The werewolf demon called Lyrah Lafianna approached with the prowl of an eager predator, putting soldiers on edge the closer she got. Toshiro, Karin and Rangiku didn't flinch, swords at the ready should she dare get in their range, Soul Reapers behind them with hands up to use Kido to assist. They were still in one of the labyrinth corridors, so fighting off a giant wolf demon would be difficult.
Ever the quick thinker, Toshiro tried to find a way to deal with their enemy. Lyrah's Spiritual Pressure was suffocating, a thick bloodlust causing his soldiers to shudder, but it gave away nothing about the Demon Lord's abilities. The only information he had on her was she had the battle craze of a Kenpachi but liked to mentally mess with her foes first. Given her canine form the Kenpachi aspect was clear to see, but if she was known for pulling tricks then her muscles were not her only weapon. His mental barriers were up strong on the off chance she had any kind of psychic influence.
For now, he had to deal with the information he knew, and that was fighting her with strength. If he tried to prepare for everything, she would overpower him.
"Let's go, dragon boy, I'll show you which creature is strongest." Lyrah paused and crouched, preparing to pounce.
Fire lit up as Karin unleashed her Shikai, stepping forward and blocking the incoming claws with her rapier, a snap of fire pushing the wolf back again. The wolf distracted by fire, Toshiro swung his sword forth to send an ice dragon at her, hoping to keep her off balance. The draconic form brought forth rage in the werewolf's eyes as she snarled and slammed headfirst into the projection, ignoring the frost to charge forward again.
"She really hates dragons." Karin noted aloud with a scowl.
"I guess that's why she's the one that came after me." Toshiro agreed, frowning.
"Oh I came after you because I felt like it, little king." Lyrah corrected, claws clanging loudly against the king's blade as she got to them. "Shame you brought so many with you. Your life is guaranteed, but everyone else is just a feast for me."
She had a point, he was well aware by now that he would not be killed until Kamai got him to pass on the title, and for loyal subjects like the Demon Lords they would not be so careless as to risk his death in a fight. Those at his side, however, had no such protection.
Well, that just meant he needed to take front.
"You'll likely end up a feast for my dragon first." He shot back at her.
The demon's hackles bristled and she lunged forward to snap her jaws at him. He didn't flinch as they stopped just short of his face. Even pissed off, she wouldn't dare land a fatal blow.
That and she'd been stopped short by a Kido binding from the soldiers behind him.
Snarling, she backed off to claw at the binds on her muzzle, claws glowing red with demonic energy in order to break through the magical ropes. While she worked on that, Rangiku unleashed her Shikai to surround their foe in ash. It was unlikely she would escape as easily as Firiat did without fire to aid her.
Yet escape she did as a fierce howl pierced the air, the demonic Spiritual Pressure increasing with the Demon Lord's anger. The further the gap in Spiritual Pressure between two powers, the less damage could be done, and Lyrah could basically walk right through the ash as she stalked her way closer once more. They were glad they never had to face this monster before now, as they definitely wouldn't have been ready. A scythe came spinning at her from behind, Hisagi having darted across while the ash was present in order to push the demon into a pincer attack. The resulting gash on the back of Lyrah's left shoulder made her turn at him with a nasty snarl, ruby eyes marking a new target. She didn't seem to slow down at all with the new wound.
Toshiro struck out with his blade to prevent her from going after Hisagi, her claws holding back his sword with surprising ease, the ice less so. Understanding that she couldn't get too close to the Ice King for long, Lyrah took advantage of the extra dexterity she got by using her clawed hands as weapons to push the blade away and aim for his shoulder with the other paw. Another clang of metal as Toshiro blocked the attack and stepped back to avoid the next swipe, Karin taking her chance to jump forward with fire in front of her to burn the demon's face. There was the smell of burnt fur in the air as Lyrah used her arms to block the flames before lunging forward to take a bite out of the teen.
A chain wrapped around her neck as Hisagi used his Shikai to catch the werewolf and make sure Karin could back out safely. Glaring at him with a scowl, Lyrah snatched up the chain and pulled on it with incredible strength, dragging the one behind it right to her where she head-butted him hard enough he blacked out for a few seconds. This allowed her to release the chains on her neck and jump upwards onto the top of the maze, her werewolf form vanishing to avoid awakening the thorns as she vanished from sight.
"Durable, that one." A Chinese Kido master grunted as they kept their guard up for her return, not naïve enough to think they had chased her off. Kira and Rangiku hurried over to help Hisagi to his feet and make sure he wasn't going to get a concussion.
