Field Trip. JT (Amalia and Ruhe)

[Ruhe Krieger]

It was a odd moment for Ruhe Krieger as her mentor and master Amalia was taking Ruhe on a “field trip” to another location to harness the full potential of the Quincy. She didn't know what that meant but she was eager to learn more, and being the naive girl she was would follow. A black shadow had been opened as a marvel of transportation of sorts beyond Ruhe’s comprehension before she found herself whisked away with Amalia to another location. Where had the pair arrived? It seemed to be a large and expansive forest in a location she was unfamiliar with known as the Rukongai Wilderness. The atmosphere was completely different than Ruhe could imagine as she felt...more powerful here although she did not know why.

The portal was releasing heavy reiatsu until it shut closed slowly behind them. Ruhe had packed whatever she felt was necessary including some fresh clothes, her instrument, and some snacks in case it was a trip with little food again. Suddenly from the forestry, howls upon howls had littered the area. Several Hollow of varying shape and appearance had filled the area around the two Quincy desiring to devour them. Amalia especially as she poured reiatsu and was unable of cloaking it. They all howled before converging upon the two Quincy, and Ruhe froze in terror as she could swear there were more than fifty in the area. However, before harm could come to them she felt a pressure emanate over the area. The young teenager looked to her mentor before grabbing her arm tightly as every Hollow in the area was crushed under a sudden weight. They howled in utter agony as the weight only got heavier and heavier.

Soon they were simply crushed as they all began to simultaneously disappear into black fragments appearing in their homeland Hueco Mundo seeing they were not killed by any identifiable method of purification or destruction. At the end of the carnage, Ruhe slowly released Amalia’s hand before looking out at the vast wilderness around her. “Where are we Master Amalia?” The child seemed enthusiastic about learning, but she was concerned about what this place was if Hollows occupied this space in such great numbers. Ruhe took a few steps away from Amalia as she held both hands on her lap out to the scenery.

The sound of running water hit her ears now that the sound of howls ended. The air was fresh and filled her lungs almost as if the notion of pollution ceased to exist in this location. Also, the air itself felt thicker and more rich. Little did Ruhe know that it was due to the copious amount of spiritual particles in the area that this was. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply before listening intently to the words her master had to say. It was a good place that Amalia took her, or at least that's what Ruhe thought after initial appearance. However, it seemed there were plenty more dangers in the area.

After the invasion with Kuroi, Seireitei has had problems dealing with the Hollow population in the Rukongai and the wilderness. There were no Shinigami close to them for a good number of miles, only the hungry Hollow occupy this deep in the wilds. A couple of questions went through Ruhe's head at the moment such as what would she be learning here and how it would help her in her Quincy development. She was thinking maybe she would learn something about how to shoot better, or maybe more knowledge and teaching of reiatsu control of the environment. However, it seemed a teaching opportunity would appear as a Mod Soul whom had escaped the battle of Seireitei had appeared.

"Get away from me you filthy Hollows! AAAAH!" The fellow ran seemingly right for Amalia and Ruhe, but would try to run past only for a ridiculously long tongue had wrapped around the torso of the fellow, dragging him into the bushes. A series of crunches had followed as soon a lazy looking frog Hollow had hopped out seemingly a bit stronger than the others seeing it didn't seem to be impeded by Amalia's presence. "Well...this wasn't what I was expecting. Two humans have made their way all the way here? How delicious. You...the one with red hair just smell intoxicating. I want you in my mouth right now." It sat there staring as it licked its face with its tongue. Ruhe had immediately formed her bow in her hand looking to her teacher as if for permission to engage.

 

SPOILER: Click to show

Amalia is training for TTP
Ruhe trains for CTP

[✱Paiva "Amalia" Vollbrecht✱]

OOC: training for TTP. 

Amalia delivered an emotionless stare as the hollow frog stepped out from shadows. Its tongue wagged below its jaw as saliva dropped from its mouth. Amalia was unmoved by this hollow. She specially brought Ruhe to the Soul Society so she could experience the full breadth of her powers. She wanted her to feel the rich, dense reishi that composed everything. Confronting hollows was merely a bonus. This would prove to be a worth while endeavor, allowing Ruhe to access even greater power. 

Sighing and crossing her hands, Amalia glared at the hollow in disgust. Her eyes peered from her periphery at Ruhe as she spoke. "You seem eager to take this hollow down. I see now reason why you shouldn't either. Honestly, if you are unable to destroy it, then you're certainly unworthy of a position in the Vandenreich. Show me your skills. Kill it! And try to do it swiftly." Amalia clicked her tongue and turned her sight to her left. "I'd hurry, too, as more hollows are arriving. I guess she sensed the quality of my reiatsu and felt it would be a perfect meal." She released another labored sigh, indicting her irritation with the situation. 

While Amalia planned on demonstrating a Quincy's potential to Ruhe and providing her with a challenge, she was more interested in finding some low-level shinigami to torture and maim. Choosing the soul society was strategic, as it offered the opportunity to engage more Shinigami. She wanted the experience to better shape Ruhe's perception of Shinigami. Amalia loathed them, so it was only reasonable for Ruhe to feel the same way. Unfortunately, the only way for Ruhe to adequately loathe Shinigami in a manner similar to Amalia was to expose her to the depths of their cruelty, callousness, and predatory nature. They were no different than hollows. They hunted Quincy, attempting to drive them into extinction. 

"I recommend you use a technique other than your arrows during this battle. Arrows are wonderful, but we Quincy are more than just a bow, even if that bow defines our basic abilities." As she stated that, 10 massive javelin-like arrows formed in the air above the horde of hollows moving toward them. "Eh...looks like I've got competition. Better get to consuming one of you quickly!" Amalia waved her hand, sending the javelin-like arrows slamming into the ground. they pieced the many hollows that were heading in their direction. Upon closer inspection, only six of the arrows had been used. The others remained floating in the air. 

She flicked her fingers and sent the other four soaring to the side. Two pieced a giant hollow, one that appeared to be cloaking itself from their sight. Unfortunately, it could not hide itself from Amalia's energy sensory abilities. She could sense it, as if it showed up on a radar as a blip. It writhed in agony as the spears pinned it to the ground. The other struck two separate trees, piercing the shell of the tree and causing both to split down the middle. In that moment, blood splattered across the ground. It spouting from the trees like a fountain as two hollows appeared, pinned beneath the arrows. "How unfortunate. I was aiming for their heads." 

It didn't matter. She had successively taken out nine hollows without doing more than flicking her wrist. "See? I don't even need a bow, to be perfectly honest." Amalia was indeed gifted, but it sometimes came at a price. Even though this technique was of a lower class, the pain could still be felt. Her years of experience allow her to withstand the pain of such class technique without noticeable discomfort. Internally, though, she can feel every bit of it. It is uncomfortable, but not too distracting. Amalia began to walk away from Ruhe. "Don't die." She said bluntly as she proceeded forward. At this point, the frog was likely well-aware that it stood little chance of defeating Amalia. Yet, it was foolish enough to remain. The opportunity for a meal was simply too enticing.

Ruhe seemed like the perfect prey, too, as she was observably less experienced that Amalia. Despite this, Amalia had an unspoken faith in Ruhe. She had watched Ruhe grow and was confident she could manage this hollow. Ruhe's circumstances had changed. She was not the same girl who needed saving back in Cochem. No, she was stronger, better trained, and more focused. Amalia's only concern was her gift for mercy. She felt Ruhe was too forgiving. Too kind. To Amalia, it was a weakness. One that needed snuffing out. Amalia couldn't have these types of traits taking root, causing Ruhe to behave much like Hadrian. The mere notion that Ruhe would behave like Hadrian was nauseating to Amalia.

Forming an Eiku in her hand, Amalia proceeded to charge into hordes of hollows. "They certainly are plentiful around here. No shinigami patrolling combined with our spiritual pressure draws them in." She glided across the ground and twisted her body, using her eiku's bladed sides like a saw. She spun around and allowed it to slice into the flesh of the various hollows. She leapt back, avoiding the jowls of a particularly brave hollow. Suddenly, it opened its mouth a pair of teeth flew from inside its mouth, aimed at Amalia. She used the blunt, flat side of her eiku to block and divert this unique addition of the hollow. She twirled her blade in her hand before cleaving through the tissue that connected the teeth to the hollow. 

The hollow howled in pain, which is when Amalia dove forward and cleaved it in half with ease. Suddenly, a cero boomed toward her, which surprised Amalia. She didn't suspect there would be higher class hollow roaming around. She gracefully blocked it with her eiku, causing it to ricochet off the broad end of the eiku and crash into the ground. She peered at it and scowled. "Filthy fucking hollow. How dare you try and attack me with such meager strength!" She leapt at it slammed the flat end of the eiku on its head. The force behind the swing caused its mask to crack and shatter. She walked past the deceased hollows with a grimace across her face. 

She glanced over to watch Ruhe's progress. She had high expectaitons for Ruhe, especially considering where they were. Though, the unfortunate thing is Ruhe could not properly pull in reiatsu at the same level and efficiency she could. Perhaps this would be the perfect opportunity to teach her to properly use the Quincy cross. Reishi swirled around Amalia as she absorbed it with her quincy cross. As she did this, she slammed her eiku into the skull of an oncoming hollow. "As if you could catch me off guard, you filthy degenerate." Amalia's eyes widened as she peered back at the sky above them. What was she sensing?

[Ruhe Krieger]

"I'll take care of this Hollow fairly soon enough master Amalia." The young girl had watched her mentor and guardian take off to combat before Ruhe experienced the full power of the environment. The frog Hollow giggled at the thought the smallfry Quincy was going to be able to kill her. She was a hollow and a powerful one at that in her mind. “I'm going to eat you alive little girl!” The hollow made at giant leap into the air as it croaked releasing a ridiculously long tongue to shoot down at Ruhe. It sped at a fast speed, but not fast enough for Ruhe to be unable to react to it.

Leaping backwards from the tongue, it made a small crater with the sound of cracking stone being heard. Amalia then shouted to Ruhe to use techniques other than her bow. Amalia should have known that Ruhe possessed none except Hohle Schneide other than her bow releases which she did not want to expose so openly. As the frog had witnessed it's tongue was of course not going to hit its mark, it surprisingly pulled the large body it had to the tongue rather than the other way around. The long appendage had slipped itself back into the masked beings mouth as it grinned. It seemed the older Quincy was going to be fighting all the small fry while the frog could help itself to the student. Then afterwards once Amalia was tired, she would have another easy kill.

Ruhe at this moment had drawn back on her Bow forming three arrows. She would end this in three arrows. It would be all it would take for her to deal with this Hollow. Releasing the first arrow, the frog leaped high into the air charging a red Bala within its mouth. “Dauerlicht.” She released a small burst of spiritual energy before releasing her second arrow. The bala was fired straight for the arrow as the Hollow laughed loudly. “You thought that arrow was going to hit me?! Pathetic!” The ball of red and the spiritual arrow collided in a explosion. However, as the smoke cleared suddenly a large amount of shrapnel had been sent flying straight for the Hollow.

“What?! That's impossible! Braagh!” The hollow was soon pelted with shards and sliced along its whole body. As it would fall down to earth, Ruhe released her third arrow slamming straight into its chest causing it to disperse and vanish into blackness as the soul was destroyed. She normally wouldn't do such a thing, but considering there were so many of them around she had to do what she could to defend herself. However, there was still a horde of them coming from just...everywhere. They were relentless. However, before the Hollow vanished completely she heard it say one last thing. “D-Damn you all to H-Hell.”

