You know, usually I don't like re-reading past chapters and stories due to my low tolerance for seeing my cringe writing and obvious grammatical errors (Which I lazily refuse to find a beta). But I had to in order to write this next one. And I actually enjoyed it. Which is something I can't say for my other stories.
BUZZ = Sonido
"What is that thing?"
"You don't know? I thought your smartass was supposed to be all-knowing."
"No, I only said that so you would stop bothering me."
Two figures. Two entities. One manifestation, one zanpakuto spirit. Zangetsu, and the image of a younger Yhwach stood side by side. They were looking at this mysterious creature that Ichigo had absorbed. It was genderless, and was made from pure reishi. However, it was obviously sentiment. In this inner-world, it had a strong portrayal of being a literal eye in the sky. Just watching everything go down. It wasn't dwelling within Ichigo, but rather, just his zanpakuto.
"Should we fight it?" The Hollow Spirit didn't wait for an answer and merely charged the blade in his hands, "Getsuga… TENSHOU!" It yelled.
The Mimihagi was amused. Stretching across the land where hundreds, if not thousands of shadow black hands on the ground. Zangetsu and the Quincy manifestation quickly dodged and both united to try and fend off this new foreign invader. They aren't sure what the hell it is. Whether or not it's going to benefit Ichigo is a mystery. But it is not something they can risk. Especially now since the two know if the upcoming battle that awaits.
Only time would tell.
Yhwach stood at the center of the world. Behind him were Gerard, Haschwalth, Uryuu, and for whatever reason, his human friend Orihime. This was it for the time being. Ignoring the human, these were the last members of the Wandenreich. The Sternritter who were alive and not present at the Soul Palace were no longer useful and had served their purpose. This of course meant that Yhwach was using Auswählen for the first time in nine years. And the Quincy who were left behind took quick notice of this.
The Emperor has betrayed the Wandenreich. All those years of training, recruiting, was in the end, for nothing. Although, perhaps not. They did serve their purpose.
Some Sternritter of course will still be loyal, and that has created a small-scaled civil war within the shadow empire. Regardless, everyone who isn't present within the Soul Palace are simply worthless.
"It appears Sternritter "D" has killed Sternritter "C"." Jugram noted. Causing a surprise reaction from the "Miracle".
Gerard yelled, "What!? That scrawny limp-dick greasy piece of traitorous shit!" The "Miracle" had respect for some comrades in the Wandenreich. Mainly just members of Yhwach's bodyguard unit. To hear that Pernida was actually dead was… troubling considering of what Pernida actually is, "Where the hell is Lille…"
The "Balance" answered, "Fighting an Arrancar. The one we forgot to kill." Jugram was relieved to have made it this far in the war. Albeit, he expected more Sternritter to be alive.
"Quite a list of names we have here." Spoke a joyous voice. The group looked up the steps to see a large, bald man holding a staff. Yhwach instantly recognized the man as Ichibe Hyosube. The leader of the Zero Division.
Yhwach jumps back and orders everyone around him, "Stay back! I'll take care of this. Move on if you can, or watch my flank. I can't risk anyone else getting involved." Everyone did as they were told and let the Quincy fight his own battle. It's not like they were eager to fight one of the oldest Shinigami known to history.
"What happened to poor Oetsu and Tenjiro?" Ichibei asked.
The King grinned and answered, "I dealt with them. The same way I'm going to deal with you!"
"Juhabach, my boy, You never learned how to respect your elders!"
The term "explosion" would be an understatement.
Everyone felt it. Even those far away from the Soul Palace.
Lille Barro was an ancient Quincy who has seen many things. But never in his life has he seen a Hollow exert so much power. Halibel had already been in her initial Resurrecion. Now, she has evolved even further. First and foremost, came her appearance. Her armor had changed colors from white into dark silver. Emerging from her back was a fin and black shark-tail. The Sternritter also noted that the number one on her chest was now flaring. Her energy has even changed. Before it was light, warm and yellow. Now it is dense, cold, and a mix between black and dark blue. Her weapon was no longer part of her arm. It was still in the shape of a narrow shark tooth, but had an opening at the end with a handle. It was coated in dark blue aura and was designed in a dark-silver and blue mix. As grueling as it is to see, she even had gills on the side of her neck. Such a raw combination of her original Hollow and Arrancar forms.
Queen of Hueco Mundo. Primera Espada. Tier Halibel.
Lille was slightly amused. He quickly aimed his weapon and fired. But his target vanished. He immediately hears a buzzing sound from behind. Halibel uses her massive weapon to crush his sniper. Just one hit was enough to send the man crashing into one of the soul palace buildings. She looked down and considered that while she does have this new power, she hasn't been able to train very long with it. The extent of capabilities is unknown. But one thing is for certain, she should not overdo it.
