The screams of Phantom Lord members filled the air, usually following some sort of heavy impact. Fairy Tail was doing a bang-up job of annihilating their 'rivals' in retaliation, but none were so successful as Zangetsu. With every movement, another nameless mage discovered the bliss of unconsciousness, whether through the means of being crushed underfoot or experiencing the glee of temporary flight. After Erza got in front of them for cutting one of the mobs, they switched to using the flat of their blade. The feel and sound of bones shifting underneath skin was enough for the Hollow. They had withheld their reiatsu, deeming it too much of a waste. The Hollow normally did not see it that way, believing the best method of intimidation was overwhelming. However, survival instinct superseded the desire for domination, and so he kept to brute strength and speed.

Makarov brawled his way up a flight of stairs, and a pulse of Pesquisa told them that he was on the path to meeting someone with comparable reiatsu. They must be the guild leader. Zangetsu also felt a desire to unleash themself upon the enemy leader, but could content themself with annihilating whoever it was that attacked Levy. Surely, if they simply defeated everyone, the attacker would be amongst the number. It would be less immediately satisfying, but more gratifying overall to treat the attacker so lowly as to never even discover who they were. Plus, the Hollow thought, it would send the far greater message for others. To make it known that there would be a blanket punishment for all affiliated if anyone attacked those the zanpakuto cared about would ensure that people would stop each other rather than leaving idiots to their fates.

Another faceless mob was smacked through one of the overabundant support pillars, and another suffered a clawed foot slamming into their stomach to force them into the floor. A third was pulled up by the throat and thrown, then a fourth was bent over by the back of their weapon smacking into their stomach. Instincts flared, and the ebony blade was whipped around. The edge collided with an iron bar, digging far more shallowly than it should have as the power in their swing dragged the owner of the iron back. Empty pits met crimson eyes filled with arrogance, and orange hair fluttered back in generated winds just as ragged black locks did.

"Would ya look at that?" The man dressed in sleeveless black clothes smirked. "It's the newest member of Fairy Tail, Zangetsu." If his knowledge was supposed to be intimidating, he was soon to find himself disappointed. "Don't worry, I won't beat you too bad. You haven't had all that long to realize how stupid you are yet." Words like that only had meaning if the one speaking them could back them up. If the mage with iron bars for hands truly thought he could beat them, then he was surely as stupid as he was talkative. The man brought back one of his arms, readying to punch at the spirit. "I'll give you the Gajeel Special, just like that blue-haired Script Mage!" He roared.

Immediately, Zangetsu twisted their wrist, wrenching the so-called Gajeel's arm away and leaving his torso open for their left fist to thunder into his chest. Spittle flew out from the man's mouth as he was flung off his feet, his body folding over the fist before being launched into a wooden pillar.

"…You…hurt…Levy." They snarled as they stalked forward, crimson energy leaking from their body. The fool cracked out a laugh, standing up while rubbing the spot he had been punched.

"Oh, yeah." He announced with false recollection. "You've got a thing for the shrimp. To think I'd experience the luck of the chance to beat both of you senseless!" Yes, to think the buffoon would willingly offer himself as sacrifice. They stomped forward and, willfully throwing away Erza's earlier condemnation, swept their blade at Gajeel. The long-haired man brought up his iron-clad arms again to block, fully believing he could stop their strike in its tracks. Black metal met grey iron, bit a good inch into it, and pushed the mage's body back once that slowed. Red eyes widened, then the mage bent back, Zangetsu's blade passing over him before he straightened. He made to attack them again, only for them to simply turn their blade and invert their swing. Metal collided again, carving a deeper gouge into the man's arms but slowing to a stop before they could really sink in.

"That's a nice sword ya got there." Gajeel let out a dark laugh. "I can feel the magic coursing through it, and there's no smell of Lacrima." He shifted his arms so that he could fit his face between his forearms, his mouth splitting into a savage grin. "What a perfect meal for an Iron Dragon Slayer!" The reveal might have been more meaningful had his teeth not proceeded to loudly clang against the spirit metal.