After spending time as Amalia’s pupil she was lacking sympathy for the Hollow especially after the day they nearly killed her in Cochem. Majority if not all of the Hollow were heading for Amalia and none were able to pass her to get to Ruhe. Amalia had used some sort of technique to create floating javelin arrows to attack and pierce through many of the Hollow beings. It was amazing. The destructive power her teacher possessed was something that never ceased to surprise her. Her teacher addressed her saying she didn't need a bow, and that was absolutely great for Amalia.

Ruhe on the other hand. She needed her bow seeing she lacked a spiritually rich environment to practice manipulation on higher and finer levels. Amalia had centuries of experience while Ruhe had been training for less than a year on her own Quincy powers. To have gotten as far as she did, she must have had some natural talent in the art at least. Amalia had a finesse in the art of Reiatsu manipulating that Ruhe just didn't have yet. Amalia was surely going to change that the longer Ruhe spent time with her. “T-That’s amazing master Amalia.” Her teacher then walked away from Ruhe before casually and rather bluntly saying, “Don't die.”

What kind of orders were that?! Ruhe soon saw several Hollows preparing to engage her now that Amalia had went on a melee offensive with some sort of odd weapon Ruhe had never seen before. It was then that Ruhe realized something. She wasn't getting tired when firing arrows in this environment. It wasn't a definite truth to her yet, so why not test the theory. There were seven Hollow of varying shape and appearances all rushing at Ruhe from one end with reckless abandon. “Let's see how all of you will deal with this then.” Ruhe drew back on her string forming five arrows along her bow. In the human world, this attack takes a large chunk out of Ruhe’s small reserves. She wanted to see what would happen in this location.

Arrows were released, but upon leaving the string they all instantly shattered. A wide range attack of around three meters wide and two meters tall was launched at the engaging horde. To anyone on the other end of this, they would see simply a field of blue heading straight for them. However, it was far more dangerous as this was simply her shards of shrapnel but in such numerous number that it was lethal. The earth was pelted almost as if shot by bullets as every Hollow in the path of the field was peppered and littered with holes. There were no cries of pain nor curses as the wind simply blew apart these beings in black particles. She was getting stronger and was learning how to utilize her bow release that Amalia knew of. However, there was another property she had hid from even her master at least until she felt the need to use it.

Ruhe was right on one thing however. The move that would normally be sending on her knees took no reiatsu from her at all. It was amazing, and then she realized Amalia spoke of the spiritually rich locations of Hueco Mundo and Soul Society. Seeing they weren't in a desert, she assumed they were in the latter. So this was what the power of a spiritually rich environment was? She was filled with questions again but would not ask Amalia. Ruhe would find out later on her own time through research. Assuming things were wrapped up on Amalia’s side of things, Ruhe would ask one question. It might irritate Amalia, but yet it was a relevant question.

“Master Amalia? What are we doing in this place? This is the Soul Society if I'm correct.” The Hollow threat was becoming easier and easier to deal with now that Ruhe knew there was nothing to fear. So long as she was competent and thought intelligently, she could easily defeat a hollow. When she was serious she could even defeat a group of Hollow. Other than training, Amalia surely had an ulterior motive seeing this was the world where the Shinigami resided. Ruhe wanted to know exactly what they were going to be doing in such a dangerous place. Then again, she would probably find out soon enough.

[✱Paiva "Amalia" Vollbrecht✱]

“Master Amalia? What are we doing in this place? This is the Soul Society if I'm correct.” Ruhe had now defeated the hollow frog, but something else was lurking beyond the boundaries of the soul society. It was currently in-between worlds, but its presence was difficult to avoid. Amalia's eyes widened as her spiritual sight peered beyond the scope of one's eyes. At first, she was eager to declare her senses incorrect. Something must have gone haywire. There is no logic that could explain interference on this level. Indeed, if it were true, it'd be a rare occurrence. 

Amalia's eyes narrowed as she cautiously glared at the sky. Ruhe's inquiries were the least of her concern and went unanswered. The young Quincy was far too inexperienced to sense what Amalia was honing in on. Amalia's silence, and apparent neglect for Ruhe's question, would leave her befuddled. It was certainly not uncommon for Amalia to completely disregard someone's statements or actions, as she felt entitled to her rudeness and sense of superiority. This situation was different. As the hollows began to form in front of them, Amalia was now certain of this intrusion.

She could feel its presence. It was unmistakable. Like death. Like decay. A fowl odor would soon creep into the countryside once it ripped through the fabric of reality. The unmistakable cutting of reality's fibers echoed across the area. Its breath leaked from within the blackness that peered from beneath the blue sky. Its hands slowly crept through the wound created in the sky. It pulled back the contents of the sky as if it were decorative curtains. Its distinctive roar bellowed as its head protruding from the darkness, its body slowly emerging, darkening the landscape. A monster of notable power had managed to cross over from Hueco Mundo.

It was indeed a rare sight, especially in the Soul Society. The logic Amalia searched for was absent from this experience. And while logic was missing, instinct could certainly explain why a Gillian had traversed such a distance and appeared here, of all places. A meal. The hollows had come here to dine, having more freedom than ever before. They were messy travelers, though. They seldom covered their tracks, and like a trail of bread crumbs, others could easily follow them. The hunger that epitomized hollows was no laughing matter. It was a real, soul defining feature that drove their entire existence. Gillian, of course, were no different. In many ways, there hunger was worse, especially because they seldom contained reason and consciousness.

This was troubling, indeed. Ruhe was not necessarily prepared to battle a Gillian. Gillian, while not ultimate in power, were still formidable, even for high-class fighters. Their size proved cumbersome, as did their cero. Their sized restricted their movements, but made those smaller than them difficult to launch lethal attacks. There ceros were large and sweeping, containing the power of hundreds of hollows. They were an abomination to existence. In the past, Amalia had set-up similar things for Ruhe to engage. One gillian was fine, but it appeared it had not come alone. Another slowly followed, proving matters worse. Two gillian and a horde of hollows were standing before Ruhe and Amalia. This would certainly test Ruhe's abilities, and Amalia's compassion. 

Amalia stared up at the towering gillian, their roar filling the air. "Disgusting, abominable creatures!" Amalia said with pure disdain. "Those filthy creatures we dispatched may as well have left a well-lit runway for the entirety of Hueco Mundo." She scoffed, disgust detailing every inch of her face. Matters would prove worse. Shock and panic washed over Amalia's face as she instantly shot over to Ruhe, using high-speed to approach her. She grabbed Ruhe and carried her into the distant, dropping her on the ground and standing in front of her. The gillian's foot crashed into the ground where they once stood, proving lethal if they had remained there.

"Trying to crush us, eh? How amateur." The gillian's reaction was a surprising one. Amalia needed to dispatch this threat quickly, but had to equally protect Ruhe. She did not yet possess Blut vene, which meant she was vulnerable to their cero. Thankfully, Ruhe did not yet have a quincy cross. That would prove more complicated if she had accidentally absorbed their remnant hollow reishi. Amalia needed to be careful herself, otherwise this situation could prove lethal. "Quick lesson!" She shouted loudly. "DON'T LET THEM TOUCH YOU! GOT IT?!" Her expression was far more serious and concerning than Ruhe had likely ever seen. Amalia's cheerful, if not arrogant, disposition had vanished. "The gillian are like walking poison. They exude it at a rate different than other hollows. They are amassed of hundreds of, if not more, hollows. Touching them with your bare skin will infect you. Your skin will become necrotic!!"

Her eyed widened, worry and a tinge of fear etched into her expression. "SHIT!" She stabbed her eiku into the ground and stood directly in front of Ruhe. She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes, readying herself. She began speaking an incantation. Each of her words were quick, effortless, and full of conviction. “Holy faith, I call upon thee.  Holy light, I pray to thee." As she began the incantation, reishi began flickering in front of them. As this happened, the gillian both charged their cero. Massive collections of red energy formed in their mouths as their jowls opened wider. The hollow beneath them, followed suit, charging their cero. "Holy salvation, I cry out to thee." Light began swirling in an epic display, creating a a huge towers of reishi marked embossed with the quincy cross. The pillars continued to rise, pulling in massive reishi to completely seal in Amalia and Ruhe.

"Bless me with thy glory, deliver me from evil, and grant to me thy holy sanctuary. Kirchenlied: Sankt Zwinger!!!" She screamed loudly and forcefully. The gillian's cero crashed into the protective fortress that was this technique. Normally, Amalia could simply use her blut, but these were dire circumstances. Ruhe was vulnerable to the cero and Amalia wouldn't be able to dispatch them without risking Ruhe getting injured. This was a rare site for Ruhe, to see Amalia so protective. However, she would also see Amalia's vulnerability, too. Amalia was powerful, but as a technique master, she had a significant drawback when she used that power. She fell to the ground, digging her fingers into the soil, tearing the grass.

This was painful, remarkably so. Conjuring such a technique was simple, but the after effects were unlike the pain of over, lower class techniques. The pain surged through her body, making her skin feel as though she was exposed to an open flame. Her breathing was labored as a bead of sweat passed down her temple. She hadn't used that level of technique in a while and the resurgence of pain caught her off guard. She raised her head and watched as the massive surges of cero crashed into the Sankt Zwinger. "Nothing they possess..." she said, slowly catching her breath. "...can penetrate the protective might of this technique. It is a gift from his majesty. It is as divine and absolute as he is, and therefore unbreakable." 

They would both see multiple hollows converge on the barrier, but they would find themselves impeded by something that would cost them their lives. The barrier, like Amalia, as dimensional. It didn't merely boast exterior might, it also punished those who dared try and pass its walls. Dozens of hollows leapt forward, expecting to reach Amalia and Ruhe, only to be reduced to nothingness, their reiatsu revitablizing Amalia and the technique. Standing and grabbing her eiku, she glared at the gillian. "How foolish. Such basic creatures. They are driven by a hunger that leads them to make terrible decisions." Glancing back at Ruhe, she boldly raised her voice. "Don't touch the walls of the technique." Her tone was stern and authoritarian. "It will result in your death, too. It might have protected you, but only the caster of the technique can safely pass through its walls. They might appear traversable, but they aren't."

"Activate the most powerful property you possess for your bow release. I want you to use it against the gillian. Tell me, what precisely would you use if you were given the option to choose?" She turned and looked at Ruhe. "These gillian are no laughing matter. We're protected in this, but they won't be foolish enough to venture where the other hollows did, as they were reduced to nothingness. Before they escape, we must dispatch them. We cannot allow them to get away. They will only terrorize others. So, I will repeat my question, what property of your bow do you think you should use? I want your rationale. In order to be effective in battle, you must first assess the situation and determine viable options. Quickly." She said, hurrying Ruhe. "Admire this technique later. For now, I want you to focus on the gillian. In 30 seconds I will deactivate this and we will get to work."

[Ruhe Krieger]

Ruhe had been ignored, but unlike Amalia’s regular behavior of ignoring Ruhe for her unimportant questions it seemed that Amalia was focusing on something. On what exactly her mentor was focusing on was a good question. The young Quincy held her bow in hand looking at her mentor somewhat saddened looking and confused, but she didn’t push it. Indeed Ruhe was unable to sense the abnormality that Amalia was focusing on...at least until it happened. The sky itself began to crack open with two giant hands quite literally tearing a rift in this world. She could compare it to the shadow that the two Quincy just traveled through but...different. The young girl tensed in worry and perhaps fear of the current situation. The Quincy felt a sense of imminent danger and fear as the sky cracked and began to seemingly fall to earth.

