Hi-Dilly-Doh guys! It's me, DevilsZack00, and we're back with the 13st chapter of Bleach DxD!
YES, IT'S BACK BOYZ! Our Substitute Shinigami is finally back, and finally, to be honest. I don't know by now how long I haven't updated this story, but I'm sure it's been a long time, and a lot of things have happened IRL and on the web. I will not touch on sensitive topics, so I will not delve into it.
Ladies and gentlemen, sorry for my sudden death, but I have had tough months at work, including a new shift that takes up 2/3 of the day, leaving me 2 hours free to write. What do you think of the official return of Bleach in October? I, honestly, have been sitting on the hype train since the day they announced production, so in 2020— BUT THE REVEAL TRAILER WITH THE NEW NUMBER ONE IS JUST PERFECTION (Although it revealed too many scenes that could be spoilers).
As you will see, I did not want to (And above all, could) conclude Kokabiel's arc with only this chapter, which has undergone too many rewriting process: From the name to its own content. Also I decided, at least for this story, to keep the Opening and Ending section. Sorry, but I started in a way, and I will finish with that way.
Hopefully, if everything is okay, I'll write Chapter 14 back-to-back, and it should close the final fight, while Chapter 15 should close the arc as thr 16 will kick off the new one, but I'm not entirely sure.
If, as you read this chapter, it seems to you that something doesn't make sense and / or too fast, don't worry. Everything will have an explanation in the future, just wait. For now, enjoy the new chapter!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own BLEACH or Highschool DxD. Support the original creators and their works! For every single chapter, I use google translate since I am italian. Enjoy!
[BLUE] (Bleach OP 14)
By ViVID
*Instrumental*
(With the rhythm of the instruments, Ichigo's Zangetsu and Zero's katana cross, causing sparks)
Nagaretsuita are basho de hito wa nani or omou no darou
(As if there was a zoom out of the two weapons, the camera now shows the Kuoh Academy, the scene of the clash between the ORC and Kokabiel's group: Issei, aided by Akeno and Xenovia, is attacking the Cerberus; Yuuto and Kaito are fighting Freed; Rias is casting spells at Kokabiel)
Hirokute fukai unmei no naka shizumanai you ni
(Senna, meanwhile, finds herself stuck on some kind of cross of light, and the only thing she could do was see her friends fight as an explosion of black and red Reiatsu obscures the screen.)
(You cannot bust yourself, gimme a shout)
(To be yourself till death, assure yourself)
(You cannot bust yourself, gimme a shout)
(To be yourself till death, assure yourself)
(The scene changes: The screen goes black while the Bleach DxD logo appears and then fades)
Asu o ushinatte shimau ka mo shirenai kakegae no nai ima ni se o mukenai
Kono koe ga douka todoku you ni sakebitsuzukete'ta yo
(The scene changes: With the same effect as the original Opening, appear: Ichigo, Senna, the members of the ORC, Xenovia and Irina dressed in casual clothes)
Oikakeru tabi ni dandan tooku natte nigedashita totan mata chikaku natte
Sukitootte iru no ni mienai mukougawa te or nobashitsuzuketa
(The scene changes: With the same effect as the original Opening, appear: Kokabiel, Zero, Freed and Valpa)
Nakinagara warau [asannen] hibi to
(I take it on myself, I take it on myself)
Rinne no hate ni kono te or nobasu yo
(The scene changes: A child Yuuto is running in the dark until he stops when he sees Vampa and various Church members in front of him. Stuck in fear, Yuuto doesn't move as Vampa reaches out to him but, before he could touch it, a light appears behind Yuuto, changing scene)
Nagaretsuita are basho de hito wa nani or omou no darou
(The scene changes: The ORC begins to fight against Kokabiel and his group as at the beginning of the opening)
Hirokute fukai unmei no naka shizumanai you ni
(As the ORC fights, Vampa watches the Excalibur melt in the cross in front of him as Senna tries in vain to free herself from the cross of light)
Nejimagaru hikari or yurari yurari tadayoinagara abites
(The scene changes: On the roof of the Kuoh Academy, Zero and Ichigo are fighting wildly with each other, trying to kill each other until, with yet another attack, the two opponents backed away)
Barabara ni natta jibun no kakera hiroiatsume tobitatsu yo
(Ichigo, raising Zangetsu, activates the Bankai while Zero instead increases his own Reiatsu to excess. As they went back to fighting, a pillar of light appeared before them, enveloping them into its light...)
Chapter 13: HEROES CAN SAVE YOU?
"Now come, Shinenju! Unlock the door for the Soul Society!"
The shock present on Ichigo's face was proof to understand that Zero was about to do something potentially dangerous for everyone. Both mortal and supernatural beings. "You can't open that portal! A worse war will break out than the one that took place between the three factions years ago!"
"What the heck are you two talking about?!" Kaito eyed the masked man and then glanced at his classmate. "Another war?! Soul Society?!"
"I-I ..." Ichigo bit his lower lip, only now realizing that he had revealed something he shouldn't have revealed.
"Haven't you told them yet, Ichigo?" Zero asked as he gestured contemptuously with his left hand. "Nice way to treat 'friends'! Ahahah!"
"Don't mess with me!" The Shinigami-Daigo shouted as he dashed at Zero using the Shunpo, his Zangetsu raised in the air and ready to strike down the masked man.
"Stop, Ichigo!" Kaito tried to stop his friend, dashing towards him.
Raising the blade in order to parry Ichigo's slash, Zero sadistically chuckled. "Then follow me! We'll fight without problems and without holding back!" The masked man used his Sonido to move to the roof of the school while Ichigo followed closely behind,
"Ichigo!" Kaito stopped, realizing immediately that he could no longer reach them. "Damnit…" he cursed under his breath as he turned around noticing the arrival of his friends.
"Senna!"
Turning to the voices, Kaito saw the ORC members minus Yuuto, who left them before they could reach the school, Koneko and Asia (the latter stayed behind in order to heal Irina while the former was mentally KO after her Zero's encounter), reached the school, only to notice what was happening. Above them, Senna was locked in that strange spell in the shape of a golden cross with the Excaliburs around her.
"What is that spell?" Akeno asked. "I can't recognize it"
"Beats me, Akeno" Kaito commented as he glanced at the spell. "But one thing is sure—" As he spoke, a mysterious magic circle appeared around the stolen Excaliburs as they started to transmute into symbols of energy. "—We don't have enough time to understand this mess before whatever is happening will end"
"The hell?!" Issei grabbed Kaito's arm. "What do you mean with this?!"
"..." Kaito shook his head. "10 minutes, if we're lucky enough"
"Enough, Issei!" Rias scolded her pawn as she gazed first at the spell, then to her friends. "10 minutes…okay, we have only one chance, and we can't waste it! Are you guys ready?"
As everyone nodded, Issei grinned as he slammed his right fist on his left hand. "Let's do this"
"Even if you are Devils, we are at the same side inside this" Xenovia commented. "Also, that Zero is my prey after we saved the girl. I want to avenge Irina"
"Oh sure, this is the thing that suits a handful of teenagers" Resting his scythe on his right shoulder, Kaito grinned. "Stop that spell, and save the world? A piece of cake, count me in"
After Kaito's sentence, a male voice spoke above them. "Save the world? Ah! Brave words, dog of Azazel!"
"!" There was a voice from up in the sky. When all of the club members looked up, there was Kokabiel who had the moon as a background. He was sitting on a chair up in the sky while looking down on them, crossing his legs confidently.
"Kokabiel!"