"She's not as fast as Firiat Tavain was, but I agree she's far sturdier than the fox." Toshiro responded. "She doesn't even bother with any magic armor… but I was told she's just as clever as she is strong, keep an eye out."
"Someone seems to have gotten the wrong impression of me." Lyrah's Transylvanian accent rang clear through the air, echoing around them with a light chuckle. "If by clever you mean I have sneaky little tricks up my sleeve, then that would be incorrect. Unlike little Firiat, the poor dear, I see no need for magical games and lies. I am clever because I see the facts, and most people don't like to hear the truth."
'So she plays mind games.' Toshiro realized, scowling. 'She must have picked it up from her Master.'
"I told you that everyone here is just a feast." Lyrah giggled.
A flash of white and blue and she appeared at the back of the group, red eyes gleaming as she began to return to her werewolf state, fanged grin bringing terror into their heart. With the strongest at the front, the back lines were vulnerable, Kido users pushing through and letting off several spells at the demon. Laughing gleefully, she darted around the flashes of light and launched at the army, ignoring any scrapes she received against their swords and clawing through their armor with ease, mouth staining red as she caught several in her jaws.
Karin was first to make it to the back as she used the walls to jump over the army, avoiding the thorns and lighting her rapier aflame as she struck out at the werewolf before she took more victims. The Chinese general was right behind her, prepared to avenge his men fearlessly. Lyrah looked excited to fight them, a strange glow in her fur as red stained it from her victims. Did she get stronger with each life she took? All the more reason to keep her jaws off the soldiers.
"How many more are going to die for you, Soul King~?" Lyrah sneered, approaching the two stronger Reapers with deadly confidence.
Kido flew through the air when shots could be made, but Karin and the general were the ones fending off the deadly claws and fangs, Soi Fon soon joining them with her Shikai active and trying to get close enough to land a butterfly mark. When she landed the first, Lyrah took one look at it and scowled. That was bad. She put her attention on the assassin and avoided the attempts to get hit in the same spot. Her tail whipped around and slammed Soi Fon into a wall, the woman keeping back and holding her left arm to her body as it bled from its new wounds. Thankfully no poison, but the pain was blinding. She would have to do some quick first aid before jumping back in.
Lyrah shoved Karin aside as the teen made to strike at the wolf's back and instead pounced at the foot soldiers again, red staining more of her fur from swords cutting up her arms and from the poor sap she managed to get her teeth around. She backed away, two swords still stuck into her sides from those who had tried to harm her, but the crimson glow was increasing and she didn't seem to care about her injuries, claws and teeth sharpening as she began to shift into a berserk state, eyes glowing red. She jumped in again for more victims, her fur now acting more like armor as their counter attacks bounced off.
"Back off!" Rangiku rushed her ash forward as she joined the fray and surrounded the werewolf, letting the foot soldiers escape for a distance as the wolf snarled and tried to get out of the ash cloud, getting angry when it followed her around. A blur of white and she jumped over the cloud onto the walls before pouncing right back into the army, determined to take as many of them as possible to increase her strength.
Fire enveloped her as the soldiers quickly moved out of range, narrowly avoiding teeth and flame. Lyrah's gaze turned towards Yamamoto with a scowl. She wasn't afraid of fire, just irritated by it.
"That's quite enough out of you, brat." The old Soul Reaper snapped. "Time to train some manners into you."
The demon gave a growling laugh and stalked through the flames, ignoring the stench of singed fur to approach the aging Reaper. He did not flinch, simply held his zanpaktou forward at the ready to fight her. He was aging, but he was not weak.
As the Chinese general went to assist his fellow Head Captain, Toshiro approached the Soul Reapers that had been fighting their foe previously. Soi Fon was the worst off but she had it bandaged as best she could for in-battle first aid and was ready to continue, and the others had a few scrapes at worst. He was glad to see Karin was still fine despite her continuing to jump right up to the demon.
"Her skin thickens with each soul she devours." Soi Fon reported with a grumble. "And those weapons of hers get stronger."
"I saw; we'll need to get everyone to retreat." He replied, surprising them. "At this point the army is just a buffet to make her stronger, we need everyone to head back and just have a few of us stay to fight her. The less victims she has the easier it will be to deal with her."
"But it means we'll have less strength ourselves." Rangiku warned.
"All of us would be able to fight better if we didn't have to worry about the rest of the army, and I'd rather she not continue eating good men and women."
"I'll start the evacuation." Soi Fon bowed before heading off to do just that. The Japanese force were quick to follow her order and start heading back the way they came, the Chinese a little more hesitant until their general told them to follow, understanding the plan well enough, and they hurried off. Only those Captain level and above stuck around, now having a lot more room to maneuver as the wolf looked for an easy victim to strengthen herself with. The Captains stood at the ready for her, not about to be taken off guard.
