"Where the hell is ARASHI SUTAAAAAAAA!?”
The Golden Arrows of light soar high into the heavens, bathing the blackened city with the holy light of the Soul King’s descendents. A lowly creature of Hell using such divine power should not be possible, the two are inherently opposite, just as a hollow should not be able to withstand the power of a Quincy. When two opposites are harnessed into one, what is the result? In this case...it appears to be a feeding frenzy.
First, the arrows are suddenly bathed in a broth of electric might. The heavens themselves respond towards the corrupted heavenly light by casting down their own electrified light. Lightning strikes down from darkened clouds, colliding with each golden arrow as it engulfs it in blue electricity. The goal seems to be to overload the stolen Quincy arrows. Perhaps, had they been of typical stock, this would have come to fruition. However, they were not the average reishi manipulated arrows of the Quincy, but the uniquely propertied arrows of the one dubbed
A the Absorption.
No amount of electric power would overload the hunger of each individual arrow. No, like their devilish master, the golden carriers of death would feast and gorge with no end in sight. The electricity that coats them only serves to further their lethality. As the arrows now possess the combined power of the two strongest contenders for the title of Quincy Emperor. Whereas before the arrows were individual, lethal only in their bladed edge, now they work as a hive mind, casted in an electrifying net. No amount of dodging or weaving would allow the victims of Karakura to avoid them, as now the space between each arrow is interwoven with an electric web.
Frederick, a loyal soldier of an extinct army, does his best to put himself on the front line of duty. Standing in the air above the tortured Shinigami, his bullets of reishi launch into the sky in a counter effort against the electrified golden arrows. They collide, their numbers as great, their speed even greater, fired off in machine like fashion. However, upon contact, the bullets are simply sucked into the arrowhead, absorbed as though in gelatin. The arrows that consume Fredrick’s counter-assault now fly as fast as speeding bullets.
Dominic, who thought himself stronger than the arrows of the one he serves, uses his strength futilely to fail that same person. His Blut might have served to protect him from the bladed edges, but not from the stunning capabilities of their electric aura. When the arrows collide with his hardened flesh, they do not penetrate, however the web of power that surrounds them transfers into Dominic. As each individual arrow makes impact it strikes with the direct power of pure lightning. In order to protect Blume, he is hit consecutively with hundreds of these, struck consecutively by hundreds of bolts of lightning, smiting him down with the speed of machine gun fire.
Silas fairs no better. Having thrown his scheele schneider, and casted down his lightning, he would think that he could simply avoid any remaining arrows through the usage of his hirenkyaku. However, his own electricity had brought an end to that. No longer was there space between arrows to dodge and weave, but rather the electrified web of his own making. Further, the increase in the arrows speed on account of the bullets being absorbed, combined with the sheer mass of their numbers, meant that what trivial avoidance he can maintain with hirenkyaku lasts only for a brief moment of time before he is overwhelmed. Having not prepared his Blut, even should he negate the effects of electricity, the speedy edges of the arrowheads would shred his body to pieces.
As the quincy respond to their assault, and the shinigami struggle to maintain their footing. A single arrow of the swarm flies back towards its master. Having absorbed its enemies defenses, its transformation now shows it to be one of Fredricks bullets, engulfed in one of Blume’s arrows, encased in one of Silas’ bolts of lightning. It was in essence….a three course meal.
Crunch
The Togabito chews absentmindedly on its new snack, as its soulless eyes watch, empty, while the Seele Schneider soar towards it. It does not move, or show any intent to react. However, just as the seele schneider pass by Fredrick, their flight is canceled. An unseen force swipes them from the air, altering their trajectory to fly directly towards the exposed Omoni below. The only indication of this invisible assailant being the subtle sounds of chains rattling.
Omoni in turn releases the captive she sacrificed her own zanpakuto to save. The massive barbed club spits Shinjitsu out, and collapses around its master and Oyama. As its red hot iron begins to cool, its tendrils latch into the ground, causing the arrows, the seele schneider, and the building debris to smash harmlessly against its metal hull.
“How are you here!?”
