The Sixth vs the Fifth: Lucitide vs Rio (NDE)

[Lucitide Regalia Steinbacher]

(Alright. This is a fight between Lucitide Regalia Steinbacher, newly appointed Sexta Espada, and Rio Demonliogalgo, the standing Quinta Espada. They will fight in the moonlit deserts of Hueco Mundo, far from Las Noches. Rio may post first.)

[Rio Demonliogalgo]

Well, this was a change. Normally Rio was the one to hunt down the higher numbered Espada, as he had to the Octava and Septima. Well, today he was getting a chance to fight the Sexta Espada, a rank he had held himself not too long ago. Still, it was the difference of one rank. This was to be a brutal battle. Rio grinned as well. Maybe this guy, like himself was a heavily physical fighter. That'd be great! Rio loved brawling! It'd be a shame if the guy was a hit-and-run fighter like Cierro, or was just plain weak like Magnus had been. Fortunately, Magnus was no longer an Espada. Rio hoped that this Sexta would not be nearly as disappointing.

"You kept me waiting." Rio declared. "That's not a very smart thing to do, Sexta." He stated. Rio had a very slight build. A build that favored speed. Or so it looked. Rio was MUCH stronger than first met the eye. Strength was his forte, but he actually liked cultivating the opposite image, as it left opponent's astounded when he actually connected with a blow.

The Quinta Espada cracked his neck, not even bothering to draw either of the Sai at his side. For one rank's difference, he anticipated that he'd need them before the battle was done, but at the same time, they were a privilege not a right. Lucitide would have to earn the right to see Rio use these weapons. This was gonna be fun!

[Lucitide Regalia Steinbacher]

SPOILER: Click to show

Lucitide walked slowly across the desert sands, arms crossed, his white robes hanging heavily over his child body. Not as heavily as the massive, cresent shaped guillotine blade he wore on his back, however. It was his Zanpakuto, which he did not expect to have to use today, but brought just in case.

Walking through the endless moonlight, Lucitide's small frame cast a very large shadow on the bone white sands. If Rio happened to look at that shadow, he would see a pair of raven's wings attached to Lucitide; wings which did not actually exist. Why did his shadow show non-existent wings? No one knew.

He stopped some distance away from the Quinta Espada, listening politely as he spoke. After the other man finished speaking, Lucitide bowed slightly, waiting a respectful amount of time before standing up strait again. His expression was muted, but showed regret and...was that pain? the fight hadn't even started, and already he was in pain? The reason wasn't because of any wounds, but because he could feel the pain of his opponent; not physical pain, but all the emotional trauma he had experienced up until now. Rio didn't know it, but his very soul was screaming, and only Lucitide could hear it. He felt it was his duty to put the man out of his misery.

"My apologies, Rio-senpai." Lucitide began, not sarcastically or rudely, but with sincerity. He was truly sorry to have kept the man waiting, though perhaps not for the same reasons that Rio thought. It had taken longer than he'd thought to finish the book he had been reading, and that in turn meant Rio had suffered for that much longer. it was pitiful, really. "I had intended to arrive on time, but I was...distracted. However, I am here now. Please...allow me to ease your pain."

With that, Lucitide was gone, using Sonido to directly in front of and slightly above the Quinta's head, so that his feet would be at eye level to the other Espada. As Lucitide began falling back to the ground, carried forward slightly by his momentum, he aimed a punting kick from his right leg at Rio's head, aiming it smash it open like a coconut before his opponent could react. Lucitide could sense the strength of his opponent well enough to know Rio's Hierro would do nothing to impede the attack, and he took being faster than the other man for granted. The attack might not be instantly lethal, but it would be hard to dodge due to the sheer speed and abruptness of it. Lucitide hoped his foe would survive, if not find some way to avoid damage completely; it'd be a shame to find the Quinta was a "nobody"

SPOILER: Click to show

Strength - [250] Points

Speed - [400X3=1200] Points

Spiritual Pressure - [400/3=133(Rounded)] Points

Reiatsu Strength - [400] Points

Light Aura - [45] Points

Dark Aura - [55] Points

Instinct - [200/3=67(Rounded)] Points

Senses [75X3-225] Points

Energy sensory - [175] Points

Healing Expertise - [0] Points

SPOILER: Click to show

1330-100=1230

[Rio Demonliogalgo]

Ease his pain? What the fuck was this idiot going on about. The only thing that was painful to Rio was how bored he had been waiting. Oh wait, this guy had already started. Geeze, he was really eager to start the fight. And.... damn, he was fast. Rio considered this guy might even be faster than Cierro! That was surprising! As Lucitide anticipated, his kick connected. Unfortunately for him, it did the furthest thing from split Rio's head open like a coconut. The kick caused Rio's head to turn to the side somewhat, before turning back to look at the Sexta. "Oh? That was sure surprising. Was that a good warm up for you? Or do you need another shot? That one kinda itched." Rio commented him, seeming unfazed by the kick itself.

