Masquerade

[ K | A | I | E | D | O ]
[ M | O | U | I ]

A Man Whom Darkness
Sheltered, Raised, And Gave Its Strength
Now See Him Wield It
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{Blitzkrieg - Audiomachine}
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- {R E I G N S} -
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It was impressive to say the least, Hakai’s defenses. He took a Geki straight to the gut and after a little bleeding managed to stop it and go right back on the defensive. The same was true when he countered the modified Kidō, taking only minimal damage in comparison to what the attack had the potential to do. As Kaiedo released the wind Kidō to blow away the smoke and dust he felt a new push of energy, alien and yet familiar. He guessed, and was proven correct in short order as Hakai was revealed, his hollow mask having been drawn. Again Hakai had stepped up to match him as he had driven the stakes up, but it was once again him raising the stakes. He rushed in and brought the blade down, and as expected Hakai raised an arm and blocked it. The sweeping kick managed to catch him, but Hakai used his arm as a pivot and avoided the bala outright. Kaiedo knew that any moment Hakai’s counter offensive would begin, so he broke down some of the nearby sand, and prepared.

He was not disappointed; Hakai launched forward, lost to Kaiedo’s eyes for a brief moment as the crack of sonido ripped the air. He appeared again to the right, and as Kaiedo turned to face his opponent Hakai unleashed another blast of the strange black smog, obscuring the vizard from view. Beyond that problem though, there was the more immediate problem of the smog itself; Kaiedo had already learned just what exactly that smoke could do upon contact, though he was sure there were more applications and uses yet hidden. Breaking it down had proven a fruitless endeavor, and it is properties were too chaotic to make a second attempt mid combat a smart decision. Hakai would use this as cover to launch an attack; that much he could figure out. However, there was no telling where the attack would come from, and it was possible that he might dodge straight into the oncoming attack. He made his decision.
”Tenran.”

Upon the incantation’s name the wind exploded once more; this time it was aimed straight down, sending wind and sand and smoke alike fleeing from its rage as Kaiedo cleared an area roughly 40 meters in diameter before the smoke had gotten to him to begin the damage. This meant that when Hakai was there, at his left, he saw it coming. He let instinct take over.
”Enkousen,” he said, his voice calm but combined with the distinct rattle of the hollow’s voice. Between himself and Hakai a large barrier appeared. Hakai’s first strike cracked the barrier, but it gave Kaiedo enough time to readjust. The second strike broke clean through the barrier, which began to dissipate as the rest of Hakai’s blows slammed through; Kaiedo had not fully readjusted yet, and the third and fourth strikes found purchase in his left shoulder and sternum. He brought Gekimetsu to bear, point down, and used the large blade as a partial shield, knocking away several of the blows with only minor movements from the blade. Of the 30, 12 found solid purchase, and another 3 had grazing blows. Bones cracked under the strain, more than a few broke; he immediately began to invest some of his personal spiritual energy into regeneration.

He couldn’t compete with an enemy like Hakai with a broken body, and he would need a few moments to fully allow the majority of the damage to heal. Hakai was not done though; the blue light did not go amiss, and as Hakai called out the Kidō’s name, Kaiedo made his plan. He jumped back, gaining minimal distance before the blast tore forth. In appearance, the blast had been a success as Kaiedo flew away from The Destroyer, smoke coming off his body. He neared the wall of smoke that had been pushed away by the earlier Kidō when he managed to flip, hitting the ground and sliding back hunched over with his Zanpaku-tou securely in his grasp. Hakai charged forward, eager to keep control of the pace and land another blow. It was now time to see if Kaiedo’s little ploy would work.

When Hakai had unleashed the Kidō, Kaiedo had set Gekimetsu to work devouring the energy as it flew. He had then use Gekimetsu itself to block the Kidō with the point, forcing it to detonate early. Because he had already been in the air, the concussive wave had forced him back while Gekimetsu had absorbed a little more energy. Kaiedo was hoping that Hakai would think him weakened and rush in to capitalize on the opportunity. As Hakai closed the distance for the uppercut, Gekimetsu broke down the ground immediately before his feet. The purpose of this was to throw the Destroyer off balance and flip the tables to grant Kaieod a momentary advantage. He slice with Gekimetsu, going from lower right to upper left on Hakai, the red aura blazing as though to fire another Geki at point blank range.

