to keep on her toes during this time, lest she wanted the slightest mistake to kill her.

"Focus, Doncella." She told herself, keeping herself as concentrated on the task at hand as possible. "These are after-images. If you can just focus, you can pick out his true form among these false veils he's putting out for you. You just have to focus, concentrate and wait..."

Time slowed down for her, even as the flurry of attacks kept coming. As she felt her mind begin to soothe itself, she found it a little bit easier to defend herself against the assault. The multiple paths she would've perceived Tenshi taking gradually began to fade from her perception, little by little, until she saw the one true pattern her enemy was taking. Her body began to attune itself more and more, parrying and blocking until the difficulty lessened to a more bearable level. It was here that she felt the moment to strike.

"I see you!"

That was when her free hand reached out to catch Tenshi's sword arm by its wrist, stopping his attack in its tracks. If he looked her into the eyes, he would see a glare of resolve and determination. She gripped her sword tightly in her remaining hand. "There is nothing less demanded," She declared, swinging her blade upwards to slice her opponent across the chest. "From the likes of my Lady!"

SNATCH!

A sudden thrusting hand would erupt from the sandy ground beneath their feet, grasping her slashing blade hand's wrist, halting its momentum. Following that in exact synchronization would be a sword that would thrust upward, aiming to impale her abdomen and out her back through the other side. It would be after this attack that Tenshi's Shunpo Clone, whom she had nearly slain, would finally dissipate and the genuine article flash a satisfied grin on his face.

"Analyzation complete," He'd whisper aloud, pulling back his blade while casually eyeing her with his venomous azure eyes, "your moves to me now...are that of a child's book. Unless you try something truly unorthodox, there won't be anything that can surprise me. At least, not at the caliber you've been fighting at."

"Oh no...!"

She hadn't expected him to attack that quickly, in the midst of her own strike towards his duplicate. Her eyes widened, and she let out a small gasp when she felt her sword arm halted. But she had been too stunned by his appearance to make an effort to evade. Even if she had, the grip on her wrist had restricted her movement in that very moment. She mentally cursed herself for having not been prepared for it, bracing herself for the punishment that was coming.

She bent over when that steel punched through her stomach, letting out a pained hiss through clenched teeth as pain shot through her form. When he pulled the blade out, she was quick to leap away to distance herself from him. Drops of blood would follow her path, dropping down and staining the sand where she stood. There were slight beads of sweat that fell down her face, courtesy of her own shock. But even as she spoke those words of finality, there was nothing but defiance in her eyes. "You've only begun..." She countered vehemently. "To see me fight...!!" To emphasize that statement, she lifted her blade up to point it at her enemy in a preparatory yet challenging manner.

"Is that right?" Tenshi cocked his head to the side, his smile widening with feigned intrigue. Closing his eyes he would let loose a throaty chuckle. When he'd reopen them, he'd raise his own sword to visibly divide his visage, eyes coldly glaring in her direction. "then I shall fight as I truly mean it as well. Though I doubt you'll be able to read me as easily as before, considering I allowed you to read me...!"

"Entrance," Tenshi began to speak, just as the blade of his Zanpakutō began to shatter. Within but a few seconds, the blade shattered and dissipated into visibly disappearing shards of metal, dancing in the air before outright vanishing from view. "Kyūrekikei!"

With nothing but a conical shaped guard and a tubular hilt in hand, Tenshi waved around his bladeless weapon in hand, as if testing its weight and heft. Unlike before where the sheer weight of his motions had cause ruptures in the air, there was little to not sign of disturbance in the environment. In fact one would almost assume, had they not been fighting Tenshi, that he was holding a useless remnant of a powerful weapon.

"Now then," Tenshi raised his gaze back to hers, his visage enshrouded by a malicious silhouette that would only reveal his cold blue eyes, "try and doge this!"

His arm would blur around in a diagonal arc, seemingly doing nothing to the air but rather disorientingly shifting the various visual frequencies the eye would interpret to the brain. All in all, the attack would be instantaneous, cutting a rift within dunes nearly a kilometer behind her as much as some of the sand directly aligned with the direction his blade would be cutting towards her body. The baffling attack would be an undeniably frightening tool to Tenshi's arsenal.

This time, Tierra's pupils shrunk slightly and her heart stopped for the briefest of moments.

There was no visual of the attack. There was nothing to indicate that a force of physical being was headed straight towards her form. The only sign that her life was in danger was that she could feel it coming, her instincts telling her that harm was approaching. Without hesitation, she used a Sonido to took to the air, barely missing the wave of power as it washed over the spot where she was before. She could only gaze down at Tenshi with clear apprehension, her nerves tingling more than they should've been.

"I couldn't see it." She thought to herself. "The distortion that would've been through the air as the wave moved towards me... I couldn't see it as I normally would've! I know for a fact that under any circumstance, such a simple attack would've been caught by my eye. It's that Zanpakutō of his... somehow, it's disrupted my ability to properly discern his attacks with my eyes!"

"Predictable," Tenshi's voice would announce aloud, his body shimmering swiftly up ten meters behind her as soon as she halted her ascent. The move would seem to be naught but invisible, his Shunpo's timing being on par with her own Sonido. It seemed he had moved in perfect synrhonization with her retreat, as if he directly anticipated her retreat.

And with a rotationally swift thrust of his sword arm's wrist, the invisible force would corkscrew towards her abdominal and lower back region. It'd be a foot wide in diameter and would seem to instantaneously cut a swathe through the skyline, visibly steaming the air seconds after the attack's wake would be recogized. The wraithly attack would continue to baffle any opponent in Tierra's position.

When he appeared, Tierra quickly spun herself around with her sword at the ready. Her mind was running at a frenzy once again even as she faced down his next attack. "It's only on instinct that I'm able to evade and dodge his strikes. At this rate, I'm going to get cut down before I even have a chance to land a hit!" She instinctively swung her blade up to meet the attack, using her arm as a brace against the back of the blade when it crashed into her. But even as it collided, it was as if she was fighting with the air. She couldn't see the very thing that was pressuring her.

But now, she could pick something else up.

"Wait a minute. I hear something."

Her tense face, for a brief moment, changed to one of confusion as she picked up a brief and very unusual sound. It wasn't the sound of his weapon clashing against hers, nor was it the effects of his weapon as it tore through the skyline. "It was so brief, I couldn't tell just what exactly it was. It sounds like it's right in front of me, but there's nothing there but him and his Zanpakutō! Just what exactly was it?!"

She didn't bother to think about it too much. As soon as the confusion faded away, the conviction came back. The blade of her sword briefly glowed with the orange light of her Cero, and she let out a yell as she swung her sword forward. The blast would come out in a horizontal expansion, growing wide enough to consume Tenshi's form and even more so.

Seeing that the thrust was deflect, albeit barely, Tenshi's arm didn't revert from its outstretched motion. Instead, any pressure that Tierra would have felt would seemed like a projectile rather than an elongated blade. That was purposeful in of a sense, as he aimed to check how she'd react to his attacks. So far her instincts have been saving her, but how long can one rely on their own gut to save them from the unknown?

"Tenkan."

SHHHHHHHHHHHRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!

In the moment the horizontally aligned Cero was slashed in his direction, the entirety of its expanse seemed to halt in midair. As if slapping into a solid wall, the Cero's fabric would flatten, becoming a square aligned construct of volatile energy. Then it'd shatter, becoming billions of orange hued sparks, followed by the distinct impression of a wall of dismembering pressure flowed past the Cero and aimed to hit her dead-on, disembowling a upraised mountainside in the distance.

"Shift."

Tierra's eyes narrowed as the force raced towards her, her sword gripped in preparation. Although she was baffled at the way her Cero had been neutralized, that particular bit of confusion wouldn't last for very long. Her thoughts would focus back onto the command that was stated to release the attack, the command that released his Zanpakutō to begin with. She couldn't even begin with "shift".

"Entrance, Kyūrekikei... Lunar Light."

But maybe she could work with the name of his Zanpakutō. She had yet to understand what the "lunar" part of his Zanpakutō was. But thanks to the way her Cero was neutralized, she could safely guess where the "light" part came from. It would also explain just why she couldn't see the attacks; he was bending the light and distorting her vision of them. But if she could still "feel" the attacks coming, then that influence hadn't expanded to any more of her senses. In fact, if she listened carefully, she could actually still hear the oncoming force as it was barreling towards her. It allowed her to better ready herself.

With a single swipe of her sword, she split the force in two. Her free hand swiftly thrust out towards Tenshi, her index and middle fingers pointing outwards. Once again, the telltale orb of a Cero began to form. But this time, the orb had blackness within it instead of the standard orange. It could be also noted that the color of Tierra's eyes had faded away, leaving a similar void of black within her eyes. Her target was set, and her aim was prepared.

"I hope I'm right...!"

Her mouth spoke the next two words in a harsh whisper.

"Cero Estridente!"

What was released was not the beam of a normal Cero. Instead, a multitude of focused sound waves were shot out from those two fingers. They raced to their target with speed comparable to that of a Bala rather than the Cero it was. A sound of eardrum-shattering proportions was produced by the attack, with the closest summary of it being a point-blank high-pitched jet engine. Its power distorted the air around it, making the visual appearance of the environment gain an almost surreal edge to its form.

Tenshi's reflexes reacted faster than his sense of surreal observation of Tierra's attack. Knowing the minute basis of his invisible force was being as easily deflected as it was deployed, he knew that such a force would need to be properly dispersed. A twist of the wrist would all be required before slashing the air in front of him.

"Mikazuki!"

What would appear between himself and Tierra could only be described as vibrant fireworks. Silver arcs of streaming energy would bow out in a crescent shape, causing the audible claps of sonic ruptures within the air to explode in localized areas expanding to ten meters in gait. As soon as the the Ceros would dissipate, Tenshi would chuckle with audible amusement.

"Quite an interesting ability of yours, being able to produce sound waves by vibrating your own spiritual energy into pressurized discharges. A good counter to my Zanpakutō," Tenshi would jeer all too cheerfully, holding up his bladeless Shikai with emphasis, as if he knew that she had discovered it's secrets but didn't vocally confirm it. "wouldn't you say so?"

The seemingly jovial attitude was not shared by his opponent, who continued to regard him with a firm stare. Although she lowered her sword back down once again, she didn't lower her guard. Inwardly, she was relieved to see that she had guessed correctly. His Zanpakutō was light-based, while her own powers revolved around the concept of sound. Would that make it easier for her to fight him, make the path to his heart a little more clear? Time would only tell.

For now, her eyes fixed him with a scrutinizing stare. "I find it ironic." She said. "A killer, a genocidal extremist and an assassin who prefers the darkness as his home using a weapon of brilliance? If not for the current situation, it would've been quite funny to me."

A humored laugh would be his response to Tierra's rhetorical inquired statement. Such to the point where he'd use his free hand to palm his face, dramatically dragging it off to reveal his cold eyes, almost delighted to have heard such a thing. Brushing his digits through his fine lunar hued hair, he smiled at her as he waved his bladeless weapon around casually, "Oh come now. You mustn't believe everything they tell you. As part of the Onmitsukidō, I've done some of my best work in plain sight. Isn't it that what they say? The best assassins are the ones who blend perfectly with the background?"

Taking a few moments to sigh, he'd close his eyes, opening them to reveal a very much more detached visage. Almost as if he had returned to the persona he had adopted for the beginning of their encounter. As if this battle held little meaning to him in the slightest. "Perhaps a demonstration is in order, hmmm?"

Raising his hilt into the air, iconically touching the visible bottom recess of Hueco Mundo's own crescent moon, he'd solidify this statement by breathing out a simple word. "Hakkōtai."

In all but a handful of seconds, the upraised arm down to his feet began to shimmer, as if he became a living embodiment of a mirage. This disappearing act would commence in a distorting wave, all the while smiling dispassionately at her, not bothering to project anything of himself while entombing himself in light. Without a thought or word, his entire being would be transparently untraceable, and unlike his invisible force attacks from prior, he would seem even less apparent to the observing eye.

Tierra's eyebrows furrowed in surprise. As she watched her foe disappear from her sight, her body tensed up immediately. Now, he was entirely invisible to her sight, with nothing more than the desert around her. Nevertheless, her eyes instinctively swept the area for any possible sign of him. It she had been a few minutes earlier into this point, she certainly would've been a lot more worried. Come to think of it, had he simply released this ability earlier, he would've had a better chance of slaying her. It was just another reminder that he was leading her on a stick for his own amusement.

...no, that couldn't be right. He couldn't be getting anything out of this, not with a face that detached from the conflict. If he was truly amused, surely he wouldn't catch himself wearing such a disinterested expression. The emotional side of her was indignant, believing that he believed her to be not worth his time. The rational side of her asked why he was bothering to fight with such a distant attitude. If he didn't want this, he had the ability to end it quickly before it got too out of hand. He could be done with it, done with her and leave without having to exert too much effort. So what the hell was could this man be thinking?

It was during this monologue of his enemy's that Tenshi would attack.

A searing cut from behind, emanating as a massive wave of shredding light particles as invisible was he was, taking care to be deployed in an X formation to cover more angles and guaruntee more damage being delivered. Next would be a swift thrust towards her torso, creating a rupturing drill of invisible force aiming to penetrate her defense shortly after deflecting or attempting to evade his last attack. Lastly a final horizontally descending wave of shredding pressure would hit her from above without any sign of him moving overhead, blasting away the ground beneath her as it expanded a good kilometer in range.

As he'd unveil himself, keeping a visibly shimmering appearance akin to that of a mirage, Tenshi smiled at her with a cold grin spread across his face, "You might wonder how I'm so unpredictable. Something I've learned when fighting others with a high caliber of perception is that there are those who can sense my Killing Intent even within attacks that shouldn't be sensed. By detaching myself in those certain instances I am literally incapable of being predicted. Do you understand, Tierra Espada?"

Instinct was once again her tick-off.

Her body had thrown itself forward, evading the stroke of his sword by a few inches as it tore past her. In the time that she could, she closed her eyes and once again focused. Gone was the perception of her sight, and in came the reliability of her hearing and feeling. His Zanpakutō, a light-based ability, would do no good if it was against a target who didn't rely on pure eyesight in order to engage. It was up to her other senses to protect her.

When she hopped off to the side in order to avoid the drill that was his thrust, she once again heard that particular noise. It was coming from the likes of his weapon, and this time with her focused, she could pick it out more than she had the first time. It was a brief yet loud howling, one not too different from the howling of a ferocious wind. The sound unnerved her, but as she began to process it in her hand, she began to realize just what she was hearing. It wasn't the sound of his attack trying to rip through her, nor was it any physical sound that his body was making in its own movements to kill her. It was a sound that no one else would've picked up, and she could safely assume that even he couldn't hear it.

With a Sonido, she pulled herself out of the way before the final overhead strike could hit her. Although she would spare a glance at the damage inflicted upon the sandy grounds, she would instantly feast her attention on him once he came back out. She remained silent as she listened to his speech, lowering her sword back down to her side. Even as she heard the declaration that his detachment made him virtually undetectable, she did not falter in her calm yet firm countenance. She was patient, waiting until the very last word was spoken. Then, with a blend of confidence and composure, she delivered her verbal counter.

"Detaching yourself, you say?" She asked rhetorically. "What an excellent theory. To detach yourself from the battle even as you attempt to kill your opponent. To dismiss everything within you as you bathe your sword in the blood of its victims. It would be such an effective way of dealing with your battles, having the ability to hold no attachment towards the conflicts you participate in and the casualties you cause." She slowly opened her eyes back up to look at him. "But you and I both know that there is no such theory that can be applied... at least not here."

She brought her sword up to chest level. "The sentient mind is one resistant to change. It cannot simply be flipped like a switch from one composition to another within a second or two. It requires time to adjust, a gradual transition no matter how fast it goes. Unless you carry some sort of mental disease within that head of yours, you're unable to shift from genuinely happy to genuinely sad in the time that it takes to snap a finger. Likewise, you can't expect me to believe that you can shift from carrying the desire to kill me to not being interested at all. Even if you're genuinely trying to change your emotional output, there will always be at least a small sliver of once was that will lag behind before it disappears completely."

This was where her eyes narrowed, her gaze becoming more piercing. She lifted her sword up so that the tip would point at him again. "And I can hear it. Every time you attack me, every time you swing that sword, you expose yourself more than you intend to. I can hear that remnant of killing intent every time you make a move to end my life. Even as you hide behind that dark mask of yours, I can still hear you, Tenshi... and behind that mask, you are screaming."

Tenshi couldn't help but furrow his brows and withdraw his smile to a thin lipped expression. Hearing what she had to say countered what he believed, something he genuinely disliked. But as her words drug on, he began to understand what exactly she meant behind her reasoning to bear logic he could conclude to be true.

"She can hear me? Of course," Tenshi narrowed his eyes at his blade, the source of his transparency and light-bending capabilities. "she's the essence of sound, capable of creating ruptures within the air of high frequencies. Such an entity would only be able to hear things that I alone couldn't hear. Even Kyūrekikei has to conjure the light somehow and what better way than the act of conjuring than by a frequency that no physical ear of normal make could interpret?"

But the last emphasized word of her aforementioned explanation caused a chilling smile to resurface. Slowly but surely the transparency would fade, allowing his being to re-emerge in its entirety. Gripping the hilt of his Zanpakutō he pointed it in her direction, his eyes adopting a swiftly dramatic -if not entirely manic- expression as his entire body would shine. Shining like a star as the blaze of his Zanpakutō's aura harnessing his Hakkōtai in the inverse output in a flux of light particles.

"You think I was screaming before? I'll show you the true epitome of my blood's calling without any restraint, Arrancar!" Tenshi shouted in a all too delighted tone. Volumed to a point that it shook the air as much as his pressure and the blaring light that flourished across the horizon above her.

With a dramatic swing in her direction, a blaze of searingly blinding light would be cast. What used to be invisible waves of shredding pressure would transform into a very tangible wave of concussive force. Such power would be placed through the stroke of his blade that a tidal wave of indented sand would be hit directly behind her, being blasted away before showing waves of searing steam left in its wake. Heat and concussive power placed into a singular attack, all meant to overwhelm her defenses and senses equally rather than subdue to sneak past them.

"So bright...!"

When Tenshi enveloped himself within his own light, Tierra had to flinch at the incredible brilliance. She was forced to shut one eye and squint the other, raising an arm in front of her face to keep herself from being blinded. She was shocked at the way he was presenting himself now, the way he was shouting at her and the very volume of his voice. But most of all, she was stunned by the blast of destructive light being sent her way. At this very moment, he had shifted from dangerous assassin to an incredibly powerful berserker... and she was the target.

But she was quick to regain herself. Her hand gripped her sword in preparation as the wave came closer and closer. When it was upon her, she was forced to close her eyes, lest she wanted to become blinded by the light. But that sword hand moved, its tip thrust and held towards the blast. When the light collided, it was stopped in its tracks. The collision point gave off a series of ripples, which were similar to what one would see after throwing a rock in a pond. The power of Tenshi's attack made her hair and clothing billow with the intense winds it generated. But she held firm, and it only took a few seconds for the entire wave to disintegrate under her counter-strike. She glowered at her foe, gripping her sword in two hands and settling into a stance.

"Show me everything, then. Show me the fullness of your resolve to take my life. Allow me to hear those murderous screams just a little more! Allow both your sword and shield to become as strong as they can get, for I intend to hold nothing back! This time, I will carry out the orders the Primera has bestowed upon me with zealous will and laboring hands! I will bring you down, Tenshi, even if it costs me my very life!"

It'd be at the end of her screaming declaration that Tenshi's location would seemingly transport instantly in front of Tierra. Flourishing in an aura resembling that of a star, Tenshi swung his bladeless hilt and produced another luminous shockwave, creating the equivalent of a plasma-induced explosion. The indentation created would send ear-splitting fissures that'd web throughout the sandy landscape, cutting directly into the fabric of the Menos Forest canopy below, burning the pale ember branches holding up the pale grains culminating above it.

"Hikarimono," Tenshi whispered, now hovering over the decimated hole that used to be a desert plateau. Staring at her with azure-out eyes, his hair would ripple and flourish with animated movement along with the rest of his body. The mantle of luminous lunar-hued light shined all around him, stemming from the power of his Zanpakutō, "I intend to show you exactly that, Tierra. Until your body mellodiously crack with ever fracture and every rupture my blade makes upon your flesh into bones. I'll enjoy hearing you squeal in agony!"

With all of her courage, resolve and determination pushing her movements, Tierra swung a sound-enhanced blade to meet the weapon of the false angel. When her power met his, she found herself clenching her teeth against the power of his strike. Her sword almost rebelled against her hands and slipped away from her grasp, but her stubborn grasp kept it from abandoning her. Although it wasn't enough to completely nullify his strike, it was potent enough to offset the light and keep her from getting hit by the brunt of it. She would hop away to her own distance as she stared at Tenshi, her sword gripped tightly in one of her hands.

"Last time, I was bested by an enemy stronger than me. I allowed myself to falter, I allowed myself to break. But not this time." She pulled the hilt of her sword behind her head with the tip facing Tenshi and her free hand acting as an aiming point. "I'll defeat my enemy. I'll come back home, help rebuild what was lost here. Wait for me, men, women and children of Empresa... my brothers and sisters of the Espada Afilado... especially you, my Lady."

With a battle scream, she threw herself at Tenshi to begin the battle anew.

A Battle of Gods, Usurper vs Royalty
"HAAAAAAAAA!!!" Jin howled out with feral delight, swinging his blade in a wide arc in his enemy's direction. What would be produced could be described as a blaze of animated dark flames. From within the clout of heated tongues would sprout forth dozens of dragonic heads, all of which would snarl and snap at the couple's direction. Faintly within the background, one could see the faint violet-hue fumes rising from tainted grains that once made up the pale landscape around them.

Though this didn't stop Jinete from countering this latest attack.

Hopping back and forth, he'd avoid the plummeting thrusts the dragonic heads numbering up to fourteen made at him. Each lung would seem to be undeniably swift, such to the extent that he felt that he had to remain constant alert. It had been many ages since he truly had to put forth effort in a battle, let alone fight a battle of such a scale.

"Uh-oh!" Jinete exclaimed, eyes widened with surprise as he found all fourteen black flaming necks flow around him, creating a barrier from which he couldn't hop around. This ring of flames would be the cage, while the heads would act as the upraised executors. Each of them possessing maws of ghastly violet and ruby tongues with venomous teeth, he knew that any bite by them would be undoubtedly unhealthy; even if it would be just a graze to his person.

As they all bowled forward he found an opening and took it. To the outside observer, such as Kugyō or his own wife, it'd appear as if they all crush them under the weight of their culminated maws. But upon further inspection, the semi-sentient entities would only have bite-fulls of paled grains, quickly turning into poisoned minerals upon contact with the venom within their mouths. The fourteen heads would look vaguely upwards as a dramatic spike of Spiritual Pressure could be felt above them.

Jinete's left arm was transformed back into its organic obsidian makeup, now having what would pass as a physically segmented bow within his skin. With his right hand pulling back taut the bristling string along with what seemed like four spikes, the King would simply smile as his eyes narrowed with careful precision. With a dramatic release of the string, the arrows would fly, creating a semblence of a sonic boom clap from the momentum and velocity placed by their launch from above.

Striking the bases of the necks where the maelstrom of flames created the dragonic serpents, a thunderous release of kinetic power would eradicate the beasts from back to their horned skulls. With the hyper-friction inducing a collateral blaze of orange-red fire in its wake, all would be quiet on Jinete's end, causing him to sigh with relief.

Raising his transformed hands up to his face, he'd comically cup around them and shout to his wife, "How are you doing, honey?!~"

Likewise, Nohemi would perform her own movements to evade Jin's attacks.

Performing multiple Sonido, she kept a constant pace as she danced and evaded the dragon constructs. Like him, she would find the speed of their moves to be particularly challenging to her - something that hadn't been done to her for quite some time. Her eyes were focused on the enemy's projectiles as she moved to dodge them, though she took careful note not to divert attention from the actual enemy. Once she was at a certain point, she would stand her ground and let the dragon heads shoot towards her.

When they were close enough, she swung her hand out. "Greed!"

The dragons stopped within their tracks, their colors abruptly shifting from black to bright blue as their master's control was pulled against. With a swing of her hand, Nohemi quickly diverted the dragons away from her and to a different path in the air. They would destabilize and disintegrate afterwards, allowing the woman breathing room once more. She exhaled a breath as she looked over at her foe, still bemused at how powerful he had become.

Her husband's humorous call diverted her attention away from Jin, causing her to sweatdrop.

"Still nonchalant as usual, dear?"

Deciding to humor him, she put on a cheery disposition of her own. Her free hand waved in a display of her own carelessness, with an expression of mirth to match. "Oh, I'm fine on my end, sweetie~!" She called back in a bit of a sing-song voice. "Just getting my exercise in, that's all! I heard that dodging flaming dragons could work wonders for the hamstrings~!"

"That's the spirit!" Jinete exclaimed as he materialized next to her, his cloak billowing around his person upon soft landing. His own hawk eyed gaze would lock onto his enemy, noticing how he strode forward with the utmost confidence. Thumbing the release of his own sword, Jinete began to unsheathe it as he asked his wife, "what do you think, Nohemi?"

Jin could only chuckle aloud, his vicinity plagued by every foostep he made, "Go on! Study me all you like. You know what I am and I alone am to the likes of you. I am Death's Decay Embodied!"

In that moment a thick wave of darkening ichor rose up from the toxic sand. Bubbling like tar and producing a thick veil of fumes no doubt to be poisonous. What rose out of it would be depraved, causing what looked like rotting corpses of bubbling ooze for flesh. Glowing eyes of various hues adorned each being, dark violet gouts of gas escaped their rotted maws and exposed teeth. The most disturbing would be the skeletal structures didn't look human in the slightest...but that of long dead Hollows.

Less than a minute would pass and an entire legion of damned Hollows would rise out of the grains of sand turned muck from which their bodies had long since dissolved into ages ago. The full conglomerate projected a ghastly and terrifying Reiatsu, shaking the air with as much intensity as there was a thick cloud of noxious smog flowing just a dozen meters in front of the royal pair. All the while Jin just smiled with a malicious aura flowing off him like a dark, dying collection of embers.

"Say hello to the oldest of Hollows long since your time, your majesty and grace! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Jin let out a cruel laugh cascade the air, holding a hand over his face as he nearly bowed back from hilarity.

Had it not been for Jin's action, Nohemi would've gladly made her summary of it all.

The blood-like fluid that bubbled from the sands would not touch her personal bubble, and the fumes that were emitted from its foundations would not grace her form. It was courtesy of a subtle use of her Destruction ability - she was producing a mild cloak of heat to burn away both gas and liquid, shielding herself while not expending unnecessary energy. She remained passive as it was spawned, her eyes taking in everything she could.

But it wasn't a moment sooner that she wished she hadn't.

When she saw the carcasses of Hollow long gone, the composure on her face shattered like glass hit by a brick. Although they were mostly destroyed, there were still subtle signs of recognition she could pick up. There were Hollow that had fought alongside her in the Great Schism, Hollow that had lived and died in the growing civilization that had been the ancient Hueco Mundo. Some of them had even came to be known personally by the Queen before their passing on. Now, seeing them resurrected in the unholiest of manners caused her heart to sink, her eyes to dilate and a mixture of sadness and horror. She was almost at a loss for words.

"...all of these men... all of these women..." She whispered, traces of tears building up in her eyes. "I knew them..."

"As did I," Jinete said with an audible growl. Clear blue eyes that hinted of humor and mischief burned with rage. The growl turned into a hum, echoing the power that began to flourish around his body, causing the grains around him to flow in an opposing manner around him and his wife. The sword in his hand radiated with anger, as if the metal itself was howling with mutual wrath. "I knew every last one of them!"

"Does that anger you as much as it hurts her, my Kin-?"

Jin's humored retort would be cut off by a dramatic wave of his sword, blurring forth with enough speed to make even his daughter's eyes spin. A scream would tear across the air, rippling with enough pressure that it easily bisected the disassimilating gases that clung to all bio-matter. When it would reach their vicinity a violent exhale of a blinding blue-white Cero that would encompass the horizon would engulf Jin and his legion of damned creatures that took upon the visages of lost loved ones.

"Does that answer your question, you sick bastard?!" Jinete yelled aloud, his eyes now brimming with an equal amount of gold and red hue, emphasizing his enraged disposition.

"Yes," Jin would respond, his sword upraised and still trailing with the volatile attack's essence that was launched his way. His smile would be intact, as various bodies that had been struck weren't entirely destroyed by his attempt to wipe them all out instantaneously. The bubbling mire that imitated flesh seemed to have dissolved and lessened in mass, but it only left them more skeletal, erasing the gases they were exhaling at the moment.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!" The collective of undead Hollows roared titanically, spreading out an audible shake of their own immense output of Reiatsu. Mindlessly they wobbled forth, gradually picking up speed as they would rush lopsidedly past their necromancer. In but a few moments they would be a horde of sprinting bodies, no different than the basest of Hollows clambering forth towards a bait; in this case, the Queen and King of Hueco Mundo.

