"Prepare yourself, Demon!" Pesche pointed his Zanpakuto's handle as he made the laser blade disappear. "I have never fought anyone with my sword's true power, neither with its true name before..." He threw the handle in the air and made it roll quickly.
Anri's eyes were fixated in the handle as it came rolling down, back to Pesche's hands.
The Arrancar grabbed it again and swinged it towards the Oni.
As soon as he did this, a long aquamarine blade that looked just like a long scimitar came out of the handle.
"Though I love using the name Última, I must admit that it is just something I made up to sound cooler. I just channelled my Reishi through the handle and became good at it. You will be the first to witness its true power"
"I... Don't like fighting. Our dear master and sister, never liked violence either..." Dondochakka added. "But for our sake, she fought countless times and sacrificed a lot. She betrayed her true wishes her whole life just to protect those she loves. But no more of that. Now it's time for us to fight on our own, and we won't lose..." Dondochakka said determined and got his Kanabou out of his mouth.
"Pfft... Like I care" Ao laughed at them. "Your archaic weapons can't do anything against the power of science!"
"You don't seem to understand by words, so we'll have to show you with actions..." Pesche replied as he appeared right in front of Anri and swinged his scimitar.
"What?!" The Demon was barely able to evade the attack, and actually bled a little from the cut that the Arrancar managed to inflict upon him.
"I told you before... We weren't giving it our all"
"Nghh... You pesky Hollows! I'll make sure to punish you for that attitude. If there is something I hate with my guts, is people who think they're better than me!" He shouted as he got hold of a small piece of metal that he instantly turned into an electrifying rod by pressing a button. "Come at me! If you dare..."
Pesche and Dondochakka were not intimidated by the Duke's threat and advanced towards their enemy with no doubt in their hearts.
"Come forth, Bawabawa!" Dondochakka summoned the attack beast from a Garganta-like fissure created in the space by his Zanpakutou.
The Hollow monster was now bigger than it used to be. They were lucky that the hallway was very tall and full of space.
"Let's go!" Pesche said as he jumped yowards Anri, swinging his sword left and right to both block and attack.
"You seem quite confident, for a mere Fracción!" The Duke spat as he continued clashing with Pesche.
The Arrancar laughed at his intent of provocation. "You think that bothers me, or my brother? Hilarious. I'm sorry to be the one inform you that we would gladly die as Fracción of Nel-sama!" As he said that, a hidden strength he hadn't revealed before came to light as he tossed away the electrifying metal rod Anri was using.
"Way to go, Pesche! Bawabawa!" Dondochakka indicated the attack beast.
Bawabawa immobilized the Duke and started crushing him with its body wrapped around the Demon's.
"Fuck!" He swore as he felt his whole body aching. A cold sweat invaded him as he tried to find a way out of the hopeless situation.
The Demon was still physically weaker than his rivals, so he was unable to overpower them through conventional means. To add more shame to his disgrace, even the Hollow beast seemed to mock his miserable state by restricting his movement and causing him to go desperate.
Anri was a Demon that despite his high intelligence, was very short tempered. If someone said anything that triggered his anger, he would become blinded by rage and act irrationally.
But this didn't make him an easier opponent, not with the drug in use at the very least.
His bad mood seemed to trigger a chemical reaction inside his body that made his muscles become even bigger.
In a way, this enemy was very similar to Yammy, whose rage made his Resurrección grow stronger and stronger, though this occurred due to biological reasons.
Anri started raising his Reiatsu as he pushed his muscles beyond their limit to overpower Bawabawa.
"HhhhrraaaaaAAAAGGGHHH!" The Duke shouted as he escaped the Hollow's attack and grabbed it by the tail. "I won't be defeated by such a lowly creature! I simply won't allow it!"
He threw Bawabawa against a wall, dealing the creature massive damage which forced it to faint as it bled out.
"No! Bawabawa!" Dondochakka screamed, almost as if he could feel the same pain of his beast.
"There's no time to waste, Dondochakka! We have to finish him now!"
Dondochakka gave Pesche a look of fear at first. but his sight became more determined a second later.
"Right. Let's do that. We have to finish him once and for all"
Dondochakka opened his mouth and started charging a giant yellow Cero.
Pesche jumped on top of his hard head and charged a big purple Cero that started merging with his brother's.
As the two attacks became one, a sphere of tremendous power was formed. This was the final form of...