Gritting his teeth, Kaito glared at Kokabiel. "Don't dare to say his name, you traitor" Raising the scythe towards Kokabiel, Kaito said. "
Rolling his eyes, Kokabiel sighed in boredom. "Not impressed" He said as he moved his eyes from Kaito to Rias. "Is Sirzechs coming? Or it is Serafall?"
"In the places of my brother and Leviathan, we—" Rias tried to speak until the sound of an explosion echoed throughout the area, shocking everyone. The sound came from the place where the gym is. No, where the gym was. There wasn't even a trace of it! Instead of the gym, there was a big pillar made of light where the gym was located.
"Boring. Well that's okay. It will be entertaining" Kokabiel commented.
"Y...you must be joking" Issei commented as he stepped back a little. "That's too big! If compared with that Fallen-Angel woman, it was like comparing a toothpick and a fishing rod—"
PoV: Issei
[Are you scared, partner?]
Ddraig directly talked to me. Of course I would get scared after seeing that! It was not a matter of being beyond us! It was totally on a different level to us!
[Yeah. It's on a different level. He is so strong that his name has been recorded in the bible since ancient times. He is the one who survived the battle against God and the past Maou.]
Can we win? Can I beat him?
[If it becomes serious, I will beat him even if I have to turn most of your body into a Dragon. Even if you can't beat him, I will give him damage that will freeze him for an hour. You can leave the rest to the Maou.]
…So he's that powerful. Looks like I have to make my decision as well…Well, using the armor will be my last resort. That only makes me strong for 10 seconds. The power of my Balance-Breaker that ignores the limit of my stamina and demonic powers would become invincible once I activate it. But after using that, I can't use my Sacred Gear for three whole days. Using it would be a sink or swim situation.
"Now. I will have you all fight my pet that I brought from hell"
End PoV
"Now I will have you all fight my pet that I brought from hell" Kokabiel, with a sadistic smile on his face, snapped his fingers. Then from the depths of darkness there was a sound of the ground rumbling as it came closer. "Have fun ~!" The Fallen Angel commented amused as a roar burst from the dark.
"Oi oi…" Kaito clenched his scythe nervously as he seemed to recognize the roar. "Don't tell me…"
"You recognize it?" Issei asked as he prepared his Sacred Gear. "From a roar?"
"Sure you have a lot of answers" Xenovia said as she assumed a battle stance. "What being is that?"
"You guys don't wanna know the answer" The scythe user replied, assuming his battle stance. "Be ready"
"For what?" Asked Issei. As Kaito remained silent as the being came out from the dark as an answer for Issei's question. "...Oh"
It probably was ten meters tall. It had a large body. It had four legs, and each leg was thick. Also the claws that grew from each leg looked so sharp that the ORC members felt chills behind their backs. The eyes that were glittering from the darkness were red. From its mouth, what it had were dangerous looking fangs. The fangs were close to each other, and from the gaps there were white breaths pouring out. The animal which resembles it the most was a dog with three heads.
Rooooar! Its howl was so loud it felt like it shook the ground! The three heads howled at the same time!
"…Cerberus!" Rias said with a voice filled with disgust.
"Cerberus?" Issei asked.
"Yes" Xenovia nodded, recognizing the beast. "It's an unholy creature that has the nickname of Guard-dog of Hell."
"Guard-dog of Hell…!? So this dog was a monster that sounded that dangerous!?"
"Oh I don't know" Kaito glared at Issei. "Maybe because it lives only in the gate to Hell?!"
"Everyone, we have to do it!" Rias snapped as her hands glowed with crimson energy. "For our school, and our city!"
"Yes!" All the ORC members present, Xenovia included, shouted as they started their fight with Cerberus.
POV Ichigo...
(Play "Bleach OST - La distancia para un duelo")
The sound of the blades repeatedly clashing rang in my ears as, with all the strength in my body, I continued to push back and counterattack Zero. Damnit, this guy has a fury equal to Zaraki's but with the same precision and speed of Byakuya!
[You need my power, Ichigo—]
?! Gritting my teeth, I tried to silence his voice as his face started to appear on Zero's mask.
[Face the truth, Ichigo! Without me, you're useless—]
As I heard his voice in my mind, I could already see him before me. No. No, I don't need you—
[Oh come on, "king". We know that you need ME!]
OH SHUT UP—
"Focus, Kurosaki!"
"Guh!" At the last second I managed to parry his slash. I don't know how, but Zero knows my fighting style. Too good, to the point that he almost always manages to keep me on the defensive.
"!" When I saw him raising his left hand, I bowed my head quickly enough to dodge the loaded Cero, which destroyed part of the school roof railing.
"What's your plan, Zero?!" I asked as, after backing off and knocking back a swing from his sword — Wait...is that the Mimic? — I countered, hitting him with a powerful thrust with Zangetsu. "Why do you want to open the doors for the Soul Society?!"
The masked man was not caught unprepared, in fact not only blocked my strike, but counterattacked with quick vertical slashes. Our weapons collided, forming a blade lock as the point where the weapons made contact produced sparks.
"Why? Isn't it obvious, Ichigo?! I want the destruction of the Soul Society, but in order to do that, I need to get into it—" Zero brought his masked face close to mine. His yellow eyes seemed to judge my soul. "—And that woman, Senna, is the Shinenju, meaning she's the perfect tool for that!"
"What?!"
"I'll open a path for the Soul Society by summoning the Valley of Screams!"
Valley of Screams…?
"I will protect her!"
Gritting my teeth, I shout. "I won't let you do it!" The blade of my Zangetsu lit up blue and, immediately after, I fired a weak Getsuga Tenshou, but effective as it pushed Zero several meters away. "I'll beat you and then I'll save her!"
"KYAHAHAH!" Zero laughed and shook his head, mocking me "Then tell me, Kurosaki Ichigo: will you use your mask? Your little Hollow isn't begging you to be released?"
"!" My eyes widened slightly as the words died in my throat. "H-How..."
Zero shook his head amusedly. "I knew it. Admit it, Kurosaki! You wanted to defeat me and then save that woman. But, without your true power, without your mask, you can never, ever—" As Zero spoke, I saw him vanish from my sight until I heard his voice on my right. "—defeat me"
Turning to him, I didn't have time to act when his hand grabbed my face as he—
"GAAAH!"
—When I opened my eyes again, I saw a hole in the ceiling. The bastard must have slammed me into the floor with enough force to destroy it. Wait, so right now I'm in a corridor?
"Come on, active your Bankai"
"Tch" As I tried to get up, I felt his presence around me before appear a few meters away from me, waving his left hand in blatant gestures.
"Oh, I see why you don't want to use your real power. Maybe it's because your little hollow is weak?"
Before I could move, I felt something touch my left shoulder, but I already knew who it might be. "I don't need you" I muttered in a low voice as, beside me, my inner Hollow appeared, giving Zero a look I had never seen before.
[...Ichigo, I want to kill that bastard.]
...Oh? He hurted your pride huh? I couldn't stop a little grin from appearing on my face as I felt my Hollow go silent.
[...]
"...Are you serious?" I murmured as I saw Zero tilt his head to the side, in a way that seemed to be confused.
"...Oi, are you really talking to yourself?" It was his question.
Closing my eyes, I shook my head. Holding tightly to Zangetsu, I resumed my fighting stance. "Don't worry, I'm okay. I hope you're ready, because I'm gonna to stop you without the other guy"
"..." Shooking his head, Zero chuckled. "Do you really believe that?"
Just my glare was enough for an answer.
"Hahah! Very well—"
Producing an incredible murderous intent, Zero dashed towards me, clashing his sword with mine. Our clash was so powerful that it destroyed the windows' glass—Sorry Rias.
"—Let's dance!"
