False White Knight [Closed]

Shinku did not like coming this far into the city herself, but she didn’t have a choice in this scenario. It was the abandoned part of the city too, so perhaps she would be able to get this done and get out quickly. She had just saved a Plus Soul… mostly on accident, to be honest, but on this side of town, they weren’t very likely to be able to find a Shinigami and move on. They didn’t frequent this side of the town, and it made it to where it was more often for Hollow to start here and work their way into the city… but a Plus Soul lingering on this side of town was nothing more than a snack for the Hollow that came this way. She needed to get the soul to move north and find a Shinigami, but it was crouched in a dead end alley, scared of her Okami. She couldn’t just have them leave or it would leave the soul defenseless… but they weren’t capable of talking, so she couldn’t relay instructions to the frightened child.

So, Shinku went in herself, and while she did detect a powerful Quincy and a series of Hollow near it, she knew that they should be able to deal with one another long enough for her to get in, get it done, and get out. She appeared in a park, moving a large boulder that concealed one of her tunnels and putting it back in place when she had emerged. The soul was nearby, and seemed even more scared of her than the Okami and Hanta that were nearby guarding it as she approached. “Calm yourself, child. I’m not going to hurt you.” Her unearthly bug-like chitter in her voice didn’t help, but the fact that she had spoken seem to rouse some sort of response… even though he was laying on the ground, he was looking into her eyes now. Sure, there was fear and panic in his gaze, but also a glimmer of hope. She needed to feed on that so she could motivate the child to get up and get out of here.

Shinku would get no such chance. One of her Okami forcibly imploded with impact, only to explode afterwards as it’s body was wrenched through itself, and drew her attention. It was the Quincy she had sensed earlier that was fighting those other Hollow. Damnit… she was not capable of handling someone that strong, regardless of tactics… and he thought she was attacking the Plus Soul, as often Hollow’s did. He was severely injured though… how was he capable of killing her Okami so easily? Granted, they weren’t the sturdiest of creatures, but they were not the weakest either, covered in muscle, exoskeletal frames, claws and teeth. Roughly the size of tigers, they weren’t anything to be scoffed at physically, but he had torn it in half with impact… that raw physical strength was ridiculous. She had been keeping her own spiritual pressure down to a minimum, but now wasn’t the time… she needed to diffuse the situation quickly before it escalated out of hand.

“Wait!” was all she managed before another trio of blades tore towards her. With impressive agility, she ducked, laying her legs flat and turning her upper body sideways to give her a low silloutte, but one of the blades was still going to hit her. An Okami, reacting completely on instinct, jumped and attempted to bite the blade, turning into nothing but gore and sinew in an instinct, but protecting the Queen from what would have been a fatal wound. The Plus Soul scampered away, trying to get out of the crossfire, and it looked like he was heading north, and silently she was thankful. Him getting in the way would do nothing but make this harder. He was on his last legs, but still strong. She needed to disable him quickly.

A single Okami erupted out of the ground a block behind him and rushed the alley he just came, trying to flank him and draw his attention, while a Hanta opened the crest of it’s skull and fired a six inch spine towards the attacker’s shoulder, hoping to bring him down. There was no guarantee though, and already the reinforcements were coming and would be here by the time he got a chance to attack again. She needed to keep him off balance for now, and Shinku herself retreated slightly, moving behind the large stone that concealed her one good escape route for the moment.

760/760

It had begged for mercy-- for a halt-- there was no such thing in war. The beast was the enemy, and that was all there was to it-- he cursed as the beasts that surrounded the Hollow leaped forward to take the force of his knives. His grip on the blade in his hand tightening as he took a step forward-- in time for one of the beasts to burst from the earth behind him coming in for the attack, his eyes narrowed as the beast launched itself at him-- his hand snatching out and grabbing the beast by the top of its head. He grabbed it-- but the rapid spin threw him off-balance. His vision spun, and he barely managed to maintain his grip as the beast yelped in pain as the hand crunched its exoskeleton.

He heard a familiar sound of a projectile traveling through the air-- too slow to properly guard. Stumbling once, he threw the beast. The impact of the spine slamming into its side caused a weak cry of pain as Erek stumbled back once, cursing as he let out heaving breaths. Fighting one on one while injured was one thing, but fighting multiple at once was a completely different ballgame-- through the haze of his vision, he spotted the plus soul escaping. Good, now he just had to keep the beast back long enough for it to escape-- and then he heard it. The sound of claws chattering against the concrete ground-- a lot of claws.

Ah, shit.

Barely managing to center himself once more-- Erek's vision finally stopped spinning in time for him to notice that he was now surrounded-- and the big one had escaped somewhere. His body was shaking-- how long could he keep this up? Using blut while he was still trying to recover was putting an even greater toll on his body-- it didn't help he hadn't eaten since the morning. Fatigue, blood loss, damage-- his ribs screamed at him with each breath. Still, he wasn't going to go down here, the beasts were tough-- but he'd proved he could crush through their defenses.

He wasn't like most Quincy-- he didn't rely on grace and spiritual power. He was durable and strong-- he let out a breath, shifted his footing, and charged with a growl-- the blade in his hand lashing downward on the closest of the four-legged beasts, striking it clean in two, knowing that he was opening himself up. Let them come-- he was on a time limit either way. He'd be fine-- this wasn't anything that he couldn't handle.

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He reached out with his bare hands and grabbed the Okami as it lunged at him, crushing it’s skull. Through the eyes of the Hanta, she noticed that even though the claws were scratching at him, they weren’t able to draw blood. He was exceptionally strong and durable… what kind of beast must it have taken to do so much damage to him already that he was bleeding and hurt to this extent? What kind of willpower must it have taken to keep fighting despite those injuries? She hadn’t sent a single beast after the Plus Soul… and she had originally hoped that would be enough for him to slow and allow her to get in some words to make him stop this pointless fight… but there was another part of her that was growing angry.

He was killing her creatures with an almost autmotic motion… she couldn’t have that. Shinku cared about her Legion as much as most people care about their pets. They were her soldiers; absolutely loyal, lethal and strong… but he was crushing them like they were made of aluminum. She wished that she could improve their own Hierro… and briefly, she wondered if there was a way to do so. Part of her, that instinctive part of her was saying that it was possible, but the logical side of her mind couldn’t even begin to wrap her mind around the ‘how’ of making that happen. He used the Okami to take the spine that had been fired at him, but from the look on his face, he could hear them. Her Legion was fast approaching, and as tired as he seemed, all the strength in the world wouldn’t help him soon. He wouldn’t last.

Two more Okami flanked him from the alley, while three more stood between the man and the Hanta who readied another set of spines to launch at him. They wanted to rush him all at once and take him down, but they needed to make sure that he didn’t make it through and find Shinku who was safely guarded from view at the moment. She would make her appearance and try to reason with the man again after she was sure that she could hold him back if he made a move to attack her directly… but until then, survival was what mattered. Two Okami, one from each side, rushed towards him with the rest closing the distance slowly. If he showed an opening, another from the park-side would jump in and attack, leaving one in reserve on both sides, and it would target one of his wounds, looking for a weak spot in his ‘armor’. The Hanta went for another attack, trying to land a pair of spines into his right leg, but this time fired them immedietly, hoping that he would dodge and lose his balance and let the Okami gain some decent ground. Claws and teeth would be working to tear him down, but none of them were aimed for critical areas.

504/1264

Erek's vision was failing him again. How many were there? He couldn't count quite right, there was a bigger one-- and three-- no, there was more behind him-- so six total? He squinted against the pain that throbbed through his chest as his grip on the blade shifted. Six. He could kill six-- he could kill them, and then he'd be done-- then he would win, the big one had retreated already. Six. Just six.

