PLAYER
This is what it's like being the biggest and the strongest. I don't even exercise.
Koshou
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Post by Koshou on Oct 23, 2022 5:54:24 GMT -5
Devil Dogs Type: Destroy (PvE) (Repeatable) Level: 1 Description: Locate and eliminate the rogue Hellhounds that are terrorizing a region in the Living World. These monsters are invisible to spiritually unaware individuals, about the size of a large wolf, and breathe fire. They have appeared in an area with high spiritual activity and instead of hunting Sinners, are feeding on anything with ample amounts of reiatsu. The pack leader will be larger than the others and sport a fiery mane around their skull. Locate and destroy at least 6 Hellhounds. Eliminate the pack leader, otherwise the others will just respawn on them.
Steam comes pouring out of a vent a few floors below, washing over the crouched form of a broad-shouldered man as he looms from the corner of the building’s roof. Several floors below, the smell of cinder and ash comes floating upwards. The clouds part over the skyline of New York City, revealing the distinct garb of the Shinigami as the silhouette stands to survey the prey that begins stalking its way through the alley at street level.
“Gotcha, you little bastard ..” The reserved, rough-hewn voice of Hattori Koshou comes out as a mutter as he steps off of the corner of the building he’s perched on. “Ahh, shit!” He follows up shortly after, the speed of the drop ripping the back half of the cigarette he’d had tucked at the corner of his mouth to go flying off before he could secure it. No time for it, his eye turns back toward the ground as it comes speeding toward him and the target that’s brought him here. Bearing the skull plate and mask of a Hollow, the Hellhounds that have begun plaguing areas with high reiatsu are a mean sight to look at all burned flesh and living flame. His sword is out of the sheath, an overhand-downward stab as he drops in the Hellhound he’s been hunting quite literally. The blade goes cleanly into the skull, just behind the edge of the mask where the skull meets the creature’s spine. The rest of his weight smashes down adding mass to the attack, and he gives a swift JERK of his sword to twist the blade savagely before ripping it wholesale out of the beast by cleaving through the front of its mask to end it once and for all.
The Soul Reaper doesn’t have time to celebrate the easy pickings though, the rattling sound of a metal trash can the only warning before razor sharp claws come raking across the back of his kimono as another of the animals leaps toward him. The weight of the thing slams into him and sends him sprawling into one of the walls framing the alley, with a loud grunt as Koshou crashes through a set of dumpsters on the way through. The sound of his physical body smacking into the metal and brick echoes out through the alley with a wet kind of thud that would make a man cringe at the sound. “Oh .. that’s not good. Easy, puppy. GOOD puppy …” the man groans out toward the hound that snarls at him with slobber and ichor dripping from flashing fangs, even as new motion catches him at the corner of his eye. A third hound has come sniffing out what’s drawn the attention of its two packmates, and its snarling growl adds to the sound of the other as they begin to look at boxing the young Shinigami in against the wall of the alleyway. Trying to clamber to his feet, Koshou grunts at a pain in the side of his ribs but it doesn’t stop him from reaching his feet.
“Come and get me” he says to the pair of hounds, shifting one direction before the sight of his physical form flickers from sight like a vanishing after-image. The shunpo is enough to slip past the hounds, the opening of the end of the alley in sight and the sound of traffic beyond. He doesn’t stop to turn and check behind him, he just runs knowing that the hounds are sure to follow, the heat of one's breath already singing at the back of him! He needs to put some space between himself and them or do something else quick, if he's got any chance of wrangling them around.
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PLAYER
This is what it's like being the biggest and the strongest. I don't even exercise.
