Falling Red Star (Invasion of Jamaica)

The first strike connected, the landscape being crushed under the monstrous strength of the mutated Shinigami clashing against the Danava's form. A few things became clear in that brief moment. The way Blackheart didn't even try to evade what would have been the easiest attack to dodge in the coming encounter. There was a flinch you noticed in someone that wanted to dodge, but was just overwhelmed so much that their body failed to move. Such a motion never occurred in that flash of an instance,, further reinforced by how durable the man proved to be with the strike drilling through their flesh and bones. It was their full intent to take the hit and absorb all the punishment alongside it, but why purposely take damage one could above?

To stop the eruption of force from devastating the city around them. Now there could be a number of reasons why someone could chose to endure the strike, but the sole invader's focus was on the expression of his first target's face. The look in their eyes, the mannerisms present across their form in this very abrupt conflict spawning around them. He didn't conclude that they wanted to protect the city by how they acted, but how they didn't act. Were taking the hit for observational purposes, the warrior's focus would be more directed toward the monster in front of them. They lacked the feel of utter madness to lead some in the Demon realm to stand take that kind of strike head on without good cause. What tied it together was pairing this with the scene that dawned the conflict to begin with. They purposely moved to deflect his attack and stop the devastation that followed. He wasn't sure of it at first, but this reinforced it.

Deduced in the fraction of a second between the strike connecting and the next scene that followed, the Monarch had gathered one thing to take advantage of already. The great thing about that kind of opponent is they would gladly expose themselves to even death to protect the faceless swarm of Humans that lacked any means to fight back against the rising age of darkness. Where they gave up in efficiency, it returned to them in resolve. But resolve was pointless if never given time to build!

Just as the first counter-attack was thrown toward Ruvik's face, the waves of dark energy around him moved together at the exact spot the punch would land! The Shinigami' body didn't move a muscle, conducting his will through the cloak of corrupted energy around him to defend from any attack to come his way and give him all the room he needed to press the offensive. The majority of the cloak disappeared, coming together to form an exceedingly dense layer of black that mirrored the sized and shape of the coming punch. However, not only did it instantaneously move and condense into a proper defense, but the very texture and form of it changed as well! When the punch was only inches away from connecting, layers upon layers of sharpened spikes protruded from the small, but immensely powerful barrier. If the attack continued? Blackheart's fist would meet a wall of stabbing knives sharp enough to cut ino flesh and puncture muscle. However, going forward with the attack wouldn't be without merit! As soon as the fist pushed through the spikes the surface of the barrier would shatter! Pieces of dark energy fragmented away, spilling through the air like shards of broken glass. For a defensive it didn't seem all that durable!

However, where it lacked in durability, it hd insane versatility. While the surface of the defense was broken? Hundreds upon hundreds of additional layers, nearly on the microscopic level remained behind it! Each protruded more razor-sharp spikes to cut through their hand time and time again. One layer shattered after the next, a new layer of daggers attempting to rip apart Blackheart's flesh and spill copious amounts of blood from their hand. This use of layers would quickly break down the momentum of the punch, slowing it and reducing the force behind it as it shattered one layer, then the next. Even if they were to redirect the strike? The barrier would move alongside it, acting as a constant and annoying bridge between their strike and its destination. That was far from the worst of it though.

Presuming things progressed to that point, where the power behind the attack had been almost completely neutralized, the dark power shattered by the immense force it garnered would return! Not only that, but it took on new form. Instead of reinforcing the shield, the returning energy rapidly attempted to build around Blackheart's fist! It trailed along their knuckles and palm, progressing downward toward their wrist and forearm at shocking speeds. This was no longer -just- a defensive play, but a means to capture the man's limb and place them in an ever-worsening situation. Much like the original defense, daggers began to spill from this glove-like construct and aimed to pierce Blackheart's flesh even further. If possible, they would enter through wounds already opened by the wall of spikes a moment ago, Only unlike before, these constructs shifted into a slightly different shape. If everything went accordingly, the protrusions would change under the surface of the Danava's skin. They grew prongs, taking on the form of hundreds of small hooks that aimed to latch on to muscle and flesh and further reinforced the bind this dark essence had on the Danava. Though this bind was still far from unbreakable, freeing yourself from it would come at a cost. The hooks would rip apart their flesh and muscle from the inside as a result of their new shape, using the strength of his victims's own resistance to enforce their suffering.

What happened next and how the Unknown responded could vary, but one of two things were most likely. In one case, they would break free from the bind and sacrifice their next attack to defend or escape. In that scenario, the kido would fire as intended. In the other situation where they remained to strike the blast with their other limb?

Ruvik had a limited essence of his cloak to work with, and using it all was essential to having any effect against a higher caliber opponent like Blackheart. This left his hand with no apparent defense from the second attack..But that was perfectly fine. With the visor increasing his reaction time and vision even farther than they already were, he could register what was going to happen. The kido would continue to glow in preparation to fire, but in those split moments, the energy behind it was redirected. The spirit of the Hollow worked to block and contain their arm while the body it controlled was given orders to redirect the flow of energy from their left-hand to the fist that remained in close contact with the Danava's chest. In addition, rather than try to avoid the punch by shifting the position of his arm, he thrust it forward, slamming what energy had been gathered right into the coming punch! Needless to say, devastation followed. The construct of spiritual energy detonated prematurely, sending a wave of potent flames and energy toward both of them and consuming the immediate area around them. It was drastically less potent than the completed blast, but powerful all the same! Burns appeared along the Shinigami's left-arm and hand, traces of the energy even striking his side and burning through his apparel.

