Balance of Souls: Ruination

Part 1
45th Eastern Rukongai, Kanekane

Pulling. Pulling. Pulling. A series of tape-like blades emerged from Carmen's wounds, scabbed over with an alien amalgamation of flesh and metal. They had lunged at the man she had stolen such a power from: Máo Yǒng. But the prompt release of his Jiūkǔndao turned that into a trap. Her power was his and so they fused to him as he transformed. Slowly they gravitated towards him and she was pulled with it.

Until it stopped, abruptly. A series of clangs rung out amidst the sloshing of liquid, the blades that appeared from Carmen's body dropped to the floor, scraping their way across the cold, hard stone as they dragged themselves towards their master. The woman stood still, lurched forward, her wounds bleeding furiously. She stood in a pool of her own blood, the liquid surrounding her was a deep red, tinged with blue. Her veins wrought of Blut Vene, keeping her from bleeding out in the process.

Her expression was a stark contrast from her condition. A look of lust and hunger, like a predator about to pounce on their prey. Her wounds closed only to burst open once again with a new incarnation of the thin blades that she had been copying. These ones made of bone. They were stronger and gave off a residual hint of Yǒng's but otherwise related far more closely to Carmen's.

"I never expected you to have such modern tastes...", she spoke with a lascivious tone.

Máo was gazing at her with a grim, stiff face expression as if chiseled in granite. The bands of dark silver steel wrapped tighter around his wounded body. Incredibly sharp tapes and long serpentine chains kept moving as if alive, surrounding him with a thicket of additional limbs. The aura of his spiritual pressure cast an ominous glow, concentrated, humming silently with cold fury.

"Relish the pain. It is the undeniable proof that you are alive", he uttered gravely. "For now."

He was a veteran. Even though his power paled in comparison to his superior officers, he was a formidable and experienced warrior. Relentless and methodical. Thus, he did not wait for a response from the Quincy woman, instead opting to attack at once. The metal tapes of his Shìfàng, Guān Zhào, spread out in an attempt to enclose Abandonato whilst numerous chains with bladed tips and sharp links rapidly shot toward her with the intent to perforate her instantly.

Meanwhile, Ren Nakatani was locking blades with Redención Mandíbula. However, the stalemate was about to change with the of Wú Lanfên quickly approaching the 's head. Redención, still locked with Ren, saw the heavy hammer come cascading downwards towards his head, his visible eye widened as he abruptly struggled as much as he could to change the immediate outcome of the attack that was about to hit him, the Arrancar tried spinning, but way part way blocked by Ren holding him in place, getting desperate he arched his back and lowered his head so as to make the Meteor Hammer slam him in the left shoulder, a resounding shattering of bones as the Arrancar was forcefully pummeled into the ground, his left arm was useless to him and his body was shocked by the impact as he lay face down in the dirt, majorly injured but still miraculously alive from what initially was going to be a one hit kill, after a number of seconds his senses came back to him as Redención clambered up, his now broken arm hanging limp by his side as his right arm grasped his Zanpakutō and used it to support him as he gasped and wheezed in pain, his face wrought with pain and anger as he managed to look up at the two Balancers.

"Fuckin'.....hypocrites.....even a dumbass like me can see it.", Redencion gasped out as loud as he could, his voice just barely loud enough to reach Ren and Wú. The Arrancar finally pulled his sword out of the ground as he assumed a sloppy fighting stance, as much as liked fighting and as capable as he was, Redención was well aware that with the two of them ganging up on him he stood no chance, all the Arrancar could hope was that Cielo would awaken soon to help him out, as well as hope that he could stall or hold out long enough to make it happen. However Redención also knew he couldn't take another beating like he just got, lest he die immediately, leaving the glorified Hollow only one option, he gripped his blade tightly as he tried gathering some remnant of his energy back.

"Mmm... Its far from pain, dear", the woman retorted whilst the spines of bone wrapped around her in order to shield her from the oncoming attack as a cocoon. The metal spines pierced through, embedding themselves into unnaturally hard bone.

Yǒng was mildly surprised. He had expected the enemy attempt to evade, not to play into his hands, unwittingly or not. He surrounded the bone cocoon with the metal bands of his Shìfàng. Then, few of the chains still remaining beside his person began carving the ground around him to rapidly form a fairly intricate symbol. Máo performed several quick hand seals. Later, he outstretched his arms toward Abandonato. The earth beneath her transformed into a black shapeless mass that spawned a great number of rusty chains. The binding Underworld Kadō began wrapping around her cocoon.

"The ability to perceive the blow that kills you hardly sounds respectable, Hollow", uttered Ren in a condescending manner, literally looking down upon Redención.

Then, she approached him with a sudden move and lifted her leg in a swift kick to his chin.