Chapter 7. Enjoy...
As Ichigo roared bankai, a massive wave of energy surged from his zanpakuto. The wave struck Ethos and drove him into the steps, destroying them in the process. Ethos coughed as he stood up and dusted himself off.
"Wow… that's new. I didn't know you had a Bankai," Ethos coughed out as he walked a few feet and squinted his eyes to try to see thought the dust.
"You don't know ANYTHING about me!" Ichigo exclaimed as he now held Tensa Zangetsu in his right hand and his Shinigami uniform gain its new bankai robe.
Ichigo still wore the small Quincy cape over his left shoulder but the rode itself had gain some differences from the three years since he last used it. The sleeves, from the wrists to the elbows, and the tips of the rode gained a design of dark red fire, which was nearly impossible to see at a distance. The back had also gained a picture, in the same shade of red, of a skull with three "claw" marks on the left side of its forehead. The same "claw" marks continued form his back, over his shoulder, and to the front of his right chest.
As the dust settled Ethos smiled, "What? Is that it?" Ethos smiled slightly at Ichigo's bankai, "So, all that energy and all you got is that little flimsy sword and a new outfit!? Man this sucks! Zangetsu looked so much better when it was bigger, now it's just a black katana!"
Ethos sighed and placed his hand on his forehead, "Sorry… sorry, I just thought you would have a much better Bankai, but if that's it I hope it does something special. HAHAHA!"
As Ethos laughed at Ichigo, Ichigo disappear from his sight. Ethos stopped laughing as Ichigo slashed his back. Ethos fell to his knees as the deep wound bled intensely. Ichigo placed his zanpakuto on Ethos' shoulder as he turned his head.
"Well… you can cut me now…" Ethos chuckled as Ichigo placed his Zangetsu on his throat. "I guess… you win…"
Without a word, Ichigo quickly pulled Zangetsu and opened Ethos' throat. As he bled, Ethos collapsed face down on the floor. There he lied, in a pool of his own blood.
Ichigo stared at the body for a moment, before taking a deep breath. He then raised Zangetsu above his head and swung his blade to clean it. The blood splattered in the direction of the swing.
Ichigo walked away from the corpse and towards Nell. "I'm really disappointed in you, Ichigo." Ichigo turned in shock to face Ethos' lying corpse. "I thought I told you already…" Ethos place one hand on the floor and pushed himself up slightly before standing up completely, "never let your guard down until you know your opponent is a dead."
Ichigo looked at Ethos' throat and saw that the wound was closing. Ethos turned around and spread his arms to show his back to Ichigo. That wound was also closing until it was completely gone. "You see, Ichigo… you can't win against the God of this world."
"What the hell did you do!? Why aren't you dead and how did you heal so fast?"
"Hahaha! Do you remember when you fought Arrgosax?" Ethos asked as he turned around.
"Yeah…"
"Well, if you remembered that fight, you would remember that Arrgosax had the upper hand but Redeemer saved you. After that Arrgosax got a little mad and ripped open Red's chest. The next day though, the wound was already gone. Redeemer had inherited my healing abilities after I split myself in three. But those healing abilities were very weak compared to me. The same thing goes for Kruznik and the herrio. You couldn't cut me before because mine is stronger than his."
"But it looks like I and cut you NOW!" Ichigo dashed toward Ethos and attempted to stab his right eye. In a split second, Ethos moved his head to the left, dodging Ichigo's attack, and with his right hand grabbed the tip of Ichigo's zanpakuto.
As entire blade of the zanpakuto moved, it sliced through Ethos' gripped and only stopped at the guard. Ethos quickly grabbed the handle of his zanpakuto with his left hand and drew it with lighting speed, hitting Ichigo in the gut with the hilt.
As Ichigo stumbled backward slightly, Ethos released his grip on Zangetsu and sheathed his zanpakuto as quickly as he drew it. Ichigo looked up at Ethos, just before he released a powerful strike into Ichigo's face, sending him flying back.
"Ichigo," Ethos spoke as he looked at his bleeding hand, "you might be able to cut me, but..." Ethos turned his hand and showed Ichigo his palm as the wound closed up. "I heal way too fast for you to deal any kind of real damage. Just remember, the power and abilities of all three of them are now within me and my strength is three times greater than any of them."
