2/2

"You'll need to be locked away for a while," Zero muttered. "I'll train you nice and well, just so long as you can survive your time in nothing."

Darkness rapidly grew from the ground towards Zero's hands, thousands of horror stricken phantom faces making up the energy he was drawing in. "Genesis Zero!"

The attack flew at Ichigo, the thousands of phantoms gripping onto Ichigo wherever they could and began trying to absorb him completely from sheer numbers. Zero laughed as he watched Ichigo slowly disappear under the mass amounts of beings devouring him.

"Genesis Zero can erase anything in this world. Even so far as to remove a soul and a very existence. Survive this and prove to me how incredible you truly are."

He watched as the phantoms slowly faded away to nothing, barely a dozen left. He sighed, turning away. It seemed his fun was over. Ichigo wasn't breaking fr-

He spun back round, just in time to see a blast of light breaking through the remaining phantoms and tearing a hole in the pocket dimension Genesis Zero took things too. The light continued through, blasting against Zero as he took the full brunt of a Cero blast. Ichigo stepped out of the dimension, it snapping shut behind him.

Zero smiled as the smoke cleared. "EXCELLENT! MORE! LET'S HAVE SOME MORE FUN!"

He clenched his hand, a Self Destruction Spell appearing over Ichigo's chest before activating immediately. It ripped a massive hole in his chest and blasted away the two arms, barely any skin to hold its head to its body. The regeneration was already at work, ignoring the arms in favour of repairing the drastic damage done to the chest before Ichigo died from it. Zero used that time to rush in, grabbing Ichigo's own blade and swiping it across one of Ichigo's legs.

The blade cut through easily, Ichigo falling backwards as Zero brought the blade up above his head. He swung it down but Ichigo's remaining leg shot up, the claws digging into Zero's skin before launching him away. The wounds on Ichigo's chest finished healing and the Magic began work on getting an arm back.

Zero pushed his advantage, firing a large burst of darkness at Ichigo. The regeneration stopped for a moment as Magic got diverted to another purpose, a Cero quickly growing between the horns and firing straight at the incoming attack. The arm quickly continued regeneration, coming up in time as Zero burst throw the smoke. The sword tried to strike at Ichigo but it suddenly shot to the side, Zero's grip on it being broken as the sword broke free and flew to its master's call.

Ichigo gripped the blade tightly, swinging at Zero who had gotten too close. The blade cut into his chest and Zero held back a grunt as he felt it rip across his flesh. A leg kicked out Zero's and he realised it was the missing one of Ichigo's, now regrown. He fell backwards, falling to the ground, but he didn't hit it. Ichigo moved extremely fast, bringing his other leg round as the first hit the floor to kick him away, the claws ripping more of his flesh.

Zero felt bones break as he smashed against the trees. He struggled to his feet, his eyes glancing up as he saw Ichigo approaching. All his wounds were healed, and he still didn't look tired.

"You're amazing," muttered Zero, taking a step forward as he stretched an arm out towards Ichigo. His body screamed at him as the pain intensified, his wounds all telling him to stop. But he couldn't. He loved every minute of this. "I can keep going. Don't stop fighting me here. We still have form! We still have power. This won't ever end until one of us no longer exists!"

Ichigo was more than happy to oblige. One hand shot out and grabbed Zero by his head, the other held the sword and swung, the lower half on Zero's body falling to the ground as the blade cut through his chest. Zero smiled, his eyes holding nothing but madness in them even as his body shut down.

"Wonderful…"

Ichigo glanced at the remains of the body before chucking it to the ground, the interest in holding it lost. He brought his sword up over the body, the tip of the blade directly at Zero's neck. He slowly started lowering the blade, even though his body tried to restrict his movements. The blade was mere millimetres away from the neck when a tight grip wrapped itself around Ichigo's wrist.

"Enough!"

Protector Of The Fairies

The cloaked figure gently landed on the top most level of Nirvana, entering the King's Summit. He spared a glance at the symbol of Nirvana before turning away, focusing his attention on the throne and the pedestal in front of it.

