Punishing the Wicked [Shadow Fall Mission][FINISHED]

Mission Specs:

A twisting rip in space disturbed the air above the bone white wasteland of Hueco Mundo. The shifting vortex, forged from the fires of the dead, stabilized into a deep crimson pool after a moment. From its depths a figured emerged with a smooth stride. This new creature was something that had visited the sands before. In fact, many of his kind had outposts in this wide, expansive land. Styn was after all a demon, and many would say that they were the new power in all that went bump in the night.

Styn stood not quite six feet tall, taller then average perhaps, but not in a way that stood out. His medium build accentuated his averageness, he wasn't quite slim, but fell short of heavily muscled. Dark green hair only an inch or so in length, could possibly be a dye job. Pale violet eyes, while a questionable fashion choice, were not outside cosmetic modification. Both ears came to slight point at the apex of their arc, something easily overlooked. His teeth might be a bit sharper then normal for a human, but they retained the same basic shape and placement. The demon's nails also came to a point and were thicker then common, but were by no means long talons or claws. All and all - discounting Za Koa which was naturally suppressed in this base form - Styn would go unremarked in most locations. Unchallenged was another story entirely.

The Knight of the First Circle sported a dark green business suit, almost black outside of direct light. The pale violet tie was clearly meant to bring out his eyes, which were somewhat concealed behind a pair of gunmetal gray glasses with translucent bottom rims. Black dress shoes capped out the attire, with especial detail paid so that the combat boot soles didn't look out of place. Still the effect lacked a certain something. First of all, his white button down shirt was untucked, which his unbuttoned dark green jacket didn't quite conceal. His tie was loosened at least an inch, and cocked slightly to the left. His pants looked a bit rumpled and his shoes were scuffed. In addition his eyes had heavy dark bags under them and his stare was half lidded, giving him the appearance of someone tired or sick.

Appearances of slovenly disregard aside, Styn was here on a mission once more. Reports from various informational circles had put a small band of rebellious hollows in this region. Mainly eighth circle spies among the waring hollow factions. Even with the promise of redemption that the removal of their mask provided, hollows could be a chaotic bunch. Then again, given that his own Queen was one of the craziest beings in the multiverse, Styn wasn't sure he had room to cast the first stone.

Rebellious was actually a bad word to describe this group anyway. Deserters might be a better word. Ungrateful hollow dissidents, former Shadow Fall members who now felt like they had free reign to declare themselves free from demon control. The damn fools, when have we ever given them a shred less then their due. Demon blood is what has paved our successful campaigns in both the human world and even against Seireitei itself.

The lack of active hollow leadership had been a singular frustration for Styn in the months that he had joined Shadow Fall. This was something that he had personally sought to redress even. What ever happened to you Ulquiorra? and how has Shadow Fall been cheapened by your absence?

Styn had found that recently his thoughts had an uncommon weight to them. Even now he still longed for his idle days. He felt the pressure of years not his own recently though. The experimental project that he was a part of taught him new lessons, overwriting older truths. The primal force of death was being slowly awakened in his bones. Undoubtedly, he was much stronger then the last time he had stepped forth on these sands. A fact that must be apparent to the local fauna. Unlike his previous venture here, he found himself untroubled by crazed hollows looking for a free meal. Although the nutritional value that a demon would provide was unlikely to satisfy the emptiness for long.

An absent minded gesture behind him dismissed the Kage Chokyo-shi still opened to facilitate a speedy exit. As a member of the First Circle he controlled space. His circle was often the first to see combat on all fronts. While his conscious mind had been lost in thought, his training had provided him with enough information on his surroundings to feel comfortable removing his need for a hasty departure. It was time to get started. The most recent attack by the deserters had taken place several kilometers north of this location. Styn had teleported outside of its immediate area to avoid a potential ambush.

With little hesitation the demon began making his way toward the Shadow Fall outpost. Not seeing a particular reason to make his way slowly through the sands, Styn instead used generous shadow steps. Moving from dune top to dune top, he soon found himself looking at a medium sized structure. The area had once been ringed by demonic spires to keep low level hollows away. Even now Styn stood at the base of one of those broken pillars. Fragments were scattered in all directions, much as he had been informed in the initial briefing.

