Flashing over the rooftops, Renji hurried to the South Gate, the blade in his hand icy to the touch. How could Hitsugaya so easily leave behind his zanpaktou? Then again, if he assumed right the young king's other dragon had been in danger, which probably wiped all other thoughts from his mind. Either way, he was going to return Hyorinmaru no matter what, especially after that powerful surge of dark Spiritual Pressure he'd felt in their direction.
There was a blur next to him and he found Ichigo beside him.
"You get the butterfly?" The young man questioned, face carrying a morbid expression.
"No, but I think I can guess what it's about," The Squad Six Lieutenant replied. "Demons?"
"Yeah, breaking through the South Gate according to Yuzu. Ruala, Toshiro and Karin are all there too, as well as their dragons and Sofia."
"I know, they were all just with me at the Squad Six barracks while Karin was sparring." The red-head held up Hyorinmaru. "Hitsugaya left this behind; apparently Myndræl got hurt so he rushed off without it."
"Myndræl got hurt?" Ichigo frowned further. "Great, and if Karin was sparring again she'll be exhausted."
"Good thing we're heading that way."
Simply nodding, Ichigo went quiet and they continued their run, nearly to the gate. A shadow passed overhead as Aberon headed forward on faster wings towards the danger, adrenalin rising at the excitement of a fight with demons. He'd been longing to tear apart the beasts that would so carelessly harm Elders and dragonlings alike. No more of his kin or their partners would die by their clawed limbs. Feeling this through their bond, Ichigo tried to go a little faster to catch up, though for him it was a need to protect his sisters.
They landed just as the thick stone walls of sekkisekki burst apart in a violent explosion. Ruala was quick to create a shield around them as the rubble fell, grunting a bit as the heavy boulders tested her strength. Thankfully her magic was plenty strong and they remained safe from the debris.
"Here, thought you might need this." Renji held Hyorinmaru out to the white-haired king.
"Thank you." Toshiro nodded, taking his sword gratefully from the Lieutenant before turning back to the destroyed gates, the giant gate-keeper lying dead on the ground behind it, though there were plenty of demon bodies still disintegrating into ash that proved he had not gone down without a fight.
"How did they break the gates, anyway?" Ichigo scowled. "I thought it was impossible."
"Demons don't use Spirit Energy, just something similar, so the sekkisekki doesn't affect them," Toshiro replied. "That's why Ruala put up an extra barrier, one that does affect them. But someone broke it."
"How clever of you!" A sinister voice jeered, a humanoid figure standing atop the body of the gatekeeper. Erol Nightstalker. "Your cautious nature ruined my surprise, Soul King, but I brought enough demons that it shouldn't matter, especially with your beast wounded."
The other dragons bristled at having their kin called a beast and Toshiro himself gave a fierce glare to the one who spoke.
Erol simply smirked at the reaction, lifting up a hand and letting a loud snap echo around them. The demons massed below him began to move.
"Damn..." Renji's eyes widened at the black mass heading towards them. "That's a lot of demons."
"They can come by the thousands!" Aberon roared. "I will crush them all!"
His black wings spread out wide as he launched himself at the front of the demon army, jaws wide with shadowy fire gathering in his mouth. The darkness of the Dark type dragons differed from the demons Fear darkness enough that the latter could be hurt by the black fire, but only just. Any closer and the demons would be completely immune to the Dark dragons. As it was the black fire that engulfed them did little damage, but Aberon knew this. That's why he continued his charge. His fire was only to temporarily blind the beasts while he got closer to them.
"Sofia!" Ruala called to her companion, running forward with light sparkling across her blades; the most powerful weapon against demons was Light.
The feline leaped into the air and shifted into a phoenix with beautiful white feathers, light pink on the edges of her wing feathers and striped across her long tail feathers, light blue swirling across her body. Silver feathers rested behind cream-colored horns and she gave out a musical cry from her golden beak, golden claws reaching for the closest demon, golden eyes focused on her target. The demon she snatched screeched in pain as her radiance washed over it, her beak digging into its neck.
