El Sagrado Cruzada, The Queen Returns!

El Sagrado Cruzada, The Queen Returns! is an article created by Achrones150. Use is allowed with the permission of the owner, with the exception of collaboration-created articles.

"I will always be watching over you..." This article, El Sagrado Cruzada, The Queen Returns!, is the sole property of Mangetsu and cannot be used, edited, or referenced without his explicit permission, with the exception of collaboration articles.

El Sagrado Cruzada, The Queen Returns! Act I

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."

El Sagrado Cruzada, The Queen Returns! Act II

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.

"She's going to get up close and use another sound ability. Probably another two-fold strike to finish me off. One to suppress and incapacitate, the other to land a killing blow. I have to act quick to nullify that sound pulse," Tenshi anticipated and realized as time seemed to slow before she even launched her attack. Thinking up of a drastic plan of attack, he put it in place just as she arrived. 

A wet sound of flesh giving way to eviscerating energy, as the Shinigami thrust his Zanpakutō's luminous double-edged white blade into his open left palm. The sheer amount of pain would counteract the immediate pulses she'd send her way, his body already on fire from the damage he sustained from her earlier point blank attack. Once a copious amount of blood drained onto the ground, he quickly reached up with his bleeding hand up to his face just as he pulled his sword free of the punctured palm. 

Just as Melina came in place of Tierra's follow-up predicted attack, a massive fissure of damning black and white Reiatsu released from his person. Such a well of strength was unleashed in a way that reverberated the sands underneath, intending his form into the pale grains while sending a rippling shockwave of earthen landscape around him. Fiery gouts of dark hued Reishi sprayed here and there, resembling more of a Hollow's in sensation and feeling, while having enough Shinigami signature behind it to make it feel mingled. 

Standing up a Shakespearian designed mask , one side black and the other white, the prior having a toothy happy grin and the latter a dark snarl. Glowing red eyes shined behind the vacant eye holes, perfectly representing the eerie aura of black and white Reishi that ebbed from his coat. As if to demonstrate further, Tenshi held up his bleeding hand, showing that white pus like liquid renewed its form and erased the damage that had been wrought upon it. Similar wounds healed up in seconds, showing the signs of his Hollowfied powers in use. 

"It's been awhile since I was forced to use my Hollow powers," Tenshi breathed out, sending wafting vapor trails of steam between the disheveled row of teeth of his bone carved mask. Glowing eyes gleamed with a dark precision, aiming towards both Melina and Tierra alike, followed up with a chilling laugh, "don't worry. This is the highest form of compliment short of my Bankai being used. Your strength has pushed me this far. Now, which one of you would like to disappear first?"

"Damn it!"

A drastic increase of her speed, and somehow the man still managed to see her coming. How in the name of Izanami did he do it?

Tierra's eyes narrowed to slit levels, her mouth contorted in a snarl she'd never thought she'd feel herself wear as she skidded back. They briefly widened when she felt the surge of reiatsu coming from him, the warped signature causing her to pause. Although none of it would hit her mentally or physically, it caused a bead of sweat to fall down her face. In contrast, her subordinate would only let out an exclamation of "Whoa~!" as she was thrown back, tumbling only to flip and catch herself with ease. Her child-like attitude kept her safe in the face of such terrifying spiritual pressure, and even more so considering that they were familiar with it.

"And finally, he puts on his happy face." The Fraccion commented, straightening herself up and readying into a one-handed sword stance. "Let's see how far this is gonna go..."

Tierra readied herself as well, her mouth lessening into a stern frown as she settled into a preparatory stance. She knew that she was going to be in for an even tougher fight. There was the situation of bolstered power, physical prowess and heightened spiritual energy to deal with in addition to his previous abilities. But on the plus side, all of her restraints were now undone. She could fight more freely, carrying her own increase in power to counter his own. She had the strength to kill him. All she needed to do was put her all into this battle, to ensure that the remnants of Sōsuke Aizen would stay buried. She would voice this out loud in a challenge to her foe.

"The only thing that will disappear here is the remains of his rotted legacy! Prepare yourself!"

Return of the King, True Dominance Beheld! Part II

Ever since Bernabe had released his form, he had gone on a complete offensive.

The "gateways" Rey was using served as his stepping stone to get to his foe. Gateways were used to move to and from from one location to another without pause, allowing the Arrancar to meet his opponent and strike quickly before a counter-attack could take place. Attacks with hidden energy were repelled, right before its owner moved to continue his offensive. Not once did he allow himself to let up, pressuring his target as much as he could while still keeping an eye out for any surprise counter-attacks. To Rey, it would appear as if he was simply moving at baffling speeds, unable to be caught by even his perceptive eye. It was a matter of tact and strategy being put into play. But it was a minor part compared to the role that his fury had taken.

Rey's simple insult towards his leader had effectively silenced the majority of his banter, leaving behind a Hollow focused on completely destroying his enemy. There was a red glow within the eyeholes of his ram-like helmet and a constant growling from the black maw as he attacked. His spiritual pressure was a shroud of suffocation, enveloping their battlefield in living manifestations of malevolence and primal instinct. So far, he seemed to be making good on his word that Rey wouldn't be able to insult the Primera again. But he would only be sure of that once the man was dead.

For now, he would keep pushing until there was no need to push anymore.

His most recent maneuver was him sending Rey crashing down into the ground via a double-fisted hammer blow. The force of the collision would cause the sands to erupt in what almost seemed to be a missile explosion, minus the nastier effects. It created a brief sand cloud that briefly clouded the area, silhouetting Bernabe's form as he floated in mid-air. His hidden eyes glared down towards the spot where Rey had crashed, awaiting his next movement and another opening for an aggressive counter-attack.

"Ngh!" Rey grunted aloud painfully, as his head rang out from the latest of recent blows. While they didn't number more than the fingers on one hand, each well coordinated attack that penetrated his offensive felt like a hundred hits. Rising up from the indented sand crater he could feel drips of blood stain his golden crown of hair, flowing over his forehead and along his jaw, dripping off his chin. While that was from the recent blow to his head, he could feel underneath the webbed out cracks made to his pristine armor over his torso and pauldrons were significantly bruised from underneath. Despite being nullified, the force of the attacks bludgeoned his body and hurt him past what he thought was possible!

Looking up from his ground prone perch up at the wrathful Arrancar, high up in the air, it burned his insides their perspectives have shifted.

Now he was on the ground groveling before a superior power. 

"Unforgivable!" Rey snarled aloud, his body glistening with a burst of Spiritual Power, his Spiritual Pressure pushing away the suffocating currents of his enemy's Reiatsu. With a dramatic leap of his crouched legs, the cape adorned golden warrior rose back up to a similar height, already opening a dozen portals around him. Each protruded a number of lances, elegantly carved and crafted, glistening with the power of sheer Reishi discharge. 

"You will know your place, heathen!" Rey proclaimed with a wave his hand, discharging the first wave of projectiled, followed up with a subsequent flurry that continued to flurry in the air with precision and well timed firing rate. 

Underneath the shroud of darkness, Bernabe's eyes narrowed in concentration.

It was a frontal attack, an attempt to overwhelm him with numbers. Trying to take it head-on would present in difficulty; even if he could take it, it would give Rey ample ground for another a counter - something that the Arrancar was far from willing to give. But fortunately for him, he could already see a possible opportunity to keep up his offensive. Opening the gateways for his weapons and other attacks had a varying degree of seconds to mark a delay between initiation and actual attack. It was the moment that he could think and act quickly without worry of getting caught in the middle of moving. So in the moment that he was given, he manifested a darker and more jaded version of his claymore within one of his hands. His grip tightened, and he waited until the projectiles closed the distance.

Then, he moved.

He approached Rey with constant bursts of Sonido, weaving through the storm of lances sent his way. His form was a blinking buoy, blinking in one moment only to appear in a completely different location a second later. But even this wouldn't be enough to percieve him; every time he appeared, there were several lances that had phased through him rather than connect as they should have done. What others would see were merely after-images, with their source moving much faster than that. Each and every movement brought him one step closer to his target, and as he neared, his sword arm could be seen glowing with a brilliant manifestation of his own spiritual energy. It connected with the blade, shifting in the form of what appeared to be an oversized arm crossbow.

But when he was close enough to Rey, a final Sonido brought him not in front of his enemy, but in front of one of the portals.

There were small gaps within each lance fired, too small to get comfortable and aim properly or to get an arrow through completely. But it did allow for a tactic a little bit more reckless. His "crossbow" was pointed towards the gateway after his form barely evaded another lance, firing its prize straight into it. As the arrow went in, a Garganta opened up behind Rey's form. It was the perfect set-up; his arrow hitting Rey's back and the target being completely vaporized. But at this point, it had more chance of connecting with a materializing lance more so than anything else. It would detonate within the "space" between the entrance gateway and the exit Garganta,keeping Rey from getting hit.

But that was exactly what the Segunda was counting on.

As soon as the Garganta opened up, it gave birth to a massive explosion. The forces that collided within would experience instability, and their volatile state had given way to destruction. Even the Garganta itself had fallen apart under the power of the explosion, which manifested in the form of a brilliant crimson light. Even as Bernabe backed away to give himself some distance, he couldn't help but flinch slightly as the fading shockwaves collided with his body. It wasn't comparable to the threat of vaporization that a direct hit would've caused, but at least it would do some damage. Even so, he kept himself prepared.

With everything on the line, he couldn't afford to let down his guard.

It would feel as if he was at the center of an atom being split. Rey had little time to react to the sudden instabilities of one of his own projectiles colliding with the arrow of his enemy. The same instinct he had felt during the split second of his own ship being blasted into oblivion was the only saving grace that he had the reflexes to avoid the lethality of the center of the explosion. But that did little to escape the blast wave that followed. 

A bright flash of golden light seared through the bottom of the rapidly dissipating eruption of Spirit Energy. It rammed into the ground with the force of a missile, creating a reverberating wave of uplifted grains. What would rise from the distended ground wouldn't be a glorious knight but a husk of former appealing grace. 

Devoid of his divine armor that clung to his body, lacerations and burns ran down the lengths of his shoulders down to his fingertips. His well defiined torso was cut up and steaming from the heat of the pressure wave the blast sent him, revealing the prior bruises cast by Bernabe's earlier hits connecting to his armored being. Miraculously his lower armor kept his legs covered along with a crimson tassle over his belt and posterior, though now shredded and burned. 

The bleeding face of Rey looked up with pained disdain at Bernabe. Even as crimson painted his teeth, he gnashed up at his opponent, finding the humility of being bested so entirely a disgrace. Such burning wrath began to boil within his core, causing a golden aura to expand and churn around his body. 

"Disgusting wretch..."

Raising his hands, upwards, the world began to shift and warp. It felt as if the initial release of his Shikai began to contort and flow down towards him. It swirled with a distortive wind, coming towards his arms that gradually came towards each other, causing massive electrical discharges to be emitted for dozens of meters all around him. Even dunes collapsed, the sands shifting to all become perfectly level with his standing body, as if being commanded to do so.

"...you know nothing of true power..."

A magnifyingly loud clap would be heard, as Rey looked up with red gleaming eyes, burning like raging tongues of Hell. With his bare, bleeding and burnt hands in contact, the warping would stop and be centered around his palms. A brief sound of silence would be sounded before a thunderous rumble quake the very ground around Rey's feet. Fissures of sands began to split, revealing the dark forest below for kilometers around, fiery tongues of Reiatsu flowing upwards as if it projected a Hellish symphony for the power that was to be revealed. 

"...let me show it to you! BAN...KAI!" 

There it was. The vocal call for his ultimate power breathed into life. The fires would rise upwards and twist, coiling up around the atmosphere to spawn a damning stormy atmosphere above their heads. The once moon lit night would be obscured by the darkened Reiatsu that clung to the world around them. Intoxicatingly immersive, given the impression of being submersed within miles of sediment, roiled with a heat none would know till now. 

Splitting his palms out, a crimson light would shine like a star as the ultimate weapon was summoned. Appearing to be a edge-less lance with golden rimmed hilt and curved guard, it appeared to be a bastard one-to-two handed grip. Crimson lines erratically outlined the pole of the lance's body, fixated upon blocks of interlocked segments. Each looked like it could unlock a particular combination, creating a new pattern with the blood veined lights shining from the weapon. 

The Reiatsu from the weapon itself was magnanimous, making any weapon summoned paled in comparison to what it was displayed now. Glowing with a crimson light that transformed Rey's own aura into a fiery red mantle, matching the burning malice tempered in his red orbs. Now gripped in his right hand, Rey would swing it to one side, all at once erasing the storm's existence and the burning Reishi that had manifested upon the ritualistic awakening of his ultimate power. It was unsettling if not ominously foreboding to the power that was compressed into Rey's grip.

"Jōten Kanjō," Rey declared aloud with a guttural growl, his pose speaking of outright invitation for him to make a move now. 

And there it was. The true extent of Rey's power.

Bernabe's red eyes widened when he saw the swing of Rey's sword carve a clear day, his influence being swept away from existence. He stared at the new form of Rey's Zanpakutō with fascination, noting the immense power that came from it as well as its owner. His Shikai abilities had already been formidable enough without the Arrancar figuring out an exploit. But now, they were heightened to a more drastic level. He could only guess just what kind of abilities were waiting to be used against him, as even eying the interlocked segments did nothing to stimulate his brain. Careless assumptions couldn't be accounted for here.

At the same time, he couldn't help but note the name - Heaven's Destruction.

A chuckle, amused and humored, escaped his mouth, distorted and . His own released form was considered to be an epitome of destruction, able of wiping out an entire city's worth by simply appearing. The energy he felt from his opponent's new weapon held as much volume as his did, making it clear that resistance would be high on both sides. In addition, his mind was flashing back to their earlier exchanges - particularly the part where they had called each other pawns. Suddenly, what little desire of trying to exert dominance over him had dissipated, with the rest having vanished in favor of focus of simply beating his foe. In its place was a new idea, that maybe, just maybe, the two weren't so different from one another as they'd like to think.

With these thoughts in mind, the Arrancar didn't move to attack right away. Instead, he allowed his body to slowly float down to the ground so he could meet Rey evenly. Once his boots touched the ground, his free hand reached to grasp the side of his helmet. With a loud pop, it was pulled to expose a head covered by long black hair that was scattered over the Arrancar's face. It wasn't enough to hide the expression: a scowl alongside red eyes filled with resolve and conviction. He tossed it away from himself, and it shattered into dissipating fragments once it hit the sand. All of this was meant to convey a nonverbal gesture of respect and acknowledgement towards the new power shown to the world.

Then, he was in front of Rey with only the noise of a Sonido to mark its usage. He swung his sword in a diagonal uppercut with godlike ferocity and power put behind it. A yell, deepened and distorted into an inhumane roar, escaped him as he commenced the battle anew.

"Hakaiken!" 

As Bernabe moved, the segments upon Rey's sword lengthed lance aligned to form a crimson tree along its pole. By moving his Zanpakutō in a parrying swing, a ethereal tip of Reishi would emit upon the edgeless weapon, taken the form of a sword's edge. When the two weapons collided, a massive shockwave ripped apart the disheveled and cracked earth around them, dismantling nearly an entire ten kilometer sea of cracked sand bed. 

Then, the reaction to the opposing power that struck the Bankai weapon occurred. A violent reaction occurred in the position of the aggressor, deployed by the defender. It was as if it was fueling a negative force that siphoned the air and weight of everything in between the two pressures pushing against one another. The sensation would be like two oceans forcefully striking each other, then reacting more negatively than they should. 

Thus causing a massive crimson explosion in Bernabe's direction. 

A cacophony of crimson tongues of Spiritual Power wreathed across the air and empty space beneath their feet, cracking the Menos Forest's tree canopy upon doing so. It set the many pale limbs ablaze, shattering and blasting them away along its treeline as it continued to pass over for what seemed an endless line of fiery destruction into the horizon.

It was one clash, and it was only the result of a parry, a true testament to the Bankai's power. 

The moment he felt the twinge, Bernabe's eyes widened in shock. It was a twinge that marked destabilization, the destruction of energy on a grand scale. His reflexes acted before his mind could, and he barely twisted his sword to redirect Rey's blade before the force of that explosion could hit him head-on. Thanks to this quick thinking, the brunt of Rey's counter-attack was deflected. But the flames had been powerful enough to leave deepened marks on Bernabe's armor, giving it a tattered and war-torn appearance. Even so, it held itself together - a signal of just how strong it was even in the face of such an attack.

As the flames raced across the horizon and burned through to the depths of the Menos Forest, Bernabe allowed himself to straighten up. Now, he was standing within sword's reach of Rey, his voice speaking for the first time. "So that's what you're doing." He commented, eying the opponent's sword. "All of that spacial power is compressed into that lone blade you're wielding. Swings alone can erase just about anything from existence, save those who have both the skill and strength to defend themselves against it. I would even think that maybe even the likes of Aizen would've fallen to that weapon."

"What did you expect?" Rey sneered, his temperance far from fallen, but moreover controlled thanks to the power flowing through him thanks to his Bankai's release. "next to Jigen's Ten Blades of Sin my Bankai, Jōten Kanjō, has no equal. It is destruction incarnate. The weak perish and the strong suffer. I am the Golden King of Aether and the successor of Lord Aizen's power over all of the cosmos. It is inevitable that all those who fall by my blade be governed by my authority. It is that simple, easy for even a wretched brute like you to understand."

With that final worded statement, Rey stepped back and swung his blade in a diagonally curved horizontal stroke. This left a warping fissure of crimson light, erasing and igniting mass through all of the space it encountered. It rippled over the burning tree line, sending more reverberating force that devastated the pale flora below and echoed down into depths of the Menos Forest. 

Upon the anticipated dodge or counter, Rey used his free hand to stretch out towards the Segunda, chanting aloud the incantationless spell of choice. 

"Sōkatsui!" 

A brilliant wafting blaze of cobalt tongues streamed out, aimed to catch Bernabe in midstep or sidestep. Subsequently another vertical stroke of his sword swung towards his body as he leaped close to his enemy. The downward pyre of force would render a split in the earth, sending a quaking seismic shockwave that split the ground many kilometers below their feet. It looked as if fiery geysers of sand and trees alike were sent spiraling up amidst them, even as the two exchanged heated glances and strikes to one another. 

Rey's sneering retort was answered with a berating call-out from his opponent.

"Enough with the damned theatrics!!"

His words were followed by another mighty swing of his sword, which collided with Rey's weapon and diverted the force that would've ripped him apart otherwise. As Rey stepped back to swing his hand out towards his form, he reponded in kind with a finger. An immature Cero was formed, materializing and shooting out in order to quickly counter the Sōkatsui spell shot towards his form. Red and blue collided with destructive power, their energies further ripping apart the environment around them. The symphony would only be enhanced and continued as they exchanged sword blows, might and destruction meeting in an extreme clash for dominance. Bernabe's mouth was contorted into a snarl as he attacked and defended, dodged and countered. He was a force to be reckoned with, a living embodiment of war unbound as Rey's Zanpakutō was destruction absolute.

The moment they engaged in a swordlock was the moment Bernabe spoke out again. "You keep talking about yourself being a King and me being a brute," He continued, his tongue lashing out at his opponent like an angry snake. "But you have barely even begun to take the steps needed to reach the top of that pyramid! Even I, a stranger, can tell that you've passed up many chances to be one step closer! You could've fought and killed Jigen at any given time! You could've even slain Aizen when his back was turned, ensuring that the throne would indeed be yours! But yet you still allow yourself to be led along on a string, chained to the post like a dog! I have to ask you, Rey: with all of the following that you've been doing, do you even know the first thing about being a leader for the people? Do you know how to rally their support, ensure that your rule will go unchallenged and encouraged by your subjects?"

His eyes narrowed into slits. "Or is it that you're only trying to convince yourself, just so that you can blissfully ignore the fact that failure isn't too far away?!"

Rey could feel every word etch into his mind. They weren't foreign to the thoughts he himself had buried away in the search of dominance. Alone he had tried to attain absolute power, yet he failed. What would he be without Aizen or the other Sennin Butai associates? Was ne nothing, or was it a lie he conjured in his mind for fear of being unsuccessful in his quest?

Yet even as these thoughts crossed his mind, it did little to dim the fire of hatred he had for the Shinigamified Hollow before him. 

"SILENCE, BARBARIAN!" Rey shouted at the top of his lungs, swinging his lance to the side to push the Arrancar back. Pulling back his weapon back, the segments realigned to form a pyramid formation, pointing in the direction of the lance's edge. The sword edge replaced by a spike, caused the whole lance to spiral into a hyper rotational motion. The sheer momentum and energy assimilation caused an undeniable suction within the environment, siphoned into a corkscrewing mouth of a twister. 

Then, he thrust forward. 

"Makaze!" With that thrust discharged a high pressurized, wide encompassing drill of shredding and volatile energy. It would appear as if a mountain had become a rotating spear, spewing crimson tongues of flames that trailed along and assisted into the environment's destruction. Collateral blazes that tore apart the forest below also created a volume of excess winds that trailed along the air to ignite in its wake. At the epicenter of the twister was the twister's edge, aimed to penetrate and then spiral through the enemy's body without remorse or halting. 

The challenge was met.

As the attack raced towards him, Bernabe took his sword in both hands and gave another powerful swing. Within the wake of his sword, multiple tendrils of barely visible wind were spawned to counter Rey's offensive. While normally they were made to only destroy more physical techniques as well as serve as a counter-measure to energy-based assaults, the enhanced power of his Ressurecion made it so that it had chance in wiping out both measures against him. When he swung that sword one way and then another, the tendrils maneuvered into the blast and shredded it into dissipating fragments. A follow-up swing would send those tendrils of wind after their master's assailant, ripping through the sands with Mother Nature's force.

Tornado Girando.

"That's going to be something you'll have to earn for yourself," The Arrancar snarled, vehemence and conviction coating each and every word. "King of Aether!!"

Seeing the collosal cyclonic fissures of spiritual energy thrust at him, mere seconds after his attack was nullified, caused Rey's eyes to widen with seething anger. Kicking off the sandy ground, he outpaced the whipping gestures of the behemoth blazes of crimson light, circling around and stirring up large whirlwinds of pale grains. Growling he could only employ Shunpo for so long before they'd finally catch up, forcing him to counter the attacks himself. 

With a twist of his wrist, the segments renewed back into the form of a tree along the lance, allowing him to employ Hakaiken once more. A powerful swipe of his own weapon sent torrential spacial ruptures across the air, causing massive detonations in the direction his enemy had thrown them from. To his eyes it looked like a wall of flames consumed the horizon, ripping apart the empty canopy they ripped apart by the beginning of their battle's climax. 

But he knew better than to rely on a single counterattack to fell his enemy. 

"I've inherited as much as I've bled for, Hollow! You know nothing of the value of bloodlines and natural power!" Rey shouted back, thrusting his lance towards the sky. Now depicted like a patch of thorns, the lance spiraled around in a counter spin to the prior one, seeming to discharge hundreds of hand-sized projectiles. Once they've reached the sky, they veered on down, increasing in mass and velocity to form what would be interpreted as rain of fire. Now easily three times the size of a man, the homing scattershot attacks from above would awash the entirety of the landscape the Arrancar would call home, razing further of the Menos Forest below and producing many a fiery pillar of explosive eruption from far below. 

Counter-attack was necessary.

With clenched teeth and another swing of his sword, he sent the tendrils of energized wind to meet the flames that threatened to consume him. They pushed away the flames, allowing them to blast the landscape while he remained unharmed. His eyes narrowed as he leaped into the air to meet his opposition, keeping his tendrils in check as another attack towards his person was readied. He twisted and moved his sword to and fro, creating a sort of shield around his person from the rain of fire. Each and every ember that connected with the landscape sent pain through his heart. He, as well as the other Espada, never liked the fact that Hueco Mundo had to take such punishment. But it had faced greater wars than this duel to the death. It would hold out.

Once he was cleared, he readied his sword and spoke to his enemy again. "Maybe not!" He countered. "But I do know the value of free will and individuality. I, at least, have the decency to understand and admit just who I am. You seem to be perfect content on calling yourself a "king", yet you're all too willing to fall under the beck of other people! You call yourself a god, when you're shamelessly being controlled by someone you could probably kill by yourself if you tried! Open your eyes, Dorado! As long as you keep going this way, you'll be nothing more than someone else's puppet!"

The insinuation and the words spoken to him cut deeper than any of the attacks thrust at him thus far. Just hearing him speak such things made him angry. Angry at himself, at his enemy, and his so-called allies. He didn't like the idea of bowing before another lord when he had already assumed he should be dominant over others. It was only when Aizen's powers were displayed and he saw Jigen's swords in action that he understood his role in their order.

Now that it was voiced by an enemy how truly insignificant he was and how meaningless his boasts were truly infuriated. 

"I'M NO ONE'S PUPPET!" Rey snarled back with a livid glare in his eyes. Leaping forward with lance in hand, Hakaiken primed within its weaponized slots, he slashed towards his enemy multiple times. He wanted to crush the insect who knew nothing of his position. Nothing was clear cut and happened the way you wanted it to. Not as much as you wanted to deny it otherwise or thought contrary to the cold truth. 

He'd show him that he was in control, whether his choices were of his liking or not. 

Rage.

Even as Bernabe readied himself against Rey's attack, he could see it both within eye and body. It was the very same rage that he had felt upon his first defeat, the same rage he assumed Casilda felt when she had fought him. His attacks were ferocious, carrying unrestrained power within each and every movement. But at the same time, they were considerably unfocused and reckless compared to his prior ones. As aggressive as he was, it carried a mannerism lesser than what a master would at this point. It as a significant margin that allowed for the opening he was waiting for.

Upon a thrust, the Arrancar used his free hand to throw a cross-counter. Their arms would miss each other's head, but his hand would clutch the back of Rey's head in order to keep him still. His sword moved to stomach level, and he pulled it out with words that punctuated the presence of his strike.

"Tornado Girando."

It was like stepping into a paper shredder. The tendrils of wind that were summoned went to work immediately, ripping through Rey's body like a knife through butter. His blood spilled onto what was left of the ground, most of it falling into the deep recesses of the Menos Forest. There was no sadistic satisfaction within those eyes of his, no triumph within his expression. There was only a grim solemnity, the look of someone who lost reason to enjoy such a gruesome act. The immense rage that had backed him before was replaced by suppressed pity. Just like the rest of the Sennin Butai, he seemed to have lost his sense of reason long before this moment. All he was doing was putting a demon out of its misery.

A shower of blood jettisoned from his body as a wave of pain struck Rey full force. Having lost himself to his own indignant rage, his own self loathing began to be made more clear. Eyes widened with abstract horror and bleak dawning as lacerations stretched across his burnt and bruised body, producing crimson fountains of which his lifeblood leaked out. His Bankai still in hand, he felt his body descend limply towards the ground, the cold rush of the gravity assisted wind lapping over his numbing form. 

"Will you restore my kingdom in this world of yours? Make me the King I deserve to be?"

"I can make you a god in this new world, shall you wish it. All you have to do is swear loyalty to me and I shall grant you what you ask."

"Then I pledge myself to you, Lord Aizen..."

"I was such a fool...all along," Rey thought as his eyes closed, a lone tear escaping his right eye and flowing upwards just before his body crashed to the ashen soil below with a mighty crash. 

After his fall, there was silence.

Bernabe exhaled a sigh from his nose as he watched the form of his foe fall towards the ravaged sands. As he sheathed his blade, his Resurrecion disappeared to leave behind what was his original form. He folded his arms across his chest, regarding Rey's crash site for a moment longer before turning his attention to the fluctuating energies in the horizon. He knew that even with their personal preparations and the "enhancements" Nicolao had given some of them, the Sennin Butai were going to be a tough bunch to deal with. But as much as he disliked the lower ranked Espada, he could grudgingly accept that they could hold their own against their foes. For now, he could take a moment to rest up and regain his energy.

"If Aizen does show his face around here again," He muttered, placing his hands in his pockets and floating down towards the ground to find a spot to rest. "I hope he enjoys the sight of his own dead underlings."

Beauty and Rivalry, Venomous Vixens Clash Again!

So far, the duel between Loly and Magatta had been taken to a stalemate.

Even with the Kidō defense Magatta had employed, she couldn't get around the Arrancar's quick footing, snake-like strikes and excellent show of dexterity. Likewise, Loly had not found a way to bypass the proclaimed "ultimate defense". The least either of them could do to each other was superficial, and the wounds they each sustained from each other were minor at best. But it had been a fierce fight nonetheless - one that demonstrated just how much Loly had arisen in the short time she was away from her most hated adversary.

Now, the Sexta was standing a fighter's distance away from Magatta with her knife at the ready and her body settled into a defensive stance. Her shoulders rose and fell lightly with each breath she took, her body working to regain what was lost. A mixture of sweat and a mild amount of scars decorated her body, and even milder doses of dried blood stained her clothing.

"She's far more competent than she was the last time we fought," Magatta thought as she took in bounties of air to fill her lungs. Her own body was peppered with small lacerations and bruises, things that her own specialized Kidō couldn't heal. The poison, while dangerous initially, had been rejected a number of times while she used whatever tactics she could to maintain an advantage. 

Even still, she kept her blade on hand and her body was devoid of any defense as it had long sense outlived its usefulness. While they both were trying to get their second wind, Magatta had to come up with a plan to gain a higher pedestal of power than her enemy possessed. One thought prevailed above the others that seemed the obvious: Use Bankai. 