"Cero Sincrético!" The two exclaimed as they blasted the attack towards the Demon.
Anri couldn't even see the beam as it came towards him, he jusnt instinctively got his Onibuki out of the sheath to protect himself as much as possible.
Despite his efforts, the Arrancars' power overwhelmed his basic defensive position, dealing him great damage.
"F-Fuck!!!" He shouted as his body was burned by the powerful laser. "I can't... Die here... This can't... Be the end!" Anri spat as he held to his life as tightly as he could. "After all I went through... After everything I have done... I simply can't accept it!"
Through his mind raced not only his memories as a Demon, but most importantly, the memory of his past life.
"A-Anri-sama... The prisoners you wanted are ready for experimentation" A soldier told him.
"Perfect. How many are there?" Anri was taking notes about a previous experiment on a notebook he used as an archetype for his final thesis.
"We captured twenty three in total. Seven were women, ten were men and the six remaining are small children"
"Did the doctor weight and measure them?"
"Yes. Here are the medical records" The soldier gave him a small pile of sheets.
"Excellent. I'll check them all after I finish with this work. Just wait for further instructions"
"Yes, Anri-sama" The soldier made a small reverence and disappeared.
Anri was known as the greatest human experiments researcher to ever exist. This reputation was earned due to his overly intensive methods along with his perfectly cold attitude towards the subjects. He truly was a perfect investigator for the likes of Squad 731.
He was named as the one in charge of the experiments under the label of "extreme conditions". This meant he conducted research on things such as: How much radiation can a human being take before death? How much heat can a human body withstand before dying from a heat stroke under normal health conditions? How much cold can a human body endure... Etc, etc.
He conducted these experiments on Chinese subjects of both genders, different height, weight and age. The more complete the data, the better for Anri.
Never in his life had he felt contempt for the Chinese race, contrary to most of the squad's members. He only did this because he was madly in love with science.
The perfection of scientific hypothesis, research and experimenting methods had always fascinated him, so the creation of this squad was a golden opportunity for him as well as for other people like him. However, no other researcher in the squad had his cold personality. Only he was able to carry out the barbaric processes meant for experimentation with a serene attitude and obtain perfect data.
Anri's discoveries were very interesting to say the least, but he was never satisfied with his research. He understood that there wasn't a true perfection to be achieved by human beings, but yet he strived to get as close as possible to this perfection.He never believed in the supernatural. Everything needed to have a scientific explanation behind, and Anri's greatest objective was to explain all mysteries science wasn't able to explain yet.
In order to fulfill this ambition, Anri worked relentlessly day after day in Squad 731, but it all came to an end once World War II was lost by the Japanese Empire, amd judgement was brought upon many Japanese investigators in the facility.
In spite of this, United States forgave many of these researchers as long as they gave their government all the data they had obtained during their work, as well as work with them on future projects.
Anri however, despite following these orders, was ultimately damned to the death penalty because of his atrocious crimes against humanity. The Japanese Empire decided to deliver him to the Americans. No one could cover up such terrible investigations, so they decided to erase him from existence in order to escape any problems this could give them in the future.
His laboratory was closed. His research was stolen. His name was erased. And finally... His life was taken.
With a straight face, he was put on an electric chair and executed in American ground. His only regret, was that he didn't die for any research purposes and neither was his corpse used for science.
He didn't curse the human race for this decision even once however, because for him, they had always been inferior beings. Uncultured apes, unable to understand his investigation or intellect. Their only value was as research subjects, or so Anri believed.
Once he died, he thought he would disappear forever. It was impossible to believe that a thing like Hell or Heaven existed, but his behaviour earned him an answer he never thought could be real.
"W-What? What is this place?" He asked in shock as he opened his eyes in the first circle of Jigoku, along other souls waiting to face judgement and being sent to one of the lower levels.
"Anri Ishii. You come with me" Kurokage replied and started walking.He was unable to process what his sight told him, but complied silently. He merely dedicated observe the place as Kurokage guided him through the depths of Hell.
Once they were in the ice cold ninth circle, everything was clear to him. Even though he didn't believe in religion, he knew a bit about it. He found hilarious that some people, actually believed such a place as Hell existed, but now he wasn't laughing anymore.
"Where are you taking me?"
"Wait and see. We are not far from our destination anyways" Kurokage replied.
