Post by Taihō Kasumi’Oji on Sept 2, 2015 16:07:20 GMT -5
(OOC: Whoo Hoo! First post of the second page!)
IC: Many may have responded with surprise, as Sargon enveloped his body in a Cero like energy, before hurtling towards their position. Many would have felt shock to see the burns on Sargon’s hands and face begin to heal almost instantly. Many would have heard his words, and seen his release, and collapsed in terror. But not Taihō. If anything, she felt a small shiver of excitement run through her body. It was hardly anything that could be seen or measured, but it was there. Out of the hundreds of Hollows and dozens of Arrancar she had slain, none had proven themselves to be this interesting in such a short period of time. Truly, this Sargon individual was a fascinating subject, and Taihō had every intention of making the most of this opportunity to research the Espada.
But of course, first she had to keep from dying. Taihō had almost felt Sargon’s blade sail through her during his initial counter attack, and knew that if she had Shunpoed just a fraction of a second later, the battle would already have been over. In fact, had Sargon immediately followed up with another attack, he might have been able to catch Taihō and land a hit. As it was, however, he paused to gloat, to show Taihō how ineffective her attack had been. He even offered to let her go, requesting she bring someone more powerful to fight him. Taihō made a mental note of this. In his arrogance, he was willing to monologue and taunt enemies at the cost of combat effectiveness. Could it be that he really thought he could afford such things in the heat of battle? Did he really believe the fight to be so one sided that he could afford to let Taihō take a moment to breathe and compose herself before continuing? Or was it simply his hubris that drove him to act as such, even knowing it would harm him in the end? Taihō pondered these things, not really paying attention to Sargon or his words, up until the end of his little speech. Not because of what he said, however, but what she felt.
For you see, nothing was truly secret from one whose Energy Sensory was as highly refined as Taihō’s. She could feel Sargon’s power building, feel his soul and spirit beginning to awaken. As such, she knew he was about to release almost a second before he spoke the words. She had no way of knowing what, exactly, his Resurrección was, of course, but she knew it was coming. And so, if Sargon had been hoping to see an expression of fear of Taihō’s face, he would be sorely disappointed. Instead of fear, or surprise, or anything, he would see, if he were attentive enough, the gears already turning in her mind.
Lava. There was no mistaking the viscous molten rock, otherwise known as lava. At once, Taihō began forming new theories based on this revelation. She was clearly at a severe disadvantage against an enemy whose body was covered in lava, especially at melee range. In fact, melee combat was now effectively suicide for Taihō. Additionally, the lava would prove to be a vicious area denial tool for Sargon, allowing him to dictate where Taihō would be able to fight while, presumably, not impeding his own mobility by any large margin. Speaking of mobility, Sargon’s new, centaur like form would undoubtedly lead to a significant improvement in speed and maneuverability, meaning he undoubtedly had the advantage in terms of melee combat.
However, Taihō learned something else when Sargon released. She learned that he was already feeling pressured. Her one attack had lead Sargon to conclude that only by releasing could he hope to secure victory. Maybe he was he in a hurry to finish this fight? Maybe he feared Taihō more than he let on? Maybe he was just overly fond of his release? Whatever the case, Sargon had decided to enter Resurrección at a remarkably early point in the fight, exchanging long-term flexibility for short term power. Whatever he had in mind, he planned on ending this fight early. Unfortunately for him, Taihō had every intention of dragging this out.
Sensing his Sonido moments before it occurred, Taihō once again evaded Sargon’s attack via Shunpo, this time moving a considerable distance away, approximately forty feet from Sargon’s position. Sargon would likely see this as fear, but in truth that was the furthest from what Taihō was feeling. Honestly, she was a bit bored, though by now she was committed to winning the fight. Which meant Sargon was in an awful lot of trouble, even if he didn’t realize it yet.
”I am sorry to say, I cannot accept your invitation to retreat at this moment. As for your request for a stronger opponent, I am afraid I again cannot comply. You are going to have to content yourself with me.” As she spoke, Taihō again held her Zanpkuto aloft, aimed directly at Sargon’s heart. However, instead of an attack, Taihō spoke two words that had struck fear into the hearts of so many. In her cold, mechanical voice, barely loud enough for Sargon to hear, she spoke two words that would be Sargon’s death sentence. ”Harvest, Mikadzuki” In an instant, there was the sound of discordant scream, the sound of something evil being born. At the same time, Taihō’s Zanpakuto shimmered with a violet light, before shrinking down into a small, compact form. This was the first time Taihō had used her new Shikai in combat, and she had to admit to feeling a certain eagerness to try it out.