"Rhat?!" The dragon slayer mumbled while his jaw remained clamped on the blade. Now infuriated by the audacity of the attempt, Zangetsu roared as they grasped the hilt of their weapon with both hands and tilted it, forcing both Gajeel's face and forearms to turn downward before they lifted him using it. A muffled shout left his throat as they swung him overhead and into the floor, causing the wood to shatter everywhere. They felt the sword dig deeper into his arms, as well as grate along his teeth to cut into the corners of his lips.

"…Hurt! …Levy!" Twisting their hips, they brought up their left leg while keeping their prey pinned with their blade. Draconic slits inside red irises shrank in fear as the man understood exactly what they were going to do, and how helpless he would against it. Before they could slam their foot into the back of the sword to forcefully drive it through his skull, the beast was struck. A combination attack of a flaming fist, ice-crafted hammer, and a straight sword crashed into their front and flung them off their would-be victim. Thankfully for the dragon slayer, the zanpakuto had let go of their weapon, leaving it driven halfway through his forearms and scraping the tendons in his jaw.

"Zangetsu! No Killing!" Erza shouted, standing with Natsu and Gray just behind her at her sides. An enraged snarl responded back, the Hollow even angrier due to not being able to justify using more reiatsu to push past them and finish him off. Equally as annoyed by having been interrupted, the Quincy wove a thread of reishi from their right hand to the hilt of their weapon, too thin for the eye to catch.

Catching on instantly, the Hollow snapped the arm back, the thread pulling taught. To their great irritation, Gajeel possessed the foresight to have already pushed his arms forward so that his jaw was not at risk of being severed. It meant that the only result of their ripping their blade back to them was an aggrieved cry and the sight of the dragon slayer's arms being wrenched painfully, but not in any serious way.

"Zangetsu!" Erza admonished with even greater heat to her voice. They met her anger with their own, a scratchy hiss shrieking out from their throat as they pointed the tip of their sword at the mage who was purposefully slowly shifting his arms back to flesh.

"…Le…vy!" Dammit, their speech was straining again.

"This is why you Fairies are so pathetic!" Gajeel had the audacity to cackle into the floor beneath him, currently hunched over on his knees as he hugged his arms to his stomach. "That pet demon of yours actually has the balls to do the job right, and here you are bitching and moaning about morals!"

"He's not a demon." Gray huffed immediately. "And if you know what's good for you, you'll save all of your talk about being pathetic for when your life's not on the line."

"Zangetsu, we're here to teach Phantom Lord a lesson about messing with Fairy Tail!" Natsu exclaimed. "Beating them senseless will be more than enough!"

"…Les…son…in…death." The zanpakuto argued. Another cackle leapt out from the iron dragon slayer.

"With a mindset like that, I can't help but wonder why the hell you joined Fairy Tail instead of Phantom Lord!" He shouted gleefully before tilting his head towards the trio of mages debating for his life. "After all, they're about to get that lesson right about now!" Before anyone could comment, there was a heavy crash, and a body plummeted from the ceiling. The chaos paused as everyone present turned to look at the source. To the great dread of every member of Fairy Tail in the building, the body was their Master's. He was alive, contradictory to the red-eyed man's words, but he was sweating and trembling, appearing too weak to even move. Zangetsu was the first to uncover the issue, thanks to their reiatsu sense.

"…No…Ma…gic!" They declared. Panic instantly filled the zanpakuto, as they realized the only way for the short man to be completely out of Magic would be for someone to have artificially drained him. The source must have come from Makarov clashing with the enemy guild leader, and so the blade focused his senses on the room the enemy still stood in. There was a second signature, the Quincy quickly realizing they were some sort of assassin who had successfully attacked the balding man.

