[PM] [C/3rd/8th/11th] Week --: Take This, The Sabbath Day

[Nargles]

_______Take This, The Sabbath Day _______​

---

Twenty-two buildings remained empty.
​

There were no people that day at Auschwitz-Birkenau, the museum closed on that particular day. The weather was unnaturally warm for the time of year, not a single cloud in the sky. Gentle rays reflected off the buildings, giving the area an unnaturally calming feel.

Abandoned train tracks waited in the east, a restored train car waiting next to the track. A familiar echo of a train horn seemed to radiate from the past.To the south stood Block Eleven, a hellish building filled with darkened cells where men were sent to die. The walls of the building were stained from chemical interactions, most of it dark and hidden from view. To the north was the Camp Interest Zone, still kept in pristine condition. The former overseer’s living quarters were intermixed between offices which at one point were most likely filled with continuous activity. Finally, in the south stood empty workshops and supply stores, which at one point were engulfed in the cacophonous noise of work.

However, the faintest of sounds broke the quiet. Somewhere far in the sky, far from view, far from mind, hidden in the corona of the blazing sun.

​

[196]

*Alright, this is for Fan, Ketch, Beaks and Kago at Auschwitz. Kago, you're supposed to post second, so everyone else hold off until then.

 

[Kago]

Yuuto of Yagara

House Yagara of Nearer Rukongai

In the middle of the desolate street, a pair of double doors materialized out of thin air. As two slid apart, a bright light shone onto the street- visible only to those capable of sensing its presence. Four figures obscured the glow as they stepped through the entryway, leaving the veil of the great beyond.

Upon taking his first step into the downtrodden area, a look of pure disgust filled the nobleman’s face. He felt as though the entire contents of his stomach would violently erupt and spew from his mouth. Restraining the urge to vomit, Yuuto reached into his white cloak and retrieved a delicate handkerchief. He quickly lifted it to his pale face and covered his mouth and nose.

Peering down to his ‘supposed’ protectors – one female and two males – the seemingly androgynous man narrowed his gaze. None of the three were aware of his lofty position within the ranks of the Central Forty-Six. As far as they knew, he was merely there to act on the Central Forty-Six’s behalf and validate the claim made by the Soutaichou regarding the threat posed by the scions. It was his mission to keep them from learning anything more.

“Do all of these...things choose such deplorable regions to subsist?” Yuuto inquired in his deep, baritone voice to no one in particular. A sense of regality filled each word as he drew out and stressed every syllable.


[235/235]

 

[Beaks]

"I dunno, you seem to fit the set piece pretty well." For once, the woman wasn't watching him keenly for a reaction. Tsubaki had more filling her thoughts and concerns than the idle drivel of some pampered mewling noble. The last time she had been deployed to look for one of the creatures they now hunted it had been close.

Much, much too close.

"Arashi, Kagetoki, stay close. If there is one around it might try and separate us before going for Mister Prissy back there." Her blade was drawn reflexively, dormant to glinting in the light from the sun overhead. It had been epiphanic, glorious and humbling all in the same moment for her to be freed from the curse, to draw her blade once more entirely of her own will. But there was no need to tell the others that.

Right now they had a mission, and even if she didn't like babysitting the stuck up man with the all-too-familiar voice she couldn't for the life of her place, it was still the mission.

[176]
[Oh yes, there is going to be noble trashing going on. Hard.]

 

[Chef Bryardee]

Stepping up to the woman’s side, Manzou let his eyes float about the drab, dismal scenery that greeted him after crossing over. Choosing not to add to the woman’s remarks, he kept his shared feelings behind lock-and-key, showing neither favor or distaste for the nobleman or his presence during this impossibly precarious assignment. Internally, he questioned what business did a pencil-pushing, defenseless nobleman have here. At the same time, he had no idea whether or not the man was actually defenseless.

All he knew was that the man was a spectator... and that spectators had no place whatsoever on the battlefield.

The droughty dirt beneath his feet, the dry brick of the archaic buildings surrounding them, and the overall sense of despair from Auschwitz didn’t help either.

Quietly, he said to Tsubaki, “Can he defend himself? Or are we going to have to babysit him when shit hits the fan?”

[150/150]​

 

[Shun]

"Who knows?" he interjected in a mumble, having overheard Manzou.

Any trace of excitement and eagerness to deploy on this mission had quickly dispersed. While it was amusing to be in search for a hollow sighting in another part of the world instead of Japan, things seemed to have taken an unpredictable turn with the addition of this stranger.

