Arc 1 ~ Canon 1: Tartarus Stirs [DE, R]

[Himitsu Kasumi'Oji]

Leonardo cocked his head in confusion as the voice answered him. ”Jason?” he asked with an amused tone. “If Jason sent you, then I guess I have no choice.” The enormous man closed the distance between himself and Jak with shunpo, appearing just five feet in front of the nakabakki. It was a close enough distance for the two individuals to see one another despite the dense fog. Jak would realize immediately that Leonard was tall, much taller than he was. Leonard stood easily 2 feet over Jak.

Less than a second after emerging from the step technique, Leonardo began to charge Jak. When he was close enough, he’d throw a wide hook with his right fist. For the time being, Leonardo was holding back, using only the maximum strength (500) and speed (400) he could without tiring himself. Even then, however, he was quite fast and strong. Jak was in for a tough fight, and the other reiatsu signature still needed a few more moments before it’d arrive. He was on his own for now.

Leonard FC

SPOILER: Click to show

{Leonardo Stats}
Class 1 Fullbringer Rank 2 Kenpachi
Strength: 400 (500) (1125)
Speed: 300 (400) (900)
SpPr: 300 (400) (900)
RS: 300
Inst: 150
Senses: 150
ES: 0
HE: 0
Total: 1600

---

"Is that all?"

At that moment, Dean was quite grateful for the fog. It hid his dumb, clueless grin quite well. He was absolutely shocked. Col Arana had certainly been struck by his attack. While he couldn’t quite see that Col had been hit, he heard the lightning strike. Furthermore, Col’s voice and heartbeat hadn’t changed position from before his attack. Yet… the Arrancar was perfectly fine? This was not good for him. However, contrary to Dean’s expectations, Col disengaged. Because Col kept his release active, Dean could note the change in Col’s position relative to himself. He didn’t know how far Col was exactly, but he could tell that Col was beginning to go away from him and in the same direction of Kozu and Alice’s battle. “Oh no,” he sighed, running at a slow speed of 100 to start to catch up. Not only did Col have a head start on him already, but he was still recovering a bit from the painful drawbacks of Redirection as well as the kick to his ankle. He wasn’t going to tire himself out needlessly or worsen his injury. Kozu would have to hold his own for a few moments.

Fortunately, Kozu had more than enough energy sensory necessary to detect a release target approaching him rapidly from behind. Col’s assault was no surprise, but it was a great inconvenience. After all, just before Col had arrived just when Alice’s second doll Ende, a humanoid creature that wore black ninja-like clothes, slashed at Kozu with both its katana simultaneously. The Arrancar’s right arm had been rendered useless by Alice previously, but with his left, he rose his blades to defend. His superior strength allowing him to block the strikes with ease, but just as he dealt with the doll, Col was upon him.

Col’s attack came from behind, and Kozu had but one arm. However, as Col’s swords neared his body, the former Escudo would been in for a surprise. In his released state, Kozu had took on a monstrous form, one that gave him quite useful capabilities that humans lacked. Thanks to his refined energy sensory, he could quite sense the exact position of Col’s body and limbs from the dense reiatsu flowing around them. With this knowledge, he directed six tongues from the mouths that lined his back to emerge and protect him. These tongues were twice as thick as a human thigh and moved with a speed of 600. Unfortunately, they came out after Col had already began his slash and could not stop the blades from impaling his back. However, two tongues prevent their progression beyond his back muscles by meeting and wrapping around Col’s wrist, trapping the Escudo. Another came at Col’s additional arms from above, slapping them down toward the ground before they could stab into him. The other tongues circled Col’s body. They each had a strength of 800 and would attempt to surround Col and pull him in toward Kozu, specifically toward the large, open mouth at his lower back. It seemed that Kozu was hungry.

However, the Arrancar didn’t eat without softening his food. All of the mouths across his body, about a dozen in total, unleashed a torrent of light brown liquid. It smelled abysmal, to the point where Col might actual feel noxious just from the smell. However, its odor was only one dangerous aspect. This vomit was unbelievably acidic. Col’s carcass could protect him from degradation if he covered his face, but it would certainly weaken the integrity of the armor.

In case that wasn’t bad enough, Dean Shaw would try to help his partner from about 100 feet away as he slowly ran back toward the battle. A thick blast of lightning jumped fired from one of his blades toward Col Arana. But Col wasn’t alone in this battle either. After a surge of reiatsu from the mist doll, the lightning blast’s trajectory began to curve upward toward the sky. Even though it left a trail of electricity, Alice had given Col one less attack to worry about. Ende had been forced to disengage from Kozu to avoid the vile vomit, but instead, it rushed to meet Dean in combat. The doll and rogue clashed blades, ensuring that Dean and Kozu stayed separated. Alice and Weib, however, where close enough to Col to continue to provide support. Three more durable strings formed at Kozu’s legs and functioning army, anchoring him to the ground. If Kozu was successful in trapping Col, Alice could at least trap the other Arrancar as well.

Ende’s Appearance

Kozu’s Release Appearance

Dean Class 1 Bakkoto: 3/3

Col White Tokens: 3

Dean White Tokens: 1

Alice White Tokens: 4

Ende’s White Tokens: 1

Kozu White Tokens: 1

---

Douma remained stoic throughout Jason’s angry words and Amalia’s snide comments. There was a reason he was known as the Angel of Silence. The rogue was a man of few words, and he wouldn’t needlessly waste any on Jason. "Well, I guess I should leave your former subordinate to you. He's essentially on his last leg. Bleeding profusely and using a technique that not drains stamina at high quantities, but causes his blood to pour forth generously.” She was absolutely right. Douma simply looked to Amalia and nodded in agreement. There was no battle left.

Jason did not take the subtle message well. It only fueled the rage D.E.M.O.N. already ignited throughout his spirit and consciousness. He could no longer hold back. Bullets rained down upon Douma and Amalia once more, but Amalia wouldn’t have to move this time. Instead, the rogue unleashed a massive projectile from his hand: a black sphere the size of a skyscraper. It fired at Jason at a speed of 400, and while the bullets punctured through it, the ball was so massive that they couldn’t pierce all the way through. The sphere tore through the ground as it closed in on the wounded fullbringer.

At this point, Jason had lost so much blood and energy that he had no choice but to throw the towel in. Yes, he could have avoided this attack in the same why he did Amalia’s previously, but it wasn’t worth it anymore. Amalia had ran out the clock long enough to force a retreat. As the sphere approached, Jason simply reached to his waist and hit a button on his belt, which apparently imbued with other illegal properties. Suddenly, Jason became completely intangible and transparent, like a ghost. The sphere went right through his body. The bullets, guns, and the rest of his release were gone. Thankfully, he had been relieved of the limitations of a physical body, so he could walk fine for as long as the belt’s effects lasted. He would be able to make his escape.

“So long, baby,” he said with a dark grin and a middle finger. “I’ll be seeing you soon.” And with that, he disappeared back into the forest from which he came. And then there were two.

“I sent my colleague to assist your half-demon friend,” Douma said, allowing Amalia to hear his modulated voice for the first time. “He will likely survive. However, it seems that our employer Seb requires our attention.” Douma began to walk toward Seb’s headquarters, crossing into the thick fog that covered the forest. “I do not know who you are, but I can recognize the reiatsu of a Vandenreich Quincy. Truthfully, I do not care about your greater allegiance. However, I’m interested to know if Jason shared any strange information with you. His possession of those enslaved hollows is worrisome. Jason may not be capable of much on his own, but if someone gave him more power, he will pose a threat to both of our interests.”

It would take several minutes of walking before Douma and Amalia, if she chose to join him, would make it to the headquarters. They might as well exchange useful information in the meantime.

[Col Arana]

Col saw his plasma blades pierce and hack into Kozu's body. A savage, animalistic grin spread across his face, though he was somewhat irritated at Kozu's tongues intercepting his attacks. Only irritated though. Rather than be distraught at Kozu's sudden tongue lashing attack, Col was caught up in the glee of spilling the arrancar's blood. Though if he had indeed been truly defenseless against the six tongues that flailed out at him, Col might indeed have grown quite upset. But he was not. Of the Escudo's four attacks, only three had been piercing attacks. Although his green plasma blade clearly had failed in severing Kozu's spine, the cutting attacks had left the weapon free to engage the tongues that emerged from Kozu's mouths. Plasma blades were wonderful tools. Unlike a proper cutting edge, they didn't need proper edge alignment to cut. Nor did Col need sufficient force and rotation to cut with them. Certainly these helped in generating power, to prevent the blows being easily repelled, but in a pinch, they could do without both. Contact was what was necessary, and Col could supply exactly that.