"I effortlessly took her down in her released state using my Bankai. But, that was a time when she was only a marginal threat when she entered her Ressureccion state. Now she's on a whole other level, and practically on even terms with what abilities she possesses now," Magatta argued with herself, gripping her whip-sword tightly, shaking the compact double-edged blade in her grasp. "then again, she's not as fast when she's in her Ressureccion. With those bulky tendril arms she can't outmaneuver my own swifter garden of razors. Will that remain the same now? Well...only one way to find out..."

"Espada," Magatta called out. Once she gained her attention she would don begrudging tired grin settling upon her face as she stood tall and without gasping for air. She regained what stamina she needed to recover and was daring enough to initiate her plan. "let us put an end to our standstill. I admit that your power is closer to mine than it was before. I'd dare say you're about as close to an equal that I've had in a long time. That said, how about we release our full powers now? I doubt we can afford to remain idle here and allow our comrades to finish their jobs before ours. Especially if Lord Aizen returns..."

"Aizen?" Loly repeated, slight incredulity coming out of her mouth. She raised an eyebrow for a moment, narrowing her eyes afterwards and glaring at her enemy. "Are you guys still on about that? Don't you get the fact that your grand lord and master is dead? Are you so wired to your loyalty that you'd cling to a ghost to help you?" She scoffed, shaking her head in disdain. "Whatever. It's not my concern. If you want to die with the vain hope that your master's going to save you, then so be it!" She grasped the knife hilt with both of her hands, pointing the tip towards her enemy. "Poison!"

The moment she said that word was the moment her spiritual pressure would come to manifest with a vengeance. Her body glowed with a bright and purple aura, and the residual pressure caused the sands to ripple away from her person. This, combined with the wind's constant howling, provided an eerie foreshadowing of what was to come. As the aura around Loly glowed brighter, her form started to change. Her arms morphed into those tell-tale tentacles, and the rest of her gained the trademark partial skeletal attire of her released form. It took only several seconds, and when she was finished, she settled into a defensive stance. The tendrils waved around threateningly, and she cast a lethal glare at Magatta as she finished her command.

"Escolopendra!"

It was just as disgusting to Magatta as it was before. She could tell from the presence it emanated now that it was definitely stronger, matching the string of increased power her base form has undergone. Chills ran up and down her spine at the thought of being caught by such disgusting limbs and suffering more agony than before by intensified toxins. 

But it did little to deter her confidence in her power. 

Raising her blade up, she allowed the various segments to be undone and seperate from each other. When they swirled downwards in a mesmerizing cyclonic fashion around her did she swing the bladeless hilt in a resigned downward fashion. This caused a curtain of violet energy to wrap around her, followed by entrancing green hued pulses that washed over the sandy landscape. Curtails of sand bristled upwards in chaotic fashion, cracking each single grain by the pressure released of such intense Reiatsu being produced by her form. 

After what seemed like a kilometer was bathed by the bombardments of emerald light of Reishi particles did the violet conical shape change. Unfurling like a flower, it revealed a sensually appealing Magatta behind its floral folds. Her seductive armor was replaced by a leathern skin-tight suit imitating leaves and vines, snaking up and around her bosom and hips. One pair of vines wrapped around her neck and slithered into her tuffs of white hair, producing a crown of flower filled vines over her brows. A pink cuirass skirt flowed down her thighs down past her knees, just shy of her high heel root shaped boots. Reclining in the dimming energy flower as if it was a thrown, thorn emblazoned talons replaced what sword she possessed, making her look in control and very much empowered by her Bankai's presence.

"Bankai," She sighed, eyes opening to stare back at the released toxic Arrancar, "Shitsuru Senzai."

It was a mirror of the scenario she had faced right before her defeat.

The sight made her eyes flash with slight apprehension, after she opened shut eyes that had protected her from the light of Magatta's release. From that point onward, all it had taken was a single snap of the finger and she had been shredded. All it had taken was two moves and she had been reduced to a quivering pile of freshly cut meat. As irritating as she found the woman, she begrudgingly accepted that she was also a serious threat. She couldn't afford to take any chances, and she needed to put everything within this fight, lest she wanted to face the same fate she did before.

Despite her wariness, she couldn't help but feel indignation at the more relaxed and carefree position her foe took. Once again, she was sitting there as if she didn't have anything to lose. She was behaving as if the one in front of her wasn't a threat anymore, now that their full powers had been released. Something in the far corner of her mind told her that maybe it was an effect of the Bankai itself. But considering what she had seen from her enemy's personality so far, she heavily doubted it. So without hesitation and with an angered growl, she thrust two of her tentacles at her sitting enemy.

"The toxin levels of her limbs may have increased. I'll have to play it safe and observe by how much," Magatta thought as her enemy analyzed her. Seeing the obvious muscular contractions in her shoulders, it was the same kind of attack she used back then. Gesturing with her left hand, a number of areas in the sand would glow a bright green before her counterattacks were launched. 

Three long vines, all enamored with razors along their metallic bodies, jutted out along the path of the tentacles. Each one whipped out in an erratic manner, sending cutting gestures to rip apart the elongated arms aiming to latch poisonous acid upon her person. Hoping to catch her before they'd even reach her seated position, this was hardly a large exertion of her part and more of a analysis of her enemy's released state's increase of power. 

At first, it seemed like a repeat of the scenario before.

Those razors tore through their targets just as easily as they had done before, reducing the tentacles into little more than fleshy puzzle pieces. The blood that was spilled was plentiful, decorating the air as it fell towards ground level. From the expression of pain that appeared on Loly's face, it was clear that it had indeed hurt her. But this time, she didn't falter in her stance. Instead, she quickly whipped her mutilated stumps away from her opponent before more damage could be caused. Once again, a particular question appeared in her head. Was this an effect of the Bankai? Or was she really so arrogant that she'd rather sit, lie back and throw attacks so casually?

But in this lax behavior, Loly saw an opportunity.

Moving by the command of her will, the descending blood changed its path once it neared Magatta. Droplets circled her, moving and coming together until they made a dome around the woman's form. Inside of that dome, Magatta would once experience that burning sensation across her body, the feeling of the poison working its way into her system multiplied. The dome began to expand, until it was three times the size it was when it first formed. Loly had her eyes narrowed and her teeth clenched as she glared at her entrapped foe. "You're such a damn hypocrite, you know that?" She snarled. "All that talk about not affording to be idle, and yet you're all too willing to just sit on your ass without a care in the world. Well, if that's how you want to die," Her eyes shone with a brilliant purple. "Then that's fine by me!"

Within that moment, the blood dome expanded in a violent explosion, converting into a mist that reached out to cover a sizable aura. The mist consumed all that it touched, with the sands dissolving and even the very air becoming destroyed in its grasp. The only one without the threat of death hovering overhead was the caster herself, who stood at the ready. She didn't seem too concerned about her two injured tentacles, which hung uselessly at her sides and lay lifelessly on the ground beside her.

"Her attack failed, yet why doesn't she look petrified with fear?" Magatta thought with curiosity. Seeing her whip her limbs back closer to her, the Shinigami continued to speculate any number of reasons she'd sacrifice her only visible form of offense for a quick attack. Was she that desperate?

Then she saw the blood move. Had it simply moved away, Magatta would paid no heed of its destination. But after seeing it move for a few seconds towards her, she was quick to act out of self preservation and the caution of fighting such a unpredictable enemy. 

Gesturing to herself to form a fingerlaced pyramid in front of her lap, a dozen spiraling vines of foot wide blades fanned out to form a dome over her body, protecting her against the oncoming blood. Hearing the hissing outside she could already tell it was acidic, a trait she didn't favor on feeling firsthand. With a projection of Reiatsu from the blades themselves, Magatta dispersed the acid into dust that soon dissipated into the air. 

"I rather not expose myself so soon after that. Better take advantage of her disarmed state now!" Magatta thought with determination. Unfurling her fingers to wave towards Loly's direction, given from the Spiritual Pressure she emanated, and began to launch her counteroffensive. 

Dozens of meter by foot long blade shares jettisoned from the sand, hurtling themselves like gas propelled javelins at their target. Swirling around to correct misses, the twenty four odd projectiles attacked relentlessly, aiming to keep impaling, shredding, and lacerating the prey until it was torn to shreds. All the while Magatta kept within her metallic dome of protection that dispersed the acid dome that had aimed to eat away her flesh and nullify her ability to fight entirely. 

"!"

Loly's heart rate quickened when she saw the disruptions within the sand, taking a reflexive step back as the makeshift missiles were launched. Although her expression had hints of alarm at the surprise attack, she was more frustrated at the fact that her attack was nullified just like that. Even with her power increase, it seemed like the woman only needed a few hand gestures to fight her off. Although it was in the back of her head, she wondered if anything actually changed from their first encounter. But she was quick to shake that thought off, her face mirroring the fury burning through her. She wasn't going to let the wench show her up this time, not when so much was on the line.

Her eyes glowed a brilliant purple once again, and her spiritual pressure came to play once again. The javelins that had came towards her were annihilated by the toxic aura that she emitted, disintegrating into pieces of ash before fading away completely. Her immediate follow-up was a swing of her remaining tentacles towards the newfound defense, the tendrils wrapping around the enemy's barrier and keeping it within a vice-grip. She put her enhanced strength to good use, increasing the pressure in an effort to crush the fortress inward and take its queen out along with it. It would've been satisfying for the Arrancar, seeing her smug enemy getting crushed by the very defense she adored so much.

But she wouldn't stop there.

She hunched herself over, her tongue hanging out of her mouth to start what would be a demonstration of body horror. Her saliva glands seemed to have worked on overdrive; both tongue and lower chin was coated in a thick layer of drool that continuously dripped down to the sand underneath her feet. It took only a few seconds for that coating to reach the entirety of her mouth and even her neck, where the throat seemed to swell up like a balloon. If one looked closely, however, they would see that the saliva was burning straight through the ground to the forest below. The ragged breaths the Arrancar was taking only served to increase the horror factor.

With a puff of her cheeks, she let loose a horizontal geyser of spit towards the barrier. Once it hit, it would prove to be a much more difficult invader to fend off; it would burn through the metal with a moderate quickness, increasing in potency with each second Loly prolonged the attack. In turn, this would make the job of crushing the barrier inward much easier than it would've been without.

Magatta could feel the large bleeding limbs wrap around the metal root barrier. The tension of constriction was heard all around her, creating a very much tangible sense of unease. What was worse was the sudden geyser of acidic spit that quickly chewed away the durable barrier she had constructed. 

"Can't ward this away. Have to evade!" Magatta planned quickly, hugging herself with her arms as the petals of her flower throne quickly enclosed over her body. Pulling underground, she disappeared behind the rapidly degenerating rooted barrier that dissolved into a hissing pile of crushed and salivatedly disintegrating debris. The noxious fumes produced by the compounds left no trace of her, other than the slightly disheveled sand hidden behind her extended limbs. 

Then, she emerged and struck at the same time. 

Rising from the sand behind her, Magatta struck out her left hand in a splayed fashion, rapidly stretching the razor sharp talons affixed to her digits. The thorn blades quickly launched into her back, intending on impaling her but not quite enough to rip her apart. With no guaruntee that she couldn't live through such an attack, let alone what kind of bloodshed could do to her if used a minute ago, she raised her free hand to perform a different method. 

"Hadō #32, Ōkasen!" Releasing a wide blaze of searing golden colored Reishi from her right hand, it flowed harmlessly over the nails that had intended to keep anchored in Loly's back while striking her dead on with such a destructive spell. "if I use anything of incendiary nature I'll be more likely to burn away toxins and keep you from using your acidic compounds. Closing up your wounds as soon as I make them, this will also make your Hollow ability of Instantaneous Regeneration more difficult to accomplish. Hope you can come up with something better than simply use another disgusting toxin!" 

"!"

The sudden disappearance of the enemy caused Loly's eyes to widen in shock. She quickly straightened up from her earlier position, using one of her tendrils to wipe away the spit from her mouth. Her eyes narrowed, sweeping the area for any sign of Magatta. Her spiritual senses picked up where her eyes and instinct couldn't, picking up any possible anomalies that couldn't have been detected otherwise. In the brief timespan that she had, she recovered from her injuries; regeneration kicked in, with two centipede-like tentacles exploding from the stumps they previously were. She had intended for it to be a surprise to her enemy later on, but it was clear that the exchanges up to this point had told too much. There was no more reason to hold anything back.

Then, a disturbance.

The Arrancar swiftly turned around with a swing of a tentacle as Magatta erupted a safe distance behind her, her eyes catching the movement of those talons. But fortunately, her physical strength in conjunction with her reflexes came to her rescue. When her tendril collided into the side of those extending talons, it smashed through them like a hammer through glass. There was a shockwave produced from the very swing of that tendril, brief yet considerable and once again demonstrating her true form's physical strength. Even through this, she saw the Kidō spell being prepared. It was a fast combination of attacks, yet it made Loly start to question. Had Magatta simply assumed the Arrancar wasn't fast enough to counter an ambush such as this one? It was justifiable, seeing as how well she had fared in their first bout.

But if that was the case, then Loly hoped Magatta was prepared to be surprised.

She opened her mouth as the Ōkasen spell was launched towards her, preparing her own long-range attack in the form of the tell-tale Cero orb. All it needed was a few seconds to form, and once the Kidō blast was close enough, she released its power in the form of its trademark energy blast. The corruptive nature within her Cero was enough to dismantle the energies of the Kidō, ripping through it and tearing its way through to the caster.

"Her Cero is toxic. Nothing about this girl is healthy, is it?" Magatta thought with a sneer, feeling the energy pouring into her Kidō as much as he could hear it pop and sizzle. Without the corruptive properties, the Reishi that began pushing back against her own was substantial enough to warrant her attention. Their exchange of blasts were equal, but will that matter in the end?

Just right before the Cero met her proximity, she snapped her free hand's wrist and swung a thorned whip. Ripping apart the column of light in an instant before the acidic compounds could begin eating at her weapon, she dispelled it just as easily as the tendril ripped apart the blade tendril she had grown from a distance. With a glare that could be lethal, Magatta cracked the whip across the ground, causing a pulse of violet light to pulse within the kilometer expanse around them. 

"It's time I show you...a taste of my Bankai's power," Magatta announced with an authoritative tone, her eyes gleaming of purple and white, pooling out from the pupil like ripples from an ocean. Twisting her whip around over her head, she cracked the air with a snap, pulses stirred within the sand before them. With a final crash into the sand before her floral throne, she snarled out with fury for what was to come after, "Hayashiken!" 

Colossal. 

It was the only thing to describe the scale of the blade-etched trees thrusting up from the ground. In a wave of high momentum, the twenty meter wide living structures of metal twirled and ripped in a straight line towards Loly. Carving a trench as it came up towards her, it eventually created half a kilometer of fifty meter, with leaven blades attached to the pikes that jutted into the sky. Whether they initially hit their mark or not mattered little, for the true move of the technique would begin in a matter of seconds. 

Springing out like bullets, the leaven blades impacted the sandy battlefield like artillery rounds, uproaring dozens of meters of grained landscape before Magatta's line of sight. During the time the thick piked trees became bare of blades that indiscriminately shot up and torn apart in a 180 degree angle in front of Magatta's throne, more blades began to sprout rapidly from the sheathes they were launched from. More fantastically, the blades that hit the sand began to grow metallic thorned branches, spiraling and twisting in the air, cultivating into a metallic forest of metal thorns that'd fill up the sandy seas. 

The same would happen behind Magatta, as a staight line of metal trees carved a trench behind, repeating the process at the same time. Her floral throne began to elevate, growing into a metal stalk that thickened and spread in girth, emitting its own forms of metal leaven thorns along with what looked like a host of mineralized fruit just underneath the bloom. Reaching up to a height of seventy five meters in altitude, Magatta looked down from her perch, witnessing the continuous growth and rain of her Bankai's metal shrapnel, knowing that not even Loly could evade or escape the attacks of her Hayashiken. 

"All Arrancar are beneath my notice. Even poisoinous filth like you. Be ripped apart by my beautiful and powerful Bankai, Espada," Magatta murmured with a dark gleam projecting from her eyes, as a ominous silhouette drapes over her crown and arms that rest on either armrest of her throne. 

It was a demonstration widely regarded by her Arrancar foe as a grave threat.

Her expression grew with shock, and she was forced to leap away before risking getting impaled by the Bankai's "trees". It was a difficult process getting herself out of there in one piece, as she had to steer her tentacles in order to ensure that they wouldn't get caught. But it only took a second before she found a safe spot in which she could take a breather. She looked upon what would be an artificial forest of destruction with awe, her tentacles hovering around her being protectively. In the few seconds that she had, she took note of the blade-like protrusions from the trees. If there was one thing she had learned, it was that if it was used by an enemy, it most likely wasn't going to be used for show. Inwardly, she was confident that such thoughts were paranoia and that there was all to this "taste" of an attack.

Unfortunately, she was right.

It was by sense that she picked up the bladed projectiles shooting in her direction. They came from her left and right, and they came from above. They came from every direction, and all she could do was crouch down while using her centipede appendages to defend herself. Once she did so, she was hit with the sensation of a thousand needles ripping through her. She couldn't help the pained vocalizations that escaped her when she felt the blades embed themselves into her arms, her blood running down their frames and staining the sands beneath her feet. But the feeling only increased when another floral wall was created behind Magatta, providing her with even more sharp things to stick into her. She fell to one knee, shutting her eyes tightly and clenching her teeth.

"Dammit! At this rate--!"

Then, she heard her foe's words. Her apprehension was dealt with in an instant, her eyes opening once again to contort to indignation. They were words of her usual haughtiness, the belief that she had already won this fight. With a technique like this and the enemy pinned in, it wasn't too unrealistic to come to such a conclusion. But Loly had little intention of falling prey to a second defeat. So in the few seconds of her getting impaled by the blades shot down at her, she prepared herself for a counter-attack. Her spiritual pressure billowed up, and an aura of indigo served as an outline for her body. Its toxic properties served as a shield, burning away the sharp protrusions and stopping any more from tearing into her. She took the opportunity to shout out to her opponent, her voice the epitome of her fury.

"That sure is something come from someone crawling in the same pit as we are!!"

Then, she swung her tentacles out and bent them, making herself the center of an "S" that Magatta would see from her location above. With a twist of her form and lift of a leg, she spun around on one foot like a balanced ballerina. With her movement, the aura around her expanded into a dome of corrosive energy. It was massive enough to consume a good portion of the trees near her position, knocking them over if not disintegrating them completely. The dome was circling around, generating winds strong enough to cause a howling to be emitted within the area. With each and every second that passed, it seemed more and more like a tornado being birthed into the world.

Then, Loly swung out her tentacles. The dome of poison expanded in a vicious explosion, swallowing even more of the trees around her. It released to the point where Magatta was threatened with the fate of being consumed. But once it claimed most, if not all of the trees that made up the technique, it would disintegrate and dissolve to clear the way. When it all cleared, even the sands within Loly's radius had been destroyed. A hole that would've shown the canopy of the Menos Forest was quickly being covered by the sands that had not been caught in the blast, creating a rather hypnotizing display as it moved to fill the blank. Above it all would be the Arrancar herself, looking at Magatta with a hawk-like stare with her arms at her sides. But there was one notable thing about her now.

They were normal arms - ones covered with bone-like carapaces in a style similar to fingerless gloves. Her centipede-like appendages had disappeared, almost as if they had never been there in the first place.

"Nearly half of the forest was wiped out. I guess she isn't an Espada without reas-," Magatta cut herself short at what she saw from up high. The normal protrusions that made up Loly's upper body limbs were gone and not in the way of severance. They looked calcified, similar to how skeletons formed arms yet looked as solid as granite. Narrowing her eyes, Magatta leaned forward on her throne, peering her gaze at her enemy, "her arms transformed? I never seen this ability from her before. What's going on?"

Keeping her gaze focused and trained on her enemy, she raised a single hand towards her form. Golden tendrils began to dance in between her armored digits and palm, emanating a unstable appearance of voltage to the observer. When finished priming, she uttered in a lethal tone, "Raikōhō!"

In a single thunderclap, a sizable pillar of electrical reishi propelled itself forward, intending on pummeling and searing apart Loly's body. With enough power to create a mushroom cloud of smoke through the orange-crimson tongued explosion, she aimed to do some form of damage with this Kidō. If not, then she'd have to think of another creative way to use her Bankai to her advantage...

In response, Loly swung her palm forward to mirror Magatta's movement, waiting until the moment where the Kidō was shot out. Once it connected with her palm, an explosion of yellow would be generated. The target Arrancar would appear to be consumed by the blast, at first. But when it all dissipated into nothing, her form would be nowhere to be seen. That would change in a second, as she re-appeared in the air above her enemy's throne. She thrust her palms forward, summoning the telltale energy orbs of a twin Cero. The way her eyes were narrowed and teeth were clenched hinted at the making of a particularly strong attack.

But it would not come into fruition. In reality, Loly was using the focus on her as an opportunity for a sneak attack. More specifically, it would be an attack that aimed to wipe her opponent out before she had a chance to display her full power. Had it been the fight before, she would've gladly goaded the ex-soldier into going full power in hopes of crushing her at her strongest. But now, she just wanted to wipe that haughty look off the woman's face. She wanted to oust her from that accursed throne and toss her to the deepest depths of Hell. She wanted to destroy every fabric of her being, despite the fact that she didn't know anything about her. At this point, Magatta had Loly's personal nemesis, and nothing short of complete annihilation would satisfy.

She started her attack.

Without warning, the appendages that had formerly served as Loly's arms materialized and wrapped around her enemy's form with a snake's quickness. The completed formation made it seem like the target in question would be trapped in a cocoon. The blades that had been embedded within them now threatened to close in on Magatta iron-maiden style. This was the moment Loly stopped her "attack", lowering her arms and glaring at her trapped adversary. "So, you say that the smallest of plants can come back after a plague?" She asked rhetorically, slowly spreading her arms out. "Is that gonna hold any water if there aren't any plants remaining? Or better yet," Her glare turned even more sinister as she slowly spread her arms out. "If I destroy the whole planet?"

Her sentence was punctuated by the sickening snap of bone, the tearing of flesh and the dripping of bone. In a twisted display of symbolizing mitosis, her two arms had split into four. When Loly brought them inward, her body began to glow with an indigo aura once again. Upon her nonverbal command, a gargantuan hand of the same energy that made up the dome spawned above Magatta. Then, another hand of equally massive proportions spawned underneath, followed by two more flanking the side. All of them had their palms facing the cocoon, fingers curled as if ready to smash the victim into mush. By this point, Loly had all four of her hands in the same position as she held them in front of her. "You had your chance, Magatta." She whispered, her voice low and venomous. "Now it's time to sit there and die in that pretty little throne of yours. Goodbye, and I hope you go straight down to the deepest depths of Hell."

She clasped her palms together pair by pair, and the hand constructs closed in to consume their prey.

"The tentacles-!" Magatta swore aloud, finding the blade embedded tendrils winding around her throne seated frame in a matter of seconds. Deep lacerations caused her to gnash her teeth with anger, her eyes briefly catching sight of Loly's feigned movement of firing the Ceros preemptively before being caught in the cocoon of slimy, blade protruding flesh. The sound of limbs splitting apart as she spewed her rhetoric was all the emphasis she needed to understnad the situation she was placed in.

"Dammit! I should have known the tendrils were detached!" Magatta inwardly swore as she found herself writhing within her prison, feeling the blades cut deeper, sending rivulets of blood to ooze down her body. When she saw the fists clenching through the cracks of light emanating through the tendril flesh, she knew she only had one last method of self preservation. With the whip still in hand, she clenched her palm tightly upon it before her own eyes glowed an opaque purple. 

"Kakuhana!" 

The floral throne swiftly closed over, like a premature blossom of a flower yet to bloom, creating a pink hued shield in between herself and the Ceros. The force of the twin Ceros was enough to send the throne launching headlong into the forest behind her, shattering and disintegrating the metalworks as if it was tissue paper. As the light continued to bathe across it, rivulets of the color faded and replaced by dull grey iron. When her throne fully struck the sand, a massive explosion of entropic waves wiped out what was left of her forest, creating nothing but an enormous hole within the top of the sand-crestened canopy. 

It was there, hovering above the pit, that Magatta stood, heaving with effort.

The surface of her skin was burned, hissing with steam that ebbed like putrid smoke. What burns wasn't swollen and puffed with bodily liquid excretions was affected by the toxins that weren't burned off by her Reiatsu. Parts of her uniform were deteriorated around her bosom, hands, legs and waistline, giving her a truly ragged appearance. Even her left eye socket seemed hollow, burned out and replaced with nothing but a hole leaking blood and ocular fluid. With teeth spread in a expression that showed nothing but carnal hatred, Magatta inhaled a hissy breath before screaming out. 

"YOU! HOLLOW! BITCH! LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO MY BEAUTIFUL BODY! I'M GOING TO FUCKING RIP YOU APART!!!" 

Twisting her whip around, the thorned vine began to entwine up her arm and enclose over her body. The color of the metal began to change hues, from deep green, to bright emerald, to sparkling pink, and finally to a velvet red. Practically brimming with Reiatsu that sent a series of heartbeat timed pulses that shaked and sent sand back into the vacant hole of the desert, Magatta's body slowly became covered with vined armor. With thorns protruding from nearly every angle, blossoms formed over her mammaries with smaller flowers forming over her knee caps, elbows, wrists, and over her empty eye socket a single bright pink rose. With clawed hands that had long rose nails, Magatta's visage appeared like a darker and less ornate version of her personally designed Kidō. 

"Seitoku," She muttered aloud in a dark tone, as the ground around her quaked around her feet, practically boiling the earth she stood upon. Steam spiraled up from the grains, with electric tendrils crawling across the landscape in a vibrant projection of her power. If one thing was clear, it was that she wasn't holding a single iota of strength back. This was her fullest power and she was going to destroy her enemy with it in any way she could. 

"And so she finally steps off her throne."

This was where Loly allowed herself to smirk in sadistic satisfaction when she eyed the damage that she inflicted. When she saw the arrogant countenance slip away into rage - the same rage that was coursing through her own nerves - she felt a strong sense of elation. In mockery, she allowed herself to close her eyes and take in a deep breath through the nose - almost as if she was gleefully inhaling the smell of Magatta's burned flesh. Although she considered it a regret to have not killed her before she had gotten to full power, but seeing the sight of a former General taken down a few pegs more than made up for it. With such fruitful results, she could face this power with strengthened confidence.

Even as her hair whipped around in the winds her opponent's power generated, Loly simply spread her arms out once more. Her extra arms reversed, merging back into her original ones with a blood-curling snap. "I'm right here, General." She taunted, tilting her chin in a beckoning to Magatta. "Take your best shot!"

In a split instaneous movement, Magatta launched herself at her enemy. Her speed, having rarely been seen due to her method of combat, allowed her to cross the distance between herself and the enemy swifter than most could expect. Passing her by through the high altitude, she reared back her left arm, where the metal flower sprouting from her elbow began to blossom and grow in size. When it was about twice the size of her head, an enormous serrated blade protruded forth, jutting out within the motion of her slashing attack as she moved by her, using her momentum to assist in the attack. 

"Bara Haraken!" She cried out as she passed her by, kicking off the air to make an additional three opposing angled leaps, swinging and slashing at her enemy with the enormous body sized weapon. Upon the fourth run, she made sure to rise up and spin, launching her blade attached to thorned chains interconnected to the metal bloom's center. Like a kurasigma, the weapon swung around with incredible force, aiming to strike her from afar after her hit-and-run attacks had been issued out. 

With her opposing right handed palm, she concentrated a number of thorned protrusions into her grip. After fueling them with a fiery waft of violet colored Reiatsu, she threw them after swinging her kurasigma weapon across the air in a diagonal arc down, letting the dozens of seeds fly through the air. Before they reached her position, Magatta splayed her right hand out and balled it into a fist, murmuring in a guttural tone, "Shitsuru Shikotsu!"

Growing in seconds to be a colossal scaled forest of razor tipped, barb edged spears in the shapes of gnarled vines, dozens of these projectiles launched towards her enemy. It was just another display how she could forge and grow entire arsenal of deadly floral weaponry, all with the fullest capacity to maim and crush their targets to bloody pulp. And it also showed, from the minute scale, that Magatta had yet to show her trump cards.

"!"

The smug grin was quick to wipe itself off of Loly's face the moment Magatta moved, replacing itself with shock. She thrust her arms out, her forearm colliding with the steel. But the momentum that the attack brought was enough to shove her off of her feet, and she let out a yelp as she was thrown aside. Fortunately for her, she was quick to recover with a backflip in order to allow her to land on her feet. But she only had time to twist around before the General was on her again, following up with an additional three lunges. In response, she called upon her acrobatics in order to get herself out in one piece. With cartwheels that would've mad a cheerleader cry in shame, she barely evaded the swipes of the jagged edge. The last cartwheel was followed up by a switch of her stance when the elongated blade was thrown in her direction, and she swung out one of her arms in order to knock it aside. It would be the last of her counter-measures before she tensed up again, readying herself as the seeds approached her.

Then, the trees.

"Another forest?!"

Her stance broke as she saw the massive spears launched in her direction. With a grunt, she threw her arms out in front of her in a cross and started back jumping, her spiritual pressure flaring up in an outline around her. The spears disintegrated once they neared her proximity, keeping her safe from the storm. But she couldn't keep this up for long; once she found an open window, she used a Sonido to carry herself above the kill zone. What would take her place would be the tentacles that had come to her aid before, riding through the forest of spears like a surfer. They carried the strength to smash through the "trees", giving their Arrancar master breathing room as she threw herself at Magatta. Within each hand, a katana of energy was materialized.

