Bleach Hereafter RPG

By now, the Count could tell that his Sinner mob was... not as effective at dealing with the three fighters as it should be. When faced with attacks from them, all they did was stand there and soak up the damage, at the cost of many of their peers. The Gate of Hell above them had to constantly stay open, taking in new souls slain by either the ferocity of the Arrancar, the sword skills of the Shinigami or the fiery destruction of the Fullbringer.

It was getting Count Castonath aggravated.

"Fight with brains, you cretins! You can tell that they're trying to send you back to the Underworld - fight like it!"

Hearing the orders, the Sinners moved on instinct - using their collective energies to erect shields of Reiatsu to soften incoming blows. When Milya lunged at them with their claws, the Sinner they intended as the victim suddenly used this shield to push the Arrancar back without any harm inflicted. The same fate befell Steve's sword thrust - the Sinner he was trying to impale caught the Zanpakuto and pushed it back. Itsuki's release of electricity from his nail-based Fullbring was too powerful for any individual tormented soul to merely deflect. Those who did not cross their arms or leap out in time found themselves zapped by the technique.

That mortal is the most dangerous of the group, I can tell. The raw power emitted by him and his technique surpassed his peers.

The air briefly went still, then, in a flash, the Demon appeared in front of Itsuki, moving faster than the untrained eye could track - already, his hand was outstretched forward, aimed straight at the Fullbringer's face. A sudden burst of light fired off from the fingertips, not only aiming to blind him, but also to blast with so much light that the sheer force could blow a person away.

"I will be your opponent. You'll see that a son of the Underworld is harder to handle than this rabble."

He spun the fiery whip in his hand and struck, with blows that may not have held as much force as that of claws or a Zanpakuto, but which left a deadly fiery trail in its path - it could leave painful, debilitating burns at contact, if his opponent was particularly unlucky or careless.

The remaining Sinners, having endured and blocked the attacks coming from the Arrancar and Shinigami, went on the counteroffensive, once again seeking to dogpile every enemy in their path with sheer numbers.



Current rolls:
Milya - MBHEYINy1d100
Steve - 1d100
Itsuki - 1d100

---

Itsuki Hasegawa Steve Milya Ilanos

THE SINNERS



THE DEMON - COUNT CASTONATH

---

A platform slowly descended down to the Daireishokaro, the Great Spirit Library, after a trail of bodies through the Fifth Division Headquarters and the approach of the ancient archives. The air, filled with screams and the clang of swords mere minutes ago, was now completely silent, and a veil of darkness grew wider and wider as the platform descended deeper to the depths.

Finally, it landed in the center of a suspended bridge, connected to one side of the library over an endless chasm. The body of a ranked officer of the Fifth Division, who had been tasked to guard the Archive from any intruders, slumped onto the metallic floor like a rock. Akira stepped off next. For a few seconds, the slow tap of his boots echoed across the still air.

“I see what is going on,” a woman’s voice called out behind him, atop the platform. Though Akira did not display any surprise, it got him to turn around towards the source. A blonde woman with a tall, witch's hat stood on the platform, looking down upon the white-haired swordsman. She was in Shinigami uniform, and a sheathed nodachi was hanging off her back. Yet, even though she did not seem any different from the masses of weaklings, the confidence in her stature betrayed that she was different from the rest.

"When my Denreishinki shut down, and my teleportation technique failed for the first time since I developed it, I could tell that something has entrapped everyone in the entire Division Headquarters. A Kido spell, I take it?" Irisa explained, stepping off the platform herself. What was supposed to be another day of calmly studying the esoteric knowledge of Soul Society in secret turned out to be a tense confrontation with a villain she had never seen or heard.

Hearing the woman's correct guess, Akira smirked, and answered:

"We are inside a bubblę of suspended time. From the perspective of the outside, this entire complex operates normally as if none of us had ever appeared, until suddenly, at once, everything that happened inside the bubble will take place. Until then... no one can hear you scream."

Akira made a step forward and outstretched his hand. "The Ken no Kagi. This archive holds it. Give it to me."

Irisa glared back at the towering Shinigami. Though she never enjoyed bragging, she did consider herself to be more well read than almost every other Shinigami in history. Her mental library stretched for millions of pages, and included pieces of history that have been lost to everyone else, and plenty that were forbidden to know even for someone like her. So, being faced with something she didn't know... it shook her. The woman did not allow herself to display her surprise, however - she merely moved her hands towards the grip of her Zanpakuto and answered:

"Who is asking?"

The boldness got Akira to faintly snicker. He lowered his hand, aware that the other Shinigami was not intending to surrender.

"My name is Akira," the man answered. "Long before any of you were born, this entire dimension was my birthright. Now, I have returned to reclaim what was mine, and set things right in Soul Society."

"All those corpses you left behind as you came here don't give me much hope for your political program..." Irisa muttered in response, drawing her Shinigami and tapping into the full extent of her power. A gust of wind rolled across the suspended bridge and the chasm below, briefly flapping Akira's armored uniform, but leaving him entirely unfazed. He hadn't even drawn his Zanpakuto yet, and watched the woman's determination to fight with amusement.

"You can't win."

The Reiatsu pulsing from his body, it was insane, greater than anything she's felt before... and...

