Within the palace, Kamai himself observed Korla with curiosity as she presented her new gift.
"I like his abilities, can I keep him?" The archer patted Kadin's head as she spoke about him like some kind of stray animal. Icy eyes glared at her as he remained bound in demon made ropes. Just because the shadows didn't scare him didn't mean he could see when surrounded by them, and in the darkness Korla showed her superiority over the shadows by quickly binding and kidnapping him while he remained blind.
"You have no idea who this is, do you?" Her master replied, stepping closer to the bound Captain.
"He's one of the Captains of the Japanese souls." Korla responded, frowning in confusion.
Kamai didn't explain anything right away, stopping just in front of Kadin and reaching a hand up to grab the Captain's chin.
"I thought I killed you." The Lord of demons stated in a menacing tone.
"Guess not." Kadin spat back, scowling at the other man. "Whatever you tried to do didn't work."
Kamai grinned as he realized something.
"You don't remember anything, do you?"
"Bits and pieces…" Kadin glanced away as he replied, still scowling but uncomfortable in this man's presence. "My mother helped bring some of it back."
"So she's seen you alive." Kamai let go of the Captain and turned away, walking back to the window to observe the battles in the labyrinth. Two of the groups had merged together and were approaching quickly. "Pity. She'll have to lose her son all over again."
Kadin pulled against his restraints but Korla kicked him in the back of the knee and knocked him down to a kneeling position, holding the back of his neck to force him into a bow.
"I can't let Hitsugaya have another family to give the title to, and his mother's family will likely be his preferred choice." Kamai continued now that Kadin was subdued. "You have a choice, Kadin Greenleaf, or I suppose now you go by Kadin Thane." The silver-haired demon master turned back to the Captain. "Either you follow me as you should have done all those years ago, or I send you back to your mother broken and dead, so she knows for sure this time that you won't be coming back."
"And why should I follow you?" Kadin growled back.
"Because I trained you." Kamai watched with satisfaction as Kadin's expression turned to one of shock. "Those shadows of yours were something your family didn't know how to control, so they asked for my help training you. Yet, when the time came to choose between aiding me or the Hitsugaya family, you chose them. We got along very well, you and I. I did not want to fight against my own apprentice… but you gave me no choice." He sighed sadly. "Perhaps that is why you survived the first time."
"You can still join me and my sisters." Korla purred, leaning down to whisper in his ear. "I wanted you as a pet, but knowing you were given your gifts by Lord Kamai himself I would gladly look to you as a brother."
"I would rather you just kill me." Kadin snarled at her.
"We'll avoid that for now." Kamai held a hand up to stop Korla as she created a black arrow to oblige the Captain's wish. "I still value your skills, Kadin. Perhaps we can talk further, perhaps refresh your memory a bit so you can understand all of this. But first…"
He returned to the window as he looked down at the group now facing his front doors, ready to barge in.
"I don't recall inviting so many guests. I'll see them out first." His hand lifted, shadows rising from within the walls around him. He heard Kadin fight against his bindings once again before grunting in pain as Korla knocked him hard upside the head. "No need for your concern, dear boy, I won't be killing them. That would be too much of a bother as of this moment. I'm simply returning them to the start where they will hopefully understand that they are unwelcome."
Down below, the armies tensed as they noticed wisps of shadows rising up around them.
"Did that archer come back?" Ichigo wondered aloud as the wisps grew in number and had them completely surrounded.
"This doesn't feel quite the same." Rukia responded with a frown. "This is stronger…"
"The Dark Master himself casting us out." Senjumaru explained, narrowing her eyes at one of the towers of the black palace. "We're not allowed here."
Before anyone could object, the shadows converged and their field of view became warped. Next thing they knew, they were back at the entrance of the entire labyrinth, a startled Carson of the American army looking at them all in bewilderment.
"Great, now what?" Shinji scowled at their backwards progress.
"We let the injured retreat and try again." Ichibe answered confidently. "At the least there will be far less demons to worry about now."
As the injured were helped outside the tunnel to the healers, rested soldiers standing to return to their leaders and help, Ichigo stepped over to the American leader Carson.
"Did the big guy with spiky hair and an eye patch come back through here?" He asked.
"Afraid not, sir, haven't seen him." The man shrugged.
"How about To- I mean, the Soul King and his group?"
"The Chinese and Japanese forces are actually out here already, but the Soul King and four others were apparently separated inside. I believe they said it was Karin Kurosaki, Rangiku Matsumoto, Isane Kotetsu and Yoruichi Shihon."
Ichigo scowled at the news. He was glad his comrades in Soul Society were fine, but knowing his sister and close friends were trapped in a small group on their own made him worry. At least he knew who to look for when they made their way back through the maze.
There was some worry for Kenapchi as well, but for good reason it was not as much of a concern as the others getting caught.