Those words repeated in his mind as he felt the fatigue clenching around his chest, felt the way it burned in his chest with each breath, stepping forward once, and then-- they attacked. The four legged beasts attacked from his sides, and he felt their jaws sink through his clothing, shredding it as they bit into steel-like flesh, before his foot lifted, and slammed down. Crushing ones head beneath his ankle as his pupils shrank-- focus. Ignore the pain, ignore the damage, keep going-- the other beast was clawing at his leg, the reishi defense keeping it at bay as the next jumped onto his exposed side.

Right into his broken ribs.

A hiss of pain left his lips-- and then, his hand smashed downward, crushing the beast's torso from the impact as he slammed it into the ground, his chest screamed in agony-- the wounds from the previous fight clearly the weak point and the beasts knew it. The spines shot forward, pinging off his leg and drawing blood, but not causing any serious damage-- but it distracted him as the force caused him to stumble back. His side exposed, one of the beasts biting into his leg, he was caught off balance and cursed as his eyes narrowed.

Four left. Just four more-- push. Keep going. His teeth ground and he kicked with his leg, but the beast managed to leap back in time with the motion so that it landed in a tumble, before righting itself and chittering at him angrily as the remaining two others circled, he felt blood dripping from his chest, cursing briefly as his vision swam once more. Shit. He stumbled, and that was a mistake-- he knew-- he knew they were coming and now they knew a weak point in his blut. His body was too beaten up-- but he didn't have a choice.

Just four more. He could do it-- he could press through the pain-- he wouldn't let pathetic beasts like this end him, they weren't intelligent, they weren't strong-- he could do this. He could win. His eyes hardened as his consciousness nearly slipped, his foot slamming down, halting his fall right as the beasts attacked-- preparing to defend himself once more.

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Shinku could see it all, watching the battle as it unfolded, able to take in the multiple perceptions at the same time through practiced concentration. This included their pain, and she could feel it as one was crushed like an oversized cockroach, unable to move or think anymore. The other was having relative success; it couldn’t do much damage to his flesh, but it was keeping that leg pinned down and was trying to carve him up as best it could, which gave his companion a chance for a critical strike to the exposed torso. The hiss of pain that came from him was all she needed to know it was a success, even if it was short lived; the beast came to an end with a bit of flailing claws as it was broken in half, gore spilling into the street.

The last one backed away… careful to stay out of easy striking distance. She had discovered a weakpoint; one more strike to that area and she would probably be able to make him pass out entirely. He seemed to be holding on by a string as it was, and once he was knocked out, she could come out of hiding and maybe even help him. She had to admit that his sheer tenacity in the face of so many wounds was very impressive, and she wished that this interaction had started another way. To be honest though, this was probably the best thing that could have happened in this situation. If he was this injured and still capable of so much destruction, if he was at the top of his game he likely would have dispatched of Shinku herself without much trouble before she ever got the chance to talk him down.

But until he fell and she was safe, they needed to keep up this pressure. She wouldn’t be alone… the Legion was getting close… but they were slowing down a bit to get a little more quiet and move into position. She might have had a trump card and was planning to play it, but only if her current forces weren’t able to take care of the situation at hand. Yes… she wasn’t wasting lives, she was spending them so that they could all survive another day in the face of the ever present Death. The world was cruel, and only by becoming a bit cruel yourself were you able to survive, and for the moment, that meant exploiting the weakness they had discovered.

All three Okami rushed him now, pushing their advantage and not giving him a moment to recover properly… noting that he was already off balance and hurting. The Hanta let loose a volley that would reach him before the beasts, aimed directly at those injured ribs with pinpoint precision. Then, seeing that they were no match for him alone, the Okami would attack each limb simultaneously, trying to pin them against the wall and using claws, teeth and whatever they could to gain purches of both him and the environment, trying to anchor him to the wall.

515/1779

Fucking hell. His damn body felt like it was being weighed down by bricks-- the pain from his ribs kept flaring up as his hand lowered to his side, holding it protectively, they already knew it was a weak point-- there was no point trying to pretend it didn't hurt. A slow breath washed out from his lips as his eyes narrowed on the beasts that surrounded him-- it was only a brief respite, it wouldn't last long. He had to try and get his vision under control, his sense of balance was barely returning-- but he was still standing. He could still fight just fine-- four more.

The beasts charged him, the spines shooting toward his ribs, forcing him to keep his arm over them to guard as the spines pinged off his arm, forcing him back from the force as he grunted in pain-- the pressure it allied to his ribs, even guarding, was painful. He rolled, struggling to get up before the beasts tackled into him-- slamming into his legs and arm that was still raised, smashing him against the wall as their claws ground into the stone, forcing him down as he hissed in anger-- shit, he'd get caught.

He could feel his muscles starting to weaken, he couldn't get free without arterie-- but if he used it, the beasts would easily bite into his hide. He didn't have time, the other beast was preparing to attack again he was certain-- it had free reign of targets with the fuckers pinning him down. His fist clenched as his teeth clenched-- no way in hell was he letting some fucking weak Hollow take him down, god damn it. Suddenly, the teeth of the beast sank into the skin of his arm-- before his pupil's expanded. Maintaining Blut Vene in his body and other limbs-- but allowing it to change. Using Blut Arterie in his arm instead-- he felt the strain on his system-- and he didn't care.

A roar ripped through the air-- and the arm that had been pinned down, grabbed the beast's jaw-- ripping it clean off with a pulse of reishi that came with the roar. As it screeched bloodily in pain and fell back, he slammed the jaw into the head of one that held his leg, before his hand, now dripping blood from his fingers, and hand-- as well as his arm where it had bitten him-- slammed into the skull of the third beast on his last leg, ripping one of its own legs off and smashing it into the chest of the beast that he'd ripped jaws off. Then, he heard the sound of more spines, and snarled as he strained his arm, and hurled the corpse of the beast directly at the last creature.

It absorbed the impact of the spines-- and Erek stumbled forward, his arm rapidly going numb, the wounds dripping blood as his free arm held against his chest protectively, breathing heavily from the excursion-- the world spun, his body stumbled, he nearly fell as his feet slammed into the earth. Barely holding on-- his arms muscles had been shredded from the bites and over use of his blut. Pain. The wave of pain from his throbbing arm filled him with his chest as he hissed, and stumbled, falling onto a knee as his one good arm slammed into the ground to hold himself up.

Yet still, despite all the obvious pain-- his eyes burned, staring forward at the beast before him.

"One," his breath halted, causing him to cough-- slowly forcing himself to stand up, as his teeth clenched into a grim line, his eyes burning into the last beast. "--more," he finished with a hiss on his breath. He was almost done-- he had almost won, he had almost beaten the beasts despite how injured and fatigued he had already been.

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At first, it seemed like things has been successful; the spines not only did a bit of damage through his arm, but kept that arm from moving so he could defend the weak spot. Then the Okami began to pin him rapidly, his exterior armor keeping them from doing any real damage, but making it to where they could pin him against the earth and give them a moment’s respite. Then, maybe, she could come out once he passed out and they could move from there, but not before, because even battered and bruised, he was still insanely dangerous.

But she had counted her chickens before they hatched, it appeared.

