Arc 3: Canon Z-2: Traitors Among Us

[Zeich Yajuu]

Each of the bracelets was unlocked, and one by one, each of their powers was released, along with their various abilities. They'd feel power flowing back into them, starting to revitalize them, and prepare them for battle. Fortunately, they were all prepared by the time that things started to speed up once more; slowly the deep reverberation of the alarms was starting to become higher-pitched, and the lights began to flash more rapidly. Cross looked exhausted, dark rings around his eyes, his gaze almost absent as he sank to the ground, blood dripping from both corners of his mouth. He looked thin, almost gaunt, as though using his power had drained his physical body as much as it had his spiritual reserves. Yet he was alive, and they could see him breathing; it wouldn't be worth relying on the man for combat, should it come to it, but he had survived for now.

But there was no longer any time to waste in preparation; even as time sped up, two of the elevators that they had come in through were starting to rise, the whirring loud enough to hear even thorugh the alarms. Worse yet, was the ones that were opening; these were the ones that Kazura and Vannan had emerged from without their partners, those who were lost seemingly killed. What could be emerging from these two rooms? Somehow, they all knew what was coming, though. Iian seemed quieter than usual, and Z's face was pale, his hands clenched into fists so tightly that the knuckles were bone-white. No one spoke in those few moments as the elevators rose up to their floor, and the world seemed to slow outside of Cross's power as all present waited to see who would step out.

The group would not be disappointed; from the door that Vannan had emerged from, two figures stepped out into the larger room. Or rather, one figure in two bodies. Beatrice emerged, but she seemed... different now. Both the body and the soul had empty eyes, the expressions vacant, their gaze unfixed. On the soul's wrist was the same bracelet that they all wore, yet on its face was a chilling sight: a large “0” visible for all to see. On her arm, just below the shoulder, was a tattoo that had not been there before; an upside-down cross covered in glowing green thorns, pulsing with a Reiatsu of an unusual feel to it; it didn't feel like any type of energy that any of them had ever experienced. Whatever it was, they would not be able to determine what it was on their own.

But even worse was the power flowing off her bodies, both of them. Two auras, one of light, and one of darkness, both with a large amount of spiritual energy. It wasn't just power, it was the sheer mass of her soul. Kazura would recognize it, as his soul was very similar, its power moderate but its scope enormous. A little bit of a great power was one thing, but a lot of a modest power was also grand in its own scale. The fact that it was fluctuating so greatly, bearing down on them, suggested that this was a prelude to battle; there was no other reason she would be releasing so much of her spirit's power. It would not be an easy fight for them, even as a two-on-five fight, that much was for certain; they didn't know what Beatrice could do, could only sense her spirit.

And then the other door opened up, and there was A, as they could have expected. The woman had removed her mask, and they could see her face now; long, golden hair flowed down to the center of her back, while brilliant emerald eyes that would have been beautiful at some point shared the same vacant stare that Beatrice had on her face. A glance at her wrist and arm would show both the same zeroed-out score, as well as the same tattoo on her arm. But that same glance would show something that looked like a deck of cards held in one hand, with a black back, blue borders, and the image of a skull imprinted on them. She had shown no pockets where she could have carried such a thing, and even if she had, the cards would have likely been taken away from her just as any of their other possessions had been.

While reactions might have varied at the sight of Beatrice, no reaction was as painful as Z's, watching the woman he loved emerge from the elevator. His body stiffened, his face went white, and the life just seemed to drain out of him. His posture went limp, what little of his expression empty for a moment. They were watching him break, seeing the fragility that had been hidden behind his anger and silence up until this moment. For a moment, his legs shook, as though he were going to collapse, and he looked like he was going to be ill. But this pain that flashed across his face, the hurt that echoed in every motion of his body, faded almost as quickly as it came. In a moment Z straightened, reached up, and tore off his mask.

Eyes of a brilliant blue stared back at the woman who had seemingly risen from the dead, and though tears streaked the man's face, those eyes were clear, their gaze focused. Short-cropped black hair framed the man's face, and a scar ran from one side of his face to the other, passing over the bridge of his nose and seeming to do so for both eyes. The man breathed heavily, as though struggling with an enormous weight, and though his expression was determined, the pain was still there. Yet he was willing to push through it, to stand up tall. It was the least that he could do for the woman he loved, to show her how resolute he was, even now.

“Alicia... your poker face isn't what it used to be.” Strange words from a strange man, yet they seemed to draw a reaction from the woman. Alicia, her full name revealed, seemed almost to wake from her trance-like state. Slowly she blinked, and her expression smoothed, became more neutral and focused. Z smiled, a sad expression, yet he spoke again. “Atta girl. I can't remember how much money I've lost to that cool expression. Much better than that blank gaze you were giving me.” This drew a faint smile from Alicia, yet her hand tightened around the deck of cards in her hand.

“Zachariah...” When Alicia spoke, her voice started off slow, trembling and quiet, yet it picked up until it was strong and whole, as though nothing had happened to her. “Do you remember the day that I recruited you? The day that we became partners for the first time?” The man gave a slow nod, his expression unchanging. “Yes. You remember that day, I'm sure. I met you at the office, and then took you a short way into the woods for privacy. All I told you at the time was that we were going to play a game of cards, and that it would be all you needed to prove yourself. And then, when we stopped there, I said—”

“You said that this game had more riding on it than money. We would be putting our lives up for ante. And in the end, I lost.” Zachariah shook his head, his smile unchanging. “But not in the way I thought. Though you could have killed me, you offered me the partnership instead. In the end, I did lose my life... not to death, but in service to you. And since then, we've been partners without end.”

Alicia nodded. “It seems that we're going to relive that day, Zachariah. I don't know why, but you've wandered from the path, stepped into the darkness of betrayal.” Zachariah's expression hardened; these were not Alicia's words, and he knew it. These were words of one who had joined the opposite side, just as Cross had said; when their points reached zero, they were forcibly converted to the other camp, almost like brainwashing. And it was so complete, maintaining their personality while twisting it into something altogether. “I am going to offer you one chance to come back to me. To work with me again. We'll play one last game of high-stakes poker. You put your life on the line, and I'll put mine. Just like the old days.” With that, she shuffled the deck between her hands, cards flipping from one palm to the other. “And I never lose.”

“Very well then... I guess I can't hold back, can I?” Zachariah closed his eyes, and in a moment, his hands seemed to glow lightly. That glow spread throughout his body, highlighting every vein, as though the power was simply flowing through his blood. They'd all sense the surge of Reiatsu filling the room, growing stronger by the moment, and it would be obvious that he was releasing his Fullbring. Leather gloves formed across his hands, but the glowing light flowing through his blood did not cease; instead, it seemed to pulse, as though all of the energy in his body were flowing towards the gloves on his hands. It seemed that these gloves were the weapon form of his Fullbring, but what it did was a mystery yet.

Beatrice did not seem affected by this exchange, however, her expression as vacant as ever the whole time. She spoke quietly, however, suddenly and without warning. “We have to kill you, you know. You're traitors. Traitors don't belong in this new world, cannot belong in this new world. You will all end when the Spirit King, the greatest traitor of them all, falls to the ground. When the new King arrives, we shall have a world of peace. No one will suffer, be sad or lonely. No one will be betrayed, treated cruelly by others.” Her gaze would rise up to meet Vannan's face, but her expression wouldn't change. “And no one will ever be lied to again.”

Beatrice would close her eyes then and, as they watched, she would begin to sing softly, her voice soft and melodious. It seemed as though she were singing some sort of prayer hymn, if the melody was any indication, yet they could not make out the words. As they listened, however, a sense of dread would overcome everyone, a feeling that all was not well, that they were blasphemous monsters that needed to be smitten down. It was harder to move, their bodies feeling heavy and unresponsive, yet with a little force they could get themselves going again. But it seemed her song would be weighing down on them the whole time; certainly not something they needed in this battle.

Behind the others, Iian would come up to Shizuka, placing a hand on her shoulder. He spoke quietly, his tone serious instead of his usual childish manner. “Shizuka, listen to me. I am about to release my own power. It's... not pretty. I'll be honest, it's kind of like a leech. And I will be attaching it to you, with your permission. I need just a little more of your Reiatsu Strength, Shizuka; if you let me draw out some of your spiritual power and add it to my own, I think that I can defeat both of these guys in one hit. I need you to trust me though. Please.” With that, the boy would take a deep breath and sit back, raising his hand. “Ziege Dich, Blutegel.”

A small, amorphous blob of a gelatinous mass formed in the middle of his hand, slowly growing larger, bigger, before shaping itself into something long and wormlike, yet thick around the middle. A sucker-like mouth was open, yet it didn't show any teeth immediately. The leech-like Doll was as big as a large cat, and it crawled along Iian's arm, the boy treating it as if it weighed nothing at all. In a moment, the boy held out his hand, with Blutegel resting along his wrist and palm, as if he expected Shizuka to take it. “Please. Give me just a little bit of your spiritual strength. It's for the best, really. I'll deal with them quickly.”

As they talked, Alicia finally made the first move. She lunged forward, moving at a surprising speed, and drew three cards from her deck, the cards she sought sliding out as she willed them. All three were thrown at once, spreading out in a fan-like pattern, yet their edges seemed sharp like blades. One flew towards Zachariah, another towards Vannan, and the third towards Iian and Shizuka. A glance would show three threes, a fitting first three of a kind. They were not to be taken lightly, either; with a cutting power of 390 each, the blades would not pierce defenses easily, but they could still cut through flesh and bone with ease. Zachariah dodged back, leaping out of the way of the attack, but even as he did his former partner had leapt past him, suddenly lunging for Kazura. Her hand reached out, grabbing for his shirt, as though she planned to grapple with him as opposed to using her Fullbring. Perhaps she had a trick up her sleeve; either way, Kazura would have to plan quickly.

All the while, Beatrice was singing in the background, a haunting melody that seemed almost the fitting backdrop for their sudden clash.

Iian's Reiatsu: 6900/7500 (-600 for summoning Blutegel (Freak cost +50%))

Blutegel's Reiatsu: 2000/2000

SPOILER: Click to show

{Iian's Stats}Iian is the Genius Type, Rank 3. Class 1, 1600 SP.

Strength – [150 x 0.33] (50) Points

Speed - [250] (250) Points

Spiritual Pressure – [300 x 2.5] (750) Points

Reiatsu Strength – [400 x 2.5] (1000) Points

Light Aura - [25] Points

Dark Aura - [75] Points

Instinct - [150] (150) Points

Senses - [200] (200) Points

Energy sensory - [75 x 2] (150) Points

Healing Expertise – [75 x 0.33] (25) Points


Total SP: [1600] points

SPOILER: Click to show

{Blutegel's Stats}Blutegel is the Freak Type, Rank 3. Class 1, 1600 SP.

Strength – [200 x 2] (400) Points

Speed - [400] (400) Points

Spiritual Pressure – [300 x 0.66] (200) Points

Reiatsu Strength – [400 x 2.25] (900) Points

Light Aura - [0] Points

Dark Aura - [100] Points

Instinct – [150 x 0.66] (100) Points

Senses - [100] (100) Points

Energy sensory - [50] (50) Points

Healing Expertise – [0] (0) Points


Total SP: [1600] points

Beatrice's Reiatsu: 9700/10000 (-300 for Blessed Hymn)

Beatrice's Level One Fullbring: 1/10

SPOILER: Click to show

{Blessed Hymn – Level One}“The hymn rings out loudly, its words echoing in the body and souls of all. Those who are wicked will cringe in fear, while the righteous will stand strong.”

This ability lets Beatrice raise her voice in song and affect all who hear it. Those who are considered her allies will find their morale improved, their confidence and courage up, and their stamina dropping at half the rate. Those who are considered enemies are shaken, becoming less confident and more prone to negative emotions. They also have to struggle to make themselves act, resulting in a 25% increase in stamina usage. This song costs 300 Reiatsu per post to activate, and its negative effects are halved by a spiritual stat superior to her own even by a single point.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Beatrice's Stats}Beatrice is a Perma Release Type, Rank 3. Class 1, 1400 SP.

Strength – [100] (100) Points

Speed - [300] (300) Points

Spiritual Pressure – [400 x 2.5] (1000) Points

Reiatsu Strength – [300] (300) Points

Light Aura - [50] Points

Dark Aura - [50] Points

Instinct - [150] (150) Points

Senses – [150] (150) Points

Energy sensory - [0] (0) Points

Healing Expertise – [0] (0) Points


Total SP: [1400] points

Alicia's Reiatsu: 3710/4000 (-200 for Fullbring Level One, -90 for three 3s.)

Alicia's Level One Fullbring: 1/10

SPOILER: Click to show

{Cards Used}Note that cards are listed by their value, not how many of the suit has been used.
Hearts – 3
Diamonds – 3
Clubs – 3

SPOILER: Click to show

{Dead Man's Hand – Level One}“Play the lethal game, the cards holding your fate. With value comes strength, with hands come power.”