They really did a number on this place.

The demon had been right to be concerned with an ambush though. As soon as he had touched down on this particular location, a hidden form had begun to surface behind him. Soundlessly, the shadowed form rose up behind Styn, great bladed arms raised to strike at the demon's unprotected back. Sensory refinement had never been one of his strengths however, Styn was honestly unaware of the approaching attack. While the young demon contemplated the remains of the building below, the hollow lunged forward in a soundless strike.

If the blow was allowed to be struck, it would fail to pierce the passive Akuma Kyodo that wrapped Styn in a protective armor of invisible sigils. However, the force of the strike would catapult the unsuspecting demon into the side of the building below. At that point there was sure to be a retaliation, most likely resulting in the hollow's immediate crippling. There was a reason why Shadow Fall had sent one man on this mission, and unlike last time Styn had ventured into this moonlit world, it wasn't as a sacrifice.

A flicker of motion out of the corner of his eye had Styn's head turning toward the crimson blur of motion. The demon barely had time to register the speeding figure, as Himeko rushed past him to obliterate the hollow that was about to strike. The only impressions were a cascade of red locks and oddly enough, the sweet scent of pocky. Completing his turn, Styn was stunned to find the severed form of a hollow, even now disintegrating into black specs.

A slim and petite figure was just stretching up to full height, the motions smooth and precise in their execution. In her hand was a large sword that looked like it might weigh more then her. The girl seemed unencumbered by the weight and held it with a sense of familiarity. Her simple attire would not be out of place walking the streets of the human world, and seemed completely strange to their current environment. At the moment her back was still to Styn, but given her height and size she looked to be little more then a child.

Of course it wouldn't be the first time that an older being had masqueraded as something much younger. Her words were delivered with a mischievous air, like that of someone who would just as soon have cut him in half as the hollow. Styn supposed the only thing that had saved him from a similar fate was that he just happened to be more interesting at the moment. The girl certainly didn't seem to be giving much thought to the creature she had cut down mere moments before. She had a cute pixie face though, and oddly knowing rust colored eyes.

With a self conscious smile, Styn cupped the back of his head, ruffling short green stands. "Yeah, I actually get that alot, sorry for the trouble little miss."

As if in response to words instead of an attack, the sword clutched with confidence suddenly disappeared. Styn found himself sure that the blade would appear just as quickly and was not under the impression that Himeko was any less dangerous. It was one thing to look the child, it was quite another to show case your talents in such a casual manner. Styn had never been one who was talented at spirit detection, a trait he shared with many demons. However, visual clues pointed to her clear skill. The simple act of turning around had been graceful in a way that only experienced martial artists could execute.

"In my defense, I'm somewhat sturdy little miss. What I lack in preemptive action I generally make up for in toughness. The level of strike that would be required to deal substantial damage to me would trigger even my diluted sense of preservation," Styn said in partial answer to Himeko's query. This was more her world then his clearly. Although what someone who didn't seem to be either hollow or Arrancar was doing in Hueco Mundo was a question that the demon was curious to know the answer to.

"As far as what I'm doing here. It might be easier to start with a belated introduction and move from there. I'm Styn of Shadow Fall. You may recognize the structure behind me as one of our outposts here in Hueco Mundo. Since you don't match the description of any of my current targets I've got no problem treating you as an uninterested third party. Shadow Fall hopes for the continued good will of the forces that inhabit this realm. Whatever your reason for being here, I hope that you can see I mean you no harm."

"Now to the specifics of my mission here. I was actually hoping you might be of some use given your apparent familiarity with the area. I'm here to put down some rabid dogs, former Shadow Fall hollow forces. They would have moved into this area a few months ago, might have made themselves a nuisance to the local power structure. Their main targets however have been Shadow Fall interests. Anything you could tell me about where they might be currently located, or things you've noticed would be helpful. I am of course in a position to offer potential compensation?" Styn finished with a raised eyebrow to gauge potential interest in such a proposition.