Lucitide's kick would indeed have taken down many other foes. Rio was not many other foes. The man Lucitide had just kicked was the strongest of all the other Espada, with regards to brute strength. In fact, Rio's physical capabilities were more than three times Lucitide's. Despite his own formidable strength, which surpassed human and animal alike, Lucitide's best kick would have about the same effect as striking a tree with a penknife. Perhaps slightly annoying for the target, but with no real chance of doing any real damage.

Rio slammed his right fist into his left palm. "Well. Guess I should warm up a bit too." He stated, and stepped towards Lucitide with a right straight, aimed right at his solarplexis. With that speed, Rio expected for Lucitide to dodge very easily. However, he would meet a very unexpected result of trying to dodge it. He'd have to dodge by a quite fair margin, as from the fist that Rio had swung, a rippling wave of air hurled forth. That's right, Rio's strength was at such a level that his punch literally displaced the air, turning the air itself into a deadly projectile, transferring the force of his punch along a straight line, with the speed of a Bala. Rio referred to these as shockwaves, and they were a devastating weapon for him, allowing him to strike a foe with his immense strength even if they were clear of his attack range.

SPOILER: Click to show

[Strength - 400 (800) Points

Speed - 300 Points

Spiritual Pressure - 400 (200)Points

Reiatsu Strength - 400 Points

Light Aura - 0 Points

Dark Aura - 100 Points

Instinct - 200 Points

Senses 150 Points

Energy sensory - 50 Points

Healing Expertise - 0 Points

Total: 1900 SP

[Lucitide Regalia Steinbacher]

Lucitide smiled faintly at his opponent's reaction to the kick he had launched. He was glad to see it didn't do much of anything to the Quinta Espada; if it had seriously injured the other man Lucitide just might have lost his composure and done something reckless. It was good that wasn't the case. However, he had more pressing things to worry about than that.

Lucitide had indeed been caught by surprise by Rio's shock wave attack, but he was far from helpless against the attack. With his sharp senses, far keener than any beasts, Lucitide could actually feel the air moving, the shock wave building. He had time, though just barely, to Sonido away to the side, dodging the attack by a hairs breadth and appearing about twenty feet to Rio's left.

"Ah, ah, ah." He began, waggling the index finger of his right hand at his foe. Although his voice was still calm, his voice and eyes reflected a certain degree of irritation at Rio's comments.He hated being mocked like that, and felt incline to give Rio a taste of his displeasure. "It's not polite to belittle your opponent like that, Rio-senpai. I merely wanted to see how much fun I could have with this fight. It wouldn't be any fun if your were a 'nobody', now would it?" His smile shifted to somewhere between childishly adorable and devilishly malicious. "You aren't a 'nobody', are you?" He vanished again, using Sonido to appear directly behind his foe, right arm extended toward the other man. "BANG!" At that moment, he snapped his fingers, forming a mock-gun with his hands. An orb of sunset-gold Reiatsu formed at his finger tip, gathering energy and growing into a full fledged Cero much faster than Rio would probably think possible. That was one of Lucitide's advantages when it came to Cero; not their strength, but the speed at which he could form them. Mere moments after forming, the gold Cero hurled itself at Rio from almost point-blank range, aimed straight at his back. That, however, was not all Lucitide did.

The moment that Cero had fully formed and launched, Lucitide broke to the right, choosing to save his Reiatsu by simply running instead of using Sonido to get to Rio's right. Even then, he would be far to fast for Rio to hope to intercept him before Lucitide reached his goal. Rio would be disorientated and distracted by all that Lucitide had done so far; hopefully to distracted to notice the child-like Espada take his massive Zanpakutou in his hand. Wielding the preposterously huge thing easily in one hand, Lucitide smiled before practically hurling himself at Rio, attacking with a downward and diagonal slash from left to right, called a Wrath Hew. Between Lucitide's strength, the weight of his Zanpakutou and the equal strength of his and Rio's Reiatsu, Lucitide stood to cut his foe in two if something wasn't done to stop him.

