3 Chapter 3
...It was a paradise. A haven that broke the very realities of loneliness.
"Cero."
A place in which no one around him died.
"Cero."
Where he could sleep the day away without waking up to a vast expanse of endless sand. Which was why...
"Cero."
"Go Starrk go! Give em hell!"
He would defend it
Starrk stared across the cratered battlefield, eyes fixed on his partner, Lilynette. It all started with her. He had made a promise on that day, and he would be damned if he let anything happen to her.
"Oi Lilynette! Stop hopping around!"
Still though, why couldn't she be less of an annoyance?
Heedless of Starrk's command, Lilynette continued to bounce around between groups of hollows. Wherever she went, Starrk's ceros would follow, eliminating all harm that would come to Lilynette. It wouldn't have been such a problem for Baraggan's army if it wasn't for the sheer size and magnitude of the ceros Starrk launched. To make matters worse, he alternated between fast ceros that formed at the tip of a hand, and the massive ones that formed in front of his broken hollow mask.
"T-That's impossible!" The wolf-like Adjuchas shouted.
It was truly absurd. A cero was the ultimate attack of a Gillian, amplified more so when the Gillian evolved into an Adjuchas. However, the subsequent power output and cost efficiency were sky rocketed to insane levels. It just didn't make sense that Starrk could continually fire them without any fatigue.
Gradually, the amount of troops making up the second unit were reduced to just the wolf-like Adjuchas. Lilynette smiled and finally made her way by Starrk's side.
The wolf-like Adjuchas backed away, eyes dilated and looking for any signs of aggression. He knew he was outmatched from the moment Starrk had fired off his first cero, therefore escape was his only option. Hesitantly, the wolf-like Adjuchas took its gaze off of Starrk and starred across at his commanding general. He had two options, die by Starrk's hands, or by Baraggan's should he choose to return. Sweat seemed to travel down the wolf-like Adjuchas back in a human-like gesture as a strange tension filled the air. Niether choice resulted in a favourable outcome, which was why...
"-Glory to the Vasto of White!" The wolf-like Adjuchas turn-coated and attacked his fellow hollows, leaving behind a bewildered Starrk and Lilynette.
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"Damn that Telmani! How dare he betray Lord Baraggan!" The Vasto Lorde fumed.
His name was Calavanti, the designated leader of Baraggan's army. He wasn't as fast as Ggio Vega despite being a Vasto Lorde, but he was definitely stronger. Out of the King's royal guard, he had been chosen to lead the army due to his proficiency in tactical leadership. However, he had never before met an opposition that failed to be defeated by overwhelming numbers. He would have to revise his method of approach.
"So that's your ace in the hole?" Calavanti inquired.
Shirou shrugged.
Taking Shirou's gesture as an affirmative, Calavanti spread his wings and took flight.
"...In war," Calavanti began. "Revealing once ace so early is testament to defeat. My name is Calavanti, commander of Barragan's army. Remember it well for on this day the Vasto of White shall draw his last breath."
Calavanti flew off, tactics racing through his head. What he had gained from his evolution into a Vasto Lorde was three things, power, prestige, and most of all intelligence.
"By my order, regroup near the western flank!"
Ceros were dangerous, that was certain. However, they were only dangerous if one were hit by them. Therefore, there existed two options to deal with them- to dodge or over power them. Based on the power of the ceros Starrk had launched, Calavanti considered it better to redirect them. Then again, he did have a force of over 20'000 hollows, perhaps he could use that to his advantage. However, more important than finding a way to defeat the cero blasting hollow was to raise moral on his side and decrease the enemies. He would need a decisive blow...
"Form ranks, the Adjuchas at the back, the Gillians at the front! Castro, Melphi, break a hole into the enemies flanks!"
Castro rushed in first. As a Vasto Lord gifted with the unique ability to temporarily dissipate his body into particles of Reishi, he easily bypassed the hollows blocking him as if they were never there. Spinning on his clawed heels, Castro struck a cero straight into the ground from his outstretched arm, uplifting a huge cloud of sand that obscured vision. He roared in provocation, soon after biting down on an Adjuchas and tossing him to the wind.
Melphi followed suit, digging her armored claws into the Adjuchas Castro had just tossed her, and ripping it in half. A bestial smile a lit her face, her dim blue hair shooting out in all directions and connecting to numerous enemy hollows around her. She tilted her head up, and blew a fragrant fume of blue Reishi into her hair. The hollows connected burst into literal showers of blood. An opening was created in the confusion, a small parting in the hollow's flanks.