Shinigami-like... Didn't she experience a taste like this in Hawaii...?
1d100·1d100·1d100·1d100+30·3d8·1d100·1d8·1d100+30·1d6·1d100·1d100+30·1d6·1d100

The ebb and flow of Count Castonath's monument of metal started to ease for Milya, as they look at the shield with frustration. Their attention was dragged away, though, by the shinigami by their side now. The relentlessly friendly one, that didn't seem intent on killing Milya, somehow, with a tone of optimism...? They smile. Oh, this is a good one. "Ilanos," they grin, "Milya Ilanos! A pleasure... Steve. Now, lets get sending these sinners back to their damnation, shall we?" Flashes of images of flames, brimstone, and shouting zealots cross their mind, but they wave it away easily, distracting them long enough that they jump as the nails plant themselves painlessly in, their reiatsu growing. They frown, and circle around, then see Itsuki, who moments later, is confronted by the Count. They're... helping too? Wow, they really are acting as a team. Almost as a result, a warmth seems to radiate across and out from them, seeming to be from their reiatsu, strengthening the resolve of their newfound coincidental allies.

A growl rattles through Milya's chest as they see the attacks being levied at Itsuki, though their face remains contorted into a smile, their focus beginning to intensify, spiritual pressure beginning to manifest around them. He's identified the one who's doing the most damage, and now... well, they're all fucked if that human goes down. "Fine, have it your way," they say, and laugh quietly. Their feet beat against the floor as they draw their blade, slamming themselves between Castonath and Itsuki to take the hit, using their blade to block once more, the corner of their blade nicking at Castonath's flesh as they pull it back. But, it leaves them open, as they parry blows from the hoarde, they begin to tire, snarling, as another blade scratches at their side, though not yet able to pierce through them. Still, they were getting dangerous. Not as dangerous as the Count, though, and Itsuki needed fire drawn away from him, quite literally.

Milya stands straighter, winking back to Itsuki as they look at the demon. "Why not pick on someone your own size?" they ask, grin still intact, brows furrowed on their face, "I'm sure you'll find it far easier than outpacing yourself with someone far outclassing you, sweetness." With the taunting lie in place, they brace their step, and feign their claw attacking him, stopping just short as a sudden shot of bright, cyan energy crackles for a half second, then tears towards the sinners instead.

---

COMBAT TRACKER

1d100+20·2d6

Steves thrust was completely nullified by the guard the Sinners put up. As he stood beside Milya, taking the heat off of Itsuki. The heat decided it was homing and went straight for him.
As Steve was distracted for but a moment, the Horde thrusted their chained hands at him - claws ready to shred. But Steves speciality is not getting hurt, he had merely forgotten for a moment, but his instincts hadn't.
As the Swing came, by the breadth of a hair, he managed to jump to the side, as more asphalt, lampposts and walls succumbed to their vicious attack. But Steve didn't have time to realise that he is getting too reckless, he knows what he is, lest he forget it, he is not a physical expert. Rather he is a battle-medic.

As Steve watches Milya rush to Itsuki's side, his breath gets heavier, he mutters to himself "Be a font. Release aggression, focus."
He points towards the sinners "Take my aggression if you would."
He takes a deep breath and quickly, faster than before, says his incantation.
"Stark light, come forth and strike thine incandescent light through the darkness that blocks the way. Let black creatures known thine pulsing force and overwhelming burst, Byakurai!
And shoot out another Pale lightning at the pale-clad interlopers.
With still electricity humming through his fingers, he brings them together, forming the symbol of Spades, not unlike the one from a typical set of cards.
"I am a Font, now take what I offer and batter them."
A surge of Green energy emits from Steve, enveloping himself, Itsuki and Milya.
The surge is filled with power, replenishing their Reishi.

Finally releasing all the fingers from eachother except the two index fingers, bridges the middle, ring and little finger as well, turning his hands sideways to mimic 4 long stalks he cries out
"O maiden of rice fields, a fruitful harvest, the wheat turns gently in the wind!"
As the final words play out, Steve blows through his fingers, as a green tinted wind flies over towards Itsuki, intending to rejuvinate his wounds.

He stands ready, back against the count and his allies, with his front facing the sinners. He isn't expected to defeat them, he is expected to support his allies, and so he will.