Her gaze turned towards the Soul King hungrily, jaws dripping with blood and spit, a beast looking for something to take out her anger on. Karin and Rangiku tensed, standing beside him at the ready, while Toshiro himself just glared back at the werewolf.
Her attention was diverted as Yamamoto redirected the fire to close in on her. There was a howl of frustration as she jumped over to the wall again, cracking it with the force of her claws before she lunged at Toshiro, ignoring her other foes in favor of going after the strongest soul present. Ice barred her path as he set up a barrier, but she slammed through it with impressive force, roaring angrily at him for ruining her momentum.
"Blazing Twister!" Karin's own fire blocked the wolf's sight for a moment and let her get in close to pierce the wolf through the chest, hoping to get her heart. There was no indication of where it was, so it would take some guessing.
Red stained more of the white fur as her blade stuck deep, but she had clearly missed since the wolf looked down at her with a scowl and lifted a claw to strike while the young woman was still holding her sword. Panic flashed on Karin's face when her blade did not pull out as easily as it went in. Pain shot up her arm as her shoulder took the hit, claws barely missing her head since she released her zanpaktou to escape.
"Karin!" Cold arms caught her as she stumbled back, everything going blurry due to the severity of the gashes over her shoulder, reaching to her back as well. With wounds like this and her zanpaktou sticking out of the chest of a pissed off werewolf, Karin was forced to stay down for the count, her king pulling her away as Rangiku stepped forward with Kira and Hisagi joining her to keep the angry creature back. Toshiro helped her over to the wall where he did his best to use Healing Kido.
"You… need to… save your… energy." She said between painful twitches and short breaths, glad the claws hadn't hit her in the chest and destroyed her lungs.
"I'm not about to just leave you like this." He argued. He paused as Squad Four Lieutenant Isane arrived and began administering first aid, allowing him to stop. "I'll get your zanpaktou back."
"Careful." She warned him, not wanting to see him get hurt same as she did.
He turned back to the werewolf, noticing she was straining a little harder, as if a heavy weight was attached to her back. No doubt that was Kira's zanpaktou at work, but the Demon Lord still did her best to stalk forward with teeth bared. She stood to her full height and let off an angry roar, the crimson glow around her flaring, muscles bulging as she strained against the extra weight. A clawed hand reached up and grasped the rapier still burning in her chest, pulling out the fiery weapon and tossing it aside, ignoring the dark crimson that dripped down her fur. Kira tried to cut her again, double that weight once more, but Lyrah surprised him with how fast she could still move and batting him aside, charging at Rangiku when she tried to send blades of ash at the wolf. Each step cracked the ground from her weight, but she roared fiercely and kept charging, ignoring each new gash to get closer.
Toshiro stepped in between Rangiku and the Demon Lord, his blade blocking claws with heavy weights behind them, causing even him to step back from the force. Her former Captain covering her, Rangiku pulled her ash into a set of spears and had them rain from above through the wolf. Lyrah snarled as they glanced off her thick skin leaving small cuts. More of her white fur was stained red and her snarl began to curl into a smile.
The red aura around the demon began to twist and flare. The Soul Reapers around her began to feel something stir within them, a strange rush of adrenaline pushing them to flee.
"You can still use Fear?" Toshiro realized, eyes widening as he tried to hold the claws away from him.
"It's not the same as hers." Lyrah chuckled darkly, her voice warped with the increase of demonic energy. "My fear doesn't come from death, it comes from instinct. An alpha's intimidation strikes fear into weaker prey. The stronger I get, the stronger my intimidation, and the more likely you will feel the need to flee, to survive."
"We will not be fleeing before a demon." The Chinese general snapped at her sharply, sword held up for the next attack.
"Shame, I enjoy a good chase." The wolf sneered.
Her eyes flared red again as she returned to a berserk state, pushing through the added weight of Kira's zanpaktou ability to shove the Soul King back and strike at the general. Her tail whipped around to strike at Kira and Rangiku close to her, protecting her back from further strikes. They both stumbled back with gashes across their legs that made it hard to continue standing. Toshiro helped Rangiku over to the side next to Karin while Hisagi hurried to help Kira to the other wall, the Captains stepping forward to deal with the werewolf. She had overcome Kira's ability and was back to using the walls as platforms to get behind her foes. While they could defend against these attacks it was a bit disorienting to deal with, the large body constantly moving around with flares of red that made their hearts quicken with adrenaline and the need to run. No one fled just yet, however.