"Feast on their flesh to your heart's content," Jin crowed out, laughing with a wave of his sword and unarmed hands with emphasis, "that is, if you ever had hearts to begin with!"

Now, it was Nohemi's turn to show just how much she appreciated Kugyō's attack.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH~!!!!"

She let out a skyward scream, clenching her fists and partially holding them out of her side. Her scream was in parallel with an attack of her own, a tsunami of blue flames that enveloped the army of the undead en masse. The heated winds caused her cloak and hair to dance wildly about her, but it did nothing to shake her from her position. For one of the few times she allowed herself to be seen with one, she had a death glare leveled at the smug face of Kugyō. "Have you no shame, Hankami?!" She snarled, her limbs being enveloped in the nuclear fire that she had set the environment ablaze with. "Is this what you've been reduced to?! Desecration of the dead for the sake of fighting your battles?! Was this an attempt to break us, shatter us and make it easier to keep your delusional title of Death?! I WILL NOT STAND FOR IT!!!"

Without hesitation, she threw herself at Kugyō with immense speed. In her wake, the ground underneath their feet was set ablaze by the blue fire she had summoned. It only took less of a second to close the gap between her and her opponent, and when she re-appeared, she was hovering over him with a leg raised over her head. She swung that leg down like a hammer, unleashing the combined power of physical force and energy into one strike. Her connection would mark another violent explosion of nuclear fire, which was massive enough to illuminate the entire battlefield in a foreboding light of blue. Its source would look on with rage, her tear trails leaving their respective tattoos on her cheeks.

"The first defeat may have not been enough to humble you." She seethed. "But I guarantee that once we're done with you, you will truly know the meaning of the word "pain"! Defend yourself, Defiler!!"

The axe kick of coalescing cobalt tongues would clash with the horizontal pair of blades that was Kugyō's sword. At the same time, his virulent aura would ignite and fiercely roar underneath the buckling seismic thrust her nuclear equivalent reaction her kick packed. Even as the legion of undead Hollows were incinerated beyond repair, he'd do nothing but tighten his grin and narrow his eyes up at her.

"Such a fiery temper, my Queen!" Jin sneered upwards, his mouth exuding a blanket of toxins to blossom over her body. Such would porously decay her flesh and pilfer her lungs with its presence. It'd be both painful and numbingly cold to the contact had it made tactile or respiratory contact.

His veil of poison, just like the toxins before it, would have no effect on the Arrancar.

The heat she generated from the flames offset the poison that her enemy had unleashed against her, causing it to overshadow her form instead of overtaking it completely. But even as she defended herself, her eyes narrowed as they took in the perpetual smile that crossed his face. Even as his armies were destroyed, even as the undead were put back in their proper place, he still had the audacity to grin at her. Was it because of confidence? Or was he simply getting off on her outburst? In either case, she would make it a priority to beat him into submission. She would make him pay for desecrating the bodies of her comrades as he did.

A swing of her other foot crashed into his defense, sending him skidding through the sands. As for her, she performed a backflip and landed in a kneeling position. Her flaming hands buried themselves within the ground she knelt on, her energy being sent underground to intercept him. It took only a few seconds for that flaming energy to erupt, taking the form of a spherical cyclone that took Kugyō in as its epicenter. The flames gave off a continuous roar as they circled their target, slowly closing in on him with each passing second. If it couldn't harm him, it would at least be a means of distracting him for Jinete to get his blows in. She clenched her teeth as she focused her power, giving it her all into destroying the monstrosity known as a god.

"Do I anger you, your grace?"

That would be the last words Jin would speak before being kicked away viciously. The pop of air pressure left behind created the equivalent of a artillery gun going off. His body tumbled head over heels before skidding to a halt. Rising upwards he could see the geyser of flames form a omnidirectional prison that bore in on his presence.

"Caging me with your flames in an attempt to execute me without resistance? How very Hollow of you," Jin murmured aloud, his voice overrun by the roar of tongues choking the air around him. Raising his sword up into the air, he'd smile briefly before swinging it around in a spiraling fashion above his head.

"Succumb!" He commanded voluminously, his presence glowing a nefarious dark violet-black. This essence bathed the tongues aiming to incinerate and imprison him. What was once brilliant azure light turned into bright ominous purple fire. It roared and glowered around him, forming an instinctive shield around its new master. Said flames even manifested crimson slits that imitated eyes, glaring back at Nohemi with a maliciousness that bordered sentience.

Leaping forward in a blurring thrust of speed, Jin thrust his blade forward with the pyre of flames surrounding him like a mantle of power. A chilling smile spread across his face as he intended to impale her while pushing her own fire bent to his will. A fire with a seemingly semi-sentience of its own.

"Muro Cero!" Jinete called out as he thrust his sword into the ground, his own body being a good two dozen meters behind his own wife's. In that instant a singular wall of white destructive Reishi jettisoned upwards. The force emitted a shockwave to that of a rocket launching, spreading out to a good kilometer in width to shield her from the incoming attack and the abysmally tainted flames.

"Nohemi! Don't rush in blindly!" Jinete called out to his wife in a more alarmed manner than a reprimanding tone, "his abilities are uncannily dangerous to us. We can't demolish him in a simple attack of ultimate force!"

"I know." Nohemi said grimly, standing her ground as the energies collided. She allowed herself to leap back, landing in crouched position and analyzing the reaction. Although her voice was composed, the venom couldn't have been thicker. "I've known ever since this fight started. How couldn't I, seeing him carry himself as he does despite the defeat I handed to him before? Although his arrogance hasn't changed, he's clearly learned from his mistakes." She spread her legs apart in a preparatory stance, her fists readied in front of her. "Still, after witnessing what I have, retreat isn't an option anymore. If he is not above resurrecting those meant to be long dead, then what else will he do if he is allowed to roam free? He has to be stopped, here and now. But this time, it'll take the both of us to suppress him."

Her gaze fell on him.

"I'll be with you, Jinete, if you are with me."

"Is that a question or just a statement of the obvious?" Jinete asked coyly, resting his sword upon his right shoulder. "I'll stand by you till the bitter end. Either by oblivion or by the sword."

"I can promise both to you," Jin suddenly declared aloud, causing Jinete to turn his gaze at the Muro Cero. A dark rivuleting wave of violet-black flames seemed to part the wall of Reishi, decaying its properties and nullifying it completely. The infernal power would go in both directions till the entirety of the technique would dissipate into nothing but a shower of dancing azure sparks. Pointing a blade in both of their direction, the Hankami couldn't help but sneer at their visages, "this god is going to proclaim your damnation here and now!"

In response, Nohemi stood firm. She stared down the blade pointed at her with narrowed eyes. "You shamelessly call yourself a god, even under these circumstances?" She questioned rhetorically, with only a slight dose of disbelief. "With each and every second that passes, you seem to be more and more of a lost cause. You serve another, one who should be a considered a mere mortal compared to the likes of you. You commit acts in the manner of a psychopathic brigand or mindless serial killer. You are naught but a delusioned man pretending to reside in the heavens, as far as I am concerned." She settled into a preparatory stance, the ice reflecting off of her gaze like light from a mirror. "It must make you sick to know that it will be us heretics that will crush you."

"You'll wish you never pointed that sword at us, Hankami," Jinete stated in a cold, level tone as he sheathed his blade back into its scabbard. Curiously, it seemed like he was withdrawing from the battle, due to how calm and collected his disposition appeared. Yet one could still feel the stifling Reiatsu clinging to his frame, subtly kept in check and bristling the surface of his body. Like a volcanoe ready to spout forth red-hot lava. "surrender, and we'll spare your life. Continue and you will die."

"HA! Confident are we?!" Jin asked haughtily, not caring for either of the answers given to him by the King and Queen of Hueco Mundo. Stabbing his blade into the pale grains of sand beneath him, the Hankami glared up at them with a revolting sneer. His tongue would drag along his jaw as he would mutter lowly, "rise up, ol' ancient ones!"

What would erupt forth from the sands all around them would look Hellish in comparison to the legion of damned the Defiler had summoned before. Large skeletal hands would claw their way up from the pale grained land, pulling up decayed and Hollow pointed skulls upwards, dragging a horde of very much revealing Hollow carcasses of which their remains clung to it like rotted flesh. Numbering up to six, the Menos Grandes all stared ominously down at the two, mouths agape and hissing out noxious fumes.

Then, a gathering of enormously proportioned Ceros accumulated around their rotted mask. The eerie lights created a crimson overcast over the two, the pressure vibrating the sands that weren't already disturbed by their bodily eruptions. They truly seemed to project the emphasis of "Doom Blasts" by their accumulative and ancient power.

Jinete would then utter lowly to Nohemi, "Let's show him our true power, my Love."

The Father of Hollowity would then leap upwards, his body turning into a blur as he'd reach up to the altitude the colosal sized beings assumed. In a single breath, a voluminous pyre of black flames would erupt from his being. Akin to what would look like an inferno, it all but overcame the undead Menos' heads in just a single moment. When revealed, Jinete's entire form would have transformed into a dramatically different shape.

Adopting a centaur's bodily shape, Jinete's frame would be jet black in color and be rippling with acute muscles. Two jagged spikes would jut out of his shoulders at an angled fashion, while two horns would crookedly do something similar from his head with a mane of hair to follow in a backward widowspeak of sorts. His mouth would be sealed over by flesh, while two red tattooed lines would run down his cheekbones and above his browless glowing red eyes. Similar lines would outline the rest of his torso, depicting a true warrior creature out of myth. Like his wife, he would lack any sign of a Hollow hole.

"This is what it means to be a Hollow who's evolved past the emptiness of its heart," A voice seemed to echo everywhere, piercing the very mind of the Hankami as well as his wife's. His eyes glowered down from above as his Reiatsu seemed to expand ten fold to expanses that would be felt long into the horizon. As the bodily husks fell backwards with mighty crashes, he would raise up an organic bow and pull back corkscrew shaped arrows that seemed to grow from the shaft itself, spewing bowstring like webbing. Withdrawing the string back to his cheek at a horizontal manner, Jinete would finish with a ominous declaration. "Jinete la Muerte is the name of this form and my full name. Remember it in death, Hankami!"

With the release of the arrows, they spiraled down in a pattern similar to a sparrow. When they struck the ground, a cacophony of burgundy hued explosions would be emitted, releasing the organically compressed bombs that his arrows contained. Like localized WMD's, they tore through the upper partition of the Menos Forest long before a dazed and profusely wounded Jin seemed to skid across the sands like a stone.

Gasping, Jin seemed to be nursing a pair of stumps that used to be arms, having cushioned the blast as best as he could. Eyes widened with incredulity at what he witnessed, he began babbling more to himself than to them, "Inconceivable! I should have decayed the arrows long before they reached me! How could they have stored so much Reishi?! How could he have such control over such vast power?!"

It was a power that Nohemi had felt once before, many years ago.

She closed her eyes as she felt the immense power released and as her ears picked up his challenging words. Before their meet, she would've been wary of this very same power. But now, it was on her side and put to great use. Her cloak billowed violently in the winds generated by his attack, and she had to squint her eyes in order to keep herself from being blinded by the brilliant lights. But her form held firm, up until the very point in where Jin was forced back.

Then, she made her move.

A Sonido brought her in front of her foe, her attack having already commenced. A flying knee, unrestrained and focused, crashed into his jaw with a loud bang. The potency of the attack was so potent, a collateral shockwave was produced to caused As his form was sent flying off, she swung one of her hands out in his direction. The area in which he would be sent towards would be illuminated with an outlining light, a concentration of energy invading that particular part of the atmosphere. It would only be for a second that she would hold that hand out, waiting until her target fell right into its epicenter. Then, she curled her fingers.

Destruction sang.

An explosion, instantaneous and brilliant, was unleashed to consume a massive part of the battlefield. Even the sands underneath and nearby the attack radius were disintegrated, if not turned into a mixture of ash and glass. It was a light of purification, purging all that Nohemi deemed to be undesirable. But even as it commenced, she spoke to the Hankami in the belief that he had survived. Even as it progressed, she raised her voice to speak for the presumably alive opponent to hear. "Did you come to challenge us, not believing that we were capable of carrying such power within us? Here I thought you were learning from your mistakes. But it seems like much more education is needed for the likes of you. Not to worry, though." Her eyes narrowed. "I am a very patient teacher..."

As Jinete's physically larger frame would land gracefully next to Nohemi, Jin's form would visibly stir among the glassed sand.

Muscular tissure and veins seemed to wrap around a faintly glowing object, while another held the sword manifesting Shinsei energy. His entire being seemed to ooze a toxic poison, down to his celluar structure. If one would be brave enough, the mere odor would cause nauseousness that would fell even the most seasons of warriors of the Soul Society. A skull with freshly regenerated eyes would glare up at the two of them as he rose up from the soupy sand that drowned on his blood. His body rose up as clothes retaining the venomous Shinsei would roil around him, a much finer grade of energy jettisoning from his being, seemingly rising up to their level.

"It's coming...It's coming...It's coming!" Jin said in a chanting whisper, his freshly formed lips stretching maniacally across his face as he glared at them both. "catching me off guard isn't changing anything! I am Hankami, born of flesh of the Punisher and Reaper! I cannot die and soon, you'll die! Painfully...Slowly...Agonizing over your power being reduced to nothing! Your final hours will be defiled for what's coming for you, your grace and majesty!"

Return of the King, True Dominance Beheld!
"Hm?"

From his position, Bernabe took a moment to glance over in the direction of the explosive clashing of energies. Even from here, the winds generated graced his form just enough to cause his hair and clothing to billow a bit heavily. A slow smile crossed his face as he took it in, recognizing them as the energies of his Queen, King and the enemy Hankami. He drank it in through his nose, reveling in the scent of war and conflict for a brief moment. "Ah, how they engage with such violence and hatred." He commented. "Such a ferocious clash of wills, and so much power... it almost makes me question who's going to come out alive today. But,"

His eyes drifted towards Rey. "I just can't allow myself to put faith within that question. After all, the Primera is expecting me to destroy you, as she expects the rest of the Espada to destroy every single one of you termites. I just have to uphold my end of the chain..."

Rey, from the start, hadn't taken any serious investment in this rematch with his enemy. Clashing his unreleased sword while occasionally tossing a unfocused Kidō at his foe, he too had been more attentive of the myriad of Reiatsus bristling across various other separated battlefields. With the most verbally proclaimed one by his Arrancar opponent, he could only compare such a fight to the one obviously being had by his superior and the Primera herself.

Tapping the flat of his blade against his armored side, Rey returned his gaze back at Bernabe just as he finished speaking, "I cannot speak for the others you mention, but I am far from the description you so poorly chosen. Then again, a beast such as you doesn't deserve to see my magnificent power a second time, since you should have died the disgraceful death you had been sorely rescued from. Whatever improvements you've made, they matter little. The precipice I stand upon is a thousand years too soon for you to reach, Arrancar, and can never be reached in any lifetime you live."

Raising his blade in a proclaiming manner, Rey sneered at the Espada Afilado Hollow and clicked his tongue against his teeth, "You don't deserve a fight against my glorious Zanpakutō again."

"Is that a fact?" The Arrancar questioned rhetorially, one corner of his mouth lifting in a smirk. He folded his arms across his chest, seeing little reason in keeping his guard up in the face of such an apathetic adversary. "You're convinced that you could kill me without releasing that Zanpakutō of yours, even after what you saw? Well, if that's the case, then why do you seem so uninspired to put forth the proper effort in killing me? These half-hearted Kidō bursts, these unenthusiastic sword swings... they mean nothing to me. It'd be easier for you to just release your power and be done with it, right? The beast would be quelled and you won't have to deal with it being a pain in your backside any longer..."

His smirk gained a hint of malicious clarity. "Or is it that you're trying to bide time? Are you hoping that if you drag it out long enough, someone will come save you? I didn't know that a king needed his allies to come save him from a fire that hasn't even bloomed yet. Even more so," He cocked an eyebrow. "I didn't know that he needed the help of the very creature he seems to detest so much. Tell me, is calling yourself a king some sort of vain comfort for when Jigen puts you in your place?"

An indignant vein would protrude from his forehead. Rey's displeased eyes would stretch to outright wrathful. His normally composed Reiatsu would discharge in a voluminous manner that seemed to warp the air and cause it to become an outright hazard to be within. The ground he hovered purposely above widened with a distening manner that billowed the sandy grains upwards, cracking each individual grain as they rose up to be strangled by the dense Reishi emitted from his being.

"You speak without knowledge of things us intelligent beings do! Do not grasp at words you have no inclination of using properly! It just makes you outright disgusting to listen to, impudent wretch!" Rey yelled out loud with a forceful swing of his blade, releasing hold of it to let it dissolve into particles of golden hued reishi particles that melded into the fabric it holds reign over. The ominous pressure would give birth to a dramatic rippling force that would release a blinding fissure of light, the very Cero that had once crippled the Espada in their last fight, right at point blank.

"SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR HOMELAND, ESPADA!" Rey shouted with hands outstretched and eyes widened to equal the near maniacal smile stretched across his face.

Because it was at point-blank range, Bernabe had little room to dodge or evade the attack.

As such, the twin Cero that had taken him down before crashed into and enveloped him in their destructive light. It wasn't as spectacular as what would've commenced from the more prominent of secondary battles - more specifically, the tri-fight between Arrancar and Hankami. But still, it was vibrant enough to cause the entire area to glow with a dim crimson hue. With its width and power, it was all so easy to say that the Espada had been consumed in his attack once more. Any time now, his body would be falling out of the sky, charred and burned with no hope of recovery.

Only, that wasn't the case.

When the smoke cleared, there wouldn't be a burned and charred Bernabe standing there. Instead, a perfectly untouched Arrancar would be seen holding his pose, his arms still folded across his chest. There was no sign of injury, not even a scratch on his person or a muss of his clothing. The only thing that had changed was his smirk, which had lessened to a more subtle degree.

"Unscathed?" Rey breathed aloud with a tone of inconcievability dripping from his words that followed, "he buffeted himself with his own Reiatsu against an attack that left him all but crippled in his released state?! How did they become so much stronger?!"

A sudden recall would dramatically "ding!" within Rey's head as he remembered the first one he targeted upon the Espada Afilado's return. The smarter one of the bunch, namely Nicolao Jandro, seemed to have also withstood an attack that should have easily killed him during their initial invasion of their city. Now that he took account as to how the others didn't seem to be wrapping up their battles so easily, he could only fathom the leaps and bounds the other Arrancars made in their own personal stores of strength.

"So, you found a way to bolster your Reiryoku stores, have you?" Rey inquired rhetorically, straightening his stance, crossing his arms typically across his golden armored chest. While still a semblance of a scowl, Rey's lips turned into a smile as he deduced the newfound state of Bernabe's Reiryoku level through a brief glance of his Reiatsu. "that might explain a few things. Cero, if hit with enough force, can create a mere fraction of its power when dispersed. I'd wager you've increased your power by three to five times since our last encounter. More substantial than the last time, but I declare it's still a pitiful increase if you hope to match me."

This time, Bernabe allowed himself to chuckle. "Match you?" He repeated, almost as if he was surprised by the words. He unfolded his arms across his chest, lowering them to his sides. "Oh, no. You've got it all wrong. I didn't come all this way just to match you, fight you to a stalemate and give myself a lesser chance of killing you. I'm aiming to crush you, erase your physical form from this existence and see all of that pride come crashing down." He clenched his fists. "I am the Segunda Espada for a reason. This so-called newfound bolster of my Reiryoku was something that's been with me for quite some time. I just never came around to unleashing it yet. To be honest, I'm not exactly sure just what was wrong with me in the first fight. But I assure you that once I'm finished here, you'll agree that the mistakes I made the first time won't be so easily made this time."

Then, he released his spiritual pressure.

Instantly, the entire area seemed to be submerged in both a crimson color and a curtain of suffocating energy. Bernabe's body was glowing with a brighter shade of red, making him look like a twisted beacon in the fog he was unleashing. The potency of his power was so much that there were even hints of the atmosphere being distorted. Some were subtle, such as the sparks and flares that were popping in and out of sense. There were hints that weren't so subtle, such as the clouds in the sky being forced away and the sands rippling like an upset ocean. It was a power that would've certainly fooled anyone into thinking that he rivaled the Espada's commander herself.

"Now come on!" He shouted out to his opponent. "Entertain me! Show me the power that bested me the first time! I'll gladly show you how much of a beast I am, when I tear you into pieces!"

Dumbfounded.

That's what Rey was upon hearing the bizarre explaination as an ungodly amount of Reiatsu flooded the air. Warping space, a crimson overcast lit up all physical surfaces. Crimson tendrils of Reishi particles wildly spewed up from the earth and crawled across the air, a cacophony of chaos to symbolize the absolute force unleashed in its fullest.

It was when such a power was unleashed that Rey realized one thing. The victory he had was a farce, a stupid fluke that he hadn't unleashed this power in the first place.

"You...You..." Rey trembled with visible bodily quakes. As he did so a faint glow of golden particles trailed along his armor, causing his cape to ripple faintly behind him, disturbing his crown of widowspeak hair. Then, it all changed with an outcry emphasized with a bodily swing of his armored hands, eyes glowing a blank disturbing red. "YOU DAMNED BEAST!!!"

It would appear as if a geyser of molten gold would spiral up from his person. The damning atmosphere would warp in color, changing the hues of rapidly distorting tendrils and sparks into a orange light. It was as if the very anger drove him to a point he hadn't been in, not even against the Knight Commander of the RAC. His cape flourishing upwards, the ground rising up in a show of gravity defying propulsion, Rey began to tread across the air with his gaze locked upon his enemy.

"You mock me with a paltry amount of power...deceived me into believing that had been your best...and dared to think me your inferior when you show your true strength?! Arrogance must run in the animal kingdom for you are surely a haughty creature, Bernabé Lino!" Rey declared with a passive gleam of crimson pooling from his eyes.

Swinging his arm to the side, it would appear as if the entire space around Bernabe contorted into a visible ripple of golden water. Seconds later, hundreds upon hundreds of elegant weapons would be discharged at a high velocity, coated in magnificent solar light. Each of them possessed the individual properties to tamper with gravity, discharge energy, wield the elements, and transfuse poisonious toxins. Together they were a horde of javelins, majestic arrows intent on annihilating with the increase of Reishi acceleration provided by Rey's own Reiatsu.

Never had Rey felt such indignified. Never had he felt such rage. And never had he wanted to kill something so badly.

Weapons of varying ability, and an omnidirectional attack.

As the attack was summoned all around him, Bernabe's mind was working itself. His eyes swept his surroundings, his hand grasping the sword sheathed onto his back. Without hesitation, he drew the sword to reveal a rather interesting change. Instead of the jagged-edge sword he had wielded in the first battle, he was holding a smoother and more refined claymore. The once blackened blade was now shining with silver steel, which was ready to defend against the oncoming assault. He only had a few seconds to think out his form of counter-attack.

But when he graced his eyes upon the weapons imbued with the more poisonous element, an idea began to form in his head.

He swung his sword.

"Tornado Girando!"

The wake of his swing produced a mass of cutting winds, aimed specifically at the poisoned weapons. The cutting tendrils ripped through those weapons, releasing their volatile toxins into the atmosphere. He twisted around, making sure to give the exact same courtesy for the rest of the poisoned weapons. This started a chain reaction, with the poisons burning at the energy-producing weapons and causing them to detonate. The resulting explosions blew away and even destroyed the majority of the gravity-manipulating weapons. Within seconds, Rey's attack was mutilated and dissolved.

But remnants of that attack would remain to turn against its master. Bernabe swung his sword again, and the poison that had been released in the first place was thrown towards Rey in a storm of tendrils. They split up and found different routes towards their target, aiming to catch him off-guard with their irregular movement and speed. They were notes to his steel ribbon baton, and he directed them as he pleased. "It takes one to know one," He growled back. "You sad, deluded pawn!!"

"Look who's talking, Segunda!" Rey snarled back with as much venom as there was within the clouds of poison. Just as quickly as the weapons responsible for their discharge, the clouds of toxic vapor would shrivel up and dissipate in the middle of space. Cued in by golden ripples, a broad sword with double edges would fall into Rey's right hand, firmly gripped by his hand.

"Get ready to die!" Rey shouted as he thrust his sword into the middle of the space in front of him, visibly making it disappear. Moments later and the sword would reappear, penetrating the air towards Bernabe's chest where his Hollow hole would be. An attempt to wound him, Rey ensured his Zanpakutō did the work for him. He had no intention on fighting fair; especially with an Arrancar involved.

Bernabe could safely say he had been wrong before. He had carelessly assumed that the armor alone had been doing the strange warping effect on his attacks. Now, it was very clear that the Zanpakutō was the real culprit here. All the armor seemed to do was deflect his physical attacks. It was a perfect balance; while the Zanpakutō dealt with energy projectile-based assaults, his armor could deal with close-up battles. It was a perfect balance, as far as anyone was concerned. In addition, the spacial warps presumably took a certain amount of concentration, as they had never been used to counter Bernabe's more in-your-face barrages.

Getting in Rey's personal bubble was a possible edge he needed to take. He knew that with the poison having been assimilated, trying to drag the battle out would be drastic without some form of proper counterattack.

One of his hands swung out, maneuvering around the thrust to grasp the hand wielding the opposing weapon. With a yell, he threw himself down towards the ground. His catch was pulled with him, and the two were propelled towards their destination with tremendous speed. A swing of the captured arm, and Bernabe would slam Rey into the sands with terrifying force. The sands erupted, tsunamis spawning to rush away from the collision point with haste. Another swing of the arm would hurl Rey back into the air, and a Sonido teleported Bernabe right after his target. His claymore was readied, delivering a diagonal uppercut towards the chest.

Rey had been taken off guard by Bernabe's quick reaction timing, having used his own Zanpakutō's bending of space to launch the attack to begin with. Being thrust into the sands below, the Golden Shinigami could only grunt as his body felt the wind knocked out of him for a brief second from the impact alone. Thankfully the armor absorbed the majority of the force, allowing him to right himself even after being swung up into the middle of the air. Twisting his body around, giving it almost the impression he was turning his back to the Sonido employed Arrancar, he'd briefly flex his brows downward as a physical sign of performing a technique.

This technique would cause the diagonal strike upon his person to disappear within a ripple of golden water that spanned the space in between himself and Rey's caped backside. What emerged at the same time of the slash's absorption would be a javelin of immense proportions discharging from the portal and towards his chest, leaving a jetstream of flames in its wake. When it would make contact a voluminous explosion elliptically similar to a meteorite striking would be witnessed from afar.

"Hadō # 92," Rey followed up, his body suddenly bristling with a damning dark aura ebbed with dark violet and black tongues of Reishi. Twisting his body around to face Bernabe's direction, upraised and downward forefingers would be vertically aligned while golden plated wrists clasped together. Then, almost all at once, the entire land and sky around them became entombed with a pitch black void of the purest abysmal tongues of destructive flames. The screams let out would sound like a billion wraiths being extinguished from oblivion, a fitting audible pressurized release of sonic waves to emit from such a horrifying Kidō technique as he enunciated it during its deployment. "Matenrō!"

"He distorted my swing!"

Bernabe's eyes widened in shock when he saw his sword pass through yet another warp, his physical attack having been negated. This wasn't helped when during the duration of the swing, an explosive javelin was shot point-blank into his form. A surprised grunt escaped him when he was hit, his position enveloped by the violent release of energy. But as far as his Hierro was concerned, it was nothing more than a simple distraction. It wasn't long afterwards that he threw himself from the fading cloud, smoke trailing from him as he got out of the way.

"Damn it!" He thought to himself. "Just when I found a window, it's closed shut immediately! My long range attacks are assimilated and my physical strikes are negated, all thanks to that damned time-space distortion ability of his. As long as his Zanpakutō is released, I literally can't touch him--"

Then, the Kidō spell.

Bernabe's eyes widened slightly when he saw Rey's body glow with that dark aura, calling out the name of the spell as they stood face-to-face. But they widened even further when he witnessed and experienced the effect of the said Kidō spell. It wasn't a release from the body, but rather a remote detonation of the very environment around them. He might as well have been a mouse strapped to a trap, unable to move with the atmosphere set ablaze around them. The flames swallowed him whole, and for a good while, it seemed as if he had been destroyed in the oncoming blaze.

That is, until the flames subsided.

The Arrancar was left standing there with his arms at his side, eyes narrowed at Rey and a scowl on his face. Other than a few residual flames and several scratches on both his clothing and body, there was no sign of damage on his person. As the flames faded away, he straightened himself up to a firmer pose. "I don't know whether or not I should start pulling out my trump card just yet. There has to be a way to counter that Zanpakutō that I'm just not seeing. But what is it...?"

Rey could only glare with frustration mingled with apprehension. His enemy had taken his Kidō and his surprise attack by his Shikai with little to no damage. Guessing either his enemy had quicker reaction timing to deflect the majority of the Kidō's damage or it just lacked the yield of damage he sought to inflict didn't comfort him one way or another.

