Thank you to Aroneden and Mattock345 for the proofread.
Also quick note because it was in a lot of the comments, Sirzech and his group are not in Karakura at the moment, they are dealing with making sure the three factions meeting is going to go off well.
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Kiba Yuuto held Twilight in one hand, letting its length extend like the bladed whip from Soul Calibur. Beside him Xenovia had drawn out Durandal, the Holy Weapon glowing with low but determined light, seemingly unperturbed by the Devil holding its hilt. The rest of the Peerage retreated, giving them space to fight.
Before them the creature stalked, its tiger-like size was odd and disconcerting, the armor-like plates clinked against one enough as it moved with feline grace. The razor-sharp talons flicked in and out of its paws, there was a dark hungry intelligence behind its gold eyes, and its mace-like tail flicked back and forth like it was a real cat about to play with a mouse. It opened its mouth and yawned, the rows of teeth gleaming in the orange light of the arena, a long pink tongue that could strip steel with a lick lolled out, showing them how much it considered them a threat. "Soooo," Its voice was shockingly feminine, "They feed me the scraps first...or you try and feel me out?" It purred. Both Knights readied themselves. "I have devoured many humans, many Shinigami, but never oddities like you." It licked its paw and flicked its tail. "Also never one as pretty as you, boy."
Kiba bowed slightly, his Mediterranean tanned skin starting to sweat ever so slightly at the full attention of the feline monster.
Xenovia shook her head. "Is there anything that does not want to fuck you?"
"You know," Kiba sighed, "I have asked myself that question lately."
"Oh, don't worry, I am not a picky eater, you seem to have a lot of meat on your chest, delicious."
"Hmm," Xenovia tilted her head, "If even a sexless Hollow can recognize my chest, perhaps I have a chance with my options."
The chatter was pointless, all of them were waiting, all of them were watching, it was in its own way a battle of will, the feline Hollow for all its relaxed appearance was just as keenly observing them.
Kiba attacked, moving at Knight speed, Twilight extending like a lash, Xenovia was not far behind him, but she moved slower on purpose. It was good she did so as the Vasto Lorde had started moving a heartbeat after Kiba. Twilight lashed through empty air, the Hollow running on all fours, its speed equal to it's Knight opponents.
Twilight slammed back into its full-blade form as he wove it in a defensive strike, the blade passed through an afterimage and it was only Xenovia moving in an explosive burst of speed, Durandal flashing with Holy Aura that saved his life.
Kiba felt the breath of the Hollow, knowing for a fact that its jaw would have closed on its neck if it had not avoided Xenovia's attack. He whirled in time to see his fellow Knight strike at the monster. Her attacks were controlled and powerful, though every swing sent out a lethal amount of Holy Aura. Her opponent avoided every swing, always seeming to move a heartbeat before any attack. The Holy Light that was unleashed splashed harmlessly against the orange barrier they were trapped in.
Kiba moved in a flash of light, striking at the Vasto Lorde from behind. It did not turn to see him, but it was still dodging a heartbeat before his attack. He bent back like he was at a limbo party as its tail flashed towards him, aimed right at his heart. At the same time, its near-foot-long talons slashed out with a terrible speed which Xenovia barely blocked and kept from getting her head cut clean off her body.
His third eye opened, increasing his reaction speed, and he unleashed a beam of energy at the Hollow, which again while not looking at him, avoided a fucking laser beam. Xenoiva let out a cry as its head snapped forward, jaw-closing on her sword and twisting it out of her hand. Claws flashed out in a slash that seemed intent on quartering her. Rather than retreat, the daft girl caught the legs of the creature, body straining as she halted the attacks. Xenovia was like him, a Knight, she was no Rook…wait Ichigo's Mutation Piece gave them all the powers of a Rook… but even then he did not think he would have been able to do what the former exorcist just did. Which meant the girl was just strong on her own…and brought up the question of how she had been able to do that, why the creature had not dodged that like everything else.
Kiba managed to unleash another beam from his third eye and the Hollow's body reacted to dodge, even though it was held in place by Xenovia like it was not a conscious action. With a hiss of anger, the head twisted and threw the sword away, snapping its maw at the girl. That was when the beam hit the creature and went through it as Kiba had intended, going between the edges of its bone-white armored plating. The distraction was enough as Xenovia let go, throwing herself back and calling Durandal to her hand.
Kiba was treated to the sight of its cooked skin boiling with a white substance before the Hollow was on him. Forcing him back as he whirled Twilight in a desperate defense while not staying still. He kept moving at Knight speed, but the Vasto Lorde kept up with him. Xenovia tried to help, but it was so fast, its head, its tail, all four legs, it was like a living dance of death. Able to keep both of them on the defensive when close and it avoided every attempt at a ranged attack they could think of.
This whole time it had never used the red energy blasts of it's fellows, it had not shown any ability save for its uncanny dodging. What was worse was that Kiba and Xenoiva could not find a break to stop, both were moving at full speed and had to keep doing so, as the monster fought them. Never letting up, switching its targets if they tried to catch a breath.
Alone, things would have gotten really bad, but as a score of lightning bolts rained down, the creature dodged each and every one, it was forced to give them space. Both Knights heeded the command to retreat. It made to follow them, but suddenly retreated as a black orb the size of a bullet flashed through where it would have been. Kiba saw his King, her arms black with the Power of Destruction, transmuted into that substance by her might. She had her pointer finger extended and small bolts were blasting from it.