The air turned cold as Toshiro prepared to join the fight, Renji and Ichigo already splitting off to keep the demons from escaping around the sides. The young king stood in front of his injured dragon, daring any of the creatures to approach while he still could fight.
"This fight will be your last, Soul King!" Erol called out, motioning for some unseen force to move.
Black lifted into the sky and the fighters scowled; a flying demon. Dyrilæn was the one to respond this time, leaping into the air and letting out her crimson flame onto the beast. It gave an angry screech and twisted its neck around, jaws latching onto the dragoness's foreleg. Below, Karin flinched as her arm began to hurt but did not let it distract her, shifting into Shikai and sending her fire into the mass of bodies.
Toshiro turned back to his dragon.
"Can you at least walk?" He asked.
"I'm well enough for that," Myndræl nodded.
"Yuzu, you and Shimmer get away from here with Myndræl. He'll at least protect you from any strays."
"Okay," The blonde nodded, carefully getting atop the blue dragon's back as he stood. "I'll make sure to get help!"
The young king just nodded before turning back to the battle. He'd waited long enough. Erol had to be killed to end this onslaught as quick as possible.
A burst of raw Spiritual Pressure alerted him to Kenpachi's presence. So help was already on its way. The fight-crazed Captain had increased his already high Spirit Energy levels by a good amount during his training in his realm, so the demons would hardly stand a chance. Even before the training he'd been able to kill many of the dark monsters before feeling fatigued and wounded.
Teal eyes focused onto the black-haired figure standing atop the prone body of the gate-keeper, watching with a smug look as his demon army began pressuring the fighters; there simply wasn't enough of them and too many of the creatures were getting through the holes in their defense. He tried to remember what Nightstalker was capable of doing; demonic abilities, much like Gralio, but a better strategist. He protected himself better, had magic skills nearly equal with the Demon Leader of Magiks, Firiat Tavain, who could fight on par magically with Ruala herself. This would be troubling. Luckily Erol had little skill with weapons and depended almost solely upon that magic, and Toshiro had trained long and hard with Ruala to defend against magic while sword-fighting.
Assessment made, Hitsugaya entered the battle, leaping over the battle below and right to Erol. The man seemed to expect this, raising a barrier. An energy dragon quickly took it out, forcing Erol to summon a sword in order to block the icy blade belonging to his enemy.
"The Dark Master will praise me for your head," Erol said with a malicious grin.
Toshiro frowned. From what he'd heard in Erol's last attacks the man could keep his calm well and that it was his partner, Star Blodgharm, who had a temper. So why was this enemy now acting insane? Did his partner's death really set him off that much?
"I recall your master saying he wants to be the one with that honor," Toshiro said in reply wanting to gauge just how far gone this man was.
"He doesn't need to dirty his hands with your blood. That's why we're here, after all."
"Did he order this attack?"
Erol frowned. Bingo.
"Surely he wouldn't approve of this," Toshiro continued, finally moving as he twisted his blade and removed the black blade out of his enemy's hand, going in for another strike.
Scowling, Erol jumped back away from the blade, the tip grazing his arm as he lifted it to block his neck. Ice covered the wound and began to creep along the man's arm, numbing it.
"It doesn't matter." Erol growled, shaking his arm a bit to see just how much motion he had left in it. It was practically useless now, so he didn't bother removing the ice, simply placing shadows long his shoulder so that it couldn't spread past it. "As much as I respect the Dark Master, he has waited far too long to act. Two years? What is he thinking, letting you roam around for that long?"
"That's a question I've asked myself many times." Toshiro swung his sword upward, creating a large ice dragon, ready for use. "It seems you won't be able to answer my questions, then."
Nightstalker let out a feral growl and motioned for several demons to come forth and protect him. Grotesque, canine-like demons crawled forward to answer that call, hissing at the man before them.