SPOILER: Click to show

1230-100-100-200=830

[Rio Demonliogalgo]

"It's not polite to belittle your opponent like that, Rio-senpai. I merely wanted to see how much fun I could have with this fight. It wouldn't be any fun if your were a 'nobody', now would it?" Rio smirked. "Moron. You're the one that needs to be proving that to me. You're quick, but that better not be it. That disgrace of an Octava is fast too and he's nothing but trash." Rio commented.

Unfortunately for Lucitide, Rio had also mastered the Cero technique and had fought once with Kuroi, who also had mastered them. He was used to Cero that fired faster than normal ones, and as Lucitide launched the Cero, Rio vanished. He used Sonido, disappearing completely, reappearing behind Lucitide. During Sonido, Rio had a speed of 3300. Lucitide was probably faster in Sonido, but he wasn't using Sonido, which meant Rio was now almost three times faster than he was.

As a result, Lucitide's Cero and slash would both miss, but he wouldn't have time to think about this, as Rio was already sending another shockwave hurtling towards Lucitide's back. Fast as he was, Lucitide had less than a second to take note of Rio's new position, and the shockwave, before he'd be hit by it. If he could react in time though he was fast enough to avoid it. That wasn't the issue at all. It looked as if Rio was feeling Lucitide out.

"Not bad. But your aim is a little off." Rio mocked, whether or not Lucitide had dodged his shockwave. He seemed to be standing, completely exposed to an attack. He wasn't even moving, making him seem an easy target. What was his plan now? Was he offering another free hit? Or was he trying to bait Lucitide into making a mistake. Only Lucitide could uncover the answer to that question.

Reiatsu remaining: 1900 (-100 for Sonido)

[Lucitide Regalia Steinbacher]

Lucitide blinked in surprise as his opponent effortlessly dodged his pincer attack. Perhaps he was underestimating the Quinta to much? It certainly seemed that way. Well, that was okay, to. A stronger opponent meant a longer, more enjoyable fight. Lucitide's shocked expression changed to one of barley contained glee as he sensed his opponent reappear behind him. This guy was definitely not a nobody...Lucitide was glad.

"Here's a hint, Rio-senpai: Don't gloat until you've won." Lucitide lifted his massive crescent-shaped blade over his head, so that his whole body fit within the arc of the weapon. Feeling the rippling air ahead of the shock wave, Lucitide spun his Zanpakutou over his head almost like a basketball, creating a dome of rotating steel that surrounded his body completely and deflecting the shock wave with the high-speed rotation of the air around it. With the threat averted, Lucitide stopped the blade's rotation, and turned to face Rio, blade aimed at the other man.

"Also: Don't rely to much on tricks and techniques; you'll lose against someone with skill." With that, he launched a devastating sequence of attacks, using the great speed of his strikes to impart additional force to the impacts. He began by turning the weapon so it was horizontal, and thrusted the guillotine blade toward his foe's chest, before slicing away diagonally upward to the left. Making sure to stay aware of Rio's location via his energy sensory and regular, super sharp senses, Lucitide pressed forward and arced his arm around, then brought the blade straight down to split Rio in two, lengthwise, and crack the ground where the Quinta stood. Taking a step back, Lucitide brought the blade back into a horizontal position, then pressed forward again, slicing the blade away to the left, then slashing it up toward Rio's head, before ending with another diagonal wrath cut, coming from the opposite direction from the first.

Lucitide's great speed made all of these actions blur together into a whirling, spinning frenzy of bladed death. Rio could, of course, dodge using Sonido, but would have to move far away to keep Lucitide from finding him and adjusting to continue mincing him, and would find a counter attack a difficult proposition due to Lucitide being within the arc of the blade, meaning he could block while attacking. It would be all but impossible for Rio to dodge it all without getting hit at least once, and it would be even harder to find a moment to strike back.

[Rio Demonliogalgo]

Lucitide used an interesting technique to disperse Rio's shockwave. Not bad at all, someone weaker than Lucitide would have seen their blade shatter behind the force of the blow. As it was, it was still likely that even having dispersed the attack, Lucitide would be forced back however. At a strength of 800, that shockwave had possessed enough power to punch a hole clear through Lucitide's body.