In fact, Kenpachi was really giving Lyrah the fight of her life. Both were heavily scarred and bloodied, both refusing to make fatal kills but rather continue to stagger and wound the other as best they could until the other lost the will to fight. But that stubborn fighting spirit only continued to grow stronger with each passing moment.
They each paused to catch their breath, teeth bared in sadistic smiles as they panted. Lyrah barely had any clean white fur left and the ruby aura of bloodlust around her was becoming overpowering even for a Kenpachi. There was no telling how much of the blood was her own or her enemies, but for her brand of magic it didn't particularly matter. The more there was, the stronger she got, but even blood magic like that couldn't replenish the energy she used fighting against an enemy as stubborn as she was. Even as her skin hardened into diamond-like armor and her claws could cut through a foot of steel with ease, she could not seem to kill the Soul Reaper fighting her.
Teeth bloodied and dripping with drool were bared in a proud grin. She was having fun despite the lingering pain in her entire body.
Kenpachi mirrored that grin, his Captain's coat abandoned and torn to shreds, his uniform not faring much better, heavy with soaked in blood matching the stains on his zanpaktou. He'd lost a few of his bells to her bites, but he could replace those later. In order to avoid being pressed down by the Lyrah's aura of an Alpha, his own Spirit Energy was radiating off of him in vicious yellow streams. He couldn't strengthen the durability of his skin or the sharpness of his weapon like she could, but that didn't stop him from biting back harder. And he had actually bitten her back once, managing a chunk out of her ear when she chomped down on his coat to try and pin him, hence why he had abandoned it shortly after.
"My Lord will be unhappy if I lose this fight, but despite my loyalty for him I would be glad to die by the hand of a warrior like yourself." Lyrah spoke up to her foe in compliment. "My magic is reaching its limit, there is only so much blood to shed with two people."
"Over so soon?" Kenpachi jeered, though internally his body screamed for an ending to this hour long duel. She was right about one thing for certain; there was not much blood left to lose before the fight ended no matter what.
"I share that sentiment. I will remember your name, Kenpachi Zaraki, and I hope you remember mine."
"Lyrah, was it?"
"Lyrah Lafianna. May the blood of the warrior gods bless the victor of this fight."
"That some kind of prayer?" Zaraki lifted his blade up, ready to restart the fight. Yachiru watched from above with strained silence, no longer sure if her Captain would win. He had no Bankai like the others, so while still impressive he had survived a one-on-one with a Demon Lord without it, it may be the reason he lost.
There was a whisper in the back of his mind he tried to ignore as Lyrah crouched low in a pouncing stance. The battle was about to start back up, he had no time for strange voices, though it buzzed more persistently in his mind now than it had during the rest of this fight. It was an eager whisper, a hunger not unlike his own asking to be released for this fight.
None the wiser to this voice, Lyrah moved first and initiated the final stage of their duel, a full power brawl to the death with whatever strength they had left. Claws struck loudly against the metal of the zanpaktou, red and yellow clashing together violently but never mixing. Several more rings of metal echoed through the air as they struck out against each other. A snarl was heard before Lyrah's teeth latched onto the blade and tried to pull it away. Kenpachi followed the pull and used the momentum to slam his unarmed fist right into the werewolf's face. A canine yelp of pain was his reward for quick thinking as she let go of the blade and struck out at his head with claws instead.
More blows were exchanged with little to no progress made. Kenpachi would never admit it but he was starting to get trapped in a defensive pattern as Lyrah let herself go into her blood rage and attacked without end. It was all he could do to avoid those long nails getting stuck through his face or heart. Yachiru frowned harder as she continued to watch from her perch.
"I want to play too but you can't keep distracting Kenny." She huffed under her breath to seemingly no one just as the whispers grew louder in Kenpachi's mind, almost costing him an arm as Lyrah went for another bite.
Kenpachi could recognize the excitement for battle in his blade, but it was starting to get in the way of his own enjoyment. He had the werewolf on her last legs but if he kept getting thrown off by a voice in his head it would be a humiliating loss. As far as he was concerned the sword was with him through the whole fight, so why did it feel the need to pester him to be in it? A grumbled whisper nagged back that it was difficult for the sword to enjoy the bloodshed in a sealed state. Was it talking about Shikai?
"Wait, you trying to tell me your name?" Zaraki backed away from the wolf and glared at the chipped zanpaktou in his hands. "Now?"
Lyrah ignored the odd behavior and charged forward, slashing in his direction viciously. She was in this for glory or death and didn't have time to waste on letting her opponent chat with himself.
Due to her ferocity, Kenpachi ignored the whispers to focus back on the fight. Blow after blow they struck. Blood splattered the walls as he sliced open the wolf's side, managing to just miss having claws rammed through his gut. A vicious snarl alerted him to her bite coming from behind, spinning and keeping back her teeth with his blade, the jagged edge cutting into the corners of her mouth. She whimpered from the blinding pain that came from the wounds in such a sensitive area, pulling her head back and spitting out the sword. Her ruby aura was flickering. The Alpha was taking too many injuries to keep up her blood magic.