Sighing, Ryoujin pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head in disappointment. Leave it to the higher ups to have them not only be tasked with eliminating a formidable threat and possible scion of Prometheus, but also assigned to a noble that they would have to watch to ensure that his life was in no great danger.

...Did he just say subsist? You gotta be kidding me, he thought. From the sounds of it, the noble was a greenhorn, completely unaccustomed to battle... which in and of itself was amusing. After all, from the mysterious looks of this adronygous and exteremly pale man, the pink-haired Duelist would have thought the exact opposite.

Regardless of whatever notion any of them might have held about this newcomer though, Ryoujin decided to ignore the man's idiosyncracies. Words could be deceiving after all. A few years in this line of work had taught him that by now, so without making so much of a deal over it than was necessary, the fourth seater took flank, his hand hovering over Kazeoni's hilt to draw it at a moment's notice.

"So what's the call, Tsu-chan?" he asked, "There are a lot of buildings here. and while I have no problem with sticking together, it'd be a real pain in the ass to have to search through all of them."​

[ 283 ]​

 

[Nargles]

A basal hum engulfed the quiet. Light began to fade, an unsettling umbra being cast over the land. The skies remained clear however; instead the light was being blocked by a different source. All eyes were drawn towards the sun, a small black rectangle appearing in front of it. The rectangle expanded, as space was ripped in front of it. At the same moment, the ground in front of the visitors began to ripple, the same rip in space appearing in front of them. It grew at an astonishing speed, multiplying and expanding violently outwards, a garganta forming in front of them.
​

“From behind a specious tone of regality... ​

A pair of draconic talons reached out from the void. Seconds later, another pair appeared to the side of the first, a third appearing moments later. The earth shook, as the beast pulled itself out from within. An enormous body appeared from the void, as it shut itself below him. Its torso was reptilian in nature, colored in pitch ebony. The scion was monolithic, standing a full three stories tall, and stretched longer than the three disused train-cars. A long and powerful tail slammed down on the ground behind him. To either side was a pair of blood-colored, fleshly wings similar to a bat. In the location where a head would normally be waited a large, pulsating eyeball, bloodshot and colored a sickening red. A bony mask, shaped like a dragon’s skull surrounded the eyeball, which currently was scanning in every direction.

A deafening voice began to speak once more; however, for a being of its monstrous nature it spoke with a refined diction and prose.

​

... all I hear is the drivel of a deplorable cretin.”​

A sickening aura settled in the area, madness incarnate standing in front of them. The scion in front of them was the corruption of pride, Krampus. The hollow could hear dissonant sounds from the shinigami, legacies from an infection of the purest insanity. However, the sounds were merely echoes, echoes created from the remnants of the discordant symphony created by his Master.

The being leaned forward, the bloodshot eye scanning each of them in turn. It stopped, staring somewhere in between Ryoujin and Tsubaki. The beast extended forth its front talons, right one placed on Ryoujin’s right forearm, the left one settling on Tsubaki’s left. Remaining silent, it merely began to lightly tighten its grip.
​

[401/597]

Krampus

 

[Beaks]

"I'd wager that answered your question pretty much, don't you think so?" If there was fear in her heart, it wasn't showing. All the creature had done was effectively give her a large and fleshy target to bring down, and that was hardly an effective medium to inspire apprehension.

Treating the sight of the claws on her arm with a tired glance of uninvested annoyance, Tsubaki's quickly clouding eyes traced upwards at the towering creature with a dangerous amount of neutrality lurking in her looks.

"So, you wanna do this without a struggle or are we going to have to start some shit?"

[103/279]
[Lunar Petal Active]

 

[Kago]

Note: Changed color from purple to blue to distinguish Beaks and my turns.


The representative ignored how the shinigami appeared to turn their noses up at him. Having built his intricate weave of power from remaining in the shadows, he felt a slight thrill of enjoyment from people underestimating his worth. Secretly, only he knew that while it was their responsibility for him to return alive and unharmed to Seireitei, he controlled their fates on the other side.

Remaining in his current position behind the trio, Yuuto smirked behind his handkerchief. The beast before them did look formidable; however, he had witness the destructive power of the former captain first-hand. Confident in their ability to protect him, he stifled any fear creeping into his heart and focused on evaluating the situation.

“Indeed, enticing the hollow will surely not...backfire. Do you not agree, Mabara?” the nobleman scoffed, adopting his stoic expression once more.


[139/374]

 

[Shun]

There he goes again...

