To Slay a Tyrant [AfriCatastrophe, Act IV]

The lightning that crashed down around Asher might have been called impressive, by most who experienced. Asher, however, was not the sort to be impressed by his opponent's strength. He could do little more than feel unmitigated fury as the elemental discharge struck him, as the two blades cut into him and his opponent moved away. The mask he wore shattered, yet again, but another just as quickly formed. Sleek, wide-eyed, and lined with serrated teeth.

There was no longer time for simple testing blows, if the battle was to be so serious, if another opponent was brought into the fray. He raised his sword for only a moment, before cutting downward into the air below him, a blindingly bright silver wave cutting through the air toward Yuuto and Elyss, thunder sounding simply from the air being bisected by the energy. As easily as simply taking a single step, Asher moved through that wave, blade once more at the ready to cut into both captains with a wide swing, another silver wave cutting toward them as he slashed.

He might, in past bouts, have chided the cowardice of running, of bringing another into the battle. But this was too real of a fight for Asher to consider such condescension. He was a confident man, one of tremendous power, but one did not remain a warlord by acting foolishly bold.

Despite the rumble of thunder around them, he could still hear the mumbling from his companion. His eyes narrowed, and Yuuto snapped his fingers, the rings returning to him. Nothing of what he said was any equivalent of bossing her around, and Elyss certainly didn't seem eager to leap in. Well, she would, in all likelihood, come in when needed. She was a Captain, after all.

Before he had a chance to respond, however, a silver wave sliced through the air toward them. As he brought up his sword to block, it attack severed his hand by the wrist, the lightning bolt returning to one of his rings as the limb fell. In short order, his hand began to regrow as two rings shrunk down to wrap around his remaining hand, giving him an even larger reaction time as his arm whipped around to block as the sickening clang of the two weapons colliding filled his ears.

Despite his own physical strength, he could feel his arm being pushed back. In a quick move, he pushed Asher's sword out of the way, moving his own to the now regrown hand as his opponent's blade cleaved through him. The rings disconnected from the severed arm, returning behind him as he took a step back.

'New mask. Whatever that new attack was didn't seem to be any particular element.'

Lightning once again flared along his sword, and as that same lightning continued to course through his body, Yuuto was swift to react, swinging harshly to force Asher's sword to the side, before following up with a slash to the mask, and a flurry of attacks to his body. Despite the growing intensity of their battle, Yuuto still needed more information. He still didn't know how many masks he had, if there was a limit, or if they would repeat.

There was an opening he could take advantage of, but those pieces would ultimately decide when the time was right. For now, he would just continue to cut them down, to overwhelm him, to see how far he could push himself and Asher.

Hmm...

She didn't say anything else, tilting her head as her eyes looked up towards the mass of energy slicing its way to the two Captains. It was a simple matter to move out the way, but Yuuto had opted to face Asher head-on than to reposition himself. It was obvious that he lacked the strength to stave off his opponent, but Elyss had faith in Yuuto's speed.

Faith alone though...

It's sometimes best to rely on statistics than belief, and the unsure answer of if he could win lingered in Elyss' mind. Both of them have released, but Yuuto's not getting anywhere close to coming out on top. Fighting integrity or friendship: in the end, Elyss only grumbled at the idea that she'd never face Asher alone. Despite herself, he looked fun.

"Hadō #31: Shakkahō," Elyss muttered, preparing the spell in her hand.

As the two traded blows, she took a spot into the sky to the side, pointing her palm downward. Pouring what she can into it, she took aim at Asher and let loose the Kido while Yuuto went on the offensive. Her aim is to slow down the Arrancar do that Yuuto can land a fulfilling hit. Arrancar lack the regenerative abilities of Hollow, so unlike last time, any damage is going to stick.

Fighting one on one was easy enough for Asher. Even as his mask shattered, and another took its place, he adapted without the slightest hesitation, another new face for him to utilize to his own ends. The slashes to his body were severe, blood not even falling as the electrified blade cauterized the wounds. Even so, he swung his zanpakuto without hesitation, the blade elongating with seemingly no warning as it glowed white hot, cracking through the air like a whip as countless strikes flew toward Yuuto in only a moment.

Then, however, the fireball shot down upon him, and in spite of his absolute silence at the moment, smoke rising from his back, there seemed to be a degree of anger at the strike. It had certainly left no small degree of scorching on the Arrancar's back, and his head seemed to angle upward for only a moment as he took stock of the woman. So she wished to fight.

