It took me far longer to write this than I expected, but it also became far longer than I intended - I suppose it balances out in some form.

Begin!

Book I, Part IV: Mortal Conflict - Dissension in the Ranks

Chapter XI—Angels and Demons

[Soul Society, Seireitei, South Gate]

Odin was not one to feel fear. He was, after all, the leader of the Ethereal Knights. He was a paragon of every virtue the Ethereal Plane prized. He stood as an example to all within of what could be attained; of discipline, of the pride and honor that would be achieved should one's course be stayed. Now, however, Odin could honestly and truly say he felt fear, though not any fear related to combat or the threat of death.

Odin felt fear for an entirely different reason – his surroundings. For Arragious and himself, he realized, were no longer in the Ethereal Plane which they had occupied moments before, but in Soul Society, where the Lord Sovereign held court. In and of itself, that was not a terrible occurrence, as the Lord Sovereign held no ill will towards either being. Odin was one of Freya's top advisers and one of the most respected individuals within the whole of the Ethereal Plane, while Arragious was still well-regarded as a brilliant mind and combatant by the Lord Sovereign – the matters in the Ethereal Plane, Byakuya had once stated, had no bearing on Arragious' worth as an individual. He had even once considered asking Arragious to lead the newly-reformed Grim Angels, but had dismissed the idea after much discussion with his closest adviser, Cierra Olivier.

No, the problem was specifically what the surroundings themselves represented. Soul Society was broken up into two major segments, each of which reflected in some form the other two major planes of the realm. The majority of the populace lived in an area called Rukongai, an area mirrored by the Lower Court of the Ethereal Plane. Made up of stone streets, wooden buildings, and expansive forests scattered throughout the districts, Rukongai had a vastly different appearance than the core of Soul Society that it surrounded. Where the Lower Court was clean and generally lawful, however, Rukongai was only that way close to the center of government; the further away one moved, the more destitute and lawless the streets became.

This was, indirectly, a result of Soul Society's neutrality; it had by far the smallest peacekeeping force, consisting of only the Order of Grim Angels. The force that existed prior to the Order's instating had been effectively subsumed by the Malakh-created division, but even that left the group's strength far below that of the other two planes. Combined with the area of space that Rukongai took up, it left the policing of the populace far below levels that would ensure obedience and authority.

The center of government and home of Soul Society's peacekeeping force, however, was an area known as Seireitei. It looked the part, enclosed by a massive, circular wall and four towering gates designed to repel attacks formed from spiritual energy of all kinds; even the border of Seireitei was an imposing sight as well as a symbol of what lay within. Souls that resided in Rukongai, particularly in the more lawless districts further from the walls, often dreamed of being a resident of the sacred inner sector. Some were even chosen to become members of the Order of Grim Angels; as the Malakh race was effectively no more sans the few remaining members who had survived and fled the Ethereal Plane, some of the Quincy that inhabited Soul Society who had particularly high levels of spiritual power were chosen as new members of the Order. Where Rukongai was dingy and anarchic, however, Seireitei was pristine and carefully policed by the Order of Grim Angels, guarded as carefully and stoically as any great treasure of the ages would be. Lofty wooden buildings with ornate carvings and carefully-constructed roofs joined with exquisite stone statues and buildings to create a grandiose and elegant feel that compared with the smooth and exotic stone and crystalline buildings of the Ethereal Plane's Upper Court.

If the two of them had been in Rukongai, Odin knew, the potential for trouble would have still existed, but it would have been much less. Lord Sovereign Kuchiki cared equally about all parts of his plane, but even he would feel that it would be better to have such a conflict happen in the areas of Rukongai, which held greater areas of open and uninhabited land.

However, they were in Seireitei, which presented much more risk for two main reasons. First, the Order of Grim Angels would almost certainly be dispatched to handle the disturbance, which could do more harm than good in the short-term. Second, the Lord Sovereign would surely wish to know why one of the most powerful fighters in the Ethereal Plane and its most infamous exile were brawling inside the walls of his center of government. If this were the Overlord, even he would understand given the nature of their arrival – and the identity of the one responsible, but this was no time to dwell on that particular point – but the Lord Sovereign was known for being particularly stubborn and unyielding concerning the safety of his plane, a safety which had most assuredly been compromised by their arrival.

All the more reason to end the fight quickly, Odin knew. Better to stop Arragious and his intentions of revenge here than to let it draw on and put more at risk, not just from his own plane but Soul Society as well.

"You've forgotten your manners in your time away, Nicholai," Odin stated, resting one hand on the hilt of his powerful blade. "I would have expected you to know better than to cross your elders."

"If you believe that things are the same as when I was Captain-Commander, then you are a fool, Odin. I've changed much since those days."

Odin snorted, slowly pulling the massive weapon from its sheath and resting it on his shoulder. "Not enough, it would seem. Come, then, if you believe you are truly my equal!"