Paying the nobleman no mind and transitioning out of the talon's reach, Ryoujin reappeared a few yards away from the behemoth that had appeared before them, except this time his appearance seemed to have changed. In that brief instant, the last remnant of his ties to the Blood Templars materialized. Donned in the all-too familiar white armor that was Tsukanoma no Kishi, the pink-haired youth smirked.

Out of all the numerous hollows and beasts that he had come across as a shinigami, the aerial fiends were always the more persistent and challenging ones, and it just so happened that he had a fairly good track record against such types.

"For making our jobs easier by revealing yourself first, I'll start easy. Destructive art thirty-one, Shakkahou!" he exclaimed, the spell firing off rapidly towards the mythical creature.​

[ 419 ]​

 

[Chef Bryardee]

“Bakudou Forty Six....”

The sixth seat chanted the familiar incantation, both his eyes fixed observantly on the enormous monstrosity as he did. As the last syllable left his lips, Manzou disappeared into a flash step, reappearing beside the arm restraining the former Templar Queen.

“...Ningyou Tsukaiken.”

Again, he was gone, leaving behind his likeness and his auxiliary blade for the imitation to wield. By the time the fast-moving and -acting Blitzkrieger materialized again, his zanpakutou was already drawn and flashing into its initial release form---with his footfalls coming down along the outstretched arm of the beast.

Moving on Krampus just behind the searing-hot Kidou spell fired off by Arashi, Manzou lifted the massive black blade of Tatsunokuchi overhead, going straight for the jugular.

[123/273]​

 

[Nargles]

Tatsunokuchi’s blade met Krampus’ arm with devastating force. The weight of the blade pushed against the claw, as the hollow retracted it rapidly. Already however, the wound began to knit itself back together. The beast reared back on its hind legs, letting lose a piercing shout of anger. Its long neck snapped forward, bloodshot eye pointing directly at the incinerating kidou heading towards it.

The scion extended both of its wings for the first time, a truly massive wingspan being revealed. Sunlight pierced through the semi-permeable membrane layer, revealing a messy trail of veins throughout. Creating heavy gusts of wind forward, the force of air slammed into the both Manzou and the oncoming kidou. Both of their forward momentums were stopped, as they hung in mid-air for a moment before being pushed back. The kidou detonated on the ground, leaving a crater to the side of them. The Blitzkrieg was thrown back, towards the group once more.

​

"You were branded by the mark of the Creator! Yet you threw the gift aside!"​

A basal roar shook the Earth, the echoing through the empty buildings, shattering the glass windows of each. Extending its wings once more, spiritual pressure amplified itself around him. Two creatures peeked up from behind Krampus’ wings, diminutive beasts with a single bloodshot eyes staring down. Bony masks surrounded the eye. They began to shriek with joy, as they extended a pair of fleshy wings each.

Taking to the sky, they began to fly maniacally in a circle around Krampus, revealing their form in full. They were miniature beasts, standing just over three feet tall. They were vaguely humanoid, processing thin, sticklike feat which ended at three-pronged claws. Their torsos were covered in black cloth which extended down to their knees. The beings stopped in front of Krampus, they extended skinny, clawed hands forward. Space ruptured in front of them, a garganta instantly being ripped open. With a heavy beat of wings, Krampus dove into the garganta.

The Earth shook once more, space being ripped open below the gathered shinigami, as they began to fall into the void. The draconic arms of Krampus opened the immense garganta. It hung upside down, its head and underbelly being revealed. An orb of crimson formed in the center of the eye. It expanded as it fired, a cataclysmic beam of energy, known as cero, being shot upwards.
​

[797]

 

[Beaks]

The wings appeared upon her shoulders just as the former Captain appeared at the side of the effeminate non-combatant, grabbing him by the collar of his robes with a fairly apparent lack of gentility. "You're so right good fellow, before it was only interested in you." Giving him a heavy fling to one side away from the yawning portal of blackness, Tsubaki turned her attentions back towards the Cero that was still shooting upwards at them.

The tattoo on her right hand flared to life as her palm opened, firing a bolt of pure dark energy downwards at the projectile.

[100/379]

 

[Kago]

The nobleman felt weightless as he flew through the air. An immense blast of red energy flowed up from the dimensional hole that threatened to swallow him. He only had a second to register the blast as a cero before his body collided with the earth. Tumbling several meters, he came to an immediately halt as he crashed into a nearby wall.

Slightly dazed, Yuuto glanced downward at his robes only to find them disheveled and littered with dirt. Shame trickled down his neck as he hurried to rectify the situation. Too preoccupied with his sub-par appearance to notice the fight raging before him, he began adjusting his attire back to its proper positioning before liberating it of the filth that defiled his sacred garments.


