Chapter 42 – There is always someone stronger
A big crash, and Circe and Crystal clashed in the middle in a deadlock.
"You've got some nerve hurting my Raven. I'll teach you to mess with us," shouted Crystal.
"Sure you can talk, but can you back that up with some power? I don't think so," taunted Circe.
"Keep talking and you'll have a blade sticking out your chest soon."
"My, I'm really shaking now. Who do you think you are anyway, you're nothing but a loser. Raven probably doesn't even like you, you just get in his way," laughed Circe.
"Silence! You know nothing, don't speak like you know something about him or me cos you don't know a thing," screamed Crystal pushing Circe off and jumping back herself.
"I know nothing you say? You're wrong there. I have faced Raven, and I know he's nothing more than a spoilt little brat who can barely hold his sword," laughed Circe.
"You bitch, you know nothing."
"And you, you're an even more spoilt brat for thinking that you can ever stand up to me. I'm going to squash you like a bug."
"You sure are confident aren't you? Let me tell you something. Don't underestimate me, I am far more powerful than you think," said Crystal as her spiritual energy glowed all around her.
"My, my. Is this fight finally going to get interesting?" Circe's spiritual pressure glowed around her as well. "Since all this talk is boring me, why don't we speed things up a bit?"
"You read my mind. Bankai," said Crystal firmly as two axes formed in her hand and wings grew from her back. "Shirohane Youshatenshi. No holding back now, prepare yourself Circe."
"Bankai? Is that it? You look like a lost puppy with such a weak bankai. Allow me to demonstrate true strength. Glisten, aguamarina." Circe's appearance changed to that of a mermaid but with a skeletal look and with a sword.
"Weak bankai you say? As I've said before, don't underestimate me. After all you release doesn't look like anything special either it just made you look uglier which is pretty useless in battle."
"You mock me? I don't usually get serious in fights. But I'll make a special case, just for you. So now you're going to die, any last words?"
"Actually yeah. How about? GO TO HELL!" yelled Crystal and she charged at her.
"I'm going to enjoy this," said Circe as she charged also
Their swords and axes clashed as they met causing the water below to send out thousands of ripples. Both jumped back, then went for another hit, and again an even match with neither side gaining an advantage or looking stronger.
"Not bad, to be able to hold a deadlock with me. I'm impressed, I'll say that much," said Circe calmly.
"Don't get too full of yourself. I've only just gotten started," said Crystal.
Both of them vanished and appeared again in a different place as their weapons clashed again. Their speed was increasing with every hit, their fight was a blur as they swapped blow for blow and still neither side had any advantage.
"You're boring me," said Circe irritatedly as they met in a deadlock for the hundredth time.
"Oh? Am I really? Or is it that you're tiring out and I'm winning?"
"Ha, don't make me laugh. With your kind of strength you don't come close to even waking me up," laughed Circe.
"Really? Then try this on for size." Crystal flash stepped back, "Hado thirty three, pale fire crash." Blue lightning like flames slammed into Circe.
"Was that it? A weak kido move like that could never hurt me."
"No, but this can," said Crystal suddenly appearing from behind Circe and slashed down.
"Hmph, I see," Circe immediately used sonido and moved out of the way, "Using that kido as a distraction to get behind me? That's a pretty cowardly and easy tactic to use. What's the matter? Can't face me head on anymore? Or are you scared?" taunted Circe.
"Keep talking and I'll give what's left of you back to Usaitar in a match box," said Crystal aiming another Hado thrity three at her.
"What are you, stupid? These idiotic kido attacks do nothing."
"But they're enough to keep you busy blocking," said Crystal as she appeared in front of Circe and hacked at her.
She blocked both axes and held the deadlock. "This is getting really annoying. Guess I've got no choice then. I've had enough of you, you've made me resort to my last option to take you down." Her mermaid like tail suddenly split into four tentacle like things and shot at Crystal. "You brought this on yourself."
"Shit." Crystal moved away from Circe but she didn't make it in time and all four tentacles slammed into her body. "What the? Why do I feel so numb? What have you done?"
"Ha ha ha. That is paralysis. My tentacles will paralyse anything it comes in contact with, and you're no exception. Now you know the power difference between us. And you can never hope to bridge that gap," boasted Circe.
"Shit, shit, shit. I can't move. I can't feel anything. Move damn you. Why won't I move, everything's slipping away. Why won't you move?" thought Crystal helplessly as she fell deep into the water and sank, slowly.
"And that's that, time to see how my beloved Plata is getting on," thought Circe as she's abut to leave.
"I've failed you Raven. I'm sorry." Crystal sank deeper. "I really didn't want it to end like this. But maybe it was just meant to be. Maybe my love for you was never meant to be realised. My sincere apologies." She sank to the bottom of the waters and lay still on the ground. "Good-bye, this world just wasn't meant for people like me."
Several seconds past and there was a sudden fluctuation in Raven's spiritual pressure. It felt as though he was completely disappearing.
"Raven!" She sat up in the water, but then lay back down, "Guess we'll meet in another life then."
"You're an idiot aren't you?" suddenly came Raven's voice from Crystal's head. "Giving up so easily? I never imagined that such a useless woman would be the woman I love." The voice faded slowly.
"Raven, wait. What are you trying to say?"
"Tch, get up or not it's your choice. I'm just going to say that if you do get up and fight. I'll be waiting for you, there's a peaceful life that awaits us Crystal. You're giving up too easily." The voice faded completely.
"A peaceful life with Raven? Now that's something worth fighting for. I don't understand why I gave up in the first place." With renewed encouragement, crystal stood up and shot out of the water.
"So. You still had some fight left in you huh? I thought so, you weren't about to give up that easily, cos then it'd be even more boring for me," said Circe expecting her to come back.