(Play: Hunter's Chance (Final Fantasy IX) – Tsuyoshi Sekito, Kenichiro Fukui; The Black Mages II: The Skies Above)

Odin didn't wait for a response from Arragious, instead leaping forward into a charge at his former subordinate before anything further could be said. Arragious' mesmeric blade rose to block the charge, and Odin's curved sword smashed into his block with a thundering crash that sent him skidding back as Odin pressed on. Feet scraped on stone as Arragious tried to keep his footing, but it took several seconds before he was able to counter Odin's momentum and match the Grand Master's advance. He threw Odin's blade high, going low in a strike with his own weapon as Zantetsuken sang just above his head, but the strike with the magical weapon skittered ineffectually off of Odin's thick plate armor. Unlike many in the Ethereal Magi and the former Gilead Order, Odin trained his troops to use heavy armor to augment their fighting prowess, using the armor as a weapon just as if it were their sword. Most all of the Ethereal Knights wore thick, heavy armor or carried massive shields into combat to facilitate this, and Odin's own armor was some of the finest ever crafted.

Arragious seemed to be briefly surprised by his inability to slice through the protective metal, and his surprise cost him as Odin's gauntleted fist smashed into his chest and hurled him away during his moment of pause. The strike would have ended the fight against lesser Erudite, but Arragious simply rolled with the crushing blow, coming up in a guarded position as Odin bore in again. Zantetsuken cleaved down, parried by Arragious' held blade as the second shot out from his clock, slicing towards Odin's only unprotected spot – his helmetless head. The Grand Master swatted the blade away as contemptuously as one would a fly, however, shattering the ground at Arragious' feet as the exile dove away to avoid the attack.

A burst of electrical power sprang from Arragious' hands as he rose a second time, slamming into Odin and the ground around him in a violent discharge of power that bought Arragious a moment to recover. Surely, he mused, electricity would be extremely effective due to the heavy metal plating that the Grand Master's armor was composed of. A deep, rumbling chuckle from Odin caught his attention as the dust cleared, and he straightened as Odin stepped out of the cloud unharmed, his armor showing little if any damage at all from the explosive blast.

"Come now, Nicholai," Odin began, stepping towards Arragious like a towering, black-clad juggernaut, "just who do you think I am? That tactic would be unlikely to work against even my greenest, let alone myself."

Arragious bit back a curse that threatened to escape. Of course the Grand Master had magically-bolstered his armor; logic dictated that the advantage it gave was far too large to pass up. Still, that one advantage would not be enough to –

Odin's bulk suddenly appeared in front of Arragious, moving much faster than someone in full plate armor was reasonably expected to move, and Arragious' eyes widened before another bone-crushing punch sent him flying into a nearby stone wall lining paths throughout Seireitei, instantly turning the construct into rubble and dust that billowed out into a large cloud.

"You speak of vengeance," Odin continued, watching the dust for any sign of Arragious. "You've fallen much further than I had expected, Nicholai. Working with her, slaying fellow Erudite in your rage that you fought and bled beside in the past…you're a disgrace to your former station."

Odin found his mind suddenly assaulted by waves of psychic energy as Arragious drew upon his mental abilities, hoping to strike at the Grand Master's presumed weakest point. As Odin's guard fell, Arragious leapt from the side with both blades raised and glowing with frigid blue energy, having cloaked himself with invisibility magic to escape from the cloud without Odin's notice. Two slashes found their marks on Odin's chest and side, coating the armor there with a thick covering of frost and ice as Odin realized Arragious' intent – if electricity couldn't affect the armor, he would simply use ice to try and erode its structure, making it brittle enough to damage. A faint trace of a smile graced Odin's lips, however, as he shrugged off the attack, slicing out at Arragious as he recovered and forcing him to retreat again lest he be caught by the powerful blade.

"For you to be using such tactics in a battle you sought out…it seems your time in isolation has numbed your sense of technique," Odin commented, amused by Arragious' attempts to damage his armor. "Very well, then. It would seem that I must first burn through this poor excuse for ambition before I can cool the fires of your revenge."

He raised Zantetsuken again, leveling the blade in Arragious' direction, and the curved sword burst into flame as he drew upon one of his few magical skills while preparing to attack once more. Arragious growled, but obligingly charged in again to meet Odin's challenge – if the Erudite wanted a swordfight, then he would get one. The invisible blades whistled through the air as Arragious took the offensive, unleashing a quick and intricate series of strikes with both swords that moved high, then low, and back to high. The flames around Odin's blade danced wildly as he defended, denying the smaller blades purchase time and time again. A rising slash turned into a sweep meant to slice Odin's neck open, but the Grand Master simply brought his blade close to his body to deflect it before countering with a quick vertical slice. It rang against Arragious' left hand blade as he blocked, the flames heating the exile's face uncomfortably with their proximity, and he drew back again as his block gave way under Odin's overwhelming strength.

"You cannot surpass me," Odin rumbled, looking at Arragious in the manner a disapproving father would his child. "I am the one who trained you all those centuries ago, after all. You are strong, but nothing I have seen of your prowess makes me believe that you can match my might."