---

COMBAT TRACKER
1d12+0·1d100·1d100+10·2d5+0

"南無妙法蓮華経!*" Chanted the monk.
    Nails in his collarbone burst into sparks, warm winds turning searing. Black-flecked, molten orange reiatsu lashed up against the air about his feet. A haze of heat distorted the air, the thick aura oozing from Itsuki's soul swelling to bursting. The sparks dancing from his neck arced, curving back inwards to meet his hands clasped in prayer. Rings of black flames burned wild about his hands, the sparks closing about them to form orbs of reiatsu not dissimilar to the molten nails they were born from. The rings of black fire were tamed, thinned out into a dozen threads of dark flame, writhing as if floating in water. The prayer beads themselves about Itsuki's pious hands burned brightly, hotter than the timid fresh-iron nails. Strands of their searing semi-liquid form occasionally escaped, floating skywards and fading into nothing. The form of his release as stable as it could be, Itsuki tucked the knot tied in the minute onyx inferno beneath his thumbs.
    The monk could scarcely believe his eyes. It wasn't that it did't make sense a demon would be supernaturally empowered, it was the speed at which he had transitioned. Had he teleported, dimension hopped? The only answer came in the form of a retina-scalding ray of light that yielded a shriek of pain from the monk. His knee quaked briefly, still resolving to hold his ground. Gritting his teeth, Itsuki's face formed a demented, half-pained grin. By coming that close at the moment in which Itsuki had begun to register the heat of his own release on a deeper level, to accept the absurdity that it was the energy of the soul upon his skin and no longer reject it, he had been given a missing component.
    Straining his invisble third eye was taxing even for all the benefits. By entering his range the reckless, feckless demon had brushed his own aura against Itsuki's extrasensory perception. The spiritual signature of flames fed by broken bones licked against his skin, the stink of sulfur striking his nose. His senses had been fed enough examples to attune more properly to the spiritual plane. Somewhere beneath that laid the rotting flesh of a being cursed to their core. A core riddled with impurity.
    More than that, Itsuki had sensed the strength of the fire that formed their soul. For all their blustering, he totally eclipsed them.
The smile faded with a shallow breath as the edges of vision began to turn to shadow. At the least, his newly attuned sense told him that it was caused by spirit magic and not true damage to the eye.
    The loud one with the bone on their face. Whatever they said their name was, they'd thrown themselves in harm's way to protect Itsuki. A line of fire flexing and swaying like mercury in the demon's grip scored the air with a path of fury across them.
    Itsuki roared a kiai in reponse, the full length and breadth of his spiritual power flexing out into the world like a geyser of liquid steel exploding from a crucible. The second strike never made it to his skin, the ignition of his reiatsu blowing away the flexible body of the whip. The molten aura fell, only the spiritual pressure remaining as the trail of fire travelled towards Itsuki, nothing stopping it from climbing his leg to the knee.
    Vision faded, he had to seize the image in that final slither of light. A hand thrust out, a black thread slithering free of the beads and splitting in two. Thick, heavy, shimenawa formed in the air of the same dark fire in two circles about the demon lord and himself. Severing themselves, the ropes of each circle joined into one longer rope and connected to the spirit cores of the duo before fading.
    A couple of steadying breaths came and went, the sound of the horde rushing up to meet him. Snarling, jeering filled his ears. Itsuki grasped at the strands of black fire between the beads, pulling them taut too late to guard against the unseen onslaught. Palms, fists and feet rained against him, telling him their stories of souls broken and bound. Any pride he might have felt at outweighing the strength of this entire crowd was dampened by the sadness of the vague outlines of their feelings. It drew his mind to these people he had been too apprehensive to openly co-operate with.
    Leaning into this new range of extrasensations the monk made a clumsy attempt at rebalancing things. Two beads flew free, arcing up into the sky before bursting into those same drumbeating tomoe, firing lightning down to where as best he could tell, the centre of the impure count himself was. Three more flew free, one planting into each person opposed to the demonic incursion and forming a pale orange ghost of a charm no bigger than their palm. As his own grew into place, the fire clinging to his flesh died away. "Did I hit them, did they survive?" He asked aloud, still blind to any degree of success or failure. Somewhere amongst it all he became aware of the severe itching of healing flesh, the flicker of reishi directed towards him. He'd have to thank them once matters were concluded.


Combat Tracker

84,000 RL (+100%)
0 Armour
63/70 HP (-14 (Horde), -2 (Count Castonath), -5 (Burn), +2 (Bandage), +10 (1st Release), +10 (Enduring Morale), +30 (BAKUDO #7))
38/150 Reishi (+3 (Attuned), -4 (1st Release), -6 (Enhanced HADO#4), -6 (HADO#4), -5 (BAKUDŌ #16), -5 (BAKUDŌ #52))
d7 DMG (+5 Focus)
-25 ACC -35 (-25 Blind, -10 Sensory Illusions)
55DEF (50 base + 5 Reflexes)

*1d100+5·2d7+6·1d100+5·2d7+6

Castonath's whip, instead of striking Itsuki's soft flesh, bounced off against Milya's sword, the Arrancar having leapt in between the two in the nick of time and not only blocked the Demon's attack, but pushed back against him as well. That was far from the only insult thrown to his pride by their presence, however. Seemingly confident at the synergy of their team, the Arrancar declared that that were an opponent much more befitting his level of strength - as, supposedly, Castonath had gotten completely outclassed by Itsuki, and so there was no point in continuing the fight.

"You childish whelp!" the Count yelled at her, briefly genuinely upset. "I have trained and perfected my illusionary arts for over a thousand years - while you are merely children endowed with too much power for your heads! There is more than strength that matters in a battle!"

And he shall prove exactly that. But for now...

Castonath once again sent a gesture forward, ordering the Sinners to charge. They were starting to get a little better at bashing heads with the wannabe heroes - though one of the tormented souls in the mob got blasted back to the Underworld by Steve's Byakurai, the others weaved out of the way of the Shinigami and the Arrancar's attacks. After moving back to avoid Milya's Byakurai, a group of Sinners lunged straight at them, while another pack sought to thrash Steve with their long limbs.

As for Itsuki-

"-That strength?"

Before Castonath could even speak anything else, a newly empowered Itsuki, his Reiatsu releasing a powerful signature that indeed greatly surpassed the demon's, unleashed bolts of lightning at him, overshadowing everything else in its vicinity and briefly leaving the sky dark. At the very last moment, the Count's whip let out a burst of fire that consolidated into a shield, blocking the attack - and yet, he was thrown back, sliding across the battlefield and leading skid marks of rubble and asphalt across the street.