One flash step brought him toward her, his zanpakuto already whipping toward her as he arrived next to her. He doubted that Hisakawa would fail to follow him. He doubted, too, that fighting another foe would serve him well. But anger, a refusal to accept defeat, had carried him far in his conquests. How far, he wondered, would it carry him here?

As his opponent lashed out -- quite literally -- with a flurry of strikes from a now burning, elongated blade, Yuuto's sword was quick to meet them, an immediate shift in stance, followed by a flash of defensive retaliation. Despite his speed, however, there were some of the lashes that met their mark, causing only a brief flinch from the Captain, not for a moment breaking his posture despite the lacerations that were quick to begin mending themselves.

But, then, Asher suddenly shifted focus, choosing instead to go after Elyss after she fired a Shakkaho at his back. His first thought was to give chase, but, after a moment's thought, he refrained. Rather, he began to move one of the rings behind him, putting them into position. The sound of lightning crackling and the smell of ozone erupted in the area as Yuuto's body was fueled and charged once more.

Pushing himself off the ground, Yuuto launched himself through the first ring, propelling him upward. He'd continue to ascend to where Asher and Elyss were, even faster than before after launching himself through the ring, all aspects of himself bolstering as he rose up to his comrade and combatant.

The moment he reached Asher, Yuuto violently tore his sword upward, aiming to cut his opponent's chest and mask open as he continued to soar upward, more cuts and lacerations stinging as the skin broke open from the biting whip-like weapon of his opponent. As he continued upward, Yuuto halted himself with a platform of energy and repositioned. Channeling energy into his legs, he kicked off the platform, dashing toward Asher once again.

Without giving his opponent a moment's rest, a new flurry of slashes surged toward Asher in the blink of an eye. The sword was not wreathed in lightning, rather, the slashes themselves arced, crackled, and screamed as they sliced through the air like razors. He didn't have complete confidence that it would kill him, however, he still had something else that he could use, once that opening was made.

It was clear that Asher did not like the interference -- and probably wanted to deal with Elyss as quickly as possible. Perhaps they could use that one more time, and finally, Yuuto could finish what they had started.

He didn't like her striking his back. Elyss doesn't have any expression on her face to show, but her eyes held enough determination to at least share her warrior spirit with Asher. They're both focused on this single interaction after all, but he has a weapon and she doesn't.

It's not the first time Elyss has tussled with armed combatants, so she found it easy to maneuver herself. Dodging wasn't an option for her, so she raised her left arm, watching his blade begin digging into her skin. She didn't show any surprise when she noticed that edge digging through her natural defenses, but she quickly countered by slamming the palm of her free hand into the edge of his Zanpakuto. Energy leaking from her palm, she dulled his advance as she felt his momentum turn her.

Her grip tightened then as she pushed against him, grabbing his katana. Yuuto'd come then, doing what he desired, but Asher would also have to worry about Elyss' glowing grip.

"Hadō #31: Shakkahō," She chanted like before, an explosion happening between the two that'd send her launched backwards towards the ground and maybe leave Asher open for Yuuto to finish his assault.

Asher did not have the physical capability to match two opponents at once. He had felt the resistance the moment his blade met this combatant, and had he a face, there would surely have been a scowl upon it as Yuuto cut into him. His mask shattered yet again, but this time, a replacement did not form. The force of Yuuto's blade, and the explosion of Elyss' Shakkaho, served as enough of a respite to allow him to step away. His hand left the blade he had used to this point; it meant nothing to him, nothing but another weapon of countless.

Using one weapon at a time was still simply holding himself back. Weakness he would not tolerate. With no hesitation, Asher plunged his hands into the hollow hole that had once been his face, fingers gripping each side of his skull as his reiatsu flared to a level far beyond what it had been only a moment before. Every muscle in his body tensed, and with a violent roar, he rent his own head in two, the mask splitting open as spiritual power crushed the earth far below. Muscle tightened, hollow mass formed around his body as his form shifted, and from that abyss where he had split his own empty face apart, a new one formed.


Vile, angry, the face of untold souls condensed into a single creature of violence and negativity. A higher being, regressing into its most fundamental nature; Segunda Etapa.

Asher raised his hand upward, flicking one finger toward both opponents as a pitch-black Cero Oscuras simply burst toward them from the motion, so wide and so powerful as to carve a veritable canyon through the earth below them just from the shockwave. What a degree of power. Asher could only wonder why other Hollows did not aim for similar heights, or if they were truly so unfathomably below his own level that it was out of their reach.

