The swarm of winged Demons confronted and surrounded them a couple kilometers away from Las Noches.
Despite the uncountable amount of desidious creatures flying with their bat-like wings and slashing with their claws, no member of the group had trouble going through them.
Ichigo simply blasted an enormous Getsuga Tenshou to erase about half of the enemies.
The rest were erased by Cero, Quincy Arrows and other area attacks.
In the end, not one of the Lesser-demons survived. All perished by the hand of the alliance against the Oni.
"They weren't much of a deal" Ichigo said after the last Demon disintegrated.
"Those were the weakest kind, possibly mere pets of the Oni. There are others with more power, though they don't have wings. Those could be called their foot soldiers" Harribel explained.
"I thought something like that, since it was impossible all Oni were this weak. It was far too good to be true" He replied with a sad smile.
They ran ahead a couple more minutes until they reached the colossal palace.
"It looks like an impenetrable wall, but you can take care of it, right Chad?" Ishida asked.
"Give me some space" The human asked his team mates. "Brazo derecho del Gigante... El Directo!"
He punched the wall with brute force in one single devastating hit. As expected, even the white walls of Las Noches couldn't withstand the attack and crumbled to his feet. A giant hole was the only thing left of the stone barrier.
"Thank you, Chad. Poor of the Oni that receives one of those on his face" Ichigo told him with a chuckle.
"No... This is nothing. Nothing compared to the punch I'll deliver them for taking Orihime" He said with a fearsome expression.
"I bet. I feel the same way, though I wanna know exactly what they wanted of her. For that, I have to go immediately towards the Throne Room. Ready, Nel?"
"Yes. Let's go at once" She replied with decision, bracing herself for what was to come.
"Then this is where we'll go apart. Good luck, Ichigo. Nel-san... Please take care of him" Rukia asked.
"Yes!" She changed her serious expression to a happy one as she agreed. Nothing made her happier than knowing her team relied on her to go with Ichigo.
"The same goes to you all. If you have trouble facing your enemy, don't doubt to ask for help or even escape" Ichigo said in reply. "Also, if you still have strength after you defeat your opponent, don't doubt in joining someone else in their battle"
"Of course. We thought 'bout that since we are clearly at an advantage" Hiyori replied in a carefree manner.
"I know. Take care, guys. I'll do my best to end this quick. Let's go, Nel!"
"Very well. Sonido" She and Ichigo left for the battle.
The group that was left decided where they would go.
"Let's take into count what the Quincy said" Grimmjow recalled. "We'll go to the Palace of the 1st Espada, as the second strongest one should be there"
"Rukia, let's go to the 3rd Palace" Renji proposed.
"Are you sure, Renji?" She asked back a bit nervous. "Whoever is there, will be really strong considering the theory"
"Then there's more reason to fight that Oni" He proudly smirked.
"Okay... But be cautious"
"Of course"
The Vizards saw the options they had left.
"Hmm... We could go either to the 4th or the 5th Palace first" Hiyori said.
"Maybe the 5th will be a weaker enemy, more like a warmup" Love thought.
"It doesn't seem like a bad idea" Lisa agreed.
"It's decided then" Hachi concluded. "We'll go to the 5th Palace and then the 4th"
"We will try our luck with the 7th. We trained hard, but... We don't want to push our luck, hehe" Pesche said.
"Exactly. We'll surely defeat the weakest of them!" Dondochakka agreed.
"Very well then. We'll head towards the 6th Palace in that case. I want to have a clearer idea of how strong these Oni are before engaging the strongest ones as well" Ishida said.
"Perfect. Once again, be wary of your enemies and good luck. Also, there may be low-level Oni on the way. Don't doubt to eliminate them before they give you trouble" Harribel concluded.
"Let's do it!" Grimmjow eagerly shouted before sprinting towards the 1st Palace, with Tier following.
Everyone else nodded and decided to move as well. The Vizards had been handed a map of Las Noches by Urahara, who had created it based on the indications of Grimmjow and Harribel the night before.
Uryuu and Chad headed towards a city like part, full of tall yet very raw-looking buildings.