All these the Hollow dodged, but when they impacted the barrier, it…seemed to be affected somewhat. Becoming weaker, flickering into paler shades of orange before solidifying. However, that seemed to be the only good news. Akeno wove her spells of lighting, the force much faster than Buchou's dark bullets, but always the Hollow dodged. It did not seem to matter what speed anything was going. It was always before they did anything, a glance showed Xenovia being healed by Asia, at some point she had gotten slashed and it had cut deep. It would have been worse without the Rook toughness they all shared.
Moving faster the Hollow rushed them and Kiba threw himself at it, Twilight extended in a series of slashes that the Hollow danced between. There was the sound of static and it vanished, Kiba whirled to see it appear behind Rias. She was already turning, it seemed she had not been slacking on her own close combat training. But it was not enough, she was not Knight-fast… however, Akeno was. It was sometimes hard to remember that a Queen got the benefits of both a Knight, Bishop, and Rook even if it was not the full measure of each. Akeno was a force of nature with her magic, but she was fast too, interposing herself between her King and the monster. The talons slashed into the Queen's body, Kiba did not even have time to register shock as Akeno's whole body turned into electricity.
Apparently, the Hollow had not seen that coming as it jerked with thousands of volts of raw power discharging into its body. It jerked and twitched, still able to move at blinding speed, and avoid the bullets of Ruin that Rias shot its way. Kiba hurled himself at it, Twilight lighting up with twisted energies of black and white while at the same time Xenoiva unleashed a blast of destructive Light. The Creature had been slowed down just enough that had to choose what to get hit by and Kiba almost felt insulted with it when the beast chose his attack to accept.
Twilight rattled in his hands as he attempted to sever the beast at the neck, only drawing a deep gash that cut one of the armored plates in half, an inch further down and it might have been a hampering blow. Kiba watched as something white boiled up from in the wound and then flaked off, but unlike the first time the wound remained. not as bad as it had been, but not fully healed either.
"Interesting." The Hollow purred.
Kiba channeled his Devil Power into Twilight, keeping it glowing with the black and white mix. He smiled at the thing, showing it confidence he did not feel. It yawned at him before there was a flash of blue and Koneko appeared above it. Her body was shrouded in a…hadn't that aura been blue before? It was gold now, the energy dancing along her body was gold too. The Hollow dodged, though a single bolt of that power went crackling along its body, burning a furrow in its skin. Koneko was in full Nekomata, her tail lashing behind her, her ears alert and they twitched before she leaped to the side, her body twisting like a dancer away from its bite. All the while, lightning flashed around the creature, it was always a hint faster, a hint too agile. Rias had stopped her Dark Bolts and changed her strategy. "I need a moment." She told them and went still, closing her eyes. Akeno, Koneko, and Xenovia were at her side in a heartbeat.
Kiba resisted the urge to follow suit, extending Twilight to its maximum length, hurling himself at the Hollow, but it was like fighting a shadow, worse, the harder he seemed to focus the better the feline seemed to intuit his actions. The Air seemed to grow dark as Rias drew on her power and the Vasto Lorde seemed to sense some threat. A terrible yellow light began to gather in its maw. Kiba abandoned all pretense of defense as he threw everything into a storm of slashes, the Hollow just kept vanishing, the sound of static quickly becoming his least favorite sound in the world. Akeno began to form a shield of magic, Koneko behind her as a living shield and Xenovia charging all of Durnandal's destructive power into a single attack.
The yellow light became sickly and hellish as the Hollow dodged Kiba's last desperate strike and opened his maw wide. There was a flash of green. It was a small thing, only the size of an arrow. It did not carry a lot of power, it did not seem like much, but it struck the gathering yellow power, and the Hollow...did not dodge it.
The Cero detonated, the shockwave alone blowing Kiba back, as the sound of a pained screech filled the air, the sound as shocked as it was pained. Kiba turned his eyes following the path of the arrow back to its source. He saw wings, the pinions glowing blue and looking more angelic than the Devil. A lovely face set in a determined glare, her Kuoh Academy uniform was ripped and torn from the battle, but no sign of damage touched her skin. Her blond hair was glowing like spun gold, floating behind her like it was underwater. Green eyes focused on the screaming Hollow that still managed to dodge attacks sent its way even though most of its head had been blown off. That white...stuff was boiling out from the hole, reforming bone and mask before Kiba's very eyes, but it was not quite like it had been, the damage was there.
Asia said nothing, her eyes while determined were filled with pity and a sick expression as if hurting someone else pained her. Still, she drew back on a bow of green light, an arrow of energy forming in the bow. Kiba finally took note of something even more different, her bond mark was visible. She was wearing clothing, but he could see it, it was as if it was imprinted on the very clothing she wore.
She unleashed another bolt and it flashed out, not the fastest attack, not even as fast as Buchou's bullets. But the Hollow did not dodge, it did not react until the arrow hit and pierced through its armor. "What is this?" The creature whispered as it dodged and jinked through the air, its head was back, its eyes open, and looked around, eyes passing over Asia as if it did not see her.
Kiba closed the distance, but it whirled on him, talons slashing at all of his vital points. Both of them were moving at full speed, then an arrow hit it and in that moment of distraction Kiba countered, bringing Twilight around in a blistering slash that removed the head from the thing's body...and it did not stop. His blow had slowed the regeneration of the thing and its head was not coming back too soon, but something was clearly wrong.
The talons dug furrows in his face, almost taking his eye and slashing through his nose, blood streaming into his vision he retreated, Xenoiva and Koneko engaging the thing allowing him to move to Asia.