Koshou
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Post by Koshou on Oct 23, 2022 20:59:28 GMT -5
Past the blaring sounds of car horns, and the flashing beams of speeding headlights, flickers of shadow and silhouette move with impossible speed between the vehicles as they streak and blur across the road into the large swath of park land that sprawls through the middle of this portion of the city. Central Park is often quiet this time of night, and the things and people crawling about at this hour are clever enough to give wide berth to the sounds of clash and combat ... " Ugh!" Koshou's sword comes clashing against the jaws of the hound leaping at him, while the other comes around with fiery breath and slashing, raking claws slashing through the black fabric of his kimono, shredding into the stomach and ribs underneath. " Ahh!" With a rough shove and a clatter of his hilt-guard, he pushes back at the beast caught on the edge of his sword, and slashes at the dog attacking at his side. There's a soft bite of resistance, and a growl from the thing but nothing serious. Glancing this way and that, the Shinigami gives an almost petulant sound. " Fine ... " he mutters to himself, before hopping out of the way just in time to dodge another lunge from the pair of Hellhounds. " Hado Four, Byakurai!" The words come out clear, void of the cigarette he's usually smoking now and he's extending his arm out in front of him to point his fingertip toward the one in front of him. A bolt of pale blue lighting comes ripping out of his finger as he fires the reishi toward the creature. It catches the side of the animal, riddling and rippling across the haunch and flashing across the mask of the thing with the erratic pattern of lightning. Swift steps see him moving toward the hound at his side now, a swift cut downward. He grunts, the movements causing fresh pain to throb and pulse along the gashes that even now trickle little ribbons of blood down his ribs. Something about that sensation, the feeling of the heat of his blood leaking out, the adrenaline coursing through him. ' This is what you've been searching for, isn't it?' The thought distracts him, for a moment. It's not really his own, but it is and the duality of that is strange and foreign to him even now, and he's snapping back to reality as he has to duck under the leap of the first hound just in the nick of time while he continues to try and probe the defenses of the second of the two. " Enough!" He seethes and with a reckless rush forward, he pushes at that second hound with slash after slash, cut after cut. " I don't have time for this!" The exclamation comes with renewed vigor as a feint leaves him open for the killing blow. Down comes the edge of his Zanpakuto to bite through the face plate of the beast. A gout of fire comes wreathing out of the wound, blasting him backward as the animal dissipates into nothing. ' Two down, who knows how many left? I gotta stop playin' around with these little ones and find the leader.' With one of the pair down, Hattori can turn to find the other and face it head on now, raising his Zanpakuto in guard before him. The wind takes a sudden gust, bringing autumn leaves swirling through the air from the trees of the park in a rare moment of quiet and calm amidst the battle. Heavy breaths come from the Shinigami as he levies his weapon while measuring up the last hound in current proximity. It's not in great shape, the Hado doing its work. Gritting his teeth against the impending pain, he rushes forward with a clean swipe of his sword he just invites the attack from the savage hellhound .. A short time later, in a dark corner of the park the Shinigami has found a few moments spare. Tucking away the spare bandages he has left into the inside of his black robes, the quiet moment is enough for him to regain his breath. Something out there still lurks in the night, and there's no sense returning until the work is done. Hiding bandaged ribs behind the covering of his kimono, the Soul Reaper darts off deeper into the Park ... Running along through the park at ground level, Koshou only pauses himself long enough to realize he's lost the trail of one of these things and so he crouches, leaping upward to find himself up in the tree-tops. Flitting from one tree to the next, it takes some time but finally he manages to spot a sense of the pressure leading him onward. Up ahead, another of the hounds is growling, snarling, worrying at what's left of a human body. Too late to save the soul, still Koshou isn't about the let the advantage of the hound being distracted pass him by. A large leap forward, his sandaled foot touching the air for a brief moment to propel him forward with great speed. His blade comes forth, slicing through the air once more. The head of the beast drops from the rest of it, and this time Koshou is wise enough to take a quick-step backward, launching himself away from the spurts of flame and fire that often come with the death of these beasts. There's little time to stop though, because they're getting more bold, now. As the park blurs past him, he gives another grunt as he follows the sense of the Hellhound's Reiatsu. " Closer ... gettin' closer" come self-assuring words even as the guilt of that human's body flashes behind his eyes. Running a little faster, he pushes himself to close the ground and keep himself on the trail with a sharp focus. The longer it takes him to find his prey, the more Plus souls will pay the price. |
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PLAYER
This is what it's like being the biggest and the strongest. I don't even exercise.