"Hmph. I don't really share the taste of Hollow architects" Ishida pointed out as he mocked the poor design.
"Hey Ishida, look at that" Chad pointed a large structure in the center of the place.
"That must be the Palace. I wonder how our first opponent will be..."
"There's only one way to find out" The fullbringer replied as they started walking towards the entrance.
Once inside, they encountered a room that looked like a casino. Roulettes, slot machines, card tables and many other games filled the red velvet room.
Odd enough, the place was brimming with activity, though no one was there. Machines simply moved on their own and music seemed to come out of nowhere.
"What the hell...?" Uryuu muttered as he looked at the weird picture.
"I don't know why, but I don't think Grimmjow is a ludopath" Chad said, remembering that that was the Palace belonging to the Sexta Espada.
"Oh, voices?" A voice asked to welcome them. "It's been so long since I've had a duel..." He was a tall individual of about 2 meters and toned muscles. His hair was orange and pointy and his face had a scar in the shape of an X above his nose. He wore a white hat with a red feather on top of it.
"What the...? You are not an Oni" Uryuu noticed. "You are an... Arrancar!"
"Oh please... At least give me the proper title..." The Arrancar showed a 6 tattooed on his right arm.
"Who are you?!" Chad asked, wanting to go straight to the point.
"Florian Magnus Morean. Sexta Espada" He replied calmly.
"What did you say...?" Ishida was in shock. "Th-That's not possible"
"Yeah... I thought the same at first. Unfortunately, this is my fate. I have no choice but to fight" He took his blade out and made a fighting stance. It was an antique swordsman's sword.
"But wait! You can't be the 6th Espada" Uryuu couldn't understand.
"Tch... You really like to talk. Sorry, but I can only fight!" He sprinted towards Ishida with tremendous speed and menaced to cut him with his long estoc.
Chad protected Ishida with his right arm.
"What's with that blade? Arrancar only use Zanpakuto! Unless..." Ishida looked at the clothes of the self-proclaimed Espada. He was clearly using a different attire from a mere uniform.
"It seems you have realised that I'm on my Resurrección already. Sorry if it came as a surprise, but you see, I don't like fighting if I don't give it my all. That's why I use my Mosquetero to defeat my enemies in an instant, though you guys seem really strong" He replied as he stood a step back.
"Could it be...?" Uryuu rememembered. "That you were resurrected, just like Ulquiorra?"
"Ulquiorra?" He had a confused look. "Oh, you mean that pale guy named the Commander! Well, not exactly. He's an entirely resurrected being. I, on the other hand, am just a marionette" He said sadly.
"The Marionette...? Of whom?" Ishida asked.
"Him..." Morean's blue eyes headed towards the direction of one of the Black Jack tables.
A single croupier was dealing the cards, where other five Arrancar were playing.
The croupier was dressed as expected from the staff of a casino, but his left hand showed a roman VII. A black aura seemed to be its head, but despite its facelessness, it was clearly not blind.
"That... Is an Oni?" Chad muttered in astonishment.
"It seems like it. And we also predicted well. That's the 7th Duke"
"I don't really understand this situation, as that guy over there doesn't talk much... But I'm telling you, if I don't fight you, I feel like something terrible is gonna happen" The Arrancar explained.
"It sounds like an obsessive compulsive disorder" Ishida thought. "He doesn't know why, but he feels that he has to do something. No matter how, he just needs to do it. As a result, the fighting capabilities of the resurrected Arrancar must be at their zenith. Whatever power that being has, it is truly freightening"
"CERO!" The Espada blasted a red Cero from his estoc.
Ishida and Chad dodged the blast and moved towards Morean from the sides.
"Brazo izquierdo del Diablo... La Muerte" Chad punched the Arrancar with his power.
"Thank... You..." Florian said as he turned into dust.
"How horrible. I can't imagine the feeling of being revived under those conditions" Ishida said as he looked at the faceless being with contempt.
"And it's not over yet..." Chad muttered while the five Arrancar on the card table flipped towards them to fight.
"Damn it" The Quincy cursed, getting ready to blast thousands of arrows.
