[PM] [8th/8th/11th/11th] Week ---: In Nome dei Dannati

[Vincent Valen]

“State bene, madre e padre,” the copy said, the two of them watching as their parents were loaded into an ambulance.

Alexia didn’t know what to think of the copy right now. She seemed to be genuinely like herself, respectful of her parents and curious about everything.

“What do you know about your life?” she asked.

“I grew up with my parents, never socializing with the outside much. The exceptions were when Father had events he wanted to bring the family to,” the copy stated.

“And what happened to your...to our father?”

“He served a sentence for killing a man. He had the intention of breaking into my room and...Father did the right thing. Before he went in, he told me-,”

“Stay true to your convictions, Alexia. If you feel that it is right, never let anyone tell you different,” they said at the same time.

“Something is wrong, and we will figure this out. But-,”

“Yeah I know, let’s go save your senior citizen of a partner. Seriously don’t you guys retire at some point?” the copy asked.

“I don’t think they have a pension plan, if that’s what you’re asking,” the Duelist said with a smirk.

“Wll...let’s go.”

[203/2,227]

 

[Wayne]

Vuoto had its fangs sink deeper into the old man’s flesh, penetrating further still in hopes of severing the limb completely. In its adrenaline-fueled thrashing, it nearly failed to realize the move brought forth by its foe. With the scion’s tail clamped tightly in the shinigami’s hand, its bladed end was jabbed straight for its own source, slicing through the lower half of the Hollow’s abdomen. The raw agony surging through the beast’s entirety was intense, so much so that its posture was briefly stunted. Yet, surpassing the affliction and carnage, it remained latched onto its gray-haired quarry.

Forcing its jaws to an even tighter clench, streams of red spewed from the soul reaper’s wound as Vuoto tugged and pulled at it vehemently. Endeavoring to rip the arm off, the monster’s barren and empty eyes traced up to the man. With the claws protruding from its chest, Vuoto speared them forward with unprecedented velocity, aiming to pierce Dellius’ heart. From its clamped jaws still cemented on the man’s arm, a torrential spiral of crimson brewed fiercely. In an instant, without warning, yet another marauding cero lashed out instantaneously from its gullet, drowning the shinigami’s arm in all its sacrilegious glory.

2,967​

tail spear hit vuoto. also, it tightened its bite on dellius' arm as its chest-claw things popped forward to skewer the guy's heart. adding to that, cero from the mouth directly on the arm.

 

[Unholy]

The fact that the old man actually succeeded in his move gave some satisfaction but he wouldn't speak yet. Words were for prey and after battle. Dellius grit his teeth as he felt the lions teeth sink even further through the flesh and it was now reaching bone. As the creature tugged at his arm, he thought about blasting it off himself, before moving to attack in his battle crazed demeanor. It was only a shred of civility that made him try and save himself. Dellius forced energy into his body once more in an attempt to stop the teeth's crushing bite. So focused was he on the teeth that he was briefly stunned as something rammed at his chest. The front claws of the creature had attempted to pierce him but to no avail. Unfortunately not having the length of the tail, it couldn't hope to budge Dellius out of the lion's jaw when it pushed against him. The elderly soul reapers eyes widened as he felt the creature's power spiking. Knowing another cero was coming he was about to detonate it again. What he did not expect was it to fire so quickly. Had the cero already been charging while he was attempting to move himself or was the speed something new. Dellius could only wonder for seconds before the explosion took place. There was a frightful agony in his arm and then nothing. The old man’s body was hurtled and he slid across the dirt before moving to his feet.

His body was wounded but okay. There lay only a stump of the old man's arm now. There lingered the smell of burnt flesh but that was all. It didn't give him any pain and there wasn't any blood spilling....but only because the cero had fried away his nerves and burned the wound sealed. Any nerves that were still alive were screaming in protest.

The old man laughed a hacking laugh before facing the creature. He looked at the severed piece of his arm that lay there blacked and smoking and couldn't help but chuckle. Contradicting his own thought, he spoke once more.

"Not bad, predator. Quite the fangs you've got. It’s not over yet though. So long as one of us breathes...I'm afraid it won't be."

