"Why can't I go!?" Karin growled at Kirio.
"Until you finish the Five Trials you're not allowed your zanpaktou and without it you cannot fight demons." The guardian spoke gravely. "You and your brother must wait here until you have finished. Trust in your comrades."
"Jeez." Ichigo scowled, turning to those who were heading back to the Soul Society as back up against the demons.
They were all back in uniform with their weapons at their side, expressions serious as they waited to leave with little to no patience left.
"Come on, we've got demons to fight." Kenpachi growled.
"There are two Royal Guards already there." Kirio reminded them. "I assure you, nothing serious will have happened and we are going as fast as possible."
"That's not what I'm worried about. They'll kill off all the fun ones."
"Let's go!" Soi Fon snapped at them, stepping inside. Several others were already there.
About half of those who had come to the Soul King's Realm for training were now leaving to protect their own home. Those left felt they still needed time to train before going back, and the Kurosakis couldn't be of any help until they'd finished the Five Trials, their zanpaktous at the top of the mountain where they couldn't access them.
"Be careful." Toshiro warned them all. "Avoid getting hit with the Fear, it can paralyze you."
"We'll keep a look out for it." Nanao nodded her reply, bowing before joining the others with her Captain.
The Tenchuren closed its doors and was quickly shot to the other realm. With the reinforcements on their way, the others felt a little more relaxed and began to head back.
"Damn." Karin growled and headed back towards Dyrilæn. "I've gotta finish these trials."
"Oi, wait for me!" Ichigo ran over, as he didn't have a dragon to take him to the kingdom.
Still standing on the road, Toshiro watched everyone rush off to continue their training, the demon attack having startled them and set them on edge. This wasn't good. Kamai surely knew about them all being here or he wouldn't have attacked now. But then surely he knew they would have come back stronger. Why wait three weeks? No, he didn't like this at all.
"What's troubling you?" Myndræl questioned, the now large ice dragon bending his head down to his partner's.
"I don't like the situation. If Dethmaiyn wanted to attack while half the main forces were gone, why wait so long?"
"Perhaps he had to get his army together."
"I doubt it." Toshiro started walking towards the palace. "He seems to know my motives before I do, just like how he went after Karin to get to me. He probably knew I would bring others here to help them get stronger. So why wait until they were before sending in his force?"
"He must have confidence in the darkness."
"Whatever it is, he's got something planned, and I have a feeling it won't end well."
"Sacrifices are made in war."
"That doesn't mean I can't try to stop them."
The young prince went inside the palace while Myndræl flew over to the mountain checking on Dyrilæn and her partner.
Back in the Soul Society, those who had gone back jumped immediately into action. They could see the shadows moving throughout the Seireitei, hear the panicked cries of grunts falling under the corruption of Fear, the demons taking advantage and shredding them. Higher seated officers stood better chances, but not even they could resist the darkness of fear.
Grinning madly, Kenpachi jumped right into the fray, Yachiru at his shoulder and Ikkaku branching off towards a different direction to kill his own group and stay out of his Captain's way. The rotted corpse-like demons fell to their blades easily, the Fear not having time to settle in. Their boost in power made these creatures seem easy kills when others had difficulty. Kensei and Shuhei raced back to their Squad barracks, though Shuhei raced off to help Squad Three. Kyoraku and Nanao returned to their own as well, destroying demons as they went. Shinji went quickly to his and found Momo holding her own against a horde, though she looked a little spooked. The arrival of her Captain brought her hope.
Retsu frowned at the amount of destruction caused in such a short time. She watched Nemu and Soi Fon take off in different directions to help their squads before heading towards her own. There would be many injuries from this fight due to the amount of demons here.
"We need to find their leader." Hirako growled as he took down several demons with his Shikai.
"But how can we get past all the demons?" Momo questioned, voice quivering a little as she sent a fireball barreling through demon ranks.
"Just keep chopping, we'll find the bastard eventually."
"O-okay!"
No one knew how the demons got in past the walls. They were just there, as if travelling through the shadows themselves. They didn't doubt that was possible, though, as they saw the creatures shift in the shadows just like they used Flash Step. It made some of them hard to kill. Most of the squads were doing well, only losing a few members. Quick responses from Squad Four under Unohana's guidance helped save many more lives.
But the battle wasn't over until the demons retreated. This could not end until the leader was found.
A hellish red light lit up over the Sokyoku Hill and the demons numbers thinned, congregating towards the light just as moths would gather to a flame in the night. Black bodies climbed the steep rock walls and onto the hill just underneath the floating witch circle, stacking themselves atop each other.
"What the Hell are they doing?" A Squad Twelve officer panicked a bit.
