Legacy of the Moon
Arc II: Dawn of Dreams
Chapter 29: The Chrysalis Antagonist
"Aargh! She again called him lord," Apacci mumbled in a very low voice.
"But why Halibel-Sama? Don't you have faith in our capability?" Mila Rose asked her in a sad tone.
"I won't say anything… she will do what is best for all of us," Sung-Sun mumbled to herself while looking towards them.
"I can't afford to lose any of you again," Halibel muttered in a soft tone upon listening to which they looked at her with emotional eyes.
"Don't worry… she does believe in your potential but the thing is… she knows Aizen's power very well as she has faced him head-on," Stark also spoke to make them understand.
Once they were convinced, Sesshomaru started to move swiftly in the direction of Aizen while both Halibel and Stark followed him.
"Teach that bastard a good lesson," Halibel's Fraccions shouted from behind.
"We will for sure," Lilynette's voice echoed from Stark's pistol before they disappeared.
Aizen's location in the battle of Fake Karakura town…
Gin Ichimaru cleverly disappeared from there during his battle against Ichigo and now nobody was able to sense his spiritual pressure anymore. After his retreat, Urahara, Yoruichi, Isshin, and Ichigo were completely focused on Aizen alone. They stood in front of that stagnant blast which was constantly releasing energy in an oval formation. Soon enough a humanoid shadow appeared inside the oval energy release with the glowing Hogyoku in the middle of its chest. The entire energy of the blast revolved around him before it disappeared in the blink of an eye as he landed on the ground right between Urahara and Isshin. Everyone present there was utterly shocked to witness his speed but they didn't allow it to overwhelm their senses. Aizen seemed to be completely covered in the white cloth which was actually the white material similar to the Hollow Mask. His eyes were covered with violet crystals while his Zanpakuto seemed to be attached to his body.
"I sensed some very intriguing energy patterns while I was dealing with the internal explosion of my spirit energy but for now I would prefer to focus on what I have in front of me," Aizen muttered to everyone after coming out of the explosion.
"We sensed that too but for now let's settle our score," Urahara responded in his usual tone.
Now Isshin swung his sword at Aizen from behind while Urahara did the same from the front. The Shinigami in the Chrysalis stage stopped Isshin's sword with his foot while simultaneously blocking Urahara's attack with his sword. The next moment, he gave a powerful push which shoved both of them back in opposite directions. However, they immediately used energy chains on his wrist and ankle to restrain him. Now before he could free himself, Yoruichi came from the top and swiftly hit his back with an immensely powerful punch that caused a massive blast.
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAA…" she roared loudly as she continued to shower the armored punches on his back vigorously. Her spiritual pressure was skyrocketing and her punches were vibrating the entire place while the dense cloud of dust and smoke was filling the surroundings.
After some time she halted the barrage of punches while the smoke and dust clouds dissipated in time as well. Aizen was lying on his belly with his entire torso got severely cracked while she was sitting on his back.
"Well… did that work?" She murmured upon sensing that he had fallen motionless while his spiritual pressure was going down.
"Back off… YORUICHI-SAN!" The Shinigami in sandals and hat shouted abruptly in a loud voice upon sensing a sudden rise in Aizen's spiritual pressure. Now before she could jump off him, a powerful blast of his monstrous spiritual pressure blew her away. Urahara immediately reached close to her and caught her in his arms before she hit the ground. The ferocious burst of his spiritual pressure had completely shattered the armor of her left leg but she managed to save herself from any further damage. On the other hand, Aizen was radiating an immense amount of spiritual pressure from his entire being. Even though his torso was cracked from several places it seemed that he was in the perfect state to continue the battle.
"What's the matter? You are not done already? Are you? You'd better make your next move quickly, I will crush them one at a time, down to your last remaining one. The number of methods you contrived to defeat me is proof of your effort and strength. And at the same time, it represents the number of hopes you hold. If that is so, then what I must do is crush each one of them. Now come at me with your next attack, all of you," Aizen spoke while slowly walking towards them.
Now the Chrysalis fiend appeared near Yoruichi and blew her away with a powerful sword swing which also destroyed her armor from the right leg. His next sword swing was blocked by Urahara and now he was again between Isshin and the Shinigami in sandals and hat while Yoruichi was coming from the top to hit him. This time instead of restraining him with energy chains, both Urahara and Isshin were about to hit him from the opposite sides simultaneously but all three of them were shoved back by a terrible burst of purple spirit energy.
In return, Urahara used a 30s level Kido attack in order to provide Yoruichi with an opening to assault Aizen one more time with her powerful attacks. However, the Shinigami in the Chrysalis stage blocked Yoruichi's attack easily with his bare hand but the next moment she activated her Shunko. Now her explosive blows not only cracked his forearm and face but also shoved him back. On the other hand, Urahara immediately used the Shibari Benihime technique, restricting Aizen's movement through condensed energy in the form of a tangible blood-red net, generated from the blade length. Without wasting any moment, the Shinigami in sandals and hat used the Hiasobi Benihime technique by stabbing the net with the tip of Benihime, creating orbs of fire along the outside length of the net. In the meantime, both Ichigo and Isshin appeared on opposite sides of Aizen with charged spiritual pressure to release their powerful attacks. Soon the orbs of fire began to explode like linked landmines in a domino formation, leading towards Aizen.
