Have to say that I am sorry for the delay, got sidetracked on several things and it took longer for me to get this out. But it is here now and I am going to start writing much more. Now this chapter will be close to where it left off, now I have two more chapters to post before Ichigo is basically back to where we left off in the original and then we are going to start with new content. Isn't that exciting?
Now reviews are at the bottom and I hope you enjoy the chapter. I would like to thank Xbox432 for beta-reading this chapter as he has done for the many others in the past. Thank you my friend, your help is always appreciated.
Transcendence
Chapter 26: Dark Magic
Tyresa growled out as she watched the skirmish, the situation before her looked grim; the battle had turned into a tactical retreat. Their forces were back pedaling out of the pass while fighting off the Orcs. They had received word that the Orcs from Stonewatch were on the move and would be here within the next few minutes.
They had thirty minutes and that time was nearly up, seconds were only left now, they needed to get out of the pass or risk being surrounded and overwhelmed. Without any aid they were surely done for, she just hoped that they would be able to escape before something dramatic occurred.
"Commander," Joana called, taking Tyresa's attention away from the front and towards the rear of the army group.
"Are the Orcs here?" Tyresa asked, dreading the answer.
"No, we are still clear," Joana replied, moving up to stand beside Tyresa.
They watched as a few riflemen had fired off a small barrage at the charging Orcs, forcing them back while the rest of the men continued the retreat. It was slow but it was keeping them alive, if they ran more people would be cut down.
"We are lucky the Orcs haven't arrived yet, maybe that boy actually did divert them," Joana said, looking over the field and quickly motioning when she saw a cap near the right flank, getting the Sergeant to shore up that defense.
Tyresa grimaced, that did not sit well with her, that boy may have been headstrong and very brash with his decision to come here and fight but he was still young. She felt some guilt for letting him go on that mission, perhaps it would have been better had he gone off on his own and worried about himself than them. He was likely dead, having been run down by the same Orcs he tried to lure away from them.
A noble sacrifice for certain, but by someone so young it was not right.
"Sorry Commander, I didn't mean to bring that up," Joana said, while she was aware of the world's cruel twists of fate, and that Ichigo didn't deserve to die, his willingness to risk his life for the rest of them would not be forgotten easily.
"Sometimes I wonder what those nobles are doing in Stormwind, we're forced to bring kids and vagabonds into service to get things done," Tyresa said. "And they're the ones who die for their homes and people rather than the soldiers meant to actually defend it."
"Commander, we need to go, the exit for the pass is close, open ground will give us a better chance to fight off the Orcs," Joana said, and got a nod from Tyresa, who quickly turned and moved towards the rear of the defense.
As they moved they went out into the open expanse of the hillside inside Redridge, the fresh air blocking out the ashen one that passed through the corridor leading to the Burning Steppes. In the open their numbers would count for more, the Orcs were not attacking with their full strength, more of them were scattered throughout the pass and were converging on them. If it remained like that they could easily beat them off before retreating back towards Lakeshire, hopefully before the Orcs from Stonewatch appear.
"Commander, to the South-West," Joana said, pointing off to see someone approaching.
Tyresa looked and quickly saw a contingent of cavalry moving towards their position, and she smiled when the familiar crest appeared within sight. Stormwind Knights, about a hundred of them if she was right, the thundering footfalls of their hooves shuddering through the ground.
As they draw close Tyresa found the familiar face leading these particular knights, one that she was glad had come. His raggedly cut brown hair that connected to his mutton chop mustache. He wore the familiar blue and silver armor of the Stormwind Guard with the long flowing tabard of the same allegiance.
"Reginald, good to see you old timer," Tyresa called out, greeting the man personally as he peered down at Tyresa.
"Good to see you as well girl, I hope these Orcs aren't giving you any trouble, otherwise I would need to save you and take away that stubborn pride of yours," Reginald replied, smirking slightly.
Tyresa snorted at the comment, she had been known to not like accepting aid from others in the field, and she was stubborn like that as he said. After all she wasn't some helpless princess that needed saving all the time, but with what she was dealing with some help would be appreciated.
"As much as I would like to tell you off I do need your help, we have an Orc force moving in from the East, around a hundred, we don't know when they will be here, but it…" Tyresa explained before she was cut off by a cry.
"We got movement over the eastern ridge!" A Sergeant called, and Tyresa's eyes darted over to that said ridge to see someone was moving up the slope and into view.
For a moment she feared that the Orcs were here, but it turned to surprise when she saw soldiers moving forward. A small contingent of them, maybe twenty, all of them were walking forward and covered in fresh blood.
"Get the healers up here, we got wounded coming in!" Reginald called back to his men, who went to work on getting the Healers brought over to these survivors.
Dismounting his stead he made his way over to the soldiers along with Tyresa, who had ordered that Joana continue the defensive. As they approached they soon saw that these people were soldiers from Stonewatch, the familiar crest on their uniforms showed that they were guardsman of that Keep.
"Which one of you is in change?" Reginald asked, surveying through the group of twenty.
"I am sir, Commander Ethel Carter, Stonewatch Brigade," the man saluted the Marshal and fellow Commander.
"At ease Commander, what happened? How did you survive?" Reginald said, and was met with a woman that stepped through and presented herself, a Night Elf.
"Adelina?" Tyresa said, surprised to see that she was alive, she had heard the Druid had gone off with Ichigo.
"It is good to see you are all alright, we were worried that you would have left the pass by now," Adelina said, relieved to find that everyone was still present.
"We were about to mount a defense, but how did you escape the Orcs? And them, how did you find them?" Tyresa asked.
"We freed them from Stonewatch, we were able to infiltrate the Keep after the Orcs left it and we freed them," Adelina replied, making the two highly ranked officers simply stare at her.
"You… infiltrated Stonewatch, alone?" Reginald said, uncertain he had heard her correctly.