"You presume much, Odin," Arragious objected, readying for another exchange.

"I do not presume, exile – I merely state a fact."

Some part of Arragious knew that Odin was right, that the armor-clad Erudite had more skill and power than even he could hope to match. Still, however, he would not simply back down; Odin stood in his way, and he would find a way to remove the obstacle, no matter what it took. Quickly, he channeled his energy as he readied his blades – he would need to strike swiftly and only once, with everything he had, if he was to have any hope of bringing down his former mentor. In a flash, he released all the gathered power at Odin's mind in a focused, direct burst, hoping to overload his senses for the instant he needed to land a fatal strike. The Grand Master jerked suddenly as if stricken, stumbling backwards and clutching at his forehead as his grip on Zantetsuken slackened. In that brief moment of weakness, Arragious lunged forward with the speed of a predatory animal, intent on finishing the fight with one blow.

Just as quickly, Odin straightened, shocking Arragious as his mesmeric blades met only the stern, unyielding metal of Zantetsuken. For an instant, Odin's blade shimmered with power, and a translucent wave of force rippled from it as he slashed out, the wave pushing Arragious into a nearby building and shattering the wall with the force. The entire building's frame shivered for several seconds from the shock of having Arragious' body propelled through it, creaking and groaning, before the entire structure began to fall, burying Arragious in a hazy pile of wood, stone, and dirt. Odin watched, waiting for any sign of movement beneath the rubble – he hadn't hit Arragious with enough force to kill, but it certainly had enough force behind it to wound, maybe even disable the Erudite enough to end the fight.

The Grand Master tensed as the rubble shifted, bits of wood and stone being turned aside from the peak bit by bit until Arragious' figure could once more be seen rising from the remains of the building. His dark cloak was marred by gouges and rips, and Odin could see the carefully-controlled wince of pain that flashed across his face as he moved. A wound on the side of his face leaked a trail of blood down his cheek, and a brief glimpse of his left arm as he dislodged himself from the debris revealed another wound, concealed by a piece of torn cloth that was part of his sleeve. For a moment, the only sound in the area was the sound of rock and wood being crushed under Arragious' boots.

(End: Hunter's Chance (Final Fantasy IX) – Tsuyoshi Sekito, Kenichiro Fukui; The Black Mages II: The Skies Above)

"Still as strong as ever," Arragious conceded, keeping a loose grip on the hilts of his blades – one of which, Odin noticed, had been broken halfway up the blade.

"My devotion to Lady Freya and the Ethereal Plane keeps my skills sharp," Odin replied. "The duty of my station demands no less."

"So it would seem."

"You can still surrender, Nicholai – atone for the crimes you have committed, while you still have the chance."

"Surrender?" Arragious asked, replacing his single intact blade into the folds of his cloak. "I cannot. I have come too far to give up on my ambitions."

"You mean her ambitions."

"That is irrelevant," Arragious said dismissively. "I no longer have a place within the Ethereal Plane, regardless of what drives me. I no longer seek approval from Freya, nor any of you – I have no need to face judgment from beings that I no longer belong among."

Odin's eyes narrowed – it seemed Arragious was no longer willing, even in part, to listen to reason. "You realize, then, that I will take you in by force to see justice done."

"Perhaps another time," Arragious replied casually, turning away and glancing over his shoulder at Odin. "It seems we've overstayed our welcome in this plane."

Odin opened his mouth to remark upon Arragious' statement, but was too late as the Mesmer began to walk away, his form fading away into nothing before Odin's eyes. The Erudite found that he could do nothing but return his blade to its sheath, frustrated that his quarry had escaped him; Arragious was long gone from the entire plane, as he could no longer even sense the exile's energy in the vicinity. The exile, however, had hit home with his last statement – their stay in Soul Society was almost certainly unwelcome and likely much overstayed as well. Despite being Freya's adviser, Odin – and, by extension, Xeios – did not share the abilities that Planeswalkers held, leaving their only method of interplanar travel as the use of special planar gates, erected in each of the four planes of the realm for important individuals who lacked the abilities of planar travel to use, such as the Grim Angels or the Espada. Odin knew that the nearest such gate lay further inside Seireitei, near the beginnings of the grand estate which held the palace belonging to the Lord Sovereign. He turned, looking up long enough to orient himself in the direction he needed to travel, before beginning to walk down one of the streets among the buildings in the outer part of Seireitei.

A sudden, noticeable surge of energy gave him pause before he moved more than ten steps, however, and he heard the distinct sound of gusting wind as three individuals appeared in front of him, likely the three individuals he least wanted to encounter at the present moment.

Byakuya Kuchiki, the Lord Sovereign of Soul Society, stood mere feet from the Grand Master, flanked by a male and female on either side of him who were both garbed in the bright white haori of Captains within the Order of Grim Angels.

[Mindscape]

I've heard of the expression 'trapped in your own mind,' but until now, I never really realized how frustratingly literal that phrase could turn out to be.

