'So…' Kisuke pondered as he saw the huge crevice in the ground stretched across dozens of feet and was so deep that the moonlight couldn't shine down at the bottom. 'That legendary mystic code...' he deducted, then glanced at the translucent gem-like dagger in Rin's right hand.
"The Jewel Sword Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg' he concluded. "Name after and wielded by the Wizard Marshal himself. An object created by the use of alien technology from the far future and embodies the second magic that magician is a master of" he then looked over the sheer length of the crevice in the distance as it cut through the forest.
"By swinging the dagger, the user cuts open a portal to a parallel world, draws the magical energy from into the blade, and fires it off as a powerful wave of light" Kisuke then gazed over at Rin. "Given that there are theoretically an infinite number of worlds and the cutten portals to those worlds could very well be random. The wielder can pretty much channel an infinite amount of magic energy as an attack just by swinging that dagger"
Kisuke then landed on the ground behind Rin who gave the shopkeeper a smug grin. "To think that such a young Magus managed to get such a weapon…or I rather say somehow managed to recreate it…"
Rin then let out a prideful huff "Let's just say I had little help in finally finishing this generation-long project" She then furrowed her eyes. "And not only but I also figured out the weakness of your Bankai Shinigami!" Rin declared while raising her dagger at him.
Kisuke then lifted an eyebrow at that declaration. "Have you now?"
Rin then tightens the grip on her weapon. "Indeed for dispute, it's the fearsome ability to reconstruct everything around it has a very short range!"
Kisuke then frowns at the statement.
"It is why you always stand close to your comrades as much as possible to keep enchantments you place on them and the moment they exit that range they will revert to normal!" she declared and Kisuke gave her a knowing grin. "I unleashed that blast not to hit, but to separate you from your commands and deprive them of their enchants as they face off against Berserker!"
Urahara then let out a short chuckle "Well I guess it was a little obvious about the limitations of my Bankai…" he then frowns. "But you are naive if you thought I didn't anticipate that"
Then before Rin's eyes, several stitch-like markings appeared on the ground, split open within, and out of them appeared Rukia and Orhime much to the Magus's shock.
"I will leave you two with her. "Kisuke said and jumped into another hole while Rin growled in frustration.
"Get back here!" she cried as she began to swing her dagger only for Rukia to flash step behind her and launch a wave of ice from her shikai.
Forcing Rin to turn her body around and retaliate by delivering a large slash of light to destroy the ice wave and making the shinigami use another flash step to avoid the energy blast.
"Damn it…" Rin cursed to herself. "And to think I thought we had the tables turned…"
Meanwhile, Illyasviel and Berserker continued to struggle against, Chad, Uryu, and Renji, who due to Urahara's bankai enchantments were able to match Berserker's strength and keep up with him.
'It seems that Rin's plan to take out that shinigami failed…" Illsveil thought as she saw Berserk block a punch from Chad's fist. 'And if this keeps up it will only be a matter of time before they kill off the remainder of his life'
Then before Illyasviel's eyes, the massive snake head of Renji's Bankai came dashing down at Berseker at immense speed. With the Servantreadying himself to embrace for impact.
Yet before the strike came Renji, Sado, and Urahara were suddenly bombarded with a rain of swords that forced them to take cover.
"Seems we both arrive here just in time," Archer announced cheekily with his bow ready while Illyasviel smiled and sighed in relief.
Sado then readied his left arm. "He must be one of the servants who managed to defeat Kenpachi" the man decided. "Meaning that things might have become a bit more difficult"
Renji then snorted. "Don't worry about it too much" the vice-captain spat in an almost reassured voice. "Even if he did manage to out Kenpachi Zarakai it was a team effort and gotten worn down by it" He then readied the snake skull of his bankai to prepare for another attack. "All we need to do now is to keep our guard up and he'll fall"
Archer then chuckled at that remark. "You don't believe it would be that easy do you?" He asked mockingly and Urahara furrowed his eyes at the Servent.
"I wouldn't say easy…" Kisuke lamented. "But even with your range attacks and mele skill. I find it rather odd that you still believe you can secure a win in this battle"
Archer then huffed haughtily at that. "I am no stranger in winning battles where the odds are against me…so long as the chance of success isn't zero"
He then glared at Kisuke. "And secondly dispite what I have shown you. I am not someone who can be considered a bow-man or swordsman"
Archer's mana began to rapidly rise much to the Shinigami, Shirou's, and Illyasviel's shock.
"But rather I fit more into the role of a Magus"
The man stated and then began to recite a verse.
"I am the bone of my sword" he spoke and Renji immediately became alarmed.
"Stop him before he finishes whatever the hell he is doing!" he ordered out and immediately tried to launch the bone snake head of his bankai at him…only to be blocked by Shirou using a projection of Kenpachi's Zaraki's zanpakuto. Much to Renji's frustration.
"Steel is my body and fire is my blood"
Uryu then leaped up into the air and fired a volley of Arrows at Archer, but the Servent simply raised his hand and blocked them with Rio Arise.
"I have created over a thousand blades"
Sado then tried to attack Archer from behind but was then stopped by Hercules who defended him.
"Unknown to death nor know to life"
Renji then snarled. "Get out of the way!" as he tried to push Shirou out of the way. Only to learn to his disbelief that the kid has strength comparable to Kenpachi's and struggles to push Shirou out of the way even with his enchantments.
"Have withstood pain to create many weapons"
Urahara himself tried to intervene but was immediately forced to dodge out of the way when he sensed another wave of magical energy coming and upon looking back he noticed that Rin had managed to arrive back on the battlefield even with Rukia and Orhime on her trail.