"No, Ichigo led the attack, I helped a little later, after that we lured the Orcs back and were able to keep them there and dwindle down their forces," Adelina replied, smiling at the shocked faces, even she was surprised they had been able to pull it off, and she was the one who thought up the plan.
"The orcs? They are defeated?" Tyresa asked, not believing what had been said, that they had actually done more than route the enemy, but destroyed it.
"I can swear for her Commander, she and that boy saved our lives, and thanks to him we were able to reclaim Stonewatch." Carter stated, nodding his head toward Adelina in silent thanks, one of several he had sent her way since their escape.
Tyresa couldn't believe it, Ichigo was alive and apparently he pulled off not only routing the Orcs but also wiping them out. It was surreal that the teenager could accomplish something like that; she needed a full brief on this now. She looked around to see if she could find the familiar messy orange hair, but he wasn't anywhere in sight.
"Where is Ichigo, I need to speak with him and you," Tyresa urged, but got a shake of the head.
"I am sorry but Ichigo found a lead on Galen and went with someone to follow up on it, he says he will return after he has dealt with it," Adelina replied.
Three Miles East
Ichigo sprinted hard, moving as fast as his legs could carry him, he knew where Galen was and now he could go get him. Behind him followed Caren, although at a much slower pace, it was obvious that she wasn't trained for this kind of rigorous activity. She was panting and sweating, and begging for Ichigo to slow down.
"Will… you slow down!" Caren wheezed heavily, she leaned against a tree to steady herself.
Ichigo came to a halt and looked back at her; he took in a few deep breaths to steady his beating heart. Ichigo was in good shape, in fact he moved pretty well, despite being in a human body, one and a half miles, which was pretty good considering he was only winded. If he was in his other body he would have been panting like a dog, but if he was a Shinigami he wouldn't be this tired.
'Another mystery for later I guess,' Ichigo thought to himself.
Turning back to the panting mage he walked over to make sure she wasn't going to have a heart attack. Caren was a dainty thing if he could guess, very thin and also pale, her robes clung to her quite tightly and looked to be custom made. Considering the coloring and also the design it couldn't be anything less, and the way she talked showed she was likely of the upper echelon or noble class. Her attitude actually attributed to that as well, considering she often came off as snobbish and spoke haughtily.
"You alright?" Ichigo asked, stepping close and seeing she had sweat on her brow and her likely once pristine robes were very much dirty. Although being in a cage for a week likely would do that to you.
"I… need to catch my breath…" Caren replied, gasping as she spoke and talking a little quickly as well between breaths. "How are you not tired?"
"I exercise," Ichigo deadpanned.
"Don't act so mighty, just because you need muscles to swing that butchers hatchet around doesn't mean I need to run around the Tower of Arcane Sciences just to stay slim," Caren bit back at his dull reply.
"Couldn't hurt if you tried once and a while," Ichigo replied, only getting an irritated grumble from the woman.
"Let us just walk for now, we are close anyway, so it is better we do not go charging into it without knowing what may be defending it," Caren replied, straightening up and taking in one last breath before striding forward with as much dignity a woman in week old robes and sweat could muster.
Ichigo looked at her with an incredulous look, was she actually trying to look confident in this situation, what was up with her? Did she actually think that every situation needed to be one where you were all graceful and aloof? Had she had black hair he could have mistaken her as another of Byakuya's sisters, well maybe a distant relative.
Ichigo shrugged it off and followed in step beside her, their walk through the wooded region was mostly spent in quiet. Although that was not because he wanted it to be, Caren had told him to remain quiet, and also not to be too heavy with his footsteps. Apparently this is where the Gnolls resided in the region, he had no idea what he was getting into but if these things had helped Morganth take down Galen and Caren than he needed to be careful.
He had seen her power and in truth he had not seen anything as potent as her magic, even kido was a little off compared to her skill. Her powers were instant and chained together in such a rhythm that even a Shinigami Captain would have trouble defending against so many different spells at once. Although that may just be him thinking, he had seen her burn a person and then go on to release a barrage of condensed arcane orbs before teleporting herself out of harm's way.
Magic certainly had its advantages; he could see why these people used it.
But still if something can get past it then he needed to be aware, these Gnolls, as Caren described them, were a very rustic living and unintelligent species. They mainly lived in large packs that would attack anything that was either food or for spoils. But they usually didn't do it alone, mainly because they were cowardly and couldn't really harm anything.
But still they ruled this region for a reason, if they can live here without threat from the Alliance it is either because it is far out of their concern or the Alliance doesn't like coming here. He was hoping for the former, because if there are enough here to be an issue, then he really was glad he had some protection.
"How many are we dealing with?" Ichigo asked.
"I do not know, maybe a hundred or so, but be quiet; if they don't pick up our scent then we should reach the tower without issue." Caren replied, her eyes darting around as she looked past the trees and the bushes, looking for any signs of movement.
"You think they're here?" Ichigo inquired, whispering to her.
"They are here, we just don't know where," Caren replied back, her voice equally as low.
As she took a step they both halted, the sound of a string releasing with a loud twang. Ichigo turned and saw that something was coming their way, an iron tipped arrow. He quickly ducked back and just avoided and arrow hitting him in the neck, but it did graze along the side of his shoulderguard. His hand was on Zangetsu as soon as he heard it, and when the bolt passed he drew his Zanpakuto, using it as a shield as another projectile came his way.
Ichigo turned to see Caren was fine; she had actually summoned up a barrier ahead of her and was shrugging off a few more bolts. He was glad she could handle herself; otherwise he would have trouble protecting them both. His ears perked up when he heard something behind them, he saw three creatures appear carrying crossbows.
Ichigo was surprised by the appearance, they were stumpy looking hyena creatures that had a large hump along their backs and stood on their hind legs. Wearing patchy and dirty rags and metal plates, randomly placed over their bodies, and Ichigo could actually smell the repulsive stench from them.
