Beauties and the Beasts[Africatastrophe Act II]

There was no longer any doubting Klein's words. As skeptical as Amaranta was at first, when given a front row seat view of all the action, all semblance of doubt had been emphatically cast aside in favor of preparing for the battle. Of course, the leonine woman found the terms of a surprise attack somewhat disagreeable, certainly something she didn't prefer in the slightest, but perhaps resorting to such tactics would instill the opposition with some fighting spirit. They held no qualms at attacking her at random. Why not offer the same sentiment in return?

That would be ideal. For that reason and that alone, Amaranta descended from above, clad in a shroud of fiery spiritual pressure. It was as if her fighting intent was being spilled forth onto the battlefield to declare that she was here for a confrontation for the ages. Offering no warning except a powerful display of an entrance, Amaranta crashed onto the ground, forcing the debris around her to fly around indiscriminately, alerting those present to her presence. Anyone alerted, of course, would have contend with the blazing spiritual pressure and their balance being altered as a result of the rocks flying in multiple directions. A fierce grin spread across ebony features as the lioness burst forward like a crimson bolt of lightning, as though her body were a swift arrow loosed from a mighty bow. Roaring out to all of those present, the Burning Lioness demanded a battle worth it's weight in gold.

"Come on! Come on! Come on! Show me what the Gotei has to offer! Let's have some fun, shall we!"

Those who avoided facing her were fairly irrelevant in her eyes. As far as she was concerned, she held no desire in facing off against anyone but the select few who were truly worthy of defending themselves. If those of inferior and lesser skill wished to survive, the lot of them would notice that it was exceedingly beneficial to stay out of the woman's way altogether.

Blazing a path through the ground, leaving a trail of fiery reiryoku in her wake, her sapphire gaze would settle onto two distinct spiritual pressures - one familiar, the other less so. Tento, eh? Little surprise, there. She respected that the man was fighting on the frontlines. Amaranta was impressed. She had an interesting impression of the man from their meeting prior, but to meet him here... fate certainly had a way of pulling certain individuals back together, eh?

Any warrior worthy of her respect earned their weight in battle! The moment her eyes locked onto them, Amaranta bolted forward until her tall form vanished and reappeared before Tento and Kaminari, claymore in hand. Her beastly grin widened further as she bore her fangs. Like a starved apex predator with meat being held before their eyes, Amaranta eyed them with a gleeful expression as she approached Tento in particular. Klein could handle that woman. Her opponent had already been chosen.

"Long time no see, Tento! I see you've found yourself on the frontlines! Fighting out here the big boys has increased my respect for you quite considerably, but don't think I'll go easy on you because we're friends. First things first, though, get your men and women out of my way so we can battle. I don't need any excuse for why you lose here today, got it?"

With blade in hand, she settled into an offensive stance. Once he prepared properly, there would be no mercy shown. If anything, this was but a continuation of the test she laid out before him from before, and she sincerely hoped he would answer her expectations in resounding fashion.

"What the hell are you going on about, boy? Innocent lives are already being threatened here. If you guys were more capable, this hole would have been closed. Simple as that. Of course, if you wish to put this lioness in her place, you're more than welcome to try!"

What an adorably heroic man. There was a genuine level of respect regarding his tenacity, even if she regarded his expression with a purposefully mocking grin. Cheap thrill? She couldn't imagine a more ideal battlefield than this hellish landscape.

Filled to the brim with pandemonium as it was, a natural born chaos like this, with several monstrosities descending upon the fractured plains of Africa like the genesis of an apocalypse, Amaranta would have found herself drawn here no matter what. After all, Survival of the fittest was a tenet she lived by as though it were indisputable law of her existence. If any of these bastards wanted their companions to survive, if they truly wished to emerge from this nightmare - then the only thing left to any of them was to fight.

An eyebrow rose as interest painted her curious expression. He finally discovered his zanpakuto, eh? That was good. That was so good! A booming roar of laughter, heard through the battlefield, echoed from her lips as the sickle of the blade threatened to clash against her side. Parrying that oncoming blade with relative ease, Amaranta paused momentarily, pointing a finger at Tento as a manic grin formed along those feral lips.

"It seems you've come to the party with a new companion. Give you my all? Don't get too ahead of yourself, now, boy. It seems you've misunderstood something here, though, so let's get one thing straight... Fan the Flames, Rebelión!"

Lifting her sword upward, Amaranta uttered the release phrase to her zanpakuto. In the blink of an eye, a vast heat wave within a forty meter radius of the area expanded around her, her body wholly enveloped within a golden array of incandescent spiritual power. Stepping forward, the claymore was no longer present in her hand.

It was now one with the leonine woman's body, her appearance resembling every facet of her title as Abrasador Leona. Burning Lioness. Fists shrouded in flame, a scorching mane floating along the air, an enflamed tail whipping around in playful patterns. Give him his all? Pfft. Time to remind him of the way things were going to go down here.

"You're little more than an appetizer, Ten. A lively and entertaining appetizer, sure, but still nothing more than fun preparation for a real meal. A light snack, if you will. Therefore, this kitten is going to show you the divide that exists between us, toying around with you until you wave the white flag. Enough talk, though. It's time to enjoy my snack."

Propelled forward like a mighty arrow loosed from thunderous bowstring, Amaranta darted along Tento's radius, forming an array of afterimages that made it difficult to tell where she truly was. Normally, under different circumstances, she would have charged in headfirst, but past battles had slowly turned her onto the idea of strategizing first before enjoying her meal.

He could wind it around as much as he wants, Amaranta was more than prepared to respond in kind. Actually, now that she thought about it, this was the ideal time to showcase some new tricks she learned herself! Positioning her finger forward during her stride, in a fashion reminiscent of holding someone at gunpoint, the leonine woman fired a crimson beam of energy every time she crossed paths along his personal space, mixing that respective energy in with the flames she could freely manipulate as a boon granted by her release state.

"Cero Gun!"