What was more devastating was the impact force of the punch against his palm. Where Ruvik had overwhelming raw power, it was clear that Blackheart was well versed in technique and actually applying their power in a manner far more efficient than most. Even with the metal alloys under the husks skin providing an exceedingly potent defense to any attack, fractions of then defense were broken through, multiple bones in the hand fracturing. The throne wouldn't let injury get in his way though! His opened hand clenched around the second punch, aiming to hold them in place and match the Demon's technique and form with unwavering force and absolutely zero restraint! It was at this moment that the final act of this assault came to debut itself.

Vibrant rays of crimson light spilled outward from the same fist that remained against the Vanguard Operative's body. In the short period all of this took place, the Hollow skillfully transferred the remaining energy from the kido and additional power into their hand for a quickly conjured cero! Lack of preparation or not, it would be foolish to think any kind of cero was harmless, and that was especially true for a master at the art like Ruvik. His fist opened up, revealing a large sphere of pulsating destructive energy! The ground once again began to shake, the light growing brighter in the smallest time frame possible for the blast to fully form. The two restraints in place alongside the abrupt nature of it all were hopefully enough to pull off the stunt.

The malevolent man smiled,, unsure what kind of effect this would have on his foe Never-the-less, it was going to hurt. Were nothing to stop him, a potent cero would be released point-blank at Blackheart's chest! While lacking in size and explosive power compared to the earlier attack, it did not like in piercing strength and obliterating force. The Monarch's efforts were to drill straight through his opponent's body, incinerating their flesh, bones, and organs in the range of the blast. At the very least the attack had the strength to inflict serious burns and push most combatants on their level back! It could easily knock them through the stone wall behind them, shattering it and continuing to push them forward until they met a structure durable enough to force the cero to detonate and consume them in another veil of burning flames and crushing power.

In any event, the Vasto Lordes would take a step back at that moment, putting a small bit of distance between them, were the former blast not to send them flying. His arms fell to his side, the pitch black darkness that defended from the strike quickly dispersing to its cloak-like state. It would be clear now that it was not just an aura, but an entire tool of its own creation to be bent at the beast's will. Though unlikely, if the follow-up attack were to continue as planned from the opposing warrior, Ruvik would respond accordingly, taking an approach just as aggressive as before, if not more so!

The dark cloak shifted again, coming together as a large, but thinner dome of energy in front of him. It completely nullified the rising wind, breaking it apart and sending the currents to his sides. Though this defense would appear to cloud the man's vision, that was far from the truth. The blanket of darkness was only visually dense, easily able to be seen through by the visor over the puppet's eyes. Whether Blackheart took the opportunity to assault him in that instance or waited a moment was irrelevant.

If the assault continued, the cloak would rapidly condense once again to the reinforced barrier from but a moment ago. The exchange that followed would not be in Blackheart's favor. One punch was stopped by the moving barrier that darted from place to place, copying the exact same spiked tactic as before. One hand focused on defending from the the strikes the barrier could not, and that left Ruvik with one arm left to attack with and no opposition to get in his way! The Shinigami pushed forward, defending from the barrage while returning dozens of attacks for the defender's body! Each strike carried immense destructive potential, producing shock-waves that ripped apart the landscape and would tear apart any structures in their path from the projected force of any that were dodged.

In the short length of the clash, the wounds present in the puppet's hand had already healed completely! Though difficult to notice, this would become apparent with his hand regaining its full strength just in time for the closer. The left-most throne leaped into the air, rising well above the kick and his adversary in a single leap. The barrier split itself apart quickly, encompassing his body in the thick cloak of darkness once again. It didn't take long for gravity to take effect and for the Hollow-controlled Shinigami to descend toward Blackheart from above. The dark energy encompassing them moved to make a large shield of sorts between them as he fell, preventing the normal eye from tracing him at ground level. Meanwhile, the visor on his face gave him a perfect view of everything going on through the veil of shadow. As one might except, this was nothing more than a distraction.

As soon as the Danava opted to dodge or attack upwards into the darkness, Ruvik would use that very barrier as a platform to step on. He vanished in a flash of speed at the last second. Any attack toward the barrier would easily split it and reveal no one on the other side. Instead, the augmented villain would appear in the Vanguard's blind spot at that moment in time, a final strike cast to give further reminder what kind of battle this was going to be. A blazing hay-maker soared toward the back of his adversaries head, intending to bash them with as much raw power as his current state allowed. It was more than ample enough to crack open even a durable fighter's skull and send them flying or crashing into the ground with megatons of force. The possessed Shinigami landed on their feet without issue, the cloak of corrupt energy rapidly returning to them and encompassing their entire body as it did at the start of the battle. He was curious how this foe would adapt to everything and if they had any tricks to even the playing field.

Only time would tell. The fiend continued smiling, crimson eyes locked on the Danava with intent that not only screamed death, but oblivion and bedlam!