But the crossbows were his main concern as they aimed at Caren's unprotected back. Quickly getting behind her he used his Zanpakuto as a shield and halted the deadly barrage. Using Shunpo Ichigo covered the distance to the second group of attackers, slashing and cutting apart their crude crossbows before delivering a truesilver gauntlet to their snouts.
Ichigo didn't really feel like killing these things, sure Hollows were prettier than these things but they were just under the sway of a mad sorcerer. Also if they could use a crossbow killing them was not exactly right, hell he didn't even feel like killing animals unless it was necessary.
'Wait… why the hell am I over-analyzing this? Just knock them out and go,' Ichigo thought, he had been doing that a lot, thinking over killing things.
He hated to admit it but the thought of killing was beginning to become a very repulsive thing for him. Every time he thought about it he went back to the Nether and those nightmares, having the kill to survive, it wasn't pretty being in there. He really hated it, and it was still affecting him, even when he struck someone and wounded them he saw a flash of something.
A woman, under him, gasping and spitting out blood.
It gave him the shakes when he saw that, he needed to get a grip before he had a breakdown. Ichigo turned and moved back over the Caren, she had decided to forgo inconspicuousness and go for all out destruction. She had lit the damn treeline on fire and was pushing it ahead, Ichigo could hear the gnolls screaming and yelping as they ran out of the bush alight. Only to be cut down by a bolt of arcane energy, Caren continued forward and extinguished the fire with a wave of her hand.
It was an ambush, but by the end it looked like a massacre. The burned bodies were horrible, the smell was bad but the actual appearance was no pretty. Ichigo looked over to see the impassive face of Caren moving forward. How could she act so calm in this situation, she just burned these creature to a crisp and didn't even flinch at the smell.
"What is wrong?" Caren asked, seeing him staring at her.
"How do you do that?" Ichigo asked, scowling as usual, keeping his façade of calm and control.
"Do what?" Caren asked, wondering if he was referring to her magic. "I simply channel my powers over the world and create fire, I could explain more but…"
"No, not that, I got an idea how you do that," Ichigo replied, interrupting her and making her scowl in turn. "How do you kill them so easily, you burned them to a crisp and don't give a damn."
Ichigo had seen the Captains take down hollows and others before, usually with a cold indifference. Despite some looking like kids and teenagers he knew they were ancient, and had decades or centuries of experience and training to make them into what they are. They often do what they do because they have been trained to do it, and have been doing it for centuries. Also technically the killing of Hollows was not as concrete as that, they needed to be put down to put them to rest, to free their souls.
But what about Caren? How can she do what she just did, she was no older than him, and yet she didn't bat an eye when she killed these things. In fact she was so composed and controlled that she didn't even seem agitated when they were attacked, simply reacting.
"How? These things are animals that will kill you if you let your guard down. Killing them is no different than stepping on a rodent that bites you," Caren replied, confused and annoyed at Ichigo. "These things kill people every day, and nearly killed me beforehand; the fact that they are dead now makes me feel better because they won't be able to do it again."
Ichigo was silent for a moment; he didn't doubt that these things wanted them dead, and that killing them was likely the only move available. But could he really believe that she was doing this out of the need for the greater good. Even if she killed for the sake of others, the way she went about it was pretty nasty. Burning people alive, even if they weren't Human, was not the most humane thing to do.
"How long have you actually been outside the walls of Stormwind?" Caren asked, looking at him critically. "This must actually be the first time, because the way you act is as if you have never seen something die before."
"I've seen enough of that already," Ichigo grunted back, but he was mostly unheard.
"If you want to actually go out into the world and survive you are going to need to remember something, as bad as some people are, there are worse, if you can't stomach what I do, then you certainly won't last when you meet some of the more twisted monsters that live out there," Caren stated before turning and moving off, her legs carrying her into their original path.
Ichigo followed, wondering on her words. He had no illusions that Azeroth wasn't a very dangerous place, with what he had to get past in Feralas and Thousand Needles only being a fraction of what was really out there. But he didn't think that these people would act so brutally against their enemies, where was the honor or valor that these people preached about.
What made them so different from their enemies if they were so willing to kill them without any mercy?
'What do you think, Zangetsu?' Ichigo asked, he had neglected to speak with his Zanpakuto spirit for some time, and even when he did try he was often met with silence.
Ichigo sighed, he had a lot to do when he got some free time, and he needed to start thinking of someone other than himself now. Because the more he did that, the more he remembered what he had been through to make him what he was now.
"There it is, the Tower of Ilgalar, Morganth's sanctum." Caren said, glaring up the large tower that was built near the end of the cliff, overlooking most of the surrounding countryside.
"What's the plan?" Ichigo asked, looking up at the imposing white stoned tower.
"Enter and kill that bastard," Caren replied, moving forward with purpose, her previous regal walk was now more rigid and aggressive.
"Sounds simple enough," Ichigo said, glad that they didn't need an elaborate plan for this, simple in and out job.
Although, the killing part did not sit well with him. So long as he could disable the mage and maybe even capture him would be good, or at least be able to not take part in the deed would be for the best. He already had enough to deal with, and killing people he just met didn't sound too good for him.
How could he kill anyone here, what reason could he possibly have to actually want to take a life? He had no misgivings with anyone here, the Alliance or Horde; he never had been part of their struggles and strife. He did not have any animosity towards the Blackrock Orcs, sure they were savage animals that loved to fight and kill. But he had seen the same kind of bloodlust and disregard for life in the damn Arrancar, worse even and he never had held grudges or hatred towards them.
These people were not involved in anything he did other than being in his way while he went about his mission, he wouldn't stoop so low as to kill just because they were there. Ichigo was many things, but a killer was not one of them. Even if his past deeds in the Nether and Dustwallow Marsh had brought out something much darker.
'Got to focus, not time to dwell on what has happened, I need to focus on the now and the future,' Ichigo thought to himself, following Caren into the tower and up the winding staircase at the center.