"Not to ramble on or anything, but you may be curious as to my trusting nature, so before you write me off as a fool, a few fun facts for you to consider. One, despite my inattentiveness I have already gone over several worse case scenarios. The chief of these being that you are in fact an agent of forces opposed to Shadow Fall. In that case you've got a few options at your disposal. You could leave now and report back to your masters. You could tell them about potential splits in the power structure of my organization, a fact that they should be aware of anyway unless they are blind."

"You could let them know about a young nobody demon named Styn, and I promise you that very few people know that name. You might even get a pat on the head for playing the dog," Styn said while raising his hands defensively. "Of course I mean no disrespect. Pardon the phrasing. Its also possible that as soon as I finish talking we'll be fighting. I ask that you reconsider this route since I'm busy at the moment, but I'll understand if you feel the need to pursue this course of action against my inclinations."

"The second fun fact, If you haven't gotten bored of hearing my voice yet," Styn paused for a moment as if expecting a brutal retaliation. So long as the counter was not physical in nature the demon would continue. "Shadow Fall isn't afraid of you or whoever you represent. We don't need to hide. Anyone who hasn't been living in a cave for the last hundred years knows that we're winning. We control more of the human world then any other force. We make frequent attacks into the heart of shinigami power. We tread where few dare venture. I've got no reason not to be open with my motives and explanations."

Styn smiled good-naturedly, extending his hands wide in a show of peace. "So there you have it, a bit long winded to be sure, but I hope I've answered your question in an acceptable manner little miss. Perhaps you would be so kind as to answer one of my own before we venture into the next stage of this little interlude. Whom do I have the pleasure of thanking for saving me from what would have been a very dirty, and potentially dangerous encounter?"

Throughout the extended response, the demon was completely honest in both tone and form. He clearly meant and believed the words he spoke, regardless of their universal truth. There were no attempts at subterfuge or misdirection. Styn very much wanted to present the image of an honest disclosure of information. Of course, suspicious people often mistook frankness for manipulation. The demon could hardly control another's thoughts though. The ball in this game was back in Himeko's hands, if it had ever even left them.

Himeko then, well now I've got a name to match the face. Styn's eyes widened at the mention of Himeko's organization. As a matter of fact he had heard of Kurikku. In fact, just months earlier in the middle of Paris, he had fought together with one of them. For the moment the demon held comments at bay, showing the vizard the same level of respect that he himself had been accorded. I suppose its no great surprise to run into a member of Kurikku under these conditions.

Styn caught a hint of teasing in Himeko's tone, almost as if she was calling him to task for his boastful words. Hearing her repeat some of it back to him did sort of make him sound silly. The demon smiled good-naturedly, willing to be mocked as it seemed his words had given no great offense. Despite their differences, Styn found himself warming to the pint sized power house. However, this didn't stop him from an ongoing analysis of her words and actions. Mostly likely Himeko would be the first person to encourage him to stay on guard.

Although the vizard didn't seem overly impressed with their earthly conquests, there was something masked in her mention of attacks on shinigami. There seemed to be some deep rooted emotion threading her words. The nuance continued into her next words as well. I wonder if she even realizes that she went from speaking of the shinigami, to casual mention of non existence. There was a story there, but it wasn't Styn's place to pry. Either way it has to have been a long time past or else she's just a skilled actress. There was also the ultimate goal of Kurikku as being the eradication or hollowification of all shinigami forces, so perhaps it was all in Styn's head in the end.

Himeko was clearly intelligent in her break down of the situation as she saw it. It was almost a surprise to see a more casual and obvious dramatic flair of feigned irritation. It was easy to look past the surface appearance when she was speaking. That particular action was much more in line with her apparent age though. Styn laughed in spite of himself raising his hands defensively. Hands that were suddenly in very good position should they be needed to defend himself. In spite of her words to contrary, there had been a bit too much glee in her comment as to the potential for a fight to dispel her boredom. The demon's laugh turned to a nervous chuckle as he slowly lowered his hands. "Yes of course, waste of time for the both of us," Styn said with an empathic nod.