Ever since last night, I've been forced to watch that…thing…traipse around in my body, taunting me, unable to so much as lift a finger or blink an eye of my own body. Seeing him stab Rikku and go after Yuna and Paine, then Angel…well, it was almost more than I could take. I cried, I screamed, I raged, but nothing I did seemed to do anything save make him taunt me more, which in turn only made me angrier. Eventually, he would grow bored and leave, only to come back for a whole new round. Sometimes, he'd try and break me physically, beating on me until the chains around my wrists were the only thing holding me upright at all. It feels a lot longer than the few hours that it's been, more like days, weeks even. The pain, too, is just as bad as if it was physically-inflicted, despite all of this being nothing but a manifestation of our respective minds and souls.

But I haven't broken yet.

The environment of my mind, however, is what can only be described as a mess. Coherency was lost a while ago, and all I can really make out clearly now is the shifting, blackened grass, the stone wall I've been chained to, and the swirling red and blue-colored sky. Sometimes, there's a bit more of the blue than red, other times it's the opposite, and I figured out not too long ago that it seems to reflect how I feel, how he feels, or both. Everything else is just a blurry, misshapen mess of color, and I can't seem to exert any kind of influence over any of it at all. It's hard to stay focused and hopeful with all the depressing scenery, but it's even harder to influence any of it now, and I'm feeling more and more like I'm losing control of my own mind, like I'm trying to keep a grasp on something nearly out of my fingertips.

"Comfortable? I'll have to change that if you say yes, of course."

"Go screw yourself."

My reply is practically automatic as Manes' form fades back into view in front of me, appearing as if he'd just stepped out of a thick fog…which I can't help but notice seems to be forming around the area. The mindscape seems to be reacting to my thoughts again, but whether that's good or bad, I can't really say. The backhand that crashes into the side of my face and nearly slams my head back into the stone behind me, however, serves as more than enough to jar me from my thoughts as my vision explodes into stars and lines of pain.

"Still putting up a fight…pity. I'll have that beaten out of you soon enough, though. We've got all the time in the world in here."

"Just try it," I cough, struggling to refocus my eyes. "When I get out of these chains –"

"You'll do what? Bleed on me?" Manes sneers, leaning in and coming nearly nose-to-nose with me. "You're still just a Hume. You can't even touch someone on my level."

My only response is a wad of bloody spit that smacks him right below the eye.

The look on his face is easily worth the crushing punch that smashes into my stomach a moment later, knocking the wind out of my lungs and causing me to cough up blood again as I go limp in the chains. Another shot to the head follows, this time a full-on punch, and my entire world explodes with pain as my head does hit stone this time. I'm only barely able to register the fact that Manes is even speaking, unable to make out any of the words for several agonizing seconds as I try to drag myself back to coherence again.

" – start by cutting up that pretty little ex-girlfriend of yours. Who knows where I'll stop…that summoner friend of yours, maybe that blond-haired classmate you've got feelings for…"

"…You…you won't…can't hurt them," I mumble, still halfway-incoherent. "Stop you…Freya'll do it…Katanas…"

"They can't keep me here forever," Manes states, a disturbing air of finality around the statement. "And they won't kill you, either, just to get rid of me. I've got plenty of time to find a way out."

"…They'll keep me locked up…if it means keeping you here."

"She was careless once, and she could easily be so again. Freya seems to be a fool of a leader – having her in control of an entire plane speaks volumes about the stupidity of the residents."

I can feel my teeth clench at the insult – insulting Freya is just like an insult against me, given my station.

"Shut up…you don't have any idea –"

"Any idea of what? How little she cares about her own plane, or the mortal plane? How she screwed up and started a war that lasted three centuries? Or how she made a terrible mistake by picking you to be her newest Planeswalker?"

The look on my face goes back to a more neutral one as he continues to sling insults around; if I keep getting angry, I'm just playing right into his hands. He wants me to get angry to make things easier on him, and I have no intention of falling for it. Suffering a few insults against my person is a small price to pay for a couple minutes to recover.

"You didn't last ten seconds the first time we fought. I took you out in one shot, for Hyne's sake! You had to get that vampire to fight your battle for you! You couldn't take on Destine without help from Will, and you couldn't even take me on at the same time – you had to get another annoying mortal to do that!" he yells, keeping that infuriating sneer on his face the entire time. "Honestly, I can't see why Freya bothered picking a weak Hume like you to represent her plane. You're just going to get killed in the near future anyway – may as well let me take over, and spare you the trouble of dying in an even more embarrassing fashion."

"Like you're any better," I mutter, trying to keep my expression calm despite the anger I can feel bubbling up inside me. "You can't do anything but pick on someone helpless and throw insults around – Rubedo trashed you here in the Ethereal Plane, or did you already forget that?"

"At least he landed a hit," Manes comments casually, turning away. "At least he made an effort. All you did was drop like a rock when I almost cut you in half. Barely even tried to fight – you just crumpled like the cowardly, useless son of a bitch that you are."