Not only that, but, somehow, the Fullbringer managed to blind him along the way, too - and inflict the same burns which the whip had laced him with. The burns did not last long - a Demon was, after all, immune to flames. Yet, that...

That frustrated the noble. But he did not let it immediately show.

"Impressive," Castonath stated right as Itsuki asked whether he finished the demon off, then thrust his fire shield forward. It unleashed the energy it collected from the lightning bolts, redirecting it back at the Fullbringer, and dissipated. Even temporarily blinded, the Count could tell that matching Itsuki in hand to hand combat was a bad idea. Not only were his allies so eager to jump in and intercept, but he would probably get overpowered as well. Thankfully, this was far from the only tool in his arsenal. Already, his burns were healing and his wounds were starting to regenerate.

"How about this for a change?" the Demon offered, then raised his hand and released a pulse of Reishi. It targeted only non-Hellish entities, and should they not guard themselves against the pulse with their Reiatsu, they'd soon find themselves stricken by a debilitating poison.

Current rolls:
Milya - errrEZgP1d100
Steve - 1d100
Itsuki - 1d100

---

Itsuki Hasegawa Steve Milya Ilanos

THE SINNERS



THE DEMON - COUNT CASTONATH

1d100·1d100·1d100·1d100+30·3d8·1d12·1d100

Just as the Count's words process, the sickening reiatsu from the small tower sends out another wave of sickening instability. Milya clutches at their head, the nausea starting to overwhelm them almost into dropping their sword. Almost. They shake their head, as it suddenly occurs to them. This is... different, they feel... poison. Shit. Milya use a hand to cover their mouth, as they cough and splutter, the smallest trickle of blood escaping as the noxious reiatsu fills their lungs. They take a few seconds to look at it, and their throat hoarse, they laugh. Then cackle, their voice crackling through the air. "Ohh, it's been so long!" The smile that stretches across Milya's face holds an unnatural width, eyes flashing with a brief madness, something not helped by the flow of power given by the resident Shinigami, and the feeling in their chest that anything trying to burn them would do nothing.

Even then, though, Milya looks upon Itsuki's new, flaming form, and take a step away in awe of it, incidentally tumbling out of the way of the Sinners. That's... wow, he's... that is more power than they'd seen in some hollows, never mind a human. And the shinigami, his healing was unlike anything they'd seen before. The two of them are really getting serious... perhaps they should too. A claw is dipped into the magenta bubble, and reluctantly, drawing their blade through it too, before looking to their two newest allies, taking a quick, small bow. "Knowing how bloodlust works, I might'nt get the chance to say again. Thank you, both." The maddened gleam in their eye stays, though their smile softens, for just a moment, before their attention is drawn to their foes.

They launch themselves forward, towards Castonath, their blade slashing towards his chest, propelled by the bright magenta energy, cackling as they do so. Milya halts a little further away from him, launching their hand in front of them. "Lets see how you like this," they say quietly, snicker still in their voice as the same cyan energy charges up in their hand, focus landing in their form as the blue blast intertwines with the pink bubbles, leaving streaks through it as it seems to blow out further, detonating against anything it touches.

---

COMBAT TRACKER
1d100+10·2d6·1d100+10·3d6

The Surge from the Electro-Pyramid pulsates again, sending shivers down his spine. Eyesight falters, and even though he manages to deflect the thrusts of the horde, he once again realises that his intention was never to defeat them with his sword. This sword was for purifying, this sword was for saving others, this sword is part of me, and I do not desire to sully it with blood.

He looks at Milya as he talks to the both of them: "I did not expect to be fighting side by side with two such as you. Let the Sinners of hell know that they will find no quarter here!"

He sheathed his sword once more and reached out with two index fingers towards the horde, quickly chanting:
"Stark light, come forth and strike thine incandescent light through the darkness that blocks the way. Let black creatures known thine pulsing force and overwhelming burst, Byakurai!"
Shooting a ray of pale light towards the sinners, with the intention of chipping at them even further.

Bringing both fingers together, bridging them and connecting both pinky-fingers with the thumbs down. He points towards Itsuki and chants anew:
"Bane of Fire and Ice, destroy and devour that which you desire, ever flowing hungerer consume my affliction! Bakudo #6 Kiyomeru!"
As the visage of a door with a face appears above Itsuki, sucking a white light from his eyes and a purple light from the entry-point of the poison. Leaving him feeling more refreshed than earlier and unaffected.

"Not going after the medic? You have more class than your visage would suggest Count! Allow me to send you back in chains as a parting gift."
He smirks with blood trickling down his lip, holding back the poisonous cough in an attempt to goad the Count.
Keeping an eye on Milya, Itsuki, The Sinners and the Count is hard. But he has faith in his new allies, come what may.

And with this faith, he once again surges and releases the green energy known as Reishi, Invigorating them once more.