"It doesn't help that he saw how powerful my Zanpakutō was last time. Considering the vast release of Reiatsu he seems to be on a whole different level than I first faced him," Rey calculated with a angry sneer fixated over his brows, just as he turned around within the air to face his enemy. Crossing his armored limbs across his chest, his scowl narrowed further as he noticed his enemy taking time to analyze him, "he's also a bit more clever. The fact that he knew to pull me through the gateway my own Zanpakutō makes was startling in of itself. I should be more careful on launching attacks that involve my own person and my Shikai."

Rey then decided to break the silence by flashing a devilish smile down at Bernabe, "My, just look at you, Arrancar. All powered up and yet you still don't look happy. I honestly don't see how anything I can do will please you now. I had expected you to accept your fate within the wake of that Kidō and yet you simply just keep insisting on living. We can't have that, now can we?"

His words were the reason Bernabe gave a small smirk in return. "Yeah. It's not so easy this time, is it, Prince?" He fired back, readying his sword in a one-handed defensive position. "Just hit your enemy with a surprise attack and he'll be gone for good. Just fire a few Kidō spells and the thorn will be removed from your side, right? I told you before. Your halfhearted attacks mean nothing to me. If you want this kill, you're going to have to earn it just like everybody else." The smirk quickly faded, but his taunt continued on. "I'm no faceless soldier lining up to get killed by you, nor am I some greenhorn recklessly charging into a fight I can't win. I am a veteran of war, a harbinger of conflict and a father of bloodshed. I am the Segunda for a reason, little boy, and you are about to find that out soon enough."

"You keep saying that as if you're trying to prove something, Arrancar," Rey narrowed his eyes, visibly twitching from the string of insults sent his way, but not all the way goaded like before. Visible signs of efforted breathing could be heard faintly, the sign of having to use such a Kidō of high magnitude without incantation. Yet, he didn't allow this to affect him, and decided to mingle confidence with feigned bravado to buy himself time. "you had ample opportunity to reveal this power and supposed veteran authority over me in our last exchange. What held you back? Were you uncertain how you could best me, or were you simply ignorant of your own strength? It wouldn't suprise me of the latter, given how unintelligently you were defeated by me in our battle. Tell me, how did it feel to experience your own flesh being seared off by your own Cero? I bet it hurt like Hell, wouldn't you agree?"

As he spoke, his armor began to glow a vibrant hue. Flakes of the atmosphere's ambient Reishi, as well as the crackling sandy grains below, all began to flourish in a golden upward spiral towards Rey. A verified rise of Reiatsu from Rey could be felt as his own armor ensured that his own stores of Reiryoku not be entirely depleted or exhausted. This created a heavenly aura about him, contrasting the vicious red pair of eyes to sneeringly glare down at his foe as he waved his arms openly.

"You may be at a league much grander than you were when you were felled in our prior battle, but I hold the tactical advantage. My powers, be it Kidō or my Zanpakutō, far outstrip your use of brute force. Your clever wit will only carry you so far in this battle. In the end, you will fall to my brilliant weapons," Rey continued to emphasize with a wordless command to reveal hundreds of elaborate spears and large swords pierce the golden waters that stretched across the vast vertical vista behind Rey's back. None of them were launched, simply poking out from the vault that the Zanpakutō created. It was a simple demonstration to just how powerful the Shinigami is despite his adversary. "no Hollow can ever transcend a Shinigami's majesty, no matter how hard they try to hide the ugliness that is their Hollowity. My Zanpakutō is proof of that, as your release is sheer ugliness in of itself. You will die depraved and in the dust, just like any beast of your ilk will. Just like your bitch of a Primera!"

The mental glass that was Bernabe's calm abruptly shattered when he heard those words.

For a moment, he allowed himself to fall deathly silent. His stance abruptly broke, and the sclera and irises of his pupils shrank to a near-invisible degree. He seemed like an airborne leaf frozen in time, his ponytail and coat billowing lightly within the breeze. The demonstration of power barely registered to him, bearing less of a presence in his head than the last words Rey had spoken. The insults towards him could be brushed off. But to hear him speak so shamelessly about his leader, to hear him blatantly regard Casilda as he did? It may not have been a crime within Empresa. But it was a crime to him, as far as his enemies was concerned.

He would let Rey Dorado know this as gently as he could.

"My "bitch" of a Primera, huh...?" Slowly, his eyes narrowed into a hawk-eye stare. Without warning, he flipped his claymore around and sheathed it within the scabbard on his back. His voice was quiet, almost inaudible to his opponent. "You'll have to forgive me, then. I allowed myself to forget that you had a pink devil for a tongue, believing that I could actually enjoy the battle this time around. But it's clear that I just cannot be allowed that privilege." He lowered his hand from his hilt, allowing both of them to hang at his sides. It wasn't soon after that he allowed himself to slowly rise into the air to meet Rey's level. During this motion, his hands slowly clenched into fists so tight that the veins could be visible. "You want "ugly"?"

It was a few seconds after that he began to manifest an aura around his person. It was crimson in color and the only visible sign of the massive spiritual pressure that once again illuminated the landscape. But this time, it began to increase in intensity, to the point where the Arrancar's ponytail was undone. His long hair was left to billow and buck wildly in the growing winds, increasing the ferocity of his expression. His eyes had taken on a red glow, and he was now clenching his teeth in a snarl not too different from an angry animal's. "I will show you ugly, you delusional bastard!!" He snarled, his volume and rage slowly rising with each and every word spoken. "I will show you despair, destruction and the complete annihilation of your being!! I will rip you from that pedestal and drag you down to the very depths of Hell!! YOU WILL NEVER HAVE THE MIND NOR THE MOUTH TO INSULT THE PRIMERA OR MY KIN AGAIN, REY DORADO!!"

He swung his arms over his head.

"EXTINGUISH THE FLAMES OF LIFE, FALANGE!!!"

When he swung those arms outward to his side, an event of catastrophe was unleashed upon the landscape. The aura around Bernabe expanded violently and rapidly, and the Arrancar soon became the center of something compared to a nuclear explosion. The released energy touched down to the ground, completing a half-sphere of death that expanded without restraint or delay. As it progressed, its color slowly shifted from a radiant red to a foreboding black. It was a void that consumed a good portion of the battlefield, with anyone and anything caught within its grasp threatened with complete and total annihilation. The time span would be a matter of seconds, and in the end, an entire city's worth of area would be destroyed by the release of power.

When it all cleared, there would be a massive crater left within the sands. Above it would be the released form of Bernabe - but he would not appear as he did in the first fight. Instead of an animal's form, he resembled something of a dark knight. Reinforced armored plating seemed to cover his body, with the exception of his right arm. That particular limb was mutated to a more intimidating look, with spikes enveloping the majority of it. A helmet enveloped his face, resembling a mix of a ram's head and a human skull. Even as he finished the release, there was a loose and transparent cyclone of blackened spiritual energy circling around his form. "Now come." He demanded, raising his fists in preparation for the battle. "Come and be destroyed!!"

Heart to Heart: The Darkness Consumes
Bernabe would not be the only one filled with rage against her adversary.

Casilda smashed one of her blade against the blade of her master, their swords locked in a momentary struggle. As they pushed against each other, her vengeful and cold eyes stared into the stoic and detached ones of her former master. It was so infuriating how he kept himself so coldly composed, even knowing the role he had played in this war. He had shamelessly aided in the deaths of their kin, the potential extermination of Hollowity and the conquest of the Hollows' most hated enemy, and yet he had the audacity to regard her with such a look? She believed that maybe she would get a different one once she punched her steel through his throat.

With a brief growl, she brought her other sword into the mix and started her attack. Her swings were aggressive, yet they weren't carrying full strength behind them. In general, they could be summed up as testing. She was testing herself to see how far she had to go in order to win this fight. As eager as she was to punish him, she also understood that he was not going to be easy to take down. He had been her mentor, gave her the skills needed to grow and fight. He was the man who had helped maker into the woman she was today, and that meant he had a good idea of her abilities. In turn, she had at least a good idea of what he was capable of. But she didn't know just how much he changed in the years they had spent apart.

There was plenty of reason to be cautious as well as angry.

"Clashing steel against steel under the moonlight," Jigen said in a soft tone, almost unheard within the midst of clangs and concussive claps of force emitted between their swords. While the brilliant and long-lived swordsman wielded only one of the ten swords on his person, he fluently parried each strike of Cassie's, reading out her own increase of skills just as she was testing him. Every indention of sandy earth, every blast of air pressure, and every blaze of sparks that showered the wind with their brilliant beauty just gave him more than an occasional memory of when he was among her and her family as more than simply a teacher. He was a...

"This brings back so much memories," Jigen said as he expertly grasped the guard of a sword thrust, side-stepping its impaling gesture, allowing the blade to go between his left forefingers harmlessly. The other grinded his sword in a lock as he gained an intimate amount of her personal space so he may gaze deep into her eyes. There was no hint of anger or hatred, no despair or anguish; it just seemed, distant, as if he was yearning for something else to happen.

"Doesn't it, Casilda?" He finished while holding that proximity to her, breathing out as if a wave of nostalgia had been exhaled from his nostrils as suddenly as he inhaled it.

"Shut up." Was his vehement response. The Primera didn't relent her stare in the face of such soft words. His proximity surprised her, but it wasn't enough to unnerve her or suddenly make her self-conscious. Her shoulders lightly rose and fell as she breathed, her anger hastening the rate of her lungs. "I didn't come here to walk down memory lane with you. If you want to talk, then tell me this. Why did you do it? Why did you allow yourself to side with that monster? You turned your back on your own kind, turned your back on me. And for what?"

For the longest time, Jigen didn't say anything. Not a single word. He just looked into her eyes and absorbed all the angery she was radiating off her pores, accepting the wrathful gleam her eyes shined with. His eyes closed and let out a long exhale, "Would you understand if I told you? You, who had lived for so long, are still a child in comparison to my long lived years. Will you grasp the meaning of my words, even if they don't satisfy your desire to understand me?"

Pulling her by her right sword hand, the Grandmaster spun around so that she would pass him by the momentum of his tug. With his sword released from the lock, he pulled back the blade to have its flat touch his opposing arm. Then, in an instant, he swung the blade with a force comparable to Aizen's own physical power. The air would contort, the sands grinded into dust, and the landscape disheveled for a good kilometer in scope.

"Make me draw more than one sword, Casilda, and I will consider telling you the reason why I chose this path," Jigen said with a stoic and level tone, unabashed by the sudden inclination of brutality or intent to kill his sword swing possessed.

Within that brief instant, Casilda's face gave way to shock and even horror.

It wasn't due to the attempt at imbalacing her, for she had been able to counter that quite easily. All she had to do was put a foot out in front of her to catch herself, spinning to face Jigen again. What had caused it was the small vent of energy when her foe's sword pulled back. As it swung, her senses could pick up just how much energy was being put into the strike. The contents of her eyes shrank, and she realized what kind of danger she was in.

Thankfully, her alarm wasn't enough to hinder her decision to evade.

A Sonido caused her form to vanish, and she barely escaped the resulting destruction intact. She reappeared a safe distance away, looking at the effects of Jigen's attack with trpidation. As beads of sweat fell down her face, she looked down at her front. A gash, shallow at best, ran across her right breast. Had she taken any longer, she would've been ripped apart. There was only one thing to do, seeing that kind of power.

Her eyes narrowed, and she raised her swords to the sky while calling out her release command.

"Punish, Verdugo!"

Her words caused a brief, yet brilliant flash to erupt from her body. When it was over, she donned the form that had challenged Sosuke Aizen. She narrowed her eyes once more as she looked at Jigen. "Fine by me!" She declared. "I'll gladly force it out of you, if that's what it takes to learn the truth!"

In what appeared to be a tsunami excess of Reishi before Jigen's eyes wafted harmlessly over and around his stoic frame. The Reiatsu shook the fabric of the sandy plains as she emerged in her newfound and fully evolved stated. With the sight of no Hollow hole, it made his eyes briefly widen with surprise. It was the sign of a truly evolved Hollow, from his perspective.

Hearing her words only furthered his own determination, as he raised his blade in a beckoning stance.

"Come," He called out out in a unmoved and ready stance, "show me the force you intend to rip the truth you seek out of me!"

She obliged, ready and willing.

She started off her attack by abruptly sliding a foot behind her, her katana pulled back in position for a lunge thrust. Using her free hand's index and middle finger to get a better aim, she thrust the blade in his direction. From her metal, a release of kinetic energy was released in the form of a fissure. The vertical wave torpedoed towards him, ripping through the ground and sending waves of sand away from the area. But just as it reached Jigen, it would split off into smaller and compact waves in a show of instability. The result was a mix of energy and sands, fused into one gigantic storm of destruction. Although it seemed intent on capturing Jigen in its web, injury or death was nothing more than a side effect. It was the distraction needed to take him off balance and deliver her real blow.

Her Sonido carried her beside his form in a time span smaller than a heartbeat. Her form was crouched low, her sword arm was pulled down over her chest in preparation to swing again, and her eyes flashed with unrestrained lethal clarity. Her sword arm moved once more, carrying the power and intent to rip her former master to shreds alongside the environment they stood within.

"A sword thrust containing focused physical power? She doesn't want to waste Reishi unless she has to," Jigen noted from the launch of the terrifyingly swift and powerful vertical wave of kinetic destruction. When it split into a overall cacophony of rippling explosions of unstable wind currents, Jigen's body seemed to be immobile. What would occur would be a series of bodily fluctuations as he used the swiftness of his swordplay to create a conical barrier to shield himself from the ongoing sand storm of air pressure.

The defense, to the attacker, would be too swift for the eye to follow.

When she performed a Sonido to appear behind him, he vaulted over the slicing wave of kinetic projection, right over her head. As his body glided towards her posterior flank, he curled his sword arm back around his left cheek. A release of similar pressurized force launched within a singular diagonally aimed stroke of his sword, such enough to part the sands to create a damningly deep cavern. Sands parted as if they were ripped apart with the fingers of a god, stemming straight from a single sword strike.

"!"

Casilda's heart skipped a beat when the form of Jigen vanished from her sight. Even her eyes had failed to track him properly, and for a brief moment, she was taken off-guard by his movements. However, that was when her senses kicked in. She picked him up moving towards her back, once again carrying that ferocious power behind him as he engaged. She gave herself a pat on the back for releasing right away; if she had continued to fight him unreleased while he was like this, there was no doubt that she would have been killed. Aizen certainly had picked a good successor for his throne.

Or at least, he would in the event that he killed her. But she was determined not to let that happen.

Her body straightened up and spun itself around to face him, and her teeth clenched in a bitter snarl once he came close enough to her. Instead of simply blocking, she relied on a move to give more room for counter-attack. When he swung his blade downwards and unleashed that godlike demonstration of strength upon the land, she used a free hand to chase his sword. While she moved her head back to avoid the blade, her free hand met with and parried the sword away - a move meant to destroy his balance. In the wake of that motion, her sword arm swung an uppercut and sent her own steel ribbon on a path to tear through his chest. They were not simply two movements, but two short steps to a killing blow - an example of how skilled Casilda was in the art of swordsmanship.

Some part of her wondered what Kukkyōna would've thought, considering their own battle so far back.

The sight of seeing her hand move towards his sword hand gave him brief pause. He had yet to land solidly within the air, having to make do with that due to his own destruction of the ground beneath them. By the time the soles of his boots tapped onto the airspace he clung to for traction, his sword arm overswung by her well-timed thrusting palm. Given how he could already see her sword moving in a upward arc to shred his chest, he knew the orthodoxical method of swinging or evading wouldn't be advisable.

So instead, he simply tossed his sword deftly across the distance between his free hand from his original sword wielding one. The result would be a ear wrending clash of steel, the mere contact of the two weapons causing the gouge in the sandy ravine below to expand wider. This created an elliptical eye indention in the earth from where they hovered in place. The showers of sparks sliding from their weapons highlighted the intense look Casilda bore while his own stoically concentrated one contrasted hers thoroughly.

"You've gotten better," Jigen faintly remarked, eyes narrowing in emphasis of his statement.

During his compliment, Jigen shoved her uppercut to the side in a violent right sided twist. At the same time, he'd pass along the hilt back to his right hand allowing him to swing his sword down at her left flank. This would produce a sizable fissure of cerulean light, in culmination with mingling with his own godly strength. Scraping off the surface of the distant sandy horizon, skyscraper tall veils of pale grains would rise shortly before being disassimilated by the destructive wave ensuing.

Backpedaling throughout the air, Jigen landed upon the opposite end of the eye shaped chasm's top, while he examined his handiwork.

A grunt had escaped Casilda's lips when her sword was parried aside, causing her sword arm to jerk to her own side. Her body had braced itself when she saw Jigen's arm circle back to deliver a strike towards her left side. Her legs boosted her form in a backflip, and she evaded the opposing sword with the grace of a capoeira fighter. Her bent knees barely missed his face as she did so, and the the wind generated from his strike scraped against the clothes of her back. It seemed that at the very least, she could compete with him. But if she wanted to push him, she would have to go deeper into her reserves. At this rate, they would simply be going to a stalemate, and she couldn't have that - not when there was so much she needed to know.

As he went to one side of the created chasm, she moved towards the other. Even as she stared with narrowed eyes at her enemy, she couldn't help but give a smug smirk at him as his compliment was registered. "I had to be." She answered, lowering her blade to the side momentarily. "How else would I have been able to challenge the likes of your master, to ensure that no ordinary opponent could face me down without consequence? It's common sense." Her smile slowly faded away, replaced by a deep frown. "And unfortunately, most of that progress was thanks to you. Never in my life did I think that I'd have to take these abilities of mine to kill the very one who made me..."

"Now you're being foolish," Jigen remarked in a chiding tone, raising his blade to point over the expanse directly at her. "you have yet to force me to draw a second sword. I highly doubt that Released Form has shown all of its power or techniques to me. Either fight me like you mean to win or you will die by my blade."

Retracting the blade to rest over his right shoulder, Jigen narrowed his eyes to represent the closest thing to a scowl that he could muster, "Any student of mine should know better than to hold back against his or her teacher."

The ice flashed within Casilda's eyes as she registered his words of lecture. "Who said I was holding back?" She retorted, raising her katana and pointing its killing tip at him. It gleamed within the moonlight of Hueco Mundo, emphasizing it and her desire to beat him. "What're you expecting me to do? Just sling all of my power on you and hope that you don't find a way to counter it? I may not get why you turned your back to your own teachings, Jigen. But I believe I know you well enough to understand you're not someone to die by brute force alone. So you just sit there and behave yourself."

With this statement, a small orb appeared at the tip. It was white, carrying a light blue hue to it. Although it was miniscule at best, it created a visually distorting effect around its personal space - specifically, a cyclone-like effect. It also illuminated Casilda's form, her crimson eyes and her cold expression shining menacingly in the distance. "The finale," She continued, the wind picking up around her enough to cause her hair and clothing to flare. "Will be coming soon enough." She took careful aim at her target, making sure that she was aiming for Jigen's lower half.

Then, she released the pent-up energy in the form of a Cero. It was shot towards Jigen with immense speed and power. Its connection to contact would result in an explosion of flames and a creation of a wildfire that would consume a massive portion of the area. The blue flames of nuclear quality reduced the invincible sands underneath their feet to ash, creating further havoc to the already war-torn battlefield. It was a Cero infused with the aspect of Destruction, providing for a very terrifying display of insurmountable power. Its light highlighted the frost within both Casilda's expression and body language as she regarded her handiwork for a second more. But she didn't linger for long, as she knew a counterattack would be on its way soon enough. She had to keep up the offensive while she still could.

Using a Sonido, she moved herself up into the air. Her free hand swung itself out, briefly glowing with a white aura before ejecting out a massive stream of Bala upon the area Jigen was in. It was the equivalent of a halestorm - the Bala rained down upon the ground with explosive flair, strengthening the flames that were eating away at the Hollow earth. She would allow herself to do this for a handful of seconds before stopping, switching to defensive mode and using her senses to sweep her environment for her enemy. Had it been anyone else, she would've been more confident that the attack would've destroyed them. But he was different. He would find a way to get himself out, even if he happened to get pressured. He was stubborn like that - a trait she had once admired.

"Where are you, traitor...?"

The wave of power flourishing from Casilda's attack was astounding. It was enough that it caused the old swordsman to widen his eyes with stark realization just the aspect of the technique she used. Blazing forth in a cauldron of blue-white light, it fired forth in a fusion of destruction and life. The spherical twist and pull of its force would be enough to annihilate anyone of his caliber, if he were not capable of handling it properly.

Thankfully, his style of combat allowed him to fight on such a level.

"Yokubari!"

Swinging his blade in a pattern resembling an italic one, the sword glowed a bright violet light as it penetrated the veil of energy swarming forth. While it gave the impression, on the outside, that he was consumed it couldn't be the more contrary. The energy itself soon changed color from ice blue to light purple, crackling and thrumming with total control. By the time the Bala stormed the landscape, peppering it with enough force to create many chasm deep holes with every towering upheaval of sand, his body had long since evaded the stream of attacks.

"Right here!" Jigen answered, shimmering directly in front of her, emblazoned with a aura of violet light that was empowered by her own Aspect of Destruction's attack. Having appeared in an instant, he didn't take long to swing his blade out towards her, releasing the massive infernal light in the form of a spectral serpentine head. It would shred as much as it would burn, containing all of the amassed energy she used against him and be doubled with his own output of power.

"Furiko Hebi!"

"!"

Casilda's eyes widened in surprise when she saw Jigen appear in front of her, imbued with the very same power she had unleashed upon him. He hadn't just countered it - he had assimilated it as his own attack. The thought alone made her reel back when he moved, and she reflexively raised her sword up in order to block his strike. But with him using the nuclear flames against her, there was little she could do. She let out a startled yell as the serpentine's head swallowed her, and her yells soon turned to those of agony as she was burned. Before she was completely consumed, she would be seen stretching a hand out to Jigen with a mixture of rage and pain on her face. Then, her form would disappear in the river of fire, never to be seen again.

Or at least, that's what Jigen would see.

Right after the reel back, every movement made by Casilda had turned into a movement made by an after-image - one delayed by the power of Time. It would last up until the very moment where it was consumed by the flames, where it would disappear and give the impression that Casilda had been slain. The real Primera appeared behind her foe as soon as the flames hit, thrusting a free hand and stopping it near the back of Jigen's head. That hand glowed with a blackened aura, and a poisonous energy seeped out from it to its target. It wasn't the conventional type of poison, but rather a poison of the mind and mental state. Through the breaking of will and the violation of his mind, Casilda aimed to crush him.

Jigen would feel the impression of movement coalescing at the exact moment of Casilda's death. Knowing it would be all but too soon for her to be slain, he would swiftly sheathe the sword in hand on the empty middle scabbard on his left hip. At the same time, he'd withdraw another sword just as swiftly, just as the hand crawled towards his skull. By the time he turned his eyes back around to face her, his sword swung up in a defensive stance all too low to intend to stop her hand wrapping around his head.

"Mayakasu!"

When she would grasp Jigen's head, the entirety of his being would disperse into razor sharp glass. The world itself within her conception would appear as if it was falling apart into fragments, creating an endless pool of blackness around her. The thrumming sensation that had emanated just a mere instant before making tactile contact would announce the waking sound of an ominous drum ringing within her abysmal prison she had somehow been trapped within.

"You surprise me," A bodiless voice rang out all around Casilda, as if it was everywhere and nowhere at once. "the Ten Aspects of Death is something only a fully evolved Hollow, such as your mother and father, can wield. Such a type of power is only rivaled by my Ten Blades of Sin. What a remarkable progression of skill and strength you've had..."

"W-what the hell is this?!" In favor of the change of her surroundings, Casilda disregarded the compliment given to her. This time, it was the genuine article that was shocked and even a little bit horrified. In just a matter of seconds, her world had fallen apart around her. Darkness consumed every part of her vision, making her essentially blind to anything that could've crossed her way. It seemed like he had placed her into an illusion of sorts, and a powerful one at that.

"My sword, Nisemono, has the ability to create illusions that affect each sense accordingly," Jigen explained, his body physically manifesting in front of her, the lower half as wispy as a Dijin while the upper half contained a perfect replication of his form on the outside. Visibly he raised the blade in a presenting manner, he announced in a less ominous voice, "think of it as a perfect foil to Lord Aizen's original Zanpakutou, Kyoka Suigetsu. While it is not nearly as effortless, its deployment is much more subtle and more precise to each sense I target. To someone like you who's so used to fighting with all of your senses heightened, this sword is perhaps the deadliest to use against you.

"There is only one question," He continued, his body seemingly manifested behind her, holding the cold edge of the sword against her neck's right side from behind, "will you break this fantasy, or will this nightmare break you?"

A single decapitating stroke would emphasize the intent to kill as he vocalized this question to her, within the depthless world of the abyss.

There was a click in the back of her mind, a memory flashing her mind back to the fight she had with Yashin.

"I had merely to have to enhance those beautiful senses of yours to its maximum in order to completely exert my will over yours. You are now powerless!"

This was a scenario that had mirrored that moment, where Yashin believed himself to have effectively incapacitated her. It was after that moment she had abruptly proved him wrong, unknowingly being one of the first entities to have surprised him. It was the time that she had proved herself to be a formidable adversary, the battle having increased to extreme lengths afterwards. If Jigen wasn't lying to her, then his illusion matched that of the one Yashin had deployed on her. It was perfect for her mental defenses to kick in.

So despite the cold edge of his blade across her neck and the sweat beading down her face, Casilda did not panic. Instead, she closed her eyes, reached out with her free hand and clasped Jigen by his sword wrist.

His real wrist.

With that connection and within an instant, the illusion shattered to pieces around her. The artificial darkness created by Jigen gave away to the natural darkness of Hueco Mundo's night. She opened her eyes, fixing a hawk-eyed stare at her enemy as she faced him. Her sword blade was lowered and readied in one hand, which was gripping the hilt tightly. She glanced at the sword that had threatened to kill her, taking note of its appearance before switching her gaze back to Jigen. "That's your second sword, Jigen." She said icily, her grip on his wrist tightening. "You feel like talking yet?"

Her killing edge was swung once again towards his chest in a ferocious uppercut, enhanced by the power of Despair.

Once again, those normally stoic eyes would widen when Casilda's hand caught his real wrist. As he could feel the power he placed over shatter as swiftly as her perception of the world was he induced into her, he could scarcely believe this was the same woman he trained to fight. The mental fortitude she retained was staggering in his boggled mind.

When her words reached his ears, he responded accordingly. Spinning on the ball of his right heel, his body deftly avoided the uppercut of her sword stroke, creating a fissure of damning proportions that cut a waft of sand and airspace beyond Jigen's person. With her hand still locked onto his wrist, he launched a powerful kick of godly pressure to her exposed unarmed side, aiming to send her away and release her hold on his sword hand.

"You earned the right," Jigen said with a few gasps of breath, more out of calming down from the shock of the situation he narrowly survived from, rather than out of exhaustion. Standing upright, he lowered his sword's tip to tap the sandy distended grains, narrowing his stoic gaze to lock onto hers once more. "have you ever wondered if this world, this reality we live in, never changes? In my long lifetime, I sought many things to ease the burden of my longevity. Fighting the good fight and perhaps falling to the blade of another worthy enemy. Finding comfort in the affection of a special someone. Passing on my teachings to those who would one day appreciate them. None of these things seemed to satisfy me nor eased the pain of my endless life."

Looking down at his left hand, he clenched it tightly, knitting his brows inwards as he continued, "Nothing in this damned eternity ever changed. I began to sojourn across every part of the Spiritual Cosmos, even the Material World that hasn't been touched by the likes of spirits or physical beings. I wondered if I'd find a place where I'd belong, but no place felt welcome or inviting. Everywhere I go, I'd be reminded of the curse of my long lived life and the power I've wielded. I am forever a lonely stranger in the eyes of all living and spiritual beings."

Raising his gaze up to Casilda's, he then rekindled an all too familiar memory by speaking in a level, haunted tone, "You do remember that day that almost changed everything, right? The one that happened almost three years ago to this day? I was the closest to finding true happiness in the change and abyss that eternal day wrought upon my form. And yet, it was undone, and nothing changed!"

Jigen growled out the last two words with enunciated anger, his eyes practically tearing up after recalling his life's purpose to his student, the closest thing he ever had to a daughter. His aura expanded in a blinding shine of sapphire gleaming light, spreading outwards from the soles of his boots to emit dozens of kinetic beams that slanted and carved crevices within the sandy domes all around the desert. While other battlefields of high Reiatsu had been present up to this point, all things quieted in the face of Jigen's grief-turned-wrathful power that radiated at a constant level of pressure.

"Lord Aizen promised an end to that! He gave his word to me, and I believe he could, given what he showed me!" Jigen now bellowed out, his free hand reaching for an additional sword, the one he had used foremostly since the beginning of their fight. Drawing it out, he held both Nisemono in his right hand and his Power-Assimilating blade in the other. With eyes that normally shined a passive and peaceful light sprouting netted veins around his silver irises, his hair bristled violently along with the coat that held his other eight sheathed swords, breathing the scale of his might to its fullest. "you're in the way of my happiness, Casilda! For that very reason, I will cast away the bonds I've had with you and your kind, including your parents! I'll cut away all ties to my past if I can have a brighter future!"