Ethos ran towards Ichigo and threw a combination of left and right punches. Ichigo block each punch with Zangetsu and in the process, cut up Ethos' fists and arms as well. Ichigo studied each hit and looked for an opening until he got one.
Ichigo took advantage of a small gap between the punches and stab Ethos in the stomach. As the blade entered his enemy, Ichigo turned it and slashed open Ethos' entire lower torso. A massive amount of blood pored out of his body as Ethos was punched in the face by Ichigo.
Ichigo raised Zangetsu to deal another blow but something shot out of Ethos' body. Ichigo instinctively jumped back to dodge the attack and looked at Ethos. He was slouched over and bleeding all over the floor. His arms were cut up and something was moving in his open stomach.
"Hehehe. Not bad, Ichigo... You look for openings and attack with perfect accuracy..." Ethos stood up straight and took a deep breathe, "I might have to take this fight serious." Ethos' wounds were starting to close but Ichigo saw what it was that attacked him. There was a long dark-blue tentacle sticking outside his open wound but as the wound closed the tentacle retreated into Ethos' body.
"Shall we continue?" Ethos asked with a sinister smile.
Ichigo charged Ethos and swung his zanpakuto; Ethos braced himself and blocked the attack with his forearm. Ichigo grabbed Zabimaru with his left hand and released its shika with one upward swing. Ethos jumped over Ichigo to dodge the attack, but Ichigo turn around and slashed with Zangetsu.
Just as the blade looked like it was about to strike Ethos, something white came out of his back to block it but the object retreated back into the coat Ethos wore as quickly as it came out. Ethos turned around and heel-kicked Ichigo in the face. Ichigo countered with a kick of his own that landed in Ethos' chest and was followed by a slash of both Zangetsu and Zabimaru.
Just as both zanpakutos came down, Ethos raised his right forearm and a long white spike came out of his sleeve and blocked the attack.
"WHAT!" Ichigo yelled in shock.
"That's not the only trick I can do, Ichigo!" Ethos chuckled as he jumped back.
Ethos and Ichigo stared at each other for a brief moment. Ethos reached for the right sleeve of his coat and tore it off. Ichigo saw that on Ethos' right arm had tattoos. One tattoo on his shoulder was a row of teeth and a pair of eyes on his upper bicep. On his forearm, just under his elbow, he had oval rings that wrapped all the way around his arm. Ichigo also noticed that the spike, that blocked his attack, looked like it was coming out of his arm.
"What is that?"
"What do you mean? What's what? HAHAHA!"
"Don't fuck with me! What's that thing coming out of your arm?"
"Oh! This thing? This is just one of the many spikes I can produce in my body. Redeemer had this ability too but he could only use it was he is released form." Ethos grabbed the spike with his left hand and began to pull it out, "These spikes hurt like hell when they come out so they are only suppose to be used for a natural defense but I can use these spikes as a projectiles or as a simple sword..."
Ethos pulled the spike out of his arm and threw it in the air before catching it with his right hand. He ran toward Ichigo and slammed down with the spike as soon as he came within range. Ichigo block the attack with Zangetsu and then swung Zabimaru, cutting Ethos' leg. Ethos continued his attack with slash after slash pushing Ichigo back until Ichigo found another opening and took it.
Ichigo got one good hack at Ethos' ribs with Zabimaru, but as soon as Ichigo tried retracting the blade something grabbed it.
"What the?"
"I got you NOW!" Ethos exclaimed as Ichigo realized that the tentacle from before was holding Zabimaru. Ethos took advantage of this and cut Ichigo's left forearm. As Ichigo dropped the zanpakuto, Ethos' tentacle released it as well.
Ethos took the offense again as Ichigo tried to stab him in the face. Ethos dodged the thrust and grabbed Ichigo's right wrist, then he turned sideways while unleashing three powerful elbow strikes. The first struck Ichigo in the nose, the second in the chest, and the final in the stomach.
Next Ethos pulled Ichigo down to the floor but before Ichigo had a chance to hit the floor; Ethos delivered a devastating knee strike into his stomach. Ichigo spat blood as Ethos continued his assault by upper-cutting him into the air.