---

COMBAT TRACKER
1d12+0·1d100-5·2d5+0·1d100-5·2d5+0

In his blindness Itsuki found transcendence. It was like forced meditation, calming his nerves and tuning his extrasensory perception further and further. The very movements of reiatsu in the air were as obvious as fingers, hands tracing on his skin. As the bodies of the dead rushed up to meet him sightless eyes peered ahead with determination. Hand still tightly clasped in a posture of prayer, threads of black fire danced free. Lashing like snakes, the overwhelming power of the monk abused the sinners' own momentum, sending them careening harmlessly to the ground. Fascination overrode pain as the wall of burning air seared his skin, the monk hissing against the unfamiliar pain through clenched teeth. Cursed, sickly reaitsu seemed to soak into his very skin.
    A haze of noise washed over him, the taste of rotting flesh and scent of burnt flesh rushing to drive him to wretch. Voices upon voices upon voices overlapped, drowning his hearing and distorting his focus. Straining his focus to grasp tightly onto his spiritual senses, a chain broke. Wide, the unseen third eye rushed open in screaming response. Even as his natural eyes cleared owing to some merciful benefactor or another, filled with the lies of myriad hollows and a sky scorched open, a resolute focus kept his gaze fixed.
    Hesitant, nervous and utterly gleeful with pride, Itsuki was grinning again. The bloody holes left behind in his bones where nails once dwelled roared to life with black fire. Armour-clad faith drove him onwards, closing his heart to the visions of his own flesh flayed into sacrilegious symbols.
    "Fujun'na Ikari!" He cried out, streams of blood pouring from the burning wounds. The fullest extent of his power blazed to life in brilliant reds and oranges, streaks of inky black spouting through it.
    Sirocco winds lashed towards the demon lord as every bead on the necklace leapt free. The lead exploded into purifying iron salts, streaming on the breeze. More than a dozen cast glowing arcs across the sky, dripping free strands of their molten mass as they danced, spiralling down to explode against whatever they were to hit first, ground or demonic flesh. A decoy along the way imploded into a grand tomoe of black flame overhead, an air bursting drumbeat sounding as twin christening bolts of white lightning flashed. Panting from the exertion of such effort under the poison still in his mind, Itsuki squinted through sweat-salted eyes, trying to blink his way to restored eyesight adjusting.
    Hopefully at least one of them landed firmly. Hit or not, this street wasn't about to stay nice and smooth for more than a second or two.

Combat Tracker

84,000 RL (+100%)
0 Armour
46/70 HP (-25 (FUJUN'NA IKARI), +10 (Bandage))
47/150 Reishi (-4 (1st Release), -5 (Count Castonath), -6 (Byakurai x2), +10 (Steve), +3 (Attuned))
d7 DMG (+5 Focus)
10 ACC (-10 Sensory Illusions +5 Sense)
60DEF (50 base + 5 Reflexes + 5 Sense)
1d100+30·5d7+6·1d100+30·1d100·3d6+6·1d100+30·2d7+6·2d7+6

In spite of having only met one another today, the three wannabe heroes displayed impressive team synergy. While Steve was busy blasting the Sinners with Byakurai bolts and using a Bakudo spell to remedy the blindness of Itsuki, Milya hopped straight at Castonath and slashed at him. The movement of the claws was deceptively fast, and yet, the slow reaction time courtesy of the sensory illusions of the Amplifier was just enough for the Demon to scrape by. He parried the blow with his whip and slid back, just in time to watch an another blast of the Arrancar's blue destruction tear through the Sinners. There weren't many of them left - although the ones who survived at this point were the most ferocious.

Castonath's mind was finally speaking sense. This isn't going well... At this point, he did not have the manpower to easily overwhelm his opponents, and Itsuki's sheer power was threatening to overwhelm him entirely. One Sinner was taken down by Steve's Byakurai, two were shocked and thrown to the gates by Milya's blast...

And where was Itsuki?

Surrounded by fire, the Fullbringer was repelling any attacks from the Sinners with sheer power alone, and now, with Reiatsu oozing from every pore and ever hole left behind by his searing hot nails, he released the full extent of his abilities. A ferocious incantation and the release of powerful winds across the street was met with shock and horror from the Count, and pause from all of the Sinners. Tiles of the sidewalk, pieces of asphalt and branches of trees were being flown through the battlefield as if they were nothing, while the release of Reiatsu overpowered everyone else in the fight.

"Where is this... power coming from?" Castonath gushed out. Before today, he hadn't even seen a Fullbringer, much less experienced how they fight. And now, he was witnessing something that could challenge even a moderately high ranking Demon like himself, with ease.

Bolts of overwhelming energy struck down at Castonath, one after another, whipping up an enormous cloud of ash that rolled across the street and engulfed the Demon entirely. For a few seconds, the Sinners watched in shock, completely ignorant of the Shinigami and Arrancar they had to fight.

A gust of wind whipped up across the battlefield a few seconds after the last of Itsuki's bolts were sent down. Much of the street was now scorched and battered, the Amplifier miraculously survived unscathed, but the ground surrounding it was scarred by the barrage.

"...With this power, you would have been a considerable threat during our war against Soul Society, one and a half thousand years ago. You would crush most Counts and seriously threaten many of our Dukes."

The dust faded, revealing the same shield of flame that Castonath had used to defend himself with earlier. It endured the full extent of the street-leveling attack, and collected a portion of the energy that was cast, concentrated in front of the shield. Castonath suddenly thrust the shield forward, unleashing the energy again, aiming to blast Itsuki off his feet.

