Seaside Fight Night: Mizu vs. Solomon

To say Solomon had been caught off guard would have been a severe understatement. His roundhouse had connected as intended, but an explosion erupted between the two of them, forcing them apart as Solomon was sent flying. Well now, that was a counter he had tip his hat off to. As the smoke cleared, the sternritter chuckled softly as he stepped forward, visibly impressed by her counter. Bold, but effective. He admired that trait in a warrior.

Of course, it took him a moment to recover from being caught within the direct contact of that explosion. As such, he didn't immediately soar in for an attack. A soft sigh would escape his lips, directing his gaze towards the woman as she held her zanpakuto. He'd certainly have to approach her with caution, especially so if she was going to employ counters like those. For now, he would pace himself as he settled into empty stance, awaiting her next attack with anticipation.

"Impressive. I had to eat my words that time. Well then, what will you do next?"

He was genuinely curious to see what she'd employ next. He held his sword at the ready, moving forward inch by inch, sizing her up as he held the woman's gaze.

As the smoke cleared and her burnt foe's visage became visible Mizu was glad her scheme had turned out reasonably well. If she had to get injured in the process, well for Mizu that was just a natural consequence of battle. Now though she would have to go back to the drawing board. If Solomon got within range again she may be able to go for a repeat performance but Mizu was well aware if she tried it too much she may end up with much more severe injuries than she could handle. And so as he seemingly challenged her to show something new, she took the time to formulate a new strategy.

After a deep sigh Mizu gritted her teeth and prepared to send everything she had at this Quincy. If her next actions didn't work she would have to significantly change up how she approached this battle. First she raised her injured arm and pointed her hand in the direction of the rubble kicked up from her miscast spell which consisted of chunks of stone ranging in size from a fist to a bench, and said aloud "Hadō #57: Daichi Ten'yō!". The rubble would then float, almost telekinetically, and all be launched at Solomon's location. The precision capability of the spell would allow Mizu to have the stones follow him if he dodged.

At the same time as the stones were being flung at Solomon, Mizu was also channeling magic through her Zanpakuto. From Shousenmaru's tip she was firing consecutive Hadō #4. Byakurai's at the Quincy. These azure energy bolts were faster than the rubble and she hoped if one hit, the stones would strike their target true, and vice versa. Throughout all of this, between each cast of Byakurai, Mizu would flash step to about fifteen feet away. Her goal was to make the battlefield as chaotic as possible, and it seemed to be working.

With the area drowning in pandemonium Mizu suddenly stopped using both these spells and took advantage of the mayhem to approach the Quincy as quick as she possibly could using Flash Step. Once within range Mizu would raise her Zanpakuto, on which yellow energy was gathering, and shout the name of her true attack with a fierce, wild look on her face: "Hadō #78: Zangerin!!" By swiping her weapon in a wide arc all the gathered energy would be released in a blast more powerful than any individual spell she had used thus far. The arc of energy would widen significantly and could cause significant damage. Though she knew this would almost certainly drain her of much of her energy, Mizu did not want to keep repeating the same moves over and over until eventually collapsing out of exhaustion anyway.

Solomon would receive the woman's response to his question in the form of countless pieces of debris hurtling towards him. Hirenkyaku would make his traversal amidst the stone relatively successful, avoiding the pieces of rubble with reflexes that spoke to years of experience in battle. Of course, that didn't mean his voyage toward Mizu went as smoothly as he intended, either. His first obstacle was stone fragments of varying sizes that seemed to tail him from behind even as he evaded their trajectory, while his second would be a wave of Byakuyrai soaring in from afar. The pavillion had now descended into a whirlwind of stone and electricity, forcing Solomon to keep his body in a state of constant motion simply to avoid being overwhelmed by the furious wave of attacks.

Where he could avoid stone, he found it increasingly difficult to avoid the azure bolts of energy. Mizu was robbing him of his ability to act on the offensive, to approach and overwhelm the her with his own wave of attacks. By and large, it was a fiercely successful strategy. His legs were not unbending symbols of durability and any lapse in movement he'd made had allowed those attacks to strike true. Of course, he realized, on a surface level, in fact, that trying to force her into his own realm of battle was proving to be the crux of his current predicament. It was time to employ his trump card. His blade, guided by his own arms, danced in a series of arcs against the ground as he allowed those attacks to pile up on him. That was fine. The temporary activation of blut vene would defend him well enough. Vertical. Horizontal. Diagonal. Overhead. Each strike was cast against the ground in preparation for this defining moment.