"Getsuga Tensho!" Both Ichigo and Isshin roared as they unleashed a fierce wave of dark red and blue energy respectively toward the Shinigami in the Chrysalis stage.
When both the Getsuga Tensho waves and orbs of fire came into direct contact with Aizen, they generated a tremendously large and devastating fiery explosion. Now all four of them were expecting it to at least have some significant impact on the Chrysalis fiend but soon they witnessed that he was walking out of that blast normally. There was a big crack in the middle of his face revealing the sparkling violet spirit energy inside while there were severe cracks all over his body.
"A worthy attack, I have come to comprehend the power behind that attack and now it is time, you come to comprehend the power behind mine," Aizen spoke while approaching them and then he caused an even more devastating explosion of purple spirit energy which blew all four them away.
Ichigo saved himself at the end moment by instinctively releasing his dark spirit energy while Urahara used his blood mist shield as well. However, Isshin and Yoruichi got caught off guard by the force of that explosion. Isshin received a large and bloody wound on his back while Yoruichi sustained serious damage all over her body and her armor got destroyed fully as well.
"Two down, now prepare it's your turn, Urahara and Ichigo…" Aizen said before he began to walk towards them slowly while they were worried about the presence of injured and defenseless Yoruichi and Isshin close to them.
"Hey, Urahara-san! Something really powerful is heading this way," Ichigo told him upon getting startled by the feeling of that spiritual pressure. The Shinigami in sandals and hat didn't say anything but only smiled and the next moment, Sesshomaru, Halibel, and Stark arrived there.
"Sesshomaru… so, you have returned to face me, very well… finally, I can test my transcended powers against someone who belongs to a race that is beyond that of the Hollows and the Soul Reapers," Aizen said to him.
"I will see to it that how much your so-called transcended powers can accomplish against me," He replied while unsheathing his Bakusaiga.
"Halibel is here as well for the revenge… and how does it feel like to change the sides, Stark?" Aizen taunted them
"Yours was certainly not the group I needed… that's all I can say for now," Stark answered him.
"Sesshomaru… Yoruichi-san and Kurosaki-san are critically injured, I am afraid they require urgent healing," Urahara said to him with concern.
"There's an Arrancar healer at your shop currently, take them there…" Halibel replied to him.
"Who is he? And why Espadas are there with him?" Ichigo asked Urahara.
"It's a long story, I will tell you everything on the way in brief… now take your father and come with me quickly, we have to return here in time as well," the Shinigami in sandals and hat answered him while picking Yoruichi up in his arms.
Now silence prevailed in the surroundings and the environment was heavy with the rising tensions between them. All of a sudden Stark used the Sonido technique as he swiftly drifted in the air and started to attack Aizen with the Cero fires from his pistols. The Shinigami in the Chrysalis stage moved with unimaginable speed and dodged most of his Ceros while deflecting the remaining ones with his sword with ease. Within no time he reached close to Stark but the latter disappeared from his place revealing an immense surge of water right behind him which was generated by Halibel. It was too late for Aizen to dodge something as massive as that and thus he ended up getting shoved very hard in the ground as the water crashed down from the sky. However, it wasn't enough to stop Aizen as he splattered the water all around with a powerful pressure wave using his sword swing. Now once again he fiercely rushed towards the sky but this time his advance was halted by none other but Sesshomaru as both of them clashed their blades in the mid-air. Aizen's Zanpakuto was releasing sparks of violet energy while Sesshomaru's Bakusaiga was radiating with flashes of green demonic energy during their weapon deadlock.
"Trident!" Halibel muttered as she joined Sesshomaru in the weapon deadlock, attacking the Chrysalis fiend with a high-pressure slash.
Aizen couldn't maintain the weapon deadlock much longer as the combined force of the Daiyokai and the Tres Espada shoved him down from the sky. The Shinigami in the Chrysalis stage hit the ground hard as he landed on his one knee and it seemed that this setback had started to fill him with rage.
"I see… that certainly exceeded my expectations but know that it is not enough to survive against me for too long," Aizen said to Sesshomaru, Stark, and Halibel in a serious tone.
"We have got no plans to die today, Aizen…" Stark replied while loading his pistols.
"The capability of an army depends upon its bond with the leader. That's why a man like you can never harness the true strength of the army of loyal Espadas," Halibel replied while pointing her sword towards him and then once again she summoned a gigantic surge of water and directed it towards the Chrysalis fiend but he easily dodged it by using his superior speed.
Now before he could approach her, Sesshomaru blocked his path while Stark started to fire his Ceros on him.
"You think that I don't understand your childish strategy," Aizen said to Sesshomaru during their sword clash.
"What do you mean?" the Daiyokai asked him.