As he did this though, he further broke down the ground below Hakai, aiming to further upset his balance or at the very least force the man to focus on creating a stable platform for a moment while avoiding the strike. There was no Geki blast accompanying this attack though; instead, there was a finger pointed at Hakai from Kaiedo’s right hand, the left having been used to swing the sword.
”Hyouga Seiran.”
For a moment Kaiedo’s hand glowed a brilliant blue, around him the air became freezing, then the Kidō was unleashed as a huge wash of ice and power rushed out to meet Hakai at near point blank range. The force of the blast would possibly be enough to push the vizard back, but the aim was the freeze him solid. The Kidō would not hold him for long, but it didn’t need too on its own.

Kaiedo launched himself into the air; he didn’t use Gekimetsu to launch an attack there because he would need that stored energy after his next attack, because he was about to use a great deal of his own energy between the first Kidō and the ones to come.
”Bakudo #61, Rikujōkōrō,” he called as he rose, the six rods of light shooting forth to attempt to hold Hakai further in place for what was to come. Kaiedo created a platform in mid air, took aim by placing his hand palm out towards Hakai, and began the chant.
”Limit of the thousands hands, respectful hands, unable to touch the darkness.” Immense power began to gather around Kaiedo.
” Shooting hands unable to reflect the blue sky. The road that basks in light, the wind that ignited the embers, time that gathers when both are together, there is no need to be hesitant, obey my orders.” Ten pink energy spears appeared surrounding him in the air as he spoke, the hollow rattle adding a strange quality to the chant.
” Light bullets, eight bodies, nine items, book of heaven, diseased treasure, great wheel, grey fortress tower. Aim far away, scatter brightly and cleanly when fired.” The spears glowed brighter, the already dark sky seemed to turn an even deeper shadow of obsidian and the moon seemed to have disappeared, or fled in fear.
”Hadō #91, Senjū Kōten Taihō.”

Whether this was more than Hakai had bargained for or not, Kaiedo did not care. The 10 spears launched forward, and collided on the place where Hakai was supposedly frozen and anchored in place. The resulting explosion scoured the ground of anything that had been there, crystalline trees and rocks reduced to nothingness. At the epicenter of this explosion a crater was formed and expanded to roughly a quarter mile across, a testament to the destructive power of the Kidō. The world of Hueco Mundo glowed a bright pink color for once, as though a non-existent sun was on the rise. It was such a pretty color to hide such overwhelming destructive power, as the land below was stripped away along with Hakai’s fog presumably. Kaiedo was feeling the effects of using such Kidō back to back. Amplified by the properties of the mask, the Kidō was certainly a destructive force beyond anything Kaiedo had delivered up until now. However, it took a great deal of energy to use. Kaiedo was not one to go around using this level of Kidō all the time either; in fact this was the first time he had been forced to use such a powerful Kidō in open combat. He wasn’t drained completely, but if he was forced to use a second Kidō near that strength he would be running into dangerous territory. For now, he would stick to Gekimetsu’s attacks and conserve his own energy.

He was feeling the effects of Hakai’s beatdown from only a little earlier as well. Having used so much energy, he had stopped the regeneration to a degree. It would take longer for all of his bones to mend, but he could keep fighting for now. He now waited; there was no need to follow up his attack with another until he knew what kind of condition his opponent was in. Despite the severity of the attack, Kaiedo was not aiming to kill Hakai, though such an outcome was not off the table at this point with the rate they were going at it. Hakai was a resilient creature though, and Kaiedo knew that the vizard would not be dead yet from the attack. Heavily damage he hoped. Gekimetsu began to absorb more energy, reaching roughly 80% of its maximum for the time being as Kaiedo waited to see Hakai’s response to the force just leveled against him.

