18 advance chapters in my Patreon.
Patreon.com/Saintbarbido.
::------------------------------------------::
(General P.O.V)
The entire building complex shook as Cheshire managed to infiltrate it.
No one was manning the entrance besides a shimmering curtain of energy that she could perceive with her mask.
Of course, she immediately sort other ways to enter, finally moving through a sort of drainage she found underground.
There was a system of tunnels leading inside that were free of any meaningful security.
The one who set up the magic formation must have been skeptical about anyone using the tunnels to go into the prison.
Very quickly she moved through the cell blocks. Each individual cell containing glowing yellow manacles attached to chains on the wall.
The whole building was completely empty of anything save for the furthest section.
She hurried through and finally arrived at where most of the glowing lines of energy seemed to converge.
Cheshire gripped her Sais tightly as she heard the chains rattle.
"Come to gloat once more dear sister?"
A female voice croaked from within.
It was full of venom and hate while also being scratchy and dry, showing disuse.
And also very familiar. At least from tv Interviews and press tours.
Cheshire moved closer. Enough to see past the small bars but still out of the zone of the complex formation surrounding the cell.
"How can I break you out?"
The Assassin immediately asked as another rumble rocked the building.
"What? Who...who are you? You're not Hila."
The voice inside changed tones. Now it sounded suspicious and hopeful.
"You hear that shaking?" Cheshire enquired moving around the hallway m while looking for a weak point.
"That's my...friend. I'm guessing he's fighting whoever put you in here. We don't have time for your sob story or for me to assure you that you can trust me. How do I get you out of here?"
The woman inside was silent for a while.
"I am Queen Mera of Atlantis. If you're genuine about freeing me then get me a half cup of water. I'll handle the rest."
Cheshire smirked.
"Of course your highness. Gimme a second."
The assassin couldn't believe her life. A few weeks ago she would have been the one delivering the final blow to a dignitary like Queen Mera, but now here she was, doing the saving thing.
Just goes to show anything can happen.
(Davian's P.O.V)
Barragan Luisenban, the God of Hueco Mundo was like a reactor for Reiryoku.
The earlier spirit pressure was nothing compared to what he was releasing now.
My chest felt constrained and all I could do was stand in place, witnessing Barragan's Power-Up.
The Ressureccion, an Arrancars' answer to a Soul Reaper's Bankai.
Fuck that. I wasn't going to let him power up, this wasn't an Anime.
I wasn't a main character awed to submission by the waves of power exuding out of my opponent.
My philosophy had always been, 'line it up, take the shot and Never Miss.'
Chesha Neko's blade reformed in my hands from the endless strings around my body. My hand tightened on it's grip.
One thing I noticed before was that my Shunpo was abnormal. The skill simply did not work as it was supposed to.
Flash step was merely a burst of energy that escaped your heel and pushed you forwards.
However, ever since my confrontation with the Flash, Shunpo had changed. Now it felt like my entire body would buzz with power everytime I activated the skill.
It could be argued I was exhibiting a talent in Shunko, which was like an upgraded form of Hoho( high speed movement skill) combined with elemental Kido.
However, I had a different theory.
Regardless, what it did was also increase my reaction time and perception. I could think faster by virtue of over-clocking my brain.
So in a second, I already had a strategy to deal with the old Hollow.
A simple but effective strategy.
My real body appeared right infront of him, hands pulled back and in the middle of a swing.
"Impudent ant. You dare attack me head on?!"
Barragan seemed amused at the move. And he was right. Normally, I wouldn't have a chance in a direct confrontation.
However this wasn't as direct as he thought. I needed to make him suffer for his overconfidence.
He must have thought Hierro would tank any attack I could come up with.
That was his biggest mistake as I did actually have something that could hurt him.
Two of my clones constructed by strings appeared to the left and the right of him.
Flash-time gave me the capability to process information rapidly from the two clones, effectively allowing me to be in three places at once.
The clone on the right readied his hand then pushed out with the sheath. The air around Barragan begun to swirl, pushing the tendrils of purple miasma around his form towards the sky.
That gave the second clone a direct line of sight to Barragan's skeletal form, giving him an opportunity to cast one of the only two bakudo spells I knew.
"Bakudo no 4: Hainawa."
Normally such a simple skill would not work on someone like Barragan. It was just a simple spirit energy construct.
Even exposure to his Reiatsu alone would have destroyed Hainawa in an instant.
Except for one thing.
Hainawa was the perfect suppressing tool to use for someone like me.
My Hainawa was cast by weaving durable threads into the bindings of the spell, making the spell much much stronger.