"Stop mocking me!!" She snarled, swinging both of those swords at her foe once she was close enough.

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH, PIECE OF SHIT!" Magatta howled back, somersaulting backwards away from the sword swings. Hurtling the kurasigma sword around in a arc at Loly's right, she detached the thorned chain to be rid of the weapon's heavy burden. Using the split second of her attack as a distraction, she turned her bent arm to point her elbow mounted blossom at Loly. She knew that if she was baited in close quarters, as much as she wanted to accept the trap, the corrosive wave of her Reiatsu would only damage her further.

She had to kill her at a range when she was distracrted, even for an instant. 

"Hariya!" Magatta snarled out, firing a barbed arrow from the center of the flower, propelling it at a swift rate. With her arm parallel to her neck, she took aim and fired subsequently one after another, bouncing around to keep away from her enemy. Hitting her from at a range will keep her from the tentacle's grasp or from having to clash swords with her. The last thing she wanted was to increase the burning sensation running ragged across her flesh. Her pain may fuel her resolve, but she knew that if she stopped fighting she'd be in terrible shape. Taking more damage will mean certain death now!

It was a deadly game of batting.

Loly pulled out of her offensive quickly once she saw Magatta retreat, once again swinging that kuraisgma in her direction. Her swords moved, parrying away the chain before it was discarded. But she didn't have the time to attack again, for Magatta had already chose her alternate method of attack. The arrow was shot towards her, and she threw herself to the side in order to avoid getting impaled. At that moment, she found herself having to alternate between evasion and batting away the arrows shot in her direction. While Magatta moved around, Loly moved to match her. As a result, it looked as if the two were dancing, and the sounds of sword clashing against arrows as well as their respective high-speed movements served as the melody they were moving to.

But even as Loly fought, she noticed it. Magatta was fighting hard, but her stance was gradually faltering. There was little doubt that she had pulled out all the stops. But unlike the Kidō armor she had donned before, it didn't seem to be healing her wounds. She was fighting at full power, but her body was losing the strength necessary to hold it. It was starting to seem like an advantage she could use. But in the face of the armor that Magatta wore, that wouldn't be something that could be done any time soon. She would have to be patient, wait for the proper opportunity to strike her down. Until then, it was little more than head-to-head confrontation.

After parrying another arrow, Loly decided to switch tactics. Wishing away her swords, the Arrancar thrust her hands out at her foe and started to shoot out a volley of Bala to return fire. Although it was mostly meant to counteract the arrows shot, there were still some that were unleashed towards the enemy caster herself.

Magatta began to move quickly in return upon witnessing the bullet storm of Bala sent her way. Thooming with reverberations of vibrational Reishi, the cannon balls of purple light flew through the air before dispelling far off into the horizon. Every time they struck a Hariya, they exploded with a thick concussive wave of expelling force. Each and every one that flew through the dark, starless sky of Hueco Mundo was just another echo of war. 

But Magatta could tell what Loly was doing. She wanted to end her quickly before her own power wore out. While Magatta's own wounds were more obvious, the regenerator could only conceal the truth of her own weariness. On this logic based assumption, Magatta knew she had to land as many hits on the Arrancar if she was to live through this fight. 

"Her swords are gone. Now's my chance!" Magatta thought through a solid minute of Bala discharge. 

Pulling back her arm, folding the blossom that had been unfurled on her elbow, she splayed her hands in an outstretched manner. The thick, gnarled thorns jutting from her own body began to extend, becoming hooks within barbed needles. During the midst of the hail of attacks rushing towards her, she began her own assault through the airspace. 

"Jūgan Kaze!"

In an enormous plume of violet colored Reiatsu, thousands of barbed thorn needles propelled themselves across the airspace. Encountering the dozens of Bala, they overwhelmed them and crashed through the many concussive explosions that came with their dispelling. They'd be like a true wind of death, carrying with them the metallic piercing metal quality that was overlapped on Magatta's Seitoku. A true retaliatory move against an enemy of Loly's caliber. 

The sudden shift of movement was seen between the volley of Bala, causing Loly to retract her arms.

If there was anything she could expect, it would be Magatta picking out an attack to outmatch hers in an exchange. It had been apparent in one of their first energy exchanges. Magatta shot something, Loly shot back and Magatta destroyed it with something much bigger and faster to pin her down with. It was a one-sided game of catch, as far as the Arrancar was concerned. If it was a more energy-based attack, Loly could've used the opportunity to sneak behind Magatta and strike. But as it was, she would be seen through the spaces of the bladed rain. If she wanted to thwart this attack, she would have to outdo her enemy.

So she stretched out glowing hands towards the storm of needles, summoning her spiritual energy to her aid.

In front of her spawned two of the colossal hands that had threatened to crush and obliterate Magatta before. When the needles hit, they were consumed by the corrosive power that made up the hands' foundation. But much to Loly's caution, she could still feel metal hit her and shatter against her Hierro. "There are still pieces of her metal strong enough to catch me, even through my energy." She thought to herself. "And it seems to be made of the same alloy as the armor she's wearing. So it's gonna take much longer for my poisons to get through to the meat." She scowled, a brief hint of frustration seeping through her. "God damn it, this bitch doesn't know when to roll over and die!"

Her eyes narrowed, as she swung her arms to an X cross at level with her chest. The hands moved with her, knocking the remainder of the needle barrage away from herself.

"Fine by me, then. If she's so desperate to live, I'm gonna push her to her brink."

Without hesitation, she began swiping at her opponent in what looked like meaningless gestures. But with the colossal hands that came to her aid, it was all but pointless. At the zero point of each swing, they materialized in a spot parallel with Magatta. As they followed Loly's movements, it would give the impression of her attempting to swat a fly. She didn't know how much damage the hands would inflict if they connected with their target, but she was confident that it would be significant enough to allow for a few hits in order to do her in.

"Going to try and avoid those," Magatta thought grimly as the monolithic fists of entropic Reishi swung her way. Kicking off the air, she somersaulted and leaped over the rays of corrosion from which the limbs were composed of. It was now a matter of self preservation through tactful retreat. Even as she continued the hail of her attack, she could see they weren't doing enough damage against the naturally resilient iron skin of an Arrancar. 

"At this rate, we won't be able to keep raising the levels of our attacks. I'm going to have to do something risky in order to get to her. Anything in order to kill her!" She resolved, kicking out behind her in order to spiral forward. Sweeping left to right, rolling over and below, she did her best to evade the colossal swings of her enemy's acidic energy hands. Unfortunately she felt a slight heat pass over her as she bent below another passing strike, tendrils of energy snaking out and latching onto her armor. Hints of deep crimson unveiled a pink beneath, showing signs of some parts of her armor's integrity fading. 

But by that time, she was already in front of her enemy, thanks to her swift speed. 

Reaching out she grabbed at Loly's upper arms, forcing horned thorns to jut out and embed into her skin. The same could be said for her knees as they swung up to claim the petite woman's thighs, protruding from the blossoms that were unfurled and extending spikes. Even though she was putting herself in the most danger, it also allowed her to use her greatest technique at its maximum effective point. 

"Shitsuruki!" 

Every pore of her metallic carapace became alive. Thorns quickly jutted out, becoming stalks to vines of razors, spreading out and expanding to astronomical thickness. Just how a forest could be created from a handful of seeds, now an enormous tree of deadly vines began to encircle and encase Magatta and her quarry. Trapping her, she knew, wasn't going to simply beat her though. Even as her metal vined tree rooted itself into the ground below and outstretched to the heavens, this wouldn't be enough. 

So she began to speak the incantation of her enemy's demise.

"Sprinkled on the bones of the beast! Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring. Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm. The sound of warring spears fills the empty castle!" She chanted, causing the spots on her knees and her palms, through the entangled binds of her own Bankai's durable metal to glow a bright yellow. Crackling with intensity, the brightness increased and sent tendrils to cross the entire network of vines. The metal that would help ensure the Kidō wouldn't miss its mark and kill the target...potentially killing the caster as a result. "Hadō #63, Raikōhō!" 

In that moment and in the first time since the two fought, Loly felt one emotion she never thought to be possible.

Fear.

It wasn't so quick to come when she was grasped by the other woman. She let out a gasp of surprise when her arms were grasped as well as a gasp of pain when she felt the thorns cut into her. In the resulting leg grapple, she found herself thrust against the front of her adversary in a proximity she would've rather been out of. She shut her eyes tightly and grit her teeth, struggling violently in an effort to pull herself away. But all that did was cause the thorns within her arms and legs to dig in, opening inflicted wounds even further. The pain was enough to make her stop, and she found herself panting sharply in a mixture of frustration and fury. "Didn't learn your lesson the first time?! Well, then, I'll just have to--"

But her feelings of anger would give way to apprehension when she heard the name of the trap called out. Her pupil and iris shrank as they opened back up to see the cage of metal ensnare both her and her opponent. At first, she regarded it and then Magatta with bewilderment, wondering what she could possibly be up to. But when she heard the first words to the incantation spell, her heart almost stopped. Horror seeped into her expression as she did a double take at the cage. If she was correct about the Kidō, then they both would be treated to a good old fashioned electrocution. The amount of metal would ensure that none of the resulting current would get past them.

Magatta was risking death just to kill her.

All she could do was scream, even as the first signs of the Kidō came into fruition.

"YOU BITCH! STOP IT! STOP!!"

Knowing that her cries would fall on deaf ears, she focused on preserving her own life. She shut her eyes and concentrated once more, focusing on herself. Inside her body, changes would take place. Parts of her near her vital organs would convert into a liquid chemical that would burn away the electrical energy before it could hit the spots they were protecting. But it would take a lot of concentration, draining a good deal of energy in order to maintain for long periods of time and ensure she wouldn't do long-lasting damage to herself. What she was going to go through would push that to the limit, and even if she did come out alive, it would be her last contribute to the battle. But as of this moment, she had little to no choice. It was now or never.

It came.

Loly was certain she never screamed louder in her life.

"So this is the end?" Magatta thought as the energy flew out from her hands and knees, joining in the conductive web of metal she created the funeral pyre for her enemy and herself. Searing heat enveloped her being, cooking already tender skin beneath her armored exterior. Her Reiatsu could do little to buffet the amount of Reishi that danced around the tree that now glowed a blinding golden hue with a white centrificual column. 

On the outside it looked like a mock version of a Christmas Tree, glittering and popping intermittenly across the framework of limbs. She could barely breathe past the pain that overwhelmed her earlier torment. The wounds that had been inflicted on her was now fading and replaced with a damning white heat. Before a solid thirty seconds would pass, the electrocution was over, and her raw cooked form remained within the prison. 

Crumbling all around them was the vined prison. Cooked crisp by the force of her own spiritual power, so too was the armor clinging to her body. Having turned a dull grey, thick slabs of metal chipped and fell limply to the ground. When it revealed her body, black skin was all that remained of her form. Chapped, split lips barely held open as her remaining eye closed tight, spilling tears from pain and anguish of what she put herself through. She couldn't tell if her enemy had perished but she knew that she was at the end of the line. 

As the last of her Bankai fell down, a single charred sword fell from her grip, soon joined by her bare burnt body. Descending, her thoughts went down with her. The last fabric of her life began to slip from her grasp as her form joined the sandy earth below. It wasn't much but it meant everything to her.

"Thank you, Lord Aizen, for delivering me from a fate of meaningless drivel that my beloved put me through. For your glory and majesty I take my life in your name. This life I sacrifice for you...as my thanks...Aizen."

With a lifeless thud, her body breathed its last, sending a shroud of dust to flow up before scattering within the air. Magatta Keiryō died by her own hand in an attempt to destroy her enemy. The question remained: Was she successful?

For a moment, it would appear so.

When Magatta's lifeless form descended, so did Loly's. By the time the Kidō spell had stopped, so did her screams. Her own body was charred and smoking, parts of her skin blackened from the electrical heat. Fresh blood could be seen leaking from rifts opened within the flesh, trailing behind her as she fell. The traits that made up her Resurrecion faded away, her weakened power unconsciously suppressed by her being brought to the edge of death. For what seemed like the longest of moments, her gaze was blank and aimless. She had swore to herself that she wouldn't let something like this happen again. But it happened. Once again, she was put to her physical brink courtesy of her enemy's hand.

So this is how it's gonna be, huh?

A small smirk made its way on her face.

I'm going down in a blaze of glory. Thought I'd manage to make it this time. Thought I could beat her and walk away in a victory. But she just had to do it, didn't she? Can't say I mind it, though...

Her eyes half-lidded, preparing to close themselves.

Sorry, everyone... it's been fun...

But as she was about to close her eyes, her mind flashed back to one solo image.

Menoly, giving her a humored and positive smirk.

Her eye snapped wide open just before she hit the ground.

Every one of her senses flared up with pain with that brief burst of mental energy as she connected, forcing a sharp yell from her. She fell down belly-first, and after remaining still for a few moments, she attempted to stand. Her arms moved, shakily planting palms against the ground and pushing her front off of the sands. She continued to gasp and groan as she shoved herself onto her hands and knees, having to stop herself when she got that far. "I-I'm really... torn up..." She said shakily, her eye shut as her mind attempted to focus. The entirety of her foundation was shaking, still in considerable agony from the electrocution. "God, I've gotta... lay low for a while... give myself time to recover... if I get into another fight like this one, I'm really gonna die..."

After regaining herself as much as she could, she shoved herself up to her feet and hissed when she felt the wounds on the back of her knees. She took a moment to look over at the body of Magatta, mentally reaching out for a pulse. After several seconds of searching, she could confirm it. Her enemy had killed herself in her attempt to destroy them both, leaving her the survivor. But she was a little bit miffed when she took in the rather peaceful expression on Magatta's tear-stained face. "Even when you're dead, you still manage to piss me off..." She growled, though it didn't have much energy to it as it would have otherwise. "All that talk about me ruining your "beautiful body" and yet you go and do that to yourself." She let out a shuddering breath, allowing herself to fall onto her rear when it felt like her legs were about to give in. She rested her arms on her knees, continuing to glare at the corpse.

"Well, wherever you are, I hope it was worth it in the end. See you never, little miss General."

Jekyll and Hyde: The Sword and the Scythe - Part II

Even through the storm that was Senkaku's blizzard, the blood on his face could be seen clearly.

It ran down his left temple, barely catching his respective eye as it and its companion stared intensely at their owner's enemy. His white uniform had several slashes and tears over it, with gashes of varying degree decorating his body. His own cold winds caused these wounds to sting, sending a constant pain throughout the rest of his body. Yet none of it would have much of an effect on his constitution in entirety. His expression matched the atmosphere of his winter, cold and neutral even as every part of his body was on full alert. His sword was lowered to his side, and it didn't seem like he was keen on attacking any time soon. But that was only because he was caught in a conversation with himself in the brief lull that was given.

"I'm surprised, to say the least." Hermosa commented.

"Surprised?" He questioned back, almost cocking an eyebrow.

"We've been taking this to a draw. Usually, I'd hear you worry and complain about not being able to beat him." Despite the jabbing nature of her words, her tone was humored and light to keep his mood in check. "You starting to breathe a bit easier?"

"Yeah..." He closed his eyes and gave a soft sigh. "I've thought about it, and decided that none of it matters. Instead of moaning about what kind of opponent I have, I should stop to consider the benefits of such. All of the enemies I have faced up to this point have carried a rather disgusting trait about them. Arrogance. Sadism. Borderline insanity. Not once did I stare down an enemy who kept prattling on about how powerful and superior they were over me. But that is fine." He opened his eyes, his eyebrows furrowing. "If they feel the need to chant "victory" before the final blow, then that is their problem. It will be their own fault when that arrogance ends up running them into my sword."

"This is starting to become...tedious," Kōin murmured aloud, his red eyes glowering from across the airspace the two hovered upon. Ice encrusted over the edges of his wings and his body, with several jagged wounds landed by his enemy on his proud body. Even one laceration split across his left cheek, a close call that almost got everything below the eye bifuricated. With scythe still in hand, his vision could barely keep sight of the originator of the blizzard. 

"It seems after that last release our skills and powers have balanced out to an equal status. As much fun as I've been having, this is starting to get monotonous. I can't stand having someone, let alone a Hollow, best the Demon Lord of Limbo," Kōin thought with flames ebbing from his eye sockets. 

"Reikari," He growled out, slashing across the frigid air, deploying a fissure of horror-induced cutting energy towards his enemy once again.

With a flap of his wings, he let the monstrous fissure of power distract as he swiftly rose higher, raising two forefingers over his head. As black energy ebbed and crackled the edge of the fingertips, he swung down and growled out, "Matenrai!" 

With the sound of thunder, a stream of tainted black lightning cracked across the air down towards Senkaku. In an aim to cut him in a pincer stroke, Kōin kept his scythe close at hand in case of a counterattack. After all, this wasn't the first time he went on the offensive and received an injury for not properly estimating his enemy's capabilities. 

Like a warm blanket to a child, the hellish blizzard was Senkaku's protection against the psychological effects of the blast. It allowed him to react with haste and precision, putting his sword in front of him in a defensive hold while calling upon his power. What manifested in front of him was a bright blue energy shield that came in the shape of a snowflake, standing firm as the blast collided with it. In the face of such power, Senkaku found his hair and clothing rippling and billowing wildly. But even as he held it off, he could sense the movement of his enemy. He could feel the flap of the wings and the birth of a new energy attack. It was a distinct advantage he could take part of. As long as he was released, the blizzard would serve as a natural detector for any enemies that happened to be challenging him. No one was hidden.

In addition, he could mask his own movements.

A Sonido carried him behind his foe just before the thunder bolt could be shot, his sword held in a backhand position. Without hesitation and with a cold, analytic gaze directed into the demon's back, he swung with the intent to decapitate his foe. He followed up with a series of one-handed swipes and thrusts, attempting to unbalance him with the initial one.

"From behind!" Kōin felt a disturbance from behind, only the sliver of killing intent enough to give him an estimation where he is. With the blizzard creating a smokescreen to cover his movements, all he could do was angle his head foward, receiving a nick on the back of his neck as he avoided certain death. Twisting around on his heels, he flourished his wings around to right himself as the assault began anew on his person. 

It took admittedly all he could from not being overwhelmed at such closer quarters. His weapon of choice wasn't made to thwart off a swordsman's slashes up close, but keep them at bay. Growling as a shower of sparks mingled within the constant snowfall of the howling wind that nipped at his skin, Kōin's mouth spewed out crimson-orange tongues of flames in a fit of rage. Opening his mouth wide, a pillar of flames erupted, aiming to take the ice user at such a close range he'd have to evade or at the very least allow him to get a moment's breather once more. 

Backing away in a rush of swift movement, Kōin twirled his scythe around in a circle beside him. After the fifteenth revolution, he swung it forward, forming a Kihaku Kitai in mid-slash, creating a magnanimously sized ethereal blade to crush his enemy. Even if it couldn't do that, it'd at least momentarily clear away the hail of snow and ice constantly falling in his gaze. 

And the Arrancar saw it.

In the brief moment that they clashed blades, he could see the fury and indignation within his enemy's countenance. In turn, this caused a scowl to momentarily linger on his own face. A while back, when he had been the one instilling despair and putting the pressure, he had been so thrilled. When he had driven Senkaku to the point of despair, he had acted so disappointed. But now that the Arrancar was meeting expectations and giving him a challenge, it was as if none of that mattered anymore. Hermosa had been right; all the psychopath was really concerned about was how good the toys he played with are.

"Told you." The voice in his head said smugly, even as Kōin reared his head in preparation to release the flames.

A Sonido moved him out of the path of the the fire, and he re-appeared a fair distance away. As he felt the movement of twirling the scythe around, he straightened himself up. When that attack came, he closed his eyes and concentrated. If there was anything to thank for that arrogant bodyguard he had fought long ago, it was that he demonstrated a new way to use his ice powers. He had a feeling that it would surprise his enemy, as it was rarely something he had ever seen again in the midst of battle. But he would only be sure of that once he executed it. He stood still, choosing his focus over evasion even as the massive scythe came for him.

It connected.

Instead of the sound of metal cutting through flesh, there was a sound of something shattering like glass. It was the energized scythe manifestation, having shattered to pieces of ice under the influence of Senkaku's power. The great and terrible weapon was reduced to nothing more than snowflakes that blew into the intense winds. Once he opened his eyes and looked at Kōin, he allowed himself to speak. "What's the matter? You seem to be all too willing to distance yourself from me all of a sudden." He commented, his voice low and as chilled as the blizzard. He started to walk forward, slowly approaching his enemy. "For someone who claims to enjoy this fight, you don't seem that willing to just charge me head-on anymore. Is my power really starting to wear you down, demon Lord? Or is it," His eyes narrowed into a hawk-like stare. "That you really don't enjoy it? That you simply never experienced the feeling of being challenged properly or tasted defeat?" He shook his head, almost in a chiding manner. "She was right all along. You really are nothing more than a kid obsessed with his toys."

He heard it. All the rhetoric that Senkaku taunted him with, using his own actions and words he spouted nonchalantly to the Arrancar right back at him. It felt like coals poured into a boisterous campfire, ready to overflow into the environment around it. Such anger radiated in a palpable way, with a thick black-violet steam that rose from his pores, obscuring his body in a menacing silhouette. The scythe in his hand rattled till it sounded as if it was going to shatter into a thousand pieces.

Then, he shouted, with a voice that distorted light and shook matter, "KNOW YOUR PLACE, HOLLOW!" 

A massive shockwave of sinister Reiatsu thrust outward, challenging the blizzard that roared around him. Passing over his enemy like a nauseous veil of heat and sulfur, the frozen water changed from white to black at the contact with the twisted Reishi dancing in the air. Floating in the center of the bizarre phenomena was K'ōin the Maddened', the Demon Lord of Limbo. Gone was the handsome visage and dark angel appearance that appeared with every awakening he performed. Now large wings of dark fire showed dozens of faces, screaming and lacking of eyes, trapped within the avian limbs. His body burned a bright red, seeming to bleed embers through his exposed skin. His face, now lacking a hood to conceal it, showed one with curled horns akin to a Ram's but with blood stained and blackened from over time. Eyes seemed like empty pits, spewing out molten flames like a furnace, with a hideous grin that held a mouth full of insidious sharp teeth like daggers. 

But the most notable change, was the lack of cold composure, having devolved into outright insanity. 

"HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!!!" Kōin laughed dementedly, spinning his scythe in his right hand, raising the other palm to point at his enemy. With a loud screech, his hand discharged an exponentially expanding palm-shaped blaze of Reikari, with crazed screams tearing through the air like glass through chalk. Even if it didn't work, Kōin swung his scythe in a diagonal manner, cutting through the Reikari with an immense pressurized swing of condensed Reiatsu. 

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" Kōin screamed at the top of his lungs, rearing his back, arms, and head in a backward leaning posture. Spewing out of his wings from the mouths of faces lodged within his decrepit wings formed what looked like a crimson orb, akin to an enormous Cero. When its shape distorted, bent, flattened and then inflated, the appearance took shape of a energized skull. With burning eyes and a hideous skeletal grin, the manifestation of psychic Reishi shot across the air, aiming to sink its jaws into the Espada while its originator cackled with crazed glee. 

"Oh my God!"

Hermosa's horrified exclamation mirrored Senkaku's expression of shock as he witnessed the transformation. He stared as the snowflakes changed from white to black. His ears shook with a brief bout of pain when the shout of retaliation reached his ears. His skin crawled when he felt the sickening level of heat wash over him and his blizzard transformed into what would be best described as a polluted storm. His heart skipped a beat when he saw the multitude of hollowed faces and the changed form that made up what showed up on Kōin's. But he would very nearly freeze up when he heard that accursed laughter, his mind flashing back to Mukurō when he had sunk underneath the shadows laughing. It almost made him regress back into his angered state, believing that his opponent was laughing at him. But then he remembered his other half's words. They were nothing more than psychopaths, individuals who had lost their sense of reason long before he fought them. All Kōin was doing, as far as he was concerned, was regressing to a more infantile stage.

That didn't mean he was any less dangerous.

When the first attack came, he raised his sword in front of himself and was about to prepare another snowflake defense when he heard Hermosa's voice call out to him in alarm.

"He's changing movement! Look out!"

A brief look of surprise came across his face before he used a Sonido, pulling himself out of the way before the burst of reiatsu could tear through him. "He's not even waiting for his own attacks to connect with me anymore!" He thought, bewilderment written on his features. "He really has lost it. But..." He narrowed his eyes and clenched his teeth as he readied his sword again. A white flame with a green outline - an enhanced Espada Cero - ignited around the frame of his blade. "At least now I know what to do. If I can outwit him, I can very easily kill him. If I can outmaneuver him, his weak points can be exploited much more easily. I just have to put all my faith and strength in myself, so I can give it my all!"

When he saw the Cero like blast coming at him, he spread his own wings and launched himself towards it. Both attack and target were closing in on each other pretty quickly, and when they neared close enough, the Arrancar readied his sword. In arm's distance, he pulled it back with one of his hands in preparation to swing. But just before energized metal and pure energy could connect, he used another Sonido to reappear behind the insane demon. His blade was still in the process of being swing, but this time it aimed to sever his opponent in two. In that brief moment, his eyes were wide and their contents were contracted to the most extreme degree.

"Die...!"

It was in this haze of bloodthirst, the apex of madness and malicious ecstasy that Kōin felt something hot drive through his skin. It was so quick that his bones that had been separated like butter to a cool knife were still registering the splitting of spiritrons. Eyes practically looking in opposite directions within pools of molten Reishi held that pose, while a tongue that stuck out seemed to wetly come apart along with a host of ligaments and bloody tissue. Stretching up from the groin all the way up to the exposed skull was a hot line of seared blood, slowly but surely causing the winged menace to come apart. 

Almost all at once a thrumming pulse of depleted Reiatsu overlapped the blizzared. Like a seismic charge in an ocean, his body left an impression in the spiritual world it died within like a mighty beast falling in a forest. As his form began to fall, his own abhorrent energy ate up what remained of his form, burning it into ash before it touched the ground. The only true thing that struck the sand below was his scythe, humming downwards till it pierced the sand at an angle, before clattering on its side. 

Jinsoku, host of hundreds of faces and the Demon of Limbo, has fallen to Senkaku the Tercera Espada.

And just like that, the world fell into silence.

Senkaku breathed deeply, the boiling fire within him slowly burning out. He closed his eyes and tilted his head up to the sky, feeling the intensity within the atmosphere fade away along with his blizzard as it was being suppressed. All of a sudden, it felt so warm. The wake of the storm had left behind a semblance of peace, with its slayer knowing that he had just brought down a very dangerous threat. Although he knew that there was still plenty of battles left within the area, his own was over. Slowly, he sheathed his sword and allowed himself to bask in the calm while he still could. If he faced another enemy like that, he needed all the peace of mind he could get.

So enraptured within his thoughts that he hadn't noticed Hermosa separate from him until her voice spoke up. "Are you all right, Senkaku?"

"I'll live." He said softly, folding his arms across his chest. His eyes, now hidden under a newly reconstructed mask, didn't open. "I'll be able to fight, but it's not like I can afford to jump into battle after battle. Still, if I am able to aid the Espada Afilado, I shall do so with haste. Izanami only knows that at least a few still need help in defeating their personal enemies..."

"Right..." Hermosa chose this opportunity to float beside him, folding her hands behind her back and "looking" down on Kōin's scythe. Her expression was bleak and solemn, carrying a bit of sadness within it. She would hold her silence for a few precious seconds before allowing herself to speak again. "It's a tragedy, isn't it?"

"Hm?" Senkaku opened his eyes and looked over to her, his mask hiding slight surprise.

"The ones under Aizen's command... I don't think there's any of them that aren't like this one was. Mentally unstable, willing to commit the worst of atrocities if it meant their pleasure or Aizen's recognition of them. I can understand why he found it so easy to pull each and every one of them under his fingers and use them against us like this. In a sense... this is starting to feel less like a battle... and more of an extermination."

"You just may be right..." Senkaku murmured, directing his gaze down to the scythe. "They are blind pests under Aizen's puppet strings. Even when he's dead, they still believe that he's going to return and claim this land for his own. It's disgusting, and all it's doing is causing us more casualties. It may not be pretty, but this is the way it has to be. Lady Selestino gave us our orders for a reason, Hermosa. If it could be any other way, I'm sure she would've told us otherwise."

Taking the silence from Hermosa with a grain of salt, he turned his attention to the horizon. "We'd better get moving. Stay right by my side, Hermosa."

"Yes, sir..."

The Angel and the Devil on Hueco Mundo's Shoulders Part II

"You seem confidant in yourself, Espada," Ariana said aloud, having heard the Arrancar's hearty declaration. Narrowing her eyes to appear like a hawk's, her body ignited in a vivid aura of electricity. Crouching down, she gripped hold of her Seelenbracher tightly as her hard stare glowed through her coat of volts, preparing for the worst. "I'll admit it, I was wrong. Being smart doesn't make you weak. In fact, it's quite the opposite. You might be the toughest enemy I could face on this desert. But still, even with all your experiments, justice will be had on your ilk!"

In a wink, she danced across the air, swinging her sword along in a trail of cerulean glow. As if she purposefully kept outside of his range while swinging the sword in a mishappen dance around their environment, sword shaped lines seemed to surround the Arrancar on all sides. With a final upward leap, she thrust her sword down, sending a double-edged bolt of lightning to strike over his head. 

Then the trap sprung. 