Oyama’s voice cries out to the monster from within the protective barrier of her own zanpakuto. During this, Omoni takes a phone call, before speaking to the Third Seat about having her division retreat. These actions in themselves show the shinigami’s arrogance, their split in attention, their confidence in their defense. They act as though they are safe, as though they are comfortable, however, Hell is anything but.
The asphalt beneath Omoni and Oyama’s feet suddenly bursts into the air in chunks. Dirt temporarily restricts the visibility within their protective dome. Encased on all sides by metal, they had both forgotten to secure the ground beneath their feet, and had restricted their movement so that jumping was not an option. They would find that even if they had not placed themselves in a roofed cage, even if they could theoretically simply leap to their safety, something was restricting them. Amidst the confusion of the ground’s explosion, black chains struck like a wrought iron serpent.
The chains that had visibly clattered against the ground around the Togabito previously, had silently carved their way through the streets of Karakura. Tunnelling beneath everyone's feet while their focus was so caught up in the assault from the sky. Should Omoni and Oyama not find within themselves a miracle, they would be bound by the Togabito’s own burden, enslaved by the very same chains of Hell.
Crunch
Within Omoni’s Zanpakuto, just moments before, Shinjitsu lay helpless in the womb of his fate. His heartbeat ticking down, a timer towards his death, brought on by his own technique. The heat of the Hellgate is enough to turn the walls of Omoni’s zan red hot, searing the flesh of the inexperienced Shinigami’s hands and feet upon contact. Desperate to avoid the drawback of his own failed last resort, he seeks something to transfer the void energy of his Shikai onto, and chooses his own clothes. Just as this happens, Omoni makes the decision to leave him for dead, and ejects the boy from her zanpakuto. Perhaps at first this seems like sweet relief, however not even a single second passes before the brutal truth is revealed.
While Shinjitsu believes that the length of his clothes will provide adequate fuel for the Void he has created, he would instead find his void snuffed out like a flame in the wind. Due to the fact that the moment he is exposed to the air, this close to the hell gate, his clothes incinerate off of him. They burn into ember and ash, then into dust, before nothing at all. This happens in the blink of an eye, after all, the heat was such to turn a powerful Shinigami’s Shikai red hot, how could the fabric of one’s uniform resist this? Further...how could one's own flesh?
“SHINJITSU! We’re pulling back!”
The orders of Shinjitsu’s superior ring out far too late. Already exposed to the damning heat of the Hell dimension, the incineration of his clothes was nothing compared to what would immediately follow. At such heat, he stands no chance of obeying an order to retreat. He stands no chance period. His own hair lights aflame and burns, before too incinerating. His skin peels from his flesh, his muscles catch fire, and he is left with nothing but pain and anguish, with no time to do anything but scream. Omoni had casted Shinjitsu out of the frying pan, and into the fire.
Crunch
So much had happened, in such a little amount of time. It is as though the Togabito firing back the arrows was a flicking of a light switch, and now, the cockroaches scurried. However, just as the being seemed to obtain the upper hand, he was confronted by a tantalizing piece of meat hanging before him.
A light, greater than his own, no shined from above. The golden wings of an angel spread out, and with a single breath, took back what was wrongfully stolen. The Quincy woman, who had until this point remained dormant and held back her own subordinates, finally decided to show her hand. Blume lived up to her namesake, and absorbed the Togabito’s arrows. With a gulp, the Togabito watched as she ended his barrage, and brought a moment of peace to the battlefield.
"Kekeke just as I was growing tired of these appetizers”
The Togabito's voice rings out above the destruction of the buildings and the burning of Shinigami flesh.
"Finally…”
Moving for the first time since its appearance, the Togabito disappears. It leaves behind no trace, spare the rattling of chains. The only one close enough to gauge the fact that the creature moved, rather than disappeared, is Shinjitsu. Who, should he muster the strength to regain himself amidst being roasted alive, would hear one last distinctive crunch echoing from the direction before him.
Suddenly, the air begins to crackle around Blume and Dominic. The atmosphere of their location immediately grows intense with heat and anguish, and the dark clouds above turn black. The simple shock of being so directly exposed to the power, the energy, of Hell, should be enough to prevent any instinctive defensive reaction, as the creature manifests behind the want-to-be Empress.
Crunch
Mouth full, the Creature whispers into Blume’s ear.
"...Something I can sink my teeth into.”