"Also: Don't rely to much on tricks and techniques; you'll lose against someone with skill." An immense grin crossed Rio's face as Lucitide attempted to launch a counterattack. Lucitide's speed exceeded Rio's by nearly four times, but Rio's senses and instinct did not fail him entirely. Lucitide was correct in that, at his speed, Rio would struggle to counterattack. That was if Lucitide was allowed to dictate the pace. And indeed, it would be similarly difficult for Rio to escape this unscathed. Both these considerations passed through Rio's head in an instant, making his plan of action clear.

With less than a second to react to Lucitide's counterattack, Rio made use of the space between them to react to Lucitide's speed before his thrust could land. Blood sprayed in the air, as Lucitide's sword blade pierced through the underside of Rio's forearm, which the Quinta had used to block the sword blade, palm facing Lucitide. Had it been a slash, Lucitide may have taken the arm off, but a thrust, even with his gigantic sword, was a precision technique, that required hitting a vital organ to inflict significant damage. But this was only a stall.

When Lucitide tried his diagonal swing, Rio moved his punctured arm downwards (pushing against the flat of the blade, so as not to allow Lucitide to cut him further) and flexed the muscles in his forearm, to prevent Lucitide from pulling out the curved blade easily. With his free hand, Tio quickly grabbed the back of the sword, where it wasn't sharp. With Rio's tremendous strength, Lucitide would find even budging the sword nigh-impossible. Despite Lucitide's speed, Rio would have locked down his sword before Lucitide would be able to pull it free. "What's wrong? Can't take a little trash talk?" Rio remarked, his face alighting in a savage grin, as a Cero charged in his hand. He'd blocked, palm facing Lucitide for a reason. So that he could lock down the Sexta's blade and still fire this Cero at him.

Rio's Cero, like Lucitide's charged quickly, and fired in an instant, in a blast that would fill both Espada's vision with an immense wall of green. Lucitide had two options. He would be unable to wrench his Zanpakuto free from Rio's grasp, and so would be forced to either relinquish his sword in order to dodge Rio's Cero, or be forced to be struck by Rio's Cero at point blank range. Their Reiatsu strength was equal, and so if Lucitide was forced to be struck by the Quinta's Cero, he would suffer severe damage. Far worse than the bloodied arm that Rio had suffered in blocking Lucitide's blow. To be disarmed, or to be maimed. Lucitide's options were limited to those.

"Lose to someone with skill? Moron. Compared to me, you're nothing more than an infant! Skill is one thing, but you're up against experience!" Of all the Espada, only Kuroi had faced more of his brethren than Rio. Rio was among the oldest arrancar alive, having lived more than four millenia. He had fought countless foes, and meeting an opponent faster than himself was not something he was unused to dealing with.

Reiatsu remaining: 1700 (-200 for Cero)

[Lucitide Regalia Steinbacher]

Lucitide felt the warm, fresh blood splash on his cloths, pour over his hand, paint his face beautiful red. A single drop touched his lip, and hadn't rested there for a second before Lucitide's tongue snaked out to snatch it up. Delicious...even a single drop of blood was like treasure to Lucitide. And this battle promised much bloodshed.

Bringing his attention back to the battle, Lucitide considered his opponent's choice of defense. Perhaps it would've worked if Lucitide's Zanpakutou took the form of a sword. Unfortunately for the Quinta Espada, that was not the case. Ruina, Lucitide's weapon, was anything but a sword; rather, it was something like a chakram crossed with a guillotine's blade. It was a bladed ring twelve feet in diameter, and it's size and shape meant it would do more than pierce Rio's arm. Even in a thrusting attack, the blade could easily sever a limb, such as the one Rio had offer up for sacrifice.

Maybe Rio could lose a limb painlessly. Perhaps it would not hinder him. In any event, he would find his Cero had failed to launch, and though he had successfully grasped the massive blade, he lacked the leverage to keep Lucitide from pressing forward, deciding to abandon his complex attack sequence in lieu of a simple forward charge, aimed at cutting straight through his foe.