Yes. She was most certainly frightened as a monstrous howl filled the area. The head of a giant masked monster filled in with a pointed nose and spikes much like a collar around it’s neck. If it’s appearance wasn’t terrifying enough it’s size was ridiculous. It stood the height of a skyscraper and it’s large rumbling footsteps shook the ground. “W-Why is this thing here?! I thought they don’t come to Soul Society!” Through this hidden gateway, a second gillian had appeared followed by hordes of smaller ones. Ruhe’s face was pale with worry as not one but two of these gigantic beasts had appeared. As the monster approached, she was too shocked to respond to Amalia’s disdainful comments.

Suddenly she felt herself being grabbed bringing her out of her thoughts. The beast known as the Gillian stomped where the two Quincy once were. It was a horrifying thought that they had almost been ended right there. This was the first time she saw Amalia with actual fear or worry since they both met. As Amalia’s disciple she was a little bit more than scared now that she saw her master’s own reaction was so grave. Surprisingly Amalia bothered to mention a quick lesson as the two giant Gillian had formed red energy beams in their mouth of enormous proportion. Even the smaller Hollow around them began to charge their own enemy attacks. The gillian were Hollows that were poisonous by nature...she dumbly nodded as Amalia chanted some odd incantation.

What was Ruhe going to do right now? She had to do something to help her master...prevent herself from being useless. This might be the time to bring out her secret power. The power she hid from Amalia was something that might be able to help them. She had never used it unless in the most dire of situations seeing it was heavily reiatsu taxing. However, if her thoughts were correct, in this spiritually rich environment the arrows created with her new power would not drain her as it had not in Hueco Mundo. She may not have had the power long but it could potentially save the two a lot of heartache. However, she stopped as blue reiatsu pillars had formed around the two. Amalia protected her...as the Cero had crashed into her defense.

As her master went to her knees and tore her fingers into the grass, Ruhe knelt by her side. “Master Amalia are you alright? What’s wrong?” Ruhe was not aware of Amalia’s position of a technique master and worried for her wellbeing. This woman went out of her way to protect Ruhe because of her uselessness. Amalia had spoken allowing her to know that no Hollow would be able to get past this defense regardless of what their attacks may be. This was more than self evident when they had crashed into the barrier Amalia created disintegrating into black nothingness. Ruhe had saw her master seemingly gain energy almost revitalized as she stood onto her two feet, grasping the weapon. Another two cero had crashed into the barrier with no effect. This was truly a grand defense impenetrable surely.

Quickly she was informed not to touch the walls of the technique as it would surely result in her death if she were careless. Ruhe nodded as she almost felt like a young tot being sternly told by her mother not to do something. Ruhe had then questioned...why didn’t she use two properties of her bow at the same time? It would be very useful and despite the drain on her body the arrows would be worth it. Amalia told her to activate the most powerful aspect of her bow and then inform her as they would not be able to escape until they succeeded. Ruhe had spoke with a shaky confidence. “It’s time that I show you something I was meaning to keep hidden until I had better control of it Master Amalia. Oceanic Rust.”

Ruhe had no visible change in her bow or arrows but the reiatsu had changed growing not only larger but almost infestation like. It was as if there were parasites along the very arrows she was to form. Now as for the rationale behind her choosing this power. “The reason I am choosing this property is because it is the only reason why I survived in Hueco Mundo. I unlocked this power in my desperation to survive and it is the most powerful power that I possess. Have faith in me master Amalia. I promise I will not fail you. I am ready for you to release the barrier now. I'll show you a small bit of the power you helped me unlock.” Young Ruhe drew back a handful of arrows as it was as if she no longer possessed a bow. She had a wave of guided destruction.

As the barrier would lower, immediately Ruhe had launched this handful and five projectiles flew to one of the Gillian. It howled loudly upon the arrows pelting as if it were annoyed more than anything. The arrows were not meant to pierce through this monster and destroy it entirely. Soon, five large barnacles had formed along it’s body rapidly spreading upward. It looked down to the teacher and student planning on forming a Cero, but yet as it charged the barnacles had grown spreading rust as it spread across the entirety of its body. The Cero died down as the barnacles fed off of the Reiatsu in order to grow itself. A large howl had filled the air before Amalia would witness the rust encompassing the legs, arms, body, and finally the mouth as the Hollow was completely rusted over. It was frozen there before slowly blowing away as a rusty tarnish.

The second Gillian had howled loudly and had began to rip another tear in existence in eagerness to retreat from the two. However, as it was leaving she had fired another blast of rust which covered its body. The gillian in eagerness to retreat had not noticed this but it soon found itself paralyzed when it was halfway through the rift. The rust had soon broke it's arms and legs before the Garganta it had created shut in upon itself ripping itself in half. The bow release Ruhe had was impressive and while it was simplistic in nature, it was still impressive. Having recently unlocked this power only so little time ago in the land known as Hueco Mundo, it was a powerful aspect and showed that Ruhe truly had some potential. Amalia of course still had to exploit and pull this great power from underneath the child of course as well as offer guidance.

She kept her bow active and would unless instructed otherwise. Spiritual environments were truly wonderful as she felt far less fatigue when fighting in the world of the living. She wondered how Quincy had ever discovered this place and how to get here. It was an amazing location and while it made her feel powerful, she wondered if this place was really safe. From the army of Hollows the two had met in this place, Ruhe felt that despite how powerful it could make a Quincy, it wasn’t safe in general. She still had not been answered on what they were doing here and why. Shinigami lived in this world in mass and would likely hunt them down if Amalia’s stories were true. Perhaps now she could get some answers.

[✱Paiva "Amalia" Vollbrecht✱]

Amalia watched as Ruhe's bow release overwhelmed the gillian that had invaded. "How interesting." She thought to herself. The properties of Ruhe's release were fairly straight forward, which likely lent itself to the strength of the release. Amalia was not one for overtly showing praise, though Ruhe would likely see a slight smile across her lips. Amalia had a talent for crediting successes to her own influence, and this is likely no different. While she secretly acknowledges Ruhe's growth, she's aware that Ruhe wouldn't have come this far without her.

Perhaps Amalia's own proclivities for hubris and conceitedness prevented her from truly cherishing the the growth of her pupils. Nurturing someone like Ruhe was not done solely out of a love for Quincy. This was more about self-preservation and control, but she needed to modulate her reactions. Amalia saw Ruhe as malleable, but equally as fragile. Like a leaf in the wind, she felt she could be easily swayed. She needed to be sure to nurture her insecurities, so her sensitive nature didn't allow for outside influences.

Ruhe's fragility was something Amalia was eager to snuff out, but for the time being, she had to move with the current, otherwise she risked drowning all she had worked toward. Amalia's insides tensed and she delivered a wider, more pleasant smile. "Oh, my. I'm impressed, Ruhe." She said sweetly. "To have taken down two gillian in such a short period of time, that was quite the display. I can't recall the last time I came face-to-face with a Gillian, let alone watched a youthful Quincy take two down." Amalia was less surprised by Ruhe's bow release status than she was her capacity for eliminating two powerful hollows. 

She indeed thought it was odd. However, this is precisely what she wanted. Ruhe's strength was a sign of considerable growth. And while she has made strides in her spiritual powers, Amalia could only hope the experiences that follow will help shape her beliefs about the world around them. Turning her back to Ruhe, Amalia glanced into the distance. She smiled softly. "I suspected that Shinigami would immediately converge on this location once the Gillian were detected. Those fools' censors must have been over performing with the influx of spiritual energy caused by the gillian." She thought to herself. This was the perfect opportunity for Amalia.

In the past, she had prepared many elaborate missions for Ruhe, many of which were intended to strengthen her spirit and manipulate her mind. In truth, Amalia saw it both as manipulation and exposure to the truth. She genuinely believed Shinigami were deplorable beings and should be eradicated. So, it only made sense that others should feel similarly. If not, they were not worth keeping alive. She'd find it mildly upsetting to have to kill Ruhe, so she put slightly more effort than normal into showing her the truth about shinigami. The patrol heading this way would undoubtedly help her achieve this.

The situation was proving more convenient than she anticipated. She knew shinigami would converge on the location if she and Ruhe were nearby. The presence of the hollows, especially the two gillian, practically cloaked them. They may as well have dropped an ocean of hollow spiritual energy on the area, drowning their sensors and causing them to miss a Quincy's presence. The patrol is essentially entering blind, expecting to see hollows. "How wonderful." She thought. In the limited time she had until the patrol arrived, how could she arrange Ruhe to be ambushed. She wanted this to look as though the Quincy were hunting them. She wanted them to look even more barbaric than they would normally. 

Amalia began to lower her spiritual pressure, concealing it from the patrol. "These fools won't have the finesse required to sense me." She said to herself in delight. "Ruhe, maintain your release, and remain here for a moment. I am going to venture just beyond those trees to investigate something. If you should see anymore hollows, use your release. I will sense it and return." Amalia turned and walked away, venturing into the wooded area, beyond Ruhe's sight. It was a little crude, but she had no choice but to improvise. She needed Ruhe to remain behind, allowing the patrol to catch her off guard. As they got closer, they'd sense Ruhe's messy spiritual pressure.

The young girl had not yet mastered how to properly control and conceal herself, so she was like a beacon amidst the darkness. Amalia lept up some branches for a tree and worked her way to the top. She had to use no energy, so not to be detected alongside Ruhe. Her proclivity for spiritual energy always gave away her position, but fortunately, the gillian's presence helped with that little problem. She stared into the distance, spotting the patrol not far behind Ruhe. She'd allow them to attack Ruhe, but not harm her. The fright of Shinigami going after her would be what Ruhe needed to acquire a seed of hatred and mistrust.

"Sir, I sense something." The slender patrolman said to the leader of the group. "Oh? Well, we're converging on the location of the disturbance, so that is only normal." He said, dismissing his subordinate's suspicions. "No, you don't understand. I sense something other than a hollow. It feels like a Quincy, which is practically impossible." He said incredulously. "Yes, I'd say so. Not just any Quincy can traverse into the Soul Society. They'd need to be a member of the Vandenreich." The man suddenly stopped, the patrol halting with him. As if his ears had perked like an animal, his senses were now picking up on what the young man had mentioned. "Can everyone else sense that? Focus your energy sensory skills. Feel it?" The remaining main agreed with the patrol leader. "If a member of the Vandenreich is here, we need to dispatch with him or her IMMEDIATELY!" He yelled angrily. "They have wreaked enough fucking havoc. Let's rip 'em apart!" Another said, fueled by the losses they incurred from past battles. 

Amalia's crude formulation was working out nicely. She knew if Ruhe kept her bow release active, it would give off a spiritual signature strong enough to be sensed from within the disturbance created by the gillian. She was spiritual bait for shinigami in many ways. Conveniently, without Amalia knowing, they suspected Ruhe of being a member of the Vandenreich. That made matters worse. They would respond aggressively knowing that she was a member of such an organization. Amalia watched as they became more agile and quiet, as they lurked behind Ruhe. They unsheathed their swords. "Five shinigami, eh? Hm. This could prove problematic. They'll likely all have Shikai, though the power they display will likely be minimal at best. And while that is simple for me, Ruhe won't fair well against five simultaneous release, regardless of the power she now possesses."

