"Finally…”
“SHINJITSU! We’re pulling back!”
The young Shinigami could not pry his eyes away from the horror before him. The orders of his superiors fall upon deaf ears. Amidst the inferno of heat he continues to stand, choosing not to crumble in the pain nor to flee from its source. It is a miracle he remains standing, given the state of his burns, but such is the will of a Shinigami. Instead, Shinjitsu continues to watch the Togabito, the exposed muscles of his mouth stretching into a grin, no doubt sending shearing pain throughout the man’s face.
Crunch
This distinctive sound echoes from the air in front of Shinjitsu. Yet the Shinigami remains watching the Togabito instead of moving. What he sees before him is the Togabito charging, its chains lashing out towards him, no doubt the source of the rattling he heard not even a second prior. Shinjitsu braces himself, utilizing his void shield technique to attract himself to the chains with a violent pull. Only, just as the image before him would collide, it disappears. Shinjitsu chose to observe the Togabito’s waist, imagining him to move like any normal man. Perhaps he had forgotten his Shinigami training, in order to move at such speed, the practitioner must make as little movements as possible. What he saw before him was an afterimage. There was no tell, no warning, for the Togabito’s sudden disappearance. There was only the rattling of chains and a sickening crunch that had happened just prior. This alone should have prompted Shinjitsu to move, but instead of relying on his ears, he relied on his eyes, standing still while his body burned.
The pulling force of his void shields would in fact work, however, rather than pull the Shinigami to the image of the chains before him, he would find himself suddenly lurched backward. He would fly towards the direction of the Togabito, who now stands behind the Quincy woman. With his unique method of thinking dual thoughts, Shinjitsu would likely come to two conclusions at once. The first being that he himself was the only thing between the Chains, which he saw lash out in front of him, but which are now located behind him. The second being that his body felt lighter, as a pair of exposed, skinless, legs, remain standing where he once stood.
Still, with these likely conclusions, Shinjitsu is clearly not one to give up. As he is propelled through the air, he aims his Zanpakutō forward, cleverly using his momentum to attempt to deliver a pinpoint thrust to the Togabito. Only, when he readies his blade before him, Shinjitsu would reach a third gruesome conclusion. The sound of the chains was a precursor for a strike to his legs, which means that the audible crunch he heard was no coincidence either. Shinjitsu at the time had placed his Zanpakutō in front of him, but had focused on using his hands to try and suplex the chains. It is only now, as he aims his thrust, that he would notice his Zanpakutō once more. While the handle was intact, two thirds of the blade seem to have been broken off. Where once there was an elegant blade, now there is only a clear bite mark carved into a steel stub.
The fourth and final realization likely sets in. The sound of the chains was a hidden attack, sure, but a passive thought on the Togabitos end. The chains cut through the Shinigami’s legs from the mid-thigh as a distraction at best. The true target was the delicious Zanpakutō that Shinjitsu had held out. It was this very thing that the creature was chewing as he appeared behind they Quincy woman. Shinjitsu, like Omoni, must watch as this monster devours his closest companion, his Zanpakutō.
"...Something I can sink my teeth into.”
An eerie statement, whispered into the Quincy Woman’s ear through bloodied teeth.
“Pardon me.”
She responds in kind, unphased as the sky above her darkens, and the air around her crackles. Instead, she disappears upon the tug of an ethereal thread around her finger. Her shadow grows, connecting with the Togabito’s own and locking his feet into place. When she reappears, it is behind Dominic who has endured the pain of his previous assault, and pushes through with a compass half moon kick. The Togabito sinks into the shadows down to his ankles, seemingly unable to escape. For just a moment it appears that their coordinated strike is bound to land, at least, to the eyes of an amateur. An experienced fighter would see that the signs were already there, that this encounter…was in the Togabito’s favor.
The darkened skies, the crackling air, no mere coincidences. They were the tell tale signs of something far worse to come. Blume, caught in the momentum of her reappearance, Dominic, caught in the momentum of his kick, both having their focus on the Togabito, the focus on their attack, neither prepared for an unexpected assault. The very moment that both of them moved in such a way that they must commit to their actions, is the very moment the Togabito strikes. From above, an instantaneous flash of light would blind all on the battlefield. This light completely consumes the Quincy and the Togabito, and would burn into the irises of anyone observing the scene, such as Shinjitsu.
For a moment the world is silent, then…
BOOOOOOOOM
A thunderous clap blasts out, shattering the windows of every building within four city blocks. The noise is such that it would deafen anyone on the battlefield with an intense ringing for the next thirty seconds. It is this thunderous clap that would snap the minds of those observing back to reality, putting into context the blinding light, which moved so fast that most would be unable to process it happening until this point.
The Togabito had used the power of Silas against his kin. Calling forth a devastating blast of lightning. While this blast moved with the speed of natural lightning, it was a hundred times more deadly. Amplified with the Togabito’s own spiritual energy, this blast of electricity, of pure power, was not something that could be absorbed like a spiritual arrow. Encompassing a radius of twenty feet, it struck with such force that none would be capable of continuing an attack. Neither of the Quincy had seen it coming, both committed to their retaliation, and neither had the speed to outpace it. The only one immune to its devastation being that of the caster, the Togabito itself.
Shinjitsu would witness this blast, already being propelled towards the Togabito. With no legs, and a fraction of a Zanpakutō, there was very little he could do to stop his momentum. It seemed that he too was at his end. That is, until a gust of blue fire erupts from the battlefield, tendrils of spiritual steel bursting forth from the ground like hellspawn. These tendrils, belonging to Omoni’s Zanpakutō, spun with such force as to catch Shinjitsu, and contain him in a whirlpool of speed and power.