Col's left hand, clutching his green plasma blade, reversed its rotation as Kozu's tongue attempted to bind it, attempting to sheer through the slimy appendage, and preventing that arm from being bound at least. At the same time, Col unveiled his hidden weapon. Both of them, in fact. His fifth and sixth pairs of arms unwrapped themselves from his torso, and flexed as they unraveled, causing a two foot long blade to extend from the wrist joint, as if he were performing an Edward Elric impersonation. These blades flashed out and attempted to slice through the two tongues attempting to bind Col's body. The tongues were unbelievably strong and could likely crush Col with their gripping force alone if they ensnared him. But Col's blades were sharpened by the Escudo's immense reiatsu strength, and would possess the cutting edge to slice through even Kozu's powerful, disgusting muscle. The Escudo knew that although he was sly, and skilled, Kozu's immense bulk spoke to unimaginable strength, compared to him. Col knew he was much more powerful than Kozu. But he was not invincible. He could not allow a moment's misjudgement to result in his death.

While Col had dealt with three of Kozu's tongues, that left three remaining that he could do little about. At least initially. Kozu had launched the tongues while Col was in mid-strike, leaving himself unable to avoid the blows, but simultaneously, had left it equally difficult for Col to deal with them as well, as the blows that had pierced Kozu's body forced Col to retract them before he could counter. It seemed his blue plasma blade had failed to find Kozu's heart, just as his green one had failed to sever his spinal column. Col knew that his priority had to be freeing his limbs, before Kozu could crush them-- a feat Col recognized that, even with his armored carapace, he had mere seconds to achieve. And then he felt the building of Dean's reiatsu, to his chagrin. He let out an irritated intake of breath. No-- no... no, it was fine. It's fine. He reminded himself. The poison will be taking effect shortly.

Kozu's tongues had intercepted Col's arms before they could reach him, but the arrancar likely couldn't have expected the hidden wrist blades. So, as Col moved to his next tactic, he flexed the wrists of the two ensnared limbs as well, sending the wrist blades shooting out to pierce into Kozu's back despite the adversary's attempt to stop him. Quick as those tongues were, it was unlikely they could have stopped Col's arms before the Escudo even got the limbs within two feet of the monsters' hideous bulk.

Because the final reason for Col's savage glee at the blows he'd delivered to Kozu were not solely due to spilling blood, but rather due to the potent venom that coated the arrancar's talons and wrist blades. Perhaps Kozu even now was beginning to recognize something was wrong, as a feeling of numbness would soon start spreading from the wounds Col had inflicted with his talons. Col possessed, in his Resurrection, a powerful hemotoxin. Transmitted through the target's blood via open wounds (like those Col had just caused), it caused numbness, followed by eventual paralysis. Full paralysis would take quite awhile-- normally approximately ten posts worth of time. But every new application of the venom would accelerate that process. Kozu had already been wounded by Col's poisoned talons twice for certain. And worse yet, the toxin didn't suddenly take full effect at the final moment, with no lead-up aside from slight numbness. As the venom spread through Kozu's body, the other arrancar would begin to slow down, losing 10% of his maximum speed with every passing exchange, until full paralysis set in. In fact, it was possible that Col may have inflicted a total of four such wounds, when his wrist blades severed the tongues-- however, the arrancar was going to fight as though the tongues did not count. Kozu's unusual anatomy already had befouled him once. For all Col knew, there was not sufficient circulation in his adversary's tongues to facilitate efficient movement of the toxin.

With the poison in place, Col could safely disengage from Kozu and return to his battle with Dean. .....If he could free himself from Kozu's tongues that is. Col could feel the immense power of the appendages, and realized that trying to fight against Kozu's strength was pointless. He was a tarantula in the jaws of a toad-- the arachnid could not hope to break free through strength alone. Its only possible salvation came in the potency of its bite. And bite Col did. He was aware of Dean's incoming lightning attack. And Kozu's acid attack as well. Attacked on all sides, while bound... it would be difficult to defend all the attacks.

Col's left arm slashed down on the tongue binding his right wrist, in a whirling buzzsaw as he exploited his rotating wrists to their fullest, aiming to shear through the binding, even if his wrist was struck in the process. Col knew his carapace could handle it. At the same time his fifth and sixth arms attempted to draw forth a third and fourth pair of plasma blades, another blue and green pair, and slashed quickly at the tongues binding Col's second set of arms still inside Kozu's back. All six limbs were engaging Col's grotesque enemy, and that wasn't even accounting for the spray of acid. In this situation, focused entirely on setting up his disengage, Col could not dodge entirely. But he could at least protect his vulnerable face, and hope his carapace could absorb at least the worst of it. Col opened his mouth and a Bala erupted from his jaws, blasting a considerable hole in the acid flying toward his face, and ensuring that the liquid would only land below the arrancar's neckline, across his arms and carapace. As a bonus feature, at this range, even a defensive Bala was liable to hit Kozu square in the upper back.

But Col certainly still felt the acid striking his carapace, looking for purchase. The Escudo audibly retched at the positively revolting odor that it procured, although, having devoured his fair share of corpses, Col had a greater tolerance for such smells than most. With that said, it was telling just how foul it was indeed, if it caused even Col to retch at it, as he tried to break away from Kozu. And there was nothing the Escudo could do about Dean's lightning attack. He'd just have to bear the blow as it came. The Escudo, having cut away the six tongues, attempted to retreat from Kozu, four plasma blades flashing and whirling as Col disengaged, to prevent Kozu binding him again. The arrancar moved with careful, hurried steps backwards, even knowing he was likely about to walk right into Dean's attack, and he braced for impact.....

An impact that never came. Col felt the surge of Dean's reiatsu sail above him, and he turned his head sideways, allowing his additional eyes keep track on Kozu for any movement. Astounding. Alice's ability was remarkable. Col had only taken a few steps away and already Kozu was becoming little more than a dim shape in the fog. It was rather funny. Col's additional eyes had relatively poor eyesight, the world blurred and distorted to them, only especially good for detecting movement-- like bonus peripheral vision. But in this fog, they were really scarcely worse than his normal eyes anyways, as tracking movement through it was about all Col could do at this range anyways. In any case... The arrancar turned to face Dean, and noted the trail of lightning arcing up toward the sky, not far from him now. "Hm. I suppose I do owe you a compliment of gratitude then." Col admitted. attempting to use his set of arms that were not occupied by holding a plasma blade to try and wipe off Kozu's acidic drool. Slapping his hands across his carapace, Col could intrinsically notice the dents, and rough surface. Though it hadn't penetrated all the way through his carapace, Kozu was right that it had severely damaged the carapace's integrity. As acids were wont to do. While Col was confident it would still hold up to most low-level attacks, anything of particularly superior caliber could potentially penetrate it. And if nothing else, Dean had shown he possessed quite a lot of power-- the wound beneath his carapace throbbing in reminder of that.

Now a proper counterattack. All six limbs now revealed, Col checked both directions. It seemed Dean was preoccupied with one of Alice's dolls. Fine then. He'd bring down this gluttonous monster himself. Ideally I'd like to disengage entirely and finish that Dean off. That hideous beast will succumb to my venom soon enough. Col thought, contemptuously. "Ah well... I suppose I do owe Miss Alice a favor for guarding me as such. I suppose I'll finish the job at least." Col approached Kozu again, despite his successful disengage. A pity Col couldn't spit his venom like a snake, he might have aimed for Kozu's open wounds to facilitate the process. No, Kozu had shown he was extremely dangerous in close, and his monstrous anatomy allowed him to defend from multiple angles, even if Col attacked from behind. Col would have to be more cautious in his approach. "Let's start with that nasty look you're giving me." Col quipped, as Kozu's bulky figure became clearer as he drew close, now just barely beyond striking range. Col's third and fourth arm lifted up and a stream of webbing sprayed from the wrists, aiming at the eyes dotting Kozu's deformed body, to attempt to blind the arrancar. It was probable that Kozu would begin to react to this fairly quickly, but Col still attempted to blind as many of the other arrancar's eyes as he could, before Kozu devised an appropriate response. Give him something else to think about alongside his declining physical condition. Col's eyes glinted at the thought of this great beast trussed up and bound. Waiting to be devoured.

Release: 3/16
Venom Count: 1/7 (10% reduced speed, assuming Kozu does not have poison resistance).
Reiatsu Remaining: 2225 (-450 after release (-50 for Bala))

[Himitsu Kasumi'Oji]

OOC: I'm gonna have a hectic week/week and a half, but after that, I plan on dropping a new post every week for this thread to ensure that it doesn't stall any longer. Since this is a canon, I'd like to ask that you all treat it as your posting priority. We're not very far from the end, let's make it to the finish line so new canons can open up.