He had held the ambient reishi accumulating in his blade for far too long. It was now time for him to act, to add to this wave of chaos with his own flare for the dramatic. Solomon no longer chose to attempt evasion anymore. He stopped precisely at the moment that Mizu chose to roar in for an attack of her own as everything seemed to converge on him in that single moment, that precise sliver of time.

"Gate of Calamity!"

Six pillars of voltaic reishi would form around him, encompassing a wide range in the pavilion. The area was typically set at twenty meters, but he intended to err on the side of caution, their range had been cast only as far as fifteen. Those six pillars were taller than the average human, but not imposingly so. If Mizu's flash step proved quick enough, there was no time to erect a firm defense against that strike entirely.

Thus, the arc of energy would follow through as Solomon held his blade up to defend himself, overwhelmed by a strike strong enough to level a building. His body would be cast backwards, though not entirely, as he gritted his teeth, pouring every ounce of energy he could into maintaining his blut, grabbing onto one of his pillars as he halted his momentum. If he flew any further, he may have ended up soaring out of the ring. He leapt off to soar towards Mizu again, though his current charge was bolstered by natural speed. Mizu could easily evade it through shunpo, and he expected that.

Therefore, his intent wasn't to step towards her, but set forth the second part of his plan - to force her into fighting him directly. He cut past her, stabbing Keraunos into the ground. A field of electrical energy was formed as Solomon fashioned it into an area of denial to impede her movement. This would prove to be a test of the woman's durability and her will to win.

She could step out of the fifteen meter range, but this territory of electrified reishi would pulsate, aiming to keep her from moving out of his collective range.. Six pillars surrounded the both of them, but it wasn't entirely possible to best him. From an observer's point of view, those prior assaults were wearing on his body. If he hadn't activated Blut during that time, he would have certainly experienced defeat at her hands. Her swing just now had nearly sent him flying from the ring.

There was a time limit to this field, though. He had accumulated reishi onto the blade for that one strategy. Therefore, the only weapon he would afford himself now was his fists. He pushed his hands through one of the pillars, coating his fists within electricity. Turning towards Mizu, Solomon soared in, launching his fist towards her shoulder in a straight line. If it landed he would aim for a follow up with his other fist, aiming to strike the blade out of her hand. With electricity behind those strikes, he was hoping to end this battle as quickly as possible. No matter what, he had to bring it all to bear. If he lost? So be it. At least he goes out giving the crowd one hell of a show, but even so...

He certainly wanted to win.

Not even Zangerin could do anything?! thought Mizu, worried about how fruitless her attacks against Solomon had been thus far. At this point, with an electrical field behind her and a strange series of pillars holding it up, Mizu figured there was really only one final strategy in her repertoire she could use. With Solomon's fists raised he apparently wanted to corner the Shinigami and force her into a close quarters battle, something she had been avoiding since the start of their bout. Despite sweat on her brow and exhaustion beginning to slow her body, Mizu remained determined to overcome this man.

With a ferocious Quincy careening towards her, ready to pummel her with a cocked fist, Mizu raised her Zanpakuto and declared "Crystallize, Shousenmaru!". At this her sword shattered and littered the area with fragments of violet gems and her eyes also glowed a bright purple displaying her Shikai for all to see. Right as Solomon's closed hand neared her Mizu whipped her bladeless weapon's handle upward, forcing an amount of the shards to form together into a solid wall between the two. Though his great strength would likely send fragments of the wall flying in every direction, Mizu was at least given enough time to prevent herself from being completely overwhelmed.