As they ascended the steps Ichigo could feel a strange sensation in the air, it reminded him of the Nether. He got a bad feeling, if this guy was practicing with that kind of magic he would need to be careful. He reached for Zangetsu and drew it from his back, and as he reached the top of the steps he had it fully drawn and at his side.
Scanning the room he found the walls lined with tables, book shelves with an assortment of tomes and arcane objects. There were no candles or light source, only the windows allowing any illumination into the room. Aside from that there was nothing of note, not even an occupant.
"No one's here," Ichigo said, eyes darting around once more to make sure that was true.
"You don't fool me," Caren said, quickly summoning a bolt of fire and hurling it at the far side of the room.
Ichigo was surprised by the action, and when he saw the result he understood her actions. A barrier shattered when the fireball reached it and revealed a man in robes holding up a hand and channeling a barrier.
"That trick only works once!" Caren yelled, firing off another fireball as Morganth advanced unhindered.
Her bolt connected with a shield that flowed around him, and he quickly raised his staff and released a series of shadowy bolts towards the young mage. Caren erected her own defenses and blocked the nefarious bolts, but she quickly collapsed it and attacked once more. But as her shield dropped Caren was assaulted by a wave of green fire, quickly thinking she blinked herself away.
Appearing near the back of the room with no injury, but again Morganth zeroed in on her.
"I did not expect you to escape, I would have thought those Orcs would have killed you already," Morganth said, raising his staff and planning on sending a steam of fel fire towards her.
But he turned to see someone attack, a sword raised up and ready to strike him. Morganth raised his free arm and took the strike, and to the substitute's surprise his blade did not cut through the limb. Over his arm was a veil of darkness and energy that repelled his attack.
"Be gone!" Morganth yelled, releasing a wave of fire from below his feet. Ichigo quickly used Shunpo and evaded being lit on fire.
Ichigo looked up to see the fires circle around and form into a single bolt of energy at the tip of the Warlock's staff. As it shot towards the Shinigami Ichigo swung Zangetsu and struck it, the result was him being flung back as the ball of fire exploded. Ichigo hit a bookshelf, it caved in when he struck and he was forced down to his knees.
'Damn, magic is tough,' Ichigo said, he never really had dealt with any kind of magic before, Kido on occasion, but this was a different ball park.
Ichigo looked down to see the flickering flames of the fireball coil towards him and beneath his kneeling body. He saw them form a small circle and glow brightly. Seeing what may happen would be bad Ichigo leaped aside, lucky that he did, as the place he occupied had been engulfed in a pillar of fire that burned a hole through the floor and roof.
"Shit!" Ichigo thought, this guy was actually pretty powerful.
Morganth was struck from behind, his shield flickering as a wave of arcane missiles collided with his demonic armor. With a growl he threw a quick retaliatory bolt of shadow at the young magi before he raised his staff and slammed it into the ground.
"I learned from my last mistake, this time, I brought some friends along!" Morganth yelled, and around the room several magical illusions shattered to reveal a group of rag covered Gnolls.
Half a dozen of them in total, all armed with short daggers and small channels in their hands.
"Surprising what a few mongrel animals can learn!" Morganth yelled. "The book of Ur is filled with all kinds of magic; I am more powerful than ever before!"
"Keep dreaming filth!" Caren yelled back, quickly tossing a fireball towards the deranged warlock before turning on his Gnoll allies.
She scowled as their bodies were encased in the same dark magic that protected Morganth, this would be hard to do. It was some kind of mana shield, meaning that it would be near impenetrable until whatever was feeding it was destroyed. But if Morganth was actually feeding his own from his own well of power it should collapse any moment. Especially if he was firing off all those spells.
"Imagine an army! An army of ruthless animals at my command, I could conquer anything I wished! Stormwind! Ironforge! Lordaeron!" Morganth yelled, manic as he weaved a fireball into his hand and threw it towards Caren.
"A bunch of Gnolls are not going to get you Stormwind! More likely some warren that they defecate in!" Caren yelled back, summoning up a barrier and halting the fireball, yet it shattered her defenses and left her vulnerable.
"Gnolls? Hah!" Morganth yelled. "You truly are a fool if you think this is what I had intended to use!"
She stepped back as the Gnoll slashed at her, luckily only her robes had been cut, yet even that was unacceptable, they were expensive. She raised her hand and fired another bolt or arcane energy at the Gnoll, all it did was stagger the beast but it was enough for Caren to get some breathing room.
As she turned back a wave of shadow descended towards her, quickly she blinked away, and saved herself from being consumed. Caren looked up to see Morganth turning towards her, a ball of fire in his hands, and she responded by summoning her own.
The two balls of fire met midway and exploded, wreathing the area between them in hot fire, but otherwise leaving both unharmed. As Morganth raised his staff to fire again and catch the girl he was thrown forward, turning he looked to see a Gnoll had been thrown at him.
"My turn," Ichigo said, lunging forward and slashing down with Zangetsu.
Morganth raised his staff but he was unable to hold back the blade and it collided with his shoulder, the edge slamming hard against his collar and forcing him onto his back. Ichigo raised his blade and aimed for the arm, planning on cutting through whatever barrier this guy had. But as he threw his blade down Ichigo was forced back in shock as a roaring skull appeared in front of him, his mind whirled.
Ichigo felt his heart freeze and his mind go haywire, the haunting memories of his time in the Nether returning to the forefront of his mind. He stumbled back, clutching at his head as those horrors appeared in his minds eyes. He heard the screaming of a dark language, the foul stench of fel magic and even the pain of the wounds he suffered in that hell.
They quickly were overtaken by a force striking his chest and sending him sailing back, he struck the stone wall and felt his armor compress around his torso slightly. As he hit the ground the substitute felt his eyes readjust and return to the tower. He didn't understand what happened, but knew for certain it had to have been from the warlock.