[✱Paiva "Amalia" Vollbrecht✱]

So long, baby. I'll be seeing you soon. Amalia stared at Jason with amusement, her lip lifted on one side. While Amalia was grateful to have Jason abandon their fight, her respect for him was no greater than it was when they began. In fact, she respected him even less. On one hand she couldn't fathom this level of desperation that it would motivate a reliance on hollow powers. On the other hand, what she witnessed of Jason was a profound urgency for relevance. Without use of hollow powers, he would have likely been completely irrelevant, or seen himself as such.

It wasn't worth debating. Jason was a fool and was woefully misguided. He had placed his faith in the most unholy of powers, and a woman who Amalia knew was untrustworthy. Even without knowing her she figured they are all but pawns and no more. Once their usefulness had expired they would be eliminated. She had met many like her, and all of them had succumb to their own vices. She watched as he faded away, her eyes glancing over at Douma. "That was your former subordinate? You must have low standards." She remarked in jest.

I sent my colleague to assist your half-demon friend. Amalia chuckled as she swiped her hands across her clothing, dispelling the debris. "I'd hardly call us 'friends.' Someone of my prominence and position would never associate with someone like him unless the circumstances absolutely warranted it." She glanced back at Douma. "His death wouldn't be entirely terrible. One less half-breed running around." Amalia walked nearby Douma, her eyes focused on the dense fog up ahead. "Congratulations for having enough skill to distinguish my vibrant reiatsu from the dull, lackluster reiatsu of others." She laughed lightly as she ran her fingers through her hair. 

"Unfortunately, the little weasel revealed very little. I know some woman is pulling the strings and has distributed hollows to him and others like him. I wasn't able to extract more information, which is a shame. I do so enjoy torturing for information. I suppose I'll have an opportunity to torture him later. Men like him can't help but return once their blood has been spilled. Their ego is far too fragile to accept their own limitations and so they must prove themselves. I assume you know very little as well?"


22,350
+800 Quincy cross

[Jak Halcom]

The man's response to his claims were less than ideal. Jak had assumed that this man was one of Jason's allies, either that was the case and the son of a bitch was setting them up to kill them no matter what they chose, or this man was not Jason's ally and Jak just fucked himself over again. Either way, Jak was on guard and ready to fight if that was the case. Sure enough the man used a step technique to close the distance. Jak had to force himself from jumping at the massive man looming above him. Jak swallowed hard tightening his fists. Now that Jak could see the man clearly, Jak was not liking what he was seeing, craning his neck to look the man in the eyes. 

Jak was considered tall, but this man was a giant in comparison. He towered over Jak by a full two feet, and his eyes didn't seem like ones that offered any kind of mercy. His arms were like tree trunks, and his barreled chested torso seemed that it could fit a person in. The man charged in fast. He was far faster than Jak, but Jak was able to get enough from the man to know that he intended to throw a right hook. Instead of trying to pull away from the attack, like most people would do, Jak would move into the man keeping within clenching distance of the man. Jak would keep his left arm up blocking the inside of the man's arm.

The two arms met with a hard thud, Jak's arm was pushed in slightly from the force of the punch, but the block managed to hold. It seemed that they were nearly equal when it came to pure strength, but Jak seemed to come out slightly. Jak didn't hesitate though. Jak immediately threw his own right hook to the man's ribs. Jak knew that aiming for the guy's face was not a wise idea, he would have to jump just to reach the massive man's head, leaving him wide open for just about any kind of counter. For now Jak needed to keep himself planted and tight inside the man's reach where it was harder for him to hit. If the attack hit or not, Jak would follow up with a hard kick to the inside of his left thigh intending to blast it hard and move it out of the way. With one more step, Jak would follow the inside thigh kick with a driving knee to the gut, with his right knee. 

"From the fraying pan into pot." Jak growled out loud. He swore that if he made it back home, he was not coming into work for at least a week after this. Kazura can bluster and threaten to fire him all he wants, Jak would need at least a week of non spiritual bullshit to keep from going insane. 

[Himitsu Kasumi'Oji]

As Col’s plasma blades tore through two of Kozu’s muscular tongues, each mouth to which the tongues were attached roared in agony. The rest, in response to the pain Kozu suffered, backed off immediately as in apprehension. They too moaned in sympathy. However, their cries of pain lasted less than second. As the dismembered tongues flailed in the air, they were also dangerously close to Col. He may no longer have considered them much of a threat, but that was a mistake. Yes, they could no longer bring him any physical harm, but those tongues were hungry. It was as if they had a separate mind independent of Kozu, yet linked by their appetite for hollow flesh. They wanted a taste. Just a taste. And one was close enough to grace his calf as it fell.



All at once, Kozu’s mouths smiled. All of his mouths wore a toothy, evil grin. He had tasted Col, and Col Arana tasted delicious. The gluttonous Arrancar could begin to feel the numbing effects of Col’s poison, but he showed no signs of concern. In fact, he seemed quite pleased, as if Col had excited something within him. With the loss of two of his tongues, the rest immediately backed away from Col, giving the former Escudo the opportunity to disengage without slicing his way through any more of the appendages.

The bala effectively blocked the projectile acid, leaving just a few droplets to sizzle and burn out after scarring Col’s armor with a handful of small, grainy marks. However, the bala never quite damaged Kozu. Instead, it fired directly into Kozu’s open, vomiting mouth, leading that mouth to close and swallow it. Those grins returned, this time even wider. “So good,” Kozu groaned almost erotically. “The best I’ve had yet. Give me more.”

Alice flashed a coy smile in response to Col’s thanks. “Yes you do, and I’m going to cash in that favor so don’t forget about it.” With that, she used Movement to position herself half-way between Kozu and Dean, instead focusing her attention on assisting her doll. The battle between Alice and her doll Ende against Dean was a fast-paced duel of blades with Ende moving so quickly around Dean that he was pretty much teleporting, Ende attempting to bind Dean with strings, Alice using her Chakra-coated bullets to provide support to her doll, and Dean using a combination of swordplay and lightning – even recalling the electricity he redirected from Col earlier – to defend and counter-attack. It was a thrilling battle, but not one Col could pay any particular attention to. Kozu was hungry and he had no intention to wait for his meal.

From those two mouths with severed tongues, Kozu activated a new technique. Those long, monstrous teeth in each mouth fired like projectiles at a speed of 800 like homing missiles. Each wanted a bite of Col, and they flew after the Arrancar independently. Their trajectories seemed to zig-zag and curve randomly, like they possessed the mind of a hyper child. None went straight for Col, each instead moving around and above in an effort to surround him before closing in. There were 30 teeth total, each possessing quite a lot of power.

But that wasn’t all. As those teeth chased their target, Kozu seemed to go on a rampage. As he laughed like a maniac, his feet dug into the ground. He cracked the rocks that connected those strings Alice tried to bind him with, freeing himself. His remaining 10 tongues began to slap the ground for several yards around him, sending cracks out for about 50 meters in each direction. The ground began to destabilize. Even the rock cliff behind which Seb’s headquarters was located began to crumble, revealing a metal surface behind the stone. Whatever long game Kozu had didn’t seem quite obvious, but with Col’s poison, it didn’t seem like he had much time anyway.

Kozu’s Speed (reduced by 20%): 200
Kozu’s Tongues’ Speed: 480

---

Amalia would detect no reaction from the rogue beside her. It wouldn’t be clear whether he was just an emotionless individual or if his mask hid any facial expression he might have. Either way, Douma would only respond to Amalia’s mention of this woman Jason brought up. “The mercenaries I defeat said something similar about a woman they received the hollow from. They likely had the same supplier as Jason. It seems that this individual is giving these hollows out, but I do not know what Jason and the others could possible offer in exchange for such powerful weapons.” Amalia might want to pursue the conversation further, but if she chose not to, Douma would continue the walk in silence. The pair was already nearly blind in the fog, so perhaps it was better to be alert.

Douma and Amalia drew nearer and nearer to the fog, they’d easily feel the dominant reiatsu signatures fighting amongst each other near Seb’s headquarters. Dean was clashing with Alice and her two dolls. Kozu and Col Arana were engaged with one another as well. Douma and Amalia would approach from the side closest to Dean and Alice. “Let’s not rush in,” Douma told Amalia. Those were his only words of advice. She could act as he wanted, but Douma was a patient man. He preferred to understand, calculate, and then act. Thus, if Amalia wanted to run in or make a flashy entrance, she’d do so alone.

Once the pair broke through the dense trees into the clear opening outside of Seb’s headquarters, Douma spoke softly. So softly, in fact, that even Amalia would barely hear him. But his words were not directed to her. “Alice,” he instructed his subordinate. “Dispel Weib. Recover your energy.” In response, Alice, Ende, and Web disengaged Dean. Alice sealed her fog doll, allowing everyone in the surrounding forrest to finally see with their eyes once more. Dean, breathing heavily, looked around at Alice, Ende, Douma, Amalia, and Col Arana with confused eyes, as though there was somebody missing.