The former nun immediately went to work, Kiba glanced over the battlefield, noting that Rias's power was rising at an alarming rate. Her legs had joined her arms in transmuting into the power of destruction. Bands of that dark energy were wrapping around her body, her chest, her neck, slowly her hair was turning into that crimson darkness as well.
"How did you hit him?" He asked quietly, wincing as a claw slashed across Koneko's belly, her Rook toughness and the power of Ichigo's Mutation Piece the only thing that kept her from being disemboweled. Even still the claws dug inches into her flesh, but the Nekomata did not even slow. She was tightening her abdominal muscles and fighting on, but neither the Rook or the Knight were able to land a blow. Akeno had the same misfortune with her magic. "None of us can land a blow on it but you shot it several times."
Her face twisted into that sickened expression. "I have to protect you all, so I shot it." She looked like she was about to throw-up.
Kiba's mind raced, trying to put the pieces together, was it the arrow? No, he did not think so, the Hollow was avoiding ranged attacks, was it perhaps what the arrow was made off? No, if anything it should have been able to sense it better because it was mostly coming from the girl's bond.
What was different, what was she doing? His wounds closed and he noted that it seemed to take her little effort to do so, much less than just two weeks ago. Perhaps the bond, perhaps she had just become stronger. She manifested the green bow and took aim. "I'm so sorry." she whispered and fired. The arrow flashed and her aim was true, it caught the creature in the leg and Koneko was able to score a blow which rammed it into the arena flower, Akeno sent a torrent of lightning down on it, and for the first time that battle hit the creature. Its Armor plating showed its worth then, most of the energy was refracted off of it, going in all directions driving back the Devils closest to it.
"I am so sorry." Asia said again and put an arrow through its slowly reforming skull breaking part of it, the girl leaned over and threw up the food she had eaten earlier, looking even sicker than before.
Kiba looked from her to the Hollow then back to her. "She does not want to attack it." He murmured. "That..." What did that mean? The Hollow clearly did not see the way they did, it did not need its head so where was its mask? To break the mask was to break the Hollow, perhaps whatever kind of super hollow it was, overcame that weakness, but it overlooked Asia like she had not been there like she did not have something.
"She does not want to attack it...she does not want to do it harm?" No, that was not quite right, she did not want to do anyone harm. What if that was key? The Knight stood up, closing his eyes just as Xenovia almost lost her hand, forcing her to retreat, her hand still attached to her body by the thinnest of tissue.
That made him mad...but that was not what he needed, he tried to let go, to not want to kill the monster that was going to kill his family...That was not going to work, as Koneko screamed in pain, the talons stabbing into her deep and it was only because she threw herself back that it was not able to rip up and tear the wound deeper.
Harm reduction, his family was getting hurt, he focused on that though, leaving the idea of the Hollow behind as best he could. Kiba focused on that thought, that purpose, taking in a few breaths, letting his body grow loose and slack.
His eyes opened, his third eye closed and he moved, swiftly, but not rushed. To rush was to feel adrenaline, to attack. He interposed himself between the Hollow and Koneko as it struck and blocked the attack. That seemed to surprise it and it leaped back, Kiba moved forward to drive it back with the blade, it was not perfect, the moment his blade met the skin of the Hollow something in his heart sparked and the Hollow retreated.
So that was it. Killing intent, battle aura, it had many names, this thing could sense and react to that. It howled as a green arrow hit its head once again and spat dozens of yellow balls of power in the general direction it had come from. Asia...vanished, appearing beside the wounded Koneko.
"Reduce harm, it is not my job to kill, it is only to reduce." He spoke the words with his mouth and in his head, he spoke to his Peerage. "It is sensing our intent to harm it, it can somehow read our attacks because of it. Asia can hit it because she has no desire to harm whatsoever, we have to let go of it."
That got a lot of questions, but the Hollow was on the move heading towards Rias, Kiba again interposed himself, slashing with Twilight to dive the beast back. He held that intent in the forefront of his mind, crushing the attempted surge of satisfaction as Twilight bit deep into the monster, destroying its head again and the regeneration became even slower.
He must not have been able to hide all of that because the Vasto Lorde lashed out with its claws and as Kiba defended, the tail came down slamming into his head so hard he felt something crack and sent him hurtling like a rocket into the wall of this arena. His body went numb from the neck down and his breathing slowed almost to a stop.
Asia left Koneko only half-healed and appeared at his side, her healing sending feeling back into his back. He watched as the Nekomata did something, the gold aura around her shrinking to her skin. Her tail became ramrod straight, if anything she seemed to be increasing her intent.
There was a spark of gold lightning that followed her explosive movement and the Vasto Lorde clearly saw her coming, it reacted as the gold aura seemed to split off from Koneko lunging over the swiping claws...and the Hollow reacted to that, as Koneko slid under its attack and kicked it in the chest, there was a crack as the armored plate shattered with the force and the Hollow attacked the golden aura as it swayed before it. Koneko was seemingly invisible next to her fighting aura.
Akeno changed her strategy as well, forming spell circles in the air around her, and as Koneko and the Hollow flashed by lighting shot out from the floating circles. Automatically, mechanically, without input from the caster.
Xenovia had retreated back to Rias and was taking advantage of Akeno's defenses to calm herself and breathe, breathing in that odd way. Calming herself, perhaps she could do it, but it looked like there was not going to be enough time.
