KEEPER OF HADES [Dragon, Rangiku, Tento, Noharu]

Tento truly was grateful to be fighting this being alongside two Vice Captains. He may have had the will to do it, but this Hollow was far out of his pay grade in a solo case. Even with the three of them fighting together, there was no telling how long he could do this marathon. But he could only do his best, and hold his gaze as he thought and thought about how to force this hollow to retreat from the Soul Society. If not…then all they could hope to do was stall until a Captain came.

It was a bit unnerving. Feeling his energy twist and manipulate the power of wind. Tento watched for a fraction of a second as his wind strike roared towards the dragon. His hollow mask vanished in a blaze of black energy as he felt his eyes grow black. The sick grin of his hollow twisting in front of his eyes as a whisper was felt. “You need my power!” The exertion of his bankai with his inner power was something he had never attempted before. Perhaps with how new he was with his bankai it was better safe than sorry to not use them after all.

I don’t have much time using that. I hope that set Noharu up well enough…

An opening, a second, that was all he needed to give her. And with that spike of spiritual pressure Tento finally saw the glowing red thread for the first time. It was…clothing? Wait, speaking of red. He realized that there was a piece of red thread on his clothes. Was this….taking pieces of his uniform? Why, what the heck was going on with Noharu?? Ah what did it matter? There was a much more important pressing matter such as the large dragon hollow somehow twisting out of the way of the direct impact of most of their blows. Only Noharu’s managing to glance. It was a quick and agile thing, it felt like he was trying to strike a snake more than a dragon, hollow thing. At least he could see blood was drawn. But it seemed he gained a bit of attention!!

With gritted Tento prepared himself as he witnessed the dragon's body love. Neck cranking with a wind up as it snapped towards him. His feather wings extend back to gather wind when…

Rangiku! The bustling veteran made it just in time, appearing out a shunpo, her Haineko whisking in front of the gas attack. Colliding the air particles once again as it was guided upward once again away from. The battle. Rangiku did not have to wait for a wasted second. Tento's right hand outstretched taloned shaped gauntlet hand as he began to cast Bakufo #62 Hyapporankan as she spoke of him getting active. It…was not a plan. More of an idea. The blue-white glowing rod exploded out into form in his hand. With a swift toss as he shifted above Rangiku, the energy rod multiplied into hundreds of more rods, receiving its incantation after release. The after incantation bolstered its power and speed to fill potential in Tento’s bankai state. Raining down upon the dragon and ramming hopefully into the dragon's body as it pressured and gave blunt impact. Aiming to pin them down to and onto the ground surface below.

With a quick follow up, Tento interlaced his talon gauntlet and lion claw gauntlet hands in resounding claps as he began to speak another incantation. Five small yellow with skinny tails emerge from between his clasped hands, expanding out as they were moved above Tento's head before forming a circle of five. Raising his clasped hands above his head, violent wind swirled around him as he slammed his hands downwards. Sending the orbs streaking into the ground as a bright light graced by the sky above the dragon shined a spotlight. Five tall pillars connected by chains summoned to slam into its body to double up on the pressure to the ground. With a flap of his wings, dozens of feathers were launched, lying around the dragon as charges of wind was gathered around them, waiting before moving to fly in in an attempt to pierce into the dragon's body towards its eyes and joints.

It all happened so fast, but the Dragon was... fairly less fast than a fully masked up, bankai-empowered Tento. It wasn't that she dodged his attack so much as twisted and tried to launch herself away from his cast of Hyapporankan before it even went off. Even though her attempt was preemptive, she still failed. Only half of her was able to get away from that Bakudo, her lower half and tail getting caught by the rods that stopped her from flying too far. In turn, this allowed her to get hit by that second bakudo which pinned her in place.

And on top of all of that, before she could even react, Noharu struck the Dragon up her chest, up to her spine, and lacerated through her tough scales with a vicious attack that sent the beast writhing in agony. If it weren't for the fact her entire body was *covered* in thick scales, doubled up with thick skin beneath them, that attack would have finished her off. Instead, it did massive damage, slicing through scales and skin and exposing muscles and nerves beneath, but the beast managed to twist its head in time to avoid her face getting attacked. Her mask was more precious than anything else. She could recover from these wounds, but she couldn't restore her mask once it was broken. That was how Hollows worked after all. But now she was severely wounded, blood gushing and spilling from her open wounds to rain on whoever was unfortunate enough to be beneath her immobilized, skyborne form.

