“BAN.KAI.”
Suddenly the woman from before transcends from ferociousness, into a monstrosity. Her flaming blue aura ignites in a blazen display of raw power. The city streets turn purple, as the red flames of Hell clash against the blue flames of Omoni’s spiritual pressure. Above, the black clouds of the storm are blown apart from the updraft of the clashing signatures. What once was a darkened battlefield, now gives way to the gleaming light of the morning son. Black skies turn clear, as all surrenders to blue.
"What is this scrumptiou-
WHACK
An explosion of blue flame erupts from the Togabito, obscuring his body in a cloud of steam. In the blink of an eye Sword Eater’s words are cut short, as Omoni’s strike cuts deep. She can feel her blade render through flesh and carve through bone, before it ultimately comes to a stop, so deeply imbedded into her target. Their eyes meet, unobscured for the first time. Omoni’s narrowed in righteous fury, Sword Eater’s…wide with fear. Between them is only Omoni’s blackened Bankai blade, burning blue. For just a moment, the world stops. Then, as the flames of the strike die down into smoke, and the cloud of action begins to clear, the scene before them is laid bare.
The Togabito’s neck is bent. The only action it was capable of taking within such a narrow window of opportunity. It was enough solely to protect its head, but fell short in defending the rest of his body. Omoni’s blade is wedged from his shoulder, deep into his chest.
The creature’s golden eyes shift from the monster before him, to her blade inside of him. What was this newfound power? Namikazu had no memories of such a thing to feed upon. This was new. Could this be bankai? How had the Lieutenant learned it in such a short amount of time? What was it power? Its ability? What does it taste like?
All of these thoughts rushed through Sword Eater’s brain instantaneously. However, just as quickly, his nature kicks in. His jaw unhinges like that of a snake, as his head turns, aiming to rip the blade apart with his teeth, and swallow the thing hole.
ZAAAAAAAAAAAAP
His unhinged jaw is just inches away from his delicious meal. Yet, before he could bite from it, he throws his head back towards the heavens, and screams.
-GAAAAAAAAH!”
The Togabito cries out in pain, as his skin begins to blister and peel. His body violently spasms and rapidly convulses. Smoke pours from his being, filling the area with the smell of burning flesh. Ignorant towards Omoni’s newfound abilities, Sword Eater had severely underestimated the power behind the Lieutenant’s strike. While her armor absorbs the damage that she or her allies would receive, this is just the first aspect of her Bankai. It would seem that the second aspect is the power to inflict a proportional amount of damage via her blade. This means that when her strike cut through the Hellspawn, it carried with it the power of every single bolt of lightning meant for both Omoni and Jinnosuke. In this way, Sword Eater had sealed his own fate. The burning energy that courses through the demonic creature keeps his muscles clenched and his body locked.
Each bolt of lightning was enhanced with the Togabito’s own power, making it a hundred times stronger than that of natural lightning. Not simply countered by the flexing of one's own spiritual energy, the pure power of the lightning is enough to burn through a coating of reiatsu. Previously, it took the entirety of a Quincies spiritual power to reinforce their blut just enough to survive the strike with only third degree burns. Further, this fully expended defense was only enough to withstand a single bolt. Sword Eater, stuck within the epicenter of the lightning, would find no amount of Reiatsu to be enough to save him. Tanking such an assault would require so much energy, that even should Sword Eater survive, he would be utterly depleted. What’s worse, is that Sword Eater had chosen to strike Omoni and Jinnosuke with an onslaught of consecutive blasts, increasing the amount of damage exponentially with each hit. Now...he feels the brunt of it all at once.
“IT HURTS! YOU BITCH!”
Just as Omoni had found strength in her anger, so too does the Togabito. His rage propels him through the pain, while the power of Captain Nakamoto’s Shikai rapidly heals him, enough to slow the amount of damage, but not negate it. In a matter of seconds, he has recollected himself enough to postpone the inevitable.
A blur of motion, Sword Eater’s hand shoots towards Omoni’s head, his index and middle finger raised. It would strike with enough force to easily pierce through her skull, with such an action resulting in Omoni suffering from the same fate as Shinjitsu and Fredrick. At such a close range, and with both her hands occupied with the heft of her blade, Omoni was likely as incapable of avoiding the togabito’s strike, as he was of hers.
Thud
Just as the creature’s hand comes within a foot of Omoni’s head, it is severed from his arm. Colliding with a chunk of asphalt below. Refusing to surrender the element of surprise, the Togabito utilizes this development as a diversion. Each finger of his other hand is outstretched, firing off a volley of blue energy, each in the shape of a bullet. Again, at point blank range the quincy bullets were sure to make their mark. Yet, when they were to collide with Omoni and pierce through her head, they instead appeared to shatter and break in mid air. This still would not be enough, as the Togabito, still rippling with the energy of lightning, attempts to deliver a severing kick. Upon doing so however, he finds his leg incapable of moving, a new chain having wrapped around the appendage, its shining gold contrasting against the ebony black of the chains around his wrists.
