Amelia let out a sigh as she walked out of the Adventurer Guild. She had been called upon to take part in a meeting with the guildmaster Pluton Ainzach, E-Rantel's mayor Panasolei Gruze Day Rettenmaier, leader of the Magician's Guild Theo Rakheshir, and every Mythril ranked adventurer team E-Rantel had at it's disposal.
The meeting was regarding a vampire that had been seen near E-Rantel. Amelia knew exactly who this vampire was, but that meant nothing during the meeting, since she was to feign ignorance of the topic. Her role in the meeting was to sit there, speak whenever needed, cause the commotion her presence alone created, and above all that make sure Momon took part in the assignment to take out this vampire. Luckily for her, he also made his own case to be the one to go after her. He had even come up with a cute little story. However, that was not important at the moment, since she had to return to the manor and inform Aizen and the Espada on the role they would be playing.
She looked at the scene unfolding before her and sighed once again. Juno, who had remained outside the guild, was in the middle of some kind of confrontation with Nabe of "Darkness". She hadn't heard any type of argument, so she could only assume some low-voiced insults had been thrown. Either way they were currently standing in front of each other. Nabe looking away from the Espada, showing little interest in the situation, while Juno seemed to be ready to take things to another level, all the while keeping a somewhat composed expression.
"Is there an issue here, Juno?" Amelia asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Lady Amelia, this woman dared to speak ill of you and Aizen. And, even now she refuses to apologize." Juno hissed, her eyes still focused on Nabe.
"So loud, for an insect." Nabe coolly remarked.
"You…" Juno hissed, when Amelia interrupted her.
"That's enough. Drop it, Juno. We are leaving."
"B-But, this woman…" The Espada tried to argue, just to be interrupted by Nabe.
"You should do as your master tells you and clear the way for Momon-san."
"That's enough, Nabe." Another voice sternly announced.
The voice came from Momon, who had just emerged from the building. Upon seeing him, Nabe quickly straightened her posture so as to be presentable before him, and took a small bow as she apologized.
"I apologize, if she caused you any problems." He said, looking at Juno.
"No matter. Juno, let's go." Amelia said while walking away.
It didn't take long for Amelia and Juno to arrive back at the manor, where Aizen and the rest of the Espada, excluding Rylen, Jaecar and Elsa, were waiting. Juno Ulmeyda took her respective seat in the chair numbered with her rank, while Amelia as usual sat next to Aizen.
"I see Rylen and Jaecar have already left." Amelia remarked.
"I thought it was better for them to leave while you were at the meeting. After all, they have a lot to prepare before their assignment." Aizen pointed out.
"Speaking of assignment, we were given one by the city." Amelia informed.
"Are we going to take out that vampire?" Cayo asked with a small grin.
"No. The honor of slaying the vampire Honyopenyoko goes to the adventurer group Darkness and Kralgra." Amelia replied.
"That's what they are calling her?" Carmyn asked.
"That's what Momon called her. According to him, he has been hunting her and another vampire for quite a while. He didn't say much more than that, and even threatened an international incident when asked about his true identity or place of origin."
"Hm. I would imagine that was enough to silence everyone else." Jillur flatly remarked.
"Correct. He also showed us his face, during the meeting. It was very plain looking, and had the features of a foreigner."
"I take it that he was forced to remove his helmet?" Aizen asked.
"Yes. Igvarge of Kralgra had pointed out that removing one's helmet as being basic courtesy, which Momon agreed."
"Meaning he won't remove his helmet unless forced to.~ And even in those cases he has a back up plan in that of a fake face of his.~" Annika smoothly remarked.
"I see little importance in this. After all, don't we already know who he is?" Carmyn asked, leaning back on her chair.
"We know who he is?" Amelia asked, looking at Aizen.
"We have a theory. From the information I got from Clementine and Khajiit, Nabe or Narberal, referred to Momon as Ainz. So, while I continued my work on them, I had Alvis look over the information we had, and he came across the report we received from some of our sources in the capital, that referred to an incident in Carne Village. Said event referred to how the Warrior-Captain, Gazef Stronoff, was aided by a magic caster named Ainz Ooal Gown. From this and the vague description made of this magic caster, we believe that Ainz and Momon are the same being." Aizen informed.
"Huh. That was easy." Amelia remarked, with an underwhelmed tone.