Dead Man's Hand is an extremely versatile power, and this first property has two natural effects to it. She has a natural deck of 52 cards, using it to great effect, but each card can only be used once (and will be kept track of to show which have been used). First, the value of cards used to attack a foe determines their cutting value, rather than Alicia's stats; the cards represent a percentage of her power, based on what she throws. Starting with a 2, it has a power equal to 40% of her offensive stat (160). Each card after that increases its power by 10%; a 3 would be 200, a 4 would be 240, etc, all the way up to a 10, which is equal to 480 offensive power. By themselves, numbered cards are not very strong, but we'll get into other effects later.

Next is the face cards, which have unique powers. An Ace has an offensive power of 0, but in a clash, it will always win except in cases where they'd automatically lose by Class. Basically, Aces are the negation card. Jacks are a reduction card, splitting the power of whatever they hit by half, including a foe, whose offensive stat is halved for two posts. In exchange, however, Jacks only have 50% of Alicia's offensive power. Queens are domination cards, and are used as a counterattack. When striking any attack, they pass through the attack and copy its offensive stat. This does not negate the attack. Finally, Kings are ruling cards, and will always reign supreme. They will always be treated as double A's offensive power.

Hands are a whole different beast. A “hand” is a combination of 2-5 cards that are used at once as thrown weapons. When used, the offensive value of each card is added together and then the total is halved halved, and each card has this new value. This means that it can be deadly even with a low-count hand; for example, a 2 (160), 3 (200), 4 (240), 5 (280), 6 (320) would have a value of 600 (1200 total, halved). If a face card is used, then it adds the following values: Jacks are 110% of A's offensive value, Queens are 120%, and Kings are 130%. This only applies in a hand, not when used normally. These face cards, in a hand, will also not have their normal effect. While this uses up cards more quickly, limiting A's repertoire, it can be deadly if used properly. It becomes even more deadly when a combination is made, which adds a multiplier to this value, based on the list below:

2 of a Kind: +20% Damage (x1.2)
3 of a Kind: +30% Damage (x1.3)
Straight: +40% Damage (x1.4)
Flush: +50% Damage (x1.5)
Full House: +60% Damage (x1.6)
4 of a Kind: +80% Damage (x1.8)
Straight Flush: +100% Damage (x2.0)
Royal Flush: +200% Damage (x3.0)

However, card use is not costless. Cards cost 10 Reiatsu times their face value (i.e. 2s are 20, while 10s are 100) for number cards. All face cards cost 150, except for Kings, which are 200.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Alicia's Stats}Alicia is a Strategist Type, Rank 3. Class 1, 1400 SP.

Strength – [200 x 0.6] (120) Points

Speed – [300 x 0.75] (225) Points

Spiritual Pressure – [400] (400) Points

Reiatsu Strength – [200] (200) Points

Light Aura - [40] Points

Dark Aura - [60] Points

Instinct – [150 x 3] (450) Points

Senses – [150 x 3] (450) Points

Energy sensory – [0 x 3] (0) Points

Healing Expertise – [0] (0) Points


Total SP: [1400] points

Zachariah's Reiatsu: 1800/2000 (-200 for Level One Fullbring)

Zachariah's Level One Fullbring: 1/10

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{Ardent Will – Level One}“Give your all, pass the limits, surpass yourself. Your body is limited by the mind, and the mind releases its shackles.”

Zachariah's Fullbring, Ardent Will, relies on his sheer willpower and drive to push himself ever further, to throw his everything into what he does. This allows him to bypass his natural limits; by pouring Reiatsu into his attacks, he can push his Strength even higher for a single blow equal to three times the Reiatsu poured into it. However, the strain is multiplied by that same amount as well, and then doubled again; by releasing the body's limiters, Zachariah is able to accomplish extraordinary feats of strength, but it also bypasses the limits that prevent the body from tearing itself apart. The more strength he develops for an attack, the more it damages him, until he breaks down from the strain. Truly a gambling ability, throwing one's all into an attack.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Zachariah's Stats}Zachariah is a Brave Type, Rank 2. 1400 SP.

Strength – [400 x 2] (800) Points

Speed – [300 x 1.5] (450) Points

Spiritual Pressure – [400 x 0.5] (200) Points

Reiatsu Strength – [100 x 0.5] (100) Points

Light Aura - [40] Points

Dark Aura - [60] Points

Instinct – [200] (200) Points

Senses – [200] (200) Points

Energy sensory – [0] (0) Points

Healing Expertise – [0] (0) Points


Total SP: [1400] points

[Deleted]

Even though they were weren't under the influence of Cross's powers the time it took for the elevator to open up seemed to drag on for eternity. However the moment he saw who stepped out from his elevator he couldn't say he was shocked or surprised, no he kinda figured that he hadn't seen the last of her. There she was once more, Beatrice or rather two of her as her soul still seemed to hang outside of her body. Like before there was something off about her, but Vannan wasn't going to waste any time finding out. The other elevator opened up to show someone who everyone thought was dead. A, the lover of Z, but just like Beatrice something was off about her. Something that Vannan didn't like.

From a quick glance Vannan could see that A was carrying something in her hands, it was small and square. However what was most noticeable was a black tattoo that wasn't there before, the same one showed up on Beatrice. He wasn't going to waste time with this, he had made it up in his mind, Beatrice was shown to be someone they couldn't trust and now A had the same tattoo that she had. In his mind they were both enemies. Both of them were going to be taken down, right here and now, there wasn't any time to mess around. In his free hand he formed the small bow and looked over at his two foes.

As Z said A's name a plasma bolt fired off of the small bow empowered by it's speed heading right towards A's chest, quickly followed up by another to Beatrice's chest. The moment the first bolt left his bow the entire room in front of him was hit with a blinding light. Vannan closed his own eyes to avoid being blinded by his own arrows. Each arrow as it rapidly traveled to it's intended target would split off smaller arrows along side it. One arrow for every foot it traveled till there were eleven plasma bolt arrows aimed to hit both Beatrice and A. With the combination of their speed and the blinding light which would daze everyone in the room at the same time neither of them should even expect what was coming their way.

Sadly for Vannan only Kazura would know what was going. Vannan had fired first, before either side could say more than just a single word to one another. This normally wasn't his style, but he had grown tired of this game, and wanted it to end. Kit had to pay and so did Cross. Even if the plasma bolts didn't land they would serve another purpose to test if his plasma could cut though the walls of this place. However Vannan wasn't going to stand around waiting for something to happen, no he knew he had to relocate himself. Using movement under the cover of the plasma bolts he dashed to behind the large voting station, to help shield his eyes against the plasma bolts that would stay there long after the arrows left.

OOC:
Reiatsu:
1974/2000-25 for movement -100 for bow level one – 176(or 150) for two class three plasma bolts using small bow ability for faster arrows. Arrows are moving at 1600 speed. Arrows that have split off because of vannan's mass property are class 4 Ten of them for each original class 3 arrow.

Note: I am not 100% sure as to how all these cost modifiers work for the arrows when stacked upon one another sadly. There are two equally valid equations that can give you the cost of the arrows. Plasma bolts incress cost of arrow by 50%. Small bow cuts arrow cost in half. Using the ability to fire the arrows faster is an extra 50 reiatsu. The cost of a class 3 arrow being 50 reiatsu.

(50+50)*1.5\2 or 50*1.5/2+50

[Zeich Yajuu]

((OOC: Quick explanation on small bow reduction; it reduces the cost of the arrows themselves by half, which is 50/2 or 25 Reiatsu per Class 3 arrow, but multipliers come after that. So (25 + 50 (speed)) x 2 (Plasma Bolt) = 150 Reiatsu each, or 300 total for both plasma bolts. Also as a fair warning, attacking during cinematic conversation is a dick move, and I will return that in kind. You've been warned. ^^))

[Zeich Yajuu]

True to form, Vannan couldn't stand by and let the two former partners speak. Instead, he decided to interfere before discovering whether or not there was more to it. For all he knew, their conversation could end amicably. For all they knew, things were not as bad as his first assumption was. But even if any of that was the case, the fact was that Vannan fired first, his shots soaring towards both Beatrice and Alicia. His actions were considered directly offensive and, should the others have been considered allies at the time, they would have seen this as a traitorous action. Even as it was, he had just done so in front of his own comrades, who would see his abrupt attack as nothing more than a violent outburst with no real trigger. The conversation would be cut off before it began, and no one would ever know what had happened between Alicia and Zachariah, the story lost in the heat of battle.

Both arrows covered the distance quickly, yet even as they did, something happened. The air felt tense, heavy, pressing down on them from all directions. Everyone in the room was forced to their knees, unable to stand, as the gravity seemed to crank up more and more by the moment. Even Beatrice and Alicia would be dropped, straining against the powerful presence. Vannan, being just a Class below the others, wouldn't just be dropped onto his knees; he would be slammed face-first into the ground. His arrows would also be affected, sputtering out and falling before they even covered a third of the distance, their lights failing before they had a chance to truly blind anyone. In short, his shot had been completely negated, the Reiatsu wasted, and now, his face was being ground into the floor by a force he couldn't begin to fight.

“It seems that you are destined to forever grovel in the dirt. But that's what one expects from a Vandenreich boot-licker.” Those who could still stand would turn to find a man standing behind them, stepping out from a door against the far wall. Long, fire-red hair settled around his head messily, while crimson eyes stared out from behind the strands with a bored expression. And why should he be anything else; those in the room were crushed down by his Gravitational Pressure, his sheer presence enough to weight down on all who were present and preventing them from moving easily. Vannan wouldn't even be able to move at all, no matter how much he poured his Reiatsu into trying to stand. The man wore a long red-and-orange robe that concealed his hands beneath the folds of fabric, his arms hanging to either side of his body as he strode forward.

But the most noticeable thing on the man was a silver necklace that hung around his neck. Bearing a charm made of the same precious metal, the symbol that hung from the chain looked like the tattoo that was present on both Alicia and Beatrice. The symbol glowed bright, the upside-down cross seeming to shimmer even in the dim light, and as they watched him (or, in Vannan's case, watched the floor), those gathered in the room would realize that Reiatsu was flowing towards it from each of them. It was a small amount, diminishing their pools gradually, but it was still present, and something to consider; his ability to draw in Reiatsu was exceptional.

“I, too, used to be one of the Vandenreich, though. Back in those days, I was known as a Stern Ritter; Ferdinand, F, the Fated. But that was before I met the Martyr, and learned the truth of the world, learned of what lay beneath the surface you all see. I have been reborn, and now I am known as Blood.” A slow, soft smile crossed his face as he spoke, his tone quiet, almost neutral as he stepped forward towards his immobilized victims. “I see you all have admired the new Cross that was given to me. The Martyr's Cross is a powerful tool, drawing its holy energy from those who do not to deserve to possess it themselves. And as you all can see, you are unworthy.”

One arm slowly raised from Blood's side, and as it rose, the sleeve slid down, revealing a pale hand. In that hand, Reiatsu was gathering, forming itself into a long bow that stretched out from side to side, the string of spiritual twine stretching from one end to the other as the arms came into being. It was only a basic bow, suggesting that this was Blood's first-level ability, yet the amount of presence he put off suggested that even the basics would be devestating. As he did so, however, his Gravitational Pressure faded. Those who were present in the room would be able to stand once more, though the sense of the man's aura was still there; it was obvious that, if he chose to, he could flex it once more and drag them all to their knees. By utilizing their Reiatsu, most of them would be able to stand again even if it came back, but that would be a greater attrition than they needed in this suddenly dire situation.

“It seems, however, that you six think that you are going to escape. But to do so would be to embrace Cross's betrayal. And you yourselves are all traitors; look at your votes up until this point. None of you can be trusted in the new world ahead. And so your fates are sealed: I will end all of you here in this room. Prepare yourselves! Kazura Uzaki. Vannan Harper. Shizuka Sanamizu. Iian Werthen. Zachariah Jessem. And you too, Cross...” The bow came up suddenly, and Blood's hands were a blur as he drew and released an arrow directly at Shizuka and Iian. “Fate has decreed that these barbs will pierce your hearts!” As it flew across the room, it seemed to almost mimic Vannan's original arrows, splitting into nine separate shafts that would pierce with deadly force. However, each of those nine arrows also split into nine, for a total of eighty-one arrow shafts flying across the room, filling the air with destruction that they would not be able to withstand easily. Any of them could sense the power emanating off of those arrows, and without a doubt, contact was not going to be pleasant.

Suddenly Zachariah was moving, leaping towards the wall of arrows. As he did so, they all seemed to be drawn towards him, directly towards his chest, turning in midair as though they were indeed going to pierce his heart. But the man's arms glowed and, as they approached, he lashed out with one arm. A shockwave of force, so powerful it caused a ripple in the air for all to see, lashed out and struck all of the arrows at once, scattering them and splintering them as they were hit. The attack was temporarily nullified, for now, but any of them could sense that Blood had plenty of spiritual energy left. Zachariah, on the other hand, looked worse for wear; they had heard a loud pop as he had swung his arm, and now it hung somewhat loosely. In all likelihood, they had just heard his shoulder joint dislocate, and though he could push it back into place, the damage was there.