Once they had reached the Throne Room, he could get an idea of what was occurring.
"Hello, Anri" Yama greeted him.
The king of Jigoku clarified his new condition and the reason he summoned him to his presence. He thought that there was no one better suited to be his personal investigator. He knew that he would need technology and a brilliant mind in order to carry out his plan, so he created a laboratory inside Jigoku and dexided to put Anri in charge, but only if he complied to become one of his Dukes of course.
"I accept. As long as I can work for science, I will do anything at any cost" He replied.
"It's settled then" Yama said in reply as he pointed his sceptre at Anri.
Remembering that, made him realize his most inner motivation. He forgot completely about his physical pain as his mind became strangely clear. It was as if his thoughts started occupying the whole space of the room where he was fighting. There was no limit anymore.
"The day is drawing near, when all of mankind will bow to a new God. A God known as knowledge, that will abolish the archaic belief systems designed for those who fear their own mortality. Science is on the verge of debunking the preposterous concepts of mythological superstitions, and enlightening the world to a new age of self-empowerment. An age of prosperity..."
"What?" Dondochakka muttered confused.
"He seems to have all screws loose already" Pesche replied.
But Anri continued regardless of them:
"An age of universal advancement and understanding.
An age in which The Faceless will have to say: We told you so"
As soon as he finished that speech, he slowly started carving the Onibuki inside his head. It was a dangerous process, as a small mistake would mean an instant death, but this was the requisite to obtain a higher power in his case, and he was willing to take the risk. Just before the sword entered his brain, he said:
"Hail Science... Belphegor"
After that, he pushed the blade deep into his head, letting a disgusting black fluid out as he did so.
"Is that... Blood?" Pesche thought. "Black blood?"
Anri's body started melting in strange way, it was as if his skin was becoming some kind of goo of the same blueish gray color. His horns fell to the ground and turned into dust. Finally, the head of the being grew and became truly oval shaped, with big black eyes like an alien's and lacking a nose. With that final change, his gooeish state dried itself, leaving the creature in that alien like form, though Pesche and Dondochakka had never seemed something similar to it before. The sword that was embedded on his head, became a golden ornament that looked like an extraterrestrial crown.
"So this is the true form of human evolution..." He monologued as he looked and touched his body. "I finally uncovered one of the biggest mysteries in the hystory of humanity. It is a shame that I couldn't somehow estimate how long will it take the human race to become a being like this... Who knows? Maybe not all humans are born to evolve into this being..." He was digressing about things neither of the two Arrancar could make sense of, but they were decided to finish the fight regardless.
"Dondochakka..." Pesche called his brother's attention.
"Yes" He knew what that meant.
The two charged at the Demon in order to finish him for good before he could use any troublesome abilities.
"What a nuisance..." Anri said as he extended his hand, which had long thin fingers.
In it, pieces of metal quickly gathered to reform a lightsaber's handle. With his Onibuki and a lightsaber in hand, now he could defend against the two brothers' attacks.
"Impressive... Not only did your appearance change, but your strength is on a whole other level!" Pesche said as he realized that he couldn't lower Anri's saber like before.
"Does such a mundane change impress you that much? What you should be truly aware of is not my new physical prowess..." Anri replied as he pushed both Arrancar away. "...But my intrinsic ability to shape any form of technology I want just by having the materials and connecting the dots"
He pointed his hand at the scraps of the drill that still remained and started shaping a new machine.
A snake-like mechaniloid with red eyes was formed.
"Attack" Anri commanded.
The snake went straight for them with a loud and fearsome mechanic screech.
"AAAHHHH!" Dondochakka cowered in fear.
"That thing truly is scary..." Pesche commented.
As the snake got to them, he swinged his Zanpakuto multiple times until the machine was history.
"But it is not enough to defeat us, Dondochakka. Believe more in your abilities. We are Nel-sama's Fracción, we cannot be afraid of these cheap tricks!"
"Y-You... Are right, Pesche" Dondochakka replied.
"Hmph, so that was too easy for you?" Anri asked retorically. "It's a good thing that I always keep tons of materials in these capsules then" He replied as he got hold of a handful of small round metal capsules that were inside the remains of his lab coat.
He threw them to the ground, and as soon as they touched the floor, a mountain of miscellaneous metal pieces appeared.