Koshou
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Post by Koshou on Oct 29, 2022 4:58:09 GMT -5
Underneath the great expanse of Central Park, several old and abandoned tunnels and subway lines still sit like ancient crypts beneath the surface of the enormous city. Through one of these tunnels, a Soul Reaper runs at full pace as he speeds along one of the old subway lines in pursuit of his prey and hot on its trail. Through the dark and shadows, it's traces of reishi and the faint dull red flicker of Hellish flames that lead him forward plunging further into darkness ... Rushing past one of the creatures he's hunting, Hattori Koshou has stumbled upon a group of smaller hounds as he follows in pursuit of the Reiatsu of what he believes to be the leader of this pack that's been terrorizing the souls of New York City. "Hyah!" A flash of white, as the blade of his Zanpakuto comes darting out to give its deadly bite into one of the smaller hounds. A small gout of flame comes up, but Koshou is already steps past. "Lead me right to him, you mutts .." he mutters to himself now, saving his energy and his breath for the tasks at hand. Another of the hounds comes running up the other side as he speeds down the abandoned tunnel.
Running partially up the side of the tunnel, unnatural claws rake into the stone and brick before launching the hellhound toward Koshou with a vicious snarl and slobbering, acidic saliva. Again the Shinigami has to catch the thing by its teeth, pressing his right hand against the back of his blade halfway up its length to push back against the force of the leap. With a grunt, the hound and the Soul Reaper break free from the clash and shift apart. Dropping to his knee, Koshou skids to halt with a sudden shift in his momentum and he drops just in time as another of the hounds goes sailing just overheard. FLASH - a swift over-hand blow cleaves through the monster as either half of the thing falls to the waysides and dissipates into smoke and flame. "Ha, hah! Fool me once" the man grunts out as he brings himself to his feet and pushes himself back toward the length of tunnel that stretches out into the dark in front of him at full speed. 'Not much further ahead, now ... I can feel something growing closer!'
Down, down, down the tunnel he goes, until at last he can almost feel the shift in the air that tells him that there's a larger open space looming up ahead. Channeling a bit of his reishi into a small ball of blue light, Koshou sends of drifting up ahead of him to help him see. Another sudden stop, the bottoms of his straw sandals shifting and pausing just before passing over the edge of the precipice. Looming out ahead is an old junction station or maintenance section with ladders leading down and several of these old tunnels and subway lines converging into one crossroads. Looking down below, the Shinigami can see the hound he hadn't had the time to cut down on his way here, and the one he'd come looking for. Lurking in the shadows, Hattori could only see part of his frame as it moved. Bits of dull red heat and glowing eyes that hide behind that bone mask. Larger than the other hounds he'd come across by at least a hand, this beast's physical dominance over the other couldn't be in doubt. 'I wonder if the pack leaders are bred differently, or if they simply devour their own kind like Hollows .. especially these that have broken free of the Hell dimension.' Slow thoughts take their time now, as Koshou watches for a short time. It won't be long before they pick up his spirit pressure. Only a few moments now to consider his plan of attack.
Unfortunately for the Soul Reaper, his time is already up! A low, keening howl comes to echo around this subterranean junction and with a curse under his breath, Koshou is leaping from his vantage point. Seconds after he vacates the space, a smash of energy comes ripping through the area as fire breath comes bellowing out from the large Alpha hound that tries to burn all of the oxygen from the air! "Gah!" Shifting through the air, he tumbles from the blast of heat and ripples of pain wash over him even as they push him from his leap and send him crashing into the ground. He doesn't have more than a breath to roll through the landing, a small crunching sound coming from inside his shoulder. 'Ahh .. that's bad .. that's bad ..' Tumbling end over end, Koshou manages to scrape his feet against the ground and bring himself to a slow, and flipping himself up onto his feet he can only manage a knee as one hand comes up to grasp at his shoulder.