Ichigo looked at the floor as he flew up into the air. Ethos smiled and shunpo above Ichigo and kicked him, to send him flying back to the floor. Ethos shunpo again to meet Ichigo as he fell. Ethos laughed and kicked him again to send Ichigo falling even faster. Just as Ichigo felt he was going to hit the floor, he looked up to see the sky but only saw Ethos' open palm as it slammed his head into to the floor.
The force of the fall caused everything to shake and rumble as derby rose into the sky. Ethos closed his eyes, raised his head, and took a deep breathe when he stood up.
"Ichigo, do you know why I can't be beat?" Ichigo tried to raise his head off the floor but Ethos kicked him in the face and threw the spike away, "I can't be beat because a God can't die. I'd admit that you put up one HELL of a fight but..."
Ethos reached down and picked up Ichigo by the throat with his right hand. "You will never win so just die here and let me restore my kingdom to its former glory." Ethos stretched his arm outward and flexed his it as many large and small spikes shot up from his skin covering his arm in them. The spikes pointed in the direction of his fingers.
Ethos pointed his hand straight for Ichigo's chest. "Any last words? No? Then die..." Ethos reached back and thrust his arm.
"ICHIGO!"
Ethos stopped his attack just as it reached Ichigo's chest and turned his head to see who called out Ichigo's name. As he turned, a large silver object struck him in the chest and caused him to release Ichigo. The object drilled into Ethos and sent him flying to one part of the stone city.
"Ichigo! Are you ok?" Ichigo looked up in a slight daze from the floor to see who saved him. "Come on, Ichigo! He'll be back soon. We need to get out of here."
"N...Nell?"
"Yes, Ichigo it's me, now let's go!" Nell picked up Ichigo and ran in the opposite direction that Ethos was thrown.
"Nell, what did you..."
"I threw my lance at him but that won't hold him off for long."
"Your lance?" At that moment Ichigo realize that Nell was in her released form and running in between the stone structures of the city.
"Ichigo."
"Yeah."
"I think I know who we are dealing with."
"What!? How you know!?"
"I said I think, but if my guess is right, we are in deep trouble." Nell turned corner after corner and jumped over fallen rocks as she spoke, "When I first served under Aizen, the number one stop of the Espadas was empty. I was told never to ask about the Arrancar who had that spot before Stark, so I never did... All I knew was that the Arrancar was powerful enough to defy Aizen's will and fight Gin, Tousen, and Aizen himself all at the same time. There was also another rumor that he was the supposed ruler of Hueco Mundo before Aizen came."
"So I guess what he said was true."
"Yeah, but the most disturbing information I have was when Aizen sent me to find other Arrancars to serve in his army. In one village, I found some old books that had legends of the old ruler of Hueco Mundo. The books told of the God King of Hueco Mundo, and that he rule the world with terror and an iron fist. He would sore above the sands and spread the plague that was his wrath. He body represented death, pain, and madness in a physical form. He was a cruel and merciless tyrant but with his rule, Hueco Mundo thrived and prospered with power and the Hollows were at their prime." Nell stopped in a small area and placed Ichigo down as she took a short rest.
"What did you do with the books?" Ichigo asked as he looked around the corners to see if they were followed.
"I gave them to Aizen and asked if those books were accurate. He told me not to look any further into the legends and then reassigned me to a different area. I thought it was suspicions, so I asked what happened to the books and who replaced me in that area. Gin told me that Aizen destroyed the books and assigned Nnoitra to the area..."
Ichigo stood and contemplated the situation for a moment. What could he do? His opponent is a man who can heal almost instantaneously and was strong enough to stand against Aizen. First he knew he had to get Nell to a safe area so Ethos would not harm her, then he might have a chance to give everything he had at him.
Ichigo's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden laugh. "HAHAHA! So Aizen tried to erase me existence from history! That must mean he never wanted to see me again... WOW! I made one HELL of an impression on him!" Ichigo and Nell looked up in shock to see Ethos preached on top of one of the rocks.
Nell grabbed Ichigo and shunpo away. Nell shunpo again and again between the rocks as fast as she could. "Nell! Put me down, I'll hold him off while you run, I'll catch up!" Ichigo yelled.