“Fuck. Where’d Jason go?”

---

Jak’s block was quite effective, and he immediately jumped into a counter attack. As he threw a right punch, Leonardo quickly reacted. The Kenpachi, even while holding his full power back, was much faster than Jak. He moved with a speed of 400, bringing his left hand to deflect Jak’s punch toward the sky via contact with his wrist.

However, Leonardo went a step further. His fingers actually wrapped around Jak’s wrist, beginning to squeeze with 500 strength to shatter and compress the nakabakki’s bone. While he did, he stepped into Jak’s guard with his left foot, making it impossible for Jak to properly kick him. He used that momentum to headbutt Jak as hard as he could, mustering enough force to easily dent Jak’s skull and heavily damage his brain. To avoid that kind of damage, Jak would have to break free from Leonardo’s grip or come up with another means to defend himself. There was no denying that he was battling an incredibly powerful individual. After all, Titan was a body of assassins and mercenaries. Leonardo had one job and one job alone: kill. And he was very good at it.

OOC: Col and Amalia have finally merged, yay! Posting order will be determined by the order of your posts in this upcoming round

[Col Arana]

Tch. So Kozu wisely backed off after Col's sudden counter attack. He recovered from the damage quickly, but Col was already disengaged and out of range. So he can attack at all angles, can he? How annoying. He thought, in annoyance. Especially annoyed at Kozu licking his leg. Col's face screwed up in disgust at this. How vulgar! Yeah. Just a bit of the pot calling the kettle black there. He'd thankfully avoided too much damage, the acid only causing minor damage to his carapace. Still, he would have to be cautious. Closing in on Kozu with those tongues flopping about would be almost impossible. He could defend attacks from any angle, and counterattack immediately, without even moving much. He wasn't that fast, because he didn't have to be. He just had to wait for his prey to come to him. And then there was the fate of Col's Bala. It had been devoured!? So.... that was how it was. "How irritating." Col commented. "Your power is not so great, nor are you particularly formidable. But your defense is aggravatingly competent." He noted. Defense against both reiatsu and close combat attacks would normally severely cut back on his options. That meant Col needed either a physical ranged attack like his webs, or a reiatsu-based attack of such a magnitude that he couldn't absorb it.

Fortunately, Col had both.

Before Col could enact his strategy of utilizing his webs to attack Kozu's eyes however, he noted rapid movement in the fog. Kozu had shot projectiles at him! Col answered by immediately leaping into the air, only to notice them change course to pursue him. A tracking attack? But is it based on his perception or are they moving independently? Col wasn't certain. However his airborne leap had spared him from being affected by Kozu's violent rampage. He noticed the teeth trying to surround him, and his four plasma bladed limbs began to spin rapidly around him, attempting to create a defensive barrier against the teeth, spinning at such a rate that anything that tried to pierce his shield would be shredded and vaporized. It was possible that as the teeth attempted to surround Col some would meet this fate, as Col sprinted into the air at full speed.

But Col was not merely seeking to evade. There was a secondary objective at hand here. Kozu required either a high level reiatsu attack, or a physical attack to breach his defenses.... Col had one of those. One that fulfilled both criteria in fact. As his teeth attempted to surround Col, Col moved into the air above Kozu, approximately fifteen feet above him, and in front (behind? slightly off center anyways). As he raced to this point, he began an incantation. ""Walls of ironsand, a priestly pagoda, glowing ironclad fireflies. Standing upright, silent to the end--" As Kozu broke free of Alice's strings, Col was ready. Kozu's teeth about to dart in, the arrancar issued his attack. "Bakudo #75. Gochutekkan."

From out of nowhere, five colossal iron pillars hurtled through the fog, smashing through all the teeth that were in front of Col. Hence why the arrancar had achieved this position above Kozu. He had wanted to be close enough that the bakudo would take out the teeth angling to attack from his front, but did not want to get back into the reach of Kozu's tongues. And Col had issued an incantation as well. The pillars threw themselves down with such speed and force that even Col had scarcely seen them, and they would strike down on their target with a thunderous BOOM that echoed across the battlefield. Not reiatsu so Kozu would not be able to devour them so easily. But heavy and powerful enough, that they would likely overwhelm even his immense strength. Of course, Col only destroyed a handful of the teeth, not all of them. Thinking quickly, as he cast the kido, he deliberately opened a hole in his spinning guard, on his right hand side. If the teeth were autonomous, they'd likely go straight for this hole. And when they did, a Bala would suddenly pulse out from it, blasting through any that tried to exploit this opening. The rest of the teeth would be met by Col's spinning plasma blades. Though thirty was a lot of teeth, between Col's Bakudo and Bala, he should have reduced the numbers enough to be manageable for this defense, any that may have slipped through striking his armored carapace rather than his vulnerable face.

Sweat broke out on Col's forehead as the mist dissolved. That had been an arduous combination of attacks and he could feel fatigue seeping through him. His Resurrection may have abated any extreme cost to his reiatsu whilst he remained in this form, but his physical stamina was still taxed by the attack. A level 75 Bakudo spell, and a Bala, along with sustained high speed arm movement. It was hardly an easy thing to keep up, and Col was definitely getting tired, briefly wondering if he should take a moment to rest and recover, or even if he'd have the chance. Kozu was likely pinned by Gochutekkan in the midst of his angered flailing and Alice was fighting Dean. He should have a moment or two, surely?

But then the mist began to dissipate. Col noticed this, and felt the approach of two other potent reiatsus. He momentarily cursed himself. He'd been so focused on maintaining attention on Dean, Kozu and Alice, that he'd forgotten to extend his senses to notice the approach of others. His main eyes glanced back to notice them. A Quincy.... possibly the reiatsu he had sensed earlier. And... who was that? A masked figure... Col's eyes narrowed. He's dangerous... He could sense it. Ah well. With the disappearing fog, Col would at least be able to see with his own eyes the effects of his Bakudo spell on Kozu, and be able to follow Dean's fight with Alice more closely. Were these newcomers enemies, or reinforcements for Seb? He honestly wasn't certain.


Release: 4/16
Venom Count: 2/7 (20% reduced speed, assuming Kozu does not have poison resistance).
Reiatsu Remaining: 2225 (-900 after release (-50 for Bala, -400 for Gochutekkan))

[Jak Halcom]

Jak was a bit surprised that his block was as effective as it was. However the counter attack had much to be desired. He just was not fast enough to compete with the man. He punch was deflected up with a quick and simple parry from the large man. Jak was about to continue with his attack, but he felt the strong fingers start to wrap around his wrist. Jak knew that he was strong, so he didn't want to get too tangled up with him. Jak extended his left hand and fired two quick spirit bolts dead center on the man's massive torso. At that close range, it would require an on point step to avoid the blasts which Jak hoped the massive man was too focused on his arm to react in time. That should give jak enough time to pull his arm back to a safe distance. 

2 spirit bolts -100 345 remaining

[✱Paiva "Amalia" Vollbrecht✱]

Amalia scoffed at the general environment. The fog was dense, but even that could not shield her from the truth of her surroundings. She reached into the deep pockets of her fur coat and pulled out some hair pins. She began sliding her fingers through her hair as carefully pinned large plots of hair. What an uncivilized location for their home base. It spoke volumes about who she was dealing with. And despite having placed herself in this untenable situation, she has learned absolutely nothing of value. The vagueness she received from the would-be pirate was of little use.

She was feeling unconvinced of Seb's value in this. Even for someone willing to play both sides she was no closer to her objective, and it was merely to find some answers. She had already contemplated slaughtering everyone and extracting the information by force, but Jason proved more challenging than she anticipated. She couldn't help but roll her eyes upon reflection of her previous battle. To think a human, as fragile as he was, would desecrate his body with foul hollow powers was beyond the scope of desperation. He and his degenerate allies were already swimming in a deep ocean of insanity, one that desperately needed cleansing. 

The mercenaries I defeated said something similar about a woman they received the hollow from. They likely had the same supplier as Jason. It seems that this individual is giving these hollows out, but I do not know what Jason and the others could possible offer in exchange for such powerful weapons. "Well, I appreciate the thrill of you punctuating what is already known. We have no more than vague idea of some exchange of hollows. How positively groundbreaking and shrewd of us to observe." Amalia's tone and speech were laced with a most bitter brine. 

She was unwilling to conceal her irritation with her lack of progress so far. What further frustrated Amalia was her inability to handle things as she would like. His majesty was relying on her to return with some answers, so indiscriminate killing was certainly a poor option. Then again, there was nothing stopping her from performing a mass cleansing after she acquired the appropriate amount of information. Even this masked man knew just as little as she did. How pathetic. She thought. This silly rogue once employed that degenerate and knows no more than I do. Unless he's keeping certain details to himself, which wouldn't surprise me.