"Miles of Machines" Anri said as he commanded the pile to transform into a gigantic army of mechaniloids, commanded by a mechanic chimera of dragons that would be worthy of being mistaken for the card monster "Cyber Valley".
"What... Is this...?!" Pesche couldn't believe the sight.
It was impossible to simply pass through such army. Just the sight was intimidating, but the true strength of these machines remained a mystery. The two Arrancar had to be cautious, or else, face a terrible fate.
"Iconoclast, destroy the remaining gates"
A beeping sound was heard as a reply from the mecha-chimera as it turned around to follow the command.
"No!" Dondochakka exclaimed as he noticed they were failing.
"Dammit!" Pesche cursed. "We need to somehow get through these piles of junk. Dondochakka, do you have any beast that can help us with this task?"
"No. Not one in particular at least... But, I can try out something"
"Amaze me then!"
"Keep your ground... Estatua!" He said as he ate his Kanabou once again.
Dondochakka's body started to inflate and harden beyond his known limit. His face became a mask of three faces, a Tiki-like face on the left, an egyptian pharaoh face on the right and a Moai statue's face on the center, though each one had his big yellow eyes.
His spots disappeared and turned into archaic drawings that seemed to belong to an unknown civilization.
"PUERTA CEREMONIAL" The hard-faced Arrancar opened his mouth and vomited a black liquid that acted as a giant dark vortex.
Out of the portal, a horde of only the biggest Hollows came out. They were all Menos, but it was clear that each of them was the prime of their species.
"Dondochakka is barely able to move in this form" Pesche thought. "His almost absolute lack of speed is balanced with a practically indestructible body, but I can't rely on that solely"
From Dondochakka's three mouths, a yellow Cero was charged and blasted powerfully at the machines that were surrounding them.
Many of them were decimated by this attack, but there was still a massive number of them getting ready to attack the Hollows.
Dondochakka commanded with a deep loud growl that the machines were their enemies. The Menos complied without delay.
Meanwhile, Iconoclast had just finished breaking the gate Anri ordered, leaving only one barrier to protect whatever was at the end of the hallway.
"Perfect, one more to go and this will be my victory. Science has risen!" Anri exclaimed.
Pesche used Sonido to move through the blank spots that remained from his brother's attack to pursue Anri, all while the Hollows clashed with the mechaniloids in a gruesome yet epic fight. Who would have ever thought that Hollows would fight machines?
As Pesche stepped in front of Anri, the Duke laughed at him.
"Do you really believe yourself capable of defeating me at this point?" Anri asked retorically.
"I don't think about anything, I simply have to do it!" Pesche pointed the scimitar at him.
"Tch... How foolish. I'll make sure to end you before that gate is destroyed just so I can enjoy the moment a bit more" He reshaped the handle of his lightsaber.
"Very well, I'll do the same in that case" Pesche accepted the challenge. "Scavenge... Escarabajo!" He said as he put the blade back in his pants.
An explosion of purple Reiatsu blinded everyone for a couple seconds.
After the light disappeared, the true form of the Arrancar opened his eyes to fight at full strength for the first time.
His white face was uncovered for the first time. He had good-looking features, a small nose and daring eyes with yellow irises. His long blonde hair fell to his shoulders and covered his forehead with a wild fringe. His head, was crowned with a white mask fragment that had two very long horns that resembled those of a hercules beetle. In his hands, he rested a large broad scimitar.
The most shocking change however, was his body. Just like Nelliel, his legs disappeared completely and turned into the body of another being. His lower part had become the large body of a white beetle, with three thin but strong legs coming out of each side.
Anri was surprised to see a serious expression on his rival's face. He did not doubt for one second as he pulled a fuchsia edge out of the new handle.
"A laser blade, huh?" Pesche asked him. "It looks dangerous, but I assure you... You won't be able to cut me with it" The Fracción declared with a determined expression.
In a flash, he appeared by the side of Anri and slashed his blade at him. The alien-like Demon only managed to block it an instant before being cut in half.
"What is the meaning of this?" He thought. How can an Arrancar become so strong just by achieving Resurrección?"
"I know what you're thinking. You wouldn't be so astonished if you weren't so proud. It's true, Demons are tremendously strong, but who said Arrancar couldn't be as or even stronger? You claim to love science, but not studying the peak of our abilities correctly will be your end"
"Ngh... Don't you dare criticise me from a scientific point of view! If I haven't studied you correctly... Then I'll make sure to win this fight and dissect your bodies properly!"