Through gritted teeth Mizu used more crystals to fortify the barricade and shoved it forward, hopefully bringing Solomon along with it. At the same time she created a cylinder of crystal behind her and dove through it, exiting the trap Solomon had set up for her. Unfortunately the exhaustion permeating every inch of her body caused her to mistime her landing, resulting in Mizu tumbling haphazardly across the ground. Once she managed to stop herself and drag herself to one knee, the constructions created by her Shikai cracked apart and fell to the ground. Even with her Shikai still active it was difficult for her to control it after using as much energy as she had. She regretted having to use her Shikai after tiring herself, but she knew Solomon had left her no choice with his powerful technique. For the first time in a while thoughts of defeat crawled into the back of her mind. Mizu was not one to doubt herself in the middle of a fight, but at this point she was practically out of answers. All she could do was catch her breath and wait for Solomon's next move.

His fist was met with a shattered array of crystals, but to say he expected the woman to push him out of the way? Well, that would have been a lie of the highest order. It became abundantly clear that her intent was to escape these pillars. He simply didn't expect such a bold method. However, the sternritter of lightning remained determined as he lifted one hand forward to draw his sword back to him. Generating a point of electricity in the palm of his hand, Solomon used the pillars surrounding his blade to his advantage, maintaining his balance even as he was pushed back by those crystals.

The electrical current in his palm acted as a magnet, guiding the spirit weapon from its seated position in the ground, drawing it back to him as the two were sent rolling in alternate directions. For someone who hadn't engaged him entirely, she had proved to be a resilient opponent. Time and again, the true mark of a warrior was remarkably displayed in her actions. He humorously cursed the fact that the woman was a Shinigami. She would be a fine member of the Vandenreich. Solomon would gaze on as he saw Mizu bravely pushing through his thunderous pillars, earning her freedom and a momentary reprieve.

From his position inside the electrified pillars of reishi, Solomon turned towards her. His eyes glanced toward the six pillars of reishi that seemed to be dispersing into the air now that their catalyst had been removed, but to let them vanish like that would have been wasteful in his eyes. They still served a purpose. Pointing his blade in their direction, he gathered the electrified reishi from the pillars around his blade, swathing his spirit weapon within a cascading stream of blue lightning.

"Your tenacity is truly admirable, Mizu. Your division must be really proud of you. No matter the result of today, I hope you take pride in how much you've pushed me during this battle."

Genuine, heartfelt words uttered with the highest form of sincerity he could offer. His body, though not entirely at its limit, was far from the ideal condition. He was too prideful to may have been reaching his limit. Even so, someone had to win, and someone had to lose. Or perhaps it would end in a draw. Only time would tell. His sword held upward, Solomon would thrust it forward sending a bolt of electrified reishi toward her as he raced forward, carried forth by the amplified acceleration of Hirenkyaku. If she evaded the bolt, he would soar in at her side, executing an overhead strike against her shoulder.

Once again Mizu dragged herself to her feet from a kneeling position, exhaustion pulling on her limbs like steel weights. With a great struggle she pulled all of Shousenmaru's crystal shards littering the battlefield to around her feet to have quicker access to them when Solomon no doubt strikes against her again. Her focus was interrupted by the Quincy speaking to her. Despite what were no doubt complimentary intentions, Mizu could not help but feel condescension in his words. While she struggled to stand, he was steady on his feet and had not used anywhere close to his full Quincy potential. I should feel proud...for pushing him...? My division...should be...proud...? For what? For...hurting him...a little bit...?

Thoughts of inadequacy filled Mizu's head as she contemplated how ridiculous this situation was. Nothing she tried had worked. All of her training, all of her battlefield experience and for what? All to be beaten and battered by some random person who compliments her for trying hard? I'm...done...trying! I want to win...I want to WIN! With her hand nearly bloodying from how tightly she was gripping her Zanpakuto Mizu responded to Solomon after taking in a deep breath "I WANT TO WIN!!". Her scream rang out across the entire pavilion and was certainly loud enough for everyone in the stands to hear as well. Some of the onlookers would no doubt wonder how such a loud sound could come from such a small body, but Mizu didn't care if her throat would hurt later; all that mattered was the fight.