"GRAB THE MASTER AND RETREAT!" Erza ordered as soon as she put the pieces together herself. Many of the other guild members made to argue, but she had none of it. "THE MASTER'S HEALTH TAKES PRIORITY! WE HAVE TO BRING HIM TO PORLYUSICA! HEAD BACK TO THE GUILD!" Gray proved to be the flagbearer for the movement, rushing over and forming an ice sled underneath the master before pulling it behind him. Several members automatically congregated around them protectively, to ensure no one could take advantage of the vulnerability. As more filtered out, it became easier for those remaining to understand it was better to leave, until only Erza and Zangetsu remained. She kept only to glare violently at the horned beast, wary of what they would do if left inside Phantom Lord alone. The swordswoman was in luck, for the threat of having the reiatsu which kept them alive being drained from them proved a good motivator to leave. They stepped forward, circled their left arm around her waist, and burst for the guild in Sonido.

Gratefully, the only ailment Makarov appeared to be suffering from was magical energy depletion. He had been taken to the apparent guild medic, who Zangetsu only just then discovered existed. It wrought confusion from them, that Levy was recovering on a bed inside the guild hall, yet both the master and medic were nowhere to be seen.

The basement they all resided in was filled with tension, everyone in a nasty mood. Cana was attempting to use her magic to find the other S-Class Mages of Fairy Tail. Most did not respond, though Laxus had taken only the time to announce he took down a branch of Phantom Lord and that they could do the same 'if they were worthy of being Fairy Tail' before ending the communication. Gray was toying with his Magic to distract himself and many of the nameless members were organizing some sort of battle plan. Mirajane was cooking so many magic-infused meals for Zangetsu that they realized it was her own form of stress-relief, even if they didn't understand why. Erza had attempted to shout the zanpakuto into submission and convince them that killing members of Phantom Lord was not a solution. To her great frustration, arguments with near-mutes were inherently difficult, and the fact that she could not threaten them with force weakened her point. To calm herself down, she left to take a shower.

Then Natsu had returned with Lucy. She had been kidnapped while most of the guild was assaulting Phantom Lord. Natsu had been the only one to notice. Worse, he had found and recovered her before Zangetsu had even begun to suspect. It had left a cold pit in the spirit's stomach. First, Levy had been attacked and pinned to a tree while the beast slept, then Lucy had been stolen while they were busy enacting their revenge. They should've been with Levy, walking home with her as they always did. Lucy should've been with the rest of the guild during the attack, if not been focused on with their reiatsu sense while she was out of sight.

Someone they cared about had been kidnapped before. Scheduled for execution, even. They had torn the perpetrators asunder.

'But we did not succeed the second time it happened, did we? We did not rescue Inoue-san, did we?' One half of the blade whispered mournfully.

'Shut up.' The Hollow seethed.

'Aizen was on his way to destroy Karakura Town when we left, that damn bat still clinging onto his waste of a life.'

'Shut Up!'

'I-' The Quincy was unable to say the name. 'Our wielder was the one who saved Kuchiki-san. He was the one who could protect.'

'I'm warning you, you dirtbag fragment.'

'And what exactly are you warning me of, Hollow? We're far too weak.'

'I was fixing that!'

'It only prolongs the problem, and both of us know it.' The lowly spoken words caused the Hollow's response to catch.

A series of rhythmic encroaching tremors reached their awareness, and the zanpakuto allowed it to consume their attention. They returned to perceiving the world around them, and saw the guild all rushing out the back of the basement, to the rear of the guild hall. Picking up their blade, they followed behind. The variety of bodies making up the guild made it difficult for the spirit to see past them, so they aggressively pushed through them to reach the front. They came upon the sight of a massive castle on legs standing off the coast and stomping its way toward them on its six feet.

Erza, just like them, fought her way through the crowd, ignoring the fact that she was dressed only in a towel. She stood equal to them firmly, her eyes stuck on the moving guild. Murmurs of shock echoed between the Fairy Tail mages, in awe of the mechanical innovation. For them, it was loud and menacing as it approached. For Zangetsu, they could only clench their hands tightly. The building itself did not emanate Magic, though they could sense that those who had not been brought down during Fairy Tail's assault were hiding within the roaming structure.