All of a sudden, everything for me starts to just melt away – pain, fatigue, and my tenuous grip on calm are all swallowed up by the sea of anger that starts to flood my mind. My teeth clench again, and I can feel the air around me start to drop in temperature even as my face flushes hotly in rage.

"What did you just call me?" I growl, glaring hard enough at the demon in front of me to cut him in half with the look.

"You heard me," he replies, spinning and leaning in again. "Or do I have to say it again to get the point across?"

The shattering of my manacles seems to echo like a gunshot in the vast expanse of nothingness, torn apart by a rapid freezing courtesy of the Alchemy that the demon in front of me so very conveniently forgot to do anything about. It seems that he didn't expect me to do anything like this, either, and so the look on his face as he's forced to flash away or get speared like a fish by an icicle that explodes from the ground is incredibly satisfying.

"You don't have to say another word," I spit, snapping my hand out and clenching my teeth as my blade materializes in it as if by magic…which, given that it happened because of my will, could be rather close to the truth. "And you won't, either, when I'm done ripping your throat apart with this blade of mine."

When I went to Spira, I know that I had a bit of a temper – I still do, and I've always chalked that up to being young and a tiny bit reckless on occasion. I like to think that SeeD training did a lot for me, teaching me to be logical no matter the situation and to always keep my calm, but…I know that isn't quite the case. I still have a few sore spots, and he just hit the one that cuts the deepest to me.

Now that he's done it, I'd rather die than give up and admit defeat – I still have my pride, and I'm not going to let a demon trample on my family.

(Play: chAngE – miwa, Bleach OP12 Single - chAngE)

"You already tried once, and you failed," Manes says, smirking towards me from some distance away. "What makes you think this time will be any different?"

"Simple," I say, dropping into a stance with my left arm out in front of me and my blade back and to my side. "This time, I've got something to fight for…something that means more to me than anything else in the world. You'll never be able to understand that."

"That won't make a difference," he retorts, scoffing. "Allow me to show you the difference in our levels, since you failed to grasp it the first time."

I don't bother responding to the taunt this time, instead simply breaking into a full sprint towards the demon in front of me as he lets loose a wave of fire in my direction. A quick, focused blast of water eliminates the flames directly in my path and allows me to charge straight through the wall before leaping at Manes, bringing the blade down before he can react and grab his own sword at his waist. Just like the first time I struck him back at Esthar, however, the blade does little but glance off ineffectually, as if I'd slashed stone instead of flesh. Manes' fist strikes my chest as I recover from my non-damaging blow, knocking me off my feet and sending me hurtling through the air for a moment to roll across the ground, stunned but mostly uninjured. My right hand touches the ground as I momentarily let go of my blade, and the moisture in the air suddenly condenses into a series of icicles around me that fly towards the demon like icy bullets, prompting him to unleash a quick flurry of blows to shatter the shards before they impale him.

"Didn't you learn the first time? Your blade can't cut me!"

A sudden flash of magic around me causes me to pause as I stand again, and I realize that a series of black, star-shaped symbols are circling around me now, apparently to no effect.

'Delayed effect...no clue what'll set it off, either...'

I don't want to be the target of some surprise curse cast on me, but I also don't intend to sit back and wait for him to wear me down - I've taken enough pain from this Daiesthai, and it's high time I started giving some back. A quick casting of Haste magic envelops my body, and another quick series of steps brings me back to melee range as my blade glows with power, releasing an icy burst into the demon as my sword smashes into his own blade, now drawn from its sheath. Even with Haste, Manes seems fully capable of keeping up with me and then some, taking every strike I can deliver and seeming to undermine them before they've even really begun. It only makes me angrier, knowing that I'm being shown up in a place that I should have full control over, and my blade keeps striking out again and again in an attempt to at least inflict some kind of damage on the hardy, sneering demon. Finally, Manes is just a hair slow on blocking one of my strikes, and my blade sneaks through to scrape across his body - again, however, to no real effect other than the satisfaction of breaking his guard.

The black shapes around my body suddenly vanish in a flash of energy the moment my strike connects, burning me with a sharp spear of pain, and my momentary flinch is all the opportunity the Daiesthai needs to cut upwards, slicing a line upwards across my chest that sends a fine mist of blood into the air.

"First blood is mine," he says, grinning madly at me as I step back to regain my wits. "I look forward to spilling more...a lot more."

"First and last," I mutter, realizing with a sudden stab of fear that my vision is also clouding over, the apparent result of Blind magic encased within the cursing technique Manes used. A quick cast of Esuna begins restoring my vision, though, and I take a deep breath before readying myself for another attempt. A volley of knives fly from my hands as I move left, enchanted with electrical energies, and I begin my charge back into melee ranged even as I see the knives deflected to no real effect. My sword is back in my hand in a flash, leading my charge with a vicious series of cuts and slices. Annoyingly, the Daiesthai doesn't really seem to be trying, lazily moving his blade into the exact position to counter or block each of my strikes with ease.