Shinjitsu is not the only one caught in such effects. The whirlpool of spirituality, accompanied by the lashing tendrils, catches the Togabito in a hurricane of fire. His chains encompass him, his burden further binding him, as his body is encased in his own restrictors. The force of the attack causes his chains to constrict around him, and pulls at his body. However, he remains bound to his shadow, anchored by the Quincy’s attack. Still, the sheer power emitted from the Lieutenant would not give in so easily.
"GAAAAAAH!”
The Togbaito’s body continues to be pulled, the chains tightening until blood begins to draw from him. He is caught between two opposing forces of immense power. What happens next is inevitable, as his body finally gives in. Flesh begins to rip, as his legs tear like cloth, until finally, he is yanked into the air. Like Shinjitsu, he leaves behind two legs, severed from the mid thigh, which sink into the shadow as though in a pit of tar.
"AAAAAAGH!”
His screams are muffled by the howling winds of the Lieutenant's attack. Blood pours from his stumps as he is thrown into the air, adding a splash of red to the glorious blues and greys of Omoni’s assault. The Togabito flies, helpless, through the air, a ragdoll caught in a torrent of wind as it screams. That is, until it is interrupted by a violent…
KA-KRACK!
The Lieutenant had brought down her spiked club with as much force as she could muster, aiming to shatter the creature’s mask. This succeeded in interrupting its flight, and sent it crashing down into the asphalt below. Omoni did not relent, but followed through in the assault, maintaining the pressure of her bat against the creature’s head even as they descended. Upon crashing into the ground, Omoni would find the asphalt to be red hot, the atmosphere of hell spreading through the city, turning the black streets into red magma.
Still, the Togabito was trapped below her Zanpakutō, which connected squarely with his mask. The being from hell remained still, remained silent. Perhaps Omoni’s attack was a success, having crushed the being’s skull completely. However…something felt wrong, there was not the satisfying crunch that Omoni would normally feel beneath her steel. No...this was…
ZAAAAAAAAAP
A torrent of electricity courses through the steel of her bat, which she clenched so tightly, being so prepared for a counter assault, the last thing on her mind would have been to let go of her Zanpakutō. Now, that split second of ill preparedness would cost her dearly, as the current of electricity extended to her own body. Not only would she find herself completely paralyzed, every one of her muscles locked into position with electric force, but she would find those very same muscles searing with heat. She is being cooked from the inside out, the inverse of Shinjitsu, who was cooked from the outside in.
Furthering her entrapment, the Togabito’s chains suddenly burst from his body. A snare of metallic chains, which explode from him and wrap around her. Did she truly think that the Togabito would fall for its own chains? While they were what bound a Togabito to Hell, and while they were inescapable, every single Togabito that stepped foot outside of Hell is well aware of the liability that binds their arms. Sword Eater would have to be a fool to not consider his chains, and this is the very reason that every Togabito has learned to master the chain as their primary weapon against the blades of their enemies. What Sword Eater had done was not fall for Omoni’s attack, but allow it to free him of Blume’s.
Engrossed now in the very chains which she aimed to restrict the Togabito, Omoni remains trapped physically in metal, which worked to further her paralysis, and increase the electric current that continues to run through herself and her Zanpakutō. She is now but a victim to her very own assault, but how could this be? Having taken the entire brunt of the attack, why was the Togabito not damaged? Perhaps she would recall the bite it had taken from Namakizu earlier in the fight, consuming a chunk of her prized weapon. Could it be that….
it is now immune to Omoni’s Zanpakutō?!
There would be no time to dwell on this fact, as the Togabito raises a single finger. Suddenly, a blast of orange light erupts, as a torrent of ethereal arrows launch from Sword Eater’s finger with the rapidness and velocity of machine gun fire. From point blank, with Omoni completely paralyzed, these dozens of arrows would shred through her like butter, riddling every vital spot of her muscular frame with holes. Her heart, lungs, soul chain, soul sleep, brain and eyes are just some of the key points which would fall to the torrent of Quincy arrows.
However, Omoni is not the target of this assault, but simply in the way. As the arrows penetrate through her, their true target is the massive missile-like arrowhead that is making its way towards them. Fired from Silas from afar, this arrow would soon collide exactly where Omoni remained bound, aiming to strike through her and hit the Togabito’s head. However, this arrowhead too would be riddled with holes from the barrage of arrows sent out by the Togabito. Being much smaller, as well as faster, than the massive strike, each arrow would meet with Silas attack head on and mid-flight. As each arrow connects with the arrowhead, they too pass through it. Each arrow holds the properties of Blume’s absorption, as well as the Togabito’s strange devouring ability. This allows them to carve through the arrowhead, absorbing it as they pass through unhindered. It would not matter if Silas alters the attack's trajectory, as the Togabito’s arrows would simply follow it like a swarm of wasps attacking a soaring bird. By the time every arrow would connect, Sila’s arrowhead would cease to exist. Even should this attack somehow fail, Omoni would continue to act as a barrier between it and the Togabito.
Having turned the odds back on the Lieutenant, the Togabito now makes its escape. One of the dozens of arrows fired does not function as an attack, but a get away. The Togbaito’s hand clasps around the final arrow, as it flies not towards Omoni, but backwards towards the Hell Gate. With a firm grip on such an arrow, the Togabito is able to slip out from beneath Namakizu. It is carried backwards through the air as the arrow soars six feet above the ground. Finally, it stops its flight, hovering just before the Hell Gate as the Togabito hangs from it. It is now that the stubs of his legs begin to heal, rapidly growing until they return to their former state. Releasing his grip, the Togbaito lands upon the surface of the former street turned magma, safe within the atmosphere of heat emitted from the Hell Gate behind him.
“Kekekeke…GAHAHAHAH! Now we’re talking! More….give me MORE. BRING ON THE MAIN COURSE!”