"Castro, Melphi, retreat!" Calavanti yelled floating at the helm of the regrouped army.
"...What a pity," Melphi muttered.
"..." Castro just shook his head and fled the area; Melphi soon followed right after.
Calavanti's eyes gleamed in anticipation. The Vasto of White's army lacked order and a chain of command. Therefore it would be all to easy to send it into disarray. However, they possessed power beyond even his imagination. If it wasn't for personally witnessing Lord Baraggan's power, he would have actually been at a loss for words, but this wasn't the case.
"Open fire!"
The western sky of Hueco Mundo glowed a fiery red, the world reflecting the dark and bright hues of the ceros Baraggan's army charged and fired.
Panic ensued in the Vasto of White's army, their numbers too small to devise any sort of counter. Some flew into the air, some deep beneath the ground, but the vast majority could do nothing but fire off their own ceros to impede the enemies fire.
Within the pandemonium, Starrk stood near the helm, yawning as he casually appeared in the trajectory of the enemy's concentrated blast.
Calavanti hesitated, but quickly regained vigor when he rationalized that there was no way a single unmasked hollow could rival the doom blast of over 20'000 hollows. What happened next was truly beyond belief.
Starrk leveled an arm at the incoming ceros and fired off his own. Having prior knowledge before hand, Calavanti had seen how Starrk could fire of a rapid stream of ceros, but the rate in which he fired them now was no where near as slow as before. It was like comparing the firing capacity of a fully automatic rifle with a fully automatic machine gun. There was no way one could even hope to compare.
A clash of colours was made apparent through the sky, the west, crimson, the east, a dull blue.
Dust and ash covered the entire area, as Starrk lowered his arms to his side and clicked his tongue. What a pain. He had wanted to just end things right then and there, but somehow the sheer number of ceros managed to diffuse each other. No matter- he supposed he'd just have to use more...
It was a bid to lower enemy moral, instead it only served to lower theirs. Calavanti was at an impasse. The truly frightening one was not the Vasto of White, no; It was this-this...truly there were no words that could possibly describe. A flicker of blue in the distance, and Calavanti was not the only one who began to panic. Flanks fell, formation were broken as if the loyalty that held them all together was breaking. No, Calavanti narrowed his eyes at the hordes of those who would desert him, desert Lord Baraggan, they were broken.
Calavanti wasn't a fool. The only reason Baraggan was able to gather such an army of hollows was through fear and oppression. When faced with a situation in which death was the result between either decision, Telmani had made the right choice. Even now, Calavanti could imagine him making his escape in the chaos. Passive as the Vasto of White was, he probably wouldn't care if Telmani escaped; so long as he didn't harm any of the hollows under the Vasto of White's jurisdiction. Thus turn coating and making an escape was a logical decision. However, Calavanti had his orders, he must attain victory for Lord Baraggan, his loyalty demands it. It was in that moment that brilliance erupted from Calavanti's mind, his gaze honing in on a specific target.
"Castro!" Was all Calavanti had to say for Castro to understand his intentions.
There was no time to spare, every second the blue cero grew larger and larger, seeking the deaths of thousands of hollows. However, it was just too late.
"Ce-" Starrk's eyes widened in alarm as he drastically suppressed his power output. "-ro."
"Let go of ME!"
Castro appeared in the cero's trajectory, Lilynette dangling from his arms just before they were both enveloped by Starrk's cero. A hushed silence spread across the battlefield as a plume of smoke lifted to the sky. A light wind soon blew the smoke clear.
There standing within the smoke gripping Lilynette by the neck was Castro who remained unharmed. A nasty red discolouration could be seen on Lilynette's pale skin, her breathing coming out ragged, and even that was slowly fading due to the tightening of Castro's grip.
Starrk stood motionless. He had left Lilynette at the very rear, there was no way anyone should have been able to harm her. He gripped his fists.
Calavanti laughed in the distance. If Starrk was the Vasto of White's trump, then Calavanti could confidently say, Castro was his. No matter how many hollows stood before Castro, he could simply just speed past them as if they were never there. Reishi manipulation had its wonders, even more so since every soul is made out of Reishi.