"Clearly whoever is up there is using dark magic to merge the demons together." Mayuri scoffed as he walked past, sword in hand. "Even with numbers they can't defeat us, so they have no choice but to use size. Stupid, really, especially with brutes like Kenpachi around to fight it." He sheathed his sword. "I suppose I best head there so I can collect the body if there is one. These lesser demons vanish to ash once killed."
Attention was quickly turned to the hill as it turned black with the number of demons crawling over it. A rising blob was seen at the hill's top, growing with each new demonic addition. It had no shape as of yet, simply trying to reach the glowing red circle spinning above it. The summoner was not seen, only the mound of merging demons.
Fire erupted on the hill's other side.
Atop the hill, a silver haired woman with ruby eyes spun around to face this new threat, snarling viciously to reveal her fangs. She was garbed in the same red cloak as others before her, such as Garland and Sarcum. Her subject of hate was none other than the Head Captain, a great fire blazing around him with the release of his Shikai, his shirt off to reveal the myriad of scars across his body.
"How dare you set foot on this place, demon." The old man growled at her.
"How dare I?" She hissed back. "The Lord of Fear gave you a chance to give up the prince but you did nothing."
"The Soul King holds our realms together, and so the Soul Prince must take up that duty. Toshiro Hitsugaya has a role to fulfill that we must follow; we would never let him be killed."
"My master is the true Soul King." She spat and Yamamoto narrowed his eyes at her. "He was chosen before that little brat was born. We sent you a warning three weeks ago, Head Captain Yamamoto, to give up the prince or be eradicated." She backed up towards the forming mass of the enormous demon, the lesser ones having finally stopped crawling up the sides. "You have chosen to be massacred!"
"Just try it!" Soi Fon snapped as she and many others Flash Stepped to the hill, weapons at the ready to fight whatever it was forming under that Hellish light.
Giving out a feral growl, the woman vanished in shadows and left them to the demon. Its form continued to shift, giving off a foul odor of death, the sound of demons basically consuming one another sickening to the ear. Shadows seeped out of the skin and approached them; Fear. It was easily burned away by the Head Captain's power.
"What are we waiting for?" Kenpachi grinned devilishly and charged forward.
His Spiritual Pressure enveloped him in a bright yellow glow and he lifted his sword high to strike at the mass of merging bodies.
"Zaraki, wait!" Rose called out, spotting something in the mass of black.
An arm shot out from the mass, thickly muscled arms with wicked claws. It attempted to latch onto the approaching Reaper, but Kenpachi swatted it aside. Another one shot out and this one was cut in half. Two more now, the demons trying to slow down this threat so it could finish forming. Any attempts, however, were easily brushed aside and Kenpachi jumped up, sword high to strike a killing blow. He hoped the blob could survive, otherwise it wasn't worth his time to fight it.
This time an arm didn't shoot out. The creature twisted, revealing a canine-like head with long saber fangs, eyes of blood red latching onto its victim. It opened its jaws wide and reached up to devour the falling Reaper.
"That it?" Kenpachi laughed, the Fear swirling around him doing little but to make him hunger for more, his power crushing it with its increased strength.
Deciding consumption was too risky, the demon pulled his head back and instead lifted a fully formed foreleg to catch him. The fingers were cut off, causing the demon to roar, but Kenpachi realized he would not always be so lucky. The demon was still forming, skin thickening to diamond, black diamond.
With a sweep of his zanpaktou the Head Captain sent a wave of all-consuming fire at the demon, a huge wolf-like creature with wicked horns and the skin of a dragon.
"It cannot be allowed to escape this place." He demanded his Captains and Lieutenants.
"Understood!" They all replied swiftly.
Expecting it to be slow, Soi Fon leaped forward first and hit it with Suzumebachi, the butterfly forming white over the black skin even though she'd barely pierced the skin. She went for another hit but it swatted her aside, now much faster than before. It bared its fangs at her before being distracted by a scythe cutting across his forehead, the long chain at its end leading the demon to Shuhei. The man growled.
"Its skin is too hard." He reported.
"With creatures like this you go for the belly." Shunsui held his two Shikai blades forward before Flash Stepping to its front and swinging upwards. With the short blade he made a jab for the gut.
His blade hardly went in.
"Well," Shunsui frowned, "guess we better keep trying."
He removed his blade as the skin attempted to form around it and Flash Stepped a safe distance back, avoiding getting swept up by those killer claws.
"We better stop playing around." Kensei rolled his shoulder. "We got stronger in the Soul King's Realm, better prove it."