"Is this the best you can do?" he taunts, slapping my sword away with his free hand. "What happened to vengeance?"

"Keep talking," I growl, chaining a vertical slice into a rising diagonal cut with a quick reverse of momentum. "I'm gonna wipe that smug grin off your face before I'm finished."

"Let's see you try," he laughs, parrying another strike. "Or better yet, just hurry up and die!"

His blade flashes out suddenly, the Daiesthai still cackling in anticipation of his easy victory…before he stops, gazing down to see why his blade has stopped moving instead of cutting into flesh.

My left hand now holds my other blade, blocking his horizontal strike – the same strike that crippled me in Esthar – from connecting with my body.

"What?"

"Did you forget where we are already?" I ask, letting a mocking smile of my own slide across my face. "This is my mind you're in, demon, and physical prowess isn't all that matters here. My mind works very fast…so let's see how you do when you don't have a speed advantage to work with!"

Manes' only response is to cast another curse upon me, this time one with triangular glyphs of a dark blue color. Like the first, this one has no immediate effect, but this time I don't hesitate - the last one was apparently triggered when I struck him with my blade, so this one may be triggered by something other than that. As long as I stick with physical attacks, I reason, I should be safe from whatever the effect may be...unless, of course, he has multiple curses that trigger under the same conditions. Either way, the risk is worth it to me, and my left hand blade slices up and out as Manes moves his own weapon away. It doesn't hit anything but the air that it moves through, but Manes' dodge leaves him directly in the way of my other sword, which is already stabbing out towards his face - tough or not, I'm confident that impaling him in the skull will do some damage.

'Got you!'

A sudden sound, similar in nature to static, cuts through the air as Manes suddenly disappears from my vision, faster than my eyes are capable of tracking. I immediately stop, bringing my swords back to a defensive position as I look around for any sign of the demon that was in front of me just a second ago.

"It seems you're not fast enough to keep up with my Sonido," a voice says from above me, causing me to look up and see Manes standing in the air above me as if it were as solid as earth. "Pity."

'Sonido, huh…must be that flashy movement he just used.'

Another burst of static noise rips through the air before me, and my blades just manage to catch a strike before it dives into my chest. Quickly, I throw it aside and lunge out to counter, only to have him vanish again and a sudden pain burn across my back as a strike lands there. Frustrated, I spin and instinctively slice out with my swords again, but the sound repeats as my quarry evades yet again, followed by another stinging pain across my left side.

'He's toying with me…the bastard's toying with me…!'

"Such a shame," he comments, reappearing in front of me and starting to walk in my direction again. "I thought you would at least make this interesting, what with all the garbage escaping your mouth."

I don't say anything; rising to his taunts, no matter how much satisfaction the rebuttals might give me, isn't going to win me the fight. Instead, I take a deep breath, focusing my full attention on watching his every movement – his stride, the way he holds his blades, the subtlest movements of his body that I can pick out that could give me any knowledge of how he'll attack next. Without warning, he vanishes again, and my mind immediately seems to blare a warning as I realize that his blade is coming for my back yet again.

"…How…?"

I only realize that I had closed my eyes a second ago when I open them again, noticing also that the blade of my right-hand sword is tinged a bright red color. The Daiesthai is standing some distance away from me, a thin red line angrily crossing the white material of his coat and leaking droplets of crimson down the front. Quietly, I stand up from the crouch I seem to have found myself in, shaking drops of blood from my sword as I do.

"Let me spell it out to you, since you didn't get it the first time," I say calmly, setting a steely gaze on the demon. "This is my mind. Physical prowess isn't the only thing that matters here. Here, I'm a manifestation of my power, my speed, and my knowledge, but most of all…I represent my will. And as I'm sure you've now figured out, while my physical body couldn't cut you…"

I gesture to the wound across his chest with my blade, smirking as I do so, causing the demon's face to practically turn red with seething rage.

"…my will most certainly can."

"Fine," he hissed. "You seem to have come upon the belief that you can handle an outer plane being's real power. Let's find out just how much power you can handle before you shatter."

I suddenly have to steady myself as I feel my entire body start quivering, as if an invisible weight from the sky was pressing down on me and turning my muscles into masses of uncontrollably-shaking flesh. An incredible sense of power is starting to emanate from the Daiesthai, far more than I expected even in my most liberal guesses of his concealed power.

"Consume…Freza Amarga."

The outpouring of energy from Manes' form is nothing short of suffocating, and I find myself wondering briefly if Rubedo had to deal with this during his fight with the demon. I don't have time to wonder long, though, as Manes' form fades back into view from the haze of energy surrounding it. Instead of his white coat, his entire body is covered in some sort of white armor, almost like an insect carapace judging by the segmented appearance. His wrists are also sporting thick blades of the same material, replacing the sword he once carried, which makes me also wonder where the sword went – disappeared in the transformation? Used to fuel the transformation? Or does it even have anything to do with it at all?