Enough to creep around his bony body and ensnare him to the already destroyed ground.
In a split second, I'd eliminated his main means of attack and restrained him. Then came the finisher.
My real body surged with energy. A cloak of power covering me as I committed to the attack.
"Getsuga...Tensho!"
Instantly, all of the Reiryoku within me was completely drained following the activation of 'Fuck you no. 1: Getsuga Tensho.'
A broken ability. Why?
The secret to Getsuga I'd stumbled across was that I could simply pour in as much Reiryoku as I wanted without destabilizing the attack.
Reiryoku just really wanted to be released that way. A super compressed, wide and roaring purple arc.
Space bent around it, unobstructed as it closed the small distance between us in an instant.
Barragan's jaw hung wide open.
"YOU WRETCHED SCUUUUMMM!!"
He insulted me.
"FUCK YOU!"
I shot back in a fit of vindication and glee. He had survived over a dozen Akai Inazuma, let's see if his bullshit powers could save him from this.
The Getsuga landed and the repercussions were more than I had expected. The entire city tilted as a chunk of the ground rose up followed by a monumental plume of dust.
"Did I get him?"
I asked Chase, whose sensing skills were even better than mine.
Before he could answer, I heard a snort then,
"Respira."
The word came from his bony maw. In an instant, the world seemed to lose all color as the dust, stones and other debris hanging in the air in free fall disintegrated.
I felt my body freeze as more Reiatsu burst out of him.
The miasma in his control coagulated around him into a vortex of power before exploding outwards.
"You need to run. Now!"
Chase urgently yelled.
I didn't argue with him. Or rather, I couldn't. My entire body was locked down.
"You power fails to move me, little Ant."
His voice was the ultimate mood killer. Filled with despair and desperation. Fitting for one with the power of rot.
"I was alive before the first hollow." He declared, his steps silent as he walked out of the crater, the battle axe in his hands, longer and larger while also being pitch black.
He walked on the air, platforms of spirit energy manifesting under his feet.
"I have claimed dominion over a dimension filled to the brim with creatures of nightmares. Beings of incredible power have fallen under the ravages of time. I persisted. I held on..."
And within no time at all, he loomed over me, his height close to 9 feet.
I still couldn't move due to the pressure. Is this how my enemies felt?
"Tell me boy, what hope do you have of saving yourself from the Ultimate Nullifier? How dare you try to stand up to TIIIMMMMEE!!"
He raised the battle axe, intent on bringing it down on my frozen form.
Up close his Spirit Pressure was getting even more suffocating.
All I wanted to do was curl up and...
"Snap out of it!"
Chase roared out from within my soul.
Immediately, strings launched off my back, weaving through one of the remaining pillars around the Palace and jerking me along.
"Diiieeee!"
Barragan brought down his weapon, curving out another section of the ground.
Half of the Palace was sheared off by the arc of time energy launched off the battle axe.
I swallowed as I used Shunpo to take me away from the Palace grounds to another building on the outskirts.
This one bearing similarities to a bell tower.
If that had been me...
"Where are you running off to?"
Barragan's voice came from my side. Shit. I forgot he was faster than me!
Strings weaved into Chesha Neko and I lifted it up in a cross guard, blocking the bladed part of the Battle Axe.
The chains around his Zanpakuto rattled as a shockwave was produced by the collision. I was pushed back by his immense strength. The bones in my hand trembled from the impact.
I stepped to the side to avoid a burst of time energy, lashing out at his face with Chesha Neko.
He leaned back but I extended the length of the weapon and managed to chip off a small piece of his boney face.
The bell tower under us withered away but we remained standing in mid air.
Barragan seemed to be caught off guard by my attack.
'Now's my chance!'
I pulled in, strings in my back attached to another building, ready to pull me away incase he tried to attack with his Ressureccion.
Chesha Neko neatly stabbed into his chest. The pointed end came out of the other side, the sword spearing through and out his back.
Sparks of electric energy run along it's form as I pulled on the soul of Air, specifically the hydrogen.
When molecular hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2) are combined and allowed to react together, energy is released.
Depending on the concentration of Hydrogen, the explosion can range from mild to something like what happened. (Thanks chemistry teacher who understood that just because I was a Criminal didn't mean I didn't deserve an education.)
Barragan's entire chest was blown apart in a violent explosion. Red plumes of flames with flashes of blue intermixed roared out into the sky behind him.
The Hollow God - King groaned in pain, the hand holding the Battle Axe dropping as he stared down at the massive hole through his chest.
"Barragan Luisenban. The one closest to death, yet so convinced he's eternal."