Not threatened in the slightest, Toshiro sent the ice dragon forward onto the creatures. These seemed to be a little smarter than most of the grunts down below, avoiding most of the ice and continuing a charge even as the ice attempted to consume them. Two of them came at his sides but he quickly moved back, letting them hit each other before slashing through the air and killing them both, spinning around and blocking the claws of a third. It snarled at him, jaws snapping a little too close to his face for his liking. Narrowing his eyes at it, Toshiro quickly pushed it off before summoning forth the chain-blade of his weapon and encasing the demon in it. The last two approached from behind, one going for his leg to immobilize him and the other his neck.
A silent Kido killed the one going for his neck and he jumped above the one going for his legs, landing atop it and digging in his sword to kill it. That took care of the demons Erol had called, now for Erol himself. The man had taken his chance to move further back, mingling in with the rest of the army still trying to get in through the gates.
"I'll just kill you with the rest of your army." Toshiro called out loud enough to be heard, moving off of the dead gate-keeper. He'd been careful not to cause any more harm to the giant's body as he was not one to mutilate the dead. Hopefully when this was over he could be given a proper burial as the warrior he was for holding out against such an army as long as he could.
Now that he stood in front of the giant he dragged the tip of his blade in a semi-circle in front of him, his Spirit Energy rising higher.
"Frozen Prairie."
The field of ice spikes rose up over the ground, decimating a good amount of the demon force that stood upon the ground. Several more flying demons nearly as big as Myndræl lifted into the sky, avoiding the attack completely and flying overhead to head into the Seireitei. That was fine, the others could handle them. There were few demonic soldiers inside now, and he was blocking the rest from entering their only point of entry. To get inside they would have to kill him first.
Focusing his power forward, he pressured the rest still standing, watching the weaker ones fall to his power and disintegrate. Those that could still move howled in fury and charged him, their disfigured forms pushing past each other to be the first to the prey.
Toshiro sighed as though the approaching mass was just a group of arguing children, lifting his blade back into a fighting stance. These types of demons held no threat for him. His only worry was the location of Erol. Now that he was out of sight he had time to come up with an attack plan and form protective spells, which would make him more difficult to kill.
"You really shouldn't be on the front lines."
The voice surprised him for a moment as two figures landed before him; Shunsui Kyōraku and the Royal Guard Senjumaru Shutara. This was unexpected.
"They are after your life, King; you really shouldn't go rushing forward into danger," Senjumaru chided as if he was still the same naïve child she had first rescued from Gralio.
Toshiro scowled at her for the lecture. She knew full well he could handle himself against an army of this caliber.
"Whoo, that's some intense Spiritual Pressure," Kyōraku whistled. Being in front of Toshiro he could feel the full force of what the young king was putting onto the demons. Thanks to training in the Soul King's realm and his own experience with such high level force the Captain was truly not very pressured, but he was still impressed as the young king wasn't even in Shikai yet.
Toshiro did not let up and just scowled at him too, frustrated with their interference. Their help had not been needed.
The first of the demons leapt at them. Senjumaru cut them down easily while also casting silent Kido spells in quick succession, weaker than they could be but effective against numerous enemies. Kyōraku Shikai made quick work of the demons on his side as well.
A shadow flashed past them and Erol lifted a blade to strike at Toshiro, eyes gleaming with bloodlust and smiling victoriously.
The blade was blocked and a hand put to his chest.
"That was predictable," Toshiro said to the surprised Nightstalker.
Blue fire flashed as he cast Sokatsui silently, sending the offender blasting away, hitting the ground roughly and rolling for several feet before he came to a stop.
"See? I can handle myself," Toshiro shot in Senjumaru's direction. The guardian grinned foxily at him.
A few of the demons approached where Erol lay, wondering if he was dead or not and if they should retreat. It was quite obviously a losing battle but if the man had faith they could win they'd keep going. If he was dead, they might as well take him as payment in food for this battle and leave quickly while they could.