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- {S I L E N C E} -
- {F O L L O W S} -

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Kaiedo was peaking with energy, his dangerous assaults getting more ferocious by the second. The energy located in Heuco was constantly being sucked from the spiritually rich earth and being used to make his attacks enhanced with extra strength while it barely zapped his strength in the slightest. He was an interesting man, just looking at him, a stoic yet dangerous man indeed. Hakai smirked, his plan was coming together. Kaiedo had taken the bate of trying to fight Hakai in a full on assault; this was Hakai's idea after all. To test his limits, his peaking areas of strength and whether or not this man was capable of being drawn into the ranks of the newly established Monsuta. Hakai still held the solid smirk as he observed Kaiedo and let his attacks fly all ways towards Kaiedo. The smirk was covered by his mask; ripples of black spiritual energy flying off and around the mask, showing the sheer pressure and power it possessed. The crashing of attacks filled his ears, each time an attack was made you could feel the insane force which followed it.

The crash of the Soukatsui hitting Kaiedo's Zanpakutō exploded, the pure pressure of the attack managing to force Kaiedo from his position. The smoke that Hakai had pushed outwards was dangerous, it seemed Kaiedo had already discovered what the smoke was capable of doing and wasn't afraid to use it in a variety of attacks. The smoke was dark, constricting vision and tightening the noose around injuries. This work as a cover quite well, Hakai crashing into the smoke and allowing himself to move closer to Kaiedo in this way. As doing so, many thoughts rushed through his mind. The possibility of a counter attack coming to the smoke, something that would prove his smog to be a waste. As this thought whipped around in his head, it was proven true. The swift sound of a Kidō chant being said echoed the area, the pure sound of the word being enough to realise what the enemy vizard was aiming to do. The smoke collided with the sand and the smoke in the area, sending it across the battlefield in a fierce rage.

Hakai had managed to maintain a close distance to Kaiedo, at this range he would definitely become dangerous. Hakai took deep breathes, then suddenly striking the enkosen shield, the shield taking the entire impact before he broke through with the second punch. This was his chance, Kaiedo had an opening and he was going to take it no matter what. As the next punches landed on him, his head began to spin, all of Kaiedo's earlier assaults suddenly making him feel dizzy and near collapse. As his fists hit Gekimetsu, Hakai grunted, his fists sliding off his blade and getting cut up in the process. He could feel a large amount of his rapid succession punches laying waste to Kaiedo's body, probably breaking bones in the process. The blue energy that was a powerful Kidō, soukatsui. The Destroyers plan was going fulfilling so far, the Kidō, the little tricks being pulled; everything.

The soukatsui was sent amiss, however. The tip of the vizards sword being used to stop majority of the explosion from reaching Kaiedo. Hakai constantly remained at a close distance, figuring Kaiedo would not be able to work his crazy Kidō when it came to this type of range. As the uppercut came flying in, Hakai was sent on the defensive suddenly, losing his balance quickly as the sand was being absorbed from under his feet. He was knocked off, the uppercut slinging to the right, forcing Hakai to stumble forward the slightest bit. From the corner of his eye, Hakai noticed the blade and grunted once again, the mask that was on his face now fading away and revealing his blood covered and smirking face. The blade made contact with Hakai, slicing right up his side, across his stomach just barely reaching his head. However, this slice wouldn't be allowed so easily. A sudden burst of metal would cover the region of the slice, the Zanpakutō sending sparks as it slid up across his stomach, still piercing through the metal however. The metal that covered his stomach for a moment quickly faded away, revealing a light cut up across his chest; tiny bits of blood leaking off the cut.

