I've republished the ninth and tenth chapters together as they were both pretty short. So enjoy two chapters in one and the ninth chapter of the third installment of the Two Worlds trilogy!

Verse 9

To slay a God...

Requires another god...

Or a demon...

Ichigo led the Heart's into the Clubs burning camp. He discovered the camp was being overrun with masked horned warriors – he knew they could only be from one clan.

"Spades..." Ichigo balled his fists. "Come on, don't waste your time with them, we just have to rescue Nyu and Ren!"

Ren sneaked past the two demons, carrying Nyu's body to a safe distance. She noticed the other masked Diclonius held Mayuri's head. She was somewhat glad to see that depraved soul depart this apocalyptic world.

"Come now Lucy...I've been waiting for decades to finally challenge you." The crazed Unknown Man projected his vectors at the Diclonii Queen, she easily dodged all of them. Even though the Unknown Man had proven to be too much of a challenge for Number 28, it seemed this one was on an entirely different level to her.

The air pressure rose significantly as Ren could feel the intense vibrations coming from Lucy's vectors. The walls and ceiling were caving in as the Queen's vectors began demolishing the Unknown Man's paradise.

I can't stay any longer, if I don't get away from these two, I'll end up caught in their crossfire. Ren fled outside where the rest of the Masked Diclonii were slicing up any remaining Clubsmen.

Past the slaughter she noticed the people she had been previously welcomed by. The Hearts had come back to save her. "OVER HERE!" She tried to grab their attention – but foolishly gathering the attention of her enemies at the same time.

"NYU!" Karin slashed through the Spade's ranks as she ride towards the two girls.

"KARIN WATCH OUT!" Ichigo tried to call back her impulsive younger sister.

"Huh-?" Karin was cut off quite literally as a rouge vector sliced her left arm like melted butter. "GAGGHH! BROTHER HELP ME!"

"KARIN NO!" Ichigo advanced in next, his subordinates trying in vain to calm their leader.

The Masked-Diclonii raised the heads towards the fiery haired leader as he drew a black katana chained to his hand. He sliced down one of the wayward Arrancar but some of the others used their hands to jump back and maintain a safe distance from the swordsmen.

"Karin! Hang on! We'll get you back to the main camp. The medics will treat you there."

Karin's vision was fading as the blood kept draining from her former arm. "Ichi-ni...Please forgive me...I should've followed orders...but I was too reckless as always..." Karin smiled weakly before she finally succumbed to the pain and blood loss.

Ichigo hugged his sister tightly, pouring his tears on his sister's face. Through the ensuing melee, Ren walked over to the distraught leader and offered a comforting hand. "She will be okay if we can get her back quickly...I may still be able to reattach her arm."

"Ren?" Ichigo dried away his despair.

"We must go back now...I can't stand to see any more blood shed here." The young girl was starting to sound like a real woman. Ren's peaceful voice reminded him of someone he had once known in the long past, but he had no time to dwell on it.

Ichigo waved his sword high in the air. "RETREAT! We have achieved our objective for today...There is no need for any more casualties here!"

The Heart's clansmen regathered themselves for a hasty retreat. Some of the Masked-Diclonii had been slain but most were too powerful for any mere human to handle. The Heart's clan could lick their wounds and fight for another day...

Meanwhile back in the former throne-room of the Clubs main camp...

The Unknown Man – or Unknown self-Proclaimed god gazed up at the demon who had defeated him. His horns had cracked and fallen to the ground in powder. "I'm glad I could finally fight the true Goddess of this world...Now I can finally leave this place..." He smiled crudely as his jaw melted off his face, followed by his arms as they pulled out of their sockets, then his back finally gave way as his bones and organs collapsed into a pudgy pile of flesh and blood. Lucy stepped over the puddle that was the Unknown Man, gazing at her messy reflection in the human mirror.

This world...needs to be cleaned for good...