Let's not rush in. Amalia remained quiet as she placed her hands in her pockets and strutted into the fog alongside Douma. "Don't think me some inexperienced peasant. Even so, I care little for what lies ahead. That which I sense bores me." She stated caustically.  "You're welcome to engage anyone who might stand in our path." She said with a dismissive hand gesture. "You seem fit and capable. I wouldn't dream of interfering in your fun." As she said this the fog cleared and those she sensed became visible. "More of same, so it seems." She said with a disappointing sigh. She immediately took out a compact as she turned away from the others and began fixing her make-up. I better be rewarded for this shit. Having to associate with common gutter trash because the others are incapable of accomplishing a simple task. Such a mission is much more her speed, though she'd already be dead. Win-win, I suppose.  She thought as a faint smile as her eyes turned to the glow of her Quincy cross.



22,350
+800 Quincy Cross

[Shizuka Sanamizu ✮]

A few seconds is enough time.

Tom did her a serious service by basically throwing himself at Mariam. She wasn't knocked out, but she was stunned. Shizuka knew the girl was going to get back up, but even she wasn't going to be able to defend so soon after being hit like that and having to quickly flex to reduce damages. That's a serious defense against an attack that looked as strong as Tom's. Shizuka lit a ring of flames around Mariam and used Bringer Light one more time to get close enough without going inside the ring. It was only about five or six feet in diameter, but it rose ten feet in the air. It was meant to trap Mariam as much as possible. But it served as an ignition point.

Shizuka acted immediately after Tom had stopped moving since she saw the opening. Replenishing her liquid source took no time as she summoned more of the same explosive she had been using. Once she was within range of the flaming ring, she shot her gun three times and released 30 gallons of the ANNM mixture. As Shizuka used Bringer Light to separate herself from the attack, it reacted immediately upon meeting the flames and unleashed a large amount of firey rage upon the woman, assuming she was truly unable to defend against an attack of this caliber. That was the Fullbringer's hope. She was running out of ideas and needed to either trap them as she had before or run away with Tom to save them both. If her plan really did work, Mariam would be engulfed in furious flames.

"Let's go!"

The Fullbringer motioned for Tom to follow her as they ran from the scene. If it worked, Mariam would be dead. But Shizuka wasn't sure it was going to be so easy to kill a Kenpachi. She'd met one before and he was frighteningly strong. If anything, perhaps it would injure her enough to be discouraged from following these two. But they didn't end up getting far before a dense fog flooded the area. Shizuka soon realized that she was blind to everything around her and officially started to panic. She already didn't have very high sensory abilities in general compared to some people she's met, but she was practically supernatural when up against any average human. She could barely see her own hands in front of her, so she tried listening around.

A familiar voice would reach her ears and she quickly attempted to follow it. This effort took some time since she didn't have much luck with being able to see in any direction, so she had to slow herself down considerably. She felt vulnerable, but she hoped that she'd be able to make it away from there using the fog to her advantage, as well. Shizuka was a bit slow in realizing that the other guy who was with Mariam had disappeared and gone off somewhere, so she was basically a sitting duck here while everyone else probably knew where she was. She didn't know who activated this fog, but Shizuka had enough experience to know it was some kind of Release.

She got closer to the voices and other sounds that she heard and was able to vaguely make out two figures fighting each other. Something in her gut told her to stay away, but something in her heart warned her that one of the figured needed help. Apparently, she had been wandering with enough time for the fog to dissipate on its own. The figures ended up being one of the guys she was trying to avoid, and a demon boy that she had met a long time ago. She recognized him as Jak. It seemed as though he had gotten stronger, and Shizuka smiled briefly as she felt a small amount of pride. What a good thing to see. But what wasn't good was the trouble he had gotten himself into.

Using the fact that Jak's opponent was distracted, Shizuka quickly gathered a bit of Reiatsu. As fast as lightening, she released one of her stronger techniques: Electrocution. It barely shows signs of being prepared, so Leonardo being able to tell that Shizuka was about to attack was unlikely. Focusing on the strongest level of this technique, Shizuka flung her left hand forward and allowed the bolts of lightening to electrocute Leonardo without harming Jak. Leonardo would more than likely be forced to release his hold on Jak, assuming he was still gripping on to him, and stagger back. With the strength of this attack, the man would be suffering from severely crippling burns.

Shizuka called out to Jak. "Take him down! You have to kill him if you want this to end!"

SPOILER: Click to show

{Energy Generation: Electrocution (Mastered: - 360 TTP)}

Technique Name: Electrocution

Class: 4-2

Technique Type: Energy Generate

Usable By: Human World Dwellers

Technique Element: Lightning

Technique Description and Effects:

An ancient and powerful Energy Generate technique uncovered, Electrocution is a natural force using technique. This EG uses the raw power of electricity as its weapon, ravaging an enemies body as it is released from the hands or fingertips of its user. As the caster is only the conduit for the lightning, the EG does not rely on any of his physical or spiritual capabilities to perform. He simply needs the necessary Reiatsu to use it. Electrocution is a devastating Energy Generate as no force living or dead can withstand the effects of an electric shock. When the lightning strikes the target they will, typically, clench up and become immobilized as the pain of Electrocution courses through their bodies. Those struck by the electric shock are subject to the pain of high powered electricity. As mastery of the technique rises so does the power behind the electricity. Reiatsu Strength is the used Offensive Stat for this technique, but because this technique has definite damage the OS is simply used for clashes.

Class 4: The user cannot fully utilize the power of this technique at this Class. At Class 4 all the user can do is create a quick blast of electricity, a single and quick bolt that does nothing more than quickly immobilize and hurt the enemy. The bolt is quick, moving within the seven meter range of effectiveness in the blink of an eye. The immobilization caused by the bolt is quick fleeting, doing nothing more than stopping the target from performing an action (someone running would fall over). It is essentially the equivalent of someone being shot with a taser.

Class 3: Class 3 users of Electrocution are a force to be feared on the battlefield. As they practice and hone their talents with the technique they soon reach the level where they are no longer limited to a quick spark. Class 3 can release a steady stream of arcing bolts of electricity from their palms or fingertips for approximately seven seconds. While only one target can be struck at this level, the power at this level is much higher than its Class 4 state. Immense pain is inflicted upon the target, causing either intense tension in the body as it freezes up or simply collapsing. While not as lethal as the Class 2 version, this level of power is very useable in the battlefield. Unlike the former level, this one will even leave smoldering , second degree, burns upon the victim's body where the electricity struck. Machinery relying on electric parts are easily and effortlessly disabled by Electrocution at this level. At Class 3 it is entirely capable of killing people if you’re not careful.

Class 2: The most powerful level of this technique and only few have ever achieved. Upon becoming Class 2 users of Electrocution the user can easily gain the advantage on multiple opponents at once. The user can choose to release his technique from one or two hands or if Mastered from their entire bodies, releasing multiple forked arcing bolts of electricity to attack up to three foes at once. As the beams are forked they can jump between enemies, meaning one man can hit three people at once if they are close together. When the Class 2 version is fired, it doesn’t stop until the user either dies or wills it to stop. Multiple, hindering, third degree burns will cover the victim's body, often leaving them a steaming mess. The electrical power this technique is comparable to a lightning bolt, making it absolutely devastating against people. Continued and multiple exposure to this attack can cause someone to have cardiac arrest or completely disintegrate them.

How to use technique: Using the technique is rather simple. One simply focuses their Reiatsu into their hands and imagines lightning. It’s a technique that gives hardly any sign of its preparation, making it an extremely useful surprise attack.

Technique Drawbacks: A technique this powerful requires equally powerful drawbacks, and this technique has its own hindering drawbacks that makes someone think twice before using it. As the user is using his own arm(s) as the conduits for the technique, constant exposure to such high amounts of electricity is damaging. While the Class 4 version of this technique is far more lenient than its other versions, it can still cause numbing in the hand using it if used four times within seven posts. The Class 3 version is not so forgiving, however. The technique can be used safely twice before any of the limb damaging effects happen. Burning of the hands and arms is commonly seen after being used twice, as well as numbing of the arm that hinders its ability to be adequately used in combat. The numbness will recover after four posts. The Class 2 version of this technique though is the most damaging. It can only safely be used once, and anymore runs the risk of permanently damaging the user. Continued use of the Class 2 Electrocution would result in sever, third degree, burns across the length of the arm(s) that conduct this technique. While the Class 2 version can safely be used once, it will still result in the casters arm going completely numb and becoming partially paralyzed for four posts.