Shinku had barely been able to give the order for the Okami to not bite down as hard; if it had been full force when the sudden shift happened, the beast’s jaws would have taken his arm from his body without question. For a moment, the Legion Queen had thought it was because his powers were slacking finally, ebbing away from his obvious injuries and blood loss… but that too proved wrong, the monster of a man ripped off the Okami’s jaw and began to systematically and brutally beat her creatures into a paste in a final roar of desperation and anger. He was being cornered and knew it, and like all creatures who had instincts to survive, that made them all the much more dangerous, as they knew they had nothing to lose. He even used a corpse to block the next set of incoming spines… and Shinku gritted her razor sharp teeth. With the exception of the Hanta, he has slaughtered and entire pack when he was already beat, battered and wounded. His tenacity was certainly commendable, but the losses were not something she took lightly, and even though she knew it was the right choice, it didn’t make it any more pleasant.

He was staring at the Hanta now that hissed in anger, wanting to avenge it’s fallen comrades, but held in place by Shinku’s will to remain at range. There wasn’t much point now though… he seemed bound and determined, and he would likely close the distance soon and quickly, using whatever last bit of energy to end the last foe it could see, even declaring it out loud. He was right… there was only one left in this pack… it was time for Shinku to start playing the long game. Behind the stone in her hiding place just out of sight, a bright green glowing egg slid from her tail, gently placed on the ground where it began to throb and grow. A replacement Okami would be born soon, and then she would make another. There was no way he could defeat the Hanta in his beaten state.

The Hanta slithered with a quickness akin to the more fast snakes on the planet, moving to a better position on top of a car that was nearby, nothing more than smoking wreckage. As a warning, and a way to vent it’s anger, the wicked claws on it’s arms slashed downwards, peeling through the steel frame like tin foil. Hopefully a display of this sort would drive him to reconsider… the Hanta was nothing like the Okami, and shouldn’t be taken lightly, the intelligence behind those burning red eyes nothing if not frightening to most. It hissed at him, waiting for his decision, but the moment he made a move towards it, it would let loose with spines all the way until it reached the range of it’s claws, aiming for various joints and the ribs on occasion.

601/2380

Vision blurring. The beast hissed at him, shooting to the top of the car-- nothing like the speed of the other beasts, its claws shredded the car like tinfoil-- its hiss a clear challenge. Then, Erek felt it-- a brief burning in his chest, but he shoved it from his mind, now wasn't the time. He stepped forward, once-- and within that single moment, the battle began. Spines bombarded him as his pupils shrank, he couldn't feel the reishi around him anymore, his senses were numb, he barely had it pulsing through his limbs-- feeling the spines bounce off his skin as he stumbled once-- and his only good arm lowered as he shrugged the bolts off of his steely hide, feeling them thud into his already mangled arm-- the veins too damaged to be used for his blut.

Instead, grasping the corpse of the beast that lay dead at his feet-- and he charged. As he did, ripping the beast forward and hurling it like a projectile at the snake-like monstrosity-- using it to soak up the spines being shot at him, as well as forcing the snake to guard by slashing its own comrade's corpse to bits, as Erek burst through the blood-- eyes wild, wielding the arm that had been ripped off by the throw, as he slammed it downward. The claw at its end crashed into the beasts face, a scream of pain filling the air as it had barely avoided having its eye gouged out-- the sickly fluid that acted as the creature's blood pouring from the wound underneath its eye and down its face.

Too close for accurate spines the beast relied on its talons that lashed at him like bladed whips, he was too slow, too weak, he felt them dig into his flesh-- and he didn't stop. A snarl of rage forming from his lips as the beast's claws extended, again, and again, digging into his flesh, ripping into him even with his blut protecting him-- wounds that would have been lethal had instead turned to minor wounds-- but those minor wounds were rapidly stacking up. The beast seemed to realize he wasn't backing down as more and more wounds appeared on its body, gushing holes from its own allies limb being used like a short spear against it.

Then-- Erek felt it, his reishi control slipped. His vision fogged, and he saw the hissing beasts face-- it had been about to flee, but it had caught the slight stumble in his offensive-- and it took advantage of it. Its claws snapped outward, and he felt pain rush through his unguarded arm, and side-- his visions blur only continued as he slowly fell back, the beast withdraws its claws-- his only good arm was done now. It had sliced the biceps-- he couldn't even move it beyond twitching his fingers. His side bled-- too much blood, he was going to pass out.

The glow of the beast's eyes before him filled his eyes-- and he felt it, that warmth in his chest again. It was different-- familiar, and yet so foreign-- what was it? He stumbled back once, falling to a knee as the beast fell back to try and nurse its wounds, the world was slowing down around him. His senses were slow-- everything was so weak. But the warmth pulsed in his chest-- what was it? Where did he know this feeling from?

Distantly, the sound of gunfire filled the air-- gunned down by terrorists. His squad dead. The last man standing-- hold the line, they had said. Hold the line as long as he could, reinforcements were on the way-- he'd felt it then too-- what was it? Fear? No-- he hadn't felt fear in years, far before that-- it had been different. This warmth was different than the cold grip of fear-- this wasn't fear, it was--

Suddenly the beast let out a gurgle of terror and agony that split through the air-- because there Erek stood, his arms mangled, covered in minor to moderate wounds decorating his body-- and instead of falling down, passing out, he had stood up, and sunk his teeth directly into the beast's throat. A foul taste flooded his mouth, he didn't care. This was not fear, this was a rush-- a rush of what he had not felt in years-- the reason that he had joined the marines. The reason that he had been forced in the Academy as a child-- something that he had refused to accept. Something that was instinctual-- and he felt himself swallowed by that instinct.

Excitement. Pleasure. The rush of a battle-- he had been a soldier without a war, he had been a soldier too experienced to feel threatened on the battlefield any longer. This-- this sensation, as he heard his heart beat in his ears, as his vision blurred, as pain rushed through his body and his teeth ripped the throat out of the beast as his teeth shattered the exoskeleton as the beast fell back gurgling and flailing-- this was the sensation that he had missed. The chunk of flesh fell from his lips-- sickly fluid dripping from his chin, standing haggard over the corpse-- and slowly, he straightened his body.

His eyes lifted-- he had won. The beast was dead-- all of them were dead.

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She had thought it was over once the Hanta had finally disabled his other arm… bringing him as close to disabled as she had thought would be necessary, and hopefully him passing out from blood loss. Already, her mind was on if she could use the bio-mass from an empty egg to stop his bleeding, as otherwise he was likely to bleed out and die. Of course, she wasn’t counting on that, but it seemed liked the most likely avenue of approach, and would be how this all was decided when this fight was over… finally. He had taken a knee, finally, backing down, and as much as the Hanta wanted to plunge some spines in him and rend him with it’s claws, Shinku held him in check, backing away from the man a bit and lowering it’s claws.

It was a fatal mistake.

Even Shinku was absolutely stunned as she comprehended what was happening right now. The man had shot up, and before the Hanta could react even based on instinct, the guy was biting into it’s exposed throat. He didn’t even get a chance to swing it’s claws effectively… more reaching towards him before falling limply to its sides. It hissed in pain, gurgling its last breath before it’s large body did the only thing it could and tried to smother the guy with its sheer weight. It didn’t take long for the guy to make the beast slide off his shoulders and onto the ground, the glow in its eyes faded and turning dull maroon. He had won…

For the Moment.

Shinku was angry… mostly at herself, unable to bear the fact that she had lost the Hanta because she hadn’t asked it to retreat to a safe distance completely. She would be able to vent that anger though… and she dropped another egg, this one not pulsing or growing nearly as quickly, and she was a bit less careful, letting it hit the ground with a sickening splat as she left the egg where it was, and the one from before burst open, revealing a new Okami, out of sight of the attacker, letting him have his moment. He had done incredibly well and she respected the hell out of him as an opponent, as he had the drive to keep fighting when no one else would have even considered it in the condition he was in. Shinku considered simply retreating from here… she could get away and he would probably bleed to death, and there wouldn’t be any reason to continue this pointless fight… but that wouldn’t do. No, he had killed an entire pack, but as long as she was alive, the Legion would live on.