I addressed him, a mocking smile on my face.
"The proudest of the Espada, yet relegated to second place behind an ambitionless Hollow like Stark. You want to know how I, a mere lieutenant rank beat you? It's because you underestimated me."
Barragan lifted his head, opening his jaw wide.
Then instantly, his entire body turned into a dark liquid that splashed across my body. My strings sizzled as they were eroded by the water.
"Huh?"
"Get rid of that now!"
Chase immediately yelled.
I discarded the strings around my body, before they could completely get consumed by the power of time.
I extended stronger strings to cover the patches of the purple costume eaten away by his rot.
Shunpo created distance, and I looked down at the spot of our previous confrontation.
The entire city had begun shaking. From within the tunnels under, more black liquid broke through the man hole, looking like oil but moving with the fluidity of water.
The water rose up into long tentacles that combined in mid air, compressing and giving shape to something. Or someone.
Barragan. Unhurt. He almost looked like a god, his hands were spread out in a dramatic pose.
"Chase, what is this? I don't feel any spirit energy. It feels like..."
I frowned in distaste, trailing off as I realized what was happening.
It was what I'd been fearing.
"This is what you meant when you said there was something else within him. It's Magic, isn't it?"
Instead of answering, Chase asked a question.
"What are you going to do now? Your Reiryoku reserves are basically empty and you might fall out of Shikai any minute. Not to mention..."
"I have an idea."
I cut him off as I thought of something crazy.
I looked at Barragan. Or rather the dark purple miasma around him.
"Chase, how many years can you say I might live?"
It took a second for my Zanpakuto to catch on to what I was planning.
"You're... you're mad. Truly insane."
He said in unfiltered shock. There wasn't the same undertone of pride I usually heard from him anytime I did something bold.
This told me that my idea was truly reckless.
I stretched my shoulder, hearing the bones on my neck creak as I readied myself for something suicidal.
"Just answer me. Soul Reapers grow stronger with age right? And his power is time. So if I get exposed to it, that should give me a decent power up. Enough to close the gap of power between us. Especially because I don't have access to my own Bankai."
"You're truly..."
Chase begun but I was already committed to the attack.
Shunpo pushed me forward with ease. But this time I wasn't going to dodge, this time I was running straight into the danger.
This time there was a chance I could actually Die.
18 advance chapters in my Patreon.
Patreon.com/Saintbarbido.
::------------------------------------------::
(General P.O.V)
The entire building complex shook as Cheshire managed to infiltrate it.
No one was manning the entrance besides a shimmering curtain of energy that she could perceive with her mask.
Of course, she immediately sort other ways to enter, finally moving through a sort of drainage she found underground.
There was a system of tunnels leading inside that were free of any meaningful security.
The one who set up the magic formation must have been skeptical about anyone using the tunnels to go into the prison.
Very quickly she moved through the cell blocks. Each individual cell containing glowing yellow manacles attached to chains on the wall.
The whole building was completely empty of anything save for the furthest section.
She hurried through and finally arrived at where most of the glowing lines of energy seemed to converge.
Cheshire gripped her Sais tightly as she heard the chains rattle.
"Come to gloat once more dear sister?"
A female voice croaked from within.
It was full of venom and hate while also being scratchy and dry, showing disuse.
And also very familiar. At least from tv Interviews and press tours.
Cheshire moved closer. Enough to see past the small bars but still out of the zone of the complex formation surrounding the cell.
"How can I break you out?"
The Assassin immediately asked as another rumble rocked the building.
"What? Who...who are you? You're not Hila."
The voice inside changed tones. Now it sounded suspicious and hopeful.
"You hear that shaking?" Cheshire enquired moving around the hallway m while looking for a weak point.
"That's my...friend. I'm guessing he's fighting whoever put you in here. We don't have time for your sob story or for me to assure you that you can trust me. How do I get you out of here?"
The woman inside was silent for a while.
"I am Queen Mera of Atlantis. If you're genuine about freeing me then get me a half cup of water. I'll handle the rest."
Cheshire smirked.
"Of course your highness. Gimme a second."
The assassin couldn't believe her life. A few weeks ago she would have been the one delivering the final blow to a dignitary like Queen Mera, but now here she was, doing the saving thing.
Just goes to show anything can happen.
(Davian's P.O.V)
Barragan Luisenban, the God of Hueco Mundo was like a reactor for Reiryoku.
The earlier spirit pressure was nothing compared to what he was releasing now.
My chest felt constrained and all I could do was stand in place, witnessing Barragan's Power-Up.
The Ressureccion, an Arrancars' answer to a Soul Reaper's Bankai.