(End "Bleach OST - La distancia para un duelo")
With the ORC…
(Play "DxD OST - Utsukushiku, Akai")
Breathing out, Issei held his left arm with his right hand as he tried to ignore the pain coming from his wounds. His clothes were badly damaged, full of holes and even burns.
The battle against the Cerberus is certainly tough, the Pawn reluctantly admitted. It was definitely not like the Rating Game vs Riser. Biting his lower lip, Issei analyzed the situation: Rias and Akeno were flying around the beast, attacking it with spells and energy attacks. Fighting close range against the Cerberus, Xenovia was using Exorcists' spells and arts in order to damage it with holy magic. Not far from the center of the fight, Kaito seemed to be holding himself up using the scythe as a rod after he let himself be bitten by the beast to protect Xenovoa from a bite, injuring his left arm, which was bleeding profusely.
"Damnit, nothing is working against it!" Issei cursed as, using the boost, he jumped to dodge a tail sweep of the huge beast. Landing, he shouted to his friends. "Any plans?!"
"Sorry, too busy surviving to create a plan" Xenovia commented as she tried to smash one of the beast's heads, but she backdashed when Cerberus tried to eat her with just a bite. "Damn—"
"Give me two minutes!" Rias stated as she flew to reach an elevated position.
"Buchou, try to be faster, please!" Akeno asked as the Cerberus breathed out fire towards her. Raising her left hand, she used an ice spell in order to freeze the fire.
"I know! I know!" Rias snapped.
"Where the hell is Kurosaki?!" Xenovia shout. "We need a hand!"
"He is currently engaged in battle with—" Before Kaito could finish speaking, all the windows on the top floor of the school broke, followed by blue energy attacks and shouts. That was the answer to "where Ichigo was". "—Oh karabast!" The scythe user spitted at the ground as he was trying to heal his wounds with a weak healing spell. "Don't care what will happen—Rias, I'm going to summon it!"
"It?" Akeno and Issei raised an eyebrow, but this wasn't the moment for the questions.
As she used a defense spell for tank a fireball breathed from the middle head, Xenovia gritted her teeth. "Don't say it, do it!"
"Don't dare to do it, Kaito!" Rias glared at her rook as she threw a sphere of destruction against the Cerberus, damaging its left head "When you are injured you can't use your Balance Breaker, so imagine what could happen to you if you tried to summon that!"
"Then what?!" After stopping the bleeding thanks to the spell, Kaito correctly held the scythe.
Approaching Rias, Issei asked. "So he will?!"
"No, he won't" Rias put her left hand on Issei's shoulder. "Ise. This time, we will back you up"
"So do I give him the finishing blow by charging my power?"
She shook her head at his question. "No. I will have you support us. You will be transferring your boosted power to us. Boosted Gear is a Sacred Gear that powers you up and also increases the power of your comrades in a team battle"
Issei nodded as he understood the plan. Increasing the power of comrades by using the ability of Gift. If he were to transfer the boosted power to Buchou and Akeno who were stronger than the normal Issei…
"So that's the plan, I guess?" Kaito murmured, understanding a glimpse of the plan. Turning his head to Issei, he asked. "How many times can you transfer your powers?"
"With my current stamina? 4 times—No, I might faint after the fourth time so please think that I can only do it three times" He answered.
"...I see" Rias said, then she turned her head towards Kaito. "...Are you really sure about it, Kaito?"
"I'm dead serious" Kaito replied with a deadly glare towards the Cerberus. "But I can do it only once, so buy time for me"
"We will. Just focus on the summon" Rias called out Akeno. "Akeno, with me!" She got her wings out from her back, and flew up into the sky with Akeno.
"What do you want to summon?" Issei asked when he saw Kaito thrust his scythe's blade into the ground, which began to melt into the ground.
"You'll see" He replied.
As the beast saw the two Devils fly, it made a growl before it jumped after them, but golden chains appeared before the beast, capturing it. "Not so fast" Xenovia grinned as she held golden chains in her hands. On her arms, various latin magic circles appeared. "The Chains of Saint Antonio are impossible for unholy monsters like you to break!"
"Great job, Xenovia!" Issei raised his fist, but the mood was quickly ruined when the monster not only used its tail as a mace against Xenovia, launching her towards a wall of the school, smashing it, but then the beast breathed out a fireball towards Rias. "Oh no, watch out Buchou!"
Before the ball could even reach her, Akeno stood up before her, freezing the fireball with one of her ice spells. "Too naïve" She commented. "After all, you're just a beast—"
"Take this!" Rias shouted as she jumped from behind Akeno and released an enormous black block of demonic-power, the blow from the power of destruction, towards the Cerberus.
Beast or not, the Cerberus roared as it breathed out another fireball from the right head. Rias' demonic power and the fireball of Cerberus clashed against each other violently, until the other head shot out a fireball, making three attacks in a row!
The second fireball assisted the first one that was getting pushed by Rias' strike. The strength of fire increased and it started to push Buchou's strike. Then, the Cerberus tried to shoot another fireball from the left head!
"Damnit! Issei, go and help!" Kaito shouted. "Use a boost and smash that head!"
"But—"
"Go!"
With a nod, Issei raided his left arm. "Let's go Ddraig!" He shouted as he activated both his Sacred Gear's power and his Pawn's power. "Boost! And then: Promotion! Queen!"
[You can do it, partner!] Ddraig spoke from the gem on the Sacred Gear.
Running towards the demonic beast, Issei jumped. "Hoi, doggy! Since it looks like you haven't been tamed properly, I will have to discipline you!" With a battle cry, Issei smashed his left fist against the left head. The blow made a loud sound as the fireball exploded inside the mouth of the beast, which released a roar of pain.
Landing, Issei grinned. "Yes! One more—"
"Dodge, Ise!" Akeno shouted as she raised a finger towards the sky, summoning lightnings that rained down on the Cerberus. After a single flash, Cerberus was surrounded by violent lightning.
But the Cerberus' body didn't get terminated and it just struck the side of its stomach. There was dark black blood coming out of the monster dog's stomach. There was smoke coming from it. But it still had a shine in its eyes.
"How...it could still move even after receiving those attacks?" Rias was shocked.
"Not for so long!" A voice came, followed by different sounds one after another: a loud slash, a thud and a growl of pain.
Issei blinked a few times when something landed at his right. "?!" Turning his head towards the object, he tried to hold back a gagging as the now severed left head of the Cerberus landed beside him.
As the beast growled before it collapsed, Rias and Akeno saw who did it: the exorcist Xenovia. Although a few bruises and cuts on her body and tears around her exorcist' gear, she was fine when compared with other people who were smashed against walls. "Tch...I hate reveal my real weapon...but that beast doesn't gave me other options"
"X-Xenovia!" Issei stepped back a little from the head which started to turn into dust.
"What? Scared for just a head?" Xenovia said as she held a huge broadsword in her right hand. It is a large, uniquely-shaped broadsword with a blue blade and a golden edge. The sword has a semicircular guard on the left side of the handle that extends to the bottom just above the pommel, with a small extension on the right side of the handle. Issei noticed that the sword was a bit taller than Xenovia when she rested it on her shoulder. "Don't worry, the strike of the holy-swords gives critical damage to unholy creatures. It will stay KO for a while"
"That sword…" Akeno murmured as she landed together with Rias, who spoke.
"So the Destruction wasn't the only Holy Sword you carried"
With a nod, Xenovia turned her head to the others. "So you know about this sw—"
GARUUUUUUUU!
Everyone goes silent when a howl comes, but it doesn't come from the Cerberus they defeated.
