The Hunt(Horus)

'Hihihhi.. this lad isn't too shabby, being able to deflect my black inferno blast like that.' Was exactly what crossed the mind of one Masakaki as his calculating golden eyes took in the scene before him. Instead of evading the destructive blast that had been sent sailing his way Roderich opted for a different approach. This shinigami was definitely proving interesting as he channeled reiatsu into his blade before meeting Masakaki's blast head on. Watching intently while sliding into a ready stance the demon's interest was further peaked as his attack was deflected into the sky above their bout where it would explode harmlessly, albeit giving away their location if any happened to be near.

After his attack was deflected Masakaki's eyes remained on Roderich as he stood tall once again before charging forth. Just as he was about to launch himself to meet his shinigami foe said foe altered course using a shunpo in order to get within Maskaki's range. While the movement itself hadn't entirely surprised him he hadn't been completely prepared for Roderich appearing in a lower stance before flickering above him in order to strike out. As such the purple-pink haired demon let out a brief grunt as a thrust from Roderich's blade met his right shoulder, piercing clean through. Smirk still upon his face Masakaki reached out with his empty hand and quickly took hold of the blade of his foe before he could land another piercing strike to the opposing shoulder.

Holding his gaze with Roderich the golden eyed demon's smirk grew and continued to do so before he broke out into a fit of laughter, his grip upon his foes blade tightening further causing a trickle of blood to drip from his pale hand. Before his laughter would come to a halt the pale demon launched his counter attack upon his foe.. It was time to display his skills further and see if this shinigami would continue to intrigue him. In the instant the decision was made he was on the attack, arm blurring through the empty space between himself and his foe as he brought his blade up in an arcing cut from Roderich's left hip to the right shoulder. There would be enough force behind this strike to cut the shinigami deep, but not deep enough to put him out of commission, he did want this bout to continue in the end. Following up his first strike Masakaki would be quick to bring his blade down upon his foe once more, this time in order to slice through the tendons of his wrist. This would be followed up by a swift kick to the stomach, the force behind which should be enough to crack several of his foes ribs if it landed.

"Shall we continue this entertaining bout of ours Mr.Alstein? Of course I do hope you make the decision to do so, you've proven quite the intriguing foe already. So what do you say Mr.Alstein, shall we continue?" Questioned Masakaki as he waited to see how Roderich would react to yet another brief display of his skills.

Although the bout between Demon and Shinigami had just truly begun, one could already feel the excitement permeating the air. As the sound of steel piercing flesh cut through the air it was quickly followed by Masakaki's maddening laughter, during which a hand was brought up to latch onto the blade piercing his shoulder. Though things weren't going to be quite as simple as he had thought, Roderich had coated his blade in reiatsu before striking thus furthering its cutting power as he struck. Thus instead of ending up with small wound that simply dripped some blood the demon ended up with a deeper wound upon his hand. And so Masakaki was bleeding freely from his palm as he happily took advantage of the position to counter attack. The quick upward strike was able to catch his foe, resulting in a large spray of blood and a large wound upon the torso. Yet it wasn't the end, a second strike meant to cut tendons in the wrist, was evaded and blocked as his blue haired foe spun beneath his own blade before being met with a heavy kick sending him sailing backwards.

Watching his foe carefully as said male rolled himself into position to stab his blade into the ground, thus halting him immediately. Hearing Roderich's response the golden eyed demon could only await what he would see this foe pull off in this performance. As fate would have it the wait would not be long if his foe's rising spiritual pressure was anything to speak for. The golden eyes of the Mad Hatter partially hazed over as his excitement took a backseat to growing blood-lust and madness. Allowing Roderich to finish speaking Masakaki wasn't disappointed as said man's blade began to glow before markings began to dance upon his body. It only took a few moments but when the change was complete the Mad Hatter was glad he waited for such a thing to occur, though he wasn't to sure if he could have prevented it from happening anyways.

Taking in his foes new appearance Masakaki was quick to react, immediately a difference would be felt in the clearing the two beings fought in. The first sign that would set in before Roderich even finished speaking of his partner would be an eerie feeling of dread. The second sign was one that only Masakaki himself would notice immediately due to the properties of his Za Koa Influence, this would be a boost in his abilities; from natural traits such as speed, strength, reaction time, and endurance, to boosting his unique abilities, and granting him environmental knowledge. With the spread of his influence the demon hoped this would bring out an even better fight from his foe, whilst also keeping him on equal footing for now. Of course this couldn't be his only reaction, it wouldn't be nearly as entertaining if he lacked a reaction to Roderich's own increase in power. And so as his foe's blade began to light up the demon immediately reacted, unleashing his own unique aura, the Madness Aura. Not only would this result in an aura of madness enveloping the area, but it would also allow him to utilize the aura in several different ways before further tapping into his powers if it called for such a thing.

Such is the Mad Hatters madness that he is able to physically manifest its aura into constructs such as barriers, blades, or energy blasts. As his foe thrust his blade towards him, a few meters of space between the two, he knew just what to showcase for this instance. Watching the first arrow shaped energy blast approach the demon only smiled confidently while it neared before thrusting a bloody, but empty palm forward. The effect was instantaneous as a barrier created from his madness aura appeared. The barrier itself was the same color as his own demonic energy in his current state, but it also showcased numerous golden eyes, identical to Masakaki's own, throughout. The first of the blasts met the barrier explosively before the second and third collided with it, shattering the barrier of madness. The last three that followed were just as easy to deal with, but would leave him open for whatever followup there would be. Sword-arm blurring to life the pale demon dished out three lightning quick & precise strikes, each strike bisecting one of the three blasts resulting in six small explosions going off behind him as a sudden brightness began to fill his vision.

Having dealt with the other attacks had already left him open as it was, the bright light of the oncoming assault only adding to the issue as the demon fought to defend himself in-time. Unfortunately the window of time between the six successive blasts and this shield-bash while not quite to small, was aided by the bright light given off by the shield that was now colliding with his chest with quite some force. As a dribble of blood made way between the demon's lips and down the pale skin of his face it would only be a result of his skill with the blade that he would manage to deflect the thrusting stab the was combined with the shield-bash. As it were the stab would slice through several inches of flesh as it passed by the demon's stomach. In this moment the Mad Hatter decided he would do something he wouldn't normally do. He was going to forgo technique and natural speed and in its place use demonic ability and his raw physical strength in order to deliver a succession of powerful blows to the Shinigami. Despite his wounds he could only thank Roderich for striking him in the way he did, as it saved having to close the distance himself for the first blow.

With decision rapidly made the pale demon release the grip upon his own blade, it dropping harmlessly to the forest floor as the opposing empty hand fiercely grasped Roderich's sword-arm, which due to the deflected attack would be reached further than intended. In the moment immediately following the Shinigami would be met with a heavy blow to the stomach, the force behind which would be enough to punch a hole in reinforced steel wall. Before his foes body could react to the impact he would be quick to utilize his grip, if he managed to get one, to pull the Shinigami forward against the unleashed momentum of the punch before being met by a knee to the sternum. If he didn't have a grip upon his foe it would only be a matter of following the first strike with a heavy left hook to the kidney. Either way he would then retrieve his blade whilst building up another black inferno blast in the left hand. Briefly kneeling to grasp his blade Masakaki returned to a standing position before looking over his shoulder, pointing the index finger of the left hand in Roderich's direction before unleashing the blast after a few seconds. Upon this action the demon's eyes would narrow, his demonic energy flowing forth greedily as madness continued to tighten its hold upon the battlefield.