It is only now that Sword Eater processes Jinnosuke, who has manifested behind Omoni. Having masked his own reiatsu, Jinnosuke was successful in flying under Sword Eater’s radar, especially with the distracting temptation of Omoni’s newly discovered Bankai. Unexpectedly, the Lieutenants of Eleventh and Forth had swapped the dynamic of their divisions, with Jinnosuke acting as support, while Omoni acted as offense. It was a move that Sword Eater had not anticipated, however, it wasn't a check mate.
Though foam pours from his clenched teeth, his eyes bloodshot as blood streams from his ears and nose, Sword Eater still refuses to give in. He refuses to go out in a cruel irony to divine justice. Instead, he merely clenches his remaining fist.
Around the battlefield golden arrows had been scattered about. Composed of a Quincy’s energy, these arrows would normally have simply faded away upon missing their target. Yet, during the course of this battle, each had remained exactly in place of where they landed. Seemingly a minor detail, this was no mere coincidence, but rather, by design. Using the flashy nature of Silas’ lightning to maintain his opponent’s attention, Sword Eater had been discreetly developing an ace up his sleeve by strategically maintaining Blume’s absorbing arrows.
Upon his fist clenching, these golden rods of light animate once more. Lifting into the air, they spring to life, and come soaring towards the Shinigami duo. Their speed rivals that of the lightning, each moving with the utmost efficiency. There is no direction to flee, no means in which to escape, as the arrows surround them in a total sphere of devastation. The final desperate attack of a creature on the brink of death.
"Bakudō #73. Tozanshō!”
Again, Jinnosuke performs his duty at the behest of Sword Eater. Presenting yet another obstacle for Togabito's last ditch efforts. While golden rods streaked through the air, blue beams materialized from nothing. As these arrows formed a sphere of light, so did the beams form an inverted pyramid. Where the Quincy weapons were to strike as a final attack, the Shinigami shield formed a final defense.
The arrows collide against the blue barrier, planting themselves into its sides, and yet not penetrating. However, they remain unrelenting, neither disappearing nor falling to the floor. Instead, maintaining contact between their arrowheads and the barrier, the secret properties of Blume’s abilities come into play. Much like a syringe to liquid, the arrows begin to absorb the walls of energy that comprise the kido. However, while the walls of the barrier grow thin, the momentum of the arrows grows faint. Until finally, the barrier crumbles, and the arrows fall. As both disappear, the Togabito is left at the mercy of the Lieutenants.
" Putting up a bit of a fight, can't wait to see Arashi, eh? "
Jinnosuke’s voice finally breaks the silence. His words ignite a spark of recognition in the Togabito’s eyes, taking him out of the pain of his electrocution, just enough for the golden pupils to slowly fall upon the Devil Swordsman. However, the only response Sword Eater is capable of offering, is the blood that he coughs from his drowning lungs. Pure electricity courses through every ounce of his being, incinerating every fiber of flesh and muscle inside him, frying his brain and cooking his heart. Until finally, the golden hues fade to white, and the creature before them dies upon Omoni’s blade.
The final thing it hears...is Arashi’s name.
The sun shines down on the ruins of the city. Though smoke rises from the spires of broken buildings, melting asphalt, and the relentless Hell Gate, it is otherwise a beautiful day. The clash of power between the Togabito and the Lieutenant’s had succeeded in blowing away the storm, and with the death of Sword Eater, there is no trace of even a single dark cloud. Instead, the freshly risen sun shines bright across a clear blue sky. It is a breath of fresh air, a sign of life, of peace. Those who were able to survive the night to see this day are finally able to relax, the threat at last having reached its end. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, The Shinigami can breathe a breath of fresh air. The time for strife was over, now is the time for recovery, for peace.
It lasts but a moment.
The sound of a grating static rips through the air, as a pathway which should never exist rips through the fabric of reality. Above, space begins to tear open at the seams, creating a void of black. This mouth-like tear screams out, its voice vibrating through the Shinigami’s very bones. Then just as suddenly, the silence of the day returns. Only now, the peaceful sun-lit day is replaced by the imposing form of a Garganta, which dwarfs the city in comparison to its size.
It had appeared without warning, as Garganta tend to do. To the battle experienced Shinigami, who have both fought for centuries in the combat-focused eleventh division, the arrival of such a threat implies only one thing:
Invasion. Was the Human world about to be ransacked by Gillian? Or worse…by their Arrancar masters? Could it be that the Espada have reformed? That the God King has returned, or a new one risen to the title? Whatever spiritually attuned souls remain in the vicinity, are sure to have their necks craned as they look upward, awaiting a relief to their suspense.
It is only Omoni Hageshi, with the Togabito dead on her blade, that holds the answer in her hands. Perhaps, through the calloused and thickened skull she possesses, the light of an idea pierces through her dimwittedness. Or perhaps it is Jinnosuke who realizes first, having sought a cause for the Togabito’s actions since his arrival. Regardless, the answer would soon be revealed.