"While it is said that he wore a mask while at the village, the garments were exactly the same. You must remember that he did not expect anyone to be observing him at the cemetery. There is also the fact that while at the village he was accompanied by a woman in black armor, who they said was most likely a warrior. Leading us to believe that it was not Narberal, but someone else, but of that we cannot be certain." The Shinigami added.
"Could it have been the vampire?" Amelia asked.
"She wasn't wearing black armor when I meet her. There's also the fact that we don't have anything to connect her to this 'Ainz'."
"Isn't that why we sent Jaecar to watch over the vampire?" She remarked with a chuckle.
"Exactly. We can take our conclusions after that. For the time being, you should tell us what this assignment is."
"Well, at first the mayor was pushing to have us go deal with the vampire. But he soon dropped the idea in favor of wanting to maintain his positive relationship with the guild. So, we were hired to look over the city, while Darkness and Kralgra handle the vampire."
"Do you mean that we will all have to take part in this?" Leinas asked Amelia.
"Correct."
"Were you told how the Espada are expected to look over an entire city?" Aizen asked.
"No. But I think they intend to have them placed on the wall, so that they can intercept anything that might come in. Of course, they won't be alone, there will be city guards and some adventurers." Amelia replied.
"Even so, it is a lot of work. Especially when we have to hold back during the entire process." Leinas pointed out.
"That is why we will call upon some of our 'assistants'." Aizen informed with a chuckle.
"This will be a great opportunity to enhance our fame. Even if nothing happens, having taken on such a job will gain us more attention. And like Leinas said, even for us, it is too large an assignment to do with only the people here. That is why, each of the Espada duos present will pick up a servant from Las Noches to bring with them. Said servant can be one of their head servants. In the case of our missing duo, I will pick a suitable replacement from the servants at our disposal."
"Sounds like a plan. We have to be at the guild in less then an hour. Everyone, go and chose your servant. Make sure they are appropriate for our current assignment, but keep in mind that we might be faced with a combat situation. You have 20 minutes to do this. Understood?" Amelia asked, scanning the table.
"Yes." The Espada replied in unison.
"Now go."
It didn't take long for the aforementioned hour to end and for the Espada and newly acquired Fracción to make their way to the guildbase, where they were greeted by the guildmaster himself, Pluton Ainzach. No one else that had been at the meeting was present. Amelia could only assume they had already left to handle whatever their duties were. At the moment she was rather enjoying Ainzach's attempt to hide his surprise at the strange people who accompanied her.
Ainzach did not understand what was going on. He recognized the Espada, also noting that two were missing like Amelia had told him. He had also recognized Aizen, the unexpected spectacled and weak looking man who had somehow ended up serving someone like Amelia. He however did not recognize the individuals that accompanied each duo of the Espada. He also did not recognize the extra duo, who seemed to work as substitutes for the missing Espada.
"Who are these people?" He asked, when Amelia stopped next to him.
"They are part of our secondary group of agents. They handle smaller jobs that do not justify the use of the Espada. They can also accompany them whenever that happens to be necessary." Amelia replied.
"And are they competent enough for this job?"
"What did you say old man!?" The blue haired stranger growled.
"Be silent!" Amelia roared back, which was seemingly enough to put an end to the situation.
"Ahem! I-I will need their names." Ainzach informed.
He made a motion towards the inside of the guild, from where a young female adventurer emerged, with a large note pad in her hand, seemingly waiting for the names to be stated.
"If you insist. All of you come forwards and state your names, so she can write them down."
Ainzach watched as the individuals walked forward, allowing him to get a better look at them. He first noted that they were wearing different types of clothing. Taking into consideration that they didn't seem to wear any kind of armor, seeming to opt for what could be seen as regular clothing or clothing that would not restrict movement or affect their speed. He was surprised to see that many of them were carrying katanas or similar weapons, which would tell him that these were in fact very skilled individuals.
The first to approach came from the duo of Cayo and Alvis. She had gray eyes, short black hair, outside of two long braids bound in white cloth, each ending in a large golden ring. She was wearing a uniform without sleeves and that left her back uncovered, and on her lower back she carried a blade similar to what is known as a wakizashi.
"Soifon." She curtly stated, before going back to the group.
The second individual came from the duo of Carmyn and Inon. He was the same blue haired individual who had called the guildmaster, "old man".
"Grimmjow. Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez." He said with a large grin.