Amalia contemplated for a moment. She clicked her tongue moved her eyes from side to side. "Hmm..." She said softly. "Well, I guess you can't make an omelette without breaking some eggs." She said cheerfully, followed by a brief chuckle. Amalia greatly wanted Ruhe to see the error of her naivete, and so she was willing to place her in mortal danger to prove a point. This was a potential risk, placing Ruhe's hands in her own skills. There was the slim chance that Ruhe could be fatally injured, but Amalia felt sacrifices sometimes needed to be weighed.

The shinigami crept behind Ruhe and with a flash of speed, launched at her. "Ugh..." Amalia said, exhaling with frustration. "Of course they'd attack her in unison. Stupid Shingiami." Amalia was planing to react, but her decision had already cemented Ruhe's circumstances. Ruhe would be face-to-face with the blade of a Zanpakuto. Not unlike her previous experience, they would threaten to kill her, showing no mercy. Amalia dropped from the tree and began running toward Ruhe. She halted just before reaching Ruhe's location and formed a bow with a class one arrow. She collected massive amounts of energy and fired an arrow, aimed at one of the shingiami's head. Would it make it in time before a blood reached Ruhe?

[Ruhe Krieger]

Praise was always welcome to Ruhe as she fed upon it and grew confident in her skills and ability. Oceanic Rust, the most powerful ability in her arsenal was simplistic in nature, but it worked. The young Quincy looked a bit dumbfounded though when Amalia had told her that she was impressed. Never once in their meetings together had she blatantly said something like that before. Ruhe grinned brightly back to her master feeling a connection between them. “Thank you master Amalia.” The young girl felt that under Amalia, she was truly growing up to turn into a strong Quincy. She was a unofficial member of the Vandenreich now that she was openly associating with one of their strongest sternritter. It was comforting to know that Amalia was glad to see her grow and develop.

The young Krieger had not been aware of Amalia’s plan to expose her to the truth that was Shinigami. She had assumed that not all Shinigami were evil as what Amalia had been trying to tell her, but she did acknowledge that it was their job to exterminate Quincy if they openly slaughtered beings with their powers. She never once saw consequence however of killing anything with her powers although often at times she tried to refrain herself. Perhaps she should release that mentality as Hollows did not have the courtesy to resist their primal instincts to kill and devour. The young child also knew that Quincy and Shinigami both held prejudice against each other for obvious reasons.

Not knowing of the Vandenreich invasion, the little middle schooler was not aware of the impending danger that was coming towards the master and student. Ruhe was ordered to keep her bow release active soon enough as Amalia investigated something by herself. That sounded a bit odd, being trusted to be left alone. However, Amalia did promise to return if danger were to be coming to Ruhe. “Yes Master Amalia. I’ll make sure not to let you down.” She stood there waiting for a few moments as the patrol approached. Not knowing how to conceal her reiatsu, Ruhe was a sitting duck for the Shinigami to take down, and seeing she lacked experience in battles with beings that weren’t beasts, she was ever more so vulnerable.

Suddenly, a Shinigami had flashed in front of her, blade prepared to swing sideways to launch the child's head from her shoulders. Seeing she did not have the senses nor the instincts to foresee this, she could barely register this. She could also hardly register when the man had received an arrow to the skull and was sent skidding to the ground a few feet before stopping. A second man had appeared, but at a slower pace and this time Ruhe was prepared. The man swung vertically to split Ruhe’s skull in half and so she had quickly stepped to the right. Using her bow, she slammed it into his chest to send him stumbling backwards before firing an arrow at the man.

The Shinigami had managed to block the arrow with his blade, but soon saw something had happened to the precious Zanpakutou. The blade had been enveloped in a coating of rust as the blade had lost it’s refined sharp edge. Other than that, the Shinigami had grunted slightly as the blade felt quite a bit heavier than it had before. There had been a large lump on the blade much like a barnacle which had weighed fifteen pounds. Ruhe had not noticed though in this moment felt a slice across her shoulder despite seeing no assailant close enough to do so. Blood spewed from the wound as Ruhe had felt then a slice across her backpack and another across her right arm. “A-Aghh!” What in the world was going on?!

A Shinigami stood there with a visible stream of wind from his blade. “Maul Kazetora.” The other three Shinigami had of course not been blind as they sought to intercept Amalia now that they knew her location. One of the men had yelled out as loudly as possible. “Knock em out! Maretta!” The sword had turned into a giant hammer before the figure vanished appearing above the master Quincy with the hammer aimed to slam down against the woman. “Trench Slammer!” With a speeding intensity, the mallet was aimed to slam head first into the redheaded Quincy.

A man farther back who looked rather sickly ill had called out the name of his blade also. “Confuse them, Uragiri no Kiri (Traitorous Mist)” The man’s blade had turned into a whirler scythe with a blueish hue of wind blowing from it the more he blew it into a circle. The third man had looked at Amalia with anger as he too released his Shikai. “Splash, Torrento o Saku. (Tearing Torrent)” This man’s weapon had turned into a glaive as the spiritual pressure in the area had risen drastically. It was chaotic on this field as it seemed that there would be a heavy battle on the most part. Most of the Shinigami could sense just by looking at Amalia how powerful she was. The sickly pale man in particular looked worried with sweat gathering on his forehead. He looked to be the weakest of the bunch, but looks could be deceiving.

The enemies Ruhe were facing were strong in their own right. The man whom had his weapon rusted over, slammed it onto the ground to break the rust coating off. “Carve Yamimakai.” The man’s sword transformed into a sickle and chain. Ruhe had to face two opponents with Shikai active and Amalia three before she could reach her precious student. Ruhe had looked at each of the Shinigami back and forth before clenching her bow. She’s had enough of the treatment and oppression from the reapers. She had done no wrong, but she was hunted as if an abomination...evil. “Enough of this. I’ve had enough.” Ruhe had quickly drew an arrow before firing arrows at the two men in front of her as she retreated to gain distance. They already analyzed her bow releases usage so they of course used the Shunpo to avoid being hit. She was drawing them away and therefore farther away from Amalia.

Ruhe had to think fast or else she was going to die. There was no question about it as these men most certainly wanted to kill her. However, they were a bit injured so she had an easier time avoiding them. Suddenly, an idea hit Ruhe on how to gain an edge against her enemies. Running to a tree, she had suddenly applied reiatsu to defy gravity and run up a tree much like the Shinobi of Naruto. Ruhe soon reaching the top felt several slices of wind slice through the tree knocking it down. Leaping to a branch of another tree, Ruhe took a quick two shots at both of the reapers only for both of them to take cover in the trees. This was a bit better now that she had a vantage point where they couldn't hit her as easily.

Blood dripped down her wounds as Ruhe made a plan. The dense thick trees, they would have a harder time using step techniques. Of course they had more cover to hide behind, but the next part of Ruhe’s plan would come soon. She was going to be able to take down these foes not with strength but with intellect and wit. Focusing on her bow, she drew an arrow back against her bow string. Ruhe was now in a real combat situation where she needed to apply everything that she knew to survive. Amalia would still be easily able to sense Ruhe despite their distance as well as the other two Shinigami. What a mess this day was.

[✱Paiva "Amalia" Vollbrecht✱]

Amalia slowly walked forward, her eiku in hand, as the three shinigami approached her. She watched as they released their weapons, though her gaze was never far from Ruhe. She delighted in Ruhe's resilience, and it strengthened her confidence that Ruhe could shape her apparent potential into something more tangible. She was more prone to kindness when someone was performing or behaving as she wanted, which is why Ruhe would receive uncommon praise. Still, she had to worry about Ruhe facing two released Shingiami. Sure she could take on a single one, that has been shown, but two could prove beyond the scope of her abilities. And yet, Amalia was eager to see just how this played out.

Scoffing at the sight of three shikai, Amalia twirled her eiku as one of the men charged her. His hulking body complimented his release, his katana transforming into a large, blunt hammer. She was fast enough to dodge the face of the weapon, but the shinigami was surprisingly agile with his weapon. Surprising and not so much as well. Amalia knew that to Shinigami their own zanpakuto could appear to be hundreds of pounds and feel light as feather for them. Remaining cognizant of that was important, otherwise she could be caught in a compromising situation. Amalia activated blut vene, allows the power of his majesty to flow through her body.

It was magnificent power, allowing her unparalleled defensive strength. She allowed the man to strike her with his weapon, slamming her into the ground. He snickered as the other two moved toward them. If Ruhe were seeing this, she would be shocked and possibly mortified. Fortunately for her, Amalia had planned it this way. If there was one thing Amalia enjoyed, it was playing mind games with people. Lulling them into a false sense of security is certainly one of the easiest ways to torment them. Amalia laughed from the ground as the man lifted the hammer. "What a pitifully weak Shikai." She said with muffled laughter.

"Kill that damn Quincy!" The leader of the patrol shouted from behind his hammer wielding subordinate. Caught of guard by his commander's orders, Amalia seized the opportunity. She lifted her body slightly and clutched the long handle of his hammer with her hand. "He seems much more forgiving than I would be if my subordinate proved ineffective at completing his orders." She bared an insidious smile as reishi seeped into the Shinigami's shikai. With blut vene active, Amalia's could behave without inhibition. The man's weapon exploded, enveloping him and Amalia. Rising from the debris and smoke, Amalia was smiling at the shinigami. "When someone under my command doesn't perform optimally, I see no reason why they should continue their service and so they no longer need their weapon." She let out a hardy guffaw, further taunting the shinigami.

"I don't suppose any of you have a Bankai you plan on wielding, huh?" Her words were like daggers. She was well-aware that none of these shinigami were in possession of a bankai, and knew that was the only thing that could remotely pose a threat to her. "Ah, Bankai, a shinigami's final trump card. And you're without it. How unfortunate for you all." Amalia leaned down and picked up her eiku. Without notice, she rocketed toward them. Gliding across the ground, and aiming for the leader of the patrol, wielding a glave. She had observed that a gaseous substance stuck to the air around the one shinigami. A poison or paralytic of some kind, she assumed. That would explain why he stayed a moderate distance from the patrol leader. He was ill-equipped for team combat.

Unfortunately, blut vene didn't prevent her from being poisoned, so she needed to take another approach. Aiming for their leader would prove useful, as his subordinate wouldn't be able to venture closer unless he wanted to risk poisoning his ally. This was a hypothesis worth testing. She slid across the ground while sweeping it with her eiku. He slammed his glaive into the ground, preventing her blade from striking his legs. Amalia quickly pivoted her body, using reishi collected beneath her feet as a surface for which to gain momentum. She kicked off the collection of reishi and pulled back her eiku. She slammed into his body with her own, causing him to lose his balance and tip over.

He swung his fist around and smacked her across the face, causing her body to twist slightly. She turned her head and glared at him from her periphery. A seldom witnessed rage was quickly surfacing, pouring from her body like liquid overflowing. Her gaze was filled with the most vile hatred as she touched her cheek with her fingers. "How...dare you touch me." Her voice had lowered in pitch, complementing the menacing tone of her words. She could feel her entire body becoming warm, as if a flame was applied to her. A tingling sensation stretched into her arms and finger.