Claws scraped harshly against the stone ground, creating deep gouges with ease, deadly weapons that could slice through a mountain with little effort. Her fur was hardened to its absolute best armor… but still she took injury.
"Is your will… truly stronger than mine?" She panted, stunned by the feeling of weakness shaking her legs.
"I can cut through anything I want to." Zaraki answered her. "But you've definitely been the hardest yet. I can surpass anything now."
"One last attempt… and we'll see if that's true." Her eyes flashed back into a raging crimson and she snapped her jaws angrily as she charged forward with unimaginable speed. A kamikaze. If she got too close, he knew for sure he would be torn to shreds in a fraction of a second.
"I'll cut through that too!" He growled back at her, matching her charge with one of his own.
Each aimed for the fatal area, their last respect to an enemy worth fighting, a clean death fitting of a warrior that fought to their last breath. His sword hummed eagerly as he aimed it for her demon heart. Her claws made a whistling sound through the air as they came down towards his head to crush it. Yachiru stood up on the wall with a gleeful expression.
They passed each other, stopping in their tracks as they kept their backs to their foe, panting heavily. Kenpachi's head remained intact, but did he miss as well? Lyrah was still standing but no longer moving even as her eyes still burned with fury.
"You did it, Kenny!" Yachiru cheered.
Her Captain thought her cheer preemptive until he heard the sound of liquid splashing against stone, turning towards the werewolf. Blood fell from the Demon Lord's chest as she collapsed to the ground, shrinking in size back to her human form, armor and hair stained crimson. Shards of what looked like light blue glass stuck out of her chest and some fell to the ground around her with delicate chiming sounds as they hit. The crystal of a demon heart.
Victory was usually not a happy occasion for Kenpachi, as it meant his fun was over, but he couldn't help a feeling of euphoria and triumph flowing through him at his opponent's destroyed heart. A laugh escaped him, a laugh of relief and content.
"For a moment I thought I was going to lose for sure." Kenpachi admitted to her. "Finally, a fight I can brag about."
"Prepare… for even… harder… fights… against my… sisters… and Lord… Kamai." Lyrah panted between rattling breaths, her life slowly leaving her yet a satisfied look in her eyes. "Thank you… Kenpachi Zaraki… for the honor… of this fight. I go… to my ancestors… with pride."
Hoisting his blade on his shoulder, Zaraki watched the Demon Lord begin to disperse into spirit particles, fading out of existence until the body was completely gone.
"That was fun, right Kenny?" Yachiru leapt back down below and looked up to her Captain with a grin.
"Best fight I've ever had, but she did a number on me." He looked over his many new wounds still soaking his uniform in blood. "Where's the way out so that blasted group of healers can fix this before we find the next one?"
"Ooh, ooh, I know!" Yachiru was back up on his shoulders, careful to avoid the wounded one, and pointed ahead. "It's got to be that way!"
"It's got to be or it is?" Though unsure, Kenpachi started walking where she pointed.
"Yes!"
"That's not an answer!"
"Just go that way!"
"You better be right…"
The odd pair did manage to find their way back to the entrance not long after the Royal Guards were arranging a new group to head into the maze. They promptly ordered him over to the healers.
"By the way, killed your werewolf for you." He grinned at them.
"You fought a Demon Lord by yourself?" Senjumaru couldn't help being a bit surprised. She expected he could hold his own against one for a while until help arrived, but knowing he killed her without any sort of back up impressed her. She supposed this is what happened when someone with as much raw power as a Kenpachi got trained in the Soul King's realm to harness it better.
"That means there's only two left." Ichigo looked relieved by this. From what he'd heard from his companions, Lyrah the werewolf was the one that had gone after the group his sister was in, which meant they weren't currently being attacked by a Demon Lord. He only hoped the other two didn't corner them while the main force was still recovering outside.
"And one is injured." Ichibe pointed out once again. "Perhaps we let the army rest and take only our own elites back through. It will allow us to fight with less restraint and possibly defeat the rest of them."
"There is the problem of Dethmaiyn returning us to the start should we approach his palace." Senjumaru replied with a huff as she shooed away Kenpachi towards the healers. "If he doesn't want us to get in yet we likely won't get in. We must find the king first."
"I agree, fellow guard, as it would be better to ensure his safety and the safety of those still with him." Oetsu added in a word, sounding a bit distracted. He stared after Kenpachi for a moment, specifically the sword at the man's side, and looked intrigued. The other Royal Guards ignored this behavior though Ichigo was curious, glancing between the smith and the Squad Eleven Captain.
"I vote we head towards those clouds." Ichibe motioned back inside towards a section of maze obscured by snowy mist.
"He's in a fight on his own?" Senjumaru stiffened, concerned.
"We better get moving." Ichigo scowled, and despite him being the newest member, the others nodded their agreement and began preparing immediately.