With a flick of her wrist the blond Shinigami created a wall of crystal between her and the bolt of electricity, one swiftly reinforced with a hastily made Kidō barrier. Even as her vision and hearing began failing her Mizu reformed Shousenmaru's blade and silently cast Hadō #11. Tsuzuri Raiden, which coated the weapon in electricity of her own. When Solomon aimed his weapon at her shoulder she dropped both the barrier and crystal wall, the latter shattering against the ground upon meeting it, and met his sword with her own. Tsuzuri Raiden's electrical energy was tuned to give Solomon a taste of his own medicine.

Having gripped her sword with both hands due to her failing strength, Mizu was left with few options when the two clashed. But there was still one route she could take, one strategy that had proven effective this fight. With everything she could muster Mizu dropped her left hand from her weapon and grabbed the front of Solomon's jacket, this time her knuckles immediately turning white from how much she was squeezing. With her raging violet eyes trained directly on her opponent's, Mizu uttered through gritted teeth, barely louder than a whisper, "Hadō #33: Sōkatsui." Immediately a blue inferno of energy would spread from the hand grabbing his jacket and, if all went to plan, envelop the two in what would no doubt prove incredibly painful and disorienting for Mizu. She only hoped the same would be true for Solomon.

Much like everyone else in the arena, Solomon was rendered speechless at Mizu's outburst. A fierce grin lined his lips as he charged forward. A true warrior stood before him. To her, this battle went beyond mere bonds. A battle cry of that magnitude was the telltale sign. His soul had been ignited in response to that genuine outburst. There was no fear in her visage as their blades clashed. For a single moment, he could perceive the fire that radiated in her eyes.

"Remarkable...!"

What else could he call it but remarkable? That was the spirit he lived for! Pushing forward no matter what obstacle stood before you! The relentless pursuit of victory. Even if his words had been misconstrued, Mizu won him over in an instant. Of course, held no intent of simply handing this victory over. No, to do so would be to tarnish the honor of this battle and the explosive joy that now suffused his spirit. Lost in that raging violet gaze, Solomon momentarily lost sight of Mizu's left hand as she seized his jacket. An inferno of blue energy would enveloped them both as the tenacious woman held onto his jacket.

In the center of that inferno, Solomon would growl out in defiance as he fought through the intense pain wracking his body. There was no time to erect the defensive function of Blut, but Solomon held no inkling of going on the defensive. This was an all-out clash, after all. A clash of wills. Relenting was out of question. Therefore, he tapped into the offensive system of Blut as he pressed his sword forward against her own.

Generating electrified reishi around his spirit weapon as he roared forward, aiming to push her back with all his might. Through sheer force of will, he was vigorously fighting through the pain that assaulted his tall frame amidst the inferno. It was a measured risk to go all-in on offense, and Solomon was certain he might not have anything else left to offer after this. HIs knees were buckling, but he pressed that sword forward, relentlessly pursuing his own victory as he aimed to overpower her with one finishing strike.

"Roooooooooogh!!"

With their view of the two righteous combatants obstructed, the audience would be faced with great suspense until the winner would be revealed. They would not be forced to wait for long as the energy from Mizu's Sōkatsui spell would quickly disperse, placing the outcome of the battle on center stage for all to see. There would doubtlessly be many gasps from members of the crowd as smoke clears, revealing the fighters' bodies.

Moments prior, from within the inferno, Mizu and Solomon's clash continued with unabated intensity. The former was operating on empty at this point, having long since gone past her limits just to continue standing. She could feel her skin and hair burning from her own spell's fire-like properties as it continued enveloping the duo. Even as she stood her ground Mizu knew the battle's result. From the innermost core of her soul, to her heart, to her brain, she knew precisely how this would end.

As Solomon gathered energy and surged forward, Mizu's Shikai suddenly sealed as her Zanpakuto returned to it's normal form and her eyes changed to a glazed over gold. His offensive would prove successful as the Sōkatsui would dissipate around them and Mizu's somewhat charred body would be tossed a distance as her feet gave way beneath her. As her limp body collapsed to the ground, Shousenmaru slipping from her fingers, Mizu's consciousness quickly faded. In her last moment of lucidity she lamented the outcome of the battle, but was glad she had fought to the end against a great foe. Her eyes closed as her last thought of the bout faded as well I'll win next time...Solomon...san.....