Just a mere dozen meters over Nicolao's head, the sword seemed to attract the cage of sword-shaped energy surrounding the Espada. A cacophony of webbed lightning spread out, striking at the Arrancar at all sides. Within a prison of villifying currents, Ariana raised her sword over her head and swing down, sending a crescent arc of cutting power mingled with high voltage Reishi. Even if the cage didn't immobolize him, she intended on her attack injuring him once again. 

If it had not been for that crucial moment where Nicolao had nabbed Ariana's Seleenbracher beforehand, he would not have been able to do the things he would do to counter her attack.

For the first set of movements, he relied on simply tracking her movements. As she moved to set up her trap, he grasped the hilt of his blade and drew it out once again. The way she was weaving to and fro wasn't a means of simple disorientation, but rather the means to set up another attack. Once again, her pragmatism was showing. Even if the words she used left a bad taste in his mouth, he couldn't help but smirk a little at her actions. "She's still trying to use my below-par combat abilities against me. In addition, she's starting to believe that there's a range to my Stage Two ability. Effective tactics... but they're not going to save her anymore. Not this time."

A dark smile came across his face, and he raised his blade in preparation while he spoke the words of his ability. "Stage Two!"

When the trap was activated, the electrical currents were redirected from his person and against the cage itself. It took only a few seconds for the prison to collapse in on itself, dissipating just in time to allow Nicolao the opportunity of seeing Ariana's second attack. He gripped his sword blade tightly, raising it over his head to allow the cutting waves to crash into it. Once again, he was enveloped in a power that caused ruin to the sands underneath his feet, creating a massive sandstorm to rise up and envelop the area. It would be a spectacular display to the one who caused it, and once it vanished, no trace of the scientist could be seen.

That is, until his voice was heard a distance behind the airborne Paladin.

"Justice? That is a funny word coming from the likes of you, little Ariana." He said, his voice smooth and almost casual as he addressed her. His sword was once again lowered at his side, and his head was tilted to the side slightly. "Tell me, what did your master say to you that made him more majestic than I and I more monstrous than he? I am not the one that damned you for trying to protect your brethren. I am not the one who marked you for death and made you a runaway fugitive. And yet, you come at me as if I was the most hated man on the planet. Can you even begin to understand just what kind of man you've subjected yourself to?" His serene gaze flashed with a hint of malevolence, a flash of fury coming within. "Can you even begin to imagine just what he's done? What he's doing to you?"

"Curb your tongue, foul creature!" Ariana reared on her heel to face her enemy, her body bristling with a brilliant fissure of electricity, "I know what he's done to the Soul Society, and to your precious Espada of Las Noches. I don't swear allegiance blindly without knowing whom my benefactor is. And still, he showed me more compassion and gave me more of a choice than any man I swore my life to before him. You may try to paint a picture of you being a warrior on the side of good...but all I see is lines painted of blood and ash, you scum sucking piece of shit!"

Raising her sword above her head, the pyre of electricty that danced around her body became a stalwart tower of voluminous shocking Reiatsu. Funneling up into the air, it swirled and danced within the starry sky of Hueco Mundo. It didn't take long before a dark funnel of storm clouds formed over Nicolao's head. Shaped like an enormous cannon with outstretched wings and a head of a Dragon, an array of blinding lights cracked out from the barrel of the electrical container, looking more like a meteor in scale of its sheer mass. 

"Donnerdrache Kanone!" Ariana uttered aloud in a deadly monotone, her eyes ebbing vibrant currents as every hair follicle that wrapped around her body like a mantle of second-skin energy. All while standing in the heart of a tower scaled pillar of lightning that funneled into the sky. 

In the instance of her words leaving her mouth, her sword swung down, causing an elliptical shockwave to sound over their heads. It would be heard long after a single searing pillar of high voltage Reishi barreled towards Nicolao. It had the ability to envelop his entire vicinity, just shy of her actual emanating pillar of rising currents. Cooked flesh, blackened bones, and boiled blood would be the most generous estimate that she could picture his state if the attack strikes him dead-on. 

And within her vision, it would appear as if it would hit dead-on.

Her power enveloped him from her vision, a blanket of electrical energy washing over the spot where he was floating. But there would be one obvious sign that he hadn't been hit by the blast. There was no scent of burning flesh, no smell of smoking skin and muscle that she would pick up even in the winds. There wasn't even the smell of burned fabric in the event that he happened to barely dodge the attack. Just like the sudden activation of the Seelenbracher's "security system", it didn't seem to be harming him - a fact which was emphasized when his leg stuck itself from the aftermath of her attack. His body followed soon afterwards, unscathed and untouched by the incredible display of power from his enemy.

"Did he really?" He pressured further, making a casual walk towards her. "Did he really give you something so generous as a choice? Or did he come to you when you were weak and vulnerable, playing onto your insecurities just to get another powerful soldier on his leash? You may be right about me being little more than "lines painted in blood and ash" or a," He gave an amused chuckle. "a "scum sucking piece of shit". But at the very least, I know the meaning of choice. But you? You seem quite content to let others do the choosing for you, to have a master you can beg for scraps to and put the blame on should things not go the way you wanted it to. It is quite the comfortable life, only needing to kill in order survive, yes?"

Then, he stopped within arms' reach of the pillar and gave a swing of his sword.

What happened next would defy everything Ariana had seen out of the Arrancar up to this point. The cutting edge of the swing would slice through the pillar that enveloped her person, carving a path straight to and through her front. Whether or not it connected would make little difference, as the pillar would be destroyed either way. But if it did, it would leave a considerable gash within Ariana's chest. It was a sudden, abnormal jump from the smart but weak status he had continuously held himself in to a very competent fighter.

The sight was enough to make Ariana's countenance freeze with shock. She had expected her enemy to dodge or erect some form of barrier in order to survive. Even project another monstrocity from his own flesh and blood seemed like a likely scenario. But wading through the light like a harmless waterfall, with none touching his form at all? There was no way he could slow down the velocity of that much power, not in the time it took to reach him. 

It was the dawning realization of what transpired when he slashed open the rift of energy her body projected, that she barely escaped severe injury. 

Launching out of the rapidly degenerating pyre of electricity, Ariana landed with a mighty crash onto the ground to her lower left, far below Nicolao's hovering form. Breathing heavily with waves of trepidation flowing under her skin, she clutched at her right side with her left hand while her right clenched her weapon tightly. A small gash had torn through her protective bodysuit's weaving, an evident sign that whatever Reiatsu had been implemented into her power was negated with absolution. 

"You altered my Seelenbracher," Ariana spoke out in a grave, accusing tone up at the Espada, "to not recognze you as a hostile, didn't you?!"

"That's... one way you can put it." Nicolao answered, his smile turning a little smug as he looked down at his foe. He allowed himself to gently float downwards to the ground to meet Ariana once more, his feet softly gracing the sands. "It was at the moment when I robbed you of that precious weapon that I managed to do it. All it took was a bit of my own blood, a smoke screen and your ever so generous help. I'm only surprised that you just managed to realize that, and yet at the same time, I'm not. After all, the way you snatched it back from me... it must mean something very special to you, doesn't it?" He placed a free hand on his cheek in a gesture of mock regret. "Oh, it almost pains me to do this to you, dear Sophia. But alas, orders are orders..."

He pointed the tip of his sword at her.

"Engaging Assimilation Protocol. Connection By Proxy Confirmed. Connection Type: Seelenbracher. Identify. Decide. Neutralize."

Those would be the words that made Ariana's world light up in an explosion of pain and electricity, as the same system that had been used in an attempt to kill Nicolao would be used against her.

Once again, control was ripped from her grasp. Put in place was the stark realization that the only thing that was down the path of loyalty to her lord and master was pain. Despair wrought her as much as the volts that had once cushioned and enveloped her in a warm, protective embrace. Such was the price paid for combatting the nefarious mind of the Espada Afilado, she assumed that it was all but completely over for her. 

But a voice within kept her from submitting.

Not yet

It was enough that the tears stopped falling down and evaporating along her cooking flesh. Eyes strained to open, head craning down from the spasmic attack of shocks that burned as much as distorted her stance. Her teeth rammed into each other, coiled with dancing tendrils that echoed around and ontop of her body. It looked like a pitch black effigy of herself, standing there, right behind Nicolao. While it smiled tauntingly, an impatient gleam of blood hued light pierced through the empty sockets, glaring at her in a disapproving way. 

Your fight isn't over

With effort, she strained her teeth to stop pounding against each other. Through will, she began to stand tall within the pain ridden prison of searing heat and shocking light. Then, through power she was able to fend off the majority of currents by emitting a wafting pulse of Reiatsu that warped the air in a spherical thrumming pulse. It indented the ground and shattered rising grains of sand in the air into oblivion. Violet tongues of Reishi dancing around her slowly shifted to black, her blonde hair lengthening and turning a shade of obsidian as it nearly touched her ankles. 

There is prey you have yet to kill

A swirl of malignant tongues wrapped around Einherjar, tainting it with its presence. The one brilliant blade of silver slowly turned into a sword of midnight steel, with the red emblem that once glowed red with the blood of Ariana now shined with Nicolao's. In a molten display of twisted power, the insignia was erased, burning away the blood of both Ariana and Nicolao to replace it with a single roman letter. That letter being simply, "A". 

YOU MUST KILL HIM!

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" Ariana's throat tore out in a blood curdling scream. Deafening the air with its monstrous quake, Ariana's eyes now shined golden and shown only elliptical pupils at their centers. Teeth seemed to bare out as if they become fangs and skin tone became pale as chalk with veins of violet protruding just underneath the surface. The wound that had cut her side seemed to heal in a sign of rapid regeneration and any sign of harm caused by the electric prison had been erased. 

In fact, the cerulean lightning had shifted from its divine hue to a charcoal color, now seeming to take an almost animalistic property to it. Spreading out in waves of forked tongues, the shimmering tendrils snapped and cracked like deranged serpents of light. With warping Reiatsu that doubled as her own unique Paladin signature and another that stemmed that of a unique breed of artificially created Hollow has revealed itself in full to Nicolao. With every thunderous pulse thrusting out of her pores like a radiating storm, violet-outlined black Reishi flickered around the menacing force of Reiatsu that seemed to choke the air with its malicious presence. 

The First and Last Test Subject of the Black Reaper Project has revealed its power before the Espada Afilado! 

All of it made Nicolao fall into shocked silence.

It wasn't the fact that once again, she had fought her way through his control once again with little more than willpower. It was the result of what came from that struggle. Gone was the power of simply the Paladin, pure and untouched. Now, the reasoning for her earlier signs of regeneration was explained. The presence he had felt before had finally arisen to the surface, having been forced to show itself in the tide of the battle. The twisted wisps of her aura caused a chill to wash over him, goosebumps forming on his bare arms. The hand that held his blade shivered slightly, almost as if he was afraid of this new awakening. The shock on his face certainly would convey that message over to her for a brief moment.

"Wh...what..."

But as he spoke his next words, it would be made clear that his feelings ran on something more disturbing - excitement.

"Wh-what has he done to you...?!"

His free hand slowly stretched out towards her as if trying to reach out for and physically touch her. The light in his eyes had vanished, his irises and pupil shrinking to a frightening visage. As his breaths became short and audible, there was a gradual volume increase in the more disturbing backdrop of the returning Hollow within his vessel. Their growls and snarls would accompany his voice as it was distorted, the presence of his "hive" body making itself known once again. "I... I must know! I will know!! I MUST... HAVE YOU!!"

Then, he threw himself at the Beast. His sword blade gleamed with his own twisted desire, illuminating as brightly as his face of gleeful insanity.

"Die," Ariana whispered, her voice dark and emotionless. 

With a single blinding flash of light, Ariana's arm swung out her sword in a cutting arc across the air in front of herself and Nicolao. In the flash of light that enveloped the Arrancar, a single lance of dark colored electricity speared through the air, bisecting the sand below with a thunderous wave of force. Forked lightning sprayed in its swift wake, breaking the ground, glassing the durable grained landscape with its searing heat. 

Any sign of its power negated over Nicolao was nullified, now more twisted and powerful than it was before. Tearing through the dunes in the horizon like a high velocity launched skyscraper, the lightning bolt's revolutions twisted across Hueco Mundo before exploding in a massive webbed blaze of distant white and black light. In the wake of the single sword strike, Ariana held her pose of striking, looking on with a vehement and predatorial gleam at her handiwork.

A singular trench of sand curved around where a single blade of light etched through the sand. The pale grains crackled with ambient energy, with tendrils snaking all over the ground that surrounded her feet. Embers of dim flames produced by the incinerative heat of the electricity thrust in the path of her sword paved the way where her attack had forged onward. It was a single move, and it was already a testament what her Hollowfied state enabled her to do. 

It was a sword clash, and Nicolao was the loser.

The glee was wiped off of his face in exchanged for shock when the counter-attack was launched. But at that point in time, he was too close in order to evade. In addition, an attempt to redirect the energy blast with his Stage Two ability was futile, as the blast was too potent and close up in order to do so. A gasp was sucked in through his teeth when he saw that his fate was inevitable, and all he could do was watch as his only defense was sliced in two. There were only two words that came to his mind when that lance came for him.

"My God..."

Then, there was nothing but a brief spark of immeasurable pain, and then blackness. He was jerked back only a short distance from where he was stopped when it ripped through his chest, nearly dismantling the foundation of his torso as it did so. As his innards were torn from his body, his mind descended into blackness once again. Even as the lance continued to tear through the sands of Hueco Mundo, he would stand there in a gait of deathly stillness. His eyes had gone white and his mouth was slightly open, with trickles of blood spilling down its corners. It flowed down with the rivers running from the gaping hole in his chest, staining the ground underneath his feet. His sword was held in his hand limply, threatening to dive into the puddle he was making. If it was anyone else, it would've been assumed that he had died standing on his feet.

But then, regeneration kicked in. The sickening sounds of meat tying itself together, bones cracking and rearranging to meet each other once again and cells moving at a superhuman rate to restore themselves could be heard alongside the respective visual effects. Like a hole being filled with water, Nicolao's fatal injury was caved in with his new flesh. Even his lost clothing was quick to regenerate itself, and within seconds, it was as if the blow had never been dealt. A blink of his eyes allowed them to regain their pupils and irises, which had kept themselves in their contracted position. His open mouth shifted itself into a grin, and he chuckled in contained elation. He gripped the hilt of his broken sword, pointing what would've been the tip downward at the ground.

"Every part of me," He breathed. "Is screaming. Every individual Hollow within this rotten vessel is screaming in confusion and fear, wondering why its brethren attacked them so ruthlessly. I always told myself that I wouldn't need to do this. But at this rate, I'm truly going to go insane." Following this statement, there would be a single pulse of his tainted energy that resonated from the metal of his shattered weapon. From his lips came the declaration of his release command, loud and clear.

"Release The Hounds, Perro Del Desierto!"

And then, his body was enveloped in a massive flame of black energy. It was like watching a wildfire come to life if one replaced intense heat with the sensations of nausea and loss of mental grip. The power released was enough to make the sands move like water, the ground ripping constantly near the area. Shockwaves would continuously resonate from the flame-like energy, slowly opening up the ground underneath its center's feet. It was a power that superceded what had been shown in his fight with Kōin, courtesy of his own body modifications. The power of each and every unfortunate soul that had resided within Nicolao's body would be felt by his enemy in full force. From that point on, it was clear that all restraints had come off.

The process only lasted several seconds. When the flames cleared, Nicolao was seen not in the form of a human, but a something akin to a cross between a dog and a small dinosaur. Its face bore a bone mask with white decorative stripes, and the majority of it was covered in a bone-like carapace. Its fingers were made up of lengthened, razor-sharp claws that looked more than capable of slicing through flesh. Its threatening visage would only be increased when Nicolao tilted his head up to the sky and let out an ear-splitting screech, the sound distorting the currents of the air. Following that would be the falling onto all fours, with the creature seemingly readying itself for a charge. Its teeth were bared at Ariana, and it let out a challenging growl towards her as it readied to begin the battle anew.

"So you finally show your true face, Beast of Hueco Mundo," Ariana spoke in her hollowed voice, her golden eyes staring impassively at the monolithic form that was more beast than humanoid. Its shrieking howl was enough to send her shocking mass of raven dyed tresses to flow back along with her cape, the Reiatsu an undeniable mass of a legion rather than a singular host. A single confrontation that would be decided, here and now, who could be the victor. 

Just how she wanted it. 

"Arm thyself with thine own ideals, for they are plates stronger than steel and iron," Ariana began to chant aloud, her sword raising over head, spiraling upward an immense column of coiling and spiraling currents that took more of a substance closer to pure darkness than light. With an aura of pale light outlining her figure at the center of the jet black lightning pillar that siphoned its way into the sky above, she continued to speak in a loud shout, "abandon morality in exchange for certainty. Compassion for vindication. Restraint for reckoning. Bringer of Justice, let your shout shake the heavens and split the Earth in two!" 

Over the course of her speech, the sky blackened, shrouding the environment in a bleak silhouette that was only broken by pale streaks of white lightning. Like an orchestra conducted by the heavens itself, thunderous thuums roared and rumbled down below that indented entire rising dunes back into the sandy wastes below. Dozens of tendrils spikes into the ground with enough force to cause a cacophony of explosions to surround their battlefield, declaring it as Ariana's domain. 

One that was proven with the evaporating of the enormous column of black lightning with her movement forward. 

In a sweeping gesture, Ariana's form streaked past Nicolao's right animal flank, her sword arcing through the air in a way that allowed a solid beam of silver light to trail over the neck and upper partitions of the beast's legs. As her body materialized in the instant it had behind the creature, she turned her heel and brandished her blade in a circular arc, resting its flat face on her shoulder. At that moment did the eruption of dark hued lightning from a sword's edge make itself known across the flesh of the abominatable beast, creating a similarly scaled rift through the desert and the creature as she had only a minute before. 

"I'll slay you a thousand times over till you turn to dust, putrid beast of Hueco Mundo," Ariana snarled as she readied her blade for her enemy's next move, "I don't care if you take the appearance of an angel or a demon. I'll smite you all the same as every Hollow I intend to before I perish!" 

Once again, Nicolao was sent to death's door.

Once again, he felt his body ripped apart under the tremendous power of the Paladin. His blood was spilled in generous amounts, and his dismembered parts would scatter across the sands as they flew alongside the grains. But it was only within seconds before his head and legs were regenerated, reforming themselves as quickly as they had been lost. This kept him from falling on his stomach like a turtle, allowing him to catch himself on his clawed feet once more. He twisted himself to face Ariana, letting out a screech of fury as he raised his claws threateningly. It was a heavy contrast to what had been seen before. The scientist, calm and composed, was seemingly replaced by little more than a monster with the desire to kill. Nothing, not even the twisted desire to ensnare Ariana as a trophy, was keeping him back anymore.

With gleaming teeth and razor-sharp claws, he lunged at his prey and started the attack. Each and every swipe caused the sands to billow violently, once again causing them to take on the properties of disturbed water. His claws carried the capability of challenging her sword, and his rapid movements challenged her own. He slashed with his fingers, he kicked at her with his feet, and he even bit at her and her blade whenever his mouth could reach her. His movements were feral and irregular, carrying the grace of an untamed animal.

It was truly a fight between two monsters, one proverbial and the other bestial. 

Where Nicolao had once been the untouchable enemy that had no perceivable weaknesses, he now unintentionally created an opening for Ariana. As this monster, he could be hurt and be injured, all while his pesky abilities that defied the realms of conventional engagement were nullified. While he was still challenging on his own, she knew that she had the advantage. 

She was used to fighting monsters by becoming a monster herself. 

Dancing in the air, her graceful and acrobatic movements lightly tapped the air to the ground as if she possessed no virtual weight. Where every stomp by the beast before her created craters and rippled the sands like a creature wading through a sea, she was gliding through the wind by becoming light itself. Leaning back and forth, she avoided the snaps of the powerful jaws, using her swordsmanship to bat away the powerful claws aiming to take her apart. 

Amidst the parrying, her body glowed brighter and brighter black electricity, gathering it naturally through their battle. Kicking off the ground, she swung her free hand across the air, projecting a blinding flash of pale crackling light. At the same time she thrust her sword towards the open maw of the monstrosity, discharging an enormous pyre of blade-shaped black lightning, aiming to cut it in half while cooking its flesh with powerful shocks that reached out and crushed the horizon's standing dunes yonder. 

Stepping back a good distance from her presumably recovering enemy, she continued the assault without mercy. Golden eyes shined malicious hatred for the vile form that stood before her. Her arm was a blur as she continued to flurry her sword forward, sending arc after arc of powerful dark bolt of energy to overwhelm and blast apart her foe. It was enough that her voice roared out in a hollowfied manner, making her fangs visible as she continued her fight. 

Visible trails of tears leaked down her face even as she fought continuously, thinking in her mind, "Don't remind me...how ugly I am, Espada! I am black to the core, tainted forever by what they did to me! My only solace is by killing you, your comrades, and every damned filthy creature in this world that I may die with some sense of holy purpose inside. When the last Hollow takes breath...I may feel redemption in my cruel heart once again!" 

She may have been thinking it within her head.

But the last thing she would expect was another voice - his voice - answering her.

"You honestly think genocide will soothe you, Paladin?"

In the moment that Ariana had first swung her sword, Nicolao had opened his mouth wipe for the blade to crash into its innards. But once it met the corners, he chomped down and slowed the blade down. But when the electric currents came again, his head was torn in two. A pained scream once again was raised from his mangled throat, his own blood catching him in a fit of strangulation. As his body flailed around to try to gain purchase, it was bombarded by the bolts of lightning swung in his direction. Although there were some that could be avoided, he could do nothing as his form was shredded again and again by her Poseidon. It seemed as if this time, death was all too real for him.

And within that second, his would-be killer would not find herself within the sands of Hueco Mundo anymore.

Within an instant, she would find herself standing within what appeared to be a void of nothingness. A light from an unknown source appeared underneath her feet, allowing her to see that she was standing on a large platform of grey. A fair distance away sat Nicolao with his arms resting on his knees and his head hung down. Shockingly enough, he would be seen not in his released form, but in his normal humanoid appearance. He appeared to be unmoving. But his voice continued to sound out from all around her, reverberating and distorted.

"Do you honestly think that killing all of us will give you some form of peace? That's the biggest joke I've heard out of you yet. You can spill as many gallons of blood as you want just as you've been doing. You can even destroy each and every one of the Espada Afilado. But there are many before you that did the exact same thing, slaughtered thousands upon thousands of enemies with little more than ideals and determination on their minds. In the end, what did it really leave them with? Did it leave them with a sense of accomplishment, or just massive piles of useless, mutilated corpses? History overlooks the broken..."

"Shut up!" Ariana bit back, having only been momentarily disoriented by the shift of environment. She didn't know how this Arrancar could form such an intricately layered mental trap, but she'd find a way out. After all, it's not like its on par with the illusions Aizen was capable of performing. 

Swinging her hand out at the astral projection, she snarled vehemently at him, "What do you know of what it means to be broken?! I gave my life in service for the safety and preservation of others before myself since I was born! I knew nothing of the comforts of life other than the comradery with my fellow Paladins and the trust I had in others. I was content with little for I didn't desire much more than I was already given. But then they had to take, and take, and take away until I was left worse than Hollow. I was poisoned!

"You foul creatures are lucky to not be born with a heart. I have to live with untold grief and despair over what's happened. It plagues me every day and it hurts more than a thousand swords plunged through my flesh. You may think it is a joke, but it is the only solace I have in bringing some form of meaning and sanity to my life. I was left broken and to be cast away like garbage because I saw no justice in what they did to me. No one but him came to my rescue. I would have died if not for him.

"If I have to take up the mantle of a monster a little while longer then I will do it for the chance of casting away this ugliness inside of me. On the other hand you will stoop to no low measure to gain an upperhand against the likes of me. I don't see you as some form of divine retribution. I killed because I was ordered and because I see it as necessary. Why do you kill, Hollow? Because it brings you pleasure? Because of hate? Before you start pointing fingers at me and my methods, you should stare at your own ugly face. It is far more decrepit than you give yourself credit for, abomination!"

A flash of static.

In that shift within her vision, there was a different scene. Instead of a sitting Nicolao, there were bodies strewn all around her feet. All of which were bloodied and mangled beyond recognition. Some were wearing Shinigami uniforms, and others were donning the attire of the Espada. The good majority of them had either a rather disgusting stench coming from their person, a multitude of flies buzzing around or both. The sight seemed to go on for miles, accompanied by Nicolao's taunting laughter before he continued to speak to her. "Oh, I'm not pointing fingers at anything, my dear. I'm just pointing fun at the fact that you think murder and destruction is going to reward you with peace of mind. Look at everything around you... take it deeply through your mind... drink in that lovely scent. Can you do that, and tell me that it soothes your soul, just like that? Do you know what else kind of person can do that?"

The setting abruptly switched to the grey platform area again, this time with a standing Nicolao rather than a sitting one. He slowly began to approach her, making appropriate hand gestures to aid his word meanings. "A psychopath. A maniac. To that end, we are not so different. Like you, I am ordered to be here and kill you. Like you, I find it necessary that you are dealt with for the sake of my master. But unlike you, I do not bother to hide my...darker... tendencies?... behind some glass mask of of a victim. I do not try to rationalize it all away. You know what I hear each time you call me and my kind a monster? I hear nothing but an excuse to cover up the fact that maybe, just maybe, you enjoy killing. How can anyone not come to that conclusion after seeing you flash that darkened smile at your enemies? How could I not come to that conclusion the first time you tried to "instill despair" within me?"

At this point, he was almost within arms' reach of her.

"You have gone so far down the spiral, Ariana, that even imagining the light would be a difficult task. You've struggled too much in the quicksand, and now you're six feet under. Can't you see it? For the likes of you..." His last hand gesture was a crossing of the wrists, followed by a slow outward parting of the hands. "There is no hope. Not even if you dropped your sword and walked away."

It was then that everything seemed to blend into a confusing maelstrom of logic and emotions inside Ariana's head. The more the Arrancar talked, the more she saw not the monster she wanted to slay but her own identity reaching out to choke her. The haunting past had never left her, even after she swore service to Aizen. It stood right in front of her, arm outstretched, pointing in mockery of how she could never be free of her own darkness. 

"No! Stop! It's a lie!" Ariana dropped her sword and raised her hands to cup her ears as she fell to her knees. "shut up! We're nothing alike! I'M NOTHING LIKE YOU SO STOP JUDGING ME!" 

Cradling herslef into a ball as dozens of images of herself stared and glared down at her, she felt herself cower in the face of hideous creatures that bore her own skin glare at her. The darkness that poisoned her soul was now taking its course. The spiral had led to the end and now she was facing it in full. 

She had lost.

That was when the taunting tone of Nicolao was replaced by a less hostile one.

"Ah, shhh, shhh, shhh...." The images of her were all quick to dissipate under the will of the scientist, who waved them all off in exchange for a single image of himself. He knelt down, reaching over and gently stroking her blonde locks. "It's all right, dear. Don't cry. Everything's going to be okay, you hear me? Ever since you were betrayed, you've been nothing but pieces barely holding themselves together. Some got lost along the way, and you became the shattered victim you are now. It may be too late for you to gain redemption... but it is not too late to become whole. Come on, get up, my dear..."

Grasping her by the arm, Nicolao pulled her up to her feet and, using her emotionally weakened state to his advantage, allowed her to fall into a hug. Her head would fall onto her shoulder, allowing her the dignity of crying into someone's shoulder - even if it happened to be the shoulder of her enemy. "You see, being this far down the spiral isn't entirely all bad. Once you understand your place, grow to adapt and become comfortable in this pit of beasts... it'll be only a matter of time before you really start to feel that fire burn within you again. I may have won you... but I am not a stereotypical slave driver." His fingers continued to stroke Ariana's hair, almost in a soothing and comforting manner. "I am good to each and every one of my possessions. As long as I have my mind, you will never suffer."

He closed his eyes, allowing his stroking hand to move to join his other arm around her back in his hug.

"So welcome. Welcome home, sister of war."

A Battle of Gods, Usurper vs Royalty Part II

It looked like a hopeless situation for the Defiler. 

Despite his best efforts, he was being pushed back by the full powered founders of Hollowity. The first Arrancars, fully evolved and now in their truest state of beings were wrecking all forms of agony from hsi being. Ripped apart, bludgeoned, set ablaze and cut down to size, Jin's previously impressive feats were now being overwhelmed by the two. Jinete and Nohemi were proving to be the epitomes of power and unstoppable force. 

"This can't...be...happening!" Kugyō gasped out as copious amount of blood oozed from slowly regenerating wounds, the rest of his exposed flesh caked in sweat and endowed with bruises. Raising his eyes to look through grime matted bangs, he held his parallel-dual bladed katana in his right hand while his left hand swirled with a sphere of deteriorating Shinsei. 

Standing gallant and unmmovable was Jinete, his Hollowfied state looking both regal and horrifying. His eyes brimmed with contempt and superiority in his eyes, his power unquestionably ripping him asunder from afar and up close. He backed up his wife when he wasn't rapidly closing the distance with his own strikes.

Standing close by was Nohemi herself. Her more humanoid beautiful frame was swirling with a bright Reiatsu, giving her a contrastingly holy aura about her. It was the striking difference between Jinete that he could tell from a mere glance. Yet both of their Reiatsu still felt more vast than a deep, dark sea and they both felt identical in nature. Was this true Hollow power?

