...

I may or not have broken Josh Groban.

I idly swung the, relatively normal, blade in my hand around. My peripheral keeping the giant meteor heading towards the ground in view(As well as the panicking, staggering Espada in the air beneath it), though a majority of my focus was on the hollow before me.

On an unrelated note, it seemed Aizen Had more than likely been keeping contact with me via Kyoka Suigetsu, which frankly I wasn't sure how to feel about. On the one hand, it meant Aizen could make the bullshit I was trying to spout towards the rest of the world easier... On the other I couldn't completely trust my perceived reality.

Regardless, the moment I'd chosen the concept of victory, I'd expected the Espada ahead of me to show a side any anger management course would've dropped solely based on the application's summery. Maybe even some regret, a tad hint of resignation perhaps?

Yet despite the clear doom and the fact near half of the hollows stationed on the ground were outright dropping unconscious due to the sheer atmosphere currently surrounding them. One I am somewhat worried about given I was starting to feel the abrupt hints of it's effects on myself. The only reaction that came out of the Abridged Espada before me was laughter.

Not the haha kind one might have to a joke mind you.

The breakdown kind. The type that wouldn't be amiss in a particularly gritty Batman novel from the titular character's bat-shit insane arch-nemesis.

The Espada, quite literally, had turned his head upwards to the meteor about to send his kind to the Dinosaur's final act, and after seemingly perceiving what had gone down, simply started laughing.

I tilted my head the slightest and calmly asked him if he needed some time to adjust to his new reality.

Admittedly enough, I was somewhat worried about whether the hollow did in fact have something to try and mitigate the sheer damage the balance was about to go through- 'cos I definitely didn't-

"Well played. Sosuke." Josh Groban remarked as he locked gazes with me, steadily stretching himself up back to his full height. The first signs of resignation finally showing through.

"Well fucking played."

Needless to say, I thanked him for the compliment.

I don't think he took that particularly well.

"You know, despite the... changes...One aspect I've always firmly believed in is that, ones society no matter what, must prosper,"

"... Should I be worried about clowns? Because I really don't think a live assassination's attempt's going to go as well as you think." Really, that was more Soul Society's shtick.

Groban however chose, to my irritation, to ignore me. Though the moment he turned his gaze back upwards, towards his fellow, just as confused, Espada, I promptly shrugged and threw my sword at him.

Hey, if he wasn't going to pay attention, I wasn't going to let him get away with it. Impending meteor or not, wasted actions never lead to anything good.

The fact it sounded like he was about to somehow power up might've had something to do with it.

Unfortunately, unlike my previous attempts, the bastard despite not even looking towards my general direction, made a very good attempt at blocking said blade with one of his guns.

It didn't work of course, courtesy of the fact victory was no longer at his hand. The sword itself quite cleanly went through his chest somehow having arced Kennedy style in the process, given I'd aimed for his eye, promptly staggering the Espada back a few feet .

Yet his gaze refused to budge-

"Grantz."

I flash-stepped forward, my hand wrapping around the hilt of my blade as I pulled hard. Staggering the Espada the slightest forward though still not forcing him to turn his gaze back towards me as my blade came back out.

"Effective immediately-" I made to swipe at the Espada's head, only to twitch as he flash-stepped away from me; albeit not fast enough given the shallow red streak that suddenly encompassed the bridge of the man's nose at an upward angle.

"-I hear by name you Lord of this forsaken realm!" The man continued, his hands stretched to the side.

I idly wondered if that cancelled out the fact victory was no longer in the other hollows hands given that ritual presumably followed Groban and his supporters? Grantz himself, admittedly too far away, didn't miss a beat as he echoed out his Second Stage Resurrection.

Returning back to my previous foothold, my blade held between my hands as my mind worried about what was to come- I was promptly surprised by the fact the Espada in the air hand't in fact made to immediately go for me. His, as far as I can remember, already released form glowing in a strange kaleidoscope of colours. One that promptly echoed out in mass, covering the very sky.

I idly noted the fact the meteor was still on it's downward trajectory, despite the wash of reiatsu that shot out of the Espada in question. As well as the fact the Espada's seeming second stage didn't change his appearance. Moments later, I watched in mild confusion as every Espada barring the wolfish one before me, promptly disappeared from sight. A large number of the hollows on the ground going with them.

I turned to back towards the lone Espada before me.

"I was under the impression Huaco Mundo was Ulquiorra's Ecosystem no? 'Cos I am pretty sure that's still going to hurt him." I remarked pointing my sword to the meteor in the sky.

With resignation practically filling the Espada before me, he uttered four words that frankly worried me.

"He'll live. You won't."

Even as he spoke however, the remaining hollows surrounding him didn't seem to agree given their bodies still kept falling to the floor akin to dominos. The former? Espada leader exerting himself as he made to stay upright given the unbelievably close meteor.

I idly wondered if Aizen had a backup plan for getting me the hell out of here. Hell, I'll even take a shoddy rescue attempt by Soul Society.

"Really? What, you got a second-stage to make that a reality?" Which frankly I honestly wouldn't be surprised about, given Grantz seemed to have one-

Yet, my expression changed as I took in Groban's reaction to my words. The man's head tilting the slightest in the process.

"...You really haven't a clue as to how that ritual worked do you?"

"Doesn't sound like a yes or no to me." I remarked on reflex.

"Well, if it'll help you accept your impending doom, I do in fact have a second stage-"

I pointed my sword towards him, my knees bending the slightest as I waited for the first hint of the bastards attempt to transform.

His guard had to be down for it to go through right? Sounds like the perfect opportunity to me-

Groban chuckled, his head shaking the slightest. "Do not fret. I know well enough success, even in that state, shan't be granted to me so long as I stay in control... And, well, there's really no coming back from what I am about to do."