Fuck that. I wasn't going to let him power up, this wasn't an Anime.
I wasn't a main character awed to submission by the waves of power exuding out of my opponent.
My philosophy had always been, 'line it up, take the shot and Never Miss.'
Chesha Neko's blade reformed in my hands from the endless strings around my body. My hand tightened on it's grip.
One thing I noticed before was that my Shunpo was abnormal. The skill simply did not work as it was supposed to.
Flash step was merely a burst of energy that escaped your heel and pushed you forwards.
However, ever since my confrontation with the Flash, Shunpo had changed. Now it felt like my entire body would buzz with power everytime I activated the skill.
It could be argued I was exhibiting a talent in Shunko, which was like an upgraded form of Hoho( high speed movement skill) combined with elemental Kido.
However, I had a different theory.
Regardless, what it did was also increase my reaction time and perception. I could think faster by virtue of over-clocking my brain.
So in a second, I already had a strategy to deal with the old Hollow.
A simple but effective strategy.
My real body appeared right infront of him, hands pulled back and in the middle of a swing.
"Impudent ant. You dare attack me head on?!"
Barragan seemed amused at the move. And he was right. Normally, I wouldn't have a chance in a direct confrontation.
However this wasn't as direct as he thought. I needed to make him suffer for his overconfidence.
He must have thought Hierro would tank any attack I could come up with.
That was his biggest mistake as I did actually have something that could hurt him.
Two of my clones constructed by strings appeared to the left and the right of him.
Flash-time gave me the capability to process information rapidly from the two clones, effectively allowing me to be in three places at once.
The clone on the right readied his hand then pushed out with the sheath. The air around Barragan begun to swirl, pushing the tendrils of purple miasma around his form towards the sky.
That gave the second clone a direct line of sight to Barragan's skeletal form, giving him an opportunity to cast one of the only two bakudo spells I knew.
"Bakudo no 4: Hainawa."
Normally such a simple skill would not work on someone like Barragan. It was just a simple spirit energy construct.
Even exposure to his Reiatsu alone would have destroyed Hainawa in an instant.
Except for one thing.
Hainawa was the perfect suppressing tool to use for someone like me.
My Hainawa was cast by weaving durable threads into the bindings of the spell, making the spell much much stronger.
Enough to creep around his bony body and ensnare him to the already destroyed ground.
In a split second, I'd eliminated his main means of attack and restrained him. Then came the finisher.
My real body surged with energy. A cloak of power covering me as I committed to the attack.
"Getsuga...Tensho!"
Instantly, all of the Reiryoku within me was completely drained following the activation of 'Fuck you no. 1: Getsuga Tensho.'
A broken ability. Why?
The secret to Getsuga I'd stumbled across was that I could simply pour in as much Reiryoku as I wanted without destabilizing the attack.
Reiryoku just really wanted to be released that way. A super compressed, wide and roaring purple arc.
Space bent around it, unobstructed as it closed the small distance between us in an instant.
Barragan's jaw hung wide open.
"YOU WRETCHED SCUUUUMMM!!"
He insulted me.
"FUCK YOU!"
I shot back in a fit of vindication and glee. He had survived over a dozen Akai Inazuma, let's see if his bullshit powers could save him from this.
The Getsuga landed and the repercussions were more than I had expected. The entire city tilted as a chunk of the ground rose up followed by a monumental plume of dust.
"Did I get him?"
I asked Chase, whose sensing skills were even better than mine.
Before he could answer, I heard a snort then,
"Respira."
The word came from his bony maw. In an instant, the world seemed to lose all color as the dust, stones and other debris hanging in the air in free fall disintegrated.
I felt my body freeze as more Reiatsu burst out of him.
The miasma in his control coagulated around him into a vortex of power before exploding outwards.
"You need to run. Now!"
Chase urgently yelled.
I didn't argue with him. Or rather, I couldn't. My entire body was locked down.
"You power fails to move me, little Ant."
His voice was the ultimate mood killer. Filled with despair and desperation. Fitting for one with the power of rot.
"I was alive before the first hollow." He declared, his steps silent as he walked out of the crater, the battle axe in his hands, longer and larger while also being pitch black.
He walked on the air, platforms of spirit energy manifesting under his feet.
"I have claimed dominion over a dimension filled to the brim with creatures of nightmares. Beings of incredible power have fallen under the ravages of time. I persisted. I held on..."
And within no time at all, he loomed over me, his height close to 9 feet.
I still couldn't move due to the pressure. Is this how my enemies felt?