'What… the hell was that?' Ichigo thought, his eyes darting around, his heart still racing and his mind struggling with the reveal.
He quickly acted when he felt something slam into the back of his shoulder, looking he saw the Gnoll trying to stab him. Ichigo rolled forward and into a crouch, before he turned and slashed at the attacking creature, who staggered back as his barrier took the strike.
'Dammit, what the hell kind of barrier is this?' Ichigo thought.
Ichigo charged in again and slashed as hard as he could and when he hit the Gnoll he actually hit something vital, the barrier did shimmer and break under the assault. The Gnoll stumbled back and looked to see the veil that surrounded it began to shake and move to repair the damage around its wearer.
'Focus your energies through the blade'
"Zangetsu?"
Ichigo heard him, the old man, he was there.
'Do as I say, focus your power into the edge of the blade, narrow it, strengthen it, this barrier repels your attacks because they cannot match its power. So overpower it with a sharp edge, cut through it.' Zangetsu instructed.
Ichigo followed the order and quickly slashed, this time he did not meet the same resistance as before. His blade cut through the shoulder and the torso, leaving his blade halfway into its body, Ichigo for a moment was surprised at the quick and easy change in the fight. It would seem his Zanpakuto could now cut through the barriers.
Ichigo turned and slashed at another Gnoll, his blade grinded through the barrier like it a chainsaw through a sheet of paper. Slashing open the chest and leaving the poor animal to fall back in a howl of pain. Ichigo winced under the brutal onslaught, not liking taking life, even from these animals. Although he has seen that just because they look like animals, doesn't mean they are animals.
'Focus, remain on task, taking a life without reason is murder. But taking a life out of purpose is not evil, only necessary. Do not falter in your steps; continue forward and past them, strike true and for the kill.' Zangetsu ordered, drawing Ichigo back to the fight.
'Yeah, but it doesn't mean I have to like it.' Ichigo thought, slashing again at another Gnoll.
"You think you can beat me girl, I was beyond you and your master long before you crawled out of your mother! What makes you think now is any different!" Morganth yelled, releasing a wave of fire that consumed the far wall, engulfing the shelves and books along with the tapestry.
The entire room was slowly being engulfed in red, green and black fire. Caren raised her hand and released a quick burst of arcane energy, reducing the flaming floor to nothing and giving her a chance to actually move around. But she felt tired, she had drained herself, her powers were waning and she was not in the best shape when she arrived here. She had not eaten or had a drink in the last few days, and that food she did get to eat when she escaped was not sitting well on her stomach.
'Of all the times to have an ache in the gut,' Caren moaned in irritation as she steadied herself with her staff.
"This is just the beginning; once I claim the Scythe I will enslave an entire army!" Morganth yelled, releasing a wave of fire towards the young mage.
"The Scythe?" Caren called back, not understanding the true meaning of his words, raising a barrier that dispersed the flames
"Yes! Once I have it Stormwind will be mine, and better yet I will actually have more people I can convert into my army!" Morganth roared as he sent another bolt of fire towards her shield, it began to dim and lose its presence.
Caren gritted her teeth; she couldn't hold out much longer, she was lucky that Ichigo had taken most of those Gnolls' attention while she fought against this guy. But even then she couldn't hope to defeat him, she would need to negate that barrier somehow.
'Wait, if he is not powering the shield from his own mana, than that means he is siphoning it from something else and onto himself.' Caren surmised, if that was the case, then all she needed to do was find the source of this shields power and destroy it.
He likely had to use something to keep the shield up otherwise he wouldn't be able to use his abilities as recklessly as he did. Caren quickly scanned the room for anything that might be a magical item that could be supplying him with power. It had to be something with a great deal of energy, and it would show, but she doubted he would keep it in the open, too dangerous as it could be destroyed in their fight.
But she was unable to do so for long, her attention brought back as her shield began to falter and her powers beginning to strain as she drew on more power to hold back Morganth's onslaught. She didn't have time for this, she needed help.
"Ichigo! Help me!" Caren yelled.
On cue she saw two Gnolls sail towards the warlock, he ducked past one but he was struck by another. He let out an aggravated curse as he was thrown onto his back, as he rose he was struck in the chest by the blade. Although it did not pierce the superior defense she could see sparks of energy grinding against one another as both weapons tried to overcome the other.
"Keep him busy!" Caren yelled, turning and looking around once more, trying to locate anything that might be the cause of Morganth's shield.
Her eyes fell upon a single wall, bare of anything and situated between two bookshelves. It was almost too easy; she didn't even need divination to see what was there.
Ichigo raised his Zanpakuto up, he had hit the guy and yet he didn't cut through the shield at all. What was different with this guy? Before he could contemplate he was forced to jump back as a stream of green fire shot up and nearly consumed his head. Ichigo rolled to the side as another stream came his way as the warlock rose.
"Nearly had me there brat, yet that sword will do you little good against me!" Morganth roared, a sneer of anger appearing on his face.
"Yeah, didn't seem to help those poor bastards over there," Ichigo said, appearing nonchalant but not taking his eyes off the warlock for a moment.
He had seen the fight with Caren out of the corner of his eye, he knew what this guy could do and he did not want to get hit by those bolts. He had a bad reaction to arcane energy, Fel was worse, and if he got any form of poisoning again he likely would be down for the count. So avoid them at all costs and wear down this shield, pretty simple and it should work.
"I care little that you beat those mongrels! I am a true master of this art!" Morganth yelled, raising his staff and aiming it at the substitute.
Ichigo quickly gathered some power towards his feet, gathering it towards his soles, finding some resistance in pulling it there as usual, although with practices ease he fought through this block. But as he gathered it he stepped forward, right within range of the Warlock, he drew back Zangetsu and swung at the surprised man. Ichigo hit him right in the side; he stumbled to the right and fell to the ground before rolling to a stop.