His first movement was predicted.

With a grunt, Casilda felt him rip himself out of her grasp as he spun. The millisecond-long twitch of his leg was caught by her senses, and she reflexively ducked low in order to defend herself. His leg would meet her arm, the force sentind her to skid a safe distance away from him. With an astounding level of body control, she slid one of her legs behind her in order to stop herself. She was back up to a standing position and ready to continue the fight. But when she heard his deceleration of her earning the right to hear his reasoning, she lowered her sword to listen to him. She didn't think that whatever reason would sate her desire to slay him, and she was fully prepared to shoot him down the moment he stopped talking.

But when she heard him, the boiling current that was her blood found its temperature rise stopping.

Especially after she had taken hold of the leading position within Hueco Mundo, she had noted how still the world around her seemed to be. Other than the battles she waged against her opponents, there seemed to be nothing of true interest that caught her attention. She had always yearned to face a strong opponent, someone who could properly challenge her blade and even best her in the art of war. Despite all the tragedy that the war had claimed, it had served as the spark to rekindle Casilda's spirit. She had found strong opponents, even in the most despicable of cases. She had found herself threatened by death more than a few times. She had been pushed to mental and physical limits as she pushed through the struggle, up to this very point in time.

So as he poured his heart out to her, she found the fire within her slowly draining. The desire to kill was withering away with each and every word spoken, her heart starting to find a connection within his words. Like her, he understood the consequences of immortality, especially the result known as loneliness. Her stance dropped a little, and her eyes dilated as slight tears began to form at the corners of her eyes. The desire to hate her master suddenly became less and less prominent, and she found herself wondering if she and he weren't so different from each other, after all. Despite consequences, they both sought their own ways to cope with their cursed lives. They both sought to find some way to keep their own future happy, even at the cost of other people. Even if she killed him and ensured her people could live in peace, it would be she would have to rob him of his own desires.

It didn't help that Lilynette's death came to mind.

Even in the face of his grief and rage, she couldn't find it within herself to react actively to it. She closed her eyes, pushing the tears down her cheeks. Her head hung down a little, overshadowing those eyes. "At the very least, I can say I understand now." She said softly, her voice almost rendered inaudible from the winds Jigen was generating. "This immortal life hasn't been so kind to you either, has it? I'd like to think I'm more low-key about it. But I suppose that in that case, you and I really aren't that much different from each other. Maybe I am wrong for standing in your way. Maybe your master does have the power to change this sad life that we Hollow live." A bitter chuckle escaped her before she took in a deep breath.

Without warning, her spiritual pressure burst forth. A white and massive aura of spiritual energy outlined her body to challenge Jigen's own, their combined releases seemingly shaking the very heavens themselves. She slowly opened her eyes, which had turned into blank and glowing shells of their former selves. "But it doesn't matter!" She declared, conviction and resolve within her words. Despite her firm tone, the hatred that had driven her had lessened to an almost miniscule degree. "I've seen too much atrocity to change my way! I had to abandon my people and let them fall at the nonexistent mercy of the Sennin Butai! I had to bury an entire village's worth of Arrancar that had been slaughtered by that maniac Rey Dorado! Aizen's work has brought too much tragedy, suffering and agony upon innocent people. If this is the way he aims to show you a different way, then consider me the worst obstacle you could ever have to hurdle over!"

She swung her sword so that the tip pointed towards her foe. "I'm going to stop you, master. I'm going to end the nightmare Aizen made for all of us... even if it means I have to kill you in the process!"

Jekyll and Hyde: The Sword and the Scythe
Even as he faced his opponent down with his jagged-edge katana in hand, Senkaku took notice of the battle between Casilda and Jigen through the immense spiritual pressure both of them were exuding. It was something that rivaled the presence of his King and Queen against the Hankami, which was exerting just as much energy. He knew that the battlefield created would be scared for many years, if not an eternity. That made it clear that Casilda was fighting with all she had in order to defeat her foe. It was necessary that he do the same.

For the time being, he had been on even footing with his new opponent Jinsoku. He had exchanged analyzing blows and testing strikes, trying to get a proper gauge on how his enemy fought. Throughout it all, he had remained deathly silent. His mask told nothing, and the only sign of emotion he allowed to come to the surface was the ice within both movement and attack. But even so, he wasn't emotionless. As a matter of fact, he was burning with a contained fury. His previous fight with Mukurō had shot his mild-mannered and conversational attitude towards battle straight to the depths of Hell. Right now, he was dead set on killing his enemy, whatever the cost. Honor and integrity simply wasn't worth it anymore in the face of the continuous arrogance he had dealt with.

On the sidelines, his other half looked on silently - or rather, she was "sensing" out the fight considering her inability to see. She was stationary upon Senkaku's request, as he had been insistent on dealing with his foe alone. She was there as an emergency, in the event that things truly got out of hand. She knew that her leader could handle himself. But as she picked out the cold and almost mechanical process by which he was operating, she couldn't help but feel slivers of worry. She hoped that at the very least, his rage would come to pass and not consume him completely. The last thing she wanted him to do was don the mindset of a cold-blooded killer and fall to the same level as their enemies. Her hands wer clasped in front of her, almost as if in prayer.

"Win, Lord Senkaku. But do not lose yourself in this. The Primera needs us..."

"HA!" Jinsoku exclaimed as he landed a good distance away from the sword fighter. "you're a lot more fun, faceless Arrancar, than the last shit I fought! I rather fight a silent man than one who talks his ass off about how superior and more intelligent he is!"

Arching around his scythe to his left arm, he clawed his inked up set of digits in the air in preparation as he concluded, "But enough about me, let's kill you!"

Jinsoku reared back his arm, causing it to glow all across the tattooed letterings. Within an ominous pulse he thrust the fist forward, creating what looked like a collosal entity's limb to hurtle forward, being as large as a skyscraper is wide. Such power was placed into the construct that the sandy ground parted and distended with its momentum hurtling forward against him.

"Kihaku Tekken!" He shouted with a gleefully maniacal tone.

It was a powerful attack, one that he didn't dare to challenge head-on. His hidden eyes took it in as it was thrust towards him, analyzing both the speed and power of the attack. Although he wasn't keen on trying to show-off and block the strike with his sword, he noted that compared to most of the attacks he faced, this one was lacking in speed. In addition, it didn't seem to have a defense packed behind it. Either this was an attempt to lure the Arrancar into a trap, or he was simply behaving recklessly.

He threw himself forward, using a Sonido to vanish from the attack's path once he was close enough. When his body re-appeared, it was that much closer to his opponent. His blade was gripped in two hands in preparation to swing. But his blade was ignited with the green flames that was his Espada Cero technique. Hidden eyes were narrowed as his hands swung the blade again and again, aiming to shred his foe apart. Physical defense would be made that much more difficult, courtesy of the increased cutting power that the unique Cero provided.

Seeing the Espada leap into his personal space so swiftly, Jinsoku recoiled and leaped back away from the initial strike. Seeing that it didn't deploy a Cero like he expected, wreathing about the blade like a curtain of energy, Jinsoku in turn created a aura of dark energy around his scythe. Swinging it around in a pinwheel spin above his head, he twirled it to and fro the deflect the various sword strokes aimed at his person, staving off his initial assault.

"He's too fast for this face to have any effect on him," Jinsoku thought with a scrutinizing glare at Senkaku, creating a shower of azure and violet sparks from the various parries his weapon's blade and handle made with each collision with the Espada Cero. "I'll have to change faces if I'm going to stand a chance winning. His technique and collection is too solid to rattle by ordinary means. And I can't guaruntee that his mask doesn't nullify sense distortion..."

As he continued to twirl his blade in ricocheting defense, Jinsoku's right arm began to glow again. Sooner than one would expect, given his last duel, a black smog sprouted forth from the letters and encircled his limb. It crawled up the rest of his form as he continued to defend against the relentless onslaught, ever being pressed back without any room for counterattack. Then, through the smoke, his visage disappeared and was replaced by another.

In a blurring motion befitting a wraith, a black collared 19th century gentleman emerged, swinging a serrated knife of twelve inches in length. His upper facial features were hidden by the shadows his hat created, but the lower half showed a maniacal grin stretched over the fair complexioned jaw line. His form would be moving in a rapid and sporadic manner, his knife moving in a flurry of thrashing and stabbing gestures, all outlined with the same dark energy that repelled the Espada Cero.

Grasping the front of his top hat, Ripper Shokei inquired in a light-hearted menacing accent, "Such a fine evenin' to be cuttin' a empty chap like you, ain't it?!"

"What's this?"

Hidden eyes widened when they saw the black fog envelop Jinsoku's form. Thinking quickly, Senkaku retreated a safer distance away and readied his sword to anticipate whatever attack his enemy had in store. But what he didn't expect was the change in appearance, the sudden transformation of the body. Even his weapon had shifted forms, and even though it didn't seem like much on the outside, Senkaku could immediately tell it was going to be trouble. Although his katana wasn't exactly a heavy thing to wield, the knife could be swung faster and make itself more difficult to block. In addition, Jinsoku was still imbuing it with that dark energy. Getting cut by that wasn't in his best interests.

When Jinsoku threw himself forward, he braced himself. Serrated edge met serrated edge, but with only half as many times as they had met before. Dodging strikes became part of Senkaku's moveset due to the speed advantage Jinsoku had on him. Although he was still handling himself well, he had to retreat against Jinsoku's continuous assault. But thankfully, it was only for several seconds before the barrage stopped, allowing him to once again regain himself. He lowered his sword to the side this time, dispelling the energy that made up his 'Espada Cero once he heard the words of his enemy. Hidden eyes tensed and wavered in indignation at the jab towards his silent attitude, but he kept his composure. He knew the man was just trying to get him riled up, as the rest of them had.

"As far as close-quarters goes, he matches me. With that particular weapon in hand, he has an edge over me. That dark energy can repel my efforts at enhancing my more physical attacks. Oh, how I despise the strong and the arrogant..."

"What's da' matter?! Having trouble keepin' up with me swift moves?!" Jinsoku asked rhetorically, knowing he'd never get an answer from the masked and silent Arrancar. Despite the fact he held the speed advantage, he couldn't get around the rigid defense and swift parries the swordsman possessed. It was a direct inverse to the situation he had moments ago, where one was completely offensive while the other was entirely on the defensive.

He did, however, had more than simply a single weapon at his disposal.

Tipping the top hat forward, her twirled it around and threw it at Senkaku's face at the same time he swiped at his blade in a off-handed manner. When its top would point towards the Arrancar, Jinsokue reached into its dark confines and gripped a handle. Then he'd pull a trigger and a flash of red would discharge from the hat, shredding it to pieces while sending a fiery projectile of molten metal at Shinigamified Hollow. Straight at his face.

With a matte of brunette locks messily thrown about his scalp, dark eye-liner seemed to cover the outlines of his eyes. They gleamed with madness and ecstacy, finding joy in changing up his attack at that given moment. What followed would be a number of squeezes to the snub revolver, sending more rounds of tainted energy bullets giving off fiery plasma with every discharge.

"Never bring a sword to a gun fight, eh, Arrancar?!" He mocked as he continued to fire the seemingly endless ammunition stored within the six cylinder weapon.

The initial swipe had been easy to evade once again, with a simple slide back. When Jinsoku pointed the top of his hat towards the Arrancar, it caused him to go into a brief pause. His sword immediately swung to a defensive position, ready to defend against whatever he was about to pull out. It was a paranoid movement, to summarize. But he had learned long ago not to judge a book by its cover. For all he knew, Jinsoku could've been pulling out a sword to engage with instead of a knife.

What he didn't expect was a bullet to be shot out from that same hat.

His eyes widened in shock, and he found that his defense hadn't been so reliable as to counter the fast projectile. He attempted to dodge, but the shock had too much of a grip on him to give enough room. So he had to play the role of the sitting duck until he was hit with the energized bolt. Within an instant, a burning sensation swept across his face when his mask shattered and the plasma seared his skin. Although it was brief at best, a scream of pain erupted from his mouth. His head jerked back with the force of the shot, residual smoke raiding off of the area in which it hit. Although it wasn't enough to hinder, it had clearly hurt him.

It wasn't enough to keep him from swinging his head back to see the barrage Jinsoku followed up with.

Now, the ice of his glare was unleashed fully upon his foe even as he swung a hand out towards the storm approaching. A transparent shield of spiritual energy was released, catching the bullets before they could reach his form. The energies that had been built up within were released, causing contained explosions to be created in front of him. This served as an effective shroud for his next movements. With two index fingers, he traced two circle shapes in front of himself. In the wake of his fingers, two green circles formed. Their innards were filled with a dim, pale green color. Once he was ready, he thrust both a palm and the knuckles of his sword hand into the center of each circle while uttering the name of his technique.

"Santa Cero."

A light blew away the shroud of unstable energy in front of him, flashing for a total of nine times. Whatever biological entity unfortunate enough to be caught in front of him - specifically, Jinsoku - would experience severe shock to the nervous system. Their nerves would light up with a high level of agonizing pain, the sensation indescribable in words. If he was trapped in the light for too long, Jinsoku's nerves would be damaged to an irreparable level.

The effects weren't pleasant in the slightest. The trigger happy gunman that Jinsoku assumed being was taken by surprise by the flash of light, enveloping him and coursing over him before he could react. His nerves felt like they were engulfed in magma, his entire body convulsing with pain, causing bodily fluids to eject from his sockets and the corners of his mouth. He shrieked out what his body felt: the embodiment of cruel torturous pain.

"Make it stop! Make it stop! Make it stop! MAKE THE PAIN STOP!" Was all that Jinsoku could scream out. As his Ripper form fell to its knees, he began shaking and curling up into a fetal position, dropping all pretense of fighting it. His body simply surrendered to the endless stream of electric shocks that his nervous system took a beating from. Unbelivably, it felt worse than Nicolao's physical implosion of muscle and bones, if it were possible.

After what seemed like an eternity, the psychosis weapon that was Senkaku's Cero stopped, allowing him and his second half to get a good view of his enemy.

He was curled up, quivering and mewling like an injured child. Gone was the arrogant psychopath, replaced by a shattered and broken individual ready to be pushed off the edge. The sight was enough to cause Hermosa to sweat, her expression one of shock and fear. Even though he was an enemy, seeing anyone in such a state of being chilled her to the bone. Jinsoku looked so vulnerable and pitiful, she was tempted to jump in and stop her leader from continuing his assault. But she knew that this was something that needed to be done. The Primera ordered them not to leave any one of the enemy alive, and trying to show mercy would've been a direct violation of her wishes. So she sat and continued to watch silently, allowing for only her facial expressions and body language to do the talking.

Her feelings weren't shared by Senkaku.

As he saw his opponent as he was, a grisly smile crept across his face. To see Jinsoku underneath him gave a sense of satisfaction, a pleasure that only a tainted individual could've had at that moment. The Ripper's pain was his joy, as far as this fight was concerned, as well as karma. It was what he deserved after the countless murders he had committed and the cruelty that his other side had shown towards Nicolao. But if anyone else on the outside looked at him, they would've seen none of that reasoning. They would've seen a sadist killer, ready to finish off his quarry. They would've seen a person of a nightmare's quality, ready to consume its victim within darkness. In this moment, Senkaku Ningensei was gone and a monster had arisen to take his place.

Lifting a lone finger from his free hand, he summoned up the telltale orb of green at his fingertip. He took careful aim, making sure that the blast would obliterate the target completely. Then, he released the pent-up energy and watched as the intended deathblow raced towards the fallen foe.

"You're as worthless as the Jinsoku..."

"What...you again?!" Ripper thought with widened eyes, the emerald glow that illuminated his surroundings, creating a overcast that spelled his doom. The imminent Cero's arrival was soon to be had, and he knew that the being within wasn't going to allow his vessel's destruction. An eye seemed stretch skin apart across his chest, veins spreading out and a sickly dark presence overtaking his body.

"I grow tired of these pathetic excuses of battle prowess you and the others possess. I'll be handling this enemy from this point forward..."

It was that moment that caused an immense release of Reiatsu from the body that was formerly a pain crippled man. The beam of light curled around a bubble of sorts that the Reiatsu instinctively. Rising up, the body swiftly transformed into a dark skinned being that bore eyes as red as Hellfire. Dark feathered wings stretched out to either side, eloquent silk robes endowed his muscular physique, with a hood pulled over his black tressed crown. Then, all at once, the Cero sizzled with a series of pops, disappearing as swiftly as the Demon appeared.

"Ah," Kōin said in a deeper, more intelligent tone as he narrowed his burning crimson orbs at Senkaku's visible face, "so that's what you look like outside of your Ressureccion state. The Arrancar who made my lip bleed with a single punch. Too bad we never finished what was started due to your sudden bout of self preservation. Don't worry..."

Throwing his left arm to the side, a manifestation of flames and smoke crackled into being, materializing his scythe into his possession once more. A smile stretched across his face as he spun it around with expertise akin to Jinsoku, but with much more weightlessness. A true testament to the strength he withheld, "THIS time, I'll ensure that you won't run away!"

As if to solidify his dominance, Kōin discharged a vile pillar of Reishi from his pores, as black as midnight and as chilling as frozen rubies. It rivuleted the sandy landscape for an endless expanse, joining the cacophony of other raised and powerful Reiatsus filtering the ambient Reishi atmosphere of Hueco Mundo. The fact that his felt the most menacing and terrifying next to the Defiler certainly didn't help things with those within his immediate proximity.

That was the point where Hermosa's worry turned to terror.

It was as if she had been forcibly dunked into the ocean, sinking to the bottom with weights tied around her body. The few beads of sweat on her face had multiplied, and she found herself shaking in the influence of such pressure. Suddenly, it became that much harder to breathe. One of her hands balled into a fist against the center of her chest, as if that would help lessen the pressure on her form. Her eyes had lost their light, panicked and alarmed in their gaze. It wasn't long before she fell to her knees, her head hanging down. "This spiritual pressure...!" She gasped. "It's too much...!"

Although to a lesser extent, Senkaku found himself affected by the demonstration of power by their mutual enemy. Beads of sweat could be seen falling down his face in multiple trails, and his form was shivering slightly under the influence of the dark energies. He looked at Kōin initially with an expression of apprehension, realizing that all the cards had been thrown on the table. But as memories of the previous fight came back to him, a grin slowly crept across his face. In addition,the rush he got from crushing Jinsoku was still running fresh through his veins. He raised his sword to a horizontal position level with his face, chuckles of contained excitement escaping him. If Kōin looked closely, he would've seen one of the Arrancar's eyes twitch for a brief moment.

That was the only response Kōin would get before his Arrancar enemy raised his sword up, calling out his own release command.

"Equalize, Agua!"

A sphere of green energy enveloped his body from view. Although it was a visually pitiful display compared to Kōin's, the shockwaves that radiated off of it could easily compensate for it. The atmosphere seemed to distort with each and every wave resonating from the sphere, and the waves came in flocks. Brilliant green light invaded the area, making Senkaku's release of power as appealing to the eye as it was detrimental to the weaker body. It lasted for only a handful of seconds before the sphere dissolved, revealing Senkaku's released form. Green eyes stared with newly created ice at Kōin, his fur-covered fists clenching in anticipation for the battle at hand. But even throughout it all, he didn't say a word. At least in their first fight, he had spared taunts of retaliation towards the man. But this time, he seemed dead set on keeping his mouth shut.

"Ho?" Kōin murmured out with delight, his teeth becoming more exposed with his elated grin stretching ear to ear, "entering Ressureccion state already? That's good. You'll need it. I hope you can last a bit longer than the last one so that I can have some real fun with you!"

In an unexpected move, Kōin threw his scythe upwards, allowing it to twirl upwards into the heavens. At the same time he thrust his free right hand out and discharged a crimson wave of volatile light. Once it enveloped the grains of sand and anything it was exposed too, it would slowly turn red itself, turning into the texture of rubies.

With a finger snap, Kōin created a massive directed wave of explosive Reishi, triggered by the ambience by the sand and Senkaku's own impressive Reiatsu. Such a force would carve a wide chasmic fissure across the horizon, aiming to swallow up and hurtle any unfortunate passerbier caught in the crossfire. Ruby flames would ebb along the edge of the sands, a sign of just how hot the flames were from the dark spell he cast.

In response, Senkaku swung one of his hands out in what appeared to haphazard swing at the air.

His water came to him, materializing and following the wake of his hand in the form of a massive wall. The liquid shield collided with the superheated energy, resulting in a violent release of energy. The water was potent enough to pacify a portion of the heat Kōin's attack had created. But because of the assimilation of extra energy, the speedily-crafted defense wouldn't hold for long. It would only take a few seconds for the explosive energy to consume the liquid completely, detonating soon afterwards. As Hermosa got up, she felt the powerful resonations of the explosion even from the safe distance where she stood. Her form was hunched over, and she breathed heavily as she "stared" warily at the battle.

Senkaku had used that as a cover-up for his next attack. A Sonido placed him in a position within the air, where he spread his wings and torpedoed through the air like a bomber jet. Another massive wave of water followed his wake, shrouding the sky directly above the area his opponent was in. As he passed by Kōin, a multitude of water columns erupted from the shroud to crash down upon his foe's position. They were like lightning bolts from the sky, albeit much slower and aimed to crush rather than electrocute and incinerate.

"Water Generation and Manipulation? An interesting feat for an Arrancar," Kōin thought as he watched the shroud of water form a shield to protect the Espada from harm. He'd observe the firmament he'd cast by simply passing overhead, the newfound ceiling of luminescent liquid rippled above his crown. Before he'd do a complete pass, tendrils of compressed water would rocket down like microbursts, swirling down with precise aim and movement towards their collective target.

Retracting his wings, Kōin bent his knees down, passive venting Reiatsu distilling the grains around his feet. With a single leap, his body disappeared in a blurring ascent, bypassing the space of the multi-pronged attack by the downcasting water pillars. Even as they crashed mightily into the sand below, spreading waves sandy liquid in all directions, Kōin flew up to appear before the passing by Senkaku.

At the last possible second, the airborne tossed scythe would cut through the firmament in two, caught expertly in the Demon's left hand. With a high sped twirl, Kōin swung it several times at the mutually flying enemy of his. Doing so sent several ghastly fissures of scarlet light, cutting through space and watery body alike with ease. Eerily they all seemed to have a collective of ghastly faces, screaming at high pitches as they drew near its target.

"Reikari doesn't only cut but has the capacity to cause souls who are touched by it to relive their worst nightmares, all at once, in a matter of seconds," Kōin grinned maniacally from a distance, twirling his scythe around his left flank idly, his wings extended in either direction as he faced his enemy from afar. "I am not called Kōin the Maddened for nothing, if not to cause others to fall into the abyss of their own insanity!"

"!"

Senkaku's form immediately stopped out of shock when he saw Kōin's effortless appearance in front of him. Green eyes widened, and he reflexively retreated from the form of his enemy. But he wouldn't get too far before he sensed the disturbance coming up from behind him. He performed a backflip, narrowly dodging the spinning scythe as it came back to its master's hand. As he moved, he could see the wave of water he had created divide into two sections by its cutting power. He summoned his will, moving the liquid weapon in front of him to protect himself from the man's strikes. But it was all for naught, as the technique conjured up tore through his defenses like butter. Irises and sclera shrank in shock, and he used a Sonido to pull himself entirely before he could get hit by the "faces".

"His speed and power... he just appeared in front of me as if it was nothing, and he cut through my defenses so easily!" He thought to himself, his furry fists balled up in frustration and apprehension. "I thought we were on even ground before... but this is something completely different! Just what the hell am I dealing with now?!"

"Wonderful reflexes!" Kōin complimented in a delighted tone, continually twirling his Seishi Daikama in his left hand, "yes, yes, yes! This is the power of a fully released Espada! Tell me, what is your rank?! No, it doesn't matter, forget I asked! Placing numbers onto strong enemies diminishes the beauty of their strength! I'll enjoy crushing you no matter the level that has been bestowed upon you, Arrancar!"

Upon the end of his words, Kōin used both hands to spin the scythe in a counterclockwise direction above his head. The air around him began to cyclone, winds funneling forth crackled with the potent amount of Reishi being gathered for the attack he was preparing for. What walls of water that may have been near him would also coalesce into the cyclone, dissipating into vapor as he'd intensify the dark veiled energy around the weapon.

"Fuchishirō!" Kōin called out, swinging the scythe before him at a perfect bisecting stroke towards Senkaku. What would happen would be nearly unfathomable to the beholder. It would look as if an azure tear would be severed by his scythe, creating a gaping hole that stretched forth and projected a spacial rending blackness. If caught within its encompassing reach, one would experience a newfound definition of pain as the cellular structure would be ripped on a spiritronic level and the environment would be dissolved into a visually disintegrative level.

"Fuchishirō," Kōin calmly spoke aloud, his right hand now spinning the scythe in a preparatory manner, "is a technique that cuts a rift through space. What comes out through the tear is a temporary gouge through the a place simply known as the Void. I'm certain someone like you has at least heard of that damned eternal nightmare? While no ordinary spiritual being can make contact with the interior of the Void, the outlying fabric of its dimension is enough to cause severe damage to anyone who makes contact with it. Of course, I don't need to explain to you how painful it is, do I, Arrancar?"

Even if he wanted to, Senkaku couldn't answer.

Once the terrible energy was allowed asylum into Hueco Mundo's realm, the Arrancar and his compatriot froze completely. It wasn't the words of his foe that had made him go into this shock, but rather the potent aura that the energy gave off. There was good reason for it, too - its first feel was the moment his body would start reacting abnormally. His vision started to split into different directions, his muscles began to shake uncontrollably and sweat became more apparent on his body. As it came closer, he could already feel it tearing at the very fabric of his physical form. Even though the attack had yet to reach him, it felt like it had already ensnared him within its clutches. Suddenly, the question that had formed in the back of his head was coming to the surface. Had he been toyed with the first time?

"No..."

His shock gave way to an ever-increasing feeling of rage.

"No..."

Shrunken eyes of fury and fear quivered as they stared at the oncoming wave.

"No!"

A lone finger rose to point at the release of energy.

"NO!"

At the tip of that finger, a white orb formed.

"NO!"

That orb transformed into a miniscule laser beam that was shot towards Kōin's attack. On the outside, it appeared harmless. But it was carrying a severely condensed amount of energy within. It boasted the power to disintegrate anything it came across, aiming to threaten the foundation of both his enemy and the attack. But it was also a gamble, for he had little to no idea as to how it would compare to the power of the Void. If the attack failed, so would he... and that was not something he was looking forward to. If the fire in his eyes didn't convey that, the tone within his voice would. ""I WILL NOT BE TOYED WITH AGAIN!!" He roared, watching his attack rise to meet the other.

The yell that Senkaku let loose from his throat would be deafened in comparison to the thunderous roar of the Void's membrane energy. Spewing forth like a tidal wave of darkness incarnate, the single luminous light that discharged from the Arrancar's finger created a small sliver of hope. At first, the initial impact seemed to do nothing, seeming to peter away into a fray of dissolving sparks in confronting such a damning force of inhuman nature. Then, the wave seemed to billow and contort in shape, seeming to be warped by the pressure of the arm thick beam of Reishi. With less than a dozen meters separating Senkaku and the maw of wrathful currents, the Cero he deployed caused the entire wave to bow in a forking shape, curving around and dissolving the matter around the ten meter space he stood protectively and resolutedly. As the last of his energy would appear to dissolve, so too the last of the dark currents of the Void's outer malevolent Reishi seemed to disappear, as the rip within space seemed to close all on its own.

Kōin looked on with a pleased expression at witnessing such a feat, a smile of elation stretching across his face, "You survived it?! Marvelous! You didn't even suffer a scratch from it! I would question how and why you were able to deflect such a nightmarish force, but that would diminish your accomplishment, wouldn't it?"

Twirling his scythe around in his right hand, he flipped the pole handle back around to his left, allowing it to slash the air at a number of angles. What would come forth would be a number of succeeding Reikaris, aiming to shred and render him into a state of trauma should any of them make contact. He maintained his high ground and ensured he wouldn't approach his enemy too carelessly, less he would fall within his enemy's potential line of tactics pre-planned for his downfall.

"He stopped it?!"

On the ground, Hermosa's eyes widened in shock at the demonstration of Senkaku's power against the Void's. In that moment, she had feared that the Arrancar had leaped in way over his head. The dark energies of the Void were not something to be trifled with, and the fact that their mutual enemy could unleash them against him with ease signaled just how powerful he was. She was more than ready to jump in, use a Sonido and tackle her primary half out of the way. But now that she saw that his Cero Pintor had somehow managed to dispel the malevolent wave of power, it was a relief to her worry. Her fists clenched in anticipation, and she raised them up to chest level as she watched Kōin release another attack. "Come on. You can win this. Keep going!"

Albeit Senkaku was shocked at how the enemy's attack had crumpled, he didn't allow himself to hang over his feelings - especially in the face of another attack.