"Uuuh" Issei looked around nervously. "Could it be…"
"Akeno, watch out!" Rias said, grabbing her friend's arm and pull her when something came from the darkness, trying to bite her—
"Another Cerberus?!" Both Xenovia and Akeno said when all of them saw the body of the new Cerberus as the other one regained consciousness, howling.
"Wait, two Cerb—" Quickly turning his head behind him, Issei hoped that Kaito was okay, but he didn't see him. "—Crap, Kaito's gone!"
"And we are surrounded!" The Exorcist stated, as both she and the three ORC members regrouped. "Everyone, get ready!" She said, assuming her battle stance.
The injured Cerberus grewl for then jump towards the four teenagers—
"You left an opening"
—'till someone smashed its central head with enough force to break its skull. Collapsing to the ground, the beast turned into dust as its killer, a familiar girl with white hair, landed.
"Koneko-chan!" Issei smiled when he saw the ORC's Rook fully recovered. "Are you okay?"
Koneko nodded as she approached the others, assuming a battle stance. "We have to finish the other"
With a smile, Rias turned her head towards the new Cerberus. "Let's go"
"Yes!" Was the collective answer.
(End "DxD OST - Utsukushiku, Akai")
With Ichigo…
(Play "Bleach OST - What can you see in their eyes")
While the ORC clashes with the infernal beasts, the fight between Ichigo and Zero continues undaunted.
The two opponents exchanged quick and lethal attacks, looking for the blow that would lead one of the two to victory. Backward with his head, Ichigo dodged an uppercut and then grabbed Zero's hand and threw him against the floor with enough force to almost break it.
Remaining on the ground, Zero sweeps Ichigo away with a kick as he gets up on the ground thanks to a simple push with his free hand. "Ahah! This is awesome, Kurosaki!"
Imitating Zero to get up off the ground, Ichigo summed up his battle stance again. "And this is nothing" He said, then he used the shunpo, clashing his sword with Zero's Mimic once again for a few times. "Let's end this!"
After yet another clash between the two weapons, the two opponents retreated, preparing to launch their respective attacks. Ichigo's Zangetsu was completely covered with Reiatsu while in Zero's left hand a sphere of red Reiatsu was formed.
"GETSUGA - TENSHO!" Ichigo shouted the name of his attack, releasing the energy slash towards Zero. At the cry of "CERO!", the masked man fired the Reiatsu's beam at Ichigo's energy slash, which unleashed such force as to collapse the floor where they were, moving them to the second floor.
"You're starting to take this seriously, Kurosaki! I like this!" Zero stated as he landed. "Don't be boring and unleash your Bankai!"
"I always take fights seriously, and I don't need my Bankai. I'll end this right now—" Ichigo replied. "—Especially if I want to save Senna!"
"Ugh, again with this bullshit" Zero shook his head with disgust. "Why bother? Just give her up to her destiny!"
"What did you say?!" Ichigo said, dashing towards Zero as he tried to strike him down with an assault of slashes.
"You know, Kurosaki!" Parrying his slash, Zero chuckled when the Excalibur Mimic started to glow. Kicking Ichigo away, the masked man laughs. "You know what? It's time to fight seriously!" He said as he turned the Mimic into a greatsword, shocking Ichigo, for then swung the blade towards him.
Raising Zangetsu, Ichigo gritted his teeth when the greatsword slammed against his Zanpakutō. But Zero's assault was at the beginning. With a maniacal laugh, Zero started to shift the Mimic's blade into a lance, starting violent thrusts that pierced Ichigo's body a few times when other thrusts were parried.
Firing a Getsuga, Ichigo tried to at least break Zero's assault, but the masked man appeared before him using the Sonido. "Eheh!" Shifting the Holy Sword into a huge hammer, Zero slammed the weapon against Ichigo's chest, sending him against a wall as he let out a painful cry.
Slammed against the wall, Ichigo spitted blood from his mouth but, before he could move, Zero raised his left hand as magic circles appeared around his arm. "Here's a little gift: 45th spell of Necronomicon; Pandemonium!"
"Magic?!" Ichigo exclaimed as he raised Zangetsu in order to parry the energy wave, without being afflicted by it. The energy wave, instead, afflicted the wall behind Ichigo, shifting into a cocoon that locked the Shinigami, leaving only the head and left arm free.
"Y-You bastard, that was magic!" Ichigo shouted.
"Right? Remember, every time we fight, I always become more powerful in order to beat you! But this time, Kokabiel helped me, eheh!" Raising the Holy Sword, Zero laughed as he shifted it into a set of flying blades, firing them towards the helpless Ichigo, piercing his body in various points.
"GAAAH!" Ichigo shouted as the blades pierced his body.
(End "Bleach OST - What can you see in their eyes")
"Oh Ichigo, Ichigo, Ichigo…" Zero shook his head as he walked towards his foe. "You're fighting for the sake of…" Gesturing with his left hand towards the window, Zero pointed to the spell that trapped Senna. "—nobody. Not a human being nor a supernatural being! She's just nothing!"
"Shut up!" With an inhuman effort, Ichigo tried to move again, but his wounds and the countless blades that were piercing his body wouldn't allow any movement. "You know nothing about her!"
"Nothing? Ah! That's rich from you!" Pointing Ichigo with the left index, Zero spoke. "You too know nothing! Or to be fair: Remember"
"What...do you mean?"
"The girl called Senna is just a mashup of souls! She's not real, Kurosaki" Zero said. "Her fate is already sealed: Vanish from the world!"
"..." Ichigo glared at Zero as he continued to hear his speech.
Noticing the glare, Zero mocked him. "Why are you so desperate? The Shinenju is, after all, nothing but a collection of memories! In your world, and even in this world! So my question is: why bother? Why protect her if her destiny is to disappear? You can't save her, neither change the destiny"
"SHUT UP!"
(Play "Bleach — Number One's One Else")
Suddenly, Ichigo's spiritual energy skyrocketed as he began to move his left hand towards his left shoulder, trying to remove the blade embedded in his left thigh. "That's not true!" Ichigo shouted as he removed the blade. "Senna...Senna is right there!"
"What?!"
Gritting his teeth, Ichigo glared at Zero as his mind—No, his soul felt something…memories of joy together with an energetic girl, memories of sadness together with an energetic girl...he remembered a scared girl that was longing for help, and the fight to save her. "Senna...she is so energetic! So lively! She is so energetic that she could move the entire world if she wants! But at the same time, she can be even uncertain and scared, like a normal girl! And now, she's longing for our help! My help!" As Ichigo spoke, his blue Reiatsu started to burst out from his body, becoming like a small beacon of light as the Mimic returned into Zero's hand, taking the Katana shape back.
"Tch! Damn you, Kurosaki!" Zero cursed as he tried to cover his mask from the light with his left hand. "How much energy do you have within yourself?!"
"I don't care if my mind doesn't remember her! But my heart—My soul remembers Senna! I will protect her! I swore that, and always will swear, on my soul!" After telling this, Ichigo shouted as his Reiatsu broke the cocoon, sending rubbles randomly around the room.
"So that's your answer?!" Zero shouted back as he raised his blade, releasing his purple Reiatsu as Ichigo raised Zangetsu too. "To save literally nobody?!"
"Go to hell, Zero! This is my determination!" Pointing Zangetsu towards Zero, Ichigo assumed his Bankai activation stance. "BAN—KAI!" An explosion of Reiatsu and Reishi shook the entire floor, creating a cloud of dust and rubble that prevented Zero from seeing what was happening inside.
Lowering his hand, Zero started to talk. "...I see now what makes us different from each other, Kurosaki. My instincts are born from the desire to kill and slaughter my foes...but your instincts developed from fighting in order to protect..." Even though his face was covered with a mask, a sadistic smile could be felt from under the mask. "Very well! Show me your determination, Kurosaki!"