"This must be where he sat," muttered the man. "The Great King Roubaul, leader of the ancient Nirvit tribe. I wonder what it was like."

The man stared around him as he approached the throne, looking at the view. He could see all across Nirvana here and beyond, seeing the barrier in the distance. He glanced at the open Gate above Nirvana before he flicked his wrist. The Gate slowly closed until it snapped shut, the barrier completely secure once more. If no one had gotten out of the top before when they needed to then it would be too late now. Since the barrier was still up though he'd have to assume the Shinigami holding the barrier up outside would still be okay.

"You… Why are you here…"

The man turned as he heard the voice, pleased to note that the staff he saw looked afraid. It truly was interesting to see stuff like this as he hadn't ever come across a talking staff before. However he wasn't in the mood right now. He had already seen everything he needed to the first time he had met Oración Seis.

"I'm afraid this is your end," he said quietly as he drew his sword from his cloak. The staff slowly started backing away from Nirvana's controls, nothing but terror being shown.

"Please…. Please no…" The staff kept moving back, begging the man to not get any closer. The man suddenly vanished and Klodoa felt himself hit something. He glanced upwards, seeing the man's face looking down on him.

"I'm sorry. You've seen too much here."

Lighting shot from the orb in the staff, hitting the man dead on. Klodoa had no time to celebrate however as the man was completely unharmed as the smoke cleared.

"I'm too strong for you to stop."

The man swung his sword, slicing through the staff with ease and destroying it and the Lacrima it was powered by in one swift movement. He took his sword and resheathed it away in his cloak, turning his attention back to the throne.

He suddenly felt himself stopping. He tried moving again before he stopped, confused of why for a moment. It quickly clicked as he stared at the throne and the pedestal more closely, his eyes cold and calculative as they observed every detail he could see.

"You know you're really quite impressive," he spoke aloud, no one around to hear his ramblings. He took a step forward and this time he wasn't stopped. It was quite subtle Magic that had held him back but he could ignore it now that he knew what it was doing. The Magic wasn't a defence anyway. It was a warning.

He took another step, and then another, and then another. Moving forward, focusing on doing just that and why he wanted to do that. He finally reached the edge of the throne, the pedestal at his left.

The urge to try and sit on the throne was tempting. It was really tempting. The power Roubaul must have felt as he sat in this seat must have been tremendous. It wasn't anything to do with Magical Power, even though he knew from the legends that the ancient ruler of the Nirvits had been something described as a God. Not even Dragons had dared attack Nirvana at its peak, and stuff like that had always interested him when he was younger.

The power Roubaul had over the people though must have been tremendous. It took more than power to sit on a throne. You needed the support of the people, and all records of Nirvit people said that Roubaul had that. He was a beloved King to them, and he had loved them all in return and had protected them from harm.

It was a shame such a mighty civilization had fallen all those years ago. Four hundred years had passed since then, and so many great civilizations no longer existed. Since the disappearance of Zeref, no new power like them had ever emerged. Even the Magic Council was nothing compared to the incredible powers the ancient civilizations had possessed. He wished he could see them in their original glory but all he had left was faint records and legends.

He realised he had suddenly taken a step towards the throne while he had been distracted before moving back slightly. He turned his attention to the pedestal, staring at the orb positioned in the very peak of it. He could sense the incredible power coming from it, unlike anything else in this world.

"How did they make you?" he asked, reaching towards the orb. It was certainly a Lacrima but it was unlike any other he had ever seen or even theorised. Such massive amounts of energy stored within and yet it didn't break, and that wasn't even considering his other theory on what it contained. He'd have to see how it would all play out in the end.

His hand was about to make contact with the Lacrima when he stopped, seeing the symbol of Nirvana flash into existence on the top of it. He smiled, nodding his head slightly as he reached out for it again.

"I need to borrow you here. My precious student is in a bit of trouble because of you and I need to return him back to normal. You'll assist me won't you?"