Narrowing his eyes and regarding the multiple carves in the dimension, he kept his finger pointed out. Once again, that telltale white orb formed at the tip of his finger. But when it was shot, it wouldn't come out in the form of a single laser beam. It would come out in a storm of oval energy bursts, which lit up the atmosphere in brilliant light as they were shot out. They were missiles to a target, coming en masse to counter the Reikaris. Senkaku's arm shook violently as he continued to fire them out, the power put behind the attacks too much for even the likes of his body to stand still for. Nevertheless, he kept up his attack. He was going to rip through all of them and catch his foe in the storm, if it was possible.

The arcs of screaming light seemed to shriek out loud with every collision into the Cero Pintars. A rivuleting wave of explosions ferreted out between their space, creating shockwaves that shook the scarred and indented landscape in a disorienting manner. Sight between both enemies would be next to impossible with the continual cacophony of detonations between both flurries of projectiles ensuing from their aim and grasp.

That is until a vivid monolithic scythe blade seemed to cleave through the various burts of energy. It seemed like an ethereal construct of transparent white light, yet very tangible, as it seemed to cleave effortlessly through energy while withstanding the barrage ensuing in the battle ridden space. The blade would reach out in a arcing maneuver in an attempt to cleave Senkaku by his torso, wafting the sands with a high pressurized gale of strength employed by the wielder behind it.

When one would glimpse past the dispersing fog of war, they would see Kōin's right arm swinging his scythe in a purposeful movement. Parallel with the scythe he held would be a ghostly scythe of collosal proportions, glowing and emanating a number of runic letters along its base to the edge of its killing tip. Since it was deployed, it ebbed white flames of menacing Reishi, showing just what kind of construct it was to the surviving enemy.

"Kihaku Kirite!" Kōin proclaimed with a delighted hiss, twirling his right hand's hold over the weapon, causing the gargantuan blade to move in a near incomprehensible speed and momentum. Spinning to and fro, it cut swathes of the sandy landscape as swiftly as it swung out torrential shredding winds with every stroke of its weapon. Such a large weapon behind guided from afar made it difficult for his enemy to counterattack, but in turn would make it hard for him to get a single hit without his target being careless. Either way, the advantage continued to be within the Demon's favor.

Kōin's delight was Senkaku's misery.

The Arrancar had to squint his eyes in the face of the immense brilliance he took witness to, the winds blasting against his body with unrelenting force. He had to stop his barrage, shielding his face with one of his arms. The form of his enemy along with everything else was consumed by the light, making it impossible to sight out possible attacks. Thankfully, his senses were still active and alert, allowing him to stay protected even in his blinded state. Even so, he didn't feel safe. His fury, although gradually, was giving way to a fear that had bloomed ever since he had seen Kōin first release the Fuchishirō. Such an effortless display of spacial rip made him question whether or not he truly compared to the monster below him. Was he still breathing because he was truly a threat, or was the demon simply too bored to end the fight?

His thoughts of paranoia weren't helped when he sensed the mass of white death headed his way.

A use of his Sonido, and the Arrancar was up in the air before he could get hit by the sharp edge that annihilated his bursts. He moved to the point where he was level with Kōin himself, his body prepared but showing considerable apprehension. But it changed to shock when he saw that blade move again, and this time with speed he didn't think possible of a blade as massive at that.

With widened and shrinking eyes, he used another Sonido to carry himself out of the way. But this time, his shock had gained the better of him; although he had kept himself from getting killed, the tip of the flaming edge seared into his front like butter. A yell through clenched teeth escaped him, and his fists reflexively clenched in an effort to fight off the pain. His will conjured up more of his liquid weapon, spawning it in a massive sphere around his body.

When the blade came through, he concentrated and increased the strength of its currents. When the blade pierced through the sphere, it stopped inches away from Senkaku's form. The currents held that bringer of death in place, giving the Arrancar time for a counter-attack. Another concentration of will, and the water sphere exploded to send the scythe reeling away. Twisting columns of an army's number shot at Kōin, moving in irregular directions in an attempt to disorient and catch their target off-guard.

"He stopped it, hm?" Kōin narrowed his eyes at the sight, finding joy in eliciting fear and uncertainty into the hardened warrior. Seeing him barely move to and fro out of death's grasp was enough to make him excited. But when he saw him receive a mortal injury, he truly found happiness in this fight. "you're someone worth killing after all!"

Dozens of water pillars discharged up like geysers, aiming to home in on his position. Twisting around like serpents, rushing forth with incredible momentum. Releasing his hold on his ethereal blade, Kōin withdrew his wings to cover his body as they all convered on his location. At first a shower of compressed water would all be what was seen, relentlessly crushing the target from all angles.

Then, the winds thrust out in either direction, releasing a spherical explosion of Reiatsu. Such a shockwave was released that the water evaporated and blew backwards in a sea of vapor, distending the earth below, sending rivulets of sand across the landscape far below his hovering position in the sky. A smile spread across his face, as his stare imposingly locked down at Senkaku's frame below, spinning his Seishi Daikama in his left hand once again.

"Let's see how you handle this!" He crowed out, swinging his scythe in a wide cutting motion. This Reikari, unlike the others, seemed to blanket the sky with a width of thirty meters in its expanse alone, and nearly twice that in length. Aiming to consume him in madness as much as his body would be torn to shreds, Kōin could only look on with feral delight as his attack was sent forth with a single stroke of his weapon.

It was despair personified.

Both Senkaku and Hermosa looked upward with expressions of silent horror as they saw and felt the oncoming Reikari approach. Even within the distance away, they could still feel that dreaded aura seeping off of the energy headed towards the Espada. The sensation of getting drowned in his power was magnified to an even greater degree than before, courtesy of the size and the amount of energy put into the attack. To top if off, Kōin didn't seem to be breaking a sweat. This came so naturally to him, as if ripping holes between dimensions was the same as breathing. If it took him so little effort in doing that, then what kind of power was released when he actually pushed himself?

"How can I win against this?!"

His form slowly hunched, his arms and legs going limp. It shivered as the force came closer, death looking too much like an absolute reality.

"This power is too sickening to think clearly, and its influence is suffocating me. Even at this distance, I can't bring myself to lift a finger. It took my strongest attack in this form to repel his first ones, but it seems as if that was only the tip of the iceberg. Am I really going to die here, as someone else's toy? Am I going to be destroyed at the whim of a psychopath? Was this my destiny all along - a disgraceful and humiliating death?"

The light in his eyes slowly faded away, the reality of the situation sinking on him.

"It seems so. I'm sorry, my Lady. But I guess I wasn't strong enough to defend you or this civilization we held so dearly. Farewell... my friends..."

But just when he was about to close his eyes and resign to death, an unlikely source would come to his aid.

A flash of yellow materialized in front of him, and the darkness was stopped within its tracks. Senkaku's eyes widened in surprise when he saw it - a Negacion wall deployed to stop the Reikari in its tracks. In an instant, he recognized it as an ability from his second half. But before he could acknowledge it fully, he felt the weight of the said female as she tackled him from a fresh Sonido. He was yanked into another, but it didn't stop him from seeing the wall she had deployed crack and shatter underneath Kōin's power. Mere seconds after it was deployed, it was destroyed and forced to let the energy through. That energy collided with the sands, reducing a massive portion of the area into a decaying wasteland. It was a reminder of just how close they had cut it.

They landed on an untouched portion of the sands, with Hermosa falling to her knees and breathing heavily. Senkaku was quick to stand himself up, sparing a glare at the Arrancar behind him. "I thought I told you not to interfere!"

"And what?!" Although her physical form was exhausted, she still had enough fire to snap back at him. "Just stand there and watch you get killed?! Have you forgotten who I am, that I know just what exactly's going on in that head of yours?! And even not considering that, it seemed like you were losing your will to fight! You were just about to let yourself die again, weren't you?!"

Senkaku let out a growl, his fists clenching in agitation. But he said nothing to rebuke that particular comment.

The sound of feet tapping the ground would be heard, landing right before the two's midst naught but a handful of meters away. With the Seishi Daikama held in front of him, its metal edge shining with a bloodthirsty menace of its own to match its wielder, Kōin looked quite content. Having calmed down from the latest attack he unleashed, he narrowed his burning eyes to look down at the pair with intrigue.

"I almost forgot about that bug of yours you hauled in with you," He said offhandedly, raising the scythe above his head while stretching his wings to either side with an incredible reach of five meters respectively. As if to further promote the fear he fed off his victims, he swiped the scythe to the side, causing the decimated sand to buckle and explode in a display of incredile output of Reiatsu and physical power of equal measure, carving a ragged trench for a good distance. "should I kill her to distract you less and motivate you more? Or should I save her for last so I can enjoy taking my time with you? Really, I'm a gracious person with a fair amount of mercy. I'll let you choose for me, if you will."

Immediately, Senkaku swung his gaze towards his enemy and, despite his apprehension, felt rage boiling within him at the mention of killing Hermosa. His fists clenched, and his eyes shrank as he glared daggers at the demon. "Don't you touch her!!" He snarled, his fury temporarily pushing back the fear that had been welling up within him. "I swear to Izanami, I'll kill you!!"

"Senkaku..."

He was almost tempted to glance in Hermosa's direction when she spoke again, her voice laden with her heavy breaths. She was still on her hands and knees, her head hung and her eyes shut. "There's only one way to end this." She breathed, urgency mixing in with the semblance of a composed attitude. "You and I both know that if we keep dragging this out, it'll just end in tragedy. Either you use Segunda Etapa, or we both die here and now. End of story--"

"I am not fusing again." Senkaku growled, keeping his eyes on his stationary opponent. "The Segunda Etapa was meant to be a last resort, an emergency ability in the event that the most catastrophic results took place. This is the second time in this damned war that I've even thought about using it! The first time was against a bastard I could've slain easily if I had just thought it out a little more, and now I have to do it again?! I refuse! I can kill him without using it! I have to!"

"Are you kidding?" Hermosa managed to turn her head, staring into his back with agitated surprise. "You have to? I thought you said you were done with honor and rules when you beat Mukurō! This isn't a time to worry about something so trivial as pride when so much is at stake--!"

"It's all I have!!" Senkaku's voice swelled to a furious yell, his body tensing up and assuming a threatening stance towards Kōin. Currents of water were spawned, swirling around him to mirror the rage coursing through his system. Although their currents were wild and recklessly tearing up the setting around them, it did no harm to the girl behind him. "The Primera deemed me to be her Tercera for a reason!! She marked me as one of her strongest stones to serve as Hueco Mundo's defensive wall!! If I keep having to resort to the use of my designated trump card every time I face down an enemy, then what good am I?! I am a warrior of the elite, one of the sharpest blades that the Primera could ever wield!!" His eyes wavered. "So why does it suddenly seem like I've become little more than the enemy's chew toy, the jester to entertain them for the time being?! Why did that scumbag in knight's armor laugh even as I beat him?!"

His voice reached a crescendo as it locked back onto Kōin.

"WHY WON'T YOU DIE?!"

Kōin's gaze narrowed and his smile grew tight-lipped.

"The Third? That's who I've been fighting?" Kōin's eyes squeezed shut, his free hand massaging his hooded temples even while the mass of wrathful water fissures rose up from the ground. Spiraling in and around his presence, it appeared like he ignored them completely. His smile seemed to slowly disappear as he comprehended what he was told.

"You know what I said about attaching numbers to power, that it diminishes their worth?" Kōin asked rhetorically, his eyes glaring back at Senkaku, tapping the pole handle of his weapon against his left shoulder. "you're such a fool. By telling me the rank, you've outright disappointed me. I've come to expect you to be the second strongest, a power rivaled only by the Primera of these Espada Afilado as you call yourselves. But Jinsoku must have been mistaken in thinking you're the strongest Espada. The Tres? Tercera? Third?"

Swinging his scythe forward, Kōin didn't even bother unleashing one of his signature attacks. A diagonal shredding fissure of only a foot in diameter was launched by his scythe, unleashed at the close vicinity to cut rather than totally bisect Senkaku into two halves. It would be a mortal wound, but only to the point that it would allow him to bleed out and comprehend the despair of being beaten rather than suffering a instantaneous death befitting a warrior.

"Disappointing," Kōin hissed out upon finishing his reaping stroke, "I expected greater from the likes of you."

A single cut, and Kōin had once again proven that his halfhearted attacks were more potent than Senkaku's wholehearted ones.

Senkaku's expression changed to horror when he felt the blade sear through his flesh, the color within his eyes being wiped away as crimson spilled from him. Although Hermosa couldn't see the blood fall onto the sands, she would feel the wind shift when his body started to fall and come closer to her. Reflexively, she pushed herself up to her feet and caught him with her own form; her back pressed against his, keeping him from collapsing onto the sands underneath them. She knew that the wound was a heavy and critical one, for he was now struggling to push himself back off of her. But she also knew that Kōin's words were pushing him deeper down the hole, keeping him from recovering as quickly as he should have. It was both frustrating and painful to see her superior like this, defeated and emotionally weakened. At this rate, they both would get killed without resistance.

But when she fully registered the words that her enemy said, she couldn't help but make her own retort.

"What a bold-faced liar you are."

A bitter smirk crossed her face, and she closed her eyes as she felt Senkaku jolt a little in surprise. "Somewhere along the line before you even heard the word "Tercera", you had to realize that we weren't a match for you in this state. But even so, you seemed to enjoy the fight nonetheless. You seemed to enjoy putting forth this fickle effort in killing him, instilling your poison in both of us, and now that you've heard a simple title, you act like it doesn't matter anymore? Something so simple as title and numbers shouldn't matter when you're fighting for your life." Her smile slowly faded away at this, her teeth clenching and her eyes opening before she spoke again. "Oh, that's right. You think all of this is nothing more than a game, don't you? The act of murder, the taking of lives, bloodshed... it just gets you off, doesn't it? You don't expect worthy opponents to challenge you, like I had mistakenly allowed myself to believe. All you expect is more toys to play with, just to see which one can last the longest before you break them."

When she changed her verbal direction to Senkaku, her tone became sharper and more commanding. It caused him to stand up a little more. "Senkaku! This man isn't even worthy of honor or integrity." She declared, her breath regained enough for her to come closer to a normal tone of talking. "Just like Mukuro and Senkenteki, and just like his other halves... he's nothing more than a psychopath, an individual who lost his mind long before this moment. There are no enjoyable qualities to come from a fight involving this waste of a soul." There was relief within that burning heart of hers when she felt Senkaku stand himself straight up, albeit it caused his wound to ache horribly. "Let's show this bastard, show him how much of a mistake he's made making a game out of us!"

Her words were the spark needed to bring him back.

Furred fists tightened, and he once again fixed a renewed glare at Kōin.

"You're right."

Bending his arms to a ninety-degree angle, he called forth his spiritual pressure. It caused shockwaves to resonate from his location, rippling through the sands and making it look as if they were standing on the face of an ocean. His body glowed with a bright green aura, silhouetting his figure against the darkened environment. It was joined by the yellow aura of Hermosa, who was ready to follow his lead. At first, it didn't seem like much was happening. But seconds after Hermosa joined in, the two auras began to blend into one another. The color of their power shifted to a pale blue - a foreboding signal of what was to come. The spiritual pressure within the area increased, and the power felt jumped to levels beyond what his Resurrecion had been producing. All the meanwhile, Senkaku's eyes began to glow with a brilliant blue to match the blended aura as they glared at the demon.

Throughout the, as how Kōin labeled her, urchin's rebuking dialogue he couldn't help but arch his brows incredulously at her. Here she barely resembled anything of noteworthy strength and she had the gall to speak to him just because she was affiliated in some way to the Espada he had been fighting? He found it positively absurd and had just about run out of patience.

That is, until Senkaku found the will to stand up and regain power once more. As his aura began to glisten, so too did the girl's. They overlapped each other, creating a shimmering overcast of sapphire that blossomed over the two silhouetted beings. Senkaku glared at him with a renewed fire of focus burning in his soul and the increase was definitely not solely from him but rather as a combined effort of both.

It would only take a handful of seconds for Kōin to understand the phenomena what was taking place.

"They're...fusing their powers together?" Kōin blinked with surprise, not expecting in the slightest that whom he had labeled as a mere Fraccion was a being of strength he hadn't sensed before. "I should have sensed something amiss about her. I didn't even feel any true Reiryoku from the Reiatsu she was emanating. Why is it now that I feel...wait, does that mean they're-"

"-one in the same?!" He finished aloud, still flabbergasted by the dramatic burst of power that continued to climb higher and higher before his eyes.

It wasn't long before that power reached its peak. If the cessation of energy fluctuation wasn't enough to note that, the declaration from Senkaku would be.

"Segunda Etapa!!"

The massive flame of energy that surrounded the two Arrancar shot upwards, transforming into a pillar that pierced through the sky. Their battlefield was shaking violently, quivering under the immense power released. Increasing shockwave rate turned the sands into raging rapids, which ravaged the landscape even more. But in addition, several more factors would come. There was a sudden drop in temperature, going down below zero and making it next to impossible for anyone to remain in for too long without instantly freezing to death. The sky grew white, spawning a generous amount of clouds to blot itself out. Snow descended, and winds transformed the area into a war-torn blizzard. In those few seconds, the forms of Senkaku and Hermosa and even the column of energy would disappear from view. For the column, its signature vanished as soon as its visage did to indicate that it had been stopped. But it would take a little while longer before Kōin's enemy appeared before him again.

The transformed Arrancar was left to regard his foe once more. As the blizzard raged around them, he slowly drew out his sword and readied it. "I'm ending this." He growled, conviction and resolve within his stern yet composed voice. "Right here, and right now."

"Segunda Etapa?" Kōin asked aloud, his breath quivering from the understandably frigid temperatures. Despite being a Demon, he could feel the skin biting chill that clung to the very white and ice layered landscape around them. Breath contained wisps of moisture with every exhalation as he renewed his red glare back at the Arrancar's newfound appearance. The fact that he transformed and attained a dramatic increase in strength not only gave him actual trepidation, but also a rekindled elation.

"So, this is the true power you possess?" He asked, albeit rhetorically, as his voice broke out into a string of demented laughter. Swinging back his frost layered wings, cracking the ice particles that had gathered upon it, a great gust of wind billowed out from his person and grinded the snow accumulated on the ground. A vile aura of violet color began to project from his person, steadily rising and producing a numbing Reiatsu of his own to match the Segunda Etapa's current projection. As his teeth stretched out to display his yearning for the battle to come, his scythe pointed at him with declaration, "yes! This is it! This is the power I had sensed from the moment you struck in our first encounter! The potential, the prowess, the power all in one form! Finally I'll get the fight I've yearned for and finally earn the place at Lord Aizen's side that I rightfully deserve! Come Espada and let us do battle in glorious manner once more!"

The Angel and the Devil On Hueco Mundo's Shoulders
Relaxed.

That was the best way to summarize Nicolao's move, even as he gazed at his own personal adversary. His hands were in his pockets, and he didn't seem intent to be making a move as quickly as his compatriots had against their opponents. Even as the energies from afar and the two sides clashed fiercely, he was content to just sit there and let the residue winds blow at his hair and clothing. But even as he stood, his mind was working up a storm. He noted the way his foe stood, the look in her eyes and even the faint traces of power he could feel from her being. All of it spoke leagues about just how capable she was in the field of combat. As snide and jeering as he had been in the reunion of the Espada Afilado and Sennin Butai, he wasn't overly arrogant. He understood a threat when he saw one.

"She's powerful, experienced in combat, and she happens to have a dislike for Hollows. Doubt I will be getting along with this one any time soon." He thought to himself, his fingers reaching to brush strands of hair from his eyes. "Still, this could be entertaining enough if I have all my cards in hand this time. I'd prefer not to have a repeat of what happened with Kōin..."

He decided to start their interaction off with a few words. "You know, for a hardened woman of war," He remarked, giving a polite and amiable smile in her direction. "You look rather fetching. Might I know your name, dear?"

Stoic.

Despite how long ago all the battles had started ago, even if it were in actuality to be a handful of minutes, she had barely made a move of her own as her enemy had. The various rises of Reiatsus fluctuating in the distance caused her to briefly cast her glance in a particular direction, then the other. One by one each battlefield became intensified, the proverbial gloves being thrown down as each pair of combatants were fighting with their all and nothing less.

By the time she heard Nicolao's voice, she felt her stomach turn. Looking over at the loathesome creature wearing human features, she couldn't help but feel her senses pick up every iota of his presence as something twisted. Even the petty way he attempted to charm her made her recoil, her eyes glaring icily at the Arrancar's slender form with disgust.

Reaching a hand up to grasp the long hilt of her Seelenbrecher, she began to unsheathe her weapon in a methodically slow manner as she retorted, "Since you're going to join your comrades in the Hellish void from which you'll disappear forever within, I'll entertain you with my name. Ariana Sophia, Lord Aizen's huntress of your damned race and your personal executor."

A grated click came from her sword just short of a magnanimous release of Reiatsu, causing the entire environment to ripple and distort with a darkened chill. Static obscured sight and violet light colored over the black and white scenery, only allowing her own caped and buxom covered frame to be visible. Cold blue eyes glared at him as she pointed her sword forward, inquiring aloud, "Shall I send you to your cold oblivion now or shall I make it a slow death?"

The demonstration of power caused Nicolao to hang his head a little, his smile fading momentarily sweat forming on the surface of his face. His breath became a little hitched, but he managed to maintain his body's stance with only the slightest bit of tension. "Her spiritual energy is incredible." He thought to himself. "And I have little reason to doubt that was just a taste of her real power. It's no wonder as to how she managed to kill Caballero. If I had to make an accurate guess, she's comparable to the ranks of the top four Espada. And it's just my luck that I have to deal with her. In a straight-up one-on-one fight, she'd destroy me. I have to play it smart if I want to win. But fortunately for me..." The smile returned, expressing confidence as much as it did mild manners. "I always play it smart."

"Wait, hold on just a moment!" He said suddenly, thrusting out a hand in a signal to stop her. "I know that you're a bit eager to jump right into it, but... don't you have some questions you'd like to ask me first?" He folded his arms across his chest, tilting his head to the side slightly. "I mean, we did hit you very suddenly, among other things. I would've expected some inquiry about what's going on right now in this battle, as well as the situation you're jumping into. I can be a generous man, and I'll gladly satisfy your curiosity... on a limited basis, of course. Giving away every answer right off the bat would be boring, after all."

"Multi-Dimensional Ambush," Ariana answered curtly, her Reiatsu relaxing and focusing, creating a dim violet light to cascade over her armored frame as she kept her stance intact. "I have been analyzing all the various Reiatsu signatures while trying to comprehend how such an ambush could occur when we have countermeasures for mere Garganta ruptures to occur. After all, Lord Aizen was the one who had the power to seal and prevent Gargantas being opened in Hueco Mundo all those centuries ago. Naturally, the same power was bestowed to us Sennin Butai. However, you didn't come straight from the dark precipice that you normally did."

Cocking her head to the side, a slight smile stretched across her face, the closest to a snarky expression she'd make while scowling at her foe in the same instance, "How am I doing so far?"

Nicolao's smile grew wider, and he tilted his head back to its former position. "Excellent. You're as sharp as I expected you to be." He complimented. "Tell me more."

"You're using a borderline dimension, located within the Dangai Precipice World," She continued, her eyes narrowed with an astute knowing, "somehow you found out its linked to Hueco Mundo, and you utilized this knowledge to bypass the normal parameters required to enter this world. This way not only were you undetected, you were able to move in from several locations, giving off the impression that you're hidden from view the entire time. While I don't doubt that you used your own technology to hide your individual presences, you were able to hide your entry as well as that bestial army you used to do bombing runs on our own forces."

Raising her blade, she rested the flat of it upon her right pauldron, tapping it idly as she kept a confident smirk upon her face, "It took me some time and quiet to come up with that conclusion, I doubt the others are even trying to think of the how or why you got in here. But I'm a multi-tasker, and I've been monitoring the status of all the battles going on. And I can tell you right now that you still have a number of allies cloaked and waiting to jump in at any moment."

Fixating a glare, Ariana inquired a pointed, "Am I wrong?"

This got a bigger reaction from the scientist. He tilted his head back, shut his eyes and let out an entertained laugh. The fact that she was able to detail her guess as she did made him feel like a kid first visiting a candy store. Despite her profession at killing, she was very intelligent and perceptive. She was one who defied her own appearance to a considerable level. She was, without a doubt, going to be a much more different experience from his previous opponent. "Oh, you are just a treat!" He exclaimed, returning his head back to its position and regaining himself. "You just might be one of the best challenges I've had in my times of conflict. Now, my star pupil, the second question to this quiz." He unfolded his arms, raising a finger to point at Ariana. "How was Dorado's ship detonated?"

"That one was probably the more puzzling incident to figure out," Ariana admitted, furrowing her brows, rubbing the base of her sword across her shoulder as she explained. "I had initially assumed it was a rift caused within the ship's core. It would explain how none of us could detect the source of the attack but we all could feel the sudden spike of Reishi around us. However, you gave your own secret away by being the first one to call out to us."

An impressed smile stretched across her face as she conjectured further, "It was made by technology, yet I did not see any device upon your reveal nor do I think it would be so compact that you could carry it on your person. No, you were the sole perpetrator responsible for the explosion. I don't know how you could pull it off from such a distance but you discharged a small strand of your Reiatsu to mingle within our coalescing energies surfacing and embedding within the ship's infrastructure. All you needed to do was change the makeup, like splitting a atom, and you created a explosion from our own energies. It's why we could feel the spike but not the trigger. Your Reiatsu was too diminutive and unnoticed throughout the endeavor, not to mention our attention lied elsewhere."

Propping her free hand upon her hip, she narrowed her eyes at her enemy, "You're the brains behind the Espada, aren't you? You're the one who made this invasion a possibility instead of a simple charge of vengeance. This calculated assault, the ambushes, the potential advancements made on your own powers are all thanks to you. Isn't that right, Espada Quinto Nicolao Jandro?"

"That would be correct, Paladin Ariana Sophia." Nicolao responded, folding one arm behind his back and one arm in front of him to give a proper bow. "I won't deny that I've had help. But I've played a major role in ensuring that this would come into fruition. From the assault on the capital, you've showed yourselves to be formidable adversaries to contend with. It's been so long since the Espada Afilado has truly had a challenge against their rule, years even." He straightened himself up, letting his arms hang at his sides. "And it's been so long since we've seen the face of defeat as we did. So it was necessary to come to these level of preparations and give ourselves a fighting chance. I have to say, you surprised me, nonetheless. I didn't expect a fighter like you to carry such a brilliant mind. Makes this all the more interesting." Slowly, he lifted up his finger to point at Ariana. "Now, I hope you do well to remember these words in particular. They will be important...if you wish to keep yourself breathing."

Those last words, which emphasized a hint of menace and malicious desire, were followed by a cold and almost machine-like tone.

"Activating Occultus Protocol. Subsystem Quick-Time Releases engaged. Stage One Active. Target Locked and Identified. Inject. Destabilize."

His smile widened, and this time, it wasn't so friendly and polite.

"Terminate."

It happened without warning. One moment, there was Ariana. Then, there became the epicenter of a small yet visually and physically powerful explosive. It was as if a missile had hit her location, creating heat and sands to envelop the affected radius in a blooming cloud of destruction. The waves caused Nicolao's hair to billow violently, yet he did not move from his stance. He lowered his hand towards the weapon at his side, grasping its hilt and slowly unsheathing it to the world. Unlike what he had wielded before against Jinsoku, he held a katana with jagged teeth positioned within the middle and the base of the blade. He held it at his side, placing his free hand on his hip. "Let the blood that will be spilled here stain Hueco Mundo's sands..." He whispered. "For all of eternity."

"On that, we can agree," Ariana whispered behind Nicolao, her hand grasping his left shoulder in a vice grip. Her body would appear as if it was a wraith, blurring into view and taking upon physical form, the product of her inhuman speed. Faint trails of electric sparks would ebb within the air, as if an abnormal force was at work to have enhanced her speed for a fraction of a moment.

That would be the least of the worries for the Arrancar, however, as her sword moved in a decapitating gesture to lop off his head from his shoulders. Even when that should fail, she slam the cap of her right knee into his spin, aiming to push some distance between her and her opponent while giving him no close quarters advantage.

"Behind me!"

Nicolao's heart skipped a beat when he felt Ariana re-appear behind him, his eyes widening in a mixture of shock and awe at her immense speed. Very briefly would he witness the currents of electricity passing by, his thoughts kicking in once again even as she grasped his shoulder. He had assumed that she was naturally fast, and based on the traits he associated with the body's usage of electricity, he could identify that as some form of enhancement. If her speed was that of a master's, something like this would make her virtually undetectable and nigh impossible to react to. It was a reason why he hadn't been able to move in time, unable to do much but sit there as she held him still. In three moves, it looked like the woman would kill the genius of Hueco Mundo.

But then, his voice once again fell into that coldly mechanical tone of voice.

"Stage Two."

