AfriCatastrophe: Earthgrip-Sushai

The sheer power pouring into the hollow tyrant's mouth would surely have been enough to crush the very life of most creatures. But he was supreme, and as he had consumed the power of flame before, the arrows shot into his mouth by Liltotto were nearly disintegrated, absorbed into his being. The cero forming in his mouth only grew more dramatically, the burning red once more shifting into an electric blue, but now its force nearly disintegrated Earthgrip-Sushai himself as he fired it.

A cero created with all of his power, consuming the souls which made him. In a single moment, the light of the Cero Finale filled the whole of the sky, screaming through the air and only narrowly being split by Erika's cut. Even as it was cut, however, it did not stop, and simply continued as two ceros of unfathomable power. The beams fired unceasingly, cleaving the landscape itself, and the hollow once more roared with fury.

The beam continued on, even as the hollow's body slowly turned to ash, and with one final roar, the beam came to an end, the body of the hollow blowing away like sand. There was hardly even a trace that he had once been there.

There was a cease fire as she realized even the arrows of her Letzt Stil weren't doing anything, and the culminating energy in the beast's mouth...

That is nothing like the first Cero, she barely thought as her instincts screamed of danger, hairs raising.

There was no time to gawk to get every detail about the attack; her feet were already carrying her as fast as she could, her gaze locked onto the flaming figure of Alastair holding back the beast's fist. There wasn't any time to think or scream at him to run, the stance of the Shinigami in front of him hardly a note in her mind as she was entirely focused on getting herself and her superior out of harm's way.

She came at him partially bent down, practically slamming her shoulder into his mid-region with how fast she was going, forcing herself upright to have the man's upper half over her shoulder, gripping his lower half tightly with her arms. She wanted to squeeze her eyes shut with the tension from the man's weight on her body, her illness settling in from the hollow flesh, and the incredible heat wearing at her body, but she kept them forced open as her feet strained and pushed against the dirt mercilessly to carry the two to a safer spot, away from the impact of the cero, moving as fast as her legs could possibly ever carry her.

Heavy grunts turned into strained yells as she refused to drop the man, even though her muscles argued for rest for supporting a weight she couldn't handle with ease, pushing herself to run well out of the projected path of the beam of energy. She could hardly hear her own yelling apart from feeling her throat tense, her lungs burning as light filled her eyes from the blast going off behind her, feeling the air shake terribly from the impacting power.

Eyes remaining fixated ahead of her, she kept moving, desperate feet would strike the earth until she was entirely, absolutely, one-hundred percent sure they weren't going to be struck, stumbling from the shock waves rumbling the earth, but refusing to allow herself to trip as eventually, the light of the cero would fade, nothing but the sounds of wind remaining, and thus was her cue.

Legs caving in, she carefully fell as to allow Alastair to at least safely be put back on his feet or at least a posture that wouldn't hit his head, the visible remnants of her Letzt Stil fading out as she collapsed to the ground, her entire body visibly shaking from relief of pressure and adrenaline. She was gasping for air, body covered in blood, obscene amounts of sweat, and dust, her face still red compared to the rest of her currently pinkish features, her uniform eaten at or torn in several places.

"Oh shit, oh, shit," Shaky words spoken hoarsely escaped her throat, closing her eyes and tensing for a moment; an incredible wave of nausea hit her but she commanded her breathing to disallow that, stifled by a mere gag, "Is the... Is the asshole still alive? I can't.. Lift my head right now... I'll puke- MMRPH!"

She covered her mouth with a shaking hand immediately, feeling that atrocious heat at the back of her throat as a lovely reminder before forcing it back down. Ugh.

The hairs on the back of Alastair's neck, what few had not already been singed off from the heat, had long been standing on end as the Hollow concentrated more and more of its own energy into this great cero. But it was only when the very arm that he was struggling against began to crack and tear itself apart that he began to loosen his grip and look at what exactly was going on. Ripping his blade free from the disintegrating limb of the beast, he made to move towards Erika as she stood guard in front of him only to catch a glimpse of Liltotto flying towards him at an impressive pace.

"Vice Captain."

His comment was not a cry for Erika to watch out nor a command for Liltotto to change her course of action. Simply a quick comment noting briefly that he had appreciated her aid.

Then he was soaring away with his subordinate wrapped around his waist. The impact alone was jarring, her motivations certainly placing preservation above comfort as she had so bullishly speared him. His body ached, the weariness from fighting off the oppressive heat and the equally displeasing presence of such a great Hollow, and yet he bid himself to persevere still. They reached the ground and then he was carried further still, his body tucked in to be as little of a hindrance as possible whilst he was forced to simply wait for her to run out of energy lest they be caught in the blast.

It was fortunate that they were no longer in the direct path of the attack, spared by being in between the split beams, as he raised one hand instinctively to shield his eyes whilst the other clutched even tighter to his blade. The heat, the vibrations, the roar, it was a barrage of power that Alastair was sure could have reduced most anything to ash, as he extended his wings to wrap around both Liltotto and himself. It had hardly enough area to properly shield them both, but it did absorb at least a little of the latent energy in the air before crumbling into dust in much the same way as the halo atop his head did.

Then, as quickly as it had begun, it was over.

The blinding light subsided, and the pair were left amidst a desolate landscape that had once been a bustling metropolitan area. His sword clattered to the floor, and his newly vacant hands wrapped around Liltotto as his comrade found herself unable to stand. From her state, Alastair could tell that she had been fighting fiercely and that was all that he could ever have asked of her. Her eyes were closed, her breath ragged, but still the Administrator could not help but offer the slightest of smiles. A show of thanks, for her heroics, and also of triumph as he raised his head to watch the monstrosity seemingly crumble into ashes.

"Rest easy, Ms Lamperd. It would appear that was the Hollow's final spark, and you have done enough."

Continuing to hold her in his arms, supporting her entire frame to ensure that she did not fall, he scanned the area for any sign of their Shinigami ally. Or perhaps, any warning that this fight was not yet over. Surely nothing could survive emitting such an attack, not even a King of Hollows?