He grabbed the orb and lifted it from the pedestal, all the runes and screens around the summit going dark and vanishing. Nirvana froze, the limbs holding it up locking into place. He felt the great machine come to a halt before looking down at the Lacrima in his hands.

"Let's go then."

Protector Of The Fairies

Ichigo tilted his head, looking at the newcomer with a growl. Jura didn't flinch, staring Ichigo down.

"I said enough. I have no quarrels with you killing enemies, but I won't let you cross this line. He's already dead. I won't let you mutilate his body any further."

Ichigo growled more, trying to force the blade closer to Zero's neck. Jura tightened his grip as well, slowly forcing Ichigo's arm up. It was finally too much for Ichigo to ignore so he instead struck out at Jura, letting his arm go slack in order for Jura to pull him towards himself.

Jura realised something was wrong as soon as he felt the loss of resistance, and it was the only think that saved his life. He pulled back and released his grip, the blade missing him by inches as it swung past his face. Ichigo jumped at him, attempting to slice him into pieces for interrupting him.

The earth rose, catching the blade against it and, to Ichigo's surprise, it didn't break. The earth held strong, Jura's will and power refusing to let it crumple against the force against it. At the same time, sharp spikes launched from the earth, piercing into Ichigo's flesh as they pushed him away.

Jura raised his staff, the earth moving with it as he swung the staff around his head. The earth spun around him, forming a large snake like construct of stone and earth. He shot out with his staff, aimed forward at where Ichigo suddenly leaped out from. The earth responded instantly, the snake above him lunging at Ichigo and tightening around him.

Jura slammed his staff against the ground, three large pillars of stone rising up around Ichigo at angles aimed above his friend. They all converted at the point before walls extended around them to connect the pillars further. Jura stared Ichigo, both unmoving as their gazes locked. Ichigo wasn't even trying to struggle as the last bit of light shone through before the walls completely connected, leaving Ichigo trapped within a triangular based pyramid.

The staff came back up, a large piece of earth levitating off the ground and rising above the pyramid itself before Jura slammed the staff back against the ground. The large chunk of earth crashing against the pyramid and breaking through with ease. He heard a howl as it hit where Ichigo had to be and shattered, the rest of the earth barriers crumbling into rubble and piling on top of Ichigo.

His plan was working. It had taken him a while to find Ichigo after he had retrieved his staff, and he had been almost believed that he would never find him. But in the end he had. It had been surprisingly easy. He was almost at Nirvana when he saw the explosions, and the sudden falling stone of Nirvana helped identify where Ichigo and his opponent had landed. He had arrived just in time to see Ichigo bisect his opponent, and he still wasn't sure on who the man was.

Even if the man had been an enemy, he couldn't let what Ichigo had been about to do happen. Not only for the sake of the dead but for Ichigo himself. Ichigo would never do such a horrific thing, and he would have hated himself for the rest of his life if he had mutilated someone's body.

It fitted with the image of a Hollow however. No mercy and no morals. He hadn't been sure if the Hollow side had wanted to eat the man or to take a trophy.

Ichigo suddenly attacking him because he stopped him also fit in that image. To Ichigo, he wasn't a friend. He was just another enemy to fight. Another person to kill. It was sad to see what a state Ichigo had been reduced too, and it hurt even more to know he had done it for their sake. He had tried to save them all from Nirvana, and had ended up being the intended target in the first place. It had to be eating him up inside. So it was his job to pull Ichigo back to the surface.

"Can you hear me Ichigo?"

There was no response so Jura tried again.

"Ichigo? It's me. Jura. You're friend."

He took a step forward, approaching the rubble.

"I know you're in there somewhere Ichigo. You need to fight this. This is not you. This is not the Ichigo we all know and love. You can hear my voice, I know you can. If this darkness is enough to silence you then how can you protect anyone?"

A blade shot out of the rubble, Jura's staff hastily coming up to defend himself. The point hit the middle of the staff's pole and he felt the wood shake in his hands. Even as reinforced as the staff was, it was still weak. The blade had almost pierced straight through. He knew the staff wouldn't last much longer.