It was a sensation she has felt before. It was familiar, but unwelcome. Images began scrolling across her mind's eye, reminding her of the day her family was murdered. "Filthy shinigami. Vile degenerate." She said with a loathing tone. Suddenly a powerful kido struck her in the back, electrifying her entire body. Crackling energy fluttered around her. It moved across her body like snakes before leaping into the air. "Don't they teach you anything at the academy?" She said menacingly. "I'm impervious to that level of kido." She abruptly kicked the shinigami beside her in the face before throwing her eiku at the sickly man like a javelin.

She leaned back and with all her strength fired her eiku. She had over plans for it, though. It was merely a delaying tactic. It exploded near the shinigami, allowing her to set her sights on their patrol captain. "I came here here with a specific goal." She whispered to him. "And your barbaric attack on us has aided me nicely. However...I can't pass up such a sweet opportunity." She admitted, glaring deep into his eyes. "Inflicting great pain and agony on a shinigami is a supreme delicacy." With those words, he leapt to his feet and grabbed his glaive. He spun it around, striking Amalia across the stomach. "No blood?" He said.

"A painful realization, isn't it? That your previous zanpakuto can't penetrate my defenses. However, I did scold your subordinate just a moment ago for the same lapse in judgement." She chuckled as her blut slithered around the ground like individual snakes. It crept up his leg and eventually was able to make contact with his skin. Suddenly her blut vene vanished and the force of it was thrust into the unsuspecting shinigami's body. "I have a gift for you, my dear." She said lovingly. Her tone, while honeyed, was equally as wicked. The veins moved across his body, causing him unimaginable pain. Although Amalia was fighting off the pain caused by initiating such a powerful technique.

A most insidious form of blut, which allowed her to transfer it to an opponent and bleed them dry. She tensed her body and gritted her teeth. "Ah..." she let out a painful sigh. "...the pain is certainly worth seeing you in such a dreadful state. You see, someone at a captain's caliber could fight even while infected, but you...you're not so fortunate." She watched as blood poured from his body. "You're much too weak." She continued to mock the dying shinigami, relishing each second of his death. The blood began to pool on his skin, causing his skin to become textured and soft. It began sliding off, allowing the blood to ooze across his body. "You fu...c..." He tried to speak, but blood quickly pooled in his mouth. "What was that?" She asked humorously. She chuckled and looked over at Ruhe before returning her gaze to the dying shinigami.

"Beauty comes in so many colors, but red is certainly the most magnificent." Amalia said in a joyfully seductive tone as the man's blood quickly pooled under his feet. She slowly approached him. "Thank you for being such a dutiful pawn. I do appreciate it." She said softly, assuring Ruhe could not hear her words. "Your death will cement something much greater. Who would have thought shinigami could be so useful. I bet you'll die proud knowing you helped a young girl prosper." She delivered a tooth-filled smile before dodging a swing of his blade. "Oh...such perseverance." She casually walked away, noting the man was too weak to fight anymore. He fell to the ground, his body pouring all his blood on the ground.

"You bitch!" A voice said from the background. Amalia turned and looked at the sickly man wielding a scythe. Looking over her shoulder and giving a murderous grin. "Oh, still alive?" The man had in fact survive her attack and to make matters worse was completely untouched by it. He must have used shunpo to avoid the blast. Amalia underestimated this man's skill. Perhaps he was stronger than the others, despite his sickly appearance. Without blut vene, Amalia needed to avoid his weapon, especially the poisonous substance floating around it.

"Ruhe..." Amalia said suddenly, ignoring the shinigami behind her. "Feel free to really let loose." She said with a lilt in her voice. "No need to be conservative considering where we are. Let those shinigami, who have come her to hunt and kill us, know what power is with your bow release." Amalia had faith Ruhe could defeat her opponents, but was mildly worried about their Shikai inflicting lethal damage. More worrisome was the shinigami behind her. From the looks of it, he isn't that strong, but upon closer inspection he seemed to be stronger than the others. "You seem to be hiding some of your power. How cute." "There is a lot about me you likely aren't seeing." He said. "Aha. Is that so? Well, then show me little shinigami."

[Ruhe Krieger]

t was a scary moment as the Shinigami wielding a mallet slammed his weapon down on Amalia. “Master Amalia! No!” It seemed she had bigger priorities as her enemies were coming for her. The man who had been stopped by the power of Blut Vene and he was more than shocked to find that the Quincy lifted his hammer with ease. Ruhe at this moment had taken the liberty to run from the Shinigami once the two released men turned their attentions back to her. As the redheaded woman had taunted the Shinigami by grabbing his weapon and shattering it with her bare hand, he grit his teeth. “Damn it!” The battle was breaking out as Ruhe had rushed into the woods for her own battle. Now that she was at a vantage and her enemies were in cover, the Shinigami were hiding behind the trees as she fired. There was no fatigue from shooting arrows, but she felt a drain from moving her arm back and forth. It wasn’t helping her by doing this. She formulated her plan though now that the enemies were lulled into a sense of security.

She was being trained by the Vandenreich Quincy Amalia, though she was not sharing the same blood of the emperor. Drawing another arrow, she had released it although purposely missing the cover they stood at. Making the arrow curve with her powers, it had slammed straight into one of the Shinigami. The man with the sickle and chain yelled out as he was sent skidding out of cover while covered in rust. Ruhe’s eyes shined with a burning fire before releasing a shot to the downed reaper. ‘I got you now.’ Young Ruhe had succeeded in her assault of the Shinigami as he had been coated in another coating of rust being weighed down more. However, it seemed Ruhe had a lot to pay for as a flying slice had been delivered across Ruhe’s stomach. The pain spread through her body as blood spewed from her wound.

Falling backwards, Ruhe landed in a bush as the Shinigami’s Shikai had returned back to Asauchi state. He was completely covered in rust at this point as the elemental Shikai wielding man had sheathed his blade assuming the job was done. Ruhe was surely down for the count with a wound like that, but that was where her enemy seemed to be underestimating her. ‘I’m going to die here aren’t I? It hurts. Was this truly the extent of my skills and abilities?” Ruhe found herself sinking with her eyes slowly sinking. The Shinigami had looked to his now deceased comrade before scowling. “I’ll kill that other Quincy and avenge you. You won’t be forgotten.” Amalia may be able to sense Ruhe’s spiritual pressure dropping but holding on. Then, it would suddenly burst and grow outward like a fountain as Ruhe clenched her right fist around her bow.

“I won’t die yet. I still haven’t finished my mission. I still haven’t grown to my maximum potential. I won’t fail!” Growing her Reiatsu further, Ruhe stood as her bow began to go through an odd metamorphosis. The bow had grown sharper and curved at the tips as the blue hue had turned a brownish color. The string had turned a silvery blue as Ruhe held her stomach. This was her second property mixed in with her power property. “It’s not over until it’s over!” Drawing her hand back on the string, three arrows had been formed along the string. The Shinigami glared with a hateful intensity before releasing his Shikai yet again. “Maul Kazetora.” With his wind he was immune to projectiles or so he would like to believe. That was where he was absolutely wrong.

The arrows had been released. “TAKE THIS!” The three arrows had been fired at a rapid speed with the bow aimed directly for the man. He smirked as he swung his blade in a horizontal form to make a light dome around himself. The arrows indeed were repelled, however they resisted the force pushing them...simply pushing against the dome all of a sudden. Shaking her bow, the arrows would rotate much like drills before breaking through the defense. “Nani?! What the hell is this power?! Your bow never did this before!” As the dome broke, three arrows had pierced the Shinigami’s body before three barnacles had formed. Almost immediately the man was rusted over and paralyzed before being completely rusted over in the face. A muffled scream was heard before silence as the rust grew inside of his body, silencing him. The battle was in Ruhe’s victory although now Ruhe could barely walk. She was losing a copious amount of blood at an alarming pace. She laid back against the back of a tree, systematically releasing spiritual energy before she fell unconscious.

Ruhe was not aware of the figure who grabbed her and took her away. “What an interesting discovery. I haven't personally had the opportunity to experiment on a Quincy before.” The man was one who wore a black robe and bandages along the lower mouth. He took Ruhe farther and farther away from Amalia’s location as he grinned. “I can sense you're rather strong. Don't die on me yet though. I have much to observe from you.” Ruhe of course gave no reply as the man carried her away along with several samples of her rust she created. He was one of the scientists of squad twelve and now Ruhe’s life was going to be in peril by the looks of it. However, perhaps this would be a great learning experience for Ruhe on the maximum efficiency of Shinigami hatred. This man came to study the Gillian appearance, but this was even better.

The sickly man in front of Amalia with a whirler scythe had looked to her with disdain. “It's obvious that my Shikai isn't going to be hurting you. However I sense that your fellow Quincy had been defeated. Seems she isn't nearly as skilled as you are.” The man suddenly didn't seem so sick as he stood to his full height. “I haven't mastered it yet, but I'll show you a power surviving three war scale battles had helped me unlock. Bankai! Samehada, Uragiri no Kiri!” A massive shroud of spiritual energy had formed around the man, inadvertently blowing some of the odd smog towards Amalia. The man’s dual sided whirler scythe had turned into an odd variation of his weapon but with several spherical white containers along the pole itself. “Now...confuse her.” Spinning the scythe in a circular motion, a rapid cloud of bluish fog had blown itself to Amalia in an attempt to encompass her.

Of course she wouldn’t fall for such an arbitrary trick, and so he had allowed the orbs of his scythe to fall to the ground. Hidden in the trail of smoke, these balls had opened to become crab like constructions which crawled through on the ground with light hisses. They had traveled through the smoke easily tracking Amalia’s location seeking to ambush her. These orbs had contained more of this gas of which the effect was not known. Upon being sliced, simply more of this gas would release. They could also release it through physically attacking a foe. The Shinigami himself had kept his senses sharp to be aware of the woman. He was prepared to face Amalia and lose his life. He would not retreat from the Vandenreich Quincy as he was confident he now had the power to make a change. Amalia would have to work fast to seek Ruhe if she at all came to her mind. She was still alive as that was for certain. The battle would continue to intensify from here.

Ruhe would find herself waking nearly an hour later in confusion. Her body felt so heavy, she couldn’t move. However, she could move her eyes and breath. Slowly looking down at her body, she saw her limbs were bound to a table made from metal. “Ah...you’re awake. It’s rather wonderful to see that as such. No need to be tense, please to calm down and relax for me. I do hate to hear shouting you see. This is my own little experimental zone that I have been given for my rank within the Squad 12 ranking hierarchy. My name is Konjiki Asuyaka. I don’t like screaming with my test subjects. Comply and everything will go smoothly understood? If not, I’ll have to rip out your vocal cords.” Ruhe gulped in utter fear as she nodded slowly. She had never been in any situation like this.

The voice disappeared for a moment before a log had been heard. “Female Quincy, approximate age 14. Experiment Log#1: Today I will be experimenting with a Quincy’s reactions to different kinds of spiritual signatures and how it affects their bodies. I will expose this Quincy to the naturally rich spiritual pressure of Seireitei for fifteen minutes and study how much reiatsu is absorbed into the body while I study the rust samples. End Log.” There was silence and the sound of a door shutting before she felt heavy...heavier than she was a few moments ago. She could feel the reiatsu absorbing into her body, but it was in excess. There was too much of it. She felt faint of breath as she tried to resist against the restraints but to no avail. She needed to think.