"Sorry Circe, I'm not ready to give up just yet. After all, I have my whole life ahead of me. And my first objective is to kill you," shouted Crystal in a better mood now and charged for Circe. Circe shot out her four tentacles again. "That trick may have worked once but it won't work a second time." Crystal flash stepped past all tentacles and with all her force behind her blade slashed down at Circe slamming her into the wall opposite. "Here's something you may not know Circe. I left seireitei during the invasion from Hisaigo for a long time. But during that time I frequently sneaked back into the seireitei library to look up some powerful spells I could use in combat. Unfortunately most of them involved extremely long incantations which for a lazy person like me could never be arsed learning. Either that or you needed phenomenal amounts of spiritual energy, that of at least three times a captain rank, which unfortunately I don't have either. But I did come across one that I was able to learn and perfect, this one was especially useful in one-on-one combat. And you, are going to be the first to try it out on." Crystal stood floating above the water, she put her palms together in front of her and started chanting in some weird language really quickly.
"I didn't ask for your life story, so just shut that trap of yours," shouted Circe as she moved swiftly using sonido and appeared directly in front of Crystal. "You're through." She sliced cleanly through Crystal. But there was no blood, Crystal, or whatever she sliced just vanished into thin air. Circe glanced around her and saw multiple copies of Crystal. "What's the meaning of this kido?" Crystal didn't answer her. "Crap, I can't even sense her spiritual pressure at all either. What is this." Circe lashed our and slashed up all the copies, but all that did was make more appear. "Damn you," she cursed as she slashed another one, but it popped back up behind he rand slashed her in the back.
Crystals voice echoes. "This spell makes you think I'm there when I'm not. It makes you so paranoid that you will lash out without thinking, so that battle strategies for you are useless. You think I'm there but I'll just sneak up somewhere else and attack. It actually makes you ignore the real me."
"Shut up," shouted Circe lashing out everywhere around her.
The real Crystal moved back behind her and prepared for the final strike as Circe was still randomly slashing around her.
"You coward, don't you know how to fight properly? Using some cheap trick like this you're feeble!"
"Sorry, but flattery gets you no where, this is your end," said Crystal she charged. She raised both axes and slashed a cross shape onto Circe's back, both wounds glowed brightly. And Circe's body started dissolving.
Circe turned and saw Crystal. "What have you done to me? I'm melting! I'll kill you for this," Circe tried to move but she was glued to that one spot. "How can this be?! Damn you. You little shit! What have you done?!"
"That, is my Bankai's final attack. It's called, Shiro Taiyou Kiyome and if two of my axe's wounds cross like a cross shape then my enemy will be purified and dissolve. So good-bye, for this is your death."
"Damn you. Damn you to hell," cursed Circe. "Fine, I'll accept this as my defeat, but that Raven brat won't be so luck." Circe vanished completely laughing like a maniac just before she went.
Crystal dropped to her knees and coughed out some blood, "Heh. Who'd knew that my spell would take so much out of me, and who'd knew that Circe's tentacles wounded me so heavily." She stabbed both axes into the ground and used them to support her up. "At least I can stand." Suddenly Raven's spiritual pressure dropped massively and it was on a point of non-existence. "No, Raven." She limped all the way down the passage to where Raven's fight was.
Raven was on the floor, lying in a sea of blood and from what Crystal can see, he was breathing very faintly. An arrancar stood above him, and pointed a finger down at him, "Useless Plata. I ask him to do one single job for me and he couldn't even do it. I'll just have to finish what he started then." Energy gathered in front of is finger.
Crystal used the last bit of her strength and rushed off at the unfamiliar arrancar. "Don't kill him," she shouted.
"And here we have another pathetic loser." The arrancar used sonido, moved a fair distance away from Crystal and blasted out a red cylinder shaped beam. It smashed into Crystal and smashed her into the wall.
Crystal dropped to the floor, her bankai had melted away to her normal sword and there was blood around her everywhere. "Such power, just who is he?" she asked herself, but everything went black for her and she remain motionless.
"Looks like Circe was pitiful as well. To get beat so easily by a little girl. Us Wu Jian are really losing our reputation here. I can't believe I have to clear up this mess. Nonetheless, you're both done for now," energy gathered in both his hands.
"Spot right there!" shouted a voice coming from the entrance tunnel. Jushiro, Shunsui, Kenpachi and Byakuya arrived on the scene.
"Looks like a good fight," said Kenpachi and without thinking he made his move and charged for the arrancar.
"More insects," the arrancar fired off another red beam. Kenpachi was thrown off his feet and back down the tunnel.
"Scatter, senbonzakura," said Byakuya as all sword pieces shot towards the arrancar who just raised his hand and deflected them all.
"Reves," said the arrancar without doing anything, and all the blade pieces flew back at Byakuya and slammed into him.
"Impossible!" thought Byakuya and cuts appeared everywhere on him when the blades sliced him. "How was he able to control my sword, not to mention that you own zanpaktos should have no effect on yourself."
"Such power, just who are you?" asked Jushiro.
"You don't need to know my name. But I will tell you that I am ranked 2nd of the Wu Jian." The arrancar turned his back. "I think I've had enough fun for one day, it's time to bid farewell."
"Wait!" shouted Jushiro. But the arrancar vanished. "This is a problem. Who'd knew someone like that still existed."
"Yes. Reves is such a rare ability, and if the 2nd ranked Wu Jian can use it, who knows what the top ranked Wu Jian can do," said Jushiro.
"I hope Ketu and the rest knows what they're doing," said Shunsui. "Reves. Who'd have known such an arrancar still existed.
Sorry this is a bit late I've been too busy with my school work