It stopped after a few more steps, close enough that the zanpakuto felt even the Fairy Tail mages could cross the gap. The quiet murmurs stopped, everyone waiting with baited breath for what would happen next. The eyes of most of the mages widened when a panel moved and a massive barrel extended from the opening, aimed directly at Fairy Tail. Erza moved automatically, darting forward with such panic that she disregarded her towel flying off her. Though, the mild concern was soon abated as a flash of light encompassed her. A moment later, she was revealed wearing a thick and heavy suit of armor, a half-shield on each of her forearms that were clearly meant to connect with each other. The redhead charged up to the cliff face and readied herself, swinging her arms to complete the shield before her. Not a moment too soon, blue and black light manifested inside the cannon's barrel, a powerful concentration of energy building within. Far too much energy for the swordswoman to deal with.

"Fire the Jupiter Cannon!" A voice echoed out across the water, from the standing structure.

"NO!" They screamed as they blurred forth. Their left hand whipped forward and grabbed tightly onto the back of Erza's armor.

"Zangetsu, what-!" The redhead was cut off as they pitched back and threw her behind them, her armor loudly clanking against itself as she tumbled. There was no time for anyone else to respond, the Jupiter cannon's light streaking forward, slow to the zanpakuto's eyes. They wouldn't stand by and risk Erza realizing too late that she could not defend against the blast. Taking the place the Requip Mage had been just a moment prior, the Hollow stomped forward and roared out his refusal. At the same time, their reiatsu funneled through their horns and into the shape of an orb of angry crimson hanging between the points. Just as the beam of magical energy reached the cliff face, the blade fired out their own, the two blasts colliding. Almost instantly, their crimson reiatsu overwhelmed the concentration of black and blue, pushing it back with unrelenting force.

"Zangetsu!" The cry of shock and anxiety came from Mirajane far behind them. They didn't allow it to deter them, their goal more important than her concern. After but three seconds, Zangetsu's Cero pushed the Jupiter Cannon's shot back until it reached the barrel, before pushing forward even more to blow the weapon apart. They cut off the attack once that was achieved.

A moment of stunned silence followed, all the mages present amazed by the display of power. They felt the twinge of Erza's reiatsu as she switched to a different armor, though she did not move from where they had thrown her. Mira, too, was stock still, though they guessed that had more to do with her reasonable concern about their reiatsu reserves. Even Phantom Lord seemed frozen, flabbergasted by the fact their prized weapon had been defeated in such a manner. Finally, to no one's awareness other than Zangetsu themselves, the spirit stood unmoving as well. Though, their reason did not stem from shock, awe, or anything similar to what the mages were feeling.

Noticed only by a highly select few, the sleeve adorning Zangetsu's arm shriveled and flaked slightly. It was only following that where the blade flexed their body, sliding their feet forward and straightening their back. The ears of only one caught the wet cracks and pops that reverberated inside the zanpakuto at each movement. They then began to lurch forward with slow, heavy steps, easily confused as the measured tread of overwhelming rage to anyone watching.

The blade reached out with their reiatsu sense for the walking guild hall. Several dozen signatures greeted them, but they couldn't waste themselves with the fodder. Focusing so intently, they realized the second-strongest signature was eerily similar to Natsu's, though with different variances than between Natsu and Laxus. It would seem the only similarity in reiatsu between dragon slayers was the taste of dragon scale. Here and now wasn't the time to deliberate that, however. They found the most powerful reiatsu, sitting inside the centermost tower toward the top. The Hollow hunched forward as he prepared to launch them directly at their target.

"Zangetsu, Don't!" Mira cried once more, her voice shrill with fear and desperation. She had broken out of her state upon seeing them ready to move, and was now running for them. Before she could reach them, the beast blitzed away in Sonido. The reiatsu of the one sitting in the tower was comparable to Makarov in its density, dizzyingly out of the league of any guild member of Fairy Tail. The dragon slayer with the aftertaste of iron was the second most powerful, and even with Natsu. Erza or any of Laxus' lackeys were stronger based off reiatsu, leaving the rest of Phantom Lord to easily be stormed by Fairy Tail. Their strength was certain, but so was the power of the enemy guild leader. Zangetsu had to be the one to fight them, anyone else was either despairingly outmatched or far too even for the blade's comfort.