Blood did not seem bothered by the blocking of his attack. “Don't resist; you'll only draw out the inevitable. Fate cannot be avoided so easily, and you are all fated to die here.” Even as he spoke, Beatrice and Alicia were starting their own attacks; Beatrice's song would start up again, the hymn rising up all around them and draining their will to move, even as Alicia released her three-of-a-kind, all three aimed for Shizuka and Iian now. It was a three-pronged fight now, with attacks able to come from both sides; how would they react, and what would they do?

Blood's Remaining Reiatsu: 11970/12000 (+700 for Martyr's Cross (Vannan is not drawing in during last post, so his actual pool is taxed, and Cross is not currently included), -100 for Bow Release Level 1, -630 Reiatsu for a Class 1 Arrow split twice with Nine and Nine.)

SPOILER: Click to show

{Blood's Stats}Blood is a Rank 4 Genius Type. Class 0 Vandenreich Quincy, 2200 SP, but he lacks Vandenreich-specific abilities due to leaving the empire. This means no Blut or Vollstandig are available to him.

Strength – [300 x 0.33] (100) Points

Speed - [400] (400) Points

Spiritual Pressure – [400 x 3] (1200) Points

Reiatsu Strength – [400 x 3] (1200) Points

Light Aura - [0] Points

Dark Aura - [100] Points

Instinct - [300] (300) Points

Senses – [200] (200) Points

Energy sensory – [100 x 3] (300) Points

Healing Expertise – [100 x 0.33] (33) Points


Total SP: [2200] points

SPOILER: Click to show

{Martyr's Cross}This is a unique item that only Blood possesses; a fusion of his Quincy Cross and Spirit Fragment, the Martyr's Cross doesn't draw in ambient particles to convert to Reiatsu; it draws in actual Reiatsu whenever active. While active, anyone trying to draw in Reiatsu will find their attempts blocked, the Reiatsu instead flowing to Blood's Cross and powering him instead. Anyone who is not drawing in Reiatsu, however, will find that the energy is taken from their own personal pools, a total of 100 Reiatsu per post. This applies to all on the battlefield besides Blood himself, including allies.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Bow Release Level 1 Properties}You Cannot Avoid Fate (Firing) – This property determines the way the arrows move through the air, and in this case, they are led by Blood's idea of fate. When fired, the Quincy determines his target; not just the individual, but the specific place at which his arrows are expected to hit. He states this aloud: “Fate has decreed that its barbs shall strike at your (insert area here)” before firing, which primes the arrows for a target. Once released, these arrows will always curve to strike at their target with a homing-like property; at most, they can turn a maximum of one hundred and fifty degrees in order to reach their target, though they may only turn in one direction at a time. These arrows will continue to pursue until they strike or are destroyed, but the cost of the arrow must be paid each post until it is dispersed, destroyed, or hits.

When Nine and Nine Meet Nine (Mass) – A prophetic phrase, this determines the way in which Blood's arrows ensure that their chosen fate is met. Upon firing, a single arrow splits into nine arrows, all of which aim to meet the fate chosen for them. To do so, however, the cost for the arrow, including the per-post cost for the firing property, is tripled. However, that is not the end of the self-fulfilling prophecy; each of these nine arrows may split into the second set of nine, creating a total of eighty-one arrows that all aim towards the same fate. To do so, the cost of the arrow, including the per-post cost for the firing property, is tripled again to nine times the initial value, thus creating the final nine in this prophetic line.

((OOC: Note that while I'm listing Reiatsu counts here, I'm not listing post counts because this is being interposted into part of the last post due to the retcon of Vannan's early attack. Just showing the drain from the Martyr's Cross.))

Iian's Remaining Reiatsu: 6800/7500

Beatrice's Remaining Reiatsu: 9600/10000

Alicia's Remaining Reiatsu: 3610/4000

Zachariah's Remaining Reiatsu: 1500/2000 (-200 for Ardent Will's Effect)

[Kazura Uzaki]

As Alicia and Beatrice came out of the elevator to the surprise of the whole room, Zachariah opened his mouth up to talk but was cut short by blinding arrows from Vannan and the arrival of Blood. A whole lot happened at once, with Kazura stunned by how quickly he could process it all. He had spent this whole "game" trying to make up for the lack of his mind, but now he could use the whole thing. Time seemed to be moving in slow motion, allowing the fullbringer to come up with a plan of action as he was being forced to his knees by the immense pressure of Blood.

You've felt this force before... And it's apparently not over... You have to get stronger, Kazura, until no one can force you down like this ever again... Only then can you protect everyone, protect future tragedies like Alicia... Now, get on your feet, get moving, get protecting again. A quick pep talk to himself and he was ready for action. He had already formulated a priority list of what he needed to focus on. First, Beatrice and her song that made all movement feel sluggish and difficult. Kazura pumped reiatsu through his body using Gate and found the effects of her song fade away as his strength began to exceed hers by quite a bit.

Second priority was making sure that he had access to the greatest amount of his power that he could. He released both his Main Fullbring Level 2 as well as his Secondary Fullbring simultaneously, transforming his clothing into a battle ready suit of armor and his right arm into a solid titanium mass and a swarm of nanobots. Sure, it would take more effort and more energy to do so while pumping Gate through his body, but it was worth it. Third Priority was making sure that he could react to absolutely everything at his absolute best. Adding yet another power to his body, this time his brain, he used Push to expand his awareness by two inches. He would notice something two inches earlier, and with a brain that could process at speeds such as his own, two inches could be magnificent.

Kazura's final priority was keeping people safe using the combined first three priorities. With Bringer Light, Kazura popped up next to Zachariah with lightning speed and used his healing expertise to set the dislocated shoulder correctly, with as little pain as he could muster. From there, he flashed away again towards Beatrice. He would attempt to force her into direct close combat where he could hopefully match her strengths and overcome her. That hymn had to stop if the rest of the group wanted to move with full strength. Only then could they hope to deal with Blood's arrows. Kazura just hoped that everything would work as best it could...

But those hopes were a Hail Mary, at best.

Remaining Reiatsu: 7,600/20,000 (-100 Blood's pull, -100 Gate, -1,000 Main Fullbring Level 2, -600 Secondary Fullbring, -200 Push, -200 2x Bringer Light Steps)
New SpPr: 2,000
New RS: 300
Main Fullbring Level 2: 1/13
Secondary Fullbring: 1/8
Push: 1/5

[Shizuka Sanamizu ✮]

Even as everyone looked like they were more energized and ready for what was to come, they could definitely notice the alarms going off at a higher frequency and lights flickering as intensely as they were. From beneath all of it, Shizuka glanced back over at Cross as she realized he was looking tired. She approached him slowly, careful not to startle him, as she took notice to the fact that he was looking more than just tired. He was looking absolutely exhausted! His entire character seemed like he was just going to die right there, but she wouldn't let that happen. He was stronger than this.

Despite that, in his condition now, he was definitely not able to fight. Shizuka mentally accounted for that. He'd helped them all so much and he deserved to rest. How bad could it be, right? The rest of the players could take on whoever was coming, and the Fullbringer absolutely knew someone would be. It was just a matter of who it was. The world around her began to revert back to normal as the elevators they'd all previously used started to work again. This was exactly what Shizuka was expecting. Some enemies were probably going to come out of those things and they'd have to fight.

And boy, was she right. Only Kazura's and Vannan's elevators opened, making Shizuka pause. Who on Earth was going to be coming out of those elevators if Kazura and Vannan were already here? She assumed it was just random people lurking in the background, but then why didn't her elevator open? Unless... Shizuka looked around at her teammates and their reactions confirmed her thoughts. Everyone was thinking the same thing and it was proven when the doors slowly opened for all to see. Even though it wasn't surprising, Shizuka couldn't help feeling shocked and sad.

Vannan's door invited a separated, but equally scary, Beatrice as her soul remained a figment of what she once was. She always gave the Fullbringer a bit of a weird feeling, but that could have been because she, as a witch, was in the presence of a nun. After this whole event, though, Shizuka found it rather hard to believe in anything Beatrice stood for since she allowed herself to become corrupted. It wasn't necessarily her fault, but there had to have been a way for this to be avoided. Regardless, now wasn't the time to think about that. Not when another figure made herself present, as well.

A, whose name was later expressed as Alicia, revealed herself once the doors of her elevator opened. As expected, she emerged from the same one Kazura came out of moments before. She looked more dead than usual, causing concern to grow within Shizuka. She was beautiful and looked incredibly smart, but she also wasn't normal. The deadness that the Fullbringer noticed before had to have been because she'd lost in her last round. Actually, Beatrice did, too. Both of them had to have experienced the repercussions of losing all of their points.

That's when she noticed the bracelets and tattoos. These two women weren't dead at all, but they were definitely being controlled. It didn't make sense, though. Why was it that they could only be taken over when their points reached zero? As if looking for answers, the blonde glanced around at everyone else. Zachariah had gotten her attention due to his rather forlorn expression. She could feel how sad he was just by looking at him. He and Alicia were partners and potentially even more than that, but she could only imagine the pain of losing someone so close to you.

--RELEVANT--

All that was spoken from that moment was Alicia's name. Arrows resembling plasma shot out from Vannan's direction as he halted any exchange between the two, hastening the fighting process. It was obvious that he wanted to get this over with and, hopefully, and the horrible game. All of this happened so suddenly and rapidly that it was almost impossible for Shizuka to process it. Almost. She could absolutely process one thing in particular, and it was the fact that Vannan had jumped the gun. As soon as she realized they were his arrows, her eyes went wide with shock and rage as she slowly turned her head and blinked as angrily as possible. Without speaking the words, her face said an obvious "are you fucking kidding me?!"

Shizuka slapped her palm to her forehead and kept her eyes closed momentarily as she realized how bright the light was getting that came from them. Soon enough, however, his attack was proven useless. All of them, along with Vannan's arrows, were brought to their knees while Vannan himself was forced completely to the ground in a rather painful manner. Shizuka suppressed a sly giggle, knowing that now probably wasn't the time to laugh at his just desserts. She did, however, grin.

It was then that she heard a loud, mature voice from another end of the room. She looked up, finding it harder than usual to lift her head. What she saw was a man, dawning red clothing and red everything else, appearing before each of them. Something she did notice, though, was his necklace. It looked exactly the same as the tattoo that Beatrice and Alicia shared. So he was the one controlling the other two women, right? If they were able to destroy his necklace, there may be a chance to save them. Though small, it was still a chance.

The man known as Blood had introduced himself, revealing the fact that he is also a Quincy. There were words he'd used to symbolize his place of power that Shizuka wasn't familiar with, but if he had the guts to admit it, that had to mean he was a pretty important guy. What she didn't know is why he hated them all now. His anger towards the Vandenreich was unwarranted, sort of, but it made Shizuka curious. As he spoke, the woman found herself having to glance to the side in order to ignore the enemy. She was a girl, after all, and that meant she was attracted to certain things about certain people. Something about Blood was cool to her, but she hated herself for even thinking it. Shizuka pushed the thought out of her mind quickly enough, knowing this wasn't the time or the place.

Soon enough, as Blood raised his hand and created his first bow, the Gravitational Pressure he had applied to everyone faded. Shizuka stood up quickly and sighed in relief. She'd used that ability on others but she never felt it before. It made her reconsider using that power because it definitely wasn't very fun. Taking a couple of steps back, mostly out of fear, she readied herself for his attack. What startled her, though, was a hand touching her shoulder. She jumped and turned around as a small squeak of surprised escaped her lips. It was Iian!

--MORE RELEVANT--

Iian, looking much more mature now than he had before, explained to Shizuka what he was planning to do with his powers. He had mentioned that it was like a leech, but that didn't bother her. If he was so sure of his abilities, she'd trust his judgment. Of course, until he actually summoned the thing. When he said leech, he meant leech. Shizuka's eyes widened and her jaw dropped as Blutegel took form on its master. Iian treated it like some pet but Shizuka looked at it like a piece of trash that was about to ruin her perfectly nice outfit. Then, Iian asked one more time for Shizuka's help and the bug crawled infinitely closer to her.

Shizuka screamed a high-pitched noise, likely causing people to pause while she freaked out for a moment. "NO WAY. Ugh, I thought you were asking me for help because your powers would leech from mine but not that you actually summoned a DISGUSTING and GROTESQUE little parasite! I mean, I seriously can't believe you'd even ask that of me because it's OBVIOUS I'd never let that PUTRID little thing on my body for even a second. No, a millisecond! There is just NO CHANCE IN HELL that I'm going to let you put that thing on me!"

So she said. But the truth was, as she looked back over to Blood who was definitely ready to throw his own attack, she had a change of heart. Her face contorted itself into absolute disgust, but she knew she had to let him do this. She forced herself to woman up and release before using her powers to open Gate. She felt her body charge itself full of energy and flow into every part of her. She knew she needed Gate in the first place, but using it to prolong this leech's ability was a little gross. Still, she trusted Iian and wanted to make sure he knew that. If he tried anything, she'd act accordingly.