"You fuckings bugs!" The Hollow said, the voice emanating from its shattered head. "How monstrous you are to hide your emotions, to change your natures, to a Hollow is to be free of such need. Hollows cannot hide their killing intent, Hollows feed as nature intended, the strong rule the weak." Whatever it was going to say next was cut off as Koneko shoved her hand down its throat and tore out something dark and vile, twisting her body to throw the creature into the range of Akeno's magical turrets. It screamed in rage as Xenoiva hit it with a blast of Destructive Light so bright they had to close their eyes.
"Fine." Its voice came from everywhere. "As you wish, Evolución Absoluta." Everything turned red, Kiba felt it, the intent of the creature. Its murderous will pressing down, flooding everything. Asia was frozen in fear, like a small animal trapped in a corner Koneko retreated seemingly on pure instinct as her Nekomata heritage asserted itself, only Xenoivia seemed unaffected, but shock seemed to have lost its hold on her after the battle with Kokabiel. Rias seemed to sink deeper into whatever she was doing, Akeno bit her lip and filled the air around herself and her King with layers of defensive magic.
The red light flashed and two halves of the feline body fell crashing to the Arena floor as if it had been a discarded cocoon, the thought becoming more apt as they looked upon the monster. "You have made me discard my path to a greater ascension." The creature floated above them, its humanoid body dark as night. It had human-like features: toes, fingers, things like that. Its whole head was covered in a mask, white with a single stylized eye that looked at them as if it could see them. It was naked but lacked any sort of genitals, looking more like a sexless Ken Doll than anything else.
Its masked eye fell on Asia and even just being beside her, Kiba could feel the depth of its hatred for the Bishop. As if the fact that someone could exist without any battle aura was an affront to existence itself, that was when it moved, appearing before them, dark hand lashing out in a chop, that Asia ducked. It was odd to see the former nun's reflexes so fast, she lashed out with a kick and that was when Kiba saw it, her face was still locked in fear, but something was moving her body. Her bond mark was glowing brighter with every breath. The Hollow blocked the attack, but was still pushed back a dozen feet. Kiba glared hatefully down at his still numb legs, but thankfully he did not need to do anything.
Xenovia was on the Hollow then, Durandal lashing out in a slash at chest level followed by a strike at the legs. The odd black substance of the hollows body seemed to flow away from the cuts like liquid making Durandal pass through empty air and then the Hollow punched its, suddenly solid, fist out like a bullet. Xenovia jerked to the side, but the arm just changed directions, bending to a ninety-degree angle to smash into her face. That was when Koneko rammed into him, or at least tried to as its body bent out of shape, twisting in on itself like one might a band of plastic wrap. There were sounds like gunshots, and despite Koneko's Blut, and double Rook Toughness the blows seemed to leave impact craters on her body.
The attack sent the Rook flying and Asia covered him with her body as the monster turned its attention to them.
Then, it froze, its head turning almost one-hundred-and-eighty degrees as pressure filled the air. It was like a lead blanket across your Soul, but it lifted after only a moment. Rias floated in the air, her wings, her hair, her arms, her legs, all of it was the Power of Destruction. Bands of that power wrapped under her breasts pushing them up even more than they had been naturally. Across her face was a mask, crimson black, but appearing solid, unlike the rest of her. Yellow hollow-like eyes stared through the eye holes, glaring hate at the Vasto Lorde.
Akeno too cast off all pretense of restraint, her duty was done and now she could fight for her lovers. A pair of black wings joined her blue energy wings. Holy and demonic power flowed through her, not unlike how Kiba's Twilight did. The power ran over her, tainting the white and red of her Miko outfit black and gold.
Kiba twitched, the feeling returning up his spine slowly as Asia healed him, healed him even as she shielded him with her body. "What is this?" The Hollow demanded "Why do you have that?"
"Gift from my boyfriend." Rias responded, making a sharp gesture with her hand. Abruptly he, Koneko and Xenoiva, were moving. He saw the Vasto Lorde react, striking out of them only to meet a wall of defensive lightning, followed by the creation of dozens of magical turrets. The flat circles filled with runes of lighting and destruction, each lashing out at the monster. Apparently, it had some way of seeing now, though Kiba did not think it lost its first ability.
It formed holes in the liquid of its body letting the lighting pass right through the suddenly empty space, its body rippling like a pond in a rainstorm. At the same time, small bolts of red energy began to explode out of its body, flashing out to slam into the magic turrets and breaking them. Rias lowered her hand as her Peerage passed behind her and raised a ball of Crimson Darkness in front of them that sucked in the red bolts shot their way.
Akeno began to speak words of magic, actual magic, moving her hands in the proper way. "Enchant Lightning Element: Speed." Both her and Rias began to glow yellow. Lightning seemed to bounce from muscle to muscle on Akeno's body, whereas on Rias the bolts danced around her chest and neck. "Enchant Lightning Element: Reflex." That was what Kiba's language ability told him she said, though not what language she had spoken in. Her eyes filled with lightning, like a goddess of thunder. "Enchant Lightning Element: Aspect of Orion." Akeno's lightning and that of her Fallen side mixed to from a Bow of sparking power, the body of the weapon yellow, the arrow formed of white power.
And there was a lot of power compressed into that arrow, it told Kiba that someone had been practicing their magic. Speaking of that, Rias let out a shout, spreading her hands wide, dozens and dozens of orbs, glowing with crimson darkness, some the size of cars, some the size of beach balls manifested around the whole arena. The amount of power she expended for that feat alone was staggering, more than the rest of her Peerage's Devil Power combined. The world seemed to bend a little as gravity itself became distorted, the Vasto Lorde's body rippled and bits of it were pulled in a dozen directions. Rias had just changed the whole battlefield, and it was humbling and it also helped explain why it took her so long to ready this attack.
