Chapter 19: Lloyd VS Arc
"Come on out! You worthless Shinigami!" called the boy called Arc, in the middle of an abandoned street in the wake of a battle with a Hollow. Lloyd and Date were hidden behind a nearby wall, and were shocked when the boy spoke
"He knows!" said Date in a hushed tone "What are you going to do?" he asked. However, Lloyd had already decided, and walked out into plain sight. As he expected, Arc instantly locked on to him. It was now certain that Arc knew about, and could see, Shinigamis as well as Hollows. His Spiritual powers were indeed remarkable.
"…Well?" asked Lloyd "I'm here…What is it that you want?" he asked
"Revenge!" replied Arc "Because of you lot, my parents are dead!" he said angrily as he held his pendant out in front of him and pointed it menacingly at Lloyd. The pendant was not particularly special, but Arc's power allowed him to transform it into a Longsword adorned with jewels and a black and gold blade.
"Let's not get too hasty" here" said Lloyd, holding both hands up, away from his sword "Let's just talk, I haven't killed anybody" he said "That power you're using…It's Fullbring, isn't it?"
"What's it to you?" replied Arc, the intensity of his stare only increasing
"Human children are born with those powers when their mother is attacked by a Hollow while the child is in the womb, right?" asked Lloyd "So because of that, I assume that's why you're able to see spirits too?"
"…Right" muttered Arc "But I don't need you for a lecture, I want your blood!" he roared
"Now just calm down for a minute!" said Lloyd "Why must you kill me? What have I done to you?"
"Because of you worthless Shinigami, my parents are dead!" said Arc "I cried and cried and cried while I watched my parents get torn apart by those damn Hollows! But none of you came! Not one! They could have been saved if you bastards had shown up!" he said, his anger reaching it's peak "Now I'll let you know that pain! Chivalry!" he called as his pendant transformed again into the massive Black and Gold Longsword. He ran at Lloyd and lashed out at him with his sword. However, the Shinigami Captain easily avoided the attack by dodging with Shunpo and then drew his sword when he came into sight behind Arc.
"If you want to fight, Then that's OK too!" he replied as he ran his hand along the blade of his sword "Break Free! Waraemekonpaku!" he called as his sword glowed a bright white light and transformed into the double bladed sword, with each blade a different colour. One as white as snow, and the other as black as night. Arc was quick to continue his assault, quickly turning and dashing at Lloyd at a surprisingly high speed. As he kicked off the ground, a flickering green light was visible for a split second, before the boy moved at a speed able to match shunpo. Lloyd was forced to block Arc's attacks for a while until he found a chance to counterattack.
Arc smashed the flat side of his sword into Lloyd's defenceless back and sent him hurtling towards the ground, where he quickly followed him with the same high speed manoeuvre as before and smacked him again, this time into the wall of an abandoned building. The teenage boy walked over to the weakened Shinigami and loomed over him like a towering shadow, pointing his blade at the Shinigami's neck threateningly. However, he was stopped by a pricklibng sensation on the back of his neck.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you…" muttered Date, who had released the massive crossbow-like spirit weapon called Chihou from his full arm gauntlet. Reluctantly, Arc lowered his blade as it returned to being a pendant
"Heh…You're pretty strong" coughed Lloyd as he tried to find a comfortable position in the rubble "What was that thing you did to catch up with me? No normal human should be able to do that"
"I'm not a normal human" said Arc
"Haha! You're right I suppose" laughed Lloyd, though it hurt
"It's called Bringer Light" said Arc "I can use Fullbring on the concrete to perform a 'super-jump' and I can use it again on the air to jump again"
"I see. That's certainly a useful ability" said Lloyd
"Don't compliment me! I should kill you where you lie for what your people did to me!" said Arc angrily
"Would that bring your parents back?" asked Lloyd "I'm sorry, but there's nothing you can do…If you really want to avenge your parents, then the one you should kill is the Hollow who ate them"
"Don't tell me what to do, scum!" said Arc "If your friend wasn't stopping me, I'd-"he started, before another high pitched shriek echoed throughout the city.
"Another Hollow?" asked Lloyd, who managed to pull himself to his feet "Come on, let's-urgh" he groaned, as he was forced back down to one knee due to the pain from his injuries before.
"You're to injured to fight, let me go and I'll take care of it" said Date
"Too late, the kid's already gone" said Lloyd as Date looked around to find that Arc had ran off, presumably towards the site of the Hollow
"We have to follow him" said Lloyd "I've got a bad feeling about this" he said.
Meanwhile, Arc dashed over buildings using Bringer Light to propel himself high into the air. Eventually, he arrived at the park, where he found a swarm of Hollows
"A lot of you bastards this time, huh?" he asked as he removed his pendant again "Prepare to pay the price for wasting my time!" he said as the pendant glew bright green once more "Chivalry!" he called as the pendant transformed again into a massive Longsword. He leapt down into the thick of the crowd, destroying a large number of the Hollows with a single swipe of his mighty blade. He proceeded to cut up each and every Hollow which attacked him. Eventually, the Hollows were destroyed, but a deep booming voice called out to him from nowhere
"Mwahahaha! Good! Such anger! Such hatred! Such bloodlust!" It laughed "Your soul shall be sweet indeed. I shall savour it as I devour you" it said as a black portal appeared in the sky above him. Arc's grip on his sword tightened as a tall Hollow revealed itself
"You…It's you!" roared Arc "You're the Hollow that killed my parents!"
To Be Continued…