Worse, even they had to be careful when they fought, if for a different reason than a difficult opponent. They could see it clearly in how the Phantom Lord guild hall still stood in the face of a Cero. In how the Jupiter Cannon even put forth resistance. In what happened after. Mirajane's magic outpaced their passive reiatsu consumption, but it was still laughable compared to their strongest. They had burned through most of it with that blast. Not enough for them to be concerned about if they would lose to the enemy guild master, but enough that they couldn't be reckless about it.

The Quincy thought about bursting through the brick. Surprise the enemy, then use a Sonido to kill them while they're still stunned to overall minimize reiatsu use. The Hollow rejected it. The guild master might be the paranoid sort, with magic protecting them. When they had more reiatsu, they couldn't simply burst through the runes from Laxus' lackey on the Island. Without a guarantee, they couldn't be wasteful with their reiatsu. It would burn them out quicker, and if their enemy was an endurance fighter, then that was a woeful mistake.

They crashed through the window instead, the glass shattering easily without the need to strengthen their Hierro. The room they found themselves in was akin to a throne room, complete with an ornate golden throne with red furnishing. It sat in the center of a large raised platform, with a carpet going from the throne and down the platform. A banner hung from the ceiling behind the throne, the symbol of Phantom Lord proudly proclaimed upon it.

Who could only be the guild master sat in it, his hands clutching the arms of the chair as he leaned forward with an infuriated look on his face. His green eyes were wide, and his dark red hair was strained back into a ponytail. A thin mustache went down past the corners of his lips, which were pulled back to reveal grit teeth. The man was dressed in a blue and gold militant outfit, a red cloak thrown over his left shoulder, but Zangetsu ceased paying close attention to that when they realized there were no weapons on his body.

"It's you again!" The man shouted. "First, you annihilate most of my guild on your lonesome, now you destroy my Jupiter Cannon?! Do you Fairies have any understanding of how much of an irritation you are?!" They focused only on the ethereal feel of his magic, dark like sludge yet still whispery and cold. What did that mean? What kind of Magic was that? Would their sword strikes faze through his body as though he were mist? Could he impart curses upon them? As much as it was a boon that their reiatsu sense gave them hints of what Magic wizards possessed, they were only hints. "My information told me you were nothing but a slumbering waste of space! The only notable thing I was told about you was that you spent all your time with that team I ordered Gajeel to attack!"

Oh, both halves of the zanpakuto agreed, so he's ABSOLUTELY dying today.

"How fortunate of me, then, that you were such an idiot to charge directly into my throne room! Die the same way your precious Makarov did!" Unfortunately for the guild master, Zangetsu was not Makarov. The zanpakuto whipped around, a flash of Pesquisa having informed them every detail of the assassin's positioning. A mage, especially an experienced one, would attempt to step out of the range of the attacker, learn their magic and how to counter it. The beast was no mage, and far more importantly, had a sword. Before the man standing behind them could even concentrate his Magic, his head had been removed from his shoulders. The zanpakuto continued their motion, the blood already sliding off due to the sheer speed, and cleaved the newly empty throne in two.

"So," the master purred, "Gajeel's report was right. You actually don't have problems with killing." They snapped back, finding the mustached man standing over his subordinate's corpse with his back to them. He turned to glance at the spirit from over his right shoulder, a grin dripping with hatred on his face. "Do you know how annoying it was to get an S-Class worthy mage for each of the four elements to create my Element Four? Air, especially!" Growling, the blade dashed forward, keeping their reiatsu burn at an absolute minimum while attempting to slaughter the green-eyed man. He kept up with them with far too much ease, retreating in equal measure to keep them at distance. "Air is such a weak element! Even Aira was only as strong as he was because of his Metsu spell!" The man continued to rant as he dodged the beast's attacks. Their basic speed was unfortunately matched by their opponent, and he was experienced enough to know how to evade properly. They would need to boost themself with Sonido or by amplifying their body with reiatsu, neither of which they could afford to do recklessly.