The Fullbringer held out her hand and allowed Blutegel to crawl up her arm and situate itself in a comfortable spot. The entire time it moved on her, she let out a ghostly noise through her teeth as she clenched her jaw and shut her eyes as tightly as possible. Despite the fact that she was willing to help, she hated the idea of him letting this worm on her. Still, it was her choice and she chose to deal. Blood was preparing his attack, and before she knew it, he was already firing it. Tons of arrows came at Iian and Shizuka, but she hardly had enough time to prepare. If she hadn't have been too busy being grossed out, maybe she would have had time to defend herself.

Luckily, Zachariah came to their rescue and countered the attack with his own ability. It seemed to tire him out, but Shizuka pumped her gun full of the liquid she summoned as soon as she could and mentally thanked the man for what he'd done. She would have to repay him later, but she'd bother with that after the fight was over. Thankfully, Kazura had gone to tend to Zacharia's wounds before moving out on his own, and it was time she got serious. Now, as Beatrice's song began once more, Alicia also started to fight.

--THE MOST RELEVANT--

Thanks to Gate, Beatrice's song had no effect on Shizuka. Still, she knew that song had to be taken out to give her teammates a better chance. She didn't get to actually plan for that, however. Alicia's attack was aimed straight for Iian and Shizuka. As the Fullbringer shouted for Iian to get out of the way, she used her own Movement to dodge Alicia's cards by jumping upwards and stopping on Air Ground. She could tell by observing them that they were sharp, but she had no idea how sharp, exactly. It was safe to say that they could hurt her if used too many times, so she needed to keep her eye out for them. It wasn't fun when she needed to be as vigilant as possible to practically everyone in the room, but that was just too bad.

I need to destroy those cards, Shizuka thought to herself. If she uses a full deck, that means she's limited to 52 cards. As she throws them, it doesn't look like she can get them to come back. Still, it does mean she has something to look out for. After measuring her distance, she saw that she was about 20 meters up from where she originally started. She locked on to Alicia's cards, putting her unnatural mastery over firearms in charge. Testing to see if this woman really could control them once they left her hand, she shot three times with her gun in their direction. On her Blast Cannon setting, that meant she used ten gallons per shot. She also wouldn't miss.

Hoping that could distract Alicia enough, Shizuka used Movement once again to appear just ten feet behind her target. She shot three more times, once to the right, then left, then directly at Alicia. Each shot was immediately after the other, giving hardly any time for Alicia to react. Chances were, though, she wouldn't make it that easy. If she was as tough to beat as she seemed, she could probably tell that she was going to be attacked. So as soon as the final blast was fired, Shizuka got the hell out of there with Bringer Light. The brightness from that technique would certainly blind Alicia if she chose to turn around and attack Shizuka again, but it would also blind anyone near her who looked at it.

From her last step, she got herself near Vannan and briefly greeted him, then punched his shoulder as hard as she could. That was for attacking prematurely. Aside from that, she felt the safest around either him or Kazura, but she could see that Kazura had his own agenda he was working on. Shizuka also knew that she couldn't keep Gate up forever, so she needed to try to at least slow down some of their opponents. Beatrice's song didn't bother her anymore, so she wondered if the nun should be her next target. Did she really want to kill someone, though?



Shizuka's Remaining Reiatsu: 4400 (-200 for Beach Queen, -100 for Gate, -100 for Movement, -100 for Bringer Light, -100 for Martyr's Cross Drain)
Fullbring Stage 1: 1/10
Liquid Type: Hydrochloric Acid
Gallons Remaining: 40/100 (-60 for Blast Cannon)

SPOILER: Click to show

{Shizuka's New Stats}

Strength - [100] Points

Speed - [300] Points

Spiritual Pressure - [200] = [500] Points (x2 for Gate = [1000])

Reiatsu Strength - [400] = [1000] Points (x2 for Gate = [2000])

Light Aura - [60] Points

Dark Aura - [40] Points

Instinct - [200] = [100] Points

Senses [200] = [100] Points

Energy sensory - [0] Points

Healing Expertise - [0] Points

Total SP: [1400] Points

[Deleted]

He thought that this was over, that this fight would end in a flash of light and that they could leave. Oh how wrong he was, the moment the air grew heavy with the pressure from some unknown entity, he knew that this fight would be anything but easy. He had felt this kind of force from only a few people beforehand, both of them being generals of the Vandenreich army. There was no way to stop what was about to happen. He knew that he wasn't strong enough to keep himself upright against this force. His entire body slammed it's self into the ground under the pressure.

Vannan couldn't look up to see who had entered the room, but he could hear the voice of someone calling him out as a boot-licker. If the pressure from the man's reiatsu wasn't making it hard to breath, then he would of laughed at that statement. Vannan wanted to get up, but he knew better than to even try to force his way out of this, the only hope would be if the man actually stopped spewing out his spiritual pressure on the group, but that seemed very unlikely at the moment. With his face pressed against the ground he could only see slightly, but he could tell that his arrows had somehow been stopped as well. This didn't bode well for him, or the others. His usefulness would be cut severely if he couldn't use his arrows properly against this new foe.

The following words he heard come out of the man's mouth were rather silly, at least in the mind of Vannan. This man had traded one over zealous religious ideal for another, then had the gall to mock someone in his former sect. Vannan knew that his devotion to the Vandenreich wasn't the strongest, but even he wasn't such a hypocrite when it came to religion. Sure he didn't really believe in Der Kaiser as a god, but he did believe in the power of those that followed him. At the very least he knew who or rather what he was facing, a Vandenreich defector, which made things a bit easier and also gave a lot of information about how he was kidnapped, or rather how they were able to take him without alerting his fellow officers in the Vandenreich base.

The moment the pressure was released Vannan smiled, he would be able to stand again, more so he would be able to see who this man who called himself blood was. Blood himself had long messy red hair with crimson eyes. He chuckled a bit at seeing the man, Caesar and Baal were much more intimidating with their presence than this man. He felt a little relieved about this and drew in reiatsu, or at least he tried to. He could feel it, the reiatsu he tried to draw in was being sucked away by Blood for some reason. Shit,..... this isn't good..... Vannan knew better than to try to draw out a fight with this little reiatsu he had and not being able to draw in more made him worry about how effective he would be.

Before he could react he saw the attacks fly from all sides. Blood's arrows weren't aimed at him and neither was Alice's cards. Did they think he would be a threat? That would be their mistake, however there was no doubting that Beatrice's song was causing him to feel something, each breath was more taxing than it should be and even moving his body felt a bit harder, it was at this point that he knew that his target should be her. However Blood was the most obvious threat that they had and he needed to be dealt with.

Gripping his Hohle Schneide he steeled himself ready to deal with what was going to need to be done. All three of them needed to be dealt with. Before he charged in though Shizuka popped up behind him and punched him in the shoulder. “Ow that hurt.... wait.... the gun I gave you I need it back now.” He held his hand out waiting for her to return it to him. This would help balance out the lack of reiatsu regain if he could use the gun to attack people with. Shizuka returned it to him and he smiled as he used a EG to create bullets for the gun. Turning away from Shizuka he muttered under his breath, loud enough for her to hear. “Now if we only had the blood of a hollow we could take care of Blood...”

With his two weapons in hand he knew that he couldn't stand around, but Beatrice's song kept taxing him. Then an idea came to mind, a technique that John had showed him and taught him long ago. If Beatrice would make movements more taxing for him then he would just remove the gravity around him to balance it out. There was a slight glow on his whole body before his hair started to float upwards and he appeared to be slightly floating up. Hirenyaku Schwerkraft a technique to remove the effect of gravity upon the user, with this he didn't feel the effect of gravity on his body, however he did still feel Beatrice's song taking it's effect on him.

With that he leaped into battle using movement to move with. By using the stepping technique with Schwerkraft he actually pushed himself off of the ground and upwards. At this rate his knees would be right at her head level. However while he was moving towards Alice he twisted his body so that his feet were over his head and his arms were now next to her head. As he came out of the stepping technique he pulled the trigger and fired a bullet right at her head, only inches away. Yes right now Alice didn't seem the largest threat, however Kazura had targed Alice and he didn't want to get in his way, while he knew at this moment Blood would be too much for him to handle, so the only target to go after was Alice, to try and remove at least one of the threats.


OOC
Remaining reiatsu:1599 -100 Hirenyaku Schwerkraft, -25 movement,-100 EG bullets Class 5 Blood's drain countered due to Quincy cross for this post still -100 from last post

OOC note: Vannan's plasma bolts before actually only had an increase of 50% not 100 it doubled after I turned it into a tech so each plasma bolt costed me 113 a total of 226

[Zeich Yajuu]

Shizuka acted quickly, using Gate to bolster her spiritual abilities to their maximum potential, only hers came for two purposes. The first, obviously, was for combat, but the second was for far less savory reasons. Even as she gave permission, the woman freaked out as the slimy, squirmy leech slowly crawled up along her arm, starting at her forearm and working its way up her shoulder. She could feel it oozing slightly as it did so, and that eyeless face was all the more disturbing when she saw the pointed teeth. Yet the woman had chosen to give, despite knowing all of this. It was truly horrifying, but she was making a small sacrifice for what she believed would be the greater good. It was only a small amount of her Reiatsu Strength, right? And with her Gate in place, it would be an even smaller amount, proportionately. At least, that was what she hoped.

Mercifully, Blutegel's bite came without pain, something about the leech's bite adding a numbing sensation to avoid any injury. It would still feel weird, and tingly, especially since Shizuka knew that the thing was sucking at her soul. There was no slurping sound or anything to augment it, but even without the disgusting sound effects, she could feel her energy being leeched away. A fair amount, too; even with her Gate, she'd still feel her spiritual strength diminishing. Quite a bit, actually. In fact... noticeably. What was going on? It was meant to steal a small amount only, willingly given, yet Blutegel's drain was extremely potent, as though it were attempting to suck her dry. It wasn't, of course; after a few more moments, it had stopped, but the effect was extremely noticeable. Even with Gate active, Shizuka would feel as though she had, at best, her normal spiritual strength.

Even as she realized this, Blutegel was already moving back onto Iian's arm, and clamping down with its teeth. The flow of spiritual energy from one to the other was visible, and the boy grew steadily stronger from the Reiatsu Strength being transferred to him. That power grew that much more intense as the boy activated his own Gate, doubling his Reiatsu Strength and Spiritual Pressure all at once. And as that power grew, Iian's smile grew more sinister, his grin filled with malice. His eyes slid across the room, starting on Vannan, and then moving over to Kazura, before resting on Shizuka once more. “Thanks for the gift, little missy, but I think that this is all I'll need from you. Now, you better dodge, or else you'll be hit, and I'd hate to see a pretty young thing like you be killed so quickly.” With that, he was gone in a step of Movement, avoiding the cards, and leaving Shizuka to continue her counter. It would still be effective, even with her spiritual strength pretty much halved at this point; Alicia's offensive abilities were limited, meaning that Shizuka could still score a direct hit if possible.

“Endure all with crystal might; Durchlieden.”

Her attack was halted, however, as an arrow flew past her even as she got into position. Attached to it was a Ginto tube, its power released as it landed in front of Alicia. A wall of solid crystal rose up, and though Shizuka's acidic blasts were powerful, they couldn't compete with Blood's defenses while her spiritual powers were so reduced. The attack failed, though she could take heart from the fact that her assault on the cards worked; they were melted down with the acid, and didn't seem to deviate from their path when shot at. A partial victory, perhaps? Either way, she'd have to figure out a new tactic to get at Alicia, if Blood was covering her.

Kazura's attack came, the man acting quickly now that his mind was restored to him. Plans were thrown together in a heartbeat, and soon he had his priorities straight. First was his own defenses; Gate and his Level Two Fullbring came out immediately, along with his Secondary Fullbring and even Push, giving him awareness, defense, power, and versatility all in a fell swoop. Releasing so much power, especially with Gate up, would be extremely taxing; odds were he'd be feeling it before too long by using two different Fullbrings at their strongest with Gate up, and then maintaining Push to boot. But for now, it was a solid array of bonuses that would serve him well until they started eating away at his stamina.

Beatrice's song would hasten that end, so naturally she was the first to be targeted. Closing the distance immediately, the man would try and force the woman into close-combat, though he did not make an initial attack. This was a mistake on his end; if he had made a quick hit-and-run he would have been fine, with no threat to himself. But by drawing in close, waiting for her to react, he had paused and left an opening. Even with his senses supercharged, even with his ability to sense things approaching within a short distance of him, it wasn't enough. Reacting was well within his scope of options, given his high mental speed and the ability from Push, but it didn't guarantee that he'd be able to endure this next blow that came his way.

“Ziege Dich, Konstante.”