In a final desperate attempt to eat something, to maybe gain enough power to restore her wounds, the Dragon unleashed every single ounce of energy she had into a series of multiple attacks. From the holes in her wings and her open, shrieking maw formed several small orbs of reiryoku that rapidly grew in size and potency of power. Just as this started to happen, the latent effluvia that had been dispersed by Haineko, but not erased, began to swirl around the local area. Not around the Dragon, but around the overall mile wide vicinity while fresh effluvia began to erupt from her scales, pushing out while the already existing acidic gas started to pull in until two tornados formed. One shrunk to pull everyone inside closer while the one inside pushed out to try and sandwich anyone around in between them.

And as these tornados formed and her, the five orbs of reiryoku erupted outwards in massive cero that contained effluvia. Not only would the devastating power of her cero obliterate anything in its path, but anything durable enough to withstand such a hit would then have to deal with the added effects of her effluvia rotting them away from the outside. These weren't aimed at anything in particular, but would no doubt give more to worry about when trying to escape the Dragon's last ditch attempt to kill her adversaries. At the very least, they would destroy plenty more of the land around her, a final 'fuck you' to the world around her if this truly was to be her last stand.

With a focused stare, Tento kept his focus on keeping the doubled up bakudo restriction upon the mighty dragon. With its lower body and tail restricted by rods and stone pillars, Tento watched with a growing fire at Noharu's continued assault bearing fruit. The continued chipping and clawing at those same spots on the hollow’s draconic scales broke, letting an ear-piercing screech of agony that was a sweet song of hope to his ears. It bolstered the growing determination by the second. Chest and spinal back ripped to let loose its essence, the dragon let out its gambit. The quick built up of energy in the multiple assault was more than enough for Tento to get the feeling that something really BAD was about to get unleashed. The density and potency greater than any before that the hollow had gathered before. Tento’s ears burned with the sense of urgency as the air current changed. His bond with Shiomaru gave him sensitivity to the sudden shift of gas that was previously displaced by Haineko’s ash. With a bit of a widened gaze Tento could only stand and watch as the area was quickly changed, the out pour of effluvia twisted and turned into two polar opposite tornado’s of poisonous gas as five orbs of spiritual energy appeared then condensed into one. Forgot any fatigue building within his bones. Forget the drawing threads of his clothes rolling away or the joyful sight within his view. There were other things that demanded his focus and his focus it had!

Then…silence.

With a start it was, nothing. No roaring wind, no sound of the current flowing from Tento’s control of wind with his bankai. Not even the sound of his heart pounding in his ears. Just a ringing that came as fast as it went away. But he could still feel it within and around him. The wind was still there, it was with him and strong. The two tornadoes that were threatening to sandwich sliced as a safe space was formed. The ceros firing towards them that he stood down were soon out of front view. His body suddenly feeling a soft strong shove that pulled careening away…and the hollow’s face in sight. There was no looking back. As much as Tento wanted to. To reach back and do something as he heard the shrink of nothingness. The vicious storm raging once again as the tainted air tore into Noharu in its poisoned vacuum. The land beyond already becoming destroyed by the traveling impact of the giant cero that streaked across the Soul Society. What managed to escape its wrath was soon slowly melting from the corrosive gas. The smothered screams caused a chip cracking tightness in his teeth as veins laid open to bare over his body. “LET’S GO!!”.

With a sudden change, Tento’s spiritual energy was transformed once again as the dark hue formed over his fast before quickly expanding his whole form. In the heart of the battlefield, amidst the cacophony of nearby warriors clashing steel and the cries of warriors, Tento's voice would boom out as he let out his battle cry. His eyes burning with a flame bright, filled with a strength that powered by unwavering resolve ready to piece through the thickest of fogs that this hollow may try to throw out at the last minute. glowing with an ethereal light, locked onto his target. The pressure shook and trembled as the shift in the air was palpable. The very wind under Tento’s command seemed to quake with fear and the ground creaked as if the ground itself recognized the power between all of the forces on the battlefield being unleashed. His chest heaved with a deep controlled breath as he drew in an inhale drawing in the chaotic energy around him. The overwhelming pressure built within him as the wind bursts out from behind him in a wild thrashing of wind. A typhoon of raw power and unyielding will.