The Vasto Lorde was clearly expending power to keep its body a single thing, though it rippled as if a thousand raindrops were hitting it all at once. Kiba noted that Akeno had moved behind one of the larger orbs, and realized if they could not sense the Vasto Lorde, he could not sense them. Akeno channeled power, a great deal of power, it was the kind that most Devils would long for, but it barely reached a tenth of what Rias had just done. But what she was doing with it, that was the amazing part. All the magic she had manifested, she was focusing into a small contained space, it made the air itself vibrate. The sound of distant thunder became the background of the whole world in that arena of orange light.
Such was the concentrated elemental force that lighting sprang into existence by its mere presence. "Damn it." Kiba glanced at Koneko, noting with some envy that the girl had healed, he had been sure her ribs had been broken and possibly her sternum ruptured. But she was back up as if nothing had happened. Well, almost nothing. About the only thing left on her at this point was her white panties. The girl seemed a magnet for clothing damage, but then again Bouchou was covered only in the Power of Destruction so, oh well. He glanced down and noticed he was missing his shirt and most of his pants and a good portion of his boxers...when had that happened?
Xenoiva looked to be the only one with most of her clothing intact and that was only because under her school uniform had been that exorcist bodysuit. He must have hit his head really hard if his mind was wandering this far but thankfully Asia's healing reached up into his skull and shocked him back to focus.
The Vasto Lorde had moved, its body taking the liquid shape of what water might look like when you spit it out, twisting between the different gravity fields with shocking ease. Adjusting to the new reality with startling quickness, he reformed and his arm shot out at Rias like a cannon, she dodged, but it was not at Knight speed, it should not have been fast enough. But that was what Akeno's enchantments were for, in the middle of her dodge she seemed to flash a few feet further at the speed of lightning. The fist missed, but seemed to rebound off itself to chase after his King, Rias moved a finger and a basketball-sized orb that had already been in motion moved in front of her, sucking in perhaps half of the fist before the Hollow pulled his form back. Rias raised one of her fingers like a gun and began to fire Bolts of Destruction, unlike the pistol-like repetition of her first try this was more like a shotgun, random and unaimed save for the general direction. Like she did not care if she hit or not and in fact, that had to be, one of the bolts passed through the Hollow and it opened up part of its body as it had with the lightning, but it underestimated the singularity-like effect of even that small Bolt of Ruin. It sucked away enough mass to leave a fist-sized hole in the body, that was when the thing went into full defense.
'It's head,' Kiba sent through the communication magic, 'It's head is always staying the same size.' The head-shaped orb of black mass never shrunk or morphed like the rest of its body. Perhaps that was a weakness or a point that could not be manipulated. Kiba went through all he knew about Hollows. 'The mask has to be there and the mask is always a point of weakness.'
'Noted.' Rias sent back.
Kiba found himself able to stand again. 'Listen my family,' Rias said in their heads, 'When I give the word you must all attack, I will do my best to make sure you are shielded from the worst of the singularity, put as much killing intent as you can into it. We have to overload him with everything we have. Asia, go to Akeno, heal her so she can power up her attack even further.'
'Yes Bouchou.' They all responded.
The Vasto Lorde seemed to be ignoring them, but even so, they took Akeno's idea and ran with it, moving into cover behind Buchou's Orbs of Destruction. Kiba held Twilight in his hand and ran his other along its edge, letting it cut into him smearing his blood over the blade. He let go of the dark and light elements and reached within himself. For the fire Brontus has used to forge him into what he was now. The black blade turned molten, his skin turned molten, his eyes glowed with hellish fire, his third eye opened wide, shining like a torch. "Self Forge," Kiba hissed, letting his Devil Power burn as the material. "Soul Immolation." His power burned and became like that of a star exploding, expanding his power rapidly using it as fuel for the forge that had made him. Power for a few minutes, power to act, not as a Devil, but as if he were a direct child of the Olympians. Wings of fire shot out of his back, dripping bronze onto the arena floor. The heat haze warped and flickered, sending mirages of color and water all around him. An armor formed over his body, though its molten shape was ill-defined in the haze.
Koneko, he noted, had closed her eyes, set her stance and that gold aura had appeared around her again, he thought he heard the word. "Touki." The gold arua seemed to merge with her skin then pass into it. Rather than blue, it was gold light that ran in circuit-like patterns on her skin. The gold lightning danced around her whole body making her white hair, her cat ears, and tail turn a lustrous gold. Her cat-eyed pupils were huge on her face, seeming to vibrate with barely controlled excitement and rage.
Xenoiva was more simple in its own way. Kiba recognized the look, he could guess the dark place she went to find power. It was easy, all you had to do was think of everyone you ever hurt, everyone you failed, from that, came anger, from anger burned rage hot enough to sear the world. Her wild blue hair and athletic body were suddenly showered in a dark force, not Devil, much closer to the Corrupted Holy power of the Fallen. She sucked in a breath and took a firm grip on her blade. From that weapon power seeped off, spiraling around her like a snake and radiating such pure threat that even Kiba felt his heart miss a beat. There was a flash of blue light on her abdomen. The gold lines were crawling along her body as well.