After him came the woman who was accompanying Leinas and Nazz. She was a very exotic beauty, who even caught the attention of Ainzach and the young adventurer. Especially her strange jacket which hid part of her face, leaving her abdomen exposed.
"Tier Harribel."
Harribel was followed by the one accompanying the duo of Annika and Jillur. He was a very attractive individual, who even with his looks seemed to have been taken out of bed just a moment ago, still showing signs of being half-asleep.
"Coyote Starrk."
Finally, came the duo who were there to replace the missing Espada. One of them was tall, with gray eyes, long black hair held in a ponytail and long bangs going down the left side of his face. The other was a tall yet thin man, long white hair, black eyebrows and green eyes,and he unlike his companion carried only a single weapon.
"I should have brought my hat." The gray eyed man remarked, using his right hand to block the sunlight.
"We get so few opportunities to enjoy the sun, you should just enjoy it." The other remarked, with a chuckle.
"Y-Your names?" The adventurer asked, overwhelmed by the looks of the two men.
"Shunsui Kyōraku."
"Jūshirō Ukitake."
"T-Thank you." She said, looking down at the paper.
"You're welcome, young lady." Shunsui remarked, with a kind smile.
"Is there anything else you need, Ainzach?" Amelia curtly asked.
"No. I can have someone take them to their respective positions on the wall."
"If you happen to need anything else, I will be at the manor."
Giving the guildmaster a wave goodbye, Amelia began to walk away with Aizen and Juno following closely after her.
Somewhere in the forest, in a location between E-Rantel and Shalltear's location, a massive [Gate] opened. From it had emerged a large horde of low-level undead created by Ainz's several experiments on bodies he had acquired, headed by a group of sixteen Vampire Brides. They stopped in front of the portal as it closed, their gazes focused on Pandora's Actor, who was standing on a nearby rock, his arms resting behind his back.
"Attention, meine Kameraden!" Pandora's Actor said, getting everyone's attention.
"We are here today in order to run one of Ainz-sama's great experiments. We are here in order to test the members of the Espada Mercenary Company and determine the power of these newly created undead.~" He continued, before focusing on the Vampire Brides.
"You lot, are to lead the charge and make sure that the undead do their best to break through the city's defenses. You understand?~" He asked with exaggerated hand movements, getting several nods in reply.
"Gut!~ Now, what else did you have to do?"
For a small period of time the vampires looked at each other, until one finally managed to speak up and answer Pandora's Actor.
"Fight the Espada."
"Genau!~ And which ones are the Espada?"
"The strong ones, with rings." Another answered in a monotone.
"Or wearing armor, with wolf helmet."
"Correct! You are to fight them 2-on-1. Remember to give them your best, because they will do the same to you. And Ainz-sama will be waiting to hear of your successes, so make sure to do your best to impress him!~" He remarked in a theatrical fashion.
"We shall do our best, for Ainz-sama." They all declared.
"Very good. Now…" He began, turning around in the direction of E-Rantel and doing a less-than-tasteful salute.
"Charge!~"
For the time being the Espada were limited to waiting for anything to happen, and since most likely nothing would make its way towards the city, they were expecting to spend the rest of the day sitting on top of the city walls.
While Soifon looked over the wall, with Yoruichi in her cat form doing the same, Cayo was looking at Alvis with an expression that suggested that the young Espada had betrayed him.
"So, you are telling me that not only did you get to train with Soifon. But that Yoruichi is a woman, and you also got to train with her?"
"Uh... yes. I-I don't see what the issue is." Alvis said uncomfortably.
"You didn't tell me! As your partner I deserved to know."
"I didn't think it was important. A-And you had your servants, so it's not like you didn't have any woman…"
"That's not the point. Had you told me, I could have used my time on some 'training sessions' instead of walking around Las Noches."
"Hah! Like I would train you." Yoruichi laughed in reply.
"Hey! I also need some training from time to time." Cayo argued.
"Then, you can go get it elsewhere."
"W-What about you, Soifon?"
"I agree with Lady Yoruichi. You should go find someone to train you somewhere else." He cold replied.
In another location of the wall, Carmyn was in the process of hitting Grimmjow over the head with her wooden staff, which was a relic from before she met Aizen. The reason for her hitting him was because he did not seem to be the waiting type, and was very vocal about being bored, which she did not like.