It has other limitations as well. Electrocution only has an effect range of ten meters, meaning an enemy has to be relatively close for it to even be effective. As this power is using pure electricity, it can be grounded by things that would normally ground electricity. Spiritual steel is able to partially block most of the power behind this attack, effectively halving most of the power but only if the target can block it in time. Both Hierro and Blut provide a natural defense against this technique, but follow Offensive Stat and Class Clash rules.

Made By: Ray

Reserved: No

Shizuka's Remaining Reiatsu: 3800 (-50 for Soul Command, -100 for two uses of Bringer Light, -600 for Electrocution)
Fullbring Stage 1: 4/10
Liquid Type: ANNM
Gallons Remaining: 70/100

[Himitsu Kasumi'Oji]

Kozu could sense the iron pillars forming above him right before they appeared. He was quite slow in comparison to Col’s kido, but Kozu attempted to retract his extended tongues and execute a sonido step technique in order to safely distance himself from Col’s bakudo. He was almost successful too, but unfortunately, one of his tongues dragged too far behind as the pillars descended. One of the iron columns had caught Kozu’s tongue, trapping it between the ground. “Agh!” he yelled in pain as the muscle tore from the force of his step technique. To guarantee his escape, however, he had no choice but to bite down with one of his mouths, severing the trapped tongue completely.

In the meantime, Col had quite a lot on his plate as he attempted to handle all 30 teeth. His wrists spun the plasma blades as quickly as possible to form a defense against the unpredictable projectiles that seemed to act with a mind of their own. A handful of the teeth smiled upon the opening Col intentionally created in his guard, only to be met by a powerful bala later on. It was a smart strategy, but ultimately, Col failed to repel those teeth. They were quite sharp and durable, too durable to be obliterated by a simple bala. While the explosive force of the bala would slow them down a split second, they’d break through the fomer Escudo’s attack and continue onward.

The teeth instinctively continued toward Col’s face as if they could smell his flesh from the opening in his armor. Moving at a speed of 800, the eight teeth that escaped his plasma blades would be upon his face in almost no time at all. If Col couldn’t prevent their progression, they’d imbed themselves into each cheek, eye, mouth, nose, chin, and forehead (one tooth targeting each) like needles. Once they did, the teeth would inject an extremely corrosive acid into Col’s skin. Not only would it smell as terrible as Kozu’s vomit, but it’d also dissolve his skin in the most excruciatingly painful way possible. Unless Col could pull them out quickly, they’d continue past the bone of his skull and begin to make their way toward his brain, ultimately killing him in the process. He’d need to act quickly.

Fortunately for Col, Douma and Amalia’s arrival set off alarms of Kozu and Dean. ”Don't think me some inexperienced peasant. Even so, I care little for what lies ahead. That which I sense bores me.” Douma looked to the woman beside him, studying her from behind his mask. His mismatched eyes seemed unimpressed by what he saw. “If you’re bored with what lies ahead, then what is your objective here Sternritter? A woman as powerful as you doesn’t seem to be the kind to waste her own time.”

But more importantly, Douma and Amalia’s presence was an indicator that their leader had been defeated. In the time Jason bought them, Kozu and Dean were unable to complete their mission. They failed, and so it was time to retreat. Kozu opened a large garganata behind him, leaving Col to deal with his teeth while he retreated to tend to his own injuries. “See you guys later,” Dean said with a tired wave before blinding Alice and her doll with a flash of light. After the light faded, they’d find a large torrent of electricity in Dean’s place whereas the trail of lightning nearby Kozu from the attack Alice redirected not too long ago was gone. Instead, Dean appeared where it once was. With a fast-paced shunpo, Dean disappeared behind the Garganta. Kozu followed with Sonido. About a second later, the garganata closed, leaving behind Kozu’s enormous severed tongues.

For a solid minute, it was nice and quiet. Alice looked at the strange crowd that remained. Theree was a scientist bount, her ninja doll, a kido-shooting spider Arrancar, a salty Vandenreich elitist, and an edgy masked man. “So,” Alice said as she turned to Douma, “you brought a date? I always thought you were gay.” The group didn’t have much time to talk. If Col needed help dealing with the teeth, this was an opportunity to ask for it before the acid progressed too far. Otherwise, they could chit chat for a minute or so, but no longer than that. After all, they were expecting company. Soon, the door slid open, and the group of mercenaries would immediately be exposed to an oppressive wave of complete…

SPOILER: Click to show

{…Terror}

The feeling lasted just a second, barely long enough for two members of Seb to slip through the doors so that they could shut once more. But it was undeniably strong. This kind of reiatsu was on a level far beyond any of those present. Even Douma shuddered as that terrifying presence washed over him, one far too similar to that of the Primera Espada Kashmir De-Mona. To Amalia, it’d feel eerily close to the power level of the Vandenreich Emperor. It may even be the first class 0 reiatsu Col experienced, and if that were the case, they’d have no reference to compare it to. If that were the case, they’d feel as though that energy belonged to an omnipotent god.

“Fuck,” muttered the wide-eyed Alice. Her casual, joking attitude was replaced by complete shock and seriousness. She turned to face the two individuals who emerged from those doors: Alexander the Black and Sarah Jacobs. “What the fuck is back there?” Alice asked with a grave tone. She wasn’t messing around. Her anger was unable to truly hide the fear in her voice. Sarah and Alexander ignored her, though based on her nervous expression, they too seemed concerned with the situation behind those walls.

“Here,” Sarah said as she tossed a storage scroll toward Douma, Shizuka, Col, and Alice each. “These contain your payment in the previously agreed-upon quanitites. Your work here is done. Please leave.”

OOC: This is Col and Amalia’s opportunity to take the money and leave, thus exiting the adventure. However, they can also choose to stay. If they do, the adventure will progress for a little bit longer. The choice is yours.

Also, Kozu’s tongues are quite sizable and, if Col wishes, he can consume them to gain one of Kozu’s abilities via his Consume technique.

---

Shizuka’s combo against Mariam was nothing to mess with, but the Kenpachi was quite ballsy. She rasied her tiny girlish fist and threw a punch right as Shizuka fired her projectile. Mariam’s punch, imbued with her powerful ability, created an enormous shockwave once more. It was enough to repel the firey explosion but not enough to completely mitigate it’s force. As a result, Mariam was knocked back into the flames surrounding her. Once again, Shizuka had bought herself and Tom a little time, but Mariam was resilient. “We gotta be fast, Miss. That scary little girl’s gonna be after us in no time.”

---

Jak would see his spiritual attacks strike the Kenpachi, clouding both their vision with thin layer of smoke. It seemed at first that his plan was a success, but as he tried to pull his arm back, he’d find that he was unable to break Leonardo’s powerful grip. In fact, that grip became stronger and stronger. Leonardo continued to squeeze until a large crack reminiscent of a breaking twig sounded from Jak’s arm. Whatever strength Leonardo had displayed earlier seemed to be a small fragment of his true power. He was done holding back. Jak’s wrist had been completely shattered into several tiny fragments, and Leonardo didn’t stop there. As the smoke from Jak’s attack cleared, the nakabakki would notice the man’s satisfied, dark smile as he continued to squeeze and squeeze and squeeze. His muscle flex had blocked any damage Jak attempted to inflict, and now, his goal was to respond with even greater force. He drew his free right arm back, preparing to punch a hole through the nakabakki’s body and end the man’s life once and for all.

But just before he did, a torrent of electricity would flow into his body from behind. Leonardo, noticing the flash of light from behind him, would barely be able to flex his muscles in time to protect against that damage. Even then, Shizuka’s lightning attack was one that lasted a long time, injecting thousands of volts into his body over several seconds. Even Leonardo could not resist such a powerful technique for long, and his skin began burning from the powerful electricity. He had to act quickly. From his feet, Leonardo activated his own special ability. From 5 meters in every direction, the ground around him began to spin quickly, like a Beyblade. It would throw Shizuka backward, as she’d be unable to maintain her balance on such an rapidly moving platform. Leonardo would also release his grip on Jak, tossing the nakabakki in the same direction as Shizuka.

After a few moments, the ground would stop rotating and Leonardo would face the new enemies that approached him from behind. “You’ll pay for that,” he growled as steam from the electricity continued to rise from his scorched back. Fortunately, Leonardo was not on his own. From about 50 feet from behind Shizuka, a childish voice called out behind the trees. “This is the end for you pests. No more restraint, Leonardo. We’re going to f-“

Smack!

It was hard to figure out where the bullet came from, but it tore through Mariam’s left elbow with ease. Jak might realize that the “reiatsu signature” he detected a little while ago had vanished, allowing the mysterious source of that reiatsu to play the role of a hidden sniper somewhere in the distance. Counting the sniper, this fight was a 4v2, but Kenpachi were never to be taken lightly. Shizuka, Jak, and Tom would have to be cautious, but the surprise attack on Mariam gave them a brief opportunity to leverage Titan’s surprise into a successful offensive tactic. They’d need ever advantage they could get if they were to come out of this on top.