"I hope you enjoy the sight of this form, because it's the last thing your pitiful mind will see before I kill you and take over for good," he states, standing tall again with the wound on his chest now healed. That sends a fresh wave of anger through me – I'm not going to lie down and die just because he showed off a bit more power.

"You misunderstand," I say, gritting my teeth, "I have no intention of dying today, especially not to someone like you. How do you feel about your own odds?"

"They're far better than yours, little Hume."

"Really?" I ask, reaching inside and focusing on power that I haven't bothered calling on in quite some time. "Then let's find out."

White, shimmering angel wings spread from my back as I release the energy I had been building, and the push of Manes' own power suddenly lessens dramatically as my magical energy climbs. A split-second of surprise passes across Manes' face, the momentary hesitation all the time I need to channel energy forth and send a fountain of energy cascading from beneath him in the form of a Flare spell. He vanishes again just as the flames erupt from below, reappearing above the column of fire and clenching his fists.

"Impudent –"

"Can it!" I yell, swiping my sword through the air. "I'm tired of listening to you talk – the next thing I cut is gonna be your tongue."

Wings flaring, I propel myself up and into another charge at the Daiesthai, intent on going back on the offensive and ending his unwelcome intrusion here and now.

[Ethereal Plane, Palace of Creation, Living Quarters]

"He is stable. That much, at least, is a good sign."

Kisara nodded briefly at Liam Bayloh, who stood in the doorway of the small room they were currently occupying, as she stepped away from the bed holding the fallen form of Freya's newest chosen. Kisara's specialty in magic was in the use of binding and restraining spells, and Freya had trusted her to keep watch over the Planeswalker until he recovered, confident that the Divine Magus could both restrain and, if needed, subdue the demon currently controlling Ben's body.

"I should've seen it sooner," Liam muttered, stepping further into the room. Kisara shook her head sadly, meeting Liam's gaze with a calm look of her own.

"This is no more your fault than it is his," she replied, gesturing to the bed. "You, of all people, know both how difficult it is for a mortal to resist the power of a Daiesthai, as well as to realize that someone is so afflicted."

Liam fought the urge to wince, remembering the decades of torment he'd once inflicted on the citizens of Dollet. "You're right."

"I am certain that Lady Freya would not want you to deride yourself over something that was clearly out of your control," Kisara continued, unwilling to let Liam blame himself for the unfortunate occurrence.

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

Kisara sadly shook her head. "At the moment, no. All we can do is watch and hope."

Liam sighed; he'd expected such an answer, but that didn't mean that he liked hearing it. He took a seat in one of the chairs placed beside the bed as Kisara took the other, both focused on different parts of the same problem.

"What was it like?" Kisara suddenly asked, catching Liam off-guard for a moment before he realized the extent of her question. It was a question he didn't often answer; the last time he remembered doing so, he was talking with Katanas not long after he transferred to Trabia Garden. While Katanas hadn't been alive to witness the decades of fear driven into Dollet's populace, stories and rumors had been plentiful for many years since about the menace of the seaside town. Kisara, he knew, was no doubt old enough despite her young appearance to know, but had apparently never seen or heard of Liam's time as the Scourge.

"…A nightmare," Liam finally said. "Dollet was…is…a peaceful town. Every night, I went out, hunting innocent people for fun, for sport…for food. No one knew who was doing it for years, but even when they found out, they couldn't catch me. I was the story that fathers tell children who misbehave to scare them straight, but this was no spooky story from the imagination. I was real, and the worst part is…I enjoyed it. I lapped it up, always thirsting for more, always craving it in the depths of my soul. It took decades before someone was able to stop me, and when they finally did, when I came back to myself and realized what I'd done…there was a while where I didn't know if I would be able to live with myself."

It took Kisara a minute to digest the information, mostly because she hadn't expected Liam to be so forthcoming with his past. She expected that he would have been honest and complete with someone like Lady Freya, but she did not expect to receive the same with someone like herself.

"He could become one, you know," she continued softly. Liam nodded his head briefly, not saying a word. "If Destine worked her magic the way that Lady Freya believes, even if she can extract the Daiesthai from his mind, the process would make him a Vayash Moru at best…kill him at worst."

"He doesn't deserve that," Liam stated, finally meeting Kisara's eyes again. "No one deserves that."

Liam move to spoke further, but a spike in Ben's spiritual energy stopped the words in his throat. It wasn't anything that either he or Kisara hadn't felt before, but it was certainly impressive. The war that was being fought inside the Planeswalker's mind was intense…

…and it appeared that it was for keeps.

Manes' new form, I've decided, is one of the most annoying – and dangerous – things I've ever fought in my life. Not only can he summon several other mantis-like creatures to fight alongside him, but he can also channel his magic through any of them at any time. If not for the increased resistance to magic that my Angel Wing skill affords me, I'd likely be in much worse shape right now. As it stands, I'm covered in burns from Fire and Dark-element magic, not to mention starting to feel drained of magic from the assorted enchantments and Alchemy I've been throwing around.