Kaiedo's aim of completely knocking off his balance worked, the more sand that absorbed from below his feet; the more unbalanced he became. The hand of the vizard extended towards Hakai, pointing at him as he said the words of a re-known destructive Kidō. The Hyouga Seiran was release at the close range, the wave of ice launching at extreme speeds towards Hakai. Just before it managed to make contact with Hakai, the a large build up of smoke would appear in front of him as he breathed out a large chunk of smoke to defend himself. The smoke covered the entire front of his body, taking some of the damage of the Kidō and eating away at the attack as it came closer. The Kidō rammed it's way through the smoke and pummelled into Hakai with extreme force. It pushed him back a fair amount; however once he recovered his balance in mid air both of his arms were turned into massive blades that shone off the moonlight that engulfed Heuco Mundo. He began to scream as he attempted to push forward, his arms moving at rapid speeds constantly slicing the ice away. As the ice assault came to a halt he took deep breathes wiping the sweat and blood from his fore head away. He wasn't nearly done, no way. This was just about to get fun.

He stood his ground, looking higher above him, spotting Kaiedo speaking the words of yet another Kidō. A bakudo was being said, a very powerful one at that. Hakai smirked, this man loved to use his Kidō so much. It was ridiculous. As the bakudo smashed around his waste he jerked around, his arms being pinned to his side and squirming as he was trapped in six rods of light. Hakai let out a short burst of laughter as Kaiedo began the incarnation of a high level Kidō, one of great power. A large amount of black reiatsu and smoke filled the area. The power radiating enough to explode the bakudo around his waste into nothing but spiritual energy. A few short words escaped from Hakai's mouth as the smoke and reiatsu rose from the ground and his body. Infamous words that nobody had ever heard before.

"... Ban-"

A deep breathe was taken in and let out in a sort of mocking and laughing tone.

"-kai."

The intense black reiatsu exploded, covering an area of 300m in intense power that could be felt from kilometres away. Hakai slowly breathed as his body became filled with immense power. From within the black reiatsu, his body becoming engulfed in complete steel and his red eyes becoming a a more orange colour now. The smoke and reiatsu quickly faded away from site, the new form of Hakai now being revealed to Kaiedo and anyone else who was watching.

"Rokku no satsugai kinzoku"

The enchantment was just about finished, Kaiedo now begining to say the final words to launch the Kidō. The ten spears came rushing in, Hakai was ready for the pure assault that was to come and the ferocity of the attack. The attack came flying inwards, all ten spears searching for Hakai and about to come into contact with them. Hakai's smoke began to build up around his body, almost covering every single bit of his body as he took deeper and deeper breathes. The smoke was launched out at the spears, making contact with three of them, blowing up prematurely. The explosion they let out ploughed through the ice and fortifications that were in the area, the 8 more spears still searching for him. As he began to dodge the attack, the explosion of each one blurred his vision. Hakai took another two out with his smoke, sending his palm through the ground and making it appear below the Kidō resulting in yet another two premature explosions. Six more continued as an assault though, they rushed in as Hakai launched his body back before impact. They slammed the ground, a single spear smashing into his leg. The explosions covered the sky and ground in an extremely intense light; almost blinding. The explosions smashed his body back, feeling as if a massive weight had hit him. The one that smashed into his leg sending an immense shock of pain through his body. Once the explosions had cleared, it revealed Hakai with a group of smoke covering his body which acted as a shield to block some of the explosion and damage from the Kidō.

Hakai's bankai was the perfect balance between assault and defence, he could have extreme defence while having a perfect attack at the same time; making him extremely flexible. The steel skin that was covering his body, however, had a large crack up the right leg and looked like it could shatter at any moment. The damage had definitely reached Hakai, he may not have been showing it but it was definitely effecting him. He panted as the steel skin let a leak of sweat from his forehead.

"Kaiedo... What a man you are... But..."

Standing up, Hakai's legs shook a tiny bit; as his shiny metal skin reflecting in the light from the surroundings. His arms were held down by his side, slowly he changed them to swords and smirked while he looked onward at Kaiedo again. Quickly, he raised a hand to his face like he was about to scratch his own face, holding it out before him. He pulled down, the vizard mask reappearing on his face and the black energy beginning to launch about once again.

"This is where the real fight begins."