---

NPC Recap

Seb

SPOILER: Click to show

{Sarah Jacobs}
FC
Class 1 Mod Soul Rank 3 Soldier
Strength: 100 (50)
Speed: 300
SpPr: 400
RS: 400 (800)
Inst: 200
Senses: 150
ES: 200
HE: 0
Total: 1700 (TT)

SPOILER: Click to show

{Alexander the Black}
FC
Class 1 Fullbringer Rank 3 Freak
Strength: 300 (600)
Speed: 200
SpPr: 300 (200)
RS: 400 (900)
Inst: 225 (150)
Senses: 75
ES: 100 (175)
HE: 0
Total: 1600 (TT)

Titan

SPOILER: Click to show

{Mariam}
FC
Class 1 Rogue Rank 3 Kenpachi
Strength: 400 (500) (1375)
Speed: 300 (400) (1100)
SpPr: 300 (400) (1100)
RS: 200
Inst: 300
Senses: 150
ES: 150
HE: 0
Total: 1800 (TT)

SPOILER: Click to show

{Leonardo}
FC
Class 1 Fullbringer Rank 2 Kenpachi
Strength: 400 (500) (1125)
Speed: 300 (400) (900)
SpPr: 300 (400) (900)
RS: 300
Inst: 150
Senses: 150
ES: 0
HE: 0
Total: 1600

Douma’s Crew

SPOILER: Click to show

{Douma}
FC
Class 1 Rank 4 Prodigy V2

Strength - [150] (50) Points

Speed - [300] Points

Spiritual Pressure - [400] (1400) Points

Reiatsu Strength - [50] Points

Light Aura - [0] Points

Dark Aura - [100] Points

Instinct - [375] (123) Points

Senses - [100] Points

Energy sensory - [125] (437) Points

Healing Expertise - [100] (33) Points

Total SP: [1600] Points

SPOILER: Click to show

{Alice Holland}
FC
Class 1 Rank 4 Strategist

Strength - [100] (55) Points

Speed - [200] (140) Points

Spiritual Pressure - [350] Points

Reiatsu Strength - [400] Points

Light Aura - [25] Points

Dark Aura - [75] Points

Instinct - [100] (350) Points

Senses - [100] (350) Points

Energy sensory - [150] (525) Points

Healing Expertise - [0] Points

Total SP: [1400] Points

SPOILER: Click to show

{Crow}
FC
Class 1 Rank 4 Soldier

Strength - [100] Points (50)

Speed - [300] Points

Spiritual Pressure - [300] Points

Reiatsu Strength - [400] Points (1000)

Light Aura - [0] Points

Dark Aura - [100] Points

Instinct - [200] Points

Senses [150] Points

Energy sensory [0] Points

Healing Expertise - [0] Points


Total SP: [1400] Points

Independent

SPOILER: Click to show

{Tom Bullets}
FC
Class 2 Rank 2 Brave
Strength: 300 (450)
Speed: 400 (800)
RS: 100 (50)
SpPr: 300 (150)
Inst: 150
Senses: 150
ES: 0
HE: 0
Total: 1400

[Col Arana]

Col's spinning blade defense had worked against the majority of Kozu's teeth, and for that he was immensely grateful. While it had likely only deflected stragglers, the important thing was it had concentrated all the remaining teeth into a single collective point. Easy to blast with his Bala. Right? Well. He wished. It seemed that even one of Col's Bala wasn't enough to break the teeth. How formidable! ....And annoying. No time now. While it was possible for Col to Sonido away, and he would do so, if it would buy him some time. However, his primary response here was much more.... basic. The arm that had fired the Bala retracted. As did his fourth limb as well. While his four other limbs maintained the blade barrier, Col drew his other two arms near his face, to intercept the incoming teeth, not unlike a boxer's guard. Then, as the teeth neared him, Col launched into a Sonido. Not away from the teeth, however. Toward the teeth, but at such an angle that they'd slam into Col's armored torso, rather than his vulnerable face. At 5000 speed, Col would probably hit them before they could adjust course. His arms were raised up, just in case. This would, however, have an unfortunate tendency to stop Col's Sonido short. Col hadn't forgotten that Kozu possessed considerable strength and that his teeth were likely fired with considerable force. The former-Escudo gave a hacking wheeze of being winded by the impact of the remaining teeth as they slammed into his midsection, even as the ones that slammed into his arms, caused his upper body to snap back, actually sending Col's upper body (and the rest of him) flying backwards, though to the Arrancar's credit, he did not relax his guard.

Col tumbled, crashing down onto the air ground he had created and skidding along it, making sure to face the direction the attack came from, without relenting his defense (or at least as much as possible). Col was an expert with swords, and even in such circumstances, could at least keep his blades moving to handle any straggling teeth that came his way. His slip finally stopped, causing him to cough several times in pain, and fatigue. He'd already been pushing it. While he probably had it in him for one or two more powerful moves at present, that'd REALLY be pushing it. Sweat was forming and his breathing was heavy. Col had used too much energy, too quickly. He needed to pace himself. Slow down. Take some time to rest. The teeth that had struck his forearms and carapace had actually pierced and embedded themselves into it. Some not so deeply, and his lower abdomen was fine. Near his chest however, some of the teeth had sunk deep enough into the carapace that had already been damaged by Kozu's earlier acid attack, and had actually managed to slightly pierce Col's flesh. Blood was seeping out of his chest. They hadn't penetrated deeply, but they had drawn blood. And that was ignoring his arms. They'd been braced hard against the attack, and Col had done all he could to prevent them hitting his face, but two teeth had slipped through. And although Col's carapace had held against them, the impact had still caused the tooth to embed itself in each arm, and Col suspected that his forearms had been fractured by the force of the tooth slamming into him going the other way at high velocities. Although Col's Sonido allowed him to take many of the hits on his armored torso, and avoid the worst of it, he'd inadvertently caused them to strike with far more force than they would normally have, turning attacks that would have normally merely slammed against his carapace, barely scratching it, into projectiles that had very nearly pierced it.

Col angrily reached a talon'd finger in and tried to rip them out. Because of his fatigue, he was unable to prevent Kozu and Dean from fleeing the battlefield. They'd gotten away. This time. But there would be other days. Col would see to that.

But before that, he noticed that Sarah and Alexander had emerged from the base again. But that was not what Col was focusing on. What had caught the arrancar's attention was the oppressive wave of power that blazed out of it. Col shivered slightly. Not since the Mozo had he felt power like this. It made him salivate with anticipation.... He glanced at Alice, with a smirk. "Power." He hissed. The reason he'd come. But then... then it was gone, leaving just Seb's subordinates in its wake.

Col deigned to lower himself toward the ground towards them as Sarah threw the arrancar's payment forwards along with the others. He took a moment to crouch, and focus. There was calm and quiet here... but it seemed that battle raged on elsewhere yet. He took up the payment Sarah had thrown to him, and then walked over to where Kozu's tongue lay, and sneered at it. Contemplating if it was even worth consuming to absorb Kozu's power. "Very well, but I need a moment or two to catch my breath. I'm sure Seb can stomach the delay a few minutes." He snarked to Sarah, as he crouched near the tongue in contemplation, and to rest, while he attempted to worry the teeth out of his carapace. He was focused. Yes.... Yes, the battle was still raging. A very, very powerful reiatsu was in the distance. Col inhaled deeply. ....Well. Perhaps he'd pay that location a visit shortly. But he would recover his strength first. His release was not about to run out just yet. And besides. There was such a strange collective of individuals here.... He wanted to see what would happen.

Release: 5/16
Reiatsu Remaining: 2225 (-1000 after Release (-100 for Sonido)

[Jak Halcom]

A shadow of a relived smile spread across Jak's face, as the spirit bolts hit their target. but it soon faded when he tried to pull his arm free. The grip on his wrist hadn't relaxed at all, if anything, it was only getting tighter. Jak tried to keep it from bothering him, but a sudden snap, and a burst of pain from his right wrist finally forced a scream from the young half demon. The smoke started to clear, and the pressure on his near nonexistent wrist bone continued to increase. His cries turned into gasps and wimpers, as desperation started to set in. This was it, he was really going to die on this damned island. Oh he was going to haunt the hell out of Kazura for this. 

Fear and desperation were just as good of source for Adrenalin as anger and rage. With renewed vigor, Jak thrashed in the Kanpachi's grasp throwing punches and kicks where ever he could to try and get away. straight's to the torso, face, uppercuts, and back hand strikes hit anywhere Jak could reach. His legs worked just as hard kicking the man's rips and abdomen, trying to push himself away. Each action aggrivated the pain in his right wrist, but he had to do his best to ignore it. He struck as hard and fast as he could, but his punches started to slow as realization soon sunk into his heart. There was no escape, there was only death. 