It was unfortunate that she didn't have more information about the group of hollows. It certainly would have saved time tracking them down if she knew their routes and movement patterns. One of the main reasons that it had taken them so long to mobilize against the group had been that same lack of information as to their exact whereabouts. Hueco Mundo was a pretty large place after all. And I certainly can't fault her or her organization for not moving on these pests earlier. While it was true that the enemy of your enemy was your friend. It was also true that yesterdays friend was often tomorrows enemy. Still, he hadn't actually lost anything by her lack of specific information.

In fact it was looking like he might be coming out ahead after all. Styn wasn't quite sure what to think of her marching on him, but the demon was oddly sure that violent conflict wasn't about to break out. Once she was within what he normally considered his personal space, he had an almost overwhelming urge to rest his hand on the top of her head. Deciding that it was entirely inappropriate, Styn instead merely arched an eyebrow, an amused and slightly challenging smile on his face. The end result of the meeting seemed to be an alliance, however temporary.

Indeed, if all she wanted was information then Styn would be more then willing to answer any questions the vizard might have. He considered himself pretty well informed after all. He was fairly certain he could still manage some funds too. Everyone loved money. "That sounds like a very profitable arrangement for the both of us Miss Himeko. My first step was going to be checking out that structure down there. Hopefully, to find some clues as to there current location or potential goals. If you'd like to join me?"

Suiting actions to words, Styn made his way down the steep side of the sand dune, into the crater where the Shadow Fall outpost had once been located. Although much of his attention had been on Himeko, the demon had also been much more aware of his surroundings since the ambush. Although their brief conversation had not taken long, he figured that if another attack was going to happen it would have already. Then again in the dog eat dog world of Hueco Mundo, their enemies might have just been hoping that these new invaders would turn on each other. A perfectly reasonable way to look at interactions when you were a hollow.

Styn made no attempt to rush the building. Not only was he on the lookout for potential traps, but he wanted to get a feel for the surroundings. Any number of details could prove important later. Besides it wasn't like he didn't have an interesting companion to make it all a bit less monotonous. "I actually have heard of your organization by the way, and not just in a report, although I've read plenty of those," Styn said as they made their way forward. "Met an arrancar by the name of Highwayman Bordeaux. Maybe you've met him? Ridiculously tall? Really, really, angry?"

"That got me to looking into Kurikku with much greater intensity. Had my ear to the floor so to speak. I had even heard rumors of a potential alliance with Monsuta," Styn said while attempting to gauge Himeko's reaction to his words. "It's also being said that Hiroge hasn't been seen in awhile."

"I'm talking to much though. Let me put some of my worldliness at your disposal as we embark on this grand adventure. You've got questions? Perhaps I have answers." There didn't seem to be any immediate threat and the two were making progress toward their immediate goal. It wasn't sitting down over tea and biscuits, but there were far worse conditions to get some talking done.

Was he really that violent? There was no reason to doubt the vizard's assessment. Perhaps he had been fortunate that there were two targets for the Arrancar to vent his hyper aggression on. He was sad to hear that Himeko hadn't seen him in awhile. It also seemed that the little vizard had high standards if one wished to stay in her regard. The casual manner in which she dismissed Highwayman had Styn chuckling.

The demon was surprised about how open Himeko was to his inquiries as to organizational structure, but maybe he shouldn't be. Their dialogue had been characterized so far with a general disregard for cloak and dagger. It was actually refreshing, so much of his interactions within his own circle was posturing and politics. "Your continued involvement speaks louder then any words Miss Himeko," Styn said with a chuckle of his own. Sure it might be raw boredom, but it would look much more altruistic in his report later on.

The mention of Australia froze Styn's step for a moment. It had been the death of so many demons on the front lines of that particular conflict that had sent him to Shadow Fall. It was because of that battle that he was here in Hueco Mundo, instead of monitoring and maintaining the organizations substantial transportation network. Still, it was the lower caste that had suffered, a caste he was even now clawing his way out of. Not a single demon lord lost their life that day.