The "X-Axis" was injured. His weapon was destroyed, but was quickly recreated. He then opened his left eye and fired once. Tier appeared to not have been fazed and instead charged her weapon.
"Ēteru no same (Ethereal Shark)" Emerging from her weapon was an ethereal-reishi created blue shark which flew toward the building. Lille attempted to shoot the creature, only to have it regenerate itself throughout its body. It was dangerously fast and accurate. The Sternritter watched as the thing launched onto his arm. It shook in place for just a brief moment before it started to glow. He opened his left eye, and braced for Impact.
BOOM
A tornado surge of blue spiritual pressure exploded. It was so lengthy and potent it completely lit up the Soul King Realm. It had even extended all the way down toward the Seireitei.
….
"Now you've done it." She was hardly surprised. An attack like that wasn't even intended to kill him, "I can finally see with both eyes." Lille emerged unharmed. Although, slightly shaken from the intense spiritual pressure he was in, "Aizen Sosuke's little project seems to have created dangerous individuals. I can only hope you're his lasting legacy."
Halibel was nonetheless surprised to see him unscathed.
"But now I shall show you true ascendance."
A sphere of light suddenly wrapped around the Quincy. Moments later, it burst open with raw spiritual power. Her eyes lower at the sight of his new appearance. The man's Vollständig was just as ludicrous as she imagined, "Jilliel." He added. Lille now appeared in the form of a strange non-human like being. He had priest type robes and eight golden wings with holes which acted as arms. "Now, die!"
Halibel widened her eyes as something had pierced through her Hierro. Not just once, but five shots fired from Lille's location. She raised her weapon to protect had face and uses Sonido to get away. It comes to the realization that is not a traditional enemy. This was Yhwach's strongest ally. If she can get rid of him, then the path toward Yhwach will be much easier. But she still does need her strength against that man.
"Where do you think you're hiding?" A voice from behind asked. She turned around and instead of bothering to counter attack, merely parried the shot being fired. One perfect parry was enough to send the bullet backwards and actually hitting the "X-Axis". Halibel took notice of this and quickly used Sonido to get behind at a new angle. Shooting from her weapon was not a spiritual attack, but a natural one. A stream blast of water sprung out with intense speed. Lille was surprised, but merely became intangible and went through the liquid. He then lowered his eyes when observing the Arrancar, 'I've shot her a total of 8 times. But I don't see any wounds. But I do see blood.' It has been a long time since the Quincy actually interacted with a Hollow.
"Your attacks are meaningless." She said with a monotonic expression, "For I heal all wounds." Although she had sacrificed that ability when she became an Arrancar, Halibel was fortunate enough to have regained this supportive power in her second release, 'Still… I need to be careful. I don't know the extent of how much I'm able to heal. If she shoots me in the head, I'm more than likely dead. But his powers are also ridiculous. Whenever he started opening his eyes, my attacks seem to have no effect. It's either he is somehow immune to the force… no. He isn't even wet. It's as if he slipped right through it.' She continued to observe him and noticed a small wound in his shoulder. Her eyes widen, 'When I parried his reishi bullet, it deflected and hit him. I'll need to immobilize him.'
"Cascada."
This new enhanced Cascada was much more efficient. It wasn't just a short water stream. The liquid pouring from her weapon was much more controllable compared to before. Lille backed away, but was soon engulfed to the sheer speed and magnitude. He also observed that the water continued spreading itself, even when she stopped the surge. It wasn't just a projectile. It was a perfectly designed cube of water, which spread multiple miles and kilometers. Unfortunately, he couldn't chat and attempt to drag out information. Despite being able to breathe while being intangible to the water, he cannot make sound in the normal sense.
She charged. Rather, she swam, at incredible speed. The struggles of being surrounded by water meant that his movement was slower. He aimed at his target and fired. Three holes per wing, 8 wings in total. 24 reishi bullets emerged into the water. Tier grinned and began slashing outward. Unfortunately for Lille, Halibel could not only move faster in the water, she can even negate the side effects of being constrained by the weight. That is the perk of having a fight in her own territory.
Lille looked down and panicked, 'She deflected them!?' The only weakness toward his "X-Axis" was having the enemy be able to somehow reject the power back at him, 'It's the water! The shots are moving slower!' He tried swimming through the liquid, but was surprised to see that no matter how far he moves, it just seems as if he isn't getting any closer to the end of it. A bright light was emerging from behind. Lille looked over his shoulder, only to be consumed by a blue cero.
Halibel appeared before him but felt a charge from behind. She looked back to see a mysterious portal emerging. A fast blast emerged which had crashed onto her back, sending the Arrancar down.
Moments later, the two regained their composure and came together. Halibel's wound on her back closed itself. But something was off with Lille. She could see a burn mark right on his collar. That wasn't from one of the deflected reishi bullets.