~~~~X~~~~
Pesche and Dondochakka had just arrived at a spherical dome that used to be the 7th Espada's Palace.
"Where are you, despicable Demon? Show yourself!" Pesche challenged, though there was no response.
"Hey, Pesche, what is all this?" Dondochakka asked him about the scraps of machines and blueprints that filled the room and turned it into a giant mess of machinery.
"Well... It's clear that this Oni in particular likes building stuff. Maybe he's an inventor like Szayelaporro"
"Look! He left a note!" Dondochakka picked up a paper.
"What? Are you serious? Let me see that"
Slowly read: "Sorry, but I'm currently not available. If you wish to be destroyed so badly, come to the ruins. ~Ao"
"This has to be a joke! Is he so confident in himself that he just invited us to find him and fight?" Pesche couldn't believe it.
"Maybe we could just skip him and advance towards the next Palace" Dondochakka proposed.
Pesche thought about it for a moment, but finally declined.
"No. Let's go to the ruins"
"What?! Why?"
"Whatever that guy is doing there, it can't be good. If he's like Szayel, it is very possible that he has special orders that have to do with research and such"
"Oh... You're right. What could he be looking for though?"
"I have no idea. I thought those laberynthic ruins were just vestiges of the past..."
"How strange..."
"Well, we have no time to waste. Let's go!"
"Yeah. I'll summon Bawabawa to get there faster"
"Good idea"
~~~~X~~~~
The Quincy and the Fullbringer were fighting the revived Arrancar inside the 6th Palace.
Uryuu was mainly attacking with Seele Schneider while Chad used his Brazo Derecho del Gigante to both defend and attack.
The enemy Arrancar seemed to have very different yet very destructive abilities. The biggest one seemed to have the claws and fangs of a tiger in his Resurrección. A shorter one had wings and flew all over the place like a firefly. A tall yet thin man became some sort of Chameleon, hiding his presence and using his tongue to attack. The only female was some sort of cheetah, and as expected, her speed was truly remarkable. Finally, the most powerful was a male Arrancar that had turned into a blazing phoenix that could blast fire from his mouth and throw his scorching pointy feathers at them. Their power was comparable to that of the Privaron Espada, but fighting them all at once was a real challenge.
"Behind you, Ishida!" Chad shouted at his friend.
Uryuu jumped backwards and shot a barrage of blue arrows at the Chameleon Arrancar that was attacking him from behind.
"These guys are clearly Espada... We must finish them off quickly or else we'll be at a disadvantage" He thought. "Good thing that I wasn't wasting my time..." He smirked. "Chad, now!"
"El Directo!" He used his power to escape the palace.
"Sprenger"
The whole Palace exploded in blue flames, erasing the resurrected Arrancar in the process.
Ishida and Chad looked at the devastated building, looking for the Oni.
"Did we do it?" He asked.
"Was that supposed to kill me?" A man's voice said from behind him.
"What?!" Uryuu stepped back in an instant.
The Oni stood in the same place as Ishida and Chad prepared to destroy him.
"*sigh* I went through all the trouble of bringing the souls of a couple deceased Espada for such a terrible perfomance..." The creature shook what seemed to be its head.
"So... Those were in fact Espada of previous generations" Uryuu said in reply, trying to keep his composure. "How did you revive them?"
"To say the truth, I did not bring them back to life, I just brought their souls and created a link with my power to control them in a physical manner. I'd like to introduce myself..." The Oni did an elaborate reverence. "I am the 7th Duke: Takenawa, also called... master of puppets"
"Does this mean you are gonna fight us yourself now?" Chad asked.
"How funny... Of course not. I have to admit that you are stronger than I estimated, but you are far from being worthy opponents. You can try and change my mind by facing my new favourite puppet though" Takenawa put his left hand inside his face and seemed to grab something. His hand came back carrying a dark purple sphere covered by an ominous aura.
"Is that another Espada?" Ishida asked the Duke.
"Yes, good guess. This one is a more... Recent one, unlike those ancient relics. This one has an interesting story actually. He used to be the oldest living Hollow in all of Hueco Mundo a couple weeks ago. Of course, he proclaimed to be the one indisputable King in this whole realm due to his experience and immense power... But such power was his own downfall" Takenawa narrated, fascinated by the life of such a specimen.