Digging his feet into the ground and centering another roar erupted aimed at the creature. The roar now carried large pieces of stone and debris as it was hurtled toward the beast.


[384/4508]

Oh wayne...please don't swallow the piece of arm left. I kinda want to re-attach it later.

 

[Vincent Valen]

While they could not prevent Dellius’s wounds, the Italian duo saw their shot in the field of rock and dust. They utilized shunpo to place themselves within the shroud of debris.


“Science lesson mostro. What happens when you heat a catalyst up and then immediately cool it down?” Alexia said.

“You get broken down,” the copy said, releasing a torrent of fire from on high. In tandem on the ground floor, the Duelist fired a storm of icicles. A deadly chain reaction flew the hollow’s way.

[2313]

 

[Wayne]

Unleashing the massive cero had taken its toll on the beast, winding it a bit right as it faced the old man’s proceeding strike. Vuoto turned away from Dellius, pushing back with its hind legs as to evade the corrosive roar. The scion’s vicious speed still proved its worth, saving the lion from the potential torment which lied behind the amber light of the shinigami. Appeased by its graceful execution, as well as drowned focusing on the graybeard, the Hollow failed completely to notice the girls’ return. Vuoto’s pesquisa wasn’t its strong suit, but being unable to sense the young brat twice already was simply inexcusable.

Turning its barren gaze on the twins, its line of sight met only the vengeful purging of their combined offensive. It was too late to evade, too late to mount any worthwhile defense. As a mountain of fire and ice crashed down on the scion, a pained yet wrathful howl filled the coliseum’s expanse. From the point of impact, a wall of light sprung with radiant splendor, illuminating fully the cold Roman night. In the aftermath of the blast, smoke and debris filled the landscape, blocking the eyes both in and around the epicenter.

“To be subdued by a wretched puttana... unacceptable. Un... acceptable!!”

Blood-drunk and furious, Vuoto lashed out in a maddened frenzy. It pounced for the two girls, indiscriminate of who was who and which was which. The demon didn’t care who it struck—so long that it ravaging urge was sated with the life of its quarries.

Its entire body was burned, charred to the bone as its left front leg was torn clean off. Vuoto glanced back at the old man, spitting yet another crimson death on his way. For the two wenches, it leaped solely for the one wearing the robes of a death god. Fangs glistening underneath the pallid moonlight, it dared to chomp the girl’s face clean off.

3,288​

 

[Vincent Valen]

The battle was nearly over, the hollow had been burned and broken apart until it was a frail shell of its former self. And now here it was, in a last-ditch effort to take someone with it. A leg missing, it threw itself towards Alexia, wanting a chunk of her in its teeth.


As it lunged, she held her arm behind her as the zanpakuto began to rotate. The one other attack the hollow hadn’t seen yet. Once it reached its buzzsaw speed, there was a brief moment of silence before she acted.

“Who’s the puttana now?” she said before throwing the tornado of ice at the monster who dared to harm her flesh and blood.

[2,429]

 

[Wayne]

A frigid hell overtook every fiber of its being. The bottomless, gaping emptiness from once before was filled with a purging cold that simply could not be overcome. The blood in its veins froze solid, the sinews backing its muscles breaking apart and crumbling like fragile snowflakes tramped underneath a strong winter breeze. A pained yelp whirled from Vuoto’s maw, a final dilapidated expression of its undying fire.

From the abyss that made up its eyes, a somber wholeness came about. It was faint, fleeting... transient, yet still there. The scion locked sights with the girl, its expression lacking any sort of message worth imparting. The fangs which decorated its jaws glistened for the last time as the life was purged away from the lion of emptiness.

Its gray skin turned to a pallid blue hue, frozen solid by the shinigami’s attack. Bit by bit, its body cracked from the strain, breaking away to crystallized remains until nothing was left but shattered fragments. And from those scattered pieces, from the shards left by Vuoto, a black blaze emerged. The holocaust of ebony glory wrapped and consumed the pieces, eliminating frost and ice leaving behind ashes that were drawn immediately into the void.

Left over from where the demon once stood, two artifacts remained—two pieces of unholy design and macabre construction. Hung from an inked chain was the mummified hand of a child, curled and grasping, as if clawing for life. Its counterpart, an even more gruesome sight, was an equally preserved heart, blanched in shade with a stake driven through its core.

