A deep rumble filled with malice echoed through the air, bringing with it a sense of dread and fear. The parasitic tendrils sunk back into the earth, releasing any victims as they went and giving no more threat, corpses allowed to finally rest, the warriors focusing on the demons while keeping alert for whatever monster snarled at them below their feet.

"I don't like the feel of this." Myndrӕl said to his partner after landing beside him, his claws stained with demon blood and scales covered in frost from using his breath. "It smells like…"

"A dragon." Aberon finished with a snarl of his own as he approached as well. "She has a dragon's body under her control."

"An undead dragon… that won't be an easy opponent." Toshiro said to them with a frown. Next to him, Karin nodded, but was ready to keep fighting.

"It's not just any dragon…" Aberon grumbled. The king and his dragon looked at him curiously. "You never got to see him yourself, Myndrӕl, only ever heard stories… this angel of death has control of your father's dragon, Soul King, the former King of Dragons, the Light dragon Kinryu."

Toshiro's eyes widened and the ground began to shake as the zombie dragon began to rise to the surface.

"But… I was told Kinryu lost his core, that my father had to destroy him because he became a beast." Toshiro argued, Karin looking shocked once she heard this. Someone having to kill their own dragon? She wasn't sure she could ever do such a thing. The heartbreak was likely a big cause to the king getting so sick.

"Oh that's all true, but it seems that didn't stop this necromancer from controlling his body." Aberon explained with a scowl. "His mind will still only be a beast's with his true soul gone… a beast that can't die until his new master says so. And Kinryu was a powerful dragon."

One of the cracks in the earth from the magic attack before began to let off a burst of heat rank with the stench of death. The undead creature had found a way up.

"We will deal with our kin." The rough growl of Wardin caught their attention as Kenpachi's dragon walked past them towards the opening. "This disgrace to our former king will not stand."

"Keep up your soldiers' spirits and hold off the demons." Aberon added before taking off into the sky after the dinosaur-like dragon.

"Go with them, Myndrӕl." Toshiro said to his dragon when he noticed the other hesitate. "The dragons need their leader as well; I will take care of my army."

"And I've got his back." Karin promised, Toshiro managing a small smile her way.

"Very well. I will make sure Lord Kinryu gets a peaceful rest." The Ice dragon promised, taking to the sky with confidence.

"Back to fighting demons then?" Karin questioned her partner.

"Of course, there are still plenty of lives to pay back."

"Do you think Ruala will win?"

Toshiro glanced back at the barrier in the middle of the fighting. Ruala was starting to look tired and Theda seemed to be absolutely fuming. He'd by lying if he said he wasn't worried; he had the distinct feeling that he was going to lose another Royal Guard before this battle was over.

There was a deafening roar that even made the demons shrink back towards the safety of the hidden realm for a moment, allowing the soldiers a brief respite, one filled with pounding hearts and dread as scaled paw rose above the ground, the talons still attached a pitch black coated with dried blood. The scales, perhaps a beautiful white at one point, were now a crusty brown, patches falling off and skin decaying to show blackened and dead flesh. Another leg in similar shape reached up and grasped at the earth, pulling up the rest of the body to face those above.

The head that rose up was basically a skull at that point, the horns and spines turned black same as the talons, teeth sharp and visible all the way to the jaws, no lips to curl back, a tongue covered in black mold and rotten slithered between these fangs. There were no eyes, simply empty holes with pale red lights to indicate any form of life within the corpse. The skin and scales from the neck down were in the same condition as the legs, brown and lifeless, a once regal form reduced to decay and bones. The body held no organs, just cracked skin tightened over the skeletal system, a moving creature of bones and scales. The wings held no skin between the bones, no longer able to fly, but still good for a threat display as the zombie let out another bloodthirsty roar, breath filled with the stench of blood.

It was almost impossible to believe this monstrous skeleton was once a regal dragon of light, a wise and mighty dragon that stood at his father's side. Toshiro could barely stand to look at it, not wanting to remember such a noble figure as this mockery forced to fight them.

Myndrӕl and the other dragons approached their former kin ready to fight, and as the zombie dragon's attention focused on them, the demons felt comfortable swarming back out towards the army.