His Moment was Up.

It happened so suddenly it was more than likely there wasn’t a single thing he could do about it. The car he had moved to was perfectly placed in a large open space near the park and the boulder that Shinku continued to hide behind for a moment. Suddenly, the entire area around him seemed to grow claws, teeth and eyes from every shadow… completely surrounding him and moving slowly but quietly, the rest of the Legion had arrived and was finally showing their strength to him. Four more Hanta and 32 Okami took slow steps towards him, their claws twitching as they inched towards him growling and giving light hisses, spines, teeth and claws bared and ready. Some where on the nearby rooftops while others came from doorways and alleys, all looking at a single target that was already half dead if not more so.

Shinku finally re-emerged, moving on top of the giant boulder that she had been using for cover with the new Okami which still dripped with green biomass from the egg it just hatched from, shaking it off like a dog did water. Freshly hatched and already a lethal machine in its own right, this one was a bit much because until the Hanta was reborn, she must control it directly. But this man was completely and utterly surrounded on multiple levels, and it wouldn’t take half of this force to finally put this guy down for the count.

Suddenly, they all roared and hissed loudly, showing their bloodlust for the man that waited for them in the middle of this circle of death. There was no escape, not a chance in the world for victory, and he was completely enclosed by the Legion and was feeling nothing less than their desire to tear him limb from limb. He wouldn’t be able to bite them all… and they could devour him until there was nothing left but a stain on the ground and a bitter memory of his work here on this planet.

“It is over, Quincy.” It wasn’t anything but a statement, a declaration that he couldn’t win this fight… and there was regret in that alien-like voice.

820/3200

His breath was heavy-- his body was heavy-- his vision was blurring as he stared up at the night sky. Victory-- and for the first time in years, he felt the true rush of Victory-- of a battle hard fought. Of beating opponents that could have killed him. His heart was beating like a war drum in his ears, his body wobbled slightly, the rush of adrenaline slowly disappearing as he stared upward. He was so tired now-- he'd already been tried before, but this was different-- such a pure fatigue that was almost pleasurable when had he last felt like this? Slowly, his lips curled into a bloody grin, chunks of the exoskeleton of the beast stuck in his teeth as he slowly lowered his eyes to stare down at the defeated beast-- and then he noticed it.

The ground around him withered, and shifted-- claws slowly sprouting out from the earth, hissing noises filling the air-- and his eyes slowly shifted around him. He felt the shift, the change-- he could feel the eyes on him, surrounding him. Countless claws, countless beasts-- and he felt something new-- a sensation he had not felt in far longer. A chill that spread over his spine, as the words filled the air-- the insect-like voice echoing over the battlefield that would shortly become his grave. That realization is what struck a dire cord inside his chest-- he was going to die.

The chills spread over his skin, goose bumps forming as he felt his breathing increasing slowly-- too many. There was no way he could defeat so many. This Hollow, this creature-- was nothing like the beasts he had fought in the past-- it had planned this. Now-- he was surrounded, a single maimed lion surrounded by an entire horde of wolves.

Fear.

Fear of death-- A realization that he was going to die, flooding Erek. Something he had not felt since his first major mission, something he had ignored all his life, not caring if he lived or died-- only the mission mattered-- and yet, here, at this point in time he felt it again. The realization that his life was nothing to these creatures, they were going to rend him to bits-- and his story would end. His life was on the line. That was when he felt the shift in his mind-- his life was on the line.

He wasn't dead yet. He was still breathing-- and then, the fear caved way-- and became more. That warmth flooded his chest, and more than that, it flooded his mind-- he was surrounded. He was surrounded, and he could die at any time, his arms were mangled, barely usable, his body was torn to shreds, his blut was failing him, he couldn't focus to gather reishi. What was all of that, really?

"Excuses." This was the only word that slipped from Erek's lips, as his eyes slowly focused-- he was a soldier, he was a fighter-- he had been all his life. Beaten as a child, he fought back and beat the bullies nearly to death. In the field, while others died and wept, he struggled forward and killed. Why had he done that? Why had he struggled? Because he wanted to help others? Yes-- but that wasn't all there was to it. Why did he insist on staying in the midst of war, of battle?

Slowly, his lips curled into a slow grin, feral, and wild-- because it was fun.

The air around Erek stilled-- and something shifted inside him-- to fight. To kill. To grow. He would push himself, further, and further-- until he was an unstoppable force. He had promised Freyleif he would become the fortress that the Quincy came to rely on-- he couldn't be a fortress if he just allowed himself to be beaten by a few injuries. But still, he felt those small words of doubt echo through his mind.

Your body is torn to shreds.

Then heal it.

There are too many of them.

One at a time.

You're too weak.

Then get-- stronger.

Reishi flooded through the air-- and slowly, a deep crimson and grey aura like smoke flooded off of Erek's body as his head slowly lifted, and his lips curled into a wide grin-- his eyes glowing with deep red light. The scent of Gunsmoke, of blood and war, filled the air as he took a single step forward-- the reishi flooded his system. His mangled body began to steam. The wounds began to stitch together as his mind focused, the veins of his body sticking through the lost tissue, his muscles re-attaching rapidly, the small cuts steaming as they sealed shut-- within seconds, he stood, complete once more.

The only thing that had held back his healing-- was himself. He had spouted all that arrogant "teacher" shit to Freyleif-- and yet he had allowed something as simple as pain, cloud his vision when it came down to a real fight. Pathetic.

He took a step forward-- and the bloodlust flashed in his eyes at the beasts near him, his reiatsu fluctuating around him-- even with his body healed, there was so many. His reiatsu hadn't recovered yet, even if his body had-- he was still too weak.

That is what that small part of his mind said-- but he didn't care.

If his reiatsu was too weak, then he would use reishi to compensate-- and to his will, it did just that. Reishi flooded toward him, filling his system, flooding his veins, his arteries-- everything. He couldn't lower his guard, or they'd bite him. He couldn't lower his offensive power, or he couldn't kill them. He'd seen it-- and seen the risks-- an ancient technique in the forbidden library. The Quincy said that no one could use both Blut Vene and Arterie at once-- but that wasn't true. It could be done-- and the technique was considered forbidden because of what it could do to the body-- because of the level of control required not to kill yourself doing it.

But if he didn't use it here, he was going to die anyway.

His grin split his lips-- as steam rolled off his body, his veins screamed in pain, his internal organs clenched, the blue of blut vene mixing with the red of blut arterie as both techniques flooded his system-- every vein, every arterie, every organ-- hardening, reinforcing, empowering. He felt his muscles expand, felt his body scream in pain-- a limit, he was reaching a limit-- and he didn't care.

"I'm not-- that--" he felt the veins rupture, felt his body quake as he regenerated the damage-- and then, he disappeared. Blasting forward-- fear-- uncertainty-- pain-- none of it mattered anymore. All that mattered-- was the fight, all that mattered, was winning this battle-- and his first target was the wall of claws, fangs, and screeching that was on his way to get to the Hollow that controlled all of these beasts, that now stood before him, hiding behind its pets. "--WEAK!"