Even as he moved to attack, Kazura would feel an immense amount of pain fill his body. Even as he tried to move, blood would spurt from his nose and lips, and an enormous amount of strain, both physical and mental, fell upon him at once. His mind felt taxed to bursting, his muscles screamed with pain, and consciousness seemed to waver for a moment. Yet despite these changes, his abilities would remain active, and his Strength of Will was enough to keep him standing. He had suffered an enormous amount of damage, and he'd feel it on inspection of his body; his stamina would be dropped down to maybe a quarter of its maximum, leaving his physical energy levels extremely low, his limbs heavy, and his head foggy. His instinct dealt with the latter, sharpening his focus despite the headaches and fuzziness in his skull, but on a physical and mental level, the exhaustion was real, and crippling.

A glance around would show a mirror-like creature floating next to Iian. A skull was perched atop the ornate bronze scrollwork, its eyes empty, yet glowing with an eerie light that followed Kazura's motions. Long, thin arms almost like bones wrapped around the edges of the mirror, and clawed fingers grasped the side, holding onto the mirror. Reflected in the mirror was a single image, showing a wounded, tired Kazura... no, wait, there was a second image. Almost as though it were behind Kazura, an image of Cross, still lying on the ground with his wounds in place and his consciousness gone, was visible. The man himself, outside of his reflection, was surprisingly in good condition now, though Zachariah still stood over the fallen man, keeping an eye on him; though he was still unconscious, his body seemed fully restored, the blood gone, and the lines of strain vanished from his face.

But what was going on? If Konstante was another of Iian's Dolls, why had he turned its effects on Kazura? Was it a mistake, a misfire from an unskilled kid? No, the smug grin on the boy's face suggested otherwise. In fact, it was an oddly mature expression, like an adult watching from behind a mask, enjoying the fact that his prey was squirming. Kazura would have to react to this, but he also had Beatrice looming over him, her song growing louder by the moment. In fact, the song had doubled in intensity; a look at Beatrice would show that the zombified body was also singing, the song surprisingly clear in a perfect harmony with her own song, complimenting one another and doubling its effects.

Worse, Kazura would find that any attempt to heal himself or even wipe away the blood would be futile; his new status remained constant no matter what he did, his body aching and his pain refusing to go away. Even wiping away the blood was pointless, as it remained stained across his face. Worse, he could still feel his stamina draining from him if he acted; it seemed that this was some form of anti-healing, or at least something that blocked positive effects. He'd also find that Gate could not be removed or turned off, but neither could his Fullbrings, the duration for each paused for the time being. What was he going to do, in this condition?

Vannan's attack would have fared better in normal circumstances; even though the wall came up in front of Alicia, he was to the side, and went around it. His shot was lined up well to fire at her head, but he underestimated the woman; as a Strategist, she was incredibly quick-witted, and even as he came into sight of her sharp senses, she was moving and ready to react. Vannan would find a card next to his head, a simple 2 that would have next to no cutting power... but it wasn't being used to slice into him. Even as he was taking aim and preparing to shoot, there was an enormous explosion, and the Quincy would find himself deafened briefly, his vision filled with bright light, and his head spinning from shell-shock from a close-range explosive.

What had just happened? It was a simple trick, really, but a subtle one; using her card as a horizontal surface, Alicia had used Energy Generate: Minefield, and set off a single mine with her card as the base. Though the card itself was destroyed, the explosion happened at close proximity, and it was something that Vannan could not deny. Even if his Blut protected him from the explosion, assuming it was even active in the first place, the force of the explosion right next to his ear would throw off his balance if not outright shatter his eardrums, and it would leave him dazed and disoriented. Furthermore, the force of the blast combined with his lack of gravity would send him flying towards the wall, his shot going way wide and the bullet missing by a large margin as it slammed into the wall.

Even as he was recovering, however, Vannan would find another attack flying at him, this time a powerful arrow fired from Blood's bow. Dodging would be essential, as with its power and the fact that it was a high-class arrow—if the power from it was any indication—it would quite easily defeat Vannan's defenses. Assuming he managed to dodge, it would fly past him and strike the wall, sticking into it and digging a deep hole into the metal wall. “The origin point of calamity; Sprenger.” A look at Blood would show that the man had reached into his belt and had pulled out a Ginto tube, one that he held in his hand. It glowed with a faint Reiatsu signature even as the man spoke again, repeating the incantation, and the tube's light grew brighter. Placing it on the ground behind him, where they could not get to it easily, he grabbed one last tube, holding it in his hand and giving a broad smile even as they watched, his plan slowly unfolding. It was only a matter of time, now, before they'd all be destroyed.

Blood's Reiatsu: 12560/12000 (+1100 from Martyr's Cross, -100 for Durchlieden, -10 for a Class 7 Arrow, -70 for a Class 1 Arrow, -400 for Sprenger preparation x2)


Iian's Reiatsu: 5750/15000 (-100 for Gate, -50 for Movement, -800 for Doll Summoning, -100 for Martyr's Cross)

SPOILER: Click to show

{Iian's New Stats}Strength – [150 x 0.33] (50) Points

Speed - [250] (250) Points

Spiritual Pressure – [(300 x 2.5) x 2] (1500) Points

Reiatsu Strength – [(600 x 2.5) x 2] (3000) Points

Light Aura - [25] Points

Dark Aura - [75] Points

Instinct - [150] (150) Points

Senses - [200] (200) Points

Energy sensory - [75 x 2] (150) Points

Healing Expertise – [75 x 0.33] (25) Points

Blutegel's Reiatsu: 1300/2000 (-300 for Blood Suck, -400 for Infusion, -100 for Martyr's Cross)

SPOILER: Click to show

{Blutegel's Abilities (Revealed)}
Blood Suck: This ability is pretty straightforward, draining 100 SP (before Type) from a stat per post attached, though this amount is doubled if voluntary. Blutegel clings to a foe using its offensive stat, and can only be pulled away with a force equal to or greater than its cling. This costs 300 Reiatsu per post attached, and only one stat can be drained and held at a time; if a second stat is drained while the first is being held, then the first is returned to the original victim.

Note: Since this applies before Type, Shizuka's new RS went from 400 > 200 before all modifiers, so 200 x 2.5 (Type) = 500 x 2 (Gate) = 1000.

Infusion: The compliment to Blood Suck, this technique allows Blutegel to transfer stolen stats to a target of its choice, biting down and giving that stat to the recipient, which is then multiplied by Type normally. Costs 400 Reiatsu to transfer.

Konstante's Reiatsu: 7000/8000 (-800 for Mirror, -200 for Constant)

SPOILER: Click to show

{Konstante's Stats}Konstante is a Spirited Type, Rank 3. 1600 SP.

Strength – [50] (50) Points

Speed – [250] (250) Points

Spiritual Pressure – [400 x 2] (800) Points

Reiatsu Strength – [400 x 2] (800) Points

Light Aura - [0] Points

Dark Aura - [100] Points

Instinct – [250 x 0.5] (125) Points

Senses – [250 x 0.5] (125) Points

Energy sensory – [0 x 0.5] (0) Points

Healing Expertise – [0] (0) Points


Total SP: [1400] points

SPOILER: Click to show

{Konstante's Abilities (Revealed so Far)}
Constant: Konstante's main ability, and the one that it is named after, Constant is a unique and deadly technique. When active, it moves to reflect an image, and locks that image into its mirror. While that image is in place, any changes to the actual object reflected are nullified; this applies to both positive and negative changes. Damage is negated, but so is healing. Changes to the mind or spirit are nullified, as are even changes to the emotion. Even abilities like Releases cannot be changed; though they can be activated, they cannot deactivate if they are locked into the image on Konstante's mirror. Only stamina, Reiatsu, and Life Force are immune to this stagnation, and will still change as normal if techniques are used or any of the above are lost or gained. This is a true expression of an unchanging image. Costs 200 Reiatsu per post to maintain.

Mirror: When Konstante reflects an image, from Iian's point of view, it can then turn and reflect another image over top of it. When another image is reflected, all changes between the two images are reversed; any damage to one is instead dealt to the other, making one whole and another harmed. This can be used to great effect to defend Iian who, if he somehow gets hurt, can instead reflect the damage onto another victim and heal himself. Costs 800 Reiatsu per use.

Beatrice's Reiatsu: 8700/10000 (-300 for Secondary Fullbring, -600 for Blessed Hymn doubled, -100 for Martyr's Cross)

Beatrice's Secondary Fullbring: 1/8

SPOILER: Click to show

{Beatrice's Secondary Fullbring: Choir Accompaniment}
Choir Accompaniment is a special ability that has taken on a new form thanks to Beatrice's split bodies. Originally meant to serve as a spiritual echo to her songs, this Secondary Fullbring now utilizes her second, physical body, and uses it to amplify her hymns.

Property One: “Harmony”: When active, this property allows the second voice (in this case, that of the physical body) to echo the song that is being sung, doubling its effects and potency while also doubling the costs. Resistances apply as normal, with only the effects being doubled in potency.

Alicia's Reiatsu: 3090/4000 (-100 for Martyr's Cross, -20 for a 2, -400 for Minefield, -50 for a mine explosion.)

Alicia's Level One Fullbring: 2/10


Zachariah's Reiatsu: 1400/2000 (-100 for Martyr's Cross)

Zachariah's Level One Fullbring: 2/10

(OOC: I prolly messed up costs somewhere, please just poke me over PC if I messed it up, lots of things to keep track of!)

[Deleted]

It happened in a flash, a card headed towards him, he tried to move his arm to aim at the card instead of her, but then his vision was assaulted by a blinding light, followed quickly by a large bang next to his ear. Followed by pain hitting his face. He had been hit by an attack, something that he planned to do to this woman, however he had fallen to her trap. What hit him however he couldn't tell at this moment as he was reeling in pain and shock from the attack. However sadly this wasn't the worst thing to come from such an attack aimed at him.

In the following moments he noticed that his body was moving, to him everything was happening in slow motion as he saw himself being flung towards a wall. In this time his eyes adjusted slowly from the blinding light back to the normal light that filled the room. However his ear still held a very high pitch ringing in it, however before he can do anything his body hits the wall slamming into it. It wasn't a pleasant hit as he felt the impact throughout his entire body. “Fuck I'm going to feel that tomorrow.”

Sadly he landed against the wall face first into it with only part of his face facing the others so the vision of the battle wasn't exactly in clear view. However what was the least of his worries right now as what he could see is that Cross was firing an arrow right at him. His eyes widened “aw fuck me.” Quickly to react he he undid Hirenyaku Schwerkraft he promptly started to fall, however he knew that just falling wouldn't save him from being hit. Before landing while still falling he used Hirenyaku to create a platform under his feet before dashing away to the left.

Still dazed he slowly turned around to face the battlefield. The ringing still loud as ever in his ears. Still feeling the effects of Beatrice's fullbring on his body now even more so than before he kept his movements limited. Noticing that Cross has his attention somewhere else turns his attention back to the others. He saw Kazura on the ground bleeding and Beatrice fine. Along with Alice unscathed by his attack as well. This wasn't going well for them at all, but he knew that they couldn't give up or they would die here and now. Raising the gun still in his hands he pulled the trigger and fired a bullet at Beatrice, aimed for her neck.

For now he hoped that Z could deal with Alice while he tried to recover. Looking over at Shizuka he wondered what she would do now that it seemed as if Kazura was out of commission and Iian wasn't helping them. No looking closer he saw that one of Iian's dolls were actually causing Kazura harm. That little shit.... with a heavy breath he moved his gun aimed right for Iian's forehead he fries another bullet, hoping to kill Iian and help Kazura out or at the very least deal with the betrayer.

Remaining reiatsu:1459 -100 from cross -50 for Hirenyaku

[Kazura Uzaki]

Kazura's caution seemed to ruin him, as Iian turned his doll toward the fullbringer to unleash debilitating pain and suffering. The whole of his body ached as he turned in rage towards the boy, though he couldn't act much as Beatrice's song increased in intensity and once again began to drain on his stamina. With an angry flick of his wrist, Kazura directed his Fullbring's ability to lock down Iian's bracelet again, limiting his physical and mental abilities and opening him up to being killed by Blood's cross before too long.

Hopefully, that is. The pounding in his head was worse than any hangover he'd ever had, so focus was difficult but not impossible. Taking a look around the room, Kazura saw Vannan jump to his defense and attack Iian despite being targeted by both Alicia and Blood. Shizuka hadn't done anything yet after being tricked by Iian, and Kazura wasn't yet aware of her abilities so he wasn't sure how she could best help them. With his energy quickly wasting away, he had to act fast. Dropping to his knees, he pressed his Secondary Fullbring into the floor and willed the tiny robots in it to eat a good chunk of the stone and store it into the hand.

Popping back up, Kazura swung a right hook into mid air and flung nanobot-infused shards of rock into the air, giving half of them the command "Seek out Beatrice's Brain" and the other half "Seek out Beatrice's Heart". They sharp shards of rock would be infused with Kazura's spiritual ability, having a piercing power of 2,000 and would also move at his own physical speed to target the woman and attempt to kill her outright. Long gone was the time for mercy. She needed to die so that Kazura and his allies could survive. It pained him, but it was necessity.