Ruala watched all of this from within the barrier, Theda not pursuing at the moment as she laughed gleefully at the chaos, greedily taking in the despair that grew within the hearts of the soldiers at the sight of her newest pet. She was glad Kamai had brought the creature to her, as she had always wanted a dragon, and to have one that didn't complain about being kept alive against its will was a relief. It was just as bloodthirsty and willing to destroy as she was. She loved her pet so, not understanding who it once belonged to. Ruala knew the dragon, however, and grief struck at her heart at seeing how the great dragon was reduced to this.

She had to end this quickly…

"You would bring pain to even the noble dragons for your own sick games?" Ruala spoke accusingly to her twin.

Theda sneered in response.

"I see no pain in my dragon's eye, only an endless hunger same as mine!" The necromancer giggled menacingly. "Such a glorious pet I was able to take hold, a true angel of death come for your souls."

"That is the dragon of the former Soul King, he was not meant to be this way." Ruala argued firmly. "Kamai turned him into a beast… forced his partner to kill him… I will not let you disgrace his name this way."

"Let me?" Theda hissed, anger returning at her twin's sudden resistance. "I don't need your permission to have a pet, sister, especially when you have that pitiful feline always following you around…" She trailed off as she realized something. Where was Sofia? The familiar was not battling alongside her master.

"I see you've noticed." Ruala held a hand up over her heart. "Awakening my familiar's true form takes time… and it is not I that needs her most. I will not let this army fall, and I will not let the Soul King lose. Whatever the result of our battle, sister, I will hold to my vows and protect the true balance, and that balance lies with Hitsugaya's lineage."

"Clever little witch." Theda scowled. "Your pet will still lose to mine, just as you will lose to me."

"As long as I live I will never lose to you."

Eyes lighting up with a lust for blood, it was clear Theda sought to change that. Her twin wanted to die? That was easy. Then it didn't matter what form the familiar was in, Theda and her pet would eliminate everything.

The undead dragon began to charge, Myndrӕl being the first to face him head on, his claws striking against the skeletal head of the creature to prevent getting bitten, his own jaws latching onto what little flesh remained around the neck. He let go quickly, having to force back his gag reflex at the disgusting taste now coating his mouth. The body was so decayed that getting any flesh in their mouth might as well be poison. It even made his eyes sting, his lungs burn, and the Ice Dragon was forced to back off as his kin took over, remembering not to get any flesh in their mouths or meet the same fate. Dyrilӕn came to his side to make sure he was okay.

Aberon let loose a breath of black flame. The zombie let off a screech, backing away from the darkness in order to see again, but it seemed the dark fire did little to something already dead, simply singing the decayed flesh. There was no pain to be felt anymore, the undead simply charging once again. Tӕlaf used her ice breath to try and freeze their opponent to the ground, Ahvain soaring above with her Gravity element and diving down while he was stuck in the ice, using extra pressure on her strike to deal a heavy blow to the larger dragon's spine. There was a resounding crack as her attack landed. Shrieking once more, the undead dragon whipped his head around to snap at the attacker. She escaped easily enough since he could not turn fully with his feet frozen to the earth. Considering his tail still whipped through the air in an attempt to strike at Noxis and Shadow approaching from behind, it would seem the spinal break did nothing. They feared that even if they tore the dragon apart the pieces would continue moving independently to continue fighting.

"There's got to be a better way, we can't treat this like a normal dragon fight." Ahvain said to her kin as they took a moment's reprieve to plan while their enemy was still frozen. By the sounds of cracking ice, the restraints would not last long.

"Then we do our best to hold him off until his master is defeated." Myndrӕl said to them, back in the fight once he got the rotten flesh out of his mouth. "If we're having trouble, he will destroy the army, and we can't let him get to our partners."

The other dragons agreed, not wanting to lose a partner as Grendir had, the dragon still guarding the dead with rightful fury. The only other dragon not helping them fight was Laseiltha, the older dragon defending the injured while her partner and the other healers saved them. Even the old Fire dragon Infiro was with them to help, stepping forward to wrestle the undead dragon as he escaped the ice and keep him away from the army, the only dragon similar in size to the former Dragon King. Watching the two giant dragons fight was somewhat awe-inspiring to some.