With their instincts forcing them to stay on the defensive rather than attack back, no more progress was made in trying to wound the Demon Lord, not that it had done them any better. The more wounds she survived, the more blood that turned her pale fur red, the stronger her aura of intimidation and the stronger her body became. Unless they landed a fatal blow she would take the pain and become stronger, making it even harder to defeat her. A werewolf out for blood.
This was no time to take Senjumaru's advice and save his energy. Toshiro wasn't about to stand aside and continue to let Lyrah grow stronger until she could eventually devour them all. There would be no defeating Kamai if they didn't defeat his guards.
"Reign Over the Frosted Heavens, Hyorinmaru!"
With the familiar chant finally spoken, the air became deathly cold and an ice dragon rose up into the air, baring its fangs down at the demon wolf. The thorns began to twist violently at the huge surge of Spirit Energy, but they kept away from the powerful source, overwhelmed by it. Lyrah turned her gaze up to the ice dragon with a fierce snarl of her own, hackles raised in fury at its appearance.
The Demon Lord now focused on his sword spirit, Toshiro motioned for the others to start making their retreat. They didn't argue, not wanting to get caught up in the Soul King's power as the ice began spreading over the walls. The hall clear, the ice dragon was able to lower down into it and lunge forward at Lyrah, the Demon Lord eagerly charging right back, her aura protecting her from being frozen solid as she clawed at the projection of ice. The icy jaws missed her, but it curled around and tossed her back with a strike of its tail, following after her. Hyorinmaru continued controlling the icy projection while his master helped Karin to her feet, Isane helping Rangiku, and began making their way out. Yoruichi was quick to head back and help so that Toshiro had his hands free to keep back the wolf if she managed to get past the dragon and give chase.
The walls suddenly shifted, blocking their way back to the others in the blink of an eye.
"What the hell is this?" Karin scowled as she kicked at the offending wall, holding her wounded but now bandaged arm against her body.
"I doubt the werewolf can do this, someone else is nearby." Toshiro reached his senses out for a new presence but couldn't find anyone hostile immediately close to them. Were they that far away? Or were they masking themselves? The five of them were immediately on edge.
Another wall shifted inward, blocking them off from Lyrah. Toshiro let the dragon fade and they could hear Lyrah's angry roar echo into the air, then silence. An angry wolf did not charge over the wall after them, and the aura of intimidation she gave off began to fade. Had she gone the wrong way, confused by the new layout? So whoever was shifting the tunnels wasn't necessarily a friend of the Demon Lords… or they just wanted the werewolf out of the way.
"I guess we either follow this or risk jumping over those nasty vines." Yoruichi spoke up with a frown adorning her face, glaring at the single path they had before them.
"Jumping probably isn't the best idea." Isane replied as she looked worriedly to Rangiku's legs, the bandages already beginning to stain red and a slight shake noticeable that the Lieutenant tried to hide quickly.
"We'll tread carefully." Toshiro agreed, taking front and heading slowly down the hall at a pace the injured could keep up with.
They kept to silence as they walked to listen for any potential signs of Lyrah returning their way, their nerves running high as they continued down a path with no choices or splits, just a long path with turns here and there but otherwise nowhere else to go. Once Karin had been healed enough by Isane to move confidently on her own, Yoruichi dared to head backwards to see if anything was following, only to see their way back cut off. She almost got cut off from the others and only made it back through the shifting wall due to her expertise in Flash Step.
"Guess we better stay close together." She grumbled as she glared at the new wall blocking any sort of return to the others.
"This one's got some nerve playing games with us." Karin bristled.
She halted in her tracks as Toshiro stopped ahead of them with a hand up to motion for them to stop as well. Looking past him, they noticed what he was wary of. It was another wolf of white, but this one stood as a normal wolf would and not a werewolf, eyes of gold watching them curiously. Brown colored the wolf's underbelly, ear tips and tail tip and a golden bandana was tied around its neck. Even from this distance they could see a golden pattern in the wolf's forehead fur, what looked like a line with three prongs off the top.
"The witch's symbol for a Guardian…" Toshiro recognized the rune mark from some of the ancient texts his aunt Sylfie had managed to teach him while he was learning of other cultures. Her family had once used the runes in great abundance, but she had stopped using them while in the Soul King's realm and focused on elemental magic. It would seem someone still knew how to use them… but were they on Kamai's side?
The wolf huffed in their direction before moving on down the path, vanishing around a corner.
The way behind them closed and thorns still curled over the tops, the five warriors had no choice but to follow.
Had to break for a bit due to summer classes, things are off an on right now since summer can be kind of fast paced, plus working.