Appaci charged at Castro. Sure she and Lilynette didn't particularity get along, but neither did she get along with Sun-Sun and Mila Rose. Could it be sentimentality? No, of course not. She was simply attacking to end the battle sooner.
Apacci's eyes dilated as a spiked tendril appeared by her side. She couldn't move, she wasn't fast enough.
Clang!
"Now that wasn't very nice," Melphi said as she retracted her hair.
Tier Harribel stared coldly at her fellow Vasto Lorde before raising her shark-fin blade.
"Appaci, retreat to where the others are." Harribel's eyes tracked for any movement on Melphi's part.
"Y-Yes m'lady."
Appaci retreated on her Lady's orders, but not before sending one wayward look at Lilynnete who had been tossed aside. She huffed in annoyance.
"So you're the one Lord Baraggan asked to join the army." Melphi stocked around Harribel, a smile on her face. "I got to admit, you don't look like mu-"
What's going on?!
Harribel strained under the unrelenting spiritual pressure. It was as if a damn had just been released. The air itself seemed to distort as every lesser hollow keeled over and died. Harribel crossed eyes with Melphi who was having trouble just breathing. Fear was a lit in Melphi's eyes; the spiritual pressure was strong enough to even effect Vasto Lordes.
Starrk still stood motionless, his long brown locks covering his eyes as a tower of blue Reishi erupted from Starrk. In the next moment, Starrk flashed in front of Castro, grabbed him by the face, and they both disappeared from the battlefield, leaving shock waves in their wake. The oppressing spiritual pressure soon followed.
Harribel regained her bearings, resuming her stance against Melphi.
Melphi was no longer smiling, her form still shaking from the exposure of such high pressure. She had no chance should Starrk return. Therefore, she had to finish things quickly. With no time to waste, Melphi engaged Harribel who dodged every strike. Each blow had them both moving farther and farther away from the battlefield. Each missed blow only agitating Melphi more.
"You bitch!" Harribel dodged another strike from Melphi. "Stop dodg-"
"-It would seem that this is far enough." Harribel spoke. "Sorry, but I'm ending things here."
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Shirou was not amused as he stared across the battlefield. He told himself that he would protect those under him, yet many continued to die. Starrk had been a huge help in stopping the enemy's attack, but now it was his turn to act. Anger welled up from within him as he stopped by Lilynette's bruised form. He knew that Starrk had felt him approaching and that he left her in his care, thus he could no longer move away from her. However, that didn't mean that he wouldn't attack.
For as long as Shirou could remember from his time as a hollow, he had only ever possessed a select few abilities. The best of which was to give form to what was in his mind, and yet he didn't understand why it was that all that he could ever imagine was a world full of infinite blades. In a sense it was beautiful, a place where his very being resonated with. However, the weapons in which it stored were weapons of vast power and legend- Where the weapons of heroes stood erect as if in tribute to their wielders. All it took for Shirou to understand the myths, mysteries, and powers of each weapon was a single glance. From there he had come to an understanding.
"Trace on."
Shirou knelt by Lilynette's side and gently placed a small blade over her body. It was a simple blade imbued with an essence of healing.
From each blade within the world of infinite blades resided a power Shirou could freely imagine...to alter. By imagining the properties of one blade, and combining them with another, he could create a unique weapon. Therefore, the blade of healing he had created was unique in its own sense. It was short for a blade, closer in length to a short-sword really, but in the end it would serve its purpose.
It didn't take long for visible effects to be made apparent on Lilynette's complexion. Her breathing returned to normal and her red discolourations faded away. Soon it would be as if nothing ever happened.
You did well, Lilynette
Shirou stood up before Lilynette, his back to her. From here, he would not move, he would not let harm come to her for his body was her shield.
"You have made a grave mistake by not leaving Calavanti."
Despite the distance, Shirou's voice echoed out loud and clear. The hollows around him parted, the steadily increasing spiritual pressure getting harder and harder to bare.
"Even more so now that you've gathered the brunt of your army before me."
The raven-like hollow landed gently on the ground, and realized that the King would unleash his power. It was with swift motion that he yelled out to his comrades to take shelter behind the King- for all in his way would surely perish.
"Trace on."
A two-handed, golden greatsword with a blue jewel embedded in the hilt. Its splendor unmatchable, its radiance incomparable to the pale white of Hueco Mundo's moon. The King wielded his blade. Never before has any hollow ever seen the King wield a blade. Truly the enormity of the action reflected the intent of his bronze coloured eyes.