With the army, they were beginning to overwhelm the demons, but the tendrils were rising up again to claim more victims to turn on them. In response, Ruala's familiar finally rose up from wherever she had hidden to accumulate her power, a soft light spreading over the warriors to soothe their worries and pain. A form they had not seen before spread its wings and lifted into the air, though they supposed it was fitting that the true form of a creature belonging to the bearer of Hope would be similar to a Phoenix, if mixed with dragon-like qualities. Though Sofia had a Phoenix form for her Light form, this one stuck out far more, and was about three times the size, main body covered in glistening white scales swirled with patterns of gold and silver, long neck bearing a white-feathered crest like a mane that shimmered in the sun like a rainbow. Her huge feathered wings bore golden markings that let off the soft light that enveloped them. Her tail extended like a dragon's but still bore the long draping tail feathers characteristic of a Phoenix, the eye spots at the end a brilliant gold and glowing. A pair of horns crested on the top of her head, with feathery ears just beside them, a crown of more feathers at her head. Soft violet eyes gave them promise that she would defend them from the Fear currently thick in the air, though she had sharp golden talons on her feet ready to defend from demons as well.

"Wow, she's beautiful." Karin couldn't help but breathe aloud as the bird let out a powerful war cry and charged forward with a flap of her wings, talons as long as some people were tall ripping through the demons with ease. The creatures pulled out a few feathers as they thrashed and panicked but otherwise did not touch the summon of Hope. Renewed by her song, the army pushed forward stronger than ever.

As the familiar reduced the effect of Fear on the space around them, Theda went into a fit of rage. She could feel her strength waning, forcing her to use less of her power at once if she wanted to keep up the parasitic tendrils and her pet. And now her sister looked a little too confident, bringing a snarl out of her. She hated that rainbow raptor, it was the only thing that could actually ruin her powers since Ruala refused to take from others and get stronger. Her scream of rage made most who heard it shudder, wondering what she would do next to counter their comeback. For now, it seemed she was simply letting off frustration, the only thing to respond being the undead dragon that let off a vicious roar as he renewed his attempts to take out the other dragons. With the bird of Hope holding back the Fear, Theda seemed more like a spoiled brat than a threat.

To Ruala she was definitely still a threat though. If even one of those claws got a scratch in she would be at Theda's mercy to torture and control, and that meant her familiar would lose her power. She couldn't let that happen.

She would only let Theda get a hit in under one condition, and that condition had not yet been reached. She had to push more, really put her twin under pressure. She wished she could apologize to her king for what she had planned… but it was the only way to win this fight. As twins maintaining a balance, their lives were forever tied. It was why Ruala had lived so long, since her twin could not die. But there was a tricky set of conditions to their death for that very reason. Should Ruala die before Theda, the twin of Death would have no one to stop her from creating the apocalypse. But Theda could hardly die before Ruala, being death itself, so a very specific curse was in place to prevent Theda from overstepping her power and killing Ruala to gain full control.

If Theda killed Ruala, they both died.

Knowing that, Theda simply sought to torture her twin, and if given the chance would place Ruala in an eternal living hell so as to no longer be a threat but keep them both alive. So Ruala had to make her angry, very angry.

Angry enough to only kill.

That was her goal right now, to survive until Theda was so full of rage and frustration that her only goal was to kill, and once she saw that killing blow… she would stop. It would be too late for Theda to undo her mistake. Once she struck with only an intent to kill, and dealt a fatal blow, her power over death would not work to keep Ruala alive. That was their curse. One she had never told anyone, knowing they would try to stop her when this time came. She was prepared to make this sacrifice for her king, for the fate of the world.

She only wished she could have fought together with everyone a little longer.

Sofia turned her attention from the demons to the undead dragon currently staring at her with a vicious hunger, almost ignoring the dragons surrounding him if not for their powerful attacks holding him off. Her beautiful wings took her to the air and towards the undead beast, her cry echoing through the air in contrast to his sharp snarl of fury. Her talons latched onto his muzzle as he tried to snap at her and he thrashed his head in anger to shake her off, her light the first thing to cause him actual pain. He swiped a rotten paw up and got her in the side, eliciting a cry of pain as the bird released his snout and rose to the sky for a moment's rest. To make sure he didn't chase after her, the dragons charged forward to fight once more.