Remaining Reiatsu: 7,500/20,000 (-100 Blood's Pull)
Main Fullbring Level 2: 1/13
Secondary Fullbring: 1/8
Push: 1/5

[Shizuka Sanamizu ✮]

Disgusting.

Everything about this was disgusting. Shizuka cringed so hard when she felt the slimy monster climb her arm, but she had willingly given it some of her power since she trusted Iian. That was her mistake, though. Even after everything she did, he betrayed her. He turned out to be a Bount, which was fine, especially since her Bount encounters were slim to none, but he wasn't being fair to her. To any of them. Shizuka had since taken care of what she needed to and given Vannan the gun he let her borrow, but she was still too focused on Iian to even listen to his suggestion. How was Hollow blood going to help them, exactly?

By now, Shizuka could feel herself getting weaker. Beatrice's song was now at full blast once again and she felt the whole weight of it. She thought her Gate was enough to stop it, or, at the very least, subdue it, but Iian made that impossible. As the blonde's barrage came to a stop, she turned around and faced Iian, who was busy unleashing his abilities on Kazura. Cursing herself, Shizuka felt rage build up inside of her like a volcano preparing to explode. Not only were her attacks blocked by Blood, she allowed this traitor to grow to his full potential because of her power. Her strength. Her Reiatsu. She was angry.

Now, because of her, all of her allies were suffering. It was her fault because she was too trusting. In fact, during this whole game, she never once chose to betray someone. She always wanted to trust them, no matter what. So what did this get her? Pain. She felt pain for the first time in a long while. It wasn't physical, but it was the kind of pain that forces your chest to tighten and makes breathing more difficult. It was the kind that feels like a whole bag of rocks just sitting on your body, pressing it down into the ground like some crushed feather under a massive force. This pain was mental, and it was something she was weak to. Her focus changed as she redirected it towards Vannan, who was readying himself to fire a bullet at Iian. Before he was even able to make the shot, she used Movement to get in the way as he pulled the trigger and blocked the bullet with her own gun.

"DON'T YOU HURT HIM!" She became defensive, not knowing if that was the right choice or not. She just needed to think.

As Shizuka paused for just a moment while everyone else was distracted with each other, she gripped her gun in her right hand and balled up a tight fist in the other. Her eyes were squeezed shut and she quieted the world around her as she meditated. What was really only seconds to everyone else felt like minutes to her, which was what she was going for. In just a moment, her eyes shot open again and her pupils constricted themselves, focusing intensely as her strength of will took over. Her gaze quickly changed back to Iian and she called out to him, realizing now that Kazura locked his bracelet once again. His dolls were active, sure, but his own personal powers were not.

"Iian!" Shizuka projected her voice, now sounding more mature and tempting as her strong ability to manipulate people came into play. She was not seducing him, but she was trying another method. "I trusted everyone here, Iian. But you, I trusted you the most. I don't know why Jensen ever chose to betray you, but I never once hit that button on the computer." She put the pieces together after her last challenge. "So let me cut you a deal. Your powers are sealed away now. Your dolls are still around but you can't do anything else, meaning you're weaker in your current state than even an average human. I gave you the power you needed to for Blutegel, so how about you work with us? We all want out of here. You don't have to be our friend, Iian." Shizuka turned herself around and gazed at him with such intensity that she knew he'd feel as if she was staring into his soul. "Just be our ally."

She held out her left hand, keeping her gun close. She briefly gave the Bount the chance to take or leave her deal, but if he tried anything with her, she was ready to either get away or attack him. With how he was, she could kill him and she knew he understood that. His best bet at this point would be to team up with what abilities he has left instead of oppose all of them. If he took her deal, she wouldn't touch him. If he didn't, however, she had every intention to make him regret it. But until she knew for sure, she kept that to herself and remained steady. With her mental state the way it was and her body standing strong, her strength of will officially controlled her mindset to change her into Shizuka: Bitch Mode.

By then, Kazura unleashed his own attack against Beatrice and Blood was acting on his own, as well. This isn't good, Shizuka thought to herself as she watched the man prepare. He was threatening all of them and they were running out of time. Chances of survival were dwindling and she needed to figure out how to up their statistics, but she couldn't do it alone. Kazura was helping the most despite his weakened state, so Shizuka needed to do something to fix that. Holding her gaze once again after analyzing Blood, she looked back at Iian and pleaded one last time.

"Iian, just trust me! If nothing else, trust me! Let Kazura go and let's all get out of here! You can try to kill us later but for shit's sake, we have a common enemy!" Speaking with her own heart, knowing her words were reaching his ears, she cried out one last time. "You're better than this! Iian, help us!"

Now it was up to him. Shizuka hoped her words would work, but even if they didn't, she was already making another plan. At this rate, they weren't going to last too long unless they could take out the ones being controlled. She hated the idea of killing any of these people, but if she couldn't convince Iian to change, it may end up being necessary. Careful to stay out of the line of fire while simultaneously keeping her eyes alert and open, distractions were impossible. She was an assassin, so it was about time she started acting like one.



Shizuka's Remaining Reiatsu: 4250 (-50 for Movement, -100 for Martyr's Cross Drain)
Fullbring Stage 1: 2/10
Liquid Type: Hydrochloric Acid
Gallons Remaining: 40/100 (-60 for Blast Cannon)

SPOILER: Click to show

{Shizuka's New Stats}

Strength - [100] Points

Speed - [300] Points

Spiritual Pressure - [200] = [500] Points (x2 for Gate = [1000])

Reiatsu Strength - [400] = [1000] Points (-1000 from Blutegel))

Light Aura - [60] Points

Dark Aura - [40] Points

Instinct - [200] = [100] Points

Senses [200] = [100] Points

Energy sensory - [0] Points

Healing Expertise - [0] Points

Total SP: [1400] Points

[Zeich Yajuu]

Kazura, crippled by the effects of the transferred damage, began to give in to anger, began to give in to his fury. While his heart ached for mercy and pity, his mind knew that there was no further opportunity. If they wished to survive, to escape this twisted game, it came down to a solid choice: Alicia and Beatrice, or Kazura's group. And in the end, self-preservation came first. Maybe it was something that would haunt the man's dreams in times to come, killing those who had been betrayed and broken before becoming the enemy's puppets, but nightmares could wait until later. Right now, he was very much awake, and very much in danger if he did not act.

And so, the Fullbringer acted, summoning his Secondary Fullbring's power to release two sharp blasts of stone that would, if not stopped, destroy Beatrice by tearing her apart. Worse, the nanobots infusing the stone were actually in full control of the flying projectiles, meaning that they could redirect the firing path even if the woman dodged with Movement or a similar technique. And since they had such a simple command, allowing them to work independent of Kazura's control, it was as though he had simply released a homing weapon to harry Beatrice and keep her at bay. With time, even at only 300 Speed, it would eventually catch up to her and weaken her drastically, if not outright kill her. With specific targets and the ability to move within her body thanks to their own animation, the latter seemed extremely possible.

Beatrice sidestepped the first advance, the body still maintaining its harmony even as it carried the soul away with a step of Movement, getting them temporarily out of range, much how she had done so a moment earlier to avoid the gunshot from Vannan. This moved her over near Alicia, who stepped back to avoid the stones as they flew by, though she gave a sigh as she did so. “I guess we're going to have to get more serious, Beatrice.” Suddenly, a spike of Reiatsu could be felt coming off of the former agent, and a look at her deck of cards showed that it was changing, now possessing a pure white backing. It was a subtle change, yet it indicated something far more powerful was coming out, something they would have to be wary of. And now, with Vannan distracted, Kazura focused on Beatrice, and Shizuka otherwise occupied, they had little opportunity to anticipate what was coming.

Two cards were tossed out with a casual effort, each striking one of Kazura's stones, and as they passed through with seemingly no effect, a single gesture of Soul Command had the air moving to return them to Alicia's hands. Each card revealed a Queen, whose powers were unknown up until this point. As Beatrice was forced to dodge again with another step of Movement, two more cards went out, but this time they struck the stones and, as they did so, the stones dissipated, crumbling and simply dissolving into ash. The two cards, both Aces, simply fell apart and disappeared as well, leaving nothing behind. Aces seemed to be the card for negating attacks, but Alicia had just burned two of them; another dual attack like that from Kazura would leave her out of cards.

But that couldn't be the only reason she released a higher-level Fullbring, was it? No, clearly there had to be more. And indeed, there was; first, Alicia turned and released the two Queens that she had just retrieved with Soul Command, and she launched one each at Kazura and Vannan. Already they were more powerful than either would suspect, possessing the same offensive stat as Kazura's stones had, a full 2000. But then, because it was a pair rather than individual cards, their power was multiplied again by an additional twenty percent, making them each have a power of 2400. Vannan, his focus on Iian and Beatrice, would have next to no warning; only Kazura would see the attack coming.

But even as they dealt with this attack, Alicia was far from done, and drew from her deck again, five cards this time. A full range from six to ten became visible, all marked with spades; a straight flush, a powerful combination in normal cards. “Ante up, traitors.” The cards were quickly hurled, three targeting Shizuka while another two went after Vannan's back should he have attempted to dodge the Queen from before. These were just as deadly however, despite their lower denomination; already, the hand's power averaged 500 per card, but it grew even more deadly thanks to the power of Alicia's Level Two Fullbring; though they wouldn't know it, she had enhanced her cards to be twice as deadly, making the actual power 1000 each. And then, thanks to the combination, that power was doubled yet again, to a full 2000 piercing power in each of the five cards. A costly combination, yet a powerful one that would defeat most defenses.

Back at Iian, the boy seemed to pause as Vannan appeared, a bullet prepared specially for the traitorous Bount ready to fire. He didn't seem bothered even in light of the fact that his powers had been sealed again, as though the bullet would have done nothing to him despite his inability to avoid it. But before whatever counterattack he had planned could manifest, something unexpected happened: Shizuka stepped in, blocking the shot and causing a temporary ceasefire between the two enemies. Iian, who had seemed to have everything under control up until now, seemed a bit baffled that the woman whose power he had sucked away was now defending him, was standing by his side. Why would she do such a thing?

It seemed, too, that her plea was not falling on deaf ears; Iian had paused, not attacking in this time. He could have directed his Dolls mentally, as they still had unknown capabilities, but Blutegel remained upon his shoulder, and Konstante remained passive, floating nearby, though it had turned; indeed, no longer reflecting Kazura, the Fullbringer would feel that his Fullbring durations were resuming. Indeed, if he had the ability to heal himself, then he'd be able to do so now. It seemed that, while Shizuka was talking, the Bount had passively turned Konstante away, removing his grip over Kazura's current state and giving the Fullbringer a bit more freedom to move about, though it did not remove the afflictions caused by switching conditions with Cross, still lying on the ground.

But as Shizuka's pleas came to an end, Iian's expression grew cold again, and he shook his head. As he spoke, his voice was not that of a child anymore, but that of an adult male, giving lie to the youthful appearance that he possessed. “I have no reason to trust any of you, nor do I have any reason to work with you. Especially not with those two.” Eyes moved over to Vannan, the Quincy still standing behind Shizuka. “He was a traitor right from the bat, much like Jensen, your predecessor. I cannot trust that man, not when he was willing to turn on a woman who had stood by his side to support him. He only wants what's best for him. And as for the other...” As Iian's gaze slid over to Kazura, his expression became almost wrathful. “He... he was willing to kill me. Though the trap was merely psychological, a trick to see what Kazura would choose, that bastard chose to 'kill' Beatrice and I simply to move forward. You think that I'm just going to let that go?”

“If you're going to stop me, wench, then go ahead and do it. I'm defenseless and helpless. Or are you too spineless to attack a 'child'? Please. I'm three hundred years old.” Iian's tone was harsh and sharp, and his face was still filled with anger. “No, if you're going to do something, do it now! Kill me, or else you'll be next! I'm tired of this world of traitors, and I'll be damned if I let it go any longer!” The boy's voice raised to a crescendo, and Blood, standing on the far side of the room, smiled lightly. It seemed he recognized the possibility of a new convert, one who was willing to work with them. Yet he was looking at the back of Iian's head, and he couldn't see one thing that Shizuka and Vannan did: even as he spoke, Iian's eyes darted to the side, towards Konstante, who was floating nearby. If they looked, the others would realize that the mirror was now reflecting the boy's image.

But then, if the mirror was reflecting Iian and keeping his state constant, why would he insist that they kill him? Was there another trick to his Doll that they did not know, something that could be triggered at the application of fatal force? But if so, who was to say that Iian would not turn it back on them? The Bount, so far, had proven himself to be untrustworthy and willing to turn on those who were his “allies” in order to suit his own sense of revenge. But at the same time, that trump card, if he had it, could be turned against their enemies. The impact of Shizuka's words was unclear now, but if she had truly gotten through, then Iian would work with them... at least for now. Yet that anger, that betrayal felt at being offered even as a theoretical sacrifice... would that cause him to turn on them? Shizuka would have to decide her feelings on the matter quickly.