His head leaned towards the direction where the massive blade of the opponent was going in an attempt to dodge it. Try as he might, he couldn't move himself to keep the top of his head out of the path that the blade was going. But then, something strange happened. Ariana would feel the blade move, subtly diverting its path to swing in a narrow miss from its target. Aside from the slicing of the tips of a few hairs, there was no harm done to the Arrancar in question. There would be no energy felt to signal that he had used his spiritual pressure to push it away, no physical movement to indicate that he himself had used immense speed to parry the blow. All he had done was move his head and duck as best as he could with her hand keeping him still.

But the clincher would be when her knee was thrown towards his spine, slowing down and stopping millimeters away from its target. The feeling would be less subtle, and it would feel to Ariana as if she had moved her leg though a thick pool of molasses. Once again, there was no energy that could be felt to indicate just what had been responsible for such a happening. Once the weight of the events sunk in, Nicolao's voice rang to her once more. "Now we switch places, from professor to student." He said, looking back at her. "What I just saw was a utilization of your spiritual energy to enhance the movements of your body. In this case, you enhance your already tremendous speed to a level in which even a skilled user of eye and sense would have difficulty detecting you. Even motivating the body to react to your attacks while in this state becomes a taxing task. And I have reason to believe that was just a taste to whet the appetite."

Then, he attacked. His hand flipped the katana in his hand to a backwards position, and he thrust the blade towards Ariana's stomach.

To Ariana's perspective, it appeared as if time had slowed when Nicolao's head bowed just in the nick of time to evade the beheading she intended for him. It baffled her that, while she purposely announced her position to inject despair, he'd still have the reflexes to dodge a strike from her. When her follow-up knee strike felt as if it was halted altogether, the ramifications of what he was doing now made more sense to her even as he spoke.

"He's slowing the velocity of all objects moving towards his reach!" She realized, just as the Arrancar reversed his grip on his jagged katana. When he began thrusting, it was upon instinct that she clenched to a painful degree on the shoulder, with the intention of snapping the muscles and bones altogether. During such a move, she spun on her heels, swinging him by her painful grapple upon his shoulder to hurtle him a good distance to where her back was turned, aiming to send him spiraling towards an upturned desert dune.

"I don't know how, but you somehow can reverse momentum of anything within your personal space. This Stage Two of yours is quite a fearsome power, but all I have to do is make sure you don't have time to notice my movements. Trust me," Ariana reassured, pointing her sword at his direction with a cold smile stretched across her face, "you won't see me coming the next time."

It was in that moment, that Ariana felt the abnormality she had priorly mentioned move. Having been far off, she hadn't expected it to move into her battlefield. In a reflexive motion, Ariana backflipped and kicked across the air to avoid a instantaneously manifested firebomb. The spewing flames spiraled upwards, roaring with its magnificent multi-dark colors of orange, red, and gold, flecking the Reishi that it contained freely.

"So, you've shown yourself," Ariana spoke aloud in an expectant manner, her eyes now seeing the figures who had appeared to have been hidden from view. One, having disposed of the camouflage cloak, was a scarlet haired man with a cream colored scarf flapping around his shoulders and behind his long dark tresses. His stoic eyes locked fiercely but with a calm composure she could associate with her own. He held in both hands identical katanas, burning with embers of recently deployed flames from releasing it into its Shikai state.

The other, was far more vocal.

"Indeed we have," Kaze spoke aloud, his own dark cloak still worn over his form, with equally dark gloves wrapped around his fingers as he held onto his cane in a far less stressed manner. In fact, it appeared as if he only held the cane for show, rather than for handicapped reasons. His dark hooded visage looked over at Nicolao briefly before returning the gaze back at her, "it appears that you're quite more of a handful than my associate could have bargained for. So we decided to step in, while our other comrade went elsewhere. I hope this doesn't inconvienance your honorable duel in the slightest, Paladin."

"Guh--!"

A pained hiss had escaped Nicolao when he felt the grip on his shoulder tighten, his ears picking up the sounds of bone cracking slightly. But his ride wouldn't end there, what with her lift and toss of his form away. He tumbled through the air, but quickly managed to regain control of his body. He descended towards the ground as he sword, acting as a tumbleweed against the sands for a second before righting himself and flipping back onto his feet. As he leaned on one knee with his sword at the ready, he regarded his foe with a scrutinizing gaze. Her taunt was a justified one, and at this moment, he certainly would have been cut down by her next movement. Once again, he was reminded of the fact that he was about to engage in a difficult battle. But with such an intriguing opponent, it was very much worth it. A smile once again donned his face as he raised his blade defensively, silently accepting her challenge.

But before he could retort, he was hit by the surprise of the Captain's intervention.

His eyes widened in surprise as he saw them enter the arena, emphasized with Kukkyōna's attack and Kaze's words. "What's this?" He thought to himself. "I assumed that they had been distracted by respective opponents of their own. But it seems like they managed to break away for assistance. Just what exactly happened there?" Their presence made him lower his sword, keeping his sword in a backwards holding position as he folded his arms across his chest once more. With them in the area, it would be a little bit easier to fend the skilled warrior off.

He didn't voice his thoughts out loud. But he did speak out to Kaze's response towards their mutual enemy. He closed his eyes, giving a humored smirk. "Really, Kaze?" He questioned rhetorically. "This fight has barely even gotten lifted from its warm-up stages, and already you're declaring me to be on the losing side? And here I thought we understood each other loud and clear..."

Kaze cast a glance, upraising a brow as he stared at Nicolao's humored visage, "From my vantage point, it looked like you were at a severe disadvantage. She's barely tapped into the depths of her Spiritual Power, and you almost came close to death twice. Had it not been for our intervention, she would have landed the death blow, no mistaking that."

"Very astute of you, Shinigami!" Ariana called out, from the distance, her feet slowly and provokingly treaded towards them. She kept her gaze on Kukkyōna's tracking irises all the while fixating her attention to Kaze in particular. "it seems you either understand the very nature of my power, hence your distance, or you are a naturally cautious person who doesn't go to the frontlines often. That's why your friend was the one to try a sneak attack instead of you."

"I've done my homework on your ranks long before this invasion occurred," Kaze explained, taking care to turn his stance towards her approaching form, leaning on his cane with emphasis. "you're a Paladin whom escaped execution many years ago by the RAC  and its Paladin ranks. You, yourself, are its former highest ranked member of the Holy Decimo. Ariana Sophia, Paladin I, titled as the Vanishing Valkyrie. Your lethal combat ability allowed you to fight the entirety of your fellow Paladin's ranks, not to mention your successor and the Knight Commander herself. While it doesn't seem you left without scars, your combat ability is too renowned to simply leave a comrade of mine to fight you solo."

Stopping dead in her tracks, Ariana narrowed her eyes, resuming a cold glare at the man who read her past like a textbook. While Kukkyōna had turned to face her back, he didn't move to attack immediately, simply keeping aware of situation they're placed in. After what seemed like an age of stifling her bitter memories, she exhaled smoothly, resuming a calm and collected visage as she stretched a dark smile across her face.

"It seems you're rather informative, and chatty," Ariana said with a flash of pearly whites, in sync with a few synapses of sparks dancing around her form. Looking to Nicolao, she could only but harden her tone at him, as if confirming what his associate said was true, "knowing this, Hollow scum, do you still intend to fight me with such blind bravado? If so, you're truly overestimating your abilities to win."

Nicolao had fallen silent.

Truth be told, he had immediately assumed that she had been a Paladin of high-ranking tier, and it was very obvious that she was a defector. Her overall demeanor, the dark way she carried herself and the nigh-sadism she held in both words and action had given the impression of a sociopath. But he had assumed that calling her out as the former commander of the Paladins was too much. Now he saw that assumption was correctly identified. In addition, he had not expected her to have such a tragic past. Then again, such a thing could have left her psyche shattered, transforming her into something little more than a soldier with shell-shock. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Somewhere along the way and thanks to her near-death experience, she had lost her sense of self. It was no wonder that she held eyes exactly like his and a smile more fitting to that of a psychopath.

She fit right in with the cases that were the Sennin Butai, that was for sure.

As he listened closely to the exchange, however, he couldn't help but be somewhat annoyed at the fact that both Ariana and Kaze was quick to double-team him. He had expected the scientist to at least back him up against their mutual foe, but it was as if the two had signed some mutual agreement to belittle the Arrancar whilst he wasn't looking. He rolled his eyes, briefly scowling as he took it all in before regressing to a somewhat exasperated expression. But as grating as it was, it also enforced the idea that even Kaze had little to no idea as to what Nicolao had up his sleeves. The thought of outsmarting his Shinigami associate caused the agitation to fade away, a smirk made out of his lips as his gaze locked onto Ariana. Slowly, he pulled his blade back and resheathed his katana before folding his arms back across his chest.

"That's the wrong question you should be asking." He remarked, his voice exuding composed confidence. "I won't lie. In a direct one-on-one fight, you would crush me. Your power and skill convey that much already. The question you should be asking is "Why? Why is he behaving so relaxed even in the face of certain death? Why does he continue to carry on as he is, even when it's clear that I outmatch him?" I was certain that was going to be the very first question that passed through that intelligent, biased head of yours. But above all of that, this particular one is important." He unfolded one of his hands to point an index finger at Ariana, and once again, his smile flashed with a contained dose of malice.

"Was it really such a good idea to place your hands on me?"

In that moment, Ariana's breath hitched. Confidence drained and was replaced with stark fear. The alarm registering in her widened eyes and tight lipped mouth showed that she hadn't comprehended him placing a trap on such an obvious area. She had gotten too careless, she knew, to take advantage of his body as if it meant little more than something to be cleaved in two and destroyed.

Looking down at her left hand, she stared at it, trying to comprehend what precisely was done to it or subsequently her whole body.

"You cheeky devil," Kaze chuckled raspily, clapping his gloved hands together, cane still in his right hand, "you had planned ahead. Now I feel a little guilty in coming down here with Captain Hayate. Maybe my curiosity mixed with what I knew of this adversary got the better of me...ah, well. What's done is done, I guess.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO ME?!" Ariana roared out in a demanding manner, swinging her blade to unleash a cutting fissure of focused destructive force. Unlike those who would allow it to cover a wide arc, making evasion difficult, Ariana instead narrowed it to a width of six inches. In exchange for diameter, the attack shot like a Bala in terms of velocity, aiming to cut in a clean half from where she stood.

Her rage was Nicolao's elation.

Even as the blast raced towards his direction, his smile only widened. To see the cold attitude of his enemy become erased in the snap of a finger was very satisfying to him, a refresher considering how badly his fight with Kōin had turned out. However, his smile was brief and quick to fade away when the Bala-like shot neared him. Just like with her sword swing, it diverted its own path and split into two parts to go around his still form. He made note of the usage of spiritual energy control within that blast - it would certainly be a rather troublesome thing to face in the future. But for now, he had pushed her into a corner. It was all up to fate to decide whether she would push herself out or not.

His gaze locked onto Ariana, and his hand returned to the arms' fold. "It's not what I did to you," He answered readily. "But rather, what you did to yourself... as well as what I did to myself. You see," He unfolded his hand again in an explanatory gesture. "After my crushing defeat by the proclaimed Kōin the Maddened, I performed one of three full-body modifications to myself. The one that you should be most concerned about was also one of the most difficult procedures I've had to go through in my entire life. Several times, my life was ripped away from me only to be pushed back for more. Several times, my mind was pushed to the brink of destruction, and my beloved underlings begged me to stop before I completely broke. Oh, I tell you, what I went through was absolute Hell." His tone, although still practicing composure, exhibited a taste of just how shaken he was reminiscing on it. But it only lasted a few seconds before he closed his eyes and chuckled. His arms unfolded, his hands gesturing towards himself.

"But I did it." He continued, his voice showing elation and and a twisted sense of pride. "Every Hollow I've consumed from my first signs of individuality as a Menos, every hapless Soul that I've devoured before even that point... I've separated my very being into each individual fragment that I've absorbed and reconstituted them back to a new and improved form. I am not just one lone individual anymore..."

This was where his tone took on a more disturbing quality. It would becoming distorted, accompanied and synchronized with the growls and screams of Menos as they attempted to mimic his words.

"I am a colony of monstrosities, a walking empire of demons waiting to be unleashed upon our prey. I am the result of a collective conscience of my long-broken victims. What does that mean for you, exactly?" His smile, dark and brightened with a villainous desire. "It means that by making physical contact with me, you've unwittingly "connected" your own soul to my being. Simple things such as taps or brief touches will not mean much, I admit. But prolonged contact will make you more and more vulnerable to me. You kept your grip on me for quite a while before releasing me. And by the amount of seconds that took, I'd calculate that I have control over one arm and part of your other one. So how about we test that out?" He unfolded his arms across his chest, stretching out a hand towards Ariana. That mechanical tone of voice would come back, making his transformed tone of voice all the more frightening.

"Initiating Assimilation Protocol. Contact Confirmed. Restriction: Arm. Override. Enforce. Self-Destruct."

All of a sudden, Ariana would find that the arm holding her sword quivering violently. Against her will, it moved itself into position where her treasured blade was pointed straight from her own stomach. Little by little, it began to force the tip towards its owner's stomach. By this point, Nicolao's voice had returned to its regular quality, but by no means lost its nightmare factor. "Don't worry. I don't intend to kill you. After all, I did say before that you were a fetching one. And the former Paladin I? I believe you'll make for a very interesting experiment. So just relax, lie back and think of Lord Aizen."

Fear.

It was the one emotion that Ariana felt throb her very being, from her core down to the very last fleck of skin. The very sight of Nicolao casually dodging her sword swing without her inclination as to how. His lax behavior, the way he spoke, all of it was true confidence that was self assured without the arrival of the Captains. When he proclaimed his true horrific nature and what he did in order to change his body's composition, she couldn't help but feel absolute repulsion towards him, a feeling renewed ten fold.

Hearing the collective of voices sent chills down her spine, like a legion of monsters locked inside one husk. Sweat began to bead down her face and neck, her breath hitching heavily as he raised a hand towards her. Then the damned robotic tone resumed and something clicked within her right arm. Like as if it was called by something else other than her own mind.

"No-No-No-No!" She reiterated aloud with absolute panic, her composure draining as fast as the color from her face. Her sword was rearing back to a point where it would make a precise thrust through her abdomen. With her brilliant mind, she knew it would undoubtedly leave her paralyzed after it would completely run through her back, but a abdominal wound would be far from lethal. Her Paladin physiology would ensure that, though she was unsure just how much control she retained since making contact with that thing's body.

"STOP IT!" She shrieked, more at her own arm, one of which she used her free hand to futilely keep the tip from passing through the protective weaving of her navel. Tears began to well up within her eyes as panicked breaths came quicker and quicker, her heart banging in her chest a mile a second. Every nerve was tensed and alert, yet she hadn't the physical capability of stopping her own arm from running herself through with her prized weapon.

As the blade's tip drew nearer and nearer, Kukkyōna defused his blades, but allowed them to remain unsheathed. Using a deft Flash Step, he landed right next to Nicolao's other side, ensuring to be a good five meters away from him due to his own precaution of making contact with the Arrancar's body. With a soft sigh, he fixated a sideglancing glare at him, "You disgust me. Taking away a warrior's pride like that and shattering her mind in the process. She doesn't deserve whatever fate you have planned for her."

"Come now, Captain," Kaze intervened on Nicolao's behalf, swinging his gloved hand to wave at his fellow colleague, "this woman has already shed blood of countless creatures, both Souls and Hollows alike. For Aizen, her dogma would have ensured much bloodshed and keep doing so until he found it enough. She isn't worth your pity."

"Only someone who views people as objects would say something so callously as that," Kukkyōna returned his cool gaze back at the struggling woman, refusing to avert it any longer.

"I'm going to die a horrible death!" Ariana thought, feeling the tip start to press against the straining Kidō-woven skin-tight armor, the sharpness already working its way to pierce through it. "He's going to prod, poke, shock, melt me down and regenerate me a thousand times over. I'm going to be no better than those Black Reaper things they wanted to create in the first place. I thought I was going to escape this, not get closer to it!"

Feeling the threads part, the sound of metal piercing flesh would be heard, followed by a sorrowful moan from her lips.

"Someone help me! Someone help me!"

An inch of metal began to drive through her belly, continuing to travel through her guts and towards her back. Painful inch after inch would be injected by the long weapon of hers. Sweat poured off her pale colored face, her eyes clenched hard and her teeth biting into her lower lip enough to draw blood. Her whole body shook as her right arm continued to disobey her and thrust more blade into her insides, refusing to relent.

"Lord...Aizen...!"

"What is it that you seek?"

''Ariana suddenly felt her mind reel and all sense of time vanish. She was no longer shivering on top of the sands of Hueco Mundo. She was bandaged and leaning against a gnarled trunk of a tall tree. There stood Aizen, his long dark brown tresses flowing over a dark cloak. His power, his presence, the very way he locked his inhuman eyes at her was that of a sovereign being. He also was her savior, someone who kept her from being in death's door, asking nothing in return but to inquire what she sought. ''

Looking down, she quiveringly exhaled, "I want...I...I desire a world without monsters. A world free of the need to rip humanity from those who wished to keep it. A place where politics doesn't determine one's fate and place in the world. I want a paradise where laughter and joy is synonymous for chivalry and duty."

''Aizen didn't say anything, not right away. Any con man would have a quick answer, a retort. But he looked off into the distance, as if he too was comprehending such a place. After solemn moments, he would sigh and return her a gaze filled with as much authority as there was absolute promise. ''

"I shall give it to you, shall you swear to follow me to the end of your life."

''It seemed obvious to her. On her own, she could never change her fate or the role she played in this world. Everything revolved around predestination as she was created for the sake of others rather than for herself. If she followed even one visionary, someone who had as much power as he did clarity, she perhaps stood a better chance than she ever could among the ranks of liars, murderers, and scoundrels. ''

''Kneeling down onto her fists and knees respectively, she felt Aizen's gaze as much as she could feel her presence around her. Without looking up she began to utter an oath, one that would revert the one she had sworn as a Paladin. These words would echo to the present time, one that gave her strength with every reiteration out of her mouth as much as it would be in her mind.''

"I swear solemnly this Creed to your Sovereign Cause," Ariana began to speak aloud of a shivering mouth, her eyes slowly unclenching from fright and her body unwinding with tension. The right arm began to slow its deep stabbing motion, as if her words called out to it and reminded her what it was meant to do.

"My Life is yours to wield for your design. My Sword is yours to kill thy enemies. My Body yours to shield thee from harm," She continued, her arm slowly but surely halting altogether, only leaving a foot of metal in her bleeding abdomen. As it halted, her breaths came out less labored and renewed much clearer strength. Her lips unclenched and her eyes slowly opened to half mast, her vision still locked onto the moment her life changed forever.

"I will not compromise my duties for you. I will not falter in my code to ensure your future is secure. I will not bend my knees to another!" Her last words breathed out with more venom, her downward gaze slowly raising up, her eyes opening to near its full capacity. Eyes shined with a cold blue venom at Nicolao, her breaths continually long and purposeful. It was during this moment she began to drag the blade from her flesh in a slow and meticulous manner.

"I am the Blade that cleaves through Ignorant," She uttered aloud, as three inches of flesh ejected blood soaked metal.

"I am the Steel Fist that crushes the Arrogant," She continued, another three inches of metal extracted.

"I am the Shield against the Tyrannical," She furthered, drawing nearly the whole blade out from her gut.

"I am...I am..." She struggled on the last words, her right arm beginning to rebel against her. Then with wide-eyed eyes, she extracted the blade fully, a spray of blood painted the sand before her feet and spread from where her sword had been coated. In that moment, her body discharged a voluminous aura of violet-hued Reiatsu, causing the uneven grains to buckle and distend, electrical discharges pouring up from the earth like geysers of raw Reishi output. Her cloak flourished wildly in the wake of her own power, as she aimed to eject what influence was placed on her completely.

Her blue eyes flickered to a brief yellow, a slitted iris remaining where once a black pupil was, briefly imitating the faint resonating presence of a Hollow's power. In that moment, her gut seemed to regenerate from bottom to top, stopping the bleeding and healing the wound she had dealt to herself. As quickly as it came, her eyes returned back to a icy blue, glaring fully at her adversary who had done the unthinkable to her body and mind. With that, she enunciated with a blood-curdling cry.

"I AM YOUR KNIGHT OF DEATH, LORD AIZEN!!!" Her wrathful toned words came out like a sonic boom, spreading out her Reiatsu like a tidal wave of force that sent the grains like projectiles of airborne velocity. In a single moment, a good fraction of her power was brought to the surface, and used as a weapon.

"Bakudo #91, Danku!" Kukkyōna declared aloud without any sign of gesture, creating a transparent wall of protective energy to shield them from the immediate threat of being bowled over by the shockwave. Even as large quantities of sand rose upward and was displaced by the Reiatsu discharge. Throughout it all, faint cracks within the Kidō's protective weaving could be seen, spreading out like a web in several places.

"The sheer amount of Reiryoku she possesses is incredible!" Kukkyōna breathed out, feeling beads of sweat crawl down his scalp, seeing that his own defensive barrier becoming brittle in the face of such destructive power output.

"Her will overpowered your dominance over yours," Kaze noted, his own yellow eyes blinked flabbergasted, finding what he observed was just as baffling as he assumed it was for his associate. "the devotion, blind or not, towards that man is stronger than I've seen in most of the Gotei 13!"

It was then all at once that the Kidō shattered, giving way to an attack that looked like a blade of light, jaggedly coursing through the air with an erratic rythym. The electric discharges coming from the blade came from the thrust of Ariana's sword, seeming to generate what looked like a discharge of lightning with a weaponized shape. The attack homed in and aimed to run straight through Nicolao's body, aiming to render him to a burnt crisp while eviscerating his own insides. Kukkyōna would barely notice its rapid accelerated movement while Kaze barely comprehended the flash of light that broke through the brittle Bakudo.

It was an attack of pure vengeance.

There was only word running through Nicolao's head at that point.

"What?!"

One moment, she was fresh meat to be taking. That one attempt to instill despair into him was meant to turn back on her with a vengeance, destroying her and subduing her in the process. The first move made was supposed to be the clincher, the one that decided her fate from the very beginning. She was so close to becoming his spoils of war, and he had been so close to obtaining a quick victory. Yet, all of a sudden, he felt what little control he had begin to slip. It was his turn to widen his eyes in shock, his heart rate increasing rapidly. "Impossible!! She's using sheer willpower to force my hold off her!! How?! No one should have been able to repel me with just mental power alone!! In addition, she's managed to heal herself... and with what?! A Hollow's power?! Just what the hell is she?!"

He barely took notice of his allies' remarks towards the power Ariana was demonstrating. There were no words he could conjure up in response to what he felt. It was only a fraction of her power, and yet it was making him as well as the two Captains sweat under the pressure. It didn't help that he could see the cracks within the protective spell Kukkyōna deployed, knowing that her power was soon to break through. In an attempt to act quickly, he thrust his hands out in front of him and called upon his coldly mechanical voice.

"Re-engaging Occultist Protoco--!!"

However, he would be far too late.

His voice died within him when the bolt of lightning ripped through his form. It was like a hot lance searing through him, his chest as well as the underside of both arms were taken in the blast. The light within his eyes had faded away in that instant, shock and awe written on his face. Time slowed down as he started to fall backwards, with only his mind to keep him company in his fade to darkness. "No wonder you were designated as Paladin I. You are a fearsome warrior and a combatant that only the likes of our top four would've taken on evenly. Just what I expected from the likes of you, Ariana..."

He collapsed onto his back with a sickening sound, blood splashing and pooling onto the sands beneath his body. His body lay deathly still, his eyes staring blankly at the skies in eternal slumber. With that one attack, and typical of someone of her caliber, she had slain the Arrancar scientist with only a fraction of her strength.

Then, an event of shock and horror.

The sound of flesh ripping apart could be heard, courtesy of Nicolao's chest ripping itself open. Black blood-like matter shot en masse towards the skies, with its source twitching and writhing violently in a disturbing display of what looked like rigor mortis. Once it reached a certain point, it began to build itself up and take a shape. As it did so, it appeared to have a more energy-based visual. It didn't help that there was an aura of darkness, which could only be described as pure evil exuding from its surface. As it grew in size, a most peculiar sound came to all of their ears. At first, it was quiet. But it wasn't long before the sound gained volume. It was a blend of nightmare-inducing sounds: the growls and cries of Menos, as well as the screams of agony stemming from what used to be Souls.

"What in Damn-?!"

"MOVE!" Kukkyōna shouted urgently, his person already initiating a Shunpo to distance himself along with a briefly hesitating Kaze.

While the latter had every intent to revive the Arrancar's body, the phenomena of bizarre proportions that unfolded before his eyes captivated his attention. A mixture of horror and delight crossed his eyes, seeing something so grotesque take a shape of physical intimidating sight while giving off the resonating sensation of legions of lesser beings. It looked like a failed Menos Grande while held together by a form of black arts or twisted science.

"What have you done to yourself? I must know!" Kaze stretched a hand out towards the collosal being of blood and shrieks, his eyes blinking at such a monumental being of demonic visage.

When the sound of thunder followed, he would know that the opponent had hardly backed away from the fight. While she was briefly disturbed at seeing the geyser of gore actually take shape, she quickly steeled herself and used her newfound resolve as a shield to the morbidity of her enemy. In a blurring upward spiral of light, she'd appear near the head of the beast, but dared not approach for what happened prior.

"HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH!" She cried out in a swift flurry of exertions, swinging her blade around in a dance of electric discharges. This time giant scythes consisted within the makeup of the lightning strikes, aiming to rip the tower of blood to shreds when it wouldn't simply shock it to death due to its liquid makeup. She had no idea what she was fighting, but she intended to tear it apart however she could.

It was like a human trying to stop a tsunami with its bare hands.

Her attacks, constant and relentless, had no effect on the sphere of blood that was expanding. It continued to grow to the point where she seemed like a dwarf in size, a mere planet in the face of a sun. The screams and growls from within had grown to a crescendo at this point in time, the blood having stopped coming from Nicolao's still form. Even as Ariana attacked, it didn't respond and just continued to sit there for a moment. Only the Arrancar would've known just what exactly was going on, and he appeared to be as dead as a doorknob.

But that was only for a few more seconds after the blood cessation.

The sounds of bone, flesh and internal organs rearranging could be heard from the Arrancar's corpse. Once again, it took to writhing and quivering violently as muscle was restored, bones grew back and skin expanded to cover the innards. In a matter of seconds, the wound Ariana delivered had been healed, and even the fabric of clothing lost had been restored. The blank eyes that had stared lifelessly into the sky regained pupils and irises, his expression of shock shifting from one of grogginess. He blinked a few times, almost as if he had just waken up from a very deep slumber. Then, with his arms folded across his chest, he "floated" and righted his body up to a standing position once more. His head casually tilted so that he could look at the sphere - or more specifically, the nuisance attacking it. His trademark smirk came to his face.

"I may not have been able to break you right off the bat..." He whispered. "But it seems like I've still gained a purchase on you, haven't I?"

Then, the sphere changed.

The massive arm of what appeared to be a Menos Grande shot forth from the sphere, its hand catching Ariana within its clutches. What followed behind it was the body of the Menos Grande itself, who used its other hand to fully capture its prey. In order to ensure that the Paladin wouldn't escape quickly, it cupped the Paladin with both hands and began to apply a crushing force to her body. Its mouth opened up, growling and thinking nothing of the saliva dripping from its own maw. In summary, it looked like it was fully ready to shove a morsel down its rotten throat.

But that was the least of her worries. Missiles of the same blood were shot from the sphere and in various places covering the air and ground. While the missiles headed towards the ground would splatter onto it as normal physics demanded, the airborne missiles stopped in a manner similar to how their "mother" did. It only took a matter of seconds for the sphere to dissipate completely, leaving behind its creations. Each and every one of the pools manifested into a physical shape, forming the bodies of Hollow-like entities. Some were in the bodies of Menos Grande. Others held the form of Adjuchas. But the most disturbing of the bunch were the ones that held human form - or at least, what resembled it. Those in particular consisted of many Souls, a bounty of Shinigami from old, and even the occasional Arrancar. Some were unarmed, while others held respective weapons. It was an army of darkness, summoned by none other than the scientist himself.

And they all had the Paladin in their sights.

"Perhaps I didn't make it clear to you before!" He called up to her, his mild-mannered voice very out-of-place in the situation. "There is another benefit to being a living hive of my own victims. Whenever I am dealt a killing blow, I simply lose only one of the lives as a price. After which, my wounds are regenerated, I am revived with another life and free to carry on as I please. In that moment of death, however, I have a chance to release several of my captures for the sake of overwhelming my enemy with numbers. Now, you have to questions to ask yourself. The first one is "Just how many souls are within this vessel? Hundreds? Thousands? Billions? Just how many times do I have to kill this man before he is truly dead?" Maybe you can find the answer soon enough. I certainly haven't. And for the second question..."