[✱Paiva "Amalia" Vollbrecht✱]

Amalia’s gaze radiated a fierce, uncompromising contempt for the shinigami standing before her. The one least likely among the group was in possession of a bankai, the so-called trump card. It was truly a trump card for this man, especially considering the absence of its maturity. A fledgling bankai can be strong, but compared to more experienced lieutenants and captains, it was quite fragile. It was easily broken. Nevertheless, she observed every moment of its release. The fog scattered and approached her. If there was one thing Amalia hated, it was having to retreat. She wanted the opponent to move, not her. It was a sign of power, of pride. 

She reluctantly used high-speed movement to distance herself from the lingering smoke. The orbs accompanying the release fell to the floor with a loud thud. Following separation from his blade, they expanded and developed into creatures that resembled mechanized crabs. Normally, Amalia would have found such things amusing. A bankai yielding robotic crabs to fight for their master. How embarrassingly bizarre. Any such humor was quickly suffocated by the overwhelming dread over Ruhe's safety. Amalia couldn't allow her protege, who she carefully shaped, be done in by these degenerates. These pathetic representatives of a race she despised. 

The crustacean sentries had zeroed in on her after seconds. They surrounded her, and she was showing no signs of resistance. She remained still, observing all that she was witnessing. Her malice and derision for this man, and his kind, was etched into her expression. She showed no signs of fear or anxiety. They were useless emotions in this moment and would only serve to misguide her. "I suppose you think I should be frightened or even impressed by you having bankai. A lowly shinigami, too inexperienced to be a lieutenant, but powerful enough to wield a shinigami's most powerful weapon. How gullible do you think I am?" She said matter-of-factly. 

The sickly man, who appeared to be in healthier spirits post-release, was practically slack-jawed by Amalia's response. He never fathomed such an underwhelming response from an opponent when confronting a bankai. "Ug...ugh." His speech stumbled as he tried to respond. He abruptly stiffed his lip and tensed his jaw as his eyes narrowed. "Your petty ruse won't work on me, Quincy." Surely he was joking! Petty? Ruse? What utter nonsense. Amalia tilted her head slightly, but remained silent. The right side of her lip slightly stretched into her cheek, revealing a subtle, but noticeably coy grin.

She shook her head gently from side-to-side and rolled her eyes. She had concluded from this man's reaction just how blithely unaware he was of the current situation. "You're not understanding any of this, which is likely explained by your experience." She stated condescendingly. "You thought by releasing your bankai that I would be conned into believing you are more dangerous. Shinigami aren't dangerous because they wield bankai. No, quite the opposite. Bankai are dangerous when wielded properly by a shinigami. And, quite honestly, you're lacking the experience and knowledge to wield that with enough proficiency to slay me."

Amalia tossed out a brief chuckle as she finished her assessment, but her words were not convincing the man to back down. In fact, he was more insistent than ever to prove himself. Regardless, she continued to assault his confidence. "Fear wears many masks, but is never polished enough to completely hide the truth. Your reiatsu is dipping and spiking like someone on methamphetamines. It’s awfully transparent." She gloated, having seen through his facade. And while her earlier statements about shinigami and bankai are true, a bankai can still inflict serious harm even in a novice's hands. She would need to be cautious, but was in no serious danger, unless she allowed herself to be caught off guard. And yet, this bankai's abilities were not as easily decipherable as others.

It had a mystique about it, which was intriguing, but its aura was inconsistent. What did this bankai do? Was her earlier instincts correct? Suddenly, Amalia was overcome by a strange sensation. She blinked rapidly before widening her eyes in an effort to adjust them. Her vision became blurry, for but a moment, before the landscape changed. Where were the trees? The grass? Was this a desert? How odd. And yet, it felt familiar. Had she been here all along? Certainly it felt as though she had been. Her memories of the trees and grass faded. Her memories of the seireitei faded. She was now in this sprawling desert. The sun was sweltering and the sand hot to the touch. She could feel the heat radiating from below and above. 

Why did she travel to the desert? She couldn't remember. She couldn't fathom why she'd ever come here. What was her objective. Amalia placed her hand on her head in an attempt to recall why she there. She closed her eyes and could not seem to remember anything about what was currently happening. Suddenly, she felt a piercing pain across her torso. She'd been cut. Blood began pooling in her hand. No, wait. That isn't blood. Wasn't she just cut and bleeding? What an odd sensation. She touched her stomach and placed her hand in front of her face. Something was telling her to activate blut vene. A voice inside her body. It was screaming louder and louder. Why would she need to activte blut vene with no one around. 

Suddenly she received a slice to her back. She feel forward, landing on her knees. She could feel the blood dripping down her back. No, that was just perspiration or the fabric of her clothing. She wasn't bleeding. It was just hot. Incredibly hot. She felt her back, but nothing. Another oddity. She began walking forward, but tripped and felt a prick to her ankle. What a powerful stinging sensation. It was there, but it was already gone. Vanished as if it never existed. "You're in my my day dream now. You can't hear me. Sense me. Feel me. But as you dream, I slowly attack and kill your body. Before you die you'll experience all the pain, but it'll be too late then." The man said proudly. "You said I lacked power, but here you are, defenseless and about to die."

There it was a gain. That same voice. That feeling from inside that was urging her to activate blut vene. "Why?" She asked herself. Amalia relented and activated her blut vene. It surged through her body. Or did it. "What was I doing again?" She asked herself confusingly. The shinigami struck her body with his blade, but it could not pierce her skin. "Damn!" He shouted. "That damn defensive power of yours. How'd you even think to do that while caught in the dream?" He questioned angrily. Amalia looked at her hands. She could feel something, but not recall why. "Wait..." She uttered. "Blut vene." Suddenly the characteristic veins were streaking across her skin. She could see them. 

"I don't use blut vene unless I absolutely need to." Amalia's eyes narrowed. "This must mean I am in danger. Am I currently in battle?!" She said emphatically. In a panic, she began checking her body and looking around. A bewildered expression lined her face as she observed her surroundings. "Where the hell am I?" She shouted angrily. "WHERE AM I?!" Her anger was enhanced by her confusion and the absence of answers. "I wouldn't come to a desert....That's ludicrous. What kind of sham is this!" She was beginning to fight through the effects of his bankai. She was slowly becoming more and more skeptical of her surroundings. "Beeinträchtigung!" She shouted as a sphere formed above her head. The black orb, that resembled obsidian glass, appeared and began resonating a powerful wave of energy.

A powerful burst of energy emanate from Amalia, alarming the shinigami. The sphere formed above her and began pouring the area with its disruptive spiritual energy. "What the hell is this..." He fell to his knees and was finding it difficult to concentrate or stand. He tried to bring himself to stand, but could not. Suddenly the dream he had trapped Amalia in began to dissolve and the trees and grass all returned to her sight. It slowly trickled back into her memory and the arid landscape vanished. She suddenly felt the pain of her wounds prior to blut vene. She cuffed her stomach, blood dripping and collecting on her clothes. "I was a damned fool." She said angrily as she turned and glared at the shingiami. 

"Were you trying to make a fool out of me? Looks like those constructs were merely a distraction from the real ability, huh? You're nothing but a defenseless trickster. And now you're feeling the full extent Beeinträchtigung, which must feel absolutely awful, especially this close." Amalia noticed that Ruhe's spiritual pressure was distorted. She couldn't really feel it, only faintly. That wasn't a good sign. She turned and kicked the shinigami in the face, placing her foot on his throat. "Where has she been taken?" The man could barely speak. In a hush, tense voice he tried to respond. "Not sure, but it doesn't matter. You'll likely never find her once he gets her."

"So you do know. This technique will feel like bliss if you don't divulge what you know. I've made torture an art form." The man looked at her and scowled. "Screw you!" He said defiantly. "Interesting response for a man in your position. Fine." She suddenly summoned six more black spheres. The pain was intense, having summoned two powerful techniques in row, especially with her wounds. However, she was able to withstand the pain knowing what she had planned for the man. If there was one thing Amalia loved, it was torturing a shinigami, and this man looked like he'd be particularly helpful if she applied her brand of torture. "Ready for some fun?" She said devilishly. 

[Ruhe Krieger]

The wielder of a Bankai had fallen to the immense torture and pressure. However, it seemed this was an interesting juxtaposition. While Amalia tortured the Shinigami she had captured, Ruhe herself had been going through horrible treatment under the hands of the researcher who captured her. “Experiment #4. The Quincy thrive in spiritually rich environments and have been known to recover their wounds faster as compared to the human world. I want to find out how much pain tolerance a Quincy can take and how fast they recover from those wounds.” Ruhe had shook in her restraints as she released a muffled yell through her gag. Then the Shinigami had walked in with a small rolling cart filled with various tools for his sick research. She felt her tears well up before looking to the man with a face of desperation and mercy. “Now now. Don’t cry my dear. I was going to need a few blood and DNA samples anyhow. Let’s not stall seeing the faster we get this done, the faster you can get rest. I promise I won’t kill you. I have so many more experiments to test on you before we part ways.” An odd contraption had been wrapped around Ruhe’s right arm and strapped on tight before she felt each of her individual fingers bound tightly to this metal device. It was almost comparable to a splint by the feeling.

Ruhe closed her eyes, refusing to look at her torturer. She did not want to be aware of the pain that would be delivered to her. There was a bit of metal that was slid under each of her fingernails although she did not know the purpose of it. “One.” The man had slammed his fist down on the device and immediately a scream of high pitched agony escaped Ruhe’s throat but muffled through the gag. Her eyes were opened wide with the veins stressed. She shook with greater force against the restraints but to no avail. The young child had then felt another sudden surge of pain and then another. The screams would only grow as the Shinigami chuckled at the response. “Why I haven’t had so much fun since the last time I captured a Fullbringer to work on. Seven more nails to go deary.” Tears freely dripped down Ruhe’s eyes as the pain was excruciating. Another sharp bit of pain was sent through her body as she was banging the back of her head against the table.

“Whoops. Seems that since you struggled too much, the nail didn’t come off all the way. Let me help you with that.” The scientist grasped the now cracked and chipped piece of nail before slowly using his fingers to rip the rest of it off. The pain was only heightened as the girl screamed another muffled shout. It was so loud that even in the outside halls, others could hear. “Heheheh...I love watching that face. I love to hear that frail little voice when you cry out in pain. Show me your scared little eyes Quincy.” Taking the bloody and broken nail, he would place it on his tongue before licking the blood off. His eyes suddenly widened as his grin only widened. “So tasty. I think I’ll hurry this process up. Ripping your nails gets boring after a while.” The pain felt like it lasted for an eternity as all ten of her nails were ripped off as blood dripped into little containers set below to catch it. Her pain intake was at the maximum and she looked to her captor as he was looking through the table of various tools.

He then took out a rather sharp scalpel and Ruhe decided to resist the man in front of her. She raised her head and slammed it against the metal table as hard as she could, knocking her unconscious. “Oho. Well, I suppose you earned a short rest. I’ll wake you up soon enough. You’re ruining the experiment so I’ll make sure to punish you for that when you wake up. I’ll make sure to keep that head better restrained also.” He had slight taken a small vial before filling it with Ruhe’s blood and then left her to drain. After taking some time, the scientist had learned several things about Ruhe. Her blood type was one of those things. Another was that Ruhe was not holding the blood of the emperor as other Vandenreich Quincy had. Through this he discerned that the young girl was not part of the Vandenreich yet. The third thing he discovered was that he would not gain much useful data from her. She was immature and not fully grown yet. Her potential was not greatly developed and therefore overall was not much value. He would keep her around for a few days...or maybe a week before disposing of her. The sadistic Shinigami had no use for a test subject like this. Perhaps he could capture that other Quincy in the forest and experiment on her instead. She seemed far more interesting than the brat he had here.