[125/499]

 

[Chef Bryardee]

Swallowed by the murky shadows of dark energy in one moment and the blinding whiteish-red gleam of an all-consuming Cero the next moment, Manzou felt his stomach drop and shrink to the size of a pin prick as he fell slowly into the depths of the abysmal portal. With the same quickness of decision and action as his comrade, the raven-haired man steeled himself and acted. Along the spine of the massive black, a fissure formed and spread toward both ends. The fissure ripped open, revealing jagged fangs and a gangling tongue.

Looking over to Arashi, he reached out with his freehand, black energy manifesting into a massive, reptilian arm to springboard the fourth seat back to ground level.

The tongue within Tatsunokuchi’s maw oscillated back and forth rapidly before shooting out upward, and clipping onto the edging of the expanding, ethereal egress. As if the man weighed as much as a feather, the blade’s tongue levered its wielder up quickly, escaping either eradication or being lost to sands of Hueco Mundo. He arched high out of the portal, back into Auschwitz, and landed nearby the rather-inept nobleman.

Though he kept his eyes on the matter at hand, Manzou couldn’t help the sigh that escaped through his nostrils.

“I don’t know why you’re here exactly,” he spoke aloud, not eyeing but clearly addressing Yuuto. “but this shit sucks bad enough already without us having to watch out for a spectator.” The animus kept in check until then leaked into his tone, but he did little to rein it back in. Gesturing loosely over his shoulder deeper into the compound, he said, “There’s more cover back there.”

[276/549]​

 

[Nargles]

The bolt of energy slammed into the devastating cero, as the two opposing powers struggled against one another. The cero was hungry, attempting to engulf and completely absorb Tsubaki’s attack. The two forces detonated at the same time, neither able to overcome the other.

The garganta closed, as Krampus continued to travel through the void. The King of Hubris was a vindictive beast, an apex predator who prefered to play with his prey first. The booming voice echoed out of the emptiness,

​

“It has been long since I have seen shinigami. Has the mighty Gotei been reduced to such pathetic vagabonds?”​

​

A small void opened up, two more of the dwarfish beasts climbing out. The two others jumped into the air once more, as the four began to fly in a circle in the sky. Smaller voids split the air around the shinigami. Through the void was darkness, but every once in a while, the beast would fly past, its eye turning to gaze at the shinigami.

Two of the four Alps broke formation, as they turned to face the noble. In their sharpened claws were exposed, as they dove at the observer. At the same moment, the remaining two creatures flew up, ripping another large garganta instantly. Krampus flew out at a devastating speed directly towards Tsubaki, three pairs of sharpened talons exposed.
​

[1021]

 

[Beaks]

Different body.

"Embrace the dark silence, Fuyu No Haaku!" Her words rang as loud and sure as the resounding ring of steel being freed from the sheath that kept it caged, filling the air around her with the unmistakable chill of raw power. From her position just above where the previous portal had closed Tsubaki darted forward through the air, her blade taking on an almost translucent hue as the former Captain charged.

Same tired old ego.

[77/456]

Note

Attack: Kyuna Samu-Sa (Cold Snap) - The blade of Fuyu no Haaku temporarily embodies the glacial chill of winter itself. By paying 5% reiatsu, Tsubaki's blade becomes intangible frost for one round. This blade will pass through physical obstructions, including enemy swords, but is consequently unable to block or parry. Upon a successful melee strike, instead of a physical wound, Tsubaki's victim is inflicted with a deathly chill, blood itself chilling within their veins and the pinprick of ice crystals burns beneath the skin. For the next two rounds, each time the victim spends reiatsu, additional reiatsu is used up, equal to 5% of Tsubaki's reiatsu. The reiatsu crystallizes into ice on the surface of the target's skin. This effect can only occur up to three times, and at the end of the second round, the ice melts.

 

[Shun]

Shit that was close, he thought, frowning as he righted himself by gathering reishi beneath his feet to stay afloat and prevent himself from falling into any of the voids.

As Tsubaki confronted Krampus, Ryoujin fixated his auburn gaze on the four minions that seemed to fly around randomly, tearing open portals here and there. He didn't know exactly what they were trying to accomplish, but what he was sure of was that he couldn't allow for it to happen any longer. After all, a second ago he had almost found himself sucked into the gargantua that had opened up below him. Had it not been for Manzou's quick reaction, then he would probably have found himself in Hueco Mundo right about now.

Speaking of which...