I guess Kisaki is her Zanpakutō? It must be so weird so share your head with another intelligent creature. Styn had enough problems with foreign memories, he didn't know what he'd do if they started talking. In addition, didn't that also mean she had a hollow presence as well? The demon almost felt bad for her. Vizard made the most sense anyway given her organizational affiliation and physical makeup. Maybe that was why she had seemed particularly interested in Australia, arguably the most important event for Vizards everywhere. Styn was sure that she wouldn't be happy with the outcome in that case.

"Ha! don't worry about the questions. I'd be surprised if you weren't actually better informed then you'd imagine. Current events might be the best beginning in that case. Some highlights to start us off then," Styn said, getting down to business and continuing to move toward the Shadow Fall base once more.

"Reports from Soul Society puts Tsubasa Unabara in charge of the Gotei 13. For the past months he has been working like a mad man in preparation for something. Unfortunate timing, the resurrection of Hell would have gone much smoother without that foresight," Styn said casually. "Oh yes, its a real thing apparently, not just some fiction the shinigami made up after all. As large as the demon world is, its just the outer layer of Hell. Demons are just glorified gate guards, who would have known?" Clearly Styn didn't seem to care too much either way.

"All the facts still aren't sorted out yet but Khala Asthavon with typical royal disregard for us cannon fodder launched a massive raid on Seireitei. Killed a butt load of shinigami, demons, a few allied forces. Mostly no names from the preliminary casualty reports. Broke open the seal on Hell, moved it back to the demon world. Like I said though, lots of confusion going on about this. K-World seems pretty tame by comparison, although rumors of Kin Iramasha with something up his sleeve always seem to be in the air."

"Australia...I wouldn't say that nothing had happened anyway. That's a good point to bring us up to speed on the human realm really. One of the reasons rumors were abound about your alliance with Monsuta was because of the damage they had sustained in that war. I'll be happy to go over the greater details at a later time of course, but for now some of the high points."

"First of all, despite Shadin Yuudeshi's frantic efforts, the country is hardly liberated. What was once a single bastion of order, albeit evil order, is now a fractured map of alliances and cease fires. Shadow Fall and its allies control maybe a forth of the country still to this day. The former leader and founder of Monsuta ran from his responsibilities and fled the field. Countless smaller conflicts resolving for all involved factions shattered the unity of the land completely."

"I doubt the humans who died or those who survived them will thank their strongest champion for his intervention. A single day of war and the land is still a shadow of its former self. It may be decades before the area stabilized." Styn tilted his head to the side, casting a sidelong glance at his companion. "Perhaps you are looking for a specific name though? The shinigami had their own heroes in that conflict. Shadow Fall has dossiers on most of them should you be curious as to any former acquaintances."

"Heavens this is only the recent news, but my understanding of such things is that the really crazy things have been happening in the last five or so years. It was mostly cold war before that. Some of the names I've mentioned might not even mean anything to you depending on how long you've been out of the game. Suffice to say the human world is the game board that most the players are fighting over right now. The power players realize that attacking anyone in their stronghold is almost impossible at this point."

Styn paused dramatically posed at the broken door of the structure which they had finally arrived at. The building was small by the standards of an organization that controlled basses of operation in several different realms. In actuality it was quite large. It was two stories tall, and Styn knew from schematics that there another two basement floors beneath that. Things still seemed quiet, but a flicker of something crossed Himeko's face.

"They're here aren't they?" The demon asked mere moments before the building exploded in a super nova of flaming destruction. He could clearly sense it now, a flood of Za Koa, the incredible increase of a demon unleashing their true form. With heightened senses, Himeko would have little trouble escaping outside of the blast radius. Styn on the other hand wasn't so lucky.

The demon found himself seized in a vice of white hot flames. Inside the inferno, currents of air created a crushing pressure to go with the blazing heat. The explosive force was suddenly an implosive force which pulled Styn into the heart of the blaze. A gigantic serpentine form, at least a hundred feet long and as wide as a semi leaped into the air, seeking to digest the much smaller demon. The creature was made entirely of white fire, with slit crimson eyes at the head.