"I see. Your old age must be the source of your anguish...a long life is a lifetime full of painful experiences. I can end your suffering, Rio-senpai. Please, let me help you." Lucitide's voice was sincere, and he almost seemed to be begging the other Espada to let him end his life, as if it would be a show of mercy. If Lucitide realized how much his pleas clashed with his early display of licking up Rio's blood, he didn't show it.

(OOC: Maybe I'm wrong, but it sounded like you were thinking Lucitide is using a curved sword. I guess I didn't describe it enough-it's not really a sword at all It's a ring shaped blade with a handle in the middle. If you think I'm making that up, check Lucitide's app, it's all there. So he's not so much stabbing as thrusting a guillotine blade at Rio. If I'm wrong, I guess I misread your post, and I'll gladly fix mine.)

[Rio Demonliogalgo]

(ooc: I did. I acknowledged it was almost circular, but I was thinking it was something like this: i144.photobucket.com/albums/r174/PlatinumWordsmith/bigsword.gif Would it be more appropriate to assume it's something more like Tira's weapon from Soul Calibur?)


Indeed it seemed a miscalculation and if Rio had not possessed a unique gift, even for an Espada of his rank, he'd have lost his arm. As Lucitide's weapon tore up his forearm, he'd feel something, not unlike an impact collide with his zanpakuto, halting its progress and preventing Rio from losing the arm. Was it bone? That would be strange indeed, for Lucitide no doubt expected his blade to slice through Rio's bones with ease. And indeed it was not bone that had stopped Lucitide's attack.

Rio possessed a unique power, even in his sealed state. Rio's strength was such that the very act of flexing his muscles could create a rippling wave of force to displace the air itself. Lucitide had already seen one application of this, when Rio had launched his long range punches. But this ability could be used defensively as well, which is exactly what he was doing now. Using an unfocused shockwave to collide with Lucitide's weapon and halt its progress in sawing off his arm.

And it was true that despite Rio's formidable strength he wouldn't ordinarily be able to stop a pushing motion from Lucitide with the back of his blade. But the peculiar shape of the blade allowed Rio a stronger grip than expected and due to having forced the "tip" downwards, Rio was able to heavily restrict Lucitide's ability to continue to push the blade forwards into him. If Lucitide pushed with all his might, he would only serve in driving his sword into the ground at Rio's feet.

But although the shape of Lucitide's sword allowed his thrust to cause far greater damage than usual it had drawbacks as well. A normal sword would have pierced Rio's arm, preventing him from easily pulling it off. Although Rio's arm was ruined beyond being able to grasp something it was still mobile in the shoulder and elbow joints. Lucitide's thrust had only caused severe damage to the forearm and wrist. Using this, Rio freely allowed his wounded arm to slide off the blade, not seeming to care that this movement caused him to slice his hand further. Even with his arm pulled away, Lucitide was still prevented from pulling back by Rio's hold on the inside of his loop-like weapon.

Rio opened his mouth, and before Lucitide would have time to blink, a Bala blasted out of his mouth, directly at Lucitide's chest. While Lucitide might have had the speed to evade, at this distance, his instincts probably wouldn't be quick enough to allow him to avoid this. While far less dangerous than the Cero, Rio's Bala would still potentially wind Lucitide and cause some significant burns on the target. Rio had been a Spartan in life, and was well accustomed to being injured. How well could Lucitide take a hit?

"Please. The only suffering I'm forced to endure is sheer boredom! But you're not bad Sexta. Not bad at all!" Rio remarked with a broad grin. "Why would I die now? I'm just starting to enjoy myself!" He remarked, suddenly wrenching hard on Lucitide's zanpakuto in an attempt to either disarm him, or, if Lucitide did not falter in his grip, lose his balance. Either result would be dangerous against an opponent like Rio.

Reiatsu Remaining: 1850 (-50 for Bala, +200 for never having Launched the Cero).

[Lucitide Regalia Steinbacher]

(I had to look up that Tira person, but yes, that's pretty similar. Just keep in mind that Lucitide's weapon is far larger.)

Lucitide's pleading expression fell, collapsing into a look of puzzlement. What could've stopped his blade? No amount of bulging bicep of terrible triceps would be able to halt Lucitide's blade. Mere bones and sinew could not stand before the power of Ruina, Lucitide's Zanpakutou. What then?

Of course, that was when he felt it; the rippling air, the shock-wave produced by Rio's muscles. Lucitide had assumed these shock-waves were purely offensive, but that was obviously not the case. Lucitide smiled. Clearly, the Quinta was more than just a muscle bound killer. He was clever, to. Good.