"That's not going to stop me from riddling you in more holes. Though if you play ball, I am more than willing to make your face somewhat symmetrical." I grinned, my breath coming out more laboured than before. The atmosphere admittedly hitting me harder than earlier.

"I've no doubt about that, rest assured however, my plans shall be followed to the very end, regardless of Grantz's feelings on the matter."" Josh Groban remarked. "Soul Society, despite all you have accomplished, with your death shall be losing out far more." He grinned at me. "That is the highest compliment your sordid self could ever hope to achieve,"

"I see. In that case, if it's any conciliation, I rate this as a five-star trip to another world! That will forever be your greatest achievement!"

Groban in response chose to sigh. "...You have, in the span of mere days, frankly pissed me off more than any other being in existence. And if victory is lost to me-" The Espada continued speaking, not so much as paying my words the attention they deserved; honestly, you'd think one would appreciate a good review. "Then, my existence be damned. all I have to offer you is-"

Josh Groban chose that moment, not even finishing his words, to give me one last surprise as he threw both of his guns to the ground. My body, without missing a beat, flash-stepped towards him again. My blade aiming for his head before-

"-Ragnarok."

I'll admit, had he said quite literally anything else, my surprised wouldn't have effected my focus. My sword, at the last moment, barely missed a vital spot on the man's head; given he kept on talking, as it punched through the middle of his face, his already disfigured nose taking the brunt of it.

"Primordial Descension;-" The Espada's words, unaffected via lack of a functioning nose, echoed out, a figurative shockwave filling the air around us. The unconscious and still standing hollows surrounding him, immediately convulsing where they stood.

Once again pulling the blade back, a curse coming out at the fact going for the head clearly didn't seem to work, I quickly flash stepped back, creating distance between us. My instincts, despite the lack of a zanpakuto, screamed at me to run- Though not even telling me how I could conceivably open up my own freaking portal. One minor itch telling me to look into my pockets for some bizarre reason given I explicitly remember not packing anything for this trip-

My attention however shifted back ahead at the burst of reiatsu that suddenly flowed out of the Espada before me. Groban, despite me been in front of him, promptly turned his disfigured head upwards and roared. His voice having taken on a far more demonic tone as his eye turned bloodshot, his expression cracking along with it.

"Howling Moon!"

Well, ain't that just ironic. Maybe I should've named him the First Moon of Huaco Mundo? Really hope Soul Society doesn't call me out on-

Faster than I could perceive, I watched as the man's figure convulsed, his body twisting and expanding as, dark as the night sky, reiatsu swirled around him in a vortex.

I stiffened the moment I felt said reiatsu, quite literally, vanish from my senses as a hulking shadow promptly filled the ground beneath me.

All around, I could see the same swirl of darkness, albeit scaled down when compared to their former leader, cover every hollow that had been left behind

Groban's new shadowed form, ignoring me entirely, promptly rocketed upwards towards the meteor, a primal roar echoing out as his shadowed, marginally bigger, hand pulled back and crashed into it. A giant crack immediately forming as a shockwave shot out of the point of impact, quite literally stopping the giant rock in place as the other side of it promptly shattered upwards.

Despite expecting the shower of rocks to immediately start falling, I found myself gawking as I watched the entire construct, flying pieces including, glow a dark-red hue in colour before seemingly liquifying into a veritable ocean of reiatsu. With the atmosphere itself seemingly unchanged-

I, admittedly, couldn't help the sudden gulp as the changed beast turned it's rabid lone eye back towards me. Particularly due to the fact it had opened it's new maw of a mouth and promptly sucked in all of that visible reiatsu(?) with another earth-shattering howl, growing bigger in size in the process.

The shadows surrounding the rest of the beasts body chose that moment to dissipate, revealing a brown hulking, abomination-esque (The Marvel kind) form. With what looked suspiciously like bone spikes arching out of it's back. Onto of it's head, above it's lone eye, was an utterly strange looking carving of a completed hollow mask etched onto it, one I, nor Aizen himself (Probably, really who knew with the shit he got up to?) had ever seen before. The missing eye on the other hand seemed to have been replaced by a shining spot, one that looked suspiciously like one of the stars in the night sky. A veritable heatwave practically filling the atmosphere itself.

All around me, I idly noted every hollow that had been left had taken on very wolfish qualities. From facial reconfiguration, to paw-like hands, to some even taking to all fours.

Naturally. I chose that moment to open my own mouth and, waving my sword in the air in the process-

"Whose a good boy!? Fetch!" -promptly threw said sword.

My mouth, admittedly enough was probably going to get me killed.

Either way, the hulking figure turned it's head towards the flung sword before turning back towards me, a growl echoing out of a more livid expression.

Naming him Josh Groban was clearly a mistake.

I should've gone with Jacob.

Oddly enough, one of the many Dire hollows around me did in fact chase after the sword. I made a mental note to try adopt that particular one.

Though in hindsight, I was starting to understand why Ulquiorra had gotten so angry about me knowing his resurrection, if it was anything remotely similar-

My eyes gleamed, watching as the primordial beast landed before me with another gut wrenching howl. It's large hands minutes away from crashing into my head as-

"Murcielago commands you to stop." I threw a shot in the wind, freezing the beast temporarily.

My shot seems to have landed... in the wrong park.

In that it seemed to somehow piss off the beast even more given it chose to suddenly roar directly at my face, my hair flowing backwards in the process.

"Now that is just rude-"

I felt something break as sheer pain filled me for the first since I'd gotten here. All from the sheer ferocity behind the singular sudden swipe. A swipe that hadn't even landed, the damage literally coming from the air pressure behind the barely dodged attack as my body was flung backwards.

...I am definitely starting to regret losing Kyoka.

...

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