"But I was not bluffing when I said that there is more than power that matters in a fight," he answered, and lowered the shield. In spite of the defensive technique, the Count was visibly battered, bleeding in several places and catching his breath from the exhaustion. The Grimoire floating next to him opened and flipped a few pages, then, calmly, the Demon pointed his finger towards Itsuki.

Flash.

The Fullbringer's barrage of attacks left searing, unbelievable pain - and with a simple technique, Castonath would suddenly apply the exact pain sensation on the caster. For an ordinary person, it would be so debilitating that it would instantly cause them to go to shock. He assumed that the monk's spirit would be a bit harder to break, however.

"Now you suffer as I have suffered."

Once Castonath's hand lowered, the Sinners charged once again, rushing past him and whipping up a gust of wind with their assault. The ferocious that remained among their ranks, fearful that they might soon be sent to Hell themselves, attacked with even more brutality than before - and more power, as well. Not only were they aiming to pile upon the three heroes, they were picking up debris along their path to bash them with, alongside their arms and claws.

This was their glorious charge, more powerful than any prior in the bout. Watching the attack and letting his Pain Split sink in, Castonath began to laugh - with a trickle of confidence and mania, certain that he was about to turn the tide and finish this off.

Current rolls:
Milya - ra9yOU6q1d100
Steve - 1d100
Itsuki - 1d100

---

Itsuki Hasegawa Steve Milya Ilanos

THE SINNERS



THE DEMON - COUNT CASTONATH


1d100·1d100·1d100·1d100+45·3d8·1d100+45·3d8

The massive waves of heat and reiatsu broke Milya out of their frenzy for a few moments, staring back at Itsuki as his reiatsu felt as though it was pushing them down, the searing attacks blazing forward and into the fiery shield, the bursts so strong that Milya shields their face from the heat and ash spewing from the pair. Flashes of flame burst before their eyes as they shake their head, stepping backwards a few paces. Of course it was fire, it always has to be fire.

"That really is a lot of power," they utter under their breath, though as they feel their reiatsu bolster again, seeing Steve concentrating, hard into pouring it into his allies. He really is good at supporting others, especially for a shinigami.

The heat and wind blew away any remnants of the sensory illusions, but the immense power of the two fire distracted them from the real threat of the moment. Debris, claws, and rubble rained down on Milya as they snap around, trying to block with their sword as it flies from their hand from the intensity. A heel turn later, Milya blocks with their same arm, trying to push the creatures off, but it can't hold against the onslaught, slashes covering their limb as blood begins to pool over it and almost bathe it. Milya manages to slip back and away from it with a snarl, snapping their jaws, then coughing, hucking up more blood onto their already-injured arm. Ah... there goes their notes. Ehtore isn't going to be happy about that.

A boiling filled their veins, as they look between the Sinners, and Castonath, as they laugh again, teeth gritting together, as they raise the one arm easily, the other less so, straining against their aching muscles, as burning through their reishi seems to be finally showing. "Itsuki, finish it!" Milya shouts, breath short, "Steve, don't worry 'bout me, let's get rid of the rabble, yeah?" The pinkish energy combines on their palms again, as the blasts of cyan burst off, the pink swirling through it, one roaring towards Castonath, the other for the raging sinners.

---

COMBAT TRACKER
1d100+20·3d6·1d100+20·3d6

For the first time in a long time, Steves defensive maneuvers did not save him from his foe.
The sinners reached out and clawed at him, ripping off the right part of his shinigami garb including the central part. His medic bag fell to the ground. As the Sinners stood over it.
Shocked for a moment, he was stunned once again, not by the illusions - they could no longer affect him in this situation. For Itsuki had just become a manifestation of an old myth that his old friend from when he was alive told him about.
A tear streaking from his eye, just to be immediately vaporized by the heat emitted by both the Baron and Itsuki.
Milya words ring loud, standing wounded but still striking at the horde and the Count.
The Count unleashed a hellish barrage upon Itsuki, the type that would have himself lying bloodied on the floor. He realises that if he can do that, this might be his final chance to do something.

He focused his latent power and energy, his mind became astute, his instincts were on full blast.
And he pointed his finger at the Horde of Sinners, he chanted "Stark light, come forth and strike thine incandescent light through the darkness that blocks the way. Let black creatures known thine pulsing force and overwhelming burst, Byakurai!"
Shooting at their torsos, in an attempt to push them back. The moment after he shoots he quickly retrieves his medic bag. Reaches in, finding his special bandage, Kido infused and prepped.
He threw the bandage at Milya, chanting its activation spell "Blodet flyder, hjælp og hel - Bandage!"
As the Bandage momentarily coils around Milya and starts replacing lost tissue under the bandage.
The Bandage would attempt to attach itself to him, as a continous healing effect.

He then gathers his hands again, one final time. To open up the font, one last time, thats all he needed, one last push. "It's time to finish this, don't hold back, take my energy and make it count!"
As the Green wellspring once again wells up, infusing himself, Milya and Itsuki.
But as a transition, he forms two L's with his index finger and thumb, one on each hand.
Then connects them by the thumb with the index fingers pointing opposite directions.
The Green light from the font enveloping and encompassing the index fingers.
As he starts his chant.