Lucitide didn't even bother dodging the Bala attack, preferring to use his energies in a counter attack instead of wasting them trying to evade an ultimately futile attack. The impact hurt, it burned. But while Lucitide did not have a life time of warrior training to dull the pain, he was no stranger to agony. The agony of torture, the agony of loneliness...agony and Lucitide were old friends. A Bala to the chest was a tolerable pain, and Lucitide brushed it aside without comment.

As Rio pulled on his Zanpakutou, Lucitide easily relinquished his grip, and instead stepped to the right to the right, aiming a stomping kick at the Quinta's knee. There was only so much raw strength could do to overcome simple physics, and the kick would most likely buckle the leg if it connected, bringing the Quinta crashing down. But Lucitide wasn't done.

Using his superior speed to circle around to his Rio's back, Lucitide grabbed the thin gold chain connecting his Zanpakutou to his waist, and pulled, again using leverage and physics to over come the vast difference in strength between himself and Rio to wrench it from Rio's less than ideally placed hand. If the Quinta didn't do something to stop it, the blade would just about slice his legs off as it twisted around on it's path back to Lucitide's hand.

"Yes...it would be a shame to end this fight now, wouldn't it? I can see you and I have one thing in common: we both enjoy a good fight. I love people who can appreciate the simple beauty of combat. I love it so much!"

With his left hand, Lucitide pointed at the back of Rio's head, and snapped his fingers into a mock-gun. "BANG!!" Harsh golden light gathered around the tip of finger, at about the normal speed for a Cero, before a huge blast of golden energy flew toward Rio's head at point blank range. It wasn't a normal Cero, but a Cero Ametralladora, a "Machine-Gun Cero", dozens of slightly weaker Cero blasts fired almost at the same time which would reduce Rio's head to ash if he didn't do something.

SPOILER: Click to show

830-240=590

[Rio Demonliogalgo]

Lucitide's speed was becoming a problem, and he was picking good points to attack. Rio acknowledged he needed to find a way to pin Lucitide down. Lucitide's kick forced Rio down to one knee, and his senses picked up the golden chain. In an instant he realized what Lucitide was about to do, and released the Sexta's zanpakuto. The Zanpakuto sliced through the air towards Rio's legs, and then, seemingly deflected off of thin air, whirling around Rio, back to its owner. Rio had used a second unfocused Shockwave to deflect Lucitide's zanpakuto off to the side.

As Lucitide made his comment about enjoying the fight as well, Rio rose to his feet, and saw the glow of golden light. "BANG!" At the same moment as Lucitide spoke, Rio disappeared from sight, using Sonido again to avoid the attack. There was a blindspot to moves like Cero. A spot that, no matter how big the attack was, it would never hit you. The blindspot was behind the shooter. Rio used his Sonido to cover the distance in an instant, dodging Lucitide's flurry of Cero by moving diagonally towards Lucitide's right. As a result, when the multiple Ceros launched from the Sexta's finger, with the speed of his Sonido, Rio was already moving out of the line of fire, saving him from the blast. Even so, he hadn't emerged completely unscathed. The recklessness of his movement, as well as the act of firing multiple Cero had resulted in Rio's shoulder being scorched by one of the Cero. If Rio had worn sleeves, they'd have been shredded by it. As he did not, he was still left with a severe burn on his shoulder, from the weakened Cero, and it seemed the burn was severe enough that the shoulder was slightly bleeding. That said, it did not look disabled by any stretch.


Rio skidded to a stop roughly ten feet behind Lucitide, and, as mentioned, off to his right, before whirling back to face the Sexta Espada. His good hand dropped to his waist, for one of his Sai. Lucitide had definitely proven that he was the kind of man that would be dangerous for Rio to continue fighting barehanded. But Rio was multitasking. While his good hand went for his own Zanpakuto, his damaged arm shot up. Bloody as it was, it could still be used to attack with reiatsu type attacks. In fact, the blood could easily be used for a Gran Rey Cero. However, Rio wasn't going to do that. There was no point. Rio needed to launch his attack while Lucitide's back was to him, a Gran Rey Cero required too long to charge. A foe as quick as Lucitide would easily avoid it.