The two started to clash their blades for the last time. Both perfectly knew that there wouldn't be a next encounter. This was a final duel against the Duke and the blonde Arrancar, and none would leave anything out.
As Anri noticed his strength was not comparable to Pesche's, he decided to use a last resource. Iconoclast was not done breaking the final gate, but it didn't matter to him anymore.
"Church of the Machine!" He exclaimed.
All pieces of metal, machines and scraps started forming around him. He became a killing machine of monstrous proportions himself.
"Let's end this"
The abomination had thousands of cutting saws, plasma shooting cannons and could even create smaller machines to dustract his enemies. Anri had gone to the limit of his own ability, intellect and his Onibuki's power, but was it enough?
"Dondochakka, can you give me an opening?"
"YES" The statue Arrancar loudly replied as he prepared another triple Cero.
Anri charged every plasma cannon inside his catastrophic mechanic body to counter the attack.
However, this distraction, was what Pesche needed to end the fight.
"Embestida"
From the horns in his head, large purple Reiatsu blades grew, reaching the size of possibly Ten-Gen Myo'o's sword.
Pesche charged with his blades towards Anri in a final intent to defeat him.
"For Nel-sama, for Hueco Mundo!" He shouted as he ran the last couple meters, pointing his head at the red core of the disastrous machine, where Anri's real body was. With his six legs, he impulsed himself and jumped.
"It rules, in Earth and Sky. Now we live no more to die... Science has risen" Anri said as he realized Pesche's plan.
As the giant purple blades went through his body, the machinery started collapsing and turning into scraps instantly.
Before losing consciousness though, Anri decided to end it all there.
"Bastards of the Machine" He commanded as his being perished in a disaster of blood, metal and oil.
The core of each machine was set on fire and exploded.
"Oh no..." Pesche muttered as he noticed his fate. "Nel-sama..."
~~~~X~~~~
Rukia and Renji had finished fighting the Demons that were obstructing their path.
It was a pretty neat combo, cause Rukia froze the enemies and Renji broke them into pieces while they were frozen solid.
"Wow, you really got strong in the Dangai" He pointed out.
"You didn't expect me to become this powerful?" She asked a bit bothered.
"I don't mean it like that! I'm just... Surprised. We didn't fight when we were training and you were always beat by the end of the day so I don't recall seeing your might, although I do remember your sleeping face, haha!"
"Shut up..." She blushed a little. "Hey, is that the palace?" She asked as a magnificent structure of white pillars and golden rooftops came into sight.
"It must be. Such a building can't be mere decoration" Renji braced himself.
"Let's go. Don't forget that we must be very careful. I don't know why, but I get the feeling that whoever is waiting for us, is really dangerous"
"Understood. You always have these hunches and you end up right, so I won't test my luck"
"I'm glad to hear that you take this seriously"
Renji smiled at her in reply.
The two entered the palace making the less sound possible and looking around every corner.
In the center, there was a long and elegant staircase that went up in a square, like a Japanese castle.
"Welcome, Shinigami" A male voice greeted them.
"W-Where is he?" Rukia thought and felt scared, since she didn't even feel the presence of the being.
The Demon made his footsteps clear as he walked towards the staircase, right from behind them.
"No way..." Renji thought after noticing the position of their enemy.
He was wearing a beautiful grey Yukata and carrying a Japanese parasol that didn't allow them to see his face clearly, though his long black hair gave them the same feeling Byakuya inspired when he appeared, though it was a more somber one.
"He could've killed us and we wouldn't have noticed!" Rukia thought with a shocked look as the Duke passed through them.
"Please, I know you must be eager to fight me, but could we please do it on top of this building? I would rather not damage this beautiful castle" He politely requested.
"Y-Yes... No problem" Renji replied stuttering, surprised by the Demon's attitude.
The Duke slowly walked up the stairs, with not a care in the world. He didn't feel a need to rush, so he enjoyed the marvelous sight of the 3rd Espada's Palace as he went up.
Rukia and Renji followed him. It was very awkward considering that he was the one they were supposed to beat to a pulp, but here they were, enjoying the same views that captivated the Demon.
"Hey, Rukia. This Palace belonged to that blonde Espada, didn't it?" Renji remembered Harribel used to be the third Espada.