'The shield stops my attacks but he can still suffer blunt force trauma from the hits.' Ichigo realized, he didn't need to cut him, just hit him hard enough that the hit would either knock him out or he suffered some severe physical trauma that he could not fight anymore.
"You ready to surrender yet?" Ichigo asked, deciding to get a little smug on the bastard, he was screaming about being superior yet now he was on his ass groveling.
"You are too arrogant boy, that will be the death of you," Morganth replied, summoning up his powers and pushing it outwards.
Ichigo was flung back by the wave that consumed the entire room, he hit the ground with a thud and remained there for a moment before he sat up. He looked over to Morganth and saw him channeling some form of spell. Green and black energies swirled in his hands and around his feet, creating a strange runic circle beneath his feet.
"If those animals couldn't defeat you, then I will go with something a little bigger."
Ichigo watched as another runic circled appeared between the two of them, and from it began to appear something large.
"Holy shit," Ichigo murmured, seeing the ten foot tall monstrosity that appeared.
It was simply horrific; it looked like something out of children's nightmares, hell it was out of anyone's nightmares. Bloody and pale flesh heavily stitched together, although that did little to stop the bulging flesh from tearing and looking ready to burst. It was vaguely humanoid in appearance, although grotesquely obese. It was even more horrible to look at because the front section of its chest was open and revealing the ribcage and the many internal organs within.
"Kill him!" Morganth yelled, aiming his staff towards Ichigo, commanding his summoned to task.
"Fresh meat!" The beast roared, its ugly head and crooked jaw releasing the drawn out drawl as it staggered forward on two stumpy legs before slashing with a large meat cleaver.
Ichigo rolled to the side and avoided it, watching the floor splinter and crack under the strike, and he did so again when the beast attempted to step on him. Scrambling to his feet the substitute attacked, slashing at the fatty creature and cutting open it stomach.
"Oh god," Ichigo cried out, watching as organs and intestine spilled out and were hanging there, either with veins or stitches.
This thing had been sown together, everything inside and out had been put together with stitches and sutures. What kind of fucked up world was this that a guy could summon a monstrosity like this. It was the smell that dragged him from the sight, the horrid stench of decaying flesh and bodily matter that forced him to step back as his throat and nose burnt and his eyes stung. He stumbled back, unable to help but feel bile rise to his throat as he took in the necrotic smell. He was certain he was going to throw up.
"Kill!" The abomination yelled, slashing with its meat cleaver.
Ichigo raised Zangetsu and took the strike, but was thrown off his feet, that thing must have had a lot of muscle under those patchwork arms. Ichigo sailed across the entire chamber before colliding with a stone wall. He tried to stand but found difficulty when his sword arm seemed to be tight.
He looked down to see the joint for the armor had been damaged. He flexed as hard as he could and heard a snap, he grimaced when he saw the joint of the armor break off and leave his elbow exposed. Although it did free up some movement, it likely left him vulnerable somehow and also he felt the bracer was a little loose.
"Feast on your bones!"
Ichigo looked to the abomination, seeing it stumble towards him, dragging its disemboweled intestines with it. Fighting back the bile in his throat Ichigo stood up and faced the monstrosity, he needed to take this thing out now.
Using Flash Step he appeared to the beast's side, slashing open its waist line, but that seemed to only draw it towards him. Even with the gaping and bulging wound it did not seem affected, only more determined to kill its attacker. Ichigo shot back as it slashed at him, narrowly missing his chest, as the hatchet passed he shot forward and stabbed towards something vital.
He struck what appeared to be a lung, but that did as much as his first two strikes. It raised it arm and tried to catch him, pulling back the substitute evaded being captured, he had the horrible thought that this thing may want to actually eat his bones. Better not let that happen. Maybe later he would joke that getting eaten by a Hollow is actually less scary than being eaten by a zombie, funny how that works.
'Okay, so that didn't work, what the hell will?' Ichigo thought.
Well, there was always the go for the head thing. With that thought Ichigo went about trying to get on top of the damn thing. Luckily he was able to make an opportunity. As the thing attacked him Ichigo tried to force it to send a drop attack at him, and when that butcher blade slammed into the floor he scampered onto its arms and climbed up to its back.
As he got onto its shoulder Ichigo drew back Zangetsu and planned for the decapitating swing. Yet as he prepared the swing he grimaced when he felt something hit his leg, looking down he saw a hatchet buried an inch into his calf. Where the hell did that come from?
He looked to see that stitched onto the abominations shoulder was a smaller arm, holding a hatchet.
"You have got to be kidding me?" Ichigo groaned out, as he was struck in the back by the larger hatchet and sent flying towards the ground.
Ichigo groaned at he felt his back ache as the metal pressed uncomfortably against his spine. He rolled onto his side and pushed himself up, looking up he saw that damn abomination coming his way again. As he tried to lift himself up he was struck in the side, sending him hurdling away. He felt the intense heat flicker as his face burned slightly. He looked to see Morganth had taken to the field.
"Dammit!" Ichigo swore under his breath, he couldn't deal with two of them.
"You're done boy!" Morganth yelled, creating another fireball in his palm and throwing it at the substitute.
Ichigo quickly dodged and rolled back to his feet, but as he did he felt something collide with his side. Looking down he saw a hook had dug into the side of his armor, and with a grunt he was pulled back and towards the holder. Ichigo landed on his back and saw the abomination looming above him, its butcher blade drawn back for a swing. Ichigo rolled to the side and quickly lopped off the arm as it came down.
The monster looked at its severed hand with confusion for a moment before letting out an angry growl. Ichigo grasped the chain hook and sliced the chain off and then gained some distance as the abomination started swinging at him wildly. Ichigo ducked under a swing and retaliated with one of his own. As more of its internal organs fell out Ichigo attacked again, leaving another gaping wound along its back.