When the smoke cleared, Ichigo was in his Bankai state. "Tensa Zangetsu!" The Shinigami said, holding his Bankai in his right hand. "Let's put the word 'End' on this now!" Using his hyper speed, Ichigo disappeared from Zero's sight, reappearing at his left side to then slash him upwards.
GAAAAAAOOOOOOO!
The Cerberus' torso split in half after receiving a fatal strike as there was smoke coming out. Yet, the Cerberus was still trying to survive. As proof of this, the beast released pillars of flames around itself. "This one is tough!" Xenovia said, backdashing in order to dodge the pillars.
"Not on my watch!" Akeno raised her hands, freezing the pillars, allowing Rias to shoot her energy attacks and Koneko to strike with her fists.
Yet, the Cerberus charged its last attack. Flames erupted from the ground before him, until it created a little sun in its central head before the beast shot it towards its enemies.
"Watch out, it's coming again!" Issei warned—
—But then, countless swords erupted from the ground, piercing the beast's legs as a huge monstrous head made of blood bursted out from the ground, tanking the enormous fireball without being even scratched. It appears as a rhinoceros-like head made of blood, with a bolted-on metallic blindfold and enlarged canine teeth.
"What the hell is that?!" Issei shouted as he saw the new beast. It was at least twice the size of the Cerberus!
"The EXE Beast!" Rias recognized the beast. Opening its jaws, the beast made of blood tore the injured Cerberus in two with a single bite and then swallowed its body before it vanished into the ground.
"I think I'm going to throw up "Issei commented, much to Koneko's annoyance.
"That beast…" Xenovia recognized the monster. When someone walked behind her, she turned her head towards the culprits: Kaito, who showed a grin on his face, and Yuuto.
"Yo!" The reaper casually said, holding the scythe in a reverse grip. His left arm was now fully recovered.
"..." The exorcist nodded after a few seconds of silence. "You summoned it, I suppose"
"Kiba!" The ORC members ran towards him, but then Kokabiel clapped.
"Interesting! Very interesting!" The Fallen Angel, still sitting in the chair, laughed loudly. "You ants are surely amusing!"
"Ants?!" Issei raised his left fist. "Get down and fight us, you chicken!" He shouted, until his gauntlet flashed. 'It hadn't reached the limit' Issei thought at the strange phenomenon until Ddraig spoke in his mind.
[It's telling you that it has reached the stage where your boost can power up you or transfer more power than before]
'Are you serious, Ddraig? Since when did it get such a convenient system?!'
[It means that both you and the Sacred Gear are evolving day by day. As you can't tell the power difference between you and the opponent, you didn't know how many boosts you needed. It has started to tell you now]
'I see…! Then—'
"Buchou!" Issei called Rias, who turned her head towards him as he raised his hand equipped with the Sacred Gear. "I have enough power!"
With a nod, Rias descended down to him as he put his hand on her shoulder.
"Boost!" Issei could feel an impressive amount of power going to Rias through his body, as the heir of the Gremory's demonic power suddenly increased, indicated by a burst of crimson aura from her body.
Charging a sphere of energy of destruction in her left hand, Rias released it towards Kokabiel. "Take this, Kokabiel!" She said as she shot a gigantic mass of demonic-power from her hand.
"I-It's so huge!" Issei slipped a comment.
"The Boosted Gear is awesome…" Kaito said as he saw the attack. "It's 10 times bigger than the original!"
With the ORC members' hopes resting in that attack, they saw the energy attack fastly reach its target, the leader of the Fallen Angels who was sitting up in the sky. The power of destruction itself fell on top of Kokabiel...which simply stretched one of his hands to the front—
BOOM
With a smirk, the Fallen Angel blocked Rias' attack with only one of his hands. As he faced his palm towards the sky, Kokabiel deflected Rias' attack which changed its trajectory and went up to the sky and disappeared. Kokabiel showed his malicious smile after seeing the smoke coming out of his hand—
Turning Mimic into a whip, Zero wrapped around Ichigo's hand that was holding Tensa Zangetsu, then pulled in order to bring the Shinigami closer to him while he charged a Cero.
"What?!" Ichigo said as he tried to kick Zero's hand, but with a movement of the hand, Zero dodged the kick and punched Ichigo in the guts with the hand that charged the beam of Reiatsu, Zero then released the Cero, sending Ichigo towards and breaking a few classrooms in that moment.
Coming out from the cloud of dust created from the destruction, Ichigo charged Tensa Zangetsu as he started to clash his sword with Zero's Mimic a few times. As he backdashed, Ichigo fired an Getsuga towards his foe.
"Weak!" Zero said as he tanked it by firing a Cero against it, but then Ichigo surprised him. Using the shunpo to appear and disappear various times around Zero, Ichigo fired more Getsugas every time he appeared, shocking Zero when he saw that he was surrounded by countless Getsugas. 'Am I...surrounded?!' He tought.
"Take this!" Ichigo shouted as he charged a last Getsuga as he released it. He still remember when he created it a few days after the Rating Game. "Getsuga Tenshou...Ranbu!" With the name of the new technique revealed, the countless slashes released around Zero.
"Damnit!" Having no time to shoot a Cero or even charge a Gran Ray Cero, Zero cursed as he shifted the Mimic into a shield, tanking part of the attack, still strong enough to hit him with enough destructive power to destroy the floor beneath their feets. While Ichigo levitated in the air thanks to the shunpo, Zero instead fell to the ground, getting up very slowly while spitting some blood from under the mask.
Not wanting to let his opponent breathe, Ichigo continued to assault Zero via his hyperspeed, but the latter, as he managed to shift Mimic into a katana, raised his blade in order to parry the slash. Gritting his teeth, Ichigo began to notice that Zero, slowly but steadily, was starting to keep up until, with a burst of purple Reiatsu, he managed to send Ichigo away.
Landing, Ichigo panted as he assumed his battle stance. The new Getsuga Tensho variant consumed a considerable amount of Reiatsu.
"You—pant— need more power if you want to beat me, Kurosaki!" Zero, holding his chest with a hand, mocked as he released golden holy energy from the Mimic.
"Gh! Fine!" Placing his left hand on his face in a ripping fashion, Ichigo shouted as he concentrated—
Finding himself above the familiar skyscrapers located in his Inner World, Ichigo saw his Inner Hollow in front of him, with a sadistic smile on his face.
[So, wanna do it, King?]
With a nod, Ichigo placed his right hand on his face, a movement imitated by his Hollow. "Let's do this"
—then, spiritual matter appeared on his face, taking the form of...a mask.
(End "Bleach — Number One's One Else")
Zero suddenly stopped breathing when he felt Ichigo's Spiritual Pressure change drastically, to the point of not noticing that his left hand was shaking slightly. Noticing the shake, Cero cursed. "What the—This pressure is...overwhelming me!?"
(Play "Bleach — Hollowed 2nd version")
Lowering his hand, Ichigo allowed Zero to see his Hollow Mask on his face. It was a white menacing skull with two thick vertical black stripes, each on one half of the mask, which are interrupted by the widened eye-holes and the jaw. When Zero saw Ichigo's mask, he noticed that Ichigo's eyes are now yellow, and he has black sclera and pupils.
"Oi oi, what the hell?!" Stepping back a little, Zero cursed as he noticed Ichigo's spiritual energy. "This spiritual energy...it's just like something similar to that of a Hollow…"
"What, are you scared, Zero?" Ichigo spoke, his voice distorted with a Hollow echo. "I will do everything in order to save her" Pointing his sword towards his rival, Ichigo channeled his spiritual energy that started to overflow through the blade.