3,551 - FINAL​

 

[Unholy]

The elderly man had never before felt the urge to strike down a lady in his life...but as Alexia had intervened this urge had taken him. It was only a brief moment though as he had to focus to dodge the incoming cero. But the cero alone irritated him. One would think that after being ignored again he would be angry, but he wasn't. He felt an entirely different sensation in his heart. The fact that the predator had lost such nerve had saddened him. The creature merely lost a leg. It was no reason to lose focus. He himself had his arm removed, but he retained his wits about him. There was only one thing it meant.

"He has become prey." Shuryo-sama said in a solemn if not disgusted voice.

Dellius didn't even bother moving to attack. The fight was over the minute it decided to act rashly. As the hollow vanished, he moved to his severed arm and picked it up. The beast within him had began to settle and the chains of civilization was once again rooted to the core of his being. He then called for a Senkaimon as well as some Fourth Division members to support them. Afterward, he moved towards Alexia.

"Excellent job, Alexia. Though I must express to you my displeasure in your absence. I can understand you wishing to save the civilians. In fact, I applaud you for that. But why did you leave Zerieth here? Its a wonder that he wasn't held hostage in his state."

"Like that matters..." Shuryo-sama said chuckling.

The old soul reaper took a sigh before smiling once more.

"But what's done is done I suppose. I am quite glad you aren't injured. I took the liberty of calling the Soul Society to open up a Senkaimon as well as some Fourth Division support. They should be arriving quite soon."

Dellius gave a low bow before fully falling over with his face hitting the stone floor. The elderly giant turned his body until he was lying down

"Well this isn't dignified," Dellius said laughing weakly. "I must apologize for my uncouth state, Ms. Alexia...it seems I'm a bit more winded than I thought I was. My goodness...I'm even seeing two of you right now hah ha.......If you'll pardon me...I think I'm going to sleep for a bit."

There Dellius closed his eyes with his severed arm on top of him. The gauntlets had returned to its sealed state and all the guiles of the predator fully left him. Shuryo-sama himself yawned as he could feel the sheer exhaustion that marred Dellius's body.


"Rest now young cub. The hunt will begin anew another day."

[446/4954] Final

 

[Vincent Valen]

Alexia disregarded the old man’s comments, signaling for the copy to hide as the Senkaimon opened. When the members from the Fourth arrived, the Duelist showed them her wounded comrades. Zerieth was unfrozen and stabilized by the healers for transport. They soon followed suit with Delius and his severed arm. However once they were ready to leave, Alexia told them to go without her.


“You sure about that?” one of the healers asked.

“The wounded take priority, and I have loose ends to deal with, civilians and whatnot. Just make sure they live,” Alexia explained.

When she was left alone once more, she signaled with a hand, and the second Italian stepped out again.

“So there’s quite a lot of you, aren’t there?” she asked.

“Yeah...there is. You should get going, see how Mother and Father are doing,” the shinigami replied.

“And what about us?”

“We can’t do this now. I promise though, I will be back. And we will find out how this occurred,” Alexia said, gesturing to the copy as a whole.

“You really trust me with your parents?”

“As far as I’m concerned you saved their lives when I was unable to. That gives me more than enough reason to trust you,” Alexia said, extending a hand.

“Even though I tried to kill you afterwards.”

“You were confused. I was too. We’ll get to the bottom of it, but for now, just take care of them,” the Duelist said.

Eventually the copy relented, shaking the shinigami’s hand.

“You keep your promises. I would know,” the copy said, a smirk appearing on her face.

The civilian took her leave, and Alexia was finally left alone. She called in for another Senkaimon, pausing to pick up the two ‘rewards’ that the hollow had left behind. Her hands still had specks of Zerieth’s blood on them. The Coliseum had been famous for warriors dueling as a spectacle, as entertainment. Thousands of years later, this old relic of a place was still demanding its fair share of blood. This was really the first time a comrade of hers had been seriously wounded. She knew it wouldn't be the last...but it didn’t make her feel any better.


Where there was battle, there would be blood.

[2804]

END