Breathing heavily, he has to move again before he even has a chance to regain his composure, another wave of flames and hellfire coming sweeping toward him. Within the smoke, cinders and ashes come flashing claws and teeth from the smaller hounds that have gathered keeping Hattori on the chase, constantly running after him. Koshou's feet touch the ground, shift and turn as he throws desperate strikes out with the blade of his sword. He feels the edge bite into another of the hounds and he grits his teeth. Reishi begins to glow about the hand that presses against his shoulder and begins to suffuse his flesh. Healing the wound beneath the skin, there's a sharp intake of breath as he hisses from the sharp snap and stitching of bone without any sense of finesse or healer's touch. "Not like I was ever destined for Squad Four anyway ..." he mutters, giving a whip-sharp snap of his blade to one side as he leaps up into the air. The snap flings away cinder and blood from the blade that's black like tar or ichor, landing to drop himself in front of the Alpha Hellhound.
With a low snarl, the large beast seems to bleed and exude Hellfire as he postures the animalistic nature of the creature seeking to hunt the higher levels of spiritual pressure that the Soul Reaper is giving off. Suddenly disappearing out of sight, the hound moves too quickly for the eye to follow, and with a sudden gasp Koshou can feel claws ripping into his thigh, and large teeth biting down into his midsection! His gasp comes out a choked cough, blood coming up to gurgle at the cusp of his lips. ".. too fast .." he utters, before his body is shaken with fierce strength, worried and tossed about with killer intent and thrown off. With a loud SMASH he connects with one of the walls, coming down in a cloud of dust and debris and smoke that buries him. Another loud and vicious snarl comes from the oversized Hellhound as it stalks forward and seeks to check out the large pile of broken brick and stone.
"HAAAHHH!" A strong cry comes along with an outward explosion! Koshou stands up from the pile, kicking up a fresh cloud of dust that clouds the vision and makes it harder to see. One hand grips his sword, the other presses against his stomach, keeping some of the seeping blood in with pressure from his hand. His teeth are clenched, and his reiatsu spirals around the length of his blade in crackles of raw energy that threatens to lash out at him as much as it does his enemy. Feverish light shines behind Koshou's eyes as he eyes the Alpha. With another wordless roar of pain and rage, the Soul Reaper rushes forward with a quick step. As the Hellhound reacts, he shifts his shunpo to match the reaction and hammers his blade down into its front shoulder. A spurt of fire, and more black ichor-like blood come flying out of the wound and Hattori barely manages to drop back into a defensive posture a few feet away as a snap of jaws comes in response to the attack of his sword.
"Hado Four! Byakurai!" Another rip of lightning comes from Koshou's fist as he drops to a knee and slams it into the ground with concussive force. The lightning strikes from around his fast and ripples into the ground, causing the concrete and bricks to tear themselves up from the ground and rip apart just as the Hellhound begins to make charge for him. Causing a disruption in the thing's footing, Hattori sees his chance. Leaping upward, he moans in pain as he uses even his injured arm to take a two-handed grasp of his sword's hilt and he brings it down heavily toward the Hellhound. "Die, you piece of trash!" Again the sword bites into the bone mask of the Alpha hound now, but the dog snarl, turning his fangs at the last second. A chip of bone comes flying off of the mask, but the pair of the combatants have to seperate once more - this time it's the Hellhound that's retreating and looking to put some distance between them.