Up with Akeno, Kiba noticed the bow she had made was seeming too…he turned his head away he did not need to know. That was not his job, Rias held her ground as the Hollow unleashed a counter-attack on his own, bits of his own mass shot off like bullets and some of them hit his King. They burned like acid eating away at her flesh, forcing the girl to smother it with her Power of Destruction. Each blow was a dangerous distraction as the thing adapted faster and faster. Then Rias changed the game, she started moving the spheres, what followed was a chaotic nightmare of twisted space and gravity, moving destructive force that if it so much as touched you would rend you down to your atoms.
"Enough!" The Vasto Lorde howled, its body taking the shape of a twisted octopus to create many arms. Orange Light began to form boxes around the Orbs of Destruction. The moment that happened the orbs winked out as they were cut off from their source of fuel, and this didn't just happen once, it happened dozens of times. "Now!" Rias commanded and her Peerage moved to her will. Kiba had never moved this fast before, leaving fire in his wake, Twilight glowing like the heart of a star. One of the twisted watery hands moved in his direction and a wall of Orange Light formed in front of him. He slashed at it with Twilight and the blade...it cut. He rebounded off of it, a clear scar on its front, that seemed to surprise the Hollow as much as it did him. Kiba dashed forward swinging his blade exactly like you should not in a real battle, wildly, as quickly and as hard as possible. However when your opponent was an inanimate wall...exceptions could be made. Twilight carved through it like he was hewing a stone, it was hard, it was annoying and for a weapon of the Hundred Handed One, it was possible.
Xenoiva had seen what had happened to him and was wary of the Orange Light, dodging its formation, moving in a zig-zag, Durandal glowing brighter and brighter with every second, her arms starting to burn from the power alone. She was trying to get close, her will almost a solid thing that the Hollow's body bent away from.
For Koneko, who moved slower, rather than barriers, dozens of fists shot out of the black liquid, some intercepted by Rias's smaller orbs, but most the Neko dodged. She dodged in almost the same way the Hollow was dodging as if she was reading a half-second into the future. It was not as strong as the Hollow's because some reached her, but for those, she slammed them aside, never quite letting them reach her even as bruises formed on her arms and legs when she did so. Of course, they started to heal almost at once so she could afford that, and the closer she got the more fists would appear, striking out like snakes, and with each one some of the Hollow's attention was taken away from the Knights.
It only made the forming barriers and striking fists slower by heartbeats, but as Rias formed more Spheres of Ruin, as Koneko fought her way towards its core, it gave the slightest of openings. Xenoiva found her shot first, appearing above it and swinging Durandal downward with a scream, her hands almost looked charred, they were so burnt, but the torrent of power that fell upon the Hollow surpassed the power of Kokabiel's spears. The Hollow's upper portion seemed to open and a black Cero shot out to clash against the Holy Power of Durandal. At the same time, Kiba reached the creature, Twilight tearing into the dark liquid, setting it ablaze, drawing a vibrating cry from the monster that rattled his bones.
Koneko reached it and unleashed a punch that bent it almost in half, the black Cero sputtering, only just able to hold out against the blast...which was terrifying. A portion of its attention and power had directed at one of the most powerful Holy attacks Kiba had ever seen and it stopped it cold. Then thousands of fists exploded from its body, a literal wall of sacrificial limbs which he cut and slashed, dodged, and blocked, but there were too many, too fast, too accurate. Kiba, Xenovia, Koneko were blasted back by the onslaught and it was at that moment that Akeno appeared from her cover, the bow ready, and unleashed a bolt of lighting.
But their distraction had not been enough, its body convulsed, opening a path for the bolt to pass straight through it and shatter against the orange barrier harmlessly. That was when Kiba saw it, above the Queen and to her left, Asia Argento, sick looking, with bow drawn and an arrow of lighting knocked. There was no killing intent from her as she unleashed the bolt, and Kiba realized that what Akeno had shot had been a weak distraction, she must have given the arrow to the Bishop and now was the time.
The bolt of lightning flew true, its power transcendent in how concentrated it was, but the Hollow's mask swiveled to lock on to the former nun. "Not this time." It said, the words formed from vibrations more than anything, it split its body almost in half to avoid the attack, even as Xenoiva, Koneko, and he were slammed to the arena floor. "Good Try." It laughed, staring at Rias, at the exhausted Akeno and the small Bishop. Its body twisted into a new shape as it noticed all the Orbs of Destruction had stopped moving, sweat was beading across Rias's brow, her arms were shaking.
"Closer than most," It said, "Closer…." Its whole body lit up as the bolt of lightning crashed into its back. There was a flash, a crackle of white and yellow as it screamed. Convulsing as the thunder danced over its huge form.
Rias smiled letting the orbs drop…the orbs which had been twisting gravity. Kiba just stared at his King in awe, to be able to keep the orbs moving, to form a field of gravity to catch the arrow, to guide it to the right spot at the right time. All the while somehow keeping her killing intent...no that was not it. They had flooded its senses with their will to kill it, its actual senses had been focused on Asia, and the danger of the orbs, not the secondary effect.
Rias put her hands close together as if holding a basketball, crimson darkness and blood red light began to mix. The air around them vibrated, space tearing to reveal blackness, crimson lighting shooting out to scar the orange light with black. "Dark Star: Cero." Rias said and unleashed her power.
The sky went dark and the clouds turned red, the Orange Prison shattered, every Hollow that was part of it died, the blast was tilted upward blasting through the gathering clouds. There was a moment of heart-stopping silence and then it began to rain red soaking them all to the bone.