However, something that interested him was the property of the rust that Ruhe created. He had placed the first few initial samples within separate containers and exposed them to different types of reiatsu. First he had exposed it to concentrated Reishi from Soul Society and found that in the past hour he had been torturing the child, it grew and spread to envelop the whole container and everything in between it. The second experiment was what would happen if the rust was exposed to the Reiatsu of a Hollow. It was fascinating as at first it had grown to envelop the container, but then shriveled and shrank. The barnacle inside had then died from the exposure. The barnacles thrived and fed off of Reiatsu but died after some time when exposed to Hollow Reiatsu. What other powers did the child possess and how could he use that knowledge to enhance his other experiments? “More analysis will be needed. Now time to head back and see if she’s healed or not.” Placing the fingernails within several containers for analysis was his next act before returning.

“Wakey wakey little girl.” Placing a handful of smelling salts to Ruhe’s nose, she slowly was forced back into consciousness. A kick had been sent to her fingers which immediately lead to another muffled cry. “Bakudo#30:Shitotsu Sansen.” Three pillars of light had pinned Ruhe’s neck to the table and another sharp kick had been delivered to Ruhe’s injured hands. The man in front of her had found she of course hadn’t healed and so decided to capitalize on that for a bit. “Little girl. I want to know your name. I’m going to release the gag now.” She was angry, she felt pure hatred for the man in front of her for the first time. As the gag was released, the blue haired child had been swift enough to grab his pinkie within her mouth. She bit down as hard as she could and the scientist yelled in pain as blood was drawn. In response to the sign of rebellion, the man took a nearby scalpel and stabbed it straight into Ruhe’s left hand. The bite was released, and Ruhe’s eyes were wide open as her brain was going into shock at the sudden pain she felt. She resisted the urge to cry out in agony but found she couldn’t even breath. “You little Quincy whore! You disgusting piece of flesh!”

He cursed as he nursed the pinkie which was now only holding on by a thread of sinew flesh. “Aagh! I’m going to make you regret this you bitch!” He grunted and then gasped as he ripped the finger clean off with blood gushing from the wound. Reaching into his coat pocket, he injected himself with a syringe filled with a questionable substance. His pinkie regenerated rapidly as it glew an odd purple. Ruhe felt the knife quickly be pulled out of her hand and then the knife had been stabbed into Ruhe’s stomach. She gasped as the scalpel went in fairly deep and her blue shirt had slowly turned red. Ruhe’s eyes shook as they did not comprehend what was happening. “You’re more trouble than what you are worth. Now die.” The young child had tried to speak but only a shrill bit of her voice was heard. The knife was then simply left there as the scientist began to walk away. He was sure she would die soon from that. He decided to seek the older Quincy and hunt her down himself. In this moment, Ruhe was laying on that table wondering if this was how her life was going to end.

‘I guess I was a failure all along. I’ve failed to reach far and now I’m laying here...bleeding to death. I was never able to do my goal. To become a powerful Quincy, wouldn’t that have been nice? I want to keep on fighting...live. I can’t but I have to try.” Ruhe’s chest rose and descended slowly as she clenched her right hand. The pain made her keep herself from falling into unconsciousness. If she closed her eyes, she would die. She could feel the blood dripping from her clothes as she wanted someone to comfort her. She wanted someone to care for her at this moment and show her that everything would be okay. She wanted Amalia right now to be by her side...but where was she? Had she been forgotten and discarded like a piece of trash in the street? Had Amalia decided that Ruhe was not worth the effort of saving? Ruhe was in a poor state of body as the previous wounds from her Shinigami enemies were still evident in their existence. Ruhe was holding on by a thread.

The male Shinigami had prepared his Zanpakutou and had pressed several buttons along a control panel. He decided that instead of coming to the Quincy, he would allow himself to be found. Three doors had opened on the outside of this hidden base as robotic drones had come out on legs. They were rectangular and had four different faces with a dot in each one. They walked on four odd legs that were large and bulky. They were capable of combat and shot lasers from each of these eyes, rotating their heads as the other side of the head cooled down. He sent them out to find Amalia and lead them to the base. Other than that, he had prepared traps in this base to capture test subjects in case his base was ever to be compromised. “Come for me Quincy.” The Shinigami had chuckled as he took the one of Ruhe’s fingernails he licked. Oh how he just loved the taste of it.

Amalia once done with her torture session would suddenly find one of these cube like bots walk forward and fire a blast aimed for her shoulder. Then it's head would rotate before charging another blast. Two more would appear to engage the older Quincy from the east. He was purposely leaving a trail of his robots to his base for Amalia to follow. He would watch through the eyes of the robotics to see how strong Amalia was compared to the weaker student. The Shinigami he sent out to help with his research provided excellent data on both Amalia and Ruhe. He wanted to see Amalia’s power or more specifically was hoping to see a Bow Release. Perhaps she would be more inspired to show the Shinigami more of her strength after finding out he tortured her precious little student. Chewing on the nail whilst sitting on a rotating chair, he waited patiently.

[✱Paiva "Amalia" Vollbrecht✱]

Droplets of blood could faintly be heard collecting below the base of a tree. Upon closer inspection, the tree, too, was heavily coated with the vibrant shade of red. It slowly oozed down the bark, collecting in the natural contours of the bark. Blades of grass struggled to support thier ascension with the weight of this red liquid burdening them. A light humming could be heard from nearby. The melody seemed to provide rhythm for the blood as it crept down the tree and slid down the slender blades of grass. A nearby flower's pure, white pedals were stained by the blood of another. 

Blood was a peculiar liquid. It desperate clung to itself, trying to merge with fragments of its body as they traveled further from the source. Similarly, it clung to the pedals, adding texture and substance. The faint groans of a man could be heard alongside the subtle humming over a woman. Amalia leaned down and picked the flower. She dipped it further in the blood collected on the ground. She gently shook the petals, so not to damage them, and stood to her feet. She stepped over the blood and placed the blood-stained flower to the man's nose. The man's head slumped to his chest, his face and body covered in blood and lacerations. His weakened, limp body was suspended from from the trees, his body seemingly stretched by the smooth, black bindings. 

His face was discolored, both from bruising and dried blood. He had sustained considerable injuries, his left eye barely capable of sight. His clothes had been trimmed, exposing his skin. His arms were badly mutilated, as was his stomach and legs. It was a horrific sight, one that would make the most capable individual queasy. And yet, Amalia placed the flower in front of his nose as if they were taking a stroll in the park. "Smell." She requested sweetly. "Do you think the blood masks or enhances the natural fragrance of the flower?" She pulled the flower close to her, examining it in a moment of curiosity. "You're likely more familiar with the flowers of the Soul Society than I. I certainly do appreciate the color." She said with a coy smile. 

She placed the flower behind his ear, nestled in a lock of of his hair. "There we go." She uttered softly, taking great care as to position the flower properly. She looked him in the eyes, placing her hand on his chin and gently raising his head. Her expression was sweet and appeared to be filled with compassion, but beneath such a beautiful face was a wicked nature that had wreaked havoc on this man's body and soul. An overwhelming dread and despair projected from the man's eyes. His face, barely recognizable, and lacing the energy to speak or greatly shift his expression, he simply stared at her. "I was beginning to think you'd outlast my methods and take the location of my pupil to your grave." Her words left her supple lips with a gentle sophistication. Her tone was soft, but no less threatening. 

Amalia had developed torture into an art form. Even her reactions enhanced the experience. She treated it like unlike the barbaric torture of centuries past. She'd bleed you dry and do so with sweet smile and honeyed words. She hoped that the contrast would leave the victim in a space of absolute hopelessness. She was truly cruel and malicious. But she did it so beautifully. She examined his face and body slowly and delivered a warm smile before the his bindings began to tighten and stretch his body further. He released a muffled howl, as his mouth was difficult to fully open. The strain of the experience was vividly illustrated in his face. He had ground his teeth so tightly they had cracked, adding to his agony. 

"For me, this seems to be the least abusive form of torture I have. You're fortunate I didn't employ the bird cage." She said cheerfully followed by a tooth-filled smile. "I have certainly enjoyed our time together. I can't tell you the last time I was able to fully eviscerate a shinigami. There is so much blood!" She said loudly. "And I can't tell you how wonderful that is!" Amalia's joy was apparent. She had grown accustom to torturing Shinigami, so much in fact that it was a greatly enjoyable process. The unfortunate man attempted more than he could handle, which led him to this tragic ending. It was only tragic to him and those he cared about. Amalia had no compassion for him. 

"How should we do this, I wonder. Any input?" She questioned earnestly. "Oh, of course not!" Amalia jested, laughing at her own question. "The dying seldom provide suitable input. Hm. I suppose pieces could work. Or perhaps..." She snapped her finger, acquiring the inspiration she needed." The orbs flattened and began to wrap around his body like fabric. She held out her hands, cuffing them slightly as if she were holding onto something with each hand. With one on top of the other, she twisted them and began cuffing her fists tighter. The body began to shake inside the material created by the spheres, but it was much too restrictive. She drew her hands close to her mouth and gently kissed her hand before squeezing her fists tightly, as if she were wringing out a wet towel. 

She abruptly turned and glared at the mechanical monstrosity approaching her. She separated her hands and the orbs quickly released the bloody, crushed corpse of the man. They rocketed torward the mechanical creature, blocking the beams of energy aimed at Amalia. Two of the spheres reshaped and pierced the mechanical creature and expanded, shredding it. Two others came from behind, but Amalia was easily protected by the spheres floating near her body. "I suppose these are the work of that shinigami he told me about." The creature that was shredded appeared to assemble into smaller mechanical creatures. "Hm." She uttered. She twirled her fingers as energy swirled. "Verschlingen." She said, pain shooting across her entire body. Despite the pain, the technique did not manifest. 

She flicked her hand impatiently and collected more energy on the tips of her pointer and index finger. The energy began to compress and take on a bluish color. "Now ignite." She said angrily. She flicked her finger at the robot, but the flame dissipated before it could reach it. She rolled her eyes, as this technique was difficult even for her to summon without proper experience. His majesty could do it with ease, which made her feel a modicum of shame. Her orbs spiraled around her and shielded her from beams of energy fired from the mechanical creatures. She couldn't begin to describe just how vexing this was for her. She hated shinigami, but there contraptions were even more annoying. 

"Can't fight me, so he sends this after me? How ridiculous." She wanted to be sure that this technique made contact with all of them, not one, otherwise she'd have to keep trying to use it. She used a step-tech to land behind the mechanical creatures. They were rather useless things, not having such an ability. They were merely probes of some kind. She smiled and shook her head. She raised her hand and created the blue flame in her hand. They all ventured toward her as she released the flame. It touched them and instantly ignited their entire bodies. "Try reforming with that." She said happily. She watched as their bodies disintegrated as the flames destroyed them. 

"What the hell? What happened to them? The feed is gone." He walked toward another computer and began tapping on various buttons. "Your friend is quite skilled. She took on my infinity units." The man was noticeably irritated, but somewhat pleased. Suddenly he felt an overwhelming spiritual pressure weight down on the entire area. Had the scientist bit off more than he could chew? He frantically began tapping on various consoles to bring up video of the surrounding area. As he did so, the lab would shake the screens would scramble for moment. "What the hell." He shouted. The quaking continued as Amalia approached, wreaking havoc in her attempt to find his laboratory. 