'Ugh ... hyegh ... I have to end this soon ... slowing down ..' Koshou thinks to himself. There's not much left to either them at the moment, the hellhound running out of spawn to help it while the spiritual energy of the Soul Reaper is beginning to flag. 'Arrogant to have come after these alone. It's only my luck that's kept me going this far. Have to deal with it now ..' There's a sense of determination that rises up inside Koshou, and he gives a short drop of his chin. Nodding to himself, he sets his feet, watching and conserving his energy as the Hellhound stalks this way and that, billowing out a fresh breath of flame and fire to wash over him. He grits his teeth, pressing his blade against the fire trying to part it as it swirls and clouds around his blade and his vision. 'NOW!' He thinks to himself, and with a massive swing, he doesn't need to be able to see through the flames to feel the resistance of the bone mask of the Hellhound against the cutting edge of his sword. Pushing with all his might, The soft impression of his cutting edge coming to the sharp point as it begins to slice slowly through the bone. First it gives way slowly, then like soft cloth as the sword begins to slice through the mask, and then the face behind it. Then it's cutting through the body and more as the momentum of the creature's leap helps to carry it through the force of his strike.
A shower and spray of black ichor blood comes raining down all over Hattori Koshou, and covers his Shihakusho with a sticky mess and the stench that's left over of these things when they die. Rotten egg, like sulfur and decay that hangs on the air long after they've gone. With an exhausted sigh, the Soul Reaper drops first to one knee, then both as he drops the point of his sword suddenly to drop to the ground. His weight leans on it, supporting him as he almost keels over right on the spot. There's no question, that he's on the verge of his limit. Young and inexperienced as he is in the ways of dealing with Hollows, he doesn't have very much time to ponder on the nature of these things and the creeping blackness of unconsciousness starts to impeach on the field of his vision. "S-shit ..." he murmurs, falling forward as his last strength fails him. The fall forward seems slow, as if it takes forever for his body to this the ground, but when it does, it's the last thing he remembers before the darkness truly overtakes him.
Sometime later, the Soul Reaper known as Hattori Koshou will awaken to find himself within the Division Eleven Guard Barracks area, familiar surroundings indeed. With little knowledge of how he got there, or who found him and returned him to the safety of the Seireitei .. these are not the first things on his mind as he regains his consciousness of the world.
"Huh- what?!" Koshou says blearily, as he begins to come to. His eyes blink slowly, his entire body throbbing in pain. "Ohhh ... " he groans, deciding against choosing to do too much moving before he has a better idea of exactly how bad a shape he's in. Lifting only his head, he tries to glance down the frame of his body and another groan comes with a slight bit of dizziness that overwhelms him before his vision steadies. His midsection has been completely bandaged around his stomach and ribs, and he can feel a sense of heat underneath those wrappings that seem to throb and pulse in time with that pain that suffuses his entire body.
"Don't move too much. The saliva from those creatures is highly poisonous. Your bite was quite severe when you were brought in, I suggest you give the bandages and the poultices times to do their job." The voice comes from just a little bit outside of Hattori's field of view and he instinctually moves to shift his head and groans aloud as his body pays the price. Moving more slowly, he shifts his head in small increments enough to bring a member of Division Four into view. They appear to be packing up their bag with supplies, as if either having just finished dressing his wounds, or just finished checking up on him. Either way, the Shinigami of Division Eleven gives a quiet grunt of gratitude.
"Thanks ... I might just do that" comes that gravelly, course baritone that even half-dead tries to sound calm and composed with a sense of quiet cool. With a tremble to his hand, he rummages around the ruins of the Shihakusho that he wears and somehow someway manages to come up with his trusty leaf pouch. Slowly tucking one of his hand-rolled cigarettes into the corner of his mouth, it takes him one .. two .. three tries to manage enough strength in his hand to strike a match. As his head hits the soft pad that rests beneath it, he takes that soft drag letting the smoke wreath into his lungs before slowly being expelled out through his nostrils. "Oh yeah ... that'll help it right along" he mutters. Despite the stupidity of THAT sentiment ... somehow it seems to calm him, and that lets him relax. It looks like he'll be spending a few days down at the very least.
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