"Stark's specialty is long-ranged, quick, and powerful attacks while Halibel is the most dangerous Espada for long-term battles. Her ability to stack her offensive force by accumulating water can be deadly even for the opponents whose power far surpasses her," the Shinigami in Chrysalis stage explained.
"So, what about it?" Sesshomaru asked while pushing him back with his sheer demonic strength.
"Being a Daiyokai you are the perfect candidate to engage me in battle and buy time until Halibel's Cascada reaches the level where it can inflict damage on me. Meanwhile, Stark provides you cover through his long-range attacks" He spoke further.
"There's only one strategy I am aware of… and it is to crush you by sheer power," the Daiyokai responded in his usual cold tone.
Now Sesshomaru used his energy whip on Aizen but a powerful swing of the latter's sword not only slashed that energy whip but also the armor of the former. The next moment, a sudden burst of the Chrysalis fiend's violet spirit energy shoved the Daiyokai away from him. Now Aizen rushed towards Sesshomaru while he was still trying to get up on his feet but before the Shinigami in Chrysalis stage could take advantage of the situation, several wolves made up of Cero and spirit energy grabbed him with their jaws. However, he immediately summoned his destructive violet spiritual pressure and destroyed all the wolves in an instant.
"Cero," Halibel uttered as she charged a golden-yellow Cero along her sword before firing it at Aizen in a very wide arc through a sword swing.
That Cero couldn't inflict significant damage on his body but it certainly forced him to lose track of Sesshomaru for some time. Once he returned to his senses, he shot an unexpectedly powerful wave of his spirit energy toward the Tres Espada. Stark immediately approached her and managed to push her out of the way at the last moment while the next scenario shocked everyone as Sesshomaru's Bakusaiga was penetrating Aizen's torso from behind.
"This is the end… Azure Dragon Wave!" the Daiyokai roared while releasing the dragon-shaped wave of demonic energy into his body before he slashed his torso with the Bakusaiga.
The Chrysalis fiend's body immediately got engulfed in an enormous blast of purple energy with eruptions of unstable bolts followed by the sudden release of lots of fire and smoke along with another explosion. Even after he fell on the ground the powerful bolts of purple energy can be seen sparkling through the smoke and fire generated by the explosion. For a moment, everyone fell under the impression that the battle was over. However, all of them were shocked upon sensing the sudden rise in his spiritual pressure. He slowly got up on his feet and walked out of the fire and smoke while shedding his sleek phantom-like form to reveal a form similar to his original one, with the addition of long hair, grey eyes, and a purple sclera.
Now all of a sudden his monstrous spiritual pressure began to skyrocket and it almost felt as if it was going to cover a large area in an explosion while he was moving towards Sesshomaru.
"Cero Oscuras!" Halibel muttered while shooting her black Cero towards Aizen from the tip of her sword. However, the Shinigami in the beyond-Chrysalis stage easily blocked that Cero wave by stretching his hand in that direction.
"Cero Metralleta!" Stark spoke while shooting a barrage of Ceros on Aizen to prevent him from making any move on Sesshomaru.
After Sesshomaru escaped to the sky, Stark eventually stopped his barrage of Ceros to figure out the condition of Aizen. However, everyone was shocked to find out that he had disappeared from there by now.
"Did you really think that my abilities are on the same level even after the change in my form?" Aizen's voice echoed as he appeared right behind Halibel at a significant distance away from her.
She looked behind with an immense shock upon listening to his voice and sensing his spiritual pressure but before she could do anything, an enormous and powerful burst of violet spiritual energy approached her swiftly. She was frozen upon realizing that it was impossible for her to avoid it but at the end moment, Sesshomaru pushed her away before covering her with his own body.
Both Stark and Lilynette fell into the grip of fear and worry upon watching them fall from the sky together, leaving behind a trail of smoke in the air upon getting hit by that burst of spiritual energy. Both of them hit the ground hard and it seemed that they had taken a significant amount of damage, especially Sesshomaru. The Daiyokai fell on top of the Tres Espada motionlessly as he took significant damage to his entire back, shoulders, and some of the portions of his arms. His armor and kimono were completely destroyed from the back while some of his long strands of hair also got burnt from the end. After a few moments, Halibel was slowly returning to her senses while Sesshomaru somehow managed to get on his fours but he wasn't able to move more than that.
"Ahh… Lord Sesshomaru, are you alright?" Halibel asked him as she looked at his face while lying under him.
"Stay where you are, do not move away…" he responded to her in a low and painful voice upon sensing the upcoming danger.
"Still moving? Allow me to help the two of you rest in peace together inside the black coffin… Seeping crest of turbidity, arrogant vessel of lunacy! Boil forth and deny! Grow numb and flicker! Disrupt sleep! Crawling queen of iron! Eternally self-destructing doll of mud! Unite! Repulse! Fill with soil and know your own powerlessness!" Hado 90, Kurohitsugi!" Aizen murmured as he sealed both Sesshomaru and Halibel inside the deadly black structure.
To be continued…