Manes, however, isn't in perfect condition himself. He has a similar wound across his chest to the one I originally gave him minutes ago – of all the things he expected me to have, Vanish magic was apparently not one of them, and that combined with my Haste let me get off one good shot in the aftermath of one of his flashier spells. The blade on his left wrist is also snapped off halfway down, courtesy of an Ice-elemental sword strike that shattered the chitin-like material.

I've also made him lose his cocky attitude, apparently – he seems to have started taking me seriously.

"It's not possible…" he mutters, flanked by two of his summoned creatures. "The will of a Hume should not be strong enough to keep up with an Arrancar! It's impossible!"

"Guess you didn't do your research," I remark, "because you wouldn't have made two fatal errors otherwise."

"And what might those be?" he spits. "I'm hardly beaten, fool!"

"First, you insulted my station and my patron. I wasn't chosen as a Planeswalker out of the blue – I know that now. Lady Freya chose me not because of my power, but because of my mind, because of the unconquerable will and tenacity that I have."

My stance solidifies as I finish speaking, and I bring my swords back to bear as Manes' two summoned creatures descend on me, arm blades raised and ready to strike. One swipe of my swords tears the head from one, dissolving it into nothing but wisps of magic, and a quick burst of Blizzard magic impales the other, shredding its torso and causing it to dissolve moments later.

"Second, however…you insulted my family. You cursed the one thing that I hold most precious, above everything else. You spit on that memory, and trampled on everything it means to me. That was the mistake that cost you your control, and I…"

Both swords snap out to my sides as my rage returns, my gaze centering firmly on the target of that hatred.

"…cannot…"

A bright yellow aura starts to flicker around me as I take hold of that anger, using it to fuel myself and focusing it all into a weapon at my disposal.

"…forgive you!"

Time seems to dilate for me as I dash forward, and even with Manes' enhanced speed and reflexes, he still appears to be moving slowly to me as my swords start trailing amber-colored energy. My first strike shatters Manes' remaining arm blade nearly at its point of origin on his wrist, and his shock at the power and speed behind my attack gives me all the chance I need to tear into him. A quick spin takes me to his side, and I open a wound there with a quick strike before moving behind him and repeating, slicing away at any and every point of weakness I can find in his new form with the overwhelming speed of my Limit. A full eight strikes hit before he gets enough of an opening to move away, but I follow without any hesitation, and the instant of recovery from his movementgives me a chance to run him through with my left hand blade.

"This is my body…"

My blade comes free of his chest as the energy from my Limit starts to fade, and I quickly leap above him as I charge all the remaining energy into my right blade, causing it to gleam brightly with the same amber light before I release it all in a thunderous wave that decimates the area Manes is standing in.

"…and it's time you learned your place!"

My wings vanish from my body as I fall back to the ground, landing easily and dropping to one knee before bracing myself with one blade to keep myself from falling over. All at once, the pain and fatigue from all of the previous battering is starting to catch up with me, and it's all I can do to not fall on my face right now.

(Play: chAngE – miwa, Bleach OP12 Single - chAngE)

"Impossible…"

"You…keep using that word," I comment, finally getting a look at the demon as I catch my breath. "It's quite possible, and seems to have happened."

The first thing that surprises me is that Manes is still on his feet – he's now wearing the coat that he was originally wearing, however, so it seems that I at least knocked him out of whatever powered-up state he was utilizing. Daiesthai or not, it seems as if I did quite a bit of damage to him, as he doesn't seem to be fond of moving at present. A small pool of blood is starting to gather under him from several long cuts and gouges, some more serious than others, and part of his coat is altogether gone, rendering it shredded at the shoulder and missing the left sleeve entirely.

"This isn't over…!"

"It is over," I reply forcefully, concentrating – if I'm currently the stronger being, which seems to be the case, then I should be able to manipulate the area to my liking. Chains suddenly start to snake out of the ground, wrapping around Manes' legs and tying them together before beginning to do the same to his arms despite his struggles, pinning them to his sides as he yells futilely. A stone similar to the one he had bound me to earlier also starts to rise from the ground, turning aside the earth as it emerges, and more chains start to lash his entire body to the stone. "I'm back in control, and it's going to stay this way."

Tired of his raving, I cast a Silence spell over his body as I sit down on the grass, careful not to make the same mistake with him that he did with me. I feel terrible, but I'm sure that will pass in time – there's a great sense of relief, however, as I notice two simple things about my surroundings. Once again, the grass is green and the sky is blue, just as it should be.

All isn't yet right with the world, I realize as I watch the still-struggling Daiesthai…but it's a start.

It took me quite a while to write both these fight scenes in a way that I found likable. Angel's piece with Kisara, by comparison, came easily and rather quickly, despite being a piece with much greater possibilities for future elaboration. This chapter ended up being several pages longer than I intended, but to make it any shorter, I feel, would have rendered it something I wasn't comfortable with. As always, please read and review.