"Bare witness to your folly and ingrain the image, for it is the last thing you will all see."
The King was truly mad. Not only did many under him die, but the lives of even those he would speak to on a daily basis were placed in danger. The one's he lived to protect were placed in danger. It would only be appropriate that he retaliate in kind.
"My body is bathed in the blood of a dragon, my convictions shouldering the weight of a nation and its people- O sword, Let thee be filled." Solemn was the King's voice, yet strong was his fortitude.
The King held the sword above his head, and it began to glow with an orange light that was truly blinding- The nature of the light was unmistakable.
With a breath, the King swung his blade.
"Balmung!"
A surging twilight wave in the form of a semicircle expanded outwards with the simple purpose of destruction. Holy was its strength that it not only obliterated the numerous hollows, but purified them as well. With a blast, heavenly light engulfed Hueco Mundo's sky.
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"Captain Yamamoto, it's urgent!"
Yamamoto Genryuusai, the captain of the first division and the head captain of the shinigami cranked open his eyes.
"Pluses are falling from the sky!"
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Balmung, the cursed holy blade of the heroic spirit Siegfried. Holy or demonic in attribute, it was a sword that based its attack on the integrity of its wielder.
"1'000 down, 24'000 left to go." Shirou raised Balmung up once again, orange light gathering at the jewel.
It was true that in life, Balmung's maximum effect range should have been 500 units, but not only did the attack gather true Ether from the Age of Gods, Shirou had propelled the attack farther outwards with his spiritual pressure- doubling the effective range.
Shirou swung again, killing thousand after thousand- a Vasto Lorde's stamina was truly insane.
"R-Retreat!" Calavanti yelled before he too was enveloped in holy light. Arm raising to shield himself, he could do nothing as his body began disintegrating into particles of Reishi.
It shouldn't have been this way! I-I can't die...I...I...won't...
Despite his best efforts, Calavanti fell prey to the destructive force of Balmung. He was a general, a tactician, but in the end, he was never a warrior. As such, he should never had lead from the front, but then again, one's pride may just be their undoing.
At the death of their leader, whatever united front the army of hollows had, had disappeared- every hollow darting in any direction to escape the Vasto of White's onslaught.
The Vasto of White's power was overwhelming. Swing after swing, he reduced the fleeing army to nothing- all without ever moving from his spot. It was true that Starrk could have achieved the same result, but he was currently occupied. Speaking of Starrk, the Vasto of White stopped his assault to peer across at the plumes of smoke rising from the distance. Starrk would be okay.
Slowly, The Vasto of White released his blade from his hands where it faded away before touching the ground. He would not attack the fleeing army any longer, for all that remained where those who would never return to hurt those the King called 'friend.'
"Glory to the King! Glory to the King!"
The hollows loyal to the Vasto of White let loose their praise, for victory belonged to their King.
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"...It doesn't matter what you do-" Castro was engulfed by a cero. "-Your attacks will not harm me." Left unsaid was the uncertainty in his voice. In the first place, Starrk shouldn't have been able to touch, let alone drag him to this remote area while he had been under the influence of his power.
Starrk did not utter a word as he continued to fire. Time after time Castro continued to phase through Starrk's blasts by manipulating his body into particles of Reishi.
"Two minutes," Starrk stated. "Two minutes is as long as you can maintain your power."
"..."
Castro's behavior changed immediately upon hearing Starrk's observation. No longer did he freely allow himself to be hit by Starrk's ceros. It would have been foolish to continue to do so- Starrk was clearly testing his capabilities. Therefore, he could not allow for Starrk to adjust to his time frame; for if he did, it would be the end. Every cero Starrk had fired so far had been fully powered, blasting craters and reducing mountains of sand and sediment into ash. It would only take one blow, should he be caught in material form, to get thoroughly obliterated. He had to find a way to end things as quickly as possible. Starrk was not only strong, but he was observant, a genius on the battlefield.
"Your Reiatsu spikes whenever you turn left-" Castro's eyes widened in surprise before quickly maneuvering away. "-And plummets when you turn right." A cero was blasted at Castro's port-side.
Shit!
Castro braced himself, willing his body to convert to particles of Reishi. Phasing through the cero, Castro jumped back to make distance, but was stopped by an overwhelming force.
W-What is happening?!