"Hmph, Enough talking. I remember that the first revived Espada said you didn't talk much, but I think I've been deceived. If you won't hurry up with your little explanation, we'll destroy you before you have the chance to summon anything" Ishida replied as he appeared behind the Oni to make a surprise attack.
However, Takenawa effortlessly dodged by moving to the other side.
"You look eager. Don't worry, I won't make you wait any longer. Come forth... Barragan!"
The aura sphere exploded, leaving Chad and Uryuu blinded by some dark purple smoke.
"Let's stand back for a moment. We have no idea how powerful that Espada is" The Quincy proposed.
"Yeah, neither what kind of power it has" Chad agreed.
The dense smoke slowly dispersed, until the shadow of their rival came into sight.
A bulky man was standing before them. The silhouette showed that the Espada was holding some kind of axe.
"I don't know why, but he looks awfully strong, Ishida" Chad said his thoughts.
"He must be. After all, that Oni said he was his favourite"
Finally, the smoke dissipated completely.
"Is that... An old man?" Chad was surprised.
"Well, that guy said that he used to be the oldest Hollow. This must mean that he probably is in the same level as the Captain Commander of the Shinigami" Ishida replied.
"That day..." Barragan muttered. "I thought I would die. I thought that my existence had come to an end... I even descended into the depths of Hell and yet... Here I am, back in my old reign"
"Very well then, shall we start?" Takenawa raised his hands to control Barragan like a true marionette.
"Hm? That's odd" Uryuu thought. "He didn't do any of that when controlling the other Espada. Why does he do that now?"
"Wait" Barragan said.
"What is it?" Takenawa asked his marionette, intrigued.
"I'd like to have a word with them"
"Hmm... Very well. I have plenty of time and I'm quite interested in your sudden behaviour" The Oni complied.
"Tch..." Barragan made a sound of disapproval.
The old king walked towards his imposed enemies.
"Huh? What is he doing?" Ishida wondered.
Barragan stopped a couple meters away from the two.
"Are you by any chance friends of Kurosaki Ichigo?" He asked.
"Y-Yes" The two answered, not expecting such a question.
"I recognized you from the time you invaded Hueco Mundo. To be honest, I wouldn't like to fight you. I'm indebted to that kid for defeating that cursed Aizen. However..." The king stopped for a moment and looked them right in the eye. "As long as these strings are attached, I won't be able to deny him" He almost whispered.
"Is that... A clue?" Chad looked at Ishida.
The Quincy smiled as soon as he heard those words. "I see... I think I get it now. Thank you... Barragan"
"Time's up!" Takenawa announced and moved his fingers.
"Now, don't you dare die" Barragan raised his axe. "And a little tip: don't come close to my body unless you want to become dust"
"Understood" The Quincy prepared. "Chad, try to go for the Oni. I want to see if he's more vulnerable while controlling the puppet"
"Alright" Chad braced himself and used the power of his left arm as well.
Barragan swinged his weapon and blasted a wave of miasma at Ishida. He used Hirenkyaku to dodge it and countered with a rain of arrows.
Chad flanked the enemies to get to Takenawa directly.
"El Directo!"
"My, aren't you a smart one? I know what you must be thinking, but I'm afraid that it won't work. A true puppet master must be able to fight while controlling his puppets" The Oni replied as he evaded Chad's attack.
"Shut up and fight me already!"
"Hahahahaha, how amusing!" The Oni mocked.
Ishida was still shooting arrows at Barragan, who seemed to block and dodge them all.
"For your age, you really move fast"
"While that may be true, the real reason it's so easy for me is because your arrows are too slow. Or, to say the truth, they become very slow"
"Everything he says points to one direction... Is it possible he controls time? No, that would be too great a power, but I can't discard it completely either"
Takenawa continued dodging Chad's fists on his end, though he was slowly being forced to using his arms to cover a couple punches once in a while.