"Don't you think it's about time we end this farce, Jin?" Jinete asked from the wide distance they held, his voice echoing across the sand as his glowing pupilless orbs narrowed at him, "surrender and your passing will be painless."

"Fuck you!" Kugyō snarled out loud, his body blazing a brilliant decaying flame, crumbling the pale sands underneath his feet as he stood defiantly before them. "I will become God! No one will stop me from achieving my destiny! All those fools who think Aizen will return will find themselves trembling before me when my true essence ascends and takes hold of its undeniable fate! The wrath of the strongest Hankami will be bend all to his will, and not even you two can stop me!" 

"You can't even stop us from hurting you as much as we have." Nohemi said coldly, her eyes casting a chilly glare on the half-god. Her arms were folded across her chest, her cape concealing the flanks of her body. "Give it up, Kugyō. You don't hold the disposition of either a god or a soldier. You're little more than a spoiled child trying to take the reigns of his parents' legacy one hundred years too early. You don't even deserve to share the same graveyard as my brothers and sisters here." She lifted a hand, pointing a condemning finger at him and coating her next words with considerable venom. "Just go. Drop your weapon and leave. Each drop of blood spilled from you just shames the bosom of Hueco Mundo even more."

"Not a chance!" Kugyō snarled out, taking a step forward before propelling himself at Nohemi. Thrusting his arm out, a monolithic projection of corroding energy swarmed around her vicinity, intending on crushing her within. The ground eroded and crumbled, becoming as brittle as dehabilitated glass. With a black-violet blast of Shinsei echoing the landscape, the Hankami turned on his heel to swing his sword at Jinete, extending a large dual-bladed pillar of light at him. 

"RAAAAAAH!" Kugyō shouted with his back at the blaze of corroding Shinsei that worked its way to devouring Nohemi within its clutches. The blades distended the sand it passed over, moving to catch the Centaur Hollow right at his side. It was only within an eyeblink that his dark visage disappeared, reappearing beside him with a organic lance ramming into the side of his head. 

"You never learn, do you?" Jinete muttered darkly before fully thrusting his arm forth, sending the skull skewered Hankami spiraling across the landscape with a skipping somersault gesture.

His misery would only increase once Nohemi came out of her own evasive maneuvers.

A Sonido allowed her to get behind the skipping stone that was her enemy's form. Her palms swung, catching the sides of his head with her palms. The momentum caused her feet to skid through the sands as she caught him. Once she was within his possession, her hands started flashing with pulses of light. A reversing shockwave, thin and white in visibility, closed in around her wrists. In the brief period that would pass, an immense energy build up would be felt. It grew to a crescendo, where in the briefest of moments, Kugyō would feel as if a plastic bag had been tightened over his head. Then, all of it would be released in another violent explosion of purifying light. The sands were vaporized under the effects of he energy, leaving a gaping hole that led down into the depths of the Menos Forest.

Nohemi gave no ground against it, even as her hair and cape whipped violently in the winds. She glared with featureless, glowing eyes at the release of energy as it expanded in front of her, a disdaining scowl on her face. It wasn't just out of the burning anger she had towards the Hankami. It was the fact that she had to resort to such brutal methods in order to engage her adversary. But it had been clear from his first "defeat" that his regeneration was at an extreme level. He could pull himself back from any wound and not even feel pain from it, if he simply wasn't choosing to not care about it. If they wanted to beat him, they would have to destroy him completely.

She didn't like it. But she had no choice. She could afford to give no quarter here, not with so much on the line.

It was within the middle of space that something remained among the bright incinerative light. Not flesh, bone or linen. No, a single glistening gem that sprayed out colors of every spectrum conceivable. It had resisted the attack that Nohemi had poured forth whereas the body that had been holding onto it was reduced to less than dust. Hanging in the middle of the air it seemed to resemble a particular artifact used by Sōsuke Aizen long before his transcendance into the realm of deities. 

The Hōgyoku. 

"Miiiiiiiine!" A guttural hiss emanated from a bubbling mass rising up from decayed sand behind Nohemi. From whence his blood spilled onto the ground animated a new body of Kugyō, writhing in an aura of black Shinsei that seemed to swirl around every iota of his being. Eyes glowed red and teeth gnashed forward, a sword shook in hand while his free hand clawed the air beside him sporadically. Fully restored in a matter of seconds, the Hankami was reborn and apparently ready to fight more. 

"His blood," Jinete murmured to himself, looking up at his lance at the dark smoldering splotches enamored on his organic weapon. Lighting it aflame with a dark Reishi fire, it sizzled briefly before completely evaporating into harmless vapor. Looking over to Nohemi, he called out to her, "Nohemi! It's his blood! Wherever blood is spilled he can regenerate from!" 

During this moment of reprieve, Kugyō rushed forth in a brilliant blur of superhuman speed. Whirling around Nohemi's person, he skid across the air to face her and the distant Jinete with the god marble in his hand. A sinister cackle worked its way out of his mouth, teeth spread and a hideous grin projecting towards them all. 

"Fools. It doesn't matter how many times I die or dealt injury to. I'll come back every time like a virus, ready to claim your life and tear down this lofty kingdom you set into motion eons ago!" He crowed out, swinging his blade to the side while holding up the jewel in his grip, swinging it in a mocking jeer, "Lord Aizen gifted me this power, a power that shall awaken in the final hour of his existence. He promised me the power to transcend this putrid form and become a being that surpasses him all of its own! Any moment you'll begin to see my transformation and know true despair at my hands!"

"!"

For the first time in the fight, Nohemi's eyes widened in genuine shock.

The only thing she could do was raise her arms up in front of her chest when the reformed Kugyō had rushed past her. In that moment of sudden speed, she had not been able to simply turn around and halt his advance. In that moment, his speed had overwhelmed her senses to the point that he had really become little more than a blur even to her own supernatural perception. In addition to what she had seen within the light of purification, she couldn't help but feel a bit of apprehension crawl up within her. Was he growing stronger with each and every "death" they were giving him? Were their efforts simply making him much more of a threat to him?

There was a disturbing implication that in the time Kugyō used to whirl past her, he could've easily ripped through her spine and dealt a killing blow right then and there.

Quickly, she used a Sonido to re-appear right beside her husband. Her glowing eyes regarded their mutual enemy with trepidation, but her voice was directed towards her ally. "Did you see it?" She questioned. "Within my light, I saw something that resembled what Aizen himself had been using in the Winter War. The Hōgyoku, I believe it was called."

"Yes," Jinete growled, gripping his lance with apprehension as his glowing eyes narrowed at their enemy, "this just makes things even more complicated. If his soul bonds with that gem he'll be nearly as immortal as Aizen was. That's the last thing we need in a war like this!" 

During which Jinete spoke, something happened across the gap between them and the hollowed out space that drilled into the Menos Forest below. An ominous thrum of overwhelming Reiatsu began to pulse rhythmically, sending shockwaves in the shape of a balloon in all directions. Overlapping the sand and striking the earth kilometers below their feet, the pressure slowly rose, climbing upwards steadily as a brilliant dazzling light began to emit from the jewel within Kugyō's grip. 

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! YES! IT'S HAPPENING! MY GODHOOD IS AT HAND!" The Defiler shrieked with devilish laughter as he opened his palm, watching white substance ooze from the gem, overlapping his hand, working its way up towards his shoulder. It was when it began to wrap around his chest that the hue of the gem changed and the nature of its product was revealed. The pale amorphous surface that began cocooning itself around him changed from a pure white to a pitch onyx, creating crimson veins to snake up his visible flesh and cause his mouth to open with horrorfied pain. 

"No! N-N-N-No! This isn't right?! What is happening?! What treachery is this, Aiz-NGH?!" Kugyō sputtered out, finding his throat sealed off as black ooze poured out of his throat and wrapped around his skull. In no time at all, an enormous black crystal had formed, taking up the entirety of Kugyō's body and now equalizing the pressure that had steadily grown over time. Wafts of white flames came from the dark substance as it settled in the middle of the air, unmoving and in a form of stasis. 

"What...just happened?!" Jinete murmured out incredulously with horror at what he witnessed. 

He would get no answer from the equally shocked Nohemi.

When all of it was said and done, she was left with her stance broken, her eyes widened and her mouth agape. One moment, it looked like they would have to deal with something much stronger than they had before. But in the next, he had committed some sort of unwanted suicide - at least, that's what she could decipher from his last words. Now, what was left behind was some form of crystal was formed. It was the most unorthodox of deaths she had seen out of this war so far, if she could safely call it that. But now, what would happen? Was that really the end of their struggle? Could they really leave the fight without consequence.

"I..." She muttered, a hand clasping onto her temples. "I don't..."

Within the large gem, fissures of white light began to web across, shattering its surface. A whirlwind of pressure siphoned around its vicinity, pouring sand into the hole that was made by the attack Nohemi used against Kugyō mere minutes ago. By the time it had filled up, cracks seemed to enamor the entirety of the black crystal that spewed white light from the openings in its surface. A magnanimous power slowly revealed itself as it finally shattered like a gong to glass, revealing an all-too familiar figure within. 

A glowing aura of silver Reiatsu flowed over the black silken entity that appeared. Long brown longs flowed over his shoulders while a pair of bi-colored eyes opened to stare at the pair of ancient Arrancars. Smiling as he chuckled smoothly the man waved his hands in each direction with a sign of relief and wonderment in the miracle that occurred. Gripping them experimentally, it took only a few moments to touch the black Hōgyoku embedded in the upper half of his chest, knowing it resided there as it had before. 

Looking up, Sōsuke Aizen spoke aloud with a smile, "Greetings, Nohemi de la Cruz and Jinete La Muerte. So nice of you to be the first to bear witness to my rebirth. I trust my precious sacrifice didn't give you too much of a terrible time?"

Simultaneously, doors were opened as soon as more locked ones appeared.

The shock faded away to simple surprise once she saw him. Her fingers slowly slid down her face, and her arm dropped back down to his side to rest within the folds of her cape. The wind billowed softly on her, emphasizing the nature of his presence. Despite everything Casilda, Starrk and Tome had thrown at him, he had found some way to keep himself alive. No, not just any way - he had used his own subordinate as a vessel to revive himself. She couldn't say that she was very appalled by it - considering the victim had been a depraved maniac Hankami, she couldn't exactly hold sympathy. But she could hold trepidation - despite the distance the battles were from each other, she knew that each and every combatant involved could sense his presence. Just what Casilda was thinking, now that the monster she had worked so hard to destroy came back just like that?

She would have to worry about it later. Right now, she had a new issue to address.

She took in a deep breath, looking upon his form with what seemed like a polite and mild-mannered attitude. Her cape wrapped around her form even more, completing her nearly docile look. "He wasn't anything that we couldn't overcome, though I'm personally surprised he held out as long as he did putting himself back together so many times. Likewise, I am surprised to see that despite everything, you are still calm and composed as ever. It is good to see you again, Sōsuke Aizen."

"Yes, it is good to see the one who imposed his will over our homeland," Jinete said with a guttural tone, his arm clenching tightly against his flesh-ridden lance. 

"Now-Now, no need to be so hostile...or so formal," Sōsuke regarded them both in a calm tone, his smile ever-present on his face. Walking forward across the air towards the pair, his mane and cloak flourished behind him as he approached, "I did tell your daughter, hadn't I? I'll come back and claim what is rightfully mine. This whole world is already in my clutches. It has yet to bow to me like proper subserviant creatures. You two would be wise and be the first to fall to your knees. If you're polite enough, I'll spare this dimension and its inhabitants."

Stopping but a handful of meters in front of them, he spread a grin as his right white eye glistened like a gem over a sea of black while the left twinkled with superiority and a commanding authority. He didn't need to flex his muscles or raise his Reiatsu to show his dominance over the oldest and most powerful Arrancars of their world. It was already planned out from the beginning, ever since he approached the Four Horsemen and recruited the Sennin Butai. 

Everything had gone according to plan.

It was a very bad situation to be in.

When she met the eyes of her enemy, her own flickered with slight trepidation. On the outside, it looked as if the opportunity to take him down presented itself right there and then. But if she looked at the situation with the eyes of a thinker, she would know better. There was the first obvious fact that the man wouldn't just waltz right out of limbo just to get shoved right back into it. Either he had somehow grown much more powerful than before his "death", or there was yet another backup plan waiting to be unleashed in the event that he was killed here. By the time either of them figured anything out would be the moment it would be too late to do anything. As per the usual demand, he was three steps ahead of them. But even discounting that, there was the matter of the Hōgyoku he wielded. As long as he held the will to live, it was impossible for him to die.

Even if he was the weakest fighter in the world, there was no way in Hell they were going to defeat him.

A shiver of emotion ran through her. It wasn't out of the fact that she and her husband were up against insurmountable odds, but the fact that Casilda's stressed mind would not be able to handle the idea of the very monster she had believably sacrificed a part of her companion's soul to destroy had returned, whole and powerful. But to what extent? Would she keep fighting with that heavy heart, or would she drop her sword and fall to her knees, unable to bring herself to fight anymore?

"I... thought I was so close to ending it all. All of those innocent Arrancar, rounded up and sentenced to a slow, painful execution... settlements in Hueco Mundo being burned down to the ground... if I could kill him, I would be one step closer to liberating Hueco Mundo again... all I did was get my hopes up! God... damn it!"

By the sounds of those particular words, it seemed as if she was leaning towards the latter.

After squeezing her eyelids, she opened them back up to expose a glare of defiance back at Sōsuke. "And you expect us to take you for your word?" She asked with a hint of incredulity, not giving him a chance to respond. "If what you just demonstrated was a part of how you handle your more "subservient creatures", I want no part of it. It will be just as I said before to the Defiler." Her eyes slowly narrowed to a hawk's glare, and her tone was the equivalent of a stone wall. "As long as I am standing, so will those under me. You want me to bow? You will have to force my face down right into these sands before I even consider such a thing."

"You should know better, Aizen," Jinete said as he brandished what looked like a pair of organic blades in either of his hands, his eyes brimming with embers of crimson light as he glared visibly at his enemy, "crossing us is like angering Hueco Mundo itself. Pain won't even describe the torment we'll put you through for threatening our homeland, let alone getting the likes of us to bow to you. Centuries ago you wouldn't have dared to stand up to us, and now because you're a god you think you can just put anyone you like in their place? Think again, cretin!" 

"What a waste," Sōsuke said with a sigh as he raised a hand, open palmed, stretched out towards the two of them. An orb of golden light rotated and glistened in between his fingers. Crackling with intensity, it was clearly an attack he meant to wipe out someone of their level in a single blow. "I wanted to avoid leave catastrophic damage to this nostalgic land of yours. Sadly, you leave me no other choice. Farewell.~"

Just before the mass of energy could be unleashed, the sound of metal ripping through flesh could be heard as well as seen. A trio of blades pierced forth from Aizen's chest, with its center being a few hairs underneath the pulsating orb segmented into his chest. As blood oozed from the triad of metal edges, the god looked over with a scrutinizing look at the source of the attack. 

Sure enough, as if light was being peeled away, a leathern hand was holding onto a trident that pierced his back through his chest. Donning more colorful robes, the Horseman Yashin Shiyōnin appeared with a smooth and confidant smile. The crimson eye reflected a kanji symbolizing 'Banshee' before transferring one to 'Deity,' at the end. 

"Thank you for lowering your guard, Lord Aizen," Yashin said with a cruel grin, his tone sarcastic as he kept a strong grip on the lance that pierced his body. 

"Yashin Shiyōnin. What do you think you're doing?" Sōsuke asked, knowing precisely who he was and his disposition within the Inner Circle. It hardly surprised him to be wearing the trappings of a Horseman, given what the state of his superiors were like. But to see him here, attacking from behind now of all times, wasn't something he expected. 

"Taking what I want for a change," Yashin his smile disappearing to a more stoic, impassive thin-lipped expression, "that is, if these Arrancars have no problem for what I am about to do."

The shock level had just went up again.

Nohemi's pupils and irises contracted when she saw the trident spear itself through Aizen's back, and even more so when they caught just who did it. She had only heard his name through passing, when Casilda informed her briefly about it during the week they had stayed in Soul Society. She had described him as one of the enemy, a peculiar kind of monster that had, despite everything to blur the line between him and Sōsuke, had left with a bizarre manner of mirth. Now here he was, inflicting injury to the one who had an inch from killing both her and Jinete. It was less of surprise when the Inner Circle had been betrayed by both Aizen and Yhwach. Nonetheless, his appearance was jarring and certainly far from expected.

But despite her awe, she managed to voice out her response question. "And just what would that be?" She asked, her eyebrows furrowed as she stared inquisitively at the interloper.

"Yes, what would that be?" Jinete asked while Aizen simply looked over his shoulder with an irritated glare. 

"Simple, really," Yashin said with a shrug, before finishing with a close lean to Aizen's ear. Whispering loud enough to be seen by the pair of Arrancars in from of them, he hissed with a sinister grin spread across his face. It was something that even caused Aizen's face to pale at the thought, "I'm taking your body." 

"You're insane," Sōsuke responded sharply, trying to rid himself of the strangely paralyzing weapon holding him in place, "there isn't a being alive that can do that sort of thing. Not even the Hankami are capable of such a feat. And I used one to rebirth me. What can someone like you do?"

"Don't you know? I'm the son of Izanagi, having lived since time immemorial for over six lifetimes. The seventh cycle begins now, with your complete assimilation and my rise as a true god!" Yashin declared with a gleeful laugh, already forming what looked like blood red runes in the middle of the air. Muttering some language long since forgotten, letters of a dead culture began to be etched over Aizen, crawling over his body like ants till they swarmed over him. As Aizen tried to move further, he chuckled and shook his head in a chiding manner, "it's too late. The very same spell that restricted the Punisher all those years ago by mere subordinates of a Demon has been perfected by me. Not even you can easily be rid of this spell...which will vanish long after I've had my way with you!" 

"Bastard! Do you know whom you're speaking to?!" Sōsuke snarled, writhing and struggling in place as the ceremony continued. 

It was a nightmare getting ready to take place.

The female Arrancar could only look on as she watched the tattoos envelop Aizen's form, restricting him to Yashin's will. It was a sight that she never would've guessed would happen, and yet here it was. The god was being reigned in seemingly by the subordinate, in a manner of a king gaining checkmate. On one hand,it was nothing short of horrifying. To have one's will and individuality swallowed whole by another as part of some twisted collection was disturbing even for her. Yet at the same time, she couldn't help but feel a sense of karma. If the monster could not be killed, then the only fate they could give him would be imprisonment eternal. It was a grisly sentence. But what else could they give an immortal enemy? Any quarter given could mean life or death absolute.

So with closed eyes and a silent mouth, she turned her head away from the scene in grim resignation.

With Jinete staring ahead impassively, Yashin could tell that neither of the Arrancars were eager to intervene. It didn't help that Sōsuke had let his ramshackled army run wreckloose across Hueco Mundo, slaughtering and burning everything in their path. His past history with the Espada didn't ease their memories of him either. No, it was quite clear that no one would come to his aid, not with him being so close to his goal. 

"Shidai," Yashin called out.

From behind the pair of Arrancars emerged another figure, manifesting out from their very shadows. Draped in dark blue robes that cloaked him nearly to the same degree that Yashin was, he smiled in a similar eerie manner that his compatriot did. Barring the italic tattoo over his right eye, an identical crimson kanji pupil lit within a black sclera for his left eye, reading 'Heaven' at the same time as his partner. Walking past them with his left gloved hand pocketed into his coat, Shidai approached the livid Aizen, reaching out his hand to place it over the middle blade piercing his chest. 

"It's time to become one again, is it?" Shidai asked in a cool tone, uninhibited by the middle spike piercing through the back of his hand, allowing blood to drip down his hand. 

"Not just that. To transcend our prior existence into a glorious being," Yashin said back with a soft laugh. 

"I'm so excited that I can't help but tremble. If this doesn't work-"

"It will work," Yashin murmured back with reassurance. 

"UNHAND ME YOU INSUFFERABLE WRETCHES!" Sōsuke roared out, his body projecting an enormous shockwave of sheer force to knock them back. While stumbling back, both kept themselves anchored to his person, even as beads of sweat crawled down their foreheads. Seeing the binding spell's letters start to fade on his body, the two locked eyes with each other they knew now was the time. 

"Inanis et superextendam Revertimini a novo. Offeres hostias, et renasci. Obstupescite Petrify, restringunt. Extra mundum existere ullam. Sumus ego et tu unum. Absolutio!" The chanted aloud, their voices soon creating an ambience like thunder. Light began to vanish from the environment as their light was the only thing being magnified. A pair of violet-blue pyres engulfing a bright nova of white, soon creating a ball of rolling deep crimson. Pulses of energy radiated the dimension like heartbeats, flowing outwards in continuous shockwaves that continued to shake the land for as far as the eye can see. Soon the maelstrom of energy dimmed, quietly shrinking until nothing but a dim aura of embers surrounded an entirely new figure. 

"Finally, I am whole," He breathed out, his figure becoming visible before the pair of Arrancars. Dark blue tresses flowing over his back like a cape, his body now cloaked in a black hooded coat, with similar Horseman colors in the form of a red-black tunic underneath his coat's buttoned up visage. A pair of indigo eyes peered out from a greyish-light blue skinned face, retaining an appearance that is similar to both Shidai and Yashin but entirely new and separate. In his right hand, instead of a scythe, was a large scythe with a pole handle as black as night and a blade as bright as fire. 

Raising the scythe to rest the back of the bladed partition on his shoulder, the new being breathed out calmly. Looking at the pair his expression showed total contentment. If anything, he looked quite pleased with himself. 

"How do I look?" He asked the pair with a perfect tooth-ridden grin, waving his left hand in a dramatic fashion at himself. 

"To be perfectly honest...I don't know what to say," Jinete muttered aloud agape, unbelieving of what he just witnessed. Not only was the most powerful being to exist in their lifetime had just been assimilated but an entirely new being was born in his place. A combination of fusion and possession wrapped up into the rebirth of old souls into an entirely new one. "your transformation has left me speechless..."

As soon as Nohemi lowered her arm and her eyes weren't in danger of being blinded, her face conveyed nonetheless the same attitude about Yashin's transformation.

The power that she felt was tremendous. For one of the few times in her life, she had laid eyes on a being that rivaled her as well as Jinete. It was all the more reason to be wary; after all, this was an enemy they were dealing with - or at least a former one. Although one monster had been dealt with, another had simply taken its place. Because of its actions, she wasn't sure as to what side it would be on. Now that he had what he wanted, what would happen here?

"That much to take in? It's alright. Probably best you don't make any hasty judgements. After all, don't judge books by their cover, right?" Yashin spoke in an understanding tone, gesturing off-handedly with his left hand as he turned to his right and began walking away from the sand-filled pit. 

"But I must ask one thing, Yashin," Jinete spoke in a solemn tone. 

"Hm?" Yashin stopped partway, looking over his shoulder at the age-old Arrancar. 

"What are your intentions now? The only reason we've come here is the purge the sickness that is the Sennin Butai's presence in our homeland. Driving them out, crushing them or capturing them was our main priority. Had their Leader actually reappeared as some believed we would have done the same to him if it was within our power. But, now that he's no more...what should we make of you?" Jinete asked in a stern voice, his hands gripping the two blades of organic flesh in either hand as his burning eyes glared at Yashin expectantly. 

"How wise of you to ask," Yashin said with a smile, turning around to face the pair once again, his gaze meeting Nohemi's before looking to the taller form that was beside her. Raising a hand up to scratch the back of his head, he smiled a bit nervously. When he spoke, the reason for his apprehension was made clear, "in all honesty, I didn't plan that far ahead. I was so fixated in finding some means of returning to my whole state that I didn't think of what came next. Any body was better than the last so I've collected a Legion of hosts for me to utilize. It was sheer luck that I followed you here and that Aizen managed to manifest during your battle. I haven't really decided what my aims should be next so sorry if you were expecting something more grandiose from the likes of me."

Nohemi only remained silent for a moment longer.

When that time was up, she took a few steps forward until her form was a bit out of arms' reach from her husband. Her expression shifted, moving from incredulity to scrutiny as she eyed the man. Inwardly, she couldn't help but find a little humor within his sudden expression of awkwardness. considering the ruthlessness he had displayed just moments ago. But she was more concerned about just what he had done. He may have been an anomaly. But his actions may have ultimately saved them both as well as the rest of Hueco Mundo from being assimilated or destroyed by the monster's power. He just may have turned the tide in the Espada Afilado's favor.

So with what would be a demonstration of considerable humility, she lowered herself, placed one leg in front of the other and bent her knees in a curtsy. "I may not be sure as to what to make of this," She said softly, her eyes closing underneath her bangs. "But had it not been for this coincidental event, we may have been dealt a great deal of misery and heartache than bearable. Thank you."

Smiling sincerely, he waved at her with acknowledgement, "I know how much trouble he caused this world and the others. I'm just happy that I at least was able to bring smiles to a handful rather than reaping on others' misfortune. It's...nice to be on the winning side when there are positive affects for those around it. With that said, I'll be taking my-"

It was during this moment that a swift silhouette approached Yashin's posterior. With blade in hand, it swung dow towards his head. The target's eyes widened just a split second before an eruption of blue and violet light was created in the clash that followed. With a concussive force that sent a considerable amount of power fluctuating throughout the desert, the answer of what transpired would be made clear...

...and those viewing it would share mutual shock. 

"Wait," Jinete began to speak, almost recoiling at what he saw, "aren't you-?!" 

Heart to Heart, The Darkness Consumes II

Jigen found almost impossible to believe. 

Casilda was fighting on par with him evenly even after he had drawn five of the Ten Swords of Sin. Intermediately sheathing one after another to perform wicked combos of devastating proportion, the perspectively young Arrancar was able to match and exceed his expectations throughout their engagement. Even as the land was reshaped, distilled, set aflame or cooled to a sub-zero temperature, everything remained eerily the same since the start of their engagement. 

With his weapons once again sheathed on his person, he regarded her with morbid fascination and somber pride. He had trained her well, and it was beginning to show in their fight. This was what he wanted, after all. Their battle was his penance for allying with the man that is Aizen and placing his completely utter faith in him. If he was right, then she'd die by his hand and he'd mourn at his own indecision of reuniting with his pupil. If he died, then he knew he was in the wrong and only grieve at not being able to see the answer clearly before swearing his alleigaince to him. 

Either way, it didn't matter. 

Wiping away the blood from a stray cut she made on his left cheek, he could only marvel at how long it had been since someone made him bleed. While his own damage he inflicted upon her was superficial, the fact she could even touch him was a miracle in of itself. Lowering his hands beside his sheathed swords, he reengaged his guard wordlessly as his eyes met hers from the distance that separated them. 

"One way or another, Casilda, it ends today!" 

A step forward, and Casilda was within the traditional fighter's distance.

Her katana was at her side, lowered but ready to be raised and clash against her target once more if she commanded it. She regarded him with a piercing gaze, standing firm even as the sting of her own wounds awakened courtesy of the residue winds that blew. Like his, her injuries were minor at best. The worst she suffered was a shallow cut near her jugular as well as scuff marks on both skin and clothing; otherwise, she was still in fighting form. She remained still for a moment, silent as Hueco Mundo itself as she regarded her former mentor for a moment more. Then, she took in a deep breath and mentally prepared herself.

Then, she abruptly bent her legs, sheathed her sword into its scabbard for an iaido strike, and threw herself at him with a Sonido boosted leap. Her form appeared in front of him at the same time she unsheathed her blade for the swing.

What came forth was a demonstration of supernatural kinetic power and energy control. The force she generated from the attack was enough to create a brief sphere of howling light, causing the sands to get pushed away in the form of rippling waves. If the direct attack wasn't enough to get him, then the explosive release of power would probably compensate. If he found a way to block or counter it and maintain position, she would slide off to his side and point a finger of her free hand at his side. The orb of a Destruction-imbued Cero would form at the tip, followed by its violent expansion into its trademark beam as it was shot out. Like before, it would carve out its own destruction amongst the battlefield and leave yet another chronic scar on Hueco Mundo's face.

"Sword of Envy," Jigen began to murmur, unsheathing one of the swords on his left with his right hand. A bright cyan light reflected off its light as the shine of her strike began to bounce into its frame. As radical as the sphere of destructive force and Reishi was, it was siphoned into the metal frame of the weapon, vanishing upon contact. When she appeared beside his left, he withdrew a sword on his left backside, unsheathing it in a fluid motion. 

"Sword of Pride," Jigen gutturally growled out, causing the blade to adopt a violet hue, shrieking with such intensity that the Destruction-attributed Cero was cleaved at the source. Parting like a wave of water before a undeniable cutting force, the sand was vaporized by his flanks for dozens of meters down below before the trails of Reishi detonated magnanimously behind him. As orange columns of fire rose up in twisting vents of sheer pressure into the heavens, sending buffeting wind currents to lapse over Jigen and Casilda's bodies. 

Using Envy, he unleashed a unquantified amount of power combined with his own and hers. Together with Pride, the two created an X formed cross of eviscerating force that carved a great distance of sandy wastes. Even as the attacks petered out into the distance, sending thunderous shockwaves to sound for miles in that direction, he began to push the offensive. Swinging Pride around with powerful strokes that distorted the fabric of space with every cut, he withheld Envy in case she'd launch another attack, keeping it for a counteroffensive or defensive purpose. 