Ichigo quickly retreated as it came closer, swinging at him wildly and ignoring the internal organs that it seemed to be dropping in its pursuit of the substitute. He waited for the right moment, he needed to attack when it struck again, if he could take out the second arm he would have a much easier time handling this guy. As the fist moved his way Ichigo sidestepped and raised Zangetsu, but before he struck he was hit.
A ball of shadow collided with his back and he grimaced as the nerve wracking pain coursed through every cell in his body. Ichigo lurched forward unsteadily as he tried to remain on his feet, but he was not fast enough to notice or dodge the log sized limb that collided with his chest and sent him right into another wall.
'Crap that hurt,' Ichigo thought as he groaned and he lifted himself up. His body felt tender and pulverized, he hadn't felt like this since he fought against Grimmjow the first time.
As he staggered to his feet Ichigo got hit dead center in his chest, hitting the wall again before falling to his knees. Looking up he saw the abomination right above him, ready to strike again. With a growl Ichigo rolled to the side, avoiding being pulverized into the floor.
"Fuck this!" Ichigo yelled.
He reached for Zangetsu and grasped it; he turned on his feet as he rose to his full height. Drawing back he channeled his reiatsu into the blade, bathing the edge in a powerful blue glow. He wouldn't deal with this bastard any longer; he was going to blow that fucking monster away with one swing.
"Getsuga Tenshou!" Ichigo roared.
The side of the tower exploded as Ichigo swung his Zanpakuto around, engulfing the entire chamber in a concussive wave of force. As the smoke cleared the tower had been almost completely shattered. The far wall and most of the roof had exploded away and left nothing but open space to see the surrounding region.
Looking ahead the substitute saw the remnants of a bloodstain on the ground, a few pieces of gore and viscera trailing with it as what remained of the abomination was scattered with likely the rest of the tower that had been blown away. Looking back into the tower he saw Morganth dragging himself back to his feet, a look of shock on his face as he surveyed the damage.
"That is impossible…" Morganth said. "You… you are not Human!"
He raised his hand to strike but halted when his veil of darkness shattered, fading from him and leaving him completely vulnerable. Morganth staggered back and looked at his hands, seeing the protective barrier around him was gone.
"No, No!" Morganth yelled. "How? How did this happen?"
He turned and looked to the right, seeing two people standing there. Next to Caren was an older man that was bare chested and holding a staff of silver and gold, he was lithe and muscled. A few scars of torture were upon his flesh but he appeared to be still strong and standing.
"Dammit! No!" Morganth yelled, raising his staff and firing a beam of Fel-fire at the mages.
A barrier formed and halted the attack and then it shot forward and connected with the warlock, sending him hurtling backwards.
"You were able to ambush me and my apprentice Morganth, but this time I am ready for you," Galen stated, walking forward as he summoned up seven orbs of arcane energy.
"I was so close, so close!" Morganth roared, sending another wave of fire at the mage.
"Not close enough," Caren replied, throwing a spear of ice towards the Warlock, who was struck through the breast by the lance.
He staggered backwards, clutching at the frozen spear with his hands as blood slowly poured through the wound. He raised his hand to try and fight back, but he was struck by a barrage of bolts, his body consumed by a cloud of arcane energy.
Ichigo watched as the specs of arcane energy dissipated and to his shock he saw the body of the man looked to be quite whole. He did not appear to be badly damaged, but there appeared to be strange colorations along his skin. Like it was also changing, turning into crystals, parts even falling apart as he was kept from keeling over by the ice spear in his torso.
"What the hell?" Ichigo said aloud, looking at the corpse.
"What in the Nether did you do?" Caren yelled, surveying the damage of the tower, as most of it was missing.
"I kind of got a little ahead of myself," Ichigo replied, scratching the back of his head as he looked over to the man beside her. "You, are you Galen Runecrest."
"That I am, who are you young warrior?" The senior magi inquired, looking at the boy with a raised eyebrow.
"Names Ichigo Kurosaki, I was sent here to get you," The substitute replied, placing Zangetsu over his shoulder and letting it sheath itself.
"Get me? Who sent you?" Galen inquired moving closer, using his staff to support himself.
"Jaina Proudmoore," Ichigo replied.
Before the conversation could continue the tower shook and then dropped slightly, the foundations seemed to be crumbling and the tower began to lurch. Caren rushed over to Ichigo and dragged him towards Galen; in her hands she carried a large tome.
Galen raised his hand and summoned up a small circle beneath all three of them, and in an instant they flashed out of existence. As the last of the foundations of the tower shattered, the structure dropped to the ground with a resounding crash.
Appearing less than a mile away was the trio, returning to the physical world in a flash of white light. Ichigo staggered slightly from the ordeal, he did not expect that, it felt kind of weird.
"Not used to portals I see," Galen noted.
"No, used them once and felt alright, that felt like my stomach switched places with my intestines," Ichigo replied, holding his hand over his stomach, feeling the urge to vomit again returned.
"My apologies, but we didn't have time to escape any other way," Galen apologized. "But I would like to know, why did Jaina Proudmoore send you to come and find me? I doubt she knew of my disappearance."
"She didn't, me and her need to speak with you on an important matter," Ichigo replied, fighting down the nausea and looking at the mage with a serious frown.
Galen was intrigued, showing so with a raised eyebrow, he noted that the boy was about sixteen, a year older than his apprentice. It was not common for someone as young as he to be an actual warrior or knight, maybe a squire but not a full-fledged warrior. But if that boy was more than he appeared, if the sight of the tower exploding with some unseen force was anything to go by, then he was more than just a simple warrior.
"I think we can do so, I can take us back to Stormwind from here if you wish," Galen said.
"Wait… we need to get to the pass first, we need to make sure everyone there is alright," Ichigo replied. "They attacked the pass and I have a friend there, we need to make sure they are alright."
"There is an attack?" Galen inquired, surprised to learn of this offensive. "Then let us make haste, we shall not leave them to fight these orcs alone."