But, the Hollow did know some techniques they could use that were light on reiatsu use. A bala fired out from their left fist, shooting out and catching their enemy off-guard. It struck him dead in the center of his chest, and got him to stumble. The moment was all that was necessary for the blade to reach him and strike. The first slash ripped his coat, though he managed to use raw magical energy to strengthen his body and only suffer a light cut on his skin. Gathering himself quickly, he leaned out of the way of the second, third, and fourth slashes before he raised one hand and unleashed a dense violet concentration of energy from his palm at them. They ducked under the attack with ease, stabbing even as they shifted downward to force the master of Phantom Lord to twist out of the way. Without hesitation, they leaned forward and swiped horizontally, the dark red-haired man retreating just out of the range of the slash. Following that, the Hollow clenched his left fist and punched out, their opponent mirroring them so that their fists collided against each other. The resulting force brought both of them skidding back on their heels. Some form of respect appeared in his eyes as he shook out his left hand, Zangetsu standing cautious.

"You know, you'd be a good addition to Phantom Lord's ranks." The man announced. "I, Jose Porla, swear on my status as a Wizard Saint that if you agree to leave Fairy Tail and join my guild, I'll spare that girl Gajeel pinned to a tree." Wrong choice of words. The zanpakuto released a short roar of rejection. Jose's mouth curled into a sick smile.

"Good. I was hoping you'd say no." His magic flared, and his eyes changed, switching so that his sclera turned black with only his now-white irises visible. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I actually let one of you shitty little Fairies into my guild." The false joy on his face dissipated, a full sadistic grin ripping across his visage as he held his open hands out to his sides. Magic congregated in his palms, colored a dark, sickening violet.

"I do have to thank you for one thing, though!" The man shouted with glee. "Since you killed Aria, the Magic Council won't be able to give me shit about killing you!" His roar was the only warning before he thrust out his hands. Zangetsu instantly darted out to the side, but they found the reaction meant nothing as what burst out from the man was not a straightforward attack. A horde of wraiths erupted from his hands, energy shaping itself into countless incarnations of a cloaked form with long-clawed hands and glowing eyes peering out from shadowed hoods. A thousand shrieks filled the air as the phantoms flew out, locking onto the zanpakuto's form and following them relentlessly. In no time at all, they took up more space in the room than the very air, and the blade found themself unable to defend in every direction. The strengthening of their Hierro was an outright necessity to protect at all angles from energy-formed claws. A heavy horizontal swing took out half a dozen of the wraiths, but they were replaced just as quickly as they were cut down. Zangetsu was being swarmed, steadily being nicked to death and helpless to do anything about it. The Hollow was infusing their Hierro with as much reiatsu as he dared, but with so little of it remaining, the technique was only so effective. Constructions of Magic were slain with every blind swing, but this was the exact situation the zanpakuto knew they could not afford to be caught in. To do nothing was to have their Hierro be worn down to uselessness. To attack was to waste their stamina. To run was only an exercise in futility, Jose sure to chase after them. Killing the guild master was surely the solution, but it was meaningless to use their reiatsu sense with so much energy flooding around them.

A blast of magical energy fired into their back, and the spirit was blown forward. Before they even landed on the ground, High-Speed Regeneration took effect, the blade landing on their feet in physically the same condition as before the attack.

'Hollow!' The Quincy admonished.