"I think so. She gave me the same refined aura of this place now that I think about it. In a way, I think it resembles my brother's, and he is no different" She replied, looking at the Duke who was now a couple floors on top of them.
As they went up, there was more tension in the air. Once on top, the battle they had been prapring for so long would finally take place. It was impossible not to ask themselves if they were truly ready for this moment, or if they would make it out alive, but in the end, it was like Yoruichi said. They simply had to do what they knew and give it their all.
The Demon reached the top floor a couple minutes before they did. He didn't seem uptight or tense in any way. He was calmly waiting for them to start business.
When they finally reached the top, they took a fighting stance.
"I would love to fight over a beautiful sunset, but I guess this place has its limitations. If you are really strong, we might even end up destroying each other across this eternal night's sky" He told them.
"Hey, are you really a Demon? No offense but, you look and act nothing like those beasts out there" Renji pointed out, remembering the foot soldiers.
"Of course, where are my manners?" He said as he put the parasol away to let them see his pale face.
As soon the two saw his goat's horn, no more doubt was in their heart, but it did surprise them to see a big black four tattooed on his right cheek.
"I see" Rukia said.
"Does this clarify your doubt?"
"Yeah. Though, that doesn't explain your behaviour"
"Ah, that is simply because of my personality. Some Demons are violent and stupid, but it's not my case. Well, I'm not a pure Demon anyway, but I assure you, even some Angels are like those brutes..."
"An...gels?" Rukia repeated a bit confused.
The Demon explained the whole deal of the Demons' origin, simply omitting details about his own self.
"Thank you for explaining, but we don't have much time. Our friends could be in danger, so we need to finish this quickly" Renji replied.
"I understand. Very well then, come at me and I'll respond accordingly. Though I shall warn you: You might be the ones who need help if you do not wish to die"
~~~~X~~~~
Pesche was ready to accept Death's embrace.
Although he never wished to die, he was satisfied with the thought that they had defeated the Demon. He and Dondochakka had proven that they weren't weak and that they didn't need Nel's protection anymore.
If there was something he regretted, was leaving his brother and Nel a painful sorrow though.
He returned to his normal state to die with his mask on, as he didn't want to give his brother an awful sight.
Just when the explosion was reaching him however, one of the Menos Dondochakka had summoned before grabbed him and threw him away with all its might.
He fell just behind Dondochakka, who was still in his Resurrección.
The huge explosion damaged the walls greatly, but even though there was a lot of destruction, the structure as a whole withstood the explosion quite well.
"Huh?!" Pesche looked at his surroundings. "Am I...? Am I alive?!" He couldn't believe it.
Dondochakka's giant stone body cracked until his brother reappeared in his normal form.
"Pesche!" He fell with tears running down his face.
"Ow!" Pesche complained as Dondochakka fell right on top of him. "Be more careful, or you might be the one to kill me!"
"Sorry, sorry... But I thought you were going to die! I never thought the Menos would feel my wish to save you so strongly though..." He stood up again.
"Well, it seems you wished strongly enough for my safety in order that they carried out an order you didn't give them"
"Anyway... I'm happy!" He hugged Pesche and pressed him against his body.
"Ungh! Enough! Enough! I'm... Happy... As well!"
Dondochakka let him go and Pesche panted to get his breath back.
"So... What could be the thing that guy wanted so badly? Cause... He freaking blew himself to pieces for it!!!" He said, approaching the golden gate.
"I don't know... But look, I bet I can break this thing with a single headbutt!" His brother joked and hit his head with it.
To his surprise, his head was hard enough to break it in one hit, just like he said.
"You weren't kidding! Amazing, Dondochakka"
"Eh? Yeah, it's nothing, really..." He blushed as he scratched the back of his head.
The final room was pitch black.
"What is this place?" Pesche asked retorically as he walked into it.
"Careful, Pesche! There might be traps!"
As soon as he took three steps inside, a loud blast was heard inside the room.
"Eek!" Pesche screamed scared.
"No, Pesche!!!" Dondochakka screamed worried as well.
But the blast was nothing negative. What occurred was that a circle of torches lighted up around the room, illuminating it with blue flames.
"Wait, now we can look inside" He looked around the place.
As expected, the room was filled with glyphs of ancient times. There were runes carved on the walls that none of the Arrancar could recognize.