Ichigo turned and moved, noting quickly that he felt a little sluggish; it would seem that the fighting was starting to have an effect on him. Also that beating likely did not help, with a sigh he pressed on and ignored the fatigue and slight pain. He had to get back to make sure everyone was alright.
Review:
Wrandral: I see, thank you for telling me. I guess I understand now why this story is much more popular than United. Thank you for telling me. Also thanks for the actual review on how my work did, I am glad you are liking all the different aspects of the story.
Meech Macko: Well she is a noble, and she must convey strength and pride in oneself, or some shit like that. Also you are right, Ichigo has many different talents that are useful to him, but they are harder to use simply because of his physical limitations, but with time he can learn to access them through his physical shell. Also he will need to be careful as well, some enemies will not look back to stabbing Ichigo if he spares them, so yeah he needs to be careful.
Kragh50: Glad to be accommodating, I try to update regularly but sometime I fall behind.
Bankai will be reserved for a very special circumstance because of the sheer power it releases. Also the revealing of Ichigo being part Quincy and also learning of his true Zanpakuto will actually come about in a later time. And I can tell you it will be a cool moment, as for his Vasto Lorde form, got a special moment for that in the future.
I see, well that is understandable why you like this story compared to United, and I accept it, I am very much the same.
Reality Deviant: Yeah, Ichigo may be a damn good swordsman but he is still a temperamental teenager that often gets into trouble with everyone simply because he is a Lone Wolf that does his own thing. Sorry about the character POV thing, I will try to look more carefully in regards to that in the future.
Ultima-Owner: Thanks a send off to Warcraft III, the best RTS there has ever been, god I miss that. I should play it again sometime.
Mandalore the Freedom: Been a while it has, glad to hear from you again. Ichigo has always been a kickass, its just that most people don't see that unless he is trouncing everyone and anything in his way. But he doesn't need to beat the Captain-Commander and have all the Female Shinigami practically foaming of the mouth because he 'is so hawt!'. He is his own character, and why change that? You don't, because he is awesome as he it.
Guest #1: Thank you, glad someone like that reply.
Readme-silly: Yeah, but sometimes it is a really nice feeling when you crush something with a tonne of bricks.
DragonSoul28: Kido is a subject he likely would not be able to develop in unless he got a teacher of Kido, and since Kido is a specialty of the Shinigami him learning it on Azeroth is completely impossible. Also the physics behind portals requires more than just breaching between two points, it requires a medium of travel. For the Arcane it requires breaching into the Nether and using the universal altering physics of that realm to transport yourself from one point to another. Basically the Mage uses the Nether as a gateway between two points.
But for Senkaimon and Garganta's they require the Dangai to traverse between spiritual planes and locations. Kido is the manipulation of one's spiritual energy to different points, also sadly the use of portals by Urahara have always been in the manipulation of the Dangai to move between areas. For example when Ichigo went to the Soul Society and Hueco Mundo and even Fake Kararura Town he always moved through the Dangai because that realm is the medium of travel between the realms. Because of that, gaining it would not actually allow Ichigo to traverse back to his world, only traversing the spiritual realm of the planet he inhabits. Also distance is a factor as well and also you need an anchor to move between places.
Vinayakdj1: Glad to make you happy mate. The sad part about Naruto fics is that most people do not realise that if Naruto had one full time teacher he would have been an exceptional Ninja, because technically he is powerful, but lacks the training and experience, but if he had someone like Kakashi from the beginning, he would have been much stronger than he was at the beginning of the story.
Also Caren will be full time like Adelina, also do not worry, Harems are things I avoid like the Plague. Because they usually do not make any sense, even when they do I shy away because they still do not make sense.
Thanks for the input on United.
Freedom Guard: Yeah, the original kind of become unrealistic because I stuck to tropes and plots that didn't seem humanly possible and because of that I decided to scrap it and change. Also Caren will be the one who will basically be who Ichigo will need help getting his ass back into hear, she will kick him to get him ass off the ground while Adelina is there to make sure he is mentally alright.
Black cross0: Thanks
Leapinglemur: Glad you like it, more is to come soon.
Saddas74: No problem, I learned that a wall of text of a fight can be boring so I tend to mix it up with internal dialogue and also make sure that while the fight is happening it isn't just a detail of every move the person makes.
Blindluck92: Yeah, you have to do that sometime otherwise they will never leave you alone, tell them what you think and if they don't accept it then they do not matter anymore. After all if you look at it, at this point, Ichigo has always been guided by someone and protected, Urahara and Yoruichi being the main ones.
He has always needed guidance and if you have seen he always goes in halfcocked and usually tries it alone. He intended to go to the Soul Society alone but Urahara brought in help, something Ichigo wasn't aware of, and even later on he did it to save Orihime in Heuco Mundo. It just shows you he tries to do things his own way, but often he needs to be guided, even leaving before Renji and Rukia came back from the Soul Society. He is someone that doesn't think things through and usually only wants to do things as he wants them, never acting like he needs help, just going at it like he thinks he should. It is everywhere that you see it, and when you realize that, you understand his character perfectly.
I Like Cheese: Ichigo's power is his own, but there is a difference between humans on Earth and Azeroth, and that is the Binding Chain, the channel and amplifier for spiritual power. Azeroth doesn't have this, it was specifically designed to work in conjunction with the Zanpakuto to enhance the Shinigami when fighting Hollows, and in fact it is what leads to Hollows developing masks and power as well.
Tom Hardy: You are right, Ichigo should have told them to fuck off! Because who cares that you are wounded, tired, unarmed and have ten arrows and swords pointed at you, who cares, what are they gonna do? Shoot him, stab him? Who knows? Who cares? I am Ichigo Kurosaki, I cannot be killed by low level trash, Lol.
Also if you are unable to pick that up, I was using Sarcasm, since you obviously think Ichigo lacks common sense I can only assume so do you.
Thank you all for reviewing, except for the last one, and I hope that you enjoy the chapter.