---

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Shinku was waiting for him to give up so that she could try to talk with him, confront him about his options that were still available. Any other Hollow, at this point, would have already been upon him and be chowing down, consuming his soul and ending his life given this single opportunity. She needed to stop the blood loss or he was going to die and there wouldn’t be any chance for her to do anything about it, and in an odd way, she had grown a respect for the man. He was stronger than most people that she had come across, but unlike that Shinigami, he respected her as an opponent as well from what she could tell. He fought hard but with honor, and she sensed that he was not without a type of code, and it would be a waste to lose that forever. A part of her wondered if she could take him and patch him up, using this as a foundation to build upon a stronger relationship with the Quincy race, as he might know more about their ranking structure and have some influence within it. He was feeling the fatigue and fear, and she held her forces back, even silencing them for a moment to allow him a chance to speak if he so desired.

Excuses?

Her senses picked up a shift in his spiritual pressure, which was low and flickering, and she saw the smile curl on his lips. She knew that smile… it was what she sensed from her own creatures should she let them act on their own accord, without control. It was a lust for blood, a willingness to fight simply for the sake of fighting. Where had that come from? The realization hit her instantly; she had brought this out of him. A combination of the cry for battle that her own Legion was trying to use to intimidate him into backing down and him being so close to death was bringing this sleeping part of him to the fore. Shinku immediately acted, not even waiting for him to make the first move, and her Legion shifted to a combat formation that prioritized putting as many of her legion between Shinku herself and the man. Sure, she didn’t think he would get far, but she knew this ferocity and would not underestimate it.

It was probably the only reason she was still breathing…

In seconds, she witnessed him conduct high speed regeneration and absorb the ambient Reishi from the air to reinforce his body. The first pair of Okami, on her order, charged, as he declared he wasn’t weak, leaping into the way, and were torn apart by the sheer velocity of his launch in her direction and was now in the midst of the Legion, whom she ordered to attack him in earnest. From four different directions spines were launched towards his chest, and the Okami attacked him from every direction; two at head level, another two lunging for arms, another two for his legs, tearing the ground out from under him as they did so. They were trying to stop him at any cost, but their claws and teeth were once again scratching against steel as they struggled to bind him. The others, unable to attack in the midst of this, spread out slightly and positioned themselves where they could protect the Hanta specifically.

Shinku, meanwhile, considered her options. She knew the Hanta’s claws could do the most damage, but they were far more effective at longer ranges, so she would keep them in a phalanx between her and the target, loosing spines while the Okami tried to slow him down and deal as much damage as possible. He might have been able to heal, but his stamina should be taking a tremendous beating from all the damage it had to mend. She could still win this fight, but she needed to wear him down and quickly, take away that vigor he just mustered and crush it so that he couldn’t fight anymore. On the upside, him mending his wounds had stopped his blood loss, but she doubted the regeneration had restored his actual blood quantity in his body, and that would sap his strength as well… but something was different about him. His ability to absorb ambient Reishi was going to be a problem as well… and she wasn’t entirely sure if there was anything she could do about that.

But there was.

An idea struck her as she dropped yet another Okami egg, the Hanta egg still hidden, and she quickly dropped four more eggs that were completely empty. She had found out she could do this relatively recently, and it had come in handy a few times because it decreased her necessity to hunt as much. An egg, when empty, also absorbed ambient Reishi at a slow pace, and if she could absorb it out of the air while also wearing him down, she had a good chance at being able to outpace his regenerative abilities with her numbers. The only way that was going to happen was if she was able to push him back, now, and keep him back and wear him down as much as possible. She was already down another pair of Okami… he was killing them faster than she could produce them, and even the eggs would be a bluff easily seen through, as they pulsed and glowed they would not grow, and it was a clear difference between that and the one that had a creature inside, visible from the outside when the thing glowed.

Shinku herself even readied to fight just in case he recklessly somehow was able to break through, both of her clawed hands at her sides and ready to swipe, while her second set of arms hovered over her head, poised and coiled, ready to strike like a pair of deadly spiked serpents. She was not taking any chances with this one… but her thoughts on being able to save him were dwindling. She would take an opportunity if she saw it, but she wasn’t counting on it anymore. Her survival came first and foremost, and she would kill him without a second thought when put in comparison. She hoped it didn’t come to that, but wasn’t so naïve as to hope for it.

Hope could get you killed.

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Flesh appeared in front of Erek-- no-- it appeared in his way. So he made it clear not to get in his way, blasting through them as chunks of flesh flew in every direction as he smashed through the beasts bodies and slammed into the center of them-- he felt their claws slam into the earth, wrap around him, digging into his steely flesh as he slammed a foot down again, and again. They were slowing him down, as more and more piled onto him-- Erek's eyes narrowed before he slowly tightened his fists. More, and more weight-- more of the beasts pulling and pinning until he was no longer visible underneath the mass of bodies-- and then, he felt the reishi in the air begin to slowly retract from around him-- toward the eggs.

His pupils slowly expanded-- briefly in the back of his mind he had the odd realization-- a Hollow that could absorb reishi? Slowly-- his grin spread even wider over his lips as the beasts dug in, thinking that his pausing was a sign of his fatigue, and instead, the warmth that burned in his chest spilled out-- and a laugh escaped his lips from the pile. This Hollow-- it had more and more surprises-- this is what he'd missed-- this was what he'd been craving-- a battle that could reawaken this hunger burning in his belly. A desire to win. His laughter ended-- and instead, his eyes began to dimly glow as he slammed a leg forward, as the reishi that she had begun to pull-- halted, and began to slowly, firmly, move back toward Erek's body.

He had to focus even more now-- to establish reishi dominance in order to maintain his power-- but he didn't care. Focus, don't let up, not even for a second-- maintain it all, his blut reinforcing his skin, his blut reinforcing his destructive power, his blue that was regenerating the damage maintaining both was causing-- and now-- being forced to focus even more closely on the reishi around him, dragging the energy toward his body instead of the eggs the Hollow had laid. He couldn't let up for a second, or he would lose-- or he would die.

It was fantastic.

Suddenly Erek's muscles flexed, and a low growl echoed from the piles of flesh-- before both his arms slammed forward, chunks of concrete, earth, signs uprooted flying in every direction along with the torn apart bodies of the beasts as they went flying in all directions. His hands slammed down, grabbing the beasts that clung to his lower body, ripping them off-- in chunks occasionally, from his body as the spines bombarded him, pinging off his skin again and again-- that grin never leaving his lips. He felt the pain, even with his blut at such a tremendous level, the beasts were ticking away-- but whereas before they were sinking an inch into his flesh, now it caused only light surface scratches with each impact. But no matter how he struggled, more, and more replaced the beasts he pulled off.

He felt the reishi in the air dimming, he felt his energy dwindling-- and still, he pushed. He slammed beasts down under his foot and crushed them, he ripped off heads, he backhanded the beasts into its fellows for breathing room-- and still, again, and again the spines pinged off his hide, his clothing shredded to bits, hanging off him in tatters as blood dripped from his body-- his own, as much as the oozing liquids of the beasts he was crushing. The rush didn't stop, they were trying to kill him, trying to win, and it was a sensation he found only excitement in-- it had been too long since he'd felt like this. Each time he crushed one, another took its place, biting into his body, forcing his reishi to flow like a small river in his veins, again, and again-- and he realized, just as the Hollow was running out of pets-- he was running out of reishi to compensate for his weakness.

More-- he needed more. His teeth ground together, there was still at least ten of the wolf-like beasts in his way, and the snakes were scattered about the area-- pinging the spines off his skin. The reishi around him was depleting quickly, he was using so much of it at once the nature around him couldn't keep up-- the eggs weren't helping.

More-- more-- more--

Or I'll lose.