He tilted his head to the side. ""Just how long can I fend off all of these monsters before I start to tire completely?" Fortunately for you, we're about to find that out right now." Slowly, he lifted a finger to point at her once more. But his voice would be directed to the army at his control. "Engage! And feel free to break, tear and rip through whatever part of her you want! But make sure that you keep her alive!"

His eyes gleamed with a mix of entertainment and sadism. "Or at least, enough of her that's good for processing. Attack!"

Following that command was an unholy and unified roar, and all of the corrupted entities threw themselves at the lone Paladin to carry out Nicolao's order.

"Grk!" Ariana let out a strangled gasp, finding her body encompassed by a gargantuan pair of hands, wrapping her in its chilling grip with unforgiving pressure. It would appear, from a distance and to the monster's eyes, that she would be crushed with only a pitiful amount of struggling for resistance. Seemingly she looked unable to escape.

Then, the body that had been grasped, turned into a bolt of lightning in effigy of herself. A mighty exhale of Reishi detonated within the hands, spreading outwards to slam into the ground and pierce the heavens with the pillar of electrical discharge. Even as the hands were burnt away, sizzling and bubbling with superheated fury, Ariana appeared in a blinding flurry around the beast's head, slashing it in what could be described as a hundred angles.

By the time she was approached by the legion of liquid-solid beasts, the monster's head exploded into a rain of bubbling ooze, still crackling with every pore from the power and fissuring cuts she placed upon the head. Without any delay, she spun her sword around in a dazzling vibrant arc behind her, kicking off the air to launch herself at the horde of beasts. Half a dozen swings and the buzz saw of electrical pressure tore into their midst, producing a series of blinding flashes to be emitted within the air high above Nicolao's head. She appeared to be an unstoppable killing machine, fulfilling her birth's purpose.

Eliminating Hollows with Extreme Prejudice.

Kukkyōna closed his eyes at the display of unabashed slaying of grotesque monsters. After but a handful more seconds of distant cracks and splurches of fallen entities, he sheathed his twin Zanpakutō. Turning on his heels, he began to walk away, leaving a perplexed Kaze in his wake.

"Where are you going, Captain?" Kaze asked with a few curious blinks.

"To a battle where my honor won't be tarnished," Kukkyōna said without turning his head, his body soon disappearing in a blur of motion, leaving the two demented scientists behind, "I will not fight a battle where I side with a monster worst than the enemy I'm supposed to fight."

"Tch, noble upstart," Kaze sniffed with a scoff, returning his upward gaze at Ariana as she continued her en masse slaughter of the endless siphoning of creatures. "seems we have things handled anyways. Between the two of us, I'm sure she won't bode a problem, right?"

"I have complete confidence within your abilities, Kaze." Nicolao had his eyes feasting on the sight above him, watching their mutual enemy take on the mass Hollow full force. Even in the face of Kukkyōna's bitter remarks, he kept the smile on his face. "But I have to say that this one will be quite the challenge. It hardly matters, though. I will be sure to savor every drop of flavor that will come from this exchange, and then, her end will come." He kept his finger pointed, switching to that deadly mechanical tone of his. "Re-engaging Occultus Protocol. Restoring perimeters. Inject..."

Pieces of Nicolao's creatures fell to the ground around them.

"Destabilize."

His grin widened.

"Terminate."

And just like that, destruction was born from his fingertip. Once again, Ariana became the the epicenter of an explosion made possible by her own power. It dwarfed the first one he had unleashed against her, consuming a majority of the creatures in the process. It was bright enough to bathe the entire area in a white light, generating winds that had the power to press lesser individuals into the ground. But Nicolao simply stood his ground with his arms lowered at his sides, watching it all take place. He could guess that his enemy, just as she always had, would find a way to survive it. But as he observed, the sensation of satisfaction flowed through him like clean water through a brook.

It was like giving birth to a supernova.

Moments before its volatile creation, Ariana would begin to feel the tingle upon the edge of her nerves. Even as she cleaved and eviscerated countless creatures, it was like a sudden inclining of temperature around her pores. It was everywhere and it stung, like the sudden entrance into a sauna when you were out in the cold arctic.

"That sensation again!" Ariana picked up just as light began to generate from all around her, with her body at its source.

She moved upon instinct, her body entombed with electrical currents, allowing her to gracefully pierce through the maw of the elliptically shaped explosion that was emerging all around her. Her cloak ripped apart during the evasion, a testament to how close she was cutting it. By the time she escaped the outer reaches of the blast, her vibrant azure outline trailed out its farthest end, putting her a good distance away from her adversary.

"I have to catch them off guard if I have a hope of killing his body again," She concluded quickly, her electrical form spiraling downwards, sword leading the way. Its edge pierced the earth, allowing her to tunnel down in the wake of a large uproar of sand upon the distant horizon, only shielded by the haze and blazing winds created by the blast she had narrowly escaped. Deeper and deeper still, it wouldn't take long for her drilling form to reach the canopy of the Menos forest, allowing her to flourish underneath the very sandy ground that the Shinigami and Arrancar presided over.

Kaze narrowed his eyes upon noticing the distant eruption of sand, even past the blurring winds that slowly dimmed the lighting from the blast his associate employed. Further still, it was close to impossible for him despite being an adept at sensing Reiatsu, to pinpoint her movements or what kind of attack she would muster next. "It's like making guesswork in the dark with tools you may or may not actually possess. What an intriguing predicament I'm in..."

Then, the immediate eruption of electrical pyres, in the shape of lances speared upward within their midst. It covered an expanse as wide as fifty meters, spiraling upwards like cobalt hued fireworks. Even upon being dodged, the lances would explode in midair, spraying down in a rainfall of thousands of electric arrows. Each move seemed precise and perfectly controlled, each with enough force and power to lay waste both to the Shinigami Captain and the Espada Arrancar.

"!"

Due to the shock that he felt, Nicolao's smile was wiped off of his face.

"She's attacking from underground?!"

He barely jerked himself out of the way when a lance moved past him, its edge searing through the side of his face in the process. His eyes widened and their contents shrank with a mix of shock and pain as his black blood was spilled once again. He clenched his teeth and glared daggers at the ground, even as the lances shot upward. "Damn it! Of course she would take advantage of my below-par combat abilities again! If she keeps this up, I'm going to be destroyed before she even begins to run out of energy! I can't have that--!"

Then, a disturbance from above.

His eyes widened in shock once again, and he swung his head just in time to see a storm of electric arrows fall towards him and Kaze. He let out a growl, mentally summoning the remainder of his creatures to his aid. They threw themselves in front of him and Kaze, acting as a shield against the barrage. It cost them their lives, the arrows puncturing and sending them to a gruesome fate of electrocution, incineration and even bloody combustion. As they fell into pieces all around the two scientists, the Arrancar had a look of intense intrique as he switched his gaze down to the ground. The smile on his face had gained a more feral quality to it. He stretched his hands out towards the sands, once again calling upon his abnormal and horrifying powers.

Suddenly, his arms writhed and twisted in a demonstration of grotesque body manipulation. Muscle and bone ripped from the skin, only for the destroyed product to blend and meld into columns of his trademark black blood. He swung those arms out, expanding them and coating a considerable radius from him and Kaze with the matter. It would be noted that it reacted quickly with the sands, behaving as acid would to flesh. It also leaked through the surface down to the depths of the Menos Forest, where Ariana would be in hiding. If it made contact with her, it would behave in the manner of acid rain and burn holes through her body. But although a frightening ability, it was simply one meant to flush the Paladin out of her hiding place. Killing her with it would've been laughable for and disappointing to Nicolao.

"So tell me, Paladin I. I'm curious." He said, casually walking through the pool of blood he was creating. His arms swung, spraying more of the sands as he walked across them and expanding his area of control. "Even though you regarded me as the brains behind the Espada Afilado and the genius of Hueco Mundo's leadership, you waved your sword with the belief that I would fall too easily. Even though you knew about how intelligent I was and the advancement of the other Espada, you thought that I was facing you with nothing more than "blind bravado". Tell me, how does it feel to have the weight of your own words crashing down upon your head? How does it feel that your arrogance was the thing that damned you to a fate worse than Hell? But most of all, how does it feel to know that I will be the one to annihilate you?"

"I know I have a boot in my mouth, Arrancar. No need to shove it down my throat," Ariana thought to herself with irritation. Her original assumption that she could take him down with quick gestures and powerful strokes of her Seelenbracher quickly became the contrary. Even as she landed a supposedly lethal attack on his person, it just seemed to unveil one problem after another. "touching you physically will establish control over my own body. Cutting you up seems to eject those fiends from your person, of which they aren't easy to destroy when attacking en masse. You have the ability to detonate my Reiatsu, something you pride in being able to do when I'm distracted. And now..."

As she continued analyzing her opponent, goop in the form of ichor resembling blood rained down around the branch she hid underneath. One such splattered over the white branch, raining a single drop over her left shoulder's armored pauldron. It immediately began to hiss and eat throguh the material, ignoring any protective properties it might have possessed.

"You can turn your blood into acid," She thought with a scowl, grasping her pauldron piece and ripping it from her shoulder, hurtling it away from her while she backpedaled and spun around the tree being rained by acid. Even as it broke apart and pulled some of the sand it held up above its canopy, she sneered up at the barely visible Espada and his goading towards her, "terrific!"

It was then that an idea struck her.

It was a simple one, and knowing from past encounters his lack of combat tactics that his experience was limited in such a field. Grasping her remaining armor piece, she ripped it off with a snap. Coiling her electrical nature Reishi around it, she reared her arm back and swung it forth, swinging it towards the Espada like a discus. Due to the rainfall of acid that oozed through the sandy canopy, the treading Arrancar created a hole that grew in radius of a good ten meters already, while the fall of acid continued to eat away tree tops below him, crumbling branches as he strode.

The discus would arc, sparking through and deflecting the majority of the drops, only taking a few drips to chew its exterior. Purposely it would fly up directly in front of him, halting all but a few inches in the air. Then, a brilliant flash of light would be emitted after a screeching sound of purposefully flaring electricity be viewed before both the Espada and the Captain behind him.

"Now's my chance!" Ariana thought with assertive initiative. Taking her sword, she swung the blade clean through a large tree top, allowing the twenty meter tall myriad of pale branches to begin to fall forward. Punching her fist into the base of the wooden expanse, she took flight upwards, hauling the tree up to the downpour of sand, appearing in a mighty eruption behind the two. Swinging her free left arm, she used the enormous limb like a glorified bat, the trunk aiming to bludgeon the two with immense force while the series of jagged branches aimed to lacerate and penetrate their bodies.

"Hm?"

The discus flying towards Nicolao caught his attention straight away. He narrowed his eyes, allowing the smile to drop and his arms to revert back to their normal form. Immediately, he stopped walking and braced himself to avoid the projectile headed his way. His mind was working up a storm to figure out just what she was planning. This was a single projectile, and in contrast to her storm of lightning, it wasn't much. It couldn't have been a simple attack taking place. It had to be a setup for something else, a start to another attack. But just what did she have in mind?

There was only one way to find out.

When the discus stopped in front of his face, he didn't waste time in leaping back to avoid it. His eyes studied the blackened ground, trying to be ready for any signs of his foe. "I had assumed that the corruptive matter I projected would've flushed her out. But it seems like she is the stubborn kind of termite. I'd better--"

However, he didn't expect the discus to explode with the effect of a flashbang instead of fragmentation or incendiary.

"What?!"

The light hit his eyes, and he let out a sharp yell as he was blinded. He shut his lids, his stance faltering and his body shaking reflexively. As he tried to get rid of the cloak that shrouded his eyes, he could hear the sound of her tunneling back up through the sands. The sound that she made was as if she was bringing up a whale with her, making him all the more apprehensive as to what she was planning. Whatever it was, it was going to be another massive attack. But compared to the likes of Kaze, his spiritual senses were poor. All he could afford to rely on was reflex and instinct to avoid her attacks.

The moment she burst from the sands was the moment he could partially open his eyes. But when he caught sight of what she was holding, they shot open completely.

"Is that a giant tree?!"

He didn't dare question the absurdity of it, and he didn't need to be a genius to know what exactly she was going to do with it. Again, his machine-like tone cut through the nonverbal atmosphere even as the tree was swung at him and his companion.

"Stage Two!"

With the grace of a miracle and against Ariana's will, the tree was halted inches before it could even touch Nicolao or Kaze. In turn, the Arrancar took the time to look at his enemy and give his trademark smile. "I'm getting the feeling that you're trying to bring my associate into this." He commented, his eyes narrowing slightly. "And to be frank, I find that very insulting. "Don't you understand that I'm the one you should be the most concerned about right now?" He raised one hand, his index and middle fingers pointed towards Ariana. Without hesitation, he brought those two fingers back towards himself towards what seemed to be a beckoning gesture.

But what it caused would be most surprising. Ariana would find herself hurtling towards Nicolao with the same amount of force she had put into her swing of the tree. In turn, Nicolao swung one of his arms back with his hand balled into a fist. Upon his silent command, it began to display yet another form of body mutation; its muscles expanded to abnormally large proportions, to the point where the arm's size dwarfed his own and his fist was almost the size of her body. He swung that arm forward, elongating his arm and throwing a ferocious punch towards his enemy.

"He stopped my swing!" Ariana realized with a quick jerking halt of her crudely fashioned weapon. She cursed her choice of attack being slower than normal, having hoped to close the gap during his disorientation. Now that he halted the tree from impacting their bodies, she could only wait to see what he had in store next.

The last thing she expected was the gesture prone pull on her body.

"Ngh?!" She grunted out as her body was tugged forth. Like a bodily tight tether employed in a similar aspect of gravity, she felt her form airborne frame descend angularly towards Nicolao at a rapid momentum. It was only thanks to her left fist being embedded into the tree that her speed was reduced, giving her spare seconds ot react in time to the inevitable attack.

"He's manipulating the velocity of my tree swing into a pulley on my body. If he wants to hit me with that force, might as well oblige," She trailed off, her body lighting up with an electrical aura of violet hue. Swinging her sword forward, she bodily propelled herself in the direction of her attractive force, increasing it with her own incredible speed and encasing her frame in the electrical properties. Even the sight of the grotesquely large fist did little to deter her, as a look of knitted brows and a sneer stretched across her visage.

Then, just as the blurring frame of her accelerating rushed towards the fist, she seemed to past straight through and burrow into the ground with a mighty explosion. In the wake of her strike, the fist would all be perfectly bifurcated if not entirely ripped off from Nicolao's limb, boiling/searing and shredding the arm off cleanly not even leaving blood in its superheated trail.

"She's becoming problematic," Kaze thought with a wayward analysis from a distance, having employed a Shunpo to get out of the way of Nicolao's attack and Ariana's plummeting frame at the last second. "every time he comes up with a brilliant manner to subdue or flush her out, her adept quick thinking and focused power keeps returning fire. At this rate, I'm not sure if I'll figure out a good countermeasure or not..."

It was then that Kaze had an epiphany.

"Wait a minute!" Kaze spoke aloud, looking down at the seared hole where Ariana had rocketed through and then towards Nicolao, "That's it!"

"Impressive reflexes!"

Nicolao's eyes widened the moment he had seen her fist crash into the tree. But they would soon shrink once her form tore through the massive appendage that was his mutated arm. His teeth had gritted as the pain seared through his limb, and he staggered back out of reflex. But it would be nothing compared to the shock he felt when she connected with the ground. At that point, he had only been expecting her to tunnel through the ground again. He had been expecting sand to get tossed on him as he waited for her next surprise attack. What he hadn't expected was an immense explosion to generate upon the point of impact and the catastrophic effect to envelop him at point-blank range.

But it happened, and he dearly paid the price for it.

A pained yell escaped his lips as he felt his body being knocked aside, his flesh ripping apart under the immense power released. His smoking form sailed through the air, thrown by considerable force. It only took a few seconds for his form to descend back to the ground, skidding viciously across the sand surface. His teeth were clenched, his eyes were shut and his flesh was deeply burned to the point where pieces of it were falling off in the wake of his slide. Thankfully, it didn't take him long to stop, leaving behind a ditch. It was nothing he couldn't recover from, as his injuries were already healing and sealing themselves. However, he couldn't help but feel a growing agitation. The fight had turned from an exchange of blows to a game of hit-and-run on her part, and he was feeling hints of annoyance surge through him.

"Again?! I figured the Menos would've been hunting her down like rapid dogs after feeling the release of reiatsu the first time! Though," He slowly stood himself back up, his body tensing up and his fists clenching as he readied himself. "Who knows just what kind of sport the Sennin Butai have been making during their stay here in Hueco Mundo? For all I know, they could've rendered the Menos down there extinct..."

He was snapped out of his thoughts when Kaze spoke up, his head snapping towards his Shinigami colleague. "What happens to be on your mind, Kaze?" He called out, quickly shifting his gaze back towards the ground. He had to admit, it was a near-useless move; if Kaze had difficulty picking out her movements, it would be next to impossible for him to do the same.

Even as Ariana rose out of the sand, sword in hand, Kaze made sure to hastily speak under his breath towards his colleague.

"A Paladin's source of power is the Seelenbracher that's within their possession. Like a Zanpakutō, it can grant them one of many different types of abilities that give them an edge in combat. At first I had mistaken most of dear Ariana's movements for simply manipulation of Reishi or her own Reiatsu output, but I was wrong. Her Seelenbracher is enhancing her physical attributes, mostly within the speed category, gifting her with reaction timing and thrusting power far exceeding any Espada or Captain beneath the most elite of warriors!"

Turning his head back towards Ariana, he watched her glare at him specifically, realizing that she had picked it up all he spoke by simply reading his body language. This caused him to bead sweat just how effective and intelligent the enemy was. But in short, it didn't stop him from finishing succinctly, "In other words, separate her from her sword and you cut most of the power she has at her disposal at a significant marg-"

It was at that moment that Ariana had chosen to strike.

Instead of landing another blow on the Arrancar, however, she simply chose to blur her frame into a high sped strike into his own. A thunderous punch decked the Captain in the chest, causing spit and blood to escape his mouth, his body lifting up with the momentum of the thrusting limb. By the time it finished a complete spinning revolution, his body shot forth like a bullet, popping the air with the eruption of wind currents that such power used to send him away.

"A Kidō Armored Captain may survive that, but that may shut him up and keep him from interfering for awhile," Ariana thought with a nod of contentment, turning her gaze back at Nicolao. Spinning her sword, she spun it over her head, creating a pinwheel of metal above her blonde tressed crown. She approached without verbal retort or query at Nicolao, intending on finishing him soon. "if I continue to use blindsiding attacks, he'll eventually run out of lives to use as a safety buffer. My power far outstrips his. It won't take long to finish this battle so I can join the others."

"Kaze!"

Although Nicolao was alarmed at how easily Kaze had been knocked out of commission, he kept his cool. His eyes swung back onto his enemy as she approached him, his stance straightening upwards. He had thought the same of her abilities, too, that she was skillfully using her power to enhance her movements and attacks. But now that he took in Kaze's words, that idea was completely blown out of the water. His eyes narrowed in thought even as her foreboding figure approached. "All this time, the power source was within the weapon all along. It's a concept so obselete, no one would've ever expected it to be used on the battlefield like this. I never would've guessed, had it not been for the Captain's observation. Whoever invented those weapons must've been thinking with their heads instead of muscle."

He smiled softly, grudgingly showing respect towards the weapon. "So all I need to do is disarm the warrior and the gates will be weakened. What a simple yet effective tactic." He extended out one of his hands towards her, his fingers stretched out as if he was about to unleash an energy blast or extend one of his arms out at her. "If I knew that was all it took to put the fight a little more in my favor, I would've done so much sooner."

Momentum acted at his will once again.

The Seelenbracher the Paladin spun so rapidly over her head was suddenly wrenched out of her hands, risking the possibility of her breaking some fingers. It continued to spin as it flew towards Nicolao, until his palm caught the weapon by its hilt. A mild shockwave was produced when palm met handle, emphasizing the force put behind the "throw". Even the sands had scattered away from him a little under the action. Yet he would stand still, his eyes drifting to the weapon in silent observation. In that moment, he had seemed to break his concentration away from Ariana in order to analyze just what had been used against him.

"Even from this distance?!" Ariana thought as she felt the sword practically wrenched from her grip. Looking down at her feet, she quickly deduced she was only a dozen meters, give or take a few inches. Her earlier attack using the tree pegged her at least that same distance. Now she understood a few of the ranged employment capabilities of this Shinigamified Hollow's powers over momentum.

Seeing him grasp the hilt of the sword, instead of tossing it away, caused her widened eyes of surprise to narrow with stoic confidence. A small smile stretched across her face, followed by an audible musical chuckle. She began walking towards him in a slow, methodical manner, making sure her steps didn't carry much weight. All the while, she spoke to Nicolao in a very much knowing tone.

"Really, for a genius you are a bit careless. While I admit I jumped the proverbial gun in assuming your body had no defense mechanisms if I touched you, and that if I killed you nothing of ill aim would occur, something about what you just did seems a bit reckless. In other words," She finished speaking, reaching a spare six meter distance away from the Espada, her smile reverting to a impassive expression, "are you sure you should hold onto weapons that don't belong to you?"

It would be in that instant something of drastic force was to be unleashed.

The insignia, a jagged halberd of blood red coloration, glowed a bright scarlet. The sword itself seemed to generate a field of shocking volts all on its own, blasting around a five square meter radius of blinding discharges. Searing flesh, bubbling blood, and rendering the body into pained convulsions, the sword continued to project its power onto the foreign entity that held onto its hilt.

"Your Captain failed to tell you, that every Seelenbracher has a bit of the Paladin's blood embedded into the crest at the base of the blade," Ariana explained, watching the shocking waves of enormous pressure the sword possessed within its design, "my sword, Einherjar, responds only to my hand. Any fool who holds it without my own hand on its grip will suffer true pain for such insolence!"

Kicking off the ground, Ariana moved with grace and prowess befitting her prior rank. Even without her sword's powers, she managed to blur next to the Espada to grab hold of lower half of the sword's hilt, wrenching it from his grip as she passed him by. Turning around she swung the blade over her head and diagonally carved a powerful blaze of searing electrical light, intending on cutting his body in a jagged severance of one half from the other once more.

"Trust me when I say this, Espada, it'll take more than parlor tricks and head games to truly best me!" Ariana snarled out with indignation, kicking off to land gracefully a meter further from the twelve meter mark she established as his range of control.

Just like before, Nicolao had remained completely silent.

Even as he was taunted, he had focused his attention entirely on the blade within his hands. He lifted a hand to idly trace the side of it, his senses coming to fruition. He could sense the immense power flowing from within her weapon, his finger acting like a scanner to pick it up. When he reached the spot where the sigil was, his eyes had widened. He could feel the warmth within to signal the presence of her blood. "So this is what distinguishes one Seelenbracher from another - a hint of blood. This is what makes the weapon hers. And if I had to take a shot in the dark, it doubles as a--"

Then, the sigil glowed, and his pupils shrank slightly.

"Security system!!"

All he did was raise the blade up to a horizontal position away from his form as the lightning enveloped his form completely, his figure an electric brilliance as it was lit up. From her dialogue, it was clear that Ariana was only assuming what was happening. From her point of view, she wouldn't see if he was actually getting hurt by the Seelenbracher's active intruder defense. She wouldn't see if his flesh was being seared or if his system was succumbing to electrocution. That was enough to say that this was something that plenty of opponents had fallen for the same trick and paid the ultimate price. That made her confidence rather understandable.

When Ariana moved past him to grasp the lower hilt of her sword, he purposefully released it. She would not see his form swing around to meet her as she moved around him, nor would she see his reaction to her swinging that mighty blade down on him. The shockwave created would bring a massive cloud of sand to birth, further masking his movements as she leaped away. Silence fell afterwards, presumably out of the idea that she had struck him down and he was taking the time to regenerate himself once again.

Then, he stepped out.

It was a time sooner than the time it should've taken to heal himself. When he did, there were no signs of regeneration completing itself, nor was there any hint that the "security system" had affected him. Anyone could've said that he had simply healed himself much faster this time. But a more intelligent combatant could tell that wasn't the case at all. Despite her aggression, Ariana's assault had done nothing but get Nicolao's clothes dirty and scratched up - something which he emphasized by dusting off his shoulders in slight annoyance. This time, it wasn't a matter of sustaining damage and retaliating.

This time, her attack had failed completely.

"That's funny." His smooth voice came to her ears as he took a few steps towards her, folding his hands behind his back and placing a foot behind him, its toes bracing against the sands. "Because I swear that mind games and parlor tricks had you screaming and crying like a newborn not too long ago. Did you allow yourself to suddenly forget that little fact? Or is it that you're allowing your personal feelings to get in the way of rational thought?" He narrowed his eyes. "You have been prattling on about how much of a scumbag I am simply due to the fact that I am a Hollow. Does that prejudice give you confidence, fuel the belief that you can easily crush me?"

He closed his eyes and let out a humored chuckle. But this time, there could be a very subtle hint of bitterness and disappointment within. "Despite all of your power and all of your intelligence, you still show yourself to be a child. You simply fail to see the bigger picture - something that even a lowly underling like myself could see. It makes the idea of breaking you a bit painful for my tastes, and I almost want to walk away from this battle. But then again," He slowly opened his eyes, a hawk-like gaze focused onto Ariana. "I would have to completely forget what you did to Caballero. I'd have to let go of the fact that you sliced off all of his limbs and left him to drown in his own blood. I'd also have to push aside what other godforsaken crimes you've committed against Hueco Mundo in the name of your deceased master. Did you enjoy all of it? Did you savor every single moment that you made us scream and squeal in agony? Did using that power on those who couldn't even defend themselves get you off? For your sake, I hope you did."

He placed one foot in front of the other, his arms held at an acute angle to his sides and the fingers on his palms splayed out. The smile had faded, and for the first time in the fight, a cold glint came to his composed stare.

"Because once this experiment is over, those memories will be the only thing that will keep you company."

The Loud Light & The Musical Melody, Murder and Compassion Clash! Part II
It was a scenario that Tierra, even to this point in time, still couldn't comprehend.

Tenshi was an assassin. He lurked within the shadows, keeping himself out of sight from those who hunted for him. When unsuspecting prey walked by the corners he hid, he leaped out, dragged them within his shadows and did what he pleased with them. That was how he should've operated from the very beginning. That was what he had done in the earlier stages of their fight, where he had stuck to analysis and reconnaissance. He had struck at the opportune time, when her guard was let down the most. But somehow, someway, he had turned himself from assassin to berserker. He might as well have been a completely different person from the individual she had faced off against.

In terms of skill and precision, she had kept up with him. But in terms of raw power, she was outmatched. The only reason as to why she hadn't suffered too much injury to her person was because she was using her affinity of sound to offset the power of his strikes. It was an adequate defense, but gave her no ground against his relentless and pragmatic assault. It wasn't helping that the earlier wound he had delivered was being upset by the demand for constant movement, opening up further and staining her side in crimson. It was how she found herself coming out; her sword was readied in one hand, but her stance was somewhat off and her breathing was to a mildly audible point.

She couldn't help but wonder, much to her frustration, if she was still dancing to his tune just like before.

"Having a sense of Deja Vu, my melodious Tierra?" Tenshi asked as he gracefully walked upon the air, just mere inches above the sandy grains of the ground below his boot's soles. Every purposefully slow step caused a distortion, circular indentions that rippled outwards for many meters; like steps taken over a sea of still water. All the while, his blade light shimmered in and out of visibility, projecting an Ultraviolet color that couldn't be entirely seen by the naked eye but by the enemy's sound based Pesquisa.

"I can smell the fear from you, even from here," Tenshi cocked his head to the side, his smile stretching to cheshire proportions with eyes slitting into lines, with crimson gleams emanating from their centers. "are you feeling less confidant than before about besting me? If so, don't kick yourself. It's a common sensation to have...when prey realizes the vast difference in strength between it and its predator!"

"Tenkan!"

In that split moment, Tenshi performed the most elaborate of his light bending attacks. Instead of it being a massive wall of transparent incinerative light, or solid force that will shred upon contact. No, instead dozens of spiraling drills of light would funnel forward, appearing as if they were netting towards her at over eighteen  columns the width of an arm for each attack. But just a dozen meters away, they would all veer away at the last second, spiraling around her, and attack from every angle upon her person.

Above. Below. Behind. Left. Right.

Knowing that her ability to sense sound would offset her ability to predict what direction they are by sending them all en masse and what they appear as long as he kept it invisible. And by creating drills, they'd be less prone to shatter as sharp or blunt objects, relying on pistoning strength of his sizable Reiatsu to power them through any obstacle. He knew that the odds were significantly in his favor, though he suspected something to keep him from a clean kill.

In the end, he would be fine with that, so long as he managed a true wound on his target.

"!"

Tierra's eyes widened, her pupils shrinking as her sensed picked up the oncoming barrage. Her sword hand tensed, readying itself into a defensive position. Her eyes couldn't see, but she could still feel the drills launched towards her. Two fingers of her free hand pointed at it, the orb of a Cero Estridente forming at the tips. But just as she was about to launch it, those invisible projectiles diverted and switched tactics. She could feel them all around her, closing off her escape routes as they moved in for the kill. She quickly brought her Cero-induced fingers up to herself, beads of sweat falling down her face as death approached her. At this point in time, death was an all-too apparent factor.