Zachariah, on the other hand, had no difficulty in deciding his next action. Even as the drama was unfolding, he was moving towards Alicia at his full speed, charging with his hands held before him in a boxer's stance. As he drew close, the woman used her own step of Movement to try and get away, yet Zachariah mimicked it perfectly, following with a step of his own. Even as they both moved, Alicia tried to throw a card at her former partner, but the man simply swiped it away with a swing of his fist, using a small burst of Reiatsu to create a shockwave to prevent contact with the card. Even as the woman went to pull a new card from her deck, Zachariah's arms glowed, and he brought both of them down in a powerful smash that would shake the entire room, though at the cost of a pair of sickening cracks that suggested one if not both of his arms had fractured from the impact.

The blow would not only knock Alicia down, but as Zachariah struck the floor the ground split and parted in a straight line, a shockwave conducted through the ground directly at her. Knocked onto the floor, the woman seemed to have no way to stop the attack, and for a moment it seemed as though she was finished. Yet a moment before the shockwave could hit her, a voice could be heard from the far side of the room, and a wall of Reiatsu blocked the way, disrupting even the powerful shockwave that was tearing apart the flooring.

“The origin point of calamity; Sprenger. Complete!”

While they had all been distracted, leaving the strongest of the enemies alone, Blood had not been idle. Indeed, in the last few moments he had fired another arrow, this one lower in power than the others due to everyone's distractions. This one had struck the ground at the far corner of the room, and, like the first one that had narrowly avoided Vannan, it had a Ginto tube attached to it. Now there were three; one at each of the far corners of the room, and one in front of Blood himself. And upon the statement of “Complete!” the three had been connected with a powerful energy wall, one that glowed a brilliant white. Cross himself seemed to glow with energy, the power of Gate coursing through him as he stood, looking triumphant.

“At this point, you all are considered to be dead. There is no way you can escape the walls of Sprenger, not with the power within them. And, once I activate its power, there is little you can do but be annihilated.” Vannan would know what this meant, as he was the only one present who should have extensive knowledge of Quincy Ginto and their effects; a powerful attack was coming, and all caught within the prison would suffer. Yet Alicia looked shocked too; perhaps she knew what this technique was as well. Either way, she and Blood were the only ones outside of the wall, and her only through sheer chance as she had avoided Zachariah's attack. If Alicia had dodged in a different direction, she would have been caught within the attack too. This still left Beatrice inside though... and why would Blood leave her within the attack? Did he expect to sacrifice her in a broad attack that would wipe them all out?

Even as they watched, Blood pulled out another Ginto tube, unscrewing the top and holding it over the one at his feet. “And this is the end for all of you traitors. Do you have any last words?”

Blood's Reiatsu: 12950/12000 (+900 for Martyr's Cross, -100 for Gate, -200 for Sprenger Preparation, -10 for one Class 8 Arrow)

SPOILER: Click to show

{Blood's Altered Stats}Spiritual Pressure – [(400 x 3) x 2] (2400) Points

Reiatsu Strength – [(400 x 3) x 2] (2400) Points

Iian's Reiatsu: 400/500 (-100 for Martyr's Cross)

Blutegel's Reiatsu: 1200/2000 (-100 for Martyr's Cross)

Konstante's Reiatsu: 6900/8000 (-100 for Martyr's Cross)


Beatrice's Reiatsu: 7975/10000 (-600 for Blessed Hymn doubled, -100 for Martyr's Cross, -75 for Movement x3)

Beatrice's Secondary Fullbring: 2/8


Alicia's Reiatsu: 1065/4000 (-100 for Martyr's Cross, -500 for Level Two Fullbring, -300 for two Queens, -300 for two Aces, -800 for an Ante'd Up 6 (120), 7 (140), 8 (160), 9 (180), and 10 (200), -25 for Movement)

Alicia's Level Two Fullbring: 1/13

SPOILER: Click to show

{Dead Man's Hand (Level Two) Revealed Abilities}“Ante up; pay the price, and reap the reward.” Ante Up is a powerful technique; when used, it doubles the cost of the current hand of cards, but it also doubles the power of the hand as well.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Cards Used}
Note that cards are listed by their value, not how many of the suit has been used.
Hearts – A, 3, J
Diamonds – 3
Clubs – 3
Spades – A, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J

Zachariah's Reiatsu: 775/2000 (-100 for Martyr's Cross, -25 for Movement, -100 for Ardent Will punch, -400 for Ardent Will double-armed swing)

Zachariah's Level One Fullbring: 3/10

[Shizuka Sanamizu ✮]

Shizuka had since moved out of the way to block the bullet headed straight for Iian, so Alicia's cards were essentially useless and wasted. Shizuka was able to get out of the way in time and change her immediate location. She was thankful that this plan had worked so closely, because she could tell that this former agent was trying to get serious with her opponents. Her powers changed and everything, meaning she was becoming even more dangerous with each passing moment. Shizuka had since spoken to Iian, who appeared to take what she said into consideration. One of his dolls turned away from Kazura, allowing the Fullbringer to get up once again. She was thankful that he listened to that favor, at least. He spoke to her.

"Then just trust me, Iian. For no other purpose than survival. Forget about those two, but don't destroy them. Can't you see what Kit is doing? Can't you see what Blood is doing?" She watched silently as the Bount showed his obvious pain, whether he knew it or not. "Kazura isn't going to kill you. I won't let him. He also literally can't kill you. Have you seen what you've done to him?"

It's true; Shizuka was trying to reach down into the pit of the Bount's heart. She was focused on his emotions, whether fake or real, and twisting them around her words. Was she manipulating him? Possibly, but it depends on the use of the word. What she wanted, despite the fact that she felt nothing at this point, was for him to understand. She was being incredibly serious and wanted the best for everyone, which meant getting them out of this Hell hole. With this whole situation as terrible as it was now, she needed to try to get everyone on her side. They needed to work together, not be torn apart.

"I'm well-aware of how old you are." She wasn't. "You have a history of doing things like this just to ensure things work out the way you want." That was an educated guess, at best. "You're no child and you don't scare me. So if you're so confident in yourself, why don't you just kill the rest of us? You're capable of it."

Shizuka's face displayed no emotion. All that moved was her mouth as it carefully formed the words she had planned to say. She was listening out for any sudden movements, but even she would admit that Iian was distracting her. His cries seemed so genuine that it was almost disturbing, but Shizuka wasn't going to kill him. She didn't want to. Despite what he had done, she had a theory. She wanted to see if it was true, but that meant doing something that she really hated the idea of. Still, she took a deep breath and looked straight at Iian with a harsh gaze. Her eyes seemed to look through him instead of upon him, and she noticed Blood's smirk. She squinted her eyes slightly at the action.

Suddenly, before any decisions could be made, the ground around her shook as an earthquake of force was uprising. Shizuka's ears twitched in response to Blood's voice, realizing that Zachariah had started something huge with his relatively unknown abilities. Blood reacted as his attack was coming to a close almost immediately after the tremor. The blonde looked around at everyone who also seemed to be in shock, seeing the expressions arise on their faces. Blood was threatening them all with his attack, and Cross was reacting to it, too. Well, was it to Blood's attack or was it something else? Either way, her attention was brought back towards the Bount.

"Look around you. All of us are in danger. If you're so eager to end your life, maybe you should consider doing it yourself." Shizuka sighed and looked at her former partner. "You're never going to be a sacrifice to me, Iian. But, if you truly insist that I kill you... I suppose I must oblige."

Seeming to take no second thoughts, Shizuka raised her gun and pulled the trigger three times, unleashing thirty gallons of hydrochloric acid onto the boy. Her flawless accuracy and precision would mean a sure-fire hit; so long as Iian didn't move. He was clever enough to figure out that Shizuka's shots were not so much directed at him as they were just slightly to the left side (his right) of him. Sure, if he stayed put he would be hit; however, he could easily dodge it if he had to and attack her, meaning Shizuka's theory failed and she would be thrown into combat once again, this time leaving him with no mercy. Since her strength of will was in complete control, she was focused on everything around her at once. She cut out all distractions.

To Blood, he would know no difference. No one else aside from Iian and Shizuka could see the deception in her move. For all they knew, Iian was serious and truly asked for the Fullbringer to kill him. Since she was such a trusting person, of course she would listen to him. Wasn't that the point? Well, that's what she wanted everyone else to think. That's all they could think with the way everything was lined up. Without a well-trained eye, no one would notice Shizuka holding her gun slightly incorrectly to give Iian a chance. She really trusted him. Even now, she refused to give up on the Bount. Something about him kept her from leaving him there. It wasn't that he looked like a child. Shizuka hated kids. No, it was something about his spirit.

"Blood, you're working with that fox to try to prove a point, are you not? What point is it, exactly? Is it to end all traitors? Well, I can tell that you're standing outside of the barrier that traps us in here with the attack. Shouldn't you also be inside? You're betraying your own team. Some of them are under your control, right? Where is the trust in that if you're so willing to cast them aside like this?"

Would he listen to her? Maybe, but Shizuka was actually just trying to buy some time. There was meaning to her words, of course, but she knew she could distract him by hitting him where it hurts. If he was so obsessed with people being trustworthy and working together, he needed to look in the mirror and seriously evaluate his priorities. No one was perfect. Shizuka had even done some terrible things in her time, yet she was willing to stand up to Blood as a way to give her teammates a chance to escape. She felt no pain, no tiredness, nothing. But for some reason, she could still tell that she valued every single life in this room. A lot.

Knowing she was powerless against this man, Shizuka hoped someone would be able to either find a way to safely get everyone out or save whoever they could because just her words weren't going to hold Blood off. She couldn't stop him, but she was ready to stall him as much as she could in order to make it out of there. Besides, she had a point. He was betraying people as they spoke just to try to take out the "traitors" who couldn't keep it together. How was that fair? Regardless, Shizuka was at a loss. She needed help, but she wasn't going to let Blood see that. Instead, she kept dissecting his mind.

"If you ask me, you're no better than the rest of us. You're no better than a traitor."



Shizuka's Remaining Reiatsu: 4150 (-100 for Martyr's Cross Drain)
Fullbring Stage 1: 3/10
Liquid Type: Hydrochloric Acid
Gallons Remaining: 10/100 (-60 for Blast Cannon)

[Deleted]

There was a sudden spike in the room from someone, even if he didn't have the best energy sensory in the world he was still able to feel that there was a big change coming from someone, which caused his attention to draw away from Iian and go to the source of it. Alice, from what he could tell she just used another form of her powers. With this sudden change in the tone of the battle he knew that he couldn't just ignore her. He didn't even see as his own bullet was blocked by Shizuka as his attention had turned to Alice.

He watched as Kazura's and his own attacks to kill Beatrice be in vain as a stepping technique along aside the cards tossed by Alice slice apart and utterly destroy the nanobot shards. Her powers were not to be taken lightly, knowing Kazura he assumed that those shards were a lot stronger than they looked and to be destroyed by simple playing cards meant that she had a lot of power behind them. He didn't know what the specifics of her power was, but for now it seemed like a slight variation of a comic book character he knew about.

There wasn't time to think as an attack was flung his way. Luckily he was able to easily strafed to the left using movement, avoiding the card aimed at him. As for Kazura he would have to fend for himself, Vannan wanted Kazura to live, but Alice's attack on him wasn't done and he couldn't move to help Kazura. He saw it, two cards going for him accompanied by what seemed to be cards aimed right at Shizuka. Before he could say anything he sprung into action, using movement once more this time to get further away from Shizuka, not wanting her to be caught in the cross fire. He landed nearby an elevator.

However he didn't escape the attack unscathed. One of the cards nicked the back of his left thigh. Blood slowly started to trickle down his leg, while the cut wasn't deep it did cause some complications. He knew that there was no way that he could run at full speed anymore. It didn't matter given that for now it seemed that Shizuka was safe having avoiding the cards aimed at her. That was till he heard Blood speak words that drained all the color from his face. “The origin point of calamity; Sprenger. Complete!” Vannan's mouth stood wide open as his eyes widdened in horror. All this time they had ignored him and he had just created the worst possible situation for all of them to be in.

“GET OUT HE'S GOING TO KILL US ALL.” He screamed out at the top of his lungs, not knowing if anyone else had any idea of what was about to happen. Luckily the elevator that he dashed to was inside of the walls of reiatsu. Knowing that there was one way to try and escape this Vannan pulled out his bow and fired five arrows into the doors of the elevator blowing them clear off, followed by another five into the floor of the elevator creating a hole into the elevator shaft. Without thinking he screamed out to Shizuka and Kazura to follow him. He didn't have time to see if they would follow him as he dropped himself into the shaft falling far away from where the battle was going on.