Erol's hand shot up and latched onto the neck of one demon, crushing it and absorbing its energy while it faded away with a pain filled shriek. The other demons quickly backed away.
"Well, well…it seems we have a new development here," Kyōraku mused. "Looks like the human ones can absorb the others."
The other two with him said nothing, simply prepared for a battle. Another figure joined them and Toshiro was surprised to see Karin.
"The rest of the army is pretty much done," She reported, hiding the wounds on her arm before Toshiro saw. She was still exhausted from Bankai training and had let her guard down. "This all that's left?"
"Guess we got lucky," Shunsui sighed. "You guys held off the main force long enough for back up. Otherwise there would be a lot more dead."
"Don't count yourselves lucky yet, Reapers," Erol growled at them, standing back up. The demons left were all stronger than the grunts sent forward at the start of the attack, holding up just fine against the multiple Spiritual Pressures pushing down on them. "I have yet to give this my all. Your meddling has frustrated me and I will let you live no longer!"
"Yet to give this your all?" Erol looked up at the newcomer, spotting Kenpachi grinning down at him atop the giant. "Well then, let's see what you've got, hm? I've been bored all day and this so-called 'army' of yours is too pathetic to even call a warm-up."
Shadows spiraled up around Erol as the man's anger rose, dark Spiritual Pressure pushing back against all of theirs. They shifted into a battle stance, Kenpachi laughing as he prepared for an entertaining fight. The demons hissed and growled, inching forwards as the shadows brought forward by Erol gave them power.
"You're mine, Soul King," Erol hissed.
A flash of fire and suddenly Erol was knocked to the ground. The demons whimpered and backed away from the new person standing over their leader. A petite girl with long black hair in pigtails and bright blue eyes.
"He's yours?!" Firiat Tavain spat at the unconscious man under her foot, which they noticed was practically barefoot save for thin golden fabric around the soles and tying up her ankle with small golden bells on them. The rest of her was hidden under the red robe she and the other Demon Lords wore. "You dumbass, the Dark Master specifically said HE had to kill the king, not some pitiful grunt like you!"
"Tavain." Toshiro's eyes widened in surprise. Why had a Demon Lord revealed herself? And why was she taking down one of her own allies?
She looked up as her name was called, the spiteful look in her eyes replaced with mischief and malice, along with a playful smile that made them shudder.
"Sorry folks, this one has been naughty lately," She picked up the one she spoke of as though he were nothing despite being thinner and smaller than him and tossed him over her shoulder. "I assure you he'll be punished for being so stupid."
"I don't care about what happens to him," Hitsugaya snapped quickly, stepping forward a bit and glaring at the girl. She paused in her turn to walk away and looked at him curiously. "What I want to know is why you're here and how."
"Why?" She put a finger to her chin in thought. "Well, I would think that'd be obvious, silly. He broke the rules."
"Rules?"
"Yeah, like leaving you alone until we're ready," Firiat giggled. "See, my lord has plans for you and your Reapers, it's just taken a little longer than we'd have liked. Aren't you glad you got some relaxation time?"
"Relaxation?" Shunsui rubbed the back of his head. "Well, wouldn't call it that. The guy on your shoulder there has attacked us now and then, you know."
"Oh I know," She rolled her eyes. "But this time he crossed the line, see? No one's allowed to kill you, King, except Lord Kamai Dethmaiyn."
Toshiro narrowed his eyes at her but she just giggled again.
"Anyway, see ya!" She waved at them like they were friends she'd see again soon. "I'll leave the demons here to play with you so you don't miss me!"
Fire lit up underneath her and then she was gone, Erol with her.
"Hmph, what a letdown," Kenpachi grumbled, looking reproachfully at the demons stalking forward, shadows swirling off their skin. "I'll leave this to you guys."
He turned and quickly left.
"Kenpachi!" Karin shouted at him but to no avail, the Squad Eleven Captain had left. "Argh, some help he was."