Steam burst from his body as his temperature rose, his skin became spotted as his veins ruptured-- and the pull on the reishi went a step further than even before. Rick had told him, had he not? Deconstructing objects of reishi, was the first step to true mastery. The reishi was in the eggs-- that didn't mean they were inaccessible. There was a pulse from the eggs-- before the glow inside them began to subside, more-- drain every drop of reishi-- from everything. His pupils expanded, his body screamed as the reishi of the surroundings, of the eggs, all of it flooded into his system. His skin turned a deep purple hue, his veins standing out as they pulsed across his body-- the sclera of his eyes darkening to a light pink from tiny veins rupturing inside them-- more. The reishi flooded him, he felt his body scream in protest, felt the pain rushing through him-- and his regeneration eased it but did not end it. Gritting his teeth even as he grinned-- he slammed a single foot down-- and disappeared in a hirenkyaku. The combination of velocity and raw power increase was substantial.

The spines no longer damaged him. Pinging off him painlessly-- the beasts no longer stopped him, their limbs and jaws ripped off their bodies as he tore through them, chunks of them flying in every direction as he appeared on top of one of the snakes, his hand smashing through its skull as the blood burst in all directions, both his own, and the beasts. More. Regenerate the lost blood, mend the damaged veins, revitalize the body, keep the flow going-- burn it all, every drop of reishi. Use it all-- and use it to win.

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For a moment, it looked like she had stopped him under a wreathing mass of claws and teeth, covered to the point that she could not see him unless she peered through the eyes of her creatures. But at what cost? Her Legion was being thinned faster than she could create them, and he only now was showing any signs of slowing down, but even it felt off. She peered through the perception of her creatures, and she couldn’t believe that he was still smiling… still able to hold off claws and teeth from piercing his flesh, even if they had managed to grind his progress to a halt. It had been a bloody onslaught when he had began, but her numbers were wearing on him, and he seemed to realize that she was stealing the ambient Reishi out of the air to diminish his ability to prolong this fight any further.

For a moment, she looked like she might have managed to stop him cold… and then that moment passed.

She felt it before anything else, Shinku feeling her eggs start to lose their ability to draw in the ambient energy to fuel their growth. Instead it was going towards the Quincy again, showing that his ability to draw it in surpassed her eggs, but that was not the point. She simply wanted to get the energy out of the air so that he couldn’t use it, and she knew a simple passive ability of her eggs would never be able to compete with the ability that a Quincy had to actively channel that same ability. The fact that he was capable of such a feat in his condition was nothing short of absolutely breathtaking in skill and raw power. If she wasn’t on the other end of it, fighting for her life, she would have been able to appreciate it more, but well, she was, so that was a thing. Appreciation would be replaced with tenacity of her own.

He tore through the earth that her creatures had used for anchors, and her egg burst behind her, adding another Okami to the fray, and she mustered the two new ones, still slick with bile of the eggs, to join the fray as he slaughtered more of their brethren. Immune to the effects this would have on truly conscious creatures, they charged, trampling fallen corpses like they were nothing more than decoration. But she couldn’t win this way… she knew she couldn’t bring him down the way she was fighting now, but what else could she do? Every tactic she pulled was beaten by pure, unadulterated power… and she was quickly losing her numbers as he tore through them like so many sheets of tissue paper. She knew they were making progress, even making chips in that steel skin he possessed… but it wasn’t enough, not nearly quick enough.

She felt the Reishi pull even more, and with a stunned realization, turned a moment towards the eggs, noting their dimming nature and knowing what it meant. He was pulling it out of her eggs… but that meant even if she were to drop another egg now to try to replace more of her Legion, it would wither and die, nothing but fuel for this monstrosity she was fighting. Instead, she steeled herself, keeping her own spiritual energy within her. She was quickly running out of options and time… only a dozen Okami and her handful of Hanta stood between her and the juggernaut that tore through them. And then, like a shot to her system, her thoughts suddenly became clear.

She was getting WAY too complex with this… and it was going to make her lose.

He teleported or whatever a Sonido was to a Quincy, and he was upon a Hanta, who slashed at him with its razor sharp claws. The spines weren’t doing damage, but the impact was messing with his center of balance and driving him back in a way, so they kept launching them. The Hanta fell, but almost as if on cue, another Hanta, freshly born, slithered from behind Shinku and came to a pause at her side, awaiting orders. For a very short instant, every one of her creatures seemed to slow, and all of their eyes flashed with a purple light as they received the ultimate order. The one that would turn them from a force to be reconned with guided by a skilled hand to a true feral force of nature.

Kill him. Any way you can.

The beasts that had been so careful about where they bit suddenly changed tactics, attacking him with a ferocity that was quite clearly their own, simply tempered with control until a moment ago. One of the new Okami leaped at him, obscuring his vision for a moment before the new Hanta used the beast as a shield, trying to use the Okami’s blood to get into the man’s eyes and keep him from being able to see, while every Okami and Hanta that was left bit, clawed and overall tried their very best to murder him in any way they could. Shinku had been fighting with the hope of keeping from killing him, and that lack of murderous intent was going to get her killed here if she didn’t do something about it. Her survival was the utmost importance, and she had not completely released the beasts from her control, but there was a simple and effective tactic being played.

As of this moment, this Quincy was literally the only thing in the world that had spiritual energy… and they were all hungry. He had become the most dangerous prey, and through using their instinct to feed, she had driven them into a bloodlust the likes that she had only seen in Feral Hollow, but with far more efficiency and viciousness than any of the random beasts they typically hunted. Shinku herself watched as the Hanta disregarded their spined, chomping down on flesh and slashing at his back, anywhere their claws would reach while the Okami were literally trying to eat him. She readied her claws… and looked at the field of blood and gore that was her Legion.

She was about to be alone…

No… she wouldn’t let that happen… and on her six legs, she propelled herself towards the fight.

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Dead. But there were more, he felt the pings off his hide, felt his blood boiling inside him as his body moved on pure instinct as he flashed forward-- again, and again, burning the reishi as fuel around him as he smashed through them-- the Hollow was producing more of them by the moment. But it was a losing battle, it couldn't produce them fast enough to outpace his attacks. Another was be crushed underfoot when suddenly there was a burst of purple energy along each beast-- and the force increased tenfold. He jerked, blinking in surprise as a beast leap on his face, his head slamming forward to smash it to bits-- when a beasts claws went through it.

Using the wolf as a distraction, he hissed in pain as he lost vision in his right eye. The blade had dug into his eye, forcing him to yank his head to the side just in time to ensure the spine didn't dive into his skull from the opening. His eyelid closed as blood slid down the side of his face-- and he felt the heat increase. He tasted the blood, his lips curled into a wild grin-- this-- this was what he had wanted. This overwhelming sensation and it acted as his fuel just as much as the reishi-- his lost eye made balance even harder. His right side had more openings, and the beasts abused it.

They leap onto his back, biting at the areas of his body his skin was thinnest, scratching, clawing, slamming him with the force as he endured the attacks repeatedly-- until he released a roar of bloodlust, grabbing one of the assaulting snakes by its own clawed hand, ripping it forward as it hissed in confusion, about to fire its spines point blank into his face until his head smashed into the beasts own, stunning it and cracking its carapace before he used the beast like a club. Smashing those that surrounded him away with its weight, the momentum carrying the beast as he ripped its arm from its body.

Finally-- a wild cackle spilled from his lips-- this was fantastic. The pain, the thrumming of his heart, the absolute need to maintain focus at all points-- he hadn't been this excited in so long!