"My cause is Just when it boils down to its roots," Jigen began to speak, his eyes sharply guided to meet her gaze as he continued to attack in their dance of death and steel, "I want a world where I won't feel sadness, isolation, or be drowned in conflict. It's a world that would benefit your race as well as every dimension. The only difference between us is that I have to sacrifice our past we shared and spill enough blood to make it happen. Such as the way things has been for ages but for once it won't be in vain. Once Aizen is reborn the world can be renewed in a better form than what you see around you. Doesn't it sicken you to keep living in such a faux peace? Don't tell me you're satisfied with simple idleness and wish for a truly ideal utopia?!" 

This time, Casilda's counter-attack didn't require flashy techniques.

With the hand that had been pointed to fire the Cero, she reached out to catch the wrist that wielded Pride while jumping out of his direct path. In doing so, she was only inches away from getting directly hit with the power that he unleashed. She didn't have time to sweat, though, releasing him and raising her sword in time to clash with his own. She allowed herself to back-pedal, gritting her teeth as she parried and blocked the blows in her direction. But her discipline was such that she was able to listen to him even in the fast-paced swordplay. Once again, his words were a reminder of just how much more reason he had to fight her in comparison to the more sociopathic members of the Sennin Butai.

But it did not give her the reason to relent.

"Of course not!" She fired back. "But is this supposed to be your answer to all of it?! Relying on the very one who subjugated our race as little more than his pawns in order to make that so-called "paradise" for you?! Doesn't the fact that he's willing to burn down an entire civilization just to accomplish his goals mean anything to you?! Look around you, Jigen! The ones you're working beside are nothing more than maniacs with big guns! The people that he's targeting are suffering, wondering just why his atrocities had to happen to them! Even if he does create this "perfect world", just how long is it going to last?! He doesn't want a utopia. He'd rather see the world burn if it means getting what he wants!"

Then, a swing towards the face.

Opening her mouth, she allowed the cutting edge to meet it and slammed her teeth down to intercept it before it could slice off three fourths of her head. A free hand once again grasped its wrist, and she opened her mouth quickly to push the offending hand upwards. She ducked under his guard, moving his close and increasing the difficulty for him to use his other sword. For her final piece to the movement, she delivered a backhand swing to the stomach while uttering one word. "Emptiness!"

In the event that he dodged or blocked, a spatial rip would be created in the wake of her swing. At the close proximity they were at, it had the chance of pulling him in and sucking him through. It would be the equivalent of getting sucked into a black hole, with the mess disappearing to wherever it led to.

It was during this moment that Jigen found himself again taken aback by his student's sheer tenacity and brazen movements. With his body being tethered forward by the vice grip placed on his wrist, her own blade came forth in a closely proximated horizontal swing. Thinking quickly, he knew that parrying away the blade was next to impossible at this distance. So instead, he had to make do with at least guarding against it by inverting the grip on his left handed sword to halt it mere inches from making total contact. 

The distortive phenomena that was Emptiness transpired like a vortex of abysmal darkness, howling and whipping wildly about between the two clashing blades. Sparks flew about as the energy placed into devouring Jigen whole was never released but merely venting excess energy. After seconds that seemed like hours passed by, the entirety of the vacuum flowed into the metal frame of his weapon, absorbing and nullifying its power.

In exchange for this move, the sword itself cracked down the middle, sending out wisps of black smog from its material. 

Swinging his free left leg around to connect to her left hip, he generated enough power to send her reeling away so he can wrench himself free of her grip. During this moment he sheathed Envy back into its sheathe, effectively sealing the potentially deadly spacial force buried away in his weapon. Holding only Pride in his grip, he placed two hands onto its hilt and turned to face her distanced form, all while a shimmering aura of white light ebbed from his white tressed scalp and black jacketed body. 

"What choice do I have, Casilda? I never got to choose whom I'd call ally or associate or subordinate. I was dealt the cards as they fell and I kept going on without complaint. It's not like you would have joined me, not after the way you refused Aizen when he first approached you before the Endless Chasm!" Jigen rebukes back as his grip tightened around his sword, arching it back over to his left before swinging it around, sending a terrifying arc of shredding force across the air to strike her from afar. Resuming his posture, his eyes glared and his stance strengthened as he finished, "Just like how you won't back down now, I won't budge an inch either! I have no choice for I have no alternative. Nothing will change if I simply stand back and do nothing while the world as we know it continues to rot away and degenerate everything precious I grow attached to! It's an endless cycle of disappointment, death, and despair. I'm sick of it, so why aren't you?!" 

"Ah--!"

A sharp gasp came from Casilda when Jigen's foot struck her hip. She was sent off of her feet and sent sailing away from him, shutting her teeth briefly in the face of her air resistance. However, her recovery was quick; twisting her body around, she hit the sands with the back of her shoulders and rolled back onto her feet. As she straightened herself, her ears picked up his words of retaliation. She narrowed her eyes and clenched her teeth, gripping her sword in two hands as the kinetic force reached her position. It didn't take long for the attack to close the distance, and once it did, she pulled her sword back and swung. Her steel edge carved through his wrath, dispelling it into winds that scattered the sands further. Even as her hair and clothing billowed once more, she did not falter. Once it cleared up, she readied her sword once more and waited until the period on his sentence. Then, she spoke out her retort.

"Because I would rather live in an endless cycle of this than become another one of Sōsuke's pawns!" She snarled. "I'd rather keep going on like this than submit myself to that monster! I don't think you'd understand anymore, having thrown us all aside in favor for him. But I still have people to fight for, lives to protect and defend! If they knew that I just fell to my knees after all I've done to get to this point, what would they think?! They would lose hope, knowing that I just gave the reigns of the very same tyrant who tried to make all of us little more than his disposable servants! I've seen too much tragedy, too much death and destruction because of him!"

The memories of the massacred village and the cessation of Lilynette's existence came to her mind, and she had to shut her eyes briefly in order to push the images away.

"I'm not putting them in that position again. I did my best to give them a chance, and I'm not going to let him or you take that away!"

"Even if he has the capacity to change things for the better, you're going to let your petty grudge get in the way of the future?! Now look who's being selfish! You truly are a child if you can't see the bigger picture that will benefit all when you only focus the small insignificant now that suffers! The future outweighs the present and you should know that by now, you stupid brat!" Jigen spoke harshly, raising the blade to rest between his teeth. Reaching for a sword over his right shoulder and his left hip, he assumed a three-sword stance. Eyes glowed with anger as his aura brightened into a compressed inferno that billowed out howling winds that cascaded into shockwaves across the desert. 

"With the Sword of Wrath in my right," He mouthed, somehow eloquently with sword wrapped over by lips and teeth, "the Sword of Pride over my front and the Sword of Haste in my left, I shall annihilate you with prejudice!" 

Kicking off the ground, Jigen rushed forward, twirling around like a twister of steel and light. Kicking up a storm of sand, tendrils of lightning surged forth from Haste, creating a powerful acceleration and aggressive force to bear upon Casilda. Wrath used the fiery quality of his Reiatsu to turn into a blinding white flame, fusing with the plasma wrapping around his other sword and danced around his form. Pride seemed to increase the cutting force of his approach, making all three swords deadlier than they would have been on their own, aiming for the triple cutting strike to overpower Casilda's defense. 

Clashing with it could result in the sand beneath their feet to split apart like a sea being struck by a sword of God. Parting it and crashing heavily into the natural soil kilometers downwards, creating an even deeper trench below. Fissures of flames and light could dance along the perimeter of the gouge in the sandy wastes, blazing up in towering tendrils of power that could touch the heavens with its overwhelming venting of its might. If evaded, a singular stroke would do the same but in a long-going stroke that could be only measured by sight for an endless distance that one cannot fathom from simply casting an idle glance.

It was an attack Jigen once again wanted to use to end his opposition, and solidify his stance of rightness in his cause. 

It would be met with an opposition that only Casilda could've provided.

With a defiant expression, she spread her legs apart and pulled her sword arm behind her. She shut her eyes in a moment of concentration, calling up every ounce of power she had within her person as her opponent threw himself at her. Her body was soon engulfed in a torrent of white energy, which made a wide aura around her being. As it expanded and its power grew, the resonance would be felt beyond her battlefield. Her power was such that just about anyone within the proximate battlefields could feel the extent of her energy's reach. Her eyes shone a brilliant crimson, her body looking more like a construct of power more than anything else. It was a terrifying display that only one of her powers could allow her.

Sacrifice.

She was using the very same power that had killed the Quincy posing as Yhwach against her mentor. Every one of the lives lost and even the brunt of her own power supply was being used in an attempt to bring Jigen down. Every ounce of it would be felt by her as well; as she moved to confront him, there was a burning sensation of indescribable agony racing through the core of her being. She shut her eyes and opened her mouth in a scream echoing every emotion racing through her heart. Her blade was swung to clash with his own with what looked like one final demonstration of power from the both of them. Whatever the outcome, she would be in a state of vulnerability and her body would be exhausted of its fighting potential. But she was putting every drop of hope in this attack, to put an end to Aizen's machinations once and for all.

Even as she screamed, there were still thoughts running through her head.

Insignificant, huh?

Time seemed to slow down as she moved her wrists, pulling her blade to a horizontal swing.

Caring for the ones who live for the here and now makes me a stupid brat, does it? Well, I'm sorry, sensei. But I don't have a heart black enough to abandon the ones who need me the most. These insignificant lives are the ones that I've cared for the most, the ones that have supported me the way that I have supported them. If you think them to be beneath you, then you can see for yourself just how far they've gotten me. Through this one attack...!

It was all too soon before all four blades clashed.

A blinding light eclipsed their sight as two brilliant orbs of luminous energy clashed and swirled into a maelstrom of power. While the apex of power rose and expanded to the size of an amphitheater, arcs of lightning split the sands in either direction of the colliding blades. With the ground split and the sand pouring downwards, a deafening thunderclap of force followed, dispelling the clashing strengths of all four weapons. The quad engagement of power was revealed to have ended, with both combatants standing on the only spot of sand that hadn't descended into the abyss. 

While Casilda's sword would remain intact, shining aloft in her grip, all three of Jigen's prized possessions quivered in his grasp. Seconds later, the frames of the metal instruments shattered, followed by a long laceration endowed over his chest, creating a geyser of flowing blood to spray over his student and the ground before him. Releasing the bladeless hilt from his mouth as his hands did the same, Jigen fell to his knees, gasping for breath as he knelt before his student. 

Tears formed in his eyes as he looked down at his palms, where cuts split the skin, showing just how much strength he put up against his disciple's last attack. With the light cuts sprinkling drops of crimson into the pool that stained the sand between his knees, tears began to mingle with them as well. Was this as far as he could go? Was all of his will, and all of his belief completely false? It didn't matter, for he was the loser and she was the winner.

"Finish me, Casilda," Jigen murmured lowly, his tone melancholic and his visage paled to the point of resignation, "I have no more will left to fight you. I've done enough. My purpose is gone and my forces are almost all but destroyed. You win. Claim your prize and take my life in exchange for the deaths I've helped wreak upon your fair land."

If not for Casilda's heavy breathing, there would've been a moment of silence.

Her stance broke immediately when his blood sprayed her form, and the moment that she raised her arms up to keep her face from getting hit made it seem like she was still raring to go. But it was only a second afterward that she had lowered her arms to her side, her head following shortly after. Her shoulders heaved with her breaths, and her legs were shaking considerably after a few seconds of stillness. Every part of her was screaming for her to collapse into the sands, and it was only by sheer will she was still standing up. In slow acknowledgement of his words, her quivering sword hand tried to lift itself as if trying to adhere to him.

Then, she collapsed to her knees, and her blade fell onto the sandy ground beside her. Her head was lowered in a way that if just a little closer, her forehead would've been touching Jigen's. Her eyes were closed, and her mouth was left open as she attempted to regain her breath. It would feel like forever when she spoke up again, her voice barely managing to get itself together. "No..." She breathed. "No more... I'm done..."

The Loud Light & The Musical Melody, Murder and Compassion Clash! Part III

"I have to say, I'll give you credit for effort," Tenshi said with a bemusing tone. Observing the wide swathes of carved out sandy wastes along with abstract tendrils of discharged Reishi, it was clear the intense battle had stepped up in temp. The momentum of their attacks were only halted when they all combined in an attack that pushed Tenshi into the defensive or that he'd have to counter perfectly to avoid direct damage to himself. 

Either way, he was seeing them at their best which put his Hollowfied state to good use. 

Nelliel's Ressureccion had activated, Gamuza shown for all to bear witness for the first time in awhile. Her power and speed was the most noticable augment, though the precision of her Reishi absorption and discharge was nothing to snuff. From a few bare parries he knew better than to use sheer attrition to beat her so he relied on his Zanpakutō. To this effect, a cut was formed on her left cheek and another across her waist, but they were truly only skin deep. 

He couldn't speak for the condition of the others as they stood behind him as all three surrounded him but he knew that he could fight for hours in his current form. It was the benefit for training his body to handle the durress of Hollowification while giving the added bonus of increased power for his natural abilities and his Zanpakutō. In a way, he believed himself truly invincible once he donned the mask, with or without Bankai. 

"Care to have another go at me?" Tenshi waved his bladeless hilt around, his mask's twisted visage a mocking sign of his yet to be deteriorated power. "We can go at this all day but it won't change the outcome. I'm one of Aizen's most trusted subordinates for a reason. My intellect and power can't be matched. Not by you three that is."

Notably, Melina was the only one who wasn't in her released form.

She was on one knee with her sword held out to the side, breathing audibly as she stared at Tenshi. She had suffered the most injuries; her right flank was bleeding courtesy of a hit from the opponent's hard light attacks, a few scattered cuts on her arms and legs, and a deeper gash within her neck courtesy of another decapitation attempt. One eye was shut as she attempted to regain herself. It wasn't out of something courtesy of arrogance or even her delight at fighting. Her released form was the most dangerous out of the trio - not only could it catch Tenshi in its influence, it could also catch her allies as well. The last thing she wanted was for them to get killed by her against a foe like this one. But even so, she was starting to run out of options.

On the other hand, Tierra was fairing much better. Because of her affinity and her enhanced power, she was able to handle herself on a much more comfortable level than the other two. She was relatively untouched, save for several scuff marks on her clothing. However, that fact didn't keep the fire from burning within her hawk's eye glare or lessen the severity of her scowl. It was one of the few times that she found herself agitated by an enemy. Even with her enhanced speed and strength, she still couldn't touch him. He was still reading her movements as if they were little more than words of a children's book, still found the comfort to boast and brag about his position on top. It didn't help that he was right. As of this minute, he was the impenetrable wall that would cave in on them as soon as they gave in. Every one of her hands were broken.

All except for one.

Her eyes widened as she snapped out of her irritation, her mind thinking about to one particular technique she had never thought of using. It was one of the few abilities aiming to kill rather than incapacitate or pacify - a reason why she always pushed it in the back of the head in the heat of combat. It wasn't some big, flashy attack. But it was one of the most sadistic and deadliest weapons out of her arsenal. As much as she found herself growing more and more furious at Tenshi, she couldn't bring herself to use it. But it seemed like she was running out of options. Despite whatever they threw at him, he still managed to smile and mock them as if it was a game. If she was going to wipe that grin off of his face, then she would have to abandon her code and deploy it against him.

She shut her eyes, took in a deep breath and broke her stance to stand straight. If she was going to do this, she would have to see something for herself.

"I suppose this is it, then." She muttered, her eyes still closed. She folded her hands in front of her, presenting a more docile appearance. "Despite everything we've used against you, you are still standing like a stone wall. It's clear that none of us have what it takes to best you. It was a foolish thought to believe I could ever stand up to the right hand of Sōsuke Aizen."

Her words made Melina's eye widen, a mixture of shock and indignation going through her when she heard the defeatist words. She immediately attempted to straighten up, only for her wounds to hinder her progress viciously. "Wha-what are you--?!"

"I'm drawing myself from this fight." Tierra cut her off, continuing to speak as if she had not heard her subordinate. Her head lowered itself, her hair shadowing her face. "You can kill me if you wish. But at least tell me the truth. Were you fighting us seriously, or were you just toying with us this entire time?"

"Really? That's the only thing you want to ask?" Tenshi asked, almost in an incredulous tone. Having originally started out facing her in one-on-one combat, he almost felt any further altercation was pointless. Most of the others were starting to follow suite, with him starting to read all of their moves, body language, and tactics with each passing clash. Still, the surprise of seeing her finally back down was both refreshing and warranting of suspicion. 

Shrugging, Tenshi knew he had little to lose. Especially to a motley crew such as this. Taking the time to look over at Nelliel and Melina, he concluded his sweeping motion of his dark glinted eyes to face Tierra. Tapping his mask just underneath his left eye, he nodded aloud, "In truth, you have been giving me a run for my money. I've had to fight with all of my power and skill to take on the three of you. Short of using my Bankai, my full strength has been on display for quite some time. But rest assured, that doesn't mean I'm out of tricks or plans. Hoping for me to run out of ideas is like Aizen not having a backup plan for his backup plan."

"I knew that much was a vain effort." Tierra said, not bothering to look up at him. In fact, her stance seemed to have faltered a little further upon hearing his words. Her tone was starting to regress to its more morose and defeated one when she had been cornered the first time. "I said before that I wasn't the smartest out of the Espada Afilado, and I meant it. I can't beat you, not at the level I'm at, and at this point in time, I'm through trying to bring down an impenetrable wall. Just kill me already. I've made enough of a fool out of myself."

"What?" Tenshi asked aloud, his eyes narrowing behind his mask. 

"Tierra...what the Hell are you doing?!" Nelliel asked out loud, turning on her centauress body to stare agape at her comrade. She had narrowly evaded death thanks to her intervention and Melina's arrival helped turn the tide in their favor. Now of all times she was about to give up hope? Shaking her head, she waved her lance in a emphasized angry manner, "are you just going to quit, after fighting so hard and so long?! You're just going to give up?!" 

"Quiet!" Tenshi gutturally shouted at Nelliel, causing her to glare daggers but do little more than recoil at the Visored's exclaimation. Turning his gaze, he assumed an almost bored look with a hint of suspicion. Even though she had been on the verge of giving up prior to her rescue, this seemed almost too redundant to be expected. Coincidence or a sign of true resignation? He couldn't help but be curious to play whatever game she was intending on playing. 

Raising his sword hilt to point at her precisely, he twitched his wrist and muttered, "Tenkan." 

Just as before, a blade of light materialized from the guard and streaked forward. Like a long lance it corkscrewed as the Reishi manifested its structure. Barely distilling the air and sand with its swift, fluid speed, the attack would strike her forehead. He wanted to ensure there was no coming back from this in case she intended to feign death through some unusual technique. 

"What now?" Tenshi asked after he saw his technique look like it connected, wondering if Tierra was truly dead or not. 

It struck.

Melina's eye widened when seh saw the blade connected with her superior's forehead. The damage would not bee seen, but her head would be knocked back from the force unleashed. Her feet dragged a little as she was forced back a few steps - the sign that something had been impaled. The sight of it caused the "younger" Arrancar to drop her sword to the sands, her hands flying to her mouth in shock and grief. Just like that, the one who had fought Tenshi first had been slain courtesy of her own break of resolve. With just two left and one heavily wounded, it looked like the Visored would finish the battle all too quickly for their liking.

"Tierra--!!"

And then, the unexpected.

Melina stopped her cry when she saw Tierra's body tilt back to its standing position, letting out a small gasp at what she saw. There was no blood, no sign of the light-based blade piercing through her flesh. Instead, what it had connected was the eye, which was shut tightly as the blade was stuck in it. But despite what it looked like, the edge had not gone through the soft material of her orb. Instead, it was caught by her eyelids in a pincer grip. Her eyebrows were furrowed, and her open eye was leveled in a moderately stern stare towards her foe. With an almost nonchalant push of the hand and an opening of her other eye, she pushed the sword of light away from her person. It was a sequence of actions that, considering the circumstances, should have been very much impossible by normal standards.

"I do not like that look in your eyes, Tenshi." She said, her voice dropping down to a colder temperature. "With all of the boasting and bragging you've been doing, the nonchalant way you've been carrying yourself on in this fight, I would have expected you to be a little more confident when fresh meat is on the table. But I drop my weapon, give you a free chance at finishing this fight... and you hesitate? For someone who's so convinced he's going to win, that is a very fearful action..."

"The fuck just happened?!" Tenshi thought as he saw what was beheld before his gaze, "Is she right? Did my power drop because I was being too suspicious? No, it shouldn't have. She's doing something. It's another trick, just a newer one."

Seeing the reactions of those around her she called friend react in just as much shock, it was clear this wasn't staged. Something occurred just now to cause her power to become more focused. She didn't possess this kind of reaction timing or endurance to withstand an attack by his Zanpakutō. Not with his Hollowfication in play!

"I thought something felt off about your demeanor. Now that I think about it, your Reiatsu is too...calm. Are you finally through playing?" Tenshi asked with a decadent smile behind his mask. He could almost feel his blood boil with indignant anger for being fooled. This was the girl's real power. It's about time she took him seriously!

Through a gout of Reiatsu colored in black and white, his power spiked up along with his excitement, creating whipping air currents to jetstream across the landscape. Tendrils of Reishi ebbed around his body as he pulled back his Zanpakutō, forming what looked like double-edged broadsword of hard light to manifest. With his left hand held out, a bow shaft made of glittering feathers formed, allowing him to grip it just below where the sword-shaped arrow rested. 

"Arutemisu!" Tenshi called out, unlatching his thumb over the thread of Reishi that formed the projectile's notch. Flying forth it created a thunderclap of force that kicked back nearly twenty meters of sand, streaking forward like a lightning bolt to annihilate her on a spiritronic level. It was Tenshi's fastest and among his top three most destructive techniques capable within Kyūrekikei's arsenal. 

In response to his question, Tierra started off with one word.

"Playing?"

She followed this up with yet another miraculous display. With a vicious swing of one of her arms, she made contact with the blast when it reached her. In response, it was forcefully disintegrated - not with the use of her sound-based powers, but with little more than physical strength. "Do you really think I would so arrogant as to treat this like a game?" She questioned rhetorically, lowering her arm back to her side and starting to walk towards Tenshi. "I've been taking you seriously this entire time. There hasn't been a single change in my power at all. But I cannot say the same for you. Is your lust for blood still blinding you? Can you not see how your power has weakened, or how much your senses have dulled?"

It was upon that last sentence that the ending words could be heard from a location different from her position.

Not soon after that, Tenshi would experience the sensation of Tierra's bone protrusions tearing through his flank. A blink, and suddenly the Tierra directly in front of him disappeared. In the eyes of his other opponents, Tierra had simply used a clearly employed Sonido. But to Tenshi, he wouldn't even be able to see it coming.

"She...just...tossed it aside?" Tenshi thought with true shock. There was something horribly wrong and her words were just nails into the coffin his dreaded dawning. There was no way that any of the Espada would have been able to follow that attack, not with Hollow Reiatsu infused into the attack. It should have cleaved her in two, atomized her, scattered in the wind along with cutting the vista of sand in half before his gaze. 

Did she do something to him just prior to asking her to finish her off? This question hounded his mind just before feeling a white hot pain spread from his left flank, followed by the sensation of his blood flying in the air and the sense of his enemy upon him. Looking to his left, he saw what he felt and it horrified him. 

"What?!" Tenshi exclaimed when he felt pale carbonized edges cut deeply into his side. With his gaze fixing a glare, Tenshi snarled backpedaling away from the spot of where his attacker was. At the same time he initiated Tenkan, manifesting a vast array of solid light projectiles to impale and eviscerate where she stood. 

"What's going on?" Tenshi clenched at his wound, noticing that any sign of regeneration had slowed to a snail's pace. Raising his left hand up, he noted how much it shook and how his vision seemed to pick up things in a slightly vibrative manner. Why was the world shaking before his gaze? 

"I'm speaking to you, Tenshi." Tierra had once again started to approach her opponent with a slow and purposeful gait, her arms hung steadily at her sides. Her gait resembled that of a bride's walking down the alleyway of a church, her steps light and careful on the sands. "I am speaking to you through a voice that ears can never pick up. It is a voice that is present within everything living, coming from the depths of your mind and spirit. It is the voice of the mind that tells the rest of your body what to do, and it is the voice of the spirit that tells the power within you what to do. I have the ability to reach out and hear these particular voices as clearly as I can hear yours. Given enough time, I can override those particular voices within the targets of my choosing... and you've given me more than enough to make this possible."

She stopped once she was just out of arms' reach of Tenshi. "I take no pleasure in this. I honestly don't." She said, a bit of bitterness within her tone. "Out of all the techniques that I have within my arsenal, this is considered to be one of the most sadistic and demeaning ones I have. Not even against the likes of you did I want to use it against. But I also have to note that you opened yourself up for it. The very first move you made against me should have been the killing one, as per your status as a former assassin. But yet you continued to drag it out, continued to treat it all as some form of perverse entertainment. You didn't even begin to take caution when I said that I could hear you screaming, laughing and letting your desire to toy around get the best of you. You've given me all the time in the world to fully analyze you, to the point where I can simply take in your image just by hearing any sound your body is capable of producing."

Her gaze slowly hardened as well as her tone. "It's a shame to hear that you were giving it your all against us. The only way my curse upon you will be removed is if my voice is silenced, and as of now..."

Without warning and within another blink, she was in front of him. An unseen movement of her arm, and she had ran the mass of bone protrusions straight through his stomach and torso. A shudder of repulsion ran through her as she felt his blood drip down and coat the offending arm. But she kept her expression stern, her eyes closed as she finished her monologue.

"You can't even touch me."

"All this time? She's been using my own words against me? She truly is a witch," Tenshi hiss inwardly as Tierra spoke. It didn't do wonders for his health that his chest was punctured in hal a dozen spots. Blood flowed up his throat and out through the seeps of his mask. He knew that without it he would have died through this attack. This whole time it had helped him recover, even on a minimal level. At this point it all seemed moot to him. 

"Got no choice. If I want to live I have to use it. Now or never!" 

With a shaky arm he slowly raised the bladeless hilt up over his head. A white aura glistened and expanded around him, despite his injuries. Wrenching himself free of the bone shaped weapons, he howled through his mask as it set on sealing the external wounds and dealt with those within. He couldn't stop now, not while Lord Aizen was on the verge of returning and he was his chosen disciple!

"Ban...kai!" He snarled out, his eyes glaring brightly at his enemy as his power swelled before expanding mightily around him. A ring of the purest white luminiscence shined around where Hueco Mundo's moon was seen to be. From there, a shimmering dome formed over their heads, expanding to a fifty meter radius till dozens of support columns carved of solid light spun up to meet the rapidly formed roof. With no doorways visible, it looked like a cross between a mighty hall for the inside of a palace and a very elaborate prison. 

"Kyūrekikei Kyūden!" He murmured aloud as his aura and sprays of lights danced around her and her entrapped comrades as if they were filtered through a crystal. Every color, every subset, every shine of hues from the rainbow glistened majestically in the air and around the silve lit constructed palace. It was as beautiful as it was promising of death; Tenshi wasn't planning on giving up on a fight. 

Once again, Tenshi's movements shocked his opponent.

Her eyes furrowed, her pupils shrank slightly and her lips parted as she saw him tear himself off of her spikes. It was an unnecessarily violent move, and she was sure that he had only damaged himself further than he already was. But she was surprised that he still had the strength to even move that far. But that shock was brought up even higher when he called out the chant for his full power's release. She could only stand there, stunned beyond all relief as a power that shouldn't have been possible to be conjured hit her full-force. It should have been one of the things that hindered him the most; her connection had allowed her to drastically slow his accursed regeneration to the speed of a snail as well as weaken his overall power against her. But once again, he defied insurmountable odds and kept his head off of the chopping block.

Unbelievable.

Her eyes slowly took in the dome that expanded over the heads of her and her allies. Melina, in particular, shared her countenance as she eyed what would be their arena. His element was surrounding them now, creating a potential home field advantage. At the very least, Tierra herself had some form of resistance to it. But Nelliel and Melina, especially in the latter's case, wouldn't be so lucky if Tenshi decided to abruptly attack them just to give himself less trouble. Once again, her heart filled itself with apprehension at the circumstances, and a small part of her cursed the fact that her enemy simply refused to roll over and die.

Even when I am in a perfect position to kill you, you still manage to fight back. You still manage to keep yourself from dying. How in the world do you manage to do it?

"A-ah--!"

A cry from Melina interrupted her thoughts. She didn't allow herself to see it, but the Fraccion had suddenly committed herself to holding her wounded side and falling to her knees. Her front abruptly fell forward, barely caught by an extended arm to let her palm catch the sandy ground. Her head was hung, and her body could be seen shaking in a periodic rhythm. "T-Tia...?" She groaned, breathing hard and carrying a lace of fear within her voice. "I-I'm pretty torn up here..."

"Hold on!" Nelliel said as her body approached her side in a rapid sign of Sonido, hand already excreting what looked like a healing salvant from her armored palm. "let me heal you-!" 

"It's true," Tenshi began to speak through his mask, his eyes glaring vehemently at Tierra, almost ignoring the othe two entirely. With no weapon in hand thanks to the Zanpakutō imbuing the palace of light that radiated all around them, his hands raised up for emphasis. It was clear that, after the wounds finally closed, he was able to breathe easier but it didn't seem to calm him in any stretch of the imagination. "you really did decrease my Hollow powers. Since they were more or less connected to my body, it was easier for you to nullify them. But my Bankai is outside your range of control now. Now that it covers this land as much as sound is produced from you or I, there's no way you can escape." 

Twitching his right hand out, particles of light swirled around his palm before forming a rapier of swirling and radiant light. While refracting every color imaginable, a chorus of brilliant rays glowed that none have ever bore witness to. This included colors that were invisible, making it wink in and out of visibility as he gripped it firmly in his palm. 