Ichigo lunged out of the rubble, swiping at Jura with his sword. Jura brought his arm up, a shield of earth bursting from the ground and intercepting the blade. Jura stepped away from it just in time as the blade broke through, swiping at where he had been.

"You have to do better than that to beat me Ichigo." Jura raised aimed his index and middle fingers at Ichigo, the earth rising around him. Unlike his normal Spells, the earth actually began to changing into a construct like when he had made the snake. It rapidly changed until it looked like a large fist and arm with armour along it.

Ichigo saw the fist incoming and brought up his blade to defend himself, the fist crashing against the blade and sending Ichigo flying back. Another fist shot out of the ground and intercepted Ichigo's path, sending him flying back to the original before the two fists collided with one another.

This time he didn't wait to call out to Ichigo, summoning more earth to surround Ichigo and crush him into the ground. Before the attack connected however, it was blown away. Ichigo flew out of the hole he had created in the fists, clearing the distance between the two in moments. The blade flew round and smashed through the staff, Jura barely managing to dodge the blade. The blade came straight back round however and sliced at his chest.

As Jura relied back, he frowned. He felt the blade cut across his flesh but it was too faint. He felt the pain from it but the blade should have gone deeper. Did Ichigo hesitate? Had he heard his voice?

A fist rammed into him and sent him tumbling backwards, the staff's remains falling from his hands. Ichigo took the opportunity to charge a Cero between his horns, aiming it straight towards the recovering Mage. Jura watched as the attack charged up before slamming his hands together just as it fired. "Rock Mountain!"

The earth rose around him and quickly shaped into an large humanoid figure of some kind around him, elaborate armour covering the figure with parts of the rock sticking out as protrusions. The hands of the rock guardian were pressed together just like Jura's was, as if in pray to block the attack.

The attack fired and hit Jura's defence, the rock cracking on impact. However it didn't break. Jura poured his Magic into the Spell, ensuring his defence would not fall. He may not have been as strong as Ichigo was, or as fast, but he had devoted so much time to one aspect that fitted best with his Magic. Defence. He had held back the Demon attacking the city all those years ago until Ichigo and his friends had arrived, and he had only gotten stronger since then. He wouldn't let an attack like this break his barrier, no matter how strong it was.

The attack finally let up and his shield crumbled around him, both fighters watching the other. He tried calling out once more to Ichigo.

"You stopped back then. You should have managed to reach my internal organs with that strike. Instead you hesitated. You pulled back at the last second, and gave me the chance to avoid most of the damage. Why?"

Ichigo didn't answer, instead just gripping the sword more fiercely.

"Why did you stop? Because you wished to not harm me. I know you can hear me Ichigo."

Ichigo shot forward, slicing at Jura. Pillars of earth shot out of the ground all around Ichigo, trapping his limbs and halting his movement as Jura walked towards him. He could see they wouldn't hold for long but he needed this moment. He was sure Ichigo could hear his voice.

He kept walking till he was almost in front of Ichigo, making sure to keep enough distance between him and the sword as to not get hit by any surprise attacks. "Ichigo. Come back to us Ichigo. This is not you."

He didn't see any response. And then there was a glimmer of something. Understanding. He smiled as Ichigo turned his head towards him, his mouth opening as he tried to force words out.

"Save…"

"The others are safe Ichigo. Don't worry."

"No… Save…"

Jura caught on. "Don't worry. I'll help you break free of this. We all will."

"No… Not me… Don't… save me…" Ichigo roared, the light of recognition fading from his eyes. "Stop me… Save… Ichigo…"

Jura froze, hearing the words Ichigo was saying. Save Ichigo? Wasn't this Ichigo? If not, then who was had forced control just then. Who was in control, and why did they want to stop if they weren't Ichigo?