"Oi! W-What did you do that for?" He hissed.
"If you want to complain, do so in a low tone. I don't have the patience to listen to you. Inon, I thought you had told me he was a good option." Carmyn remarked, looking at her fellow Espada.
"He's a good fighter. When the time comes, he will show you his worth."
"What tells you that a fight will happen? We might just end up staying the rest of the day here." Carmyn remarked in annoyance.
"I don't think so. There is something in the air. I am certain something will happen."
"We shall see. Still, he is better than Nnoitra." She replied with a sigh.
"Of course I am! It doesn't take much to be better than that bastard." Grimmjow growled.
On her spot in the wall, Leinas sighed in annoyance, being tired of listening to the nearby group of adventurers and magic caster who might as well be slavering over Harribel. It also did not help that Harribel had crossed her arms just under her bust, which only served to remember Leinas of her own busts inadequacies.
"Is something wrong?" Nazz asked approaching her.
"That group is annoying me. Can't they stop ogling her?" Leinas hissed, looking up at him.
"You can't be affected by such simple things."
"Look who's talking. It wasn't me that went out on his own because of some ancient grudge." She growled back, with a defiant expression.
"Hold your tongue, Leinas. And do not speak of what you do not know." The Dragon Lord said, his tone sounding like a command.
"Don't give me that tone. And I honestly do not care what your problem is. I just want to be certain that it is not an issue, after all I need a stable partner." Leinas hissed, standing her ground.
"There's no need to be worried. I have resolved my problem."
"Good. Now, let's see how long it takes 'till we get to leave this place." Leinas said, walking past him.
"Bored?" Nazz asked.
"Very."
"Don't worry. Something tells me we will have something to do soon."
"I do hope you are right." Leinas said with a smirk.
Jillur spent his time looking over the wall doing his best to detect any incoming threats. Starrk was napping until he was called upon, while Annika was speaking with a group of adventurers and magic casters. Male ones.
"W-What are you guys doing!?" A female magic caster cried out, running to them.
"What happened?" One of the magic casters replied.
"Something broke through our detection spells! We aren't sure what they are, but there are a lot of them." She explained.
"W-What!? Everyone get moving! Take us to the direction they are coming from."
"W-Why didn't you tell us anything?" One of the adventurers asked Annika.
"Because I had no idea. The Magicians Guild decided that it was best for the Espada not to be involved with setting and overlooking the spells.~" She replied in a kindly tone.
The adventurer was about to spit something back at her, but his comrades pulled him away, since now almost all eyes were focused on the incoming threat from the forest.
"Get up, Starrk. We have to go." Jillur said.
"Fine." Starrk replied, with a yawn.
"I'll go on ahead." Annika informed, picking up her silver staff, a gift from Aizen.
Quickly, a small group formed at the spot of the wall over the city gates. Annika and Carmyn had made their ways to the front of the group, where already several magic casters and arrow using adventurers and guards were positioning themselves. On the main road to E-Rantel a group of female figures in white had emerged. They were still distant from the gate itself and seemed to be observing the people on the wall.
There were three of them, and they stared for a while, before the one heading the group let out a primal bloodcurdling screech. The piercing sound seemed to set the forest alive as the nearby trees began to shake violently, which was followed by several other of the strange woman appearing, and followed by a massive horde of undead.
"T-There's so many of them!" One adventurer pointed out in shock.
"They're going to attack the gate." A guard announced, already taking aim at the horde.
"T-Those women, are they vampires?" A magic caster asked in a shaken voice, but no one replied.
"Now is not the time to panic!" Carmyn growled.
"Warn everyone on the wall, undead might be trying to approach from other directions. Have them open fire on any undead that get too close. The same goes for us, everyone open fire on them!" Annika commanded, causing everyone to do as she said.
Arrows and several spells began to rain down on the undead, and the barrage managed to get some initial positive results. That was until the female vampires reached the wall. The sixteen vampires began to run up the walls, once again reigniting the panic those felt were feeling. Carmyn cried out a spell.
"[Fireball]!"
A large orb of fire went straight at the vampires, only hitting one in the process since the others had managed to avoid the blow or were running in other directions. Even the one that had been hit had only fallen to the ground below, seemingly suffering little damage from the fall. Having failed to stop the vampires from climbing the wall, it didn't take long for three of them to jump to Annika and Carmyn's location. They took out several guards, adventurers and magic casters as they did so, before closing the distance between them and the Espada.