"Tell me boy, what hope do you have of saving yourself from the Ultimate Nullifier? How dare you try to stand up to TIIIMMMMEE!!"
He raised the battle axe, intent on bringing it down on my frozen form.
Up close his Spirit Pressure was getting even more suffocating.
All I wanted to do was curl up and...
"Snap out of it!"
Chase roared out from within my soul.
Immediately, strings launched off my back, weaving through one of the remaining pillars around the Palace and jerking me along.
"Diiieeee!"
Barragan brought down his weapon, curving out another section of the ground.
Half of the Palace was sheared off by the arc of time energy launched off the battle axe.
I swallowed as I used Shunpo to take me away from the Palace grounds to another building on the outskirts.
This one bearing similarities to a bell tower.
If that had been me...
"Where are you running off to?"
Barragan's voice came from my side. Shit. I forgot he was faster than me!
Strings weaved into Chesha Neko and I lifted it up in a cross guard, blocking the bladed part of the Battle Axe.
The chains around his Zanpakuto rattled as a shockwave was produced by the collision. I was pushed back by his immense strength. The bones in my hand trembled from the impact.
I stepped to the side to avoid a burst of time energy, lashing out at his face with Chesha Neko.
He leaned back but I extended the length of the weapon and managed to chip off a small piece of his boney face.
The bell tower under us withered away but we remained standing in mid air.
Barragan seemed to be caught off guard by my attack.
'Now's my chance!'
I pulled in, strings in my back attached to another building, ready to pull me away incase he tried to attack with his Ressureccion.
Chesha Neko neatly stabbed into his chest. The pointed end came out of the other side, the sword spearing through and out his back.
Sparks of electric energy run along it's form as I pulled on the soul of Air, specifically the hydrogen.
When molecular hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2) are combined and allowed to react together, energy is released.
Depending on the concentration of Hydrogen, the explosion can range from mild to something like what happened. (Thanks chemistry teacher who understood that just because I was a Criminal didn't mean I didn't deserve an education.)
Barragan's entire chest was blown apart in a violent explosion. Red plumes of flames with flashes of blue intermixed roared out into the sky behind him.
The Hollow God - King groaned in pain, the hand holding the Battle Axe dropping as he stared down at the massive hole through his chest.
"Barragan Luisenban. The one closest to death, yet so convinced he's eternal."
I addressed him, a mocking smile on my face.
"The proudest of the Espada, yet relegated to second place behind an ambitionless Hollow like Stark. You want to know how I, a mere lieutenant rank beat you? It's because you underestimated me."
Barragan lifted his head, opening his jaw wide.
Then instantly, his entire body turned into a dark liquid that splashed across my body. My strings sizzled as they were eroded by the water.
"Huh?"
"Get rid of that now!"
Chase immediately yelled.
I discarded the strings around my body, before they could completely get consumed by the power of time.
I extended stronger strings to cover the patches of the purple costume eaten away by his rot.
Shunpo created distance, and I looked down at the spot of our previous confrontation.
The entire city had begun shaking. From within the tunnels under, more black liquid broke through the man hole, looking like oil but moving with the fluidity of water.
The water rose up into long tentacles that combined in mid air, compressing and giving shape to something. Or someone.
Barragan. Unhurt. He almost looked like a god, his hands were spread out in a dramatic pose.
"Chase, what is this? I don't feel any spirit energy. It feels like..."
I frowned in distaste, trailing off as I realized what was happening.
It was what I'd been fearing.
"This is what you meant when you said there was something else within him. It's Magic, isn't it?"
Instead of answering, Chase asked a question.
"What are you going to do now? Your Reiryoku reserves are basically empty and you might fall out of Shikai any minute. Not to mention..."
"I have an idea."
I cut him off as I thought of something crazy.
I looked at Barragan. Or rather the dark purple miasma around him.
"Chase, how many years can you say I might live?"
It took a second for my Zanpakuto to catch on to what I was planning.
"You're... you're mad. Truly insane."
He said in unfiltered shock. There wasn't the same undertone of pride I usually heard from him anytime I did something bold.
This told me that my idea was truly reckless.
I stretched my shoulder, hearing the bones on my neck creak as I readied myself for something suicidal.
"Just answer me. Soul Reapers grow stronger with age right? And his power is time. So if I get exposed to it, that should give me a decent power up. Enough to close the gap of power between us. Especially because I don't have access to my own Bankai."
"You're truly..."
Chase begun but I was already committed to the attack.
Shunpo pushed me forward with ease. But this time I wasn't going to dodge, this time I was running straight into the danger.
This time there was a chance I could actually Die.