Instead, Rio kept with a Bala, firing two Bala instantaneously, one from his mouth and one from his arm. The one fired from his arm was aimed at the back of Lucitide's legs, while the one fired from his mouth was aimed at Lucitide's left shoulder. Despite his love for destruction, Rio was proving a meticulous fighter, using weaker but faster attacks that unlike Cero, did not require time to charge. The intent was, of course, that even if Lucitide turned to face Rio he may not have the reactions to process the attack coming at him and avoid it in time. Even if he did, trying to dodge to the left could still result in him being hit by the Bala Rio had shot from his mouth. That was the intent of the second Bala afterall.

It was for this whole reason that Rio was sticking to mid-ranged combat. With his own instincts that surpassed those of an animal, he had much superior reflexes and reaction-time to Lucitide, who, although much faster, had much slower instincts. Rio was confident in his ability to use this to his advantage and dominate a midranged battle, enabling him to deal with Lucitide's attacks but without Lucitide able to properly react to his at this range.

Reiatsu Remaining: 1650 (-100 for Sonido, -50 for each Bala)

[Lucitide Regalia Steinbacher]

Lucitide smirked, knowing full well his opponent wouldn't see it. Rio was certainly an interesting man, and a skilled opponent. It was clear the life time of experience he had mentioned served him well in battle. Maybe to well. Experience leads to an inflexibility of the mind, which leads to assuming you know what you're opponent is capable off, and how they would react to a given situation. Against anyone else, those would be safe assumptions for Rio to make. But not Lucitide.

Rio's first mistake was in assuming Lucitide would have to turn and face his opponent to see the two Bala incoming. If that was the case, the strategy would've undoubtedly worked. Lucitide's reaction time wasn't fast enough to process the visual information from his eyes and dodge without getting hit by at least one of those Bala. But...he wasn't limited to just five senses. Lucitide's energy sensory ability was triple that of Rio's, making it easy for him to sense the Reiatsu gathering in Rio's hand in mouth before he launched the attacks. Tracking and dodging the attacks was child's play.

Lucitide used his superior speed to sidestep the Bala aimed at his legs, placing his head, not his shoulder, right in front of Rio's second Bala. It must've been a mistake, right? No. At just the right moment, Lucitide turned, swaying to the side, turning his head to watch the Bala fly by harmlessly. With impeccable timing and speed four times greater than anything Rio could hope to match, Lucitide dodged the attacks unscathed, all because Rio forgot to consider what kind of energy sensory ability his foe might have.

Lucitide looked at Rio, and smiled. Not contemptuously, not triumphantly or mockingly. It was almost apologetic, but that somehow made it all the more intimidating.

"My, my. That was close...that would've hurt, Rio-Senpai. Truly, it would have ended a fight against many others. I'm sorry to have made your efforts so futile." He turned to fully face the Quinta Espada, and began slowly walking toward the other man. "I hope I can make it up to you...perhaps if we showed each other our Ressurecion forms? It wouldn't be aesthetically pleasing to beat you any other way. Would you agree to that?"

[Rio Demonliogalgo]

(ooc: Dammit. I never realized you replied in this. Completely my bad)

Huh. So, it looked like he possessed the reflexes and instincts to avoid the Bala. Rio didn't actually know he'd sensed them due to his energy sensory. He assumed that, like himself, Lucitide possessed the innate instinct to sense the threat and moved accordingly. And then he started that damn apologetic tone again. That was pissing Rio off. Espada shouldn't be apologizing to their opponents! They should just hit them! But, his suggestion of release was a good one. Rio's mouth curled into a savage grin. Lucitide had proven himself that Rio wouldn't particularly feel embarassed about having to release himself.

"Sure. Why the fuck not." He replied, drawing out his Sai. Due to his injured arm, he had to grip both in one hand. But that wasn't an issue. His released form would see that injured arm mean nothing at all. "Attack Cerberus!" Rio snarled and impaled himself on the Sai, piercing his own heart with them. A cold green reiatsu flared around Rio, and completely concealed his body. This reiatsu was immense! To Lucitide it would appear as though there was little more but a wall of solid green in front of him! All he would be able to make out of Rio was a vague shadow.