"Wow, you're certainly stronger than I imagined you would be. You see, we know about you all, and when I heard there was a human... I seriously thought he would be a punching bag, but you are strong and a quick learner as well! As a reward, let me show you something interesting" Takenawa raised his left hand and moved his index and middle fingers frantically.
Chad instinctively looked at Uryuu's fight.
"Kid, you must dodge this at any cost!" Barragan warned as his hand moved towards the blade of his axe.
"What is gonna happen?" Ishida thought perplexed.
The Espada intentionally cut his hand, letting a trail of blood out. "Gran Emperador Cero"
An explosive blast of dark purple Reiatsu surrounded by Miasma was directed at Ishida, who gave it his all to escape the range of the attack.
He didn't have time to behold the majestic display of power, instead he could slightly evade it.
With his knees on the ground and panting, Ishida sighed in relief as he realised he was safe.
The Cero crashed into one of the walls of Las Noches and reduced it to insignificant particles of dust.
Chad and Uryuu had their mouths opened as the desert of Hueco Mundo came in sight due to the destruction produced by the old Arrancar.
"Now that's what I call power!" Takenawa exclaimed. "I had never seen a Gran Rey Cero of that magnitude. What other tricks might you have up your sleeve... Eh, Barragan?"
"Damn you..." The Espada muttered. In this point, he hated Takenawa as much if not more than Aizen. Aizen controlled him indirectly due to his amount of power, but the Oni had total control of his body and even his decisions to some extent, due to the strange sensation that came to him if he didn't fight.
"What power...!" Chad said in shock.
Ishida was able to stand up once again, although he was still breathing heavily.
"Fuck... If we can't even beat this guy, how are we supposed to defeat the Duke?" He thought. "Unless..." He remembered what Barragan said at the start of the fight:
"As long as these strings are attached, I won't be able to deny him"
"Don't come close to my body unless you want to become dust"
"That's it! Maybe we don't have to beat him, we just have to turn the tables of this fight by using his puppet against him" He looked at his arsenal, where only one Seele Schneider remained. "I know what I must do"
"Are you still alive, kid?" The Espada asked.
"Yeah. I gotta say, that was quite impressive, but if that Oni wants to defeat us, he's not nearly using all your potential" Ishida made sure that Takenawa heard him.
"The Quincy is right" The Oni agreed. "It's time I show them true despair. Barragan, release your Zanpakutou"
"Look what you've done..." He muttered but was smiling. "So he finally understood" He thought.
"Chad! Get ready" He warned his friend and got close to him. "I'm gonna need you to keep doing what you were trying right now. I know it seems useless but just do it"
"Alright. I believe you have a plan"
"Of course. When I give you the sign, get as far as you can from Takenawa"
"Understood"
"Rot... Arrogante" Barragan transformed into his Resurrección, leaving a cloud of miasma all over the place.
"Let's do it!" The two said as they went directly to fight their opponents.
Ishida noticed how even the rocks around them were turning into sand as Barragan passed near them.
"Just like I thought, even inanimate objects suffer that effect"
"Are you ready for a real fight?" Barragan asked him.
"I'd like to say I'll try my best, but in the current situation, I cannot afford to lose. I just have to win!"
"Then prove that determination! No weakling would ever be able to defeat the God-Emperor of Hueco Mundo!"
The old Espada started approaching Ishida, who tried to keep his distance as much as possible, while at the same time, not losing sight of Takenawa.
Chad had managed to land a couple hits on the Oni, though the creature seemed to withstand them well enough. The Fullbringer had done so well, that the Duke was forced to draw his sword.
"Consider yourself lucky" He told Chad.
"I don't care about that shit! I want you all dead so we can take our friend back!" The human angrily replied.
Ishida was surprised by that reaction. He had been friends with him for a long time now, but he had never seen him so angry.
"Don't lose concentration, kid, or you'll be dead before you know it" Barragan returned him to reality.
The two continued clashing for a while. Ishida was now using Seele Schneider to fight, but that was all part of the plan.
"Hey Barragan, how are you feeling those strings?" Uryuu asked him.
The old Hollow smirked. "Get ready"
"Now!" Ishida yelled at his partner.