An explosion engulfed the south portion of the lab. Three black spheres rushed into the lab, obliterating walls and materials like a wrecking ball. Amalia walked in and kicked several mechanical creatures into the room. "I see you've been busy." She said, glaring over at Ruhe's motionless body. "Did you honestly believe you could hide from me? Or that those abominations would subdue me? You insult me." She said with a darkened tone. The shinigami reached for his Zanpakuto, but Amalia's patience had greatly expired. Her orb formed a circular blade and cleaved through his hand with ease. He shouted in extreme agony as blood spouted all over the console he once tapped with his fingers. 

"I've grown tired of these games. I don't care for your to release and for me to allow you to think you can defeat me. Your dead allies were more than enough in that area." She said, rolling her eyes. "I can't begin to describe how loathsome of an experience this has been." She directed her spheres to begin destroying the lab, one protecting Ruhe. "I suspect you wanted to lure me here. And now that I'm here you couldn't look more alarmed." She mocked him as her spheres destroyed his lab. She approached Ruhe as the sphere cut her restraints. "How could you allow yourself to be put in this situation. Then again, I did you a disservice by not better protecting you." Ruhe would likely be completely surprised by this admission.

"I told you just how vile shingiami are. They bring you here and experiment on you as if you were there personal play thing. Detestable." Her tone growled as she ended her sentence. "Don't worry, I'll be sure to dispose of him and get you to safety. We have master healers at Silbern, where we Vandenreich reside." Amalia adjusted her body and glared over her shoulder at the man standing behind her. "Using some sort of analgesic to avoid the pain of having your hand cut off? I'd expect no less from something like you." He was now holding his Zanpakuto in his other hand. "Indeed." He said, though with labored breath. 

[Ruhe Krieger]

When Amalia had broken through the lab and reigned destruction, Ruhe could barely look over and see. Her eyes widened as she took deep breaths. “You...came.” Ruhe had witnessed the orbs go destroy the lab and she also took the liberty to slice through the Shinigami’s hand. As she was freed, Amalia would witness the scalpel that was lodged into Ruhe’s side. “Master Amalia...I’m sorry. Hngh…” Extending her right hand out to her, she might now also witness the missing fingernails. Amalia comforted her by telling her that she was going to take Ruhe to Silbern where she would be healed and that the torturer would be defeated. Ruhe only slowly nodded and fell unconscious as the Shinigami growled as he looked to the redheaded Quincy. “You filthy vermin. You may not be interested in my Zanpakutou, but it is most certainly interested with you. Slice her apart, Gika.” The sword had transformed into a small and tiny knife about the size of the scalpel that was lodged in Ruhe at the moment. The man grinned maliciously as he looked to Amalia. “Do you see my release Quincy? I recommend you fear it as this will be used to slice you part by part when you’re mine.”

The man laughed as he began to grow his other hand back thanks to the chemicals within his body. He was aware of the orbs all around him and he looked heavily interested. “Such an interesting power. I’ve seen such a power as this. Surely this must be considered your Bow Release isn’t it?” He looked interested as he pointed the knife out to Amalia’s face. HIs grin was savage as he actually thought he stood much of a chance. “I think I am more than prepared for these odd spheres of yours. You may have defeated my infinity units, but I still have a few more tricks up my sleeve.” From the ceiling, a vacuum like substance had formed to suck up all of the black spheres and to lock them into a clear container made from some sort of spiritual plexi glass. “What will you do without a bow release now Quincy?” The man brandished his knife back and forth as he slowly began to walk forward. He grinned with his personality just radiating foulness.

“I will kill that younger Quincy behind you and have fun with you. He had crunched the nail between his mouth before spitting it out to the floor. The man had then attempted to use the Shunpo to stab Amalia in the chest. He yelled loudly before aiming to stab her straight through. However, if Blut Vene were active, the knife would easily clang and would be sent flying into the air. The Shinigami had then looked in utter confusion before his eyes widened. “What?! This is absurd. My Shikai had failed to penetrate you? I refuse to believe I am that weak!” Aiming his hand outward, he immediately began to fire bolts of blue electricity over and over. “Byakurai! Byakurai! Byakurai!” The bolts would stubbornly pelt but then in anger, he clenched his fist. However, his eyes then focused on the weaker target behind Amalia, Ruhe.

“Byakurai!” Launching a blast of blue electricity behind Amalia, he would attempt to finish off Ruhe in her weakened state. He had hopes that he would be able to at least kill Amalia’s ever so loyal and young disciple. What would Amalia do in this state with Ruhe in trouble? She had failed her and was captured by the Shinigami and failed to stand victorious in her trial against them. “Die! Die you infuriating Quincy! I refuse to be weaker than all of you human beings! I am greater than you!” His arrogance peeled off in swathes, attempting to drown all of the individuals in this room. Was he truly this incapable of doing...anything? 

"Stab her through Gika! Slice her apart you worthless blade!" It seemed the man had no respect for even his weapon, but could anyone really blame him? With a Shikai like that, he was certainly nearing the lower if not one of the lowest tiers of respect for the Shinigami. It might even be hard to believe that it was a Shikai. However, by flicking his fingers towards Amalia, the knife would float and aim to stab her again. He was thinking it must have been some sort of fluke or a trick from the fact his knife was so easily repelled. He would try this...to kill her. He would KILL Amalia. 

[✱Paiva "Amalia" Vollbrecht✱]

Seeing Ruhe lying on the medical table, she was immediately transported. Images of past tragedies flickered in her mind. She could see the distant faces of her family, of her people. She felt a recognizable rage, seething out of view. She looked at Ruhe, her body badly injured and maimed from the experiments. Her frail, limp body was a reminder of past tragedies. It propelled her into the past, memories dancing across the canvas of her mind. It was all too familiar. So familiar, in fact, that it disgusted her. It was an unmistakable nausea. One she had felt before. 

For moment, Amalia sank into an ocean of memories, distorting the present. Her hard, tense exterior deteriorated for a moment and she could see many faces projecting through Ruhe's. She stroked her hair gently. Earlier she was willing to sacrifice Ruhe's life, but something about this moment erased those thoughts and emotions. They were overwritten by something more powerful. It was unclear the depths of Amalia's emotions, but they would soon be overcome by an unquenchable thirst for blood. Crimes against Quincy have been known to bring out a monster unlike that which is normally seen within Amalia's gaze. "Don't worry. This will all be over soon."

Amalia's words were tender and kind, which was rare and likely unfamiliar for Ruhe. The shinigami shouted from the distance, his plotting and tricks in full display. Wielding a pitiful release, practically invisible to the eye, he demanded Amalia submit. He threatened her. He further threatened Ruhe. He was unrelenting in his dogma and hubris. He had felt he had won this day, despite the circumstances facing him. His ignorance masqueraded as arrogance, as he was completely unable see just how outclassed he was by Amalia. An angel of his Majesty's army against a lowly, timorous member of the Gotei 13. He was nothing. Neither his strength nor intellect could help him. 

Amalia raised her head and gazed in his direction. Her brow weighed heavy on her eyes as her stare intensified, becoming more malevolent and bloodthirsty. She despised Shinigami, on a level far greater than most. Her hatred had bore into her soul, creating a monster the likes of which he had never seen. It was too late for him, though. He could no longer run. He could no longer use words or devices to aid him. His life had come to a close the moment he decided to intercept Ruhe. Perhaps others might have shown him mercy, but Amalia was not the merciful type. Far from it. She reveled in the agony of her opponents. This situation would be no different. 

"Inhale teichenaufprall?" She said softly. "You clearly have not yet grasped the situation." Her spheres easily destroyed their container and returned to their position beside her. Two of them crated a dome-like barrier around Ruhe, shielding her from the kido fired at them. The other spheres easily dispelled such puny kido. The spheres suddenly became erratic and sharp protrusions came firing out of every portion of their bodies. They went in every direction, piercing the ceiling, walls, and floor. The man fired more kido, attempting to destroy them, but his kido was useless. They were much too powerful to be taken down. The beam-like protrusions filled the room, resembling a chaotic web.

These protrusions were not normal, however. They were armed with sharp, barbs across the entire surface. Movement was nearly impossible for him. He certainly wasn't going to be reaching Ruhe, and even if he did, she was thoroughly protected. Amalia walked toward him, the protrusions bend and flexing like sentient vines. He stabbed his blade into one of the protrusions, cracking his blade and injuring his arm. She slowly approached him, her gaze steady and menacing. "You thought you could overcome me with your childish creations and immature release? You insult me with your foolishness, further adding to your crimes. You see, under normal circumstances, I would take pleasure in torturing you. I would slowly carve the flesh from your body, as if you were a fruit to be peeled. I will ever so delicately break your bones, so to optimize your pain without killing you. I would then watch as the blood you hold in that body drained onto the ground. You'd be bathing in your own blood, useless to prevent yourself from slipping into the cold grip of death. I'd make sure you felt everything." Amalia glared at him as she grew closer, taking her time as she spoke.

"The sensation of your blood leaving your body would be enough to inflict the most unspeakable despair. Unfortunately, you've put me in an uncompromising position. I won't have the luxury of torturing you slowly, which adds to my frustration. However, I believe I can inflict considerable pain in the brief minute we do have." Suddenly the protrusions flexed and wrapped around his body. He lept back in an attempt to flee, but there was no where to run. He was cornered. The tendrils wrapped  around large beams to either side of him, both there to help support the weight of the ground above them.  They slithered up his arms and cinched around his shoulders. The ensnared his legs, clutching tightly around his thighs. 

As they expanded, they stretched his body, but the barbs dug deep into his skin, blood oozing from his legs and arms. "The amazing thing about teichenaufprall is how versatile of a weapon they can be. Their versatility is what helps in situations like these, where I am in a hurry but cannot stand to see you experience a swift death. I was this to be as painful as possible." She adopted a most frightening grin. "It is a good thing Ruhe can't see this. Something like this is enough to turn someone's stomach." The tendrils wrapped around his legs and thighs tighten their grip as they slowly became rotating around his body. Their movement simulates a saw as they dig through his flesh. The slice through his flesh like a chainsaw's blade as they spiral around his arms and legs. They dig deeper and deeper, flesh sloughing off onto the floor and blood splattering. 

The man screams in agony. All Ruhe will hear is the man's screams as she drifts in and out of consciousness. The spheres protecting her block her from viewing the horrendous act Amalia is committing. This might be for the best, as Ruhe would likely be traumatized by such violence and carnage. His blood curdling screams are heard for a full minute as the barbed tendrils grind up his flesh and tear it from his body. A thud could be heard, accompanied by distant dripping and sloshing sounds. Amalia raises the sphere protecting Ruhe and covers her eyes with piece of her clothing, likely torn from her outfit.

She picks her body up from the table and begins to carry her from the room. As they exit, shadows slowly creep around them as the hut collapses behind them. "Alright. It's time that we tend to those wounds." They fade into the darkness. They exit the shadowy transport and Ruhe would likely see a large castle, encased thinly in ice. "Behold, Silbern. The home to the Vandenreich and his Majesty's domain. Here you will get the proper care and treatment." She walked forward with Ruhe as multiple soldat rushed to her side. They collected Ruhe, as if to already understand what needed to be done. "Take her to the healing chambers. I want her monitored constantly. I don't care if the best healer is busy, tell them I order them to tend to this young girl. She's important, so take care of her." 

[Kento Waffles]

+780 TP