"I shouldn't have let this drag out this long, that much is clear. If I had simply killed you right away, there'd have been no fuss and I could have helped deal with your comrades hours ago. My own strategem played into your hands so it's only fitting I end you with nothing short of my full power," Tenshi concluded as he casually raised his short-bladed weapon to point in her direction, "that's all I have left to say. You can die now."

In a brilliant display of color and distortion of space, a monolithic jagged edge blade materialized in the blink of an eye towards Tierra, aiming to crush her in a single blow. Even if it hadn't, the blade would vanish upon impact, returning back into its original form that Tenshi held. Waving his sword to his side, his eyes stared forward growling gutturally behind his mask. 

"Once I know you're dead, it'll be easy to kill the other two. Nelliel may have been a problem on her own but with my Bankai I can end her faster than you..."

The moment he spoke was the moment Tierra allowed herself to fall from her sensation of awe. Slowly, her face regressed back to the hardened look she had carried prior to this moment. She remained silent, listening to his words of choice. But even as he spoke, she was shifting to another method of attack. She extended one of her hands out, focusing within the bones of her arm. A rather unnerving and sickening event took place; the bones within the extended arm began to move and shift, creating bulges and distortions within the limb's foundation. Then, some began to retract from their position outside of her forearm and ripped from the center of her palm. At first, this protrusion was little more than fragments of her joint barely held together. But as more came out, it began to form something along the lines of a partially jagged sword. When the hilt was pushed out, the wound that would've otherwise been there quickly sealed itself and her hand caught the weapon before it could collapse to the ground.

Your Hollow powers? Do you honestly think that this stops to just those? Have you not listened to a word I have told you, servant of Aizen? As long as my voice is heard, my curse will not be removed. It seeps into the very depths of your mind and soul, not just the presence of the beast within you. Did you think that a simple release of power would remove the leash around your neck? You must be on the verge of desperation now. I have you on the ropes, and you are doing everything you can to convince yourself that you can still win. It is a shame.

She raised her blade up to level with her chest in a defensive fashion, her eyes squinting at his note of his own strategic mistake.

But it doesn't matter. You have shown yourself to be beyond what the likes of any opponent I have seen is capable of. You may even be beyond the power of Sōsuke Aizen himself, had you not chosen the position of follower over leader. You are a true symbol of evil and corruption, an embodiment of darkness greater than what the likes of those xenophobic warriors saw within us Arrancar! I cannot afford to give any ground anymore!

Through the voice of his soul, she could read his movements as easily as he had read hers. When that blade was shot out, she was all too prepared to swing her own blade to meet it. Its collision would be punctuated by its disappearance and reappearance. When he waved that sword to the side, she used a Sonido to appear before him in another eye blink. Her free hand clamped onto his wrist to keep the sword hand restrained, and partial momentum was used to force him off-balance. She glared at him with clenched teeth, thrusting her sword to spear through his flanks.

"I have to put you down, right now!!"

Feeling his hand grasped, Tenshi was reminded how painfully underwhelming his body's movements was now. He had hoped she deactivated that ability when she saw his Bankai. Sadly she was more of a handful than he wanted her to be. Regret tossed aside, he merely glanced at the blade of boned protrusions as he was forced off his footing. An impassive expression crossed his face underneath his mask, his red and golden eyes staring calmly at her. 

"Kneel."

It was during this moment that rays of light swam through space, halting her advance by clashing against her crudely shaped weapon. Such force was manifested that it would send her forward moving person backpedal a good distance. While the rays of barely visible light radiated around in a mesmerizing dance before his body, the sword would be notably gone from his hand. In place was a epic proportioned structure of hard shining light, slamming over her body to pressure her to splay on all fours on the sand. 

"You're in my domain, Tierra Doncella," Tenshi said with more factual proof than haughtiness, "do not reckon with the power of my Bankai. It doesn't need my body to remain in control. Something you should do well in remembering, Sound Witch."

"Ah--!"

A sharp yelp escaped Tierra's lips when she was forced back, her body sent flying away from Tenshi's form. Instinctively, her eyes shut and her teeth clenched. But her eyes would open, and her head would jerk itself back forward to see her opponent's shrinking form. But it wouldn't shrink for long. Her lower half managed to fight the wind resistance and force itself behind her, her feet positioned to dig into the sands. But it was here that another problem occurred in the form of his light that crashed down onto her form. Her eyes widened in shock before shutting tightly, and she found only her knees and hands to keep her from facefaulting into the ground. It was an experience not too different from what she had felt prior to her crushing defeat at the hands of Murasaki Hoshijirushi.

Once again, she could hear his voice taunting her. Instead of the voice of conviction she had heard seconds before, there was only the indifferent and apathetic tone of someone in control. Within the snap of the finger, he was back to acting like the battle was nothing to him. It made the fire within her burn hotter, her fingers curling and digging into the sand. But at the same time, she knew that she couldn't waste time worrying about it. If he wanted to forget the fact that she had him at death's door a moment ago, behave as if she still wasn't enough to challenge him, that was fine with her. He could swim in the seas of his own narcissism up until the point she shoved her blade straight through his heart.

So she allowed herself to spit out a taunt of her own.

"Does it pleasure you to hear the sound of your own voice, or do you simply not know the meaning of silence?!"

Her counterattack started with the quivering of her bone protrusions, the spines shivering in a manner of a procupine's quills. In response, a multitude of soundwaves was produced. The resulting noise came in the form of a high-pitched chronic beep, and it was accompanied by a visual effect of air distortion. The foundation of the weight on her back was disrupted, the waves making up its form disrupted by the invasive sound waves. It took only a few seconds for the entire thing to shatter, glass-like fragments dissolving into the atmosphere. Tierra stood up, slapping her palms together and uttering an attack name. "Xilófono!"

The quivering bone protrusions suddenly freed themselves from her arm in the form of elongated crystal shapes. They shot into the air and began circling the arena, almost sliding against the light dome itself. They continued to produce those soundwaves, attacking the very foundation of their prison. The sound they made grew louder, and it wasn't long before one could compare it to a murder of screaming birds. Tierra kept her palms held together, a stare that exuded nothing short of death at Tenshi. "If you really feel the need to boast your power that badly," She growled. "You can brag all you wish when you join the rest of the damned in the depths of Hell!!"

A multitude of the crystal-like bones were launched towards Tenshi from every direction. By themselves, they had immense penetrating power. But carrying the power of her sound granted them more than enough power to shred through his light-based defenses. With his body and reflexes slowed down, he had little place to go.

Tenshi's gaze became full of rage and indignation. This woman who he could have easily killed in the blink of an eye shouldn't be putting him in such a position. He has calculated every move, planned every kill with perfect precision, and has done nothing but promote perfection in every one of his assignments. His power was second to only Aizen, and he knew he didn't need to prove it to a disgusting wretch like the woman who spouted more sickening rhetoric to him than Aizen did to them all. 

And yet, the sight of his attacks being ruptured was enough to give him pause. Her power was literally being magnified by grinding against his own Bankai's structure. Sound waves so intense that it made everything rattle and visible vibrate wherever he turned his head. It wasn't enough that to his eyes they were moving at dizzying speeds but that his own body will have little to no time to prepare for its arrival.

"It's like one of nature's form is battling another. The very atmosphere is becoming unbalanced!" Tenshi thought as he sensed the murderous intent behind her mineralized carbon spears ready to attack him. 

When he felt the projectiles move as one, like a swarm, he gestured with his balled up fists to summon all the power his Bankai could muster. Brilliant rays of every color and colors that couldn't be seen swam at speeds faster than the sound imbued projectiles could, rushing to the dome's face that was behind Tenshi's back. Pouring forth like a tidal wave, it surrounded Tenshi and curtained him in its maganimous power, giving him the boost of reactionary speed he needed to thrust his hands forward at the attack heading his way. 

"I WILL NOT LET THIS BE THE END OF ME!" Tenshi snarled through his mask, his voice bellowing over the ear-gutting screams his enemy's attack made against his stream of incinerative light. One by one, the many crystalized lances, despite their horrific power of sound was being shattered, sending their shards in handfuls of burning, glittering embers. The mere sight of it sent Tenshi into a derranged ramble of madness as he smiled widely behind his mask, "I WILL BE AIZEN'S HAND IN THE NEW WORLD ORDER! NONE SHALL STAND AGAINST ME! YOU ARE NOTHING BUT ENTERTAINMENT THAT I CAN WHIM TO ITS DESTRUCTION AT ANY GIVEN MOMENT! YOUR DEATH IS CERTAIN WHILE MY REIGN IS E-!" 

A painfully loud crack was heard. Not because the last of the lances as on the verge of being destroyed but because his Hollow mask had been split down the middle. His eyes dilated and his mouth recoiled in trembling horror. Falling off his face, the mask crumbled into white and black halves, revealing his mouth as he muttered out the latter part of his word as he watched the wave of light become less powerful, "-ternal?!"

In that instant, the last crystalized spear thrust through the wave of light and impaled him through the chest, spiraling out of the gaping hole his torso now sported. Even as he clamped his mouth shut to hold back the wave of blood that seeped from his mouth, the lance struck the backward frame of his Bankai's palace, causing the entirety of its fortress to shatter in a scenery of glittering fragments of light refracting glass. As it rained down like rainbow tears, his body fell to its knees, and his arms reached up shakily to cover the wound over his chest. True look of fear paled his face as his eyes teared up and his lips quivered. 

"I...lost...?" He whispered out in a ghastly tone, his eyes looking down at the ground, as if all other things around him didn't matter. 

In the moment that Tenshi summoned every ounce of power to defend against her attack, it was clear that the fight was reaching its end.

Tierra's eyes contracted when she saw him expel that energy in order to deflect her shards, her arms reflexively swinging in front of her face to protect them from the sudden intensity of the light. It wasn't long before she could get used to the sudden brillance, but it didn't keep the shock from her face when she saw it. Her crystals were being shattered just like that, disintegrating as they fell uselessly to the ground. She broke her stance of meditation, spreading her feet apart and moving her arms in a defensive gesture. Even in the face of his rants, she didn't allow herself to get comfortable. More than once he seemed as if he was weakened, and more than once he had taken her off guard. She would be prepared to fight another grueling round with him if need be.

But then, a miracle happened.

She was taken aback when she saw that his Hollow Mask, the symbol of the very power that had given him so much trouble, had cracked in two and fell at his feet. Just like that, she felt his power plummet enough to let the last of her shards penetrate his guard. It seemed as if all that exerted power had finally taken its toll. Tenshi had pushed himself too hard and fought too long with the dreaded powers of the Hollow, and now he was paying the price for it. The realization that the nightmare he had put Tierra and her comrades through pushed away the Arrancar's awe and replaced it with relief that had to be suppressed for the sake of duty. After all, the Primera had given her orders, and she was fully resolved to carrying them out.

She slowly approached him, carrying a grim gaze to her foe as she approached. Her body briefly radiated sparkles of light, her released form disintegrating and shifting to what was her normal form. It took only a few seconds for the transformation to complete itself, and once it was done, she rested one hand around the handle of her katana. "Yes, Tenshi." She said lowly. "You lost. You have been bested, and you only have yourself to blame. Instead of doing the intelligent thing and actually putting forth the effort to kill me, you chose to feed your ego. You chose to drag it out and toy with me, waiting for the moment where I'd break and lose my resolve just so you could laugh at my misery. For all your intelligence and tact, you allowed your sadism to overrule your loyalty to Aizen - that is, assuming you ever had loyalty to him in the first place."

Once she stopped in front of him, she drew out her blade and leveled its flat edge for him to see - the only gift the executioner would grant her victim. "You have stared at your own reflection for too long, Narcissus. Now you're clawing at it, trying to claim something that holds no value even as you waste and wither away. Become one with the dust, and pray that the nymph you have callously rejected forgives you. Goodbye," She pulled the blade back, briefly catching a glimpse of Melina's widened eye as she raised her sword over her head. "Tenshi Chinokatsubō."

Another swing, and the Visored's head was lopped cleanly from his shoulders.

El Sagrado Cruzada, The Queen Returns Act III

The Tide of Change Cometh, Whose Blade Shall Fall?

"Wait...aren't you-?!" 

As Jinete's voice rang out with clarity, the figure appeared hovering above the ground. A familiar high-collared, golden trimmed black cloaked figure endowed with violet suit top and slacks, with black opera gloves and hankerchief cuff suited around the neck. But instead of being concealed by a dark ovular shaped helmet, a beautiful alabaster complexioned face with a sharp chin and yellow eyes. Long locks of emerald hair covered her forehead and sides of her head, flowing all the way down past the cape to her shins. A golden guarded, violet-hued sword projected black flames from its edges, evidenced by the widespread destruction surrounding her and Yashin. 

"I didn't want this to be true, Yashin," Seihai declared by holding her Shikai aloft in an aggressive posture, her eyes burning brightly with a mixture of betrayal and confusion, "but it seems you've shown yourself as not only as a traitor, but someone who can threaten the balance of peace we've narrowly achieved!" 

"I don't know what you mean," Yashin said with a nonchalant tone, smiling innocently as he brandished his scythe in front of himself. His blue eyes stared at her with preparation but didn't look the least bit afraid. Trails of golden light ebbed off his black pole handle, showing that he had blocked the calamitious force that nearly struck him, "precisely what allegations do you have against me, dear Seihai?"

"I decided to stop by your office to talk to you," She began, her eyes narrowing into a vivid glare, "to my surprise, there was nothing but an illustrous projection of lights refracting a number of spells you had placed there. I know not of their make or origin, but it was easy enough to use my Kidō to dispel the charade. From there, I've found a pariticular spellbook that obviously wasn't in your possession prior to this. Translating what I could, I found a spell used for rejoining a fissured being, someone broken off into two bodies by another who's cast the curse. Coming here, it all makes sense why you came here...you used Aizen's rebirth to give you the perfect body to rejoin your separated halves and keep your power contained without breaking the host."

"I admit, I did manipulate a few elements in the war so I could get to this point," Yashin admitted with a shrug, smiling lightly as he spun his weapon around to be propped against his shoulder. Turning so he could cast a glance at Jinete and Nohemi, not wanting to keep them entirely out of the loop. Waving his free hand casually, he explained, "V-14 was the most capable band of mercenaries that I felt obligated to use them as my chess pieces to get the items I needed to accomplish this war in my favor. The Black Blood Sect's unofficial leader, Veritas, had a book that not only logged down their history but also all spells, techniques, and strategies they've used in ages past. Using the invasion and my personal servant to occupy them all, I was able to infiltrate the fortress and incidentally, Veritas' room. After that, it was a simple matter of trying to tip the balance of the war from one side to the other, hoping that the more tyrannical figures would topple themselves or the Alliance did it for me." 

"So...the reason for their disorganization and the Alliance's ability to win was because you helped them?" Jinete asked in an incredulous tone, finding himself reeling at the implications these revelations had. 

"Of course," Yashin tilted his head to Nohemi and Jinete before looking back at Seihai, "I may do things that are ethically unsavory or morally dark but I am not that bad. I don't mind playing dirty but I also don't mind playing nice. Sometimes, the forces of good who are not bogged down in flawed tradition and corrupt leaders are the force I'd put my money on winning the day. Fighting for others seems to greatly improve an army's resolve instead of fighting for the sake of a singular goal." 

"But still...you don't deny that you removed Tsukishima from power and undermined our own organization in order for this to happen?!" Seihai asked with an indignant tone. 

"Come now, do you really find that, in your heart that you can look at me accusingly after what you said about the Inner Circle?" Yashin asked with a softer smile, "I did you all a favor. At the rate of where Kyōaku and the others were heading, not only would they have been betrayed and left to rot by Aizen and Juha, but they would have created a world far worse than they imagined the Soul Society had generated through ignorance and lack of respect to others. In the end, I saved this world because I took action not only for myself but for the integrity of this world's security. Can you really call me a villain after knowing all of this?" 

There was hardly reason for anyone to see him as a liar in hearing his words.

The shock that had initially came across Nohemi's face was slowly replaced by thoughtfulness, even as she observed the two individuals of the Inner Circle interact with one another. His words were enough to enforce the idea that he was leaning more towards their side than being their enemy. Of course, it wasn't exactly concrete evidence. But at the very least, it would be a good ground to temporarily stand on. It would've given her a lot more reason to believe him not having any real plans after having taken Aizen's form for himself.

But there were at least a few individuals who objected to this.

"Yeah? And just what the hell was going on at the meeting?"

Nohemi's eyes widened when she heard a new voice of unfamiliarity speak up, accusatory and somewhat agitated. She turned her gaze to the right just to see another individual she wouldn't recognize: Suna Tekketsu. As for him, he chose not to regard the two Arrancar just yet and focus his skeptical glare on what would've been a defector. "You know, I thought Mukurō was just ticked that he didn't get the Horseman position when he said you had something to do with Tsukishima's disappearance. But now that this is all out in the open... it's true, isn't it? Somewhere along the line, you finished him off and took the throne for yourself! Not to mention that, despite keeping us from "rotting away", you seemed pretty darn eager to want a jumpstart of another war. Just what is it that you're really after, Yashin? Because it sure as hell can't be peace."

He would be accompanied by a silent Shikyo Ninaru, who approached Yashin's other flank. She glared at Yashin with a much more piercing gaze than Suna, but said nothing. Like him, she didn't pay immediate attention to the two Arrancar who were spectating.

"In all honesty," Yashin replied calmly, turning his gaze to fully meet all three Horsemen peers in a turnabout fashion. Waving his arm around in a dramatic twirl as he turned around to keep an occasional stare at the pair of Arrancars, he continued speaking without missing a beat. Something within his very persona, no doubt. "I hadn't planned far enough ahead to warrant that kind of scrutinizing caution. The only reason I acted the way I did in the Inner Circle was so I could get to this point. That's it. I enjoy the prestige and the comfort of being in the presence of mutual goaled individuals such as yourself, not to mention having comrades in general who share my worldview. I mean, really, if I wanted to betray you all...I would have made sure none of you survived the war."

With that chilling fact placed into their minds, Seihai gritted her teeth and stared hard at him. Lowering her sword at her side, forcing herself to relax, her voice quieted to a more civil tone as she asked, "Then this whole endeavor to keep us none the wiser and absorbing Aizen...you weren't doing it as an act of betrayal to what we now stand for?" 

Laughing slightly, Yashin turned to face her and Suna, seeing that Shikyo wasn't inclined to participate in verbatum, "Trust me, dear Seihai. I may not agree with your way of wanting to do things but I can't deny that Kyōaku saw something in you to entrust his legacy like that. I cannot speak for Suna and Shikyo, but I know someone like Tsukishima was far too crafty and loathesome to such ideals. No matter your feelings to him, I did you all a favor by ridding you of him and Aizen both. With the latter out of the way, a reignited war is out of the question and the Arrrancars have their homeland back. Everyone wins, right?"

Biting her tongue, Seihai kept herself from immediately responding. Looking foremost to Suna, she asked with a trusting glance sent his way as much as her voice betrayed her calm stoic attitude she kept, "What should I do, Suna-san? I feel like he has no reason to lie to us, even if he kept his own secrets from our group as a whole. But this act of admitting he removed Tsukishima...and possessing Aizen's body as his own...should I just ignore these things like the Alliance had our own transgressions?" 

It was a response that Suna had no immediate answer to.

Even as her voice spoke out to him, he kept his stern gaze on Yashin. His arms folded themselves across his chest, and his mind mulled over what was said. On one hand, the tone the supposed traitor of a Horseman used with them indicated that he really meant no harm. He couldn't exactly counter the argument of their fate; if Yashin really wanted to, he could've killed them before they could have reached this particular point. In addition, his machinations had kept them alive as much as they kept his associates in the dark. On the other hand, he had been willing to oust one of his allies in the process. Besides that, he had more than enough power to take care of all three of them potentially if they geared up to attack him. As far as he could see, there was only one option to take.

He closed his eyes, breathing in a sigh and tilting his head towards the sky. "I guess that's exactly what we'll have to do." He relented, letting the firmness drop out of his voice. "After all, he does have a point. If he wanted to kill us, he could've done it any time while our backs were turned. Probably at the meeting, he could've done it. But he didn't. It's all I have to go by..." He gave a shrug of the shoulders. "But I suppose that's all I really need at this moment."

Smiling with acknowledgement, Yashin was glad to see he could remain among their ranks despite his actions. As unsavory as it was, he preferred keeping his hand close and out of sight from even those he could call associates or allies. Perhaps it was due to his ill fated separation as a divine being from the hands of Veritas that he chose not to trust anyone. Plus, even if he had a small notion of what he wanted to accomplish in the future, they were nothing more than fleeting ideas that could change or alter given on events to transpire in years to come. 

Looking over at Shikyo, whom simply remained silent, he could only take that as her not having any desire to speak about this matter. Shrugging he looked over at Seihai, seeing her sheathe her now sealed Zanpakutō. A relieved expression washed over her face as she looked back at him with renewed faith, "I'm...glad we can still be comrades, Yashin-san."

"I'm glad you think highly enough to call me comrade, Seihai," Yashin responded with a simple grin, looking over at the begrudging Suna with a smirk. Lowering his scythe, it disappeared in smog, like smoke it fluttered into the wind. With a simple gesture of a wave of his hand, he asked to the three of them, "shall we be getting back? I think our business here is concluded, don't you agree?"

It was a surprising end to what would've certainly been seen as a fight.

The silent Shikyo continued to regard Yashin for a moment, only occasionally taking a glance over to the two observing Arrancar. Although she was the first to suspect him of an alternative and more sinister motive, she was uncertain in holding that belief once she had saw what had transpired here. Yashin could've used any other time to surprise Aizen, to assimilate him right after he made quick work of their former enemies. But instead, he chose to hit Aizen just before an all-out brawl could possibly start and retreat without so much as lifting a hand to the Hollows. If he was telling the truth and he had no more plans in store, then it was clear that he was still on their side.

For the moment, anyway.

She allowed herself to speak up, approaching Yashin and turning her front towards the Arrancar when she neared him. "I've seen what I needed to see. We've no more business here." She said simply.

"To think that we came all this way out here for nothing." Suna grumbled, the seriousness dropping out of his voice as he joined up with them. He threw his hands up, albeit in a humored gesture more than actual annoyance. "Damn it, Seihai!"

"S-Sorry, S-Suna-san," Seihai apologized meekly with a bow of her head. She brushed her bangs aside with a drag of her palm and digits up her face. Clicking her sword firmly back into its scabbard, she looked over at her mentor and fellow Horseman with a sincerely apologetic expression. Looking over to see Shikyo had done nothing to protest the resolved situation, she allowed herself a small smile of accomplishment that no bloodshed had been necessary. 

Clapping her hands together, a circle of light spread from the soles of her feet to wrap around the vicinity all four Horsemen were standing within. Particles of luminous Reishi rised as the preperation to plot the coordinates back to their headquarters were made. As they were being finalized, Yashin turned to look back at the two ancient Hollows. Casting a smile and a backwards wave, he pulled his hood over his blue tressed crown till it settled just over his eyes. 

Then, with the sound of a thunderclap, the four vanished as quickly as they had come. Leaving the two and the rest of Aizen's quickly deteriorating army on its own. 

"Well," Jinete murmured, turning a pair of burning yet clearly confused eyes at his wife, "what do you suppose we should do? Mop up the rest of Aizen's forces and help the others in some capacity? Or do we just sit back and let things die down on their own?"

His question shook Nohemi out of her surprise. She shook her head, refocusing her expression back into a soft yet serious one. "We will do every action we can in order to ensure that Sōsuke's influence has been removed from this land." She answered firmly. "We paid the price once by carelessly assuming that he had been brought down the first time. Yashin may have cut off the head, but we must make sure that the rest of his body has no chance of retaliation." She took a look up towards the sky, her eyebrows furrowing. "We might not have to continue for long. I sense that the battles that the Espada Afilado are nearing their own ends and--"

Her eyes widened, and she stopped herself when she picked out two signatures in particular.

"Casilda... and Jigen..." She finished, her voice quiet but the mixture of awe and relief clear in her tone. "They're both still alive..."

"That's a...relief," Jinete began to breathe out in a slow exhale, his body slowly returning back to its more humanoid form. When the last of the organic composited surface vanished into his sword, the old Arrancar sheathed the blade into his scabbard at his side. Rolling his neck side to side, popping loose joints back into place, he groaned out, "I wasn't eager to jump in Casilda's fight, especially if it involved that man. Not sure if I'd be in the mood for a fight against him either. Glad neither was necessary."

Turning over with a smile, Jinete nodded to the horizon expectantly, "Shall we go see our daughter and congratulate her on the victory well earned?"

In response, Nohemi gave him a warm smile and a nod. "Let's..."

Forgiveness For The Lost, I Am Home

Everything ached in his body. Jigen couldn't find the will to move from this unintentionally intimiate moment, with his head leaning against Casilda's. Blood continued to seep into the ground beneath him, collecting and painting the white grains a morbid crimson. His eyes blinked idly, showing blurred images of Cassie's body, his own and the limp hands hanging uselessly beside his prostrate form. It wasn't something he wanted to be remembered as, but if he was to die, he'd have no on else he'd rather be beside. 

"What is my purpose? What is the meaning of my existence? I never could find that answer in my long lived life," Jigen thought as his eyes briefly lifted up to look at Casilda's face before averting away, "I thought at first it was the happiness I gained by being part of your family. Teaching you the ways of the sword, how to adapt your own powers and become the great warrior you are now...they were some of my most happiest moments. But as always, it didn't last. Nothing lasts in this life but my own dreadful existence. Am I bane to my own joy by simply being here? I have no answer...and I will most likely die never knowing."

"Hey."

So lost in his thoughts that he wouldn't notice Casilda's hand move up to gently flick him on the cheek. Her exhaustion caused her to drop that hand immediately, but not before she caught Jigen's shoulder with it. Although she breathed heavily and her shoulders rose and fell in her exhaustion, her next choice of words were as clear as the night sky above them. "I didn't spare you," She breathed out. "Just so that you could bleed to death. We're getting out of here, you're gonna get patched up," Her eyebrows furrowed, and she reached to jab a finger into his chest. "And you're gonna apologize to my parents for all the grief you put them through. You got that, jerk hole?"

Jigen chuckled, albeit dryly, as he coughed up some blood caught in his throat. The very idea that he'd be spared if not just to have an execution by the only ones considering worth the title of King and Queen of Hueco Mundo was absurd. There was no redemption for him in defeat. There was in victory, but not in losing it. 

"Spared me? Don't be ridiculous...Casilda," Jigen turned his head away, finally sliding his forehead away from hers, almost falling forward ontop of her. The only thing keeping him upright in this immovable posture was what little dignity he wanted to keep. It wasn't much, but it was something. "you've only prolonged by suffering so the real executors could arrive. And if not them, your men will want my head for obvious reasons. There is no salvation for the likes of me. Just let me lie here and die slowly...finally ending what miserable existence I've led up to this point."

"Would you shut the hell up already?"

That particular statement from Casilda was a bit more biting. She managed to raise her head up, glaring at him with agitation. Her body was swaying ever so slightly, her hands resting against the inner sides of her thighs as she tried to keep herself upright. Why she was doing so, she didn't know. It would've been much easier to just fall back onto the sands and let herself rest. Maybe it was because she wanted Jigen to take her seriously for him to listen to her. "All you've been talking about is how miserable your life has been." She hissed, pressing one of her hands up to her chest. "But have you even stopped to think about the rest of us, the ones who've lived immortal lives like you have? Even the ones who don't have something in common with us: suffering. You may think that you bear a greater burden than what the "lesser" people have, but the fact of the matter is that we've all had to suffer. We've all had to push through the worst of obstacles in life, no matter how many of them there were in total. I've had to make so many hard decisions in this war. Risking the leave of my people to those psychopathic friends of yours to assist the Soul Society, sacrificing so many lives in a bid to defeat the enemy... even sacrificing an innocent child just so the one known as Sōsuke Aizen would die..." She hung her head down, leaning forward so that her palms pressed against the sand. "I am so tired, Jigen. Several times I have wondered if it would be a good idea to just step off the top of the pyramid and let someone else do the job for me. Several times I've wanted so badly to just stop living as I was... and there were even a few times where I just wanted to roll over and die. But I couldn't. You know why?"

She lifted her head up, glaring at him with narrowed eyes of conviction. "Every time I bore those burdens, it always turned out good in the end. The Inner Circle has been defeated. Sōsuke and his armies have been crushed. Peace and order have returned to prosper, and the victims caught in the middle can finally go on with their lives. I took the hard way, saw just what I had been rewarded with, and I found myself smiling at it all. That's what you taught me, Jigen. That's what you've drilled into me, and now you're trying to forsake it all? So you can just take the easy way out, find a way to avoid your troubles?" She gritted her teeth, pulling herself a little more forward with her hands so she could look him in the eye. "I'm not letting you off that easily, you coward. I can forgive you, and I can easily say that my parents can forgive you. But you've got to learn to forgive yourself. You've got to realize that there is no shortcut to paradise, that trying to cheat your way through it all will just leave you broken and miserable. It's time that you owned up and bit the bullet just like the rest of us have!"

It hit him like a ton of mountains. His own teachings were so that someone like her could persevere against all odds, even against the defeatist he made himself into not by choice but by submission. She didn't relent and because of this, allowed her to stand tall, proud, and capable of fending off even the likes of him. Shame was overridden by pride that he felt for her, to have come this far and show even someone so pitifully lost or broken as he was. 