Akeno caught her King as she fell back, her body returning to her normal skin, minus the clothing that had been destroyed, letting the water run down her body in small streams. Kiba felt like every bone in his body had been bruised so much that the rain felt painful almost, Xenoiva looked a little better, Asia was currently working on Rias and Akeno, her clothing clinging to her skin outlining her curves about as much as the remnants of his boxers outlined his crotch, and Koneko...damn, her apparent regeneration had her back up. Limping, but up. Her white hair plastered to her body, not shivering despite her near-nudity.
"Good Try!" They all froze, the darkness cleared, and...by the Maou the thing was still standing. Its mask was cracked, there was little more than a head-shaped blob of matter left of its body.
They felt its heavy breathing, the vibration sending agony through bone and flesh alike. "I won't die on your terms, you will all die on mine!" A void opened behind it and it fled, or tried to flee. Koneko snarled and hurled herself after it. Kiba blinked. "Koneko, don't!" Rias shouted, but the hole in space closed shut with the Rook on the other side.
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Her wings were the only reason she was not dead, below her darkness stretched away into nothingness, and before her, the Hollow retreated. It had seen her, she knew that it was trying to pull away, but weakened as it was, it did not have its full speed. By the time her mind had caught up with her body she was locked on this course. Except for Ichigo and Rias, and with the latter it would be a coin toss, this thing catching them alone or unprepared would be a death sentence. She had heard it in its voice, felt it hatred, her very instincts had demanded this thing's death because if it lived it would be far worse.
It did not have much power left, it could not, her blue wings powered her forward, gold light dancing under her skin as she closed the distance. It made a sound of panic and the void tore open before it, small enough for its mask. Koneko reacted at once, channeling the power her lover had given her to her legs and feet, releasing it from her body in twin explosions of force, hurtling her forward. Her body stretched out as flat and thin as she could make it. For once she was grateful she did not have the bouncing chest of some of the other girls she knew because she barely fit through the small hole in space. In fact, it took off about half of her right big toe which did not quite make it through.
That hurt like a bitch, and she yowled in consternation even as she felt more of her power being drawn away to heal the injury. They were flying over an endless desert of sand under, grey and white with a crescent moon. The Vasto Lorde let out a loud vibration, and out of the sand, the rocks, small hollows emerged to throw themselves up and at her.
She did not bother to defend herself, the bites did not break her skin, the points did not pierce flesh. "No, no, no, no!" the Vasto Lorde screeched. "I did not survive a millennium to be killed by a child!"
They crested a hill of sand and she saw before her thousands of hollows big and small, they were a mess, fighting one another and the Vasto Lorde let out another shriek. "NOOOOO, NOT NOW!"
It wobbled, hesitated and that was enough. Koenko moved in a flash of gold lighting, appearing in front of it, right in front of its mask. It sensed her intent and tried to dodge, but it was too slow, too exhausted. Gold energy gathered to her fist forming an orb around it as she unleashed her attack. It impacted the mask and...cracks formed in the very air around her, Ichigo's bond, her usage of Touki, her focused power and strength, all united. Under her, the ground, the sand, splintered and broke apart, huge sections of ground upending and slipping into fissures. The Cracks in the air spread, each like a branch from which more cracks split off. The Vasto Lorde seemed to break into several pieces, each piece sliding a different way along the cracks in the air.
Its hateful eye glared at her and although she could not hear what it said next, its body glowed orange and exploded. She got the idea it had tried to get across as her world went red with pain, then black.
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Koneko's unconscious body flew through the air, small Hollows closing to try and eat only to be burned and sent away screaming. There was a flash and the sound of static. And a woman stood, blonde-haired with dusky brown skin staring at the oddity that was the naked cat girl she had just caught. The woman looked to the site of the detonation, the destruction of a Hollow ancient beyond measure, then to its small slayer in her arms whose breathing was slow but strong. "Odd," She said aloud, then looked back to the sight of destruction, "You smell familiar."
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The Gremory Peerage was in a bad spot right now, they were exhausted, hurting and Hollows were quick to sense the weakness. Rias could still feel Koenko was one of her Rooks so that brought hope, she made the only choice she could. "You are going down to street level, recover whatever we can."
"What about Koneko?" Asia whispered.
Rias bared her teeth and a choked snarl. "We do what we can, when we can."
They descended below the fog and most of the Hollows did not follow, the ones who did burnt as they attacked and while their Peerage was weakened, they could still deal with minor attacks. Rias remained as the sole defender of her section and around her dark power gathered, responding to her rage and fear. She had thought herself tapped out, that such a usage of power would have drained her. She had thought wrong, Koneko's stupid act had lit a fire in her Soul and God help anyone who was going to stand in the way of getting her back. Her hair relit with Crimson Darkness and she glared her sudden, deep abiding hatred to the Hollows around her. It felt natural as the mask of her daughter slipped onto her face. "We can't go after her, I do not have that power yet, Mother, but the faster this fight ends the faster Father can take us after her."
Twin whips of crimson darkness emerged from her hands, her eyes burned yellow, and several sets of blue energy wings sprouted on her back. Power flooded up from her core and with a cry she hurled herself into the battle and nothing there was able to hold back her assault. Even a Gillian firing a Cero was only worth a flick of her wrist, sending an Orb of Destruction into the blast, sucking it all in and then chewing through the Hollow's head. They would pay for this. She would make them PAY! "Kiba, Xenovia, Akeno, Asia, I leave this area to you, I need to go save Issei." He was the one she could help right now, with no way to get at or find Koenko. It would have to come later. "Yes Bouchou." They said.