The Togabito had returned without his mask, and without fear of the Kushanāda. Intuitively, Jinnosuke had deduced that Sword Eater was awaiting something. Perhaps now the duo will recall that the Togabito, a Denizen of Hell, had pointed his gaze skyward towards the heavens. Now, those heavens possess a gate a darkness, much like the Hell Gate, two portals have opened bridging the World of the Living between two realms of utter evil.
As above, so below.
No invasion arrives. The stillness of the garganta bares down on those who are burdened with anticipation. No hands of Hollows, masks of Arrancar, nor power of the God King comes through. No, the being that formed this gateway is one outside of the purview of both Hueco Mundo and Soul Society. What's worse, is this shadow figure appears to be in some sort of league with the denizens of Hell. Yet, it cannot be of Hell itself, or else how would it summon such a massive Garganta, and not appear forth from a Hell Gate like the other Togabito? What was going on? Could it be, that this Garganta was kin with the one that had manifested in and destroyed the Rukongai? That one had absorbed within it the entirety of the Soul King’s Blood. So what, in the Human World, could this one be after?
Gurgggggle
A new sound emanates from the void of darkness, a thick, guttural, gurgling. It is the sound of rushing water, only….slower...heavier. Finally, from the black, red begins to form, and drip. Directly beneath the Garganta, droplets of thick red liquid begin to rain down onto the city. A precursor to something much more devastating, the rain of blood flows more rapidly, its fall grows thicker, stronger, until finally, the Garganta’s contents become revealed. A torrent of steaming blood rains down from the heavens, pouring from the garganta, an open wound in the sky.
The waterfall of blood collides against the city below. It hits like a tsunami as it spreads throughout the city. A tidal wave of crimson, it pushes out in all directions across the city. Buildings drown along with their occupants, entire skyscrapers collapse from the force. As sirens begin to blare throughout the entire city, citizens run through the streets in a futile attempt to escape their own fate. No one is safe, and nothing is sacred, as this torrent of blood carves through the Human’s World.
Those that are spiritually aware fare even worse. The steaming blood is not so destructive simply from its abundant quantity, but from its very properties. Being the Blood of the Soul King, this is no mundane miasma. It holds within it the power to absorb Reishi, or rather, to reclaim it once more for the Soul King, converting it back into his blood. This means that weaker concentrations of reishi, such as pluses, roaming hollows, some quincy, and fullbringers, are all consumed by the substances, incapable of escaping its wave.
Omoni and Jinnosuke, in front of the Hell Gate, would take the brunt of the tidal wave’s force. Two hundred feet of viscous red liquid comes barreling towards the duo, smashing through buildings and debris with ease. A direct impact upon the two would result in catastrophic injuries from the momentum of the wave alone, let alone the damage caused by its Reishi absorbing properties, or the high possibility of them drowning, incapable of swimming through such strong currents. Without proper preparation, the two are likely to die. Fortunately, Jinnosuke’s Bankai would be enough to preserve him, but could it also save his savior, Omoni?
Regardless, they would not have to hold out long. Sure to brace for impact, the Blood flow rushes over them, engulfing their forms, including that of Sword Eater. However, where as the rest of the City became flooded, the location of the Hell Gate receives minimal damage. This is due to the fact that the open Hell Gate continues its activity, easily suctioning the ocean of blood through its metallic doors. If Karakura is a bathtub filled to the brim with blood, then the Hell Gate is the drain.
When the tidal wave connects with the Shinigami, they would become occupied with their own self preservation. Sword Eater, who remains pinned only to Omoni’s blade, is knocked loose by the impact, and is carried, a limp corpse, through rushing currents of the torrent of blood. His chains rattle within the red waters, muffled, and then silent. As the black iron links begin to erode, rusting, until they rot away into nothing at all, completely dissolved. Free of his bindings, Sword Eater’s corpse is carried by the blood, rushed back into the Maw of Hell. Before it disappears behind the portal’s red flame.
With this, the garganta closes as suddenly as it had arrived, folding in on itself until black once more gives way to blue skies. The two hundred foot wave of the Soul King’s Blood is rendered into a two foot stream, until this too drains into Hell. With the last of the blood flow absorbed, the wrought iron doors of the Hell Gate come to a close. On each side, a skeleton, permanently affixed to each door, reaches across to grab the other's ribcage, and pull themselves shut tight. Then finally, a familiar black chain spawns from behind the gate, and wraps itself around Hell’s entrance repeatedly, until this too pulls tight, permanently sealing the thing shut. With this, the closed gate erupts into flames, burning away from existence, leaving not a trace.
In the end, it is as though a Hell gate never spawned in the city. While Karakura itself has been rendered into ruins and rubble by the rampage. The magma of its streets, now deprived of Hell’s heat, are cooled by blood, leaving the city looking like a blacked and jagged abomination of its former self, while what is left intact is coated red with blood. The image of this city, is not unlike that of Hell. The horror’s of this event were exposed in full glory within the broad daylight of the juxtaposed clear skies and sunlight.
What is left, is a scar on the human world, and a scar in the pride of all races. Hell had delivered a crippling blow, had revealed its hand and played its cards, while the rest of existence were forced to question what game they were even playing.
...How very interesting.