Unlike Annika who had managed to use [Fly] to gain some much needed distance, Carmyn had seemingly failed to do so and was just a few steps away from being jumped by one of the vampires. Luckily for her Inon came to her rescue, throwing all his body weight against the already attacking creature, managing to send her into the floor, even if the effect was temporary.
"Argh! What a pain." Carmyn hissed.
"Are you hurt?" Inon asked, visibly worried.
"Are you joking?" His partner remarked, with an annoyed expression.
"We're going down there." She added.
"B-But, our orders…" Inon tried to argue, but she wasn't having it.
"All but one of them have made it on to the wall. We have to attract them away from it, along with reducing the number of undead. Agreed?" Carmyn asked.
"Y-Yes."
"Good." She remarked, jumping on his back.
"Now, charge!"
Carmyn held on to Inon, who as soon as he was sure that she was holding on tightly, charged at the Vampire Bride, managing to throw himself, Carmyn and the vampire off of the wall and into the forest bellow.
Annika had landed near a group of guards and adventurers who were working on firing arrows at the undead, who were already being protected by magic casters, yet these were not enough to handle the two Vampire Brides who were making their way towards them.
"Everyone cover your eyes!"
"[Holy Light]!"
Pointing at the two vampires with her staff, Annika formed a bright spotlight on the tip of it, showering the two beings with holy light. The attack did no severe damage, but seemed to have greatly affected the vampire's eyes as they stopped in their path and screeched in pain.
"Get people to go down there. We don't have enough arrows to take them all out." She ordered, momentarily turning to face them.
"But going down there is suicide!" A guard argued.
"Go and get the people that came with us for assistance. Tell them I gave the command, they will obey."
The guard gave her a stiff nod and began to run in the other direction, and so did most of the group leaving only two magic casters and a single guard with Annika, right as the vampires recovered from the attack. The Espada then casted a spell on those around her.
"[Reinforce Armor]!"
Both magic casters used [Acid Javelin] on the vampires, who dodged the blows, as they once again attacked Annika, who once again escaped to the air using [Fly], a spell the other two magic casters also used. However, as she was lifting from the ground, one of the Brides grabbed on to her legs, pulling her and throwing her onto the ground.
The guard tried to defend her, but the other Bride easily sliced through his neck, using his sword as a projectile to throw at one of the floating magic casters, which followed by jumping at the remaining one. Annika acted quickly, placing her staff against her attackers' gut before activating [Holy Ray], which effectively formed a beam that pierced through the vampire, causing it great pain.
The Bride fell back stumbling against the other vampire just as she was finishing up with killing the others that were with Annika. Seeing the wound in her sister, she looked at Annika with hate filled eyes and lunged at the fallen magic caster, when suddenly she jumped back a small slash on her shoulder.
"Damn. I almost got her." Shunsui sighed.
"Are you alright?" Ukitake asked, keeping his attention between Annika and the vampires.
"I-I'm fine." Annika replied, getting back to her feet.
"You two need to leave. Go help with the undead or someone else who is being attacked by these vampires. I can handle them myself."
"Are you sure?" Ukitake asked.
"You heard her, Ukitake. Let's go help someone who really needs it." Shunsui remarked, beginning to walk away.
"Alright. Good luck, Lady Annika." Ukitake said, also beginning to walk away.
"Likewise~" Annika remarked, readying herself for proper combat.
Jillur found himself limited to dodging the several blows the female vampire was throwing at him. The theatricality he had to go through, given the fact that he had to make himself look at maximum an equal to her bothered him. Since he knew he could easily take out the two vampires who attacked him, but he was now limited to dodging the blows of one of them while Starrk did the same to the other. Of course, Starrk had already some shallow cuts, since he had to make it seem as if he was weaker than Jillur.
"Starrk, go find someone else to help." Jillur said, dodging another blow.
"Un? Are you sure?" Starrk asked with a bored tone.
"I am. Just make sure you go around your opponent when you do."
Starrk did as instructed, dodging the vampire just as she was attacking. Seeing this Jillur jumped over his opponent just as she was doing the same, this resulting in both Brides landing a blow in each other. Being now in front of his two opponents, Jillur took his stance, before lunging head first into his angered opponents.