That was from the Cero.
There was also nothing different about him. His wings were intact, his armor, while having wounds has been just as same as before. The only thing she can notice is that the ring above his head, the Heilingenschein, was tilted upright. Lille too noticed this and forced it back downward. As if it had mattered.
'That has to be it.' Halibel said to herself, 'I need him to shoot me.'
Before she can do anything else, Lille began to glow once more. An explosion of spiritual pressure shot from his body. She was forced to narrow her eyes due to the brightness of the immense light. Seconds later, the shining stopped. And what had came was even a more monstrosity than before. Lille was now in the strange form of some… bug. She didn't know before, but it does appear at least some Quincy can perform a second release. In this new form, he gained a new, fair-skinned head with a slicked back hair style. Spikes emerge over his body and his feet split into four and become pointy. The angelic-like wings turn into bat-like wings now.
Lille extended his finger out and began pouring in reishi. A circular sphere of light seemingly sprung out in mere milliseconds, 'Even if this explodes in the water, it will surely be enough to annihilate the water and yourself.' He said to himself.
"Trompete." (Trumpet of God)
There was no room for hesitation. She knew what she needed to do.
BUZZ
His eyes flashed wide open, "YOU STUPID-!"
Tier Halibel was struggling this fight. The man was able to avoid any attack, she projected herself. Only through parrying and deflecting shots was she able to actually attack him. However, these were negligible and the wounds from those had already been healed. So, a bigger move had to be made.
It is very possible she can die. In fact, she expects it. High-speed regeneration has a limit. And she has been using it for quite some time this battle.
Sacrifice
As long as he dies, she can safely say victory.
This light explosion did as the "X-Axis" said. The water, even the reishi, began to simply evaporate. She was smart to not have the fight anywhere near the actual center of the Soul Palace Realm. That would have simply destroyed any useful terrain her allies were going to use. The Primera could only hope Ichigo would honor his end of the bargain by finishing the fight successfully. She wanted to fight Yhwach alongside him. But she isn't even sure if she is going to survive this fall.
In the corner of her eye, she can see Lille descending along side her. The man, like herself, wasn't moving a muscle. Most likely because he couldn't.
Lille Barro's mind was confused. He can't believe he was defeated by an Arrancar. Although, it does seem he defeated her as well. As his body continued to fall, he can only imagine the sheer disappointment on Yhwach's face, 'Forgive me, your Majesty. I… am a failure.' The "X-Axis" can see far off in the distance a rush of figures. One is standing out, and having a rough patch of orange hair. It had to be him, 'Why did you do it? We were so close. I cared about you…and you… betrayed us…'
The "man" closed his eyes and, for a third time, started glowing. While his body had healed, his Heiligenschein had not. And with that, his godly powers so too vanished. Lille's body began to split into multiple fragments. These spirit fragments then morphed into a strange, flaming-like bird with short wings and elongated necks and legs. Although still capturing the face from his second transformation. These flamingo's fell all the way down to the Seireitei, somehow, surviving the great fall.
Halibel was at ease. She closed her eyes and hoped death wouldn't be so terrible. However, her expectation to see the great beyond came flat. Something had caught her. She then heard voices, likely ones that were bickering between themselves.
The feeling of free fall came to an end as her body touched a surface. Her armor had resurfaced to its original state.
Eventually she had enough strength to open her eyes. She could see the faces of the Hollow who were so dear to her. Apacci, Sung-Sun, and Mila Rose. They didn't have the mysterious red skin and seemed to be in good condition.
"Halibel-sama…!" They muttered in unison.
She internally smiled and told herself, 'At least… that man… kept his promise…'
"Kurosaki-san!"
It was the voice of Urahara Kisuke. Next to him was Kuchiki Rukia. They had both finally caught up, and once they did, they noticed the saddened expression on his face. He looked down to see the corpse of Giselle Gewelle. Ichigo was emotional. Not flat out crying, but was holding it deep inside. And it doesn't look like he wants to talk about it. Bambietta is trying to give him some space and closure, but she doesn't really care about Giselle. Her domineering personality wants to just slap him and tell him to get over it, but that isn't going to do anything besides straining him even more. The best thing to do is to find Yhwach and kill him.
"I freed the Arrancar." Askin said, "They already went to that hot chick. Who, from the looks of it, just beat the shit out of Lille."
The group was impressed by the vast power Halibel possessed. Even Ichigo for a brief moment snapped out of his thoughts just to admire the vastness of her energy.
It was also amazing how she managed to defeat him. Although the orange-haired Quincy knew how Lille's power worked, he never knew the scale of it.
Bazz spoke, "With that asshole out of the picture, they only have four left. Yhwach, Jugram, Gerard, and that kid, Ishida." Judging from the numbers, the remaining Wandenreich seemed on the brink of collapse. But these were strong Quincy. Not people who could be taken lightly. The "Heat" noticed that Bambietta was giving him a dirty look, "What? Got a problem?"