Those beasts seemed to come through those portals. Should any more beasts pass through to the world of the living, then things would certainly become even more complicated. Unamused by the antics of their target, Ryoujin unsheathed Kazeoni from its scabbard. Instantly, it shattered, only to be replaced by a blood-red blade.

Without even making a motion as to approach any of the lesser fiends that were roaming around, he only watched, waiting to see if they would catch on and realize that there were now four large shurikens that were aiming to slit each of their throats from behind.​

[ 645 ]​

Shikai

four large shurikens summoned, one for each minion

 

[Kago]

“I must remain...” Yuuto replied to the tongue-wielding shinigami, holding the words longer than necessary. “...on the battlefield.”

Not bothering to elaborate on his comment, the nobleman looked up to find two dwarfish beasts rushing towards him. His heart began pounding in his chest. Were this a battle of words or minds, the creatures would have already fallen; however, he was useless in any contest requiring physicality. Unfortunately, he was required to trust in the skills of others – something that he despised with every fiber of his being.

Staggering to a standing position, Yuuto stepped behind Manzou and covered his mouth once more with his handkerchief. All he could do was watch each of the shinigami carefully and complete his task.


[121/620]

 

[Chef Bryardee]

Again, the gangling tongue of the basilisk flared to life, shooting out toward one of the two swooping, bat-like beasts as soon as they came within its range.

“Hadou Eleven---”

Manzou recited the incantation in a tone that was low and calm, the ease of supreme confidence leaving him composed in the heat of battle. The tongue coiled around the beast’s neck and squeezed tightly, eliciting a high-pitched shrill from the scion.

“---Tsuzuri Raiden!”

Bright yellow electricity crackled from his hand and surged through that which touched it. The gargantuan blade hummed, and the flat pink tongue choking the life from the scion glowed luminously. The beast’s shrill peaked and reverberated through its lips as it fried. Snapping to the side with the utmost disregard for the beast’s weight or life, the tongue ripped the stunned bat into its kin flying beside it.

The two collided viciously with one another, sailing just past Manzou and the nobleman behind him, coming to a halt several meters away.

The sixth-seat sighed deeply through his furrowed expression, keeping his crooked visage out of view and his words behind lock-and-key once again.

[188/737]​

 

[Nargles]

The shuriken spun true, as they collided with the two flying beasts, they dug true into the flesh of the Alps as they were cleaved in two. Disappearing into nothing more than spiritual particles, they dissipated into thin air.

Krampus roared in anger, as its followers were vanquished. It picked up speed, the beating of enormous wings increasing its velocity at a staggering pace. Clawed hands reaching forward, it slammed directly into Tsubaki. The ephemeral blade drove into the center of its enormous torso, as ice instantly formed into ice crystals. Its wing-beats became unsteady as the pain radiated from its chest.

The bloodshot-eye angled down to Tsubaki, appearing mere inches from her face.

“Your overconfidence and hubris will break you.”​

It elongated its arms, Tsubaki still caught in its grip, drawing the icy blade away from it. The scion continued forward, barreling forward with immense momentum. Extending its wings, the hollow changed its trajectory, flying flush with the ground. It pushed down, dragging Tsubaki along the ground, adding downward pressure on the woman. Buildings appeared in its path, as it easily busted its way through, immense weight and reinforced body providing enough force; however, the fate of the former captain was a different story.

From behind the noblemen, the two Alps began to spasm on the ground. They regained motion after a moment, before looking at each other. Letting lose piercing cries, they looked up at oncoming shuriken. Lifting themselves up to their feet, they reached out into the air in front of them. Thin claws ripped through space, a garganta being ripped open in front of them, and below the nobleman and Manzou once more. The Alps looked up, resigning themselves to their fate as servants. The remaining two shuriken hit their mark, slicing through the second pair as well.

The space in front of Krampus and Tsubaki rippled a paired garganta opening in front of the duo. The scion barreled into the void, before navigating the space with ease. The ground shook from beneath Manzou, Krampus erupted out, attempting to capture the two above him in its devastating charge.​

[1373]

Read

So, Krampus is like... three stories tall and several train cars long, so he has ALOT of forward momentum. His brute size should easily over power Tsubaki's comparably diminutive size, so while pretty much tanked the strike, he's still going to win the collision war, especially now that she's point blank away from him. Plus, making it so your zanpaktou can phase, there's no pressure from the blade to slow his assault. He's grabbing her and pretty much giving her road rash from hell.

The first and second round of Alps have been killed, but now Krampus is travelling through another garganta portal set to pretty much add the noble and Manzou to his tackling charge.