He stopped his charge when he was within their range of attack. He avoided one blow and acting quickly Jillur landed his fist on her arm, breaking the lower part, yet he was forced to throw himself back when the other vampire lashed out at him. Jillur found himself landing near the body of a magic caster. More particularly near the bag where she carried potions. Working under the assumption that it contained something that would affect the vampires, he grabbed onto it with one hand.
Just as he did this, the uninjured vampire went to attack him, which he responded by spinning around with incredible speed, hitting her face with the bag, and bathing her face with its contents. His idea seemed to work as she was momentarily stunned, allowing him to take advantage with a spinning kick that sent her falling down the wall. However, his victory was short lived, as the other vampire attacked him from behind throwing both herself and her pray also down the wall.
Cayo and Alvis were working together, as they were faced with four vampires. Cayo used a shield and large bardiche combination, while Alvis had several blades given to him by Yoruichi. Alvis threw himself to the ground, dodging the attack of his two own opponents, before throwing himself between them, almost like a cat. The Brides quickly turned around to face him, but were met with a barrage of small blades. This was but a small distraction as he quickly made his way past them to aid Cayo.
Cayo wasn't having the best time against his two opponents, since they were forcing him to spend most of his time hidden behind his shield, getting few strikes in. Luckily for him Alvis came to his rescue, jumping over him and throwing some well placed blades at the Brides, hitting one of them in the eyes, while getting the attention of the other. Seeing that one of his opponents was blind, Cayo was quick to act spinning around with his bardiche landing a clean blow on her neck, beheading the vampire, killing her.
"I-I did it!" He shouted, with what seemed to be genuine surprise.
He would go and help Alvis, but his senses picked up on the vampires behind him, both infuriated by what he had just done.
"Come on, ladies. I have enough for the both of you." He chuckled, taking his stance while puckering his lips in a kiss.
Leinas had found herself protecting a small group of adventurers from the two vampires that had attacked them and her. They were young and had little experience, which made her wonder why they were there in the first place, but that did not matter now. Harribel, like the rest of the servants, had joined the forces that were fighting the undead, while Nazz had long ago taken his fight to the forest below.
She had managed to do little to nothing to her opponents while in this predicament, simply because she had found herself too focused on helping people escape the vampires. She quickly looked back at the group behind her, only one of them was injured, bleeding from the gut, meaning he needed help fast.
"[Anti-Evil Protection]!"
"Now run all of you!" She roared after casting a divine defensive spell.
"B-But…" One of the female adventurers tried to speak, but the Espada quickly interrupted her.
"I'll take care of them, now go and get help for him."
The group did as she ordered, giving her the freedom she needed to actually fight back. She went for her [Piercing White Dragon Tusk], which added holy damage to her thrust attack. Leinas thrusted her spear towards one of the vampires, who managed to grab on to the weapon. Yet this was enough for her to feel the effects of the added divine-type energy. The bride let go of the spear, her hand burning. Leinas followed this by hitting the other vampire's legs with her spear sweeping them out from under her.
Leinas jumped at the fallen vampire, who quickly rolled out of the way causing the Espada to ram her spear into the floor itself. Before she could even try to remove it, the injured vampire slashed at her back, causing Leinas to let out a hiss. Trying to avoid what could follow, Leinas made a quick note of the injured adventurer, activating another [Martial Art] on her immobilized weapon.
"[Explosive Thrust]!"
The resulting blast, was enough to free her spear and destabilize the ground under the vampires. Seeing one of her opponents near the edge, Leinas reactivated her [Piercing White Dragon Tusk] art and charged at her, impaling the vampire as she went over the edge.
She landed in the same space Nazz did when it had all begun. The vampire was still pinned under her spear, yet she was quickly dealt with by the large broadsword that landed on her head. Leinas' eyes quickly went to the source, which was Nazz who had already dispatched one of opponents and had seemingly managed to cut down a tree so it would land on top of the other.
"You're welcome." He remarked, picking his blade back up.
"I had her."
"Maybe you can handle the other one by yourself then."
At the sound of those words, Leinas and Nazz jumped back as another Bride landed from the wall. Nazz had little time to recompose himself, as his remaining opponent jumped on his back trying to claw his armor away in order to get what one would expect to be underneath. He was quick to act, running backwards until he hit a tree. The impact causing her to let go long enough for him to spin around in order to behead her.