"No, Ichigo, you won't. I'm faster than you even if you are in your Bankai, right now we just have to..." The wall next to Nell crashed down as she spoke. Nell dropped Ichigo as Ethos jumped out of the rubble, grabbed her throat, and pinned her against the wall. Ichigo swung Zangetsu, but Ethos shot three spikes out of his shoulder that impaled Ichigo to a wall. One spike pinned his left thigh, the other two pinned each shoulder.
"So if you're faster than Ichigo then that means I'm faster than him because I was able to follow you with no problem." Ethos smiled as he reached back and punched Nell in one of her legs. "I'm not a big fan of bestiality so how about you turn back in that much more beautiful and elegant form."
Nell refused his order and struggle to brake free to from Ethos' grip. Nell's efforts proved to be useless.
Ethos punched Nell again in the same spot before he spoke again, "Come on Nell, I would he less painful if you WOULD JUST LISTEN!" Ethos punched Nell repeatedly in the same spot as she screamed in pain.
"LEAVE HER ALONE!"
"Oh no, I can't do that Ichigo. Then there would be no show for you to watch. HAHAHA!" Ethos landed one more punch just before Nell reverted back into her previous form. "Now that's more like it. You look so much better; don't you agree, Ichigo?"
"FUCK YOU! LET HER GO!"
"Hahaha! You're so hostel Ichigo." Ethos released her from his grip. Nell fell to the floor and lied on her side as she whimpered in pain. "What's wrong Nell? You were always such a strong and proud Arrancar. Where did all that strength go?" Ethos asked as he kneeled down to her.
"Fuck you." Nell whispered.
"Whaaaaat? Did cute little Nell say something?"
Nell raised her head off the floor before speaking, "I said FUCK Y..." Ethos punched Nell in the jaw before she could finish her sentence.
"Now Nell, is that any way for a servant to talk to their God?"
"I'm not your servant, and you're no G..." Ethos punched Nell again in the jaw.
"You might not think you're my servant but the way I see it..." Ethos stood up from the ground before continuing, "You are nothing more and a slave girl graveling at my feet." Ethos finished his sentence by kicking Nell in the rib before picking her off the floor and pinning her against the wall again by her throat.
"You know, Nell... I always thought that you were beautiful, but you were always too up tight." Ethos grabbed Nell shirt and slowly began to tear her cloths off. "I think I can change that."
"LEAVE HER ALONE! ETHOS!" Ichigo yelled as he tried to pull the spike in his thigh out.
Ethos tore off Nell's shirt, exposing her chest, "You see Nell, that wasn't so bad." Nell turned her head to not make eye contact and hide her shame. "Now let's see what else you're hiding." Ethos grabbed Nell's pants legs and started to rip those as well. "Don't worry... try to relax and enjoy because... I know I will."
"ETHOS!" With all his remaining physical strength, Ichigo ripped out the spike and threw it at Ethos. The spike spun in the air and struck Ethos in the face, cutting his cheek. At that moment, Ethos stopped and stared at the spike on the floor for a moment before glaring at Ichigo.
"Ok... Ichigo... I'll leave her alone..." Ethos pulled Nell off the wall and held her in the air, "But I guess I'll have to mess you now." Ethos slammed Nell face down into the floor before letting her go.
As Ethos stood up, he picked up the spike that Ichigo threw and walked over to him. "Have you ever wondered how I know so much about you or Nell, even though I haven't been around for a long time?"
"No" Ichigo said plainly as he struggled to free his shoulders from the wall.
"Well, that's a shame Ichigo because you should. You see, when Redeemer completed the ritual to revive me, not only did I absorb their bodies but all three of their memories too. Do you know what that means?"
"No"
"That means I was able to, not only add all their memories to me but I was also able to remember lost memories too." Ichigo tighten his grip on Zangetsu, "I remember things that all three of them forgot... short term memories, Ichigo. I remember things like... how the air felt cold the first day they were brought into this world. I also remembered killing that hollow in front of Yui and Manami and seeing their cute terrified faces. But the best memories I recovered were how that Shinigami girl's hair smelled or how she called out your name as I satisfied myself with her body."