"His help isn't needed," Senjumaru said while shooting off a Kido spell. The demon she aimed at dodged her and charged, clashing with her blade. "The rest can easily be handled."
Still in front, Toshiro just swung his blade across and sent several ice dragons rocketing forward, latching onto several of the demons and shattering them into shards of ice. His chain-blade caught another and sent it crashing into the last of them, freezing them all over and breaking them with a single tug of the chain.
"While it's good to know I won't be killed," he mused aloud, "I don't like the rest of her message. I knew they were planning something but by her tone it's something even we won't be able to fight against."
"Guess we aren't as prepared as we thought," Karin frowned, absentmindedly reaching up to the wounds on her arm. "Captain Kyōraku is right; we got lucky that Myndræl came this way and stopped that first demon. We would have been a lot worse off if we hadn't all been there to hold them off."
"And we were lucky the Demon Lord stepped in before Nightstalker brought forth his power," Shutara added. "There's no telling what he was capable of, we might have lost a few to him, and in such an unstable state he could have even harmed the Soul King."
"I would have been fine," Toshiro argued. "I didn't train so hard to become king just to be kept on the sidelines. One thing is for sure, Dethmaiyn wants to be the one to kill me, so to get him out I have to fight."
"You should not risk yourself so hastily," The Royal Guard countered. "While it's true he may not come out unless you are there to kill, there's a possibility he will attempt to weaken you first with his other subjects before approaching you. He is clever; he will not take any chances at a loss just because you throw yourself out there as bait."
"So you want me to wait until his forces are weakened?" There was a clear sign of frustration on the young king's face as the argument continued. "There's no telling when that would be if we don't even know how big of a force he has. We only know there are five Demon Lords, and three of them we have yet to see."
"While I agree we don't know the kind of army Dethmaiyn has, we do know his goal, and that's you," Shunsui spoke up, pointing at Toshiro at the last part. "The Demon Lords might not kill you, but who's to say they won't kidnap you and take you to him?"
"He has to get me to give him my power first, and that will never happen," Toshiro growled, started to get angry with his companions. The power he'd gotten he had earned in order to fight in this war and protect his former home. This wasn't about his title as Soul King, this was about keeping the people he cared for safe, and that meant Dethmaiyn had to die.
"I'm sure there are ways he can convince you otherwise," Senjumaru warned.
"I'm fighting in this battle, Shutara. I was going to fight in this battle the day I realized I was the Soul Prince. They engaged me first, remember? I'm simply returning the favor."
Not wanting to hear any more arguments against him, Toshiro quickly left. He headed to wear Myndræl was in order to check up on him, the others staying behind to make sure they had indeed killed all the demons. They didn't need any lurking in the shadows killing them off one by one. Ruala took up the job of hunting down any assassins.
Dyrilæn joined up with her partner while several Soul Reapers set to work moving the dead gatekeeper to a safer place inside to be mourned or set to work trying to fix the gate. The latter came from Squad Twelve, also looking into how the indestructible gate could be destroyed.
"Do you want him to fight?" The dragoness asked her partner, meaning Toshiro.
"That's like asking if I want Ichigo to fight," Karin sighed. "I don't want him too, but nothing I say can possibly change his mind. Besides, he had a point, the demons struck first, and as Soul King it's kind of his responsibility to stop this feud. His father tried, now it's his turn."
"Considering Dethmaiyn is competing for Soul King it only makes sense the real Soul King be the one to fight back."
"Exactly," The teen nodded. "Now come on, let's help everyone here. Can't leave an opening for those bastards now that they've started appearing again."
Giving a snort of agreement, Dyrilæn followed her partner towards where everyone was busy at work. A healer came to heal her wounds and those on the other fighters as well, though she was really the worst one out of the lot thanks to sparring beforehand.
She promised that, next time, she would be prepared. If Toshiro was going to fight on the front lines, she'd be right there with him.
Hehe, sorry for the wait. Been busy with school and things. And Fanfiction had been acting weird... Anyway, here it is! The big battle! Enjoy!