HEART'S MAIN CAMP

"How's Karin?" Ichigo tried passing the infirmary staff as he waited outside the medic tent.

"Please King Ichigo, let Commander Karin rest for now." One of the medics gruffly recommended behind his mask.

"Ren is working hard to reattach her arm." Mayu and Nana came out of the medic tent. Mayu had grown to become used to the horrible sight of death and injury over the years in Hearts. The young woman had grown up faster than a lot of children of her generation ever had the chance to. She was one of the few remaining 'humans' left in existence.

"We're running low on manpower the way things are going." Ichigo shook his head. "If we are to stand a chance against the Spade's army, we'll have to pay the Diamonds a visit."

"The Diamonds?" Hisagi shouted. "But we know very little about their forces or intentions.

Ichigo nodded. "That's true, but I'm afraid that if we are to have a chance at defeating the Spades once and for all, then we're going to have to form an alliance with the Diamonds clan."

Kurama lifted his glasses as he tried to explain. "The Diamonds are still assumed to be a hostile group, we cannot guarantee that they will form an alliance with us Hearts."

Ichigo punched his fist and smiled with determination in his eyes. "Well, we'll just force 'em into an alliance then."

LATER ON - DIAMONDS HEADQUARTERS:

"Oh geez, King, would you stop flirting with our Joker!" A wonderfully kept lady with glasses and short black hair scolded her leader.

"Ohh c'mon Nanao-chan, y'know I love you and Arakawa-chan equally." The King smiled behind his rice hat as he continued fondling the head researcher of the Diamonds.

"Ohh, please King, I haven't washed myself since the world was destroyed and I..." Arakawa moaned in strange pleasure, crossing her legs to hide the shame.

"And by the way girls, you don't need to call me King, just Shunsui will do." The Rice-hat wearing leader declared.

"King Kyouraku." The Jack/Commander of the Diamonds military – a giant fox man came over. "We have received reports from our scouts that a small group of forces are making their way to our base."

"That so." Shunsui said casually as he continued brushing Arakawa's hair. "Well let our guests come on over then...I guess it's about time we had ourselves a little party don'tcha think Komamura?"

MEANWHILE - OUTSIDE THE DIAMONDS HEADQUARTERS:

Ichigo had arrived with only four other soldiers. He noticed the fairly sophisticated looking headquarters in the distance as a sand blizzard came past.

"A pretty fancy base!" Ichigo regarded. "Let's hope they've got plenty of soldiers, because we'll be needing them all in our final showdown with the spades."

Tatsuke walked beside the leader of Hearts. "Do you really think the five of us can convince diamonds to join us?"

Ichigo turned back to his group. With the 5th, 4th, 2nd and Ace of Hearts accompanying him, he had relied on his strongest warriors for this upcoming 'negotiation'. "With Nana , Hisagi, yourself and Nyu by my side, I am confident we can win over their hearts and minds." Ichigo drew a black sword from his dark jacket. "And if not, we can always beat some sense into them."

The small group made their way towards the entrance. A large set of hangar doors greeted their arrival. Suddenly as they took another step forward, the large doors rolled open to reveal two columns of armed soldiers, storming their way out of the hangar. They showed their unique hospitality for the guests by aiming their guns at the five Hearts.

"Lower your arms." A soft spoken voice walked out of the hangar. The large army quickly withdrew their arms as they virtually formed a guard of honour for this one Diamond's soldier. Under the darkness of the hangar, this one soldier gradually become more visible, revealing his elegant clothing.

Ichigo recognised the person as soon as he noticed the blue scarf and white hairpiece. "So, I'm guessing you wont make these peace negotiations easy for me either? Byakuya Kuchiki"


Ichigo and Byakuya face each other in a post apocalyptic world of Shinigami and Diclonii. Can Ichigo defeat Byakuya and gain some new allies at the same time? Don't miss the next exciting chapter in the Two Worlds Trilogy!