"!" Relying on instinct, Zero knew that Ichigo's next attack could kill him. Releasing his purple Reiatsu all at once, the masked man used the Sonido to approach Kurosaki with high speed, appearing behind him ready to slash the Shinigami, aiming for the head.
But Zero didn't know how strong Ichigo was using this Hollowfication. Before the sword could find its target, the Shinigami whirled around, blocking the blade with his free hand.
"Impossible?!" Zero shouted as he tried to free the blade from Ichigo's grip, but the Shinigami's strength overwhelmed his own force.
"You're boring, Zero" Ichigo commented as he released Zero's blade, then grabbed him from the neck.
"Bor—GAH?!" The masked man grabbed Ichigo's hand when he started to strangle him.
"I hoped you could release your power too—" Holding Tensa Zangetsu in a reverse grip, Ichigo spoke. "—But it looks like this is your limit" After he spoke, Ichigo finally released his attack.
"DAMN YOU, KUROSAKI!"
"Getsuga—" Expelling all the Reiatsu in one movement, Ichigo swung his blade, releasing a huge black Getsuga towards himself. "—TENSHO!"
(End "Bleach — Hollowed 2nd version")
"I see. Rias Gremory's power would grow this much because of the power of the Red Dragon. Interesting. This is very interesting indeed. Kukuku" Kokabiel chuckled as he raised his left hand to the sky, summoning an enormous pillar of light, shocking the ORC members for how big it was. "But his legend is going to end now—"
"—TENSHO!"
But, before Kokabiel could activate his powers, an enormous explosion bursted out from the school, turning out to be a huge black with a red outline energy slash that rushed towards the school gate, creating a cloud of dust, but at the same time destroying the entire front section of the school complex.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" Issei shouted when rubble of all sizes was starting to fly everywhere.
"Everyone, get down!" Rias ordered as everyone started to dodge or destroy the rubble.
"On it!" With quick scythe movements, Kaito was starting to cut the rubble he could destroy with the help of Yuuto and Xenovia, but it was too many for them—
FLAME!
Flames hotter than the sun rained down from the sky, with a heat so high that it melted the rubble. "Woah ..." Kaito lowered the scythe as he watched the fire disappear. "This is an helluva fire spell"
"Rias Gremory's peerage, are you okay?" A female voice came as two girls landed behind them.
"...Bird is here" Koneko commented as she turned her head towards their savior: Ravel Phenex and, behind her, Asia.
"Ravel?!" Rias, and the others too, were clearly surprised by her presence here. "Asia!"
"Sorry for the wait—" Ravel tucked her hair behind her ear as she crossed her arms and smirked. "—Now you can thank me- EH?!" The youngest Phenex saw that everyone's attention was on Asia. "Are you serious?!"
The only one who commented was Kaido, which shruggled.
"How is Irina?" Xenovia asked to the healer, showing worry about her fellow Exorcist.
With a nod, Asia smiled at her. "She's okay. Your friend needs to rest now"
"Okay but—" Issei pointed to Ravel with his right thumb. "—Why that
"Huh?!" Ravel stepped back a little. "No thanks?! I just saved you!"
"Cough! Shut up, you brats…" A voice came from the cloud of dust, interrupting any possible discussion as everyone turned their attention to it.
When the cloud of dust vanished, it revealed a wounded Zero. Huge and innumerable tears were present on his clothes, while the blood had turned most of the white clothes crimson. His mask was cracked, which was releasing some kind of black smoke coming out of the cracks. His left arm was missing as blood kept purring from the wound. "Kh…That damned…"
"Zero?!" Everyone shouted as they saw Zero.
Raising her hands, Ravel started to emit flames from her fingers when she saw the masked man. Her breathing began to quicken as she remembered all too well when he tried to kill her at the Rating Game. "Y—You!"
"Look who's there…" With a creepy laugh, Zero rose up from the ground. "The little Phenex—cough" As he spoke, Zero coughed blood.
"From how you are reduced I deduce that Kurosaki Ichigo is not as weak as you said" Kokabiel spoke from his chair, glaring at Zero. "And I hate liars"
"Something...has gone wrong with the plans" Zero said, coughing blood. "His power is close...too much close when he was at his peak. My body can't keep up with his power. You will see that soon"
"Oh?" Kokabiel said as he raised an eyebrow. Before someone could do or say something else, Ichigo appeared in the middle of the ground thanks to the shunpo. Glaring at Zero with his hollowficated eyes, Ichigo show his back to his friends.
"Ichigo!"
"...!" Kaito glared at the Shinigami. "This feeling…"
"Ichi-nii…" Before Koneko could move towards him, Kaito stepped in front of her, acting like a shield, confusing her and the others as well. "...What are you doing?"
Adding to the confusion, Kaito raised the scythe towards Ichigo's back as he glared at him.
"Kaito?!"
"Face me, Ichigo" Kaito ordered to Ichigo. "Now"
"Kaito, are you crazy?!" Isse grabbed the Rook's scythe, as the others grappled him as he was trying to free his scythe from Ise's grasp. "He's Ichigo!"
"No, that's not only Ichigo!" Kaito shouted.
"..." Ichigo remained silent as he pointed his blade towards Zero, starting to charge it with his spiritual energy. Zero lowered his head, like he accepted his fate.
"Ichigo!" Kaito shouted, freeing himself from his friends' grasp as he stepped towards him. "I know you'll never do it! He's defeated!"
"...Okay" The Shinigami spoke with the Hollow echo in his voice, shocking everyone when they saw him turning his head towards them with his Hollow Mask activated. "Happy now?"
"Happy?!" Kaito shouted as he grabbed his shihakusho. "Why the hell are you wearing that mask?! Are you a Hollow?! Are you hiding secrets from us?!"
"Wait, guys" Issei stands before Ichigo. "He has secrets, okay, but there's a reason for why he hides them!"
"Ise…" Ichigo spoke.
Silently, Kokabiel continued to observe what was happening. His eyes sparkled with curiosity as he saw Ichigo face his friends but, unfortunately, suddenly everything around them began to shake as lightning bolts of sacred energy fell from the sky, raining down over the school and its ground. Looking around, the ORC members plus Ichigo and Xenovia watched the show in shock.
"Hoi hoi" Kaito looked around nervously, jumping away when a holy lighting rained where he was a few seconds ago. "This is not looking good!"
Raising her left hand, Ravel emitted flames as she shaped them in order to create a round shield above them. For a few seconds it worked,
"What the hell is happening?!" Ichigo exclaimed as he deflected a lightning with Tensa Zangetsu.
"Such power…!" Activating his Sacred Gear, Yuuto summoned his Light Eraser sword. Raising the blade to the sky, the lightning bolts changed their directions towards the demonic sword but, al contatto con la lama, they've been erased by the weapon's effects. "I knew it. It's Holy energy!"
"This holy light…" Xenovia murmured as she felt the holy energy from the sky and the ground, recognizing it. Glaring at the former priest obsessed with the holy swords, Xenovia shouted. "I—Impossible! That spell is forbidden by the Heaven's council! Valper, have you gone crazy?!"
"Crazy?" Valper smiled, like a child smiles when he saw candies. "I do not know what are you talking about, exorcist"
Glaring at the man who made his life a living hell, Yuuto gritted his teeth. "Don't mess with us!" He said, charging at him before he stepped back when, from the ground, a wall of holy energy bursted out, surrounding the ORC.
"I'll smash it!" Koneko exclaimed, ready to punch the wall before Akeno grabbed her hands
"No, don't touch it!" Akeno said. "This is pure holy energy!"