The vampire however was able to avoid the blow and throw herself at him, being able to send him onto the ground. Nazz did not let go of his blade and managed to stab her in the side, followed by a punch to the face. The Bride staggered backwards, her attention going momentarily to her injuries, a mistake that proved fatal as it gave Nazz the opening he needed to behead her.
Leinas managed to dodge the attack from her own adversary, who now seemed to be moved by her anger towards those who killed her kin, meaning her attacks were much simpler and easy to read. This allowed Leinas to land a hit on the vampire's head followed by the blast created by [Explosive Thrust], thus blowing the vampire's head off.
"What a pain." Leinas said with a sigh.
"You should have jumped when I did. We would have this finished much sooner." Nazz pointed out.
"I... got occupied with helping some people."
"A very noble thing to do." The Dragon Lord chuckled before continuing.
"But, we should go and help the others."
"Yeah. Let's move out."
Annika, was gasping for air as best as she could in order to convince the guards and magic caster around her, that she had nearly spend her magical reserves, after defeating the two vicious vampires.
"Don't you have any potions?" One of the guards growled, looking at the magic caster.
"I-I don't have anything for the energy she spent. I can only try to relieve whatever wounds she might have and her physical fatigue, even so I already spent my best potions on others."
"T-That's fine. I can still do my job." Annika remarked, using her staff to move forwards.
"You should stay put." Another guard pointed out.
"Not yet. I can still aid those in need. Now you...~" She said, looking at the magic caster
"Yes?"
"Take me to those that need healing.~" Annika said with a warm smile that could melt the heart.
"V-Very well. Help her walk and follow me."
Cayo and Alvis found themselves between the edge of the wall and the two remaining vampires. Cayo had already lost his shield, while Alvis was reduced to a single blade, both of them had several cuts.
"Maybe you should jump." Yoruichi suggested, standing behind them.
"Why don't you do something?" Cayo asked, keeping his eyes on the enemy.
"I'm just here to observe. And it isn't like the two of you are in any real trouble." The cat replied in an amused tone.
"Feh! Fine. What do you want to do?" He asked, looking at Alvis.
"We could run to the sides, perhaps divide their attention to each of us."
"We could also jump." Cayo suggested.
"I thought you were against that." Yoruichi reminded.
"I was hoping for a better option. But right now… I'm game."
Turning around, Cayo used his free hand to grab onto Yoruichi and jump down the wall, followed by Alvis who was forced to do the same, in order to get the attention of the two vampires.
The duo landed in a partially frozen part of the forest, the ice was thin, so it was already beginning to melt. Cayo had no time to look around, as the cat in his arms clawed at him, forcing him to let go of it.
"W-What did I do!?" He cried out in surprise.
"You have to hold me gently. Not like some bag of potatoes."
The conversation was brought to a quick end, when Alvis landed near them followed by the two vampires. Luckily for them, from the still frozen part of the forest Inon and Carmyn emerged, the small magic caster resting on his shoulder. They were covered in several scratches and tears in their clothing, especially Inon since he like usual had gone above and beyond to protect Carmyn.
"Are you two struggling?" Carmyn asked, with a yawn.
"Is it that obvious?" Cayo remarked with a sarcastic tone.
"Shall, I deal with them?" Inon asked.
"No. Let the children have their turn." She remarked.
"Hah! Great help you are! What happened to team work?"
"Speaking of which, maybe you should help Alvis. He's taking the two vampires at once." Carmyn comment with a finger pointed in his direction.
Indeed, Alvis was dodging each and every attack thrown at him, as if performing a strange dance with the deadly beings. Cayo could only sigh and join him, since Carmyn did not seem interested in helping them, yet he was not going to be upset at her for doing so. Everyone of the Espada had understood, that these vampires had attacked each of them in pairs, and that was why Carmyn had decided to have them finish off their own opponents.
Jillur, had not defeated any of his opponents, had lost part of his cloak, and had some scratches, but all of this seemed to be for nothing. He now wielded a sword that belonged to one of the small groups of adventurers who had come to assist him, yet were killed by one of the vampires.
He had managed to land several hits on them, yet he had refrained from delivering any killing blows, since he had noticed that they were mostly interested in him, and only disposing of others when they got too near. Since they were only interested in them, he took the opportunity to learn more about these vampires, thinking that the information could be useful in the future.