As he fell he pulled on his bow once more and fired out another set of arrows to blow a hole in the side of the elevator shaft that lead to the outside of the walls of Sprenger. Using air ground he stopped himself and climbed into the hole getting out of the way of Sprenger. Safe from the attack he took a heavy breath and tried to draw in some reiatsu not knowing if he was far enough away from blood to be able to recover some of the lost reiatsu. There in the darkness he sat on a platform of reiatsu slowly bleeding not knowing if his friends had escaped nor if Shizuka had followed.





Remaining reiatsu:1059/2000 50 for movement twice -300 for fifteen class seven exploding arrows

Situational reiatsu 1359/2000(+ 300 from cross? depending if I am far enough away to regain the reiatsu without it being absorbed by Blood's cross)

[Zeich Yajuu]

((Skipping Kazura, because I want to wrap this up within the next few rounds.))

Shizuka's spray coated Iian from head to toe, yet the Bount sat there unflinching, looking almost bored as he was coated in an acidic spray that, thanks to its high concentration, would start to burn away and dissolve the skin before working inwards throughout the body's internal organs, slowly breaking them down as well. Of course, that was the normal scenario; thanks to Konstante's presence, Iian was actually left unharmed, standing in the spray as though it were simply water dousing him. In fact, it was even less than that; his clothing and hair remained dry, leaving no evident that he was being soaked in a highly concentrated and powerful acid.

Once the tank ran out, Iian just smiled; it was a sinister smile, one that suggested that perhaps Shizuka had fouled up. “Oh, you've done it now, wench.” The boy's tone dripped with malice, and Blood's smile grew all the more. Rather than finishing his Sprenger, which would have annihilated them all in a heartbeat given the man's excessive spiritual strength, the former Vandenreich Quincy waited patiently, the Ginto vial held evenly in his hand, waiting for the right moment to be used. It seemed that Blood was quite happy to let Iian kill them off first, and then sweep up whatever remained. It was a sound strategy for a sadistic mind.

“You see, Konstante has one last special ability, one that is decisively deadly. And when I activate it, you're going to be the one melting away to blood and bones. Thank you for your contribution; I'm going to enjoy watching you scream. You, who stood up for the traitors.” The worst part was that Iian seemed deadly serious to most of them there, determined to finish Shizuka off and then take his revenge on the other two. Yet there was something off; though she couldn't place it, the assassin's superior skills in analyzing others told her that there was a missed cue somewhere, that the anger and wrath weren't as authentic as they could be. Perhaps he was acting? It wouldn't be easy to tell.

“Konstante. Zerschmettern: Sieben Jahre Pech.” There was a blast of spiritual energy that rolled through the room, like a strong current of wind that threatened to throw them all down if they didn't brace themselves. Konstante spun, its mirrored face turning to face a new target instead of Iian, but none of them could see who it was that was reflected given its angle. But Blood did, and his face went white for a moment as he realized that he was now the one being visibly targeted in the mirror. Quickly he went to lower the Ginto tube in his hand, to activate his powerful technique while he still could, but it was too late. Even as his hand tilted, Konstante's mirror cracked, and then shattered, the glass falling out of the frame and crumbling to the ground. The rest of the Doll soon followed, and the frame too began to crack and break away.

Blood let out a horrifying scream, a sound of sheer agony, and it was no wonder; as they watched, his skin began to slough away, melting visibly before their eyes. He fell to the ground, the same dousing of acid that had soaked Iian before now being dealt to him, leaving him quickly falling apart from the burning liquid that drenched him from head to toe. Iian collapsed as well, but his was a combination of exhaustion and the pain of his Doll's death; indeed, with his abilities sealed, his physical form was far weaker than it should have been, and he clutched at his chest, right over his heart, as he fell to the ground gasping for air. He coughed up blood a few times, taking shaking breaths as he tried to push himself to his feet.

It seemed that Shizuka's gamble had paid off, and her trust had allowed them to severely cripple if not outright kill Blood. The man was on the ground, gaping wounds visible all over his body where the flesh had been eaten away, raw muscle and even spots of bone visible across his form where the acid had eaten gaps in his clothing and revealed the damage beneath. The man was still visibly suffering, gasping out in pain as he twisted about, trying to somehow rid himself of the crippling damage to his body. The smell of bubbling flesh was strong, along with the sharp, bitter bite of acid filled the air, and Alicia looked somewhat sick at the smell. Iian didn't bother to look, still clutching his chest as he gasped for air. Had they won? Was it over?

Of course, Vannan wouldn't know what was going on, having dived down into the elevator shaft to avoid the potential activation of Sprenger, which would annihilate all caught within it. Safe down beneath the explosion radius of the technique, the man would attempt to draw in Reiatsu with his Cross, which should have worked given Blood's current condition. But when he did, the Reiatsu didn't come to him, surprisingly; he wasn't out of range, it seemed. But what the man didn't know was that Blood was also out of commission; was it possible that the Martyr's Cross was an automatic tool once it was activated?

No. A surge of Reiatsu would wash over the group again, ruining any celebratory efforts at the defeat of the powerful Quincy that had threatened them. Brilliant, pure white light filled their vision as Blood's body seemed to glow, and a wave of Gravitational Pressure threw everyone to the ground for a moment before lessening. There was a constant pressure weighing down on all present, but even Vannan, who had been crushed by it before, could still stand despite the enormous, looming power that seemed to fill the air. It was like being in the face of a divine authority, unflinching and incomparable as it seemed to swell with power, leaving them all in awe.

Blood slowly rose from the ground, the man's wounds still disfiguring his form. Surrounding him was an aura of pure, blinding white that seemed to glow with an otherworldly light, and that aura formed into an almost angelic halo in the form of a circlet encircling his head at the temples. Brilliant wings formed of the same light that floated around him sprouted from his back, and every motion seemed to cause the air to ripple and shimmer.

“Fools... you will not stop my divine wrath so easily...” Another blast of intimidating power washed over everyone in the room, a sense of awe flooding their minds; it wasn't a mindless devotion or was it a forced supplication, but the sense of being so impossibly outmatched in the presence of something they couldn't comprehend. Blood began to rise into the air, hovering above them as the wings of divine light fluttered behind him. “I am Blood, the Seraphim, the Burning One; I burn with a desire to obey our lord, and in his name I will inflict the power of my wrath upon you. Now die, sinful traitors! Alicia, to me!”

Without even hesitating, Alicia stepped across the room with a step of Movement, stopping right in front of the man. The man gripped her shoulder before she could fall, holding her in place, and they'd see his angelic glow spread to the woman. Yet unlike Blood, who had grown stronger, Alicia seemed to writhe in some kind of pain. It was a pain that was deeper than anything physical, cutting into the spirit, and Zachariah let out an animalistic howl of fury at having to see it, throwing himself at the Sprenger barrier. Yet he couldn't begin to scratch it without literally destroying his own body, lacking the strength and Reiatsu to do so.

“Now, you die!” Almost puppet-like, Alicia reached down to grab the Ginto tube that Blood had dropped earlier, bringing it up, and starting to tilt it as the man spoke. “The catalyst of destruction: Sprenger!” The tube began to tilt, and as they watched, the liquid Reiatsu within began to pour to the ground. Of those present, only Vannan knew what fate would befall them, his warning unheeded even as he made the attempt to escape. None of their defenses would stop Blood, not now; it seemed that this was truly game over for them. In a moment, there would be nothing but dust...

And then time stopped once more. The droplets froze in the air, scarce inches away from the tube that would be activated as the first point of Sprenger. They would be able to turn and see Cross standing there, looking tired as ever, yet healthier than he had been before. That condition was quickly deteriorating though; they knew how demanding his power of time alteration was, how much it drained and crippled him. Indeed, his body was already shaking from exhaustion as he leaned against the nearby wall, trying to hold himself up. But he had bought them the time they needed in order to get out of the attack, to escape by the same route Vannan had.

“Go!” Cross yelled, his breath coming in fast, ragged pants. “Escape... get out while you can... down there... level below... the exit door is there. You can open the door, you have the bracelets still... thirty points is all you need. Now, get out! Flee, or... or you... you will die!”

It seemed they had little choice in the matter; Cross wouldn't be able to hold off the Sprenger for long. Indeed, as they watched, the drops of liquid Reiatsu were slowly descending towards the ground, and the sense of spiritual energy building, like the build-up of atmospheric pressure in a storm, was becoming tangible. They would have to hurry out, though Iian would need help if they were to save him; at average speed and weakened as he was with the death of his Doll, he wouldn't be able to make it to the elevator himself. But that was up to those present; they could take him or leave him. And of course, there was Beatrice and Zachariah; would the former leave of her own volition, and would the second be able to leave the woman he loved? Either way, those present had to get out, and in a hurry, or they would die!

Blood's Reiatsu: 0/24000 (+100 for Martyr's Cross, all Reiatsu lost for Seraphim form.)

SPOILER: Click to show

{Divinity: Seraphim}
Seraphim is one of the more powerful techniques granted by the Martyr to only the top three individuals in his service, the three elite who share the title matching the ability given to them. Blood is known as the Seraphim, and this is his unique and deadly power. This power is similar in scope to that of a Final Release, but without the loss of power afterward, though its strength varies by the user. What it does is grants the user an angelic form, the appearance varying with each, and this form comes with several unique abilities.

The first is a sense of presence equal to a Class 0 Gravitational Pressure that is constantly applied to all present, but this is not the same as one that slams the foes down and keeps them bound to the ground. No, this is a sense of awe, a sense of seeing a deity, a feeling of divinity flowing over all in the room. It inflicts intimidation on all of those who view it as long as they are Class 1 or lower; as expected, all cower before the Angel of Judgment that has stepped onto the battlefield, feeling as though they are about to be tried and destroyed for their sinful existences.

The second is a divine body, one that knows no injury or exhaustion. Much like an Arrancar's High-Speed Regeneration, the user's body heals at an extraordinary rate. This healing takes place on both an internal and external level, healing both with astounding rapidity. Wounds start to close in a moment, and even the most gruesome of them will heal within the same post that they are inflicted. Additionally, any form of stamina drain ceases to exist for the duration of this ability. This is a godlike power, extremely potent, and it makes this person nearly invincible.

The third ability is the one of the greater powers within this new form. All techniques are considered to be “Class-exempt;” anything used during this time does not meet the Class clash, and ignores any resistances that involves Class. If an opponent's technique requires superior stat to break through or resist, that remains, but Class will never come into play.

The final ability is that of the power to draw out the souls of others. This sounds dangerous and omnipotent, and indeed it is very deadly. By making contact with a person, the user can draw out portions of their soul along with their Reiatsu, and immediately make use of it, using that person's soul as a conduit for their techniques due to the lack of personal Reiatsu (see the drawbacks below). This not only takes the Reiatsu from the victim, but drains a portion of their soul away, starting by taking away happy memories and thoughts of loved ones before moving on to the darker aspects of the soul as it is drained away. By the time the victim hits 0 Reiatsu, they are an empty husk, devoid of their soul.

This has its own drawbacks, of course; activation of Seraphim drains all of the user's Reiatsu, and they cannot regain Reiatsu in any way as long as Seraphim is active, a period of three posts. Additionally, this does not dispel Reiatsu costs, so using others as a conduit is a must in order to use techniques. This technique only lasts for the three posts listed, and when it ends, the form fades, leaving the victim without any form of stamina or energy left to them, simply collapsing with nothing left to them, followed by an enormous period of exhaustion that will leave them unable to move for an unknown period, removing them from battle entirely for the remainder of a thread.

Iian's Reiatsu: 400/500 (-100 for Martyr's Cross)

Blutegel's Reiatsu: 1100/2000 (-100 for Martyr's Cross)

Konstante's Reiatsu: N/A (Destroyed)

SPOILER: Click to show

{Konstante's Abilities (Revealed)}
Shatter: Seven Years Bad Luck – A powerful, but last-ditch move in Konstante's arsenal, this technique sacrifices the mirror-like Doll after reflecting a new image within its surface. When activated, Konstante shatters and falls to pieces, dying and inflicting the appropriate damage to Iian for the death of a Doll. However, it has a powerful effect, inflicting any damage and changes that occurred (or could have occurred if they were negated by the Constant ability) all upon the final victim reflected in the glass. This is often highly debilitating and, if given enough time and enough damage, can destroy even the strongest of foes as their bodies collapse from the amount of damage transferred to them. Costless, but comes only with Konstante's voluntary sacrifice.

Beatrice's Reiatsu: 8600/10000 (-100 for Martyr's Cross)

Beatrice's Secondary Fullbring: 3/8


Alicia's Reiatsu: 465/4000 (-100 for Martyr's Cross, -100 for maintaining Gate for Blood, -500 for completing Sprenger.)

Alicia's Level Two Fullbring: 2/13

SPOILER: Click to show

{Cards Used}
Note that cards are listed by their value, not how many of the suit has been used.
Hearts – A, 3, J
Diamonds – 3
Clubs – 3
Spades – A, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J

Zachariah's Reiatsu: 675/2000 (-100 for Martyr's Cross)

Zachariah's Level One Fullbring: 4/10