Ichigo suddenly broke free, Jura barely dodging the blade as it swung at his head. More pillars pummelled into Ichigo, smashing him into the ground as he moved back. If it wasn't Ichigo at the surface trying to fight back then it was harder to call out to him that he thought it would be. He needed to make sure Ichigo couldn't harm anyone else right now until that man arrived.

Had that man understood from the start? He had said particularly to survive until he got there. Did he already know that trying to reason with Ichigo would be useless? Did he know that someone else was trying to fight back?

That posed the question. Was it Ichigo who was hesitating, or the person he had just spoken to? He would get his answers later if needed. For now he had to try and finish this.

He ran back to where his staff had fallen, his eyes glancing at the rubble as parts of it got blown away. Ichigo was really trying to break free there and he doubted the earth he had trapped him in would hold him forever.

His staff was in pieces, but the top half was all he needed. He picked it up, holding it just above where it had been cut at. The Lacrima on top glowed brightly as he began building up the Magic for what he wanted to do. It would take some time to prepare so he would have to survive until it was ready for use.

The last of the rubble got blasted away and Ichigo clawed his way out of it, charging at Jura. Spears and pillars of earth rose to block his path so he instead blasted through them with a Cero, charging as fast as he could at Jura. He vanished with Sonido, appearing behind Jura and swinging.

Jura saw the attack and blocked it with a stone wall, allowing the wall to fire off small restraints to grab Ichigo with. He quickly placed his hands together, the staff in between the two. "I haven't used this much so let's see how well it works. Rumbling Mt. Fuji!"

The ground exploded upwards, a massive blast of energy being released where Ichigo stood as it ripped apart the landscape in its path. The blast was even bigger than Ichigo's Cero had been, and Jura could hear a howl of pain as his attack intensified.

The blast slowly stopped and he stepped away, keeping up his guard. It may have been more powerful than Ichigo's Cero but he didn't have the same amount of Magic that other Wizard Saint did. He had a lot, but Ichigo had been firing a tone of these Ceros before even fighting him.

Something was definitely up with that. Going by how much Magic was in each Cero, and combined with how much Magic Ichigo had left after blocking Nirvana, this was way beyond how much Magic Ichigo should have had left. And he doubted he was drawing energy in like before. Just where was this impossible amount of power coming from?

He saw Ichigo step out of the remains of the blast before it fades away, a large amount of burns along his body with a chunk of his body destroyed alongside it. There had likely been more damage but he could already see Ichigo's regeneration at work. With the unknown source of energy combined with the healing rate, he wasn't sure how much longer he would be able to hold out. His reserves of Magic were already starting to drop, especially after using that Spell.

"Well well well… What do we have here?"

Jura glanced as the man he had met before landed next to him, spotting a smile on the man's face. "You have a way to revert Ichigo back?"

The man held up a small Lacrima. "Of course. Right here. I don't know how long it will take, and the speed issue is a problem so would you mind just smashing Ichigo against the ground for a moment. Just do enough damage to make him focus on his regeneration above everything else."

"You better be right about this."

Jura stepped forward, glancing at the Lacrima at the end of his staff. It was done charging. He had the energy he needed for the Spell. He slowly brought the earth up around him, Ichigo letting him as he healed his injuries. The earth slowly shaped itself until it formed an arm like before.

This time though the earth continued to mold itself into something else. In the hand of rock formed a large sword, the edge sharp just like a real blade.

He had never made his attacks in preparation to attack someone originally. He had been satisfied with the defence aspect of it all those years ago. But something had changed after meeting Ichigo and his friends. Seeing their potential had made him want to compete. But if he always focused on defence then he would never win. Rumbling Mt. Fuji had been his first creation after simple spikes but he didn't stop there. He had kept training, trying to find the answer he sought for his strength.

And then he had found it one day. It had been pure chance. He had met Ichigo's friend Levy during those three years, asking if she had heard anything of him. She hadn't but she had asked for his assistance in observing a technique she had been working on. Solid Script: Kikouou.

He had been amazed when he had seen it. Even with the brief moment she had been able to summon it for, it had been incredible. Tremendous power packed within the single Spell, but she had said herself that she couldn't control it all with a single Spell. She had many different things working together to make it work.