For his part Styn shifted into his own true form. Unlike his fellow demon, Styn's transformation consolidated his power instead of expanding it. The concentration and density of his spirit structure was roughly the same shape with a few differences. From finger tip to elbow his arms were now encased in a thick bone white mass. It was as if his hands were now the claws of a beast at least three times his size. They were still five fingered, and smooth across the top, however the underside of every digit was now razor sharp. At the elbow, extending out like short swords, were two double edged bone white blades, one for each arm. The tips of those edges would just barely pass his shoulder blades if his arm was fully extended.

Gauntlets were only part of the new look. His legs from knee to toe were also encased in thickened, claw tipped grieves. In addition, across the knees were studded spikes, needle sharp, but blade thick. The thin strands of his hair warped and locked into similar rows of these hooked barbs, although the hair at least maintained its green coloring. As his glasses dissolved into his face, the final transformation would be the opening of this third eye.

Call it life and death, call it the culmination of his true power, finally realized after all these months of growth. Regardless, Styn had never before seen the possibilities of space snap into focus so quickly. The third eye allowed the demon to see the relation of space, how bits of it folded back on itself. The understanding, combined with the demonic art of drilling holes in that fabric allowed him to act fast enough to avoid burning to a crisp.

Styn had shifted to his true form in the instant those fiery jaws had rose to snap him in their grasp. His next trick was an immediate act of enforcing his Akuma Kyodo to its overflow state. Sigils, normally invisible to the naked eye suddenly blazed with blue radiance, an illumination which was lost in the solar brightness of the flaming serpent who even now sought to obliterate him.

Was he hot? Yes! heavens it was hot. Even with the protective armor pushing out several inches all around him in a sort of Za Koa bubble, the fire burned. Holes appeared all over his dark green suit, the tie burned halfway through. His pale skin reddened and even pealed in many locations, and still he burned. Surely he would not lost long in these conditions. Fortunately, he didn't have to.

The flaming vortex sucked him toward the belly of the beast and Styn didn't fight it. There was no physical matter to gain purchase on anyway. Instead, reaching a clawed hand forward, he twisted the fabric of space. Ten meters ahead, swirling Za Koa rended reality in a flat, perfectly circular hole. Red pulsing chaos, mostly obscured from the outside, rotated and stabilized. The very edges of the portal actually severed the fire, or its connection to oxygen, or the the laws of energy conservation. Whatever was cut created a small space around the portal.

With nothing else to do Styn just let himself fall through the gateway, plummeting another ten feet through deliciously cold Hueco Mundo air to land ungracefully next to where ever Himeko had ended up. The Kage Chokyo-shi, twin to the one inside the fire snake, winked close after expelling him to the sands. The demon leveraged himself to a knee with pained groan, body still bleeding blue light through the hundreds of sigils that littered his body. Even the bone white gauntlets and boots held those traceries. The faint smell of his slightly cooked flesh filled the clean air. Less then three seconds had passed.

Whatever demonic spell that had hid the hollow forces was now undone. All along the lip of the crater were about thirty hollows of varying strength. Styn recognized a few of them from his hit list. It seemed as though the whole gang was here then. The rogue demon had been an unwelcome surprise though. "Don't answer that," Styn joked getting fully to his feet. "I can see that they are in fact here."

Right before Himeko rushed into the fray she was kind enough to bestow some sort of enhancement on Styn. It felt odd to have someone else's active energy slithering over his body. The demon felt a surge of vitality as dark vector markings dotted his arms and legs. "Good hunting!" Styn shouted to the petite power house. The chance to test her gift came quickly. A wave of hollows were descending toward the shell shocked Styn, and he didn't have time to sit around in confusion.

Up above, the flaming serpent form of the demon who had come so close to ending him, retreated from the battle. Shadow Fall wasn't going to like that he had let that unknown factor escape, that was a grim reality. It wasn't like the First Circle Knight could do much about it though. Styn had his hands full as fully half the gathered hollows changed in. One in particular was especially fast. Styn moved to side step the charging creature and was surprised at how light and responsive his body was. Of course the enhancements.