Erek lost himself in the feeling, Snake, and Wolf alike-- all of the beasts fell before him, the area was littered with their corpses, blood and organs littered the ground, smashed to bits underneath him-- the scent was revolting, blood and death mixed with the bitter scent of ichor-- and he reveled in it. Even when he had been excited in battle so many years ago, it had been nothing like this-- this was new, a new tier of adrenaline, a rush he had never endured throughout his entire life. His laughter filled the air, his limbs lashing out left and right as the reishi burned from his skin, his body screaming in protest as he was constantly torn apart-- and healed-- again, and again while he battled the creatures.

Then-- before he could attack the last of the snakes, he felt a tremendous impact slam into his back-- a hiss of pain rocked him as he went flying forward, rolling along the ground as his fingers dug into the reishi in the air, using it to slow down as he skidded to a halt-- and finally, as he looked up to see the Hollow, he grinned. The final boss had come forward-- his foot slammed into the earth, forcing himself up-- when he stumbled, he blinked, vision blurring briefly-- and he realized the problem.

In his excitement, in his eagerness-- the reishi in the area was deleted. His reiatsu, was practically depleted-- he was empty, and he felt the thrumming of his blut slowly fade, the last of his regeneration barely managing to activate as his eyes squinted at the Hollow, and the handful of beasts that were left-- some injured, other simply having been knocked aside, struggling to get up. The reishi was gone, so thin he couldn't even force a weapon to manifest, not even a sparse bit for his blut. Yet-- this didn't instill fear.

Instead, he allowed his eyes to stare into the Hollows own-- his hand lowering to his belt, as he grasped the knife there, yanking it free of its sheath, as the bare wisp of his own reiryoku flowed into it-- the fight wasn't over-- he hadn't lost yet. His breathing was heavy, clouds of hot breath expelled from clenched teeth-- that light dancing in his eyes. He'd never been pushed to his limit like this-- it was completely different from a battle against other normal humans. He'd gone well past his limits, and yet-- he still felt it, still felt the urge to fight, to charge-- to win.

His footing braced-- preparing to charge the Hollow and its pets once more, no blut, no reishi, barely any reiryoku-- he had nothing, nothing but instinct, and his combat skill-- and to him, that was more than enough reason to keep fighting. What did those stupid movies always say-- never surrender? That was accurate-- but not because of some stupid reason like honor or pride-- no-- it was because this was so goddamn-- "Fun!" He growled, his smile returning as he sprinted directly at the Hollow, his senses focusing, honing in on its pets as well as her-- pay attention, every little detail mattered. His eye had healed enough to be functional, even if it was blurry. Focus.

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The attack towards his eyes had at least been marginally successful, smearing blood over his face and doing some damage, and yet the man only smiled again at the pain and blood. Was there no end to his stamina? To his Bloodlust? It didn’t matter now… Shinku and her Legion were past the point of no return… she would fight here and either die here or defeat this man. No… she was past that too, she was trying to kill him, because there wasn’t anything less that could stop him. He would pay for what he had done to her Legion, her Brood…

Her family…

She saved one of her Hanta with a well timed shoulder strike against his back, having propelled herself with strong legs, and conducted a quick headcount. She had two Okami and a single Hanta. One of her Okami, somewhat near him, was missing both legs and was scratching towards the man with only it’s claws, desperate to do some sort of damage, and Shinku couldn’t bear it… sadness seeping from her spiritual pressure in waves. “No no, little one… that is enough.” she said, holding her hands towards the beast, willing it to rest from where she stood. The creature slowed, stilled, and gave a final growl, its eyes dimming and losing their light of life. She had lost almost all of her pets, her precious little creatures that were a part of her much like her limbs, her eyes and ears throughout the city she called home. Her eyes locked onto the man’s again, and she gave a growl that held true all her anger and hatred for the deaths of her family. She would take this man down, one way or another or die trying.

He roared something about ‘fun’ and charged towards her, and she in kind did the same, preceeded by the Hanta and Okami, fighting with a precision that was only possible with only having so few minions clouding her mind. The Hanta, both, extended claws and opened mouths, trying to use their bodies as battering rams laced with razor sharp death in every direction, one going for his waist, the other his chest. The Hanta was directly afterwards, slashing through the narrow place directly between the Hanta, barely missing them entirely, and to top it off, Shinku herself came from above, her long secondary limbs striking at his shoulders from over the top of the onslaught. She would be using the long limbs, tipped with black, needles sharp claws that were much akin to rapiers the size of baseball bats lanced down, looking for opening while keeping her main body out of range of counter attacks.

The same ferocity fueled them to go faster, the minions doing everything in their power to tear him limb from limb in a close quarters fight, while the Legion Queen did damage from afar as best she could. While she was tired spiritually from dispensing so many eggs, her body physically was still in good shape. She could fight for a fair bit, but how long would she be able to hold up against the might of this one man? He was a force of nature in and of itself, someone who fed off the glory of combat and cared little for anything else, if she was to judge what was happening so far. If he managed to get inside her secondary’s arm minimum distance, she would use her ready and willing claws of her primary arms… and she realized that this was the first time since she had begun this nightmare of a second life of consciousness that she very well might have blood on hands directly. She loathed the thought, but that was quickly pushed aside as the instinct to survive took hold.

She should have retreated, ages ago. A simple Sonido to get some distance, and then a Garganta, and she would have been safe… but this was different. She had done that before with the Shinigami, watching helplessly as her Legion, pinned by his spell, had slaughtered them like cattle. She wouldn’t let that happen again… she couldn’t. She would stand and fight, and if she survived, she would be able to say with confidence that she was not just an observer… she was a warrior in her own right, and be able to look them in the eyes with confidence as a commander of troops, experienced and battle hardened… yes, that was worth it.

She had to survive. She must. At all costs, she would bring this man to his knees before her and make him see the errors of his ways in blood and pain. She would force him to submit to her strength, her cunning and her intelligence, and most of all, her own Tenacity. He was strong and determined… but she was too… and he would soon feel it.

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Four targets left-- one was the Hollow itself. He charged-- and so did the beasts. The claws of the first wolf like creature lashed out at him, causing him to spin as he rolled underneath the initial blow-- his blade digging into its stomach, its own momentum causing the blade to rend through its entire chest cavity as its scream of pain tore through the air in time for the second wolf to aim it's snapping jaws at his face, his eyes narrowed as he managed to move his face to the side just enough-- the jaws of the beast missing as his free arm snapped up, wrapping around its throat and yanking-- just in time to use the beast as a body shield as it took the first blow from the Hollow itself. It was angry because he had killed them, that much, registered in his disconnected mind.

He abused that idea-- making it see its own limbs kill its precious pet, in time for the Hanta's attack to initiate. The claws lashing around the corpse, biting into him even as he fell back in a retreat, blood dripping from the cuts that now decorated his shoulders and legs-- his hand scooping up a handful of rocks as he fell back, his reiryoku pulsing into them as he spun, hurling them straight at the snake, forcing it to hiss and raise both arms up to defend as they pelted it, protecting its creator-- right as Erek launched himself into the air, grinning as his knife was hurled downward-- slamming into the Hanta's skull from above right as it looked up to fire its spines. A single hiss exited its maw-- before it crumbled, but Erek was now weaponless and in mid-air, incapable of using Hirenkyaku.

Yet still-- that excitement didn't halt in his heart, instinct, pain-- it was all something completely new-- killing these beasts, fighting such a strong opponent, it was a side of himself that he'd never really considered key, never thought of it-- but it had pumped through him in the past. When he had gunned down terrorists that had killed his men. When he had tortured the motherfuckers that had caused his men's families to cry for information for their stupid god. His grin split even wider, this was the sensation-- in its purest form-- it wasn't hatred, it wasn't fear, or vindictive nature like it had been back then. It was something far purer, far more primal.