That was what he had to do. He wasn't skilled enough yet to make a construct of this work as he wanted without help. The Lacrima on his staff was the key to that. A simple levitation Spell built into it, perfect to help keep the rocks together and to float in the air. And perfect for the next step.

He brought his arm back and the stone arm followed his actions, the staff acting as the stone sword. This was the part he had never been able to do correctly before. Joint movement. And now that he could, the Spell was complete.

"Tenken!"

He swung his staff, the blade crashing down on Ichigo and smashing him into the ground. The cloaked man was already moving as the blade descended, hurrying to Ichigo's side. He saw that Ichigo's arm had been ripped completely off and that the rock sword was digging into Ichigo's side, pinning him to the ground. Ichigo was already trying to regeneration the damage but he wouldn't stop him in time. The damage Jura had done was more than he had anticipated.

The man stood above Ichigo before placing the Lacrima against Ichigo's chest, the orb glowing brightly as it touched him. Both Mages shielded their eyes as the light shone on Ichigo, black and white energy covering Ichigo as it trying to reverse the previous effect of Nirvana.

A small shift was felt in Ichigo's Magical Power and that was all the man needed to know that it was working. The pale white skin broke into pieces, revealing the original colour below. The mask shattered, Ichigo's hair shortening while his eyes returned to normal. The limbs rapidly regrew but as normal limbs this time, the body parts still attached reverting as well. Even the hole in Ichigo's chest finally filled itself back in, and it was only as the light faded did both Mages breathe in a sigh of relief.

"Welcome back Ichigo," muttered the man as he stepped away from Ichigo's body. "Sorry about all this."

Ichigo's eyes glanced at him, trying to see who he was before he collapsed from the exhaustion he felt. He barely managed to say one work before he couldn't stay awake any longer. "Kisuke…"

Protector Of The Fairies

And there you have it. Not the finale yet of the arc but the end to all the fights, and in a big way. Natsu was never going to win his fight, simply because there was never going to be a Jellal there to give him that powerup that allowed him to beat Zero. He may have gotten stronger but he didn't get that strong yet.

Now, like Laxus, we had a multistage fight here. Shinji first, and his lucky at winning was always low. He is best fighting deadly, going for those killing strikes, and this was the kind of enemy he would need to do so. But he can't distance himself enough in this case to risk Ichigo dying. Zero was next, inspired a bit by Zaraki. He doesn't even care if he dies here, he just wants to fight someone just like him with impossible amounts of strength. He's basically having the time of his life.

Jura's part was a bit harder. Out of all of them, Zero actually came closest to killing Ichigo as he managed to sever a lot of Ichigo's limbs and almost got him in the end. Jura however barely got hit, his greatest strength being his defence. It even stopped a full powered Cero from Ichigo here. He doesn't have the speed, and his attack power only matches Ichigo's or exceeds it if he's willing to spend that much Magic to do so. The finishing move is something I think you all recognise. I planned this for a while, and it helps the iron rock fist looks like armour too.

The biggest plot twist of this fight, in my opinion, is that it wasn't Ichigo who ended up speaking there. I'm sure many of you have theories on that and I'll love to hear what you think. I've been holding that secret close to my chest till this chapter got released after all. And you all got to get confirmation on our masked man. Of course it was Kisuke. Manipulating things behind the scene, adding in the last gate of the barrier, and a willingness to help Ichigo out in the end. More with him next chapter. And more Roubaul soon enough. Bit of a glimpse of the past with that scene, especially if you compare time periods with other places I've talked about.

I've talked a lot so let's finish up this long note quickly. Manga stuff. Bleach, imagination can backfire in the end when faced against a ridiculous opponent like Kenpachi. Fairy Tail, that Demon King seems even more interesting. Lumen Histoire looks to appear soon as before, and that cube was a whale or something? Well I think I just found another Demon to play around with later.

Anyway, till the next time. I've been Takei. Thanks for reading.