"Yeah!" Chad sprinted away.
"Finally... No one gets to rule over me and live to tell the story. Not a Hollow, not a Shinigami, not an Oni... NO ONE!" Barragan exclaimed as he used Sonido to rush over Takenawa's place.
The two humans got as far away as possible from Barragan as he approached Takenawa.
"Huh? What's going on?" The Oni seemed confused. "Why are you coming here?"
"Time of dying" The old king proclaimed. "Respira"
An explosion of dark purple miasma engulfed the two individuals. The roof of Las Noches deteriorated as the smoke touched it, leaving a huge piece of the dark sky in sight.
"Looks like it worked..." Uryuu muttered.
After the smoke was gone, only the old Espada stood in the desert. He remained in his Resurrección and raised his huge Axe triumphantly.
"All hail king Barragan!" He said to himself.
Ishida and Chad approached him with caution, not wanting to be in the range of deterioration.
"I knew you could do something. You are a Quincy, aren't you?" The king asked him.
"Yeah. Did you know about us?"
"I reigned over Hueco Mundo for a bit more than a thousand years. Of course I came across a Quincy or two and because of that, I knew that they could absorb the Reishi from around them, even from their enemies' techniques"
"That's what you did, Ishida?" Chad was curious.
"Yes. I noticed that he couldn't control Barragan as easily as the other Espada. Takenawa was forced to use some kind of force to order him around, so I thought that he possibly created strings of Reishi. With that theory in mind, I used Seele Schneider's ability, Anhäufer, to absorb the Reishi of the strings until Barragan was free. As soon as I saw him, I knew he didn't want to be controlled, so I guess we called upon a truce"
"And I'm glad I did. After dying for the first time, I noticed that my pride had been dragging me down for most of my existence, so I tried to swallow it all to work together and beat that bastard"
"What will you do now?" Chad asked him.
"Heh... I don't think much" The king sadly confessed as he showed how his skeletal hand was turning into dust.
"Are you... Dying?" Chad asked in shock.
"Of course not. I'm already dead. Remember that only my soul had been brought here, but my being has already perished. I'm just returning to Jigoku to face my punishment and return to the endless cycle of life and death after some thousands of years... Unless you mind helping me, Quincy"
"You don't say...!" Ishida predicted.
"Yes. I was born king of Hueco Mundo, here in this realm... And I wanna die king in it as well, forever"
Uryuu and Chad were amazed by such resolve.
"I understand. But first, given your wisdom, do you have any idea why the Oni attacked this place?" The Quincy thought he could get some information before his end.
"Good choice of words. While I am not certain, there is only one place with a power that could interest them in all of Hueco Mundo. Deep in the heart of Ruinas Huecas, the ancient ruins near Las Noches, it is rumored that there is an artifact of divine properties. To be honest... I never saw it with my own eyes, but the only mentor I ever had confirmed it was real. Actually, if he happened to be alive, he would be of more use to you. After all, he was one of the original Espada..."
"Original?! Does that mean..."
"The first generation. Tens of thousands of years before I started my reign, maybe even hundreds of thousands. Despite my experience, there are many things I don't know about this place or what we truly are, but if someone knows, that would be him. Nakagawa Nageki: Primera Espada, the first one to ever exist, named such by none other than Gran Rey Cero himself"
"Gran Rey... Cero?" Chad muttered. "Isn't that an attack?"
"An attack named after its first user. Not many Hollows know about those legends today, but most Espada I've met know a couple of them. Gran Rey Cero, was the title given to the first king of Hueco Mundo. Unfortunately, his name has been either forgotten or chosen not to be pronounced again..."
"And you're saying that this ancient Espada could be alive and he knows more about this all?" Uryuu tried to summarize.
"Exactly" Barragan coughed. His lower body was starting to dissolve.
"But how?! I mean, you look like this and had like a maximum a couple thousands of years. How could a being so old still be alive?"
"That's something he never revealed, not even to me. During all the time I was with him, he looked the same way as I met him. And, as you can guess, my special ability to age my surroundings didn't work around him"
"What the..." The two said surprised.