As the scream died out, the violet light clinging to Taihō’s abbreviated Zanpakuto dispersed, revealing a six-inch long dart, which consisted of six bands of pitch black metal, each twisting tightly around an invisible axis, flaring outward sharply about five inches down the weapons length, before spiraling back in to a short point at the end. The dart simply hung in the air near Taihō’s hand for a moment, before, without a word or even a gesture, it snapped forward, driving toward Sargon at a speed of 500. Taihō knew it wouldn’t be able to pierce Sargon’s Hierro, but she also knew she didn’t have to. As such, she aimed the dart not at Sargon’s heart, but at the ground near his feet. To Sargon, it would likely appear that she had missed, and he may even assume that she could not aim her attacks very well. However, this was so very far from the truth.
The dart sailed cleanly into the roof beneath Sargon, however, it would not, as one might expect, become imbedded in the stone. Instead, it plunged strait into it, causing a small black pool to appear at the point of contact. The pool immediately began to spread, and within just a few moments was already six cubic inches in volume, and still growing. And that wasn’t all. The dart, infecting the rooftop as it went through it, had emerged into the room below before arcing around into a nearby exterior wall, creating another six-cubic inch pool of liquid, which began to run down the side of the building, infecting the load-bearing wall as it went down. It wouldn’t be long before the wall was too compromised to support the building’s weight, leading to a complete collapse.
After piercing the wall, the dart arced back again, staying within fifty feet of Taihō at all times, this time aiming for the pool of lava Sargon had spewed onto the ground. If Sargon thought his lava would save him, he was wrong. It wasn’t hot enough to destroy the dart outright, and it wouldn’t be in contact with the Zanpakuto long enough to deal any significant damage. Moreover, the Harvest Virus covering Mikadzuki would easily infect the lava, since no amount heat could destroy or hinder the resilient pathogen. In an instant, yet another six cubic inch pool of blackness appeared, this one in the center of the lava pool Sargon had produced. The dart then went on to punch through the roof beneath the lava, infecting it and creating a hole for the infected lava to drain through, into the room below, before flying though another section of wall, infecting it as well. In just a few moments, the thick, black sludge of infected matter would pour down onto the floor below them, and infect that as well, rapidly spreading the virus throughout the building. In short order, the entire building, then this entire part of the Seireitei would be nothing but a lack of black slime, infecting everything it touched.
Taihō continued harassing Sargon with her dart, flying it near enough to threaten hitting him, without letting him catch it. She wasn’t sure what would happen if he caught it, given the intense heat she could feel radiating from his body even from forty feet away, and she wasn’t convinced her Zanpakuto could survive prolonged exposure to those temperatures. However, she also knew that Sargon wasn’t likely to play cat and mouse with her Zanpakuto for very long before he decided to come after her again. She needed a plan, something to threaten him directly and immediately. Fortunately, she had something like that already in mind.
Extending her now empty right hand toward Sargon, Taihō focused on concentrating Reiatsu near her outstretch palm. ”Uteki” she intoned softly. As she did, a solid black sphere of Reiatsu materialized before her hand, then collapsed into an orb the size of a single drop of rain. An instant later, this snapped forward at a speed of 500, aimed directly for Sargon’s chest. If it hit him, it would strike him with a force equivalent to 1000 strength, enough to deal serious internal injuries even through his Hierro, not to mention infecting him directly with the virus. And if it didn’t hit? Well, it would keep going until it hit something, likely blowing a massive hole in said something, and spreading the virus around even more. And that was good, as far as Taihō was concerned, so really, it was a win-win for her. Sargon, of course, was less likely to see it as such.
Reiatsu: 3950-50-200-400=3300
Shikai: 1/10
Genius Type Fatigue: 2/14 (2/8)
Harvest Virus: 6*4=24 cubic inches of infected roof, 6 cubic inches of infected lava.