'Our spine got hit in that, you dumbass!' Was hissed back. 'If I hadn't regenerated it, we wouldn't be able to evade anymore.' As they argued, another blast was fired, though they faced it this time. It was the same violet shade as before, and with a lightning-fast flash of crimson, the Hollow diverted it to the side with a bala. Immediately after it passed, the beast lunged while there was still a gap in the wraith swarm. Jose's toothy grin shone through the opening, and his right arm raised in an uppercut with his magic maliciously glowing over. In an attempt to defend, the Hollow's left hand wrapped over the rising fist, stopping the limb in its tracks but not the spell. Sick violet burst over the zanpakuto's arm, cracking the bone inside in several places as well as annihilating the muscle and causing the Hierro to break apart. Left in a situation where he was damned no matter what he did, the Hollow regenerated. To their dismay, Jose was overjoyed upon witnessing the repairs occur in front of him.

"A regenerator?" He chuckled with dark glee. "Oh, I can draw out so much from you now." The Hollow stabbed for the guild leader's head. The attack was evaded, the wizard's other fist crashed into the blade's right flank, and then another blast of magic blew the spirit away. Before they could get up, the phantoms had already congregated into a thick mass too dense to see through. "You're already missing a heart, clearly! I wonder what other organs you don't need!"

Zangetsu panted. They didn't have the reiatsu for this. Too much of the embers they clung onto was being spent keeping them in one piece. Jose was fresh and perfectly ready for the fight. It was getting harder to force their body to move. Snarling and forcing their rage to empower them, they stomped into a stand, swinging out viciously. By the time a dozen shades perished, so had the burst of energy. Regenerating had ripped too much of their reiatsu away, but it was wounds they wouldn't have been able to fight with.

A phantom rammed into their stomach, and they were only kept on their feet because their back collided with another wraith. So difficult to move, the Hollow desperately unleashed a Cero, uncaring of the consequences. Far too few shades were taken out, and the number meant nothing seconds later as all were replaced. With an ear-piercing wail, one of the constructs flew straight at Zangetsu. Especially after the utter failure that was the second Cero, it was all they could to do lean forward with their blade held straight out in front of them. The phantom was so lacking in intelligence it unflinchingly flew straight into it, the point impaling it directly in the stomach. They were so low on energy, running the wraith through took them with it. Their right leg buckled and they pitched forward, their weapon driving itself into the wood until it perfectly pinned the phantom by its stomach. Their own body was barely an instant after, crashing roughly onto the mass of magic. To their horror and dread, they couldn't effectively move anymore, their limbs hardly doing more than twitching in response to their commands.

"So," Jose sadistically smirked, "any last words?" The zanpakuto wanted to growl, to get up, to assault the guild leader and put him down. Unfortunately, it was a struggle just to breathe. Their body was so stiff and heavy, their reiatsu so low. They could barely hold their head up, let alone climb to their feet. The Hollow crept his right hand forward, not as an attempt to hide the movement, but because of how much effort it took to push it out. He managed to bring their head up, through using a combination of his horns and his left shoulder to wedge it up. It was not helped by the phantom slowly writhing beneath them, helpless to do anything about the sword impaled through its stomach.

Fighting his way to keeping his head aloft using his horns to brace, the Hollow found his hatred for Jose increasing. The guild leader watched the struggle with a sadistic open toothed smile, content to keep his hands behind his back and observe. It infuriated the spirit, to be mocked so openly and viewed as nonthreatening. The beast forced its jaw open, heaving through the haze of delirium and energy deprivation. They panted as they collected the last bits of their energy, forcing their left hand to shift under them to help support their body.

They wracked their minds for a solution, something to ensure Jose could not go after the rest of Fairy Tail. Makarov, the only other who could conceivably fight Jose, was still recovering from having all of his magic vacuumed from him. Only Natsu was idiotic enough to think that working together would make them stronger than the enemy guild leader. In a hypothetical best-case scenario, even Laxus was not likely to overcome the Phantom Mage.

An idea finally came to the Hollow as he considered that, and with it came a new, already fading burst of energy. Thankfully, that half-lit ember would be more than enough. Their hands slid along the floor until the zanpakuto had dropped onto their elbows, barely keeping themself from falling completely. That was fine. Panting one more time, Zangetsu spread their mouth open even wider as their horns loudly scraped along the wood with their following motion.

Crunch.

Next Chapter: Devour