"I know this spell!" Xenovia shouted, recognizing the spell. "It's one of our exorcist arts! It's the—"
"Porta Pia Wall" Vampa said as magic circles were present around his left arm. "Now stay still, everything will end now—"
"Shut up!" With a burst of Reiatsu, Ichigo swung his blade, erasing the wall of holy energy. "Whatever it means, we'll stop this!"
"Then give a shot, Kurosaki!" Zero said as he stood up behind the ORC members. Black smoke bursted from where his left arm was, until it regenerated alone, together with the clothes as every wound on the masked man's body healed.
"Complete?!" Ichigo replied back as he turned his back in time to parry a sudden slash from Zero. "Wait—DON'T TELL ME—" Ichigo pushed away Zero as the latter flew away to the school's rooftop thanks to the usage of the Sonido.
Landing, Zero laughed. "Exactly! The doors will open, right now!"
"What do you mean with this?!" Issei raised his left fist. "Give us an explanation, now!"
"They're gonna rip the dimension in order to reach...the Soul Society" Ichigo said, glaring at Zero.
"Ding ding ding!" Zero mocked them, imitating a lottery's ringbell. "We have a winner!"
"Soul—Wait, weren't the Soul Society the homes of the Shinigamis?!" Issei said, revealing the secret.
"What are you talking about, Ise?!" Akeno said. "You know something, of course!"
"We don't have time. I'll explain everything later!" Ichigo said, assuming a battle stance. "We need to stop them and their spell!"
"You can't stop us, or the spell!" Zero said as he laughed. As he laughed, the masked man turned his head towards Kokabiel. "My job is done now, right? I want you to remember—"
With a nod, the powerful Fallen Angel moved his left hand in an annoyed way. "Yeah yeah, you can go now and keep that sword" He said with pure disgust on his face before he vanished. "—Your services are no longer in demand"
"Well, at least I got the Mimic" Zero said as he raised his left hand, starting to release spiritual energy in order to create something...a portal?
"I won't let you go away!" Behind Zero, Ichigo appeared thanks to the shunpo. His Tensa Zangetsu was raised to the sky as black Reiatsu with red outlines was bursting out from the blade. "GETSUGA TENSHO!" He shouted, releasing the attack.
"Not so fast!" Turning his back, Zero gripped his holy sword, which emitted a powerful beam of sacred light until it became black and purple when the masked man poured his Reiatsu inside it. "I told you: Each time our swords clash together, my power evolves little by little! Taste your own technique!" Laughing, Zero released an energy slash similar to the Getsuga Tensho, which clashed with Ichigo's Getsuga, creating an explosion of Reiatsu.
"!" Backdashing, Ichigo raised a hand when a cloud of dust appeared after the clash, which disappeared soon, revealing that Zero was no more there. "That guy!" The shinigami cursed as, behind him, Valper spoke.
"Now, rise to the sky! With your holy light, bless everything and turn our wishes into reality—" Valper spoke with an evil grin on his face as he raised his hands in the sky, creating a magic circle on the ground and one in the sky as he was at the center point of both the circles. An enormous beacon of light bursted from the ground right under Senna's spell trap, as four small sphere of light enveloped the four Holy Swords as they started to revolv around the beacon of light. "Tree of Life: Sepirot!"
"Senna!" Everyone shouted when the beacon enveloped her.
"You bastards!" Charging Tensa Zangetsu with Reiatsu, Ichigo dashed towards the beacon of light. Raising his blade, Ichigo was going to release a Getsuga Tensho until, from the beacon of light, several rays of light burst out, heading in random directions towards the sky and towards the ground.
Backdashing as he released the energy slash towards the rays, Ichigo cursed. "Damnit!"
"Ichigo!" Ravel shouted, calling the Shinigami's attention to them. As he lowered his gaze to his friends, Ichigo's eyes widened when he saw that the rays of light that ended up on the ground stuck under it, taking the shape of large, curved, ancient and twisted roots.
"What the—" Shifting his gaze towards the sky, he saw that the rays took the form of branches that looked like the roots. Then, when he saw the beacon, the beacon was no more a beacon: It took the form of a gigantic tree with a gnarled, mildly curved trunk, ending in a number of large branches which sustain a large, flat section composed of earth and crowded by a multitude of normal-sized trees. On the top of the tree, Kokabiel appeared. He was smirking as he sat down on a throne made of the spell's energy.
"What the hell is that thing?!" Issei shouted. "It's too big!"
"A tree...of holy light?" Yuuto said, with shock.
"T-The church created it?" Asia stepped back, as she saw the tree.
"H-Holy…" Koneko tried to speak, but Kaito cursed.
"—Shit!"
"Whatever that tree is, it's not good!" Ravel exclaimed.
"Tree of Life Sefirot..." Xenovia shook her head, trying to hide the shock with no success. "He really activated that…"
"You know that?" Rias glared at the beacon of light as it took the form of an ancient tree. "I never heard about such a spell" She stated as she looked at Xenovia. "You said that it was forbidden. Why?"
"..."
"You're facing two nobles" Ravel said. "So you should reply to us when we ask something to you"
Landing, Ichigo glared at Xenovia with his hollowficated eyes. "Answer us, please"
"...Fine" With a sigh, Xenovia lowered her head as she started to explain. "That spell, Tree of Life: Sefirot, has the ability to fulfill every wish of its user by bending the spacetime itself if it is...fueled with enough human souls, together with a vessel. In this case, that Senna"
"What?!" Everyone said.
With a nod, Xenovia resumed her explanation. "That spell is the reason why the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by God: We humans should never possess that kind of power" The exorcist revealed, shocking everyone...less Issei, but from the tone of Xenovia's voice, it was a very bad thing.
"If what you said is true..." Kaito touched his chin, thinking. "...How much time do we have before that tree is ready to rip the dimension itself?"
Holding her sword, the exorcist sighed as she spoke solemnly. "In 10 minutes, the entire city's population will vanish, and, following Kokabiel's order, a portal will open to the Soul Society, whatever it is and especially where it is"
"10 minutes…" Ichigo said as his Hollow Mask disappeared, reaching the time limit.
"Ichigo" Rias called his friend. "That mask...it has a time limit, right? How long can you use it?"
With a nod, the Shinigami confirmed. "I can use it for at least 10, no, 15 seco—!" Then, a revelation came. It's been over fifteen seconds since he activated hollowing while fighting Zero! How—
[I told ya long time ago, remember? The more you use my power, the more I was close to you] Behind Rias, Ichigo's Inner Hollow appeared, smiling at his owner.
'Not now!' Ichigo gritted his teeth. 'Begone!'
[Don't worry, the "landlord" is keeping the line between me and you...for now]
'Landlord…?' Ichigo thought, confused by his Inner Hollow's statement. Then, beside the Hollow, a certain young man appeared from nothing, wielding the same clothes and sword of Ichigo— 'Tensa Zangetsu…!'
[Save her] Tensa Zangetsu nodded to Ichigo. [Show us that you can wield your power better than before]
"..." Closing his eyes, Ichigo smiled at his powers' personifications, feeling that a new limit was setted. As he opened his eyes, he resumed talking to his friends. "I can keep it for at least two or three minutes"
"Three minutes…" Rias nodded, touching her chin. She looked around for a while, until she smiled. "I have a plan now"
"Do tell" Resting his scythe on his right shoulder, Kaito grinned. "I hate overgrown trees"
"...Do you?" Koneko raised an eyebrow, causing a chuckle from the reaper.
"We're with you, Buchou!" Issei shouted as he grinned.