Posts to Spread: 2
Posts to Destroy: 3
Posts to Mutate: 5
IC: Many may have responded with surprise, as Sargon enveloped his body in a Cero like energy, before hurtling towards their position. Many would have felt shock to see the burns on Sargon’s hands and face begin to heal almost instantly. Many would have heard his words, and seen his release, and collapsed in terror. But not Taihō. If anything, she felt a small shiver of excitement run through her body. It was hardly anything that could be seen or measured, but it was there. Out of the hundreds of Hollows and dozens of Arrancar she had slain, none had proven themselves to be this interesting in such a short period of time. Truly, this Sargon individual was a fascinating subject, and Taihō had every intention of making the most of this opportunity to research the Espada.
But of course, first she had to keep from dying. Taihō had almost felt Sargon’s blade sail through her during his initial counter attack, and knew that if she had Shunpoed just a fraction of a second later, the battle would already have been over. In fact, had Sargon immediately followed up with another attack, he might have been able to catch Taihō and land a hit. As it was, however, he paused to gloat, to show Taihō how ineffective her attack had been. He even offered to let her go, requesting she bring someone more powerful to fight him. Taihō made a mental note of this. In his arrogance, he was willing to monologue and taunt enemies at the cost of combat effectiveness. Could it be that he really thought he could afford such things in the heat of battle? Did he really believe the fight to be so one sided that he could afford to let Taihō take a moment to breathe and compose herself before continuing? Or was it simply his hubris that drove him to act as such, even knowing it would harm him in the end? Taihō pondered these things, not really paying attention to Sargon or his words, up until the end of his little speech. Not because of what he said, however, but what she felt.
For you see, nothing was truly secret from one whose Energy Sensory was as highly refined as Taihō’s. She could feel Sargon’s power building, feel his soul and spirit beginning to awaken. As such, she knew he was about to release almost a second before he spoke the words. She had no way of knowing what, exactly, his Resurrección was, of course, but she knew it was coming. And so, if Sargon had been hoping to see an expression of fear of Taihō’s face, he would be sorely disappointed. Instead of fear, or surprise, or anything, he would see, if he were attentive enough, the gears already turning in her mind.
Lava. There was no mistaking the viscous molten rock, otherwise known as lava. At once, Taihō began forming new theories based on this revelation. She was clearly at a severe disadvantage against an enemy whose body was covered in lava, especially at melee range. In fact, melee combat was now effectively suicide for Taihō. Additionally, the lava would prove to be a vicious area denial tool for Sargon, allowing him to dictate where Taihō would be able to fight while, presumably, not impeding his own mobility by any large margin. Speaking of mobility, Sargon’s new, centaur like form would undoubtedly lead to a significant improvement in speed and maneuverability, meaning he undoubtedly had the advantage in terms of melee combat.
However, Taihō learned something else when Sargon released. She learned that he was already feeling pressured. Her one attack had lead Sargon to conclude that only by releasing could he hope to secure victory. Maybe he was he in a hurry to finish this fight? Maybe he feared Taihō more than he let on? Maybe he was just overly fond of his release? Whatever the case, Sargon had decided to enter Resurrección at a remarkably early point in the fight, exchanging long-term flexibility for short term power. Whatever he had in mind, he planned on ending this fight early. Unfortunately for him, Taihō had every intention of dragging this out.
Sensing his Sonido moments before it occurred, Taihō once again evaded Sargon’s attack via Shunpo, this time moving a considerable distance away, approximately forty feet from Sargon’s position. Sargon would likely see this as fear, but in truth that was the furthest from what Taihō was feeling. Honestly, she was a bit bored, though by now she was committed to winning the fight. Which meant Sargon was in an awful lot of trouble, even if he didn’t realize it yet.
”I am sorry to say, I cannot accept your invitation to retreat at this moment. As for your request for a stronger opponent, I am afraid I again cannot comply. You are going to have to content yourself with me.” As she spoke, Taihō again held her Zanpkuto aloft, aimed directly at Sargon’s heart. However, instead of an attack, Taihō spoke two words that had struck fear into the hearts of so many. In her cold, mechanical voice, barely loud enough for Sargon to hear, she spoke two words that would be Sargon’s death sentence. ”Harvest, Mikadzuki” In an instant, there was the sound of discordant scream, the sound of something evil being born. At the same time, Taihō’s Zanpakuto shimmered with a violet light, before shrinking down into a small, compact form. This was the first time Taihō had used her new Shikai in combat, and she had to admit to feeling a certain eagerness to try it out.