A vague shadow that was growing very quickly. In moments Rio's body was towering over Lucitide, but it kept on growing and changing. Finally the reiatsu dissipated, revealing Rio's released form. Reddish brown fur covered his body. He stood on all fours, and now sported three snarling, canine heads with leering yellow eyes. When he snapped one of his jaws a peculiar green mist could be seen at the back of his throat. If Lucitide was not so absorbed with seeing the three heads, and the complete change of body type, he would notice a scaling serpentine tail that extended from Rio's back that ended not in a tip, but in the head of a snake, with long pointed fangs.

Towering at forty feet tall at the shoulder, Rio had completely changed into the guardian of the Greek underworld, Cerberus. The wound that Lucitide had inflicted on him earlier could not even be seen behind the fur. It seemed that while Rio had grown in size, his injury had not grown with him. In effect, that injury that had virtually disabled his arm, was little more than a scratch to him in his present form. One of the three heads then spoke with a snarl. "Your turn Sexta. Or I will break you." He informed Lucitide. Indeed, how could the Sexta hope to compete against a monstrosity like this if he didn't even release?

Remaining Reiatsu: 1250
Release count: 1/16

[Lucitide Regalia Steinbacher]

(It's alright. Only fair after how much I've made you wait int he past.)

Lucitide smiled faintly. Perfect. Rio was clearly not a a "nobody", and deserved a drawn out, bloody fight. Yes, a very bloody fight indeed. Lucitide clenched his right hand around the handle of his Zanpakuto, and extended his arm out to the right, holding it there for a moment, before hurling it skyward, snapping the gold chain connecting it to his wait at the same time. The ring-shaped weapon stopped at the apex of it's path, hanging in midair above Lucitide's head, blade pointed towards the sandy desert floor.

"That's an imposing form you've taken, Rio-senpai. Now, it's my turn." He closed his eyes for a moment, then: "Scream, ye wicked beast! Bring down the Heavens, and shake the very Earth with your hateful cry! Let no joyous voice be heard as you throw off the shackles placed open you by those who dare call themselves your masters! Let the mighty look upon you and despair as you rip out their throats!!Descend! Ruina!"

At the command to "descend", the Zanpakuto did just that, falling like a guillotine's blade toward the small, childlike form of the Sexta Espada. Lucitide threw his head back, offering his neck to the rapidly falling steel. At the moment they met, a cloud of gold dust exploded into existence, obscuring Lucitide from view for several moments. After a time, the dust settled, revealing Lucitide's new form.

Gone was the white-clad child, on the verge of appearing innocent. In his place was a metal monster, a walking meat processor. A thing of nightmares. Lucitide now appeared in the form of a young man in his prime, his mask fragments becoming a crown of twisted metal spikes resting upon his heads. His spine was armored with metal plates, his ribs covered in thin, bladed pieces of curved metal. His were made of countless blades and spikes, some to small to matter, some to large to ignore, all interwoven together into smooth, elegant bringers of death, with a few extra blades added around the elbows and knees just for laughs. His right arm was a massive gauntlet, with scythe-blades for fingers, clearly meant to rip and tear a living creature into very small pieces. And that wasn't half of the changes.

From the small of his back, two skeletal wings emerged from Lucitide's body, again made of twisted spikes and barbs weaved together. Each consisted of a thin, eight foot long arm with a spiked joint halfway down it's length, and three six foot long "fingers" on the end, each tipped with a foot long scythe blade. Lucitide now also sported a seven foot long tail made of a chain of spikes and blades, tipped once again with a massive scythe blade.

"Ah...much better. Now, we can continue this fight in a much more aesthetically pleasing way. Don't you agree?" With that, he was gone, vanishing with Sonido. He appeared in front of one of Rio's heads, the one that spoke, and without preamble his bladed tail whipped around, aiming two or three slashes of that wicked blade at Rio's eyes, before vanishing again with Sonido, hopefully before Rio could even react. With their equal Reiatsu Strength, Rio's Hierro would do nothing to save him. Lucitide reappeared behind the middle head, tail already lashing down toward the Quinta's neck. If Rio expected his size to save him, he would be disappointed; Lucitide's wings were fully capable of flight, and were beating lazily to keep him in the air, meaning Lucitide would have no trouble finding and striking all of Rio's most vulnerable points. Lucitide wasn't playing around; he could and would kill Rio if the Quinta didn't defend himself.

SPOILER: Click to show

590-200-(100)-(100)=390 Points

(The two Reiatsu subtractions in parentheses will be subtracted after he leaves Ressurecion, thanks to Ressurecion infinite Reiatsu.)