Ichigo began to become enraged as Ethos continued his rant, "I remember how she tried to spit out the taste of her dead friend's intestine from her mouth. I remember how that other girl cried your name, so softly, as she watched her friend's suffering or how she tasted so sweet in between those long legs of her. HAHAHA!"
Ethos laughed uncontrollably as he recanted the terrible events. This was the last straw, Ichigo snapped and released all his spiritual energy to free himself from that wall. The instant release of energy sent Ethos flying back into a wall. Ichigo charged him and pinned him to the wall with his right hand as he reached back with his left fist.
"LA MUERTE!" Ichigo exclaimed as he drove his fist into Ethos' face. The wall behind Ethos cracked in to a pattern of a skull as the sound of the impacted echoed through out the city.
"HAHAHA! Is that all you got!" Ethos taunted.
"I'm just getting started!" Ichigo switched hands so that he held Ethos by his left hand and he was free to attack with his right. "LE DIRECTO!" Ichigo again struck Ethos in the face, only this time he release the energy blast a second later after impact.
Ethos crashed through the wall and was buried in a pile of derby. Ichigo stood on the rocks and raised his fist again to deliver another punch.
Ichigo struck the ground and sent a wave surging into the pile. In a matter of moments the ruble was destroyed and only dust remained. Ichigo stared at the floor for a few seconds before quickly turning around and looking up.
"Damn, Ichigo! You almost got me." Ethos teased as he sat on top of another wall, "Now let's see if you can catch me!" Ethos stood up on the rock wall and waved bye to Ichigo.
"WAIT! GET BACK HERE!" Ichigo yelled as Ethos jumped from stone to stone. "Damn it, Nell are you ok!?"
Nell slowly lifted her head from the ground. Her head bled and her mask was cracked even more. Nell spoke softly, "Ichigo... stop him... before he recov..." Nell's eyes glazed over as her head dropped to the floor. Ichigo ran to Nell and screamed her name.
"NELL! NELL! WAKE UP!" Ichigo wasn't able to get a response out of Nell but he could tell she was still breathing. "Damn it! Nell, I'm sorry but I have to leave you." Ichigo untied the small Quincy cape and folded it into a billow. He placed it under her head and noticed she began to shake as the cold night air blew over her. Ichigo looked around to find something to cover her.
As he looked around, he saw something white caught on top of one of the rocks. Ichigo shunpo to the object and took it. As he freed it for the rock, he realized that it was the same robe Red wore. Ichigo shunpo back to Nell and covered her it the tattered piece of cloth. "Sorry Nell, but this is the best I could do." Ichigo bushed some of Nell's hair out of her face, "I come back as soon as I can." Ichigo took one last look at her before he turned around and began to chase after Ethos.
Ichigo shunpo continuously until he saw Ethos skipping from rock to rock at a very slow pace. Ichigo quickly closed the gap between them and reached for Sode no Shirayuki.
"Not so fast Ichigo!" Ethos turned around in mid-air as he jumped and threw the spike he held at Ichigo. Suspecting an attack, Ichigo blocked the spike with Zangetsu but Ethos started to jump faster and further the gap between them. Ichigo pursued with all his strength but he never seem to get closer. Ethos took one last leap and landed on a large flat surface and stopped.
Ichigo saw this as an opportunity and took it. He swung Zangetsu with his right hand. As the blade nearly struck its target, Ethos turned around with amazing speed and blocked the attack with a weapon.
Ichigo's eyes widened as he realized Ethos blocked the attack with Zabimaru. "I can see by your expression that you weren't expecting that. Well, I guess you should pay more attention to YOUR SURROUNDINGS!" Ethos yelled. Ethos pushed Ichigo away and jumped back.
Ichigo glanced around briefly and noticed they were back at the stone. Ethos stood right in the middle of the ring on the floor and Ichigo stood just on the rim. Ethos smiled and tossed Zabimaru to Ichigo.
The zanpakuto spun in the air and landed on the floor in front of Ichigo. "Come on Ichigo... take it, it's yours isn't it?"
"Why?" Ichigo whispered while looking at Zabimaru.
"What are you talking about now?"
"Why did you give Zabimaru back? Why don't you use your zanpakuto? WHY DON'T YOU FIGHT ME SEROUSLY!"