The female Quincy answered, "Yeah, I don't want to get held back by weak allies. Maybe you should stay back."
"What the fuck is your problem?"
"You're my problem," Bambietta replied, "Don't think I forgot you were about to kill us when we were cornered. You red haired piece of shit." Always having to add the insults. Although, the many years of mutual disdain never contributed to a healthy friendship. Bazz does recall the time when Ichigo and herself were corned by multiple Sternritter. And he was reluctant to help them out. But he wasn't going to kill them. Before he could defend himself, someone else spoke.
"Shut. Up." Ichigo said with a monotonic expression. It was surprisingly powerful. Powerful enough to get them to actually shut up. He added, "They have four. We have six. If we're going to this realistically then I'm deciding everything." Only Bazz would object to his planning, but it is his risk.
…
"Urahara-san," The teen said, "I believe you can fight Jugram. Just know he has obscure powers and it revolves around the world being balanced. Someone of your logic and brainpower should be able to decipher it." The Shinigami nodded. Ichigo wasn't worried about him needing backup considering that he is a special war power and has proven to be more than capable.
"Yhwach is no joke. I don't want to fight him by myself. So… Bazz, Askin and I will fight him."
"Rukia and Bambietta, you will kill Gerard."
Bazz yelled, "HA!" While pointing at the girl.
Bambietta fused up before exploding, "WHAAT!?" She asked in a non-surprising overreaction, "Who the fuck do you think you are!? I don't give a shit about him, if you think you're going to dec-." Before she could finish.
Ichigo walked up to her and gently held her face. She didn't finish her sentence, and didn't immediately try to free herself from his intimate grasp.
With the most painful look in his eyes, he said, "Please. I don't want to lose you to."
She could feel chills run down her body. Such a cold, void, tone he was using. It was true pain. But she wanted to be there. In that crucial fight. It's not that she isn't so arrogant to believe Gerard isn't worth her time, it's just that Yhwach was the goal. Bambietta felt obligated to fight by his side.
But he doesn't want her there.
So what? Who is he? Her boss?
"Okay." She said, to the surprise of literally everyone, "But this is the last time you can use her against me." Bambietta wasn't dumb. She knows Ichigo is quite upset with Giselle dying. She knows he wanted her to forgive the former "Zombie". And likely holds some resentment because of it. Not like he would ever admit it however. He smiled from her answer and gave a nod. A gesture of thanks, "But once I'm done with Gerard…"
"We'll probably need you by then." He finished for her.
Ichigo then looked toward Bazz and Askin. He stated, "I made a promise to Uryuu Ishida's father. He saved Bambietta and my life. In exchange, he wanted us to try and persuade his son to leave Yhwach. Or if we have to, fight and incapacitate him. We'll have to deal with him before we get close to Juhabach."
Askin shrugged, "And what else did he give you?" Ichigo cursed, he thought he was hiding that. Everyone except Bambietta had no idea what he was referring to.
The teen Quincy sighed and answered, "After removing the Still Silver blood clot, he crafted the matter into an arrow. Apparently, somehow, he knows it will have a strong impact against Yhwach. Bambietta gave me hers and I won't use it until the time is right." Quite an interesting story. They all hoped this magical arrow will have some impact in the fight. But it isn't as if they can count on it.
Everyone seemed satisfied enough.
"Let's move out."
Liltotto Lamperd sat underneath a collapsed building. It was hard to comprehend what was going on. Yhwach betrayed them, most of them. And most of his loyalists were dead. Regardless of that victory, the female was still saddened. Meninas McAllon was her closest friend. Maybe her only friend. And now, she was just stuck with Candice, who was resting.
*GRRRR*
She placed her hand on her stomach and sighed, 'I can't eat the Shinigami anymore. And theirs's no other Quincy here left.'
…
SLAM
As if from a gift of god, seven mysterious flaming looking creatures suddenly crashed right in front of her. They stood idly and did not notice her presence. While she was one to speculate every situation in war, this was too good of an offer. She walked up to the animals and could tell they were of Quincy origin, not Shinigami.
It was a well-deserved feast.
Hey, guys. Short, simple, not really interesting. Next chapter will be long, maybe too long. But it won't take over a YEAR to come out. Nah, it will be out relatively fast.
Sorry if the Halibel fight seemed cheap. I do enjoy long fights, but I know many do not. I also like to find "logical" ways for characters to be defeated. Lille after all has ObitoPhaseThrough everything power. It was just another case of "I couldn't imagine another character winning against him" Just like with Gremmy.
Anyways, it's insane how much time has passed. I was 18 when I wrote this. And now I feel like I'm growing out of it.
See you next time.