The heir of the Gregory turned her head towards her Rooks, Queen and Bishop. "Kaito, Koneko, Asia and Akeno: Your duty is to destroy the roots from the ground" She said, getting a nod of acknowledgment from them.
"I-I'll do my best!" Asia said, slightly pumping her fists.
"Don't worry kitty—" Kaito smiled flirtatiously at Koneko while he rested his scythe on his right shoulder. "—just ask, and this reaper will carve your path~"
"..." Koneko punched Kaito in the guts, other Rook blocked it with his free hand. "...Perv…"
"Come on, you two" Akeno said as she summoned her wings. "We have to do our duty" She said, flying towards the roots as she was followed by the members of her team.
Then, Rias shifts her gaze to her Knight and Exorcist. "Yuuto, Xenovia: You will deal with Valper and the Magic Circles"
"Rias Gremory's Knight" Turning her gaze to Yuuto, Xenovia spoke. "With this collaboration, we will retrieve the Excaliburs together...or destroy them if it will be the only way to stop the spell"
"Are you sure about that?" Yuuto asked when he heard 'destroy them'.
With a nod, the Exorcist affirmed before both of them runned towards Valper.
"Ichigo" With her attention placed on the (un)officially jolly of her Peerage, Rias nodded to him. "Your task is to find the way for rescue Senna from that tree"
"...Thanks" With a nod, Ichigo turned his back to his friends. "Oh, one last thing" Placing his left hand on his forehead, Ichigo moved it to the right side of his face. Turning to his friends, he smiled. "Thank you"
"Don't worry about us, just go and save Senna"
With a nod, he summoned back his mask as he dashed towards the tree using the shunpo while the others fled away thanks to their devils' wings.
"And what about us?" Ravel crossed her arms.
"...Oh, you're still here?" Issei said.
"You mean!" Ravel comically said, stepping back a little.
"Ise, stop it" Rias said. "We need to put our trust in her, because the three of us will face Kokabiel"
. . .
"Are you crazy?!" Ravel, after her mind elaborated what Rias said, exclaimed as she shook her head various times. "This is too insane, Rias, and you know it!"
"It's the only thing we can do, Ravel" Rias put her hands on the girl's shoulders. "Everyone counts on us"
"B-But he's Kokabiel! His name is written in the Bible itself!"
"You're not the only one scared" Issei said as he glared at the tree as he took a cool pose. "But my family and friends live here. If we fail, everyone will vanish...and I will prevent that"
"Ise…" Rias said to her Pawn.
[Hoi partner] Ddraig spoke in Ise's mind.
'Yes Ddraig?' Ise thought.
[You'd be cool...if only your legs weren't shaking]
"!" Noting that Ddraig was right, Issei sighed and then smiled slightly at Ravel. "See? I'm afraid, but we have to do it. Everyone believes in us, from Yuuto to Ichigo"
Lowering her head when she heard Ichigo's name, Ravel remained silent as Rias smiled at her before she shifted her gaze to Issei.
"Let's go, Ise" She ordered as she flew towards the top of the Tree.
With a nod, Issei summoned his Devil Wings as he flew together with Rias. After they flew away, Ravel stood up. "You're insane...You're insane, Rias Gremory!" Ravel shouted to Rias and Issei as they flew again. Clenching her fists, the young Phenex slammed her right foot to the ground, releasing flames. "Mou—" From her back, a pair of flames that took the shape of wings appeared. "—you'll make me insane too!" Ravel shouted as she flew right behind the two other Devils. 'But if we win...maybe Ichigo will praise me?' The last child of the Phenex Clan thought, without noticing a bit of red on her cheeks when she thought about the Shinigami.
When they landed at the top of the gargantuan tree, the three Devils saw Kokabiel on his throne. "Look who's here: Rias Gremory, Ravel Phenex—" With a grin on his face, the Fallen Angel gestured with his right hand casually when Rias, Issei and Ravel reached him. "—And the Red Dragon. Aren't you too few to stop me?"
"We are enough for you, Kokabiel" Rias stated
"Ahahah!" Laughing, Kokabiel put his right hand on his face. "Do you think this is the way to talk to a god?"
"God?!" Ravel exclaimed.
"What the hell do you mean with that?!" Issei shouted.
"Isn't it obvious? The difference between my power and yours is abysmal, like the difference between God and human beings!" Rising from the throne that vanished into the magic tree, Kokabiel put the left hand on his clothes' pockets.
"Such arrogance..." Rias gritted her teeth when she heard Kokabiel's words. "Ise, Ravel, don't hold back!" She said, addressing her allies.
With his Promotion activated, Issei slammed his left fist to his right hand. "I'm ready, Buchou. Chicken girl,
"I'm not a chicken, you idiot!" Ravel slapped Issei's back of the head before she glared at Kokabiel. "The flames of the Phenex Clan will burn you, Fallen Angel Kokabiel"
"Bold words! Very well, then come at me, Gremory! Phenex! I shall give you a quick death!" After saying this, Kokabiel summoned a spear of light in his right hand as he saw his enemies dash towards him. The final fight began…
{-10 minutes before the Tree of Life: Sefirot will destroy Kuoh}
To be continued...
[Sakura Biyori] (Bleach ED10)
By Mai Hoshimura
*Instrumental*
(The screen is black until cherry blossoms begin to flutter until Ichigo appeared in the middle of them)
Juuroku de kimi to ai
Hyakunen no koi wo shite ne
Hirahira to mai ochiru
sakura no hanabira no shita de
(With the same effect as in the original ending, Ichigo becomes transparent and images appear on it: all his friends and relatives in his original world)
Aitakute kakunekuta hi no
ataru kyuu na sakamichi ya
(The scene changes as other cherry blossoms flutter, making Ichigo disappear: Senna, in her Shinigami outfit, finds herself sitting under a tree, intent on observing Kuoh Town with a happy but at the same time slightly melancholy gaze.)
Kouen no sumi futari no kage wa
iwa no kawaranu mama
(The scene changes: ORC members are all seated together in a simple classroom, intent on observing something outside the window)
Kimi to boku to sakura biyori
kaze ni yurete mai modoru
(The cherry petals, this time purple, fluttered again, changing the scene: Ichigo, with Tensa Zangetsu active and with the sword resting on his shoulder, observes the cloudy sky from a hill)
Mada miru mirai wo mune ni daite
miageta saki wa momoiro no sora
(The cherry petals, normal again now, change the scene one last time: Ichigo is on the same hill but, this time, he wears casual clothes as the sky now is clear. While observing the sky, Ichigo turns and notices that he is being joined by Senna and the ORC members. Ichigo smiles and then joins them in turn as petals fell to the ground, revealing the Shinigami-Daigo Badge beneath them...)
Aaaaand cut!
Ok sooo, this time I decided to definitely go on the "original content" path with the whole "Sefirot" thing. Don't worry, I will explain everything in the future. I honestly wanted to change the original final battle with something that could give "climax arc" vibes, and what I planned for the next chapter is...well, you'll see.
This time, I'm posting the chapter at 4:50 AM CET, so I'll skip all the reviews...which I forgot to read, yeeee...anyway, let's hit the preview with the new template of the previews!
In the next chapter of Bleach DxD: The final battle has begun between Rias, Issei and Ravel against Kokabiel! As the entire city begins to be affected by the effects of the Tree of Life: Sefirot, the ORC members are fighting against the time in order to save everyone from the spell! In the meantime, Yuuto will deal with his past as he's helped by Irina, while Ichigo is finding a way for save Senna...but the latter is rejecting him?!
BLEACH DxD, chapter 14: Memories of Nobody!
"That power is the...Balance Breaker?"