The vizard was certainly shaping up to be an impressive ally. There wasn't time for further thought though. The demon weighed his potential options. Against a single opponent his priority would be prepping the field. With this mass of creatures bearing down on him, he had much less time to react. Styn's mind raced as he sought out a familiar shape. His favored go to summoning was that of a modified soldier demon.

It was a structure he saw and dealt with on a regular basis. Recent incursions into the human realm had given him several interesting ideas to implement though. "Awaken the shadow within me, mend them new flesh and unleash them upon the world, Za Koa!" Styn shouted. Power spiked and then left the clawed demon in a rush. Shadows began to form between him and the rushing horde, the new vessels for the flood of Za Koa. Where once there was nothing, there was suddenly an undeniable sense of solidity. Blackened forms now dotted the sands of Hueco Mundo.

The creatures were squat and ugly beasts, barely four feet tall, with pale yellow hide. They were hairy things, with black coarse bristles poking out of their heads, across their naked chests, and on their arms. They were completely unclothed, their entire lower body was arachnid in design. However, where a spider had eight limbs these creatures only had four spider like appendages. Long pointed ears sloped backward against their wrinkled faces which clung tightly to black fedoras. The minions had sharp teeth and their noses were little more then reptile slits. Their eyes were likewise short gashes, and shone with infernal red glimmers. Instead of forearms and hands, the creatures' arms ended in long curved blades.

Styn was able to repurpose the boost in physical strength from the Vector Boost into something very similar to when he used Shadow Burst. Since he had an alternative source of power the demon was able to summon all fifteen of his maximum limit. Not only that, but he was able to craft every one the creatures a mere two tiers below his own substantial strength. As a skilled practitioner of demon magic, he was a one man army, and he was just getting started.

The demon now had the attention of half the assembled hollows. Each was individually strong. Not only that they worked well as a team. Styn's minions however, were more then their equal. Sand was kicked up in explosions of force as the two forces clashed all around the demon. A quick glance toward his ally told him she was handling herself just fine. However, those creatures who she was not engaging directly were free to charge up powerful cero blasts. Styn trusted that Himeko would manage something for that eventuality.

One more spell should help balance the books even further. Perhaps some artillery of my own. Styn constructed the image in his mind, imagining the creature he wished to pull from the depths of chaos. Za Koa would flesh the beast out, but the art of summoning required an expansive imagination and a singular concentration. At moments like this Styn always remembered his youth, playing video games imported from the human world. Oh yes, he had concentration in spades.

"Touketsu, remember that one cute brown munchkin from Doom 2?" Styn shouted feeling a tad bit silly. However, that was the incantation he had learned and he would utter it with the conviction of an exorcism preformed by a Catholic Bishop. The demon continued to lean on not only his own energy, but the flux of power supplied by the Vector Boost. A rift similar to the Kage Chokyo-shi he had opened earlier twisted the air in an instant. In its place the shrouded form of a pain elemental now floated above the bone white sands.

Without support the creature was a very easy target. With half of the hollow forces actively engaged by Styn's other creations, and Himeko drawing the eye of many of the others, it became the perfect long range weapon. Psycho Skulls immediately started shooting toward the hollows who were attempting bombarding Himeko with Cero blasts. Several Ceros may have had time to get off, but now they were forced to flee the explosions of ice and fire that rained down from the crater below. The pain elemental immediately began to contribute.

Mere dodges were not enough to combat this threat. The Psycho Skulls were basically self guided smart bombs. While the Pain Elemental might not be able to actively control what sort of element the explosions would embody, it was able to shoot two a second for a rather large amount of time. The field of battle was beginning to look much more favorable to the demon and vizard duo.

Styn took a moment to catch his breath, blue glow still lighting up his sigil structure, ensuring that should a surprise strike catch him off guard, that damage would be kept to a minimum. Adrenaline had made him forget for a moment the burns that covered his form. A single thought disconnected the pain response to those seared sections, he was well aware of the damage thank you very much. Further pain would only dull his senses, and distract his mind. Gathering his will, the demon prepared his next offensive, standing calm in the heart of the grand melee.