Castro should not have been effected by anything. He was Reishi itself, nothing should have been able to impede him. It was then that Castro took careful notice of the air around him. It was abundant with a vast sea of spiritual pressure that weighed him down. He was suffocating, the force only getting larger and larger; pressing his body harder and harder against the ground.
"If your body becomes Reishi itself," Starrk walked slowly towards Castro's subdued form. "Then Reishi itself becomes your weakness."
Try as he might, Castro could not lift a muscle. Reishi is in general, spirit energy. Therefore, if one with ample spiritual energy were to flood the area with spiritual pressure, the lesser spiritual energy is stomped out- In this case, pinned.
"One minute has passed." Starrk loomed over Castro, lazy eyes unblinking as a cero charged over the open mouth of his broken hollow mask. "...Sixty seconds remaining."
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"Glory to the King! Glory to the King!"
The voices of thousands of hollows echoed throughout the distance.
"It would seem that you have lost," Harribel said as she retracted her shark-fin blade.
"Damn it!" Melphi spat out blood. Her hair that she used as lethal killing spears were frayed and cut at uneven intervals. "I haven't lost yet!"
Harribel closed her eyes and released a breath.
"Yes, you have. Your leader killed, your comrade missing, your army reduced to nothing," Harribel opened her eyes and stared passively at Melphi. "Give up, there is no use in your sacrifice."
Melphi hesitated, letting her eyes wander to the retched form of the Vasto of White. Like the name implied, his entire body was pale white, and blue tribal marked patterns ran across the hollow bones that covered his arms and legs. His eyes were a sharp amber that even now Melphi felt could see whatever action she could ever commit. Above all, it was the Vasto of White's neutral face, and hollow hole at the center of his chest that unnerved her the most. Most hollows had their hollow holes located at their stomach to symbolize their unending hunger, the few that didn't she always found as odd. Then again, they were always the stronger ones.
"This won't be the last you will see of me." Melphi began retreating. "Lord Baraggan will be sure to crush you."
Melphi soon faded out of sight as Harribel made her way back to the others.
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Telmani, the wolf-like Adjuchas who had turn coated against his own comrades to save himself bolted across the sands. However unlikely it was, his plan had worked. While in the confusion he had created by siding with the Vasto of White, he had steadily escaped. The Vasto of White's army did not attack him, for he acted as if he were one of their own, and the hollows in Baraggan's army didn't attack him until it was too late. He could almost grin if it wasn't for the situation in which he found himself in now.
"W-Wait don't!" Telmani once again evaded to the left, narrowly saving his life from a razor sharp maw. He couldn't keep this up much longer.
"And why should I?" A white panther asked with a snarl. "The weak shouldn't complain."
The white panther lurched forward, and with one more leap, sunk his jaws into Telmani's flesh. Telmani cried out, but was quickly silenced as the panther ripped out his throat.
"Grimmjow," Shawlong, the long slender insect like Adjuchas said. "Take a look at what our prey just dropped."
The panther-like hollow, Grimmjow raised an eye and stopped his feeding. There scattered before him, were roughly eight twisted blades.
"Doesn't look like its worth my time," Grimmjow stated before he resumed feasting on the flesh of his kill.
Shawlong however, was intrigued. Walking passed his other traveling companions, Shawlong bent over and picked up one of the blades. Power rippled through his form, and once again Shawlong felt the long forgotten sensation of his strength growing. Greedily, he opened his mouth and ingested the blade. A shock wave of Showlong's Reishi shot out in all directions, he gaining a substantial boost in his reserves. Maybe with this, that ambition may truly come to pass.
"The hell was that Shawlong?" Grimmjow kicked away his unfinished meal.
Wordlessly, Shawlong tossed one sword to Grimmjow, before repeating the action for Di Roy, Yylfordt, Edrad, and Nakeem.
Upon touching the sword, each of their eyes widened in surprise before promptly devouring the blade. Suffice to say, all their powers grew, none more so than a grinning Grimmjow. Forget measly hollows who only serve to increase his power by minuscule amounts- that one blade had enough Reishi to cause a significant increase in his power. He couldn't imagine what would happen if he continued to eat more.
"Shawlong," Grimmjow began. "How many more of these do we have?"
"Two, my king," Shawlong said before his eyes drifted towards the direction the wolf-like Adjuchas had run from. "Although I believe we may find more should we go along that way."
Grimmjow grinned.
"Then what are we waiting for?"