"Lord of Wheat and Bone, Purifier of Mead and Dome, Sanctified be your altar and ablaze be your queen, grant relief - relive and retrieve! Bakudo#18 Meiyu!"

As two green adder snakes made of pure reishi fly out towards itsuki. They each bite one of his shoulders and like electricity pour energy into him. But unlike before, this isn't as refined a technique like the one before, this one feels overloaded.

"Milya, Itsuki. Final stretch!"

Steve stands battered, bloody, tired but also proud.
He hasn't felt this much a part of something since he joined the 4th division.

---

COMBAT TRACKER
1d12+0·1d100+20·2d5+0·1d100

The priest had long since disconnected from all around him. Body heaving in the wake of conflict, his heart hammering out the opening notes of a eulogy. A focused mind faintly registered destruction wrought, dust in the air. Boldest and bravest of the dead's cries and his allies' efforts littering the periphery of his senses. His spiritual senses drew into sharp focus, fed from the dregs of his burning soul. Souls all around whispered to his skin and bone, filling the air with the unheard clarion call of his heart. Everything, nothing was without a spirit. Kami were watching him.
    Prayer beads in his grasp shone bright for all but a moment as the demon's feeble excuse for redirection came. As if little more than water upon the ground, the energy splashed harmlessly across his chest. It had done little more than ruffle his hair. What he had not anticipated was what he could only later term the psychic rebuke. Blackened vision, spine spasming and mind-numbing pain arced through his body as if he had been plugged into an open socket. The substance of his mind, nerves and all, were exposed to the open winds and horror of agony for but a few precious moments. The chewed fabric of his mind reeled itself back in, clinging by reflex to his mortal form. Itsuki emptied his stomach on the street, finding himself down on his knees with head bent. As the tears cleared from his eyes the monk spat the taste free from his lips. A push back up, practically kicking the ground in fury made it clear that the answer was to give his all. Prayers and litanies enshrined in the depths of his heart poured out, soothing his senses as the hyperfocus reasserted itself.
Ragged undead reeled in, muscles straining taught like some moving Greek marble statue visible through the stained and filthy bandages worn thin. Rebar-rammed rubble closed in, the once human thing's tongue lolling free from broken and stained teeth in a frenzied squeal of malodorous post-mortem muderous delight.
    You are in my temple. His mind whispered, body tensing. Veins pulsed, muscles strained and his very soul screamed. It was strange, feeling the spirit within him thrash against these ministrations wringing it out. The first pulse of his reiatsu welling up arced strands of molten metal reishi into the air about him again, the thickest slowly rising from his very flesh in a shining arc of yellowish orange. These lands are our cathedral. A gout of blistering wind rushed up beneath his feet, smouldering like the midday desert as it reached skyward. Pale concrete collided harmlessly with the ground beside him. A pair of sizzling footprints in the asphalt appeared to the side of Itsuki, the colour of liquid metal.
    "You are not welcome on this hallowed soil. Pray, for the kami dwell within my wrath." Spoke the priest, his tone reverberating from each tiny soul in each object about the street within his grasp. Calm and terrible, the winds held their breath and the blistering influence of his soul slowed to a crawl for but a moment.
    Lips moved, a soundless cry offered to the world in the shape of unheard words.
    A long, thin tongue of black fire rose from the holes in his flesh climbing higher and higher in that moment played back slow before his eyes. A reiatsu with the same ravenous hunger as a Hollow yet all the vigour of life pressed its violent texture to those present.
With the first crackle of the flame the prayer beads in his grasp exploded in a brilliant display of black and yellow. Upwards the colours spiralled and swelled, before peeling apart like a fountain of light. Beads swollen thick with the sacrifice of his near all his blood tore blinding lines of light across the sky, raining down like bursting meteors riding the trails of scorching, liquid light, each as big as the demon's balled fist. From within the fountain where Itsuki stood pierced another lance of crackling white, aimed as best he could for the herald of hell.
    "FUJUN'NA IKARI!" Resonated the repeated battle cry about the souls of the land.
    Over and over, the layers of heat washed over. The haze in the air crashed against the monument at the far end of the street, the wave doubling over back to meet the crowd of would-be saints and sinners.
    The fountain of spiritual strength collapsed, a puddle of the reiatsu slowly soaking into the world underfoot beneath the priest barely standing. One fist stood raised to the air in opposition or victory. Torn and smouldering clothes laid bare his upper body. A single thread and bead remained in the grasp of that fist held to the sky. At his wrist began a depiction, the very tip of the self-mutilation his blood magic had wrought. Upon his skin the rest of his threads had sewn a burning black depiction of the Yamata no Orochi, each arm entwined by heads with back and chest consumed by the coiling body. Every eye on the eight-headed beast wept with the monk's sanguine offering, a void of hunger for power etched onto his body in declaration of any means necessary to prevent the turning of the spiritual balance on Earth. The final depicted head of the orochi was reared up, neck stretching up along his own to dwell upon his left cheek, gazing out unblinking beneath the monk's true eyes at those who dared challenge the living.