To die here would mean failing the Primera.

Her eyes narrowed, a killing gaze leveled at the monster known as Tenshi.

''I have already fallen once. I will not fall again!''

With a mouth contorted into a snarl, she shouted out her response to her foe.

"NOT. YOUR. PREY!!!"

The energy from the Cero was launched not in a focused barrage of soundwaves, but in an expanding wave from her person to the missiles that threatened her. The power of the Cero acted as a shield against the oncoming assault, bouncing off and sending themselves in opposing directions. Through the air, against the ground and into the sky... it didn't matter. As long as they were away from her, she didn't care where they went. With her furious gaze of defiance locked onto Tenshi, she swung her two fingers and focused her soundwaves at her target. Just like they had before, they shot towards him with the intent to crush him into the dust. She wouldn't stop there, using a Sonido to re-appear directly above his form and launch another Cero Estridente to pin him down. Her eyes weres narrowed in a vicious glare and her teeth were clenched as she suppressed his position, the resolve to carry out the mission flowing through her.

Seeing her yet again, with tenacity and precision, deflect his attack. Yet his smile didn't vanish, finding the prospect of continuing their dance of teetering death enticing. As her eyes locked onto his, the cogs in his mind worked into perfect prediction of her subsequent attacks she'd launch upon him.

"She'll use a double Sound based Cero. One from the front, to challenge my power and urge me to guard. The second will either be from behind or above, to get around my guard and hit me from both angles..."

And as such, she stretched out her forefingers, making the first half of his prediction come to pass. Raising his sword wielding and up, even as she used Sonido in the wake of launching her soundwave, in preparation for her follow-up strike, to face the front of the sword's guard right where she'd appear. Before the soundwave would hit him or the second be shot off from her fingertips above his head, a plume of silver light exuded from the hilt, becoming as virulent as flames as he swung it down in a overhead strike.

"Kashō Hikari!"

A dome of expanding light of magnified temperatures ruptured the air and glassed the very ground he hovered above. The pressure of his sword swing would counteract the two Ceros, followed by their breakup by the disintegrating properties of his Zanpakutō. The spherical projection of scalding light would be enough to cover fifty meters in scope, rolling and thundering with intense power and control. It was the perfect defense and counterattack, mimicking her own strategy to deflect his own Shikai's prievious all direction offense.

What his differed from hers was the subtlety of placing an additional move within the counterattacking defense.

"Rikujōkōrō!"

Using his own Zanpakutō to bend the originally golden half a dozen rods of light jettisoning from his fingers past the blazing fissures of light, they navigated and bypassed the dome of defending tongues of burning light. They'd swerve around gracefully, aiming to impale themselves non-lethally into her torso, forming a star shaped barrier around her body. Not only would it aim to incapacitate her, but prove how well he could read her moves by this point.

"I commend you for keeping up with my moves thus far," Tenshi applauded, employing a Shunpo to appear in front of her, burning light sword in hand. "your beauty is truly matched by your prowess in combat. I will enjoy draining the vitality and attrition from your wondrous face, Tierra Espada!"

"Both of them were countered?!"

Tierra's narrowed eyes widened in shock as she saw both of her Cero repelled by the dome of light. Her heart raced as she saw it expand, her eyes squinting in the face of such intense light. The heat coming off from the dome was too astounding to ignore, and she found herself having to employ a Sonido in order to make sure she was out of the blast radius. "To think that power like this can come solely from the likes of a Shikai? I can barely bring myself to believe it. And he's predicting my movements so easily, it's still like I'm being monitored! Just how exactly can I beat something like that--?!"

So caught up within her thoughts that she was too slow to see the Rikujōkōrō spell coming.

She let out a gasp as the rods slammed into her midsection, her body freezing in movement. That alone was enough to inject dread within her system. But when she saw the damnable figure of Tenshi appear in front of her, complete with that gaze and grin, defeat was flashing more and more within her head. It would've been easy to just state the release command of her Zanpakutō, break the bindings with the output of her spiritual energy, go into her released form and continue the battle. But at this rate, she was beginning to wonder if even that would've been enough to bring him down. Up to this point, she had been headed off, repelled and met with dead ends courtesy of him. What's to say he didn't have yet another wildcard to keep her suppressed?

She realized it now.

She couldn't win this fight.

She had lost.

For the second time, she had failed her Primera.

She hung her down, her orange hair overshadowing her eyes.

"So this is the end, is it?" She asked softly, directing her tone to herself moreso than her foe. Her sword hung limply from her grasp, to the point where it seemed like it would fall out of her hands any second. "I am sorry, my Lady. Once again, the enemy has proven too strong for my liking." A tear from each could be seen falling down from the corners of her eyes, trailing down her cheeks. Her breaths became sharp and shaky, and she just barely restrained the sobbing noises that would've come from her otherwise. Her failure hit her harder than anything else - something that the threat of death couldn't even get past. "I will die a most unforgiving and painful death, here in these cold sands of our homeland... at the hands of this murderer."

Although she didn't look up, her next choice of words were directed towards Tenshi. "How?" She demanded, her voice conveying her frustration as well as her distress in full force. "Every move I've made, every attack that I've used and every thought within my head... all of it was countered so easily! It was almost as like I was just telegraphing myself to you every step of the way! In addition, you were born as an assassin. Yet at the same time, you carry the power and strength of a frontline fighter! Tell me," Her eyes shut tightly, her voice reaching its crescendo. "Just what the hell was I trying to kill all this time?! Who are you?!"

"Who am I? Such a strange question an enemy of mine to ask," Tenshi said with an amused tone to match the expression on his face. Defusing the flames from his bladeless hilt, he began tapping the guard against chin, cocking it side to side, looking up as if trying to find the best way to answer. Nodding, he swung the weapon to the side, summoning a double-edged blade of rainbow colors. "without prattling on, I guess you could say I'm Aizen's left hand man. While Jigen runs the show, I maneuver things beyond the practical reach in both plain sight and the shadows. I've orchestrated many perfect assassinations due to my unique talents and intellect. It was only when I began to romanticize my work that my superiors thought ill of me. Just short of that, one of my targets was a lure to something far greater: Lord Aizen himself!

"When I attacked him, it was like striking a stick against a mountain. No technique, no opening, no route of victory was within my sight. He truly appeared like a true deity. And like any deity, I swore my services to him and cast aside my duties as a mundane assassin for the Soul Society. gifting me with power beyond my comprehension as a reward. I began to instigate the Red Sun cult, the Ahijados, to create a bloodbath that'd force the Children's hands in reforming the world. In predicting that it would fail, as it had, he had cut off their source of immortality and their reach as gods. From there he waged this farce of a war with the Inner Circle and the Quincy. While he may have died physically, Aizen's return is assurred, as much as some may disagree.

"Even now he's on the verge of returning. When he does, your army will be obliterated and your heads presented to him on plates of blood soaked silver. I'm his sword that he hides from plain view, the backstabber that hits you when you least expect it. Put it simply, I'm Aizen's ultimate killer!" Tenshi enunciated with a haunting laugh that echoed the air, his eyes widened and shining with a menacing crimson gleam.

Raising his sword, he stood before her paralyzed frame, hovering in the air parallel in altitude to himself. With a downward swing, he aimed to cut her down straight through her skull, past her hole, and splitting her in two. It would be the perfect executionary strike to end the fight between them.

That is, had it not been for a emerald wreathed blur rushing past him. Grasping his immobile prey, it disappeared as quickly as it came, causing Tenshi's eyes to widen with surprise and his mouth to part slightly with surprise. An annoyed snarl let loose from his lips as his eyes looked down pointedly at the being who now cradled the unshackled Arrancar.

"You...!" Tenshi said with recognition at the ram helmed woman who held her, looking up at an angle, projecting her own glare at him.

Turning her glare away from Tenshi for a moment, the tender gaze of compassion and concern locked onto her fellow Arrancar. Whispering in her quiet, calm tone, she asked, "Are you alright?"

Silence.

Tierra's eyes, which had kept themselves shut in resignation of her own death, opened up in shock when she felt her form being grasped by another individual. She let out a yelp of surprise when she saw herself disappear from the air to the ground. At first, she assumed it to be some sort of fever dream brought about by the fear of the mind in the face of its demise. But when she felt the arms of her savior support her, she knew that this was too real. All it took was one look at the flowing green hair, the hazel eyes and the notable ram skull situated on her crown to realize just who had come to her rescue. The name would come out in the form of a shell-shocked whisper.

"L-Lady... Odelschwanck...?!"

"It seems you aren't harmed, just a bit rattled," Nelliel deduced, ignoring her shock-ridden whisper. Doing this, she set her down on the ground and stood up, turning her white battle garbed person to face the now parallel standing Tenshi. "it's no surprise. Such an enemy of his caliber isn't one to take lightly."

"If that's some form of bad pun, I'm not laughing," Tenshi said with a curt tone, his eyes narrowed dangerously at Nel's. His vibrant sword now transparent, he pointed the bladeless weapon at her directly. "what exactly brings you here, dearie? You come to take her place or save her skin from her inevitable demise?"

"I always help out friends in need," Nelliel said with impassive resolve, gloved hands balling up at her sides as she spoke. "and it also gives me reason to be here that my homeland be threatened by your constant scourge. The likes of you isn't welcome here."

"Oh, I disagree," Tenshi let loose a disagreeing smile, waving his arms theatrically with sword in hand, "I feel right as rain here. This is as home as home can get. Plus, I cannot simply vacate these premises. Lord Aizen wants me to be here to witness his glorious return, after all. I'd hate to disappoint him!"

"Miss Tierra," Nelliel would whisper lowly, turning her gaze over her shoulder at the ground prone Arrancar, "can you stand? If so, I suggest you either back me up or leave with haste. This man is very dangerous and I have no guarantee that a united front will stop him or I'll be enough with my own power."

"I'm fine..."

Recovering from her senses, Tierra tried to stand. When she brought herself up to a sitting position, she let out a hiss as her wound was agitated. Her free hand flew reflexively to her side, her palm coated in her own blood as it touched the injury. She lifted it up to her face to study it for a moment, then lowered it back to her side. Her gaze was tense as she stared at her foe, her teeth gritted. "Even she admits that the two of us together might not be enough to beat him. Is this really it?! Is this the point where everything falls apart, just like that?! Can we really not win this?!" She shut her eyes, the fingers of her free hand digging into the sand.

"Are you saying that there's no way we can beat him?" She allowed herself to question, forcing herself up so that she would be on one knee. "That the only fate we have is to die like beasts?! That the only option we have is failure?!" Even as she repeated those words, she suddenly felt that familiar spike of anger rush within her. Although she herself was questioning the ability to win not too long ago, hearing someone else convey it just seemed so... agitating to her. "I can't believe... I can't believe you would allow yourself to say that, right after rescuing me! If all you came for was to deliver words of cynicism off at my doorstep, then you might as well just leave right now!"

With a pained grunt, she staggered back up to her feet. Droplets of blood continued to fall from her side, staining the ground underneath her with a dark red. "I came here to destroy this man!" She snarled, leveling her blade once again at Tenshi. "I came here on the account of the Primera herself! I cannot and will not allow myself to retreat, not when so much is at stake! To have you suggest the idea of retreating is something I will not stand for, even if it is from the likes of you!"

"And there's the Tia I know~!"

Her eyes widened as a familiar, chirpy voice came from her right. She looked in that direction just in time to see someone come out of a Sonido. Her eyes widened when she saw those eyes and that notable carefree smile, recognizing it immediately. "Melina?!" She got herself to say, looking on as the Fraccion stood up with her sword in hand. In turn, the "younger" Arrancar placed a free hand on her hip and tilted her head slightly as she looked up at Tierra.

"Hi~! I'd ask how you're doing, but you look a bit beat up at the moment~!"

Her nonchalant tone was enough to ease Tierra's own tension, at least for a moment. She closed her eyes and chuckled softly. "Still upbeat even after all that's happened. Typical you..."

"Melina?" Nelliel queried aloud, her attention not averted from the man who stood away from them.

"Oh good, another target," Tenshi chuckled with amusement. Taking his free hand to cup his chin, he looked as if he was in a mode of pondering. Seeing the three of them together caused his smile to lengthen across his face, his eyes lighting up with an idea. Lowering his hand back to his side, he asked, "oi! You wouldn't happen to be Melina Herselia, per chance? If so, are you planning to participate in this bloodbath or just watch your friends scream? I'm not particular to either, I'd be just as thrilled to hunt you down as I'd cut you up here and now."

The fact that he had referred to Melina by name - no, as if she had gained a name amongst the Fraccion within the Espada - caused both the mentioned girl and her superior to regard Tenshi with surprise.

"Uh... yeah?" She answered, cocking an eyebrow at the man. Her free hand reached over to scratch the back of her head, trying to figure out just what about her had garnered his attention. Unlike the two other Arrancar who regarded him with negative emotions, she was behaving as if he had just reminded her about something she forgot. It was as if hostility and fury wasn't a part of her being. "That would be me, Tenny. Donno why you'd say something like that, but..." A smile returned to her face, and she moved her free hand to point casually at the man. "I'm here to participate, you silly! What would I get if I just sat back and watched?"

"Why is she acting so casual about this?!" Tierra thought to herself, furrowing her eyebrows and glaring mildly at Melina. "Doesn't she know who she's talking to, how dangerous he is?!"

"Well aren't you the confident one?" Tenshi asked with a humored chuckle. He began to step towards them once again, his sword spraying rivulets of sparks from where a blade should be. A sign of his preparation to go back to the offensive. "you know what they say about the cheeky ones? They usually end up dying first!"

Upon saying that, Tenshi seemed to materialize behind her, right within her backside's shadow. His back to hers, he held his sword to his right, producing what appeared to be a hard light construct of a scythe. Its cutting edge hovered a hair before her throat, thrumming over her juggular precariously.

Nelliel turned around, her emerald tresses flourishing about her as her eyes widened with surprise, "When did he-?!"

Then he pulled upon the sword's hilt, producing a severing arc over the surface of Melina's neck, swinging out around to to catch at Tierra and Nelliel's heads in deft extension. While the latter repelled this with a thrust of her own sword, producing a shower of sparks as the tip of her sword encountered resistance to the light constructed pole, she had no way to tell if the bladed end would be dodged or halted by Tenshi's assertive attack.

Tierra's eyes dilated when she saw Tenshi suddenly appear in the shadow of her subordinate without warning. Because of their back to back positioning, she couldn't see what kind of situation Melina was caught in. Her trepidation increased even further when she saw the scythe materialize, beads of sweat falling down her face. The fight had barely even started back up, and already it looked like the "young" Arrancar was about to bite the dust. Even as the scythe moved to claim its first victim, she voiced out its name in a hoarse and desperate yell. "Melina!"

But neither of them would see what would take place to counter it.

Although Melina herself was surprised at the sudden move Tenshi had made, she wasn't so surprised that she couldn't find the means to counter it. When that blade reached the killing inch of her neck, a Sonido pulled her out just in the nick of time. She appeared in a crouched position at her enemy's side opposite of the scythe, one of her legs raised. It was clear that he had been expecting a quick kill, judging from both his open stance and his earlier words. Although she didn't like thinking more than she did action, she knew enough to realize that was a mistake to take advantage of. A small smile appeared on her face as she aimed and thrust.

The sole of her foot collided with Tenshi's hip with immense force, with a resounding bang as a residual sound effect. Tierra's horror would change to shock as she saw her enemy careening away from their position several meters away, his form crashing into a sand dune that happened to be in the way. Her gaze switched from him to Melina as she straightened herself up, her eager gaze focused on the spot where the man had crashed. "Well, I didn't know you were gonna jump at me like that!" She commented, gripping the edge of her blade with a few fingers. "The least you could've done was give me a warning or something!"

As she spoke, the approaching Tenshi seemed to take initiative by Shunpoing next to her least defended flank, It swung a tangible blade of light, aiming to cut her by the bicept all the way through the chest, using speed and follow-up surprise to gain the upperhand. All seemingly done without any verbal command.

The sandy Tenshi rose from the sand, looking a bit disgruntled with himself.

"There you go, getting my clothes all dirty," Tenshi admonished, dusting his coat and collar with visible iration. Despite the earlier look of surprise of being launched into the sand by a vicious kick, he looked no worse for wear. That is, if you don't count the ruffled appearance he had due to his body tackle into the formation of pale grains.

"!"

Melina's eyes widened in clear surprise when she saw that the other "Tenshi" didn't disappear, attacking her just as if he was simply another individual. But even as her heart took a leap within her chest, her eyes gleamed with a zealous eagerness that was very much out of place with the situation. Whereas Tierra or Nelliel would've been greatly alarmed at the speed and the aggression, the Arrancar attacked was brimming with the excitement of an adventurer challenged. Because he had pushed Tierra so hard and made the former Tercera Espada question their ability to win, she knew that she was dealing with a formidable adversary. So it was imperative that she gave it her all in order to fight him properly.

So when the clone attacked, she evaded and counter-attacked. She slid swiftly to evade the sword that threatened to cut her in two, her form spinning around elegantly. In a movement that demonstrated just how good of a swordsman she was, she swung her sword and cleanly chopped off her assailant's head. The completion of her movement would end with her once again facing the spot where Tenshi had crashed, just in time to see the other one arise from the sands. The clone poofed out of existence with a poof of smoke, leaving the four combatants to stand once again.

Melina took in Tenshi's form with a bit of awe. As her eyes took him in, she noted that despite the force she put into her strike, he didn't seem the least bit phased by it. She grinned even wider when he saw that he had came out intact, demonstrating just how tough he was. She hopped from one foot to another in an eager dance, her sword readied in preparation to engage once more. "You're a tough nut to crack, Ten-Ten!" She chirped. "I think this is gonna be fun, don't you think?"

This was where Tierra brought herself to stand, looking at her dancing subordinate with her own awe. "How does she do it?" She thought to herself. "Even though she has to know just what she's dealing with and how powerful he is, she's still acting like she hasn't a care in the world. Anyone could look at this and say that she's just being stupid and reckless... but at least she's got courage. More courage than I do, at least..." She closed her eyes and gave a heavy sigh. "Or maybe she's found a way to beat him already, something that I haven't seen yet. If that's the case, then I hope she puts it to her advantage and ends it quickly. This fight's becoming too unpredictable to drag out..."

"Keep your senses on the alert." She warned Nel and Melina. "From the start of my fight with him, he had buried himself underneath the sand and kept sending up clones to fight in his place while he surveyed my movements from a safe distance. By the time I realized what was happening, it was too late." Her eyes opened and wavered in frustration. "He could read me like a book from that point up to now. He might not have just withstood that blow, trying to use the same method again in order to get a better idea of his foes." Her teeth clenched. "We can not let him have that luxury!"

"You're right. You should keep your senses sharp and your blades sharper," Tenshi called out from the collapsed dune, his body remaining resolute in its placement. Even as he spoke, trails of light began to brim across the hilt, changing form and color, as if to symbolize his pondering state of mind of what method of attack to use. It truly did display the wide variety of techniques he could create simply with creative thought. "then again, it wouldn't matter if you're alert or dim witted. All eventually fall prey to my blade. One or three, ten to a hundred. I've slaughtered many people in my lifetime and trust me, you aren't the strongest I've faced."

"We'll see about that," Nelliel said with purposeful confidence, raising her sword up in a defensive posture in his direction. Even then she kept her eyes and her Pesquisa on high alert. What Tierra said seemed far more important than Melina's boasts of blind courage or foolhardy self confidance. She can only imagine what kind of new tactic this genius of the Ahijados Cult would conjure given time. "any ideas how to counter him? He must have some form of weakness, Tierra-san."

It was a statement that Tierra had been repeating within her head when the battle had escalated.

Her eyes wavered as they glared at Tenshi, her sword readying itself. "If there's a weakness, I surely haven't found it yet." She replied, frustration lacing her composed tone. "Not only does he have the ability to move himself in between the enemy and strike them quickly, he also carries enough power to ward off attacks. I don't know about the likes of you two, but as I said before, he's able to read my movements completely. Compared to you both, I've lost ground."

"Have you?"

Melina's voice caused Tierra to shoot a surprised gaze back towards her. The Fraccion, in turn, had stopped her dance and was now standing idly to watch Tenshi's distant light show. "Or are you just letting him get to you, Tia?" She continued on, a casually curious tone within her voice. "Are you just letting this guy scare you to death, just because he's got a bit of power fueling his engine? I've known you for a long time, and I don't think I've ever seen you willingly chicken out before an enemy like this. Just what exactly's been going on in this that I didn't catch, huh?"

Tierra's eyes flared with indignation. "Excuse me?! Do you even know the position you're in right now?!" She demanded. "This man is a threat--"

"There you go, talking like that again!" Melina readily cut her off. "That's what he wants to hear! He wants you to be scared, lose your nerve so that you'd make for easier pickings! You saw me dodge one of his attacks, just like that. You saw me strike back. If I can do that, I know you both can, too! The fact that I did that shows that even if there's a gap between us, it's not very far from our reach." She spread her feet apart in a preparatory stance. "He's not some invincible, unbeatable boss. He's just a guy with a sword, a bad attitude and a blood-run high. So c'mon. Stop worrying so much and put on your poker face! We're gonna beat this guy, even if it takes us all day!"

After falling silent for a brief moment, Tierra closed her eyes and gave a soft sigh. As unlikable as the Fraccion's choice of words were for her, she couldn't deny that she had a point. Here she was, fretting over her chances right in front of the enemy without a second thought about it. She was letting him get off on her apprehension, fueling his confidence and allowing him to believe that he had an edge over her. It was belittling and shameful, and the fact that she had even allowed herself to do it sent a sliver of disgust through her. Slowly, she opened her eyes back up and fixed a glare of defiance at Tenshi.

"You know what? You're right."

She straightened her stance and, much to the glee of Melina, brought the tip of her katana to the opening of her scabbard before sliding it in with a foreboding click. When the guard met the maw of the sheath, her spiritual pressure began to billow upwards into the atmosphere. Her hair began to flow upwards to the sky, her body radiating an orange glow for an aura. A transparent sphere, seen only by the warps in the air, began to form around her. If one listened closely, they could hear the sounds of faint whispers coming from that sphere.

Being so far away, Tenshi couldn't make out the sounds, but could definitely feel the vibrations emanating from the output of Reiatsu. After a handful of seconds of decisive planning, the Shinigami raised his Zanpakutō towards the sky. Forming what looked like a disc of light, the said construct of luminescence shot upwards, spinning high up until it caught the overhead angle of Hueco Mundo's moon. Once there, it expanded rapidly, and became a firmanent of bright light, as glaring as the Sun itself with enough vivid shine to create a silver overcast over them all.

"I wouldn't stand around acting so confident," Tenshi said with a smile, his body beginning to wisp away from visibility, once again becoming as transparent as he could with his Ultraviolet cloak of refracted waves. "for what's coming down!"

In a handful of seconds, what came down seemed colossal in scale. Jagged bolts of white light cascaded in the dozens, arcing downwards to impale and sear away in the mock act of lightning striking the ground. This act would repeatedly thrust down towards them, uproaring dozens of meters of sand with every collision, creating magnified shockwaves of superheat in their collective wake. The aerial bombardment of light would continue to assault the trio of Arrancars, leaving them no space for reprieve as it aimed from the expansive disc that shined light based attacks at thier forms.

Melina was the first one to blanch.

"Is that a giant disc--?"

But she was cut off when the bolts of lightning started falling down. She couldn't account for the likes of Nel, but she immediately kicked into a Sonido to avoid the first blast. Her eyes were drawn towards the sky as she vanished and re-appeared, dancing and weaving out of the paths to keep herself from being hit. But even through the violence, she still found the nerve to speak. "Starting to wonder if you woke up falling out of your bed today!" She called out, her voice distorted by the varying distances she had to take away from Tenshi. She could only assume that he heard her, for as he changed his form to the ultraviolet, she couldn't see whether he was in the same area as them anymore or not.

But Tierra could.

Through the use of her sound, Tierra could still "see" his presence. Even with her form still and her eyes closed, she could still tell where he was. The lightning bolts that came towards her would have no effect on her person, as the materializing sound sphere gave her protection. The bolts that "connected" were repelled, and their foundation was cast all around her in a form of disruption. Her shield grew brightly, and the whispers grew in volume. Both increased to the point where the light matched the illumination of the disc above and those within the area would find it impossible to ignore them. After what seemed like an eternity, her voice would resonate above them all.

"Soothe the Soul..."

Then, a loud "Sssh!" was heard to silence the whispers. Upon that noise suppression, the sphere abruptly disappeared. But along with it was its living epicenter; she was no where to be found within the area. Even as she evaded the bolts, Melina regarded her superior's disappearance within surprise and slight alarm. Had she knew no better, she would've thought that Tierra had ultimately chickened out and retreated from the fight. But she had seen the resolve within her superior's eyes, the fire reignited and the flame growing strong once again. Whatever was going on, she would have faith in Tierra.

And she was right to do so.

With a speed that matched how fast the likes of sound could go, Tierra was behind the "ghosted" form of Tenshi with an outstretched hand nearly touching his back. She had taken on a different appearance, what with a cluster of bone protrusions from each of her forearms and a ceremonial dress exchanged from the standard soldier attire she had worn before. There was a flower-like bone construct behind each ear, giving her the appearance of a flower girl more than anything else. But despite her look of harmlessness, it would only serve to counteract the movement she would unleash next. In memory of the fact that her sound waves could counter and disrupt his light waves, she could use his enhanced form against him. She had no idea just how much damage it would cause him, nor did she have any idea if he had seen her coming like he did before. But the only thing she could do at this point was take a shot in the dark.

So, she let loose a concentrated pulse of soundwaves into his back, using the point-blank range as an advantage. It would be powerful enough to hurl him a considerable distance, in addition to the damage that would be caused by the disruption. Her eyes were narrowed and a stern frown was on her face as she stated the final words to emphasize the presence of her released form.

"Pacifista Melodía!"

Pain.

It was something that Tenshi wasn't accustomed to, in his line of work. Normally he'd end a person's life quickly, due to how boring they'd be even if he dragged out their encounter. Slow deaths invoked pain but never to himself. The times he did receive pain angered, frustrated, and made him lose his state of mind that kept him a league above the rest. For a few moments, he felt as if he'd slip away from the amount of pain he was feeling.

But not this time.

Even as he broke out into utter shock of being struck from behind, his body vibrating from the inside out, causing ear drums to nearly spew out from the sides of his head, he contained his composure. His body tumbled forward, collapsing a great distance away from the Espada, spearing through a dune of sand before rolling unceremoniously onto his face. Blood poured out of his nostrils and mouth, as much it did from his ears, his nerves feeling as if it were on fire.

"It's been awhile since I've taken this kind of damage. Well played, Tierra Doncella," Tenshi drawled out, his body raising up in a stumbling manner, finally standing up in a shaky hunched posture. A smile spread across his face nonetheless, painting pearly teeth in colors of crimson, the light in his eyes becoming all the more menacing. As he eyed her released state, he could only chuckle aloud, "so that's your True Form? What a beautiful Ressureccion. It'll be a shame that it will be nothing but shredded meat when I'm done with it. Hahahahahahahahaha!"

"You did it, Tierra!" Nelliel commented, having gracefully spun away from the last of the light bolts that had rained down at their midst. Her smile would dim and retract at the sight of the damaged Tenshi, still looking as confidant as he was, it unnerved her. Raising her blade with preparation, she couldn't contain herself at asking aloud, "what is it amusing him?"

Part of Tierra wanted to believe that all of it was due to insanity.

After all, who in their right mind would continue to smile and laugh even after taking a hit like that? Who would remain so confident even as the structure of their body fell apart. It was very clear that just like the rest of his clique, Tenshi was another lost mind. But once again, the tactical part of her thought process kicked in. The only other reason he'd laugh and behave as if he could still kill her without much trouble was because he had yet another card within that rotten sleeve of his. It would've been a mistake to assume all of it as nothing more than insanity. Her eyes narrowed, and she was quick to voice her thoughts out loud to Nel.

"I'm not sure." She grit her teeth, the bone protrusions on her arm shifting to a more combat-ready position. Her fists balled up, and her body tensed. "But I'm certainly not going to wait and find out!"

Then, she was in front of him. Her form was crouched, and one of her bone clusters were pointed at the center of his chest. But instead of stabbing him, it provided a stranger effect; the bones quivered, producing a harmony of bell-like sounds in a manner similar to a song. It wasn't a miscellaneous effect; these sounds would be to Tenshi like David's harp was to King Saul, soothing the murderous intent within. All thoughts of killing would slow down and cease, leaving behind a pacified lion. Even though he appeared to be weakened, she had to ensure that he wouldn't be able to use whatever trump card he could've had.

Likewise, Melina didn't see it bad to join in. A Sonido brought her behind Tenshi, the edge of her blade swung to his back in an effort to cut him down. Her eyes gleamed, eager to see more of his blood spilled.