- In Hueco Mundo, one of the blonde haired Ángeles stands on top of a mountain of hollow bones. He seems to be in deep thought, but was interrupted by the appearance of Asesino.
"Why are you disturbing me Asesino? You know we aren't on good terms," asked the blond Espada.
"With all due respect, Emidio-sama, we have a problem in Hueco Mundo that we need to deal with," Asesino replied.
"It's a problem you need to deal with," Emidio corrected him.
Asesino turned around. "You shouldn’t brush aside your brothers like that. I know that you hate me for no reason but still you should treat me as a comrade; after all we are working for the same goal." He turned his head to face his superior as he spoke, but Emidio made no attempt to respond.
"I sent the Ninth into the field to deal with Zukia's lackeys," Asesino said, in an attempt to pipe interest in the other. But no interest rewarded him. The lesser Espada turned around and disappeared into the darkness, his footsteps echoing through the great halls.
Meanwhile, in Rukongai
- Back in Soul Society, Mizuki and Ren are standing in front of a waterfall, in a sylvan part of the Rukongai. The remains of hollows are scattered about the area. They are slightly out of breath.
"Damn, there were a lot of those stupid hollows," Mizuki complained. Ren's smile of relief began to turn into a face full of concern. Mizuki turned to ask Ren what was wrong, but the ripping sound in the sky turned his attention away. A hole opened up in the sky to reveal a skinny arrancar with two zanpakuto sheathed at his waist. His hair was dark and his expression carefully neutral. However, he held a calm aura about him.
Ren looked at the intruder, gazing over his body. He is so handsome, Ren thought to himself. Even so, the arrancar was the enemy, and he needed to be struck down for the sake of Soul Society.
Not wanting the enemy to get close, Mizuki quickly released his zanpakuto and activated his primary attack spell associated with his water-elemental blade. The attack, at first, seemed successful, as it hit its target, but closer examination revealed Severino’s unharmed state. He held a hand before him to intercept the attack. "An attack executed so perfectly, yet lack so much power. Why attack if you cannot do so efficiently?"
Mizuki was angered at the statements made by their foe but he knew deep down they were true.
"I am Severino Corbusier," the arrancar continued, "Noveno Espada."
Severino Corbusier appears before Mizuki and Ren Yamatoro.
"You will be my fight, Espada," said Ren boldly, stepping towards the other, "you’re only the Ninth Espada, so you won't be too difficult to defeat."
"Triplicate Sankaku!" shouted Ren. The shinigami split into three other bodies: one was red in color, the second was blue and the last was green.
"Interesting," Severino mused. He leaned forward to more closely examine the bodies, but he made no move to attack.
"Your strength is nothing compared to his," Ren boasted.
Severino gave a great sigh. He seemed uninterested in a confrontation. "You know, we don’t have to do this."
"Do what?" inquired Mizuki, cautious about the whole scene. Being the lieutenant of the Fourth Division, Mizuki did not have much offensive capabilities. His attacks obviously will not be of much use, forcing him to stick to the sidelines.
"Enter this fight," Severino explained, "I'm sure that all of us would be willing to avoid fighting each other, if possible."
"Sorry, but I’m not interested," one of the Rens answered for Mizuki, and the copies readied themselves to attack.
The Espada gave a shrug, raising a hand. "Don't say that I didn't warn you: Cero."
The bright red stream of spiritual energy burst from the palm of his hand, a juggernaut of destruction. The wind howled and roared as it was thrown aside by the great blast, and the two shinigami hastily leaped out of its projected path of destruction. Rubble and debris rained from the skies as the Rens and Mizuki attempted to scan the immediate area for a follow up attack.
The red-haired version of Ren gave a yelp of surprise as he found himself flying through the air, Severino seeming to appear out of nowhere with a kick at ready. The green-haired Ren began utilizing shunpo in order to overwhelm the other, but was quickly thrown back with a second blow from Severino. Before the final Ren could attack, Severino caught him by the cuff of his shihakusho, lifting him into the air.
How is this possible? He should not have been this strong... the original Ren thought to himself as his Wisdom form was thrown aside like a rag doll.
"I might be number nine, but I am more than enough for your kind," the arrancar stated coldly. Mizuki attempted to come up behind him, thrusting his zanpakuto forth to pierce the arrancar's skin. Severino gave a chopping motion, snapping Mizuki's blade in an instant. A flick of his hand knocked the fourth division lieutenant out of arm's reach.
Ren gulped in air, unsure as of how to proceed. "Mizuki, stay out of this!"
"A wise choice," Severino smiled, "at least the shinigami are not full of fools."
Gritting his teeth, the seated officer of the fifth division charged at the other. The first blows made with Severino's arms, making no visible damage. His clones joined in the fray, in an attempt to overwhelm the arrancar. Severino leaped back before the hefty strike of the Power Form could connect.
"This is going nowhere," Severino muttered, unsheathing one of the two blades at his waist. "I have more important things to attend to."
Without uttering another word, the blade was released. "Mononoke, embrace him."
At first, nothing appeared to happen, but Ren's power form felt something brushing against his legs. He looked down, giving an audible gasp as vines wrapped themselves around his limbs, working its way up to his torso and head like an infection. The form was effectively immobile.
"One down..." Severino was beind the form in an instant, piercing the shinigami's heart with the drawn blade. The copy disappated, and the vines imprisoning it fell to the ground, disintegrating with its nullification. "Three more to go."
The process continued, until Ren was on his last stand, fatigued from his shikai ability and battling against Severino's zanpakuto. Only then, did the thought of the end of his life being near did Ren begin thinking of death. Zukia...
Severino's zanpakuto hovered in the air, held above the defeated shinigami like a bell waiting to let out its call of death.
"The bells toll for thee," Severino said. "Can you hear them now?"
And the blade came down.