The sadistic smile on the Kenpachi's face only widened, as Jak gave up hanging limply by one arm. Jak's rapid, shallow breaths desperately trying to send oxygen into his lungs and exhausted muscles. Jak watched as the man pulled his arm back to throw his fist punch since going all out. Jak closed his eyes tightly waiting for the punch that would end his life. Maybe hell wouldn't be so bad compared to this. The thought waiting for death to take him. A sudden spike in energy caught his attention. He opened his eyes just in time to see a stream of electricity hit the kenpatchi's back. Whatever it was, it seemed to be affecting him, if even a little. 

He was distracted. This was his last chance. While the Kenpatchi had his attention distracted from himself. Jak pulled himself up as high as he could on his injured arm reaching up with his left hand. He needed to get his hand as close to Leonardo's face as possible, if not just clamp his hand on it. At the same time, Jak pulled his legs close to his chest. Jak would kick out with both legs, as hard as he could, and fire a blast into Leonardo's face. With any luck, the combined force would be enough to loosen the grip on his arm. If not, then he would be send spinning and tossed to the ground. He would hit the ground hard grunting and groaning with each roll until he finally skidded to a stop. 

295 remaining

[Shizuka Sanamizu ✮]

Shizuka was disappointed. She was upset at how this bumbling idiot could still defend against her attack and it frustrated her that she had to deal with them in the first place. Kenpachi types were not easy. In fact, she was fairly afraid of dealing with them. But she had to. They were dangerous and it was going to take her bravery and teamwork to defeat them. The problem was that, though. How was she supposed to defeat them? They were stronger and faster and just intimidating overall. It wasn't going to be a simple task. That, and it was only a matter of time before she ran into some serious trouble.

She couldn't keep blitzing. She was going to become predictable. It was a useful tactic when dealing with people who weren't as fast as she could be, but her skills were fairly limited. The techniques she had learned over the years would be somewhat helpful, but not all of them were going to cut the cake. She didn't know enough, and she was becoming more and more deflated as time went on. She got lucky, though. Leonardo let go of Jak, but shook the ground along with that. Shizuka was thrown back against the earth beneath her, groaning in pain as she hit it. It never matters how strong someone is. Pain is pain. And the Fullbringer felt it.

Jak followed very soon after. A voice in the background behind the group made Shizuka even more uneasy. That was the voice of Mariam, which meant the blonde's attack was unsuccessful. She grew even more unmotivated. It was difficult to be in a fight like this and realize just how weak you really were, but Shizuka wasn't about to give up. She just needed to think of another plan. But Mariam wasn't going to give up, either. Just as the Fullbringer feared the worst, a bullet was shot through Mariam's elbow. That was going to cripple that arm, more than likely. And that pain wasn't going to be easy to overcome. Being shot is being shot, after all. But Mariam had three other limbs to work with. That was going to suck.

Still, Shizuka had worked herself back to a standing position while Mariam started her threat and got shot. Acting quickly, she used Bringer Light and moved at a solid 3000 Speed in the female Kenpachi's direction. She stopped herself in an instant just barely two feet above the ailing girl's head and stepped off again, now moving at 3900 Speed towards Leonardo. That extremely brief pause may have been enough to startle Mariam into preparing for Shizuka to attack her, maybe even tricking Leonardo into thinking he was safe if she were lucky, but that wasn't going to be the case. No, Shizuka's target was the male.

Cursing herself for not filling her bucket up with magma ahead of time, she had to use what she had left. She emptied about 30 gallons of ANNM on Leonardo since he didn't have the Energy Sensory to pick up on Shizuka's change in direction quickly enough. He may be strong, but he has the same disadvantage that Shizuka has when dealing with spiritual abilities. She couldn't sense anything. His inability to pick up on techniques without seeing them was going to be a benefit, but the problem was that the Fullbringer didn't know how much of a benefit to her it would be. She was moving fast enough to be no more than an afterthought to this man.

Thirty gallons is enough to soak a person. This fluid wouldn't ignite without some kind of fire, though. Shizuka didn't create that spark just yet, either. She landed outside the noted diameter that she remembered from when Leonardo spun the ground, but this time she was on the opposite side of him. Between her and Mariam were Leonardo and Jak for sure, but what Tom did was up to him. ANNM was extremely persistent, as well. If Leonardo got as much on him as she hoped he did, especially since his movements and everything else should have at least been decreased after the electric attack, that fluid wasn't going to come off. Not even in a shower. She was saving it.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Bringer Light (Mastered: - 80 TTP)}

Technique Name: Bringer Light

Class: 4

Technique Type: Other

Technique Element: None

Technique Description and Effects:
This is the stepping technique for humans. It increases their speed for a single step by 10 times for 50 Reiatsu. It leaves a column of flickering light in the place where the user previously occupied. Unlike other steps, this one can be used to build speed. If used in succession, the speed and cost go up with each additional step. The second step is a 13x increase, and costs 100 Reiatsu. The third step is a 15x increase, and costs 200 Reiatsu. From there, the cost doubles with each additional step, and the speed increase goes up by 1 time. Meaning the fourth step is 16x and 400 Reiatsu, the fifth is 17x and 800 Reiatsu, etc. Though at first the column of light is visible where the user was, once the third step is reached, the column of light is no longer there. This technique does not take up a technique slot.

How to use technique: To work, this technique manipulates the soul in whatever the user is standing on, allowing for feats such as high jumping, or the step which increases speed.

Drawback: None

Shizuka's Remaining Reiatsu: 3650 (-150 for for two step uses of Bringer Light)
Fullbring Stage 1: 5/10
Liquid Type: ANNM
Gallons Remaining: 40/100

[✱Paiva "Amalia" Vollbrecht✱]

Amalia ignored Douma as she rolled her cross between her fingers, her gaze fixated on Seb's headquartered. She was deep in thought, undoubtedly contemplating how she could maneuver the situation to best benefit her and the Vandenreich. Her loyalty was unflinching, though her interests were always self-motivated. Nothing was ever truly guided by some altruistic belief for welfare of the Vandenreich. And despite her boredom and growing impatience, her gaze kept returning to Seb's headquarters. She found herself reflecting on something Jason had said before she crippled him.

She could hear his voice speaking in her head. A jewel. She believed what he had said. Something of  potential significance resides behind those fortified walls. How far into this structure lies this fabled jewel, and what does it do? Is it merely a chunk of rock or does it possess some unknown power? Amalia contemplated its potential properties, if only to sidestep the possibility of returning to his majesty with little to no new information. She wasn't known for her failure and was unwilling to create that reputation for herself. 

Perhaps by retrieving this she could rectify a most unproductive use of her time. Amalia stepped forward as she delivered a practically placating gesture in Douma's direction. "Yeah, uh huh." She muttered as she stepped closer toward Seb. The doors abruptly opened and a horrific reiatsu poured into the air. Amalia's body stiffened as her limbs froze in place. Her eyes widened as she scaled the building with her eyes. The two stranger who had exited were of little concern. What were these petty criminals confining within their headquarters? 

Amalia gripped her cross, as if to seek comfort from it. Whatever lied beyond these walls had immense reiatsu strength, rivaling, if not surpassing her own. Few were capable of accomplishing such a feat. The texture and density of the reiatsu was unmistakably strong. Perhaps Jason and his rag-tag crew were not the only ones that deserved her attention. His majesty will need apprising on Seb's potential and their role in all of this. Amalia's eyes narrowed as she allowed some slack in the chain connected to her cross. She delicately allowed it to swing in a circular motion as reishi particles flowed into it. 

Reaching into her pockets she pulled out a vial that seemed to fill with reishi. She capped it off as she placed it in her garments. Narrowing her gaze further, she watched the two Seb employees toss the scrolls in her direction. "Such discourtesy, and by servants no less." She said as she examined the Fullbringer and Mod Soul. "Apparently they don't properly punish the help. A well-timed punishment can rectify this..." Her eyes worked their way up and down before her tone dropped. "...low level of etiquette." She remarked scathingly. 

What the fuck is back there? Amalia extended her hand and flicked her finger, pointing at the Bount. "What the soul sucker asked. What precisely are you concealing beyond these walls? They must be composed of material capable of neutralizing reiatsu, otherwise we would have been able to feel the foul energy emanating from within." Amalia stepped forward as her gaze intensified. "It makes me wonder what you're hiding. And why you're so unwilling to share." Her tone was sweet, but condescending. Amalia stepped on the scroll as she looked around. "I don't know about them, but I'm not accustom to being kept in the dark. Who is responsible for that reiatsu?"

+800 quincy cross

23,150