"Do you think this says something about our past?" Pesche asked his brother.
"Who knows? It's not like I understand this language"
"Yeah... I doubt a living Hollow understands this gibberish"
"Look, Pesche! What is that?" Dondochakka pointed at the center of the room.
He did as his brother told him and gave a look. At the core of the chamber, a shining blue orb encased in a white tesseract shined with all its might.
"I... Have no idea"
The two got closer to have a better look.
Something told them that, despite its odd appearance, it was something tremendously important.
"It looks somewhat familiar..." Dondochakka commented.
"Yeah. It kinda resembles the Hogyoku. That weird thing Aizen used to turn us into Arrancar... But for some reason, I have the feeling that this is far more powerful"
Their eyes were fixated on the object when suddenly, they heard footsteps in the back.
The two stepped back instinctively and took a fighting stance.
"Who's there? Show yourself!" He demanded, pointing his Zanpakuto.
The being came into the light, holding his hands up in the air.
He had long grey hair that almost fell to the floor, an adult yet young face with fuchsia eyes, one covered a little by a fringe, and the other side of his face had remains of a broken white mask. He was wearing a kind of familiar white attire.
"Sorry for scaring you, but I wanted to confirm that the Demons hadn't gotten here before I did" He replied. "You are Hollows right?"
"We are Arrancar. Fracción of Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck for your information" Pesche replied, since Dondochakka didn't say a word.
"Nelliel... That name sounds kinda familiar... Well, beats me. I've met so many Hollows during my life that I might be mistaken. Anyway... What are you planning to do with the Heart of Tsukoyomi?" He asked, carefully placing his hand in the handle of his sword.
"Eh? Heart of what?"
"You mean you got here... Without having any idea of what you were gonna find?" The individual asked confused.
"We came here because one of the Demons did and he was trying to get something! We merely thought that it wasn't a good idea letting him carry on with his wishes" Dondochakka explained a bit scared. "We didn't mean to steal anything!"
"I see..." The other man sighed. "Well, I guess I owe you guys one. Sorry for doubting you"
"So, you're not going to kill us... That's a good start but... Who the hell are you?!" Pesche asked confused.
"Ah, sorry about that! Call me Nageki. Nakagawa Nageki" He replied with a carefree smile.
~~~~X~~~~
Well, another Duke down and a new mystery at hand. I hope everyone is having a good time while reading this, cause personally, I'm having a blast writing it!
Sorry for the delay, but I came back to University. Only the first week of the second semester already, but it's going a lot tougher in comparison to the last one. That said, don't fret! Cause this story is going anywhere but hiatus.
Reviews:
Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: Excellent work! Man did I love this. I especially liked how you referenced Star Wars with Pesche and his Demon opponent! Lol. I could literally hear the Duel of the Fates theme play during that time!
Anyway, you won't believe my luck on the BBS 4th Anniversary! I got a whole ton of 5 stars! Including TYBW Aizen! WHOO! Can't wait to test his Hadō 99 special! Now all I need is TYBW Yamamoto!
But enough about that. I really enjoyed this. Keep it up and see ya next update!
Reply: Glad to hear that you liked it so much. I was watching a guitar cover of that same track by 331Erock a while before writing it so I felt inspired, haha.
Aside from Yamamoto, I didn't get any other TYBW character, but I'm hoping I'll get Aizen on the next opportunity, that's not so far ahead. Regardless of that, just having my beloved Nel is enough for me to be happy.
Mr. Marston: Excellent update. I noticed that all this demon fighting business seems to be rubbing off on Lisa, she's usually not a sadist she's cool and collected as well as a pervert. But it's to be expected, excellent depiction. Keep the updates coming, this saga is epic! 10/10.
Reply: Though it was a really subtle detail I added I'm happy to see that you identified it. These Demon's have a lot of evil energy flowing around them, but only a couple of them have a negativity so strong that can affect others. I'll explain that properly in one of the next mini-arcs of this fic, so it's gonna be a while, but we'll get there.
I love adding small details, but I love it even more when readers notice these things. It means that I'm doing my job right, I guess. It fills me with joy to see that some people are liking this so much, so thank you and everyone else!
Until next time... Evhron!
Glossary:
Estatua: Statue.
Puerta Ceremonial: Ceremonial Gate.
Escarabajo: Scarab. Beetle.
Embestida: Assault.