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Shorter Chapter but it makes it easier for me to keep track of a lot of things that are happening at the same time, I have to have a battle timeline written down to keep track of what is happening.
Koneko nooooooo! You have been captured by yet another blindingly hot Arrancar …..whatever will Ichigo have to do to get you back!? (Perhaps someone will make an omake, about the fun way he has to work for Teir, while I have to write a slightly more serious way *Sad Face*)
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Comments of the Week
Leicontis
I'm wondering if all Rukia's sacrifice will manage to accomplish will be to focus Ichigo's response, rather than prevent it entirely. After all, on top of trying to weaponize his mother, the Death Guard have also attacked his sisters and set an army of Hollows against Karakura. The resultant danger to Rias and Sona isn't exactly likely to endear the Death Guard to Sirzechs and Serafall, either. I just don't see any amount of Rukia throwing herself at Ichigo being enough to completely avert a declaration of war against the Death Guard and their bosses.
Perhaps, perhaps not, we will have to see won't we?
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Lord Jace
Sorry, I didn't manage to slide a review in for the last chapter, I was busy thinking. I had a few fridge logic questions plaguing me, like Ichigo, who has improved roughly half again in power between his new bonds, matured bonds, and of course learning the truth about White, using Bankai at least twice in the mortal world since returning to Karakura. The last time he did that, right before fighting Kokobiel, it had a rather adverse effect on regular mortals for many kilometers around(pressing them to the ground and so on), has that not been happening anymore, or have the residents of his hometown been having a few odd days?
Oh they are having a bad time, though Serafall's fog is helping to mask the effects...well Kaurakura is not going to be the same you can be sure of that.
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Luffy1996
I feel like you are underselling Arrancars to promote Vasto Lordes. The evolucion extrema was so powerful it confuses me why any hollow would want to become an Arrancar. Arrancars are still Adjuchas /vasto lorde hollows that were given a powerup. To make evolucion make more sense it should still be possible for arrancar like Nel or Tier to unlock it. But even so, evolucion shouldn't be a mugetsu tier ability like you made it seem.
Ok so for one it is not a Mugetsu level power up, and I actually felt I was kind of paralleling the Arrancar. As for why they become Arrancars, as far as I can tell becoming a Vasto Lorde is rare and hard. Whereas with Aizen just giving it out when he felt like it, the thing was a hell of a short cut. With the Vasto Lordes, I liked to amp up the hollow powers and give them unique twists. For most part these things are either old or special. The kind of hollow that Aizen would have turned if he had been able to get his hands on them. They are different have advantages against opponents but they can be beat.
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Wrandral
fanboy 913 response regarding gabriel : You know, I never thought it quite like that but…Well Ichigo is not the new God so he is more like….hmm would is he. A vessel of her dad, an adopted son? I am not sure.
Gabriel : Step brother help!
I'm sorry
You are forgiven….also be careful what you say, you never know if it will come true.
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Plums
Thirty squads? Seriously?
Soul society is that screwed up that they have that many traitors? Traitors who can literally move with complete impunity? I sincerely hope then that there are two hundred squads of genuine shinigami waiting in the wings here, or that the squads of traitors are all rightfully comprised of the equivalent of the absolute lowest ranked seats possible…. Power levels that could be taken out by a single lieutenant alone because the traitors all complete trash.
By squads I ment groups of five or so, I probably could have used a better word. But they are currently not traitors, they have the backing of the government.
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Comment of the Week
Kirstinessa
So i finally am caught up and im super sad cause i love this story! The relationships between all the characters is fabulously written. Despite what ive seen people write, i think devoting a chapter to each girl and their life with ichigo and his family was a great decision as it really brought out how much he tries to be there for them. Overall the only thing im a little concerned about so far is that ichigo is too perfect, hes EVERYONE's pillar which makes sense but id like to know about the reverse maybe?
As of this chapter i love the budding interests with Nel and Mori as well as the varying direction you can bring rukia! (Unless you would dare kill her off *gasp*). The build up youve been putting with everything coming to a head right before the conference is especially fulfilling thus far. Though im wondering why SS didnt think to ally with ichigo himself since they were so worried he would cause civil war if they attacked him...
So far ive only seen ichigo really have one moment of weakness which was when aizen first came around and that was brief. I dont expect him to be weak but with everything happening now and as i see it an absolutely MASSIVE breach of trust by rukia and the SS as well as whats about to transpire with his sisters...i cant imagine ichigo will take it well. Nevermind the fact that he may see his mom show up in this kind of state, im a bit worried lol, though id greatly like to see him able to lean on his girls as i feel serafall may be the ONLY one who is able to really help him with this. In fact, i can see her stopping him from straight losing it along with everyone elses help.
Beyond all that. i think Aizen really does have good intentions regarding ichigo and their relationship...this friendship/trust/mistrust thing is hilarious! its the best ive seen written so far so please keep it up! Though i am a bit concerned that he may be able to use the hogyoku and his Kyokasuigetsu now a bit too freely :O
It is an issue in my writing that I like to make hero's too heroic, and characters too perfect. Its why I like anime like In another world with my Smartphone, the story is terrible but I still love watching it. But yes your analysis is a good one and it is this kind of feedback I like to keep in mind in my writing., I will say that things are going to come to a head for him. After all his mother has kind of been a piller for him his whole life, what he based himself, his personalty and why he acts the way he acts. It is going to be fun to explore that.
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I hope you all enjoyed.