"If you want to know more, you are going to need to look for him. He was some kind of nomad, so who knows where he is now... Anyway, I think it's time I go back to the nothingness where I once came from" Barragan concluded.
"Oh, right! Sorry..." Ishida remembered it was his job.
"And please, tell Kurosaki Ichigo that he has my most sincere gratitude. Too bad I won't ever meet him... If he was a Hollow, I would've gladly passed on the throne to him"
The words of the Espada gave Ishida flashbacks of when Ichigo became a Vasto Lorde.
"No... That won't happen. Never again" He thought to comfort himself. "Goodbye, king of Hueco Mundo. We are grateful for your aid in this battle. Licht Regen!" A rain of shining blue arrows descended upon Barragan, who was being erased from existence permanently.
As the light consumed his soul, the old king thought about his life.
"Maybe... No. I definitely could've been a better king. It's too late for remorse but, I hope the next one can do better. I couldn't return Hueco Mundo to its former glory, though I never really thought I could match such high expectations" He closed his eyes. "Will you ever return...? Gran Rey Cero?"
The light finished consuming him completely. No trace of Barragan Louisenbairn was left. It was as if he never existed, but that was his final wish.
Ishida and Chad respectfully stared at the space where the monarch disappeared.
A sound called their attention however.
A clap.
Another clap.
And yet another clap.
Someone was slowly clapping, as if mocking the end of Barragan.
"No way...!" The two thought as they looked at the individual.
"Marvelous end for such a... Remarkable character, don't you think? Too bad that his sacrifice was all in vain" It was none other than Takenawa, now wearing a funeral attire.
"How in the world?!" Ishida yelled as he raised his bow.
"Why are you still alive?!" Chad asked for an explanation as he activated the power of his two arms.
"Hahahahahahaha... You didn't really think that I would allow a puppet to harm its master, did you? Of course I knew that Barragan was the kind of dog that bites the hand that feeds it as soon as he gets the chance. However, it was as easy as denying that action with the release of my Onibuki. You see, the release of a weapon wielded by an Oni of the level Duke and on is considered a crime to the God-race. You know why that is? Because that is the first step towards true immortality"
"True immortality? Are you saying that...?"
"Exactly. When we liberate our blades, there is no amount of time capable of deteriorating us. We are undying"
"Don't give me that crap! We'll find a way to eliminate you all" Chad spat back.
"Mhmhmhmhm... I'd love to see you try" Takenawa replied raising a large marionette cross. "Now the real game starts. The game of life. Have fun facing my dear Mephisto"
A ghostly white hand of giant size appeared above him. 10 Blue strings came out from each of its fingers. Deceased Arrancar and Shinigami Souls were attached to each string and lifelessly looked at the pair of humans.
"This has to be a joke..." Uryuu muttered.
"Ahahahahaha! How's that? 50 vs 2. I can't wait to enjoy this"
"Ishida... We have no choice" Chad replied.
"I know. We'll just have to give it our all... I'm glad I brought these with me though" Ishida took a couple capsules from his pocket. "I'll fight the army, you take care of the Oni and that hand"
"No problem. I'll show them what I'm made of" He said determined.
"Very well..."
"Let's go!" The two said in unison.
Ishida used Hirenkyaku to move around the army of corpses, slashing his way through them and eliminating the most numbets he could while smartly dropping capsules around the battlefield.
Chad jumped at the hand and hit it with La Muerte. He actually managed to crack the hand, but it was not enough.
"Outstanding, human! But you'll have to do better than that if you want to beat my White Hand" Takenawa commented.
"Tsk... I'll show you" Chad thought about using his true power, but decided to wait a bit more.
Ishida had finished his run through the deadly army of undead Souls. He looked back for an instant, and then closed his eyes to finish it all.
"Hakumen Kudashi" He pronounced, and the sands in which the puppets were instantly detonated with an unseen destructive capability. The explosion destroyed the roof above the 6th palace completely.
"Ho? This is getting more and more interesting" The Duke said to himself as he saw the results. Not even one puppet was left on the crater created by the explosion.
Chad charged his right arm to dash full force at the White Hand.