He had expected a more immediate response. But, as he drifted away, leaving his weapon behind, dread began to well up in his stomach. Even in such a state like Bankai, something felt wrong. As he watched his opponent plunge his hands into the empty crater in his own head, Yuuto quickly readied his sword.

But, then his hand rose.

Yuuto lifted the weapon, dashing forward in the blink of an eye as he felt the skyrocketing spiritual power.

'He's not going for the sword...!'

Then, in the blink of an eye, a Cero Oscuras burst forward. It felt like he had been hit by a rocket, as he was quickly swatted to the ground, the earth below tearing itself asunder, as if parting on order from the attack. Rocks and dirt were kicked up as a result, only to be disintegrated in the blast as Yuuto barreled through the earth, eventually coming to a stop.

Though he hadn't felt it, the damage to his body was still nothing short of severe, despite the Hollow working to try and heal him. Much of his haori and shihakusho were left in tatters, burns and deep, wide cuts laden across his body as he got to his feet. The process of regeneration was slow, not fast enough right now.

As if on cue, the whispers that always permeated his mind grew louder. When he had first come to finish what had been started, he had little to no intention of using it. But, Asher had evolved and grown exponentially more powerful than he had expected. The sound of creaking, cracking bone echoed as the white mask began to creep along his face.

As it saw completion, the Captain's power soared even further, his body healing at an even greater pace than before. Not one to waste time as he healed, Yuuto wrapped a hand around his sword, buried in the ground, and pulled it free. The moment his body had repaired itself, a brief exertion of will came from the Captain, forcing the mask to shatter.

Taking in a deep breath, Yuuto kicked off the ground, soaring back into the sky at Mach speeds, sword held at his shoulder to once again target Asher's head, another flurry of lightning-tinged slashes released in the blink of an eye. While there was apprehension and, though Yuuto would never admit it, trepidation, toward the unveiling of such a form, his heart still burned with determination.

His desire to win, to use this battle to grow stronger, to show his strength, shined far brighter than his fear.

Well, this isn't good. Despite their efforts, it seems their opponent has more up his sleeve than what was initially thought. Elyss has no idea what's going on, but the sudden spike of energy leaking from Asher's enough to tell her that she's probably outmatched here. It seems disarming him did nothing for their situation, but she's not one to easily give up. The bigger they are, the better it'll feel to win.

She just wished she was as fast as Yuuto. She should have prepared herself when she noticed Asher reaching into his empty head and retching himself apart. She should have thought further beyond her initial shock, and maybe she'd have had enough time to move out the way, but even Yuuto had suffered a hit. At least she's used to taking this stuff at chin value, literally.

Her entire body was encompassed by the black ichor that dripped from Asher's finger like black licorice, twisting reality around itself until nothing but distortion remained. Elyss only had enough time to put her arms up and tank the oncoming beam, feeling her skin tear and soul shudder. The sword she had picked up had become nothing more than dust as her arms had blackened. Her outfit burned all over, barely suitable as clothing, as she began to slowly descend, barely conscious of Yuuto's transforming appearance. The edge of her vision's too busy turning darker by the second.

Asher watched the distruction unfold before him not with pride, nor joy, nor anything else of the sort. It was simply natural that he would part the earth so easily, that those who stood before him would crumble now that he had found this well of power within himself. Four eyes moved to study the battlefield, the two of his split former skull still still every bit as functional as the two of the newly manifested face.

Crossing his arms, his spiritual pressure seeming to lessen rather substantially as his gaze locked upon Yuuto Hisakawa. This creature had pushed him to grow. A king would certainly show grace to such an opponent, give them a worthy bout, respect their tenacity. Asher was no king, however. He was a conqueror. Those who stood against him were to be crushed without hesitation, and those who had come to best him needed to be trampled into dust before they might ever reach his own peak.

He moved. His speed was unfathomable even to himself, for he had forced his body to adapt to its opponent. It had cost no small amount of his spiritual exertion, certainly, but in that moment his speed matched even Yuuto Hisakawa's, and he blinked toward the foe with clawed hands at the ready to meet each and every slash. He could not maintain such an absurd level of speed for long; it would be a weakness in the long term, to condense his reiyroku so intensely.

He paid hardly any mind to the other shinigami for now. Perhaps it would recover; perhaps not. He could not spare it even a thought when so caught up in the din of battle, a fight that he could not afford to give any less than his utmost.