"Yet those hands will never hold anything"
Uryu then tried to use the flying step to get behind Archer in last last-ditch attempt to shoot him down only to force himself to move when The Einzbern cast Degen. A large claymore made of glowing white wires from her hair.
"So as I pray, Unlimited Blade works!"
The ground cracked apart and blue flames exploded from underneath while the entire area was then bathed in light.
When everyone's vision cleared, they all gasped for what they saw, for instead of being inside a national park, they were in a barren field covered with countless of swords with various shapes, while the sky was basked in the rays of twlight overcast by clouds…and from what emerged below them where gigantic clockwork gears.
"What the Hell…" Renji voiced out in shock as he looked over the landscape before him. "Is this!?"
Rukia also shared his expression. "Is this…some sort of boundary field?" she questioned but Urahara appeared behind her and shook his head.
"Yes…and of that of the highest teir…and something I never thought a Servant like him would be able to use" He lamented. While Uryu looked over at Kisuke in confusion.
"What do you mean?" The Quincy asked as he looked uneasy at the world around him.
Kisuke then paused and spoke out.
"A Reality Marble…" The shopkeeper spoke forebodingly. "A forbidden greater magecraft in which as the name suggests materializes one's inner world onto reality itself"
Renji, Rukia, Uryu, Orhime, and Sado gasped in disbelief at what Urahara said.
Renji then looked around at the sky and the gigantic gears with a quivering gaze. "Are you serious…this entire place" he then looked over to Archer "…is that Servent's inner world!?"
Rukia in turn gazed over to the horizon which seemingly went on with no end. " No way…not even a captain's Bankai…not even Soya's was shown capable of something like this"
Uryu then tightens his bow and glars back at the enemy. "Which also means that whatever power the enemy has over this place would be beyond immense"
On the side of the battlefield Illyavsei, Rin, and Shirou looked up in awe at the projected inner world. While Rin looked on to her Servant.
"So this is your true power, Archer…" she spoke slowly. "This reality marble?"
Archer then let out a low laugh. "You could say it is my true noble phantasm as all the other weapons I made are but replicas of the real thing" He then looked over to the Shinigami group. "However…just because something is a replica…doesn't mean it can't have its uses…"
With a wave of his right hand, hundreds of blades then materialized above Archer and the other group immediately went on edge.
Then by simply lowering the hand at his enemies, The Heroric spirit fired all the weapons at once and the Shinigami, Quincy, and Fullbringer immediately tried to defend themselves, with Orhirme casting Santen Kesshunin in front of herself and her friends to block the relentless assault, as each of the bladed armaments were shot with enough force to shatter the earth upon impact.
With Shirou looking on in memorization.
'Amazing…' He thought. 'All those blades he summoned must have been from all the noble phantasms he has seen throughout his life and he can fire all of them at once as a compassing bombing raid'
He smirked with confidence but then noticed Archer glancing at him…and then Shirou noticed he was getting weary and could also sense that Tousaka's mana supply was running low further looking at her body, he also noticed that her arms and knees seemed strained.
"I can only maintain this boundary field for a limited time "Archer spoke to his group. "So when I am finishing assaulting them from above, you use that opportunity to finish them all off as I continue to back you all up understood?"
Shirou, Rin, and Illyveil all nodded as they, along with Hercules, rushed off at their pin-down enemies. They, in turn, immediately defended themselves.
In what could very be their final clash.
At the same however, when all these battles took place there was one on top of the Rooftops between Shunsei and the horn-masked Adjuchas hollow who kept spawning flying bladed worms from his right arm at him. Yet Shunsei easily cut all of them down with his two zanpakuto before rushing to the Hollow to do the same thing to him.
Yet to Shunsei's confusion and slight frustration, the Hollow kept regenerating from each of his strikes with ease, even when he stabbed and slashed through his heart. Served his his limbs pierced his head and beheaded the spirit. Yet the menos healed his wounds within seconds while barely if at all reacting to the strikes. While continuing to send his insects to fight Shunsei.
"This is rather interesting..." Shunsei commented. "I keep trying to cut you down yet you still keep standing up as if nothing happened while continuing to send those worms at me...are you trying to wear me down or something?"
Then menos looked over to the captain and gave a stoic expression. "It was my master who insisted that I fight you...but apparently, he isn't fully aware of the actual stamina of a captain-level shinigami" he spoke in a dark, distorted voice. In contrast, Shunsei eyed him with curiosity.
"Your master you say?" he spoke intruged. "Mind telling me who he is?"
The Hollow then chuckled. "If I give even the slightest hint my one life would be forfeit in an instant..."
Shunsei then frowns on hearing that answer. "Really?" he said sternly. "Then that just makes me even more curious of who he is...or your actual motives in this war"
The Hollow then grins beneath his mask and then looks over to the crescent moon in the night sky. "My motives are of that of my master...to remain hidden"
Shunsei then remains silent before sighing. 'Well then I guess I have little choice but to continue to fight you until it eventually becomes known" he responded evenly and proceeded to continue his fight against the Hollow.
However under another night sky with a crescent moon within a realm beyond that of the living, whose reflective light shines down below an endless white desert. Stood a group of Adjuchas who looked just like that ofHornn Hollow…and who had all just finished devouring an entire hoard of menos numbering in thousands before moving on to their next feast.
Well, Archer has Just unleashed his reality marble and the tides have finally fallen into the Servent's and Magi's favor.
How will the Shinigami get out of this one well stay tuned for the next couple of Chapters.
Merry Christmas!