While this battle took place in the front gates of E-Rantel, Pandora's Actor watched the scene from the distance using a mix of [Invisibility] and [Fly] to be able to watch the event without being caught or disturbed. He had to admit he was surprised. These "Espada" were holding their own very well against the Vampire Brides. So much so that now there were only four remaining. The undead horde was also reduced to less than ten, but that was less impressive to him. After all they were such low level beings, yet the humans had suffered some losses and many injured.
[It's time to fallback. Ainz-sama is done with his fight against Shalltear.] Came Albedo's command via [Message].
"As expected of mein creator!~ But now is not the time for that, we must leave."
[We're falling back.] He commanded the Brides via [Message].
Upon his command, the remaining Brides began to run away from their opponents, something that baffled the Espada, yet they didn't interfere once they were certain they were truly escaped. As the vampires ran away, some of them went past the front gates and the people still there, who were worn out by their fight.
"T-They're running?" One asked, looking around.
"They're running!" Another declared.
"Momon must have done it!"
"He defeated the fiend that sent those things here!"
"Momon did it!"
Soon the wall and front gate lit up with the victorious cheers of those that had survived the battle. This was coupled with a full-on focus on helping those who had been injured or moving those who died.
"Get off of me." Grimmjow hissed, pushing aside a magic caster who wanted to help him.
"We should get going, Grimmjow." Harribel pointed out, approaching him.
"Bah! What a waste of my time."
Grimmjow growled, kicking one of the defeated undead next to him. Harribel however said nothing having already begun to walk away, leaving him with nothing else to do but go after her.
Ukitake had gotten himself involved with helping those in need. While Shunsui also did something similar however, he went about gathering those that had survived talking to them and keeping them at ease, even after an obvious victory. Soifon and Starrk had done a very similar thing, having done their part they returned to the Espada they had been accompanying in the start.
The Espada themselves were left to fake heavy exhaustion from what should have been hard fought battles against very powerful vampires. It was these battles and the willingness some of them had shown to help others all the while facing these foes, that lead to an unexpected showing of good faith and comradeship from the adventurers, magic casters, and guards at the scene. The different members of the Espada quickly found themselves being surrounded by the other people who had taken part in the battle, all praising them for their feats and asking if they needed any help.
At the same time Pandora's Actor got his order to fall back, Aizen was informed by Jaecar that the battle was over. He had been sent to the area where Shalltear was, equipped with a [Kido Cloak], a cloak based on the idea presented by those Aizen and Urahara had used. This kept the Espada hidden while he oversaw the scene from a distance of about 24 miles, with the use of items to mimic the [Fly] spell.
This proved valuable, as Jaecar noted the presence of several powerful beings in the area of the fight that seemed to be acting as sentries. Some were living, and others appeared to be undead creatures, that were about 2 meters in diameter with a pink body. They had countless murky eyes which looks like they are haphazardly sewn together, using eyes removed from the carcasses of many different types of creatures.
His instincts told him to stay well away from them, sensing their attention in his direction whenever he got too close to the area. Despite playing this game of cat-and-mouse, he was able to watch the battle as instructed by Aizen, while still remaining undiscovered. What he saw beggared belief as he saw displays of power and magical might that he knew would have seen his end, had he been caught up in it. Once the battle had ended he was able to leave the area without incident.
Aizen had watched the fight via Jaecar's [Angel's Blessing: Hunter's Guiding Eye], all the while resting in his office. His hands had rested during most of the time on top of the desk. When the battle ended, he moved his right hand under the desk, moving his arm as if he was performing a quick petting motion. After doing this, Amelia emerged from under the desk, a mischievous look on her face as she sat on the chair in front of him.
"That was… refreshing." Amelia remarked, leaning back on her seat.
"I'm glad that you found something to occupy yourself with, Amelia." Aizen said, composing himself in his seat.
"Indeed, it was so boring just waiting for the battle to end, I had to do something. But, putting a hold on that, how did it go?"
"A lot happened. I believe we should discuss it after everyone is present." The Shinigami replied, to which Amelia frowned.
"Surely, you can tell me something now."
"Very well. I believe that we are correct and that Ainz is related to Shalltear, and from what I saw not only is he related to her, but he may be one of the Supreme Beings she mentioned."
"T-Then does that mean he is a threat?" Amelia asked in surprise, to which Aizen simply smiled.
"..."