Demons fell to ice as Toshiro did his best to protect the remains of his army without using too much power, refusing to switch into even Shikai for now to save energy. Even this small amount of help brought courage to the warriors as they finally pushed the demons through the door back into their prison, the narrow passage making it hard for the demons to make any proper sort of counter-attack.

"Alright, we can do this." Ichigo stated as he returned to Toshiro's side, not as needed now that the army had the demons trapped. "Ruala should be on even ground now."

"But that corrupted dragon is still loose, the dragons haven't gotten it pinned down yet." Karin argued, glancing over to the fighting dragons with worry. So far their partners had avoided any fatal wounds, managing to keep it to superficial scratches.

"With Sofia's true form here now the Fear won't be any problem, and she's keeping them protected." Toshiro noted. He was worried for Myndrӕl as well but had to trust his dragon would be careful. "Let's start getting the injured over to Unohana."

He dared to check on the twins fighting within the barrier, noting with concern that Theda was attacking far more viciously this time, Ruala still stuck on the defense to avoid those nasty claws, no doubt poisoned. They didn't seem to be on even ground at all.

But he had to trust she would win.

"Tell me you have a plan, Ruala." He muttered under his breath as the Kurosakis hurried off to help the injured. "Don't let me lose you too."

As if sensing his gaze, her eyes turned to meet his. There was no telepathy, her powers saved for defending against her twin, but they didn't need it. It was all there in her eyes.

"No…" Though unsure of the reasons behind it, Toshiro knew that Ruala's plan to win did not involve her staying alive. She broke eye contact with him to ensure Theda did not get a strike in, back to holding off the inevitable.

He didn't allow the worry to break through into his expression. If he panicked, he would lose control of his army. But he dearly wished he could demand to know why Ruala was picking a suicide option, why she had held such a pain filled apology in her gaze. He couldn't lose her now… of all his guards she had earned his trust the most, a gentle guide that was always there when he needed her, helping him through his worst moments. He would not have become the king that he was without her.

He put a hand up to the barrier, pushing through it his hopes that she would succeed, that he would not have to watch another friend die. They had to win, they would win!

Theda gave a snarl as she picked up on the positive pressure flowing through their small battle dome.

"I will not let you win!" The necromancer struck out, her nails pushing up against her twin's blades with an uncomfortable screech.

"As long as I survive, I will win." Ruala lied, baiting her sister with a counter strike as if to show she was stronger now with her king's support. Truthfully, if she survived, then Theda would always be a menace.

But Theda hated losing in any form, and that included power duels. Even if she could survive any fatal wounds, knowing her sister had the upper hand pissed her off. It had been angering her for all the decades she had spent trapped in the Precipice World after losing a battle of will so long ago.

"THEN DIE!"

Her nails lengthened with her rage as she aimed straight for the heart as she had done with the other Royal Guard.

'Thank you for helping me, Toshiro, I only wish I could continue to serve at your side as you wanted… but this is the only way.' Setting aside formalities, the mage sent her last message to her king.

"Ruala don't!" He called out, hitting a fist against the barrier but knowing it would not break yet.

'I give you and Karin the protection of my partner, and my blessing that you succeed in defeating your demons.'

"No!"

Ruala took a step back as if to dodge back from the attack, her weapons not at the ready to defend, and for a brief second he thought she had a surprise attack planned to deal with Theda for good. For a moment, he thought she would escape and survive.

But then she came to a sudden halt and Theda had no time to consider it suspicious before her hand plunged through her twin's chest, piercing right through her heart. She hadn't been dodging, she was making sure the blow was immediately fatal, so that Theda had no time to stave off death. With the amount of damage done and the poison coating her nails, Theda could not force the heart to continue beating, could not force the lungs to keep breathing. The shock of impact and the fast acting poison had already done its work before the necromancer even realized her mistake, her mind clouded with the instinct to kill.

She pulled her arm back with a scowl as everyone watched the Royal Guard's limp form fall to the earth with a harsh thud.