"*sigh* How predictable..." The Oni mocked.
However, right before hitting the hand, he used his left arm as well.
"El Directo Mortal!"The human went through the White Hand, which turned into some kind of ash and dispersed into nothingness.
The two humans approached the Duke, ready to finish him once and for all.
"It's the end, Takenawa!" Ishida declared raising his bow.
"You've got nowhere to run..." Chad added, ready to end the Demon's life.
"Are you sure we can't somehow... Sort this out through peaceful means? To say the truth, I never intended to kill you! I was just fooling around a bit, I swear!" The faceless being cried for mercy. "Please, forgive me!"
"Your cheap excuses mean nothing to us. You took our friend..." Ishida said.
"You used Souls to do the dirty work and killed innocent Hollows!" Chad spouted.
"I know, I know... But, what do you really get by killing me? If I ran away, it wouldn't be a problem for anyone, would it? It's a win-win!" The Demon tried to convince them.
"Drop dead" Chad said with his hair covering his eyes, not even wanting to look a the despicable enemy as he prepared a final fist.
Takenawa however, stood up once again. This time he turned the Marionette Cross back into a blade.
"You didn't really think that was all, did you?" His voice sounded more sinister this time.
"What the-?" Uryuu was surprised by his sudden resolve.
"I told you. The release of our blades is a sin. You can't possibly believe that a laughable amount of power like that would be considered a threat to the Old Gods..."
"Chad, we must kill him! NOW!"
The two attacked the Duke desperately, but he disappeared in a flash and appeared behind them.
"I think it's time you face reality. We are Oni. We have guarded Jigoku for eons, you can't expect us to fall so easily, mortals!" He raised his Onibuki. "Gather souls... Mephistopheles"
The released blade created an explosion of pure dark Reiatsu that obligated the two fighters to fall to their knees.
Upon them, the figure of Takenawa appeared flying. He had turned into a small brown Demon with two goat horns and black bat wings.
"This is my true form. You must be really confused... What you saw earlier could be compared to an incomplete Shikai. If I release my sword by saying: Gather, Mephisto; Not even half of my power would be released. However, I've decided to eliminate you two with my full strength. The fact that a mortal Soul can match in power to an Oni is scary... But the possibility that mere humans could equal our strength is simply unacceptable. You should feel proud that you've forced me to use this, given your condition, but this is truly the end. You could say... The White Hand you defeated earlier is a mere apprentice. Now, it's time to play an impossible game. It's time for you to meet... The Master of Puppets"
~~~~X~~~~
Wow, that wasn't easy to write at all, but at the same time, I feel infinitely better writing that than a Pokemon battle or Yu-Gi-Oh! duel.That said, I hope I could give you the feeling you were watching an epic battle as you read this, since that is, in my humble opinion, the zenith of writing abilities.
Reviews: Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: Awesome chapter! Whoohoo! Another good read indeed! Anyway, looking forward to the fights that begin next chapter. Keep this up!
P.S. Quick question: Did you tease that you might do a sequel with Yhwach when Isshin revealed Masaki as a Quincy?
Reply: Happy to hear that. Replying your question... Maybe I did, but I wanna make clear that any confirmation of sequel right now is impossible. This story is honestly, just beginning, so I'd rather not compromise myself to more future work so soon. Despite that, my idea is to connect this story to all the canon events that come afterwards in some way, so it is something I'd like to do at least. Of course, if this fic gets lots of love, I'll feel motivated to continue writing about this world :)
Until next chapter, Evhron.
PD: I also took more time cause Nel CFYOW is back in the summons. As you might imagine, I still haven't got her, possibly due to a curse some so called friend casted upon me. Can you believe I got 2 Sun-Sun's instead?! Give me a break...
Glossary:
Mosquetero: Musketeer
Gran Emperador Cero: Great Emperor Cero. It is a normal Gran Rey Cero except for the fact that Barragan mixes his own miasma with it. He calls it differently because of his own pride.
Ruinas Huecas: Hollow Ruins. The laberynthic complex Ichigo and his friends entered during their past visit, though it is a lot greater than they thought.