Combat Tracker

84,000 RL (+100%)
0 Armour
5/70 HP (-21 (Castonath) -25 (FUJUN'NA IKARI), -25 (FUJUN'NA SHUKUFUKU), +30 (Steve))
47/150 Reishi (-4 (1st Release), -8 (Castonath's Rebuke), -10 (Bringer Light), +3 (Attuned))
d7 DMG (+5 Focus)
20 ACC (+5 Sense)
75DEF +20 (+15 Bringer Light, +5 Sense)
[/div]1d100+30·5d7+6·1d100+30·2d7+6

Finally, the Sinners were making some progress. Their charge was overwhelming enough that it whipped Steve off his feet and pushed him back, while Milya was forced to defend themselves from the thrown debris and objects with their sword, before getting smacked down by the furious slashes of the Sinners. The Arrancar and Shinigami's blood were drawn. Only Itsuki managed to shield himself from the assault, the sheer force of the powered Fullbringer pushing back the tormented, ravaging souls.

Briefly looking down at Steve and Milya - expecting little of the two fighters that his mind dismissed as weaklings - Castonath's eyes turned towards Itsuki, tormented by the Pain Split technique. As frustrating as this battle was, as much of a wrench it was to his plan to escape safely and return to the Demon Kingdom, he... was even a little enthralled by the bout. It was extremely rare for a Demon to duel a warrior from the World of the Living, entire centuries could pass without such a battle - and whether or not he wins or loses, he will have a story to tell in the castles of their Kingdom whenever he returns.

"What-"

A blast of blue lightning suddenly struck Castonath from the side, forcing him to raise his arm and cape to shield himself from the attack. It was Milya's, and aimed directly at him. All thoughts of being proud of this honorable duel immediately vanished from his mind. Didn't this thing know their place?!

"You insufferable maggot, can't you-"

Castonath's focus on the Arrancar was his most crucial mistake in the last seconds of the duel, however. Once again, Itsuki unleashed power from the very depths of his essence, and while Milya and Steve were picking off the last of the Sinners with their energy bolts and spells, a truly biblical torrent of flame, wind and lightning was unleashed straight at the demon, the last wind of a Fullbringer who gave it their all, their most powerful technique. And this time, it caught Castonath dead-on, without a shield, or any other means to defend himself with.

It simply picked him up, like a twig in the middle of a firestorm, and tossed him across the battlefield, tearing apart asphalt and dirt as they went, before finally slamming Castonath into the side of the monolith. A powerful thud roared across the entire battlefield. The direct hit got the Amplifier to sustain massive damage, and any remaining illusions to the spiritual senses would immediately vanish.

Once the Fujun'na Ikari settled down, the remaining Sinners - those which were not picked off by Milya and Steve's last attacks - stared towards the monolith, frozen in shock. Castonath peeled off a hole left in the structure and crashed to the ground, where he weakly stood on his knees.

This... this isn't good...

His visage had cracked. As if it was a shell, with light filtering from cracks across his body. As a Demon, he could only be in the World of the Living under a seal which massively suppressed their abilities - and this seal could break when enough damage was sustained, sending the Demon straight to Hell.

"I'll... I'll give you that one..." Castonath gushed out, weakly, as he shot a glare towards the trio. "It... it doesn't matter anymore, anyway... Did any of you ever gave thought why we loitered here, in the World of the Living...? Our point was to be a distraction, for Akira - and he will lay waste to your pathetic..."

He was going to say "world", but as he spoke, the upper half of the Amplifier snapped and crashed down, falling on top of him - that finally broke the seal, and the Gate of Hell above the battlefield unleashed a powerful sucking wind. It affected only beings from Hell - so the Sinners and Count Castonath - and drew them into the ominous gate, sealing them back in the dimension they belong to.

---

Itsuki Hasegawa Steve Milya Ilanos

THE SINNERS
With their master defeated, the Sinners are dragged back to Hell and are defeated!

THE DEMON - COUNT CASTONATH
Count Castonath is defeated by Milya and Itsuki's attacks and is dragged back to Hell!

---

Two Shinigami were hanging out atop a rooftop in Seireitei, watching the slowly setting sun with the barracks of the Fifth Division in the background. It was a fairly ordinary day for the two spirits, little had happened in the past few weeks either. The worst they could complain about was a brief feeling of sensual numbness as they travelled through the dense confusing streets of the dimension.

One of the two was sitting on the edge of the rooftop, while another was standing, watching the sun with his arms folded. After several minutes of silence, the standing Shinigami finally spoke up:

“I dunno about you... but something feels odd today.”

“That Rito still hasn’t showed up, even though we’ve been waiting here for half an hour, or just in general?” his friend answered, nonchalantly.

“He said he was gonna tag along with us as soon as he gets out of his division’s guard duty...”

Speaking mostly to himself, the Shinigami glanced behind his back, towards the sprawling division headquarters.

“And he ain’t the type of lad to miss out when a good drink is on the line. Plus, just something about standing in the vicinity of that building is giving me the creeps for some reason.”

“Well, it is mainly populated by weirdos.”

“I get ya, but it’s a bit different. Like a bad omen, and that place is about to-”

Blow.



The suspension in time which held the division barracks in place and which the two Shinigami were ignorant to was suddenly lifted, and before their eyes, an enormous slice rocketed the entire complex, tearing through buildings of the barracks like paper and unleashing an enormous wave into the air. It stretched for hundreds of meters, spreading into the sky and alarming entire districts of the Seireitei of the unexpected attack.

For a second, the two runts bearing witness to the attack on the Archive watched in terror and silence. At least, the question of why their friend was running late was answered... at the cost of a thousand more.