"I guess I was a fool...for thinking you'd listen to what I'd have to say...after I taught you so well," Jigen wheezed out with a smile, meeting her eyes briefly before closing them. Breathing out a sigh, he kept a content grin, as if knowing he at least had a fine pupil of surpassing the likes of him. Although in hindsight, compared to what transpired here was abysmal in comparison to any confrontation she had with Aizen. 

But, upon thinking that, he looked down and said in a whisper, "How can I forgive myself...knowing that my sins are too innumerable. You and others may forgive me. But it is...easier said than done to have someone like me forgive myself. Time will tell or not at all, I suppose..."

Casilda managed a weakened smile of her own, crawling over to him just enough so that she could reach him again. "We've got all the time in the world, old man..." She said, her voice softening itself appropriately to his relent. "But you're smart. I'm sure it'll be sooner than later that you'll learn to let it go." A hand tentatively reached out, the tips of her fingers brushing against his cheek. "But as far as I'm concerned, you're still one of the family. Maybe not by blood... but you're the only one that I've confided myself in as closely as I have to my parents. You don't have to bear it by yourself. If the weight's too much, I'll lend you my shoulder. After all, I am a big girl. I can take it..."

"Casilda," Jigen said as his eyes watered, feeling an unsurmountable wave of relief and saddened joy overcome him. Tears flowed down, touching the tears that caressed his face. It didn't take long for him to break down as he lied there, prostrate in her grasp and before her own weakened frame. After centuries of isolation, ages of hardship and a single war waged between them he had returned to her side, to those of which he originated from.

Jigen was finally home. 

At this point in time, the familiar and welcoming voice of Nohemi caused Casilda to turn her head in surprise, even as she held Jigen close to her.

"And here I was, thinking that this could only end in tragedy. How nihilistic I've become..." The woman said softly, her cloak billowing as she approached the two Arrancar. She was tailed closely by Jinete, having taken the lead in their walk to the battlefield. Both eyes and smile held a comfortable warmth that put her daughter at ease. "How good it is to see you well, Casilda."

Her daughter managed a weak smile, tilting her head to the side. "Hey. You know me!" She joked, offering a slight shrug. "Just hanging in there, like I usually am..."

"And you as well, Jigen..." Nohemi's gaze drifted down to the one in Casilda's arms. Her warm gaze lessened slightly in favor of a subtle sternness, the consequences of his actions still fresh in her mind. "Even considering what you've become..."

Wiping his eyes, Jigen found some meager amount of strength despite his condition. Placing his hands on the sandy ground he sighed before planting his face before Nohemi and Jinete. Bowing before them, he could only weakly mutter out with as much dignity that he could muster, "I'm sorry...for everything...Lady Nohemi and Lord Jinete."

"Don't worry about it," Jinete said with a nonchalant wave, smiling reassuringly at a confused Jigen. Gesturing to his daughter, the evolved Hollow said with assurance, "it seems you already had settled your differences. It'd feel redundant if you apologized to the likes of us, those who don't even hold a title over this giant desert." 

"I'm forgiven...so easily," Jigen breathed out, trying to understand why it came so naturally to the pair before him. Looking over to Nohemi, his hands balled up at the grains and earnestly stared at her with clear confusion, "even by the likes of you, whom I've hurt the most?! Why?! I should be no better than Aizen in your eyes!" 

Although the gaze of Nohemi lightened somewhat, the firmness within her voice was still there.

"Oh, rest assured that I have yet to forgive you, Jigen." She said calmly, the arms hidden within her cloak folding across her chest. She ignored the surprised gaze of Casiilda, keeping her eyes locked onto her former mentor instead. "How much damage have you caused to us? How many innocent lives have been taken in your quest for selfishness?" Her eyes narrowed, her lips curled to expose her teeth a little more and her composed tone become a bit more venomous. "How much pain have you caused my daughter in the name of your selfish goal?!"

"Hey, wait a minute--" Casilda's protest was cut off abruptly when Nohemi swung a hand out. The glare within those eyes of hers made it clear that she was not to be stopped, keeping the daughter to look on in confusion and worry.

"Do you know what I've had to deal with before getting here, Jigen? What I as well as my husband have had to deal with?" With each and every word spoken, Nohemi's tone became one of ice and poison. She lowered her arm to hide within her cloak. "One of Izanami's children, a brat that dared to call itself a true god. He did not just fight us. He defiled and desecrated the bodies of those we had fought aside in the years before, using them as tools to kill us! He laughed with so much glee, getting off on our fury as if it was the best drug in the world! He was a monster down to his rotten core! The idea of you working alongside him so willingly makes my blood boil hotter than I've ever felt it! Every fragment of my instinct at this very moment is screaming for your death, for every ounce of your blood to be spilled here and now!"

After that, she lapsed into a silence. Her glare was kept on Jigen for a few seconds longer before it faltered, regressing to a more weary look. She looked down at the ground, slowly shutting her eyes. "But I know that even if you were to die, it would solve nothing. It wouldn't bring back the lives lost or restore most of the bonds that have been broken. It wouldn't even cool me down for a second. All it would do is leave me with one more dead body." She opened her eyes, allowing her voice to regress to her naturally bred tone of calm passiveness. "And besides, my daughter has seen something in you worth redeeming. So I'll give you a chance to prove yourself, to show that you wish to turn away from this foolish dance you've been performing. But if you slip up again, betray her as you did for any reason at all..."

Her eyes flashed briefly with a malice that presented itself in a once-in-a-lifetime situation.

"I will kill you."

It was like all sense of warmth he attained from Casilda had vanished when Nohemi's icy cold words were sent spiraling into his very being. He hadn't known that the Defiler would go that far, despite knowing what he was and his capabilities were. The collaboration of people he had to bear with in order to achieve his ends were, for the most part, people he barely tolerated with the minor exception of a handful that were chosen. Upon hearing this, it was now known why Nohemi was so embittered towards him being allied with the very same monster who desecrated their kin and home. 

Swallowing down a lump of both fear and shame at once, Jigen could only nod slowly as tears dried in favor of beading sweat crawling dwon his scalp and brow. He knew better than to earn the ire of someone possessing so much anger and so much power. Especially in his current condition. 

When an audible clap was made following his visible nod, his attention turned to the more lax husband, as his eyes had an understanding light but his words were more soothing towards those affected. "Let's call it a day, shall we? Taking into account of what enemies are left and what our current numbers are would most likely be the best solution. Even checking in with our Gotei allies if they need any medical attention at this point should be on our priority list, right Casilda?"

Taking the hint, Casilda quickly shook herself out of the shock (and slight terror) that she felt upon Nohemi's release of anger and exchanged it for humor. A weak smile crossed her face, and she took in a deep breath. "In case you haven't noticed, Dad, I'm not exactly in a condition to go anywhere right now. I exhausted nearly all of my energy trying to win my fight. If you're wanting to go see the Captains, you'll either have to go without me. Besides," Her fingers tapped idly against the back of Jigen. "I've got a wounded person to tend to myself."

"I can take care of that." Nohemi said, the wrath within her voice having disappeared the moment Jinete spoke up. She stepped forward, extending a hand out towards the two of them. A humored smile crossed her face. "Consider yourself lucky we were the ones to come to you. Otherwise, this would most likely be a gift you wouldn't have received." Her words made Casilda look at her in surprise, and she only had time to let three words slip out.

"What are you--?"

"Time."

When Nohemi spoke that word, an orb of ocean blue energy materialized around both Casilda and Jigen. The former blinked in surprise as she found herself wrapped in what felt like a comforting and positive energy. But she was even more in awe when she felt her power slowly returning to her, every drop of energy used for her final attack regenerated. She would not be the only one to experience this; Jigen's gash sealed up and his own power was restored to him back to his full potential. But although he would be rejuvenated, the swords that had been cracked and broken would stay as they were. It only took a few seconds for the process to complete itself, and once it did, the blue orb faded away as quickly as it had been summoned. When it did, Casilda gently pushed herself away from Jigen to study her own hands. "...my power! It's... it's all here now. What did you do?"

"I restored the state of your bodies to the point in time they were at before you two had fought each other." Nohemi answered, giving an amused smile. "I'm surprised you forgot about that, Casilda. Well into your adulthood and you still relied on the more destructive powers of the Ten Aspects." Her amusement only grew when she saw Primera look sheepish and wince at her own forgetfulness.

Looking at the three swords fragmented below his gaze and then back at his now functioning hands, Jigen took a few moments to process what was given back to him. Despite the venom of Nohemi's words, she willingly restored him to full health and even full power. It was a blessing he didn't take lightly, causing him to ball his hands into fists and his face contort into a grimace. He had nothing to offer but one life. How could that possibly restore anything that had been lost since this pointless war started?

"So uh," Jinete began to whisper to Nohemi, turning to lean into her ear as he eyed Jigen's sullen demeanor, "should we tell him about what happened to you know who?" 

A brief moment of surprise crossed Nohemi's face when she saw Jinete lean in and whisper into her ear. But when she comprehended the words, she put on a more solemn face. Had Casilda not interrupted, she would've responded. "Wait a minute, you know who?" She repeated, squinting one eye in confusion and shaking her head. "No, I really don't know who. Who are you talking about?"

Nohemi's eyebrows furrowed when her gaze swung back to Casilda. "We're talking about Sōsuke, Casilda."

Briefly, trepidation crossed Casilda's face at the mention of her enemy. However, once she remembered how the four-way fight with him before ended, she was quick to relax. She grinned a little, tilting her head to the side. "What about him? We dealt with him long before. What, did you happen to dig up some hidden information about him? I could've done that myself once we got finished with all of--"

"You didn't kill him."

It was the statement that almost stopped Casilda cold. The chill within the girl's expression was wiped away, replaced by a look of horrified apprehension. "...what?" She asked quietly, emotion barely detected within her voice.

"Whatever you did to him obviously wasn't defined as "killing" by his standards." Nohemi explained, irritation flashing through her own eyes as she flashed back to her own encounter with Aizen. "Using the power of a Hogyoku the Defiler wielded as well as the body of the Defiler himself, Aizen reincarnated himself back into existence. In addition, he seemed to have obtained a power boost from it - or at the very least, he was hiding his true power when he fought you. He approached us both so confidently, asking for our surrender. When he refused, he prepared an energy blast that had a high probability of killing us both in an instant. I'm not lying when I say that the odds against us were at their worst compared to what we had to face before in the battle." The single bead of sweat that fell down her face and the brief closing of her eyes served to intensify the burning Casilda was feeling.

"But then, the one called Yashin Shiyōnin intervened. With what I assumed was a living part of himself, he assimilated Aizen and took on a new form. But he didn't raise his sword to us, instead choosing to bid us farewell and retreat. His intentions and reasons for doing so, as he claimed, was because he didn't think ahead that far - a claim reinforced when questioned by the Horsemen of the Inner Circle. They fled with him from Hueco Mundo, thus allowing us to come to you."

Where Jigen was simply beside himself with confusion and depression, mingled with the slight amount of hope that had been gifted to him, hearing this news changed all of that. He knew what Yashin was and what role he was supposed to have played in the Inner Circle's regime. Hearing what he did and how he obtained it made it seem that, even if he had slain Casilda, the opposing Arrancars driven out and their forces brought to victory...it'd be all for nothing. 

"It was all...meaningless...from the start!" Jigen growled out as his hands clenched hard enough to crack audibly. His eyes widened and began to glare at the sand beneath his lap, ignoring the shards of metal and hilts that lied broken before him. They rattled and clanked upon the ground as the wind began swirling around him, his body emitting a virulent white aura of immense Reiatsu. 

"Nohemi," Jinete whispered out, his own eyes widening at what he saw transpiring with Jigen, "I think you divulged too much..."

Baring his teeth, Jigen's eyes burned an empty snow hue, his form bristling and crackling with erratic energy. Rearing back and swinging his arms back around the proud warrior let out a howl so fierce it ripped apart the sand for kilometers on end. Jinete had to shield his face with an arm, his cloak billowing wildly as he struggled to keep in place as the power surged around the infamous swordsmen. In a pendulum motion two arms whipped fists down and hit the ground, indenting the earth beneath their feet a good dozen meters inwards, causing spirals of Reiatsu tendrils to crawl and snake around the grained earth. 

"I am truly a blind fool," Jigen laughed out in a truly hollow tone, his eyes vacantly staring at the ground as his fingers went slack and unclenched the mighty fists that were responsible for so much death. So much pain and suffering. It was all worthless for Aizen was doomed to die from the start. Bowing his head down till its brow touched the grained soil, he grew still and uncomfortably quiet as he curled into a state of resignation. "I am sorry...for I was nothing but a tool for my own desire. Nothing happened as I wanted it nor carried out the way I intended. I am no better than the monsters that I served alongside and that I deserve a fate worse than death."

It was a painful sight to see.

Even Nohemi's eyes upon Jigen became solemnly sympathetic as she saw the man break down. Although she too had to raise her arms and fight to keep herself in place against the energies, it did not stop the burning pain of her empathy from throbbing in her chest. He didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve the despair he had just received at her hands. But that feeling was only a side effect of what needed to be done. It would've been terrible to keep him in the dark, only for him to find out much later that he was being led on a string. Trying to keep anything in the dark now would've only served to be consequential later on. She opened her mouth, ready to express both of these feelings to Jinete and Jigen.

However, she was stopped by another grieved voice.

"So... you mean to tell me that all of this was just a ploy for him?"

Casilda wasn't looking at them, her gaze being directed towards the ground. At first, her voice was quiet still yet. But as she spoke, it gradually increased in volume and the barely contained anguish could be heard more and more. "I had to abandon Hueco Mundo, leaving our kin at the mercy of the Sennin Butai. I sacrificed thousands upon thousands of lives to bring down the armies of our enemy, at least one of which included the life of an innocent child. I had to fight both enemy and ally alike in order to ensure that we would come back and reconstruct ourselves, just as we always have from hard times like this. But now you're telling me that all this time, I was playing to someone else's tune?!"

Nohemi's expression changed to one of worry, and she attempted to stretch out her hand to comfort the distressed Arrancar. "Casilda--"

"Why?!" But Casilda had other plans. She shut her eyes, lurching forward and balling her fists in front of her. "Why did I even bother fighting so hard?! The blood, the sweat and the tears... they were all for nothing!! The only reason that we are all alive is because there was a chessmaster who deemed it fit that we do!! There was nothing earned by our fight, our determination and our sacrifices!! If that very same chessmaster happened to be looking in Aizen's direction, we would all be dead right now!! This was no victory!! This was..." She paused a little, sobbing a little and unable to keep the tears from flowing from her eyes. She raised shaking hands up to clasp her face, open and distraught eyes continuing to gaze at the ground. Her voice could no longer hold the fire in her tone, weak and frail. "This was a pity hand-out, a treat for being such a good dog..."

She fell to her hands and knees, her head hung down. Her tears dripped down, staining the sands as well as the back of her hands. "How can I face my people now? I planned to gather them all, to tell them that we, the Espada Afilado, had fought long and hard to obtain peace for our society once again. How can I say that now, knowing that every single action was just a means for someone else? I can't. I have been manipulated and shamed in the worst way possible. I bet he knows it. I bet he's watching every moment of it, laughing at all of us and how stupid we were." She shut her eyes, her grieving voice raising to a shout in a brief flare of rage. "IS THIS FUNNY TO YOU, YASHIN?! DOES THE SIGHT OF THE GREAT AND MIGHTY PRIMERA SOBBING LIKE A NEWBORN CHILD ENTERTAIN YOU?! ARE YOU LAUGHING RIGHT NOW?!"

She paused once again, allowing herself to laugh brokenly. "If you are... don't feel bad. If I were in your shoes... I would laugh, too. I would laugh so fucking hard right now..."

"Casilda--" Nohemi started again, her expression pleading as she took a step towards her daughter. But she would stop again once she saw the young Arrancar jerk herself back to her feet and stumble back. Her blood froze into her veins when she saw the look in her eyes. No longer did she have the fire that she usually did within her eyes. Now they were dim, her entire frame conveying a sense of brokenness and ruin. She looked completely shattered, her strong gait and the semblance of a leader gone like the wind. If that didn't convey it, her next words would.

"I am no warrior... and I will never," She shut her eyes once more. "Fight again."

Without warning, she took off with a Sonido-boosted jump and flew through the air as far away from them as possible, leaving Nohemi to look after her in a blend of sadness and horror.

"Your honesty is as blunt as a hammer," Jinete mused out loud, partially in sardonic jeer and the other in an exaggerated sigh at her lack of tact. Rubbing his face with a spare hand, he turned his back towards where his daughter went and grumbled to himself. A few seconds later he opened his orbs as his digits dragged off his face, "leave her be, Nohemi. You've done enough. She'll need to sort through this thing on her own."

"Poor girl," Jinete turned to hear Jigen speak, his tears already streaming down his face as he looked down at the ground. He had heard every word spoke, each sentence driving a nail through his heart. As she left, it was like a part of his forgiveness, his redemption had been taken away as well. "I can only feel empathy for her plight for I had once felt this way ages ago. I hope she doesn't fall into the bottomless abyss, as I once did, and walk the path I once did."

"She'll recover. She'll grow stronger from this. She always does," Jinete reassured the two, looking back over his shoulder at the horizon, smiling softly at her distant form, "she's our daughter, after all."

Rekindling The Mighty Drive

Blue lights flashed in the distance of Hueco Mundo. Upheavals of sand and debris were shot into the skies with each and every flash, and upon closer inspection, piles of bodies were formed along with the explosions and releases of dirt and sand. Coyote Starrk was in his first release state, firing his pistols casually at swarms of Aizen's remaining followers. Having chosen to remain behind to hold off any possible reinforcements, Starrk's expression was bland and drowsy; he didn't like what he was doing, for sure, and thankfully he was close to being finished, but all of this senseless violence and destruction was wearing thin on him. Moreso than anything, he was wanting to just fall back to sleep...

But at that moment, his senses snapped back to the real world as he felt the presence of Casilda nearby. As he had finally mopped up the remaining minions, he quickly used Sonido to move in her direction. Maybe she needed his help with something bigger than just foot soldiers, or maybe she just wanted to see him period. Only one way to know...

On a sand dune sat an unreleased Casilda, who looked worse for the wear.

She sat with her elbows on her knees and her face held in her hands, quietly sobbing to herself. It was a rather sad rhythm to see, witnessing her shoulders shake with each sharp intake of breath. Her mind was wrapped in its own turmoil, a storm above the raging inferno of her body's inner workings. While normally she wouldn't dare let anyone see her in such an emotional state, she couldn't help it this time. Nohemi's message was one of cruel clarity, that despite every bit of effort she had placed into this war, it had been all for naught. The reason she was alive was because her enemy deemed it so. All she had done was give that very same enemy a new toy - one that he could use to dangerous potential. Even if she tried, she doubted that she could do much. With an opponent that planned so much ahead, how could she doubt him to be able to pinpoint every move made by every player? It was impossible. He had become the thing Aizen had strived to be - untouchable and invincible. She and the rest of them were living because he wanted it so, and knowing that destroyed every bit of confidence she had within herself.

"I can't believe this. Never before in a long time have I longed for death to come to me. I let myself fall under the illusions of that monster all along. I danced like a snake to his flute, pulling all those beneath me along for the ride. I can't face them now, now that I know that every bit of it was a lie. I should just die, kill myself and end it right here. It'd be quicker than allowing the puppeteer to cut my strings for me..."

Starrk reached her fairly quickly, and his keen senses picked up on every word that she said. At first it made him stop in his tracks and blink a couple of times in confusion. Was she just being sarcastic after sitting here on the dunes, bored as he was? Or had something actually shaken her resolve so much that she wanted to end herself then and there? He hadn't known her for too long, but even he knew that this wasn't in her character. "Oi, Cassie..." he said as he came a few feet away from her. "The hell happened to you?" his voice one of slight concern but more of confusion.

His voice caused Casilda to jerk her head up and spin it to him, looking no more or less like a frightened animal. Her expression of fright was punctuated by the tears falling from her eyes as she looked at Starrk. But it would only last for a few seconds before she realized just who exactly she was looking at. She jerked her head aside, using a hand to cast aside the salty water. But she knew it was pointless. He had seen the tears. He knew that something was wrong. How could anyone not have guessed that much, had they seen her in her current state?

She did her best to force a smile onto her face. But it was weak and small, and she didn't too much to encourage it. "Oh, C-Coyote... it's just you..." She managed to get out, hastily turning her gaze away from him. "I-It's nothing, I was just thinking about some trivial matters and was... um..." For a moment, her expression carried a look of genuine confusion as she attempted to finish her sentence. "How do the humans say it... angsting? Ah, yeah, that's it. That's what I was doing, nothing more." She quickly switched back to her previous expression of false mirth, continuing to avoid his gaze. Although vainly hoping it would, she knew that it was a pathetic attempt for a cover-up. He wouldn't buy it.

Surely enough, he didn't. He raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side. "Eh?" he said lowly as he walked calmly towards her and sat next to her casually, though his expression had become more serious and concerned as he did so. "I wouldn't expect you of all people to be angsting at a time like this. And they must not be so trivial if they've driven you to crocodile tears like that." he continued, laying his guns over to his left side.

"Of course he'd see, Casilda. Why are you trying to lie to him?"

His words caused the fake smile to fade away, and she briefly pursed her lips together. Inwardly, she had hoped in some way it would get him to go away and leave her alone with her thoughts. But he made it clear that he wasn't going to do that, what with the placing of his guns and all. Another smile, sarcastic and bitter, crossed her face. But she kept her gaze out to the horizon. "What? Are you here to make obvious observations?" She asked, her voice weak and hoarse. "I know, I look fucking pitiful. I look like a goddamn child crying over spilled ice cream. Trust me, I know what I look like right now. How could anyone else not feel what I'm feeling, if they were given the same brand of news that I had?" She exhaled a sigh, burying her face in her arms and hiding her expression from his view.

"I... We... fought long and hard, didn't we? To overthrow Aizen, to bring down their invasion and to restore the balance once again. Thousands of lives were sacrifice as they usually are. Thousands more were ruined by the corruption of the chaos. With my two hands, I had to fight tooth and nail just to gain a step of ground against the enemy. I gave it my all, even if it wasn't enough. Even now, the men and women under me have the right to sing "victory" as they're bringing down the last of Aizen's influence. Under any normal circumstances, I would've found it a good reason to celebrate."

She raised her head up, once again staring bleakly into the setting. "All this time, there was a puppeteer behind the puppeteer, a man deceiving even the likes of Aizen. I was told that despite everything we did, it still wasn't enough to kill him. He simply reincarnated himself using one of his lackeys, and was so close to killing both my mother and father. But it wasn't them who stopped him from doing so. It was the one manipulating his strings. He was the one to deal the final blow to Aizen, assimilating him. If not for that very same puppeteer, we would all have been dead. I and the rest of the Alliance had continued to breathe on the whim of an enemy. All this time, I thought I was a shield and sword that had a crucial role in bringing down their machine. But in the end, I was a rat in a cage." At the edge of her words, her voice began to crack. "The very thought sickens me so much, I could just..."

She trailed off, shutting her eyes and burying her face on her arm once more.

The words were enough to take Starrk aback rather quickly. She hadn't gone into explicit detail, and frankly he was thankful that she didn't, but if what she was saying was true, virtually every action that they and their allies had taken all this time was just carefully planned out by one of the most dangerous beings alive, if they were able to sneak under Aizen's gaze. He didn't respond at first for the initial few seconds after she spoke, choosing to take it all in before he responded. With a slight exhale, he replied, staring off into the horizon in the same direction as her.

"Alright..." he started, before his eyes glanced over towards her, his voice casual but carrying a hint of seriousness. "...so what?"

It was the response that she didn't see coming.

She abruptly jerked her head up, her bleak expression shifting from misery to shock. But as she slowly turned her gaze from him, her look of incredulity turning to one of indignation. Her teeth clenched together, and she found herself letting out a frustrated growl. "So...what?" She repeated in a seething manner. "What do you mean "So what"?! Don't you even know what this means now?! It means that we are still at the mercy of him!! That we can't make a move anymore without him knowing it!! We're little more than naked, hairless rodents in his maze with nothing to do but run away and wait to see how long before he decides to kill us!!" She abruptly stood up from the sands, roughly brushing herself off before balling her fists at her sides and glaring down at Starrk.

"I don't expect you to understand it, Coyote. For what you've shown me, you've never once shown me the side of a prideful individual. I can get that. I can get the idea that you may not understand the feeling of your pride being sliced into so many pieces, the idea of all of your work destined to go up in flames. But what I can't get is how you can talk as if it isn't a big deal!!" She swung a hand out viciously to her side. "Just how in the world can you even begin to say something so casual as "So what" to me?!"

"Enough."

Starrk's cool gaze locked eyes with her almost at that exact instant, his response just as firm as his tone was before. "This is three times now I've seen you break down into a fit in the face of adversity." He went on, his posture not changing. "To think you're the one who wears the mantle of Primera in the here and now. I may not seem like a determined person, but when I served under Aizen's wing, the only despair that my enemies saw from me was the moment their blades had cut through me and sent me to the earth beneath us, because up until then, I was the only one who could control my fate, and it was my error that led to my downfall." He scoffed slightly as his face turned away from her and back to the horizon. "The one you speak of may have manipulated us all up until this point, but no matter how far he plans ahead, no matter how many traps and ambushes he sets up for us, at the end of the day, the only one who can decide the fate of you and those who follow you... is you."

Slowly, his expression lightened and turned back towards her. "To be a Primera, means to guide the fate of yourself and those around them. Many will stumble, many more will fall, but in the end, they will all follow you... but only if they can see strength in your heart and resolve in your eyes." Standing up himself, he put his hands in his pockets and kept his sight on her, while his body was turned towards the direction they were both facing. "It was my poor judgment that led to my downfall, Casilda." he continued. "And it is your shattered resolve that will lead to yours, as well as all of those under your command. I may not be a proud individual... but I'd trade pride for resolve any day."

At first, Casilda was content to glare ferociously. There was no anger, no rise of the tone or change of the expression. It was as almost as if he had rehearsed for this moment several times over. A flare sparked up within her when he heard the jabbing question of her being the Primera, a corner of her mouth briefly peeling back in a brief snarl. At that moment, the peak of her rage was put to full. She just wanted to punch him, to wipe that look of permanent stoicism right off his face. But the more he continued to speak, the more she found herself unable to keep up her fury. Her expression lightened little by little, until it became little more than thoughtful. Her fists slowly relaxed, allowing her fingers to relieve themselves. Her gaze drifted down to the ground, her mind drifting away from Starrk for the time being.

"Of course. How could I forget that? They fought for me, bled for me and died for me. They did it not because I forced or manipulated them to, but because they believed in me. They believed me for the strength I showed when first carving my lines into Hueco Mundo. It was hard and it was a long thought-out process. But I did it. What's the issue of someone having played chess over my own head?" She closed her eyes, the last of her stress fading away from her countenance. "Just because I've been used doesn't mean that I can't recover. I've already bit one hand that fed me. I can chow down on another. I can still fight back, just as I've always been doing. He can have this little victory for now. But the game is far from over."

Her bangs overshadowed her eyes for a moment as she hung her head, her mouth contorting into a grin. A set of chuckles escaped her lips - laughter aimed at herself. But although jovial in most of its nature, it held a rather sinister undertone. "You're right. Of course you have to be right." She said softly, folding her arms across her chest and shaking her head. "What am I doing here, crying like a little girl just because someone used me for their own domain? Yashin can have his little laugh for now. But I have the luxury of learning from my mistakes. I can pick myself up. I can recover. I can fight back. This situation is no different from all those centuries ago, when I even began to think of turning Hueco Mundo into a true civilization. The only one who can truly decide the fate of this world is me and me alone. As long as I am standing, so will my people."

She turned her gaze back to the horizon, her expression slowly shifting into a glare. "Yashin can have his fun, wherever he is now." She said, her composed tone outlined with a cold venom. "But only for the moment. He wanted a worthy adversary, for someone to find a place in the other seat? I'll gladly oblige. I'll slide my happy ass into that chair, pick him apart move by move and crush him into the dust." She slowly stretched her hands out as if reaching for something, then flicked his wrists and closed those hands into fists as if snatching something out of the hair. "I'll make him hurt as much as he's hurt us. That is my vow. That," By this point in time, her teeth were bared in a show of fury, conviction and above all else, resolve. "Is my declaration of war."

Starrk simply blinked a couple of times, having expected something a little less violent in terms of her response, but it was better than her simply sobbing on the uncomfortable sands, a sight he truly dreaded seeing. "Well... I don't think you gotta take it that far, but... whatever makes you comfortable works alright." he said as he sat back down on the sand, exhaling as he stared out into the distant warzone that he had left behind prior to their conversation. "...I dunno about you, but I could use a pretty good sleep right about now." it wasn't a serious sentence, but it wasn't an entirely dishonest one either. He knew it would seem like a lighthearted sway from her declaration, but if he could lighten the mood some, maybe it would ease her mind as well.

Casilda closed her eyes and gave a heavy sigh, the sneer fading away from her face. "I would give anything for some rest myself. But my people need me. My comrades and allies need me right now." She took in a deep breath, taking a few steps forward from Starrk. Her eyes, passive and thoughtful, stared into the depths of the war-torn landscape. "I trust you won't go anywhere, right? I'll be back." She turned her head to look at him, giving him a soft yet playful smile. "Try not to get too sad while I'm gone, yeah?"