Thrill-Seeker, Fire-Keeper [Kuroda]

Her lips were already curling downward with utter disdain before she even saw him. That telltale green reiatsu sparking to life in front of Kuroda, saving the heretic from her cleansing fireball by ripping it into two halves that flew off in opposing directions; embers and smoke being left in their wake. She had failed to wipe out the recruit before he could arrive; her hands balling into fists bitterly at the thought as every fiber of her being wanted to burn the skin from their bodies. The more logical part of her mind, however, reminded her that he was no pushover.

Him. Walkren Dehkarr emerged from the airborne sand, smoke, and ash with a carefree expression and an arm that appeared to be charred beyond use from slicing through her Cero. The way he looked, the way he walked… it was as if the world wasn’t on fire around them, as if he wasn’t facing a monster such as she, as if everything was just fine. From where she stood, Verbrennung could see the thin sheen of a barrier protecting his form from the Hell she’d painted Hueco Mundo into— it only caused her resentment to deepen for the deceiver as he approached her like someone stumbling upon an old friend at a bar. Even during his initial approach, fiery energy began to coat the tips of her wings in preparation for whatever the Shinigami may do.

He flashed her a friendly smile— his expression and body language oozing with ease and confidence— before he spoke. Those long, beastial ears of hers perked upwards as he called her Engelchan and, oh, how she hated that name, his face when he said it, the WAY he said it. Verbrennung grit her teeth behind those sable lips as he asked her to dance, a question punctuated by his use of Shunpo. In an instant, he stood but an arm's length away from her, allowing her but a brief glimpse into his machinations. She caught a glance of something strange: the arm that had been turned into a burnt mess had begun to crack all while a red glow emitted from within. There was a distinct sense of unholiness about whatever Walkren was doing, but it was just the kind of power she expected from a the Fallen One.

Verbrennung let out a hellish scream, smoke billowing from her mouth as she brought her wings inward, folding them around her form. She could see it, his arm being consumed by the dark powers he was tapping into, and she had but a moment to react. As Walkren unleashed his Kido in the form of a red, reiryoku dragon’s maw around them both, Verbrennung gave a hard beat of her wings, thrusting herself into the sky with the aid of Sonido. As those wings of hers flapped however, she let loose the energy she’d been gathering at their tips in the form of two wide, burning arcs of Cero energy that overlapped into the formation of an X. Smoke and embers trailed behind the attack as it soared towards the gaping maw of the Kido construct below— the Arrancar hissing under her breath as, from amidst the smoke, the red artificial creature burst forth towards her still. Damnit! She hadn’t taken the time to charge a Gran Rey since she’d had no blood to supply it with and her regular Ceros— even while layered atop one another— were not strong enough to destabilize Walkren’s spell. She had to… to…

The Arrancar’s eyes widened as the gears of her mind continued to turn. She had always focused her attention on the most powerful aspect of her powers, the flames, but she could control its other parts as well, they’d just always seemed less… useful. Verbrennung lifted her hands, her fingers stiffening into a clawed, crooked manner as she called out to the other facets of fire; those being smoke, ember, and ash. Her X Cero had left a trail of the stuff in its wake and she began to make use of them. Within the jaws of the construct, little red dots popped into existence, each one originating from an ember, tiny piece of ash, or plume of smoke. More than a dozen pinpricks of light rapidly grew into Cero orbs that then blasted outward as beams into the walls of the dragon’s mouth.

The tension in Verbrennung’s arms and fingers eased as there was a moment of sickly anticipation. Had it worked? Was a mass of emergency Ceros enough? They were unstable and weaker in nature, this she knew, hence the number she’d generated but—

Walkren’s creation broke apart against the multitude of explosions and Cero beams that ripped at its weaker internal foundation. The Arrancar simply remained overhead, flapping her wings.

“I told you not to call me that, Gefallener Engel.” She called down towards the Lieutenant, those orbs of fire that were her eyes staring at him with derision, “Why don’t you fight me with your true face on? Are you afraid that God might see? Or perhaps...” Her eyes briefly drifted over to Kuroda.

The Arrancar sneered back at her adversary as she gave a grand sweep of one her wings sending a thick cloud of smoke and ash to descend upon Walkren. Afterwards, Verbrennung dove down with a hard flap of her wings and Sonido, her hands outstretched as she broke her form down into smoke itself. Mixing with what already surrounded the Shinigami, the Arrancar re-formed only once she was close enough to grab handfuls of his robes, aiming to push him to the ground with a knee on his chest.

“Face me truthfully, Walkren Dehkarr! SHOW ME YOUR REAL FACE!” The Arrancar roared while fire danced from betwixt her lips— the flames of her core burning with the utmost intensity. She wanted to see it again, the confirmation of who and what he was.