Appearing after Rangiku’s strike a built up of her ash coming down like a wrecking ball, Tento’s muscles tensed, veins bulging with the force of the energy coursing through them. The air around him crackled with heat as it sparked, and a low hum resonated from his very being. He hoped that his bakudo was somewhat still holding the dragon down. But he did not care. He would follow through with it no matter what. With all he had and beyond! The wind behind him became silence as he lifted his hands, mimicking a readied sword strike from above. The air around him began to swirl, gathering strength and speed, until it coalesced into a skyscraper sized blade of shimmering, translucent wind. In a blur of speed swung his wind-forged blade toward's the hollow's face. The air screamed as it was cleaved in two, the force of the strike creating a shockwave that tore through the battlefield. Trees were uprooted, rocks shattered, and the very earth itself seemed to split apart under the sheer power of the attack. An explosion of wind slashing and piercing the hollow's body from a quickly formed concentrated stream of wind from all around wrapped within a within a typhoon if it managed to make contact.

Was she out of her league here? No, no it was clearly just a numbers advantage. The Dragon watched as the coordination between the three shinigami saved them once more. Any of these in an individual fight would have been nothing but mulch between her fangs. They weren't playing fair. All that meant was that she needn't play fair either.

The reason that Tento's bakudo didn't hold the Dragon down long enough was because it was being eroded. Her effluvia ate everything it touched. With a twist of her body, The Dragon managed to partially avoid Haineko's strike. At least, avoided letting it hit her mask. It still struck her neck and tore through her scales because of its inherently small size and ability to dig beneath them and strike her flesh directly, but then came Tento. If he hadn't spent so long building up that power, working up such a massive strike, he might have actually been able to kill her. Unfortunately, he was just a second too slow.

His Bakudo broke just seconds before he launched his attack, and that was enough time for the Dragon to kick off of the air and fly out of the way. He was fast, but so was she. The Dragon was able to retreat in time to completely avoid his attack if only because if she didn't, she would have outright died. Her massive figure soared at the speed of sound, breaking the sound barrier in the process, all the way until she was a mile away from her prey. Only then did she turn around to look at them, their beaten up figures, the fact that they were still standing even inside of her effluvial tornado...

...and then she slowly descended to the ground, her effluvia drawing from the air and environment around her in a swirling mass of visible decaying mist until it was completely stored beneath her scales again.

And then, as anticlimactic as it was, The Dragon casually turned, snorted in disgust, and walked away with blood and effluvia dripping down her scales.

Maybe if he had more power to push out at once. Perhaps if he was stronger, or maybe even just smarter. He would have been able to tell. The air hung heavy but not to their side.. The wind danced from his blade. The pull of almost everything Tento could must with his full might as his final challenge to the dragon. It held his own and the desperation of his comrades. His eyes watched as it slid close to its target before… nothing. The double layered Bakudo snapped with the corrosive flex from the dragon's body to twist like the dastardly snake like creature it was. Serpent or not, its agility in combination with her corrosive skill was a bane to their efforts. His heart rose up to his threat as both his and Rangiku's attacks failed to reach their full potential.

With the dragon booming away like a sonic jet, gazing down like a hunter waiting to strike down its drained and brutalized prey. Tento's body ran cold and his blood hot. Noharu was in no condition to move, and her speed was practically the gear moving their trio in the fight. It gave openings for Rangiku's shikai. Now…

As the dragon descended effulvia drawing in to its source. Tento dreaded whatever it could be getting ready to unleash. He quickly shunpoed forward, a few heavy breaths came as he positioned his body first in line. Spent as he was, he was sure he was the least injured here. If he had to he would use whatever gas he had left to give them all a chance to escape. But his jaw almost dropped as the dragon…simply turned.

There was no one way to describe the feelings welling up in his chest. Relief to have the thought of escape, anger at being casted aside in attention, like they were weak pest annoyingly biting its ankle and yet even more…fear. Fear that it would go on to slaughter hundreds. Fear that it would cause Soul Society to crumble unmatched. Fear…that he was too weak yet again.

His knees felt heavy in the first time in a long long while. His lips dry and throat tight. His eyes turned towards Rangiku's and Noharu’s bodies. The gaze split from the paranoia of the dragon stoll so close, and the concern of the drained state they all were in, and the declining health of their savior. The growing silence of that thump from her Bankai ringing in his ear as his gaze focused out of a daze. Catching Noharu’s call of their names. “Noharu!!”.