As the scream died out, the violet light clinging to Taihō’s abbreviated Zanpakuto dispersed, revealing a six-inch long dart, which consisted of six bands of pitch black metal, each twisting tightly around an invisible axis, flaring outward sharply about five inches down the weapons length, before spiraling back in to a short point at the end. The dart simply hung in the air near Taihō’s hand for a moment, before, without a word or even a gesture, it snapped forward, driving toward Sargon at a speed of 500. Taihō knew it wouldn’t be able to pierce Sargon’s Hierro, but she also knew she didn’t have to. As such, she aimed the dart not at Sargon’s heart, but at the ground near his feet. To Sargon, it would likely appear that she had missed, and he may even assume that she could not aim her attacks very well. However, this was so very far from the truth.
The dart sailed cleanly into the roof beneath Sargon, however, it would not, as one might expect, become imbedded in the stone. Instead, it plunged strait into it, causing a small black pool to appear at the point of contact. The pool immediately began to spread, and within just a few moments was already six cubic inches in volume, and still growing. And that wasn’t all. The dart, infecting the rooftop as it went through it, had emerged into the room below before arcing around into a nearby exterior wall, creating another six-cubic inch pool of liquid, which began to run down the side of the building, infecting the load-bearing wall as it went down. It wouldn’t be long before the wall was too compromised to support the building’s weight, leading to a complete collapse.
After piercing the wall, the dart arced back again, staying within fifty feet of Taihō at all times, this time aiming for the pool of lava Sargon had spewed onto the ground. If Sargon thought his lava would save him, he was wrong. It wasn’t hot enough to destroy the dart outright, and it wouldn’t be in contact with the Zanpakuto long enough to deal any significant damage. Moreover, the Harvest Virus covering Mikadzuki would easily infect the lava, since no amount heat could destroy or hinder the resilient pathogen. In an instant, yet another six cubic inch pool of blackness appeared, this one in the center of the lava pool Sargon had produced. The dart then went on to punch through the roof beneath the lava, infecting it and creating a hole for the infected lava to drain through, into the room below, before flying though another section of wall, infecting it as well. In just a few moments, the thick, black sludge of infected matter would pour down onto the floor below them, and infect that as well, rapidly spreading the virus throughout the building. In short order, the entire building, then this entire part of the Seireitei would be nothing but a lack of black slime, infecting everything it touched.
Taihō continued harassing Sargon with her dart, flying it near enough to threaten hitting him, without letting him catch it. She wasn’t sure what would happen if he caught it, given the intense heat she could feel radiating from his body even from forty feet away, and she wasn’t convinced her Zanpakuto could survive prolonged exposure to those temperatures. However, she also knew that Sargon wasn’t likely to play cat and mouse with her Zanpakuto for very long before he decided to come after her again. She needed a plan, something to threaten him directly and immediately. Fortunately, she had something like that already in mind.
Extending her now empty right hand toward Sargon, Taihō focused on concentrating Reiatsu near her outstretch palm. ”Uteki” she intoned softly. As she did, a solid black sphere of Reiatsu materialized before her hand, then collapsed into an orb the size of a single drop of rain. An instant later, this snapped forward at a speed of 500, aimed directly for Sargon’s chest. If it hit him, it would strike him with a force equivalent to 1000 strength, enough to deal serious internal injuries even through his Hierro, not to mention infecting him directly with the virus. And if it didn’t hit? Well, it would keep going until it hit something, likely blowing a massive hole in said something, and spreading the virus around even more. And that was good, as far as Taihō was concerned, so really, it was a win-win for her. Sargon, of course, was less likely to see it as such.
Reiatsu: 3950-50-200-400=3300
Shikai: 1/10
Genius Type Fatigue: 2/14 (2/8)
Harvest Virus: 6*4=24 cubic inches of infected roof, 6 cubic inches of infected lava.
Posts to Spread: 2
Posts to Destroy: 3
Posts to Mutate: 5