The demon charged forward, jaws wide to catch its prey. As long as there were plenty of people up here it wouldn't leave, so not everyone needed to fight. Kensei Flash Stepped behind the beast and used his air blades technique, which travelled faster than before and with a thinner 'blade'. Being air it could cut right through the armored skin of the demon. Multiple cuts bled along its body and it stopped its charge, letting out a dreadful hiss and spitting its blood up at Kensei.
"Gross." He growled, the black blood splattered on his arm and chest. "Now it's just throwing a fit."
That thought was quickly shoved aside as the blood burned, seeping into his skin. It was then he realized it wasn't really blood, it was concentrated Fear in the blood. Hellish nightmares colored his vision and his body felt like it was on fire. His Inner Hollow laughed wickedly and shot for the chance at control after having been suppressed for so long.
"Captain!" Shuhei called out upon noticing the change in the man's Spiritual Pressure.
"Better avoid that blood." Sajin growled.
The demon lifted up its head towards the victim it had just riddled with Fear, not seeming concerned about the others and taking its time to consume Kensei. Hisagi wouldn't have it and tossed his blade forward, letting it wrap around the neck. The creature barked angrily and turned its bloody gaze on the Lieutenant. Retsu quickly restrained the Captain and pulled him to the side to try and help put down the rising Hollow before the Fear let it free.
"Over here, bastard."
Almost obediently it followed, snarling viciously and charging forward towards the Lieutenant.
It paused as a shadow covered over it, looking up, red eyes widening as an enormous hand holding an enormous sword crashed down on its back, breaking the spine. The demon gave out a pain filled screech that caused many to cover their ears but did not die.
"Dammit." Shinji growled. "How do we kill it?"
"Go for any weak points we normally go for." Soi Fon demanded. "The belly and head are out. Try the back of the neck or the eyes."
"Back of the neck?" Mayuri mused, looking at that point. "Hm… Nemu."
"Yes, Master Mayuri." The girl darted forward on some silent order, Flash Stepping behind the creature.
It hissed and turned away so that her strike ended up hitting its shoulder instead of its neck.
"Oh, it protected that spot." Mayuri noted with interest.
"Now we know what to go for!" Ikkaku was next to jump forward with his Shikai in hand, rushing for the neck. No time to prolong the battle, with the Head Captain watching they had to kill this thing quickly, and there were sure to be more.
The demon spun around and snapped at him, trying to keep its weakness out of blade range. Kyoraku took its other side, forcing it to either turn back around or run. It chose the former, snarling viciously and rocketing forward with its jaws wide. The Squad Eight Captain quickly moved away, Shuhei and Momo striking at its eyes and blinding it. It thrashed its head from side to side, trying to find a victim.
Ikkaku took his chance and struck at the neck. His blade dug in deeply, much deeper than any other part, before cutting through the skin to the side. Making sure to cut the other side as well, Ikkaku leaped off and waited to see what would happen.
Giving out a low moan, the demon fell to the ground. It struggled to remain on all fours, wobbling dangerously, scarring the ground with its talons, still trying to fix its eyesight but having no demons available to do so by consumption. With one last, horrible cry, it fell all the way to the ground and lay still.
"Finally." Izuru sighed. Any longer and they could have lost someone.
"Still, it took at least half of us to kill it." Sajin frowned. "If there's ever more than one or two we might be in trouble."
"And we have Captain Muguruma to see to." Retsu pointed out the gray-haired man struggling to put down the concentrated Fear. It was too much at once for the first time and the effects of it were quite clear. This Fear was a troublesome thing that Toshiro could not truly explain to them other than it was dangerous and that Ruala Nakryin could cure it. Hopefully she would come soon, but in the meantime they would have to restrain the Squad Nine Captain in case his Hollow took over.
Though many were lost to the demons at the start of the attack, the main force was unhurt and brought hope to those below, knowing they still had a chance at survival as long as they were around. Squads without Captains or Lieutenants were watched over by the others so as not to be left unguarded. They had a victory against the demons; a lucky victory but a victory no less, with Mayuri taking the body of the demon to study on them as well as information from Nemu about the Soul King's Realm. The power they had earned made it all seem so easy and they almost dreaded to know how it would have ended had they not gone to the Soul King's Realm. They had Toshiro to thank for that.
While Soul Society took a well needed recovery rest, those left in said realm were training hard to be as strong as they could be, with Ichigo and Karin fighting through the trials, determined to finish them and reclaim their zanpaktous with more power than ever.
Closing in on the end here, hopefully. I wrote it out to be just another two or three chapters but, knowing me...it'll be more like seven or eight I'll try to keep it short without making it abrupt or weird or anything. Enjoy!