Ethos stood quietly and stared at Ichigo with his cold eyes. "Because..." Ichigo looked up at Ethos as he spoke in a menacing voice, "you can't beat a God."
Ichigo grit his teeth and kick Zabimaru at Ethos. He grabbed the zanpakuto in mid-air by the blade with his right hand. Ichigo rushed Ethos with Zangetsu in his right hand and Sode no Shirayuki in the other. Before Ethos had time to react, Ichigo stabbed him in the stomach with Zangetsu.
As Ethos realized he was hit, Ichigo let go of Zangetsu and with Sode no Shirayuki, he cut off Ethos' right arm. He then stabbed Ethos' foot with the zanpakuto, pinning him to the floor. Ethos threw a left punch but Ichigo grabbed it with his left. Ethos felt Ichigo spiritual energy increase suddenly with a dark aura.
"La Muerte..." Ichigo said coldly as he clenched his hand. The energy flowed into Ethos' arm, burning his flesh off from the inside out.
"DAAAAAMN!" Ethos screamed as his arm burned to the very bone. Ichigo released his hand and reached for Zabimaru. Ethos tried to jump back but his foot was still pinned to the floor.
Ichigo raised Zabimaru above his head and slammed down with full force. The blade struck Ethos' left shoulder and almost cut him in two.
Ichigo stepped back, breathing hard, and stared at Ethos. "You little prick!" Ethos grunted as he glared at Ichigo.
"You're done, Ethos." Ichigo grabbed Zabimaru, turned it back into its sealed form, and pulled it out of Ethos before sheathing it.
As Ichigo did the same with Sode no Shirayuki, Ethos spoke, "Ichigo, I was going to kill you painlessly but... after this...insult, I'm going to show what happens to a worm who tries to defy God!"
Ichigo looked down at the slouched and cringing "God" before him and felt a strange sense of pity. "Good bye, Ethos" Ichigo whispered as he took hold of Zangetsu. Ethos eyes widen as he saw the handle of Zangetsu began to glow black and radiate with spiritual energy.
"Getsuga Tensho!"
Ichigo released the massive wave into Ethos' body, causing his torso to tare open and pieces of him to fly all over the surrounding area. Crimson blood covered Ichigo from head to toe. Ethos' body fell to its knees with only the legs, spine, and a few ribs, along with part of the right side of his chest and from the collar bone up, remaining. For a brief moment, Ichigo stared at the lifeless body and began to more and more uneasy as his instinct sensed it was not over.
"You truly wish to invoke my wrath... don't you?" Ethos said in a deeper tone of voice than usual. As he said this, Ichigo saw many of the same dark-blue tentacles from before begin to extend form the torn pieces of flesh surrounding them. "I cannot and will not be killed by the likes of you."
"How are you still alive?" Ichigo asked as he noticed the pieces of flesh began to drag themselves to Ethos' body. As the flesh gathered, they fused with other passing segments until they reached their intended destination. Each piece began to restore Ethos' body to the point that it seemed he was never injured.
"I'm alive because I was never dead..." Ethos replied as he stood up. "I... am... A GOD!!!" Ethos roared to the sky. Ichigo jumped back to distance himself from his enemy. The damage to Ethos' torso was gone and the severed right arm reattached but his left arm was still burnt to the bone.
"You noticed," Ethos commented as he miraculously raised his left arm. Ethos stared for a moment at his arm in front of his face and chuckled. "My entire body has been restored except my left arm... it's still damaged." Ichigo said nothing as he readied himself for anything. "The reason for that is because my body can heal even faster if I can find some of the originally damage cell... restoring cells, rather than creating them, is easier for me. I can reanimate dead tissue with ease so I can not die."
Ethos smiled as pushed the left side of his coat to reveal his zanpakuto. Ichigo was finally able to see the full size of the blade. The sheath was wide and long with a very dark, almost black, shade of red. The zanpakuto must have been at least five inches longer than Tensa Zangetsu and two inches wider. Ichigo was surprised Ethos was able to have such a large sword tied to his waist and still fight at the level he was.
Ethos grabbed the handle of the zanpakuto, this cause Ichigo to instantly raise his guard even more. "Now... Ichigo... this is where the true test of your strength begins."
Hoped you liked it.