He loved it.

Right as that thought hit him-- so did a limb, the tail of the snake in its death throes, slamming into his side, it felt like a limb made of stone. He felt his ribs fracture, cursing as he was caught mid-air, his own momentum used against him as he bounced and rolled along the ground after his landing, teeth gritting as he settled a distance away. Instincts taking over, forcing himself up-- laying down meant death. The Hollow was the greatest threat, and it was still alive. Hissing against the pain, his hand forced itself into the torn apart pavement, forcing himself to stumble and rise up to his feet.

His vision spun, pain throbbed from the lacerations, the bruised-- possibly broken ribs. But still, that grin didn't remove itself from his lips-- for the first time, he was truly enjoying a battle-- enjoying a battle to the death. He was sure later he'd feel guilt, confusion, maybe even remorse-- but right now, in this moment-- he could only enjoy the sensations that were rushing through his chest.

"You're really something, Hollow," he hissed out between clenched teeth, before his hands clenched, preparing for the final clash-- he had little doubt, there wouldn't be much more now. All of his power was gone, his spiritual energy nearly depleted, his reishi gone, his body battered-- and similarly, it was without its pets. No more distractions, no more tricks-- it came down to this, pure, primal combat.

He wouldn't have it any other way.

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One Okami, wrenched from stem to stern with the knife, was dead before it hit the ground, blood splattering uselessly against his body and on the ground. It was amazing that, at some point, the sheer amount of blood hadn’t caused him to slip and fall or something to that effect. There certainly was enough of it… the life of her Legion, torn apart and scattered around her like the result of some battle that had been long since lost. It didn’t matter if she won this fight outright and her creatures were avenged… she would be once again alone… a point punctuated in her rage as he used one of her creatures as a human shield, and already having committed to the strike, she was unable to recall her limbs in time, skewering her Okami and ending it quickly and painlessly at least.

Her Hanta faired a little better, but was beaten in some sort of improvised attack that proved to distract the massive beast long enough for him to kill it. She was happy to say that in the Hanta’s death throws, smashing into him with its massive tail like a truck. It gave her some distance, and silently, she thanked the beast for its dedication to defeating him, even in death. Nothing could match their undying loyalty, their dedication to whatever cause Shinku saw fit. She could have ordered them to protect an orphanage or slaughter everything in the city, and they would obey to the death, unwilling to disappoint their Queen. Such loyalty made her aching only intensify, and her hatred and rage multiply in leaps and bounds. She would skewer him like a pig and make him tremble in fear before the end...

No… she was letting the rage consume her… that wasn’t how she would win. She was smart, it was always her defining trait, the thing that made it to where she could survive encounters that would have killed just about anyone else. She was weak, and she knew it, but she was not alone. Her strength came from numbers and strategy… and while she stood alone against this terrible opponent, she still had the advantage of numbers. She had four arms, superior reach, height, and her durable skin that was much tougher than that of her minions. She had to use that to her advantage, and she needed to act now before he had a chance to recover, and as such, she used a skill she had been keeping in her back pocket, one that she had little skill with, but would be useful none-the-less. "As are you, Quincy." The pain in her voice was deep and strong.

With a blur of static, she wound up much closer to him very suddenly, and her long secondary arms lashed out, diving towards each of his shoulders to immobilize him and lift him up, try to make him regret ever having touched her Legion… but he was still too damn fast. He deflected one uselessly to the side and snatched the other, grabbing it so hard that she felt the thick skin of the limb crack and pain lance through her. In a blind spit of rage and pain, she lanced her inner arms forwards while drawing her other limbs back, fully intent on stabbing through him in four places…

And still she was too kind.

The claws were adjusted ever so much so that if they punctured through him, they would avoid major organs and arteries… it wasn’t intentional, in any way. She simply couldn’t bring herself to kill him on an instinctive level. Despite her appearance as a walking nightmare, a thing born of hatred and malice, the truth was that Shinku was a defensive creature in nature, reclusive and only fought when it was absolutely the last recourse. Naturally, this was such an occasion, but even in this clear desperation, she wasn’t able to plunge those claws into his heart, stomach and other vital organs. She definitely would puncture a lung, and several sets of tendons were going to be lanced and torn asunder, but she couldn’t kill him.

But she had also left herself open in that moment, and would soon learn to regret not having enough clear mindedness to bring a limb for defense.

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Two attacks-- two limbs like lances smashing toward him, strong, but clumsy. It's inexperience was clear-- it wasn't used to fighting like this, his wrist extended, smashing one aside as the other hand grasped it. Clenching it with all his strength, he felt the hardened carapace crack under his grip-- and he also felt the world spin. He couldn't keep going-- and he knew that. She yanked him toward her, her claws lashed out-- but there was no way for him to guard anymore, even if he did-- his reiatsu was weak-- which meant so was his body, he had no reishi to compensate the defense with blut.

He did the only thing that he could think of-- instinct took over. He went on the offensive.

His arm drew back, all of the energy he had left flooding into it for a single blow-- his muscles flexed, his reiryoku filled his hand-- and he struck. Slamming his fist forward directly into the carapace below her stomach, slamming his hand forward with all his weight, right into the claws as they extended, piercing through his body-- the pain didn't register. Not yet-- because he was still pushing, he couldn't hear anything, his throat was raw-- he didn't realize why until his shoulder halted, bashing against her body.

Erek had slammed his entire arm into her stomach, his roar was what had blocked out his hearing-- along with the trauma. Pain rushed through his body-- far beyond anything he'd felt in many years-- kicked off her body in throws of pain, flying through the air to bounce bloodily along the corpse covered ground. He didn't get back up, laying on his back hissing in pain as his hand blearily reached up, his right lung-- the right side of his abdomen, the muscles, and tendon in his shoulder-- he was completely fucked up.

That grin faded just slightly as his vision blurred-- falling back with a dull thud as his skull bounced against the concrete, focusing on breathing as blood burst from his lips from his torn lung, hacking in pain as he grit his teeth, trying to endure the initial throws of pain as his body stilled. His arm was coated in ichor that acted as the Hollow and its pets blood-- he couldn't smell anything but rust-- a metallic taste on his tongue. He hadn't been this badly injured in so long-- a grenade once, had bounced near him, and he'd barely managed to evade it-- it had saved his life, but he'd taken damage still.

It had felt similar to this-- ears ringing, senses skewed and full of pain as he coughed up blood struggling to breathe. A weak laugh filled his chest, there was no winner here, it would seem-- his eyes blearily lifted their lids, staring at the Hollow that was now a fair distance away after it had kicked him off. It had been smart-- and it had been deadly-- but it wasn't dead. Spiritual beings were harder to kill, and that wouldn't be enough to do it. A tie, he supposed. Even after all he'd put in, all the barriers he'd broken-- he couldn't finish it off.

For some reason, that thought made his lips curl into a grin as his head thudded back against the ground.

"Erek--" he coughed, hacking up blood as he struggled, realizing he had to talk with less air, with only one workable lung-- the world spun, but he forced his eyes to remain stable. "--Blackmore," he finished, his tone softer as he stared at the Hollow, that slight grin still touching his lips.

"I'll get you, next time, Hollow," he stated firmly-- and yet, there wasn't much killing intent in those words. Instead, it was as if he was calling it back for a play date-- it had been more excitement than he had managed in years-- and he didn't intend to forget that, still high on the painful euphoria it had managed to bring him.

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